Embrace the Darkness, Carpe Noctem

by musicman722

First Contact (3)

“Was it something I said?” I said as I watched the zebra galloped away yelling his head off. Something clicked in mind as the zebra ran. ‘A zebra is usually considered prey and any predators on this island may attack the zebra due to the noise it’s making. I don’t know about the local predators, so there’s a chance that whatever eats them could also eat me.’

…

‘I’d be damned if I was going to let myself get killed because of a stupid zebra.’

I flew forward and quickly caught up with it. Using my claws I grabbed the zebra’s hind legs. The zebra fell to the ground dazed. I used the moment to secure the body in my grip before I lifted it up into the air and brought its face up to me. The zebra kept thrashing in my grip, its eyes practically bulging out of their sockets, desperate to get away. I couldn’t blame him considering my appearance. Hell, I would probably do the same thing in his spot.

‘God, his squirming is getting on my nerves now.’ It’s not easy holding up a horse. Luckily he wasn’t very heavy, but still. I was about to smack him when he did the most unbelievable thing. He began to talk

“Don’t eat me! I never did anything wrong! So I lied about breaking my mom’s favorite pot. It was just a lie I made on the spot! Pleasedon’teatme! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeaaaassseee!” He bawled. I could tell he was about to shit himself, and virtual reality or not, I didn’t want to know what zebra crap felt like. I had to calm him down. Fast.

I did the only thing I could at the time. I shook him like a ragdoll while yelling, “Will you SHUT UP!” He stopped talking but he was still shaking in fear. “Thank you. First off, unless you give me a good reason, I’m NOT going to eat you. Okay?” The zebra gave a skeptic look, not believing my words, “and secondly, YOU CAN TALK!?”

The zebra gave me a look of confusion and indignation, “Of course I can talk! I’m not some colt who just learned to walk and what makes you think I’ll believe you? Every word you say is far from true.” he said angrily. The way he spoke was weird, like he was talking in two languages at once but one was muffled, plus it had a heavy African accent. It would make sense since it was a zebra talking.

‘Racist.’ I sighed, “Okay then, let’s make a deal. You give me what I want and I won’t eat or severely hurt you. Hmm?”

The zebra looked at me suspiciously, “What exactly do you require? I want to know what you desire.”

I laughed darkly, “Well, for starters, I want to see the entire world burn, but right now I need information.” If was going to be stuck on an island, I may need a local to tell me what’s what and what’s where.

The zebra shrunk back at my burning comment but perked at my request for information. “What knowledge from me do you seek? There is not much I could possibly know, so to speak.”

I smirked and got in close to his face, “You’d be surprised at what I can find out.” I said softly enough to make him listen. I pulled back and returned to normal volume, “I want to know a pace where I can see the entire island but it must be out of the sun.”

He looked at me dumbfounded, “That’s it? Just that little bit?”

“Eeyup.”

He pondered my offer for a while before replying, “Okay, I shall do as you say.”

“Good choice,” I muttered, “Now, I would like to know your name so I don’t have to keep calling you zebra.”

“Swift Grass is my name, though my speed isn’t quite the same.”

‘Swift Grass? Sounds fitting for a tribal name. Speaking of which, if there’s one zebra here, where’s the herd?’ I thought. "I'm Gunhaver." I decided to use my gamertag as my name in this world. “Well Swift, I’m going to put you down now and don’t try to run, since I can easily catch you.”

He nodded meekly. I set him down, still ready to catch him if he decided to bolt. I don’t like to take chances. “Now where is this view point that you know of and no tricks. I don't take kindly to those.”

Swift nodded again, “We have a plant called the Sky tree. From there, everything you’ll see.” With that, he started off into the trees. As I followed him, a message appeared in the top of my vision:

Achievement unlocked: First Contact- gained 20 XP

---

“Hey, earlier you seemed like you know quite a bit about Night Shades, why?” We had been trekking through the forest for the past ten minutes in silence. It gave me plenty enough time to come up with some potential questions.

“A foals tale it be, a creature like you to eat me. From Tatarus you come to feed, our life energy you need. But with the sun rise, you hide or receive a nasty surprise.” Swift Grass said darkly.

'Tatarus, eh? This must be a Greek era based world. That explains a lot. I'm going to have to brush up on my mythology when I can.' I thought.

“So what do you do in your tribe? You don’t look strong enough to be a fighter.” I gibed.

The zebra gave a flash of irritation, “An apprentice to the shaman elder I am, to be a shepherd to the lamb. I also brew potions to drink and tell stories that make you think. But my true talent is my mark, to play our tribe’s dances is my spark.”

“Interesting.” A nagging thought popped up in my mind, “Do all zebras rhyme or is it just you?”

The zebra stopped and gave me a confused look, like I just sprouted an extra head. “What do you mean I speak in rhyme? I speak normally all the time.”

I facepalmed, “You’re speaking in rhyme right now! How do you not notice this?!” Either this guy was just so used to rhyming that he didn’t notice it or he was just really oblivious.

“The only thing I notice is the way you talk. You speaking fluent Zebrican was quite a shock.”

I tried to from a response, my mouth opening and closing several times before I groaned and threw my hands up in frustration. Swift Grass just took up the lead in silence again. I tried to understand how we could understand each other even though we each thought the other was speaking our language. The argument in my kept going in circles until I was completely confused to the point I was surprised I was still upright. I desperately tried to find something to distract my mind.

“So what were you doing before I found you?” It seemed like a good conversation starter. Plus I was a bit curious as to why he was so far from home.

“Collecting herbs for medicines I was tasked. Of this, my teacher and elder asked.”

“Oh? What kinds of medicines?” I asked. 'Maybe I could squeeze a couple from him. You never know when you could get sick or hurt. Wait, can I get sick?'

“Brews for fevers, stings, rashes and more. This is why we must maintain our store. If somepony came down with the flu, then we’ll be ready with a healthy stew.” He explained.

I thought for a second. “Hmmm, after we get to this Sky Tree, maybe I could help you gather some of these plants. Y’know as thanks for helping me.” Maybe I could find some useful poisons as well.

Swift’s brow furrowed and he bit his lip for a moment before replying, “You are strange for a Shade, to be so quick to offer me aid.”

“Just because I look evil doesn’t mean I am completely. I thought you were a stupid horse trying to get me killed until you started talking.”

Swift gave me a hard glare, “I'm going to ignore that, though I will say you are as ugly as a vampire bat.” he retorted.

“I've been called worse.” I said smugly

We continued on in silence for about hour or so before stopping at our destination. Swift Grass wasn’t kidding about it being a tall tree. This thing was fucking huge. I guessed its height at about a hundred twenty meters, give or take a few.

Swift gestured to the tree, “Here’s the tree as I said, from the top you’ll see your path ahead.”

“Thanks.” I floated towards the tree, ready to climb. Then I looked back at Swift, who was sitting there watching me anxiously. 'Wait a minute,' I thought, 'that little bastard's trying to get rid of me so he can make a run for it. Heh, clever but not clever enough.' I went back over to Swift, “Have you ever seen the view from up there before?” I asked, pointing a thumb up at the top.

“No. Why should I try? I don’t have wings so I could never fly.” His hurried tone made it evident he wanted me to leave, but I'm not that easy to get rid of.

“There's a first time for everything.” I said and before he could react, I leaped toward him and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. Swift kicked and protested as I turned around and climbed my way up the tree on the shaded side, using my claws to give myself purchase in the thick bark.

I did rock climbing before at the local gym and to do it now without legs feels really weird, but it felt natural to use my claws to propel me upwards from branch to branch. I made sure to keep Swift out of arm's reach of any branches as I climbed. I felt Swift tense up in my grip and I glanced to see that he had curled up into the fetal position and started to mutter prayers under his breath.

A cruel grin made its way onto my face. I held Swift out at arm's length and let my arm drop before jerking it back up as I shouted, “Saved your life!” Swift screamed in fear at the sudden movement. When he realized what happened, he glared harshly at me.

“Your humor has poor taste, if you think it funny to turn me to paste. As I wish to avoid such pain, I ask that you not do that again.”

“What? You mean this?” I said feigning innocence, as I sadistically gave Swift another jerk.

“YES, THAT!” He yelled desperately.

“Yes?” I said in mock ponder, “Yes. Do it. Okay!” I gave Swift several more jerks while he kept protesting. Once I got that out of my system I continued up, carrying a limp, nauseous Zebra.

I soon reached a limb near the top that would support both our weight (or at least Swift’s weight) and was in the shade before stopping. I set Swift down on the limb, he immediately clutched it for dear life, eyes shifting from the ground below to closing, and I went out to take in the view.

The ground before me was spread out like a canvas. The jungle below was a plethora of different shades of green. Beyond it to the north was a grassy plain; I could barely see a patch of brown dots which I assumed was the Zebra tribe’s home. There was a small clump of rocky hills to the south and off to the east, I thought I could see a hint of another island but I wasn’t sure if it was a mirage or not. I lost focus on updating my map and wanted to stare at the sight before me. I never traveled much but when I did, I went to places with a good view (and a nerd convention nearby).

Achievement Unlocked: Bird’s Eye View- gained 20 XP

I glanced back at Swift and smacked his head, “Dude, you’re missing one hell of a view here.”

He stayed clutched to his spot, eyes clenched shut. “I would love to see the sight, but I have discovered my fear of height.” He said before losing his breakfast over the side.

I recoiled at the sight, “Dude, that's gross. But, hey, suit yourself.” I continued taking in the scenery before me.

After a few minutes, I tapped Swift on the shoulder, “Hey, I’m gonna take a better view around. Try not to fall.” I snickered. He clung onto his branch for dear life but this time he kept his eyes closed. I moved around the tree, sticking to cover to get a good view of the rest of the island.

‘Looks good for an island. I could make my base somewhere in the jungle or find a cave in the hills. Hmm, maybe I could find some gems to sell later? I may need the money to buy stuff.’

I continued to enjoy the view before me while making plans on places to hit. The sun dropped in the sky, nearing the horizon when Swift spoke, “It’s time to descend, I suspect. I still have my herbs to collect.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Hold up, let me get over there.” I said as I began to make my way back up.

I was only a few branches away when a shriek pierced the air. The two of us looked up to see a bird-pony hybrid (it looked suspiciously like a harpy) drop out of the sky and fall straight towards Swift Grass, hunger apparent in its eyes.

“Oh no, you don’t.” I raced towards Swift to try to pull him out of the way but the harpy reached him a split second before me and tore him off the branch as I barely grabbed his leg. The three of us flew gracelessly into the air; I could feel the sun burning me, though the pain wasn’t as intense as before. The harpy looked down and glared at me as if I was trying to steal his meal before giving us a shake.

Unfortunately, my grip wasn’t as strong as I thought and I went plummeting towards the ground.

Comments

[Br2nd66]

what would happen if he ate a dragon

[Darksoul]

Release your Inner Darkness unto Evil- 150 PTs.

[musicman722]

997719 do i have to answer that? let's just leave it at NOTHING GOOD will come of it.

[musicman722]

997997 i got a lot more funny and clever achievments in store for ya'll

[musicman722]

998634 you sir are now considered Awesome.

here, have a moustache

and one more for good measure

[Troutking]

Knock knock!
Guess who?
No it's not Chuck Testa...
Its me Troutking!
Anyway love the rewrite much better then before!
I cant wait to see the achivements!
Achievement unlocked- Be Greeted by a God (me:P)
Anyway good job with the story so far.
I forget who approved your story?
It doesnt say in the description and Zeta wont add unless we give permission.
If it was me that you thought gave permission, then you are ok.

[_CheckMate_]

love the shrek reference

[Armadaes]

would he not question the emotion of the so called game like ex holy shit he looks realy scared i dont think games could pull that shit off

.....and why is the main character a dick

[Organized Chaos]

Will Erebus have to "handle" Gunhaver's family?

[Subatomic Seal]

997719 Everything.

[Paladin Redflare]

NOOOO, SWIFT GRASS, SAVE HIM!

[WorldWalker128]

997719
Hmmm! Spicy!

[Kelpo]

“What? You mean this?” I said feigning innocence, as I sadistically gave Swift another jerk.

“YES, THAT!” He yelled desperately.

“Yes?” I said in mock ponder, “Yes. Do it. Okay!” I gave Swift several more jerks while he kept protesting. Once I got that out of my system I continued up, carrying a limp, nauseous Zebra.

I love Shrek!

[Giftmak3r]

1789469
You don't sometimes act like a dick when you play games?