Chapter Three
The Descent
Screwed would be an understatement to describe to describe your current situation; stranded ninety feet up in a tree on an uncharted alien world with at least three quarters of the known universe between yourself and another human. Let’s not forget the six hundred pound monstrosity currently clawing its way up said tree intent on making you its breakfast. There was also the fact that you had chased away your only possible link to civilization. That probably wasn’t one of your better moments.
The bellowing below has been almost constant for the better part of four hours broken only by the occasional strike of the manticore’s segmented tail. The successive strikes were slowly but steadily boring a hole through the trunk just below your feet. Your black hair was peppered with a lovely paste of wood chips and pine sap.
You note absently that the first thin sliver of the sun’s rays is just now cresting over the distant horizon. Not that it will do a damn bit of good. The beast below has proven to be rather dedicated to its cause.
“Excuse me Sir”, you yell down as the beast takes another stab at impaling you, “but would you happen to know where I might find directions to the county fair?” The manticore actually pauses and regards you with a look of disbelief that somehow manages to make you feel like even more of an idiot.
“Yeah, well screw you buddy”, you crossly remark. “Why don’t you go find a nice big volcano and throw yourself into it?”
Let’s see. You had, what, maybe another five feet of tree left above you? Seven if you got really fancy. Your other option at this point consisted of death by manticore or taking the ultimate leap of faith almost twenty stories to the unforgiving ground below. Your suit would probably absorb a decent chunk of that fall, but given your luck as of late the thought didn’t exactly leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.
Just as the prospect of willingly leaping 190 feet is starting to sound like a pretty good option, your attention is drawn downwards as a large commotion makes its way towards your location. Great, what did your furry little friend here call for backup?
“Is that really friggin’ necessary?!” you scream while pelting it in the head with pine cones.
Your inane babbling reaches a frantic pace as the thick bramble of growth nearest to you begins to shake violently heralding the arrival of certain doom.
“Bababababababababa” is the best you can come up with as the last few branches are parted and you reflexively slam your eyes shut to await your bitey, scratchy, stabby end.
“I know I heard it right up ahead, girls!” a raspy voice excitedly shouts out below you. Wonderful, now you’re hearing things too!
Just for a laugh, you open your eyes and almost fall from your perch. There are five vibrantly pastel colored ponies standing in a semi-circle staring up at you. A cotton candy pink pony with cerulean eyes looks ecstatic to see you and is visibly bouncing around in circles emitting comically appropriate sound effects. She (as you quickly decide that your new audience is obviously all female) is wearing a blindingly white smile so big it should be anatomically impossible.
To her left stands a determined looking orange pony sporting a mane of brilliant goldenrod. A Stetson is firmly in place atop her head. Her sea spray green eyes regard you with cool confidence. A small smirk is played across her lips.
You find yourself strangely unsurprised that the next pony in line is a purple unicorn with matching horn dead center of her head. She is regarding you with what appears to be complete and utter disbelief. Her dark violet eyes seem to be analyzing every square inch of your being. Honestly it’s a little unsettling. You can’t help but be reminded of a grad student cramming for final exams. Her mane matches her vibrant eyes, but is parted by a thin line of magenta.
You almost can’t believe as your eyes pan next to a canary yellow pegasus; the same pegasus from last night. She is doing her best to hide herself behind the scrutinizing purple unicorn, but failing adorably all the same. ‘Timid’ wouldn’t do her demeanor justice, as she is shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Her eyes are constantly shifting, looking at everything but you, and it’s painfully obvious that this entire ordeal terrified her. Why then, you wonder, is she here? Did she return of her own accord while fighting instincts? Surprisingly ballsy of the little thing.
A burst of blue blasts into your peripheral vision and you instinctively jerk back hard enough that your skull collides painfully with the tree. Before you even have a chance to utter a yelp, a cyan face set with enormous, angry rose eyes completely blanket your field of view.
“What’d you do to Flutterhy?!” screams the living embodiment of rage currently hovering two inches in front of your face.
“Don’t try to lie to me, creep! I know you did something just admit it so I can kick your flank!” At this, she rears up and air boxes her hooves at you. It’s quite possibly the most adorable thing you’ve seen. Before you can stop yourself, you realize your hand has reached, cupping the fine fur along her cheek and tracing your fingertips across the fine bones beneath. “Soft”, you murmur captivated by the sensation.
“W..what the hay do you think you’re doing, pal?!”, she stammers whipping her rainbow hued head back out of your reach. “I ought to buck you into the middle of next week for touching even a single hair one me!”
This does the trick, jarring you from your reverie and bringing you back to the rather large problem at hand; namely that the neighborhood manticore has resumed its bid to violently end you. Since your bright blue, now fiercely blushing pegasus friend dropped by to pay a visit, it looks like the beast intends to include her in the festivities.
The snarl below the two of you is the only warning you receive before the creature’s thickly armored tail catapults upwards on a deadly collision course you’re your companion’s defenseless back. You’re moving before you even realize the commitment was made, diving forwards abandoning the tree’s relative safety. The blue pony’s eyes bulge comically from her head, wings locking as you wrap her in a protective embrace.
You arc through empty space, your improvised cargo screaming and thrashing in your grip. A sudden impact with your right shoulder blade sets you spinning wildly but you manage to maintain your vice grip on your rainbow maned passenger. Almost instantly, pain on a level you weren’t aware possible lances out in waves from where you can only assume the manticore’s deadly stinger has carved a hole through your back.
The fact that the ground is approaching at breakneck speed couldn’t be further from mind as your senses begin to fail in quick succession. Vertigo overwhelms you as your vision dims to a single point of light. The last thing you hear is the roar of blood in your ears and screaming, though you can’t be certain whose it is. Then all goes dark.