The Badlands stretched far ahead, countless amounts of creatures and cretins called this desolate place their home. Some were well mannered, others were likely to try to take off your head if you came too close. Every being there had a purpose, whether it be to survive, or some other personal purpose. Hills and mountains of red and brown stone erupted from the ground, small patches of grass grew here and there. To top it off, there was little to no sign of civilization anywhere, as per usual in the badlands.
Mouvis stood, the dry wind stirring his short fur. It weaved its way through his area, brushing past his heavy horns. He growled to himself, staring off into the distance. He was a grown Desert Bighorn Sheep, ready to survive in the badlands. However, he did not want this. He wanted to see what there was to the world other than the dry rocks, hot water, and bland food of the badlands. He decided this a long time ago, and now he was ready to begin his trip.
He stood atop a large, rocky hill. Still taking in all of the sights with a hint of nervousness eating away at his confidence. Once he finally gathered enough determination, he began to jump and leap down the hill. Every single hop and jump was timed, taking him to the next rock. He did this quickly and skillfully, not taking any note that if he slipped, he most likely wouldn’t be able to get up for a while.
Once he finally stood at the base of the hill, he began his slow trek off into the distance, keeping the promises of what may lie ahead of him in his mind. He had heard stories of ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and many other creatures. He himself still had yet to see any, as none would ever willingly venture into the badlands. He had heard several stories of insectoid creatures that could make themselves look like your kind, and then suck out your emotions for life as well, but he always set them aside as tales to scare him away from venturing far from his small herd.
The thoughts in his head kept him company while he mindlessly ventured into the realative unknown. He knew that he had to travel East to get to the main path through the badlands, and then he had to turn and follow it North. However, he had no idea how far the path was from him, and he had no idea what it looked like. He could think that over later, for now, he was more focused on if he would get to meet someone or something new on his trip.
It was at this point in his trip, where Mouvis was beginning to become bored. The sun was setting behind him as he traveled, and he knew that darkness would be upon him soon. He looked around himself, hoping that he might find a nice hill or mountain to climb for the night. His hope wasn’t even needed, for it was the badlands. Everything was either a canyon, a ditch, a hill, or a mountain. He began to make his way up one of the various hills, taking care as to not fall all the way down. He could just imagine what his friends would say if they saw him there. Probably something along the lines of: “Hurry up, you’re being too slow!”. Alas, he could only scold himself for being slow. And what a shame that was.
Mouvis had finally found a nice place to sleep. Plenty of rocks, a nice layer of softer dirt to lay down on, and some form of cacti nearby. The sun was setting on his unforged trail, and he didn’t want to be caught out in the night alone. He had hoped that his trip would be uneventful, but that was too much to ask. While he lay, he found some strange insect was there with him. He eyed it cautiously, wanting to get a good idea of what it was. It didn’t look like it was dangerous, and it didn’t seem too keen on bothering him at the moment. He paused for a moment before speaking outloud to himself. “What are you…?” It had been near a whole day since he had spoken to anyone, and this was as if the heavens sent a one-sided chatting partner to him.
After a small moment of the insect, expectedly, not replying, Mouvis decided to speak as if he were answered. “Huh...well, I have no idea what that is…” He paused for a moment, thinking to himself. “I’m going to call you...Jeff.”
The newly named Jeff stared back at Mouvis, eyes pure black and unblinking.
“I think it suits you” muttered Mouvis under his breath. He was still uncertain as to what exactly the insect named Jeff was, but he was deemed safe to be near by Mouvis. “So, Jeff, mind keeping an eye out in the dark for anything that might want to take my head off?”
Once again, Jeff stared back at Mouvis, eyes pure black and beady. At last, Jeff seemingly blinked once.
“Great! I knew I could count on you.” Mouvis said, slightly relieved. He began to rest, the regret of trusting a random bug with his life for the night. He began to feel as if he made a massive mistake, but that mistake would have to wait to be punished for when he woke up.
Mouvis groaned as he blinked slowly, working the tired feelings from his eyes. “What…?” He muttered to himself, wondering what had just woke him up. Inches from his face, was Jeff, tapping rapidly against his one of his horns. “What’s got you worked up?”
Jeff stared back at him, his eyes blank. He continued to tap quickly on Mouvis’ horn, trying to get his attention.
At this point, Mouvis decided to stand up. He stretched his muscles, and Jeff managed to stay on one of his horns. “Now, what’s got you…” His words were cut short as he thought he heard the sounds of rock shifting somewhere behind him. From what he remembered, the best thing to do in a situation like this would be to run. Mouvis leaped into action, scrambling to get atop a rock. Once at the correct position, he began bounding from stone to stone. He heard a roar come from behind him, accompanied by the scraping of claws against stone.
Mouvis had reached a nice flat area on the steep hill he was climbing, and he knew that his attacker would be right behind him. He lifted himself into the air, preparing to slam his head into whatever was about to climb after him. He shut his eyes and rushed forwards, bringing his head and horns into a charge. A sudden relief rushed through him when he felt the flesh of his attack meet his horns, and the sounds of whatever it was being sent tumbling down the hill. He turned around, and began to dash off in the opposite direction, still wanting to put distance between whatever that thing was and himself. While he was climbing, he couldn’t help but talk to Jeff. “Glad you woke me up for that!” It hardly even bothered Mouvis that his life was just saved by some random insect he had randomly given a name.
Jeff simply kept himself perched upon Mouvis’ horns, silent and observant. The only sign of reaction from Jeff was when he tapped lightly on his horns in order to keep his balance.
“You can get some rest, I’ve slept enough for now.” Mouvis uttered just before releasing a heavy yawn. He continued to move forwards, though. Nothing could make him stop at this point, for fear that his attacker may return. “At least now I know that you can understand me...I think…” He uttered out to Jeff. Once again, the only thing he felt was Jeff tapping lightly on his horns. For now, he could only continue to trust his little partner, and continue to move forwards in the direction of the main path.
