Radiusby SeismologyChaptersPrologue - One For The RoadChapter 1 - To The MountainsChapter 2 - The Strange ForestChapter 3 - A Magical PathPrologue - One For The RoadHave you ever wanted to travel- to be a part of something truly special? Not just to go on a road trip, or to see the sights, but to really go on an actual adventure! Why, I could recall growing up in my small town and laying my head on the family car window or laying my head against the bus window while going to school, and just staring out at prairies and fields beyond. I would yearn to travel beyond those golden sheets and valleys. I wanted to find out what was truly out there in life. To go beyond my small little town, well... I would get to do exactly that. This is my story of how I travelled, how I got to experience that adventure. It wasn't easy, I can tell you that as much, but I got what I wanted in life. I'm still working out whether or not it was worth it, but you'll see for that yourself. This is how I discovered the radius, and the consequences that followed. My name is Harold, and this is my story. Prologue - One For The Road "The ongoing crisis that's befalling Parker seems to be continuing with no signs of slowing down, the rate of disappearances has increased by a margin of over five hundred percent!" "That's right, Thomas, and authorities are struggling to determine who, or what, could be responsible for these missing persons. Concerned residents had these opinions to share." "Ah think eets them dang weird [BLEEP] animals they done wnat us ta talk 'bout. If'n ya ask me, them there park rangers oughta hunt em down!" "Well, my husband thinks it's some whackjob serial killer on the loose, like a modern day Ted Bundy!" "Personally, I think it's the start of the rapture. That's all I have to say about that." "Ha ha! That's right, Linda, all of the residents seem to have differing opinions about what is causing the-" CLICK "What the? Hey! I was watching that!" Shouted Harold indignantly. "Yeah, but you can't fill your head with all of that crap." Mothered a soft, kindly voice. The owner setting the remote down on the back of the couch as Harold turned around. "But it's the news! Don't you wanna know what's happening out there?" Harold motioned toward the TV with a free hand, the other occupied by an orange and white tabby cat on his lap. "Sure, I'd like to know why gas prices are rising, but there's no point worrying about something you can't control, Harry." Came the same, sweet, soft voice again. "Damnit Kelly, you know I've been planning to figure this out myself! I need to stay up to date!" Harold reached behind him to the back of the couch, fumbling for the remote. "And I, personally, think that your plan is silly." Kelly said with a tone of finality, "You're my little brother, and mom will be rolling over in her grave if she knew that I'd let you get hurt." Silence hung in the air as Harold stopped fumbling for the remote. He calmly picked up the cat on his lap, who meowed in protest, and set the furry critter down to the side. He sighed and grabbed a package of Marlboros from his breast pocket, and began to shake one out. "Harry, I'm sor-" Kelly started, but was interrupted. "Don't bother, it's fine, just... You know we both hate bringing it up." Harold stood up, turning and looking Kelly in the eye, who had a somber look about her. "I'm going to the bar, and I'm going through with my plan. I've made up my mind." Kelly's mouth opened, then closed as she crossed her arms, watching Harold walk from the couch and over to the front door. She watched as the door swung open, and Harold's silhouette disappearing behind the closing door. "I love you, you big dork." Kelly said to nobody. Harold marched down the path that led to the end of the driveway and spotted his old 1990 Mitsubishi Vanwagon sitting just to the side of the mailbox. He had retrofitted it with solar chargers so he could charge his multitude of devices. He had spent a decent portion of their parent's inheritance on retrofitting the van, but it was his father's old van. He never wanted to get a new one, in the stead of keeping this one for the sentimental value. Harry quickly hopped into the old thing and looked behind him at his set up. He was theoretically ready to go figure out what was going on. He certainly had enough money to make the journey. It was just a matter of deciding on when to go. Sighing, Harry jostled the keys out of his jacket pocket and stuck them into the ignition, turning the key and starting the engine. The van puttered to life, and soon he was driving to his watering hole destination. He spaced out for most of the drive, thinking about his job, and his self-appointed mission. He knew that Kelly would understand what he was doing in time, even if she didn't now. Besides, if he could figure out what was going on, he could be a hero! That cheered him up, his spirits brightening as he pulled into the town square. The hustle and bustle of cars going to and fro forcing him to perk up and pay attention. Soon, he pulled into the little parking strip of the bar, and had his car parked. He stepped out of the van, locking it, and went inside of the bar with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. There were very few people here in the early afternoon, just him, one other regular, and the bartender - Casey. Casey was a nice young girl who had gotten her bartender's license just a year before, but she was a whiz behind the bar. Supposedly she had been practicing mixing drinks at parties during and after high school, so she had a leg up on the competition. Casey saw him entering and paused wiping the bar, waving with a dazzling smile. "Hey Harry! Still coming in your deathtrap?" She started. "Hehe, yeah. Still got my deathtrap alright." Harry half-smiled, taking a seat behind the dimly lit bar. He turned over to the only other patron and nodded, "Hey, Bill, how's it going?" "Eh, same as ever. You still going on your adventure?" Bill sipped at his draft, wiping the foam from his upper lip. "Yep, thinking of going today." "Today? No way! We'll miss you, Harry, can't you post-pone it?" Casey pouted, forcing a frown. "Well, she'll miss you." Bill chuckled. "Nah, I've already post-poned it long enough. It's gotta be today." Harold smiled as Casey popped the cap off a Pabst-Blue-Ribbon for him. Harry threw out three dollars for Casey, and began to sip at his brew. "Well, just know that I will miss you, Bill here can eat a dick." Casey thwacked the bespoken with the bar rag, who mock winced. "Ouch, you hurt me, darling." Bill chuckled once more. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not a lady-killer like you Bill." Casey turned back to Harold, "Seriously though, I will miss you." Harold looked into Casey's gorgeous ocean-blue eyes, "I know, now, just don't go missing while I'm gone, alright?" Casey thrust out her hand, to which Harold grabbed it, shaking earnestly. "You got yourself a deal, mister." Harold and Casey laughed as Bill rolled his eyes, muttering something about young people under his breath. Harold continued to sip beer and mind his own as Casey went about her work cleaning the bar and the glasses therein. Harold took out his phone and began to plan his route. He already had a good idea of where to start. Harold noticed that the disappearances had occurred at the edge of town, closer to where the Rocky Mountains would begin. They seemed to be occurring in some odd half circle pattern, and the pattern was growing larger and more voluminous in disappearances. His route plotted and his beer quickly put down. Harold began to get up from the bar stool. "Alright, I'm heading out. Gotta give Kelly a call first, but wish me luck!" Harold began to wave at Casey. Casey wouldn't have any of it, and the lithe young girl practically hopped over the bar in an instant, giving Harold a great big hug. Harold was taken off guard and did his best to hug her back. Casey nuzzled into his chest, being shorter than he was, but did her best all the same. "I'll miss you, Harry, be careful." Casey said into his chest. Harold kept hugging her, awkward as he ever was, and retorted, "I promise I'll be careful." A lie, "I'll let you know if I find anything out there." Casey broke the hug and patted Harold on the chest, pointing a finger at him. "You better, now get out there and make Parker proud." "Ain't this all cliche or whatever the word is?" Bill shouted from the back. "Shut up bill." Casey turned and started walking back through the bar, but not before turning and giving Harold a wink, mouthing something to him. Harold gulped and nodded, then turned and walked out of the bar and into the crisp April air. Forty odd degrees outside, but it wasn't terrible, certainly not this time of year for Colorado. He stood outside of the bar and sparked a cigarette, inhaling, and fidgeting with his cell phone. He hadn't told Kelly what exactly he was up to yet. She definitely didn't know that he was leaving today, and without a proper goodbye from him. The least he could do was call her, the least. Sighing and exhaling a breath of smoke, he pulled up Kelly's contact info and gave her a dial. The phone rang once, and immediately went to voicemail. Harold stared at his phone in confusion, "That's... Strange." Once more he tried to dial Kelly's number but was only met with the voicemail system. He tried again, and again, and again. Kelly never turned her phone off, even when she wasn't using it, and she certainly wouldn't have blocked him. They were inseparable siblings! Quickly, Harold jumped into his van, and took off down the road. His mind was a flurry of thoughts as to what might be happening to Kelly, what if she disappeared, what if something happened to her? Had she been kidnapped? Anything could have happened to her! He got to their shared duplex out in the country, having sped most of the way to make sure she was okay, and found that her car was still the driveway, a good sign. He ran to the door and floundered as he attempted to unlock the door, but when he finally did he slammed the door open, only to find... Kelly was startled, laying down on the couch, she yelled and then tumbled off. Her side landing on the remote, accidentally turning on the television. "Christ, Harry! Could you be any louder?" Harry's mouth opened and closed like a fish, before he sputtered out, "I- uh - your phone went to voicemail so I-" "I forgot to charge it, you dork." Kelly picked herself up off the floor and brushed the cat hair off of her leggings. "Why were you calling, anyway?" Harold rubbed the back of his neck shyly, he hadn't been expecting to do this in person, but here he was. "I-" "Breaking news! The first images of the strange animals have been leaked across the internet, and we... Are... Pulling... Yes! We have them here! Just look at the strange features on these... Horses? Ponies? What would you call these, Tom?" Images flashed on the news channel of the TV of strange horse like creatures. The oddest thing being... "Oh my god, are those horns?" Kelly put her hand over her mouth, in shock. "And... Wings?" Harold began to rub his head, feeling an increasing headache building. "I'd say we have some kind of genetic anomaly going on around Parker, Linda, though I don't remember any sort of Chernobyl event occurring around these parts!" "That's the truth, Thomas! Government officials are warning the populations of Parker and the general area to stay far away from these creatures if they are seen, as they may be responsible for the miss-" "I have to go, now." Harold said abruptly. "Go- What? Why?" Kelly protested. Grabbing hold of Harold's arm as he began to walk to the door. "I have to figure out what's going on with these disappearances. I just... I don't know! But I have to go." Harold shook off Kelly's grip, who sighed. "I can't stop you, little bro, but just be careful. We don't know what those things are, even. Promise me you'll be careful." Kelly grabbed Harold again, forcing him to look her in the eyes. Harold put a hand on Kelly's shoulder and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I promise I'll be careful big sis, you have no need to worry." Kelly said nothing, and folded her arms as she did earlier, and watched as Harold turned and walked out the door. Harold had already had one for the road, and with his goodbyes said, he was ready to head out on his adventure to figure out what was happening to all those missing people, and to figure out what those creatures were. Chapter 1 - To The Mountains"Moving on from the weather, a reported twenty people have gone missing in just the last hour from the outskirts of Parker, thirteen of whom were hiking the mountain trails. Authorities are advising all travelers to steer clear of any trails and to stay indoors at their homes. The Parker police department is struggling to erect barricades on all roads leading into the mountainous biome, and are calling on-" SKRSHH "-ighway to hell! I'm on the highway to hell, yeah!" Chapter 1 - To The Mountains "God... Bless America!" Harold cursed under his breath as he encountered yet another police blockade. Getting through to the mountains wouldn't be easy. Before he could turn around, one of the cars wailed its' siren at him. "Oh lord, what now!" He shut his car off and placed his hands on the steering wheel, but not before rolling down the driver's side window. A uniformed officer with a campaign hat adorning the top of his head approached his vehicle, leaning down and tipping his hat. "Afternoon, sir, do you have any idea why I stopped you just now?" The officer asked as he chewed on something, likely gum. Harold shook his head and replied, "No, sir, I can't imagine why. I don't think I'm speeding, I was just turning around." The officer chuckled and spit out something to the side, maybe it was dip. "No, no, you definitely weren't speeding. No, sir, I'm stopping you to tell ya to quit trying to go to the mountains. The boys have reported a van just like yours attempting to get through four- now five blockades just like this one." The officer leaned in further. "Personally, I can see why you'd be curious, however, I cannot allow you to proceed further, and I suggest you stop trying." He leaned back as he considered Harry. Harold sighed and offered, "Yes. You're right officer. I've been trying too hard to see what's been going on in those mountains. I'll turn around and go back home." The officer tipped his hat once more and smiled, spitting something out to the side again. "That'd be mighty fine. I'll let you get on your way then." He stepped away from Harold's van and walked over back to the blockade, murmuring something with the other officers and gesturing over in Harold's direction. No doubt telling them to pull him over if they see him trying to bypass their blockades. Harold had no intention of going home, however. He had every single intention of getting through their blockades one way or another. He slammed his van in reverse and spun around quickly, but not so quickly so as to startle the officers. He had another trick up his sleeve, one he didn't think that the police department would see coming. He was going to get to the bottom of this mystery. He began speeding off to where he thought he could evade the police department. He circled his way along the outskirts of town, passing by run-down service stations and barely functional general stores, as well as a store or two that sold hiking equipment. The area looked more abandoned than usual, likely due to the government warning that had been issued. Overhead, he saw a series of three helicopters pass by, heading towards the mountain tops. The Rockies were a dangerous place, and this just made them ever more dangerous. Danger wouldn't stop Harold though. For him, danger meant excitement. Harold found his next destination, a closed down campground at the foot of the mountains. From what he could recall, you could camp there and hike your way up through the mountain trails. There were no police here, thankfully, which meant he was relatively safe to pass through. Or, he would be if the gates to the campground weren't chained shut. "Lucky me for investing in a pair of bolt cutters..." Harold muttered to himself as he climbed out of his still running Mitsubishi. He opened the back of the van and fished around his various tools, then grabbing the pair of bolt cutters he had stashed away. "Awesome!" He shouted out as multiple crows cawed and fled the trees they were so happily nestled in. "Oops." Harold trudged his way over to the gate and put the cutters in position over the chain. With two quick cuts, the chain fell loose, and he pried the gate open his hands. He opened the way for his van and then took stock. His van would fit through, but the way through was overgrown and he likely would have a hard time driving through it. He was lucky he had just changed the tires for this very expedition. After opening the gate, he made his way back to his little van and hopped back inside. He put the vehicle into gear and sped into the overgrown campground, being leery of any potholes or debris that might be strewn about the road. Harold soon found himself in the campground proper and parked a ways away from one of the trailheads. He assembled his pack and the rest of his gear, among the items an old .22 hunting rifle that his father had owned. He handled the worn-out rifle with care, "Can't believe it's been five years already..." Harry reminisced as he rubbed the barrel, before slinging it over his back. He then looked down the overgrown trail, and absentmindedly locked his van with the press of a button. "Well, time to get this show on the road." He said to himself. Harold began to walk down the old uphill bound trail, it was at the base of a mountain after all, he just hoped it wouldn't be the last time he'd be walking down this path. In the distance he heard shouting, far off in the distance, not anywhere close to where he was. Good. He trudged through mud and foliage, his waterproof boots were thankfully working as intended, albeit getting muddy. He breathed in and out, trying to keep himself calm and collected as he treaded toward what felt like potentially his impending doom. Impending doom would have to wait, he had a mission to accomplish. Further down the trail it mysteriously began to get less covered in greenery, like someone had been cutting it all away. Harry bent down to examine a broken stalk of some sort of fern type plant and found that a chunk had been bitten off the stem. The mouth was far too large to be human, not like any sane man would even try to eat a fern. The bite didn't appear to come from a deer or any sort of wildlife that he knew, however. The only thing he could do is continue to trek forward and up the mountain side. The foliage began to clear away as he hurdled up the side of the mountain by foot, huffing and puffing as the air only got thinner. Parker was right alongside Denver with being a mile above sea level, and the air was thin enough as is. The further he went up, the thinner the air would continue to get. Harold decided to take a rest, and to build a fire before the foliage cleared away completely. There weren't any bears around this area to his knowledge, and he could do with a bit of warmth on the way up. He didn't exactly plan this out well, but he would survive. Harold collected various twigs and debris and began building a fire in a circle of rocks at his chosen spot. Being careful to keep the tinder inside of the circle. He then went out of his way to look for a dead tree nearby in the woody areas, quickly finding one that was still standing, but certainly dead. He took a hand axe from his pack, having got it just for this occasion, and quickly began to thwack at the tree. It was a smaller sized tree, but with just enough timber for his fire. He wouldn't need more than what was necessary, or so he thought. The tree cracked, and Harold ducked out of the way as it came down with a resounding crash. Startling any and all wildlife that may have been peacefully resting in the nearby area. Harold then hacked at the fallen tree, gouging out roughly foot sized logs from the fallen plant. He gathered up logs in batches as he carried them back over to his fire pit. He stopped as he heard what sounded like deer running nearby but couldn't spot any such animal. He shrugged as he carried the rest of the tinder over to his building fire. The sun now setting over the mountainside, Harold quickly took a zippo lighter to his newly built fire, and slowly it came to life. He used the flame from the zippo to light a cigarette that he could enjoy as he warmed his hands on the lit pile of timber. Satisfied, he exhaled smoke and leaned back, appreciating his work. Once more, though, his head whipped around as he heard the sound of deer prancing about nearby. Then he heard a childlike giggle. He quickly stood up and unslung the .22 rifle from his shoulder, checking the bolt to make sure one was in the chamber, he held it steady, but not aiming down the sights. It could just be someone's lost kid, or... Something. He heard rustling branches just to the left of his fire and quickly turned his eyes towards the rustling. In very short order, an animal-like head popped out- only... It wasn't quite animal like? But it was? It was hard to tell. It was like someone genetically modified a pony and let the little thing loose on the world. It had the color of the ocean, with a yellow mane sprinkled with orange streaks flowing through it. The eyes were far too large, and... They were very expressive, it's like the pony-thing was staring directly at him. He stared curiously at the thing, cocking his head to get a different view. Then the pony cocked its' head as well, mimicking him. Harry chuckled, then turned his back to it, looking to tend to his fire. "Someone's pet, gotta be." Then it clicked, where he had seen that pony before, maybe not that exact same pony, but ponies like it. On the television. Just as he was about to turn around, he heard a high pitched, sing-song voice speak up. "So you're just gonna ignore me?" Harry blanched; he could imagine his face turning pale white after what he just heard. Unsteadily, he slowly turned his head over to the pony, who had now stepped fully into view. The pony looked like it was pouting, something ponies definintly didn't do. Now that he knew what it was, the thing had decidedly inequine features. Its' mouth being one of them, it was a much shorter muzzle than what a pony typically had, with a more rounded out facial shape. It's ears were decidedly larger, and rotated much like how a cat's ears would. Harold had to say something to it though- "You're staring right at me, does this mean you won't ignore me?" The blue equine questioned, stepping forward with the muffled clop of hooves on soil. Her saddlebags jostling with various bits and bobbles inside of them. "Don't!" Harry put a hand up, the other on his rifle, "Don't... Don't come any closer!" The pony frowned, looking at his rifle. "Are you one of those meanies who yells all the time?" Harry gulped, a talking animal, was he dreaming? He pinched his arm, then hissed in pain. Decidedly not dreaming. "You're not very good at answering questions, mister." Said the ocean blue pony, taking another step forward. "I've seen you things on TV!" Harry raised his rifle to the pony, who took a step back, "Oh! So you know what this is then, huh?" The pony nodded, its', or her eyes judging by the voice, went wide. "Y-yeah. Please don't use it!" She abruptly begged. "I'm not going to use it, if you tell me what happened to all the hikers." Harry questioned, keeping the sights trained on the pony. "They wanted to come with us! To Equestria!" The pony sat down, covering her eyes with her hooves. How in the hell could she be that flexible? "Equestria?" Sounded like some sort of horse pun, "Is that a joke?" The pony shook her head vigorously, "No! It's my home!" A land full of colorful talking ponies like this one? That sounded absurd, like something out of a children's TV show, but here was living proof before him. Harold's eyes relaxed as he lowered the rifle. Maybe he could learn something from this pony creature. "Fine, I'll believe you, for now. My name is Harold, what's yours, little pony?" Harold asked cautiously. The pony peeked out from her hooves, making sur the rifle was down before lowering herself to the ground, making sure to not move forward. "M-My name is Ocean Breeze." Figures her name would have ocean in it. "Well Ocean Breeze, tell me about your home." Ocean took a breath, and began to explain- "There's one now! Get her, catch her!" Screamed a voice from behind Ocean. Harry couldn't see who it was, but Ocean panicked. "Quick, follow me!" Shouted Ocean, as she darted past Harry on all fours. Harry wasn't sure who they were being chased by, but he was happy to oblige. "Stop! Police! Get down!" Shouted the voice again. Now he definitely wasn't going to stop. He chased after Ocean Breeze as the police shouted continuous slurs and pleas for them to stop. He heard the barking of a K9 unit behind them as well. There was no way they were going to get out of this unscathed. Ocean and him turned a corner, before she suddenly stopped and whipped a scroll out from her bags with her mouth. She motioned to him hurriedly and ordered, "Quick, put your claw on the scroll! It's the only way we can escape!" Harry put his hand on the strange pony's scroll, and she did the same with her hoof, blinding light enveloped him in an instant, and the next thing he knew he was being thrown into a tunnel of light. The police officers came to a halt by scorch marks on the ground. The canine sniffing around the area and making whimpering noises. "Well, Dick, looks like they got away." One officer kicked at the scorch mark. "Yeah, but at least we can figure that van belonged to the kid that was here. Poor bastard." Said the other officer. "Well, let's write this up. Chief is gonna wanna know what happened here." "Yeah, let's." Replied police officer, walking away with his partner. Chapter 2 - The Strange ForestKNOCK KNOCK "Hello, can I help you two?" "Ma'am, are you related to one Harold Donaldson?" "Yeah... That's my brother, why, what's he gotten into now?" "Well, it's more of what's gotten him. We believe that he's a victim of these strange animal attacks we've been getting reports about." "Yes, as my partner here describes, two of our officers found a strange horselike creature running off with him." "We're taking his Mitsuibishi Vanwagon as evidence, but we'll return it back to you as you are his next of kin if we cannot determine anything." "Oh my god... That idiot. I knew he was going on his mission, but I didn't think he'd get himself wrapped up with those animals so soon." Chapter 2 - The Strange Forest Harold couldn't believe he was getting wrapped up with these strange animals so soon. That's what he thought as he travelled through a tunnel of blinding light, shutting his eyes did seemingly nothing against the ever so pervasive glow of the light corridor all around him. He twisted and he turned, he felt like his body parts were being stretched beyond all the belief of the word. His entire self felt wrong as he continued to be shot through the tunnel. Then as suddenly as it began, it ended. He was plopped down back onto the forest floor. He quickly patted himself down and found that all of his parts were intact. Flexing his fingers for good measure, all ten were still there. He unslung his pack and rifle and found that those were still there as well. Satisfying himself, he checked his packs contents and found that everything was still in order. Suddenly, he found himself parched, and unhooked a water flask from his pack only to begin guzzling it down greedily. He heard some sort of slurping noise coming from nearby and looked around. Oddly enough, he saw Ocean Breeze guzzling water from a nearby stream. He didn't think there were any sort of rivers around this part of Parker, but nature can surprise you. The pony seemed to quickly satisfy herself, wiping her muzzle with the side of her hoof. She turned back to him and smiled. "Yeah, travelling between universes will make you thirsty!" The pony chirped as Harry turned from satisfied to dropping his jaw, then back to collecting himself. "Travelling universes? Is that what that light tunnel was?" Harold questioned. "Yep yep yeppers! Look over there, through the clearing!" Ocean pointed off in the distance towards a clearing, Harry looked around but didn't see anything special. "I don't see anything." Harold said, not amused. "Ugh, no! Up!" The pony trotted closer and began to tilt Harold's head from his sitting position with her hoof, but he slapped away her hooves angrily. The pony huffed and pointed insistently, and Harold finally saw what she was pointing at. It was a castle on the side of a mountain, some parts of it seemed to be literally floating off the side, and he saw many dots of color circling around the castle stuck on the side. Harold's jaw dropped once more as he saw the spectacle, he couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. "I... What? Wow." Harold shook his head, and breathed in, then breathing out. He fished for a cigarette from his pack, and quickly lit it, sucking in the toxic smoke. Exhaling, he finished, "That's... This is incredible!" He bounced up to his feet, almost doing a dance. "A whole new universe! No wonder those hikers went missing!" The pony laughed shyly, "Ha...Ha... Yeah." Harold stopped doing his jig and turned to the pony, "We escaped, right? That's a good thing!" The pony coughed and motioned around her, "Not when we're here, in the Everfree." Harold looked around, then shrugged, "It looks like a normal forest to me." "Maybe for you, but for us this is an extremely dangerous place! Only the town guard goes in here unattended, and normal ponies would only stick to the trails!" The pony practically shouted, breathing in quickly and heavily, then covering her eyes with her hooves again. "No no no, we were supposed to land in Ponyville!" Harold couldn't help it as a snort escaped him, then said, "Well, we'll get to this 'Ponyville'," He air quoted as he spoke the name of the town, "And then we can figure out how to get me back." The pony gulped, peeking from behind her eyes and smiling nervously. "What else aren't you telling me?" Harold frowned. "Well... Those hikers and other pon- people were offered the condition that they had to become ponies before they could come here... If anypony finds out that you... You're like this, they'll flip!" Ocean Breeze began to panic once more, sucking in breath after breath and almost sounding like she was crying. "Well, fuck. Okay, we'll figure this out. I'll help you get back to Ponyville, and you can get another one of those scroll thingies to get me back, I can survive in the woods for a bit." Harry offered, tentatively giving his hand to the pony. "Shake on it?" The pony once more peeked and stopped her panicking, taking Harry's hand with a hoof and shaking it. "O-Okay, we can try." Harry let go of her hoof and stood straight up. "Good, now, let's just find our way to Ponyville, can't be that hard right? Do you have a map?" The pony nodded and unhooked her saddlebags, digging in them and throwing out various items as she did so. What looked to be a dumbbell flew out of one, while a paperweight flew out of another, and Harold could swear that a crab even crawled its way out of the saddlebags. Ponies were a weird bunch, that much was for sure. Finally, after minutes of digging, Ocean Breeze pulled a map from her saddlebags. Harold took it from her mouth and opened it, then sighed in frustration. "Figures that we speak the same language, but I can't read yours. Which way is Ponyville?" He questioned the ocean blue pony. "Umm... South!" She perked up, her ears standing straight up. "Sun sets in the east, right?" Harold questioned again, putting his hands on his sides. Ocean Breeze nodded vigorously as she pointed in the direction of the setting sun, seemed like the time difference wasn't too far off. "Well then, let's head off!" Harold began to trod off South, not waiting for Ocean Breeze to compose herself. "Wait!" Ocean shouted at Harold. He turned around and huffed, "What is it now? We gotta get out of these woods!" Ocean Breeze bit her lip and motioned around the general area. "We should camp out here tonight! It's so so so much more dangerous at night!" Harold laughed, "I think we can deal with a few woodland critters." The pony shook her head and opened her mouth, "No! I mean there's timberwolves, and manticores, and cockatrices, and... and... and..." Harold interrupted before she could say more, "Wolves? Well, I have no idea what those other things are, but if there's wolves then I can take shots at them with this-" He unslung his rifle and patted it down. "-here rifle." Harold smugly grinned. Ocean Breeze shook her head once more and grumbled, "No... That won't work on timber wolves, they're like... They're made of wood, get it? Timberwolves." Harry made an o-face and facepalmed. "Talking ponies, and wolves made of wood. Fine, you've got me, we'll camp out here for the night and-" "Awooooooooooo!" "Build a fire! Yep, that's what we're doing now!" Harold dropped his pack and hurriedly grabbed the hand axe out of it, not bothering to make a circle of rocks in the clearing as he checked the area for any sort of timber. He quickly found more than a few dead trees, along with a modicum of twigs and other various branches laying around. He motioned to Ocean, "You! Get tinder!" Ocean gulped and nodded, scurrying to collect as much tinder as she could. The two of them gathered what they could find and piled it hastily in the center of the clearing, away from the woody areas. Harry stuck a log or two on top of the pile for good measure. He looked back toward the castle on the side of the mountain and found that the sun had almost gone completely down already. That was fast. "How has the sun gone down so quickly?" He muttered to himself, a question he'd have for Ocean later. Harry threw his axe to the ground next to his pack, sticking it into the soil. Ocean came up to the fire area with another bundle of twigs and gently shoved it underneath the two logs that Harold had placed on top of the makeshift bundle. He dug into his pack for newspaper and grabbed a handful, quickly balling some up and stuffing it underneath the tinder. He took his zippo out of his pocket and sparked it, the lone source of light just barely illuminating the area, though the stars were doing a wonderful job of that so far. He thrust the lighter underneath the tinder and lit the newspaper on fire, the paper lighting hastily and then spreading to the modest amount of tinder they had gathered. The fire crackled and sparked to life and quickly began building. The glow from it illuminating almost half the clearing. The trees nearest to them were lit up with the yellow and orange glow of the fire, but something else stood out from the newfound darkness of the forest. Yellow dots of light that seemed to move beyond the thicket. "AWOOOOOOOOO!" "Jesus fucking christ that sounded way too close for comfort, Ocean!" Harold shouted as he instinctively unslung his rifle. Aiming down the sights of it toward the treeline. "It's okay! As long as the fire is going they shouldn't bother us! They hate fire!" Ocean reassured him, putting a hoof on his leg, Harold kicked it away, though. "Stop touching me, what is with you and touching?" Harold criticized the pony, whose ears turned down. "I'm... We're... Ponies are just affectionate, okay?" She kicked the earth with a hoof as Harold snorted. "Well. No touching. Got it?" Harold sternly ordered, to which Ocean nodded in affirmation. "Okay... If that's what you want." Ocean solemnly said. Harry twisted his body as he saw something running through the underbrush just through the darkness of the tree line, and two yellow eyes peeking out at them. Then something came out through the brush. "Awoo?" Peeped a small little creature. It looked like a young wolf cub, but made of, well, timber. Almost like branches of gnarled oak made up the bulk of its body, with something glowing in the center of the body, like some sort of energy source was keeping the enchanted beastie going. Harry lowered his rifle as the cub cocked its head. "It almost looks... Cute?" "Don't be fooled, Harold, the wolves are trying to lure us out..." Ocean growled and shouted at the cub, "Back! Get back! Shoo!" The wolf turned around to look behind it, then barked at Ocean and ran back off into the woods. "Huh. It's almost like it understood you." Harold remarked. "Probably because it did, animals here are smart, much smarter than yours. I tried talking to a squirrel in your world and he didn't even wave! Just ran off like I was a monster!" Ocean huffed and sat down next to the fire, though still being leery of the woods around them. The wolves weren't advancing, they'd likely wait til they fell asleep. "Well, squirrels don't exactly wave, or speak, but anyways... Why don't we sleep in shifts? You can sleep first, and I'll wake you up after say... Six hours?" Harry set an alarm on his phone, which was thankfully still charged. He had a solar charger in his pack just in case, but those things were finicky at best. "Sounds good to me, but um... Do you have a blanket?" The pony sheepishly smiled and looked to his pack. "Hmph, yeah, I do." Harry unrolled a bedroll that had been stuck to the side of his pack. He handed it over to ocean, who took it into her hooves and smoothed it out. She laid down on top of it and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Harold, be careful." Ocean said as she flopped onto her side on the bedroll, facing away from the fire. "Yeah... Goodnight." Harold eyed the thicket, this would not be an easy night. Chapter 3 - A Magical Path"Ugh I can't believe that idiot would just leave his van out at a campground!" "Miss, we've checked it, and besides some odd instruments; we couldn't really find anything that would connect your brother with anything going on around the mountains. "Yeah... I know. He was just adventurous and look where that got him." "Well, he's one of twenty-four travelers and hikers who went missing yesterday, and the radius of these disappearances is spreading at a growing rate. I shouldn't be telling you this... But..." "But what?" "We expect that these occurrences will start happening at the base of the mountain in two days' time, we're petitioning for an emergency evacuation of the east side of town." "My god... I hope Harry will be alright, I hope Parker will be alright..." Chapter 3 - A Magical Path Harold felt something prodding at his side, something large and hard. He swatted it away and grumbled something about, "Leave me alone, tryna sleep." Yet, the prodding continued. Angrily, he growled and sat up to confront the offender, and instead found a sheepishly smiling Ocean Breeze. Alarmed, he patted himself down, then hung his head and sighed. "Are you okay, Harold?" Ocean said, cautiously trotting closer to him at his eye level. "Mmmm no. Decidedly not okay. Thought this whole shitshow was a dream, guess not." Harold sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. Ocean Breeze opened her mouth, reaching a hoof out to touch Harry's shoulder, then sighed and retracted her hoof. Choosing not to say anything to him nor touch him. "Well... It's daylight. Celestia's risen the sun." Harold nodded his head. "Yeah, sun's up, any sign of the wolves?" He looked around as he used his knee as a support to stand up, bending down to grab his pack and rifle. "Nope, they went away after you fell asleep. Fire keeps them away, and they don't have the patience to stick around for daylight." The pony said matter of factly. She stood up and stretch her withers and haunches, bones cracking as her cerulian fur glistened in the sun. Harold stared, she really did look like a caricature of the ocean, the name was fitting. He shook his head and shouldered his belongings, kicking the dimming embers that remained from last night's fire. "Well, we better get on then. Glad those suckers slinked away." He fished out a cigarette from his front jacket pocket, sticking it between his lips and sparking his old zippo lighter to light it. Ocean gave him a cautious look. "What are those things you humans use? Why do you inhale smoke?" Harold snrked, "CIgarettes-" He coughed and beat his chest a few times, "-Ack, bad for you, never try em." Harold spit out a glob of phlegm as Ocean watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust. "Yeah. Um. I think I'll steer clear, thanks Harold." The blue pony turned away and began to survey the general area. "No problem, now, were we going to head south?" He said as he sucked down the toxic smoke. "Yeah, south! This way!" Ocean began to trot in the southern direction, and Harry soon followed suit as he crushed the cigarette beneath the step of his boot. The two marched from the clearing into the thick of the woods, walking along the stream that seemed to be their guide. After all, where there is water, there is civilization. They walked through the surprisingly light underbrush, being wary of any timberwolves that might jump into their path, but none seem to come. Not even a howl emanated from the relatively dark and dreary forest. "Despite the wolves, this almost feels like home!" Harry chirped, soldiering on behind the blue pony leading in front. "Home for you, maybe, your forests were just awful! Nothing like Hollow Shades!" Ocean replied back with a scowl, though Harold couldn't quite tell. "Hollow Shades? Is that the name of your town?" He asked tentatively. "Yeah, but it's more of a village... It's named after the woods that surround it, though those woods are completely tamed! Not all twisted and evil and ugly like these!" Ocean shouted out, then squeaked as a falling branch plowed down in front of her, slightly blocking the path. The two cautiously walked and trotted around it, looking up for more falling branches. "I wouldn't insult these woods, y'know, just in case there's any spirits around." Harold remarked, looking back at the branch that had just fallen in their path. "Spirits? In the Everfree? I haven't heard of any- Oof!" Ocean stopped as she bumped into something. She turned her head back around as Harold gaped at something ahead of her. Ocean's eyes squinted against the glow of something new blocking their path. "He's right you know!" Piped up the offending blockage. Ocean's eyes cleared enough to see what lay before her, and she began to gape as well. Harold rubbed his own eyes, it was a tiny little pony with wings. It had a whitish-blue glow about it, almost like this world's version of TInkerbell. "My god..." He started, "Is that a fairy?" The interloper squinted her eyes at him, buzzing up above Ocean and getting directly in Harold's face. "I just said you were right! Spirit! Duh! And you call me a fairy?!" The little thing practically shouted indignantly. "I- Um- Well..." Harold rubbed the back of his neck, looking away, unsure as to what to say. "Hmph! No! I am a spirit! Of the Everfree!" The tiny white pony pointed past them, down the path they had just come. "That branch, that was me, duh!" The pony crossed her hooves and shook her head. "Honestly, you... Whatever you are, but you!" She pointed at Ocean. "M-M-Me?" Ocean pointed to herself, unsure. "Y-Y-Yes you!" The little thing mocked, "You should know better, duh!" The alabaster... Spirit... Squeaked. "What's your name, little one?" Harry approached the spirit-pony, who looked him up and down. "I'll tell you... If you tell me what you are!" She zipped around his head, making Harold dizzy, before stopping directly in front of his eyes and grabbing his nose with two tiny hooves. "So weird! So hairless!" Harry coughed, sending the spirit flying backwards. The poor creature righted herself and coughed herself. "And so smelly! Ew!" "-Ack, I'm a human, from Earth." Harry choked out between coughs. "Earth?! I've never heard of that! Or a human! Ooh, is that an island! Are you from an island?!" The creature got into Harold's face again, smiling widely. "N-no, spirit, but a deal is a deal, you tell me your name." Harold stepped back away from the little spirit. "Hmph! Fine, my name is Leshy, guardian of the Everfree! What's yours, hyooman?!" The loud little spirit asked with an accusational tone. "You're not going to steal my name and use it, are you?" Harold asked in turn, eyeing the spirit who seemed to now glow red with anger. "I'm. Not. A. Fairy! Duh!" Leshy kicked Harold's nose, which was more like a boop given the force behind it. Harold sneeze and wiped his nose, once more blowing the spirit back. Leshy wiped herself off in disgust. "Ew ew ew! Nasty!" Harold wiped his nose with his sleeve, "Well, my name is Harold, and this is Ocean." He motioned to the bemused pony in front of him. "We're trying to find our way to a town called Ponyville, maybe you can help?" The spirit lit up with a soft green glow, buzzing around the two hapless adventurers. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ponyville! I know where that is!" "So you can take us there?" Ocean piped up among the cacophony that the spirit was making, tapping her hooves together nervously. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Follow me!" The spirit buzzed off in the direction that they were already heading, her now greenish glow lighting the way. "She's a loud little beast, isn't she?" Harry remarked as both he and Ocean began to trod after the spirit. "Spirits tend to be that way, it's just how they are." Ocean replied, rolling her eyes. "I heard you! I hear everything in the forest!" The spirit shouted back at them. Harold mocked zipping up his lips, and throwing away the zipper to Ocean, who was looking back at him. Ocean nodded and made the same motion. Together, the trotted onwards as the spirit rambled about how the forest was dangerous for travelers, how they could easily be killed, how there were many monsters in the forest. "But I'll keep you safe!" She said, "Leshy never lets anypony fall behind!" She prattled on as the two travelers marched on after the zany forest spirit. Leshy sure was a hyperactive spirit, but that wouldn't bother Ocean nor Harold. The three soon came across a proper dirt path, and Leshy bit her lip. "This is as far as I'll go! Too many ponies down the path, and a Zebra! Yuck!" The spirit mocked dry heaving, and then zipped around Ocean and Harold. "Hope you two travel safe! Just go down the path! You'll be in Ponyville in no time at all! No time at all!" Before the two could safe their farewells to the forest spirit, she zipped off and above them, heading to God knows where. "Hyper little creature." Harold said. "Yep, she sure is." Ocean agreed. Ocean and Harold continued on their trek down the proper path but didn't see heads or tails of this Zebra that Leshy had mentioned. They figured the Zebra must be somewhere around Ponyville, and so they continued onward. The travelled past some odd looking trees that seemed gnarled with faces on them. Horrific faces that would scare any normal passerby, but not Harold. "H-Harold, those trees look awfully mean, don't they?" Asked a frightened Ocean Breeze, who shivered as she walked. "They're just trees, c'mon, let's keep on going." Harold reassured the scared little blue pony, and so they walked on past the trees. As they walked, they came upon a patch of blue flowers that looked and smelled divine. Harold was tempted to go over and pick a few, just to keep, but before he could walk off the path towards the flowers, Ocean stopped him with a hoof. "Hey, what gives?" He complained. "That's poison joke, it's really dangerous, probably even for a human." Ocean replied sternly. "How is it dangerous?" He asked, eyeing the flowers curiously. "Well, if you touch the flowers then they will play a joke on you, nopony knows how it works, but it's some strange kind of magic. It's better if you don't go near them." She explained, nodding her head over to the flower patch. "Like cigarettes?" Harry joked. "Yeah, sure, like cigarettes." Ocean sighed, and they kept on walking. They trotted past the poison joke and continued down on the path, the trees seem to get slightly less thick, and the gnarled faces from before transitioned into normal tree trunks with no signs of evil faces. Not that it ever bothered Harold, but Ocean seemed slightly less perturbed now. They walked past a hut of some kind, but the lights were off, so it seemed that nobody was home. Nonetheless, the two were spurred on by this, as it seemed they were inching ever closer to civilization, and thus Ponyville. Even though Harry couldn't actually go in to Ponyville, he could still stick around the thicket and observe from afar. Being in a new world was exciting enough for him, far more exciting than just kicking the can around his home all day. His spirit seemed to wilt as he thought about home. What would his sister think of him running from the police. Would they think he was eaten by some kind of animal? Would the police think he eloped with this strange creature? He panicked as he thought about it some more, beginning to hyperventilate. Would the federal government get involved when he came home? Maybe they would vivisect him for clues on these alien interlopers, maybe- "Harold! Are you okay?" Ocean practically shouted at him, shaking him out of his stupor. He blinked and breathed in deeply, then breathed out. "Yeah, just doing a lot of thinking." Ocean eyed him up and down, "Well, try not to think too much, we'll get you home soon enough." "Yeah... Home. Alright, let's keep on going." Harold shivered as he thought about home but tried not to dwell too much on the idea. He continued onward with Ocean as the trees seemed to thin out more and more, and daylight shone through the underbrush. The two could tell that they were oh so close to reaching Ponyville. What was the plan when they reached the outskirts of the town? Harold never asked Ocean. Though up ahead the path started to shine clear with daylight, he could tell that they were about to leave the forest. If what Ocean said was true, then he shouldn't be spotted. Sure enough, a blob of black and white color could be seen entering the path just ahead, and Harold dove into the brush before Ocean could say anything. Ocean turned to shout in protest, but then she saw the approaching figure as well and stayed where she was, tapping her hooves nervously. Soon, the striped black and white figure was upon them, seemingly carrying a large amount of flowers and roots in bags she had slung over her neck and back. Gold rings adorned her neck and ears as well, it seemed that this was the zebra that Leshy had warned them about. Harold observed as the zebra said something to Ocean. "Good morning young friend, have you come to meet the forest at its end?" The zebra asked, oddly in a rhyming fashion. "Ah... Yes! I"m from um, Hollow Shades, just looking to get a scroll from the school of friendship!" Ocean said hurriedly. The zebra chuckled, "A magical scroll is what you're after? I hope that your fate won't be one of disaster." Ocean coughed, "No, no, it's for a friend of mine." Harold facepalmed, why'd she have to mention a friend. "Well, lucky for you and your friend, Ponyville is just around the bend." The zebra continued. "Yes, well, I must be going now! You have a good day Miss..." "The name is Zecora, and whom are you with so pleasant an aura?" Ocean blushed, "Well thank you, but my name is Ocean Breeze." "Ocean Breeze, I will let you travel on, as you please. Have a good day, and from this path do not stray." Zecora finally said, carrying on with her travelling. Likely back to that hut that Harold and Ocean saw earlier. Once Zecora walked far enough down the path, Ocean motioned for Harold to come out. "C'mon, she's gone!" Harold crawled out of the underbrush, covered in little twigs and leaves, along with a few scrapes taken from diving into the bushes. "Ugh, I'm covered in this crap." Ocean laughed softly, "Yeah, but at least she didn't see you. Creatures would flip out if they saw something they weren't familiar with." "Huh, sounds like back home." Harold mused. "What's that?" Ocean asked. "Oh, nothing, best not to talk about it." He quipped, choosing to carry on down the nearly ending path. "Okay... So! The plan is for you to wait around the edge of the forest while I get another scroll from the school of friendship-" Harold chuckled, trying to hold it in, "-And just stay quiet, stay low, try not to get discovered. Got it?" Harold let out a breath, "Yeah, got it." "Good, now... Wait in the bushes over there! I shouldn't be more than an hour." Ocean pointed over to a series of well placed bushes that seemed like they were there just for this occasion. "Alright, sounds good to me!" Harold cracked his knuckles and began heading to the bushes, he turned and said, "Good luck." To Ocean as he crouched down. "Thanks, you too." Ocean replied as she craned her neck trying to spot Harold. She couldn't, and so with that matter taken care of, she marched out of the forest and onward towards Ponyville. Neither Ocean nor Harold hoped that they were discovered in their plans.
Prologue - One For The RoadHave you ever wanted to travel- to be a part of something truly special? Not just to go on a road trip, or to see the sights, but to really go on an actual adventure! Why, I could recall growing up in my small town and laying my head on the family car window or laying my head against the bus window while going to school, and just staring out at prairies and fields beyond. I would yearn to travel beyond those golden sheets and valleys. I wanted to find out what was truly out there in life. To go beyond my small little town, well... I would get to do exactly that. This is my story of how I travelled, how I got to experience that adventure. It wasn't easy, I can tell you that as much, but I got what I wanted in life. I'm still working out whether or not it was worth it, but you'll see for that yourself. This is how I discovered the radius, and the consequences that followed. My name is Harold, and this is my story. Prologue - One For The Road "The ongoing crisis that's befalling Parker seems to be continuing with no signs of slowing down, the rate of disappearances has increased by a margin of over five hundred percent!" "That's right, Thomas, and authorities are struggling to determine who, or what, could be responsible for these missing persons. Concerned residents had these opinions to share." "Ah think eets them dang weird [BLEEP] animals they done wnat us ta talk 'bout. If'n ya ask me, them there park rangers oughta hunt em down!" "Well, my husband thinks it's some whackjob serial killer on the loose, like a modern day Ted Bundy!" "Personally, I think it's the start of the rapture. That's all I have to say about that." "Ha ha! That's right, Linda, all of the residents seem to have differing opinions about what is causing the-" CLICK "What the? Hey! I was watching that!" Shouted Harold indignantly. "Yeah, but you can't fill your head with all of that crap." Mothered a soft, kindly voice. The owner setting the remote down on the back of the couch as Harold turned around. "But it's the news! Don't you wanna know what's happening out there?" Harold motioned toward the TV with a free hand, the other occupied by an orange and white tabby cat on his lap. "Sure, I'd like to know why gas prices are rising, but there's no point worrying about something you can't control, Harry." Came the same, sweet, soft voice again. "Damnit Kelly, you know I've been planning to figure this out myself! I need to stay up to date!" Harold reached behind him to the back of the couch, fumbling for the remote. "And I, personally, think that your plan is silly." Kelly said with a tone of finality, "You're my little brother, and mom will be rolling over in her grave if she knew that I'd let you get hurt." Silence hung in the air as Harold stopped fumbling for the remote. He calmly picked up the cat on his lap, who meowed in protest, and set the furry critter down to the side. He sighed and grabbed a package of Marlboros from his breast pocket, and began to shake one out. "Harry, I'm sor-" Kelly started, but was interrupted. "Don't bother, it's fine, just... You know we both hate bringing it up." Harold stood up, turning and looking Kelly in the eye, who had a somber look about her. "I'm going to the bar, and I'm going through with my plan. I've made up my mind." Kelly's mouth opened, then closed as she crossed her arms, watching Harold walk from the couch and over to the front door. She watched as the door swung open, and Harold's silhouette disappearing behind the closing door. "I love you, you big dork." Kelly said to nobody. Harold marched down the path that led to the end of the driveway and spotted his old 1990 Mitsubishi Vanwagon sitting just to the side of the mailbox. He had retrofitted it with solar chargers so he could charge his multitude of devices. He had spent a decent portion of their parent's inheritance on retrofitting the van, but it was his father's old van. He never wanted to get a new one, in the stead of keeping this one for the sentimental value. Harry quickly hopped into the old thing and looked behind him at his set up. He was theoretically ready to go figure out what was going on. He certainly had enough money to make the journey. It was just a matter of deciding on when to go. Sighing, Harry jostled the keys out of his jacket pocket and stuck them into the ignition, turning the key and starting the engine. The van puttered to life, and soon he was driving to his watering hole destination. He spaced out for most of the drive, thinking about his job, and his self-appointed mission. He knew that Kelly would understand what he was doing in time, even if she didn't now. Besides, if he could figure out what was going on, he could be a hero! That cheered him up, his spirits brightening as he pulled into the town square. The hustle and bustle of cars going to and fro forcing him to perk up and pay attention. Soon, he pulled into the little parking strip of the bar, and had his car parked. He stepped out of the van, locking it, and went inside of the bar with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. There were very few people here in the early afternoon, just him, one other regular, and the bartender - Casey. Casey was a nice young girl who had gotten her bartender's license just a year before, but she was a whiz behind the bar. Supposedly she had been practicing mixing drinks at parties during and after high school, so she had a leg up on the competition. Casey saw him entering and paused wiping the bar, waving with a dazzling smile. "Hey Harry! Still coming in your deathtrap?" She started. "Hehe, yeah. Still got my deathtrap alright." Harry half-smiled, taking a seat behind the dimly lit bar. He turned over to the only other patron and nodded, "Hey, Bill, how's it going?" "Eh, same as ever. You still going on your adventure?" Bill sipped at his draft, wiping the foam from his upper lip. "Yep, thinking of going today." "Today? No way! We'll miss you, Harry, can't you post-pone it?" Casey pouted, forcing a frown. "Well, she'll miss you." Bill chuckled. "Nah, I've already post-poned it long enough. It's gotta be today." Harold smiled as Casey popped the cap off a Pabst-Blue-Ribbon for him. Harry threw out three dollars for Casey, and began to sip at his brew. "Well, just know that I will miss you, Bill here can eat a dick." Casey thwacked the bespoken with the bar rag, who mock winced. "Ouch, you hurt me, darling." Bill chuckled once more. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not a lady-killer like you Bill." Casey turned back to Harold, "Seriously though, I will miss you." Harold looked into Casey's gorgeous ocean-blue eyes, "I know, now, just don't go missing while I'm gone, alright?" Casey thrust out her hand, to which Harold grabbed it, shaking earnestly. "You got yourself a deal, mister." Harold and Casey laughed as Bill rolled his eyes, muttering something about young people under his breath. Harold continued to sip beer and mind his own as Casey went about her work cleaning the bar and the glasses therein. Harold took out his phone and began to plan his route. He already had a good idea of where to start. Harold noticed that the disappearances had occurred at the edge of town, closer to where the Rocky Mountains would begin. They seemed to be occurring in some odd half circle pattern, and the pattern was growing larger and more voluminous in disappearances. His route plotted and his beer quickly put down. Harold began to get up from the bar stool. "Alright, I'm heading out. Gotta give Kelly a call first, but wish me luck!" Harold began to wave at Casey. Casey wouldn't have any of it, and the lithe young girl practically hopped over the bar in an instant, giving Harold a great big hug. Harold was taken off guard and did his best to hug her back. Casey nuzzled into his chest, being shorter than he was, but did her best all the same. "I'll miss you, Harry, be careful." Casey said into his chest. Harold kept hugging her, awkward as he ever was, and retorted, "I promise I'll be careful." A lie, "I'll let you know if I find anything out there." Casey broke the hug and patted Harold on the chest, pointing a finger at him. "You better, now get out there and make Parker proud." "Ain't this all cliche or whatever the word is?" Bill shouted from the back. "Shut up bill." Casey turned and started walking back through the bar, but not before turning and giving Harold a wink, mouthing something to him. Harold gulped and nodded, then turned and walked out of the bar and into the crisp April air. Forty odd degrees outside, but it wasn't terrible, certainly not this time of year for Colorado. He stood outside of the bar and sparked a cigarette, inhaling, and fidgeting with his cell phone. He hadn't told Kelly what exactly he was up to yet. She definitely didn't know that he was leaving today, and without a proper goodbye from him. The least he could do was call her, the least. Sighing and exhaling a breath of smoke, he pulled up Kelly's contact info and gave her a dial. The phone rang once, and immediately went to voicemail. Harold stared at his phone in confusion, "That's... Strange." Once more he tried to dial Kelly's number but was only met with the voicemail system. He tried again, and again, and again. Kelly never turned her phone off, even when she wasn't using it, and she certainly wouldn't have blocked him. They were inseparable siblings! Quickly, Harold jumped into his van, and took off down the road. His mind was a flurry of thoughts as to what might be happening to Kelly, what if she disappeared, what if something happened to her? Had she been kidnapped? Anything could have happened to her! He got to their shared duplex out in the country, having sped most of the way to make sure she was okay, and found that her car was still the driveway, a good sign. He ran to the door and floundered as he attempted to unlock the door, but when he finally did he slammed the door open, only to find... Kelly was startled, laying down on the couch, she yelled and then tumbled off. Her side landing on the remote, accidentally turning on the television. "Christ, Harry! Could you be any louder?" Harry's mouth opened and closed like a fish, before he sputtered out, "I- uh - your phone went to voicemail so I-" "I forgot to charge it, you dork." Kelly picked herself up off the floor and brushed the cat hair off of her leggings. "Why were you calling, anyway?" Harold rubbed the back of his neck shyly, he hadn't been expecting to do this in person, but here he was. "I-" "Breaking news! The first images of the strange animals have been leaked across the internet, and we... Are... Pulling... Yes! We have them here! Just look at the strange features on these... Horses? Ponies? What would you call these, Tom?" Images flashed on the news channel of the TV of strange horse like creatures. The oddest thing being... "Oh my god, are those horns?" Kelly put her hand over her mouth, in shock. "And... Wings?" Harold began to rub his head, feeling an increasing headache building. "I'd say we have some kind of genetic anomaly going on around Parker, Linda, though I don't remember any sort of Chernobyl event occurring around these parts!" "That's the truth, Thomas! Government officials are warning the populations of Parker and the general area to stay far away from these creatures if they are seen, as they may be responsible for the miss-" "I have to go, now." Harold said abruptly. "Go- What? Why?" Kelly protested. Grabbing hold of Harold's arm as he began to walk to the door. "I have to figure out what's going on with these disappearances. I just... I don't know! But I have to go." Harold shook off Kelly's grip, who sighed. "I can't stop you, little bro, but just be careful. We don't know what those things are, even. Promise me you'll be careful." Kelly grabbed Harold again, forcing him to look her in the eyes. Harold put a hand on Kelly's shoulder and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I promise I'll be careful big sis, you have no need to worry." Kelly said nothing, and folded her arms as she did earlier, and watched as Harold turned and walked out the door. Harold had already had one for the road, and with his goodbyes said, he was ready to head out on his adventure to figure out what was happening to all those missing people, and to figure out what those creatures were.
Chapter 1 - To The Mountains"Moving on from the weather, a reported twenty people have gone missing in just the last hour from the outskirts of Parker, thirteen of whom were hiking the mountain trails. Authorities are advising all travelers to steer clear of any trails and to stay indoors at their homes. The Parker police department is struggling to erect barricades on all roads leading into the mountainous biome, and are calling on-" SKRSHH "-ighway to hell! I'm on the highway to hell, yeah!" Chapter 1 - To The Mountains "God... Bless America!" Harold cursed under his breath as he encountered yet another police blockade. Getting through to the mountains wouldn't be easy. Before he could turn around, one of the cars wailed its' siren at him. "Oh lord, what now!" He shut his car off and placed his hands on the steering wheel, but not before rolling down the driver's side window. A uniformed officer with a campaign hat adorning the top of his head approached his vehicle, leaning down and tipping his hat. "Afternoon, sir, do you have any idea why I stopped you just now?" The officer asked as he chewed on something, likely gum. Harold shook his head and replied, "No, sir, I can't imagine why. I don't think I'm speeding, I was just turning around." The officer chuckled and spit out something to the side, maybe it was dip. "No, no, you definitely weren't speeding. No, sir, I'm stopping you to tell ya to quit trying to go to the mountains. The boys have reported a van just like yours attempting to get through four- now five blockades just like this one." The officer leaned in further. "Personally, I can see why you'd be curious, however, I cannot allow you to proceed further, and I suggest you stop trying." He leaned back as he considered Harry. Harold sighed and offered, "Yes. You're right officer. I've been trying too hard to see what's been going on in those mountains. I'll turn around and go back home." The officer tipped his hat once more and smiled, spitting something out to the side again. "That'd be mighty fine. I'll let you get on your way then." He stepped away from Harold's van and walked over back to the blockade, murmuring something with the other officers and gesturing over in Harold's direction. No doubt telling them to pull him over if they see him trying to bypass their blockades. Harold had no intention of going home, however. He had every single intention of getting through their blockades one way or another. He slammed his van in reverse and spun around quickly, but not so quickly so as to startle the officers. He had another trick up his sleeve, one he didn't think that the police department would see coming. He was going to get to the bottom of this mystery. He began speeding off to where he thought he could evade the police department. He circled his way along the outskirts of town, passing by run-down service stations and barely functional general stores, as well as a store or two that sold hiking equipment. The area looked more abandoned than usual, likely due to the government warning that had been issued. Overhead, he saw a series of three helicopters pass by, heading towards the mountain tops. The Rockies were a dangerous place, and this just made them ever more dangerous. Danger wouldn't stop Harold though. For him, danger meant excitement. Harold found his next destination, a closed down campground at the foot of the mountains. From what he could recall, you could camp there and hike your way up through the mountain trails. There were no police here, thankfully, which meant he was relatively safe to pass through. Or, he would be if the gates to the campground weren't chained shut. "Lucky me for investing in a pair of bolt cutters..." Harold muttered to himself as he climbed out of his still running Mitsubishi. He opened the back of the van and fished around his various tools, then grabbing the pair of bolt cutters he had stashed away. "Awesome!" He shouted out as multiple crows cawed and fled the trees they were so happily nestled in. "Oops." Harold trudged his way over to the gate and put the cutters in position over the chain. With two quick cuts, the chain fell loose, and he pried the gate open his hands. He opened the way for his van and then took stock. His van would fit through, but the way through was overgrown and he likely would have a hard time driving through it. He was lucky he had just changed the tires for this very expedition. After opening the gate, he made his way back to his little van and hopped back inside. He put the vehicle into gear and sped into the overgrown campground, being leery of any potholes or debris that might be strewn about the road. Harold soon found himself in the campground proper and parked a ways away from one of the trailheads. He assembled his pack and the rest of his gear, among the items an old .22 hunting rifle that his father had owned. He handled the worn-out rifle with care, "Can't believe it's been five years already..." Harry reminisced as he rubbed the barrel, before slinging it over his back. He then looked down the overgrown trail, and absentmindedly locked his van with the press of a button. "Well, time to get this show on the road." He said to himself. Harold began to walk down the old uphill bound trail, it was at the base of a mountain after all, he just hoped it wouldn't be the last time he'd be walking down this path. In the distance he heard shouting, far off in the distance, not anywhere close to where he was. Good. He trudged through mud and foliage, his waterproof boots were thankfully working as intended, albeit getting muddy. He breathed in and out, trying to keep himself calm and collected as he treaded toward what felt like potentially his impending doom. Impending doom would have to wait, he had a mission to accomplish. Further down the trail it mysteriously began to get less covered in greenery, like someone had been cutting it all away. Harry bent down to examine a broken stalk of some sort of fern type plant and found that a chunk had been bitten off the stem. The mouth was far too large to be human, not like any sane man would even try to eat a fern. The bite didn't appear to come from a deer or any sort of wildlife that he knew, however. The only thing he could do is continue to trek forward and up the mountain side. The foliage began to clear away as he hurdled up the side of the mountain by foot, huffing and puffing as the air only got thinner. Parker was right alongside Denver with being a mile above sea level, and the air was thin enough as is. The further he went up, the thinner the air would continue to get. Harold decided to take a rest, and to build a fire before the foliage cleared away completely. There weren't any bears around this area to his knowledge, and he could do with a bit of warmth on the way up. He didn't exactly plan this out well, but he would survive. Harold collected various twigs and debris and began building a fire in a circle of rocks at his chosen spot. Being careful to keep the tinder inside of the circle. He then went out of his way to look for a dead tree nearby in the woody areas, quickly finding one that was still standing, but certainly dead. He took a hand axe from his pack, having got it just for this occasion, and quickly began to thwack at the tree. It was a smaller sized tree, but with just enough timber for his fire. He wouldn't need more than what was necessary, or so he thought. The tree cracked, and Harold ducked out of the way as it came down with a resounding crash. Startling any and all wildlife that may have been peacefully resting in the nearby area. Harold then hacked at the fallen tree, gouging out roughly foot sized logs from the fallen plant. He gathered up logs in batches as he carried them back over to his fire pit. He stopped as he heard what sounded like deer running nearby but couldn't spot any such animal. He shrugged as he carried the rest of the tinder over to his building fire. The sun now setting over the mountainside, Harold quickly took a zippo lighter to his newly built fire, and slowly it came to life. He used the flame from the zippo to light a cigarette that he could enjoy as he warmed his hands on the lit pile of timber. Satisfied, he exhaled smoke and leaned back, appreciating his work. Once more, though, his head whipped around as he heard the sound of deer prancing about nearby. Then he heard a childlike giggle. He quickly stood up and unslung the .22 rifle from his shoulder, checking the bolt to make sure one was in the chamber, he held it steady, but not aiming down the sights. It could just be someone's lost kid, or... Something. He heard rustling branches just to the left of his fire and quickly turned his eyes towards the rustling. In very short order, an animal-like head popped out- only... It wasn't quite animal like? But it was? It was hard to tell. It was like someone genetically modified a pony and let the little thing loose on the world. It had the color of the ocean, with a yellow mane sprinkled with orange streaks flowing through it. The eyes were far too large, and... They were very expressive, it's like the pony-thing was staring directly at him. He stared curiously at the thing, cocking his head to get a different view. Then the pony cocked its' head as well, mimicking him. Harry chuckled, then turned his back to it, looking to tend to his fire. "Someone's pet, gotta be." Then it clicked, where he had seen that pony before, maybe not that exact same pony, but ponies like it. On the television. Just as he was about to turn around, he heard a high pitched, sing-song voice speak up. "So you're just gonna ignore me?" Harry blanched; he could imagine his face turning pale white after what he just heard. Unsteadily, he slowly turned his head over to the pony, who had now stepped fully into view. The pony looked like it was pouting, something ponies definintly didn't do. Now that he knew what it was, the thing had decidedly inequine features. Its' mouth being one of them, it was a much shorter muzzle than what a pony typically had, with a more rounded out facial shape. It's ears were decidedly larger, and rotated much like how a cat's ears would. Harold had to say something to it though- "You're staring right at me, does this mean you won't ignore me?" The blue equine questioned, stepping forward with the muffled clop of hooves on soil. Her saddlebags jostling with various bits and bobbles inside of them. "Don't!" Harry put a hand up, the other on his rifle, "Don't... Don't come any closer!" The pony frowned, looking at his rifle. "Are you one of those meanies who yells all the time?" Harry gulped, a talking animal, was he dreaming? He pinched his arm, then hissed in pain. Decidedly not dreaming. "You're not very good at answering questions, mister." Said the ocean blue pony, taking another step forward. "I've seen you things on TV!" Harry raised his rifle to the pony, who took a step back, "Oh! So you know what this is then, huh?" The pony nodded, its', or her eyes judging by the voice, went wide. "Y-yeah. Please don't use it!" She abruptly begged. "I'm not going to use it, if you tell me what happened to all the hikers." Harry questioned, keeping the sights trained on the pony. "They wanted to come with us! To Equestria!" The pony sat down, covering her eyes with her hooves. How in the hell could she be that flexible? "Equestria?" Sounded like some sort of horse pun, "Is that a joke?" The pony shook her head vigorously, "No! It's my home!" A land full of colorful talking ponies like this one? That sounded absurd, like something out of a children's TV show, but here was living proof before him. Harold's eyes relaxed as he lowered the rifle. Maybe he could learn something from this pony creature. "Fine, I'll believe you, for now. My name is Harold, what's yours, little pony?" Harold asked cautiously. The pony peeked out from her hooves, making sur the rifle was down before lowering herself to the ground, making sure to not move forward. "M-My name is Ocean Breeze." Figures her name would have ocean in it. "Well Ocean Breeze, tell me about your home." Ocean took a breath, and began to explain- "There's one now! Get her, catch her!" Screamed a voice from behind Ocean. Harry couldn't see who it was, but Ocean panicked. "Quick, follow me!" Shouted Ocean, as she darted past Harry on all fours. Harry wasn't sure who they were being chased by, but he was happy to oblige. "Stop! Police! Get down!" Shouted the voice again. Now he definitely wasn't going to stop. He chased after Ocean Breeze as the police shouted continuous slurs and pleas for them to stop. He heard the barking of a K9 unit behind them as well. There was no way they were going to get out of this unscathed. Ocean and him turned a corner, before she suddenly stopped and whipped a scroll out from her bags with her mouth. She motioned to him hurriedly and ordered, "Quick, put your claw on the scroll! It's the only way we can escape!" Harry put his hand on the strange pony's scroll, and she did the same with her hoof, blinding light enveloped him in an instant, and the next thing he knew he was being thrown into a tunnel of light. The police officers came to a halt by scorch marks on the ground. The canine sniffing around the area and making whimpering noises. "Well, Dick, looks like they got away." One officer kicked at the scorch mark. "Yeah, but at least we can figure that van belonged to the kid that was here. Poor bastard." Said the other officer. "Well, let's write this up. Chief is gonna wanna know what happened here." "Yeah, let's." Replied police officer, walking away with his partner.
Chapter 2 - The Strange ForestKNOCK KNOCK "Hello, can I help you two?" "Ma'am, are you related to one Harold Donaldson?" "Yeah... That's my brother, why, what's he gotten into now?" "Well, it's more of what's gotten him. We believe that he's a victim of these strange animal attacks we've been getting reports about." "Yes, as my partner here describes, two of our officers found a strange horselike creature running off with him." "We're taking his Mitsuibishi Vanwagon as evidence, but we'll return it back to you as you are his next of kin if we cannot determine anything." "Oh my god... That idiot. I knew he was going on his mission, but I didn't think he'd get himself wrapped up with those animals so soon." Chapter 2 - The Strange Forest Harold couldn't believe he was getting wrapped up with these strange animals so soon. That's what he thought as he travelled through a tunnel of blinding light, shutting his eyes did seemingly nothing against the ever so pervasive glow of the light corridor all around him. He twisted and he turned, he felt like his body parts were being stretched beyond all the belief of the word. His entire self felt wrong as he continued to be shot through the tunnel. Then as suddenly as it began, it ended. He was plopped down back onto the forest floor. He quickly patted himself down and found that all of his parts were intact. Flexing his fingers for good measure, all ten were still there. He unslung his pack and rifle and found that those were still there as well. Satisfying himself, he checked his packs contents and found that everything was still in order. Suddenly, he found himself parched, and unhooked a water flask from his pack only to begin guzzling it down greedily. He heard some sort of slurping noise coming from nearby and looked around. Oddly enough, he saw Ocean Breeze guzzling water from a nearby stream. He didn't think there were any sort of rivers around this part of Parker, but nature can surprise you. The pony seemed to quickly satisfy herself, wiping her muzzle with the side of her hoof. She turned back to him and smiled. "Yeah, travelling between universes will make you thirsty!" The pony chirped as Harry turned from satisfied to dropping his jaw, then back to collecting himself. "Travelling universes? Is that what that light tunnel was?" Harold questioned. "Yep yep yeppers! Look over there, through the clearing!" Ocean pointed off in the distance towards a clearing, Harry looked around but didn't see anything special. "I don't see anything." Harold said, not amused. "Ugh, no! Up!" The pony trotted closer and began to tilt Harold's head from his sitting position with her hoof, but he slapped away her hooves angrily. The pony huffed and pointed insistently, and Harold finally saw what she was pointing at. It was a castle on the side of a mountain, some parts of it seemed to be literally floating off the side, and he saw many dots of color circling around the castle stuck on the side. Harold's jaw dropped once more as he saw the spectacle, he couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. "I... What? Wow." Harold shook his head, and breathed in, then breathing out. He fished for a cigarette from his pack, and quickly lit it, sucking in the toxic smoke. Exhaling, he finished, "That's... This is incredible!" He bounced up to his feet, almost doing a dance. "A whole new universe! No wonder those hikers went missing!" The pony laughed shyly, "Ha...Ha... Yeah." Harold stopped doing his jig and turned to the pony, "We escaped, right? That's a good thing!" The pony coughed and motioned around her, "Not when we're here, in the Everfree." Harold looked around, then shrugged, "It looks like a normal forest to me." "Maybe for you, but for us this is an extremely dangerous place! Only the town guard goes in here unattended, and normal ponies would only stick to the trails!" The pony practically shouted, breathing in quickly and heavily, then covering her eyes with her hooves again. "No no no, we were supposed to land in Ponyville!" Harold couldn't help it as a snort escaped him, then said, "Well, we'll get to this 'Ponyville'," He air quoted as he spoke the name of the town, "And then we can figure out how to get me back." The pony gulped, peeking from behind her eyes and smiling nervously. "What else aren't you telling me?" Harold frowned. "Well... Those hikers and other pon- people were offered the condition that they had to become ponies before they could come here... If anypony finds out that you... You're like this, they'll flip!" Ocean Breeze began to panic once more, sucking in breath after breath and almost sounding like she was crying. "Well, fuck. Okay, we'll figure this out. I'll help you get back to Ponyville, and you can get another one of those scroll thingies to get me back, I can survive in the woods for a bit." Harry offered, tentatively giving his hand to the pony. "Shake on it?" The pony once more peeked and stopped her panicking, taking Harry's hand with a hoof and shaking it. "O-Okay, we can try." Harry let go of her hoof and stood straight up. "Good, now, let's just find our way to Ponyville, can't be that hard right? Do you have a map?" The pony nodded and unhooked her saddlebags, digging in them and throwing out various items as she did so. What looked to be a dumbbell flew out of one, while a paperweight flew out of another, and Harold could swear that a crab even crawled its way out of the saddlebags. Ponies were a weird bunch, that much was for sure. Finally, after minutes of digging, Ocean Breeze pulled a map from her saddlebags. Harold took it from her mouth and opened it, then sighed in frustration. "Figures that we speak the same language, but I can't read yours. Which way is Ponyville?" He questioned the ocean blue pony. "Umm... South!" She perked up, her ears standing straight up. "Sun sets in the east, right?" Harold questioned again, putting his hands on his sides. Ocean Breeze nodded vigorously as she pointed in the direction of the setting sun, seemed like the time difference wasn't too far off. "Well then, let's head off!" Harold began to trod off South, not waiting for Ocean Breeze to compose herself. "Wait!" Ocean shouted at Harold. He turned around and huffed, "What is it now? We gotta get out of these woods!" Ocean Breeze bit her lip and motioned around the general area. "We should camp out here tonight! It's so so so much more dangerous at night!" Harold laughed, "I think we can deal with a few woodland critters." The pony shook her head and opened her mouth, "No! I mean there's timberwolves, and manticores, and cockatrices, and... and... and..." Harold interrupted before she could say more, "Wolves? Well, I have no idea what those other things are, but if there's wolves then I can take shots at them with this-" He unslung his rifle and patted it down. "-here rifle." Harold smugly grinned. Ocean Breeze shook her head once more and grumbled, "No... That won't work on timber wolves, they're like... They're made of wood, get it? Timberwolves." Harry made an o-face and facepalmed. "Talking ponies, and wolves made of wood. Fine, you've got me, we'll camp out here for the night and-" "Awooooooooooo!" "Build a fire! Yep, that's what we're doing now!" Harold dropped his pack and hurriedly grabbed the hand axe out of it, not bothering to make a circle of rocks in the clearing as he checked the area for any sort of timber. He quickly found more than a few dead trees, along with a modicum of twigs and other various branches laying around. He motioned to Ocean, "You! Get tinder!" Ocean gulped and nodded, scurrying to collect as much tinder as she could. The two of them gathered what they could find and piled it hastily in the center of the clearing, away from the woody areas. Harry stuck a log or two on top of the pile for good measure. He looked back toward the castle on the side of the mountain and found that the sun had almost gone completely down already. That was fast. "How has the sun gone down so quickly?" He muttered to himself, a question he'd have for Ocean later. Harry threw his axe to the ground next to his pack, sticking it into the soil. Ocean came up to the fire area with another bundle of twigs and gently shoved it underneath the two logs that Harold had placed on top of the makeshift bundle. He dug into his pack for newspaper and grabbed a handful, quickly balling some up and stuffing it underneath the tinder. He took his zippo out of his pocket and sparked it, the lone source of light just barely illuminating the area, though the stars were doing a wonderful job of that so far. He thrust the lighter underneath the tinder and lit the newspaper on fire, the paper lighting hastily and then spreading to the modest amount of tinder they had gathered. The fire crackled and sparked to life and quickly began building. The glow from it illuminating almost half the clearing. The trees nearest to them were lit up with the yellow and orange glow of the fire, but something else stood out from the newfound darkness of the forest. Yellow dots of light that seemed to move beyond the thicket. "AWOOOOOOOOO!" "Jesus fucking christ that sounded way too close for comfort, Ocean!" Harold shouted as he instinctively unslung his rifle. Aiming down the sights of it toward the treeline. "It's okay! As long as the fire is going they shouldn't bother us! They hate fire!" Ocean reassured him, putting a hoof on his leg, Harold kicked it away, though. "Stop touching me, what is with you and touching?" Harold criticized the pony, whose ears turned down. "I'm... We're... Ponies are just affectionate, okay?" She kicked the earth with a hoof as Harold snorted. "Well. No touching. Got it?" Harold sternly ordered, to which Ocean nodded in affirmation. "Okay... If that's what you want." Ocean solemnly said. Harry twisted his body as he saw something running through the underbrush just through the darkness of the tree line, and two yellow eyes peeking out at them. Then something came out through the brush. "Awoo?" Peeped a small little creature. It looked like a young wolf cub, but made of, well, timber. Almost like branches of gnarled oak made up the bulk of its body, with something glowing in the center of the body, like some sort of energy source was keeping the enchanted beastie going. Harry lowered his rifle as the cub cocked its head. "It almost looks... Cute?" "Don't be fooled, Harold, the wolves are trying to lure us out..." Ocean growled and shouted at the cub, "Back! Get back! Shoo!" The wolf turned around to look behind it, then barked at Ocean and ran back off into the woods. "Huh. It's almost like it understood you." Harold remarked. "Probably because it did, animals here are smart, much smarter than yours. I tried talking to a squirrel in your world and he didn't even wave! Just ran off like I was a monster!" Ocean huffed and sat down next to the fire, though still being leery of the woods around them. The wolves weren't advancing, they'd likely wait til they fell asleep. "Well, squirrels don't exactly wave, or speak, but anyways... Why don't we sleep in shifts? You can sleep first, and I'll wake you up after say... Six hours?" Harry set an alarm on his phone, which was thankfully still charged. He had a solar charger in his pack just in case, but those things were finicky at best. "Sounds good to me, but um... Do you have a blanket?" The pony sheepishly smiled and looked to his pack. "Hmph, yeah, I do." Harry unrolled a bedroll that had been stuck to the side of his pack. He handed it over to ocean, who took it into her hooves and smoothed it out. She laid down on top of it and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Harold, be careful." Ocean said as she flopped onto her side on the bedroll, facing away from the fire. "Yeah... Goodnight." Harold eyed the thicket, this would not be an easy night.
Chapter 3 - A Magical Path"Ugh I can't believe that idiot would just leave his van out at a campground!" "Miss, we've checked it, and besides some odd instruments; we couldn't really find anything that would connect your brother with anything going on around the mountains. "Yeah... I know. He was just adventurous and look where that got him." "Well, he's one of twenty-four travelers and hikers who went missing yesterday, and the radius of these disappearances is spreading at a growing rate. I shouldn't be telling you this... But..." "But what?" "We expect that these occurrences will start happening at the base of the mountain in two days' time, we're petitioning for an emergency evacuation of the east side of town." "My god... I hope Harry will be alright, I hope Parker will be alright..." Chapter 3 - A Magical Path Harold felt something prodding at his side, something large and hard. He swatted it away and grumbled something about, "Leave me alone, tryna sleep." Yet, the prodding continued. Angrily, he growled and sat up to confront the offender, and instead found a sheepishly smiling Ocean Breeze. Alarmed, he patted himself down, then hung his head and sighed. "Are you okay, Harold?" Ocean said, cautiously trotting closer to him at his eye level. "Mmmm no. Decidedly not okay. Thought this whole shitshow was a dream, guess not." Harold sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. Ocean Breeze opened her mouth, reaching a hoof out to touch Harry's shoulder, then sighed and retracted her hoof. Choosing not to say anything to him nor touch him. "Well... It's daylight. Celestia's risen the sun." Harold nodded his head. "Yeah, sun's up, any sign of the wolves?" He looked around as he used his knee as a support to stand up, bending down to grab his pack and rifle. "Nope, they went away after you fell asleep. Fire keeps them away, and they don't have the patience to stick around for daylight." The pony said matter of factly. She stood up and stretch her withers and haunches, bones cracking as her cerulian fur glistened in the sun. Harold stared, she really did look like a caricature of the ocean, the name was fitting. He shook his head and shouldered his belongings, kicking the dimming embers that remained from last night's fire. "Well, we better get on then. Glad those suckers slinked away." He fished out a cigarette from his front jacket pocket, sticking it between his lips and sparking his old zippo lighter to light it. Ocean gave him a cautious look. "What are those things you humans use? Why do you inhale smoke?" Harold snrked, "CIgarettes-" He coughed and beat his chest a few times, "-Ack, bad for you, never try em." Harold spit out a glob of phlegm as Ocean watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust. "Yeah. Um. I think I'll steer clear, thanks Harold." The blue pony turned away and began to survey the general area. "No problem, now, were we going to head south?" He said as he sucked down the toxic smoke. "Yeah, south! This way!" Ocean began to trot in the southern direction, and Harry soon followed suit as he crushed the cigarette beneath the step of his boot. The two marched from the clearing into the thick of the woods, walking along the stream that seemed to be their guide. After all, where there is water, there is civilization. They walked through the surprisingly light underbrush, being wary of any timberwolves that might jump into their path, but none seem to come. Not even a howl emanated from the relatively dark and dreary forest. "Despite the wolves, this almost feels like home!" Harry chirped, soldiering on behind the blue pony leading in front. "Home for you, maybe, your forests were just awful! Nothing like Hollow Shades!" Ocean replied back with a scowl, though Harold couldn't quite tell. "Hollow Shades? Is that the name of your town?" He asked tentatively. "Yeah, but it's more of a village... It's named after the woods that surround it, though those woods are completely tamed! Not all twisted and evil and ugly like these!" Ocean shouted out, then squeaked as a falling branch plowed down in front of her, slightly blocking the path. The two cautiously walked and trotted around it, looking up for more falling branches. "I wouldn't insult these woods, y'know, just in case there's any spirits around." Harold remarked, looking back at the branch that had just fallen in their path. "Spirits? In the Everfree? I haven't heard of any- Oof!" Ocean stopped as she bumped into something. She turned her head back around as Harold gaped at something ahead of her. Ocean's eyes squinted against the glow of something new blocking their path. "He's right you know!" Piped up the offending blockage. Ocean's eyes cleared enough to see what lay before her, and she began to gape as well. Harold rubbed his own eyes, it was a tiny little pony with wings. It had a whitish-blue glow about it, almost like this world's version of TInkerbell. "My god..." He started, "Is that a fairy?" The interloper squinted her eyes at him, buzzing up above Ocean and getting directly in Harold's face. "I just said you were right! Spirit! Duh! And you call me a fairy?!" The little thing practically shouted indignantly. "I- Um- Well..." Harold rubbed the back of his neck, looking away, unsure as to what to say. "Hmph! No! I am a spirit! Of the Everfree!" The tiny white pony pointed past them, down the path they had just come. "That branch, that was me, duh!" The pony crossed her hooves and shook her head. "Honestly, you... Whatever you are, but you!" She pointed at Ocean. "M-M-Me?" Ocean pointed to herself, unsure. "Y-Y-Yes you!" The little thing mocked, "You should know better, duh!" The alabaster... Spirit... Squeaked. "What's your name, little one?" Harry approached the spirit-pony, who looked him up and down. "I'll tell you... If you tell me what you are!" She zipped around his head, making Harold dizzy, before stopping directly in front of his eyes and grabbing his nose with two tiny hooves. "So weird! So hairless!" Harry coughed, sending the spirit flying backwards. The poor creature righted herself and coughed herself. "And so smelly! Ew!" "-Ack, I'm a human, from Earth." Harry choked out between coughs. "Earth?! I've never heard of that! Or a human! Ooh, is that an island! Are you from an island?!" The creature got into Harold's face again, smiling widely. "N-no, spirit, but a deal is a deal, you tell me your name." Harold stepped back away from the little spirit. "Hmph! Fine, my name is Leshy, guardian of the Everfree! What's yours, hyooman?!" The loud little spirit asked with an accusational tone. "You're not going to steal my name and use it, are you?" Harold asked in turn, eyeing the spirit who seemed to now glow red with anger. "I'm. Not. A. Fairy! Duh!" Leshy kicked Harold's nose, which was more like a boop given the force behind it. Harold sneeze and wiped his nose, once more blowing the spirit back. Leshy wiped herself off in disgust. "Ew ew ew! Nasty!" Harold wiped his nose with his sleeve, "Well, my name is Harold, and this is Ocean." He motioned to the bemused pony in front of him. "We're trying to find our way to a town called Ponyville, maybe you can help?" The spirit lit up with a soft green glow, buzzing around the two hapless adventurers. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ponyville! I know where that is!" "So you can take us there?" Ocean piped up among the cacophony that the spirit was making, tapping her hooves together nervously. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Follow me!" The spirit buzzed off in the direction that they were already heading, her now greenish glow lighting the way. "She's a loud little beast, isn't she?" Harry remarked as both he and Ocean began to trod after the spirit. "Spirits tend to be that way, it's just how they are." Ocean replied, rolling her eyes. "I heard you! I hear everything in the forest!" The spirit shouted back at them. Harold mocked zipping up his lips, and throwing away the zipper to Ocean, who was looking back at him. Ocean nodded and made the same motion. Together, the trotted onwards as the spirit rambled about how the forest was dangerous for travelers, how they could easily be killed, how there were many monsters in the forest. "But I'll keep you safe!" She said, "Leshy never lets anypony fall behind!" She prattled on as the two travelers marched on after the zany forest spirit. Leshy sure was a hyperactive spirit, but that wouldn't bother Ocean nor Harold. The three soon came across a proper dirt path, and Leshy bit her lip. "This is as far as I'll go! Too many ponies down the path, and a Zebra! Yuck!" The spirit mocked dry heaving, and then zipped around Ocean and Harold. "Hope you two travel safe! Just go down the path! You'll be in Ponyville in no time at all! No time at all!" Before the two could safe their farewells to the forest spirit, she zipped off and above them, heading to God knows where. "Hyper little creature." Harold said. "Yep, she sure is." Ocean agreed. Ocean and Harold continued on their trek down the proper path but didn't see heads or tails of this Zebra that Leshy had mentioned. They figured the Zebra must be somewhere around Ponyville, and so they continued onward. The travelled past some odd looking trees that seemed gnarled with faces on them. Horrific faces that would scare any normal passerby, but not Harold. "H-Harold, those trees look awfully mean, don't they?" Asked a frightened Ocean Breeze, who shivered as she walked. "They're just trees, c'mon, let's keep on going." Harold reassured the scared little blue pony, and so they walked on past the trees. As they walked, they came upon a patch of blue flowers that looked and smelled divine. Harold was tempted to go over and pick a few, just to keep, but before he could walk off the path towards the flowers, Ocean stopped him with a hoof. "Hey, what gives?" He complained. "That's poison joke, it's really dangerous, probably even for a human." Ocean replied sternly. "How is it dangerous?" He asked, eyeing the flowers curiously. "Well, if you touch the flowers then they will play a joke on you, nopony knows how it works, but it's some strange kind of magic. It's better if you don't go near them." She explained, nodding her head over to the flower patch. "Like cigarettes?" Harry joked. "Yeah, sure, like cigarettes." Ocean sighed, and they kept on walking. They trotted past the poison joke and continued down on the path, the trees seem to get slightly less thick, and the gnarled faces from before transitioned into normal tree trunks with no signs of evil faces. Not that it ever bothered Harold, but Ocean seemed slightly less perturbed now. They walked past a hut of some kind, but the lights were off, so it seemed that nobody was home. Nonetheless, the two were spurred on by this, as it seemed they were inching ever closer to civilization, and thus Ponyville. Even though Harry couldn't actually go in to Ponyville, he could still stick around the thicket and observe from afar. Being in a new world was exciting enough for him, far more exciting than just kicking the can around his home all day. His spirit seemed to wilt as he thought about home. What would his sister think of him running from the police. Would they think he was eaten by some kind of animal? Would the police think he eloped with this strange creature? He panicked as he thought about it some more, beginning to hyperventilate. Would the federal government get involved when he came home? Maybe they would vivisect him for clues on these alien interlopers, maybe- "Harold! Are you okay?" Ocean practically shouted at him, shaking him out of his stupor. He blinked and breathed in deeply, then breathed out. "Yeah, just doing a lot of thinking." Ocean eyed him up and down, "Well, try not to think too much, we'll get you home soon enough." "Yeah... Home. Alright, let's keep on going." Harold shivered as he thought about home but tried not to dwell too much on the idea. He continued onward with Ocean as the trees seemed to thin out more and more, and daylight shone through the underbrush. The two could tell that they were oh so close to reaching Ponyville. What was the plan when they reached the outskirts of the town? Harold never asked Ocean. Though up ahead the path started to shine clear with daylight, he could tell that they were about to leave the forest. If what Ocean said was true, then he shouldn't be spotted. Sure enough, a blob of black and white color could be seen entering the path just ahead, and Harold dove into the brush before Ocean could say anything. Ocean turned to shout in protest, but then she saw the approaching figure as well and stayed where she was, tapping her hooves nervously. Soon, the striped black and white figure was upon them, seemingly carrying a large amount of flowers and roots in bags she had slung over her neck and back. Gold rings adorned her neck and ears as well, it seemed that this was the zebra that Leshy had warned them about. Harold observed as the zebra said something to Ocean. "Good morning young friend, have you come to meet the forest at its end?" The zebra asked, oddly in a rhyming fashion. "Ah... Yes! I"m from um, Hollow Shades, just looking to get a scroll from the school of friendship!" Ocean said hurriedly. The zebra chuckled, "A magical scroll is what you're after? I hope that your fate won't be one of disaster." Ocean coughed, "No, no, it's for a friend of mine." Harold facepalmed, why'd she have to mention a friend. "Well, lucky for you and your friend, Ponyville is just around the bend." The zebra continued. "Yes, well, I must be going now! You have a good day Miss..." "The name is Zecora, and whom are you with so pleasant an aura?" Ocean blushed, "Well thank you, but my name is Ocean Breeze." "Ocean Breeze, I will let you travel on, as you please. Have a good day, and from this path do not stray." Zecora finally said, carrying on with her travelling. Likely back to that hut that Harold and Ocean saw earlier. Once Zecora walked far enough down the path, Ocean motioned for Harold to come out. "C'mon, she's gone!" Harold crawled out of the underbrush, covered in little twigs and leaves, along with a few scrapes taken from diving into the bushes. "Ugh, I'm covered in this crap." Ocean laughed softly, "Yeah, but at least she didn't see you. Creatures would flip out if they saw something they weren't familiar with." "Huh, sounds like back home." Harold mused. "What's that?" Ocean asked. "Oh, nothing, best not to talk about it." He quipped, choosing to carry on down the nearly ending path. "Okay... So! The plan is for you to wait around the edge of the forest while I get another scroll from the school of friendship-" Harold chuckled, trying to hold it in, "-And just stay quiet, stay low, try not to get discovered. Got it?" Harold let out a breath, "Yeah, got it." "Good, now... Wait in the bushes over there! I shouldn't be more than an hour." Ocean pointed over to a series of well placed bushes that seemed like they were there just for this occasion. "Alright, sounds good to me!" Harold cracked his knuckles and began heading to the bushes, he turned and said, "Good luck." To Ocean as he crouched down. "Thanks, you too." Ocean replied as she craned her neck trying to spot Harold. She couldn't, and so with that matter taken care of, she marched out of the forest and onward towards Ponyville. Neither Ocean nor Harold hoped that they were discovered in their plans.
