Three from the Forest

by Zodiacspear

Chapter Six

“Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter Six

In the months that followed, the three foals found their freedom restrained. Anytime they had tried to venture into the forest again, they either had to go with an adult or they would find themselves turned away by the Equestrian Guard. They wanted to find the tree creature that had saved them, to prove that they had not made him up, but with their access denied, they had to settle for trying to find their cutie marks in town.

Worse yet, when they walked around town, they received a number of glares from the other townsfolk. Despite the princess having forgiven them, many of the citizens had not. While it was nothing outright hostile, it was clear many were not happy with them. To the three free spirits, it was incredibly frustrating.

As predicted, Rogue and his buddies rubbed it in their faces that if it wasn't for him, they would have ended up as timberwolf chow. The three of them denied it, but Rogue kept up with his claims, and worse yet, nearly everypony believed him. As for their tale of the tree spider, nopony seemed to believe them about it, and called it a figment of their imaginations.

Wanderer had spent the day at his friends’ home while his mother was at work. The three of them were idly drawing pictures, hoping to earn a cutie mark in art.

Wanderer finished his sketch, a passable drawing of himself looking across a sunset-lit, grassy valley, and looked at the other two.

“So how are you guys doing?” he asked, setting aside his sketch.

Tourmaline pushed aside her sketch with a mutter. It looked like it might have come from a kindergarten classroom. “Bored. Dad tried to teach me how to draw but… it’s so boring.”

Wanderer folded up his sketch before looking at her. “So now what do you want to do?”

Her smile sprang to life. “Want to go outside and play some kickball?”

He grimaced but smiled nonetheless. “Sure, just don’t break my ribs again.”

“That’s a lie!” she sputtered. “I never broke your ribs.”

He rubbed at his barrel. “It felt like it…”

“Whatever.” She turned her nose up at him. “You’re such a wimp.” She grabbed her ball from her toy chest and looked at her brother. “You coming?”

Tormod waved them away, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth and his pencil furiously sketching on the paper. Whatever he was drawing, it took his full attention.

She shrugged. “Come on, Wanderer.” The two raced each other down the stairs, sounding like a herd of cattle stampeding through the home.

Tormod huffed, shook his head, and returned to drawing.

-0-

Tourmaline and Wanderer went to the backyard to play. They preferred their game of wall ball, but Tourmaline’s father objected to constantly having to repair the siding of the home and asked that they find something else to play. The two had come up with a game that involved them kicking the ball high into the air and catching it before it hit the ground. They usually would get scuffed up from diving catches, but they immensely enjoyed their game.

Wanderer bounced the ball a few times with his forelegs. “So how about you let me win for once?”

She snorted. “Oh please. You’ve won a few times.” She pointed an accusatory hoof at him. “In fact, I remember you gloating about it.”

“I don’t gloat. You’ve won the last eight games in a row.” He rolled the ball down his withers then bucked to flip it back to his front hooves.

She chuckled at his show. “If you’d put as much effort into keeping the ball alive as you do showing off, you’d win a few games.” She tossed her head back, flipping her mane out of the way. “Now quit stalling and play.”

Wanderer kicked the ball into the air. “Kind of wish we could go look for our cutie marks.”

Tourmaline ran under the ball and headbutted it upwards. “Me too, but they won’t let us go anywhere to try.”

“Parents can be such a pain, huh?” He bucked the ball again.

She gasped and dove after the ball but missed. She slid across the yard, bits of grass sticking to her fur. “Yeah,” she grumbled. “Point for you.” She tossed the ball back to him.

He lobbed the ball and hit it upward with punch from a forehoof. He looked at her, frowning. “What’s wrong, Tourmaline?”

With a flap of her wings, she kicked the ball skyward. “What do you mean?” she asked, looking back at him.

“You seem so… I don’t know… down lately. It isn’t like you.” He ran under the ball and headbutted it.

“I guess I’m just frustrated.” She hopped and kicked the ball.

“Our cutie marks?” He ran under the ball but misjudged its path, and the ball careened off his forehead. “Ow! One for you.”

She smiled a bit. “Yeah. It’s… just frustrating that you work so hard for something, but you don’t get it no matter how hard you try. We’ve done so much, but still nothing.” She punched the ball back up into the air.

He nodded. “I hear you, sister.”

She glowered at him. “Don’t call me that.”

He stopped at her tone and, missed his shot. “Sorry. Point for you.” He retrieved the ball and tossed it to her. “I agree though. With everything we’ve done and gone through, you’d think we’d have earned something at least. All we seem to do is make everypony mad.”

“Yeah.” She served the ball again and spoke softer. “All the others in school have their cutie marks—even Rogue. What are we doing wrong?” A sad sigh escaped her. “Sometimes I just want to give up looking.”

He looked at her depressed face and scowled. When the ball fell back he punched it hard, sending it flying high into the air. “You should never, ever give up, Tourmaline. Quitters never have anything to be proud of, and I’ll never let you quit—even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming along.”

She was so surprised at him that the ball bounced away completely forgotten. “Would you actually do that?”

“Darn right I would.” When she looked at him, she knew for certain that he meant every word.

A slow smile crept across her face. “You would too.” She retrieved the ball and roughly tossed it to him. “Point for you. Alright, Mr. Never-Quits, let’s see what you can do!”

He grinned. “You better be ready!” He lobbed the ball and kicked it once more.

This time she flew into the air, and instead of kicking it upwards, she kicked it downward. He gasped in surprise and lunged forward, sending the ball back up. Again, she kicked it back at him.

“No fair, Tourmaline!” He dove again to save the ball.

“All you have to do is give up.” She said in a sing-song voice—laughing at his frantic dives to keep the ball alive.

“Never!” he shouted in defiance.

“Have it your way.” She pounded the ball directly at him.

He turned and bucked the ball hard. Tourmaline’s eyes widened in shock as she was forced to dodge the missile.

“Had enough?” he taunted.

“In your dreams,” she taunted back. She let the ball fall past her, grazing it with a wing.

“Gotta return it!”

“Cheater!” He dove and tripped over himself, faceplanting into the grass. The ball bounced and rolled to a stop.

“Give up?” she asked sweetly as she landed next to him.

“…Yes…” he moaned through a mouthful of grass.

She laughed warmly as she helped him to his hooves.

“I’m serious though, Tourmaline. I won’t let you quit, ever,” he said after spitting out the grass.

She smiled a bit. “All right, I’ll do the same for you.”

“You won’t have to, because I never give up.” he stood tall, his expression firm.

She gave him a bemused smirk. “Right, and what did you just do?”

He stamped a hoof and swished his tail in protest. “That doesn’t count!”

“Tourmaline, Wanderer, come inside. It’s time to eat.” Their father called.

“Coming, Dad!” She looked back at Wanderer as he collected the ball. “Dad’s making his famous spicy burritos today.”

The roar from Wanderer’s stomach would have shamed a manticore. “Oh yeah! Race you!” The two took off towards the house at full speed—tearing up chunks of turf in their rush for food.

-0-

After dinner, the foals helped clear the mess of dishes. Tormod’s sketch hung finished on the refrigerator. It was a beautiful sketch of the lake they had visited the day of the timberwolf attack. It was an amazing piece, but it had not earned the colt a cutie mark—much to his chagrin.

“Wanderer, your mom should be here pretty soon, but she said not to expect to go home yet. She wanted to teach you all a bit more on first-aid,” the siblings’ father said to him as they finished cleaning.

“Yes, sir.” First aid was nothing new to him. He liked to boast that he knew basic first aid before he could walk and how to set a bone before he could talk. He knew his mother wanted to teach them in case there was a repeat of what had happened the previous autumn.

Tourmaline grumbled. “Aww…”

“I don’t want to hear it, young lady. Knowing first aid will do you and your brother good,” her father said.

She sulked but reluctantly nodded. Her brother, however, smiled at the idea.

They turned their heads as they heard a knock at the door, and Wanderer’s mom greeted them.

“Mom!” Wanderer shouted and hurried to greet her. She looked exhausted, but she still smiled as her colt gave her a warm hug.

“How was work?” he asked her after she let him go.

“Exhausting. Did you cause any trouble today?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Do I ever?” He grinned. “I was a perfect angel.”

“We’ll see.” She chuckled and tousled his mane. “Get your friends. We’re going over how to wrap a wound.”

“Yes, Mom.”

His mother spent the next fifteen minutes teaching the foals how to staunch a bleeding wound and properly disinfect it before bandaging. Despite her earlier complaint, Tourmaline took to learning with her usual gusto.

The older mare watched them for a time and nodded. “Not bad, you two. Keep practicing while I talk to your father.” She stood and motioned for the older pegasus to join her.

After they left, Wanderer grew curious. He knew eavesdropping was wrong, but his curiosity won out. He snuck closer to the archway to the kitchen to overhear.

“What?!” the pegasus stallion said in surprise, trying to keep his voice low.

“That’s right, one of the trains was robbed earlier. Some of the patients were saying it might have been the same band that’s been causing trouble on the road lately. Witnesses said they saw a large pony who called himself Reaver demanding their valuables.” She gave a tired sigh. “What made it worse this time is that a few passengers were hurt when they tried to resist. Nothing serious, but this band is getting more violent.”

“And the guards are doing nothing?”

“They’re searching, but they had nothing the last I knew. None of them mentioned anything to me. That’s not the worst of it though.” She paused a moment. “The bandits stole the money bound for the Greensborough bank. Without that money, the town’s economy is going to suffer.”

Wanderer heard the pegasus hiss in surprise. “That is bad. The guards need to find them. This town does not need that sort of trouble.”

“No,” she agreed. “Until they do though, it’s going to be rough. We all need to be careful. I don’t want the foals to get hurt.”

There was a pause for a long moment, before he spoke again. “Do you want something to eat? We have plenty of leftovers.”

“I would like that,” she said.

Wanderer gagged at the warm tone, before he was struck with a sudden idea. He rejoined his friends and saw that Tormod had botched up a wrapping job around Tourmaline’s head. Whether it was on purpose, he couldn’t tell.

“You guys won’t believe this,” he whispered excitedly to them.

Tourmaline tugged the wrapping from her mane. “Now what?”

He held his hooves up for them to keep their voices low. “I just heard my mom tell your dad that one of the trains was robbed by bandits. They took off with a lot of money.”

Tormod’s eyebrow shot up. “This is exciting, how?”

“I know how we’re going to get our cutie marks.”

The way he said it caused both of them to realize, with some dread, that he had come up with another crazy idea. “How is that supposed to help us get our cutie marks?” Tourmaline asked.

“Simple, we find the bandits, take back the stolen money, and we come home as heroes,” he said with a simple, easy smile.

They both looked at him as if he had grown a fifth leg. “Wanderer, are you insane? Haven’t you heard the stories? These are criminals, not Rogue and his group, but vicious thugs. How do you plan to do anything about them?” Tormod asked in a flabbergasted tone.

He flattened his ears. “Not fight them. I’m not stupid.”

“That’s debatable,” Tormod muttered.

“Shut it.” Wanderer glowered at his friend. “All we have to do is find them, sneak away with the money, and not get caught.”

“You’re crazy.”

Tourmaline headed off the next argument. “Do you even know where to look, Wanderer?”

“I… got a rough idea. The guards have been looking along the road, but not in the woods. Where the robberies have happened, I know that part of the woods. They have to be around there.”

She tilted her head. “How do you plan to go look? Our parents won’t let us go anywhere on our own.”

Wanderer at his chin, before his eyes sparkled. “We’ll have to sneak out at night. It’s the only way.”

One of Tormod’s eyes twitched. “Wanderer, you—“

“We can do this, Tormod. Don’t you wonder what a cutie mark for being a hero looks like?”

That gave them pause. “I bet it would be cool,” Tourmaline said with a wispy smile.

“You’re not considering this are you?” her brother asked. When she nodded, he looked away, gritting his teeth. “You guys—“

“I’m going to do this, Tormod,” Wanderer’s resolution was obvious in his eyes.

“And I’m going with you,” Tourmaline said, her expression matching his.

Tormod looked between the two, obviously torn. Finally he shook his head vigorously. “No, not me. I’m not doing this again.”

They both look at him with wide eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve followed you two on two other occasions that have gotten us into serious trouble, and I’m not doing it again.”

“But, Tormod, you—“ his sister started.

“Do you remember when the tree spider saved us?” Tormod interrupted her. “If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t be here now.”

Wanderer looked at him with an incredulous scowl. “You’re thinking of that now?”

“Why are you not?” Tormod countered.

“What for? We made it out alright. What is there to think about?”

Tormod gave him a stern look. “What if we didn’t?”

Wanderer snorted. “If if’s were fifths—“

Tormod’s glare hardened. “Do you have any idea what that saying means?”

Wanderer shrugged. “Not a clue. I just know when it’s used.”

“Still, think what could have happened if we didn’t. Our parents might not have ever found us, or found what remained of us.”

Wanderer crossed his forelegs with an irritated huff. “What’s your point?”

“My point is, do you remember how your mom acted when she found you?”

“She wanted to strangle me,” Wanderer mumbled.

“Because she was scared. I saw her cry and how my dad was crying. I just… “ Tormod mumbled as he looked at the floor. “I don’t want to see that again.”

The other two lowered their heads. “I haven’t seen Dad cry before,” Tourmaline admitted.

“Or Mom…” Wanderer agreed.

Tormod nodded. “Just think how it would have been if the spider never saved us? How would they be if it hadn’t?”

Wanderer gave him a look. “You’re really putting a damper on this.”

“Good!” he hissed through clenched teeth. “I’m at least trying to remember what Princess Celestia told us about thinking things through!”

He looked between them for a moment before he sighed, letting out his stress. “Look… all I’m saying is that we at least need to think of what we’re doing before we do it. I’m not saying we should stop going into the forest for our cutie marks, just… we need to do it right.”

The two huffed and nodded slowly, and Tormod sighed with relief. “We’ll get our cutie marks, don’t worry, you guys.”

They looked up as their parents walked into the room, and as talk and the first aid lessons began again, Tourmaline and Wanderer shared a knowing look and nod.

-0-

Later that night, Wanderer and Tourmaline met outside their schoolhouse. They had packed a few necessities for their trip: some foodstuffs, water, and a pair of small crystals that gave off a little light when tapped. Despite his earlier confidence, Wanderer silently worried that he might be biting off more than he could chew. Even with these doubts, he knew he was not going to back down. A deep-down feeling told him he was doing the right thing, and he was going to follow that feeling.

“You got everything?” Tourmaline asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Yeah, even got my knife.” He fished out a small multi-purpose pocket knife that he had received as a birthday present.

“Hope we won’t need it,” she muttered and looked around the foggy school yard. “So which way are we going?”

He rubbed his chin at the question. His mind told him he should head for the road that lead out of town, but his gut was telling him he should head for the woods.

“Let’s head for the woods. They have to have a camp out there.”

She nodded, and they stealthily made their way to the part of the woods where the road out of the town lead to the wider plains of Equestria. They used the light of their crystals to see where they were going. The low light helped illuminate their way but was not bright enough to attract attention.

Once they reached the fringe of the woods, they paused, looking to the towering trees again. The darkened woods loomed above them, and a feeling of foreboding fell over them. They both jumped as a voice sounded from behind them.

“Are you really going to do this?” Tormod asked as he stepped from around the last building. The unicorn had his saddlebag tied to his back, but the look he gave the two was as serious as they had ever seen.

“We didn’t think you’d come,” Wanderer said, glancing past the unicorn to see if there was anyone else hiding nearby.

“I didn’t want to,” he admitted. “But I’m not about to let you two go alone. Without me, you’d both be lost in nothing flat.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” his sister muttered.

Wanderer knew his friend was going to try to dissuade him, not out of fear for himself, but fear of his friend—and more importantly, of his sister. They could all very well get hurt in this crazy stunt. Wanderer sympathized with his friend, but he was not turning back.

He stood tall. “I’m here, and I’m going.”

Tourmaline gave him a cocky smile. “I’m right behind you.”

Tormod looked between them and sighed. “Alright, let’s go then.”

As they stepped under the trees, Tourmaline bumped her brother playfully. “Glad you came.”

He rolled his eyes. “Trust me, I didn’t want to.”

“And for not telling dad.”

“Oh, I left a note. And told him where we’ve gone, how long we intended to be gone, and to look for a certain mark to show where we’re going. I am not throwing caution to the wind like you two are.”

She shook her head helplessly, but Wanderer spoke. “Probably a good idea.”

-0-

At Wanderer’s home, Chewie was returning to the colt’s room after a midnight snack. The cat always enjoyed sleeping with his pony companion. The colt was heavy sleeper and didn’t move around much, making it perfect for the cat to find a warm spot to curl up in and snooze.

Chewie pushed his way into the bedroom and realized right away that something was missing. Hopping on the bed, the cat was surprised to see the colt gone. He had heard him moving around upstairs, but thought the colt had made his way to the room with the odd bowl of water the ponies used instead of a litter box. The cat then saw the window had been opened and a quick look outside showed the colt was nowhere to be seen.

Worriedly, the cat went to the room where the colt’s mother slept. Chewie never tried to sleep with her, she constantly moved about and tossed him out of the room when he woke her. Slipping inside the door, he lept on the bed and walked towards the sleeping mare’s head and meowed.

“Mm…” she mumbled.

The cat rubbed his head against her chin.

“Mmph… go away, Chewie,” she muttered with a groggy voice.

He again rubbed up against her nose.

She sneezed and tossed him to the floor with a charge of her horn. “Let me sleep, dang cat.”

The cat stubbornly hopped back on the bed, and instead of the gentle approach, he put one paw on her upraised cheek and flexed his claws.

“OW! I’m up!” She brushed the cat away and sat up in bed, and yawned. “Did Wanderer forget to feed you again?”

The cat ran out of the room and down the hallway. With an irritated mutter she slid out of bed and wrapped herself in a robe as she left her room. She walked by her son’s room to check on him.

The boy was a free spirit, something he inherited from her, she privately admitted. It caused more grief than she thought possible. While she appreciated his lust for life, she wished he wasn’t so reckless. She often wondered if her own mother had thought the same of her.

Another yawn took her, as she pushed the door open a bit to peer inside. She furrowed her brow as she saw his bed was empty, and his cat sitting on the open window seal. She looked down the hallway to the bathroom, but saw the door was open and the light was off.

“Wanderer?” She looked through the room.

“Wanderer,” she called from the stairs. She checked the lower floor, calling for him, her concern quickly growing.

“Wanderer, this is not funny. Where are you?” she called, fear rising up in her chest.

The frantic mare ran back upstairs for any clues that might tell her where he had gone. She tore his room apart, still calling for him. She noticed that his bag was not hanging on its peg, as well as his pocket knife he kept on his desk. She rushed to the window and called out for him.

When nothing came back, she ran downstairs and for galloped for his friend’s house. She prayed to Celestia that he was there and he was safe.

-0-

The furious pounding on his door had him stumbling down the stairwell in his haste to answer the door. The sibling’s father opened it to see Wanderer’s mother looking at him with wide frantic eyes.

“Mrs—“ he began.

She cut him off. “Is Wanderer here?”

He blinked, trying to clear his head of sleep. “Wanderer? No, he went home with you. What happened?”

Tears were rimming her eyes. “He’s not at home. I can’t find him!”

He stepped aside to let her in. “I’ll go upstairs and ask the foals. Take a seat and try to calm down. I’m sure he just went for a walk.”

She sat down on the couch, holding her face as she tried to ease her frayed nerves. He shook his head at the sight—the worry that colt of hers put her through was enough to age the stallion from just watching her.

As he opened the door to his daughter’s room, he peered inside and frowned. Her bed lay empty, the covers tossed negligently to the floor. Frowning, he tried his son’s room and found it just as bare, though the bed was neatly made, not that he cared at this point.

“Tormod! Tourmaline! Come out, or I will tan your hides!” He searched the rooms upstairs for them, but found nothing. He looked down the hall and saw Wanderer’s mom at the top of the stairs looking at him worriedly.

“They’re not here!” he yelled.

A quick search of their rooms shown that their packs were missing as well, but, in Tormod’s room, they found a folded piece of parchment on the colt’s bed. They quickly unfolded it and read the small note.

Dad,

If you found this note, it means we didn’t get home before dawn like planned. Don’t worry though, I’ll tell you where we have gone. We went to the northeastern part of the forest, north of the road, to look for something important. Look for this symbol, the line will tell you which direction we have gone based on a compass. We won’t go far, I will make sure of it. I’ll bring them home.Love, Tormod.

Their father almost crumpled up the note in his frustration.

“Tell me they didn’t!”

“The woods!” she cried. The two galloped out of the home and towards the northeastern wood’s fringe. When they got there they called out for the foals, but were met with silence.

“No, no, no, where could they have gone?” the mare asked, desperately searching the tree’s for Tormod’s mark. She wanted nothing more than to rush into the trees after them, but reason prevailed her emotion.

Gritting his teeth, their father forced himself to calm down. “All right, keep calm. We’ll get the guard and—“

“By Celestia’s mane!” the mare cried out, her eyes wide. The stallion turned, and his jaw dropped. The lower branches of the trees were moving, not by the wind—as there was none—but of their own accord. The branches all moved and bent until they pointed in a certain direction.

“W-What is that?” he stuttered after a moment.

“Are they… pointing?” She looked at the branches for a stunned moment before looking at him. “Do you think they are telling us where to go?”

The stallion shrugged, clearly at a loss. “I don’t know. I’ll go get the guard, then we’ll find out.”

Author's Note:

Here we go. The first of three chapters for the final arc. Lets see what they get themselves into.

Comments

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Oh, you three crazy kids. And not in a good way, mind.

Are those medical skills a bit of a Chekhov's gun, here?

[Zodiacspear]

5389466 Without spoiling much, they will see their uses. Even if it is not straightaway.

Oh, you three crazy kids. And not in a good way, mind.

Got to love the thought process of little kids. Everything makes sense if put in a certain way. No wonder my own parents wanted to strangle me more often than not when I was young.

[Fistfire]

Well, its holding my inererst so far.