The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Chapter 2 - Paydirt

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, Rose, Pinkie, and Fluttershy follow the river toward their destination. Pinkie turns to Rose.

“So how long will it take us to get to the Hayseed Forest?!”

“At our current speed, roughly three days.”

Fluttershy sighs. “Then another four or more walking through the forest”

Rainbow Dash frowns. “You sure we shouldn’t split up? We’d cover a LOT more ground.”

Rose raises an eyebrow. “And be more vulnerable to attack.”

Rainbow Dash points a hoof. “But Fluttershy could just talk us out of it.”

Fluttershy shudders. “That’s something I’d like to avoid!”

Pinkie puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “Well… what about Rose’s sensors?!”

Rose sighs. “Also not 100% accurate.”

“You forgot about my Pinkie Sense!”

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. “Yeah… I’m not putting my life on the line with that. But all I’m saying is that we’d be fine on our own. Or at least long enough to last until the others can help.”

Rose nods. “True. But that would assume that we hear something.”

Fluttershy frowns. “Rose is right. We need to stick together out here.”

Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow. “You mean when we get to the forest though, right?”

“No. The whole time.”

“But…!”

Fluttershy stomps her hoof defiantly. “But NOTHING!”

Pinkie gasps. “Woah! That was unexpected!”

“I’m sorry. But I’m just worried about everypony’s safety.”

Rose continues on. “Then it’s settled. We stick together.”

Meanwhile, Arc sits up in the barn. He turns his head to look at Snowflake. Putting a hand on her shoulder he gently shakes her.

“Hey. Time to wake up.”

Snowflake sits up slowly and rubs her eyes.

“Ugh! Are you sure?”

“Well, the sun’s starting to come up, so…”

There is a slight rustling and a light moan in the hay next to Arc. Turning, he brushes away the pile to see Sunshine poke her head out. Snowflake appears surprised.

“Mom? What are you doing out here?”

“Your father… accidently knocked over one of my more potent jars last night.”

“One of the blue ones?”

“Green.”

Snowflake groans. “Ugh! That’s enough to knock a pony out!”

“It did. He passed out, but I couldn’t sleep in there due to the smell. So I decided to come out here.”

“Should we get breakfast now, mom? Big Brother and I have work to do.”

Sunshine winces. “You go on ahead. I… still need to get my bearings.”

Snowflake grimaces. “You want me to go inside?!”

“Don’t worry. Before I came out here last night I opened the windows. Everything should be aired out by now. Just try not to wake your father.”

“Okay mom.”

The filly trots out of the barn as Arc helps Sunshine up.

“Are you really okay?”

Sunshine nods as she rubs her flank. “Yes. It’s just some rather nasty… bruising.”

Arc frowns. “Did Shadow hit you?!”

“No, he…”

She looks around to make sure Snowflake is out of earshot before continuing.

“…he was just a little rough with my hindquarters last night.”

“Oh… um… look, I’m not trying to judge your lifestyle or anything. But… if he’s hurting you when you two are… um…”

“We’re actually trying to have another foal.”

“That’s all well and good. But… I don’t think doing it THAT hard helps.”

Sunshine looks up at him. “Do you have foals?”

“I don’t think so. It’s just a guess.”

“It… really has to get in there deeply to… conceive a…”

She winces and falls back down into the hay. Arc catches a glance under her tail and gasps.

“That looks pretty bad!”

“Am I bleeding?”

“I don’t see any blood. Just a lot of bruising. And by a lot, I mean a LOT!”

“Well, I’d better start walking this off. There’s a lot of work to do down at the store, what with all the things you and Snowflake found yesterday.”

“You don’t want Snowflake to see all that bruising though, do you?”

Sunshine shakes her head. “Not really, no. But to get it to get down I need some of my medicine from inside.”

Snowflake walks back toward the barn with three bowls of oats stacked on her back. Sunshine gasps as she turns back to Arc.

“Quick! Can I hide the bruises by sitting down?!”

“Not a chance!”

“Snowflake can’t see me like this!”

Arc grabs a blanket and throws it over Sunshine as Snowflake enters.

“I got each of us a bowl.”

Sunshine smiles at her daughter nervously. “Is your father still out?”

“Yeah. And snoring too. What’s with the blanket, mom? You cold?”

“I just got a bit chilled last night.”

“How about a warm bath then?”

“Good idea. Get one of those thermal bulbs and my red jar please.”

“Okay.”

The filly runs back to the cottage as Arc stands up.

“I’ll get the tub out back filled up. You stay here and rest.”

Sunshine nods as Arc leaves the barn. He walks around to the back and begins pumping. A few minutes later Snowflake trots around to join him. Tossing in the thermal bulb she turns to look around.

“Where’s my mom, Big Brother?”

“She’s still in the barn trying to keep warm.”

“Oh, okay. Um… do you think she’d mind if I used the outhouse real quick? I really have to pee!”

“Sure. I’ll take care of your mom.”

Snowflake gives Arc the jar and runs off in the direction of the outhouse as he makes a beeline for the barn and Sunshine.

“Snowflake had to go to the outhouse. Let’s get you to the tub.”

Arc leans down and picks the mare up carefully. She gasps in pain as he does so and runs toward the barn door.

“Sorry, I know I’m hurting you, but we need to hurry.”

Reaching the tub Arc carefully sets Sunshine into the warm water. She sighs contentedly.

“That’s MUCH better!”

Snowflake runs around the side of the barn and over to the tub.

“Hi, mom. Big Brother got you in there quick.”

“I didn’t want her to catch a cold. Best to get her warmed up.”

“Makes sense. Oh! What’d you do with that jar I brought you, Big Brother?”

Arc points a finger. “It put it on the shelf next to the towel.”

“We need that at the shop, mom?”

Sunshine nods. “Yes dear. Now would you be a dear and grab my work smock please?”

“Okay!”

Snowflake trots off as Arc turns to Sunshine.

“You’re heading to work after this?!”

Sunshine sighs. “If I don’t, there won’t be anypony to run the store.”

“What about your injuries?”

“That’s why I wanted Snowflake to get that smock. I can hide this under it.”

“I meant won’t you just be in pain all day?”

Sunshine points to the jar. “The medicine in there will dull the pain and heal them quickly.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Y-yes. Fine. You and Snowflake eat your breakfast and head out to forage.”

Arc sighs. “Well… okay.”

A short time later Arc and Snowflake walk toward the woods together. Snowflake sighs.

“I hate when my dad does that.”

Arc looks away nervously. “Does what?”

“Drink too much. He always breaks something important.”

Arc mutters to himself.

“Or someone.”

“So what should we look for today, Big Brother?”

“How’s the shop doing on salve?”

Snowflake giggles. “We can’t keep it in stock.”

“Tell me, what’s the best item out there to make salve. No matter how rare.”

“That would be Equusroot. It’s only found in one place deep in the forest.”

“Can we get some?”

Snowflake shudders. “Only if the basilisk lets us.”

“The what?”

“A weird giant lizard with thick scales, horns, and spikes coming out of its back.”

“Sounds rather… dangerous.”

“They are. This one must’ve crawled up here from the swamps to the southeast. It’s been there since I was little.”

Arc grins. “Little?”

Snowflake sighs. “For as long as I can remember then.”

“Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

“In any case, my dad and I sometimes pass by its lair while foraging.”

“Ever gone in for the Equusroot?”

“A couple times, yeah. But only when it was asleep or out hunting.”

Arc nods. “Stealth, eh?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to mess with this thing.”

“So it’s a meat eater?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, you said it made its lair next to the Equusroot. I kinda hoped it was using them as food.”

Snowflake shakes her head. “Dad says they grow in large patches really deep in the Hayseed Marshes. He figured this basilisk must’ve gotten some seeds caught in its scales before it migrated here, or something.”

“Makes sense.”

“If we want to get home before dark, we’ll need to head there right away.”

“Lead the way.”

Around noon Arc and Snowflake reach the basilisk’s lair. Arc surveys the scene before them.

“That’s interesting.”

“What is?”

“I was expecting a cave or something.”

Snowflake appears confused. “Why’s that?”

“Just figured it lived underground.”

“It does.”

“Then where is it?”

Snowflake picks up a large rock and gives it to Arc.

“Let’s see if it’s here.”

“Um… how?”

Snowflake points a hoof. “Just throw this as hard as you can.”

Arc does so. As the rock touches down a large beast bursts through the ground below it and roars. Looking around a few moments, it slowly crawls back the way it came. Snowflake sighs.

“Well, that’s that.”

“Huh?”

“We can’t get close to the Equusroot patch with it here.”

“Think it’ll go out to hunt soon?”

Snowflake shakes her head. “Not likely. They only eat a couple times a month, and we can’t wait here. It gets dangerous come nightfall.”

“What’s it eat?”

“Anything made of meat.”

“Any natural predators?”

“Nothing I know of. At least not that my dad ever mentioned. Why?”

Arc puts a hand to his chin. “Just trying to come up with ideas.”

“For what?”

“How to get it to move.”

“Basilisks don’t move unless you give them a reason.”

“Like invading their territory?”

“Right. Then it’ll give chase either until it gets you, or you make it back to the tree line.”

“It won’t give chase further?”

“No. It prefers this rocky terrain. Not the forest.”

“So my escape route is just to reach the tree line. Sounds simple enough.”

“What are you saying, Big Brother?”

“That I still want that Equusroot.”

Snowflake rolls her eyes. “Yeah? And I want to keep living. Trust me when I say that it’s not worth it. My dad barely got out of there alive last time he did that!”

“What did he do?”

“Tried to run in there and grab it before the basilisk could get him. Needless to say he got chased. Didn’t get the plant either.”

Arc thinks for a moment as he looks at the terrain.

“You stay here. I’m going to try something.”

“Are you nuts?!”

“Probably. Keep an eye open for me. I’ll be right back.”

Stooping down, he picks up a good sized rock. Heaving it in the opposite direction of the plant, Arc very slowly takes a few steps toward a large boulder as the rock falls. As it lands with an audible thump the creature breaks through the surface near the rock. It looks around for a few moments before retreating underground. Arc grins as he picks up another nearby rock and throws it. This time he waits to walk until the creature pokes through the surface some distance away. Snowflake gasps.

“How is he doing that?!”

Stopping behind a boulder nearly adjacent to the small patch of flowers Arc grabs what he thought was a rock. However as he moves to throw it something pokes him.

“What the…?”

Looking at the stone more closely he sees a dull shimmer. Brushing aside the dirt and grim reveals it to be a strangely shaped stone of some kind. Shoving it in his shirt he grabs a rock and prepares to throw it. Stopping, he gently sets the rock down and leans out toward the Equusroot patch. Slowly and carefully Arc pulls at the tuft of flowers. It takes several minutes, but he is able to uproot the plants and stow them neatly in his pouch. Picking up the rock from earlier he hefts it over his head and waits before walking. Repeating the process he used to get there, Arc makes his way back toward the tree line. As he reaches Snowflake, he silently motions for her to follow him. They take a few dozen steps into the forest in silence before Snowflake turns to him excitedly.

“Did you get it?!”

Arc grins as he opens his pack and holds up the plant. “This one, right?”

Snowflake gasps. “Yeah, that it! Were there more though?!”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah. Just this one plant.”

Snowflake frowns. “Then you should have just picked a few of the leaves. Now it won’t grow back.”

“I actually had a better idea.”

Pulling out the Equusroot, Arc lays it carefully to the side as he turns to Snowflake.

“Help me fill my pack with soil.”

“Um… okay.”

A few minutes later the bag is filled with loosely packed dirt.

“Hold it upright for me.”

“What are you planning to do, Big Brother?”

“You’ll see.”

Removing a handful of dirt, Arc sets it aside before picking up the Equusroot and carefully lowering its roots into the soil. Replacing the soil, he packs it gently around the stem before turning to Snowflake again.

“Give me the water flask.”

Taking the flask, Arc unscrews the cap and pours a small amount of water around the plant before handing it back to Snowflake.

“Anything else, Big Brother?”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah. I got what I wanted.”

Snowflake looks at the bag skeptically. “Which was a bunch of dirt we don’t need?”

“Kinda. I want to see if we can transplant this thing near your parent’s cottage.”

“So we can harvest it later?”

“Not exactly. With any luck we can take cuttings, yes. But ultimately I want the seeds.”

Snowflake grins. “So we can grow more of them!”

“It’s worth a shot.”

“I bet my mom could figure it out! Let’s get home so we can show her! Even my dad will be impressed by this!”

“Hopefully. But why don’t we take lunch before heading back?”

The blood drains from Snowflake’s face.

“I… forgot! Mom didn’t make us anything this morning!”

“So we don’t have any food?”

Snowflake shakes her head. “No. I’m sorry.”

Arc sighs. “It’s okay. But does that mean you have extra room in your pack?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I found something else while I was in there.”

He pulls the stone out. Snowflake’s eyes grow wide.

“Where did you get THAT?!”

“I found it behind that last rock. Any idea what it is?”

“This looks like a basilisk’s spine!”

“The things growing out of their back?”

Snowflake nods. “Right! It’s what my dad’s knife is made out of! With this he could make himself another one!”

“Sounds like we had a good day then. Let’s get back to the cottage.”

Setting off, they make their way back the way they came.

Comments

[Munro]

if this is not going to impress daddy then nothing will

[Booster Spice]

Follow the trail of belongings?