April was fairly certain that she was tangled up in lianas. Fairly, because she couldn't actually see where she was. She could feel something wrapped around each upper wing, she could feel that she was suspending her above the ground, she could feel the cold, so cold that it felt like night, but all she could see were shadowed outlines of trees.

A faint, bluish glow not far below quickly caught April’s attention, a beacon in this strange world of darkness. She was drawn to it, as if it were speaking to a recently-awakened instinct, saying “come here!” So April struggled to untangle herself, one wing at a time, until she harmlessly fell to the ground.

She crawled towards the bluish glow, revealing itself to be a flower. She realised she was starving; she hadn’t drunk anything since the carrot juice yesterday. Curiously, she took a sip of its nectar. She could only imagine that if she still had taste buds, it would’ve been the sweetest thing she’d ever tasted.

A green light pierced the darkness - no, two green lights - no, several pairs of green lights, surrounding her in a circle. Accompanying these lights were the sounds of light, yet rickety, footsteps... and deep, rumbling snarls. April tried to stand up, but her wings were weighing her down even more than usual. She felt hot breath as these creatures came closer and closer and closer…

Wait - could she hear more footsteps? They were light, quick, and on two feet.

“Take THIS!” a girl’s voice shouted. Suddenly, a giant burst of flame illuminated the forest, its heat licking April’s sides. She caught a glimpse of one of the glow-eyed creatures being burned to a crisp, and it smelled of burning wood.

“Good thing I missed you!” the girl said. “Now watch out, because it’s about to get even hotter!”

I can’t move.

As if she heard April’s thoughts, the girl said, “Oh… wait. Well then… COME HERE, YOU TWIGS! YOU’RE ABOUT TO GET ROASTED!”

April saw every remaining pair of glowing, green eyes turn to look at the girl… who was behind her, so April had no idea what she looked like. The creatures snarled as they walked towards her; April heard the roar of flames as they met the same fiery fate.

“BOOYAH!” the girl exclaimed. Afterwards, a silhouette landed in front of April. “Aren’t you going to thank me?” she asked.

Aren’t you going to learn some manners?

“Never mind. You… really need some help right now, and I know just the right… person?”

“Those flowers are called poison joke... I think,” explained the girl, who turned out to be a Torchic. She had taken her into a hollowed-out tree with a dark interior. The only source of light was a green glow coming from the middle of the room. A greyish pony had given April a bath, much to her protest; she could have easily drowned if her spiracles were filled with water. It must’ve been a magic one, because those wings no longer felt so heavy. She’d seen weirder. Now, she was laying on the floor in front of the Torchic.

“When I first woke up in this forest, I met this teeny-tiny white Pokémon who was holding one of those flowers. I tried to ask her where I was, but the next thing I knew, I was freezing! It was then that she rescued me.” She looked at the grey figure on the other side of the room. “I don’t know what her name is, but she gave me one of those baths. I thought it would hurt me, being a Fire-type and all, but it was actually really nice! The next thing I knew, I wasn’t cold anymore. I had nowhere else to go, so I’ve stayed here ever since.” She paused, and April stood up. “How did you get here?”

April looked out of the window. She couldn’t see the sky at all, just various shades of darkness.

“You can understand me… right?” the Torchic sighed. April nodded. “Okay. It’s just that it’s been so boring here! The stripy one doesn’t understand me, and all she ever talks about are weird plants she’s found. I'm only staying here because I don’t know where else to go.”

April wanted to point her in the general direction of Ponyville, but she had no idea where it was.

“So what are you going to do now?” she asked. “Are you going to stay here?” April pondered this for a moment. She’d finally found someplace safe, and she didn’t have anywhere else to go either… but wouldn’t Rosie be missing her right now? “Of course! You can fly, so you can leave at anytime! So… why haven’t you?”

Because I can’t. April was filled with frustration, but also… resolve? That’s it. She knew what she was going to do next. She looked around the room, but couldn’t make out where the door was.

“So you do want to leave?” asked the Torchic. April nodded furiously. “The door’s that way.”

April stumbled towards the door. She pressed against it with all her might, but still wasn’t strong enough to open it. The Torchic rushed over and quickly kicked it open, the door almost swinging off its hinges.

Once she was outside, April almost regretted her decision. The only light to guide her was a greenish glow coming from a window - what time was it? - so she had to feel her way around. Once she felt rough, sturdy bark, she climbed up the tree. She found a branch and carefully clambered across it on all fours, as cautiously as a tightrope-walker. Once she reached the tip, she quickly spread out her wings - if she ever wanted to learn how to fly, she needed to accept that those wings were hers now. She moved each wing, one at a time, then moved them in pairs, alternating between upper and lower, then moved them all at once… how did this work? She’d seen Beautifly fly loads of times, but she had no idea what it felt like. It was all four at once, right? Thankfully, there was no wind.

Without another thought, April jumped off the branch. I’ve got to trust my wings now. Could she move all four at once? Yes! For the first time since she got here, she wasn’t just falling forwards. She briefly felt herself moving upwards as well!

...Unfortunately, it wasn’t effortless. Her flight was erratic, and her upper and lower wings quickly came out of sync. Having nothing to aim for, she was headed downwards, sending her face-first into a bush.

“Hey! What are YOU doing here?” demanded a ridiculously squeaky, kazoo-like voice.

Author's Note

I’d still appreciate input on the previous chapter. I’m also looking for someone to discuss plot ideas with through PM - Random Order has been offline for over a month.

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