Who's Afraid of a Rainbow?

by Root Strider

Ch. 1 The Cryptic Chase

He ran as quickly as he could, his dark brown coat covered in sweat, his green mane in a mess of tangles, and his only thought on escaping his pursuer. The streets of Ponyville were deserted by this time of night, so his only concern was navigating the winding side streets that would lead to his goal, the Everfree Forest. He hoped that the purple unicorn chasing him would be confused by the maze of streets, but by the sound of hooves, he could tell she was right on his tail.

“Stop! I only want to talk to you!” She yelled, disrupting the silent night and causing lights to appear in a few windows. A yellow maned pony looked out; curious to see what the town librarian was shouting about, but quickly returned to her muffin movie marathon that she stayed up to watch.

He made a sudden turn down an alley, hoping to surprise the unicorn and get away. The surprise was on him as a tall chain-link fence blocked his path. He heard hoof beats behind him as he leaped as high he could onto the fence. He was almost at the top. With a quick scramble he was up, over, and running as soon as his hooves touched the ground. With a glance back, he saw the unicorn stomp her hoof and say loudly enough for him to hear, but not loud enough to disturb the sleeping ponies, “Why won’t you be reasonable about this! I just want to talk!” Instead of answering, he continued running.

As he ran, his fear lessened. She would have to double back and run two blocks to catch up. He rounded the corner that marked the last turn before a straight run to the Everfree Forest. With a look of shock, he tried to come to a halt, backpedaling furiously as the unicorn appeared out of thin air in front of him.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop in time. They collided and rolled in a mess of legs and manes. She ended up on top, with her goal pinned beneath her. She noticed that he was thinner than most colts, and if she was a good judge of age, and she was, he was about her age. Their lavender eyes met for a split-second, then the colt gave a huge twist, tossing her off of him. He leapt to his feet and hoofed it out of there. Twilight was dazed for a second, surprised that she had been thrown so easily. By the time she got to her feet, the colt was at the edge of the forest.

“Wait!” She cried out, “It’s not safe in there at night!” All she got for trying to warn him were yellow lights in windows, and a few heads looking out.

---

“Alright, maybe the direct approach wasn’t the best idea,” Twilight Sparkle said with a small sigh. She went over in her mind what happened. She was up late stargazing, and as she was packing up, she noticed a shadowy figure by Carrot Top’s garden. The figure shuffled for a little bit at the doorstep, and then sneakily crept into the garden.

She was thunderstruck, a carrot thief in Ponyville!? She swiveled her telescope to see what the thief had done to the doorstep. She scratched her chin in confusion at what she saw. She headed downstairs and outside, wanting to know the context of what she had witnessed.

She tried to approach quietly, but she was never very sneaky. As soon as the shadowy figure noticed her, He bolted out of the garden. His grey cape snagged on the gate to the garden, and with a quick tug, the figure slipped the fabric from his neck and continued running.

She had run after him, trying to explain that she just wanted to talk, but no matter what she said he never stopped to explain himself. He had used the most confusing path she could think of to try and escape. It was a good thing she had studied Ponyville’s town layout when she planned the last winter wrap up or she would have lost him instantly.

This told her that he was no stranger to Ponyville, but she had never seen him before. Even though she had lived there for over a year, she conceded that she still didn’t know every pony in town. She would have to ask Pinkie about him. Surely she would know; she knows every pony in Ponyville.

With that thought, she began heading for home. As she passed Carrot Top’s house, her hoof caught on something and she nearly fell. Looking down, she saw the cloak the colt had left behind. It was a magnificent blend of blacks and greys that made it look like a swirling shadow as it blew in the breeze. Twilight had never seen anything like it before. She would have to go see Rarity and ask her about it. She folded it up and carried it back with her.

The smell of parchment and leather bindings rushed to greet her as she quietly opened the door. With the slightest flutter of wings, an owl landed on Twilight’s back, gave a soft hoot, and flew towards the kitchen. Intrigued, Twilight followed Owlowiscious into the kitchen. There was a pot of water on the stove, bubbling away, a small herb lying next to a pestle and mortar, some tea leaves, and the book, Supernaturals: natural remedies and cure-alls that are simply super, open to a page about curing sore muscles, with a recommendation of turning it into a tea.

“Why thank you, Owlowiscious,” She said with a sheepish smile, “I’m going to need this with all the running I did.” She began making the medicine/tea. With a small chuckle, she added, “I bet that colt is going to be stiff as a board tomorrow morning.” After Twilight drank her tea, she bid Owlowiscious goodnight while he cleaned up the kitchen.

With a small sigh, she tiphoofed up the stairs to her bedroom, trying not to wake the snoring baby dragon. With a slight smirk she whispered to herself, “At least I’m quiet enough to sneak up on a dragon.” Her mind quickly returned to the mysterious colt and unanswered questions buzzed through her mind. Eventually, all minds are quieted by the need for sleep, and Twilight was no exception, even if sometimes she tried to be; she drifted off to sleep with the memory of what the colt had left on Carrot Top’s doorstep, a small pile of bits.

---

“Wait!” her voice cried out, “It’s not safe in there at night!”

He chuckled at this, and then let out a sigh. As soon as he was safely into the forest he slowed to a walk. He took a small and winding trail he had cleared about a week ago. He was familiar with the path, and let his mind wander to the night’s events, and the strange purple unicorn.

“Root Strider, you foal. You let yourself get seen. Now they might come looking for you, and ask tons of questions. You didn’t even get all the carrots, I’ll have to go back tomorrow night and get them,” He muttered to himself. “You even lost your cloak. That was a gift; the only gift you had ever gotten since you left home.” Home. That was a sore spot for him, so he sought to get his mind off it as he skirted some poison joke that had grown on one side of the trail.

“Maybe it’s not so bad. She always tells me I should make some friends,” He whispered to himself, “of course, she also tells me that I talk to myself too much. I guess that’s true, but that comes with traveling alone for a long time. Hmm… the unicorn did say she only wanted to talk.”

He suddenly froze, listening to the unnatural silence that had come over the other creatures. He heard a roar, and the squeal of an animal. After a minute of not moving, a manticore proudly strutted across the path holding a young deer in its jaws. He felt horrid for not going to help the small deer, but sometimes nature has to do her thing. “It was going to pass away even if I did save it.” He told himself, “A manticores sting is lethal, and they sting their prey multiple times to ensure a quick passing.”

With a small shiver, he kept walking towards his destination, a glade containing a small hut and garden hidden on all sides, even above, by dense trees and bushes.

It was his sanctuary. He passed by his garden, which consisted of medicinal herbs, and rare flowers that need only indirect sunlight or moonlight to grow. He plucked a small plant and carried it gingerly inside. His home was a wide willow tree with a large alcove inside of it. With a minimal amount of work, he had transformed that alcove into a two-room home.

He looked about the main room as he entered. There were multiple shelves with herbs and spices drying on them. Herbal remedies bottled up for colds and the like were stored in a cupboard next to the door. He had spent the better part of a week setting up a system to collect and store water for a small kitchen in the corner. There was a door at the very back that led to a small bedroom. He also had a clear area in the center of the room where he had set up a fire ring. He had a small pot simmering over a tiny fire.

Instead of making carrot soup like he had planned, he crushed up the herb and added it to the pot. “There we go,” He said proudly, “let that simmer for a few minutes, and no soreness for me tomorrow,” He let a small smirk appear, “I bet that unicorn will be stiff as a board tomorrow.” With his medicine, made into nice tea for flavor, he thought about the unicorn, and who knows how many complications to his simple life she would bring with her.

Comments

[DerpedRainbow]

Haha, irony. Although I must say that a chain link fence in Equestria confuses me slightly, if it is in the show, my bad. But still, for that to be an option for cities/towns to have would require a nicely developed industry....