Chapter 7 - A Walk Through the Woods

The Equestrian wilderness was truly a sight to behold. The sounds of the forest were the most notable thing to me. Sounds of insects, creatures, wind rustling through the trees, wood creaking, and loads more flooded my eardrums. Oddly enough, it was a rather pleasant change compared to the repetitive sounds of the Stable. However, despite having all of these new sounds invading my ears, the past few hours had been rather silent to say in the least. Apparently, the so called Mist Walker was anything but talkative. However this did give me a good excuse to take in my once again new surroundings (something that was turning out to be a regular occurrence in my new life).

The forest was massive in every possible aspect. The trees, grass, bushes, sky, and especially the animals were all on the larger side of the spectrum. It was rather unsettling in all honesty, simply knowing that one of these creatures could pounce at any given moment. That being said, I was surprised that nothing of the sort had happened yet. Gridlock made it sound as if the forest was an incredibly hostile environment (even in raider standards), but instead I felt rather safe as I wandered through the area. Granted, that could all be on account of me traveling alongside the fabled Mist Walker.

She was definitely on the odd side from what little I have noticed about her. I wanted to get close to her to at least learn more about her appearance (as the combination of the lack of light and her full coverage coat prevented me from gaining any information), but something deep inside of me was telling me to simply remain quiet and follow her lead. She had yet to speak since I had first heard her from inside the tent. Since then she has simply been walking through the forest, not once checking to even see if I was still tagging along. From what I had noticed she was definitely able to control the animals in the area, or at the very least she had a way to keep them all calm and at bay. It was rather baffling to think about. I mean, it really didn't make sense in any logical way. Occasionally a small animal or two would wander up to us, but she would simply give them a quick glance before they would scurry back into the night.

I had wondered on multiple occasions as to where exactly we were headed. Hell, there had already been a few instances where I had thought we were simply going in circles, only to be corrected by a rapid change in direction by the Mist Walker followed by a slew of new natural landmarks.

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't extremely nervous. The lack of conversation wasn't exactly helping either. Hell, I had even taken the time to learn my way around the firearm that Gridlock had presumably left for me. According to the brass casings of the six bullets that he had left for me, it was classified as a 10mm pistol. It was far too small of a weapon to be mounted on a combat harness, so it was instead designed to be held within a ponies mouth (or more than likely in a unicorns case, levitated) with an odd sort of "mouth guard" design that seemed to utilized the ponies mouth to absorb the recoil and the ponies tongue to operate the trigger system. It was an old and very worn firearm, but I had a strong feeling that something was far better than nothing.

It was amongst my fascination of the new toy when I had realized how truly exhausted, and hungry, I really was. I had easily been going on around 18 hours now without sleep, and even longer without food and water. Luckily I remembered that there was also a nice red apple waiting for me inside of my saddle bag, and boy did it have my name on it right about now. I quickly pulled the apple from the bag, not even giving a second thought before I began biting into it.

And let me tell ya, was I disappointed.

The apple was not only completely dry and void of any flavor, but it also tasted as if it was on the verge of spoiling. I depressingly spit out the bits of apple that I wasn't able to properly swallow, my stomach erupting in anger at the action. Evidentially the rumble was just loud enough to alert my new "acquaintance".

"We will be at my home soon. I have food and water waiting." The Mist Walker finally spoke, breaking the ever growing awkward silence between us and finally revealing a general idea of where exactly we were heading.

"Umm, yes, thanks for that. But, where exactly is this home?" I cautiously questioned.

"Do you want my honest answer?" She turned her head towards me, her piercing green glowing eyes seeming to cut straight through me.

"Uh... yes?" My ears flopped down as a shiver shot down my spine.

"It's a cave."

Of course it was. I mean, where else would a mystical being who seemingly controlled animals live? A hut? A treehouse? A small shack? Nope, a cave. In all honestly, I couldn't even say that I was surprised by her answer. I just hoped that it was fairly clean at this point. Was that too much to ask for?

Of course it was.

The cave was exactly that: A cave. It was naturally crafted into the side of a large cliffside, so large in fact that I could only imagine the exact scale of the cave's interior. Upon reaching the entrance to the cave I almost found myself pondering as to whether or not the mare was joking. It was still rather dark out, so it was rather hard to tell, but from what I noticed there was nothing really special about the entrance. It didn't have a legitimate door, but was instead simply covered by thick vines and almost glowing green moss that seemed to emit a very minuscule amount of light. While this didn't seem like the most practical of doorways, I had to admit that it did have fairly good concealment. I would almost bet that if you didn't know what you were looking for, you would walk right past it without a second thought.

"So, this is it, huh?" I shyly questioned, my ears remaining in their folded down position.

"Yep. Watch where you step and stick close." was the only answer I received before she lightly trotted through the vines.

I felt myself involuntarily gulp as I forced myself to follow her lead. I could practically feel my heart beating against my chest, and my legs were shaking so much (whether it was from nerves or exhaustion was beyond me) that I was practically on the verge of collapsing. It wasn't long until I realized exactly why she hold told me to stay close.

The second I entered the cave I practically felt my stomach drop lower than it ever had before. My brain jumped to an instant state of shock as I saw the mass of heads shift towards my general direction, none of which being the likes of ponies, griffons, or even zebras. While this was something I honestly should have expected, it was still enough to send my already exhausted body completely over the edge. I didn't even realize that I was passing out until I had already hit the hard, cold floor of the cave.

"Oh Luna damn it." was the last thing I heard before my vision faded to black.

My vision was still black as I began to awake. Like usual, my hearing was the first thing to return, which was enough to at least convince me that I was spared from being eaten alive. I could hear the sounds of both tiny and large footsteps all around me. Small drops of water could be heard bursting as they fell from the ceiling and impacted onto the hard stone floor, and I swore I could hear the sound of something rapidly sniffing rather close to me. I wanted to open my eyes, but yet again I was unable (a feeling that was becoming rather repetitive in my life). It wasn't until my sense of touch began to come back until I had really began to panic. Whatever I had heard sniffing around me before was not just sniffing around me, but was instead sniffing ME. While it didn't feel like a big creature, as the air coming from the animal didn't exactly feel like a large amount, it was still an unknown creature and a complete and total wildcard to my brain. It wasn't until I physically felt it lick my face that my eyes finally flew open, causing me to be greeted by a green-eyed creature that could only be described as an average sized dog made of nothing but sticks and pure radiation.

"Ah! What the Fuck!" was the only thing my mouth managed to scream as I painfully sat up, violently attempting to scoot away to the best of my weakened body's ability.

My body rapidly began to panic as I felt myself hit the wall of the cave. My legs were still too weak to stand, my eyes still weren't adjusted to the new lighting, and the weird tree-dog thing was creeping closer with a sort of determination that was down right scary. I had tried batting the mystical animal away on multiple occasions, but it almost seemed to enjoy it as every time I shoved it away it would simply waltz right back to its original position. I couldn't exactly hear the sounds coming from my mouth (as my brain was in far too much of a panic to properly process anything), but I could only imagine that they were similar to that of a newborn foal trapped within a dark room. It was around my fourth time shoving the animal when I heard the voice of the mysterious mare echo from the opposite side of the cave.

"Willow!" The mare shouted, followed by what I could only assume was an imitation of a dog bark, causing the animal evidently known as 'Willow' to playfully retreat to her side.

I watched in awe is the dog-like tree creature playfully ran circles around the mare, its literally bushy green tail wagging at speeds I would of previously thought were impossible.

"What in the actual hell is going on?!" I loudly questioned, my brain apparently needing the processing power of a Stable-Tec super computer in order to rationalize everything that was currently happening.

"Calm down Stable Dweller. The animals here will not harm you as long as you do not provoke them." She then lightly tossed a small piece of what appeared to be a mystery meat into Willow's mouth, the dog-like creature happily scarfing it down seemingly without chewing. "Especially Willow here. He is just a pup after all."

"THAT is just a pup!?" was the only question I was able to form.

"Indeed he is. They usually reach the size of the average pony, some even bigger." The mare exclaimed with a sort of pride as she lightly stroked Willow's leafy mane, the animal releasing a rather cute sounding snarl that almost seemed to immediately take away any sort of fears I previously had towards the creature.

"Umm... W- What exactly is he?" I asked, still unable to pull myself together enough in order to ask the important questions.

"He's a timberwolf. A creature supposedly dating back to the very creation of Equestria. Granted, they've seen a few changes since the threat of radiation was added into the mix, but he's still my cute little pup!" The Mist Walker then trailed off as she began to playfully scratch the timberwolf's head, her voice slowing rising a few octaves as she spoke to the animal like that of a mother to a newborn foal.

I was still in full shock over this entire situation. In fact, I was so out of it that I almost didn't even realize that the Mist Walker was now completely visible, and I could now take in her appearance. She was honestly a rather pretty mare like that of which I had never seen before. She had a dark grey coat. So dark that it was borderline black. Her mane, while very shambled and messy, was of a fitting grey color with hints of dark purples weaved throughout. Her eyes, while no longer glowing, were still a bright neon green with pupils that resembled that of a snakes. I almost had to do a double take as I noticed her wings. While I have at least heard stories of the pegasus and how they supposedly abandoned the world, I had at least HEARD of Pegasus before. The Mist Walker, however, was something different. While she did have wings like a pegasus would, hers were not the typical feathery style like that in the pictures I had seen within the Stable's library. No, instead her wings resembled that of a bat's. They were very large, and appeared as though they were leathery to the touch.

"What... What are you?" I asked, the sentence seeming to bypass all of my internal filters as it simply fell from my mouth.

"Pardon?" The Mist Walker responded, her head seeming to tilt in what I could only imagine was offense.

"Oh! S- Sorry. It's just... I've never seen a pony like you before." I said, attempting to rise to all fours only to collapse right back onto my haunches.

"Ah. Well, that makes sense. Stable Dwellers usually aren't the most informed of creatures." She sighed as she walked towards me, eventually sitting in front of me before passing me a small wooden bowl filled with an odd, chunky liquid that resembled that of a vegetable soup. "I am what is known as a Bat Pony. It's sort of a rare breed to say in the least." She chuckled before signaling me to drink.

"So, like, are you similar to a pegasus?" I asked, slowly beginning to realize that I truly was in a fairly safe location as I took a sip of the soup (which, to my surprise, was actually rather tasty despite the exact flavors being completely foreign to me).

"Essentially, yes. But we are usually much stronger fliers on account of our homeland being so windy." She proudly said as she spread her wings out to their full length.

"Is that the only difference?" I continued on as I attempted to hold myself back from completely scarfing down the rather delicious mystery soup.

"Far from actually. For one, the slits in our pupils allow us to see fairly well in even pitch black darkness at the cost of our eyes being rather sensitive to light." She proclaimed, finally explaining as to why exactly the only source of light inside of the cave were some dimly lit candles and a small amount of oil lamps.

"Is that why your eyes glow in the dark?" I asked as I felt the rather rough texture of Willow's wooden head press up against my forehoof, the Mist Walker giving me a lighthearted signal stating that I was aloud to pet him.

"No. That is sadly completely irrelevant." She sighed. "THAT is what can happen if one takes in too much radiation at a given time. Essentially, it's just a mutation."

I was baffled by this answer, as the new knowledge that radiation could literally re-write a creatures DNA was something that honestly scared me.

"Does... Does it hurt?" I tilted my head as I curiously stared into the mare's eyes.

"At first, yes. But you learn to get used to it." She then comically winked at me, a small yet lively chuckle escaping her lips. "Besides, it has its perks. How else would I scare off those annoying ass raiders?"

"I mean, the ability control animals seems to do the trick. From what I heard, they fear you." The Mist Walker burst out laughing as I said this. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, you know." She said as she tried to collect herself. "That's just funny to me. I just didn't think that those raiders were that stupid." She continued laughing.

"I don't get it... " I pondered as I looked around at all of the docile animals and mutated insects nonchalantly roaming throughout the cave.

"I don't control the animals silly! I can just speak with them!"

Right. I was the silly one here.

"What in Celestia's name do you mean by that?" I proclaimed.

"I mean exactly what I said. I can communicate with the animals of the forrest. As in I speak, and they listen." She paused for a quick moment as she began to think. "Usually."

"What do you mean usually?" I loudly questioned as I once again became cautious of all of the wild creatures within the cave.

"Again, it's exactly what I said. Usually they listen. The smaller creatures are almost always never an issue. It's the bigger ones you have to watch out for." The bat pony smiled, her fangs almost flashing amongst the candle light.

"Umm... Exactly how big are we talking?" I asked, having a feeling that I would regret the answer.

"Huge!" She excitedly shouted, proving my hunch of regretting her answer. "Between Manticores, Hydras, Hellhounds, Bloodwings, Radigators... " She continued on for what felt like a solid minute.

"Woah!" I cut her off. "Stable Dweller, remember? I'm gonna need you to slow it down just a bit."

"Oh... Yes, sorry. I just get excited talking about my animals." She grinned, her face seeming to lightly blush.

"You're fine." I lightly smiled back. "Just, slow it down a bit for me. Still processing this whole wasteland thing, you know?"

With a smile, the mare continued to tell me about the vast number of wasteland creatures. Some were small and easy to manage, like the fairly common radroach. While others were rather large and considered so dangerous that even the Mist Walker herself avoided them like the plague, like the viscous hellhound. While all of this information was definitely a lot to handle, I could at least say that I understood what she was talking about. Granted, a lot of the creatures sounded like something straight out a foals tale, but who was I to say otherwise.

Easily an hour flew by as the Mist Walker continued to fill me in on needed information about the wasteland. She continued to give me small doses of food and water as we talked, eventually getting me to the point where I was finally confident enough to stand and walk around. She even took the time to show me around her cave and introduce me to more of her animals, which was something that truly made me feel safe.

"So this here is Athena, she's what I like to call a radbit." She exclaimed as she scooped up the irradiated rabbit off of the ground, the two of them exchanging some rather adorable nuzzles as rad happily jumped in the air, her wings seeming to comically suspend her in place for a solid second.

"Ah, I see what you did there." I smiled at the pun, letting out a small yawn in the process, catching the attention of my new companion.

"Oh dear, you must be exhausted after all of this!" The mare frowned as she trotted closer to me, lightly placing the 'radbit' back on the ground as she took a quick glance toward the entrance of the cave. "Shit, it's almost daylight as well and I still haven't gotten any breakfast for the animals yet!" She nervously exclaimed almost as if to openly apologize to all of the creatures within the cave.

"Damn, it's almost sunrise already?" I questioned, trying to think to myself truly how long its been since I had last properly slept.

"Afraid so, and my eyes don't do that well in the sunlight." She then paused as she began to ponder to herself, her muzzle lightly scrunching in the process. "Tell you what, you stay here and get some rest, and in the meantime I'll quickly run out and grab some food for all of us for in the morning."

I once again slightly panicked at the thought of being alone with all of these animals. While most of the animals inside of the cave were of the smaller variety (Willow being one of the largest amongst the group). I was sure that if something went wrong it would only take a few of them to overrun an unexperienced pony like myself.

"Don't worry." The Mist Walker stated as she began sliding on the long hooded leather jacket that I had previously seen her in. "You'll be perfectly safe in here. Wont she everyone?" All of the animals within the cave seeming to almost nod in unison, further proving that she truly could speak with the animals for reasons that I have yet to figure out. That being said, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't convinced.

"Umm... Yeah. That sounds good." I stated as I quickly glanced at the vine-covered entrance of the cave, already beginning to notice faint trickles of light peering in through the spaces between the vines. "Besides, you're right. I really could use the rest."

"Sounds good to me then!" The Mist Walker ecstatically smiled as she continued to gather up supplies including medical supplies, a rather large knife, armored hoof guards that had small blades on the end, some light yet protective looking metal shin guards, and a pair of tinted goggles that I could only imagine acted as a basic pair of sunglasses, something that the Mist Walker more than likely needed anytime she decided to go out during the day.

It wasn't until she was on her way out of the cave when I had realized one vital piece of information was left out: We had yet to exchange names!

"Wait!" I quickly yelled out, the mare stopping to face me merely seconds before she had reached the exit. "I still haven't learned your name. Mines Silver... Silver Phalanx." I lightly smiled as I looked into the mares slitted eyes, only to receive a confusing sigh in response.

"Ugh." She vocally puked. "It's Radiance Whisper. But PLEASE don't call me that. It's too damn lady like. I go by Rad." and with that she left the cave with a smile, Willow and other miscellaneous creatures following close behind.

I sat in silence (or at least as silent as it could be with the mass of animals still within the cave) as the mare left the cave, the vines that she had pushed aside slowly shook to a halt once more, the same faint beams of light once again passing through the cracks.

At first I was confused as to where exactly I should go from here, but then it hit me as to exactly how bad I needed sleep right about now. My eyes suddenly began to feel heavy and my limbs went numb as the wave of tiredness swept over me. I frantically began searching for a place to crash, taking note of a small cot that seemed to be far more relaxing than that of the hay sheet that Gridlock had laid out for me. I slowly shambled over to the makeshift bed, practically collapsing on it once I was within falling distance.

It wasn't even ten seconds later when I had found a comfy position, my eyes drifting shut as the animals around me seemed to keep guard at the entrance of the cave.

"Th- Thank you... Rad." was the last sentence that managed to escape my lips before I drifted off into the deepest sleep I had truly had in a very long time.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Animal Friend Level 1

Your newly acquired knowledge and experience with the creatures of the wasteland have given you a rather unique talent! You now have a small chance to persuade any wild animal in combat! (This perk does not include the likes of Manticores, Hellhounds, Bloodwings, and Hydras)

Concept Art!

Author's Note

This has been a very enjoyable chapter for us! Not only was it a more comedic chapter on account of it acting as a sort of "breather" for Silver, but we also got to introduce a character that we have been excited about since the very beginning of this story's life: Rad! We hope you all enjoy this new addition, and we hope you stick around to learn more about her! We would also like to thank the amazingly talented @PhantomClockwork on deviantart for the amazing concept art! By her request, she wanted us to include her Instagram handle @Noctis_The_Furry, as she says she is far more active on this account! We are very excited to be working with you, and we're glad to have you on board the team! Everyone go give her a follow, she more than deserves!