Echo and the Mango Curse

by Matthais Unidostres

Chapter 4: Why Did the Bat Pony Cross the Road?

Echo was lying down at the front of the house, a bored expression on her face. She was staring out at the street when a pickup truck rolled by. The vehicle hit a pothole and was jolted upward a bit. As a result, a mango was thrown out of one of the grocery bags in the back of the truck and landed on the street.

Echo gasped and jumped up to her hooves, a hungry and excited look in her eyes. She galloped straight towards the mango, smiling eagerly in her eyes were focused on the fruit and nothing else. However, Echo suddenly felt something grab hold of all four of her hooves and pull them down. Visibly alarmed by this, Echo looked down and saw that her hooves were about an inch deep in the sidewalk, which was currently nothing but a slab of wet cement.

Echo's eyes were wide with shock, and she attempted to lift one of her legs. The wet cement held fast, and Echo could feel herself sinking down another inch. Echo huffed, a look of exasperation on her face, and groaned as she tried lifting each of her legs up out of the wet cement. But it was no use, as all four of her hooves were now a good three inches deep in the cement.

Echo frowned down at her hooves, then looked out desperately at the mango lying in the street. Her look of longing suddenly turned to that of fear when she noticed a car coming up the street. Echo gasped and turned away with her eyes closed. A few seconds after the car had driven, Echo opened her eyes and timidly looked out into the street. She sighed with relief when she saw that the car's tires had missed the mango, leaving it untouched.

Echo's relief was short-lived, however, as her left ear flicked as it picked up a sound. She turned and saw that a large steamroller was moving up the street. Echo looked from the steamroller, to the mango, then back to the steamroller, and then back to the mango.

Echo immediately began flapping her wings with all her might as she put her all into pulling her hooves out of the cement. Echo leaned slightly to the right, and her left forehoof popped out. She took a quick glance at the approaching steamroller, and then she flapped her wings to move her body forward and to the left. Soon, her right back hoof came free as well.

Emboldened by this, Echo took a deep breath and held it as she threw her body backwards, which wrenched her right forehoof free. Then she turned and saw that the steamroller was moments away from the mango in the street. Echo slapped her cheeks with her freed forehooves in panic, and then threw herself forward with forehooves outstretched and her wings going at their max. Her left back hoof was still stuck in the wet cement, and it held her in place in spite of her rapid wing movement.

Seeing the steamroller closing in on the mango, Echo frantically looked around for some way of saving the fruit. At that moment, she noticed a rock on the side of the road near the curb. She quickly lowered her head, grabbed the rock with her mouth, and spat it at the mango. This knocked the mango out of the path of the steamroller and sent it rolling onto the other side of the road.

Echo smiled wit relief as the steamroller moved past. Then, all of a sudden, Echo's furious flapping finally freed her left back hoof, causing her to fly right into the street.

Echo lifted herself off of the ground and shook the cobwebs out of her head, then looked with delight at the mango. She trotted happily towards it, and bent down with her mouth open to bite into the fruit. At that instant, a car zoomed past only an inch away from her nose.

Echo stood frozen with fright for a moment, then she looked down sadly to see that he mango had been smashed into the street by the car.

Echo hung her head sadly and turned back towards the house. She walked dejectedly with her eyes closed and her ears drooped low. However, her body suddenly tensed up when she found herself unable to move forward. She opened her eyes and saw that she had walked right back into the wet cement again.

Echo's right eye twitched, and she immediately flapped her wings wildly while leaning forward. In the very next moment, her hooves all popped right out of the wet cement and she face planted on solid ground a few feet away.

Echo let out a long sigh and let her body relax as she laid there.

Comments

[Sparrow9612]

9727362

Scrat. Echo as a saber-toothed batsquirrel would probably be called Scree.

[jenmaps64]

It is interesting. I always wondered. Does echo have a feeling of pity? Feelings of mercy? What do you think?

Is she nice and friendly?

Or not...?

[jenmaps64]

Do you continue the story?

[Kikio3000]

Is this the end of this cute, unfortunate story ending? If so, serves her right, but I DO feel sorry for the cutie. Just one mango...please, gods? Also, once again, that was scary, and...so close!

[Nightflight406]

Curse you, Wet Cement!

[redandready45]

9850124

I guess.