A pony Storyby MediArrowCoChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1Chapter 1 The sound of hoof steps echoed off the dark and damp passage, two guards were escorting a pony with a flour sack over her head and her wings bound tightly to her body. She was the best fighter they had and they used her in every match, except for tonight. She had planned to escape, she didn't know how yet. She wanted to see the area first. As they kept walking the floor beneath them angled down. The pony was wishing she was safe and sound in the loving arms of her parents back in Canterlot, but she was on a mission to find her lost sister, her parents never told her that she had a sister, although in some strange way she knew that her sister was out there, for now she had to keep her head in the game, as they drew closer to the arena she could hear the sounds of a hundred hooves pounding in the stadium. The guards escorting the young mare stopped near the gate to the arena and removed the flour sack off her head as her name was shouted through the loud speakers somewhere over head, she was momentarily blinded by the bright stadium lights as the guards pushed her into the open and slammed the gate shut behind her almost catching her three toned tail. The already noisy crowd cheered and the stench of sweaty, bloody ponies filled her nostrils as she entered, loud rock music filled the air of this underground fight match. Her opponent made his appearance, again the crowd went nuts and cheered the to the fighters. she sized up her opponent, he was a big burly stallion with scars on his knees and back. His right ear had been nearly torn off in a past fight, he was twice her size. The bell rang, the fight had begun. The two ponies circled around the center of the arena, the stallion charged and plowed into the mare catching her off guard. She flew in the air a short distance before hitting the dirt floor and rolled to a stop, just short of hitting the wall around them. Some ponies in the stands jeered at this, while others were enjoying the spectacle before them. The mare got her hooves quickly under her, shook off the dirt and her head to clear the cobwebs. she narrowed her gaze at the stallion, weighing in his disadvantages and her advantage. She is light on her hooves, quick and nimble, while he is big, slow and muscular. A wild thought crossed her mind. she charged the stallion at full speed and slid under him, before coming out from underneath him she reached for his hind legs and pulled them out from under him, he was off balance and fell over, kicking up a lot of the dirt from the arena floor, so much dust that no pony in the stands could see the fighters. The mare used this to her advantage and jumped on the stallion's side, she ever so slightly leaned forward causing the sharp tips of her four hooves to dig into his rib cage. She had become a ruthless fighter in the last few Moons. The stallion struggled to get her off, the visibility was still quite low, so their spectators could not see what happened next. she faced him, hooves still in his side. She spoke to him. " I need your help, I don't have much time and you seem nice so I do not want to kill you. This is a death match, and I do not wish to die either." The stallion looked at the mare with a confused expression on his face. "I need you to make it look like you actually killed me, please. I don't want to live this life anymore, and I MUST find my lost sister, will you do this. You must hurry, the dust has almost all settled now." The mare spoke with an urgent tone. The stallion understood and shook his head with much vigor, all he said to her in a quiet, sweet tone was this. "Forgive me for what happens next." With those words he rolled to his left, squishing the young mare, as he got to his hooves he took the Pegasus by her neck, she was limp as a ragdoll. He swung his head to the right with a half step and threw her her ten hoofsteps from where he stood to the arena wall. Her limp body hit the wall with a thud and slid down to the hard ground, as the dust finally settled the ponies could look down at the scene in silent awe. To them all they saw that one pony killed another. The stallion just lowered his head as the onlooking crowd cheered and he was declared the winner. She laid there as the fine particles of dust gathered on her red stripped coat with no sign of breathing as the stallion approached her his shadow covered her. He hoped he didn't actually just kill her, he just stared at her chest hoping for any sign of life. He knelt down and lowered his head to pick her up and carry her on his back, she did not deserve to remain laying in the filth of the arena and treated like trash, he respected this pony. Pegasus on his back he left the arena the way he entered and out to Celestia's bright day. "She did it." He thought to himself, "This pony is now free and this is her victory as it is mine." His praises went unheard as he walked over to the nearest tree to lay her down, if she is still alive, she can now start her search for her sister. He laid her between two large roots of an oak, sweetly kissed her on the forehead, and lightly covered her with leaves and left. Hours passed, the day now coming to a close and the evening has begun to make way for the Princess of the Night to raise the moon. The young mare is beginning to stir under her cover of leaves. Half asleep she tries to stand, one hoof then another, three and four, she stood with her leafy cover falling around her. "Well, at least I'm standing." she spoke quietly to herself. as she tried to tried to walk, her knees were too weak to hold her weight, with a sigh she carefully began to put one hoof in front of the other and moving closer to finding her sister, but first she needed supplies, rations and medical care. she traveled deeper into the dark forest. Hours passed, the mare was in the darkest part of the forest she had the feeling that something was watching her from the darkness. She pressed onward, hearing a primal growl the kind that come from predators, the kind that take ponies who their path and are never from again. The Pegasus thought she saw a pony shaped figure running through the shadows of the forest ahead of her. She stopped in her tracks, that was the wrong thing to do. The rustle of leaves, made her blood run ice-cold in her veins, as she turned around her ears folded down flat against her head in sheer terror. Towering over her is a monster of a Timber wolf cross. It's fur was not fur, it's coat had sharp and jagged sticks and brown wolf fur mixed together, from it's mouth saliva, the wolf cross's eyes met hers, the creature had a rabid look. It came closer to the mare, from the shadows a cloaked pony flew and collided with the hybrid and pushed the creature to the forest floor. The strange pony looked to the mare and yelled to her to run far away from that place. She wanted to help this pony, she watched the strange pony wrestle with the wolf creature. It pinned down the strange pony, the mare felt in her heart she must help this stranger, she began her approach, again the cloaked pony screamed at the mare to leave the forest as the pony rolled out from under the rabid creature and buck it in the jaw shattering it into many splinters of wood and bone. The creature staggers back, dazed and very angry. It looks between the mare and the stranger it charges. The cloaked stranger stands between the hybrid and the Pegasus. Chapter 2The mare stood her ground, she stood beside the stranger. "I am a fighter and I am not going anywhere!" The mare spoke to the stranger. The two ponies faced the rabid hybrid as it charged again. As the stranger distracts the beast, the Pegasus takes to the sky and then plummets back to the ground sending splinters and bones in every direction. With a triumphant grin on her face, she approaches the cloaked stranger. The mare lifts her hoof in gratitude. Then she sees the stranger's fore-hoof. A small trickle of blood is weaving its way down their fore-hoof and to the ground. The Mare's eyes go wide. "You are bleeding, we need to find help and get you looked at!" The mare shrieks. The stranger just ignores her and turns to leave but the Hybrid's damage has already been done. The young pegasus mare jumps in front of the stranger and tries to stop them from walking away. The cloaked pony tells the mare that their life is none of her concern. She should have run far away from the forest when she was told to do so. The stranger resumes their walking and again the pegasus mare jumps in front of them. The stranger, wounded and frustrated glares at the striped Pegasus. The cloaked pony tells the mare to move out of their way. "I will not!" Shouts the young mare. "You are wounded and you are in need of help!" she continued. The stranger looks at the mare from under the hood of their cloak in surprise. No pony has ever helped this stranger before. This young Pegasus was right though. The stranger needed medical care. The hybrid's scratch had begun to burn. They were feeling a little light-headed and weak. Celestia's day was almost starting, the colors of a new day filling the dark sky. The two ponies stood in the darkness of the forest staring at each other, neither one moving. The hoot of a nearby owl interrupted the ponies. The stranger is growing weaker by the second from the hybrid's scratch. Feeling weary they lie on the ground where she was standing to rest from the night's excitement. The Pegasus stands to watch over the stranger. She keeps a sharp eye out for any more trouble. Half a day goes by. The mare is getting hungrier with each passing minute. The stranger still sleeps as the Hybrid's poison runs through the Stranger's body. The mare has a hard choice staring her in the face, leave the stranger, find food, and help or stay starving and stay with the pony that just saved her and keep her safe. It takes her a few minutes to make up her mind. The stranger still sleeping and the mare's mind began to wander. "I want to help this pony..." She just looks at the cloaked pony next to her and continues to think. "They're sick, they need help." A twig snaps nearby the pair and the mare turns her head in the direction of the sound, she remained quiet as she stood up keeping her eyes and ears facing where that sound came from. The stranger heard the noise as well and began to stir, all they could do is lift their head and shake off the hood part of their cloak revealing their head. The mare saw a shadow coming out of the trees and she opened her wings to their fullest extent and fluffed up the fur on her chest making herself look bigger than she actually is. The approaching pony began laughing at the scene before her. "Relax young one, I am not here to harm you, I have come to help your friend." The mare still did not move from where she stood in all of her puffed-up glory. The cloaked pony was still laying on the ground, they could not say a single word, they try to stand up but quickly found out they are too weak to even try, this caught the mare's attention and she relaxed her wings and folded them back in place and slowly stepped aside to allow the newcomer to look at the stranger. She looked at the cloaked pony then turned to the Pegasus mare and asked her what attacked them. The Striped mare explained what she thought it was, a Hybrid Timberwolf. The newcomer's eyes went wide with fear and mumbled something that sounded a little like, "It's worse than I thought." The Pegasus relaxed completely and gave the newcomer a confused expression, the newcomer told the mare that she would explain as soon as the trio got to a safe place in the Everfree. in a few quick movements the newcomer mare picked up the now unconscious cloaked stranger and carried her on the newcomer's back and they walked a great distance from the clearing where they were. The newcomer lead the way and the striped mare's jaw fell open just a little at the sight before her. A walled village in the last place anypony would have thought. In the deepest and darkest part of the Everfree. The newcomer mare welcomed the Pegasus Mare to her home, The Village of Kara-nah, and she explained that it meant New Home in Old Ponish and was founded by her mother a great queen who has long since disappeared moons ago and now she was the ruling heir, then she introduced herself to the mare as Princess Jay Feather, Sister to Hazel, Daughters of MedicineArrow, Great Queen of the Everfree. then asked if the Pegasus mare had a name as they walked through the village to the medical hut passing homes and market stalls. The mare said she did have a name but every time she shared it was strange sounding to her ears as she hardly ever said it out loud to herself or anypony else. The mare had previously heard the princess said that it was worse than she had thought, she asked the princess why she had said that instead of giving her name by this time they were walking into the medical hut, The Princess laid the cloaked stranger on a cot and explained to an older looking Black and purple Pegasus mare the pony's condition and that they needed to be watched closely, she then turned back to the red mare and asked her to follow her back to her home where the Princess would explain to the mare in greater detail. Once in the hut, the Princess walked over to a bookshelf next to the fireplace where the two ponies sat. Jay browsed her collection of books looking for one volume in particular. "Rules, How to's, Village Financial Managing...AH! Here we go!" the Princess exclaimed as her guest looked up from her steaming cup of tea. "This I think will help explain why I said what I said, The Second Volume of the Queen's Journals," Jay said as she used her magic to carefully place the tome on the table between the two mares and open it to the page she wanted. "Here!" Jay broke the silence that settled in the little hut and the Pegasus looked away from the warming fire to see the young Princess was looking at. "It says here that it all started when a Unicorn arrived in the village..." She paused for a moment taking in the realization of what her mother did. "what is it? please tell me what is going on?" The mare asked sounding nervous Jay looked up from the pages she read. "It says that the Unicorn came from the Hollow Shades that is located North and East of where we are. It says that The Queen had him help her apprentice, Nightshade make an elixir of life so she would not age whenever she would leave the EverFree because of the oath she took many moons ago." She stopped reading and plopped down on her cushion lost in thought. It was a solid few minutes before she spoke. "I took that same oath... I have never set foot outside this forest... My mother always said she could feel the forest and all of the Ponies who came and went, She kept them safe as they traveled within her domain, I don't have that feeling...." She stopped and looked at the mare then back to the record that her mother wrote, she flipped ahead a few more pages and continued to read. "It says the Unicorn had heard that the mirror pool in an underground cavern, is where an old stallion placed my mother as leader of the younger ponies of HIS clan as he was released and left with the older members, he took them to their reward..." Looked up once again at the mare. "My best guess he took them to a safe place to sleep for the Eternities." It was pretty clear that the mare was wondering what this had to do with her question and her quest, but she listened quietly. The Princess resumed. "Reward... The Unicorn snuck out during the day after spending the night in the Queen's home, according to this that he was heading for the sacred cavern to finish the elixir... It does not say what happened next." Jay said after flipping forward in the book a little bit more, then turning them back trying to find what she needed, then she stopped and got a closer look at the pages and let out a quiet gasp. "There are pages missing!!" She shrieked making the Pegasus jump, spilling the last drops of her tea. Chapter 3The Mare set her cup down then got up to get a closer look Jay stepped aside a little to let her guest look. The mare slowly moved a hoof down the page to reveal the torn edges of the missing pages. She wondered to herself who could have done such a thing. "The Queen did." whispered a voice. The Mare looked up feeling startled she saw that the princess wore the same expression. The two mares stood there looking at each other until a knock came at the door both mares looked to the door then back. The Princess got to her hooves and walked over to her front door then opened it to find a light-colored Unicorn mare wearing a cloak. "Frozen River!" Princess Jay exclaimed in surprise. "I thought you were living in Ponyville," she stated as she moved a hoof to invite the Unicorn in. "Thank you kiddo, I was living there for a time. I moved out to the mild west and married a sweet stallion. Enough of that, I had a feeling something was wrong here in the forest... It seems I am right." River stated as she glanced at the open journal on the table. She took a few steps closer the two other mares stepped aside so the Unicorn can inspect it. She placed a hoof on the open pages as if she was remembering. "Can you tell us more about my mother River?" Jay asked sounding sad. "Yes, I remember, it was just days before you and your sister were born Varian gave the Queen an elixir that he had been working on to expel the darkness from her heart, the thing is by the time she finished it it was too late he had perverted the elixir and she realized what he had done The queen quickly gathered some herbs and ran out to a safe place in the forest where she could find the last herb. I can only guess that the mixture she made worked because the next evening the Queen returned to the village with you and your twin sister Hazel on her back nestled between her folded wings." River began her tale. She looked up at Jay. She continued. "You two were so small as twins go. She brought you to your Aunt, Spotted Turtle to take care of you until you were old enough to take your mother's place. The Queen came back to this place and tore out these pages so you and Hazel did not make the same mistake in trusting Varian, she then came to see me after banishing Varian from the village. She made me Pinkie Promise never to tell you where she was going and to never tell you who your father is." Jay stood there with her jaw open a little, she then shut it with a click of her teeth. "I'm guessing that you have already put the pieces together, didn't you?" River asked and the Princess nodded yes. "Please excuse me, I ... ...I need a moment." The princess whispered as she went upstairs to the upper balcony leaving the Pegasus and River alone. "Well, I must take my leave now, if there is anything else you need from me, I will be here in the village." River started with a tone of sadness in her voice. She turned to leave. She flared her magic to open the door and walk out into the night, before she was gone into the darkness she turned back a little to say something to the Pegasus mare. "If she is anything like her mother, the Queen, she will endure and find a way to forgive." With that, she left. Upstairs the Princess just sat on her bed staring at her blue pendant with tears welling up in her light blue eyes. That same crystal her aunt had given to her mother, who in turn gave it to her before she disappeared all of those moons ago. The young Princess wondered why her mother had to leave Jay wanted her sister back to share this with her. She knew that Hazel had snuck out of the village some time ago. The red Pegasus mare was sitting downstairs waiting for the Princess to come back down. She approached the stairs then thought better of it and she turned to the front door to check in on the cloaked stranger. She walked past little shops admiring their wares and seeing happy ponies and their families. Parents who love each other, and their children. Siblings getting along. Her mind wandered, and she began to think that her quest to find her sister would lead her to this little village and all of its happy folk. She couldn't take it anymore and continued on her way to the medical building. She made it and never noticed that the building had an identifying banner on the outside and a plate next to the door that had two names on it. MedicineArrow - Chief Healer Nightshade - Apprentice Healer The Mare pushed the door open and walked in. She announced her presence and just seconds later a black Pegasus popped her head around the corner then disappeared. The red Pegasus stood there a little confused finally the black mare came back around the corner and asked The red mare to join her behind the wall, she followed the elder mare to a bed where the stranger pony was laying fast asleep her fore-hoof wrapped up in a clean bandage. Now that the cloak had been removed the Red Mare got a better look at the pony she stood by just the day before. The red mare admired the pony's mottled brown and green coat, she noticed that the pony looked slightly smaller than herself and these village folk. She wondered if this pony was still growing. She never saw the stranger's cutiemark because she was covered to keep her warm as they healed, she saw the stranger's mane was a solid dark brown with a single streak of ice blue behind her ear. The mare saw the Black Pegasus stand next to her. "She will be fine I used a poultice on the cut to draw out the toxins, if you had not stood by her side I don't think she would have made it... Oh, my name is Nightshade, but you can call me Bella." The black pony says to the mare, who is just looking at the stranger. "She asked me to leave her, Bella..." The red mare let the thought hang in the air and let her ears relax. "You did not cause this... What is your name again?" Nightshade tried to pry. "I don't know anymore... if I told you I wouldn't own up to it." The red mare said in a solemn tone. Nightshade was taken aback by this she told the red mare that she could stay for as long as she wanted and left her to sit the stranger. As the mare just sat next to the stranger's bedside she preened one of her wings, she stopped as soon she found a picture of her family she kept there, it was a very strange place to keep such a thing, it was her way keep it safe. She pulled it out, she saw her smiling parents. She saw herself as a tiny foal and saw the tare where her sibling would be. She sat there for hours on end just staring at that little photo. Her mother's an Earth pony with warm brown fur and freckles across her nose and onto her cheeks, her eyes are as purple as the summer heather in the royal gardens. Her father's a Pegasus his smile radiated out of the photo, his fur was rust with a dark red speckled pattern on his rear, his blue eyes sparkled like the river that flowed through Canterlot. Their manes and tails complimented each other. The mare, her's didn't match her parents', she remembered her father accusing her mother of something she clearly did not do, as the mare sported a red coat of fur and wings like her father. The mare let a tear silently fall down her muzzle and down on her precious family, then she wiped it off and tucked it away back between her feathers. he curled up in the chair drifted off into a dreamless slumber. Morning came early and the mare began to stir in her chair, she opened one eye then both with a big yawn and a good stretch she sat up and looked over at the stranger she had guarded the day before. "Sleep well did you?" The stranger asked the red mare. At first, The mare shook her head to make sure she wasn't hearing things, and she told the stranger that she did not sleep well. "You should not have saved me, I could have handled my injuries myself... I thank you for doing so." The stranger spoke in a raspy tone. The red mare told the pony that one they needed to thank was the Princess and Nightshade. "Princess? I only know of Five Princesses and who in Tartarus is Nightshade?" They sat up asking. The Black and purple Pegasus came around the corner from where she was at all night. "I am Nightshade, but you can call me Bella instead if you want." She spoke calmly as she walked over to the dark-colored stranger to check her over The stranger was quiet for a moment then spoke again. "Oh... Okay, Nightshade, who is THIS princess is this mare talking about, I only know of Five Princesses." Nightshade went on and told the stranger that there were certainly more than Five living Princesses living in the land of Equestria. The stranger got even more confused then the red mare interrupted and simplified things for the pony. "You are currently in The EverFree Forest and there once was a queen she had twin daughters and they now rule this realm, and one of them saved you." the red mare stated. The stranger was silent for a long time. The red mare excused herself and left to find some food. She entered the Great Hall and walked straight into a dark burgundy colored handsome stallion with two tones of blue for a mane and tail and pale blue eyes and no cutiemark on his flank. "Oh, I am SO sorry, I didn't see you there." The stallion apologized as he helped the red mare back up to her hooves. The mare just brushed herself off and told him that she had been through a whole lot worse with a little bit of a laugh in her voice. She then looked up into his eyes and felt something in her heart. Hoof in hoof they stand in the silent doorway of The Great Hall staring at each other. "The Name's Mahogany Agate, pretty mare." The young stallion softly spoke to the red mare and still staring in his blue eyes she quietly whispered her name. "Please, I'm very hungry as I have not eaten in two days." The mare began as the handsome stallion interrupted that he could give her something to help her feel better, but she would have to follow him home. The mare agreed and she moved to let him pass and followed him through the village and to the door to his little home where he let her enter first. In her mind, this was the most amazing place she had ever seen. In the windows, the stallion hung shards of colored glass and when the sunlight coming through made the little home alight in colors. He walked into his kitchen she saw a little clear crystal in the window and asked what it was. "That? Oh, that is Quartz, my mother gave it to me when I moved here a few years ago." He spoke as he admired his prized possession. "Who's Hungry?" He asked the mare making her smile. Chapter 4Mahogany sat across from the red mare as they ate their hot meal and the first hot meal the red mare had in a long while. He asked his guest if she felt better with food in her mouth she nodded. That made him smile just a little bit. "You are the sweetest mare I have been with, in a long while, and I really like you, Velvet." the Stallion told the mare who had just finished her food and had gotten up to place the plates in the sink, she just stood there her eyes wide in surprise. Mahogany was looking at his table as he spoke, feeling nervous. The red Pegasus left the plates on the table and reached for his muzzle and kissed him softly and passionately, they broke it and he led his new friend to his room where they spent the rest of the day and into the night. The next morning the red mare rolled to admire her bedfellow who just stared at her he let a sweet smile inch across his muzzle. He sat up and asked the mare if she could join in a feast that is being held in the Great Hall, for a moment the mare hesitated as this would delay her quest another day, the red mare agreed to join her new friend. Together they ate their breakfast in his little kitchen then the red mare went to see the stranger pony and make sure they were feeling better. The mare entered the medical building and called out for Nightshade, no reply, she called again, and still no reply from the dark-colored mare. "If you are looking for that Black Pegasus, she's not here... she left to go into the forest to find some rare... Herb!" came the familiar voice from inside, the cloaked stranger, and they were not sounding better, so the mare found her way in to see the stranger. "Oh, it's you..." the stranger coughed out then asked, "What do you want from me now?" "Nothing... I wanted to see how you were holding in there, is there someone I can get for you? The red mare said to the dark-colored stranger. The pony looked down and said no at first then just before the red mare could move to leave, the stranger said that there was somepony that they wanted to see, a stallion who lives alone in a little shelter deep in the Feverfree with his friend a Lunar Fae dragon, the pony shared the name of the stallion, Muddy Tail. The Red mare agreed to find this stallion and she left. The mare ran through the village and out the gates right as Nightshade walked right back in leaving the black Pegasus wondering where she was going in such a hurry, she shrugged and resumed her path. The red mare walked, flew, and ran in a few hours' time and found the little shelter and found the stallion and explained how she found him, he did live up to his name his dark green coat was covered with patches of mud and his mane and tail were unkept and she noticed small twigs and leaf bits sticking out at odd angles. The mare nervously cleared her throat to speak to the stallion, she explained that there was a pony in the village she had just come from asking for him specifically. The mare further retold of how she met the stranger and what transpired two days earlier, the Stallion seemed genuinely concerned and asked the red mare to lead him back to the village to see the pony. The red mare agreed and lead the way. Before long the two ponies walked through the village gates. Nightshade stood outside the medical building a motioned for the Stallion to come closer as Mahogany came out of the shadows and asked the red mare if she could join him in the Great Hall for the feast, she accepted and together they joined the feast. The atmosphere in the Great Hall was warm and welcoming, the food on the tables smelled heavenly. The Red Mare thought that these ponies found their happiness in their celebrations. They feasted late into the day into evening. The cider drinks made them continue their singing and laughter. Mahogany pulled the red mare aside and asked her if she would join him for some quiet. She agreed and followed him as she had a bit too much cider, they walked to his door she noticed that her friend had a bit too much of the cider as well. He let the door swing open and they both flopped to the floor giggling as the mare fixed her mane and adjusted her wings. Mahogany stopped laughing to tell his mare his true feelings and kissed her muzzle. The Pegasus just stood there not knowing what to say as he turned to go to his bed to sleep. Velvet had many things racing through her mind, she never heard the click of his door as it closed making her alone in the empty living space of his little home. She shook her head to clear the stray thoughts and followed after Mahogany and opened his bedroom door silently and entered. She walked noiselessly and climbed into his bed and snuggled close to him for his comfort, he turned and embraced his mare and began nuzzling her ear then slowly moving to her neck. Chapter 5In the early morning light, the red mare rolled out from under his warm blankets and silently left his room. Before leaving she fixed her mane and flicked her tail until it was the way she wanted it and walked away without leaving Mahogany a note, she felt like she had no other choice to leave. She found something, love and she wanted to keep it safe. The mare found a cloak that would be warm enough if she needed it for the use of a blanket. She silently crept through the village until she found the gates, opened her wings, and took to the sky. The fresh forest air filled her lungs with each breath as she climbed high into the clouds the sunrise to her left her next stop, the southern badlands. High above the Earth, the Red mare flew over what looked like a barren desert wasteland, she looked down as she flew and she saw beauty, just like it when she saw the beauty of that little village in the dark forest of the EverFree, young ponies laughing and playing without a care in the world. She has been flying since dawn and the Noonday sun and the desert heat were making her tired and she was needing something to drink. The Mare touched down on the hot sand. She quickly noticed that it was much hotter on the ground compared to the sky above. She searched for plants she only read about when she was just a filly, she finally found what she was looking for, but it's covered with spines making it difficult for the mare to get to the precious moisture she needs. She stood there in the hot sun staring at her unappetizing water source and turned away started to dig into the hot sandy soil, the deeper she kept digging the cooler the earth became beneath her hooves, she made it just big enough for her to lay in to rest for a few hours at least. Around and around she circled then finally tucked her hooves under her then began to preen herself to remove any sand in her feathers and soft fur. She laid her head on the cool earth and began to nod off. The hours flew by early evening arrived and the stars were just beginning to show as the red mare stared. Bleary-eyed she looked up with a yawn. Stood in her earthen bed and stretched, arching her back, then leaning back sticking her two-toned tail skyward and opening her wings. She needed that rest, and she thought it was a little odd for her to sleep in the middle of the day, she pushed that thought out of her head and thought nothing more about it. She took in her surroundings then took to the sky continuing her course. It wasn't long before she saw a town creeping in view She knew it was the first town she was brought to after her foalnapping some moons ago. Good thing she brought the cloak along with her she landed just on the outskirts of town and dug into her saddlebags and pulled out the cloak, put it on, and walked into town. She wandered down the filthy narrow streets keeping her wits about her as this little town had a reputation and she was traded here, just the mere thought of that made her shudder. "Halt!" Bellowed a voice making Velvet freeze where she stood. "No lurkers in the night market!" The voice came again this time it was closer. Her first instinct was to buck knocking who's behind her flat on their back. The jig was up as she noticed figures closing in from the shadows, she had to leave this town. The mare looked around for an escape then looked up, spread her wings and with a powerful downbeat she was up in the air looking down at the townsfolk in a heap. She stuck out her tongue and blew razzberries at them. She needed an up space and she found one. The tallest structure around it looked like an old windmill, like the one she saw in Ponyville when she was little. That was then, right now she needed a place to hide and that windmill looked like a good hiding spot. The Mare glided in and lightly touched down on the roof hoping she wouldn't be making too much noise. She made her way to a window and helped herself inside hoping Noone was home, she found the place had been turned upside down, books scattered all over the place broken dishes, scorched furniture, and the stench of sulfur and smoke hung in the air. It made her feel uneasy, but the smokey air would hide her scent from the townfolk outside and that helped her relax a little. She looked through the remaining books and papers that were untouched by the fire, soon she found herself starving she sighed and got up to see what there was for food. She found cans of fish, shrimp, a little baggie of green stuff with "Nip" scrawled on it. She tossed that aside. She soon found a container of what sounded like flakes and an old apple, that she promptly ate and quickly regretted. She rushed to a broken window and threw up the apple. She sat with her head out into the fresh air wondering what was hey wrong with her, she loved apples. The mare stayed like that for several minutes before returning to her little makeshift nest she made with the blankets she found and fell asleep reading. Velvet didn't want to sleep, she fought it off making herself even more tired. She relaxed for a split second and her head thumped into the book she was reading. She was soon in a deep sleep and found herself in the dream realm, the domain of Princess Luna. She looked around for the midnight blue mare, she was nowhere to be found. She called to the Alicorn, but there was no reply. Velvet was alone and she tucked herself up and lowered her head her ears drooped with sadness, she felt like crying. "Velvet? Is that you?" Came a soft, nearly inaudible voice from the nether regions of the realm. Velvet perked her ears to listen, then looked up to see no one there. She called out into the darkness. No answer. She began to think that she had imagined the voice. She soon found herself watching memories, the ones that one barely remembers from their early years of life. She opened a door and gazed in. She was her mother sitting in front of a camera holding her and her father messing with it and calling for someone to come and sit for the family photo, the filly came running where ever she was to sit next to the little Velvet. Her father quickly moved from behind the camera to in front of it in one motion and they all smiled at the last second, then flash! Velvet woke up and for a second forgot where she was. She looked in the direction of the window the smell of rain was hung in the air and the sound of distant thunder rolling through on the wind that was now picking up and rustling a few nearby papers.
Chapter 1Chapter 1 The sound of hoof steps echoed off the dark and damp passage, two guards were escorting a pony with a flour sack over her head and her wings bound tightly to her body. She was the best fighter they had and they used her in every match, except for tonight. She had planned to escape, she didn't know how yet. She wanted to see the area first. As they kept walking the floor beneath them angled down. The pony was wishing she was safe and sound in the loving arms of her parents back in Canterlot, but she was on a mission to find her lost sister, her parents never told her that she had a sister, although in some strange way she knew that her sister was out there, for now she had to keep her head in the game, as they drew closer to the arena she could hear the sounds of a hundred hooves pounding in the stadium. The guards escorting the young mare stopped near the gate to the arena and removed the flour sack off her head as her name was shouted through the loud speakers somewhere over head, she was momentarily blinded by the bright stadium lights as the guards pushed her into the open and slammed the gate shut behind her almost catching her three toned tail. The already noisy crowd cheered and the stench of sweaty, bloody ponies filled her nostrils as she entered, loud rock music filled the air of this underground fight match. Her opponent made his appearance, again the crowd went nuts and cheered the to the fighters. she sized up her opponent, he was a big burly stallion with scars on his knees and back. His right ear had been nearly torn off in a past fight, he was twice her size. The bell rang, the fight had begun. The two ponies circled around the center of the arena, the stallion charged and plowed into the mare catching her off guard. She flew in the air a short distance before hitting the dirt floor and rolled to a stop, just short of hitting the wall around them. Some ponies in the stands jeered at this, while others were enjoying the spectacle before them. The mare got her hooves quickly under her, shook off the dirt and her head to clear the cobwebs. she narrowed her gaze at the stallion, weighing in his disadvantages and her advantage. She is light on her hooves, quick and nimble, while he is big, slow and muscular. A wild thought crossed her mind. she charged the stallion at full speed and slid under him, before coming out from underneath him she reached for his hind legs and pulled them out from under him, he was off balance and fell over, kicking up a lot of the dirt from the arena floor, so much dust that no pony in the stands could see the fighters. The mare used this to her advantage and jumped on the stallion's side, she ever so slightly leaned forward causing the sharp tips of her four hooves to dig into his rib cage. She had become a ruthless fighter in the last few Moons. The stallion struggled to get her off, the visibility was still quite low, so their spectators could not see what happened next. she faced him, hooves still in his side. She spoke to him. " I need your help, I don't have much time and you seem nice so I do not want to kill you. This is a death match, and I do not wish to die either." The stallion looked at the mare with a confused expression on his face. "I need you to make it look like you actually killed me, please. I don't want to live this life anymore, and I MUST find my lost sister, will you do this. You must hurry, the dust has almost all settled now." The mare spoke with an urgent tone. The stallion understood and shook his head with much vigor, all he said to her in a quiet, sweet tone was this. "Forgive me for what happens next." With those words he rolled to his left, squishing the young mare, as he got to his hooves he took the Pegasus by her neck, she was limp as a ragdoll. He swung his head to the right with a half step and threw her her ten hoofsteps from where he stood to the arena wall. Her limp body hit the wall with a thud and slid down to the hard ground, as the dust finally settled the ponies could look down at the scene in silent awe. To them all they saw that one pony killed another. The stallion just lowered his head as the onlooking crowd cheered and he was declared the winner. She laid there as the fine particles of dust gathered on her red stripped coat with no sign of breathing as the stallion approached her his shadow covered her. He hoped he didn't actually just kill her, he just stared at her chest hoping for any sign of life. He knelt down and lowered his head to pick her up and carry her on his back, she did not deserve to remain laying in the filth of the arena and treated like trash, he respected this pony. Pegasus on his back he left the arena the way he entered and out to Celestia's bright day. "She did it." He thought to himself, "This pony is now free and this is her victory as it is mine." His praises went unheard as he walked over to the nearest tree to lay her down, if she is still alive, she can now start her search for her sister. He laid her between two large roots of an oak, sweetly kissed her on the forehead, and lightly covered her with leaves and left. Hours passed, the day now coming to a close and the evening has begun to make way for the Princess of the Night to raise the moon. The young mare is beginning to stir under her cover of leaves. Half asleep she tries to stand, one hoof then another, three and four, she stood with her leafy cover falling around her. "Well, at least I'm standing." she spoke quietly to herself. as she tried to tried to walk, her knees were too weak to hold her weight, with a sigh she carefully began to put one hoof in front of the other and moving closer to finding her sister, but first she needed supplies, rations and medical care. she traveled deeper into the dark forest. Hours passed, the mare was in the darkest part of the forest she had the feeling that something was watching her from the darkness. She pressed onward, hearing a primal growl the kind that come from predators, the kind that take ponies who their path and are never from again. The Pegasus thought she saw a pony shaped figure running through the shadows of the forest ahead of her. She stopped in her tracks, that was the wrong thing to do. The rustle of leaves, made her blood run ice-cold in her veins, as she turned around her ears folded down flat against her head in sheer terror. Towering over her is a monster of a Timber wolf cross. It's fur was not fur, it's coat had sharp and jagged sticks and brown wolf fur mixed together, from it's mouth saliva, the wolf cross's eyes met hers, the creature had a rabid look. It came closer to the mare, from the shadows a cloaked pony flew and collided with the hybrid and pushed the creature to the forest floor. The strange pony looked to the mare and yelled to her to run far away from that place. She wanted to help this pony, she watched the strange pony wrestle with the wolf creature. It pinned down the strange pony, the mare felt in her heart she must help this stranger, she began her approach, again the cloaked pony screamed at the mare to leave the forest as the pony rolled out from under the rabid creature and buck it in the jaw shattering it into many splinters of wood and bone. The creature staggers back, dazed and very angry. It looks between the mare and the stranger it charges. The cloaked stranger stands between the hybrid and the Pegasus.
Chapter 2The mare stood her ground, she stood beside the stranger. "I am a fighter and I am not going anywhere!" The mare spoke to the stranger. The two ponies faced the rabid hybrid as it charged again. As the stranger distracts the beast, the Pegasus takes to the sky and then plummets back to the ground sending splinters and bones in every direction. With a triumphant grin on her face, she approaches the cloaked stranger. The mare lifts her hoof in gratitude. Then she sees the stranger's fore-hoof. A small trickle of blood is weaving its way down their fore-hoof and to the ground. The Mare's eyes go wide. "You are bleeding, we need to find help and get you looked at!" The mare shrieks. The stranger just ignores her and turns to leave but the Hybrid's damage has already been done. The young pegasus mare jumps in front of the stranger and tries to stop them from walking away. The cloaked pony tells the mare that their life is none of her concern. She should have run far away from the forest when she was told to do so. The stranger resumes their walking and again the pegasus mare jumps in front of them. The stranger, wounded and frustrated glares at the striped Pegasus. The cloaked pony tells the mare to move out of their way. "I will not!" Shouts the young mare. "You are wounded and you are in need of help!" she continued. The stranger looks at the mare from under the hood of their cloak in surprise. No pony has ever helped this stranger before. This young Pegasus was right though. The stranger needed medical care. The hybrid's scratch had begun to burn. They were feeling a little light-headed and weak. Celestia's day was almost starting, the colors of a new day filling the dark sky. The two ponies stood in the darkness of the forest staring at each other, neither one moving. The hoot of a nearby owl interrupted the ponies. The stranger is growing weaker by the second from the hybrid's scratch. Feeling weary they lie on the ground where she was standing to rest from the night's excitement. The Pegasus stands to watch over the stranger. She keeps a sharp eye out for any more trouble. Half a day goes by. The mare is getting hungrier with each passing minute. The stranger still sleeps as the Hybrid's poison runs through the Stranger's body. The mare has a hard choice staring her in the face, leave the stranger, find food, and help or stay starving and stay with the pony that just saved her and keep her safe. It takes her a few minutes to make up her mind. The stranger still sleeping and the mare's mind began to wander. "I want to help this pony..." She just looks at the cloaked pony next to her and continues to think. "They're sick, they need help." A twig snaps nearby the pair and the mare turns her head in the direction of the sound, she remained quiet as she stood up keeping her eyes and ears facing where that sound came from. The stranger heard the noise as well and began to stir, all they could do is lift their head and shake off the hood part of their cloak revealing their head. The mare saw a shadow coming out of the trees and she opened her wings to their fullest extent and fluffed up the fur on her chest making herself look bigger than she actually is. The approaching pony began laughing at the scene before her. "Relax young one, I am not here to harm you, I have come to help your friend." The mare still did not move from where she stood in all of her puffed-up glory. The cloaked pony was still laying on the ground, they could not say a single word, they try to stand up but quickly found out they are too weak to even try, this caught the mare's attention and she relaxed her wings and folded them back in place and slowly stepped aside to allow the newcomer to look at the stranger. She looked at the cloaked pony then turned to the Pegasus mare and asked her what attacked them. The Striped mare explained what she thought it was, a Hybrid Timberwolf. The newcomer's eyes went wide with fear and mumbled something that sounded a little like, "It's worse than I thought." The Pegasus relaxed completely and gave the newcomer a confused expression, the newcomer told the mare that she would explain as soon as the trio got to a safe place in the Everfree. in a few quick movements the newcomer mare picked up the now unconscious cloaked stranger and carried her on the newcomer's back and they walked a great distance from the clearing where they were. The newcomer lead the way and the striped mare's jaw fell open just a little at the sight before her. A walled village in the last place anypony would have thought. In the deepest and darkest part of the Everfree. The newcomer mare welcomed the Pegasus Mare to her home, The Village of Kara-nah, and she explained that it meant New Home in Old Ponish and was founded by her mother a great queen who has long since disappeared moons ago and now she was the ruling heir, then she introduced herself to the mare as Princess Jay Feather, Sister to Hazel, Daughters of MedicineArrow, Great Queen of the Everfree. then asked if the Pegasus mare had a name as they walked through the village to the medical hut passing homes and market stalls. The mare said she did have a name but every time she shared it was strange sounding to her ears as she hardly ever said it out loud to herself or anypony else. The mare had previously heard the princess said that it was worse than she had thought, she asked the princess why she had said that instead of giving her name by this time they were walking into the medical hut, The Princess laid the cloaked stranger on a cot and explained to an older looking Black and purple Pegasus mare the pony's condition and that they needed to be watched closely, she then turned back to the red mare and asked her to follow her back to her home where the Princess would explain to the mare in greater detail. Once in the hut, the Princess walked over to a bookshelf next to the fireplace where the two ponies sat. Jay browsed her collection of books looking for one volume in particular. "Rules, How to's, Village Financial Managing...AH! Here we go!" the Princess exclaimed as her guest looked up from her steaming cup of tea. "This I think will help explain why I said what I said, The Second Volume of the Queen's Journals," Jay said as she used her magic to carefully place the tome on the table between the two mares and open it to the page she wanted. "Here!" Jay broke the silence that settled in the little hut and the Pegasus looked away from the warming fire to see the young Princess was looking at. "It says here that it all started when a Unicorn arrived in the village..." She paused for a moment taking in the realization of what her mother did. "what is it? please tell me what is going on?" The mare asked sounding nervous Jay looked up from the pages she read. "It says that the Unicorn came from the Hollow Shades that is located North and East of where we are. It says that The Queen had him help her apprentice, Nightshade make an elixir of life so she would not age whenever she would leave the EverFree because of the oath she took many moons ago." She stopped reading and plopped down on her cushion lost in thought. It was a solid few minutes before she spoke. "I took that same oath... I have never set foot outside this forest... My mother always said she could feel the forest and all of the Ponies who came and went, She kept them safe as they traveled within her domain, I don't have that feeling...." She stopped and looked at the mare then back to the record that her mother wrote, she flipped ahead a few more pages and continued to read. "It says the Unicorn had heard that the mirror pool in an underground cavern, is where an old stallion placed my mother as leader of the younger ponies of HIS clan as he was released and left with the older members, he took them to their reward..." Looked up once again at the mare. "My best guess he took them to a safe place to sleep for the Eternities." It was pretty clear that the mare was wondering what this had to do with her question and her quest, but she listened quietly. The Princess resumed. "Reward... The Unicorn snuck out during the day after spending the night in the Queen's home, according to this that he was heading for the sacred cavern to finish the elixir... It does not say what happened next." Jay said after flipping forward in the book a little bit more, then turning them back trying to find what she needed, then she stopped and got a closer look at the pages and let out a quiet gasp. "There are pages missing!!" She shrieked making the Pegasus jump, spilling the last drops of her tea.
Chapter 3The Mare set her cup down then got up to get a closer look Jay stepped aside a little to let her guest look. The mare slowly moved a hoof down the page to reveal the torn edges of the missing pages. She wondered to herself who could have done such a thing. "The Queen did." whispered a voice. The Mare looked up feeling startled she saw that the princess wore the same expression. The two mares stood there looking at each other until a knock came at the door both mares looked to the door then back. The Princess got to her hooves and walked over to her front door then opened it to find a light-colored Unicorn mare wearing a cloak. "Frozen River!" Princess Jay exclaimed in surprise. "I thought you were living in Ponyville," she stated as she moved a hoof to invite the Unicorn in. "Thank you kiddo, I was living there for a time. I moved out to the mild west and married a sweet stallion. Enough of that, I had a feeling something was wrong here in the forest... It seems I am right." River stated as she glanced at the open journal on the table. She took a few steps closer the two other mares stepped aside so the Unicorn can inspect it. She placed a hoof on the open pages as if she was remembering. "Can you tell us more about my mother River?" Jay asked sounding sad. "Yes, I remember, it was just days before you and your sister were born Varian gave the Queen an elixir that he had been working on to expel the darkness from her heart, the thing is by the time she finished it it was too late he had perverted the elixir and she realized what he had done The queen quickly gathered some herbs and ran out to a safe place in the forest where she could find the last herb. I can only guess that the mixture she made worked because the next evening the Queen returned to the village with you and your twin sister Hazel on her back nestled between her folded wings." River began her tale. She looked up at Jay. She continued. "You two were so small as twins go. She brought you to your Aunt, Spotted Turtle to take care of you until you were old enough to take your mother's place. The Queen came back to this place and tore out these pages so you and Hazel did not make the same mistake in trusting Varian, she then came to see me after banishing Varian from the village. She made me Pinkie Promise never to tell you where she was going and to never tell you who your father is." Jay stood there with her jaw open a little, she then shut it with a click of her teeth. "I'm guessing that you have already put the pieces together, didn't you?" River asked and the Princess nodded yes. "Please excuse me, I ... ...I need a moment." The princess whispered as she went upstairs to the upper balcony leaving the Pegasus and River alone. "Well, I must take my leave now, if there is anything else you need from me, I will be here in the village." River started with a tone of sadness in her voice. She turned to leave. She flared her magic to open the door and walk out into the night, before she was gone into the darkness she turned back a little to say something to the Pegasus mare. "If she is anything like her mother, the Queen, she will endure and find a way to forgive." With that, she left. Upstairs the Princess just sat on her bed staring at her blue pendant with tears welling up in her light blue eyes. That same crystal her aunt had given to her mother, who in turn gave it to her before she disappeared all of those moons ago. The young Princess wondered why her mother had to leave Jay wanted her sister back to share this with her. She knew that Hazel had snuck out of the village some time ago. The red Pegasus mare was sitting downstairs waiting for the Princess to come back down. She approached the stairs then thought better of it and she turned to the front door to check in on the cloaked stranger. She walked past little shops admiring their wares and seeing happy ponies and their families. Parents who love each other, and their children. Siblings getting along. Her mind wandered, and she began to think that her quest to find her sister would lead her to this little village and all of its happy folk. She couldn't take it anymore and continued on her way to the medical building. She made it and never noticed that the building had an identifying banner on the outside and a plate next to the door that had two names on it. MedicineArrow - Chief Healer Nightshade - Apprentice Healer The Mare pushed the door open and walked in. She announced her presence and just seconds later a black Pegasus popped her head around the corner then disappeared. The red Pegasus stood there a little confused finally the black mare came back around the corner and asked The red mare to join her behind the wall, she followed the elder mare to a bed where the stranger pony was laying fast asleep her fore-hoof wrapped up in a clean bandage. Now that the cloak had been removed the Red Mare got a better look at the pony she stood by just the day before. The red mare admired the pony's mottled brown and green coat, she noticed that the pony looked slightly smaller than herself and these village folk. She wondered if this pony was still growing. She never saw the stranger's cutiemark because she was covered to keep her warm as they healed, she saw the stranger's mane was a solid dark brown with a single streak of ice blue behind her ear. The mare saw the Black Pegasus stand next to her. "She will be fine I used a poultice on the cut to draw out the toxins, if you had not stood by her side I don't think she would have made it... Oh, my name is Nightshade, but you can call me Bella." The black pony says to the mare, who is just looking at the stranger. "She asked me to leave her, Bella..." The red mare let the thought hang in the air and let her ears relax. "You did not cause this... What is your name again?" Nightshade tried to pry. "I don't know anymore... if I told you I wouldn't own up to it." The red mare said in a solemn tone. Nightshade was taken aback by this she told the red mare that she could stay for as long as she wanted and left her to sit the stranger. As the mare just sat next to the stranger's bedside she preened one of her wings, she stopped as soon she found a picture of her family she kept there, it was a very strange place to keep such a thing, it was her way keep it safe. She pulled it out, she saw her smiling parents. She saw herself as a tiny foal and saw the tare where her sibling would be. She sat there for hours on end just staring at that little photo. Her mother's an Earth pony with warm brown fur and freckles across her nose and onto her cheeks, her eyes are as purple as the summer heather in the royal gardens. Her father's a Pegasus his smile radiated out of the photo, his fur was rust with a dark red speckled pattern on his rear, his blue eyes sparkled like the river that flowed through Canterlot. Their manes and tails complimented each other. The mare, her's didn't match her parents', she remembered her father accusing her mother of something she clearly did not do, as the mare sported a red coat of fur and wings like her father. The mare let a tear silently fall down her muzzle and down on her precious family, then she wiped it off and tucked it away back between her feathers. he curled up in the chair drifted off into a dreamless slumber. Morning came early and the mare began to stir in her chair, she opened one eye then both with a big yawn and a good stretch she sat up and looked over at the stranger she had guarded the day before. "Sleep well did you?" The stranger asked the red mare. At first, The mare shook her head to make sure she wasn't hearing things, and she told the stranger that she did not sleep well. "You should not have saved me, I could have handled my injuries myself... I thank you for doing so." The stranger spoke in a raspy tone. The red mare told the pony that one they needed to thank was the Princess and Nightshade. "Princess? I only know of Five Princesses and who in Tartarus is Nightshade?" They sat up asking. The Black and purple Pegasus came around the corner from where she was at all night. "I am Nightshade, but you can call me Bella instead if you want." She spoke calmly as she walked over to the dark-colored stranger to check her over The stranger was quiet for a moment then spoke again. "Oh... Okay, Nightshade, who is THIS princess is this mare talking about, I only know of Five Princesses." Nightshade went on and told the stranger that there were certainly more than Five living Princesses living in the land of Equestria. The stranger got even more confused then the red mare interrupted and simplified things for the pony. "You are currently in The EverFree Forest and there once was a queen she had twin daughters and they now rule this realm, and one of them saved you." the red mare stated. The stranger was silent for a long time. The red mare excused herself and left to find some food. She entered the Great Hall and walked straight into a dark burgundy colored handsome stallion with two tones of blue for a mane and tail and pale blue eyes and no cutiemark on his flank. "Oh, I am SO sorry, I didn't see you there." The stallion apologized as he helped the red mare back up to her hooves. The mare just brushed herself off and told him that she had been through a whole lot worse with a little bit of a laugh in her voice. She then looked up into his eyes and felt something in her heart. Hoof in hoof they stand in the silent doorway of The Great Hall staring at each other. "The Name's Mahogany Agate, pretty mare." The young stallion softly spoke to the red mare and still staring in his blue eyes she quietly whispered her name. "Please, I'm very hungry as I have not eaten in two days." The mare began as the handsome stallion interrupted that he could give her something to help her feel better, but she would have to follow him home. The mare agreed and she moved to let him pass and followed him through the village and to the door to his little home where he let her enter first. In her mind, this was the most amazing place she had ever seen. In the windows, the stallion hung shards of colored glass and when the sunlight coming through made the little home alight in colors. He walked into his kitchen she saw a little clear crystal in the window and asked what it was. "That? Oh, that is Quartz, my mother gave it to me when I moved here a few years ago." He spoke as he admired his prized possession. "Who's Hungry?" He asked the mare making her smile.
Chapter 4Mahogany sat across from the red mare as they ate their hot meal and the first hot meal the red mare had in a long while. He asked his guest if she felt better with food in her mouth she nodded. That made him smile just a little bit. "You are the sweetest mare I have been with, in a long while, and I really like you, Velvet." the Stallion told the mare who had just finished her food and had gotten up to place the plates in the sink, she just stood there her eyes wide in surprise. Mahogany was looking at his table as he spoke, feeling nervous. The red Pegasus left the plates on the table and reached for his muzzle and kissed him softly and passionately, they broke it and he led his new friend to his room where they spent the rest of the day and into the night. The next morning the red mare rolled to admire her bedfellow who just stared at her he let a sweet smile inch across his muzzle. He sat up and asked the mare if she could join in a feast that is being held in the Great Hall, for a moment the mare hesitated as this would delay her quest another day, the red mare agreed to join her new friend. Together they ate their breakfast in his little kitchen then the red mare went to see the stranger pony and make sure they were feeling better. The mare entered the medical building and called out for Nightshade, no reply, she called again, and still no reply from the dark-colored mare. "If you are looking for that Black Pegasus, she's not here... she left to go into the forest to find some rare... Herb!" came the familiar voice from inside, the cloaked stranger, and they were not sounding better, so the mare found her way in to see the stranger. "Oh, it's you..." the stranger coughed out then asked, "What do you want from me now?" "Nothing... I wanted to see how you were holding in there, is there someone I can get for you? The red mare said to the dark-colored stranger. The pony looked down and said no at first then just before the red mare could move to leave, the stranger said that there was somepony that they wanted to see, a stallion who lives alone in a little shelter deep in the Feverfree with his friend a Lunar Fae dragon, the pony shared the name of the stallion, Muddy Tail. The Red mare agreed to find this stallion and she left. The mare ran through the village and out the gates right as Nightshade walked right back in leaving the black Pegasus wondering where she was going in such a hurry, she shrugged and resumed her path. The red mare walked, flew, and ran in a few hours' time and found the little shelter and found the stallion and explained how she found him, he did live up to his name his dark green coat was covered with patches of mud and his mane and tail were unkept and she noticed small twigs and leaf bits sticking out at odd angles. The mare nervously cleared her throat to speak to the stallion, she explained that there was a pony in the village she had just come from asking for him specifically. The mare further retold of how she met the stranger and what transpired two days earlier, the Stallion seemed genuinely concerned and asked the red mare to lead him back to the village to see the pony. The red mare agreed and lead the way. Before long the two ponies walked through the village gates. Nightshade stood outside the medical building a motioned for the Stallion to come closer as Mahogany came out of the shadows and asked the red mare if she could join him in the Great Hall for the feast, she accepted and together they joined the feast. The atmosphere in the Great Hall was warm and welcoming, the food on the tables smelled heavenly. The Red Mare thought that these ponies found their happiness in their celebrations. They feasted late into the day into evening. The cider drinks made them continue their singing and laughter. Mahogany pulled the red mare aside and asked her if she would join him for some quiet. She agreed and followed him as she had a bit too much cider, they walked to his door she noticed that her friend had a bit too much of the cider as well. He let the door swing open and they both flopped to the floor giggling as the mare fixed her mane and adjusted her wings. Mahogany stopped laughing to tell his mare his true feelings and kissed her muzzle. The Pegasus just stood there not knowing what to say as he turned to go to his bed to sleep. Velvet had many things racing through her mind, she never heard the click of his door as it closed making her alone in the empty living space of his little home. She shook her head to clear the stray thoughts and followed after Mahogany and opened his bedroom door silently and entered. She walked noiselessly and climbed into his bed and snuggled close to him for his comfort, he turned and embraced his mare and began nuzzling her ear then slowly moving to her neck.
Chapter 5In the early morning light, the red mare rolled out from under his warm blankets and silently left his room. Before leaving she fixed her mane and flicked her tail until it was the way she wanted it and walked away without leaving Mahogany a note, she felt like she had no other choice to leave. She found something, love and she wanted to keep it safe. The mare found a cloak that would be warm enough if she needed it for the use of a blanket. She silently crept through the village until she found the gates, opened her wings, and took to the sky. The fresh forest air filled her lungs with each breath as she climbed high into the clouds the sunrise to her left her next stop, the southern badlands. High above the Earth, the Red mare flew over what looked like a barren desert wasteland, she looked down as she flew and she saw beauty, just like it when she saw the beauty of that little village in the dark forest of the EverFree, young ponies laughing and playing without a care in the world. She has been flying since dawn and the Noonday sun and the desert heat were making her tired and she was needing something to drink. The Mare touched down on the hot sand. She quickly noticed that it was much hotter on the ground compared to the sky above. She searched for plants she only read about when she was just a filly, she finally found what she was looking for, but it's covered with spines making it difficult for the mare to get to the precious moisture she needs. She stood there in the hot sun staring at her unappetizing water source and turned away started to dig into the hot sandy soil, the deeper she kept digging the cooler the earth became beneath her hooves, she made it just big enough for her to lay in to rest for a few hours at least. Around and around she circled then finally tucked her hooves under her then began to preen herself to remove any sand in her feathers and soft fur. She laid her head on the cool earth and began to nod off. The hours flew by early evening arrived and the stars were just beginning to show as the red mare stared. Bleary-eyed she looked up with a yawn. Stood in her earthen bed and stretched, arching her back, then leaning back sticking her two-toned tail skyward and opening her wings. She needed that rest, and she thought it was a little odd for her to sleep in the middle of the day, she pushed that thought out of her head and thought nothing more about it. She took in her surroundings then took to the sky continuing her course. It wasn't long before she saw a town creeping in view She knew it was the first town she was brought to after her foalnapping some moons ago. Good thing she brought the cloak along with her she landed just on the outskirts of town and dug into her saddlebags and pulled out the cloak, put it on, and walked into town. She wandered down the filthy narrow streets keeping her wits about her as this little town had a reputation and she was traded here, just the mere thought of that made her shudder. "Halt!" Bellowed a voice making Velvet freeze where she stood. "No lurkers in the night market!" The voice came again this time it was closer. Her first instinct was to buck knocking who's behind her flat on their back. The jig was up as she noticed figures closing in from the shadows, she had to leave this town. The mare looked around for an escape then looked up, spread her wings and with a powerful downbeat she was up in the air looking down at the townsfolk in a heap. She stuck out her tongue and blew razzberries at them. She needed an up space and she found one. The tallest structure around it looked like an old windmill, like the one she saw in Ponyville when she was little. That was then, right now she needed a place to hide and that windmill looked like a good hiding spot. The Mare glided in and lightly touched down on the roof hoping she wouldn't be making too much noise. She made her way to a window and helped herself inside hoping Noone was home, she found the place had been turned upside down, books scattered all over the place broken dishes, scorched furniture, and the stench of sulfur and smoke hung in the air. It made her feel uneasy, but the smokey air would hide her scent from the townfolk outside and that helped her relax a little. She looked through the remaining books and papers that were untouched by the fire, soon she found herself starving she sighed and got up to see what there was for food. She found cans of fish, shrimp, a little baggie of green stuff with "Nip" scrawled on it. She tossed that aside. She soon found a container of what sounded like flakes and an old apple, that she promptly ate and quickly regretted. She rushed to a broken window and threw up the apple. She sat with her head out into the fresh air wondering what was hey wrong with her, she loved apples. The mare stayed like that for several minutes before returning to her little makeshift nest she made with the blankets she found and fell asleep reading. Velvet didn't want to sleep, she fought it off making herself even more tired. She relaxed for a split second and her head thumped into the book she was reading. She was soon in a deep sleep and found herself in the dream realm, the domain of Princess Luna. She looked around for the midnight blue mare, she was nowhere to be found. She called to the Alicorn, but there was no reply. Velvet was alone and she tucked herself up and lowered her head her ears drooped with sadness, she felt like crying. "Velvet? Is that you?" Came a soft, nearly inaudible voice from the nether regions of the realm. Velvet perked her ears to listen, then looked up to see no one there. She called out into the darkness. No answer. She began to think that she had imagined the voice. She soon found herself watching memories, the ones that one barely remembers from their early years of life. She opened a door and gazed in. She was her mother sitting in front of a camera holding her and her father messing with it and calling for someone to come and sit for the family photo, the filly came running where ever she was to sit next to the little Velvet. Her father quickly moved from behind the camera to in front of it in one motion and they all smiled at the last second, then flash! Velvet woke up and for a second forgot where she was. She looked in the direction of the window the smell of rain was hung in the air and the sound of distant thunder rolling through on the wind that was now picking up and rustling a few nearby papers.
