The human girl of Equestria

by Y the monster master

Chloe is an eight years-old girl who's been abused by her own family. Willing to have a much happier life, she runs away from home, but she got attacked and she fell down a bottomless waterfall, and she accidentally ended up in Equestria. However, despite of having great fear of all kinds of animals, she accepts Princess Celestia as her mother and a new family bond began to form.

143. Chapter 142:escaping the dungeon

The next morning, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks continued on their way to rescue their friends, after the four of them had a peaceful rest inside a small cavern which was still big enough for all of them to fit inside it during the rest of the last night, and at the same time while they kept traveling forward to save their friends, they also tried to think of a variety of plans which might help them outsmart, capture and then force Ron into telling them who he is and what are his real intentions to do with the four of them.

Then, while the four friends are still traveling together and along their way back to the jungle, Noah asked "So, what do you guys think we should do in order to get and capture that horned centaur and try to make him tell us who he is and what does he wants from us?", and then Russell suggested "I thought it would be my pleasure to pounce on him and pin him down because I'm a leopard, and leopards like me use stalking, chasing and pouncing in order to trap their prey before they kill it.", but when he heard what the older red leopard just said, Feliks suddenly asked and added "Wait, what about me? I'm a leopard too!", but then Russell said to him back and pointed out "Yeah, but you're just a little cub, Feliks, and you're still not old enough to hunt prey on your own.", but then Feliks said back to him "Oh, come on, Russell! A single adult leopard like you can't even hunt prey as big as that horned centaur!", but when he heard what the young male leopard cub just said to him, Russell said back with a smile on his face "Well, I bet that I can easily take him down by surprise if I want to." and then he added "You just wait and see when we'll come face-to-face with him again.", and when they heard what he said, Andy said to his red leopard friend "I hope that you'll be able to get him and make him tell us who he is and what are his intentions to do with us, Russell.", and then Russell said back as he then showed his sharp and retractable claws he have on his forepaws (like many other Big cats) to the others "I'm feeling ready to have him for lunch for toying with us and for the tricks he's been pulling on us this lately.", and then he suddenly ran forward and called and yelled to the horizon "Horned centaur! Do you hear me? We're all ready to face you again, and this time, we will catch you and we will make you pay for the tricks you've been pulling on us lately! Come out and show your face so that we can we fight you! Go ahead! Bring it on!".

However, just then, shortly after Russell called and yelled to the horizon, he suddenly felt himself being surrounded by some kind of magic and it didn't took him long before he suddenly found himself being surrounded by a mysterious purple magic aura, but he's not the only one who is surrounded by it - Andy, Noah and Feliks are also being surrounded by the same mysterious purple magic aura, and with all four friends being surrounded by it, Feliks cried, yelled and asked in fright "What's happening?!", but then Russell said and yelled back "I don't know!", and just then, the four friends suddenly disappeared into thin air and vanished off the face of the badlands like if they were never there.

At the same time, back in the bad Deertaurs' cave in the jungle, Simon was about to set Sitka free next and take him outside and away to safety (since the rest of the herd is out for a hunt), but before he can set Sitka free by cutting and removing his rope bindings from his limbs as well as remove the muzzle which is tied onto his face, the same mysterious purple magic aura who made Russell and the kids disappear suddenly appeared and surrounded the unconscious 20 year-old young adult male Beartaur, and then, just a short moment later, Sitka suddenly disappeared into thin air right before Simon's eyes, thus shocking the good teenage male Deertaur who then suddenly asked himself "Huh? What just happened? Where did the Beartaur just go?", but then, shortly after he said that, Simon shook his head and decided that since Sitka is now gone from sight and is nowhere to be found, he should instead go and move forward and change his secret rescuing plan by setting Jenna (Austin's wife and Noah's mother) free instead (since Sitka disappeared from sight and into thin air like if he was never there, much like Russell and the kids), and so that's when Simon started setting Jenna free from her rope bindings and then he carefully removed the muzzle which was tied onto her face, before he then slowly and carefully carried her out of the cave and took her with him outside to somewhere safe where Oscar and the rest of the herd won't be able to find her so easily - which is to the small bushes which stood behind the much taller ones so that Jenna (who is still unconscious) will be able to recover and then escape from the jungle in time.

Meanwhile, in an unknown place deep underground, Russell recovered to find himself in the unfamiliar place to which he was taken, and when he looked around and then he saw the walls standing on both sides (left and right) and next to him, Russell asked "Huh? Where am I? What is this place?", but then he also suddenly felt that something is wrong and so he said and asked as he quickly turned around to see that he's all alone "Wait a minute, where are the others? Where did they go?", and so that's when the red leopard immediately started walking and wandering around and inside the mysterious underground place which was like a maze or a dungeon (or even both) and he called and asked "Hello? Andy? Noah? Feliks? Where are you, guys?".

As for Andy, Noah and Feliks, they too ended up in the same underground place but they're also separated from Russell, and when they looked around and saw the walls on both sides and next to them, Feliks asked "Where are we? Andy? Noah?", and when they heard what he said, Noah asked "Yes, Feliks?", and then Feliks asked him "Where do you think we are now?", but then the juvenile male Deertaur said back "I don't know!", and then Andy also added "Me neither!", but just then, however, the three suddenly felt and then looked around and soon noticed and realized that Russell is missing, and so Andy asked his two friends "Wait a second, where's Russell?", and when they heard what the toddler male centaur just said, Noah called "Russell! Where are you? Where did you go?" and then he asked "Where do you guys think Russell could be?", and then Feliks said to him "I don't know, but I don't like it when he's not here with us!", and then Andy added "We must find him and then search for a way out of this scary place!", and so with these words being said, that's when the three young friends started walking and wandering around and inside the mysterious underground place while staying close together so not to end up being separated from each other and they also started searching and looking everywhere for Russell, and while they kept searching for him, Andy, Noah and Feliks called together "Russell! Where are you? Russell? Russell?", hoping that they'll be able to find him soon if he hears and answers their calls.

And, for addition to Russell and the kids being separated from each other, there was also Sitka, who is still lying down unconscious after he was transported by the mysterious purple magic aura to the same scary maze-like dungeon in which the four friends are as well, but soon afterwards, he opened his eyes and slowly moved his body, only to then discover and find out that both his rope bindings and his muffling muzzle are gone from both his limbs and from his face, which means that now he can talk properly and stand upright and on his legs again, but once the young adult male Beartaur fully recovered and then stood up on his feet again, he looked around him and soon realized that he's not in the bad Deertaurs' cave anymore, and indeed the scary maze-like dungeon seemed very unfamiliar to the 20 year-old male Beartaur, who is now both confused and surprised to find himself in such an unfamiliar place in which he was never been before.

"Huh? Where am I? Why am I not tied up anymore? Why I don't have the muzzle tied up onto my face anymore? What is this place?" Sitka asked himself before he added "This is not Oscar's cave, this place looks much different than his cave.", and then he continued and said "It looks like some kind of a dungeon or something.", and since he felt very uncomfortable within the dark and scary maze-like dungeon, Sitka said to himself "I don't feel good to stay in this place. I need to get out of here. There's got to be a way out of here.", and then he started walking and wandering around and inside the maze-like dungeon and then he called and asked "Hello? Is there's someone else here in this place besides just me?", and then he also added "Hello? Can somebody tell me where am I and what is this place? Hello?".

However, shortly afterwards, Sitka ended up reaching to a point in the maze-like dungeon's hallway where it splits away into two different pathways, and when the young adult male Beartaur looked back and forth between left and right a few times and didn't know to which way he should go, Sitka asked himself "Hmmm, which way I should go to? Left or right?", and so he struggled to choose between the two pathways standing before him and right before his eyes, but after a few minutes of battling with the inner struggle inside him, Sitka finally made it up in his mind and said to himself as he looked at the right pathway "I should go to the right, maybe that way will lead me out of this scary place.", and so that's when he started walking on the right pathway, believing that it might lead him out of the maze-like dungeon.

However, much to his disappointment, instead of finding his way out of the maze-like dungeon by going on the right pathway, Sitka ended up entering a dark and mysterious room, but the true terror within that room is lying inside a weird and scary lion-sized statue which appeared and looked like a menacing carnivore, and so when Sitka looked and noticed and saw the statue standing in the end of the room, the Beartaur slowly approached and went up to inspect the statue, for he have never seen one with such a weird and also intimidating appearance. "What is this weird statue doing here?" Sitka asked as he then stopped right before the statue and then he lowered his upper human body down to take a closer look and inspect the statue by both its shape and its size.

"This one lion-sized statue has the head of a dog, the body of a wolf, the legs and the tail of a cougar and..." when Sitka saw and inspected the head and face of the statue from an even closer look, he was soon taken aback in both shock and fear when he saw two long and large saber teeth coming out and protruding from the dog-faced statue's upper jaw and from both sides of its mouth like a saber tooth cat. Then, soon after Sitka saw the statue's saber teeth, he said in shock "Oh my gosh! It has large saber teeth protruding from its upper jaw! Just like a saber tooth tiger (A.K.A - Smilodon)!", and then he added as the statue started to scare him with its intimidating appearance, despite Sitka being much larger than the statue "This statue is pretty scary and I don't like the way it's staring and bearing its teeth at me like this! I should go back on my tracks and then go to the left instead!", and with these words being said, Sitka immediately went back on his tracks and once he reached back to the point where the pathways split away, he immediately started walking on the left pathway instead, hoping that he'll be able to find his way out and escape from the scary maze-like dungeon as soon as possible.

However, just then, Sitka suddenly started hearing some wild animal growls, and judging by how they sounded like, he knew that these are definitely not the ones of a leopard (like Russell or even Feliks). When Sitka heard the unfamiliar wild animal growls coming from right behind him, he asked "Huh? What was that? Where are these growling sounds come from?", and when he turned around and looked in the direction of the wild animal growling sounds, he saw the very same scary statue from before literally moving towards him in the darkness and then stepping out into the lights of the torches inside the maze-like dungeon close to where Sitka is standing and into view and letting out scary growling sounds and also looking up and bearing its teeth angrily at the Beartaur, and when he realized that the monstrous creature statue is actually alive, Sitka screamed with fright and then he yelled "Ahhh! The scary statue is actually alive! I must run away for my life!", and then he started running away for his life with the monster soon chasing after him.

Meanwhile, back with Russell, he continued searching for his three younger friends and for a way out of the maze-like dungeon, but that wasn't before he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a lion-sized statue standing right in front of him, and that one also appeared to have a dog's head, a wolf's body, a cougar's legs and tail, and also a pair of long and sharp saber teeth, pretty much like the very same creature who is currently chasing after Sitka. When Russell saw the weird 'statue' standing in front of him, he asked "Hmmm? What's that weird statue doing here?" and then he went up close to inspect it, for he have never seen such a big statue which looks like this before. "This one looks strange, and its teeth looks so big and sharp, even more bigger and sharper than mine. I should probably just ignore it and keep going and continue on my way and search for my friends and for a way out of this place." Russell said as he then stopped looking at the 'statue' and then he went past it and continued on his way and kept searching everywhere for his three younger friends and also for a way out of the scary maze-like dungeon.

However, soon afterwards, Russell suddenly started hearing some scary and unfamiliar growls which sounded different than those of a normal leopard or a lion, and he also felt that these growls are coming from right behind him, and when he heard the scary growls coming from right behind his back, Russell asked "Huh? Where are these scary growls coming from?", but the moment he turned around to see where the scary growls are coming from, the red leopard suddenly came face-to-face with the head, jaws and sharp teeth of the dog-faced 'statue' which, like the first one from before, also turned out to be alive and real, and when Russell realized that the scary 'statue' before him is actually alive and real, he screamed with both shock and with fright and then he said "Oh goodness! That thing was actually real and alive! I must find my friends and then go find a way and get out of here now!", and once he finished saying what he just said, the red leopard soon turned tail and started running away for his life with the dog-faced monster soon chasing after him.

Meanwhile, back with Andy, Noah and Feliks, the three are still searching both for Russell and for a way out of the maze-like dungeon, and while they kept searching and looking everywhere for him, the three young creatures kept calling for Russell in hopes that he might hear them and answer back immediately after that, and so the three friends called "Russell? Hello? Where are you? Where did you go?", but just then, however, Feliks stopped dead in his tracks and called and said to Andy and Noah and asked as he then pointed his left forepaw at something that appeared to be moving in the darker parts of the maze-like dungeon "Look! who do you think is that over there?", and when Andy and Noah heard what he said and stopped dead in their tracks as well as they both also saw someone or something big moving quickly towards them in the darker parts of the maze-like dungeon, Noah said back "I don't know, but it looks like he's coming towards us!", and when they saw the shape of the creature appearing before their eyes, it soon turned out to be a Beartaur, and when they saw the Beartaur coming quickly towards them, Andy said and asked "Could that be?".

Then, when the Beartaur came close enough and his appearance became clear for the three young friends to see him properly, Andy and Noah soon recognized him and then Noah said "That's Sitka!", and then he and Andy both called for him as he ran quickly towards them "Hey, Sitka! Come to us! We're here!", but when he saw the three young friends standing in front of him with Andy and Noah calling to him, Sitka asked in shock "Kids?! What in Equestria are you doing down here?!", and once he got close enough and soon got reunited with the three young friends, Andy said to him "Hi, Sitka! We're been looking for Russell and for a way out of here!" and then he added and asked his young adult Beartaur friend "Have you seen him?", but then Sitka said back "I'm afraid not!", and then Noah asked him "Anyway, what are you doing here in this scary place, Sitka?", and then he added "We thought that you're still a prisoner in Oscar's cave!", and when Sitka heard what he said, he explained "I was, but for some unknown reason, I was suddenly set free from both my muzzle and from my rope bindings and I was transported by some kind of magic or something like that and I ended up here in this place just like you!".

When the three young friends heard what Sitka said about himself being transported to the same scary maze-like dungeon to which they and Russell were also transported the same way, Andy said "Even so, it's good to see you again, Sitka, and also know that you're okay!", and then Sitka said but also quickly added "Yeah, I'm so happy to see you again too, kids, but we must get out of here as soon as possible!", and then he added and explained "There's a living statue in the shape of a scary carnivorous monster in this scary place and it's chasing after me!", and when they heard what he said about the monster that is chasing after him, the three young friends gasped with both shock and with fright before they all asked him in unison "Really?!", and then Sitka nodded to them in agreement in a way to show them that he's telling them the truth.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly called "Hey, guys! There you are!", and when the four friends heard what the voice said and then turned in the direction where the voice came from, and out of nowhere, Russell came out from the dark and shadowed area within the hallway of the maze-like dungeon and quickly went up towards them, and when the four saw Russell coming towards them, Feliks called "Look! That's Russell! He's coming towards us!", but the moment Russell came up close enough and reunited with the four friends, he immediately said to them "We gotta get out of here, guys! A monster is chasing after me!", and when they heard what he said, Sitka said to him "Oh no! Don't tell there are TWO of these scary monsters in this scary place!", and then Noah said "If that's the case, then we must go and find a way out of here quickly as soon as possible before they get us!", and when he heard what the juvenile male Deertaur said, Russell said to him and to the others "Follow me, guys! I'll lead the way!" and then all five friends immediately started running together with Russell leading the way through the maze-like dungeon, while Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all followed very close behind him.

During their escape from the maze-like dungeon, the five friends ended up reaching a certain point where the specific pathway on which they are separates and splits into two different pathways, but that was only for a short moment as Russell looked back and forth between the two pathways very quickly before he then said to his friends "Let's go right!", and then they all followed close behind him as the five quickly ran into the right pathway in order to find their way out and escape in time, but they soon ended up reaching another point where the pathway separates and splits into two different pathways, and then Andy asked Russell "Now which we should go to?", and that's when the red leopard quickly looked back and forth between the two pathways before he then said "To the left!", and when they heard what he said, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka soon followed quickly behind Russell as he resumed leading the way, only to end up reaching yet another point where the pathway separates and splits into two different pathways, and then Noah asked "And now?", and when Russell heard what he said, he quickly looked back and forth between the two pathways before he then said "To the right!", and then he resumed leading the way, but that is until the five ended up reaching yet another, fourth point in which the pathway separates and splits into two different pathways, and with time running out, Sitka asked "And now?", and when Russell heard what he said, he quickly looked back and forth between the two pathways before he then said "Again to the right!", and when they heard what the red leopard said, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all soon followed close behind him as he resumed leading the way.

Then, after the four turns they've made within the pathways of the maze-like dungeon, Russell, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all suddenly saw something big before their eyes, and when they all decided to go towards it, they soon found out what that they're going towards a counterclockwise stairway which may actually lead them all out of the maze-like dungeon, and that's when Noah said to his four friends "Look! That's a stairway! That must be it! It's gotta be our way out of here!", and then Russell added and said to him and to the others "Follow me, guys! We'll all be out of here in no time!", and once the five friends reached the bottom and the base of the counterclockwise stairway, that's when they all started climbing up the stairs, knowing that this must be their way out of the maze-like dungeon.

However, just then, as the five friends continued to climb up the stairs, they all suddenly heard some loud and angry growls, and when they (except for Russell) turned around and looked back for a brief moment, they saw the two dog-faced saber-toothed carnivorous monsters climbing up the stairs very quickly after them, and so that's when Andy cried "Oh no! They're chasing us up the stairs!", but then Russell turned around and called and said to his friends "Don't look back and keep running up the stairs!", and when they all heard what he said, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all turned away from the monsters and resumed climbing up the stairs as fast as they all could to escape them and leave the maze-like dungeon alive.

However, while trying to reach the top of the stairs and escape from the maze-like dungeon, Feliks suddenly tripped and fell on some of the stairs in midway and got hurt, thus causing him to cry in pain and call "Ow! Russell! please, help!", but Russell didn't heard his cries and kept running up the stairs, but luckily, Sitka heard his cries, and so he turned around and said back "Don't worry, little one! I'm coming to save you!", and then he quickly ran back down the stairs to save Feliks, and just when the two dog-faced predatory monsters were about to catch and end the young leopard cub's life, Sitka jumped bravely and then he landed in between Feliks and the two monsters, and then he roared angrily and yelled at the monsters "You leave that little leopard cub alone, you monsters!" and then he raised up onto his hinder bear legs and swiped both his human arms and hands and his lower bear forelegs and paws at the both of them and that was enough to hit them hard and throw them all the way back down the stairs, thus saving Feliks' life.

Then, Sitka lowered back down on all four bear legs before he then reached down his human arms and hands to grab Feliks, pick him and hold him up and then move him close to his upper human chest to keep the young leopard cub safe, and once Feliks is being held close to the Beartaur's upper chest, Sitka said "Now let's get out of here quickly!" and then he turned tail and started running up the stairs again while holding Feliks close to his upper human chest to make sure that he too will make it out of the maze-like dungeon alive, and when the two managed to catch up with their friends, Russell called as now they could see the light of day shining outside "Look! There's the exit!", and then he added "Let's keep running fast! Just a little further!", but then the two dog-faced saber-toothed monsters started running fast all the way up the stairs and started catching up with the group of five once again, but just as they are about to strike them all, Russell quickly went through the exit and made it outside, and Andy, Noah, Sitka and Feliks soon followed behind him and managed to escape too, but just as the monsters were about to follow them outside, an iron bar gate closed right in front of them and trapped the two monsters inside, preventing them from continuing their chase after the five friends who already made it outside all together.

Then, with all five friends are outside and are also back in the badlands, Noah said "Thank goodness, guys! We made it!", and then Andy added as he looked back at the monsters who are trapped inside the opening which leads out due to the iron bar gate locking them and leaving them behind the group "Yeah! They can't follow us anymore! The gate is now closed!", but just then, however, an awfully familiar male voice suddenly said "So, I see that you five have managed to escape from this scary dungeon which I brought you to together!", and when the five friends all heard what the voice said, they all turned to see Ron standing a few yards away from them with an evil smile creeping on his face, before he then added "What you all did down there was truly impressive, I have to say, but I'm still not done with you all yet, because I still have some more things in mind for all five of you! No matter what you'll be able to do to escape from both my tricks and from my traps, I will keep haunting you all down until you'll accept to be all mine, do you hear me? You five are going to be all mine!", and with these words being said, the evil Unicorn centaur laughed evilly at the five friends before he disappeared into thin air before their eyes like if he was never there, but not only he disappeared from sight - the now locked opening which leads back down to the maze-like dungeon and the two monsters also disappeared into thin air like if they were never there, revealing that all these are in fact parts of Ron's evil trick.

With the trick is now over and with Ron is gone (for now), Sitka lowered himself down and then he placed Feliks down on his feet and on the solid ground below, and then Russell went up to him and asked "Are you okay, Feliks?", and Feliks said back "Yeah, I'm fine.", and then he turned around and looked up at Sitka and said to him while showing no signs of fear of him "Thank you so much for saving me from these monsters back there, Mr. Beartaur.", but when Sitka heard what the young leopard cub just said to him, the young adult male Beartaur chuckled kindly for a little bit before he said back "You don't have to call me 'Mr. Beartaur', little one. My name's Sitka, and it's my pleasure to save your life. If it weren't for me, you would've been lost to these horrible living statues." he explained as he introduced himself to Feliks.

When Feliks heard what Sitka said as he also introduced himself to him, the young leopard cub said back to him as he introduced himself as well "Well, It's nice to meet you, Sitka. I'm Feliks, the son of Azaad, grandson of the late Askari and the supposed-to-be prince of my homeland.", but then he also quickly added "Well, I was supposed to be the prince of my homelands who will rule it all in the future, until my auntie, Chuluun took my place and became the queen instead.", and then he continued and explained "With my father gone and with me being exiled from my home where I belong, I decided to go and travel along with Russell, Andy and Noah so that they can keep me company throughout our journey to rescue their other friends and then search for a new home.", before he then suddenly lowered down his head, showing a sign of traumatic pain from losing his father in the Indian rhinos stampede back in his and his family's homelands.

However, just as he's about to shed tears from that awful memory which is still paining him inside his young and fragile mind and brain, Feliks suddenly felt a big clawed hand touching him very gently on the top of his head and then stroking and going down his back, and so when he looked up, he saw Sitka lying down on all four bear legs and also on his lower bear underbelly and gently placing and stroking with his left clawed humanoid hand down on his head and back in a manner to comfort him and calm him down without hurting him at all (since Sitka used only the palms of his humanoid hands to touch Feliks, not his bear-like claws), and then the Beartaur said as he looked down at him in the eyes "It's okay, Feliks. I know what it's like losing a father.", and then he added and explained "My own father, Matthew, who was a good and smart Beartaur like me who also cared for many other creatures before he died, he's already dead the last 10 years. In other words - he died when I was a young juvenile, when I was only 10 years old.", but then he also added "However, despite he's dead in body, I know he's still with me in two different ways - one is he's alive in spirit, and the other is that he's here living with me in my heart, and I know that since he's the only good father I ever had in my life, I know that I will never forget him for all the good knowledge and great wisdom he gave me before his time to go eventually came.".

Then, Sitka said to Feliks as he's helping him feel the comfort he needs and calm down "But my life changed again when I recently left my cruel and heartless mother behind me to start anew without her, and I accepted joining Russell, Andy and their friends so I won't have to feel and/or be lonely for the rest of my life, and even though it meant that I will be the only Beartaur in their friendly and social group, I was willing to join them all because I'd rather accept having myself surrounded and loved by non-Beartaur friends than accept living a poor and solitary life and feel even more miserable to live alone and die alone.", and then he added "And since I'm a good, kind and friendly Beartaur who can get along with many other creatures from different species, I accept you to our traveling party too, because every creature who is friends with Russell is also a friend of mine.", and then he said to Feliks, who is now almost fully calmed down "You're welcome to the traveling party, Feliks, and now that I'm also here too, we can once again be called 'The Traveling Five'.", and then he added "And now that we're five once again, we can continue on our journey to rescue our friends and then we can all go back to our main mission - which is to search for a new home.", and when Feliks heard what he said, he finally fully calmed down and said "Thank you so much for accepting me as your new friend, Sitka. I truly see on your face that you're different than many other Beartaurs who live in this world.", but just then, Russell suddenly interrupted and said to everyone to remind them all that now it's time to go and continue on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their imprisoned friends "And now that we're five once again, let's go save our friends! Let's go!", and when they all heard these words being said, Andy, Noah, Sitka and Feliks all turned and nodded to him in agreement before the five friends continued together on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their imprisoned friends.