//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The First Steps // Story: Al, Kal & TK's Adventures in Equestria // by Alternivity //------------------------------// Monday- 11:30am ‘Well, that was odd,’ I thought as my mind made itself known. I slowly opened my eyes and observed my surroundings. I appeared to be in some sort of clearing surrounded by a dense marsh or forest, ‘Right then, this is new.’ I sat up and ran a hand through my long, dark hair before I checked myself for injuries. Looking at myself I didn’t see anything obviously wrong, like blood soaked into my plain dress shirt, or my well worn jeans and combat boots hanging at strange angles. Finishing my self inspection, I stood up to try and get my bearings, maybe spot a path of some kind. I looked around for a minute or two finding nothing but a sense of severe wrongness in the surrounding trees. Lifting my arm, I looked at my wrist and activated my implant, a full field sensory suite capable of nearly all forms of scientific data collection and analysis, and began a standard scanning sweep, meaning I positioned the implant so that it faces out and swept my arm in front of me. Pulling my arm back in I looked at the implant, activating the HUD in the contact lens I wore, and pulled up the results of the scan. Reading over them, I found nothing out of the ordinary apart from traces of an unknown element. I checked my still unconscious companions for injuries. ‘Bit of bruising, a few scrapes, nothing to worry about yet.’ I stood back up, walked over to one of the trees and began a visual inspection. Almost a minute of inspection later, I’d worked out what the wrongness was, everything in the area looked like it came out of a cartoon. I ran my fingers down the surface of the cartoonish tree and flinched when it felt like real bark. ‘What the actual fuck? How is that possible?’ A faint shuffling from behind me drew my mind back to my two travelling companions. I dashed over to where they lay and heard Thalos groaning, “Mommy, it’s too early for school~.” Deciding to play along to his sleep drunk fantasy I replied, “I’m sorry, honey. How’s about I make you some delicious, warm, WAKE THE HELL UP!” A seizure’s worth of mad flailing and yelling later, and my long time friend was sitting glaring up at me, “You’re a dick, you know that?” “Yup, but you love me anyway!” I replied, a gleeful smile on my lips. “Whatever,” he dismissed my response, before looking around. “Where are we anyway?” “No idea. But I don’t think we’re anywhere on Earth.” “Wait, what do you mean ‘not anywhere on Earth’?” “I mean, that we’re somewhere that can't be on Earth. Look at the trees.” Thalos picked himself up and walked over to a tree, where he began his own inspection of the tree, before looking at me, “I don't get it, what am I looking for?” “Describe the tree to me. All of its details.” He turned back to the tree, squinting. He looked at me. The tree. Me again. His eyes widened, as if a light had been turned on inside is head, ‘And the penny drops.’ “It has a strange smell?” ‘Or not.’ I thought as my palm celebrated yet another meeting with my face. “I have no words. No it doesn't smell strange, you dumbass, I said look at the tree. It looks like a fucking cartoon! That’s what I was trying to get you to figure out!” “Ooh~! You’re right! They do look cartoony, but then again maybe we are just in an amusement park or something… You’re the scientist right? Think like one! There has to be some form of logic behind this.” I looked at Thalos with wide eyes ‘This can’t be earth, but Thalos made a good point’ but then again Thalos does have his moments of clarity. Although the wide, darting eyes were a bit of a giveaway to his panic. I regarded my friend closely, and was about to call his bluff, when I heard the third member of our unexpected expedition groan his way into consciousness. “What the hell happened back there?” “We jumped through an experimental portal and landed up somewhere that doesn’t appear to be Earth,” I replied earnestly. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I was expecting. How likely is it that we’re going to get back?” “No clue at this point, though I’m not of a positive standing.” “Well, damn.” “Indeed,” I nodded, sagely. “It is my opinion that we get ourselves set up with shelter and a fire before the day’s end, after that we should be able to forage and hunt for food, as well as trying to find a way out of here. Sound like a plan to you?” “Aye,” Luke said, “I’ll get the fire going.” He stood and walked out into the undergrowth in search of materials to start and maintain a fire. “Fair enough, I can see if I can find any food.” Thalos turned with a nod and jogged off as well. ‘Guess that means I get to build some shelters.’ I thought as I grabbed my satchel and rummaged through it for my favoured tool - a CRKT Pazoda survival knife - which I slipped into my pocket before making my way to the edge of the clearing. I walked up to a tree and started snapping larger branches off to use as the main structure of the makeshift huts I envisioned. I repeated the process on a few more trees before switching to my knife and targeting larger shrubs and tall grasses for bindings, insulation and roofing materials. I dumped the long leaves and grasses onto the pile of thick branches, which I used as a sled to drag the gathered items back to the middle of the clearing in which we were to make camp. Splitting the pile of resources three ways I began setting up one of the structures. An hour later I was almost finished building the first shelter and Luke had just returned with firewood and some stones to keep the ashes contained.  “Right, I’ve got my delicious carbon-rich burnables. Let’s hope cartoon sticks can catch on cartoon fire like normal sticks.” “I’d have thought normal sticks burned with normal fire.” “In that case, I owe you a demonstration of fire in all it’s beautiful forms." “Okay then, just as long as you don't burn the rest of the camp.” “Speaking of burning,” Luke muttered, “does anyone happen to have a light?” “Thalos usually has a stash of firestarters, ask him when he gets back. Or, you know, improvise.” “I’ll wait ‘till Thalos returns, then.” “Oh? In that case you can help me with the shelters!” I said cheerfully. “Of course,” Luke groused as he stood up, “I’d love to help.” A half hour later, Luke and I had managed to complete the first and most of the second shelter. I stood up to fetch some more lashing fibre, and heard a strange rustling amongst the bushes on the far side of the camp. I gave a sharp whistle to get Luke’s attention, before I gestured for him to be quiet and stay put, he nodded and turned back to the shelter. I pulled out my knife, stalked slowly toward the bushes and loomed over them, knife at the ready. As I prepared to kill whatever it was in the bush, I heard the shuffling again, though this time there was a sound not unlike crunching. I raised the knife and tore away at the bush ready to stab whatever I found, instead I gazed upon Thalos hunched over eating something, oblivious to my presence. I cleared my throat loudly, at which point Thalos froze before turning to look at me with a face similar to that of a deer caught in the headlights of a large truck. I was of half a mind to stab him anyway, but I quelled my fury to a cold simmer. I raised an eyebrow to prompt a response from the now guilty looking Thalos. “Hi…?” came the meek words of one who knew they were buggered, but still tried to avoid their fate. “Such terrible beatings as you have never known shall be laid upon your head for this.” I said, a  jovial smile on my lips. Grabbing the cretin by the hair I dragged Thalos back to the camp, relishing in his misery and begs for clemency. Arriving  at the small cluster of structures, I heaved Thalos into an undignified heap. “Oh good,” was Luke’s response to Thalos’ poor -but deserved- treatment, “you’re back, do you happen to have a light, by any chance?” Thalos stood shakily and shrugged off Hammerspace -the nickname given to his hiking bag- before digging around the various pockets for one of his many lighters, eyes darting toward me constantly. Eventually he drew out a lighter, which Luke swiped, before squirreling off to set things on fire. I turned to Thalos, “You’d best not hide any more food from me. We need to be able to trust each other in all this, okay?” My tone starting off stern then becoming softer. “So,you’re not mad?” he asked, still wary of me. “Mad? Oh of course not,” his face brightened. “I’m completely bloody livid,” I finish in a cold monotone. The look of hope in his eyes died quickly “Look, I’m sorry, okay?” he said, “I-.” “Don’t. Just, don’t,” I cut him off. “One day I’m going to ask you for a favor and you’re going to say yes. Agree to that and we move past this without another word.” “Fine, as long as I'm not a human shield or bait or anything, I can agree to that.” “Good,” I said looking up at the sky, “‘cause there’s still daylight, so you can go find some damn food for the rest of us. And no hoarding this time. Got it?” “Fair enough. I’ll be back in an hour or so.” “Right then,” I nodded once as Thalos began walking toward the edge of the clearing. “Hey,Thalos?” “Yeah?” “Be careful, we don't know what’s out there.” “Okay, I’ll be careful,” “Good.” I watched Thalos walk off into the treeline before I made my way over to the cluster of structures that was to be our home for the time being. I looked to the centre of our camp and saw Luke hunched over a fire pit tending to a small flame. I nodded to myself, pleased with the progress we’d made. I knelt down at the second shelter and continued my construction. An hour and a half later, I’d finished both the second and third thatch tent, Luke fed a now healthy campfire, and Thalos had returned with a pile of berries and other wild fruits in a padded pouch in his bag. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, Thalos was setting up his portable speaker as we settled into our new living spaaaaaace. I watched him draw his hands together before flicking them out so his palms faced up, the gesture that activated the music editing suite system he’d had implanted in his arms- a fairly common practise for professional dj’s. Thalos smiled as his implant linked to the speaker, and, with a gesture, started playing some music. I shut my eyes and began bobbing my head to the beat. As the three of us sat in our camp, listening to the music and relaxing, I began to nod off. As I drifted through my dreamscape, I felt a presence brush across my consciousness. I snapped around, trying to find the source of the disturbance, but I didn’t see anything. “What’s this?” a voice rang out across the void of my dreams. “Hello?” I called out, “Who’s out there?” I felt the strange entity flee at the sound of my voice. An instant later a sound like shattering glass echoed through the void. I snapped my eyes open and looked around. I’d been moved from my spot near the fire and into one of the shelters during my nap. Crawling out, I noticed that the sun had set at some point. I stood up, walked back over to the fire and sat down. I pulled my cellphone out of a pocket and looked at the screen, a smile blossoming on my face when I didn’t find any damage. Swiping my fingers across the screen, I unlocked the phone and began checking my messages. There were a few from my mother, making arrangements for my vacation time back home, one from my brother, telling me about recent events in his regiment’s camp, and one telling me I was eligible for an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii for me and a friend. I shut off my screen and loosed an explosive sigh before adding a couple logs to the fire to keep it going. Wandering back to my shelter, I felt sleep ready to take me once again. I was out an instant after I lay on the bedding. Tuesday 6:30am Morning came with the suddenness of a firecracker. I’d been awake since 5:30, and woke the others at 6:00. We were in the process of eating breakfast, meaning a handful of the berries Thalos found yesterday, when it dawned on us. Literally. One instant the sky is turning gentle shades of morning orange, the next the sun is fifteen degrees above the horizon. I must have stared at the horizon for a good five minutes, the gears in my head tearing themselves apart trying to figure out how such a thing could be possible. I barely heard the shuffle of Luke standing up, “I think he broke,” he said waving his hand in front of my face. “Well I never had a class on orbital mechanics, but I’m fairly sure that’s not how it works,” replied Thalos. “Give me a sec, I’ll have him on his feet in no time.” Thalos walked over and swatted the back of my head, for which he received an elbow to the face, “OW, FUCK! You hit me in the face!” “You hit me in the head,” I responded evenly. Thalos muttered undoubtedly nasty things about myself and my mother while clutching his injured nose. A quick, subtle scan revealed an unbroken nose. “You’re fine, it’s not broken.” “Still fuckin’ hurts, asshole.” “You started it.” With that the argument ended, and I decided to focus on our next objective; finding a way out of the forest. “Guys,” I called, “We need to see if we can’t find a way out of the forest,” my companions nodded at this, “to that end I propose that two of us scout out the forest on foot, while the other, remains here to safeguard the camp and our supplies. I’ll go out scouting, with my sensors and tablet I’ll be able to make a pretty good map of the area. Thalos, I’d like you to come with me, we could use your sound system as a defensive weapon. Lu-” “Wait,” Thalos interrupted, “how could my system be a defensive weapon?” “It’s quite simple, really,” I replied, “you use your speakers to blast a high frequency tone that should deter any unpleasant company we may happen upon, you’d keep it off unless we had need for it.” “Fair enough.” “As I was saying, Luke I want you to stay here and guard the camp. You have free reign to burn anything that shouldn’t be in our stuff. Just don’t burn our stuff, okay?” “I can do that,” Luke said, a grin spreading itself across his face. “Good,” I nodded, “we’ll leave in thirty minutes, I need to prepare a few things.” I lay my lab coat out on the grass and began scratching through my jacket of holding for some components to make a small radio transmitter. Thirty minutes later I’d built a compact hand operated radio transmitter and explained to Luke how to turn it on. “Remember, Luke, just hit the button on top if you need help.” “Got it.” “Cool,” I said, turning to Thalos, “let’s get out of here, shall we?” “We shall.” With that we walked off into the forest, my implant capturing ultrasonic images of everything we passed and sending the data to my tablet, which was nestled safely in my satchel. I used the electromagnetic sensors in the implant to keep us headed in the right direction. We walked for an hour or so before we’d decided to turn back having found nothing. Around halfway back to camp a shrill scream pierced the calm forest air, but not like the animal calls we’d heard already, this one carried the fear that comes with sapience. In an instant Thalos and I had armed ourselves with heavy branches and taken off running in the direction of the scream, my electronic compass keeping us pointing toward our target. It took us less than a minute to reach our destination, a clearing less than a quarter the size of the one our camp was in. I looked around the clearing and spotted something moving on the other side, upon closer observation I noticed that it was a pack of wolves circling something. I could hear whimpering and something like a horse whinnying crossed with someone crying for help. “Thalos, you remember how I said you were our threat deterrent?” I whispered, looking over at him. He nodded. “Do that now!” I hissed. Thalos flicked his wrists and I watched as his fingers danced across the holographic console. Within moments a piercing whine cut through the air and grew louder and higher until I couldn’t hear it anymore. A few seconds later the wolves’ ears folded back, their heads snapped in our direction and they growled, baring their teeth at us, before moving into an aggressive stance. I shifted so that I was between Thalos and the wolves, gripping my thick branch with both hands, and readied myself for the first attack. A moment later the first wolf leapt at me and I swung my branch to meet it. With a satisfying thump and a pained yelp the wolf shattered into wooden debris, though I had no time to dwell on that. The next wolf was on the attack. I swung again to hear the same sound of a mass of sticks and twigs hitting the ground, and faced the last two wolves as they stalked in opposite directions. “Thalos,” I whispered, “you take left, I’ll take right.” “Right,” he replied. I nearly told him off for not listening, before I realized he meant ‘yes’. Ambiguity aside, I had a wolf to bludgeon. The wolf seemed to have a similar plan for me. As it lunged, I dropped to one knee, planting my branch firmly in the soil. The wolf fell apart with a clatter, showering me with splinters and sticks. Rising to my feet I turned to see Thalos swing like a baseball player, slamming his branch neatly through the wolf, resulting in another wooden shower.