Fifth Chapter
Howard stopped a second after Barney did, which was just a few moments after the Timberwolves turned away from him.
Her? This was already confusing him, enough that he could imagine how much it was confusing his family over such a short time. How come only he had his sex changed? What was up with that? It was probably weirder being a girl– a mare, he knew from his time on his grandparents farm as a kid– than it was being a horse. Strange, certainly.
But that was a secondary issue– no, a tertiary issue– for right now. Number one on the list was finding his wife and kids again. He didn’t want those wolves or whatever they were chasing after him, but he would’ve preferred it to either his sons or the girls being chased after. Especially not the girls. He was certain that the boys could handle whatever came after them better than Denver and Carey could, and hoped for their sake they didn’t head their way.
He looked around the forest, and heard nothing obvious, and didn’t smell any of that disgusting mildew anymore. But he had no idea which way those wolves went. Ideally, he'd go after the ones who were safe first and get them to help him find the ones in danger. But who was safe and who was in danger?
Barney must have known, because the dog gently tugged his tail and then pointed his nose in the direction he wanted them to go. Right. Did that mean his wife and daughter were safe? He hoped his sons would be, too, but was certain they could handle whatever the situation was better than those two.
And Barney. Barney was acting strange, just as strange as everything else was. He hadn’t spoken yet, but Howard wouldn’t have been surprised if he ever did. Not that he was a dumb dog, but he seemed much more intelligent now than he was before somehow. He had a look in his eye like he was… Howard didn’t know. Conscious? Or self aware? Something.
One more tug of his tail came from Barney, and then the dog started forward, looking behind him to make sure the unicorn was following. He turned right with the dog, able to see the part of the forest that the girls trampled through, and the large, wide open clearing the wolves made as they ran to the left. He stared at the damage to the trees and foliage they made, then shuddered. He hoped his kids were safe.
Barney led the way to his wife and daughter, Howard following behind quickly and effortlessly. That was another weird thing: how well his body moved and how natural it felt despite never having been a horse before. This should have been more difficult for him, at least, he imagined so, but he moved with remarkable ease. Weird.
Denver and Carey were still walking when he caught up to them. They were both breathing heavily and had slumped shoulders when he got to them, tired from running and walking all day. He was glad the wolves didn’t go after them. There was no way they would have fared well against them.
He called out gently to them, Denver jumping and gasping in fear before she turned and saw who it was. “There she is!” she exclaimed as she ran up to him and wrapped her hooves around him as best she could. She was already tearing up as he did his best to wrap a hoof around her, his face getting a bit warm from the little comment. He didn’t say anything about it though. Was he not just thinking about how confusing it already felt for himself?
“Here I am,” he confirmed as the dragon that was his wife came up to him, too, and wrapped the two up in her wings. They stayed that way for a long moment before he pulled back and asked, “Are you two okay? What happened? Did they chase after you?”
“No, but where are Thornton and Reece?” Denver asked. “Are you okay, Dad? How are we gonna find them? What if they’re hurt? What if they’re–”
“Calm down, sweetheart,” he told her, already used to how his voice sounded despite only speaking a few times. “We’re gonna find them, and they’re gonna be fine. You know how strong your brothers are. I’m sure when we find them, they’re gonna tell us a story about how they defeated those things in one punch… err, kick.”
“But those things were so big and scary! What if they kill them and then come back and try to kill us? What if more are waiting for us if we walk ahead? What if–”
“We’re gonna be fine, sweetie,” Howard told his daughter again, speaking slower and more clearly this time, and a little bit softer, too. “Take a breath for me, okay? We’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna find your brothers, and then we’re gonna figure out what’s going on and get back home, okay? Just make sure to stay calm for me.”
“O-okay,” Denver said shakily, her father watching as a few tears dripped down. He used a hoof to pull her in close and kiss her forehead before carefully petting her mane.
“We’re gonna be fine, promise,” he assured her again. “Your mother and I are here, and soon enough, your brothers are gonna be back and we’ll figure everything out.”
“How did you find us, Howie?” the dragon asked as she hugged him again, pressing her neck into his affectionately. She bent down for him to kiss her cheek, and then continued, “You didn’t just choose a random path, did you? How did you know this one was safe?”
“Barney led the way for me,” he explained, reaching down to pet the dog’s ears. “He basically pulled my tail and forced me to go with him. Man, he seems like he’s a lot smarter now than he was before. Aren’t you, boy?”
Barney gave him an irritated look, like he didn’t like being babied, but then barked and turned his head in the direction that Howard came from. The direction that his sons went in. He still didn’t hear anything, and didn’t smell the wolves, but now he could see something. Black smoke, wafting up into the air. What in the world was going on?
“Please be safe,” he said aloud, mostly to himself, as though the words would do something. At least though, if the wolves really were wooden, then there was no way they’d survive something like that. But he worried about his kids, too.
“You don’t think that’s coming this way, do you?” Carey asked nervously. “I don’t know if we can outrun a forest fire.”
“Th-that’s a forest fire?” Denver asked nervously. “Are… are they gonna be okay?”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Howard lied. “But first we need to worry about ourselves and make sure we’re safe, okay? Now let’s get moving, please.”
Once again, Barney led the way, with Howard following up behind him and the girls in the back. They moved quickly at first, but then slowed down again when Denver and Carey began breathing heavily. Not great, but so long as they kept up some movement, it should’ve all been good. All they needed to do was keep on moving and get… somewhere. Maybe they’d be able to circle back around to Reece and Thornton later. That’d be the most ideal.
Slowly was how they moved, Howard slowing down to walk side by side with Denver and his wife. He didn’t like the idea of being so exposed, and wished he had some clothes to cover up with– or anything, really. Right now, the only thing he had to keep modest was his tail, the idea of which he hated since he had to be in front of his children. Even a dress would’ve been better.
And that was still the other thing. What was going to happen with all this ‘being turned strange creatures’ business? How did that happen? Was there a way to get themselves fixed? Were they even still on Earth anymore? And why was he turned into a mare specifically when no one else was changed that way? There were a lot of questions he had– probably several hundred at this point– but of course, there was no one to answer them. All that could be done right now was think about it while they kept walking.
He guessed there were worse things to be, like a dragon or a bug like his wife and son. Honestly, being a mare didn’t feel that bad so far. Certainly he was taking things the best mentally out of everyone, just from seeing everyone else’s reactions before. Someone had to be strong and not lose control of their emotions, after all.
The trio walked for a long while, a couple of hours at least from what it felt like. Denver looked ready to cry the whole time, and sniffled while they trekked, but Carey using her wings to rub the filly’s back and he softly telling her that it would be okay kept her from breaking down. It wasn’t much, but it was what could be offered at the moment.
Eventually, they got to a large clearing, one directly across from a city probably a half mile off in the distance. Much closer was a horse that stood and watched the smoke rising up from the forest behind them, a look on its face that was a mix between confused and slightly anxious. It was a yellow horse, a mare Howard could tell from the shape of its face, and had a soft pink mane and butterflies on its flank, as well as a pair of wings attached to its back. It was kind of outrageous looking, but also kind of adorable, and not too weird given he and his daughter’s oddly colored manes and the creatures the rest of his family was. The only thing that stood out as creepy were its large eyes, ones that took up a solid third of its face. Howard knew he looked very similar to the thing.
It turned its head their way and spoke something; it sounded like a cross between a whinny, a whine, and something in a foreign language. Howard was not the least bit surprised that he couldn’t understand the thing. Why should he be? He wasn’t a horse, even if he looked like one. A glance to his wife and his daughter showed that they were just as lost as he was, too, as to what it was trying to say.
But he might as well try to talk back, right? What harm would it do?
“Um, do you think you can help us?” he started slowly, taking a step closer to the thing. He tilted his head as he asked the question, trying to appear as non threatening as possible. An easy task, it turned out, since he was just as tall as she was, and a mare, too. What could possibly be threatening about a horse approaching another horse?
Something, apparently, because the yellow mare took a step back from him. Not good, but less good it would be if nothing came and his sons were hurt, or worse.
“Um, my kids are out there in the forest, and need help,” he tried to say, although he was not surprised when she only tilted her head in confusion and said something back that he couldn’t understand. He used a hoof to wave to the forest behind him, and then tilted his head to see if she would understand he needed her help in there. She must have, but instead of coming closer, she shook her head and took another step back.
“What are we gonna do?” his wife asked in a hushed whisper. “Oh, what on Earth is going on here?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t know how to get some help for us. Maybe we can keep walking around until we find another horse? See what they can do? If anything.” He wasn’t really sure what a horse could do, but something was better than nothing.
“So let’s head for that town then?” he suggested, neither his wife nor his daughter speaking up, but silently agreeing he thought. Not that great of a plan, but the best one that he could come up with on the spot. Get to town, find someone they could talk to, and then get some help for his sons, hopefully. He didn’t imagine there was much that could be done on their own.
Barney had other plans, as he seemed to lately, once again tugging Howard’s tail and making him blush as he turned toward the yellow horse. Once his eyes were on her, Bareny went up to her and pawed at her hooves, whining and giving little yips and barks at her, as though he was speaking to her. He must have been, since the horse acted like she understood him, and had her expression change from nervous to fearful to a mix between sad and determined. She spoke back to him somehow for a moment or two, and then whinnied at the trio as though they could understand what she was saying. It was followed by a bark, and then both horse and dog stepping forward, off to… somewhere.
“Or, I guess Barney came up with a plan for us,” Howard said flatly. “That works.” Then he stepped forward after the dog to follow them wherever they were going.
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Bestest doggo translator.
Ooooh. I wasn't expecting the language barrier but I like it! Barney acting as the translator works really well too.
This is Barney's world and they're all just living in it. Seriously Barney is the best
So they've finally found civilization. I didn't know this would be a Language Barrier story, but that's bound to keep things interesting. Otherwise, finding civilization would at least solve all their immediate survival needs and probably a lot more.
Theyre off to see the wonderful gizzard of odd.
Pinkie.
Well, at least they're not auto-assuming that Fluttershy is some wild animal that just so happens to look like some of their group.
So Fluttershy could not communicate in human language? Guess her ability only limit to Equestrian creatures.
11701401
It would make sense to not necessarily extend to "proper" languages (for a lack of a better word) as those could possibly be too complex overall for something that lets you understand animals.
gefällt mir im Moment sehr gut !
You know, if ponies ever attack Thornton in this story because he's changeling, I think the whole family will go from timid and scared to
"ゴゴゴ What do you think you're doing? ゴゴゴ"
Especially the dragon mom
loving this.
Reminds me of the general description of Mabari War Hounds in the Dragon Age franchise.
So, it turns out that the dog will translate their speech Fluttershy, and the Fluttershy will translate it to other ponies? What does it mean that they will need two translators to communicate with the rest of Equestria residents?
I understand why they decided to leave, but I feel really frustrated at how they left the brothers behind. They need help.
I don't understand how being a dragon would be worse than a mare. Seems like the better option to me.