Family of Misfits

It was dark and cold. There was no life stirring around any surface, no sounds echoing off the walls. Just total darkness and silence.

"Ugh.... W.... Where am I?" Jay Sky sat up with a groan and rubbed his head.

He then opened his eyes and nearly froze in horror. He was surrounded in darkness and couldn't even see his hoof in front of his eyes. Jay wanted to scream for help but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth, he was too scared. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths and braced himself to stand up. It took him multiple tries, mainly because one of his hind legs were sore and stung when he put pressure on it.

Jay Sky wanted nothing more than to get out of there and be back with his Dad and Twilight Sparkle. He wished he had never wandered off. Then Jay shook his head and growled at himself.

"I can't just sit around and mope.... I... I have to get out of this darkness...." Jay Sky took a step forward and shivered as the cold Earth beneath him sent a chill up his leg and throughout his body.

He began to walk forward, putting one hoof after another. Each chill got easier and easier to take in. That or is hoof was going numb, he couldn't tell. As he walked through the dark, he heard the echo of his hoofsteps bouncing off walls and returning to him. He thought that he heard voices drifting around his ears, but later realized that he was just talking to himself saying "Darkness...... Everywhere.... Help....."

Jay Sky thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him because up ahead he saw the faint glow of light. Without thinking he ran towards the light, whining with delight as it got brighter. Suddenly, he fell into a pool of darkness and began to sink. The shock of the surprise and the freezing cold made him stop moving for a few seconds. Jay snapped out of it and began to push upward, kicking frantically at the darkness.

He surfaced to the sound of splashing and his lung drawing in as much air as they could. The faint light was right above him, they looked like little stars. All around him the cold darkness seemed to flow smoothly around the edges and choppy around where he was. Jay Sky then realized that he had fallen into water, which was really odd because he had found no trace of water earlier.

"Where'd this water come from?" Jay asked even though he knew that there was nopony there to answer him.

He found a ledge of somewhat dry land to rest on, taking small sips of the water every so often. Eventually his eyes had adjusted to the light and he was able to see some of the curves and tunnels of the cave he was currently in. The walls were strangely smooth and well rounded, as if a river used to run through here.

A river! That must mean there's a way out of here! Jay Sky thought and hope filled his eyes.

Jay looked around for the smoothest and widest tunnel. He easily found the tunnel of were the river used to run through, some water was even still flowing through it. As Jay wadded through the tunnel, he noticed that it was slightly slanted upward. Which didn't make any sense to him at all. He assumed that this was part of the Everfree forest's weird nature and what not.

The water began to pick up which caused Jay Sky to slip every so often, the pain in his leg coming back with each fall. He heard the sound of rushing wind and looked ahead of him. And there it was, the feint light of the sun. It was so close yet so far, all he had to do was keep moving forward. As Jay climbed up through the tunnel, it began to get harder and harder to walk. Each step he took with his bad leg sent horrible waves of pain into his brain. His brain was trying to tell him to stop, but his will to get out of the cave kept him moving. The closer he got to the light, the brighter it got.

Wind was now whistling in his ears, he could feel it lashing into the tunnel. Jay Sky cried out with joy as the scent of fresh air flowed into his nose, sending a warming thrill through his body. He nearly forgot his pain as he began to run towards the sun light and wind, letting its aura lure him in. The tunnel walls lit up as the light danced across its surface.

He burst out of the tunnel and was created by the warmth of the sun rays, he had never been so happy to be outside. The warmth of the sun was mixed with the coolness of the wind. It seemed to balance itself out, putting a calming effect of the world and the surroundings around him. Jay Sky looked around, taking in all the sights and smells. Every thing was so different and alien compared to the cave. But that was a good thing to Jay, he would choose the outdoors over any cave in a heartbeat.

"I finally made it out.... I wonder where dad is" Jay Sky looked around, thinking of what direction to take. There were some open paths here and there, it was hard to choose which to take.

"What are you doing here alone, shouldn't you be safe back at home?" A mysterious mare's voice said.

Jay Sky spun around to see a hooded figure looking down at him. The figure stood there like a statue, the only movement was the drapes of her robe blowing in the wind.

"I... uh..." Jay said with a trembling voice.

The mare looked down at Jay for a moment longer before turning around and walking away, flicking her tail for him to follow. Hesitantly, Jay Sky began to follow the hooded pony. After a few moments darkness began to fall, making the forest look ominous and deadly.

"Where are you taking me?" Jay asked.

The mare stopped and looked down at him, her face was now pitch black. Hidden in the darkness of her hood and the shadows of the setting sun. She looked around them at their surroundings, and then continued to walk in a bit of a faster pace than she was in earlier. Jay Sky had to struggle to keep up, his bad leg was still hurting and it seemed to be amplified with each step he took. They seemed to be walking forever, darkness had completely fallen around them. Jay walked close to the mare, being afraid of the monsters in the dark and afraid of loosing sight of her.

Eventually they broke away from the forest and came into a small opening. In the opening there was a strange house. It looked like a large tree stump that had been hollowed out. There were a bunch of vines covering it and weird decorations hanging over the door and windows. The mare casually walked to the house, looking back at Jay and indicating him to follow.

Jay Sky was afraid of the odd looking house, but he was even more afraid of the dark. He happily followed her into the house, glad to be out of the dark and into a safe room. Then it hit him, a huge aroma of scents filled his nostrils. There were scents ranging from tangy to stingy, sweet to rot. It was both lovely and gross at the same time. It took him a moment to regain his senses. When he did, the hooded mare from before was sitting across from him, studying his bad lag as if she already knew that he was hurt.

"Thank you for finding me...." Jay watched her with uncertainty, unaware of what he should do or say.

In the shadows of her hood she smiled "You are welcome little one, feel free to stay until dawn"

Her voice kind of scared Jay, it had some kind of accent in it. Jay thought about it but just couldn't seem to figure out what her accent was. The mare stood up and walked over to what looked like a coat hook and threw her robe on it. She was an odd looking pony, black and white stripes covered her body. Her cutie mark looked really weird. Jay was used to seeing colors and pictures he could make out. But hers was just black and spiraled with dots circling around it.

"Who are you?" Jay asked with curiosity.

"I will let you know, I am a friend. Not foe" She said and indicated Jay to what looked like a small bed.

He felt more relaxed now and accepted the chance to rest. As he laid down, the pony came to him with bandages and got a close look at his injury. She put a weird green juice on the bandage and then wrapped it tightly around his ankle. Jay winced with pain when she tightened it but the juice seemed to make the pain go away.

"Thank you" He said and laid his head down, accepting the invitation of sleep and comfort.

Just before he fell asleep, he heard the feint calling of his name. He couldn't tell if it was his dad or not, but he didn't seem to care as he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep. The voice and noises of the forest died down as Jay fell asleep, peace finally coming to him.