//------------------------------// // Human, Rhymes, And The Magic Within // Story: The Human And The Well // by Zandar13 //------------------------------// “Alright, so far so good. Looks like this forest isn't as bad as it looked when I first came in” I casually talked to Nightingale as we wandered our way through the forest in search for this mysterious zebra. Though I just said that, the first ten minutes of walking were horrible for me, jumping at every sound that came from everywhere and I even got spooked by a squirrel who rustled a bush and popped out. I think Nightingale gave me a few weird looks but thankfully she did not tease me and simply stood at me side and nudged me with her wing every minute or so. “Sorry about all that before Nightingale, I must of looked pathetic for jumping like that” I nervously said to her but she smiled and shook her head. “There is nothing to apologize for, the forest is a mysterious and dangerous place and for someone who knows nothing about it to suddenly face it? It is quite normal to be scared of it, it shows that you have good reflexes and common sense and those two are the best qualities to have” she explained to me. “Well, I suppose when you put it like that then I don't feel quite so bad. But still, for jumping at a squirrel like that was pretty embarrassing” I said. “Oh, terribly embarrassing! I would not be surprised to see that squirrel in your dreams tonight! Oh the horror!” she said in a mocking tone but quickly chuckled. I groaned while I crossed my arms and pouted “Aww, you look cute when your pouting” she told me which made me walk faster so she could not see the front of my face. I heard her giggle behind me but she made a few quick steps and retook her spot beside me. “Squirrels aside, what other sort of creatures live here that could actually harm me?” I asked her. She took a few moments to ponder which made me nervous, was there a lot? Or were so few that she had to remember them? “While there are a lot of them, most of them stick to their territory deep within the forest and so long as you don't go up to a random nest and kick it you will be fine for almost all of them. The main ones that like to wander are Timberwolves, Manticores, maybe a Cockatrice or two, and very very rarely a chimera. If you are by the water then watch out for cragadiles or sea serpents and hyrdas. If you wander upon a cave then you could run into a dragon or an Ursa family. But like I said, so long as you keep to the path then you should not run into any problems” she calmly told me. My fear began to build up and I could feel my stomach knot up and I almost felt woozy. Hyrdas? Dragons? CHIMERAS?! Great googily goo! This forest is a potential death trap! I am surprised they don't have a wall or something built around this place and this zebra lives in here? She is either very brave, smart, or incredibly stupid. I mean I can understand the need to do so for her craft but still! I think my face was starting to show my fear cause I felt a hoof poke me and I looked down to see Nightingale looking up at me worryingly. “Are you ok?” she simply asked. “Ye-ye-yeah. Perfectly fine! Just surrounded by creatures that could kill me at any moment! A O K!” I said with a forced smile while a bead of sweat rolled off my face. I could feel her walking closer to me while her wing tried to wrap around me. “Hey, everything is going to be alright. Yes it may sound very dangerous but every pony who has come in here has always gotten out alive, some very scared and a few with a scratch or two but alive and well. Even Fluttershy has ventured out here alone and has made it back without a scratch. Besides, you have a Night Guard right here with you and I promise that nothings going to harm you, not while I'm around” she told me with a gentle voice and that got me to calm down and regain my composure. “Thank you Nightingale, again” I said as I gave a small chuckle at my own expense “I have to admit though that if it wasn't for the fact that I was in their territory, I would find it extremely cool that all those creatures actually exist! Back on Earth none of them exist except for in stories and myth. Man, it really is cool here now that I really think about it!” I excitedly claim. “Really? Why is that?” Nightingale curiously asked. “Well, like I was saying with the creatures, almost everything here from talking ponies to magic to dragons all don't exist back home. They all lived in story books or myths and legends of olden times. I am constantly amazed every second by absolutely everything, including you!” I explained and when I said that last part I think she blushed a bit. “Including me?” She asked. “Well yeah, your a talking pony.....sorry bat pony! Who can leap into dreams with a magical object and help fight nightmares! That is amazing! You are so cool and you look amazing too!” I told her as my excitement grew, which made me not realize what I just said to her. “I-I look....amazing?” She nervously said as he fiddled at the ground. “Of course! Your wings look wicked and your red mane really suits you, especially with your beautiful......emerald......eyes” I slowly explained when I finally realized that I sounded like I was hitting on her with my compliments. My blush grew as we both remained nervously silent until I heard her speak up. “T-thank you for saying so. Being a part of the Night Guard means that I have little to no interaction with ponies and as such I tend to look a bit messy. So no pony has ever really said anything nice about my looks before. So, thank you, Adrian” Nightingale said with a dazzling smile before she turned around and motioned for me to follow “Now come along, we are almost there, you silly thing” and with that she trotted ahead of me and I followed and luckily for her I could not see her happy face. It was about another ten whole minutes filled with random growls and a particularly loud roar which I found out belonged to a dragon probably claiming a prize. What that prize was I did not dwell to think on and I simply followed Nightingale very closely. Thankfully after another minute or two or walking we found ourselves coming upon a large hut with a chimney that was producing smoke. The wind blew the smoke in our direction and when it did I could smell something in it but I could not tell what it was. We stopped right outside the door and just before she went to knock Nightingale turned to me “Be prepared for Zecoras unusual habit” she warned me. “But you haven't told me what it is” I retorted back but she only grinned and knocked. We only waited for a few seconds before the door opened and a warm air rushed out to greet us along with a few unusual smells and scents. In the middle of the door stood a black and white zebra with a Mohawk mane and she had multiple gold rings wrapped around her neck while she wore a warm greeting smile. “Ah, hello there dear Nightingale! It has been a while since we last met, come in and tell me your tale” the zebra mare offered before she noticed me “Oh my, what have we here? Another tale of who you are I would most like to hear!” she said. Wait. Did she just rhyme? “Of course Zecora, his story is most unusual and I know how much you like to hear unusual stories” Nightingale said as we both stepped inside and I found myself standing with just enough head room to not bump into anything so long as I stood in the middle of the room, but a giant bubbling black cauldron held that spot. I took a quick look around before I saw Zecora staring at me inquisitively. “Oh! Sorry, where are my manners. My name is Adrian Frost and I am a human being. Pleasure to meet you” I introduced myself with a quick bow. “Adrian the human you say? Come, sit and tell me about your day!” Zecora said while she patted the edge of the bed as my seat which I took “Pray tell my dear, from where do you hail? I have seen much of this land, yet I have never seen a creature of such scale!” I swear she is still rhyming! Is she doing this on purpose? “Ah, well that is because I come from another world called Earth where there is no Equestria or dragons or talking ponies and zebras” I explained to her. “My my, such a fate I could never of foreseen! What about your rulers, be they a princess or a queen?” she asked. “Well, not in my country. Some foreign countries are still led my Kings and Queens but mine is led by a President who is elected by popular vote of the people who live in the country” I said and at this I caught both of their attentions and they sat there wide eyed at this new information. “A president that is elected through the ones who live there you say? That sounds very chaotic and could lead the country astray!” she said. “At times it is very chaotic but that has been our system for hundreds of years so we are used to it, mostly” I chuckled at that last bit. “Most interesting but enough about politics and matters of state. Tell me Nightingale, of what did you inquire of me on today’s date?” the rhyming zebra asked. She really was rhyming every single sentence! How did she do that so quickly? And why? “Ah, yes! We came to pick up some medicine for Princess Twilight. She woke up with a headache after the party last night held for Adrian and told us that she had run out and talk to you for more” Nightingale informed her. “Ah, I see, young Twilights EverCure pills! They are alicorn medicine that can cure coughs, lumps, and chills!” Zecora explained to us while she went through some bags. “Alicorn medicine? So does each species have a different set of medicine to take?” I asked. “No my dear human friend, this applies only to the alicorn body type. Alicorns are a mixture of all three pony types and as such are seen fit to join the royalty hype” she told me. How does she rhyme with such ease? I bet she went to school and got a couple of rhyming degrees.......AGH! Now I am rhyming! I accidentally groaned out loud which caught the two mares by surprise. “You alright Adrian?” Nightingale normally asked. “Yeah, I accidentally rhymed my last thought. I was thinking of what school Zecora went to where rhyming was taught” I explained then I face palmed myself and groaned loudly again “I did it again” which made the two mares start to laugh. “My apologies my friend, I did not know my rhyming would catch on! I suppose that means you will have to stop thinking and use some of that brawn!” Zecora jested as she poked my arm which made me give out a dry laugh. After that Zecora walked over to Nightingale and gave her a medium sized pouch “Please take these to Princess Twilight. Also tell her not to worry about the cost, or else she will be in such a fright!” “Thank you so much Zecora, I will be sure to giv-” she stopped mid sentence and I saw her necklace glow bright for a few seconds before dying back down and was followed by Nightingale sighing “Sorry about that but I just got a message saying for me to report back to the castle. Guess my little break is over” she turned to me “Do you think you will be able to get back to Ponyville on your own?” she hesitantly asked me. “Yeah, I think I will be able to. After seeing that the path to and from here is not far and with my initial shock over with I will be fine” I told her with a smile. She nodded and handed me the pouch before she went over to the door and opened it. “I will see you around then Adrian and thank you for the pleasant morning” she said to me with a hint of blush on her smiling face before she flew off. “And best you hurry off as well my friend. Young Twilight is in pain and dealing with her is something even I would not wish to contend” Zecora told me as we waved each other off and I began my trek back to Ponyville. Thankfully the pouch had a strap so I secured it against my chest and followed the path. I was feeling good about being alone until I heard a growl in the distance and my body shrunk and I wished Nightingale was here. As I continued to walk my head was constantly in motion as I checked out the bushes, the trees, the sky, I checked everything around me to make sure nothing would surprise me, but the one place I should of checked was my feet or else I would of noticed the slight winding curve in the path as I continued to fearfully walk straight ahead. ---------- One Hour Later ---------- “Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, holy crap I am horribly lost!” I said to myself as I searched the area in a panic again and again. I had finally noticed that I was lost when I no longer saw any sort of a path and when I saw that I had walked in a circle and ran into my footprints. I originally followed my prints backwards but after a couple of feet they had disappeared. I was about to walk in the general direction when I heard a wolfs howl that sounded very close so I booked it in the opposite direction and got even more lost. After running for a while I slowed down and took a breather to calm myself down and realized that panicking only made it worse and made it easy for any creature out there to find me. Once I slowed my breathing down I took a quick look around and listened, thankfully I did not hear anything that sounded like it wanted to kill me. I took another look and saw a large rock hill up ahead and I decided that I could use that to see further and try to find a way out. Hopefully it was just a hill and not full of caves. Carefully looking around and listening for any dangers I made my way over to the rock hill but the closer I got the more I realized how much bigger it actually was and it almost looked like a small mountain. As I made my way closer I heard a noise and I stopped instantly and looked around but saw nothing. I stood still and heard it again but still saw nothing coming closer or otherwise. Deciding to move I slowly walked over to this hill and I continued to hear something in the distance but the closer I got it started to become more clear. “he--” I heard it and it sounded like a voice! I cupped my hand up to my ear to try and ear it better and slightly picked up my pace. “-elp” I heard it again! And it sounded feminine as well, a gut feeling started to form inside me and I began to jog to the hill. “Help!” the voice now clearly called out and with that I fully ran to try and find the source quickly. “HELP!” the voice sounded frantic now and a lot closer than ever. I rounded the corner and saw a ton of rocks and boulders scattered about the small carved portion of the hill and right by the wall was a turquoise colored pony with a white mane in some sort of uniform who was struggling against a large rock. I did a quick look around and saw nothing for the moment so I rushed over but she had not yet noticed me “HELP! Oh please let somepony hear me” she sadly said while she continued to struggle. “Hello there, are you hurt?” I asked her as I began to get closer. She gasped and began to look around “Oh sweet Celestia! Thank goodness you foun-” she stopped talking the moment she saw me approach “AHH!! HELP! HELP! WHOEVER YOU ARE HELP! THERE IS SOME SORT OF CREATURE COMING AT ME!” she said with fear and panic. I stopped rushing over and slowed to a snails pace while bringing up my hands. “It's alright, it's alright. I know that I probably look weird to you but I assure you I am no monster. I just heard your voice and wanted to help, honest” I calmly said as I inched slowly over to her. While she still seemed a bit in a panic she appeared to be calming down a bit. “Y-you're intelligent? What are you then?” she fearfully asked. “Yes I am and I am a human. Adrian is my name. What is your name, if I may ask?” I asked her. She took a few moments to look me over and studied my face. “My name is Fleetfoot. What's a human?” she asked as she relaxed a bit more and I took a few more steps closer. “Well, it's what I am I suppose” I joked to try and lighten her mood and it worked a little because she let out a small chuckle. “Are you hurt at all?” She looked at the boulder “Not really, my right wing got a little singed from the dragon earlier and when I fell I accidentally caused the rock slide and my left wing got pinned under this rock” she said. “Dragon?! What were you doing with a dragon?” I asked. “Well I am part of a team called The Wonderbolts and part of our job is to survey the area and see if any pony needs assistance in the Everfree. During a low pass I accidentally caught the attention of a dragon and it decided to shoot fire at me and it caught my wing a bit and that's when I fell into this mess” she explained to me. By this time I was right next to her and I leaned down to examine her wing that was caught under the rock. “Do you think you would be able to fly once the rock is off?” I asked her. “Of course! Something small like this could never keep a Wonderbolt like me down!” she proudly said. “Good, ok now I think I can get this off of you by-” I tried to say before she yelled. “BEHIND YOU!” I turned around and saw that we now slowly being surrounded by some sort of wooden creature on four legs. When they got closer I heard them start to growl and snarl like a wolf. “Wait, are those?” I tried to ask. “Timberwolves!” Fleetfoot answered. I mentally face palmed myself as the play on words but due to the fact that they could kill me I decided against any further mental action and directed all thought on how to survive. I looked between them and Fleetfoot and made a decision. “Alright, I am going to quickly get this rock off of you. When I do fly out of here and get to Ponyville and inform Princess Twilight and anyone else you can” I told her as I ran behind her and positioned by back against the rock and propped my feet against the rock wall. “B-but what about you?!” she worryingly asked. “One of us has to inform them and your faster in the air and away from them on the ground. Ok, on three I am going to push” I prepared myself “One.....two” I tensed my body up “Three!” I put all my strength into pushing and after a few seconds I felt the rock move and tumble away and set her free. She instantly backed up and began to flex her wings. “Alright, now go go go!” “I can't leave you here!” she argued with me. “Yes you can! Now fly Fleetfoot! Show me that Wonderbolt speed and get out of here! Please!” I begged of her and though I could see her mentally struggling she eventually nodded and quickly took off and flew away. I sighed and collapsed a bit before I heard the snarl and snapped back up and saw that there was at least fifteen of them and they had positioned themselves so they boxed me in. This was not good. I looked down and saw a number of bigger rocks that I could throw and at the moment they were my only feasible weapon. Ugh, if only I could use magic or something to help me get out of here then it would be easy. I stood my ground as I contemplated my desperate strategies while they slowly closed in on me and began snapping their jaws and growling at me. I bent down and picked up a big, flat rock and held it firmly in my hands and prepared for them. My only chance was hope that I could break through and out run them, most likely not but better than not trying anything. I saw one step out of line and walk up to me, getting ready to pounce, so I took a stance and with my heart pounding, sweating profusely, dilated eyes, trembling fingers, and fear radiating from my body I saw the wolf pounce. It all happened in slow motion and even though I could see him move my body was frozen in place and refused to move, no matter how loud my mind was screaming. Time returned to me as the beast clamped down on my arm and drew blood which finally made me react, so with it still clinging to my arm I swung and flung it to the large boulder. Its teeth tore away from my arm as it flew and hit the boulder, still flowing with the momentum of the swing I swung my other arm that was tightly clutching the rock and smashed it against the beasts head. Surprisingly though the head collapsed and I saw a brief flash of green then the wood simply fell to the ground, lifeless and stiff. This made the wolfs stop for a moment as they reassessed me, unfortunately the pause made me start to lose my burst of adrenaline and I started to feel the pain surge through me. I cringed and I took a knee and they saw this weakness and lunged at me, two on each side and one down the middle. The center one swiped first and gashed its claws against my chest and tore away the fabric and ripped my skin, as soon as it struck the others on both sides clamped down on my arms and legs and I felt their weight drag me down as my blood trickled against their bark and hissed against something inside of them. I could not move against their weight and force but I tried to struggle to no avail. I felt my heart beating against my chest and my mind swirled for a way to get out but no matter what I failed in the end. The only thought I claimed was the ridiculous notion of me using magic to escape, but I knew that I could not do it. But seeing as I was close to death anyway I decided to at least try so I quickly thought back to the library, back to the magic book I read and I remembered what it said about casting magic and all its complexity. Well, most of it, I could not remember all the proper things about casting fire and the only other one I read and understood was lighting but against wood that type would not help. Still, with my arms and legs being tugged at and my blood leaving me my mind decided to give it a shot and I instantly thought of zapping the wolves with my hands so I opened my eyes and concentrated on the closest beast and I pushed everything I had through my hands. Nothing. No spark, no zap, no nothing and with that I finally broke down and thought about the way I was about to die and I got scared. Scared of dying, scared of not being able to say goodbye to my friends, scared of how my body will be mutilated, just plain scared. But I also found something else, I felt anger at these animals for taking me away like this just because I helped Fleetfoot escape, anger at them for taking me away, an anger that I had no idea I held within me. My anger, that primal hatred struck something within me and I felt my body become flooded from within with an indescribable feeling of power and adrenaline. The best way to even think about it was like the feeling of my arm falling asleep but instead of feeling pain and numbness, I felt warmth and strength. This feeling surged into my arms and I could feel it spinning and twirling inside of my hands, like they were stuck in a whirlpool. All of a sudden my mind flashed the memory of the spell and all of its components and not wasting a second breath I unleashed the lighting spell from my hands and instead of striking one wolf, it blasted all five of them back so fast that they shattered into splinters upon the rocks. Each one flashed green and the five piles remained still which made the pack take a step back and growl at me. With nothing to hold me down anymore I tentatively rose to my feet and found myself with renewed energy, I looked at my arms where they had bitten and though they were still open the wounds did not bleed and I felt like I had not been on the edge of my life. Though my mind felt a biz fuzzy and my body tingled all over, I felt good and I felt like I could take them all on. So I tested this new found power out and shot forth a bolt from my palm and it smacked into the closest wolf though it did not destroy it but I saw it slightly singed and in pain. Wanting to take this opportunity I unleashed multiple bolts around and forced them to back up, though just barely and for a moment it looked like they were all about to attack at once but just before they did I heard a loud and forceful howl erupt from the woods. At once the wolves backed down and took a few steps back while from behind two new shapes formed. One appeared to be a pup due to its small size and by the look of its hide being new and light colored, but the other was very different from the rest all thanks to its huge, bulking size and powerful steps. It easily stood twice as tall as the rest of the pack and looked liked someone took two or three wolves and mashed them together to form the girth, but its hide was dark and withered and showed scars. This must be the Alpha and I think I just challenged it with my new found strength. It finally stood tall and proud in front of its pack while the cub, most likely its son, growled and barked at me and tried to act tough which only made its father give a low growl and he stopped. The Alpha bent down and nuzzled its young before he pushed him away and stared at me. Knowing full well that I could not escape without a fight I took a stance and fed my hands full of energy, probably magic, and waited for his first strike. It came in a flash and I saw that with two mighty strokes of its back legs he flew at me with an open jaw and death in his eyes which made me freeze once more. But this time I felt my magic reassert itself and I found myself rolling under it and coming to a stand on its opposite side while he landed on his feet and seemed to be getting ready to come again. Seizing the moment I began to pour forth a slurry of lightning bolts from my hands, all aimed to strike it down but it was faster than what it looked and seemed to easily dodge all my shots, feeling a bit of anger bit at me I pushed more and more magic through my hands and now I fired off bolts so fast that it looked like I was firing a machine gun with endless ammo. I screamed at the creature while my magic struck everything in front of me and caused a dust cloud to form while the sound of rocks and dirt exploding filled the air. After a full minute of non stop spells I finally stopped as my breath became ragged and my body felt like I just ran a marathon but I had my eyes glued in front of me, waiting to see whether or not I killed the beast. But silence was the only thing that greeted me, so letting my guard down I relaxed a bit and turned my back to the scene and began to stare at the others. A roar shattered the silence and I tried to turn back in time but by then I found myself once pinned against the ground, the Alpha standing on me with its jaw firmly place around the nape of my neck and its teeth boring deeper and deeper into my skin. Once again I felt the surge of pain erupt in my body but I acted quickly and brought my hands up and placed them against its head and tried to pull him off but his stance allowed him to overcome me. Though due to my actions it made sure he did not dig deeper into me and I could see my magic sizzling around its face but it made no difference to the enraged wolf. I poured more magic into my hands but still to no effect and in a short amount of time I felt myself losing my grip on reality and fading to black. Feeling my hands lose their strength I allowed my magic to flow normally and that is when I felt a strong sensation in my chest, like the first time when I blew them all off! So with what will and strength I could muster I condensed everything into my chest and giving one last shout of defiance I let loose the magic and I saw not only the Alpha fly off but an electric sphere exploded from my chest and I briefly saw it expand and destroy the rocks around me and I heard the faint sound of painful cries from the wolfs before it quickly died out. I felt the very ground shake from the magical explosion and during this time I also heard and felt the rock wall around me crumble and fall around me, thankfully though it stopped just short of me. Allowing the aftershock to take its course, I simply laid there and felt my neck burn a little as my magic did its work on my wound, whatever it was doing. Once I felt the ground stand still and the only sound was the faint crackling of static I slowly rose up to my feet but I was greeted to the sight of a barely standing Alpha a few feet from me. The hairs of my body stood and I tried to muster my new found magic again but only a slight arc of static graced my fingertips nevertheless I took a fighting stance to the best of my ability without falling down. The single standing wolf tried to take a step but fell and tried to stand again but its body refused and eventually it slumped to the ground and its breathing slowed to almost a standstill. I remained motionless as I witnessed it takes its final breath before I saw the body collapse but strangely the green glow in the shape of the massive Alpha stood and the eerie green flicker of its body stood tall and proud. I took a step back in fear when I saw it start to slowly stride over to me but its body language gave it a sense of peace, still I prepared myself for anything. Its walked right in front of me and stopped, but what it did next surprised me as it seemed to look up at me for a few seconds and bowed its head before suddenly rushing to me and seemed to disappear inside my body. At first nothing seemed to happen but a sudden jolt of pain spiked my head and my vision became fuzzy while my body went limp and I fell to my knees. Time passed and the pain finally subdued and I was left kneeling with no clue as to what just happened. The moment I tried to move I heard a slight yelp from somewhere and I looked up and saw the small timber pup standing there, looking at the dead Alpha pile. It bent down and nudged the pile with its nose and whimpered before it looked at me and snarled and it charged at me, but I did not dare move for I had no spare energy and I should let it at least bite me for killing its father. I held out my hand and instantly the little wolf clamped down on it, thankfully it was still teething so the bite did not hurt much but it still stung. But what happened next I can not explain for the snarling pup stopped its attack and gave my hand a sniff and began to lick it instead. Feeling my body just lose the last of its strength I fell backwards and layed my back against a newly fallen rock. The pup gave me a quizzical look before he slowly stepped up to my side and forced its head under my hand and arm and lied down next to me. Though my mind was fuzzy and my body ached from head to toe, I found the small guys action quite cute and I found myself petting its head and in return he gave me a happy sigh. A small smile adorned my face as I let my body fade out and rest and my last thought before I fully blacked out was “What is going to happen now?”