The Adventures of Nick the Knife and Steven Magnet

Chapter 2

We were walking through the woods for several hours now and spoke about this and that.
Just as we started to talk about the dangers this place was offering so generously, we heard a branch snapping to our right.

“You heard that?” Steven asked me nervously.

“Maybe just a rabbit or something like this?” I halfway asked a bit unsure myself.

Another sound came from behind us. This time we heard rustling and breathing, but there was still nothing to be seen.

“Are there any creatures in this forest that are able to turn invisible?” I asked Steven, concern rising in my voice.

“No. From what I know, there are no such creatures, but there is one that is very close to it.” He answered, taking in a defensive position. “Timberwolves.”

From the shadows and seemingly nowhere a pack of wolves was all around us now.
On second thought, they were built like wolves, but were completely made of wood. Only their glowing eyes were standing out of the branches and thorns, creating the shape of a wolf body.

They were circling us like we were some sort of food, presented on a silver plate.

It’s right. We maybe looked like something to be hunted down easily, but, as Luna herself is my witness, we are not.

The timberwolves tried to attack us frontal, but Steven just slapped them away, sending them flying to the ground.
They got the idea, that their strategy was not blossoming and simply changed it. Now they did sneak-attacks with one of them trying to attack us from behind, which was easily deflected by Steven’s tail, he was using as a whip, and another one jumping from the left, actually hitting him. That however had little to no effect, because of his scales shielding his body like armor.

Their attacks lasted for; I think it was, ten to fifteen minutes, with some of the timberwolves actually landing on his back, which I bravely got rid of, by cutting away some branches, making them howl in pain, dropping from his body.
I accidently (I swear it was an accident! You have to believe me!) sliced off the jaw of one of the timberwolves and ripped through a branch, which must have been his throat, because I saw green magic leaking out of him very fast before he collapsed. (Eeer…Whoopsy?)

As his dead body was dropping off of Steven, the rest of his pack got visibly nervous, backing away from us, because of this obviously dangerous, shining, cool knife. (What? I deserve it!)

This accident showed them, that we could really mean harm to them and they backed away even further, some of them limping for Steven and I sliced off some branches from their legs.
They all were injured lightly at least, some of them worse than the others, because they didn’t know when it’s time to give up.

Before finally fleeing, they growled at us one last time and then disappeared as fast as their partly broken legs would carry them.

“Yeah, fear us for we are stronger than you! Flee like the little puppies you are! We will beat you up even worse if you dare to cross our path again!” I shouted and waved my fist at them. (Oh for Celestia’s sake! Stop asking where my body parts come from. I’ll tell you, when I know it. Until then, shut the fork up! Hearing the same question over and over again is getting annoying by the time.)

“OH NO!” Steven shouted under me. “They ruined my manicure!”

I simply face palmed. “Hey, come down. You sound like a total idiot now and remember that we are travelling across the land. That means they will get dirty and that you won’t have the time to care for your looks. Deal with it like a man in the name of Celestia and Luna!” I said annoyed.

“But they ruined my perfect appearance, and how am I supposed to go to Canterlot when I look like I crossed the way of a really angry dragon? They will never let me in! They will send me away and I will have to go back in here in the Everfree Forest! Oh this is the worst possible thing!” he continued complaining like a baby. Unfortunately he was as annoying and loud as a baby too.

“Oh, Tartarus! You can always redo your whole styling and whatnot when we arrive in Canterlot. Up until then stop being a crybaby and show me that you have got some balls.” (As you possibly see from my choice of words, I’m getting a teeny tiny bit pissed by now.)

“Alright, but I have to warn you. I will look awful and it will most likely take several hours, if not a day, for me to look acceptable again after we got near Canterlot.” He said bluntly.

“I think I can deal with it when we are there, but for now stop this whining and go on. It’s getting dark and travelling at night is not a good idea I heard. You know manticores and stuff hunting for food.” I mumbled in his ear.
Without being asked twice Steven got going.

We wandered around for a while searching for a safe place to sleep, (Ok, not we. He was still carrying me on his back. I must admit that it is really comfy up here. I could get used to it.) as I spotted a cave in the distance.

“Hey Steven. There is a cave in front of us. I think we should head in there and take a rest.” I whispered to him, not risking for any dangerous predators to her us.

“Where is it? I can’t… Wait I see it now. Yes, it is a good place to get some rest.” He whispered back.

Steven went over to the cave, careful not to make any loud noises and sighed in relief as we were inside of it.

“Ugh. Finally some place to rest. This day was sooo exhausting.” Steven said, rolling up like a garden hose.

“Yeah, it was. But it was fun too. Don’t you think so?” I asked him, but only got a mild snoring as an answer. ‘He is out cold. Must have been the hardest day in his life’ I thought and chuckled to myself. “Good night then Steven.” I mumbled and went to sleep myself.