Out and About
Editors note: Alright, we've learned from past mistakes so I encouraged him to remove a giant scene about a talking cake. You're welcome.
Chapter 4
Out and About
Edited by: CosmicAfro
Warmth and light. Two forces that had been revered since the beginnings of humanity, greeted the young protagonist as morning broke, the sun creeping over the horizon. Troy however was less than impressed by its presence, he did not feel particularly inclined to greet the new day in a welcoming fashion. He instead wanted to tell the sun it could go fuck itself and come back tomorrow. However, seeing as verbal abuse was rather ineffective against inanimate objects, he merely sat up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could feel a pounding headache recede to the back of his head into a dull throb and let out a low groan.
Suddenly he became aware of shuffling underneath his bag. His attention snapped to three tiny ponies, still fast asleep under his sleeping bag turned blanket. The orange one with the purple mane was splayed out like a frat boy after a massive kegger, still managing to somehow stay under the blanket. The cream colored one was curled into a ball, the tips of her hooves barely poking out from under the blanket. Her tail had been commandeered by the last one who squirmed as Troy's movement had displaced part of her coverings. He quickly slid out from under the impromptu blanket and tucked it in around the small creature. It hummed in what the young man could only assume was contentment.
Well, the last two days here... wherever the hell this is, has been nothing but firsts.
Though anyone who claims they have bunked with three mutant ponies on multiple occasions needs to get their head checked.
Troy soaked in the scene, he was surprised to discover he had a certain sense of serenity. The way the sunlight poured through the windows and onto the worn stone floor, the way plants could be seen poking in from just about everywhere, reclaiming the ruins for the earth once more had a very tranquil sense about it. He felt a large calm wash away his worries, sweeping away the weight they once had. Or at least until he realized that it was very possible that he might not even be on earth anymore. Then the weight came back in spades, it felt like a boulder had just landed on his shoulders. You'd think I'd notice this kind of thing sooner, wouldn't you? Troy sunk to his hands and knees, content to wallow in his despair for a moment. After a minute he stood back up and began to stretch his stiff muscles.
Yeah, Yeah. Enough pity, what's on the agenda today?
Water, food, and info.
Troy made his way back to the courtyard that housed the demolished well and began the long process of retrieving the precious life giving liquid from the dark hole in the ground. After he drank his fill of the purest water he suspected he would ever have the privilege of tasting, he turned his attention to the stream. He marched to the banks edge and looked through the brook, searching for his soon to be breakfast. The water held a plentiful bounty, and as the young man surveyed the surrounding area, a sense of peace washed over him for the second time this morning. The fashion in which the sun peered over the mountains, the warm wisps of morning mist dancing in the air, today just felt like a good day. The hiker turned explorer let out a deep and relaxing sigh pass his lips.
Then there was pain.
The sensation that Troy experienced was similar to someone having a railroad spike shot through their forehead. Except the spike was made out of molten lava.
The young man couldn't even find the strength to scream, he fell to his knees and collapsed, his head cradled in his hands. The pain burned like a thousand suns, the young man could barely think and his only actions were the choking breaths he took to keep himself alive.
He forced himself to focus on the pain. Pain was the body's way of alerting its conscious self to damage, but what was causing it? A thousand possibilities shot through the man's sundered mind.
Allergy?
Some kind of parasite?
Some illness contracted from those creatures?
Poison maybe?
Inter‐dimensional AID's?
Montezuma's revenge?
Troy focused on the pain, trying to classify it, identify it. The agony he felt was unlike any kind of pain he had ever experienced before, it felt like his nerves were screaming. Strangely enough, it didn't feel like anything was actually wrong, though he didn't understand how he could even make that distinction. After a minute the pain began to recede into the back of his head and became a dull throb. Actually, the throbbing came from his face and ears rather than the inside of his head.
The young man forced his eyes open only to find the world was suddenly stained with a hideous shade of pink; he slowly became aware of a warm liquid on his face, after clearing the red from his eyes with a few sessions of repeated blinking he restored the colors of the world to their rightful hues. Troy turned to the stream and bent low to examine what he had a sneaking suspicion was not a pretty sight.
He couldn't have been more right, crimson stained his face where blood had poured from his eyes and nostrils, he could even see where it had flowed out from his ears. He began to think a mile a minute, what just happened?
Aneurism? No, that's fatal and doesn't cause external bleeding.
Disease or illness? Probably not, onset of symptoms this extreme don't just come and go, also unlikely I picked it up, usually an incubation period is needed meaning I would have had it before all this crazy shit started.
Poison contracted from those ponies? Unlikely, I would have reacted last night, not now.
Allergic reaction to aforementioned ponies? Again unlikely. An allergy is formed after initial contact, it wouldn't take this long to exhibit symptoms, or at least it wouldn't call forth this extreme of a reaction in such a short amount of time.
Water from the well? Impossible, would have same reaction from the first...
Troy swung around to look at the water in the pot that had doubled as his water bucket, it was still half full. He strode to the now suspicious liquid and scooped up the metal container. He looked for sediment, it had tasted too clear to be contaminated with some toxic substance, probably. However, that didn't rule out the possibility of bacteria, though groundwater is usually filtered naturally through sediment and other minerals. At worst he would get a stomach bug, not the Ebola virus, which meant that if the well water was responsible it was due to an unknown toxin introduced last night.
He weighed his options. This was the only source of clean water as far as he could tell. The river was filled with fish, and therefore fish shit. If the well was contaminated and he couldn't find another source of water he was unbelievably screwed. For a moment, the man scrutinized the clear liquid, seeing if anything living in it could be discerned with his naked eye, but nothing showed itself to him. He paused, he needed to be sure, and if the water wasn't the cause and he simply assumed it was, it could prevent him from finding the actual cause and could quite possibly prove to be fatal. He hastily downed the last of the water and returned to the riverbank, leaning against a rock. Troy sat in anticipation for a burning sensation like before, but none came. After ten minutes of waiting, he concluded the water was not to blame.
What was it? What could have possibly caused this?
Maybe an insect of some kind? A poisonous tick maybe?
The realization hit him like a semi-truck hauling steamrollers. The colorization of the ponies wasn't a warning for the nonexistent poisons they excreted, but rather the poisons of the TICKS they carried. It would be a formidable bond of symbiosis, if the ponies were immune and the ticks got a free meal, the ticks could defend the creatures and ensure the continuation of their food source and the food source of their genetic future at the same time.
Troy didn't have time to worry about fish shit, he stripped off his clothes and left them folded on the rock, content to wash them later.
Time for a bath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apple Bloom groaned as Celestia's warm sun poked at the young filly through her eyelids. She casually sat up, smacked her lips and began to rub the sleep from her eyes.
Aw dang, Big Mac is gonna kill me for sleepin' in on a school day...
Only when the wee pony opened her eyes did she realize that this was not her house and she was not in her bed. The previous day's events flooded her mind; the forest, the storm, the castle, the creature. She spun around to look at her friends as they slumbered peacefully under the navy blue blanket/bag, all accounted for. She quickly scanned the surrounding chamber for any sign of the creature, but all that remained to remind her of its existence was the blanket, the large misshapen rucksack that it had used as a pillow and the cold embers of what used to be a fire. She nudged her friends, waking them from their respective slumbers. Scootaloo in particular needed an extra jostle to dislodge herself from her dreamscape.
"Huh, Apple Bloom? Where‐" Sweetie Belle mumbled as she looked around. For an instant, she froze and her eyes widened in realization, "Where is the... thing?" she whispered.
"Dunno, wasn't here when ah woke up. Speakin' of which, none of us got eaten, so ah think we're safe for the time bein'." The farm filly mimicked her friend's hushed tone.
"Where's breakfast?" The adjacent half asleep pegasus grumbled.
The Apple family's youngest gave her a flat glance, "Do yah even have the slightest idea of where yah are?"
Scootaloo looked around, immediately her eyes grew wide as if seeing her location for the first time. She let out an audible gulp. "So..." she began with an uneven voice, "where's‐"
"Not here." Sweetie Belle answered her friend's unasked question. "But its stuff is still here, so it'll probably be back."
"Then why are we still here?" The orange pegasus bolted upright and motioned towards the large door at the end of the hall, "Let's get moving before that thing comes back and eats us."
The three ponies quickly made their way to the door and jumped at the handles. Scootaloo got hold of one ring and Apple Bloom had another, both of them pulled as hard as they could, remembering from yesterday how the doors actually opened.
Unfortunately, the ancient metal was content to sit still and leave them to their pointless labor, the fillies just didn't have enough strength to budge the slabs. Even when all three pulled on a single door, though it didn't help that due to their size they had to pull downward, pulling the door against the ground to add extra friction, completely negating any actual pull they had. No matter how hard they pulled it was to no distinguishable effect.
The three collapsed onto their backs, panting from their fruitless efforts. Apple Bloom was the first to right herself and stand up. She paced back and forth deep in thought, "Maybe there's another way outside." she proposed. "Quick, look fer a way out," she whispered.
The cutie mark crusaders split up and looked down the three passageways that led out of the great hall, one was blocked by metal doors that had been propped up. They were too heavy to wiggle loose so that wasn't happening. The second passage seemed to split upwards and downwards leading deeper into the castle. The third and final passage had a large hall with what appeared to once have been a courtyard. The fillies smiled at the blue sky, they were out.
The grass was thick and luscious and the ponies' stomachs reminded them of their lack of dinner last night. They knew they weren't supposed to eat grass that was still in the ground on the account that it might have dirt and grit in it, but with the rain from last night, they all agreed they could fudge it this one time. As they nibbled on breakfast, Sweetie Belle spoke up in between bites.
"Do you really think that we need to sneak out of the castle? I mean, whatever that thing is it didn't seem too interested in us. I don't think it will mind if we leave."
"And what if it wasn't all that hungry yesterday? You saw‐" Scootaloo let a shiver crawl up her spine. "‐what kind of stuff it eats. It could be just saving us for later, to turn us into pony stew!"
The two girls turned to their unspoken leader, who was in deep thought. After a moment of consideration, she finally voiced her opinion. "Ah don't think it's all that interested in us, but Ah think it's better that we don't stick around to find out for sure. Let's get a move on."
As the group rounded a large well they became acutely aware of the creature's presence. They instantly froze in place, not wanting to garner the thing's attention. Only one thought was shared unanimously by the trio, figures. They noticed two rather odd things. First, it was crouching in the river, and second, was completely unclothed.
Its back was turned, but the girls had a clear view of the creature. The whole thing was a light shade of pink with sparse patches of fur on its legs and arms but not much else, though hair grew in a few weird places, like underneath the pits of its forelegs.
Why would it need fur there of all places?
The younger Apple pondered this as the creature seemed to groom itself. It gently poured water out of its cupped not‐claws. As the dirt and grime began to clear from its body, it began to examine each body part, combing through its patched fur.
"What do you think it's doing?" Sweetie Belle asked as she slowly trotted back behind the well. Soon, only her head was visible as she continued to watch the odd scene unfold before her. She was soon joined by her friends.
"I think it's taking a bath, do monsters take baths?" Apple Bloom's confusion was shared amongst her friends.
"Doesn't it look kinda... sick?" The girl's eyes snapped to the pegasus filly. "I mean, no wonder it wears a bunch of clothes, almost all its fur's fallen out."
"I dunno, it doesn't look too bad," Sweetie Belle replied halfheartedly, "I think?"
They returned their gaze to the strange creature fate had brought them to. It was standing now, the muscles in its legs could be easily seen as they rippled while it walked farther up the river bank. Its head swiveled to look at the mountains that poked over the trees in the distance and then back towards the castle and the girls. The self‐designated crusaders ducked behind the well. After a moment they heard the sloshing of water and the ruffling of damp cloth.
The nervous fillies hesitantly poked their heads out again, to find the creature had replaced the large garment that covered its lower legs and lower body.
"What's that thing it's wearin'?" Apple Bloom pondered more to herself than anypony else.
"I think they're called pants." Sweetie Belle piped up, "Rarity told me that some stallions wear them at formal stuff, like at the Grand Galloping Gala. She said that they aren't really popular though, they're really uncomfortable, especially if it chafes your tail."
"So does that mean that thing is a guy?" Apple Bloom inquired, earning a confused look from the orange pegasus companion to her left.
"Of course it's a guy, didn't you see?" this time getting two confused looks herself.
"See, what?"
The speed demon immediately broke out into a light blush. "Uhh. Nothing. It... It's a guy. Trust me on this one."
The two gave her an odd look and then decided to go back to watching the male whatever it was do its thing, only to realize it was coming towards the well. They quickly pressed themselves up against the stone structure, earning a look from Scootaloo who in turn leaned out to see what had alarmed her friends so. Needless to say, she joined her compatriots in their cowering in short order.
"Anypony else getting Deja-Vu? Sweetie Belle whispered, "Or is it just me?"
The unicorn had two hooves unceremoniously shoved into her mouth.
Again, the steady not‐hoof beats of the creature approached the three fillies, stopping on the other side of the well. After a moment they heard a small bit of rustling and a muffled splash. In a few moments, a sloshing noise leisurely rose from the ancient wellspring until it was directly above them. Then suddenly a small kettle of water attached to a rope was lowered onto the ground in front of them. A synchronized blink later the group looked up to see the paw‐claw‐thing slip out of sight. The creature then strode from around the well and made his way inside, only pausing to give the group of multicolored ponies a sideways glance and to mutter something in its native tongue before disappearing inside the castle.
The fillies stared at the water pail as its contents glinted in the mid-morning sun. Now that she thought about it Apple Bloom realized that she was actually pretty parched.
She bent over and gave it a sniff, "Don't drink it! The water might be poisoned!" The farm filly turned to and gave a rather non‐pulsed look to her orange be‐winged companion.
"Ah really don't think it is, 'sides Ah'm thirsty!"
"But you don't know‐"
The bickering was cut short when Sweetie Belle surprised both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo by taking a big swig from the pail.
"Doesn't taste poisoned, it actually tastes pretty good as far as water goes."
The two stared at the unicorn like she had grown a second head.
After a pause, the three friends took turns drinking from the pail until it was empty. As they finished the creature returned carrying its giant bag, it could have easily carried a filly inside, maybe two if he squeezed them in real tight. Spying the empty water 'bucket' he reached down and picked it up, tossing aside his pack. The girls backed away, but not as far or as quick as they had before. They watched as the creature gently lowered the rope into the well and after a moment of fussing with the vine pulled it back up. The girls watched its strange forelegs and paws work in perfect harmony pulling up a filled pot of water. It gingerly laid the metal pot in front of the group before him and grabbed his bag and once more set off towards the steam.
They watched as it reached into the bag and began to pull out more of its strange clothes.
"What's it doing?"
"Ah think it's called laundry."
"Do monsters do laundry? I mean, I can't really see a diamond dog washing a vest or two."
"Apparently this one does."
The group watched as the creature wrung out each article of clothing in turn, before laying them in the sun to dry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Troy smiled at the satisfying slap his final shirt made against the rock, he'd checked everything, from his clothes to every patch of skin he could lay his hands on. No ticks, no parasites, nothing. Part of his mind still nagged him about that little episode. The human body just doesn't vent blood from the upper orifices like some morbid fountainhead.
Fountain head, ha, stupid.
Troy blinked, maybe that blood loss was affecting him more than he thought.
He decided, that since he had no way to deduce what had caused his 'episode' the only option he had left was to ignore it until he could find a proper medical facility with people trained to figure this shit out on a daily basis.
In the meantime, he could only continue to repair his improvised home. While it was impressive, to say the least, it definitely could stand for improvement. The polychromatic ponies seemed more at ease when he was at a distance, though they didn't seem to be as terrified of him as they were before. He continued to ignore the creatures as he passed the well and went to retrieve his current project. He carried the coiled ropes out one at a time, due to their size and weight. Lastly, he brought out the longest coil of vines he had and began to make measurements. After a few minutes, he had the length he wanted and the distance spaced out between two large stones.
He hurriedly began winding the vines around the stones and cut the sinewy strands into a pile, all of them approximately the same length. He began twisting two strands together and then tied them in between the knots in the larger ropes. The intrepid adventurer stood back to examine his work, comparing it to the picture in his mind.
This mental picture is brought to you by DigiTech's Mental Imagining Scanner, coming soon to an airport near you.
He had made a monkey bridge in the later years of scout camp, he didn't have the materials for the wooden frame, but thanks to his hatchet he could easily remedy that. He searched out beyond the river and came across some young trees, just the right width for what he needed, not quite saplings, but not mature either. Though, he would have to shave them down a bit. Troy couldn't help but smile, and as he began his work he soon found himself breaking out into song. He had been doing a lot of that as of late.
"♪I've got the brains, you got the looks. Let's make a lot of money!♪
♪You got the brawn, I got the brains. Let's make lots of money♪
♪I have a love of scheming and messing around with jerks.♪
♪My car is parked outside I'm afraid it doesn't work.♪
♪I'm looking for a partner, someone who gets things fixed.♪
♪ Ask yourself a question; do you want to be rich?"♪
Pet shop boys are so underrated.
As the oblivious woodsman set about his task, he failed to hear the soft note of a far-off howl in the distance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Time... Another Place...
Six mares barreled through the underbrush of the Everfree, desperate to reach their destination and whatever answers they might find there. As they passed through thicket, scrub, and shrubbery they caught sight of a gnarled tree. The wild looking wood was dotted with vials and flasks hanging from its branches, with only the resident of the mysterious tree knowing what kind of elixirs they held. As the group of mares entered the hovel they passed under a large mask adorning the entrance.
As the six colorful creatures of harmony entered the hut, they came upon a rather odd sight. The zebra they had come to consult was upside down, resting on her head balanced perfectly on a bamboo staff. Every time she threatened to lose her balance the striped equine would gently lean to compensate, seeming to sway almost rhythmically.
"Excuse me? Zecora?" Twilight did her best to avoid startling the meditating zebra. "We need your help with something really important."
The potion master slowly opened her eyes and turned to face her guests, all the while still remaining on top of her staff.
"Ah, Twilight and the other elements I see, pray tell, for what cause do you require me?" The part-time hermit addressed her guests in her usual rhyming fashion.
"Well‐" The purple mare began but was briskly shunted aside by Applejack.
"Have ya seen Apple Bloom or the girls around by any chance?"
"The girls have not paid me a visit, but I suspect that's not the whole problem, is it?"
The farm pony hung her head, "They went intuh the forest, this forest at noon and no pony's seen them since."
She looked to meet the inverted zebra's gaze, "The last ponies to see the girls said they were goin' tuh see you."
Zecora's eyes went wide, "Surely you don't mean to imply, that I‐" Applejack instantly waved away the thought with a hoof.
"No pony's sayin' anything of the sort, we think the girls got lost on the way here and we'd really appreciate it if there's any way for you tuh help."
The mystic nodded, all the while managing to stay completely stable on her staff. With a quick twist the zebra flung herself up and after a quick somersault in the air kicked the staff into its corner and swiftly trotted to the door.
"There is no time to waste, come quickly and let us make haste."
The seven of them exited the tree and Zecora went to one branch and located a stout purple flask. After removing it from the branch she took a swift swig of the stuff and then returned it to its piece of twine on which it hung previous.
"What was that?" asked Twilight as she wrinkled her nose, the strange concoction left a strange musky yet tangy smell in the air.
"A potion to enhance the senses and the mind, with this, those wayward fillies we will be sure to find." The medicine mare blinked a few times, then seemed to look at the surrounding forest with a new vision. She sniffed at the air and her ears twisted and turned independent of one another. She calmly lowered her head to the ground and listened intently for a moment, as though it was telling her everything she needed to know. She then stood up and began to trot into the underbrush. The six mares immediately followed. With the exception of Rarity, who, to her credit, only hesitated a moment before plunging into the undergrowth.
"Well, did you find out where they are?" the distressed marble unicorn sputtered as she caught an errant branch in the face.
"No, I only made sure that there were no predators abound. With them gone we can freely move around."
"So all that weird twitchy stuff before was just to make sure we didn't run into any monsters?" Rainbow inquired as she fluttered above the group, hovering in between the underbrush and the canopy of the woods.
"It makes sense though, if you think about it" Fluttershy softly pointed out, "we won't be able to find the girls if every single nasty, angry, spiky and dangerous animal in the forest is chasing after us."
"I just don't like that we have to sneak around." The polychromatic pegasus pouted, however, she let the subject drop.
The group came upon a worn game trail, and Zecora immediately began to follow it deeper into the woods. While to most everypony it looked like a normal game trail, to the zebra's enhanced senses it felt completely different. The scents of all the animals that stalked this trail hung in the air, and the tracks left behind were fresh and round like a pony's, she could already make out Apple Bloom's scent out from hundreds of others, brought forth from a memory of the first time she met the filly. She had come to Zecora's humble abode searching for answers about the poison joke's effects on her sibling. She recalled she smelt slightly of Cinnamon and apple tree blossoms, akin to her namesake. The scent was like the needle of a compass, every bruised leaf and broken branch might as well been to a sign post. To her enhanced eyes the tracks stood out like the girls had coated their hooves in neon paint.
The group came to a clearing as the sun started to get dangerously close to the horizon and in addition to the waning light, dark clouds began to gather overhead. The group of assorted ponies followed their guide in tense silence. Both Dash and Fluttershy would cast wary looks to the clouds swirling and roiling above, the latter would give a slight 'eep' every time she spotted a particularly dark formation.
"Oh dear," Twilight's gazed into the distance as a curtain of rain rushed forward and enveloped the group of travelers.
For the first time since they had set out, Zecora began to look frantic. The rain was drowning the scent and washing away the tracks. The weight of the water bowed the leaves and covered any sign of passage.
She quickened her pace and bolted forward, before all signs of the trail were completely washed away. The elements of harmony crashed through the brush behind her as they joined in the chase. Lightning split the sky, and was followed by a strangled yelp from a certain pegasus in short order, before it was drowned out by thunder. Still, they all broke into a desperate gallop. With every step the storm became fiercer and the curtain of falling water became a thick soup of fat raindrops.
Finally the seven speeding equines came to a large winding river that was in the process of flooding. Zecora began to pace up and down the shoreline looking for anything that might give a sign or point her in the right direction. The girls immediately joined her search, but after fifteen minutes of fruitless labor the mystic sat down heavily on her haunches under the relatively dry canopy of a nearby tree.
"I'm sorry, but the storm has washed away their trail, I don't know where they've gone to, it seems my search was doomed to fail."
Fluttershy joined the dejected zebra under her tree, "You didn't fail us Zecora, you got us farther than we would have ever gotten on our own."
"That's right!" Rainbow called from the air, "We can still keep looking, they're probably around here somewhere."
The speedster darted upwards and began scanning the riverbed. Applejack was pacing back and forth along the bank, calling out for Apple Bloom, trying to shout over the storm. Pinkie Pie was checking bushes and logs for the fillies, with no apparent luck. She bounced in between the trees sporting her umbrella hat, searching for the girls everywhere she could think of, like it was a game of hide and seek.
Rarity approached Twilight as the purple mare was quickly speed reading a few of the books she had brought under a tree, the marble pony watched her friend paged through a tome. Looking at the title it was obviously related to magic.
"Twilight dear?"
She watched as the unicorn jumped a little before looking at her with sorrow.
"I'm so sorry Rarity," The librarian's voice was unusually small.
"I looked through as many books having to do with tracking as I could find on short notice, and these were the only books that had them. But they all need preparation of some kind like a spell being cast on two halves of the same stone or something else."
The drenched master of fashion trotted forward and began channeling a spell through her horn.
"Rarity?" The mare in question looked at her purple friend.
"I'm modifying my gem finding spell, if I can tweak it just right I might be able to find the girls."
The librarian pony reeled back in surprise. Changing the nature of a spell was dangerous, it dealt with too many unknowns and could undermine the spell's structure, causing it to collapse, usually with disastrous results.
"Rarity‐"
"I know it's dangerous Twilight," She interrupted, "and I'm sure you know it better than I, but..."
The unicorn's voice was smooth yet still uneven, like ice threatening to crack under the pressure of an unseen weight.
"I have to try, what good is a spell that can only find something as common as a diamond when it can't-" her voice broke, it was so soft Twilight could barely hear it over the storm. "If there is any chance, just one chance this could work, I have to try."
The white unicorn did not move, standing stock still, but her friend could see the worry and turmoil in her eyes. Twilight walked over and leaned against her compatriot. She said nothing, she only watched her friend as she gazed forward, as if her sister would stumble out of the bushes at any moment. The lavender librarian couldn't tell if her friend was crying, if she was, the tears were lost in the rain.
Rainbow Dash returned about ten minutes later to a sorry sight, all the ponies were at a loss. Even Pinkie was sitting defeated with her hair deflated, holding onto her tail waiting for some kind of twitch or some kind of sign.
"What the hay?" The cyan pegasus shouted over the storm, "Why is everypony just sitting around when we could be looking for those fillies?"
"We can't find them in this storm, Rainbow." Twilight couldn't bear to look her friend in the eye, "and the sun has nearly set, we can't find them."
"Then we'll just find them when the storm's over. Come on! This isn't over yet!" Dash pleaded, "We still have a chance."
"Actually..." All eyes were on Pinkie, it was the first time she had spoken in a while. "My Pinkie sense hasn't picked anything up. Maybe they're not in any danger right now."
Twilight was about say something when Zecora interjected.
"It's strange, usually one or two creatures are around," the zebra turned to Twilight, "but there are none to be found. The rain might be too harsh for the animals to come out, if that's the case those girls have one less thing to worry about. Those fillies are smart, quick and clever, they will be fine if they can escape the weather."
"Ah ain't givin' up," Applejack looked up at Dash and cracked a weary smile, "and that's for darn sure."
Lighting flashed against the black sky, the ponies huddled up and hatched a plan; Twilight would write a letter to the princess, the sun had already gone down so she would probably be asleep so the librarian would have to wait at home for the reply.
Rarity and Applejack would go home and rest, that way if the girls made it home on their own they could let everypony know. Fluttershy would go home and in the morning talk to the birds that traversed the Everfree forest, to see if they could help look. Pinkie pie and Rainbow Dash would stay the night at Zecora's house so they could start looking first thing in morning. The zebra was more than willing to put them up for the night.
With new determination burning in the eyes of everyone present, the huddle split and all but three of the seven made for the edge of the wood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...
Troy causally pulled the rope in his hands taut before tying it off on a stake. He had hammered it in and driven it deep into the ground with the blunt side of his hatchet. He was actually proud everything had come together as well as it did, he had half of the bridge standing upright and tied off on his side of the ravine and it was only noon. Well, almost noon. Anyway, he had only one more task before he broke for lunch.
This is going to suck.
It was all he could think as he mounted the rickety rotting log that spanned the chasm. He had two long and sturdy poles strapped to his back with a bit of leftover rope along with three lengthy stakes to secure the structure, along with the end of the bridge wrapped around his waist. The perturbed pole‐man began to gradually pull himself across and out over the edge of the cliff. He didn't dare look down, looking down required leaning over to one side and that meant he could very easily loose his balance and fall a very long way. Not that he would necessarily hate the fall, it could be rather enjoyable, like a roller coaster ride maybe. It was the landing he was wary of. He had bigger plans then becoming a smear on a rock.
About halfway across he could feel the bark come apart in his hands, the tree groaned and small cracks and snaps could be heard from the logs midsection.
scootscootscootscootGOGOGOGONOWNOWNOWNOW
Contrary to popular belief, encouragement is not the best form of motivation. Threats are by far one of the more effective forms of persuasion. Threatening to send someone plummeting to their doom, for example, is quite effective. Which the tree managed to do quite well given its non‐vocal handicap.
Once safely across he removed the poles and the stakes and lay on his back, feeling the rope gently pull at him. After admiring the passing clouds he slowly righted himself and prepared to finally finish his bridge. As it was his only option as the rather loud cracks coming from the battered piece of wood made it clear. The odds of getting back across that log safe and sound were about the same as getting an invite from Cthulhu for a friendly get together over a nice dinner. First off the Elder god was notorious for his complete lack of table manners, so the promise of a pleasant meal was completely off the table. Also he didn't really play well with 'mortal folk', too squishy and not enough mental fortitude.
Let's just get this stupid bridge up and be done with it.
Unbeknownst to the handyman, he was being watched by three large pairs of eyes, huddled in a bush.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Now?" Asked the purple set of peepers.
"Not jus' yet." the amber eyeballs replied.
"He's too close to the log right now, did you forget the plan already?" The green eyes couldn't quite contain the annoyance of the pony they were attached to, namely Sweetie Belle.
"NO, I didn't. Scootaloo's tone was one of indigence though it quickly turned to one of concern, "you think those wolves are gone by now?"
The band of fillies desperately wanted to go home, even if it meant getting punished. The only problem was the creature was working near the log putting up some kind of structure. so they couldn't get to the impromptu bridge without him noticing. They would have gone before then, but they had heard the howls of a pack of timber wolves. The lumbering predators were not close judging by the echo, But they were close enough that the girls didn't want to go into the woods until an encounter with the beasts was unlikely.
By that time howls had faded into the distance the creature had set up shop and made escape difficult. The girls had varying levels of mistrust of the creature, it obviously didn't intend to hurt them. In fact it seemed quite tolerant of them. However, they had no idea if and when that attitude would change. Not to mention they would be in a REALLY bad position if it did turn on them.
While the fact it ate meat was a little off-putting, it wasn't too disturbing now that they had actually stopped and thought about it. Some animals like owls and snakes ate meat and that didn't make them evil. What worried the fillies was the fact that the creature was easily big enough that a single one of them was small enough to be a meal. And if it decided that one of them looked tasty, they weren't in a position to stop it from taking a nibble or two.
It had scooted across the log and was finishing setting up what looked like a bridge, but the bottom of the bridge was wrong. Instead of planks it had a single rope, it would be impossible for anypony to cross without losing their balance.
The creature pulled on the tethers securing the structure and slowly climbed onto the bridge and began to test the fruit of his labor. Satisfied it wouldn't collapse under his weight, the creature began to cross the bridge, deliberately setting one hoof in front of the other and balancing itself with its forelegs.
"This is it! GO! GO! GO!" The girls shot out from their hiding spot and charged forward. The creature watched in mild surprise as they approached, as they came he reached the middle of his bridge.
As they made their way toward the bridge, the creature seemed to realize their intentions and shouted something in its native tongue. Picking up the pace and trying to get to the end of the bridge, but it wasn't fast enough.
The girls quickly leaped onto their wooden escape route and began to make their way across. Unfortunately, their combined weight was more than that of the creature on the bridge, and as they reached the middle the sound of breaking timber rang out with a morbid finality. A large piece of bark jutted out of the middle at the split stopping Sweetie Belle in her tracks. The other two continued on, unaware of their friend's plight. The middle of the tree gradually began to droop as the final strands of bark and timber delayed the inevitable. The terrified filly turned tail and ran back the way she came, her friends already on the other side, only now turning to realize the state of danger their friend was in, but it was far too late.
The girls watched in horror as the first half of the log fell into the ravine, but the other half didn't immediately plunge, as Sweetie Bell neared the edge of the cliff, she could see the creature, he was desperately hanging onto the far edge of the log, trying to balance it out.
Two things happened at once, first the tree slid into the ravine carrying the strange biped to the edge of the chasm. Second, Sweetie Belle leapt with every bit of strength she had, colliding with the precipice as she pawed for a hoof hold. It was not enough for her to stop her fall, but it delayed it enough for the creature to scramble to her and grab a hold of her hoof.
As the terrified unicorn dangled over the fatal plunge below her she stared deep into the eyes of her savior. Wild and dangerous, like an animal, but they betrayed concern and fear like a pony. She felt oddly calm as it carefully pulled her up and over the lip of the cliff. It tossed her away from the cliff and flopped on its back, the two of them watched the clouds pass by for a minute before the creature got up and pointed at her with one of its fleshy digits and started barking at her. From what she could tell it was scolding her, but she really didn't care. She simply watched the clouds pass and marveled as they lazily changed shape as they moved. They were unlike any cloud she had seen before. While pegasi did sometimes shape clouds, these ones were always changing and becoming something new every second. They almost seemed freer than the clouds she knew so well.
She finally noticed that the creature was no longer addressing her and was at the cliff face, looking at the remains of the log then at her friends who were pacing back and forth, calling out to her.
The oddity simply stood tall and carefully took in the scene before him. After a moment he made his way to the castle and after a minute or two, returned with the rucksack. Once more he wore his axe and knife as he approached the tiny pony at a brisk but not hasty pace.
It knelt gently and removed the pack, opening and motioning at it and the bridge. Its intentions were obvious, it wanted her to get in the sack and take her across the bridge. The cream-colored filly was unsure despite herself, the monster had done nothing wrong, and it had even saved her life. It only kept you from falling so it could eat you itself. The filly tried to quiet her doubts, but while they would dissipate they wouldn't disappear completely. While she was apprehensive she slowly made her way into the sack, it was her only chance to cross the chasm now.
This is crazy, it's going to close the sack and start laughing any minute now!
As she turned to leave she was surprised by the sudden appearance of the creatures back. He eased the pack upward but never shut it, suddenly she fell back as the creature stood up. Repositioning herself she poked her head out of the backpack at an unfamiliar height. She was excited despite the fact she was riding on some unknown creatures back, she was almost taller than Big Mac, or at least that was what it felt like. No wonder this guy stands on his hind legs, this is incredible! The lone crusader thought as the creature nonchalantly walked to the large bridge it had made and stopped for a moment.
It knelt down and removed its weird hoof coverings. She was watched as he removed the tough brown wrappings and white fluffy tubes to reveal its oddly shaped hooves. They were very similar to its forelegs, but there were some big differences, for one it was sort of oval-shaped, and it had five more protrusions like its paws did, much shorter though. It tied the strings of the brown hoof corset things together and hung them around its neck before stuffing the white cloth tubes into them.
After that was finished it climbed up its carefully crafted bridge and calmly began to cross, using the stubby appendages that were once hidden to better grip the rope underhoof. As the two crossed the bridge groaned and swayed not allowing for either of them to relax. Until finally they reached the other side as her earth pony and pegasus friends looked on, completely dumbfounded from the proceedings. The creature removed his pack and released the filly. Once she was free he replaced his pack. To the surprise of everyone present Sweetie Belle began to nuzzle the biped, after a moment it returned the gesture with by stroking her mane. Afterward, he stood up and then gestured with one of his meaty paws to the forest, wearing a quizzical expression.
"I think he wants to help us get through the forest." Sweetie Belle spoke around the giant smile on her face.
"But‐"
"Ah don't think it wants to eat us. "Apple bloom interrupted her winged companion. "And this feller has been nothin' but neighborly since last night. 'Sides he could know the way to Ponyville, and even if he doesn't it can't hurt to have some giant monster as a body guard."
"Fine." the pegasus relented, "but he better not try anything funny."
The group of odd fellows set off into the wilderness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The voice in his head
Never stopped for breath.
It spoke of danger,
It spoke of death.
It shouted "Hurry,
pack up and flee!"
And all before his morning wee.
—Chuck Lorre quote #372
Editor note: Oh, and I lied about the cake.
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No comments?! Here's my chance!
...uh...um...I...er...I can't think of anything.
To the editor, thank you for "saving" our sanity from the giant talking cake
A bit of sad news, right now I'm facing one of my most hated gods in battle, Math.
I know Pinkie, it is my worst subject and means I will have to spend much more time studying, meaning less time to work on my beloved fan fiction.
While I WILL continue to write, for the next quarter it will take longer to update.
Sorry everypony, priority's. its a shame that this cant rank higher.
426825
I'm sure you'll beat this "math" if you try hard enough, go for it!
..and here's to hoping that you'll be able to post a new chapter within the next month or 2
Darn, I ran out of chapter.
oh god, It's here...i'm so happy
Aw man. I really like this story too...
Sweet chapter! THE CAKE IS A LIE!
427634 I know your pain my friend, I truely do.
Another great chapter my other, authory, friend. Very high quality in my opinion and I really enjoy the realistic reactions Troy is showing, especily enjoy the language barrier. I might have already said that but the encounter stage is always my favorite in HIE stories.
I also have serious trouble with my current Math class and can understand your woes, while I am certain i will fall to mine I hope you overcome yours. Sad that chapters will take longer but I will wait dillagently.
Final thought. Do you like the word polychromatic? You used it like 3 times, just wondering.
Have a great day.
P.S. Sneaky editor! Lying about talking cake!
. Good job Cosmic.
Nice to have him though isnt it
P.S.S Dang it I keep having extra thoughts
!
I also want to thank you for supplying an image of the monkey bridge, my imagination is lacking and i would have had a hard time visualizing it.
428864
First off, yes.
Yes I absolutely love the word polychromatic, and now that I have used it so much I can never use it again.
(at least for a while)
I love to use a single word that translates out to: A f***ton of colors.
secondly, I want to ask a question to my audience,
I have been debating whether or not to give magic to our dear protagonist. Right now we are far enough ahead that I can properly plan things out one way or another so let me explain my options. oh wait I can just do that in my blog post which you can find Here
428905 I knew it! But polychromatic IS a grand word
.
I have read your blog post and I applaud your efforts to include the audience, reminds me of Mass Effect... just hope it ends beter...
Both your choices are sound, and my guess for potion master is Zecora
, option 1 sounds like it would be interesting and your descriptions about the requierments for using his magic are awsome. But as you say, it is far to easy too slip and have the story become too mmmm, cliche for lack of a better word, and have Troy solve everything with magic or something else, I'm having trouble thinking of good words at this time, i apologise.
In addition I realy enjoy the realism, and thoroughness of the descriptions, in your story because it makes it all the more easy to relate to, a key factor in keeping an audience interested. And I love to watch people outwit there problems rather then muscle through them, I think theres a saying that best defines what I mean and I think it goes "I love it when a good plan comes together". So I go with Option 2,BUT, with a slight change; I suggest making him magic resistant. I've found it to be quite interestig in other stories, and it's almost always fun to read how unicorns are flumoxed by a being that is void of,and voids, maigc. I'm not suggesting write it so that he's untouchable by even the likes of Celestia and Luna, but that it is diffiuclt for unicorns with Twilight level ability to affect him.
Either way I look forward to more.
I love this story. Good writing, interesting protagonist, realistic reactions, an enforced language barrier, all a part of the recipe for awesomesauce. I was so happy when I saw that this has updated.
Also, beat that Math like a redheaded stepdaughter.
429452
Thank you for input, as for the magic resistance... I might just go that way, honestly it never actually occurred to me to do something like that. Though it won't be like that exactly. This is why I include my audience in the creative process, they have good ideas. And it can make a good story better.
*5 minutes later*
I just stopped my happy dance because I just had a plethora of ideas after reading your comment and writing this one. some great scenes, how to deal with the whole 'communication' situation.
I'll have another poll in a little while to deal with that, but for now the current tally for this voting session. which will end with the month of April.
NM ][ FM (NM = non-magic, FM = for magic)
6 1
I vote primary for 429452 's Magic Resistance, and secondary Option 2
I don’t think I would like him to have Magic, simply because i ask myself 'for what?' I like how he uses his tools and brains to survive in an Environment normally deathly to him, and i would like to see how he beats every threat like this.
I mean seriously we became the Apex Predator with our tools and our brain. We don't need magic to be a force to be reckoned with.
Heh i don’t know where i read this but ...
'I'm Karsus,.the almighty Elvengod of magic, I'm here to conquer ...'
Bullet to the Head. He dies instantly.
'You talk to much.'
or this ...
'But I can give you all the power you want, you will be the most dangerous being in the whole multiverse.'
'Dude, I'm human, that means I'm already the most dangerous being in the whole multiverse. You piss me off any more and i call my friends to show you exactly why.'
428864
But then again he did use slowly and quickly 22 times each and I pointed that out. Reduced down to 7-8 each. Fun, right?
The funny part is it took him so long to write... and I edit it almost in full in about two days. I missed the polychromatics somehow... three is unacceptable
Thanks for thanking me! A lot of people forget part of the geniousness that is writing is the technical guy :3
This is one amazing story. I don't care if i have to wait long, IT'S WORTH IT!
*This comment is Pinkie approved* 
Woot! Never had this many responses before!
Posted in the blog, but it looks like the tally is going on here.
I'm throwing as many votes as I am allowed at the non magical protagonist option. We're humans, we get by just fine without magic by giving ourselves the adaptations that other creatures have worked so hard to evolve(and one upping them in the process.).
429452
I have to agree with the magic resistance bit, its always a bit of good fun when the big spell used on a human just fizzles out in a sad and pathetic way.
432106
actually I do a running tally in both at the same time, my posts are almost simultaneous. that way if someone checks the blog but not the comments they still have an idea of whats going on. and vice versa.
anyway
current score is:
NM ][ FM (NM = non-magic, FM = for magic)
17 2
The cake was a lie.........
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I am enjoying your story. Your humor (not to mention the characters and story :) is well-developed….My eyes seriously started to tear up from laughing. I don’t buy books very often, but I will buy one if I see your name on it!
….Uggh, I wish I didn’t read it yet. I can’t stand the idea of waiting for the next chapter. Amazing job! Thank you for making this incredible story. It made my night, and the thought of it will consume my week.
450605
Thank you kindly
its always nice to hear your work is appreciated.
though I will oppenly admit it will take longer than I would like to get the next chapter out.
A few days ago we learned how to calculate the magnitude of earthquakes...
Just saw the blog post, and tbh I definitely prefer the human ingenuity route. I love the fact that humans don't speak equestrian and vice versa, and I've always found much to convenient to the plot when humans end up being able to use magic. Just my two cents.
I'm digging this survivalist guy.
Tracked.
Man... I'm really glad I discovered this. This is an amazing, original story you've been telling here.
There are a few grammar issues... the occasional "where" instead of "were" or "then" instead of "than". Nothing that truly breaks immersion or disrupts flow, though. And your ability to write a strong, relatable character while really bringing home the survival, language, and trust issues is downright amazing. Also, 'dat dialogue...
Long story short: I'm utterly hooked. Please write more, soon!
555711
Thanks for pointing that out. I took care of the wheres, the thens will need more a little more work.
Though I'm happy you like the dialogue, to be honest I'm better at expressing inner thought and this is actually the first story I have written with dialogue.
I have done a few short stories for school, but if any one said anything it was just a line or two.
Still working on the next chapter. hope you'll like it.
UPDATE!!!!
555832 - This is one GOOD story! Could I have MOAR please? This has an immerse potential! MOAR!!!!
I have the strangest feeling that I've read this before. I don't suppose you started out as a post on EqD last year, and just updated and refreshed it?
There's just... something that nags me in the back of my head. Still, I absolutely love the fic so far, so please continue with it. There's way to few really good HiE fics like this out there.
583432
To my knowledge my work has never been on EqD, while I did try to get it posted once.
as for it being last year, I registered for Fimfiction in December of 2011, and It was a while before I started this fiction.
sorry I couldn't be more help, Here's your consolation prize.
an awesome song that you may or may not have heard of.
as for continuing the story I have already stated that I will finish this fic if it takes me a life time or more to do it. fear not, I'm still working on the next chapter.
583476
Oh well. I probably just got a glimpse of the glorious future. Or maybe there once was a fic with some similar elements, eh...
And best consolation prize ever. Even if I've heard it before, downloaded the mp3 and regularly have it on repeat. I'm pretty sure it's the most awesome piece of music produced by this fandom, tied with 'She's A Pony' of course ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53VlzF2nUtk I dare you to hear it through).
I'm certainly looking forward to the continuation of the story. I've read A LOT (by that I mean 9 mill words on fimfiction(fancy counter thingy on the profile page), and countless more through EqD), so I like to think that I've gained some sort of sense for quality. And really, this is good, really good. It has a good and relatable protagonist and a fetching storyline.
This might sound weird, but I'm also looking forward to an end. Too many good fics like these loose steam somewhere in the middle and peter off, leaving none of the parties satisfied. I'm not saying yours will, but I'm hoping that it'll be one of the few that manages to tie off everything and end with a cheer :D
583547
haha, awesome song, though I don't think I can handle a solid ten hour song right now.
and 9 mil is one heck of a count, + who knows how much more. And I will say this and ONLY this about the villain, when you see the setup for him/her/it... You all will be ROFL 'ing and I guarantee it will be one hell of a ride.
a> run update.exe
584111
Error #174: Update.exe corrupted.
press W to wait patiently for the next chapter to load.
but, there is one they fear.
in their tounge, he dovakiin
NIGGABORN
FUK DA LAW!
sorry i thought i should just throw that out there for you guys to use.
yes ia am black.
607907
that was way funnier than it should have been
Excuse me, but I have a biological need for the next Chapter.
612093
Don't worry, it's coming along pretty well.
current word count is at 2.8k, and I try to shoot for a minimum of 5k and my work load is lightening up a little so i should be able to write more.
612127 did anyone tell you that you have SUCH a way with words?
614644
compliment or no?
Anyway I've had a math class draining me of all creative fluids. I had to go back and re-write some of the stuff I did write because it was so damn unoriginal and lifeless. Quality comes at a price my friend.
And since I plan on dropping that class (I got my ass handed to me by a 500 page abomination) I can actually spend some actual time on my fiction, oh by the way 3k now.
645209
patience my friend
as of this current moment word count is at 4.7k
SOON! MY MINIONS! SOON!
feed me more of this story
646341
Sure, just find me some rice paper and edible ink and we'll be in business.
but i dont know where you livedl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Pinkie_loool.png
647181
Don't worry, I've seen where you sleep
lol wut
647190 im not safe anymoredl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Octavia_O_O.png
647198
Haven't you read the Zombie survival guide?
Rule number 9: no place is safe, only safer.
seriously though, where did you find those emotes? they're wicked awesome.
i know the're awesome this is who made them
647218
Sweet. Thanks bro.
647260welcome bro. But you should probably say your thanks to iloveportalz0r cause he made them.
and look he did my OCdl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_bronymaster1.png