Off the Beaten Path

by wonderkid125

Chapter 5

As the storm overhead beat down on them with rain and wind, Twilight and her remaining friends neared the end of their journey back home. Amid the many flashes of lightning, they could just barely see the outline of Ponyville up ahead.

“We’re almost there, guys!” Twilight announced eagerly. Most of the others were pleased by the news that they were almost home, however, one of them wasn’t as happy as she should have been.

Fluttershy walked along at the back of the group, looking down gloomily as she had been for the majority of the trip home. While the others understood why she was upset, they were getting to be a little worried for her.

Pinkie Pie turned to the gloomy pegasus and frowned sympathetically. “How are you doing, Fluttershy?” She asked in a concerned tone.

Fluttershy shook her head sadly. “I can’t believe we just left them like that…” She muttered quietly, barely loud enough for the others to hear.

Rarity walked over to her friend and rested a hoof on her shoulder compassionately. “There was nothing else we could have done, darling,”

“I could have reached them… I should have just flown down there and gotten them!” Fluttershy stated.

“Fluttershy…” Rarity frowned sadly as she saw how distraught the pegasus was, not that she could blame her. She looked over to the others, hoping to find someone to help her with comforting the yellow mare, but she only received uneasy frowns in return. Finally, she turned back to Fluttershy and put on a brave face. “The wind was blowing so hard that even Rainbow Dash couldn’t fly in it. The only thing that going after them would have done is getting you lost too,”

Fluttershy suppressed the urge to cry and nodded silently. She knew that the others were right, she just didn’t want to admit it. “We’re going back… as soon as the storm clears, right?” She asked softly.

“Of course we are, darling,” Rarity said with a reassuring smile. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they were waiting for us when we get there. They will probably just fly up once the storm passes over,”

Fluttershy managed a small smile at the thought. She nodded before walking ahead to signal that she was ready to move again. The others gladly followed her lead and continued toward the town.

The group lingered for a bit as the diminished rain suddenly increased. The majority of the storm had seemingly passed over them as they walked, but now it was like they were walking into it all over again.

Looking to the sky above, Twilight noticed that the clouds weren’t moving anymore, and as she trailed her eyes downward, she could see why. “Look up there!” She said while pointing to the distance.

The others followed the unicorn’s direction and squinted their eyes to see what she was talking about. They could just barely make out several pony-shaped silhouettes up in the clouds, apparently pushing the clouds back and keeping the airspace above the town clear.

“That must be the weather team… it looks like they’re havin’ some trouble,” Applejack tilted her head curiously as she watched the many pegasi fighting to keep the storm under control. Normally it would have been no problem for so many of them to handle a storm.

As they got closer to the edge of town, the group could see the cutoff where the rain stopped falling. While a few buildings were caught in the drizzle, it seemed like the weather ponies were at least keeping the majority of the town dry.

On the ground, there were a few other ponies running to and fro, trying to help in any way they could. At the center of the chaotic group, Twilight spotted Mayor Mare, giving out instructions and otherwise making sure that everyone was relatively organized.

“Mayor!” Twilight called while rushing up to the light brown pony. She and her friends were relieved as they crossed the line of clouds and stepped out into the dry, rain-free air.

Mayor Mare stopped what she was doing and looked to the five mares curiously. “Twilight, I’m glad to see you unharmed. You weren’t at the library, and Spike informed us that you were out hiking in the wilderness. I started to think the worst when this storm popped up,” She said, motioning up at the efforts above to keep the storm clouds in check.

“Ms. Mayor, there’s an emergency, and we really need your help,” Twilight pleaded desperately.

The noble pony softened her expression as she saw how concerned the group was. “What’s wrong?”

Fluttershy stepped forward, eager to do something other than standing around. “This storm hit us while we were out camping. We tried to outrun it, but…” She had to pause a moment and tough through the mere memory of the event. “Rainbow Dash and another friend of ours got caught in a mudslide. They fell into the middle of a forest, and we’re not sure where they are, what’s happened to them, or if they’re hurt!”

“Oh my goodness,” Mayor Mare rested a hoof against her chest as she struggled to take in the troubling news. “Girls, I would love to help you, but there isn’t much I can do until this dreadful storm has dissipated,” She explained. Twilight and the others understood her hesitance to send ponies out in such terrible weather. It was a wonder they made it back to town in one piece.

The ponies looked up at the struggling group of pegasi. The weather team was doing their best to pop the clouds or push them back, but it seemed as though the storm clouds were resisting their efforts.

“That reminds me, what is up with this storm? It came out of nowhere! I thought it was supposed to happen a few days from now?” Twilight asked.

The mayor merely shook her head in response. “I haven’t the slightest idea, Twilight. From what the weather ponies are telling me, they haven’t seen anything like this in their lives. They’re doing all they can to clear the air, but it will probably take them a while at this rate,”

“Can I help?” Fluttershy volunteered anxiously. It was easy to see that she wanted to get back to help her two missing friends, and the others understood perfectly.

“If you think you can clear out some of these clouds, be my guest. Just be careful… two ponies have already gotten themselves shocked silly up there,” Mayor Mare said with a concerned sigh.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy smiled warmly and nodded. She turned her attention skyward, ready to kick off and join the efforts at ridding the town of the storm. Before she took off, she turned to her friends and flashed them a reassuring expression. “Don’t worry, girls. We’ll get this storm under control in no time,” She said confidently. The others smirked and nodded to her before she unfolded her wings and leaped into the air.

---

“Unghh…” Rainbow Dash groaned weakly as she creaked open her eyes, only to close them again. The world around her was distant, and her vision was so blurry that she couldn’t even tell which way she was facing. All she knew was that there was some pressure on her back, and she seemed to be moving.

“Rainbow Dash… stay with me,” A faint voice called out, though it might as well have been a mile away from her.

Rainbow Dash tried to move a foreleg, but her body was numb and heavy. Still, she kept moving, slowly and with many pauses. Was she floating, or being pulled? It was nearly impossible to tell, and she barely had the mental presence to acknowledge or care.

A faint stinging sensation was coming from her stomach. The pain was enough to make her uncomfortable, though it seemed as though she wasn’t able to feel the full extent of what was going on.

“Come on… stay with me,” The voice called again, even fainter than before.

Rainbow Dash let her eyelids droop closed as a wave of drowsiness overcame her. The few feelings she had started to fade and the calming blackness around her grew more intense. Soon, she couldn’t even feel her own body as she drifted away.
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“Come on… stay with me here, Blue,” Rainbow Dash pleaded while looking to the stallion in mild disappointment.

She was out on the flying course, on one of the larger clouds off to the side. Standing a few feet away was a very gloomy Blue Bolt. A small black sleeve was over his wing, meant to be used as a cast to help him along the healing process.

Blue Bolt sighed before carefully taking the sleeve off of his wing and trying to unfold it. His healthy wing unfolded with no trouble, while the injured appendage made shaky movements and took much longer. Eventually, he was primed and ready to fly, or at least that was the idea.

Rainbow Dash frowned slightly as she watched the stallion trying to desperately flap his wings together. His injured wing barely moved, and it looked like he had to undergo a great deal of exertion just to move it a little bit.

Finally, Blue Bolt groaned and let his wings droop. He shook his head in a mixture of sadness and frustration before turning to the cyan mare.

“I don’t know, Rainbow Dash… this physical therapy just isn’t working out… here or at home,” He said in a dejected manner. He started to fold his wings back up again so he could put the sleeve on and give up until he was stopped by Rainbow Dash putting a hoof on his shoulder.

“It’s going to take some time before you’re back to a hundred percent,” Rainbow explained in what she hoped would be a comforting tone. Her words only seemed to frustrate him even more.

“Everybody keeps saying that, but what if it isn’t true?” Blue Bolt asked. “What if I’m… just stuck like this?” He looked to his paralyzed wing and frowned.

Rainbow Dash felt a knot in her stomach as she entertained the possibility that the stallion was right. She was the reason that he was in this mess to begin with. If he hadn’t pushed her out of the way, who was to say that she wouldn’t have ended up as the one with the paralyzed wing?

“Blue…” Rainbow said, managing to stiffen her gloomy expression. “You’re a strong pony, you can beat this. The doctors said that with time and effort, your wing would get back to normal. You’ve just got to put some effort into it,” She patted him on the shoulder in a playfully rough manner. “So why don’t you try again… for me?”

Blue Bolt looked at the cyan mare for a moment before flashing a smile and letting it fade. “Rainbow Dash… why are you here?” He asked curiously.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head in confusion.

“I’ve already said you don’t owe me anything… You barely even know me. Why are you trying so hard to help me like this?” Blue said, a genuine look of curiosity on his face.

Rainbow Dash had to take a moment to find the answer for herself before speaking. “Because… I think you really need a friend right now. And as long as it takes, me and Fluttershy will be right here with you,” She explained sincerely before returning her usual rowdy tone of voice. “Now let’s see some flaps. Go on, I won’t take no for an answer!”

Blue Bolt chuckled softly and smiled. He nodded before taking in a breath and trying again.

Much to both ponies’ surprise, as the stallion clenched his teeth and struggled to get his feathery appendage to obey his commands, he managed to complete a full motion with the injured wing. The movement was shaky and a little slow, but it was close enough to be an impressive accomplishment.

“Heh… well, what do ya know? I did it!” Blue Bolt exclaimed eagerly.

“Atta’ boy, Blue!” Rainbow Dash cheered happily.

Blue Bolt looked down pensively and let his enthusiasm fade. He seemed to still be happy, but it looked like he was contemplating something. Finally, he looked up with a somber expression. “You wanted to know what my dream job was, right?”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by surprise. Still, she listened intently as the stallion continued.

“I… I wanted to be a member of the royal guard. I felt like… maybe I could do something good with my life… maybe help some people out?” Blue Bolt explained with a bittersweet chuckle. However, his eyes seemed to betray the smile he was putting on.

Rainbow Dash lowered her eyebrows sadly as she heard him refer to his dream in the past tense. It seemed like he didn’t believe he would ever achieve his goal. Rainbow put on a reassuring smile in the hopes of turning his attitude around.

“Well, we’ll have you ready to be the best guard the princess has ever seen before long. You wait and see,” She said confidently.

---

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Once again, Rainbow Dash found herself waking up. Her senses slowly started coming back to her, making her aware of just how tired and sore she was.

A soft groan escaped her muzzle as her eyes fluttered open. The imagery she was taking in was still a bit blurry, but it was slowly coming into focus.

She was apparently lying on her back, with nothing but a rocky ceiling above her. The ground beneath her was cold and hard, which was not helping out in terms of comfort. Her fur also felt wet for some reason.

“Wh… where…?” She muttered while trailing her eyes around and trying to ascertain her location. It looked like she was in a cave of some sort.

“Oh, thank Celestia you’re awake,” A familiar voice announced from off to the side.

As she heard hooves clattering on the stone floor nearby, Rainbow Dash turned her head, only to be greeted with the sight of Blue Bolt walking up to her. He had some form of makeshift bandages made from plant fibers wrapped around his foreleg and his wing.

“Blue Bolt… what happ- Agh!” Rainbow Dash rocked her head back and clutched her stomach. The moment she tried to get up, her entire midsection erupted into pain.

As she held her stomach, she realized that she also had a makeshift bandage wrapped around her, similar to the ones around the stallion. Her broken wing was also folded up and wrapped to prevent it from moving around.

“Take it easy… you’re hurt pretty bad,” Blue Bolt said, sitting beside the injured mare and resting a hoof on her shoulder to keep her on the floor.

Rainbow Dash took a moment to calm her heavy breathing and thought back to what happened before she blacked out. “Oh yeah… the river,” She lowered her head gloomily.

Blue Bolt sighed and flashed a hollow smile. “That timberwolf got you pretty good… and I'm sure the blow to your head didn’t help,”

“What happened? The last I remember was falling into the water… then it’s all just a blur,” Rainbow Dash said, struggling to recall the details of the event.

“Well… you definitely fell into the water alright,” Blue Bolt explained. “After that, you hit a rock and passed out. I barely managed to catch up with you and pull you to shore. You’re lucky to be alive,”

“Oh…” Rainbow Dash frowned sadly as she pictured the struggle the stallion must have gone through to rescue her. She intended to save him, not the other way around.

Blue Bolt lowered his expression as he saw a hint of gloom in her face. “Hey, don’t sweat it. It all worked out,” He paused briefly turning to the surrounding area. “I even found us a nice little cave to hole up in, and I took care of our wounds… sort of,”

Rainbow Dash briefly examined the wrapping around her waist. It was stained red with her blood, and it was a bit loose, but otherwise, it seemed tight enough to keep her from bleeding to death. “Not bad… Did you find some plants outside or something?”

Blue nodded. “Yeah… they were all I could come up with at the time,”

Rainbow Dash smirked slightly. “Your first aid could use a bit of work though… these aren’t very tight,”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I was a little tired from dragging your sorry butt out of a river,” Blue Bolt said with a chuckle. “You’re heavier than you look by the way,”

“Hey… that is just uncalled for,” Rainbow glared at the blue pony. Still, she couldn’t keep up an angry face for long as she devolved into chuckling alongside her companion.

Eventually, their laughter trailed off and they adopted more somber expressions as they turned their attention back to their situation.

“Alright,” Rainbow Dash shrugged and prepared herself for the painful task ahead of her. “Help me get up so we can get going,” She stuck a foreleg out expectantly.

Blue Bolt lowered his eyebrows in confusion before shaking his head. “Sorry Dash, but no… you’re staying right there,” He insisted.

“What? No… we need to get moving so we can get out of this forest,” Rainbow Dash said stubbornly. She tried getting up on her own, only to fall back to the floor as another stabbing pain came from her stomach.

“Rainbow Dash… you can barely move, we’re both exhausted…” Blue Bolt frowned slightly as he turned toward the entrance to the cave a few feet away. “I hate to say it, but it looks like we’re spending the night out here,”

Rainbow Dash stared at the stallion blankly, her jaw agape in shock as the weight of the situation gradually sank in. She would be sleeping in a cave in the middle of a forest. She set out with her friends to get a taste of nature, but this was proving to be too much for her to handle.

Before either ponies could add anything further, a pitiful growl came from Rainbow Dash’s stomach. “Oh man…” She groaned while holding her empty gut. She could feel an intense pang of hunger hitting her that refused to go away. “I’m starving,” She whined sadly while lowering her head, realizing that there wasn’t any food to be found.

“Not surprising. We haven’t eaten anything all day,” Blue Bolt said, briefly taking note of his own stomach protesting against him. He glanced back to the cave entrance and the forest outside pensively for a moment before standing up. “I’ll tell you what… I need to head out anyway to try and fetch us some dry firewood. I’ll see if I can scrounge up something to eat,” He suggested optimistically.

Rainbow Dash frowned in concern as she watched the stallion walking away, ready to venture out into the wilderness without her. “Shouldn’t I come with you?” She asked.

Blue Bolt paused before the mouth of the cave and turned his head to the cyan mare. He softened his expression as he saw a hint of unease in her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. You just stay here and rest… I’ll be back before you know it,” He smiled reassuringly. Before Rainbow Dash could protest further, he walked out of the cave and out of sight.

As the thoughts of the stallion getting into trouble intensified in her head, Rainbow Dash contemplated getting up and going after him. She gently rolled over and used her forelegs to push herself to a sitting position. The injury across her waist reminded her of its presence yet again, causing her to cringe and glare down at the wound.

“Stupid timberwolves…” She muttered angrily. Despite the pain she was in, she pushed herself and slowly got to her hooves.

During the process of getting up, the thought of chasing after Blue Bolt all but left her mind. She could hardly move an inch without some kind of ache or pain crippling her progress. She was doing good to just move around the cave at a snail’s pace.

Despite all of the difficulty she had in doing it, Rainbow Dash managed to make her way to the front of the cave. She sat down just outside of the rocky opening and took a look around.

Judging from the faint sound of rushing water in the distance, she gathered that the river that had almost claimed her life wasn’t far away from the cave. It made sense that the stallion wouldn’t have traveled very far with her, considering that she was in critical condition at the time.

Other than the sound of water, the area looked like any other in the forest. A few feet away from the cave, the trees continued on for an unknowably vast distance. Through the open air in front of her, the pegasus could see up into the sky. The sun was starting to get low, and night couldn’t have been more than a couple of hours away. There were also some distant clouds on the horizon that looked less than pleasant. Given what caused their unexpected descent into the forest, Rainbow was more than a bit wary of the dark clouds.

She stared out into the trees, letting her thoughts shift back to her companion somewhere out in the forest.

“Please be careful out there, Blue.” She spoke to the air around her. She really hoped that the stallion wouldn’t wander too far away. He might have been the most able-bodied one between them, but he was still injured himself.

Time ticked by at a slow pace. Rainbow Dash didn’t move from her position near the front of the cave, waiting and watching for any sign of her friend’s return. The longer she spent staring out at the trees and thick vegetation, the more uneasy she grew.

Any number of things could happen to the stallion while he was away, and she wouldn’t even know it. She silently tried to shove the thought from her head that she would just be waiting for him all night, never knowing that he wasn’t coming back and that she would have to try to survive without him. By the time she even tried to hobble out into the forest to go look for him, it would probably be too late.

Rainbow Dash eventually gave in to her sore body and leaned back against the side of the cave. Despite how tired and weak she was, she refused to head back inside until she knew that he was safe.

Half an hour had passed, she was certain of it. It felt like an eternity without any way of telling the time and only her own thoughts to keep her company, but she was sure that it had been at least thirty minutes.

Where is he? She thought to herself, scanning the area outside of the cave feverishly. Despite the old adage of the watched pot, she kept turning back to check outside every minute or so.

He wouldn’t be gone for this long unless something went wrong… She reasoned, her face growing more anxious by the moment. Her wounds still made moving a painful and inefficient task, but she couldn’t sit idly by any longer.

Just before she started getting the strength to get up, a rustling sound immediately made her ears perk up and her head dart to the side. Rainbow Dash felt all of her anxious tension deflate as she saw a familiar blue pony walking toward the cave.

Blue Bolt had a bundle of sticks of varying shapes and sizes precariously balanced on his back. Strangely enough, he was also carrying what looked to be tufts of grass of all things. Despite how long he had been away, he didn’t look any worse off than when he left.

Rainbow Dash groaned in relief while slowly getting up and walking up to the stallion. “Where have you been? You were starting to worry me!” She chided him softly, an agitated pout on her face.

“Sorry…” Blue Bolt frowned hesitantly as he saw how upset she was. “It took longer than I thought to find some firewood that wasn’t soaked,” He explained, nodding toward the sticks on his back.

“You think that will be enough to start a fire?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously, mentally trying to ascertain what could be done with the decidedly small number of sticks the stallion was carrying.

“It’s going to have to be. Everything else I found out there was unusable,” Blue replied. He sat the pile of sticks down and separated the bits of grass into another pile. Looking up, he saw that the cyan mare had walked over to him despite her injuries. “What are you doing up? You’re supposed to be resting,”

Rainbow Dash scoffed lightheartedly. “Like I’m going to stay cooped up in one spot because of a little scrape,”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call that a scrape, but ok…” Blue Bolt said, glancing at the mare’s bandaged up wound. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “It’s good to see that you can still walk, but how about you try to take it easy for now?” He asked pleadingly.

“You, asking me to take it easy?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow before chuckling slightly. “You didn’t listen to that advice back in school, so why should I listen to you?”

Blue frowned slightly as he saw her hide a painful cringe. “I think a bloody gash across your stomach is a bit different from a broken wing,”

“Well… you might have a point there,” Rainbow tilted her head as she pondered the difference between the two injuries. Meanwhile, she shifted her attention to the pile of fire kindling that her companion had collected. As her stomach reminded her of the lack of sustenance she had consumed recently, she frowned slightly. “I thought you were bringing back some food?”

“I did,” Blue replied dismissively while starting to arrange some rocks from around the cave into a fire pit.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in disbelief. “What…? Where is it, then? All I see here are some sticks and some… grass…” She paused abruptly as she put the pieces together. Her face immediately scrunched up in disgust. “Ulgh… you don’t mean the grass, do you?”

“I don’t know what you were expecting, Rainbow, but there isn’t exactly a farmer’s market out there. That was all I could get,” Blue replied.

Rainbow Dash looked to the tufts of grass and stuck her tongue out as she envisioned actually eating them. “You can’t be serious… Can ponies even eat that stuff?” She asked semi seriously.

“If you would have paid attention in history class, you would know that ponies used to eat grass all the time back in the day. It might not taste very good, and it might not do much for you, but it will keep us from starving. Now, I’ve got to get this fire going, so you go ahead and start eating without me,” Blue said without turning away from his work.

“I think I would rather starve,” Rainbow Dash huffed while turning up her nose and folding her forelegs. However, her stomach seemed to be disinclined to agree with her as it let out another drawn out grumble. The pegasus lowered her expression as she slowly looked back to the pile of greens. The longer she stared, the more intense the hollow pit in her stomach became. Against her better judgment, she scooted closer to the bundle of grass and hesitantly picked up a tuft of it in her hoof.

“I swear I’m never eating a salad again after this,” She shook her head sadly before inching a single piece of grass up to her mouth and taking a bite.

Blue Bolt heard the sounds of his companion slowly chewing the bit of grass in her mouth like she was trying to determine if it was even edible. Judging from her expression, it didn’t seem like she thought it was.

Rainbow Dash nearly gagged as the earthen taste filled her mouth. She and other ponies were used to eating plants, but somehow this seemed far too organic for her liking. Still, she somehow managed to swallow the first bite.

“Oh man… I think I’m going to barf,” She paled slightly as she turned to the rest of the grass in her hoof and took another cautious bite.

The stallion nearby couldn’t help but chuckle to himself while tending to the would-be campfire. He wasn’t sure what was sadder, the fact that she thought the grass tasted so bad, or the fact that she was so hungry that she was eating it anyway, and he wasn’t sure which one he found funnier.

Over the next several minutes, Rainbow Dash reluctantly ate her share of the bountiful meal they had while Blue Bolt got to work on their source of warmth and light. The stallion managed to cobble together a decent looking ring of stones around his pile of sticks, and he had placed the sticks in such a manner that the fire would have enough fuel for the night. All he needed to do now was to actually get the fire started.

Rainbow Dash watched as her companion toiled with two sticks clutched in each hoof. He was rubbing them together so much that the bark on them was starting to rub off, yet no signs of a spark were to be seen for all his efforts.

As the level of light coming in from outside the cave dimmed by the minute, their need for the fire became more of a priority. The sun was setting, and soon it would be dark.

“Are you sure you’ve got that handled?” Rainbow Dash asked while cocking an eyebrow as she watched the disaster in progress in front of her.

Blue Bolt shrugged in a frustrated manner, still keeping up the act of playing the two sticks like they were a fiddle. “Of course I’ve got this handled… how hard could it be to get a tiny little spark going?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. As she glanced down to the few remaining tufts of grass on the floor, an idea popped into her head. “Alright Mr. Survivalist, move over,” She said while getting up and walking over to the edge of the fire pit beside the stallion.

Blue Bolt was hesitant to let the mare take over for him, but she didn’t give him much of an option as she yanked the two sticks out of his hooves. “I could have gotten it,” He muttered defensively.

“I’m not saying you wouldn’t have… I just don’t want to cuddle up next to a timberwolf tonight when one wanders into this nice dark cave of ours,” Rainbow Dash stated. She wasted no time in putting her sharp wit to use in getting the fire started.

The cyan pony took some pieces of grass and loosely wrapped them around the bottom of one of the sticks, creating a makeshift bed of kindling and an enclosed space to produce a spark in. With similar vigor to her companion, she rapidly spun the stick around with both of her hooves, grinding it into the grass and hopefully creating a lot of friction.

Before long, faint trails of smoke started coming out of the bundle of grass. Rainbow Dash continued twirling the stick in place for a solid minute longer until the smoke had intensified a bit. Finally, she gently removed the stick and looked closer. A slight smile crept across her face as she saw a few glowing embers.

“Now we’re talking,”

Blue Bolt watched as Rainbow Dash carefully craned her head down and gently blew on the embers. Once the small sparks started to burn more of the grass, she gingerly picked up the edge of the tuft and nudged it into the pile of sticks and continued blowing. Soon enough, the embers spread through to the sticks, and the beginning flickers of a fire could be seen.

“Wow… that was pretty impressive,” Blue nodded as he heard the telltale crackling of a campfire.

“Eh, I’m sure your method would have worked just as well… eventually,” Rainbow Dash replied. Now that they had a warm fire to sit by, their lonely little cave seemed a bit better. As she was finally free to sit back and relax, her eyes shifted over to the remaining pile of grass and an impish smirk fell across her face.

“Alright, nature boy, how about you put your bits where your mouth is and eat something,” She suggested while nudging the grass over to her companion.

Blue Bolt eyed the pile of greens and smirked in return. “Alright… no problem,” He said while picking up a hoof-full and hovering them near his mouth. “It can’t be that bad,” He added with a shrug.

Rainbow Dash watched patiently as the stallion casually took a bite out of the grass and started chewing. The longer he chewed, the more he slowed down and started to get a disgusted look in his eye. Rainbow merely smirked smugly and silently allowed her stubborn companion to work up toward swallowing. After he got done with his first mouthful, Blue looked down at the remaining amount of his meal and cringed.

“Ok… maybe it’s an acquired taste,” He admitted, a hint of green in his face. The mare next to him couldn’t help but laugh as he continued eating.

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As the sun rapidly disappeared over the horizon, the peaceful landscape of Equestria was slowly bathed in darkness. Somewhere outside of Ponyville, the crunching of hooves against the freshly soaked grass could be heard as a small troop of ponies trotted across the land at a hurried pace. At the head of this group were Twilight Sparkle and her four other friends.

After the storm above was finally removed from the sky by the diligent efforts of the weather team, the unicorn and her friends wasted no time in gathering up volunteers to return with them to the area where they had last seen Rainbow Dash and Blue Bolt.

Along with a few random townsfolk brought together by Mayor Mare for the search party, many of the five mares’ friends and family had stepped up to look for the missing pegasi. Big Macintosh and Applebloom were walking along next to Applejack. Along with the yellow filly, her two fellow cutie mark crusaders had eagerly come along to join the search. Even Mr. and Mrs. Cake came along to ensure that their missing friends came home safely.

By the time Twilight and the others had led their troop back to the sprawling forest, the light from the sun had officially vanished from the sky and the moon had already begun its journey into the stars. Although everyone without a horn had been supplied with a flashlight, the night was still a bit daunting as they stared into the dark trees ahead of them.

Mayor Mare stepped out of the crowd and up to the purple unicorn. She looked around at the sheer size of the woods and frowned. “They fell in there? Are you certain?” She asked curiously.

Twilight looked to the side, up at the cliff that skirted the forest off to the right, and nodded. “Yes… they fell from up there,” She explained while pointing out the rough area of where the pair had vanished into the trees.

The mayor nodded to herself somberly before breathing out a sigh and stiffening her expression. She turned to face the rest of the volunteers and spoke up to address them.

“Ok everypony, we’re here to find two fellow ponies in need. We’re going to spread out in a line and walk straight into the forest. Make sure to keep those to your sides in sight at all times, and don’t go wandering off. If we haven’t found them or reached the edge of the forest in ten minutes, we’ll regroup and rethink our plan,” She explained. “Anybody have any questions?”

The gathering of ponies all gave a collective answer of no. Everyone understood their place in the mission, and they were all eager to help in any way they could.

Ms. Mare smiled confidently and nodded. “Alrighty then, let’s get out there and find them!” She stated with a determined tone in her voice.

Before long, everyone had arranged themselves into a rough line. While they weren’t shoulder-to-shoulder, they were close enough together that everyone could keep track of their partners and still cover a fair amount of ground. With their horns glowing brightly and their flashlights blazing ahead, they started walking into the forest at a slow pace.

The forest was incredibly dark. Once the ponies breached the tree line, all of the light from the sky above was practically taken out of the equation. Now, all they had was each other and their own sources of light to shine into the sinister darkness all around them.

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Blue Bolt!”

Twilight and the others called out every few steps at short intervals. The sounds of their companions calling out from down the line they had formed filled their ears, ranging from a loud yell to a faint noise, depending on how far away they were from the owner of the voice.

Fluttershy was next to Twilight, with Pinkie Pie and Mayor Mare to their sides. The pink mare next to her was as close to the cliff side they were skirting as she could be without having to duck around trees every five seconds.

While she was feverishly scanning through the trees ahead with her flashlight, Fluttershy couldn’t stop thinking about her two lost friends. Any number of things could have happened to them after they fell. They could be scared, or cold, or injured, possibly even all three at once. Simply thinking about such terrible things happening to the pair made her want to cry.

Fluttershy had known Rainbow Dash for practically her whole life. The cyan mare was the reason she got her cutie mark, and the reason she even had friends in school. And while Blue Bolt had been in her life for only a short period of time, she had grown close to him while helping him recover from his wing injury. He had always been so nice to her and Rainbow Dash, and he always made sure to lift her spirits whenever she felt down, despite his own tragic circumstances.

Although she didn’t want to even imagine such a thing, a single thought popped into her mind that made her pause suddenly. What if she never saw either of the two ponies again?

“Fluttershy, are you ok?” A voice from off to the side brought the pegasus out of her thoughts. Fluttershy looked over and saw Twilight looking back at her with a concerned expression.

“Umm…” Fluttershy took a moment to feel her face. Apparently, she had a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She sniffled slightly before making an effort to appear happier than she felt. “I think so… I’ll be better once we find them, though,”

“We will find them,” Twilight assured, taking a moment to rest a comforting hoof on the yellow pony’s shoulder. “Don’t worry… I’m sure they’re fine, wherever they are,” She said confidently. A soft smile fell over her face as she saw Fluttershy managing a bright expression.

“AHHH!!”

An ear piercing scream echoed from somewhere to the left, followed by a series of feral growls. The ponies all stopped what they were doing and darted their heads to the side in alarm.

“Oh my gosh, was that Sweetie Belle?!” Fluttershy asked uneasily, recognizing the owner of the high pitched cry.

More growls could be heard, along with the sounds of several ponies shouting fearfully.

Twilight widened her eyes as she listened to the animalistic growls. “Wait… I know that sound!” She exclaimed before abruptly rushing into the fray. Fluttershy, along with Pinkie and Mayor Mare all rushed after the unicorn as she headed toward the commotion.

Twilight and the others passed by several of their fellow search party members on their way toward the source of the noises. All of them were looking off in the direction of the noises with concerned expressions.

As they finally got close enough to see what was going on, the four mares all paled and let out surprised gasps of fear.

Up ahead, Rarity, Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and the other two fillies were backing against a tree. Standing a few feet away from the terrified group of ponies was a pair of vicious looking timberwolves, snarling and creeping closer to their prey.

“My word… what are timberwolves doing out here?!” Mayor Mare recoiled slightly at the sight of the wooden beasts. Normally timberwolves kept in and around the Everfree forest, but apparently, these wolves didn’t get the memo.

Applejack and Rarity were doing their best to stay between the predators and the three fillies cowering behind them. The wolves were circling around, trying to catch them off guard.

Suddenly, Big Mac and some other ponies drawn by the screams came rushing over from the other side. As soon as they saw what was going on, they backed up a step as one of the wolves snapped at them.

“Applejack, Applebloom!” The red stallion widened his eyes fearfully as he saw his siblings in danger.

One of the wolves, tired of waiting for its meal, decided to quit wasting time and jumped at the trapped ponies. The other wolf followed suit, snapping its teeth and getting ready to rip into either the white unicorn or her orange companion.

“AH!” Rarity yelped while covering her face and turning away. Applejack would have tried to kick one of the wolves away, but she wouldn’t have been able to get both of them in time.

Before the worst happened, the two wolves were stopped in mid-air by a purple glow being wrapped around them. The beasts let out a confused whine as they looked around. Just as the two animals noticed what was keeping them captive, they were flung back into a tree at high speeds, breaking their fragile bodies apart.

While Rarity was still cowering and shielding her face, Applejack and the three fillies looked over to see Twilight with her horn glowing fiercely.

“Twilight!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed excitedly as she realized the unicorn had saved her and the others.

Rarity gradually peered out from under her foreleg. As she saw the broken pieces of the two wolves scattered along the ground up ahead, she uncovered her face and stared at them in confusion. “We’re not dead…?”

“Are you guys ok?” Twilight asked while walking up to the jilted group of ponies.

“We are now… Thanks fer that, Twi,” Applejack said in a relieved manner. “Those timberwolves just came outta’ nowhere,”

Twilight tilted her head curiously while looking to the two wolves. “With everything that’s been going on in the Everfree recently, they must have been driven out and found other places to live,”

“I had no idea that it was so dangerous out here,” Mayor Mare said, still eyeing the wooden remains of the predators warily just in case they decided to get back up. “Girls, I hate to suggest it, but we can’t just keep wandering around in the dark with timberwolves out and about. Perhaps we should consider heading back?” She asked hesitantly.

Twilight glanced over to Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus seemed to be shocked and saddened at the idea of turning back, but Twilight could also tell that she didn’t want anyone getting hurt. “As much as I want to keep looking, I think it would be best if we head back… for tonight at least. We can’t risk running into more timberwolves,”

Fluttershy frowned sadly before looking down and nodding. “I agree…”

“Right then,” Mayor Mare nodded. She turned to the ponies watching from either side and adopted a serious expression. “Pass the word along, we’re heading back out. It’s too dangerous to keep going in the dark,” She instructed, receiving nods in response.

While ponies started going down the line they had formed and passing the message along, Twilight and the others lingered for a moment.

Twilight looked over to see Fluttershy staring off into the woods with a gloomy expression on her face. She frowned sympathetically as she wondered how the pegasus must have been feeling. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of leaving Rainbow Dash and Blue Bolt out here any longer either, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Come on, Fluttershy. We need to get going before these two start pulling themselves back together,” She suggested while briefly looking over to the timberwolves.

Fluttershy broke away from her pensive state of staring into the distance and turned to her friends. They were all looking back to her with sympathetic expressions. “Yeah… ok.” She nodded slowly, though she still had a downcast look in her eyes.

Finally, the group started heading back out of the forest, empty hooved, and their goal of finding their lost friends further away now than ever. All they could do was occasionally glance behind them regretfully, wondering what the two pegasi were doing right now. Still, they all resolved to return to their efforts in the morning, where they could come up with a new plan of action.

---

Deeper into the woods, while the crickets chirped and the owls hooted from the darkened trees above, a lone source of light blazed defiantly against the otherwise black void that persisted all around the forest. Inside of a dingy looking cave, a small fire was crackling as Rainbow Dash and Blue Bolt sat around it. The two ponies had passed the time by talking and enjoying each other’s company as the night went on without them outside of their safe haven.

Rainbow Dash was surprised to be smiling and laughing with the stallion as they both shared fond memories from their past. Just yesterday, she was hesitant to even be around him, but now it was like they were back in school, minus the dark cave around them and the harsh forest outside.

Still, she couldn’t shake the faint feeling of unease she got whenever she caught herself looking at him for too long. Not all of the memories from her past were pleasant, and he was at the center of one that was among the worst. Despite how conflicted she felt, she did her best not to let her feelings affect how she acted toward him. After all, he had saved her life.

“So, wait… Fluttershy stared down a dragon?” Blue Bolt tilted his head curiously as the pegasus informed him of some of the wilder adventures she and the yellow mare had had since school.

“Yep…” Rainbow Dash nodded.

Blue Bolt narrowed his eyes in stunned disbelief. “Get out of here… are we talking about the same Fluttershy?” He asked with an impressed smirk.

Rainbow Dash chuckled as she savored the priceless look of shock on the stallion’s face. “Yeah, I wouldn’t have believed it if I wasn’t there. You should have seen what she did to save me from a pack of zombie wolves this one time,”

“Wait… what?” Blue Bolt shook his head in confusion.

“Nevermind… it’s a long story.” Rainbow Dash waved her hoof dismissively. She found herself smiling contentedly along with the stallion as they reflected on some of the amazing things to happen in their lives.

After a few moments of silence, Rainbow Dash stopped smiling. In fact, she seemed to have a slight frown on her face while she was thinking of something. “Blue Bolt…” She spoke up blankly.

Blue looked over in surprise as he noticed how somber his companion sounded. “Yeah?” He asked, though he had a feeling he knew what was about to be said.

Rainbow Dash seemingly contemplated something for a moment before shrugging and shaking her head. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Blue Bolt replied.

“What you said earlier… about you thinking about the past a lot… I want you to know that I’ve been thinking a lot about it too,” Rainbow explained softly. “Truth is… I’m still not sure how I feel about you being back in my life. And although I didn’t exactly plan on us being stuck together like this,” She offered a hollow chuckle while looking around her. “I was planning on trying to let you in again… eventually. But if we’re going to be starting over like this… I just want to say one thing,”

Blue Bolt frowned slightly as he saw a familiar look of sadness on the cyan mare’s face. “What is it?”

Rainbow Dash sighed before looking up and staring at the stallion with an earnest expression. “I think it would be good for both of us if we don’t bring up anything having to do with what happened at school. I know you probably had your reasons for what you did… but I… just can’t think about that stuff without getting all out of whack,”

While Rainbow looked to him and waited for an answer, Blue Bolt hesitated and looked down sadly. He opened his mouth to say something before closing it abruptly and nodding. “Ok… I can do that,”

Rainbow Dash let a small smile fall over her face. “Thank you,” She said in a sincere manner. All at once, the exhaustion she had been fighting all day caught up with her as a yawn escaped her mouth. Her body was sore, and she was mentally fatigued from everything that had happened. It was time for her to go to bed.

“I think I’m going to get some sleep… or at least try to. I guess it’ll depend on if I can find a decently comfortable rock to sleep on or not,” She shrugged while looking around the cave for a spot to lay down.

“Hey, I’ll fight you over a nice rock… we’ve got to take what we can get,” Blue Bolt said with a smirk.

Rainbow Dash scoffed lightheartedly. “Really? You’re going to fight a crippled girl? I did not know you sank so low after school, Blue,” She chuckled slightly while slowly getting up and walking away from the fire a short ways.

“Heh… I guess Fillydelphia can change a guy in unexpected ways,” Bolt Bolt added as he watched the injured mare hobbling around and trying to find a good spot to bed in. Eventually, she just gave up and laid down in a random spot that was close enough to the fire to be warm.

Rainbow Dash groaned while lowering herself to the floor and carefully lying on her back. With the way she felt, she might as well have fallen off of the cliff a few minutes ago rather than several hours. As she rested her head back against the cold stone floor of the cave, she was surprised by how comfortable she felt. Her exhaustion must have been more severe than she thought.

“Goodnight, Rainbow Dash,” Blue Bolt said, still sitting at his position by the fire.

“Goodnight, Blue…” Rainbow replied while closing her eyes, a contented smile plastered on her face. She couldn’t wait to get up tomorrow and finally get out of the forest so she could sleep on an actual bed in her nice and warm and safe cloud home.