Beginning of the adventure
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Trapped! Journey through the unknown

Beginning of the adventure

'ough.... my head... Did someone write down the number of the friendship express that hit me? Or was it a stamped from bisons'

The mare looked around, it was dark, she was in a forest.

And it was cold.

As if it were autumn.

Falling leaves in different colors showed her that this was the case.

Strange.

No ponies could be seen or heard here that could cause the leaves to fall. Also, it had only just been late summer. Had she been lying around for weeks?

unlikely, even for her.

'Ouch, my wing...'

She looked at her wing. It appeared to be sprained. She hoped it was just a sprain.

In general, she didn't feel particularly well when she got up.

She found her view of the sky to be difficult because it was blocked by the trees that were still well draped.

'I will probably have to look for a clearing. I have to orientate myself in order to find the next settlement or village.'

When she looked around, she found something extremely useful. Her saddlebags. Unfortunately there was nothing really useful in it.

A little water, but the canteen was open. some had leaked out.

Then there was a sandwich but... it was wet.

‘Damn it! I wanted to eat that!'

Then there was mail that she should have delivered. Fortunately, the Mail was okay.

But the compass she had with her ...

the compass was going crazy.

'It was just a toy anyway... but it would be quite practical now'

With the help of the saddlebags she fixed her wing to her body to keep it still.

With a ‘huff’ she set off and went in one of the infinitely many directions. This direction was as good as any other at the moment.

'I hope I don't meet Timber Wolves…'

That would be the worst that could happen now.

Sitting alone in the forest at night with a non-functioning wing. however her direction turned out to be the right one. She came to a path that... was completely black, asides of withe strips, in front of her. And it smelled funny. In spite of the dark and cold night this path was still quite warm.

At least she could take a look at the stars here. If there would be that many up. It was a clear night but most of the stars seemed to be missing.

Apparently Luna had only spent half the time on her night this time.

The Moon looked strange as well..

But also the Constellations that should definitely appear were missing.

Other star constellations, unknown to her, were visible.

'Where in Tartarus am I?'

Just as she sat down to examine the sky a little more closely, it was getting quite light around her. And Loud.

Something came from the left and made a deafening noise.

Two lamps, very quickly closing in. As if two trains were running side by side.

And then there was a strange whistling noise and seemed to be ... spinning?

Yes, the withe lamps turned away from her and a red lamp seemed to appear.

But it was so bright that she held her hoof in front of her eyes to shield herself

And then it was quiet except for the constant hum and clacking of this strange thing.

Her ears lay flat against her skull when another lamp appeared and caught her, followed by more strange noises ...

In the loneliness of the car, the driver could do whatever he wanted.

It's a golden rule.

And he decided to sing. Not that he could sing. Just because he was alone made it possible for him to sing.

On the one hand because he said himself that he couldn't sing, on the other hand...

He didn't want to annoy anyone. That was the last thing he wanted.

When he looked up again from the Wheel, however, he could see something sitting on the Road.

Without thinking, his foot slammed on the brakes of the car, the wheels squeaked shrilly as they rubbed the asphalt, the vehicle turned slightly, but luckily he missed what was on the road.

'Must be our lucky day ... the car is still whole, the animal hasn't been hit, and even my breakfast is still intact...'

He looked at his Tupperware and then took a flashlight out of the glove compartment to see what exactly was there on the street.

In the aftermath it was far too colorful for an animal, or far too brightly colored. He could make out orange and blue...

Probably a stuffed Animal only, fallen out of a car.

When the light fell on the point where the thing had sat, the suspicion intensified for a moment. What was sitting there looked more like a plush of a pony, with an orange coat and blue mane and tail, and not like an animal, but then ... it moved and followed the light of its flashlight

'Oh great. someone throws an animatronic into a dark forest. Do they want a cursed forest? because that's how they get one!'

He laughed to himself and walked around the car. Didn't do anything to let that thing sit there. not that the next one was less lucky and landed in the ditch ...

"Uhm ... hello? The light is quite bright. Couldn't you please shine that into my eyes?"

That thing spoke! In a very pleased, female voice. He almost dropped the flashlight, but he replied in an almost automatic reflex:

"oh yes, sorry..."

He lowered the flashlight so far that it no longer shone in the eyes of this toy... creature....? Whatever that was...

It rose and seemed to be wiping the dust off its flank before it began to speak again:

"My name is Songbird. Songbird Course. I seem to be lost," she giggled sheepishly at that, "Can you tell me where I am? And in which direction the next town is?"

The creature in front of her was big!

It must have been a minotaur who stood on two legs and appeared to have hands. Something else she could not imagen. She couldn't see it exactly because her eyes still had to get used to the relative darkness again.

This Minotaur looked a little ... slim.

Maybe a teenager.

That will be it. but something about his profile puzzled her. The snout was strangely short of what she could see from the silhouette. Then it turned to the side and the light fell on the face and the front of the creature. Bipedal, tall, arms and hands. But the face was strangely flat, the eyes were small and there was no fur except on the head and a little around the mouth. Mane and beard. Very strange.

It scratched its chin and then said thoughtfully:

"The next town is about 5 minutes by car in this direction., in the other direction ten minutes. I ... well could take you with me ... But normally I don't take hitchhikers with me."

What in Celestia's name is that one car? Did he mean a cart? Then he moved back to the strange monster with the headlights and opened a door on the side. A light went on inside and she could see that there was a seat at about head height. She couldn't see what was on the other side because a blue and white box was standing away but after everything Songbird could see there was another seat and a wall with a window. Probably a door too.

She approached the door cautiously and looked at him uncertainty. Still she tried to jump on the seat, but it was quite high and she couldn't fly.

To her surprise, she felt his hands on her stomach and chest, he just lifted her up.

"Quite heavy ..." the creature commented and put her on the seat. Then he pulled black ribbons from the wall and explained: "I have to buckle you up, for safety reasons. Should something happen that will prevent you from falling against and bang against the window. " he smiled to himself as he continued, "of course I'm an excellent driver and I try to prevent that"

"uhm yes that would be nice if I didn't crash again." She raised her good wing and rubbed it over her eyes, "It's enough for me that I crashed once a day." She gave a nervous laugh

The man looked at the wing in amazement. it moved more like a hand than what he expected from feathers.

On the other hand, he didn't expect to see a Pegasus.

Until now he thought they only appeared in legends ... and were bigger ... and white or black like in the Disney film Hercules.

He wanted to ask her, but her nervous laugh told him that she had enough stress already. When he closed the door, she looked at him briefly, startled, until he gestured for her with a finger to wait a moment.

She probably didn't understand the gesture, but it was just natural for him.

When he looked again at the spot where ... Songbird? ... had been sitting he couldn't see anything except an orange feather. He gathered them up, went to the driver's seat, sat in and closed the door.

The lights went out and he took a deep breath for a moment before starting the engine.

"What in tartarus is that?" she asked, startled, and her eyes flicked over the various lights and lamps that went on in the car.

He pointed to everything with one finger and explained: "This is climate control. Heating, ventilation and the like. Here you can open the window. They go down electrically as long as you press the button. That is the radio and that is my dashboard with speed indicator, tank level, and so on. " he tapped the dashboard twice and said proudly. "Welcome to the White Knight. At your service, ma'am."

"The white knight?" she raised an eyebrow

He laughed, and that seemed to take away her fear, which she began to smile when he explained: "Well, my van and I are the ones who are called when a lot has to be moved. And I help friends for free."

His smile got a little weaker, "well if I had a lot of friends ..."

This statement also seemed to spoil her mood a little.

Her wing reached over the cooler in the middle and touched his shoulder when she replied: "I know that feeling. Many ponies don't want to have much to do with me because I'm strange. At least that's what they say."

He put his hand on her wing and waved it briefly, then said again with a smile: "Oh, before I forget it. My name is Anton. Friends - whom I don't have - call me Tony"

Her smile was narrow but honest when she replied, "Well Tony, you can call me Song."

He smiled back and turned the music up a little bit so that it was just audible. But after a few seconds it was clear that she didn't like the music that much.

"What kind of music is that? Why does the singer sing about death and despair?" she looked at him questioningly.

"Well, the band sings about historical events. The song is about a battle seventy years ago." explained Anton, then stuck his tongue out a little while thinking, before he reached under the radio and felt several covers without taking his eyes off the street. his fingers stopped at one and he took it out, said with a smile: "I think you might like that better. Lindsey Stirling. A goddess with the violin."

Without looking again, he took the CD out of the player, then put the other one in.

Anton hadn't lied. When Songbird heard the first radio hits, it was like the world would stop. Her eyes started to tear as the violin and piano started playing.

"By Celestia ... this is ... beautiful." She closed her eyes and enjoyed the music.

Anton next to her smiled and whispered: "The song is called 'my Immortal'." Anton saw that she wasn't listening to him. That only made his smile wider.

He let the CD play a little.

When they reached the next settlement, Songbird looked out the window in amazement. The streets were brightly lit, but no gas lamps could be seen. The light did not flicker. It was probably magic, but all the lamps? The settlement was more of a small town, perhaps twice the size of the village it came from.

"How many live here? And are they all beings like you?" she asked and continued to look out the window. At the edge of the path there were more strange devices, all of them 'cars', as she had meanwhile put together. But all different colors and shapes. Some were huge, at least fourteen or sixteen ponies long and high as a normal house. The houses here were also bigger and nicely plastered. In a couple of windows lights burned with the same steadfastness as the street lamps.

"in a village like this? hmm maybe two thousand people?" Anton said, thinking a little, "I'm not sure. I only drive through here every evening and don't live here. My village is a little further away, but we'll be there in a moment."

Songbird couldn't believe it.

two thousand of these creatures? and he called this a village?

"Two thousand... if this is a village, how big is a city then?" her voice was low, but Anton had heard her very well. After thinking for a moment, he replied: "Well it depends. Ten thousand to one million and more people. One of the largest cities, Tokyo, if I have that right in my head, has thirty million people." He didn't even notice that Songbird had turned pale on those numbers. He also had to concentrate more on the street. He had no idea what would happen if someone saw him with an orange mini pegasus horse in the passenger seat. It sounded a little like the stories he had read about the SCP Foundation.

'Will an MTF unit come to lock you up? They would probably give me an amnesiac and I wouldn't remember it ...

But then poor Songbird would be all alone. '

Funny how quickly you can worry about someone else.

Or maybe...

Anton looked at the Pony at his seat through the mirror.

What if he would sell her? maybe a Toy company would get some crazy ideas? and he a bit cash? Money was a concern he always had.

But could he really sell out such a cute creature?

'well for a million i could... or maybe two...'

It was that moment Songbird looked at him and smiled an adorable, heart melting smile.

"Thank you, by the way. I am glad you help me after i got lost. And I really love your taste in music." she said with a smile

'ugh... I can't. I just can't... too adorable.'

"A pleasure, Songbird," he replied.

It was early in the morning, and Anton, as Songbird now knows, came from his work and was there for a night shift. At his home both got out and moved inside.

"oh wow! so much space!" Songbird looked around and was genuinely curious. Oh what's that?" She looked at models from a Tabletop Game.

"That? that are the Deathkorp of krieg." he said smiling. Something he had buyed, altou the money now was missing, "it's for a game. First you build the toy soldiers, then you paint them, then you play against others."

"Oh that sounds like a Game of my Place! We have unicorn soldiers and Pegasies, and Earthponies. Some have rare bat ponies too!" she was excited, "although the troops are called not Deathkorp. that sounds less fun."

Anton laughed a bit at that and how much she was enjoying this, "well in this game, they have that name. But say, you said Pegasie. dos that mean in your place, there are also Unicorns? and what's a Batpony?"

Songbird hopped on a couch, something Anton wouldend allow normally if it would be just an animal, but Songbird was Okay.

"Well yes there are unicorns. And batponies are like Pegasie. They can fly like we do, but they can't stand on clouds nor control the weather. They can see at night and their hoofs stick to the roof of a cave when they sleep. honestly i didn't meet many of them, cause they are mostly out at night and sleep during the day. Moste i have seen are at the night guard and protect the palace and the streets in the night."

Anton was sitting in an armchair now, "sounds magical. Horses that stick to the roof of a cave? Weather Control? walking on clouds..."

Songbird smiled: "well of course it's magic. Every tribe and every creature has his own magic. Unicorns can control it with their horns, we have it in our wings and feathers, Earthponies in their hoofs, and batponies... well i don't know where they have theirs."

"Earthponies? so... normal ponies? without wings and Horns?"

"uhu!" she explained exited

"huh... is there any sort... Pony... who has both?"

"Alicorns. The princesses have Wings and horns and are very, very powerful." her tone was filled with awe

"Princesses? sounds interesting." Anton smiled at that, filling water in 2 glasses.

She took her glas with a smile, and interestingly with her hoofs. And more interesting was the fact it didn't fall down.

"How do you hold a glass with hoofs?" Anton asked, surprised.

"CPTF. Close Proximity Telekinetic Field. Every creature is able to use that. Only Batponies can use it waaay stronger to stick at the Roof." she explained and waved her glas around, nearly spilling it.

"I see. very interesting."

"Really? don't you have Magic here too?" she smiled and put that glas away.

"No, not really. we have technologie but magic... not that i am aware of."

"What? how do you control the weather?'' She was shocked, and her wing stud was like a flagpole, just like her ears.

"Well we don't. It is controlled by the Sun and the Moon, who move sometimes closer and sometimes further. If the moon is nearest to Earth, there are sometimes awesome waves to surf... if... you can surf that is."

it seems he had lost her.

"Wait... hold on time out!" she made a T with her front legs, "You want to tell me your SUN AND MOON move alone? without the gudiens of Celestia or Luna? How is this Possible?"

"it... was always this way." Anton said confused, "Who are Celestia and Luna?"

"Only the both most important ponies AT ALL! Celestia raises the sun in the morning and lowers it at night, and Princes Luna does the same with the Moon. She also is the Keeper of Dreams, and banisher of nightmares. They are the Ruler over Equestria and our Princesses!"

Anton looked at her as if she was crazy. "Sooo... you have 2 Princesses move your Sun and Moon. any other princesses? What do they move?"

"Don't make jokes about me! There are 5 Princesses currently. Princess of the Sun, Celestia, princess of the Moon Luna, Princess of Love Mi Amore Cadenza, her daughter Princess Flurryheart, who is a Foal, so dont know what she will do, and Princess of magic, twilight Sparkle." she counted at her wings feather again like it was a hand.

he nodded slightly, but then he yawned, "oh... I am sorry... I am awake for... 12... or 20 hours, don't know... Can we talk about that later? it's Friday, so later no work, and we can talk longer."

Songbird was about to object, but it was cut short by a yawn of her own: "we can't just stoooooAAAAAAA...YAAAWN... okay maybe a nap would be nice..."

Anton smiled, and closed the shutters on the windows. "This will keep the sun out so it's nice and dark to sleep." he explained, but as he turned around, he was surprised. Songbird lay on his bed, like a cat, curled into a ball and sleeping already. He smiled and chose his couch to sleep on. "Good morning," he whispered, "and sleep well, Songbird."

She didn't reply, but slept tightly.