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Green Eyes

By Writefag_Roulette
Created: 2021-07-16 21:31:33
Updated: 2021-01-20 14:36:52
Expiry: Never
applejackspike/pone/8chan

  1. 1.
    https://web.archive.org/save/https://8kun.top/pone/res/328244.html#328373
  2. 2.
     
  3. 3.
    Green Eyes
  4. 4.
     
  5. 5.
    >your name is Spike
  6. 6.
    >you are a dragon
  7. 7.
    >at thirteen years old, you are still considered a "baby" dragon
  8. 8.
    >why precisely you've woken up in the woods just now is beyond your understanding
  9. 9.
    >on the bright side, it looks like you didn't come alone
  10. 10.
    >you tap her on the shoulder to wake her up
  11. 11.
    "Applejack. Applejack, wake up."
  12. 12.
    >Applejack groans
  13. 13.
    >rolls over
  14. 14.
    >and her eyes crack open
  15. 15.
    >then she scrambles to her hooves
  16. 16.
    <"Who-wha-wher-wh-!"
  17. 17.
    >then she looks at you
  18. 18.
    <"Spike? Why are we about three days deep in the Everfree Forest?"
  19. 19.
    >you shrug
  20. 20.
    "I dunno. I couldn't even tell it was the Everfree til you said so just now."
  21. 21.
    <"Well I think it's the Everfree, at any rate. The trees don't get this thick in the Whitetail."
  22. 22.
    >Applejack looks up
  23. 23.
    <"Besides, I think I've been this way before."
  24. 24.
    >then she looks down
  25. 25.
    <"Eh, maybe."
  26. 26.
    >and back up
  27. 27.
    <"Probably?"
  28. 28.
    >you kick the dirt
  29. 29.
    "How can you tell? There's no trails here."
  30. 30.
    >she shrugs
  31. 31.
    <"Sometimes big ponies gotta head off the beaten path. You'll understand when you're older."
  32. 32.
    "Uh huh."
  33. 33.
    <"And anyway, I like to think I'm something of a woodsmare."
  34. 34.
    "So which way back to Ponyville?"
  35. 35.
    <"Eh, good question."
  36. 36.
    >Applejack licks her hoof and sticks it up in the air
  37. 37.
    >then she gestures in a seemingly random direction with her head
  38. 38.
    <"That way, I reckon."
  39. 39.
    "Pure woodsmare's instinct?"
  40. 40.
    >she shrugs
  41. 41.
    <"More or less."
  42. 42.
    >then she starts walking
  43. 43.
    <"Coming?"
  44. 44.
    >three days alone in the woods with Applejack?
  45. 45.
    >well
  46. 46.
    >it could be worse
  47. 47.
    >you could have gotten Fluttershy
  48. 48.
     
  49. 49.
    >night time
  50. 50.
    >the first night
  51. 51.
    >Applejack offered to stand watch the entire night
  52. 52.
    >however, you've just been woken up by the sound of her snores
  53. 53.
    >so you guess it's your turn to stand watch
  54. 54.
    >she's a weirdly loud snorer
  55. 55.
    >you sit up
  56. 56.
    >it's dark
  57. 57.
    >you've read that dragons have excellent night vision
  58. 58.
    >you've also read that they don't develop this til their adolescence
  59. 59.
    >so, you know, their thirties at the soonest
  60. 60.
    >it's really dark
  61. 61.
    >it's funny, almost
  62. 62.
    >it's hard to imagine anything more frightening than a dragon in the dark
  63. 63.
    >in a way, you're the scariest thing out here
  64. 64.
    >you might be a little on the young side, but you're no creme puff
  65. 65.
    >you've got a thick hide
  66. 66.
    >sharp claws
  67. 67.
    >relatively big teeth
  68. 68.
    >in the distance, something rustles
  69. 69.
    >you flinch violently
  70. 70.
    >okay, so you're a little bit scared
  71. 71.
    >because what you don't have is night vision
  72. 72.
    >it's really, really dark
  73. 73.
    >so dark
  74. 74.
    >no matter how long you stare into it, your eyes just won't adjust
  75. 75.
    >you're sweating a little
  76. 76.
    >it wouldn't hurt to have a little light, would it?
  77. 77.
    >you let out a small stream of fire from your mouth
  78. 78.
    >for an instant, the clearing is bathed in emerald light
  79. 79.
    >it's long enough for you to spot a decent stick nearby
  80. 80.
    >you smile as you grab it
  81. 81.
    >firey breath is one thing you've got that probably no other monster in the Everfree's got
  82. 82.
    >no, wait, scratch that
  83. 83.
    >there are dragons living here
  84. 84.
    >big dragons
  85. 85.
    >real dragons
  86. 86.
    >didn't Twilight tell you that you're not a real dragon just the other day?
  87. 87.
    >okay, no, not thinking about that now
  88. 88.
    >in the distance, a pair of eyes opens
  89. 89.
    >just as green as your flame, and just as bright
  90. 90.
    >quickly, you light the end of your stick on fire
  91. 91.
    >in the light of your makeshift torch, the eyes vanish
  92. 92.
    >and Applejack goes on snoring
  93. 93.
    >you sigh
  94. 94.
    >it's gonna be a long night
  95. 95.
     
  96. 96.
    >day two
  97. 97.
    >it was a long night
  98. 98.
    <"Who-wha-wher-wh-!"
  99. 99.
    >no sooner than she's awake, Applejack snaps to a mortified attention
  100. 100.
    "Morning, sleepyhead."
  101. 101.
    >she groans
  102. 102.
    <"I take it I didn't stand the watch all night."
  103. 103.
    "It's fine. I woke up."
  104. 104.
    <"You stayed up?"
  105. 105.
    "Yeah."
  106. 106.
    >she looks down
  107. 107.
    <"I don't like that?"
  108. 108.
    "Hm?"
  109. 109.
    <"Young folks oughtta get their rest."
  110. 110.
    "I'm old enough."
  111. 111.
    <"Besides, there's thing in these parts of the woods..."
  112. 112.
    "Applejack?"
  113. 113.
    <"Hm?"
  114. 114.
    "It was fine. Really."
  115. 115.
    >she blinks
  116. 116.
    <"All right. I trust you, Spike."
  117. 117.
    "I don't see why you wouldn't."
  118. 118.
    <"You're right. Forget about it."
  119. 119.
    >Applejack glances around the forest canopy, frowning
  120. 120.
    <"All right, then. Right this way."
  121. 121.
    >the day is surprisingly uneventful
  122. 122.
    >no monsters
  123. 123.
    >no gorges
  124. 124.
    >no rivers
  125. 125.
    >not even any big rocks, really
  126. 126.
    >you wonder if Applejack might have been wrong
  127. 127.
    >maybe this is just the Whitetail Woods
  128. 128.
    >but if she was wrong about the forest, couldn't she have been wrong about how deep you are in it?
  129. 129.
    >that's not something you want to believe right now
  130. 130.
    >besides, what about those eyes from last night?
  131. 131.
    >probably a timber wolf, right?
  132. 132.
    >and timber wolves don't live in the Whitetail
  133. 133.
    >right?
  134. 134.
    <"Hold on now, Spike."
  135. 135.
    "Hm?"
  136. 136.
    <"We'll break here for lunch."
  137. 137.
    "Uh, where's lunch at?"
  138. 138.
    <"Right here."
  139. 139.
    >Applejack plucks a hoofful of dandelions from the ground and munches on them
  140. 140.
    "What do I eat?"
  141. 141.
    <"Don't you eat rocks?"
  142. 142.
    "I eat gems."
  143. 143.
    <"Same thing."
  144. 144.
    >is it?
  145. 145.
    >you scour the ground for a rock of some kind
  146. 146.
    >finally, you find one about the size of a bit
  147. 147.
    >and proceed to nearly chip a tooth on it
  148. 148.
    "No. It is not."
  149. 149.
    >Applejack tosses you a clump from her growing pile of Everfree salad
  150. 150.
    >not your favorite
  151. 151.
    >but it should be edible
  152. 152.
    "Thanks."
  153. 153.
    >you eat your grass in silence for a while
  154. 154.
    <"Say, Spike."
  155. 155.
    "Hm?"
  156. 156.
    <"Does it seem like..."
  157. 157.
    "What?"
  158. 158.
    <"Does it seem like we ain't going anywhere?"
  159. 159.
    >you glance up
  160. 160.
    >and shrug
  161. 161.
    "I dunno. All these trees look the same to me."
  162. 162.
    <"But doesn't this look sort of like the spot we woke up in?"
  163. 163.
    "I don't... think so?"
  164. 164.
    >Applejack smiles
  165. 165.
    <"You're right, you're right. It's fine. Probably."
  166. 166.
    "Okay?"
  167. 167.
    >Applejack frowns
  168. 168.
    <"But what were you doing before you woke up here?"
  169. 169.
    "Uh..."
  170. 170.
    >fighting with Twilight
  171. 171.
    "Talking with Twilight?"
  172. 172.
    <"Friendly-like talking?"
  173. 173.
    "Uh... No?"
  174. 174.
    <"Okay. Okay. Well, I reckon we've stayed long enough. Let's get a move on."
  175. 175.
    "Applejack?"
  176. 176.
    <"Hm?"
  177. 177.
    "Do you know something?"
  178. 178.
    <"No, no. I don't know anything. Not really, anyway."
  179. 179.
    "Applejack."
  180. 180.
    <"What?"
  181. 181.
    "You're a terrible liar."
  182. 182.
    <"So what? Let's go."
  183. 183.
     
  184. 184.
    >night two
  185. 185.
    >true to her word, Applejack nudges you awake in the dark forest
  186. 186.
    >her voice comes from somewhere nearby in the sea of pitch black
  187. 187.
    <"All right, that was most of the night. You shouldn't have to be up too long now."
  188. 188.
    "Thanks."
  189. 189.
    <"Now if you see anything weird, you come let me know, you hear?"
  190. 190.
    >you sit up
  191. 191.
    "I thought I saw a timber wolf last night. Does that count?"
  192. 192.
    <"A timber wolf?"
  193. 193.
    "Yeah."
  194. 194.
    <"You saw it? As in, you really saw it?"
  195. 195.
    "I saw its eyes. You know, all shiny and green."
  196. 196.
    >a pause
  197. 197.
    <"I don't think there are timber wolves in this part of the woods."
  198. 198.
    "Why not?"
  199. 199.
    >another pause
  200. 200.
    <"Never mind that. Let me know if you see any more... timber wolves, you hear?"
  201. 201.
    "Applejack."
  202. 202.
    <"Hm?"
  203. 203.
    "What is it you're not telling me?"
  204. 204.
    >a silence
  205. 205.
    "You said you trusted me."
  206. 206.
    >a sigh
  207. 207.
    <"I know. I do. And you got a right to know. It's just... I don't know how to say it."
  208. 208.
    "Say what?"
  209. 209.
    <"I just need some time to get my thoughts together. We can talk about it tomorrow."
  210. 210.
    >silence
  211. 211.
    >absolute, utter silence
  212. 212.
    >it's strange, when you think about it
  213. 213.
    >a forest, even a weird forest like the Everfree, should be full of sound at night
  214. 214.
    >bugs
  215. 215.
    >birds
  216. 216.
    >wind
  217. 217.
    >but tonight, there's just nothing
  218. 218.
    >a weird thought comes into your mind
  219. 219.
    >no sound
  220. 220.
    >no sight
  221. 221.
    >maybe this is sort of what it's like to not exist
  222. 222.
    >you told Twilight you wished that she didn't exist just the other day
  223. 223.
    >you sigh
  224. 224.
    "It's weird how a fight over chores can get so nasty."
  225. 225.
    <"It's not too weird. Happens to me all the time on the farm."
  226. 226.
    >you start
  227. 227.
    "You're still awake?"
  228. 228.
    <"Not for too much longer, I hope."
  229. 229.
    "You should get some sleep."
  230. 230.
    <"So you had a fight with Twilight?"
  231. 231.
    "I don't wanna talk about it."
  232. 232.
    >a pause
  233. 233.
    <"You're right. I don't wanna talk about it either."
  234. 234.
    >a yawn
  235. 235.
    <"It's just... I think something like this has happened to me before..."
  236. 236.
    "What?"
  237. 237.
    >and in the dark, silent forest
  238. 238.
    >the silence is broken by Applejack's snores
  239. 239.
    >you sigh
  240. 240.
    >and start looking for a stick to set on fire
  241. 241.
     
  242. 242.
    >day 3
  243. 243.
    >when the lighting in the campsite is more gray than green, you put out the fire
  244. 244.
    >Applejack rolls over and sits up not long after
  245. 245.
    >for a while she doesn't say anything
  246. 246.
    >just looks down and frowns
  247. 247.
    >then she nods
  248. 248.
    <"All right. I said this sort of thing had happened to me before already, right?
  249. 249.
    "Yeah."
  250. 250.
    <"You got into a fight the other day?"
  251. 251.
    "Uh huh."
  252. 252.
    <"Probably went to bed that night feeling real bad?"
  253. 253.
    >you blink
  254. 254.
    "Well, sure."
  255. 255.
    <"Not like sorry, but just mad?"
  256. 256.
    "What are you getting at?"
  257. 257.
    <"You did, didn't you?"
  258. 258.
    "Okay, sure, fine, I did. So what?"
  259. 259.
    <"So did I. The other day, and when I was about your age."
  260. 260.
    "And you woke up here?"
  261. 261.
    >she nods
  262. 262.
    <"I got out all right, but it was the scariest thing I'd ever done."
  263. 263.
    "Pure woodsmare's instinct."
  264. 264.
    >she smiles
  265. 265.
    <"Ain't no such thing, sugarcube. But it is a... feeling of some sort."
  266. 266.
    "What kind of feeling?"
  267. 267.
    <"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."
  268. 268.
    "That kind of feeling?"
  269. 269.
    <"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."
  270. 270.
    "And you think that kind of feeling is enough to get us home?"
  271. 271.
    <"I thought so, but there's one thing that's worrying me."
  272. 272.
    "What?"
  273. 273.
    <"This is the same clearing we woke up in yesterday. And the day before that."
  274. 274.
    "You're sure?"
  275. 275.
    <"I'm sure."
  276. 276.
    "Maybe we're just going in circles?"
  277. 277.
    <"I don't think so. I think it's some kind of magic."
  278. 278.
    "Magic?"
  279. 279.
    <"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."
  280. 280.
    >something tenses in your chest
  281. 281.
    "I don't think I want to know what it was."
  282. 282.
    <"It was something that looked like my own big brother..."
  283. 283.
    >you swallow
  284. 284.
    <"... Who I'd fought with just the day before."
  285. 285.
    >you try to chuckle
  286. 286.
    "Oh, come on. You're just trying to scare me."
  287. 287.
    <"I am trying to scare you. Because I think you're the reason we ain't going nowhere."
  288. 288.
    >you cough
  289. 289.
    "Well... what makes you say that?"
  290. 290.
    <"Spike. Do you miss Twilight?"
  291. 291.
     
  292. 292.
    >night 3
  293. 293.
    >for the umpteenth time, you roll over in the dark
  294. 294.
    >do you miss Twilight?
  295. 295.
    >should you?
  296. 296.
    >so soon after the fight, it's easy to lie here and think about all the bad times you've had with her
  297. 297.
    >but there were good times too
  298. 298.
    >weren't there?
  299. 299.
    >it's harder to think of those
  300. 300.
    >how long have you been awake like this?
  301. 301.
    >it's obvious you're not going to get any sleep
  302. 302.
    >you sit up
  303. 303.
    "Hey Applejack."
  304. 304.
    >she doesn't respond
  305. 305.
    >but you figure she's looking at you now
  306. 306.
    "Why don't you go to sleep now? I'll get the rest of the night."
  307. 307.
    >but in the darkness
  308. 308.
    >there is silence
  309. 309.
    "Applejack?"
  310. 310.
    >you let loose a quick jet of flame
  311. 311.
    >you didn't spot her, but you did notice a nice stick
  312. 312.
    >you pick it up and light it
  313. 313.
    "Applejack?"
  314. 314.
    >but the clearing
  315. 315.
    >is empty
  316. 316.
    >dragons have an excellent sense of smell, don't they?
  317. 317.
    >you take a deep breath
  318. 318.
    >but if you ever knew Applejack's scent, you don't smell anything like it now
  319. 319.
    >as you wander about the clearing, you spot something shining in the dirt
  320. 320.
    >you poke it with a claw and sniff it
  321. 321.
    >it's water
  322. 322.
    >it's kind of salty, but it doesn't smell bad like sweat
  323. 323.
    >a tear, maybe?
  324. 324.
    >maybe that whole 'excellent sense of smell' thing is just for grown-up dragons
  325. 325.
    >like the night vision
  326. 326.
    >and Twilight's respect
  327. 327.
    >you shake your head
  328. 328.
    >and in the eerie glow of the green torch
  329. 329.
    >you are alone
  330. 330.
     
  331. 331.
    >alone
  332. 332.
    >alone in the woods
  333. 333.
    >how long have you been alone here for?
  334. 334.
    >your stick is almost burnt out, and the flames are licking your claws
  335. 335.
    >it doesn't hurt
  336. 336.
    >but this never happened on any of the other nights
  337. 337.
    >shouldn't the Sun have come up by now?
  338. 338.
    >why is it still dark out?
  339. 339.
    >the flame begins to sputter
  340. 340.
    >there's no more wood for it to burn beyond what's in your grasp
  341. 341.
    >you drop the stick
  342. 342.
    >it hits the dirt, burnt end first
  343. 343.
    >the clearing goes dark
  344. 344.
    >perfect
  345. 345.
    >no nobody can see what happens next
  346. 346.
    >nobody sees you when you take a seat on the ground
  347. 347.
    >or when you flop down onto your back
  348. 348.
    >or when, for some reason, your face gets wet
  349. 349.
    >only baby dragons cry
  350. 350.
    >a real dragon could have flown away by now
  351. 351.
    >a real dragon could have burned down the whole forest on his way out
  352. 352.
    >only a baby dragon would sit here like this
  353. 353.
    >only a baby could feel so helpless
  354. 354.
    /"Spike?"
  355. 355.
    >you sit up
  356. 356.
    >that was HER voice
  357. 357.
    >and there in the woods
  358. 358.
    >is a pair of bright green eyes
  359. 359.
    >no, it's not a timber wolf
  360. 360.
    >it never was
  361. 361.
    >you can see that now
  362. 362.
    >those eyes are too big
  363. 363.
    >too close together
  364. 364.
    >only a pony has eyes like that
  365. 365.
    >only a pony's eyes don't glow
  366. 366.
    >''"Spike?"''
  367. 367.
    >you leap to your feet
  368. 368.
    >turn around
  369. 369.
    >and run in a straight line
  370. 370.
    >you stumble over roots
  371. 371.
    >smack into branches
  372. 372.
    >get caught in thick brush
  373. 373.
    >but it doesn't matter
  374. 374.
    >because you know you're running straight toward the thing you want most right now
  375. 375.
    >and you want, more than anything, to be home again
  376. 376.
     
  377. 377.
    >in the darkness, you stumble and fall
  378. 378.
    >crashing through thick brush of some kind, you close your eyes
  379. 379.
    >and when you open them, it is no longer dark
  380. 380.
    >you're looking at a wood floor in a brightly-lit room
  381. 381.
    /"Spike! You're home!"
  382. 382.
    >you look up
  383. 383.
    >the door to the library hangs open behind you
  384. 384.
    >Twilight and Applejack stand smiling before you
  385. 385.
    >was all that some kind of weird dream then?
  386. 386.
    >Applejack winks at you
  387. 387.
    >no, probably not a dream then
  388. 388.
    "Yeah, I... guess I am."
  389. 389.
    >you stand up
  390. 390.
    /"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."
  391. 391.
    "An hour ago?"
  392. 392.
    >Applejack shrugs
  393. 393.
    /"Spike, I'm sorry for saying those things to you."
  394. 394.
    "I'm sorry too, Twilight."
  395. 395.
    >you walk over to her
  396. 396.
    >and wrap your claws around one of her legs
  397. 397.
    "I'm just glad I got to see you again."

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