//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten // Story: Starlight // by PurpleFire135 //------------------------------// Starlight and Rainbow Dash raced through the forest. Rainbow was going so fast that her wings were half open and she was using them to get every burst of speed and every bit of air pressure she could get beneath them. Every so often she looked back to make sure that Starlight was keeping up, but to Rainbow’s surprise, she was. Running away was not a new skill to Starlight. She would get tired soon, but with the added adrenaline pumping through her veins, she was actually managing to keep up with Rainbow. Her horn glowed with dark purple energy as she used her magic to fling anything in her path to the side. Roots, rocks, brambles, any challenge the forest faced her with she returned to its leafy embrace. They had been running like that for about half an hour when Rainbow slowed and looked around. “Where are we going?” Starlight huffed. “An old friend’s. She may be able to help you with your magic and she will be able to help Fluttershy.” Rainbow responded, not even short of breath. She looked around, listening for any signs of pursuit. The forest was silent. Normally, the Everfree teamed with sounds of life at all hours, but with the storm overhead just beginning to subside, most of the animals and creatures were bunked down in their homes, at least for now. It was still raining and Starlight looked around, hoping for a sign that would tell her which way they were going. “How long until we get there?” She asked. “Well, it would have taken us about a day by sky, so hopefully we’ll get there by tomorrow morning if we don’t stop at all. We’ll walk from here. I just wanted to get some distance between us and that attacker.” Rainbow looked around and started walking. “Why do you think that pony was there? How did she know where we were? I thought you said no pony would follow us.” Starlight said, walking alongside Rainbow. “I didn’t think any pony would be able to. I would assume the Guard sent her. Other than that, I really don’t know.” Rainbow said, turning forward. That was a lie and she knew it. She just didn’t want to scare Starlight. The truth was that Dash knew full well why that pony had come. It was not the first time the Guard had tried to kill her. She frowned unhappily. The wound that had been inflicted of Fluttershy… That should have been her. Ever since it happened, Dash kept running the events over in her head, trying to come up with something she could have done to keep every pony safe. “Mhm… Rainbow? Where are we going?” a soft voice from behind her murmured. Rainbow turned around to look at Fluttershy. This was the first time she had moved or talked since they left the house. “Don’t worry Fluttershy. I’m going to get you some help.” Rainbow promised. “Okay… I’m tired… Can I sleep?” Fluttershy asked. “Sure, Fluttershy.” Rainbow said. She and Starlight continued walking through the forest. She just hoped they made it to Zecora’s in time. They had a long way to go. --- Silver Rain’s head hurt, bad. She groaned as she sat up. She looked around her. The house she was in was a complete disaster. Blood everywhere, furniture that had been overturned during the struggle between her and Rainbow Dash, there was even a huge hole in the wall behind her, though she couldn’t quite remember where that had come from. She put a hoof to her head and frowned. This case was not going to be an easy one. She had never failed so utterly. If things had gone like every other mission she had ever been on, the pony on the couch would have been Rainbow Dash and not the yellow pegasus. She would have slipped in, silently killed her target and been back home enjoying mini-wheat cereal by now. Silver stood up, her whole body protesting at the movement. She needed time to heal. She would not be able to continue the attack right away. However, the hunt wasn’t over and she was far from giving up. She looked around the house. The line of blood that lead out the front door was more than enough to get her started on the trail. She would have no trouble following them. First things first though, as a pony almost entirely motivated by food, Silver went into the kitchen to make herself breakfast. --- “I spy with my little eye something green.” “Is it a tree?” “Dang! How did you guess?” “I’m just that awesome. Okay my turn. I spy with my eye something grey.” “Is it that rock?” “Nope.” “Well if it’s not a rock, what is it? There isn’t anything grey around her but rocks!” “It’s that rock.” “That’s cheating!” “No its not. Your turn.” “Fine. I spy with my little eye something…green!” “Is it a tree?” “Seriously how are you doing that?!” Starlight huffed. They had been walking for about four hours and “I spy” was the current game to keep them occupied. Although Rainbow won every round since the only thing Starlight ever picked was trees (Seriously they were in a forest, there wasn’t much else), they had been playing for about an hour. “Okay. Let’s take a break from the game. I need to figure out which way we need to go.” Rainbow said and stopped, looking around. She glanced back at Fluttershy, who was still asleep on her back. Rainbow bit her lip. They needed to get there soon. Rainbow’s ears pricked as she picked up a sound, a rustling sound, not far from them. She froze and looked at the treetops around them. She strained to see anything, but the shadows of the forest offered no answers. She listened, trying to hear the sound again. Silence greeted her. She shrugged. There were lots of animals in the forest, it could have been anything. “Come on Starlight, we need to keep moving.” Rainbow said and headed for a break in the trees. Suddenly, without warning a hissing sound rent through the air right in front of Rainbow. A resounding ‘thunk’ followed it as something imbedded itself in the tree right next to Rainbow’s head. “Get down!” She shouted at Starlight and both of them dropped to the forest floor. Rainbow looked up at the arrow that had missed her by inches. She waited for another one to come, but no more arrows came out of the forest. She cautiously stood up, looking at the direction from where the arrow was fired. “If I had wanted to hit you, I would have.” A voice said from that direction, but still neither Rainbow nor Starlight could see any pony in the surrounding vegetation. “Who are you? Show yourself!” Rainbow called. “I think I get to ask the questions, as I’m the one with the arrows and you have no idea where I am.” The voice had moved and now sounded like it was coming from behind them. Rainbow turned and frowned. Starlight stopped and flipped back around to face where the voice came the first time. This time she caught sight of a pair of orange colored eyes looking back at her. “There! Rainbow, look!” She called. Rainbow whirled around, but the eyes were already gone. “Where?” “They were there a second ago!” Starlight said defensively. They both fell silent, looking at the trees around them. Everything was silent for a few seconds, and then in quick succession there was a snapping sound, a crash, and “Aaaaah! Pony feathers!” Both Rainbow and Starlight rushed over to the sound. They found the source of the voice in the trees all tangled in a bush. It was a young pony, younger than Rainbow, but not a filly like Starlight. She picked herself off and brushed the brambles out of her red mane. Finally, she noticed Rainbow and Starlight staring at her. She raised her bow, an arrow already strung and ready to go. “You aren’t allowed to go any farther in this part of the woods and I’m going to--” She started but Rainbow Dash cut her off. “Hold on a second… Apple Bloom? Is that you?” “Rainbow Dash? What in the wide world of Equestria are you doin’ here?” The butter yellow earth pony responded. “You know her?” Starlight asked Rainbow, feeling very left out of the conversation. Apple Bloom looked down at her for the first time, and like most ponies who saw Starlight, her eyes widened. “And with a unicorn, no less.” “I’m Starlight.” She told her. Apple Bloom turned to Rainbow. “I’m awfully sorry I shot at you. You see I couldn’t tell who you were before, you know, it’s dark, uhm.. Well, I’m just awfully sorry.” Apple Bloom said. “Whatever. You didn’t hit me did you? So no harm, no worries. Now, I need to get straight to the point. Fluttershy is injured and we need to get her medical attention. So..” Rainbow turned and Apple Bloom saw Fluttershy for the first time. “Oh goodness! Come with me! I can take all of you back to camp. Zecora’s there and some other ponies that could help her! Follow me!” Apple Bloom said quickly and motioned for them to follow. “Camp?” Rainbow asked, but Apple Bloom didn’t hear and either way, time was of the essence. Not even five minutes later they all walked up to a seemingly impassable wall of trees and bushes and random other plants. “Don’t worry. The wall surrounds the camp on all sides, so it’s safe and concealed. Besides that we’re in the heart of the Everfree forest. Guard ponies never come this far in.” Apple Bloom explained. “Um, what?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking skeptically at Apple Bloom. “So how do we get inside?” Starlight asked. “You just have to know where the door is!” Apple Bloom went up to a particular spot on the wall, which Starlight thought looked exactly the same as every other spot on the wall, and pushed her hoof in. There was the sound of a click and then the whir of gears and a section of the wall of greenery came apart. “You can’t tell, but this section of plants is on runners. Each plant has its own pot under the ground and the whole thing is geared to split apart at the turn of that handle, which can be locked from the inside or outside, if you have a key.” Apple Bloom continued, beaming. “Wow! I never would have thought of that!” Starlight said, trying to get a look at the mechanisms of the door. “Thanks,” Apple Bloom smiled and went through the door. Starlight ran to catch up to her. “Does that mean you designed it?” She asked. “Sure does. I have a head for mechanics and building things. That’s why they like me so much her at camp!” Apple Bloom turned and once Rainbow, along with Fluttershy on her back, was through the door, she closed it with another click and whir of gears. “Woah! There sure are a lot of ponies here!” Starlight said, looking around. Spread out before her was a huge camp. Surrounded on all sides by the wall, a small community thrived in the middle of the forest. There were tents lined up all along the edge and even some make-shift buildings in the center. The whole place seemed self-sufficient. There were gardens and the smell of baked goods reached Starlight and the group. “Y’all stay here for just one second and I’ll go get some help for Fluttershy.” Apple Bloom said and raced towards a white tent. “What is this place?” Starlight asked Rainbow, who shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m glad Apple Bloom found us though. We never would have been able to find this place on our own. She said Zecora is here so I guess whatever this is, we’re in the right place.” Starlight continued to look around, but she noticed the other ponies were looking at her too. She suddenly felt the absence of her hat and wished she had it with her. Apple Bloom was back quickly, along with two other ponies. “Hey, they’re going to take Fluttershy to the med tent, okay?” Apple Bloom told Rainbow who frowned. “I promise we’ll take good care of your friend. We’ll let you know as soon as possible how she is doing, but you have to let us take her, just for a little bit.” One of the medical ponies, a mare with a white coat, said to Rainbow. She reluctantly nodded and let the mare and the other pony take Fluttershy off her back and to the white med tent. After they were gone, Rainbow Dash turned to Apple Bloom. “Okay. Time for answers. What is this place? What are you all doing here?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Well, this is a camp set up for ponies who refuse to live under the Guard’s rule. These are the ponies who sided against the Guard in the Uprising, well, any of the ones who lived anyway. We’re kinda like a resistance, although we don’t really do much other than stay out of the way for now. We just protect each other. That’s what I was doing when I found you. I was doing sentry duty and protecting the border…Y’all are welcome to stay here for as long as you want.” Apple Bloom looked at the two of them hopefully. “What about me? Won’t all the other ponies be mad if you let a unicorn stay in camp?” Starlight asked. Apple Bloom laughed. “Of course not! No pony here has anything against unicorns! We’re the side that fought for them after all. We’d be happy for you to stay here.” She told Starlight. “So is there some pony in charge here that we need to talk to? I don’t think we’ll be staying very long, but I at least want to make sure Fluttershy is okay before we would think of leaving. Also, I think Starlight should meet Zecora.” Rainbow said, looking at Apple Bloom who nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely! In fact, I think she’d be even happier to meet you than you would be to meet her.” Apple Bloom smiled and walked towards another large tent. She pulled back the opening and went inside, motioning for Rainbow and Starlight to follow. They were about to follow, but before they could even get inside the tent, a pink blur shot out, raced past Starlight and tackled Rainbow Dash. “Omygosh! Rainbow Dash! I haven’t seen you in forever! Do you remember me?! I remember you!! It’s been so long I was worried I’d never see you again! But I shouldn’t have worried, cause look! You’re heeeeerrreeee!” All this came from the pink blur in a crazy fast rush of words. Suddenly it stopped. “Holy Cupcakes! Do you know what this means?! It means we can have a Super-special-I-haven’t-seen-my-best-friend-in-ten-years-but-now-she’s-back Party!!!” The pink blur had turned into a cotton-candy pink pony who was giving Rainbow a massive hug. “Uh Pinkie Pie? I…need… to breathe!” Rainbow managed to get out. “Hee hee! Sorry! I’m just so excited that you’re here!!” The pink pony giggled.