(I just made part 34: https://www.theguardianherd.com/messageboard/herd-chat/alternative-ending-rp-part-34 )

( Lol. Yeah, Stormglade is mixed up XD> No offence though! He IS your character so I didn't mean to offend..... )

Canyongold-

She smiled and held out her opposite wing, gently taking his wing in hers and said, "Yes! I'm Canyongold." She smiled at him and shook his wing very hard and very fast, like those terribly over excited and enthusiastic people who shake important people's hands. When she saw his grimace, she stopped and pulled her wing back, smiling shyly. "Sorry..." she whispered, clearing her throat. "I- um..... I get a little, weensy, eensy bit over-excited," she said, shrugging her wing.

Stormglade:

Her care-free and bubbly attitude made his smile grow wider. He answered her question, "Uh, no. Not usually. And wait, seriosuly? I do?" He asked, going cross-eyed trying to see himself smiling, which sent Canyongold into a fit of giggles. Stormglade, feeling his heart brighten, allowed a small chuckle to escape his lips. It was more of a snort or a nicker, but you could tell he was happy by showing it in his own way. His smile slowly faded and he became distant, like he was thinking about something. He hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Canyongold. He slowly and cautiously out-stretched his wing to her, just like she did to him when they first met. "Wanna..." he cleared his throat and hesitated for another minute before continuing. "...Start over? ...I'm Stormglade." He said, grimacing slightly, fearful at being rejected.

(I like how Stormglade's scared of being rejected by her....but like 10 minutes ago he mercilessly rejected her lol)

Canyongold-

She gaped at him, smiling along with him. “Hooray!” She said prancing around. She looked back at him, smiling gentler now. She puffed her chest out. “That’s right. I do care! That’s why I came back,” she said, smiling. Then she asked him a question. “Do you smile very often? Cause you look good smiling!” She said, noticing how much more handsome and welcoming he looked with even the smallest smile.

( Oof good luck XD )

(gtg do homework sorryyy)

Stormglade:

He was too lost in thought to have heard the light sound of her hooves as she touched down. But, her voice carried to his ears and he paused. He opened his eyes, for they were closed. He looked down slowly, praying that Canyongold was next to him, hoping that it wasn't just his mind playing tricks. But, there she was! She'd came back! Stormglade exhaled gently. '"No. It wasn't you. If anything it was me...I'm so caught up in pushing pegasi away that I push away the pegasi who actually care." He said, wiping his tears with his wing.

Stormglade thought he would be more mad about letting Canyongold see him cry, but he wasn't as bothered by it as he should, which freaked him out a little. He glanced down at her and felt something spread over his lips.A smile? Yes, it was a smile. It was faint and not as charming as the other colts' but it was still a smile.

(Lol)

Canyongold-

How could she be so stupid? How could she let herself show weakness? How? Anger bloomed gently through her chest, curling its way around her heart and squeezing. She had actually thought she could have a friend where she wasn’t looked at strangely because of her abundant kindness and rejection towards war. That’s why it seemed almost familiar, this anger and sadness at herself. She had felt when she’d first killed a pegasus, blood splattering on half of her face. She had thought it her own blood and had screamed, flying away, too sad to do anything.

This time it was different, more there. She glared back at him, but was surprised to see him standing, stiff and shaking ever so softly. Originally, she thought him to be laughing, but when she saw the clear little bulbs falling down his cheeks, she slowed to a stop. He was crying. She was in such shock she didn’t exactly remember turning around and flying slowly back to where he stood, still crying. She landed behind him and walked forward gently, coming up beside him. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she felt pity and sadness all the same. She shifted on her feet, feeling awkward and ashamed.

“A-Are you okay...? Was it..... was it something I said?” She asked gently, ears drooping.

( Aww he sounds so sad ;( I feel bad for him now.... )

Stormglade:

He glanced behind him and when he didn't see the pretty filly standing there anymore, he sighed and felt his sadness deepen... because Canyongold had left and know he was alone. He had never wanted her leave. Her presence was the only thing he actually like about Glacier herd. He had heard the sadness in her voice, but did nothing about it, which tore his heart in half. How could he not do something? The filly he was drawn to was probably crying somewhere! The last time he didn't do anything to help...someone he cared about most paid the price for it...

His stomach knotted at the thought and the tears fell freely off his cheeks and he remembered and mourned.

Forestbeam-

The mare nodded. Then she pricked her ears. “Will it only be us who are going? Just us three?” She asked.

Goldenstream:

She nodded. "Okay, then. The Sky Herder leader is North about a mile or two. That's where you'll find Redmoon." Goldenstream hugged Breezebell. "Good luck." She said, before cantering off to find Magicpetal.

Breezebell:

The moment their words had set in, she was almost screeching out with joy and prancing over the grass. Her father was alive! And she had the chance to see him now! She quickly got over the excitement and nodded to them. "Yes, I know where my mother is. How could I not? I'll take you to her," she said, lifting into the air and flying over the clearings of Glacier Herd. They landed not far away, about 30 winglengths away from the triplets normal sleeping area, grazed Breezebell's mother. Forestbeam listened patiently as they retold the story, and nearly fell down from shock and joy. She nodded to them. "Yes, I am okay with traveling to Night Herd," she informed them, now that she had regained her bearings from the news.

Canyongold-

It wasn't at all the reaction she'd imagined. Confusion lit her features and toned her voice to a wave of pitch's as she said, "I don't understand. . . . " She looked at him, sadness weighing in at her at not being wanted. She looked down and folded her wings. It always ended that way. Sadness, misery, and loneliness. It just rarely ended that way to her, and she was genuinely confused. She sighed. “Okay..... I-I’ll go,” she said sadly as she turned around and walked away. She thought about how it was like a lilac, herself. Everyone always smiled at the smell at first, but after a few hours it smelled sickly sweet and they didn’t like it anymore. SHe let out with a small sob as she flew into the air, not knowing why she felt so sad.

Stromglade huffed at her words, but continued to listen. Her last sentence ,"Or, I could just stay here!" triggered something in his mind. A memory. A memory that he had wished he'd forget, but he could never forget it.

His eyes widened as the flashback played in his mind's eye. He looked straight ahead, his eyes unfocused. His heart rate increased and his breathing shallowed.

Once the memory faded away, he had to bite his tongue to keep from tearing up. He tasted the blood in his mouth and he bit down harder.

Stormglade looked down at Canyongold, who's face was spread with confusion. "No, you can't. You don't belong here. You belong there," He nodded toward the meadow where all the other yearlings stood. "Playing, running, laughing - not up here with me. And while you do belong out there, I don't." He lowered his wing to her side and pushed his wing against her ribcage, making her stumble sideways away from him. "Go. Get out of here." He retracted his wing and folded it down at his side. Once again, he turned away from Canyongold.

Canyongold:

She snorted, clearly not buying this. "Not my fault you're sad because you choose to be alone,: she said, peering at him. She pricked her ears at his last words which were barely audible, but they had a familiar ring to them she has heard many lost pegasi say. She didn't say anything, and then trotted around him so he was facing her again. "You don't have to be alone, you know. You could totally go graze with the others, although I can tell you the grass isn't too much better..." she said in a sight effort to bring some humor back to the conversation. She sighed. Then an idea lit her, and she brightened. "Or, I could just stay here!" She snorted turning around to graze happily beside him, looking at him for his, what she was hoping, priceless reaction.

Stormglade:

This time, Stormglade was barely able to hide his emotions. He tensed and his muscles twitched. He pawed the ground and turned away from Canyongold, feeling his lip about to quiver. He quickly composed himself and snorted. "Nothing. No reason." He said over a shaking breath.

In his secret heart of hearts, a tiny speck yearned to tell her-she was so easy to talk to. But his mind, who had controlled his every action, easily over-powered the tiny bit of hope. The coldness returned to his eyes, hiding the warmth that which was present for less than a moment. "You wouldn't understand...." He mumbled under his breath so that she wouldn't hear. He looked away again and pinned his ears, his face returning to its normal expression--cold.

Goldenstream:

She stopped abruptly and facepalmed herself. "UGH!!! Of course." Emberblaze slid up next to her. "...you're not using your head, Goldenstream." He said, just to make her mad. Goldenstream growled at him, but stopped short when she saw Breezebell. "Ah! Good, Breezebell. It's a long story." She took a breath and replayed the entire circumstance to her friend. "And that's why we need to find your mother. t's her decision whether you two go or not." Goldenstream said. "Do you know where Forestbeam is?"

Breezebell:

She hadn't seen her sister for a while now, almost the whole day, and was starting to get worried. She wandered the clearings, looking for her sister, but found she couldn't find her. She wasn't sure where she had gone, so when she spotted Goldenstream, Emberblaze, and Silverflame by the medicine mare den, she didn't hesitate to ask if they'd seen her sister. She jumped into the air and dove towards them, pulling out of the dive a few winglengths away and gently landing on the ground, walking towards them. When she was in earshot so others wouldn't hear, she asked, "Hey, have you guys seen Redmoon? I can't seem to find her, and I'm getting a little bit worried...." she said tentatively, anxious as to whether or not they had the answer.

Silverflame-

Silverflame listened to Goldenstream bicker with her brother, then something accrued to him that the pair had seemed to have forgotten. "You know," he said, "If we wanted to talk to an expert on the ways of Night Herd, we could go talk to Darkstone. He has spent just as much time there as Satsummer."

( I just realized something and I’m stupid, but I’m typing it anyways:

Stormglade: Looks stronger but is actually weak,

Canyongold: Looks weak but is actually strong lol.

THE SHIP.

IS.

REAL. )

Canyongold-

She smiled at him, a sickly sweet smile, one etched with hurt and happiness. “I’m not normally like that, just so you know,” she said quickly, a blush creeping up her neck. “I don’t normally yell.” She looked at hi,, and then swung her head around. Then she remembered her question. “I noticed you were all alone here yesterday. I know it’s none of my business, but why are you always here alone?” She asked tentatively.

Stormglade:

There was no readable emotion on his face, but underneath, her words cut through him as easily as butter. He swallowed hard and his wing muscles tensed. His heart ached from her words because he knew they were true, but he forced himself to remain stoic. He shrugged and looked towards the sky, trying to hide the hurt. "Whatever...Not like I care..." There was only slight hesitation in his voice, but he hid it well. He glanced at the filly and found himself staring. "At least you're not afraid to speak up for yourself." He said. "And maybe you can handle yourself..."He paused, then continued quickly. "Not-not like I was wrong about you. I knew you were fierce from the start." He mumbled, internally kicking himself for being so stupid. "Stupid...stupid...stupid..." He grunted gently and shifted his weight from hoof to hoof.

Canyongold-

She immediately dropped her wing and pinned her ears, rattling her feathers. "Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but I did not show any sign of intentions towards befriending you. I always thought it was common courtesy to say thank you to the pegasus who just about got you out of a ditch. It is not my fault if you think every small filly like me can't handle herself. You'd be surprised," she said, rage causing her muscles to tense. She had never been so offended and angry before, considering she had just thanked Stomrglade for helping her, and he took advantage of that to insult her. She sighed deeply, a glint in her eyes. Her feathers ceased their rattling and her eyes cooled. "I came here to thank you, and I have done that. If you will not accept my gratitude for helping me, then I hope you will at least remember the first act of kindness you've ever done, and you will know you blew it for your arrogance and stupidity," she sniped back. Then realization dawned on her features and she softened, her wings slackening. "I... I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean...," she stuttered, realizing her terrible mistake in yelling at this stallion.

( XD. It's fine )

Stromglade:

He didn't startle this time-he figured this filly would come looking for him to thank him. "Stormglade." He said in a gruff tone of voice. He looked down at her outstretched wing, but didn't shake it. He tossed his forelock out of his eyes. "I'm guessing you want to be my friend." He drawled out 'friend' like he's never said the word before. "Well, guess what kid, I don't need friends so why don't you run along and play with all the other fillies who actually want your company." He challenged, trotting to another patch of dead grass about 2 winglengths away.

( That is so sad River. I have a younger brother xd )

Canyongold-

She didn't remember much during the time when she was in the medicine den, but she had heard voices speaking of her injures , but after 30 minutes or so she felt much better after being given water and a bit of salve for her torn feathers. She breathed deeply and happily trotted out of the medicine mare den, careful to the medicine mare's warnings not to use her bruised leg as much so it could heal, and not to sit down or lay on her bad flank.

She cantered, putting light pressure on her injured hoof, in the direction where she had seen the stallion to properly thank him while she wasn't half asleep. She soon found him grazing in roughly the same area, and approached him gently, smiling gratefully. She came up a few winglengths away and dipped her head in thanks. "Thank you for helping me yesterday.... That was... embarrassing, I must admit," she said, a small laugh escaping her. "Thanks for tolerating me," she said, smiling kindly. "I'm Canyongold," she nickered, holding out her wing in a friendly wing-shaking gesture.

( OMG XD. I don't have many siblings, only one, so I don't have to do their chores lol )

( For some BIZARRE reason, Stormglade cracks me up XD )

Stormglade:

Before he flew off, he glanced down as she spoke. "Don't mention it.... seriously...don't mention it...at all..." He mumbled just loud enough for her to hear, before he dashed away, praying no one saw him.

Cayongold-

She had awoken to the feeling of hard stone, and squinted open her eyes. She saw the stallion and smiled weakly, and whispered, "Thank you," before drifting off into a daze with dehydration and a concussion. She fought hard to keep from falling asleep for the few seconds before the medicine mare got to her, but it took a lot of effort out of the small filly.

Stormglade:

He heard the filly's faint gasp for help before she collapsed. Stromglade closed his eyes and turned away from her. "It's not your problem. It's not your problem. It's not your problem." He repeated over and over until it's all he could say.

The pity hadn't gone away and it eventually overpowered his cold, tough side. He glanced over his shoulder and looked at her. "No! Don't get involved in weak foal-ly problems!" His brain screamed at him, but his heart twanged with a feeling he'd never felt before. "For once in your life, help someone who isn't yourself!" His heart said, pumping the warm feeling throughout his body.

Finally, Stormglade came to a conclusion.

He looked around, making sure no one was looking, and went over to the filly. He growled gently, and lowered his head to her uninjured side. He grabbed her unharmed wing in his teeth and started dragging her across the meadow.

For the first time since before he could remember, his heart had led his actions instead of his brain. With this in mind, he weaved around holes, sticks, and rocks that would make her injuries even more severe.

He got the the medicine mare den with a feeling of accomplishment mixed with hatred at himself. Stormglade bit his tongue. "Idiot." He thought before gently setting her down at the mouth of the cave. He whinnied into the cave, alerting the medicine mares that were inside that someone needed help.

But, before they could come to the entrance of the cave, he lifted off and quickly flew away before anyone saw him., leaving Canyongold -and the warm feeling- behind

Goldenstream:

She nodded a thanks to the Cave herd leaders, then turned. She nodded affirming to Silverfalme and tried to remember where Forestbeam's family usually slept.

Emberblaze:

He walked up next to his sister. "Orrrrr...we could just get Mom....?" He said to her.

Goldenstream ignored him, but lashed her tail across his muzzle and trotted toward the far side of the valley, fluttering her wings in frustration.

( Lol, yeah. )

(I feel like I should clear this up: the Trap is not far away from Glacier Herd's territory: in fact, the northeast border is quite close to it. The sheer size of the forest itself is what makes it a long trip.)

Silverflame-

Silverflame watched intently as the former leaders of Cave Herd considered the new information. "You know," said Briarcloud, after a bit "This situation seems like more of a decision that should be made by Forestbeam. This is a family matter, but if she does chose to go, we will try our best to get the approval of the council to send a protection detail with her. Isn't that right?" the council mare glanced at her mate.

Jaggedwing looked a little perplexed, "Sure." he agreed.

"Right," said the brown appaloosa mare, "You guys should go talk to Forestbeam."

Silverflame dipped his head, "Thank you." he said. Then he turned back to the other yearlings, "Shall we go track down Redmoon and Breezebell's dam?"

( Okay. Good night! )

Canyongold-

She grunted and quickly stood, dizzy with exhaustion. She began to trudge forward, trying with massive effort to not fall back down. This succeeded for a few minutes, but she found she had only moved Half a winglength in that time. At this rate, she would never make it to the medicine mare den without help. Then she remembered the stallion.

She didn’t know if she had the strength to call out, her throat being so dry, but she did anyways. In came as an indecipherable croak, loud enough she was sure the stallion, standing only a few winglengths away from her, could hear her cry for help. Her muscles went slack and she flapped her wings as the ground rushed to meet her. She landed hard on her side, and groaned as she fell to sleep.

(sry I gtg to bed bye)

Stormglade:

He watched her struggle to take off and he felt something in his heart. He coughed and sneezed. "What the heck? What am I feeling?" Stormglade asked himself, starting to think a disease had infected his immune system. His brain answered. 'Pity, Stormglade. You feel pity." Stormglade stood still for a second then chuckled. "Gross." He said. He began grazing again, but couldn't. He started glancing every now and then at the filly, but every time he did his tough, cold sigh screamed. "It's not your problem! You don't have time for weak feelings of mushy-gushiness." Stormglade nodded and turned away from her, cramming the pity deep down.

Duskblade:

He pinned his ears involuntarily. "The only thing I can tell about The One before you meet her is that she is powerful in our culture. Everyone respects her, and unless you want to start an unnecessary war, then I don't suggest insulting The One in front of the others. The One does not mind, but the others mind much. Please, for your own sakes, do not anger my herd," he said, his tone as serious as it always had been. The filly named Redmoon almost looked like she'd laugh, but a quick glare silenced her.

Canyongold-

She turned her head in that direction, squinting her eyes to focus. She smiled, turned back to him, and said, "Merci! Thank you so much!" She limped that way, stumbling as she went. At one point, she even fell down on her bruised flank and went stiff. It was numb, and she could feel her head starting to spin. She struggled to stand back up, but tried her best. She found she hadn't gotten much closer to the medicine mare den, and huffed.

An idea came over her, but she wasn't so sure it would work. She spread her scraped wings and attempted to take off. She had succeeded at first, but the world only began to spin more until she couldn't tell if she was flying or falling, up or down, left and right. Then she felt contact with the ground on her good side and groaned. She had only been injured this badly after the war, but she wasn't sure why she was in such bad shape now. She fought a sudden and overwhelming urge to fall asleep. She knew if she did, she might not wake up for hours, or not at all. So she just let herself go limp, trying to stay awake.

Eventually the spinning stopped, and she could lift her head enough to see that she wasn't very far away from the medicine mare den, but far enough away that she felt the dizziness come back to moment she though of walking or flying there. She groaned, dreading the effort it would take to get herself from here, to the medicine mare den.

Stormglade:

His eyes flared wide and he dug his hooves into the soil. He whirled around only to be face to face with the filly. He swallowed hard and clenched his jaw shut so hard he thought his teeth would shatter. He took a step away from her and rattled his feathers, very confused as to why this filly was speaking to him. "Uh..." His voice dropped an octave from its normal pitch. He pointed a golden-tan wing towards a cave about a mile away. His eyes were the size of goose eggs and he stood as still as a statue. "Please don't ask me another question. Please just leave me alone..." He pleaded silently.

Canyongold-

It wasn’t a dream! This sent a wave embarrassment at not being strong enough to fend for herself. This brought another wave, this time of self anger. She would have to train harder to become better, and she quickly stood up and tried to fly, but found her legs buckled under her weight and she looked at her flank, grimacing. There was a small bruise on her flank where the yearling had kicked her to knock her out of the air. Her leg was also slightly bruised from where she‘d landed.

She stood up again, and this time she could limp forward. After limping a few steps away, she felt she could place her hoof down without feeling to much pain. She say a stallion grazing winglengths away, but he was the closest pegasus to her, so she walked towards him, tucking her slightly bloody feathers on her back. When she reached him, she asked, “Um, excuse me, would mind pointing me in the direction of the medicine mare den?” She didn’t feel like admitting to this stranger that her mind was a little fuzzy and her vision was off, so she didn’t.

Oceangold nodded cautiously to each of the sky herders in turn, but left her wings hanging, outstretched. She didn't relax, she couldn't. She had a nervous feeling about these steeds, so she spoke up. "Before we go any farther," she said, "I think you need to explain about how your herd functions. Who is 'The One'? How and why is Crimsonstorm involved with 'The One'? What power do the two of them have over your herd?"

Stormglade:

He had watched a group of yearlings carry a filly discretely back to the meadow. She now laid in a heap on the far corners of the meadow. Stormglade wasn't too far away, but he couldn't stop watching her. He was intrigued by this filly-and the fact that he didn't know why made him even angrier.

He saw her start to stir and he quickly averted his gaze before she saw his eyes. He glared at his hooves. 'Idiot." He mumbled. He started to graze, swishing his tail at nothing. No one grazed at this part of the meadow. All the grass was already dead, so there was no reason to be here. "Good." He mumbled again.

Canyongold-

She awoke in a cold sweat in the meadow, struggling to breath. Her eyes bulged as she looked around her. Just a dream. She sighed, but then looked down at her feathers, and saw they were tattered and torn. SHe gasped

( Omg I love Goldenstream sooooo much. I relate to her with brother problems XD )

Emberblaze:

He leaned toward Goldenstream and whispered to her. "I still think we should have gotten Mother...No one in Glacier herd knows Night herd like she does. She would be useful to Redmoon and Oceangold, and maybe, if it is a Trap, knowing that a fellow Night herd member was in the group would prevent them from attacking." He mumbled, his eyes alert.

Goldenstream:

She flattened her ears. "Emberblaze, Mother's pregnant. You want to send her into Night herd territory with an unborn foal?" She snapped back, her sharp gaze piercing him.

Emberblaze:

He shook his head. "Of course I don't. But, she fought a war against Glacier herd with triplets just days away from birth. She could do it again, if she had too."

Goldenstream flared her wings. "Emberblaze! I can't believe you. Use your head!" She tapped her dark purple wingtips to his forehead. "Just because she could doesn't mean she should!! Mother only did that because she was a lead-mare. She wanted to fight for her herd. Besides, she could have gotten killed... But, this is different. This isn't her fight." Goldenstream snapped again, baring her teeth at her brother.

Emberblaze still looked unconvinced, but turned his attention back to Jaggedwing and Briarcloud without another word.

Redmoon-

Redmoon soon grew tired of flapping and suggested they land on the forest floor. Duskblade nodded and landed gracefully beside his sky herder group. Redmoon perked her ears towards them. Their eyes were filled with terror and awe as they stared at her. She felt a blush creep up her neck at their stares and turned towards Duskblade. “While we wait for the council steeds, how about you introduce us to your sky herder group?” She asked. Duskblade cocked his head as if he had never thought of this before. “Alright,” he said hesitantly.

“This is Sparrowpool,” he said, pointing his wing at a pretty chestnut filly with dark purple feathers who bowed her head. “That’s Lavenderheart,” he said pointing to another filly, this one a darker colored skiebald with pretty red feathers. “And this is Jungleweed,” he said, pointing to a smaller, stockier dark chestnut colt with lime green feathers.

Redmoon smiled and waved at them all. They all waved back but said nothing. She wondered if they were just shy or if the stories her father had told her when she was little were true. He had said that Night Herd steeds. Would tie up the tongues of misbehaved foals for two days until they could no longer speak. Redmoon had quickly discovered this was just a ruse to get her and Breezebell to think twice before misbehaving towards their parents. She said, “I am Redmoon, and this is my friend, Oceangold,” she said, gesturing her wing towards Oceangold. They all nodded and smiled to Oceangold.

Emberblaze glared at his hooves. "But, we don't know if it's safe. The Trap is so far away that if help was needed, it wouldn't arrive on time. We don't know anything about this group of Sky herders or their so called, "One." I don't think we should trust them. It's too risky." Emberblaze said to the two steeds.

Goldenstream didn't waist any time. "There's a group of Sky herders-not much older than me-who have taken Canyongold captive. Me, Emberblaze, Redmoon, Oceangold and Gemfrost talked to the leader of the sky herders and he said that they hadn't meant to take Canyongold captive-they wanted Redmoon and her family. But, rest assured, Canyongold is safely back at the meadow." She paused for a breath and to let her words sink in before continuing. "The leader, or Duskblade, said that Forestbeam's mate, Crimsonstorm, is in the Trap. Duskblade says he's waiting for Redmoon and the rest of her family."

There is someone else called "The One." Duskblade speaks of this "One" like he's high and mighty. Duskblade want to bring Redmoon and her family to the Trap to see there father and meet the One."

"Of course, Redmoon agreed. Oceangold volunteered to go with Redmoon, but she sent us to ask a council herd member if they would come with them." She glanced down, then looked back up at them. "I don't know whether their telling the truth, but I do know that they're not a threat." Goldenstream turned away and pointed with her wing. "They're North, about a mile away from a clearing."

Silverflame-

Silerflame dived right behind Goldenstream, with Emberblaze and Gemfrost following close behind. The group touched down just outside of the medicine mare den, and quickly located Jaggedwing and Briarcloud who were still walking towards the den. With a sigh of relief that he had been right, Silverflame hurried up to the elderly couple. "Excuse me," said the bay, "But would you be willing to help us with something?"

Jaggedwing grunted, "Make it quick." he grumbled.

"Oh you be nice." said Briarcloud, giving her mate a smack with her tail. Then she turned to take in the group of yearlings. "How may we help you?"

Silverflame dipped his head, "Thank you, and uh... well... Goldenstream, why don't you explain?"

Goldenstream nodded. "Let's go to them."

Emberblaze glanced at Goldenstream like she'd told the punch line of a joke wrong. "Uhh...Have you forgotten that our parents are in the Council? Ya know, Mom and Dad?" He asked, ficking his ears.

Goldenstream glared at him. "Yes, I know Emberblaze. But, you have clearly forgotten that our Dad is not here. He's out on a scouting mission to look for safe migration trails. And Mom? She's not in any sort of condition to deal with something like this." Goldenstream replied, meaning how pregnant Starsummer was becoming.

Emberblaze looked slightly taken aback, but then her words settled and he nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Goldenstream smiled, swishing his tail over his flank. "Of course I'm right. Now, let's go get Jaggedwing and Briarcloud." She said, before diving towards the medicine mare den.

Silverflame-

The bay shook his head, "They went off to make an announcement or something, but I did see Jaggedwing a Briarcloud just before I took off." he said, remembering that he had passed the elderly couple on his way to talk to Magicpetal, "I think they may have been heading to the medicine mare den to check on Twigstrike."

Goldenstream nodded in agreement to Gemfrost, then glanced at Silverflame, her eyes bright. "We should get the lead-mare and over-stallion. Not the rest of the Council because I don't want to worry the rest of the herd, especially this close to migration." She said so everyone could hear her over their wingbeats. "Do you know where your parents are?" She asked Silverflame, brushing wingtips with him once or twice.

Silverflame-

"Thanks!" called Silverflame, as he shot up into the sky, then off in the direction Magicpetal had indicated. On his way, he almost ran into Emberblaze, Goldenstream, and Gemfrost who were traveling at a rapid speed. "What's going on?" he whinnied.

Gemfrost snorted, "There's a group of yearlings back that way that claim to be here to bring Redmoon, Breezebell, and Forestbeam to Crimsonstorm!" answered the bay roan yearling, as the group of now four yearlings raced back to Glacier Herd. "We're on our way to alert the council so we can figure out what's going to happen next."

( Aww, dang, Okay. Good luck with whatever it is your doing! Au revoir! )

(Same, and it's not even 9am yet for me. Also, I'm not going to be able to get on till later today, so... sorry)

( lol )

(Holy moly chicken scribble. My notifications xD)

( I gtg for a while too XD. I have to groom horses. Au revoir! )

Redmoon:

She stared back at him, not quite sure why she felt so guilty for choosing to go with this group of sky herders.

Duskblade- (I will put his description in the character page soon)

"We are supposed to take you straight to The One, who will then escort you to Crimsonstorm," he said, his voice filled with high respect whenever he spoke of The One or Crimsonstorm.

(sorry gtg for a while)

(I want to write one more, then we can.)

Oceangold nodded with satisfaction as she saw the others fly away. She turned back, catching a glimpse of the steel in Redmoon's eyes in the process, to look quizzically at Duskblade. "You never answered my question," she pointed out. "What are we doing when we get to Night Herd's territory?"

(I feel like we should wait for Dragon..)

Emberblaze glared at Oceangold, momentarily. But he groaned and listened to the older mare. "Come on, Goldenstream." He said. He took one final glance at Redmoon, before turning and blasting towards the meadow with Goldenstream in close pursuit.

(Oh, it definitely is. I was just checking.)

Oceangold's eyes widened momentarily, and she winced as she thought of how sore her wings would be the following day from flying there and back, but she nodded. "What exactly are we doing when we get there?" She then heard Emberblaze and turned to him. "Emberblaze, Goldenstream, fly back as quickly as possible and get a council steed to come with us. You could get Shadowfire, but his leg hasn't quite healed yet, so try for Skywing or Mistcloud. Send them to follow us as fast as they can, but do not under any circumstance come back to us. Your safety is more important than mine."

Emberblaze completely ignored Goldenstream's words. "Wait, Redmoon!" He flew over to her, looking almost betrayed, but he hid the feeling. "You can't just go with some strange pegasus you've never known to Night herd! What if it's a trap? Night herd is also farther North, so it'll be twice as cold as it is here. The Trap is so far away that if you or Oceangold or your family needs help, it might not come in time."

He glanced at the stallion, hard. The looks in the yearling's eyes were telling the truth, but Emberblaze still didn't trust him. He looked back to Redmoon, "I can't let you do this." He said, staring into her beautiful eyes. "Let's tell the Council. They'll know what to do."

( Yeah, but it's still a big distance in my opinion )

(Night herd is on the other side of the Trap from Glacier Herd, right?)

Redmoon:

She nodded to Oceangold, grateful she wouldn't be going alone. She turned back Duskblade and asked, "Where exactly are you going to be taking us?" He hesitated, a gleam in his eyes as if he was in denial of the question. He quickly recovered and said, "To Night Herd, where your father is being kept." Redmoon was shocked momentarily at the distance, but nodded.

Oceangold stared her down, hard. "I'm coming with you, Redmoon," she said, in a tone that was not open to argument. "I don't know or trust these steeds, and I'm not about to let a two-year-old disappear with them." She lowered her voice and flew closer. "And if necessary, I can help you escape."

Redmoon:

She stared hard at the yearling. “You do not have Redmoon. You have stolen Canyongold. I am Redmoon,” she said. They earling looked at her in a completely new way, and clicked his tongue to alert them that they had the wrong pegasus and to deliver Canyongold home. Then he turned to Redmoon. “Do you know of pegasi named Breezebell and Forestbeam?” He asked.

She nodded. “They are my family.”

“Then you must find them and bring them here. We have orders to take you, and I do not plan on displeasing The One. You will either come willingly, or we will take you forcibly.”

She hesitated and glanced at Emberblaze. Then she looked back to the yearling Duskblade. “I will come, but the others won’t until I see you are not lying and my father is alive!” She said, glancing at the others, already planning her escape. She should take this matter to the Council, but she wasn’t going to do that unless she wanted to start another war right before the migration.

Oceangold, who had just returned from the fjord after alerting Snow Herd of the migration soon to come, noticed several shapes on the southern horizon, moving toward her and to her left at breakneck speed. As they grew closer, she realized that they were young pegasi: a few of which she recognized and a few who were unfamiliar. She rocketed forward, drawing level with two of the triplets. "Does anyone know what happened? I missed it. Why are we following these strangers?"

Emberblaze tossed his head. "The filly who you just captured and knocked unconscious!" He said, nodding towards the trees where they disappeared. "What do you want from her?" He demanded, becoming impatient.

Goldenstream, who was much more level-headed, brushed Emberblaze's shoulder with her wingtip. She stared him in the eyes, "Calm down and be patient. If this yearling wanted to hurt us or Canyongold, they would've done it by now. Just hear them out-I don't think they're a threat." She whispered to Emberblaze so only he could hear.

Magicpetal watched as her siblings figures disappeared into the horizon. Goldenstream's words had hurt, but Magicpetal knew she was right. Her leg was healing, but it still throbbed painfully. She cocked her hurt leg to rest and folded her wings, feeling utterly useless. She heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned and saw Silverflame, who looked concerned and slightly angry. Magicpetal eyed him and said, "You think I know?! Emberblaze just claimed he heard something. I didn't hear it, neither did Goldenstream. But, my sister took off after Emberblaze and flew North. I don't know where they are...or what they flew towards..." Magicpetal said, worry etched all over her face.

( Merci, Riverbreeze )

He answered the first question; “I am Duskblade, and this is my sky herder crew,” then eh asked, “Who is Canyongold?”

Emberblaze pinned his ears, his eyes going hard. "How do know that stallion!? Where are you keeping him?! Take us to him." Emberblaze said, eyeing the yearling up and down. They were about the same height, but the stranger was skinnier and leaner. He had longer wings and longer legs, while Emberblaze was more stocky. Emberblaze growled again, "Who are you, and why do you want Canyongold?"

(That's cool! I like it!)

( Okay, it doesn’t have to be this way, but I was thinking for my OC Azulbolt and Night Herd, maybe they need more steeds and have been scavenging through the herds to capture and bring foals back. Maybe they stumbled upon Crimsonstorm’s grave and he was still alive, took them back to their territory, and healed them. Then he keeps on asking, “Where am I? Where is Redmoon and Breezebell and Forestbeam?!” So them came out here to get them for some bizarre reason. It doesn’t have to be this way and we can all just forget about this endeavor of my imagination if you’d prefer it )

(WHAT. THE. PLOT TWIST. What just happened, exactly?)

The dark bay looked skyward as they whizzed through trees and branches, until he whistled in Sky Herder language and the group continued flying as he surged through the canopy, meeting face to face with Emberblaze, Gemfrost, and Goldenstream. Another yearling, a beautiful red bay with white feathers, came put to join them. She didn’t ask questions, but instead flew posed for battle.

He pinned his ears, knowing his group may not make it out of this one if they kept going. He whistled and they disappeared into a thicket, hiding Canyongold with them.

He only said a few words before Redmoon knew they had made a terrible mistake.

”Crimsonstorm demands the filly named Redmoon.”

( I didn’t realize that was Stormglade... No It’s not Stormglade.

(It could be a Flame Herd envoy, but dark bay isn't a common color for steeds from the desert. Nor is salmon pink, for that matter. Also, Desert Herd steeds – and the steeds from it's split-offs – would have the deep chest and slender waist of a Desert Herd steed, and that wasn't specified here. I think it's more likely that Stormglade and a few of his idiot friends are behind this, but I'm clueless as to the reasoning.)

Silverflame-

Silverflame was in the process of helping Sparrowfire and a few other steeds move a tree that had been blown over during the wind storm, while keeping one eye on Goldenstream. He was vaguely concerned when he watched the pretty chestnut get into a tussle with Magicpetal, then fly off with Emberblaze, but he had to stay with Sparrowfire and his crew until the tree was moved. The second the tree was gone, SIlverflame let the captain know he need to go, then went as fast as he could over to Magicpetal. "Is something wrong?" demanded the bay, "Where's Goldenstream?"

Gemfrost-

The bay roan yearling let out an annoyed huff, when would other steeds learn it wasn't always best to rush in to these sorts of things? Well, there was no use pondering that now thought Gemfrost as she shot out for her hiding spot to join Goldenstream and Emberblaze in the sky.

(And...is the lead captor Stormglade? It says dark bay with salmon pink wings-that's his description. He doesn't have to be the lead-captor but I figured it would add more drama)

(Awww!!!! Ok :'( byeee)

Goldenstream caught up to her brother and together the flew towards a clearing.

Emberblaze saw a flash of color, blazing through the trees. "Pegasi?!" He nickered, confused. He squinted and recoiled back. 'And they've got Canyongold! Come on!!" He whinnied in shock and determination. He pinned his wings and plummeted towards the group with Goldenstream right on his tail.

Emberblaze set his jaw. He wouldn't lose anyone else.

Right before crashing into the trees, the siblings outstretched their wings and pulled up out of the nose-dive with surprising unison. Emberblaze glared into the trees. They were right on top of the battalion, but the trees were too dense to break through. "Stop!!" Goldenstream bellowed down to the captors. "You won't get away with this! Let's just stop flying for two seconds and we can talk it over!!!!" She yelled down to them.

( Gtg to bed. Be back in the morning though! :D )

Cany

The dark bay yearling saw that others were coming, and quickly told his comrades what to do. They scooped Canyongold up and hurled into the trees, dodging branches and leaves with practiced ease. They whirled and soon disappeared into the darkness of the trees, taking Canyongold along with them.

Emberblaze:

He was dozing in the warm sun, flexing his wings and drinking in the energy. "Ahhh...Peace and quiet." He said moments before a faint sound reached his ears. His eyes flared open and he leaped to his feet, spooking Goldenstream and Magicpetal who grazed next to him. The sound was faint and far away, but there. He glanced at Goldenstream and motioned for his sister to follow. "C'mon. We gotta help." He said, before kicking off and flying towards the sound.

Goldenstream:

She hadn't heard the sound, but she trusted her older brother. Magicpetal arched her wings, prepared to take off, but Goldenstream held her back. "Stay here. If there's danger, you are in no condition to fight it." Goldenstream said, gently. She nodded at Magicpetal's hurt leg.

Magicpetal:

She swished her tail and pinned her ears. "I won't back down when someone needs me." She snapped, arching her wings again. This time, Goldenstream wasn't so gentle. Goldenstream grabbed Magicpetal's tail in her teeth and yanked her back. Magicpetal grunted in protest and kicked out her hind leg in warning. Goldenstream huffed and dropped her. "Magicpetal, you will only get in the way. You're leg isn't healed enough to help. And, I can't help or fight when all I'm doing is worrying about you! Stay. Here." Goldenstream sternly said, with a burning intensity. The older sister turned away and kicked off, pumping her purple wings to catch up with her brother, who had made it half-way to the sound.

Brokenflame-

The copper stallion had been keeping to himself ever since he had returned Honeyfall to her herd, he should have known that he wouldn't be accepted. Neither the steeds from Glacier Herd or Flame Herd really wanted him, but they also weren't bothering him. This of course was just fine with Brokenflame because he was worried what would happen once things calmed down, and Glaicer Herd's council would have time to determine the fates of Cherrycloud's former followers.

Honeyfall-

Honeyfall was glad to be back in Glacier Herd even though everything seemed to be in a constant state of chaos. She had barely seen hide nor hair of Brokenflame since the battle, but she had checked in to make sure he was okay. Snowfrost was being an absolute pain because he was refusing to leave his best friend's side, and couldn't go 30 minutes without asking if Honeyfall needed anything. This was partly because Dappleroot had insisted that she take a few days to rest up, and partly because Snowfrost had been worried half to death since she had left to go on her mission to Red Herd. But either way, Honeyfall was beyond done with this whole thing.

Dappleroot-

The medicine mare heaved a deep sigh. Even though she was only 23 years old, Dappleroot felt old. The whole ordeal with Flame Herd attacking was diffidently not helping. With a large amount of effort, Dappleroot started trudging back to the medicine mare den loaded down with all manner of herbs to replenished the almost existed store back in the cave. When she approached the entrance, she was surprised to see that Breezecloud was there, and concerned that somethings may be up, Dappleroot quickened her pace and was able to catch the last sentence or so from the lead mare. "What's happening?" she asked, dropping the herbs she was carrying in her mouth.

Gemfrost-

Gemfrost was grazing on her own, completely oblivious to her surroundings, but suddenly she was startled by a flash of movement. She glanced up and spotted a few unfamiliar looking yearlings surrounding a yearling filly who Gemfrost recognized as Canyongold. Just then, the blue roan filly let out an alarmed whinnied, then collapsed. What's going on, thought Gemfrost knowing that something had to be up. Carefully, she inched closer to watch, making sure that she made no sound.

( DANG THAT WAS LONG. SOWWY. )

Canyongold:

She grazed along the tree line, careful not to walk to far in. She was enjoying the sun rays on her feathers and was soaking up her Vitamin D for the day. It wasn't the warmest sun, considering it being winter and the planet's revolution and tilted axis, but it was the sun all the same. She walked a few more steps into the shade when it began to get annoyingly hot to where she couldn't stand and she had to walk into the shade. It felt nice and cool, a breeze going and ruffling her main, sending chills down her spine.

She walked further in until she came to a small opening in the canopy and enjoyed those dimmer light rays. She was enjoying herself all up until she heard a small twig snap and a ruffle of leaves. She froze, but continued to chew and look like she hadn't heard anything. All her instincts told her to take off and fly, but if it was big cat it would jump out and snatch her by the wings, causing her to escape on hoof.

She was very skittish, and it took everything she had to stay firm on the ground, trembling. Finally, she lifted her head when she heard the rustling and snapping again, this time accompanied by a bird's call. But it wasn't an ordinary call. It was Sky Herder language, and the only way she knew this was that she was a sky herder in training. It was a modified version of the language, a bit more complex, but she understood it all the same.

Attack.

She immediately took off into the trees, first galloping as fast as her legs could carry her. When she began to hear the soft beating of wings from behind her, she jumped into the air and started dodging branches left and right. She heard another, more anxious Sky Herder call and looked behind her to see 4 yearling Sky Herder's, but someone could easily mistake them as full grown pegasi. They were heavily muscled and very agile and graceful as they flew through the trees.

She realized her mistake of looking back as her wings quickly got caught and tied up in a few spindly branches. She shrieked, hoping her voice would carry out, but she was knocked out of the branches with a large, swift quick by the biggest colt, a dark bay with salmon pink feathers. She wheezed as she fluttered to the ground and looked up at the four steeds surrounding her. She managed to rasp out, "What do you want with me?" before her eyes closed and she lost all sense to the world around her

Coablaze:

He woke up to the sounds of soft voices echoing in the cave. He groaned and knew if he opened his eyes, he might just close them and go to sleep again. So he glued them shut and listened as he tried to control his breathing to adjust to the numbness in his abdomen. He heard something about migration and hoped he wouldn't be left behind, not able to see Mintcreek or his friends for a time. When he heard them discussing that very topic about the four most injured steeds, he knew he'd be staying behind. He hated this, of course, so he just let their serious tones lull him into another deep sleep, one where he didn't have to worry about being left behind.