//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The Shadows Of A Crusader's Heart // by scootaloo55 //------------------------------// I rubbed my eyes and snuggled deeper into my pillow. Pillow? What? My eyes snapped open and I rose to meet the gaze of an Alicorn, one that looked fairly young, with a pale blue coat and a dark blue short mane and tail, with a single blond streak. What stood out most of all was the bright fiery comet cutie-mark that was sitting in the centre of his flank. “W-who are you?” I stammered. he took a step towards me and smiled. “I am Comet Frost. I am a hunter in the Everfree forest. I personally bring back rare and exotic game back to the princess.” He paused and winked at me. “…But this is one prized catch I won’t be putting on her wall.” I raised an eyebrow and screwed up my nose. “Do you know who I am?!” I screeched. He gave a slight smirk and laughed. “Of course I do, Scootaloo. How could I forget such a pretty face?” I stomped a hoof to silence him. Was he flirting with me? What was he hoping to achieve? All I learnt in the last few years was to trust no-pony. I am the boss and it was about time he knew that. I stood up and tried to flap my wings. I couldn’t fly… why? I turned my head slowly and what I saw caused a lump to rise in my throat. I stood in silence for a few minutes before I fainted. I woke a few hours later to see Comet dabbing my head with a wet cloth. I immediately sat up and looked behind me. So it wasn’t a nightmare… what I saw before me was pure reality. One wing… I-I only had o-one wing… but… how? I put my head in my hooves and began to cry. I had only learnt to fly a few weeks ago and now the only thing that separated Pegasus ponies from those of the ground was taken from me sooner than I imagined. An arm was placed around my shoulder and I turned to see Comet looking at me reassuringly. “im sorry.” He whispered “I truly am.” I stuffed my face back into the pillow and continued sobbing my heart out. “…when the spider bit you… the poison seeped from your shoulder… into your left wing…” I lifted my head to look at the lump on my back and took a moment to re-collect myself before answering. “and then what?” I asked. “… your wing turned purple… and then black… I tried all I could to keep the circulation going but…” “But what?!” “..i-it… just… shrivelled and………… dropped off…” That was it. I stood and began to walk off. I really needed to be alone right now… how could I cope with only one wing? I-it was just so strange… and it was hard to walk. My only remaining wing felt like a heavy burden I now had to carry everywhere with me and it made me walk awkwardly and kinda lop-sided. “Where are you going?” I flattened my ears. All my sadness had turned to anger and it was just boiling away inside me. I gave a slight growl and turned on the Alicorn. “This is all YOUR fault!” I screamed. “it wasn’t the spider’s venom! It was YOU wasn’t it!? YOU cut it off to teach me a lesson DIDN’T YOU?!!” Comet Frost stood his ground and addressed me calmly, “look, Scootaloo, I know it may seem like a sudden shock, but… I had nothing to do with this. When I found you, you were knocked out and your body had changed from it’s usual bright orange to purple… honestly, if it wasn’t for me… y-you… would be dead…” The thought quietened me. I had accused him of hurting me… “I’m sorry…” I whispered. I covered my mouth quickly. What was happening to me? Im a bad girl with a colt-ish attitude and spiked up hair! Theres no way I would ever, EVER, feel sorry for anyone, especially myself. I turned to leave once again. I couldn’t stay. “I’ll ask again,” came a solemn voice. “Where are you going?” I stared at the dirt and sighed. He wouldn’t leave me alone till I told him the truth. “Look,” I whispered. “I did something… something that resulted in my only friends getting thrown in jail… I have to rescue them… or at least… find out if they’re okay…” “So, there’s a soft side to you after all.” “W-what?!! I am NOT soft!” “haha sure.” “Look,” I muttered. “I really need to go, like, now.” Comet frost Walked up beside me and lowered his head. “you are not fully recovered, but if you really need to go…” He looked at me with caring eyes and nodded. “I’ll come with you.” The news itself was a shock to me, and yet, I had no idea what to think, this… hunter, this Alicorn, who was a personal guard of the princess herself, the very princess who wanted her locked up, was going to help me find my friends and help them escape from the rusty jail cell.