//------------------------------// // My Name is Sunflower // Story: Past Days // by Blue Turtle //------------------------------// My Name Is Sunflower Chapter I "Demon!" A brown and white pony shouted, sending the quivering filly backing up against the tree. "She's no good, no good I tell ye'!" An elderly mare said, A stallion glaring down at the poor filly with an ever crushing disapproval. "Sunflower, is it true you lapse into visions?" His rumbling voice quaked, the other ponies gathered around the filly glaring at her with the same imposing glare. "Yes..." Her tiny voice squeaked out. Moving her long pink hair to cover her face, her purple eyes staring at his hooves rather than dare meet the large stallion's eyes. "I told ye'!" the old mare yelled again, rocking up on her hind quarters for a second before suddenly remembering she was as old as dirt. The stallion shook his head, his dark grey mane cropped short to keep it out of the way, which was quite a contrast to the others which all had long manes and tails. He was also quite large, even for a stallion, built like a tank he was clearly alpha. His shiny coffee brown coat showed he was in near perfect condition, or at least compared to some of the other ponies which were high strung and dirty. Towards the back of the crowd there was a mare watching from the back, blinking at the filly more in recognition then anger or sadness. She moved to part away some of her soft pink mane to get a better look. "Dreamer!" The stallion called, the mare stepping through the crowd. The filly flinched, for a second feeling a twinge of anger. A generalized anger, more at everypony around her, but also at herself. She didn't want to have these visions which more often than not scared her more than anyone else. "Yes?" The mare responded, her eyes bored. "Sunflower is your child, correct?" The stallion raised an eyebrow at her, surprised by her bored tone. "Yes, she is." Dreamer looked at the filly, who, even though was angry before, almost seemed to plead to her. Her pleading eyes were glazed over however, the mare not caring enough to say anything for or against Sunflower "Were you aware that she goes lapses into visions?" He said, turning his attention back to the filly. He knew full well that if he were kick out the twig hat she'd most likely die within a day, but really he didn't care so much. At least not enough to sacrifice the herd. Sunflower's circumstances had always been a bad sign, he didn't need anypony getting hurt. "No." Yawned Dreamer, whom pulled him back into the present, tapping her foot. She avoided eye contact but not out of nervousness. He shook his head and glanced back at the filly again, who was shaking as though she was a leaf. "Then I suppose it's no surprise..." He said with a sigh. It was really quite typical of Dreamer. "I'm tellin' ye'! If she sticks around we'll all pay for it!" The old pony shrieked. The stallion silently nodded in agreement, Sunflower's eyes growing wide as tried to back up into the tree again. The stallion stepped closer to her, her knees almost buckling. She was mortified, feeling like there were butterflies in stomach. With one quick swipe he picked her up in his hoof, she squirmed but it was obvious she wasn't gonna get away. "You can't do this! I didn't do anything." She cried, tears starting to cloud her eyes. The stallion said nothing, walking away from the edge of the forest where the herd presided. She screamed, kicking with all her might but it wasn't enough. Eventually after sometime he got annoyed and threw her down. "If you return you won't survive. Do not come back, don't try and sneak in." He threatened, glaring down at her with a cruel unblinking stare. With that he turned and galloped away, leaving Sunflower all alone. ----- Luckily or unluckily enough Sunflower had been kicked out early morning, just after the sun was crawling into the sky. The tall grass around her was covered in dew but it'd all soon disappear now that the sun was coming up. She took into view her surrounding; Well, first of all it seemed she was somewhere in the middle of a plains. There was somewhat tall grass (which she barely peaked over) and rolling hills. Far, far away she could see the forest where her old herd was probably grazing. She felt a twinge of anger, gritting her teeth before standing up. She winced a little bit, sure that she'd been bruised by the one whom had banished her. She sniffled and looked around again. What was she gonna do? She was all alone, no one to protect her. She wasn't even close to being big, strong or fast enough to care for herself, so what should she do? Lie down and wait for something to eat her? But she couldn't just wait for that to happen. She wanted to live after all. "Alright Sunflower you gotta find someway to insta-grow-up or find somepony to join up with." Sunflower reminded herself. Sunflower soon got to work, trotting off away from where she came from, putting on her brave face. Trotting through the grass wasn't hard, after all earth ponies were born to graze vast distances, using their impressive strength to defend themselves by either bucking away predators or running away, however Sunflower was still quite young and after an hour or so of trotting she lost pace and kept to a walk, the sun beating down harshly. With barely any shade the long summer days where very hot, but Sunflower distracted herself by humming. Not long after two hours had passed she was exhausted. She'd been awoken by yelling that morning and for the past few hours had to walk and trot all by herself while the sun seemed quite content on blazing itself as hot and bright as possible just to not only sap her strength but also annoy her every time she wanted to see how long she'd been going at it for. The plains were quite quiet, with merely the buzzing of insects, the pitter-patter of her own hooves and the breeze waving the vast area of grass. Speaking of grass, that was pretty much it. She could occasionally see some low growing flowers but even then they weren't exactly very vibrant mostly consisting of rusty reds and yellows. Besides that her surroundings were pretty much bare, but what was more worrisome is that because of her not so camouflaging pink and white she stood out like a sore hoof. No! I can't start getting all nervous, walking. You'll find somepony eventually. Sunflower thought to herself, squeezing her eyes shut. Sunflower shook her head and looked around, sniffing the air. The wind was moving away from her so sniffing didn't too much good, instead she had to put her nose to the ground and start sniffing so short grass, perhaps some other herd and mowed down the grass? She couldn't exactly tell until she found some old tracks, but they seemed a little big for ponies. She didn't exactly see or smell any other creatures bigger than a mouse so might as well follow the tracks? Sunflower trotted down the beaten track, which over time became more and more patted down, the grass was basically just growing back. Whatever was there didn't just quickly eat and leave, it ate any and all vegetation along it's path. "What the heck? Was this some sort of super herd?" Sunflower said aloud, just in case somepony heard her, but also because at this point there wasn't much of a point to staying quiet. There wasn't anything out there after all, or at least if there was it probably didn't care if she was mumbling to herself. She continued forward, following the tracks however she began to feel that she'd need to start picking up the pace if she wanted to meet up with whatever was making this large eaten area. After more walking and trotting Sunflower began to feel discouraged. What if there wasn't anything there? Or what if whatever she found at the end wasn't a herd at all? She was just a filly after all, running blindly into what for all she knew could be a monster or a golem. Doubt began to weigh her down, her run turning to a trot which slowed "There's still at least a slim chance..." Sunflower mumbled, picking up speed. Taking that slim chance she went back to galloping, her long legs helpful for once. Normally they made her feel like she was walking with stilts strapped to her which also had the uncanny ability to make her feel quite clumsy almost ninety-five percent of the time. The other five percent of the time was when she had to travel fast for a long time, such as right then and there. Sunflower ran for what felt like ages in the beating sun. She could only think of sitting under a nice shady tree as beads of sweat ran down her brow. She could imagine it so clearly, sitting under a nice patch of trees, the ground covered in moss, ferns and sometimes patches of grass. She could see various other ponies all grazing on the edge of the forest. The reason they did this was to avoid plains predators such as coyotes, wolves and gryphons, whom could swoop down on a pony too far from the safety of the trees. Besides that the forest's edge was quite pretty, tiny flowers would sometimes grow. She could imagine playing with the other fillies, like her friend Dust Kicker. She could imagine it so well, romping with her in the grass. It suddenly struck Sunflower that she hadn't been able to say goodbye. Sunflower's gallop turned into a jog then. I can't turn around and run back... Grey would have the entire herd trample me. She thought, but she couldn't help but feel like she'd betrayed Dusty Kicker. She sighed and came to a stop, looking around. There was no laughter or talking here, just the buzzing of insects and wind. There were no ponies out here to help her, even if she did find any they'd get freaked out just like her original herd. She hated it. Suddenly a dark shape zoomed over her and her fears were realized. She screamed and ran in wide figure eights, freaking out. If it was a gryphon she'd basically be an open target. Whatever was attacking her swooped down and she jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the dark shape that ascended with great speed. This is it. This is where I get eaten She thought, her stomach twisting in knots. She'd been running for so long that day she could only now start to feel he exhaustion. Her lungs burned and with every quick turn or dart her legs grew heavier. Suddenly the dark shape landed in front of her and Sunflower skidded, turning away screaming. "I'm not gonna hurt you!" The shape shouted, running to Sunflower. Sunflower turned, her wide purple eyes staring at the pony. "Who... who are you?" Sunflower ordered, feeling a bit hostile. This pony scared her half to death! "I'm Crescent!" The filly chirped. She wasn't quite as tall as Sunflower so she had to tilt her head up. "Why were chasing me?" Sunflower asked. "Oh well I saw you running in the open and I thought to myself "Oh that pony is in trouble" so I flew down and then you started freaking out." Crescent explained, flapping her bat wings. Sunflower had never even heard about such a thing, A pegasus with bat wings? "How'd you know I was in trouble." Sunflower mumbled, holding her hoof. "All the ponies I've seen live in herds, or in cities." Crescent chimed, looking directly into Sunflower's eyes with her slitted pupils. "So you flew down and attacked me???" Sunflower growled. "Actually I wasn't trying to attack you, you sorta just freaked out and ran in loops." Crescent said, tapping her chin with a very displeased Sunflower pressing her lips together. "So why are you out here anyway? And what are you?" Sunflower asked, frowning a little bit. "Oh well I was flying with my Dad, and I'm a Bat Pony." Crescent went on, beating her wings once. Sunflower tilted her head, furrowing her eyebrows. What was a Bat Pony? "A Bat Pony is like a pegasus except they have bat wings and have fluffy ears. Oh and fangs." Crescent barred her short fangs, Sunflower jumped back letting out a yelp. "Oh don't worry I only eat fruit." Crescent chirped in response, laughing a little bit. "Uh, where is your dad anyway." Sunflower grumbled, her cheeks rosing. "Oh well..." Crescent frowned for a second, looking around. "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD" Crescent suddenly yelled, Sunflower covering her ears. Suddenly another bat pony descended from the sky. He was a bit odd looking compared to Crescent. "I told you not to go flying off on your own missy!" He berated, narrowing his red eyes on Crescent who gave a sheepish smile. When her turned to Sunflower the little color left in his snowy white complexion drained. "Also why are your terrorizing this young filly?" He continued, returning his gaze to Crescent. "She was in trouble" Crescent said, lowering her gaze "Was not!" Sunflower barked, crossing her hooves. The stallion sighed and shook his head. "Well if you're not in trouble then why are you all the way out here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Sunflower's mind scrambled to come up with a good excuse. She couldn't tell them about the visions, especially if they might help her. "I wanted to leave." Sunflower decided . She pushed her chest forward, holding her head a little higher, her mind going through the works to come up with a story. Crescent's wings dropped and her mouth hung open. "Wow! You must be really courageous to come out here all alone. or stupid." Crescent beamed, giggling as Sunflower gave her a flat face. "Uh, anyway Sunflower I'm Nightingale." The older bat pony explained, holding out his hoof. Sunflower sensed something odd but shook hooves anyway. "Daddy are we gonna take her back to the cave?" Crescent requested, tugging on her dad's wing. "I don't see why we shouldn't." Nightingale said with a shrug. Sunflower tilted her head, the edges of her mouth curling down a little bit. before she could react, Nightingale threw her onto his back, spreading his wings. "Are you ready Crescent?" Nightingale called out, Crescent nodded and spread her wings. Nightingale and Crescent ran forward before leaping into the air, Sunflower holding on tightly, her hooves wrapped around Nightingale's neck. As their ascended Sunflower squeezed her eyes shut. Don't look down Don't look down Don't look down She thought to herself, biting her lips. But Sunflower was curious, plus this would probably be the only time she'd ever fly before. Sunflower slowly opened one eye, looking down. She could see everything; The vast hills of grass and the eaten path she'd walked upon. She could see the mountains towards the horizon and even some forests far, far away. It was the most wonderful feeling, she felt lighter then a feather, like all her pains and worries soaring away from her. In that moment Sunflower felt more free then ever before. The wind whipped past her face, her long mane carried behind her in it. Her attention turned to look at the clouds above, puffs of white in the sky they hung above her, Crescent and Nightingale. "Is this what flying's like all the time?" Sunflower said dreamily, her purple eyes lighting up. "Pretty much." Crescent said, flying closer to Sunflower, she turned her head to grin, barring her short fangs again. This time Sunflower wasn't freaked out, instead smiling widely. One thing clawed at the edge of her head though, but at that moment she was having too much fun to really care. ----- After a few hours they'd arrived at the foot of a forest. There wasn't much on the floor however, the dense canopy blocked out too much light for anything other then perhaps the occasional fern. Nightingale and Crescent descended, Crescent nearly skidding into a tree. Sunflower climbed off, thanking Nightingale. "So where do you guys live? A cave, the tree or?" Sunflower questioned, looked around. "The cave is further back into the forest but it's a bit too dense to fly through. I hope you're okay with some more walking." Nightingale responded with, taking note that Sunflower's hoof were covered in dirt. perhaps it was an earth pony thing? "There's lots of puddles in the cave; Don't go in them! they might look shallow but they can be super deep, or have a really strong current!" Crescent shrieked, waving her hooves in the air after shoving her face in Sunflower's. "Uh, note taken..." Sunflower stammered, pulling her head back. Crescent nodded, pulling her head away. With that, Nightingale, Crescent and Sunflower walked into the forest. Dappled light fell through the leaves, giving enough lighting for Sunflower to see where she was going, however that didn't stop her from tripping over roots and the occasional rock. "Sunflower can you see where you're even goi- AH" Crescent taunted briefly before tripping over a rock herself. "Better than you do." Sunflower said with a flat face. "Aaaand we're here." Nightingale intervened, stopping. In front of them the tree line dipped downwards, the forestry thinning into a ferned area that led to a gaping hole in the cliffside. The sudden clearing allowed Sunflower to see how cloudy it became, the fluffy clouds from before now blanketed the grey sky. "We should probably get inside before it rains." Nightingale said, trotting towards the cave's mouth, Crescent and Sunflower following behind. As they got closer to the mouth of the cave, Sunflower could see another bat pony fly out to greet them. She looked at Sunflower , but Sunflower couldn't read the mare's expression. "Selene!" Nightingale called out, rushing forward. He smiled at her sweetly, his red eyes lighting up to see her. "Good afternoon Nightingale, Crescent... guest..." Selene said, Her tone changing as she caught up to Sunflower. "This is Sunflower!" Crescent chimed, throwing her hoof around Sunflower's neck to bring her into a hug. "Nice to meet you miss." Sunflower mumbled. "The pleasure is mine Sunflower." Selene acknowledged Sunflower again, then smiled at Nightingale. before Crescent or Sunflower could say another word, Nightingale and Selene left the outside to go into the cave, leaving the fillies outside. "Well, that was kinda rude." Sunflower muttered. "Nightingale just likes Selene a lot, she can be nice but first she's gotta know you." Crescent mumbled through, lowering her head "I'm guessing Selene does't know you very well...?" Sunflower asked,the rain drops starting to fall. "I'm not her daughter so she doesn't really care, I guess." Crescent shrugged, the light going out in her eyes. "Well, I guess me and you are just gonna have to tough through this together." Sunflower lightly punched Crescent's shoulder, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Alrighty then, follow me!' Crescent chirped, light flickering back as fast as it left her teal eyes. Crescent took off into the cave, Sunflower clinging to Crescent's tail as they to further in. Crescent's description of the water sent her heart racing as she stumbled around in the dark with crescent as her eyes. She almost felt embarrassed clinging to a pony who had to tilt her head to look her in the eyes, but then again she was reminded of the demon cave rivers when a tiny drop of water fell right above her brow. "EEP" She shrieked, tugging on Crescent's tail. "Ech!" Crescent shouted and she was yanked to a quivering Sunflower. "Don't worry, as long as you're with me you'll be fine." Crescent patted Sunflower's head. Sunflower's face flattened again and she huffed out her nose, meanwhile Crescent's thin smile was wide across her face. "Let's just go.." Sunflower grumbled. Crescent continued forward, Sunflower keeping close, this time by Crescent's side. Crescent's wing went over Sunflower's back, Sunflower making sure not to stray far enough for it to fall off. Eventually the cave started to slope downward, the air dampening and the ground becoming almost slippery. In the background there was the monotonous drip of water from stalactites to the cave floor, the water streaming between stalagmites and downwards. Besides the drips, there was also the flutter of wings so faint Sunflower was sure she might be hallucinating. At one point Sunflower thought she was hallucinating, hearing voices and grew worried. Not the voices again... She thought, her heart rate picking up. "Stop!" Crescent shouted into Sunflower's ear, Sunflower thrown back into reality. "I'm hooOOome!' Crescent chirped. The cave was now lit but bioluminescent mushrooms and other plants and she was almost blinded. She suddenly realized that if she'd been in the dark much longer she would have really hallucinated. In front of them was a peculiar village, with each 'house' being an opening in the wall leading to probably some sort of room. Mushrooms and vine-like plants glowed greens and blues, lining the walls and ledges. In the center of the village was a fountain, stalagmites under the surface of the water. The water glowed strangely enough, it's warm orange light streamed out of the surface, dapling the ceiling with spots of light. The village was huge, spires of rock held spiralling staircases dug into the rock leading upwards. With the homes in the walls of the cave, the rest of the area was open for ponies to leasure about. Most sat around talking, trading or playing but attention quickly turned to Crescent and the strange pony she'd brought in "Crescent!" An aegean filly said, fluttering their bat wings "Inky!" Crescent shouted with glee, running to hug her friend. "Oh-Uh who's this?" Ink asked, looking over Crescent's shoulder. "This is Sunflower! She's an earth pony!" Crescent replied, smiling again. "Ooooh, i've never seen an earth pony." Inky explained, walking towards Sunflower. Inky's sky blue eyes fixed onto Sunflower. "You have so much hair." Inky cited, picking up the taffy colored hair. The curls and locks fell between her hoof, which was odd compared to her own which was thin and wiry. "I... guess?" Sunflower confirmed. A few other fillies trotted over, their eyes luminescent of varying colors. A few adults glanced at the group for a moment then carried on with their day. "I'll talk to you guys later, I gotta show Sunflower around." Crescent said, waving the other fillies goodbye as Sunflower joined her. "Were those yours friends?" Sunflower asked, looking behind her shoulder as they started walking. "Kinda. I know everypony here though." Crescent commented. Crescent lead Sunflower towards one of the three spires and they ascended the stairs, each step wide enough so they could walk side by side. After waking up for a while they arrived at what appeared to be almost a temple. Stone Spires held up the roof meanwhile glowing water circled around the spires, a path leading to a raised stone piece. The raised piece held steps leading up to a throne. Sitting atop the throne was a midnight black mare, whom had a curved horn and bat wings. Her mane was like wine, purplish red and straight. She had huge black wings and stunning magenta eyes that bore into Sunflower. She wore some sort of neck garment. It as like a necklace but pearly white, a moon insignia in the center. Two other bat ponies stood at either side of the throne, one holding a platter of fruits along with a goblet of wine, the other one had a spear, it's shaft metallic and it's point as pearly as the moon. Crescent bowed, Sunflower lowering her head alongside her. "Crescent, what brings you here?" The mare's silvery voice addressed the two. "M'Lady, I've brought this pony here for shelter. I found her out in the plains." Crescent spoke, her normally bubbly composure becoming more firm. "Oh? And what is this pony's name." The mare responded with, getting off the throne to get step closer to Sunflower and Crescent, her long legs carrying her gracefully forward, the thin veil in front of her face not obscuring her vision in the slightest. "This is Sunflower." Crescent informed the mare. "I see, how do you plan to take care of her then?" The mare continued with. "She is going to roost with me, m'lady." Crescent responded, closing her eyes. "I see, well then, Miss Sunflower, I am Eravu the matriarch of this colony." Eravu walked back to her throne, sitting atop the ebony seat. The throne was a twisted thing; The armrests and seat the only flat surface, all else being jagged ebony with pearly white stone carved into it. And above her head was a large white circle, dotted with darker areas. A perfect replica of the moon.