The Accruing Phial

by PwnySwag290

Chapter 4

The Accruing Phial - Chapter 4

Umbra Nightshade was a not a happy pony. For one thing, he was upside down.
For another, he had no idea where he was, other than the fact that he was outside.
He had the worst headache he ever had the misfortune of experiencing: It felt like two Ursa Majors were wrestling inside his skull. He dared to open his eyes; and instantly regretted it. His headache felt like it had gotten ten times worse, Maybe fifteen. He stood up carefully, groaning as he did. He remembered very little from the party last night. He had been having a good time, making friends… Then he tried the punch. After that, he remembered nothing.

Looking around, the first thing he noticed was his location. Beneath his feet, the strong branch of a tree supported his weight. He looked around, and saw nothing but dense foliage and other branches. He turned around, suddenly wondering why he was so cold. His eyes widened as he realised. He scanned the area quickly, looking for his cloak. He eventually spotted it, caught on a tree branch and swaying gently in the breeze. He carefully reached out a hoof in an attempt to reach the cloak. It was no use. He could not reach. He tried again, this time attempting to grab it with his mouth. Leaning forwards, he stretched his neck as far as it would go. He felt his body start to fall as he leaned forward, and he quickly reared back to prevent himself from plummeting into the foliage. He looked around, scanning the area for any other way down. He looked down; and regretted it immediately. The ground looked very far away.

He had however, noticed a branch that looked solid enough to support his weight just beneath his cloak. The only problem was that he would have to jump. He thought about it before executing his idea. The consequences of failure were steep. He would fall from the tree, definitely sustaining broken legs when he landed. Given that he had no idea where he was, it could be several hours before he was rescued, if he ever was. On the other hand, success would mean getting back his cloak and being that much closer to the ground. He had to do something, and he was tired of being stuck in this tree. He crouched low on the barked surface, his rump raised in the air. He swallowed his fear as he prepared to jump.

He jumped, pushing himself towards the cloak. He flew the air, and grabbed the cloak with his mouth. He swayed, still carried by the inertia of his jump. He hung there for a few seconds, unsure how to free himself. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have time to find out. The branch supporting his cloak bent downwards, unable to support the extra weight. Umbra’s eyes widened as the limb snapped with an almighty crack, sending him plummeting toward the branch below. He hit the wood hard, cracking his head on the branch as he landed. His head swam and his vision blurred. He closed his eyes, and the world disappeared in a sheet of inky darkness.

Tyedye’s eyes slowly creaked open. He scanned his surroundings. The room was dimly lit, with a few beds in it. He was laid in the bed, the covers messily bunched up on his body. Shafts of bright light shone from the lone window in the room. Tyedye rolled out of bed, trying to figure out where he was. He couldn’t remember anything after the party. Tyedye looked around once again, realizing where he was. This was the library’s spare room. So he had made it back there at least. He couldn’t help but think something was missing. The answer hit him like a ton of bricks. Umbra. He wasn’t here. He had to find him. Tyedye took to the air, flying up the stairs and busting through the front door. Twilight turned around just in time to see a blue and turquoise streak fly through her front door. Umbra stirred, feeling something poking him hard in the ribs. He ignored it and turned over, screwing his eyes shut. The something spoke.

“This is my napping tree! Hey... are you ok? Your head looks kind of… hurt.” The voice said, concerned.

Umbra looked at the source of the voice. It was a cyan Pegasus mare with a multi hued mane.
She spoke once again.

“Do you need some help getting down? Because the amazing Rainbow Dash can help!”

“Urgh… yes please.” Umbra said, clearly pained by his injury. Rainbow grabbed him, being careful so as to not aggravate his injury. Her wings strained to keep them airborne. She managed though, dropping him to the ground roughly.

“Oops. Sorry.” She said, smiling sheepishly

She hovered just above him, waiting for him to stand and walk away. Umbra attempted to stand, and collapsed under his own weight.

“I… I’m fine.” Said Umbra. Rainbow Dash was not convinced.

“Just… Help me back to the library” He said through teeth gritted in pain.

“Don’t worry, I gotcha.” Said the Pegasus, landing next to him. He placed a foreleg over her shoulders, using her to support himself. She shifted under his weight, trying to make herself more comfortable. The Pegasus had no trouble supporting him, despite him being a head taller than her.

“You sure are strong for a Pegasus.” Umbra commented.
“That’s just my amazing muscles. No big deal.” Rainbow said with fake modesty.

They quickly arrived at the library. Rainbow Dash pushed the door open, entering with Umbra.
Twilight was stood in the library, inspecting a book quietly. A look of relief spread across her face when she noticed her two friends.

“There you are! I see Rainbow found you. I was beginning to worry. Tyedye’s already out looking for you. Someone had better tell him you’re safe.”

Umbra removed his leg from Rainbow’s shoulders, supporting himself shakily and proceeding into the library. Wordlessly, he proceeded to the kitchen table. He set about brewing a potion, first of all setting a pan of water to boil over the fire. He then cut several herbs and crushed them using a pestle and mortar. He dropped this into the broth, and it began to glow a deep azure. Umbra grabbed a small pouch of golden dust and poured a small pinch into the broth. Sparkles of light exploded from the liquid surface as the dust touched it; when the lights had cleared, the mixture had turned a deep golden colour. Umbra carefully pulled out a small glass phial and poured a small amount of the potion into it. He grabbed the phial in his mouth and tilted his head back, shuddering slightly as he finished it.

“I forgot how bad it tasted…” He said, pulling a disgusted face.

“Is that all?” Twilight asked, concern painted on her face. “Will you be ok now?”

“I’ll be fine, Twilight. I just need some rest.” He said, already proceeding to the spare bedroom downstairs.

He turned to Twilight. “Promise me something?” Umbra asked, addressing Twilight. She nodded, smiling.

“Find Tye, and tell him I’m safe.”

“I will. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Twilight took care not to ‘stick the cupcake in her eye’ too hard.

“Thank you. I don’t want him to worry.”
Umbra walked down the stairs. He got into bed, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the
pillow.

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, help me find Tyedye . I have a promise to keep.”

Twilight and Rainbow Left the library at the same time, deciding to split up to cover more ground. Twilight headed towards the town centre, hoping to find him asking around the shops. Rainbow decided to scout the entire town to look for the Pegasus. As fate would have it, Dash was the first to find him. She swooped down, hovering next to him, just in time for him to stick his head in a tree.

“Umbra?” He called out. “Are you in here?”
Rainbow tapped him on the shoulder.

“Huh? Is somepony there?” He turned around. “Oh… Hi.” He said, disappointed

“I was hoping you might be my friend Umbra. Have you seen him?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen him. I, the amazing Rainbow Dash rescued him and now he’s in the library, resting up.”

“Well that’s a relief.” Tyedye said, visibly relaxing.

Tyedye looked at the other Pegasus, an idea forming in his mind.

“So, are you as fast as they all say?” Tyedye asked

Rainbow looked slightly offended.

“Was there any doubt?” To Rainbow, this was clearly a statement of fact.

“Care to prove it?” Tyedye asked, a cocky smile spread across his face.

Rainbow shoved her muzzle into his

“Was that a challenge? Because it is totally on!” Rainbow shouted.

With this the two Pegasi took off into the air chasing after each other, laughing.