Shifted

They exited the cityscape and entered a sparse wooded area that spanned farther than they could see through the mountains and hills beyond.

“All these trees are merely my age,” Luna commented, “have your people, war or not, planted an entire forest? I have seen thy eat and I know the diet of a minotaur whence I see one,” she said from behind the two.

“Uh, no. These trees have been growing since the apocalypse. I guess teaching you english aside and trying to understand how you dreamwalk wasted enough time last night,” Dave said, “so, here’s the short of it. The current year is 107 P.A., that’s post apocalypse. Humanity was at the peak of it’s growth in a golden age and we blew everything up and ripped the universe a new one, with our world being at the center of it all.

“It went from a world of humans only,” Dave swallowed hard, “to beasts and demons that literally come from the deepest pits of nightmares.”

Raul spoke up. “It’s not all bad, Princess. There are angels for every demon that come through.”

Luna huffed. “Then what am I to these lands? Angel or demon? Who decides which is which?”

“You do, chicka.”

“Chicka? I am no hen,” Luna replied a bit sullenly.

“No, it means female. Woman, it’s a… term of respect with my people from ages ago. A man, or male, is a chico.”

“Ah, I see. So, as a mare I am ‘chicka’ and as a male, you are,” she hesitated, “chico?”

“Si! Bueno, chicka.”

“Odd,” Luna blinked, “my spells should translate all languages to mine, but I didn’t understand what you said just now.”

“I can answer that,” Dave interjected, “spells that translate only translate when the speaker is speaking their native language or what they’re most comfortable with. Raul here only speaks basic Spanish in the same way I speak basic German. If I spoke in German, guten nacht, you wouldn’t know I just said good night.”

“Most odd… Mayhaps language is more diverse here than it is on my earth.”

“Lady, you have no idea,” Raul said, “there were, like, a hundred thousand languages before the tears, now you have millions of new creatures,” he gestured to the trees and beyond, “each with their own languages. Without magic there’s no way to know them all.”

“And our best mage just quit, leaving little me at the front of the pack,” Dave mumbled.

“I’m certain thy art a formidable foe for any assailant, Dave. Peradventure we nae’er experience such a time, though.”

“Yeah, you said it,” Raul said.

“Let’s just enjoy nature, guys. I think we need it after the day we’ve had.”

Luna’s horn glowed brighter and in a flash she was wearing full body armor, nearly in the style of Nightmare Moon.

“Wow! How’d you do that?!” Dave asked loudly… a little too loudly as a grumble came from nearby.

“Prepare thyselves, a beast approacheth!” Luna shouted taking a defensive stance while the men readied their weapons, Raul sliding a round into the chamber while Dave’s crackled slightly with light blue energy.

A low growl came from a nearby thicket. “Heh, whatever it is it’s small,” Raul joked.

“Shut up, that could be anything. Didn’t you hear that?”

Suddenly a small rabbit hopped from the bush. The group breathed a sigh of relief.

“Stand down, soldiers, tis merely-” she nearly finished before the small rabbit spat out a skull as large as Luna’s body. “...what shouldst we do, soldiers?”

“Shoot it before it gets us,” Dave trembled as he squeezed the trigger. The rabbit exploded into a cloud of fluff and vapor. “That, was easy,” he could be heard grinning in his armor until a small hole opened below where the bunny was and another rabbit hopped out. Then another. Before ten seconds had passed nearly two dozen were on the ground and hopping freely.

“Uh, me thinks it wouldst be in our favor to slowly flee?”

“Right on, Princess,” Raul said taking a step back and cracking the cliche twig, snapping all the attention to the group.

The rabbits’ eyes turned into swirling pools of blue and red as their jaws unhinged in two placed and a low growl emanated from the collective as they exhaled and inhaled at once.

“Oh feces,” Luna said as her horn flared to life creating a shield around them all just as the bunnies leapt and began to gnaw and chew at the bubble.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit! Does this bubble go underground?!”

“Yes!” Luna said as she moved closer to Dave and Raul.

“Good, cuz these things are trying to dig under us… Crap! They’re cratering us! Run!”

They took to a sprint while Luna trotted quickly so she wouldn’t outpace the humans, the rabbits forming a living wave of bloodthirsty beasts.

“Tis a nightmare, indeed! A rabbit shouldst be docile, not thirst for blood,” Luna said loudly as she tried to open her wings but the pain had become a consistent dull throb that she couldn’t ignore when she opened her injured wing. “I shall dispatch them and we shall be free of this nonsense.”

“NO! Don’t lower the shield or expend any magic you don’t have to. They could be here just to weaken us while a larger monster,” Dave stumbled but was caught by Luna and shoved back into a sprint, “thanks!”

“He’s right, Princess. They have a territory so let’s get out of it.”

“And whence we are free of the bunny lands what nightmarish creature awaits us in the next? A herd of fish? A river of mead and ale?!”

“Maybe,” the men said in unison. Luna’s ears drooped. “Horse apples.”