• Published 3rd Sep 2012
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The Featherblade Legacy - Mysterious Stranger



A trip into the Everfree forest sends Sharp Wing on a downward spiral into madness.

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Chapter 10: It's not camping if you take a shower

Sunlight cast its golden rays through the thin material of the tent Sharp Wing slept in, causing her to wake. Today marked the beginning of the second day of her being a mare. Sharp Wing was determined it would also be the last. Sharp Wing rose, stretched, and departed from the tent. The forest she was in looked a lot like the Everfree forest, expect the trees were taller and thinner.

"Good morning, Double Ex!" greeted Pinkie Pie as she popped out of the adjacent tent. Evidently she had slept well.

"Whoa, um, good morning, I guess. You do realize my name isn't Double Ex" right?" Sharp Wing stammered.

"Oh that's right, I forgot. I always remember the name of a new face. It's kind of hard to undo. I've never met sompony for the first time and have them turn out to be sompony I knew before. Kind of funny huh?"

"There's a first time for everything I suppose," said Sharp Wing as she winced at the reminder of the deception. "Here's an idea. Why don't you go wake up everyone while I start packing?"

"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie Pie chirped as she bounced off to fulfill Sharp Wing's request.

Sharp Wing started packing up the tent as a plan formed in her mind. The best way to find Zecora would be to fly around on Frazzle Spark until they found civilization. Then they could start asking around.

"I'm not coming out of the tent! I look terrible!" Rarity's voice rang out.

"You look fine. You need to get out so the rest of us can, we're burning daylight," Twilight insisted.

"I cannot walk around in public like this! It's uncouth! I need to take a shower and condition my mane first!"

"Rarity, I'm beginning to suspect ya don't really understand the concept of campin' out. Ya don't take showers out in the wilderness," snapped Applejack.

"Don't take showers?! But that's unsanitary!"

"No, it’s a part of campin' out. Now get yer tail outta the tent!"

"Never!"

Sharp Wing heard a whack followed by a wild-maned Rarity flying out of the tent.

"Ladies do not kick each other out of tents, Applejack!" she yelled.

"Well this lady does. Get a move on," retorted Applejack as she and Twilight emerged from the tent.

"All of you shut up! I'm trying to sleep!" shouted Rainbow Dash from the other tent.

"What's all this commotion?" yawned Night Mist as he drifted into the clearing. He had several twigs clinging to his silver mane.

"The elements of harmony are not being harmonious," replied Sharp Wing without missing a beat.

"The elements of what?"

"Never mind," Sharp Wing sighed. Brilliant wit was wasted on ponies with amnesia.

"Would everyone please be quieter?" protested Fluttershy in a barely audible whisper from the same tent as Rainbow Dash.

"My mane looks hideous!" wailed Rarity. "Don't look at it!"

"It looks fine, really. Tell her it looks fine, Night Mist," Twilight said soothingly as she stared hard at Night Mist.

"It looks fine," Night Mist said automatically as he took a cautious step back.

"So are we gonna pack up and start looking for Zecora or what?" asked Frazzle Spark.

After Twilight had finally convinced Rarity that her mane looked fine everyone had a breakfast of wheat flavored whole grain bars before packing up. Frazzle Spark gracefully rose up into the air and began flying inland.

"You're getting much better with your take-offs," Spike complemented the larger dragon as the forest below gave way to an open savanna.

"Thanks L.B.D," replied Frazzle spark.

"You know, I could fly around and find civilization much faster," offered Rainbow Dash.

"That's a good idea, why don't you do that while the rest of us wait on the ground directly below. If you can't find anything be back in ten minutes alright?" suggested Twilight Sparkle.

"I won't need that much time, I'll find civilization in ten seconds flat," Rainbow Dash predicted right before she zoomed off.

Frazzle Spark glided straight down and landed in the tall savanna grass. Applejack hopped down first and the others soon followed.

"Sharp Wing, why don't you use your swords and make a clearing in this grass," suggested Rarity.

"Why, are you looking for diamonds?" asked Sharp Wing.

"No, I just don't want any bugs to get on me."

For lack of anything else to do, Sharp Wing obliged.

"Now we're less likely to get ambushed," noted Frazzle Spark once Sharp Wing had finished.

"What makes you think that?" questioned Spike.

"Don't you know? Whenever a group of ponies are on an adventure and they're in tall grass, they start disappearing one by one. It happens all the time in movies."

"How about we don't talk about movies like that right now," Fluttershy said nervously.

"It's cool, Fluttershy, this isn't anything like the movies. Which is good news for you, Night Mist," quipped Sharp Wing.

"Why do you say that?" inquired Night Mist with a raised brow.

"Because the black pony always dies first."

"All this talk about death and ambushes is making me nervous about Rainbow Dash being off by herself," Fluttershy said softly.

"Don't worry, sugarcube. She'll be fine. If she runs into any trouble she can just fly away real fast like," Applejack reassured her.

**********************************************************

Rainbow Dash flew over the savanna. As far as she could tell there weren’t any signs of civilization anywhere. Just tall golden grass, some green grass, water holes, wild animals, and the occasional funny shaped tree. Then her eyes caught movement. A cheetah was sprinting beneath her as she flew. But it wasn't the looks of an animal that she had only seen in pictures that caught her attention. It was the fact that it was keeping up with her even though she was flying really fast. Rainbow Dash stopped flying and looked down at the cheetah. The cheetah stopped sprinting and looked up at her.

"This might be a stupid question, but can you talk?" asked Rainbow Dash.

The Cheetah let loose a long string of gibberish. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if cheetahs were intelligent or not, but if they weren't that probably wasn't what a wild animal sounded like.

"You speak tongue of the land?" asked the cheetah slowly in a second attempt to communicate.

"Uh, no, sorry, I don't," Rainbow Dash apologized, feeling at a slight disadvantage.

"It fine. Duma speak some Equestrian. You fast for pony," the cheetah commented.

"Well thanks, you're pretty fast too." said Rainbow Dash, pleased by the compliment.

"You not know Zebrawbway? Seems to Duma you lost."

"Actually, I'm looking for a zebra named Zecora, do you know where she lives?"

"Duma not know Zecora, but Duma know where Zebra tribe is. Duma show you way?" offered the cheetah.

"That would be awesome! Just let me go get my friends first, they're looking for the Zebras too."

"Duma show you Zebra tribe first, it not far," Duma insisted.

"Um, no offense, but I would prefer to get my friends first. I don't actually know you very well." Rainbow Dash said skeptically.

"Duma understand. But Duma curious if pony can keep up if Duma go to Zebras. Duma fast."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Rainbow Dash, forgetting about her caution for a second.

The cheetah shrugged, and then took off at a full sprint. Without hesitation Rainbow Dash chased after him. At first he kept a lead, but within moments Rainbow Dash caught up with him, grinned, and then pulled ahead. Abruptly a weighted net shot out of the tall grass and entangled her, bringing her crashing to the ground.

"Wow, you're not very bright are you?" asked Duma as he caught up to where Rainbow Dash had fallen.

"What is this?" gasped Rainbow Dash as she struggled against the ropes.

"It's exactly what it looks like. A trap for stupid foreigners like you," Duma said condescendingly.

All Rainbow Dash could do was stare as two more cheetahs holding spears with their tails rose up out of the grass where the net had come from. One of them had a gold earring, just like Zecora did.

"Let me tell you something about Zebrawbway, little pony. See all those animals out there?"

Rainbow Dash did. She saw elephants, giraffes, hippos, and many others around a nearby water hole. Many of them were watching her.

"A lot of them are intelligent, just like you and I. And I'm being generous when I call you intelligent. Do you know why none of them are trying to save you?

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

"Because they know better, that's why. We Cheetahs are the most feared tribe in all of Zebrawbway."

Duma held up a paw in front of Rainbow Dash's face and extended five razor sharp claws.

"I've never had pegasus before, so I hope you taste good," he grinned wickedly. "Welcome to Zebrawbway, my little pony."