//------------------------------//
// A Thriving New World 
// Story: The Lost Princess 
// by The Vicious Cannibal 
//------------------------------//

Lilac stood up in the tree, moving herself into the correct position, angling her bow downward at the rabbit. It was difficult, thanks to a branch that was rubbing up against her plot, making it very uncomfortable, and a bit disturbing as well. Regardless of the personal discomfort, they had to have something to eat that night, and it depended on her, and her hunting patrol. It was they who made the difference between an empty stomach, and a full one. Things had been this way since she was 7 years of age. Her whole life, she had prepared herself.

My name is Lilac Amethyst. I am 15 years old, and am the daughter of Princess Luna, and Prince Chaotic. Everything was a disaster when I was born. Mother always told me that the world was at the dawn of a Dark Age. The Changelings had returned to Equestria, in an apocalyptic bid for domination, but instead of being satisfied with that singular nation, they desired, instead, to conquer the entire world.
It was three weeks from the day of my birth, that war had come to Equestria.  Our nation fought valiantly, but our chances were dismal, and day by day, we rapidly came closer to losing not only our lives, but our land, as well. The Elements of Harmony could not defeat them, but in their course, they found a way to transport us to the far, and forbidden, lands that we came to learn was called Aricastle.
Many of our loved ones stayed behind. I know my father did, as well as Applejack's brother, Big Macintosh. It was Celestia who made our presumed salvation possible, and it was Celestia who stayed behind. Mother tried to convince her to come, that without her they would have no direction. Celestia refused, saying, "The land to where you are traveling needs a Princess. I will stay here to fight for Equestria, even if that means dying for her." Luna knew, then, that the yoke of leadership had fallen upon her. It was then that my mother, the Princess of the Night, took all that were willing to live in Aricastle, and left that which we once called home.

So many lives were lost that day, and yet, even now, we continue to fight for our lives. We now have a new home, new codes, and new rules.  I lead the hunting patrol, and use my skills to keep us alive.  My group consisted of Applejack, our Captain, along with Zecora, Bon-Bon, Lyra, Octavia, Ditzy, and our loyal deputy, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy comes along, on occasion, to teach the young ones how to survive, but never to hunt. We have other patrols, like the Medical patrol, and the Armory patrol.
Each day is the same: The forest is our home. There are no modern conveniences; no real houses, only tents. We have nothing like stores, and no castles, nothing like what we remember from our previous home. Still, we treat those tents like the old castles from our homeland. We have to if we want to survive, and it's our survival skills that we keep well honed.

We also have weapons support, though it is more a job of the Armory patrol. We complain about it constantly, but for some reason, Rarity doesn't have "the time" to listen. It's a bunch of crap, if you ask me, but even so, our group holds the most responsibility. Without us, there would be no food, shelter, or weapons. Even now is the hunting hour. To be honest, I still don't know why they call it that. It doesn't take an hour to go on hunting detail, it takes three. It was at the tail end of that detail, where Lilac Amethyst broke from her reverie.
She was looking around her, into the cluster of trees, taking note of her clan mates. Rainbow Dash was to her left, a huge sword in her grasp. Lilac saw that she was staring at the rabbit with a look of intense hunger. To her right, Ditzy crouched, waiting for her signal, the mare's eyes, straightened after years of surgery, thanks to the efforts of both Doctor Whooves, and Zecora. Ditzy acknowledged her without a word.

Down below, on the forest floor, she saw Applejack hiding with the wild game bag they used to collect their prey. Mentally, Lilac tallied their catch as somewhere around six rabbits, eighteen squirrels, and three hogs. There were a number of vegetables as well, such as corn, green beans, and wild snap peas, as well as the berries they collected for Fluttershy, who was completely vegetarian. Lilac had to admit it would be a bit disturbing to see Fluttershy treating an animal one minute, only to turn around and eat an animal the next. The need for the hunt had truly aggravated the meek pegasus, and she would often have to sit with other ponies in order to avoid the more carnivorous nature of her patrol group.  
Lilac slowly closed her eyes as she took a hoof, wrapped in green tape to protect her skin when firing the shot,  and reached into the quiver, grabbing an arrow, and lining it up against the bow. It was an extension of her body. Opening her eyes, she inhaled, and slowly exhaled. A split second later, she let the arrow fly.
The shot was straight and true, with the arrowhead embedding itself in the rabbit's flank, as it had tried to escape. Without a moment's hesitation, both of the Pegasi went zooming toward their prey, with Rainbow Dash leading as Ditzy followed closely behind. Within seconds, the fate of the rabbit was sealed, Dash grabbing it by it's tail. She held it upside down, exclaiming, "We're sure gonna feast, tonight!" as the rabbit's blood flowed down her arm in rivulets. She flew back to the "attack spot," for that's what they called it, and handed the carcass over to Applejack. The orange mare stuffed it in her bag, and swung it over her shoulder.

"Do 'ya think we can call it a day, Lilac? Mah side's been hurtin' an awful lot, and I think that between this plus whatever the other part of our patrol has, we'll certainly have enough feed the whole clan tonight."
Rainbow gave her a look as if she were crazy. "No way! We need more than just enough to feed the clan, and it's our duty to make sure we have more than what we need for a night!"
"Enough." Lilac said as she jumped down from the tree, and trotted over to the group of mares. She faced them both, her expression stern. "This is good. We don't need anymore food, because with this, and the food Zecora's group has gathered, there will be more than enough to fill everypony's stomach."
She lifted the prey bag, and brought it to her side, as it floated in her light blue atmosphere of magic."I'll carry this home. Everypony, follow me."
With that said, they all started for camp.
***---***
Lilac, followed the trail, noting the red markings on the trees along the pathway which served as her guide. She arrived at the clearing moment later, where she and Zecora had agreed to meet before sundown. Much to her surprise, however, instead of finding Zecora waiting patiently, she found Lyra, Octavia and Bon-Bon, as well. Her concern deepened when the enigmatic Zebra asked to speak with her in private. Together, in silence, they walked to an alcove of trees away from the others.
"Lilac, my dear, listen to me, for I must tell you what I have seen. There is another of our kind, hidden in plain sight, and I do not wish for you to fright."

Lilac paused for a moment, considering Zecora's revelation. Another one of our own kind? But that's impossible! When we first arrived, we searched the land for anypony else who might call this place "home." Not a trace of civilization, nopony been found, and there was no way after all this time, somepony had been discovered.
"Zecora, you must have seen something else. We searched the whole of Aricastle before we claimed the land. Trust me, you must be mistaken."
Zecora felt anger rise inside her, but she had to treat the Princesses daughter with respect. "I know surely what I have seen, it is unwise to take chances underestimating me."
Lilac looked at her, rolling her eyes as she trotted past her, back into the clearing. "Oh, please. It will be fine. We'll send another patrol out to see if what you say is true, but if your wrong, don't say I didn't warn you."
Zecora shook her head and clucked her tongue at the young mare's receding backside, as she said to herself, "her attitude is within bloom, like her parents, I greatly assume." With that, she began walking back toward the clearing.