//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Just Myths // Story: Everfree // by Dusk Quill //------------------------------// Everfree By: Dusk Quill “Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.” — Aristotle A calm, temperate breeze wafted through the large open windows of the new Skyfall Headquarters, rustling the silken curtains gently in place. Golden afternoon sunlight poured into the room as the day drew to a close. Construction on the new establishment had been finished a couple weeks prior, and the building was now completely furnished and functional. Modern, sleek desks and furniture had been brought in to style the building to match its occupants. Everything was practical with a slick edge to it.         The building itself was little more than a few spacious rooms, consisting of a lobby, office spaces, an armory, and an archive. The ponies of Skyfall adored their new personal space. It felt official, and something they could reside proudly and publicly in. There was little use for hiding under the castle anymore.         In quiet contemplation, Captain Fleethoof sat at his desk. Across the room, Valiant and Sharp Shot lingered at their respective desks. Valiant was busy sorting through a stack of papers in front of him while the less-busy Sharp Shot occupied his time by tossing paper airplanes and balled up sheets around the room at the other ponies. Valiant stared blankly down at his desk as a paper ball bounced off his left temple, doing his best to ignore the assaults of his teammate.         Fleethoof didn’t even bother to make an attempt to stop the sniper. He knew Sharp Shot’s behavior was incorrigible, and it would be a waste of time to try to reform him. Deep inside, he doubted if that pony would ever grow up.         He flipped to the next page in his newspaper, skimming the headlines of the latest news. Every so often Fleethoof would stop and glance up, his eyes running down the line of desks. It was still strange for him to think that Lightning Flash had left. Seeing places for only five ponies took some getting used to. But he hoped that he was doing better in his new life. With a soft sigh, Fleethoof turned the page again. The next headline took up most of the page, glaring at him with a heavy bold font. FOALS STILL MISSING: ROYAL GUARD BAFFLED         The grim news made the stallion purse his lips tightly together. In the past couple of weeks, thirteen foals had gone missing from the quiet, unassuming village. Ponyville was never the topic of headlines unless some sort of catastrophic event seemed to happen, and even then either the Guard or the Elements of Harmony quickly resolved it. Fleethoof quietly wondered why Celestia only seemed to call upon those six ponies when things really got out of hoof…         Ponyville was a settlement without much in the way of a local police force. They simply had a volunteer brigade that kept watch over the town’s daily activities and the streets at night. From what he had heard through chatter and gossip, Ponyville was one of the nicer places to live. That was why when these mysterious disappearances began to occur, the populace went berserk.         The Hoofington Guard division had been called in a week after the first disappearances to aid the befuddled community watch, but still no progress was made. When the thirteenth foal had vanished under the Guard’s nose and a pair of troopers went missing, Celestia sent in the big guns—namely the Canterlot Guard. Now the search seemed to be at a standstill as the ponies literally combed the forest.         Fleethoof scoffed and shook his head slowly. How difficult could it be to track down a baker’s dozen of foals? There had to be some evidence left behind when they’d gone missing. And what sort of deranged pony snatched foals in broad daylight? The whole ordeal was very suspicious, and he hoped it would be wrapped up sooner rather than later.         I wish they would just send some more ponies out to bolster their numbers and get the searches done faster, he thought with a chuckle to himself.         “Would you cut that out, Sharp?!”         Valiant’s cry of annoyance snapped Fleethoof’s attention up. It was time to separate the children.         “Sharp, leave him be. He’s busy,” said Fleethoof, turning back to read the sports section of the paper. “Don’t you have work to be doing anyway?”         “Oh, yeah, about that… I was hoping I could ask a favor of you, boss.”         Fleethoof looked up at the stallion, waiting to hear what he could possibly need this time. “What did you do, Sharp?”         “Nothing! I just—”         There was a knock at the door to the offices, catching the attention of everypony inside. Princess Cadance stood at the door, smiling at the three as she trotted across the floor to Fleethoof’s desk. A small, silver envelope flew beside her, grasped in the aura of her magic. He smiled widely as she approached him and set the newspaper down.         “Cadance! Welcome to the new Skyfall Headquarters,” he said, leaning across the desk towards her. “What brings you by?”         “I’m playing messenger this time.” She beamed as she levitated the envelope toward him.         “What is this?” Fleethoof tore the seal open, and shook the contents out onto his desk. A pair of golden tickets fell onto the surface, along with an embossed sheet of cream-colored paper. He could literally feel his expression drop as he recognized the items.         “Your invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala, courtesy of Aunt Luna,” said Cadance, still all smiles and sunshine. “She wasn’t sure if you had been receiving them or not, since you never RSVP’d, so she asked me to make sure you got one personally.”         Fleethoof forced every muscle in his face to move and form a smile. It hurt.         “Oh, yeah. Thanks.” He chuckled and shifted the newspaper to conceal the other four silver envelopes he had carelessly left strewn across his desk. Cadance’s eyes were quicker than his hooves, though, and like a shot she magically pulled the invites out from beneath their cover.         “You have been getting them.” Fleethoof ignored her accusatory tone. She stared at the stallion in surprise. “You’ve just been ignoring them?”         “I really don’t want to go.”         “But it’s an honor and a tradition for all the captains to attend.”         “I really don’t want to go.”         “But surely you attended the last one, Captain.”         Fleethoof didn’t respond. Cadance just stared at him like he had two heads. “Are you serious?”         “Look, Cadance, galas really aren’t my thing,” he said in reply, just barely able to look her in the eye. “It was hard enough to pretend to enjoy it in Saddle Arabia, but willingly attending my own personal brand of torture? No thanks.”         Cadance was unmoved by Fleethoof’s plight. “Oh please, it’ll be fun! There’ll be food, and music, and dancing—”         “You had me, and then you lost me.”         “Fleethoof…” Cadance said, staring with a look of explicit exasperation at the stubborn pony. “Just go. Please? It’ll mean a lot to my aunts. I’ll be there if that makes it any better.”         Fleethoof looked up at the princess from beneath his eyelashes. A brow rose curiously as he examined the sincerity on her face.         “Who are you going with?” he asked.         “Shining Armor asked me to go. He didn’t get to attend with the chaos going on last year.”         “I heard last year’s gala was a disaster.” Fleethoof couldn’t hold back the smirk as he recounted the tales of destruction and discord that resulted in the end of the gala. “Somepony let animals loose into the castle?”         Cadance rolled her eyes. “I promise, no crazy animals this year.”         Again, Fleethoof pursed his lips as he stared down at the two golden tickets. He shuffled them back and forth between his hooves idly, considering his options carefully. At long last, he nodded, and reluctantly said, “All right… Tell Luna I’ll go.”         “You won’t regret it, Fleethoof!” said Cadance, her expression visibly brightening. She practically skipped out of the room, leaving Fleethoof to continue mindlessly passing the tickets between his hooves.         “Sharp Shot, do you want these?” he asked once he was sure Cadance was long gone. The pony laughed.         “I’m a thousand percent sure Cadance would kill us both if you flaked and I went!”         “Probably…” said Fleethoof in agreement. “Shit… I really don’t want to do this…”         “Just take somepony who really wants to go and get it over with,” Valiant suggested.         Fleethoof nodded his head slowly. It wasn’t a terrible idea, but it did still mean he had to attend. At this point, he didn’t see a way of dodging that bullet. Dammit all to Tartarus…         “Speaking of getting out of things…”         Sharp Shot had stood up now, and was slowly approaching the captain’s desk. Fleethoof only glanced up from leering at the tickets when he saw the form of the pony standing right at the edge of his desk. Sharp was folding something in a magical aura. He dropped the papers down in front of Fleethoof.         “This is a mission statement,” said Fleethoof, reading quickly through the body of text. “Where are you being sent off to, Sharp?”         Sharp Shot chuckled nervously and shifted his weight on his hooves. “Hopefully, nowhere, boss. This is what I need to get out of.”         With a deep breath, Fleethoof straightened himself up in his seat. He began to read through the text more thoroughly while attempting to ignore the fidgeting unicorn in front of him. Sharp Shot looked like a foal that had just handed a teacher a test he’d cheated on. Something was making the pony very anxious…         “They want to send you to Ponyville—tomorrow?” Fleethoof asked, rereading the passage to make sure he had understood it correctly. “They want your help to lead a team in the Everfree investigation and search for the foals?”         “Yeah, that’s why I need you to say I can’t go.” Sharp Shot grinned widely as Fleethoof cast a suspicious glance at him.         “And why can’t you?” Sharp Shot didn’t answer right away. “Mommy won’t let you stay out past your bedtime?”         “Har har. Good one, boss,” Sharp spoke in perfect deadpan. “No, it’s because… well…”         The pony mumbled something incoherent. Fleethoof furrowed his brow and leaned closer across the desk. “What was that?”         “I said… I’m… scared…”         There was a moment of pause. Fleethoof burst into laughter, and even Valiant chuckled under his breath. Sharp Shot’s face went red and he tensed up in place.         “You’re scared? Really?” Fleethoof’s laughter continued.         “Hey, it’s not funny!” Sharp Shot snapped, and looked down in embarrassment. He finally risked a glance back up at his superior after a moment had passed, a hurt and anxious look in his eyes. “Look, I’m just… superstitious, okay?”         “You’re seriously afraid of the Everfree Forest?” A slow nod came from Sharp. “Why? Sure, it’s got dangerous creatures, but we’re more of a threat to them.”         “It’s not timberwolves or manticores I’m afraid of.”         It took Fleethoof a moment to figure out what his teammate was referring to. He could see a genuine fear in Sharp Shot’s eyes, and it spoke volumes where he did not. Fleethoof’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape as realization dawned on him.         “You don’t really believe the stories about that place, do you? Sharp, they’re nothing but myths and old mares tales.”         “Doesn't matter. I still believe them,” he said, absolutely resolute on the matter. “And I’d really like to not take that chance. Please, boss. Don’t make me go.”         Fleethoof studied Sharp Shot for a long moment. The pony looked like he was on the verge of a break down. Were it a cartoon and not reality, he could swear Sharp’s legs would be shivering right now. He was truly terrified of the mere thought of going into that forest. Fleethoof chewed on his lip, mulling the dilemma over for a minute. If Sharp Shot didn’t go, somepony else would have to go in his place.         I’m way too fucking nice, he thought as he heaved a sigh and grabbed a quill. With a quick flourish, he signed his name across the papers. He would bite the bullet for his friend.         “You owe me, Sharp,” he said as he stacked the papers in the corner of his desk.         Fleethoof could practically feel the relief emanating from the unicorn. “Thanks, boss. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you—I promise.”         “Yeah, yeah… Just don’t take anything from my desk while I’m gone. If something happens, Valiant is in charge.”         Valiant waved a hoof from across the room. “You got it, Captain.”         Fleethoof got up quickly and began heading for the armory. Sharp Shot followed the pony the entire way like a lost puppy. He watched from the door as the captain grabbed his equipment, walking right past the rack of weapons.         “Not taking a gun, boss?” he asked. Fleethoof shook his head.         “Won’t need it. It’s a search and rescue job, Sharp, not a fucking ponyhunt. Nothing’s going to require a gun.”         “You aren’t even gonna take a pistol or anything?”         Fleethoof made an exaggerated motion of rolling his eyes. “I have my knife, but that’s mostly for utility.”         “Boss—”         “Look, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll take my weapons, okay? But I’m telling you, I won’t need them. There’s nothing out there.”         Sharp Shot didn’t look convinced in the least. “You don’t know that, boss… That forest, it isn’t natural… It ain't right...”         “The only thing unnatural about it is how afraid of it ponies are.”         “What about the stories, boss? Of monsters and dark magic haunting the Everfree Forest? Where do you think the stories come from?”         “Probably from superstitious ponies with overly active imaginations—like you,” said Fleethoof, scoffing at his own joke.         “Okay, I get it. Enough jokes about my beliefs. Just be careful, boss…”         “I always am, Sergeant. And you’ll see, when I come back safe with those foals, then you can stop fearing something that doesn’t exist. They're just myths.” He threw his vest and equipment over his back and turned to face Sharp Shot. “Keep an eye on the place for me while I’m gone.”         Sharp Shot nodded slowly. “Yes, sir.”         Fleethoof smiled at the pony and began making his way out of the building. “So, which team were you supposed to assist?”         “Ghost Team leader, Corporal Starlight, reporting.”         The Lunar Guard stood at attention, saluting his superiors in charge of the Ponyville investigation. The ponies looked up at the stallion. The bat pony dropped his salute and removed his helmet, tucking it beneath his leathery wing. His long, messy mane fell in silvery locks. A scar ran across his left cheek, a trophy from a long-past battle.         The ponies didn’t address Starlight right away. The Guard was still leery of the Nightwatch, especially the ones garrisoned around Ponyville. Public opinion still held them in a dark, fearful light. Local dissent had entered their hearts by osmosis, and distrust was still a typical sentiment. But they needed the bat ponies, especially with their ability to operate at night. Time was running short, and the searches could no longer wait till dawn.         “Corporal Starlight, your team will be running sweeps of the forest at night,” one of the officers said as he reviewed the schedule. “We won’t be needing you until dusk.”         “With all due respect, sirs, my team is ready to go now. We don’t need to wait till night. We can lend a hoof with the searches now.”         The pony that had spoken glanced up at the gung-ho Starlight. He studied the stallion, looking him over from head to toe, as if his appearance actually mattered in these situations. A moment and several pursed lips later, the pony nodded.         “Very well. Get your team setup and ready to go, and get to it. Has your Canterlot liaison arrived yet?”         Starlight felt his enthusiasm die a little inside. Liaison? They were being supervised? Of course, they weren’t trusted enough to handle themselves… He felt a twinge of bitter resentment at the notion, but kept himself in line. This was their chance to prove themselves.         “I don’t know.”         The officer gave a terse nod, and glanced at a roster. “It looks like your partner arrived earlier today. I’ll fetch him and send him your way. Go make sure your ponies are ready.”         Starlight gave a sharp salute, then turned on his hooves and marched back out of the tent. Blinding morning sunlight assaulted his eyes as soon as he stepped through the canvas flap and back out into the sunny spring day. The edge of Ponyville looked like a small military camp. Tents had been set up around the timberline of the Everfree Forest, used to house the loaned troopers and provide a base to operate out of. There had to be at least fifty Royal Guards present, including his team of seven.         The squad of bat ponies was easy to pick out from the rest of the Guard. Their purple armor stood out amongst the sea of golden cuirasses and helmets, and their dark fur was a stark contrast from the uniform white of the others. The Guard really put on a show. It made Starlight smirk a little as he watched the anxious ponies rushing back into the woods while another group came running out. Half of them looked scared out of their wits. The forest must have been getting under their skin.         He walked up to the six others, seated around a folding table. Two were inspecting their weapons while the rest lay idly around. The smallest in the group was trying in vain to shield her eyes from the harsh daylight.         “Holding up all right, Eclipse?”         The mare hissed something under her breath, and then looked up from under her hooves at Starlight. “Does it look like I’m holding up all right?”         Starlight chuckled. “Don’t worry, we’ll be going into the forest soon. The sun won’t be so bad in there.”         “When are we going in?” one of the other stallions asked, constantly loading and unloading his weapon. “I’m ready to get the fuck outta here already.”         “Soon, Daybreak. Very soon. We’re just waiting for our liaison.”         Eclipse looked up again. “What? Liaison?”         “Yeah,” said Starlight, rolling his eyes. “Canterlot sent us our own personal bodyguard to keep an eye on us.”         “You’ve got to be kidding me!”         “They seriously don’t trust us?!”         “What the fuck?!”         “I know, I know. I’m not happy with it either, but let’s just deal with it, get the job done, and go home, yeah?” Starlight could sympathize with his team’s disapproval. He grabbed a cup of coffee on the table and the shaker of sugar, pouring a generous amount in before taking a long swallow. He was going to need the caffeine to deal with this mess.         The moment the lukewarm liquid hit his tongue Starlight’s mouth was assaulted with the heavy taste of salt. His muscles all tensed up at once, fighting against swallowing the vile drink. He could feel his face contort in disgust while he spat the coffee across the table.         What the hell was that?! He checked the shaker of sugar, giving it an experimental taste. He flinched back. Somepony had replaced the sugar with pure salt.         “Dammit, Dasher!”         Across the table, Midnight Dasher was snickering silently to herself, her shoulders rising and falling with the subtle laughter. The other bats began to giggle and laugh at their teammate’s prank as well. Ever the practical joker, Midnight just gave him a passive glance over her shoulder with a nonchalant flip of her indigo mane.         “Aww, don’t be sour, Starlight. It’s just a joke.”         “Yeah, funny. I’m gonna be tasting salt for a week,” he muttered, trying to brush his tongue clean. “I swear, our foalsitter is gonna just adore you.”         “Oh, I know they are!” Midnight said in a sickeningly sweet tone of voice. She folded her hooves behind her head, reclining in her seat. She closed her eyes and let the sunlight warm her skin. It felt nice to sometimes get out of the gloomy Shades and into some real weather. “Does it say who our foreign exchange member is?”         Starlight glanced down at the itinerary the troop had been given on their arrival. It detailed search shifts and switches, as well as designations for teams. “Somepony named Sharp Shot. He’s some sort of special pony in Canterlot, or something.”         Sharp Shot. The name didn’t ring any bells. Then again, Midnight only really knew one pony in Canterlot. It was almost a tease, really, being down in Ponyville and looking up to see the capital city looming high on the mountain and just knowing he was up there. Life could be so cruel sometimes…         Eclipse groaned and lifted her head up. She had every intention to begin whining again, when she saw a pony walking over towards the group. The rest of the Guard gave them a wide berth, but this one was headed straight for them. He wasn’t dressed like the rest of the Royal Guard either. Something about him set off alarms in Eclipse’s brain.         “Hey, Mid,” she said, getting a passive murmur from the filly. “Remember you were telling me about that stallion you met back in Canterlot?”         Midnight’s ears perked up, even though her eyes remained closed. “Yeah? Fleethoof? What about him?”         “Remind me again of what he looked like?”         “Really? First you tell me to shut up about it, now you want me to go on?” Midnight laughed, and pulled a photograph out of her armor. She slid it blindly across the table in the direction of Eclipse’s voice. “He’s a pegasus. Red coat, golden mane, really, really blue eyes. Toned body, kinda husky voice—but the sexy kind, not the rough angry sort of husky.”         “Sexy, huh?” a shockingly familiar male voice responded.         Midnight practically fell out of her seat, she had been taken by such surprise. Her gold eyes snapped open in an instant while she flailed about to regain her balance, her hooves swinging wildly in the air. Spinning around in place, she stared slack-jawed at Fleethoof. He had just appeared out of nowhere, but there he was, standing and giving her that lopsided grin with his golden bangs hanging slightly over his eyes.         She tried to respond—to say anything, but her tongue felt twisted into a knot and her cheeks felt like they were on fire. The other Lunar Guards were laughing at her embarrassment, but she didn’t notice it. Midnight felt very much like a deer in headlights.         “I wondered what had happened to this. I gotta say, this is really not a flattering shot of me. I don’t even look like this anymore.” Fleethoof said, picking up the picture of himself taken from his service record. “Hello again, Midnight. Didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon.”         “Sergeant Sharp Shot?” Starlight asked, looking to the pegasus pony.         He shook his head. “Captain Fleethoof. Sharp Shot’s in my unit. I’m covering for him.”         The two ponies shook hooves. Starlight was taken aback by the pony’s presence. He had expected some stuffy Canterlot bureaucrat in gold armor to come traipsing along with them through the jungle, all protocol and no leniency. The pony before him wore no armor or uniform, and his simple brown bomber jacket was a far cry from anything standard. He carried a basic set of equipment on a vest around his torso, and a gun on his hip and rifle slung over his shoulder. A captain replacing a sergeant? he thought, the unusual protocol raising flags in his head. Whoever this stallion was, he was a cut above the ordinary Royal Guard.         “Fleety!” Midnight said in joyful exclamation, all but flinging herself over the flimsy table to throw herself into a tight hug around the stallion.         Fleethoof grunted as he took the brunt of the force, barely able to keep from tumbling over during her enthusiastic greeting. Were it any other pony, he would have been floored by the pony’s excessive displays of outward affection. As it were, Midnight’s little quirks and behavior had become an endearing part of her—albeit in small doses. He chuckled and rubbed the mare’s back while her hooves tightened around his neck.         “It’s Fleethoof, not Fleety…” Fleethoof gave a choking gasp for breath. “Midnight… you’re suffocating me…”         “Midnight, get off of him! Sorry about that, sir. I’m Corporal Starlight.” The bat pony gave the captain a short salute. “These are my ponies: Midnight Dasher, Eclipse, Echo, Blackjack, Daybreak, and Nocturne.”  Each pony gave a gesture as Starlight introduced him or her. “Welcome to Ghost Team, sir.”         Fleethoof gave a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes. “You can drop the formalities, Starlight. I don’t run like the Guard, and if it’s all right with you, I’d like to keep it that way. Just call me Fleethoof, and operate however you work best. I’m just here to help.”         “I like this guy,” Eclipse stated excitedly.         Starlight gave a brisk nod. “Yes, sir. Fleethoof. Sorry. We’re about to head in and help the next search party. Don’t you want to grab some armor, or anything…?”         “I’ve got this.” Fleethoof patted the gun at his side, a wry smirk on his face. “I think I’ll be fine.”         “Are you sure? It’s pretty dangerous in there. Guards have gotten hurt in there.”         “I’ll take my chances.”         Eclipse giggled softly. “I really like this guy. Can we keep him?”         Starlight exchanged a look with Fleethoof. It was clear that the pony operated on his own terms and rules. He shrugged. There was nothing he could do.         “All right, Ghosts up! Let’s move!”         The squad of bat ponies clambered to their hooves, immediately snatching up all of their belongings. The bats were loaded for bear, carrying an assortment of weapons and tools. It almost looked like they were geared up for a fight. Fleethoof couldn’t decide if he felt under prepared, or if they were overly so.         Guess we’ll find out, he thought and followed the seven ponies as they made their way towards the group of Royal Guards entering the forest. The Everfree Forest was an imposing presence. It daunted the countryside with its size. The ponies that walked in seemed to get swallowed up by the undergrowth, as if the forest itself were alive and was trying to devour them. He could see why such a place got the reputation it had, though he was convinced the myths that accompanied it were completely unsubstantiated.         “Keep your eyes peeled, everypony,” Starlight said from the front of the group. “Let’s find those foals quickly and bring them home.” Not soon enough… The thought slipped from Fleethoof’s mind just before he took that first step into the shade of the Everfree.