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// CHAPTER 28 (AKA: Food shopping) 
// Story: A thing or two about changelings and their habits saga 
// by Young discord 
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The morning passed like nothing out of the ordinary for Pacifica and Monty despite them being all sore from a whole night spent sleeping on the floorboards of the room.
It was time for food shopping.
Monty and Pacifica procured and excessive amount of emotional food when they went food shopping with aunt Rose, food shopping of course being an age old tradition practiced by changelings, where one pretends to go out to the city in order to buy food at the stands whilst secretly feeding little by little from the unsuspecting masses.
Once they were ready, they ventured deep into the woods in order to cut straight through to their destination.
It was a dangerous path for two little ponies.
“I told you already dearie, we can’t afford a pegazooka right now”
“But you proooomised!”
“And I will get you one some day”
Monty was throwing a little tantrum right now, Rose should have never let him step a hoof into that blasted store in town.
“Please, pleeease!”
“I’m sorry Monty, but nay means nay”
Monty began to moan and was now getting not only on Rose’s nerves but also on Pacfica’s
Pacifica gave him a smack on the head.
“OW! What the hell Pacifica!”
“!!!”
“I thought you were on my side, you know…”
Monty was referring to last night.
Pacifica froze for a moment, she wasn’t sure where they stood… were they a couple? It’s not like they talked about this in a direct sort of way, but right now that was beside the point, Monty was being a big baby.
“Hey, Pacifica, you there?” Monty waved in front of Pacifica’s field of view.
Pacifica gave Monty a violent bump.
“W-what the hell?!?”
Monty bumped her back.
“!!!”
How could he! You can’t hit fillies! Everypony knows that!
Pacifica bucked the rude colt, who payed her back not a moment later.
One hooked the other in a luchadore grab and the black ball began to rumble loudly throwing up a thick sheet of leaves and a glaze of fresh onyx soil that smacked an angered Rose on the cheek.
“WOULD YOU TWO STOP IT!?!”
The aunt’s roar, took over the entire woods.
Monty and Pacifica stopped at once as ordered for there is nothing more terrifying than a gentle changeling who is angry.
Something roared back.
Except that.
“What was that?” Asked Monty
“Something we shouldn’t find out” Replied Pacifica
“Time to go dearies”
Nopony argued with that decision, everypony mobilised in a tight triangle, and got going.
“Where are we going to go now?” asked Monty.
Rose pointed at the nearby hills, this wasn’t the first time she had been in this situation, she was a tough Mare and it was time to prove it.
“Whatever that was, the best thing to do right now is to hope for some sort of cave in those hills”
“There’s no guarantee that the caves will be safe” Began Pacifica
But the trio was already running towards the hills, the ground beginning to slope, a boulder here and there.
A bare grassy field opened up before the changelings, revealing a cave conveniently placed a hundred feet ahead of them or so.
Rose smiled; this was exactly what they needed.
An overwhelming stench grabbed everypony’s nostrils.
Rose knew what that meant, they had to hurry.
“They’re close! We need to go now, and don’t look back!”
Pacifica and Monty galloped, leading in their aunt’s hoofsteps.
Moments later a loud rumble smashed through the woods and into the field.
Rose looked back, it was as she suspected.
At least 4 packs of furious timberwolves were after them and they were catching up quickly, it was mating season for timberwolves so during this time of the year they are especially territorial aggressive and active.
There was no way they will make it.
Rose stopped in her tracks and turned around, ready to stall, there was no way she will make it but there was a chance that she might get the two packs to finish each other off after they’re done with her.
Monty and Pacifica stopped right next to their aunt.
“You go dearies, I’ll keep them busy!”
Pacifica wasn’t intending on seeing anypony else dying anytime soon.
“You stay, we stay!”
“Yeah! I’m not going to let you die!” Monty replied.
Rose chuckled.
“You children underestimate Wild Rose!”
“But-‘
“No buts! Get your rumps into the cave! NOW!”
“All right timberwolves, time to show you what this does”
Rose detached a long steel staff from the side of her bag, her mouth firmly gripping one end, and with a swift swing she revealed a scythe’s ribbed blade.
Pacifica and Monty were now safe in the cave, unable to take their eyes off from their aunt.
“What is she doing?”
“…”
“Is that a… scythe?”
The first wave hit Rose but she was ready, just like old times, she started her dance.
With one powerful “swoosh” a timberwolf shattered, his body parts hailing powerfully on others, throwing them off balance.
About a dozen or so timberwolves were already lying on the ground, but Rose didn’t stop there, she went for the kill and viciously stabbed one… two… 3, 4, 5 timberwolves, smashing them apart.
The pack had no chance.
Unfortunately for Rose the next pack came too soon, a set of wooden teeth dug themselves into Rose’s ribs but she had a fang of her own.
Rose in great pain pinned down the timberwolf with the scythe, using the rest of the momentum she vaulted over the pile of wood and cicked the buck out of the nearest carnivore.
Rose was putting up one hell of a fight but unfortunately, she was gradually losing her strength as there were more and more packs surrounding her.
Pacifica had to do something.
“We need to help her!”
“How?”
“No idea!”
Pacifica started to nervously trot within the cave, pointlessly trying to look for something.
“Pacifica, I don’t think you’ll find-“
Monty didn’t manage to finish what he wanted to say because Pacifica had tripped on something that wasn’t a rock.
It was a rumble suit.
Pacifica got up quickly and examined the suit.
It just happened to be her size; it was as if somepony had left it there for her to discover it.
Pacifica without delay began to put on the suit.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
“Helping Rose”
“But the timberwolves-“
“-Won’t do anything”
Pacifica knocked at her chest to show Monty just how hard the suit was, she should be protected for the most part.
“But there’s no helmet”
Pacifica didn’t care, she already had to deal with Monty’s mum and she wasn’t going to deal with Rose, she just couldn’t do that to Monty.
Pacifica charged at the pack.
She charged as fast as she could.
To her surprise, Pacifica realized that she could charge faster than she ever could.
Much faster.
A black bolt announced itself with a familiar crack that comes with breaking the sound barrier.
Pacifica had little to no time to react as she was about to hit into Rose.
She dug her hooves into the ground anchoring herself deep inside into the rocky soil.
A powerful wind swept away everything in front of her, annihilating any remaining timberwolves and throwing Rose far ahead of her.
Pacifica spat out an abundance of earth and rocks in her mouth.
“What…”
Was a rumble suit supposed to do this?
“A rumble suit isn’t supposed to do that” mumbled Monty to himself from within the cave.
It wouldn’t be fair if Monty didn’t do anything either, who knows, maybe if there’s a rumble suit lying around then there might just be a pegazooka somewhere nearby, a really dumb logic but hey it beats not doing anything.
Much to Monty’s surprise, he was right.
A huge, metallic pegazooka lay propped against the cave wall.
Monty hoof-pumped the air
“Yessss!”
He was going to kick flank wit this thing, maybe if the suit Pacifica was using had special abilities, this one might too.
Pacifica was already kicking flank for the both of them, sweeping away hordes of timberwolves, Rose trying to double the the bodycount.
Monty picked up the pegazooka, it was much heavier than he expected it to be.
He tried aiming at the timberwolves.
No chance, that thing was so heavy that aiming with it required an extra amount of concentration and strength.
How the hell was he going to fly with that thing?
But there was no time to play around, with a great feat of strength he gradually flew high up in the air to get a good aim at the targets.
He aimed.
He pulled the trigger.
Nothing.
But it was all over already, the pieces of timberwolves were reattaching themselves and the packs were retreating back to the woods.
Monty landed next to the other two changelings.
“What was that?” asked Rose, looking at Pacifica’s rumble suit and Monty’s pegazooka.
“…”
Pacifica shrugged, she knew as much as Rose did.
“We found these things in the cave” began Monty
“They must be somepony’s”
“I don’t think so, there wasn’t anypony around… does this… mean that I can keep this?”
Monty was getting all pumped up again, maybe the thing was broken but its the closes thing he ever got to a pegazoka
Rose knew how much Monty was going to nag her if she wouldn’t let them keep those things, and besides, those items are expensive, and if what the kids were saying was true, these were just lying around.
“Well… I guess you could keep them, finders keepers, no?”
Monty literally flew up in joy, his aunt was the best.
“Thankyouthankoythankyou!”
He swooped down and gave Rose a big hug.
Pacifica gasped in disbelief.
It was only a second later that he realised that he shouldn’t have done that, he let his aunt go as if Rose were made of lava and he jumped away from her to a safe distance.
Monty looked at Pacifica who felt betrayed
“I-I’didn’t mean to-“
A loud rumble followed by an aria of cracks announced to the changelings that the timberwolves weren’t done with them yet.
Every single timberwolf was gnawing away at a nearby tree at the fringe of the woods, smashing it to pieces and splinters.
“What are they doing?” asked Monty
“I don’t know” replied Rose, timberwolves had never done such a thing before.
“We should go” Announced Pacifica, she propped a limping Rose on her and gave Monty a vengeful look for doing what he did.
“I think it’s too late” Monty pointed at where the timberwolves were.
It was as if the whole forest was one whole big lego field, every single piece of wood, whether it was from the timberwolves or from the freshly cut down trees, was magically attatching itself to make a monster that would easily rival an ursa major.
The giant thing raised its left paw and with a colossal might, smacked the changelings.
Monty got lucky, he was far enough to make it, he flew back up in the air to gain some distance.
Something was opposing the giant’s paw.
It was Pacifica who was barely managing to keep her and Rose from being squashed.
The timberwolf retrieved its paw to look at what was all the fuss about.
Pacifica’s hind quarters were embedded in the rocky soil and she couldn’t get out, this time, she was stuck.
The timberwolf began to pounce on her deeper and deeper into the soil.
Monty had to do something.
He pulled the trigger.
Nothing.
He tried again.
Nothing.
“Come on, work!”
Nothing, once again.
Out of all the things, Monty had to get a broken pegazooka.
The timberwolf got ready, he pulled back, and sprung high up in the air, ready to belly flop the changelings.
“COME OOOOOOOON!”
Monty focused all of his energy hope and magic into that damn metal thing and pulled the trigger.
Click.