Forest of Lost Foals

by Dusk-Spark

Ch. 5: "Loss."

Was it Pipsqueak’s imagination, or were things getting foggier by the minute? He could barely see his own hooves now. If it weren’t for the lantern Snails was carrying, they’d have a much lower field of vision. Saphira lead the three ponies, using some kind of spell to inspect the ground. Pipsqueak wished he knew more about what she was doing, but he wasn't a unicorn. The concept of magic was such an alien thing for him to even begin to understand. Pipsqueak continued, in vain, to try and contact the others using his Rune Stone. No luck, he didn’t understand it. The Runes were supposed to work, they HAD been working. Why weren’t they working now? He sighed, Everfree Forest, this place defied the normal rules ponies were used to. Could be any number of reasons-
Hey was it getting dimmer? Again…he sighed, “Snails, you‘re fallin' behind.”

“Sorry.” Is what he expected to hear for the seventh or eighth time, this time; all he heard was the sound of the wind rustling against the trees. It was getting much darker now, Pipsqueak couldn’t even see the path anymore.

“Snails?” He and Saphira stopped dead in their tracks to turn around.

But Snails was gone, so was their best source of light. Pipsqueak felt that panic welling up inside him again.

Saphira wrapped her tail around his, “Don’t be scared.” Is what she said to him, even though Pipsqueak could feel her shaking as well, “I‘ve been marking our trail, we just need to find it and follow it back.” Her horn glowed brighter as she examined the foggy ground.

All around him, Pipsqueak became aware of the tiniest noise. The howling of the Timber Wolves from far away, the wind rustling the trees creating a low growl, the chirp of the crickets. So many sounds, but the one he was most concerned about was that screech. It wasn’t that long since he last heard it; but just the memory of it made him shake.
‘Be brave, Pipsqueak. Be brave.’
Where was his dad when he needed him? He wanted to go home. Pipsqueak’s hoof grazed something hard. That wasn’t a rock. It was squishy, like flesh and…he felt something liquid. He also felt the soft brush of a mane. He really hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was.
....
And then he realized; his tail was holding nothing. “Saphira?!” Pipsqueak called, but she was gone. Where had she gone? Where was the path? Why did everything look so unfamiliar?! “Oh no, no, no.” He must’ve wandered off, why hadn't he paid attention? "It's all over Pipsqueak." He was just looking away for a SECOND, and now he was all alone. He didn’t even want to look at what was there. He backed into a tree, every little sound made him jumpy, he couldn’t stop shaking. “No, no, no.” He could no longer stand and just covered his head with his forelegs. Hoping that maybe this was all a bad dream, maybe he’ll wake up real soon and be in his bed. Safe and sound. He felt a something touch his shoulder! “AGGGHHH!” He bellowed as he thrashed wildly against the tingly sensation around his body.

“Pipsqueak, it’s me, it’s me!” Saphira proclaimed, struggling to hold Pipsqueak’s thrashing limbs with her telekinetic grip. “Shhh, shhh, it’s okay.” Saphira stood next to Pipsqueak, gently nuzzling his mane, “Everything’s alright. Hush now, quiet now…” She soothed, in order to stop Pipsqueak’s sobs.

Pipsqueak sniffled and wiped the snot from his nostrils. “I-I’m a’right.” Pipsqueak steadied his breathing, then pointed a shaking hoof over to the thing he touched earlier. “T-There. Something.” Pipsqueak choked out through sniffles.

Saphira trotted towards the thing in the fog, using her horn’s glow to get a better view. “…” For several seconds she was dead silent, frozen stiff. She turned slowly to Pipsqueak and said, “It’s a Cockatrice.” She looked back to it over her shoulder and grimaced, “Or at least…it was. It‘s dead.”

“Dead? What killed it?” Pipsqueak galloped closer to Saphira, becoming much more cautious of his surroundings.

Saphira touched it with her hoof, “Hm, I can‘t say for sure. But I don‘t think this was done by a predator. See, when a predator kills something, I expect that it would show traces of being eaten. Like, bite marks and such, maybe some saliva or crumbs of meat. But here, it doesn‘t look like that. It looks more like this Cockatrice was killed for sport, or…in defense.” She trotted past it, illuminating the ground. “There are small hoof prints here. Kind of like one of our classmates?”

“So they killed it?”

“…I don’t know. But it is likely," She pointed to little red splotches on some of the hoof prints, Pipsqueak also noticed something blue mixed in with the red. "The tracks lead towards the Cockatrice, but the body‘s so mangled and beaten that I can‘t tell if they killed it or examined it like us. Hm...there's two sets of hoofprints.”

"Could it be Snails and Rumble?" Pipsqueak said hopefully.

"...Maybe." Her tone didn't match her words at all, "This one goes off the beaten path, deeper into the forest." The hoofprints ended at the side of the dirt road, leading into the dark, dangerous forest. Who would be crazy enough to go that way? "And this set of prints, lead along the path. This is getting messed up. We’re supposed to be in groups of three but it looks like we’re all getting separated. Singled out and lost.” Saphira explained while following the tracks deeper along the path (apparently judging that one to be the safest), Pipsqueak following after her.

“Heh, y-you’re really brave Saphira.” Pipsqueak tried to make small talk. It was really the only thing he could do to keep himself from becoming a nervous wreck again.

“Am I?” Saphira pondered, not paying all that much attention to Pipsqueak.

“Yeah. It’s really scary out here, but you don’t seem to be showing any fear. You‘re more of a hero than I am!”

“…” Saphira sighed, “I’m not that brave. Actually, I am very scared. I‘m just…really good at shutting it out.”

Pipsqueak could believe that. The hiding the emotions part, not the being scared part, “Why do you hide yourself?” Was this a good time to ask? Saphira had brushed him off before.

“…I used to live in Hollow Shades. It was a place surrounded by trees, we rarely saw sunlight.” Which might explain why her coat was so pale, “It was kind of like the Everfree Forest. As fillies and colts, we learn very quickly about all the things that are out to get us. We learn how to suppress our fear, survival skills, even how to use the environment to our advantage.” She pointed her muzzle to the sky above, “See that one star, up above? The one that shines really bright? It‘s right there in the constellation. That star will always point North, so we used that to guide our path at night.”

“ ‘Ow do you suppress your fear?” That was what Pipsqueak was most interested in.

“A few ways. Some ponies like to sing a song to themselves, some ponies like to see things rationally with a keen logical eye, others like to twist and turn that fear into another emotion. Anger was a popular motivator-Huh?" Saphira stopped explaining to focus on something in the fog (which Pipsqueak couldn't see) "What's this? Is this another-” she suddenly disappeared below the fog.

“Saphira?!” Pipsqueak bellowed!

“DON’T MOVE!” She shouted back from…below? Pipsqueak looked down to see the glow of Saphira’s horn. “I think we’re in front of a cliff. I can barely see down here. I can‘t make it back up either.” Was that, fear in her voice?

“H-’old on, I’ll find some’in to ‘elp!” Pipsqueak’s accent was slipping through again. ’Come on ’en Pipsqueak, use that bright noggin’ o’ yours.’ His father’s words rang in his ears. “Bright noggin.” The deep red of his scarf caught his eyes. “ ’Ang on, I ’ave an idea!” Pipsqueak struggled out of his scarf, lowering the end down to Saphira. Good thing it was a really long scarf.

“Pipsqueak, you can’t pull me up. I’m bigger than you. Try to find something to tie the other end to.” Saphira said, her tone becoming just a bit more urgent.

Right, right, of course! Pipsqueak frantically eyed his surroundings, his leg brushed against something near a large, dark tree (the tree kind of looked like it had a scary face, which he ignored). It felt rough, made of wood but not the same kind of wood. What the heck was this? He tried to pull it closer with his hoof but it didn‘t budge. Whatever it was, must‘ve been sturdy. He tied the end of the scarf to the thing, then tugged it to see if it would hold. It would be really bad if Saphira ended up falling while she was climbing. Good, it would hold (he REALLY hoped it would hold, at least). “Right then, I tied the end to a tree or some‘in. Climb on up.” Pipsqueak could see the scarf swaying as Saphira climbed up. He constantly checked the knot he tied, hoping it wouldn’t come loose. He could see Saphira’s light coming closer. He helped her up to the ledge with his hooves and breathed a sigh of relief when she stood next to him.

“Th-Thank you.” She looked visibly shaken from the experience. “Can I have a minute?” She shut her eyes, took several deep breaths. When she reopened her eye, Pipsqueak could see that her calm and cool composure had returned. “I’m alright now.” She moved past Pipsqueak to untie the scarf to whatever it was he had tied it to.

Pipsqueak meanwhile looked down into the foggy bottom, the fog was really getting bad. The hoof print trail had led them here...so that must've meant. "Oh no..." Pipsqueak was able to put two-and-two together. He had no idea who it was but…

“Pipsqueak.” Saphira’s low, quavering voice brought him out of his thoughts. “I think you should look at what you tied the scarf to.”

“Hm?” It was just an uprooted tree trunk or something, right? He followed the glow of Saphira’s horn to see that it wasn’t an uprooted trunk. It was a pony who had been tangled in the web of branches. He had tied it to their hind leg covered in the wooden barding of their Ranger costume. The bow and arrow cutie mark illuminated by Saphira’s horn made it very clear who this was. “Archer…” Pipsqueak murmured. He prodded her flank with his hoof, but she made no movements. “Sh-She’s just sleeping. She must be sleeping. Archer was always a heavy sleeper.” Please let that be the case, Pipsqueak pleaded with whatever gods were out there.

“Pipsqueak…”

“Come on, Archer, wake up. This isn’t funny. It's me, Pippo, Pipsi, Pips, Piptastic, Piporama, short n' round?” Pipsqueak chuckled half-heartedly.

“Pipsqueak.”

“If you don’t wake up then I-I-I’ll tell Ms. Cheerilee on you! So come on!” He nudged her harder. “Come on!”

“Pipsqueak!” Saphira barked. Pipsqueak knew what Saphira was going to say, somewhere inside he knew. But he didn’t want to acknowledge what that little pony in his mind was telling him, Saphira must be mistaken. She has to be! “Archer’s dead.”

Pipsqueak felt the air around him get just a little heavier, it didn’t help that the cawing of the crows sounded nearby.

“We can‘t do anything for her now.” Saphira telekinetically wrapped her own Rune in her magic, the soft crackling sound resounded through the air as Saphira wrote a message. “I’ve marked this area. Once we get out of here, we‘ll bring the big ponies and…we‘ll bring her back. Okay?” Saphira calmly explained while tugging on Archer's hindleg.

"What are you doing?!" To Pipsqueak, it looked like Saphira was about to eat Archer's body. He pushed her aside, standing between Saphira and Archer.

Saphira frowned, "Pipsqueak, I need to see how she died."

"But, she-"

"She's dead. Pipsqueak."

"Stop saying that!"

"It's true, Pipsqueak. Please move."

"No."

"Pipsqueak."

"NO!" He saw the flash from Saphira's horn and suddenly Pipsqueak felt the telekinetic tug on his limbs, but he fought it. With all his strength, he wasn't a unicorn but earth ponies still had their own innate magic. He felt his limbs move inch by inch.

"Pipsqueak, you're being difficult!"

"Good!" He continued to struggle with all his might, until the two ponies eventually collapsed into short breaths.

"Pipsqueak...listen. Archer's dead, nothing we do is gonna change that. Please Pipsqueak, I need to know how she died."

"Why does it even matter?"

"...I have my reasons."

"Always with the secrets." Pipsqueak was too tired to fight her anymore.

Saphira stood up, stepped past him and continued dragging Archer's body out of the tree. Using her telekinetic magic to help with the untangling. With Archer laid out before her, Saphira went to work on examining the body. Hollow Shades ponies were so different from Ponyville ponies, then again Pipsqueak was from Trottingham but still...

He didn't want to look at Archer's body, "Look at her. LOOK AT HER!" Pipsqueak sighed and turned to see. His heart sank into the pit of his stomach. A look of pure terror and pain was frozen in time on Archer's face, her eyes rolled up into her head as she bled from her mouth, nose, ears, even eyeballs. Pipsqueak gulped down his snack from earlier. He couldn't stand to look anymore so he walked towards the bushes on the other side of the tree.

"Do you want to know what I've found?" Saphira asked him.

"...I don't care." He lied.

"...She didn't go quietly. Her blood's dry as well, I think she's been dead for a while now." Saphira said while kneeling down to do something that Pipsqueak couldn't see.

"How long ago?"

"...Probably not long after you last spoke."

That only made him feel even worse. "Go. I don't want to jus' leave 'er out like this..." He said with a bundle of bushes in his mouth and on his back.

Saphira quietly nodded then trotted back to the path, examining the hoofprints leading deeper into the fog.

Pipsqueak spat out the foliage and started covering Archer's body with it, despite the blood...it almost looked as though she was still sleeping. Like she'd just wake up, tell him it was all a joke, make up some new nickname for him and they'd just start arguing about who was the best hero, "Archer..." He quietly said, shutting her eyes with his shaking hoof, it was a gesture he'd seen many times in comics, but he never really thought that he'd ever have to do it. Especially not for Archer. 'Don't cry, Pipsqueak. Don't cry...a hero doesn't cry...'

Saphira's voice cut through Pipsqueak's sniffles, “She wasn’t the one who made these tracks.” She marked that location as well. “I found something.” She levitated a brown, checker patterned detective’s cap towards Pipsqueak. The look on her face knew what it was, but she held her tongue, in case Pipsqueak was going to have another outburst.

“…Featherweight…” Pipsqueak mumbled in a slow, monotone voice. Fate may as well just put a vice grip on his heart, he eyed the cliff. "Jump..." the little voice in his head urged him to jump, trying to tell him that he could play with his friends on the other side if he just jumped.

“Snips. Snails. Rumble. Archer. Featherweight. Scootaloo.” Six ponies were lost to the Everfree now. And it would be much more if they didn‘t hurry up and find everyone.

"Jump." The voice insisted, more urgently this time. He could hear the promises of the voice, the cliff beckoned him to just take the plunge.

“Let‘s go back to the cabin. Maybe Scootaloo came back?”

"It's a lie. They're all dead, soon you will be too...so why wait? Go on your own terms." He bit his lower lip then smacked his hind legs. 'Don't give up now, Pipsqueak. There are still ponies to rescue. You're a hero, right?' Pipsqueak silently nodded as he held the cap in his hooves. What was he gonna tell Dad and uncle Heavyweight? “Featherweight…” He choked back the tears as he tucked the hat into his saddlebag...