Cross-the-country

by Diloboi

Chapter 1 : Camping trip

Ryan twisted the cap back onto the air mattress, giving it one final poke, it feeling sufficient. He grabbed the pump, rounding around the right side of the van. Opening the side door, he tossed it into the open glove box, pushing it closed afterwords.

“There we go.”

Adjusting the cap on his head, he pushed his brown hair back underneath. He walked to the open trunk, grabbing a camping chair and placing it facing the setting sun, just in front of the van. Then, he walked to the cooler laying beside the rear wheel and grabbed a Busch apple, bringing it back to his seat.

“Damn. Where’d I put those glasses.”

Walking to the passenger seat up front, he pushed the button of the glove box. Digging through the box, he pulled out a pair of ski goggles, a couple pieces of paper, and a pack of gum.

“Crap.” Taking the pair of goggles, Ryan pushed the rest of the items back inside the box. Returning to his chair, he pulled the goggles over his eyes.

Sitting in the chair, Ryan stretched lazily, watching the brilliant orange sun slowly drift closer to the mountains below. He focused on the quiet sounds of the forest around him, the rustling of branches, chirping of birds, and soft blow of air.

He then noticed the sound of his cooler opening, followed by the rustling of plastic and ice.

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5 minutes earlier

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Rainbow opening her eyes slowly, taking a few seconds to let out a yawn. Stretching a bit, she finally became aware to her surroundings. Tall pine trees stood around her. Getting to her hooves, the area was unfamiliar to her. Ponyville didn’t have really pine trees.

“Hello? Anypony?”

No response came. Grumbling to herself, she spread her wings and took flight. Getting above the trees, she scanned the area. Large, rough mountains surrounded her, safe for where the sun lay, nearing sunset.

Flying above the tree tops yielded nothing. There was no sign of Ponyville, or any other town for that matter.

“What the hay?” Rainbow whispered

It wasn’t the afternoon when rainbow went to bed. In fact, it was near midnight. And, she was at home, 50 feet off the ground, and not in the Forest. She wasn’t even doing much of anything last night. She talked with twilight, flew with tank for a bit, and made a small dinner and went to bed. Speaking of food…

A loud growl emanating from her stomach, and a dull pain in her barrel forced her back down to the ground.

“Ah hay, maybe I should’ve ate more earlier…” She grumbled to herself. “Maybe I can find some food…”

Sniffing the air, the mountain air carried a tangy smell, maybe some kind of fruit. Licking her lips, she took off, weaving through the pines, following the scent.

Walking through the trees, the serenity of her surroundings calmed her. A breeze brew the branches over gently, while small birds fluttered from tree to tree.

She upon a clearing, and was momentarily stunned. A strange metal carriage, though much larger than any one she’d seen, stood. The sun was now nearly bellow the mountains, dressing the area in a orange colour. And next to the rear wheel of the carriage, a box where the smell emanated from sat.

She took a step but the drew back when she heard a noise. From behind the vehicle, a strange hairless creature walked out on two legs, carrying a object underneath their forelegs. It wore a maroon top, blue pants (denim maybe?), and had a cap on top of its brown mane. Rainbow crouched down in the brush, watching as it went back and forth between where it set up its thing (chair?) and the box, which confirmed her suspicions that it held food.

Considering turning back, she was interrupted by her stomach’s protests. It’s now or never. Watching the creature move back to its seat, she bided her time.

Once the creature settled in its seat, Rainbow crept from behind the brush, sneakily (maximum sneaky) making her way to the box. Lifting the lid with her snout, she was swept by a wave of cool air. She quickly found an orange, biting it and lifting it from the box. She quietly shut the lid and-

“Hey! That’s my orange!”