Chapter 13

Flash sat in the booth looking at the plate of cinnamon rolls then at Pinkie. Her blue eyes stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to begin. She cocked her head to the side and reached out a hoof to grab his. Taking a deep breath he set about telling them a story, "I have to explain why I stayed for so long. I was born in Manehattan. My father was a green pegasus named Jetstream, and my mom was a black unicorn named Dusk Dancer." Sighing he remembered how his mom used to tuck him in and his dad would read him a story, Jet's favorite was a good Sherlock Hooves novel.

"The street violence was getting really bad, so my father asked to be transferred at his job. Next thing I know where packing up and moving to a village on the other side of the Everfree." Flash drifted off as he remembered the town.

No name was required for the village, because it only consisted of about ten homes. Most where young couples just starting out but there was one old stallion that lived on top of a hill. In this town there was only one colt. This purple eyed colt worked hard to entertain himself. He often ran into the woods his blue and red mane flowing behind him.

Flash called him his adventures. He wanted to be just like the heroes in his dads stories, off on quests, searching for beasts to slay with his trusty wood sword. Never would Flash actually find anything to fight, so he often settled for beating on a tree till it was time to go home. Grimacing, Flash remembered the day when it all went wrong.

Grabbing his trusty sword in his mouth, Flash took off towards the woods. Tree after tree whizzed past him as he searched for treasure. Flash reached the tree he had spent all of yesterday trying to cut down. Without a glance back Flash impulsively dashed deeper and deeper into the Everfree. Sliding to a stop at the edge of a clearing, he gazed in wonder at the beauty he saw now.

A cliff face was stood on the other side. Pouring over it with a roar a water fall fell into a crystal clear lake. A small stream ran nearby. A song was carried over the woods by blue jays and mockingbirds. Flash entered the clearing and wended his way towards the lake.

With the excretion of sprinting through the woods had caused a keenness for water. Kneeling at the water's edge he drank, the cool water running down his irritated throat. A roar shook him, spinning he saw a chimera, both eyes trained upon Flash.

Flash, all disillusions of grandeur forgotten, edged around the water trying to put some distance between him and the barbarous beast. Shaking the earth with a roar the creature charged murder in its eyes. Flash turned and tore into the woods.

For each yard Flash covered the chimera crossed three. Tears stung his eyes, knowing very little could save him. Desperately, he strove for the flight that always averted him. With each beat he grew more and more frustrated the chimera approached further and further. Sweat and tears mixed stinging his eyes as he desperately tried for flight.

Crying he passionately jumped into the air trying to force himself into the air and out of the chimera's path. In front of him the ground suddenly dropped off. Sliding to a halt Flash looked down. Nothing, all it was, was a dead drop the forest floor. Hitting the ground from here would hopefully be a death sentence, instead of just maiming waiting for something to finish you off.

With a look at the chimera, its teeth bared and eyes red, Flash jumped. Wind rushed passed his ears as he closed his eyes tight, he felt the wind pulling at his wings. He flared them hoping to catch a updraft and slow his decent. His wings locked as he held them as wide as he could, a sudden jolt went through him as him momentum stopped.

Nearly squealing in delight Flash looked up as the stars and moon rose. His decent had been slowed to a crawl, and he took the time to measure his surroundings, to one side was the cliff and to the others all he could see were trees. The strain of holding him was quickly becoming too much for his undeveloped wings. Frantically, Flash searched for a place to land.

Without seeing a clearing, Flash looked towards where the moon was rising. A large tree stood taller than the others and, as it seemed to Flash, one could rest comfortably in the crook of its large branch. Its branches lay above any of the others in the wood. The tree stood like a fortress, impenetrable even to the nightmare that even now was roaring in bloodlust.

Adjusting as best he could to land in the tree, the wind shook him. But it was on his side propelling him further and further towards his goal. With a thump, Flash smacked against the side of the branch, his hooves wrapping around in a death grip. Loosening his grip a little he slid into a large fork and rested.

Looking over the edge he was nearly fifty feet in the air. A suddenly onset of fatigue struck him like a train, adrenaline from his first high glide the only thing keeping him. Finding a comfortable spot to rest, Flash fell asleep.

A few hours later a growl came from below. Flash did not need to look down to know it was the same chimera from earlier. He listened to it circling the tree, until dawn when the pacing of the beast ceased, and Flash stole a precious hour of sleep.