Breaking Bad? No. It was pretty good.
Chapter One:
It's pronounced: “Beige’
“You mean to tell me, you knocked a guard unconscious, dug a Celestia knows how long hole, threw me over a goddamn fence, only for us to not have a lick of sense where we are going?!” A voice angrily asked, albeit coughing all the while.
“Well I would know where I am going, but due to the miscalculation of someone losing the map, in no way is this my fault.” The sound of water slapping against stone was persistent in its echo with the waterfall.
“Bage, when something goes wrong, all hooves point to you.”
Bage, a pale red stallion, rolled his blue icy eyes, “Always with the negatives, Mint. Why can't you yell at me because of something good I've done.” He smiled. “Like for example, lifting your small ass over the fence. I did not throw you - so stop whining.”
After shaking several droplets of water away from his coat, the red pony pushed past the significant other. Slinging his small bag across his body in an orderly fashion.
His companion, a small earth filly - mint green in colour, gave Bage a humorless glare, a light rumble emanating from her small diaphragm, “...Fine. Be glad I like you. Otherwise I'd take your decrepit self and throw you into that ravine over there.”
Bage clicked his tongue, “Quick to argue, hard to please.” He turned to his companion in a sarcastic cock,
“Why haven't I ditched you yet?”
“For starters, you don't have the balls.”
Bage gave Mint a half lidded approach and nudged the small mare into the water while she was speaking, watching as her face went from surprise, to shock and then to nothing as her body sunk due to lack of water coordination.
Oh don't be surprised, they do this all the time. You should've seen it when Bage set her on fire.
Imagine that. A filly, on fire!
Shaking his head, the red pony counted aloud scooting away from the glistening liquid, “3…2...1…”
There was a loud poof, followed by an irritated sigh by the now angered Mint,
“Annnnnndddd you can't get rid of me idjit. Me and you…”
“You and I…”
Allowing the realization of improper grammar to sink in on the only other beings mind, Bage scuffed a few of the larger rocks that littered the shore,
“You and I, are the same. So deal with it.” Mint hit her head a couple of times, a fish falling from her ear into the water.
“I mean, shit, I could if I didn't have an annoying thought process that questions my every move!” He said secludedly, turning to glare in anger.
In basic principles, it was basically Bage - and his thoughts - as he solemnly walked the soon to be night filled adventure. After
Mint shook some water from her fur, she asked without a better will to do,
“So genius, where are we going now?” It caught the tired stallion off guard, and it gave him pause,
Looking around, Bage gauged the different paths he could take while the moon still lit their paths. After judging his options, an answer came, “Instincts tell me we need to go this way.” He said as his hooves carried him through the thicket that diverted from the main path, “And please, if you would be as so kind, keep your inquiries to yourself. Last thing I need is a-”
“PRISONER - HALT!!”
A multitude of lights flickered in the forest they had taken refuge to, all closing in on a specific participant of law breaking. One thing after another it seems. First they get caught stealing, then it's off to a lovely isolated prison. Now, here they are, about to be caught again.
Bage groaned, remembering that he didn't lose all of them in that last waterfall.
“Shit…” He muttered.
Especially a certain guard of choice. His mentor - Crimson Hoof. The guy whom had practically raised Bage. And there he was in the distance; face full of unbridled anger.
“Bage, if you know what's good for you, stop this now!” Something on the lines of that. He said some choice words in between.
The crazy thing is that all of this, running away from the law, was because of the Captain's Trinket - a sort of relic that distinguished certain Captains from others.
Mint had suggested they take it and run. However, they were arrested because of their carelessness. So they had not only to steal back the trinket, but also break out of prison.
Guess what happened.
“Go, I shall hold them off.” Mint said boldly, stepping in front of the beam of light. Though comforting, Bage laughed loudly, making some of the followers stop for a second and wonder whether or not something was wrong.
“Oh that's funny, you, a non-existent being, protecting me! First get a shadow, then talk to me!” He said last minute, breaking off mid-conversation to talk a galloping start headlong into branches and briar patches. He was careful to readjust his knapsack when necessary, making sure that the trinket was still intact.
Mint appeared beside him, maintaining the same speed, but not drawing breath. “Bage, they catch us again, you know what happens.” Bage didn't say anything, but showed acknowledgement with a hollow sigh. It was death. Very much death.
Behind them, several ponies, both Pegasus and Earth, followed in hot pursuit. Bage noted silently that these guards were barking orders harshly, and it got worse as he sped over discarded trunks and lost fence posts.
What was making them so antsy? Normally they were rather straightforward, Halt - chase; and then capture. But now they were chasing, and telling Bage to rethink his life.
Odd.
Several times he had to catch himself from tripping over a root, or falling into some kind of chasm he hadn't noticed before. He got a break when he spotted a rickety rope bridge that led into another part of the forest. An idea spurned in his head, and Bage ended up taking a sharp left onto the connector.
Thankfully, he only had to worry about falling, death upon impact, jail time of infinity, guard brutality… oh and Mint’s persistent nagging. The first step onto the dark, narrow path, led to the rotting wood to break and fall silently into the foggy depths.
Swallowing his fear, Bage carefully chugged across, occasionally looking over the side, only to regret that decision and continue his pace. Mint reminded him of the other problem, which was the fifty and so amount of guards that were yelling at him to turn round and come back.
He noticed their expressions, face by face, and began to doubt his decision of trying this stupid move. But by then, he had crossed the damnable bridge and made it onto the other side.
Some of the guards tried to cross, but upon seeing Bage tugging on the old support beams that held the rope in place, Crimson shouted quickly to fall back. Seconds later, and it would've been the death of some of them.
He gave them all a triumphant laugh, “Suck on that - fuckers!” The last part was thought up on the spot, which made Mint chuckle to herself as she sat on a nearby tree. Crimson and several of the now far guards cursed aloud, and shouted threats. Bage sat next to Mint, never taking an eye off of the guards as they one by one walked off into the night. The last one was his mentor, but he didn't stay to long.
The good news is they have some time before the guards catch up. As far as he could tell, both he and Mint lucked out with the bridge. There wasn't any other entry point as far as the eye could see.
Then again, they couldn't see that far due to some fog rolling into the forest. It took a while for Bage’s eyes to adjust to the dark that swept in after the last light disappeared.
“Have I ever told you, that I despise our life?”
Sucking in a good hoof-full of air, Bage nodded, “Multiple times. Each time is a different reason. So, what is it concluding to now?” He said turning his head.
Mint took her time with thinking, eventually her answer was, “Remember the Armory?”
Bage gurgled a response, “Oh shut up… Luna’s beard you're such a sap for pity. C’mon, while I can still see in front of my hooves.”
Mint offered no quarrel, only giving a grunt in response.
The two traveled for quite some time. They only stopped when Bage called for a break. Mint offered to watch, but her owner denied her any leeway. Thus, silence was dominant the entire trek.
If one had to guess how long they had been trotting, and how far they had gotten, it would probably be an even number on both ends.
The entire trip was filled with various encounters of, non classified living things like carcasses and whatnot. But in retrospect, they had not seen hide nor tail of anything living. Which was a very bad sign.
It was like the forest was about to throw something large at them. Either that, or they just weren't looking hard enough.
Hearing is another subject.
It was like being in a village during rush hour. A thousand voices, yet they could not see who was speaking. All there was to see were shadows of trees and eyes that glowed like they wee in a camera picture.
What scared Bage was how far in they were. What if they ran into some kind of creature?
Where are they going to run?
There was the feeling of dread that seemed to ooze from the very wood of the trees, cascading down into the soil where the two picked it up unceremoniously.
Bage did not like it, and was becoming worried that the closer he thought he was to freedom, turned to be farther from safety.
Then, the voices started.
Silent at first, they grew into whispers. No longer was it a jumble of noise that assaulted you from the darkness.
Occasionally there would be moments where both Bage and Mint would stop, only to hear something declare silently, their death.
It made the two hurry along more quickly.
Mint spoke up during a moment in where they had to cross a log over a silent little creek. There was half a sign, that detailed an area of where a town was supposed to be, “Sunny…” The rest trailed off with the passage of time.
After getting across, Mint stopped so that her partner bumped into her, “I think I see something.”
Bage’s eyes flicked up, and his senses heightened, “Something good?”
Mint was dead silent.
Her gaze was transfixed on something in the distance. Being as small as she was, he could see her muscles tense. Upon his own inspection, Bage could definitely declare, it was not good.
What would you find in a creepy forest filled with the shrieks of the damned? What other than a lone filly, staring at Bage with indescribable emotions.
Due to the dim light, he could barely make out the colors on the small thing, but oddly enough, said thing... was see through. Not your typical glass pane per se, but - legitimately transparent.
She was lame; dull in colour. But that may have been the heavy fog. Her eyes were a bright sunlight, her red mane quiet in the stillness of the air.
Bage said slowly, “Mint, what am I looking
at?”
“Either you have inhaled some of the world's worst shrooms, or we have a bonafide ghost on our hooves…”
Bage gulped, “I don't like either of those inquiries… and we don't have anyone to call... “ Mint smiled for a brief second, but did not dare to look away from the filly’s dreadful stare.
“We need to go… I have a bad feeling-” Bage interrupted her,
“You finish that statement, and I will kill you myself.”
Completing that statement stirred the filly in the distance. It's eyes shifted from looking at the two convicts, to something behind them.
It shrieked,
And no. It wasn't the filly.
Bage immediately sprinted forward, not bothering to look behind him. That is the first mistake in any kind of horror setting, and he was not about to make that mistake, again. He did however, barrel past the filly, but it surprised him, when he phased through the being as though it weren't there…
Gods, what could possibly eat him right now? Whatever it was, apparently didn't like the fact that it's prey had taken off without leaving so much as a bedside note.
So, it chased. The sound of scrabbling claws raking leaves echoed amongst the sudden uprise of noise in the forest. And this wasn't your average chase either. Bage could already tell from the start that whatever this was, knew the layout of this place due to the fact of how quickly it was gaining.
It would push against the trees and use them as a jump off to gain more speed. A technique, Bage did not know. All he knew, was that he was running on fumes, tired of running, and very close to death, yet again.
Mint assaulted his karma using words only identifiable as idiot, imbecile, and egregious bastard - an increasingly used word by the thought.
It made him gripe and groan aloud, cursing his unfortunate luck, “Fucking…” He turned his head at every word, “Hey pal!? Don't suppose we can talk our way out of this??”
He dodged a treeroot, “Maybe buy some Cider?”
Jumped a ravine, “Snort some salt!”
But the creature ignored his cries of truce.
Or maybe it didn’t hear him…
“Let me buy you a bite to eat!”
It roared in response, making Bage laugh nervously, “A bite that isn't me pal. I'm sure this is a misunderstanding!!”
He barely missed a low hanging branch.
“See there's this thing called, peace?”
Now Mint was annoyed, which only increased as Bage made his last comment, whilst ducking under a small outcrop, “Just saying pal! We can look back on this and--”
There was a loud smack as he muzzleplanted a hut. “...Laugh…”
Mint appeared to his right as Bage peeled his face back with a grotesque squishy noise, “Bage, we would love to chat with these monsters, but I don't think they're in a talkative mood.”
Bage looked behind him, seeing only two bright green orbs slowly getting bigger, “It's just one Mint, maybe we can…”
The two orbs broke off into four orbs which broke off into six, so on and so forth. Case in point, Bage nodded flatly, “Hut hiding?”
Mint shrugged, “We could always die.”
"HUT HIDING IT IS THEN.”
Bage quickly rounded the hut he had kissed earlier, until he found the entrance. Kicking it open with his hind legs, he entered and closed the door in a fluid motion. Ducking below the window so he could stay out of sight. Bage could only listen in quaky silence as the creature… creature(s) circled the hut multiple times.
But not once did they come near the door.
Five minutes later, they gave up. Bage could tell because he heard the creatures snort in disdain, followed by an ear-splitting howl.
Then there was rapid movement, and nothing…
Not a single peep.
Mint chuckled in her little voice, “That could've gone worse. About Fifty times so - I mean did you see its teeth?!”
Bage gulped with heavy breaths, “Let's wait until morning… then we'll continue… At the moment, I don't trust anything right now.”
"While that is true, might I ask - who are you?”
Bage cursed aloud, “CELESTIA BE DAMNED. WHAT NOW.” He looked up after admitting mental defeat, to find himself staring at a…
Zebra.
Huh… although it's not common to see these ponies around that often, finding one now is extremely odd.
She was at least a good head taller than Bage. She wore several gold bands upon her neck, and held a rather inquisitive look in her eyes, one that reminded him of a doctor examining a patient.
Her head moved in, causing the rings on her neck to jingle, “I will ask again, but this time, know me as your friend.”
Bage glanced at Mint, supposedly in some sort of act of question. All she did was shrug, giving the stallion no comfort at all,
“Uh… yeah. Apologies… you… wanted to know who I am?”
The Zebra nodded silently, allowing him to continue, “Well, my name is Bage Gale… I have been running for the past thirteen and one half hours, and I would really like to rest.”
Zebra Mare let out a deep ‘Hmm’, “Running from what, I presume. It wasn't only the Timberwolf... otherwise you would have met your doom.”
Bage put a hoof on his stomach and stretched his hind legs out, “No ma'am. Originally, I had come from another town to fill in a placement for lost guards. But, I lost my way being chased by… that Timberwolf.”
Lies, lies and more lies.
“And so you came through Everfree, to try and uproot your… insanity?” After giving the mare a cocked eyebrow, she shrugged and turned to do something, “Well if that is the case, then please, my home is your place. Come tomorrow's light around dawn, I will show you a nice town. Then, you can be gone.”
Bage muttered silently, “Any idea why Zebra lady is speaking in rhyme?”
Mint said just as quietly, “Before you start judging, maybe you should ask why you are talking to open air.”
There was a quick, whoosh, in which signified Mint’s disappearance. Normally this meant peace and quiet. But at the moment, Bage did need someone to speak to. Someone other than this zebra lady…
“Pardon my question, but… I don't know your name.”
She looked out from a room she had disappeared in, “Zecora.”
Huh… She didn't rhyme.
Mint looked behind her, yawning, “Remind me what we are doing again?”
After finishing his own open mouth procedure, Bage smiled, “Well as a reminder, before we got caught, I picked this nifty piece off of our Captain.” He pulled the only item that was stored in his knapsack out to show.
It was a simple circle. The outer ring being made of a casted bronze, the middle having a golden sun to signify the authority of Celestia’s finest. It was a nice item, though it costed Bage his job and sanity all the while, locking him in the tightest prison in Equestria.
In the end, nobody really won, except for the convicts. Took a long time to plan their escape, and even longer to reaquire the insignia.
“We're going to a little place called Canterlot. Taking this piece we got from the prison and selling it to a friend of mine.”
Mint gasped, “Sweet Sweetrolls Bage, you have friends?!”
“You aren't even going to ask why they want it?”
Mint shook her head, “No. It's probably pointless.”
Bage licked his muzzle, “Alright, you and I are about three seconds away from duking it out in the middle of a fucking trail.”
Mint chastised her partner, “Oooooh - beat up poor little ol’ me… will that satisfy your temper?” It was the tone in which she
presented the statement, that made Bage consider his options.
Be evil, and kick her as though she were a football… or allow her to antagonize him longer.
“Eh... yes.”
He gave a swift hind leg buck to her face, feeling in that motion, the simultaneous cracks of the face giving away. Being as small as she was, Bage’s kick sent the filly soaring over a tree into a pile of bushes.
She let out a sullen,
“AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhh....” As she flew.
After a moment of watching this happen, and hearing the thud of impact, Bage asked,
“You still there?”
Mints reply was unenthusiastic, “Fuck you!”
“Language young lady.”
She appeared next to the red stallion with another poof, a curse of being stuck in his mind, “Pfft - since when have you cared about my language?”
Bage looked at her, “Since the day you told me to stick a fork in my ass.”
Mint giggled, “Aw… I'm a genuis.”
“You a pathological parasite, and I wish to berid of you somehow.”
“That would take years of experience… years we may not get back! Would you really want to tear us apart?”
Bage grunted as he placed the commander's insignia into his knapsack,
“There are times I entertain myself with that thought.”
Mint shuddered, “And you force me to watch…”
“The climax is my favorite.”
Mint shouted, “Enough!!”
And with that, both the small filly and stallion, fell into silence. Since Mint was in no condition to listen to her companion, Bage wouldn't relive or open any scars that may have happened to retrieve the relic.
The only thing they were to do, was to get past the large town ahead of them.
Simple?
Neigh.
End of Chapter One
Author's Note
So, you know the deal! I'm trying to find some cover art, and at the same time writing stuff. Thumbs up, comment, let me know how's I did.
I did a gud right?