//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: I Can't Help But Expect The Worst // by Clearnote //------------------------------// I fell flat on my face. "Oof," I grunted under my breath, eyes closed. When I opened my eyes, I screamed. Everything looked weird. The grass, the trees, the clouds, the nearby village, and when I looked into a puddle near me, myself. I screamed again. While my snout and body had shrunk, my eyes, ears, head, and hair had grown. My eyes took up half of my face, and my ears were two times their normal size. My snout was smaller, but my head was bigger than it had been. My mane was longer and wavier, and my tail was the same. I was like a freakish monster! "Deep breaths, in, out..." I must be brave if I want to find Wind Whistler. I must learn to be courageous. And so, I trot over to the nearby town. It's full of ponies, and they all look weird, like me, currently. I think that is normal here, so I try to act normal, but in my search of Wind Whistler, I run into a pony. "I'm so sorry!" I cry, helping her up. She is an earth pony with a light lilac coat, with a vanilla mane and tail, and brilliant gold eyes. Her symbol is a magenta horseshoe and a vanilla horseshoe. On her head, she wears a light crimson beret. She is beautiful. "That's alright, I must be lucky to meet you; I've always been lucky!" she says gleefully, sounding sweet and kind. She seems to just bubble with happiness. I smile, but then I remember what- no, whom- I am looking for. "Um, excuse me, L-luckette? H-have you seen my friend? She's a pegasus, with a light blue coat and light pink hair. She's smart, maybe talks a lot?" I ask, trying not to stutter. Luckette nods happily, but her fast nod gets slower and her face hardens. She looks sad, as if something happened to Wind Whistler and it's really bad. "Your friend was being teased by crowds, they said she had no feelings. I felt bad for her when I saw it happen. I'm sorry about that." she says in a sad, quiet tone. But I'm not mad. First of all, Luckette did nothing wrong. Second, I'm too scared to be mad. I tell her this. She nods. Her smile returns to her face, even though it is noticeably smaller than before. ------✴------ I've been searching for Wind Whistler for the last two hours, with Luckette following me, but we have not succeeded. We've tried asking others, searching for tracks (bad idea), and putting up a poster or two. The sun is beginning to set and I need a place to sleep. I can't sleep outside, a monster could capture me. I can't stay with Luckette, she has no room. So I must find somewhere else to go. Luckette waves goodbye and wishes me good luck. I have a feeling that I shall have luck. Suddenly, a pegasus runs past me quickly. I'm swept off my hooves, and crash onto the ground. The pony hears the crash and turns around. When she sees me, she gasps. The next thing I know, I'm in a cozy house, huddled by the fireplace, drinking hot cocoa. Strawberry Sunrise, the pegasus, asks me if I'm better. Her candy apple red curls bounce as she walks, and her light yellow coat seems to glow by the fire. When I look at her, I can see her green eyes and symbol, a strawberry and a bunch of grapes. Whenever I try to explain that I was safe and that she didn't hurt me, she laughs and tells me that I'm staying anyway. (I think she doesn't believe me. Maybe she is just really protective.) I fall asleep on the couch that night. ------✴------ When I woke up, Strawberry Sunrise (or Sunberry, as she lets me call her) and I went out for a stroll. We met Luckette by the town hall. On the way, I picked an apple from a tree. Before I could eat it, however, Sunberry smacked it out of my hoof and placed a strawberry there in its place. I ate it anyway. "So, what do you think your friend would do in her situation?" Luckette asks me. I think for a moment. "Wind W-whistler would think up a plan," I say, dearly hoping that she's okay. "Plan, plan..." Sunberry mumbles to herself. Then she smiles. "Twilight! Twilight is powerful! Wind Whistler would ask Twilight for help!" she cries. My new friend is smarter than she looks. ------✴------ "So... You're from this other place, too?" Twilight asked me, sounding thoughtful and a little confused. I nod. "Do you know where she is? Have you seen her? Did she come here? Is she okay? Do you know where she is now?" I ask, letting all my panic out. Twilight sighs, and says, "Yes, I saw her, she came here with her friend, Sprinkle Medley, and later with her other friend, Sassaflash. She ran into the Everfree Forest a few days back, though. We had devised a plan to send her home that day.but she ran off for some reason. And... she did get hurt a little bit. If you find her, you'll see that she has a bandaged leg and will limp." I'm glad that Twilight had been with Wind Whistler, and relieved that we had an idea where she was. The bad news? She was in a scary forest and hurt. If I was going to find her, I was going to have to be brave. Brave. Something I don't know if I'll ever be, and something I definitely am not right now. Will I ever be brave? I don't know. How can I become braver? This question rings in my head, like an unstoppable bell, chiming out of control. I know the answer, and it scares me. I want to be brave now, but I know that there is only one true way. I have to venture into the Everfree Forest and find my friend.