3 -A Touch of Hazel
The thrashing in the brush grew louder, as if something was stuck just beyond sight.
"Merlin, whats tha-" Arthur cut off, seeing a most gruesome creature step out from the bush, followed by two more close on its heels.
Arthur had seen wolves before, skulking about in the forest near his home. The castles walls had proven a prime protection against such beasts, and as such Arthur had never found himself within any close distance to inspect them. But he was fairly sure they looked nothing like this, their flesh shod in wood, and extremities made of sticks and twigs! Each eye glowed like the full moon, but green, at the sight of this Arthur gulped, fear suddenly striking his stomach.
"Merlin?" Arthur slowly backtracked, unconsciously putting Merlin between himself and the wooden wolves.
"How...peculiar...tell me Arthur, what kind of creature would you say this is?"
"I...uh...some sort of...wood, wolf?" Arthur couldn't decide whether to be afraid or not, Merlin's air of indifference to these creatures wasn't giving him anything to go by. If Merlin wasn't afraid of these things, then was everything all right?
"Yes...quiiiiiiiite peculiar...wood...bound together, I would wager, with a sort of magic. Yes, the more I look it, the more its clear...HEEEEEEEEEEY!!!" the old wizard suddenly roared out, causing the wood wolves to jerk backwards, and Arthur's ears to splay back against his skull."It isn't nice to scare folk with these silly wooden puppets, you know! Why, an old timer like myself is liable to fall over dead from fright!!" Merlin yelled out into the forest, garnering a dubious look from Arthur as the wolves appeared to regroup, and were looking more and more restless by the second. Merlin noticed this as well, and for but a second looked a mite uncertain. "Wart my lad, I don't think our new friend, whomever he may be, wishes us well..." the wolves by this point had circled around, surrounding the two.
"Well I for one, find that quite rude. I think I shall take his little toys away, see how that fits him, hmph." With this, Merlin's horn began glowing, and a field of faint golden sparkles started circling and shifting around it. "Simply a certain application of force, my boy...cut the strings, Snippity snappity, Lickity Quick, Prendantana- " a sudden burst of activity in the brush caught Arthurs attention, as something jumped out, moving in an arc to pounce on the the nearest wooden wolf, "-COLIAC!!!!"
With a brilliant burst of yellow light, the green dimmed from the wood wolves eyes, and the various foliage making up their bodies collapsed inwards up themselves, forming three piles of forest rubbish. With a clatter the newcomer crashed ineffectually into one of the piles, and Arthur struggled to keep himself from laughing, so great was the look of confusion upon this new pony's face.
Turning to look at Arthur, she let out a low chittering sound.
"N..no...It cant be..." Arthur took a half step back,
With a squeal of delight, the newcomer pounced on Arthur...
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-
He hadn't eaten all day. All he had eaten the last day was a few fish he had managed to scoop out of the river, before having been chased off by the giant serpent that called the wide river its home.
His stomach growled, and his irritation grew further. If only he could find a bird, or a rabbit, or-
Three pony creatures. All three, standing in the middle of an open grove. Jabbering to themselves! They hadn't noticed him yet.
He stalked closer, carefully padding along as to not cause any noise. Carefully bringing his wings to a close against his body, he got into a position where he could see the three morsels through the trees without alerting them. With this closer vantage, he took note of his soon to be meal, slightly disappointed. Two young pony creatures, and a third old one. The first two wouldn't fill him up very much, and the old one's meat would be tough and stringy.They were making so much commotion, one of the pony creatures trying to pry the other off, and the old one laughing uproariously. It was a wonder and a blessing that nothing else had come upon them, hoping for an easy meal.
He felt a trill of fear. If he didn't hurry, something else would be drawn by the activity, and he would lose out on an easy meal.
Drawing his tail back with a large crack, setting it into a striking position prime for the shell of poison that hung fat on the end, he darted forward, roaring loudly to confuse and intimidate his prey.
He ran forward, closing the distance with mighty strides, and enjoyed the look of abject terror on their faces. A mere striking distance away, he raised his right fore-paw, popping his claws out for a killing strike.
Suddenly, confusion. He was flying through the air, the wind whistling through his crown. Trying to open his wings, he was immediately assailed by pain. Twisting around, it was immediately apparent that his lower torso was damaged, trapped. His body was caught in a giant maw, and craning his head, he could now see what caused his death.
One of the many headed snakethings that frequented the swamp . More than likely drawn by the same prey as he had been, and proper surprised by a bigger meal. With a immense press, the snakethings jaw crushed many of his bones, and he knew his days had run out.His head lolling uncontrollably, he beheld a most unusual sight. One of ponythings had been caught by one of the other heads, and one of the remaining two ponythings was holding its ground with its horn glowing brightly. The other was clinging to the head, biting and scratching wildly. With a violent thrust, the ponything managed to gouge a long line into the head, and both ponythings fell out of his sight.
A passing thought went through his head as he breathed his last. Disappointment. His meal was getting away.
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-
Arthur didn't dare stop running. He had caught a lucky break, when the monster had grabbed him in its terrifying maw. A freak bout of coincidence had placed his body loosely against a gap in the teeth, his sword having wedged itself to halt the teeth from crushing him, saving him from anything greater than bruises or scrapes. When the girl had jumped up, scratching and biting anything she could reach, Arthur couldn't have been happier. And then they were falling. The snake head had apparently taken them both up to an incredible height, and Arthur once again thought his life was over.
They miraculously slowed, covered in a soft golden glow, and were placed none too lightly upon the ground.
"We cant stay here, quickly Wart, run!" Merlin had caught them with his magic, but now pointed to a break in the trees, seemingly deeper into the forest. They wasted no time in arguing, each setting off at a dead run. Arthur initially had a bout of panic as he thought he might trip and fall, but his stride grew more confidant, likening the running with rigid back legs to crawling about on his hands and knees. The analogy wasn't perfect, but Arthur reasoned he would have a better chance thinking up something better once he wasn't running for his life.
"Where are we going?!!?" Arthur yelled to Merlin, who due to his longer legs, had taken a slight lead on him and the girl.
"Away from that thing! Good as a direction as any, but last time I was here, there was a giant flatlands in this direction! Big ol beasty like that wont leave the forest, I'll wager!" Branches stung and scratched across their muzzles as they made their way desperately through the brush and foliage. The sounds of the "beasty" behind them grew ever more frenzied, seemingly abject to letting its meal go, no matter if it had already eaten or not. The trees cracked and broke, and the ground boomed with each step, getting closer with passing moment.
The treeline started to thin, and Arthur could see a large open field beyond. Bursting out onto the field, Merlin called out, "That should give him the old slip!" They all came to a stop, huffing and puffing with exertion at the enforced run.
The girl nuzzled up against Arthur, eliciting a slight shudder of irritation, immediately quelled by the continuing booms of the monster's colossal tread.
"Merlin?..." Arthur took a few steps back from the tree line, "I don't think its stopping..."
Merlin's eyes grew wider and wider, the truth of Arthurs words easy to see, and hear.
"Quick Wart, run!"
A load roar sounded out from the monster, nearly deafening Arthur and company. The very trees around them shook with the vibrations, and it was clear that the monster was frighteningly close.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaangwaaaaaay!" Merlin shouted, his once pristine beard littered with twigs and leaves, now trailing behind him in a fluttering line as he ran. Desperately trying to think up a spell that would help them escape unharmed.
They ran once more, out onto the large expanse of grassy field beyond the trees.
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-
"C'mon Girls, we have to help them!" Twilight leapt into action. Not only was there ponies directly in trouble, but there was a hydra rampaging almost right on top of Ponyville!
"Fluttershy, with me!" Rainbow Dash called, dragging Fluttershy into the air, seeking to meet the three newcomers halfway.
Twilight and the rest charged down the hill, with only slight complaint coming from Rarity as she accidentally tripped over her mirrored manifold, bending a crooked crease into its length.
Twilight didn't know what she was going to do. The last time they had come across a hydra, they had only just managed to escape. At a later date, she had read up on the species, uncovering a wealth of knowledge. First and foremost, that an adult hydra exudes an aoe (area of effect) magical aura, slowing the cognitive process of prey in the area. She had kicked herself over this fact after her run in with the hydra in the swamp, having felt the effect firsthand. She had even forgotten to use her magic to teleport away, when she had had to jump over several treacherous ledges to cross a chasm out of the Hydras reach.
She decided to focus on a technical illusion spell. Charging it to her horn, layering the magic over itself repeatedly to increase the effect, she watched as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy reached the trio, and with Rainbow Dash grabbing the old Pony and the colt. Fluttershy similarly grabbed the remaining filly, and they quickly rose out of the reach of the advancing hydra settling on a pair of clouds.
"Wait!" Twilight skidded to a stop, forcing Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Spike to skid to a halt alongside her.
Turning to Rarity, Twilight started, "Rarity. Do you think you can make a mirrored array around one of the heads with your magic?"
Rarity looked confused but for a moment, then smiled widely.
"I do believe so dear, but with this range..." with this, she peered at the Hydra, silently gauging the calculations needed to thread the needed magic across the gap.
"Yes. Yes, I should be able to do so with little difficulty, but Twilight," she looked tersely at her friend. "whatever it is you plan on doing, I would do so as quickly as pertinently possible, I highly doubt I'll be able to keep something like that up for very long..."
Rarity squared herself off, arcs of glowing white sparkles circling her her horn.
"Ya wanna clue us in to this plan o' yours, Twi?" Applejack looked back and forth between Twilight and the hydra, who having lost its intended prey was now making its way towards the small group, two of the heads snapping their jaws in rampant anticipation, one lazily looking at a butterfly that had happened to cross its view, and the last looking forlornly back at the escaped meal.
"Just...a second..." Twilight in truth was far past being able to focus on polite conversation, so intent on the makings of the spell to be able to pay attention to her friend.
"Aaaaaand there!~" Rarity trilled, the air around the head on their far left suddenly refracting light in great glorious shimmers.
The hydra stopped in its tracks, momentarily confused at the sensations one of its heads was getting.
"All...right..."Twilight had prepared the spell, working the matrices into a funneling burst. All she had to do was release it.
"Please...work?" She mentally crossed her hooves, and activated the spell.
A tremendous lance of bright light shot from her horn, striking the cloud of reflective air around the hydra head. Lighting the area up, brilliant flashes of light bounced back and forth in the cloud, driving light deep within the hydras eyes.
It was suddenly in pain, the sensations from one head jumping across to the main body. Deciding that its previous meal had been enough, and that this meager increase in meat was not worth the pain that it brought, it quickly backtracked, making for the woods.
The group cheered as the Hydra retreated, and then Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew down, joining in with the revelry.
"Er...uh..." The old pony, with a tremendously long silver beard that had countless bits of twigs and leaves littered through it, seemed to be having a hard time figuring out what to say.
"HI!" Pinkie Pie darted up, getting uncomfortably close to the old timer, looking him over at an extremely close proximity.
"I...well...you..." He stammered, Pinkies antics rendering his normal routes of conversation well and truly out of reach.
"Knew it!~" with a leaping bound, Pinkie Pie bounced several paces away, back towards town before turning and saying
"Everything'll be ready by sundown, mind if I use the barn Applejack?"
"Make sure Big Mac or Applebloom aint using it!" Applejack had been wanting to get some peaceful reading on horticulture done that night, but she knew a lost cause when it stared her in the face.
"K!" With this the pink party pony dashed off up the hill, making for town.
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-
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The mane six saved Merlin and Arthur from a Hydra. Talk about a lucky break for our travelers.
Now that I´m thinking... Twilight may be very interested in "Starswirl" but... what about Rarity when she find the handsome, sweet colt is actually a king?
4028162
I'll make sure to clarify that in the next chapter.
Emphasis on colt.
I guess I didnt make it clear enough that Arthur is portrayed as around the normal "child" age, about the same as the CMC.
4028168
Upps...maybe is for the pic, but I thought Arthur was in his late teens.
Well, there is still Sweetie Belle.
4028173
As stated in the prologues Author Notes, that pic is only a placeholder till I can find or commision an mlp themed Sword in the Stone picture.
4028173 With Hazel in the picture any mare or filly showing interest in the Wart will have a fight on their hands. My money's on the squirrel.
4028363
The squirrel was more badass than Arthur himself, I admit.
Also, she was good against wolves.
Dammit, boy, why didn´t you ask Merlin to turn her into a human?
4027731
Aw...
Still, good to hear it was done with some thought.
4014144 Since Merlin went to Equestria once before..... Perhaps the name he took was Starswirl
4029410
My, certainly a lot of people voicing that view. I wonder, might I happen to dodge the point entirely, having "nopony" question it ?~
4028509
I've seen your comments on dozens of other stories. Most of them, the stories were ones that I ended up really liking. The fact that this story has gotten your attention really makes me happy.
4016998
The Once and Future King was written in 1958.
Le Morte d'Arthur was written in 1485.
Guess which one of these is more 'original'.
Yay the Squirrel has been stalking Arthur this whole time!
I can just see her going crazy over some nut based desserts at Pinkie's party. Squirrel Plus Sugar equals
This is about to get interesting... especially with her in the group.
i.imgur.com/Smy3Ywf.gif
4030206
Initially, I started the chapter off from her point of view, as she resolved to seek out Arthur over the few months the movie takes place, up to a point where she travels along with Arthur and Merlin into Equestria. All things said, this segment didnt mesh very well, and I just couldnt get the perspective to sound right. I practiced a bit with the Manticore in this chapter, so I plan to try and work it into the next one.
WAIT! How is the squirrel a pony?
....Oh who cares, I loved that little tike.
Let her cuddling continue. {I hope she gets him. Everyone knows Arthur would be better off with her then who he married/related to.
}
4030941
If you go back and look at Archimedes lines, I left a little hint.
Go Squirrel Girl [or apparently now called Hazel]!!!
"What's she saying Twilight?"
"I don't speak Squirrel."
"Does she have a Super Special Secret Squirrel Name?!"
4031043
Hmmmmmmmmmm?~ I dont recall anyone or anypony referring to her as Hazel so far......what chapters are you reading?~
All in all, its more of a nod to the fans that named her, apparently there was a whole string of fanfics from fans that were unhappy with how the movie left off. If you search sword in the stone images on google, fanart for these two runs rampant.
I might end up having her called something else, I dont know yet, but I am heavily leaning towards another prominent name.
4031105
Oh, I was just referencing to what some of the comments below have used [and the title of the chapter].
Hmmm...interesting. I'll have to go check that out sometime.
Cool. Well, can't wait to find out what that name is.
If Pinkie were to be a squirrel, I think she'd have some similar characteristics to this Squirrel [and/or Hammy from Over the Hedge].
Hmm, what with Arthur stating that the filly was 'chattering' at him and Merlin not really saying much... is there a language barrier? Maybe Merlin is just trying to remember the local lingo. Now we just need to find out who the filly is.
4031301
I think the filly is that squirrel from the movie, I know Hazel is a fan name for it/her.
Good chapter. Now I'm really excited to see the interaction part of the next chapter with the OC and the Main Six.
Could Merlin possibly be *Dramatic Gasp* Star Swirl the Bearded? If Arthurs a king, does that mean that he'll become an alicorn at the end of the story? Dun dun duuuun! Can't wait for more chapters
4030053 I ment the original story of the Sword in the Stone not of Arthur! Woops!
That was my bad
4035481 Or Perhaps he is an Alicorn Colt right now
4031043 I bet Fluttershy could know what [Hazel is Saying] after all she can talk to Animals
4036892
I'm sure she could. I was just referencing [sorta] to what Spike and Twi say in 'Hurricane Fluttershy' (because Tara Strong, Twi's VA, also did Bubbles from PPG, who could speak squirrel). The SSSSN [Super Special Secret Squirrel Name] thing with Pinkie is a gag that's going to appear in my fanfic [in case anyone was wondering].
4036892
4031301
4036916
Communication difficulties? In a situation environment that would be strengthened comedically by it? Oh ho ho, I would never do something like thaaaaaat......~
http://missmab.com/Comics/Ma_052.php
Pic related.
YYYYYEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!! HAZEL! 8D
(Though he should be a LITTLE older than the CMC, technically. Especially with how interested Hazel was/is in Wart, he must be at least CLOSE to sexual maturity, and the CMC seem to be only late elementary to MAYBE early Middle School at latest. (But it IS your story, so I'll shut up and let you tell it how you wanna tell it. I'm just along for the ride, after all.))