Ghostcat476

A sudden sound yanked Lucky’s attention elsewhere. He froze mid-stride ears flicking forward and then back. The brush rustled again and a sense of unease licked down Lucky’s spine like a predator’s tongue. Even still, a strange instinct had him pushing forward, nudging Clover back half a step. Immediately she huffed at him, ears pinning back. Whether she didn’t yet trust him or didn’t appreciate being ordered about, he didn’t know. Either way, Lucky tried not to take it personally. As aggressively as it seemed to rustle, the brush in question wasn’t that high. Maybe about chest height, give or take a few. Perhaps… perhaps that meant whatever creature lurked within that foliage wouldn’t be so bad. A flat snout emerged through the brush, shortly followed by the rest of the reptile. Four clawed paws carried the stranger in its advance, glinting the same color as its horns. Keen eyes stared back at the pair of unicorns before it. Both Lucky and Clover found themselves backing up a

As with everything, traveling alongside a new companion came with a learning curve. Some unicorns didn’t like you standing too close to them while grazing. Others just so happened to use a little too much teeth when it came to co-grooming. Stuff like that. But Lucky was sure that once the social growing pains were out of the way, he and this bay mare would make a good team. And, well, Lucky didn’t want to brag, but he felt he was slowly gaining his new friend’s trust. “Clover,” she had said to him one morning. They had just woken from their sleep as dawn crept over the horizon. “My name is Clover.” Lucky grinned back, trying not to make a big deal out of it and make this awkward. “Nice to meet you, Clover.” This morning was still and cold, the quiet bite of frost hanging in the air. Yes, winter was well on its way. Lucky hoped it would not be too harsh, but you never could be sure. The pair had made their way down towards the stream they had found earlier. Except at even a

The stream had been a good find. Not only was the water fresh and clear, but it seemed to be a popular spot to visit. Plenty of bright-feathered birds took the opportunity to bathe or drink along the edges. A couple rabbits skittered to the water edge to cautiously lap from the stream. He even spotted a fuzzy little mouse or two. Lucky was content to simply sit back and watch the wildlife around him. The sun felt warm on his face, the water gurgled happily, and the hypervigilance that had clung to his shoulders now gradually melted away. Just as his chin began to dip a new sound reached his ears. The clatter of hooves against stone. Lucky glanced up, ears swiveling forward. There, making her way downstream, was another unicorn. A mare by the looks of it, a bay with a pale tail and a bright bald face. Finally, he had found someone else. If all went well he wouldn’t be quite so alone anymore. Lucky got to his hooves with a smile. Hopefully she was friendly. The noise of his hooves

On the third day of loneliness, Lucky found he had grown tired of just laying around and moping. By staying in one spot and feeling sorry for himself would guarantee he wouldn’t find anybody. If his sire could see him like this he would snort and nudge him with his antlers until Lucky got off his rear. No, Lucky needed to be more active in his search for a friend. But where to start? Well, in all honesty he wasn’t exactly familiar with a forest environment - what unicorns liked and didn’t like. Initially, that had been part of the draw as he set off on his own wild adventure. But now he slowly started to realize that it was putting him at somewhat of a disadvantage. Alright, so what did ‘corns on the northern edge of the Flame Expanse like? Well, water, obviously. But also areas of shade from rock or trees to protect from the blaring sun. And grass, long and thick enough to make a proper meal out of. Eh, those later two weren’t exactly lacking in this tangle of woods. At the

Admittedly, Lucky hadn’t been looking for a companion recently. Memories of the roan blight taunted his mind and anything that sounded like hoofbeats had him running for the hills. Or, in this case, deeper into the woods. But as days slowly passed by and no devastating attack came, Lucky started to let his guard back down. He meandered through paths and drank from lakes without fear of magical ambush. (Well, mostly. One could never be too careful out here.) And so, as he found himself wandering through the same vibrant woods, he came across a strange realization. He was lonely. Growing up he never had want for company. There were always unicorns to watch his back, siblings to play with, even a few companions to tease. Even during the winter, there was rarely much fear of starvation with so many eyes searching. And during the coldest nights there was always a warm flank to press up against. His heart panged and Lucky found his eyes starting to mist. He missed that. Sure, he

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lucky knew he would regret it. He was too polite, too friendly, too… tempting. He had intrigued her, and that could not mean anything good. A curious emotion flashed through the mare’s gaze -coupled with surprise, maybe?- before she let out a grin. She stepped forward and Lucky flinched back, ears pinning back. He knew he had just made a big mistake in attempting to appear friendly. Not that he could ever hope to scare her off. Fighting was similarly out of the question. His only hope now was to leave while he still could. For despite her “charming” grin, Lucky could tell deep in his bones that the mare’s intentions were anything but friendly. “Oh, I do know a way out,” the blight grinned again. She stepped closer, blinking towards him almost seductively. “I’d be happy to show you the way, handsome.” The pit that had been steadily growing in Lucky's gut only grew deeper at that. With each step she took forward he took one back. It was

An archery competition? Rowan had to admit she was rather intrigued. She and her sisters had plenty of experience with bows, even before being dragged into squire training. Maybe not mounted archery, but she was pretty sure she’d still put on a good show with it. Though a little rusty, this new competition seemed as good a time as any to polish off her skills. And hopefully get Juno some exercise while showing her off too. Her snappy little doe did love to make herself look powerful, after all. Besides, how hard could this mounted archery thing possibly be? Turns out very hard, apparently. Rowan watched as the pair ahead of them set off down the track. The rider pulled back on their bow and lined up their first shot. Except the rukaan quickly sidestepped to avoid a hole in the trial and the shot went wide. In fact, as she craned her neck Rowan could see plenty of arrows embedded into the trees and foliage around the target. If even well-trained archers kept missing it, then what

Lucky held his breath as he cautiously crept away from the bone-strewn patch of forest. With every frantic pound of his heart the young unicorn hoped that his name had even a bit of truth to it. He would need all the luck he could get. Slowly, the dark and ominous foliage seemed to lighten once more. Sunlight trickled from between the overhead branches like a gentle shower and Lucky tilted his head back to let the rays caress his face. Finally, that scary and death-filled place was behind him once again. A satisfied grin spread across his muzzle. See, nothing more to fear. With every stride forward his thundering heart grew slower and slower until it was almost at a regular pace. And just like that everything was good as- “Hello, traveler…” Lucky drew to a halt with a squeak. He whipped around, eyes very wide. They only grew wider as he saw the mysterious figure standing confidently behind him. A blue roan had stepped out from behind a nearby tree, standing tall. She almost

Not even an hour into his exploration, and Lucky found himself coming to a grim realization; he was lost. Very, very lost. Wherever he had wandered was not the place he had in mind, the trees closing in like the jaws of a great, slumbering beast. Unease licked down Lucky’s spine like a cold, unseen tongue. What had once been a bright, lovely forest had now given way to something much less pleasant. The warm sunlight had faded away, being choked out by tangled branches. The grass grew stiff and the plants grew rather bare. Even the atmosphere of the place seemed to have suddenly grown dark and cold. It was when his hooves clattered against a half-buried bone that fear gripped his heart. And it wasn’t the only one. As Lucky glanced around, he could see other pale shapes emerging from the dirt and foliage. Each one gleamed ominously in the low, forested light. It wasn’t long before the young unicorn realized he had wandered straight into a macabre graveyard. Lucky draw to a stop

There comes a time in every young unicorn’s life when they contemplate leaving the herd of their birth. For some it was to get away from unpleasant family members. For others it was necessitated brought on by great tragedy. For Lucky, it was simple curiosity. A part of him always longed for what was out there, whatever lay just beyond the tree-line. As the herd roved onto new grazing grounds, Lucky shoved his way to the front of the herd. The horizon beckoned him, whispering promises of exciting new adventures just ahead. Sure, his sire always said that there were countless dangers lurking just out of sight. No doubt waiting to gobble up unattended foals. And there were certainly times the group had to flee some kind of predator or threat. But in the end everyone always made it out ok. Besides, a part of Lucky always whispered that there was more to the lands than that. Perhaps it was his up-bringing, rather cushy he would admit, but Lucky couldn’t help but feel like life