//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 - Worry 
// Story: Lost in Darkness 
// by ChocolateFan25 
//------------------------------//

It was surprisingly calm in the Wonderbolts Headquarters when Misty Fly trotted through its long corridors. The sun has risen, and that normally meant loud chatter and the smell of freshly brewed coffee. The silence made Misty Fly frown. Her comrades were already on their way to the Hayseed Swamps while she had discussed the operation with Spitfire and Soarin for a last time. "At least we have a better chance at finding her, with all of us flying over the woods." she thought and turned around the corner to find Wave Chill. 

"Did you pack everything necessary?" Misty Fly asked. She walked through the door into the lounge, where Wave Chill sat on a chair. 

"Yes." he mumbled, without looking at her. In his mind, he was far away. 

Misty Fly didn't notice it. She was busy strapping her saddlebags on her back. "Let's just hope, we won't be gone for too long." she said. When no response came, she turned her head toward him. "Wave? Are you alright?" she asked, taking a closer look at her friend. 

Wave Chill rubbed his head, his dark-blue mane hang low and looked unkempt. She already guessed, that he didn't got much sleep last night. "Yes. Stop worrying." he said, his gaze on the floor. He seemed exhausted, mentally and physically alike. 

Misty Fly sighed quietly and her ears dropped slightly. For a second, she rubbed her chin with a hoof. She wasn't sure how he would react to what she had in mind. But seeing him like this waved away her doubts. Without much warning, she put a hoof around him and gave him a hug. "We find her. I'm sure." she said, trying to sound reassuring. 

Wave Chill's face was still expressionless. His body tensed more, the longer Misty Fly kept her body close to him. Yet, he didn't even try to push her away from him. 

"Can we go?" she asked and stepped away from him. Despite the calming attitude she showed him, Misty Fly wanted to get into the sky as soon as possible. The slightly twitching wings of her told him everything. 

Wave Chill waved the mane out of his face. "Sure." 

Both went to the door, until somepony flew around the corner. "There you are." High Winds came to a stop and her curly mane bounced for a few seconds. 

"Hey." Misty Fly greeted her with a smile and stepped back, surprised from High Winds quick approach. "I would like to chat, but we have to go--" 

"I know. That's why I'm here." High Winds interrupted her. Her voice sounded dull and emotionless. "Spitfire gave me the order to accompany you two." 

Misty Fly pursed her lips. She never talked much with High Winds, and therefore knew barely a thing about her. High Winds was a great flyer, like all of her comrades, but she also had a large knowledge of the physics behind flying. Just from looking at the draft of a stunt, she could tell if it was possible and how they could pull it. 

The other thing Misty Fly knew about High Winds was her friendship with Fleetfoot. From what Fleetfoot told they knew each other since they were foals. 

The yellow pegasus starred in High Winds blank face and had no clue how to handle her cold attitude. "Oh, that's good timing." Misty Fly said with a nervous chuckle. "Like I said, we were on our way." 

"Good." Without waiting, High Winds turned around and trotted to the door. 

Misty Fly bit on her lip while she watched the white pegasus disappear behind the door. "Is she mad at me? Well, I guess she has every right to be. Fleetfoot wa-- is her best friend." She shook her head and tried to get rid of this fearful thought in her mind. "She's not... she is still there. Alive. I can't give her up. I don't have the time to wallow in pity." 

She took a deep breath and gave her best to calm down. "I've spent far too much time walking around and trying to cheer up Wave Chill. I have to set things right again." 

She quickly turned to her blue comrade, who just stood there, lost in thought. "Hey, Wave." she said and made a step toward the door. "You can brood all you want as soon as we find her."


***


Carefully, the blue pegasus climbed over the long roots, which covered nearly the entire ground. The thick fog and the dim light of the morning made it even more difficult for Fleetfoot to get forward. 

"Spitfire was right." she muttered and paused. Still tired from the nearly sleepless night, she leaned against the trunk of one of the trees and caught her breath. "We should put endurance training back in our training schedule. I never thought I would be so dependent on my wings to get anywhere." 

She turned her head around and kept an eye out for anything important. Which would be either a Timberwolf or one of her comrades. Since the first sunlight poked through the treetops, she has been on search for Misty Fly and Wave Chill. She still couldn't remember the entire fight and her throbbing headache kept her from doing so. 

The white fog lingered on the ground and left small dewdrops on the plants. For a second, Fleetfoot wondered were all this fog was coming from. "I don't know, if the Hayseed Swamps has weather control like... almost every other part in Equestria. But the fog would not move on its own, if it was created in a weather factory. Maybe... the conditions here are the same as in the Everfree Forest..." 

Another sharp pain in her head interrupted her thoughts. "Great. I hope I don't leave the woods with a brain damage. If I leave it at all." Fleetfoot thought, slowly rubbing the aching part of her head. The touch of her hoof brought only more pain, so she stopped it. 

She proceeded to look around. Other than an abundance of trees, she couldn't see anything moving. With a frustrated sigh, she slumped back down. "I hope they are alright." she muttered and looked down on her throat. 

After the surprising visit from the wild pigs last night, there was barely anything left of her uniform. Only a lot of blue and yellow shreds of fabric, which still cover the ground around the bush. Fleetfoot had picked up one of the larger parts, which was once one of the legs, and had tied it around her neck to carry it with her. 

"I hope, I won't spend more than one night in this forest." she said, her ears hanging low. "But if I have to... It can't hurt to take it with me. I mean, it maybe can prove to be useful." With one hoof, she went along the soft fabric, until she came to the end. The yellow thunder, which circled the blue fabric, was the only indicator of what it once was. 

Fleetfoot felt her eyes burn with tears, before she dug her face into the fabric. "I want to be home." she thought. "It seemed like a good idea to tackle the Timberwolf. But if I think now about it... that was pretty stupid. I never wanted all of this to happen. And I never wanted to drag my friends into this. Well, I hope they will still see me as a friend, after everything that has happened." 

She wiped the tears out of her eyes and clenched her eyelids for a second. After the long walk through the mud her hooves aren't particularly clean and she accidentally rubbed some of the dirt in her eyes. "Well done." she said with a sarcastic voice while she rubbed her eyes even more, but with the clean fabric instead. 

It took a while before the burning faded away and she could see again. "I shouldn't be sitting around. My friends are still somewhere in this mudhole and I really need some painkillers." Fleetfoot said and stood up. 

Slowly, she stretched her good wing. She clearly heard the joints pop after barely moving it for so long. To make things worse, she started to feel an itch in the wing. I was in her nature to fly and her instincts screamed at her to stretch out her wings, get into the sky and feel the wind running through her mane. Which she would have done, if it wasn't for her broken wing. 

Fleetfoot put her hoof on her bandaged wing with a few ruffled feathers sticking out on the sides. The pain wasn't as bad as yesterday, but instead it felt very hot around the broken bone. "I hope the muscles are not damaged." she said with a frown. 

She slowly continued her way and turned her thoughts to more important topics like her friends and if she was still on the right way. 

Fleetfoot froze, when a cold morning breeze ruffled her mane. Even in summer, the woods stayed dark and cold. "Don't let your hope down." she muttered. "You will find the others and then we'll leave this forest--" 

She stopped in her tracks, when she heard steps in the distance. The steps came closer and she turned her head around, hoping it would be one of her friends. The smile on her face fell off quickly, when she saw, what has been walking around. 

It was twice as big as her and its thick, black fur looked wild. Fleetfoot felt her heart sink down at the sight of the bear, walking around and sniffing in the air on its search for something to eat. The pegasus wasn't brave enough to move. Her broken wing kept her grounded and she was too tired and injured to fight it with her hooves. She just stood still and hoped, that it wouldn't see her. 

The black animal stopped, and lifted its snout into the air. It made loud sniffing sounds and looked around, before its eyes stopped in her direction. The red eyes of the bear gave Fleetfoot even more fear and her ears dropped down to her neck. "Don't move..." she thought. 

For a second, nothing happened. The bear blinked a few times, sniffed even more and suddenly growled at her. Without waiting any longer, the bear started running. It walked over all the roots as if they wouldn't be there. 

Fleetfoot felt her heart race and tried to think of something as quick as possible. She turned around and ran away. It was difficult for her to get forward and the bear came closer and closer. With its size, it would only be a matter of seconds for it to get hold of Fleetfoot. 

"Go away!" Fleetfoot yelled, even though her lungs burned and her legs felt incredible tired from the constant running and climbing. On top of that, her head and wing were still injured. The faster Fleetfoot ran and jumped, the more pain shot through her body. 

"I... can't go on much longer." she thought desperate and felt another shot of panic. She just dodged in time, when the bear swung its paw at her. Fleetfoot saw the sharp, black claws missing her face by a few inches. A quick scream escaped from her lips before she got up and jumped farther. 

"I need... to get away!" she thought. She looked around in her escape, searching for anything that could help her. But there was nothing in her sight than the countless trees. 

"Trees!" she yelled and an idea struck her. Her eyes scanned the area for a tree, she could climb without much effort. She found one with a few lower, but strong looking branches. Fleetfoot smiled for a second and ran with everything she had left. A yard in front of the tree, she jumped and grasped the trunk with her forelegs. With her hind legs, she tried to push her up.

The tree shook for a moment when the bear rammed it. Fleetfoot's eyes widened, but she continued to climb up. With each branch her hooves got hold of and each inch she was farther away from the ground, the more she felt safe again. 

The bear was not happy with its prey getting away from it. It lifted itself on its hind legs and shook the tree, as if would harvest some apples. Fleetfoot clutched the branch with all her might and closed her eyes. "Just go away!" she yelled and was still breathing heavily. She was never exposed to that much danger in her entire life. 

The bear growled and snarled while shaking the tree. When it proved to be useless, it grasped the closest branch with its paw and tried to climb. To Fleetfoot's relief, the branch broke off from the weight of the bear. 

Still angry, the bear walked around the tree a few times before coming to the conclusion, that it would take far more effort to get her, than she was worth to him. The bear groaned and started to walk away. 

Fleetfoot laid there for a while with her stomach on one of the branches and her legs around it. The steps faded away in the distance and she could only hear the songs of the birds. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes again. She was safe again. Fleetfoot sighed for a moment until her gaze fell down to the ground. She didn't notice how high she had climbed on the tree and suddenly felt her legs prickle. "Wow. Never thought I would feel the fear of height ever again." she muttered.

Without her flying ability, gravity would be far more dangerous. Fleetfoot gulped and tried to get back to the trunk of the tree again. "I-I have to keep searching. I hope Misty and Wave are alright..."


***


Misty Fly kept her eyes on the ground as they flew over the countless trees of the Hayseed Swamps. Sometimes, she flew slower or stopped for a moment, to have a better look. But everything looked just the way it did yesterday. She let out a frustrated sigh before she hurried after her comrades. 

She quickly glanced between the two pegasi beside her. Wave Chill was still absent minded and High Winds barely talked with them. Misty Fly felt the bad atmosphere pressing down on her. She gulped, when it reminded her of those moments before the incident. 

"High Winds?" she asked, and turned her head to the white pony. High Winds stayed silent while she kept her head low. "Can I ask you something?" Misty Fly asked. 

To her surprise, High Winds answered with short "Sure." 

Misty Fly sorted her thoughts for a second. "Well, I know you're kinda mad at me right now and I understand why, but--" 

"I'm not mad." 

Misty Fly lifted an eyebrow. She expected High Winds to explain her reasons, but High Winds made no attempt at doing so. After a few seconds of silence, Misty Fly turned her head to High Winds again. "You're not mad?" she asked, hoping for a more clear answer. "If she is not mad... then why is she so... reserved?" Misty Fly wondered. She sure knew not much about High Winds, but she couldn't be too different from the countless of other ponies Misty Fly knew. 

High Winds still refused to look away from the ground. "No." she answered. 

"Why?" Misty Fly insisted. 

"Why should I be mad at you?" 

"Because... well, if I hadn't screwed up the mission, Fleetfoot wouldn't be in this situation." 

"And what has this to do with us? Fleetfoot is brash and far too prideful for her own good. It was obvious, that such an incident would happen sooner or later." 

Misty Fly only looked back in confusion. "Wha-- How can she talk about her like that? I thought they would be friends." She looked to the side to Wave Chill, but he was too busy with his own problems to pay attention to their chat. It made Misty Fly wonder if he paid attention to the search either. 

"So many problems. Just because I can't keep an eye on two Timberwolves." she thought and concentrated on the ground. "Please, Fleetfoot. Just show yourself and we all can go back to our daily routine. I... don't want to be reminded again and again how our mission was a failure--" 

"Hold!" she heard somepony behind her yelling. She stopped in midair and turned around, just to see High Winds behind her. She didn't notice High Winds stopping a few seconds ago. High Winds flew in circles around a certain spot and seemed to have spotted something. She then pushed her wings and disappeared through the treetops. 

"Did she found her?" Misty Fly thought. It was hard to tell with High Winds's cold attitude. She felt a prickle in her body, a sign of newfound hope. Just a second later, she pushed her wings back as hard as she could, and stormed toward the spot were High Winds landed. 

"Fleetfoot?!" she yelled. In her mind, she already saw the end of these long searches across the woods, and smiled. "Everything will be alright again." 

She barely noticed the branches scratching her legs and ripping out some small feathers of her wings. It didn't matter to her, that she had chosen a bad spot to land. With a soft thump, Misty Fly landed on the leaf-covered ground. She quickly spotted High Winds, who stood still on her spot and starred in one direction. Misty Fly followed her gaze and suddenly felt the load on her mind being replaced by a boulder. 

On the ground in front of her, between small, thorny bushes and a fallen tree, lay a couple blue pieces of fabric. They were apparently a part of a Wonderbolt uniform, torn apart into some bigger and some smaller pieces. 

Realization slowly sank into her mind and her eyes widened. Under her hoof, she noticed something hard poking out of the soft and somewhat muddy ground. Misty Fly lifted it to find the remains of a pair of goggles, its lenses broken into many pieces. 

The longer she starred at the scene in front of her, the quicker her breathing became to the point of hyperventilating. "no... No... NO!" she yelled, getting louder with each word. "I can't... this can't happen... she... they killed... I killed..." 

She heard a loud gasp behind her after Wave Chill landed as well. She only heard the shuffling of hooves while her sight became blurry. "I... never wanted..." she said before shielding her eyes. Misty Fly would normally never cry in front of her comrades. Even when things would look bad, she always tried to keep a happy face, to give her friends the feeling, that she got everything under control again. But there was no control she could regain. 

"So we wasted our time?" she heard Wave Chill asking. From the sound, Misty Fly noticed, that he was gritting his teeth. "We flew above this darn woods for hours... and it was for nothing?!" 

"Calm down, Wave Chill." High Winds said. Misty Fly looked up at her words. High Winds sounded as clam and collected as ever. 

Unfortunately, it hadn't much effect on Wave Chill, who grew more and more angry. "Don't tell me what to do!" he yelled. He huffed and seemed to be in a struggle with his conscience. He really wanted to yell out all of his anger and frustration, but he also knew, that he would certainly say something he would regret. 

High Winds cocked her head and looked from him to Misty Fly, who watched them with teary eyes. "You act like foals." High Winds said and turned away from him. 

The more Misty Fly saw from High Winds behavior, the more she started to dislike her. "Fleetfoot... her best friend is dead... and she talks and walks around like nothing has happened?" Misty Fly thought. The confusion she felt for the mare turned slowly into anger. "How can she just toss away every thought about her friend? Why did Fleetfoot even chose to be her friend in the first place?! She is just... cold." 

While Wave Chill walked around with a hoof on his forehead, trying to get hold of himself, High Winds inspected the place. She walked around, stooped down when she saw something of interest, and picked a few of the fabric pieces up to look at them from all angles. After a while she flew over the fallen tree and went with her hoof over the rough rind. 

"She was not attacked by a predator." High Winds said and turned to the two pegasi. 

Wave Chill stopped walking in circles, looked at her in disbelief and pointed with his hoof to the many fabric pieces. "Oh yeah? Then how can you explain this!" 

"Like I just said, she was not attacked by any predator." High Winds repeated and showed them one of the larger pieces. "There are multiple evidences. First of all, the clothing is ripped apart, but free from blood or any kind of leftover body parts. Which leads me to the conclusion, that she removed her uniform before it fell into the paws or fangs of any animal." 

Before High Winds could go on, she was interrupted by Wave Chill. "Why should she get out of her uniform and leave it on this random spot in the forest? You think she was too warm?" The sarcasm could not be overheard. "Oh no, wait. She jumped from that cliff over there and landed in the bush? And she could only get free by taking off her uniform? By all means, stop sugarcoating things." 

High Winds simply looked at him, her face without expression. Misty Fly lifted her goggles,  rubbed her eyes and thought for a second. She walked a few steps closer to them and looked at Wave Chill. "What she said makes sense." she said. "If something... ate her, this place should look like a mess. Which it, luckily for us, doesn't." 

Misty Fly shuddered at the thought of dealing with the sight of a massacre. "We don't know why she decided to leave her uniform behind, but that doesn't matter right now." 

Wave Chill looked at her for a second before snarling. Misty Fly waited for an angry response, but when he turned away from her, she knew, that she had convinced him. Misty Fly then turned to High Winds, who silently watched them. 

"Go on." Misty Fly said "You said, that there are more evidences." 

"There are." High Winds said and turned to the fallen tree. "There are a few hair of her coat on the rind and the ground behind the tree. Also, the mold between the tree and the boulder indicate, that she took shelter over night on this spot." 

After showing both pegasi the spot behind the tree, High Winds walked a few steps farther and pointed to a single blue feather, stuck in one of the bushes. "Lastly, this feather points with its end in this direction. It could mean, that she walked off from the scene. The hoofprints on the ground are barely visible, so I can't follow the trail any longer. But all in all, it can be said, that Fleetfoot is not killed here. I can't say if she was attacked sometime later, so I can't say either, if she is still alive. But considering her accomplishments at the Wonderbolts, it would not be too farfetched to assume her well-being." 

Misty Fly looked with amazement at the white pegasus. "How can she stay so calm and look for trails after seeing this? I would have given up... heck, I DID gave up." she thought and rubbed her head. "So... she is still in the woods?" 

"Probably." High Winds answered. 

Misty Fly felt calmer after hearing High Winds explanation. She still felt a certain disgust at her behavior, but everything she said made sense. "At least she is not dead yet. I don't think I could live with this guilt." 

"What is our next task?" High Winds asked. 

Misty Fly pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked with a raised eyebrow at High Winds. "Oh, yeah." she said. "I'm still the leader of the group. I have to decide what we do next."

"A-alright." she said and tried her best again to be a leader. "We haven't found her yet, but we have a lead. And that's good. Wave Chill, you stay here and mark the spot. High Winds, you fly back to Dodge Junction. There is a really good tracker in the Timberwolf team, get him here so we can follow the lead. I'll inform Spitfire and the others, so we can reduce the search to this area. She can't be too far." 

Both pegasi nodded and High Winds already took off into the sky. Misty Fly stretched her wings and turned back to Wave Chill. "Let's hope we find her soon. I really don't want to be responsible for her death."


***


"Wave! Misty! Come on, where are you?!" Fleetfoot yelled. Her voice sounded more raspy than usual, after yelling for hours. With each passing hour, Fleetfoot grew more frustrated. Her head and wing hurt even more and after her encounter with the aggressive bear, she couldn't shake off the worry she felt about her missing comrades. 

Before taking another step, she anxiously looked around. By the time, she reached the line between the woods and the swamplands. She was still surrounded by the thin trees, but a foul smell hang in the air. 

Fleetfoot wrinkled her muzzle and turned around once more. All those animals had made her nervous and she constantly kept an eye open for a good tree to climb, just in case if the search for her friends lured more predators. Fortunately for her, there was no one in sight. 

"No fiends. And still no friends." she said and hung her head low. 

Slowly, she continued her way through the cold and wet piles of leaves. "I hope they are alright." Fleetfoot thought and her mind drifted off. "Are they safe? Are they as hungry and thirsty as I am right now? Maybe they found their way out of the woods already." 

The memories of the fight with the Timberwolves came back into her mind. Fleetfoot still had problems to remember more details, but she was sure of one thing: Misty Fly and Wave Chill were brought down as well. 

"It's the only possible way. I mean, why else did I woke up in the woods? They would have saved me, if they had a chance. I'm sure. If the Timberwolves took me into the forest, then they took them as well. Well, that's what I guess." 

She stopped another time and looked around, before walking farther. She had no clue where she was going and how far she has gone. Only her homesickness kept her on the go. 

"But maybe they got eaten. It's not like the Timberwolves would just wait for them to wake up in the woods and pass this opportunity for a good snack..." 

Fleetfoot shook her head vigorously, to get rid of the pictures in her mind. "No way! That would never happen to them! Wave Chill is too strong to loose a fight with a Timberwolf. He was able to spin one of them around, as if they were made of paper! And also, he is too stubborn to admit defeat. No, that could never happen." 

Her thoughts then drifted off to her other comrade. "And Misty... She is also strong. And smart. She can plan really good. She gets nervous if she has to lead other ponies, but if she is on her own, she can manage everything." 

She walked up a steep hill and the leaves on the ground became a problem to her. It took her a lot of effort to not slip down with every step. Fleetfoot gritted her teeth and wished, that her wing wouldn't be broken. "On the other hoof, if it my wings would be alright, I wouldn't be in this situation at all." she thought and groaned quietly. 

After a minute, she reached the top of the hill and looked up in surprise. Right in front of her was a clearing. A gap in the treetops gave way to the warm sunlight and the open sky. The clearing was also the only spot not covered in broken twigs, moldy leaves and mud. Small blades of grass grew in the warm sunlight, that was normally blocked off by the trees. 

Fleetfoot stepped closer and lifted her head up. The view of the wide, open sky seemed to ease her mind. "It's like... coming home after a long time." The pegasus sighed softly before letting herself fall into the soft grass. 

"I never thought I would miss to see the sky. I grew up on the clouds, so I always took for granted that I would grow old and die on them as well." 

For a while, she just lay there and enjoyed the warmth of the sunlight. Her body relaxed and she became aware how tired she was after running and hiding for almost two days. "Two days..." she muttered. "Even if I get out in time, I won't be able to participate in the race. Not with my wing..." 

Her eyes shot open when something else came into her mind. "Oh no, I missed the book-signing!" she remembered and her ears dropped. "I waited an entire year for this..." she said quietly and let her head sink onto the grass again. 

Fleetfoot gave her best to fight against the tiredness, but her body slowly gave in. She closed her eyes for a moment, still soaking in the warmth of the sun. "I wish... I wish somepony would just come and get me out of this." she said and looked again into the sky. Not a single cloud was in sight and the only thing in sight were the three dark-blue points, moving across the sky. 

"Dark-blue..." she mumbled. Suddenly, realization hit her and she shot up. "Blue?! The others!" she remembered and looked up. The three points stopped, not too far away from her, and from the movements Fleetfoot could tell, that they were talking about something. 

Fleetfoot concentrated on the points to see, who they were. "That curly mane... that's High Winds!" she noticed. 

Her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw, who the other two pegasi were. "I... I can't believe it... Misty.... Wave... You are safe..." She felt a tear of joy on the corner of her eye. "All this time... My worry was for nothing." 

She was all smiles and her eyes shone with happiness. Fleetfoot lifted her hoof into the air and yelled "Hey, guys! Took you long enough!" She was injured, tired and probably looked like a mess, but she still tried to keep up her mask. 

The three Wonderbolts still hovered over her in the air and it seemed, as if they hadn't heard her. 

"Could you please get me out of here and talk later?!" she yelled and grew impatient. 

None of the three pegasi looked at her. Misty seemed to point somewhere into the distance and the other two nodded. To Fleetfoot's shock, the three of them started to fly away from her. 

"No, no! Wait! HEY!" Fleetfoot screamed, but to no avail. Panic flooded her body as she saw her comrades fly away. Her breathing became heavy and she started to run after them. For once, she didn't care if there were predators close to her or not. "They have to notice me! They have to safe me! Or else..." she thought, as she rushed over the roots and through the bushes. 

"HEY! STOP! DON'T FLY AWAY!" she screamed and barely saw her friends through the treetops. She ran and breathed as fast as she could. "WINDY! MISTY! WAVE! PLEASE, HELP ME!!!" 

Suddenly, her hooves got caught between some of the thick, gnarly roots. The world spun around her as she rolled down a hill. She gritted her teeth, when she stopped right on her injured wing. Fleetfoot rolled to the side and looked up to the sky. Her comrades were nothing more but three very small dots on the horizon. 

"No..." she muttered and lifted a hoof up, desperately trying to reach her fading hope. "Don't leave me alone..."