• Published 6th Nov 2012
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The Reader - GnollReader



A gnoll appears in the Canterlot library and is forced to cope with an endless amount of problems as it gets to know the ponies a bit better.

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Chapter 47: A Club

"No. Is no way." the gnoll shook his head with wide eyes.

"Oh come on, I do it all the time too!" Purple Haze tried to push him forward.

"Is easy for Purple Haze to say, but gnoll is no pony." he growled angrily as he ground his claws into the earth.

"I can assure you it is safe Scar. There is nothing to worry about." Luna tried to encourage him.

Scar stood his ground, "It says no!" he pointed and angry finger at the chariot, "Gnoll does not fly! Has no feathers, look!" he flapped his arms wildly to demonstrate, "Will fall like rock if it slips!" Purple Haze was about to give a reply when he cut her off, "And Purple Haze can not tell Scar Purple Haze would catch it! Scar is not stupid!" she shut her mouth.

Luna gave a sigh, the gnoll was obviously not willing to put even a foot inside the chariot. "May I suggest teleportation then?"

Scar shook his head as he remembered his last teleportation, "It thanks Lulu for offer,..." one of the night guards barely contained a snicker, "But Scar wants to walk."

"You are aware it is quite a walk to Ponyville from here on." Luna commented as she shot the guard a glare that could kill.

"Scar will find way, also has Purple Haze to watch it." the gnoll answered with a smile. His teeth still sent shivers down Lunas back.

She turned to Purple Haze, "I am afraid that no trains are available at this hour. Do take care not to run into any trouble. Most of our subjects are sleeping by now, but we do not wish for a panic should he be spotted. The ponies of Canterlot have always been,... slow to come to terms with new things."

---

"This isn't the right way." Purple Haze commented from his back, "Ponyville is in the other direction." She could already see the little houses from her perch. The walk had been surprisingly eventless, most of the guards patrolling had heard enough about the duo by now to know who they were. Still, walking into a gnoll in the middle of the night still got a yelp out of all of them.

"Scar knows." he replied from beneath her, his ears still hurt from the last guards curse of surprise. At least this night had provided him with many new pony swearwords. They had already left behind Canterlot, but Scar did not intend to go straight to Ponyville.

"Then where are you going?"

"Scar wants to go to forest, it is still hung... YOUCH!" he yelled out as she yanked on one of his ears.

"Like hell you are! You are not going into the forest in your condition and in the middle of the night on top of that! What if you run into something bigger than you?"

"Is not many things bigger than gnoll..." he tried to argue, "Scar could... YOUCH!"

"You are not going into the forest! Not until I think you're fit again!" she yanked his head into the opposite direction. "You are going to head straight to Ponyville, you hear me?"

He changed his direction with a silent curse. After a few minutes though, the gnoll spotted something that spurred his interest. The remains of a little dead tree. It had been cut off where the twigs would normally start to grow, a straight trunk standing alone in the field of grass almost a head smaller than himself.

He walked up to it and inspected it. There was no bark left on it, the dry wood had a dark tone that reminded him of the trees in his homeland. The girth was just the right size for him to put a hand around it. He bent down and inspected the roots, they had grown around a slab of stone as big as his head. The thick roots seemed to encase it like a vice.

He sniffed the wood intently, he knew that smell.

"Please tell me you aren't going to mark it." Purple Haze commented from his back.

"Scar is not..." he took another smell, he was sure now. It was iron wood, dry iron wood at that. He could smell no rot in it. When dried long enough it became as hard as steel. An idea started to form in his head, "Scar has use for this." He wrapped his hands around the trunk.

"What are you doing?"

He ignored her question as he put his back and arms to work. The tree started to sway lightly as the gnoll pulled on it with all of his force, but it showed no signs of breaking. Good, his nose had been correct. For a moment it seemed that it would resist his efforts, but then he could feel the earth around it start to give way. He gave a final strong tug as he freed the remains of the tree from the ground.

He held his prize in his paws as he panted mildly, it had cost him more effort than he had expected to free it. Just as he had wagered, the rock had been enclosed by the roots and was now tightly attached to the trunk. He judged the weight of the trunk in his hands. It was heavy, but not too heavy for him to lift. He would need both hands to swing it though. He held it up for Purple Haze to inspect, "Scar makes club."

"A club? You could tear down a house with that thing!" she gasped in surprise. It was a maul, the gnoll had made himself a giant maul. She shuddered as she imagined what would happen to anything hit by it.

He gave the club a test swing, it made a low swooshing sound as the heavy rock passed through the air. "Scar can use for evil rats! Also can use for hunt so Scar can go... YOUCH!"

There was another yank on one of his ears, "You are not going hunting in the forest, with or without that thing!"

"At least let go of its ears! If Purple Haze pulls any more gnolls ears will fall off!"

She let go of his ear as he set off towards Ponyville while constantly grumbling, "Look, I'm happy you got yourself a new weapon, and I'm happy it's not a door but you're still in no condition to go hunting. We can get you some food at the library, I'm sure there's something you can eat in the fridge. There's no need for you to hunt when..."

"WHEN THERE'S A PARTY WAITING FOR YOU!!!" a cloud of confetti exploded into his face.

He gave a groan, "Hello Pink Pie..." Just how did she keep on sneaking up on him like that? He felt tempted to make use of his new vocabulary. The gnoll wondered what sound his club would make once he'd get a chance to smash some heads with it.

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