On the way into the forest, Twilight summarized the whole incident to Applejack: about how she'd been practicing the spell when Fluttershy got in the way, how it had turned her into a bizarre tree-pony creature, how she'd somehow been able to walk in her transformed state. Spike, who was trailing along behind them at a snail's pace, chimed in occasionally to boast about his bravery in the face of danger, all of which of course was a fabrication.
"Ya know," the cowpony joked when Twilight was done telling the story, "ya might wanna think about sending a letter to the princess about all this!"
Twilight looked confused. "Why would I do that in the middle of the week? I always write my letters at 10 o'clock on Saturday mornings. Although this week it was a little later, about 1 o'clock, I believe?" She trailed off, getting lost in thought about how loosely she adhered to her mental schedule. Maybe she should pick up the slack and get her letters out at a consistent rate.
When the two ponies and one dragon entered the forest, they felt the same ominous atmosphere that Fluttershy had noticed upon arriving. They looked around, taking in the stillness of the air and the silence of the woods around them.
"Twilight?" Spike spoke up. "It's spooky in here."
She nudged her assistant aside. "We'll just go in quickly, get Fluttershy, and then go get the book from Lyra to change her back. It'll be quick, I promise."
They trotted deeper into the forest until they reach a clearing. The site looked suspicious enough without the large pits dug into the ground serving as an indication that something had taken place not too long ago.
"Did it just get a whole lot chillier in here all of a sudden?" Applejack said as Twilight bent over to inspect the mysterious patches of dirt where something large had obviously been resting and only recently moved.
"I think so," the lavender unicorn answered. "Just as an estimate, the temperature seems to have dropped from about 50 degrees Fahrenheit to 40 degrees Fahrenheit."
"So, it got 20% cooler?" Spike asked innocently.
Twilight scowled, as if what he had just said was supposed to refer to something witty and humorous that she didn't understand. This had been happening a lot to her today. She went back to studying the dirt patches.
Upon closer observation, she saw what appeared to be an intricate design of concentric circles laced around themselves. The pattern also looked very familiar. But where had she seen this before...
Then it hit her. This was the same sort of pattern Fluttershy had left behind when she'd moved from her spot in front of the library. There had been trees here before, and now they'd moved!
She shared her findings with Applejack, who looked dumbstruck. For as long as she'd lived, she'd never heard of a tree getting up and moving itself around. Then again, with unicorns you never could tell. "Bucking magic," she said in exasperation, "how does it work?"
Twilight smiled despite herself. At least she understood this reference. It was about one of her favorite musical groups, the Insane Unicorn Posse. She didn't think Applejack was into them. She made a mental note to ask her about her tastes in music later.
Then she heard something. She shushed the earth pony and perked her ears up to listen. She could barely make out the faint sound of drums being played in the distance. "Do you hear that?" she asked. "It must be Fluttershy!"
"Whoa, now, sugar cube," Applejack said before Twilight could run off. "Let's not jump to conclusions. Ain't that Zecora, playin' one of her traditional songs?"
"No, Zecora's instruments are smaller and don't make as deep or loud a noise. This is something else entirely."
Spike, being the pessimist he was, cried out, "What if it's a scary monster? Like, a hydra or a manticore or..." He gasped. The worst of his fears had just entered his thought process. Timidly he whispered, "...or a cockatrice?"
"Spike, don't be silly. Those creatures don't make such loud noises. If anything it would be an Ursa Minor, maybe even an Ursa Major!"
Spike's face contorted into one of pure shock. He turned paler than Pinkie Pie had when she used too much baking soda in her cake mix and got flour all over her. He became literally paralyzed by the intense fear and was unable to move.
Twilight sighed, picking up her stationary assistant, and deposited him into one of the pockets of her saddlebags. When she saw the strange look she was getting from Applejack, she said, "He'll come to in an hour. This happens all the time."
She turned towards the sound of the far-off drums. Chuckling at the absurdity of the situation, she said, "Now let's go find Fluttershy before she wilts!"
----
It took them at least ten minutes just to find the source of the noise. It took at least that long to comprehend what they were seeing.
The tree that was Fluttershy was perched on a throne made out of plant materials, adorned with flowers and leaves. Two torches glowed from either side of the throne, which seemed a bit ironic considering the highly flammable environment they were placed in. Fluttershy appeared to be wearing a crown of laurel leaves, and she was sitting cross-legged with a look befitting someone very powerful.
But what struck Twilight and Applejack as the most bizarre was the army of trees surrounding the throne, all kneeling over in an act of respectful admiration. They all muttered a chant that was indiscernible from the bushes from which the ponies watched, but they suspected it was something of praise. Off to the side a large tree was pounding on two timpanis, creating the booming sound they had heard. Two rather small trees were holding massive maple leaves and fanning their leader with them. The whole scene seemed both majestic and frightening at the same time.
"What're they doin' ta Fluttershy?" Applejack whispered.
Twilight shook her head. "It looks like they're... worshiping her! But that doesn't make any sense!"
"Why would they do that?"
"The hay if I know. But whatever the case, we have to decide what we're going to do now. Should we come right out and make ourselves known, or should we sneak in with disguises?"
"Well, I kinda like the idea of a disguise, but how the buck are we gonna make 'em?"
"True. Creating tree costumes would take a lot more time and effort than we can afford. But maybe, with the right spell..."
Twilight, who was concentrating on devising their modus operandi and had her back turned to the ceremony taking place, didn't notice that the drumming had stopped. She also didn't notice the orange earth pony's expression change to one of shock.
"Uh, Twi?" she urged quietly, interrupting the unicorn's train of thought.
Angry at the distraction, she snapped, "What, Applejack?"
AJ pointed her hoof towards what she was looking at. "Ah don't think we'll be needin' no disguises."
Slowly, as characters often do in suspenseful moments such as this, Twilight turned around. There, watching them from their hiding spot in the bushes, was the throng of anthropomorphic trees that had previously been hailing their new leader. Whereas before they had looked peaceful and reverent, their faces now displayed anger and irritation.
Twilight gasped. "Mother of Celestia..."
----
Queen Fluttershy, Dark Lord and Empress of All Botanical Organisms, smiled at her devote subjects as they bowed at her roots. It pleased her to see such acts of loyal servitude displayed in her honor.
Scrub Brush, the royal messenger, approached the throne hastily. "My lady," he said breathlessly as he bent over as far as his diminutive stature would allow. "I bring news from the dungeon master."
Queen Fluttershy looked at the small courier with a displeased look. "What is this news of which you speak, knave? This had better be good, or you'll get no CO2 for a month!"
Scrub gulped. Nervously he unfurled the scroll in his hand and read off, "Ahem. 'Two prisoners have been spotted just outside the throne room. It appears they were attempting to overthrow Her Royal Highness, Supreme Commander of the Forest. They have been detained and shall be put on trial immediately.'" He rolled up the scroll and gave another bow, waiting for his ruler to respond.
Fluttershy placed a branch on her chin, digesting the news. Then she grinned. "Very well. I shall reward the dungeon master greatly for his valiant servitude."
The messenger gave out a sigh of relief, thankful that he hadn't been punished this time. But he'd acted too soon, because Fluttershy soon leaned over and yelled, "And as for YOU, filthy servant! You seem to have forgotten the proper protocol. Are you not forgetting to kiss the ground in front of me to show your unwavering devotion?"
Scrub turned pale. He had forgotten the new rule the Dark Lord and Empress had made. "Don't worry, Your Omnipotence," he stammered out, "I'll get right on that--"
"It's too late for you!" The ruler of the forest snapped her fingers, an act that shouldn't have been possible with branches for arms and sticks for hands. Two bodyguards appeared from the shadows and picked up the now-flailing messenger. "Take him away!"
The bodyguards did as they were instructed. They carried Scrub, who was now screaming and bawling at the top of his voice, into the shadows from whence they emerged. Soon there was a small THUNK and the courier became silent.
Pleased, Fluttershy grinned maniacally. Then she realized how thirsty she was. "Guard!" she yelled at the nearest tree. "Fetch me my water, posthaste!" The guard obeyed and ran to complete his task for the Almighty One.
She then turned to the two workers fanning her. "FASTER!" she barked, and they proceeded to move their giant leaves as fast as physically possible so as to make their empress happy.
Fluttershy grinned as the guard returned with a glass of spring water for Her Majesty. She took a deep gulp of the cool liquid, savoring it as it passed through her whole body, restoring her leaves to their healthy pink color.
She cackled. "It's good to be queen!"
----
The next thing Twilight knew, she was chained to a wall in an underground room. Her front hooves were held high over her, supporting the full weight of her body. She must have hit her head or something, because she felt dazed and disoriented. Or perhaps that was just due to her numb wrists, which were beginning to chafe from the strain.
She turned her aching head to see Applejack in an identical position, looking just as confused. There was no sign of Spike anywhere.
"Applejack!" she whispered, for she had no idea if they were being monitored and she didn't want to create too much of a disturbance.
"Twi?" the farmer called back. "Where in Equestria are we?"
"Some kind of dungeon, I think." She looked up at the ceiling, which hung high above their heads. Water dripped down from somewhere onto the floor, creating an echoing plink that was bound to drive anypony insane.
"What're we doin' down here? We're supposed ta be rescuin' Fluttershy!"
Twilight answered, "I know! But I guess she sent her...guards or something to apprehend us."
"That still don't make any sense! Why was she on that throne? Just what in the name of Celestia did they do ta her?"
"I know just as much as you do, AJ. But we're not going to find any answers hanging up on this wall like rag dolls."
"Well, how d'ya suppose we get out of-"
She was cut short, having just noticed that Twilight was now on the ground, freed of her restraints. Applejack blinked as she stared at the unicorn, unable to understand the speed at which she had cast a Severing charm on the chains. It didn't make much of a difference anyhow, as Twilight did the same for her friend's binds. Soon they were both free.
Twilight took charge. "All right, Applejack. Let's find the exit and get the hay out of here!"
"And don't forget Spike!"
"Oh, yeah. Him too."
They explored diligently, not wanting to squander too much time in the dank cellar. There were no conspicuous exits to speak of, just their luck. Applejack considered digging a hole to escape, but Twilight advised against it, seeing as it would only take them deeper underground.
"We have to go up," she said, glancing at the dark ceiling above her head.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Applejack replied incredulously.
Just as she had the last time she'd asked that question, she was soon proven wrong. Without warning, the ground began to tremor violently. She almost lost her balance as the earth quivered under her hooves. She turned to Twilight to ask what was going on, but she should have known that it was only the unicorn's doing. One look at her brightly glowing horn was enough to tell Applejack that Twilight was using an Earthshaker spell to get them out of the dungeon.
Then they began to move. A small patch of dirt, barely big enough for the two of them to stand on, skyrocketed upwards as a huge mountain of earth emerged from below and rose towards the ceiling.
Clinging to her friend in fear of falling off the dirt mound, Applejack cried out, "Confound these unicorns! They drive me to insanity!"
Twilight was too busy controlling the mountain forming under her to listen to the orange pony's ramblings. They were close to the ceiling now, and it would require impeccable timing to pull of the next trick.
Come on, come on! she willed silently. The ceiling was right on top of their heads, inching closer, closer, closer...
"NOW!" she shouted as she jumped off the ever-rising mountain, dragging Applejack along with her. There was a huge BOOM as the momentum of the dirt pile carried it upwards through the ceiling, smashing a hole that provided a means for their escape. What's more, the sloping mound of earth provided an easy way upwards, negating the need to scale the walls (her backup plan).
Applejack stared at the massive pile of dirt. She still didn't understand exactly how it had happened, but at this point she didn't care. She was just glad to have a way to escape.
Twilight turned her attention to Applejack. "Somepony must have heard that crash. That means we haven't got much time before we're spotted."
The earth pony understood completely. "Then let's get going!"