A long trail of blood was left behind the bodies that the ponies’ below had managed to recover. They had dragged the bodies from the burning tree, and using a knife of their own, they sliced the meatier parts of the corpses away from the bones and intestines. The child seemed to be in limbo now, and whenever a tiny reminder was made to her about the ponies’ below, she would whimper and huddle in fear to her mother. The mare watched as the ponies managed to start a small fire, and began to cook the meat over it in a spit.

The grey mare could not see it very well, but she knew that they had been watching her. As each of them hastily devoured the meat, she could hear the unpleasant humming of flies around them, buzzing around whatever parts were left. Besides the distinct humming of flies and the crackling of the small fire, she could hear parts and bits of their conversation below.

“Hit her wing…”

“We’ll get them down tomorrow…”

“Keep an eye out tonight…”

The mare had been up in the tree for hours. Her body had grown numb from being in the same position since she had landed. She felt as if she shouldn’t move to give away her position, but they knew where she was anyway, and she realized this. The child had not said a word, and her crying had stopped long ago. She was too exhausted to shiver, and only fear kept her eyes open.

The mare knew that unless she was able to fly again, they would die and be consumed by the ponies below. She had not looked at her wing, but she could feel some bodily liquid gently trailing down her wing, and she did not want to look. It no longer hurt, but she could not feel it or move it, and that was not good. She couldn’t even position herself on the tree limb to look at it properly.

The night was dark and cold now, and the ponies below had fallen asleep, all huddled together for warmth. They had taken the guts and intestines and had buried them a sizable distance from their campsite. She could not see it, but she knew that one of them was watching her. She knew this because of the long dark hours of being in the tree, the fire kept going. At first, she had been unsure and had thought that it might be a Unicorn’s spell keeping it going, but occasionally, when the watcher below had not been careful, she had heard the sound of fresh wood being thrown on the fire. It would release embers into the air, and they would float up towards her, lighting up her vision for a split second, until they died and became part of the atmosphere.

Eventually, she felt her child’s breathing become calmer and calmer, and the gentle rising of her little body made the mare realize that she had fallen asleep. Though she could have and might have panicked, the mare thought of what she might be able to do. Her first thought was of flying, but she knew that her wing was ruined. If it wasn’t ruined, the ash would most likely infect it, if it wasn’t already, and that would render it useless. She would have to seek out antibiotics or some miracle herb, or it would spread to the rest of her body, and she would die slowly.

Realizing her morbid thoughts, she shook her head and thought again. She was certainly not the most athletic type, and she knew that it would not be possible for her to jump from limb to limb. Besides that, the limbs were too far for her, and she would send her daughter and herself crashing down to the forest floor, where if they did not die from the impact, they would be consumed by the ponies below.

Neither one of her plans seemed plausible. She thought of her first one again. Even if her wing was infected and useless, she could surely keep herself airborne with the other. She had seen other Pegasi do it before, and if she did make it away, dying eventually would be much better than dying now. It would be a much better fate than seeing her daughter being eaten in the last moments of her life.

Looking down below, she stifled a cough as she peered down through the smoke. The entire group was asleep, and though she could not see the watcher, she knew that he was surely there. She stared around at the trees, but she could not see anything. The grey cloud made the nights incomprehensibly dark, and there was nothing in the inky blackness.

She took a deep breath, and began to hobble to her hooves. A searing pain tore through her wing as she attempted to move it, but she winced and did her best to ignore it. Her daughter was awake now, and a soft whimper emitted from her throat. The mare shushed her, and whispered.

“Muffin, please try to climb on my back…”

The child could not do it alone, and the mare struggled to help her by giving her a slight push. “Are we going to die Mommy?” The child was beginning to panic, and her voice was barely audible.

“No. Not now. Now please hold on.”

A loud roar of noise erupted from below, and the mare almost felt herself scream in fear. The child did scream, and she felt the child’s hooves dig deep into her sides. Looking down below, she recognized the roar as a scream, and she could barely make out what was happening. The ponies below were scrambling in chaos and confusion. She heard a mare scream below, but was cut off abruptly. After what seemed like a few minutes, all was quiet, as if nothing had happened at all.

A gruff voice called up. “Are you alive? Can you come down?”

The mare could not see anyone. This might be a trick. She kept quiet, and she did not move. The child was shaking, and she could fear her daughter’s tears rolling down her back. “Come down. I know you’re up there. I swear to Celestia I won’t hurt you.”

“I don’t believe you.” The mare called back down, her maternal protection giving her quite an intimidating voice.

The voice was gruff, but patient. “You don’t have to believe me, but I know it’s true. We’ve been watching you since these ponies attacked you. I wanted to help.”

The mare did not move. After a few minutes, the voice below sighed. “I’m not leaving until you come down.”

Finally, the mare felt she had no choice. As she stretched her good wing, she formulated a plan in her head. If the voice was a lie, and began to attack her, she would run like the wind. Surely, whoever they were would lose her in the dark. They could hide until morning, and then they would set off again. Using her good wing, she managed to half fly down from the tree, until she felt her hooves on the ground. The child had not released her grip, and she could feel the hard edges of the child’s hooves digging deep into her sides, making the trip more painful and exhausting than it could have been.

On the ground in front of her was a brown Earth pony stallion, with a black colored mane. He stood much taller than her, and was a very stout and built fellow. His cutie mark appeared to be a pair of red boxing gloves. He stared at her, but he kept his distance. His gazed seared into her body, and she felt her wings become erect, in spite of the pain, to make herself looking more intimidating. The area around them was covered in blood, and the group of ponies lay broken and dead, scattered about the area. Most of their skulls seemed to be crushed completely.

Removing her saddlebags from underneath her daughter, she threw them at the stallion. They had nothing to eat but a few leftover fiddleheads, but it was all they had. Besides, when he rummaged through it, they could make a run for it.

“Here, take what you want.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want anything.

“You don’t?”

“Nope.”

“Then, what did you want from those ponies?”

“Nothing. They didn’t have anything that I wanted.”

“Then you’re going to eat them.”

“No. I’m not going to eat them.” The stallion stared at the fresh corpses. His expression seemed to turn to that of the upmost disdain. “And even if I did eat ponies, I wouldn’t eat these nasty sons a bitches.”

She glanced over at the bodies again. The child on her back was shaking, and she could feel her tight hooves at her sides. When the mare did not say anything, the stallion spoke. “Why don’t you come with me and meet my family?”

The mare narrowed her eyes and snorted. “You have a family.”

“Yep.”

“You have foals with you.”

“Not yet, but we will soon enough.”

“You’re lying.”

“No. I’m not.”

“How do I know you’re not?”

“You don’t. You’ll just have to risk it.”

The mare contemplated what the stallion had said. He seemed knowledgeable, and that was dangerous to her, but he also seemed honest. As she stared at him, he seemed to be waiting patiently for her answer. The mare also noticed that as he waited, his eyes and head would slightly move occasionally, looking towards her damaged wing. When he didn’t look in that direction, he looked above her, at the filly on her back. Ultimately, she made her decision.

“Alright. But if you try anything…”

“I won’t. I promise.”

***

At dawn, a pretty white Unicorn mare with a red and white striped mane greeted her in the clearing that the stallion led them too. Her pink eyes watched them as they approached, and as the mare and filly entered her vicinity, she trotted up to them quickly. The grey mare recoiled slightly as the stranger approached her, and the stranger seemed to notice this, and stopped quickly.

“We were so worried about you and your daughter. We saw those other ponies chase you, and we wanted to help. I’m so glad that you are all alright.”

The mare did not speak. The stallion had trotted up to a nearby log and reached inside, pulling out a rather stuffed pair of saddlebags. As he rummaged through it, the white mare turned and looked at him. He pulled out two jars of sliced apples and held them up. The white mare nodded, and he trotted towards them.

“Would you like something to eat?” The white mare asked.

The grey mare stared at the duo. She nodded her head, and the stallion sat the jars down near her. She took them, and setting her child down on the ground, she opened them, and handed her child a jar. The filly did not move, and only stared at the jar as it was placed in front of her. The grey mare noticed this, and wiped a speck of dirt from her cheek.

“Please eat muffin. Please…”

The mare did not eat until her child ate. The child ate slowly, occasionally stopping to stare down at the jar, as if contemplating some odd random thought. When they both finished, the mare handed the filly her jar, giving her the leftover juices inside. The white mare and stallion had watched them for a bit, and when the grey mare had turned to look at them, they looked away awkwardly, and then had sat down nearby, giving the grey mare and her daughter the privacy they needed.

The day was dark, and the wind brought a light chill over the group. The stallion left the clearing, and the two mares and filly stayed behind. The white mare had noticed the grey mare’s wing, and had taken their first aid kit, and had doctored and bandaged it. The grey mare glanced at her wing when the white mare began to inspect it and felt sick. Some of the feathers and fur had been burned away completely, and the object seemed to not only burn her wing, but cut it open as well. It was not broken, but it was beginning to swell from the injury. The cut and burns seemed to have made it bleed, and it needed to be cleaned.

The white mare looked at it for a bit, and then wandered back over to the saddlebags. She returned with a first aid kit and a canteen. Though the kit was dirty and old looking, she procured a needle and thread. When she began to clean the wound, the grey mare felt the sting of the cold water against her wounds. It didn’t take much to clean them, she found, but then the white mare held up the needle and thread with her magic.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have any numbing medicine. Can you please lay down?”

The process was painful. The numerous cuts had been long and deep, and the process took quite a while. At first, the grey mare had uncontrollably twitched from the pain, unable to keep her nervous system calm as the sharp needle came through her skin. She tried to remind herself of other things, as the needle and thread passing through her flesh felt unnatural, and made her somewhat sick to her stomach. She looked over at the child, and tried to smile as best as she could, but was unable too. The child seemed to sense her discomfort, and trotted up and began to hold her hooves. The mare could do nothing but hold out. Finally, when the process was over, the white mare trotted back to her saddlebags, and this time returned with a roll of bandages. The wing was sorer than before, but the grey mare took comfort in knowing that it was doctored.

When the white mare finally finished the process, she stood up, and helped the grey mare to sit on her hindquarters. “I’m not sure how well I did, but I did the best I could with what we had.”

The grey mare could not move her wing still, but the white mare sat down in front of her, adjusting herself a few times to lay comfortably with her swollen belly. Her soft features were all too familiar to the grey mare, and in spite of her stark and dead environment, her eyes sparkled with life. When the white mare finally laid down, the grey mare noticed that her cutie mark was that of a syringe, filled with some pink liquid.

“You have a beautiful daughter.”

The grey mare looked down at the child, whom had crawled against her and fallen asleep. Her poor little body had been exhausted from the previous night, and the mare was happy that she was sleeping soundly. The bruises still shone on her light violet body, and the mare felt a twinge of the previous night’s rage surge through her. As it disappeared, she looked at her company, whom seemed to be looking at her patiently.

“Thank you.”

The white mare smiled, and looked down at her pregnant stomach. “I hope that my little one is beautiful too.”

“You’re a very pretty mare, so I’m sure they will be.”

“Thank you.”

The grey mare looked up and stared out into the surrounding trees. The forest was deathly silent. She looked up at the skies above. The grey cloud hovered above them, many other clouds darkening the day. She felt as if it should rain any minute, but it never did.

“How long have you been without a home?”

The grey mare contemplated the question for a minute. Her first thought had been about the cave, but that had not been a home. They had no home, and they would never have another home. A part of the pointless optimism in her heart longed for a home; someplace where she and her child could stay and eat and sleep peacefully, without ever fearing any disturbance. That was not a realistic thought. She shook her head. “I don’t remember.”

The white mare did not look sad or confused, but she stated her response matter of fact. “You don’t?”

“I don’t think about it too much.”

The white mare was quiet for a minute. At first, the grey mare thought that she might have brought the stranger’s spirits down, but her company smiled, and looked at the surrounding trees thoughtfully. “I remember my home. It was a lovely little cottage. I loved lots of flowers, so I grew a lot of them.”

The grey mare nodded. “That sounds nice.”

“Do you remember your home?”

“Yes. It was a very nice home. I lived on the ground instead of in the clouds.”

“That’s not uncommon. Lots of Pegasi lived on the ground.”

“Yes. Not strange.”

The white mare seemed to be a very chatty and friendly pony. In spite of the environment she was living in, she seemed to be bright and lively. The grey mare remembered her previous friends, whom had been very much like her.

As if reading her mind, the white mare asked her about them. “I had lots of friends, but I didn’t have much family. Did you have many friends?”

The grey mare looked at her. The white mare’s eyes seemed to grow slightly dimmer, as if she was becoming sad by just thinking about it.

The grey mare answered truthfully. There was no reason to hide now. “I had lots.”

“Oh. What about your family?”

“I had another daughter, and a husband. I don’t want to talk about it.”

The white mare did not seem surprised at her answer, but she seemed to realize that she had gone a little too far. “I’m sorry. We can talk about something else.”

Later that dark day, the stallion had returned. He looked at the two mares, and he began to pick up his saddlebags. He wrapped a breathing cloth around his face, and his voice became muffled. He only spoke two words to them.

“Let’s go.”

The two mares stood up, equipped themselves, and followed him through the trees. The day was beginning to thin, and the darkness was growing. The mare felt the child shuffle on her back. She looked ahead, and could see the couple walking together. The white mare pressed against the stallion, and the stallion pressed back. The grey mare watched them.

***

A pleasant and gentle breeze bore a sweet and familiar smell to the grey mare as she contemplated the beautiful Spring day. The homely smell of some baker’s mouthwatering confection drifted through the air, and the mare felt a slight jab in her belly. Her little one had noticed it just as soon as she did.

The park was beautiful today. It was Sunday, and there was no post on Sundays. In fact, Sundays were the days that most ponies would either have off, or just the perfect kind of days to just laze about and enjoy life. She watched in the distance as her daughter scampered around joyously, chasing a pretty pink butterfly. The mare was lying on the bench, and her husband was beside her, looking over a newspaper that he had got the previous day, but had been too busy to read.

When the child lost interest in the butterfly, she bounced over to her parents, and beamed up at them. She was happy and energetic, but she seemed rather disappointed. “Mommy, how come there aren’t any other kids to play with?”

Surprised, the grey mare looked up and scanned the park quickly. Surely enough, the swing sets and sandboxes were empty, and even though a variety of stallions and mares seemed to be spread throughout the park haphazardly, there were no other children to be seen. There was a couple taking their baby for a stroll, but the baby was in a stroller. The mare was somewhat shocked, but she looked down at her daughter, whom seemed to be looking around like she was.

“I don’t know muffin. Usually there are a lot of children around.” She paused thoughtfully, and then remembered the sweet smell of the baker’s. “I bet that they are all eating lunch right now! Wouldn’t you like something to eat too?”

As if answering for her, her daughter’s stomach growled loudly. The child blushed, and then laughed. “Yeah! I could go for some food! I’m starving!”

The grey mare’s husband, whom had now put away his paper, chuckled and poked his daughter in the side. “I can see that you’re starving terribly! You’re wasting away to nothing but skin and bones!” He teased.

The child poked her tongue out at him, and then beamed up at her mother. The grey mare began to stand, but as she found herself having a hard time doing so, her husband was at her side, helping her to her hooves. The child watched them, and when her mother stood up, she stared at the grey mare’s swollen belly.

“When’s she going to be born anyway? I really want someone to play with!”

The mare’s features softened, and she looked down at her belly. Yes, pregnancy was not the most pleasant or painless experience, but after all of the sicknesses, mood swings, and lots of pain, it was all worth it in the end when the newborn’s eyes would stare up into yours. She looked at her daughter and smiled.

“Soon Sparkler. Soon enough.”

The trio began to make their way to Sugarcube Corner; the young daughter bouncing joyfully ahead, and the wife and husband following behind, close together. The wonderful smell was still in the air, and the blue sky shone above brilliantly.

Author's Note

This chapter was a little bit more gory than the rest so far. Can anyone tell me if differentiating between the characters (the white mare and the grey mare) is confusing? That's something I'm worried about.