//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Forgiving Friendship 
// Story: Lightning and Stitch (#2) 
// by LightningStar626 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 5: Forgiving Friendship

~Lightning was having a hard time keeping up with Fluttershy, and even wondered where she was even going. In fact, she was moving so fast, Lightning almost lost sight of her through the trees. She rushed down a sudden but narrow, empty pathway between the bushes. Then, she stopped, and bent down and looked more carefully at the ground.~ 

~At that moment, Lightning caught up with her and was confused as to why she was now kneeling on the ground doing nothing. That was when, finally, she looked down herself and realised. Fluttershy was following dog tracks. There appeared to be a lot of criss-crossing and, occasionally, a lot of sniffing around. Fluttershy took off again, and even when Lightning yelled at her this time to stop, she didn't slow down. Whatever it was, something was seriously wrong in nature's force, it prevented her from stopping.~

~But soon enough, Fluttershy eventually came to a full stop, in a little clearing in the woods. Lightning panted up behind her to where she was squatting. She looked up at her forlornly, then pointed ahead.~

"Lightning, look! That poor dog- it's caught in a trap!"

~Lightning peeked over the bush they were hiding behind. There, she saw the Shiba Inu once again and, as Fluttershy said, he was caught in a beartrap. His hindleg and foot were captured tightly in the iron jaws, while his forelegs bled from all the scraping he was doing, trying to get it off. Lightning gave a snuffle, then spoke fiercely.~

"Hmph! Well, serve that Shiba dog right! He's cruel and unkind."

"Lightning!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"What? I know what I said!"

"That is no way to treat these poor creatures. No matter what they've done- good or bad- no one deserves to be abused like that."

"I don't want anything to do with it, okay? I'm not taking any chances."

"That is not my way. Especially with animals. Come on, we need to help."

~At that, the shy girl revealed herself to the dog from the bushes and approached him very calmly and very caringly. With her hand raised to show peace, she slowly petted the dog to establish trust, and thankfully, he allowed her to get closer. Lightning, on the other hand, still didn't budge. Her grudge for the animal was still strong. But then, all of a sudden, she couldn't hold it back anymore, or bring herself up to ignore them. Despite her anger, the painful whines from the dog were just too much for her to bear.~ 

~Suddenly, her kindness kicked in and she raced over to Fluttershy's side to help. She was about to put her hand down on a crucial piece of the trap that could possibly hurt her or possibly get her stuck too. So, thankfully, Lightning stopped it. She put her hand on Fluttershy's hand, and pulled it upwards.~

"Whoa, Fluttershy! Be careful. Traps like these are not all easy to manage. Here, let me." she offered.

~After clamping on the Shiba's snout so as to not get bitten, Lightning examined the trap and found its snare point. She was taught that every trap has a point where it can be snared and released, but it won't work unless you have the right skills and steadiness for it.~ 

~So, after finding the right point of the trap where it was activated, Lightning lightly pressed down on the button, and the jaws opened, setting the Shiba free. After he dragged his legs out from the trap, the three had another very cautious stare-down. Until finally, the most amazing thing happened that Fluttershy never expected to occur.~

The dog gazed up into their eyes, and spoke. "F-Fank you."

Fluttershy was taken aback. "H-huh?"

"I said, fank you." the dog repeated. "Mighty civil of you ta help me like that, even after all the trouble I 'ave caused yer."

~There was no mistake that that voice was coming from the dog. Both Lightning and Fluttershy could hardly believe it, and more so, Fluttershy had to double check her magic wasn't activated while he spoke. After seeing that it wasn't, her eyes lit up.~

"I told you he could talk!" Lightning cried.

But all Fluttershy did in response was push Lightning aside. "In-Incredible!" she started. "N-no, please! No trouble at all, little one. I am always obligated to help animals in need."

The dog sighed. "I didn't mean the trap, I meant tossin' y'all into the river."

"...oh."

Lightning scoffed. "Pffft! Yeah, no kidding."

"Lightning!" Fluttershy scolded. She turned back and ruffled the dog gently. "Please, it-it's okay. What's your name, little guy?"

"Name? I don't 'ave one. Imma only a dog, just roamin' around the forest, tryna survive, ain't I?" he woofed. "I should get goin' now."

~He turned and made to leave like a shot, but as he pressed down on his leg, it made a loud crunch, and the weight of him collapsed underneath it at once. He howled in pain.~

"Oh my goodness!" gasped Fluttershy. "Are you okay?"

The dog groaned. "Not particularly. Me paws are bleedin' and me ribs done 'alf 'urt. Not to mention this ol' crooked leg!"

"Here, Let me help."

~Fluttershy carried the dog over to the shading of the trees they were at before the trap. She made sure his position was comfortable enough, then, once she was sure, she turned towards Lightning.~

"Lightning, do you think you can get me some water from the river over there?"

"I…" Lightning was about to argue, but stopped, knowing it wasn't worth upsetting Fluttershy anymore. "Sure I can."

"Thank you."

~At that moment, Fluttershy and Lightning exchanged a trustworthy smile. And, as another kind gesture, Lightning took off her jacket, and gave it to Fluttershy to use as a makeshift blanket and tender to the dog's wounds. This made Fluttershy happy to know that Lightning cares for animals just as much as she does. Despite everything that's happened, she still had kindness.~





~With the dog now firmly in the warm arms of the girls, Lightning and Fluttershy decided to set off a signal, by calling for some birds, and sending them off to find the others, and let them know what's happened. As the birds were doing that, the three decided to set off along a pathway towards a cave, the Shiba just happened to know about, where they could shelter and settle in for the night safely. It turned out though, he had actually saved the rest of the Rainbooms' packs from the river, and dragged them there to dry off and be safe. Fluttershy was absolutely relieved by this, seeing now as she had her medical equipment back, and could now actually medic on the dog.~ 

~Eventually, when the rest of the girls showed up and reunited, they were relieved too. The eight were quite unexpected to see an open vast little cavern. It really seemed perfect to rest in. So, after lighting a small fire, and making sure Spike and the Shiba Inu had everything they needed, they began to discuss. Sunset approached where the Shiba Inu was resting. He perked up at her.~

"Uhh…Hello." Sunset Shimmer said. "You must be the Shiba Inu Lightning has told us so much about."

"The one that got away, too." Rainbow said smugly.

"Hmm! Glad I 'ave not bin forgotten." the dog woofed. "Pleased to meet yer."

The girls gasped and stumbled back. "What the?!"

"Who said that?" Pinkie cried, glancing around.

"Me, of course!" the dog answered. "Wot, never seen a talkin' dog before?"

Twilight mumbled in disbelief. "I…we…uhh…"

"We've never seen a second talking dog before." Sunset said.

"More specifically, we've never seen a second talking dog that talks funny!" smiled Pinkie.

The Shiba raised a brow. "Do I talk funny?"

"At certain points, ya do, yah." Applejack laughed.

"It 'as bin awhile since I last 'ad 'uman interaction bafore, that's why."

"Oh, well, please, by all means, darling, we are not at all fussed about addressing a talking dog." Rarity said, knowing that they have one already.

The Shiba rumbled a laugh. "Fanks."

"Don't ya mean 'Thanks'?" Applejack corrected.

"Ih- Wot ever."

~The girls and dog broke into small laughter. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was tending to Spike. He was still sleeping deeply and, while his wounds were beginning to heal, his cuts were still infected. That was, until Sunset suddenly came up behind them.~

"Hey, Fluttershy. While Pinkie and I were searching our part of the forest, we found these. Think they could come in handy?"

~She opened her hand to reveal small colours of different forest berries. About the size of hailstones, they came from some bushes nearby to where they were looking. Fluttershy took them and, after close examination, smiled.~

"Ohh. I remember these berries."

"You do?" Sunset said.

"Hmm-hmm. A mouse brought them to me one time and told me to give them to a bird with an injured wing. By the next day, only after a few hours, the bird was flying high once again!"

Lightning pouted curiously. "Huh. Well, I guess if it worked for that bird, it'll work for those two."

~So, after crushing the berries into a liquid with a stone in a mortar rock, Fluttershy made a plant/berry salve and applied it onto both Spike's, and the Shiba's wounds and leg. At first, it stung incredibly hard, like a dozen bee stings, but it cleared up after a minute later. She then gave the dogs some water when they woke up and, as they wet their faces, they relaxed happily.~

"Hey, Spike…" Fluttershy said first. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better now. Thanks." Spike replied after a long time of not talking.

"Oh, Spike. That's wonderful!" Twilight said in relief, hugging her companion once again. "Good thing too. Because at least sixty percent of forest berries are poisonous."

"Poisonous?" Lightning gasped.

"Don't worry. I can confirm wich are bad, an' wich are good." the Shiba assured her. "These were good. Worked wonders!"

Sunset chuckled. "Thanks."

"Sooo, wot on earth are ya doin' 'ere?" the Shiba asked, getting back on the main topic.

"Aside from the fact you dragged us down here?" Rainbow questioned.

"We're looking for our friend, Karly Crystal." Sunset replied.

"Who you took away from me! Where is she?!" Lightning demanded.

"Lightning, please!" Twilight soothed. "What she means to say is: Do you know what happened to her?"

The puppy gave a sniff. "Karly Crystal…? Ye mean the girl with the magenta scarf, an' shy features?"

"Yeah, her!"

"Hey! No need to be aggressive! Please! Gimme half a chance, an' I'll tell ya! This is all just a misunderstandin'." the dog retorted. "It's just this. I'll admit, I took 'er. But, only 'cause I wanted to 'elp. When ya chased me to the construction site an' got injured, I felt bad an' felt I needed to do somefin'." he explained. "So I took your friend, an' dragged her away to this forest an' gave her those kinds of berries to stop her bleedin'."

~Lightning stared at the mixture of berries at the side and at once felt relieved that Karly was okay.~

"Then, I went to get you, but ye were gone…" the Shiba Inu continued. "So, I headed back, but your friend was gone too. I tried to look for her, when yer started chasin' me."

"Why did ya go back to the site, then?" asked Applejack.

"To getta whiff of 'er."

"That would explain why I smelt your scent too." Spike barked.

"Well, this is starting to make sense, but it doesn't explain why you tried to push us into the river!" Rainbow yelled.

"That? I was tryin' to get ye to this forest to get ye searchin'." the Shiba said, blushing. "But I didn't mean for it to go so far. I'm so ashamed! I'm sorry- I caused so much trouble. An' 'urt you, too." he addressed Spike who was licking his wounds.

"It's okay." the purple dog replied. "Now that I know you didn't mean it. Don't worry, I've been through worse."

"So, don't yer see? If I ain't bin 'ere, then yer friend would have bin lost. I've run me paws off for these past twelve hours through these 'ere woods. But. I've not noticed one fing 'bout 'er since."

Lightning frowned but said nothing. "Well, thank you for that," Sunset said. "We really appreciate you looking out for her after what happened."

The dog gave her a sheepish smile. "Yer welcome," he said. "Still, she's now lost in this forest 'cause o' me."

"Hey…don't blame yourself," Fluttershy said sympathetically. "You could have never known that she would recover quickly and disappear like that."

"What matters right now is that you are not responsible for her, and Lightnin's, accident." Applejack said.

"Entirely." mumbled Lightning.

"What was that, Lightning?" said Fluttershy.

"Nothing."

"Well. Nevertheless, if we are still going to find Karly, we must continue on in the morning." Sunset said.

"I agree." Twilight replied. "And since we've got all our camping gear again, I don't think this night will be as uncomfortable as the last."

Sunset laughed. "You got that right."

"Indeed," Rarity smiled. "Well, let's not dilly-dally then, girls. Let's set up camp so I can finally rest in a proper bed!"

~Rarity immediately reached for her gear and had Applejack set it up in the cave as quickly as possible. The tent wasn't very large but it had two compartments, and although they had to squeeze in a bit, it at least offered to protect them from the cold of the night. Once it was set up, the fashionista wrapped herself up in her travelling cloaks and blankets, then everyone curled up and quickly fell to sleep.~





~Although she tried, Lightning really couldn't sleep. By midnight, when it was all dark and quiet and everyone else was sleeping peacefully, she slipped from her tent, and snuck past the slumbering Rainbooms, towards the mouth of the cave they were in. The pale light moon filtered down from the view as Lightning sat and watched it. Nobody stirred, so she was all alone. At least, she thought she was.~

~Suddenly, she spotted the figure of the Shiba Inu lying beside her, awake, also staring at the moon. Lightning supposed he couldn't sleep either, but never dared to ask or make any small talk with him. Even though she finally learnt the truth, she couldn't help but stick a little blame on him, and feel annoyed, since they still had to find Karly and hope she was still alive. Eventually, not wanting to stick around anymore, Lightning turned to head back to sleep. But when doing so, her foot caught on a strap and she knocked over Twilight's backpack, and a packet of dog treats, that she packed for Spike, fell out and scattered separately on the ground.~

~Song: Forbidden Friendship- (How to Train Your Dragon)~

~The Shiba's nose perked up at once. His eyes darted over to scattered treats, then to Lightning with a brightly look. Once again, the two had another stare down without a single thought in the world of what to say to each other. As Lightning bent down to begin picking up the treats, she held out the last one, and offered it the Shiba Inu. He silently raised his brow.~

~ Taking one paw forward lightly at a time, his snout reached the tips of Lightning's fingers. Then, after much low growling and moments of thinking twice, he gently took the biscuit. Half of it was in his mouth, while the other half dangled out of it. Finally, he began chewing. The half that wasn't in his mouth fell off. Lightning caught it and offered it again, but this time, the Shiba refused it. Glancing at it, then back to Lightning a few times, she understood what he wanted her to do with it. She gave him this grossed out, 'are-you-out-of-your-mind' face, but saw no other way to make him stop staring. After one moment of hesitation, she took a bite. It was exactly how she imagined a dog biscuit would taste. Dry, dusty, hard to crunch, but still edible. After she swallowed and shuddered from the taste, the Shiba silently chuckled, not believing that she actually ate it. Lightning looked back at him, annoyed, but gave in and chuckled alongside him.~

~At that moment, Fluttershy awoke first. There was a strange humming sound coming from outside the cave. She felt in the darkness for someone, when she nudged Twilight and Spike. It took them a moment to rouse, then they stood bolt upright to also hear the sound. They leaned over and undid the tent flap. All three poked their heads out at once, brushing against the open zipper sides.~ 

~There in the moonlight reflection, they saw Lightning and the Shiba were smiling at each other. Fluttershy gazed in wonderment. They were actually getting along? Suddenly, Lightning made to pet the dog, but he growled rashly and retreated into the opposite corner. It was clear that he wasn't comfortable with Lightning completely yet either, despite the attempted signs of peace. He curled up into a ball, among the flat pebbles and sand, and tried to fall asleep. Lightning felt awkward at that moment until she noticed Fluttershy, Twilight and Spike appearing from the tent. They kept mouthing the words: 'Don't give up. Bond with him'.~ 

~The spy girl shrugged. After giving a failed communication, she doubted it would work a second time. But, after sighing, she claimed forward towards him again. He opened one lazy eye at the sound of her approaching him. He growled in annoyance. Wriggling onto his stomach, he turned his back on her and hung one paw out to the cave exit. Lightning leaned over to take a look then back towards the girls who silently gestured at him. She raised her hand again. But, just as she did so, there was a sharp head turn by the Shiba and Lightning immediately retracted her arm and walked off. Twilight, Fluttershy and Spike exchanged disappointed glances.~





~After a few hours, the Shiba awoke and stretched and yawned, then slowly rose and wagged his tail. Eagle eyed, he noticed that Lightning was still not asleep. Instead, she was sitting against the wall with her sketching book and pencil in her hands. She seemed to be sketching more sketches of the Shiba, taking inspiration from everything that he's done up to this point. She felt a presence watching her after her third sketch and realised it was the Shiba, he was staring down at her artwork.~

~Lightning Star said nothing. What could she say? Drawing is just what takes her mind off some things, without technology, too. She continued on without minding about the dog. After all, he was just eyeing the sketching with a curious frown, that quickly transformed into desirable cooing sounds. He seemed to be fascinated by drawings, and wanted to try them out himself. He scurried off. Then, with a clattering sound of her bag being tipped over, Lightning leaned back and turned to see the Shiba playing about with one of her other pencils and papers. He was sketching by himself.~ 

~At that moment, Lightning's glistening cheeks broke into a grateful, blushing shock, and her blue eyes were amazed at what she was seeing. The seven Rainbooms and Spike woke up to the noises. They watched at the door of their tents as the Shiba dog drew. They laid just as mesmerised as Lightning was. Once he was done, Lightning took a look at the pencil and the picture. The dog chewed the rubber off on the end, and the drawing was not as perfect as expected, but it was the first time she had ever seen a dog sketch.~ 

~There were no words said. Lightning couldn't make out what the drawing was, but it didn't matter. She was impressive, no matter what. She smiled gratefully at the dog and went to pet it again, but he still would not allow her to touch him, growling and pawing away in response. Lightning halted. But then, the Shiba eased up and his pupils enlarged. There was hope. So, after seeing that glint in both their eyes, Lightning tried again, extending her arm. The Rainbooms held their breaths. Finally, Lightning stopped her hand.~ 

~There was a freeze in time. The Shiba stared at the hand, his eyes bright with excitement. He needed no further encouragement. Finally, after another long pause, and to the Rainbooms' utter delight, he leaned towards her, closed his eyes, and felt his head touch her palm. His fur- it felt super fluffy like a cloud. Lightning opened her eyes. As she slowly ruffled the top of his head, she felt butterflies in her stomach. Pleasantly satisfied, she removed her hand. The Shiba looked up towards her, then, the next moment, he felt himself and Lightning floating upwards on a dreamy cushion of air that sent both of them fast asleep. The Rainbooms smiled.~