Derek, a normal teenage guy, is stuck in the wilderness where monsters from mythology are real. He needs to find help from the people of this land. Little does he know, that he isn't just stuck on Earth, he is in a whole different world.
Derek, a normal teenage guy, is stuck in the wilderness where monsters from mythology are real. He needs to find help from the people of this land. Little does he know, that he isn't just stuck on Earth, he is in a whole different world. Derek ventures out of his wilderness hide-out to find a way out of this forsaken forest. He will soon find out about the people who live in this world.
Shit! Shit! Why do I always end up running from these types of things out here! Why can’t I just get back home and play Call of Duty like a normal teenage guy!
I ran from a charging manticore behind me. I know,nobody thinks these kind of monsters exist until, BAM, it's right in front of you
I scrambled up a large tree and put my hatchet back in its sheath. I leaped onto a branch of an adjacent tree and kept leaping to the next, trying to stay out of sight.
I noticed a familiar bush and realized that I was near my headquarters. I jumped down and ran into a cave that I have found to call my home since I have been here. I looked back a saw the rushing beast and jumped back in surprise.
“I thought I lost you!” I yelled.
The manticore continued to charge at me. It was only 35 yards away. 30 yards, 25, 20, 15; I stood still just watching the thing run at me. The thing was only ten yards away when the ground shifted under it. The dirt and leaves dropped into a pit, bringing the manticore with them. I heard a loud yelp and turned away.
I stood there completely unharmed; unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the manticore. I didn’t like to kill things, but it was kill or be killed out in this god forsaken jungle. I looked down at the lifeless form of the manticore, impaled by one of the spikes I set. Now comes the gruesome part, I cut off its scorpion tail. I can definitely use this for something. I salvaged a couple other things from it including; two horns, the tail, some scales and some hide. I can possibly use some of these things for my survival. I took some of the meat off the thing and started a fire inside my cave. I looked back at the manticore, a disgusting sight to see. I buried most of it while the fire started up.
No matter how gross it was, food was still food. I haven’t seen this much in a long time. I smelled the meat over the fire and salivated from the delicious meal before me. I quickly ate and put out my fire. I don’t want to attract more attention to myself. I fell asleep in the cold and dark cave, my dreams awaited me.
***
“Derek, come sit with us!” my mother said, beckoning me over to her group.
“Nah, sorry mom. But I am going out for a walk.” I replied.
She looked at me studying my face, most likely trying to see what my real intentions were.
“Okay, but please be back in an hour. That is when dinner will be ready.” My mother shrugged.
I did have other intentions. I walked down the street towards a neighbor’s house. I wanted to ask this girl out on a date. It has been six months that I had a crush on her and I figured that I would have to do it now or I would never get to it.
I knocked on the door and waited. I heard their dog barking followed by footsteps on wood flooring. The door swung open and I saw her.
She had light brown hair, it was tied up in a ponytail with a red and white ribbon. She wore a grey shirt that draped over her and a pair of tight jeans. My heart skipped a beat as I gazed upon her. She looked amazing.
“Um, hey Rachel.” I said nervously, “would you like to come on a walk with my?”
I know, completely cheesy, but I had know idea what I was going to say.
“No” Rachel said.
I sat there motionless. She broke into a smile and laughed.
“Joking, come on lets go.” She said.
She grabbed her jacket and we walked down the street. I tried to think of something to say, anything at all. I might as well just ask her now.
I stopped and she turned to look at me.
“Hey Rachel, I was wondering if you” I said, voice shaky, “if you want to go out with me.”
She stared at me with a blank expression. Then she tackled me.
“Oh my god, yes! YES!” she screamed.
***
I awoke to a sunny day. There was a slight chill to the air like there always was here. I don’t even know where ‘here’ was. There is no way that monsters could be real, but I have been slowly accepting it day by day. I just wanted to go home! I don’t even know how I got here. One moment I was out doing chores the next I was here. It was like I blinked and I was in the middle of this damn jungle.
I just want to go back; back to my family, back to my games, and especially back to my girlfriend. We have only been dating for three months now. Everyone probably thinks I am dead now. My poor family, I hope that my mom can continue. She always said that losing one of her children would be worse than death itself. I just hope that she can keep going, for my brothers. I keep hoping this is just one big bad dream and I will wake up in my bed. But after the first couple weeks here I quickly realized that this is no dream, it is a nightmare and I have to live it.
I suddenly felt the need to piss. I got up and did my business and got ready for the day. I walked over to the river near my cave and got a drink of fresh water. The river was wide and very rapid. There is no way to cross that here. But I have been thinking about it since I was here, if I follow the flow of the river I can possibly find a narrower area to either swim or jump across.
I lazily walked back to my cave, debating whether or not it was time to move out and follow that river. I always thought that I should stay here because it was safe, but recently more and more creatures have begun to attack me.
I have decided! I am going to follow that river today and get across it. I packed up as much as I could out of the useless things that I have.
Damn this better be worth it. I am so done with these fucking monsters.
I walked to the river and started to walk along the banks, following it flow.
***
I have been walking since this morning and it is already midday. I did start to notice that the river has gotten considerably smaller and a little less rapid.
I contemplated on how to get across, then I noticed a group of fairly large rocks that lined up almost perfectly across the river.
“Well, it sure is easier than swimming.” I said to myself.
I hopped across each stone with grace, careful not to fall in.
I made it across and continued walking down the river banks. My feet crunched on the the dirt below me. I looked down and noticed that I was on a trail! A trail! Oh my god, I did it! There has to be somebody out there. Now just to follow the trail!
I walked along with my head down for what felt like hours. I looked up and saw a large building in the distance. I sprinted in the direction. Oh come on, please let me get out of this jungle! I got a closer look at the building as it came into view.
It looked like a castle. The outside was dark grey. The high towers reached up to the heavens, like dark spires scraping the now dark blue sky. The massive structer stood out against the sunset making it even more noticeable in this forest. The closer I got, the stranger it looked.
I finally made it there. My heart dropped when I saw the ruins of this once beautiful castle. I knocked on the large wooden doors. After a moment or two, I walked in.
As I ventured throughout the dark castle I noticed the windows. They were each stained in different designs. One that particularly stood out to me had the image of a dark horse on it. The horse had wings and a horn on it, making it a mix of a unicorn and a pegasus. I knew there was a word for it. It was...something. A-, Al-, Alicorn! That’s it.
I looked around the room and saw a figure that looked like a solar system diagram. The kind that you could buy at any scientific thing. The figure had shards of broken stone around it. It looked like whatever was on the solar system fell off and broke over time.
I finally decided that no one is here and looked for somewhere to sleep. I found the stairs to the upper levels, but they were broken and the second floor was unreachable or difficult to get to. I looked to a corner and set up my make-shift bed. I laid down and quickly fell asleep.
***
I rolled over in my sleep right into a large puddle of water.
“Aaghh!” I yelled, jumping up.
It must have rained the night before because the floor was covered in puddles.
“Damn it!” I muttered, “at least I didn’t get too wet.”
I looked over to my blanket and noticed it was soaked.
Whatever, I will just pack it up and get a move on. I can finally see how far people are from me.
What if there aren’t any? No, there has to be! If there is a castle, then there are people. I continued my mental discussion for the next ten minutes while I packed up my stuff.
I slung the backpack over my shoulder and started out the door. Hm, I wonder how far this goes. It could go on for miles! Well, at least I have a set waypoint. That is some progress.
I started to walk down the muddy trail. My foot made a swishing noise with each step. I followed the trail, which was pretty much straight, all they to a bridge.
The thing was a rope bridge that connected two sides of a large canyon. It looked right out of an Indiana Jones movie. The bridge even had a few missing planks from it.
I gazed over the cliff, it was an incredible drop. Nobody would be able to survive that. And as if that wasn’t enough, there were a bunch of alligators at the bottom, or were they crocodiles. They both had sharp teeth, so it scared me enough.
I put some weight on the first planks. It didn’t budge. I figured it was safe enough and decided to walk across it.
The trees were definitely getting thinner now. I was almost out! The exit was a considerable distance away though and the sun was setting. I looked around and noticed a small cave entrance. I peered inside nothing attacked me, so it must be safe. I checked out the inside of the cave. It was very small, only big enough to fit me and maybe one other. The cave wasn’t very deep either, it looked like a giant ice cream scooper took a chunk out of the wall.
I gathered some branches and started a small fire. I pulled out a few berries that I had gathered on the way. I only knew these were okay because I saw a few birds pecking at them a couple weeks back. I ate a few before putting them back in the makeshift pouch.
I put out my fire and fell asleep to the sound of crickets.
I awoke the next morning to a small rabbit stomping on my chest. I jumped back in surprise, and the rabbit cocked its head. It held out its paw as if it expected me to give it something.
“I don’t have anything for you”, I told it.
Great, now I’m talking to rabbits, I thought. I’m not going to say I’m going insane, but... The small rabbit looked at me with sharp eyes and pointed to my backpack impatiently.
When I shrugged my shoulders in confusion, he rolled his eyes and hopped over to it. After struggling a bit with the zipper, he began to rummage through the small backpack. Finding my berries, he devoured them in a split second.
“Hey!”, I shouted at it, snapping into a surprised anger, “Quit it!”
The animal threw the empty bag at me and gestured for more with an expectant and demanding stare. I threw the empty backpack back, trying to hit it. The backpack was far from its target.
“Hey, don’t expect me to get you anymore. Get them yourself, you damn rabbit!”, I shouted after it as the rabbit hopped out of the cave.
“Angel!” a soft feminine voice called from far off.
It surprised me to hear another human voice, and the bunny and I both turned to the direction it came from. We were silent until the melodic voice called out again. This time, the rabbit facepalmed and I turned to him.
“Is that you?” I asked him, not necessarily expecting him to understand what I said.
Then the rabbit nodded, rolling his eyes.
“W-... wait, you can understand me?”, I asked incredulously. It nodded.
“Holy shit! Can you talk too? Are there other animals like you? How does-”
Just then, a small yellow horse with pink hair came out from behind a tree beside us.
“ANGEL! Oh, I’m so glad I found-”
Then she noticed me. Looking back on it, I must’ve looked very strange to her. My clothes were a torn and dirty mess, and my face and hair were smeared with just as much mud and grime as the cave. To be fair, though, she was a talking horse. With yellow fur. And a huge mane of pink hair. And massive eyes. Look, she looked weird to me too, okay?
Unfortunately, when she let out a shriek in surprise, I jumped back and hit my head against the hard rock ceiling of the cave. Hey, I’d been through a ton of freaky shit, and I was really high-strung. Gimme a break.
Pain shot through my head, and I fell to my knees.
"Ow!", I screamed, “My fucking head!”
"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" I heard a faint voice say through the ringing of my ears.
I tried to scramble away, but a knife of searing pain shot through my head. It was too much; I started to black out. My head hit the grass, I looked up to the sky, my vision tunneling, the last thing I saw being the confused and fretful face of the weird-looking horse.
***
It’s a weird thing, being unconscious. Everything is dark, but somehow the darkness weaves itself together to form colors and sounds, reliving memories that you thought you’d lost. I remembered Rachel.
"Michael, come on! Lets go already!" Rachel called to me from shotgun seat as I neared the car.
"Alright, I'm ready! Allons-y!" I yelled, jumping into the driver seat.
“Nerd,” she said, shaking her head and smiling the cute little half-smile she does sometimes.
“Weirdo,” I reply, receiving a punch in the arm for it.
My jeep rumbled down the highway, at steady forty miles per hour. We arrived at Laguna Beach in twenty minutes. We got out and walked the streets. Laguna beach is one of the best beach towns in California. I surfed a little while she sat on the beach. It was nearly sunset when I came out of the water. I walked up to her and dried off a little bit.
We sat on the beach watching the deep orange sun submerge below the dark blue ocean. I turned to her and she put her arms around me. At that moment we shared a kiss, one that I would never forget.
We laid on the warm sand for hours, or so it felt, before getting up to leave. We jumped back into the car and drove home. The cool night air blew past us on the way home. I drove to her house, dropping her off. She gave me a quick kiss before jumping out of the car and walking inside. I drove home and laid in my bed. My eyes grew heavy and I slipped into a world of darkness.
***
Am I dead?
My eyes fluttered open, I looked upon the sterile white room that I laid in. I noticed a small plant in the corner and my clothes folded on a stood beside the bed I am in.
Nope, not dead. Wait, my clothes?
I looked down, I was wearing a patient garment. The kind people who stay in the hospital wear. It had a slight blue tinge to it and a tie in the back. It was far too small for me, just long enough to cover my mid-thighs.
Great, I’m in the hospital wearing a very small and uncomfortable garment. A slight panic began creeping up on me. I need to change, now!
I sat up and tried to swing my legs, but they were held back. I looked under the sheets and saw my left ankle bound to the bed, tied by a strap of black cloth. The other was lightly bandaged.
Just then another pony walked in.
“Oh, you’re awake!” she said cheerfully.
I let out a yelp, struggling against my bonds.
“Now, calm down. Don’t worry, we aren’t going to hurt you.”
“Just get back!” I yelled.
“Calm down, dear.” she sat down on a nearby stool.
I pushed myself up, tugging at the bonds . She watched me as I recollected myself.
“Ponies cannot talk!” I said, more to myself than her.
“Of course they can. All ponies can talk.”
“But where are the people?” I asked.
“What people? Are there more of you?” she said concerned.
Okay, so no people here? And ponies can talk. I am just getting more and more freaked out by the second.
“No, I guess not,” I said with a sigh.
“I understand if you’re surprised, though. I sure was surprised when you were brought in! I’ve never seen anything like you before.”
A tense silence held the room as we regarded each other with equal amounts of caution and curiosity.
“So, what is your name? I need you to fill out your papers.”
“It’s Derek,” I said bluntly as she handed me a few sheets of paper and, oddly, a quill. Really? I raised an eyebrow at her. “What about you?”
“I’m Nurse Redheart.” she smiled gently at me, seemingly trying to defuse my slightly heated temper. It didn’t work too well.
Regardless, I took the papers and the quill and started to read the packet.
I fucking hate filling these things out.
With a growing sense of distaste in my mouth, I filled in my name, height, weight, and all the usual stuff. What really struck me as odd was the “species” box. I looked at it and saw three checkboxes each labeled: Earth, Pegasus, Unicorn.
Great. More mythical creatures. What is this, a freaking zoo world?
I crossed those over and instead wrote HUMAN in big, obnoxious letters. Allergies, no; prior injuries, plenty; address, not anymore.
As I filled that box in I couldn’t help but reflect on something that had been nagging me for a while. Yes, I’d been in a jungle filled with impossible creatures, but there’d always been the possibility of me having been randomly kidnapped by some mad scientist operating a spin-off of the Jurassic Park or something in that venue. Now, I’d begun to realize that I probably was a bit further away from home than that.
Having finished the four page packet, I laid down in the bed and closed my eyes. I didn’t get to rest for long, though; soon enough, Nurse Redheart came back. I sat back up and gave her the papers.
“Derek, just to let you know, you gave yourself a concussion. We had the doctors put a few healing spells on you, and we’ve given you some analgesic. We’ll need to make sure you’re stable though, so I need you to stay off your hooves for a while. I’m going to go put these papers away. If you need anything, just call out.” she smiled and walked out the door.
I sat back against the wall. I inspected the ankle lock again, seeing if I could pull it off somehow. No such luck. I twisted my ankle seeing if I could slip it out. Not that I was trying to escape, but the bonds kept rubbing up against my ankle which was extremely annoying.
“Hey!” I called out to the hallway.
Nurse Redheart walked back into the room, she gave me a strange look as I fumbled with the bonds that held me to the bed. I looked up at her with a pleading look.
“Can you help me? This is getting on my nerves.” I said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, yes. Just let me get the key, there is no point to have it on you anymore.”
She pulled out a key with her mouth and unlocked the lock on the bonds. The straps fell off my ankles and fluttered to the ground. I sprung up and out of the bed. I immediately regretted it seeing as how I just gave myself a concussion.
As soon as my feet came in contact with the ground I fell to my knees. The pain in my head forced me onto my hands and knees. I stayed motionless before I finally pushed myself up with the help of the nearby stood and sat back on the bed.
“Now Derek, that is not going to make your concussion heal any faster.” she said in a matter a fact tone.
I got out of bed, much more carefully this time, and put on my clothes. I wore a pair of jeans with a red belt that held my hatchet, a plain black shirt and a leather jacket. I had a pair of adidas running shoes, which I had just gotten for track season , but that wouldn’t matter anymore
I signed out of the hospital and walked out of the door. It was midday when I walked outside. I saw more ponies walking around, buying food and talking.
I started down the street towards the center of the town, or at least I hoped thats was the center of town. I got strange looks from them, but I kept walk trying not to make eye contact. I think I made a couple foals cry. Oh well. As I expected, I was in the center of the town. Now, I just need a place to stay.
Like I was saying, I need a place to stay.I thought that once I got out of that damned jungle, I would just go straight home. I might have even had a party. But no, I get a world full of colorful ponies. This is not what I expected, nor what I wanted.
I looked around the plaza and saw the shops and houses lining the circle of the meeting place.
‘Hmm. Looks like nobody’s here. Ah well, I guess I’ll just wander around town.’
I began to wander the streets of this small town. I turned around a street corner and ran into a small filly. The small thing fell on her back while I nearly tripped over her. Luckily, I caught myself.
She looked up and yelped in surprise. She steeled herself and got up with an annoyed look on her face.
“Get out of the way! Please, just move!” She yelled.
Just then a group of three colts strutted over. “Hey! Apple Bloom, why are you running?” One said with a threatening glare at the young filly.
Three colts looked just a little bit older than her. The biggest was a deep red color. The two in the back were lime green and bright orange.
“Go away!” The filly that I suspected as Apple Bloom said.
The three older colts gave her harsh stares as they walked over to her.
Now, I don’t like bullies. I wasn’t bullied back home, but I saw them. I tried to bully me, but I fought back. Once one tried to punch me, I flipped him over me. I don’t like to fight so I just walked away in silence. Everyone saw it so nobody tried it again.
I decided to defend this little girl for two reasons. One, I don’t like bullies and two, because I don’t like ponies, so this just pissed me off.
I stepped in front of the filly. “Why don’t you back off, kids.”
“Oh, you got your big ape to defend you Apple Bloom? Can’t you fight your own battles?” The red one said.
Much to my surprise, they walked up to me. These kids were pretty tough to walk up to a bigger foe.
The red one charged me. I simply side-stepped and watched as the colt headbutted a brick wall. There was a dull thud as he face planted the dirt. He stumbled back up with an embarrassed look on his face. I picked him up by his leg, he hung upside-down as I stared at him.
“Why don’t you three run along? It would be a shame if I, I don’t know, drop you.” I told him with a threatening tone. I let my grip slip a tiny bit.
“Y-you w-wouldn’t.” he dared.
I let his foot slip even more. He let out a scream. “Okay! Okay! I’ll leave! Please, let me go!”
I placed him down and he scurried off after his friends.
I turned to the young girl. “You’re welcome” I said before she could recover.
“Oh, thank ya mister!” She said with a grin and a thick southern drawl.
Her smile morphed into look of confusion. “Hey mister, What are ya exactly?”
“I’m a human.” Great, I bet I will be saying that a lot.
“What’s a human? You sure look weird!” She exclaimed.
“Yep, I do look weird. But you are weirder than me by far.” I said to her.
“Am not!” The filly insisted.
“Are too!” I joked back.
“Am not!” Apple Bloom growled.
“Jeez, okay you aren’t!” I said.
“Okay, now that that’s cleared up, Ah want to repay ya!”
“Oh ya, with what?” I asked. She wouldn’t have anything that I needed, so I thought it was best to amuse her.
“Hmm, why don’t you come over for dinner?” She said happily.
“Are you sure? Wouldn’t your parents be angry that you’re bringing home a stranger?”
“But ya aren’t a stranger! You’re my friend!” She said insistently.
‘What harm can it do?’
‘But,i don’t even like ponies.’
But this one doesn’t seem that bad. Plus, I’m getting a free meal!’
‘Fine, but I can’t believe that I am going to eat with ponies.’
“Fine, what is for dinner?”
“Ah don’t know, let’s find out!” She said as she bounced off happily towards an unknown destination.
I followed behind her down a dirt road that lead to the outskirts of town. She trotted down the road until we passed a sign that said ‘Sweet Apple Acres’. She strolled onto the massive farm with me following right behind her.
It was a weird sight walking onto a farm. Not just because of the ponies, but just the idea of being on a farm. Back where I am from, there were no farms near me. I lived in an urban area where walking anywhere but a mall was unheard of. This huge farm was alien to me as I walked up.
What caught me really of guard was the smell. Everyone thinks that a farm smells like animals and all that. But this particular farm had the sweet fragrance of apples. I mean the name says it, but it doesn’t do it justice. The air was just so sweet, it was had the aroma of sweet juicy apples. It made my mouth water.
A big red barn came into view as we continued down the trail towards the big farmhouse. Apple Bloom kept bouncing up the steps of the porch of her house. Apple Bloom swung the the front door open and called out, “Applejack! I’m home and I brought a friend!”
The smell of the kitchen hit me like a freight train. I stopped dead in my tracks as the scent of the baked goods filled my nostrils and I practically floated inside. I barely noticed anything but the fragrance.
“Oh really Apple Bloom? Who is your frie-” She stopped and stared at me mouth gaping. She let out a loud high-pitch yelp.
I jumped back in surprise, though I should be used to this by now. It has happened to me more than I would’ve liked to admit. I hit my head against the door.
“Ow!” I yelled.
I clutched the back of my head.
‘Stupid concussion!’
Applejack’s hooves slipped across the wood floor making it look like she was slipping on ice. She fell on her backside with an embarrassed look. Applejack quickly got up and never stopped eye contact. She stared at me, terribly confused. She examined me, craning her neck up and down while circling me.
“What are ya?” She finally asked.
“I’m a human.” I said, bored.
“A what now?”
“Are you seriously going to make me repeat myself.?” I huffed.
“Sorry, but yer jest so weird lookin’.” She said in a somewhat apologetic tone.
“Are you making fun of me now?” I said in a fake anger.
“Sorry again.” She said.
“Well, I’m Derek. And you are?” I said.
“I’m Applejack, it’s a pleasure to meet ya!” She said with little to no gusto.
“And you.” I said with a noticeable coldness in my voice.
“Hey Derek, do you want to see my clubhouse?” Apple Bloom beamed.
“Uh sure, where is it?” I said.
‘Thank god, that was annoying. Anything to get away from her.’
“Follow me, we have to go into the fields.” She said happily.
“Okay, lead the way.” I said.
We walked through the fields on a mildly used dirt path. My thoughts wandered as I followed the filly.
***
“Come on Derek! We have to go!” Rachel said.
“Fine.” I replied as I hopped into the passenger seat of the car.
We drove along the road listening to The Offspring. This song was a particular favorite of mine, it was called You’re Gonna Go Far Kid. The song was amazing, too bad Rachel wasn’t as excited as me though. I knew every lyric and I sang along with the song. Rachel looked over and chuckled at me.I smiled back and continued singing.
The song finished and the radio station played the next song. I have heard it before, but it wasn’t that good. I looked out the window and watched the passing highway. She was taking me to her favorite restaurant. It was a small place by the marina. The place was a small mexican grill.
We stopped at a red light.She turned to me and smiled, “I love you.”
“I love you too, but why are you telling me now?” I asked.
“I don’t know” she said happily.
“Um, okay.” I said, “The light’s green.”
“Thanks.”
She pulled into the intersection. I turned my head and looked out the window. I was completely shocked by what I saw. I gazed at the oncoming semi truck, everything seemed to slowed down. I turned back to Rachel and put my arms around her. I shut my eyes and the next thing I knew was metal crunching against metal. The car flew into the air and I felt the sensation of being thrown. I felt the car slam into the ground and start to roll. I felt pain all over, but protecting Rachel was more important.
The car slid on its roof and slammed into a brick wall. I looked down at an unconscious Rachel and saw that she had cuts and bruises all over. My vision blurred and darkened. I slumped over her and blacked out.
***
I shut my eyes and forced back the images. I put my hand against a tree and covered my eyes.
“Are ya okay Derek?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” I said.
“Are ya sure?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I reassured.
I straightened up and continued down the trail.
We finally made it to her tree house and she showed me around. I had to duck my head because the ceiling was so low. She told me about her friends and a club that they had. Something about the Cute Marking Musketeers.
“And that’s our idea spot.” She concluded, gesturing to the spot where I was lying.
“Cool” I said trying to sound amused.
“It’s gettin’ pretty dark. We should git back to mah house.
“Yeah, let’s get back.” I said.
***
We made it to the house a little after the sun went down. Apple Bloom opened the door and bounded in. I followed her in and saw Applejack and a big red pony that I saw earlier in the barn. They were both giving me hard glares.
Just then a purple unicorn walked in and yelped. Luckily for me she quickly recovered. Unluckily, she recovered to a fighting stance and blasted me. The purple aura that came from her horn slammed into me and sent me flying. I soared through the air and hit the wall across the room.
I coughed and lifted myself up onto my arms and knees,
“What the fuck was that?” I yelled.
“Twilight, calm down! I don’t like him very much either, but ya don’t need ta kill him.” Applejack said in a thick southern accent.
“What is that?” Twilight asked.
“That? You mean him! And I’m Derek by the way! Who the hell are you?” I said.
“Um, Applejack?” Twilight pleaded.
“Yeah Twi, this is the human I told ya about.” Applejack said.
“Oh, this is the human. Hmm” Twilight looked me over.
She didn’t have the normal weirded out look, she had the look similar to one of a mechanic looking over a part. She oohed and ahed over me like I was some piece of machinery that she hasn’t seen before.
Suddenly my phone went off, telling me it was on.
“What the hell?” I said while I pulled out my phone.
The symbol went away and my lock screen came up.
“This died months ago!” I said excited.
“Uh, what is that?” Twilight asked, leaning over my shoulder.
“It’s a phone.” I said quickly.
‘Wow, that was dumb.’ I thought to myself.
“It calls other people, sends messages and this one plays music and other stuff.” I continued.
“Really? All that on a small device? What kind of magic is used for that? It must be strong.” Twilight send.
“It isn’t magic, it’s electricity. It is hard to explain.” I said.
I pulled out my earbuds which I used for some lose rope while I was in the wilderness. Luckily I kept them, now I could use them. I plugged them in and turned on one of my favorite songs.
“See, look!” I gave her an earbud and hit the play button.
I looked up and saw her. She was very intrigued by the little device. I changed a couple of songs to show her more.
“Why don’t you come over to my library. I want to study that device and learn more about you.” Twilight asked.
‘Ah crap, how do I turn her down?’
“Um well, I need to find a place to stay the night. So, I better start looking.” I said.
This was a total lie, I didn’t even have money or a plan.
Twilight shifted on her hooves and then said, “Why don’t you stay the night at the library?”
Shit.
“Um, okay. Fine I’ll stay.” I said reluctantly.
“Okay well lets get going.” Twilight said.
She seems a bit hasty about getting home.
‘She better not freaking experiment on me!’
We left the farm and went into town.
“This way.” She said, leading me over to a library.
‘Really? A library? I didn’t expect her to be that nerdy.’
'Ok, just one night. I can do this.' I thought to myself.
So there I sat, I was on a blue chair across from Twilight by the fireplace The fire crackled and heated the entire room. I sat close to it and embraced the heat.
Twilight and I talked for a little bit, she asked me questions that mostly pertained to Earth. I tried to give her answers as best as I could, but a lot of them were too complicated for me to understand.
Shit, when is this over? I just want to get to bed. I thought.
“So, Derek. That little device is very interesting. Do you mind if I take a look?” Twilight asked.
“Um, well...” I started.
In truth, I really didn’t want to show her. I wanted to play around on my newly charged phone before the battery ran out again. It’s not like i would be able to make phone calls anyways, so I might as well just listen to music or play games on it.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you.” Twilight said, “ I understand if you don’t want me to see it.”
“No, it’s fine. Here, you can take a look.” I reluctantly said.
I gave her the phone and she took it in her magical aura. She looked it over and tried to get it to work. I walked over and hit the lock button which brought up the lock screen. Twilight watched as I unlocked the phone after typing in my password on the four digit and the home screen came up.
“How does this work?” she said, looking at the phone intently.
“It's a touch-screen” I said, “Go on, touch it.”
She put on hoof on the screen delicately and opened up my contacts. She looked delighted at the fact that she got it to work.
“This can call all of these people just by a simple touch?” she asked in awe, “That’s simply amazing. What an engineering feat! What kind of magic is this?”
“Yeah it’s kinda cool. But it isn’t magic. It uses electricity and a bunch of circuits, I think.” I said yawning, “Although, I do think it is strange that your magic recharged it.”
I looked over to the clock. If it was the same, then it would be 9:00 pm. I looked outside and figured that clocks were relatively close to the ones from home.
‘At least some things are the same.’ I thought to myself, finding comfort in the clock’s same-ness.
As crazy as it sounds, the old wall clock gave me something to remind of home. The place I had to get back to. As far as I know, they could be holding a funeral for me right now. Why can’t this be a dream? Can’t I just wake up in my house? No, I have to keep pushing. Moping around won’t do me any good.
“So? You said I can sleep here right?” I said.
“Yeah, there is a guest bedroom up the stairs and to the left.The bathroom is right next to it.” The unicorn said still looking at the phone.
‘I just let her look at it tonight, it’s not like I need it.’
“Maybe you can find out how to charge it.” I chuckled. The phone only charged a little after the incident at the farm. It was at roughly twenty percent.
“Yeah, this seems to run off of an internal energy storage.” Twilight said.
“Yeah, it's called a battery. Anyway, I am going to bed.” I said, leaving her with the phone.
I went into the room and fell asleep almost instantly.
***
My vision was blurred when my eyelids fluttered open, I saw a silhouette. As my vision focused, i realized it was a woman in a blue outfit. I looked around the room and saw machines hooked into my arms. There was a small beeping sound that went off in the background.
“Oh, you’re awake. Don’t move, you have to rest.” The woman said.
“Where am I?” My voice came out gravelly and foreign.
“You are at Mission Hospital. You had a nasty crash and were rushed here.”
I looked around, trying to remember what happened.
“Luckily, we got you all patched up. You’re perfectly fine.” she said.
Suddenly my memories came rushing back.
“Where’s Rachel?” I said, panicking.
“She is perfectly fine. She only had a broken leg. Which is strange, the accident should’ve done more. Not that I’m saying I wanted it too, but it seemed like something blocked most of her injuries.” the nurse said.
“So, how long until I can leave?” I asked.
“Sorry honey, but you’re going to have to stay overnight. We need to make sure your vitals are stable.”
I spent the next hour watching the television and eating. You really don’t know how hungry you get after that. Too bad that the hospital food is gross. There was no taste to anything, maybe if they could give me a little salt it would taste a little better!
I looked away from the television and noticed a familiar looking person. She had a pink cast around her leg and a pair of crutches.
It was my girlfriend.
“Hey, Derek!” My girlfriend said, a sad smile on her face.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“What happened to me? You’re the one who has been unconscious for three days, scaring the hell out of me!” she said hitting me in the arm.
“Three days? What happened exactly?” I asked her.
“What happened? Well let’s see, we got hit by an idiot in a semi who ran a red light, then you protected me during the crash. I don't know how you managed to pull off such an idiotic stunt and still survive. The doctors are saying the same thing, they're completely in shock that you didn't die on the scene." Rachel said.
"Well, I'm pretty tough." I joked.
Rachel's gazed turned to my left. "You didn't even open your gifts?"
I followed her gaze and saw a pile of neatly wrapped presents.
"I have gifts? What are they?"
"Why don't you open them, dumbass?" she asked, laughing.
Rachel brought them over and handed me one. "This one is mine" she practically purred.
She handed me a small gift. The gift was wrapped in a green wrapping with a red ribbon. In fact, it looked like a cliche christmas gift.
I opened the gift and gazed into the box. It was a pair of earbuds! But not just any earbuds, they were the top of the line Bose earbuds. The gift was simply amazing. I would never be able to repay her for this. It was just too cool!
“This is so awesome!” I almost shouted.
“I hoped you would’ve liked it!” Rachel smiled.
“Like it? I love this!” I exclaimed, “Thank you so much!”
***
“Derek!” Twilight called.
I stumbled out of the bed and tripped over my shoes.
“Shit!” I mumbled, catching myself.
“Derek?” Twilight called out yet again.
‘I you fucking kidding me? She needs to calm down.’
“Yeah, I’m coming down!” I yelled back.
I looked back down on my earbuds. They were the same ones from Rachel, only a little beat up and dirty. I can't believe that this is my life now.
I rubbed my eyes and put on my shoes. I got up and put on my jacket before I walked out of the room. Twilight was in the kitchen, cooking – at least, that was probably what she was intending to do. I’m not usually very judgmental towards other people’s cooking, but you could smell her failed attempt at whatever dish it was meant to be throughout the entire house; or tree, as it was.
“Oh hey Derek, I have breakfast for everyone. Sorry, hold on.” she said, “Spike! Get down here!”
‘Spike? Is that her boyfriend or something?’
Upstairs, a door burst open, and I heard a little pitter-patter of feet – not as one would expect, the clip-clop of hooves – coming my way.
Not sure what to expect, I looked up the stairs. Trotting down at a leisurely pace was a purple, scaly creature, waddling slightly as it made it way forward. By the way he jumped when he saw me he was obviously surprised by my presence, but to his credit he recovered pretty quickly.
“So you’re the human?” he asked, hopping down the last few steps nonchalantly.
“Sure I am,” I answered, trying to be just as nonplussed as he was. “I can’t imagine your species is called spike, though.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “What, have you never seen a dragon before or something?” He shot off a small green fireball as if to prove his point.
“As a matter of fact I haven’t, but that was pretty cool, I’ll give you that. I’m Derek,” I said a little amused, offering my hand to him.
“Yeah, I know your name,” he said with a toothy grin that bared his fangs, clasping my hand with his claws. They felt pretty sharp.
With the brief introduction over, Twilight began to serve up breakfast. There was something that looked like hash browns – or might even have been so if they’d been prepared by someone who had any idea of how to cook – and, for some reason, daisies. The flowers – being flowers – weren’t terribly promising, and the smell permeating the tree-house hadn’t given me much confidence in Twilight’s cooking skills, but I decided to give her the benefit of doubt.
Surprisingly the hash browns were quite decent, but the daisies were – much as one might’ve expected – disgusting. I almost spit them out by reflex, but I forced a smile onto my face and swallowed. I forcing them down my throat I made a mental note to not eat flowers again.
“Thanks Twilight. This was...delicious,” I said, having finished the hash browns. “Sorry for leaving the daisies, but I can’t really eat flowers.”
Twilight gave me an apologetic nod. “It’s no problem, really. I’ll have to ask you more about what you can eat later, so I can write it down.” For some reason, she put special emphasis on those last words.
Spike picked up one of the lightly singed hash browns and held it up with his claw. “No offense, Twilight, but next time you might want to make them look less like something I had a coughing fit on. Ash and food don’t go well together, you know.”
‘Oh thank god, it didn’t have to be me saying that.’
The unicorn gave him a stern look. “Oh, I’m sorry Spike. It’s not like there’s anypony else in this house who’s much better at cooking than I am, but felt so inclined to sleep in this morning, just like usual.” The sarcasm was not quite dripping, but nobody could’ve missed it unless they were deaf.
Spike took it all in stride, though. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Shouldn’t you be heading out by now, Twilight? I thought your checklist clearly said–”
Twilight gasped, cutting him off. “Oh I almost forgot! I need to go back over to Applejack’s house. Can you go to the market?” Twilight answered.
“Uh, sure Twilight...” the purple dragon said nervously.
Twilight trotted upstairs, “I am going to get ready to go.”
Spike turned to me, “Can you come with me?”
“Sure, why?” I asked. The little dragon’s voice was quaky and small. He looked down and fidgeted with his hands.
“No reason,” Spike answered a little too quickly.
Twilight came downstairs and opened up the door.
She turned around and said, “Ok Spike, see you later!”
“Alright Twilight, see you.”
'Why the hell does Twilight think she is so important? Spike is only a baby.’
I looked over to Spike, who was cleaning the dishes.
'Poor guy, this is probably not the best way to grow up. When does he ever have fun?'
***
Once Spike had finished cleaning up the dishes, we were ready to go. Spike led me around town, away from the library. We past through town and gave me a short tour as we walked. We past different houses each not so much different from the last. Although, there were some shops that had some very interesting architecture.
Spike looked around as we entered a clearing in the town. Tiny shops filled the area like a farmers market.
Spike was told to buy normal groceries as well as some special ingredients for tonight's dinner. We also had to get some hardware items for the library.
I looked over at Spike who was holding his hands together and shifting from foot to foot. His eyes were darting from side to side.
‘What they hell is wrong with him?’
We were walking to a hardware shop, when we saw a couple of pegasi come up bang against the shop counter.
The three of them snickered and looked at each other. They all wore the same red bandana around their neck.The one in front was yellow while the back two were orange and lime-green.
"Where is our money?" the yellow pegasus stallion shouted.
"I'll have it next week, I promise!" the brown mare squeaked.
"This is the second time you haven't payed us! Trust me, you don't want anything...happening to your nice shop here." He made his point by pushing a flower pot off the counter. It made a loud crackas it smashed to the floor.
The mare squealed and shrank behind the counter.
"P-please d-d-don't!" the mare stuttered.
"Why don't you just hand over the money and we can put this behind us, okay?" the pegasus shouted, getting red in the face.
Spike and I stared at the event that was occurring before us. My mind finally jolted back to reality and I jumped into action.
"Hey! Stop that!" I raised my hand at the pegasus.
'That's it? What happened to the quick witted response?"
The group of pegasi turned toward me, he jumped back a little then steeled himself. I guess that a human accompanied by a dragon isn’t a normal occurrence. The yellow pegasus leader spat, "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it, freak?"
‘Why does it seem that know one is scared of new creatures?’
"You’re really brave. Let’s see what happens when I break your neck?" I said.
"Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?"
‘Really? Are we back in grade school now?’
I walked up and got in his face, “Hurting people who are smaller than you is easy. So, why don’t you say sorry, then we all just go home and pretend this didn’t happen, okay?”
The yellow pegasus turned and bucked me in the chest. I was sent flying and my back exploded with pain when I hit a shop counter.
I stumbled up, gasping for air, when the pegasus charged at me. I remembered the movies where the guy jumps out of the way right before getting hit, unfortunately that wasn’t me. I was headbutted square in the chest. The counter crashed down under me.
The yellow pegasus put his forehoof on my chest and looked down on me. I was given the to recover from the pain that was coursing through my body.
He looked down on me, “What are you?”
“Human.” I said before placing both of my legs on his chest and pushed him off me.
I rolled over and got up with my guard up. The nearby gang members looked at each other and rushed me. One kept rushing me while the other waited. I quickly learned my lesson from the last one and jumped out of the way. The orange pegasus kept going and slid into the tent of a shop.
The lime-green one glanced at his partner then stared at me. He turned to buck me. I rolled out of the way and tackled the pegasus. I jumped on him and punched him in the face.
The pegasus stallion that was wrapped up in the tent escaped the sheets and turned at me. I looked over at him and he charged at me. I jumped up and braced myself. Just as the pegasus came to hit me, I side-stepped and grabbed his neck. The stallion only had enough time to let a small yelp escaped his throat before I flipped him over me. He landed with a thud on the ground.
I turned back to their leader, who had a scared look on his face. He before running off. The two scrambled after their leader, who had flown off without them.
'Doesn't this place have police ponies or something?'
I turned back to the cowering mare. “Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Y-yeah. T-t-thank you m-mister.” the orange mare began to get up from behind the counter.
“Who were those guys?” I asked.
“They were part of the Lightning Tumblers. They are a group of pegasus drug dealers, criminals and thugs. They believe that the other pony races are inferior to them, so they beat up on the earth ponies mostly. But sometimes Unicorns as well.” A stallion behind said.
“Hmm, thanks for the info.” I walked over to Spike.
“Let’s go Spike. I think we have everything.” I told him.
Spike and I headed off to the library with the groceries.
“Is that why you didn’t want to go shopping alone?” I looked down on the purple dragon.
“Huh?” Spike said.
“Are those guys the reason you didn’t want to come?” I asked again.
“Well, yeah sorta. They harassed me a couple times when I’ve come here. I don’t think they’ll stay gone though.” He looked away from me.
“I was thinking the same thing. I don’t know what I am going to do when they come back. I took quite a beating back there.” I felt the bruises under my shirt.
I looked down my shirt and saw twoMy chest was covered in a large black bruise. Obviously, I did the smart thing and poked at it.
“Ow!” I said.
“Well, what did you expect?” Spike chuckled.
We walked towards the library and I was lost in thought. How did I even get here? It was a question I asked myself a lot. Life just seems unfair and it has no problem using me as its punching bag. I wondered if it was some weird magical thing that brought me here. It could have been something I had done on Earth. 'Mowing the lawn? Doubt it.' I couldn't bring myself to stop pondering this question on our way back to the library.
***
We returned to the library and put the groceries away.
A short while after, Twilight came home looking exhausted. She sat on the couch and put down her stuff. She leaned back against the couch and sighed.
“How was your day?” Spike asked, a little nervous.
“Fine, I have to tell you something later.” Twilight said.
Rachel’s POV “I’m so sorry for you Rachel! I know that Derek was very close to you!” My friend Devon said.
My heart was hurting and tears were welling up in my eyes. I leaned against Devon’s shoulder, tears came flowing out. I could feel her hand stroke my back gently.
“Shh, it will be okay.” She pushed me up, staring into my eyes, “You’ll find him, I know it.”
“I hope so.”
“Don’t forget to about our track practice!” Devon ran off to her first class, leaving me alone.
The first period bell rang and shuffling to classes began. I slung my bright blue backpack onto my shoulder. I turned towards the 500’s building. I shuffled my feet, my head hung low.
The hallways were busy. People slamming their lockers, shuffling to their classes, yelling to each other. Numbness and depression crept over my head like a dark storm cloud. Sights and sounds blurred as I made my way to math class. I maneuvered numbly past the pushing and shoving and into my class.
I looked in on the room before me. Derek and I shared this class every morning; it felt depressing to walk into this room without him. The clean white walls and motivational academic posters did nothing to brighten up my mood as the morning ticked by.
I sat down, looking down on my desk. I glanced over to the empty seat across the room, Derek’s seat. It sat lonely and alienated from its surroundings. I could do nothing but look away before an coldness rushed over me.
The teacher, Mr. McHenry, looked up at the clock and back down at his papers. Class was beginning to start and he turned on the projector.
“Okay class, take out your homework and get ready for today’s lesson. I hope you brought your calculators, you’re gonna need them.” He said.
I did nothing as Mr McHenry walked by.
“Nothing again, Rachel? I know that Derek is missing, but you should try to keep up in school.”
A silence grew and he shrugged before walking away. I felt something on my back so I shrugged it off, but it started again so I turned around and looked at an annoying kid. HIs name is Josh, he is, by far, the most annoying kid in school. “Hey, so since Derek is gone, does that mean you’re available?”
“Are you kidding right now? Do you think this is the time to be asking that?” Andrea, another friend of mine, snapped before I could speak.
“Hey, I was just joking.”
“Yeah, what’s joking to you? Making people feel even worse? ‘Cause that seems like real fun, doesn’t it?” Andrea ranted.
I turned back to my desk, fading into my memories. I kept trying to remember his face. The hardest part was that it kept drifting away from me.The more and more I tried to picture him, the more I can’t.
I was secluding myself from the rest of the world until I was jarred back when the bell rang. I got up and left to the next class, which was Latin. The only reason I took such a ridiculous language is because my Devon suckered me into it.
I was leaving the 500’s building and glanced out of the school gate. A purple mist hung in the air. I turned around then did a double take as I try to understand what I just saw. I turned back to see it producing an eerie aura. I looked around to find everybody walked past it, like they didn’t notice it.
Curious, I walked up to it. The mist shimmered back a couple feet. I took another step closer and the mist moved back. I don’t know why, but I felt drawn to it. I couldn’t place why, but it felt like I needed to get closer, to touch it.
I turned back to the school campus and back to the mist, I heard the late bell ring in the background. I dropped my backpack and ran at the mist.
As I ran after it, the mist started turning. I continued to follow it when it dawned on me that the mist was leading me. The purple thing had brought me onto Derek’s street. I standing right in front of his house, or his lawn to be more precise.
The lawn was half cut and his parents had not gotten around to cutting it after his disappearance. They were still disturbed about him being missing. I kinda felt sorry for his little brothers, I feel like they think they don’t matter, everyone’s focus was on Derek. I couldn’t imagine everyone turning away from like that.
The purple mist hung in the air above a patch of dirt that seemed to like the grass was removed from the land. I came closer to it, but this time it stayed in its place. I studied the dirt spot area, it seemed weird that it was in one specific spot. There wasn’t even burnt edges or signs of digging. It was just was one pothole in the ground, smooth and even all the way around.
I looked back up at the mist. The purple cloud shifted and swirled about in the air. I outstretched my hand, curious about the anomaly before me. As soon as my finger skimmed the inviting mist, there was nothing. Only blackness invited me.
Twilight levitated her items off of her back, looking completely exhausted. She flopped down onto the couch and leaned her head back as if she could fall asleep right there. I on the other hand was in the kitchen making a sandwich. I’ll say that a vegetarian society is starting to suck, not that it didn’t in the first place.
“So, Twilight, what did you need to tell us?” Spike asked.
“Why yes Spike, remember what we saw a couple months ago? That aura over the everfree?” Twilight began.
“Hmm, sorta. That was awhile ago. What I do remember was walking for five hours in the blistering heat through a dangerous forest.” I came into the living room with my sandwich a cup of juice.
“Yeah, but we didn’t find anything that time. I was sure something big was occurring, but I just couldn’t find it. But, after Derek’s arrival, I know that this was because of his presence entering our world!” Twilight was almost jumping around. I have no idea how she had this much energy after a full day of walking.
“Um, is there something that you’re getting to, or is this just some sort of rant about me again?” I asked in Twilight’s pause.
“Sorry Derek, but yes there is! I have found this aura once more. However, I cannot navigate to it. I need somepony’s help to reach the center of this anomaly.”
“Okay, who are getting? Because I want to see the person brave enough to enter that shit.”
“Well, I was sorta thinking...um...you? I need you to lead me to where you appeared.”
“Ah hell no! Are you serious? I spent a good amount of time in that shit-hole, more than my share for sure!”
“Derek, I need you, please! What if it is another poor human? Unlike you, I doubt that they have what it takes to survive in the Everfree!”
“Yeah, come on man! You don’t want to be all alone out here! Being the only of your kind must suck” Spike chimed in.
‘Shit, I guess I have to go. I was lucky enough to at least have a hatchet on me.’
“Fine, I will go. But we better find something good, because I really don’t feel like walking all this time to come up empty.
“Okay then, we better get packing!” Twilight said.
***
I started packing a pack with water and food. I brought some rope, just incase, and, of course, my hatchet. I brought some of Twilight’s blankets because this was definitely going to be more than a day.
I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I walked out of the room to see Spike packing a small bag full of gems. I peered over his shoulder to check what else he brought, which was nothing.
“Hey, Spike?” He looked up at me.
“Yeah?”
“Dude, what’s with the jewelry shop?”
“Hey, I gems are delicious! You said we needed food.” Spike defended.
“You eat those? Okay, but you need a lot of water also. I would also say a weapon, but you can breathe fire, so that’s one less thing.”
Just then I saw Twilight walk out with a stack of books and writing supplies.
“Whoa whoa whoa Twilight, are bringing all that with you? Where’s the food and water?” I asked once again.
“Of course I’m not bringing all this with me. I am leaving behind my light reading books. And I have enough food and water to last for a couple of days.” I watched her put down half of the books, which was about four, and set the rest in her saddle bag.
I went over and picked up one of the books she kept.
“Dummies Guide to Surviving the Wilderness? Really? I’m sure you don’t need this.”
“Yeah, but...” She started while I threw out three more books with similar titles.
“Twilight, why don’t we keep one journal and your writing supplies? You need to focus on the weight you’re carrying. We need to be as light as possible.” I threw the book away.
She looked like I had just taken away her favorite toy and burned it. “Fine.”
“Alright, is everyone ready to go?” I asked.
***
We exited the house and moved towards the dark forest. A tinge of fear swept over me as we approached.. It’s not like I haven’t done this before, but the memories of the jungle are haunting. The forest loomed over us as we entered the treeline. Twilight look towards me.
“So, which way are we headed?” Twilight asked.
“Um, do you know where a big, destroyed castle is?”
“You can’t m-mean N-Nightmare Moon’s Castle?” Spike add with a quiver in his voice.
“Spike, there is no need to worry. Nightmare Moon was destroyed with the Elements, remember?” Twilight looked over.
“Yeah, it’s still creepy though.”
“Anyways, we need to pass it and get to a nearby river.” I was almost getting annoyed now.
As we walked, I heard the usual rustling of the leaves and the occasional twig snap. There was a rabbit or two hoping into a bush, but nothing unusual for a forest. I listened for anything out of the ordinary, who knows what else is in here.
It took awhile, but we finally made it to the the castle. The only thing separating us from the large structure was an old rope bridge which dangled over an enormous chasm. I peered over the edge and saw mist which obscured my view of the bottom. I kicked a rock off and listened.
‘1...2...3...4...’ I heard the rock clink as it hit the bottom.
“Shit, that’s a far drop!” I exclaimed.
“So, any volunteers to go across first?” I gave a nervous chuckle.
Twilight walked by and started crossing the precarious bridge, Spike followed close behind her. I took a light step on the bridge to test the strength. I started across, minding the gaps and trying to not to look down or get freaked out. The wood groaned under my feet, I tried to keep my nerve.
As I neared the end, the wood made a slight cracking. I made a jump for land.
“Oh thank god!” I said, still laying on the dirt.
“What? Are you afraid of heights?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“Fuck no, heights are fine. I am afraid of bridges. The thought of one breaking scares the shit out of me.” I slowly got up.
“Oh, that seems a legitimate reason. Just look how broken and destroyed it is.” She said sarcastically. I looked back to see a perfectly fine bridge swaying from my jump.
‘Great, just another thing I do to embarrass myself.”
We started off towards the river. Walking past the castle, I looked in on it. A shadow swept past a doorway and I blinked. I looked around; but, nothing.
I lead the way past the castle towards the river. When we finally reached the our checkpoint, a gentle breeze blew by, sending a chill down my back. I looked up at the sky to see the purple glow of twilight. We began walking down the river bank when a bush rustled and a crack was heard from a branch. I turned, but saw nothing. We kept walking, and again a sound was heard.
“Spike, Twilight, hold up.” I pulled out my hatchet.
I snuck up to the bush and crouched down. Just then, the bush exploded. I felt a force push down on my chest.
“Timberwolf!” Twilight shouted.
‘What the hell is a timberwolf?’ Is all I thought when I rolled away.
I jumped to my feet and looked up as the beast was nearly on top of me, again! A purple aura appeared in front of me and shattered when the wolf hit it. I brought up my hatchet and swung down with all of my strength. My blade hit on mark, splintering the neck and severing the head from the rest.
‘Hmm, so that’s a timberwolf.’
“There, all better!” I turned towards the group, “And look, now we have firewood!”
They stood there with a horrified look on their faces.
“What? I killed it, we are fine.” I heard a scraping sound behind me.
I turned to see the head levitating back onto its body.
“You are fucking kidding me, right?” I raised my hatchet again.
The wooden wolf barked at me.
“Um, bad dog” I said meekly.
The thing pounced on me yet again. I hit it with the flat of my blade bringing it to the ground. “Down boy!”
Spike shot a green fireball that hit the monster directly it the chest. The wolf combusted in flames. It jumped and started running around in a panic. I went over to it and swiped at the tree hound’s legs, successfully chopping off both of its front legs. It howled in pain while I casually walked around to his back and cut off both of his rear legs.
“Sorry bud, you aren’t getting in my way.” I took his legs and started a fire before I came back.
“No second chances.” I brought down the blade on his neck.
I picked up the head and threw it in the growing fire.
“Thanks for the help Twilight. I’m sure I would be dead if it wasn’t for you.” I smiled at her.
She looked at the fire with horror. Spike just stared at me in shock. I walked over to the fire and brought out some water and a granola bar. I looked around, checking out my surroundings, just up the way was where I crossed the river before. Luckily there was a small cave-like structure a couple meters away. It wasn’t deep, it only gave enough room to protect us from the rain.
Spike joined me and brought out a gem. Twilight sat down but just stared at the fire.
“So, I have found where we are staying for the night.” I said trying to break the silence.
“Where?” Spike said.
I pointed out the cave to him.
“You mean the whole in the wall?”
“Hey, it’s a perfectly fine cave. And I’m sure as hell not staying out here.” I pack my water away and picked up a burning piece of wood.
Everyone started moving the stuff to the cave. While Spike and Twilight unpacked their stuff, I started a small fire in the entrance. I went back and hacked off a couple more pieces from the lifeless husk.
After the fire was going, I brought out some blankets and my water. I looked over to Twilight who was looking away from me. She sat in the corner, writing something in her journal. I brought Spike right outside the cave with me.
“Do you know why she is acting weird? Is she still upset about me killing that monster?”
“Well, come on man.” Spike started, “You seemed to have a sadistic pleasure, you looked like a maniac.”
“Yeah, but it’s kill or be killed. I hope she realizes that.”
We walked back inside and I dropped to the floor, ready to sleep.
***
I woke up the next morning to see the morning sky out of the cave. I got up and started packing. I shook Spike and Twilight awake and told them to get ready. They both looked like death. Spike was not as bad as Twilight, whose hair was nearly standing straight up. She walked to the river and brought out a brush.
I packed up the blankets and brought out some trail mix. The trail mix was good, but it just didn’t taste the same without m&ms. You would think someone would invent them in this world! I drank some water before I packed everything away.
“Alright, everyone ready to go? I think we can make it there today, mid afternoon.”
We left the cave behind and walked down the river a ways before we crossed over it. We entered the jungle part of the our trek. I lead the way back to my old home. I had lived there for nearly three months, it felt more like a home than anything else.
“How much farther?” Twilight spoke up. Usually I would be annoyed with this sort of question, but I was more relieved that she was speaking at all.
“Not far, but this place is ridden with monsters and dangerous animals. So, keep on your toes.”
I looked up to the trees for any signs of my old snares. After another mile of walking I found a trap that used a young sapling to catch small prey such as rabbits.
“Hmm, we are only five minutes away. Just a little further.” I said.
Spike jerked his head up and looked towards Twilight and me.
“Did you hear that?” Spike asked.
“No, what did it sound like?” I asked quickly.
“Eh, nevermind. It sounded like heavy hoof hitting the ground.”
I looked towards Twilight, “Are you getting fat?” I chuckled.
Spike gaped at me, then burst into laughter.
“What, you did not just say that!” Twilight was quickly turning from shocked to angry.
“You better start running man.” Spike said through his laughter.
“Look, Twilight. I was just...” A burst of purple energy skimmed my hair and scorched a tree trunk behind me.
“Ok, so I can tell you’re a little mad...” I felt magic grip my legs.
“Twilight, there is no need for violence!” I was turned upside-down and pushed against the tree, facing my assaulter.
“Spike, wanna see me turn him to dust?” Twilight’s brow lowered.
“Use your words!” I screamed.
Twilight’s horn started to glow and I was getting more nervous by the second. Just then a burst of magic shot out from her horn.
“Plea...” Was all I was able to get out.
I was immediately blinded. I felt like I was being pulled, stretched, twisted and compressed all at the same time. The next thing I knew, I was on the dirt looking up at Twilight.
“You should’ve seen the look on your face!” Twilight laughed.
I jumped up and felt my self doing a mental checklist as I made sure nothing was missing.
“What the fuck did you do to me?” It came out more scared than angry.
“Calm down, it was just a simple teleportation spell.”
“Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I think I found what made that sound.” Spike said in the distance.
We looked over to a large minotaur staring us down.
“Fuck” Luckily I know my mythology.
“You can say that again.” Twilight said.
“Run!” Spike yelled already passing us.
I followed Spikes example and fled. I heard the huge hoofsteps of the monster on our tail. I began looking for anyway out of this. Just then I remembered something.
“Twilight follow me and teleport us ten feet forward when I say, got it?” I panted.
“Got it!”
I turned to the left and sprinted straight ahead. In the distance I saw my old home and smirked. We approached the opening and started closing the gap.
“Ready...” I looked over. The gap was only five feet away.
“Now!” I yelled.
Twilight’s horn flashed and I felt the magic working. By working, I mean the gut wrenching feeling that nearly made me sick.
I reappeared in the cave next to the others. The minotaur had made the same foolish mistake they all did. I heard a roar of pain and waited. After a few moments of catching my breath I peered in. The monster was stuck through in various places. I looked over to Twilight who looked very tired.
We sat down and pulled out some food and water. I gulped down my water while Spike took a bite out of an emerald, Twilight wrote something in her journal again. I walked outside and scanned the area for anything unusual...nothing.
“Twilight, nothing is here.”
“No, we didn’t come out here for nothing.” She pointed out a circle of dirt.
“Look here, this isn’t natural.” She said, “See these slight burn marks on the leaves? They are perfectly aligned with the small clearing.”
I looked around for anything. And to my surprise I actually found something. I followed a pair of footprints leading to a large tree. I thought I was onto something when they stopped at the trunk. I looked around for any more, but, again, nothing.
“Crap, I thought I saw something. I guess not” I turned around and started back.
“Hiya!” A high pitch voice yelled. I felt something land on top of me.
“Augh!” I yelled as I hit the ground, “Is this jump Derek day or something?”
“Oh my gosh are you ok?” She helped me up then gasped and dropped me again.
“Fuck me” I hit my ass again on the ground.
I finally got a good look at her and was shocked myself. I got up and hugged her. I felt a moistness on my shoulder. I’m not going to lie, I bet she felt a little of the same.