Chapter 1-2

The collective snoring and heavy breathing of the creatures in the cave made Cobalt Coral extra cautious. As she peered inside, there were 7 visible Timberwolves along with their larger alpha. The noxious scent of their breath was intoxicating, and she almost passed out from the stench alone. "Blech..." she gagged, covering her beak and whispering quietly. "Of course... The Heart of Nature would be protected by its denizens... This will not be easy..."

Looking above her to gauge the color of the sky through the canopy of thick tree branches and leaves, she noticed the sun was slowly coming out and entering early morning. She swallowed as she weighed her options. It was plausible to wait until nightfall to see if they were gone, but she didn’t want to waste anymore time on the search for her gem. Ultimately, she decided to approach closer slowly. Once close enough to the pack, she held her breath and carefully planted her talons around the first wolf. She's moving ever slowly around them, stepping in spots between them...

"Easy... Eaaaasy...." she thought.

Her legs were precariously stepping around each wolf in the middle of the pack. However, when she put her talon by a wolf's snout, it picked up her scent and instinctively woke up. Emitting a low, blood-thirsty growl, it wrapped his wooden jaws around her right foreleg. "OUCH!" Coral shouted in pain as she kicked the wolf’s jaws off of her leg and tried to back away. Unfortunately, she stumbled over a couple wolves behind her, tripping and tumbling down. The wolves she landed on were shocked awake to find the large bird creature rolling off of them and landing back outside of the cave in front of the stirring pack.

Coral held her foreleg in her left talons, hissing in pain, but quickly realized that they were all awake now. Her pupils shrunk when she stared fearfully at the entire pack slowly approaching her, growling and drooling. "Uh.... Good dogs?" she praised them in a vain attempt to curb their ferocity. The alpha howled, signalling the rest of his pack to give chase! Cobalt quickly scrambled off the ground and ran screaming, trying to outrun them on her bitten leg.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

Meanwhile, Cornfield was happily sleeping away knowing a cute chick lived with him now. He dreamt that the two of them were walking in a meadow, while he was watching Coral’s ass bob in front of him with each step. Boldly, he reached out to press both of his hooves on each cheek, hoping to play with her plump yet slightly muscular buttocks. He’d also hoped that she would return the gesture by presenting herself to do whatever he wanted to her. Instead, she acted how she would in the real world, stepping away quickly from his advances and giving Cornfield a back hoof to the face.

Cornfield woke up upon the impact from his dreams, crashing on the floor from the side of his bed. Rubbing his head and shaking it around to sort his head out, he looked at the top bunk. Only to see there was no chick in it at all! He quickly got on his hooves and ran outside! After a quick scan of the vicinity, he didn’t see hide, hair, nor feather of her. Instead of just giving up like the last few times where mares didn’t pay attention to him, he decided to circle around his hut and be on the lookout for his sexy new roommate.

Coral was struggling to run through the forest. Her injury made her considerably slower on the ground. Taking a risk, she fanned out her wings and, with a few flaps, took to the air. This proved to be just as challenging, if not more so, than running due to the density of the Everfree Forest. She had to dodge the trees and branches, scraping and brushing through many leafy limbs. Just as she could see the clearing out of the forest, as luck would have it, a net of hanging vines caught her wing. The vines painfully yanked her out of the sky and pulled her in, tangling her in its ropes and holding her above the ground. She struggled to escape before noticing that the wolves had circled her below.

"AHHH!” she screamed. “Ok! Ok! Don't panic. You can get out of this. You can-" SNAP! She screamed again as one of the vines tore apart and gave her a short drop, lowering her closer to the ground. The wolves below her were jumping at her and gnashing their teeth.

Cornfield's ears twitched at the sound of a familiar scream. “HEY!” he said aloud. “That sounds like it's coming from the forest!” Not wasting any time, he bravely galloped from his hut and into the woods.

"HEEELP!” Coral yelled. “HAAAAYYYYYLUP!" Another snap echoed. She screamed as she dropped even lower. "Well,” she thought as she looked below her, dripping beads of sweat. “I've had my close calls in life... but I think this is it... they are going to have me their wooden stomachs..." She looked around desperately as she tried to find something to hold on to or fly away. However, when she moved one of her wings, a stinging pain shot through it. The initial pull of the vine must have sprained it!

Suddenly, she looked down to see one of the Timberwolves thrown forward, shattering off the side of a tree and scattering into pieces. The rest of the pack turned to where the cause of this new threat might be and focused on the green young pony taunting them. “Come and get some!” Cornfield cockily stated.

Coral’s jaw hanged down as she witnessed the stallion she suckered to share the house with defending her at the nick of time. "No way..." she whispered in disbelief.

Cornfield turned tail and got a head start away from the pack. The wolves, losing interest in the winged creature above them, decided to give chase at fresher meat. They collectively hunted him down as Coral loses sight of the dogs. Another snap was heard. This one let Coral tumble down to the ground and land on her back with a heavy thud. Dazed from the fall, she rubbed her aching self before gasping and looking if there were any wolves around. There were none.

After assessing the situation, she realized that if she were to go back to the cave at this point, it would be completely empty by now. Seizing this opportunity was very tempting, but Cornfield crossed her mind. "That idiot,” she thought to herself. “He’s going to get himself killed..." She tried to follow after the pack chasing behind him, glancing occasionally below her to use claw prints in the dirt as a guide. However, after a moment of tracking and searching, she heard a voice unexpectedly call out to her.

“Hey! Are you there, Coral?”

That sounded like Cornfield. "Huh?! Cornfield?” she called back. “Where are you?!"

She turned to her right as she saw the stallion climb from a sizable hole underneath a wide tree. “Right here!” Cornfield said proudly. “Are you impressed?”

Coral stuttered. “Well… I… Uh…”

“I know lots of good hiding places around here,” Cornfield chuckled as he paced around her. “Good thing Timberwolves are so easy…haha…”

Coral curled her claw under her beak and smiled with a giggle. "Not bad for a -" Before she could finish her sentence, she stumbled a bit and hissed in pain again. “Ah!” Despite the adrenaline from the chase dulled the pain of her bitten leg, it came back with a vengeance once she applied pressure to it.

“Oh...are you OK?” Cornfield asked before going into hysterics over his prize. “Those Timberwolves didn’t hurt your precious body, did they?!” He dived into the ground to look closer at her injury, paying no mind to the dirt he sustained as a result.

"N-no,” Coral said while backing away a bit. “It's ok! Really. Traveling alone, I'm used to one or two scrapes... It's not bleeding.” She grunted in pain as she lifted her leg to get a better look at it. “But, it did leave a mark..."

“Wait...! I have bandages stashed somewhere!” Cornfield turned around from her and was about to run back home.

"H-HEY! Wait! Don't leave me alone, you klutz!" Cornfield stopped in his tracks and faced Coral as she limped her way towards him. "What if they come back again! I'm in no stage to fly or run in this situation..."

“Ack! You're right! I should protect you!”

"Good! Thank you! Nnnh..." The pain ached in both her wing and her leg. She stared at him as he smiled back at her. "Don't be too hard on the stallion…” she thought. “If it weren't for him, you'd be dog food. You owe him a favor..."

“Uh...mind me asking what the Tartarus you came out here for?” Cornfield asked, tilting his head to the side and edging closer in curiosity.

"Oh! Uh...." Coral thought in silence for a few seconds, quickly thinking of a lie. "I was looking for... food? Yes, food. T-To bring you... To cook."

“Really...? That's weird...I thought you knew I had food in my cupboard.” He recalled about what actually was in his cupboard from last night. “Well...that is if you don't mind a half eaten daisy and 2 slices of bread...haha…”

"Oh! Right, I checked. I suppose I wanted something a little more filling?" Satisfied with her answer, she waved her claws in a dismissing manner. "But, that doesn't matter. Let’s get out of here."

Cornfield stuck close and guided Coral out of the forest and back to the hut, eager to assist when she stumbled on her bad leg. Throughout the trip, Coral’s conscience was weighing heavily. She didn’t want Cornfield to help her, but he did so without a second thought when she need help the most. She just couldn’t bring herself to leave his life without paying him back in some way. "So. Um..." she hesitated.

“Yes!” Cornfield eagerly answered.

Although she felt obligated to pay him back, she didn’t know what a stallion of his character would exactly do. His eagerness to worship the ground she walked on also made her doubly nervous. She put her talons on her forehead and rubbed it. "Say it.” she thought. “Say it and clear your conscience..." Taking a deep breath, Coral stated her piece slowly and softly. "I... owe you... And I hope to repay it in full..."

Cornfield’s ears perked up. “Uh...what was that?” he asked, knowing exactly what she said. “Could you say it one more time?” He cupped his hoof around his right ear and leaned in closer to hear her better.

"I owe you and I hope to repay it. If you have anything you want from me, just... name it..." She quickly put one claw up. "Within reason!"

Cornfield’s face was beaming. "Ooooh!” he joyfully thought. “Those words alone bring me such...happiness. I MUST take advantage!" He rubbed the back of his head while they were approaching his humble abode. “So...Uh…”

Coral’s mind was racing and thinking of several ways this would go. “No perverted stuff. No perverted stuff. PLEEEEASE no.”

Cornfield stopped in his tracks and thought hard about how to take this gently. "I should act real nice about it.” He thought with a smirk. “Butter her up for tonight!" Coral turned around and waited for his answer. “Well,” said Cornfield. “Maybe, I take you to dinner tonight? You'll be my date. That’s reasonable, right?”

"A... date?” Coral cocked head to the side with an eyebrow lifted as high as it can go. “That's it?" She looked away with a single claw curled under her beak. “You mean to save my life, grant my favor, and then take me out to eat well out of your pocket?” she asked in her head. “Are you mentally unstable?" She’s shaking her head a bit, sorting out all of the risks in her mind. Cornfield was growing more and more uneasy, thinking she’ll reject him. “Something is up. There's always a catch. Play along anyway. You could use a decent meal.”

“Sure! I'll be a real gentlecolt you'll see!” said Cornfield with gusto before chuckling nervously. “Ah...Would it be OK if you could pay for your side, though?”

“AUGH!!! I knew it! Gentlecolt, my tailfeathers!” Coral thought as she momentarily clenched her beak and furrowed her brow. After taking a second to breathe deep and collect herself, she forced a smile and said "Let me just... a... count my bits and see what I can do. B-but yes. I'll grace you with my company."

Cornfield pumped his forelegs and smiled with his eyes closed. "YES! SCORE!” he shouted in his head. “And what a catch! I'm sure to remember this night forever! Once I get her all warmed up she'll be BEGGING me to give it to her!" He couldn’t help but fantasize what the date would be like.

“Oh, Cornfield,” Coral said in his dreams. “You are such a graceful stallion! I want you inside of me! Now! On the table in front of everypony!" He’s hiding a hard on as he walked inside the hut to prepare for his big night. Meanwhile, the real Coral trekked back behind his hut to take her saddle bags off and open them to check her equipment. She’s thankful that nothing during her chase with the wolves was damaged. She’s also grateful that Cornfield was too busy thinking with his lower half that he completely missed the fact she was wearing them the whole time. The less questions she faced, the better.

There were several gems in one of her bags that she could always use for emergencies, but that would only rile suspicion. She located her coin purse inside mixed in with the gems and opened it up to count the total inside.17 bits. It’s not a lot, but it's something. “You need to entertain him for a bit until your claw and wing heals up.” she thought to herself. “Just smile, nod, and be gorgeous." She took the coin purse, closed her bags, and put them back in the barrel before walking to the front door. Opening it, to her surprise, revealed Cornfield right behind the other side.

“Coming, my lady?” Cornfield said while putting on his best winning smile.

“Oh, my gosh, he was waiting for me to come in.” she thought. “Desperation, thy name is Cornfield.” Instantly, she improvised a smile and pretended to be flattered. "I'm ready when you are, champ." she said aloud. “But… just where are we going?”

“Well, I’d…” He put his hoof behind his head. “I’d like to walk around town with you first, after I patch you up. Is that ok?”

Coral thought about it. He only said “a date”, but she had nothing better to do to burn the daylight. “I suppose I can do with a stroll.”

The evening sun had set as the nightlife of Ponyville begun to stir. Ponies were staring at the tall unsure hippogriff walking with Cornfield as he proudly strutted with his future trophy wife. Coral, hanging her head low behind him, was embarrassed to be with him. "Er... So…” struggling to break the ice. “Uh, where are we eating again?"

“Hah!” laughed Cornfield. “We are going to the one and only diner that is a favorite of our own Princess Twilight!” He exaggerated the popularity of the location, but it did spark Coral’s interests.

"THE Princess Twilight? Now you have me intrigued."

They soon arrive at their destination. One was filled with feelings of satisfaction and aspirations. The other was wondering how long this will take before they’re through. Coral gazed up at the building and was sorely disappointed with what she saw. "Cornfield?" she asked.

“Yes, my darling?” he responded sweetly.

"Why is the only diner beloved by Princess Twilight a hayburger joint?" She couldn’t believe it. Either she was being played, or the fabled Princess of Friendship was just as cheap as Cornfield.

“I assure you, baby cakes,” said Cornfield. “This is the place ponies go when they don't want to cook.” Realizing what he said, he blushed as he looked away thinking “That sounded better in my head".

"Whatever. This is easier on my budget." Coral thought as she turned to Cornfield. “Let's get a table and order us some food,” she suggested.

Cornfield moved in to be a gentlecolt at every turn. He approached the door inside and opened it with a bow. “After you, my dear!”

"Thank you, sir." The warmth of the interior brushed her face as she walked inside of the diner and waited for Cornfield to follow along. "Maybe this won't be TOO bad..." she thought, but she noticed that the restaurant was a little too busy for her liking. Some ponies were glancing at her. She stuck out like the very sun itself in a small, confined room. Curiously, she turned her head to Cornfield walking by her side. "So, what do you recommend here? Do you get the classic hayburger or something else?"

“I like the Mighty Colts meal! NO! I mean...I like the Big Mac apple hayburger...Yeah…”

Coral sighed at his response. "A bunk bed and orders food meant for foals,” she recalled to herself. “I'm now fully convinced that I'm dating a minor..." They walked over to the back of the line to the cashier as she towered over everypony else. A colt tugged on her mother's tail and pointed at Coral.

"Look, mommy,” cried the colt. “A hippo-thingy!"

"Shhhh,” shushed his mother. “Don't be rude."

Coral waved off the mother who apologized to her, feigning a smile, but she’s uncomfortable deep down with the attention she’s getting. Cornfield, on the other hoof, was just too proud of himself to care. In fact, he relished in the staring as his face was beaming. After a sizable wait time, they finally made it to the cashier.

"Can I take your order?" the mare cashier asked cheerfully.

"Yes, I would just like a hayburger with cheese and apple juice,” answered Coral. “That's all.”

“And I'll have a mi-er Big Mac!” stumbled Cornfield. “Yes! With a side of hay fries please?”

The two paid for their separate orders, received their food after a short wait, and made their way to an empty table. Coral put her food on the table and sat in a booth across from Cornfield. She unwrapped the burger, grasped it in her claws, and took a large bite out of it. As she’s chewing it, she took note of the taste. It's a burger. Nothing fancy. She asked herself again why Twilight liked this place so much.

Meanwhile, Cornfield rolled his burger out of it’s wrapper right onto the bare table on his side. Just as he was about to lose more dignity about it, he remembered to act "gentlecolty" again. Instead, he momentarily left the table and procured a plastic knife and spork. He sat back down and meticulously used his utensils to eat the burger like it was a fancy meal at a 3-hooves Canterlot restaurant. “How is it, darling?” he asked as politely as possible.

“Meh... It's a burger…” replied Coral. Boredom started to set in as she put her elbow on the table and leaned her head against her foreleg. However, she sat up straight when an idea in her head popped up. "Say, Cornfield?"

Cornfield was holding the food on his spork on his left hoof, despite being naturally right-hoofed. “Yes, my dear?”

Coral’s face grimaced momentarily watching him eat. “For goodness sake,” she thought, “I'm using my bare talons. Why not use your hooves? Who are you trying to impress?” Realizing that she’s losing her friendly face, she regained her composure, and focused on the more pertinent questions. "Those Timberwolves were really mean…” she said in a pitiful voice. “Does Ponyville have any trouble with them? I'd think you'd know how to deal with them since you seem to have a handle on the Everfree Forest."

“Oh...uh…” Cornfield was hesitant about answering. "The only way I could handle a Timberwolf is sheer improvisation.” He maintained eye contact with Coral with a little bit of suspicion in his voice. “In fact, that group you were attacked by was an unusually dangerous one; worst I've ever seen! You would of had to been harassing them or something. But if you were minding your business...Then why?"

Coral almost choked on her burger a bit and coughed. She tried to hide her nervousness about the possibility of being caught with her true intentions. "Ah... No reason. it's just that, as I said before, I was exploring for food. So, I saw this cave and, well, curiosity got the better of me."
She smiled as wide as she could and attempted to wave off the topic with her claws. "But, nevermind the why. Are there any deterrents for them to stay away from you? They seem to really like hunting you down if you are in view."

“Oh, uh, yeah. I know one good deterrent you can use.” He pointed his plastic knife at his puffed out chest. “In fact, I help make sure they never come close to hurting others. You could call me a hero.” He struck a heroic pose while staying firmly on his seat. Ponies were staring while walking by.

"Yeah, you're a hero. Sure."

“No really! I am!” He’s flexing his skimpy muscles, trying desperately to impress her. “Yep! Just another days work for a hero. I think today was the fifth, no, SEVENTH time today I saved a poor damsel.”

"Ok, cool it down, wondercolt.” She put her talons in an open palm in his face, motioning him to stop. “I was with you the entire day prior to our date. I don't recall you saving princesses from another castle."

“Ah…”He seemed dejected at first, but resumed enjoying his meal like nothing happened.

"So much for The Heart of Nature..." she whispered quietly to herself before taking another bite of her burger and washing it down with apple juice. Her eyes darted around, thinking as Cornfield scarfed down his meal. "Does this town have a library?" she asked without warning.

“Well, it did…” he swallowed his food to avoid talking with his mouth full. “Until Tirek destroyed it. The Friendship Castle nearby has a library but...I'm not allowed there anymore…”

"WHAT?!” she screamed in her head. “Who's Tirek!? Ffffff... Ok. Ok. Calm down..." She breathed in deep in response to this new information. “All right.” she calmly said. “Why aren’t you allowed in there?”

Cornfield’s eyes widened as he began to sweat nervously. “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” There was a long pause. Coral raised an eyebrow, wondering what’s going on his head. “It was because I was too noisy.” he finally said.

Not buying his answer, she leaned in. "...You tried to woo the Princess of Friendship, didn't you?" She took another sip of her apple juice.

“Woo her? No, no, no, I was just taking upskirt pictures.”

Coral, gagging on her drink, spat it out on his face. He doesn’t care, as he realized he messed up big time. He stuttered, scared about the consequences he will face, while Coral was coughing up her juice. When she finally got it all out, she looked at him with furious look on her face.

"WHAAAAT?!" she screamed. The majority of the ponies in the diner turned their attention to her. This was making Cornfield sweat quite profusely, terrified that he would make this situation even worse.

“No! I meant, I was caught mastuba- NO! I MEANT-” He put his hooves over his mouth as Coral’s jaw hung wide open. She knew he had problems, but this was just too much for her to handle. Cornfield looked back at her, reeling back and smiling nervously. “Ahh...hehehehe.”

Coral shrugged and put her claws up. "I'm done,” she said as she got out of her seat. “I lost my appetite completely. Enjoy your burger.” She headed out of the door, trying not to heave.

Cornfield, desperate not to lose the one date he’s ever had, got up from his seat and ran after her. “WAIT!” He caught up to her outside of the diner, dodging the traffic of ponies going in and out of the building. He approached behind her. “WAIT, PLEASE! I can explain!”

She stood in momentary silence. "Explain?" The flustered hippogriff turned around with her brow furrowed and her beak clenched. "Explain WHAT?!” she shouted. “That you did something EXTREMELY perverted and told a lady in front of everypony?” She stomped one of her back hooves on the ground. “I'm absolutely MORTIFIED!" She turned her back on him and hugged her forelegs around herself. "And to THINK you almost groped me! I feel dirty knowing that I slept in the same hut as you!"

"Son-of-a...!” Cornfield cursed to himself. “I really messed up now! This is horrible! I must do something! Quick!” He laid on the ground, putting his hooves together in the air in a pleading manner. “Listen, please? Coral. If you would just give me a chance! I'M BEGGING YOU! FORGIVE ME!”

"Let me think about- No." Cornfield’s heart shattered as Coral took a few steps ahead. "No, I have much BIGGER plans in mind than to hear you grovel. I'm going to go to Twilight's library, get a bestiary, find how to get rid of those Timberwolves, get my gem, and leave you for GOOD!"

Cornfield was sobbing uncontrollably. “Please! Don't-don't you believe in-” Suddenly, what she told him hit him like an oncoming apple cart. “Wait...Gem?” He lifted his head, dried his tears, got off the ground, and raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” Coral froze as a chill ran down, realizing she just spilled everything. She turned and opened her beak to come up with a lie, but let out a defeated sigh as she looked away and stomped her back hoof in frustration once more. Cornfield’s heart sank even further. “So....you were there...looking for a gem this whole time?”

"Look…” muttered Coral as she refrained from eye contact. “I'm going to tell you the truth, simply because I pity you, and I feel I still owe you information for saving my life." She finally summoned the courage to look the stallion she bamboozled in the eye and state the truth. "Yes, I am a treasure hunter. I've travelled across Equestria looking for the rarest stones to bring back home to Mount Aris."

Cornfield was severely dismayed. “...So...you never meant to stay in Ponyville? To stay with...me?”

After a moment of silence, she let out a sigh, not wanting to answer that question. "Recently, while exploring some ancient ruins in the Forbidden Jungle, I came across an old map and ancient texts that tell of four sacred gems: The Heart of Nature, The Eye of Fire, The Mind of Water, and The Breath of Life." She leaned in a little closer to further emphasize the importance of her mission. "It's said that any creature that gathers these four together will become a deity and have all their desires made fulfilled." She turned her back on him once more, more than happy to end the charade. "There. Now you know who I am and why I'm here... It wasn't to be with you.” She gestured a wave of her talons to dismiss him. “You were a means to an end."

After processing how he had been used all this time, Cornfield stood up straight and tried his best to not break down in front of her. “Well, then.” He’s failing as tears started to stream from his eyes. “You’re just a greedy traitor! You use others because you only care about yourself!”

His pseudo date sighed, much deeper than before. "I may look greedy, but you aren't one to judge…” She turned to face him once more and leaned in close to Cornfield’s tearful face. "Look at yourself. The way you behave. Do you really think that you are the last bastion of truth and virtue, hero?"

He opened his mouth but paused, forehoof frozen in the air. Then, as tears flowed again, he shouted “Well, at least I know the Everfree Forest like my hoof and I have MY OWN place unlike YOU! So, enjoy getting lost in the woods on your own”. He turned and ran away crying, back in the direction of his house. A few ponies stare at the pathetic stallion before looking at the heartless stare that Coral was shooting in his direction.

"What a child..." she said as stared off in the distance until she couldn’t see Cornfield anymore. "He thinks I'm greedy? Selfish? Manipulative?" Her eyes fell upon her claws as she clenched them into a tight fist. "Fine. But, if you lived trapped underwater for as much as I did out of fear, only to have your queen banish you at a young age and left to fend for yourself... Walk a mile in my talons. Then, you'd see that I'm justified in my actions."

Author's Note

I hope that those of you who have read this so far are enjoying it. Please let me and my friend know what you think.