Chapter 5 - Not Alone

Chapter 5 - Not Alone

ONE MONTH FOLLOWING THE END OF WAR NEXUS

The Share was sailing in the smooth water east of Equestria, toward a mysterious island that no one has explored. No magic could be used on it and the waters surrounding the island were infested with carnivorous sea creatures. It took a total of 13 days to reach the island.

Lacoden, The Hooded One, was to be exiled on this island for 25 years alone. If she were able to survive this time she would be allowed to return to Equestria. It was not far now.

Dawn and Lacoden were at Share's stern, "Lacoden, I'm sorry this has to happen to you."

Lacoden replied with a slight smile, "It's not your fault. There's nothing you can or would do. I deserve this anyway." Lacoden sighed, "Black Soul and the others are right. I'm too dangerous to be around."

"Not anymore." Dawn whimpered.

Lacoden chuckled, "You're making this harder than it has to be." She turned Dawn's face to hers, "I've accepted my punishment. One that I well deserve too."

"If you wanted to I'll help you escape right now. They wouldn't be able to stop."

"Dawn! Don't say that. I....we both have to go through this."

Dawn started to choke up, "You're the only one I have left in this damn world."

"I only have you too....", Lacoden pressed her head against Dawn's.

Seng trotted up to them with no expression on his face, wearing his RAK cloak, "We've arrived. We will have to weigh anchor a quarter mile away from the island. Captain Longbeard says there's a reef tall enough to prevent us from getting any closer. The long boats are ready."

"Thank you. Give us a few moments please." Dawn said, Seng nodded and walked away, "Sooner than expected."

"We haven't got all day, come on." Lacoden said. They walked by each other's side to the long boat that was hanging off the port side of Share. In the boat was a bag full of items that Lacoden could use to survive for a little while. Seng stepped in first, then Lacoden followed. Dawn, Aero, Black Soul, and Flake also got into the long boat.

The minutes it took to get to the island were silent. Not one said a word, the steady rhythm of the oars slapping the water was the only sound. Dawn peered over the edge of the boat to look into the water. Water so clear it almost looked like an illusion. Groups of small fish danced over the seafloor, zigzagging back and forth. Dawn felt tears building up under her eyelids, she couldn't let Lacoden go through this harsh punishment. She took a breath and calmed down knowing that Lacoden was accepting her fate. Once ashore they hopped off the boat and looked around.

"This is it." Seng said. He carried Lacoden's bag and dropped it on the coarse sand.

"Odd." Dawn whispered, "No magical presence at all here. Never felt like this before."

Aero added, "Isn't that a relief." He spread his wings and forced them down, he had no lift, "What the? Flying doesn't seem to cut it either."

Soul snapped, "Doesn't matter, we won't be here for long anyways. Let's go. Seng, Aero, get the boat back in the water. Dawn, hurry it up."

"No need to rush, Black Soul." Dawn scoffed, she walked to Lacoden who wandered off to the trees. "Lacoden, what're you doing?"

She sighed, "I was okay with this until...we actually got here." She started to sniffle, "Don't come back here. I might not be alive long enough anyways to live out my sentence. Go on...get out of here." Lacoden refused to look at Dawn, she stared at her hooves. Without a word Dawn trotted back to the boat and hopped in. Lacoden was still looking at the ground when she turned to look at her and with every stroke they got further and further away; before she knew it, they were gone.

She laid down and rested her head on her hooves p, staring into the direction from whence she came. Hoping it was all a dream. Hours turned into days and still Lacoden hasn't woken up from this nightmare. Denial has gotten the best of her. Lacoden has lost a lot of weight and her body was weak. She stumbled getting up, she finally began to search for food, shelter. The island was fairly large. With the vegetation it was a surprise that there weren't any animals around. Not even a rat.

Lacoden found a big tree, wider than all the others around. Wide leaves hung down providing shade and cover from the sun. She sat against it and looked through the bag that Dawn had packed for her. Inside was a knife, a canteen, a blanket, and a few seeds. Lacoden smiled at the fact that Dawn wanted her to live. She took the knife and scratched a tally on it. She began to keep track of the moons.

A couple of months later Lacoden, adapted to her conditions. She planted the seeds that was left with her and lived off of the harvests of berries, apples, and oranges. Of course after the first few weeks of eating the same meals she got tired of it, but what could she do? To satisfy her need for a different meal she created a net out of the fibers of leaves and fished. She used fruit as bait, hoping the fish would take it. Nothing for a day. Worms must've been crawling underground. Lacoden dug through the dirt and found a tiny worm, her attitude was beginning to change. She continued to dig for worms and had enough for her plans.

She sank the net down and dropped the worms above the net and waited. She had no where to go so waiting wasn't a big deal. She dozed off for a few minutes and woke up. Two fishes were circling around the worms, taking little pieces of them. Loops in the net were used so Lacoden could pull the pull onto shore. She watched the two fish closely waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As the fish were going in for a bite of the worms she yanked as hard as she could. Her work did not pay off. She reset her trap and got nothing for over 20 attempts. She started to lose hope. The sun was setting and all the fish had their fill. She turned in for the night.

Her home was good. She fashioned a little tree house. Using fallen trees as a staircase leading up to the thicker lower branches of the big tree. Even though had never seen an animal in all the time she's been there, she didn't want to risk her. The branches supported a platform made out of big leaves, tied together by their own fibers. The rain would not bother her much, they rolled off the leaves above her and into her little farm. The nights were always quiet, she was alone, free to find herself. Tonight, was the night she'd feel fear again.

Crackle!! She jumped up awake, her heart racing and her temperature rising rapidly. She slowly peered over her bed of leaves. A shadowy figure floated through her crops. A twig fell on her head and she winced quietly. The figure stopped, and shot it's head up to Lacoden. She laid there motionless hoping the pair of yellow eyes wouldn't notice. A low growl came from it, it speeded away into the trees. Lacoden couldn't sleep the rest of the night. She didn't dare come down from her treehouse for a couple of days. Her fear took over her need to eat and drink.

Once her nerves calmed down she felt hungry. The sun was rising so she felt safer. Slowly going down the leaves, her head ache from rapidly turning to noises and snaps. When she got to the bottom she noticed four paw prints, facing up the walkway. The placement of the prints indicate that it was sitting. A shiver ran through her body when she realized that these prints were fresh. She stepped over the prints and look through her crops, seeing multiple prints, most likely from the same animal.

Her crops had been squished and unattended they weren't in good condition. Her priority was to fix them. She replanted them and made sure the soil under them was more stable. It took her about a couple of hours to fix them. Something inside her awakened. After looking over her crops she decided to make a spear and track down the animal that tormented her.

She got the bag that was left with her and swung it over her back. And chose tracks that were more clear, recent. She followed the tracks and marked trees along the way so she could find her way home. OMorning turned to noon, her legs grew tired, she stopped to rest. She looked around the trees then sleep washed her away.

Her eyes snapped open at the snap of twigs. In front of her a pair of eyes stared at her. She jumped open and reached for her spear. The animal turned around and ran. “Come back!” she yelled. She chased the animal through bushes and between trees. Up ahead she saw a light. She slid under a fallen tree and slipped. She fell down a steep hill that seemed to appear out of nowhere. She tumbled down and a pain struck her head. Her vision was blurry and all she saw was a faint light. The animal came closer and closer. She blinked her eyes and another figure was standing next by it. They came closer. The last thing Lacoden heard before shutting her eyes was, “Let's get this mare inside.”