In a train car bound for Appleloosa

Two Days Later

Dan was staring off into the distance at the prairie before him. It seemed the train was making good time, however, that wasn’t on his mind, the fact that other then Twilight that obviously knows about his identity, none of the other passengers in the car were paying him any mind at all. He looked down at the amulet he was wearing around his neck before back out into the window. “You sure this is actually working Twilight? Hard to tell when I only see me after all.”

(Image made by HoodwinkedTales)

Twilight was so engrossed in her research she barely heard his question. “Huh?” The entire time Dan had allowed Twilight to study his phone, its capabilities, and use the “wifi” as he called it, to look up as much information from his world as she could. She was like a kid on Christmas, a phrase Dan used to describe her eagerness, it became one of the first things she tried to look up on his phone. “Oh, yeah, don’t you worry, If Celestia vouches for it, then of course it does. Besides, we already tested with the girls and all the other residents remember?” Dan recalled.

Apparently, that night when Celestia and Aegis met, there was more to the visit then just that. Celestia had intended in the waking hours to send a letter to Dan via dragon fire, meaning Spike and Twilight would more than likely get it first which was good since she trusted her student to aid Dan as much as possible. Her original plan was to send the amulet she had been holding onto to the golden oaks library while sending a letter in advance for Dan and Twilight to read about its capabilities in hiding Dan’s actual body with an illusion enchantment that was placed onto it. However, the dream meeting basically allowed her to tell Dan face to face what she was sending and what it could do. She would send a letter to Twilight on the finer details.

Having Aegis there helped in explaining to Dan that it was something he also had to wear back before he went into the process of accepting an actual equestrian body. A tale, Aegis did not care to go into, seeing as Dan didn’t seem to care much about the idea. The fact of the matter was during his time starting out and many years after, Aegis had to wear it in public areas as not to freak out the citizens with his true human form. Those that are aware that he’s wearing it are able to see through the illusion, it was actually a pretty clever condition. To those outside of the loop, there would be no chance for them uncover his true form so long as he wore it, to a pony that knew of his amulet, the spell would break on them when they recognize the “Stallion”.

It only just now occurred to Dan that even though he was given the amulet, he was for some reason allowed to show his actual face around Ponyville, When he asked Aegis, the old-timer was curious about that as well seeing as in the past for himself he mostly had to stay within castle walls when he wasn’t on mission or expedition. Now that he was thinking about it again, this whole thing was odd, If he was supposed to be such a secret to the public, why place him in Ponyville at all? “Hey Twilight, got another question for you,” when he turned to her direction he could see she was really enameled with something on his phone. Curiosity getting the better of him he hopped off his seat and sat in the one next to her to get a look at what she was up to. For some reason, now she was on google and typing in a phrase in the search bar. Well, she picks up fast… how is she typing on the screen with her hoof and mag- He, then noticed she was typing a question. That question only brought on more questions, but for the time being, he swiftly swiped the phone from her magical grasp.

“H-hey! I was still researching with that!” Twilight said with a pout

“Twilight… there is nothing you need to learn from Rule 34… Where did you learn that phrase?” Dan turned to her with a burning curiosity, just yesterday that girl could barely understand which app was which.

“Oh, that? I saw it in the comments in one of those, you-tub videos I found.”

“Youtube, Twilight, youtube…” Dan should’ve known, just what was she watching? He was going to have to look at his view history later to find out.

“Now arriving in Appleloosa!” the train conductor called out as he entered one end of the car and making his way to the other to inform the passengers in the next.

“Oh! It looks like we’re here!” Twilight said as she was already sticking her head out the now opened window.

“So it would seem.” he sighed before pocketing his phone. He was gonna have to monitor her from now on… and put on some child locks for her sake.

After some time the Train finally pulled into the station, Dan and Twilight had to step through the small crowd of ponies also getting off just to get out of the station. Were they visiting or looking to join the settlers here, who can say?

Finally made it through.” Twilight sighed before looking around. “Perhaps it was best to bring Applejack with us.”

“Can’t be helped, apparently it’s a busy time with her right now, right? She said she would at least send a letter in advance to her cousin here for us right?” Dan looked around at the town. “I’m assuming the mail service beats the train then?” He found it rather interesting how “Wild West” it was looking, yet he couldn’t avoid getting a “cuteness” vibe from it. It was almost like some kind of western themed playground parents would drop their kids off of, sans the swings and jungle gym.

“Yeah, especially when Rainbow volunteers to do it.” Twilight started leading the way

Dan nodded “Oh, right, she’s here too then. Applejack did mention that.”

“WELCOME TO AAAAAAAPPLELOOSA!”

“JESUS!!” Dan jumped away from the loud yet welcoming voice. His hand already in his cloak reaching for his sidearm.

“Oh, sorry! Didn’t mean to startle you there, friend!” the apologetic pony sported a brown western hat unsurprisingly, a brown vest, green eyes, light gold coat and two-tone mane of orange and amber. He had an apple for a cutie mark, and of course a big ol’ grin on his face. “I just wanted to greet all you newcomers to this wonderful town!”

Dan sighed as he pulled his hand away from his gun. “It’s fine, I guess.”

“Glad to hear it!” the stallion was now in his face. Or rather, in reality, his gut seeing their height difference. It was VERY uncomfortable for Dan. ‘Is this gonna be a thing when I have to wear this necklace?’

“ Unfortunately, what they see as your disguise’s face, is, in fact, your stomach. The spell required a disguise that was at least eye level with them.” Aegis answered.

‘Great…’

“Hello again Braeburn, I take it Rainbow arrived already with our message?” Twilight intervened and got straight to the point.

“Oh, well howdy Twilight! She sure did, and we’ve been waiting for your train to show up ever since.”

“There you guys are!” and just in time Rainbow hovered over to the group, then close to Twilight and Dan, “Finally, he gave me another tour again and I was running out of excuses.” Twilight seemed to react to that as if remembering something.

Dan was taking the hint it was something he shouldn’t even mention right now. Looking back at the Stallion next to him, he was kinda getting a vibe that even mentioning the word “tour” to him was bad.

“So is this, the special agent from Canterlot you mentioned in the letter?” the stallion now known as Braeburn was now giving Dan a scrutinizing look.

“Yes, of course,” Twilight answered, “Braeburn this is, uuh, Loose Cannon,” Dan smirked it was the name he came up with that sounded like a Pony name.

Braeburn rubbed his chin “I see, well I’m sure if the Sheriff was here he’d want to make sure he’d play by the rules while he’s here.”

Dan nearly snorted out a laugh. ‘There is just NO way, that was too perfect of a coincidence! Do they know?!’

“Know what?” Aegis asked

“I assure you, he’ll be on his best behavior, but that aside, we were told the sheriff was one of those that became missing after the event.” Twilight asked

Braeburn nodded this time with a more serious look “That’s right, it’s been two days now and we’re all getting a little worried after what the chief told us about the beast that attacked them.”

“Oh, well he’s dead.” Dan said bluntly, this got him some looks from both the girls and a look from Braeburn that said he was thinking the same thing.

“Oh, uh… Sorry?”

“No, it's alright, after seeing some of the other Canterlot guards and officials arrive today, some of us here were starting to think the same thing.” Braeburn sighed

“guards and officials?” Dan asked

“Oh right, I guess I forgot to mention.” Twilight turned to Dan. “Celestia sent over some of her best here beforehand when they received the news from Appleloosa.” She then leaned in and whispered to him. “The guards are just for show and to keep ponies out of places so you can move around more freely without the amulet.”

“Hm, smart… and the officials?” Dan asked

Twilight seemed perplexed “I’m not entirely sure. The Princess said it was necessary for them to meet you.”

Dan wasn’t sure what that was all about so he asked the only person he figured would have an answer. ‘Do you have any clue who they are, gramps?’

“They’ve probably already assigned your handler if I had to guess.” Aegis answered casually.

‘Handler?’ Dan raised an eyebrow

“Well, you didn’t expect Tia and Lulu to let you loose forever without somebody keeps tabs on you did you?” Aegis replied.

‘I thought that was-’ His response was interrupted by Twilight.

“Dan? You ok? We should probably get going to meet them.”

“Uh, yeah sure, sorry, kinda been spacing out today.” he lied with a nervous smile, before joining the three ponies as Braeburn led the way. The entire way there he couldn’t help but observe the buffalo that had to take refuge in the town. “Huh, So the buffalo can talk in this world too.”

“Well, duh, Why wouldn’t they?” Rainbow Dash replied bluntly as she hovered next to him.

Dan scratched his head, then mumbled quietly to himself “If you knew the kind in my world…” Dan continued to look around. From the looks of it, since the ponies were playing the part of settlers of the Wild West, the buffalos played the part of the Native Americans it would seem. At least that’s as far as he could tell with the obvious fashion and markings the buffalo had on them. Another thing he could sense is the solemn atmosphere in town.

Braeburn seemed to be trying to keep a cheery mood by pointing out things in his town to the newcomer in the group, but when he noticed his attention was more on the ponies and buffalo, He could already take a guess on what was on his mind. “It's been like this ever since what we heard from the tribe’s chief. Everyone is worried the creature might show up here.”

Dan turned back to Braeburn. “Well, that’s why I’m here… I guess.” he added that last part.

Braeburn asked, “So you’ll be able to stop it?”

“Of course he can, no one is better suited than Da-er Mr. Cannon.” Twilight replied

‘Please don’t raise their hopes when we have no idea what we’re even dealing with!’ Dan wanted to say that aloud, ‘What’s with that “Da-er” crap you’re the one that picked the damn fake name!’

“You’re the one that came up with that name.” Aegis answered

‘… That’s true.’ Was all Dan could answer. It really sucked having a second voice in your head.

“Well that sure gets the knot out of my stomach, and no doubt the mayor’s too,” Braeburn said “those fellas are at the mayor’s office waiting for you to show up. I’ll take you to them.” without another word he started out into a trot and the others simply followed.

The trip was relatively short, but it was enough time for Dan to get a general look of the town, and let Braeburn scratch that “itch” he had to give Dan a brief tour of what was on the way, the girls had to just let it be, Dan certainly seemed interested in listening. Though mostly for the fact that he liked the whole western aesthetic of the place.

“Well, here we are, town hall!” Braeburn announced, “those officials should be just inside.” when they stepped in, they could see a group of ponies in the middle of a discussion. First was a stallion that looked like he was getting on in years, with a long mustache bifocals and a button up shirt. No doubt that was the mayor, he seemed to fit the vibe of the town by appearance. Who he was speaking to garnered more attention. One looked like a Royal guard only more decorated with a more detailed set of armor, if Dan had to guess, he was probably a Captain or something of that nature. The stallion next to him seemed like one of those “Noble” types, Luna would tell him about. Dressed like a 17th-century rich boy, Well groomed and stylized mane, a dumb egotistical look as if they thought they were superior. The last part Luna said that Not EVERY noble was like that, but just his luck he gets the bad instead of the good.

Finally, there was a mare, this one seemed to have a royal military outfit, but that was putting it lightly. It was more like an outfit a secretary in an army would wear. Neatly pressed, formal, yet nothing about it was meant for protection, she even had a goofy beret with a feather on it. As well as a pair of large round glasses on her face. She seemed to be holding a clipboard and seemed unsure of what to do. Dan wondered if she was new to her job, with that naive look on her face.

“Look all I want to know is if this problem can be handled by the guard or not? Everyone here is getting a bit on edge from what the buffalo have been saying about their camp, and the chief is telling me it may not be safe here as well.” The Mayor seemed to be at wit's end about this monster.

The “Captain” looking guard seemed to be doing all the talking “Sir, we assure you, we are doing everything in our power to take care of this.” the Captain then turned to his side and seemed relieved to see Dan and Twilight enter the room. “In fact, our best agent for the task has finally arrived.” he gestured to Dan letting the mayor turn to see the human, or rather, the pony disguise he was wearing. The mayor along with the “Captain”, “Noble”, and “Secretary” all awaited for Dan and the rest of his group to approach.

Once they did Braeburn was the first to speak “Just like you asked, I brought Mr. Cannon.”

The Captain and Noble seemed to raise an eyebrow to the name, Dan caught on and made a gesture to say “Just go with it.” he could only hope, his “disguise” was capable of doing that as he couldn’t see it apparently. Thankfully, it seems like they did as the Captain continued. “Ahem, yes, Mayor, as you can see, agent… Cannon, is trained specifically for this kind of job.”

‘Trained? Or nagged by a cranky old horse.’ Dan thought

“Someone has to be there to kick your ass in the right direction.” Aegis responded.

Dan rolled his eyes before speaking out to the mayor. “Hello, I’m Loose Cannon, as you no doubt are already aware, Listen, I’ve already had enough experience to handle these sort of delicate matters, All you need to do is just point me in the right direction, give me as much information as you can and I’ll have this whole mess sorted out before you have your morning coffee tomorrow.”

Aegis immediately responded. “What was that?”

Dan didn’t miss a beat ‘Me Bull$#!*ing so we can get this over with as soon as possible.’

“I don’t know if your saying that just to comfort me or to exaggerate about yourself, but you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t trust the idea of just sending one lone stallion to handle something that has taken out multiple Buffalo warriors and my sheriff.” the mayor replied while rubbing his temple.

Dan raised an eyebrow. “You’re sheriff is also missing?”

Braeburn decided to answer this. “He was the first to respond when we first got wind of it. It’s been two days and so far he hasn’t come back”

‘B*TCH, he dead’ Dan thought

“Knock it off” Aegis replied.

Dan cleared his throat, “I see, well then I guess there isn’t any time to waste.”

“I couldn't agree more, Da-er-I mean, Mr.Cannon.” Twilight answered.

“A moment of your time Mr, Loose Cannon.” the noble stallion along with the captain and “secretary” all approached Dan. “There is something we must discuss in private.”

“Figured as much.” Dan sighed The mayor thankfully got the message as well as Braeburn, opted to stand outside, for now, to let them have their chat. That just left Dan the “officials, Twilight, and Rainbow all in a circle before the Captain spoke. “I can tell from the look in your eye you seem to have an idea why we have come here.”

“Enough to know that you didn’t show up to give the mayor some nice words of encouragement, you came to tell me some things that I probably won’t like.” Dan replied

“You are correct.” Responded the Captain.” Allow me to introduce myself, I am Captain Steel Edge.” he gave a curt nod.

‘Isn’t that a Pokemon move?’ Dan thought

“This stallion here is Lord Golden Arches.”

‘Bada-ba-ba-baaaaa’ Dan hummed mentally. ‘Quarter Pounder sounds good right about now.’

“And this is Private Wind Flower.” as the Captain gestured to the “secretary” looking mare, she gave a salute and looked like she was trying to give the best one she could give as if that would make her look professional.

“Reporting for duty, Sir!” said the mare.

‘As if the name wasn’t cute enough… I wonder if she’d be insulted if I told her that she’s only making herself look adorable doing that?’ Dan decided to keep that in his head where Aegis could only hear it.

“Now that we have gotten the formalities out of the way, let’s get straight to the point, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can finally get out of this blasted dust bowl.” Golden Arches said with a hint of disgust in his voice. Dan couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes. “Also, remove whatever spell you’ve cast upon yourself. I wish to see what a young adult human looks like. I’ve only seen the last one when he was on his last legs. Noble to be sure, but ghastly to look at if he ever shaved his face.”

“Hmph, Celly liked it, you little punk.” Aegis grumbled.

‘I’m sure she did, gramps.’ Dan sighed before finally deciding to comply and lift the amulet from around his neck. Although he couldn’t see the dispel in action, the looks on the three’s faces were enough for him to know it happened as they finally stopped looking at his crotch and at his actual face.

“Hm.” the Captain observed stoically

“Definitely not as wrinkly as the last one.” Golden Arches seemed to look at Dan more like an object than a person.

“A being from another world… to actually be able to see one for real?” Wind Flower mumbled but Dan’s ears managed to pick it up.

“I’m flattered,” Dan deadpanned, “If that’s all you wanted can we get to why you're here already?”

“You’re correct, we should make this quick to let you begin your work.” Steel edge nodded before turning to Wind Flower. Seeing she was still “admiring” Dan. “Ahem, private?”

That knocked her back to reality and she straightened up and saluted again “R-right!”

~~~

“Rules of my engagement with the plague?” Dan was looking at a rolled up scroll he was given by Wind Flower before their discussion started.

“Yes, though it’s mostly what to do around civilians and soldiers, not in the know. You may have already guessed by now but Private Wind Flower reached the status and met the qualifications to let her into the fold as well. So don't be surprised by her sudden… appreciation of your existence.”

“As if I’m not used to it in Ponyville… There’s a mare I know there that won’t stop asking me weird questions.”

Twilight and Rainbow both looked away with a knowing expression when he mentioned that.

The Captain raised an eyebrow but nodded all the same “I see, well, to get back on topic, what we came here for is to basically inform you of the rules and obligations you need to uphold to as the Royal Hunter, along with that. Introduce to you, your handler.”

“My what?” Now it was Dan’s turn to arch a brow. That was when Wind Flower stepped forward

“That would be me, sir. It is an honor to be working with you… uh, Sir!” she was saluting again, looking as stiff as ever.

“Wait, hold on. Wouldn’t that be our job or at least mine?” Twilight stepped into the conversation.

Rainbow as well. “Yeah, the princess dumped-er, I mean SENT him to us. Wasn’t that why?”

Golden Arches answered her “That was more of a stand-in job actually. While you are able to aid him in any way you please as decreed by the Princesses, the fact of the matter is, you and the other bearers have your own lives to live and can’t be there to handle his workload as well.” That was something Dan nor the girls could deny. “So she shall handle the paperwork, YOUR job is to report to her whenever she calls you, like a good boy and give her any information you may come across during your hunts and investigation, like that disgusting pus you sent our way after your expedition.” Arches seemed to shudder at the thought.

Wind Flower decided to take this moment to speak, “Please, sir, don’t think of it as me being superior, far from it, It's only for the sake of getting the facts straight and keeping record on what you do as well as making sure your real identity remains hidden from the general public. She lowered her salute before “ahem, shall we get going, sir?”

“Already?” Dan figured they’d want to say more.

The Captain responded, “There will be time later to discuss with you the rest, for now, we would like you to focus on your hunt until the matter has been resolved.” Steel Edge then had a look of realization before speaking again. “Ah, of course, I nearly have forgotten to mention. The ambassador of the minotaurs would like to see you as soon as possible.”

Golden Arches huffed “Do keep us entertained when you do.” Dan raised an eyebrow, both the message and Noble’s response were odd, to say the least before he could even ask further, the Noble spoke some more. “Now get a move on, hunter, you have 12 hours.”

“What?” Dan asked.

“Sir, you cannot be serious!?” the Captain turned to the noble but was met with the noble’s hoof.

“I am perfectly serious, Captain. He is the illustrious Royal Hunter after all… or at least, his predecessor did a fine job holding up the title. Sure his findings in the Everfree is commendable, but compared to Sir Aegis, they might as well be considered mediocre at best.”

“Hey, buddy. Don’t go spouting out what’s good or not until you’ve actually been there.” Rainbow was already tired of listening to Golden Arches, but now she was certain that a good hoof to the face would shut him up good.

“We’ve taken it slow enough for him, and the danger looms far closer to civilization than his romp in the forest.”

“What makes you say that? May I remind you that the forest is literally right next to Ponyville. We were exposed to such danger without even knowing.” Twilight stated, just like Rainbow, she was getting tired of his voice too.

“Perhaps, and though he slew one beast. He left a far more unsettling discovery back in the forest if I recall as well.”

The girls flinched knowing what he meant.

“W-well, what could he have done, there was so much of it who knows how large that forest ran for?” Rainbow gave her rebuttal.

As did Twilight. “And it was so dark in there even in the middle of the day. There was no place like that anywhere near ponyville-Oh!” she quickly covered her mouth.

“Exactly.” Arches answered. “True there is much we don’t know about the Everfree forest, but what we DO know currently is that such a place was yet to be discovered until recently upon his expedition and it took him two days to reach it. Upon hearing this the rest of us FUNDING him have been debating whether or not it was wise to let you not go back in there and take care of it, Sir Hunter.” Dan narrowed his gaze. “But in the end, it was decided that is sounded too far from Ponyville to let it slide, but only briefly.” He pointed at Dan. “in 12 hours, YOU, Sir Dan, will resolve the situation here, then be brought to Canterlot to meet with the ambassador, then you will be sent straight back to Ponville to finish what you started. If you cannot, the royal guard will, and if THEY resolve it. Well, let me just say, your PURPOSE here will be called under question.”

The tension was thick in the room, Rainbow wanted to slug him. Twilight was on the verge of casting a spell to shut him up. both the Captain and the secretary were shocked that the noble would claim that the Royal Guard would replace the Hunter at his job, and Dan who wanted to just go home now.

“Very well, Golden Arches, if that is how you want to play it.” Aegis grumbled “Boy, accept the challenge.”

‘I’m sorry what? Did you NOT hear what he just-’

“I KNOW what he said, and I’m telling you it can be done, now say you accept so we can be done with this cad.”

Dan could sense some malice in Aegis’ tone and was hesitant at first but sighed “Fine, I’ll do it.” he looked at his phone, after matching the time with the world’s time he could see that it was noon. ‘Huh… “you have until midnight” sounds a little Disney…’ he shook his head.

~~~~~~~~~~

Outskirts of Appleloosa nearing abandoned camp

Approx. an Hour Later

The decision was made to head out as soon as possible, and since Twilight and Rainbow were accompanying Dan to the target destination, the Captain agreed to let Wind Flower remain behind this time to help with keeping the town calm. This was much appreciated by Dan and the girls as they needed some time to think about all that is to come. Well, that was the idea, if it wasn’t too hot to ignore the weather that is.

“Hm… l think I liked walking through the death forest then I do wild west.” Dan responded as he sluggishly continued walking, he looked up at the sun in the sky underneath his hood and glared at it. “You think the princess could set the sun for a little while?”

“Well of course not, Dan.” Twilight answered as she wasn’t fairing much better herself in the heat. “The sun is very important. Celestia needs to keep it on schedule to-“

Dan waved her off “Relax, Twilight, I wasn’t being serious. It's just really damn hot out here.”

“Yeah, no kidding? What’s with the heat? Sure it was hot last time we were here but this is just ridiculous!” Rainbow said as her body and hovering seemed to sag a bit from the heat.

“I do admit it is warmer then I remember.” Twilight responded. “Nevertheless, we have to get this job done before midnight.”

“So we can shove it in that stuffed shirt’s face.” Rainbow responded after slamming her hoof into the other as if she was punching into it.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more Rainbow.” Dan smirked “That aside, the town and those buffalos do need peace of mind, I suppose. NO one likes the idea of sleeping with one eye open in their own home, wondering when a monster is gonna jump ’em.”

“Oh, it looks like… we’re here.” Twilight pointed out as they stopped just outside the ruins of what used to be the Buffalo’s camp.

“Jeez, whatever wrecked this place must have been very huge, or very aggressive in destruction.” Dan looked around. “Does anyone have a clue what we’re dealing with here?” he said before he continued walking, the girls following closely behind him.

“I managed to get some info from the buffalo while we were preparing to leave town.” Twilight pulled out a book from her saddlebag and opened it in front of her with her magic. “If I’m getting it right, I believe what we might be up against is a tatzlwurm.”

“Oh! One of those? Huh…” he scratched his chin. “Hard to believe just one Tatzlwurm could do all that… must have been pretty big.”

“Wait, you know what a Tatzlwurm is?” Rainbow flew up next to Dan with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t remember you saying you saw one in the forest?” Twilight said while looking at dan.

“Not in the forest. In a book, I remember some things I learned from High school.”

“Oh, right! Both your world and ours seem to have a lot of similarities, especially in what you considered mythological, correct?” Twilight asked as she recalled one of her “questioning” sessions with Dan.

“Eeeeexactly.” Dan pointed to Twilight. “And If I’m correct the Tatzlwurm is a weird ass creature that burrows underground and stuff and pops out of the ground to attack people and stuff.”

… Twilight had to take a moment to process what he just said while Rainbow mulled it over for a moment before nodding to the statement. “Yeah sound about right.” Rainbow said

“There's more to a Tatzelwurm then… sigh well, you’re not wrong.” Twilight shook her head. “Anyways, we should probably look for clues.”

“Alright!” Dan then decided to leap a long distance into the ruined camp. “The sooner we get this done the better. Starting to get the munchies.” While the girls weren’t looking his way he pulled out some beef jerky he got from his other self before even leaving for this trip. He managed to stuff a reasonable amount in his backpack while leaving room for the essentials. He took a swift bite and ripped a piece off the one he was holding before secretly stowing it away before the girls could take notice. “Mmm, teriyaki style,” he mumbled

“What was that?” Twilight turned to Dan, who had to stop enjoying his snack and shake his head rapidly

“N-nothing at all.” It wasn’t as though Dan wasn’t allowed to eat meat in front of them, but after seeing their reactions after the manticore incident and after them finding out he was omnivorous, he decided to just keep the meat-eating to himself.

By the time they reached the ruined camp both Dan and Twilight suddenly stopped in their tracks, Rainbow eventually looked back with a look of confusion. “What's with you two?”

Dan looked over at Twilight. “You… felt that too right?”

When Rainbow saw Twilight slowly nod and become wary of her surroundings. She decided to land and at first, she felt nothing, but just as she was about to ask, she felt a small tremor beneath her hooves. “Whoa… is that the Tatzlwurm?”

“Uuuh, how far do you think it is from us?” Dan asked

“It's hard to tell if we don’t have an idea of its actual size. I do recall the Buffalos said it was huge but none of them was able to give me an estimate.”Twilight decided to stick close to her friends.

“Yeeeeah, that makes me feel better.” Dan could feel his heart racing as he started to get nervous now that the tremors were getting stronger. “Ok, I’m voting that we all get hell out of here. Now.”

The tremors were only becoming stronger the longer they stood there, “Ok, it's definitely getting closer.” at this point the wind seemed to have picked up enough to blow something against Dan’s leg he peers down and notices it was a Stetson hat. Before he could even think about why such a hat would be there the tremors grew more until in the center of the “camp” outshot a long humongous creature that roared into the heavens above. Dan looks up at the towering beast before him. “The F@%K! Is that?!”

Aegis answered simply “that’s the Tatzlwurm Of course, Dan.”

“The hell it is a Tatzlwurm! That’s a big ass Graboid!” Dan took a step back. Both the girls were having a similar reaction. Then it turned in their direction Dan felt his stomach drop. “Oh, F@%k…” It went straight underground.

“D-dan, what do we do?” Twilight asked

“Rainbow fly!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Rainbow was already flapping her wings going airborne.

They could see the trail of dirt make a beeline for them. “Good now catch!” Dan yelled as he grabbed Twilight

“Wait, what are you-” before Twilight could finish her question she was now yelping as Dan hurled her at Rainbow.

“Whoa!” The pegasus barely managed to catch her in time. “What’s the big idea?!” That’s when Dan leaped and rolled to the side at the last second to avoid the Tatzlwurm’s jaws from swallowing him whole. “Oh, right.”

The creature didn’t seem pleased by missing its prey and was back underground chasing him.

“Damnitdamnitdamnitdamnit DAMNIT! Just once I want be the one to get the jump on these guys! JUST ONCE!” As he started off on a sprint he side stepped to avoid the creature’s lunge toward him and sprinted in another direction.

“Well, with how you just stumble onto our targets, that would definitely be a challenge. Also, we’re not going to get anything done if you keep running away from it.” Aegis flew out of Dan’s body and followed beside him.

Dan just glared at him. “Sorry, but which one of us has seen the movie Tremors? I know how this plays out and me getting close to it spells instant death! In fact, just stepping on the ground is a death wish!” Sensing another wave of foreboding he leaped up in the air and parted his legs just in time to narrowly avoid the jaws of the beast yet again and this time land on its body as its head burrows underground. He continued running on its back and stuck in place because of it diving out of the way from its next attempt only to chomp itself instead of Dan, making it real back roaring in pain before it retreated back to the dirt. Something Aegis picked up on quickly as Dan grabbed at his MP5 and kicked off of the worm safety.

“Hold on a moment Dan. Holster your weapon for now.”

“Gramps that is the LAST thing I should be doing right now, don’t you think?” Dan replied as he held his gun up.

“No, I mean this Tatzlwurm-”

“Tatzlwurm my ass!” Dan scoffed

“THIS TATZLWURM might actually be alive!”

“Yeah ok cool, but so what?!” He noticed the beast now circling around him. It knew where he was, now when was it going to strike?

“That means you are instructed to NOT kill it if it hasn’t been infected.”

Dan was skeptical “Are you serious right now?”

“I am always serious when it comes to doing your job.” Aegis said with a calm tone that means he wasn’t budging on this.

Dan groaned “Unbelievable...”

Meanwhile up above “We gotta help Dan!” Rainbow said as she was keeping her and Twilight airborne.

Twilight meanwhile was looking through her book “I know, I know, but rushing in there isn’t going to help. Uuuh let's see, Tatzlwurm, Tatzlwurm, Tatzl-Ah here it is!” she read as fast as she could to find something useful. “Let's see… can jump high, tendril-like tongues and strong jaws…. Well obviously… Where am I gonna find a white rooster?!”

“Come on Twilight, any day now!” Rainbow watched as Dan could only play on the defensive, dodging another wide mouth attack, and its multiple “tongues” slapping one away that got too close to him before running off with the beast in hot pursuit.

“I’m trying I’m trying, but this book isn’t exactly big on details on this creature’s weaknesses. I suppose not many ponies had to deal with this creature or actively looked for one to get any information on it!” Twilight said with a groan as she was about to toss the book before her innate love FOR books had her return it to her bag.

“Well… what's this about a rooster?” Rainbow asked…

Back with Dan, he managed to dodge the creature through some debris as he picked up a large pole. When the creature made another attempt on him. He was waiting this time as he sidestepped the attack and using his strength, smacked the tatzlwurm over the head with the pole. The Pole broke in half upon impact but it did halt the creature… temporarily as it moved its head up with a bit of a dazed look in its eyes before shaking it off and glaring at him. “Yeaaah, that never seems to work well.” he threw the part of the pole he had left at the creature who opened it’s maw and chomped on the piece before spitting it out to the side. That gave him enough time to make a break for it. “Ok, gramps, if you have any idea what to do, I’m all ears cuz the only way I can think of stopping this thing is shooting it!”

“I thought you said you’ve read into Tatzlwurm?” Aegis responded “Shouldn’t YOU know what to do then?”

“Ok for one, the Tatzlwurms on Earth don’t F@#king exist! Secondly, the ones I learned in school were damn furry lizard things with cat heads, weaponized halitosis, and no back legs!” He then pointed back at the beast that seemed to now be trying to close the gap between them. “Does that look like a Tatzlwurm to you?!”

Aegis stroked his beard casually, “Hmmm, I will admit there is a difference, but the people of this world refers to it as one so it is… to be honest I never had much reason nor the experience to come across one during my long life surprisingly-”

Dan chimed in “Life story later, Aegis! Do you have a solution or not?!”

“Well, there has to be something both sides know of the Tatzlwurm that would work. Is there anything at all?” Aegis asked

Dan thought for a moment as he ran….. “Where the hell are we gonna find a white Rooster here?!”

“BUK-AAAAAAW!” this caused Dan to stop, for Aegis to stop, and even the Tatzlwurm to stop in mid-lunge and they all looked to their side. Just a few yards away from them, was Rainbow, somehow her fur was white and her mane red and shaped like hen’s crest… or rooster actually. On her face looked like two pieces of yellow paper, shaped and designed to look like a beak “I can’t believe this.” Rainbow groaned.

Twilight seemed to also be impersonating a white rooster as she got up on her hind legs, wobbling trying to keep balance. “Come on Rainbow, we gotta act the part too.” using her for legs to arch against her torso and make the elbows “flap” “BUKBUCKBUKBUUUUK!”

“They can’t possibly be serious…” Dan blinked and thought then turned to look back now even more surprised that the tatzlwurm seemed to be staring straight at the two girls. It seemed to move and make strange noises toward them.

As Rainbow tried to mimic Twilight she was having doubts when she noticed the creature's change in behavior “Uh Twilight is that a good thing?”

“Yes! It is! It's agitated! Keep it up!” Dan managed to hear her question from that far off thanks to his higher sense of hearing, but Aegis seemed to be more interested in Dan’s words as he turned back to the creature. “Try moving closer to it!”

And so the two did, they struggled, trying to take bipedal steps trying to keep balance and every now and then having to push themselves back up after falling over. But the Wurm didn’t seem to care about their mistakes as the girls kept “Bucking”, “flapping”, and even making rooster calls at it. The worm would try to make hissing noises and act like it was going to snap at them, but when it seemed like they were to close for it. It held its head up, roared before receding underground, and then they could see its dirt trail lead out of the ruined camp before stopping completely, judging from the vibrations Dan felt, more than likely burrowing deeper underground.

“Ok… I think it's gone.” Dan started to relax, the girls followed suit before losing balance and falling over again. Dan turned back at the two. “That was… strange, yet very clever. How are you guys like that?”

“Oh just some papercraft.” Twilight said as she took the “beak” off her muzzle “ And on the spot mane styling.” she pulled out a brush with her magic from her saddlebags. “And a spell I learned back when I was living in Canterlot.” She then dispelled the magic that had changed her’s and Rainbow’s appearance.

Dan smirked “Figured as much.” his smirk then vanished when he turned back to where they last saw the whereabouts of the Tatzlwurm. “Well, this certainly is complicated.”

“No kidding.” Rainbow replied pulling the paper beak off her face and messing with her mane to get it back to its usual style. “How are we gonna stop something that can go underground?”

“Though that is a problem, Rainbow, it's gonna be harder since it seems to be alive.”

“Huh? What do you mean? It's not like, infected or whatever?” Rainbow asked.

Dan turned to Aegis who simply shook his head. Before looking back at the girls. “It's nothing concrete, but he-er I mean, I haven’t noticed any signs that would make it tainted, and the fact that it ran away when it saw your disguises proves that it was scared. Tainted beasts don’t have that capacity.”

“So you can’t handle it like before?” Twilight picked up on, to which he nodded. She had to admit she liked the idea that he wouldn’t be killing anything, but now the situation changed “So, what do we do now? We have until Midnight to catch it or at least get it out of here, and we still need to find out what happened to the Sheriff and the other buffalo that remained behind.”

Dan sighed looking at the hat that was now resting against some debris. “I can probably answer that right now.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions yet, Dan,” Aegis said as he floated next to him. “Though I can’t speak for the buffalo, these ponies can surprise you in the end.”

Dan wanted to speak out his disbelief, but now with the girls in earshot of him, he wouldn’t be able to call it “Yelling at the Wurm” or just say it was their imagination.

“Come on Dan, we can’t just assume without all the facts. We need to investigate more before we come to an answer.” Twilight stated.

Dan just shook his head. “Normally I would agree with you, but right now, it seems pretty open and shut that the sheriff and the rest of those buffalo dudes are chilling in that things stomach… scratch that, it's been two days since they were gone so they’re probably already a great big pile of-”

“AAAAANYWAY! What are we gonna do now?” Rainbow butted in. “Dan’s not allowed to take it down like the monsters from before, and we already wasted an hour or two getting here and dealing with it.”

Dan folded his arms in thought. She had a point. They needed to make their next move. However, he already had an idea. Aegis already seeing the image of it in his head and remarking that its the best option. The girls noticed him staring at where the creature burrowed underground

“Nobody’s claustrophobic right?”

Author's Note

Hey guys! sorry for the EXTREMELY long wait, and don't get used to the (incomplete edit) part of the chapter title, it just seemed fair to at least send this out now since I've been taking way to long with mt stories this time around thanks to that temporary writers block and RL stuff that kinda had me indisposed at times. but enough of that, I'm trying to to get back to my usual schedule before all this nonsense, so wish me luck. Also, my other story will be wrapping up sometime this winter so expect another story I have planned to be in the works while at the same time this story will be getting more frequent chapters until the new chapter is made. I figured I should let you guys know about that. as for the other story... well, when you do get to see it and actually like it. I hope you read that one too haha.

Alright, enough of that let's talk about this chapter. So I'm sure someone will ask. "Why did Dan toss Twilight in the air when she clearly has wings int he picture?"

.... I may have forgotten to tell hoodwinked that when she made the picture. that was my bad and I JUST now realized the wings after looking at it once again and facepalming that I forgot to mention that. however at the same time I just REALLY like the picture so I don't want to change it..... soooo this tiiiime.... pretend the wings aren't there. next time for future pictures I promise to keep them as accurate to the story as possible when I request any. I apologize for my selfish request.

Another thing I tried to do was avoid making a cliffhanger. I noticed that seems to come second nature to me and I'm working to not do that All the time. I'm not sure if the end of this Chapter is seen as a cliffhanger or not but I felt like it didn't everyone knows they are all going down into the wurmhole (hehe, wormhole) to investigate. As for the future chapter... well... it should be interesting for you guys, hopefully anyway.

Next Chapter: Choices had to be made

As always, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter and look forward to future ones.