“Look, I really don’t know wha—”
“And again, what do you mean you don’t know what happened to me?!” Moon Gaze the rat squeaks angrily as he carries flowers and mushrooms as many as his tiny little body can, drags them towards me and drops them inside my opened saddlebag where the other two ingredients are stored. “After I fetched you your stupid plants, I woke up the next day—today—as a rat! So don’t you dare tell me that I became like this because of a bunch of stupid flowers and mushrooms!” He jumps down and lands on the ground with an angry huff. “I swear to the moon, that forest is cursed, and you made my fly there!”
As he continues his little task, and his little rants, I let out a tired sigh and ignore the looks we’ve earned after minutes of him yelling at me. Looks like ‘an ignorant me’ isn’t going to work, so let’s try ‘an honest me.’ Applejack, don’t let me down.
“Okay, I miiight know why you became—”
“Of course you do,” he grumbles, dragging two blue flowers behind him, his tail whipping behind him. “And are you going to help me or not?! It’s not easy doing this as a rat, you know!”
I slightly shake my head, ignoring the itchy feeling of my furry tummy against the ground. “No, I can’t, else I risk touching the Poison Joke.”
“Whatever,” he grumbles as he climbs on my saddlebag and throws the two flowers inside. “And why I became a rat?”
“B-because you probably touched the blue petals, even after I warned you not to.”
“Pffft,” he pffft’s, throwing glare at me. “I might try these sharp teeth on you right now if you keep on lying to me, pony!”
I counter his glare with my own. “Believe it or not, ratty, the Poison Joke turned you like that. Why do you think I’m not touching it? And why do you think I warned you not to touch the petals before you flew off?”
He angrily grabs another Poison Joke on the ground, glaring at the blue, dry and crinkly petals, and then those glaring red eyes slowly shift to me.
I glare back. “Don’t you freaking dare.”
“Two mice is better than one, I say,” he smirks.
“I doubt I’ll turn into a rat.”
His smirk grows even wider. “Only one way to find out.”
“I thought you’re into mares?” I blink. ...I don’t know why my mind told me to say that.
He blinks blankly at me before his red little eyes grow in horror. He squeakily snarls as he points the flower at me like a sword. “That is not what I meant, you sick bastard!”
I shake my head. “Look, I’ll help you, okay? Just...I need to stay as a pony if you want me to help you.”
“And how are you going to do that? With a gem?” He blinks. “Wait.” He blinks again. A smirk appears on his rat snout as he throws the flower behind him. “You owe me a gem! Give it!”
“Erm...”
He scurries in all four towards the other saddlebag, climbs and pulls the cover open. He saw me how to open the other bag earlier, so I guess he’s a quick-learner, probably even a quicker-learner when he’s desperate.
With the cover thrown open, Moon Gaze climbs further up and is now standing in awe on the gem, his red, tiny eyes reflecting the reflected light from the sun up above. “Shiny...” He clears his throat and slumps on the gem. “Oh, shiny gem of magic, grant me my wish and return me to normal!”
I arch an eyebrow at him as he repeats his chant a few more times. Is...that how it’s supposed to work? Make up some chant, repeat a few times, and magic happens? Is that how the swans did it back in the lake?
Moon Gaze’s impatient grunt breaks me out of my train of thought.
“Guh...!” he stands up and stomps on the gem. “Work! Work! Work, you stupid shiny thing!”
“I don’t think it’s working...”
“I can see that, dirtpony!” he squeaks and stomps the gem a few more times before giving up. He tiredly lay on the gem, breathless. ...And then he sniffs. “Am I... Am I gonna be a mouse forever...?”
“Rat,” I correct him. I sigh. “Look. I know somepony who can—”
“Zap the pony.”
I blink as the gem glows. “Huh?”
BZZZT!
“Gah!” I finally manage to shout—or gasp, to be more specific—after shaking violently and painfully for...I dunno how long I was electrified! Electrocuted! Whatever! I suddenly find myself lying on the watery surface of the watering hole, shivering from the stinging, electric leftover feeling in my entire pony body.
And then a series of squeaky laughter graces my stiff ears.
“Hah—hahahahahahahahah—!” Moon Gaze the rat is on the ground, rolling his ass off.
“Grrrfff...” I shiver as I slowly pull myself up. Oh yeah? Well, two can play that game. With a glare, I say: “Gem, zap the mouse.”
“Hah!” he shouts at me. “You traded me that gem, buddy! It’s mine and only listens to me now!” And then he returns to laughing.
I blink at that. And again... And again...
Is that how this work? Gems can sense it’s owner through trade? That’s...
You know what? I’m not gonna bother trying to understand it.
With a grumble, I walk out of the water and try my best to shake myself dry. With that done, I stand and glare at the rat, waiting for his laughter to die down.
And when he finally stops laughing, he wheezes for breath, looks up at me, and chuckles. “Heh... I needed that.”
“You’re welcome.” I roll my eyes as I close the saddlebags on my sides. “You know, I can leave them gem and you behind and be on my way, because our trade is complete.”
“Oi,” he throws a pointed look my way as he stands up on his two hind feet. “You said you know how to fix me, and I want to know how.”
“And what if I won’t tell you?”
“Wanna have another dance with lightning?”
I feel my ears droop.
He smirks. “Didn’t think so. So tell me.”
I glare at him. “You turning into a rat is your own fault; not mine.”
“Whatever,” he says as he scurries to me, climbing his way on my back and sits behind my neck. “Now tell me how,” he says behind my ear.
I stop myself from shaking my head. “I don’t know how. But I know somepony who knows.”
“I’m to guess that pony doesn’t live here.”
“You’re a smart rat. I wished you were smarter to heed my warning when you were still a pegasus.”
“Your ear looks chewable from here, you know.”
“And I can stomp you into a pancake.”
Silence.
I guess bigger creatures can throw the bigger threats here.
“...What’s a pancake?”
I groan and walk north, ignoring the looks of the creatures around us. “Never mind. Just be quiet.”
“You haven’t told me who the pony is that can help me.”
I glare ahead as I break through the tall grasses. “I’m going to her. Now can you be quiet?”
“You’re gonna bring me to her, huh?” Somehow, I can sense his smirk behind those words. “She must be a pretty smart mare.”
I roll my eyes and keep moving.
“Details, pony!” he says squeakily and excitingly, hurting my ears a little. “I wanna know aaall about her.”
He’s not gonna shut up, is he? I take a breath and sigh. “...She’s a unicorn, purple, and lives in a forest.”
Silence, and then... “A purple unicorn?” He chuckles. “You’re not talking about that crazy Twilight pony, right?”
“Yeeeaaa—” ...huh... I almost forgot about Twilight’s reputation in this world. “—aaa-no, of course not.”
“Is she your mate?”
Here we go again. “No. Twilight’s not my mate.”
“I’m not talking about Twilight, dumbbutt.”
...Oh. And uh, ‘dumbbutt?’
“I’m talking about that purple unicorn that will return my pegasus body back.”
“...aaahhh! Right. Eh, uh, still a no on that.”
“Hm...” I feel him slowly move and sit on the center part of my back. “...these plants are for her, right?”
“Yeah,” I nod my head.
“Huh... Wow.” He sounds amazed for some reason. “You’re an amazing pony, you know that?”
“...Thanks?” I honestly have no idea why he just...complimented me.
“She must be a pretty mare if you went this far to get all these plants as an offering to be her mate.”
This stupid world and its—ugh... I groan and facehoo—“Oof!”
A black blur pounces on me, throwing me off balance. I land on my side where the gem is, hurting me as I hiss in pain.
“Jay!” a small and black feline yells at me as he stands on my other side. “You cannot believe how juicy that brown rabbit was—”
“Aaahhh!!!” a squeaky yell erupts from behind my skull. “A p-p-p-p-pa—”
“Preydeytor?” Reykan asks, blinking at him.
“...Yeah, that works too,” Moon Gaze says. He clears his throat. “Anyway... Aaahhh!!! Preda—!”
I push Reykan off of me for one, before his eyes fully change once again, two, to stop him from paining my other side, and three, just so he can get off of me. With a grunt, I push myself back up and glare at the cub as he shakes his head. “Can you please stop pouncing on me? I’m not Zazu, you know.”
“I just thought to practice pouncing on bigger prey,” he says with a shrug.
“Well don’t.”
“Mmmkay.”
“Uuuhhh...” I hear Moon Gaze uuuhhh’s.
Reykan blinks at the white rat behind me before blinking at me. “...Can I eat the rat, Jay?”
“N—”
“Please don’t say no,” he adds with a pout.
“—nnnnnnnnnnn—”
“Yes!” Aaand Reykan chases after the panicking white rat.
“Aaahhh—!” Moon Gaze yells. “Gem—aaahhh! Zap the—aaahhh!”
I facehoof as the duo circles around me noisily: Reykan growling excitingly and Moon Gaze trying but failing to say the magic gem words.
“Reykan, stop—”
Moon Gaze, in blind panic, rushes north with a panther cub hot on his tail.
With a sigh, I run after them, breaking through the swaying grass stalks. Seconds later, I break out of the tall grass, stop and see the two running around still.
I frown. “Reykan, you can stop chasing him now—”
“—haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”
Goddammit. Now what—?
A quick brown blur quickly runs up to Reykan and delivers a mighty somersault kick, sending the yelping cub flying in the air.
“—aaayah!” A grinning kangaroo lands on her two large feet and skids to a stop, her orange eyes locked on the black missile she just launched.
I blink.
“Hah! Take that, ya stinkin’ meat-eatin’ varmint!”
“My savior!” Moon Gaze quickly runs up to her and throws his small self on her tall, mighty kangaroo leg, embracing it.
“Huh?” With a curious blink, Miss Roo looks down on her feet, staring at the rat that latched itself on her. “Are my ears still working right? I thought I just heard this little fella talked just now.”
I hear a distant thud. “...ow.”
I take a deep breath and sigh... Well, at least—
“Birds of prey!”
A far-away voice coming from behind me reaches my twitching ears. Stifling a groan, I take another deep breath and exhale as more and more distant voices chant ‘birds of prey.’
I open my mouth to ask no one in particular what else is going on, but my voice gets stuck in my throat after I see the tall kangaroo nervously crouching low, her brown ears drooping behind her head. She’s shivering, looking frightened, and so is Moon Gaze who quickly climbs up and jumps inside her pouch to hide, slightly poking his head out, looking at the sky.
As the distant voices sound more and more scared, I start to feel scared as well, my ears drooping. “W-what’s—?”
“We have to get outta here...!” says Miss Kanga, looking at me. She motions to follow her towards the trees. “We should hide in the forest, quick!” She turns around and quickly hops towards the tree lines.
I run after her, but quickly skid to a stop. “...Darn it, Rey—” I grunt as I turn around, but the words die in my throat as I see many black flapping dots from the south. Pegasus ponies take off from the grassy fields, fleeing in a panic while earth-bound creatures either run towards the trees or hide under the thick grass stalks.
“Pony!” I hear Moon’s squeaky shout from behind. “W-what are standing there for?! Get a move on!”
Snapping back, I quickly run towards Reykan’s unconscious form a little distance away, ignoring Moon Gaze’s squeaks and trying my best not to crash on any fleeing creatures. A kangaroo bursts out of the tall grasses, its mighty legs almost crushing the panther cub.
“Goddammit Reykan!” I hiss as I skid to a stop and bite his tail. I turn around and gallop towards the trees, ignoring the deathly shrieks from behind me. I kick and kick and kick my hooves, pushing myself closer and closer towards the trees as shadows of winged creatures start to fly pass me. “Grr—!” Finally reaching the tree lines, I slow down—“Gah—!”—but hit an exposed root with my hoof, letting go of Reykan’s tail and throwing me off balance. “Oof—!”
Rolling to a painful stop, the world spins around slightly as feathery shadows swoop down outside the trees, carrying ponies and deer with their sharp talons. I close my eyes and pant for breath, but the shrieks of predator and prey isn’t helping me calm down.
Loud rustling noises echo from above. A broken twig falls on my nose—ouch—forcing me to look up. A griffon is clawing through the thick leaves and branches, its hungry eyes on me.
“...Hi?”
SQUAAAAWK!!!
It quickens its pace, its lower-half, or behind-half, or whatever is stuck in between branches but it desperately tries to pull itself out of it just to get to me.
Taking this chance, I quickly jump to my hooves, ignoring its squawkings. I run away as far as—“GODDAMMIT REYKAN!”—I stop, turn around and sprint back, my eyes on the black furred piece of shi—
THUD!
And of course the tall and scary brown griffon falls on the ground where I was lying a few seconds ago, a meter or two away from Reykan. Damn it...! I quickly look around to see what I can do.
The catbird quickly gets back on its feet and shakes the dizziness and twigs off. It looks around and quickly locks its eyes on me, a pony who’s stupidly just standing around. Flaring its brown, mighty wings, it roars at me and flaps its wings, launching itself at me in great speed.
...And I just drop myself on the ground like a lifeless sack of potatoes and—
THUD!
...Huh... That was a stupid idea, but I can’t believe it actually worked!
Crawling away from the tree, I stand up and look over my shoulder.
The griffon is unconsciously attached on the tree, its beak stuck on the trunk.
Right. I don’t want to be here when angry catbird wakes up. I turn around and from the distance, I see more griffons catching prey as they dodge rocks thrown at them. Shaking my head, I quickly snatch Reykan up and run deeper into the forest.