//------------------------------// // An Old Friend, A Pet Pig, And The Truth // Story: Friends Never say Goodbye // by CDasher60 //------------------------------// Clang! Clack! Harder and harder, louder and louder! Two stallion's shadows cast on the floor, each with a blade in hoof. Striking the other harder than the last. Faster and more deadlier as each moment roars by. Lightning and rain pour down suddenly. The lightning lights the sky, and the thunder cracks the air quicker than a whip. Yet the swords roar louder than the lion's. Another spark of lightning, and shadows battle for the death. One shadow attempts to dodge the other, but falls to the floor instead. The other shadow, rears on his hind legs, sword raised for a hard blow. But darkness floods over and replaced by a sicking sound. A hollow thud. Lightning flashes once more. Fallowed by the crack of thunder. The shadows show one stallion, on its knees. The other stallion, on its back with his hooves raised forward. Half a blade glimmers in the flash. A little filly's scream rises as she watches her father fall to the floor. Another echoing thud. Rippling back to her, over and over. A continuous thud, stuck on repeat set by the King of Death himself. Climbing out of a chest, the filly tries to run toward her father. But her leg gets caught on something. Or rather, something caught her leg. The murderer stallion's hoof is wrapped around her leg. He lifts her up, and looks at the filly with an evil smile. Screams rise up again, louder than before! The lightning flashes and show the face of a gray pony with faded green and bloody blue eyes looking dead straight at the little pegasus filly. The stallion's black mane flows behind his blue tinted crown, with red fangs around a gray oval at the top. A sinister laugh escapes his own fangs, and the purple coloring on the stallion's horn glows to a blood red color, prepared to cast a spell that silences the night. He lunges forward...the night shrieks with terror...and darkness swallows the scene... *** With a jolt, Cloud Dasher wakes up. Rubbing her eyes and stretching her wings, she sits up. The forest around her is unknown but peaceful. Water from a creek streams by, giving a calm feeling to her. Birds sing all around her. Buzzing of bees, soft chirps of crickets, and a light breeze rustles the leaves rises. Cloud looks around more, lost in the absolute beauty of nature. And then a twig snaps. The birds fall silent. The bees and crickets disappear. Only the water and wind stay. Cloud Dasher jumps to her feet. "Who's there?" she calls. "Calm down now. Im not here to hurt you." A pony's shadow peeps from a bush in front of Cloud. The shadow walks forward to the clearing. "You-your the pony I saw last night, ain't you?" "Yes little filly, I am." An old blue mare stands in front of her, dipping her head as she spoke. A senior pony, with faded bright blue, sky blue, and white mane and tail. Her wings are worn down with age, were once a navy blue. The stranger's soft purple eyes are the only sign that she was once a young filly too. Her muzzle, ears, and hooves are all the same faded worn-down navy blue as her wings are. And a long old scar runs down her left leg. "What are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?" Cloud asks at the old mare. "I assure you, I am not looking for a fight, young'n. What are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?" She replies. "Well..I'm not sure. All I wanted to do was run. Escape everything. My thoughts..my life...even my friends. Anything really." The younger blue pony looks down at her hooves, a tear streams down her cheek. "Its OK. I understand how you feel. Come with me." The older blue mare puts a hoof on Cloud's shoulder, and walks towards the depths of the forest. "But I don't even know your name!" Cloud calls to the stranger. "My name is Cloud Dasher. C'mon and hurry up!" The stranger calls back. The younger pony stares in complete puzzlement, before jumping up and racing towards the pony, who's name is also hers. *** The two Cloud Dashers, young and old, walk through a trail in the forest. Neither say a word, each lost in thought. A soft yellow light dims ahead of the trail. As the ponies reach the light-a small campfire-next to a large oak tree, the older Pegasus knocks on the wood in a certain way. A doorway opens from the oak tree, and stairs greet them. "Whoa that is incredible! How did you do that?" Little Cloud Dasher asks as she looks around the tree, up the tree, and in the tree. "Yes, it is pretty amazing huh? Actually a unicorn friend of mine carved this for my friends and I several years back. She took on a wood carving hobby and became quite good at it. This was the last thing she made before she left Ponyville and traveled to Manehatten." The senior mare tells her as they walk up the winding stairs into a large tree house. A rustic rug under a country brown bed against the wall. A small kitchen, set with a wooden fridge and a sink in the corner. A hallowed out fire place opposing side of the bed, hot coals cooling from a previous night's warm glowing fire. And to top the set, a stunning view of the forest covers the last wall up, and the room and fills with morning light. "Omigosh..this place is amazing.." The young filly stares in wonder and amazement. "Yes, it is." Older Cloud breathes in and out, before walking to the kitchen, where two plates of food await. "Hungry?" she calls. Grrrrooowl! Young Cloud silences her tummy with a hoof, before walking into the kitchen, and sitting on a wooden stool. "Yum, this looks great! My favorite breakfast food too!" She looks down at her golden french toast with a side of dandelion and honeydew grass. And a cup of orange juice, of course. "Glad you like it. Pickles helped get the honeydew grass." "Pickles? Who's Pick-" A squealing noise rushed in and a flash of white and pink ran across the kitchen floor. "Pickles! Calm down, shes a guest! Behave now Pickles." Cloud Dasher told the white and pink flash, who stopped at her hooves. "A PIG!? Pickles is a pig?! Where did you get a pig from??" "Well, its quite a funny story actually, but short version -a dear friend of mine gave him to me years back." Senior Cloud chuckled to young Cloud, petting her pet pig before she continued to eat. "Wow that's pretty cool! Iv always liked little pigs, their so cute and funny." "Yeah, and their an absolute joy to have, huh Pickles?" Squeak! Pickles ran around in a circle before turning towards her food bowl and getting her own breakfast. After the two ponies, and a pig, ate their food they made their way over to a room filled with scrolls and books. "Now, little filly, I know you have a hoof-full of questions. So shoot." Older Cloud Dasher told her as she picked up a few scrolls and sat down in a chair. "Well, OK then. Who are you? And how come you have the same name as me? And why Pickles?" The little filly turned around in a circle each question she asked, before lying down with her hooves tucked under her. "Curious little pony aren't you? I am a very old pony, who has lived an interesting life. When I was little, dark forces caused me to loose my home, and my family. I was rescued by my friends, who took me in and cared for me. We grew up and got into loads of trouble, but were the best of friends. We learned something that changed our lives though. We each had a destiny that changed the world. However, our paths weren't easy. We encountered many hard trials, fighting this evil power that destroyed my childhood. Unlike my friends, my destiny didn't end with a fairy tale ending. I died protecting my friends, like they protected me. My name is Cloud Dasher, like yours is too, because I am you. And I picked the name pickles, because his breath smells like them." The old Cloud Dasher looks toward the forest as she tells her life tale. Facing the smaller pony as she finishes, and laughing as she answers the "why Pickles" question. "But how-how are you..did you-...what? How could you possibly be me? And if you died, then how are you here? When does this happen to me?" The little Cloud Dasher looks at her older self in bewilderment, as she tries to understand what was told to her. "I cannot tell you when, or how, or why I died. I can only tell you that this does happen. And I am here to tell you this. The Prophecy that our friend Eileen told you, is true. And you, my dear, are the "mare with wings as blue as the night sky." Your friends are the three other ponies who will save Equestria. Everything I say to you, is real. You will be tested, and you will have more trials to come, but as together, your and your friends will succeed." Silence falls over young Cloud Dasher, as she thinks on her older self's words. "That was you back at the barn, wasn't it? I saw a pony before I was going to catch up with Gumdrop and them. You were looking at me, before I looked away." She looks back up at the older mare. "Yes I was there. I have been watching you and your friends. Protecting you and guiding you. You were meant to find out the truth about Thanatos. You were meant to run away, and you were meant to stop in that clearing, where I found you. You were always going to find me and learn this, because its what you were always going to tell your younger self. I know, its confusing." The older mare replies. "Tell me 'bout it. So i was always going to find out this..my future basically. That I die some how, some where, and some time. And that my friends and I..we're the Prophiced Four..?" "Yes little one. And now you must be heading back home." The older pony gets up, and walks toward the open forest view. Little Cloud Dasher follows. "But I don't even know where home is. I was kinda in a hurry to leave." "Don't worry, I will take you back to the clearing, and show you where to go. C'mon." The two ponies leave the treehouse, walk down the stairs, and out of the tree's magical door. Once again the older pony takes the lead, and the younger pony fallows, caring on with her questions. "So, if you died but your here in my-i guess our-past, then what about our friends? What happened to them?" "Well, I don't really know. But I know that their safe, and well see each other again someday." "Do you miss them?" "Yes, I do. Very much. And I know that they miss me too. But we wont forget each other." "Well, how do you know that?" "Because friends never say goodbye, little one. Never." The older pegasus looks down at the younger one, with a kind smile. Little Cloud returns the act. As the two ponies reach to clearing, the sun already tells its around noon. Birds sing, and bees are working. The water from the creek nearby still flows, and the wind still blows. "This is as far as I go now, young filly. Just head down that path over there, and you shall be back home soon." The older Cloud nods down a trail. "Will I ever see you again? Or me, I guess." The smaller Cloud asks? "I am afraid this is the last you will see of your future self. But know that I will always be with you. I am you anyways." She chuckles at herself. "So this is goodbye then?" The filly looks at the older mare with a sad look. "No, young one. Friends never say goodbye, remember? This is more of a, Ill see you later alligator.." The old mare hugs little Cloud tightly. "After a while crocodile.." The two ponies hug each other, before smaller Cloud Dasher walks away toward the path back to home. She pauses, looks back at her older self, smiles again, and begins to walk back home. The older Cloud Dasher smiles back and when her littler self disappears, she fades into the air, vanishing as the wind blows. ***