The Clydesdale Chronicles

by Jinxychan

A Thorny Situation

It was a crisp autumn afternoon in Clydesdale. The leaves on the trees were dawned in every color from red to bright gold, and the cardinals on their branches sang their song cheerfully in the chilly air. The squirrels chattered away as they dashed around looking for nuts for the coming winter. The town was already wide awake this fine morning. Three of these ponies were standing on a platform for the stage coach. Dreamweaver was getting ready to leave with Flashback to head to a nearby town for some interpreting sessions. Flashback was going with her not only to be her guide but to possibly get some business as well. Inkblot looked at her two friends and smiled as she held the leash Nights was attached to.

“Are you sure it’s alright? “ Dreamweaver asked Inkblot. She seemed rather worried as her gray eyes stared in the general direction of the unicorn.

“It’s perfectly alright Dreamweaver. I’ll take good care of Nights,” the unicorn replied with a smile, her icy blue eyes twinkling with excitement. “Nights and I will have a blast!”

“Just don’t stay up too late and end up sleeping in Inkblot,” Fashback teased. Inkblot glared at the pegasus playfully.

“I won’t Flashback. Everything will be fine. Dreamweaver will do her interpreting sessions out there and you will be the guide dog,” Inkblot teased the pegasus. Flashback laughed and nodded.

“Yeah I guess I will be since the clients are allergic to dogs,” Flashback smiled.

“Don’t remind me,” Dreamweaver sighed as she reached out for the black Labrador by the unicorn. “I have to go now Nights. You be good for Inkblot you hear? I’ll be back tomorrow night okay?”

The canine whined as she brushed her head against her owner’s leg. Dreamweaver smiled and pet her gently. Flashback gently nudged the earth pony, signaling the end of their goodbyes.

“Bye you two! Have fun while you’re out there! Don’t let your carriage crash and burn in a smoldering heap!” Inkblot called as the two ponies hopped into the stage coach and it carried them away. Inkblot stayed on the platform with Nights till the stage coach was out of sight. She looked down at the dog and smiled.

“This is going to be so much fun! I always wanted a pet but could never afford one,” She giggled and ruffled the dog’s fur. The black dog whined as she tugged on her leash, trying to follow after the stage coach. She barked and looked back at Inkblot pleadingly.

“Aw it’s okay girl. She’ll be back, I promise. Now come on. I have a few errands to run before we get you settled in back at home,” Inkblot stated as she gently tugged on the leash till Nights followed after her back into town.

It wasn’t till later that night that Inkblot led the canine into her home with a smile. She unhooked the dog’s leash and let her off to roam around her home. The front room was covered with stacks of papers, quills, and books. Inkblot blushed a bit as she walked into her home, forgetting she had left it a mess.

“Sorry for the mess, I didn’t really have the time to clean up yet!” she chuckled nervously as she dropped of her saddle bag in the kitchen. “Now let’s see here, we have, dog toys, dog chews, dog leash, dog ball, dog brush, and here it is, dog food! Let’s get you fed and then we’ll play a bit okay, Nights? Nights?”

Inkblot poked her head out of the kitchen and looked about for the black Labrador, only to have her eyes fall upon the wide open front door. Her heart sunk in her chest as her eyes frantically scanned the room for her friend’s beloved canine.

“Nights?! Come here girl! Come here!” she called as she quickly closed the front door before scouring her home for the Labrador, to no avail. She threw the front door open and dashed into her front yard. Her eyes shot across the street, trying to find some sign of where Nights might have gone. Her ears perked as some barking could be heard from the left.

“Nights! Nights come here! Come girl!” che called as she took off down the street to the left. She ran as fast as she could, her eyes darting across the scenes in front of her, looking desperately for the black dog. She stopped at the end of the street and swiveled her ears around, searching for another hint of where the missing pooch was. She was greeted with silence. Inkblot gritted her teeth and cursed to herself as she ran off to continue searching for the dog.

Celestia’s sun was just beginning to dawn up over the mountains as Inkblot stopped at the edge of the forest. She had been up all night searching for Nights, with no luck. She sniffled as she looked about hopelessly, not sure where else to look. She had already scoured the farms and the market district. The forest was the last place to look, but it was too dangerous to venture into the forest due to the carnivorous wild animals that would gladly make a snack out of a pony. Inkblot gulped as she looked at the intimidating trees and began to walk into the forest, when something caught her eye. She walked over to one of the bushes and eyed it carefully. There was no doubt about it, there was a lot of black wet fur caught in the thorns of the bushes. The direction the fur was pulled seemed to suggest the creature had headed into the forest. Inkblot gulped and looked at the fur as she pulled some of it off the thorn, finding the liquid to be red. Inkblot’s pupils shrunk.

“Oh no, if Nights went in there,” she whimpered, looking towards the trees. “Dreamweaver will never forgive me for letting Night’s get out into the forest! Oh Celestia, what have I done? How could I have been so careless!”

She backed away from the trees as her eyes filled with tears. She turned away and quietly headed back to her home.

Inkblot cried all the way back to her home, unable to believe she had not only lost her friend’s beloved pet and companion, but that it would have easily died in the forest.

“What am I going to tell Dreamweaver? “ she mused solemnly to herself as she laid down on her couch, unable to find sleep. She laid there for who knows how long before she finally looked up to see the time. It was a quarter to noon, fifteen minutes till Inkblot was supposed to meet Dreamweaver and Flashback at the station. She wiped her eyes as she slowly got off the couch and started to head off for the station. It took her about thirty minutes for her to get to the station. Dreamweaver and Flashback were already there, waiting for her. Flashback looked over, smiled, and waved.

“There you are! We were wondering why you weren’t here when we got here. Where’s Nights?” Flashback inquired as she walked over to the unicorn.

“Night’s isn’t with you?” Dreamweaver asked confused. Inkblot’s ears fell and she looked away from her friends.

“I, I,” she whimpered quietly, struggling to spit out the truth.

“Inkblot, what’s wrong?” Flashback asked as she took a step closer to the flustered unicorn.

“N-nights is gone. She got out last night after we got back to my house. I tried to find her I swear, I spent all night looking but I’m certain she ran into the forest and,” she sobbed almost hysterically. “I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry Dreamweaver. I didn’t mean to let her get out,”

Dreamweaver just stared in the direction of the distraught unicorn in disbelief.

“She’s, she’s gone?” the earth pony whispered quietly as her ears fell. “But I trusted you to take good care of her, and now she’s gone?”

Flashback watched both ponies for a moment before gently nudging Dreamweaver who remained silent otherwise.

“Come on Dreams lets get you home okay?” She offered sincerely. Inkblot opened her mouth to say something only to close it as Flashback glared at her and shook her head. Inkblot sank to her haunches as the Pegasus led the blind pony off to their home. Inkblot sniffled as she watched them leave. She hung her head sadly, eventually rising back to her hooves and starting on her way home.

The distraught unicorn hung her head as she quietly walked down the streets of Clydesdale. She glanced over at the forest as she began to walk past it. She stopped in her tracks and looks at the intimidating trees. She wiped her eyes of their tears.

“I’m going to find you Nights, or whatever is left of you,” she muttered to herself, determined to do just that. With that, she found her hooves taking her into the forest to find the lost companion.

It was a few minutes later thank Inkblot realized the mistake she made, walking into the forest while sleep deprived. But it was too late now and adrenaline was pumping through her system. She kept her hooves moving forward and her ears alert as she looks for signs of the lost canine. She stopped once she reached a clearing. Her ears perked to the sounds of whimpering for the other side of it.

“Nights? Girl is that you?” she called softly as she walked across the clearing cautiously. In the thorny bushes was a black furry shape. It let out a small bark as Inkblot came closer. Inkblot would know that bark anywhere. She peered into the bushes down at the canine as it struggled in the thorn bush. The canine whimpered and whined in pain as she squirmed, trying to get to the unicorn.

“Shhh its okay girl I’m here, let me help you,” she said softly as her horn lit up and the branches began to pull away from the dog, allowing her to escape the bush at last. Inkblot let the magic fade away and she hugged the elated canine.

“You crazy dog! I thought you were gone for good!” she laughed, tears forming in her eyes again as the canine licked her face happily. “Come on, we better get you back home and cleaned up.”

Inkblot turned around, glancing back at the canine as it followed after her. She smiled with relief as she started to head back across the clearing, when a low growl met her ears. Inkblot froze and looked down at Nights. The canine whimpered and moved closer to her.

“Please tell me that was you,” she gulped quietly, as a couple sets of green glowing eyes appeared in the darkness behind them. She was shaking, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her pupils shrank as two timber wolves stepped out into the clearing, snarling and growling as they started towards the canine and pony slowly. Inkblot glanced down at the frightened dog then back to the wolves.

“Well there’s only one thing to do,” she muttered to the canine. “Run!”

With that said the unicorn pushed the dog in front of her, towards the town and started running. The timber wolves howled as they gave chase after the two. Inkblot ran as fast as she could through the forest, Nights right beside her, refusing to leave her side. The timber wolves were hot on her tail, she could almost feel them nipping at her haunches, trying to sink their wooden teeth into her. She smiled slightly with hope as she saw a break in the trees, running towards it with Night’s close beside her. As she broke through the trees, the ground below her seemed to disappear and gravity took effect, sending her plummeting down a rather steep hill. She let out a scream as she tumbled down the hill. She cringed as she came to rest at the foot of the hill, Nights whimpered as she licked the unicorn’s face. Inkblot glanced behind her, the timber wolves were on their way down the hill after her. In front of her was the town, just within reach. If she could get into town! She quickly started to get back onto her hooves, but a horrible shooting pain shot up through her back right leg.

“Oh Celestia no, no no no, please no!” She prayed, tears forming in her eyes as she glanced back to the timber wolves. Nights growled and began to bark at the timber wolves as they drew ever closer.

“Hey! You mangy beasts get out of here!” a stallion yelled as he ran towards the injured unicorn. The fellow unicorn took a stance between her and the wooden beasts, striking his stick he carried upon the ground, causing it to spark and catch fire. He waved it in front of them menacingly, causing the wolves to stop in the tracks and growl at the stallion. The stallion glared as he continued to wave the torch at them, slowly advancing towards them. The wolves backed up, keeping their distance from the flames. A few more ponies began to rally behind him, throwing whatever they could get their hooves on at the beasts. One of them ran to Inkblot, helping her get away from the wolves.

“Come on now, let’s get you and your dog out of here, the others can handle the likes of them,” he comforted as he led her off towards the hospital. Inkblot threw one last glance back at the wolves as they turned tail and retreated away from the angry mob of ponies back into the forest.

Inkblot let out a sigh as she laid in the hospital bed, Nights was asleep beside her. Upon closer inspection the dog had only obtained minor scratches that would heal without any problem, if not a small scar. Inkblot on the other hand, had fractured her leg in the tumble down the hill. Her leg was now in a cast and on its way to recovery. The unicorn was just starting to drift off into some much needed sleep when there was a knock at the hospital room door. Inkblot groaned as she opened her sleepy eyes to see the doctor standing in the doorway.

“You have visitors.” She stated as Flashback and Dreamweaver walked in. Nights raised her head and barked as she ran over to Dreamweaver. She whined as she licked her face happily. Dreamweaver smiled as she hugged her companion.

“Nights! I can hardly believe you’re back!” she whimpered as she held the canine close. Flashback glared at Inkblot while Dreamweaver reunited with her companion.

“What in Equestria were you thinking!?” the Pegasus snapped at the unicorn. “Going into the forest alone and unprepared, you’re lucky to be alive with just a fractured leg!”

“I was exhausted and not thinking straight. I wanted to find Nights so bad I didn’t think of what could happen,” Inkblot muttered quietly as her ears fell and she looked away. Dreamweaver looked towards the injured unicorn.

“Thank you Inkblot,” Dreamweaver started. “It doesn’t fully make up for what happened, but this is a start.”

“Can you ever forgive me for my carelessness?” Inkblot asked quietly as she glance at the blind pony. Dreamweaver paused for a moment before slowly nodding.

“I can. But I think I’ll leave Nights with Flashback next time and bring you with me as the guide pony instead,” she chuckled.

“That’s fine with me. Pet watching just not my forte,” Inkblot smiled, relieved. Flashback glared at the unicorn, punching her lightly.

“Don’t EVER do something like this again and scare us half to death,” she threatened.

“Trust me, I’ve had my share of real adventure for a while, though this does give me a good idea for a story,” Inkblot beamed. Flashback laughed and rolled her eyes.

“You get some sleep, Celestia knows you need it,” Dreamweaver said as she pet Nights. “Thank you again Inkblot. This means a lot to me.”

“You would have done similar things for me,” Inkblot yawned as she nestled down into the hospital bed sleepily. The Pegasus led the earth pony and canine out of the room quietly as the unicorn quickly drifted off into a much needed slumber.