A New Perspective Ch. 15
~Three Months Later~
It was raining. Again. For the third day straight.
You know, it's kinda weird how I only truly miss the weather team scheduling the storms when I have it taken away from me. I guess that's how it works for everything, I suppose.
I crawled blearily from the cave that I had been calling home for the last week or two, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and stretching my wings as I took in my surroundings. Not much to look at, but it was home. The rain filtering down through the trees, falling to the earth with big fat plops. The many layers of dead leaves and broken limbs that covered the ground. With a heavy sigh, I pulled my hood up over my head and set out to find some breakfast.
I was finding it harder and harder to keep track of time the longer I stayed out here. And while I wasn't malnourished, I did find that I had lost some weight out here, as well as putting on some lean muscle mass. I, overall, was probably in better shape than when I left.
Oh, the night I was taken... the first night had been torturous, and I often found myself crying in my sleep for weeks afterwards, hoping and praying that it was all just a horrible nightmare. As time passed, I eventually became numb to it, but there was still a black, cloying void in my chest that was begging to be taken back. Begging for a sense of security, a sense of love and camaraderie.
But that sense of emptiness would not be sated, not for a long while, and that thought clung to the back of my mind like a parasite.
The one thing I was thankful for was that Luna gave me her cloak, which I hadn't taken off since they let me off the carriage. The nights could get blisteringly cold, and I was thankful for the protection it offered, no matter how small. In addition to that, I had also taught myself how to start a fire, and made sure to keep an ample supply of kindling in my satchel at all times, where it would be safe and dry, as well as some extra berries or edible mushrooms. One thing Twilight had been sure to teach me after the mishap in Canterlot was what wild plants and fungi were edible, and which would wind up killing you to death.
I came to a wide open meadow dotted with various berry bushes, as well as long succulent grass. I quickly trotted over to one of the bushes, and after making sure that they weren't pure poison, started plucking them off and putting them in the outer pocket of my bag. After loading myself down, I bent my head over and gorged myself on the grass, thankful that I could digest it.
Despite everything that had happened, and the fact that as far as the Equestrian government is concerned I was a non-entity, I found all of this a bit peaceful. Sure, I only have myself to rely on, and there were any number of things that could wipe me out in a heartbeat in the wilds, but peaceful. I would often find myself lost in quiet introspection as I wandered around, when I wasn't having conversations with Arcane Fire.
He would come to me on a pretty regular basis, even going so far as to inhabit my daytime thoughts, like we had some form of telepathy going on. We would really just shoot the breeze, talking about his past, my present, our mutual future, seeing as how we were both intertwined in that insane cult's plots. He seemed genuinely surprised that I knew his name, but when he found out who I learned it from, he smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen him give. He even asked me how Twilight, one of his favorite pupils, was doing. It was this series of exchanges that changed the dynamic between us. No longer was he the chessmaster, and I simply a pawn, but we now were more like friends, at least as friendly as you can get with a stallion trapped in his own body.
I started to shiver as the rain soaked through my cloak, and I decided that I had best be getting back to my cave, my appetite having been fulfilled for the time being. I sure as heck didn't want to attract any undue attention out here, so I would always make my trips out into the woods brief and to the point. Better safe than strung through the digestive system of some beast.
My trip back was uneventful enough, with only the occasional rabbit crossing my path. I gently snuck back into my cave and nestled onto a soft patch of moss I had been using for bedding. Other than my occasional conversations with Arcane, my days were pretty much spent either finding food, new shelter, or staring at Twilight's necklace.
I had propped it up on a stalagmite, and simply mused over what I could do to get it to reveal whatever secrets it held. During my early, frantic days out here, I had tried everything to get it to work, thinking that maybe they'd let me back in the country if I could prove that I was connected to it. I wore it, spoke to it, even flapped my wings at it, but nothing seemed to take. It just sat there, as still and as silent as the gold and jewels it was made from.
Glancing behind it, I took note of the map I had plastered against the far wall of the cave. It was the same map Luna had shown me in Canterlot, except I had used ash and berry juice to mark my own route on it. I was steadily trying to make my way to one of the barracks of Luna's soldiers, just so that I could get an update and maybe a decent bed. The only way I could tell where they had dropped me off on the map was that there was a pretty noticeable land mark, sort of a giant stone pillar, and I had simply worked from there. Me staying here for this long was actually an anomaly. I had been maintaining a steady schedule for getting to them, but the amount of food in this area is what had kept me here this long.
I was just starting to drift back off, the pitter-patter of the rain providing some nice white noise, when I heard a branch snap. Perking my ears, I sat up on my makeshift bed and listened. More than once I had had to make a hasty retreat from some much larger creature that wouldn't mind a pony lunch, and I was determined to get the leg up for once.
For a while nothing happened. Then out of nowhere, another branch snapped, this one much closer. I eased over next to my bed and picked up the stick I had fashioned into a spear with a sharp rock and some vines. Clutching it tightly in my teeth, as well as taking time to put on the necklace and roll up the map, I slowly made my way to the entrance of my cave, ready to do in whatever was out there.
I had barely set one hoof out of the cave when another branch broke, and I whirled around. My eyes were darting back and forth like they were watching a tennis match, and my heart was racing. I backed slowly out of the mouth of the cave, and straight into a snare.
I yelped with surprise as I was hoisted into the air by one hoof, dangling forlornly with my cloak obscuring my vision. I struggled in vain to free myself as a set of hooves drew ever closer, sending me into a panic. I felt a set of teeth close around my cloak, felt it get yanked off, and I shut my eyes tight as I prepared for the worst.
"Oh great, another traveler," said an world-weary voice. "Waste of another perfectly good snare."
Hesitantly, I cracked one eye open, and breathed a sigh of relief to see that there wasn't a cultist standing in front of me. Not that the pony before me brought much more comfort.
She was an earth pony, probably my age, maybe a year older. Her mane and tail were plain enough, just a solid brown with a few flecks of mud in it. The rest of her coat was olive green, her hooves coated in mud, and her eyes were deep purple, almost black. She looked on at me with contempt before flicking her right front hoof, causing a knife honed to a razor's edge to flip forward from a device she had strapped to it. She cut me loose, and I fell to the ground with a thud, about a foot from where I had dropped my cobbled together spear.
I got to my hooves only to have my cloak thrown in my face. After fastening it around my neck, I turned to get a better look at this new arrival, only to find that she was walking out of the clearing.
"Hey, wait!" I yelled after her. "Where are you going?"
"To check my other traps. Not like it matters to you Equestrians, but some of us try to make a living out here. And we don't much appreciate having our traps sprung by bumbling travelers."
"What do you mean, calling me 'Equestrian'? Don't you live there?"
"Not on a bet, dare, and with a knife at my throat," she said, turning to face me. I noted, with some dismay, that her cutie mark was a pair of crossed knives. "I don't much care for living under the iron fisted rule of those bureaucrats in Canterlot, thank you very much."
"Man, do I know the feeling," I muttered.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Just saying that I know the feeling, having to deal with the government like that."
"How could you? Actually, you know what, don't tell me," she said, raising a hoof. "I make it a personal rule of mine to not get involved in the antics of morons.
"Hey, what did I do to deserve that?"
"You wasted a perfectly good animal snare. It actually takes more effort to set those up than you prissy, goody two horseshoes Equestrians are used to."
"Look, you need to lighten up," I said, starting to get a little incensed. "I'm sorry about the snare, but I didn't see it, and why would you even go around setting them to begin with?"
"We need the animal furs to make clothing and to trade for whatever meager resources that can bleed out of this wilderness. And I suggest that you avoid falling into another one of them, or I might not be so forgiving. Got it?"
"Fine, geez. Oh, one more thing,"
"What?" she asked with derision and exasperation.
"What's your name?"
"Silver Rush," she answered bluntly. "Not that you'll need to use it again."
"Right. Anyway, my name's Evan."
"Okay then. Well, Evan, I suggest you be on your way, and you'd do well to stay out of mine." Without another word, she disappeared into the forest, blending in seamlessly. I gathered up my spear and trotted back into my cave. After taking some time to scrub off the excess dirt with some moss and shake the rain out of my mane and tail, I settled back onto my makeshift bed and let the drizzle of the rain lull me back into unconsciousness.
===============
I woke with a start when a clap of thunder sounded, and sat bolt upright on my pile of moss. Looking towards the entrance of my cave, I could see that it was pouring harder than ever, and the wind had picked up considerably. A thought rose at the back of my mind, wondering if Silver Rush was alright out in this deluge. She seemed like she could handle herself, though, so I didn't give it anymore thought.
I was just about to settle back into my bed when I noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. At first I chalked it up to a trick of the light, but saw it again when a flash of lightning illuminated the field outside. There was definitely something out there. Picking up my spear, I trotted out into the storm, pulling my hood up as I did so.
The wind whipped at my cloak and the freezing rain chilled me to the bone. It was arduous to even walk out in this, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I marched onward. There was a distinct rustling in the bushes, one not being caused by the wind.
I edged my way over, shifting the spear in my teeth so that it was aimed at the bush. I took a few explorative pokes at it before I deemed it safe, and shoved the brambles to one side. I nearly dropped my spear in surprise.
Crouching down at my hooves was a young filly, maybe even younger than Sweetie Belle. She was an earth pony, with a verdant spring green coat, a messy light brown mane and tail, and those same deep purple eyes that Silver Rush had. She was staring up at me, eyes filled with fear at the cloaked stranger standing over her with a spear pointed at her. Thinking better of it, I dug the spear into the ground next to me.
"Look, are yo-" I began, offering a hoof to her. She recoiled at even these words, curling even tighter to the ground. In an honest attempt to be less intimidating, I pulled my hood down and got down on the ground.
"Hey, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. Are you lost?" I asked in the gentlest tone of voice I had. All she could do was nod and whimper something that sounded like yes.
"Do you maybe need a ride back home?"
She tilted her head up and stared hopefully up at me, as if I were some grand savior from a story book. She nodded her head vigorously as the wind whipped between us.
"Here, hold on." I loosened the string holding my cloak around my neck, and lifted up the main body of it to expose my back. The filly quickly hopped up onto my back and pulled her head through the loosened neck hole so she could see out the front. I pulled the cloak back down as soon as she climbed up, but even the brief time it was exposed had me soaked.
I pulled the hood up over our heads. It was a little awkward having her small head next to mine, but I could manage.
"All set, sweetheart?" She gave a simple nod and rubbed her head against my cheek. As I picked up my spear and chucked it back toward the cave, I heard her yawn and felt as her head drooped in the hood. She was out like a light.
I debated waking her up to ask her where I was going, but the sight of her sleeping peacefully, the feeling of her warm breath on my cheek as she rhythmically breathed in and out...
It reminded me too much of the time I had taken Sweetie Belle home after our first time crusading. I felt my heart jump to my throat as yet another reminder of my past life came back to haunt me. I suppose they would never leave.
Still, it would be hard finding where she lived, if there was even a civilized society out here. I decided to head in the direction that Silver Rush had gone off in, as it was the only lead I had to go off of.
I just hoped it wouldn't end in disaster, for me or for this mysterious new filly.
<===============>
Another red X on the calendar. Another day alone, with only her animals and her friends to comfort her.
Fluttershy had taken a downward spiral since Evan had been forced to leave, and while she was doing better than she had been three months ago, she was still far from over it.
She had desperately tried to keep herself busy, get her mind off of things, but the weight of what had happened had barely alleviated. She didn't think it ever would. At least she had the mirror, which she had checked every night before bed. He seemed to be doing well for himself, but she would occasionally see him crying in his sleep. She just wished she could reach out to him, to comfort him like he used to comfort her.
"Knock knock," said a voice quietly from the tent flap.
Fluttershy turned to find the flaps parted, a familiar face peeking through.
"Oh, uh, hi Rarity," she said sheepishly, placing the mirror back on the table.
"Hello there dear," said the white unicorn mare, stepping inside. "Oh, darling, you've been crying again."
Fluttershy reached a hoof up to her face and, sure enough, there were tears streaming down. She quickly wiped them away. "Sorry, I didn't even notice."
"Are you feeling any better?" asked Rarity, concern edging into her voice. "I know things have been hard for you over these past few months, but I'm starting to worry about you."
"I've been trying," answered Fluttershy.
"Well, try or not, I think you need to get out a little. Try and go back to your daily routine, you know?"
"Oh, I still get out. Why, just yesterday I went to get Angel some more of his favorite food, and then I-"
"I mean besides errands, dear. You've barely spoken a word to Twilight, Applejack, or any of us for quite some time."
"I see you on a pretty regular basis, don't I?"
"Only because I come over here. You're going to go insane if you stay holed up in this tent like this. C'mon, you need to go out and do something. Surely there's something you can do to help reapir the town."
"How is that going anyway?" What Rarity had been saying was right, Fluttershy desperately needed some time outside, but she just couldn't bring herself to do so. As a result, she hadn't heard much about how the recovery was going.
"It's going. They've gotten pretty much all the debris cleared away from the fire, and have begun some actual construction. And a little birdie told me that they want you to personally oversee reconstruction of your cottage. Doesn't that sound fun?" Rarity's pleading eyes were almost too much for Fluttershy, but she remained resolute.
"I'm sorry Rarity, really I am, but I just need more time to think. You understand, don't you?"
All Rarity could do was sigh heavily as her head drooped. "Yes dear, I do understand." She lifted her head to face Fluttershy, face set into a hard gaze.
"But that doesn't make it right." Without another word, Rarity turned on her hoof and left, leaving Fluttershy feeling guilty. She hadn't wanted to alienate her friends like this, but if what Rarity was saying about Twilight and the others was true...
"Rarity, wait!" cried Fluttershy as she tore open the tent flaps. Rarity whipped her head around.
"Yes?"
Fluttershy came trotting up to her. "If it really means that much to you, I guess that I could get out for a little bit. Just to make sure that they fix my house up right."
Rarity wrapped her front legs around the back of Fluttershy's neck, pulling her into a tight hug, which Fluttershy hesitantly reciprocated.
"Thank goodness," said Rarity. "I was afraid that I had lost you for a second."
"Don't worry, I'm still here," replied Fluttershy, pulling out of her friends embrace. "What say we see how everypony else is doing, huh?"
Rarity chuckled a little as she and Fluttershy set of for what was Ponyville, already starting to be resurrected be the hard work of the townsponies.
"Oh, and one more thing, darling," said Rarity.
"Hmm?"
"As soon as we are done with this, we need to get you to my tent and work on fixing up your mane and tail. You have really been letting yourself go, and I will not stand for it. No offense," she added.
"Sure, why not?" said Fluttershy with a giggle, amused at Rarity's usual discomfort with anything she construed as a fashion don't. Rarity started laughing along side her, and soon the two were sharing in riotous laughter.
It did a lot to raise Fluttershy's faltering spirits.
<===============>
While I wasn't sure how long we had been traveling in hours, I was pretty sure that I had been wandering around for the better part of the day, as the sun was already nearing the western horizon.
The storm had long since subsided, and the smell of the rain and the freshly fallen leaves was all that was really keeping me going. The filly had woken up soon after the storm ended, but she was about as clueless as I was. Apparently she had never been in this part of the wilderness before, and told me that she had to wait until nightfall so she could tell her way by the stars. Among other things.
If there was one thing that this filly liked to do, it was talk. She had been jabbering on about herself, where she lived, and anything else that popped into her little head. It was actually kind of nice to have somepony to talk to after months in solitude.
"So," she began in her chipper voice, "where are you from? I've never seen anypony like you before."
"Well, I guess you could say that I'm not from around here."
"Ooh, so you're new out here! Don't worry, you'll like it a lot. Once you get used to sleeping outdoors and having to collect your own food, it's really fun! There's lots of places to see, and there are some fun games that you can play out here."
"Really?" I asked. "Like what?"
"Well, for the little fillies and colts, there's the usual hide and seek, but the older ones get to play 'Hide and Fight.'"
"'Hide and Fight?' That doesn't sound like too much fun. How do you play it?" I asked, afraid of the answer.
"It works pretty much like hide and seek, except when you find somepony, then the two of you get into a tussle," she answered, putting her front hooves up into a fighting stance. "Whoever wins the fight has to go look for everypony else while the other finds a place to hide. It keeps going until everypony has been found at least once, but you can keep it going if you want to."
"Do they normally keep it going?"
"Oh yeah, sometimes all day. One time my big sister and some of her friends kept it going until morning the next day."
"And nopony calls them out on this, or tells them to go to bed?"
"Nope! We pretty much just do what we feel like doing out here, and everypony else minds their own business."
"Wow. Sounds like my kinda place. Guess it was a good thing I got sent out here."
At least that's what I would have said had I not been tackled to the ground.
My assailant, a pegasus, lept out of the tree line and slammed me into the ground. The little filly shrieked when I hit the ground, but I was more concerned with just who the hay was attacking me. Whoever it was, they were wearing a face concealing mask, painted with something that I probably didn't want to identify.
"Who are you?" asked my attacker in a rough, gravelly voice.
"What? What are you talking abou-"
"WHO ARE YOU!?" I heard a click and felt the cold steel of a knife pressed up to my throat. "If you like your voice box where it is, then I suggest that you answer the question."
I laid there at a complete loss for words, sweat running down my forehead as a thin trickle of blood leaked from my neck. This was it. I was going to die here.
"Hey, get off of him!" yelled the filly as she beat against the mystery pony. "He didn't do nothin' wrong!"
"This doesn't concern you," replied the attacker, knocking her away with his hind leg. He turned his attention back to me, where I was laying there being about as productive as a sack of wet mice.
"Not going to talk, huh? Whelp, it's been nice knowing you," he said as he raised the knife to strike the final blow. I slammed my eyes shut and prepared for the worst.
"WAIT!!" came a third voice from the bushes. I tentatively cracked one eye to see that my assailant was looking over his shoulder, knife still held high. Shifting my gaze, I saw none other than Silver Rush walking over to the filly.
"Hazelnut, what are you doing out here?" she asked.
"Nothing," replied the filly. "He was just helping me get home. I got lost out in the storm, and he rescued me."
"Is this true?" asked the attacker, turning back to me. I nodded until my neck was sore.
Get out of the way," said Silver as she shoved the older stallion out of the way, "I want to see him." As soon as she took one look at me, her expression changed from disinterest to pure rage.
"YOU!" she yelled before lifting me right up off of my hooves and slamming into a tree. "Who do you think you are, huh? What were you doing with her?"
"Exactly what she said," I answered, pointing to Hazelnut. "The storm was getting bad, I found her in a bush, and offered to escort her home. Is that so hard to believe?"
"Yes it is. What were you really doing? TELL ME!" she added, punctuating it with a slap to the face.
"Sis, stop!" yelled Hazelnut. "He's telling the truth!"
Silver took a cautious look back at her sister, keeping me pinned to the tree while she did so. I'm not sure what that filly did, but Silver melted like a snowball on a hot summers day when she looked back at that little face. Giving me one last glare, she took her hooves off of my chest and let me fall to the ground. Holding a hoof to my throat to try and stem the blood flow from the initial attack, I got up.
"What should we do with him?" asked the stallion.
"He's going to need that neck wound patched up, and it wouldn't kill him to get checked for any damage he might have taken when you tackled him. Fly back to camp and tell them to get the medical tent set up. I'll see him there personally."
With a nod of the head, the stallion took off into the sky, leaving me alone with the psycho and Hazelnut.
"Listen, mister, I'm really sorry about my si-" began Hazelnut before Silver put a hoof in front of her.
"I don't want you talking to him, got it?"
"But sis-"
"That's final. C'mon, we need to get you home. You," she added to me as we began walking. "are very lucky. Most ponies in your situation would've wound up dead before they hit the ground. Seeing as how my sister has taken a liking to you, though, I'll let that rule slide."
"Well, thanks, that means a lot coming from a freaking nutcase."
"What did you call me?" she asked, seething with anger.
"You heard me. I was busy making sure that your sister got home safely, and this is the thanks I get for it? Nearly getting killed by two psychos in a row is not my idea of gratitude."
"Hey, just be thankful I even spared your sorry flank!" she said, turning to face me. "I could have left you dangling in that snare you stumbled your way into! I could've even let Gale Force slice you from ear to bucking ear, but I didn't! You should be the one thanking me!"
"Oh, yes, well thank you SO much for proving that your not nearly as much of a psychotic witch as you seemed to be! I have half a mind to fly back to my cave right now and forget that you even exist!"
"Only if you want to bleed out from that neck wound!"
"A neck wound that your lackey gave me! What is wrong with you ponies out here anyway? If I could, I would go back to Equestria right now and send out the entire Royal Armed Forces to round you all up and put you in the freaking dungeon!"
"Well, isn't that like a typical Equestrian, wanting to run back to your big army and your all-knowing princesses to fight your battles for you! You wouldn't know an honest fight if it came up and bi-"
"Stop it, STOP IT!!" yelled Hazelnut over the two of us, interrupting our pitched battle of wills. "This isn't getting us anywhere! We need to get him back home so he can get fixed up, and then he can leave if he wants to! Just stop arguing!" she added, eyes tearing up. Sliver rushed over to her side, cradling the filly's head in her shoulder.
"Now look what you've done," she said, glaring at me accusingly.
"No sis, it's what YOU did," retorted Hazelnut, pulling out of her sister's grip. "He was just trying to help, and you were the one being mean to him! Say you're sorry!"
"Hazel, you know I just want what's bes-"
"Say you're sorry, NOW!"
Reluctantly, Silver got to her hooves and, stomping her way over to me, said through gritted teeth, "Sorry."
"Apology accepted," I replied, if only to placate Hazelnut. Seemingly sated, she bounced ahead of us with a smile, like a certain pink earth pony I knew. Once she was out of earshot, Silver turned to me and whispered, "This isn't over. You'll get yours, just you wait." She trotted after her sister without another word.
Don't worry, you'll get yours too.