A New Land and a New Friend
#2 of Not so Alone
Flashwing wakes up in a strange forest. The atmosphere is eerie and unsettling. She becomes even more uneasy when she looks up to see a very tight, gnarled and constricting canopy. Once again, she finds herself unable to fly. She seems to be, once again, lost and alone and this time she has a strange feeling that the other Skylanders won't be around to help her with this fight.
Flashwing wandered around for a while, not really sure where she was going when finally she heard a voice; a female voice a small distance away. As she got closer she couldn't quite make out words but realized that the voice was not talking, but chanting. As she almost reached the clearing where she thought the voice was coming from, the chant got louder and then ended with a shout. Afterward, a large puff of green smoke exploded in the clearing. Flashwing was startled and quickly turned and went the opposite direction. She had fought many enemies before, but did not feel the need to go looking for them when they could be avoided.
She continued to wander down this new trail and was hopeful that she would at least be out in the open again soon because the trail seemed to be getting a little wider and well-used. She hoped she would be in the open before encountering whoever used this trail though, so she would at least have the option of flight if she couldn't fight her way out of a confrontation. However, that hope was dashed away quickly as she heard a rustling in the bushes beside her. She quickly lowered her body and brought her crystal-tipped tail up, ready to attack. Out of those bushes leapt a strange growling creature that appeared to be formed of the wood and braches of the dark forest itself. Its body appeared to be wooden with bits of thorns and mud covered its body and the face had some leafy coverings around two glowing green eyes. She launched a beam from her tail and the creature jumped to the side, only to be hit by a second rapid beam that she fired in his direction.
It stumbled but did not fall and she realized this fight wouldn't be a simple one. She prepared to launch more attacks when suddenly two more of these creatures jumped from the vegetation behind her. Now she faced a pack of these creatures and they had her surrounded and were closing in. She stayed crouched and ready to attack the first, which she presumed to be the leader. As they closed in though, she quickly brought up her hard crystal wings and spun herself around, attacking in a whirlwind fashion, knocking back her strange foes. As they all stumbled back to the ground, Flashwing stopped her spin and took off at a run down the trail, now hoping more than ever that it was leading her out of these woods.
Luckily, her hopes were realized before long and as she soon saw the light of day start to break through the trees and although they were starting to close in on her, she knew she would be able to fly before they caught her.
She got to the end of the trail where the forest opened into a large green field and she immediately spread her sings and soared into the sky. Immediately behind her the wooden beasts pounced from the forest, but they all missed the chance to grab her.
She laughed smugly to herself, but then looked on with curiosity as she noticed that instead of retreat back into the forest, the creatures continued through the field. She eyed the area and saw that ahead of them was a pink and yellow creature running desperately away from them. She immediately flew as fast as she could after the beasts because she knew it was her fault that had spotted this new target.
It wasn't long before she caught up to her predators-turned-prey and before they could turn around to notice she was in their pursuit, she dropped to the ground immediately behind them and fired a rapid succession of beams from her tail. Several of the beams hit each creature and one of the three was knocked from his run and tumbled into a large nearby rock, causing him to splinter apart. The other two turned on her quickly and started to charge her. She waited for them to get close and then once again drew up her wings and attacked with a vortex of blows. She struck another of the beasts down, tearing him apart with her hard crystalline wings, but the other managed to duck under her blows and knocked her to the ground. She landed hard and it quickly dove in and bit down hard on one of her legs. She hit the beast hard with her wing to get the creature off her and then sent a beam from her tail directly into its face, causing its wooden head to shatter apart.
She stopped and stayed still for a moment, breathing heavily after the battle. She then remembers the creature they were chasing and looked up to see it standing a safe distance away as if it was curious but scared. Flashwing called out a greeting and started to walk toward the stranger before stumbling over her injured leg and falling to the ground. The combination of this sudden pain and her lack of energy after the fight took their toll and when she hit the ground, she blacked out.
Flashwing awoke with a start in a strange cottage reminding her slightly of the shacks the Mabu live in. Her first thought was to run out but she remembered her injured foot and worried that she wouldn't be able to run anywhere. She grew much more nervous when she spotted the person she helped early slowly walking toward her. It was a yellow-furred creature with four legs ending in hooves. It had a large mane of pink hair spilling from its head and a long pink tail cascading from its rear. It also had a strange marking that resembled a trio of butterflies on its hind flank.
"My name is Fluttershy. You're OK now. I brought you to my house and I'll take care of you." The stranger said.
Her voice was very soft and kind. She talked quiet and with compassion and Flashwing very quickly felt much more at ease.
"Where in Skylands am I?" Flashwing asked.
"Skylands?" Fluttershy responded with a confused look.
"Yes, Skylands. How far are we from the Core of Light? I have to find the other Skylanders and let them know I am safe. Cynder and Bash will be so worried when they realize I'm gone."
Flashwing surprised herself with that last statement. She hadn't really consciously thought before about how much her new friends in the Skylands cared for her. She spent so much time thinking about her being lost and stuck in this new land that she didn't put much thought into the friends she had found. She suddenly thought a lot about them when she heard Fluttershy say-
"We aren't in the Skylands. We are in Equestria. You're at my house outside Ponyville. Well, it's actually just a cottage I stay in while caring for all the animals. My real house is up in Cloudsdale but I prefer to be down here."
Flashwing just looked wide-eyed at Fluttershy, not knowing how to respond or what was happening.
Fluttershy soon noticed Flashwing's confusion. "Oh, I'm so sorry! You must be confused and I'm just rambling. Please, what can I do to help? You just saved me from those Timberwolves so I wanted to make sure you were comfortable. Let me see your foot again, I did clean it and wrap it. I hope it isn't hurting you as much."
"I -" Flashwing started "I'm not really sure where Ponyville is or how I got here. I need to get back to Skylands. That's my home. I just found it and was getting used to it and now I'm lost and stuck somewhere new again." Flashwing started to tear up as she thought about the prospect of having to start her life over again. "I don't even know where I truly belong and now I lost the only home I had."
Her tears turned to sobs and Fluttershy quickly moved closer to comfort her.
"It will be Ok" Fluttershy told her after hugging her and putting a soft leg around her "I will help you get home. I promise."
Flashwing didn't know why, but she trusted Fluttershy and felt assured at her words. She managed to say 'Thank you' before her busy mind and still recovering body got the best of her and she fell asleep sobbing under the close watch of her new friend.