Patches and Bubbles

by loststone

Molesting, Meeting, and a Moron(gramatically better vertion)

Four dark shadows were cast against the pale bark of a large tree, and were moving towards the forest floor at a rocket’s pace. The smallest of the shadows was out front with the three larger ones in pursuit, and the gap was narrowing by the second.

“Get back here pretty!”

A young gryphoness flew downwards as fast as she could towards the base of one of the many great Everwood trees of Gryphonica’s eastern borders. However, her pursuers were catching up to her at an alarming rate. They had chased her all the way from the great city in the trees Birch Peak, high above them.

She was smaller than the average gryphon, only being three fourths of the size that she should be. She was also very unique when it came to her coloring. Her head, forelegs, and wings were covered in pale ash-blue feathers, and the lion legs that trailed behind her were white with many black rings, like a snow leopard.

“Yeah don’t run, all we want to do is show you a good time!” came a second voice, taunting her.

Anasta concentrated solely on the constant beating of her heart to help keep her mind off of the burning pain emanating from her tried shoulder muscles. It was a mad dash to see who would reach their goals first; would her pursuers catch her, or would she be able to make it to the base of the tree where she might find shelter amongst its large, tangled roots. She could feel them closing in, and could only hope that she had enough time to make it.

“Oh come on now baby, we promise it won’t hurt… much!” came the third.

“Heheheh! Nice one!”

Just as the closest of the three was upon her, she suddenly closed her wings and dropped into a corkscrew dive. The gryphon managed to grab hold of the end of her tail just as she narrowly slipped in between two roots. As he slammed into them, Anasta could feel a few of her tail hairs being ripped out. She flared her wings and grimaced as they struggled to slow her rapid descent. Not bothering to look back up to see if they were close, she quickly darted deeper into the dense tangle of roots. I have to put some distance in between me and those perverts and find a place to hide. It wont take long before they find a way in! But the three gryphons weren't the only things out to get her. The roots became increasingly difficult to keep dodging as they started to block out the light of the sun, and before she knew it she was in complete darkness. Her vision faded due to exhaustion, and before she could react, her left wing clipped a foot thick root.

Whack!

“Ahh!” Anasta screamed as she plummeted to the ground. She tried regaining control, but her left wing hit another root on the way down. Her side filled with a searing pain as she spiraled further into the gloom. With a loud thump she hit the ground, hard, and one of her forelegs went numb. Using her right wing, she managed to get herself back up on her feet.“Damn, I have to get out of here.” she sputtered, but the instant she took another step, her foreleg gave out with a loud snap, and she fell back down. The searing pain and its odd angle told her enough, so she pressed the appendage against her chest as she willed herself to continue on. Anasta slowly got back up and placed her right wing on a nearby root to help support herself. Each step was blindingly painful as her eyes filled with stars, but it was nothing compared to what would happen if they managed to find her.

“Hey there she is, get her!”

“Nononono!” she whispered as she hobbled away as fast as her broken body would allow her. Her grueling pace didn't help her much and the throbbing coming from her arm and wing were clouding her senses. She knew it wouldn’t do her much good thanks to the slow pace she was setting, but anything would do as long as it meant she would get away from them. Suddenly she felt her good leg snag something and her world was violently forced to the ground. A metallic taste coated her tongue and as the laughter of the three gryphons behind her came closer, a hopeless feeling clawed at her gut.

“Fleg. Halsp. Grab her legs and hold her down.” Anasta looked back at them and saw a gryphon with rust colored feathers pointing at her. His two companions, a burly white and brown gryphon and a completely grey gryphon, started moving close to her, talons extended.

A soft green glow from underneath the moss covered ground, caught Anasta’s eye. “ERRRRAAHH!” Her right leg caught under her body as she dragged herself towards the glowing object. She just barely manage to get her talon around it when the first talon gripped her hind leg, and dragged her backwards. Another shriek of pain left her beak as her trapped leg was once more dragged beneath her and gave off a sickening pop. Her right wing pushed against the ground flipping her over, so she could see her captor, and not taking a second to aim, she used what little strength she had left to throw what she had grabbed. With a sickening crack it impacted the rust colored gryphon on his beak, and he fell over howling.

“Grydon damnit!” he yelled clutching at his beak. A thin stream of blood started to leaked out from in between his talons.” I thought I told you two to grab hold of her.”

“Sorry Ulser!” the grey gryphon replied. Both of the lackeys grabbed hold of their own arm, and lifted her off the ground before the rust colored gryphon, who was observing his prey with lust in his eyes. He had a grin on his face, and using his serpent like tongue, he reached up and licked away some of the blood running from his nostrils. He had a hungry gaze on his face as he rubbed his talons together.

“You know, you sure as hell gave us quite the chase back there, too bad you didn’t get very far. Now if you don’t mind, I think I am going to take what is rightfully mine.” Ulser whispered to her as he moved downwards, running his tongue over her stomach.

“No! No! Stop! Please don’t!” He grabbed hold of her hind legs and pulled them apart with ease. “No! Someone please help!” A new source of pain came from her cheek, as her head rolled in the direction of the slap she just received.

“Just shut up and enjoy it you whore. No one’s coming to save you, so stay still and let me have you.” He ran his coarse tongue against her once again as he moved back downward.

Tears burned tracks down her cheeks. “Anyone please.” Anasta barely had the strength to even call out for help any more, as her pleads for help became barely audible.

“Well now, what do we have here?” a morbid voice drifted out of the dark. Suddenly the air around the three defilers and young girl dropped a few degrees, and there was a loud panting like an angry bull ready to charge. A looming figure appeared behind Ulser and what little light there was in the cave of roots seemed to to be devoured by the creature. With a gasp the two gryphons dropped Anasta on Ulser’s head and looked up at two glowing green eyes that had appeared.

“What the hell do you idiots think you’re doing!” roared Ulser, who was completely oblivious to the voice that had scared his companions. He gave them deadly looks of anger as they started backing up in fear… but not of him. “Damn you two, must I do everything? I swear I don’t even know why I hang out with you two bird-brained simpletons.” He said reaching for Anasta once more.

“Umm boss, I think you might want to turn around.” Fleg said pointing right above Ulser. “What are you talking about? There is nothing down here but roots and mo-“

A sickening green and black magic tendril wrapped itself around his neck, cutting off his ability to speak. It lifted him off the ground and pulled him away from the crying and broken gryphoness. “You know, I haven’t had any fun in over two thousand years now,” Ulser heard the voice this time as the tentacle lifted him a few feet off the ground. “and now that I have been released… oh Eden, the possibilities are endless!” The voice was filled with anticipation and sounded as if it had originated from the very bowels of Tartarus. Ulser’s vision was brought around to meet two glowing eyes that seemed to leak green energy. A wide toothy grin, similar to a carved pumpkin’s, spread across the creature’s face as it stared at its prey.

“After all this time, there are still pedophiles like you running loose in the lands.” Its sharp teeth clattered together as it spoke. A flash of hunger ran through the creature’s eyes as it ran its tongue over those teeth, coating them in saliva. “Oh, I absolutely love the taste of pigeon pie! How bout you help me make some, mate?” Ulser swallowed hard and looked back hoping that his companions would help him, only to find that they had already fled for their lives.

Anasta put her only good talon over her eyes as Ulser started to scream in terror. She peaked through two talons and watched in horror as Ulser’s rustic figure disappeared into a torrent of dark tendrils that eagerly awaited him. A loud crackling sound similar to a piece of wood popping in a campfire followed, as the air was filled with the bitter smell of burnt feathers. The room became as silent as a grave, and she could hardly see anything. Was that thing real, or am I just hallucinating?

A few moments passed and nothing happened. I have to get moving and find some help before whatever that this was comes back for seconds. When there wasn’t any movement and it seemed like nothing was there, she tried standing up on her three good legs again only to have them collapse from underneath her once again from exhaustion.

“Do you require some assistance?” Came the voice, this time sounding very deep as if it had originated from an erupting volcano. Anasta cringed away from the shadows where Ulser had disappeared.

Suddenly a green orb popped out of the ground and started to slowly rise towards the roots above. It illuminated the small area under the roots with a warm glow and revealed a monstrosity the likes of which Anasta had never seen. It stood a good seven feet high, up on two back legs that were covered in shaggy brown fur and ended in two gold plated hooves. It had pale, purple skin from its waist up with a stubby head planted on top of two muscular shoulders. Two horns protruded from its head and twisted about each other to form one long twisting horn that pointed straight out from his head like a unicorn’s. From its back sprouted four reddish purple bat-like wings that were folded down due to the cramped space. Long, dark brown hair hung loosely around its head and covered its two pointed ears.

It reached out a massive hand that could easily ensnare her head, and most likely crush it if it wanted to. This isn't how I thought I would die, but at least its better than what I nearly had to go through. Anasta closed her eyes and awaited her inevitable demise, but it never came. Instead a deep rumbling came from the creature as its chest heaved up and down. “Oh sorry, in this form I must seem quite frightening mustn’t I?” It gave her that same toothy grin as its chuckles died down. “Hold on a second.”

Its body started to glow with an eerie dark green energy and in a flash of blinding light he started to change. Anasta was forced to shield her eyes until the light died down. The thing began to speak. ”Ah this is much better! Much less cramped now, don’t you agree?” His voice sounded much more light on the ears and a bit like what you would imagine a fat fairy to sound like.

Anasta removed her talon from her eyes and looked at his new form. He was significantly shorter, only coming up a few inches taller than she was standing, and his skin was pastel pink. He still had the furry lower body and two horns, but they were just little stubs barely pointing out of his head. He was also missing the four bat wings, and while still muscular looking, he no longer looked as if he was made up entirely of muscles.

“W-what are you?” she was shaking uncontrollably and had a horrified look on her face.

“Me? You can call me Hexxus, master. As for what I am,” He pulled a thin jade circlet out of thin air and pulled his hair back through it. Now that his hair was in a ponytail and not covering his face, she could see a small braided goatee dangling from his chin. ”I guess you could call me a faun,” he gave her a quick look over, ”but more importantly, what are you? I don’t ever remember seeing your species before I was entrapped inside that damned tooth.”

“W-what are you talking about?” I don't know what this thing wants, but it doesn't seem to want to eat me... yet.

“Uhg… well, I guess I should tell you it from the start. Long ago, in a time forgotten to most, I was betrayed by one of my best friends, and the bastard sealed me away in one of his teeth.” Hexxus said waving around a gold plated fang the size of Anasta’s talon. “And so I said to myself in that dark prison, ‘Hmm. Well, this sucks, I guess I could swear to serve whoever releases me out of gratitude.’ The how doesn’t matter now, but what does is that you are the one who set me free, and I am here to do your bidding.” He put a hand over his waist and bowed low.

“S-so that means you will do anything I say?”

“Righto mundo me chica!” Anasta couldn't help feeling exposed after what had just happened, and how he was observing her body wasn't making things any better. ”Now if you hold still, I will get about to healing those unsightly wounds of yours.”

Her body was still tense and she didn't entirely trust this faun but she allowed him to get close to her. Hexxus slowly knelt down next to her, and when she didn’t make any moves to get away from him, he carefully picked up her left wing. He extended it as far as it would go before Anasta let out a yelp of pain. There was an awkward bulge under the feathers where she would bend her wing; the skin on and around the bulge, was broken in a couple of places.

”So tell me, what is it I am to be calling you since I am going to follow you about til the ends of your days?” he asked in a quirky tone, as he placed one of his hands over the largest of the cuts in her wings. Its underside started glowing green. Immediately after, everything from her left shoulder to the tip of her wing went numb and fell limp in his grasp.

“Anasta.” She hesitantly said giving him a peculiar look. Her eye was attracted to the spot where his hand was. What the? She watched in amazement as her skin started knitting itself back together.

“Ok then, second and third question, Anny! What are you, and why do you sound as if you are a child that is barely able to walk?”

“Hey, I’m not a kid, and don’t call me Anny; my name is Anasta.” She put her head up with pride. “I’ll have you know I’m thirteen years old.”

“Pffffbwahahahahaha!” Hexxus dropped Anasta’s wing and fell back, holding his sides as he laughed his horns off.

“Hey what so funny?”

“Heh heh heh. Oh sweet Eden that’s funny! HA!”

“What!?”

“Imagine that! A child having the power of one of the six great demigods at her disposal. Oh Eden, this is going to be one hell of an interesting adventure.” He cracked as he got back to work on her wing.

“What do you mean you’re a demigod?”

“Anny, how can you not understand? I mean it’s exactly as it sounds; I’m a bloody demigod, and you now have my powers at your complete disposal.”

"That’s not what I mean. You said that you are one of six demigods.”

“Eden, what do they teach you kids these days?” he said under his breath. “Well, I guess it’s to be expected that you don’t know who or what I am, after all you are just a little kid,”

“Hey!”Grydon he is annoying!

“and I have been sealed away for thousands of years. Let me educate you on the history of this endless world of ours. Long ago there were six ruling demigods; Discord the Embodiment of Chaos, Ballahmar the Great Blue Dragon and Watcher of Time, Celestia Princess of the Sun, Luna Princess of the Night, Starswirl the Bearded Walker of the Nether Plain, and myself…although I don’t know if you can really call Starswirl a demigod; he joined us a few hundred years after we started ruling.”

“I’ve heard some of those names… Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the rulers of the southern kingdom Equestria, and that Starswirl guy was some great magician that died a few hundred years ago.”

“Well that’s interesting, so he kicked the bucket.” Hexxus looked solemn for a few short moments before shaking it off.” Anyway I wonder how Cely and Lulu are doing after all this time. Hay once we are done here, why don’t you and I go and see them? Oh please say yes Anny! Please!” He had a pleading look on his face as he gave her his best puppy eyes.

“Wait, you mean to say that you-” No, focus Anasta, you're here for a reason. ”No, I can’t get side tracked. I have to find my sister!”

“Gwah! You’re no fun. Boo boo.” He pouted his face so it would look similar to a fish's, but immediately after Hexxus changed back to his happy peppy self. “So where is this sister of yours?” Hexxus asked with a grin, and it only got bigger when she started giggling.

“Well, I wouldn’t be looking for her if I knew that, now would I.” Anasta paused and suddenly she grew solemn. ”Her name is Gilda, and she went missing when I was just a little hatchling. When I was old enough, and after some snooping, I heard that she had run off to join some flying school on the border of Equestria and Gryphonica. So I left to go look for her.” It wasn’t a day she was particularly fond of remembering, so many tears were shed by her parents. “But she wasn’t there when I arrived. I was told that she came here to Birch Peak, and after what I thought was a helpful tip from an inn keeper, I was lead to an underground club where I met the guys you saved me from. At first they said they knew who my sister was and they told me to follow them, but they were lying! They led me into an alleyway where they intended to…to.” A shudder ran through her body. “Anyway I escaped, and long story short I ended up here, and then you saved me. Thanks, by the way, for doing that for me.”

“Hey, no problem, I was following your orders anyway.”

Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.”But now I have nothing!” She had left her saddle bags at the inn which contained everything she had to her name. ”I have no leads showing me where my sister went… and I dare not go back into that horrible place.”

“Well, I think I might have an idea on how we can find your sister,” Eden, I hope she accepts this plan of mine. ”and it will also allow me to do what I want.”

“Really? What is it?” Anasta wiped away a few tears that had started to form in the corners of her eyes. Please say that he isn't messing with me. I swear if he is I’ll make him realise there are more miserable things than getting trapped for a few thousand years.

“Well, if we go see my friend Celestia, she can use a special power of hers to look through her sun and find your sister.” Anasta was doubtful that he knew Celestia, but what choice did she have but to trust him?

“You'd really do that for me?”

“Well, yeah. Didn’t I just say not five minutes ago that I was going to serve you and do whatever you commanded of me?”

“Oh yeah… but you don’t have to say that you serve me. Instead just call me a companion.” She smiled at him. “Ow, hey that hurts!”

“Oh, sorry about that.” He shifted his hands up to her shoulder, and his grip tightened.”Okay, I need to pop your wing back into its socket, so you are going to feel one more sharp jab of pain in three… two,”

“OOOOOOWWWW!”

“Jeez, you really are a kid aren’t you?” He chuckled and she shot him a deadly glare. Hexxus folded Anasta’s wing back against her side and moved to her front. Anasta hissed in pain as he picked up her broken arm and ran a hand over it. “Ooo nasty, this may take a while.”

As Hexxus ran his hand over it he could feel two places where the skin caved in at his touch. Making sure he wasn’t wrong his magic probed at the places, only to have what he already knew confirmed. But what he didn't expect to find was how the center most piece was bent ninety degrees in the wrong direction. Damn, it's not going to be the easiest thing to fix, but I think I can do it without leaving her with any permanent damage. Now all I have to do is get a hold of it... and twist! There was only so much that his magic could do to lessen the pain while he moved the stray shards back into their respective places.

I don’t know what he is doing to my arm but it’s... Gah I can't even think about it! It's just too weird! She just winced and tried to take her mind off of what Hexxus was doing. “So what makes you think that Celestia will, ow, help me by looking through her sun?”

“Well, I see no reason why she wouldn’t. It’s not like it’s for anything malevolent, and anyway, if it’s me asking, I’m pretty sure she will do it.”

“But how can you be so sure that she will help us?” She let out a sudden gasp as the bones in her arm started grinding back into their places.

“Well, if she does refuse to help us, I can always just blackmail her into doing it. I know a lot of dirt that she would like to keep hush hush from her citizens.”Like that pet shop fetish she has.

Anasta couldn’t help but wonder if he was telling the truth or not about him knowing the sun goddess, but her mind was pulled away from those thoughts as her arm started to feel as if it was dipped in molten lead.

“Ow! Hexxus what in Tartarus are you doing!” she let out a loud scream. “AH! It’s like my arm is on fire!” In all hindsight, I guess you could say Anasta was thankful for not having teeth. Because if she did her tongue would have been long gone by now.

Hexxus had a panicked look on his face as he looked at her arm. “Sorry, your body is starting to reject me, and it’s attacking my magic.” I knew I shouldn't have use the cellular reconstruction method! Wrinkles appeared on his brow as he channeled more magic into his healing spell, making the pain worse for Anasta. “I need you to deal with it for a few more seconds Anny!”

One last scream of pain escaped from her.Oh Grydon, it hurts! It hurts! IT HURTS!!!... Wait a minute. And just as fast as the pain came, it left, leaving her arm feeling brand new! Anasta sat up shocked, gripped her talon into a fist, and was amazed that it no longer hurt anymore. It was as if the pain was replaced by a cool, soothing feeling that filled her with vigor and made her want to jump for joy.

“Wow, I feel like a million bits! It’s like nothing ever happened.” She grabbed hold of him and wrapped him in a hug.

“Oh so is that what they call currency in this new era? See, money was called septims back before I was imprisoned… anyway enough of that. It was my pleasure Anny.” Hexxus said happily as he returned her embrace.

“Thank you very much,” Anasta let go of him and took a few steps back. I don't know if I like him or hate him. “and stop calling me Anny. My name is Anasta; get it right! An-nah-stah.” She said giving him an annoyed look.

“Nope sorry Anny. You may be my master and all, but I already have you in my head as Anny, and it’s going to stay that way.” Hexxus gave her a playful pat on the back as he walked past her. “Now what say we get out of here and start on this quest to find you sister ohumm,” he started stroking his gotee, ”wait where are we again?”

“Uhg you’re impossible! I already told you we are in the Everwood forest.”

“Yeah, I got that part, but I mean where are we exactly?” he asked giving her a stupid look.

“Well, I flew into the base of this tree while trying to escape those perverts, but right now your guess is as good as mine.” She started to look around with fear in her eyes. “What if we don’t get out of here and I never get to see my sister?”

“Whoa there, slow down worrywart. All you have to do is command me to get us out of here, and I will…even if I have to cut this tree down in the process.” Hexxus said pulling a wood cutters ax out of nowhere.

“Well, I would like you to get us out of here, but there is a city filled with gryphons above us, so no cutting anything down.” She said just as the ax head was about to make contact with the nearest root.

“Ah Anny, you’re no fun.” The ax stopped an inch away from the root he was aiming for. Well somebody doesnt like to have fun. ”Oh well, I guess I will have to do it the boring way.”

He walked up to her, placed his arm around her midsection, and picked her up off the ground. When his grip tightened, she blushed violently, and shot him a deadly glare. “What in Tartarus do yo-“ Anasta was interrupted by a sudden feeling like someone had compressed her down to the size of a coin, followed up immediately by a sensation of being pulled apart in every direction. They had just teleported, and like every other newcomer to the magic spell, right afterwards her lunch decided to make its way back up her throat and say “Hello!” to the world. She wiped her beak off. “What the buck do you think…” she trailed off as she looked around. How did we get outside?

Hexxus and his master were now standing on the forest floor with the great behemoth of trees looming over them. The trees were, to say the least, immense in size thanks to thousands of years of growth. They were all easily large enough to make anyone feel small. Their bases were at least a thousand feet wide and the tops were obscured by the thick plumage up above. Coating their outsides was a pastel white colored bark, and it was at least a few thousand feet off the ground before any of them started sprouting branches. The large teardrop-shaped leaves allowed a small amount of light through the overhead canopy, giving the forest a most serene feeling.

“Hmm, this place is much more different than I remember it to be.” Hexxus said looking around. “If we are where I think we are, this place used to be a massive marsh that would stretch for miles around. It would also explain why these trees also look how they are.”

“What the hay are you talking about Hexxus?” she inquired, giving him a puzzled look.

“Well Anny, you see a marsh is often times filled with a certain type of tree called a mangrove. A mangrove tree has half of its roots sticking out of the ground for some reason that I couldn’t care about… maybe it has something to do with the change in water levels.” Hexxus rubbed his chin in thought for a few seconds. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter as of now. It’s my theory that after I was sealed away, my prison was brought here, and it affected the trees in some way allowing them to grow past their normal sizes into these behemoths we see before us.”

“I have no idea what you are going on about, but please go on it sounds so interesting.”

If I wasn't so sure, I'd say that was sarcasm in her voice... Oh well! “Will do Anny… Now just because you seal away a being like me does not mean you can seal away the massive amount of magical powers they have. It goes uncontrolled and affects its surroundings in unknown ways. So when my prison was brought here, my magic probably warped the nature of these trees, allowing them to break the rules of their existence and continue to grow way past their limits.”

“Once again, no idea what you are talking about.” Grydon he is an idiot. ”Now can we leave? If we have to travel all the way down to Equestria, the sooner we leave the better.” She unfurled her wings and hovered in place next to Hexxus.

“No problemo, boss.” Just then Anasta’s stomach let out a low grumble.

“Umm maybe we should eat first… Although I have no idea what your species eats anyway. What was it called again? Grif something.”

“It’s gryphon, and we eat fish or any type of edible plant.”

“Okay then, fish it is! I haven’t had fish in… wait I haven’t had anything to eat since before my imprisonment. Hahahaha!” Like I said before. He. Is. An. IDIOT! As annoyed as she was, Anasta patiently waited for him calm down. “Oh Eden I haven’t laughed that hard since five minutes ago. Hehe. No must stay focused. Is there a stream or river around here that we could find some lunch in… wait I don’t even know what time of the day it is.” He doubled over laughing, once again, and Anasta had to give him a quick kick in the side to get him to stop.

“It’s about three in the afternoon you buffoon. Now can you please stop acting like an idiot and help me find something to eat!”

“Yes ma’am!” Hexxus saluted her before skipping off into a bush, like a little girl in skirt looking for Easter eggs. Anasta groggily followed close behind. “So tell me, Anny, why this big search for your sister?” he asked while ducking low underneath a fallen log.

“Well, I never knew her, and I just want to know who she is and what her personality is like. Who she hangs out with and well you know, I’m sort of hoping we can be like, best friends and all.” That's if I can find her.

“Well, that sounds just like daisies with rubies on top.” He said in an overly goofy voice.

“Hexxus, you’re very weird, you know that?”

“Yah. Well, let’s see you spend a few thousand years in a bottled up place with no one to talk to except yourself and come out of it with your sanity intact.”

-----------

They continued to search for a river for five minutes before they came across anything water related. Hexxus let out a squee of excitement, and Anasta just gave a disappointed groan. Pulling a fishing rod out of nowhere, he baited the hook with what looked to be a worm wearing a scuba mask and lowered the little guy into the water.

“You’re kidding me right?” Hexxus just shook his head with a large grin on his face.”This is just a small puddle! Heck I’m bigger than this thing, and you expect to be catching anything out of this!”

“Anny, my dear, two things; First, if you just believe, anything can happen. Second, please be quiet; you’re scaring away the fish.” Anasta tried to protest, but he simply put a hand in her face interrupting her, which was odd considering he still had both hands of the fishing rod.

Well, I doubt I’ll be getting anything from him, so I may as well look for some berries or something to eat. It wasn’t even a minute before Hexxus let out a loud cry of joy from where he was sitting. Anasta rushed back to find him on his hooves struggling very hard to keep the bent fishing pole in his hands.

“HAHA! I have a bite!” He couldn’t help but snicker at Anasta’s ‘Holy shit I can’t believe it actually worked’ face. With a great heave, he pulled a large catfish twice her length and three times as thick out of the small puddle, sending a torrent of water spraying everywhere. “Hey, master Anny, is this enough food?” he said with a grin on his face as he held it over his head as if it didn’t bother him that it was at least five times his size.

Half an hour later, the sun was starting to set, and all three of them were sitting around a campfire in between two of the massive roots of the giant trees. Their delectable meal was already finished cooking, and each of them anxiously waited for some fish with their own make shift plates made out of leaves covering a flat stone. They took turns taking strips off the fish that had a large sharpened piece of wood sticking through it, holding it above the fire…and yes you did read that right, I said three. After all, the worm had to eat too after working so hard to bring in this catch of the day.

Anasta sat back after eating all she could, rubbing her stomach. Well he may not make any sense, but I’m not complaining. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you Hexxus, and why didn’t you tell me you were such a good cook?”

Belch

“Hehehe. It seems like Mr. Wormy here agrees with you on that,” he said pointing to the plump purple worm, “and thanks for the compliment. It’s always nice when a chef gets good results from something he makes…especially when he uses poisonous plants to season his food.”

Is he kidding? Hexxus had a victorious and evil look on his face. Oh my god I don't think he is! Anasta turned pale and tried coughing up her food, which made Hexxus crack up. When she finally got that he was joking about the poison, she started laughing along with him. The two laughed long into the day and past the time that the sun had set. It was completely dark by now, and the only light for miles around came from the fire.

“Yawn! Mmm…Hexxus can you please tell me a story before we go to sleep?” she asked giving him the best puppy eyes that she could.

And I though she said she wasn't a kid. “Well I don’t know about a story but how about I play you a song?” in a poof of green smoke, he pulled a dark red pan flute, with pictures of leaves and vines carved into the wood, out of thin air.

“That would be nice.” Anasta came over and sat down next to Hexxus as he put the flute up to his mouth and started playing mesmerizing and pleasant notes, meant to sooth the soul and melt away the stress of a long hard day. Any animals in the vicinity that were making noise immediately quieted down and listened to the soft notes that came floating from the redwood flute. Eventually the crickets themselves started to chirp in unison to the flute’s song, hitting each note with perfect harmony. Anasta fell asleep in a short amount of time, but that didn’t stop Hexxus’s playing. He wanted to continue and just catch up on all the time that was lost while he was imprisoned. But like everything, the song had to come to an end, and Hexxus was forced to stop when there was nothing left to play.

He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the tree tops, longing to see the stars for the first time in over two thousand years. “Huh…Luna how I wish your canvas’s beauty wasn’t obscured by these trees this peaceful night.” As the last of the embers of the fire started dying out, he leaned back against one of the many roots jutting from the ground and fell asleep.

Oh what fun we all have reading these stories! Thank you all for reading my work and I hope you will enjoy it. Also Thanks to the very patient Meeester, a strangely feisty Some Person, and the frosting lover Mcyav.

Now a fun fact; When I was writing this I made a silly mistake and put in the word plumage where foliage should be. Its just like the time when I called semi-trucks tsunami trucks lol.

POP QUIZ! Can anybrony tell me where Ballahmar is from? 1 point if you name the story, 5 points if you can name the chapter, and 10 if you can tell me his role in the story.

Comments

[Meeester]

That is an adorable cover art

[Tricky-Step]

The description and story image clash ...

Oh well, it is cute. I'll give this a read since I am a hardcore Gilda / griffon fan.

[loststone]

1122076 Yah it took me a long time to find a Equestria style Faun picture.

[OneLonelyPickle]

You lost me at the Bill Gates part. Up until then, I was getting into it, but a real world reference just ruins the entire atmosphere. You need to remove that part.

Also, find an editor. The errors are distracting, and this honestly isn't a bad story.

[manzo1239]

1122328 whos the artist?

[loststone]

1123090 Idk who it is exactly, but I pulled it off of this web site