//------------------------------// // Stripes Of Crimson // Story: A Tale Of Ice and Fire // by ZergPony //------------------------------// In a breezy glade in a dense forest, an unexpected event was about to unfold. It was the lull before the storm. At first only silence, but soon broken by a thin luminous pillar striking down into the forest, then the light became a sphere, crackling loudly as it coalesced into the glade. The energy from the sphere made the grass stand erect and unmoving. The small sphere dissipated slowly with its arrival and gradually revealed its content. A creature now laying asleep on the green grass that had buckled under its weight. It seemed forever at peace, but as morning passes to night, it progressively regained its consciousness. It slowly opened its eyes and took in the surroundings of the dense forest and the small glade it lied upon. The smell of wildlife filled its nostrils as it took its first deep breath in its new world. This place was not familiar it reckoned, and it had no knowledge how it had gotten here. Racking its mind it wwasn't even sure what or who it was. It seemed like there should be something else, but it could not recall any memories before this exact moment. Instead of trying to search for answers inwards, the creature turned outwards, taking in what was its body. It scrutinized itself as much as it could laying down. It recalled the colour of its skin were called blue when the creature inspected it, and this seemed to fall near the cyan category. ”Skin” was probably the wrong word, it looked more like fur. To get a better inspection of itself it tried standing up. Its movement was clumsy like a newborn and it took great effort for the creature to stand up. The body could have belonged to someone else, it felt foreign to the being as it stood in the middle of the glade. Inspecting its so-called arms, it noticed that they were oval-like. It came to the same conclusion for its legs, as they felt the same as its ”arms” when they pushed down on the grass. Something seemed to hang from its posterior as well. Glancing backwards from its right side it noticed a ruffled long cyan tail with two red stripes. Boldly it also raised one of its forelegs to touch lightly upon its crest and head. It was smooth and felt like hair, proceeding further up it also noticed an outgrowth. The outgrowth were kind of hard, much like a horn. Its hair continued down its face with unkempt side bangs favouring its left side, concealing most of its eyes. Becoming curious of its appearance it started to look around, to its luck finding a small collection of water nearby a couple of trees. The creature started out slowly, not wanting to risk stumbling and breaking anything in an unknown location. It made its way slowly towards the water, albeit staggering. Its reflection revealed ruffled blue hair, which also contained two red stripes in it. The face was round and sported a small nose. It also confirmed the suspicions about the outgrowth. The most disturbing thing though was that under its ruffled bangs, its eyes seemed to look very big, in proportion to its head. It tried its mind for knowledge again, and came up with an appropriate answer. It was apparently some sort of small quadrupedal animal. The word "horse" came it its mind. It was time for another test. Opening its mouth it tried to speak. ”What the actual heck?” Granted the creature first words could have been something more intelligent. Okay. Not what I expected to see, okay I didn't know what to expect anyway. It's strange though, do horses actually talk? If so, why can't I remember anything about it, it doesn't feel familiar at all. Ugh, I guess I could rack my brain for an answer, but that would probably just give me a headache at the moment. Looking up the small cyan horse with red stripes noticed that the forest seemed brighter in one part versus the other. That way is strangely calling to me. I guess it is as good a way as any other. Her thoughts were caught off she heard a howling call sounding from a far away distance. Or! It's just a very nice path to wander on, like right now! The equine creature started once again to move, a little frantic to be out of the way of whatever animal had made that sound. No time for feeling comfortable it started to walk briskly towards the less dangerous path, and potentially it could meet someone that had some answers to its questions. o.O.o The small cyan horse walked along the forest path, while taking in the view of wild-grown trees and flowers. Soon it could hear birds chirping happily and the forest became a lot less dense. It pondered how it would interact with the locals, if it was ever to encounter sentient beings that is. If the small horse was one of a kind there could be some trouble concerning communication. If I am lucky and there are others like me, I should probably treat them politely and with respect as not to offend them. If there aren't any like me I have to prepare for the worst. The seeds of doubt started to grow in the small horse's mind. It was almost like a voice inside its head, whispering and filling it with prejudice. ”Trust no one...Only..yourself.” No I have to hope for the best. I am here for some kind of reason and I intend to find out what it is, and finding any locals would be the appropriate thing to start with. It thought before stopping and pondering. Wait, where did that come from? The whispering inside the horse died down, but lingered as a reminder in its head, as the cyan horse continued along the forest path. The path had proven to be a good choice to go, as the horse could soon make out a house with a large garden that sported several birdhouses in the trees. The small horse chuckled to itself. A local that cared so much for animals couldn't possibly be bad right? This was probably a good place as any other to start looking for answers. ”Alright, time to find the owner of this house.” The cyan horse had decided to be bold in its search. The sooner it find out about itself the better. If the owner appeared hostile in any way...well that would be a concern for later. The horse walked faster and were soon standing behind a big tree just outside of the garden. In the garden there were a lot of different animals, ranging from birds and bees to different kinds of mammals. The cyan horsed became thrilled when it spotted another figure coming around the house. It was another small horse, but this one had a yellow fur coat and a pink mane. It had no horn either but the cyan horse spotted something at the yellow one's sides, which looked like feathered wings. The yellow horse carried bags on its back and the animals started to gather around it. Soon it proceeded to pour seed into the birdhouses and also place food in bowls for the critters. The small cyan horse patiently waited for the yellow one to finish up its duties. It wondered whether if the yellow one being of a different species than itself would complicate matters. Only one way to find out after all. The cyan horse took a deep breath to calm its nerves, stepped out from its hiding place and greeted the owner of the house. ”Greetings friend,” the cyan horse spoke with a calm demeanour. ”I come alone and in peace, as I wish only to talk with you.” The yellow horse stopped in its tracks like it were frozen. It slowly turned to face the stranger that greeted it. As it spotted the cyan horse it eyes grew wider as if in chock. Uh oh. This doesn't look very good. Erm, what to do? The cyan horse kept its calm and tried speaking again, while looking into the horse's blue eyes. ”As I said I come as a frien...” It didn't get to finish its sentence before the yellow horse gave out a loud and horrifying yell, scaring all the animals away. It dropped to the ground covering its eyes with its frontlegs. The cyan horse became quite startled at this. It didn't know how to react to this, it weren't prepared for this outcome! Had it actually frightened this creature? But it made no sense, it had talked normally and politely. Or maybe this were how horses greeted each other in this world. Not thinking further the cyan pony gave out a half-hearted shriek of its own and dropped to the ground with its legs over its head. ...Well that was stupid. Why would anyone greet another like this? Its face got tinted with red and it stood up again. Fair enough the horse was still on the ground, and actually shivering now, presumably in fear. The cyan horse decided on a gentler approach. ”Please if you can understand me. I mean you no harm, I promise. I am only here to seek answers about what I am and why I am here.” Slowly the yellow horse removed its legs from its eyes. ”U-um, y-you promise you won't hurt me?” Thrilled the cyan horse started to smile. It did understand! ”I give you my word.” It gently met the yellow horse's eyes. From the voice it deduced that this yellow one was a female. ”May I inquire your name Ms...?” She looked away avoiding the cyan horse's gaze, probably still frightened. She whispered nervously ”M-my name is F-fluttershy, Unicorn-I don't-know,” Fluttershy? That is an odd name, or maybe such names are common here? Suits her personality though. Wait what did she call me? Unicorn? The cyan horse bowed to Fluttershy in a polite manner. ”A pleasure making your acquaintance miss Fluttershy. What was that about me being a unicorn, if I might ask?” Fluttershy started to whimper, clearly still uncomfortable in the presence of the stranger. If there were a prize for easily scared horses, she would win it without a contest. ”W-well that is what you are, b-but if you want to be called something else..t-that's ok. She remained on the ground still to scared to move from there. A unicorn huh? Then what does that make her? The cyan unicorn slowly approached the yellow horse and stood now just a meter from her. ”May I ask you what defines me as a unicorn, Ms. Fluttershy? Are you one as well?” The yellow female now met cyan unicorn's eyes and gave it an odd look, before explaining. ”W-well to answer your first question, your horn on your head is what makes you a unicorn. The answer to your second is no, I am a pegasus pony. ”Forgive me for asking, but what is a pony?” It asked her gently. Fluttershy looked like she had trouble believing her ears. ”It is what we are, ponies, you and me. Our species.” The cyan unicorn gave Fluttershy a quizzical look. ”I thought I was a unicorn?” Fluttershy finally found the courage to stand. She gave the poor cyan pony a pitiful look, like she thought it was confused, or possibly even addled in the head. She continued to stare blankly at the ruffled-looking pony before speaking. ”Well yes, a unicorn pony, as I am a pegasus pony. There are also earth ponies, but they don't have horns, or wings," She said, but go embarrassed and added, "o-oh, but they are strong and constitutional.”. Not wanting to demean earth ponies, or sound overly special. This clarified things for the unicorn. ”Ah, so we all are equine creatures, but with some differences. Are all of the other ponies sapient like you, or are one of a kind?” ”O-oh no, everypony can talk and has special skills, that they are good at.” She dared to move a little closer now, as she didn't see the unicorn as frightening as before. The cyan pony smiled. ”I would assume your special skill is animal care-taking? You seem to be doing an excellent job at that.” Fluttershy started to blush. ”I-it's nothing,” she stammered, clearly embarrassed. ”Just something I like to do. The animals are all my friends so I gladly take care of them.” Wow there is more to this one than I first thought. She is a kind and a compassionate soul. I hope there will be more like her in this world. She seems to be one of those who make the world a better place to live. ”Pathetic.” The voices inside the unicorn's mind whispered. The cyan pony shook its head. Again? Where did that come from? Snapping back to reality. The blue pony noticed Fluttershy now staring at it, with wonder in her eyes. ”U-um, excuse me for asking, but how come you know nothing of ponies, when you are one yourself?” She fidgeted slightly, not wanting to upset the unicorn. The cyan pony pondered whether it should tell Fluttershy its story. She seemed trustworthy enough and frankly very harmless. Probably would be best to avoid mentioning the whispering voices though. ”Well miss Fluttershy I am asking simply because I do not know who I am. I woke up in that forest over yonder, and except for today I cannot recollect anything from my past.” Realising the truth of the situation kind of hurt and the unicorn became a little saddened by it. It's different when you talk about it I guess. Fluttershy looked both terrified and deeply concerned for the stranger. She got up and surprised the unicorn with a caring hug. ”Oh no, you poor, poor thing. You were alone in the Everfree Forest? You must have been frightened and alone, with no one else to turn to, not even yourself.” The cyan unicorn startled by the hug, blushed deeply. ”Err, it wasn't that bad.” The pony tried to get away from her crushing embrace. She were a lot stronger than she actually let on. ”Oh it's worse than bad. It is downright awful. You aren't hurt anywhere are you?” She began feeling the unicorn's body for injuries. Okay! This is getting awkward. Her caring nature did not just extend to animal, it seems. The unicorn broke free from her touch. ”I am just fine I assure you miss, please don't do that again.” The yellow pegasus started stuttering again. ”O-oh, I-I'm sorry. You just seemed so down and depressed, and I know I always feel a little better when I get a hug so I thught...." The cyan unicorn felt ashamed. Her concern is clearly genuine. Great, now I feel like a jerk for pushing her away. It bowed its head and spoke to her. ”I apologize for startling you. I feel fine though, so no worries. Anyway you told me there were other ponies like you?" I am here for information after all. I need to ask as much as possible before I have to turn elsewhere. Fluttershy brightened up. ”Oh yes, well technically between my best friends only Rainbow Dash is a pegasus like me. She is a great flier, probably one of the best in all of Equestria. I can't fly as fast, but my friends never hold that against me. Then there is Applejack and Pinkie Pie. They are earthponies. Applejack is strong and honest and Pinkie always do her best to make others smile. My two unicorn friends are Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. Rarity always makes the best of dresses and is a very generous pony. Twilight is a very knowledgeable pony and also extremely talented in magic. Then there is of course my non-pony friends like Spik...” The cyan unicorn listened patiently to Fluttershy's narrative. Something caught its attention however. Magic? Why does that feel so familiar? Suddenly the cyan pony felt a sharp pain in its head and groaned in agony. What was that about? Fluttershy looked up noticing the unicorn's scowl. ”I-I'm sorry. I am boring you, aren't I? How unthoughtful of me, can't I ever learn to shut my big mouth...” The cyan, red striped pony gave Fluttershy a reassuring look. ”Ah no, no it's not you. I got a little headache all of a sudden, 'tis all. It's gone now.” ”Forgive me for asking you another question, but what is your name? T-that is, if you remember, maybe you can tell me? Y-you don't have to if you don't want to though, it's okay..” She really should be more assertive. Well I guess being shy isn't a bad trait, she is rather kind and pretty after all. The unicorn smiled towards the nervous pony ”Of course you can ask me my name, miss Fluttershy. I am called...eh?” The cyan pony came up blank. What? That is odd, I am sure I had a name..then why can't I remember it? Did I really forget that as well? ”I..uh..my name is..” The small equine started to get perplexed. It hadn't thought of a name at all! It had just assumed it had one. ”I honestly..cannot..remember.” The small pony went from perplexed to sorrowful. Guess it too could win a prize, for fastest emotional mood swing. Depressing. Fluttershy felt the unicorn's distress and despite earlier tell off she hugged it gently. The cyan red -striped pony did not object this time to her embrace. Fluttershy consoled the distressed pony in her forelegs. ”There, there, we can try and figure your name out. Let's see if we can make any sense of it by looking at your cutie mark.” ”Cutie mark?” The blue unicorn gently wiped its somewhat runny muzzle. The embrace had felt good and it felt a little better now. Fluttershy was indeed good at taking care of others. ”What is a cutie mark?” ”A cutie mark is proof that a pony has discovered his or hers special talent or calling in life. It is a mark that shows up on your flank when you know your destiny.” ”How does that reveal my name exactly?” The blue unicorn said quizzically, noticing now the mark on Fluttershy's flank, in form of three butterflies. Oh, I guess that is quite clever. ”Well sometimes the name and the cutie mark are very similar. It doesn't apply to everypony but it doesn't hurt to take a look. Now let's see here...oh my.” She exclaimed a little surprised. On the blue unicorn's hip were two snakelike creatures entangled in each other, as if in a fight. One was icy-blue while the other red as fire. Odd, I didn't notice that when I woke up in the glade.. ”W-well that sure is a special cutie mark. I have never seen anything like that. U-um..Ice-fire serpent..no, doesn't sound like a pony name.” ”Anything you can think of, miss Fluttershy? The blue unicorn had slipped back into polite speech. ”Please just call me Fluttershy and no, nothing really that fits a pony.” The cyan horse sighed and proceeded to scratch its head, ruffling up its mane more in the process. Fluttershy gave the unicorn a scrutinizing look as it did this. Then she slowly approached it and examined its mane. It was a darker shade of blue with dark red stripes in it, the same as the unicorns tail. She gently pushed its bangs out of the pony's eyes to reveal a set of gentle carnelian-shaded eyes. She considered the pony's appearance and whispered as she released its mane. ”I guess I'll call you Crimson Stripes.” The cyan pony looked into her blue eyes. ”W-what did you say?” ”Crimson Stripes.” She said normally. Crimson Stripes? Is that my name? It feels...wonderful. It's a wonderful name! My name is Crimson Stripes.. In its happiness it couldn't the detect the voices in the back of its head, scowling in disgust. ”I am Crimson Stripes,” Crimson said proudly. ”It is a good name Fluttershy, thank you very much.” Fluttershy's cheeks became red with embarrassment. ”You're very welcome, Crimson."