Chapter 2- The Walk
Emerald jolted awake, panting. He looked around himself before sighing. “I must have fallen asleep again… Oh well, I need to make up for some lost time..!” With that, he slowly stood up, wincing slightly at how rough it was to move. It had been many years- Nine hundred ninety seven to be accurate- since he had been turned to stone by Sapphire, his former sister. Despite her threat to take over the world, she seemed to be inactive for a majority of the time. He had never heard of anything truly happening aside from the usual that happened.
You may now be asking yourselves, ‘But how is he able to move if he’s stone?’ Well, you’d be partly correct, as he has been cursed to be frozen by day, and to walk by night. Though, despite his stone form, he seemed to be allowed to grow, if only slowly. By now, he would look to be the size of an average stallion that was fully grown. But that could also be because of the whole ‘Alicorn’ thing. Ya know, the whole ‘Immortal’ stuff. Though he personally didn't like to make a big deal about it.
Anyway, back on track! Emerald stretched as he finished his inner musings, deciding he should get moving. The moon was at it’s peak, and would slowly go down, so he had to move fast if he didn't want to be a random statue in the wilderness. Who knew what could happen to him? For all he knew, he could be shattered by a random predator. He was only stone, after all. Plenty of beasts in Equestria could easily break him…
Emerald quickly trotted down the dirt road in silence. He needed to go fast if he wanted to reach the town by dawn. Ponyville, if he remembered correctly. He soon found himself in front of a large, densely packed forest that held a sense of dread to it. Emerald frowned at the wooded area suspiciously. He had heard of the infamous Everfree Forest, which had unpredictable weather, uncontrollable animals, and other dangerous flora and fauna. He knew one thing, though: If he took the time to go around the forest, it’d be morning before he even got to town. There was only one fast way to get there… Walk through the forest.
Gathering his courage, Emerald stepped into the forest, hoping that he’d be safe.
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This was a bad idea.
Emerald hadn't spent but a minute in the forest before being chased by Timberwolves. He wouldn't have been to scared if he hadn't witnessed the very same Timberwolves be destroyed by a large beast that had the body and head of a lion, the wings of a bat or dragon, and the stinger of a scorpion. This caused him to run for his life, scared out of his right mind.
So much so that he didn't even notice the large tree that he was heading towards, neither did he notice the door that he slammed straight into as he fell unconscious
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Zecora had been having a lovely night so far. Not only did she successfully create a soothing tea to sleep with, but she had gathered all of the ingredients for her potions without a hitch. No dangerous beasts stalking her, no accidental picking of carnivorous plants, no accidentally touching the Poison Joke again. Just a nice day that ended happily.
Of course, all good things come to an end. Especially when a loud knock on your door wakes you up from some nice beauty sleep.