Will To Survive

by Zephyr Spark

Part 4 Learning

Eyes opening to the shadowy world, Spike yawned and stretched his arms. Despite the rocky bed, he slept well with exhaustion. He glanced around the cave, finding no one else. He was disappointed to know Sir Knight had left, but remembering that word carved into the cave, he steeled himself.

Rising to his feet, Spike tiptoed to the cave entrance, cautiously peering out. He noticed nothing out of place, but recalling the monster from yesterday and its camouflage, he hesitated to trust the stillness. A dizzy head and cramping muscles reminded him that he needed water while an aching stomach reminded him to find food, so he would have to venture out of his haven. He considered returning to the gem quarry from before, but recollecting that monster instantly obliterated that notion.

Putting his nose to the air, he inhaled the forest scents. Amidst the sweet scents, he detected the tantalizing fragrance of gems coming a several meters west of the cave entrance. Tentatively, he placed a toe outside. Nothing. His foot. Still nothing. At last, he took a full step outside his fortress. Nothing. The forest continued its chorus. The fluorescent webs far above continued to glow. But now, Spike could discern pony-sized shadows shifting through the trees. Every part of his body screamed to jump back into the cave, but his stomach and head restated their needs, soon equaling his flight instinct. He gulped. Every second out here made him feel vulnerable. Deciding to move quickly, he carefully raced back into the tree line, avoiding any snapping branches. His eyes darted through every gap in the swath of trees, occasionally catching sight of a shape quickly melting into the shadows.

The trees began to ebb, giving way to another barren field, sparkling with green and a few red gems. Just southeast down a gradual incline, Spike could pick out distant churning water amidst the forest sounds. Through all the useless books he read and irrelevant knowledge, he recalled most ponies required five to ten gallons of water. If they did not hydrate themselves for three to four days, their vital organs would shut down and risk permanent damage. Of course, he wasn’t a pony, but the same logic applied to him: he had to drink something before his vitals plummeted. Before investigating, he chowed down four gems and piled several other gems for storage. He would collect them later. Turning to the water source, he cautiously treaded downhill back into the jungle.

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There it was: a stream of murky blue water, trickling from a house-sized pond several meters away. Falling on all fours, Spike lapped up the liquid, not caring if it was unsanitary or unhealthy. Having satiated his thirst, he fell on his back and gazed at the canopy.

The tendrils from far above shone like starry beacons, so distant yet so beautiful. Beneath these stars, green umbrella-shaped leaves melded with pink tinged petals of milky blooms. Decorating the firm, moss bearded branches, violet blossoms stood beside more glowing webs and fanned green leaves, the size of a pony. Low hanging branches humbly presented their yellow dahlias tinged pink and their red and purple lilies splashed bright cyan, orange-yellow bearing dark stripes. The forest floor was no less vibrant. Pastel, shimmering mushrooms towered over him, surrounded by rows of massive curling fronds with blue tinges. White flowers, sparkling with dotted sky blues concentrated at the center and purple-blue lining the petal edges, illuminated the floor. The pond’s deep impenetrable cerulean hue was pierced by the reflection of the glowing tendrils, creating the image of a morning sky brightened by stars. In the stream, jaded stones contrasting in luster created fairy pools.

Once again, he fell mesmerized under nature’s spell. Every aspect of this jungle magnified its profundity; creating an untouched, pure world Spike doubted could or even should exist. By all logic, a forest should not be thriving under several layers of earth and stone. There was no obvious source of sunlight, plentiful water, or nutrients to sustain this level of vegetation. Perhaps, the tree of harmony created this place? Or perhaps, it was somehow keeping it alive? All of the answers were beyond him. This was Twilight’s area of expertise. Twilight. His hand subconsciously reached his heart, calming his aches. He rose and shook his head. Sir Knight’s words echoed in his head. If he ever wanted to see his friends again, he had to survive this beautiful prison. Once they found him, maybe, they could perform experiments to understand how this place formed or its source of nourishment. With his friends, no monster would dare threaten him. After all, what creature would be a match for Twilight’s magical prowess? Hopefully, the forest had no answer.

Rolling onto his belly, Spike pushed himself up with his hands and rose to his feet, ready to return to the gemstones.

SNAP!

Spike flinched at the sharp noise, emanating from the opposite side of the pond near the forest trees. His legs became weak, his body unreliable. Two shadowy, massive figures emerged from the trees creating a ruckus as they unsteadily approached the pond. Gazing on them, he realized the figures were in a scuffle. Both swiped at the other with their limbs; the figure farther from the water intent on halting its opponent, who seemed desperate to escape. Despite his distance from them, Spike did not want to even remotely risk being caught in the middle of this combat.

He darted behind the mushrooms, staring at the clashing figures. As the figures drew closer to the illuminating water, Spike squinted, hoping to uncover the intruders. He hoped his eyes were deceiving him. Otherwise, he was watching a massive, a six-legged creature sporting bulky pincers, lashing a multi-segmented tail bearing a very bulbous appendage ending sharp as a needle at a hard-shelled beast with retractable eyestalks and curved, bladed claws. A scorpion was fighting a crab; both the size of a house. These creatures weren’t supposed to grow so massive. They should have been biologically destined for smaller, less menacing forms. Even if they grew to this size, they shouldn’t be able to live with their excessive bulk, strangling on the excess oxygen their lungs absorbed, their cumbersome exoskeletons prohibiting any sort of movement. Yet, here they were: colossi dueling to the death.

The scorpion’s left claw clutched one of the crab’s legs; the other claw restrained the crab’s right pincer. Despite its struggles, the crab was pinned down, incapable of escape. The scorpion positioned its stinger for the killing blow. The tail touched the crab’s shelled body, but could not penetrate into the flesh. The scorpion arched its tail to the crab’s underbelly, searching for a weak spot. A snap from the crab’s left pincer and the stinger jerked away. Another snap at the scorpion’s blind eyes; the crab was freed. Quickly, the crab shuffled into the pond, submerging to its depths. The scorpion stood at the water’s edge, realizing its prey escaped. Unwilling to follow, the scorpion returned to the jungle trees, and soon vanished from sight.

Fearing an encounter with either creature, Spike retreated up hill to the gem quarry. He raced over leaves, clovers, and dirt for some time before he was confident those creatures were far behind him. As he moved uphill, he recollected the incredible scene in his mind. The crab was capable of fending off that scorpion with its pincers and natural hard body long enough to escape where the scorpion could not follow. Spike narrowed his eyes in thought. The crab had weapons to deter the predator, armor to stall its attacker, and a safe refuge. Ideas began swirling in Spike’s head. Perhaps, he could craft a weapon, a tool to keep foes at a distance, armor to protect his body, and find an impenetrable fortress. Of course, he hit an immediate roadblock. He could not make crab pincers, an armored carapace, or a pond of his own. All he had were the tools given by nature: gemstones, trees, leaves, mushrooms, bioluminescent plants, and rocks, wonderful rocks. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Spike realized he lacked the materials and ingenuity to make, anything, really. Sure, he knew some relevant information, but little he could actually act on. Well, he could possibly find a long branch, sharpen a gemstone into an arrowhead, and make a spear. He’d seen plenty of characters in his comics do that, so he could probably make one of his own.

His eyes shifted through the forest floor, searching for the perfect shaft. Rectangular grey stones jutted from the ground, a long damp log covered with lichen stood immediately in his path, and midst the fern, clovers flourished, but nothing adequate for a spear. His gaze rose upwards to the surrounding trees. Their branches bore infinite shaped leaves, a rainbow spectrum of flowers, glowing tendrils, moss trailing down, barely visible cobwebs, and smaller protruding limbs. Well, he had to get something if he wanted to survive. Groaning, he crossed the log, shifting through the clovers, and approached the shortest of the titanic trees. The nearest branch was several meters away, and a fall could be lethal, or seriously painful. Either way it would hurt. Noticing the green, dimly lit moss trailing all the way up the tree, the drake wondered whether the spongy plant could support his weight.

Digging his sharp claws into the moss, Spike hoisted himself a few inches off the ground. To his surprise, his claws could not touch the tree bark; the moss was just so thick and layered, complete penetration was impossible. While he could grip its many tendrils, actually piercing the surface proved a challenge. More intriguingly, the fuzzy tendrils did not sag or even falter under his weight. Most impressively, when he withdrew his right hand claws, the vegetation around the holes he left behind started to shimmer a dim white. The glowing vegetation quickly stretched itself, filling out the hole left behind until the dim light faded and the imprint was nonexistent. This plant had rapid regenerative abilities like some kind of starfish, but this was on a completely different level. No wonder it grew unrestrained across the tree. Once again, he had to marvel at the life in this world. Somehow, every organism had not only adapted to the environment, but thrived, creating undocumented species and a unique environment. As he continued his ascent, plunging his claws when necessary and grabbing the curling tendrils otherwise, Spike mused how Twilight would be enthusiastically hypothesizing the source of the plants regenerative powers and collecting samples for her own studies.

He nearly lost his grip when he thought about her. He sighed, wishing she were here as he continued up the tree. He wished any of his friends were here: Twilight, Shining Armor, Cadence, Twilight Velvet, Nightlight, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Ember, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Zecora, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Derpy, Ditzy, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Mayor Mare, Moon Dancer, Cheerilee, Lyra, Bon Bon, maybe even Discord; the list went on and on. He couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing at the moment. By now, Twilight probably noticed he was missing and sent out a search party. A hopeful part of him postulated she would find him and take him back home, but quickly dismissed that naïve notion. For all she knew, he went missing in the Everfree Forest. Even with those tremors that had occurred, she had no real reason to even consider he had fallen under the earth, so she would likely concentrate her efforts on combing through Everfree. Spike glumly realized all of Ponyville could search through that forest and still be no closer to covering a fraction of it.

Still, as he approached the nearest tree branch, he had to wonder why Princess Celestia had not tried to contact him through a letter to discover his whereabouts. The never-ending hum remained buzzing in his sore ears. Dismissing the thought, he now pondered why Princess Luna had yet to contact him in a dream. Well, he supposed she couldn’t contact him if he didn’t dream.

Finally, he lifted himself onto the vast branch and finding his balance, proceeded towards the smaller branches. Sweet flowery fragrance bombarded his senses. They were all unique and different. Another time, he might stop and smell them, but for now, he moved on.

Bending slightly over the branch, he grasped a twig, twice his size, and pulled, keeping one hand firmly secure on the mossy surface. It cracked and soon gave way, Spike nearly toppled over from his momentum, but steadied himself. He inspected the branch in his hand; it had a few miniscule protruding limbs, knots, and filly-sized leaves, not to mention rich green moss, that needed to be shaved, but he had all the time in the world.

He surveyed the forest from his perch, but surrounding sprouts obscured his view. He glanced up, shifting his head to the treetops. Aside from the canopy covering his vision, Spike’s nose ran into a shimmering webular strand, nearly causing him to sneeze. He examined the web thoughtfully, considering how his spear would require roping to fasten the arrowhead. Then again, he had no idea what this thing was; it could be dangerous, toxic, or even alive, waiting to snap at him. The last thought left him concerned. He did not care for a seemingly dormant creature that would suddenly lunge at him. Tentatively using his branch, he poked the lining. Nothing. He poked it again, still nothing. Touching it with a finger. Nothing. Touching with a hand. Nothing. Tugging it down. Well, there was a sharp snap and the web’s glow slowly began to dim. Wrapping the semi-elastic string around his left shoulder and hips, Spike secured his prize.

Keeping the branch firmly in his hand, he reversed his direction, feet leading him backwards. That’s when he bumped into something.

His head twisted to see a creature from a nightmare. It had six legs with three segments. Two segments expanded into leafy structures and ended in a segment with small claws. It towered over him, slowly lifting its front legs and raising itself. It had a wide, flat body ending with a scorpion-like tail without a stinger. As it reared its legs, the tail curled, becoming very reminiscent of a scorpion, swaying rhythmically like a tree in the breeze. Its entire mossy green and blackish-brown bark colored, armored body was lined with thorns, protruding from the monster’s body like bristles. Yet none of that terrified Spike as much as its face. The head baring the face was abnormally cylindrical, winding out into a pointless cone at the end. Two green and white speckled half-spheres jutted out from the left and right side of its head, adjacent with two long antennae in the center of its face, now aimed in his direction. Beneath that? The most alien mouth he had seen. Four talon appendages, two on each side, poised beside two separate slivers of a circle clicked horizontally, a trash compactor. This was, without a doubt, the most hideous abomination Spike had ever seen, and it was staring right at him.

He backed away, down the opposite end of the branch. The creature remained swaying in its place, rearing up its forelegs and curling its tail. Remembering his branch, Spike thrust at the tiny space between them, trying to send a warning to the spiny foe. Those leaves on the branch hampered his movements and weakened his strike. Lowering its forelegs, the animal’s antennae twitched. A leg moved towards him. Spike backed away quickly, keeping the branch pointed at his aggressor. The creature continued approaching with a sway and tortoise speed, but being so massive, it didn’t have to race to catch up to Spike on the narrow branch or corner him at the end.

Spike’s eyes darted below perceiving the dizzying height. His eyes darted back to the beast. It was almost upon him. He had to act now. Spike jabbed at the monster’s face, barely flinching it. He jabbed again. This time, the creature grabbed the twig in its mouth. Try as he could, Spike could not dislodge his pitiful weapon. As his mind raced for a solution, he realized none of his options could guarantee his safety. He could try escaping by racing under its belly, but it could easily flatten him with its body or tail, impaling him on a thorny barb. If he jumped from here, he would become a pancake on the forest floor. There was nothing he could – wait a second.

Spike stared more closely at the creature’s moving mouthparts. They were mashing the leaves on his branch, chewing them with patient ease. Spike blinked incredulously. Was this massive nightmare actually a leaf-eating herbivore? Then again, it could be some kind of trick. In either case, Spike kept the branch outstretched for the colossal titan. Upon finishing every leaf, the creature’s antennae bobbed, mouth relinquishing its grip. Slowly, it turned a full 180 degrees and lumbered to the tree trunk. Clawed toes grasped at the mossy surface, pulling the grazing sloth to the leaves of a distant tree branch.

Spike stared at the creature long after it mounted the branch. Releasing a breath he had been unconsciously holding, the dragon sat down, relieved. He let out a chuckle. Somehow, that cow of a beast managed to intimidate him, when all it wanted was to peacefully chew on leaves. Once it had its fill and no longer saw him as a threat, the thing just left him alone, in search of another leafy meal. Funny, how a benign creature could so completely convince him it was lethal. He had to admire such a compelling performance.

The drake paused at the realization. Somehow, that giant deterred him from approaching and made him unconsciously assume they were dangerous. They bluffed and Spike believed it. How did he or she (Spike wasn’t really sure about its gender to be honest) do that? Well, they certainly looked the part. With a thorny body, abnormal head, scorpion-like tail, and impressive bulk, physically, he or she seemed strange, alien, unnatural, and dangerous. Beyond looking the part, they embraced the part. Raising his (he decided to call it a him for convenience sake) forelegs and arching its tail, the spiny giant appeared larger, formidable, and even slightly resembled a venomous scorpion. Unnatural sways made Big Cow (why not give him a name for more convenience, Spike asked?) unnerving, and approaching him head on? That was something only a bold predator would do. He took a gamble with his own safety, but it paid off. By giving the illusion of being dangerous, Big Cow became dangerous in Spike’s mind and, the dragon bet, in the mind of any potential foe.

Replicating that fellow’s techniques just might serve his purposes. Spike rubbed his chin in thought. It would certainly be satisfying to frighten off that monster from before, who he was reluctant to grant a name, rather than have to run away. That mental image made him grin, before he took a reality check.

Obvious roadblock number one: he was tiny, miniscule. He could not tower over his foes like Big Cow. They would be more amused than intimidated, and he more dead than alive. He glanced at the surrounding forest vegetation, then at the moss blanketing the tree. He already had plans to craft armor like that crab, Pinchy (why not? He was on a role with these names anyways), to protect his body. Perhaps, with more of those webular strands, a few cobwebs, enough of this regenerative moss, maybe even a few sharpened gemstones, he could craft daunting, self-repairing armor. Even if he wasn’t physically imposing, he could at least appear unsavory or more trouble than he was worth. He could still act like a monster, just not in the way Big Cow had; he could send restrictive puffs of smoke through his nostrils, jab with his spear or spears once finished, and blast small, diminished embers into the air before they safely evaporated. If he was very careful with his fire breath, he might be able to utilize it as a threat display. Fire would have to be a last resort, Spike admonished himself; couldn’t risk setting any plants or animals on fire. Obvious roadblock number one cleared. Anything else, brain?

Roadblock number two: what if that fails? Not every being can be intimidated. Even with regenerative armor, some creatures could chew through his defenses given time. Once they have him in their clutches, it’s over. Narrowing his brow, Spike made his way to the tree trunk, collecting five webular strands along the way as he considered the dilemma. Distracting himself from the issue would hopefully allow his mind to unintentionally find a solution. That’s what Twilight occasionally did when she had to solve a problem.

Glancing at the trunk, he decided he was not quite ready to go down yet. Down. Climbing back to the forest floor would be more difficult than climbing up, and he already ran through the circumstances of falling. He shuddered at the thought, telling himself not to look –no, don’t say it. How had he even gotten all the way up here? Well, he climbed. Once he started, he just kept going. Could anything else climb after him? Probably, but some might not.

Of course! He had an epiphany. Pinchy escaped Scorpio (yes, they both got names too, moving on) by hiding in the pond. Big Cow probably spent most of his time in the treetops, away from ground predators. Spike needed a base, somewhere he could escape from predators, where only he could enter, where he could wait out his pursuers. The cave from before entered his mind. If he added some spear barriers as a gate, stored away food and water within, maybe set a few traps, he could create the perfect fortress. Why stop at one? He could scout around the jungle for similar caves, natural barriers, or hideaways, so he would always have someplace safe to hide. Otherwise, he could probably escape into the mossy trees when necessary. He had no idea what else was up here. For all he knew it could be more dangerous than the forest floor. Spike decided to cross that bridge once he arrived there.

After collecting more webby strings and a few cobwebs for good measure, he grasped the mossy tree and painstakingly climbed down.

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Author's Note:

Creatures Encountered:
Rainforest Crab
Scorpion
Spiny Leaf Insect

Comments

[JazzTheFox53rd]

I'm really liking this story so far. I always loved adventure storys.