Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 25: 25. Horsing Around

Read chapter 25 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

25. Horsing Around I am Huckleberry, and I am very bored. And hungry. Very, very hungry. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/6d8f5711-309d-434c-90d3-af9251006fd2 The Heavy One and the One Who Smells Like Flowers have done it again. They have tied me to a thing and left me. Again. Very rude. They do this all the time. I watch them disappear down the rocky canyon, flicking my ears in mild annoyance. Beside me, Buttercup stands too still, all calm and patient like a horse with no opinions. I, however, have many. I paw at the ground and swish my tail dramatically. " Why do they always do this?" I wonder, staring after them. "Why come here at all? Nothing good to eat. No good smells. Just rocks. Rocks are the worst. Rocks are not food." This is a terrible place. It does not take long for boredom to set in. First, I eat all the grass within reach. This lasts only a few short minutes because there is hardly any grass to begin with. And, of course, Buttercup is eating it too. Very inconsiderate. Then, I decide to entertain myself by nipping Buttercup's tail and quickly looking away. The first few times, Buttercup responds with an angry grunt and a scathing look. But by the fourth time— SMACK. Ouch. Buttercup kicks me in the shoulder. Very rude. Buttercup is no fun. With no tail-nipping entertainment available, I look for something else to cure my boredom. My eyes land on the sad excuse of a tree I am tied to. I give it an experimental nibble. Crunchy. No flavor. I eat it anyway. Buttercup watches in silent frustration as I eat all the leaves. Then the smaller branches. Then the bark. It is very dry. Very dusty. Not good. But I keep going. Eventually, half the tree is gone. Then, due to my superior power of observation, I notice something important. I am no longer tied to anything. I stare at my reins for a moment, ears twitching, still chewing. Then the realization hits. I am free . No ropes. No restrictions. I can do anything. Anything at all. And right now? Right now, I want that flower over there. I march toward it with great purpose. The flower is delicious. But maybe the one over there is even better. And the one over there? Even betterer than that! The further the flowers, the tastier they must be. That is just how it works. I munch happily, completely lost in my very important task of taste-testing the local flora. Then— "OUCH!" My grand adventure is rudely interrupted by a sharp nip from Buttercup. So rude. What kind of horse nips a mare's tail like that? I blink, looking up from my latest flower conquest. This place is… Not where I was before. Not the unfamiliar place I had been tied up at. No, this is a completely different unfamiliar place. I look at Buttercup. Buttercup looks at me. Buttercup does not look impressed. I flick my ears. How did we get here? … I do not know. But I do know one thing. There are more flowers even further away. I am not going to be dissuaded by Buttercup's bad attitude. She could snort and grunt all she wanted. She could nip if she felt bold. But I am undaunted. The flowers were delicious. I continue my very important mission, sampling all the tasty, colorful plants. I was doing a great job. A fantastic job, really. And yet… Somewhere in the back of my mind, between mouthfuls of delicious petals, I had the nagging feeling that I was forgetting something. Something… important. Something the Heavy One needed me to do? Hmm. Oh well. If it was important, it would come back to me. I was too busy. But then— The Smell. Something even better than flowers drifted toward me on the wind. Something rich. Savory. Delicious. Flowers? Forget the flowers. I have a new mission. A noble quest. To identify and claim this holy grail of… …what I assume is food. It must be food. It smells too good not to be food. It is my destiny. With ears perked high, I trot off toward the glorious scent, my nose twitching with excitement. Buttercup sighs. Then, after a moment, follows me. Before long, the sour