//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: The Future: After the End 
// by StelsunDarkstar 
//------------------------------//

Winder and his friend RiverLight were walking thrue the Everfee Forest with no problem. They stared at the hanging branches of the old and young trees, vines, and pale green bushes.
"Wow, this place is not that scary as i imagined." River gasped. In her textbooks she learned that this forest is scary at every glance, the books were half-right to her, because River found the Everfree Forest to be more interesting than scary or creepy. "Hey, Winder, what do you think?"
Winder looked really interested.
"It's nice, really. So, why did we come here in the first place, River?" Winder clearly forgot why he was here, in the Everfree Forest, but his friend, the kirin River, was there to remind him.
"Uh, we're here to find and see the ruins? Did you really forgot about that?" River giggled while Winder blushed akwardly.

An hour has passed, but the fillies were still walking and walking. Until Winder started to yawn, because he was clearly tired from getting up early.
"You tired?" River asked her friend, he nodded in agreement, but they continued on walking.
They walked and walked, until the tree branches started to block the sunlight. Winder's tiredness disappeared in suprise when he noticed that and immediately ran closer to River to not get lost in the darkness.
"Hey, River!" Winder started to ask. "Can you please, at least TRY to make your horn glow?" River didn't answer his question, she was afraid to try, because the last time she tried that, she almost set a whole classroom on fire. "C'mon River, please! I can't see in the dark, nor do you! Just try!"
RiverLight began to frown, she was getting mad at the colt. She didn't want to take any risks that involve around her horn and magic.

Suddenly, Winder noticed a little bit of light coming from River, the light had white, pinkish and slight blue and purple shades.
"River, are you.. alright?" The colt placed his hoof on her shoulder, then he stepped back. Her body was flaming hot to the touch. "River, your shoulder feels a little warmer that it's supposed to.. be?"
The kirin looked back at the colt, he almost didn't believe his eyes at what he just saw, River's face was slightly different than before. Glowing white eyes, long and sharp visible fangs and glowing blue eyebrows.
"RIVER?!" Surprised, Winder yelled in shock when he saw the different face of his first friend. He started walking away from her, but the mad kirin was walking towards the scared colt.
"Stay there, you little pony!" The angered kirin said in a distorted voice. At this point, Winder really had no choice but to run.

"Somepony, anyone! Help me, i'm being chased!" The scared colt started to cry for help. He ran as fast as his hooves can carry him. Tears has started to drop from his red eyes out of fear. "Please, River, leave me alone!" But River didn't even listen.
Suddenly, Winder saw slight light in the near bushes.
"Finally a way out! I'll be safe!" The scared colt thought. He ran towards the bushes and finally, he was covered with the sunlight once again. Tired from running, Winder sat on the grassy ground to catch a break and closed his eyes. But when he opened them again, he saw some unfamiliar ponies and non-ponies infront of him. All of them looked at the terrified colt with both confused adn surprised expressions. Then a tall, pale-purple griffon-like creature walked towards the filly.
"You okay there, little colt?" The griffon-like creature spoke up with her feminine voice to the scared colt with a concerned tone. Winder looked up and down to the tall creature. "You look all scared and tired, what happend to you? Do you need help?"
Winder then looked at the stranger's face, it looked just like a griffon's, but with a purple beak and long blue mane. Then he remembered why he was here in the first place and teared up again. The tall stranger got concerned even more, sat on the ground, close to the crying colt and started patting him on the right shoulder with her clawed hand.
"Every creature," The stranger informed the others in the location. "go back to the school with the others, you know the way back, i-i'll stay here and comfort the little one!"
The others nodded and agreed, then one by one disappeared out of their sight.
"Hey, i'm Silverstream," She introduced herself. "what's your name, little one?" Silver smiled at the colt to calm him a little.
Winder tried to stop sobbing and tell her his name.
"I'm.. Winder, miss.."
"Why are you crying, Winder? Did something bad happend to you? Is someone bullying you or worse-?"
And just as she was about to finish her sentence, the angered kirin jumped out of the bushes.

"Huh?!" Silver turned around, facing the kirin, who was hitting the ground with her flamy hooves. She squeezed her purple eyes a little. "Wait.." Silverstream sounded like she remembered the flaming kirin. "RiverLight?! Did you got mad again?!"
After saying those words, River's anger slowly started to fade away.
"Miss... Silverstream?" River's voice has finally turned back to normal. Then she saw Winder, sitting on the ground, with his sclera being almost as red as his eyes from crying. "Oh.. oh no, Miss, did i really bursted out again?"
"Sadly yes. For the second time, River!" Silver got up, and walked towards the sad kirin. "Hey, River, listen. Why don't you go back home for... you know, to rest a bit?"
Winder just stayed there, a meter away from the two and listening to them talking, he knew that deep down, his friend, RiverLight, didn't really want to go back home, but he couldn't really do anything, sense he barely knew everyone in Ponyville and the whole location around it.

"River? RIVER!?" Winder jumped when he heard Silverstream's voice raising from shock, he got even more concerned about the happening situation when he realized that River has fainted.
"P-please, let me take her home! I.. as far as i know her home is too far so.. can you place her on my back so i can take her to my home?" Silver just stared at him, confused and not knowing what to do or say first. "Please, Miss Silverstream!"
While nerveously sweating, Silverstream took River and carefully placed her on Winder's back.
"I can take care of her, she's my friend after all." Right before he took one step, the colt stopped and asked Silver another question. "Uh, Miss, what's the exit of the Forest?"
"Oh, you can actually go this way!" She pointed at the same direction from where the other ponies exited earlier. "It's a shortcut, so don't worry. Anyway, i need to go too, because i have classes."
Winder thanked the kind hippogriff and headed home, with River on his back.