> Lost in Darkness
>  by ChocolateFan25
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 - Pride
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She slowly took a sip of her coffee, and waited for her tiredness to go away. The training and the stress of the last days became noticeable, and at some nights she nearly fell in her bed. But Fleetfoot always had a ray of hope. She would only have to concentrate on the training, for the next Wonderbolts derby, and then she would be due for vacation. It would only last for a few days, but it was worth it. 

"Do we still have some coffee?" she heard someone ask. She turned around to see Misty Fly, entering the small kitchen of the Wonderbolts headquarters. Fleetfoot blinked, her eyelids hanging low, and said "Sure." She then pointed with her hoof towards the pot of coffee on the table. 

Misty Fly took a mug out of one of the cupboards and filled it with the black, steaming liquid. "You look exhausted." Misty Fly noticed. Fleetfoot looked at her puzzled. The pegasus then took a seat at the table. "You started to train more than normally." 

There was worry in her voice. It confused Fleetfoot even more. "As a Wonderbolt, I have to stay fit." she said and put a smile on. "Also, the derby is next week, and I don't want Fire Streak to laugh at me again for reaching the finish line after him." She gritted her teeth, when she thought about the last race. It had frustrated her to no end how he had bragged about 'letting her eat his dust'. 

Misty Fly took another sip and thought about that. "But you started training that much since your encounter with Tirek." 

Fleetfoot nearly choked on her drink and turned her head away. What she said was true. She was always aware of her strength and her skills, and relied on them. Until the day she met Tirek. The feeling of powerlessness and inner emptiness stayed for days. 

"Oh... sorry. I didn't wanted to remind you of something bad..." Misty Fly lowered her ears. 

Fleetfoot shook her head vigorously, and put her smile back on. "No, no. It is..." she said and stopped. "You worry too much. I'm really just training for the derby." 

Misty Fly looked at her, raising an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything more. 

"By the way," Fleetfoot said to change the subject. "why aren't you participating in the next race?" 

Misty Fly's face brightened up again. "It's on the same day as the birthday of my little brother, and I wanted to take that day free for him." she said. "But I join in next time." 

"How old will your brother be?" Fleetfoot asked curiously. "He'll be ten years. It's incredible how fast time goes by, if you don't live at home any longer." 

"You're right." Fleetfoot said and chuckled. "I haven't seen my sister in an eternity. I should visit her sometime soon." 

"Didn't your sister wrote you letters, from time to time?" Misty Fly asked. 

Fleetfoot sighed and looked at the coffee between her hooves, her ears hanging low. "She did. But I think she grew too old for this. She's reaching puberty, and I think it is not 'cool' to write letters to your big sister anymore." 

She heard somepony entering the kitchen, and turned around. High Winds walked straight towards her and held a sheet of paper in her mouth. "Hey, what do you have there?" Fleetfoot asked. 

The white pegasus stopped next to her and laid it down on the table. "I thought it would interest you." High Winds said, waiting for her reaction. 

Fleetfoot looked at the paper. It was a promotion of a well known book store in Fillydelphia. The author, Written Page, would publish her newest love novel, and would hold a book-signing in that store. Fleetfoot's eyes widened and she squealed with glee. "I waited for an eternity for that to happen! I have to go there!" 

While she grinned and pondered, what book she should get signed, she didn't notice how Misty Fly took the paper and looked at it herself. "A book-signing? I didn't know you like love novels." Misty Fly said, lifting her brows.

Fleetfoot's grin fell, and she got a bad feeling. "Does she think I would be an egghead or something?" she thought. "I-I don't." she said and cleared her throat. 

Her words gained her a confused look from High Winds. "You do." she said and lowered her eyebrows. 

Fleetfoot glared at High Winds. "No, that would be ridiculous. I... well... I have a friend who likes stuff like that. But she has to work overtime quite often, so I keep an eye open for her." she explained to Misty Fly and tried to sound as neutral as possible. "I wish I could lie better." she thought and looked away whistling.

Misty Fly smiled and put the paper back down. "That's really nice of you." she said with a warm smile and got up. "I'll see you later on the training field, right?" 

"You can bet on that." Fleetfoot replied and watched Misty Fly leaving the room. 

"I didn't knew of this friend of yours." High Winds said and rubbed her head. "It seems, that my information about you is outdated." 

"It was a white lie." Fleetfoot gave her the paper back. 

High Winds cocked her head while looking at her. "For what reason?" 

"High Winds, have you forgotten? We're here at the Wonderbolts. Ponies would give me strange looks just for even liking books, much less love novels." she said and left the table. "I have a reputation to maintain." 

High Winds looked silently at the paper. "But you're going there anyway, right?" 

"But of course!" she said and took a water bottle out of the fridge. 

"We still see us later?" she heard High Winds ask, as she went to the door. In her voice she could hear worry for her. 

Fleetfoot rubbed her chin and threw a look back. "Sure. It's not like I would disappear." The blue pegasus shook her head smiling, and left the room. 

"Sometimes, I don't understand her thoughts." she thought and walked down the corridor, smiling carefree. Her walk seemed to have more of a swing than normal. "What book should I take with me? 'Dark Roses'? I even have the first edition. But I like 'Lifelong Promises' far more. On the other hoof, that book has an ugly spot on the cover. I shouldn't have dropped that slice of cake on it..." 

She was deep in her thoughts, until she ran against somepony. For a few seconds she stumbled, before she could regain her balance, and looked up. Wave Chill stood in front of her and patted the dust from his training uniform with a growl. 

"Can't you see where you go?!" he asked, his voice loud and demanding. 

Fleetfoot snarled and said "You could have moved out of the way. It's not like the hall is too small for two ponies." 

"You are not the center of everything." he hissed back and stomped away. 

She cocked her head and looked after him. "What's gotten into him?" Fleetfoot decided not to think about it too much, and continued her way to the training field. 


***


Sweat formed on her forehead while she pushed herself up and down with her wings. She kept her body as straight and tense as possible while she held her forelegs folded on her back. It would have been an easy training if it wasn't for Misty Fly standing on her and counting every wing-up she did. "It's much harder." Fleetfoot thought and gritted her teeth, while breathing heavily. "But it'll make me stronger." 

"Can you still hold out?" she heard Misty Fly ask her from above. 

Fleetfoot nodded and went on with her training. Her gaze shifted to the bench on the other side of the field. Wave Chill sat on it but Fleetfoot couldn't tell if he was bored or just not motivated. For two hours he sat there and hasn't done any training yet. It seemed he just waited for the training session to be over. With the coach being sick that day there was no one to force him. 

Fleetfoot sighed heavily and lowered her eyelids. "If I think about it, I DID run into him." she thought and bit her lips. "I have to apologize to him. But he's still in a bad mood. Should I do it now? Or should I wait a bit?" Then she started to watch him more closely. He played with a water bottle between his hooves, his eyes looked into the distance without focus.

"Something more than that incident has happened." Fleetfoot thought and felt the weight vanishing from her back. 

"You should take a break." Misty Fly said and helped Fleetfoot back on her hooves. She folded her aching wings and wished the sweat away. 

Her gaze fell upon Wave Chill once more and she wanted to go to him, but something kept her from doing so. "If I apologize to him... wouldn't I show him weakness? If it was Soarin or Blaze, I would know, that they see it as a sign of companionship. But Wave is not Soarin or Blaze." Fleetfoot lowered her hoof again and looked away from Wave Chill. "He'll forget it in a few days." 

She wanted to leave until Misty Fly came back and gave her a clean towel. 

"Thanks." Fleetfoot with an honest smile and took it. She rubbed her short, white mane with it and put it away. "Can I ask you something?" she asked and looked to Misty Fly. 

"Sure." Misty Fly said without any hesitation. Fleetfoot moved closer to her and pointed at Wave Chill with her head. 

"Do you know why he is so grumpy lately?" 

Misty Fly looked over her shoulder to the dark-blue pegasus who sat with glassy eyes on the bench. "You haven't heard it?" Misty Fly asked and raised an eyebrow. 

Fleetfoot put a hoof on her chin and tried to remember anything important she could have forgotten. "What have I missed?" she asked and couldn't remember anything that would cause his mood. 

Misty Fly came even closer to Fleetfoot and whispered in her ear "A few days ago his girlfriend broke up with him." Fleetfoot's ears shot up when she heard it. "They had a really bad fight before that." Misty Fly added and threw Wave Chill a rather pitiful look. 

Fleetfoot lowered her head and sighed quietly. "I know that pain too well." she thought and tried to ignore the memories in her head. "How do you know all this?" She knew that Wave Chill was the opposite of a social butterfly. 

"He told me yesterday after training. He was still mad about it." Misty Fly told as if it would have been the most normal thing in the world. 

This made Fleetfoot raise an eyebrow. "I didn't notice, that they are close friends with each other. He rarely talks about... well, anything." she thought and felt a twinge of jealousy. 

"Why do you ask?" Misty Fly asked. 

"Just because." She wanted to tell of the incident. Instead of doing so, she scratched her head and looked away, as if she could ignore it forever. 

From the corner of her eye she saw somepony walking towards them. She turned her head around and saw Fire Streak and Soarin entering the training field. Both wore their gray-white track suits and chatted about something. Fire Streak noticed he was watched and walked with a big grin to Fleetfoot and Misty Fly. 

"Hey, ladies!" he greeted them and grinned slyly. 

Misty Fly just shook her head. "Don't even try." she said in a deadpan voice. 

Fire Streak laughed and said "But I would never do such a thing." He than added more quietly "I want to live the next day." 

Fleetfoot couldn't help herself but chuckle. She knew of all the drama Fire Streak had with the female team members. 

Soarin only rolled his eyes and turned to the others. "There is still this big obstacle course we used as training for the last show in the other room. Do you guys want to turn a round there?" he asked. 

Fleetfoot remembered the obstacle course from last week. It was rather complicated with all kinds of obstacles and one would need good agility and body control to get through it. Without the knowledge of anypony else she trained there, sometimes until late into the night. Even days after the sessions her bruises hurt. But she was sure she could now ace it at any time. 

"That sounds good." she said, smiling. 

Misty Fly on the other hoof rubbed her chin in thought and wrinkled her mouth. "I don't know. Even Spitfire said that the obstacle course turned out to be much harder than she planned it to be. Wouldn't it be better if we continue our normal training until it gets rebuild again?" 

Soarin thought about it but from Fire Streak's direction they could hear a quiet, but in volume growing cackle. His eyes were squinted and he grinned wide, like he always did. 

Misty Fly blushed and lifted her head high into the air. "Hey!" she said with a snarl. "I'm only saying that it's unnecesary to break our bones there, just to prove a point! And I highly doubt you're much better at flying that obstacle course." 

Fire Streak saw that as a challenge and said with visible pride "But I am better. And faster." He swept his mane out of his face just to embarrass her. 

Misty Fly wouldn't let herself be a laughing stock. She stepped closer to him and pressed her head against his head. "A bit cocky today?" she asked with a smile. 

Fleetfoot glanced at Soarin who looked back at her. He pointed with his head slightly to Fire Streak and rolled his eyes again to which Fleetfoot answered with a nod. 

Fire Streak pulled his head back and walked to the side. "How about a small practice race? I would love to challenge you on the obstacle course, but winning with a two minuet gap would be rather boring. We do it here, ten rounds?" he asked and lifted dramatically a hoof to his forehead. 

Misty Fly smelled a chance to put him back into his place and ignored his joking insults. "Why not?" 

She turned with a smile to Fleetfoot and Soarin and asked "Do you want to join?" 

"You're too afraid to race me alone?" Fire Streak asked and shook his head. 

"No. But if we do a race, why not letting everypony have some fun?" Fire Streak had nothing to say against it and walked to the racecourse. 

"That does sound like fun. Count me in." Fleetfoot said and smiled wide. "As if I would let such a chance go by." 

But Soarin shook his head. "Not this time. But I can be the referee, if you want." 

Misty Fly nodded and turned around. "Hey, Wave Chill!" she yelled. He took his attention of the water bottle and looked at her. His eyelids still hung low and he frowned. "Come on, join in on the race with us. We'll leave you alone after that, I promise." Misty Fly said. 

Wave Chill thought for a a second. Like a foal he groaned and walked to them. "Good." he said with a blank face. 

"That's great." Fleetfoot said smiling. Wave Chill was no caring or outgoing comrade. But she hated to see him suffer like that. "He'll get over it." she thought. "It takes a long time. But everything has to begin somewhere." 

Wave Chill looked dismissively at her after hearing her words. "Don't even think that I would do this for you." Without another word he walked to the racecourse and left Fleetfoot gaping at him. 

She lifted her head, lowered her eyebrows and snarled. "Good for you, I didn't." she replied with a raised voice. 

Soarin and Misty Fly looked worriedly at each other before they followed. Fleetfoot stood in position and stretched her wings. "I won't let him ruin my day because he'll never stops being a sissy." she thought and squinted her eyes. Her comrades got in their positions with outstretched wings and each one of them was ready to show them their flying skills. 

Soarin stood in a distance to the racecourse and lifted his foreleg into the air. The atmosphere was as tense as the muscles of the pegasi. Fleetfoot felt her body shaking with adrenalin. Soarin finally threw his leg down and yelled "Go!" 

The four pegasi shot through the air and they were all giving their best. Fleetfoot quickly found her rhythm between beating her wings, pulling them shortly to her body to reduce air drag and getting done with the next powerful flap. She kept her forelegs close to her body and only her hind legs were swinging slightly behind her. It was necessary to not hurt the others if she passes them or in case the ponies in front of her fall back. 

In mere seconds they turned curve after curve. Fleetfoot looked quickly to her side. Wave Chill and Fire Streak were in front of her and Misty Fly only slightly behind her. Fire Streak tried to pass Wave Chill in the next curve and swung to the right. Fleetfoot took this chance and flew out of his wind shadow, passing him straight. 

She only had one obstacle in front of her to surpass: Wave Chill. "I only have two rounds left. Darn." she thought under pressure. Wave Chill knew how persistent she was in beating him and didn't gave her any chance to do so. 

They reached the last round and Fleetfoot decided to risk it. She would have to fly at top speed. Her neck breaking speed was something she was always proud of, even if it always cost her a lot of energy to do so, and even other Wonderbolts praised her from time to time for that. With all power she got in her wings she pushed herself to her limits and closed her eyes so they would stop burning from the sharp wind. They would reach the finish line soon. She managed to roll in midair, flew past him and shot forward. 

As soon as she noticed, that the training race was over, she pushed her wings backwards so she could land safely. A few seconds later she felt ground under her hooves again. With shaking legs, she panted and felt the sweat sticking to her clothing again. 

"Congratulations." she heard behind her. Fleetfoot turned around and saw Misty Fly and Fire Streak came to a hold. "You gave all you had." Misty Fly remarked with an honest smile. 

Fleetfoot nodded and felt her body calm down. "Even if it's just training, we shouldn't goof around." She raised her muzzle high into the air. 

"That's something new." Fire Streak said and rubbed his head. 

Fleetfoot didn't knew what he wanted to tell her. "What do you mean?" 

"Well, we all know how much you love to win. We all love it, or else we wouldn't be here. But you never tried to achieve it so... aggressively. It's just training so be more relaxed." He ended his explanation with a chuckle. 

Fleetfoot felt the looks of worry on her and turned her head away. "Stop looking at me like that." she muttered and her cheeks turning a dark-red shade. "We shouldn't take things too lax. What if we... run into some powerful, magical creatures again? And get our flanks handed to us because we are too weak to fight in the important moments?" 

She looked from pony to pony. Fire Streak still rubbed his head and tried to understand her, and Misty Fly had the same, worried look on her face. But Soarin lowered his ears and turned his gaze to the ground. 

"You were there, Soarin." Fleetfoot thought, looking with hope in her eyes to her ice-blue comrade. "If somepony understands me, it should be you." 

The silence became uncomfortable for all of them. At last, Misty Fly turned to Fire Streak and said "And? Who came in fourth place?" 

"Yes, it was that loud-mouthed pegasus in front of you." he said with an embarrassed smile. Misty Fly grinned and bopped him softly. It made Fleetfoot smile and her gaze softened. "That's one of the good things about Misty. She's never angry for too long." 

Her smile fell away when she looked to Wave Chill, who was on his way to get his water bottle and leave the field. "Breakup or not." she thought and lifted her muzzle again with visible pride. "I'll never let him take me my pride." 

"Hey, Soarin." she heard Fire Streak yell. "You still want to do that obstacle course?" 

Soarin nodded and they both went for the door. "You can follow us, if you want!" Soarin cried to the others before they left. 

Shortly after their leaving somepony else stepped through the door. Spitfire was on her way to them. Her eyebrows were lowered and her lips were pursed. Her appearance in her blue jacket told the pegasi, that she didn't came to chat or train. 

Fleetfoot and Misty Fly stood straight and saluted, to show her the respect they owed her. Spitfire answered with a nod and both of them let their hooves fall down. The yellow pegasus looked at both of them and then at Wave Chill, who was still there and didn't seem to notice Spitfire's arrival. "Come here for a second." Spitfire called. Slowly he trotted to her and saluted as well, but with less energy behind it. 

Luckily for him she had more important things on her mind. "I have a mission for you." she explained. Fleetfoot felt a rush through her body and suppressed a smile. "Get into your uniforms and come to my office. And hurry." she said and left them in a quick walk. 

"Did something happened?" Fleetfoot asked Misty Fly, but she was as unknowingly as she was herself. 

"We should do what the Captain ordered."


***


Only a few minutes later the three Wonderbolts stood in their blue and yellow uniforms in Spitfires office. Their goggles hang loosely above their eyes, they wouldn't need them until they started to fly. Like before they saluted and waited for an answer. 

"We got a report that a group of Timberwolves was seen very close to Dodge Junction." 

These news made Fleetfoot frown. "I thought they would only live in the Everfree Forest?" 

"I know that." Spitfire replied without answering her question. Instead she went on with her explanation. "A group of experts, specialized on Timberwolves, is on the way there. But we were asked to control the borders of the Hayseed Swamps and lure the Timberwolves back there, if they should decide to go on more expeditions." 

Spitfire leant back in her chair and looked at the three ponies. "I leave it to you how to decide, if you should see them out of the forest. But don't do anything reckless. As soon as the expert team arrives, I want you to come back and report to me." 

"Shouldn't we protect the team instead of leaving them with the beasts?" Misty Fly asked, her voice sounded unsure. 

"Don't worry about that, they know how to handle such situations." Spitfire said and took her glasses of her face. 

The details of the mission were clear for Fleetfoot so she went for the door. She stopped dead in her track when she heard Wave Chill's words. 

"I would request a different team." Wave Chill looked without any emotion at the captain. 

Spitfire glared at him and raised skeptically an eyebrow. "What's wrong with the team?" she asked and didn't sound pleased. 

"It would be better if we replace Fleetfoot with Soarin." 

That took Fleetfoot's breath away. "And what's your problem with me?" she asked, grinding her teeth. 

He barely looked at her while talking. "If we fight Timberwolves, we need somepony stronger." 

"You claim that I'm weak?!" 

"I'm not claiming anything. That's the truth. And it's not my problem, if you can't accept that." 

"Truth?! When did I ever showed weakness?!" 

"You forgot Tirek?" 

Fleetfoot stepped back. It made even Spitfire cringe. She felt her eyes burning with tears, but she didn't allow herself to let any of them roll down her cheeks. 

"No... that's not your problem." She shook her head and started to fight back, her voice raising in volume. "Your problem is that you can't get over your darn girlfriend! For Celestia's sake, I know that it hurts, but you run around and let your frustration out on anypo--" 

She stopped as she realized something. "No, you only let your frustration out on ME! What is it, that bugs you so much about me?! Do I remind you of her?!" 

This time it was Wave Chill who was taken aback. Before anymore words could be said Spitfire stood up. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" she scolded them and snarled. "I gave you a mission and I want you to do it. There is no place here for needless fights. Fleetfoot stays in the team." 

She then turned to Misty Fly, who had stepped back and frowned at the fight of her friends. "Misty, I appoint you to be the leader on this mission. Make sure they don't kill each other on the way." Misty Fly nodded with hesitance. 

Wave Chill snarled and stormed out of the room. "This will be fun." Fleetfoot muttered under her breath, and walked after him. 
> Chapter 2 - Pain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cold air blew past Fleetfoot and messed around with her mane. The three pegasi flew for a while, but no one has spoken since their departure from the headquarters. Wave Chill's words lingered still in the back of her mind, which made her groan. Her body felt tense and her wings screamed at her to fly faster, to get rid of the pent-up energy, caused by her anger. She shortly glanced at him and could see his grim expression, even under the uniform and his goggles. Fleetfoot snarled quietly and looked forward. 

"As if he deserves any special treatment." she thought. "Especially after what he said. We all have our problems, but we don't act like divas." She pulled her concentration back on the mission and hoped, that the wind would cool her mind down. But no matter what she did, her body would not stop shaking. 

"Guys?" she heard somepony ask from her side. She turned her head and saw Misty Fly, looking worried at her and Wave Chill. "May I ask what happened between you?" 

Wave Chill turned his face away and replied briefly. "None of your business." His voice sounded strained, as if he would have to fight with his anger as well. 

Fleetfoot gritted her teeth, and tensed her body again. She tried her best to suppress it and kept her body reactions under control. Then, she turned to Misty Fly and said with a smile "Don't worry, nothing happened."

Misty Fly sighed. She knew her friends too well to overlook their troubles, and that something has happened between them. For a moment, she put her hoof in front of her mouth, and struggled to find the right words. "Okay, I know something has happened. You shouldn't forget that we are comrades. We have to rely on each other, and it won't bring any good if you keep snarling at each other." 

Fleetfoot lowered her head. "She's right." The reasonable words of her friend made her body relax, and she calmed her breathing. But a look to the side made her purse her lips again. "If somepony would stop offending others, it wouldn't be like this now." Fleetfoot said as nonchalant as possible. He didn't even respond this time. 

Misty Fly looked at each one of them again and opened her mouth to say something. After some thinking, she closed her mouth and shook her head with sad eyes. "They are too upset to listen to reason." she muttered, and the group continued to fly south-east. 

Fleetfoot looked down at the sparse lands. In the distance she could see the first trees, which marked the beginning of the Hayseed Swamps. 

"Do you see any signs of Timberwolves?" Misty Fly asked, who concentrated again on the mission. 

Fleetfoot squinted her eyes and overlooked the entire area. No noticeable movements and no sound, that would lead to any animals. "No, everything seems to be clear." Fleetfoot responded. 

"Okay, we fly our rounds above the edge of the forest and the plains close to Dodge Junction. The expert team should be here in one or two hours." Misty Fly informed them. She flew below Fleetfoot, spun around herself and took position in the middle of the formation. "It was Spitfire's order, to take the lead." she explained with a shy smile and rubbed her head. Together, they took a turn to the left and kept their eyes back on the ground. 

The Hayseed Swamps were enormous. They stretched far over the horizon and it was difficult to see anything through the thick treetops. "As a foal, I was always scared of woods." Fleetfoot thought. She felt a chill when she remembered those fears, that kept her awake in the nights, a long time ago. "They are so dark, and the trees keep one from flying out, as if the forest would trap one in it, with all it's dangers. I prefer the open sky every time." 

She then remembered the rare trips to the woods, close to Cloudsdale, with High Winds, when they were younger. High Winds was intrigued by the creatures of the forest, and all kinds of trees. But Fleetfoot never felt safe there. Whenever she looked up to see the sky and her well-known home, there was only the roof made from leaves and branches. 

"Is everything alright?" Misty Fly asked her. Her voice was calm, as if she would try to sooth Fleetfoot. 

Fleetfoot stopped her stream of thoughts and memories, and looked to the side. "Sure, I was just lost in thoughts." she said in a low voice. "I can't tell her of it. What would she think of me if I say, that woods make me feel uneasy. Besides, Wave Chill would probably use this to insult me even more." Fleetfoot snarled at that thought.

For a while nothing happened, and they continued their work in silence. Fleetfoot took her eyes once in a while from the ground and threw a look at Misty Fly. She could see in Misty Fly's eyes how nervous she was. Her gaze kept shifting really quick and she played with her hooves more often than usual. "It shouldn't take much longer for the team to arrive." Fleetfoot thought and it was her turn, to look in worry at her comrade. 

Suddenly she saw something in the distance. A pony ran out of the woods, screaming at the top of his lungs. Fleetfoot could not see his expression from the distance, but he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. It seemed, that he was in panic. Shortly after him, two other creatures jumped out of the woods and into the open area. They were not ponies, and they followed him with angry growls towards Dodge Junction. 

"Eyes forward!" Fleetfoot yelled and pointed with her hoof to the animals. 

Misty Fly and Wave Chill spotted them as well, and Misty Fly turned to her comrades, her face looked determined.  "Then let's go. But don't do anything risky, or Spitfire will kill me." she said with a smile. But her anxiety was still noticeable, thanks to her voice. Fleetfoot and Wave Chill nodded, and the three Wondebolts flew faster. 

Soon, they reached the animals and flew beside them. On close-up she saw, what she had guessed from the far. Their bodies were made of thick, gnarled branches, which made her wonder how they could even move. Their eyes glowed in a frightening, green shade, and sharp fangs stuck out of their jaws.

Misty Fly was the first to act and flew a few yards past them. She then took a sharp turn to the right and flew past their heads. Both Timberwolves saw her and slid to a stop. Quickly, they turned around and growled at the ponies, who flew in circles around them. The running pony threw a quick glance back to his followers, his eyebrows lifted in surprise. For a moment, he slowed down to watch the scene. With a glad smile, he turned around and started running again, to get back home and into safety.

Fleetfoot flew higher so she would not be caught by them. She then analyzed the situation as good as possible. On one of the Timberwolves grew a long twine, which reached from the top of its head all the way down to its paws. Strange, white flowers bloomed on this twine, and Fleetfoot was sure, that she has never seen them before. The Timberwolf snarled at the ponies in the sky, but it stayed always behind the other Timberwolf.  While the second Timberwolf lacked any noticeable details, it surely was bigger than its mate. It snarled as well, but its growl was deeper and sounded far more aggressive. When the pegasi would fly too low, it would jump up and try to snatch them between its teeth.

"Is it trying to protect the other Timberwolf?" Fleetfoot wondered at the sight, and looked to the others. Misty Fly waved her hoof twice, pointed at the bigger Timberwolf, and nodded. It was her sign for a coordinated attack. 

Fleetfoot took a long breath and took all her courage. "I did it more than often in practice." she calmed herself down in her thoughts. She lowered her eyebrows and squinted her eyes, looking at the Timberwolf with determination. Quickly, she pushed her wings and kept her body straight, to reduce wind drag. It would end horrible, if she would be even half a second too slow. But she gave herself no time to imagine, what could happen or not. She focused on fulfilling her part as good as possible. With only a few inches between her body and the fangs of the big Timberwolf, she flew past them. A chill shot down her spine, when she felt the warm breath of the beast and its fangs, just barely touching her coat. It gave her enough adrenalin to fly out of its reach again. 

With another strong flap, Fleetfoot reached safety again. She still felt her fur raising and she calmed her breath down. Quickly, she looked back to the beasts on the ground. She had the attention of the two Timberwolves, who seemed angered about her action. Provoked, they tried even harder to snatch her, and seemed to have forgotten about the other two Wonderbolts. It was part of the plan, and her comrades used this chance. 

Misty Fly flew down, and grasped one of the legs of the big Timberwolf. She had enough momentum to pull it of the ground with ease. Before the Timberwolf had time to react, Wave Chill rammed him in the flank, which threw him crashing to the ground. The Timberwolf yowled and a loud crack could be heard. It struggled with its legs and threw his head to the back. It finally got up to its paws and lifted its hind leg, whining. 

Misty Fly and Wave Chill tried to take off again, when the Timberwolf with the flowers rushed towards them, its snout wrinkled in anger. "No, you won't!" Fleetfoot shouted in her mind, clenched her teeth and made another sharp turn in front of the Timberwolf to distract it. In this situation, she had not much time to think. The safety of her comrades were on the line, so she had to act quick. Fleetfoot flew through its legs, and made sure her hooves touched the belly of the beast. The Timberwolf jumped away, its growl panicked, and tried to catch Fleetfoot. Her tail slipped away, before the Timberwolf even had the time to close its mouth.  

The blue pegasus stopped a few yards above them, her gaze locked on her comrades. While she distracted the Timberwolf with the flowers, Misty Fly and Wave Chill got up into the air again. Wave Chill breathed heavily, seemingly tired from whirling around the big, wooden beast. Misty Fly rubbed her chin and looked at the Timberwolves from above. Her eyes constantly shifted, she was deep in thought. In the meanwhile, the big Timberwolf looked up to the ponies with flattened ears. Its eyes started to glow red and its growl became even deeper.

"We can't fight two Timberwolves at the same time." Misty Fly said after a while, and added a sigh. Her eyelids were lowered and her lips wrinkled. 

"But we just have started!" Wave Chill said with disappointment. His hooves twitched, and even though just one attack cost him quite a bit of energy, he gazed at them with fire in his eyes. 

"Wave, we are not enough ponies for that. We already need three ponies just to bring one Timberwolf down. And another one to distract the second Timberwolf. If we start an open attack, somepony will get hurt." Misty Fly explained, and tried to calm him down at the same time. Her voice was strained and her breathing became more heavy. 

"So you say we should give up the mission, because we have a weak link in our group?" 

Fleetfoot clenched her hooves. "What do you mean with that?! I was supposed to distract them, so you can even start your attack! If I wouldn't have made sure, that the second Timberwolf goes for me, you would have ended up as a snack!" she hissed back. She didn't even try any longer to hide the spite she grew for him. Her snarl could even rival those of the Timberwolves. 

"Stop it!" Misty Fly interrupted them and held a hoof in front of Fleetfoot. She looked at both of them sternly. "We have more important things to do. We can't fight them, so we will lure them back into the forest, just like we are supposed to do. We have their attention right now, and if we talk too long, they will loose their interest in us and run off again." 

Fleetfoot remained silent, but she continued to glare at Wave Chill. His look was cold and without any kindness. "Alright." Fleetfoot said with clenched teeth and flew ahead. 

Misty Fly turned around looking for help. Her gaze showed worry and she tore at her mane with a loud, frustrated groan. 

Like Misty Fly said, it wasn't difficult to lead them back, with all the anger they had earned from the beasts. The Timberwolves followed them and barked from time to time. Fleetfoot shrieked for a second, when she heard the snapping of their jaws rather close to her. She flew a bit higher to be sure, that they wouldn't get her, and let her mind wander again. 

"Weak link." she repeated in her mind. "I trained with barely any breaks for days. I did my best, and worked harder than anypony else. And he still has the nerves to call me weak?" She gritted her teeth to the point, where they started to hurt. Her mind went out of control and she searched, with lowered eyebrows, for something, that could repair her pride again. 

She watched the Timberwolves, who followed them without break. For a second, she thought she could see herself in those animals, never stopping their hunt until their anger would be satisfied. Fleetfoot shook her head and looked again. The big Timberwolf limped with his hind leg, a rather big branch got broken through the fall and stuck out of his flank, which prevented him from running and jumping like he would normally do. 

She stopped grinding her teeth and an idea came into her mind. A small smile appeared on her face, which turned slowly into a sly grin. "This is my chance." she thought and lifted her muzzle high into the air. The plan, she formed quickly in her mind, sounded perfect. "You will never call me weak again! And I will never let you hurt my pride again!" 

Without warning, Fleetfoot turned midair and rushed down to the beasts. Her wings flapped as hard as she could and she swung her right hoof to the back, ready to punch the Timberwolf. Her entire body prickled with excitement and in her ignorance, she took no notice of anything but her target. She imagined Wave Chill, lowering his head sheepishly after she would have defeated both Timberwolves alone, and apologizing to her while admitting her strength. This picture in her mind made her grin even wider. 

"Fleetfoot, don't--" she heard Misty Fly screaming, before it was too late. She was only inches away from the wooden beast. 

Suddenly, Fleetfoot felt a sharp pain in her hind leg and she jerked to a stop. She cringed in pain and realized, that the other Timberwolf had grasped her out of the air. She widened her eyes and took a sharp breath, before the Timberwolf pulled her backwards. Instead of biting her, it clenched its teeth around her tail and swung her from one side to the other. Fleetfoot looked around in panic, not knowing, what happened or were she was. For what felt like an eternity to her, she struggled with her legs and hoped for the best. A blue-yellow shadow flew past her and with an incredible force she got slammed to the ground. 

Fleetfoot heard a dull crack, before the world turned dark, and her consciousness slipped away. 


***


Misty Fly looked around, her breath became faster and heavier. It became more and more difficult for her to coordinate everything. The attacks of the Timberwolves and her comrades, who were busy with fighting against each other. "Calm down, it's going to be alright." she thought and went with her hoof through her mane. For a second, she managed to be calmer and her body relaxed. 

Until she looked down, her eyes widening. Without a notice, Fleetfoot stormed toward one of the Timberwolves. 

"Fleefoot, don't--" she screamed and stretched her hoof out to her friend. The scene in front of her eyes lasted only mere moments, and her own movements felt sluggish. Seconds later, Fleetfoot got snapped with a loud yell by the other Timberwolf. The beast seemed to play around with her, instead of harming her. 

Misty Fly's heart beat so fast, she thought it would jump out of her chest at any moment. Only relying on her instinct, she rushed down and punched the beast at the throat. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?!" she asked herself between gritted teeth. She tensed her body and gave her best to push the Timberwolf back. The eyes of the Timberwolf widened and it lost the grip of the pegasus. For a second, Fleetfoot shot through the air and landed with a loud crack on the ground. Misty Fly pushed herself of the Timberwolf and flew up, her gaze locked at her comrade. 

"Come on, get up!" she yelled with fear in her voice. Misty Fly tried to gulp down the lump in her throat, and waited with shaking hooves. But Fleetfoot didn't move at all. Her calm position and her shallow breathing told her, that she was knocked out. 

"Another problem." she thought and took a sharp breath. Misty Fly pushed her wings backwards and squinted her eyes. "I won't loose any comrade.", she thought, and flew as fast as possible. 

From the side, the Timberwolf jumped in her way and came very close to biting her head off. In last second, Misty Fly could turn to the side, missing Fleetfoot by a few hooves length. "Great." she thought and snarled quietly. Things became worse, and the constant fear made her feel tired. Her body would not stop shaking, and her wings started lacking strength. "Wave!" she cried and turned around, searching for help.

Wave Chill, who only watched the scene with a gaping mouth and wide opened eyes, nodded to Misty Fly, and flew in circles around the Timberwolf. He didn't need any orders, he knew what he should do. Again, the Timberwolf barked and growled, but no matter how much it jumped, it wouldn't get them. 

The bigger Timberwolf joined them and looked with flattened ears to its mate. They stood there for a moment, looking at each other and growling, sometimes licking the nose. It seemed like they would communicate with each other. The Timberwolf with the flowers barked twice, and the bigger Timberwolf reacted with a snarling, turning its gaze to the other ponies. 

The flower Timberwolf then turned around to the pony on the ground, and walked toward her. Slowly, it lowered its head, and took a long sniff at her. A few streaks of her mane lifted up from the upcoming draft and fell back down. It then dug its nose in her fur, constantly sniffing. When no response came from Fleetfoot, it opened its mouth and bit her in the leg. 

Misty Fly's eyelids lowered and she snarled loud. "Get your paws of her!" she yelled and flew down again. "I won't let you hurt any of my friends again!" Her mind was restless and she could only think about bringing her friends back to safety, even if it would mean failing the mission. 

Despite her weariness, she pushed her wings to her limits and stormed down. The Timberwolf noticed that, and turned around, growling at her. It jumped over Fleetfoot and barked without a break, giving Misty Fly no chance to reach her. Like the attempt before, Misty Fly had to fly to the side to get out of danger. She cursed the situation in her mind, when a scream behind her caught her attention. 

The big Timberwolf had succeeded in snatching the end of Wave Chill's tail, and threw him down to the earth. Wave Chill landed with a groan, and closed his eyes for a second. They shot open, when he felt the warm breath of the Timberwolf, getting closer to him. He gave his best to defend himself with his hooves and crawled slowly backwards, to get out of the grip of the Timberwolf again. Wave Chill growled loudly and pushed the Timberwolf back. It worked, but only for a second. The other Timberwolf saw the struggle of its mate, and jumped off Fleetfoot, to help out. 

Misty Fly smirked, she could now help Wave Chill without leaving Fleetfoot behind. Like before, she stretched her forelegs in front of her and flew quickly towards the Timberwolf. Right in front of the big Timberwolf, she turned sideways so she could ram it with her shoulder. She pushed him right in his injured flank, making him yelp and tumble around. Wave Chill looked up with wide eyes, but his look softened when he saw Misty Fly. He turned around, stretched his wings out, and got up in the air. 

"Thanks." he said with gratitude in his voice. "That was close." He held his right foreleg, which he had used to block the attacks of the Timberwolf, while being nailed down with his back on the ground. He gritted his teeth and looked at the Timberwolves. 

"Yeah." Misty Fly shifted her gaze between Fleetfoot and the Timberwolves. 

"And now?" 

"I would say... we lure them into the forest, like we had originally planned, loose them there and then bring Fleetfoot to the hospital." 

They started to fly circles around them again, to keep them from running away. The Timberwolves still snarled at them, licking their teeth, but they didn't try anymore to bite them. They already spent more energy and had to bear more pain, than the prey was worth it. They looked at each other, and sniffed and barked again. 

Suddenly, the big Timberwolf turned around, and ran off towards Dodge Junction. "Hurry!" Misty Fly yelled, more to herself than to Wave Chill, and followed. She clenched her hooves and breathed heavily. Both of them flew around the Timberwolf, to keep him from running any further. "If I let him run off that way... I'll let my comrades down." Misty Fly thought and bit her lip. With a lot of effort, they were able to lure it back in the right direction.

From afar, they heard the sound of paws, drumming on the ground. She whirled around, and saw the Timberwolf with the flowers, retreating from the scene and fleeing back into the woods. Every jump was long and only seconds later it disappeared between the bushes and trees, its colors melted with the surroundings. 

A chill went down the spine of Misty Fly and Wave Chill, when they heard the howling of more than one Timberwolf from the woods. The big Timberwolf listened and answered with a long howl. The sounds died away, and the Timberwolf threw a last glance towards the ponies in the sky. It's ears were flattened, and it growled in its deepest voice. Its eyes softened, when it looked to the forest, and ran off. Moments later, and both of the Wonderbolts were alone. 

Misty Fly's smile widened and she started to laugh. "Finally!" she cried and felt her legs wobble under herself. She sighed with relief, even though her body would need more time to relax. "That was harder than I thought." For a second, she put her hoof on her chest and breathed slow, but steady. 

Wave Chill looked at the woods. "I hope the team arrives soon." he said, and added more quietly "I'm too exhausted to fight more of them. I didn't thought they would be that heavy."

Misty Fly smiled at him. "At least, it didn't end bad." she said happily and her gaze softened. Suddenly she gasped and flew into the air again. "We have to go to Fleetfoot!" In her relief, she nearly forgot her unconscious friend. 

With a smile she flew to the spot, where the fight took place. Her smile wavered and she looked around. "Fleetfoot?" Misty Fly yelled. There was no sign of the pegasus. Misty Fly whirled around, looking everywhere for her comrade. 

"Fleetfoot!" she yelled again. "Did she woke up?" she wondered and rubbed her chin. The longer she searched, the more her smile turned into a frown. "B-but... she was right there."

Misty Fly tried to remember, at what point she saw Fleetfoot for the last time. Her eyes slowly widened, and she gasped. "W-Wave?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Did you kept an eye on the other Timberwolf, when we followed the big one?"

A foreboding thought started to form in their minds. "Do you think...?" he asked slowly, not daring to say it out loud. 

Misty Fly turned to the woods. It was completely silent. No chirping birds and no wind, that would make the leaves rustle. A depressing silence laid above the woods, whose trees kept everything and everyone inside in darkness. 

"Oh no..." she whispered, and felt her blood freezing. Misty Fly sat there, not able to grasp a single thought. "Come on!" Wave Chill yelled abruptly, ripping her out of her shock. "They can't be too far!" His voice was shaking as much as hers did. 

Misty Fly nodded slightly, and followed him towards the woods. "Why have you done this, Fleetfoot?" she asked in her thoughts. "Please, Celestia, let her be alright..."
> Chapter 3 - Fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fleetfoot blinked a few times. Slowly, she regained her consciousness and she felt her entire body aching. "My head... it feels like it was smashed in two pieces." she thought, and closed her eyes again. She took slow, deep breaths to relieve the pain. 

While she laid there, she noticed the cold and wet ground under her. It smelled of earth, and it seemed like small sticks poked her body. "That's strange. Am I outside?" She kept her eyes closed and her ears twitched, while listening carefully. Wind rustled through leaves, birds chirped and a small, dry twig cracked in the distance, as if someone has stepped on them. 

"What has happened?" Her memories were gone, replaced by a dark hole. The more she tried to remember, the stronger grew her headache. "We were supposed to look for Timberwolves... We? I was there, fighting, and... oh, yes, Misty Fly and Wave Chill were with me. We all tried our best and... What happened after the fight?"

Her attention wandered away, when something pulled at her hind leg. "...Misty?" Fleetfoot asked, her voice sounded strained and quiet. She noticed, that it couldn't be Misty Fly. It was far too small, and its teeth felt sharp, poking through the uniform and scratching on her coat. 

A sharp pain went through her hind leg and Fleetfoot gasped. The shock made her jump up and wobble for a few steps, before she fell straight on her flank. The world turned around her, and her stomach started to rebel, threatened her to meet her breakfast again. With clenched eyes and laid back ears, she put her hoof in front of her mouth and gave her best to calm herself. The feeling of sickness faded away, even though the pain stayed. Heavily breathing, she opened her eyes again and looked around to see, where she was. 

Long, thin trees filled her surroundings, even farther, than she could see. Its thick branches with the countless brown and green leaves covered the sky like a blanket, only allowing small specks of light to touch the ground. A cold darkness spread through the place and the weak, red glow beyond the tree tops told Fleetfoot, that the day would end soon. 

"Why..." Fleetfoot muttered, and panic started rising in her body. Her breathing became more shallow and faster. "Why am I here? I w-was with the others, near Dodge Junction..."

She saw from the corners of her eyes something, coming closer. Fleetfoot turned her head and gasped, her eyes wide as saucers. She fell to her back and struggled to get on her hooves again. Right in front of her sat a Timberwolf. But it was far smaller than the ones, she remembered fighting. It barely reached her head, and its eyes seemed to glow brighter. It cocked its head and sat down with curiosity in its eyes. The small tail waggled, making strange wiping sounds on the floor. Fleetfoot wondered for a second, how it did that with a tail made out of twigs. 

Finally, Fleetfoot got up and kept her gaze on the Timberwolf pup. It sniffed a few times and ducked down, while lifting its flank into the air. His eyes changed from interest to foalish playing. 

"S-stay away from me." Fleetfoot said, her voice wavering and a foreleg stretched out in front of her, to protect herself. She had no clue where she was, or how she got into this situation. Or where her comrades where. The last thing she wanted, was getting in the next fight with a Timberwolf. 

The pup barked, even though it sounded far less intimidating, and jumped toward her. A few times it snapped in the air, before it was able to dug its sharp fangs into her foreleg. With a quick scream, the pegasus pulled her leg away and pushed the Timberwolf away. The push had enough force to whirl the small pup around. It scrambled up from the ground, whining, and lost no time to ran away from her. 

A sigh of relief escaped her lips. The barking died away, and she couldn't help but gulp down the lump in her throat. "It attacked me, I had to defend myself." she thought, looking down on her hooves. "But it sounded like a real puppy..."

Her gaze softened and her hoof sunk down. She didn't received much time to loose herself in her thoughts. In the distance, she could hear an enraged barking. Fleeftoots entire body twitched, her heart started beating like crazy. She knew instantly whose barking it was and what has caused it. No animal likes to see its young ones being attacked. The dangerous Timberwolves were on their way to her. 

For a moment, Fleetfoot's body was paralyzed. Her limbs trembled and her hooves seemed to have melted into the ground, not able to move a single inch. Suddenly, something appeared far away, from her behind the endless rows of trees. The big Timberwolf stood there, snarling at her. Even from the distance, she could see the broken branch, still sticking out of its flank. Fleetfoot blinked and regained control over her body. 

She tensed her body and flapped her wings instinctively, to flee from the incoming danger. Instead of lifting into the air, she felt a sharp pain shooting through her right wing. She clenched her eyes, burning with tears. The drumming of the wooden paws grew louder. "Please... It can't be..." Fleetfoot thought and tried her best to keep her eyes on the beast. She tried again to fly, but the results were the same. While she had no problems to move her left wing, she couldn't even feel her other wing. There was nothing but a hot, dull pain. 

The Timberwolf came closer. Only a few seconds more, a few more jumps, and it would be able to bite her. 

Without trying any longer, Fleetfoot turned around and ran, as fast as possible. Each jump felt like a knife, being twisted in her head and her wing. Her lungs burned and each breath was quick. The rough ground, covered in thick, brown leaves, and gnarled roots, made it far more difficult for her to get forward. She tripped a few times, but she didn't stop running a single time. 

"Come on!" She tried again to get into the sky, hoping, that she would have at least enough momentum to glide up. But her efforts were useless. She heard the constant barking of the Timberwolf, coming closer to her with each moment. Fleetfoot ran, in a last, desperate effort, even faster. 

"MISTY!" she screamed, despite the shortage of breath. "WAVE! HELP ME! PLEASE!" Suddenly, a terrifying thought appeared in her mind. "My comrades... did the Timberwolves...?" 

Fleetfoot turned around to see her pursuer. All of the sudden, its eyes widened and it threw its head back. Instead of running, it rammed its stiff legs into the ground and came sliding to a hold. 

"What's goin--" she thought, until she was interrupted. In her escape, she stopped paying attention to the path in front of her. Instead of cold, wet ground, her hooves touched nothing but the air. Fleetfoot looked down, her eyebrows lowered in confusion. She noticed too late, that she ran off the edge of a precipice. Fleetfoot gasped and flapped her wings, before another hard landing took her consciousness again. 


***


The day reached its end, and with every inch the sun came closer to the horizon, Misty Fly's worry grew stronger. She and Wave Chill split up, so they could search over more parts of the woods. For hours, she flew over the treetops, her eyes searching for any sign of their lost comrade. 

"Did I flew too far?" she asked herself, her mind restless. "What if I didn't noticed her? She could lay somewhere down there, hurt and alone..." She stopped in midair and looked down to the huge forest. She listened closely, but there was no yelling, no clopping of hooves. Nothing, but the sound of the wind. It frustrated Misty Fly to no end. 

"She has to be somewhere!" she thought, her breathing frantic. "For Celestia's sake, she's a blue pegasus in a blue-yellow uniform! She should stick out of the forest like a sore thumb!" The situation became worse, and Misty Fly's heart beat even faster. "Where is she... where?!"

She stopped the flow of thoughts, and took a deep breath. The pegasus swept her blue mane out of her face and tried her best to keep cool. "Don't panic." she calmed herself down. "Fleetfoot is not anypony. She is not in the Wonderbolts for no reason. She can defend herself and we will find her. After all, Spitfire gave me the responsibility for the group in this mission, and I won't disappoint her."

As soon as she calmed herself down, she turned her gaze back to the woods. The Hayseed Swamps were enormous. But not the whole forest was the territory of the Timberwolves. Misty Fly breathed a sigh of relief, when she thought of how they met the expert team. They were only four ponies, but they knew a lot about Timberwolves and their behavior. When they told them of the incident, the team immediately offered their help, and even showed the two Wonderbolts on the map, where the Timberwolves live and hunt. 

Misty Fly continued flying, her eyes scanning the ground over and over. Her ears followed every noise, that could be important. She started gritting her teeth, when she heard something. It was very quiet and Misty Fly thought for a second, that somepony had called her name. "Is it... her?" she asked herself. 

She remained as quiet as possible, to hear anymore yelling. For a moment, everything went silent. A barking sounded in the distance. With widened eyes, she stormed forward, pushing her wings to their limit. "FLEETFOOT?!" she yelled and her eyes sparked with hope. 

Misty Fly gave her best and in a few seconds, she reached the location, from which she thought the noises came from. "Are you here? Please, answer me!" she cried and listened. A few birds flew out of the treetops, but nothing came from her comrade. The situation became too tense for her liking, and she dived down to the ground. 

It was quite dark, and there was a strong smell of wet leaves in the air. "Fleet?" she asked again, hovering over the ground. In front of her was the edge of a precipice. "Could she...?" Misty Fly wondered, and shook her head. "No. I probably misheard..." With hung down ears, she flew up again. The hope in her eyes faded away. 

Her ears shot up, when another call reached her. This time from another location. "Fleet!" she yelled, and turned around. Instead of the mare, Wave Chill flew toward her. He came to a hold in front of her, breathing heavily. 

"Did you find her?" Misty Fly asked quickly, hoping for any kind of good news. 

"Of course I did! And then, I decided to leave her wherever she was, just to chat with you!" he yelled, his voice filled with anger. 

"I'm sorry to say this, but..." Misty Fly said and lifted a hoof in front of her face. "Could you keep your snarky comments for yourself right now? I'm really not in the mood for this."

"No one is." he grumbled and turned his head to the east. "The Timberwolf team went back to Dodge Junction."

Misty Fly looked up with shock. "Wha-- Why?!" she nearly yelled. 

"It's getting dark."

"She's still somewhere in here!"

"I know that! Why doesn't she... just fly out of the darn forest?!" He clenched his hooves and avoided to look into her eyes. 

"She would, but... she's probably hurt or..."

"Misty, she was taken by Timberwolves. It's more likely, that they ate--"

"WAVE! ...Please... don't say it." Misty Fly said. Tears began to swell in her eyes, and she sniffed quietly. 

Wave Chill sighed and lowered his ears. "I'm sorry..." he said with fading anger. Misty Fly rubbed her eyes while Wave Chill looked to the horizon. 

"It would be better to fly back."

Misty Fly looked up, her eyes wide opened and her lips trembling. This moment seemed to last an eternity for both of them. At last, Misty Fly sniffed for a last time and turned away from him. "I really don't understand, why you hate her. Everything was fine until this morning. If you don't want to search any longer, just fly home." 

She started to fly away, until a pair of teeth dug into her tail and pulled her back. "Misty!" he yelled, trying to reason with her. "I don't hate her." he said with a stern look on his face. "It's... complicated." Wave Chill's eyes turned away and he struggled to find the right words. "This place... it's just too big for two ponies to search. Also, it's getting dark, so we have even less of a chance to find her. We should fly back and report to Spitfire. Then, we can start a search operation with the team."

Misty Fly rubbed her chin, reconsidering his suggestion. It made sense and it was their best option at this time. Despite all of this, her guts turned around at the thought going back without her comrade. "And what should I tell Spitfire?" she asked with a frown. "She gave me the responsibility. What do you think she'll say, if she finds out about it?"

"If I find out about what?" a voice asked from behind her, coming closer to them. 

Misty Fly felt the blood in her freezing, and her body tensing. Slowly, she turned around and hoped, that she was wrong and she just imagined the voices. Two pegasi, both dressed in a Wonderbolt uniform, came flying toward them. Misty Fly gulped, when Spitfire and Soarin stopped in front of them and lifted their goggles. While Soarin looked worried, Spitfire lowered her eyebrows in suspicion. Her gut feeling already told the experienced captain, that something went very wrong. 

"Oh, well..." Misty Fly stammered. "W-what are you doing here?" she asked, despite knowing the reason. 

"You guys were gone for so long. We were worried about you." Soarin explained. 

Spitfire looked at Misty Fly and Wave Chill, lifting an eyebrow, when she noticed the missing member. "How did the mission go?" she asked slowly. 

Misty Fly bit on her lip. Her heart was beating even faster and a cold shiver went down her body. "I can't tell her. I just can't. She will be... mad. And disappointed. But..." She turned around, looking in Wave Chill's eyes. He also wore a frown on his face. Wave Chill saw Misty Fly looking at him, knowing, what she wanted to know, and nodded slightly. "It's our only chance, if we want to find her.." Misty Fly thought and turned back to Spitfire. 

"Well, I have good news and bad news." Misty Fly started slowly, with sweat sticking to her tight uniform. 

"Yes?" Spitfire said after a long pause, and waved her hoof. She became impatient. 

"Okay, the good news is, that we were successful at luring the Timberwolves back into the forest and the expert team arrived safely." Misty Fly explained. She gulped again, her ears nearly touched her neck. "And the bad news, it's..."

"Spit it out."

Misty Fly took a deep breath, to get over with it. "One-of-the-Timberwolves-knocked-Fleetfoot-out-and-took-her-into-the-forest-and-we-haven't-seen-her-since."

"WHAT?!?"

"W-we didn't expect that to happen." Misty Fly said, ducking her head at Spitfire's sudden outburst. She felt bad enough, even without Spitire's wrath. 

Soarin just gaped at her, while Spitfire pressed her hooves in front of her head and shook it in disbelief. "How could you let something like this even happen?! I'll send you in groups of three, so you don't end up as snacks!!!"

"She stormed toward one of them and... there was a second Timberwolf, who smashed her on the ground. And the moment we looked away from her..."

"Why did she stormed toward a Timberwolf in the first place?!"

"I provoked her." All eyes turned to Wave Chill, who had been quiet until now. His ears hung as low as Misty Fly's and he avoided all looks. Misty Fly looked at him and saw the guilt in his eyes, something, that only rarely happens. 

"Why did you do that?" Soarin asked with a calm voice, trying to understand what was going on in his mind. Wave Chill turned his head away, not wanting to talk about the incident. 

Spitfire groaned and rubbed her head, as if she would get a migraine from the sudden stress. "What did I expect from you." she muttered and turned her gaze to the two Wonderbolts. The sun was gone at this point, and the night sky covered the place in darkness. "We'll fly back." she said sternly, and sighed in frustration. "By the next dawn, we'll start a search operation."

She turned around to fly back, until Misty Fly said "We should start searching right now, instead of waiting until the next morning." 

Spitfire stopped and turned toward her. "It is already dark. It would be useless."

"But she is still down there."

"Misty, we only get lost ourselves, if we fly blindly over the woods. Besides," she explained and looked at Misty Fly's wings, flapping with barely enough force to keep her aloft. "you have been flying for the entire day. You guys need rest."

Misty Fly sighed at her words. "You're right." she muttered. "But... what about Fleet?"

Spitfire gritted her teeth, and looked down to the forest and the cold, black hell it had become. "We can't help her right now. May Luna have mercy on her."


***


Groaning and with a blurry sight, Fleetfoot woke up. "Oww." she mumbled, her voice even more raspy than normally. "I'll smash my head before anything can eat me." She needed a few more moments to grasp a single, normal thought. Longer than after the first unconsciousness. "And where am I now?" 

She lifted her head and felt something pulling on her legs. Panic overcame her, as it reminded her of her last awakening. She jumped up and punched in every direction, while keeping her eyes closed. "Get away from me, you beasts!" she yelled. Her body was still in something's grasp, but she heard no whining or snarling. She actually heard nothing. 

Fleetfoot dared to open an eye. Everything around her was dark and it was rather difficult to see something. The light of the moon, which shimmered sometimes through the tree tops, helped her seeing the outlines of the many trees. As soon, as Fleetfoot's eyes got used to the darkness, she looked around. After landing on a large boulder, she had rolled down a few more yards and fell into a bush. Her uniform got caught in some thick thorns, which kept her from crawling out. 

Fleetfoot stemmed her hooves on the ground, and tried pulling herself out. Those thorns were rather tough and refused to let go of her. After a few more tries, Fleetfoot gave up with a sigh. "That's not how I planned my day." she said and looked around. There was nothing indicating any kind of predator, so she was safe for now. 

"I have to get out of here anyway." she muttered and tried to come up with a plan. It was more difficult with the throbbing pain in her head. With a small moan, she rubbed her head and noticed something wet. "Is that...?" she wondered and looked at her hoof. She couldn't make the color out in the darkness. But in combination with the landing and the headache, she knew what it was. 

"Great. Now, something will smell me. I have to get out." Fleetfoot tried again to free herself, but the thorns poked too deep into her uniform. Her eyes widened, as an idea struck her. She took off her goggles and threw them a few steps away from her. She then preceded to unzip her uniform. "It's not like I need clothes anyway." she muttered. 

When she felt the dirt under her hooves, she pushed herself forward and fell right to the ground. A painful tug went through her wings, when she lost a few of her feathers to the bush. Fleetfoot scrambled up and spit out a few of the leaves. "Eww, they taste foul..." she said and rubbed her tongue. 

She then checked out her left wing. No important feathers were missing, and with a bit of preening, this wing would be fine again. Nervousness overcame her, when she thought of her other wing. The pain remained and she could barely feel it. A scary thought came into her mind. 

Without looking, she lifted her foreleg and slowly felt her wing. After a few inches, she felt the source of the pain. The bone was broken, but it wasn't too severe. She grimaced with pain and went further down. The rest of her wing hung down, the feathers ruffled and dirty. 

Fleetfoot sighed in relief and her body calmed down. She finally threw a look at her broken wing. It didn't look as bad, as it felt. "Dear Celestia..." she said with a smile. "I thought, I lost my wing. I've broken my wings a few times before, but I never felt... nothing." 

The pegasus looked around. She still didn't knew where she was, so she couldn't just went to the next hospital. And she knew neither, where Misty Fly and Wave Chill were or what happened to them. 

"Come on, Fleetfoot." she said and clenched her teeth. "Think! What happened at the fight?" Her memory came back, but very slow. "We... wanted to lure them back. And then, Wave said... something mean. I don't remember what it was. I became really angry and tried to attack one of them. And after that... nothing. But they wouldn't watch the beasts, taking me into the woods. Well, Misty wouldn't. Something has happened to them, I'm sure." 

She rested her head on the floor and started pondering. "If I think about it, why didn't the Timberwolves eat me? They just left me unconscious with that puppy. Too busy? Already ate themselves full with my frie-- NO, don't even think about that! ...Maybe, I was supposed to be hunting practice for the puppy?" 

She groaned and stretched her limbs. "Those are Timberwolves, it's not like they can think of anything other than eating, hunting and making more pups. It's useless, trying to come up with a reason." 

Fleetfoot rubbed her chin thoughtfully, and got another idea. She then looked down on her hind legs, which where covered in long, white bandages. They were a separate part of her uniform, and functioned as a stabilizer, to keep always balance in midair. They also kept the blood circulation of their wearer running, even if one would fly very high or low in a short time. In other words, they were really useful for missions or all kinds of stunts. 

"I won't fly for some time." she said and started unwrapping them. A minute later, she took both of the white bandages off, and hold them in her hooves. "That will hurt." she thought with a frown and carefully folded her wings. She made sure, that the wing was folded right, so it could heal without the bones growing together in a wrong way. 

It took her more time than she expected, but she finally wrapped her wing with the tight bandages. As soon, as she made the last knot, she fell back into the wet ground. "At least those first aid lessons were worth it..." she muttered. A cold wind blew through the air, and made her shiver. Fleetfoot didn't notice how cold it was without her uniform. 

She pulled her legs close to her body and tried her best to keep warm. Her eyes wandered up to the countless treetops, acting as a shield between the forest and the open sky. "I always felt trapped in such woods." Fleetfoot thought, her ears touching the ground below her. "Now I am trapped." 

She kept looking up, searching for an opening just to throw a glance at the stars, a cloud or anything, that reminded her of home. She stopped when she saw something in the distance. At first, it seemed like two stars in the middle of the forest. Fleetfoot raised an eyebrow, wondering what it could be, until she noticed it. 

Those were two, yellow glowing eyes, looking straight at her. It gave her a chill, her eyes widened. She kept her body as low as possible, even though the wet ground made her freeze even more. Minutes passed, which felt like hours for her. 

The longer she starred back at those eyes, the more she became frightened by the creatures, her imagination saw in the darkness. At first, those eyes belonged to a small animal, maybe even friendly. But over the time, it looked more and more like a monster to her. Fleetfoot gulped, and heard nothing but her heartbeat. Suddenly, the creature cocked its head, still without blinking. "Who?" 

Fleetfoot had never spent much time in nature, but she recognized that noise. Her shaking legs relaxed and small chuckle escaped her lips. "He... he, he." she said, as if she would laugh at herself. "An owl. I was scarred to death by an owl." Her chuckle turned into a loud laugh. "What am I, a scared chicken?" Her smile wavered when she looked down on her bandaged wing. "Well, that's closer to the truth right now, than I would like...", she muttered and got up again. The owl made a last call before spreading its wings, and flying into the night. 

Fleetfoot turned her eyes away and went to her uniform, still stuck in the bush. The way it hung, it looked as if an invisible pony would wear it. She came closer, grabbed some of the fabric in her mouth, and started to pull. "I still need it." she thought. "It'll need some repairs, though." 

She was able to free a part of her flying suit, when her ears caught another noise. This time, it was the quiet cracking of the underwood, with the sound of many steps coming closer to her. 

Fleetfoot froze. She needed to decide quickly. "Staying or hiding?" she thought. It could be her missing comrades. Or Timberwolves. This time, she decided to listen to her survival instincts and started looking for a place to hide. "If it should be Misty or Wave... I can still come out." she thought and spotted a fallen tree, not far from her. She quickly jumped over it, which provided her head and wing with even more pain. She simply gritted her teeth before crouching down. 

The tree kept her hidden and behind her were some more bushes, so she didn't worry about what could be behind her. Cautiously, she took a glance over the tree. While sniffing through the leaves on the ground and grunting, a few small animals walked toward her direction. Some were bigger than her, others were smaller. After a few quiet squeaks, she had an idea what these animals could be. 

"Pigs? In the woods? So... they are wild pigs?" she wondered. One of the really small pigs came close to the tree and Fleetfoot tried her best to not squeal at the sight of cuteness. "For a second, I thought they were a danger..." she thought, wiping away the sweat from her face. 

The wild pigs sniffed, their snouts high in the air. One of them made a really loud grunting noise, and their attention went over to her uniform, still hanging in the bush. Fleetfoot watched the scene with lowered eyebrows, trying to understand, what they wanted to do. The wild pigs sniffed at the blue uniform, before they started pulling it from the grip of the thorns. 

With a gaping mouth, Fleetfoot just stared at the wild pigs, who had no problems ripping her uniform apart, as if it was made of tissues. "Why are they eating my clothing...?" Fleetfoot thought and crouched down slowly, hoping, that they didn't saw or smelled her yet. She suddenly remembered the head injury she got from her second fall. "I was right... the smell did lead others to this place..." 

She laid down, her eyes covered by her hooves, and her entire body shivered. The sound of the animals stomping around, grunting and chewing, were completely unknown to her. "I just want to go home..." she thought. 

For the first time that day, the luck was on her side. After a while, the sounds of her uniform, being torn apart, ended and the sniffing and grunting died down, as the group continued their search for food. 

Despite their leaving, Fleetfoot didn't dare to leave her hiding place. Her mind wandered to the comfort of home. She imagined, what she would do in this moment, if she would have never ended up in the Hayseed Swamps. 

"My friends..." she thought, burying her face into the ground. "Misty... Wave... I hope you are safe."

> Chapter 4 - Worry
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was surprisingly calm in the Wonderbolts Headquarters when Misty Fly trotted through its long corridors. The sun has risen, and that normally meant loud chatter and the smell of freshly brewed coffee. The silence made Misty Fly frown. Her comrades were already on their way to the Hayseed Swamps while she had discussed the operation with Spitfire and Soarin for a last time. "At least we have a better chance at finding her, with all of us flying over the woods." she thought and turned around the corner to find Wave Chill. 

"Did you pack everything necessary?" Misty Fly asked. She walked through the door into the lounge, where Wave Chill sat on a chair. 

"Yes." he mumbled, without looking at her. In his mind, he was far away. 

Misty Fly didn't notice it. She was busy strapping her saddlebags on her back. "Let's just hope, we won't be gone for too long." she said. When no response came, she turned her head toward him. "Wave? Are you alright?" she asked, taking a closer look at her friend. 

Wave Chill rubbed his head, his dark-blue mane hang low and looked unkempt. She already guessed, that he didn't got much sleep last night. "Yes. Stop worrying." he said, his gaze on the floor. He seemed exhausted, mentally and physically alike. 

Misty Fly sighed quietly and her ears dropped slightly. For a second, she rubbed her chin with a hoof. She wasn't sure how he would react to what she had in mind. But seeing him like this waved away her doubts. Without much warning, she put a hoof around him and gave him a hug. "We find her. I'm sure." she said, trying to sound reassuring. 

Wave Chill's face was still expressionless. His body tensed more, the longer Misty Fly kept her body close to him. Yet, he didn't even try to push her away from him. 

"Can we go?" she asked and stepped away from him. Despite the calming attitude she showed him, Misty Fly wanted to get into the sky as soon as possible. The slightly twitching wings of her told him everything. 

Wave Chill waved the mane out of his face. "Sure." 

Both went to the door, until somepony flew around the corner. "There you are." High Winds came to a stop and her curly mane bounced for a few seconds. 

"Hey." Misty Fly greeted her with a smile and stepped back, surprised from High Winds quick approach. "I would like to chat, but we have to go--" 

"I know. That's why I'm here." High Winds interrupted her. Her voice sounded dull and emotionless. "Spitfire gave me the order to accompany you two." 

Misty Fly pursed her lips. She never talked much with High Winds, and therefore knew barely a thing about her. High Winds was a great flyer, like all of her comrades, but she also had a large knowledge of the physics behind flying. Just from looking at the draft of a stunt, she could tell if it was possible and how they could pull it. 

The other thing Misty Fly knew about High Winds was her friendship with Fleetfoot. From what Fleetfoot told they knew each other since they were foals. 

The yellow pegasus starred in High Winds blank face and had no clue how to handle her cold attitude. "Oh, that's good timing." Misty Fly said with a nervous chuckle. "Like I said, we were on our way." 

"Good." Without waiting, High Winds turned around and trotted to the door. 

Misty Fly bit on her lip while she watched the white pegasus disappear behind the door. "Is she mad at me? Well, I guess she has every right to be. Fleetfoot wa-- is her best friend." She shook her head and tried to get rid of this fearful thought in her mind. "She's not... she is still there. Alive. I can't give her up. I don't have the time to wallow in pity." 

She took a deep breath and gave her best to calm down. "I've spent far too much time walking around and trying to cheer up Wave Chill. I have to set things right again." 

She quickly turned to her blue comrade, who just stood there, lost in thought. "Hey, Wave." she said and made a step toward the door. "You can brood all you want as soon as we find her."


***


Carefully, the blue pegasus climbed over the long roots, which covered nearly the entire ground. The thick fog and the dim light of the morning made it even more difficult for Fleetfoot to get forward. 

"Spitfire was right." she muttered and paused. Still tired from the nearly sleepless night, she leaned against the trunk of one of the trees and caught her breath. "We should put endurance training back in our training schedule. I never thought I would be so dependent on my wings to get anywhere." 

She turned her head around and kept an eye out for anything important. Which would be either a Timberwolf or one of her comrades. Since the first sunlight poked through the treetops, she has been on search for Misty Fly and Wave Chill. She still couldn't remember the entire fight and her throbbing headache kept her from doing so. 

The white fog lingered on the ground and left small dewdrops on the plants. For a second, Fleetfoot wondered were all this fog was coming from. "I don't know, if the Hayseed Swamps has weather control like... almost every other part in Equestria. But the fog would not move on its own, if it was created in a weather factory. Maybe... the conditions here are the same as in the Everfree Forest..." 

Another sharp pain in her head interrupted her thoughts. "Great. I hope I don't leave the woods with a brain damage. If I leave it at all." Fleetfoot thought, slowly rubbing the aching part of her head. The touch of her hoof brought only more pain, so she stopped it. 

She proceeded to look around. Other than an abundance of trees, she couldn't see anything moving. With a frustrated sigh, she slumped back down. "I hope they are alright." she muttered and looked down on her throat. 

After the surprising visit from the wild pigs last night, there was barely anything left of her uniform. Only a lot of blue and yellow shreds of fabric, which still cover the ground around the bush. Fleetfoot had picked up one of the larger parts, which was once one of the legs, and had tied it around her neck to carry it with her. 

"I hope, I won't spend more than one night in this forest." she said, her ears hanging low. "But if I have to... It can't hurt to take it with me. I mean, it maybe can prove to be useful." With one hoof, she went along the soft fabric, until she came to the end. The yellow thunder, which circled the blue fabric, was the only indicator of what it once was. 

Fleetfoot felt her eyes burn with tears, before she dug her face into the fabric. "I want to be home." she thought. "It seemed like a good idea to tackle the Timberwolf. But if I think now about it... that was pretty stupid. I never wanted all of this to happen. And I never wanted to drag my friends into this. Well, I hope they will still see me as a friend, after everything that has happened." 

She wiped the tears out of her eyes and clenched her eyelids for a second. After the long walk through the mud her hooves aren't particularly clean and she accidentally rubbed some of the dirt in her eyes. "Well done." she said with a sarcastic voice while she rubbed her eyes even more, but with the clean fabric instead. 

It took a while before the burning faded away and she could see again. "I shouldn't be sitting around. My friends are still somewhere in this mudhole and I really need some painkillers." Fleetfoot said and stood up. 

Slowly, she stretched her good wing. She clearly heard the joints pop after barely moving it for so long. To make things worse, she started to feel an itch in the wing. I was in her nature to fly and her instincts screamed at her to stretch out her wings, get into the sky and feel the wind running through her mane. Which she would have done, if it wasn't for her broken wing. 

Fleetfoot put her hoof on her bandaged wing with a few ruffled feathers sticking out on the sides. The pain wasn't as bad as yesterday, but instead it felt very hot around the broken bone. "I hope the muscles are not damaged." she said with a frown. 

She slowly continued her way and turned her thoughts to more important topics like her friends and if she was still on the right way. 

Fleetfoot froze, when a cold morning breeze ruffled her mane. Even in summer, the woods stayed dark and cold. "Don't let your hope down." she muttered. "You will find the others and then we'll leave this forest--" 

She stopped in her tracks, when she heard steps in the distance. The steps came closer and she turned her head around, hoping it would be one of her friends. The smile on her face fell off quickly, when she saw, what has been walking around. 

It was twice as big as her and its thick, black fur looked wild. Fleetfoot felt her heart sink down at the sight of the bear, walking around and sniffing in the air on its search for something to eat. The pegasus wasn't brave enough to move. Her broken wing kept her grounded and she was too tired and injured to fight it with her hooves. She just stood still and hoped, that it wouldn't see her. 

The black animal stopped, and lifted its snout into the air. It made loud sniffing sounds and looked around, before its eyes stopped in her direction. The red eyes of the bear gave Fleetfoot even more fear and her ears dropped down to her neck. "Don't move..." she thought. 

For a second, nothing happened. The bear blinked a few times, sniffed even more and suddenly growled at her. Without waiting any longer, the bear started running. It walked over all the roots as if they wouldn't be there. 

Fleetfoot felt her heart race and tried to think of something as quick as possible. She turned around and ran away. It was difficult for her to get forward and the bear came closer and closer. With its size, it would only be a matter of seconds for it to get hold of Fleetfoot. 

"Go away!" Fleetfoot yelled, even though her lungs burned and her legs felt incredible tired from the constant running and climbing. On top of that, her head and wing were still injured. The faster Fleetfoot ran and jumped, the more pain shot through her body. 

"I... can't go on much longer." she thought desperate and felt another shot of panic. She just dodged in time, when the bear swung its paw at her. Fleetfoot saw the sharp, black claws missing her face by a few inches. A quick scream escaped from her lips before she got up and jumped farther. 

"I need... to get away!" she thought. She looked around in her escape, searching for anything that could help her. But there was nothing in her sight than the countless trees. 

"Trees!" she yelled and an idea struck her. Her eyes scanned the area for a tree, she could climb without much effort. She found one with a few lower, but strong looking branches. Fleetfoot smiled for a second and ran with everything she had left. A yard in front of the tree, she jumped and grasped the trunk with her forelegs. With her hind legs, she tried to push her up.

The tree shook for a moment when the bear rammed it. Fleetfoot's eyes widened, but she continued to climb up. With each branch her hooves got hold of and each inch she was farther away from the ground, the more she felt safe again. 

The bear was not happy with its prey getting away from it. It lifted itself on its hind legs and shook the tree, as if would harvest some apples. Fleetfoot clutched the branch with all her might and closed her eyes. "Just go away!" she yelled and was still breathing heavily. She was never exposed to that much danger in her entire life. 

The bear growled and snarled while shaking the tree. When it proved to be useless, it grasped the closest branch with its paw and tried to climb. To Fleetfoot's relief, the branch broke off from the weight of the bear. 

Still angry, the bear walked around the tree a few times before coming to the conclusion, that it would take far more effort to get her, than she was worth to him. The bear groaned and started to walk away. 

Fleetfoot laid there for a while with her stomach on one of the branches and her legs around it. The steps faded away in the distance and she could only hear the songs of the birds. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes again. She was safe again. Fleetfoot sighed for a moment until her gaze fell down to the ground. She didn't notice how high she had climbed on the tree and suddenly felt her legs prickle. "Wow. Never thought I would feel the fear of height ever again." she muttered.

Without her flying ability, gravity would be far more dangerous. Fleetfoot gulped and tried to get back to the trunk of the tree again. "I-I have to keep searching. I hope Misty and Wave are alright..."


***


Misty Fly kept her eyes on the ground as they flew over the countless trees of the Hayseed Swamps. Sometimes, she flew slower or stopped for a moment, to have a better look. But everything looked just the way it did yesterday. She let out a frustrated sigh before she hurried after her comrades. 

She quickly glanced between the two pegasi beside her. Wave Chill was still absent minded and High Winds barely talked with them. Misty Fly felt the bad atmosphere pressing down on her. She gulped, when it reminded her of those moments before the incident. 

"High Winds?" she asked, and turned her head to the white pony. High Winds stayed silent while she kept her head low. "Can I ask you something?" Misty Fly asked. 

To her surprise, High Winds answered with short "Sure." 

Misty Fly sorted her thoughts for a second. "Well, I know you're kinda mad at me right now and I understand why, but--" 

"I'm not mad." 

Misty Fly lifted an eyebrow. She expected High Winds to explain her reasons, but High Winds made no attempt at doing so. After a few seconds of silence, Misty Fly turned her head to High Winds again. "You're not mad?" she asked, hoping for a more clear answer. "If she is not mad... then why is she so... reserved?" Misty Fly wondered. She sure knew not much about High Winds, but she couldn't be too different from the countless of other ponies Misty Fly knew. 

High Winds still refused to look away from the ground. "No." she answered. 

"Why?" Misty Fly insisted. 

"Why should I be mad at you?" 

"Because... well, if I hadn't screwed up the mission, Fleetfoot wouldn't be in this situation." 

"And what has this to do with us? Fleetfoot is brash and far too prideful for her own good. It was obvious, that such an incident would happen sooner or later." 

Misty Fly only looked back in confusion. "Wha-- How can she talk about her like that? I thought they would be friends." She looked to the side to Wave Chill, but he was too busy with his own problems to pay attention to their chat. It made Misty Fly wonder if he paid attention to the search either. 

"So many problems. Just because I can't keep an eye on two Timberwolves." she thought and concentrated on the ground. "Please, Fleetfoot. Just show yourself and we all can go back to our daily routine. I... don't want to be reminded again and again how our mission was a failure--" 

"Hold!" she heard somepony behind her yelling. She stopped in midair and turned around, just to see High Winds behind her. She didn't notice High Winds stopping a few seconds ago. High Winds flew in circles around a certain spot and seemed to have spotted something. She then pushed her wings and disappeared through the treetops. 

"Did she found her?" Misty Fly thought. It was hard to tell with High Winds's cold attitude. She felt a prickle in her body, a sign of newfound hope. Just a second later, she pushed her wings back as hard as she could, and stormed toward the spot were High Winds landed. 

"Fleetfoot?!" she yelled. In her mind, she already saw the end of these long searches across the woods, and smiled. "Everything will be alright again." 

She barely noticed the branches scratching her legs and ripping out some small feathers of her wings. It didn't matter to her, that she had chosen a bad spot to land. With a soft thump, Misty Fly landed on the leaf-covered ground. She quickly spotted High Winds, who stood still on her spot and starred in one direction. Misty Fly followed her gaze and suddenly felt the load on her mind being replaced by a boulder. 

On the ground in front of her, between small, thorny bushes and a fallen tree, lay a couple blue pieces of fabric. They were apparently a part of a Wonderbolt uniform, torn apart into some bigger and some smaller pieces. 

Realization slowly sank into her mind and her eyes widened. Under her hoof, she noticed something hard poking out of the soft and somewhat muddy ground. Misty Fly lifted it to find the remains of a pair of goggles, its lenses broken into many pieces. 

The longer she starred at the scene in front of her, the quicker her breathing became to the point of hyperventilating. "no... No... NO!" she yelled, getting louder with each word. "I can't... this can't happen... she... they killed... I killed..." 

She heard a loud gasp behind her after Wave Chill landed as well. She only heard the shuffling of hooves while her sight became blurry. "I... never wanted..." she said before shielding her eyes. Misty Fly would normally never cry in front of her comrades. Even when things would look bad, she always tried to keep a happy face, to give her friends the feeling, that she got everything under control again. But there was no control she could regain. 

"So we wasted our time?" she heard Wave Chill asking. From the sound, Misty Fly noticed, that he was gritting his teeth. "We flew above this darn woods for hours... and it was for nothing?!" 

"Calm down, Wave Chill." High Winds said. Misty Fly looked up at her words. High Winds sounded as clam and collected as ever. 

Unfortunately, it hadn't much effect on Wave Chill, who grew more and more angry. "Don't tell me what to do!" he yelled. He huffed and seemed to be in a struggle with his conscience. He really wanted to yell out all of his anger and frustration, but he also knew, that he would certainly say something he would regret. 

High Winds cocked her head and looked from him to Misty Fly, who watched them with teary eyes. "You act like foals." High Winds said and turned away from him. 

The more Misty Fly saw from High Winds behavior, the more she started to dislike her. "Fleetfoot... her best friend is dead... and she talks and walks around like nothing has happened?" Misty Fly thought. The confusion she felt for the mare turned slowly into anger. "How can she just toss away every thought about her friend? Why did Fleetfoot even chose to be her friend in the first place?! She is just... cold." 

While Wave Chill walked around with a hoof on his forehead, trying to get hold of himself, High Winds inspected the place. She walked around, stooped down when she saw something of interest, and picked a few of the fabric pieces up to look at them from all angles. After a while she flew over the fallen tree and went with her hoof over the rough rind. 

"She was not attacked by a predator." High Winds said and turned to the two pegasi. 

Wave Chill stopped walking in circles, looked at her in disbelief and pointed with his hoof to the many fabric pieces. "Oh yeah? Then how can you explain this!" 

"Like I just said, she was not attacked by any predator." High Winds repeated and showed them one of the larger pieces. "There are multiple evidences. First of all, the clothing is ripped apart, but free from blood or any kind of leftover body parts. Which leads me to the conclusion, that she removed her uniform before it fell into the paws or fangs of any animal." 

Before High Winds could go on, she was interrupted by Wave Chill. "Why should she get out of her uniform and leave it on this random spot in the forest? You think she was too warm?" The sarcasm could not be overheard. "Oh no, wait. She jumped from that cliff over there and landed in the bush? And she could only get free by taking off her uniform? By all means, stop sugarcoating things." 

High Winds simply looked at him, her face without expression. Misty Fly lifted her goggles,  rubbed her eyes and thought for a second. She walked a few steps closer to them and looked at Wave Chill. "What she said makes sense." she said. "If something... ate her, this place should look like a mess. Which it, luckily for us, doesn't." 

Misty Fly shuddered at the thought of dealing with the sight of a massacre. "We don't know why she decided to leave her uniform behind, but that doesn't matter right now." 

Wave Chill looked at her for a second before snarling. Misty Fly waited for an angry response, but when he turned away from her, she knew, that she had convinced him. Misty Fly then turned to High Winds, who silently watched them. 

"Go on." Misty Fly said "You said, that there are more evidences." 

"There are." High Winds said and turned to the fallen tree. "There are a few hair of her coat on the rind and the ground behind the tree. Also, the mold between the tree and the boulder indicate, that she took shelter over night on this spot." 

After showing both pegasi the spot behind the tree, High Winds walked a few steps farther and pointed to a single blue feather, stuck in one of the bushes. "Lastly, this feather points with its end in this direction. It could mean, that she walked off from the scene. The hoofprints on the ground are barely visible, so I can't follow the trail any longer. But all in all, it can be said, that Fleetfoot is not killed here. I can't say if she was attacked sometime later, so I can't say either, if she is still alive. But considering her accomplishments at the Wonderbolts, it would not be too farfetched to assume her well-being." 

Misty Fly looked with amazement at the white pegasus. "How can she stay so calm and look for trails after seeing this? I would have given up... heck, I DID gave up." she thought and rubbed her head. "So... she is still in the woods?" 

"Probably." High Winds answered. 

Misty Fly felt calmer after hearing High Winds explanation. She still felt a certain disgust at her behavior, but everything she said made sense. "At least she is not dead yet. I don't think I could live with this guilt." 

"What is our next task?" High Winds asked. 

Misty Fly pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked with a raised eyebrow at High Winds. "Oh, yeah." she said. "I'm still the leader of the group. I have to decide what we do next."

"A-alright." she said and tried her best again to be a leader. "We haven't found her yet, but we have a lead. And that's good. Wave Chill, you stay here and mark the spot. High Winds, you fly back to Dodge Junction. There is a really good tracker in the Timberwolf team, get him here so we can follow the lead. I'll inform Spitfire and the others, so we can reduce the search to this area. She can't be too far." 

Both pegasi nodded and High Winds already took off into the sky. Misty Fly stretched her wings and turned back to Wave Chill. "Let's hope we find her soon. I really don't want to be responsible for her death."


***


"Wave! Misty! Come on, where are you?!" Fleetfoot yelled. Her voice sounded more raspy than usual, after yelling for hours. With each passing hour, Fleetfoot grew more frustrated. Her head and wing hurt even more and after her encounter with the aggressive bear, she couldn't shake off the worry she felt about her missing comrades. 

Before taking another step, she anxiously looked around. By the time, she reached the line between the woods and the swamplands. She was still surrounded by the thin trees, but a foul smell hang in the air. 

Fleetfoot wrinkled her muzzle and turned around once more. All those animals had made her nervous and she constantly kept an eye open for a good tree to climb, just in case if the search for her friends lured more predators. Fortunately for her, there was no one in sight. 

"No fiends. And still no friends." she said and hung her head low. 

Slowly, she continued her way through the cold and wet piles of leaves. "I hope they are alright." Fleetfoot thought and her mind drifted off. "Are they safe? Are they as hungry and thirsty as I am right now? Maybe they found their way out of the woods already." 

The memories of the fight with the Timberwolves came back into her mind. Fleetfoot still had problems to remember more details, but she was sure of one thing: Misty Fly and Wave Chill were brought down as well. 

"It's the only possible way. I mean, why else did I woke up in the woods? They would have saved me, if they had a chance. I'm sure. If the Timberwolves took me into the forest, then they took them as well. Well, that's what I guess." 

She stopped another time and looked around, before walking farther. She had no clue where she was going and how far she has gone. Only her homesickness kept her on the go. 

"But maybe they got eaten. It's not like the Timberwolves would just wait for them to wake up in the woods and pass this opportunity for a good snack..." 

Fleetfoot shook her head vigorously, to get rid of the pictures in her mind. "No way! That would never happen to them! Wave Chill is too strong to loose a fight with a Timberwolf. He was able to spin one of them around, as if they were made of paper! And also, he is too stubborn to admit defeat. No, that could never happen." 

Her thoughts then drifted off to her other comrade. "And Misty... She is also strong. And smart. She can plan really good. She gets nervous if she has to lead other ponies, but if she is on her own, she can manage everything." 

She walked up a steep hill and the leaves on the ground became a problem to her. It took her a lot of effort to not slip down with every step. Fleetfoot gritted her teeth and wished, that her wing wouldn't be broken. "On the other hoof, if it my wings would be alright, I wouldn't be in this situation at all." she thought and groaned quietly. 

After a minute, she reached the top of the hill and looked up in surprise. Right in front of her was a clearing. A gap in the treetops gave way to the warm sunlight and the open sky. The clearing was also the only spot not covered in broken twigs, moldy leaves and mud. Small blades of grass grew in the warm sunlight, that was normally blocked off by the trees. 

Fleetfoot stepped closer and lifted her head up. The view of the wide, open sky seemed to ease her mind. "It's like... coming home after a long time." The pegasus sighed softly before letting herself fall into the soft grass. 

"I never thought I would miss to see the sky. I grew up on the clouds, so I always took for granted that I would grow old and die on them as well." 

For a while, she just lay there and enjoyed the warmth of the sunlight. Her body relaxed and she became aware how tired she was after running and hiding for almost two days. "Two days..." she muttered. "Even if I get out in time, I won't be able to participate in the race. Not with my wing..." 

Her eyes shot open when something else came into her mind. "Oh no, I missed the book-signing!" she remembered and her ears dropped. "I waited an entire year for this..." she said quietly and let her head sink onto the grass again. 

Fleetfoot gave her best to fight against the tiredness, but her body slowly gave in. She closed her eyes for a moment, still soaking in the warmth of the sun. "I wish... I wish somepony would just come and get me out of this." she said and looked again into the sky. Not a single cloud was in sight and the only thing in sight were the three dark-blue points, moving across the sky. 

"Dark-blue..." she mumbled. Suddenly, realization hit her and she shot up. "Blue?! The others!" she remembered and looked up. The three points stopped, not too far away from her, and from the movements Fleetfoot could tell, that they were talking about something. 

Fleetfoot concentrated on the points to see, who they were. "That curly mane... that's High Winds!" she noticed. 

Her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw, who the other two pegasi were. "I... I can't believe it... Misty.... Wave... You are safe..." She felt a tear of joy on the corner of her eye. "All this time... My worry was for nothing." 

She was all smiles and her eyes shone with happiness. Fleetfoot lifted her hoof into the air and yelled "Hey, guys! Took you long enough!" She was injured, tired and probably looked like a mess, but she still tried to keep up her mask. 

The three Wonderbolts still hovered over her in the air and it seemed, as if they hadn't heard her. 

"Could you please get me out of here and talk later?!" she yelled and grew impatient. 

None of the three pegasi looked at her. Misty seemed to point somewhere into the distance and the other two nodded. To Fleetfoot's shock, the three of them started to fly away from her. 

"No, no! Wait! HEY!" Fleetfoot screamed, but to no avail. Panic flooded her body as she saw her comrades fly away. Her breathing became heavy and she started to run after them. For once, she didn't care if there were predators close to her or not. "They have to notice me! They have to safe me! Or else..." she thought, as she rushed over the roots and through the bushes. 

"HEY! STOP! DON'T FLY AWAY!" she screamed and barely saw her friends through the treetops. She ran and breathed as fast as she could. "WINDY! MISTY! WAVE! PLEASE, HELP ME!!!" 

Suddenly, her hooves got caught between some of the thick, gnarly roots. The world spun around her as she rolled down a hill. She gritted her teeth, when she stopped right on her injured wing. Fleetfoot rolled to the side and looked up to the sky. Her comrades were nothing more but three very small dots on the horizon. 

"No..." she muttered and lifted a hoof up, desperately trying to reach her fading hope. "Don't leave me alone..."

> Chapter 5 - Loneliness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her hooves nearly flew across the ground as she ran as fast as she could. She ran without a destination and with no direction. She just ran in pure panic. 

"I have to get out of here!" Fleetfoot yelled. Her lungs burned and wing ached with every step. "Why did they leave me here! WHY!" Tears dwelled in her eyes and her eyesight became blurry. But for once, she didn't cared. 

One of her hooves slipped on the wet ground and she lost balance. She tumbled and rolled around for a few seconds, before she slid to a halt. 

Fleetfoot lay there and did nothing but breathing heavily. "I'm tired from running around... I'm tired of fearing everything..." she thought and pulled her legs close to her body. "I'm homesick..." 

While laying among the foul smelling leaves and the crawling insects, Fleetfoot listened closely. The wind blew through the trees, rustling the green leaves. The birds sang happy melodies. A few mosquitoes flew in circles through the air. But no sound, that would indicate her comrades. 

"Why did they left?" Fleetfoot asked to herself. "I thought... I thought we were friends. Or was I wrong? Was this one fight already enough for them to ditch me?" 

Her sobbing grew louder, but no matter how long she thought about it, she came to no conclusion. Carefully, she lifted her foreleg in front of her and rubbed her eyes. Fleetfoot looked down when she felt something soft and was reminded of the piece of fabric around her neck, acting as some sort of scarf. 

"Home..." she muttered and took the end of the scarf to clean her face from the tears. "I-I can't just... give up."' 

With a bit of effort she got up. For a second, Fleetfoot felt dizzy and her body screamed at her to lay down again. "No... I have to keep walking... The woods are never safe." 

Fleetfoot lifted her head and looked around her, to check the area and see, where she ended up. Far less trees blocked her view and the red evening sky lightened the place up. The ground was covered in even more leaves and a stench filled the air. 

"It looks and smells like every other spot of the forest." Fleetfoot thought. "But why are there no trees?" She walked a few steps toward the clearing when she noticed the coat around her forelegs getting wet. She looked down to see her legs slowly disappearing into the ground. 

"Wha-- Oh no!" she yelled and tried to back off. Her hind legs slid on the muddy ground. Fleetfoot tried to lift her weight on her hind legs to free herself. To her shock she saw, how she sank more and more. 

"Think fast!" Fleetfoot thought and looked around. There was nothing in sight, that would give her a better grip. No low hanging branches and no boulder around her. 

"I can't just die here! There has to be a way out!" she thought panicked. In an last effort, she opened her good wing and flapped as hard as possible. It was less of a good plan and more acting on instinct. 

With only one wing, she was not able to fly, but thanks to all those years training, practicing and working as a Wonderbolt, her wing was strong enough to push her slowly out of the swamp. Fleetfoot grit her teeth and thanked Celestia in her mind for every inch she got farther away from the swamp. 

With one last, final push, she felt the grip of the swamp fading and fell down on the muddy, but safe ground behind her. "That was really close." she mumbled and folded her wing again. 

For a while, she starred up into the sky. The sun disappeared behind the horizon again and the stars of the night sky shone again. A cold chill went down Fleetfoot's body when it got colder. 

"My comrades..." she thought. "They were there. Searching for me. If they would have not cared about me... they wouldn't have searched for me. I was overreacting. We have been comrades for so many years now. I know, I haven't been the perfect comrade lately. I do mistakes, like everypony else, and I apologize for them. But they wouldn't let me down so easily. Well, that's what I hope..." 

With a long sigh, she stood up again and rubbed her head. "Why do I feel so tired?" Her gaze fell down on her good wing. "It should have been less effort than a round of wing-ups, but it still took me everything to get out of the swamps. Now that I think about it, how long have I been in the woods? When was the last time I ate or drank something?" 

The more she tried to think, the more her headache grew. Until now, she thought the nausea was a side effect of her concussion. In her life she had a couple of concussions, so it wasn't something new to her. "It shouldn't last this long. And a sore throat is surely not caused by concussions." she said and frowned. 

"Well, finding a nice apple tree was surely not the first thing in my mind. But if the others don't find me soon, then it should become my highest concern." She turned around for a last time. The rotten leaves did a great job, covering the swamps so it could lure its victims into thinking, that it was nothing but a simple clearing. 

"I'm in the Hayseed Swamps, I should have expected to walk into an actual swamp at least once." she thought. She then looked down on herself. Her hooves were covered in brown-greenish mud. "At least it didn't reach my wing. There aren't too many open wounds, but I certainly don't want to deal with infections." 

Fleetfoot walked to the next tree in sight and picked with her hoof some of the leaves up. There was no river or pond close by, so there was no way to wash the stench from her body. "First thing I'll do if I should leave the forest alive: taking a long bath." 

Fleetfoot did her best to wipe the mud from her legs. The leaves weren't efficient, but it worked. 

The cry of an owl made her shriek. "I should search for someplace to sleep. Someplace safe." She felt uncomfortable walking through the dark forest. After walking into so many dangers, she felt constantly watched. 

"Stop being so afraid." she said to herself in her best effort to cheer herself up. "You are a strong mare. No, you are a Wonderbolt! A Wonderbolt is not afraid of dangers! We train so long, so we can protect other ponies. I escaped the Timberwolves, the bear and now the swamps! If I couldn't protect myself, I would have never became a Wonderbolt in the first place!" 

Fleetfoot took a deep breath and lifted her head high into the air. "I can do it!" she said, but her voice still wavered. 

She continued her way until she found a good spot to spend the night. In front of her was one of the bigger trees. Its roots were gnarled and stuck out of the ground more than it should be. This created a small room under the roots. It was certainly not the most comfortable place to sleep, but it was the best she could find in such a short time. 

Carefully, she crawled down under the roots. The smell of earth was even stronger and to her dismay, it turned out to be a perfect spot for all sorts of insects. 

"Eww..." Fleetfoot said when she wiped a spider from her face. "The night will be over soon. And then... well, then what?" For a moment she pondered what she should do next. But the tiredness washed over her and soon she closed her eyes. It didn't matter to her anymore in what mud hole she lay. 

"It will be a better day. It has to be. Just remember - as long as I can protect myself, everything will be fine." she encouraged her while making herself comfortable under the roots. 

She was nearly asleep when a voice echoed in her mind. "The Timberwolves? The forest? Tirek? Can you really protect other ponies? Or even yourself in that matter?" 

Fleetfoot was tired. Really tired. But this one question, lingering in her mind, kept her from sleep for a long while. 


***


"If you continue like this, we both end up bitter and unhappy."

Another night spread out its darkness over the lands and the Wonderbolts headquarters fell silent once more. Wave Chill sat on one of the chairs of the lounge. In his right hoof he held a mug, filled with black, hot coffee. He knew, he should sleep instead, but even without the coffee he would find no rest. 

His left hoof shook against his will. Wave Chills gaze fell down on the table in front of him, but the sight gave him no more hope than an hour ago. A large map of the Hayseed Swamps lay unfolded on the table. Large markings were drawn on the spots, that were thoroughly searched. 

In the course of this one day the eleven pegasi flew over the entire spot multiple times. But there was no sign of Fleetfoot other than the few parts of her uniform. High Winds brought the tracker to the spot on Misty Fly's order. But after not hearing from him for the rest of the day he came to the conclusion, that he had as much success as all the others. 

"I love you, but... I can't go on any longer."

The only thing Wave Chill wanted was some rest. Just forgetting about the rest of the world and all problems and sleep for the rest of the week. But her voice seemed to haunt him. The words of his former marefriend. The last words of his former marefriend to him, to be exactly. He tried his best to ignore it and every memory of her, but it was useless. 

"I hope you'll find somepony, who can make you happy. It seems that I am not this pony and have never been."

"Just... be quiet!" he hissed between his teeth and squinted his eyes. 

"Are you alright?" He heard a worried, but well-known voice behind him. Wave Chill opened his eyes again and his body relaxed.

"Yes, I am." he said quietly. His head hung low, as well as his ears. 

"It doesn't sound like that." Misty Fly trotted into the room and sat beside him. She looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. "Your hoof is shaking." she noticed. 

Wave Chill frowned for a second and pressed his hoof against his side, to hide the shaking. "I don't need pity." he thought and snarled. "I hate this. And I hate my stupid hoof." 

Misty Fly stood up and took the mug out of his hoof while resting her wing on his shoulder. 

"I-I just had too much coffee. Nothing to worry about." he said and looked away. His hoof moved even more toward his back. 

"You can't fool me." Misty Fly said with a chuckle. Wave Chill just bit his lip and looked down. "I know you since flight school. You already did this back then, when the homework was too much for you. Or after you got in fights with the bullies and the teacher punished you instead of them. Do you remember?" She showed him a warm and comforting smile. 

Wave Chill looked away again and sighed. "Yeah. I know, it's a bad habit." 

Silence filled the room, none of them knew what to say next. Misty Fly turned around and her eyes stayed on the fireplace not too far away from them. The fire crackled slowly, eating its way through the pieces of wood beneath it. "Is it still that painful for you?" she asked in a quiet voice and lowered her eyebrows. 

Wave Chill frowned and he felt an unease at this question. "Of course." he said. His voice was emotionless, as if his mind would be far away. 

"You can talk to me about it. If you want." Misty Fly said. 

Wave Chill knew her as well as she knew him. She would never fake pity or sympathy. When she showed it, she truly meant it. If it would have been any other pony, he would have just snarled and left the room with the feeling of anger and embarrassment. 

"There is nothing to talk about." he simply said and took his mug from her again. Another long silence filled the room, but this time it felt more uncomfortable. His hoof was still shaking, no matter how much he tried to stop it. 

Misty Fly sighed and was about to get up and leave the room until he finally spoke. 

"She doesn't leave." he said in a low voice and his eyes hung low. 

Misty Fly looked at him for second, genuinely surprised that he decided to trust her after all. She took a closer look to see, what his body language told her. Finally she stood up, just to sit down more close to him. Instead of angry or annoyed, he reacted not at all. 

"No matter where I am, she is everywhere. In the bakery, in my room, even in my coffee!" he said. His voice trembled. He tried for so long to ignore it, but he couldn't anymore. 

"Your coffee?" Misty Fly asked. 

Wave Chill looked down on the mug. The coffee was still hot, but he felt the heat fading away. "She... is a bit grumpy after waking up. Always hated the mornings. I used to make her some coffee so she could be ready for the day. Two spoons of coffee in one mug." 

His mind wandered away and a faint smile appeared on his face. "Once, I did far too much workout and nearly overslept the next morning. I accidentally mistook the cacao for the coffee. It tasted awful, but... she laughed." He took a sip of the mug in his hooves. Warm and bitter. But on this evening, he found no joy in drinking it. 

Misty Fly rubbed her chin and thought about his words. "You still love her." she said slowly. 

For a while he thought about her words. His thoughts started racing again so he stood up and walked around the room. "Yes... no... I..." he started and walked in circles. His mind was too troubled to stay calm. 

"I did, I really did. But... she abandoned me. For somepony else! Just because he... has a big family and a relaxed job with more time on his hooves than I'll ever have. And he brings her flowers and such things." 

His voice was filled with disgust. "I have been with her for two years! I was her friend in all the difficulties of her life! Like the time she had to find a new job, because her co-workers blamed her for stealing from their lockers. Or the time she was in a huge fight with her father and I helped them to make up again. Or... or... It doesn't matter anymore. I helped her, always. But when I needed help, somepony by my side... she left me." He gulped and continued his walk through the lounge. 

Misty Fly's gaze kept on him, but she kept quiet. Instead of commenting, she listened and offered him all the attention he needed. 

"I know, I am not the kind of guy every mare would swoon over. I mean, bouquets and chocolate and poems are... well, things a guy throws at a mare if he is too desperate and can't think of something better. I have never been the romantic type, but... I always gave my best." 

For a moment he stood still and lost himself in old memories. He tried to clung to the good memories, but they faded away, one after another. They became small and unimportant in his eyes. The only thing left were the disappointments. 

"She... she left so much pain. I wanted... no, I made her suffer for that. With every second, with every word I wanted her to feel the pain she caused me!" 

With a bit more force than intended he put his mug on the table. A few drops of coffee fell out of the mug and left brown spots on the map. 

Misty Fly stared at them for a moment before looking back to her friend. "Fleetfoot is not her." she said and got up to get a tissue paper. 

Wave Chill stood still, his ears hanging low. He realized it already on his flights over the Hayseed Swamps. But saying it was more difficult. 

"I know it." he said slowly while Misty Fly lifted his mug from the table and wiped away the coffee. The stains would always stay, always be visible. But she decided it was better to clean up the rest of the liquid before it would be worse. 

"I know it now." Wave Chill trotted to the chair and let himself fall into it. The feeling of emptiness stayed, even after talking most of his problems off his mind. "What Fleetfoot said back then in Spitfire's office... She was right. Fleetfoot is so much like her. This overambitious way to deal with things, this love for sappy stories and romance. Even this strange, snorting laughter." 

He smiled, even if his eyes told something different. "I didn't wanted to hurt Fleetfoot on purpose. I couldn't help myself. We all knew how much she suffered from this incident with Tirek and... something in my mind told me, that it was the right thing to do. I wish I could still apologize to Fleetfoot for all of this. To set the things right I did wrong with her. But... It's too late for that." 

"Don't give up." Misty Fly said, putting her hoof on his shoulder. 

"The tracker." Wave Chill suddenly said. "What did the tracker find?" 

Misty Fly gulped and took her hoof off him again. For a moment, she looked down and her ears hung low. "He... followed her hoofprints for a while. But a group of wild pigs trampled over them at some point and we lost the track again." 

"The tracker gave up. The Timberwolf team gave up. Why shouldn't we give up?" 

Misty Fly thought for a moment. She scratched her head and tried to come up with the right words to convince him. 

"She is our comrade." she started slowly. "She has been there for us. And we should be there for her. Also, you know how stubborn she can be. Do you really think she would give up herself that easily?" 

A small chuckle came out of Wave Chill. "No. I guess not." He looked up at her and into her eyes. "Thanks. For helping me when I needed it most." he said, his words sounding sincere. 

Misty Fly opened her mouth to say something until both of them heard the clopping of hooves on the floor, coming closer to them with each step. 

"Wave? Misty? Why are you still awake?" a confused and somewhat sleepy Spitfire said. 

"Oh, we couldn't sleep." Misty Fly said. 

Spitfire entered the room and came close to Misty Fly. "It would be better if you go to bed anyway." She made a motion toward Wave Chill and tried to tell her with her body language, that she wanted to talk with him alone. 

Misty Fly caught on that and nodded vigorously. "Good night." she said and looked a last time to Wave Chill before walking away. 

Spitfire looked to the blue pegasus and walked toward him. "We have to talk." she said. 

Wave Chill groaned in his thoughts. In this moment he felt more vulnerable than he liked. Misty Fly was his friend, but he just couldn't feel the same way of trust for any other comrade. But he knew he couldn't walk away and leave Spitfire. She wasn't here as a comrade, she was here as a captain. 

"I know." 

"We all noticed your argument with Fleetfoot right before the incident. And according to Misty, this was the main reason for the failing of the mission and Fleetfoot's disappearance. What started the fight between both of you?" 

Wave Chill kept silent for a moment. "She just... made me do it." he said. It was hard enough to pour out his heart in front of Misty Fly, a yearlong friend. He would never do such a thing in front of Spitfire. 

"What did she do?" 

"She didn't do anything wrong." 

"What did she say then?" 

"It wasn't about anything she said either. It's complicated." 

"I don't think so." Spitfire turned around and looked into the fireplace. "Wave, answer me one question. Why do we always fly in groups of three ponies?" 

"So we can protect each other in dangers and work as a unit, even if one of us is hindered from acting." He remembered with embarrassment the Timberwolves and how he just watched them attack Fleetfoot. It happened too quick for him to react. 

"You still know it." she said and turned around again to look into his eyes. "What Fleetfoot did was... not smart, to say the least. But you shouldn't have added fuel to the fire. We all have our bad days, but we have to deal with it, so we don't harm the ponies around us." 

She sighed and stepped closer toward him with a stern look on her face. "Wave." she said. "You are a good comrade and Wonderbolt and I really don't like to do this, but... if Fleetfoot doesn't appear in the next days, and also alive, there will be consequences for you." 

Wave Chill gulped and nodded. 

"You should go to bed as well. We all had a long and hard day." With dropped ears and another sigh she left the room and left Wave Chill alone with his never ending river of thoughts. 

His gaze fell on the fire and deep in his heart he hoped, that Misty Fly was right. "That's quite typical for me." he muttered with a sarcastic laugh. "I ruin everything. My relationship, my friendship and now my career." 

He got up, even more exhausted after putting so much focus on the wounds of his soul. "Good night, Fleetfoot." he said and put out the fire. 


***


Fleetfoot's eyes were closed, but she felt a cold breeze running through her mane and coat. She felt weightless and she noticed, that something was off. It was very bright around her. Fleetfoot opened her eyes and noticed the bright blue sky above her. 

"What happened?" she wondered in her thoughts and looked down. She wasn't in the Hayseed Swamps anymore. In fact, she was flying over the woods. Flying was so normal to her, that she barely noticed her wings moving. "What happened to my wing? Why am I flying?" she asked without stopping the flight. 

"What are you talking about?" 

The voice sent a shock through her body. She looked to her side to see Misty Fly. Her goggles were lifted as well as one of her eyebrows. 

"MISTY?!" Fleetfoot yelled and stopped immediately. 

"Can't stop causing problems, huh?" 

Fleetfoot turned around with wide opened eyes. Wave Chill snarled and was clearly not happy about her actions. 

"You... you guys..." Fleetfoot said dumbfounded. 

This raised the concern of Misty Fly. "Are you alright? I mean... do you feel sick?" 

"But... we were... and you... I was in the forest..." 

"In the forest? But we are on our way there." Misty Fly said. 

This confused Fleetfoot even more. "So... all of this was a daydream? I was not attacked by the Timberwolves and dragged into the Hayseed Swamps, were I wandered around for days?" 

Wave Chill shook his head in disbelief while Misty Fly started laughing. "Fleet, you have a pretty vivid imagination. Come on, let's concentrate on the mission." 

Fleetfoot's mind felt empty and far away, but a slow smile appeared on her face. "He... he he. I just dreamed..." 

"Fleet, come on! We get in trouble if we don't hurry." Misty Fly said with a sudden urge. 

"No, wait!" Fleetfoot turned to Wave Chill, who seemed to be still grumpy from their fight in the headquarters. "I'm sorry." she said sincerely. "I shouldn't have enraged you and what I did and said was foolish. Please, let's be friends again, okay?" 

Wave Chill and Misty Fly exchanged confused looks before he said "Fine. Just don't annoy me anymore." 

Fleetfoot felt the weight being lifted off her mind. "That's great... You don't know how much this means to me." She then looked to Misty Fly and said "We can go." 

Misty Fly shrugged and they continued their way. 

Fleetfoot couldn't stop grinning for a while. She felt for the first time in a while really good. "I must admit, that was the most realistic daydream I ever had." she thought with a sigh. "Hey, Wave? I'm sorry that I'm a bit absent-minded today, but what was our destination again?" Fleetfoot asked with a sheepish grin. 

There was no answer. Fleetfoot frowned and looked to her side, but there was no one. "Wave?" she asked again. "Where is he?" She turned around again, but Misty Fly was gone as well. "Guys?!" she yelled. Panic started to take over her mind and she stopped in midair. "Guys!" 

"FLEE!" A scream sounded below her. With a shock she saw Wave Chill and Misty Fly falling down. There were no fields or trees anymore, only an endless, dark abyss. 

"MISTY! WAVE!" Fleetfoot yelled and flew after them. She pushed her wings with all her might, her forelegs were stretched out and she was only inches away from Misty Fly. Suddenly, she noticed that something was off. Instead of her dark-blue eyes, a pair of dull, gray eyes looked back at her. 

"Flee, as far away as possible!" Misty Fly yelled. 

All of the sudden, Fleetfoot froze in midair. She wasn't able to move a single inch. With terror in her eyes she looked down and saw her friends disappearing into the darkness. 

"NOOO!" Fleetfoot screamed. 

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING, LITTLE PONY?!" a loud voice boomed. 

She recognized the voice and fear overtook her completely. Her joyful awakening turned all of the sudden into her worst nightmare. 

"YOUR MAGIC IS MINE!"

From the corner of her eyes she saw her pink colored magic being ripped out of her. Her body started to feel weak and her wings felt like rocks. His magic grip on her loosened and she fell into the abyss, like her friends before her. She yelled a last time while getting closer to the ground. 

She punched around and gasped for breath. A hard knock against her head gave her the feeling for reality again. "Wha--" she said and looked up. Above her were the same hard and gnarly roots she crawled under before going to sleep. 

"It... was a dream?" she thought. Her body was drenched in sweat and she shook in the cold air. It was still dark, but not pitch-black dark anymore. The morning would arrive soon. Fleetfoot lay back into the mould and closed her eyes. "It's good, that it was only a dream. Well, I wish the first part wasn't..." 

She hugged her scarf and tried to sleep for a bit longer. Her body felt sore and her mind exhausted. "Tirek..." she thought. "Would there be any difference if I would've trained more before fighting him? No one got even close to him. Not even the Princesses. It took some sort of ancient magic to defeat him. Was all my effort in vain? Are there really some things I can't change or prevent... no matter how hard I try?" 

Slowly, her mind drifted off into a more calm sleep. 

> Chapter 6 - Survival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her sleep didn't last long and the sound of the chirping birds woke her up again. Fleetfoot groaned and blinked a few times. Her sight was blurry and her headache grew immensely. "Why do things always get worse?" she muttered and lifted her head. For a second, she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the woods. Wind and birds. But nothing suspicious. 

"I guess it's safe to leave from here." she thought. With more effort than normally she got up on her hooves. Her legs wobbled and she needed to hold on to one of the branches of the tree, to keep standing. 

"Okay, keep calm, Fleetfoot. You can do this." she encouraged herself. "What do you need to do first? There was something important, but what was it?" 

She stepped forward on her weak legs until she was reminded of her nausea. "Food... I should eat something. If my friends didn't hear me the first time then it should be useless to try it again. And so far it has proven useless to just sit here and hope for anyone to find me." 

For a few minutes she just stood still and breathed slowly. Her heart raced, which increased the weakness she felt in her legs. All of this made her want to lie down again. "If I do this, I will be dead soon." she muttered with a frown. 

As soon, as she felt better, she continued her way. Fleetfoot shivered in the cold morning air. The first bright sunbeams made their way through the treetops and brightened the forest a bit. But it hasn't been long enough to warm the air up. Twigs and leaves crunched under her hooves and the smell of the woods was as strong as ever. But Fleetfoot didn't mind it any longer. Her mind was busy with something else. 

"And what should I eat? It's not like I got stranded on an apple farm. Okay, I need to think. I know, that I can't eat the leaves. Neither those on the ground or on the trees. Reindeer can, but ponies can get horrible stomach ache from them. Also, I can tell from experience. What else..." 

She looked around and took a closer look at her environment. All kinds of small plants grew on the spots with more sunlight. Many of the trees and rocks were covered in soft moss. She even spotted some bushes, but they didn't carry any berries. 

Fleetfoot sighed and walked a few steps farther until she saw something familiar. A few larger bushes covered a clearing and grew high into the air. Small thorns grew out of the twines and she recognized the form of the leaves. 

"Those are... raspberry bushes, right?" she said to herself and walked closer. She had a small raspberry plant when she was a foal. For her it was fascinating to see something grow and bloom. Fleetfoot had spent her whole fillyhood in Cloudsdale with rare trips to the local cities on the ground. Living so far away from nature made it more interesting for her. 

On closer look she saw, that she was right. A bright smile appeared on her face and she sighed in relief. "Thank Celestia, I'm not doomed!" she said and threw her head back to look into the sky for a moment. With a hoof she lifted some of the twines to look for raspberries. She found some immediately, but what she saw crushed her hope again. 

The berries were still small and green. From the look of them they could not be eaten for a long time without causing more pain in the stomach. She kept looking on all the bushes and groaned, when the thorns added even more scratches on her forelegs. But none of the berries could be eaten. 

"Great." she deadpanned. "Too bad I didn't crash-land two months later or I wouldn't starve to death." 

With low hanging ears and still weak on her legs she walked away. The longer she searched the more hope she lost. "Why do ponies have such a stupid sensitive digestion?" she wondered in her frustration. "Can't eat this, can't eat that and if you should try it anyway you can spent the next days with a nasty colic. Right now, I feel screwed over by nature." 

Every step felt heavy and the uneven ground made it even harder for Fleetfoot to walk forward. Sometimes her way led her up for a while, over boulders and fallen trees. And then she had to make a detour because she ended up in front of a cliff, which she couldn't climb up. 

Still, she noticed a few changes around her. The farther she walked in one direction, the more friendly the forest seemed to be. More moss, mushrooms and small plants covered the ground and more light seemed to shine through the cover of treetops. To her it felt more like a nice walk through a park. The parts of the woods closer to Dodge Junction were much darker and the thick fog in the night made it a truly scary place. 

After climbing up another boulder and looking around for any kind of predator she would have to outrun, she sat down and caught her breath. "It's kind of funny. A few days ago I felt constantly weak. Only because I couldn't defeat some overly powerful and magical being. But in comparison with now I felt like Wondermare." 

Her eyes hung low when she rested her head on her forelegs. Her ears dropped down and a small sigh escaped her lips. "I never thought I would die like this. Not that I've spent much time thinking about it, but I thought my death would be at least epic. Something like throwing myself heroically in front of a rampaging monster, so a wagon filled with orphans could escape at the last second. But this? Died from walking in circles for too long. Well, it should make for a funny epitaph." 

For a moment she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Warm air blew past her and ruffled her feathers. A strand of her mane hung in her face and moved slightly with the wind, which tickled on her face. The last days have been too much stress for her. 

She blinked a few times in her effort to not fall asleep, until she saw a large clearing just a few yards away from her. "I could need some sunlight right now." she said, got up and walked a bit farther. Soft grass grew on the entire clearing and swayed with the small breezes from time to time. 

Without much thinking she led herself fall down on her stomach. Despite her situation Fleetfoot felt more at ease. The grass reminded her of the picnic she once did with her comrades. The warmth, the laughter, the fun. 

"And that delicious apple pie Soarin brought with him." Fleetfoot thought with a smile. She opened her eyes and took a sniff at the grass. "Smells like hay." she muttered. 

Suddenly an idea struck her. Fleetfoot lifted her head and looked around the clearing. "Grass? Can I eat it?" she wondered. 

One thing small foals are taught was: don't eat grass. While things like leaves or mushrooms were forbidden with the explanation, that it would cause stomach ache, there was no real reason to not eat grass. It was just declared uncivilized. 

"If I think about it, isn't hay made out of grass?" Fleetfoot thought. She looked again on the ground. It looked as if it could be edible. 

"I... could try it. At least." Fleetfoot said. Her mind was still in a struggle between her hunger and her pride. 

"I have to eat something. But I'm sure my parents had something in mind when they forbid me to eat grass. But it shouldn't be poisoned. We eat hay all the time, why not eating some grass for once?" 

After a while she took a deep breath and decided to try it out anyway. "It's not like my pride has much use right now." she said. 

She opened her mouth and closed it around a few blades of grass. It had a smooth texture and didn't seem to be bad at first. Fleetfoot plucked the grass from the ground and clenched her eyes while chewing. She had expected a bitter or sour taste as a assurance that grass can't be eaten. To her surprise, it didn't taste as bad as expected. It was juicy and tasted rather sweet. It lacked the flavor a good pile of hay would have, but it was something she could get used to. 

"It's surely better than expected." she thought and took another bite. With every mouthful of grass she started to like it more and thought less negative about eating it. Finally, she reached the feeling of satisfaction. It also came with a small stomach ache from eating nothing for so long, but it was something she could live with. 

"Well, now that food isn't much of a problem anymore, I can continue my search for the second important thing that keeps me alive. Water."


***


"That should lighten up her mood." Soarin muttered while walking down the hall. His wings were outspread and on each one he carried a small saucer. He had placed two slices of his favorite apple pie, the ones from Sweet Apple Acres, on them. They still steamed a bit and the smell of apples and delicious crust filled the air. For a moment, Soarin considered eating his slice right away, but he had something else on his mind. 

The way from the kitchen to Spitfire's office was a short one and Soarin sighed in relief. "Nothing dropped? Good! Take that, butter hooves!" 

From behind the door he could hear Spitfire talking with somepony else. For him, it wasn't too difficult to recognize her voice. It literally burned in his mind, which wasn't much of a surprise with her tendency to yell more often than to speak. The other voice sounded somewhat familiar to him, but he had no clue whom it was. 

Soarin lifted his hoof and knocked on the door. Suddenly, the voices stopped and for a second it was quiet. 

"Can I come in?" Soarin asked. 

"Sure." he heard Spitfire say. 

He opened the door and took a look inside. Her office looked way more messy than it used to be. Multiple files and papers piled up on the floor and a few maps covered her desk. Her window sill turned into a place for the many coffee mugs, which brought the yellow pegasus through a couple of nights. 

Soarin quickly spotted Spitfire on the other side of the room, looking through the window. Her lips were pursed, as if she would be dissatisfied with something. Across her desk on a chair sat a mare. "Have I seen her before?" Soarin wondered. "Beige coat, green mane... I have met her somewhere, but I can't remember." 

The mare turned around to see who interrupted her discussion. She tried her best to look friendly, but her laid back ears gave her mood away. 

"Oh, I didn't know you were busy..." Soarin said and started to walk back. 

"No, you can stay. My visit was supposed to be a short one anyway." the mare said. She rubbed her chin and looked at Soarin from top to toe. "You are... Soarin, right? Co-Captain of the Wonderbolts?" she asked. 

He nodded and proudly raised his head in the air. In his forgetfulness he folded his wings together, as it seemed to be more polite in front of the guest. Two loud splashing noises remembered him, that he was carrying the plates with apple pie on his wings. 

"Shoot!" he yelled and blushed. "That was not supposed to happen."

The mare chuckled while Soarin picked up the plates and tried his best to get the smashed pie slices from the floor as well. "Well, I guess your name slipped my mind." he said and tried to make the best out of the situation. "I hope she's not mad. Mares are normally mad when I forget their names..." he thought. 

The mare cocked her head and lifted an eyebrow. "We haven't met yet in person." she said. "Anyway, I'm Sun Leaf, current leader of the Timberwolf research team." 

Soarin smiled at her and then looked at Spitfire, who still frowned. "Oh, you looked familiar to me so I guessed I have met you at some point. With all those events and missions it's easy to forget a pony." he apologized and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, what have you talked about?" he asked curiously. 

Sun Leaf's smile disappeared again and she looked at the map on the desk again. "We talked about the failed search operation." 

Soarin gasped and his ears dropped. "F-failed?! Wait, have you...? You found...?" he asked. Soarin didn't dare to say what he feared. 

"No." Spitfire said and turned around to both ponies. "We found nothing. That's the problem." 

Soarin looked back between Sun Leaf and Spitfire and tried to come up with the right words. "But..." he said "What about the uniform Misty Fly found in the woods?" 

"No indication that she's still alive." 

"The hoof prints?" 

"Led to nowhere." 

"What about..." he said and thought intensely. They only had a few leads, but none helped them. It was as if she was swallowed up by the ground. He shivered at the thought of all the swamps, that gave the forest its name, and how right he could be. 

"We gave our best." Sun Leaf said. "But we have to keep in mind, that we are searching in the middle of a Timberwolf zone. We can't just take a few tracker dogs and scour for her. It would be too dangerous. We put up cameras in the more visited places and marked their traces and how far they reach out of their zone. We also placed more signs outside the Hayseed Swamps and informed the inhabitants of Dodge Junction of the incident and how they should act in case of another attack." 

Her last words made Spitfire's ears perk up. "Informed them?" she asked and stepped closer "What exactly did you tell them?" 

"Just that a pony was attacked and dragged into the woods by a Timberwolf. I didn't tell them her name or occupation." 

Spitfire relaxed again and took a seat on her chair. "Good. I don't want the incident to go public. Not yet, at least." 

"Not yet?" Soarin asked and raised an eyebrow. 

"If it turns out, that... that she doesn't come back, I'll have to give the press a reason why I'm searching for a new member. I could just tell them, that Fleetfoot retired out of whatever reason. But they would soon notice that she simply disappeared." Spitfire explained. 

Soarin frowned, but he understood her. "May I ask a question?" he said to Sun Leaf. Since the incident there was something on his mind he simply didn't understand. 

"Go on." Sun Leaf said and nodded. 

"As far as I know, Timberwolves are native to the Everfree Forest. But I've never heard of Timberwolves living in the Hayseed Swamps. How did that happen? I mean, there's quite a distance between those woods. I'm certain we would have noticed if some sort of migration happened, especially if it involves such dangerous animals." 

Spitfire widened her eyes in surprise. "Oh, that's something I've been wondering as well." she said. "When I received your request, I wondered that as well. Back then, I ignored it since it was not relevant to the mission. But now..."

Sun Leaf thought for a moment and took a deep breath. "You're right. They normally live in the Everfree Forest and rarely come out. Outside of the woods they would find more food in form of ponies, but the lack of trees also means more vulnerability, so they stick to their home and only hunt what they are used to hunt. Timberwolves, like normal wolves, are not some sort of brutal murderers. They take care of the population of small animals, so they don't eat everything away. They do eat ponies, but they don't go out and hunt them, as long as they don't step into their zones. The reason for the Timberwolf population in the Hayseed Swamps happened six years ago."

"One of the tasks of the research team is to keep track of the Timberwolf population. After a very harsh winter we noticed the disappearance of three Timberwolf puppies from two different packs. We simply thought, that they didn't survive the winter and went on. But a year later we were informed of some Timberwolf sightings outside of Ponyville."

"My team and I went there to investigate the situation and to our surprise, we found the three missing Timberwolves. It turned out that an old stallion wandered through the Everfree Forest on one cold winter night and found the three puppies, who were lost. He took pity on them and took them home, where he raised them."

"But Timberwolves grow faster, unlike ponies. They were already bigger than a grown stallion by the age of one. So it was only a question of time when they would be noticed. We talked to him and explained, that they have to go back into the forest, since they were already a danger to the ponies around them. The stallion refused to listen to us and threw us out of his house. When we came back the next day to take the wolves with us, they were already gone. He released them into the Hayseed Swamps, just because he didn't want to give them to us."

"We set up some live traps to relocate them back to the Everfree Forest, but it never worked. The Timberwolves kept quiet until now, so we just watched them from there and wrote down how they adapted to the new environment. When we checked last time, they even had four puppies. From a scientific standpoint, it's interesting to see how things go. But now with the incident, we're not sure anymore how long we can tolerate them in the woods." 

Soarin and Spitfire listened quietly and nodded from time to time. "Wait..." Soarin said "Those Timberwolves have been living with a pony for over a year? Without any incidents? What if they're adapted to ponies? Maybe... maybe she's still alive? I mean, it would explain why we've found hoof prints so far away from their normal hunting places." 

Sun Leaf sighed and shook her head. "You can train a dog. But you can't train a wolf. I don't know how he managed to live with them for so long, the stallion refused to tell us. But even IF they accepted him, it doesn't mean, that they do it again. Remember, Timberwolves are predators. If they're given the chance to eat a pony, they'll do it. They act on instinct." 

Soarin lowered his head. As informative her explanation was, it crushed any hope of finding their missing comrade again. 

Sun Leaf got up and pursed her lips. "I'm sorry to say this," she said "but your friend was dead from the second she was alone with the Timberwolves." 

Soarin looked away while Spitfire kept a straight face. "Thank you very much for your visit." Spitfire said finally. "We appreciate your help and your insight on the matter." Her ears twitched and she tried her best to look and sound as professional as possible. 

Sun Leaf nodded and said her goodbye to Spitfire and Soarin. Spitfire leaned back in her chair the second the door closed. "What have I done?" she muttered and covered her face with her hooves. 

"You did nothing wrong." Soarin ensured her. 

"No." Spitfire said with dropped ears. "I should have never send them to the mission. From the first second I saw both of them fighting, I should have dismissed them and send somepony else with Misty Fly. And now we've lost two members." 

"Two?" Soarin asked. "I don't like the sound of it." he thought. 

"I'll wait a bit longer. I don't want to just give Fleetfoot up. But do you think we can trust Wave Chill after what happened?" Spitfire sighed and took a sip of her coffee. She frowned and put it back down. The coffee was cold. 

"You look like a mess." Soarin said and looked at her unkempt mane. 

"I feel like a mess, too." she said and her eye lids drooped. 

Soarin showed her a friendly smile. "I think I know what you need." 

"Some cider?" 

"No, some apple pie." 

"Still made out of apples. You know what? I think you're right. I'm normally a muffin type, but I would take anything right now, as long as it calms me down."


***


"I still can't hear it. Am I going in the wrong direction?" the blue mare wondered in her thoughts. After she had discovered the small clearing with the grass she continued her search for water. From the few flights she did above the Hayseed Swamps she knew that the forest was divided by a river close to Baltimare. If she could find the river she would be one step closer to civilization. 

"But how should I find this river if I still don't know where I am?" Fleetfoot pondered. "I can't rely on the position of the sun because I can barely see it. And I'm not that good at climbing to get up one of the trees. I still wonder how I escaped the bear yesterday." 

She rubbed her chin in thought before shaking her head vigorously. "No, I have to concentrate. I need water. Where could I be?" Fleetfoot cocked her head and tried to remember where she fought the Timberwolves. 

"It was in the plain close to Dodge Junction. I wandered around for two days, but the environment stayed the same. Dry earth, tall trees and no small plants other than a few half-dead bushes. And then there were the swamps... so I must've walked south close to the Badlands." 

She then took another look around herself. The farther she wandered, the more clearings she found and the trees seemed to be more healthy. Small flowers and moss covered the ground instead of a seemingly endless blanket of rotting leaves. Of course, she still found more than enough leaves on the ground, but not as much. 

Fleetfoot also saw a few animals, but none of them were as hostile as a those she encountered a couple of hours ago. Just some squirrels and an anthill, which she steered clear of. A faint smile appeared on her face when she remembered something in her past. "High Winds and I have been quite often in those small woods around Cloudsdale. Once I mistook an anthill for a huge pile of leaves. And jumped into it." Fleetfoot cringed at the memory. "Ugh, that ended ugly." 

She stretched her tired limbs and got up slowly. "Okay, enough nostalgia." she muttered and walked a few steps. "Moss... it can only grow if there is more water around, right? That's what they said back than in school. So... I should find the river if I follow the moss?" She scratched her head and sighed. "I don't have a better plan right now, so why not?" 

A last time she looked around in case someone not friendly came close to her. She met so many predators the last days that she became somewhat jumpy at every noise. "The coast is clear." she thought. 

In fact, there was nothing to see. If the birds wouldn't constantly chirp she would've believed she would be the only living being in that place. Fleetfoot sighed, but this time from relieve. "Good. I feel better already from the grass, but I still don't have the strength to outrun anything." 

With a frown she threw a look on her right wing. The bandage loosened up sometimes, so she had to retighten it every few hours. With one hoof she felt her wing to see, if it was healing without much complications. The pain had subdued into a bearable twinge and the muscles around the bone didn't feel as warm as a few days before. 

"Why can't you heal faster?" she asked herself. "Or don't break as fast?" 

Without much more standing around and thinking, the blue pegasus looked for the next moss-covered rock and followed the path. By now the woods didn't seem terrifying any longer. It reminded Fleetfoot a lot of the trips she took either with High Winds or her family. Just walking around, taking a photo of one of the trees and having a nice picnic. "It was such an easy time. Back then, when my biggest worries have been my homework and getting my Cutie Mark. I miss it a bit." she thought. 

Her way led her over hills and around boulders and with every passed minute Fleetfoot became more worried. "What if I walk in the wrong direction? I don't think I can last much longer without water." 

Fleetfoot stopped to lean against a tree. It was still tiring for her to walk for so long. She let her head hang low until she heard something in the distance. Her head shot up immediately and she looked around. Her ears twitched and she tried to listen closer. There was definitely a splashing sound, like a fountain. 

Fleetfoot started to grin and walked to the sound. Her hooves moved faster and before she noticed she galloped all the way. The sound became louder and she felt more happy. With a last jump she walked up another small hill to look down at something she had been searching for nearly a whole day. 

It wasn't the river she had been looking for, but it was a creek. The water flowed down across the forest and it looked as if small, long plants grew in the water on the gravel ground. "Finally!" she exclaimed and walked down. 

After another quick search for dangers she lowered her head and dipped her snout right into the water. Normally she would use her hooves to bring the water up to her face, but she didn't care for manners anymore. It's not like anyone would watch her. 

"I never thought I would miss water that much!" she thought full of joy. She stood there for a while and drank. 

Finally, she lifted her head and sighed. "At last..." she mumbled and sat down. Her throat felt still dry and scratchy, but not as bad as before. For a while, she just closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being alive. The wind in her mane. The soft, cold ground under her coat. The sound of splashing water and singing birds in her ears. 

She then stretched her legs and her good wing. "I could drink a bit more..." she thought and leaned forward. In the reflection of the water she noticed something. The face of an unknown pony stared back at her. 

For a moment her heart stopped and she spun around with wide opened eyes. In her panic she stumbled backwards into the water and looked around. Around her it was as empty as before, when she arrived. Fleetfoot's breath became quicker and she turned around again. She was alone. Quickly, she threw her head back and checked the treetops. Nothing unusual. 

"What happened? Am I... insane?" she wondered walked out of the water. "There was a pony... and it looked scary..." Fleetfoot took more deep breaths and calmed down slowly. 

"I haven't drank anything until now. Maybe it's just dehydration?" A nervous chuckle overcame her lips and she sat down again. "Yeah, it must be it." she muttered and turned back to the water. 

Again, she saw the reflection of the stranger, looking at her. Fleetfoot flinched, but gave her best to not jump away like before. She looked again, this time for a bit longer. Her ears dropped when the sudden realization hit her. 

"It can't... It's me..." she said voiceless and put her hoof in front of her mouth. "I have slept in dirt and walked into a swamp, so I expected that I would look dirty. But..." she thought. 

Her coat was felted and partly covered in brown mud. Her disheveled mane hung down into her face. The dark circles under her eyes showed the stress she went through in the last days and the dried blood on the side of her face showed the dangers she had barely escaped. 

With a hoof she whipped some lose strands of her mane out of her face. "Did I become that?" she wondered and kept her gaze down. "I have been only for a few days in the woods. Or not? Did more days pass and I didn't notice it?" she asked herself. She hovered her hoof right above the water and her reflection. "When did I give myself up?" 

Looking at her reflection stirred up many emotions in her. She felt sad, lonely, desperate. But something else started to grow in her. Something she thought she had lost many days ago. 

She lifted her hoof a bit and slammed it down into the water, making her reflection disappear in the waves. 

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" she yelled at the water. "I overcame so many dangers, trials and problems just to curl up in some forest and die a pitiful death? No! I trained so hard and gave up so much to become a Wonderbolt! This. Will. Not. Be. My. End!" 

The more she yelled the more she felt a fire in herself. A fire she had missed for so long. Ever since she lost against Tirek, she felt unsure about herself and what she can do and what not. She tried so many things to get this feeling back. The feeling she always had and enjoyed about being a Wonderbolt. The determination to reach every goal and defeat every obstacle in her life. 

"I aced the flight school, even though no one believed in me! I showed everypony, that I don't need to be huge or have the body of a bodybuilder just to be an incredible fast flyer! I survived the Wonderbolts Academy!" 

Memories of her youth flooded her mind. She remembered the excitement and the happiness she felt, when she was accepted into the Academy. And how quickly she regretted it. She had trained under the harsh eyes of General Steelwing, one of the best drill sergeants of the Wonderbolts until he retired a year after her graduation and Spitfire took over. 

Fleetfoot visited Sptifire a few times, when she had a new group of cadets to train. And every time it looked like a nice day in a wellness center, compared to what she had to do with General Steelwing. 

It was hard. It was brutal. But in the end it was all worth it. He trained those, who seemed to be worthy material, until they couldn't stand anymore. But the hard training made her stronger and graduating felt for her like one of the biggest achievements in her life. 

A smile appeared on her face and she felt the feeling of pride filling her body. "I overcame so many obstacles in my life and I will overcome this one as well! I'll find a way out of this, get my wing checked in a hospital and tell my grandfoals one day how I survived in one of the most hostile environments for a pony! ...Or I could write a novel about it." 

Fleetfoot got up and looked up into the sky, which was partly covered by all the trees around her. "Do you hear me, Hayseed Swamps and everyone who lives in it?! I'M NOT AFRAID ANYMORE! YOU WILL NEVER GET ME DOWN!!!" 

The birds screeched and flew away in panic, but other than that she heard nothing. Fleetfoot's heavy breathing turned into a laughter. 

"Wow, I think I really needed that." she said to herself. 

She stretched herself one last time before she took her first step along the creek. This time she wouldn't panic. She wouldn't whine or think about how much she missed her friends, her sister and her home. This time she would embrace the adventure and whatever the forest would throw at her. 
> Chapter 7 - Hope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ugh, my back is killing me. I should've searched for a better sleeping spot than the boulder." Fleetfoot thought with a frown and stretched her aching back. 

The forest was still in the grip of the night, but in the distance she could see the first rays of the morning sun shining through the thick foliage. The first birds started chirping and a faint mist spread across the creek, which she had followed for nearly a day. The path was rough, so it took her quite some time to get forward. But she was confident, that she would reach the river soon. 

"At least there's grass everywhere. It still feels strange to eat it, though." she thought and remembered the taste of grass still on her tongue. Despite the good first impression it left a somewhat bitter aftertaste. 

After walking for so long she quickened her pace. She knew, that the Hayseed Swamps were huge, but she grew impatient. "What if this creek leads into nowhere?" she wondered for a second and stopped. "But... it can't just disappear into the ground. If it doesn't end in the river it should end in the sea. It would be farther away from Baltimare..." 

Suddenly, she heard a rustling. Her ears perked up and her entire body tensed. "Was I too loud again?" Fleetfoot thought and looked around for the source of the noise. The experiences of the last days made her very jumpy and she expected the next shock behind every tree. She heard the rustling again, together with a faint squeak. The pegasus gulped and thought for a second while standing still. 

"Is it an enemy? Should I run away? What if it hasn't seen or heard me yet? If that is the case and I run away, it will know of my presence." Against her instinct to turn around and run as fast as her legs could, she stood there and waited longer. Her breathing became slow and quiet and her legs prickled with adrenalin. "I wait only a little bit longer..." she thought, gritting her teeth. The source of the noise came closer. 

Across the creek, behind a small bush, she saw something white poking out. A second later she saw something jumping out of the bush. Fleetfoot held her breath until she noticed the animal. To her surprise - and her relief - it turned out to be some sort of rabbit. What confused her about the small animal were the two small, white antler on top of its head. 

"That's... strange. I think I saw a picture of one of those in a book about forest animals. What was its name? Jackiloo? Or was it Jackalope?" Fleetfoot cocked her head while trying to remember the name of the species. 

The rabbit looked at her for a moment, seemingly confused about the presence of the pegasus and whether she was a danger or not. After a moment of silence and nothing happening, the rabbit decided, that Fleetfoot would cause no harm and came closer to its side of the creek. It bent down and started to drink some of the water with its tiny tongue. 

Fleetfoot watched the rabbit and a smile spread across her face. The sight of the fluffy bunny and the tiny noises it made while drinking was almost too adorable for Fleetfoot. At any time she would've suppressed her desire to acknowledge it. It would make her look soft in front of others, which could lead into problems. But right now she couldn't help herself. "Aww..." she said with affection and her gaze became more dreamy. 

The rabbit looked up with surprise and squeaked. Suddenly, the small rabbit turned around and jumped away. Despite its small height it was able to run faster than Fleetfoot expected. 

Her smile vanished and she watched the rabbit running away. "No, wait! I didn't want to scare you!" she yelled. Without a second thought she jumped through the creek, which grew wider with every mile, but not deeper. It was not a problem for her to cross it in a few jumps. 

The water splashed high into the air, sprinkling her already muddy coat. As soon as she felt the soft and muddy ground under her hooves, she started running after the rabbit. "Please, wait!" she yelled. "You're the first cute thing I've seen in days!" The rabbit didn't stopped and disappeared with a last jump in a hole, just underneath a large oak tree. 

Fleetfoot slid to a stop and looked into the hole with low hanging ears. She kneeled down before the hole and looked into it. She couldn't see anything. "Just let me pet you once, okay? I'll leave after that, I promise." she said into the hole. But no sound came out of it. 

Fleetfoot sighed and looked up. "I would've loved to look at the bunny a bit longer. Everything here is hostile, so it would be a nice break to have something adorable at my side." she thought with disappointment. She then looked down into the hole again and a question came into her mind. "How did it escape into the hole with the antler? I'm sure they were far larger than the hole is..." she muttered and rubbed her chin. 

After a while she got up and stretched her legs. "It's no use. I mean, petting that bunny won't bring me any closer to civilization." 

She was about to turn around, when her gaze fell onto the tree before her. It was a lot larger than most of the other trees and its curvy branches reached high into the sky. The other trees grew mostly straight into the air with few branches, that she could climb on. But this tree had low hanging branches, some of them were big enough for her to stand on. 

"I could try climbing it." she thought. "Maybe I find the river from up there." With a confident smile she took the first step. 

But before she could even touch the bark, a new thought made her hesitate. "But what if I slip and fall? My wings are still useless and a broken leg would definitely be my death sentence." Fleetfoot took a deep breath and put her hoof onto the rough bark. "Stop worrying." she said to herself. "Nothing will go wrong. I have to stay positive." 

With one hoof she grasped the first branch and stretched her hind legs as much as possible, to stand a bit higher. With her other hoof she grasped another branch close by and lifted herself up. She almost lost her balance and instinctively fluttered her good wing, but after some wobbling she stood firm on the branch. 

Fleetfoot took another breath and smiled confidently. It was only the first step, but it made her brave enough to continue. It proved to be quite a challenge to find new branches to climb higher. Sometimes she had to move to another branch and the higher she climbed, the more nervous she was about falling down. But the higher she climbed, the more branches were around her and gave her a feeling of safety back. 

"Why did I hesitate in the first place?" Fleetfoot wondered with a smile and reached out for the next branch. "It's absolutely eas--" 

The branch, she tried to pull herself up, broke off with a loud crack and she fell forward. Her eyes widened in blind panic and she tried to grasp for the first best thing. She got some hold before it would've been to late. 

"I-I should be more careful..." Fleetfoot thought and gulped. "That could've ended very bad." 

She moved more slowly and finally came close to the top. The green leaves now surrounded her everywhere and she had to push some of the smaller branches away to see, where she was going. 

Fleetfoot looked up and saw the light of the sun shining through the few last twigs, which were between her and the open sky. The light danced through the young leaves and shone in a green shade on the forest ground. Just watching this with the wind moving everything and creating a play of colors was fascinating for Fleetfoot. She just stood there and watched in awe. 

Suddenly, she shook her head. "I have to get up. This is the best way to find out, where I have to go. And where exactly I am right now." she thought, reminding herself why she climbed the tree in the first place. 

Carefully, she walked closer up the trunk and pushed the leaves away for a last time. Finally, she was able to poke her head out of the forest. 

The dancing lights were beautiful to her. But Fleetfoot knew no words to describe the view in front of her. Far in the distance she saw the morning sun rising up behind a few larger hills, which bathed the entire sky in an orange-yellow glow. Even the few clouds above her were colored in the warm colors, which added to the magnificent view. 

Fleetfoot stood there and tried to take everything in. "I've seen so many dawns." she thought "But none of them were... like this." 

A cold, yet refreshing breeze blew past her, ruffling through her messy mane and bedraggled coat. Fleetfoot closed her eyes and unfolded her good wing, letting the wind go underneath it. For a second it felt like flying again. Letting go of every problem and being a part of the sky. 

With a loud sigh she folded the wing again and looked to her right. "Soon." she muttered. "I won't be here for much longer. I'm sure of that." She then turned her head to look above the trees and tried to recognize any of them. "Nothing too memorable." she thought disappointed until she saw something far away. It was a mountain, just poking out in the distance. While the trees looked all the same to her, she would always remember that mountain. 

"Is it...?" she thought "If this is what I think it is, then I shouldn't be too far away from Baltimare. A three hour flight. Or another day of walking for me. After all, I have to cross the river, which should be the hardest part in my journey." 

Her heart nearly skipped a beat and she already imagined the faces of her friends when she would walk up to them. Her gaze fell down on the blue scarf around her neck. "Nothing can stop me now. Nothing."


***


Misty Fly checked her saddle bags for the last time before she left her room. "The present, the card... the map." She took the folded map out of the bag and opened it. It was a map of the Hayseed Swamps and it was covered in all kinds of markings. Multiple spots were encircled with a red marker, so she still knew what places she could check a second time. She folded it again and put it back with a sigh. 

"Four days now. And not a single sign of her." she thought with a low hanging head. "Now I start to understand the others. The longer I search, the more disappointed I am when I go home without finding her or any signs of her." 

The sound of hooves coming closer caught her attention. Soarin just came out of his room, not too far away from her. He already wore his blue uniform, but his mane looked as unkempt as always. He turned around and spotted her. "Good morning." he greeted her and walked to her. "Are you going somewhere?" He pointed at her saddle bag with curiosity in his eyes. 

Misty Fly rubbed her head nervously and said "Yeah, I promised my brother last week that I would take a day off and spent his birthday with him. We don't see each other much lately." 

Soarin put on a genuine smile and said "Oh, that's great! I mean, the last days were a lot of stress for all of us. You really deserve a break. After all, you gave the most effort in the search." His smile wavered and he spoke the last words slower then he would normally. He seemed to be nervous if he could speak about it without hurting her feelings. 

Misty Fly sighed quietly and looked at her bag, which contained the map. "It's not like I've found her yet. That's why I won't stay too long at the party. Only an hour or so." 

Soarin frowned at her words. "You don't need--" 

"I do. It's my fault, that she's there and I will get her out." 

His gaze softened and he stepped closer to her. "Stop saying it's your fault. It isn't." he said. 

She could hear worry in his voice. "But it is. I had the responsibility and I screwed it up." The memories of the fight still lingered in her mind. It bothered her more than she would like to admit to anypony. But no matter how often she reflects on it, she always comes to the conclusion, that she should've ended the fight between her friends before picking up the fight with the Timberwolves. 

"Misty..." Soarin said. He looked away for a moment and tried to come up with the right words to brighten her up or convince her, that everything would be fine soon. But the words didn't come. For a long moment both of them stood in the middle of the hall, looking awkwardly away. 

"Anyway, what are you going to do today?" Misty Fly asked. She couldn't stand the silence any longer and decided to change the topic. 

Soarin seemed to be glad about the change, but he was still nervous about his answer. "Oh, well... We still have that race scheduled and Spitfire forgot to cancel it after Fleetfoot disappeared. She said, that we could get in trouble with the sponsors, so she asked us if we would still want to participate." 

"And you still want to do it?" 

"We were unsure at first. We wanted to go back to the Hayseed Swamps and continue the search. But then, Spitfire told us, we don't need to anymore." 

Misty Fly's eyelids drooped and she looked down again. "She gave her up that easily?" she wondered. "Am I the only one who really cares about the well-being of all of my comrades?" "Oh, right. She called the operation a failure yesterday." she said to Soarin, but still trying her best to hide her disappointment in her comrades. 

Soarin's face brightened up again, seemingly happy to deliver a good news for once. "Not anymore. Yesterday, we both talked about it for a while and she decided to try it again. She contacted a tracker team, who is supposed to be really good at finding missing ponies. Then, she got them to cooperate with the Timberwolf team, who agreed on giving it a last try. She also informed the towns close to the woods and their resident weather teams, that a pony went missing. So if anypony should spot her by chance, we will be informed."

The blue-maned pegasus looked at her friend with surprise and her ears lifted again. "She did that?" she thought. "I thought... But are the chances really higher, if we just let other ponies do the search?" She looked to Soarin and asked "And we really shouldn't continue the search ourselves?"

"We did everything we could. But it's impossible to spot anything from above. So we can't do anything but wait for information from the ground team."

"What he says makes sense." she thought and rubbed her chin. "I guess..." she muttered. 

Soarin saw the uncertainness still in her look. "Listen, if you would feel better, we could fly a last time over the woods ourselves."

Misty Fly smiled at him for a moment, grateful for the things he does for his friends. Her ears hung low, though. "I would feel better if we would finally find her."

Now it was Soarin who sighed quietly. "I know." 

Misty Fly looked up again and with a warm smile. "But thanks, Soar. I would really appreciate it, if we would fly together."

Soarin chuckled. He was always glad if he was able to make somepony else happy. 

She wanted to walk away, so she wouldn't be too late for her meeting with her brother, when something came into her mind. "Anyway, who will replace Fleetfoot in the race?" She remembered Fleetfoot talking about the race before she disappeared and how hard she trained for it. 

"High Winds. She offered to take her place when she heard, that the race wasn't cancelled." Soarin explained. 

She cocked an eyebrow at his words. "High Winds? That surprises me." she said. "She was so cold when we went on the search. It makes me wonder if she and Fleetfoot are really friends."

"Why?"

"That's a long story. I can tell you later." she said. "By the way, do you know where she is right now?" "There is still something I need to know from her."

"No, I just came out of my room. But she's a morning pony, as far as I know, so she should be around." Soarin put his hoof under his chin while he thought about it. 

"Thanks. You're a great comrade." Misty Fly said with a smile and held her hoof in front of him. 

"He he, thanks. I'll just give my best." he said with a chuckle and hoofbumped her. She walked already past her when he said "And have fun at the birthday. Time flies by fast enough, so you should spent as much time with your family as possible." 

Misty Fly laughed and said "I'll do it." before she disappeared behind the next corner. "I'll be there soon, lil' bro. But I have to do something first." she thought and flew down the stairs. 

She looked through almost every room of the main building. "She's not in the lounge. Or the training hall. And not in the canteen either." she thought while going through all those rooms and occasionally greet her other comrades. 

Misty Fly stopped in front of the small kitchen, where she found her. High Winds sat on the small table, completely dressed in her blue and yellow uniform, like Soarin. Her goggles laid next to her on the table and were polished until the pieces of glass were shining. She silently said there, ate a small bowl with oatmeal and read a book. "Now that I think about it, I rarely see her in the canteen. As if she would avoid us." Misty Fly thought and walked into the room. 

"Good morning, High Winds." she greeted the white pegasus. 

High Winds looked up and responded with a short "Good morning." Without waiting she continued eating the oatmeal and looked into the book beside her. She didn't seem to mind Misty Fly's arrival. 

Misty Fly took a seat on the opposite side of the table and cleared her throat. "Do you have some time?" she asked. 

High Winds looked up at her and then at the clock on the wall before she looked down at the book again. "I have five hours, forty-five minutes and twenty seconds until the race starts." she said with a dry voice. 

"Was that sarcasm or is she always talking like that?" Misty Fly wondered. "That's not what I meant. Do you have time to talk?" she asked again. 

The pony in front of her needed a moment longer to respond. "Unless you want to give me a six hour long presentation, we have enough time to talk." 

Misty Fly tried this time not to think too much about it or if it should make sense and got straight to the point. "I have a question that bothers me for a while now." She hesitated for a moment. Misty Fly rubbed her chin and pondered, if her question would be too brash. She decided to ask it anyway. "Is Fleetfoot your friend?" 

"Yes." High Winds said without any hesitation. 

This surprised Misty Fly even more. "You seem to be sure about that. But if you call her your friend, why do you never... care for her?" 

High Winds looked at her for a while. Misty Fly could tell, that she thought intensely about her question. Finally, she cocked her head, even though her expression stayed motionless, and asked "...I don't think I understand what you want to tell me." 

"Fleetfoot was dragged into one of the biggest and for ponies most dangerous woods in Equestria. And she was taken by Timberwolves. We all are worried, or at least concerned, and give our best to find her. But you didn't even bat an eye. Even when we found her ripped uniform, you stayed calm, as if we were dealing with a lost cookie or something similar mundane. How?" Even though she tried her best, Misty Fly's voice sounded more angry at the end. High Wind's behavior was one of the things that confused her a lot, and Misty Fly wanted an answer. 

High Winds closed her book and pushed it away. She then turned to Misty Fly and said "It would be no use to panic. She wouldn't be back quicker and nopony would be helped by it." Before Misty Fly could say something else, High Winds said "Do you think I feel happy about Fleetfoot's possible, but not yet confirmed demise?" 

These words took her aback. Misty Fly rubbed the back of her head and said "I wouldn't say happy, but you didn't seem to be bothered by it at all."

"I participated on every flight to the Hayseed Swamps, from dawn to dusk. I helped the Timberwolf team with everything they needed to do, like setting up the cameras. And I gave Spitfire the address to the tracker team in Las Pegasus."

Misty Fly cocked her eyebrows. "You did that?" She was under the impression, that it was Spitfire's idea to contact the tracker team. After all, she was the captain and she surely knew a lot of ponies. 

High Winds nodded before standing up and putting the empty bowl away. "Fleetfoot always says other ponies would rarely understand my intentions, because I would be 'stuck on deadpan mode'." she explains. 

Misty Fly tried her best to suppress a smile at those words. It was spot on. And something only Fleetfoot could come up with. 

High Winds turned around to see in Misty Fly's eyes. "But I do want her back. After all, I still have something to give her."

"Something to give her?" Misty Fly repeated. "What do you mean?" 

Without a warning High Winds turned around and trotted out of the kitchen. "Wha-- Hey! Where are you going?" Misty Fly yelled after her. The white pegasus was already around the corner and walked away. 

"Here I was, getting a better impression of her and she just leaves me hanging." Misty Fly said with an annoyed snarl. "Well, I got my answer. Even though I didn't expect this." she thought and decided to drink a last cup of coffee before she would be gone for the day. The coffee pot was empty, much to her frustration. 

"Fine. I make more." she muttered and took the  box with coffee powder out of the cupboard. Just a minute later she heard the quiet gurgling of the coffee machine and it's smell filled the room. 

The sound of hooves clacking on the floor came closer. Misty Fly turned around and lifted her ears in surprise, when High Winds came back into the kitchen. She carried a paper bag with her mouth and put it down in front of her. 

"Here." she said. 

"You could've just said what you want to give her." Misty Fly said and rubbed her chin. "How can Fleetfoot understand her at all?" she wondered before she pulled the bag closer to her and looked inside. 

At first, she didn't understand why it was so important for High Winds to deliver it to Fleetfoot. Suddenly, she remembered where she had seen it before. "Wait... Is that...?" she asked before realizing something. 

She pushed the bag back to the pegasus with the blue, curly mane, and rubbed the back of her head. She felt a newfound amazement for her comrade, as well as shame for thinking so low of her until a few seconds ago. "I'm really sorry for all those false accusations. Can you forgive me?" she asked sheepishly. 

High Winds just shrugged and said "Sure." 

It made Misty Fly feel better again and she looked into her eyes. Her gaze went past her and onto the wall clock close to them. Misty Fly's ears fell, when she noticed, how much time she had spent talking to her comrades. The coffee would have to wait. "Alright... I should leave now, or my brother will be mad." she said and hoped, that High Winds would understand it. 

She cocked her head, thinking for a moment, before she said "I know, his tenth birthday. Please wish him a happy birthday from me." 

"Thanks, I'll do--" Misty Fly said with a smile and was already on her way, until she noticed, that something didn't make sense. 

"Wait, how do you know about it?" she asked. She remembered, that only Fleetfoot was with her, when she told about the party. And she wasn't the type of pony who tells everpony about everything she does. 

High Winds moved the corners of her mouth just enough to form a faint smile. "I know about a lot of things."


***


The river was larger than Fleetfoot remembered. From above, it always looked like nothing more than a small, blue line on the ground. But she wasn't a few miles in the air. She stood right in front of it, which changed the situation. The river was wide with a couple of sharp rocks sticking out of it. The water splashed around them, causing a lot of foam and noise. It could be perfect to travel down with a kayak, and certainly very exciting. But crossing the river on hoof made Fleetfoot nervous. 

"I'm not really good at swimming." she thought and gulped. "Actually, I can't do more than paddling like a dog. I lived my whole fillyhood up on Cloudsdale and even later, there was never a need to learn how to swim. If I just walk in and the current pulls me down, I'm very likely screwed." 

She looked around to see, if there was a safer way to cross the river. The many sharp boulders were either too small or too far from each other. 

"I could go upstream and see, if there's a better spot. Maybe a fallen tree right above it or something like that." she thought and remembered those few adventure novels she read as a foal. 

It was still morning, but didn't waste any time. The path along the river was much easier to walk than most of the woods. It was flat and covered in grass or moss. "At least it's safe here." she thought and stopped for a moment to drink a bit. The water tasted as good as the water from the creek. She dipped her hoof into the water and splashed a bit into her face. "That felt good." she said and felt refreshed again. 

She looked up and turned around to get going until she heard something strange. Fleetfoot looked around to find out, where the sound came from. The rushing water was a constant source of noise, but she still could hear the noise from the other side of the river. It was still quiet, but it sounded like some sort of barking. 

"I hope I'm just imagining things." Fleetfoot thought and stood still. She wanted to know, if she was right or if she could walk further without a second thought. Some birds flew out of the trees on the other side and something jumped out of one of the hills. Fleetfoot's blood froze immediately and her eyes widened. 

The Timberwolf pup stood there, wagging its tail and barking at the many birds in the air. "Oh no..." she thought "If the pup is here... the others won't be too far." Fleetfoot felt her heart beat faster and she took a deep breath to calm herself down. 

"No. I came so far, I won't stop only because of a pup. After all, it probably won't be able to cross the river and attack me. So I'm on the safe side right now." she thought and gave her best to push her fears away. 

The pup hasn't noticed her. It was still busy jumping in the air and trying to catch the birds. It reminded her of the fight with the big Timberwolves a few days ago, but more harmless. 

"Just ignore it." she muttered and started walking again. Her gaze was still on the Timberwolf, though. It jumped around and seemed to enjoy itself. 

Suddenly, one of the birds landed on a boulder close to the river. The birds flew around, when the Timberwolf disturbed them, but they never flew away. As if they would play with him. The Timberwolf noticed this and stood still for a moment. It's mossy tongue hung out on the other side of its snout and it looked at the bird. Fleetfoot smiled at the view. It was still a dangerous animal, but it looked rather cute like this. 

The Timberwolf lowered its head. Its ears were laid back, but still twitched at every new sound. It approached the small bird slowly and carefully with each step planned. Fleetfoot stopped for a moment to watch more closely. In her thoughts she hoped, that it would fail and the bird could escape. "Fly away!" she muttered under her breath. 

The Timberwolf lowered its body a bit more before it opened its mouth wide and jumped at the bird. The bird had quicker reflexes and spread its wings before the pup even jumped. It flew higher and higher and the Timberwolf missed it by a few inches. 

"YEAH!" she screamed in her thoughts and smiled. Seeing the Timberwolf fail made her happier than she would ever admit. 

The pup didn't land on the boulder. It jumped onto the side and tried to jump back, but if fell down and tumbled down the smaller, sharper rocks until it landed with a loud splash into the water. All the way it yowled and threw its legs around in its desperate attempt to get back on its paws. 

It sunk down for a moment and went up again. The current took the small pup down the river with such a force, that all paddling and struggling turned out to be useless. 

Fleetfoot suddenly felt a panic inside her. The tiny, desperate barks tuck on her heart and urged her to jump into the water. "No, it's a Timberwolf!" she thought and tried to reason with her feelings. "It will bring me in far more danger if I try to rescue it. What if we both die? Neither of us can swim!" 

The longer she waited the farther took the river the Timberwolf away. Fleetfoot's breath became quicker and quicker until she was close to hyperventilating. "The pup! I can't-- I should-- NO!" she yelled in her mind. The adrenalin shot through her legs, making her jump forward. 

Barely a second later she entered the river. The water engulfed her body and flowed through her hair and her ruffled wings. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before the water splashed around her head. She stretched her legs and tried to find some ground to move forward, but the current caught her before she had the chance to do so. 

Fleetfoot swam down the river. Her head broke through the surface a few times, which gave her barely enough time to catch her breath before she was pushed down again. "Come on! I have to get to the puppy!" she thought and struggled with her legs. 

She used her good wing to push herself a bit up and soon she found a good rhythm, which helped her keep her head up. "Where is it!" she thought and looked around. The water burned in her eyes and flowed into her ears, which made it much harder to find anything. 

The barking sounded again, not too far from her. She looked around and saw the Timberwolf on one of the boulders in the middle of the river, trying with all strenght it had to climb on top of it. It's wet paws slipped away again and again and the pup whined in despair. 

"I'M COMING!" Fleetfoot yelled and pushed her legs back again and again. It was very exhausting to her, but she managed to swim into the middle. With one leg she grasped the boulder and pulled herself to the Timberwolf. It shook and whined a bit more. 

"Come here." Fleetfoot said and tried to sound comforting despite the noise of the splashing water all around her. "I'll help you, I promise!" she said and held her free hoof close to its snout. It sniffed on her leg for a moment before it let go of the boulder. The current pushed the pup right into Fleetfoot and she laid both forelegs around the pup. 

"It trusts me that easily?" she wondered for a moment, before she was pushed down again. Fleetfoot flapped her wing with all her might. With one foreleg she held the trembling, wooden creature close to her barrel. And with her other legs she pushed herself forward, trying to get to the other side as quick as possible. The water took her sight more than once, but she was determined to reach dry ground again. 

With a last push she arrived at the river bank and pushed the pup up. It jumped out of her embrace and walked in circles before it shook its body rapidly, to get rid of all the water under its bark. Fleetfoot climbed out of the forest and her legs felt very wobbly. 

"At least the pup is safe." she thought and watched the pup scratching its ear with its hind leg. "Maybe it would've been better to walk away and let nature take care of the pup. But... I couldn't live with myself if I would've let it drown. I may be ignorant of other's feelings or overly prideful... but I'm definitely not cruel." 

She took her long, messy mane with her hooves and pressed the remaining water out of it. "I hope I don't get sick." she muttered and looked down on her body. 

Suddenly she had the feeling, the she missed something. With one hoof she ran over her neck. "My scarf!" she suddenly yelled and looked around. "I lost it in the water!" She turned around and checked the ground around her. It should be easy to spot with its vibrant color, but she couldn't see it, wherever she looked. 

"Oh no..." she said and dropped her ears. It was only a scarf. The rest of her ripped uniform. But to her, it was her only reminder of her home. The only thing, that gave her the feeling to be still in contact with all her comrades. And now it went down the river, never to be seen again. 

Fleetfoot sighed loudly before something else made her jump up. Not too far away she heard the howling of a Timberwolf. It was long and deep and she noticed, that the howl sometimes became more quiet or even stutter. Like a language they speak. 

The pup sat still for a moment, to hear all of the howl. It then stretched its head into the air and howled itself. It sounded very high pitched and a bit strange to Fleetfoot. And very adorable. 

"Are you alright?" she asked the pup and came closer, after it ended its howl. She wanted to make sure, that everything is alright, before she would leave. "The others will be here soon, I shouldn't waste too much time." she thought and became nervous again. 

The pup turned around and barked at Fleetfoot. It sounded like a happy barking and its eyes wandered over Fleetfoot. Suddenly, it jumped at Fleetfoot, which threw her on her back. "HEY!" she yelled and struggled to get away. To her surprise, she felt something warm and wet in her face. Fleetfoot stopped her struggle for a moment and noticed, that the pup was licking her face. It made small yips in between and waggled its tail so fast, as if it tried to lift itself up. 

"Hey, hey!" she said and chuckled. Yet, she felt a bit disgusted from its licking and felt the urge to clean her face later on. "You don't need to thank me. It was the only right thing to do." she said and pushed the pup a bit away from her. 

A loud barking suddenly made her gasp. She looked to her side to the grown up Timberwolves, who just arrived. They snarled at her and walked around with their gaze on the pony. 

The pup jumped up and greeted the Timberwolf with the flowers, who snatched the pup with her teeth. The pup barked in shock and whined, as the bigger Timberwolf shook it slightly. It then put it down again and started licking the wet pup. 

"As if it would educate the pup. Maybe it's the mother?" she wondered and looked around. To her surprise, she was now surrounded by three big Timberwolves. Besides the flower Timberwolf stood the big Timberwolf, who stood in front of Fleetfoot and lifted its head high into the air. A bit more to the side stood a smaller Timberwolf, who had a small, round rock as its nose. 

"I-I didn't hurt your pup." Fleetfoot stuttered. She still lay on the ground with her belly up and she feared, that a quick move could mean her end. The big Timberwolf snarled and walked closer to her. It flared its fangs and quickly looked to the flower Timberwolf. It seemed, as if they communicated through small signals like looks or a twitch of the ear. 

Fleetfoot tried to use the chance and rolled slowly back onto her hooves. She still lay on the ground, but she didn't felt as vulnerable as before. Not that she could feel any safety around a Timberwolf, but it was slightly better. 

The Timberwolf turned back to her and barked a few more times. 

"NOO!" Fleetfoot yelled in her thoughts. "I was so close to getting out of the forest again! I ran and climbed and cried for so long and now it was for nothing!" she thought with anger. Her mind raced and she tried to come up with an escape. "Maybe I could jump to the side back into the river! That sounds goo--" 

Her eyes opened wide when she felt a hot breath around her back. The Timberwolf leaned forward and picked her with its teeth up. They stung between her rips and her heart raced as fast as never before. 

"Is this the end?" Fleetfoot wondered and expected the Timberwolf to bite at any moment. She was lifted up and she felt the constant breathing of the large animal. It looked at the other Timberwolves and then turned around to walk into a completely different direction. 

"Huh?" Fleetfoot said and looked up. The big Timberwolf and the rest of its pack split up. The pup barked a few times at her before it ran after its mother and the other Timberwolf. 

"I wonder what will happen to me." Fleetfoot thought and tried to breath normally to calm herself down. A rotten and outright disgusting stench filled her nose and she tried her best not to empty her stomach. "I forgot. Timberwolves have supposedly very bad breath." she remembered and let her head hung low. 

"What have I got myself into..."
> Chapter 8 - Trust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The huge paws of the Timberwolf made barely any sound as it walked across the forest floor. No leaf crunched and no twig broke. 

"Why isn't it eating me?" Fleetfoot wondered. The Timberwolf still carried her around between its sharp fangs. Its foul breath gave the pony nausea and most of the time she hung her head low to catch some fresh air. But with every passing moment and every step the Timberwolf did, she became more nervous. She was between its fangs without any chance to free herself. It could just bite down and have a nice meal. But it never did. 

"Maybe he brings me to his home, were the rest of its pack lives. Where do Timberwolves live? In caves? Or have they some sort of nest? I should've put more attention in school..." 

The Timberwolf stopped abruptly. It lifted its head and sniffed for a moment. More panic flooded Fleetfoot's body when she was whirled around. The sniffing sound stopped and it lowered its head again. 

"Where are we? Why did we stop?" Fleetfoot thought. She tried her best to calm her breathing down and stay relaxed. 

Suddenly, the Timberwolf just opened its mouth and dropped Fleetfoot on the floor. She landed with a soft thump on the mossy rocks and tumbled for a moment before she got back onto her hooves. Her sides were covered in Timberwolf drool, giving off the smell of something really rotten. 

"Eww." Fleetfoot said for a second and watched the drool drop down. The Timberwolf shuffled next to her and brought her attention back to it. "I'm free!" she thought, finally realizing, that it dropped her. Her eyes widened while she gasped. 

Without even looking for the Timberwolf she turned around and started running. Her hooves drummed on the ground and her hooves made clicking sounds whenever they hit a rock or one of the many roots. 

She turned her head around to see, if the Timberwolf was following her and how far away she was, when all of the sudden something tugged on her tail and pulled her back. The world spun around her and she tumbled around before she fell again to the ground. An angered growl came from the Timberwolf, who had stopped her escape. Her hooves almost slipped again on the wet leaves when she got up again. 

The Timberwolf just stood there and snarled at her. It still didn't make any attempt to attack her. Fleetfoot in the meantime, was breathing heavily. Her breath became faster and she started to tremble. Every inch of her body screamed at her to fly away. Or run away at least. 

Fleetfoot threw a quick glance to her side without moving her head. Her path was blocked by boulder and thick bushes grew to her right. And in front of her stood the Timberwolf. Fleetfoot gulped as she decided for her last option. She slowly walked backwards with her gaze kept on the animal in front of her. 

"Maybe I get another chance to run. Or find a good tree to cli--" 

The Timberwolf barked, which made her stop immediately. Her ears dropped and she thought for a second, that her heart stopped beating. The bark was only loud and not aggressive anymore. It was still enough to scare the small pegasus. The Timberwolf barked again and started walking towards her. 

Fleetfoot closed her eyes. "This is it." she thought and she heard only her heart beating. Each second felt like an eternity. 

The Timberwolf walked past her and growled again, but this time not at her. "Should... should I look?" she wondered. Her body was as stiff as a piece of cardboard and she was visible trembling now. 

Fleetfoot took a deep breath and slowly turned around. The Timberwolf looked at her before turning its gaze to something on the ground, which he growled at again. "What is it doing?" she wondered before her look fell on to what made the animal so angry. It took her a moment to realize what it is, but when she did, she gasped and jumped a few steps away. 

In front of them, half hidden by the leaves, lay a bear trap. The metal looked rusty, so Fleetfoot assumed, that it lay there for a long while. It was still wide opened and looked as sharp and dangerous as if it would be new. 

"A moment later and I would have stepped on it." Fleetfoot thought and felt a strange relief. She looked again at the Timberwolf, who seemed to recognize the trap on the floor and knew, that it was very dangerous. 

"Did it save me?" Fleetfoot thought and rubbed her chin. "And why is it even lying here? Who would be so cruel and do such a thing? I mean, most living beings here are dangerous for ponies... but trying to kill them?" 

While Fleetfoot pondered about the trap, the Timberwolf backed off for a moment before it turned towards Fleetfoot. It growled again and seemed mad this time. Fleetfoot looked up, who almost forgot in what situation she was. She looked at the sharp fangs of the Timberwolf and it's angry glare and felt very helpless again. 

"What does it want from me?" she wondered. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand the animal in front of her. "Am I nothing but a ball to play with for him?" 

The Timberwolf barked again and looked between Fleetfoot and the trap. "What does it mean?" Fleetfoot thought and looked at the trap again. "Does it think... that I put the trap there?" The Timberwolf became impatient and growled again. This time it came even closer to her. 

"I didn't put it there, I swear." she said with a shaking voice. Suddenly, she felt the fangs of the Timberwolf around her barrel again. Without much time to react she was dropped right in front of the bear trap again. 

Fleetfoot gasped again and tried to back off, but the Timberwolf was in the way. "What do you want from me?" Fleetfoot yelled, outright confused by the behavior of the wolf. The Timberwolf lifted its head and seemed to wait for something. Fleetfoot gulped and lowered her head. Yelling at a Timberwolf was not a good idea. She then looked at the trap again. 

"A-alright. It wants me to do something before eating me. Strange... well, I shouldn't complain. More time spend with... being alive. So... It knows, that the bear trap can be very painful if it steps into it. And it knows that it was made by ponies. Or griffons. Or... whatever. Okay Fleetfoot, think as simple as possible. It's a Timberwolf after all. Pony comes by and puts bad thing in home. If Pony can put bad thing here... Pony can take bad thing away." 

The pegasus got up very slowly and looked at the trap from all sides. Occasionally she would look at the Timberwolf to see its reaction. It stood there and watched her every movement as well. 

"O-okay. How do I disarm it?" she muttered and asked more herself than the animal. Disarming traps was not part of the Wonderbolt training so she had to come up with a solution on her own. "It's activated if someone steps on it. So.. if I'd throw a rock at it..." she thought and looked around the floor. It was mostly leaves with some snails and small twigs. She noticed how twitchy the Timberwolf became the more she walked away from the trap. 

Finally she found what she was looking for, a rock of the size of her hoof. "This should do it." she mumbled and turned around. "How do I get the Timberwolf to step back?" she thought and came a bit closer. She made a motion with good wing and said "Shoo!" 

The Timberwolf stood still and continued to watch her. "I guess words won't do it." she muttered and tried to come up with a way to tell it, what it needed to do. 

Fleetfoot looked up again and pointed to the trap again. She then stepped back a bit and ducked, as if she was about to attack the bear trap. This seemed to make more sense for the Timberwolf, who walked to the side. 

"I hope it's far enough from the trap." With her hoof she grasped the rough, gray rock and aimed as good as possible for her. She moved her leg to the back and threw it. With a loud bang the rock hit it's target and the bear trap shut close. 

The Timberwolf jumped up and barked at the trap until it noticed, that nothing else happened. Fleetfoot sighed and walked closer. "See? It can't hurt you anymore." she said and touched the trap a few times. The Timberwolf came slowly closer and seemed to expect the trap to be still dangerous. After seeing Fleetfoot tapping on it and even lifting it for a moment, the wolf stood right beside her and sniffed at the trap. 

To Fleetfoot's surprise it looked at her and wagged its wooden tail for a moment. "So... it's happy?" she wondered and was reminded of the behavior of dogs. 

The Timberwolf turned around and walked a few steps away before it looked back, seemingly waiting for her. "Should I follow?" she thought. "I guess I don't have much of a choice. I mean, I can run away again. But it's still faster than me and it'll probably catch me again." 

With another heavy sigh to calm her racing heart she trotted towards the Timberwolf. It snorted and shortly licked its nose before it led her away. The way was a short one before the Timberwolf stopped again and sniffed at a tree. It then turned around to Fleetfoot. 

"Is that...?" she muttered and looked at the rope, that hung from the tree. "Another trap?! What kind of mine field is this place?" she said and looked around. They were well hidden, but she could spot all kinds of traps around her. Some were more harmless, some more dangerous and then they were the kind of traps, that could be a mortal danger for a small pony like her. 

"Wow. Somepony's really dedicated." she said with a slight hint of disgust in her voice. She turned around to the Timberwolf, who sat on a small bush and watched her patiently. It was still watchful of her actions, but it seemed sure enough, that Fleetfoot wouldn't run away again. 

"At least it's not eating me." Fleetfoot thought. She stopped for a moment and looked to the Timberwolf. She was still very wary in its presence, but with each minute that passed without anything dangerous coming from the animal, she started to relax more. Her gaze was still glued to it, though. "You never know..." she thought before beginning to disarm the next trap. 


***


It took her longer than expected, but after a long while she removed the last trap. Fleetfoot wiped the sweat off her forehead and threw the long rope, that was knotted to a sling on one of the trees, onto a pile with all the other traps she. 

Some of them were easy to disarm. And others took her a long time, especially those countless slings. She gave up after a while to untie them with her hooves and tried around with her mouth until she somehow managed it. 

Fleetfoot looked over the pile and the different traps. "That's strange. Half of them look like they have been around here for years. They were either rusty or rotten. And mostly overgrown, which makes it a huge pain to spot them. But the other half looks very new. As if somepony put them there just yesterday." 

She stood there for a while and even took some of the traps between her hooves, but she couldn't think of why they had such a huge age gap. Finally, Fleetfoot gave up and shove the traps away. They were no danger anymore, but she didn't want to trip on them or let someone else trip on them. 

"Who knows, maybe there will be a chase between me and the Timberwolf after all and I have to walk through this part of the forest again." Fleetfoot wondered and suddenly noticed something. She turned around and looked in every direction. 

"Where's the Timberwolf?" she asked herself in her thoughts and her heart started beating faster again. Over the time she kept herself more and more busy with the traps and the longer the Timberwolf just sat there, the more she started to ignore it. It didn't felt like a danger anymore. 

"Did it just leave me?" she thought and rubbed her chin. A small rustling caught her attention again. Somewhere up a hill she saw the Timberwolf. It was crouching beneath one of the larger bushes and seemed very concentrated. 

"No wonder I couldn't spot it." Fleetfoot thought and sighed quietly. She had hoped, that the Timberwolf forgot about her and just left, so she could continue her way into civilization. The Timberwolf moved away, slowly but also very quiet. 

"I don't need to walk over to know, that it's hunting something." Fleetfoot thought. Suddenly, a thought came into her mind. "It's busy. I could... just maybe... use this opportunity and sneak away. It could follow me, but if I'm lucky I'm far enough away until it notices my disappearance." 

To her, it seemed like a solid plan. She kept her eyes on the Timberwolf while walking slowly backwards. Occasionally she would look behind to watch out for any trees, rocks or anything else she could bump against. "At least I don't have to worry about more bear traps." she thought. "I made sure that there's nothing dangerous in a mile radius." 

Fleetfoot kept her breath slow and made sure her movements were quiet and slow. She wasn't sure if the wolf would eat her or not. But she was very sure, that the Timberwolf would be very angry if she'd walk away unnoticed. 

The Timberwolf jumped forward and barked, which sounded very muffled. Even from the distance she could see the animal throw it's head around. 

"It caught something." Fleetfoot thought and gulped. "Whatever it was, I feel sorry for it. At least I wasn't there to see it." The thought alone send her shivers down her back. She looked at the Timberwolf for a last time before she turned around and walked down the small path. 

"That was... strange. To say the least." Fleetfoot thought and reflected the whole situation with the Timberwolf and the traps. "I mean, it's an animal. A predator. It should've eaten me as soon as it saw me. Not that I wished it did, thank the princess for that. But it would require at least some intelligence to think that far. Or maybe I misinterpret everything and it wanted me to get the bait from those traps. Double the food." 

Fleetfoot rolled her eyes and pushed those thoughts away. "I should stop overrating them. It's not like they have any sapient thoughts. That was probably just a miscommunication. It can't talk and I can't... speak tail-wagging. But it shouldn't matter anymore." 

Fleetfoot walked down a small hill when she heard something not too far away from her. She stopped to listen more closely. By now she recognized most of the sounds the animals in the forest do while walking around. The Timberwolves are very quiet, but their bodies always rustle when they move, as if they would walk through bushes all the time. The bear was not as quiet. Each step sounded like a stomping and it would make these quiet growling sounds. And the wild pigs made snort-like sounds. But what Fleetfoot heard in this moment was a very familiar sound. It was the clicking a pair of hooves would make while walking on solid ground. 

"Is it... another pony?!" Fleetfoot thought and gulped. Her time in the woods taught her to never trust anything, so she decided to sneak up on this unknown creature. "Maybe it's a deer. I've never met one before, but I've heard, that they live in some woods. Or maybe it's one of my comrades?" 

Fleetfoot came closer and could hear the creature mutter something. "...all the work... the boss'll be furious..." she could hear. It was definitely the voice of a stallion of some sort. Fleetfoot felt her heart race, but not because of fear. It was this hope all over again, being so close to getting out of the forest. 

Fleetfoot crouched beneath a small bush and looked to the clearing. A gray pegasus walked in circles and seemed distressed by something. He wore a small saddlebag and the end of a small rope stuck out from it. Fleetfoot didn't know this pony. But it was still a pony. 

A huge grin appeared on Fleetfoot's face and she took a deep breath. "Finally! Another pony!" she said and stood up so the pony could see her. 

The stallion whirled around, startled by her sudden appearance. He threw a glance at her before gasping loudly and jumping backwards. 

"I've been stuck in these woods for days! And you can believe me, that was horrible!" Fleetfoot told and stepped into the clearing. 

The stallion was still shocked and walked further away the closer she came. "D-don't come closer!" the stallion stuttered and despite his fear, she could hear the threat in his voice. 

Fleetfoot stopped and cocked her head. "Wha-- There's no need to panic. I was dragged here by Timberwolves and now I want to get out of here. I mean, I would've done it alone, but I broke my wing." She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "I look like an absolute mess. No wonder the stallion is afraid of me. But I'm sure he'll understand." she thought and looked at the pony in front of her. 

He hesitated for a moment before he raised an eyebrow. "I don't know out of which hole you just came from, but I don't want to have anything to do with crazy, old mares." 

Fleetfoot gasped at his words. "Crazy? CRAZY?" she yelled. 

He flinched, as if he'd fear an attack from her. 

Fleetfoot gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. "No, don't scare him away. He can bring you out of here." Fleetfoot reminded herself. Despite her anger she put on a smile and tried to sound as friendly as possible. "Sorry for my little... outburst. You see, well, literally, that I've been stuck here for a few nights and I'd really like to get back into the next town." She thought quickly for something that'd make him want to help her. "Well, if you'd help me I can help you or give you any reward you want. Money, a better job, a sandwich... just name it. I'm a Wonderbolt, I can arrange things for you." 

The stallion stood up again and wiped some dirt from his flank. "Alright, I was right with the crazy part." he said. 

Fleetfoot took a sharp breath. "I'm not crazy!" she said with a stern sound in her voice. 

Before she could think of another way to convince the stallion he stretched his wings out and snorted quietly. "I have more important things to do." he said and pushed his wings down, which caused him to fly high enough to get out of Fleetfoot's reach. 

"Hey! Come back! You can insult me all you want as soon as you brought me out of here!" Fleetfoot yelled and grew impatient. 

"Yeah, whatever. I still have to catch some Timberwolves, so just go back were you came from and... I dunno, hug some trees?" the stallion said. 

Fleetfoot looked between the stallion and the rope he pulled out of his saddle bag and realized something. "Wait... You laid out all those traps? ARE YOU INSANE?!" she yelled. Suddenly, she didn't want to be saved by that stallion anymore. She wanted him to land again so she could punch him. 

She could see in his face that he came to a solution himself as well. "You were the one who removed them all? Dude, do you know how long it took me to knot all those slings? And how many scratches I got from setting up the bear traps?!" 

All of the sudden a rock flew past him. "And do you know how many animals you could've killed with all those traps?!" Fleetfoot yelled back. 

"Dude, just go away--" 

"I'M A MARE! STOP CALLING ME DUDE!" 

He just shook his head in annoyance and turned around to fly away. 

"Hey, come back!" Fleetfoot called and ran after him until a small cliff stopped her. "You know what, just fly away, you coward! If I see you again and find another trap, I'll kick your flank into next week!" 

The stallion flew farther and farther away into the orange colored sky. Fleetfoot huffed before she yelled "And I'm not old! I'm twenty-three!" 

In her anger she didn't notice how something walked to her side. The deep growl of the Timberwolf caught her attention and made her stumble away in shock. The Timberwolf looked up to the pegasus, who was flying away. Its eyes glowed in a faint red, something Fleetfoot hasn't seen since the fight a few days ago. It growled for a few seconds before it barked at the stallion. A few moments later the Timberwolf huffed and licked its nose. 

"You scared me." Fleetfoot muttered and slowly got up again. 

The color of its eyes changed back into a greenish yellow and it looked down to Fleetfoot. It wagged its tail a bit while raising its head into the air, as if it would show pride for what she did. 

Fleetfoot cocked her head and tried to understand its meaning. "I didn't hunt that guy." she said and rubbed her chin in thought. "Or was I supposed to chase him away? I kind of did that, even though it was not on intention." 

The Timberwolf looked at her for a moment, as if it tried as well to understand her words. It seemed to give up rather fast and walked past Fleetfoot. With its head it pushed Fleetfoot a few steps forward. 

"H-hey! What are you doing?" Fleetfoot asked. When Fleetfoot wouldn't move anymore, the Timberwolf growled and pushed her again. "You want me to come with you?" she asked, even though she knew, that she wouldn't receive an answer. 

"I guess I am crazy. Only a mare who lost her mind would do that." Fleetfoot muttered and started to follow the wooden creature. 


***


Slowly she trotted behind the wooden animal. The way was a long one and often she had troubles keeping up with the Timberwolf. She considered once if it was a good idea to just fall behind and run away when the Timberwolf would be far enough away. It was always on the lead, but it looked back enough times to make sure, that she'd follow him. 

Fleetfoot could see the color of the light changing into a soft orange and then dimming out more and more. "Is it that late already?" she wondered. "The day went by in a flash." 

The Timberwolf went up a larger hill and stopped on the top. It looked down and barked, which sounded like a happy greeting. To Fleetfoot's surprise, the Timberwolf was greeted with a couple more barks. 

"We've reached the others. I hope nothing too bad will happen." Fleetfoot thought and bit her lip. The behavior of the Timberwolves confused her more than once and she was never sure what she should do. Trust her knowledge she had about dangerous animals? Or just see what'd happen next? The Timberwolf, who walked around with her for almost the whole day, seemed almost friendly. But that doesn't mean, that all the other Timberwolves will greet her with a friendly bark as well. The pup maybe, but the others seemed more dangerous. 

On the other hoof, Fleetfoot was a bit glad, that they don't have to walk any further. Her legs grew weary and she could almost hear her stomach growling. 

"Alright, I can only hope things will go well. What did my Mom always said, when I had to go through bad situations? Grit your teeth and get on with it. Yeah, I think it was something like that..." 

Fleetfoot took a deep breath to calm herself down. With slow steps she followed the Timberwolf up the hill. When it saw, that she was still coming, it turned around and walked down to the others. 

Her legs shook and her mind was clouded with the thoughts of every way this situation could end horrible for her. "Stop being a chicken." Fleetfoot reminded herself. "Remember, you wanted to not let the woods bring you down again." The thought of that promise she made with herself gave her a bit courage again and she walked down the hill. 

To her surprise she found herself in a large clearing, which was mostly surrounded by steep hills and fallen trees. This made the clearing look more safe against any intruder. Down the hill she could see all the other Timberwolves she already met at some point. The pup, the Timberwolf with the flowers and the one with the rock nose. 

They all stopped whatever they had done before to greet the big Timberwolf. But she wasn't unnoticed by them. The small pup seemed to catch her smell rather quick and barked at her with its tiny voice. The flower Timberwolf looked at her curiously while the one with the rock nose just growled at her. 

"Uh... Hi." she said and didn't now what to do in this situation. The pup wanted to run towards her, but its mother pulled it back in time. Fleetfoot looked to the big Timberwolf, who growled slightly. She gulped and decided to walk down to see what would happen next. The closer she came to the clearing, the stronger the stench of the Timberwolves became. "I'm pretty sure this is their sleeping place. It smells like at least twenty of them." she thought with a frown. 

She stopped a couple of steps in front of the Timberwolves. The rock Timberwolf was the first one to come closer. It circled around her and sniffed at her from time to time. 

Fleetfoot stood as stiff as possible. Her ears hung low and her fear was huge, but she gave her best to push it away. The flower Timberwolf and the pup joined as well and Fleetfoot didn't know where to look with all of them walking around her. They'd occasionally sniff at her or pinch her with their sharp teeth. It caused the pegasus to wince each time, but she stood still. 

After a while the big Timberwolf walked towards them and the other Timberwolves walked to the side. 

"What's going to happen?" 

The Timberwolf raised its head high into the air and growled. With each second in which Fleetfoot did nothing but stare at it, it growled louder and came closer. It looked down on her, as if it wanted her to do something. 

"Should I show resistance? Or subordination? It seems to be the alpha wolf, so the first wouldn't be too smart..." 

Fleetfoot gave her best to play by their rules. With her ears still hanging down she lowered her head and bend her forelegs. She didn't go all the way down. After all, she wanted to show her respect in his rank, not present her as will-less food. The Timberwolf growled for a last time before it stepped back and licked its nose. 

"Is it over?" A long lick over her face from the flower Timberwolf gave her the answer. Fleetfoot looked around in confusion and stood straight again. 

The Timberwolves walked around and looked at her, but none of them threatened her. The wolf with the rock nose looked at her with a vary look in its face, but it still felt relaxed enough to sit down and scratch its ear with one of its hind legs. 

"So... I'm part of the pack now?" Fleetfoot asked. She was suddenly surrounded by the pup, who panted and seemed to be very excited about something. "Looks like we get to play together for a while." Fleetfoot said with a wavering smile. "I just wonder how long this will work. And for how long I have to delay my walk back home. I hope the others don't worry too much about me." 

The pup barked and then sniffed her mane. 

"Hey, stop that." she said with a chuckle. "Now that I think about it, you were always 'the Timberwolves' for me. With a few small differences. If I spent more time with you it would be better to give you nicknames." 

She looked to the other Timberwolves and tried to come up with short, but fitting names. "Well..." she muttered and looked around. "How about I keep calling you by your... significant differences?" 

She looked at the alpha Timberwolf and rubbed her chin. "Well, I'll call you Big." she decided and her gaze wandered to the Timberwolf with the flowers. "You are Flower. And the other one... is Rock." 

Lastly, she looked to her side to the pup, who looked at her with its tongue hanging out from the side of its snout. "Hm... 'Pup' would be a boring name, don't you think?" 

The pup barked a few times, which sounded still very cute to her with the high voice of the wolf. 

"How about Yip? I mean, you sound more like yipping than barking." 

It licked its nose as answer. Fleetfoot stared at it for a moment and sighed. "I came up with truly great names." she mocked herself. "If I ever get a foal, I should let my husband pick a name. Or else I'd come up with something like 'Filly' or 'Snickerdoodles'..."