//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Into The Forest // Story: Turbulence // by Rainbow Hyphen //------------------------------// After a long, silent, walk through the castle, Rainbow Dash and Soarin finally found themselves back in the main hall. The two stared at the giant door in front of them. After such a long time in this castle they were finally going to escape. They weren't exactly sure where they'd be going but anywhere was better than here. Soarin turned to Dash checking to see if she still had the Skys' Pendant. Rainbow grabbed the pendant with her hoof and examined it. Was this really it? Were they finally going to get out of this nightmare? It all seemed too good to be true. Rainbow sighed and tried to clear her mind of doubt. She quickly placed the pendent in the door. Suddenly, there was a click and the doors began to open on their own. It was storming outside and very dark. Still, Dash and Soarin could see the path. It was gravel then turned to dirt as they got further from the castle. It was about 4 meters wide. Soarin stepped outside first. The rain splash against him wetting his mane to the point were it was flat against his face. He used his hoof and moved it out of his eyes and behind his ear. Dash step out beside him and was greeted in the same manner. Soarin turned to her and managed a smile. "You're kinda cute with your mane all wet," He told her. Dash laughed and flip her mane out of her face. Then the two set out into the forest ahead of them. "Where do you think this leads?" Dash asked trotting next to Soarin. "I don't know but it must lead to some sort of town. The ponies in that castle couldn't have been completely self sufficient. They had to have gotten food from somewhere. If we keep going we're bound to hit... something," Soarin answer. That must have been true but even if it was... how far was the nearest town? Would they survive long enough to reach it? She tried to not think about that and simply worry about getting there. The two trotted along the path for almost 30 minutes when suddenly there was a flash of lighting. The forest was lit up for the moment... That's when Dash saw it. "Soarin stop," Dash ordered hold a hoof in front of him. Soarin was confused. "What?" "I seen something... over there," She stated using the hoof that was blocking Soarin to point at a bush. "Rainbow I can barely see three trots in front of me and you're seeing things behind bushes that are way over there?" "It was the lightning, when it struck I seen it." "Seen what?" "I... I think it was a pony," Dash answered though she knew Soarin didn't believe her. Soarin sighed. "I know you're afraid but think about it... The only ponies that are close to use are Brute and Lavender, both of which aren't the size of a normal pony," Soarin answered confidently. Dash considered it... maybe he was right... The lightning struck again lighting up the area. Dash and Soarin looked at the bush... but nopony was there. "See... nopony," Soarin told her. Dash was still not convince... not completely anyway. "Come on... we need to get moving or we'll never make it to town." Dash nodded and followed her companion. This time she was much closer to him than before. As they kept moving, Dash scanned the area every time lightning struck. To her relief... maybe... she couldn't find that pony she seen before. Dash let out a slight smile. "I guess I was seeing things," She told Soarin. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's understandab-" Suddenly Soarin dropped about hooves deep into mud. Dash jumped back. "What!?" Soarin yelled. Dash let out a slight giggle. "Oh yeah, it's really funny. Help me out of this!" "It's just mud," Dash said smiling. "Trot out." Soarin struggled for a moment. "I can't!" He told her. Dash let out a huff and trotted over to him. She grabbed him by his front legs and pulled. It was true. Somehow he was stuck in a little puddle of mud. The lightning flashed again and Dash saw it. It was a few meters behind Soarin... on the path. "Soarin... I seen it again," Dash said. All the fur on her coat was on end. Soarin turned his head as much as he could. The lightning flash again and the figured grew closer. "Dash... get me out of here." Rainbow pulled as hard as she could but Soarin barely budged. "Come on..." Soarin said. Dash could tell he was starting to panic. The lightning flash and the figured was only even closer than before. It was about five meters away from them... and getting closer. "Hurry up Rainbow," Soarin demanded trying, and failing, to stay calm. "I'm trying!" Dash said giving another pull to her fellow wonderbolt. The lightning flashed once again and the figured was about 4 meters away. "Dash..." "Shut up!" Dash said in a panic. Dash dug in her hooves and pulled once more with all her might. The lightning struck and Dash flew backwards with Soarin landing on top of her. Soarin quickly got back to his hooves and help Rainbow to hers. They turned and looked to where the figure was. The lightning struck... ...But there was nothing but the path. Soarin looked at Dash and Dash at Soarin. They both whipped around and ran as fast as they could. "Where is it?!" Rainbow asked running beside Soarin. "I don't know just keep running!" He replied. Suddenly Soarin let out a loud scream of pain and fell to the ground. Dash stopped running and turned around. Soarin was laying on his stomach. Rainbow ran up to him then stopped in her tracks when she seen it. There was a small, steel, crossbow bolt in his back leg just above his hoof. Dash quickly knelt down beside him. "Don't move," Rainbow told him. "H-How bad is it?" He asked. Dash looked at the wound. The bolt had went through his leg but was still inside. Only the sharp head of the arrow was through. Blood was flowing down his leg from where the bolt went through. Suddenly the sound of the something flying through the air was heard. Dash jumped out of the way as another steel bolt zoomed passed her just missing her legs. "Show yourself!" Rainbow yelled. And as if it was obeying her call. The lighting struck again. The figure from before was stand close to them hiding in the shadows. It moved closer to Dash. The pony that was following them was wearing a cloak and a black mask. It was impossible to know who it was but it wasn't Brute or Lavender because of the size. Above the pony floated a crossbow loaded with another bolt. It was suspended in a grey aura. That meant it was a unicorn. But how? The Skys were pegasi... Lavender and Sunset were anyway. Rainbow growled at the figure but it didn't seem to phase them. "You're coming with me," The cloaked pony stated. The mask must have had some kind of magic on it as well because the pony's voice was very deep, too deep. "I'm not going back, neither of us are!" Rainbow roared. The clocked pony fired the crossbow but Rainbow was ready. She dodged as the bolt exited the crossbow. Before the cloaked pony could reload, Rainbow quickly jumped and delivered a kick directly to the side of the pony's head. The cloaked pony nearly fell over from the force. Lightning struck and lit up the area to relieve that the mask the pony was wearing had fallen off from Rainbow's kick. "You've still got some fight left in you... I'm impressed," The cloaked pony said. Rainbow's eyes widen. "But what should I expect from one of my own?" The cloaked pony's hood fell behind they're neck... "S-Spitfire?!" Rainbow screamed. The Wonderbolts captain gave Dash a twisted grin. Then Spitfire's entire body lit up with the grey aura similar to the one around the crossbow. Spitfire rushed Dash with unparalleled speed and delivered a powerful uppercut right to Dash's jaw. Dash's back legs flung up into the air as her head flew backward then crashed into the muddy ground below. She was barely still awake when she seen Spitfire towering above her. "How's the taste of your own blood?" Spitfire taunted. Dash didn't respond. She couldn't move let alone form a sentence. Her vision began to fade. "That was for my brother."