Turning Points

by Slatewings

Act Three Chapter Seventeen - Hey Booboo

Act Three Chapter Seventeen - Hey Booboo

“So… you said something about a mountain pass?” Peridot asked sardonically, looking up at the solid wall of snow and ice.

“Well…” Phalanx started with a sigh, “There was a pass.” With the wind at their backs, they had made good time. The trip from the city to the mountains had only taken five days, two days less than Phalanx had predicted. They had even begun to think that they might reach Equestria sooner than they thought. Unfortunately, the blocking snow squashed that hope, then buried it and froze it, preserving it for future generations to find.

“Can we dig through?” Peridot asked naively. She poked at the steeply sloping snow with a hoof, triggering a small avalanche. She jumped, startled as the flowing snow piled up past her knees. “Nevermind.”

“There’s another way through to the west,” Phalanx pointed a hoof, “but it’s a hard road. We’d have to climb a bit to reach it. Might take a full day and the path isn’t exactly easy itself. Wildlife in the mountains isn’t as tame as in the Empire or the Equestrian lands.”

Her prosthetic leg itched at the thought of climbing. She caught herself absentmindedly scratching the limb. “Sorry,” she said to when Phalanx raised an eyebrow. “Can we go around the mountains?”

“We could,” Phalanx said, “but then it would probably be faster to just wait for the snow to melt.”

Peridot sighed, “Climbing it is then…” Her stomach rumbled loudly. “Food first?”

Phalanx rolled his eyes. “Depends on how loosely you define ‘food’,” he answered before flipping open the flap to their supply bag. They hadn’t had much time to pack and had to forage along the way. Not a lot that could be called ‘edible’ grew out here, especially not under a blanket of snow. Still, they had managed a few edibles but Peridot hesitated to call them ‘food’. “Here ya go, enjoy,” he said flipping her one of the shriveled tubers she had found yesterday.

Peridot groaned as she caught it in her magic, then again as she took a bite. The then groaned a third time as the dry, flavorless root landed in her deprived stomach with an almost perceptible thud. “Blech,” she said, her head shaking involuntarily. She choked the thing down as fast a she could. She might be able to used her magic to melt all the water they’d need but she wouldn’t get half way over the mountains if she didn’t eat enough to keep her strength up.Phalanx chuckled, took a bite of his own ‘meal’, and winced before following Peridot’s example and eating it as fast as he could.

They set out toward their backup route, plodding through the dirty snow. Peridot smiled at the thought that at least one of her legs wasn’t half frozen. Phalanx led the way to a terraced cliff face, thick with frost and ice. The slippery surface gave little purchase to half numb hooves, so their progress was slow. They paused as they rounded the top of each climb, taking a moment on the ledge to breath before setting themselves, again, to the task of scaling the icy rock.

It wasn’t until about halfway through the night that they rounded the top of the final terrace and found themselves on a small icey place fenced in by imposing mountain peaks. Peridot flopped onto her back gasping in relief. “I thought,” she said between breaths, “you said that was going to be hard…” She smiled wrily. “Camping in freezing snow caves for days on end is hard. Keeping down those nasty root things is hard. Telling a doctor to cut off my leg is hard. That was ridiculous.”

Phalanx returned her smile as he adjusted his armor. “Sorry, but we can’t stop now. We have to keep going.”

“What?” Peridot asked despondently. “I just finished climbing a mountain on three legs. I think I deserve a nap.”

Phalanx shook his head, “We can’t. Sunrise is in only a few hours and we do not want to be caught outside in the winds that come with the dawn. Sunshine or not we’ll freeze solid.”

“Well how come we didn’t just wait till morning to start that climb!”

Phalanx rubbed the back of his neck. “Well… I didn’t think you were going to be so slow,” he said, embarrassed.

“Slow?” Peridot grumbled to herself. “I’ll show YOU slow… um… or… uh...something.” She gave up, her tired and half frozen brain unable to come up with a suitable retort, and settled for glaring and poking at him with a hoof.

Phalanx hid a smile. “Come on you. I’m sure we can find a cave or outcropping we can bunk down in for the night. Once we find something, I’ll let you get some rest but I need to do some foraging, we’re running low. I have to warn you though, edible plant life up here is a lot more plentiful but a lot less…. palatable.”

“Worse than dried roots?”

“Ever had frozen rock mold?”

“Eeeeew,” Peridot made a face and hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Their original course would have lead them through the same winding path that the ponies fleeing that advancing ice had taken a generation ago. It was long and round-about but relatively easy to traverse, now they were taking the direct route. Instead of a gradual slope carved into the mountainside by a long ago glacier, Phalanx and Peridot were forced to climb steep inclines and brave narrow cliff passes in order to make their way. While traversing one such pass, Peridot spotted a cave.

“Hey!” she said ,her side pressed against the rock face. She pointed with her horn, unwilling to lift a hoof from the narrow walkway that was all that stood between her and a deadly fall down the bare cliffside valley. “How about that?”

Phalanx rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. The stallion was far more comfortable in the mountains than Peridot was. He said it was from his time in training with the ponies from the Canterlot Tribe but she suspected he was just showing off. “It’s a little big. I was hoping for something easier to warm.” He’d been picking up sticks and twigs of firewood as they walked. “But I suppose it should do nicely. Dawn’s just around the corner anyway.” He pointed. “Take the downward path ahead.”

The mouth of the cave was smaller than it had appeared from a distance. A heavy ledge hanging over the entrance cast a deep shadow, creating the illusion of size. Phalanx appraised the cave as they entered, declaring it fit for the night. Peridot resolved to take his word for it.

She swallowed and bowed her head as she entered. The cave was dark, dank, and the roof was dotted with heavy stalactites that seemed to threaten imminent doom should an unwary pony pass underneath. Phalanx assured her that they had probably hung there for millennia and were not likely to fall just because she walked under them. It made sense intellectually but the image wouldn’t leave her. The occasional fallen stalactite, speared into the stone floor, didn’t help.

“Not bad,” Phalanx mused. “Better than most of the holes we bunkered down in during the second dragon incursion.” He gestured upward. “The roof slopes up toward the entrance so we won’t have to worry about choking on smoke. We might even be able to cook our food.” Peridot’s mouth watered at the thought, despite knowing full and well that the forage they’d been finding would likely not be improved much by cooking. “Speaking of which,” he said, “we’re running low. How about you go track us down something to cook while I get the fire going.”

“Something to cook?” Peridot looked around. “There’s nothing but rock outside.”

“Well then go collect a few of the green and fuzzier ones.”

“Ew,” Peridot stuck out her tongue. “I thought you were joking about rock mold.”

“I was,” Phalanx laughed, “but it’s either that or risk being weakened by hunger in the middle of a mountain range.”

Peridot deadpanned. “I am not licking scum off of rocks.”

“No no. You boil the stuff off the rocks,” her friend smiled. “It makes sort of a thin broth. Tastes a bit like the seaweed the Manehatten Tribe eats.” He laughed at the face she made. “It’s not half bad, especially if we can find something to season it with. Trust me.”

Peridot’s belly grumbled, agreeing with the stallion even though she herself didn’t. “Fine,” she gave in, not wanting to argue with him and her own treacherous stomach.

Regretfully, and thankfully, Peridot’s search turned up little. She was still tired and her leg ached badly in places it should not be able to ache anymore. After an hour of near fruitless searching she sat down on a low flat stone to rub her three hooves one by one in hopes of regaining some measure of feeling in the numb appendages.

The moment her backside touched the rock, however, she let out a yelp and jumped involuntarily. Her hindhooves went out from under her and she plopped down on the frozen ground hard with a squeak. Peridot rubbed her new, embarassing, bruise and grumbled that rocks should not be that cold, half frozen in mountaintop permafrost or no.

As she moved to get up she noticed a small hollow under the rock. Curiosity got the better of her and she lit up her horn to cast its glow into the small patch of darkness. There, nestled between rock and frozen soil that sheltered them from the piercing wind was a small patch of heavy capped white mushrooms.

Peridot’s eyes glittered with delight. “No scum soup for me tonight!” she sang as she plucked them with her magic. Her eyes scanned the area, hoping to find more mushroom filled hollows in the rocks. She found a few and checked them one by one, turning up nothing. She frowned, four squat little mushrooms were not going to last them till they made it over the mountains but she wasn’t about ready to give up and succume to Phalanx’s suggested diet.

She thought to herself, where did mushrooms grow. She knew they needed someplace dark and preferably damp. “Oh!” she said aloud, “The cave!”

“Hey you find anything?” Phalanx asked as Peridot trotted by.

“A little,” she answered, levitating down her few mossy stones as she passed. “Enjoy your rocks!”

“Peridot, where are you going?” he called after her.

“It’s a surprise!” she answered back over her shoulder.

“Um… okay. But, don’t go too far. We don’t know what’s in this cave yet.”

“I’ll be careful!” Peridot intoned.

The ground beneath her hooves changed from hard stone to a damp sandy gravel as the walls of the cave widened into a large cavern. The light from Phalanx’s cooking fire had dimmed beyond usefulness, barely casting shadows in the gloom. Peridot summoned up her magic, her magic casting it’s sky blue light into the darkness.

The cavern was massive, big enough, at least to dwarf the throne room back at the Crystal Palace. Peridot winced, the comparison offering an unwelcome reminder of why she was here in the first place.

The walls of the cavern were pockmarked with openings, paths deeper into the mountain. The centermost was big enough to to qualify as a cave in its own right. Thick heavy stalactites hung from its mouth, complimenting the larger still stone spiked descending from roof of the main cavern above a mirror-like lake that fed a tiny stream that flowed into the untouch darkness of the opening. Peridot could here the stream burbling gently.

It was perfect. Dark, undisturbed, and plenty of damp soil to grow in. “There you are…” Peridot said eagerly, and maybe a bit hungrily, anticipating the bounty of mountaintop mushrooms.

She was not disappointed. Peridot peeked around one of the stalagmites at the base of the opening and saw that the smaller cave wasn’t as deep as she imagined, the stream disappeared through a crack in the wall near a collection of mossy boulders not more than a few dozen paces away. She squeed with delight as the light of her horn played over the floor of the cave revealing a considerable cornucopia of comely comestibles.

“Mushrooms!” She squealed happily jumping over the small stone pillar and plucking one of the plump fungi from the soil. She practically hugged it before stuffing it greedily into her bag. She stopped for a moment to wonder if she actually liked the things or was just happy that she wouldn’t have to eat slime stew. She shrugged and pulled up a few more mushrooms. She worked backwards, advancing hind end first into the darkness as she plucked her fungal quarry from the earth and tucked them away happily.

Peridot yelped in surprise as her prosthetic leg came down on a rather large mushroom, pulping and reducing it to a slimy paste that sent her crystalline hoof slipping out from underneath her. She fell back, landing painfully atop one of the smaller boulders. Her heart skipped a beat when the boulder yelped back. She scampered off and scampered backward away from the source of the unlikely sound.

Her eyes widened as the boulder shifted then stood up on four legs ending in claw tipped paws. The creature opened deep set eyes that stared at her accusingly. Peridot’s blood froze in her veins as it reared up on its hind legs to a height a full one and a half times her own, opened it’s gaping mouth… and let out a piteous cry before plopping down on it’s rear and sobbing, holding its snout between its paws as it rocked back and forth, crying.

Peridot blinked. It was a bear, a baby bear, and she had hurt it.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, springing to her hooves. “I’m so sorry little bear! Are you okay?”

The bear cub shrank back, fearful of the stranger that had invaded it’s home. It scurried back a pace. In the process it moved its paws revealing its reddening and swelling nose.

“Aw… I’m so sorry,” Peridot cooed holding a hoof to her chest. “It was dark and I was so busy picking mushrooms that I didn’t see you.” The bear looked around, seeking a path of escape. “Here,” Peridot offered, digging into her pack and holding out the biggest mushroom she had. “You can have it. I’m sure you must be hungry too.”

The bear looked at her quizzically, unsure. Peridot smiling widely and held it out with her hoof. The cub took a cautious step forward and sniffed the offered gift. It recoiled, shaking it head and letting it’s tongue loll out.

Peridot giggled, “Not a fan I guess. Well I hope you don’t eat ponies then.” The bear tilted its head. She giggled again, “Okay, you’re too adorable to be afraid of.” She gingerly extended a hoof toward the cub’s head. It shrank back but slowly crept forward. It sniffed twice and looked at her curiously. Peridot beamed and patted the creature on the head. It flinched but didn’t run away.

“See.. I’m nice,” she said, scratching gently behind it’s ears. The bear’s eyes rolled back into it’s head at her attentions. The cub smiled contently, revealing a frightening set of teeth. “Woh,” Peridot said, “It’s a good thing you’re friendly.” She regarded the animal’s still swelling nose and frowned. “Poor thing, I’m so sorry about that. Here, let me help.”

Peridot focused and summoned her magic. The bear didn’t seem to notice as her horn had been glowing softly the entire time. She released the spell, casting it, and causing the bear’s now red nose to glow with the sky blue light of her magic. The bear huffed in alarm and staggered backwards, clutching at its nose. When the light faded the bear’s eyes widened in surprise. It touched its now healed, and no longer, red nose with a single finger. It smiled widely, gave its nose a squeeze, and clapped its paws in delight before lunging forward to give Peridot the most literal bear hug of her life.

Peridot startled as the cubs furry limbs wrapped around her and pulled her in but soon realized what it was doing and happily returned the affection. Until, at least, she realized that she was having trouble breathing. Still, she knew the bear didn’t intent her any real harm. After a moment or two the cub put her down and released its grip. Peridot stretched carefully and groaned as ribs shifted back into place.

“So, what am I going to call you?” She wondered aloud. “How about Harry?” The cub shook its head. “Fuzzy?” The cub made a face and stuck out its tongue. “I guess you’re right.” Peridot laughed. “You have way too much fur for that.” She tapped a hoof on her chin. For some reason, the cubs formerly injured nose caught her eye. “OH! I know. How about Booboo?” The bear scratched under its chin with a claw, thinking, before nodding emphatically.

Peridot clopped her hooves in delight before holding one out, offering it to the bear. “Well, hey Booboo. Nice to meet you. I’m Peridot.”

The bear excitedly took the offered hoof in one paw and shook it up and down while growling happily. “Grwwlror rourlrw, grrorewroar!” Peridot assumed he was greeting her in return.

“Well,” Peridot said once the aftershocks of Booboo’s paw-shake wore of, “I really should be getting back. My friend and I have a long trip ahead and I really need to get these mushrooms back before he starts boiling molding rocks.” The bear frowned deeply, plopping down. “Aww… okay. I promise that before we leave I will come back to say goodbye.” The bear’s face perked up. He nodded happily and sprang to his paws and wrapped her up in another hug.

Peridot giggled. “Aww, okay now Booboo. I’ll miss you too. Haha… okay now… he he… now stop that… hahaha… Now that’s not fair! Hahaha.” Peridot was trapped, her forelimbs pinned to her side by the bear’s embrace, and he was tickling her. “Ok come on, that’s cheating,” she laughed out loud, “I really have to go.” The bear blew a viciously raspberry against Peridot’s stomach forcing a peal of involuntary laughter out of her. “Okay Booboo, that’s it. If you’re gonna cheat then so am I!” Taking advantage of a brief reprieve, Peridot fired off her numbing spell which struck the bear straight in the face. Booboo collapsed in a heap, more or less on top of Peridot.

Peridot squeezed her way out from under the mound of fur and climbed atop of him. She planted all four hooves, real and crystal, on his chest and glared down at him. A flash of worry passed over the bear’s eyes. Unfortunately for him he could bearly move as Peridot launched her onslaught. He could still laugh though and he let out a howl that shook the cave walls and Peridot dug her hooves into him, trying to figure out exactly where a bear might be ticklish.

A low rumble echoes through the cave. Peridot stopped her attack, not hearing the noise but out of concern for her fuzzy friend who had suddenly stopped laughing. She looked down at the cub’s face and was surprised to see it wearing an expression of guilt. Not unlike that of a foal who’s been caught in the act by her parents. She followed Booboo’s expression and froze.

When she had first seen Booboo, she had mistaken him for a small boulder at the back of the cave. She didn’t realized that he was a bear cub until he began to move. After that, she had been too distracted by the presence of a bear, and later by the making of a new friend, to wonder about the identities of the other, larger, boulders. It dawned on Peridot that she should have.

After all, she thought to herself and the two enormous full grown bears rose to their full height, if Booboo is a cub, I should have known his parents would be nearby.