Wingsby AncientChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 1"Ten bits says he passes out before he dies" the voice spoke deep and full of satisfaction. "Quite the risk my friend." another voice replied quickly, “He’s endured quite a bit already. I wouldn't put it past him to spit in your other eye before you finish him." "Than it’s a bet. Let’s test how tough these humans really are." Sharp talons gripping a glowing red blade thrust into my chest. I screamed. My 20th birthday was not one that passed by quietly. Usually flashing lights and loudness accompany a well hosted party. If the lights were not just red and blue and the siren was a tad bit louder I wouldn't have had a complaint in the world. A flashlight gently tapped my window before shining into my eyes. I rolled it down. "Good evening officer." my voice cracked which sounded nervous even to me. The woman I spoke to looked young. I guessed she couldn't have been more than five years older than me. "Evening." she sounded leaning down to look into my car. "License and regi-" I had already pulled out the necessary papers and had handed them to the officer which I had immediately regretted 'Wonderful' I thought 'Now she knows I'm familiar with this process.' She looked at my license then looked back up at me with a raised eyebrow. "What?" I asked trying not to sound rude. Something I've never had luck with. I then remembered my license. It was renewed a little less than a year ago. Since then I’ve taken an interest in getting a short mohawk. I thought I’d try it for a few months then ease the transition back into the long hair that used to end right below my eyes. It wasn't that I was a fan of the look at the time, it was more of a way to sleep at work without anyone noticing, and it worked well. I knew that was the reason for her disapproving glance. The stare that followed was seemingly punishment for my apparently disrespectful question. "Oh!" I said pointing to my head, "Midlife crisis." I said jokingly. The officer smiled. 'I can still salvage a warning from this!' I thought returning her smile 'Maybe even her number. ' She took the papers and told me to wait there. As she turned and walked back to her cruiser I looked in my rearview mirror. The first thing I looked at was her rear end getting further and further. 'Not ba-' my mind immediately shifted perspective, 'Why the hell am I trying to hit on a cop?' another shift, 'Because I can.' I then gazed up at the car flashing red and blue. The cruiser was of a newer Mustang model capable of keeping up with the ballsiest of drivers. The bucket I drove barley hit 100 whenever I took the opportunity to test its limits. I was extremely grateful it wasn't mine for the fact that when I finally earned enough cash it would go towards a car that when put side by side with the thing I drove would make it look like an actual bucket with glass and rubber glued to it. I noticed the officer’s cruiser was empty, for some reason I had expected two officers. The passenger seat of the cruiser was filled with stacked cardboard boxes. Suddenly I felt an intense pressure in my head. My ears popped and I became immediately blinded by a great flash of light. I had covered my eyes and smelled smoke. I couldn't see but the speed at which I was able to unbuckle my seatbelt and open then dive out the car door amazed even myself. "What the fuck?!" I yelled in agony barely able to open my eyes and unable to hear my own voice. I saw a bright light and before I could comprehend what was happening I noticed that the officer was standing over me. I couldn't hear a damn thing but I could tell she was saying something. I tried to respond but all I could do was let out an agonizing moan. My body felt like I had tried to chew on a taser. It was hard to tell what was going on so I tried to relax as much as my body fought against the act. A ringing sound began to fade into my ears as well as that of a voice. "Hey! HEY! Are you alright?" spoke the officer. "Fuuuuuck!" was all I could let out. "What’s wrong? Can you stand?" she asked. I grunted and rolled over onto my stomach and began to push myself up. The officer grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. She was a head shorter than me but I could tell she was strong. "What happened?" I asked still considerably dazed. I saw her open her mouth to speak but the world went silent once again "Once more! Concentrate! We almost have it!" a strange girlish voice spoke. "Huh?" was all I could say before I was being pushed onto the hood of my car. I didn't have the mental capability to process what was happening. I tried to pull my hands up to my head but for some reason I couldn't move my hands or arms. "What?" "Sir, you are under arrest for driving a stolen vehicle. I’ve called an ambulance for whatever it is that’s affecting you. You have the right to-" "Now!" that voice again. It felt as if I was just imagining it loudly within my own head. My vision blurred as everything had become increasingly bright. "Hey? Hey! Are you al-" Sound continually faded in and out in a seemingly rhythmic fashion. "What’s going on?" I asked aimlessly. The feeling of being pulled backwards came over me. I could barely see but I heard a sharp cry. It sounded like the officer. "Try harder!" Dammit who was that? Then nothing. Chapter 2I felt as if I was falling and standing at the same time. I’m not sure why but the sensation was rather enjoyable before I realized what was happening. I swear my eyes were open but all I saw was black. Had I gone blind? That strange bright light earlier hadn't hurt my eyes yet it left me with the feeling it had something to do with why I couldn't see anything. "Did it work?" a new voice said. "Who's there?!" I said "I’m not sure." it was that first voice again. I spun around or at least I thought I did still unable to see anything but darkness. "Hey!" I shouted, "What in the hell i-" "Did you feel that?" the first voice cut me off. Whoever it was their hearing sucked. I was getting extremely agitated. "Feel what?" the second voice asked. "I’m going to try and provoke a response." "Are you certain that’s a good idea?" "What’s the worst that could happen?" "... Fine. But be careful" "For the love of god! Will someone help me?" I shouted. A strange feeling of warmth washed over my back. I turned to face the source of this. I saw for a brief second a little bolt of what looked like purple electricity before disappearing. I waited a few seconds in confusion as another bolt struck the ground close to me. "What the hell?!" I shouted. "I think I have something!" the first voice said sounding excited. "I swear when I get out of this I'm g-" a flash of light accompanied the purple lightning manifesting out of nothing. It struck me right dead center in the chest. I yelled, less pain driven than surprise though the force of the energy striking me did make me stumble back. I instinctively tried to catch my balance while reaching towards where I was struck. I was afraid to look down to look for a wound for fear of how bad the worst case scenario would play out from a first person perspective. My hands were tingling causing me to look down at them. I couldn't believe my eyes. My hands were grabbing the stream of electricity that had struck and impaled me. The bolt of purplish lightning was going into my chest but what was stranger than that was that it didn't injure me. Through the coursing stream of electricity I could see that where it had struck my hoodie a hole was burned. I didn't feel any pain from the lightning that was seemingly going through me. "I've got something!" that damned first voice again. I felt a strong tug from the lightning. It was pulling me. I looked up forgetting the wound when I saw a bright light that was at the other end of the stream of lightning. I was being pulled towards it. I pulled at the lightning trying to pry it from my chest as it pulled me towards some unknown fate. "No!" I yelled yanking the lightning back. I heard a scream. "What’s happening?" shouted the second voice. "It’s fighting back! I don't know what we have!" replied the first voice. I turned pulling the lightning with me. It yanked harder knocking me on my back. I was being dragged across nothing towards what looked like what I imagined heaven would look like from outside its gates. I quickly rolled onto my stomach and thrust all my weight into a push forward. The lackadaisical stream of lightning that had me hooked was pulled tight and began to produce loud sparks as I fought to get away from that light. "I’m losing control!" the first voice yelled, "Help!" "Hold on!" I heard a loud crack from behind and stopped to turn. What I turned to face was an even larger stream of lightning alongside the first. It swerved and spun with a form like a giant serpent. It unlike the first stream of lightning was what looked to me like a dark blue I spun once more and tried my best to run. The purple lightning was still hooked in me. I hadn't even questioned how I was not dead yet if this was real. The more I tugged and the further I had gotten from the lightning the less I could feel it holding me back. I was now running at full sprint feeling completely unhindered. I could hear the cracking of the lightning and turned my head a little. "Shi-" was all I managed to yell before the large stream of lightning had shot towards me. I was paralyzed as it struck me in the gut. Without hesitation it began to pull me back towards the light. "Maintain the door!" "I can’t! It’s too much!" The light which had spawned the two streams of lightning was growing dimmer. But the blue lightning pulled hard and dragged me towards the light. "Hurry!" I managed to move an arm just a little. I made an effort to grab the lightning still not fully understanding how I could do that in the first place. This phenomenon was defiantly under the control of something. Whatever it was actively trying to capture me. The light was close and got only closer despite my best efforts to claw at nothingness to gain "Don't break your concentration!" The voice was louder than it had ever been and I pinpointed its source. It was the light! I turned to face the brightness I was being aggressively pulled toward and saw something in it. I focused on the light and saw movement inside of it. "Hold it! I think I see something!" With one more violent tug I was pulled into the light. I shut my eyes deciding that if this was my death I'd rather reflect on moments in my life before I died. For some strange reason I opened my eyes again and found myself looking into another pair of eyes wide open with what I could only assume was fear. The eyes belonged to a purple face of... something. The sudden sight had caught me off guard like everything else that was going on. I yelled in surprise causing the purple thing to back up yelling in surprise in response. Sparks erupted everywhere and before I knew it I couldn't see... again. Everything started shaking. "I'm losing control!" "Focus!" "I can't!" I yelled as I suddenly felt as If I had just been launched by a catapult. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" was all I could say as I flew through whatever space surrounded me. Chapter 3I was awoken by droplets splashing against my face. I began to moan in pain due to what felt like my ribcage being torn open. I tried to open my eyes and was blinded by bright light "Will this nightmare just end already?" I grumbled as I shielded my eyes from this light. 'Wait a minute. This light actually hurts my eyes?' I squinted, it was bright but also blue. Was it over? Had I just woken up? I tried to sit up only to grab my stomach in pain. Was I wounded? How bad was it? I sat up and patted my chest to feel for wounds. I looked down to see a pretty good sized whole in my hoodie and shirt underneath. The flesh behind the holes looked as if it had been sun burnt badly with dry red cracked skin. I was faintly bleeding from the cracks but it wasn't as bad as it felt. I finally managed to open my eyes fully and see white splotches in the blue canvas that displayed itself before me. 'Am I outside?' I though as I pushed myself to sit upright. My hands pressed against dew covered grass which answered my question almost immediately. Apparently it was early in the morning from the look of the sun. I looked around and saw trees. Ignoring the pain in my gut I forced myself to stand up and lean against a tree. Where in the hell was I? I turned and saw what looked like an opening to a clearing. I shoved myself off of the tree and stumbled to several trees resting against each one. I finally reached the tree before the opening and was immediately grateful I had decided to wrap my arms around the tree to prop myself up as I looked out over the edge of a cliff that faced a massive valley. I looked down over the edge and guessed It was a good ten second drop. Looking out over the valley didn't turn anything up. I saw nothing that showed any sign of civilization. Not a single road or house was distinguishable within the forest below. My stomach grumbled but I had no idea what I should have done. My choices boiled down to getting food or starting a signal fire. Between my options I chose food. I knew the hunger I was feeling wouldn't help me through this and wouldn't get better. After a final gaze upon the valley I spotted what could have been a pond or a lake, at this range it was hard to tell. If there was anything to eat it’d probably be there. The cliff side was steep but not impassible. I used to rock climb as a kid so I had some idea of what I was doing even though I couldn't visualize a single memory of me doing anything like this. The climb down wasn't to challenging except for two drops I had to tuck and roll to make. Jagged rock was not meant to be rolled across as the results of doing so left my right shoulder bloody and tore up a little more of my hoodie. The last obstacle I faced was a sheer 40 foot drop to the forest floor. I didn't see any immediate solutions to this. I spent the next five minutes going over ideas on how to get down from the small ledge I stood upon. With the cliff wall as high as it was going back wasn't an option. I looked down to see I was almost level with the top of the nearest tree. Without giving myself time to think about the consequences I jumped. It isn't all that rare for me to make a seemingly bad decision without thinking about it at all. Luckily I collided with the tree and got two handfuls of branches. I stayed still so as not to break any branches as the treetop swung with me on it. I slowly began my decent through the tree wondering of what I would need before nightfall. 'I could make a shelter,' I told myself 'and build it right by that la-" A branch snapped loudly from somewhere in the distance. I had my breath held listening waiting for a second sound to come signaling a wild animal. Surely enough there was a crunch of fallen leaves being stepped on. I was about to jump down but then thought about whatever it was that made the noise had the chance to be predatory. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out a utility knife I had gotten from work. 'Yeah bears will run in fear.' I thought as I looked at the pitiful razor edge of the blade. I looked around and saw a good sized branch to fashion into a spear. Another crunch, whatever it was it was getting closer. I reached for the branch and twisted and bent it trying to make as little sound as possible. The branch finally broke with a snap and I quickly began to sharpen the end with my knife with no hesitation. I heard the sound of loud wing beats start, get louder, and stop again. The tree I was in gave a sharp jerk almost tossing me off my branch. I looked down to see if anything was climbing my branch. I quickly began cutting the branches off of my almost finished spear. I stopped and looked straight ahead. 'Where’s the crunching?' I thought something knew I was in the tree and was trying to climb it. I lowered my makeshift spear so it pointed down. Then it hit me. The tree shook earlier... But nothing was climbing it... I felt unusual warmth on the back of my neck for a brief second. I froze, my head involuntarily began to look up. I was eye to eye with what looked like a giant birds head. Its golden eyes stared right into mineI swear for a second I thought it was fake. Then it blinked... "AHHH!!!" I tried to bring my spear up and lost my balance. I fell and hit the ground landing on my back. I looked up into the tree and saw the entirety of the creature as it looked down at me. It looked like a bird with the body of a lion. It had wings protruding from its back that were massive as compared to anything I've ever seen. It continued to stare at me with yellow eyes that seemed to lock into a stare with mine. I made a small notice of the gretish purple marks around its eyes. My makeshift spear which sat balancing on a branch when I let go wobbled a little and then slid out of the tree and landed inches from my head impaling the ground a good half foot deep. I swung an arm and grasped my spear ripping it from the earth in panic. I aimed it up towards the creature which was unmoving up in the tree. I thought I was imagining it but I could've sworn it looked... confused. I pushed myself to my feet and backed away from the tree. I turned and heard the crashing of leaves right behind me so I burst into a full out sprint. Whatever the hell that was it was my size or bigger and had managed to sneak up on me in a tree. I was not in any shape to fight this thing if it came down to that. I couldn't tell if whatever it was was catching up to me so I began to run though the thickest brush I could find hoping to lose it if it was in pursuit. My mind went from a state of frenzied panic to planning my next move in an extremely rough transition. I began to think if I could ambush the creature I could kill it, if I could kill it I could eat it, id need a fire though but I was going to take this one step at a time. I had made some good distance between me and the creature. The crashing leaves were further than they had been but getting closer. I scanned the area and saw a tree thicker than the rest right ahead of me. When I reached the tree I quickly scurried around it to see it provided great cover. I crouched and waited. I readied my spear and positioned to charge whatever came past the tree. Hopefully I'll catch it by its blind spot but something in the back of my mind told me 'That easy? Not likely.' The crashing was loud enough to be on the other side of the tree. It suddenly stopped. *Crunch* I held my breath *Crunch* I tightened the grip on my spear *Crunch* 'This is it! Now or never, do or d-' "What the hell was that?" said a voice that was not my own from around the tree. ‘A voice?’ I thought confused. I hadn’t seen anyone on my way here. I stood up and poked my head from around the tree. There it stood, that damned creature walking up to the tree. I pulled my head back before I drew its attention. I needed to figure out where that person was that spoke a few seconds ago. Did they see the creature? Is that why they asked what they did? I saw the bird creature walk past the tree not noticing me in the slightest. I leaned forward ready to charge. I saw there were spots on the ground bare of leaves, perfect. I launched myself away from the tree and towards the side of the creature carful to place my feet upon the dirt and not the dry leaves which surely would have given me away. Just a few more yards.... *Snap* 'Crap' The creature turned to face me rushing it. Its whole body lowered unexpectedly ducking the spear that was meant for its midsection. My momentum sent me straight into its side knocking the wind out of me and my spear from my hand when my stomach rammed its wing. I suddenly realized I was leaning over the back of the creature. It pushed itself into a sideways roll and I, being on top of the thing went with it. Before I knew it I was being crushed beneath the creature's back like it was a living steamroller. I did what I could and quickly wrapped an arm around the creature’s neck from under it. I didn't know how effective it would be but I was about to find out. The creature immediately responded to being choked by thrashing around which wasn't pleasant due to this thing weighing as much as shopping cart full of wet sand. I pulled my chokehold as tight as I could. The creature swiped its claws wildly as it tried to strike flesh. Twelve seconds into the choke the creature lifted up a talon and seemed to ball its claws into a fist. It brought its arm down with considerable force into my midsection. Its elbow impacted my stomach harder than I had ever been hit before. I could help but to let go which the creature took as an opportunity to roll off of me and over a few times creating some distance between the two of us. I heard the thing gasping for the same air I did. I rolled over onto my stomach and looked around for my spear. It lay halfway between me and the creature. I dove for it but made it look as if I was charging the creature which jumped to its feet and backed up repositioning itself to defend. I grabbed my spear and looked the creature in the eyes. They looked almost gold in color and returned an equally fiery gaze. I’ve seen this thing before somewhere it just didn't ring any bells. It lifted up a clawed talon and flashed its claws in a seemingly threatening manner. 'Is it trying to intimidate me?' I raised my spear trying to return the gesture. The suddenly the realization I've been looking for popped into my head. 'Griffon!' Then I saw it. A large dark shadow appeared behind the creature that could have only been a griffon. It came up from behind the griffon slowly and stepped into the light. It was massive, standing behind the griffon it was easily three times its size. It was a lion from the looks of first glance but then I noticed it had wings as it stepped out from the shadows of the trees it was hiding in. My jaw dropped and my stare went from the griffon to whatever the hell was standing behind it. "What in god name..." was all I let out. The griffon seemed to notice the path of my gaze turned to face the new creature. I swear I saw the griffons white feathered face go pale. The griffon tried to bolt for it but a huge scorpion tail as thick as my body came down and struck the ground inches in front of its beak. When I saw that the tail was connected to the giant winged lion I almost crapped myself. The griffon tried to sidestep quickly to maneuver away but didn't see the massive paw come in from its blind spot. I heard a thump and saw the griffon fly straight over me clearing me by a foot. Its body was completely limp as it flew through the air right into a tree. A loud snap accompanied the collision. It fell to the ground from where it struck the tree to lay there motionless. I was frozen in fear. "So this is how I die." I manage to say as the huge creature made its way towards me. I readied my spear which drew no reaction from the creature. I began to back up looking for a way out. My foot hit something soft. I looked behind me to see that I had backed into the body of the griffon which seemed to shrug a little from the contact. I looked back at the other creature which was lowering its head as it got closer. An idea struck, I slowly began to crouch lower and lower trying to look as little as a threat as possible. My spear was pointed right at the creatures face. I couldn't kill this thing even if I got a clear shot at its throat. So I was going to do the next best thing. The lion thing's head lowered until it was only six feet away from me. 'Just a little closer.' It sniffed me and leaned forward licking its lips. 'Now!' I sprung to my feet lifting my spear with both hands thrusting it forward. I was showered in a small rain of blood as my spear sank into its target. The creature reared back sounding off with a deafening howl of pain. The spear now protruded from the creature's right eyes. The large creature turned around and ran blinded in one eye and full of rage and pain. It smacked into a tree and unable to see what it had run into it swung a massive paw. The ease by which the creature toppled the tree astounded me. 'If that had been me-' I stopped that thought instantly. The large creature stumbled over the tree and dashed into the forest crushing everything its size or smaller until it was out of view. I pulled in a deep breath realizing I hadn't taken a breath since I had last spoke. I leaned over resting with my hands on my knees. I heard something moving behind me so I turned around to see the griffon. It lay where it landed with its eyes open and looking directly at me. I was going to die if I didn't eat soon so I figured the sooner I got this over with the sooner I could move on to something less urgent to my survival. I slowly walked toward the griffon trying to see if it had anymore fight in it. It just laid there trying to move its legs which moved little by little but not enough to accomplish anything. I walked up to it unable to break eye contact. It looked like it stared into my soul which I suppose came from facing inevitable death. I didn't have my spear anymore and somewhere in this pleasant little Hell laid my knife. I wasn't going to wait for the griffon to die but I didn't want to kill it bare handed. The thought of doing so made me feel a little sick inside. A large rock was planted in the ground besides me. I reached down and pulled as hard as I could. It came out of the ground on the first try. It was about the size of a football but heavy enough to work. I reached the griffon and looked at it for a moment. I lifted the rock above my head hating the fact I was about to kill something that only existed in myths and legends. 'I’m sorry.' I thought. "Do it." I stopped. "What are you waiting for?" it was the griffon. It was... speaking. I stepped back lowering then dropping the rock and covering my mouth with a hand. "No." was the only thing I could think to say, "No, no, no, no! You can’t talk! That’s impossible!" "What are you talking about?" spoke the griffon with a distinct female voice. "What the hell are you?!" I shouted pointing at the griffon. "Breakfast for some ugly looking troll apparently." the griffon retorted, "Are you going to finish this?" I was speechless. I was talking to a griffon. I didn't know what to say or even ask. "You got lucky dude but if I get back up you won’t be." I had a brief moment of mental instability and burst out laughing. "What’s so funny?!" the griffon spat. "Well for starters I’m talking to a griffon... who's talking back." I proclaimed still laughing before continuing "Oh then there was that thing back there that would have and SHOULD HAVE killed both of us. So forgive me if I’m offending you." "YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!" the griffon yelled managing to raise its head. "Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up! You were stalking me though the forest and you thought I was trying to kill you?!" I laughed harder. "You're in my territory!" the griffon spat. "Then I'm gonna guess that big ass death machine that just tried to eat us was too and I don't remember seeing you do anything about it!" My stomach was in an indescribable amount of pain from hunger, being impaled by lightning, clotheslined by a griffon wing, crushed, and being elbowed. Laughing was suddenly a chore so I stopped. "Either kill me or get lost troll but spare me your presence." The griffon said with hatred burning in its eyes. I walked back over to the griffon and knelt beside it. "Can you get up?" I asked. The griffin responded by pushing its talons into the ground and began to rise to its feet slowly. The griffon tried to do something with its wings before letting out a loud caw and collapsing back to the ground. "You okay?" I asked. The griffon didn't answer. It turned its head with tears in its eyes to look at its wing. I scooted closer. "Let me help you up." I said reaching for the griffon. "Get away from me!" the griffon screeched. I retracted my reach just a little. "It’s not enough torture for you to try and kill me, get my wing broken, then mock me? Then you all of the sudden you want to help?! What’s your game troll?" the griffon’s eyes were full of searing hatred and pain. "Listen I believe this is all a huge misunderstanding and if you let me help you then we can get the hell outta here before that huge ball of happy comes back here looking for an eye doctor." all I got back was that same continuous stare. "Listen I'm hungry as hell and tired so either help me help you or start plucking your feathers." No response. I held my hand out to the griffon that just kept staring. 'That’s it.' "Three. Two. On-" The griffon reached out a claw and grabbed my hand. I pulled leaning my weight back and the griffon managed to prop its legs underneath it and stand. I let go of the talon and turned to inspect its wing. "What do you think you're doing troll?" the griffon snapped. "I used to have a pet bird." I replied, "It decided to fly into the ceiling fan one day. Took three weeks for its wing to heal." "I’m no pet bird!" "Looks like you're going to need a whole ton of bandages for this. I’ve never seen wings this big." The griffon turned its head away. If I didn't know any better I’d of guessed it was blushing. "Please tell me you have a place to stay?" I asked. The griffon looked at me for a moment. "There’s a cave by the lake. Half hours walk." "Let’s go then." I said “I don't want you near my place troll." "I’m not a freaking troll!" "You're right. Trolls aren't that ugly." I laughed what could I say, she got me. "Just lead the way princess." Chapter 4The forest was humid. It wasn't all too much different from hiking back home. I looked from the trees to the griffon. It was a little disappointing knowing that a creature that was mythological and described as graceful and beautiful was standing before me and most likely hated my very existence. "So," I said trying my best to soften any hard feelings between us "Where are we anyways?" The moment of silence that ensued before it answered felt strangely suspenseful. "Did you hear me?" I asked. Still no answer came. "Do you have a name?" same results. I got the message but didn't really care how the griffon felt. "Okay fine, but can you at LEAST tell me your gender because it’s bugging the hell outta me." It sounded female but I wasn't going to take a guess and risk being wrong around something that already wanted me dead. "Female." the griffon hissed. I gave out an intrigued "Huh." and shrugged. The griffon quickly turned to face me "What’s THAT supposed to mean?" She said in a low threatening tone. I could tell it didn't take much to anger her. "Don't even try to play that card with me." I shot back, "You didn’t even exist a day ago." "What are you talking about troll?" "How about we start this off with whole troll issue. First off I'm not a troll, I’m a human and secondly I’m starting to regret not leaving your sorry ass behind when that thing attacked. I could have just run you know, making you breakfast for that... What was that anyway?" "A manticore." The griffon said with a seemingly disgusted tone before continuing down whatever path we were taking. I then heard her mutter under her breath. "Human? Human, human human..." she mumbled. "You said human right?" She asked anger still tainted her tone. I nodded my head hoping the gesture meant the same to the griffon as it did to people. "I've heard that word before but..." she stopped with her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. "But what?" I demanded, "Are there any other humans around here?" The griffon’s eyes seemed to scan the ground now but it was obvious she was trying to find an answer to a question that was never asked. "Listen if you know something, anything you gotta-" "We're here." the griffon cut me off. I looked up. I was standing in front of a large rock formation. The sides were covered with broken branches and gaps in the side were filled with mud. It wasn't the prettiest thing I've ever seen but I wasn't about to complain. The griffon walked over to a large piece of bark leaning against the sides of two rocks. Her claws wrapped around the right side and pulled it to the left. Like a sliding door the bark opened up to an entrance into the rock formation. I whistled impressed. "You live here?" I asked. "Yea. You got a problem with it?" I heard the griffon growl. "I meant no offense! Quit making me out to be a bad guy!" 'One way or another I’m certain you'll be the death of me.' The afterthought rang out loud enough in my mind that I could have accidentally said it without knowing. Hours earlier "You said it would work!" a purple unicorn said stomping her hoof in disappointment. "And it did Twilight." the voice of the other pony calmed her just a little. "What do you mean Luna? Whatever that was we lost it and I’m too exhausted to try again." The purple pony was leaning against a wall for support. She wasn't going to admit it but her whole body stung with an unusual pain that made her wince at the smallest attempts at movement. Luna turned to face her "We did not actually lose it Twilight. I felt the force pulled to our side of the connection." "What does that mean?" the unicorn asked. "It means though we weren't able to pull the force here we still manages to pull it to our dimension. Nothing can exist in the Void or at least for long so the force by default had to have made its way here." "Then where is it? I saw whatever it was and..." the young unicorn cut herself off before locking her eyes to the ground. "And what?" Luna replied concerned at the expression that had just washed over Twilight's face. A grim stare lifted itself from the tiled floor to meet with Luna's gaze. "It saw me." The first thing I noticed when I walked into the rock made shelter was that the whole ground was covered in fresh leaves yet the place itself smelled like pine. It was mostly empty except for some blankets bundled up in the back corner sitting next to which was a pile of books, a pit in the center which was half filled with ashes, and a mound of dirt that was waist high and had a slab of rock laying on it covered in parchments of paper and an inkwell with a quill in it.. "Make yourself at home human." the Griffon sneered. "Derek" I replied finally tired of the names she had pummeled me with since we met. "What?" "My name, its Derek." The griffon paused its movements towards the bundles of blankets, looked back at me, then looked back and continued. "Whatever. Just don't touch anything or I'll kill you." she said harshly. "So what do you have to eat around here?" I asked trying not to waste anymore time. Truth was I could barely stand from all the pain in my midsection. "Depends. You a herbivore or carnivore?" she asked. "Humans are omnivores." my reply was late. I hadn't expected her to know something like that. "But we have to cook any kind of meat before it’s eaten." I was hit with a cloth sack in my already suffering chest. "What's this?" I asked rubbing my stomach. "Pfft apples maybe." she replied from across the room where she had thrown the sack. I opened up the sack and sure enough there were about a dozen green apples in there. All fresh and ripe to my luck. I sat down and dug in without muttering a thanks but I was nonetheless grateful. I destroyed nine apples before closing the bag trying to save some for later. I wasn't by any means full but I wasn't going to waste the first source of food I had eaten since... I couldn't remember my last meal. I looked over to the griffon that was removing long cloth strips from under the blankets. It threw a strip over a portion of its injured wing and tried to pull it from underneath with its beak but looked like it was struggling to do so. "Hey." I said forcing myself to stand up. The griffon just moved its eyes to look at me. "What?" it said with an agitated tone. I walked towards the griffon. "You may have just saved my life." I said as casually as possible. "What? How?" the griffon asked with a changed tone. "Well I almost starved to death but you fed me and then put a roof over my head for however long you were willing to put up with me." I leaned over and pulled a cloth strip from under the blankets and moved to start wrapping it around the wing. The griffon backed away without a word. "Consider it a down payment on what I owe you." I said still holding the cloth. "And what exactly do you owe me?" the griffon asked. "My life." I approached the griffon that just let out a depressed sigh and lowered her head and let me approach. Wrapping up the wing I found the damage wasn’t as bad as the griffon had thought it was. Though heavily bruised and bare of feathers in some spots it was relatively fine. I couldn't find any signs of broken bones though there might have been fractures. Judging from how hard she'd been smacked into that tree to end up with so little injures told me a few things. Either griffons were tough as Hell or they healed amazingly fast if not both By no means would this thing be flying for at least a week if the pain was as bad as she said it was weather she was a tough super healing mythical creature or not. About a half hour later the griffon inspected my finished work. I heard it mumble "Impressive." "What was that?" I asked trying to deliberately rub my work in her face. "It's good." she mumbled again. "I’m sorry I didn't quite catch that?" "What do you want? A medal? Its good okay?!" the griffon hissed. "A medal sounds good but I'll settle for your name." I said with a chuckle. The griffon sighed again before finally giving in. She looked up at the ceiling. "Gilda... My name is Gilda" it said sounding more ashamed than angry. I didn't know what to say. I was caught by surprise. I hadn't actually expected her to answer. "Fitting." I said with a smile finally deciding on my choice of words. "Whys that?" "I believe Gilda means golden back where I'm from." I said taking a seat slowly upon the leaf covered ground. "How’s that fitting tro-... human?" Gilda asked seeming trying to make an effort to try to get along. "Derek." "Whatever." I laughed but gave her points for trying. "Your eyes" I said motioning pointing two fingers at my eyes then turning my wrist so they pointed at hers. I bet it’s how you got your name." The expression on her face went from a blank stare of confusion to what looked lightish pink. She was blushing! It took me everything I had not to burst out laughing though I couldn't help but to crack a smile. "Are you-" *Bam!* a balled up talon hit me upside the head. I fell back and hit the leave covered ground wondering what just happened. "Uggggh." I groaned. "That’s for being creepy." I heard Gilda hiss. "It was a compliment you bitch! Ahhhhg!" I managed to say holding my head with both arms. The pain wasn't as bad as I had expected though it caught me off guard. I forced myself to my feet and walked over to the entrance. "You leaving?" Gilda asked quickly. I turned to face her and wondered if it was in my best interest to do so. "Depends. Do you want me to?" I shot back angrily. The griffon looked blankly at me again so I turned to slide the bark from the door. "Fine! I’m sorry!" Gilda shouted sounding as pissed as I was, "Happy?" I retracted my reach for the bark door and turned to face her. "Not really since you punched me in the head. I appreciate the apology though." "So you're not leaving?" "I don't know where I am and have nowhere to go, of course I’m not leaving. I was just going to take a look outside to see if I could guess where I am... If I'm even on Earth." The thought was pretty depressing but not as much as the one that came immediately after. "You live here alone don't you?" I spoke softly hoping not to get swatted again. "Yeah but it’s no big deal. Its how Griffons work." her eyes gazed back at the pile of blankets. "I've... gotten used to it." The pause in her sentence made me feel unusually bad for her. It was a potential sign that she hated living like this. "Why do you care?" she asked defensively. I guessed that was the exact response id get from her. "Hey if it makes you feel any better you live a lot better than I used to." I said with a smile. She didn't reply. I followed up with it. "That's no excuse to be a bitch though." I gave her a serious glare trying to make sure she got the point. "Alright dude." was all I got back. "So I have a few questions that have been bugging me since I've been here." I said. "Sure." "Where am I?" Gilda gave yet another blank stare. "My nest." "Nest? This isn’t a-... No! I meant WHERE am I? Like am I on the planet Earth?" "Duh." Gilda replied rolling her eyes. "And where on Earth am I?" "Technically were on the border between the Evertree Forest and Moonview Valley." I returned the blank stare ten fold? "What?" was all I could say. "In Equestria? Where have you been living dude? Under a rock?" "NO!" I shouted fiercely taking Gilda by surprise, "I’m from Colorado in the United States of America." Another blank stare from Gilda. "You know! The U.S.A? Above Mexico, below Canada?!" "I know of a Griffon village called Canada." Gilda replied seeming more and more confused. "Canada is a country! The second largest in the world in fac-" Gilda was on the brink of laughing. "Dude you are one strange-" Before she finished a terrible thought hit me. "A map!" I shouted yet again startling the griffon, "I need a world map!" "Alright! Alright! Dude chill. I’ve got a stupid map." 'Thank god.' I thought leaning my head back. Gilda walked over to the stone slab on the dirt mound which I guessed was a makeshift desk. She flipped through the papers on the desk while intriguing me as to how she could use her talons like hands. After about ten seconds of rummaging she pulled from the mess a folded up sheet of thick paper. She held it up above her head. "Hah! Got it!" her victory was short lived as I snatched the paper from her claws instantly and quickly unfolded the paper. I was horrified and amazed simultaneously. If what I was looking at was a world map of Earth... It wasn't my Earth. "No." The map was riddled with land masses I’ve never seen before. "No." North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, everything... gone. "No. No. No! NO!" I was screaming in fury. Nothing made sense. How was this possible? Gilda tried to say something but I didn’t pay her any attention. I held my hands up to cover my eyes and tried to focus. I wanted to think about how I could get out of this, when I would wake up, and how was this happening but all that came back were memories. My childhood hit me the hardest. Visions of going to the park as a kid, my birthdays, my friends. 'It's gone.' "HEEEEY!" I heard Gilda screech. I looked up to stare her right in the eyes which were strangely higher than mine now. I didn't realize but she was shaking me by my shoulders while standing on her hind legs. "Snap out of it man!" Gilda was almost foot shorter than me when she stood on all fours. Now she was a good two feet taller. I felt something staring come over me and I tried to speak but all that I managed to do was let out a small "Heh." Then I blacked out. Chapter 5"So how have you been Derek?" my girlfriend’s voice said over the phone. "Great! I just got a new ride and thought about taking it out for a spin. Care to join me?" I said casually. "Yes! I’d love to! Let me check my schedule. Hold on." I held the phone away from my ear to hear the sound of sirens pass by outside. It was a few moments later that I heard the phone being picked up on the other end. "So how about seven?" I asked before letting her speak first. "How about now?" a strange but familiar voice said to me. "What? Who is this?" I replied confused. My back suddenly felt as if I was stabbed twice side by side between my shoulders. I screamed in pain. A cracking sound suddenly erupted accompanied by what sounded like something being torn. I fell to my knees and reached around my side for the source of the pain. I felt something protruding from my back. I pulled my hand back and tried to get up but stopped when I saw my hand. It was covered in blood and feathers. I turned my head still wincing in agony to try and see what the cause of this was. What I saw I couldn't believe. A large skeletal wing hung down from behind me and laid sprawled out to my side. My hand was shaking but it traced it up to my back. I turned my head to see the same at my other side. The pain increased and I tried to scream but I couldn't hear my voice. I tried to stand but I fell to the floor. I tried to crawl but as I reached out my hand I saw I no longer had hands I had talons. The room started to shake and the door and windows exploded. Water gushed into the room though the newly made openings and hit me full force. My eyes shot open wide as I gasped for air. I didn't feel any force from the water though I felt wet. I looked around a dark room and saw nothing. The pain was gone but I quickly reached for my back to make sure. The wings were gone too. 'What the hell?' I thought. "Yo!" came a voice from beside me. I turned my head to look into the golden eyes of a large bird's head. "Ahhh!" was all I could say trying to back up. I fell from something and hit the ground landing on my back. My body wouldn't move. I let out a long groan and stared straight up which was all I could do. The bird head was suddenly there looking down at me. "Uh dude?" came that same strange voice from earlier. I groaned again. "Get up man c’mon. You're really freaking me out." said the bird head. It all came back at once. "G-Gilda?" I sputtered. Gilda breathed a sigh of relief. "The hell happened?" I said with a clearer voice tainted with agony. "I think you passed out." she replied. 'A dream? Wait if that was a dream than this is...' "Oh fuck." I moaned and tried to sit up. I felt alright though it took me awhile to remember why I had a huge hole in my hoodie and shirt and had dried up cracked skin with dried blood on it where the hole was. "Why am I wet?" I asked still a bit shaken. "Well shaking you and yelling didn't wake you up soooo..." Gilda finished her sentence by holding up a wooden bucket with a little water pooled at the bottom. "Really?" I asked with a depressed tone. "Hey listen you were out of it. You kept thrashing about on the floor till I-" "Thanks." I cut her off. By now her blank stares of confusion had grown on me. "What? W-" She tried to ask. I stopped her again. "Nightmare." was all I said. "Oh." was all she replied. We sat in silence for a moment. Gilda backed away then turned and walked over to the desk which now had the map on it. She folded it up and slid it beneath the other papers. I just stared down at my hands. 'What’s going on?' was a thought that kept popping in and out of my head ever since I was forced into this mess and it hit me again. I tried to stand and even though my legs felt weak I managed an upright posture and began to stretch. "Are you alright dude?" Gilda asked with her back turned to me. "Now that is a great question." was my response. I started to make my way over to Gilda but stopped when a reflected light shimmered by the pile of blankets. Gilda was busy doing something with the papers so I took the opportunity to see what caught my interest. I made it to the pile and saw the corner of a picture frame poking out from the middle of it. I reached in and pulled out a fairly big picture. The first thing I noticed was Gilda was in it. She was defiantly younger from the looks of it and a hell of a lot scrawnier. She wore what looked like a tank top with the letters 'J.S.C' on the front. The second thing I noticed was her arm was draped over something beside her. It looked like a cyan colored horse but what really interested me is that its mane and tail had rainbow patterns. I also noticed that the little blue horse thing had wings and was wearing the same shirt as Gilda. 'Weirder and weirder.' I thought. "Hey Gilda!" I shouted, "You know I first took you as an antisocial friendless bird but from looking at this you seem to have a soft side. Hah! Have you been holding out on m-" My stomach was instantly pushed into my spine and before I knew it I was airborne. I hit the ground hard making it a good five feet from where I stood. The pain in my stomach erupted once again in a torrent of upheaval and agony. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!" I heard Gilda scream. "YOU TOUCH MY STUFF, I KILL YOU!" I moaned wrapping my arms around my stomach. I couldn't speak though even if I could I didn't want to. I just laid there silent trying to think. I shut my eyes and laid still. "I told you!" Gilda's voice rang out again, "Hey! Are you even listening to me?" I just laid there and tried to wait for the pain to die down. "Dude?!" Moments passed as I sat there with my eyes closed patient my past came to mind again. "C’mon get up." 'There has to be a way back, but how?' I thought. I felt Gilda shake my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see that griffon standing over me again. I heard a relived sigh. Gilda looked like she was about to say something and then stopped. When I looked at her she deliberately avoided my gaze. I saw she was holding the picture close to her chest with her free talon. I had apparently crossed a line with her though I never saw it coming. I was able to sit up cringing from the pain in my midsection. I felt a strange but familiar sensation inside of me. I spun over to plant my feet beneath me and bolted toward the back door. I practically threw the door out of my way and dashed outside. It looked like it was late afternoon from the looks of the sun. I managed to make it a few yards from Gilda's nest. I threw up. I felt dizzy and my throat burned from whatever came out. Thankfully it wasn't much but it was getting hard to stand. I leaned against a tree and spit the last of the vomit out. I heard a strange whine and turned to face Gilda who was standing in the doorway looking at me with some awkward mix of emotions written on her face. It was as if she couldn't decide whether to like me, hate me, or feel sorry for me. I shot her a glare that made her step back though it was unintentional. "What?" I demanded. I was angry and my voice was harsh. It was obvious that she was thinking about her next choice of words. "Are you..." I heard her start, "Mad?" I spat almost shouting, "Confused? Lost?" I reached down and grabbed a foot long chunk of wood from a fallen branch. "Or how about in a shit load of pain!?" with that I chucked the wood at Gilda. It missed and hit the side of the house. She flinched when I threw the wood but did not move. "Take your pick!" I finished looking at Gilda not knowing whether to hate her or like her. Her head lowered and she glanced down at the picture she held. Her expression suddenly changed to that of pure depression. Everything was still and silent for a moment before she looked up at me and opened her beak to speak. "I guess we're on the same boat." Chapter 6Gilda and I didn't speak much for the rest of the afternoon. I was sure she was just as ready for a fresh start in the morning as I was. I figured that if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere it would be nice to have company for better or worse. Gilda had, at a point when my back was turned, lit a candle near her bundle of blankets I saw she now used as a bed. It looked like a cross between a large nest and a huge makeshift dog bed. Gilda had turned her back to me but the edge of a book was visible poking out from under her wing. Gilda and I didn't speak much for the rest of the afternoon. I was sure she was just as ready for a fresh start in the morning as I was. I figured that if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere it would be nice to have company for better or worse. Gilda had, at a point when my back was turned, lit a candle near her bundle of blankets I saw she now used as a bed. It looked like a cross between a large nest and a huge makeshift dog bed. Gilda had turned her back to me but the edge of a book was visible poking out from under her wing. 'A reading, talking, angry griffon. ‘Weird.' I thought to myself. The picture that had apparently caused the earlier commotion sat facing Gilda. So far it was the only photo I had seen in this cave. I sat leaning up against a wall wrapped in two blankets Gilda had let me use. I had become lost in thought and had lost track of time while doing so. "Well that’s it for me dude." I didn't even open my eyes when I heard Gilda speak. "Alright." I replied, "Goodnight Gilda." With that the candle was put out. I woke up the next morning with something tickling my ear. I slowly opened my eyes to see yet again a massive bird head. "Ahh!" I yelled startling Gilda who jumped in surprise. "Oh! It's you." I still wasn't used to waking up to see a griffon first thing. "Stop doing that!" I hissed, "That REALLY freaks me out." "Sorry dude." Gilda said in a quieter tone. I raised my arms out of the blankets that still encased me and stretched. This for whatever reason drew a look of fascination from Gilda. This gave me an idea. "Hey if you wanna see something cool watch this." I showed her the palm of my hand to show it was empty then reached behind her head and pulled back a hand that now held the only quarter in my pocket. "Ta da!" I said almost laughing, "Magic!" The look on her face was priceless. "Humans can use magic too?" Gilda asked. I was snickering but when I processed her words I immediately stopped. "Wait? What?" I asked. "I thought only unicorns could use natural magic. Amazing." She replied. Now I hit a mental clog trying to understand what she meant by that. "Huh? Unicorns? You mean the horse things with a horn?" I knew I didn't sound too smart when I said that but I didn't care. "Duh." Gilda said rolling her eyes. I just sat there perfecting my blank stare before snickering again. "Unicorns? They exist here? Really?" I said trying to keep my composure, "Oh let me guess! Next you'll tell me that dragons exist too." I looked up and burst out laughing. It wasn't that I didn't believe her. It was that everything here was unbelievable. When I looked back at Gilda she had confusion written on her face like an 800 page dictionary with one word. "You don't have dragons where you come from?" Was her response. It made me realize how far away from home I really was. I just sat there with my jaw hanging. "C-Can they talk too?" I asked nervously. "Yup." I stood up letting the blankets fall around me and stretched again. "Well Gilda you've managed to completely blow my mind and I've only been awake for five minutes." I said grunting off the stretch. "What’s for breakfast?" Gilda looked around the cave then back at me. "Don't you hunt?" she asked. "No." I replied remembering I had finished what was left of the apples after the whole vomiting incident last night, “Where’d you get those apples? I’m sure I could just go get some more." Gilda looked down with a change of expression, "I kinda... took em... without asking." she told me raising a talon to scratch the back of her head. "Gilda!" I said sternly, "You stole? What is the matter w-" I couldn't hold back my laughter so it erupted for all to hear. Another look of confusion from Gilda told me I needed to explain. "I'm just messing with you." I chuckled, "If you didn't take the apples I'd have probably starved to death." Gilda lowered her head and gave a sigh of relief "Phew!" she sounded. "Hey if it’s the only way we can get food around here lets go steal some more. If there is a more legal way then let’s go with that. I don't feel like being arrested." 'Twice.' came my afterthought. Gilda smiled which amazed me she could do that with a beak. "You know Derek you're not as much of a lame-o as I thought you were." "Ouch! You thought I was lame?" I said smiling. We both laughed. "So where is the nearest town from here." I asked pulling the map from the papers on the stone desk. Gilda didn't answer. "C’mon there’s gotta be a form of civilization around here somewhere." "Well the nearest one isn't any good." Gilda's voice sounded dry. "Just point out the damn thing." I said sternly, "I’m not picky if my life depends on it." "We should go..." She started to speak while walking over to me. She looked at the map I held and traced her claw to a dot with the word Grazeburg written over it. "Uh-huh and where are we?" I asked. Her claw moved down and left of the dot about five inches. "We're here." "And the soonest we can get there would be?" "Half a day’s journey." she said before finishing, "Crap!" she muttered. "What’s wrong?" I turned to her and asked. She replied by nodding her head back towards her injured wing. "You mean half a day’s journey by flight? You know I can't fly right?" I snapped at her. "Sorry dude. I’m just used to It." she replied. "Well how long is the trip by foot?" I asked feeling impatience bite me repeatedly. "Uh... Well... By foot it should be a day and a half if we hurry." she looked up at me glaring back at her without a happy face. "What?" She asked nervously. "The reason I want to go somewhere is to find a meal and wash my clothes. I’m hungry as hell and smell worse than that manticore's breath." I stated looking down at the map. I looked at where Gilda said we were and noticed a dot much closer from our location. "Here, what’s this?" I asked pointing to the dot. Gilda looked at it and her eyes went wide, "Uh... We should really-" "How long is the trip?" I asked not caring about Gilda's objections. "You might want to consider-" "Just answer the question for crying out loud." I demanded. My irritation raised but was nowhere near peaking. "Four hours." She squeaked rubbing the back of her neck with a nervous grin. "Then it’s settled!" I exclaimed looking at the dot a bit closer. "Ponyville. Huh." Somewhere far north… A door burst open as a dark small figure entered into a large room that resembled the halls of Valhalla. The figure rushed past the torches and into the light scrambling on claws and paws. The figure revealed in the light was a small gryphon with red streaks painted around its neck and a black line drawn down the center of its head ending at the top of its beak. It quickly made its way towards a throne that sat in the absence of light in the center of the other side of the great room. "My king! My king!" It shouted sounding desperate for a response. The griffon stopped its approach the instant two white slits opened in the darkness on the throne showing eyes that held a fierceness that fire itself would envy. The small gryphon sat silent trying to keep its composure seemingly calm and professional but was too exhausted from its journey to pass as such. "Valak." a voice boomed throughout the hall seeming to come at the small gryphon from every direction, "I was very clear on pointing out my disinterest in the affairs of the Zebra/Ram war near the border no matter how close it gets. If I am pestered on the subject again there will be consequences." The room went silent. "My deepest apologies my king but that isn't the reason for my visit." The small gryphon proclaimed breathing heavily and quickly. "And what news deserves my attention so badly that puts you in such a state?" The voice asked. The small messenger turned its head to a small bag that hung from its back and reached into it pulling out a small blood red crystal that seemed to take the form of a flame. "This." the small gryphon replied. He held up the crystal up for his king to see. The crystal glowed from within becoming brighter with the rhythm of a heartbeat then becoming dimmer only to repeat the process. The eyes in the darkness shot wide open. "Impossible!" The voice boomed louder than before, "They have all died out thousands of years ago! I've searched the farthest corners of this world for them!" A clawed fist slammed down on the armrest of the throne. The small gryphon shivered at the gesture. "My king." he said nervously "The court handlers have confirmed that this is no false alarm." There was complete silence as the messenger stood his ground before the throne waiting for a response. The figure that existed in the darkness on the throne shifted its eyes to the ceiling. "Find the source and return it to me." the voice was no longer booming but spoke clearly giving the small gryphon an uneasy feeling. "But my king! I-" "My patience grows very thin Valak." the voice said. "And the opportunity we have now may pass soon." "As you wish my king." the small gryphon replied. He turned and bolted back across the room disappearing through the door from which he came as quickly as he had arrived. The eyes in the darkness continued their gaze at the ceiling. On the ceiling was a painted mural. Slightly faded the painting showed a pure white gryphon in mid-lunge as if it were to jump out of the painting itself. Around the gryphon was burning land riddled with arrows, spears, and scattered feathers. But the eye's gaze focused on the figure beside the gryphon. The figure stood atop two legs dawned in shining armor that was continued by a body that held an engraved glowing shield in one hand and long curved blade in the other. The expression on the creatures face was that of rage as it was easily defined since the only fur that covered its face was around its mouth and hung down below its chin. The creature stood alongside the gryphon in a run that made it seem if it could break free from the painting. The voice finally cracked the silence. "It’s been far too long." Chapter 7"I’m going to tell you one more time you are making a huge mistake." Gilda once again pointed out her dislike of the direction I walked in yet she followed close behind. "Exactly what is it about this damn town you hate so much?" I spat giving a quick glance back at her. "Everyone who lives there. Bunch of dweebs." She replied tilting her head to the side and rolling her eyes. "Well do they have food?" I asked pushing a branch out of my path. Gilda just gave a small dismissive shrug. "You have history with this place?" I asked pulling my hood over my head to avoid branches from scratching my face. No reply came from the gryphon. "Gilda?" I turned my head to see her staring off into space still walking close behind. I snapped a finger in front of her face and she blinked twitching her head. "What? What'd you say?" She said seeming a bit lost. "Ponyville." I said putting my hands in my hoodie pocket, "You been there before?" "That's none of your business!" she snapped at me causing me to stop out of confusion. "What?" I asked wondering what I'd done to deserve that for an answer. Gilda's eyes trained on me for a second before darting to everything but. "Oh...I meant... I've been there." I shrugged, turned, and kept walking. 'The mind of a gryphon is a true mystery or is just a chick thing?' I wondered. I've known quite a few women who acted as sporadically and violent as Gilda though the circumstances were that of a monthly nature. Then a terrifyingly strange question hit me. 'Do gryphon females have periods?' I looked back at Gilda again wondering whether to ask only to be given a sharp "What?!" I quickly turned back around. 'I choose to live.' was the thought that hit me immediately after I focused back on the path. That was one hell of a close call. "How much further?" I asked feeling a bit of wear in my legs. "Two hours on this path at the pace we're walking." Gilda replied. "What if we b-line it at a jog?" I asked curious as to whether I could eat any sooner than Gilda's e.t.a to Ponyville. "Then we'd fall off a cliff and die." Gilda returned blandly, “If you HAVE to get to this stupid village then we take the bridge." "You're no fun." I said smiling. The tress thinned out making our progress a lot easier. The noises throughout the forest made me uneasy. The experience with the manticore may have scared me for life and left me turning to face every snap of every branch hidden from view by distant trees and brush. "So what exactly is a human?" Gilda asked breaking my focus on my surroundings. I thought about it and found that I knew no real answer for her question. "A human?" I replied glad I had my hood up to hide my confusion. "Yeah like what defines your species?" Flashes of home appeared before me in thought of an answer. "Everything I guess." I finally said knowing that would not suffice. "Well for starters we are the only species from where I come from capable of reasoning, rationality, and self-awareness." I slowed my pace to let Gilda walk alongside me as I drew my hood back. "Are you familiar with terms like hate or love? War and peace?" Gilda asked turning her head to look at me. "Those are terms sketched into the very being of a human." I answered looking back "Currently the majority of the world I left behind was at peace but that’s not to say we haven't done some terrible things to one another. War is always around the corner in one form or another. Tragically it is widely accepted that war is part of human nature and has been since whenever we came into existence. So much so that we have perfected war to a point to where we have created the ability to end all life on the planet by fighting one another." Gilda's beak hung open, "End all life? What kind of power is capable of doing that?" her amazed look "We call it nuclear. It has the ability to create vast amounts of energy to support human life or end it. I guess you could say we've perfected war to a very sharp point." Gilda gave a very skeptical look, "You don't seem as intimidating as you make yourself sound." she said. I laughed, "That’s because I don't want to be. I’m a lover not a fighter. As for your question on love and hate, yes we are very good at both of those or at least most of us are. Very interesting question by the way." "Thanks I guess" Gilda's eyes shifted to the sky, "Is your world anything like ours? You seem to be familiar with the land." I raised an eyebrow, " Another good question and yes, yes its exactly like your world so far as I've seen but without any other talking species or ones that are two stories high with scorpion tails." Gilda smiled for a moment then shifted into a slight frown. "You said you knew what a horse was so I'm assuming you're familiar with ponies." 'Another weird question? Will they ever end?' I thought before answering, "Yeah ponies are small horses. What’s interesting about ponies though? " "I dunno." Gilda sounded defensive, "They're..." she went silent. "Gilda?" I said wondering what expression was on her face. A bit of mythology hit me at that very moment. "Wait a minute. If I'm not mistaken and I may be don't gryphons eat ponies?" Gilda flinched and looked angry for a second, "No!... Well I mean it’s been done a long time ago but that’s all over." now she looked a little ashamed. 'What in the hell?' I wondered confused by Gilda's behavior. "Well you're predatory right? What’s wrong with that?" I asked wondering what I was putting her through. "We are omnivorous when it suits us." she replied with a scowl. "So are-" Suddenly a branch snapped loudly. Gilda froze, lowered her body, and extended her claws as if waiting for an attack. "Well well well." A voice came from an unknown location, “What is this? A gryphon and... Interesting." "Show yourself!" Gilda demanded with eyes darting from tree to tree. "Yeah! What she said!" I followed up to catch a deadly glare from Gilda. Suddenly a rustling in some brush before us revealed an orangish creature that stepped out into view. It stood on four legs with hooves at the ends. Its upper body was hidden by a cloak with a hood draped over what I guessed was its head. It stood at about the same height as Gilda. "I'm not here for a fight friends." it said calmly with a male voice. "I just want to talk." "Uh Gilda?" I asked noticing her focus on the creature was tense, "What is that?" I pointed to the hooded figure. "Shut up and get ready to run." she hissed only loud enough for me to hear. "You see my friends and I run a little business and we were hoping you would like an opportunity to join us." the hooded thing said. "Gilda you can relax." I said, "He seems friendly." Gilda's glare continued "We aren't interested now get lost!" she said in a tone that made me want to back up. "Oh but I insist!" the other creature spoke with a tone of confidence, "You know I've never seen such a strange creature such as yourself." I looked at Gilda, "Yeah she freaked me out when I first saw her too." I said with a shrug. I looked away before catching another one of her death glares. I swear I could feel the heat of her anger. "No! I meant you!" the figure said obviously agitated. "Oh well... Thanks I guess. You're pretty weird looking yourself." I replied, "And I'd really love to help but its three hours past breakfast and I really want breakfast so if you don't mind we have to make a trip to Ponyville before I starve... again" "You know it’s a shame friend, I'd really of preferred to do this the easy way." the figure began a chuckle and I noticed leaves began to fall on me from the tree branches above. *Snap* All I saw was a brownish blur before being slammed into by something soft and thrown to the ground. When I opened my eyes I saw Gilda positioned over me. She jumped off quickly and turned to face where I used to stand. I looked at the same spot to see a greenish creature that looked similar to what I saw of the hooded figure. It wasn't wearing a cloak though. I couldn't believe my eyes which was a feeling that I was becoming all too familiar with. I could only imagine that it was some strange looking green horse that was holding what looked like a net in its mouth. "What the fu-" "RUN!" Gilda yelled already making some distance. I sprang to my feet to hear the distinct sound of galloping getting louder and louder. I turned to see the hooded figure charging at me. I jumped and grabbed a branch above me pulling my body just high enough for my assailant to pass right under me. I dropped to the ground and heard a loud smack and screams of pain. I turned to see that the hooded horse thing's momentum had carried him right into his friend where they laid sprawled about each other trying to get up. The hood of the individual who'd talked had been drawn back in the collision. It was a dark orange horse with a nasty looking scar going across his face from the top of one eye to below his mouth on the opposite side. He looked up at me with what I could only assume was pure hatred. "Get him!" he yelled. I bolted in the direction I had seen Gilda run and did so as fast as I possibly could. It was after a few seconds I began to hear galloping from where I came. 'Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!' I heard a loud screech that sounded like an eagle's in the direction I ran. The trees disappeared as I broke out into a clearing with knee high grass. Still in a flat out sprint I saw Gilda glowing and floating above the ground screeching in pain. In front of her stood another horse with its back facing me. It had a horn on its head that glowed the same color as the light that surrounded Gilda. 'Is that a freaking unicorn?!' "The boss never did like birds." I heard him speak loudly. Whatever was happening to Gilda I’m sure he was the cause of it. I closed the distance quickly and let out a sharp whistle while drawing my arm back. The unicorn turned and in his moment of confusion froze. My fist made a satisfying crack as it made contact with the unicorn’s eye making it stumble back a few feet before collapsing with the ground. The glow around its horn and Gilda disappeared simultaneously and she dropped to the ground collapsing before me. "C'mon Gilda get up we have to GO!" I was startled by a whizzing sound that passed right by my ear. The next thing I saw was an arrow planted in the ground a few yards from me. I looked up and saw the horse with a scared face standing at the tree line pointing a hoof at me with a device that looked like a small bow attached to it. It turned its head and reached into a bag hanging over its side and with its mouth pulled out an arrow which it placed in the device. It pulled back the string with its mouth and released. I ducked not a moment too soon as another arrow barely missed me passing no more than a foot above my head. I looked down to see Gilda was gone and when I looked up I saw her speeding off again. "Wait the hell up!" I shouted taking off after her. At the edge of the clearing! There was a dirt road that kicked up dust when Gilda landed on it. I was only a few seconds behind her feeling tense and sprinting for my life. "How much further?" I yelled starting to feel winded by the running. The faint sound of galloping could be heard getting louder. "Close! All we need to do is cross the bridge and we'll lose em at the edge of the Everfree forest." Gilda replied quickly. Surely enough I began to make out what looked like the start of a bridge in the distance. As we got closer it turned out to be what I expected but not what I wanted. It was an old tarnished rope bridge that was swaying in the wind. Gilda stopped and I ran into the back of her. "Watch it!" she hissed. "What in the hell are you doing? GO!" I yelled. Gilda looked over the edge of the canyon that the bridge crossed. It was a long drop with a river at the bottom. I gave Gilda a shove towards the bridge. "Wait!" she yelled, "I don't think-" "That’s great! Don't think just move!" I shouted and rammed her rear end with a shoulder pushing her onto the bridge. The galloping got louder. Gilda nervously began a cautious pace across the bridge. I didn't join her as the bridge didn't look like it would support two at a time. "Hurry!" I yelled looking around for something to defend myself with. Gilda was halfway across when I saw the two horses from earlier approach us from a distance. The unicorn wasn't far behind. They were getting too close. I took a step onto the bridge to hear the loud squeak of the wood beneath me. Gilda looked back but continued carefully along the rickety bridge. The horses had closed the gap between us considerably. I had at the most five more seconds. I walked faster causing the bridge to rumble a bit more than I'd like. Gilda was just a few yards away from the other side when I heard the galloping stop. The horses had reached the bridge and were shooting some really angry glares at me. I kept walking. 'Almost there!' I thought pulling my way along. "Cut the ropes!" the voice rang from the direction of the horses. I looked back to see the green horse pull a blade from a seethe hanging from its side. "Gilda run!" I yelled now at full sprint uncaring about my balance on the bridge. Everything happened in a split second. I rammed into the back of Gilda throwing her to the other side of the bridge. At the same time I heard a loud snap and my legs felt strange. I fell as the bridge did from underneath me but grabbed a wooden plank with one hand stopping me from falling to a certain death. The bridge slammed into our side of the wall almost forcing me to lose my grip. A second later I saw Gilda reaching over the edge extending a claw down towards me. "Grab on!" she shouted. I threw up my free hand which was just an inch short of reaching her. I pulled my body up as hard as I could with my one hand on the bridge. The tips of my fingers curled around her claws when suddenly. *Snap!* an arrow landed dead center on one of the ropes supporting me severing it entirely. The bridge gave way and fell. My fingers lost their contact with Gilda and I fell with it. "Derek!" She screeched reaching down in a futile attempt. I didn't yell, I didn't thrash, I just fell. I was grateful I couldn't see where I was falling towards since my back faced down. I heard rushing water then a sharp pain before passing out in cold darkness. Princess Celestia sat in her room at a desk preparing to send off a bundle of letters that were rolled up and tied with various sorts of ribbons. She had planned to spend the day with her sister though it had seemed her star pupil had asked Luna away to help her with a project she had been working on. Celestia sat and sighed at the tedious work she had to do. 'It would be nice to at least have some company she thought silently looking at a small portrait of a purple unicorn with a small purple dragon sitting atop her back, both of them smiling. She heard the doors creak open and believed her wishes had been answered. She turned with a smile and hope but soon found herself disappointed as instead of looking at anyone she wished to speak to she stared into the eyes of one of her messengers. A pony clad in golden cloth with white swirls stitched into n intricate design. "Good evening Princess." "Likewise." Celestia replied with her tone drenched in boredom and despair, "What do you bring to report Flow Mane?" "Princess..." the messengers face grew grim worrying the Princess. "Flow Mane?" She said softly. "I don't know how to say this." Flow Mane said lowering his head. The princess stood from her cushion and walked up to the messenger. "Do not worry Flow Mane there is no news too troublesome that I cannot handle it" she put a hoof upon Flow Mane's shoulder. Flow Mane flinched at her touch even though he found it comforting. He then reached into his golden robes and pulled out a crystal in the shape of a burning flame. A red glow emanated somewhere from within the crystal that grew brighter in dim flashes in a beat pattern similar to that of a heartbeat. The princess froze. 'No...' She had seen their end. 'It can't be..." She was there. 'Impossible' Memories flashed back terrifying her while a soft voice spoke in the distance. 'How?!' "Princess!" Flow Mane yelled. Celestia had snapped back to reality right as two of her guards had burst into the room hearing the commotion. Everything was silent for a few seconds as the four ponies looked around at one another all with faces covered in confusion. "W-we need to locate the source." the princess said finally breaking the silence. No one responded letting the silence settle once again. "NOW!" her voice boomed shaking the very room itself. Flow Mane backed away a few steps in fear. "P-Princess..." he sputtered nervously. Celestia swerved her head to give him a gaze that made him cower. "W-we already have..." Chapter 8Someone was poking my face with something dull. Unfortunately that was not the only thing I could feel. Slowly but surely I began to feel pain all over my body coming in waves and pulses. I struggled to crack open my eyes but I could only open one and barely. What I could see was blurry and not well focused. I let out a groan and tried to roll onto my side. I couldn't move as I was physically unable to. "God Dammit." I moaned. It was reliving to know I could still talk and hear. "Oh! You're awake." Came a gentle voice. "I was so worried you wouldn't make it. Oh you poor thing." "What? Who are you?" I asked trying to force my eye open and lean up. "No, no, no, no please don't try to get up. You are badly hurt." the voice asked softly. "What? What happened? Where am I?" I asked adjusting my sight to the light. I was looking up at flowers, not real ones but ones painted into what had to have been a ceiling. "You... Um... You're in my home and- no! Please stop!" the voice squealed as I tried to push myself up. "Ahhhgg!" I yelled in agony as pain shot throughout my torso. Though the pain tore as my very soul it gave me what I needed to finally open my eye. I looked into the face of a yellow pony with a large pink mane. 'Why me?' "W-What do you want?" I asked expecting the worse. "Well... I-I want to help and..." her voice really quite but high pitched and she refused to make eye contact. I looked around for a second and noticed something strange. I lay upon a couch which I could feel the fabric of with all of my bare skin. "Where are my clothes?!?" I demanded noticing the only thing that covered me was a blanket pulled up to my waist though underneath it I felt the lack of any pants, socks, shoes, and underwear. "You were wet and badly hurt when I found you. I didn't know the extent of your injuries so I had to undress you. I’m sorry if I offended your privacy." The yellow pony spoke barely loud enough to hear. "You... Saved me?" I asked confused. 'What in the hell is going on?' that thought sprung another. "Gilda!" I shouted surprising the pony and making it jump back a foot "Where's Gilda?" The pony looked confused, "Gilda? You don't mean Gilda the griffon do you? Did she do this to you?" "What?" I asked surprised, "Yes. Wait. I mean no. Wait. You know Gilda?" The pony looked at me for a split second then turned away. I caught a glimpse of a pair of wings folded up against its body. "Um... Yes... She-" "Do you know where she is?" I asked growing increasingly impatient. I found the strength to move my right arm. I reached for my face and felt around. There was something wrapped around my head. I noticed my arm was covered in bandages and assumed that’s what covered my head and possibly my other eye. I inhaled deeply and with a sudden surge of will I pushed myself to sit upright grunting away the pain. "Please! Don't-" "I'll be fine!" I snapped with a sense of anger. The pony seemed to cower and shrink back afraid. My stomach suddenly let out a long and loud gurgle. The ponies sprung back to its natural stance giving me a quick look. "Oh! You must be hungry" she said nervously. "I’m starving!" I exclaimed. "Oh... A-alright... I made you something to eat w-when you woke up." and with that the pony turned around to pick up a plate off the table behind it. She turned once again to reveal a plate full of... "Grass?" I looked at the dish in disbelief. I threw my palm in my face and looked at the pony. I began to laugh when the realization struck me. "I get it!" I managed to say before going back to a hysterical chuckle "Because you’re a pony! Aw that’s priceless." The pony looked at me confused. "Oh... I-I’m sorry. Do you not eat grass?" An idea hit me and I motioned for the pony to come closer. It stepped towards me. "No." I said softly now that the pony was within arm’s reach. I curled my fingers like claws and raised my arms above my head. "I EAT MEAT!" I shouted menacingly. The seemingly timid pony jumped and let out a sharp yelp before darting off into what looked like a kitchen faster than I've ever seen anything move before. I laughed fighting the pain that roared inside me. Tears came to my eyes which I couldn't hold back. My arms crossed my stomach which was in complete agony but still I could not retain my laughter. Suddenly I felt a small thump at the end of the couch. I looked over and saw a white rabbit sitting on the armrest looking at me. It almost looked angry. "Aww," I said reaching out to the rabbit, "Aren't you just a cute little-AHHH!" the rabbit had lunged at my face and landed to begin to bite me repeatedly which I couldn't stop. I thrashed trying to get the damn pest off of me but it managed to hang onto me somehow. The rabbit started to bite me all over my body. I shot up from the couch and began running around the room still naked. The rabbit didn't let up and placed bite after stinging bite at seemingly random places over my body. "Get off me you little bastard!" I yelled. The biting stopped and I stumbled over to a bookshelf trying to gain my balance. I grabbed a shelf and attempted to catch my breath. A sudden thumping sounded from the bookshelf. I turned to see the rabbit on a shelf at eye level. It held something about its size with both of its front paws. "Is that a frying pan?" *WHAP* I woke up lying on the same couch as before. A headache that should have been lethal buzzed in my skull. "Oh for crying out loud! Can I not be knocked unconscious for five fucking minutes!?" I yelled putting a hand over my head. I felt something cold on my forehead. I pulled it away from my face to see that it was an icepack. "Um..." I heard a familiar voice say, "Are you alright?" I turned to face the yellow winged pony. "Do I look alright to you?" I snapped. The pony backed up and I remembered the prank I pulled earlier. "Ugh! I’m sorry alright." I said in a much calmer tone, "I didn't mean what I said earlier. It was a joke." I felt my stomach running on empty again. "Please tell me you have something edible." 'I'd kill to eat that little fuzz ball from hell.' I thought. "Well you said you eat meat and sometimes I take care of animals that are predators so I keep a supply of fish for those who need It." the yellow pony said looking down sweeping a hoof back and forth. With that she pushed a plate towards me on the table in front of the couch. On it laid a fresh salmon with the head cut off and the bones and insides removed. I was never a fan of sushi but at this point I would have eaten a bag of shit without a complaint. I grabbed the salmon, ripped a chunk off and ate it quickly. The rest of the salmon disappeared within a minute. I leaned back and looked down and saw I was once again covered in the same blanket as before from the waist down as well as what must have been about a dozen small bandages. I clenched my fists thinking about that damn rabbit and what I'd do to it when I got my hands on it. The pony must have seen me notice the bandages. "I'm really sorry about Angel. He's a bit overprotective." it said. I blinked in astonishment. "Angel? You mean the rabbit? What the hell? Is it some kind of pet? It tried to kill me with a frying pan!" I shouted. I looked past the pony to see the rabbit perched upon a little model house with stairs wrapped around it in the corner of the room. "I'm certain he is sorry for the way he acted." The pony looked back at the rabbit, "Aren't you Angel?" the rabbit responded by nodding its head. I raised an arm and gave the bunny the finger while the pony's head was turned and quickly pulled it back before the pony turned back. The rabbit then took the opportunity to point a paw at its eyes then at me. I gave a fake grin and through closed teeth spoke, " Forgive and forget." 'I will end you even if I have to tear the earth to pieces to do it.' I thought with my eyes focused on the rabbit. "Well..." the pony continued, "I don't believe I've introduced myself. My name is Fluttershy." "Derek." I raised a hand to shake before realizing Fluttershy didn't have hands. She quickly raised a hoof showing she was familiar with the gesture. We shook hand and hoof. "It’s a pleasure to meet you," my smile turned legitimate, "and I'm really grateful you saved my life. May I ask how you did so?" "Certainly." Fluttershy replied seemingly excited, "I was helping teaching a few baby ducks how to swim in the canyon river and Angel spotted you laying on the shore behind some bushes unconscious. If it wasn't for him I don't believe we would have rescued you." 'Great now I owe my life to that evil little cretin.' I let out a depressed sigh. "So Derek..." Fluttershy said still avoiding my gaze. "Yeah?" "Would you mind if I asked- I mean if it’s alright with you and I was just curious because I've never really seen-" "I'm a human." I answered knowing where her question was going, "And since you're asking too I believe I can safely assume you don't see many of us walking around." "Well... Not really." She said softly, "Where are you from?" she asked looking at me but still avoiding eye contact. "Well I'm assuming I'm from a different dimension." I said with a cough which tossed up a bit of pain in my chest, "...and this theory is supported by several points such as the familiarity of the land and the language used by its inhabitants as well as its inhabitants themselves." "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked looking me in the eyes for a split second before looking back at the ground. "Eh... It’s really complicated." it was the only answer I could give. "Listen you said you knew a gryphon named Gilda. You know her?" I asked. "Um... Yes! I remember. She wasn't really nice the last time I saw her." Fluttershy replied with her voice getting noticeably quieter. "Yeah she's a real bitch." I said with a smile, "But like you I owe her my life and she most likely believes that I'm dead. I'm not going to let her hang with that." Fluttershy finally managed to look me in the eye. "She saved you?" she asked with a tone of amazement. "Yup." "Where did you last see her?" "Well we were ambushed by a few crooks while on our way to a place called Ponyville. We crossed a rotten bridge trying to escape. Gilda made it to the other side... I didn't." another depressed sigh caused Fluttershy to move and sit on the couch next to me. "Oh my." she said, "What happened?" The bastards chasing us cut the ropes on the bridge. I fell. The last thing I saw was Gilda. She looked..." The memory of her reaching over the edge screaming my name disturbed me enough to make me shudder a little. "Well anyway I guess I must have fallen into the river and somehow lived to be rescued by a talking pony with extensive medical capabilities." I thought about what I had just said and pictured myself in an insane asylum back in the world I used to know dreaming about all this. "Wow... Gilda." I looked at Fluttershy after she spoke those words with a stare of disbelief. "Really?!" I asked a little disappointed, "That whole story and your interested in the temperamental bird?" Fluttershy snapped out of what looked like a light daze before talking. "The rest of the story is very nice too." "The rest of the story is about how I almost died! That’s anything BUT nice!" I shot back. "Oh I'm sorry." I thrust a palm into my face before trying to stand up. I felt a soft breeze flow past the part of me the blanket used to cover me before falling to the ground. My hands darted to cover myself. "Can I get my clothes back?" Somewhere far south... In the deepest regions of a massive cave in the world’s biggest mountain... Sat a tripod about the ground... Upon this tripod sat a silver disk... Upon the disk sat a cushion... And upon the cushion sat a crystal... The crystal was in the shape of a burning flame and it held within it a red glow that grew brighter as if to the beating of a heart. The light was bright enough to illuminate a good portion of the cavern but something in particular shined in the darkness. Scales... Massive crimson scales... What the scales belonged to was massive itself standing at a height greater than the tallest of trees. Its leathery wings tucked in to is sides equaled the creature in size. Its tail draped long over the stone ground wrapping itself into a coil around the crystal on the pedestal. Its eyes with its pupils in slants stared intently on the crystal. The cave was all but silent had it not been for the deep breaths of the creature. It squinted its eyes. A forked tongue shot out of its mouth only to retract a split second later. "You know what to do." the creature spoke deeply and calmly shaking the very walls of the mountain cave. Two sets of black wings extended behind the massive creature and from them two large scaled figures launched themselves into the air and flew though the cave before exiting through the mouth to disappear over the mountains towards the sun. Chapter 9So you're telling me that the only way across that canyon was across that bridge?" I asked now satisfied I was fully clothed again even if my hoodie and shirt had a big hole in the front and were almost shredded. "It’s the only way I know of. If Gilda made it to the other side and was unable to fly back I'd guess her only option would be to continue straight to Ponyville." Fluttershy stated finally making regular eye contact. "Can you point me in the direction of this Ponyville?" I asked peeling a small scab off my arm which was now riddled with small bite marks consistent with sixty percent of my body. "Oh yes!" Fluttershy replied with a smile, "I was planning on going there myself for some bird seed today. You could accompany me if you'd like." I thought about it. 'What’s the worst that could happen?' the moment that thought crossed my mind I remembered everything I've been through since I've been in this hellhole. "It's more than likely going to either kill me or break a few bones but what the hell?" I said figuring if I died then there'd be no more weird shit that could happen... or cause me more physical injury. "Oh I'm sure you'll be fine. Ponyville is a safe place I assure you. Angel will you be alright watching the house while I'm gone?" Fluttershy asked the rabbit. Angel nodded and crossed its paws. "Well I’m ready when you are." Fluttershy told me. I stretched a little, "What are we waiting for?" I asked, "Let’s go." "Alright." Fluttershy walked to the door and opened it. I followed her through and closed the door behind me. I caught a glimpse of Angel staring at me with discontent before the door clicked shut. "So how long is the trip?" I asked spinning around to see Fluttershy already making her way down a little dirt path. I quickly caught up looking at her for and answer. "It’s only a ten minute walk." She replied. "We've been that close all along?!" I asked not knowing whether to be happy or angry. Before she answered I turned around to get my first look at her home. My eyes almost exploded. "You live in a tree?!" I exclaimed throwing my arms in the air. "Well yes. I-" "You're a pony that-... You know what? I give up." I put my hands down and sighed, "You win universe. You've officially confused me to my limits." I looked at the house and noticed the thing was riddled with birdhouses of different sizes, shapes and colors. There had to be more than a couple dozen in the tree house. “Who are you talking to?” Fluttershy asked with that unusual timidness soaking the air around her. “No one.” I replied softly. 'She may be mentally unstable or this may be normal here.' I thought. We crossed a small arched bridge over a creek in front of the house and passed critters that seemed to exist every five feet from one another. From bunnies to squirrels to chipmunks it looked like a zoo filled with average everyday animals. I noticed I was no longer in the forest instead trees were more sparse and thin. It was strangely pleasant. For the first time since I’ve arrived in this strange word I didn’t feel the need to listen to my surroundings or prepare for an attack. It wasn't a long walk at all. I was so distracted by my surrounding I had forgotten to look up and forward for a good two minutes. When I shifted my gaze back in front of me I saw the peak of a windmill spinning in the distance. "Well I'm not hungry anymore and I don't think I need a bath after falling into that river soooo now I’m wondering if there is a place that I could possibly get my clothes patched up or if I could get new ones. You know any place that could do the trick?" I asked wondering what my next priority after that would be. My mind went to Gilda and I instantly rearranged my mental task list so finding her was at the top. "I have a friend who's really good with clothes and I'm sure if you need her help she'll give it." Fluttershy replied. My mind switched back for a second back to that damn griffon. "Oh really? Thanks but I just remembered Gilda. Should I ask around town if she's been spotted?" I asked anxiously wondering if that crazy bird had made her way too this town and stayed here. "Yes." Fluttershy said turning back with a smile, "That would be a wonderful idea." We came to a 'T' in the road in which the path we were taking continued right along straight across from what seemed like a mile of the same terrain we were walking on. On the path that deviated I could see the complete town of what must had been Ponyville. Fluttershy turned down the road and kept walking. I noticed a light purple bridge that arched low over a small lake that sat just outside the town. Fluttershy almost seemed to skip as she started her strut across the bridge. I followed and hoped silently this town may provide a few answers I've been looking for. Not another word was spoken on our way across the bridge We arrived at what was obviously the entrance to the town and all I could do was stand there in awe. It was a town full of ponies. They were just walking casually around on the streets like people would. Some of them were speaking with others. Some went in and out of buildings. 'What in the hell is going on?' I thought. I half expected the town to have other ponies in it but not to be so... organized. Fluttershy stepped past the front entrance and into the town. I followed and immediately found myself being gazed upon from every possible direction. Conversations stopped when we passed the ponies that were enjoying them. I had never felt more awkward in my entire life. As we passed a normal looking brown pony walking down the street I looked over and asked, "Hey have you seen a gryphon around here anywhere?" The pony just stopped and stared at me. "Um... H-hello. No... N-no I haven't." was its reply. It looked more surprised than frightened which assured me that I wasn't all that scary looking to them. "Well say if I were to be looking for a gryphon in Ponyville what would be a good place to start?" I asked crossing my arms. "I can’t honestly sat friend" the pony said more calmly now, "What are you by the way?" it asked leaning closer inspecting me. "I’m a human and my name is Derek." I held out a hand which the pony happily shook. "Well it’s nice to meet yo-" "Honey!" another pony called from behind. A green pony that was smaller than the one I had been speaking to came up and nudged the brown one with her muzzle before turning to look at me. "What in the world...." her mouth just stayed open in awe. "Why hello there." I said with a smile. "Hi." was all she said. "Have you seen a gryphon by any chance?" "Um... No." I turned back to look at Fluttershy who was no longer by my side... or anywhere in sight for that matter. "Fluttershy?" I asked turning around looking and becoming increasingly worried. "Fluttershy?"" 'Crap.' "I’m sorry but I must take my leave.” I said to the couple of ponies I was just speaking to. Can either of you point me in the direction of-" "Heads up!" A voice rang out. *Bam!* Something collided with the back of my head and bounced off. Felt like a soccer ball. "Ow! What the hel-" I turned to see a small orangish pony with a purplish mane running towards me. Like Fluttershy this pony also had wings. I looked down and saw a ball on the ground rolling away from me. "Oh we're really sorry mist-" she looked at me and I realized I would be here all day explaining what I was to everyone here. Judging from its size it had to have been a child or whatever a young pony was called. Before she asked me what I was I shot off my question first. "I'm looking for a gryphon, bout this high, purple round her eyes, really bi-... mean. Have you seen her?" the smallish pony cocked her head to the side and showed an expression of thinking. I looked back and saw the two ponies I had spoken with earlier turn to continue their business. "Nope." She said after giving the subject enough thought, "What are you by the way?" I put both my hands up to my face to drag them down in despair. "I'll never find that stupid bird at this rate." I said to myself. "Hey mister?" The orange pony spoke with a look of concern. "What Is it kid?" I asked a little frustrated. "If it means anything my friend Apple Bloom said something about seeing a gryphon earlier today on her farm." The words were slow to process but hope finally dripped back into my mind. "What farm? Where?" I asked anxiously. "Um, Sweet Apple Acres. But seriously what are y-" "Human!" I exclaimed involuntarily, "Now where's this farm?" "It’s on the other side of town. You really can't miss it." She said with a smile. "Can you show me?" I asked finding that it wasn't all that hard for my impatience to spark. The pony looked over her shoulder then back at me. "I'd really like to mister but I'm on my way to hang with the coolest pony ever." "Good for you." I said not caring in the slightest, "Just point me in the right direction." The little pony pointed her hoof down a street and I began to walk in that direction without hesitation. 'She's probably gone' I thought quickening my pace. The orange pony said something but unfortunately for her I wasn't paying her any attention. The stares now came at me by the dozens as I made my way down the street but I figured no one was going to stop me until... "Stop!" I heard a voice shout. I kept walking trying to distance myself from whoever was speaking to me. "I said stop!" the voice shouted louder. 'God dammit!' I thought as I turned to face the source of the annoyance. Another pony was approaching me faster than I was walking. It wore a blue strangely shaped hat and had an emblem of some kind on its chest. A baton hung from a belt it wore around its waist. "What do you want?" I spat not in the mood to deal with this. "To know what you are creature." The pony demanded. "And who's asking?" I shot back. "Officer Petals." I couldn't help but to smirk at the name. "Really?" I said without thinking, "I mean... Uh... I’m really busy at the moment. Can this wait Mr. Petals?" "Officer Petals and no. I asked a question and now it’s your job to answer." Ever since I was 4 I’ve had authority issues… "But what are you going to do about that fire over there?" I asked pointing innocently over the pony's shoulder. The pony turned to look where I was pointing. It scanned the area looking around for any signs of a fire but it saw none. By then I was long gone happening to bolt the instant the officers head turned. I dashed around a corner and then another letting me continue along my path to my destination going parallel to the street I was on. I was still running which drew not only curious looks but worried ones too. 'I can't believe he fell for that.' I thought chuckling. I was planning to keep on the move before Petals caught on and caught up. From what I've seen these ponies were a bit soft in the head which worked out great for me. As I passed building after colorful building I noticed how they all appeared old timey which was by no means a bad thing. Personally I preferred this village's appearance to the modern one that I was so used to back in my world. It had a calming touch to it which would have been more appreciated had nothing been trying to kill me or get in my way. The run slowed to a jog. I figured I was a pretty safe at the moment so I took the time to look around. Strangely enough it seems as though all of the ponies had just vanished. I caught a quick glimpse of a pony running to a house, opening the front door, and shutting it after disappearing inside. 'Please tell me this has nothing to do with me.' I pleaded silently. Right then a drop of water fell on my forehead. I wiped it off and looked up. The sky thirty seconds ago was clear as crystal but now the whole thing was grey with clouds. 'Impossible.' Suddenly rain began gradually pour harder and harder. I began to run looking for cover. The closest thing I could find was a massively wide tree down the street so I quickly made my way over to and under it. The tree provided great cover but the wind that accompanied it was rather annoying and cold. Another look around revealed a door right beside me strangely embedded in the side of the tree. To my other side I saw a wooden sign with a picture of an opened book on it. I knocked on the door and waited a minute. No one answered so I reached for the door handle and pushed it open poking my head in for a quick peek inside. The look on my face must have been priceless because I was frozen in awe of what I saw. The entire tree which looked healthy and lush on the outside was completely hollowed out on the inside. It reminded me of Fluttershy's house but much larger. Shelves were carved out of the walls which housed what must have been hundred if not thousands of books. I took a step inside slowly shutting the door behind me. "Hello?" I yelled. I heard nothing but the wind outside, "Is anyone here?" The sound of something shuffling was followed by quick footsteps. The sound drew my attention over to a flight of stairs that descended alongside the wall. What popped into view halfway down the stairs was what looked like a knee high purple lizard that walked upright. The thing had green spikes running from the largest at the top of its head down to the smallest at the tip of its tail which ended like the head of an arrow. It stopped on the stairs once it caught a look at me. "Uh...Hi..." it spoke with a childish voice. "Hey there." I replied casually. I was finding myself less and less surprised by what creatures had the ability to talk. The two of us stood where we were in silence just looking at each other in wonder of what the other was for a few seconds. "Sooo," I started trying to crack the silence, "I was on my way to a farm called Sweet Apple Acres looking for a gryphon and this crazy weather just came out of nowhere like that." I said with a snap of my fingers. "Didn't you know we had rain scheduled today?" the purple lizard asked. "What do you mean 'scheduled'?" I asked in return. "What? You know about the weather forecast right? The pegasi scheduled rainfall this afternoon." It took me a second to process what the little guy was talking about. "Wait? You mean the winged ponies? They made the storm?" I questioned pointing to the window. "Yeah. You're not from around here are you?" it asked continuing to walk down the stairs. "You have no idea." was all I could think to say cracking a smile, "Names Derek by the way." "Spike." the lizard thing said. "Alright nice to meet you Spike and before you ask, I'm a human." "Ohhh cool. You walk just like I do." Spike stated randomly. "Yeah I'm guessing not many things do that here do they?" "Nah but you'll get used to it I'm sure." I took another look at my surroundings and gave an impressed whistle. "So Spike..." I started trying to change the subject, "I'm in a bit of a situation and I could use any help I can get." "Sure, what’s up?" he asked with a nod of his head. "Well for starters I'm looking for a gryphon that may have been seen on a farm called Sweet Apple Acres. This storm however is being more than a pain to get through. Do you know of anywhere close I can find a place to crash." my sentence ended with a bright flash of light that illuminated the whole room through the windows closely followed by the loud crack of lightning. I turned to look out the windows to see the sky was unbelievably dark. 'It was just sunny fifteen minutes ago!' my mind raced with theories on how this was even possible. The inside of the tree itself glowed by candlelight. "Well I suppose you could crash here for a little seeing as to how bad the storm is." I was almost stunned by the offer. I have to admit it was about damn time someone cut me a break. "You really mean that little dude?" I asked in disbelief. "I'm not gonna throw you back into the storm." Spike replied giving a shrug, "I’m sure it'll be over soon and you'll be able to find your gryphon in no time." "Wow, that's awfully kind of you man." I looked at the oversized lizard and thought up a question. "What exactly are you by the way if you don't mind me asking?" "I’m a dragon." I paused a second in shock and stared at him, "Really?" "You're serious? You grew to be over 20 stories and went on a rampage motivated by greed?" I asked before continuing to eat from a bowl of popcorn Spike had made earlier. "Yeah that’s pretty much it. I’m still kinda in trouble for it.” He replied with his voice seeming to dim near the end. I looked at him for a second. “Pfft! I guarantee you that had I been in that situation I probably would had of gotten in more trouble than that.” I said wearing the grin that curled across my lips. Spike gave me a quizzical gaze and opened his mouth to speak. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” he asked. “Because I would have bragged about it afterwards!” I said letting out a laugh which Spike had done a second later. “Alright so what’s with this place? Like is it a library thing or what?” I said once I settled back down. “Yeah. Pretty boring if you ask me.” Spike replied. “Well this might actually have its uses. Let's see... Could I get a basic rundown of this planets history or as much of it as you know?" I asked. Spike stared at me blankly for a second before turning and pulling a ladder under a row of books on a heightened shelf. He reached for and grabbed a white book to his left then slid back down the ladder. he handed me the book and handed me the book that read "The Summarizations of Equestria and the Beyond". I flipped to the first page skipping the several indexes and read.... "Equestria is a land with rich beauty and wonderful civilizations and multitudes of individual kingdoms, villages, cities, and towns. History on the founding of Equestria seems to go back millions of years but most evidence of any historical events dating back past The Rule of Discord was ultimately destroyed by said Rule of Discord. The Princesses seeming to make it through the act of defeating Discord have deemed any history beyond that point completely unnecessary to reestablish and thus after the rule of Discord, Equestria was once a smaller nation..." I gave a small cough, "Yeah, I'm bored." I muttered. Then something occurred to me and my head shot up as I stared at the dragon with a smile. He tried to speak, "What are you-" "Where are your books on magic?" The dragon smiled, "You obviously haven’t met Twilight." he said with a halfcocked grin. In the Grand Mountains past the farthest north Equestrian maps have depicted a structure embedded within an enormous amount of stone that was abnormally large with the peak of it jutting over the clouds themselves. Built of stone warped by magic a massive fortressed kingdom lay silent in stone. Though it had strange features that made it stand out from the other kingdoms that scattered the lands of Equestria and those in the Beyond. Ladders were more commonplace, doors were taller, and strange figures scattered the city standing, sitting, and laying still and silent. It looked as if these creatures were going about their lives casually although they were frozen where they were. Their smooth greyed features revealed that these creature to be encased in stone. Their odd figure shown they had two legs which they stood upright on with arms that hung down to its side. These furless, featherless, and slightly haired being held items and objects with hands, that bore opposable thumbs, at the ends of the arms. The faces were flatter than most every other race in the lands with a small protruding nose in the center of the face. Clothes waved in an eternal state of frozen movement not fluttering in the wind but rather directing it as most stone would. In the castle that peaked the mountain a large statue of one of these creatures sat on a throne. Then suddenly on the stone upon this creature's chest... a small fissure appeared. Okay, yeah I haven’t posted in a while… That’s my bad and I apologize But that’s only because I had hit a massive writer’s block at a bad time. The scale of what I’m undertaking is a little intimidating because now I have a billion Ideas’ and now I have to arrange them. I’m fairly certain it’s a project that’s sharing time with my other stories I’m developing with one of them being a five man writer team which only I’m contributing anything too. But after getting so many recent requests to continue I gave in and sat down so I could give you guys some more wings. please feel free to leave a comment or send a message to tell me what you think. I hope you enjoyed xAncient
Chapter 1"Ten bits says he passes out before he dies" the voice spoke deep and full of satisfaction. "Quite the risk my friend." another voice replied quickly, “He’s endured quite a bit already. I wouldn't put it past him to spit in your other eye before you finish him." "Than it’s a bet. Let’s test how tough these humans really are." Sharp talons gripping a glowing red blade thrust into my chest. I screamed. My 20th birthday was not one that passed by quietly. Usually flashing lights and loudness accompany a well hosted party. If the lights were not just red and blue and the siren was a tad bit louder I wouldn't have had a complaint in the world. A flashlight gently tapped my window before shining into my eyes. I rolled it down. "Good evening officer." my voice cracked which sounded nervous even to me. The woman I spoke to looked young. I guessed she couldn't have been more than five years older than me. "Evening." she sounded leaning down to look into my car. "License and regi-" I had already pulled out the necessary papers and had handed them to the officer which I had immediately regretted 'Wonderful' I thought 'Now she knows I'm familiar with this process.' She looked at my license then looked back up at me with a raised eyebrow. "What?" I asked trying not to sound rude. Something I've never had luck with. I then remembered my license. It was renewed a little less than a year ago. Since then I’ve taken an interest in getting a short mohawk. I thought I’d try it for a few months then ease the transition back into the long hair that used to end right below my eyes. It wasn't that I was a fan of the look at the time, it was more of a way to sleep at work without anyone noticing, and it worked well. I knew that was the reason for her disapproving glance. The stare that followed was seemingly punishment for my apparently disrespectful question. "Oh!" I said pointing to my head, "Midlife crisis." I said jokingly. The officer smiled. 'I can still salvage a warning from this!' I thought returning her smile 'Maybe even her number. ' She took the papers and told me to wait there. As she turned and walked back to her cruiser I looked in my rearview mirror. The first thing I looked at was her rear end getting further and further. 'Not ba-' my mind immediately shifted perspective, 'Why the hell am I trying to hit on a cop?' another shift, 'Because I can.' I then gazed up at the car flashing red and blue. The cruiser was of a newer Mustang model capable of keeping up with the ballsiest of drivers. The bucket I drove barley hit 100 whenever I took the opportunity to test its limits. I was extremely grateful it wasn't mine for the fact that when I finally earned enough cash it would go towards a car that when put side by side with the thing I drove would make it look like an actual bucket with glass and rubber glued to it. I noticed the officer’s cruiser was empty, for some reason I had expected two officers. The passenger seat of the cruiser was filled with stacked cardboard boxes. Suddenly I felt an intense pressure in my head. My ears popped and I became immediately blinded by a great flash of light. I had covered my eyes and smelled smoke. I couldn't see but the speed at which I was able to unbuckle my seatbelt and open then dive out the car door amazed even myself. "What the fuck?!" I yelled in agony barely able to open my eyes and unable to hear my own voice. I saw a bright light and before I could comprehend what was happening I noticed that the officer was standing over me. I couldn't hear a damn thing but I could tell she was saying something. I tried to respond but all I could do was let out an agonizing moan. My body felt like I had tried to chew on a taser. It was hard to tell what was going on so I tried to relax as much as my body fought against the act. A ringing sound began to fade into my ears as well as that of a voice. "Hey! HEY! Are you alright?" spoke the officer. "Fuuuuuck!" was all I could let out. "What’s wrong? Can you stand?" she asked. I grunted and rolled over onto my stomach and began to push myself up. The officer grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. She was a head shorter than me but I could tell she was strong. "What happened?" I asked still considerably dazed. I saw her open her mouth to speak but the world went silent once again "Once more! Concentrate! We almost have it!" a strange girlish voice spoke. "Huh?" was all I could say before I was being pushed onto the hood of my car. I didn't have the mental capability to process what was happening. I tried to pull my hands up to my head but for some reason I couldn't move my hands or arms. "What?" "Sir, you are under arrest for driving a stolen vehicle. I’ve called an ambulance for whatever it is that’s affecting you. You have the right to-" "Now!" that voice again. It felt as if I was just imagining it loudly within my own head. My vision blurred as everything had become increasingly bright. "Hey? Hey! Are you al-" Sound continually faded in and out in a seemingly rhythmic fashion. "What’s going on?" I asked aimlessly. The feeling of being pulled backwards came over me. I could barely see but I heard a sharp cry. It sounded like the officer. "Try harder!" Dammit who was that? Then nothing.
Chapter 2I felt as if I was falling and standing at the same time. I’m not sure why but the sensation was rather enjoyable before I realized what was happening. I swear my eyes were open but all I saw was black. Had I gone blind? That strange bright light earlier hadn't hurt my eyes yet it left me with the feeling it had something to do with why I couldn't see anything. "Did it work?" a new voice said. "Who's there?!" I said "I’m not sure." it was that first voice again. I spun around or at least I thought I did still unable to see anything but darkness. "Hey!" I shouted, "What in the hell i-" "Did you feel that?" the first voice cut me off. Whoever it was their hearing sucked. I was getting extremely agitated. "Feel what?" the second voice asked. "I’m going to try and provoke a response." "Are you certain that’s a good idea?" "What’s the worst that could happen?" "... Fine. But be careful" "For the love of god! Will someone help me?" I shouted. A strange feeling of warmth washed over my back. I turned to face the source of this. I saw for a brief second a little bolt of what looked like purple electricity before disappearing. I waited a few seconds in confusion as another bolt struck the ground close to me. "What the hell?!" I shouted. "I think I have something!" the first voice said sounding excited. "I swear when I get out of this I'm g-" a flash of light accompanied the purple lightning manifesting out of nothing. It struck me right dead center in the chest. I yelled, less pain driven than surprise though the force of the energy striking me did make me stumble back. I instinctively tried to catch my balance while reaching towards where I was struck. I was afraid to look down to look for a wound for fear of how bad the worst case scenario would play out from a first person perspective. My hands were tingling causing me to look down at them. I couldn't believe my eyes. My hands were grabbing the stream of electricity that had struck and impaled me. The bolt of purplish lightning was going into my chest but what was stranger than that was that it didn't injure me. Through the coursing stream of electricity I could see that where it had struck my hoodie a hole was burned. I didn't feel any pain from the lightning that was seemingly going through me. "I've got something!" that damned first voice again. I felt a strong tug from the lightning. It was pulling me. I looked up forgetting the wound when I saw a bright light that was at the other end of the stream of lightning. I was being pulled towards it. I pulled at the lightning trying to pry it from my chest as it pulled me towards some unknown fate. "No!" I yelled yanking the lightning back. I heard a scream. "What’s happening?" shouted the second voice. "It’s fighting back! I don't know what we have!" replied the first voice. I turned pulling the lightning with me. It yanked harder knocking me on my back. I was being dragged across nothing towards what looked like what I imagined heaven would look like from outside its gates. I quickly rolled onto my stomach and thrust all my weight into a push forward. The lackadaisical stream of lightning that had me hooked was pulled tight and began to produce loud sparks as I fought to get away from that light. "I’m losing control!" the first voice yelled, "Help!" "Hold on!" I heard a loud crack from behind and stopped to turn. What I turned to face was an even larger stream of lightning alongside the first. It swerved and spun with a form like a giant serpent. It unlike the first stream of lightning was what looked to me like a dark blue I spun once more and tried my best to run. The purple lightning was still hooked in me. I hadn't even questioned how I was not dead yet if this was real. The more I tugged and the further I had gotten from the lightning the less I could feel it holding me back. I was now running at full sprint feeling completely unhindered. I could hear the cracking of the lightning and turned my head a little. "Shi-" was all I managed to yell before the large stream of lightning had shot towards me. I was paralyzed as it struck me in the gut. Without hesitation it began to pull me back towards the light. "Maintain the door!" "I can’t! It’s too much!" The light which had spawned the two streams of lightning was growing dimmer. But the blue lightning pulled hard and dragged me towards the light. "Hurry!" I managed to move an arm just a little. I made an effort to grab the lightning still not fully understanding how I could do that in the first place. This phenomenon was defiantly under the control of something. Whatever it was actively trying to capture me. The light was close and got only closer despite my best efforts to claw at nothingness to gain "Don't break your concentration!" The voice was louder than it had ever been and I pinpointed its source. It was the light! I turned to face the brightness I was being aggressively pulled toward and saw something in it. I focused on the light and saw movement inside of it. "Hold it! I think I see something!" With one more violent tug I was pulled into the light. I shut my eyes deciding that if this was my death I'd rather reflect on moments in my life before I died. For some strange reason I opened my eyes again and found myself looking into another pair of eyes wide open with what I could only assume was fear. The eyes belonged to a purple face of... something. The sudden sight had caught me off guard like everything else that was going on. I yelled in surprise causing the purple thing to back up yelling in surprise in response. Sparks erupted everywhere and before I knew it I couldn't see... again. Everything started shaking. "I'm losing control!" "Focus!" "I can't!" I yelled as I suddenly felt as If I had just been launched by a catapult. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" was all I could say as I flew through whatever space surrounded me.
Chapter 3I was awoken by droplets splashing against my face. I began to moan in pain due to what felt like my ribcage being torn open. I tried to open my eyes and was blinded by bright light "Will this nightmare just end already?" I grumbled as I shielded my eyes from this light. 'Wait a minute. This light actually hurts my eyes?' I squinted, it was bright but also blue. Was it over? Had I just woken up? I tried to sit up only to grab my stomach in pain. Was I wounded? How bad was it? I sat up and patted my chest to feel for wounds. I looked down to see a pretty good sized whole in my hoodie and shirt underneath. The flesh behind the holes looked as if it had been sun burnt badly with dry red cracked skin. I was faintly bleeding from the cracks but it wasn't as bad as it felt. I finally managed to open my eyes fully and see white splotches in the blue canvas that displayed itself before me. 'Am I outside?' I though as I pushed myself to sit upright. My hands pressed against dew covered grass which answered my question almost immediately. Apparently it was early in the morning from the look of the sun. I looked around and saw trees. Ignoring the pain in my gut I forced myself to stand up and lean against a tree. Where in the hell was I? I turned and saw what looked like an opening to a clearing. I shoved myself off of the tree and stumbled to several trees resting against each one. I finally reached the tree before the opening and was immediately grateful I had decided to wrap my arms around the tree to prop myself up as I looked out over the edge of a cliff that faced a massive valley. I looked down over the edge and guessed It was a good ten second drop. Looking out over the valley didn't turn anything up. I saw nothing that showed any sign of civilization. Not a single road or house was distinguishable within the forest below. My stomach grumbled but I had no idea what I should have done. My choices boiled down to getting food or starting a signal fire. Between my options I chose food. I knew the hunger I was feeling wouldn't help me through this and wouldn't get better. After a final gaze upon the valley I spotted what could have been a pond or a lake, at this range it was hard to tell. If there was anything to eat it’d probably be there. The cliff side was steep but not impassible. I used to rock climb as a kid so I had some idea of what I was doing even though I couldn't visualize a single memory of me doing anything like this. The climb down wasn't to challenging except for two drops I had to tuck and roll to make. Jagged rock was not meant to be rolled across as the results of doing so left my right shoulder bloody and tore up a little more of my hoodie. The last obstacle I faced was a sheer 40 foot drop to the forest floor. I didn't see any immediate solutions to this. I spent the next five minutes going over ideas on how to get down from the small ledge I stood upon. With the cliff wall as high as it was going back wasn't an option. I looked down to see I was almost level with the top of the nearest tree. Without giving myself time to think about the consequences I jumped. It isn't all that rare for me to make a seemingly bad decision without thinking about it at all. Luckily I collided with the tree and got two handfuls of branches. I stayed still so as not to break any branches as the treetop swung with me on it. I slowly began my decent through the tree wondering of what I would need before nightfall. 'I could make a shelter,' I told myself 'and build it right by that la-" A branch snapped loudly from somewhere in the distance. I had my breath held listening waiting for a second sound to come signaling a wild animal. Surely enough there was a crunch of fallen leaves being stepped on. I was about to jump down but then thought about whatever it was that made the noise had the chance to be predatory. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out a utility knife I had gotten from work. 'Yeah bears will run in fear.' I thought as I looked at the pitiful razor edge of the blade. I looked around and saw a good sized branch to fashion into a spear. Another crunch, whatever it was it was getting closer. I reached for the branch and twisted and bent it trying to make as little sound as possible. The branch finally broke with a snap and I quickly began to sharpen the end with my knife with no hesitation. I heard the sound of loud wing beats start, get louder, and stop again. The tree I was in gave a sharp jerk almost tossing me off my branch. I looked down to see if anything was climbing my branch. I quickly began cutting the branches off of my almost finished spear. I stopped and looked straight ahead. 'Where’s the crunching?' I thought something knew I was in the tree and was trying to climb it. I lowered my makeshift spear so it pointed down. Then it hit me. The tree shook earlier... But nothing was climbing it... I felt unusual warmth on the back of my neck for a brief second. I froze, my head involuntarily began to look up. I was eye to eye with what looked like a giant birds head. Its golden eyes stared right into mineI swear for a second I thought it was fake. Then it blinked... "AHHH!!!" I tried to bring my spear up and lost my balance. I fell and hit the ground landing on my back. I looked up into the tree and saw the entirety of the creature as it looked down at me. It looked like a bird with the body of a lion. It had wings protruding from its back that were massive as compared to anything I've ever seen. It continued to stare at me with yellow eyes that seemed to lock into a stare with mine. I made a small notice of the gretish purple marks around its eyes. My makeshift spear which sat balancing on a branch when I let go wobbled a little and then slid out of the tree and landed inches from my head impaling the ground a good half foot deep. I swung an arm and grasped my spear ripping it from the earth in panic. I aimed it up towards the creature which was unmoving up in the tree. I thought I was imagining it but I could've sworn it looked... confused. I pushed myself to my feet and backed away from the tree. I turned and heard the crashing of leaves right behind me so I burst into a full out sprint. Whatever the hell that was it was my size or bigger and had managed to sneak up on me in a tree. I was not in any shape to fight this thing if it came down to that. I couldn't tell if whatever it was was catching up to me so I began to run though the thickest brush I could find hoping to lose it if it was in pursuit. My mind went from a state of frenzied panic to planning my next move in an extremely rough transition. I began to think if I could ambush the creature I could kill it, if I could kill it I could eat it, id need a fire though but I was going to take this one step at a time. I had made some good distance between me and the creature. The crashing leaves were further than they had been but getting closer. I scanned the area and saw a tree thicker than the rest right ahead of me. When I reached the tree I quickly scurried around it to see it provided great cover. I crouched and waited. I readied my spear and positioned to charge whatever came past the tree. Hopefully I'll catch it by its blind spot but something in the back of my mind told me 'That easy? Not likely.' The crashing was loud enough to be on the other side of the tree. It suddenly stopped. *Crunch* I held my breath *Crunch* I tightened the grip on my spear *Crunch* 'This is it! Now or never, do or d-' "What the hell was that?" said a voice that was not my own from around the tree. ‘A voice?’ I thought confused. I hadn’t seen anyone on my way here. I stood up and poked my head from around the tree. There it stood, that damned creature walking up to the tree. I pulled my head back before I drew its attention. I needed to figure out where that person was that spoke a few seconds ago. Did they see the creature? Is that why they asked what they did? I saw the bird creature walk past the tree not noticing me in the slightest. I leaned forward ready to charge. I saw there were spots on the ground bare of leaves, perfect. I launched myself away from the tree and towards the side of the creature carful to place my feet upon the dirt and not the dry leaves which surely would have given me away. Just a few more yards.... *Snap* 'Crap' The creature turned to face me rushing it. Its whole body lowered unexpectedly ducking the spear that was meant for its midsection. My momentum sent me straight into its side knocking the wind out of me and my spear from my hand when my stomach rammed its wing. I suddenly realized I was leaning over the back of the creature. It pushed itself into a sideways roll and I, being on top of the thing went with it. Before I knew it I was being crushed beneath the creature's back like it was a living steamroller. I did what I could and quickly wrapped an arm around the creature’s neck from under it. I didn't know how effective it would be but I was about to find out. The creature immediately responded to being choked by thrashing around which wasn't pleasant due to this thing weighing as much as shopping cart full of wet sand. I pulled my chokehold as tight as I could. The creature swiped its claws wildly as it tried to strike flesh. Twelve seconds into the choke the creature lifted up a talon and seemed to ball its claws into a fist. It brought its arm down with considerable force into my midsection. Its elbow impacted my stomach harder than I had ever been hit before. I could help but to let go which the creature took as an opportunity to roll off of me and over a few times creating some distance between the two of us. I heard the thing gasping for the same air I did. I rolled over onto my stomach and looked around for my spear. It lay halfway between me and the creature. I dove for it but made it look as if I was charging the creature which jumped to its feet and backed up repositioning itself to defend. I grabbed my spear and looked the creature in the eyes. They looked almost gold in color and returned an equally fiery gaze. I’ve seen this thing before somewhere it just didn't ring any bells. It lifted up a clawed talon and flashed its claws in a seemingly threatening manner. 'Is it trying to intimidate me?' I raised my spear trying to return the gesture. The suddenly the realization I've been looking for popped into my head. 'Griffon!' Then I saw it. A large dark shadow appeared behind the creature that could have only been a griffon. It came up from behind the griffon slowly and stepped into the light. It was massive, standing behind the griffon it was easily three times its size. It was a lion from the looks of first glance but then I noticed it had wings as it stepped out from the shadows of the trees it was hiding in. My jaw dropped and my stare went from the griffon to whatever the hell was standing behind it. "What in god name..." was all I let out. The griffon seemed to notice the path of my gaze turned to face the new creature. I swear I saw the griffons white feathered face go pale. The griffon tried to bolt for it but a huge scorpion tail as thick as my body came down and struck the ground inches in front of its beak. When I saw that the tail was connected to the giant winged lion I almost crapped myself. The griffon tried to sidestep quickly to maneuver away but didn't see the massive paw come in from its blind spot. I heard a thump and saw the griffon fly straight over me clearing me by a foot. Its body was completely limp as it flew through the air right into a tree. A loud snap accompanied the collision. It fell to the ground from where it struck the tree to lay there motionless. I was frozen in fear. "So this is how I die." I manage to say as the huge creature made its way towards me. I readied my spear which drew no reaction from the creature. I began to back up looking for a way out. My foot hit something soft. I looked behind me to see that I had backed into the body of the griffon which seemed to shrug a little from the contact. I looked back at the other creature which was lowering its head as it got closer. An idea struck, I slowly began to crouch lower and lower trying to look as little as a threat as possible. My spear was pointed right at the creatures face. I couldn't kill this thing even if I got a clear shot at its throat. So I was going to do the next best thing. The lion thing's head lowered until it was only six feet away from me. 'Just a little closer.' It sniffed me and leaned forward licking its lips. 'Now!' I sprung to my feet lifting my spear with both hands thrusting it forward. I was showered in a small rain of blood as my spear sank into its target. The creature reared back sounding off with a deafening howl of pain. The spear now protruded from the creature's right eyes. The large creature turned around and ran blinded in one eye and full of rage and pain. It smacked into a tree and unable to see what it had run into it swung a massive paw. The ease by which the creature toppled the tree astounded me. 'If that had been me-' I stopped that thought instantly. The large creature stumbled over the tree and dashed into the forest crushing everything its size or smaller until it was out of view. I pulled in a deep breath realizing I hadn't taken a breath since I had last spoke. I leaned over resting with my hands on my knees. I heard something moving behind me so I turned around to see the griffon. It lay where it landed with its eyes open and looking directly at me. I was going to die if I didn't eat soon so I figured the sooner I got this over with the sooner I could move on to something less urgent to my survival. I slowly walked toward the griffon trying to see if it had anymore fight in it. It just laid there trying to move its legs which moved little by little but not enough to accomplish anything. I walked up to it unable to break eye contact. It looked like it stared into my soul which I suppose came from facing inevitable death. I didn't have my spear anymore and somewhere in this pleasant little Hell laid my knife. I wasn't going to wait for the griffon to die but I didn't want to kill it bare handed. The thought of doing so made me feel a little sick inside. A large rock was planted in the ground besides me. I reached down and pulled as hard as I could. It came out of the ground on the first try. It was about the size of a football but heavy enough to work. I reached the griffon and looked at it for a moment. I lifted the rock above my head hating the fact I was about to kill something that only existed in myths and legends. 'I’m sorry.' I thought. "Do it." I stopped. "What are you waiting for?" it was the griffon. It was... speaking. I stepped back lowering then dropping the rock and covering my mouth with a hand. "No." was the only thing I could think to say, "No, no, no, no! You can’t talk! That’s impossible!" "What are you talking about?" spoke the griffon with a distinct female voice. "What the hell are you?!" I shouted pointing at the griffon. "Breakfast for some ugly looking troll apparently." the griffon retorted, "Are you going to finish this?" I was speechless. I was talking to a griffon. I didn't know what to say or even ask. "You got lucky dude but if I get back up you won’t be." I had a brief moment of mental instability and burst out laughing. "What’s so funny?!" the griffon spat. "Well for starters I’m talking to a griffon... who's talking back." I proclaimed still laughing before continuing "Oh then there was that thing back there that would have and SHOULD HAVE killed both of us. So forgive me if I’m offending you." "YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!" the griffon yelled managing to raise its head. "Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up! You were stalking me though the forest and you thought I was trying to kill you?!" I laughed harder. "You're in my territory!" the griffon spat. "Then I'm gonna guess that big ass death machine that just tried to eat us was too and I don't remember seeing you do anything about it!" My stomach was in an indescribable amount of pain from hunger, being impaled by lightning, clotheslined by a griffon wing, crushed, and being elbowed. Laughing was suddenly a chore so I stopped. "Either kill me or get lost troll but spare me your presence." The griffon said with hatred burning in its eyes. I walked back over to the griffon and knelt beside it. "Can you get up?" I asked. The griffin responded by pushing its talons into the ground and began to rise to its feet slowly. The griffon tried to do something with its wings before letting out a loud caw and collapsing back to the ground. "You okay?" I asked. The griffon didn't answer. It turned its head with tears in its eyes to look at its wing. I scooted closer. "Let me help you up." I said reaching for the griffon. "Get away from me!" the griffon screeched. I retracted my reach just a little. "It’s not enough torture for you to try and kill me, get my wing broken, then mock me? Then you all of the sudden you want to help?! What’s your game troll?" the griffon’s eyes were full of searing hatred and pain. "Listen I believe this is all a huge misunderstanding and if you let me help you then we can get the hell outta here before that huge ball of happy comes back here looking for an eye doctor." all I got back was that same continuous stare. "Listen I'm hungry as hell and tired so either help me help you or start plucking your feathers." No response. I held my hand out to the griffon that just kept staring. 'That’s it.' "Three. Two. On-" The griffon reached out a claw and grabbed my hand. I pulled leaning my weight back and the griffon managed to prop its legs underneath it and stand. I let go of the talon and turned to inspect its wing. "What do you think you're doing troll?" the griffon snapped. "I used to have a pet bird." I replied, "It decided to fly into the ceiling fan one day. Took three weeks for its wing to heal." "I’m no pet bird!" "Looks like you're going to need a whole ton of bandages for this. I’ve never seen wings this big." The griffon turned its head away. If I didn't know any better I’d of guessed it was blushing. "Please tell me you have a place to stay?" I asked. The griffon looked at me for a moment. "There’s a cave by the lake. Half hours walk." "Let’s go then." I said “I don't want you near my place troll." "I’m not a freaking troll!" "You're right. Trolls aren't that ugly." I laughed what could I say, she got me. "Just lead the way princess."
Chapter 4The forest was humid. It wasn't all too much different from hiking back home. I looked from the trees to the griffon. It was a little disappointing knowing that a creature that was mythological and described as graceful and beautiful was standing before me and most likely hated my very existence. "So," I said trying my best to soften any hard feelings between us "Where are we anyways?" The moment of silence that ensued before it answered felt strangely suspenseful. "Did you hear me?" I asked. Still no answer came. "Do you have a name?" same results. I got the message but didn't really care how the griffon felt. "Okay fine, but can you at LEAST tell me your gender because it’s bugging the hell outta me." It sounded female but I wasn't going to take a guess and risk being wrong around something that already wanted me dead. "Female." the griffon hissed. I gave out an intrigued "Huh." and shrugged. The griffon quickly turned to face me "What’s THAT supposed to mean?" She said in a low threatening tone. I could tell it didn't take much to anger her. "Don't even try to play that card with me." I shot back, "You didn’t even exist a day ago." "What are you talking about troll?" "How about we start this off with whole troll issue. First off I'm not a troll, I’m a human and secondly I’m starting to regret not leaving your sorry ass behind when that thing attacked. I could have just run you know, making you breakfast for that... What was that anyway?" "A manticore." The griffon said with a seemingly disgusted tone before continuing down whatever path we were taking. I then heard her mutter under her breath. "Human? Human, human human..." she mumbled. "You said human right?" She asked anger still tainted her tone. I nodded my head hoping the gesture meant the same to the griffon as it did to people. "I've heard that word before but..." she stopped with her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. "But what?" I demanded, "Are there any other humans around here?" The griffon’s eyes seemed to scan the ground now but it was obvious she was trying to find an answer to a question that was never asked. "Listen if you know something, anything you gotta-" "We're here." the griffon cut me off. I looked up. I was standing in front of a large rock formation. The sides were covered with broken branches and gaps in the side were filled with mud. It wasn't the prettiest thing I've ever seen but I wasn't about to complain. The griffon walked over to a large piece of bark leaning against the sides of two rocks. Her claws wrapped around the right side and pulled it to the left. Like a sliding door the bark opened up to an entrance into the rock formation. I whistled impressed. "You live here?" I asked. "Yea. You got a problem with it?" I heard the griffon growl. "I meant no offense! Quit making me out to be a bad guy!" 'One way or another I’m certain you'll be the death of me.' The afterthought rang out loud enough in my mind that I could have accidentally said it without knowing. Hours earlier "You said it would work!" a purple unicorn said stomping her hoof in disappointment. "And it did Twilight." the voice of the other pony calmed her just a little. "What do you mean Luna? Whatever that was we lost it and I’m too exhausted to try again." The purple pony was leaning against a wall for support. She wasn't going to admit it but her whole body stung with an unusual pain that made her wince at the smallest attempts at movement. Luna turned to face her "We did not actually lose it Twilight. I felt the force pulled to our side of the connection." "What does that mean?" the unicorn asked. "It means though we weren't able to pull the force here we still manages to pull it to our dimension. Nothing can exist in the Void or at least for long so the force by default had to have made its way here." "Then where is it? I saw whatever it was and..." the young unicorn cut herself off before locking her eyes to the ground. "And what?" Luna replied concerned at the expression that had just washed over Twilight's face. A grim stare lifted itself from the tiled floor to meet with Luna's gaze. "It saw me." The first thing I noticed when I walked into the rock made shelter was that the whole ground was covered in fresh leaves yet the place itself smelled like pine. It was mostly empty except for some blankets bundled up in the back corner sitting next to which was a pile of books, a pit in the center which was half filled with ashes, and a mound of dirt that was waist high and had a slab of rock laying on it covered in parchments of paper and an inkwell with a quill in it.. "Make yourself at home human." the Griffon sneered. "Derek" I replied finally tired of the names she had pummeled me with since we met. "What?" "My name, its Derek." The griffon paused its movements towards the bundles of blankets, looked back at me, then looked back and continued. "Whatever. Just don't touch anything or I'll kill you." she said harshly. "So what do you have to eat around here?" I asked trying not to waste anymore time. Truth was I could barely stand from all the pain in my midsection. "Depends. You a herbivore or carnivore?" she asked. "Humans are omnivores." my reply was late. I hadn't expected her to know something like that. "But we have to cook any kind of meat before it’s eaten." I was hit with a cloth sack in my already suffering chest. "What's this?" I asked rubbing my stomach. "Pfft apples maybe." she replied from across the room where she had thrown the sack. I opened up the sack and sure enough there were about a dozen green apples in there. All fresh and ripe to my luck. I sat down and dug in without muttering a thanks but I was nonetheless grateful. I destroyed nine apples before closing the bag trying to save some for later. I wasn't by any means full but I wasn't going to waste the first source of food I had eaten since... I couldn't remember my last meal. I looked over to the griffon that was removing long cloth strips from under the blankets. It threw a strip over a portion of its injured wing and tried to pull it from underneath with its beak but looked like it was struggling to do so. "Hey." I said forcing myself to stand up. The griffon just moved its eyes to look at me. "What?" it said with an agitated tone. I walked towards the griffon. "You may have just saved my life." I said as casually as possible. "What? How?" the griffon asked with a changed tone. "Well I almost starved to death but you fed me and then put a roof over my head for however long you were willing to put up with me." I leaned over and pulled a cloth strip from under the blankets and moved to start wrapping it around the wing. The griffon backed away without a word. "Consider it a down payment on what I owe you." I said still holding the cloth. "And what exactly do you owe me?" the griffon asked. "My life." I approached the griffon that just let out a depressed sigh and lowered her head and let me approach. Wrapping up the wing I found the damage wasn’t as bad as the griffon had thought it was. Though heavily bruised and bare of feathers in some spots it was relatively fine. I couldn't find any signs of broken bones though there might have been fractures. Judging from how hard she'd been smacked into that tree to end up with so little injures told me a few things. Either griffons were tough as Hell or they healed amazingly fast if not both By no means would this thing be flying for at least a week if the pain was as bad as she said it was weather she was a tough super healing mythical creature or not. About a half hour later the griffon inspected my finished work. I heard it mumble "Impressive." "What was that?" I asked trying to deliberately rub my work in her face. "It's good." she mumbled again. "I’m sorry I didn't quite catch that?" "What do you want? A medal? Its good okay?!" the griffon hissed. "A medal sounds good but I'll settle for your name." I said with a chuckle. The griffon sighed again before finally giving in. She looked up at the ceiling. "Gilda... My name is Gilda" it said sounding more ashamed than angry. I didn't know what to say. I was caught by surprise. I hadn't actually expected her to answer. "Fitting." I said with a smile finally deciding on my choice of words. "Whys that?" "I believe Gilda means golden back where I'm from." I said taking a seat slowly upon the leaf covered ground. "How’s that fitting tro-... human?" Gilda asked seeming trying to make an effort to try to get along. "Derek." "Whatever." I laughed but gave her points for trying. "Your eyes" I said motioning pointing two fingers at my eyes then turning my wrist so they pointed at hers. I bet it’s how you got your name." The expression on her face went from a blank stare of confusion to what looked lightish pink. She was blushing! It took me everything I had not to burst out laughing though I couldn't help but to crack a smile. "Are you-" *Bam!* a balled up talon hit me upside the head. I fell back and hit the leave covered ground wondering what just happened. "Uggggh." I groaned. "That’s for being creepy." I heard Gilda hiss. "It was a compliment you bitch! Ahhhhg!" I managed to say holding my head with both arms. The pain wasn't as bad as I had expected though it caught me off guard. I forced myself to my feet and walked over to the entrance. "You leaving?" Gilda asked quickly. I turned to face her and wondered if it was in my best interest to do so. "Depends. Do you want me to?" I shot back angrily. The griffon looked blankly at me again so I turned to slide the bark from the door. "Fine! I’m sorry!" Gilda shouted sounding as pissed as I was, "Happy?" I retracted my reach for the bark door and turned to face her. "Not really since you punched me in the head. I appreciate the apology though." "So you're not leaving?" "I don't know where I am and have nowhere to go, of course I’m not leaving. I was just going to take a look outside to see if I could guess where I am... If I'm even on Earth." The thought was pretty depressing but not as much as the one that came immediately after. "You live here alone don't you?" I spoke softly hoping not to get swatted again. "Yeah but it’s no big deal. Its how Griffons work." her eyes gazed back at the pile of blankets. "I've... gotten used to it." The pause in her sentence made me feel unusually bad for her. It was a potential sign that she hated living like this. "Why do you care?" she asked defensively. I guessed that was the exact response id get from her. "Hey if it makes you feel any better you live a lot better than I used to." I said with a smile. She didn't reply. I followed up with it. "That's no excuse to be a bitch though." I gave her a serious glare trying to make sure she got the point. "Alright dude." was all I got back. "So I have a few questions that have been bugging me since I've been here." I said. "Sure." "Where am I?" Gilda gave yet another blank stare. "My nest." "Nest? This isn’t a-... No! I meant WHERE am I? Like am I on the planet Earth?" "Duh." Gilda replied rolling her eyes. "And where on Earth am I?" "Technically were on the border between the Evertree Forest and Moonview Valley." I returned the blank stare ten fold? "What?" was all I could say. "In Equestria? Where have you been living dude? Under a rock?" "NO!" I shouted fiercely taking Gilda by surprise, "I’m from Colorado in the United States of America." Another blank stare from Gilda. "You know! The U.S.A? Above Mexico, below Canada?!" "I know of a Griffon village called Canada." Gilda replied seeming more and more confused. "Canada is a country! The second largest in the world in fac-" Gilda was on the brink of laughing. "Dude you are one strange-" Before she finished a terrible thought hit me. "A map!" I shouted yet again startling the griffon, "I need a world map!" "Alright! Alright! Dude chill. I’ve got a stupid map." 'Thank god.' I thought leaning my head back. Gilda walked over to the stone slab on the dirt mound which I guessed was a makeshift desk. She flipped through the papers on the desk while intriguing me as to how she could use her talons like hands. After about ten seconds of rummaging she pulled from the mess a folded up sheet of thick paper. She held it up above her head. "Hah! Got it!" her victory was short lived as I snatched the paper from her claws instantly and quickly unfolded the paper. I was horrified and amazed simultaneously. If what I was looking at was a world map of Earth... It wasn't my Earth. "No." The map was riddled with land masses I’ve never seen before. "No." North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, everything... gone. "No. No. No! NO!" I was screaming in fury. Nothing made sense. How was this possible? Gilda tried to say something but I didn’t pay her any attention. I held my hands up to cover my eyes and tried to focus. I wanted to think about how I could get out of this, when I would wake up, and how was this happening but all that came back were memories. My childhood hit me the hardest. Visions of going to the park as a kid, my birthdays, my friends. 'It's gone.' "HEEEEY!" I heard Gilda screech. I looked up to stare her right in the eyes which were strangely higher than mine now. I didn't realize but she was shaking me by my shoulders while standing on her hind legs. "Snap out of it man!" Gilda was almost foot shorter than me when she stood on all fours. Now she was a good two feet taller. I felt something staring come over me and I tried to speak but all that I managed to do was let out a small "Heh." Then I blacked out.
Chapter 5"So how have you been Derek?" my girlfriend’s voice said over the phone. "Great! I just got a new ride and thought about taking it out for a spin. Care to join me?" I said casually. "Yes! I’d love to! Let me check my schedule. Hold on." I held the phone away from my ear to hear the sound of sirens pass by outside. It was a few moments later that I heard the phone being picked up on the other end. "So how about seven?" I asked before letting her speak first. "How about now?" a strange but familiar voice said to me. "What? Who is this?" I replied confused. My back suddenly felt as if I was stabbed twice side by side between my shoulders. I screamed in pain. A cracking sound suddenly erupted accompanied by what sounded like something being torn. I fell to my knees and reached around my side for the source of the pain. I felt something protruding from my back. I pulled my hand back and tried to get up but stopped when I saw my hand. It was covered in blood and feathers. I turned my head still wincing in agony to try and see what the cause of this was. What I saw I couldn't believe. A large skeletal wing hung down from behind me and laid sprawled out to my side. My hand was shaking but it traced it up to my back. I turned my head to see the same at my other side. The pain increased and I tried to scream but I couldn't hear my voice. I tried to stand but I fell to the floor. I tried to crawl but as I reached out my hand I saw I no longer had hands I had talons. The room started to shake and the door and windows exploded. Water gushed into the room though the newly made openings and hit me full force. My eyes shot open wide as I gasped for air. I didn't feel any force from the water though I felt wet. I looked around a dark room and saw nothing. The pain was gone but I quickly reached for my back to make sure. The wings were gone too. 'What the hell?' I thought. "Yo!" came a voice from beside me. I turned my head to look into the golden eyes of a large bird's head. "Ahhh!" was all I could say trying to back up. I fell from something and hit the ground landing on my back. My body wouldn't move. I let out a long groan and stared straight up which was all I could do. The bird head was suddenly there looking down at me. "Uh dude?" came that same strange voice from earlier. I groaned again. "Get up man c’mon. You're really freaking me out." said the bird head. It all came back at once. "G-Gilda?" I sputtered. Gilda breathed a sigh of relief. "The hell happened?" I said with a clearer voice tainted with agony. "I think you passed out." she replied. 'A dream? Wait if that was a dream than this is...' "Oh fuck." I moaned and tried to sit up. I felt alright though it took me awhile to remember why I had a huge hole in my hoodie and shirt and had dried up cracked skin with dried blood on it where the hole was. "Why am I wet?" I asked still a bit shaken. "Well shaking you and yelling didn't wake you up soooo..." Gilda finished her sentence by holding up a wooden bucket with a little water pooled at the bottom. "Really?" I asked with a depressed tone. "Hey listen you were out of it. You kept thrashing about on the floor till I-" "Thanks." I cut her off. By now her blank stares of confusion had grown on me. "What? W-" She tried to ask. I stopped her again. "Nightmare." was all I said. "Oh." was all she replied. We sat in silence for a moment. Gilda backed away then turned and walked over to the desk which now had the map on it. She folded it up and slid it beneath the other papers. I just stared down at my hands. 'What’s going on?' was a thought that kept popping in and out of my head ever since I was forced into this mess and it hit me again. I tried to stand and even though my legs felt weak I managed an upright posture and began to stretch. "Are you alright dude?" Gilda asked with her back turned to me. "Now that is a great question." was my response. I started to make my way over to Gilda but stopped when a reflected light shimmered by the pile of blankets. Gilda was busy doing something with the papers so I took the opportunity to see what caught my interest. I made it to the pile and saw the corner of a picture frame poking out from the middle of it. I reached in and pulled out a fairly big picture. The first thing I noticed was Gilda was in it. She was defiantly younger from the looks of it and a hell of a lot scrawnier. She wore what looked like a tank top with the letters 'J.S.C' on the front. The second thing I noticed was her arm was draped over something beside her. It looked like a cyan colored horse but what really interested me is that its mane and tail had rainbow patterns. I also noticed that the little blue horse thing had wings and was wearing the same shirt as Gilda. 'Weirder and weirder.' I thought. "Hey Gilda!" I shouted, "You know I first took you as an antisocial friendless bird but from looking at this you seem to have a soft side. Hah! Have you been holding out on m-" My stomach was instantly pushed into my spine and before I knew it I was airborne. I hit the ground hard making it a good five feet from where I stood. The pain in my stomach erupted once again in a torrent of upheaval and agony. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!" I heard Gilda scream. "YOU TOUCH MY STUFF, I KILL YOU!" I moaned wrapping my arms around my stomach. I couldn't speak though even if I could I didn't want to. I just laid there silent trying to think. I shut my eyes and laid still. "I told you!" Gilda's voice rang out again, "Hey! Are you even listening to me?" I just laid there and tried to wait for the pain to die down. "Dude?!" Moments passed as I sat there with my eyes closed patient my past came to mind again. "C’mon get up." 'There has to be a way back, but how?' I thought. I felt Gilda shake my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see that griffon standing over me again. I heard a relived sigh. Gilda looked like she was about to say something and then stopped. When I looked at her she deliberately avoided my gaze. I saw she was holding the picture close to her chest with her free talon. I had apparently crossed a line with her though I never saw it coming. I was able to sit up cringing from the pain in my midsection. I felt a strange but familiar sensation inside of me. I spun over to plant my feet beneath me and bolted toward the back door. I practically threw the door out of my way and dashed outside. It looked like it was late afternoon from the looks of the sun. I managed to make it a few yards from Gilda's nest. I threw up. I felt dizzy and my throat burned from whatever came out. Thankfully it wasn't much but it was getting hard to stand. I leaned against a tree and spit the last of the vomit out. I heard a strange whine and turned to face Gilda who was standing in the doorway looking at me with some awkward mix of emotions written on her face. It was as if she couldn't decide whether to like me, hate me, or feel sorry for me. I shot her a glare that made her step back though it was unintentional. "What?" I demanded. I was angry and my voice was harsh. It was obvious that she was thinking about her next choice of words. "Are you..." I heard her start, "Mad?" I spat almost shouting, "Confused? Lost?" I reached down and grabbed a foot long chunk of wood from a fallen branch. "Or how about in a shit load of pain!?" with that I chucked the wood at Gilda. It missed and hit the side of the house. She flinched when I threw the wood but did not move. "Take your pick!" I finished looking at Gilda not knowing whether to hate her or like her. Her head lowered and she glanced down at the picture she held. Her expression suddenly changed to that of pure depression. Everything was still and silent for a moment before she looked up at me and opened her beak to speak. "I guess we're on the same boat."
Chapter 6Gilda and I didn't speak much for the rest of the afternoon. I was sure she was just as ready for a fresh start in the morning as I was. I figured that if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere it would be nice to have company for better or worse. Gilda had, at a point when my back was turned, lit a candle near her bundle of blankets I saw she now used as a bed. It looked like a cross between a large nest and a huge makeshift dog bed. Gilda had turned her back to me but the edge of a book was visible poking out from under her wing. Gilda and I didn't speak much for the rest of the afternoon. I was sure she was just as ready for a fresh start in the morning as I was. I figured that if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere it would be nice to have company for better or worse. Gilda had, at a point when my back was turned, lit a candle near her bundle of blankets I saw she now used as a bed. It looked like a cross between a large nest and a huge makeshift dog bed. Gilda had turned her back to me but the edge of a book was visible poking out from under her wing. 'A reading, talking, angry griffon. ‘Weird.' I thought to myself. The picture that had apparently caused the earlier commotion sat facing Gilda. So far it was the only photo I had seen in this cave. I sat leaning up against a wall wrapped in two blankets Gilda had let me use. I had become lost in thought and had lost track of time while doing so. "Well that’s it for me dude." I didn't even open my eyes when I heard Gilda speak. "Alright." I replied, "Goodnight Gilda." With that the candle was put out. I woke up the next morning with something tickling my ear. I slowly opened my eyes to see yet again a massive bird head. "Ahh!" I yelled startling Gilda who jumped in surprise. "Oh! It's you." I still wasn't used to waking up to see a griffon first thing. "Stop doing that!" I hissed, "That REALLY freaks me out." "Sorry dude." Gilda said in a quieter tone. I raised my arms out of the blankets that still encased me and stretched. This for whatever reason drew a look of fascination from Gilda. This gave me an idea. "Hey if you wanna see something cool watch this." I showed her the palm of my hand to show it was empty then reached behind her head and pulled back a hand that now held the only quarter in my pocket. "Ta da!" I said almost laughing, "Magic!" The look on her face was priceless. "Humans can use magic too?" Gilda asked. I was snickering but when I processed her words I immediately stopped. "Wait? What?" I asked. "I thought only unicorns could use natural magic. Amazing." She replied. Now I hit a mental clog trying to understand what she meant by that. "Huh? Unicorns? You mean the horse things with a horn?" I knew I didn't sound too smart when I said that but I didn't care. "Duh." Gilda said rolling her eyes. I just sat there perfecting my blank stare before snickering again. "Unicorns? They exist here? Really?" I said trying to keep my composure, "Oh let me guess! Next you'll tell me that dragons exist too." I looked up and burst out laughing. It wasn't that I didn't believe her. It was that everything here was unbelievable. When I looked back at Gilda she had confusion written on her face like an 800 page dictionary with one word. "You don't have dragons where you come from?" Was her response. It made me realize how far away from home I really was. I just sat there with my jaw hanging. "C-Can they talk too?" I asked nervously. "Yup." I stood up letting the blankets fall around me and stretched again. "Well Gilda you've managed to completely blow my mind and I've only been awake for five minutes." I said grunting off the stretch. "What’s for breakfast?" Gilda looked around the cave then back at me. "Don't you hunt?" she asked. "No." I replied remembering I had finished what was left of the apples after the whole vomiting incident last night, “Where’d you get those apples? I’m sure I could just go get some more." Gilda looked down with a change of expression, "I kinda... took em... without asking." she told me raising a talon to scratch the back of her head. "Gilda!" I said sternly, "You stole? What is the matter w-" I couldn't hold back my laughter so it erupted for all to hear. Another look of confusion from Gilda told me I needed to explain. "I'm just messing with you." I chuckled, "If you didn't take the apples I'd have probably starved to death." Gilda lowered her head and gave a sigh of relief "Phew!" she sounded. "Hey if it’s the only way we can get food around here lets go steal some more. If there is a more legal way then let’s go with that. I don't feel like being arrested." 'Twice.' came my afterthought. Gilda smiled which amazed me she could do that with a beak. "You know Derek you're not as much of a lame-o as I thought you were." "Ouch! You thought I was lame?" I said smiling. We both laughed. "So where is the nearest town from here." I asked pulling the map from the papers on the stone desk. Gilda didn't answer. "C’mon there’s gotta be a form of civilization around here somewhere." "Well the nearest one isn't any good." Gilda's voice sounded dry. "Just point out the damn thing." I said sternly, "I’m not picky if my life depends on it." "We should go..." She started to speak while walking over to me. She looked at the map I held and traced her claw to a dot with the word Grazeburg written over it. "Uh-huh and where are we?" I asked. Her claw moved down and left of the dot about five inches. "We're here." "And the soonest we can get there would be?" "Half a day’s journey." she said before finishing, "Crap!" she muttered. "What’s wrong?" I turned to her and asked. She replied by nodding her head back towards her injured wing. "You mean half a day’s journey by flight? You know I can't fly right?" I snapped at her. "Sorry dude. I’m just used to It." she replied. "Well how long is the trip by foot?" I asked feeling impatience bite me repeatedly. "Uh... Well... By foot it should be a day and a half if we hurry." she looked up at me glaring back at her without a happy face. "What?" She asked nervously. "The reason I want to go somewhere is to find a meal and wash my clothes. I’m hungry as hell and smell worse than that manticore's breath." I stated looking down at the map. I looked at where Gilda said we were and noticed a dot much closer from our location. "Here, what’s this?" I asked pointing to the dot. Gilda looked at it and her eyes went wide, "Uh... We should really-" "How long is the trip?" I asked not caring about Gilda's objections. "You might want to consider-" "Just answer the question for crying out loud." I demanded. My irritation raised but was nowhere near peaking. "Four hours." She squeaked rubbing the back of her neck with a nervous grin. "Then it’s settled!" I exclaimed looking at the dot a bit closer. "Ponyville. Huh." Somewhere far north… A door burst open as a dark small figure entered into a large room that resembled the halls of Valhalla. The figure rushed past the torches and into the light scrambling on claws and paws. The figure revealed in the light was a small gryphon with red streaks painted around its neck and a black line drawn down the center of its head ending at the top of its beak. It quickly made its way towards a throne that sat in the absence of light in the center of the other side of the great room. "My king! My king!" It shouted sounding desperate for a response. The griffon stopped its approach the instant two white slits opened in the darkness on the throne showing eyes that held a fierceness that fire itself would envy. The small gryphon sat silent trying to keep its composure seemingly calm and professional but was too exhausted from its journey to pass as such. "Valak." a voice boomed throughout the hall seeming to come at the small gryphon from every direction, "I was very clear on pointing out my disinterest in the affairs of the Zebra/Ram war near the border no matter how close it gets. If I am pestered on the subject again there will be consequences." The room went silent. "My deepest apologies my king but that isn't the reason for my visit." The small gryphon proclaimed breathing heavily and quickly. "And what news deserves my attention so badly that puts you in such a state?" The voice asked. The small messenger turned its head to a small bag that hung from its back and reached into it pulling out a small blood red crystal that seemed to take the form of a flame. "This." the small gryphon replied. He held up the crystal up for his king to see. The crystal glowed from within becoming brighter with the rhythm of a heartbeat then becoming dimmer only to repeat the process. The eyes in the darkness shot wide open. "Impossible!" The voice boomed louder than before, "They have all died out thousands of years ago! I've searched the farthest corners of this world for them!" A clawed fist slammed down on the armrest of the throne. The small gryphon shivered at the gesture. "My king." he said nervously "The court handlers have confirmed that this is no false alarm." There was complete silence as the messenger stood his ground before the throne waiting for a response. The figure that existed in the darkness on the throne shifted its eyes to the ceiling. "Find the source and return it to me." the voice was no longer booming but spoke clearly giving the small gryphon an uneasy feeling. "But my king! I-" "My patience grows very thin Valak." the voice said. "And the opportunity we have now may pass soon." "As you wish my king." the small gryphon replied. He turned and bolted back across the room disappearing through the door from which he came as quickly as he had arrived. The eyes in the darkness continued their gaze at the ceiling. On the ceiling was a painted mural. Slightly faded the painting showed a pure white gryphon in mid-lunge as if it were to jump out of the painting itself. Around the gryphon was burning land riddled with arrows, spears, and scattered feathers. But the eye's gaze focused on the figure beside the gryphon. The figure stood atop two legs dawned in shining armor that was continued by a body that held an engraved glowing shield in one hand and long curved blade in the other. The expression on the creatures face was that of rage as it was easily defined since the only fur that covered its face was around its mouth and hung down below its chin. The creature stood alongside the gryphon in a run that made it seem if it could break free from the painting. The voice finally cracked the silence. "It’s been far too long."
Chapter 7"I’m going to tell you one more time you are making a huge mistake." Gilda once again pointed out her dislike of the direction I walked in yet she followed close behind. "Exactly what is it about this damn town you hate so much?" I spat giving a quick glance back at her. "Everyone who lives there. Bunch of dweebs." She replied tilting her head to the side and rolling her eyes. "Well do they have food?" I asked pushing a branch out of my path. Gilda just gave a small dismissive shrug. "You have history with this place?" I asked pulling my hood over my head to avoid branches from scratching my face. No reply came from the gryphon. "Gilda?" I turned my head to see her staring off into space still walking close behind. I snapped a finger in front of her face and she blinked twitching her head. "What? What'd you say?" She said seeming a bit lost. "Ponyville." I said putting my hands in my hoodie pocket, "You been there before?" "That's none of your business!" she snapped at me causing me to stop out of confusion. "What?" I asked wondering what I'd done to deserve that for an answer. Gilda's eyes trained on me for a second before darting to everything but. "Oh...I meant... I've been there." I shrugged, turned, and kept walking. 'The mind of a gryphon is a true mystery or is just a chick thing?' I wondered. I've known quite a few women who acted as sporadically and violent as Gilda though the circumstances were that of a monthly nature. Then a terrifyingly strange question hit me. 'Do gryphon females have periods?' I looked back at Gilda again wondering whether to ask only to be given a sharp "What?!" I quickly turned back around. 'I choose to live.' was the thought that hit me immediately after I focused back on the path. That was one hell of a close call. "How much further?" I asked feeling a bit of wear in my legs. "Two hours on this path at the pace we're walking." Gilda replied. "What if we b-line it at a jog?" I asked curious as to whether I could eat any sooner than Gilda's e.t.a to Ponyville. "Then we'd fall off a cliff and die." Gilda returned blandly, “If you HAVE to get to this stupid village then we take the bridge." "You're no fun." I said smiling. The tress thinned out making our progress a lot easier. The noises throughout the forest made me uneasy. The experience with the manticore may have scared me for life and left me turning to face every snap of every branch hidden from view by distant trees and brush. "So what exactly is a human?" Gilda asked breaking my focus on my surroundings. I thought about it and found that I knew no real answer for her question. "A human?" I replied glad I had my hood up to hide my confusion. "Yeah like what defines your species?" Flashes of home appeared before me in thought of an answer. "Everything I guess." I finally said knowing that would not suffice. "Well for starters we are the only species from where I come from capable of reasoning, rationality, and self-awareness." I slowed my pace to let Gilda walk alongside me as I drew my hood back. "Are you familiar with terms like hate or love? War and peace?" Gilda asked turning her head to look at me. "Those are terms sketched into the very being of a human." I answered looking back "Currently the majority of the world I left behind was at peace but that’s not to say we haven't done some terrible things to one another. War is always around the corner in one form or another. Tragically it is widely accepted that war is part of human nature and has been since whenever we came into existence. So much so that we have perfected war to a point to where we have created the ability to end all life on the planet by fighting one another." Gilda's beak hung open, "End all life? What kind of power is capable of doing that?" her amazed look "We call it nuclear. It has the ability to create vast amounts of energy to support human life or end it. I guess you could say we've perfected war to a very sharp point." Gilda gave a very skeptical look, "You don't seem as intimidating as you make yourself sound." she said. I laughed, "That’s because I don't want to be. I’m a lover not a fighter. As for your question on love and hate, yes we are very good at both of those or at least most of us are. Very interesting question by the way." "Thanks I guess" Gilda's eyes shifted to the sky, "Is your world anything like ours? You seem to be familiar with the land." I raised an eyebrow, " Another good question and yes, yes its exactly like your world so far as I've seen but without any other talking species or ones that are two stories high with scorpion tails." Gilda smiled for a moment then shifted into a slight frown. "You said you knew what a horse was so I'm assuming you're familiar with ponies." 'Another weird question? Will they ever end?' I thought before answering, "Yeah ponies are small horses. What’s interesting about ponies though? " "I dunno." Gilda sounded defensive, "They're..." she went silent. "Gilda?" I said wondering what expression was on her face. A bit of mythology hit me at that very moment. "Wait a minute. If I'm not mistaken and I may be don't gryphons eat ponies?" Gilda flinched and looked angry for a second, "No!... Well I mean it’s been done a long time ago but that’s all over." now she looked a little ashamed. 'What in the hell?' I wondered confused by Gilda's behavior. "Well you're predatory right? What’s wrong with that?" I asked wondering what I was putting her through. "We are omnivorous when it suits us." she replied with a scowl. "So are-" Suddenly a branch snapped loudly. Gilda froze, lowered her body, and extended her claws as if waiting for an attack. "Well well well." A voice came from an unknown location, “What is this? A gryphon and... Interesting." "Show yourself!" Gilda demanded with eyes darting from tree to tree. "Yeah! What she said!" I followed up to catch a deadly glare from Gilda. Suddenly a rustling in some brush before us revealed an orangish creature that stepped out into view. It stood on four legs with hooves at the ends. Its upper body was hidden by a cloak with a hood draped over what I guessed was its head. It stood at about the same height as Gilda. "I'm not here for a fight friends." it said calmly with a male voice. "I just want to talk." "Uh Gilda?" I asked noticing her focus on the creature was tense, "What is that?" I pointed to the hooded figure. "Shut up and get ready to run." she hissed only loud enough for me to hear. "You see my friends and I run a little business and we were hoping you would like an opportunity to join us." the hooded thing said. "Gilda you can relax." I said, "He seems friendly." Gilda's glare continued "We aren't interested now get lost!" she said in a tone that made me want to back up. "Oh but I insist!" the other creature spoke with a tone of confidence, "You know I've never seen such a strange creature such as yourself." I looked at Gilda, "Yeah she freaked me out when I first saw her too." I said with a shrug. I looked away before catching another one of her death glares. I swear I could feel the heat of her anger. "No! I meant you!" the figure said obviously agitated. "Oh well... Thanks I guess. You're pretty weird looking yourself." I replied, "And I'd really love to help but its three hours past breakfast and I really want breakfast so if you don't mind we have to make a trip to Ponyville before I starve... again" "You know it’s a shame friend, I'd really of preferred to do this the easy way." the figure began a chuckle and I noticed leaves began to fall on me from the tree branches above. *Snap* All I saw was a brownish blur before being slammed into by something soft and thrown to the ground. When I opened my eyes I saw Gilda positioned over me. She jumped off quickly and turned to face where I used to stand. I looked at the same spot to see a greenish creature that looked similar to what I saw of the hooded figure. It wasn't wearing a cloak though. I couldn't believe my eyes which was a feeling that I was becoming all too familiar with. I could only imagine that it was some strange looking green horse that was holding what looked like a net in its mouth. "What the fu-" "RUN!" Gilda yelled already making some distance. I sprang to my feet to hear the distinct sound of galloping getting louder and louder. I turned to see the hooded figure charging at me. I jumped and grabbed a branch above me pulling my body just high enough for my assailant to pass right under me. I dropped to the ground and heard a loud smack and screams of pain. I turned to see that the hooded horse thing's momentum had carried him right into his friend where they laid sprawled about each other trying to get up. The hood of the individual who'd talked had been drawn back in the collision. It was a dark orange horse with a nasty looking scar going across his face from the top of one eye to below his mouth on the opposite side. He looked up at me with what I could only assume was pure hatred. "Get him!" he yelled. I bolted in the direction I had seen Gilda run and did so as fast as I possibly could. It was after a few seconds I began to hear galloping from where I came. 'Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!' I heard a loud screech that sounded like an eagle's in the direction I ran. The trees disappeared as I broke out into a clearing with knee high grass. Still in a flat out sprint I saw Gilda glowing and floating above the ground screeching in pain. In front of her stood another horse with its back facing me. It had a horn on its head that glowed the same color as the light that surrounded Gilda. 'Is that a freaking unicorn?!' "The boss never did like birds." I heard him speak loudly. Whatever was happening to Gilda I’m sure he was the cause of it. I closed the distance quickly and let out a sharp whistle while drawing my arm back. The unicorn turned and in his moment of confusion froze. My fist made a satisfying crack as it made contact with the unicorn’s eye making it stumble back a few feet before collapsing with the ground. The glow around its horn and Gilda disappeared simultaneously and she dropped to the ground collapsing before me. "C'mon Gilda get up we have to GO!" I was startled by a whizzing sound that passed right by my ear. The next thing I saw was an arrow planted in the ground a few yards from me. I looked up and saw the horse with a scared face standing at the tree line pointing a hoof at me with a device that looked like a small bow attached to it. It turned its head and reached into a bag hanging over its side and with its mouth pulled out an arrow which it placed in the device. It pulled back the string with its mouth and released. I ducked not a moment too soon as another arrow barely missed me passing no more than a foot above my head. I looked down to see Gilda was gone and when I looked up I saw her speeding off again. "Wait the hell up!" I shouted taking off after her. At the edge of the clearing! There was a dirt road that kicked up dust when Gilda landed on it. I was only a few seconds behind her feeling tense and sprinting for my life. "How much further?" I yelled starting to feel winded by the running. The faint sound of galloping could be heard getting louder. "Close! All we need to do is cross the bridge and we'll lose em at the edge of the Everfree forest." Gilda replied quickly. Surely enough I began to make out what looked like the start of a bridge in the distance. As we got closer it turned out to be what I expected but not what I wanted. It was an old tarnished rope bridge that was swaying in the wind. Gilda stopped and I ran into the back of her. "Watch it!" she hissed. "What in the hell are you doing? GO!" I yelled. Gilda looked over the edge of the canyon that the bridge crossed. It was a long drop with a river at the bottom. I gave Gilda a shove towards the bridge. "Wait!" she yelled, "I don't think-" "That’s great! Don't think just move!" I shouted and rammed her rear end with a shoulder pushing her onto the bridge. The galloping got louder. Gilda nervously began a cautious pace across the bridge. I didn't join her as the bridge didn't look like it would support two at a time. "Hurry!" I yelled looking around for something to defend myself with. Gilda was halfway across when I saw the two horses from earlier approach us from a distance. The unicorn wasn't far behind. They were getting too close. I took a step onto the bridge to hear the loud squeak of the wood beneath me. Gilda looked back but continued carefully along the rickety bridge. The horses had closed the gap between us considerably. I had at the most five more seconds. I walked faster causing the bridge to rumble a bit more than I'd like. Gilda was just a few yards away from the other side when I heard the galloping stop. The horses had reached the bridge and were shooting some really angry glares at me. I kept walking. 'Almost there!' I thought pulling my way along. "Cut the ropes!" the voice rang from the direction of the horses. I looked back to see the green horse pull a blade from a seethe hanging from its side. "Gilda run!" I yelled now at full sprint uncaring about my balance on the bridge. Everything happened in a split second. I rammed into the back of Gilda throwing her to the other side of the bridge. At the same time I heard a loud snap and my legs felt strange. I fell as the bridge did from underneath me but grabbed a wooden plank with one hand stopping me from falling to a certain death. The bridge slammed into our side of the wall almost forcing me to lose my grip. A second later I saw Gilda reaching over the edge extending a claw down towards me. "Grab on!" she shouted. I threw up my free hand which was just an inch short of reaching her. I pulled my body up as hard as I could with my one hand on the bridge. The tips of my fingers curled around her claws when suddenly. *Snap!* an arrow landed dead center on one of the ropes supporting me severing it entirely. The bridge gave way and fell. My fingers lost their contact with Gilda and I fell with it. "Derek!" She screeched reaching down in a futile attempt. I didn't yell, I didn't thrash, I just fell. I was grateful I couldn't see where I was falling towards since my back faced down. I heard rushing water then a sharp pain before passing out in cold darkness. Princess Celestia sat in her room at a desk preparing to send off a bundle of letters that were rolled up and tied with various sorts of ribbons. She had planned to spend the day with her sister though it had seemed her star pupil had asked Luna away to help her with a project she had been working on. Celestia sat and sighed at the tedious work she had to do. 'It would be nice to at least have some company she thought silently looking at a small portrait of a purple unicorn with a small purple dragon sitting atop her back, both of them smiling. She heard the doors creak open and believed her wishes had been answered. She turned with a smile and hope but soon found herself disappointed as instead of looking at anyone she wished to speak to she stared into the eyes of one of her messengers. A pony clad in golden cloth with white swirls stitched into n intricate design. "Good evening Princess." "Likewise." Celestia replied with her tone drenched in boredom and despair, "What do you bring to report Flow Mane?" "Princess..." the messengers face grew grim worrying the Princess. "Flow Mane?" She said softly. "I don't know how to say this." Flow Mane said lowering his head. The princess stood from her cushion and walked up to the messenger. "Do not worry Flow Mane there is no news too troublesome that I cannot handle it" she put a hoof upon Flow Mane's shoulder. Flow Mane flinched at her touch even though he found it comforting. He then reached into his golden robes and pulled out a crystal in the shape of a burning flame. A red glow emanated somewhere from within the crystal that grew brighter in dim flashes in a beat pattern similar to that of a heartbeat. The princess froze. 'No...' She had seen their end. 'It can't be..." She was there. 'Impossible' Memories flashed back terrifying her while a soft voice spoke in the distance. 'How?!' "Princess!" Flow Mane yelled. Celestia had snapped back to reality right as two of her guards had burst into the room hearing the commotion. Everything was silent for a few seconds as the four ponies looked around at one another all with faces covered in confusion. "W-we need to locate the source." the princess said finally breaking the silence. No one responded letting the silence settle once again. "NOW!" her voice boomed shaking the very room itself. Flow Mane backed away a few steps in fear. "P-Princess..." he sputtered nervously. Celestia swerved her head to give him a gaze that made him cower. "W-we already have..."
Chapter 8Someone was poking my face with something dull. Unfortunately that was not the only thing I could feel. Slowly but surely I began to feel pain all over my body coming in waves and pulses. I struggled to crack open my eyes but I could only open one and barely. What I could see was blurry and not well focused. I let out a groan and tried to roll onto my side. I couldn't move as I was physically unable to. "God Dammit." I moaned. It was reliving to know I could still talk and hear. "Oh! You're awake." Came a gentle voice. "I was so worried you wouldn't make it. Oh you poor thing." "What? Who are you?" I asked trying to force my eye open and lean up. "No, no, no, no please don't try to get up. You are badly hurt." the voice asked softly. "What? What happened? Where am I?" I asked adjusting my sight to the light. I was looking up at flowers, not real ones but ones painted into what had to have been a ceiling. "You... Um... You're in my home and- no! Please stop!" the voice squealed as I tried to push myself up. "Ahhhgg!" I yelled in agony as pain shot throughout my torso. Though the pain tore as my very soul it gave me what I needed to finally open my eye. I looked into the face of a yellow pony with a large pink mane. 'Why me?' "W-What do you want?" I asked expecting the worse. "Well... I-I want to help and..." her voice really quite but high pitched and she refused to make eye contact. I looked around for a second and noticed something strange. I lay upon a couch which I could feel the fabric of with all of my bare skin. "Where are my clothes?!?" I demanded noticing the only thing that covered me was a blanket pulled up to my waist though underneath it I felt the lack of any pants, socks, shoes, and underwear. "You were wet and badly hurt when I found you. I didn't know the extent of your injuries so I had to undress you. I’m sorry if I offended your privacy." The yellow pony spoke barely loud enough to hear. "You... Saved me?" I asked confused. 'What in the hell is going on?' that thought sprung another. "Gilda!" I shouted surprising the pony and making it jump back a foot "Where's Gilda?" The pony looked confused, "Gilda? You don't mean Gilda the griffon do you? Did she do this to you?" "What?" I asked surprised, "Yes. Wait. I mean no. Wait. You know Gilda?" The pony looked at me for a split second then turned away. I caught a glimpse of a pair of wings folded up against its body. "Um... Yes... She-" "Do you know where she is?" I asked growing increasingly impatient. I found the strength to move my right arm. I reached for my face and felt around. There was something wrapped around my head. I noticed my arm was covered in bandages and assumed that’s what covered my head and possibly my other eye. I inhaled deeply and with a sudden surge of will I pushed myself to sit upright grunting away the pain. "Please! Don't-" "I'll be fine!" I snapped with a sense of anger. The pony seemed to cower and shrink back afraid. My stomach suddenly let out a long and loud gurgle. The ponies sprung back to its natural stance giving me a quick look. "Oh! You must be hungry" she said nervously. "I’m starving!" I exclaimed. "Oh... A-alright... I made you something to eat w-when you woke up." and with that the pony turned around to pick up a plate off the table behind it. She turned once again to reveal a plate full of... "Grass?" I looked at the dish in disbelief. I threw my palm in my face and looked at the pony. I began to laugh when the realization struck me. "I get it!" I managed to say before going back to a hysterical chuckle "Because you’re a pony! Aw that’s priceless." The pony looked at me confused. "Oh... I-I’m sorry. Do you not eat grass?" An idea hit me and I motioned for the pony to come closer. It stepped towards me. "No." I said softly now that the pony was within arm’s reach. I curled my fingers like claws and raised my arms above my head. "I EAT MEAT!" I shouted menacingly. The seemingly timid pony jumped and let out a sharp yelp before darting off into what looked like a kitchen faster than I've ever seen anything move before. I laughed fighting the pain that roared inside me. Tears came to my eyes which I couldn't hold back. My arms crossed my stomach which was in complete agony but still I could not retain my laughter. Suddenly I felt a small thump at the end of the couch. I looked over and saw a white rabbit sitting on the armrest looking at me. It almost looked angry. "Aww," I said reaching out to the rabbit, "Aren't you just a cute little-AHHH!" the rabbit had lunged at my face and landed to begin to bite me repeatedly which I couldn't stop. I thrashed trying to get the damn pest off of me but it managed to hang onto me somehow. The rabbit started to bite me all over my body. I shot up from the couch and began running around the room still naked. The rabbit didn't let up and placed bite after stinging bite at seemingly random places over my body. "Get off me you little bastard!" I yelled. The biting stopped and I stumbled over to a bookshelf trying to gain my balance. I grabbed a shelf and attempted to catch my breath. A sudden thumping sounded from the bookshelf. I turned to see the rabbit on a shelf at eye level. It held something about its size with both of its front paws. "Is that a frying pan?" *WHAP* I woke up lying on the same couch as before. A headache that should have been lethal buzzed in my skull. "Oh for crying out loud! Can I not be knocked unconscious for five fucking minutes!?" I yelled putting a hand over my head. I felt something cold on my forehead. I pulled it away from my face to see that it was an icepack. "Um..." I heard a familiar voice say, "Are you alright?" I turned to face the yellow winged pony. "Do I look alright to you?" I snapped. The pony backed up and I remembered the prank I pulled earlier. "Ugh! I’m sorry alright." I said in a much calmer tone, "I didn't mean what I said earlier. It was a joke." I felt my stomach running on empty again. "Please tell me you have something edible." 'I'd kill to eat that little fuzz ball from hell.' I thought. "Well you said you eat meat and sometimes I take care of animals that are predators so I keep a supply of fish for those who need It." the yellow pony said looking down sweeping a hoof back and forth. With that she pushed a plate towards me on the table in front of the couch. On it laid a fresh salmon with the head cut off and the bones and insides removed. I was never a fan of sushi but at this point I would have eaten a bag of shit without a complaint. I grabbed the salmon, ripped a chunk off and ate it quickly. The rest of the salmon disappeared within a minute. I leaned back and looked down and saw I was once again covered in the same blanket as before from the waist down as well as what must have been about a dozen small bandages. I clenched my fists thinking about that damn rabbit and what I'd do to it when I got my hands on it. The pony must have seen me notice the bandages. "I'm really sorry about Angel. He's a bit overprotective." it said. I blinked in astonishment. "Angel? You mean the rabbit? What the hell? Is it some kind of pet? It tried to kill me with a frying pan!" I shouted. I looked past the pony to see the rabbit perched upon a little model house with stairs wrapped around it in the corner of the room. "I'm certain he is sorry for the way he acted." The pony looked back at the rabbit, "Aren't you Angel?" the rabbit responded by nodding its head. I raised an arm and gave the bunny the finger while the pony's head was turned and quickly pulled it back before the pony turned back. The rabbit then took the opportunity to point a paw at its eyes then at me. I gave a fake grin and through closed teeth spoke, " Forgive and forget." 'I will end you even if I have to tear the earth to pieces to do it.' I thought with my eyes focused on the rabbit. "Well..." the pony continued, "I don't believe I've introduced myself. My name is Fluttershy." "Derek." I raised a hand to shake before realizing Fluttershy didn't have hands. She quickly raised a hoof showing she was familiar with the gesture. We shook hand and hoof. "It’s a pleasure to meet you," my smile turned legitimate, "and I'm really grateful you saved my life. May I ask how you did so?" "Certainly." Fluttershy replied seemingly excited, "I was helping teaching a few baby ducks how to swim in the canyon river and Angel spotted you laying on the shore behind some bushes unconscious. If it wasn't for him I don't believe we would have rescued you." 'Great now I owe my life to that evil little cretin.' I let out a depressed sigh. "So Derek..." Fluttershy said still avoiding my gaze. "Yeah?" "Would you mind if I asked- I mean if it’s alright with you and I was just curious because I've never really seen-" "I'm a human." I answered knowing where her question was going, "And since you're asking too I believe I can safely assume you don't see many of us walking around." "Well... Not really." She said softly, "Where are you from?" she asked looking at me but still avoiding eye contact. "Well I'm assuming I'm from a different dimension." I said with a cough which tossed up a bit of pain in my chest, "...and this theory is supported by several points such as the familiarity of the land and the language used by its inhabitants as well as its inhabitants themselves." "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked looking me in the eyes for a split second before looking back at the ground. "Eh... It’s really complicated." it was the only answer I could give. "Listen you said you knew a gryphon named Gilda. You know her?" I asked. "Um... Yes! I remember. She wasn't really nice the last time I saw her." Fluttershy replied with her voice getting noticeably quieter. "Yeah she's a real bitch." I said with a smile, "But like you I owe her my life and she most likely believes that I'm dead. I'm not going to let her hang with that." Fluttershy finally managed to look me in the eye. "She saved you?" she asked with a tone of amazement. "Yup." "Where did you last see her?" "Well we were ambushed by a few crooks while on our way to a place called Ponyville. We crossed a rotten bridge trying to escape. Gilda made it to the other side... I didn't." another depressed sigh caused Fluttershy to move and sit on the couch next to me. "Oh my." she said, "What happened?" The bastards chasing us cut the ropes on the bridge. I fell. The last thing I saw was Gilda. She looked..." The memory of her reaching over the edge screaming my name disturbed me enough to make me shudder a little. "Well anyway I guess I must have fallen into the river and somehow lived to be rescued by a talking pony with extensive medical capabilities." I thought about what I had just said and pictured myself in an insane asylum back in the world I used to know dreaming about all this. "Wow... Gilda." I looked at Fluttershy after she spoke those words with a stare of disbelief. "Really?!" I asked a little disappointed, "That whole story and your interested in the temperamental bird?" Fluttershy snapped out of what looked like a light daze before talking. "The rest of the story is very nice too." "The rest of the story is about how I almost died! That’s anything BUT nice!" I shot back. "Oh I'm sorry." I thrust a palm into my face before trying to stand up. I felt a soft breeze flow past the part of me the blanket used to cover me before falling to the ground. My hands darted to cover myself. "Can I get my clothes back?" Somewhere far south... In the deepest regions of a massive cave in the world’s biggest mountain... Sat a tripod about the ground... Upon this tripod sat a silver disk... Upon the disk sat a cushion... And upon the cushion sat a crystal... The crystal was in the shape of a burning flame and it held within it a red glow that grew brighter as if to the beating of a heart. The light was bright enough to illuminate a good portion of the cavern but something in particular shined in the darkness. Scales... Massive crimson scales... What the scales belonged to was massive itself standing at a height greater than the tallest of trees. Its leathery wings tucked in to is sides equaled the creature in size. Its tail draped long over the stone ground wrapping itself into a coil around the crystal on the pedestal. Its eyes with its pupils in slants stared intently on the crystal. The cave was all but silent had it not been for the deep breaths of the creature. It squinted its eyes. A forked tongue shot out of its mouth only to retract a split second later. "You know what to do." the creature spoke deeply and calmly shaking the very walls of the mountain cave. Two sets of black wings extended behind the massive creature and from them two large scaled figures launched themselves into the air and flew though the cave before exiting through the mouth to disappear over the mountains towards the sun.
Chapter 9So you're telling me that the only way across that canyon was across that bridge?" I asked now satisfied I was fully clothed again even if my hoodie and shirt had a big hole in the front and were almost shredded. "It’s the only way I know of. If Gilda made it to the other side and was unable to fly back I'd guess her only option would be to continue straight to Ponyville." Fluttershy stated finally making regular eye contact. "Can you point me in the direction of this Ponyville?" I asked peeling a small scab off my arm which was now riddled with small bite marks consistent with sixty percent of my body. "Oh yes!" Fluttershy replied with a smile, "I was planning on going there myself for some bird seed today. You could accompany me if you'd like." I thought about it. 'What’s the worst that could happen?' the moment that thought crossed my mind I remembered everything I've been through since I've been in this hellhole. "It's more than likely going to either kill me or break a few bones but what the hell?" I said figuring if I died then there'd be no more weird shit that could happen... or cause me more physical injury. "Oh I'm sure you'll be fine. Ponyville is a safe place I assure you. Angel will you be alright watching the house while I'm gone?" Fluttershy asked the rabbit. Angel nodded and crossed its paws. "Well I’m ready when you are." Fluttershy told me. I stretched a little, "What are we waiting for?" I asked, "Let’s go." "Alright." Fluttershy walked to the door and opened it. I followed her through and closed the door behind me. I caught a glimpse of Angel staring at me with discontent before the door clicked shut. "So how long is the trip?" I asked spinning around to see Fluttershy already making her way down a little dirt path. I quickly caught up looking at her for and answer. "It’s only a ten minute walk." She replied. "We've been that close all along?!" I asked not knowing whether to be happy or angry. Before she answered I turned around to get my first look at her home. My eyes almost exploded. "You live in a tree?!" I exclaimed throwing my arms in the air. "Well yes. I-" "You're a pony that-... You know what? I give up." I put my hands down and sighed, "You win universe. You've officially confused me to my limits." I looked at the house and noticed the thing was riddled with birdhouses of different sizes, shapes and colors. There had to be more than a couple dozen in the tree house. “Who are you talking to?” Fluttershy asked with that unusual timidness soaking the air around her. “No one.” I replied softly. 'She may be mentally unstable or this may be normal here.' I thought. We crossed a small arched bridge over a creek in front of the house and passed critters that seemed to exist every five feet from one another. From bunnies to squirrels to chipmunks it looked like a zoo filled with average everyday animals. I noticed I was no longer in the forest instead trees were more sparse and thin. It was strangely pleasant. For the first time since I’ve arrived in this strange word I didn’t feel the need to listen to my surroundings or prepare for an attack. It wasn't a long walk at all. I was so distracted by my surrounding I had forgotten to look up and forward for a good two minutes. When I shifted my gaze back in front of me I saw the peak of a windmill spinning in the distance. "Well I'm not hungry anymore and I don't think I need a bath after falling into that river soooo now I’m wondering if there is a place that I could possibly get my clothes patched up or if I could get new ones. You know any place that could do the trick?" I asked wondering what my next priority after that would be. My mind went to Gilda and I instantly rearranged my mental task list so finding her was at the top. "I have a friend who's really good with clothes and I'm sure if you need her help she'll give it." Fluttershy replied. My mind switched back for a second back to that damn griffon. "Oh really? Thanks but I just remembered Gilda. Should I ask around town if she's been spotted?" I asked anxiously wondering if that crazy bird had made her way too this town and stayed here. "Yes." Fluttershy said turning back with a smile, "That would be a wonderful idea." We came to a 'T' in the road in which the path we were taking continued right along straight across from what seemed like a mile of the same terrain we were walking on. On the path that deviated I could see the complete town of what must had been Ponyville. Fluttershy turned down the road and kept walking. I noticed a light purple bridge that arched low over a small lake that sat just outside the town. Fluttershy almost seemed to skip as she started her strut across the bridge. I followed and hoped silently this town may provide a few answers I've been looking for. Not another word was spoken on our way across the bridge We arrived at what was obviously the entrance to the town and all I could do was stand there in awe. It was a town full of ponies. They were just walking casually around on the streets like people would. Some of them were speaking with others. Some went in and out of buildings. 'What in the hell is going on?' I thought. I half expected the town to have other ponies in it but not to be so... organized. Fluttershy stepped past the front entrance and into the town. I followed and immediately found myself being gazed upon from every possible direction. Conversations stopped when we passed the ponies that were enjoying them. I had never felt more awkward in my entire life. As we passed a normal looking brown pony walking down the street I looked over and asked, "Hey have you seen a gryphon around here anywhere?" The pony just stopped and stared at me. "Um... H-hello. No... N-no I haven't." was its reply. It looked more surprised than frightened which assured me that I wasn't all that scary looking to them. "Well say if I were to be looking for a gryphon in Ponyville what would be a good place to start?" I asked crossing my arms. "I can’t honestly sat friend" the pony said more calmly now, "What are you by the way?" it asked leaning closer inspecting me. "I’m a human and my name is Derek." I held out a hand which the pony happily shook. "Well it’s nice to meet yo-" "Honey!" another pony called from behind. A green pony that was smaller than the one I had been speaking to came up and nudged the brown one with her muzzle before turning to look at me. "What in the world...." her mouth just stayed open in awe. "Why hello there." I said with a smile. "Hi." was all she said. "Have you seen a gryphon by any chance?" "Um... No." I turned back to look at Fluttershy who was no longer by my side... or anywhere in sight for that matter. "Fluttershy?" I asked turning around looking and becoming increasingly worried. "Fluttershy?"" 'Crap.' "I’m sorry but I must take my leave.” I said to the couple of ponies I was just speaking to. Can either of you point me in the direction of-" "Heads up!" A voice rang out. *Bam!* Something collided with the back of my head and bounced off. Felt like a soccer ball. "Ow! What the hel-" I turned to see a small orangish pony with a purplish mane running towards me. Like Fluttershy this pony also had wings. I looked down and saw a ball on the ground rolling away from me. "Oh we're really sorry mist-" she looked at me and I realized I would be here all day explaining what I was to everyone here. Judging from its size it had to have been a child or whatever a young pony was called. Before she asked me what I was I shot off my question first. "I'm looking for a gryphon, bout this high, purple round her eyes, really bi-... mean. Have you seen her?" the smallish pony cocked her head to the side and showed an expression of thinking. I looked back and saw the two ponies I had spoken with earlier turn to continue their business. "Nope." She said after giving the subject enough thought, "What are you by the way?" I put both my hands up to my face to drag them down in despair. "I'll never find that stupid bird at this rate." I said to myself. "Hey mister?" The orange pony spoke with a look of concern. "What Is it kid?" I asked a little frustrated. "If it means anything my friend Apple Bloom said something about seeing a gryphon earlier today on her farm." The words were slow to process but hope finally dripped back into my mind. "What farm? Where?" I asked anxiously. "Um, Sweet Apple Acres. But seriously what are y-" "Human!" I exclaimed involuntarily, "Now where's this farm?" "It’s on the other side of town. You really can't miss it." She said with a smile. "Can you show me?" I asked finding that it wasn't all that hard for my impatience to spark. The pony looked over her shoulder then back at me. "I'd really like to mister but I'm on my way to hang with the coolest pony ever." "Good for you." I said not caring in the slightest, "Just point me in the right direction." The little pony pointed her hoof down a street and I began to walk in that direction without hesitation. 'She's probably gone' I thought quickening my pace. The orange pony said something but unfortunately for her I wasn't paying her any attention. The stares now came at me by the dozens as I made my way down the street but I figured no one was going to stop me until... "Stop!" I heard a voice shout. I kept walking trying to distance myself from whoever was speaking to me. "I said stop!" the voice shouted louder. 'God dammit!' I thought as I turned to face the source of the annoyance. Another pony was approaching me faster than I was walking. It wore a blue strangely shaped hat and had an emblem of some kind on its chest. A baton hung from a belt it wore around its waist. "What do you want?" I spat not in the mood to deal with this. "To know what you are creature." The pony demanded. "And who's asking?" I shot back. "Officer Petals." I couldn't help but to smirk at the name. "Really?" I said without thinking, "I mean... Uh... I’m really busy at the moment. Can this wait Mr. Petals?" "Officer Petals and no. I asked a question and now it’s your job to answer." Ever since I was 4 I’ve had authority issues… "But what are you going to do about that fire over there?" I asked pointing innocently over the pony's shoulder. The pony turned to look where I was pointing. It scanned the area looking around for any signs of a fire but it saw none. By then I was long gone happening to bolt the instant the officers head turned. I dashed around a corner and then another letting me continue along my path to my destination going parallel to the street I was on. I was still running which drew not only curious looks but worried ones too. 'I can't believe he fell for that.' I thought chuckling. I was planning to keep on the move before Petals caught on and caught up. From what I've seen these ponies were a bit soft in the head which worked out great for me. As I passed building after colorful building I noticed how they all appeared old timey which was by no means a bad thing. Personally I preferred this village's appearance to the modern one that I was so used to back in my world. It had a calming touch to it which would have been more appreciated had nothing been trying to kill me or get in my way. The run slowed to a jog. I figured I was a pretty safe at the moment so I took the time to look around. Strangely enough it seems as though all of the ponies had just vanished. I caught a quick glimpse of a pony running to a house, opening the front door, and shutting it after disappearing inside. 'Please tell me this has nothing to do with me.' I pleaded silently. Right then a drop of water fell on my forehead. I wiped it off and looked up. The sky thirty seconds ago was clear as crystal but now the whole thing was grey with clouds. 'Impossible.' Suddenly rain began gradually pour harder and harder. I began to run looking for cover. The closest thing I could find was a massively wide tree down the street so I quickly made my way over to and under it. The tree provided great cover but the wind that accompanied it was rather annoying and cold. Another look around revealed a door right beside me strangely embedded in the side of the tree. To my other side I saw a wooden sign with a picture of an opened book on it. I knocked on the door and waited a minute. No one answered so I reached for the door handle and pushed it open poking my head in for a quick peek inside. The look on my face must have been priceless because I was frozen in awe of what I saw. The entire tree which looked healthy and lush on the outside was completely hollowed out on the inside. It reminded me of Fluttershy's house but much larger. Shelves were carved out of the walls which housed what must have been hundred if not thousands of books. I took a step inside slowly shutting the door behind me. "Hello?" I yelled. I heard nothing but the wind outside, "Is anyone here?" The sound of something shuffling was followed by quick footsteps. The sound drew my attention over to a flight of stairs that descended alongside the wall. What popped into view halfway down the stairs was what looked like a knee high purple lizard that walked upright. The thing had green spikes running from the largest at the top of its head down to the smallest at the tip of its tail which ended like the head of an arrow. It stopped on the stairs once it caught a look at me. "Uh...Hi..." it spoke with a childish voice. "Hey there." I replied casually. I was finding myself less and less surprised by what creatures had the ability to talk. The two of us stood where we were in silence just looking at each other in wonder of what the other was for a few seconds. "Sooo," I started trying to crack the silence, "I was on my way to a farm called Sweet Apple Acres looking for a gryphon and this crazy weather just came out of nowhere like that." I said with a snap of my fingers. "Didn't you know we had rain scheduled today?" the purple lizard asked. "What do you mean 'scheduled'?" I asked in return. "What? You know about the weather forecast right? The pegasi scheduled rainfall this afternoon." It took me a second to process what the little guy was talking about. "Wait? You mean the winged ponies? They made the storm?" I questioned pointing to the window. "Yeah. You're not from around here are you?" it asked continuing to walk down the stairs. "You have no idea." was all I could think to say cracking a smile, "Names Derek by the way." "Spike." the lizard thing said. "Alright nice to meet you Spike and before you ask, I'm a human." "Ohhh cool. You walk just like I do." Spike stated randomly. "Yeah I'm guessing not many things do that here do they?" "Nah but you'll get used to it I'm sure." I took another look at my surroundings and gave an impressed whistle. "So Spike..." I started trying to change the subject, "I'm in a bit of a situation and I could use any help I can get." "Sure, what’s up?" he asked with a nod of his head. "Well for starters I'm looking for a gryphon that may have been seen on a farm called Sweet Apple Acres. This storm however is being more than a pain to get through. Do you know of anywhere close I can find a place to crash." my sentence ended with a bright flash of light that illuminated the whole room through the windows closely followed by the loud crack of lightning. I turned to look out the windows to see the sky was unbelievably dark. 'It was just sunny fifteen minutes ago!' my mind raced with theories on how this was even possible. The inside of the tree itself glowed by candlelight. "Well I suppose you could crash here for a little seeing as to how bad the storm is." I was almost stunned by the offer. I have to admit it was about damn time someone cut me a break. "You really mean that little dude?" I asked in disbelief. "I'm not gonna throw you back into the storm." Spike replied giving a shrug, "I’m sure it'll be over soon and you'll be able to find your gryphon in no time." "Wow, that's awfully kind of you man." I looked at the oversized lizard and thought up a question. "What exactly are you by the way if you don't mind me asking?" "I’m a dragon." I paused a second in shock and stared at him, "Really?" "You're serious? You grew to be over 20 stories and went on a rampage motivated by greed?" I asked before continuing to eat from a bowl of popcorn Spike had made earlier. "Yeah that’s pretty much it. I’m still kinda in trouble for it.” He replied with his voice seeming to dim near the end. I looked at him for a second. “Pfft! I guarantee you that had I been in that situation I probably would had of gotten in more trouble than that.” I said wearing the grin that curled across my lips. Spike gave me a quizzical gaze and opened his mouth to speak. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” he asked. “Because I would have bragged about it afterwards!” I said letting out a laugh which Spike had done a second later. “Alright so what’s with this place? Like is it a library thing or what?” I said once I settled back down. “Yeah. Pretty boring if you ask me.” Spike replied. “Well this might actually have its uses. Let's see... Could I get a basic rundown of this planets history or as much of it as you know?" I asked. Spike stared at me blankly for a second before turning and pulling a ladder under a row of books on a heightened shelf. He reached for and grabbed a white book to his left then slid back down the ladder. he handed me the book and handed me the book that read "The Summarizations of Equestria and the Beyond". I flipped to the first page skipping the several indexes and read.... "Equestria is a land with rich beauty and wonderful civilizations and multitudes of individual kingdoms, villages, cities, and towns. History on the founding of Equestria seems to go back millions of years but most evidence of any historical events dating back past The Rule of Discord was ultimately destroyed by said Rule of Discord. The Princesses seeming to make it through the act of defeating Discord have deemed any history beyond that point completely unnecessary to reestablish and thus after the rule of Discord, Equestria was once a smaller nation..." I gave a small cough, "Yeah, I'm bored." I muttered. Then something occurred to me and my head shot up as I stared at the dragon with a smile. He tried to speak, "What are you-" "Where are your books on magic?" The dragon smiled, "You obviously haven’t met Twilight." he said with a halfcocked grin. In the Grand Mountains past the farthest north Equestrian maps have depicted a structure embedded within an enormous amount of stone that was abnormally large with the peak of it jutting over the clouds themselves. Built of stone warped by magic a massive fortressed kingdom lay silent in stone. Though it had strange features that made it stand out from the other kingdoms that scattered the lands of Equestria and those in the Beyond. Ladders were more commonplace, doors were taller, and strange figures scattered the city standing, sitting, and laying still and silent. It looked as if these creatures were going about their lives casually although they were frozen where they were. Their smooth greyed features revealed that these creature to be encased in stone. Their odd figure shown they had two legs which they stood upright on with arms that hung down to its side. These furless, featherless, and slightly haired being held items and objects with hands, that bore opposable thumbs, at the ends of the arms. The faces were flatter than most every other race in the lands with a small protruding nose in the center of the face. Clothes waved in an eternal state of frozen movement not fluttering in the wind but rather directing it as most stone would. In the castle that peaked the mountain a large statue of one of these creatures sat on a throne. Then suddenly on the stone upon this creature's chest... a small fissure appeared. Okay, yeah I haven’t posted in a while… That’s my bad and I apologize But that’s only because I had hit a massive writer’s block at a bad time. The scale of what I’m undertaking is a little intimidating because now I have a billion Ideas’ and now I have to arrange them. I’m fairly certain it’s a project that’s sharing time with my other stories I’m developing with one of them being a five man writer team which only I’m contributing anything too. But after getting so many recent requests to continue I gave in and sat down so I could give you guys some more wings. please feel free to leave a comment or send a message to tell me what you think. I hope you enjoyed xAncient
