Know your enemy

by Znegil

5 Terror

We had been walking a good pace, without long pauses. Chrysalis seemed to be fully healed, except her missing wings.

She was in a good mood and talked a lot about her life when she was little.
"My sisters who hatched the same day as me always had been better with their changeling abilities, I had been a late bloomer. They could shapeshift a full year before me and even when I was able to, I was afraid to chance my whole body, I thought if I changed my head I wouldn't be myself afterward. Well, I was very young back then, that's why..."

She stopped in her tracks and went completely silent. My eyes followed her stare, and I saw why she looked so afraid. Only 30 feet in front of us stood a giant bear-like creature, it must have been at least double the size of any bear on earth. It had huge fangs and shaggy black fur, covered with stains of blood.

He looked at us and slowly shortened the distance, his maw open, and saliva was dripping from his fangs.

"What is that thing?", I whispered to Chrysalis while we slowly walked backward.

"A terrorbear.", she whispered back. "The most dangerous and aggressive monster in this woods... and to fast to run from."

Her horn lid up and glowed light green. The bear stopped for a moment but kept walking as nothing happened.

"I was hoping I could bluff. I don't have enough magic.", she whispered next to me.

Suddenly she darted toward the monster. The bear swung a paw towards her head, but she ducked just before the hit. In a quick motion, she thrusted her horn upward into his belly and got just out of range again before the next paw swung close to her. I saw the tip of her horn covered with blood, but the wound wasn't critical for the bear in any way, he was just so enormous. He tried to hit her again and again, but she was quick enough to stay out of range.

Meanwhile, I had picked up a few rocks, closed the distance to them and started throwing them towards his head. After two misses, the third hit him right in his left eye. He screamed from pain and anger and turned his head to me. Chrysalis used this little distraction, stormed towards him and bit him in his neck. A hit from a paw sent her flying only moments later. I ran around the monster to reach where Chrysalis had crashed to the ground right before a tree.

I reached her just in time to drag her out of the way of a swipe. His claws instead made contact with the tree, and they tore out a piece of it.
I dragged her along as fast as I could, but the bear closed the distance with quick movements, it would be in striking distance any second now.
All the sudden his steps got shaky, and he fell to the ground only inches away from us.

"Chrysalis!", I shouted while I shook her body.
She opened her eyes and looked to the terrorbear close to her.
"Ouch, my head.", she said while she tried to stand up with my support. "The sleep poison takes much more time for such giant creature."

"How long will he be knocked out?", I asked her.

"Ten minutes maximum, we should move fast."

I took her piggyback, the holes in her front legs had been surprisingly good grips. I moved as fast as I could to get a lot of distance to that monster.

"You are a great fighter. I didn't think you could move that fast.", I complimented her while jogging.

"You have to thank my time in the guards and special forces for that, four years of combat training."

Fifteen minutes later we decided to rest behind some bushes, I carefully put her to the ground.

"Are you feeling better?", I asked her.

"I am ok, give me a moment and some friendship and I am ready to go again in minutes."

"Ok, take what you need, I concentrate on our friendship."

I used my shirt to wipe the blood of her horn.
"Is there a reason why your horn is so different from other changelings I saw?"

Her mood darkened.
"It's... the nurses said it's a kind of birth defect. My sisters teased me a lot because of it. They use to say 'Maybe someone kicked your egg, crooked'."

I used my finger to trace the form of her horn. "I think it's a very interesting and cool shape."

She trembled under my touch.
"Is everything alright?", I asked her.

"You should know... what you did just now is a very... sensual act.", she answered breathing a bit heavy.

My eyes widened, I had totally forgotten how... arousing tender touches to the horn could be.
"I'm sorry, I didn't remember..."

"Oh, there is no need to be sorry, is not like it had been unpleasant.", she said with a seductive smile.

"Well... have you absorbed enough FRIENDSHIP, can we move on?", I asked while I looked at the ground embarrassed.

She looked at me with big puppy dog eyes.
"I need a few more minutes of hugging, please."

Awkwardly I put my arms around her, this time I was very aware of the warmth of her body.

...

It was afternoon when we reached the canyon. It wasn't as wide as I had feared, maybe about 30 feet, but at least 100 feet deep.

"Okay, I can see how this messes up our time to reach Canterlot.", I said and looked to both sides to see where it ended, but the forest hid it from me since the canyon wasn't a straight line.

"If we go right, it should be a little shorter, but we lose at least half a day.", she said and started moving that way.

"But you said there could be a possibility for a shortcut, what did you mean?", I asked hoping for some good news, while I caught up to her.

"Well, this is one of this problems I didn't have since I had my wings, but I sometimes noticed some trees that had fallen crossways to the canyon and had formed natural bridges. If we are lucky we can find one."

We walked on for about half an hour when I saw a fallen tree that had bridged about two-thirds of the canyon.
"Great, we can use this.", I said cheerfully.

"It doesn't bridge all the way. I don't think it is safe.", Chrysalis remarked as we came closer to the tree.

"There is much more of it on the ground then over the canyon. It surely won't tip.", I said checking the situation. "And we can jump that little gap at the end."

"I don't know. I think we should move on, maybe we find another tree or we just walk around it.", she said and started to move.

"No! I don't want Luna to worry another night, and I want to be in Canterlot as fast as possible. It is better for all of us if the princesses mood is as good as possible."

"Not when we are dead on the ground of this canyon.", she protested.

"Come on, it looks safe. If you worry we can find some weight to add to the end, so it is even more secure."

She huffed.
"If you are that determined, I can use my changeling goo to fix it to the ground. I told you we can use it for building stuff."

"Great, let's do it."

We walked to the roots of the tree, and I waited for her to begin.

"I don't want you to look while I am doing it.", she said to my surprise.

"Why?", I asked.

"I don't want you to think of goo vomit when you look at my mouth, plus it is a bit embarrassing.", she said.

I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Oh come on, just do it, there is nothing to it."

"How about me looking next time you pee?", she asked.

"On second thought, maybe some things are personal.", I said, turned around and walked away for a minute.

I sat in the grass and thought about strategies of introducing Chrysalis to the princesses without creating some disaster. Celestia was a very calm and gentle leader, but if someone puts her subjects at risk...

"It's all done, the tree is connected to the ground it won't tip or anything, but I'm still worried about balancing over it and jumping off it.", she said beside me. I jumped a bit because I didn't notice her before.

"I'm sure you did a lot more dangerous stuff in your life, it's just a little jump.", I replied.

"Well, I am used to have my wings to protect me from falling, without them such height makes me nervous."

"Well we have neither a rope nor do we have time, so we just have to do it.", I said and walked toward the canyon.

I stepped on the tree and moved slowly over the edge.
'Wow, that is terrible high.', I thought but was too proud to show my fear in front of her.

One step after the other I came close to the tree's end.
"See, easy. And you have twice as many legs."

I stopped three steps before the end and took some deep breaths. I took the last steps in high speed and catapulted myself through the air. I touched down the other side.

"Ok, you're next!", I shouted.

She slowly stepped on the log and inched forward. Once she was over the edge, her face was a grimace of terror and her body looked more gray than black.

"Concentrate only on the tree.", I told her.

She inched to the end of the tree and jumped. She made it without problems to the other side.

I hugged her.
"See, we made it, no big thing."

I felt her heart race.

"I need my wings back as quickly as possible.", she said with some tremble in her voice.

Comments

[Belloch2401]

Bad News Bears Anyone?... Anypony?..... Comeon Now....... Fine

[AetherToast]

7310227
Nope, that was just bad.

[Aunty Furby]

excellent description of nature very authentic

[Znegil]

8017386 nature is something that wants to fuck you up?

[unknowncape7377]

8017507
It's called the cliche where life hates you