A Grand Journey

by willow_whistle

Chapter 4: It's a Breeze

Minty and Pinky Pie were in a bit of a stupor as they left Bloomery’s. The news that Skywishes, Skywishes, of all ponies, would be taking the place of a deity. Skywishes-- whose time was spent flying kites, and charting constellations, and fainting at the very sight of a stained dress-- would become immortal and gain limitless power.

"Myths are different from culture to culture," Pinky said, trying to reassure Minty, whose ears drooped down and eyes locked on the grass beneath them, "maybe Bloomery got it wrong, and other folks have a different story, one more like the one you told us?"

“I dunno, maybe…” She cheered up a small bit at that, and briefly brushed her flank against Pinky’s as they kept walking. “Not gonna lie, I kinda expected to be much more excited to go on an adventure than I actually am.”

“Me too, sweetie. Me too…” Pinky said, as she looked over her shoulder to see that they couldn't see Ponyville through the trees anymore, and that the two were well into the forest their town sat in the center of. “Try to think about how exciting it’s gonna be when we get out of the Everfree, though!”

“Yeah!” Minty said, genuinely chipper, ears re-erect, “I haven’t been out of town since I first left the donkeys’ wagon train. But, even then, dad never let me mingle with the townsfolk for too long, hehe.” She laughed to herself with only a shred of mirth. “Did Lamplight have a map for you? I certainly don’t know how to get to the next town from here, other than following this ol’ trail here.” She stamped a front hoof against the gravel, kicking up a little bit of dust, and smiling just a bit brighter. Goodness, Pinky loved that sweet little smile… Seeing that girl smile always made her feel like she could slay a whole flock of dragons with a spoon, especially if the dragons-- fictional though they may be-- were being mean to her Minty.

“No. I don’t think Lamplight would shove me into the river if I were on fire.” Pinky replied, receiving another chuckle from Minty. “But I’m sure we’ll stumble into something if we keep on the same path. We’ve got a whole year to figure this out, and folks in other places are sure to know more than we do”

“Yes, ma’am!” Minty gave a silly little salute, and trotted just a bit faster, the contents of her wagon rustling around under the quilt that covered them. “Ponyville is pretty secluded. Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve moved in there if I hadn’t met you…” She nuzzled up under Pinky’s chin, and gave her a little smooch, which Pinky reciprocated and giggled a small bit. Nothing had ever made Minty happier than hearing Pinky Pie laugh, even such a subdued one.

---

The couple, now in much better spirits, kept their pace steady for a while. Well, Minty did, anyway. Pinky occasionally had to pick up her pace to stay close to her companion. Eventually the same-ey looking foliage started to become darker, more blueish in hue, and mushrooms of all sorts became more prevalent. As did lightning bugs, which both mares noted as odd, given that it wasn’t even past 4pm, if the sun’s position in the sky were any indication. It had never not been, right?

“Um, Minty,” Pinky asked, with some trepidation, “do you remember ever seeing something like this when you were still with the donkeys?”

“Uhhh,” Minty began, and slowed her pace a bit to stay at foreleg’s-length near her marefriend, “Iunno…”

A shadowy figure streaked past in front of them, from a tree on the right, down into the foliage on the left. Minty ducked under Pinky Pie’s body, shaken, and Pinky reared up, horn aglow with magic-- not that she knew any combat magic, but whatever it was didn’t know that.
“Stay back!” Pinky yelped. Feeling Minty shuddering underneath her, she moved her legs a bit closer together to gently hug the sides of Minty’s barrel. The shape went back up from the brush, and over the two ponies’ heads, before seeming to circle back around, a bit slower this time. Were those… butterfly wings?

“Hold on, Pinks. I think it’s just a bug…” Minty whimpered as she backed out from under Pinky, slowly. “S-sorry for freaking out…” Despite Minty’s reassurance, Pinky still wore a snarl on her face. Anything that spooked her marefriend that thoroughly had to apologize, at least.

“Minty, it’s okay, but I don’t know if you should be--” She cut herself off, seeing the streak again, but this time: Minty had grabbed a bug net from her wagon, and swung it right into the creature’s path, catching what now was evidently a little yellow shape, squeaking out something, as though berating her. Minty deftly moved the critter from the net into a jar, and held it up proudly. Pinky let her jaw hang open for a moment. She had never known Minty was so… capable.

“Just a bug, see?” Minty said, giggling, as the little shape inside banged on the glass as though it were a prisoner-- a pony prisoner.

“Good catch, Mints!” Pinky leaned down to take a better look at the jar in Minty’s hoof. She noticed that the creature inside seemed to have four legs, not six, and was a good bit stockier than any moth or butterfly she’d seen before. Her eyebrows raised in puzzlement as she realized that the creature was very pony-shaped, and even seemed to have a mane, tail, and cutie-mark. “Minty, was is it?”

“Hehe, I have no idea!” Minty chortled warmly, and shook the jar a bit, which resulted in a hoofful of muffled squeaks, which led to Minty and Pinky both looking upon the jar in astonishment. “Uh, sorry?”

“Should we…” Pinky began, but Minty had already untwisted the lid, and cracked it open just a smidge. The critter inside immediately rushed to the top and started shaking a tiny hoof out of the opening, as if cursing them, accompanied by another bout of squeaking. Squeaking which, it became apparent, was another language. Another language, which then became clear was actually just Ponish in a very heavy accent.

“And I’ll grab out yer intestines, an’ skip rope with ‘em, ya bloody ugly giants!” The creature shouted out, in an accent somewhat like one from rural Unicornia, but with more emphasis on consonants. Minty and Pinky both turned to look at one another, as if to check and see if they were both seeing the same thing, before returning their gaze to the little yellow pony-thing. It took a deep breath before continuing to shout at them, squeezing its tiny body a bit further through the opening. “Don’tcha hear me, lasses? I’m tellin’ ya I’m goin’ tae rough up yer oversized behinds good an’ proper! Are ye really that stu--”

Pinkie cut it-- them-- off. “I’m sorry, but, what are you?”

“What ahm I? What ahm I!?” they belted out incredulously. “I’m a bloody breezy, ya bleedin’ idiots!”

“Huh? But I thought breezies were a myth?” Pinky turned to Minty as if for confirmation.

“Eh, hello?” The creature asked, now more perplexed than offended.

“Well, I thought that too, but we thought Fadeaway was a myth too, just yesterday,” replied Minty.

“Excuse meh??” The breezy’s anger began to mount again.

“No, Minty, you thought that. I didn’t know it existed.”

“YE TERRIBLE GIANTS!! I’M RIGHT-BLOODY-HERE!” they erupted. The two mares turned back towards the breezy, and looked somewhat apologetic.

“Right, sorry!” Minty said, nervously, and took the lid off, and the breezy crawled up onto her hoof, huffing and puffing like some great beast, which they certainly were not. Minty patted the creature on the head-- carefully, between its antennae-- as if soothing a riled-up dog (not that any dogs Minty had seen possessed antennae, but she felt she ought to keep an open mind). “I’m awfully sorry for putting you in a jar. You gave us a bit of a spook, ya know.”

“Well, it’s not my fault that ye’ve ne’er seen a breezy ‘till now.” They stood up on two legs, pushed Minty’s hoof away, and crossed their front hooves defensively. “Mah name’s Zipzee, by the way,” they said with a huff, and sarcastically growled “thanks fer askin’.”

“Hi, Zipzee. It’s nice to meet you,” Pinky added, with a forced smile. “I’m awfully sorry, too. But, uh--”

“Well, I cannae accept yer apology!” Zipzee squeaked out, stamping a hoof down, “do ye know what it’d do to me reputation? ’Oh, that’s Zipzee! She lets freaky giants catch ‘er in an oversized net because she’s a DOLT!!’”

“Yes, I understand that you’re upset,” Pinky says, very cautiously, “but do you happen to have any idea where we are? You see, we’re a bit lost. We’ve never seen these parts of the woods before.”

“AW, GREAT! I got stuck with the stupid giants that dunnae even know where they are! Ya bleedin’ idiots, I’m lost too!”

“Oh, goodness, I’m sorry, Zipzee!” Minty chirps, earnestly. “Well, do you wanna maybe stick together, just until we getcha back to where you’re trying to go?”

Zipzee grumbles to herself a moment, before fluttering her little wings and muttering “Fine…”

Author's Note:

I dont have anything to add that I haven't already said, lol

next chapter at some point