//------------------------------// // Raining // Story: The Olden World // by Czar_Yoshi //------------------------------// Starlight awoke with a flash of panic. She didn't remember falling asleep or even making camp... but what she was now was wet, and she was getting wetter. It was raining. Fat dollops of water fell all around her - at first sporadically, then closer and closer together. Her coat bristled in defense even as it became plastered to her backside, and she looked around wildly to get her bearings. She was at the edge of the lake. She'd been walking alongside it. It had been night... she must have fallen asleep on her hooves. The sky and everything below it were gray, indicating it must have been some time during the day... but when didn't matter. She had to find shelter before her packs soaked through. Already imagining her hard, stale bread and carefully hoarded berries turning to mush, Starlight woke her sleepy limbs and galloped, hooves scrambling against the wet lakeshore below. Sand and pebbles slipped beneath her, jamming in her horseshoes and making her wince. She needed shelter... but where? Quickly, the filly zipped up to a tree, a steady thrumming rising in her ears as rain beat down on the soft floor and rippling lake around her. Its branches and needles were thin, however, and it offered next to no protection. She shivered and darted further into the forest, leaving the lake behind. She passed a gnarl of bushes that strongly resembled a wilder version of a garden hedge, branches waving invitingly at her... but they were already soaked. She stuck her head in anyway, shiversnorting from the wet contact, and backed out, cantering away. Ahead, a break in the trees loomed, and she burst out into the full force of the downpour... and groaned. Ahead was another river, waters churning hungrily as the gray rain fed it further. Again, she tried and failed to bristle, little lilac face falling with the raindrops. With a muddy hoof, Starlight pushed her wet mane out of her eyes and surveyed the area, hooves hurting and teeth chattering. This river was far less straight than the last one, zigging and zagging through an open stony field with occasional outcroppings of rock sticking straight up into the sky. Hopefully, she took a few steps toward them, wondering if she might find one with an overhang. Starlight wandered in and out among the blocky, flat-topped spires, ears flattened by the pounding rain as she peered around corners and inspected rocks. At last, she found something: two protrusions, one leaning against the other such that their tops locked together, creating a small tentlike crevice between. With a gasp, the filly darted toward them, wriggling her way in. She held still, breathing. The twin walls reached up like a stony hug, open at the front and back and so close together she couldn't even lay on her side... but at last, she didn't feel rain on her back. She eased her saddlebags off and set them in front of her, tucking in her tail to keep it out of the rain. Inside, her blanket was... wet. So was her bread, and most of her other food. Her water was fine, of course. She popped a hooffull of berries into her mouth, pleasantly surprised to find that they were still as firm as ever and even tasted good with rainwater. And her black box was completely fine. Squirming, she turned her head around, inspecting her flank. It was blank and markless, safe for a few smudged streaks of gray that even then seemed to be running down her coat. She groaned inwardly, but couldn't fix it now. Her coat was still too wet. Unsure if wearing her blanket while both she and it were wet was wise, Starlight raised the object in her telekinesis, squinting as she hung it near one entrance of the triangular cave. She set her bags next to it, contents arrayed as spaciously as she could afford... and turned around, squeezing to fit through the narrow walls of the enclosure. As the rain hammered down around and above her, with the muffled roar of the river in the distance, Starlight sunk down, tucking all four limbs beneath her body and pulling her soggy tail alongside her. She tried, futilely, one more time to fluff her coat, then lay there, a silent sentinel of the watery valley, content to watch, listen, and maybe fall asleep. Eventually, Starlight awoke in a snug, soggy pile... and sneezed. She shivered. That wasn't a good sign. Catching a cold here, while completely reliant on her own ability to take care of herself, would be disastrous. At the least, it would force her to find shelter and sustainability and stop for a few days until she was better. The rain had stopped, though. Instead, the world outside was shrouded in cold, gray mist, creeping right up to her cave and filling the air with so much humidity that she imagined her blanket would be even wetter than it was before. Starlight groaned, hugged herself, and stood up, strolling outside. The first thing she noticed was the river. It had swollen considerably from the day before, and with a spike of alarm she imagined it getting so large that it would reach her and wash her away. Thankfully, that didn't seem like it would happen soon. She sniffed the air. As clammy as it felt, it at least had the decency to smell nice. Tilting her head straight up, Starlight took a deep breath... and sneezed. She scowled. Turning around, the filly began dragging her things from her cave with telekinesis. Sure enough, her blanket had several bucketfuls of water waiting to be squeezed out, which she did at a distance and with several shivers. It probably needed to be washed, anyway. Repacking her things, she slumped the wet saddlebags against her back, miserably tramping away from the cave. As she walked, she realized she'd forgotten to clean out her horseshoes, but wasn't about to stop now. This much mist likely meant it was early morning, and she wanted to travel as much as possible before night returned... or it resumed raining. Starlight hung her head as she walked, searching for a way across this river. If there was one thing she had to be happy about, it was that her horn had stopped hurting. There was still a twinge every time she thought about it, but it was far from omnipresent. Traveling in the day and giving it a rest, apparently, had helped. Eventually, she came to a large tree that had fallen across the river. Perking slightly, she inspected it, cautiously feeling it with telekinesis. It was wedged firmly in place, though it had been stripped of bark and was slick with moisture. Starlight eyed the swollen waters below distrustfully, their blue-gray waves lapping up against the side of the log. Carefully, she tested it with a hoof... and promptly slid right off. The filly frowned, lighting her horn. Concentrating, she forced mana into the log, watching as it shimmered... and began to change. Her magic wrapped around the outside, forming manacrystals attached to the surface, tiny and jagged and myriad across the bridge. When she tested it again, their coarse, magical surface gave excellent perch to her hooves, and she immediately scampered across without incident. Having reached the end of the bridge, Starlight sighed... and sneezed again. Releasing the crystals from her magic, she let them fade behind her as she plodded drearily onwards into the dripping forest.