Rainbow smiled widely and threw a green canteen into her school saddle bag, which had been generously packed with snacks, a sleeping bag, flashlights, and one pillow. She smiled and hoisted the hefty bag onto her back. She had to admit, it was nearly twice the weight it would be when she went to school.
“Daddy!” She called. “I’m ready to go camping!”
Rainbolt heard his anxious daughter calling from the next room. He perked his ears up and flew in as swiftly as he could. He pushed the door opened gently and smiled at his little filly from the hallway.
“Don’t rush us! Dreamscape’s still packing up!” He said in a more lighthearted manner than genuinely angry.
Rainbolt walked into his eager daughter’s room and smiled at her. Dash’s wings buzzed and she excitedly flew around the messy chamber. Ever since her father explained to her what camping was, she’d been over the moon about the idea. She longed to get a good hour or two outside, but a full night? That was going to be amazing!
“Sorry, Daddy…” She apologized. ”I’m just so, so, so excited!”
Rainbolt giggled. “I know you are, Sweetie… It’ll be fun, trust me.” The stallion started to trot out of Rainbow’s room and the little filly fallowed closely. “You know…” Rainbolt continued. “I think I was about your age when I went on my very first camping trip.”
“Really?” Rainbow asked curiously.
“Oh yeah! It was loads of fun! I think you’ll like the great outdoors.”
“I do. I go outdoors all the time!”
Rainbolt chuckled as he entered his room across the hall. She’d soon know the difference between outdoors, and the great outdoors.
Dreamscape was bringing the silver zipper of his large bag and forcing it closed with a grunt. He’d set the large saddle bag on Rainbolt’s bed and stood to the side to cram it closed. It seemed to have been filled beyond its meant capacity. He sighed as the silver teeth finally touched and didn’t separate again.
“Ugh! Finally got the darn things closed!” Dreamscape announced with a grunt.
“Mr. Dreamscape? Is Fluttershy going?” Dash asked with wide eyes.
The shy filly had been contemplating on whether she wanted to go or not. Dreamscape wasn’t going to force her, but at the same time, he did encourage her to go. She would often refuse in the most polite way possible. The thought of anywhere but her peaceful, cloud home scared her.
“No… Sorry, Dash. You know how Fluttershy is about going new places….”
Rainbow looked down in disappointment.
“Awe, cheer up, Sweetie.” Her father encouraged. “This trip is still going to be fun, I promise. Just you, me, and Dreamscape.”
Rainbow looked up with a smile, while Dreamscape looked at the floor and bit his lip with an obvious blush. The observant filly took notice to the stallion’s behavior a good moment before her father.
“Dreamscape?” She asked. “Are you alright?”
Rainbolt turned to his friend and Rainbow looked at him with large, pink eyes. Dreamscape blushed a little and smiled guiltily.
“I, uh….” He started before gulping. “I may have invited somepony else…. Without asking you guys.”
Rainbolt turned and glanced at the stallion in curiosity. “You….What? Why? Who?”
“Well… She just started begging me when she found out about it. I didn’t want to say no because she’s a good friend to me, and well... She just has a way of talking ponies into doing things… Also, she was starting to get annoying…”
Rainbolt gasped. “You don’t mean Surprise… do you?”
Rainbow perked her ears up and allowed the adults to finish their conversation.
“Well, yeah… I know she’s your friend and all, so I didn’t think you’d mind too much…”
Before the shocked pegasus could say anything, Rainbow bolted into the air with a large grin.
“Alright!” She chimed. “Surprise is coming!”
Rainbolt sighed with an angry tension in his tone. “Yeah… I guess… Not that I was planning on her tagging along or anything.” Rainbolt glanced at his friend with a disdainful glare. Dreamscape smiled at him, trying to lighten the mood.
“I said I was sorry. Besides, I don’t think it’ll be that big of a deal, will it?”
“I guess not… I just would like a little notification ahead of time before we’re about to leave. And next time at least ask me!”
“I only talked to her yesterday at work… I’m sorry, still. I promise, if she gets in the way of anything, I’ll distract her or something.”
“No, it’s fine. Usually Surprise isn’t too bad…”
Rainbolt was friends with Surprise, and he had to admit, she was far less annoying then than she was in flight school, but she still had her moments of acting immature. There were certain things about her that just seemed…off, to add onto that, he still was trying to put the pieces together over her connection with Firefly. Although she claimed to have stopped talking to her, Firefly mentioned Surprise’s details on Rainbolt’s reaction to the news the white pegasus had delivered. There was something else that just didn’t seem right about her; she was seen watching ponies or eavesdropping many times. She once kept her purple eyes glued on Dreamscape for nearly ten minutes. Rainbolt witnessed it, but never said anything. Maybe that’s how she knew so much about everypony….
“I can’t believe Surprise is coming!” The little filly gleamed, circling around the room in joy.
“I can’t believe Surprise is coming, either…” Rainbolt said, verbally scolding Dreamscape.
Rainbow finally landed on the fluffy, cloud floor with a cheery smile. If she hadn’t been excited for camping before, she was then. The cyan pegasus always had a connection to Surprise. The occasions she actually got to interact with the mare were quite the rarity. She loved spending only minutes with her friend, but was beyond excited she’d get to see her for hours and hours with no stop! That would be amazing!
“How many times do I have to apologize?” Dream asked as he hoisted the backpack onto his back.
Rainbolt sighed. “It’s okay… Just please; please tell me next time you’re considering inviting somepony. Especially when that somepony is Surprise…”
“Daddy why don’t you like Surprise?” Rainbow asked cutely, disturbing the stallions’ conversation.
“I like Surprise!” He argued. “I just don’t think it was polite to invite her without a little warning.”
“I like Surprise, too. I’m happy Mr. Dreamscape invited her.”
“I know you are, Sweetheart…”
It wasn’t a moment later the trio heard several quick, light knocks on the front door.
“I’ll bet that’s her…” Dreamscape announced quickly.
“You gave her my address?” The periwinkle stallion asked quickly in shock. His friend left the room before he even had a chance to answer the stallion. Rainbolt sighed and shook his head.
Dreamscape took in a breath and answered the banged upon door. As he opened the wooden slab, his eyes met with the expected guess. A white mare with a bouncy, yellow mane and ridiculous smile stood before him with a well-stuffed saddle bag on her back.
“Hey, Surprise….” Dreamscape started in quite tone. “Rainbolt’s okay with you going… He wasn’t too enthusiastic about it, though. Mostly because he didn’t know ahead of time. I’m sure it’s nothing personal…”
The pretty mare cocked her head, and then smiled with a giggle. “Oh, don’t worry about ol’ Bolty! I’m sure he’ll warm up to it eventually!”
“Yeah… I guess…”
“Oh, don’t get yourself all guilty feelin’! We’re going to have a great time! ‘Sides, it’s not like we’re not all friends or anything!”
“Yeah… Dash is especially happy to see you.”
“Oh, I know it! You know they say the quickest way to a stallion’s heart is through his children?”
Dreamscape’s face twisted and his eyes widened. “I, uh…what?”
“Nothing!” She sang and trotted into the house with a wide grin.
Hesitantly, Dream closed the door and watched as the pegasus entered. She set the saddle bag down in the center of the living room with a sigh and looked around the place before whistling.
“Pretty nice house.” She commented.
“Why don’t you tell Rainbolt that?” He suggested with a chuckle.
“Eh” Was her only response. “Where is he anyway?”
“Room… I’ll go get him….”
Dreamscape braced himself as he flew down the hall and into the chamber. The last words he heard weren’t the most… kind in tone. He entered the room and saw Rainbolt and his rambunctious daughter sitting on the bed together. Rainbolt was going through Rainbow’s saddle bag.
“What are you doing?”
“Makin’ sure Dashie has everything…” He started, rummaging deeper into the bag. “Wouldn’t want her leaving behind anything important…”
“Yeah… Surprise is here…”
Rainbolt shot his friend a glare of disbelief. “You really told her my address?”
“Well… Yeah, kinda…”
Rainbolt sighed and handed the bags back to his daughter.
“Looks good, Sweetheart.” He acknowledged with a smile. Dash took her bag and hoisted it onto her back once more. She climbed off the bed and wobbled a bit as she landed on the cloud floor.
“When do we get to go?” She asked with in an impatient manner.
“I think we’re ready… Dream’s packed, I’m packed, and looks like you’re packed.”
“Yay!” The little filly chimed as she darted into the living room.
The two stallions smiled and went after her. When they entered the room, Surprise was standing at the window, staring out into the abyss.
“Are you ready, Surprise?” Rainbolt asked when he saw her.
“Yeah… I’m just looking at some ponies….”
The ambitious quartet headed deep into a forest. Only the two stallions recognized the large acres of trees, familiar streams of clear, fresh water, and rocky peaks miles ahead. Dash smiled as she gaped in awe at the beautiful, natural surroundings.
“Man… Fluttershy would love it here…” Dash commented.
“Why would you say that?” Dreamscape asked genuinely. “Fluttershy isn’t comfortable anywhere but home. Why do you think we homeschool her?”
The cyan filly shrugged. “I don’t know… Just think she would…”
Rainbolt and his friend exchanged glances and tossed each other confused looks.
“Hey guys!” The three ponies perked their ears up to a familiar, shrill voice coming from the bushed. They turned to see Surprise poking her head out of two bushed. “I think I see a good place to settle down! Come on!”
As suddenly as she appeared, Surprise vanished behind the furry bushes. Dash was first to follow. She quickly galloped away from her supervising adults and in between the bushes Surprise previously had her head through. Rainbolt and Dreamscape fallowed closely, dashing through the leafy scrubs after Dashie. The landed on the soft, dirt ground and looked up at the area Surprise had discovered. They gaped at the sight before them. A nice, clean area barren of any trees and flat land perfect to set up camp on. The area was large, circular, and absolutely perfect.
“Wow!” Rainbolt exclaimed. “You really did find a nice place….”
“Thanks!” Surprise said with a giggle.
“We’ll go find some logs.” Rainbolt volunteered.
Dreamscape raised an eyebrow. “We’ll?”
“Are you going to be lazy?”
“Well… It was sort of a long walk, and my hooves are aching…and the saddle bag was heavy…”
Rainbolt grunted. “So… Looks like I’ll be going unaccompanied…”
It wasn’t a second later Surprise’s white hoof shot up into the air. “I can do it! I can do it! You don’t have to go alone!”
Surprise stared at the stallion with large, unnaturally wide eyes. Her smile stretched from one ear to another.
Rainbolt rolled his yellow eyes and sighed before giving his friend another angry glare. “Fine…”
Surprise sprung up with a large, almost creepy smile and dashed over to Rainbolt.
The two proceeded to fly out of the area and look for what they desired.
“Do you know what we’re looking for?” Rainbolt asked as they left the area.
“Well, duh! I wouldn’t have volunteered if I didn’t know what we were looking for. We just look for logs to sit on.”
“Yeah… Just checkin’…”
The two pegasi soared skywards towards the patches of fluffy, white clouds, then glided over the large amounts of trees. The two peered down, both focusing on the mission. Their eyes scanned the area below and they both remained silent. The most visible objects were the bushy treetops and running streams. Peaking between the cracks of the trees proved to be quite difficult. Even after nearly three minutes, neither of the ponies spoke up.
“Ooh! Ooh! There’s one right there!” Surprise pointed towards an area between two tall trees. There, they could both see a small, brown log of wood. From their distance, though, it looked like an ant. They smiled at each other and nodded, heading down towards the specified area. The both stared at the log for a moment, and Rainbolt was the first to take action. The stallion wrapped his hooves around the wooden log and struggled to fly holding its weight. The medium-sized log was much heavier than he anticipated, and the harsh bark rubbed against his soft hooves. Surprise took notice to his struggle and lifted the log from beneath, supporting him and vigorously flapping her wings to make a difference. Rainbolt felt nearly half the weight instantly taken away.
“Wow…. You’re pretty strong…”
“Thanks!” She chimed. “I get it from my mom!”
Rainbolt chuckled and the two continued to lift the heavy wood and venture towards their original location.
Little Dash and Dreamscape pulled the heavy log and set it in its place. Both had struggled a great deal to bring the hundred ton cylinder of wood back to the area they claimed. When the mossy log was set down, both of them wiped bullets of cool sweat from their foreheads and sighed in pure relief. They then looked at each other and grinned.
“Good work, Dash. You’re pretty strong for a filly.”
The little filly beamed from the compliment. “I know!”
Dreamscape chuckled and smiled at the little girl. “You’re cocky…Just like…” He was going to say “your mom”, or at least that’s what he was thinking. “Like… your aunt.”
“You know my aunt?” She asked questioningly.
“Mrs. Skies…”
“Oh! Yeah… Hehe, I’m going to tell Aunty you said that!”
“Yeah, you just have fun with that…”
Rainbow smiled widely and her little ears then perked up. She heard distant flapping of wings in the background. She turned her head to see Surprise and her daddy carrying a heavy log into the clear area. The two set it down with a sigh of pure relief and Surprise smiled, looking at the filly and good friend of hers.
“Looks like you two got the other log?” Surprise asked.
Dreamscape returned the smile. “Yep… It took some work, but little Dash here helped out a lot.”
Rainbolt tossed his daughter a smile. “Adda girl, Dashie.”
With that, the little group of four sat in at different logs. Rainbolt next to his daughter, and Dreamy next to Surprise. The rough bark wasn’t comfortable under any of their hindquarters, but it was better than sitting on the ground. Dash, Rainbolt, and Dreamscape all stretched out, popping their bones and setting their tensed bodies at ease after the long walk. As Rainbow shrunk back in, she smiled at her father.
“Daddy?” She asked.
“Yeah, Dash?”
“Can we eat now? I’m starving!”
The stallion smiled at his little daughter. “Of course, Sweetheart… Then we should probably collect some firewood…”
After the quartet claimed the area they’d be resting in for the night, they all munched on the various snacks they packed, including apples, oranges, peaches, carrots, sandwiches, nuts, and berries. Throughout the day they did do quite a lot of fun activities. They all went flying over the mountains and saw the beautiful landscapes below. Although it wasn’t planned, Rainbow played a “fun” little game of hide-and-seek. Rainbolt had spent nearly ten minutes trying to find her. They then went back to the camp, where they grabbed another quick snack. They spent the majority of the time exploring the woods and doing whatever their heart’s desired. As Celestia began to lower the evening sun, however, they all went to the spot of the evening. A nice, shallow pond they could all relax in. Dash had seldom gone swimming at that point in her life. When her father described it as a large bath, she was instantly turned off by the idea. After some long encouragement, however, Dash decided to give in and take a dip. To her surprise, she loved being emerged in the shallow, fresh water. The evening air was thin and the water was warm. The four ponies relaxed stress-free in the warm, fresh, natural tub.
Dashie smiled as she leaned her back against the rocky wall. Her sore muscles relaxed and felt at ease in the warm water. She turned to her father and smiled.
“This feels so, so nice…”
“Oh, tell me about it!” Surprise commented as the fresh water made her soft mane glisten under the moonlight. She ducked her head under the water again and popped it back up. “This is just like how I remember it!”
“When’d you last come here?” Rainbolt asked.
“Oh, I was only like fifteen! My family traveled down here and we spent the whole weekend under the stars! Except for when it was day and we spent our time under the sun, but you get the picture.”
“Oh, that’s cool…”
Surprise nodded in agreement and smiled upon old memories. Oh, how the years had passed!
“I just went her a couple years ago…” Dreamscape started. “Fluttershy didn’t go that time, either… My wife did, though. It was that night you babysat her.”
Rainbolt nodded, remembering. “Oh, yeah… I remember that night. Same day Dash thought it would be a good idea to draw on the windows with permanent marker.”
Surprise and Dreamscape giggled while Rainbow blushed.
“Hey! I was only like five when that happened!”
Dreamscape chuckled. “And now you’re a big, mature seven year-old, right?”
Dashie nodded with a prideful smile. “Seven and three weeks!”
The trio of adults in the lake all laughed quietly at the little filly. Oh, kids could be cute. After the laughter died down, all fell to complete, awkward silence. Nopony spoke, and Rainbow awkwardly shuffled in the liquid. Surprise then gasped as if she’d remembered something.
“My daddy used to tell me about a sea monster that lived in this lake!” She announced at random.
“Sea monster?” Dashie questioned.
“Oh yeah! It was big, scary, had teeth like knives and stood forty feet high! My mom used to tell me a tale of how it would gobble ponies up with one, big gulp!”
Rainbow smiled. “That’s pretty cool!”
Rainbolt smiled with the little filly. “That’s just an urban legend! Don’t listen to her, Dash!”
The filly’s ears flopped down and she grew a bit sad, as if she were hoping it was true.
“Oh! Oh! But that wasn’t the only story old Daddy used to tell me!” She chimed. “He used to tell me a story that would leave me waking up at night with nightmares!”
Dash’s attention was fully grasped and she smiled widely. “Really? What was it about?”
“It was one about the headless horse!” She said with a gleaming face. “Wanna hear it?”
Rainbolt interrupted. “Hey, let’s not go scaring the kid… I don’t think she’s ready to hear something so…scary. I mean it’s not that bad, but considering she’d never heard anything like it…”
“Daddy!” She whined. “I’m not a little baby! I took the sea monster story well!”
Her father sighed. “I know you’re not, but still… I just don’t want you to be scared. And this is an actual story, not just a brief description.”
Rainbow looked up at her father with large, innocent eyes. “Please?”
“Fine… I guess… “
Rainbow paddled her hooves in the water until she met up with her father. She wrapped her little arms around him and smiled, nuzzling his soft chest.
“Thank you so, so much, Daddy! You’re the greatest!”
Rainbolt smiled and hugged her back. “Yeah… I guess…”
“Okay….” Surprise started. “It all happened in a forest much like this one…” As the story began, Rainbow turned her attention towards the white mare. Surprise’s tone turned eerie, deep, and very spooky. “The night was warm and starry, just like this one. A small group of ponies decided to go on a camping trip…”
“Just like this one?” Dash asked.
“Kinda, only there weren’t any foals or mares… Now, where was I…? Oh, yeah! The three stallions set up camp… They each had their own tent to sleep in. After they said their good-nights, they all went to bed. The first pony blew out his lantern and rested his head on his pillow. The second one did the same, but the third one wasn’t yet tired and took out a book to read.”
As the night continued, the two stallions rest quietly as the third one continued reading. He spent hours reading the same book and not even considering getting any sleep. As he was just about to go to sleep, though, he heard something…something strange… It was a shrill, loud cry coming from outside. He instantly slammed his book shut and peaked out of his tent. There he saw his first friend’s camp rustling and shuffling in the night.”
Out of curiosity, the stallion got onto his legs and crawled over to his friend’s tent quietly. The screaming continued and as he got closer he could distinctly hear… howling. He listened more patiently as it all continued. He wanted to go in and see what was going on… He approached the tent and then backed away slowly as he saw the zipper slowly being unzipped. He froze in fear as he saw a figure step out. It was the figure of a pony… Well, mostly a pony. It had hooves, a tail, mane, belly, neck…but no head…”
Rainbow’s eyes grew wider as she pictured the antagonist within her mind. She tucked herself into her father’s comforting grasp as she continued to listen. Surprise cleared her throat and continued on with her story.
“Out of fear and shock, the stallion dashed off into a different area. He flew as quickly as he could away from the scene. He could hear crying behind him, which only made him gallop faster. He galloped as fast as he could before hearing a loud, ear-piercing scream.”
The stallion looked behind him and saw the headless horse fallowing him. The mysterious pony had a sac on his back, carrying the heads of his two friends. He was only trying to make up for the one he never had…” Surprise smiled at the filly’s widened eyes and mild trembling at the story. Even though being scared was scary, she knew it could also be fun.
“Now, the stallion was going faster than ever. He ran as quickly as his legs could carry him. He ran all through the forest until he got to a cliff. He stopped…” Surprise paused for a more dramatic effect. “He turned around… And met eyes to neck with the dreaded headless horse….” Surprise smiled. “Nopony knows what happened to him… He was never, ever heard from again along with the rest of his friends… They say the spirit of the headless horse rests in these very woods….” Surprise’s smile turned into a more lighthearted one and cheerfully chimed, “The end!”
Rainbow was staring at the mare and then perked her ears up. “Th-that’s all?”
Surprise nodded and Rainbolt chuckled. “Don’t be scared, Dashie… It’s just an old pony’s tale.”
Rainbow looked up at her father and scoffed. “I’m not scared! Especially not about some stupid, headless horse!”
Dreamscape rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t say that.” He started in a teasing tone. “The headless horse might hear you and decapitate you in your sleep!”
Rainbow crossed her hooves. “Will not! ‘Sides, I don’t even know what depacitate means!”
Her father smiled and rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, Dash! That’s not even the real version of the story, anyway!”
Surprise took offence. “It was, too! That’s the version my daddy told me!”
“Well, when I was growing up, the ponies that were at the camp out were hunting for gems in caves. The unburied the disembodied head of the headless horse, and that’s when they were haunted by it the rest of the trip until they were captured.”
“In the version I heard,” Dreamscape started. “The headless horse was a pony that raided a village and took the heads off ponies there.”
Rainbow listened to the differing versions of the horrific tail with a curious mind. She did admit, the tale was spooky, scary, and almost made her fear the long fly back to their area. She knew it wasn’t real, but at the same time felt a little spooked by it.
“Whatever.” Rainbolt said at last. “I think Dash got to hear the least scary version, and that’s good, I guess.”
“Yeah….” Rainbow quietly agreed. “Good…”
Rainbolt put his lips to the area around a glowing candle and blew, making the only illumination in the tent vanish. Shadows instantly consumed the two ponies and Dash looked around nervously. She was tucked halfway in to her little, yellow sleeping bag. Rainbolt frowned when he saw his little daughter looking around the tent seemingly panicked.
“Dash…?” He started. The little filly’s pink eyes instantly shot towards him.
“Yeah, Daddy….?”
“You’re not getting freaked out over those little stories, are you?” he asked in concern.
“No…” Rainbow lied. “It’s just cold out here…”
Rainbow shyly shrunk into her sleeping bag and her father smiled. “You know, you don’t have to hide it if you’re scared. When I was a little colt, I got scared from it too, and I was nearly nine!”
“I’m not scared!” Dash argued. “I’m brave!”
Rainbolt slid into his sleeping bag and faced his daughter with a smile.
“Alright… I guess I was just a little wimp when I was younger.”
Dash nodded in agreement and yawned. Her father smiled at her and turned around to get more comfortable in his bed.
“Goodnight, Dashie…” He lamely said through a yawn.
“Night-night, Daddy…” Rainbow agreed and yawned. She turned around, as well. The moonlight bled through the tan tent. Trees cast down branchy silhouettes over her. Rainbow yawned once more and closed her heavy eyelids. She then proceeded to drift into an unpredictable sleep.
Rainbow awoke with tired eyes. She lifted her falling eyelids and looked around her tent. Her father was fast asleep. His loud snores may have been what awoke her in the first place. She sighed and lifted her foggy head.
“What time is it..?” She murmured to herself.
One thing she wished she would have brought was her alarm clock. Maybe then she could at least have an idea of the time.
Wearily the little foal stood from her bed. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. A sharp feeling deep within her lower abdomen attacked her. She caressed her lower belly and instantly crossed her leg. Out of all the times she had to pee, being in the middle of the dark forest in the middle of the night wasn’t the best time. The little filly struggled onto her hooves and slowly walked towards the exit of her sealed tent. Slowly and quietly, she unzipped the silver zipper and waddled out of the tent, awkwardly trying to keep her legs together. She took in a sharp breath and pinched her hind legs together tightly until the feeling subsided completely. Slowly, the little pegasus uncrossed her legs and began walking as she usual would.
Alright, Dash… Just find a spot near a tree and do your busyness real quick…nopony will ever know you left….
Rainbow easily found a tree and hid herself behind it. Quickly, she glanced at the other tents to make sure nopony was watching. She squat behind the tall, living thing and then stopped at the sudden, eerie sound of… whining? Her ears perked up and she instantly clenched her legs. Her eyes peeked around the tree. It must have been an animal or maybe some other natural sound…
Rainbow sighed and focused on the task ahead she took in a deep breath and spread her hind legs once more when yet again she heard a shrill, scary sound. This time it wasn’t a whine… it was a scream. Out of pure fear, Rainbow darted deeper into the forest, doing anything possible to escape the cause of the yelling. At that point, she didn’t know whether the scream was from a pony having their head removed, or a wild animal pulling an unfunny prank on her, but either way, she was terrified. More so than she had been in her entire life.
Rainbow dashed through the forest, dodging the trees and breathing heavily.
“Oh… I hope Daddy’s okay…” She said to herself as a single tear trickled down her face.
In the distance, the little filly heard a faint, but recognizable stallion scream “Help”! Rainbow knew the voice better than her own, and she galloped on with a new stream of tears down her face.
The scared filly galloped deeper and deeper into the strange, creepy woods. The moonlight proved to be her only guiding source of vision. She ran as fast as she could, feeling her heart send gallons of blood through her aching body and sweat pour from her forehead. She raced faster than she had in her entire existence.
Rainbow looked back to see… not an empty forest like she’d remembered, but a shadowy, headless stallion chasing her at high speeds. She kept her eyes on the terrifying figure as she galloped much harder than before. Her legs were growing tired and her heart was burning from beating too fast. Her lungs carried a sharp pain within them. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep up the chase. She didn’t need to find out, though. After nearly ten more seconds of intense galloping, her hoof hit a root and she fell flat on her face. As she laid limp, her body felt at ease and the dull pains within her calmed. However, dread did start consuming her heart as she heard the headless horse approach her. She put her head into her hooves and started trembling.
Don’t kill me… Please don’t kill me… Please don’t kill me… please…
Rainbow shook and cried silently to herself. When the soft hoof gently touched her head she jumped. She jumped right off her pillow and into a sitting-up position in her little, yellow sleeping bag. When Rainbow looked around and noticed it was only a dream she let out a long, grateful sigh of relief.
“I-It was only a dream…” She stated.
Although the story was only fictional in her mind, there were still results that lingered in the real world. Her forehead was drenched in sweat. Her face was stained with warm tears. The sleeping bag beneath her was drowned in a particularly smelly liquid she hoped was sweat. The little filly uncomfortably squirmed out of her sleeping bag and sat on it. That damn Surprise… Telling her that damn story… Scaring her and making her have a little accident. How dare her!
A bit annoyed, and embarrassed, Rainbow made her way out of the little tent and stared at the scenery around her. Just like in her dream, the area was cold, dead and quite depressing. It was lonely, and the only sound could be heard from anywhere were the faint hoots of an owl and the quiet chirping of a cricket. Rainbow started heading towards Surprise’s camp. It was a bright shade of purple, but seemed very dark in the cold night. She approached, mostly to get her vengeance, but also to find a less moist place to sleep.
The little filly stopped in mid-walk when she heard a certain rustling in the bushes not too far away from her.
“Hey!” The little filly squealed. “Come out and show yourself!” She commanded.
The bush did nothing but rustle in response.
“Are you just going to ignore me like that?”
Again, the furry plant rustled in the cool, night wind.
“That’s it!”
The cocky, little filly pounced on the bush and attacked it in anger. She hit the braches and bit at the leaves (Which she had to admit, left a nasty taste on her tongue). She growled and rolled around in the thick layers of leaves, branches, and other natural stuff.
Within Surprise’s tent, a white mare’s ears stood erect at the odd sound coming from outside her shelter. Her purple eyes opened and she sat up.
“Ugh…. Is it morning yet?”
On the more primitive outside, Rainbow stopped wrestling the annoying bush for a moment to notice a large, angry rat staring at her with red eyes. Rainbow stared at it. He was staring at her, and then distastefully hissed. Dash gasped, then hissed back in equal hatred. With that, the ugly rodent hopped off into another direction.
“Hey!” She cried. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Rainbow followed the little vermin as it ran from her. She spread her wings and flew off after the little thing. It guided her left and right, down hills, over paths, and through bushes. She kept up easily, and after a while, questioned why she was even chasing the rat. He evidently wasn’t going anywhere interesting, but Rainbow was still curious nonetheless.
The rodent effortlessly took Dash away from her haven. He took her into nooks and crannies of the large forest she’d yet discovered.
The little rat ran into a nearby bush and like always, Rainbow ruffled the branches around to get her friend out. This time, however, he remained in the protective haven.
“Come on!” She whined. “I just want you to lead me somewhere interesting!”
The rat refused to come out.
“Please?”
Again, the rat refused her offer and stubbornly set still. Rainbow grunted and rolled her eyes at his disobedience.
“Hey, Dash!” She heard a familiar, feminine voice call from behind her.
“Surprise?” She replied and turned around. Up above her was the happy-go-lucky pegasus, who proceeded to swoop down and land next to the little filly.
“What are you doin’ all the way out here?”
“I… I was following the rat.”
Surprise cocked her head in confusion. “Rat? Why?”
“Because…” Rainbow thought for a moment, and then remembered why she’d even left the campsite. “Because you made my camping trip awful!”
Surprise was rather surprised at the little filly’s sudden anger in her tone. She suddenly felt guilty and her poofy, gold mane fell flat.
“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to...”
“I know, but still! You just had to tell me that story, didn’t you?”
Surprise perked her ears up and then slowly grew less guilty. “You asked me to!”
“But…” Rainbow started with hesitation.
“But what?”
“Ugh…never mind… This doesn’t have to do with the story at all… I’ll just tell my dad…”
“Well, okay… I think we should maybe get home now….”
Rainbow nodded with a grin and then frowned. “Hey… do you think I could sleep with you for the rest of the night?”
White sunlight shone brightly on Rainbow’s face and awoke her. She lifted her weary head and sighed. Her rainbow mane was sticking up and her eyes had crusties in the corners. Heavy bags sagged under her pink orbs. Rainbow lifted her torse from the cool ground. She had been cuddling next to Surprise in a comfortable position, and decided it would be time to go check on the problem from the previous night. She stood from the position and unzipped the bright, purple tent. She could here Surprise muttering in her sleep.
“But… But I put the caramel in the oven…”
Rainbow smiled at her odd sleep-talk and stepped out of the tent, smelling the sweet morning air. She smiled and galloped over to her father’s tan tent. She unzipped the strange shelter and tiredly climbed inside. She stared at her ruffled sleeping bag and made her way over to it. She put her hoof under the fold, and felt the bottom layer nervously. Dry. That was all she needed to know to make her day. She looked over to her father, who was still lazily snoring and cuddling a blanket.
“Daddy…?” She murmured.
Her father remained sleeping.
“Daddy?” She said louder.
Again, she received no response but a low snore. The little filly put her hooves on her father’s chest and shook him gently.
“Daddy! Wake up!”
Rainbolt started moaning in his sleep, and eventually his eyes shot opened. He smiled as he saw his baby first thing. He wrapped his hooves around her gently and brought her in for a quick kiss on the forehead.
“Good morning, Sunshine…”
“Daddy… I had a dream, and I think you died in it… But then I woke up and followed a rat into the forest.”
Rainbolt barely processed half of what his darling said.
“That’s nice, Sweetheart….” He mumbled quietly.
Rainbow cuddled her daddy back and simply decided to remind him of the events later that day. Rainbow almost wanted to fall asleep in her dad’s warm embrace.
“Can I go back to sleep..?” Rainbolt asked weakly.
“No… You have to feed me.”
Rainbolt grunted and sat up. “Can’t you get it yourself?”
Rainbow cutely shook her head and smiled. Rainbolt smiled. His mane was in an awful state, which meant he slept well. Dashie wrapped his hooves around him.
The father and daughter’s warm embrace was interrupted by a hyper pony popping her head through and smiled.
“Wakey, Wakey!” She chimed as if she’d been up for hours. Rainbolt managed to smile at her.
“Good morning, Surprise…”
“Hey! Last night I found Dashie in the middle of the woods and she was talking to a rat.”
Rainbolt’s tired eyes went wide.
“Rainbow… Why?”
“Because I had a dream you almost died… Or did die… I don’t know…”
“But that doesn’t explain why you would…” The stallion just sighed. “Whatever. Thanks for returning the kid… I owe you one.”
Surprise smiled. “You owe me one, huh? I’ll keep that in mind…”