With a rock in my hand and pep in my step, I was off on my quest for books.
[hr]
As the rocky landscape changed to a grassy one that was much easier on his sneaker covered feet, he began to have second thoughts. [i]"Maybe I should have asked someone to escort me to the town, Brunoce looked like a pretty focused individual, maybe I could have asked him to wait at the edge of town, in case I was being chased,"[/i] The landscape was quickly turning to more of a forest than a field, the trees were becoming more frequent, and in turn, the surroundings were getting darker. [i]"No, I can't let the Diamond dogs get involved, if they were to be rutted out, the next person to break free would have no sanctuary to run to. For their sake, I must do this alone."[/i]
With the forest came the feeling of familiarity and a sense that I was very welcome here, as if I had stumbled upon a surprise family reunion. At some point during my trek, I could have sworn I heard a faint 'hello': That was when I realized that I should probably be more suspicious of unfamiliar territory, [i]"Is this place really that new,"[/i] I began to question. This place was too similar to be a coincidence: I have definitely been here before. [i]"This is good, I can out navigate anyone that tries to follow me."[/i]
"Hello," I heard to my right.
[i]"That's not the wind,"[/i] I thought as I remembered a certain cannibal supper-star. Adrenalin was pumping through me as I frantically scanned the area for whoever was trailing me.
"Do not fear me for my bellow, for only I wish to call you my fellow," the clearly African voice said in response to my panicked searching, "There is no need for alarm, I do not mean you any harm," the voice continued as it slowly stepped into view.
Seeing an unarmed zebra that was half my size quickly replaced my panic with relief, "Forgive me; today has not inspired a lot of trust in my surroundings".
"I see why panicked is what you be, I would be the same if the forest was new to me,"
[i]'That is actually improper grammar: if you are going to use old English, you can at least be consistent about it,'[/i] I thought to myself, allowing her to continue uninterrupted.
"Follow me to my hut, and you can tell me about how your trust was cut,"
"Sorry I'm a little pressed for time, so maybe I can visit some other time," I said as I nervously scratched the back of my neck. [i]'And here I am criticizing her English: ending two clauses on the same word. Come on Jake, do i seriously need to start carrying a thesaurus around.'[/i]
"Come now, don't leave me in the dark, or it will be the wrong tree I will bark,"
[i]'How does one bark a tree. Okay, no, she's just bad at English,'[/i] I suspected despite my previous shortcomings. "Oh woe is me, you see I was put into slavery by those tyrannical ponies," I explained in a theatrical manner, using hand gestures and over-the-top body language to further put enthuses on my plight, "All I wished was for the peaceful life of a consular, but alas, I was ripped from my home and forced to work the fields of an orchard."
A light gasp from the zebra was all I needed to know we were on the same page. "My, my: that does not sound like my pony friends, is there no way to make amends."
"The way things are now, I fear there is no helping my image with them, but I crave their knowledge. If I could sneak into their library, I would not need to work with them; I could be on my way with no further trouble."
My newest acquaintance seemed to be lost in a world of thought. I almost interrupted it before she (at least I hope it is a she,) made her decision.
"If it will stop this before it begins, I will insure that your plans win,"
[i]'How does a plan win? Surely the one with th-[/i] "thank you very much..."
"Zecora-"
[i]'Ha! She didn't even ry-[/i]
"-is my name, please do not use it in vain"
[i]'Nice save...'[/i]
[hr]
My eyes were darting between the cobblestone houses around me as my hast picked up, the overhang of their thatch roofs barely reaching eye level, betraying their level of technological advancement as well as clearing up some of the confusion regarding the default size of my equine opponents.
Every alleyway I crossed was another opportunity to be seen, another way this could all go horribly wrong. At least my plan started without any hiccups: Zecora giving me very detailed directions before she made a scene for the whole town to get involved in at the expense of her social image.
Despite my temporary ally staying true to her word, I couldn't quell my paranoid suspicions that this was all a trap. [i]'How odd that she would lead me to the center of the city... [/i]
Before I put too much emphasis on how poorly my sneakers [i]'At least I still have my favorite pair of footwear. Uh, shoes. Let's not get pretentious now,'[/i] were being abused by the dirt road, my vision was graced with what I assumed to be a church.
It was a tree house made entirely out of an unidentifiable crystal, gently shimmering in the fleeting sunlight. Tree house wouldn't cut it; with its size, this was a full blown castle![i]Quite impressive. I guess this is where the town budget went, assuming the farm I woke up on is an indication of a capitalist society that is,[/i] With a mysteriously queasy stomach I politely gave a knock on the door. Given how similar the houses were, I doubted I would be able to find an actual library in time.
Hearing no response, I made my entry into an empty hallway. There was no shortage of lighting, yet it somehow felt ominous. The hallway itself was quite tall and wide, putting extra emphasis on its emptiness, coupled with the subtle purple glow of the walls and floor, made the simple walk seem a lot more harrowing than it actually was.
After finding and climbing several flights of stairs, I was greeted not with rows of benches facing a podium as I came to expect. Rather, there was a large hexagonal room with a circular table surrounded by several sets at its center. More importantly, behind the table was a wall of bookshelves filled with untapped potential.
[i]'Where should I start?'[/i] I thought as I perused the astonishingly well organized collections of literature. [i]'Agriculture, Pony anatomy, Equestrian politics -so [i]that's [/i] what this country was called-[/i] I froze at the last tidal: "Magic for the ungifted". [i]Ah, it's too good to be true. Besides, that's not going to help me be a better leader. [/i] In spite of this I refused to let go of the book.
Minutes passed by as I searched the books. I was getting desperate, as each book was useful, but not a single one gave me the edge to keep the equestrian people from wiping me off the face of... this world. The biggest problem, however, would have to be that I simply did not have the time to master all of these skills, at least, not with an entire country out for my blood.
I looked around the room in despair, my gaze lying upon a golem that eluded my attention until now. [i]What was I thinking? How can one man possibly lift a civilization to superpower status? One man... [/i] the thought echoed through my head. [i]One... man... [/i] Then it hit me, but time was short, so I took the idle golem over my shoulder. [i]'Surprisingly light,'[/i] I thought to myself as I slipped out the front door.