> Slugcat Parents > by Meicrackmon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight had spent all night staying up studying a new teleportation spell. She got help from Starlight Glimmer to complete it but even after activating, it failed. She was frustrated and decided to take a small night time stroll around Ponyville. That's when she saw two strange creatures. One was the size of Rarity's pet, Opal and was a dark red with cyan eyes. The other one rode on its back and was half the size of the other. It was black with white eyes. Twilight decided to get closer to examine them, brimming with excitement at a possible new species to investigate. She watched as it walked on two legs and occasionally crawled on four. As she got closer the small one jumped down and grabbed a rock and brought it back. They seem to have different things at the end of their legs that allow them to grab things with. Twilight watched as the two seemed to play catch. Suddenly the big one noticed Twilight. As a result the rock hit the big one with a thunk. It was unfazed and just stared at Twilight. "Hello the-" Twilight began to speak but the said creature threw the rock at her, it landed at her hooves and let out a low pitched "Waaa". Twilight picked it up and tossed it back but it simply dodged out the way. She figured it was trying to tell her to stay. It grabbed the small one by what twilight decided to call hands and it started running. She wanted to chase after it but it was getting really late. I took my pup by the hand and ran. I didn't think that the huge thing would throw the rock back. It looked like a rain deer except smaller and without those things on its head. "Mom, the rock!" "We can't go back for it Naibyn. That thing could be dangerous." "But the rock..." "I'll find you another one ok Naibyn?" Naibyn climbs on my back. "Ok. Can you get me some batflies too?" "If there are any here I will." We eventually arrive at our current shelter. "Now wait here for me ok?" He nods and lays down to sleep. I venture back out to look for some food. It was really dark but the strangest thing was that I couldn't sense the rain. I cautiously approach the area that I'll call a town. I can sense some more things here but no lizards. The rain deer wasn't there anymore so I grabbed the rock and looked around. I looked through one of the structures windows because I felt like something was watching me. With nothing there I continued looking. Then I heard a squeak behind me. When I looked I saw a round and brightly colored thing with huge eyes and four wings. It looked at me and it floated into my hands. I thought to myself... 'Perfect! Food!. Then proceeded to squeeze it a bit until it stopped moving. It isn't exactly a batfly but it should make Naibyn happy. I really hope there are some foods from my original home here. Everything seems so new. I return to Naibyn without issue. He's still asleep so I threw the weird batfly onto the floor and closed the shelter. I curled around Naibyn and fell asleep. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Luna was overseeing all the ponies dreams when she found a few new souls. Some were dangerous and single minded. Those seemed like mindless animals. Then there were two specific ones. These two dreamt together. They showed a mother and son relationship. The thing that worried her about them were that they were omnivores. But their small size put her at ease. But what she found strange was the environment they were dreaming of. It in ruins and no pony was ever in any areas. The mother let out a low pitched squeak then growled as she took the son by the hand and began running. The princess watched curiously as they hurried somewhere when suddenly in their dream, the ground started shaking and thundering filled the air. Then rain fell suddenly and hard, hard enough to knock the mother down as it poured. It got up and continued quickly till it arrived at a tunnel. they climbed into it and it sealed shut behind them. She wanted to learn more about them but the sun was already rising. I woke up to Naibyn jumping on me. "Mama! What's this thing?" He asked excitedly holding the weird batfly I found. "Not sure hun but its edible. So eat." "What about you?" "I'll find food later." I said to him. It's strange. We didn't hibernate for more than a day. Maybe its because there wasn't any rain. Sometimes there is food around Rain deers. Maybe it will be good to go to the town. I need to find a stable source of food. After awhile of thinking I decided I would go. "Naibyn we're going back to the place the rain deer was at." Naibyn finished the last bite of the strange creature I caught and picked up the rock. "Can I bring this?" "Sure thing but don't get off while we are looking around unless I say so, ok?" "Ok mom." I gave Naibyn a lick on his head before picking him up and placing him on my back. I head out and stick to the high ground incase there are some predators on the ground. When we arrive I see a bunch of weird rain deers walking around. I was very nervous but since the rain deers I know aren't aggressive, I go in and wander around. They seem to generally avoid us but continue starring. It sounds like they can talk. I can hear them whisper every now and then. There was a spear in the ground so I picked it up and took it with me. "Are ya sure it wasn't opal? Maybe she got out." "I'm telling you AppleJack, It wasn't! It was a dark red and walked on two legs! It has to be a new species!" Twilight said excitedly. Twilight walked with AppleJack down the street as they headed to sugarcube corner. Pinkie was helping out Mr. and Mrs. Cake with making sweets. The second they walked in pinkie shoves a cupcake in both of their mouths. "Its a new flavor! Whatcha think? huh? huh? Is it good?" both ponies finished the cupcakes. "It's very good Pinkie. What did you use for this new recipe?" "A few melted rock candies then this and that, then boom! A new cupcake was made!" "Princess Twilight!" A random pony came in. "Princess, there's two strange creatures walking the streets of Ponyville!" "See Applejack, they're real!" Twilight said excitedly as she ran out. They came to the creatures which were jumping from window sill to window sill. Everypony watched as the larger one occasionally sniffs at the plants on them. But it was holding a sharpened stick. That was a little concerning but otherwise seemed to be causing no harm. Twilight observed how it moved and occasionally crouched to make a larger jump. The one on its head was fidgeting with a rock. It seemed to notice Twilight and Applejack looking closely at them but continued on its way. They followed it back to sugar cube corner where it looked at the sweets on the sills. Rainbow Dash flew in. "Whats up guys? What are you looking at?" the creature got startled and almost fell of the window sill. "Woah! What is that?" She reached out to try and touch it. The creature tightened its grip on its spear and let out a soft squeak. "Rainbow Dash wait!" > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Rainbow Dash wait!" Twilight called out She was worried that the creature would hurt her with the pointed stick. Even so, she assumed the most it could do was poke her. "Quit worrying so much Twi. This smol thing has gotta be harmless." Rainbow Dash said as her hoof touched its head. "Wow. It feels... Weird." She said as she pet it. The creature was visibly nervous but relaxed a little. It still eyed her with caution. The other two ponies joined in on the petting. "You're right... It feels smooth and a little slimy..." Applejack said. "Its skin is soft and squishy like its a membrane or something. I'm thinking of calling it a Scug for now. What do you girls think?" Twilight asked. The other two nodded in agreement. Applejack reached out to the smaller one and the larger scug reacting violently. It attempted to jab her arm with the sharpened stick but she reacted quick and pulled back and so did the other two. "What's your deal? Trying to pick a fight?" Rainbow Dash says throwing practice punches. The Scug just stared at her. "Calm down Rainbow Dash. I think it's just protecting the smaller one. It was my fault. They didn't look like they wanted to be touched in the first place." They looked back to the scugs and the larger one was breathing a bit fast. "Hello!" Pinky suddenly appeared with some cupcakes. The Scugs let out a surprised squeak and looked absolutely terrified. She looks at the scugs and squeals, "Oooh! New friends! So cute too!" Pinky reached for the small one. "Hold it partner. The big Scug doesn't like it when we try to touch the small one." "Well I got cupcakes! Everypony likes cupcakes." She puts the cupcake on the window sill next to them. They watch as the big one gets closer to it and gives it a few cautious sniffs. It took a bite out of it and the scugs face scrunched up as it spat it out. Pinkiepie deflated a bit. "Maybe it was too sweet for them pinkie." Twilight says patting her on the back. "Oh right, we have a scheduled rain today." Rainbow said. The Scugs looked up the second Rainbow Dash said rain. It closed its eyes for a bit before opening and looking at Rainbow Dash skeptically. "Do you have a problem?" Rainbow asked getting in the scugs face a little. It huffed and turned away. "Wha?" Rainbow said dumfounded. "These little guys seem really smart." Twilight said writing in some parchment. The ponies followed the Scugs as they continued exploring the town. During this most of the ponies went on their way but twilight continued to follow. It would occasionally stop at stands to sniff at their product. The Scugs posture straightened as it looked up and began sniffing and then bounded off to a stand excitedly. They went to a stand with fish. The pony at the stand offered a small one and the scug eagerly grabbed it. She fed the smaller one first which ate it all. The scugs went to an apple stand and ate one. Twilight wrote down they're omnivores. Twilight saw the clouds being moved in and sighed. She decided that she would follow the scugs for a little while longer. Her following eventually led to them arriving at the crystal castle she lived in. Then it started to rain. The larger scug looked up once its muzzle got touched by rain water. Twilight saw the scugs eyes become filled with panic. They ran inside the castle and went to a small hole in the wall. The bigger one left its pup by the entrance as it looked around. twilight saw this as a prime opportunity to touch the smaller one. I had left to get something to plug the hole and found a big piece of cloth. When I returned I saw the smaller raindeer reaching to my pup and I threw my spear at the foot reaching out. I watched as it pulled back and the spear lodging itself into the walls while making it crack a little. It looked at me with surprise and backed away. I took my pups hand and went inside the hole in the wall. I pluged the hole and then laid down with Naibyn. He played with his rock as I went to sleep. > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wake up to Naibyn nibbling on my ear in his sleep. It takes some effort, but I manage to pry him off my head and place him on the ground carefully so I didn't wake him. I peaked my head out the shelter and left once I confirmed there wasn't any danger. The fruit I saw yesterday should be filling enough for the two of us. I head off towards the town and explore a little more and look for the fruit. On my way I found another spear and it was made of metal this time so I put it on my back as I continued. When I arrived the Raindeer residents seemed to be more comfortable around me and mostly don't pay attention. As I continue to look for the food, a yellow Raindeer approaches me. "Hello there!" She seems excited to meet me and she oddly makes me feel calm. She reached to pet me and I nuzzled into her hoof. "Hi. My name is Nightshade." "Hello Nightshade. I'm Fluttershy and you're adorable." She says lifting me up. "You can understand me?" She nods and boops my nose. "Fluttershy I found some kind of fruit yesterday and it was really tasty! Do you know where it is? It was red and had a stem in the middle." "Oh, you mean apples. I can show you where they are if you want me to." "Yes please." I wiggle from her grasp and climb atop her head. I hold on to the fur on her neck since there are no antlers. "Ok, hold on tight." She says as she starts to fly. "I didn't know Raindeers could fly!" I say holding on tightly until she suddenly stops and I end up falling off. I prepare to roll but she catches me and holds me close to her chest. I can hear her heart beat. Its a little fast. "Oh, I'm so sorry about that, are you ok?" "Yes. Now for this apple!" We arrive at the same place I was yesterday. She picks up an apple and gives it to me. I eat half of it and get filled. "Tastes really good. Naibyn will probably eat the rest." "Naibyn?" "My pup." "You have a child?!" She seemed over excited about that. "Y-yes...?" "Can I please meet them?" "Yes but no touching." I said with a warning tone. "I promise I won't hurt them." "... Ok but I'm gonna hold onto him." She carries me to the shelter where I'm staying and I get Naibyn. "Momma I'm hungry." "Don't worry I got you an apple." "Apple?" "Yeah kiddo its a new type of fruit. you had some yesterday." He seems excited when I hand it to him and ate it. "I want you to meet Fluttershy." he follows me outside. Twilight came in to the castle and saw Fluttershy petting the scug pup and the scug holding onto him. The older one occasionally grabbed her hoof to be petted too. "The Scugs letting you pet her pup?" "Scug?" She asked them. They responded with a few squeaks. "They say they're called Slug Cats Twilight." The slugcats continued to pull at her hooves for petting. "Really? I have to update my notes then." She said scratching her head. She also reaches for the small pup but the larger slug cat just smacks her hoof. "Why wont she let me pet him?" she says deflated. "I'll be in the library. "Bring you an apple? Ok sure thing Nightshade." Once Fluttershy returns with another apple I thank her and decide to sleep early. I hold on to Naibyn tightly as I drift to sleep and he nuzzles under my neck. I wake up in the morning with Naibyn not next to me and I began to panic. I ran out and look everywhere while hyperventilating. I spread some of my nitroglycerin spit onto my spear and wrap a red cloth around it, then I grab a piece of rubble and continue searching. "Um. Twilight, what are you doing?" Starlight asks. "Rainbow Dash said there was another rain day scheduled. So I want to find out why the Slug Cats are scared of rain. So I put the small one in a cage." "Thats... A little extreme don't you think?" "They'll be fine Starlight." They watches as the small one jumped everywhere and tried biting the cage and hyperventilate. "Twilight-" "They're fine." They watched as he eventually calmed down. He eventually noticed the rain wasn't falling hard or flooding quickly and let the rain fall into its open mouth. He then started to panic again and began letting out loud and high pitched 'waaa's and screeches. Then they saw a big red lizard approach the cage. It lets out a chilling hiss and growl as the slug pup backs away. "Twilight!" "Yeah now its gotten dangerous. Don't worry I'll use my magic to rescue him." Before Twilight could do anything a piece of rebar imbedded itself in the lizard and blew up after it made some crackling noises. They saw the mother slug cat come in with another piece of rebar with red cloth. It spat out a red orb and the red lizard rapidly charged at them. It threw the red orb and when it made contact, it exploded. The red lizard was blown onto its back and the slug cat threw another explosive piece of rebar into it. Nightshade grabbed another red orb and rushed for another piece of rebar but the lizard bit into them. They watched as Nightshade cried out and smashed the red orb onto the lizard. They both fly away from each other but Nightshade's eye was burnt and scratched now and she was bleeding from her midsection where she was bit. Nightshade threw the last piece of rebar at the lizard and it impaled it causing the red lizard ran away. Twilight immediately ran out, "Are you o-" Nightshade threw another piece of rebar and Starlight managed to put up a barrier in time. The rebar still broke partly through it. They both backed up back inside the building. I regain my breath and wince as I feel the red lizards poison running through me. I manage to get the cage open. "C'mon Naibyn." I say already exhausted from the poison. "Lets go home." Naibyn doesn't say anything and just listens. I breath heavily as I start to leave. Fluttershy approaches me. "A-are you ok?" I sigh and almost collapse. "N-No. Please take me to your shelter. I need somewhere safe to stay. Please." Fluttershy nods and picks me up to cradle Naibyn and I as she goes to her shelter. I pass out.