Life in Equestria Shimmers!

by PopopamAJ

Chapter three

Landscape and Doodlebug trotted through the forest. Doodlebug still looked jittery with excitement; probably still getting over the fact we’re ponies, he figured. So was he. Walking wasn’t so hard once he got used to it, but it was still a lot to think about. This was real. He had pinched himself multiple times during their walk, just to make sure. He was a pony. Landscape never really watched MLP, so he really had to rely on Doodlebug to show him how things work. He glanced at Doodlebug. She was skipping along, without a care in the world. She was a bit naive, and could be hard to talk to sometimes. This might be a challenge.

Suddenly, Doodlebug stopped and put her hoof in front of Landscape to stop him too.

“Don’t take another step!”

“Huh? Mi- Doodlebug, what is it?” They had stopped in front of a large patch of blue flowers.

“We need to go another direction. If you see any more of these flowers, don’t touch them.”

“Why not?”

“They’re poison joke!”

“P-poison?” He didn’t like where this was going.

“Well I mean, they aren’t poisonous. Poison is only in the name for the play on words. But the flowers are still bad!”

“What do they do?”

“If you touch them, they do something weird and random to you, like a practical joke. It doesn’t sound so bad, but trust me, accidentally step in em’ and the next day you’re crashing into walls upside down every other second or you’re smaller than a breezie!”

Landscape blinked in confusion for a moment. He didn’t understand most of that, but the crashing part or the small part didn’t sound pleasant. “Okay, which way should we go?”

Doodlebug scanned the area and pointed with her hoof. “That way doesn’t have any poison joke. Cmon!”

Landscape followed Doodlebug through the trees. Everything was smooth, although eerie, for the next about five minutes. A nasty smell filled his muzzle. Was it from him? He was about to sniff again to test his theory when he bumped into Doodlebug. She was frozen and pale in fear.

“Doodlebug? Are you okay?”

“T-that smell… Oh, sweet Celestia, please no...”

“Doodlebug, what is it?!”

He got his answer. Howling echoed in the trees. It wasn’t close enough to tell what direction, but the howling was still close. Too close.

“What was that?!” Landscape frantically turned to his friend with a desperate questioning look.

“Timberwolves.” She uttered in fear.

Landscape didn’t know what timberwolves were, but he could very clearly tell it was bad.

“What do we do?!” He whispered.

“Run.”

They ran. But it wasn’t enough. The howling sounded again, but much nearer. A sound behind them got closer and closer, like a mix between hoofsteps and.. Wood rattling..? Daring to look behind, Landscape caught a quick but terrifying glance of what had been chasing them. Some monster shaped somewhat like a wolf, made of sticks and branches. It had sharp teeth and eyes with a menacing glow. The smell was also stronger, he noticed. It must’ve been coming from the timberwolves.

Suddenly, an even louder sound was muffled against the trees. A high pitched squealing? Hoofsteps pounded closer and closer; a lot of hoofsteps. Suddenly, thundering through the trees, was a crowd of about ten pink pastel ponies with frizzy magenta manes, all identical. They were bouncing, and chanting something. ‘Fun’...? The bouncing ponies trampled the timberwolves without even noticing, and the monsters were just a big pile of sticks and leaves now. Landscape turned to Doodlebug. She didn’t look nearly as confused as she looked surprised. Did she understand what was going on?

“Do you know-”

“Don’t ask.”