Really Bizarre

Chapter 4

The darkness of the previous night seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye. One moment Luke was staring cautiously beyond the warm glow of his fire, listening to the distant noises hidden deep within the forest, and the next, sunlight was pressing against his closed eyes. The warmth of the morning drifted across his fur alongside the cool breeze rolling in from the nearby river. For a brief moment, he remained still, half-asleep, enjoying the rare comfort he had managed to create for himself out in the wilderness.

Then he heard it.

A strange noise echoed through the trees.

Luke’s eyes snapped open instantly.

The last traces of sleep vanished from his body as his ears twitched toward the sound. Something was moving through the forest nearby. Branches shifted. Leaves rustled violently for a second before growing quiet again.

Without even thinking about it, Luke shot up from the ground and quickly dove into a nearby bush.

The movement happened so naturally that it actually surprised him.

“…I didn’t even know that bush was there,” he whispered quietly.

But his body had known.

After spending almost an entire day hiding from dangerous creatures, sneaking through unfamiliar woods, and avoiding becoming something’s next meal, his instincts had apparently adapted faster than his mind had. Luke crouched low inside the bush while his heart pounded loudly in his chest.

Slowly, he blinked several times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the bright morning light filtering through the trees. Thin beams of sunlight pierced through the forest canopy above, illuminating patches of grass and flowers scattered around the area. Everything looked deceptively peaceful.

The strange sound came again.

Luke froze.

“…Please don’t be another giant monster…”

At first, he assumed it was probably another dangerous animal like the ones he encountered yesterday. That thought alone was enough to keep him perfectly still inside the bush. He lowered himself closer to the ground and waited patiently, hoping whatever creature it was would simply pass through the area and leave him alone.

Minutes passed slowly.

Luke remained motionless the entire time.

Eventually, after what felt like nearly ten minutes, the source of the noise finally emerged from the forest.

The creature looked… bizarre.

It resembled a chicken somewhat, at least enough for Luke to make the comparison, but only if someone had taken a normal chicken and stitched random nightmare fuel onto it afterward. Its body was covered in feathers, but behind it trailed a long snake-like tail that slithered against the ground. Its eyes glowed with a deep unsettling red, constantly darting around the environment as if searching for danger.

“…What the hell is that thing…” Luke whispered.

The creature stepped cautiously into the clearing near the river, looked around nervously for a few seconds, and then suddenly spread its wings before flying off into the sky.

Luke stared after it.

“…Okay…”

He slowly let out the breath he had been holding.

“…At least it didn’t want to eat me.”

Relief washed over him briefly, but the feeling didn’t last long.

Something about the creature’s behavior bothered him.

Luke frowned.

“Wait…”

The more he thought about it, the stranger the situation became. Up until now, almost every animal he encountered in this world behaved aggressively or carried itself like a predator. But this one…

It had looked scared.

Not cautious.

Scared.

Luke slowly lowered himself back down deeper into the bush.

“…Why did it run away?”

The expression on the creature’s face before it flew off lingered in his mind. It hadn’t fled from him. It had been fleeing from something else.

Something nearby.

Luke’s ears twitched again when he heard another sound approaching from deeper within the forest.

Footsteps.

They were faint at first, but steadily grew louder as they approached his hiding spot. Every crunch of leaves made Luke’s anxiety climb higher and higher. His muscles tightened instinctively while he pressed himself lower against the ground.

“…Please keep walking… please keep walking…”

The footsteps stopped.

Right in front of the bush.

Luke’s breathing nearly stopped alongside them.

He held perfectly still, afraid that even the slightest movement would give him away. For a few terrifying seconds, the forest became completely silent.

Then he heard voices.

“I thought you said a pony was out here?” a female voice asked, her tone carrying obvious annoyance.

Luke blinked.

A talking animal?

“There is a pony out here,” another female voice replied calmly. Unlike the first voice, this one sounded refined and composed, almost elegant. “But the forest is interfering with my magic, so finding her is going to take far longer than expected.”

“Great,” the other voice snapped irritably.

The moment Luke realized the creatures speaking were capable of actual conversation, some of the fear gripping him immediately faded away. None of the animals he encountered yesterday had been intelligent enough to speak.

But something else from their conversation hit him much harder.

Pony.

They had called him a pony.

Luke’s eyes widened slightly inside the bush.

“…Pony?”

Until now, he had simply assumed he was some strange horse creature in another world. But hearing the word “pony” suddenly made several things click together in his mind at once.

His smaller size.

The cartoon-like appearance of the dead horse from yesterday.

The brightly colored fur.

The proportions.

“…I’m not a horse?”

The realization made far more sense than he wanted to admit.

Slowly, curiosity began overtaking his fear. Luke carefully shifted forward through the bush, quietly peeking through the leaves toward the owners of the voices outside.

The first thing he saw were hooves.

Then legs.

And finally—

Ponies.

Actual ponies.

Luke stared silently.

They looked almost unreal standing there in the morning sunlight. Both of them had brightly colored coats and large expressive eyes that seemed far too big for their faces. Their bodies looked strangely soft and rounded, almost cartoonish in appearance, like something drawn in an animated children’s show rather than real living creatures.

Yet they were real.

Very real.

One of the ponies had a rougher appearance and posture, carrying herself with a kind of wild confidence. The other stood more gracefully, her posture neat and composed.

“…So they really are ponies…”

But one question still lingered in Luke’s mind.

Why were they looking for him?

The two ponies continued pacing around nearby while talking quietly to each other. Unfortunately for Luke, all the movement was beginning to kick loose dirt and pollen into the air around the bush.

Luke’s nose twitched.

“…No…”

His eyes widened slightly.

“…No no no—”

He tried desperately to hold it in.

Failed.

“Ah-choo!”

The sneeze exploded out of him far louder than he intended.

Silence immediately followed.

Luke slowly lowered his ears.

“…Well… crap.”

Outside the bush, the two ponies turned toward each other before slowly directing their attention toward Luke’s hiding place.

“There,” the refined voice said immediately.

The sound of hooves approaching made Luke panic. He quickly looked around for another nearby bush to escape into, but before he could move, sunlight suddenly poured into his hiding spot as branches were gently pushed aside.

Luke froze.

Towering over him were two pastel-colored ponies.

“There they are,” the more refined-sounding pony said with visible relief.

“You really should’ve made a map beforehand,” the raspy-voiced pony replied with irritation.

Luke stared up at them silently for several long seconds.

Seeing them clearly up close only made the situation feel more surreal. Their eyes were huge, taking up a large portion of their faces, filled with an almost exaggerated amount of expression. Their cheeks looked soft, their mouths strangely closer to human expressions than actual horses, and their proportions looked like something straight out of a cartoon.

His gaze drifted lower.

Symbols.

Both ponies had strange colorful images on their hind legs.

“What…?”

Luke had been so distracted trying to survive yesterday that he hadn’t paid attention to details like this before.

The refined pony tilted her head slightly.

“You okay, kid?”

Luke immediately snapped out of his thoughts.

“Y-Yes,” he answered quickly while instinctively backing away from them.

The two ponies exchanged confused looks.

Luke continued staring at them cautiously while slowly moving backward. The amount of attention focused on him made him feel weirdly vulnerable, almost like a child getting caught doing something wrong.

Up close, the two ponies looked even stranger.

And somehow…

Kind of cute.

Luke blinked.

“…Why am I thinking that?”

Despite how bizarre their appearance was, there was something undeniably soft and approachable about them. Their oversized eyes and expressive faces made them feel strangely less threatening than most creatures he encountered in this world.

Still weird.

Very weird.

But not immediately dangerous.

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