Race Swapper in the Deerlands

by Hexan Tronic

Chapter 9 - Unexpected Danger.

When I awoke, I decided to have the last of the food I brought with me. It’s alright, but I’ll need to search for some more soon. Now that I’m up and about, I take down my shelter, and begin to wonder around the trees.

Over time, I begin to notice the trees get a bit denser, noticeably more around the tops. And it’s around that time I start smelling some food. Following the scent, I end up just outside some form of camp.

<Be careful brother, we have no idea what owns this camp.> Logic states.

<Alright, I’ll stick to the tree line for now.> I reply, hiding in some bushes. Looking around at what I can see of the camp, it appears to be a hunters camp. Further examination, reveal that the race is likely quadrupled. I’m about to walk into the camp and look for food, before I hear some movement in the somewhat large camp, causing me to stay hidden.

Keeping watch from my hiding spot, I see multiple ponies walking around and doing chores. After watching for a while, I notice that some of them are skinning something. A closer look reveals the creature to be a bear. Having seen enough, I go to sneak away, not feeling much trust for these ponies. As I step away, I hear something crunch underneath my hoof, which when I look down, appears to be a bone. Unfortunately, I can hear a ruckus behind me, some of the hunters likely having heard me, so I take to the air, and begin to fly through the trees, most of the ponies being earth, while I did see one or two unicorns, so they had a hard time catching me.

While flying through the trees, I don’t notice one of many ropes tied up in random ways through the trees, and one clips my wing near my body, which forces my wing back at a bad angle, as well as making me crash to the ground.

<Damn it! Come on Hex, run!> Knockout says, causing me to try to ignore the pain and keep running, while hearing the hunters start catching up. I manage to get back up and start running, but I can’t run as fast as I know I could, and they begin to close in.

Without the focus to change to an earth pony, I don’t have the land speed to outrun them, and I can’t become a unicorn because I’d be even slower then, so I keep running, deeper into the forest, where barely any light flows through the leaves.

Before long, the unicorns try throwing nets at me, but I just manage to avoid them, even with one of my wings dragging behind me. Some try to shoot beams of magic at me, but their aim isn’t too good, and it doesn’t help that I keep moving between trees.

I eventually make it to an area that I can barely see in, but I keep running. Because I can’t see too well in this area, I end up tripping on an overgrown root for a large tree, and run head first into a tree, which knocks my hat off. The collision dazes me, long enough for the hunters to catch up and surround me.

“I could see it too well before while we were chasin’ it, but it’s just a kid boss.” One of the unicorns say, as I look at them, too dazed to pick out any details.

“I don’t care if it’s just a kid, we don’t let anypony find out about us. We can’t risk him tellin’ nopony about us, so you know what we need to do.” A large earth pony says, as his pulls out something metal, that barely shines in the low light. “Sorry kid, but we never leave a witness.” He says, getting closer. Before he can get to close, I feel the ground shift under me, before something brown burst out of the ground between us, blocking him off.

While I hear the cries of shock from behind the wall, I feel the dazed feeling slowly leave me, allowing me to get up and notice that the wall is made of roots.

<So that was the shifting feeling.> I think to myself, before looking around trying to figure out where they came from, before exhaustion from the running and the collision with the tree overtake me, causing me to blackout.

Author's Note:

And it's another short chapter. Sorry that it's another one, but I was having a little trouble thinking up ideas for this part. Anyway, I should have another part out at some point.