“War? You can't be serious”
“I have ta fight Rarity, I have ta”
“Please! Please don't leave me!”
“Go now, Little one, we will meet again”
“Rainbow Dash, AppleJack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, AppleJack, Pinkie pie, Rain Bow, AppleJack, Fluttershy, Pinky Pie, Raibow, AJ, Shy, Pinkie, RaimbowApplejackFluttersPinkie, RainbowApplesFlutterspinkie, go north, north, north”
“Go north”
Sickly red filled the abyss as light burnt through Raritys eyelids forcing them to creep open slowly, held halfway closed by the sticky layer of sleep that encrusted her eyelids, It didn't matter she would fix it later during her beauty regime, it wasn't time to get up anyway she closed her eyes hoping to be met again by the comforting dark but only saw the same nauseating red, had she forgot to close the curtains last night again? A familiar scent tickled at her nostrils bringing up half faded memories of interrupted sleep on weekend mornings or was it late nights going over the register, she couldn't seem t recall, like a jar of old change left by the window on a hot day, but there was something else behind that, burning something was burning.
“Sweetie belle!” Rarity gasped, sapphire eyes stretching wide tugging away at the sleep that had entangled a few precious eyelashes together plucking them away with a sharp sting, her eyes welled up slightly at the pain and trying to move a hoof to dab away the forming tear rewarded her with an even more painful sensation squirming its way through her limb. Rarity groaned as the reality hit her like a wave breaking against the coast, she wasn't snuggled beneath her satin sheets in her room in her home in Ponyville, she was in the middle of nowhere in a forest that wanted her dead, battered and bloodied. A long painful sigh broke the silence as she tried to force herself up on shaking legs, as her mind awoke she became more aware of the patches of pain around her body and the numbness at the side of her face.
Her body shook as she struggled to get up, falling asleep in her armour and with most of her gear on, especially her sword had been a bad idea, her muscles definitely didn't thank her for it as the weight had made them stiff and achy over the night. Fighting her way to sitting position she found herself already short of breath from such an easy task, head hanging limply she recounted several terrible mornings over the course of this journey but this one was no doubt the worst thus far, she was cold and in pain, her hair was filthy with dirt and clung to the side of her aching face with awful, slick grease and the blood had dried into a reddish brown mess, matting the fur on her face, the coppery smell made her feel sick, assaulting her nose and taste buds.
The pain pulsing through her brain brought her thoughts to the dryness in her throat and just how thirsty she was, she channelled what little energy she could into her horn which shone a faint, dying pale blue bringing about weak magic that slowly made it's way through her bags looking for the canteen, she panicked for a moment after she thought she'd exhausted all the bags and worried she'd lost the canteen until she recognised the massive tear that had formed in the right bag, she sighed mourning another item lost to last nights combat, she craned her neck around in a stiff motion, spotting the silver canteen lying in the dirt near the foot of a tree across the clearing.
Grunting and straining she slowly got to her hooves, her broken leg dragged along lifelessly as she slowly plodded towards the canteen, she'd have to make another sling for the injured limb, the crutch was only getting caught and slowing her down every other minute, scattered belongings were laden on the ground and Rarity pondered what she could reasonably leave behind, the axe, rope, frying pan? Her stomach growled at her, confirming one thing she could leave here, it wasn't like she had any food to cook with it anymore, glum eyes pointed downwards as her stomach rumbled again hitting her like just another painful kick in the ribs to make the morning even more terribly poignant.
Magic wrapped around the canteen, reflecting pale blue off the polished silver surface and reached upward unscrewing the cap, Rarity brought the canteen to her lips throwing her head back and taking down large gulps of water, thankfully cooled by the cold night air it had been left in, its magical effects were long gone and her many pains remained, but it was enough to quench her first and prevent the approaching migraine. Rarity looked at the black mark that had been burnt into the floor by last nights blaze, flashbacks of the combat flickered through her mind all the fire and shadow, the phantoms had fought with fury the kind she hadn't faced before, and she counted herself lucky she'd come out of the fray alive, although she couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't come back for her after she'd passed out, perhaps the blaze scared them away from an area, or her show of strength taught them a lesson.
Best not to get too confident Rarity she thought to herself grimacing when she spotted the bundle of lumber she had worked so hard to collect now burnt into nothing but a pile of crumbling charcoal the fight had cost her a lot, her bag, the wood, the oil, things she'd needed desperately to have a chance at surviving her trek through this cursed place, but in her state she doubted she would have even been able to carry the lumber without keeling over.
“You will just have to improvise Rarity, you're good at that” She muttered to herself, limping back to her scattered belongings.
“Then again, I suppose this a slightly different situation than running out of rubies on a last minute order” She spoke aloud, staring nowhere in particular.
Rarity began to busy herself with her belongings, dropping the sword on the ground with a thunk she discarded her saddlebags she wouldn't have much use of them anymore, she took out the flint and steel, leather hood, canvas blanket and bobble, pulling up her hair she secured it in a bun, getting the greasy strands out of her face, reminding herself too buy some kind of shampoo at the next town along. Ripping two strips from the canvas blanket she made a sling for her injured leg as well as wrapping the over around her forehead, covering up the cut.
In the interest of shedding weight Rarity undid the thonging that held the chain skirt to her leather armour, instantly feeling the relief on her hind legs as the chain fell into a silver heap with a jingle, securing her pouch once again she put the small hatchet and flint and steel inside, it was a perfect fit since the pouch was now devoid of any other item, she direly hoped she could get out of this place before she starved to death and find a town to restock. Rarity pulled up her hood has drops of rain broke through the roof of leaves, finally glad to have something other than trees and bushes around her, even if it was rain, pulling tight on the buckle of her scabbard to make sure the sword hugged her back tight, Rarity threw the remaining canvas around her like a cloak, tying it in a knot at her neck.
Even in her current, hungry, aching, weak state she felt a great sense of relief from shedding so much weight, feeling so much lighter even with the weight of her sword still pressing down on her, hopefully it would help her find her way out of the forest quicker. Folding up the chainmail she put it inside the saddle bag and popped the pan on top with the rope and various other nick nacks and items she was leaving behind, levitating it over to sit beneath a nearby tree safe from the rain, waiting for some other poor soul forced to journey through this horrible place to find, hopefully it could serve them more use than it could serve her now.
Thunder broke the clouds above, roaring through the air like an ancient beast, Rarity closed her eyes and listened to it roll off into the distance and speak again, louder and cracking like a hammer shattering the heavens all the while the pitter patter of rain served as a gentle backdrop in a beautiful symphony that reminded Rarity of the world that existed outside and reminded her that she was still alive, stood in darkness, clouded images of ruby eyes flashed through her mind, she regarded them warmly as though they were staring with care into her own, it made her feel a warmth even the cold air couldn't diminish, Her moment passed with another bellow of thunder, fading away into memory as all things had, and she took her first cautious steps back into the woodlands, even with such little left she still had her journey and her salvation lied far in the north.