That Really Rumbled My Jungles
Rumble in the Jungle
By Homage
“...I'm sorry, but I can't play with you right now. You know I have work to do.”
“Awww...” said the disappointed gray colt. “Why do you always have to be so busy, Thunderlane?”
The navy pegasus got to eye level with the foal. “Rumble...” he began, not quite sure what to say next. “Little bro... you know how much I want to. You're the best brother in the world, and you know I love nothing more than to spend time with you. But I have other responsibilities, namely putting food on the table for the both of us. Now, my shift today is only a few hours. Why don't you go play in the backyard until I get back tonight?”
Rumble's lips began to trembled. His older brother hugged him. “I know, I know...” the larger pegasus consoled him. “I miss Mom too. I think about her every day.”
“But why?” sobbed the colt. “Why did she have to go away and leave us all alone?”
Thunderlane took a while to respond. “She didn't want to go. Mom loved us more than anything in the world. She would never leave us if she had had a choice. Some things just happen, and nopony in the world has the power to stop them. Not even the Princesses.”
The two brothers sat there a few more minutes, hugging and crying. Thunderlane eventually stood up and wiped his tears off with a hoof. “Now I have to get to work. Promise me you'll be OK here until I get back.”
Rumble sniffled a bit, but nodded in agreement. His big brother playfully tugged the colt's ear. “Love you, little bro.”
The gray colt watched the thundercloud cutie mark as its owner trotted out of the room. He heard the front door swing open and shut as the stallion took off for Cloudsdale.
“Great,” Rumble thought, “Now I'm stuck in the house, and there's nothing to do.”
He thought about his predicament for a moment. He could go for a fly. The colt's skill had improved dramatically in the past few weeks. He could make it all the way up to Cloudsdale and back by himself. Maybe he could go see some of his pegasus friends in the clouds. They could cheer him up.
“But Thunderlane said to stay here until he got back.” Rumble sulked. He took a look out the window at the backyard. “Hmm... that grass is awfully tall...” he thought out loud.
A smile slowly crept up the colt's face. “Where did Thunderlane put that refrigerator box?”
Ten minutes, a pair of scissors, and a few pieces of tape later, Rumble headed out the back door, wielding a cardboard machete in his teeth. He wore the safari hat from his Nightmare Night costume and his saddlebag from school. He had filled it with empty cans, bottles, and other facsimiles of survival gear.
Rumble headed toward the patch of tall grass. “One stallion against nature,” the colt narrated to himself, “One stallion with the courage to face the dangers of the Amazin' Jungle on a long, hard journey to discover the lost city of El Dorito. This is,” the colt paused, “Rumble in the Jungle!”
Rumble walked along the jungle path, slicing apart the low hanging vines and fallen branches in his way. Everything had gone according to plan so far. Three days of walking under the tree canopy along the trail, with no dangerous creatures or storms. Even the mosquitoes were leaving him alone. Just to be safe, he reapplied some bug spray.
He continued following the trail until he reached a dead end. “Hmm,” he muttered, spitting out the machete and pulling out his map and compass. The colt traced his planned course of travel with a hoof. “The path ends here. I need to keep going east for eight miles until I reach this giant rock formation. The locals said that the lost city is rumored to just another thirteen miles to the northeast of that.” Rumble took a quick fly through the trees above to get a look at the position of sun. “Hmm, it's noon,” he mused, landing back on the forest floor. “I should able to get to the rock formation by nightfall and set up camp there. Tomorrow I will set off for the lost city. El Dorito, here I come!”
Just at that moment, Rumble's ears perked at the sound of a nearby growl. He quickly shoved his gear back into his bag and picked up the machete, looking all around.
There was nothing to see. Rumble breathed a sigh of relief, spitting out the machete again. “Probably just my stomach,” the pegasus muttered. “Come to think of it, it IS lunchtime...”
Right on cue, a bright flash of orange and black leapt out from the shadows, headed directly toward the gray colt!
Rumble barely had time to leap to the side, rolling to avoid the tiger's pounce. The colt got back up and stared down his feline opponent. He knew the power of its jumps. There was no way he could take off fast enough to get away. Rumble eyed the machete lying next to the tiger. If he could just get to it...
Unfortunately, the beast followed his gaze, pouncing on the weapon and shredding it like cardboard with its teeth and claws. “Bad kitty!” bellowed Rumble, in a feeble attempt to scare the tiger away. The big cat glowered at the gray pegasus, baring its teeth.
It was now or never. Rumble took to the air, flapping his wings as hard as he could in an attempt to reach the jungle canopy. But the predator wasn't going to give up so easily. It used its powerful hind legs to leap to the nearest tree, then push off to the next one, jumping higher and higher. Rumble shot upward like a rocket. But the colt's wings were no match for the tiger's agility. A powerful claw swipe knocked the young pegasus to the jungle floor.
The grounded colt rubbed his head. His left hind leg was bleeding. But he had a bigger problem. The beast landed on its feet in front of him, snarling. In a desperate measure to save himself, Rumble grabbed a nearby piece of wood in his hooves and flung it with all his remaining strength.
Luck was with the gray colt that day. The heavy log struck the growling creature right between the eyes. It yelped in pain, falling backwards. Rumble seized this moment of vulnerability. He snatched up another log and approached the sprawled animal. “GET OUT OF HERE, YOU HORRIBLE BEAST!” the colt screamed, raising the wooden projectile over the creature's head.
The huge cat whimpered, then turned its tail and dashed off in search of easier prey. The young pegasus dropped the log and fell his knees, exhausted, but glad to be alive. After a few minutes, his breathing slowed and he rose to his hooves to dust himself off.
Rumble took a glance at his ruined weapon. “Stupid animal,” he muttered. But, machete or no machete, he still had a mission. The young pegasus pulled a roll of bandages from his saddlebag and wrapped up his gashed leg. Putting the medical supplies away, Rumble pulled out his compass to determine which way was east.
Rumble curled up in his sleeping bag in a small cave. He had made it to the rock formation just as planned. Besides the tiger attack, the rest of the journey had gone smoothly. The pegasus adjusted the can of beans that was warming over the campfire. Tomorrow he would head northwest until he reached the lost city. He doubted he would actually find El Dorito, but there had to be something of interest out there. And finding it would make this whole adventure worth it. The gray colt removed the beans from the fire and began pouring them into his mouth. He washed them down with a bottle of water. He still had plenty of supplies left. At least a week's worth. It was more than enough for the next six days the journey would take.
"I sure am tired," Rumble yawned. Removing his hat and placing it beside him, the gray pegasus snuggled up in his sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep. He had a big day of adventuring tomorrow.
Rumble wiped his brow as he walked through the trees. He checked the map. The pegasus still had seven more miles to go. And, if he was reading it correctly, he should be approaching “El Río de Muchas Pirañas”.
He looked up from his map. A huge, slow moving river stretched in both directions. The locals warned him about the river. It was filled with flesh-eating piranhas! Anypony foalish enough to try to swim across would be eaten in seconds.
Rumble watched a parrot as it flew just above the surface of the water. It was a mere hoof's distance from the surface. Almost instantly, what seemed like hundreds of small fish leaped onto the tropical bird, biting it and pulling it under. It surfaced momentarily, thrashing and splashing, until being yanked down again, this time for good.
The gray colt gulped. He knew what the carnivorous fish were capable of, but seeing it first-hoof was much more disturbing than hearing tales.
According to what the locals had told him, the only safe way to cross was via a small, slippery bridge of stones. He saw the “bridge” about two hundred feet from his current position. The pegasus trotted over.
The stones were just above the surface of the water, between both banks of the 100 foot wide river, and were covered with extremely slippery algae. One would hate to slip...
Rumble tried not to think about it. He hesitantly put a hoof down on the first step. All of a sudden, his piranha-induced stupor wore off.
“Duh!” he said, smacking himself in the forehead with a hoof. He flapped his wings and soared right across the river, laughing at his own foalishness. "Just like jumping a puddle..." the colt muttered.
Rumble had trotted another five miles since crossing the river. It would be night soon, but he only had two miles left. He sighed and took a swig from his canteen. When the colt reached to put it back in his backpack, he heard something whizz past his head. It lodged in a nearby tree. Rumble took a closer look at the small, wooden thing. It looked like a toothpick with a feather stuck on the end.
Rumble gulped. This could only mean one thing: the natives had found him. But the ponies this deep in the jungle were uncivilized, attacking anypony who ventured into their territory. He saw three of the tribals in the nearby bushes. Two were unicorns and one was an earth pony. All three were about his size, and wore brightly colored face paint. No pegasi, he noted. He could fly away if he needed to. But rather than incur their wrath, Rumble tried a more passive approach. The pegasus colt put his hooves in the air in surrender. “I meant no harm. I did not know this was your land. So if you would just be kind enough to let me pass though, I promise...”
Rumble's voice was cut short by the sound of three darts being shot at once. He ducked under the deadly, poisoned needles. Clearly they were not interested in negotiation. He took to the air, weaving side-to-side to avoid the waves of lethal projectiles.
The gray colt thought he made a clean getaway. He was wrong. He checked behind him only to discover two pegasus fillies with identical facepaint and blowguns chasing him.
“Oh come on!” he complained. The tribal pegasi responded sharply with more needles. One of them lodged in Rumble's hat. He couldn't keep this up much longer.
Thinking quickly, the gray pegasus grabbed a rope from his backpack and threw it over a nearby tree branch. It caught. He tugged on the other end, stretching it taut.
The wild pegasi were going too fast to stop. They slammed into the rope and were caught by it. The blowguns were yanked out of their mouths as they were forced to a stop. Rumble swiftly flew circles around the tree, with the cord in his mouth. The two ponies were now tied to the trunk of the tree. The gray pegasus smiled, and quickly tied a knot. As he flew off, he yelled to the struggling pegasi, “I'll see you guys later!”
Well, he had made it. It was a long and perilous journey, but the colt had finally made it to the lost city of El Dorito. He had made it just in time too. The sun was setting, and the sky was beginning to fill with vibrant shades of orange and pink.
Rumble approached the wall of the city. It was in such a state of disrepair, he assumed it to be abandoned. However, the legends held that it contained the most valuable treasure in all the world, beyond measures of price or comparison.
The young pegasus trotted up to the gates of the city. They were easily five times his height, made of heavy stone. He pushed on them, and was shocked when they actually started to move. As the door swung open, he got a glimpse of what was inside. His jaw dropped.
Nothing. There was nothing inside. The wall surrounded a flat, empty patch of land. He had come all this way for nothing. Rumble sulked in despair. A destroyed city with no loot would have been acceptable, but to discover nothing at all?
“Little bro, I'm back!” Rumble's face lit up. The most valuable treasure in all the world. The colt immediately sprang out of the tall grass and zoomed inside the house to tell Thunderlane all about his adventure.
