Rainbow darted in between the trees of the forest as fast as she could without crashing. Finally, she stopped and looked back, seeing that those...things from the cave weren't following her. She let out a huff of relief and slumped back, beating her wings slower as she floated down to the forest floor.

The forest was vastly different from down her than her birds-eye view from before. The trees were bigger, the needle-like leaves were a darker shade of green, the bark was a lighter shade of brown. She also saw things that she didn't see from above. A fallen tree, looking as if a bolt of lightning hit the base of the trunk, judging from the massive burn mark around the snapped off bit. A series of small inclines and hills, concealed from above by the canopy. The whole floor, scattered with broken off branches, pine cones, dead leaves, and puddles of murky, brown water. It wasn't like any forest she had been in.

Well, with the cave out of the option, she had to make due down here. So, where to set up shop?

She eliminated just sleeping on the forest floor. Even if nothing showed up to try and eat her, it didn't look very comfortable. The trees also weren't an option. Unlike the trees in Equestria, almost all of the branches were either at odd angles or were to close together for her to shimmy into. The base of the broken tree was looking like the best option but still wasn't ideal. Maybe another spot would reveal itself.

One didn't. Even after ten minutes of darting back and forth between potential spots, eyes squinted in her thorough (for her at least) examination, she found nothing good enough. So, the trunk it was.

She flew back down to it, examining it. The way the trunk fell left a small area for her to lay the tarp over, allowing her to make a makeshift tent. She unstrapped the saddlebags, pulling out said tarp. Upon unfolding it, she discovered a few fixed nails, likely so she could do what she intended; to make a tent. She laid the center of it over the trunk, with it being narrow enough for her to beat the nails into the soft yet somewhat dry ground. She pulled out the spade, using the flat end of the blade to beat the nails into the ground. Putting the spade back, she slid under it and curled up to sleep.

She jerked up, gasping as she awoke in a sweat. She panted, hooves gripping her head, as she attempted to calm herself. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream.

It was akin to what she had experienced on her first night. The black void. The things she cherished, all burning. Even her family and Scoots. That demon-like Celestia. The screams tearing through her ears, suddenly replaced with the silence bourn from her awakening. All of it.

Standing up, she stretched and moved over to slip under the flap of her makeshift shelter. Once she was out from under it, she shook like a dog, sending bits of semi-dry mud and dead needles everywhere. Pulling out the shovel again, she used it to pry the nails out of the now much drier dirt before folding up the tarp and sliding it back into the bag. She pulled out a small bit of bread to have for a light breakfast. Then, she fumbled for her canteen. Uncorking it, she saw it was empty.

She looked over toward the nearest source of water; a murky brown puddle. Even with the pack of water purifiers in her bag, she didn't really trust that puddle. Just bucking PERFECT. Now I need to find some water as well as somepony else. Hope you're getting a laugh out of this, sun-flank! Mumbling under her breath, she slid the canteen back into the bag and shot up into the air again.

The sun was just cresting the wall of mountains in the distance, casting strange shadows over the land below. Rainbow once again looked around at which way to go. Once again, she simply did a little bit of random choice. This time, she flew parallel to the mountain range in the distance, heading what she could only guess was north from the position of the sun.

She still flew quite slowly, still wanting to conserve her energy in case she needed it. Evidently, from encountering those things last night, she would. Things went smoothly. Like yesterday, nothing really bothered her. No large flying things, no birds, not even any abnormally large clouds.

Also like yesterday, she saw much sprawl out beneath her. More trees, more rocks, more hills. She also saw a few more animals. A small group of things that looked kinda like deer. A few of those small grey things from the cave last night. A few birds, nesting on or near trees. However, nothing that seemed to really be very large, or seemed to be able to communicate.

It was about noon, by her guess, when her ears swiveled to a new sound. Up until then, all the sound she had heard was the wind whistling by her ear. But now, she heard something else. A strange noise, one she couldn't really describe. She was never good at descriptions at school; flowing, would be the best way she could describe it. Looking up ahead, she smiled.

It was the thing she needed at the second place on her list. A river. A dark blue line, seeming to follow no set shape or pattern along its banks. It cut across the land below her, standing as a large contrast between the forest and the river. It flowed down this path at a slow, almost lazy pace, with only a few small parts of the blue breaking apart to reveal white spurts. Rainbow smiled; it was part of what she needed.

Flying down, she came to a stop along the rivers edge. She scooted up to the edge, leaning on a rock to keep her balance and prevent falling in. She didn't want to put strange water in her canteen, having that be the only thing she could drink for a while. So, she cupped up a hoof of the water. Taking a sip, she smiled. The water tasted exactly how it should: tasteless. Plus, it looked pretty clear now that she was closer. So, she dug around for her canteen, uncorked it, and dipped it into the lazily flowing river.

As she did, she heard a faint squelching noise. Looking over, she saw one of those deer-like things from before a ways down the bank, head leaned down to drink from the water. From up high, they had just looked like deer with strange-looking tails and ears. Now, she got a better look at it.

It still looked a lot like a deer. The antlers, the fur color, the general shape. However, she was now able to pick out the other aspects much better. The ears were more cylindrical and were tilted downward rather than upward. The tail wasn't the cute little bushy thing Fluttershy had shown her once at something she had been dragged to. Instead, it was a long, scorpion-like tail covered in a thick carapace. It looked over at Rainbow, and after seeming to acknowledge her, it went back to drinking.

Rainbow finished filling up her canteen, closed the cap, then sat back on the rock. Ok, part on of my plan to stay alive for the next few days a success. Now, about finding other creatures...

She knew that just flying around the wilderness would get her nowhere. She couldn't last much longer on what food she had left, and there was no guarantee she would even find anything. Now, maybe if she followed the river... That could work. May be more likely to find something near a source of clean water. Ok, this still isn't much better, but its something. Here's hoping I find something or somepony soon.

Next Chapter: 12~Her innocence Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 14 Minutes