//------------------------------// // Discovered // Story: A Colt's Tale // by my_little_medic //------------------------------// "Twilight darling, tell me... Why are we here in this dreadful place again?" Rarity asked. Twilight turned around and looked back at Rarity, letting out a sigh of frustration. "For the tenth time... We're here to investigate for Princess Celestia." She answered. "We know that already! But, what we don't know is 'what' we're investigating!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a frustrated voice as she hovered above everyone. Twilight stopped walking and looked up at Rainbow Dash. "Princess Celestia sent me a letter last night saying that there was some kind of disturbance in the Everfree Forest and that she would like us to investigate and report back to her if we find anything." "Well that's all well and good darling... But I just had my hooves done and look! They're getting all chipped and dirty!" Rarity said in a whiny voice. "Ah, come on Rarity! It does a pony good ta get a little dirty every once in a while. It's a sign of a hard worker!" Applejack added in with a proud tone. "Yeah! It's also a lot of fun" Pinkie Pie added as she jumped into the air and landed on all fours in a small mud puddle. "It's all ooey and gooey and feels neat in your hoovsies!" She was picking her hooves up and splashing the mud around inside the puddle while laughing. Rarity looked at the pink mare with a look of absolute disgust on her face. "Well Applejack, I respectfully disagree." She said in an annoyed voice as she turned up her nose to show a proud posture. "Some of us are actually ladies and prefer to keep ourselves neat and proper." Twilight let out another frustrated sigh as she turned back to Rarity with a sly grin. "You know, the sooner we get our investigation done, the sooner we can all hit the spa." She said. "Aahh. What a wonderful idea Twilight! Very well, lead on then!" Rarity answered as she stuck her nose in the air and trotted onward. The air was dense with humidity as the six companions made there way through the thick underbrush of the forest. They all followed behind Twilight as she led the way. After what seemed like they had been walking for miles, they came across a trail of devastated foliage. There were snapped branches and twigs that littered the path of destruction. Along with paw prints that had been carved into the mud of the forest floor. "Look here everypony!" Twilight exclaimed. "This looks like a timberwolf trail! See all the branches and twigs littering it?" The others gathered in around Twilight to look down the path the timberwolves had apparently left. While Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash maintained their spots in flight above the others. "Yeah, but... What would they have been after to leave such a massive trail though?" Rainbow Dash asked from her hovering position above the others. "I really don't know. Usually the timberwolves hunt in much more open areas than this. I wonder what they were after that would have brought them through here?" Fluttershy suddenly let out a gasp and brought her hooves up to her face. A look of sadness evident in the mare's eyes. "What's wrong Fluttershy?" Twilight asked in a concerned voice. The pale yellow mare pointed down at the ground next to them. They all turned to the direction that she was indicating and found a pair of hoof prints that had been carved into the mud. The group looked down the trail of destruction the chase had left and saw that it was a pony that the timberwolves had been after. Applejack took a step forward and put her hoof down next to the hoof prints in the mud. "Why.... It was just a little one..." She said in a shaky tone. "Why in the world would they have been all the way out here alone?" "I don't know, but we should follow this trail and see what we find." Twilight remarked. "But why? You know as well as the rest of us there's no way a foal could out run a group of fully grown timberwolves." Rainbow Dash said in brash voice. Twilight turned her sad gaze up to the pegasus. "Don't you think we should at least try?" "Yeah... I guess knowing is better than guessing sometimes." Rainbow Dash answered in a defeated voice. They all set off down the trail that the chase had left through the forest. Before long, they came upon a mess of trees that had been freshly disturbed and noticed a small pile of little blood soaked feathers that had stuck to the ground on the other side. "What do ya suppose happened here...?" Applejack asked. "It looks like the little tyke tried jumping through that little opening right there and ended up snagging its wings..." Rainbow Dash answered in a mortified voice. "Poor little tyke was doing everything it could to get away..." "Look you guys!" Pinkie Pie's voice interrupted. The others turned to see what it was she was pointing at. The hoof prints had started back up again a little ways away from the mess of trees and carried on once again through the underbrush. "Well one thing's fer sure. Whoever it was sure gave the timberwolves a run fer their money." Applejack said. They continued following the hoofprints until they came to an area where the prints stopped and it looked as if a small scuffle had taken place. When the prints were found again they noticed that they became mixed with a steady trail of blood. They all exchanged worried and apprehensive glances with each other. Not saying a word amongst themselves, they pressed on tracking the mix of blood and hoof prints. After walking just a short distance they stopped where the hoofprints had ended and a small pool of dried blood had formed. There in the mud of the forest floor was an indentation of two large pawprints and what appeared to be the body of a large timberwolf. "This must be where it all ended..." Applejack said in a solemn voice. "Poor little tyke never even had a chance..." Fluttershy landed on the ground and threw herself onto her stomach, covering her face with her hooves. She began to sob as the others gathered around her. All of them had tears in their eyes now, knowing that one of their own was missing a child that they would never see again. ~~~~~ My consciousness slowly began to come back to me, but I found myself wishing that it hadn't. I was in so much pain that I couldn't even think of a word to describe it. I was unable to move without triggering some massive sensation of searing pain that shot through my body like a lightning bolt. I was only able to open my right eye due to my left eye being effectively caked shut with blood, sweat and whatever debris I had picked up during yesterday's chase. I looked towards the small entrance to the burrow I had used as a sanctuary and after several minutes of blinking and trying to focus, I could tell that it was daytime. 'What am I supposed to do now...?' I thought as a wave of self pity came over me. 'I'm alive, bur for how long...? What happens when I leave my hideout? Where do I go? What happens if I run into another one of those monstrosities?' I closed my eyes as I tried to search my brain for an answer on what I should do next. Suddenly I snapped my good eye open. 'Were those voices?!' I thought as I held my breath trying to listen as close as I could. "I don't suppose anyone in town mentioned a missing child this morning did they?" A feminine voice spoke. 'PEOPLE!' I thought as a sudden rush of adrenaline brought my tattered body up onto its hooves. I began to limp my tattered body out of the burrow. I kept my weight off of my back left hoof because everytime I'd set it down on the ground, a searing bout of pain would shoot through my flank and threaten to drop me back onto my stomach. I crept my way out of the burrow slowly and managed to walk a couple yards forward. I looked around, my vision blurry, trying to decipher where the owner's of the voices I was hearing were. "Well, we probably should get back to town and find who's missing a child." Another female voice said. I turned my head in the direction of the voices and my jaw dropped. There standing in an opening amongst the trees were a group of ponies that resembled my new appearance. I stared awestruck at the group. Their colors the thing that attracted my attention the most. Bright pink, light purple, a pale yellow with a pink mane. It was hard to take my attention away from them. I watched for several minutes until one of the group spoke up. "Come on... We better get back." I took a step back as I tried to conceal myself behind a large tree. Unknowingly I had stepped back onto my rear left hoof. The pain that shot through my flank made it feel like I had been struck by lightning. A sudden and loud gasp escaped my mouth as I ended up on my rump, tears flowing out of my right eye. "What was that?!" A high pitched feminine voice shouted. 'Oh no! They heard me!' I thought in a panic as I peeked around the tree. The group still seemed to be together. They were looking off in different directions trying to figure out where the noise had come from it seemed. I took a deep breath as I allowed the pain in my flank to subside. Thankfully, I hadn't been noticed. "HEY GUYS! OVER HERE!" A scratchy feminine voice yelled from above me. I looked up in a sudden panic to notice a light blue pegasus hovering about twenty feet above me. She was looking right at me. My ears fell to the sides of my head and my eye opened wide with panic. I turned back to the safety of my burrow which was only a few yards away. I forced my injured leg down to the ground and willed my beaten body to carry me back to its safety. I had only made it a few feet when I suddenly fell forward onto my face. Something had grabbed my tail and was holding onto it. "Hold on little dude!" The scratchy female voice called from behind me. She had me by the tail and was holding me back from my safety. I could feel the hoof beats on the ground from the group as they approached our location. I closed my eyes and firmly planted my front hooves into the dirt of the forest floor. With every bit of strength I could muster into my good back leg, I threw it back at my assailant hoof first. I felt my hoof connect with her as my tail was freed and I once again tumbled back onto my stomach. "OUCH! OOH MY NOSE!" The pegasus cried out in pain. I was free! I had my chance and I took it. I quickly scrambled into the entrance of the burrow, the darkness welcoming me as I slid inside. But suddenly I was jerked to a sudden stop. Something else had my tail again, and whatever it was had a very firm hold this time. "NOOOOO!!! LET ME GO!!!" I screamed in my childish voice. I was so close! So close to safety and now I was being pulled backwards and out of the sweet darkness of last night's shelter. I tried several times to reach out with my back hoof and kick whoever it was that had me like I had done before. Only I couldn't connect with my assailant. I was brought completely out of the burrow and was suddenly suspended upside down by my tail, which hurt quite a bit. I was flailing in mid air, trying as hard as I could to get my assailant to drop me so I could once again make a run for it. I started screaming, the hot tears flowing out of my eye and blurring the vision I had left. "PUT ME DOWN!!! NOOOO!!! LET ME GOOOOO!!!" I howled. I heard several voices talking but I couldn't make out what they had said. My mind was a mess of pure terror at the moment and the only thing I could focus on was escape. Suddenly, I felt someone rubbing my back. I was full on balling at this point and I couldn't stop. I opened my eye and through the blurriness of my tears I could make out a pale yellow face that was at eye level with my upside down form. "Sshhhh.... Calm down little guy. You don't need to be scared now, okay?" The voice said. I had never heard such a calm and soothing voice before. I tried my best to stifle my sobbing but just couldn't stop. I was lifted up and the pressure from hanging by my tail was suddenly gone. I felt myself being cradled in someone's arms. I looked up as my sobbing had shifted to involuntary sniffles. I was greeted with the warmest smile and most caring eyes I had ever seen before. It was if all the tension in my battered body had suddenly flown away and a warm relaxing feeling filled the void. "Shhhh... It's okay little one. You're safe now." She said to me. My adrenaline was quickly dissipating and I could feel myself fading back into unconsciousness. I could feel her pull me in tight against her chest, the warmth of her fur penetrating my shivering body. I took one last look up into her blue green eyes before my eye shut itself involuntarily and my consciousness wavered. 'Safe...' Was the last thing I thought before I completely blacked out.