//------------------------------// // Kneel // Story: The Wanderer // by Jetstream S //------------------------------//         Rain poured down over me as I ran as fast as I could through the woods. Just behind me was the sounding of a panting, snarling beast that was seemingly having no trouble keeping up with my frantic sprint. My lungs burn and my legs ache like they never have before as I forge ahead, desperate to get away from my pursuer. But to my horror, the beast caught up to and began to lash into me with all the cruelty of harsh words. “Let’s go, Stone! Do you know where you are right now?!” I am too winded to respond, so I shake my head. “You are at the BACK OF THE LINE! MOVE. IT. CHUNKY!!” Chunky? I think to myself as I look down in outright horror. I can’t see my legs as I run, their length blocked by a massive belly. My belly. It bounces with every step as I run, making me jerk forward as the unfamiliar weight seems to drag me forward like an anchor. Unable to look any longer, I look around at the trees through the rain. They all have bright yellow and orange leaves seeming so familiar to me. My attention is suddenly brought back to my front as a spray of water hits my face. Several other runners are kicking up water from the rain, splashing my face and belly as I somehow catch up to them. “Damn fine work Stone! Now KEEP IT UP!!” I keep up my frantic run, feeling my massive belly doing nothing but weighing me down. Everything feels totally wrong as the sky suddenly brightens up and the clouds dissipate, but the rain keeps falling. As I try my best to look up at the strange new sky, I feel the ground beneath my feet suddenly disappear and I plummet downward into nothingness. I scream at the top of my lungs as I feel my large belly suddenly turn to stone and drag me ever faster into the vast expanse. I feel a strong heat begin to collect over my stone belly, and fire begins to permeate my body as I fall even faster into the blackness. My cheeks begin to flap and my eyes water as my clothes begin to tear from my body, while fire trails from my round belly like the tail of a comet. Trying desperately to see anything but the bright orange fire in my face, I try to hold my hand in front of my eyes. The supersonic air rushing over me makes sure my arm stays back, rendering it useless. I can just make out a gray and lumpy landscape below me, looking like a city. My eyes open wide as I see a skyscraper shoot past my field of view, before I suddenly shift forward and see another barreling toward me. Time seems to slow for a brief moment, and I can see the shocked look on a man’s face as my meteor belly makes contact with the window. Time seems to stop altogether as the man raises his hand in a futile attempt to shield his face from the inevitable impact. Shattering glass and a loud scream echoes through my mind as I crash into the building and then… Nothing. I jolt up with a loud yelp, looking around and clutching my pistol. My breaths come in ragged bursts, and sweat drips from my brow. The feeling of horror is accompanied by a sudden headrush as my heart flutters weakly in my chest, and I’m forced back down to regain my vision. As I lay here, I ponder on what my dream could have meant. My hands run over my stomach, sending a wave of relief through me as I find the smooth and strong stomach I had worked so hard to achieve. Still, the thought of having such a belly again chills me to the bone. I sit up once more, carefully this time, feeling my back pop somewhat painfully from a full night sleep on the ground. It hits me that for the first time, I had actually slept clean through a night out in the open. I curse myself for not being diligent as rays of sunlight pierce the thick woods overhead, making me squint. I look around, touching each of my fingertips to my thumb to ensure I really am awake. There is a thick fog surrounding the small plateau, and the symphony of thousands of crickets and cicadas echoes through the woods. A loud and thick buzzing noise goes right past my ear, making me flinch and look around. I see nothing but the fog surrounding the plateau, and I move to get up from under my thermal blanket. The buzzing flies right past my ear again, and I swat at it. My pinkie tips something soft, and I look over to my right to see something rather… bizarre. A hummingbird is hovering just feet away, seemingly staring right at me. It boasts a large size for a hummingbird, and its bright green body shines as it hovers in a ray of sunlight. It hovers, occasionally changing altitude and darting to the left and right as it continues to stare me down. I just watch with pure fascination as the bird just hovers there; A far cry from what hummingbirds would do back in my home town. It suddenly darts closer, chirping at me, I think. I just look around and shake my head, wondering what it's doing. As I look at it, an idea creeps into my head. I slowly reach my hand out, extending my index finger. The little bird darts away for a moment, before slowly approaching and tweeting a few times. My hand trembles from lack of energy as I hold it out for the hummingbird to land. Astonishingly, the bird lands on the tip of my finger, cocking its head to focus its eye on my face. I look back, feeling my body trembling as I try to remain as still as possible. The bird continues to eye me, occasionally flapping its wings as it tweets away as if expecting me to talk back. With the week I’ve had, why would it matter if I actually tried? “Uh, hello there…” I say softly. To my surprise, the bird freezes and turns its head to the side to stare at me with one of its eyes. I don’t know what’s more shocking, the fact that one of the fastest and most hyperactive creatures known to man is sitting perfectly still on my finger, or that it seems to have understood me. “Can… Can you understand me?” I ask it softly. It chirps once, still staring at me and unmoving. Of course, now it seems like the bird is directly talking to me. A nagging feeling in my gut and brain is screaming at me that this shouldn’t be possible, but then again, the feeling in my gut could be just the raging hunger. Great. Now I’m reasoning with myself that talking to a hummingbird is possible. How long has it been since I ate? As I’m thinking about these things, I don’t even notice the hummingbird was now hovering in front of my face. As I come back to focus, I flinch as I see the hummingbird flying around my head. The loud buzzing is more annoying than my hunger, and I lean forward to get up. The hummingbird does a few more laps around my head, as if to burn off the pent up energy from sitting still on my finger. Without a hint of warning, it settles on my head, nestling into my hair. I flinch, half expecting it to start pecking my head like Woody Woodpecker. To my surprise, however, it just chirps a bit louder than before, seemingly at nothing in particular. I chuckle as I lean back on my hands, looking up as far as I can go. “Comfy?” I ask it as I continue to look up. Something catches my eye as I stare up, the sunlight glancing off of something red and shiny high above. The more I focus on it, the more anxious I get as the shape begins to click in my mind. A bird feeder. Fluttershy had been in her chicken coop bright and early, tending to the fresh eggs laid by the hens when the familiar chirping of Hummingway graced her ears. She turned to see him hovering there, chirping loudly. She sighs with a smile as she moves her mane from her face. “Oh, I’m sorry Hummingway, of course I’ll fill the feeders for you, just give me a few minutes to get the nectar, okay?” Hummingway darted up and down to show his affirmation before flying up to the feeders on the small forest-flanked plateau. Fluttershy’s soft singing echoed through her cottage as she rumaged through her pantry, getting the special hummingbird liquid food and also grabbing a small funnel. She hovers carefully over to the smaller feeders for the inside birds and chicks, pouring small amounts of seed and water into separate bowls on each birdhouse. Going through her normal morning routine always made her feel a bit happier, knowing her animals are well taken care of. Fluttershy always took great pride in her animals being well fed and healthy, and being one of the best veterinary ponies in Ponyville, or maybe even all of Equestria. The happiness she felt from the satisfied chirps and squeaks had almost no rival, second only to the joy her friends brought her. Getting the hummingbird feed, she began trotting at a leisurely pace up toward her bird feeding area. Her humming began to compliment her steps as she climbed the small path up to the plateau, and she could hear Hummingway’s chirping already. This was nothing new, of course. He always beat her there when it was feeding time. He couldn’t be left without food for too long, lest his ever beating wings run out of fuel for flight. She had climbed a good three quarters of the way up before hearing something rather odd. She didn’t recognize the sound at first, but it sounded like a voice. Incoherent, as if from a strange language. Her ears strained to hear another of the strange sounds and her wings began to lock up as she made the rest of the journey up. What she saw as she parted the shrub to enter her feeding area was far beyond anything she had ever expected. A strange creature was walking about, picking up even stranger looking trinkets and items with Hummingway chirping away at it. The hummingbird had been pestering me for a good ten minutes now, etching into my already frail patience. As it deliberately tries to land on my head, I’m forced to swat at it to keep it from distracting me. Someone or something has set up these feeders, meaning I’m either on private property, or about to run into… A small rustle of leaves catches my attention, taking it from the rest of my surroundings and making me stand still. The heavy buzzing of the hummingbird’s wings stops as a rustle of my hair distracts me for a second and I exhale an annoyed breath. “Fine I’ll take you with me…” I whisper as I strain to listen for anything else. Another rustle of leaves and the added loud snap of a twig accompanied by a muffled “eep” in a feminine voice makes me whirl my head around and startle the little bird atop it. My hand instinctively grasps the grip of my pistol, my thumb pushing the holster's guard away for easy access. The little bird chirps a few times before darting into the brush as if to search out the noise, leaving me standing here tensed for a fight. A minute passes, and my hand has lightened its grip on the pistol. I can hear the faint wing buzzing of the hummingbird as it darts around in the thick bushes, chirping at something. I take a few steps forward, hearing another soft and feminine “eep!” in the bushes. I quickly draw my pistol, ready for anything as I start to wade through the chest-high shrubbery. A sudden rustle of leaves to my immediate right makes me jump and squeeze the trigger, hearing a soft click. I silently thank my instinctive thumb safety trigger as I shuffle back into the clearing through the foliage, gaining a better stance and clicking the safety off. A sudden buzzing and a pressure on my head makes me flinch, but I know my little companion is back. It tweets once, and another rustle in the bushes makes me aim my pistol in that direction. I tense myself as the rustling visibly gets closer, and I close my left eye to aim properly. My hands are shaking and a bead of sweat drops from my brow, even as my breath comes out in slow white puffs of cold smoke. The bird keeps tweeting, as if beckoning whatever is in the bushes to come out. What happens next makes me question everything I’ve ever known as a small horse-like creature slowly steps from the cover of the bushes, looking up at me with light turquoise and rather large eyes. I take a step back, feeling the gears grinding in my head as it tries to identify the new creature. As I back away, my heel catches a root and I fall over, landing on my back with a loud yelp. The small horse yells in fear, immediately dropping to its belly and putting its hooves over its face. My gun is knocked from my hand as I land and it slides over to where my makeshift bed was, a good five feet away. I tilt my head up, seeing the creature on its belly and oddly enough, I can make out two bulges on either side of its back. The hummingbird hovers between us, darting its head as if to look at both of us before zipping over to the shivering creature. I sit up slowly, getting a slight headrush as I stare at the newcomer. Its light pink hair along with the cream yellow body immediately strikes me as odd as I finally get a good look at it. I notice the little bird is on the ground, tweeting away into the creature’s flattened ears. After a good ten seconds of looking, the hummingbird parts the pink hair, and I see a large turquoise eye crack and slowly open, instantly settling on me and darting closed with another “eep!”. I am at a loss for words as I slowly sit up, only able to do so slowly to prevent another headrush. I observe the little bird tugging on the horse’s hair, flying up to try and get it to stand. It struggles, but eventually stands up to look at me at its full height. It opens its mouth to make a noise, before something I never expected came silently fourth. “Whuen ta moins?” I just stand there, standing blankly. I had just spoke to me... its mouth moving with the barely audible sounds. “Did you just…” I ask, still trying to make sense of what it just said. It wasn’t english, and I wasn’t exactly fluent in any other language. Failed high school spanish two my Sophomore and Junior years, barely managing to pass my Senior. “Whuen vit sen…?” It asks again, this time more assertively while taking a step forward. I step back in turn, keeping the same distance. Seeing this, it cocks its head and appendages seem to sprout from its sides. I gasp, watching as a pair of wings extend halfway before stopping. I raise my gun, pointing it at the horse-like creature. “Don’t come any closer,” I snarl. It stops dead, ears flattening and lowering its head. Or her head, rather. The voice was clearly feminine. "Dan voui... Ic kua..." It says, voice calm and soothing rather than scared and timid. I lower my gun, feeling a bit less tense as it speaks. Long flowing pink hair, coupled with cream yellow fur certainly doesn’t register as dangerous, but then again, a fig flower doesn’t look so dangerous to a wasp. “English? Can you understand what I’m saying?” I ask cautiously, trying to get a read on the creature’s lingual skills. Any Zoologist would’ve passed out by now. She cocks her head, wings fluttering a bit along with her left ear. “Di sen sroka Equenta…?” What the hell is she saying…  I think to myself as I try to make sense of her strange accent and completely new language. I go ahead and re-holster my gun, calming down quite a bit as her demeanor shows no signs of threat. I slowly take another step back, not knowing what else to say. “...My name is Logan Stone…” I say, pointing a finger at my chest. “Lugan… Stune?” She parrots, trying to mimic my “o” sound rather terribly. I nod, smiling a little. Her eyes flick down suddenly as I do, and her ears lay back. Puzzled, I close my mouth and flatten my smile. She seems to look somewhat relieved as I do, and takes a step closer. I don’t move, watching her carefully as she approaches. Now only a few feet away, I can see her with all of her size and shape. She most definitely resembles an equine, even if she only comes up to my chest. But the things that really take me off guard are the wings. I stare at them, marveling at how a creature like her could even be possible. My mind wracks the memories within, trying to come up with a name for her. Finally, memories serve me well as I remember a certain mythological creature- a horse with wings. "A pegasus..." I whisper. "Flueva?!" A voice in the distance calls.  Rainbow Dash flew high over Ponyville, scouting the area for rogue clouds that had recently escaped from Cloudsdale. Her search had thrown her all over the small town, and even into Appleoosa. As much as she hated to admit it, she was tiring out. She finally reached Ponyville panting and swearing under her breath. With a small load of clouds in her hooves, she looked over toward Fluttershy's cottage in the distance. Maybe she'd be willing to help gather the rest if she asked really nicely... If I had opposable ears, they would've flicked to the right as the yell reached me. I snap my head to the right, as does the little pegasus. The voice had been feminine and relatively close by. I look back at the pegasus, taking a step back. If my suspicions were correct, I was the one considered impossible to exist. God only knows what would happen if I were surrounded by a group of these things... Seeing my step back, the little pegasus takes a step forward, looking around. I watch, constantly glancing in the direction of the shout as she moves about. I only just now take notice of the hummingbird, still hovering at her side. "Fluttershy?!" Yet another shout sounds through the trees, far closer than the last and startling the little pegasus, making her a bit more frantic as it shuffles along the edge of the forest. I look down, seeing my wallet laying there. I bend down to get it, standing again on shaking legs. To my shock, the little pegasus is standing a mere foot away, holding something in its mouth. I stare into its large teal eyes, looking down to see a white flower in its teeth. She quickly puts it down, before smiling up at at me and backing up. I look down to the flower, seeing it to be a large white daisy. I look up again to see the pegasus gone, presumably accompanied by the little green hummingbird. I kneel down, feeling the strength in my legs wane as I do, almost falling onto my stomach. My arms catch my weight just as another shout comes through the trees. I grasp the flower in my fingers, slipping it into my front left jacket pocket before looking back toward the cottage. I stand while ignoring the headrush the action brings, wading through the bushes. I stop dead as another voice graces my ears, and I wait in silence. "Wes waut sen?!" "Ie wan a mec vercuva feddensie axeua..." Dash hovered over Fluttershy's cottage, annoyed and out of breath. She had been calling for her friend for five full minutes, knowing she was home. She never left the skylight open while she was out. Her ears perked to the left as Fluttershy flew out from within the dense canopy of the forest, and she crossed her forelegs over her chest. "Where were you?!" Fluttershy looked down as she approached Dash, clearly embarrassed and shaken about something. "I was in my bird feeder area..." "Oh really? Is that why you're redder than Applejack's barn? What's going on Flutters?" Fluttershy knew she was pinned. If anything, she was a worse liar than Applejack. Her timid nature just didn't allow her to keep a secret. "O-Okay.. Here goes..." I've been squatting here for five minutes now, unable to understand a single word being said. The prismatic pegasus has been hovering next to the yellow one, speaking in the strange language. It all sounds like a bunch of jibberish, but the fact that the cyan one keeps looking in my direction makes me think the yellow one has betrayed my position. Just great... Looks like I gotta go. Mustering the strength in my legs once more, I stand and make my way back into the forest. I can hear the rustle of leaves and calls of voices behind me as I navigate the thick brush, trying to make as little noise as possible. I keep eying the flower, thinking back to the little pegasus. Is this a gift? I show of friendship? Shit, It could be a proposal for all I know. I shiver a little from that last thought, still trying to make my way through the bushes into the forest. Finally, after several minutes of lashing thorns and tall roots, I come to the first clearing. I’m taken aback, seeing the same massive field I had encountered the day before. The waist-high golden grass rolls with the gusts of wind that pummel them, and enormous boulders flanked by tall trees dot the land all the way to the horizon. Not wanting to backtrack, I forge ahead with the little energy I can muster. I can only hope something awaits me on the other side of this rolling plain.