“How did this happen?” a large brown pegasus stallion asked.
“I blame you exclusively,” a tall and slender white unicorn responded.
“Oh, and how is this my fault again,” the stallion asked shaking some of his messy brown mane from his face.
“Because, if it wasn’t for you being a klutz we wouldn’t have fallen off the cliff and gotten lost,” the unicorn replied as she moved some purple and blue hair out of her own face, her orange freckles accenting her amethyst eyes well as she glared into her companions bright blue eyes.
“Oh yeah…” the stallion replied glumly as he hung his head.

The two sighed into their cloaks as they trotted through the unknown wilderness. For those that new the recent tale, these two were Bright Leaf and Flurryshine of Braying Cliffs. For those that did not know, they looked like a wandering couple having a spat. The two continued on in begrudging silence. The stallion soon smiled meekly as he closed the distance to nuzzle his mare friend’s shoulder tenderly. She smiled at him and the two stopped to intertwine their necks lovingly.

Flurryshine couldn’t deny it. As much as she had loathed Bright Leaf over the years, she had begrudgingly grown to love the messy mane but tender hearted stallion. Bright Leaf’s tail twitched contently before they separated. The moment passed, Flurryshine’s warm smile was replaced by her trademark glare and a devious smile. The mare, that had developed a cynical view of the world from her rough life, continued on without even looking to see if her companion was following. They were lost, and probably going to be late to a party that they needed to attend. They had been lost for days now. It was almost inevitable that they wouldn’t make it to Ponyville in time. They instead focused on trying to find their way out of the accursed forest.

They walked for what seemed like hours now. They had grown used to it. Flurryshine was used to the traveling from her last great adventure, but Bright Leaf was a rookie. It took all he could to blindly stumble behind her. He had accidently bumped muzzle to plot with her a few times. All these times were met with swift and painful retribution from Flurryshine. Bright Leaf soon learned he should stagger as close to her side as he could to avoid bumping into her in inappropriate places. He was relieved when she finally stopped and laid down to rest. He graciously flopped down beside her and panted heavily.
“Tired?” Flurryshine asked half laughing at him.
“What do…you think,” he panted glumly.
“Don’t worry. We will be resting here tonight. Can you…can you loosen these bandages? I’m getting stiff,” Flurryshine said a little embarrassed.

Bright Leaf got to his hooves slowly and removed Flurryshine’s cloak. She didn’t even glance at him. Ever since a year ago, when she received her injury, she had grown accustomed to Bight Leaf tending her wounds. The stallion gently loosened the binding bandages over her damaged wings. You see, fate so cruel had made Flurryshine an alicorn. Due to her own folly, she was now an alicorn that could no longer use her wings. Thus, they were bound to her body with bandages ever since they had been irreversibly damaged. She tried to move them as the binding bandages were removed. Stiffly and painfully, they slowly unfolded and she managed to move her wings a bit.
“That…Ugh, that feels so much better,” Flurryshine said with a grunt. She then looked upon her bandaged wings remorsefully. It had been her own fault that they would never take her into flight again.
“No problem,” Bright Leaf replied gruffly as he turned to settle down nearby. The pegasus dared not look at his alicorn companion. He knew better than to interrupt her while she reflected on the past.

Bright Leaf found himself doing the same. His thoughts returned to that week of sleepless nights after the princess had brought Flurryshine and the heroes of harmony down from the peak. How he had done everything in his power as a healer to mend every broken bone and wound on her body. How he had repeated over and over that he would never allow her to be harmed again. He had spent those sleepless nights praying she would recover. For the most part, she had recovered. Her body held no more scars than the tiny ones she had before the great storm. All that never fully healed was her wings. He knew the moment he had seen the dislocated and shattered wings that first night that Flurryshine would never fly again. But, he hoped her resilient nature would hold true even for her wings. It had not, sadly.

Flurryshine looked up from examining her stiff wings to see the sullen look on Bight Leaf’s face. The familiar lump plopped in her stomach as she knew what he was thinking of. He was wallowing in his own self-pity over her broken wings. Poor stallion never stopped thinking about it when she asked to have her wings unbound. She smiled weakly as she got to her hooves and went to lie next to him. Bright Leaf flinched at first, but soon relaxed as he always did. The nervous pegasus still wasn’t completely used to the fact that Flurryshine actually gave a buck about his feelings! The cynical alicorn was usually cold to everyone but her closest friends. But, her friends were not here. They were probably at the party wondering why Flurryshine had never shown up, and writing it off as her being her usual moody self. No, Flurryshine’s friends were not here. She was lost in this Luna forsaken forest with the Braying Cliffs healer that everyone joked as her lover, the latter being completely not true. Well…mostly not true.

Flurryshine laid her head on Bright Leaf’s forelegs, which gave the young stallion quite a start. She chuckled as she lay there, not moving a muscle. Her stiff and pain filled wings intertwining feathers with his unkempt wings. Bright Leaf flushed at the attention she was giving him. This had to be one of her sick jokes at his expense! She wants him to react so she can laugh at him. He grunted as he tried to look away as least flustered as possible. Flurryshine looked up at him with an intrigued look on her face. It surprised her he was able to resist reacting to her. He would usual freak out at less than this. She only sighed as she settled down to rest for the night. Bright Leaf flushed slightly harder when he heard her soft snoring.
“C-crap…”he thought as he realized she was sound asleep practically laying all over him.

Bright Leaf gulped hard as he slowly laid his head over her neck. He tensed and flushed all at the same time as she made a small noise in her sleep. He was absolutely sweating bullets. She had to be messing with him! Why else would she blatantly lay on him when she usually glared at him if he came to close to her? He slowly fell into a shallow sleep that one would expect a panicked rabbit would have. He twitched as he felt Flurryshine snuggle closer to him.

The next morning, Flurryshine yawned as she woke from a restful sleep. She felt something twitch beneath her. Flurryshine was at first confused, but some realized it was Bright Leaf. Poor stallion probably stayed up most of the night scared stiff she was gonna jump him in his sleep. As she turned her head to look where his head was, she saw he was awake and had bloodshot eyes.
“What happened to you?” she tried to say without laughing.
“Y-you slept…on me…” he said through twitching.
“Yes…did it bother you that much?” she said, saying the last part like it had truly hurt her feelings at his reaction.
Bright Leaf raised his head upright and stared at her with concerned eyes as he scrambled to say,” N-no! Well, I was bothered. B-but, I…I just thought you were trying to trick me”
Flurryshine shuffled her front hooves as she moved her head back on them. She tried to look as pitiful as those stupid mares back home as she said sadly, “You think I am always tricking you? You don’t think I can show true affection at all. I’m just the mean alicorn to you, aren’t I?”
“No! Never, I…I l-…well, you know,” he said completely flustered as he blushed hardly.
“You are by far the most pathetic stallion in all of Equestria. You can’t even fess up to how you feel,” Flurryshine’s normal cynical voice said amused.
“You were messing with me!” Bright Leaf shouted.
“I am now, but I wasn’t last night, hay for brains,” she said bluntly and got up to retrieve her cloak. Bright Leaf blushed hardly as he glared at the ground. Sometimes he cursed the fact, out of all the mares in Equestria, he loved Flurryshine.

Flurryshine finished putting on her cloak over her damaged wings. She saw the sour look on Bright Leaf’s face and smiled. She quietly walked over to her brooding friend and nipped his ear. Bright Leaf jumped up and into muzzle to muzzle nuzzles from Flurryshine. He felt himself get flustered and his wings misbehave as they stood straight up. He glared morosely at the smiling alicorn. Flurryshine only giggled as she began to walk onwards, taking time to make the very tip of her tail flick against Bright Leaf’s muzzle. Bright Leaf groaned as he knew at this rate his wings won’t be lying flat against his body anytime soon. He soon put on his cloak and cantered to follow his companion deeper through this mind numbing forest that were still very much lost in.

Hours later the growls of their stomachs filled the air of the otherwise silent forest. Flurryshine ignored her own grumbling stomach as she marched onwards, only stopping to try and get her bearings. Bright Leaf took these moments to lie against her tiredly. He was a stallion of healing, not adventuring! Flurryshine rolled her ears as he panted heavily as he leaned against her. She shrugged him off as she continued towards what she thought was the sound of water. Bright Leaf stumbled as he followed after her. He stumbled down the hillside she had cleared easily.

He regretted what happened when he stopped falling. Once again, he was muzzle to plot with Flurryshine. He cringed as he heard the equine version of a frustrated growl. A few sharp hooves to the head had him sprawled at the riverside with a throbbing headache. He dizzily lay there while Flurryshine snorted and looked around.
“Geez, I swear you’re doing that on purpose now. …pervert,” Flurryshine grumbled shooting a sidelong glare at him.
“W-what? Hey, I am not a pervert! If you weren’t always in the lead, maybe I wouldn’t bump into you,” he exclaimed in his defense.
“Oh? Is that so? Fine then, oh wild stallion, you can lead us out of this forest!” Flurryshine shot back at him.
“M-me?!” Bight Leaf said completely baffled.
“If it atleast keeps you from bumping into my backside, I don’t care how lost we get,” Flurryshine replied.
“You can’t be serious! I don’t know the first thing about guiding ponies out of a forest!” Bright Leaf continued.
“Then you better be as quick a study as you are with medicinal herbs,” she replied as she grabbed his cloak in her muzzle and yanked him to his feet.

With a shove on his haunches, Bright Leaf stumbled along the riverside. He kept his head down as he walked along. He bumped into branches and was smacked in the face by other branches. He swore he heard Flurryshine laughing at him after a while. But, she always had a glare and a devious smile when he shot a glare back at her. Bright Leaf and his big mouth had done it now.
“This river has to lead to some sort of civilization, “he grumbled.
“By Celestia, he’s got it!” Flurryshine exclaimed sarcastically. He felt his eye twitch at this statement.
“You wanna lead? I will be more than happy enough to let you,” he shot back at her darkly continuing slightly quieter, “But, prepare to be stumbled into a lot.”
“…Bright Leaf, I sometimes think I am a bad influence on you,” Flurryshine said as she stopped to look at him weirdly.
“You think?” Bright Leaf replied as she took the lead again.
“Keep it up, and you’re sleeping alone tonight,” Flurryshine teased.
“Says who?!” Bright Leaf shouted.
“Says me! Problem?” Flurryshine replied with a smirk.
“Ah! No…” Bright Leaf grumbled and stared quietly next to her.
“That’s a good stallion,” she said in a happily patronizing voice.

Bright Leaf groaned in defeat as he walked alongside her. Once again, Flurryshine had won the argument. She had been so irritating on and off since they left home. His nerves were wearing thin from being the object of her constant torment. His dour mood was interrupted as a chill ran down his spine. His wings spread out completely under the cloak and he stretched his hind legs. His tail arched and twitched contently as Flurryshine nibbled from his shoulder to the small gap between his wings. He couldn’t help but whinny at the attention. Flurryshine chuckled as she stopped and nuzzled his muzzle with her own.
“I’m sorry,” she said sweetly. Bright Leaf only had time to smile wider than he already was before she cantered off with her tail flicking his muzzle lightly.

Bright Leaf puffed out his huge chest and snorted. Just when he was becoming some dark a dreary creature, Flurryshine had got him to remember what he really was. He was a pegasus stallion for Equestria’s sake! Not only that, but he was the only stallion that had the gall to approach the cynical alicorn regardless if it meant being maimed! He reared up before he galloped after her, his focus clearly on catching up and beating her to wherever this river ended.

The party at Twilight’s library home was winding down for the night. It had been a great party. Her friends and the Braying Cliffs heroes had quickly taken to the festivities. It was almost a shame Flurryshine had chosen to skip out. Twilight Sparkle had been waiting to see the young alicorn again. She wanted to see her as more than the crippled pony she left in Bright Leaf’s capable hooves after they defeated her during the great storm. It was almost unlike Flurryshine to miss a chance to come see them. Twilight could only giggle as she toyed with the thought that maybe Flurryshine was off having a romantic get away with the nervous Bright Leaf that has such a huge crush on her anyways!

Oh. Oh, how wrong Twilight Sparkle was. Little did the lavender unicorn know, Flurryshine had intended to come to the reunion party. Twilight was right on one thing though. It was Bright Leaf’s fault Flurryshine never made it. The two in question were now tumbling down a waterfall and screaming their heads off. The, oh so klutzy, Bright Leaf had tripped when they reached the edge of the river, this sent the two over the waterfall that the river ended at.
“I…Blame…You!” Flurryshine hissed as Bright Leaf untangled himself from her only to grab her again. His unkempt but strong wings managed to steady their decent, while Flurryshine’s damaged wings just lay limp along her sides.
“Oh come on! How was I supposed to know there was a waterfall?!” Bright Leaf complained.
“Look before you canter for one!” she shot back.
“Ugh….” He groaned as they descended safely at the edge of a pool beneath the gigantic waterfall.

Her bandages soaked by the water, Flurryshine tried to remove them from her broken wings. Bright Leaf sighed as he watched her struggle. Without even fully registering what he was doing, he went over and helped her remove her bandages. Her white wings were disheveled from the constant bandages. Flurryshine sat on her haunches, eased her stiff wings open, and began to preen her tattered feathers. Almost self-conscious watching her struggle to groom her damaged wings, Bright Leaf sat on his haunches and took the time to preen his. The usually unkempt feathers began to look like a pair of presentable wings. The pain in Flurryshine’s wings made it hard for her to open them enough to clean them completely.

Bright Leaf saw her struggling and got up. He slowly nudged her wings open with his muzzle. He cringed when she let out a pain filled gasp or a small cry in agony. He looked over at her face to see her biting back tears as she nodded in thanks to him. Flurryshine began to preen the feathers she previously couldn’t reach. His urge to assist people in pain as a healer drew Bright Leaf to her opposite wing. He cringed as she squealed at him opening this wing ever so gently before softly preening it for her. He was completely lost in cleaning and trying to get the feathers to stay in place. He didn’t even notice Flurryshine finish her preening and looking at him graciously. When he did notice her gaze, he reflexively flushed in embarrassment. This only made Flurryshine giggle softly before she negotiated laying down with her wings still outstretched. She couldn’t fold them now easily either anymore.

She smiled up at him before she grimaced from trying to fold her preened wing. Fresh tears were in her eyes as she slowly did manage to close her wing again. She panted as she felt the pain shoot through her wing. Bright Leaf gulped hard when he knew the wing he had preened would have to be folded too. Flurryshine gasped in pain as he gently guided the other wing into a folded position. Her eyes were streaming tears now. Flurryshine had spent most of her life in torment, but the pain in her wings trumped anything she had ever experienced.

As she cried softly, she felt someone lay beside her. Flurryshine’s tears couldn’t make it down her face before they were lapped up by a sympathetic tongue of another. She glanced at the blushing Bright Leaf. He didn’t notice her gaze, he was purely focused on her tears. He kept lapping his tongue against her cheek until the tears stopped. It was only then he noticed beside the tears on her face, Flurryshine’s was blushing. He flushed a deep shade of mahogany as he turned away from her flushed face. Flurryshine dared to inch her muzzle close enough to give his cheek a lap of her tongue. When he flinched reflexively she quickly turned away and buried her head in her hooves.

Bright Leaf was a deep red in the face when she hid in her hooves. His wings went straight up and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he gazed across the pool in a daze. Flurryshine looked up and rolled her eyes. He was daydreaming. Judging by the goofy look on his face, she shouldn’t have given him that thank you lick. She sighed as she nuzzled next to him to rest a bit. She was hungry and hurting, but she could wait until after he stopped imagining her or whatever Bright Leaf does when he makes that face. She hoped it wasn’t something she would have to clock him for later on.
“She wants to make foals…” Bright Leaf mumbled dreamily.
“What did you just say?!” Flurryshine exclaimed as her head shot upright.
“H-huh? Oh, hi Flurryshine. …..Flurryshine?! Oh crude!” Bright Leaf screamed as he got to his hooves.
“Oh crude is right! Now exactly who are you imagining having foals with?!” Flurryshine growled as she too got to her hooves.
“N-nobody! I-I mean...you? Gah! Don’t kill me!!!!!” Bright Leaf stammered out as he dodged Flurryshine charging him.
“Get back here!” she neighed as he took to the air.
“I’m sorry. But I’m not coming down until you promise not to kill me,” Bright Leaf said half-frightened out of his mind.
“Fine,” she said coolly.
“Fine? Really?” Bright Leaf asked suspiciously.
“I promise not to kill you,” she said with a genuine smile.
Bright Leaf let out a sigh of relief. The brown stallion landed in front of the mare. He was happy they had resolved this small slip of his tongue nonviolently. It was then he was pushed down on his back with his wings splayed out under him. He gazed into the amethyst eyes of most terrifying creature in both his dreams and nightmares.
“However, I didn’t promise to not beat you to a pulp for fantasizing about me having your foals!” Flurryshine hissed with malice right before the agonizing beating took place.

A few moments later the couple was scrounging the brush for some kind of edible vegetation. Bright Leaf keeping far back from Flurryshine, his head was throbbing from the walloping he received his right eye was blacked from a good left hook. The stallion’s tail twitched as he nibbled like a primitive pony in days of old upon somsome edible vegetation. He looked up from his lunch to see Flurryshine growing frustrated trying to discern what was safe to eat and what wasn’t. Bright Leaf sighed and trotted slowly to her side. With a nudge from his muzzle on her shoulder, Flurryshine turned to see him point to a patch of daisies. Bright Leaf smiled as she gave his ear a nibble before munching on the daisies. It was strange the way this forest was bringing out the worst and best in their relationship.

Bright Leaf grinned deviously as he softly walked backwards a bit. With Flurryshine focused on her daisies, she never had a chance. Bright Leaf leaned his head over the top of her haunches. With Flurryshine distracted she never knew what hit her when a small tickle was on her spine near her haunches. She squirmed and even tried to flick whatever was nibbling on her with her tail. She heard something stumble about next to her after the swish of her long purple blue tail hitting something. She looked up to see Bright Leaf regaining his balance and turn to grin at her sheepishly.
“Do I want to know what you’re doing nibbling on my backside?” she said half laughing, obviously in a better mood after some food.
“Um…I swear it has nothing to do with foals,” Bright Leaf replied.
“It better not!” Flurryshine laughed at him.

The two smiled at each other as they laughed with each other, as the quieted down, they found themselves looking into each other’s eyes dreamily. Not thinking at first, they inched closer to each other until their lips almost touched. As if realizing what she was doing, Flurryshine cringed and side stepped to see Bright Leaf stumble forward at the unexpected loss of his kissing partner. As he came to realize what he had almost done, his face turned a deep red with embarrassment. He shuffled his hooves nervously as Flurryshine turned away to walk off. Her own face was slightly red as she refused to look back at Bright Leaf and vowed to never eat daises again!

The two managed to find an old deer path as they traveled further into the forest. It was a welcome relief from trudging blindly through the wilderness. Bright Leaf stayed close to Flurryshine as the sun began to go down. The forest was much different than it was on the other side of the waterfall. The night seemed much more eerie down here. The sounds of many creatures broke the silence of Luna’s night. Bright Leaf jumped at a snap of branches and bumped into Flurryshine.
“My hero,” Flurryshine mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

The two ventured farther down the path until they came to a clearing. The pitch black night made it near impossible to see in front of them. Their ears were perked and nostrils flared as the kept close to each other. The two slowly inched into the clearing until they felt exposed on all sides. Instinctively clustering closer together, Bright Leaf and Flurryshine couldn’t be closer to each other unless they were the same pony. Taking the chance of revealing them to some hidden creature, Flurryshine summoned a small light at the tip of her horn. They relaxed seeing that they were alone. Bright Leaf trotted in and out of her magical light to collect dried branches. Flurryshine took them graciously as she built a steady base for a campfire. A small spark from her horn lit the branches instantly. Bright Leaf carefully added some tinder in the form of some of the underbrush from the surrounding forest.

The two lay next to each other close to the fire. They wrapped their cloaks more tightly around them as a cool breeze rolled in. Flurryshine noticed Bright Leaf was staring into the fire in a daze. She smiled as she rubbed her head against his. Bright Leaf jumped a bit before he returned her affection. The cool breeze was becoming cooler. It was turning into a night they would have to spend huddled together for warmth.
“If it gets too cold, I’ll make it spring or something,” Flurryshine whispered to Bright Leaf.
“Don’t waste your strength. We will never get out of here if you lose your strength,” Bright Leaf replied as he rubbed his head under her own.
Flurryshine couldn’t help but smile at his words and closeness. She sighed as she said, “It won’t be so bad to be stranded out here with you forever.

Bright Leaf flushed as he smiled softly. The two intertwined their necks as they cuddled closer. The warmth of their bodies and the fire was comforting for the two lost ponies. The mixture of the cool breeze and their own feelings caused their faces to flush. Slowly their wings flexed towards each other. Beneath their cloaks, the wings of the two ponies intertwined feathers the same as their masters had intertwined their necks.

Morning eased onto the duo with the sounds of birdsong and scampering creatures in the underbrush. Bright Leaf woke before Flurryshine to a frosty morning. The ground and even themselves were covered in a light frost. Even the fire, that had gone out while they slept, had some frost on it. Bright Leaf slowly eased his head from under Flurryshine, careful to set the alicorn’s head gently on the ground. Flurryshine made a small noise in her sleep at the touch of the cold ground, but did not wake. She was warm to the touch. It was comforting to have her there with all this frost nearby. Bright Leaf slowly moved his wing to untangle his feathers from where they had intertwined with her wing. Flurryshine did not fuss in her sleep even once as he did so. Bright Leaf had learned over time that his natural inclination to move slowly and carefully made him less likely to disturb her than other ponies tended to.

When he was back on his hooves, he took time to tuck her cloak closer to her body. He wanted to make sure she would stay warm enough without him there while he went in search of something to eat. Flurryshine seemed fine without him as she snuggled into her own cloak. She was truly a seasoned adventurer. Not even this cold seemed to bother her as Bright Leaf walked off to find something edible.

Bright Leaf found himself stumbling aimlessly through the forest. Out of all this vegetation you would think it would be easy to find a nice patch edible plant life. Sadly, this part of the forest was rough and harsh. One look at the plants around him and he could tell they would probably make them sick before they fed their bellies properly. Bright Leaf trudged onwards and didn’t notice a series of vines around his fetlock. His hooves became entangled and he quickly went tumbling down a hillside. Dangling in midair amongst a myriad of vines, Bright Leaf cursed his luck. If Flurryshine found him like this she would laugh her plot off. He could almost hear her laughing now.

Bright Leaf glowered down below him where he could’ve sworn he heard laughter. To his surprise, there was a pony laughing at him; and that pony was on a road! Oh Bright Leaf thanked his clumsiness for blundering upon civilization! The pink earth pony below him giggled as he struggled in the vines. He gave her a sour look as he dangled there. She was a pretty pony. Not as tall as him, but a very cute little pale pink pony. Her silvery locks hung in ringlets on her mane. Her matching tail had a pale blue bow at her dock. She continued to giggle sweetly at him for a few moments more.
“Um, as funny as you find it to see me dangling here, could you assist me?” he asked in voice that was a cross between agitated and polite.
“Oh! Yes, I’ll have you done in a jiffy,” she replied in a voice that sounded like a series of tiny bells.

The mare placed her forelegs on the hillside as she glanced over the vines tangled around Bright Leaf. She smiled before she began to nibble on one wrapped around his stomach. Bright Leaf fought back some laughter as her teeth tickled his underside. Snap! The vine was chewed through and he fell like a ton of bricks on the tiny earth pony. The mare squeaked in surprise as he grunted on impact. As the two raised their heads dizzily to find Bright Leaf lying on the downed earth pony’s back, a voice spoke in a bored tone from above them.
“You having fun down there?” said the voice that sent a cold chill down Bright Leaf’s spine. He didn’t want to look, but he slowly turned his head toward the voice to see Flurryshine’s glare.
Bright Leaf scrambled to his hooves and tripped backwards away from the earth pony on his haunches. He ducked his head under his front hooves as he squealed, “It’s not what it looks like! PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!”
“Bright Leaf, I heard you fall. Stop acting like you’re actually guilty of something. You there, who are you?” Flurryshine said before turning her attention to the mare.
The pink pony squeaked with fright at the vicious, but usual, glare Flurryshine wore before she said,” Um, I’m Thistle. And…Y-you are?”
“..Your name is a wild plant that cures aliments? Right, I am Captain Flurryshine of Braying Cliffs,” Flurryshine said in a bored manner. Bight Leaf had no doubt she said her full title because she secretly had to be angry about finding him on this mare, but he was more surprised she had a bucking clue that thistle had medical purposes!

Flurryshine leapt from the hillside to the road with ease. She walked over to assist Bright Leaf up, who had his jaw hanging in shock still. She grabbed his cloak in her muzzle and yanked him to his hooves unceremoniously. Bright Leaf made a gruff noise at the rough treatment. Flurryshine didn’t say a word as she turned to face Thistle. She glowered down at the normal sized pony, which was greatly shorter than her. Thistle hunched down low on the road as she stared fearfully up at Flurryshine.
“Thanks for saving my clumsy companion,” Flurryshine said flatly before she turned to head down the road. Thistle almost fainted on the spot at the fact that’s all Flurryshine was going to do.
“Um, yes, thank you. Do you mind directing us to the next town?” Bright Leaf said as he came to comfort the overly frightened mare. Thistle only pointed a shaky hoof the way Flurryshine was headed and made a noise between a gasp and a squeak.
“Bright Leaf, stopped smooching your girlfriend and come on!” Flurryshine said from the distance she had already made from the other two. Bright Leaf groaned before he nodded in farewell to Thistle and galloped after her.

The couple followed the road in silence. Bright Leaf dared not speak a word. He couldn’t be sure what had caused it, but Flurryshine was exuding a particularly lethal aura. He felt the slight slip of the tongue or hoof out of place would end up with him stranded somewhere no pony would ever find him. But, he had to break the tension. If they were going to a pony settlement, it wouldn’t be long until they made it back home. The last thing he needed was Flurryshine in a foul mood with him when she had a brigade of soldiers at her disposal. He visibly shivered at his exaggerated mental image of Flurryshine’s fury. Then again, this was the mare that tried to lock an entire town in eternal winter he was thinking about. Bright Leaf steeled himself for any kind of retaliation he would receive. He gulped as he turned to face her. One piercing glare was shot back at him, and his courage faltered. He stared at her as he began to shake in fear.
“Well?” Flurryshine said in an irritated voice.
Bright Leaf gulped again before he stammered,” D-did I…Did I up-upset you?”
“No,” she said flatly and looked back ahead of him. This was bad, she only spoke in one word sentences to people she didn’t care to talk to. He had to have done something!
“If it’s about Thistle I-,” he tried to explain.
“It’s not about that half-witted mare!” Flurryshine hissed with a glare. Bright Leaf yelped, stumbled back a bit, and laid his ears back.
“…Are seriously doing this? Are you really doing this now?” Flurryshine said in a bored tone.
“Doing what?” Bright Leaf asked as he walked back up to her side.
“Acting like some terrified rabbit would in the clutches of some wolf,” Flurryshine replied.
“I-I not trying to! That is a good representation of our personalities, but I swear I’m not!” Bright Leaf stammered.
“…My stomach hurts,” Flurryshine stated before walking onwards, leaving Bright Leaf standing there in a confused state.

Bright Leaf regained his senses and cantered up to her. Flurryshine seemed less grumpy at the moment. Her ears were flopped low on her head, her gaze looked like she was in a daze, and she stumbled a bit as she walked. Then it hit Bright Leaf. She was sick! He examined her closer as she walked. Her gate was irregular, her face was flushed, and she wasn’t glaring at him for staring to hard at her to notice these things.
“Flurryshine, did you eat anything when you woke up this morning?” he said in an uncharacteristically serious tone.
Flurryshine flinched at the strange voice before she said,”Y-yeah. Some plants growing in the forest along that obvious trail you made in the underbrush.”
“Flurryshine, I was looking for food. None of those plants were edible,” he replied with concern tinting his serious tone.
“Ugh, now you tell me,” she said as she stopped a moment to wretch.

Bright Leaf offered his side for her to lean on. Flurryshine graciously took it as she staggered along while they headed onwards to the town. She heard not sound of complaint from Bright Leaf. Not even a tiny grunt at having to practically carry them both to this distance town escaped his muzzle. His face held a serious expression as he trudged on. Flurryshine began to relax while she leaned on him when her stomach churned on her. It felt like it was twisting into knots and doing backflips. She gagged as the urge to vomit hit her, only to leave her giving a few meager dry heaves. Bright Leaf stopped to give her a few moments to get ahold of herself. She almost collapsed has her vision became hazy. Bright Leaf moved to catch her, but Flurryshine steadied herself. She was panting heavily as a cold sweat broke out across her body.

Bright Leaf guided her to a shady patch of grass along the side of the road. Flurryshine roughly fell on the grass as she panted and wretched at the urge to vomit again. She grunted in frustration as she glared at the ground. Bright Leaf eased closer to her and placed his hoof on her stomach. It tensed and he barely dodged a swift hind kick meant for his muzzle. He gave Flurryshine a reproachful glance and stamped his hoof. Flurryshine matched his glance with a glare of her own as she gritted her teeth. With a huff she rested her head on her forelegs and allowed Bright Leaf to win this round.

Bright Leaf sighed in relief at her reluctant submission. He thanked his lucky stars she trusted him enough as a healer to allow him to touch her. He placed his hoof over her stomach again. It churned at his touched and Flurryshine cringed. It was nothing for it. She had eaten something she shouldn’t and now it was twisting her stomach. Bright Leaf sighed knowing she wouldn’t like his diagnosis.
“Flurryshine, I’m going to go get something that will make you vomit,” he said flatly.
“No you’re not!” she shouted back before succumbing to the throws of her stomach pains.
“If you want to stop that ache in your stomach you will,” he scolded.
“F-fine…Just do it already,” she groaned as she curled in on herself in pain.
Bright Leaf got to his hooves and nuzzled her before he began to walk back into the forest. He stopped a half-step into the forest to say, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

With that said, he was gone. He didn’t stay to hear her respond. Flurryshine wouldn’t have replied anyways. She watched him leave through a pain filled glare. She then laid her head down and closed her eyes. Her stomach churned relentlessly as Flurryshine tried to rest. She focused her thoughts away from her stomach. Her thoughts were with Bright Leaf rushing through that forest to find whatever he felt could induce vomiting.

Bright Leaf tore through the forest on surprisingly deft hooves. Any ledge or tricky underbrush was no obstacle for this pony on a mission. He landed in a cloud of dust on an old deer trail. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air around him. His ears perked as he looked to his right. Like a bullet, he shot off down the path in a full gallop. He stopped short at a small green plant growing near a stream. It looked like an ordinary plant at first glance. But, Bright Leaf knew this plant well. The plant would cause Flurryshine to vomit and will not cause any other ill effects. Bright Leaf carefully harvested the plant and hurried back down his trail.

Meanwhile, Flurryshine was struggling to sleep in the shade. That insistent flapping of wings nearby wasn’t helping. She growled as she opened her eyes and glared at whatever was making the racket. She turned to be face to face with a blue dragon. The creature was a big beast. He stood taller than most cliffs back home. The beast didn’t seem to like the glare she had given him. It roared in her face, causing her mane and tail to stand on end. It reached out its clawed hand to what looked like he meant to squish Flurryshine.
“Crap…” Flurryshine commented at her situation.

As the dragon lowered his hand down upon the alicorn, Flurryshine managed to scramble to her hooves and dodge the clawed hand. She ran under the dragon, scraping her horn along its underside. The dragon didn’t really feel any pain. He merely growled as it turned to face her. Flurryshine was struggling to stay on her hooves despite her churning stomach. The creature snarled as it swiped its claws down at the alicorn. She managed to just barely dodge the onslaught. At about this time, Bright Leaf appeared back under the shady patch to be greeted by the impression of a huge clawed hand in the dirt. The pegasus whinnied in fear for his companion.
“Oh sweet Celestia…No!” Bright Leaf exclaimed as he rushed out to her, almost dropping the plant he just harvested.

Flurryshine dodged a clawed hand again only to be tackled behind a boulder. She kicked out against whatever was holding her. She stopped when she saw it was Bright Leaf. She couldn’t react to his appearance before he stamped on her hind leg. Flurryshine opened her mouth to scream only to have his muzzle pressed against hers. She froze with confusion as she felt him shove something from his mouth into her own. Bright Leaf deftly pulled back and used his front hooves to hold her mouth shut.
“I apologize, but you have to eat that,” he said in a serious tone, not releasing her muzzle from his hooves.

Flurryshine glared at him as she chewed the bitter plant. She took her time as he flinched at every roar from the dragon. He let go the moment she swallowed the plant. His punishment followed with her clocking him in the muzzle with her front hoof. Bright Leaf tumbled out from behind the boulder to lay flat on his back. The dragon roared as it spotted the brown stallion and shot a clawed hand toward him. A mass of fur and feathers were felt as he grabbed hold of his victim. The dragon lifted his prey toward his snout to see he had not grabbed the brown pegasus. What he held in his hand was the scowling alicorn he had originally been after. As he cracked a toothy grin, Flurryshine turned a queer shade of green in the face.
“Hurk!” Bright Leaf heard above him.

The pegasus got to his hooves as he began to register what he had just heard. Bright Leaf looked up to see the dragon glowering at a white mass of equine. The long and flowing purple-blue hair was a dead giveaway who it was. Something snapped in the stallion as he looked up at Flurryshine being held captive by the great dragon. Bright Leaf reared up, spread his wings wide, and let out a sound only a veteran war pony of old should have been able to muster. He leapt into the air and zoomed as fast as his wings could carry him. If any other pony had witness this event, it would be said this was the only time the shy Bright Leaf wore an expression of fury only known to Flurryshine. Bright Leaf zoomed up before the dragon prepared to fight the great beast.
“Plarghack!” came from Flurryshine.

Both the dragon and Bright Leaf froze in shock. The plant had truly been a fast acting one. Bright Leaf almost fell out of the sky in surprise as the poor dragon had the contents of Flurryshine’s stomach expelled upon his face. The dragon roared in disgust as it recovered from the shock of half-digested plant matter splashing upon his muzzle. C-c-crack! The sickening sound made Bright Leaf cringe and jolt to his senses as he heard Flurryshine bray in pain. The dragon released her from its clawed hand. Flurryshine felt herself fade from consciousness as the flap of great leathery wings resounded around her. The soft feeling off landing in some pony’s hooves was felt around her. The last thing Flurryshine saw was the dragon flying off as she felt herself descending at a calm pace.

Flurryshine woke to find the whole of Equestria held in the loving embrace of Luna’s night. She was on a rocky edge of a cliff. A few sparse trees behind her and surrounding the cliff. A small fire was burning beside her and she felt something on her shoulders. She turned her head to see Bright Leaf dozing contently. Flurryshine could feel a soft smile cross her face as she sighed at the fact this probably made two times he had saved her from a near death experience. She did groan at the fact he had to pick when they had a dragon to fight to give her a remedy that caused her to vomit. A chuckle broke the serenity of the night as she thought about how shocked that dragon to have been when she did do that to his snout, probably going to have a fear of squeezing ponies from now on.

A movement near her shoulder caught her attention. Flurryshine turned to see Bright Leaf stir in his sleep. The pegasus stallion yawned as he raised his sleepy head. His mane was even more disheveled that usual as he blinked his eyes before fully opening them. Bright Leaf almost jumped out of his coat when he noticed Flurryshine was awake and watching him.
“F-Flurryshine! A-are you okay? I heard your body crack when that dragon had you,” Bright Leaf stammered out.
“I assume you’re asking that because you couldn’t find anything wrong,” Flurryshine said half-sarcastically.
“Um, yes…well, how are you feeling?” he stammered out again.
“Fine, a little achy, but we did just fight a dragon,” Flurryshine replied.
“Haha, I guess that is to be expected,” Bright Leaf replied

The two laughed for a few moments before they looked to the moon. It seemed like a nice reprieve for the couple. The moon shined brightly as the calm night air whipped around them softly. Bright Leaf was staring into the sky when he felt a gentle touch on his cheek. He turned to see Flurryshine smiling at him. Bright Leaf looked to her in confusion. Flurryshine’s face of innocent smiling turned to a crooked grin.
“You kissed me. Albeit you were trying to force disgusting plants down my throat, but you kissed me,” she teased.
“I-I…I’m sorry!” Bright Leaf stammered with a flush on his face.
“Why are you sorry? You kissed me and tried to save my life. Geez, you act like showing courage is a bad thing,” Flurryshine said before she settled back down to sleep.

Bright Leaf flushed a little brighter before he too settled back down on her shoulders. His front hooves shuffled a bit before he too calmed down into a gentle sleep. Thus, by the glow of the small fire, the two slept under the light on Luna’s mmoon. It was like a blissful imagine from a forgotten time, with two ponies sleeping out in the open. It was a sweet and gentle scene for all the night creatures that beheld it.