Raindancer - Epilogue

Ol_Dirty, April 16, 2012 / PB 167809
=======================================================================================================================================
>You are a pale blue pegasus by the name of Rustle
>You are the second in command of a herd of feral fluffy ponies
>Or rather, WERE the second in command
>Your predecessor has left, presumably never to return
>You guess that made you the smarty friend
>You were out of your element
>Not only were you placed in a position of leadership you weren't accustomed to, but you were also in a human house, surrounded by things your fluffy little brain can't hope to comprehend
>Your predecessor, brave leader Raindancer, followed a runaway domesticated fluffy pony named Wiggly here, in order to keep his people safe from the coming winter
>But it all went to hell
>Raindancer was exceptinally sharp for a fluffy pony, like no other
>But that sharpness came at a price
>What he had gained in intelligence he had lost in compassion
>He killed Wiggly the day you got here
>He said it was to protect the herd's "integrity"
>You don't even understand that word
>You of course disagreed with him, saying Wiggly was a friend
>Raindancer insisted that anything humans thouched would be harmful to the herd
>He might've been right Only a few days later, Raindancer left the house for a while
>While he was gone, the herd wouldn't listen to you, telling you they only trust "smawty fwiend"
>Against Raindancer's order, the herd started eating the humans' food
>They were so ecstatic over the taste, they started fighting each other over it
>For some, the food was too spicy
>They drowned themselves trying to extinguish to fire in their mouths
>When Raindancer returned, most of his people were dead
>The few who survived blamed Raindancer, saying this was as his fault for leaving them
>Raindancer wouldn't have any of it
>He told the herd how the humans had corrupted them
>The herd insisted that Raindancer leave
>Raindancer doesn't like to be challenged, especially by dumb "human friends"
>Fighting ensued, three more died
>After that, Raindancer left, his last words to you being "Let them forget me"
>You were left with what was left the herd
>A total of 9 fluffy ponies including you
>The winter came and went
>The pregnant mares gave birth
>The ones who kept eating the human food died
>Maybe it was poisonous to fluffy ponies after all, you may never know, you didn't eat one bit of it
>Once all the snow melted, you led the herd back to the field you came from
>Two died along the way
>Better than last time
>Last time lost almost half the group
>When you arrived at the field, you found Raindancer's hairless corpse there
>He came all the way back here just to kill himself?
>Guess he was that proud of his homeland
>Big black birds feasted on his body
>The same kind of birds that you once shood away with big stick to save Raindancer, earning his trust and friendship
>Only this time you didn't have a big stick
>You had to wait for the birds to leave before moving the herd back to the field
>You picked up Raindancer's half eaten naked corpse and carried it to the edge of the woods
>You took some pretty flowers and dropped them on him >May angels take him to a place where fluffies never go hungry...
>Memories of your days together start coming back >You wonder how did Raindancer ever become so smart
>How did he ever become so hateful towards humans despite never having met one as far as you know
>His prejudice toward humans and paranoia of their influence were the reason he killed Wiggly, Hayseed and the others
>Was he just crazy or did he actually have a reason?
>You curse yourself for not intervening back at the house
>Your indecisiveness in the fight between Raindancer and the herd cost Raindancer his reason to live and the herd their innocence
>By taking a stand you could have saved one or the other
>Doesn't matter, no amount of contemplating will bring either back
>Some time later...

>The herd now lives a mostly happy life
>Your numbers quickly grew to 40
>All the fluffies have seemingly forgotten all about Raindancer and their time at the human house
>Better that way, fluffy ponies don't cope well with such memories
>You know you don't...
>You wonder whether you'll ever meet a human, whether it would justify Raindancer's views
>Only time will tell if you succeed in staying friendly to the herd or if the realitys of leadership change you into what Raindancer became
>Best to just go a day at a time
>A mare calls out to you
>She needs your help giving birth