Pucci (3rd person)
Cold sweat rolled down Pucci's forehead like raindrops from a cloud, huffing out labored breaths as he climbed over a large fallen tree. With a strained groan, Pucci successfully conquered the dead log and rolled over it…only to fall face-first in the snow with a muffled yelp of pain.
Not even ten minutes in the infamous Everfree forest, he was an exhausted mess lying in the snow.
"Look at me," Pucci grumbled, having moved his head out of the chilling snow, "I haven't done anything besides walking and climbing over that log. Why am I so tired all of a sudden?" He asked to nopony in particular. On his person, he had traded his iconic coat for a puffy, black winter jacket with its hood covering his head, and shielding his muzzle was a red and gold scarf. A travel bag rested on his back, looking as if it would burst any moment due to the number of supplies in it. "No! I can't worry about insignificant things like that at the moment." He shouted internally.
After a few seconds of fighting against the bag's weight, Pucci had gotten back on his hoofs and moved further into the forest. The fire in his eyes could have melted the snow around him with how hot they burned.
It had been only a few hours ago that Pucci and Moondancer had their little talk, which was, to say, stressful.
—-
Pucci (1st person)
Three hours earlier…
"So what you're telling me is that a random stallion named Dio had broken into the observatory the night before you moved to ponyville. You know nothing about him, and he apparently knows a lot about you and our figures- or stands as you call them -and offered you a chance to enact revenge on a pony. During that meeting, he revealed that he was the one who sent that pony out to the theater to kill you; although he said not to have you hurt in any way, you were skeptical. Yet you didn't have time to think about it before I came in. And the second time was just last night; he acted super creepy and threatening before leaving because you somehow made buddy-buddy with Princess Twilight, and he heard her outside the house." Moondancer receded with an incredulous expression all the while.
"Yes." I responded.
Moondancer gave an exasperated sigh, holding up a hoof to her temple. "Sir, I hate to say this, but I like to think you were lying to me." She said, making me cringe internally as her tired eyes locked onto me. Why was I so scared of her? "But between the fig- stands and getting attacked twice by ponies who use them, I think your story isn't that far-fetched." She sighed, glancing at the stand named Baby Hotline next to her.
"You're seeming oddly calm for what I had told you." I said with a cocked eyebrow.
She chuckled weakly and dragged a foreleg out from under the covers, rolling up her sleeve to show the limb wrapped in bandages, making me inadvertently grimace. "Well, between the wounds I got, my lack of proper sleep, and the past few hours have me emotionally drained. I would probably be freaking out about you being in danger if I wasn't so tired." She chuckled, but then she frowned, and her ears splayed back with a sorrowful look. "Sorry if that last part offended you, sir." She replied.
I allowed a small smile to form on my muzzle as I placed a gentle hoof on her hind leg. I thought I heard a faint squeak equivalent to an excited rabbit coming from Moondancer but dismissed the noise as I looked at her flustered face. Is her fever heating up again?
"Moondancer, my assistant, you are fine." I said, seeing her relax at my words. "And yes, you have a general idea of my situation, give or take a few events."
"Still," Moondancer piped up, "You haven't explained why you left in the first place. Couldn't you have reported this to the guard? Or, at the very least, tell me about it?" She asked; the faintest sign of hurt in her eyes filled me with guilt. "Why did you have to lie to me, Pucci?"
"I…" I tried to speak, but my throat felt dry, and every excuse running through my head felt hollower than the last. She had a point. I should have told her about Dio days before all this happened. I could have warned her at the very least, but I had to run off and lie. "I didn't know what else to do then. The things Dio said. The things he could do. I became fearful and ran, having some half-baked idea of leading him away so he couldn't find you." And look how that turned out, "And the reason I didn't tell you is that…I don't want you getting involved, Moondancer."
I removed my hoof from her hind leg and laid back in my chair, a guilty look plastered on my face, hanging my head in shame. In truth, my assistant is a capable mare on her own, at least when it comes to working. But even if she does have her stand now, she and I do not know how to defend ourselves. In a fight, we would be on par with a foal clumsily waving its hooves in the air during a tantrum.
Ponies like Valiant have years of combat experience under their belts. If Dio managed to recruit a nut case like him to do his bidding, who knows what kinds of character he had managed to tame? Due to blind luck, I live another day after that fateful night.
And by the looks of Moondancer, she was in the same boat as well, if my theory is correct. No accident could warrant that amount of bandages. She didn't have broken bones or torn ligaments; she wouldn't be here if she did. Judging by the purple bruise I saw peaking out from her sweater's collar, it was most likely some form of beating, but either not bad enough to be bedridden, or she managed to run out of the way. Still, the sight of my injured assistant filled me with boundless rage at the bastard who caused it, but the overwhelming shame I felt snuffed out that rage into a smoking ember.
Looking back up, I saw Moondancer gazing at the bed sheets with mixed emotions. The best way I could describe it was a three-way tie between bitterness, contemplation, and uncertainty, all fighting for dominance upon her features.
Taking a deep breath, I coughed into my hoof, getting my assistant attention, "I do hope you can forgive me. But, if you don't mind, I want you to get some rest and have time to process everything. So can you tell me the reason for your visit, Moondancer?" I asked politely. It was a half-truth. She did need rest for her fever and time to think about her answer to all this. But a small part of me just wanted to get out; I could barely breathe with all the tension in the air.
Apparently, contemplation and uncertainty concluded their battle for supremacy in an alliance, then covered their future scheming with a smile that grew on Moondancer's muzzle. "Um- sure -I guess." She responded. "Well, It started after I got rejected from entering the castle…"
—-
Pucci (3rd person)
Everfree Forest, present…
A gust of frigid air passed over Pucci, shaking the nearby branches of a tree and blowing its leaves away, But it didn't faze the astronomer other than a subtle eye twitch. No matter what, there was absolutely nothing to stop the enraged stallion from reaching his goal: The castle of the two sisters.
After Pucci had diverted the conversation to Moondancer, it became apparent that was a mistake on his part. She went into great detail about the previous night. Going to the library after getting turned away by the guards, the lights in the library turning off suddenly, finding a mare named Poppy Vine injured, encountering a griffon named Godfree, then…running from his torment, and ending with her defeating Godfree. If Moondancer hadn't fended off the griffon, there'd be hell to pay and griffon blood running through the Canterlot streets. Just thinking of the squawking bastard made Pucci grind his teeth in anger.
Moondancer had been the first real friend Pucci had made, aside from her being his assistant. In the total of thirty-six years Pucci had been alive, not once had he made an actual friend; his relationships generally consisted of associates, family, or coworkers. She was exceptional, however. They'd met the first time when Moondancer applied for the job, but Pucci had turned her away from the position due to still being on the fence about having an assistant. But something in him wanted to be around this mare, so he simply invited her for coffee later that same day, and the rest was history. Moondancer wasn't overly-eccentric like Pinkie or as self-assertive as somepony like the element of loyalty; she reminded Pucci of his younger self, just more open and friendly.
It may be sad to some, pitiful even, but Pucci found it to be the most precious thing in his life, his friendship with his assistant. To have anything happen to her would mean losing something precious to him.
So when Moondancer repeated lines Godfree had spoken, it caught Pucci's vengeful attention. The griffon had mentioned a 'master' that had sent him to retrieve a shard of a metal arrow that Moondancer had. Later on, Godfree mentioned that a certain 'he' didn't inform him of Baby Hotline. Pucci didn't have concrete proof, but he had an idea of who this 'master' was.
The timing was too perfect. Dio had visited him the same night Moondancer was attacked by some senile mercenary. Two ponies, one that's a guard with a whole laundry list of brain issues and potentially one griffon with years of experience in the art of making poines disappear. Their backgrounds were too similar to overlook.
If it wasn't on purpose, then it sure was one hell of a coincidence.
In Pucci's eyes, however, it was apparent Dio had something to do with Moondancer's attack; he was sure of it. However, Dio did look surprised when Pucci name-dropped Moondancer by mistake, but he could've also faked his reaction. Even so, if Dio wanted to get precious things involved, then Pucci would gladly return the favor.
No amount of snow, wild creatures, oddly face-shaped trees, or scary noises emitting from the forest could wilt Pucci's desire to obtain that book Dio mentioned. It had been stated by the sly stallion that he needed it for his long-awaited plan of revenge, so it was precious.
After Pucci would nab the tome, it would immediately be brought to Twilight and, by extension, Celestia herself. If it was in the retired princess's old castle and somepony like Dio wanted it, it was probably a powerful artifact or ancient relic that leads to a powerful artifact that could be used to take over Equestria- for the billionth time by this point.
"GRRRRRRRRRR"
A menacing, guttural growl halted Pucci when it reached his ears, making him stop mid-step due to his body locking up in instinctual fear. The second he looked at the surrounding woods, multiple pairs of glowing green eyes flashed to life from the dark, circling him with hungered looks. Heavy stomps echoed in Pucci's ears despite the snow beneath being incapable of producing an effect, with more growls joining the mix.
"Shit, This isn't good." He muttered.
Soon the owners' of the foreboding noises revealed themselves to Pucci, the small amount of sunlight breaking through the dense canopy basking their rotting bark hides in a warm glow. Timberwolves: the most feared predator in the accursed forest. What they lacked in individual strength, they made up for it with their numbers and hunting tactics.
Pucci scoffed and eyed the wooden wolves as they began to circle the astronomer. Of course, he had the misfortune of running to a decently sized pack whilst on his travels, ten at the very least. "I knew this forest was too quiet- now I'm paying for my carelessness." Looking at his back, Pucci grimaced before quickly turning back to the Timberwolves, one of the earthy mutts snapping at him. "With the current supplies I have on me, I won't get far before they catch up." He darkly said.
A snarl from behind alerted Pucci in time to see one of the beasts pouncing at him, sap lines and droplets flying out of its open maw of jagged wood. Just before Pucci or the Timberwolf could react, Made in Heaven manifested in the middle of the two. It threw its right hoof forward and decked the wooden creature in the side of the snout, electing a pained yelp from the beast as it flew into a tree, shattering its bark on impact. The suddenness of the event shocked every creature involved; the remaining Timberwolves that had been circling Pucci jumped back in surprise as the astronomer looked at the remains of his unfortunate attacker. To his surprise, Pucci watched in amazement as the wood of the deceased Timberwolf crumbled into a pile of lumber and turned to ash, a gust of wind blowing away what was left.
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to overthink what had transpired as more growls reached his ears. Switching his attention back onto the others, Pucci saw the rest of the Timberwolves snarling and growling at him with equal parts hunger and hatred.
"I get the message," He muttered, taking off his stuffed back and having Made in Heaven join his side. "Doesn't mean I like it." If he wanted to reach the ruined castle, then he'll need to fight.
Puffs of air passed through Pucc's lips, his eyes shifting nervously between each lumber mongrel that crouched, ready to pounce at any moment. You could practically hear a pin drop with the tense silence encompassing the area. Pucci was in no way skittish to dangerous concepts or creatures by any means, but he wasn't incompetent towards the harm a single Timberwolf could do, much less nine of them.
"2…3…5…7" Pucci began to count, one of his many ways of clearing his mind during stressful times. If he remembered correctly, a pack of Timberwolves started their assault by attacking their prey from the back to catch it off guard.
Sure enough, Pucci picked up the crunching of snow behind him and whirled around, Made in Heaven with its hoof cocked back, to face a charging Timberwolf. Made in heaven got to work and uppercut the Timberwolf off its front paws, then landed three more blows to the chest, toppling the beast over and watching it land in the snow. Like before, the beast crumbled to a pile of bark and faded to dust, the wooden beast crying in pain all the while.
Two more Timberwolves broke off from the circle in hopes of killing the pony quicker, but Pucci saw it coming and grabbed his bag with his teeth. In one swift motion, Pucci swung the heavy bag with a grunt at the first Timberwolf to his left, hitting it in the face and slamming the bag and wolf into the snow, then ducking and letting the second Timberwolf fly over him. Before the second Wolf could turn around, the first one had recovered from the attack but was immediately knocked away by Made in Heaven bucking it into the second Timberwolf, tumbling both to the ground. As the first Timberwolf crumbled to dust, the second got back up, turned to him, and charged once more at the astronomer. Stunned by the second Timberwolf's survival, Pucci only managed to raise his bag in time to block a slash from the Timberwolf's razor-sharp claws, creating three long cuts on its side.
With the placement of the three cuts, the bag tore at the seams, eventually spilling items onto the snow. Stone chisels, maps, snacks, water bottles, bandages, and other items littered the ground, making Pucci growl in annoyance. But there were other things to worry about than spilled milk, so to speak.
Luckily, Made in Heaven tackled a pouncing Timberwolf away, snapping Pucci out of his stupor. Surveying the remaining Timberwolves, Pucci grimaced at the sight of only eight of the wooden wolves, one of them being the one he injured. "This is taking too long. It shouldn't be-" Before Pucci could finish his thought, pairs of Timberwolf eyes appeared in the surrounding darkness, quickly growing in number by the second. By the time they stopped, about thirty pairs of Timberwolf eyes were peering at the astronomer. A pit of dread opened up in Pucci's stomach; the snouts of the already-revealed Timberwolves looked to be smirking at his fear.
Like his father said a long time ago: sometimes a stallion needs to know when to give up.
"Fuck this." Pucci said.
Without warning, he charged at the Timberwolves before him in a panic, the number of which grew as more of them stepped from the darkness to block his path, ready to tear him to bloody shreds. What they weren't prepared for, however, was a multi-colored light surrounding him and distorting his body, then seemingly blinking out of existence with a vibrating base-like noise.
watch?v=FuM8GpMc59M
They looked confused: where could have that little pony gone? The Timberwolves then turned around at the sound of distant, running hooves to see that their prey had somehow passed them and was now running away!
After a few seconds of shocked silence, their instincts kicked in, and they all chased after the pony, roaring, howling, and snarling all the while.
Over with Pucci…
"SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT" Pucci screamed as he dodged branches and large stones. Pucci didn't know what in Tarturas just happened, but he took it and- quite literally -ran with it. He cursed himself for his laziness; why did he not choose the path to the castle?! There was no point in going the way he was going, even if it was a shortcut.
Pucci narrowly avoided getting his hind leg bitten off by a Timberwolf snapping at him, only to conclude in the wolf getting punched into the ground by Made in Heaven. The hoard of the wooden mutts trailing Pucci barked and howled in blood-thirsty excitement, having fun tormenting their prey. But Pucci didn't back down. He picked up his speed, which was faster due to his absent bag, and watched out for any Timberwolves coming at him and an opening in the trees. There wasn't that much ground left to cover, then these wolves-
"Argh!" Pucci cried out, a searing pain shooting through his flank as he felt bits of sharp wood stabbed into his flesh. Glancing back, a young Timberwolf had latched onto his flank like a parasite, growling and trying to thrash its head side to side to bring down the grow stallion. "You little shit!" Pucci yelled before having Made in Heaven slap the young pup off him.
The pup yelped as his form fell and was left in the metaphorical dust as Pucci continued running, blood pouring out of his wound. Ignoring the pain in his flank, Pucci's eyes widened as the clearing in the middle of the trees shined bright light at him. He was in the home stretch now, and he couldn't flatter! So, Looking every which way he could, Pucci smirked as he saw a large damaged tree ahead, split down the middle, likely caused by a lightning strike.
Pucci drowned out the sound of the advancing Timberwolf pack that were inching ever so closer to the injured pony. When the damaged tree was at the right distance, Made in heaven, who floated behind Pucci the whole time, went ahead of Pucci and laid into the tree's base with its hooves.
Bits of rotted bark and wood chips sprayed decorated the snow around the tree as Made in heaven switched between left and right hooks, practically erasing an inch of the tree's base with every punch. Eventually, there was little left of the tree base, causing it to tilt and fall to the side with a crack and rustling sound. And due to the spot Made in Heaven punched the tree, the now dead trunk was about to block his path. Pucci did not waver, however. Narrowing his eyes and getting low, he continued to run with fear and determination coursing in his veins.
With a mighty roar, Pucci flung himself to the left and went into a slide, the snow under him making his slide faster than it would be on dirt and grass.
Since the unnatural weather in the Everfree forest rains quite often, it's generally a more humid and dank environment compared to places like Ponyville. So when that same unnatural weather starts to drop the temperature, the forest floor is covered in more ice than snow or, more accurately, something in between snow and ice. So while the snow in the Everfree can be molded and melted like normal snow, it's more dense and solid than its pegasi-made counterpart.
So using the semi-solid surface, Pucci successfully slid past the falling tree and missed getting crushed by mere centimeters before it slammed into the ground behind him with an echoing thud. The following sounds of pain cries and breaking wood made Pucci smile triumphantly as his momentum came to a stop, the distance of the opening not too far from his position.
But his momentary victory didn't last long as the other timberwolves went around the fallen tree and rushed the prone stallion.
Cursing under his breath, Pucci quickly got to his hooves and ran until he finally passed the opening in the forest. Once the castle of the two sisters came into view, it was no wonder how the abandoned palace began a Ponyville tourist trap in recent years. It had looked the way it had for years now, with barely any roof covering the majority of the building besides the two towers standing on either side. The only thing he found unfortunate about the palace is that it rested on its own piece of land…separated by an over one hundred meters wide cavern that was most certainly deep enough to kill him if he fell.
And bad luck strikes again, as Pucci spotted the newly constructed stone bridge to the castle on his right, but it was too far away for him to reach it in time. The Timberwolves were quickly covering distance and were less than fifty meters away from the bleeding stallion. Pucci thought about taking the risk and going for the stone bridge, but taking a single step caused his flank to flare in pain.
The adrenaline Pucci had before was starting to wear off, and the Timberwolves were now forty meters away. There was only one option he had left.
"This is such a bad idea." Pucci groaned. Taking a few steps back, he took a deep breath and tightened the muscles in his legs. When the howls and growls of the Timberwolves became louder, Pucci kicked off the ground and dashed to the edge of the cavern.
No more than a meter away, Pucci jumped forward and landed inches away from the edge and gave one Olympic jump, sending himself soaring through the air. Everything went into slow-motion for Pucci. The wind blew through his mane, the feeling of gravity nonexistent to him, and a smile grew on his muzzle at his successful escape. That was all until reality came back to him, and he found out that he did not, in fact, make the jump- missing it by two pony lengths.
As gravity betrayed the astronomer and began to push him toward the dark abyss below, Pucci let out a terrified screen and flailed his limbs in a panic, not caring for his injured flank. In a desperate attempt not to become a red splatter on the cavern's rocky bottom, Pucci had Made in Heaven close the distance between him and the edge. Grabbing a hollowed-out section in the cliff face, Made in heave spun the rest of his body to face Pucci, holding its other hoof out to his master. Pucci didn't need to be told twice what to do and instantly had his right hoof clutch his stands, wincing as his shoulder nearly popped out of its socket from his sudden stop.
Taking a moment to breathe, Pucci remained dangling by his stands hoof, looking at the dark abyss below him where he saw jagged and pointed rockets at the bottom. "Why does every naturally deep pit need jagged rocks at the bottom?" He rhetorically asked himself. "Whatever, I doubt the Timberwolves would like to come down here and join me." He joked.
With a grunt, Pucci had Made in Heaven toss him up to where he could replace the stand gripping the hollowed section of the cliff face, Made in Heaven disappearing back into his body. Climbing up the dirt wall was challenging for the astronomer mainly because he'd never climbed something like this before, and his bleeding flank constantly complained to him every time his hind leg moved.
Eventually, Pucci reached the top, and after a final exhausted wheeze, he threw himself onto the snowy surface of the castle's section of land. "Note to self: never come into this accursed place again." He grumbled.
Pucci pushed himself off the ground and dusted off the snow stuck to his coat. And the growls far off behind him made Pucci spin around to see the Timberwolves who had chased him now barking at him uselessly. Giving the pony equivalent of a 'fuck you', which involved pumping half a foreleg up in the air and having the other wrap around it, he got off his rump and headed to the castle entrance.
"Alright, Dio, let's see what you wanted so badly." Pucci smirked.