Next Chapter: Path of Terrors
By The Light of Lightening: Path of Terrors
By: M14Mouse
Summary: Brightstar remembers many things. Not all of them are good.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
-The bond between a mount and knight is complicated and messy. It is easier if the mount and squire are young. They don't carry the burdens and the memories as older mounts and squires do. The young mount is almost always more open to the forming bonds with their young squire. We as knights, encourage it. Being a squire is hard and despite our coolness toward the whole matter, we do try to make some steps easier. But like most things, that doesn't always happen.
Not all mounts and squires aren't always fit.
It is complicated. There is rejection…a mount may die…a squire may die…a thousand different possibilities. It is messy.
So, sometimes…an older mount and squire is brought in, found…whatever the reason and the bond starts forming.
They carried memories and emotions into the bond that easily destroy the pair as a spell can.
Daggeron never bonded. I and Rasa bonding took time and energy that Snow Prince and Leanbow argued took too much time. As my brother like to point out, I am stubborn and refused to yield. Rasa shared my thoughts on the matter.
Do I have any regrets over the bond?
No, I don't. Will I do it again? Never.-Catalina
For Chip, it started with a headache. It wasn't the ones that you wanted to crawl out of your skull. No, it was the one that build up right above your nose. It is like the ones that you have too much sugar and your body is showing that it isn't happy with a headache.
Those type….then it sort of grew from there. It spread to his temples. It started to feel like a drum beating against his skull. Then he started to feel dizzy and the world started to tilted. He really needed to sit down. He felt his feet give out from under him.
Then this smell hit him.
It was a burning smell like the smoke coming from a campfire. He didn't remember any campfire nearby. He was just visiting Brightstar. Slowly, the smell got worse. The odor turned into something like burned meat. It wasn't like his uncle grilling out on the grill.
It made him sick.
Then he started to see ash. He wasn't quite sure where it came from. Then he looked up. The trees were burning…It was like the sky was on fire. He looked over his shoulder to see nothing but ash, flames, burned wood, and bodies. He couldn't recall the bodies.
God, so many bodies….
He tasted the ash on his tongue. He was going to be sick. Then he felt a sense of panic. He needed to run….now.
But where?
There is no place to run. No matter where he turned…they was nothing but bodies and flames.
"CHIP!"
He heard a voice…it was a familiar one. He knew it from somewhere. He felt something grip his arms. God, he wanted to run.
"CHIP!"
He winced as the voice became more insist. The voice stopped shouting for a moment then mumbled away. Then he felt something press against his hand. Then the panic vanished from his body. He blinked in confusion for a moment then he stared at Rasa. The racing snail made some noises but he didn't talk snail. So, he had no clue what he was saying.
"Rasa?"
The racing snail made a grumbling noise.
He turned his attention to his surrounding. Catalina wasn't here. There wasn't any smoke or fire. What just happened?
Then he felt a familiar presence. He turned around to see Brightstar and Catalina standing there. Why did he get the sense of guilt from Brightstar? What happened?
"Brightstar?" He said.
The unicorn approached him and gently places his horn and head into his hands. He gently stroked the unicorn's head. He tried to focus his thoughts on the positive. He wasn't upset. He was worried.
"Brightar…what is wrong?" He asked.
The unicorn didn't answer.
"Something upset him and it fed into you. My fault…I should have covered that especially seeing how far along you two are," Catalina said with a sigh.
He frowned a moment. He remembered reading about that in her journal but it didn't go into a lot of detail.
"How can I fix it? How can I help Brightstar?" He asked.
"You are bonding, Chip. Can't be fixed. More like…adapted. I thought that Brightstar being an older mount would give you some benefits. I made the mistake of the bond being quite new but now, we have to work on mental shields next. We can't have you collapsing during a battle. As for helping Brightstar, you already have."
"How?"
"Bonds worked like a two way street. You acted as an anchor for him during his time of panic," She said as she started to stroke Rasa's head.
"How did you know that I was in trouble?"
"Rasa."
"How did Rasa know?"
She frowned for a moment.
"I am not quite sure myself but I trust my mount. He never led me wrong yet."
He stared at Brightstar for a moment.
Maybe, one day…he will trust him too.
End of Path of Terrors
Next Chapter: There was A Goat Involved
A/N: Read and review if you wish