Starting A Flame

by Star_Shade

Chapter [21] Growing bonds, and a somewhat understanding

Towards the start of the night, Piper enjoyed the attention. “Whoa, that's a colt!” “Where did he come from?” the new ponies would whisper whenever he passed them while helping Brisk. A few were hesitant to ask him anything, and those that were brave enough would walk up and try to talk. Piper would always look up and seek the approval from Brisk first before answering any questions the ponies had. Most of the time, it was a no. Piper was busy staying focused on carrying whatever Brisk needed him to.

Eventually Brisk freed him, and so Piper joined a crowd of ponies that had amassed. Pretty soon, they surrounded him, bombarding him with questions. A few reached out and felt his mane and back. Some did it to check if he was real, while others noted the scar running along. Piper tried to answer all their questions, but they kept pressing into him, making him uncomfortable. “Oi! Give the runt some room to breathe!” came a familiar voice. Piper smiled at the familiar captain of the pegasus platoon.

“Thank you, Crimson, sir,” said Piper happily.
“You’re welcome runt, now go fetch me another drink. And then give me a lap when you get back!” called the captain as he pushed Piper with a wing towards the refreshment table.

After doing what was asked of him, Piper took a slower approach towards answering questions, only talking with two or three ponies at a time. Most only cared about how he escaped and nothing more. Few kept up a long conversation afterwards, and even fewer wanted to get to know Piper better. Tired and sore from the day and wishing for a good friend, Piper trudged back to his bunk. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day, he thought as he fell asleep.

The following day, Piper was pleasantly surprised to find that he would be going along in the journey to Appleloosa. “And, I am going to start teaching you what I know. Since you have gained a little patience and some muscle, we can begin,” finished Shining. “Tomorrow we will start, right now I need to organize our group and prepare ourselves for the long trip. Pack your stuff, we leave at noon.”

The rest of the time seemed to blur, as Piper was giddy with excitement. Not only am I going to be training under the great Commander Shining, but I also get to go to Appleloosa! Already towards the end of the day cycle, Piper found himself quite hyper and ready, drumming his little hooves against the ground as he waited for Shining to finish talking with other ponies.

Finally spotting the stallion walking towards him, the colt smiled as he took note of a small saddlebag at the side of the commander. “Alright, follow me into the forest,” said Shining as he beckoned Piper along. The two entered, Piper following Shining as they marched through. It was a relatively quiet walk, save for the usual noise of creatures scurrying and chattering about. Piper quickly got lost, and was glad that Shining was leading him.

The duo stopped at an enormous tree, which sat within a clearing of flowers. “Pause!” shouted Shining. Piper, confused, halted and looked up at the commander. Suddenly a pony landed just ahead of them. The pegasus quickly jogged over to Shining and saluted. “We will be taking this position tonight, I wish to show Piper a few things,” stated Shining. The pegasus nodded and made his way back to the camp.

“How are we going to get up there?” asked Piper, pointing to the nest he now noticed lying in the tree. Shining simply raised an eyebrow, before teleporting the both of them up. Piper facehoofed.

“Anyway, I wanted to show you something interesting about this area. Do you know why I have our resistance base stationed in these woods?” began Shining, motioning around them. Piper simply shook his head. “Well, I’ll give you a hint. Do you see this tree? Look around and see if you can find others like it.” Piper sweeped his gaze along the valley. It took him a moment, but he soon let out a gasp, as he saw similar trees in height relatively equally spaced apart.

“There are trees like this, scattered everywhere?” wondered Piper.

“Close, they were not scattered, but specifically placed. In fact, if you could see below the other trees, you would find similar plants planted at the base of these trees as well. These plants provide astonishingly universal uses. I won’t list every single one now, but I do plan on teaching you what most are used for. Every day, as we move our company closer to Appleloosa, I will teach you many things. These could range from battle tactics, to personal stories I have experienced, to ways in becoming a great leader and follower,” finished Shining, smiling at the sparkle in the colt’s eyes.

“But why are the trees here? And how did you know about all of this?” persisted Piper.

“Everything will be explained in good time. As for the trees? It all started after the Great Griffin War…”

---

“You know, I ought to give you more credit, Commander. I understand why you brought Piper along, and not just to train him. You know how to play all of your cards well,” said Moon Nettle. She and Shining were looking over the map of the area. They had been discussing all the requirements they would need in order to traverse the desert.

“Oh, and what do you mean by that?” replied Shining, attempting to stay oblivious and hiding a grin.

“Just the way you let Piper interact with all the other ponies. There are multiple reasons why, the main ones being you want them to grow attached to Piper. Helping them see a goal and a reason to fight. Most have grown cold and calculated, and young energy really helps them get out of that. And when they have a foal like Piper with them, they will be more inclined to fight tooth and wing to make sure he stays unharmed.”

“And is that all that you see him to be?”

“No, I see him to be the makings of a great leader, but that’s your job. There is nothing wrong with what you are letting happen, I am just saying that it is working, and that I appreciate it,” finished Nettle, nodding her head in the direction of Piper playing a game with a peach colored unicorn. “I am just saying it’s good to see a happy face. Somepony that hasn’t been corrupted or experienced too much of the darkness. Sometimes I feel like we all get lost in that darkness, and that colt helps bring us out of it.”

“Yes. I can see that same darkness in myself as well. I must hold myself back sometimes when teaching him. Though I fear that if I continue, he himself will figure out that we are all broken inside,” said Shining, gazing over to the two.

“He will have to grow up sometime. Nopony is perfect, but we can still use our imperfections. “He will have to face many hardships in the future. I am just glad he has a good teacher.”

“I know, but whether he is ready for those hardships, I do not know.”

“None of us ever are, we just have to move on. Pick ourselves up when we fall and keep marching,” affirmed Nettle, smiling. “Now then, as I was saying earlier about the area…”

---

Dasher was stretching her wings near one of the camp fires. She had just returned from scouting the area with two pegasi and was cooling down for the day. She had sent the two off to report to Commander Shining. Enjoying the light breeze ruffling her wings, she shuddered slightly as it ran across her frame. Settling down, she noticed a certain colt happily walking by with the dumbest smile on his face, and she herself couldn’t help but smile too.

“What’s got you so happy there, Piper?” she called.

“Oh nothing, just happy that I am making more friends,” replied Piper chipperly.

“I am sorry that you had to go through losing all your old friends,” said Dasher soberly.

“Yeah. One of them talked about you a lot. She really idolized you,” added Piper, chuckling and remembering the giddiness of a particular orange filly.

“You talking about that squirt Moon Scoots? Yeah, she was pretty cool. I was thinking of taking her under my wing when she got a little older, a fun foal,” mentioned Dasher proudly.

“Mhm. Sadly, I think they all got captured, same with my best friend Starfall,” said Piper dejectedly.

“Sounds like you two were pretty close, want to talk about it? I know what it is like to lose a best friend.” Dasher put a hoof on his shoulder sympathetically. “Trust me, keeping it all in and not talking about it hurts.”

“I guess so. We were close as brothers. I had just moved from Trottingham to Ponyville and hadn’t made any friends. He had to relocate both him and his brother from Canterlot. Since we were both new, we instantly became best buds. He was incredibly smart and would always be patient with me if I ever messed something up. He was just a good friend all around,” muttered Piper as he wandered over to sit next to Dasher. He absently pawed at the ground, while also scratching his face a bit. “He looked out for me, you know? After his parents died, he had to be the head of his family, taking care of himself and his brother. When he came to Ponyville, he took me under his wing as well, added me to his family. My parents were always busy with work, and as an only child, I couldn’t really talk with anypony. Yet he was somepony I could trust, share secrets and thoughts with.” Piper’s ears drooped. “I am sorry to hear that. I had a best friend too. Her name was Flutter Moon, and she was the kindest pony you could ever know,” began Dasher. “We had grown up together in Cloudsdale. Ponies liked to pick on her there because she was shy, and I hadn’t known why then. Now though, with my recent visit to Cloudsdale again, I remember why I had left that place. Anyway, she was a kindred spirit and was able to communicate with every animal that she ever met. Those skills helped us when we…” Yet Dasher got lost in the memory, thinking about that fateful day. The potential of a new friendship scattered and broken.

“When you?” persisted Piper, curious.

“Never mind. Just know that in the end, it was because of Dawn Lighter that I no longer have my friend.”

“Oh. I am sorry to hear that as well. You know my friend, Starfall? His parents had a sickness that was caused by the spell that Nightmare Moon had put on us all. Dawn Lighter was supposed to be able to heal them, but never came. I never understood what it felt like losing a loved one to Dawn Lighter. But I guess I can see better now. How the loss affected you, Starfall just had a better way of hiding it and focused on everypony else, ” mumbled Piper. Dasher laid a hoof over him and brought him closer to her.

“Yeah, pain can cause that. Each of us deal with pain differently. It sounds like your friend dealt with his pain by helping others, I wish I had that chance when I had to get over my own pain. I still carry the burden of my pain with me. But at least I have a memento of my friend. A single feather, a simple yellow feather as a reminder of what I have lost,” revealed Dasher, digging around in one of her saddlebags and bringing out the feather. “It’s funny how something so small can be so significant.”

Piper looked at the feather with a mixture of feelings, watching the light from the fire spill over it. “But hey, have I ever told you how I got my cutie mark? Well, it all started with this pair of bullies…”

Author's Note:

Another fun chapter. Also woah, my story hit over 40K words this chapter. What a fun ride it's been so far. Hope you enjoy!

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

[Star_Shade]

Thanks!