Chapter 5 (3/3)

"Herbert, are you ready to go?"

"Oh, um... yeah. But what is with the knives on your feet?"

"Oh this is for when I need to cut through things too thick to just pull apart." She said calmly, checking for something under her cloak." Oh, she probably means vines and stuff.

"Well, alright then. I'm ready to get going when you are."

"Excellent. Let us begin." She walked out the door, her head hanging low but her eyes pointed forward like she was stalking something. She paused a minute in front of some large weeping willows before walking through them. I followed her, keeping my head low as we walked through. I recognized a number of plants I had read about. I saw some Alistar Berries growing around the sides of some weakened trees, their strange berries lacking their usual dark color. Ordinarily, these berries are a dark dark green, but the over abundance of light here makes them a soft pale greenish grey. They were healthy enough to survive, but they wouldn't dominate until they moved into a darker area. I hadn't studied that deep into them, so I wasn't sure how they worked, or why they prefer darker areas to brighter ones, but as we continued through the forest, and things got progressively more shaded, they began to seem more lively and alluring. I picked a few, being careful not to fully separate the berry from the leaf, but rather pull some leaf off with the berry. Fluttershy didn't notice though, as she was keeping her eyes to the forest ground. She was probably following some kind of trail. There were other types of plants, such as a Fiery Cuspate, and other small plants, some dangerous, some extremely valuable to one who knows how to use them. I picked the Cuspate, only because I thought it looked bitchin, and I held it by the very base. If one of its points sticks in you, your nerves are inflamed all the way up to your torso, and it can be an awful experience. If I had put some thought into that, I would have immediately assumed that the universe would find a way to make me end up with all of its needles going into my dick or something. We stalked through the forest, small patches of light revealed barren ground, and dark shadows hid the vibrant life that I have come to appreciate during my time in Equestria.

"So Fluttershy, what exactly are we going to be catching?"

"Manticore. They're so tasty! Or… So I've heard."

"I've never heard of Manticores before, what are they?"

"Manticores are large beasts with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion." They only started appearing a few decades ago, but nopony knows where they came from." Interesting, I wonder if there is some kind of mad scientist that hides out here, making weird hybrid creatures, like that Frankenstein fuck. Few words passed between us. I don't remember most of them though; it was like two or three weeks ago. The next thing that happened, however, was something I have no intention of forgetting.

"Hush Herbert, stay here and be quiet. I see a Manticore, sleeping over there. I'm going to show you how to take one out." How are you going to do... Oh God... I didn't respond, I just shook my head in mute horror as I contemplated how she would go about killing a sleeping animal. I wonder if she is going to do it violently or subtly...Her green cloak brushed against dark green grass, draping over it like a shadow over the soft face of a child, and just as suddenly, leaving it, having changed it in ways unknown to the lesser men of the world. I hope I am one of those, for the intelligent are often the ones who see the most misery, the ones who have the most defects, and often the most hated. She descended upon her prey, so peacefully, like it wasn't even murder. Was it murder? Maybe not. She doesn't need the food to live, but her animals need it. Does it count? What is the difference between murder and killing anyway? Killing other humans, or killing sapient creatures? I didn't have time to debate it, as I had to watch her every move.

She descended, two metal blades revealing themselves, twinkling like stars in the night. They pierced the flesh, and the manticore jumped up. He tried to howl, tried to scream, but Fluttershy had cut throat deeply and severed the vocal cords. The creature was a mute, and as it flailed about violently, the yellow one held him to the ground, hushing him to sleep. It was so for about twelve seconds before the creature laid his head for the final time. Fluttershy rose above the body, it lay limp in the shadows, and walked towards me.

"Okay Herbert, did you see how I did it?"

"Oh, um yes! I saw it all."

"That is good. Now, try to take the next one out. Do you have any claws?"

"No, Human's don't really have much in the way of natural defenses, we usually build things to protect ourselves with."

"Oh, so what will you do then? What kind of tools can you make from the trees?" It really didn't take me long to decide. I was a total Oblivion addict, and a lot of my philosophy was developed off of some things I've thought of while playing that game. Whoever is reading this probably has no clue what I'm talking about."

"I have been gathering some plants on the way here, and I found a particular one that could help me take out a Manticore."

"Oh, it won't hurt will it? I don't want to make them feel pain. That's why I wait till they are asleep, then its like they're still sleeping." Oh Fluttershy, you are so oddly creepy but I can't help but think you are adorable anyway. I grinned, chuckling at how horrified she may be when she saw the horrific pain I would send the next Manticore through.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, these will put them to sleep quickly." Or at least, as quickly as they can suffocate from lack of oxygen. And so we began stalking through the forest again. I trusted her sense of direction; I was only following the faint pink sticking from under her cloak. I stopped gathering plants, not sure I could carry any more without jabbing myself with that Cuspate. I think I'm going to skip the boring kicking my foot on the same tree stump twice and get right to the action. She pushed me forward, and I remembered my training my cousin had given me when I was like seven or some shit.

Remember, if you can see their head, that means they can see you, unless you’re peeking through a bush. Don't sneak up directly behind someone, because people have secret baby eyes in the back of their head that tells them when someone is behind them. Instead, be at an angle from them, like in chess where the pieces are diagonal. Ill hide behind the orange chair, you crawl behind the grey couch, and we will jump out and make her scared,

is what he said. Even I am questioning the logic he had, which is something I don't think I've ever done. Honestly, I've always accepted everything he told me as absolute fact. Too bad he was a real sarcastic smart ass, otherwise I wouldn't have pissed so many grownups off.

I crouch walked, something I had grown better at during my time in the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. Lots of workouts there have kept me from becoming overly out of shape. I've never done a pull up in my life though, always too much of a little bitch. Why am I getting so far off topic? Where am I getting the materials to write this journal anyway? God, I am becoming Pinkie Pie. Anyways, I crouch walked towards the sleeping beast; it curled up with its head up to its chest. I crept along the glade, closing the distance between him and I, then pulled out the Fiery Cuspate, and pulled off one of its thorns. I held it by the base, and grabbed another, and put it in between my index and thumb. I set it on the ground, confident I would be able to get it again, and proceeded to advance upon the enemy. I moved my hands close to him, set the thorns in place against its throat, and immediately noticed a cub in between its legs, pressed against its lower belly. Most people would spare the life of the lion beast for the cubs sake, but I just grinned and thought, Get ready for a show kid. then jabbed them so far into her throat I'm pretty sure they would've come out the other side if it were a human throat.

Suddenly, I found myself flying through the air, my collection of plants scattering all throughout the clearing. A loud roar began to fill the air, but it slowly turned from loud and prideful to restricted and desperate. I tumbled to the ground, my arms and legs getting scraped. It was a very invigorating experience.

Moving on, I looked up through clumps of moist grass and dirt covering my eyes to see the chest and neck of the beast puffed up like a massive red balloon. It waved its paws in the air, and I could see a terrified cub on the ground. It moved to the area betwixt its mother’s hind legs, a fatal mistake. She began ripping up the ground around her with her paws and tail. The few intelligible thoughts that ran through my head were, Is that mother going to kill her kid? and, Maybe that was the wrong plant… Yeah, while the fiery cuspate supposedly caused extreme inflammation, the pictures and the descriptions were nothing like this.

No less than thirty seconds later, I gasped in absolute horror as I saw the stinger on the back of the manticore come down on the child. It was then that everything began to move in slow motion. The child sat there still, its head covered beneath its paws, the mother standing on her hind legs, her eyes puffed shut, and her paws waving around in the air like a horse rearing its legs. The stinger had wound up, and it launched down and made contact in a split second. It ripped a hole straight through the cub in just a split second. At first, no blood or anything came out, almost as if the body hadn’t realized anything had happened to it. Then finally, it caught up and blood began spurting all over the mother, the corpse and the grass around them. Some of it got on me. It had an okay taste, nice and salty.

The mother was unaware of her cub’s demise, though, and began bumbling all over the place. Her stinger lashed out frequently at random directions, and I immediately began pushing myself way from the scene over to where I think Fluttershy was. I was just following the sound of silent weeping. I pressed against the bushes as the beast pressed itself up against a tree. I assume it was either sick of this living torment or totally stupid because its stinger immediately shot up at its neck and left a big hole. It left more in a scattered line down the back of the beast, oozing blood and shattered bone. Her fur and the grass around was matted red with blood, and her tail had caused all her organs to mush together into a soupy paste.

It rested there against the tree, its tail flicking back and forth occasionally. There was a moment of dreaded silence, and then Fluttershy sprang to action.

“Why!” That was all she shouted as she burst from the bushes, running up to the corpse of the baby, chunks of bone covered in blood sticking to her hooves and legs. She held the remnants close to her, crying and wheezing all the while. I need to say something.

“Fluttershy…” I said, slowly moving to her. “Hey now…” Shit, what the hell am I supposed to say? It’s just an animal? She’s made it quite clear that she cares deeply about animals…

I decided silence was better than saying something stupid like the dumb shit I am. I moved up beside her and knelt on one leg. I placed my arm around her back as the cries over the death of the baby, and I actually started to feel a little bad about what I did for a second. I justified myself internally though. I had no way of… shit; I knew the child would be in danger… If nothing else, I knew it would be left without a mother. I groaned a bit inside, it had been a long time since I had felt guilty for killing anything. I sat there for a minute beside her, beating myself up internally when she stuffed down her cries for a few seconds and looked to me with serious eyes.

“Did you know?” She asked, intensely. I looked at her afraid and confused.

“Know what? That this would happen? No I-“

“No Herbert.” She cut me off. “… Did you know that she had a baby?” I was silent for a moment, just a moment though.

“No.” I said, and she believed it. Yes, I was guilty of this, but I figured it would be better if I punished myself for it instead of the ponies. And besides, with those eyes of hers… It is easier to tell them a harmless lie than a painful truth.

“Do you think…” She stopped for a moment, and then continued. “Maybe you could eat fish instead? This really didn’t turn… good.” I shook my head.

“I really can’t eat fish. I’m allergic.” She sighed, and drew another long silence.

“Then we will need to try again… But next time, I want you to be careful! Make sure there are no babies, okay?” I nodded. It was then that I realized how potent the silence was. It was really chipping away at me. Thankfully, Fluttershy was too emotionally exhausted to continue on.

“It’s time to go back.” She said. I silently followed her back. Every once in a while I would pick a plant and observe it, see if I could identify it. The Alistar Berries were the most common, and I accidently squeezed one all over me. Fluttershy wasn’t happy about it. Said it could give us away to a monster.

When we returned home, I retired to my room without a word to anyone. I listened to the muffled voices of Fluttershy and Twilight, certainly discussing what had occurred in the forest. It was of little consequence to me, I was certain she believed what I told her, so I had no need to fear persecution for a simple mistake.

Twilight walked in maybe twenty minutes later.

"Herbert, Fluttershy told me about your hunting trip."

"Did she tell you about the part where everything went wonderful and we smiled and laughed and picked flowers?” There was so much sarcasm in that one sentenceit began to condense on the window.

"I'd like to hear how you thought about it." I thought for a moment.

"Okay, so here is what happened. Fluttershy led me into the forest..."

"No, don’t tell me exactly what happened; just tell me the part where you killed something. Fluttershy said she doesn't want anyone knowing about how she gets her food, and I really don’t want to know either."

"How can you just not care Twilight?"

"She’s my friend, and I will respect her privacy."

"I’m your friend, but you dig through my thoughts now."

"That’s different, Herbert..." I made a hurt expression.

"Twilight... you're not my friend?" I gave a little sniffle. She wasn't affected.

"Cut the act Herbert, that has to be the worst attempt I’ve ever seen.” I gave an irritated look.

"That was a joke." I said. I don’t like when people insult my jokes or my acting.

"Now, tell me about your killing."

“Alright, so we were walking along and I was picking up plants I thought might be useful or fun to play with.”

“Could you describe these plants?” She interjected.

“Yeah, most of them were small berries called Alistar Berries. They are luminescent when broken. The other was a Fiery Cuspate. It has needles that cause extreme inflammation when they penetrate the skin via toxin.”

“Okay, please move ahead to when you had to kill something. Tell me what you were thinking and how you went about it.”

“Alright then… So I had to sneak up on a sleeping manticore. I thought back to my childhood where my cousin was teaching me how to sneak up on people. I made sure I wasn’t making eye contact with its head, and I walked from behind it, not directly but diagonally. I had a little anxiety, but I ignored it. I thought about what I would do, and decided the best way to not have to put a lot of effort into it was to just poison it.”

“Clever…” She muttered.

“Yeah, so I took the plant, the Fiery Cuspate, and pulled out two of its spikes. I was going to jab them into the neck of the sleeping manticore.”

“Was that the first thing that came to mind, or did you have other plans before settling on this?”

“Well attacking him with my bear hands was out of the question. I didn’t have any conventional weapons like a knife. This was the only semi-logical thing I could do.” She nodded.

“Don’t tell me details about what actually happened; just tell me what you were thinking while everything was happening. I want a brief summary of the events, and a detailed explanation of your thought process meanwhile.”

“Alright then Twilight. So I snuck up, nervous all the while, and moved my hands over to the sides of its neck. I had the two quills in my hands, and a little piece of me was overriding any anxiety or hesitation. It was a simple task, once my head was clear. So I just stuck the things in, and there was like one second where everything froze up, and then I found myself flying through the air. When I got my bearings, I looked up to see the manticore freaking out, and then I saw its baby hiding between its legs. I probably would have felt guilty or something, but most of my… humanity is overridden when I’m in that… instinctive mode. After that, well… There was a big mess, Fluttershy freaked out, and I began to start feeling about it, mostly guilty. I don’t hurting small animals, especially when I don’t need to.”

“Alright then…” It was then that I noticed she was writing all this down. “And how do you feel about it now?” I thought for a bit.

“Over all… It was an unpleasant experience. I would rather it never happened but… no changing the past, right?” She nodded.

"Ok... Goodnight Herbert. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight Twilight, have good dreams."Did I just wish my captor good dreams? What the hell?

"Um... you too- I’m not your captor..." Twilight said, from the other side of the door. I guess this is what it's like to be Michael Jackson... And so my day died, fading into the usual read a book, feel tired, try not to sleep, then sleep.