Over a Basset, Part 3
Twilight Gets a Puppy
By TDR
Over a Basset,
Part 3
“I am most perturbed.” Twilight growled as she paced, her hooves forming a rut next to the campfire.
“Twilight fer the last time calm down.” Applejack fussed from her sleeping bag on the other side of the fire.
“Calm down? Calm Down!?!” The Buffalo were not at the camp on the map the sheriff gave us and their trail goes deeper into the Canyons and plains around here. Rahs, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash could be anywhere!”
“Darling as much as I abhor roughing it, I am out here with you sleeping on the dirt because I want to help you.” Rarity whined. ”That said you will do no one any favors if you are too tired in the morning to continue the search. So calm down and go to sleep.”
The rest of the group rolled their eyes as Rarity had somehow brought a cushy red couch with her and was sleeping on it, thus no where near the dirt.
“Mr. Ferruginous said they hadn't been here for several days. This probably would not even have been the camp they took him too.” Fluttershy offered, pointing up to a tiny owl perched atop a tall cactus looking down at them.
“Darling, I am worried about them too but pacing is doing nothing but making all of us more tired.”Rarity sighed. “Lay down already and get some rest.”
“I don't need rest and I’ll be fine in the morning after some coffee.” Twilight grumbled. “ I've pulled all nighters before.”
“Twilight yah didn't bring any coffee.” Applejack added.
“I what!?” Twilight jumped. “It was on the list!”
“And yah took it off tah list saying, and ah quote, ' Leave the coffee, cause not having it's just gonna help me stay pissed.” Applejack claimed.
“I never said that!”
“Ah paraphrased, now go tah bed or yer not gonna be the only grumpy one in tha morning!” Applejack snapped.
The second group sat around a large campfire in the middle of some teepees. The Buffalo herd surrounded them completely, though all eyes were on Rahs and they were warily giving him a wide berth as he finished up the road runner he had caught for dinner.
It had been the strangest thing, the bird had plowed straight into a rock wall that had a painting of a tunnel on it. There had also been a furious coyote that Rahs had considered eating as well, though before he could go after the animal a giant rock had fallen out of the sky onto it.
The Chief was at least talking to them again after he had run off, though he was still wary of Rahs despite Strong Heart's assurances that he wasn't going to do anything to them.
Rahs had asked, through Pinkie Pie, what they knew about what he was supposed to be. Luna had told them the good, but both he and Twilight knew there was bad as well. Whatever a Witch Wolf was, it was still connected to Rahs and Princess Luna was a dead end in that investigation. Princess Celestia still claimed to know nothing beyond what she had shared though both Twilight and Rahs thought she was still hiding something.
Truthfully Rahs didn't care and could forget about it easier than Twilight could, though every so often something brought the Witch Wolves back to the forefront of his mind. Something like the Buffalo's reaction to him.
After a long conversation, the Chief was willing to share the tale with them.
“Many, many, many many many …....” Chief Thunder Hooves began before Strong Heart nudged him.” ...moons ago when our herds roamed these lands freely without interference from annoying settlers...”
Dash rolled her eyes as Pinkie Pie giggled though Rahs remained focused, he would probably need to repeat this word for word to Twilight.
One of the tribes legendary figures is Maohk. She of the Swirling Tempest and the Emerald Vision. She guided us in the dark times when many fell into shadow.
But like all legends the tales needed to start somewhere. Here they start when Maohk was still a young cow on the cusp of adulthood. As with all of the tribe at her age, she was prepared to set out on her trial to adulthood.
All of the tribes Braves needed to make this pilgrimage to the old lands of the Buffalo, lands long since lost to the endless Aapi. Potential Braves would bring a gift to the shrine of our ancestors there. With their blessing the Buffalo would then return to the tribe and and be welcomed back as an adult and full member of the tribe.
Maohk's journey was a little different. She was wise and clever as a calf and had attracted the interest of the tribe's shaman. The shaman took her in and trained her in the tribes spell craft and spiritual guidance so when her time was over Maohk could take her position.
Because of this Maohk's trial would not only be to bring the gift for our ancestors, but to stay with them for a time and learn their teachings. If she succeeded she would be return to help guide the tribe spiritually allowing the old shaman to enjoy her twilight in peace.
Maohk traveled north, skirting the pony lands so as not to become involved with their petty conflicts and distrust of outsiders. Though we honored Ko'komiki'somma for her blessing to us, we had never had much respect for her kind. Most attempted to take our land or poison us with sickness or attempt to trade baubles for things of great value. As such we kept to ourselves in those times and given our lands were not often to their liking they let us be in the plains and we let them be in their cramped towns.
Maohk reached the border of ice after many moons, carrying only a few supplies, her gift, and a cloak of crimson that was her namesake that the Shaman had gifted her on her naming day. Venturing forth into the endless Aapi, Maohk fought the weather, the wildlife and even her own mind telling her to turn back from the bitter cold.
She pressed on regardless reaching the land of our tribes birth. She made her offering and settled in to her meditation to commune with our ancestors for their wisdom. It was no her ancestors that spoke to her however and her meditation was cut short by another.
The Great Iinii, the first of us.
The Great Iinii was massive, towering over the mountains and blotting out the sky, his white fur pure of any blemish or discoloration, only his horns and eyes were of any other color, both of blackest pitch and able to see ones true spirit and destroy it if need be.
The Great Iinii stared into Maohk's spirit, and Maohk stared back. His dark eyes locked with her hazel ones for what seemed days before he finally spoke.
' There is a sickness. One that seeks to consume all and destroy it from within. Go north to the Lands of Clear Stone, and see with your own unclouded eyes. When you have seen, you must prepare your tribe. Darkness is coming and you must be aware of it if any are to survive. Be warned, you will be hunted in these lands. The monsters that reside there care not who you are, to them you are naught but prey. If you fall, the tribe falls with you.'
With this the Great Iinii was gone, leaving Maohk to ponder the gods words. She did not hesitate and set out the next morning for the Lands of the Clear Stone.
The Lands of Clear Stone had long been the home of the Glass Walkers, a race that should not exist and seemed made of the very land around them. Their kind always made the Buffalo nervous with how unnatural they were. Thus Maohk had no trouble believing that a source of great evil came from this place.
When she arrived it was far from what she had expected. Something dark had taken over the Lands of Clear Stone, enslaved those who lived there and constructed great monuments of suffering and pain. She saw many races tortured, their ruined bodies put on display in order to keep the others in line. Massive figures of dark stone patrolled the lands, others whose hearts had turned black commanded them and moved about causing misery an pain with no regard to their targets be it bull, cow, or calf. Their own kind turned against them to not share their pain, even the Glass Walkers did not deserve this fate.
A black unicorn with a blood soaked horn commanded everything treating those under him as little more than ants or bothersome gnats. At his side a mare of pure darkness stood, her features twisted in a snarling rage as if she wished to lash out at everything and destroy it, including the Unicorn.
And lastly creatures of nightmare roamed every where, killing who they wished and reveling in displays of blood and gore. They seemed to care not if what they devoured was a slave or a keeper, any that they chose met their end as little more than a meal to these creatures.
They towered over the others, fur as black as night, horrid crosses of wolf and lynx. Magical light followed them around focused on their ears and tails. Their mere presence brought screams of terror from the slaves, or huddled terror for fear they would be the beasts next target.
The Sik Imitaa.
It was one of these that found Maohk. It was swift, but she was just slightly faster, managing to get away, though it managed to lay a claw onto her cloak. There was a protection woven into it by the shaman when it was gifted, a simple thing to keep it whole and bright. That failed under the very touch of the creature.
With others of it's ilk far too close Maohk fled, and the beast pursued.
For six days it hunted her, following the young Buffalo through the ice and back into the Summer lands, pursuing her avoiding the snares and traps she had set with her shaman powers, the beast not only avoided being trapped, but he ate the power that composed the traps. Her training with the shaman could not hide her, it could not protect her, it could not help her fight. The Sik Imitaa was untouchable by the power she had been trained to use.
The Sik Imitaa reveled in this hunt, its prey was swift, but it was tiring and soon the beast would have it's meal.
What the beast failed to realize, was that Maohk was far more clever than it thought. She had been testing it, seeing what it would do. The Great Iinii had told her she needed to see, and thus she saw everything she could in the spirit and actions of her foe.
When the beast finally caught up to her in the end of a box canyon, it thought her trapped and an easy meal as magic user who was useless without her power.
But Maohk was of the Buffalo, one who had easily earned the right to be called a Brave already on her journey and one who had still sought more by communing with our ancestors. The young cow had learned what the shaman could teach her , but she had also learned from the tribes warriors.
The Sik Imitaa had expected prey, but had encountered another predator.
The battle was fierce between the two, the land scarred and poisoned by the ferocity of the conflict that lasted many days. The Sik Imitaa fought tooth and claw, magic fang and jaw, while Maohk fought only with the sticks and stones she had gathered and sharpened on her journey and her own cunning and skill. Her smaller size gave her the quickness to avoid the worst of the beasts attacks, dodging among the fallen rock and scrub along the canyon's floor. She was not unscathed, claws found their mark on her hide staining her golden fur with her own blood, the creatures claws had marked her face, her eyes rendered sightless form a telling blow, yet she fought on.
The beast too was hurt, while it shrugged off wounds that would have felled a lesser monster, soon that ability faded and the damage she did started to tell. Until at last in the midst of a great storm, she drove her broken spear shaft into the beast's heart pinning it to the ground as it thrashed and clawed at her and was serenaded by the death howls of the foul beast, it's voice lost among the storm.
With the creature dead, Maohk too fell. the exhaustion of her flight and the days of battle. Collapsing over her foe as the storm over head raged on.
As she slept she was visited again by The Great Iinii. The god of the snows cared for her and nursed her back to health while she slept. When she awoke he bade her to return home and granted her a blessing of gems as proof of his favor.
On her arrival back to the tribe, they saw her wounds and how she now carried herself. They listened to her tales and saw the emeralds that had taken their place in her gaze. The green gems becoming her namesake and allowing her to see further than the eagle and through any lie presented her.
The tribe knew that she had not returned to simply be their shaman. The ancestors had more plans for Maohk than to simply lead the tribe in spirit.
The trio listened to the tale almost spellbound as Chief Thunder Hooves let out a small breath taking a sip of water from a skein to wet his lips after the tale.
“There is far more to her tale, the many legends and stories surrounding her have been passed down to every generation to follow. The tale of her fight is often told as are the encounters with the Sik Imitaa during the dark times. Many braves were lost to them and as such their description and the warnings of them still remain with us. After leading us through the dark times Maohk left the tribe and returned to the north. Some tales say she continued to hunt the darkness, chasing it through the sky to ensure morning always comes. Others say that she came upon the Great Iinii again and forced the god to take her as his mate. Still others say she lives on with the ancestors waiting for a time she is needed again. No one is certain and some still claim to see her on their right of passage.” the Chef concluded.
Strong Heart had left while the Chief was talking returning with a fair sized oak bound chest that she set down before the chief.
The large buffalo nodded to her and opened the ornate chest drawing out a red cloth from it holding it up and showing it off to those gathered.
“This is the cloak of Maohk.”
The cloth looked to have been a hooded cloak once, though it was tattered it was clean and bright red as if it was newly crafted. The Chief turned the cloth in his hooves, unfolding the relic as if it was sacred and showing the only marring on the other wise pristine material. Rahs could smell the enchantment on it even from across the fire.
On one side of it were a few claw marks and a spot which had faded and worn with age that the rest of the cloth didn't show. It was more brown than red in that patch. The patch in question was in the shape of a paw.
Rahs glanced down at his own paw and looked again at the mark, his ears flattening to his head, though the mark was larger than his paw, it was too close a match for his liking.
Rahs didn't sleep well that night. The tale he was told weighing heavily in his mind. It also didn't help that he was forced to share a tent with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. The former snored like a train and the latter was using him like a mattress, going so far as to try and fluff his back when he moved to much.
He was almost happy when dawn finally came as at least that meant he could get up and try to figure out their next move. Clearly they had to bring the information about Luna granting the land to the tribe to Twilight. He was certain some sort of settlement could be reached after this, the Buffalo did have approval of a Princess after all.
But for now he had new questions, what was the Land of Clear Stones? What was the darkness? Who were the figures the story described ruling this place?
Any further thoughts were disrupted by screams and a panicked thunder of hooves as a voice boomed through the camp in a fair imitation of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“WHERE IS RAHS!!?!?!?!”
The canine rolled his eyes pushing Rainbow Dash off of him with a thud as he got up and left the tent, Pinkie Pie pronking out after him.
Looking out over the camp Rahs let out a soft growl as Pinkie Pie stared in awe next to him. Rainbow took longer but she groggily came out of the tent too.
“Whoa...” the Pegasus muttered.
A good dozen or so Buffalo were suspended in the air, gripped by lavender colored magic, one of the braves was much closer to ground level and was being shaken by an irate purple unicorn who clearly had not had enough sleep.
“WHERE IS HE!?!” Twilight shouted in the braves face shaking him again as Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity looked on with a mix of exasperation and annoyance.
Pinkie Pie giggled as Rahs slapped his face with a paw.
“Forget the Moon Dog, fear the Moon Dog's sister......”
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Okay, now that’s interesting.
A Native American based tale on Red Riding Hood.
I love this
YES! SO MUCH YES!
Red's kinda a badass. I think Ruby would be a more appropriate name.
Love the fusion of so many different sources, from Loony Toons (poor roadrunner, would of been funnier if he ended up eating the coyote), to Grimm to skinwalker parallels.
Obviously Witch Wolves are associated with Sombra, black dogs, shadow, land of clear stones (crystals) makes sense. Guess that will be coming back soon enough.
Fear the Moon Dog's sister ...especially in without-caffeine mode.
So sounds like Sombra had some involvement with Nightmare Moon and the Witch-Wolves. Either an alliance of necessity, given Nightmare or the mare of darkness's description. Though I feel this kinda muddies the timeline a bit, since Luna/Celestia banished Sombra, didn't they? It wasn't mentioned in the prologue though, which talked about the New Lunar Republic.
The only way I can rationalise this, is that this happened at the same time. And the Crystal Empire was an ally of the NLR. Or the Crystal Empire was the last bastion, before their combined defeat. Alternatively the Witch Wolves fell into Sombra's service after Nightmare's defeat, and the dark mare described is just vague enough, that it could be one of her generals or maybe another nightmare entity, like the Tantabus?
ok Rah you up big boy, talk to your sister straight even thing out asap and then knock her out for her own good and safety of everyone
a different take on the events in this tale i see. sombra and moons together?
Question if the cloak belonged to a canine species is it possible that maohk could be a direct relations to rahs? Also maohk in name...I saw what you did there
8793583
The cloak didn't the paw print was where the Witch Wolf grabbed her the first time before Maohk fled.
8793591
Oh but still the name I saw that...
Error here.
So Nightmare Moon was Sambra's honey, the Buffalo's great hero is accentually Little Red Riding Hood, and Twilight is scary when family is threatened
Luna's really gona have to start talking about her "nightmarish" past, or else she'll be put on Twilight, Rahs, and Spike's "We don't Trust/Talk to" list.
8793362
Oddly no tales i've ever heard had Little red riding Hood on a horse or any sort of animal to ride. Well there was that one porno, but the less said about what she rode there the better.
8793428 i tried to make it feel like some of the native american stories i've heard before, not sure how well i did though.
8793473 the Buffalo knew nothing of gems and crystals hence the name Land of Clear Rock.
8793505
8793542 Luna hinted at the involvement of some one like that early on in the story. A certain uppercut comes to mind.
8793544 yeah Rahs isn't dumb enough to get in his sisters way while she's on a rampage.
8793707 fixed
Okay now THIS I did not expect!! I just love how you take one of the least popular episodes and turn it into something really good to great with your special brand of writing magic! <3 <3 <3
8793741
I thought spike at your service was the least popular?
Ponders if Luna is going to be able to avoid talking about Witch Wolves in the long run,, The hard someone attempts to keep a secret the more it seems to want to escape
cool chapter
8793755
Well I said ONE of them. It's probably in the Top 5 Worst Episodes TBH. Easily top 10.
Yeah. Luna’s gonna have to cough up everything about her past or else Twilight and her siblings will put her on their blacklist.
8793736
I'm referencing another character named after Little Red Riding Hood being a badass
8793736
You misunderstand. A “riding hood” is a type of cloak with a hood. Think of it as a hoodie crossed with a long cape. They were originally worn to cover a person riding a horse in inclement weather, the cloak portion covering the body of the rider as well as the saddle and part of his legs. 8793362 was just pointing out that since the ponies are sapient they probably don’t have riders for the most part (Spike being a notable exception), and the invention of the “riding hood” might not have ever taken place.
I was wondering if I would ever hear of Looney Tunes again. Ha good times. Good chapter by the way, I really enjoy this story.
Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf eh?
8803342
#ForeverAlone
"the land scared and poisoned"
Unless you meant that the land was showing fear, I think you were after "Scarred" xD
I'm getting more and more amused by all the random White Wolf references that you're sprinkling into this.
2nd favorite quote, but my favorite is ' Forget the dog, fear the dog's owner '
The land of Clear Stones is the crystal empire (and the buffalo were being very rude towards the crystal ponies).
Not sure about the darkness (could be the umbrum if you use that comic series).
The unicorn ruler mentioned is Sombra, but i am not sure about the other one, unless Nigthmare Moon was already a thing at that point
Wiley Coyote reference.
Sin counter tic. +1
Ok, so not only did you do a more chapter on Witch Wolves, but you also tossed in a little red riding hood reference. Fucking brilliant.............
Acme would be very unhappy to have their CEO eaten.
Damn fine story.
Very neat end. Its totaly hilariouse actually
8798200
Awesome Avatar. Were is it from?
8793428
Great Avatar.
8793736
One hell of a ride i guess
8793755
Debatable
8794430
Awesome stuff
When Ponys are more dangerous as Prey than Moondogs as Predator you just know, shit is going south fast...
Loony took reference and the knowledge that Twilight is probably more dangerous than a Moondog really made it a great chapter.
Love the lore, hope for so mutch more ♡