Pinkie stared in horror at the Ursis Minor standing directly in front of her. It's eyes glowed like two stars, making a beam of light where ever they swept. Pinkie, as quietly as she could tried to avoid being seen by it. She scooted silently against the wall but blew her cover when she tripped on the bone of some large animal.
She landed with a hard thud and scrambled to move as the Ursis turned to face her. Light swept over Pinkie, making her heart pound so hard her ears Ursis growled and roared loudly before charging at the frightened pony.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know you lived here! I'm leaving!" She dived out of the way and tried to calm the beast.
"I didn't mean to wake you, so go on, go back to bed little bear." The Ursis circled her, uncaring of what she was saying. It snorted and charged her. With a yelp, Pinkie dashed between the beast's legs and made for the exit. With the Ursis on her heels, Pinkie screamed and called for help running blindly through the forest. The great lights swept through the trees and she could hear its heavy breathing as it searched for her.
This would be so much easier if i had wings! She cursed and made her self as small as possible against a tree. She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered a prayer that she hoped her friends could hear. The lights swept past the tree she was hiding behind, but the Ursis Minor kept going past her hiding place. After the bear passed, Pinkie bolted in a random direction. She tried to make as little noise as possible, but found it to be harder than she hoped. Rotten twigs snapped under hoof and every tree she passed tinkled as icicles shifted and fell.
Pinkie heard the Ursis running in her direction, and even though she had a head start, she knew that an Ursis could easily out run her in a matter of seconds. She searched frantically for another place to hide but found none. Looking up, she decided to climb up. The thing wasn't smart enough to look up for her, as long as she kept moving through the branches, she might just survive this! Pinkie smiled as she made her way up the trunk. Her bright pink hair stood out against the grey of the forest and she wished she could have her magic to tone it down. She bounded easily from tree to tree in the cramped forest but the lack of cover made her nervous. She kept moving at a steady pace, how ever, for fear that the Ursis would see her.
"Hey!" a familiar voice called.
"Oh man." Pinkie grumbled "Spectrum, get down here now!" She whisper-screamed.
"Why?" He matched her volume and quickly ducked in to the trees with her. He landed on the branch hard, almost knocking them both off of it. He wobbled unsteadily as he used his wings for balance. Pinkie grabbed his mane and held him steady. "Please stop moving so much, it'll see you." Pinkie looked around nervously but saw no trace of the lights. She relaxed slightly and saw that Speck had two over stuffed saddle bags and some kind of pack on his back. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat, despite the cold, and the bags looked like they might burst.
"Whats out there?" He asked looking around.
"An Ursis Minor." She whispered. "I walked in to it's cave thinking it was empty." She let go of the colt and he stood shakily. "Why are your bags so full?
"That's random," He giggled. "I figured I'd be gone for a while so I packed for a long trip. I even brought a tent!" He smiled wide and looked at the mare in the dark. "How much longer do we have to stay up here? I haven't seen any Ursis or anything so let's get some sleep."
"We have to keep moving so the Ursis wont find us." Pinkie yawned
"Or we could camp in the clouds." He said, looking up.
"I'm an earth pony." Pinkie pointed, getting annoyed again.
"Just a moment, I know a trick!" With that he removed the saddle bags but kept the pack and raced upward. Pinkie watched as he gathered clouds from all directions and pushed and shoved them until they were a dense mass of fluff way above the trees. She sat on the branch and waited for a little while until she saw Speck look over the side of the mass. He jumped down and and fluttered next to Pinkie. "Hop on."
Pinkie hesitated for a moment but, wanting to escape the cold and any chance of running in to the Ursis again, she took his hoove and carefully got on his back. He flew straight up with hardly any strain. He settled down on the cloud and held open the flap of the tent for her. "As long as you're in here, you wont fall through the cloud." He grinned as she slowly tested her footing and found she really could stand. The tent sunk slightly, but Speck assured her that it was nothing to worry about.
After he had gathered his bags from the tree, the two ponies laid down at opposite ends of the tent. Speck pulled a blanket out of his bag and tossed it over to Pinkie.
"Do you have another?" She asked, wrapping it gratefully around herself.
"Nah, I hardly ever sleep with a blanket." He said curling up and closing his eyes. Pinkie shrugged and closed her eyes as well. She contemplated this strange pony who had saved her life, gave her company, and made her feel safe.
"Hey Spectrum?"
"Yeah?"
"Why aren't your bags dirty? You said you dropped them. But, They aren't dirty..." She asked as she began to fall asleep.
"Because I lied." He said casually, "I really am running away now." He yawned, and began to doze off. "So that I can travel... with...you"
Pinkie didn't hear the last part, but she still fell asleep with a smile on her face.
