Tangled up in Ponytails
By Pony Lover 123

Chapter One: Broken wings and Strange Things

I was running through a valley, timberwolves approaching loudly through the grass and weeds. I felt my heartbeat loudly through my body deafening my senses where I couldn’t hear my hooves against the ground.

My back left hoof started to erode as it crashed down on the path, while my other hooves were safely clad in flaking star metal armor. The rattling of my dented breastplate full of sand on my back brought more timberwolves near. Adrenaline pumped through my veins keeping me ahead of the pack for what felt like hours.

One of my wings trembled and the other hung uselessly from my side. The sound of several wooden paws rumbled closer. While my mouth started to taste metallic with blood as Another one of my armored shoes slid off, making a clunk sound as it hit the hollow wood. I jumped over the massive trunk that had fallen, covered in overgrown knee-high grass.

My cart full of potions crashed into the log bouncing over it slowing me down just enough for one of the wolves to try to lunge at me.

Hearing a wolf cry told me that it had failed to do so and tripped over the same tree trunk or over its own paws. I was scared that the timberwolves were going to catch me because if they did I would be killed. I continued to sprint away from the timberwolves that were chasing me, luckily several of the timberwolves ran into trees so I could get ahead of them easier. The next thing that happened is I fell down a hill into a hole.

My cart was stuck above me, keeping me suspended in the air by the leather straps that kept me attached to it. Luckily the cart kept the wolves from getting to me. I was stuck in the sling of the cart, my rear legs wouldn’t move due to being tangled up in the harness. So I was going to be stuck there until some pony found me. And I sure hope it’s not one of my fellow guards. I am a traitor, I broke the laws of the lunar guard and hauled banned potions across the Equestrian border. Now If I don’t get free I’ll either die or get caught. I dangled their blood dripping from my forehead and my broken wing hanging uselessly by my side. My pain started to register in my mind and started to become bothersome.

“Aw, my body hurts…” I whined, and the cart above me started to creak in protest of my wait. A low howl could be hurd in the cavern.

I panic and start wiggling around in my harness trying to get out. I look down to see two timber wolves trying to grab me, open maws snarling as they snapped at me. Pure panic began to course through my veins as every snap grew closer to my face as the various scenarios of what my fate would be echoed through my mind. I wanted to move, but I just couldn't at this point, the only thing my body would allow me to do was scream. So I did.
I screamed at the top of my lungs till my throat grew sore, and my mouth dried out, but it felt like only the wolves below me would hear, and still, they tried to snap at me. Would I die here? Was this my fate? Would I either hang here and die of thirst, to drop and be ripped apart by wolves? Or Will I be found? I knew one way or another I'd probably die on all three accounts. I was a traitor and betrayed my country. Would they kill me too or would I be exiled to some far-off region not yet discovered. The various thoughts filled my head, so much so, I hadn't noticed that the noise of snapping maws had stopped.
"Well, look at this, looks like we found what was making all that screaming. Well, I bet you're happy to see us right?" A voice said, from the darkness.

“Hello, who is there?” I asked as a light appeared in the darkness. It appeared to be a torch or a lit horn.

The voice responded. “It's Moon Song, what are you doing here? Your orders were to stay and guard luna.,” the voice became closer and soon the pony was standing below me. She was looking around at the glass that was from the broken potion bottles
“I was sent to get some potions,” I lied hoping she’d buy it.
She looks at me confused. “But the report said you’d be home now. Did something happen,” she asked. She looked at me with confusion, I felt horrible, but it was about to get worse
Another pony walks up from the darkness her face lit by the torch Moon Song was carrying.
“Compass Star. You're supposed to be in your dorm.” The voice of my captain said. She had the face of disappointment and anger, and that stair that pierced into my very soul.
“Captain Rosebud what are you doing here,” I said, with a sheepish, but obviously nervous, grin. Rosebud then picked up one of the shards of glass one off the ground, and looked at the label. She gave a sigh of disappointment, and with a gruff voice, she said,'' Compass Star, you're under arrest for smuggling goods." I don't know what was worse, the feeling of guilt I had, or the face both Moon Song and Rose Bud gave me. Either way, I knew that things were only gonna get worse.
I waited for them to cut me down, and hall me back to luna. But they never did.
"Compass we are leaving you here if you're not killed by the wolves then you’ll be exiled. I'll be sending guards to come to pick you up once I get back to my post. Pray the wolves get you first.” Rosebud said before walking off, Moon song only looked at her commanding officer with confusion. Rose only stopped to say, "Moon Song, follow, leave her to her fate, maybe she'll die with honor. If not, I am sure my guards would like to bury their sword in her."
She walked off, the last sentence meaning more than I wished it would, if only I did what she said I should've done. If only a guard’s wages were enough to live on. The cruelest part about it all, was the if only's.
My trial came shortly after I found, and of course, I was exiled. Forced into the deepest parts of the evergreen forest, never to be seen by another pony, well, I wasn't supposed to be seen anyway. Course, fate is strange like that, and things that shouldn't happen do.

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A month had passed, and honestly, exile was lonely, and I honestly didn't know how I survived most of the time. Through the various creatures, the times I was hungry, or the fact of how injured I was, I did it. Then came one I didn't expect, the travelers. It was an embarrassing encounter, he and his mare friend stumbled upon me with my tail raised and urinating…

The stallion was the first one to notice me in the bushes and stopped his mare friend.

“"Hey there traveler what is a… Oh," he blushed, seeing my tail raised as I relieved myself in the bush. I couldn't let out any words due to complete embarrassment at having a stallion accidentally stumble upon me with my rear fully in view for him to gaze at. Then another pony came by. "Hey sweetie what did you…" A mare came up behind him and saw me causing my blush to intensify making me look like a tomato.

“Um hi…” I said shyly. The two ponies walked away after the stallion told me "We'll give you some privacy"

After they both had walked out of view and with my face as bright red as the freshest red delicious apples from embarrassment, I finished with urinating and stumbled slightly out from the bushes to go find those two only to trip and fall on a stone. Barely catching myself I stood on all fours and began walking towards the traveling ponies, I hoped they had a first aid kit my wing was hurting still, and my head still hasn’t healed from my run-in with the timberwolves

"Hey, sorry about that, didn't know I was gonna have visitors. Speaking of that, why are you so far in the forest anyway?" I asked them, still blushing from the embarrassment of earlier. I swore I was about to cry for a moment. The stallion and mare smiled and looked at each other for a moment before answering. It was the mare who spoke first.

"Hey, you look hurt are you ok?” She asked me. I was happy she said something and decided to answer with a, "yeah, I hadn't been taking the best care of myself lately." I slightly lowered my head and ears down, but said nothing else about my situation.

“It looks worse than just not caring for yourself-sweetie,” She said as she looked at my wing. “Your wing looks broken… and are those bite marks on your rear leg?" The mare said with genuine concern. It made me lower my head, even more, more from shame this time. "I had a bit of a run-in with timberwolf, that's all." This time the stallion spoke, sarcastic tones overlaying on his voice, "Do you need a hospital or a dog bone?" The mare gave a sharp poke with her elbow into his gut.

“Oakheart don’t be rude, she needs help,” She said as she walked over to inspect me. An inch of annoyance at Oakheart's comment could be heard.

“Sorry, my love,” he started through painted grunts, "I was just trying to lighten the mood."

I stood still for the mare to look me over, but as she did so something seemed off. It made me wonder, what were they doing here in the first place, being as deep as it was in the evergreen forest. It made me ask,"what are you guys doing out so far anyway? It's quite a ways away from the nearest village or town." I said with some concern.

“Hey what happened here that doesn't look like a scar?" Said the mare not answering my question. I felt a slight bit of annoyance but when I realized what she was looking at I tried to cover my inner flank with my tail.

“It looks like a brand of some kind… Are you in the Royal Guard?” The mare said, a bit of curiosity in her voice

"S’mores leave her alone If she was a guard she isn’t anymore she’d be wearing armor if she was still part of the corps," Oakheart said. Thankfully he wasn't thinking much about it all, or he just wasn't the type to pry.

But That didn’t keep his mare friend S’mores from prying.
"Oh wow, You're an ex-royal guard how cool I bet you have lots of stories to tell…" She started but was cut short by Oakheart.
“No, she isn't a royal guard she is an ex-lunar guard That brand is a mark of a traitor." The word stung more than a wound would. Not that it wasn't true, alas, the life of someone who made a bad decision. What I didn't expect was what was said next. “Well, we kinda need someone like you,” He said as he looked at me with a smile.
"What do you mean, needing someone like me?" I said to them both, confused as to their meaning.
"Well we are traders, we rely on pirates for our trade, and you’d make a good one." Said S’mores as she handed me an item out of her saddle bag. It was an orb of some sort, and it was filled with a sticky liquid inside. I then recognized that it was a bottle of a sort of binding potion. Potion smuggling...again.
"I don't know if that's a good idea, the whole reason I got exiled in the first place was because of potion smuggling." I told them.
"Well then you know why we need one then, they are hard to come by due to them being very secretive." Oakheart responded eagerly. They both smiled, but I could understand why, the potions I tried to smuggle were rare themselves, and therefore very lucrative. I had given a sigh, I was already in exile, so I already had a reason to get 'lost', and it wasn't like they'd do anything more horrid if I got caught anyway. Well except kill me, which quite honestly, is what they were trying to do beforehand.
"Yeah, ok, I guess I'll help you guys, so where are you heading to anyway?" I asked, reluctantly.
"Well It’s not exactly in the dimension… But we are headed to Kluge town in the NightShade dimension. It will be a new start for you because you’ll have no record.” Said Oakheart. The prospect was rather nice, and not being prosecuted and having a life outside of just surviving was also nice. The place they said however, was not one that I had heard before.
"Nightshade dimension, what exactly, or where, is that?" I asked. S'mores, helped to clarify it. "Well It’s through a portal that happened to be in this very forest.” She answered happily. Wasn't what I thought she'd say, but at least she tried.
"I guess that is where we are going next, so, I guess I'm gonna follow you guys there then." I said, wondering if I could've said that a bit better.
“Well yeah unless you want to get lost on the way there." Said Oakheart as he started walking with S’mores. The two of them were about to begin, and then I felt the twinge of pain in my leg. It reminded me,"um, about that med kit?" The two of them looked at each other, and Oakheart gave a sigh. "Well If you're that hurt I can just carry you…” He said with annoyance.
He picked me up, and placed me on his back. I kinda had to wrap a wing around him to hold myself on him, for his gate was kinda rough, but it wasn't all bad. S'mores, however, seemed to be staring at me the entire time. “Lucky, you get a ride the first time you meet I had to beg him for days to get a ride." She muttered, Oakheart kinda chuckled.the bounce had me hold on tighter. Fortunately, leather wings have more texture and grip than a feathered one, but you could feel more, that was a bit of an issue. His size was a bit intimidating.

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It took a couple of hours of intimidation to get to the place that we need to get to. The place was full of all kinds of creatures and some seemed even more intimidating than the… Never mind, I am not going there.
The town was massive… Oh come one why can’t I get my mind off Oakhearts… Aw. Ok I got it. So we were walking through town. Well they were walking while I was riding. We were stopped by some large creature with a sword pointed at me. Oakheart calmed the creature in an unknown language but the creature kept staring at me until we went inside a large… Ok enough describing big objects.A building, it appeared to be a clinic of some kind. Young ponies and other young creatures laid on beds. All appearing to be sick or injured. But the farther in the building the older the creatures got. Soon we stopped at a desk and Oakheart spoke.
“We are here to check in this young mare. Dear, can you tell us your name?”

“It’s Compass Star, But most ponies call me Compass.” I said, slightly uneasy about saying my name.

"Okay then can we check in Ms. Compass Star.” Asked S’mores.
“Yes can I get a list of what is wrong with her?

S’mores is the first to respond.

“Well she has a broken wing, a nasty gash on her head, hooves are cracked, her back is raw from sand,”
“and she is wetting herself.” Oakheart added.
“Hey I do not…”
“Then what do you call this?” S’mores said as she pointed at a patch of wet fur on Oakhearts back.”
“I can explain,” i said blushing

Author's Note

To anyone who is interested, I am looking for a Co-Writer and ore editor for this story and several others I am working on.

Thanks, gear for your help editing the RP

Please leave a comment letting me know what you liked and disliked about the story. I love trying to do better.