Firelight flickered off the cave's walls as Butterscotch began to rouse. Flickers of orange were dancing around her, revealing the cave's large size. The darkness shrouding the caves depths had receded farther back into the chambers, revealing the blossoming peaks of deep red that were stretching across the horizon.
Athens and Butterscotch were far out into the Everfree forests' realm, far from Ponyville and all of her loved ones; But now, Butterscotch wasn't sure who her loved ones were, or even who she was. Only a few days ago, Butterscotch had known exactly who she was and had been so confident about her life or lives in this case.
Which world was real? Just because she had spent the most time in this one didn't mean that it was the real one; for all she knew she had dreamed every detail, every pony she knew, and even the Discord statue on the cake. This answer was starting to seem like the most likely, that her life in Ponyville had been all part of her imagination, and that she was still dreaming.
Butterscotch's eyes drifted over to the campfire itself as she turned herself around to look over towards the mouth of the cave. Athens was holding a stick in his mouth, poking at the fire to get it to stay alight. She couldn't help admiring him, with his fiery neon mane, and his apricot Fae wings.
She saw a vision of seeing him from above after she had crashed into the pond; He had been floating above her, flapping his glorious wings and looking down at Butterscotch with a look of concern. The look was more than concern; she couldn't fathom what the twinkle in his eye was.
Athens looked up from the camp fire and grinned. He had placed me down in a nest of leaves that he must have scooped together outside; it had served its purpose by keeping me warm through the night, but left a dusty feeling to my coat. I couldn't believe he had carried me all the way here. I wasn't a light pony, although I wasn't heavy either, but the thought of carrying another pony through the air for miles seemed ludicrous.
There was a certain light in his eyes now, possibly the reflection of the crackling flames, but it made his brown eyes shine in the darkness and sent a shiver down my spine. Affection, that's was what this look was. This was no platonic affection though, it was love. The look in his eyes was a look said a thousand words, but none reached my ears.
"Thank you for saving me; I don't quite know how to thank you." Butterscotch scooted over next to him, making her feel less as if she had slept in a pile of leaves for hours on end.
"Eh, saving drowning ponies is my thing." He stretched out his hooves and held them over the fire, warming them as the flames started to die down.
She stared at the wings that fluttered a bit, sending odd shadows across the cave's walls. Butterscotch slowly reached out to touch it, Athens jumped as soon as her hoof came in contact with his coat.
"Where is this place?" she shivered a bit with nervous energy. Athens' shoulders tensed as he looked out towards the Everfree forest.
"Not far from Moonlight River. We have to find a way down to Shepherds rock for some directions." Athens lit a torch which he quickly tied to his wrist using a thick leather strip. He used his short tail to beat the flames down until there was nothing left of it and turned to face Butterscotch.
"I don't know whether you're fit to travel, considering you died yesterday." Athens looked at her with a hint of worry. "I know that this is all confusing now, but it will get better; I promise you." But Butterscotch didn't trust him, even though he had saved her life, she didn't even trust her own mind.
She shook her head and started to trot out of the cave entrance, against the whining of her aching joints. A night on a cave floor can do that, she supposed.
The trees seemed to be getting bigger and thinner as the two walked onwards towards Moonlight River. The grass she tread on was wet with the early morning's dew, and cooled her hooves. Athens seemed to tread along behind her, keeping a watchful eye trained and ready for any sort of danger that might rear its ugly head. She honestly couldn't see why he was so suspicious of their surroundings, it's not like a cockatrice is loose.
She couldn't help feeling like this was normal, walking through the deep Everfree forest with a pony you just met towards a river you have never heard of. Yeah, normal; textbook definition if you don't count everything that's happened in the last 48 hours.
A pony with FAE wings was following her every move, and every time she closed her eyes she saw a glimpse of something that already happened. This was not her week.
Butterscotch could see the orange rays of light peaking through the night sky and signaling the arrival of the sun. Celestia was going to raise it soon and shed some light on where they were going, although only Athens could really do that. Butterscotch looked behind her to see a glimpse of green flash and then disappear.
Butterscotch eyed the spot carefully and caught Athens' attention.
"What's wrong?" Butterscotch had stopped walking and was looking around wildy.
"I saw something... Back there..." she pointed to the spot where she had seen the green flash. The sun rose abruptly and she heard a thump next to her. She jumped and stared at the body of a pegasus, trying to pull its head out of a tree. Butterscotch and Athens rushed over to help pull the pony.
A muffled moan came from inside the tree trunk, Butterscotch tapped the pony on the shoulder, making it jump and redouble its efforts to escape.
"Miss?" Butterscotch called, looking at the size of the hole she was stuck in. "Miss? We're going to try and get you out of here, okay?"
There was no response, but the pony seemed to relax. Butterscotch began to pull but Athens shoved her out of the way.
"Don't touch it!" he stood in between them. "That's a pixie, they're dangerous Scotch." He picked up a large stick and held it over its head, preparing to swing.
"Stop! What are you DOING?!" she leaped up and knocked the stick out of his hand. "Are you crazy? it wasn't trying to hurt us!" She glared at him and kept eye contact as she picked up the stick.
"Scotch, honestly, it's a pixie! It's going to hurt someone if I don't end it." He walked over and with a sharp tug, he pulled the pixies' head out.
"These things eavesdrop and try to collect dirt on ponies that are blackmail worthy for their queen. This one in particular was preparing for something evil I'm sure." He glared down at it. This odd creature had pointed ears and dragonfly wings. It's leafy green coat was patchy and looked like it had not been washed in a while. Its eyes were almost pony, with a crystalline gold and green iris circled around its small pupil.
It started to flap it's wings and struggled to break free of Athens grip.
"We'll take it along with us and return it safely home. Just because they are annoying is no excuse to kill it; there would be very few foals in the world if we thought like that." She seemed to study its eyes.
"Where is your home?" she asked, making sure to keep out of reach of its jaws.
"The Hive." an almost robotic voice seemed to relay. How will we ever get anywhere close to the Fae Kingdom... An idea sprung to mind.
"Athens, change of plans, we're delivering an escaped prisoner to the Fae Kingdom." he seemed to smile as soon as he heard they wouldn't be doing any favors for the pixie within his tight hold.
"What is the quickest way to the Fae's outer walls?" Butterscotch didn't like the idea of seeing her father again, but she had to know what was happening to the Fae kingdom.
"Scotch, I need you to cast a binding spell on this pixie, I don't know how long I can hold him and catching him once was pure chance." He spun the struggling creature around to face Butterscotch and held its front hooves together.
"Wait, what? I'm not a unicorn, I don't have any magic." Butterscotch felt completely confused by this. Her whole world had been turned upside down in two days time, but she knew one thing. Pegasi do NOT have magic.
"Your Fae magic, all Fae can cast natural spells. Just make a simple binding spell and then let's go." Athens struggled to hold the pixie, and she didn't know how much longer he could keep it up.
"But I don't know the first thing about magic!" She sat down on the now perfectly lighted grass in defeat.
"Yes, you do. No matter if your mind knows what to do, your heart does. Just... close your eyes and imagine tying this up with an invisible rope. Just around the front hooves." Athens gripped the pixie's green hooves again and waited for the constricting bind.
Butterscotch closed her eyes and placed her hooves on the ground. She focused on the pixie's hooves and soon she felt a hovering sensation envelop her. Flashbacks of the throne room flashed before her eyes and grief stained her face. An aura of dark black seemed to battle with her. Butterscotch was thrashed about wildly, she was unable to control the raging magic within her.
Anger and fear consumed her in a hellfire when suddenly, a blue light pierced the darkness, creating a beacon that could have been seen for miles. Butterscotch started to feel lighter and saw the blue beacon flash out of being as abruptly as it had come in. She was about to fall, but instead pushed enough power to her wings to float down more lightly. She felt exhausted as she lay down on the grass. Athens walked quietly over to her and laid a hoof on her shoulder.
"You're back, princess. It's good to see you again." Athens was looking down at her with an almost sad look.
"What are you talking abou-" Athens pointed at her wings. Her lovely, Fae wings. "Oh my Celestia, how did these get here?" She smiled and fluttered them a bit. She was very drowsy, Butterscotch began to close her eyes; but what she saw next jolted her to the very core. Fae ponies dressed in black descended down upon them. A beige pony with dark brown Fae wings shook Athens' hoof. Wait, what? Who is that?