Chapter One: Isolated
To say it was busy was an understatement.
The terminal was packed with hundreds upon hundreds of ponies, each trotting towards their flight or to family members with smiles on their faces. The sight of loved ones leaving through the doors brought a smile to my face as I turned my attention back to the list of flight numbers.
As I did, I scratched the side of my stomach where my one of my former brands had been. I glanced over to Brave and eyed each part of her body where she had her fur burned with each new rank from Chrysalis’ gang of misfits. It took several magical treatments to dye and grow our coats back to normal, but it was nice to have a full magenta coat again, even if it was itchy at times. Brave on the other hoof, her brands had been very noticeable, but eventually the brands faded completely and her color returned. It reminded me how lucky we had been not to receive the rune engravings along our horns. Some markings could never be fixed.
Braved spotted me eyeing her and her expression went flat. “You know, you might not like brands,” she muttered, running her hoof across a rough patch of fur. “But that doesn’t mean you had to force me to get rid of mine.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, we don’t normally wear clothes to conceal them,” I calmly retorted.
“That sounds rather problematic,” I heard somepony say, catching my attention and ending the sour topic.
My eyes casually drifted from Brave to the ponies watching the television in the corner of the waiting room.
“Even with authorities still on the search for the stallion, nopony has been able to find even a trace of the cannibal’s presence anywhere in Equestria.”
As my thoughts and fears dispersed hearing the news bulletin, I reminded myself it was constant threats like these we were leaving behind.
My hind legs stretched out from my seat while I looked back at my sister. She turned a page in her magazine, Hot Rod Outlaws. “What’re you reading, Brave?”
Brave Day flipped to the cover, depicting a group of classic Corvettes, and engulfed the magazine with a sheath of blue magic, letting it roll up until it slid comfortably in her backpack. “An article on my favorite car, the Vette C5.” A loud yawn escaped her mouth while she stretched. When she turned back to me, she looked worried. “You sure you want to do this with me of all ponies?”
“Stop looking so blue,” I jokingly ordered, pointing out the color of her coat. Brave scoffed at my remark. She never did like that joke. “We are family, Brave, family sticks together. There’s no mare I would rather start a new life with than with you.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her muzzle.
Once our flight was called, it took us a flat second to grab our bags and get in line. I lightly bounced on my hoof tips eagerly inching forward as the gate agent checked each pony’s ticket one by one.
In my excitement, I leaned closer to Brave, whispering, “You know what my favorite story is?”
Brave Day shrugged. “An article covering a Vette Stingray,” she suggested as our tickets were checked.
The gate agent pony smiled, then let us walk towards the plane as I shook my head. “Try again.” Brave shrugged, but kept thinking. We stepped from the hall onto the plane, passing by the flight attendants and their fake smiles. Finding our seats, Brave took another shot in the dark, suggesting another car story, but I shook my head and chuckled. “This one isn’t about Vettes...or cars.”
We took our seats, leaving our bags in front of us, as the plane began to fill with other passengers. The pilot’s voice echoed inside the cabin, but neither I nor Brave paid the slightest attention.
She shook her head at me. “Alright, I give, what is it?”
I leaned back, recalling what my mother had told me when she was around. “This filly wasn’t the healthiest. On her birthday of all days, she should have died. In fact, the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck should have done it. Somehow, she lived.” Brave looked at me with interest in her eyes. “She was even several days early. You could say that everything was stacked against her from the start.” I paused with a smile. “I remember Mom calling you brave. You were so brave on that day. That is why they named you Brave Day.”
“You’re embarrassing me,” Brave said turning her head to the window.
I chuckled to myself. “I was a foal when it happened. Most of the details are hazy, but there are little bits here and there I still remember.”
Before we knew it the plane began to lift off the ground. We had missed the entire takeoff procedure, not that we were complaining. The sooner we got up into the air the sooner we landed.
The ponies around us were distracted, either by the music players or movies on the small screens, to notice what was going on around them. With that in mind, I reached my hoof into my bag, retrieving something heavy. My hind leg nudged Brave who looked at me with a questioning glance. “I got you a gift,” I said quietly, motioning for her to keep her voice down.
Brave took the gift in her hoof, slowly unwrapping it unveiling a sheath with an adjustable strap, which concealed the real gift. Both of us made sure nopony was paying attention, double checking before Brave pulled a combat knife out. Her jaw slowly lowered at the craftsmanship. The blade was curved, heavy, with blue lettering engraved along the metal spelling her name out. She flipped it over to see my name engraved on the other side in magenta lettering.
Just like us. Even our manes reflected the other, though when it came to descriptions, I’d say “muscular” than “heavy.”
“Starry, it’s beautiful, but how did you get it through security?” she whispered to me.
I dead panned. “Magical wrapping paper.”
We laughed.
Brave rewrapped the knife and placed it in her bag when suddenly the plane violently shook. I pushed by Brave and gazed out the window. Black smoke jetted out into the white cloudy sky as we passed through a dense gathering of birds. Shrapnel flew off from the wing causing the plane to violently jerk. I fell backwards, landing between my seat and Brave’s. When she turned to me, her face had lost some of her color.
I could feel my heart sink deeper into my chest. “Oh crap,” we said in unison.