Even farther from home

I have been procrastinating way too much......

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After defeating the dragon and absorbing its soul (Which oddly left a sweet taste in your mouth), you took a quick glance of your surroundings. TREES, TREES EVERYWHERE. True the forests of Skyrim were filled with trees, but this place was packed with the damn things. Climbing onto one of the trees, you could see that the only clearing for miles was the one created by your crash landing. Jumping down, you walked towards your escorts who seem to have calmed down from the past events.

"So do you two know where we are?", you asked. Morning Dew hesitated before answering you.

"We're in the Everfree forest, sir."

'Hehe, he called me sir. Seems like slaying dragons here earns respect.... and sweet, sweet dragon souls.' Reveling in the fact that you finally had some authority in this damned place, you spoke up.

"How far are we from Ponyville?" Both guards looked lost in thought for a moment before meeting each others eyes and giving a grunt of acceptance.

"We were making pretty good time until that dragon attacked us." Sunshine replied.

"We should only have about 10 miles more to cover until we make it." Morning Dew added.

"Any thing else I should know?" You asked. Both guards seemed to grimace and let out a sigh.

"Well... the only reason we made such good time was because of the airborne carriage, instead of walking through the forest." Morning Dew stated.

"If that's the case, won't either of you be able to carry me while we fly the remaining distance?", you questioned. Sunshine and Morning Dew only looked down to the dirt and swayed nervously. "You two are afraid another dragon is gonna attack us in the air, aren't you?" The brothers only nodded their heads slowly. You let out an annoyed sigh.

'Really can't blame these two for being scared of dragons...'

"Well the cover from the canopy could be useful for cover..."

Both guards raised their heads, probably due to the fact that the factor of facing another dragon was now lower. Letting out another sigh, you asked another question. "So since J'lae has no idea where we are, you two will lead the way.

"Like I said, it should only be about 10 more miles south." Morning Dew answered.

"That's not too bad. The density of the forest will slow us down though. We better get a move on then.", you said. Before you could take a step towards what you assumed was south, Sunshine grabbed you by the arm.

"Sir, are you sure you should be walking?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" you questioned.

"Well, um.... you're covered in blood." Taking a look at yourself, no wonder Sunshine was worried. The arm that you used to dig into the dragons skull was soaked in the now dried blood. There were also many dents in your cuirass, none too serious, though they still did pinch at your body. There were also a few tears on your cloak, but it only made you seem more intimidating.

"J'lae has had worse.", you said.

"Really?" Sunshine bewilderedly asked. With that, you and the two demon-ponies headed into the ever expanding forest.

The surrounding forest reminded you of your days as a cub and gave a nostalgic feeling. Collecting a few vines and branches from the ground and trees, you made a makeshift pack. Removing your armor and cloak, you placed them into the pack. Swinging the pack onto your shoulders, you felt the open air on your body where your tunic and pants weren't covering.

'The breeze in this place is calming, yet there is a feeling of despair lingering in the air. Ah well, might as well enjoy this new found peace for as long as it lasts.'

The walk through the the Everfree was silent for the most part. Your escorts seemed to move their ears in different directions, trying to hear any threat that may come your way. However, you were more occupied by a white rabbit who seemed to be actually taunting you. Considering you haven't eaten for four days, it was time for a little hunting.

Tensing your legs for the chase, you pounced at the rabbit who fled into the thick bushes. You could hear the guards yelling at you, but the gift of Hircine drove you into a mad sprint towards your next meal. Dodging the roots of trees and low hanging branches, you almost had the rabbit at arms length. Tensing your back legs, you pounced at the rabbit. Unfortunately, the white little devil anticipated this and made a hard turn left, leaving you to crash face first into a tree. Raising yourself onto the ground and rubbing your face in pain. Looking to where the direction your furry foe fled, you caught a glimpse of the rabbit running into a cave.

'First J'lae is defeated by a unicorn and now outsmarted by a rabbit? What is J'lae doing with his life...'

Lifting yourself onto your legs, you walked towards the cave. Once you were up close, you saw that the cave was massive.

'You could fit all of Whiterun in this cavern...'

Looking into the cave, you could see the rabbit staring right at you, cowering in fear.

"Ha! J'lae has finally caught you!", you yelled triumphantly. The little rabbit rose a paw to its mouth, almost as if making a shushing movement. "Are you trying to shush me? Too bad cause this, is going to be loud!" With that said, you unsheathed your claws, and pounced at the rabbit. However once again the rabbit dodged your attack, but instead of running away. stared in horror at you.

'That damn rabbit. Wait... what did my claws sink into?'

Looking to where your claws should have met the cave walls, a muscle like substance that gave off a slight violet glow replaced it. Examining what your claws were in, your eyes traveled upward, observing that what you attacked was actually a creature of tremendous proportions. It heavily resembled a bear, but its hide seemed to project the night sky with stunning detail. Your eyes still traveled upward, finally resting upon the creatures face, which was formed into a very aggressive scowl. You could hear a very low, but loud growl emit from it. Looking towards the rabbit, you could see the poor thing was paralyzed in fear.

"But you're supposed to be food...", you whined at the rabbit, who only looked at you with pleading eyes. "Fine..." As you released your claws, you quickly scooped the rabbit up into your grasp, and ran out of the cave. Alas, the bear like creature chased you for disturbing its slumber.

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"Where the hell is that damn cat!?" Sunshine yelled. Morning Dew only sighed in annoyance.

"I don't know brother, but Luna told us to keep an eye on him." The two guards searched for their 'cargo' and hit a stroke of luck as they saw him running straight at them.

"Hey! Where the hell did you go?" Sunshine yelled. However the duo then saw the humongous creature that was chasing J'lae. The guards only stared in fear as they tried to run.

"How the hell did he manage to get chased by an Ursa Major?!" Morning Dew yelled. Sunshine was equally confused but raised another question.

"Why is he carrying a rabbit?"

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As you ran, you saw both guards a little ahead of you, who seemed to have noticed your pursuer. Running into a sprint, you caught up with them when both of them gave you a quizzical look.

"What?", you questioned while still running.

"How the hell did you manage to get an Ursa Major chase you?" Morning Dew yelled.

"Oh, is that what that thing is called?", you said, pointing a claw at the creature chasing you.

"Umm, why are you carrying a rabbit?" Sunshine asked.

"Oh this little guy? Long story short, he was supposed to be dinner...." Both guards looked in disgust at you. "What? J'lae eats meat. Either way we have a bigger problem right now." Looking back, the Ursa Major seemed to catch up and flattened any trees that were in its path. Trying to formulate a plan, you saw a river up ahead.

'This is a long shot.'

"Hey you two! Fly the rest of the way to Ponyville. J'lae will take care of the big guy." You yelled at the guards.

"You're going to Fight an Ursa Major? Are you mad!?" Morning Dew questioned.

"J'lae will be mad if he has to drag your corpses to Luna and Explain what happened!", you yelled back. The brothers seemed to understand the circumstances and flapped their wings until they were over the tree tops. The Ursa paid no mind to the tiny morsels who flew away, its main target was still running on foot. As you reached the stream, you made a hard turn right, to where the water was flowing. However the Ursa raised its massive paw and brought it down, hitting you directly on the back. The claws of the beast weaved three deep wounds into your back. Were it not for your pack filled with armor, you probably would have been slit in half. You weren't sure as to how you were still running as the blow nearly grounded you, not to mention the pain and loss of blood. However, your poorly thought out plan paid off, as you heard the currents of the water become more violent. Still running by the riverside, your vision began to blur as your breath became labored. You did manage to see what you were hoping for. A waterfall. With your goal in sight, you made a mad dash towards the edge, with the Ursa still in pursuit. Nearly at the edge of the waterfall, again the Ursa attacked by trying to grasp you in its mouth. That's when you jumped into the air, narrowly missing being bit by the creature and landed on top of its head. Because of the creatures momentum and your added force from above, the Ursa lost its balance as it fell over the edge of the waterfall, with you and your furry companion.

"Hang on little buddy!", you said to the rabbit as you and him rode on the doomed Ursa's back. The Ursa fell head first onto some painful looking rocks, sending you and your companion crashing onto the riverside, bleeding and unconscious.

A thanks to my readers and editors and whatnot