The Silverfox Chronicles

Story 8- The Oddest Experiences in Babysitting

Radar groaned as he watched Ellar stumble around the forest.

He had been given the responsibility of taking care of the blind stallion for the day, and Radar was hating it deeply.

Ellar, for lack of better words, was stupid, lethally so. The seer was set on bitting, touching, smelling, and licking all of his surroundings. He had some sort of excuse, because of his lack of sight, that's about all Ellar could do to interact with the world. But really, could he just resist from biting that large poisonous snake?

"Ellar! Get over here!" Radar called, trying to retrieve the pegasus, who had strayed a bit to far from him.

Radar had decided to take the walk in the forest, so he could at least enjoy the scenery.

Ellar awkwardly fluttered to Radar, only flying a few feet.

The scraggly pegasus looked at Radar, glazed over eyes shimmering.

"Can we play tag?"

Radar's brow furrowed. He waved his hooves in the air in a over dramatic manner. "I have better things to be doing than to play tag!"

Ellar frowned. "Please? No one ever plays with me..."

Radar wanted to say that's because you are a grown stallion, but he kept his mouth shut. Ellar looked absolutely pitiful.

He must be pretty lonely, Radar thought, not really having any friends. His features relaxed, and he smiled slightly.

"I guess I can clear my schedule a bit." Radar said. "But only for a a few minutes."

Ellar smiled brightly. "Ok! You hide, then I will find and tag you!"

Radar was pretty sure that wasn't how tag was played, but he went on and found a hiding place in the forest.

Despite this being only a game, his Wingblast training stuck in his mind. Radar camouflaged himself in the branches and leaves, obscuring the pegasus from view. Radar narrowed his eyes, focusing on everything around him. He was going to win this game. Thinking it over, Radar wasn't sure he could even win the game, as Ellar was the only one who could tag.

But the pegasus's pride was pretty large, so Radar was sure he could find a way.

A rustle in the bushes and a sudden pain in his wing tip alerted him. Radar whipped back, coming muzzle to muzzle with Ellar. The blind stallion's teeth was firmly locked on his wing.

"Tag."

Radar was in shock. "How did you-what-how..!" He condensed into incoherent blubbering.

Ellar smiled stupidly. "You seemed really distracted. I decided to act!" He fluttered in the air and kicked. "Wasn't I stealthy? Wingblast material?"

Radar nearly laughed. Ellar was a far cry from "Wingblast material". But still, Ellar had snuck up on him and managed to tag him. Was Radar that distracted?

"Yeah, yeah. Are you done with your walk? Have you had enough fresh air?" Radar said, ready to leave, wings twitching with impatience. During his training, Radar had been dismissed as a over-hyper hothead with more bark than bite. But during those years, he had climbed the leadership ladder, eventually becoming the commander and being over the ponies who had said that about him. Radar liked to imagine they were eating large quantities of crow.

Ellar shuffled on his hooves. "Well... It's a really pretty day outside and..." He trailed off.

Radar frowned. He was a bit mad, as he had much more important things to do, but another side of him felt sympathy. He hasn't exactly realized how lonely Ellar was. The pegasus barely ventured out of his room, only to cook and attend meetings for nobles. Radar wondered what Ellar even did in his room, at least until today, when Embane had requested that he fetch the seer. Radar had found the scraggly stallion in a large, dark room, with a roundish bed in the corner. Most curious of all was the main spectacle of the room- a huge, clear pool of water sat in the middle of his bedroom. Radar had questioned him on it, Ellar had replied he finds water calming and it helps bring on visions. This confused him, he would assume that psychically seeing the water would enhance his "sight", but Ellar was obviously blind as a bat.

"Actually," Ellar said shyly. "I wanted to shadow you while you instruct the Wingblasts."

Radar's shoulders dropped. He had made himself willing to explore the forest for another hour or so, but the idea of showing Ellar off to his team had his stomach churn. Like most nobles, Ellar was seen as slightly unapproachable. They were respected as royalty, but not as much as the Prince and Princess. Radar tried to avoid this problem by being open with his team, but Ellar was a completely different situation. Constantly mumbling about the future, using his other four senses to identify ponies, and frequently having visions could set some ponies off from being his friend.

But still, Ellar was his responsibility for the day.

Before he could respond, his wing twitched. His internal "radar" was going off.

Hearing wing beats behind him, Radar let out a battle cry and back-kicked his attacker. Turning around to find their identity, he found his right hand stallion, Scout, lying on the ground.

"Holy crap, Scout! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Radar cried.

He felt bad for Scout. Never a truly outgoing pony, Scout had worked silently and diligently up to Radar's second. He had been assisted by his late friend Twistedcloud, who had helped him speak his mind and have courage. Scout had never been the same after seeing her gristly murder. Radar knew it personality, he had been sort of a therapist to Scout, talking with him at night and such. Judging by the sounds of the pegasus's cries and mutters during his sleep, Scout was still haunted by her killing.

Radar gave him a soft prod in the stomach as the rest of his private squadron landed before him. Scout sleepily open his eyes, Radar figured his kick had only temporally stunned him.

Up on his hooves, Scout flicked his mane to the other side of his face. "Uh, Radar, who is this?" He pointed Ellar, he had been lying in a bed of sweet-smelling flowers.

Radar looked around. He could practically feel the eyes of his teammates burning holes in him. "That's... Ellar." He said, trying to keep his friendly facade.

Ellar perked at his name. He trotted straight to Scout, and before he could warm him or Ellar, the seer stuck his nose right in Scout's mane. Scout's look of horror had to be seen to be believed, he had a bit of problem being touched.

"Mmmm....you smell like Radar. You must be close to him. His second in command?" Ellar murmured, ceasing sniffing Scout. He then wrapped his forelegs around the quivering grey stallion, giving him a warm hug. "You are a Wingblast!"

Radar dragged Ellar away from Scout, gripping him by the scruff. Scout looked at him with shocked eyes, mouthing something along the of "Who is this I don't even".

"You're friend is a bit touchy-feelly, Radar." A burly pegasus named Terran said, stepping forward and hitting Radar on the shoulder.

Radar had never really liked Terran, that stallion was power-hungry. He desperately wanted Radar's position, even going to the point of asking him to hand over the leadership role while he was ill. He nearly had it that time too, if it wasn't for Scout asking him when he had gotten Radar's signature.

Radar shot the red stallion a warning glare, then turning to address his squad. "What was your reason for seeing me? I'm pretty sure you guys don't love me enough to just to visit me in your free time."

Ridley, a reliable female Wingblast, spoke. "Some ponies had been complaining of some kind of monster in the forests not far from here. We needed our team leader, so we went to the castle. Embane told us you would most likely be in the forest." She paused. "But I see you must be busy."

Radar shook his head. "No, no, no!" He exclaimed. "I can lead! Lets go kill that creature!" He flew in the air for emphasis.

Ellar came to his side, smiling. "I can go to! That will be fun...."

The Wingblasts went silent.

Radar gathered his team, sliding away from Ellar. "You see," he whispered, "I have to babysit Ellar today. Embane's orders. Just humor him." His squad nodded in agreement.

"Alright, team," Radar shouted, prepping his wings for flight. Scout joined his side. "Get ready to fly." He gestured at Ellar. "You too." Ellar mimicked him, stretching his rather scrawny white wings. "Ridley, get beside me. You're are navigator since you know where this monster is."

"Wait." Logic hit Radar during his prepping. "You guys brought bedrolls and supplies, right?"

The majority of the squad motioned to their backs, were said supplies were securely strapped.

Scout gently tapped his shoulder. "I made sure we packed for you, too."

Ellar frowned. "Where will I sleep?"

"Uh..." Radar looked at him. "I guess with me."

Throwing away thoughts of the future, Radar focused on the present. Find the thing, whatever it was, kill it, go home. Preferably in a day or less. Radar had paperwork to force Silverfox to do.

Radar and his squad, joined awkwardly by Ellar, got into final formation and took flight.

Turns out that the desired location was a bit farther out than Radar intended, as the sun was setting by the time the group touched down in the area. Ridley had warmed she had no idea what the creature was, so they had to take caution.

Unrolling his sleeping bag, Radar glanced at his squad. They all kept to theirselves, setting up their own sleeping places wordlessly. He admired them, the team had been hand picked and given extra training from him. To his other side, Ellar sat, brushing his hooves through his unruly mane. He was singing some kind of song, after listening to it for a minute Radar recognized it as the old foal tune, "The Tale of Three Brothers". It was a rather creepy song, but it somehow fit Ellar.

"Hey, Scout!" Radar exclaimed, getting the grey stallion's attention. "I'm gonna, heh, 'scout' the area and make sure it is safe." Scout nodded, not reacting to his rather lame pun.

Feeling that his sense of humor was unappreciated, Radar flew off deeper into the forest, ears erect and eyes scanning the flora-covered ground. He landed every seven or so feet, sniffing and watching his surroundings with insane concentration.

Radar's paranoia seemed to be for nothing. Despite going out pretty far, he found nothing. Surprisingly, the forest was safe.

But while the others slept, he was still assigning a sentry. You could never be too prepared.

Feeling that his work was done for now, Radar headed towards the place his team set up camp.

His ears pricked when he heard the sneering voice of Terran. His gut told him this would be a prime time to eaves drop. Crawling in a bush, Radar hoped his team wasn't as psyched out about attackers are he was.

"Hey, Ellar. What are you doing now?" Terran snarled.

Ellar's startled voice followed. "Ah, uh, I am singing. I like singing. It's fun."

"Well shut up, it's annoying."

A couple of Wingblasts giggled.

"I-I didn't mean to bother you..." He mumbled.

"Stop stuttering!" Terran shouted, and through his hiding place Radar saw the larger pegasus to the ground. He couldn't believe his team was acting like this. Sure, he didn't love the stallion either, but this was pretty mean.

"Isn't that the seer?!" A male Wingblast sneered.

Terra held Ellar down by his skinny chest. "Yeah, yeah. I remember. The one with the sight, right? So, seer, have you had any good visions lately?" His eyes narrowed. "If you even have them."

Ellar tried to stutter something, tears streaming out of his eyes.

A female Wingblast, Nylon, loomed over him. "Hah! He's lying! Can't you see it in his face?" She laughed. "That little liar! He had all of us, even the Prince and Princess, fooled!"

"Please.." Ellar whispered, his voice hoarse. "Leave me alone. Radar said I could shadow you guys..."

Nylon started laughing again. "Really?!! You bought that? Radar pulled us aside and told us to 'humor you'. He seemed pretty embarrassed. I'm almost positive that Radar is only hanging out with you because Prince Embane ordered him to."

Radar's heart sank into his stomach. He didn't mean it like that. But now that he thought about it, that had sounded very mean. His heart descended deeper as he realized that he had basically stooped on the same level as his teammates by bullying Ellar.

As the sound of Ellar sobbing came to his ears, Radar refused to look. What had he done? He hated to admit it, but Ellar had kind of grown on him over the last few months. Hearing him cry like that, over something he had done, filled him with a feeling he didn't get a lot: depression.

Trying to shake off that cold numbness, Radar watched as his teammates mocked and insulted Ellar. Another emotion filling him.

Anger.

Radar burst out of the bushes, shoving Terran and Nylon aside and standing in front of Ellar.

"Shut up!" He roared. "I will not take this anymore! I admit, that yes, I was a bit annoyed by Ellar at first, but I found out he's pretty nice! If you actually gave him a chance, not just judging him because he's different, you would come to the same conclusion as me!" He advanced on Nylon. "I notice you are pretty quick on denouncing Ellar as a liar. I hope you remember that he is a noble and therefore a member of royalty! I could have both of arrested for harassing him like that." He addressed his entire team, green eyes glittering. "Now one of you volunteer as sentry so we can all get some sleep!" Radar ended shouting, whipping around to meet Ellar and Scout.

Radar was panting heavily, he wasn't used to going off on his team like that. He like to teach his team to respect him, not fear him. But sometimes, strict discipline was required.

Ellar's eyes shimmered. "T-Thank you!"

Radar smiled slightly. "Think nothing of it. My team was being insubordinate. I have told them before to respect their overheads." He went to his bed, curling under the blankets.

The slight sound of something being dragged alerted him. He saw Scout, sleeping bag in mouth, trotting over to him. He placed his bedroll beside Radar's.

"Do you mind if I sleep near you?" Scout whispered, trying not to wake the other Wingblasts that were already dozing off.

"Nah," Radar murmured, flicking his tail at Ellar, who was curling up near him.

Scout sat down, pulling a blanket around him. He murmured a goodnight and closed his eyes.

Radar sighed. He glanced at Ellar, snuggled against his side and his head resting on his neck, and Scout, curled up like a cat on his right. He looked at his team, and with a pang he realized the sleep pegasi were far spread from him. Were they mad or afraid?

He tried not to think about. He dearly wished that everything would be better in the morning, but he wasn't sure. After this is over, he thought, I'm taking them out to eat. Food makes everything better.

Radar felt a small poke in his side. He fully opened his eyes, he hadn't realized he was on the verge of going to sleep.

"Pssh, Radar. Are you awake?" Ellar's voice whispered in his ear.

"I am now."

He felt Ellar stir beside him. "I, er, I have to thank you for what you said earlier."

"I said it was nothing."

"I know... But really, thanks. I don't know how I could of gotten out of that one myself." Ellar said sadly.

"That's what I here for." Radar swallowed. "That's what friends are for."

"Friend?"

Radar looked at Ellar. He seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "Yeah. We are friends."

He heard the slight sound of sniffling from the skinny pegasus. "No one has ever told me they are my friend..."

Radar's breath caught in his throat. He was right. Ellar was lonely. Very lonely.

He nearly groaned. He didn't know what his friend was feeling. When he was a foal, Radar was surrounded by other ponies who were his friends. Even after he joined the Wingblasts, it didn'tchange much. He had even been close friends with the instructor. He had no idea what is like to be alone, to have no one to run to.

From then on, Radar promised himself to be Ellar's friend. His closest friend, possibly even his only friend for a long time.

Radar gave the sniffling pegasus a pat on the shoulder.

"Well, you can start from here. You have one friend, we can improve on that. In can introduce you to friends I know." Radar said, hope flooding his voice.

"I-I would like that." Ellar whispered.

"Let's get some sleep. You must be tired. I know I am." Radar wrapped his wing around the smaller pegasus, and he started to drift off.

He faintly heard Ellar say goodnight, but Radar was far too drowsy to reply.

The Wingblast captain gave a final yawn, finally falling into unconsciousness.

~

"Radar, wake up." Scout's voice awoke him.

Radar's eyes fluttered open. Ellar was absent at his side, he assumed that he was already awake. Scout was standing in front of him, shaking his shoulders. The rest of the Wingblasts were awake, and with major embarrassment he realized that he was the only one still asleep.

Radar shot up, shaking the blankets off him and desperately trying to regain his pride.

"Scout," he whispered fiercely. "Why did you not wake me up earlier! The captain has be to up at the crack of dawn!"

Scout frowned. "Sorry, I would have woken you earlier, but then... We got distracted." He pointed at a earth pony mare in the middle of the camp. She looked frantic, like she had been spooked.

"Who the crap is that?" Radar asked bluntly.

Before the grey stallion could answer, Ellar drifted beside Radar. "She says her name is Debbie. She comes from a nearby small town. Debbie explained a monster has been terrorizing her village, and she needs your help."

"Ah. I guess we should get on it." Radar murmured, slightly surprised by Ellar's answer.

Scout nodded. "I will question her a bit more."

As Scout trotted toward the earth pony, Radar turned to Ellar. "That was pretty good." He murmured, clapping him on the back. "Were you eaves dropping?"

Ellar didn't reply. In fact, he was just staring blankly into space. Worried, Radar poked him in the ribs. Still no response.

Then it hit him. Ellar was having a vision! This made him worry even more, that usually meant something bad was going to happen.

Suddenly, Ellar cried out, passing out and falling on the ground. Radar was shocked, shaking him and trying to rouse him. Ellar groaned, eyes opening.

"Radar?" He rasped.

"What happened? What did you see?" Radar urged.

"The monster...." He trailed off, jumping up and running to the group around Debbie.

Radar sighed, following him.

Scout met him as he arrived. "Radar," he murmured. "She told us where the creature lives. She mentioned a cave, and there is only on cave in the area, according to Ridley."

"Alright!" Radar called, getting his team's attention. "We will release two search teams, Gold Team and Silver Team. I will pick some members for my team, Gold, and the rest can sort out themselves. Scout, Ridley, Lily, Severus, come with me." He glanced the seer pegasus. "Ellar, you're in this too. Also," he added with a giggle. "Gold Team rules!" He turned serious again. "Ms Debbie, you can go back to your village. Move out, teams!"

With his Gold Team trailing behind him, Radar set out to find the creature.

Glancing behind him, Radar assessed his choices for companions. There was Scout, naturally, who was fast, but wasn't much of a heavy hitter. Ridley was better, able to kick pretty hard and fly fast. But on flat land, she was horribly clumsy. Lily and Severus, however, were duo fighters, the two pegasi that were madly in love could run and hit heavy. With self-proclaimed jack of all trades Radar, the team was pretty well rounded.

Ridley returned from her brief scout of the area. "There is a cave about a mile or so from here. I'm guessing this is the lair of the creature."

Radar nodded. "Good. We could probably make it there in an hour."

Scout meekly raised a hoof. "Sir, should we alert the Silver Team?"

The image of Terran and Nylon coming to mind, Radar shook his head. "If they are smart, they will reach the same conclusion as we did."

"Hey, Lily, Severus." Radar said, snapping the lovers out of a heated make-out session. He pointed west. "Get ready to fly in that direction."

They nodded.

The team took flight to the cave, Ellar dragging a bit behind, and was there in the estimated hour. The cave was huge, tall, long rock spires reaching up into the vast ceiling. Is was pretty dark too, but the group was still able to see some feet in front of them. Radar led the way, followed by Scout, with Ellar safely in the middle and Lily, Severus, and Ridley in the back.

A cracking of rock startled the group. Thinking fast, Radar shouted, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" With that, his team scattered.

They were lucky. A vicious rock slide followed seconds after they jumped, stalactites raining down. Dust filled the cave, causing Radar to cough and splutter.

"Where is everyone?!" Radar screamed, trying to take account for his team.

"Here!" Ridley shouted, and Radar felt a hoof touch his side.

"Here." Scout's familiar smell came to his left.

"Ellar?!" Radar said, worry rising.

"I can't smell! Or breath!" Ellar's voice shouted somewhere near him.

The dust started to clear, and Radar slowly started to realize why Lily and Severus didn't answer.

There was a sheet of rock blocking the entire path.

They must have leaped in the wrong direction, Radar thought, falling onto his haunches. Scout and Ridley came to his side, each putting a hoof on his shoulder. Even Ellar came, a bit confused why everyone was so solemn. This couldn't be happening. He didn't think he could bear to lose another teammate, nonetheless two.

"LILY! SEVERUS! Radar screamed, his voice echoing around the dark cavern.

A slight scrabbling sound caught his attention and Radar looked up, hope flooding through him.

"Radar, is that you?" Lilly's higher pithed voice said quietly.

"Yes!" Radar shouted, running to the wall of rock. "Yes, it is! Is Severus okay?"

"Yes, I am." Severus's deadpan voice was like music to his ears.

"So," Scout murmured. "We are just on different sides of the cave."

Radar nodded. "Lily, do you see any other paths?"

"Yeah," the red furred pegasus said, "I see some light to our right. Should we investigate?"

"Yes." Radar said. "We will meet up later." He turned to the remaining three. "Let's get going."

After hearing a conformation from the pair, half of Gold Team started moving again.

As they traversed the rocky cave, Radar noticed an odd smell getting stronger. It was strong and musty, reminding him of large, wet cat. Apparently Ellar was getting the same mental image, because he was muttering something about a "big kitty-cat". Radar was getting a weird feeling in his gut that whatever they were hunting, Team Gold was getting closer to its lair.

They came to a smaller branch of the cavern, with much lower ceilings and barely any stalactites. A large nest made of grass and leaves was in the middle.

"You have been smelling that too, right?" Ridley said, crimping her nose in disgust.

"Yeah. The wet cat smell?" Radar muttered.

Scout went to the nest, studying it. "This has to be its lair. The smell is strongest here. And, of course, the nest."

While the other ponies discussed the creature, Ellar sat near the entrance, sniffing the air.

"Watch out for the kitty-kitty..." Ellar said in a creepy, singsong voice as a figure passed by him.

"What?" Radar said, hoping he didn't already understand what Ellar had said.

Before them sat a ginormous cat. It was fearsome, with matted fur and stained fangs. Four inch long claws retracted out of sheathes, eager to rip into the unwanted guests. Yellow, slitted eyes flickered in the semi-darkness, making the predator seem more demonic than it should have.

"Ellar," Radar whispered. "Stay in the back and out of sigh. Ridley, Scout, and I will take care of this. But if something happens to us, run." The pegasus nodded, eyes filled with fear.

"Ridley," Radar whispered, "Attack from the air. Scout, distract it. I will attack it from the ground and do whatever I can to kill it."

Scout eye's wavered. "What kind of distraction?" His quiet voice asked.

"Make me proud." Radar said simply, slinking around the corner for a sneak attack.

Scout bit his lip, wondering just what he could do. Then, something came to him, something Radar had said during training....

"LEEROY JENKINS!" Scout screamed, probably louder than he ever has in his entire life. Flying at incredible speeds, he slammed into the cat's furry chest, knocking it back a couple feet. Scout kicked at the creatures jaw, cracking at least one bone in process. The cat cried with pain, swatting at him. A bluish flash shoved him out of the way, sending Scout crashing into the ground. Ridley was fighting it now. She flew with grace, kicking and hitting weak spots. Ridley dodged one fatal blow after another, moving more like a bug than a flying horse.

From the ceiling of the cave, a tan figure slammed on the cat's head, sliding down the length of its body and landed on the ground. The cat swayed with the force of Radar's attack, allowing Ridley to kick the cat in the windpipe, sending it falling to the ground.

Radar strutted over to its body, checking it over. "It's not dead. Just unconscious." Ridley kicked it again in the head. "I think that did it. We should head back now. The village is safe."

As they walked out, Radar nodded approvingly at Scout. "That wasn't really a distraction, but hey, what you did back there was pretty awesome."

Ellar fell into stride beside them. "You sounded awesome. Then Ridley started kicking it...! You guys were amazing!"

Exiting the cave, they met Team Silver wondering around the forest. Radar explained the mission was over, Terran frowning in distaste. The entire Wingblast squad flew back to the castle, dismissed and ready to go home. Radar crawled into his room, half-asleep already. Ellar also went to his room, but didn't go to sleep just yet.

Feeling the cool air coming off his pool, Ellar breathed in deeply with content. He thought of the previous and current day's events, a smile coming to his mouth.

So this is what it feels like to have a friend, he thought.

End of Story 8