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- Green Eyes
- https://8kun.top/pone/res/328244.html#328373
- https://web.archive.org/save/https://8kun.top/pone/res/328244.html#328373
- >your name is Spike
- >you are a dragon
- >at thirteen years old, you are still considered a "baby" dragon
- >why precisely you've woken up in the woods just now is beyond your understanding
- >on the bright side, it looks like you didn't come alone
- >you tap her on the shoulder to wake her up
- "Applejack. Applejack, wake up."
- >Applejack groans
- >rolls over
- >and her eyes crack open
- >then she scrambles to her hooves
- <"Who-wha-wher-wh-!"
- >then she looks at you
- <"Spike? Why are we about three days deep in the Everfree Forest?"
- >you shrug
- "I dunno. I couldn't even tell it was the Everfree til you said so just now."
- <"Well I think it's the Everfree, at any rate. The trees don't get this thick in the Whitetail."
- >Applejack looks up
- <"Besides, I think I've been this way before."
- >then she looks down
- <"Eh, maybe."
- >and back up
- <"Probably?"
- >you kick the dirt
- "How can you tell? There's no trails here."
- >she shrugs
- <"Sometimes big ponies gotta head off the beaten path. You'll understand when you're older."
- "Uh huh."
- <"And anyway, I like to think I'm something of a woodsmare."
- "So which way back to Ponyville?"
- <"Eh, good question."
- >Applejack licks her hoof and sticks it up in the air
- >then she gestures in a seemingly random direction with her head
- <"That way, I reckon."
- "Pure woodsmare's instinct?"
- >she shrugs
- <"More or less."
- >then she starts walking
- <"Coming?"
- >three days alone in the woods with Applejack?
- >well
- >it could be worse
- >you could have gotten Fluttershy
- >night time
- >the first night
- >Applejack offered to stand watch the entire night
- >however, you've just been woken up by the sound of her snores
- >so you guess it's your turn to stand watch
- >she's a weirdly loud snorer
- >you sit up
- >it's dark
- >you've read that dragons have excellent night vision
- >you've also read that they don't develop this til their adolescence
- >so, you know, their thirties at the soonest
- >it's really dark
- >it's funny, almost
- >it's hard to imagine anything more frightening than a dragon in the dark
- >in a way, you're the scariest thing out here
- >you might be a little on the young side, but you're no creme puff
- >you've got a thick hide
- >sharp claws
- >relatively big teeth
- >in the distance, something rustles
- >you flinch violently
- >okay, so you're a little bit scared
- >because what you don't have is night vision
- >it's really, really dark
- >so dark
- >no matter how long you stare into it, your eyes just won't adjust
- >you're sweating a little
- >it wouldn't hurt to have a little light, would it?
- >you let out a small stream of fire from your mouth
- >for an instant, the clearing is bathed in emerald light
- >it's long enough for you to spot a decent stick nearby
- >you smile as you grab it
- >firey breath is one thing you've got that probably no other monster in the Everfree's got
- >no, wait, scratch that
- >there are dragons living here
- >big dragons
- >real dragons
- >didn't Twilight tell you that you're not a real dragon just the other day?
- >okay, no, not thinking about that now
- >in the distance, a pair of eyes opens
- >just as green as your flame, and just as bright
- >quickly, you light the end of your stick on fire
- >in the light of your makeshift torch, the eyes vanish
- >and Applejack goes on snoring
- >you sigh
- >it's gonna be a long night
- >day two
- >it was a long night
- <"Who-wha-wher-wh-!"
- >no sooner than she's awake, Applejack snaps to a mortified attention
- "Morning, sleepyhead."
- >she groans
- <"I take it I didn't stand the watch all night."
- "It's fine. I woke up."
- <"You stayed up?"
- "Yeah."
- >she looks down
- <"I don't like that?"
- "Hm?"
- <"Young folks oughtta get their rest."
- "I'm old enough."
- <"Besides, there's thing in these parts of the woods..."
- "Applejack?"
- <"Hm?"
- "It was fine. Really."
- >she blinks
- <"All right. I trust you, Spike."
- "I don't see why you wouldn't."
- <"You're right. Forget about it."
- >Applejack glances around the forest canopy, frowning
- <"All right, then. Right this way."
- >the day is surprisingly uneventful
- >no monsters
- >no gorges
- >no rivers
- >not even any big rocks, really
- >you wonder if Applejack might have been wrong
- >maybe this is just the Whitetail Woods
- >but if she was wrong about the forest, couldn't she have been wrong about how deep you are in it?
- >that's not something you want to believe right now
- >besides, what about those eyes from last night?
- >probably a timber wolf, right?
- >and timber wolves don't live in the Whitetail
- >right?
- <"Hold on now, Spike."
- "Hm?"
- <"We'll break here for lunch."
- "Uh, where's lunch at?"
- <"Right here."
- >Applejack plucks a hoofful of dandelions from the ground and munches on them
- "What do I eat?"
- <"Don't you eat rocks?"
- "I eat gems."
- <"Same thing."
- >is it?
- >you scour the ground for a rock of some kind
- >finally, you find one about the size of a bit
- >and proceed to nearly chip a tooth on it
- "No. It is not."
- >Applejack tosses you a clump from her growing pile of Everfree salad
- >not your favorite
- >but it should be edible
- "Thanks."
- >you eat your grass in silence for a while
- <"Say, Spike."
- "Hm?"
- <"Does it seem like..."
- "What?"
- <"Does it seem like we ain't going anywhere?"
- >you glance up
- >and shrug
- "I dunno. All these trees look the same to me."
- <"But doesn't this look sort of like the spot we woke up in?"
- "I don't... think so?"
- >Applejack smiles
- <"You're right, you're right. It's fine. Probably."
- "Okay?"
- >Applejack frowns
- <"But what were you doing before you woke up here?"
- "Uh..."
- >fighting with Twilight
- "Talking with Twilight?"
- <"Friendly-like talking?"
- "Uh... No?"
- <"Okay. Okay. Well, I reckon we've stayed long enough. Let's get a move on."
- "Applejack?"
- <"Hm?"
- "Do you know something?"
- <"No, no. I don't know anything. Not really, anyway."
- "Applejack."
- <"What?"
- "You're a terrible liar."
- <"So what? Let's go."
- >night two
- >true to her word, Applejack nudges you awake in the dark forest
- >her voice comes from somewhere nearby in the sea of pitch black
- <"All right, that was most of the night. You shouldn't have to be up too long now."
- "Thanks."
- <"Now if you see anything weird, you come let me know, you hear?"
- >you sit up
- "I thought I saw a timber wolf last night. Does that count?"
- <"A timber wolf?"
- "Yeah."
- <"You saw it? As in, you really saw it?"
- "I saw its eyes. You know, all shiny and green."
- >a pause
- <"I don't think there are timber wolves in this part of the woods."
- "Why not?"
- >another pause
- <"Never mind that. Let me know if you see any more... timber wolves, you hear?"
- "Applejack."
- <"Hm?"
- "What is it you're not telling me?"
- >a silence
- "You said you trusted me."
- >a sigh
- <"I know. I do. And you got a right to know. It's just... I don't know how to say it."
- "Say what?"
- <"I just need some time to get my thoughts together. We can talk about it tomorrow."
- >silence
- >absolute, utter silence
- >it's strange, when you think about it
- >a forest, even a weird forest like the Everfree, should be full of sound at night
- >bugs
- >birds
- >wind
- >but tonight, there's just nothing
- >a weird thought comes into your mind
- >no sound
- >no sight
- >maybe this is sort of what it's like to not exist
- >you told Twilight you wished that she didn't exist just the other day
- >you sigh
- "It's weird how a fight over chores can get so nasty."
- <"It's not too weird. Happens to me all the time on the farm."
- >you start
- "You're still awake?"
- <"Not for too much longer, I hope."
- "You should get some sleep."
- <"So you had a fight with Twilight?"
- "I don't wanna talk about it."
- >a pause
- <"You're right. I don't wanna talk about it either."
- >a yawn
- <"It's just... I think something like this has happened to me before..."
- "What?"
- >and in the dark, silent forest
- >the silence is broken by Applejack's snores
- >you sigh
- >and start looking for a stick to set on fire
- >day 3
- >when the lighting in the campsite is more gray than green, you put out the fire
- >Applejack rolls over and sits up not long after
- >for a while she doesn't say anything
- >just looks down and frowns
- >then she nods
- <"All right. I said this sort of thing had happened to me before already, right?
- "Yeah."
- <"You got into a fight the other day?"
- "Uh huh."
- <"Probably went to bed that night feeling real bad?"
- >you blink
- "Well, sure."
- <"Not like sorry, but just mad?"
- "What are you getting at?"
- <"You did, didn't you?"
- "Okay, sure, fine, I did. So what?"
- <"So did I. The other day, and when I was about your age."
- "And you woke up here?"
- >she nods
- <"I got out all right, but it was the scariest thing I'd ever done."
- "Pure woodsmare's instinct."
- >she smiles
- <"Ain't no such thing, sugarcube. But it is a... feeling of some sort."
- "What kind of feeling?"
- <"The kind of feeling where you're so scared and you miss your family so bad that you walk through a dark forest for three days and three nights without stopping."
- "That kind of feeling?"
- <"Well, I'm not so scared this time around, but it still feels like I'm moving toward what I want more than anything else in the whole world. It's that kind of feeling."
- "And you think that kind of feeling is enough to get us home?"
- <"I thought so, but there's one thing that's worrying me."
- "What?"
- <"This is the same clearing we woke up in yesterday. And the day before that."
- "You're sure?"
- <"I'm sure."
- "Maybe we're just going in circles?"
- <"I don't think so. I think it's some kind of magic."
- "Magic?"
- <"Spike, the thing I saw when I was little, the thing that scared me so bad I kept moving for three days straight... It had bright green eyes, but it wasn't a timber wolf."
- >something tenses in your chest
- "I don't think I want to know what it was."
- <"It was something that looked like my own big brother..."
- >you swallow
- <"... Who I'd fought with just the day before."
- >you try to chuckle
- "Oh, come on. You're just trying to scare me."
- <"I am trying to scare you. Because I think you're the reason we ain't going nowhere."
- >you cough
- "Well... what makes you say that?"
- <"Spike. Do you miss Twilight?"
- >night 3
- >for the umpteenth time, you roll over in the dark
- >do you miss Twilight?
- >should you?
- >so soon after the fight, it's easy to lie here and think about all the bad times you've had with her
- >but there were good times too
- >weren't there?
- >it's harder to think of those
- >how long have you been awake like this?
- >it's obvious you're not going to get any sleep
- >you sit up
- "Hey Applejack."
- >she doesn't respond
- >but you figure she's looking at you now
- "Why don't you go to sleep now? I'll get the rest of the night."
- >but in the darkness
- >there is silence
- "Applejack?"
- >you let loose a quick jet of flame
- >you didn't spot her, but you did notice a nice stick
- >you pick it up and light it
- "Applejack?"
- >but the clearing
- >is empty
- >dragons have an excellent sense of smell, don't they?
- >you take a deep breath
- >but if you ever knew Applejack's scent, you don't smell anything like it now
- >as you wander about the clearing, you spot something shining in the dirt
- >you poke it with a claw and sniff it
- >it's water
- >it's kind of salty, but it doesn't smell bad like sweat
- >a tear, maybe?
- >maybe that whole 'excellent sense of smell' thing is just for grown-up dragons
- >like the night vision
- >and Twilight's respect
- >you shake your head
- >and in the eerie glow of the green torch
- >you are alone
- >alone
- >alone in the woods
- >how long have you been alone here for?
- >your stick is almost burnt out, and the flames are licking your claws
- >it doesn't hurt
- >but this never happened on any of the other nights
- >shouldn't the Sun have come up by now?
- >why is it still dark out?
- >the flame begins to sputter
- >there's no more wood for it to burn beyond what's in your grasp
- >you drop the stick
- >it hits the dirt, burnt end first
- >the clearing goes dark
- >perfect
- >no nobody can see what happens next
- >nobody sees you when you take a seat on the ground
- >or when you flop down onto your back
- >or when, for some reason, your face gets wet
- >only baby dragons cry
- >a real dragon could have flown away by now
- >a real dragon could have burned down the whole forest on his way out
- >only a baby dragon would sit here like this
- >only a baby could feel so helpless
- /"Spike?"
- >you sit up
- >that was HER voice
- >and there in the woods
- >is a pair of bright green eyes
- >no, it's not a timber wolf
- >it never was
- >you can see that now
- >those eyes are too big
- >too close together
- >only a pony has eyes like that
- >only a pony's eyes don't glow
- >''"Spike?"''
- >you leap to your feet
- >turn around
- >and run in a straight line
- >you stumble over roots
- >smack into branches
- >get caught in thick brush
- >but it doesn't matter
- >because you know you're running straight toward the thing you want most right now
- >and you want, more than anything, to be home again
- >in the darkness, you stumble and fall
- >crashing through thick brush of some kind, you close your eyes
- >and when you open them, it is no longer dark
- >you're looking at a wood floor in a brightly-lit room
- /"Spike! You're home!"
- >you look up
- >the door to the library hangs open behind you
- >Twilight and Applejack stand smiling before you
- >was all that some kind of weird dream then?
- >Applejack winks at you
- >no, probably not a dream then
- "Yeah, I... guess I am."
- >you stand up
- /"I'm sorry, Spike. I should have gone after you when you stormed out an hour ago and tried to apologize, but I was too mad."
- "An hour ago?"
- >Applejack shrugs
- /"Spike, I'm sorry for saying those things to you."
- "I'm sorry too, Twilight."
- >you walk over to her
- >and wrap your claws around one of her legs
- "I'm just glad I got to see you again."
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