Don't Starve Miss Sparkle

         The rabbits dived for cover as the pink menace dashed through the forest trail that had, seconds before been so peaceful. “Oh, that looks tasty!” Pinkie exclaimed, halting next to a small sprout of green leaves which she uprooted with her teeth to reveal a bright orange carrot. twisting her neck she tossed it into the back pack she had cleverly woven from some long grass, along with the other various food items and plants she had collected since leaving Fluttershy.

“Alrighty then,” Pinkie began, surveying her horde. While she would admit to not knowing the first thing about medicine, she could recall a few odd statements exchanged between Rarity and Fluttershy during one of the rare spa visits Pinkie had attended. Hence she had a good idea that herbal remedies could be made from all kinds of flowers and herbs, the carrots and berries were just for when she got snacky.

With this in mind she stared in utter confusion at the assortment of items, baffled at how these could possibly help Fluttershy. Finally shrugging and accepting her own lack of understanding, she decided it would be best to carry on gathering and let Fluttershy decide what to do with it all when she returned. Closing over her backpack she carried on her way, but not before waving goodbye to the bunnies poking their noses out of their burrows to see if the coast was clear.

Humming a little tune, she hopped down the trail, only vaguely aware of the lack of harvestable plants the further she walked. It had also grown increasingly dark, which she was sure wasn’t due to the sun which she had noted had only begun its descent in the sky. Not worried in the slightest she kept going, sure she would emerge from this dark section soon and discover an abundance of plants, then she would go back to Fluttershy and then…

Pinkie’s inner monologue came to a screeching halt as her hooves planted firmly on the ground and remained stuck there. Curious, she looked down to see the forest floor, until recently blanketed in pine needles, was now covered in a thick, pale substance. She tried moving her hooves, and while the substance gave slightly it continued to be stubbornly sticky. Pinkie recalled a time her Granny Pie had warned her to ‘look before she leapt’; the memory caused her to giggle slightly despite the situation she was in.

As troublesome as this was, Pinkie was not dismayed. Looking around, she scanned the area for something that might aid her in getting unstuck, which resulted in her eyes falling on something not too far away. It was difficult to make out in the low light, but it appeared to be some mound, crafted from the same sticky material she was standing on, what was more, it appeared to be quivering.

Eyes wide with childlike curiosity, she leaned in as far as she could, being stuck to the ground, examining the egg shaped object. As she did she began to hear a faint clicking noise, lots of them. Bolstering her courage she called out in the warmest tone she could muster, “Hello? Is there anything in there? I’m a little stuck.”

The clicking stopped abruptly, and Pinkie was worried she’d frightened whatever it was off… when suddenly the egg thing burst open, releasing five giant creatures, pitch black but for their glowing yellow eyes and shining white fangs. They all hissed, moving towards Pinkie, their long spindly legs moving undeterred by the substance Pinkie now realised were webs.

“Whoa, would you look at the time,” Pinkie said, her voice now trembling slightly as the spiders moved in, “I really better get going.” Pinkie tried to shift her legs, but the webbing refused to give way enough for her to make her escape. “I said,” Pinkie said, more firmly this time, “I’ll… just… be… GOING!”

With that she wrenched her legs free, leaping away from webbing plastered over the ground and the spiders which were now charging in on their prey. Landing safely on ordinary ground, Pinkie wasted no time in turning tail and running as fast as she could away from the predators, unfortunately she could hear the spiders giving chase behind her. “Why couldn’t Granny Pie have a song for laughing away giant killer spiders?” Pinkie wailed as she ran, the sound of the spiders snapping at her tail all too loud in her ears.

Clenching her eyes shut as she ran, not a wise decision in hindsight, she didn’t notice when she left the dark canopy and re-entered the fading sunlight. She also didn’t notice the beehive in front of her, which she preceded to crash head first into. Falling back dazed, Pinkie wanted to believe she had received a concussion, and that the sound of clicking now mixed with buzzing was all in her head. To her dismay however, she saw the spiders bearing down upon her, and she saw the bees buzzing in for the kill. Utterly drained of hope, she clenched her eyes and waited for the end…

Which never came. the sounds continued, in fact they became more frantic and feral, but while Pinkie lay there, curled up not daring to move an inch, she remained untouched, un-stung, un-maimed and most importantly, alive.

After a short few minutes, silence descended upon Pinkie, and she dared to open her eyes a crack. She was in a meadow, dotted with flowers, next to her sat a plump beehive, one side caved in, honey spilling out. It didn’t take her long to find the spiders and the bees, or what remained of them. All around her were spider carcasses and deceased bees, it was clear they had fought and killed done another over their prey.

Pinkie let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding in, and began to walk away, desperate to put some distance between herself and this massacre. As she walked however, something in the back of her mind called out for her to stop. She did, and she quickly found herself approaching the dead spiders again, her eyes trained on something attached to the underside of one, some pale bulbous object. Her eyes moved from it to the honey dripping from the beehive, and as some unknown instinct kicked in, she gulped down her disgust and opened her backpack.

Pinkie shuddered as she walked along the familiar route to where she had left Fluttershy, partially to do with everything she had witnessed, more so to do with the new contents of her backpack. She had tried desperately to keep the honey and what she assumed were glands of some kind separate from the rest of her supplied by quickly waving some parchment like material from nearby reeds.

She just hoped, with some level of desperation that Fluttershy could make use of them. It didn’t take long for the unforgettably creepy tree to appear out of the thicket, and Pinkie then looked to where she left Fluttershy… and found the spot now empty. While a spark of worry made itself known, Pinkie suppressed it, sure Fluttershy was nearby, probably just picking flowers or talking to the wildlife.

“Fluttershy!” She called out, sounding happier than she felt, “I’m back; I’ve got tonnes of stuff for you!” There was no reply. Sure there was a reasonable explanation; Pinkie began scouting the area for any signs of her Pegasus friend. She probably just took a nap under a tree, yeah that makes sense, that’s why she isn’t answering. However the longer she looked, the harder it became to think up excuses as to where her friend was.

Very quickly she was out of excuses all together, and panic was beginning to set in. “Fluttershy!” Pinkie screamed into the now obviously empty forest. Something must have happened to Fluttershy, she would never have left otherwise. Terrified, Pinkie ran back to where she left Fluttershy, only now with fresh eyes she saw clearly the ground was torn up. She followed the path of minor destruction away from the creepy tree into the forest.

The trail went cold quickly, but Pinkie stubbornly refused to give up hope, and carried on in a straight line, sure she would come across Fluttershy soon. Through the trees, Pinkie could make out a clearing, as well as something brightly coloured, something that looked out of place. With new found hope spurring her on, Pinkie charged forward, not even caring that the thing wasn’t yellow. The braches rustled all around her as she powered through, bursting into the clearing and laying eyes on the figure there.

Her jaw dropped as she saw the broken, bloody form of Rainbow Dash. “Dashie!” she screamed, racing forward and collapsing at her friend’s side. Dash’s eyes rolled weakly over to Pinkie, and her mouth moved as she tried to speak. “Don’t speak,” Pinkie ordered quickly, realising it was causing Dash a lot of pain to try, “Don’t worry… I’ll help you… somehow.”

trying her best to lay Dash out in the recovery position (or what Pinkie thought the recovery position was) without hurting her, Pinkie pulled her backpack off and scattered its contents on the ground. Now what? She didn’t know a thing about herbal remedies; she was relying on Fluttershy to know what to do with this stuff. No! Dashie needs you Pinkie! Just… just think of it like a recipe.

With that thought, Pinkie found herself more relaxed. Quickly she organised all her supplied, setting food items off to one side and separating flowers from the more questionable items. Now surely it was as easy as figuring out the right mixtures and combinations. A sudden chill went up Pinkie’s spine as she prepared. Looking up she noticed the sun was almost touching the horizon, it would be night soon enough, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything if she couldn’t see.

“Don’t worry Dashie,” she said with newfound confidence to her friend, who was breathing heavily and sweating despite the cold, “I will help you, but first I’m going to light a fire.”