Chapter 0(Prologue)
The Torn prologue
"I tell you, Gem, I don't like coming out here."
"And I keep telling you that you didn't have to follow me into the forest, Freefall."
A pale grey unicorn with a basil leaf and a magnifying glass as a cutie mark levitated a few low hanging branches blocking the path so herself and her companion, a red pegasus buck with a burning infinity symbol cutie mark could step through. The grey unicorn stopped in a clearing to adjust the braid containing her vibrant blue hair, a seafoam green strip snaking through the twists.
"What, and allow you to get yourself killed?" Freefall stepped after her into the clearing and spread his crimson wings, shaking them free of leaves and twigs. He had a frown plastered onto his face.
"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Free. And don't you love the thrill of danger?"
The Pegasus glared at Gem Seeker, clearing his throat to speak.
"First, you can take care of yourself against a single timberwolf or common drake, but if you come up against a pack of timberwolves or a cockatrice, you need some backup," he snapped his wings, the edges tipped with metal fittings, for emphasis.
"Secondly, I do love a good life threatening thrill every once in awhile, but I've learned that my five senses aren't the only ones to listen to. My gut sense is best listened to, too. And right now it's telling me that something bad is nearby."
Gem Seeker rolled her eyes, and satisfied that her braid and saddlebags were secure, started off again.
"We're getting closer, Free, my gut is telling me that."
"That's good, just remind me what I need to keep looking for."
Gem paused and levitated a notebook from her saddlebags. "Doctor Stone said that in order for his new salve to work, the ingredient he believes best is the nightmare orchid."
Freefall took a step back. "Wait, doesn't that cause terrifying hallucinations?!"
Gem looked a tad concerned. "Well, yes, if it isn't handled correctly. Just make sure that you keep an eye out for a group of flowers pulsating purple and red." She tore out a blank page of the notebook and flipped to a diagram of the nightmare orchid. A soft glow enveloped her horn and the notebook as she pressed the blank page against the diagram. She gritted her teeth as the diagram copied itself into the other paper. She then levitated the copy over to Freefall, who looked it over and placed in his saddlebags. "Nice trick, Gem," he grinned.
She nodded and began walking again. They walked in silence for a while, only breaking when Freefall spoke up.
"Gem, I think that might be it."
Gem Seeker's eyesight wasn't as good as Freefall's, but her smell was superior. She sniffed the air tentatively.
"It smells more like poison joke, where is it?"
He started to point, then lowered it slowly, his ears pricking.
"What is it, Free?" He raise a hoof to silence her, and listened a moment more. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he motioned for Gem to follow.
"Come on!" He shouted. They both then heard a nearby scream echo through the forest, followed by a loud CRACK! Freefall headed toward the sound, nimbly avoiding trees and rocks, determined to help, and fight, if need be.
Coming to a clearing he came to a horrific sight, a young dark pony, too young to even have her cutie mark, was lying on the ground, being torn apart by a group of wood goblins.
Wasting no time, Freefall plowed into them, his metal tipped wings being put to good use as he twisted and kicked the monsters away from the defenseless filly.
As Gem came to the clearing, she could only mouth "Oh Celestia" as she watched Freefall fight the wood goblins alone. She reached into her saddlebags with her magic, and pulled out a vial of orangish liquid, and threw it in the direction of Freefall and the goblins. As the vial shattered, a strange smelling smoke rose from where the liquid splattered the ground. Suddenly, the goblins scattered.
Freefall, breathing hard and bleeding from several cuts, turned his attention to the young filly. He gasped in shock as Gem Seeker came galloping over.
"By the princesses, she's a unicorn!"
Gem did a double take as she set her saddlebags on the ground to perform first aid. "What?!"
Grimly, Freefall pushed the unconscious filly's hair off her face, revealing a broken horn, where blood was flowing profusely.
Gem couldn't say anything, she had never dealt with something like this before, so she tried to focus on where she could help most as she got a better, closer look at the young unicorn. The filly was dark, uncommonly dark. She was close to, if not entirely, black. She had a white muzzle, certainly uncommon, but not unheard of. Her ears were also pointed... well, one of them was. A portion of the other seemed to be chewed off and bleeding. Her mane was long and tangled mess of pale lavender, with just a strip of green running down the middle. Her tail, was the same, minus the green strip. She looked up when she noticed Freefall motioning towards her.
"Her horn is stuck here in this tree," Freefall stated. "But wood goblins aren't normally powerful enough to do something that extreme."
"She's just a filly, she hasn't even acquired her cutie mark yet. Can you get the horn out without further damaging it?"
Freefall set to work as Gem cast a diagnostic spell . "There isn't much hope. Her back right leg is broken, several of her ribs are crushed, I'm sure one of her lungs are punctured, by the way she's breathing. I'm not sure she can make it." Her voice cracked a bit as she realized how dire the young unicorn's situation was.
Red held the broken horn out to Gem. "Do you think it can be saved?"
"I don't know," she said, floating the piece into her saddlebags. "We need to get her back to Trotson."
"Trotson is an hour away!" Freefall protested. Gem looked around for an answer, biting her lip.
"Free, I need you to find the nightmare orchid."
"What?!"
"I can create the salve here," she said, floating out a small board, mortar and pestle, and several vials and herbs from her and Freefall's saddlebags. "I just need nightmare orchids, or something similar."
Freefall looked at her with a mix of exasperation and desperation. "And if I can't find it?"
Gem sighed. "Use poison joke. It should work on the same principle. It's used as a neutralizing agent, so..." Freefall was already off, zooming through the forest, looking for any pulsating red and purple.
He came across a small patch with a single bloom, and as he snuck closer, a delicious smell filled the air, making him feel uneasily drawn to it. Quickly, he nipped off the bud and tossed it into his saddlebags. It tasted sweet and tempting, but he remembered the effects, and spit several times. 'This isn't enough, the diagram said the salve needed 5,' he thought, looking over the diagram after digging it out of his bags. Looking back, he sighed. 'The poison joke will have to do.'
As he flew back, he stopped in the patch, pulling out a bunch and flying the rest with it in his mouth.
He landed next to Gem and the unknown unicorn.
Gem had a look of concentration on her face, and sparks were spurting from the end of her horn.
"I've got the plants," Freefall stated, laying them at her feet. Gem stayed silent for a moment, until the glow and sparks disappeared from her horn, and she turned and staggered towards the board, obviously burnt out by whatever spell she had just performed.
"The flowers, bring them here," She wheezed, sweat dripping down her face. Red obediently brought them over and dropped them onto the board.
"In my bag... Bottle of red liquid... Bring it here please."
Freefall found it and brought it over. "Is that for the joke and orchid?" He asked as she uncorked it.
"No," she took a swig of it. "That spell leaves me drained. This is for energy and hydration. Now, stand back," she finished as she gulped down the rest of the contents of the bottle.
Her horn glowed once more as she levitated the joke and orchid in the air, tearing them apart and sending juice on them both.
Shielding his face, Freefall said "Gem, I have a couple of questions."
"Shoot."
"First, what was in that vial you used on the goblins?"
"An enchanted mixture of mustard seed, beet juice, and tobleroot," she answered, adding the torn up plants to the paste in the mortar already. "scares almost anything in this forest away."
"Ok, how about that spell you just did that took so much out of you?"
"Knitting together what I could. Turn her over and you would see that her stomach was almost torn open. Those wood goblins wanted this filly, but they aren't usually so vicious in their attacks." She continued to pour her magic into the mixture.
Red looked stunned for a moment, then shook his head. "They go after weak prey, a filly, especially one young enough to be a blank flank would be pretty weak."
Gem gasped as the mixture started to glow. "It's ready," she whispered.
She levitated the salve and began applying it to the worst of the unicorn's injuries. She then mixed a portion of it with water, and poured it down the filly's throat.
"I honestly don't know how well it will work. Free, do you think you could carry her on your back?"
"Can you levitate her?"
Gem nodded, and a glow enveloped the young filly, still dripping with blood, onto Freefall's back. Freefall, grunted, and shifted slightly to get comfortable.
"Careful! Be careful with her." Gem Seeker warned.
Together, they set off towards their village through the oppressing woods.
* * * * *
After an agonizingly long hour of slow travel, Freefall spotted the edge of the village through the trees.
"Gem! Go ahead, hurry and get Doctor Stone!"
Gem at once galloped ahead, nodding. Red kept a slow steady pace, and was out of the forest before Doctor Stone galloped up, with two assistants carrying a stretcher and Gem in tow. Freefall gingerly set the filly down on the stretcher and stood with Gem as they watched the assistants carry her away.
"Will she be alright, Doctor?" Gem asked as Stone turned to leave. The medical unicorn sighed as he ran a hoof through his graying hair, a solemn expression on his face.
"We'll see in the morning. It's too early to tell. There is one thing I know. That unicorn is extremely lucky to have been found. She would've surely been torn apart if Freefall hadn't been so quick to react. Speaking of which, get something on those cuts, Freefall; they already look to be getting infected. And another thing, she will be lucky if she lasts through the night. I don't know how grievous her injuries initially were, but I will do what I can to heal them up, and get her horn reattached."
He sighed again, turning away and trotting after his assistants.
"Gem, how do you think she'll fare?"
"A lot better, now that she's in Doctor Stone's care." She turned to face her red companion. "There is just one thing that bugs me, though."
"What is it?"
Gem looked up at Freefall, her eyes showing concern.
"Who is she?"
END OF PROLOGUE