Triangle

While it really sucked that I had to leave it behind I knew I couldn't stay there anymore. I am still questioning whether or not wherever I am going next is any safer or not but at this point I had little choice. Over the past several days I've been walking with these two. Or rather, Butterfly and I were walking while the other flew most of the time, every now and again taking to the sky to make sure we were going in the right direction. We mostly stuck to the outskirts of the forest. Taking the same path that I had tried before. I decided to name the rainbow maned Pegasus Prism, who was both fascinating, and scary to be around.

I had thought Butterfly's coat and mane color were unnatural, but she took it to a whole new level. So far I had witnessed her showing the ability to weaponize lighting, the ability to manipulate clouds at will and move at very fast speeds. Were these traits all Pegasus possessed and Butterfly was just unable to do these things because of her wing injury? Maybe only a select few could? Or was it unique to her? I don't know. All I know is I was trying my best to not piss her off. To which I wasn't doing a very good job at because whenever she looked at me she had these expressions ranging from resting bitch face to flat out scowling in annoyance. Despite this she has yet to do anything harmful to me.

Currently I had just finished packing up from the resting place we used last night and started to follow her. Up until this point we only went so far into the forest just to gather wood. It was kind of funny to witness Prism's first impression of me using my lighter. It also gave me more insight on how intelligent they really were as they knew the concepts of a campfire, sense of direction and destination, and language.

Back to the present, it looked like we were heading into the forest this time, following the river that was close to its edge. Now that Prism was with us I felt more confident of us surviving an encounter, as long as there aren't like 20 or so of those damn wolves. I just hope there isn't anything worse lurking within these woods. I was a bit worried about being weighed down by all the equipment I was carrying, but if it came down to it I could just ditch it.

I didn't really say this before, but something about the dark creepy trees, the lack of normal forest noises and the occasional twig snapping in the distance, combined with the fact that it houses deadly mythical fauna, it really gave off a "You shouldn't be here, get out ASAP." feeling. Safe to say I was on edge, and I think my companions were too. Butterfly was paying very close attention to her surroundings, looking around in multiple directions, flinching at every little sound, while Prism looked like she was about to throw hands, or hooves in this case, at anything that decided to jump out at us.

Despite the tension in the air, nothing happened. After what felt like hours we finally made it out. However, if I may use this term literally. "We weren't out of the woods yet." Unlike the previous environment however, these woods brought a welcome change. The dark trees were replaced with oak ones, birds were chirping when we got further in, and thanks to it resembling something natural and familiar, it was a hell of a lot better place to be.

Anyway, time passed as we followed the river. It wasn't until we made it into a more or less open area that I saw where we have been going to and to be honest at this point I wasn't as shocked as much as I was relieved to see a cozy little cottage resting near the border to the woods we just emerged from. Either there was a person living there, or that these Pegasus somehow managed to wield tools without opposable thumbs.

This cottage looked like a nature lovers dream home. The top and first floor was covered in grass while the house that it was resting on was made of some light tan stone material. There was an arch that went over a smaller river. Bird feeders in the surrounding trees and house exterior with many different types of birds that I never seen before. I think there were also rabbits on the front lawn. It really was a sight to behold. However when we got close enough they all stopped and acknowledged our presence by staring at us, or more specifically, me. When I got close enough it went from happy, lively, peaceful to just dead silent. I started to back away as I was starting to feel uncomfortable at the situation.

I saw Prism take Butterfly aside to converse with her.

[Fluttershy POV]

"Maybe this isn't a good idea keeping him around. I mean look at what happened with your animals."

I looked at the silent crowd before looking back at him. What I saw for the most part was uncertainty. I think it would just take time for them to adjust to him. I stated this to Rainbow to which she responded.

"Alright, that can come AFTER you get back from the hospital." Rainbow Dash urged.

I sighed before I responded with.

"I know that, I just need to see them before we go."

She groaned.

"You can clearly see they were doing fine."

I gave her a deadpan look before I said.

"All of them." To which she responded with.

"Ok ok fine, just hurry. You need to get that wing injury treated and the rest of your wounds checked for infection."

I nodded before I looked at our new friend, who was now looking at us.

"What about him?" I asked.

Rainbow looked at him before she looked back at me.

"What? What about him?"

"You think he'll be ok by himself here?"

Rainbow didn't say anything before she went over to him. She pointed her hoof at him before she pointed to the ground. I stared as he slowly nodded his head. Rainbow landed in front of me.

[Protagonist POV]

I'm not sure what was happening with these two but Prism just gestured something to me. By the pointing I assumed it meant to stay put. So that's what I did. Shortly after Prism landed on the ground Butterfly walked towards the cottage, and I swear literally every animal in the vicinity flocked towards her when she got close enough, completely forgetting about my presence. She looked like she was speaking to them and what was even more bizarre was that they seemed to be understanding whatever she's been saying. Whenever she would speak the animal she was addressing responded with either nods or shaking their head. After this she went inside for some time before she came back out.

The two of them started to make their way down the path and crossed over an arch bridge that was built over the river we had been following. Prism made sure to repeat the same gesture with a much more stern look before they left. When I couldn't see them anymore I waited for awhile, taking off the backpack and setting the duffel bag down before I walked over to the wooden arch bridge. It was nice to have all that weight off my shoulders. Once I was done stretching my back and right arm I walked over to the wooden arch bridge and saw that the path branched to the left and right. I walked across and peeked around the trees that obstructed my view. To my left I saw the path went on for a long time before curving out of sight behind trees.

The same wasn't fully the case for the right. I could see houses in the distance but my view was blocked by more trees. I wanted to go have a closer look but I remembered what Prism had instructed me to do. On one hand debated whether or not I should just go have a peek since it wasn't too far away. On the other hand, I didn't know how long Prism and Butterfly will be gone for.

After many minutes the former choice won me over, and I went down the right path. Despite my expectations to see these were houses someone lived in they were all run down and abandoned. The path ended at the edge of the woods. Four houses on the left, and one plus a clock tower to my right. Checking each house I saw they were all empty. There layout was mostly the same. Each one had an upstairs, which I didn't go up since the floors were made of wood that looked almost rotted. What really grabbed my attention was the clock tower.

I walked up to the door and tried the handle. The metal was rusted. I didn't want to chance cutting myself so I left it alone. Seeing is how there wasn't much else to explore in the area I went back to waiting on the grass in front of the cottage.

Once I got back I used the duffel bag as a pillow. Closing my eyes I tried to empty my mind. As I was doing this I found that the gentle warmth of the sun combined with the occasional soft breeze I found myself slowly but surely drifting off to sleep.

I never really looked too into dreams, like studies of it, dream interpretations and the like. But recently I have taken an interest and found myself thinking about it when I could. Mainly because my dreams have been pretty much the same thing over and over up until a certain point. It mostly went like this. I would be still in a black void with the sound of a steady wind coming from somewhere I couldn't locate. Some time would pass before I would look towards something just before it ended. There was a bright full moon. The strangest part about it though was the indescribable feeling I got from the brief time I looked at it.

This time however the dream lasted longer, and I didn't see the moon this time. Instead I saw something tall. so tall I couldn't see the top or bottom of it. It just stretched indefinitely It was hard to see at first but after some time I saw it was getting closer. It was when it got close enough that I realized it was a tornado. Something else that was present was the feeling of how real it seemed. Like I really was about to get sucked up into a tornado. I could feel wind getting stronger the closer it got. My body wouldn't move I just looked up as it drew closer. The wind got so strong it felt like I was going to be knocked down by it despite remaining rooted on the spot. The freight sound a tornado makes got so loud it was deafening.

I mentally prepared myself as best I could. I don't know what to expect since it was a dream. I think I did it mostly out of reflex. Just before the tornado got to me, however I felt that same feeling I got from looking at the moon. The tornado dispersed before it went quiet. When I woke up I my breathing was labored and I was quivering. I rolled to my side and slowly opened my eyes. When they were fully adjusted I sat up. I switched from breathing through my mouth to breathing through my nose when it felt comfortable enough to do so. I had never experienced a dream THAT lucid before. It would be one thing if it was just a normal dream, but that wasn't normal. It felt WAY too real.

I got my breathing under control after awhile but the quivering wouldn't go away. I walked over to the river to wash my face but it didn't help much. When I was walking back I took a look and saw the sun was on its way to setting. Maybe an hour or two before it was night.

An hour passed before I saw them return. I was about to start pitching the tent but they got back before I started. Butterfly's bandages were changed and she looked cleaner. No more twigs in her mane and she was less grimy looking. After they returned we attempted to go into the cottage. Like before all the animals paused and started to stare directly at me. As nervous as I felt at the situation I took slow steps forward. Butterfly stuck close to me which I think really helped. I got pretty close to some rabbits which moved to make room as I walked closer to the house. Reaching the front door we stepped inside. There was more animals within. The interior was cozy. Butterfly showed me around both the ground and second floor.

Now most animals in her home were smaller ones like birds, rabbits and the like but there was two animals that stood out to me. First one that I came across was a white rabbit. This little guy gave off an aura that set him a part from the rest of the critters. I don't know what it was, but he looked mean. I think he would have bitten me if I had tried to pet him. The second one stood out less because of the vibe he gave off and more of his physical appearance. By far the largest animal I've seen at this house was a brown bear. Understandably my natural instincts kicked in. My body was telling me to run but I tried my best to keep calm. To not show weakness. Luckily the brown bear didn't really seem to see me as a threat. After it stared at me for a good few more minutes it went back to whatever it was doing before.

Other than that things went a lot better than I had hoped. The last thing butterfly showed me was a bedroom on the second floor in the same hallway as the bathroom and the master bedroom. I looked at her as she smiled at me. I honestly wasn't expecting her to allow me to stay in the house. How long was I allowed to stay? A night? A week? Either way this was a gesture I really appreciated. I tried to show my appreciation the best way I knew how. I bowed to her. This caught her off guard, blushing slightly at my gesture before hiding her face behind her mane. I could see her smiling, which reassured me she got what I was trying to say. After thanks were given, one more surprise awaited me. She allowed me to use the shower. God knows I was LONG overdue for one. I must have spent almost a half an hour in there scrubbing off the dirt and grime from my body before I turned my attention to my bandaged left arm.

"Now comes the fun part." I thought.

Slowly removing the bandage was painful but not as bad as when that wolf chomped down on it. After I removed it I looked at the damage under running water. The only reason why I think my arm wasn't broken was because the wolf wasn't really trying to break it. Now that I think about it, It was more like me trying to get me arm free while it just effortlessly held on watching me struggle. Toying with its prey. I didn't think farther into it than that. I was lucky and should be thankful it didn't end up being worse. Taking the soap I washed it before I turned off the water. After I got out I put back on the clothes I had on before I got my bags situated. I replaced the bandages before I noticed a knock at the door. Looking towards the doorway I saw Prism. She gestured for me to follow her.

She guided me towards the living room. Sitting down I waited as I smelled something cooking. When food came out I saw it was an assortment of steamed vegetable's. After the others begun to eat I picked up the plate and quickly finished it. After I was done I sat the plate down on the coffee table before stared at the floor. Not much else was done. Prism left after talking to Butterfly for awhile. I went to my room and got settled in for the night.

I stayed awake for several hours after I climbed into bed. I was now dreading going to sleep because of what happened from before. Sleep eventually overtook me. After awhile I started to hear the wind, but it never picked up or stopped. Just steady and constant. I didn't see any tornadoes approaching from the void to come and suck me into oblivion. As time passed I became more comfortable as I drifted in the void. And all with not a single moon in sight.