Part 3: Pained Actions

Hearing the wingbeats, Skysun hobbled quickly into the cactus patch, falling face first into another cactus.

“OUCH!” She squealed, using her good wing to brush the cactus needles off her nose, her eyes watering in pain. “Why did I run in here…” She muttered, her senses clouded with pain and fear.

“Probably because you heard me.” Growled a voice. Skysun whirled around to see a tall chestnut stallion with rust red wing, his golden eyes narrowed in disappointment.

“D…Dad!?” Stuttered Skysun.

Her father snorted and tossed his head, sending his mane flying, indicating he wanted his filly to come to him.

Lowering her head in shame, Skysun limped out of the patch, dried blood and sand matting her chestnut hide, her golden wing hanging loosely off her side. “Hi, Dad…” She said smiling sheepishly.

Her father snorted, turning to the group of Desert Herd steeds that were with him. “Bouncelight, Redfeather!” He called out, and two mares stepped out of the group, standing at attention. “Take my daughter home and make sure that Lotusroot takes a look at her. I’ll be back at high sun to have a talk with her, and make sure that Amberfeather knows that she’s safe.”

The two mares nodded. “Yes, Adderfire!” They trot over to her, their eyes wide with sympathy. The two mares stood on either side of Skysun, and gingerly grabbed either wing in their mouths, trying to be as gentle as possible.

“Follow them, Breezeheart.” Skysun’s father, Adderfire, said, indicating to the mares. Breezeheart just nods, taking flight, hovering not far above the ground. “The rest of you,” He said, turning to his patrol. “Let’s keep patrolling the boarders!” The steeds nodded, and they took flight, flying due North. Bouncelight and Redfeather took flight, trying to be as careful as possible, but that didn’t stop Skysun from whimpering in pain. Skysun could tell that the mares were sorry about the pain that they were inflicting on Skysun, but they knew they had to get to the Red Rock Mountains before there was any real damage to Skysun’s wing. Breezeheart was muttering all the way home, her dull red wings flapping quickly. As the flight wore on, the pain grew in intensity. The pain grew so bad that her vision began to blur, and her head swam.

“C…Could we stop?” She choked out.

The two mares looked at her in sympathy. Breezeheart looked at her worriedly.

“W…We need to get you home…Lotusroot needs to take a look at you.” She said quietly.

“But…But I…” At that moment, her vision darkened, and she lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she was in a starlit field, a cold breeze ruffling her feathers. Getting to her hooves, she could see that she wasn’t in pain. Looking at her body, she saw that all of her cuts and bruises were gone, her wing folded neatly onto her back

“What’s going on?” Whispered another voice, glancing up, she saw another foal, his clear blue eyes wide with fear and his bright purple feather rattling in fear, his bay hide slick with sweat.

Skysun opened her mouth to say something, but then she quickly realized they weren’t alone. A few dozen other foals stood in the field, their eyes wide with fear and their wings rattling. Skysun noticed they weren’t from the same Herd, and she saw that they were all from different Herds. Glancing up at the stars, she saw the lights of the ancestors overhead. She gawked, for she had never seen the ancestors before, and she was even more amazed when the lights seemed to descend from the sky, swirling around her and blocking the view of the other foals around her. She saw flashes of pink, orange, gold and brown, blood red, silver, white, purple, emerald green, aqua, and gold. The sound of the lights was like the sound of a thousand wingbeats, and she was astonished to notice that she heard the sound of the roar of a wild animal, although she didn’t know what it was, and the screams of terrified pegasai. She reared in fear, her scream melting in with the screams of the pegasai she heard. When her hooves crashed on the ground, the lights dissipated quickly, seeming as if they exploded outward, going back to the sky and disappearing. Her legs shook, and she breathed heavily, gasping for breath. The cold breeze ruffled her mane, and her sides heaved, sweat dripping off her hide. Suddenly, a loud roar startled her.

Skysun awoke with a start, her head lifting quickly, her breath still ragged.

“Oh thank goodness!” Said a voice behind her. Turning her head, Skysun saw a palomino paint mare trotting over, her eyes wide with relief. “I’m so glad you’re awake, young filly! When Redfeather and Bouncelight brought you in, I thought you were dead! It took both mares to get your mother out of the cave, when she saw you she went into hysterics. She must’ve thought you were dead, the poor mare.”

Skysun blinked in confusion. “Huh?” The mare looked at her. “Why dear, don’t you remember?! With those cuts that you had, it’s no surprise you passed out.”

Skysun stared at her for a few moments before it hit her, the cacti! She looked around and realized she was back in the Red Rock Mountains, probably in Lotusroot’s Medicine Cave. “H…how long was I out?” She asked.

Lotusroot grew thoughtful. “A few hours I suppose, it’s not even high sun yet.”

Skysun nodded, growing quiet. It only seemed like a few minutes to her.

“Is everything alright, Skysun?” The Medicine Mare asked.

Skysun nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine, Lotusroot.” She said with a weak smile. In fact, she wasn’t fine. Her dream had bothered her immensely, was something going to happen? And what was with the other foals?

YAYYYYY! I had enough time to post THIS one too! I felt bad for not being able to post these earlier this week so I posted a part for both The Shattered Herd and The Yearling's Secret today!! I hope you enjoy it!! (Edited due to the fact that I found a couple errors)