Unexpected Adventure

by WhooshieWoosh

Separation

A few days later and we were right outside of civilized lands. My eyesight had finally returned and we had separated the loot among ourselves. I was just about to ask why we had stopped when Grip grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. He smirked and shook my hand as everyone else did the same, almost like--

"It's been fun. Be seeing you, Drake."

"Hold up, what?"

"Yeah. We've gotten the treasure, and we're almost back to civilization. We're all heading our separate ways."

"So wait, we're just... done traveling around? No more treasure hunting?"

He shrugged.

"Basically. We all do our own thing until Leaflet contacts us about a big opportunity. I've instructed her to send word to you next time too."

"So where should I go?"

Grip gestured to Sunny who was saying goodbye to Meril.

"I thought you wanted to get her home. And you should probably store your share somewhere."

Yeah... I needed a hideout. And somewhere safe for Gemlight to live. No way in heck am I dragging her around on dangerous adventures.

"Yeah, I guess so. I guess this is goodbye for now."

He nodded.

"Goodbye for now."

I exchanged farewells with everyone else and, all to soon, we were splitting up. I stood on the top of the hill we'd stayed and watched as my one time companions faded into the distance. I sighed and picked up my bag of treasure before turning to my two pony followers.

"Welp, I guess we're heading to Ponyville."

Gem hopped excitedly and Sunny nodded. As we set a course in the direction of the Rupee Mountains (I needed to store my loot with Ra'avez before going anywhere) Gem trotted up and asked,

"So, what's the plan?"

"Store my loot, deliver Sunny home, make a hideout for my to permanently store my treasure and for you to stay."

She came to a screeching halt.

"Hold up. What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not dragging you into danger with me. You're still a kid and I'd rather you not wind up in a shallow grave."

"B-but I want to be a thief! Like you!"

I shook my head.

"No. You're not coming with me."

Not only would she get hurt, but she'd also slow me down. No way I'd take her with me.

She huffed and lapsed into a sullen silence. We kept on walking for the rest of the day before making camp. We followed the same schedule for the following days until we arrived at the foothills of the Rupee Mountains. With map in hand, I guided us to a cliff near the entrance of the magic school where they couldn't see it. (What!? I didn't want them accidentally blabbing!) As they got comfortable I grabbed the loot and flew off towards the school. I found the cliff from before and knocked on the stone doors. Without a sound they slowly swung out and I crossed the threshold.

Upon reaching the main hall, I spotted Ra'avez himself walking out of the library. He looked up and grew an excited smile.

"Ah! Drake! You're back! What brings you around here?"

"I wanted to know if I could store my treasure here with my gold? I'll be back later but I really needed to store these somewhere."

He deflated somewhat before waving a claw.

"Sure, sure. Just get my hopes up that you want to learn more magic and then dash them to pieces."

I crossed my arms and gave the ghost a wry smile.

"No need to be that way. I just have a few things to do before I can come back for lessons."

He sighed and waved his hand dismissively. His way of begrudgingly accepting.

"Thanks."

Once my loot was secure I returned to camp and prepared for the trip to Ponyville. It would take a few days and we'd need to gather food along the way to save our supplies, but with all the wildlife in the forest we should be fine.

(The following day)

"I'VE GOT YOU!"

I dove after Sunny as the ledge she had been standing on gave way and she plummeted over the side. I reached her and pulled her against me before flaring my wings out and turning our descent into a glide. We landed at the bottom of the mountain and I set her down before flying back up for Gem. On the bright side, this saved a lot of time!

Once we were all at the bottom I opened my pack and looked over our supplies. We had a bit of food left but I should probably go hunt. You know, save the travel food for a rainy day. As I left Gem and Sunny to set up the camp, I began looking for something to eat.

I stealthily stalked through the trees until I spotted something in a clearing ahead. I kept my pace slow and walked by rolling my foot from my heel to my toes, just like my Dad taught me when he took me hunting for the first time. Aw man, good times, good times... and I'm not going to dwell on it because that would be a bad thing to do! Nope, I don't miss home at all!

In the clearing was a deer. It wasn't too big, but it was definitely fully grown. I kept out of sight as I considered my options. I could use my sword as a javelin and throw it at its head, I could blink to it and cut it down, or I could pull it to me and then kill it.... Eh, third option seems easier. I raised my claw and whispered "Dro" (pull) and the deer came flying towards me. I conjured my blade and spun, decapitating it as it passed me. As its body flopped limply to the floor, I went over my mental instructions on how to field dress a deer. I always hated this part. I never was a huge hunter anyway given I tend to really like animals, but I'd still go with my Dad whenever he invited me. I hung my coat on a branch as I got ready to make a mess.

I swapped my sword for my knife and proceeded to gut the deer before burying its innards. With that done, I skinned it and set its pelt aside to dry. (This part was particularly nasty and I almost threw up.) I gathered up the pelt and then slung the body over my shoulder. I'd come back for my coat. I was... a little messy right now.

I set the deer down outside the camp so I could wash myself and it in the nearby stream. After that was done, I spread out the pelts so that the sun would dry them and carried the deer into the camp. Upon seeing me, both ponies froze before making various faces of disgust. As Sunny lost her lunch behind a bush, Gem looked at me in horror.

"W-what did you do!"

"I went hunting. We need to save our supplies."

"So you murdered a poor little deer!"

"It's only murder if it's sentient."

"They are! They're smart and have feelings and--"

"No. We are sentient. Animals are not. I need meat, so I had to hunt. You don't need meat, so I won't make you eat it."

"B-but killing animals is wrong!"

"No, it's natural. Would you say a wolf is in the wrong for eating a deer? Or how about a hawk for killing a rabbit?"

"That's different! You don't have to!"

I shrugged before beginning to cook the deer.

"Sure, I didn't 'have to' per say. But this is the logical thing to do. We only have so much food, and we need it to last."

She turned away and crossed her forelegs.

"Only a monster kills animals."

"Well I guess me, Grip, Meril, and every other carnivore ever are all monsters then."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"Listen. You have your beliefs, I have mine. Instead of fighting about it, let's just... agree to disagree."

She still didn't look too happy about it, but she nodded before trotting towards where Sunny was still hiding. As they avoided being near the cooking meat, I planned out how to use the leftovers.

"Alright, if I eat... this much tonight. And... this much tomorrow morning.... I'll have to be careful to not let the leftovers spoil before dinner tomorrow. It should be safe."

With my plan laid out, I dug in. It was good, but not great given all I had was salt to put on it. After wrapping up the rest in some paper that had before held provisions we'd already eaten, I retrieved my coat and called it a night.

We continued on our way the following morning. I decided that trying to bring the pelts wasn't going to work, so I just left them to the animals. I mean, what would I do with them anyway? It took almost four days, but eventually Ponyville could be seen beyond the forest we had been skirting. Tomorrow we'd enter the town, and Sunny would be reunited with her parents.

Author's Note:

Sorry it took so long, but this one was hard to write. I didn't want it to be completely skipping all the journey, but I didn't want it to be too drawn out. I hope I gor it right. I'll try to have the next chapter out soon.

Comments

[goldenboss]

Thank you for the update!

[WhooshieWoosh]

8351594
Thanks! I try to keep updating at least every few days, but sometimes crap happens.

[Dr Equinox]

Well, there's that eating moral agreement that was inevitable. You have to do what ya have to do to survive. Sucks that thing have to die for that, but oh well, if they were your better they wouldn't have died now would they?

Anyways, nice chapter. I am noticing these are a little short though. I'd suggest slowly making each new chapter longer and longer, like say for instance, the next chapter, you say "I'm going to go up 100 words this time" and do that for every chapter, and keep adding onto that. Just a little suggestion btw, your doing fine as it is.

[WhooshieWoosh]

8353471
Yeah, I typically plan on making them longer but then will find that the place I was going to stop isn't a great stopping point. So I'm hoping to make them longer in the future.

[Dr Equinox]

8355026
Ahkay.

[Shadowshame]

You did well with this travel chapter