Hoofswell that Ends Well

by SpearmintSonnet

Splitting the party is a bad idea, right?

The next morning dawned bright and early, and Minty was up with the sun as is common of pegasi. When she shifted, she realized she'd placed her wing across Dove sometime in the night, though she couldn't exactly remember when. Feeling embarrassed, she pulled her wings tight against her sides as she quickly stood up and moved towards the dying fire. It had lasted through most of the night, but now all that remained of the blaze were a few warm coals. Deciding not to stoke the fire, Minty instead turned towards her saddlebags for a quick bite to eat.

“Don't bother,” Dove said with a smile as she sat up, having been woken up by the cool air rushing over her when Minty had retracted her wing, “I brought pineapple for everypony to share today.” Reaching into her bag with her magic, she pulled out two wonderfully ripe pineapples. Forming her signature carving knife, she began to deftly cut off the spiky skin of the fruit before cutting it into thick slices. She handed the first few slices to Minty who took them eagerly.

“Mmmmm, it's so good,” she sighed, licking some of the golden juice from her hooves before accepting a second slice. “Is all the fruit from Ponyville this amazing? First apples, now pineapples!”

Dovetail chuckled, “I don't know about all the fruit, but I've never had any bad food since moving into Ponyville.”

“I might have to convince my sister to move down to Ponyville after this is all done,” Minty said, brushing her hoof along her mouth.

“You have a sister?” Dove asked, sitting next to the other mare as she finished slicing the first pineapple, setting what they weren't eating on a wooden plate.

“Two, actually,” Minty nodded, “one older, one younger. I'm living with my older sister, Aurora. She's an aspiring singer and she does pretty well for herself... but she's a little flaky and can't hold a bill-paying job to save her life. She keeps insisting that it's because she's going to make the 'big time' soon and she doesn't want to be 'tied down' when that happens.” the mare chuckled, “which is why I'm living with her at the moment. I may not like it, but weather patrol pays.”

“And what about your younger sister?” Dove asked, interested.

“Skylark? She's still just a filly.” Minty smiled, “still hasn't found her cutie mark yet, but I think she's close. She's been doing artistic flying with some of the other fillies at school and she seems to enjoy it a lot. If that did end up being her talent, it'd make our dad happy.”

“Your father doesn't approve of what you and Aurora do?”

“Oh no, I didn't mean that,” Minty shook her head, “no, no, he's perfectly fine with what Aurora and I are doing... er... most of it, at least. Anyway, my father's an athlete. He always wanted a son to follow in his footsteps and be an amazing athlete like him, but he's never not been proud of us fillies.” She smiled, “he just wanted somepony to take up his line of work. If Skylark takes on competitive acrobatics, it'll be like a dream come true.”

“I see,” Dove smiled, “was your mother an artist then? Is that where you got your talent?”

“My mother is a pianist,” Minty explained, “she's done a lot of different things throughout her life, but I don't know if she ever dabbled in visual mediums.”

Blazer yawned and stretched loudly, interrupting the mares' conversation as he woke up. “'Morning ladies,” he yawned, rubbing his eyes with a hoof.

“Morning Blazer,” the two mares said together, Dove adding, “sleep well?”

“Mmmm,” the stallion murmured indecisively, “I'll tell you when I wake up a bit more.” Turning around, he grabbed his saddlebags and started rummaging inside for the apples he'd brought with him.

Dove gestures to the plate of pineapple slices in front of her, “if you'd like some, I brought enough for everypony.” She said with a smile.

Blazer glanced up, “Oh... n-no thanks. I have... uh... allergies?” He ducked his head back into his bags, pulling out a bright red apple in his teeth.

The mare's ears drooped, “Oh... well... alright then...”

Blazer blushed slightly as he quickly set the apple down, “I... I mean... I'd probably eat the whole thing if you let me have some...”

“That's okay. I brought two,” She points to the second, whole pineapple sitting next to her saddlebags where she'd left it.

Across the small campsite, Striker was still sleeping. He rolled over onto his back, his hind legs kicking up into the air as if he were fighting off an enemy in his sleep. He muttered something none of the other ponies could hear before rolling onto his other side and snoring loudly.

Minty giggled, “think I should wake him up?”

Dove shook her head, “only if you want to, I think he deserves his sleep.”

“He probably slept better than the rest of us,” Minty said, rising to her hooves, “He can wake up with us.” Moving around the dampened fire pit, she poked him with a hoof, “Hey sleepy head, wake up! Dove has breakfast.” She had to jump back a half step as the large pegasus rolled back over towards her.

“Mmmm... you wanted me to do... what Princess?” He murmured drowsily, his eyes fluttering slightly as he continued to doze.

“Dove... Has... Breakfast...” Minty persisted, her hoof poking his stomach at each word. “Wake... Up!”

Striker's eyes blinked open and he stared up at the green mare blankly, “huh?”

“We're having breakfast. You want any or are you going to sleep all morning?”

At the mention of food, Striker stood bolt upright, his eyes wide and awake, “Food? I'm there!” He said excitedly. Minty pointed with her hoof to where Dove was sitting with the pineapple and before she could say another word, Striker had lifted into the air and flown the short distance between himself and the unicorn. With barely a “good morning” passing his lips, he began to wolf down slices of pineapple two at a time. “Oh! This is so good!” He exclaimed.

Dovetail giggled, her cheeks tuning a pale shade of rose as she quickly began to cut up the other pineapple with her magic, refilling the plate not nearly fast enough for Striker, but it gave him time to talk between bites. “Careful,” she said with a smile, “eat too fast and you'll make yourself sick.”

“Not this stallion!” Striker said proudly, tapping his chest firmly with a hoof. “I could eat like this all day, every day and I'd never get sick!”

“Hey leave a little for the rest of us,” Minty said, walking back around the fire pit to grab a slice from Dove's magic before it hit the plate. “Dove brought it to share, ya know.”

Striker had the decency to blush slightly, “Sorry Minty. I thought you'd had your share.”

“It's okay, Striker,” Minty grinned, “I'm just giving you a hard time.”

“What about you, Blazer?” Striker asked, turning to the other stallion who was eating his third apple. “Did you want any pineapple?”

“Eh.. no, you can have my share, Striker.” Blazer smiled slightly before turning his attention to the east where the sun was beginning to rise over the mountains. “Wow, I've never seen a sunrise like this before. The tall buildings in Manehatten always block it.”

“You were from Manehatten?” Minty asked, sitting down next to the stallion, her last slice of pineapple finished.

“Mmmhmmm...” Blazer smiled. “Born and raised.”

“That's pretty cool.” Minty smiled, “Did you like it there?”

“I suppose,” Blazer shrugged, taking another bite of his apple, “I mean, a lot of my friends lived there... and there was also... her...” His eyes became distant as he stared at the sunrise, “but I think I like country life better.” He admitted with a small shake of his head. “Much slower. Less stuff to worry about.”

“Yeah, country life can be a lot slower than city life,” Minty agreed, “some might call it more boring too.”

“I don't,” Blazer said, “well... maybe a little, but boring isn't bad. I'll be honest, I didn't initially want to leave Manehatten, but my parents all but forced me out of my house. Didn't want to keep buying my groceries, I guess...” he tried to laugh, but it was forced, “I moved to Ponyville about a week ago, after getting some “starting bits” from my parents, and... here I am!”

“Do you ever plan to go back to Manehatten?” Minty asked.

It was an innocent question, but Blazer's back tensed and his eyes hardened before he replied, “No... I never want to go back...” He paused and shook his head, “I-I mean, not that I hate my family or anything... it's just... it's personal.”

Minty nodded slightly, her voice quieting to a whisper, “Is it... because of...” she paused, not wanting to hurt her friend by asking, but her curiosity was stronger, “her?”

Blazer's eyes narrowed and his nodded slowly, “You could say that.” Standing up, he turned away from Minty, “but that was a long time ago and I'd rather not talk about it.”

“Alright,” Minty said quietly. She smiled, “Well... I'm glad you're here.”

Blazer turned back and smiled, too, his face relaxing again, “So am I.”

“Hey Dove!” Striker voice echoed strangely and all three ponies turned to see what he was doing. The stallion had stuck his head into Dove's enchanted bag and was rummaging around inside, “how much stuff can you fit in these things? They're huge!”

“Well, as much stuff as I need them to, Striker,” Dove said quickly, standing up and moving over to him, “they're enchanted remember?”

“Enchanted, huh? Yeah! You said that, didn't you?” He moved a little farther into the bag, his voice becoming more distant as he did so, “you must be really good at magic then! Fire, carving, and enchanting! You're amazing!”

“Actually,” Dove blushed, “I didn't enchant these bags. Twilight did it for me. She's the one who's really talented at magic.”

“Huh, well, doesn't make you any less amazing,” Striker said. Now he had his head and two front hooves inside the bag. “It seems like this place goes on forever!”

“I don't think you should go any farther,” Dove said apprehensively, reaching a hoof out to stop him, “You don't want to fall in there.”

Striker pulled his head out from the bag and grinned, “What are you worried about? I just think it's really cool!”

“Cool or not, we really should get going,” Blazer said, “if we want to make it through the pass before noon.”

“Well, when you're right, you're right,” Striker grinned, pulling his hooves from the bag. Dove gave a sigh of relief as she stepped back away from him before picking up the bags in her magic and settling them across her flanks. “Well then, let's goooooo!” Striker shouted as he lifted off into the early morning sky, the sun shimmering gold and red off his brilliant silver armor.

The three ponies below followed quickly on hoof as the energetic stallion continued his aerobatics show from the previous day. Flying high and swooping low, he whooped and hollered uproariously. As they reached the shadow of the Drackenridge Mountains, his shouts began to echo off the cliffs making it sound as if there was a second, slightly less excitable, Striker hiding amid the crags.

As they reached the entrance to the Pass, Striker landed with one final whoop. Shaking out his feathers he grinned at Blazer. The yellow stallion was walking a few paces behind the mares and his head was drooping slightly as he gazed at the dirt tack. “Hey, Blazer! How are you holding up?”

The dark maned stallion's head jerked up, “Oh, just a bit tired.” He smiled weakly, “but it's the morning. It'll pass. You?”

“I'm great!” Striker grinned, “a good early morning flight is exactly what the ol' wings need!” He glanced back at the girls who were slowly ascending into the Pass. “So... what's up with those two? Minty seems like an awesome pony, but Dove...” He paused, shifting slightly on his hooves.

“What about her?” Blazer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well... she's just so shy, you know? But she's good at what she does.” He indicated the wooden rose he still had tucked into his armor. “I just... I don't get it.”

Blazer rolled his eyes and tossed his mane, “Mares are all like that. You think you know everything about them, but there are always more mysteries.” He shook his head, If I have to keep talking about mares I'm never going to forget about her...

“Huh, well that's true, I guess.” Striker agreed.

“Have you at least picked up on Dove?” Blazer asked, taking steps to follow the mares up into the Pass, the conversation having driven all fearful thoughts about traversing the mountains from his thoughts.

“Picked up... what?” The other stallion followed, a blank look on his face.

Only sheer will kept Blazer's front hoof from slamming painfully into his forehead, “I mean... you know...” Striker only shook his head, the same blank look on his face. “Ugh... Why do you think she's always blushing around you?”

This time Striker shrugged, “because she's shy?”

“No! Because she likes you!” Blazer sighed heavily, grateful that the mares were out of earshot.

“What? Really?” Striker's eyes widened and, as he glanced up at the tan mare walking a distance ahead of him, he blushed. “How do you know?”

“She told me yesterday when you were talking with Minty.” Blazer confessed, “I was going to wait until she talked with you first, but since she's shy and you're clueless...” he sighed, “I figured you had a right to know.”

“Well... ah...” Striker stammered, searching for something to say.

“You like her don'tcha?” Blazer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well... I mean... that's to say she's a really nice mare and... I just...” He paused and took a breath, “what would I even say to a mare like her? She's so shy!”

Blazer smiled and put a hoof on his friend's shoulder, “just tell her. Tell her how you feel.” He sighed, his expression changing slightly for a moment to something melancholy before he shook his head and smiled again. “If she likes you, she'll respond well.”

“I guess you're right...” Striker said slowly. “Maybe.... maybe I'll talk to her later.”

From up ahead, Minty hollered, “Hey! Are you guys going to just meander around all day or are we going to get through this pass?”

“Sorry!” Blazer shouted back, picking up the pace to close the gap. The mares waited for both stallions to catch up before moving on again, not giving them much time to catch their breath. “Hey... hey Minty,” Blazer said, panting slightly as he fell into step with the green mare. “How's your wing doing today? Any better?”

Minty gently extends her wing and smiles, “yeah, I think it's doing better.”

“That's good to hear,” Dove smiled at her friend and Striker nodded his agreement as well, but his thoughts were clearly elsewhere as he watched the unicorn mare closely.

The group soon reached the highest point of the pass, the rocky path leading down to a narrow plain below before running straight into the Tambelon Forest. Dove swallowed hard, “I... I didn't think we'd reach the forest so soon...” she murmured.

“That's the Tambelon Forest?” Minty asked, her voice quiet, “it looks a lot like the Everfree Forest back home.”

Striker nodded as he started down the lee side of the slope, “yeah, almost exactly the same. It's just yet another forest ponies don't have control over. But for different reasons, if legends are to be believed.”

Blazer glanced at Minty with an eyebrow raised in confusion, “Everfree... I've heard that name before. Where is it?”

“It's the forest just outside Ponyville,” Dove said, following after Striker carefully. “It's... not exactly a friendly forest.”

The yellow stallion swallowed, “yeah... I was afraid you'd say something like that...” He glanced at Striker, “are there a lot of dangerous creatures living here as well?”

“Possibly,” The white pegasus shrugged, “truth be told, I've never been inside to see. Just irregular fly-overs to make sure nothing's amiss.”

“I... I see...”

The four ponies walked down the sloped pass in silence, focusing on keeping their footing on the uneven ground. It was the only thing to keep their minds off traveling through the dangerous, uncharted Tambelon Forest. But all too soon, their hooves moved from rocky ground to soft grass and they were faced with the looming inevitability of traversing the woods.

“Seems like we made better time than I thought,” Striker said quietly, even he was feeling intimidated by the enormity of the woods.

Dove glanced up at the sky. The sun had barely reached its zenith. It was far too early to call it a day, even though she desperately wanted to.

Maybe I shouldn't have been so eager to get going this morning, Blazer thought to himself as he stared into the forest. He couldn't see very far, maybe a hundred feet, before the woods began to blur together in the darkness.

Minty tapped her hoof on the ground, not out of impatience, but because she was nervous as well. She didn't relish the idea of walking through the woods, but the thought of flying over was just as terrifying. Caught between a rock and a hard place, she thought bleakly.

“We should keep moving,” Striker said firmly, drawing attention back to himself as he stretched his wings slowly. “If we spend too much time here, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to get through and it'll be safer once we're on the other side of the forest.”

“W-what makes you say that?” Blazer asked, half curious, half terrified of the answer.

“We've got the mountains to our backs, Blazer,” the other stallion answered, “there are magical creatures that live there, too. I'd rather not have a dragon and a manticore fighting over who gets first bite.”

Blazer swallowed, “y-yeah... that doesn't sound... ah... pleasant.” Both mares agreed with silent nods.

“So, are we ready to tackle this forest everypony?” Striker grinned his infectious and courageous grin.

“Y-yeah.” Blazer grinned back, trying to look more confident than he felt.

Dovetail smiled at Striker, her cheeks flushing slightly as he turned his grin on her and winked. “Striker's right. We need to get going before the sun goes down. We really don't want to be caught in the forest after dark.” She glanced between Striker and Minty before saying, “maybe you two should fly ahead, over the forest? You could scout anything dangerous and wait for us on the other side.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Striker said, turning to Minty. “What do you think?”

“Um...” Minty glanced up at the trees. “I- I guess?”

“Alright then! Come on Minty!” Striker leaped up and flew quickly over the trees and out of sight.

“W-wait!” Minty stammered, “what if one of us flew ahead and the other flew over. We have two pegasi here. We could do that...”

“I don't think we should let one pony fly all alone, even Striker,” Blazer said. “We're pretty far from any cities here, we don't want anypony lost or hurt.”

“Blazer's right, Minty.” Dove agreed. “Don't worry about us, just keep Striker out of trouble, okay?”

Minty smiled weakly, “I'll do my best. You two stay out of trouble, too, okay?”

“Okay,” Dove smiled, hoping she looked braver than she felt as the young pegasus lifted off and flew after Striker. Turning to Blazer she nodded towards the woods, “well, we better not fall behind.”

“Y-yeah...”

As the pair walk determinedly into the forest, the sunlight streams down through the branches, lighting the way before them well for a time, but as they move farther and farther into the trees, the sunlight grows dimmer. Less and less sunlight makes its way through the dense canopy above until the only light around them is eerie, green, and dim, lighting only a few feet around them in any direction. Both glanced around each other, constantly wondering if there were Timber Wolves or Cockatrices watching them from the shadows. Dove shivered as a cool wind blew through the woods. She glanced back at Blazer, his eyes were wide as dinner plates as his gaze darted this way and that, never staying still.

“So... nice weather?” She said slowly, trying not to startle the panicked stallion with her conversation. Her voice echoed unnaturally in the dense woods, despite her low tone.

Blazer jumped slightly, but nodded, “yeah...” Their words echo around them, repeating their conversation hundreds of times as the sound bounces between the trees before eventually fading away into silence again.

“The... the Ruins of Tambelon should be up here soon,” Dove said even quieter than before and she was grateful that the eerie echoes did not pick up her words this time.

“R-ruins of Tambelon?” Blazer asked, a shudder passing through him as yet another gust of wind stirred the trees around them.

“Yes... do you know anything about them?” Dove asked, glancing back at her friend.

“N-not a thing,” he shook his head, “just the name creeps me out.”

“Some ponies think it's the remains of an ancient civilization that predates Nightmare Moon and even the Era of Discord,” Dovetail said. “Some even think there are still creatures living there... in the ruins.”

Blazer shuddered again, “that's creepy! Why are you bringing this up now?”

“Because... the fastest way through these woods is on the path that leads to, through, and beyond those ruins.”

“Is there no other way through?” Blazer asked weakly.

Dove shook her head, “not unless you want to be lost, wondering these woods for days.”

The stallion shuddered, “no, no thank you! I'll take creepy ruins over endless wandering any day.”

“I agree,” Dove said quietly as they pushed through the last bushes protecting the path they were on from the open clearing beyond.

Stepping into the ruins, it was impossible to tell the size of the clearing. Crumbling towers and shattered homes were scattered haphazardly across the enormous space. The sun shone down again on the pair of ponies, but for once, it didn't feel warm. In fact, it now seemed colder than when they had been walking through the woods. Dove's shoulders shook as she lead the way down the most defined stone walkway that seemed to lead directly through the ruins. Blazer glances around at the buildings, jumping in his skin each time he hears a noise.

“This place is creepy,” he whispered, almost too quietly to be heard.

Dove nodded in agreement and both ponies remained silent after that, feeling as though their very presence was stirring up old bones that should not be disturbed. They had just reached the center of the ruins when both ponies felt a chill run up their spine. Different from before, they suddenly felt like there were dozens of eyes watching them from the crumbling homes. Dove glances back at Blazer nodding for him to keep up as she broke into a quick canter, “we- we just need... to stay calm...” she murmured to herself as they moved faster through the ruins.

Dove was rounding a corner when the building to her left began to crumble before her eyes, large segments of the upper floors fell crashing to the ground, lifting clouds of dust and rock into the air around them. Startled and fearful of what might have caused such a collapse, Dovetail lost all pretense of staying calm and shouted back at Blazer, “RUN!”

~~~

Striker was flying lazily above the forest, a blanket of green stretching out for miles in every direction. Above him, the sky was brilliantly blue and free of clouds. He sighed happily as he flipped over onto his back, letting the warm air carrying him along for a moment. He looked back and smiled as he watched Minty hurrying to catch up, “Good to see you finally up in the air! Doesn't it feel great?” He asked with a grin, righting himself and slowing down to fly next to her.

“Y-yeah it does...” Minty smiled slightly, but it wasn't the ecstatic and relaxed response he had been expecting.

Unwilling to let his good mood be affected by her indifference, Striker pulling his wings in slightly and rolled several times to his right, letting out a yell of delight, “Ah yeeeeeeaaaah!”

As Minty watched him move effortlessly from the rolls into a vertical climb, she sighed enviously. He was completely at home in the sky, never fearing what might happen if his wings would fail him, because his never would. She wished she could have that same effortless belief, but with each wing beat, she could feel the age-old ache in her bones, and old reminder that she'd never be able to fly like other pegasi.

The stallion dove back down towards Minty, flaring his wings at the last moment before banking slightly to come up next to her again, “Come on, Minty!” He grinned, “Have a little fun while we're up here! We don't have much longer before we reach the edge of the forest. Let's see what you've got!”

She wanted desperately to say, “yes! Show me a trick, I want to learn!” but as she opened her mouth, her right wing twinged and she grimaced instead. “No... I don't think that'd be a good idea.”

“Aww, come on! Just do a barrel roll! It's easy. Like this,” Striker rolled once to his right before rolling back towards the other pegasus. “Just... Live a little Minty! Just one! Pleaseeeeeee! You'll be fine!”

Minty blushed as she shook her head, “Striker... I... I can't. I never learned.”

His mouth opened and shut several times as he tried to comprehend what she just said, “You... never learned how to roll in the air?” He finally managed.

She shook her head, “nope.”

“Well, would you like to?” Striker asked. “I mean... I'm not much of a flight instructor, but it's pretty easy,” he grinned, “and so much fun! You should try at least. Every pegasus should know how to have fun in the air.”

Minty nodded, but as she did so, her gaze caught the trees below. Her face blanched and she shook her head, lifting it so that the open sky filled her view, “I'll fall,” she said quietly.

Striker flew a little closer to her, “No you won't. I promise. You're an awesome flier. Besides, we're way up in the air, if you do start to fall, I'll catch you.”

“Promise?” she asked, her eyes wide and pleading.

“Promise,” Striker agreed with a firm nod. “On my honor as a REA flyboy!”

A small smile began to cross her face, “o-okay then...” she took a breath and shifted her wings the way she'd watched other pegasi do hundreds of times in the past. It was so quick, she almost missed it- as soon as her wings shifted, her body rolled through the air, flipping around rapidly until she was upright again. With a laugh, she glanced over at Striker, “I... I did it! I really did it!”

The other pegasus beamed at her, “see? I knew you could do it!” He flew over to her and smiled, “wasn't that fun?”

She nodded, eyes wide with excitement, “can you show me another move?”

Striker laughed, “oh no! What have I unleashed? It seems we have a daredevil mare here!” He winked, “okay, try this one!” He took one heavy stroke of his wings and threw himself up into the air, curing his back and flipping around in a backwards loop-de-loop.

Minty nodded, a fire in her eyes as he came back up next to her, “alright! Lemmie give it a shot.” As she shoved her wings down to get more height, she felt the same twinge in her right wing as before, oh no you don't! She thought angrily, pushing herself higher and farther into the trick. She felt herself cresting the top of the loop when she glanced down at the tree tops. Suddenly, she felt her mind go blank. Her wings locked in place and immediately the air that had been keeping her aloft began to slide between her feathers. She dropped like a rock towards the ground.

“Minty!” Striker cried out as he dove towards her, “I'm coming Minty! Hang on!”

She couldn't hear him, even if the wind hadn't been rushing passed her ears. She was locked in a memory, a terrifying and painful memory. All she could do was close her eyes and wait for the moment replayed infinitely in her mind to be replayed in reality once again. But instead of hitting the hard, unforgiving wood of trees and branches, she felt herself slam heavily into steel. “Owww...” she moaned quietly as the air was pushed forcefully from her lungs. She glanced up and saw Striker's large green eyes watching her intently, full of worry and fear.

“Are you okay? What happened up there?”

Minty opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a quiet sob, “oh Striker...” she murmured, “I'm so sorry...”

“No no...” Striker shook his head quickly, “no you did nothing wrong. Don't apologize. Just please... what happened? It looked like you just kinda... locked up.”

Minty shivered as she righted herself on his back, “I... I just... I got scared...” she said quietly, “the... the trees... the ground...” she shuddered.

“It's okay now, just breathe,” his voice was quiet and soothing. “We're reaching the edge of the forest now. We'll land and then we can talk, okay?”

The young mare just nodded silently, as she watched the forest thinning below her. It happened again... I knew it was only a matter of time...

Striker landed heavily, not used to carrying the weight of an extra pony on his back. I'm just glad we didn't have to fly much farther, he thought to himself. Don't know if I would have made it. Glancing back at Minty again, he wasn't surprised to see she'd jumped off his back and was standing facing away from him. “Minty...” he said quietly. “What happened?”

“I... I told you... I got scared...” she said, still facing away.

“That's not what I mean.” Striker stepped over to her, “what happened to make you freeze up like that. I've seen pegasi balk at a reverse flip before, but never so much that they plummet. Talk to me, Minty, please.”

Minty sighed and glanced at the forest, “W-when I was a filly... not even old enough to get my cutie mark, I was dared by some of my... 'friends'... to stand out on the wisps.”

“The wisps?” Striker asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It's what we call the outer most layer of clouds in pegasi cities,” Minty explained. “It's where everything is too loose and unstable to build. A lot of the wisps are too loose to walk on, too. That's... that's why I fell. I went out too far, to prove I wasn't scared, and... one moment I was standing on firm clouds, easily able to hold the weight of a filly, then next I was falling. I barely remember taking that step, but I must have.

“I fell so far... so fast, I couldn't get my wings out to slow my fall. I thought that if I could open one, it'd slow me enough to lessen the pressure on the other and I'd be fine.”

“But doing that...” Striker's eyes widened.

“Yes,” Minty nodded, “it sent me into a tight spiral. I might have been able to catch myself before that, but after entering that spiral... I couldn't tell up from down, left from right, and by the time I hit the trees...” she shook her head. “with my right wing out, it broke almost instantly. It did do one thing for me, though, I was moving slow enough that I didn't die from the impact. I fell to the ground wing broken, scared, and in the middle of the Everfree.”

“How'd you get home?” he asked quietly.

“I was found by a strange Zebra who lives in those woods. I don't remember her name, but she was a herbalist. She splinted my wing and gave me a tonic to lessen the pain. My parents came and found me a few hours later. After that... everything's a blur. I remember being in the hospital in Ponyville- my parents thought it better that I see a unicorn doctor rather than a pegasus because of the state of my wing. They were probably right. A lot of ponies told me that I was lucky that I can use it at all.” The mare shrugged, “the rest is history, I guess.”

They were silent for a moment before Striker said, “you did awesome up there. And you looked like you were having a lot of fun. You've just gotta get back up in the air and try again because I know you can!” He smiled down at her, but Minty shook her head.

“I... I don't think I can...”

“You did that barrel roll in one try! It took me five to get it right in training camp. And my drill instructor never caught me,” he grinned. “I know you can do more if you just try.”

“Maybe...” Minty said quietly to her hooves, “but no promises... okay?”

Striker laid down with a sigh, “that's fine, but I really think you should try sometime... not now, of course. I need a break, not used to flying for two.” Minty chuckled quietly, joining him on the soft earth. He was quiet a moment before glancing back at her, “Hey Minty...?”

“Hmmm?”

“Don't you think they should have made it here by now? No... it's been too long, they definitely should have been here by now.” He stood up and shook his wings out. “I'm going to go look for them.”

“B-but Blazer said we shouldn't split up!” Minty tried to get to her hooves, but Striker put a hoof on her shoulder.

“No, you're staying here. You look like you need the rest.”

“But you're the one who just said you're not used to flying for two!” Minty argued. “I can fly just fine! I just won't do any fancy tricks!”

“Stay here, Minty. That's an order,” Striker's eyes narrowed. “I'm fine. Besides, I need somepony to stay here in case they come out of the woods before I find them.”

Minty glared at the other pony a moment, the words “I'm not one of your soldiers” on her lips, but she sighed as her knees decided she was better off on the ground, “fine... just be careful... okay?”

“That I can do,” Striker smiled before dashing off into the forest.

~~~

“Dovetail! Wait!” Blazer hollered after the frightened mare. “Keep to the path!”

But Dove couldn't hear him over the sound her own panting. Eyes wide in panic, she ran recklessly down the streets, trying desperately to escape the hundreds of eyes watching her. Ahead of her, the street she was on ended just short of the woods, but she didn't notice. She plunged headlong into the woods, not caring as branches and leaves scratched at her coat.

Blazer followed her as far as the woods, glancing behind him as shadows began to shift ominously at the edges of buildings. He hesitated only a moment more before diving into the woods after Dove. He didn't have to try very hard to follow her trail, she was breaking her way through all the underbrush in her path, only swerving to avoid the largest trees.

With each step, she felt herself growing tired. Plowing through underbrush wasn't something the petite unicorn was used to doing and it was quickly taking its toll on her. Taking a moment to breathe, she stopped next to a large tree, leaning on it as she fought to catch her breath. In the distance, somewhere behind her, she could hear Blazer calling, “Dovetail! Dovetail! Where'd you go?”

Hanging her head, she felt regret well up inside her, why did I do that? You're so stupid, Dovetail! After a moment of panic, she took a breath and forced it down, “After... this I'm not going to be able to find my way out on my own... I just have to hope somepony can find me.” Focusing her magic, she sent a bright green beacon up through the canopy and into the sky beyond. “Please, please Celestia... let somepony have seen that.”

Minutes, or what she thought were minutes, passed slowly and after a while, Dove became worried that no one had seen her signal. “Maybe I should try again,” she muttered to herself, trying to gather the energy to light up another beacon, but as she did so, the magical light given off by her horn glinted off a mental helm and armor. With a gasp, her magic went dark.

Author's Note:

I said I'd update as I finished chapters, so here's another chapter! I hope it's easy to follow.

I have to say, I think this is my favorite scene with Striker, at least in this story. He's pretty much a BAMF already and he's only going to get cooler.