//------------------------------// // Ch. 7: "Memories." // Story: Forest of Lost Foals // by Dusk-Spark //------------------------------// Saphira led the way, oddly enough. Illuminating the path ahead with the lantern and then checking the map of the Everfree every so often. It’s a bit funny, how this whole ordeal was forcing Saphira to talk. Normally, she’d only give Yes or No answers. Pipsqueak‘s opinion about her seemed to change overnight. Before this whole thing, he just thought of her as a quiet loner, maybe a bookworm. Originally, he thought they could bond over a love of stories, but the subject matter of their favorite stories were so wildly different: Pipsqueak preferring stories of adventure and horror. Saphira preferred technical books rather than stories, though Pipsqueak did see her read the occasional mystery book. Maybe that’s why she was so smart? Her smarts had helped him out when he would’ve otherwise panicked and ran away, but there was something in the back of his mind. Something that bothered him that he couldn’t quite figure out. He really knew he should’ve paid more attention to his dad’s plot structure rants. ‘Featherweight would probably have figured it out. He always did like the mystery books.’ His heart sank when he thought about his cousin. “Featherweight…” He muttered under his breath. His gaze drifted to Scootaloo, trudging along beside him. The orange filly always had a little pep to her step. She had a positive outlook, and was a ton of fun to hang out with. A bit of a tomboy, even in how she dressed. "I'd never be caught in a fru-fru glittery lacey dress or something wimpy like that!" Was what she told him during a costume party last year. Some might consider Scootaloo's quirks as annoying or wishes she was a boy but Pipsqueak could never imagine Scootaloo without her little quirks. First to cheer up a friend in need, didn't matter what their problems were; Scootaloo would be there to try and make it better. Her loyalty was one of the qualities Pispqueak really liked about her. It must've had something to do with how she was always trying to be just like her hero: Rainbow Dash. The way her wings fluttered up when she got mad (if she got really mad, she'd lift off the ground), the way she took charge when there was something she was really interested in and nopony could stop her once she set her mind to something. But now look at her. Her head hung low, she stared at the foggy ground and said nothing. It was like all the life had been drained out of her, she even started to look pale. That could've just been the fog though. The only times when she would break the routine of her sad little walk cycle was when she would routinely brush one of her forelegs against her other leg or on her torso, Scootaloo must've hated getting her red-streaked, Rainbow Dash cutie marked, Wonderbolt Costume dirty. Considering how much she idolized Rainbow Dash, getting it dirty must've been akin to sacrilege. "Hey." Saphira cut through the silence with her voice, "I've...been meaning to say, thanks for inviting me to play with you guys. I can be a bit...difficult at times." That was putting it mildly. Saphira was either completely quiet or insulting your intelligence, not like Diamond Tiara though. Diamond Tiara would insult you outright, Saphira would say something that you wouldn't understand until much later. Such a strange pony, "But, I've...really appreciated the time we spent together. And, when this is over, I...hope you'll still invite me to come play." "...." The two ponies were silent. Not because they didn't want her to come play, it's just...there was a lot on their minds. Obviously. "Sure." Scootaloo said halfheartedly. "You asked me before, why I was so quiet, Pipsqueak?" He did? Well he asked something like that a while ago. "In Hollow Shades, I...was a bit of an outcast." No. Really? They never would've guessed... "It's not that I was disliked it's just, I saw things a bit differently so ponies had a hard time approaching me." What, was she much quieter and darker? "I was, a bit too happy." ...Seriously? If SAPHIRA was the happy one; Hollow Shades must've been like the anti-Ponyville or something. No, that was probably the Changeling Nomads. "There was one time, when we were learning Telekinesis, that I accidentally lifted the teacher and some of my classmates when I was supposed to just lift a chair. I'm really good at Telekinesis but, mediocre in everything else. Tracking comes naturally, I DID live in Hollow Shades after all. Every other spell, well I'm terrible at finding anything other than trails. I can't make fire. My barrier skills are okay, but not that great...though sometimes I did get random surges for a short time. I definitely can't move through walls or control elements. But there was one time I managed to teleport myself and the teacher out of a room, I really didn't like teleportation spells. If I make one mistake, someone's foreleg could...end up in a tree or something." She then began listing off all the things she could and couldn't do. Why was she talking so much? Oh. She was trying to pick up the two pony's moods, in the only way she knew how. "I did make some friends sometime later, we had this clubhouse in the woods where we liked to hang out and discuss things like, escape routes, monster weaknesses, best flying maneuvers-Oh. Most of the ponies in Hollow Shades were Nightkin, bat ponies...the sub-species of Pegasi that Princess Luna's royal guards hail from." Scootaloo sighed, “…Bet you never experienced anything quite like this.” It was supposed to be an offhand comment, just something to change the subject. But Pipsqueak saw it. Saphira stopped, stiff in her tracks, her ears had twitched during Scootaloo’s sentence. “?” He watched what she did now, very carefully. ‘There’s that feeling again.’ If only he knew what that was… “I’ve read books with similar plots.” Was the monotone response she gave, "Scootaloo. What are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, exactly?" Here it comes, Scootaloo never missed a chance to talk about the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She had talked Pipsqueak's ear off about it the first time they hung out together practically pelting him with invites until he was finally accepted into the CMC as an initiate (now that he thought of it, he still hasn't been made into a full member yet). "It's..." And here's comes the speech; "A club devoted to help ponies find their cutie marks..." She said in a low tone, with absolutely NONE of her usual energy. What HAPPENED to her out there? "Oh. Is that all? What do you normally do?" Saphira really wasn't gonna let this go, was she? "Stuff." She gave a one word answer, dismissing the question. This was so unlike her. What would Rainbow Dash say? "...Are you open to any new members?" She said, putting on a smile? Oh Celestia, she was trying to smile, and it came out looking very...unnatural and forced. Pipsqueak just wanted her to stop smiling, like...right now. It was so weird! "...You want to join?" This seemed to put some life back in her, she tried to get a good look at Saphira's flank but the cloak was in the way. Saphira took the cue and brushed the cloak on her left side over to her right, sure enough she was in fact a blank flank. Actually, hadn't Diamond Tiara said that earlier? But there was something off about her flank. If he looked closely, and in the light of the lantern he could just barely make out something that kind of looked like...a faded image of a...compass? Was that a compass? It was so worn and faded it could've been a watch or a globe, compass was just the first thing that came to mind. "What's that on your flank?" Pipsqueak asked, referring to the faded image. "Oh. Well. That was my cutie mark." The forest grew silent at the sudden revelation. "...Was?" Scootaloo asked, life was returning to her voice. "Yeah..." She said in a low tone, she took a long low sigh, "I mentioned to Pipsqueak about how things worked in Hollow Shades. A map of the area around our town is drilled into our heads from a young age, we're told very clearly what parts of the forest are safe. Low risk. Medium risk. High risk. And in a few places there were big red X's on the map. These were areas we were forbidden to go anywhere near; of all the laws in Hollow Shades. The most important was to never. Ever. Go to any of those places on the map." Saphira let that sink in. Didn't take a genius to figure out that Saphira didn't listen to those rules, "I met one of those monsters and..." She trailed off, "It took my cutie mark." The explanation seemed so, illogical. It defied everything they knew about Cutie Marks, namely being that they were a special type of magic that was independent from other known forms of magic. Nopony, not even the Princesses or Discord could affect a pony's cutie mark. So what could possibly STEAL a cutie mark? "And then what happened?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, I was a blank flank again. That's pretty much it. So, can I join your club?" Oh right, the two ponies had completely forgotten how this whole trip down memory lane even started. "Um...sure? As soon as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle get back, I'll talk to them." She turned her head downwards again and sighed, "I really miss them." "You'll see them again." Saphira slowed her pace and nuzzled Scootaloo's mane with the side of her head. "What are you doing?" Scootaloo perked up, her cheeks going beet red. "...What? Everyone in Hollow Shades does this. It's what we do to cheer up ponies or try and take away their fear. Is this...wrong in Ponyville?" "Well it's not...wrong it's just...something that you usually do with a...special somepony." "But...you are a special somepony? You're my friend." "That's not really what I meant..." Saphira tilted her head in confusion. Regardless she tried to put on that fake smile again, "How about a song? 99 buckets of Oates on the wall, 99 buckets of Oates, take one down pass it around-" She stopped singing as they came to a fork in the road (thank Celestia for that. Saphira was smart and brave...but a good singer, she was not!). The path splits into multiple routes. "Uh..." Saphira took a look at the map. "This wasn't on the map?" "Diamond Tiara must've thought we wouldn't get this far!" Scootaloo flared up in indignation, the life seemingly returned to her. They stared down the paths and tried to rationally think about this. "Well one of these has to lead to the place. So let's just pick one and go." "....." Nopony picked a path. While Scootaloo and Saphira tried to figure out which path to take. They mentioned something about Zecora's hut being in the South, and the path ahead was going North so, they should keep going north? Pipsqueak had long since lost interested in the conversation, letting his eyes wander. "?" Something caught his eye in one of the bushes. He carefully trotted towards it, "Is that?" He bit down on the strap and pulled but something pulled back. "Hm?" He pulled harder and so did whatever was in the bush, okay no more playing around. He reared back as he pulled the bag out with all his might. The struggle roused some animal or something out of its hiding place and it sped off into the woods. Pipsqueak fell flat on his back with his hooves in the air, paralyzed by the sudden reveal. He shook it off and took a look at...Dinky's mailbag, it had been part of her costume. "What've you got there Pipsqueak?" Scootaloo asked, trotting along behind him with Saphira in tow. "Looks like Dinky's mailbag." Pipsqueak unzipped it and opened it up, empty. Whatever was in the bush must've eaten the contents. He still saw the muffin crumbs. He could really go for some of Derpy's muffins... Pipsqueak pulled out his rune stone and scanned it. "Hm?" A reaction, it was glowing brightly. There was a light coming from beneath the bush. Pipsqueak crawled under the bush, dragging the glowing object into view. "This is..." He started while looking at the object between the three ponies. "Dinky's Rune Stone." There were little bite marks on the strap holding the rune stone (probably from the animal earlier), but it looked as though whoever had tried to turn the runestone into a snack had quickly given up and instead ate a hole in the mailbag. "Did it fall off her?" Scootaloo asked. "No. She must've left it here. See, the straps still in tact. The only logical explanation is that she took it off." "Why?" Pipsqueak asked. "I don't know...maybe she left a message on it." Saphira telekinetically activated the rune stone. It glowed brightly as a moving picture started to appear before the three foals. It showed a sobbing, battered Dinky trudging through the Everfree. "Mommy?" She called out, and was met with the howling of Timber Wolves off in the distance. Terror plastered on her hooves, she broke into a run. Hiding in a hollowed out tree, still crying and panting. She looked past the three ponies (well, she wasn't really looking past them, just in their direction). "I...I don't wanna play anymore. I wanna go home. Where am I? Mommy? Please help me. Please come get me..." She laid down on the ground, violently coughing. "Please come soon..." And then she was silent. The image faded away, back into the rune stone. Pipsqueak didn't even know the runes could do that. Then it hit him, "Tree. Tree!" Pipsqueak checked the tree nearby, hoping Dinky would be in there. "Saphira, light!" The light from the lantern illuminated the inside of a tree and he saw...nothing. There was nothing there. "Look in the corner. You see the disturbance of the dirt, and the hoof prints? Dinky was here but..." The trail leads deeper into the forest where it completely disappears amongst the trees. "She's gone now." "Dinky..." For a while, no one said anything. After some deliberation, they found hoofprints on one of the paths and followed that one, hoping it led to the right place. The three ponies continued on the path, not saying a word about Dinky's probable fate (or even why they didn't bother to go after her). Pipsqueak was very tired, Scootaloo was looking pretty tired too, she looked even more pale than before, “We should hurry up." Said Saphira, who didn't look all that tired. Hollow Shades ponies really were different, weren't they? "I think it might start raining soon, we don't wanna be out here in the cold rain.” At first the ponies thought it was weird that it looked like rain was coming, but then remembered that the Everfree clouds were totally wild compared to the Ponyville clouds. Her light trot started to turn into a gallop. Pipsqueak exchanged glances with Scootaloo, who leaned in close and said; “She’s been acting strange hasn’t she?” “Jus’ a bit. Think she’s jus’ scared is all, might be ‘er way o’ dealing wit‘ it.” He shook his head, the accents been slipping out quite a bit tonight. Strange. Was it really that strange though? He was from Trottingham, the accent was how he normally spoke. Why had he tried to emulate Ponyville speech patterns though? Maybe a way to fit in. Who knows. "What do you mean, strange?" "Have you ever seen her show this much emotion? And, we could've followed the trails. Found the missing ponies, but we didn't. We just left. Was that really the right thing to do?" Scootaloo asked, "And...doesn't it seem like she knows a bit too much? Almost like she has some kind of cheat sheet." The seed of doubt had been planted in their minds. She did have a point, why didn't they go after the trails leading into the forests? Had they given up too easily? Maybe Dinky and the others were still alive? Heck the only body they've found was Archers- 'No, no, no. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.' He pushed the memory far down below, deep where he didn't have to remember her dark eyes, lifeless mane, faded coat and the dried blood and snot... "Pipsqueak. I'm gonna tell you something but if you ever tell anyone else...I'm gonna deny it and then I might have to hurt you." Scootaloo looked around to make sure nopony else happened to be listening in, "I'm...very scared right now." "I...I think we all are, Scoots." "I know. I know. Just...promise me we'll get out of here safe and sound. Promise me that I'll get to see Applebloom and Sweetie Belle again." "..." Pipsqueak couldn't keep that promise. What could he do to make it happen? He was just one, very small pony. He wasn't a big hero. He didn't have unicorn magic. Couldn't fly. He didn't even have that Earth Pony muscle that they were so famous for... "I promise." He sealed his word, avoiding Scootaloo's quizzical gaze. "Liar...You're not gonna make it out." Why wouldn't the little voice in his head just shut up?! He felt something wet and soft touch the side of his head. His eyes drifted to what it was and he saw...Scootaloo very close to his head. Oh...wait... Scootaloo pulled away from where she kissed his forehead. "You get just one." She said as she trotted on ahead. "Uh...ummm...ughbluhh..." What was that? Why did she do that? What was going on? What? WHAT?! “Hey, you’re trailing behind.” Saphira called to them, already way ahead. Once more, the Timber Wolf howls made an excellent motivator for the two of them to get their flanks in gear! Down the hill is where it was. The house was a lot bigger than they thought. They thought it would be something akin to Zecora’s shack, this was much larger. Almost seemed like a mansion, but much…simpler. The outside was nothing special to look at, save for the ornate fence and the garden in the back. Sure enough, from the top of the hill they could just barely see the statue of an elegant pony. Time had certainly taken its toll on the cottage, Pipsqueak could see the overgrowth of vines on the house, the Everfree had almost completely taken the place over. Even the ornate gate, which would normally block passage from the cottage in the past, now lay on its side, uselessly discarded. Saphira had already started down the path with Pipsqueak and Scootaloo in tow.