Chapter 1 - A Fight, A Confession
In a clearing in a woods, a light breeze swept through the tall grass. Birds chirped. Bees buzzed. And amongst this serenity, two young creatures were fighting tooth and hoof.
One was a soot-gray earth pony, a colt with a fiery mane of yellow and orange. As such, his opponent - a buffalo - was beating him squarely. They rolled back and forth, punching and grabbing, each trying to position themselves on top. The pony grabbed the buffalo by the horns and flung him away, taking a moment to recompose himself.
“Had enough yet, Blackthorn?” the pony taunted.
“You little runt! That was always the one thing that your old man never taught you - when to quit!”
Blackthorn picked himself up and dusted the dirt off his broad, powerful shoulders. He smoothed back his black hair, appearing the very image of suaveness. He was physically more mature than the pony, and he had a considerable size advantage.
But as the two charged at each other and met again, it was clear that the pony was tenacious in every sense of the word. He was determined to win, and though he took punch after punch, Blackthorn’s words proved true: Wildfire had no idea when to quit.
I need to find a weak spot, Wildfire thought as he battered Blackthorn’s head. His skull is too thick for me to do any real damage.
But Blackthorn didn’t seem to have any weak spots. As Wildfire tried to position himself directly below his opponent to connect with an uppercut, Blackthorn tackled him. Wildfire landed on his chest, with the big buffalo on top of him.
Oh, bucking hell... he thought, knowing what was coming.
Blackthorn wrapped a forehoof around Wildfire’s neck, putting him in a chokehold. But Wildfire refused to call out for mercy. He grabbed at his enemy’s arm, trying to gain some breathing room. He knew it was stupid to try and pit his strength directly against Blackthorn’s, but his pride wouldn’t let him give in.
His vision started to become gray as he gasped for air.
“Blackthorn!”
Wildfire felt the pressure instantly ease as his opponent let go and looked towards where the voice had come from.
“Get off of him right now!”
Blackthorn complied, shaking his head in an attempt to smoothen his dark mane, which had grown messy.
“Oh hey Wintergreen!” he said with a grin. “What’s going on?”
“I should ask you the same,” she replied in a disapproving voice.
“Oh, nothing really. Just a bit of playfighting between me and Wild here.”
“Snake,” Wildfire muttered lowly as he got up and dusted himself.
Wintergreen snorted. “Oh is that all? It seemed very real to me. In any case, I have an important message for Wild, so if you would be so kind, please leave now.”
“Really, a message? Who’s it from?” Blackthorn asked, clearly put off by her dismissive attitude towards him.
“Stonehoof. You know, the Chief of our entire tribe? It’s important, so leave!”
“Alright, alright, don’t get your tail in a twist...”
Thank the Spirit for that, Wildfire thought as Blackthorn left. Wintergreen turned to Wildfire with a concerned look. “Are you alright, Wild? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“Of course not!” Wild scoffed, inadvertently spitting out a bit of blood.
“I don’t suppose you’d care to kiss it better?”
Wintergreen rolled her eyes. “Stop that.”
It was worth a shot, I guess. Wintergreen was quite beautiful by buffalo standards. Wildfire and her had been close from the moment Wild was old enough to go out on his own. She was several years older than him, but Wild didn’t exactly see that as a barrier to romance. He turned, and walked over to a patch of sunlight and sat down.
“So,” he inquired, “What was that important message from Chief Stonehorn?”
“You know that there never was a message. I saw you two come back here, and I imagined it wasn’t so that you could smell the flowers together.” At this, Wintergreen entered the clearing, admiring the beauty of the place - now that it wasn’t inhabited by young brawlers.
“I just can’t stand that awful buffalo. He thinks he is the absolute epitome of smooth. I can’t believe some of the other fillies buy it. Especially when he goes and beats on a helpless thing like you.”
“I am NOT helpless!” Wild protested.
“Listen, it isn’t your fault. You aren’t weak. In fact, I’m sure that by pony standards you’re quite strong. But you can’t outmuscle somebovine who is maturing to be twice your size, regardless of how determined you are.”
At this, Wild sighed and rolled over onto his belly. He propped his head up on his hooves. Wintergreen had always looked out for him. Being the daughter of a prominent elder (as well as being very pretty) gave her enough leverage to get nearly anypony to leave Wild alone. But it certainly didn’t make him any friends.
“Well it’s not like I try to pick fights with him,” he groaned, “he always makes fun of my size.”
“Wild, you’re a pony!”
“An EARTH pony. We’re supposed to be stronger than most!”
“You’re missing the point here. You can’t let what he says get to you. Him making fun of your size, that doesn’t even make sense!”
Wild blew an insect off of his hoof. It’s not nearly as easy as she seems to think it is... If only I could find a partner of my own, then the other steers would show me some respect... He voiced this last thought out loud to Wintergreen as she lay down in the grass beside him.
“Well... Maybe,” she admitted, “But who did you have in mind?”
You, you, you, you, you... he thought, then immediately shoved the thought from his head. Keep your cool, Wild.
“Ah, I don’t know. Nobody is interested in me. I’m too small. My mane is all... Colourful and freaky. I’m a pony!”
“There have got to be some females in the tribe who see past looks!”
Well, there’s always you, but...
“Not at my age,” he told her. They have to be a bit older. Like perhaps... Your age?
“Ah. I see.”
Wintergreen sniffed a flower nearby. She’s so pretty, Wild thought, Is she really that oblivious? She doesn’t even realize that she’s the one who fits all those descriptions...
“You know, there is one buffalo that I think is mature enough to see beyond my differences...”
Wait, what did I just say? Wild thought, trying not to appear as alarmed as he felt.
“Really?” Wintergreen questioned, “Who?”
Bucking hell. Wildfire couldn’t see any reasonable escape route from the trap he had just set for himself. Well, might as well put a little heart into it...
“Oh?” Wintergreen cocked her head at Wild, who had inched slightly closer to her.
“She’s a very insightful and tolerant person, and I think she genuinely cares about me.”
Recognition crept across Wintergreen’s face as she looked into Wild’s eyes, mixed with intrigue as well as trepidation.
She knows. She knows and she isn’t freaking out! Wild’s mind was racing, his heartbeat speeding up. He leant forward until his head was just inches away from hers. Wild saw that she was searching for an answer, and he decided he would rather not hear it.
He kissed her. He didn’t think it could be that hard. Of course, as soon as their lips touched he realized he had no idea what he was doing whatsoever. Luckily it was only a moment before Wintergreen broke away, astonished.
“Wild!” she exclaimed, “What... I don’t...”
Wildfire got up off the ground, disappointed by her reaction. Damn. What have I done? I need to find a way to play this off...
“Oh... Oh,” he sputtered, “I... I am so very sorry about that. I... I don’t know what came over me.”
“Um... Alright...” Wintergreen said, highly unsure of herself.
“You know, that sort of thing just kinda happens to males sometimes. It’s probably just a pony thing...”
Wintergreen still appeared unconvinced, but she accepted his excuse.
“As long as I know that won’t happen again. I mean, I like you and all, but I really think we should just be friends. You’re years younger than me...”
And I’m a scrawny, garish and colourful pony. “Yeah, it’s okay. I understand,” he replied, trying to hide his pain.
As they began to travel back to the Sihasapa camp, Wildfire felt broken inside. But he knew it would do him no good to express this. Though they walked side by side as if nothing had changed, Wild felt as if he was miles away from her.
|{WF}|