//-------------------------------------------------------// Blending In -by closetbrony1551- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Ouch //-------------------------------------------------------// Ouch Eesh...not one of my better days. Luke put down his pen and passed in his exam to the professor, sweat still staining the paper from one of the most nerve-racking school days yet. Fuck...I knew I should have spent another hour studying, that was painful. He walked out of class and looked back at the students still taking the test. Apparently the rest of his classmates were in the same boat as him. Looks of panic and distress filled the room, as well as wandering eyes skipping from paper to paper. All Luke did was smirk as he went down the hallway and out the building where his friend was waiting for him. "How bout that test, huh?" his friend said in a mocking tone. "Don't remind me...how'd you do?" "I'm hoping for a 95 or above...it wasn't too bad. Calculus is a breeze." "Dan, I swear, you are half calculator or something. I mean, fuck! Did you SEE that word problem? Did the professor intentionally word it like a douchebag?" "Ah, don't be such a baby, it wasn't too bad" He said with a cocky grin. "Hey, Jason is having people over for a end of school party in about 15 minutes, you in?" "Uh...I'll end up going a little later, I just gotta take care of something first." Luke said with a little hesitation. "Ok, just don't forget to bring some booze. You know how fast that stuff disappears when I'm around." Dan said, laughing at his own joke like a fool. Luke also couldn't help but crack a grin. "Yea, no problem, I'll see you there" Luke and Dan went their separate ways and Luke approached his car, excited for the night that lie ahead of him. If there was one thing he loved, it was one of Jason's parties. He opened the door and drove to the flower store. "Hi Luke, another five daffodils?" The Cashier at the front desk said in a cheery voice. "You know it." Luke said with a smile. Luke would always pick up up five daffodils on the Friday at the end of each month, so it was second nature between them at this point. She wrapped up the flowers in an instant and Luke was on his way. "Thank you for shopping at Blooming Flowers, please come again!" She said in another cheery tone. "You know I will!" Luke said in an equally happy voice, shutting the door behind him. With his flowers in hand, he got back in his car and drove to the local cemetery. He parked the car and made his way to his mother's grave, where he placed the flowers. He just stood in front of the grave, thinking about how much he's done since his mother had passed. "Well mom, I'm almost done with school. I can't wait to see what lies ahead of me this year, there is so much room for possibility." he stated to the grave. He felt his eyes beginning to get misty from all the fond memories he had with his mother. Deciding he didn't want to get anymore depressed, he said goodbye to his mom and walked back to his car. The car started up and he began to pull out of the parking lot. With some tears still forming in his eyes, he began rubbing his eyes against his hands. When he looked up, he was greeted with another pair of headlights screeching towards him. BANG ... ... Consciousness began returning to Luke at a very slow rate. Vision began blurring into focus, only to have Luke shut his eyes again dues to the harsh brightness above him. His ears had a very faint ringing in them and his back was met with the feeling of thorns digging into him. A loud groan escaped him as he sat upright. "W-what the hell happened..." he said out loud. As his senses had finally returned, he looked around to see a very dense forest surrounding him, scattered with of sunshine piercing through the leaves on the tress. No civilization in sight. Just trees. What the hell is going on? I was in a car...right? He began to stand up, only to fall back on his ass. "Argh!" Yep, that gonna be sore for a while He tried again, this time at a much slower, more careful rate. Leaning up against a tree, taking a better look around. Trees...and more trees. No buildings, no cars. Nothing but trees and bushes. I'm dead then? Is this heaven? Walking around a bit to get his bearings, he came across a small stream. He didn't realize how thirsty he was. He cupped his hands and dipped the in the water. Taking a big gulp he repeated this process a few times. Around the fourth mouthful, his ears perked up to a voice. "...don't know why we have to go out and look for him. He comes back all the time anyways. What's stopping him from doing it again?" There was another voice...this one much too quiet to make out any words. A feeling of relief washed over him. Ok... at least I'm not in the middle of n-. His thought was cut off. Across the stream there were... Ponies? A blue one and a yellow one at that. Staring at him. The blue one had a look mixed with shock and curiosity, while the yellow one appeared petrified. The staring contest lasted for what felt like minutes. W-what am I looking at? The yellow one made a small whimpering noise, and the blue one stepped in front of it. The blue then took another step towards him this time, wings unfurling ever so slightly. Wait...WINGS?! //-------------------------------------------------------// First Impressions //-------------------------------------------------------// First Impressions The blue pony took another step. Then another. W-what's that thing doing?! Luke screamed in his head, taking a few steps back. Seeing that Luke was indeed intimidated, the yellow pony's facial expression suddenly changed from fear to one of curiosity. The blue one then took a stance with its wings fully extended, looking as though it was about to attack. "W-wait Rainbow Dash! It looks like it's scared..." said the yellow pony. Did...that thing just fucking... "Huh?" The other pony said, turning around. Luke didn't hear much after that because as soon as it turned around, he bolted into the woods. Shit shit shit shit! he thought as he sprinted around trees and bushes, trying to get as far away from what he just saw. What the fuck was that?! He ran for another minute or two until his lungs and legs starting burning. He put his back against a tree and remained still for about ten minutes until he was sure he had lost...whatever that was. Heart still pounding, he let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. "Where the fuck am I?!" he screamed at no one in particular. Pacing back and forth, he began to hyperventilate. How is this happening?! After his mini panic attack began settling, he sat down against a tree to gather his thoughts. D-did I die? Is this some kind of fucked up version of hell? Or am I truly just insane? With his adrenaline beginning to wear off, he began to feel the various cuts he got from running through both thorns and branches. He also couldn't help but notice how the lower leg of his jeans had been ripped off, and a bit of blood running down his leg. His sneakers were also soaked in mud, so much to the point where it was better having them off. "Well, I'm sure not dreaming. That definitely hurts." He took off his sweatshirt so he could mop up the blood and apply some pressure to the gash. When the wound stopped bleeding, Luke began to think about what kind of situation he was in. I'm still leaning on drugs... it has to be drugs. What was it that happened again... I was in my car and... Luke paused for a moment. I crashed. That's right, so I must be dead. He took a look around. "Well, this sure isn't hell. It's too nice out to be hell. And it sure ain't heaven, I don't think ponies would be in heaven for some reason... especially not blue ones with... rainbow manes." Not sure what else to do, he checked his pockets to see what he had on him. He took out to see he had a granola bar, a pack of gum, his wallet, and his phone. Deciding now was a good a time as any, he began unwrapping the snack and took a bite. Luke turned on his phone to see if he could call anyone to find him, only to have no service. Then something struck him, his phone said it was almost midnight, but it appeared to be mid afternoon where ever he was. "Yeah, this is messed up, I gotta get home. I gotta do something! Maybe I shoul-" a howl could be heard off in the distance, interrupting him. M-maybe I should just stay put actually... Spooked by the howl, he decided he would begin to build some kind of shelter. While gathering stray branches, he continued to ponder if there were any other possibilities to explain what was happening to him. ... ... "Huh?" Rainbow Dash said as she turned around. "I said it looked scared..." Fluttershy said, embarrassed with her sudden outburst. Rainbow Dash turned back to find that... thing was nowhere to be seen. "Hey! Where'd that thing go?" She said, darting her head left and right. "Can it fly?" She said looking around in the sky. "I saw it run back into the woods...the poor thing must be so frightened..." "Poor thing? That thing was a beast! Who knows what that thing could have done to us! Good thing I was here to scare it off." Rainbow Dash said triumphantly. "C'mon, that thing couldn't have gone far." She said as she flew over to the other side of the stream and into the woods. "Wait! Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy yelled, flying after her. When she caught up, Rainbow Dash had stopped to inspect some footprints she found in some mud. "Hm... these are really weird footprints. It's like it has some weird design on it's feet." "Maybe we shouldn't go after it Rainbow... it didn't seem to have any intent on harming us." Fluttershy said hesitantly. "And look at this." Fluttershy said walking up to a branch with some kind of fabric on it. "I don't think this thing was any wild animal... it looks like it has some type of clothing. Oh no...this looks like blood....\" She stated as she observed the red stain on it. "It might need help!" "Well, we couldn't follow it even if we wanted to...the footprints stop around here" Rainbow Dash stated, pointing to a patch of grass. "We can't just leave it out there... what if it's badly injured?" She said with a great amount of worry in her voice. " It seemed to run fast enough, it can't be that wounded. Hey Fluttershy, mind if I see that thing you holding?" Rainbow asked, to which Fluttershy nodded her head and gave her the fabric. "Maybe we can have Winona track him..." She said looking up at Fluttershy. "Worth a shot right?" Fluttershy hesitated for a moment. "Well...ok. But were going to help it, right? "Fine, but if that thing tries any funny business... I'm not holdin' back. It could still be dangerous y'know." Dash said as they began their flight back to Ponyville. When they arrived at Ponyville, they decided to go to Twilight to see if she had any information on the creature they saw. "Hey, anypony home?" Said Rainbow Dash, barging through the front door with Fluttershy not far behind. "Be right down!" Twilight Yelled from her room. Eventually she made her way down the stairs, 3 books levitating around her. "Oh hi girls! How are you?" "Fine, hey Twilight? You have a book about an animal that walks on two legs and doesn't have fur EXCEPT on it's head?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It also wore clothes... and it left a little behind." Fluttershy said, giving her the fabric the fabric. "Hmmm....very strange. I'll see what I can find." Twilight said, levitating books around the library. Book after book, page after page, Twilight could not find an animal that matched the description Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had given her. "Fascinating! This could very well be a new discovery!" Twilight said with glee. "Do you know where this 'creature' is now?" "Well, not yet. We were going to ask Applejack if Winona could track it down. We also think that the red stain on that fabric thing is blood, so it might need help." Rainbow stated. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's get the girls and find this thing!" Author's Note Hey guys. I would just like to apologize for the brief chapters, school is kinda kicking my ass right now. I plan on putting out longer chapters when I don't have 3 different exams to study for, but until then they are probably gonna be pretty short. //-------------------------------------------------------// The Chase //-------------------------------------------------------// The Chase Hm, that's gonna have to do. Luke thought, looking at his pathetic excuse for a shelter. After building his so called "shelter", which mostly consisted of branches and leaves, he looked up to the sky to see that there was still some time left in the day. Well, what the hell do I do now? Being much calmer than before, he slumped against a tree and thought about anything he could do to help his current situation. "I need food." He said out loud. ...but what the hell am I gonna do for food? He looked around for anything to eat, hoping for some type of... well, anything. He walked around for a bit and about fifty or so feet from the shelter, he stumbled upon a bush with some red berries. Fuck. Are these poisonous? He plucked a few from the bush and sniffed them. Damn...is it really worth the risk? Well, if worse comes to worst, I'll at least have these. With that, he put the berries in his pockets and began walking back to his stuff. "Well, seems like any plants are not an option, I don't even recognize half the stuff in this forest anyway." Luke said, getting frustrated. "So meat it is then, well that's gonna be a pain in the ass too." He never knew much about hunting, aside from the occasional survival show here and there. Well, I know how to fish, but where the hell am I gonna find... Luke stopped for a second. Nope. Hell no. There's no way I'm going to that stream. Who knows what else is gonna be waiting there....but I'm gonna need the food, and there's only a little bit of day left. After weighing his options for a bit, he decided it would be better to have some kind of energy for tomorrow, and going to bed on a full stomach was just what he needs. "Well...better get started on a spear then" ... "Oh! Oh! Do you think it wants to be friends!? *GASP* Should I set up a party for it?! Maybe-" "Now hold up a sec Pinkie" Applejack said, "We don't have any idea what this thing can do... it might be dangerous" The girls were all accounted for and ready to help find whatever it was Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy saw the other day. "Ok Applejack...this is what the animal had on it. Are you sure that Winona can track it with just this?" Twilight asked as she handed over the piece of fabric. Applejack hesitated for a moment before taking the strange fabric. "Are you sure you're willin to find this thing Twi? We not might know what we are getting ourselves into here." "She may have a point" Rarity added, "Whatever it is, it's certainly not from around here. I don't even recognize what kind of fabric it is." Looking at the dark blue, almost rough piece of clothing. "It certainly does not seem like the most comfortable of clothing." "We might be discovering a new species girls! Aren't you excited to see what we might find? We could very well make a breakthrough in science!" Twilight said with enthusiasm. "I agree with Twi! Let's go find this thing!" Rainbow said, almost as enthusiastic as Twilight. Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Now why do you wanna find it so badly?" "Are you kidding? It'll be an adventure! Tracking down a big beast and capturing it? That will be so cool!" Rainbow exclaimed, causing Fluttershy to gasp a little. "Rainbow Dash, we don't want to scare it anymore than it is. Twilight only wants to see what it looks like, right Twi?" Fluttershy asked. "Of course, I just want to get some information about what could potentially be a new discovery...I have no means of hurting it." Twilight explained. "Oh yeah...right" Rainbow said, not as enthusiastic as before. "But what if it's friendly? I could bake cupcakes with it, and cookies, and brownies, and-" "Girls, I think Winona has its scent" Applejack said, pulling the fabric away from Winona's nose. Winona then proceeded to bark and start running towards the stream Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had seen it at. "Come on girls!" Rainbowdash said, flying ahead. "Ok! Right behind you Dashie!" Pinkie yelled running behind. The rest of the girls followed them at a rather quick pace in order to keep up, all except Fluttershy who stood back for a moment. "I hope it won't be too scared..." With that, she flew off and caught up with the girls ... "Stupid fish..." Luke said, quickly grabbing the spear out of the stream for the now seventh time. I don't have time for this! Something could show up any second now. Ok Luke, don't panic. Just...concentrate. After looking for another fish, he spotted one about 10 feet up stream. With that he through the spear into the water...hoping to at least hit something to bring back. Luke's face lit up when he saw some blood in the water where the spear had landed. He scurried to where the spear was and lifted it up to see a good sized fish on it. "YES!" Luke screamed. "Finally! Now all I gotta do is cook this little-" He looked up to find six ponies, two of which he recognized. He froze again, just staring at those six multicolored horses looking back at him. Before he knew it, a Pink blur shrouded his vision and when he looked down, a pink pony was looking up at him. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?" She asked, smiling up at him. "PINKIE! IT HAS A WEAPON! GET AWAY FROM IT!" Rainbow Dash yelled as it charged him. "Wait STO-" He couldn't say much before he was knocked back on his ass, Having two large hoofmarks on his chest, After Rainbow knocked down Luke, she flew over to Pinkie to check on her. "It didn't hurt you, did it Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, flying around her to look for any wounds. "Rainbow! That was mean! Why did you do that?!" Pinkie exclaimed, actually irritated. "That...THING had a spear! It was gonna attack you! I mean, just look at it!" But by the time she turned around, Luke was already to his feet and sprinting back to the woods, spear in hand. "Oh no you don't! Not again!" Rainbow Dash yelled, flying after it. "Rainbow Dash, don't!" Fluttershy yelled. Rainbow Dash was already gone into the woods by the time Fluttershy finished her sentence. The rest of the girls trotted over to Pinkie to check on her, making sure she really wasn't hurt in anyway. ... FUCK FUCK FUCK! Luke screamed in head, running through the trees, trying to get back to his little shelter. WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING? He turned around only to see a blue pony flying at him, leaving a rainbow streak behind it. Why is that thing so fast?! He then threw the spear on the ground so he could run faster. Luke continued to run as fast as his legs could carry him, but was still losing ground as the pony continued to pursue him. This isn't working! I gotta think fast or I'm toast! He then saw a big tree directly in front of him, approaching fast. That thing is quick... but I bet it can't stop on a dime, especially in the air. With that, he continued to sprint towards the tree, the blue pony only a mere forty feet behind him now. "Get back here! Nopony threatens my friends and gets away with it!" It yelled behind him. With that, Luke stopped directly in front of the tree and turned to face the pony. The pony was closing in fast, ready to tackle him head on again, this time not needing to worry about her friend. Just as contact was about to be made, Luke got on his stomach and closed his eyes. "What the-" Rainbow started, but didn't finish upon seeing the tree only a few feet from her, and her flying straight at it. "Oh buck!" She yelled, trying to stop at first, but then bracing for impact seeing as she couldn't stop in time. *CRACK* Luke looked back to see the blue pony hit the ground, actually leaving a small dent in the tree. Luke got to his feet and checked on it. Out Cold. Luke gave a sigh of relief and began to walk away from it. Too. Fucking. Close. He looked at the blue pony and started to walk away from it, hoping to find that spear he dropped. While walking away, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the pony that was chasing him. Sure it was...chasing him. But it was trying to protect that other pony. He turned back around to see it still on the ground, not moving. A feeling of guilt hit Luke as he continued to look at it. It's not my fault! It was gonna attack me... I have every right to just walk away now, and enjoy that fish I caught. No matter how much he wanted to walk away, he couldn't bring himself to just walk away from something that didn't have a shelter or anything out here. And who knows what else is in these woods... "*sigh* I shouldn't be doing this" He said as he began walking back to it. He gave it one more poke to ensure that it was still knocked out, and it wasn't faking it. "God... this isn't good. Man, this might be a dumb move." He looked down at it again. "But I can't just leave it out here." With another heavy sigh he carefully scooped up the pony in his arms and began walking back to his camp. Author's Note Hey guys. So I sorta broke my wrist playing basketball, which is why I haven't been writing lately. As you might imagine, it's kinda difficult to type with one hand, but I did it anyway seeing as though this story has been delayed enough. So, uh, here ya go. //-------------------------------------------------------// A better second impression //-------------------------------------------------------// A better second impression There was a deafening silence that filled the air as Luke and the pony that had just recently attacked him locked eyes, waiting for the other one to make a move. Apparently, the pony got tired of waiting, springing to it's feet...only to yelp and fall back down on it's stomach. Luke jumped back too, startled by the sudden noise. He looked back down to see that the pony was favoring it's front leg. Huh...looks more hurt than I thought it was. "Um..." What am I supposed to say? "Are you ok?" The pony snapped it head up...very confused actually as to what Luke had just said. "...What the..." ,were the first words to come out of the pony's mouth. "You can talk?" Now it was Luke's turn to be confused Can I talk? I'm not the fictional animal here...god how far away from home am I? "Uh, yea I can talk. Are you hurt?" The pony flapped it's wings slightly, apparently trying to get away from the two legged creature towering over her. It managed to get a few feet off the ground before it's left wing tensed up and sent her coming right back down to the ground. Luke couldn't tell if the creature was trying to either run away from him or was trying to get it's bearing to attack him again, but it's eyes were locked on him through the duration of it's little show. Luke was about to speak up again when the creature limped towards him, favoring that leg. She had actually gotten a lot closer than he would have liked her to. "Why did you attack my friend?" Ok...it's definitely not trying to run away. "Um, I'm afraid I don't follow." "You had a spear pointed at my friend. Don't play dumb with me." "...The pink one? I had no intention of attacking anyone, your friend approached me remember?" And managed to scare the shit out of me in the process. The colorful pony actually paused for a second upon hearing that. "Then why did you have a spear? We're you gonna attack somepony?" "...No, I was attempting to get some food for myself until I was interrupted by that little pink horse" Luke stated, getting somewhat annoyed. "Why would you assume I was attacking anyone?" "Cause you had a weapon. Why would you need a spear to get food? Plants aren't exactly hard to come by." "Well I kinda doubt that I would be able to catch a fish with just my hands, and I don't really recognize and of the plants here. They could kill me for all I know." Instead of retorting with something else like Luke had expected, the pony's eyes had widened and it backed away. "You eat...meat?" "Yea...well not all the time. But it's the only option have have for food right now." The pony had furthered itself even further away from him, getting in what appeared to be a defensive stance. What the hell is this thing doing? Does it think I'm gonna eat it? "If you think your gonna eat me, you've got another thing coming." The pony was now on it's hooves...well the ones that were able to support her, and had flared it's wings out a little bit. "Nonono! I'm not gonna eat you, my diet doesn't consist of horses...or whatever you are. I only brought you here cause it's getting dark, and being out alone in the woods with no shelter wouldn't be safe." The pony's wings had folded back against it's back, but was still in somewhat of a defensive stance. "How do I know if I can trust something like you?" Something like ME? Does this thing not know of humanity? God where the hell am I? Luke sighed, "Listen. If I wanted to eat you, I would have done it by now...you were out cold for a good while. And I could have just left you there if I wanted, but with that leg and...wing of yours, you probably wouldn't have done too well out here." Luke noticed the pony's glare lessen a little bit. "I'm not stopping you from just leaving here and going back those other horses, but it's getting dark out. And I wasn't about to go back holding you while unconscious...for some reason I don't think that would blow over well. So bringing you here was the only thing I could think of." The pony had gotten out of it's stance and was now standing normally, looking less intimidated, but still had a look of confusion on it's face. "Why didn't you just leave me there?" "Well...I couldn't help but notice you weren't alone. And if you went chasing into the woods after me and didn't come back out, well they would assume that I had done something to you." Luke paused for a moment feel the spot where the pony had kicked him earlier. "If you had kicked me for just holding a spear...I can only imagine what would happen to me if you went missing chasing after the 'monster' as you put it." The pony's face had changed from one of confusion to one that almost looked like... Guilt? Luke took a breath and continued, "If you wanna leave, go ahead. But that wing and leg of yours look pretty bad. And it's dark. AND if these woods are any like the kind I know, it gets dangerous at night. And for some reason I don't see you being able to escape anything with the injuries you have, let alone fight back. So you can either wait till morning to get back to wherever you came from, or risked being hurt more by leaving at night." There was a pause in the conversation, the pony probably thinking about what to say next. "...Ok. I will leave in the morning...but I've got my eye on you...so don't try any funny business." Luke let out a small sigh, seeing as he wasn't going to have to deal with a situation like earlier. "Like I said before, I'm not gonna harm you or your little horse friends. Now I'm gonna go gather some supplies to work on expanding the shelter a little bit, this wont fit two people. Or a person and a horse... whatever." Luke started to walk deeper into the woods on the search for anything he could get his hands on to make a shelter, but was stopped when he heard the creature speak up. "We're not horses, we're ponies." It said in an annoyed tone. What? "I'm sorry what?" "I said we are called ponies, not horses." ...Am I really having this conversation right now? "Ok, ponies. My mistake, sorry." The pony had said something else after that, but he had already started walking to look for more stray branches and things of the sort. This is too weird. I need to figure out how I got here and get back as soon as possible. I don't think I would make it in a place like this... After about a half an hour or so Luke came back with two arm-fulls worth of materials to start working on the shelter. He came back to find a small pile of branches and sticks, but no pony. Now where did that thing run off to? He had placed the materials on the small pile sticks already there when he heard movement behind him. He spun around to see the pony limping towards the camp with a few sticks in it's mouth. What is it doing? She walked past Luke and spit the small bundle of sticks onto the now rather large pile of branches. "Um...what are you doing?" She spit what appeared to be the left over little bits of the sticks she just had in it's mouth before saying "Helping. I'm the reason you got that stuff anyways." Luke looked down at the pile of various materials. "You didn't have to do that. You're injured, you were limping for crying out loud." The pony sat down against a tree resting her sore limbs. "I'm hurt, not useless. Seeing how you let me have a place to sleep for now, I felt like I had to at least help out." "Well, thanks. Saved me some time." The pony stretched out a little bit before stating, "Well, I think I'm gonna hit the hay for tonight. Thanks for helping me out...even though I kinda attacked you." She said the last part of her sentence in a bit of a guilty tone. "By the way, the name's Rainbow Dash" Luke broke into a small grin. "I'm Luke." "Huh...weird name." was the last thing she said as she laid down for the night. Luke started working on his shelter as he broke out into a slightly larger grin. Heh, sure. I've got the weird name. Author's Note Hey guys, I know I said I was going to have longer chapters, but I'm not gonna be near my computer for the next two days and I wanted to get a chapter out before I left. From now on the chapters will be much longer. Sorry to disappoint. Also on a side note, I'm kinda blown away with how many of you are liking the story so far. I'm by no means a good writer, and to see this many people enjoying it puts a smile on my face. So thank you guys for that. Ok I'm off to go get bit by bugs for the next two days, see you guys later. //-------------------------------------------------------// Back Here Again //-------------------------------------------------------// Back Here Again It didn't take long for the rest of the shelter to be set up, although it wasn't nearly as good as the first one. But seeing as the sunlight was just about gone there wasn't much of a choice in the matter. He would then proceed to check up on the wound he had received earlier that day. The large cut across the back of his calf had still hurt like a bitch, but had at least begun to scab up. Wish I had something to clean that cut with...too late now I suppose. Hope that doesn't come back to haunt me, even though it's the least of my worries at the moment. Luke looked down at the makeshift shelter he had just made, and gave a small sigh. It might not be fancy, but it'll get the job done. He looked over to the shelter in which Rainbow Dash was currently residing in. There was actually a small bit of her tail which could be seen from outside, which could be seen slightly moving from time to time. God what am I gonna do about all this... Luke sat down and crawled into his little hut where he would be staying for the night. So I'm in some fucked up world where talking ponies run free and appear to be the dominant species. He rolled over trying to get comfortable in his little abode. Not to mention one managed to scare off a bear as if it was a dog. A bear that was most likely going to rip my head off...does that mean that pony is scarier than me? He let out an audible chuckle at the thought of that. That rainbow one may be a bit of trouble for me...it will only be a matter of time before those others will begin a search for her. I think I should just bring her ass back to that stream in the morning. I don't really wanna dwell to much further into pony territory unless I absolutely need to. Luke had applied some pressure to where Rainbow Dash had kicked him earlier. And I certainly don't wanna get punted again. Luke's mind had begun to run through a few possible scenarios that the next day could bring him before sleep would eventually take him over. At the library "She should have been back by now...it's been too long." Applejack said to her friends in a worried tone. "Spike just finished up writing the letter. We will see if the Princess has any information on whatever it is that we saw. As for Rainbow...I think that we should-" *Knock knock knock* Twilight paused for a moment, "Come in!" The girls looked to the door as it opened and saw Fluttershy slowly walk in, appearing to be a bit winded. "My Fluttershy, what took you so long? It shouldn't have taken so long to feed your animals...we were beginning to get worried." Rarity stated with a bit of worry in her voice. "I'm sorry...I ran into a bit of a problem on the way to my house. You remember how Rainbow Dash and I were looking for my pet bear earlier this morning? Well...I found him, but he was with that creature that Rainbow was chasing. Mr. Bear didn't seem to be too happy with him, so I gave him a stern talking to. But when I turned to him, he ran away...the poor thing must have been so scared..." The room went silent for a few seconds as the girls took in what Fluttershy just said. Applejack was the first to speak up, "So this thing was with your bear...was the creature tryin' to go after it?" "Oh heavens no! Mr. Bear seemed to approach him when I showed up, and he looked terrified..." "Wait, if he was with the bear, where was Rainbow Dash? Surely it couldn't of outran her." Twilight added. "Perhaps she gave up on chasing it, those woods must be difficult to navigate." "Rainbow givin' up on a chase? I doubt that. I think she got lost or somethin'. We should go out to find her, ah dont like what could be waiting out in those woods for her..." Twilight looked out the window for a brief moment, "I'm not so sure Applejack...the sun is going down and I'm not sure we would be able to find her when it's dark out. But this is Rainbow Dash we're talking about. She can take care of herself." "She's more than capable of getting away from almost anything as well, I'm sure she will be fine." Rarity stated. Applejack thought it over for a moment, "...Fine. But if she doesn't show by tomorrow mornin' Ah say we go lookin' for her." "That sounds like a good idea, but for now I say we get rested and find out what we're going to do about this new creature." The Next Day Damn...that was an awful night. And these dumb, loud birds certainly didn't make it any better. What I wouldn't give for some headphones right now... is the sun even out yet? Luke crawled out of his small makeshift fort and saw that the sun was not yet out in it's entirety. He stood up and stretched out his limbs, favoring his leg. The events of the previous day had been playing out in his mind as he tried to find an explanation. These are colored horses I'm dealing with here. Fictional, horned, winged horses. Was I drugged? Am I in a coma? Am i just insane? Luke felt his stomach where is was kicked and his injured leg. No...the pain is still very much there. This ain't no dream. This is reality. I gotta find away out of- A small snore from the neighboring shelter gave Luke a slight jump, interrupting his thought process. He looked over to see a rainbow tail poking out of the shelter, unmoved throughout the night. Oh yea...the rainbow one. Forgot about her. Luke thought as he made his way to her. "Hey. Wake up." Luke said to no response. Luke sighed as he gave she pony a small nudge. "Yoohoo. Wake up blue horse. Time to get going." A small groan was emitted from the pony before she rolled over on her other side, successfully ignoring Luke. He game an annoyed sigh before hatching a mischievous idea. He crawled up to the rainbow haired pony and grasped her tail in his hand. Hopefully this will do the trick. Luke thought as he gave it a swift yank. "AH!" Rainbow shouted as her good wing popped out, successfully decimating the left half of the already weak shelter. She crawled of the rubble and then snapped her head to Luke, fire in her eyes with a small hint of red on her cheeks. "Hey! What's the big idea?!" Luke gave a small groan as he got up and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I was trying to wake you up. I didn't think you would randomly freak out the way you did." "That doesn't give you an excuse to tug on my tail! You're lucky I don't buck you into next week." "Ok Jesus I didn't know. Why is it such a big deal? I didn't even pull that hard." There was a small silence that followed that before Rainbow Dash responded "I just don't like when ponies touch my tail. So don't touch my tail, got it?" "Yea I got it. Well can we get going please? I don't wanna waste anymore time than I have to." "Uh, it's gonna be kinda hard to do that with a busted leg and wing..." "Well looks like I'm gonna have to carry you." "...you know how far we are into this forest? And you think you can carry me all the way back?" Luke shrugged, "You aren't that heavy. I carried you here didn't I?" Rainbow hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Fine. But you better hope you dont drop me." The walk was relatively quite. Neither party had much to say to one another, and the awkward situation didn't help things. All that was heard was the sound of small twigs snapping and leaves rustling underneath Luke's footsteps. Ok. I will get this little horse back to the horse village and then I will come up with a plan to get back home. But by the looks of this place...I would say I'm pretty far from home. Luke let out an involuntary sigh.Well if I'm gonna be here for a while, I need come up with a system to survive. Maybe upgrade my shelter a bit to survive the elements...come up with a better food source for sure. I want to steer clear of another incident like the one I had yesterday. Maybe - "Follow this stream. I have somepony who can help me over there." Rainbow Dash said, pointing her hoof down the stream. Luke's thoughts were interrupted for a second time today as he looked up and saw the stream in front of him. "How many horses are down there." "I thought I told you we are ponies. Not horses." Luke looked down to Rainbow Dash with a roll of his eyes. "Ponies. Whatever. How many?" "Just one." "Perfect." Luke picked up the pace a bit, not wanting to deal with another pony related problem. After a little more walking in silence, a cottage came into view. "Is that the place?" "Yup, just get me to the door. I can handle the rest from there." Luke sped up a little more, eager to get away from pony territory and back to his secluded spot in the woods. When the two arrived at the doorstep Luke put Rainbow Dash down gently, still favoring the injuries she had. "Wow, didn't think you'd be able to carry me all the way here." Rainbow said, leaning herself against the door a bit. "Yea. Ok goodbye." Luke said as he spun around and began walking back. "Hey! Where are you going?" "Uh, back to woods. Where do you think?" "Why would you wanna go back there? Don't you know whats in there?" Luke turned back to face Rainbow Dash. "No I don't. But I do know what's out here. I know there are weird ponies who like to kick me and chase me around. I think I would rather take my chances." And with that, Luke turned back around and continued the trek back to his shelter. RainbowDash was stunned for a second before she called back out to him, "Wait! I didn't even get to say thank you!" Luke decided to ignore the pony and continued to walk back, deciding that staying out like this might not be the best idea. Rainbow looked down and said to herself, "Or I'm sorry..." Author's Note I am back once again. After a lot of time with college/track I can finally start to focus on the story again. Yea its been a long ass time since I've updated and I am ready for the comments to yell at me. But since I'm off classes for a while I will have some free time to work on this finally. Its been a busy time for me, so I apologize. I appreciate any kind of constructive criticism you guys can give me. Anyways It's 5 in the morning and I am tired. There may be a few mistakes here and there but I just wanted to put something out. I am also considering looking for a proof reader as well. If anyone is interested let me know. So I'm gonna sleep. Thank you all for taking the time to read my story, I really appreciate it. See ya guys next chapter. //-------------------------------------------------------// More Odd Encounters //-------------------------------------------------------// More Odd Encounters I just wanted to catch a fish. That's it! And I end up coming back with some mutant horse... Luke groaned as he approached his camp, fatigue slowly grinding away on his body. Although the pony was surprisingly light for it's size, carrying it for 10 minutes was certainly taking it's toll. Not to mention that he had just been chased by said pony and still had a prominent burning in his right leg to show for it. When he had gotten to his shelter, he placed the rainbow haired pony inside of it. Hope that thing doesn't kill me when it wakes up. Whatever that thing is... As he looked at the unconscious pony, he began to wonder what would happen once it woke up. I doubt it will be capable of hurting me for a while...stupid thing left a dent in a tree for fucks sake... When the pony groaned, Luke jumped a bit and got into a defensive stance, only to see that it was still unconscious but had sustained some potential serious injuries. Deciding to take a breather for himself, he sat down against a tree. Damn, this stinging in my leg is starting to hurt a lot... He rolled up his right jean leg and found that he had gotten a pretty bad cut across the back of his calf, no doubt from a stray branch he managed to run through when running away from that light blue menace. Sighing seeing how there was not much he could do about it, Luke rolled his pant leg down and checked around the rest of his body for anymore gashes or cuts. Hm...nothing other than a few scratches and bruises here and there. That cut on my leg might be a hassle though. Luke's stomach let out a growl, reminding him that food was a very big priority. "Damn I ended up dropping my dinner at the end of my spear! Hm...maybe I can find it..." Luke said aloud as he began to walk towards where he threw his spear. Back at the stream As Rainbow Dash chased the odd creature into the Everfree Forest, the rest of the girls rushed to Pinkie. "Pinkie, are you alright?" Twilight asked with concern. "Well duh, why wouldn't I be?" Pinkie said, cheery as always. "That creature was holding a weapon Pinkie! You shouldn't just approach something that could be so dangerous!" "Well it didn't seem dangerous! Maybe a little surprised, but it didn't look like it was gonna hurt anypony!" Twilight gave a heavy sigh, "Just...please be more careful Pinkie. We don't want to take any chances. We don't know anything about this creature." "Fiiiine." Pinkie said with a hint of disappointment. "Gosh what in tarnation was going through Rainbow's mind going and chasing that thing?" Applejack said. "Well that...thing did have a weapon dear, and it was pointed directly at Pinkie." Rarity stated, "Seeing how impulsive Rainbow Dash can be...I'm not surprised she went after it. It is Rainbow Dash we're talking about." "Well...what do we do now? Should try to catch up to them? Ah don't know if I like the idea of her being alone in the Everfree Forest...let alone with a creature we know nothing about." "Seeing as how fast Rainbow Dash is, I doubt we would be able to find her in there. She could be on the other side of the forest by now for all we know" Twilight said, looking towards the woods. "Rainbow Dash is a strong mare, I'm sure we will see her soon, but for now we should inform Princess Celestia of the situation. Perhaps she has some knowledge as to what that thing is." "Off to the library!" shouted Pinkie. As the girls began to walk to the library, Fluttershy spoke up. "Um, I'm gonna go back to my cottage for now...I haven't fed my squirrels yet and I'm sure they must be hungry." "No problem sugar, we'll meet up with ya at the library when yer done." As the girls and Fluttershy went their separate ways, Fluttershy took one last look at the Everfree forest, still very nervous for Rainbow Dash. I hope everything turns out- her thought was interrupted as she heard a familiar growl in the distance, coming from the entrance of the Everfree Forest. She gasped as she extended her wings and began to fly to the source of the growl. -Luke's POV Come on where the hell is that thing? I couldn't have thrown it far... Luke was retracing his steps in an effort to find his dinner when he spotted the end of his spear in a nearby bush. "Finally...I can get some food in my stomach. All I have to do now is start a fire and maybe set up a-" Luke's words were caught in his throat as he made eye contact with a bear no less than 20 feet away from him...staring at the fish at the end of his spear. "Uh..." I just cant catch a break can I? "Nice bear..." Luke said shakily, placing the spear on the ground and backing away from it. The bear slowly walked up to the fish and sniffed at it, eventually taking it in it's teeth and looking back up at Luke, who was still slowly backing away from the bear. The bear walked forward letting out a low but loud growl, clearly not satisfied with the small fish it had received. Well. If I wasn't dead before, I sure am now. Luke continued to walk back and was eventually backed against a tree, petrified of the bear inching closer and closer to him. Within a matter of time the bear was within inches of Luke's face, breathing heavily. Luke shut his eyes and held his breath not wanting to see what happens next. Just as the bear opened it mouth, a gasp could be heard from the right of the bear. "No! That's a bad Mr. Bear!" said the same voice Luke heard earlier, in almost a hushed yell. "You leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!" Much to Luke's surprise, the bear let out a whimper. Wait, it whimpered? What is happening... The bear had backed off with it's head drooped, almost like a child who had just been caught stealing cookies from a cookie jar. "You should know better than to pick on others. You go back to the cottage now Mr.!" As Luke laid against the tree he was just backed against, he watched as the bear walked off into the woods back near the stream with it's head still down. With Fluttershy seeing the bear off, she had looked back to the creature, who was clearly still in shock as to what had just happened. "It's ok...nothing is gonna-" she couldn't finish her sentence as the creature jumped to it's feet. Before she could say anything else, it bolted into the woods. Luke was sprinting for the now third time today. This is insane! Nothing makes sense here! He kept running until he saw his camp come into view, eventually slowing down to catch his breath. "God what do I do...I have no where to go, I have no food, I don't even know if this is real." Luke sighed as he approached his shelter where he had put the...pony. Why ponies? Why are there multicolored sentient horses running around all over the place? Why do these even exist? "Ok...I'm just gonna lie down. Yup. I'm just gonna lie down and wake up in a hospital or something. This is all some weird fever dream. There is no way those stupid ponies are rea-" When Luke looked inside of his shelter, he was met with a rather large pair of magenta eyes. A large pair of angry magenta eyes at that. Fuck. Author's Note I'm alive.