//------------------------------//
// Ch. 7: If a Tree Falls in the Forest... 
// Story: Once in a Blue Moon 
// by Trouble-Shooter 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Seven: If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

EverFree Forest: Day 40, Year 27 of Celestia's Reign


        “I still don't understand why we can't just use the TARDIS to get where we're going, Doctor,” Celestia said as she, Bastion, and a detachment of eleven royal guards – six unicorns and five pegasi – filed out of the blue box as the doors opened. The chestnut stallion glanced up as he locked the TARDIS behind him and smiled with faint amusement at the slightly unnerved glances the guards were giving his beloved transport.
        “It's very simple, Celestia. Well, all right, not that simple. Well, okay, it's actually somewhat complicated. I've explained that the magic used here is made of artron energy, yes?”
        The princess nodded while Bastion circled around the box, trying to figure out how it was bigger on the inside. “Yes, I remember that. You said it came from life force and was related to something you called the 'Time Vortex.'”
        “Right, well, the TARDIS flies through the Vortex to get where it's going, and artron energy is a sort of background radiation in the Vortex. It's also a fuel source for the TARDIS, actually rather vital to several critical functions, but the old girl doesn't like the energy surrounding the forest.”
        Bastion looked up from his examination of the timeship and remarked, “Doctor, you speak of this TARDIS as if it were alive.”
        Raising his eyebrows as he looked out over the forest, the Time Lord replied, “Well, that's because she is. TARDISes aren't built, good Captain Bastion, they're grown, and the wild energy suffusing the forest here makes her... well, queasy. It's like she doesn't quite like the taste of it around these parts, like it's been in the fridge too long and has gone off.”
        What the Doctor did not mention however, was the increasing concern he had regarding Equestria's very existence and how he had gotten here. Too much is similar. The constellations, the city names – Neigh York instead of New York, or even New New York, or New New New New New New New New York? One moon to one star? That's more uncommon than most astronomers think, actually. Then there were the problems with the TARDIS' travel coordinate system, with points in time and space superimposing themselves on each other or looping back to still other destinations. He put it out of his mind for the moment, shrugged his shoulders, and started walking into the woods. “Come along, Princess,” he said in a tone far more light than he actually felt.
        Bastion muttered to Celestia, “...What is a 'fridge?'” as the Doctor started toward the forest, the captain and princess falling in alongside him as the guards fanned out in a protective detail. The captain pointed a forehoof to a set of tracks in the dirt along the path. “These are the only sign we found. As you can see, they do not stay on the path, but instead go into the forest on a straight line.” He indicated flattened grass and broken bushes leading into the deeper parts of the forest.
        The princess manifested a map out of her personal storage with her horn, and used her magic to mark an X on it. “That's us. The line goes south-southeast in a relatively straight line...” Another glow of her horn sent a red line across the map, and a scowl appeared on her features. “...Right to the old castle.”
        Nonchalantly, the Doctor remarked, “Not a surprise. It's practically the biggest nexus of artron energy or magic or whatever you want to call it in the entire forest,” he knelt down next to the trail, peering at it closely. “and someone has drawn us a line straight to it.”
        It was Bastion's turn to scowl. “Do you think it's a trap, Doctor?”
        Turning his head and smiling at the guard captain with another one of those devil-may-care grins, the Time Lord replied, “Oh, it's most certainly a trap. That's half the fun!”
 
 
        Some time later, the Doctor was up ahead, occasionally pointing his screwdriver at things and generally scaring the birds away with the sounds it made. Bastion remained by Celestia's side, looking about as pensive as a Royal Guard would ever let himself look – which meant that inside he was practically screaming. This did not escape Celestia's notice, and she leaned her head down slightly to murmur to him, “Something on your mind, Bast?”
        The pegasus hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Highness, are you certain we can trust this Doctor? He seems like a madpony, and that box of his is simply unbelievable. Plus, you say he's your most trusted advisor, and yet I have never seen him around Canterlot before.”
        Celestia sighed quietly. “Bastion, what I am about to tell you is under a Crown seal. Speak of it to anypony without my express permission and despite our long friendship, I'll be forced to do something unfortunate to you.”
        Bastion thought about that for a moment, and nodded formally. “Your word is law, my liege.”
        “Twenty-seven years ago, the Doctor saved my life in more ways than one. He found me after I had just banished Nightmare Moon, and with his help, we discovered that my sister's illness was not the product of her own mind, but the result of some external force.”
        Bastion's ears flicked back against his skull as the implications hit him. “But Celestia, that means that--”
        Nodding sadly, the princess responded, “Yes. Discord, the Alicorn Wars, all of it was due to this same influence. He's promised to help bring Luna back and purge her of the taint, which is still very much alive in the old castle. He called it an 'empathivore,' and it even had the ability to animate my dead relatives long after their deaths. My own favorite great-aunt tried to take a bite out of my flank.” She looked toward the Doctor with a faint smile. “He saved me from that. He took a spoiled princess who was feeling sorry for herself and convinced her to be who she should be, and saved me from myself in the process.
        Grunting quietly Bastion chuckled, “It sounds like something out of an old mare's tale, 'Tia, and he sure doesn't seem like the handsome prince type. I'm still not sure if I believe it, but I've never known you to be false. I suppose if you trust him,” he looked forward to where the Doctor had stopped, ears and head flicking back and forth wildly, “then I will as well. With your permission however, I will inform the guards what we may be up against.”
        Celestia nodded assent, then trotted up to the Doctor as Bastion peeled off to speak to his stallions. “You look like something's got your tail in a twist, Doctor.”
        “Yes...” he drawled quietly, “Celestia, there are a couple of things that have been bothering me. First, what is with the marks on everyone's flanks?”
        The princess looked a little embarassed. “In the old days of the Alicorn Lords, they were serf marks. Everypony has a special talent, and depending on what your cutie mark was when it appeared, you were assigned to the fields, or the kitchens, and so forth. Luna and I didn't get ours until we found out only we could keep the world turning as it should. Now,” she sighed, “I'm trying to put them to better use. I've been keeping records of the marks as they appear, and trying to correlate them to the ponies they belong to in an effort to find the six you say we need.”
        “I see,” said the Doctor, still looking around. “Very good. And second, why has it gotten so suddenly quiet?”
        Celestia looked around in surprise. She hadn't noticed, but the entire forest had gone silent, even the birds. As Celestia looked around, she saw a small cloud of dust rising behind them, which soon turned out to be a stampede of small forest creatures, enough to make the ground vibrate beneath her hooves. The guards did their best to avoid being run over, Bastion staggering a bit as a rabbit leaped over him, landed on his head, and used him as a springboard to continue fleeing. The wave of animals dispersed as they fled into the forest, the vibration from their tiny feet fading. 
        Or was it?
        Thoom.
        Thoom.
        THOOM.
        THOOM.
        “Doctor?!”
        As a massive, star-speckled paw appeared on the trail behind them, sending trees flying, the Time Lord's only response was, “RUN!”
        As the fourteen ponies fled deeper into the forest, the Ursa Major gave chase for awhile, then stopped, standing stock-still for a few moments more before a cloud of purplish-black smoke erupted from its mouth and a shine of un-light faded from its eyes. Shaking its head in confusion, the titanic star-bear turned around and headed back to its den for a nap.
 
 
 
        The kept running until they were certain the Ursa had been left far behind, finally stopping for breath in a small copse of trees. The trail they had been following had been left behind as well, and only a little sunlight shone through a clearing in the treetops above. 
        “I'll say this, Doctor,” huffed Bastion as he took off his helmet and shook sweat out of his mane, “We could use a runner like you in the Guard, if only as an instructor.”
        “Oh yes,” replied the chestnut pony, “I do rather like the running. Keeps one fit for when you really have to run!” He looked around and muttered, “Damn!” under his breath. “I say, Celestia, that map of yours wouldn't happen to have any idea where we are, would it?”
        Shaking her head as she settled onto her knees to catch her breath, the princess replied, “I'm sorry, Doctor, it doesn't. I was only illustrating that which I could sense. I can tell you where the Sun is, but-”
        “But without some kind of bearing, it's useless,” finished the captain. Pointing a hoof at one of the pegasi, he ordered, “Redmane, go up there and see if you can spot the trail again, or at least the old castle.” Saluting, the crimson-maned pegasus rose up through the treetops and spun in place slowly, holding a hoof over his eyes to block the sunlight. 
        Something was bothering the Doctor. “I'm missing something...” he murmured to himself as he looked around, circling the small clearing as he paced in thought. Distantly, he heard Redmane call down to Bastion that the Ursa Major had broken off pursuit and was heading away from them.
        “Captain, it looks like the Ursa carved out a path we can follow back to the trail,” added the guardpony.
        “Good job, Redmane. Come on down and form up, and we'll get moving again in a minute.”
        That's when the Doctor saw the bare skeletons of numerous forest critters, scattered around the borders of the clearing on an arc away from the Ursa's track. That's when it clicked. “DON'T!”
        His cry came too late, however, as a crash of metal and a hollow clatter made everypony in the clearing turn to stare at the source of the noise. Laying in the shadow cast by one of the trees was Redmane's armor, as well as what remained of him: bones, completely stripped of flesh. The pegasus' skull looked out at the group in a rictus grin.
        “Sweet fancy Luna!” cried out one of the unicorn guard, a break in discipline that normally would have Bastion tearing a strip off his hide, but the captain said nothing as he stared at the bones of his lieutenant, completely stunned. 
        “I need everypony to listen to me very, very closely if you want to live,” said the Doctor with quiet urgency, “Get in the light. Stay in the light, and do not cross each others' shadows, not even for an instant.” He pulled out his screwdriver and started circling the group, carefully stepping over their shadows as they complied, the device buzzing with varying tones as he pointed it at the shadows around them, staring intently with a look that made even Bastion feel intimidated. 
        “Doctor? What is it?” asked Celestia from within the knot of guards. “What in the pony hell happened?” added Bastion.
        Sighing quietly as his screwdriver emitted a harsh buzzing noise, “The Vashta Nerada. They live in shadows and dark places, attaching themselves to their prey and stripping them bare. They're everywhere across the universe. Some call them the Shadows that Eat, or the Dark That Strips the Flesh, or any one of a million other names. I've encountered them before. Barely got out with my life, and... a lot of people died. We saved many more, but I couldn't save all of them.” His eyes were haunted as he looked at the princess and her captain and said with finality, “This is the trap we were talking about earlier. Rather elegant, I must say. Aside from your unique skeletal structure Princess, no one would think twice about bones in a forest that's reportedly haunted and full of wild magic.”
        “While that is all very interesting, Doctor,” grated Bastion, “How do we get out of this?”
        Fiddling with the settings on his screwdriver with his tongue, the Doctor replied, “We don't. They're all around us... but I may be able to repel them with this.” He aimed the device at a patch of shadow and triggered it. A low buzzing sound that seemed to vibrate into the very bones came from it, and the shadow quivered, visibly, before melting aside. A quiet hiss whispered through the trees, like a betrayed spectre's howl, causing the Time Lord to raise his head and pause. “Oh, dear. I do believe I've made them angry. We should get moving. No telling how long this is going to work before they get peevish enough to stop caring about the noise.”
        They struck out in the direction that the late Redmane had indicated, the entire party silent. The only sounds were the clop of their hooves on the forest floor, the nerve-grating sound of the Doctor's device, and the soft sibilant hiss of the shadows as they circled the group, probing for a weak point. Despite the foliage thinning slightly, the darkness around them seemed to grow thicker with every step. Bastion stayed closed to Celestia, the both of them flanking the Doctor as the remaining guards formed a perimeter to the rear and sides. Glancing up at the sky, the Time Lord murmured drily, “I don't suppose you could stop the sun from setting until we get back to main trail, Princess? It's going to be dark, soon.”
        Bastion bristled slightly at the Doctor's somewhat insouciant tone, but held himself back at a look from Celestia. “Unfortunately no, Doctor. As much trouble as we are in, if I held the sun up beyond its time, it would at the very least cause panic among my subjects. Ponies could be hurt, and if I have the power to prevent that, I will.”
        “Very admirable, Celestia, but if you get eaten by the Vashta Nerada, Equestria will have much bigger problems. Still, we're almost there, and so far this seems to be working-” He paused, stopping in his tracks and looking back. “...well. Weren't there more guards?”
        Bastion whirled in place, looking at the security detail and taking a headcount. “We're missing somepony. Aegis, report!”
        There was no reply for several moments, then emerging from the hissing shadows on their backtrail came the figure of a unicorn, wrapped in shadow. Faint sparks beneath the dark layer revealed a horn covered in overglow and the wild eyes of the aforementioned Aegis. A trail of living shadow remained fastened to him from the forest behind, rippling slightly as stammered, “C-Captain Bastion. I-I'm sorry, sir. They s-snuck right up on me. I can't get free!” His pupils shrank to pinpoints as he flicked his ears wildly. “Oh Great Maker, they're whispering to me!”
        Bastion lurched forward, only to be stopped as the Doctor ran in front, shouldering him back. “Don't! Don't touch him! Don't touch him, don't touch his shadow!” Relenting, he added softly, “I'm sorry, Bastion. I'm so, so sorry, but once they latch on they do not let go for anything. If you touch him, you'll be taken too, and we need you.” He cocked an eyebrow and nodded toward the princess, who was staring in barely concealed horror. “SHE needs you.”
        Snorting softly a few more times before closing his eyes, Bastion growled, “You fight dirty, medicine man.” He looked to Aegis and murmured, “I'll make sure your family is taken care of.” 
        The trapped unicorn guard nodded, then looked at the Doctor. “They're still talking to me, sir. They want to talk.”
        Bastion flicked his ears in confusion. “Well then, I'll hear what they have to say.” 
        Shaking his head, Aegis replied, “N-No sir, you don't understand. They want to talk to the Princess,” he nodded his head at the chestnut stallion, “and to the Doctor.
        “And Doctor... they asked for you by name.”