Chapter2: No Longer Alone

I must have been alone for far to long, I had almost forgotten how fun it is to have company and with Saga in my life now my days got more structured, if not harder.

Since I can´t hunt worth a damn. Most of the time we ate beeries and roots, with the occational mouse or rabbit but that was only if got really lucky and it was quite tasteless since we ate them raw. Oh well, loosers can´t be choosers. At least I don´t have to chew Sagas share of the food anymore.

And so the days went on wake, eat, trying to teach Saga both swedish and english words, sleep and rince and repeat. With very few monster attacks besides from those it was peacefull.

But since I now had something sharp to defend myself with most of the predetors that attacked ended up as the meal themself. I guess the rest of them just learned to stay away. Well exept those damn wolves they just don´t know when to quit! They still forced my flight button every thime they jumped us.

They are never far behind.

All the while hopfully getting closer to anykind of settlement. And since I can´t tell north from south I took the easy way and followed a river that I found, not far from that glade.

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Its been some time since I buried Sagas parents in that glade, I have started to count the sunrise but I lost track after the thirtyfifth. So it has been about a month and a week proably more.

Saga has learnt to walk on her own, the funny thing is that she walks more often using only her hind legs then she does on all four. I think she´s trying to copy me since I´m the only other person she knows. She mostly used all her limbs when running from the wolves, I swear they must have a grudge against me or something.

"I´m the closest to a family that she got... I´m her father" I thought while looking at the little griffon, as she chased a butterfly. A fond smile crept onto my face. "I´m her dad"

She also finally learnt how to speak, her first ord was in swedish "Rövläpp" wich would translate as "ass lipp" in english, hey, don´t look at me I have no idea were she heard that from! Okij... I might have grumbled something similar when the weather was bad... well at least it was a wake up call for me to tone down on my swearing. Can´t have my daughter go around swearing like a sailor all the time now can I?

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Being on the road can be quite boring so to battle my own boredom and hers I began teach her playing some instruments and the basic theorie behind a good punch as well, its very usefull to be able to defend oneself seeing as we are in the most dangerous place in Equstria.

As it turns out she is quite the quick learner, I would go as far as to say she´s a genius! I mean seriously she´s barely one years old and already she could walk, talk (better than any other child her age anyway) and play seven different instrument almost as good as me and thats quite the achievement since her musical knowledge and skill were real where mine were artificial. Not to say that she wasn´t struggling with some parts but climbed past them the next day.

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"And this is how you play a C major" I said while demonstrating on the lute I had conjured. We took turns at playing a melodie as we walked beside the river.

It was quite the scenery since the trees didn´t grow very close to the river you could see the sky , the sun shone brightly partly hidden behind one of the clouds. And far away in the distant lied a mighty mountain with its top covered by snow.

As we walked I noticed something ahead, as we closed in on it I saw what it was, a bridge made out of cobblestone followed by a dirt road on both ends of it.
Saga looked curiously at the structure that lied across the river.

"What are whis?" She asked while poking one of the stones.

"This my dear Fuzzyhead, is a bridge wich makes it possible for us to cross the river without getting wet, " I said with my best stereotypical posh scholar voice as I called her her nickname. She gave me her secret weapon in return... she pouted wich made her feather rise a little which in turn made her head look fuzzy, hence the nickname.

"Touché" I said as I focused back at the bridge to decide if to follow the road across or follow.
Turns out I didnt have to, seing as Saga took the initiativ and ran across the bridge.

"Saga! Were do you think..." I called after her.

"I fink I head somting" she interupted while waveing me for to come along. "huwy up dad!"

The road were muddy from yesterdays rain.
Fortunally we didn´t have to wenture far on the road to find the what she had heard.

Ahead on the muddy road were a wagon stuck in the mudd and beside it sat a tired pony with green fur and a multi coloured mane of red and blue. He must have tried to force the wheel out of the muck by himself. As we approached I noticed that he had a horn.

"A unicorn then" I thought for myself

He suddenly burst to life tugging, pushing the wagon which didnt move an inch in return. He finished by kicking it. All the while screaming the most bizzare swearing I have heard!

Something about a dragon, a pair of clippers and a fish. If I could, I would have writen it down because it was freaking hilarious! His swearing I mean... not his situation

As he noticed me his expression went from tired, to panic.
I saw him tensing up, pearls of sweat began to form on his forehead. Then he feel to the ground.

I hurried up to the unicorn. As I did so I noticed another thing about the colorfull unicorn: he didn´t have a cutiemark.

Using what little I knew of basic CPR I turned the unicorn over to his back and began checking for a pulse "all good" and if he was breathing "hmm, its faint but it´s there". Saga stod beside me with a mixed look of curiosity and worry.

"Don´t worry sweetie, I´ve got this" I said with an asuring smile.

I then procceded to slap the unicorn hard across his face with my right hand, which made him open his eyes and stare at me in shock. For about five seconds that is.

"BY CELESTIA NON-EXISTENT BALLS, PLEASE DON`T EAT ME" he screamed while trying to crawl away from me, still on his back.

"Why would I want to eat you?" I asked while raising one eyebrown.

"Well because your... your not a manticore now are you!"

I just laughed at that.

"Thas just siwy" Giggled the little griffon.

"I like this one, he has just the right amount of crazy" I thought.

"Well, you scared me half to tartarus and back! Who goes around with a dead manticore over his shoulders like that?"

"I´m human and my name is Paul Lindén and this little cutie is Saga, my daughter" I said as I pointed a thumb at myself and then put my hand on top of Sagas head.

The unicorn looked suprised at the notion that I had addopted Saga as my own. He then shook his head proably to collect himself.

"Good meeting ya Paul, Saga. The name´s Pokeblox" He said with a quick nod and finished with a mock salute.

"Do you need any help with getting the wagon out of the mudd?"

"That would be great but its more stuck than an turtle trying to make cheese while on its back!" He said as he kicked the wagon again.

You should have seen his face when I simply walked up to the wagon and lifted it easily out of its prison of mud. "Priceless" as a certain draconequus would have said.

"What are you doing here alone anyway?" I asked as I put the wagon down on a relatively dry spot on the road.

He then explained that he was moving from a village called Smallhoof to an apartmentbuilding in Manehattan to become an apprentice to a blacksmith there. When I asked if we could tag along he only said.

"On one condition bud... the manticore has to go, its making me sick just looking at it!" While making a gaging sound.

So I stripped of the fur leaving it in the ditch of the road, did I ever meantion that I had name it Garfield? Well I did. I was now only wearing my old red t-shirt which were full of scratch mark after many animal attacks which made my scars on my uper body visible, my shorts and sandals.

"Goodbye Garfield may you be of use to another cold unfortunate soul in need of warmth" I said as I swept away an imaginary tear.

"You named it!? You named it Garfield?" Pokeblox said in a deadpan voice. "I think we´ll get along just fine"

"I don´t even... *sigh*! Come on then your pulling."

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As we travelled the road me and Pokeblox took turns pulling the wagon all the while swaping intell with each other each time we stoped. He brought me up to date with news and the present date and year. We quickly became friends or "bros" as he called it.

This time I told him of my fear of being wolf chow to which only made him laugh.

"You do know that timber wolves don´t eat meat right? They eat fruit. Besides they don´t wenture far from the Zap apple trees near Apple Acres! Which is their primary feeding grounds."

"WHAT, but I got chased endlessly by a pack about um three seasons back, all with redish thorny bark with black eyes" As I described the wolfpack, Poke went from his natural deep green to limegreen.

"Those weren´t ordinary Timber Wolves Paul, those were Redwood Thornwolves!"

"So the redwoods are the meat eaters then?"

"Eyup and it sounds like you did something to really piss them of, redwoods are known for hunting mant... OH BY LUNAS FLANK, DON´t TELL ME YOU STOLE THEIR KILL! WE HAVE TO MOVE NOW"

No sooner had he finnished screaming when a certain pack of wolves jumped out of the undergrowth.