The Voyage to Asclepius

What's that coming over the hill? Is it a sandstorm? Great, it is a sandstorm. The empty sandy desert in front of me worries both myself and the filly beside me. The timberwolf-- I mean Shrubbery, doesn't seem to be fazed by any of this. Perhaps he wishes to fulfill his master's wish. Or something along the lines of that. The tin cans of food clattered together with the bottles of water as the timberwolf galloped faster and faster towards the sandstorm. At first, I was wondering why our new friend was heading directly towards the sandstorm. But I soon realized what this wolf's plan was.

A giant leaf had begun to sprout from Shrub's neck. He was using this leaf to shield us from the sandstorm! Maybe this dog was smarter than I had thought. Or perhaps this is simply defense mechanism that he's using naturally. Whatever the reason, I think I can forgive this pup for almost killing me. The leaf grew and bent to cover us in all directions. Although the timberwolf left a moderately large hole in the back area for us to look out of. I can see the city we were in, it's slowly shrinking in size as Shrubbery gallops away.

"Do you even know anything about this Caduceus place?" The filly shouted over the sound of the sandstorm approaching.

I responded, "Well, I'm assuming it's some kind of city. And those leaders, George and Martha, they don't seem like bad ponies. And the buildings on the flier looked kind of... Futuristic."

"Futuristic?" She tilted her while sounding confused.

I paused before trying to describe it, "Well, they were really white... And tall. Clean looking too, cleaner than the buildings back there." I point out of the leaf's hole and to the city behind us.

"I... See. May I see the flier?" She asks politely.

"Sure. I think it's underneath the supplies." I say, reaching into the pile of tin cans.

I pull out the flier, and hand it to her. She takes it, and examines the front of it. Then, she flips the flier over.

"W-What...?" She whispers to herself.

Her eyes shoot open, and her hooves are shaking.

"What's wrong?" I ask the wide-eyed pony.

"Nothing! N-Nothing. It's... Nothing." She snaps at me.

It's clearly not nothing, but I decide to leave the topic alone... For now.

We sit awkwardly on this timberwolf's enclosed, yet spacious, backside. We're in the sandstorm now, I can tell because Shrubbery has slowed down in his galloping. The wind blowing against his face must be what's slowing him down. I feel sort of bad. We're safely being sheltered on his back, and he's enduring through this violent sandstorm. Time passes, as I gaze blankly at the back of the flier.

Why was the filly, who is now asleep mind you, so shocked to see this symbol? It's just a single snake wrapped around a white pole. It looks similar to the Caduceus symbol sure, but it's missing the pair of wings. Aside from that small detail, plus the missing snake, there's nothing odd about it.

I tuck the flier underneath the supplies, and lay down next to the filly. Not extremely close, but maybe a foot and a half away from her. Glancing out the hole in Shrubbery's leaf shield, I notice that the city we were in is no where to be found. We were too deep in the sandstorm to even see anything four (4) feet behind us.

Shrubbery wasn't as obnoxious when moving as I had thought, I imagined him to be bobbing up and down while walking, shaking us around in the back. In fact, the timberwolf was rather calm and gentle when he was moving. Which made it even better for us, as I knew the trip would be long, and I wanted to catch up on my sleep.

Unfortunately, the howling of the sandstorm and the sound of sand pellets pelting on the body of our timberwolf kept me from falling into slumber. I guess I should be grateful, at least the sandstorm was traveling in one direction. Had it been blowing the opposite way, it would have filled the inside of our leaf tent.

I lay on my back with my eyes closed, hopelessly trying to fall asleep. It seemed like the minutes slugged along for hours. Time passed on, and the worst part was that I couldn't tell how long we had been traveling. It could have been minutes, hours, or even an entire day! There was no indication of day or night in this wretched storm. The sun couldn't peek into this blizzard even if it wanted to. I could only wait until it subsided.

To my surprise I seem to have fallen asleep, that or I might be dead. Maybe I'm just closing my eyes whilst I'm awake. Who knows? The third assumption is probably my best bet. I'm too tired to open my eyes, let alone move my entire body. Who knew that a timberwolf's back would be so comfortable? Despite the sharp twigs and branches sticking out of it.

But... Something else is poking me. It's more like something is repeatedly poking me, rather than something constantly being jabbed into my foreleg. It's... Something soft. And something of small stature. A... Hoof?

"Hey! Wake up! Come on wake up!" I hear a voice echoing in my head.

It sounds familiar, and I come to the conclusion that it's probably the filly.

"I'm awake... I'm... Awake..." I groan.

Feeling groggy, I open my eyes to see the grey coated filly's face. Inches from... My face.

"What are you doing?" I ask, as if disappointed with her in some way.

"I thought you were dead. So I started poking you." She says, sounding uncomfortably emotionless.

I sit up straight, and she moves her head away from mine, "Glad to know that the first thing you would do is cry if I had died." I reply sarcastically.

She pauses... And then she softly speaks, her head hung low, "Don't joke about that."

Raising an eyebrow, I ask her what she meant.

"Don't joke about death... I can't bear to lose you."

Lose... Me?

A sudden shock snaps through my head. What is this feeling... I feel... Like this has happened before.

Who are you...?

"I'm..."

I'm waiting for an answer. And I finally get one. After all this time, I find out who this pink-mane grey-coat earthpony is.

She answers,

"May. Misaki May."