The Wild Man

by Luckless

Chapter 5

Brian

I woke up at six, like usual, to an odd, but very nice feeling I'd never felt before. I was warm, hugging something warm, and unfathomably comfortable and happy. I didn't really want to, but I peeled open my eyes, and looked at what I was hugging.

A pony. I was staring at a pony that was sleeping right in front of me. My mind started screaming in panic as I remembered my last encounter with ponies. That is, until I realized that I knew this pony. It was Midnight. She was sleeping peacefully, her mouth hanging open, tongue lolling out of the corner of her mouth. She looked, cute. My mind kind of short circuited, and I felt my face flush with heat. Ok, I know what this is. Time to go!

I gently extricated myself from her to avoid waking her up. She mewed in her sleep, obviously missing her sleeping companion. She shifted, squirming around in the bed, but she didn't wake up. I smiled at the cute pony, and opened the door as quietly as I could. The wheels the door ran on to be raised onto the ceiling still creaked even with how slowly I lifted it. I looked back to Midnight, who was still asleep, but frowning.

My stomach rumbled, demanding food. I guess I know what I'm doing. Making us breakfast.

Hopping down out of the van, I started preparing the fire, setting the dry wood on fire with a few matches. Within a few minutes of me poking and prodding the sticks and logs around, the fire was burning away. I laid the grill guard over it, grabbed a bucket, and slapped some meat on it. But thinking back to yesterday, and how much Midnight ate, I slapped on the largest chunk in the bucket. Another turning in my stomach told me to relieve myself, and it was now that I realized, I'd never thought of where I would do my business. I wasn't 'going' near my living area, I don't think I'd be able to handle the smell, so I'd have to go a ways out. I decided that I'd just run out into the brush, and do it in the bushes.

Coming back feeling disturbed and ashamed of my lack of forethought, I washed my hands downstream a ways, and splashed my face with some water. Ok, let's check on the meat.

Back at camp, the meat was starting to turn brown, so I flipped it over, and watched over it, letting it cook. The smell began to waft up to my nose, and I felt my mouth water. It looked good, it smelled good, I hoped it tasted good too. From inside the van, I heard hooves thudding against the metal floor. Out came Midnight, eyes mostly closed, sniffing at the air with a whimsical grin.

"Do I smell more meat?" She murmured.

"Yep. I take it you want some?"

She moaned, "Oooh, meat for dinner, and meat for breakfast. I must have died and gone to heaven." I chuckled. Some of the smaller pieces had cooked well enough, and I had an idea.

"Hey Midnight, catch!" I tossed the smallest bit that was about the size of one of my fingers, at Midnight. Her eyes widened, and she quickly opened her mouth to chomp down on it. She eyed me mischievously as she chewed once, and swallowed.

I tossed a larger piece, which she also ate. A few more and I was tossing them in different directions. Each time, she moved into position, and snatched it out of the air. All I had left now, was the largest slab of meat, which had taken up the majority of the grill. I examined it critically, and took it off, putting it on the table, which I'd forgotten to put away.

"Eat up! I'm going to make my breakfast now."

She gave me a wide smile and a, "Thank you," and chomping down eagerly. I laid out a small piece of meat about the size of my hand, and watched it cook. Not even a minute passed when I heard a manly burp. I turned around to look at Midnight, who was blushing and trying to hide it with a hoof.

"Sorry." She muttered shyly. I just chuckled, and went back to observing my food. Midnight walked over to me, and sat up next to me, leaning into my side. She sighed contently, and watched it with me.

"Brian, I forget if I've told you this, but thank you. This has been great."

I wrapped my arm over her shoulders in a friendly embrace, and gave her a good natured jostle, "Your welcome. Honestly, it's been nice for me too. You're the first person I can call a friend, and it feels good spending time with you."

She snuggled into me, "I'm happy I made you feel good. That's why I'm sorry to say, I have to go home. I bet my dad is having a panic attack over my absence."

"Don't worry about it, I understand. Swing by anytime you want. If I'm not around, I'll probably be out exploring or hunting. I'll show you the path out." We stood up at the same time, and I took the meat off the grin to eat on the way. It'd cooked well enough, so it should be safe for eating.

Midnight went back into the van, picked up her saddle bags, and left with me. While we walked and I ate, I noticed that Midnight was looking a lot better now. Her coat seemed to gleam, her eyes had a brightness that wasn't there before, and she was walking with a spring in her step, even with the added weight in her stomach, which was now hanging lower than last night. I figured that this meant she was getting healthier, and we came to the split.

"Ok, take a right, and you're on your way out. Take a right, and you'll find a farm. The left should take you back to Ponyville."

She smiled at me, and gave me a bear hug, "Thanks Brian, I'll see you soon!"

I returned the hug, "I'm going to hold you to that."

She giggled, and went back on all four. She trotted off, giving me a friendly wave, which I gave back.

I smiled, and still felt good as I made my way back to camp. I finished off my meat, and got back home. I put away my meat bucket, which was getting pretty close to being empty, and sat down with little to do.

Huh, looks like I forgot about this part. The boredom. Well, time to explore.

Before I left, I put out the fire, cleaned and stored the table, grabbed my .308 rifle, and closed the van. Let's see what this place has to offer.

Midnight

I trotted along the path happily. I'd met somepony who had finally understood me. He shared my love for meat, and was so generous that he let me eat my fill not once, but twice, and had further welcomed me to visit again to eat with him. In fact, I think he liked me, even. He hadn't even noticed my lack of a cutie mark, or my frail form. So I didn't have to explain my lack of ability to gain one, or how unhealthy my diet was. Before I'd fallen asleep, I'd felt him hug me and murmur happily. Even for something so alien as him, he was kind of, cute in a way.

After his initial distrust, he'd warmed up to me, and was very friendly. His species customs regarding wearing clothing were odd, but noble in a way. That led me to thinking about his horrible scarring. Simply remembering the scars sent a shudder through my body, and I felt bad for him. Nopony should feel such suffering, no matter how little they cared about it and brushed it off. I wonder if those marks are from that fire? I'll have to ask him later.

I came out of the forest canopy, and drank in the sunlight and it's warmth. Being in the forest was fine, but the sunlight was always welcome. But the peace of the night and the purity of the moonlight was occasionally better. Mom had explained that as the thestrial bat pony in me.

As I continued trotting along, my belly started to feel much heavier, and the food inside sloshed and gurgled. Soon, I had to slow down in a slow walk to catch my breath and ease my aching legs. I walked into the outskirts of town, and made my way home. As soon as I crossed the threshold, my father grabbed me in a tight hug.

"Midnight! Where were you? I thought you'd been killed! I was worried sick!" He yelled.

From the kitchen, I heard Sundance go, "Oooh, she's in troubllllle!"

Oh, ponyfeathers. "Sorry dad. I lost track of time with somepony I met in the Everfree."

He froze, "You met somepony... in the Everfree?"

"Yeah, he was very nice."

My father recoiled a little. That was probably a mistake. "He? Who is this... he?"

I nervously chuckled, "His name's Brian. He isn't exactly a pony."

Dad's eyebrow rose, "Was he a Griffon?"

"No. He isn't anything any of us have seen before. He isn't really from around here."

My father was looking a little unnerved, his eyes looking frantic, "What is he? Did he hold you captive? Did he try to hurt you!?" He grabbed my shoulders and shoved his muzzle against mine.

I pushed him away, "No! He didn't hurt me or keep me captive! He's a human, even though that shouldn't mean much to you. We talked a bit, he gave me some delicious food, and let me sleep in his home for the night when we saw the sun going down."

Dad looked me over, scrutinizing every inch. His eyes slowly widened until I thought they were going to pop out of his head, "What did he feed you? And how much did you eat?"

I chuckled nervously again, and put a hoof to my belly, "He gave me moose meat, and he let me eat as much as I wanted. He even said I could come back to eat more."

"He... WHAT?!"

"He gave me meat. What's wrong with that?"

He roared, "HE COULD HAVE EATEN YOU!!!! That's what's wrong! It's some unknown creature, who knows what he eats? It could eat ponies for all you know! It could be fattening you up to eat you!"

"How could you say that? You haven't even met him! He's gone through so much suffering, yet he was nice and caring. His eyes never left my face the whole time. He even woke up before me to cook us breakfast! Would some bloodthirsty monster do that?" This was the first time I'd ever gotten angry with dad before, and it... felt wrong. I didn't want to be angry with him, I just wanted him to understand.

"I don't need to meet him, to know that it isn't safe for you to see him again! I don't care how nice he is, you are going to stay away from him!"

"I'm 20 dad! I can fend for myself! Besides, he wouldn't hurt me."

"And how do you know?"

"Because I'm the first friend that he's ever had!"

"And what does that tell you about him?" He said unphased, still stubbornly refusing to see eye to eye.

"That he's been suffering for all his life! When he was only a child, he was badly burned in a fire that killed his parents. He was bullied for over a decade from the kids in his orphanage, his school, and his guardians! No one ever tried to be his friend! It's a miracle that he opened up to me in the first place." I reflected on that last sentence. It's a miracle that he opened up to me.

For a while, my father was quiet, not saying anything. Finally, he spoke with a stoney voice, "I want to meet him before you see him again. But your mother is going to go with us. We're waiting for the weekend."

I sighed in relief, he'd finally relinquished the point, and come to a compromise, "Thank you."

"You still haven't told me exactly how much he gave you."

I chuckled, feeling all the tension draining, "He gave me some very generous portions, at my request. You know how rare it is for me to get to eat meat."

He frowned, "That I do." he sighed, "I really wish you'd inherited my dietary habits instead of you're mothers'. All of your brothers have it."

"It certainly would make it easier, but then again," I licked my lips dramatically and playfully stuck out my tongue, "I wouldn't be able to eat such good food."

Dad shook his head with a smile, "You and your humour. By the way, until this weekend, you're grounded."

"WHAT!?!"

Brian

I was smoking another cigarette as I walked through the dense foliage. After going down the path, and taking a left, I'd come to a hut built into a tree. I was not ready to be meeting any new ponies or whatever the hell else was in this forest, and tried taking another path. This path had dissolved into an animal trail with plants encroaching tightly on either side. I was getting increasingly irritated and was contemplating giving up and going back when the path opened up to a giant clearing that housed a crumbling castle.

Cool! I felt my inner child grab hold of me, and I had to investigate the castle. Forget the danger! This was awesome! I still had some semblance of caution to take my rifle in my hands, and entered under the gate, which even after it's blatant age, was still standing proudly.

The courtyard was small, the only remaining decoration being a water fountain that no longer flowed. Moss and vines krept up the walls from between the worn cracks between the grey bricks, and there were some collapsed areas spread about, but the main entry gate still stood with its' rotten door hanging open.

Still curious, I entered through the castle door, and looked inside. It was extremely dark, which was a testament to the longevity of the roof. I took out a flashlight from one of my many pockets, and scanned the room with the beam of light. I was in a empty hallway, and my light couldn't reach it's depths. So I walked on, taking in the architecture. I wondered exactly how old this place was. It was obviously old enough to be in the process of crumbling, but not old enough to have fully collapsed. If I'd had to guess, it had been abandoned for 500 to 1,500 years. Maybe longer. The hallway split off to many different rooms, most of them being old amory rooms, a few guest rooms, and a kitchen. I didn't linger in these, for everything had broken down with age to the point where taking anything would be a waste.

Finally, I came to a massive throne room. The rug was in tatters, but the two hanging banners were in decent shape. If I ever go into that town, I might get a good price for those. I slung my rifle over my shoulders, and started climbing along the many handholds in the bricks. I was a good thirty or so feet above the ground by the time I got to the first banner. It was nice, depicting the night sky with stars and a glorious moon. I unhooked it from the wall, and let it fall to the ground, the gold frame clanging against the ground. I climbed over to the other one. This one seemed slightly less magnificent, having a few mountains and golden orbs, but little else to make it a treasure. Still, I took it down. All of a sudden, the wall rumbled and spun around with me still on it. When it finally stopped moving, the force of it sent me flying across the new room and onto the floor.

"What the hell was that?!" I stared at the wall in disbelief and shock. I flailed my arms in a general 'what the heck' gesture, and felt around the door. I couldn't see anything that hinted at the fact that wall would spin again, until it spun again, and threw me back into the room I'd been in before.

"Ok, seriously. WHY!??!" I punched the door out of exasperation, and picked up the banners.

I looked to the side of the throne pedestal, and found another door. I tried opening it, but found that the nob had rusted in place. I kicked the door, barely moving it. I took a few steps back, and rammed my shoulder into it, throwing it open and bruising my shoulder. I rolled my arm, and continued in. Inside, I found a bedroom. It was odd, the apparent royals living behind the throne room and in a direct path to the castle doors.

The room was divided in two, one decorated in dark colors reminiscent of the night, and the other designed in bright colors for the day. This, along with the two banners, confused me. Why was the castle divided like this? Were there two royals that lived here? Did they not like each other and fight? I couldn't know. Again, most of the things in here were rotten and unusable. The wood for the bed posts have long since buckled under the weight, and the mattresses had springs sticking out from the bed. There were a few nicknacks spread about the room, but nothing particularly valuable. It was mildly irritating, but whatever. It was still cool being in here though. It was like an entirely different world in here, lost to the ages of time. Although, I guess I wasn't too far off with it being a different world. I wasn't on Earth anymore, that much was obvious. But I couldn't bring myself to be sad over the fact I was somewhere's else. I could literally build a new life from the ground up, I just needed to learn the rules, and take everything with some thought and understanding.

I went in deeper through the castle, and with my new determination, reviewed my first encounter with the natives of this world. That orange pony, who'd I'd been harboring anger with along with the pegasus, had kicked me straight in the face. Initially, I didn't think that there had been any reason for the attack. Thinking now, though, I realized that it probably hadn't seen anything like me before, or had bad experiences with something resembling me. Maybe I just scared it? That would explain what that pegasus had reacted. Probably figured I was attacking its' friend. Still, LIGHTNING?!!? That seemed really excessive. I couldn't help but wonder why it would do that, even if it thought I was attacking the orange one.

I left figuring that out when I knew more, and continued through the castle. I was in a new hallway now, devoid of any new details. I was so focused on the walls, that I didn't notice that I'd stepped on a trap plate. The floor opened up beneath me before I could react, and fell through, the floor resealing. I tumbled down the slope beneath the floor screaming in terror, and landed in a heap.

"Ugh, what is with this castle?" I asked myself pointlessly. I turned my light around me, and found that I was in a small, empty trap room with a single hole on one side. I'm not trapped, am I? My heart dropped, and felt hopeless. In a desperate attempt at freeing myself, I stuck my arm through the hole, and felt around on the other side. There was nothing.

*FWOOSH* Me and the banners were sent spinning out of the room with another revolving wall.

"I am so done with this damn castle." I removed my hand, and looked at my new surroundings.

Severed... pony legs holding fire sconces. What... what in the actual fuck is wrong with these ponies!? I pinch the bridge of my nose and groaned in both irritation and discomfort from the still sore nose. Seriously, who does this kind of shit? Psychopaths?

I got out of that hallway with an undignified haste, and kept walking. In another hallway, suits of what could only be pony armor flanked the walkway. They were kinda cool. Dark, spiked, and made to look frightening to any enemy soldiers who may or may not be superstitious. One pedestal, on which they stood, was strangely empty. I walked up to it, looking for any evidence that it had been taken. No tracks around it, no dust imprints, nothing. Then, and I really should have seen this coming, the platform flipped, forcing me in. I slid down another ramp screaming, and was promptly dumped on an outdoor ledge, barely coming to a stop before falling off a VERY tall height. I looked to my left, just as lightning struck in the distance, booming. I'm not proud of it, but I screamed like a little girl, and recoiled away from the vicious stone dragon with glowing eyes. The space I'd just occupied flipped again, leaving me trapped on the ledge with the stone monstrosity.

Ok, not alive. It can't hurt you. I told myself while backing away, only to bump into another one. Itcan'thurtyouitcan'thurtyouitcan'thurtyou! I screamed in my head. I proceeded to inch around the stone beast, hugging the wall, and kept on doing so until I found a window and crawled through. My heart was beating hard and fast, while my breathing was nearly at the level of hyperventilating.

Ok, calm down, you're ok. You're ok.

HOLY SHIT I NEARLY DIED! Not ok! NOT OK!

I crumpled to the floor crying in terror. After a few minutes of that, I came to the only logical conclusion, "I'm getting the hell out of here!"

I tossed the banners, and ran through the corridors and past many rooms, not bothering to check for traps or to admire the stonework. I got lost more times than I could count until I finally ran out the main doors, past the fountain, out the gates, and back into the forest screaming.

I ran all the way home just like that. Once I made it back, I leapt inside the van, closed the door, and hid underneath the bean-bag-bed. I don't know how long I was under there, but eventually the adrenaline from the fear died, I fell into a fitful sleep.

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Working on it. Should be a new one out tonight or tomorrow