Edge of the Everfree Forest
April 31, 5:19 PM
Two days. Two days (and nights) spent away from Canterlot, attempting to track an impossibly stealthy foe on an impossible trail that had faded over the span of two prior days. It was an impossible task.
Of course it had led them here.
“You know, I haven’t wanted to say anything, but I really can’t help it any longer…this is just ridiculous,” Tread spoke abruptly.
Sky merely continued to gaze into the forest. “You mean how easily we’ve been able to track Nighthawk in spite of the fact that he’s had a two-day head start on us?” Scope asked.
“Well, yeah,” Tread answered. “I mean, this is just crazy careless, especially for him. It’s like he wanted you to know where he went.”
“Because he does want me to know,” Sky said. He continued to stare into the shadowy forest like it was a long-gone foe that had suddenly returned to haunt him. “It wasn’t about getting away for him. He’s trying to set up the most climactic battle with me that he can. It’s all theatrics.”
Scope walked up beside the pegasus and eyed him warily. “Then you know where he’s leading us?”
“I’ve got my suspicions,” Sky admitted. “To be honest, I was actually expecting to come this way the whole time. Having the two of you with me just served as a confirmation.”
“Then this place is significant to you,” Tread surmised.
“Apart from these cloaks, presumably,” Scope added, holding up the fringe of his ashen garment. Sky had told him the origins of the magic properties of their handy garments, though he had withheld the specific details.
“Yes.” His eyes fell to the ground as the memories of that fateful journey through the forest came back to him. Before the Alicorn Guard, before Polarmino, before Lily…it was just Sky, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike on a trek into the Everfree Forest to confront an unknown menace haunting the woods. “I suppose you could say that my journey to the Alicorn Guard started here.”
He caught a glimpse of Tread’s wide eyes. “You mean, you encountered the Chimera here? From what I’ve heard, that thing was bad enough, but to face it in the Everfree Forest? The rumors surrounding this place have always said that it’s haunted.”
“Which is why they sent me in the first place,” Sky explained. Then, with an expectant glance at his comrades, he asked, “Shall we?”
The trio walked forward, penetrating the slightly-disturbing inherent darkness of the forest. The boughs above them were draped in moss, and the leaves were colorless and black. Sky had been here before; quite a few times, actually. The “haunted” rumors of the forest had ceased to carry any true meaning for him ever since driving out the Chimera.
But such was not the case for other ponies.
Tread appeared suddenly nervous, ears twitching back and forth on his head, with his eyes (and even his whole head) following suit. Scope looked calmer than Tread, but his typically stoic demeanor had been replaced with a look of concern. Sky didn’t feel much like smiling, given the circumstances, but seeing that even these two veterans of the Guard could be unnerved by the Everfree Forest lifted his spirits, if only a little.
Scope’s body twisted to look back and forth at his surroundings. His body would normally have been described as being “forest green” in color, but surrounded by the muted shades of the Everfree Forest, the term felt…inappropriate. “Something bothering you, Scope?” Sky asked.
“This forest…it’s not normal by any stretch of the imagination,” he replied, and Sky couldn’t help but note the anxiety in his voice.
“You said it, sir,” Tread commented. “This is just…weird.”
“How so?” Sky asked, desperate to keep the conversation going. The image of the foe that awaited him had grown in his mind, and he was reluctant to dwell on him before the time was right.
“This place is so…” Scope hesitated. “I don’t use this word willingly, but it’s really the only appropriate term I can think of.”
“What’s that?”
Scope cleared his throat. “Dead,” he said, and the word evaporated into the air almost instantaneously. “I pride myself on the use of my senses to know what’s going on around me, but in here…it’s too unanimated. It’s unnaturally silent. Nothing moves. Even with all these exotic plants, I either can’t make one scent out from another, or I can’t smell anything at all. It’s…unsettling.”
“I know what you mean. Even if Nighthawk is leaving an intentional trail for you, in here, it almost gets lost. It’s like this forest swallows everything up,” Tread surmised.
Sky arched his eyebrows in consideration. “Interesting way of putting it,” he said. “And I guess that’s one way of looking at it. But this forest exists apart from the care of ponies. I sometimes wonder if it has a will of its own, and it doesn’t give anything up unless it wants it to be known.”
Tread trembled as though a shiver had run down his spine. “You describe it like it’s a living thing.”
“Trees are alive.”
“Well, yes. But you made it sound like the entire forest is an entity capable of thought, possessing a will, and possibly desires. And if that’s not the very definition of ‘haunted,’ then I’m a griffin.”
Sky shrugged. “Dunno if I meant to insinuate all that, but I really can’t think of another way to explain it. It just feels like the forest doesn’t give anything away willingly.”
The group of ponies continued on in without another word, much to Sky’s chagrin. But despite his unwillingness to walk in utter silence, he understood that any conversation would likely revolve around the eerie feeling surrounding the Everfree, which would probably only serve to freak out his guides. And while the thought of making Scope squirm a bit was tempting, Sky knew that he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
The task before him was too sobering.
The minutes dragged on. The air was thick and heavy, almost making it difficult to breathe. Every so often, Sky would hear a gasp of alarm from one of his guides, but it would inevitably be their eyes playing tricks on them. The forest had a way of making you see more than what was actually there.
But Sky had visited this forest on a number of occasions, and he had trained himself to see beyond the illusions of the trees. Groping branches, tangling vines, and swirling mists held no terror for him. He saw them for what they were.
After walking for a time without any surprises, they came upon a mostly-open clearing. The skinny, twisted trees of the forest stopped at the edge of the clearing. In fact, the only tree within the circle was a large knotted one in the exact center. It was decorated with curious exotic pieces of art along with bottles and jars of all sorts. Sky paused for a moment to look upon the makeshift hut that had spawned so many memories.
Scope and Tread stopped on either side of the pegasus. “What is that?” Tread whispered.
“That,” Sky said softly, “is a refuge in this place.”
Scope snorted in amusement. “This is where you made your cloak, isn’t it?” Sky looked at his partner, whose face was alight with comprehension. “The magic I sense here is a lot like how your cloak feels.” He paused for a moment before adding, “It also smells the same.”
“Well, Tread?” Sky asked, ignoring the other’s comment and turning to the pony on his right. “Did Nighthawk come this way?”
A look of concern flashed across Tread’s face as Nighthawk’s name floated through the air. He had apparently noticed Sky’s discomfort when mentioning his nemesis. “Yes, he did,” he answered. “Though that seems odd. Why come so close to a habitation if he didn’t want to be seen? More theatrics?”
“Yes,” Sky muttered through clenched teeth. He slowly loosened his jaw and continued. “He knows the places and ponies that are important to me. But this is more than that: he’s making me re-visit that first trip into the Everfree. He’s recreating that journey. Myself and two companions, travelling the same path that I did a year and a half ago. He’s trying to set me up for a battle that has the same buildup, but a different outcome.”
“Ludicrous,” Scope scoffed. “Only a pony with an immense ego and a monstrous thirst for revenge would do such a thing.”
Sky snorted, feeling both amused and disgusted by the remark. “Sounds about right,” he commented, turning from the clearing and taking a few steps back into the forest.
“Wait,” Tread’s voice stopped him in his tracks. “You aren’t going to stop here?”
“There’s no reason,” Sky said, and he began to walk again. “Last time I was here, I didn’t know what I was after. But now I do. And it’s not in there.”
There was another pause. Soon, he heard the rapid hoofsteps of Tread and Scope running to catch up to him. I brought them along to lead me, but it sure feels like it’s actually the other way around.
An uncomfortable silence once again took hold of the forest. The companions continued their slow advance into the darkness of Everfree Forest, ever aware of their surroundings, but never trusting the apparent calm. Somewhere in here, a traitorous menace was waiting for them.
Or, to be accurate, waiting for me.
Slowly, they made their way through the forest. Without the light of the sun or moon, time became difficult to gauge. Hours could have passed; days even. But Sky knew that unless something was blatantly obvious in the Everfree Forest, it probably wasn’t what it seemed to be.
Silence prevailed, broken only by the light sounds of hoofsteps and the occasional request for confirmation that they were still on Nighthawk’s trail. The air somehow grew thicker. A deep sense of foreboding fell on the group as they grew aware of a distinctly menacing aura surrounding them. Tread’s motions became sudden and jerky. Scope’s eyes and ears were constantly in motion, struggling to fight through the distractions.
But Sky was unchanged. If anything, he seemed the most comfortable among the three of them. It could have been his familiarity with the forest. It could have been that his senses weren’t as sensitive as his teammates’. But most likely, it was that Sky knew what was coming.
He had faced it before.
At last, another clearing opened up before them. The trees gave way in a wide berth to a grassy shelf, which abruptly fell off into a deep ravine that circled a central plateau like a moat. A rope bridge spanned the chasm to the other side, where a ruined stone castle, covered in moss and vines, sat as a physical embodiment of the shadows of the woods.
“Well, Blitz?” Scope asked. “This seems to be the place. And you’ve got that look in your eye. You think he’s here?”
“I do,” Sky replied. “This place is significant to the both of us. I suppose it’s some form of poetic justice that brings me back here again.”
“Wait…is this the Castle of the Two Sisters?” Tread asked, suddenly realizing what he was looking at. “I knew that it was in the Everfree Forest, but I can’t say I’ve ever been here. Or that I ever really wanted to come here at all.”
“Trust me, I’m familiar with that feeling,” Sky said. “But yeah, this is the Castle.”
“So you’ve been here before, too?” Scope asked, still studying the ruins in the clearing ahead.
Sky nodded. “Yeah. My first battle was in those ruins.”
Tread looked at him in confusion, but a light dawned in Scope’s eyes. “Ah, so this is where you actually fought the Chimera?” He looked back at Sky, and the pegasus could have sworn that the look he saw in Scope’s eyes was…compassion. “In that case, I wouldn’t use the term ‘poetic justice.’”
“What would you use?” Tread asked.
He returned his gaze to the castle ahead as his eyes regained their usual emotionless expression. “I’d call it cruel irony.”
“I wouldn’t,” Sky said abruptly. “What’s cruel is what led me here in the first place, but the irony would be if he completed the task and managed to beat me.” He glowered through the trees towards his hidden foe. “No, the only thing that’s going to happen tonight is justice.”
“You sure about that?”
Sky found himself staring into the concerned (and somewhat skeptical) face of Scope. “I’m sorry?”
“Blitz, you may have tried to keep your mind a secret, but we share our thoughts more easily than that,” Scope explained. “And ever since we left Canterlot, you’ve been thinking less and less about ‘justice’ and more and more about ‘revenge.’”
Sky eyed the elder pony. He couldn’t deny the truth in his statement…but it would have been foolish to try at all. “Can you blame me?” he returned, voice steady and eyes unflinching.
But Scope surprised him with a shake of his head. “Not for having those thoughts,” he said, then added, “but I can definitely blame you for entertaining them. You should know better.”
Sky redirected his eyes onto a small patch of ground. This is why I hate arguing with Scope. He’s logical, he makes great points, and he explains them well. “Look,” Sky began, “I know in my head, Scope. But it’s not my head that’s the problem. It’s my heart that’s been hurt. And right now, revenge seems like the only thing that will ease that pain.”
The next thing he heard was the subdued voice of Tread. “Do you really think it will?”
The word “yes” was already on route to his lips before Tread could finish, but to Sky’s surprise, his mouth refused to speak. It was if the words stuck in his throat. He forced a cough and tried again, but still the word refused to come out.
“See? You can’t even bring yourself to say it,” Tread continued. “You do know better.”
“Answer me this, Blitz,” Scope added. “If you went through with your revenge, would you be able to look Lily in the eye and tell her you were proud of your actions?”
Sky winced as he heard her name. The vision of her lying unconscious in that hospital bed stoked the coals of anger in his heart, and he felt the familiar emotion of bitterness grow again in his mind. “That would depend on whether she even opens her eyes again.”
Scope made a face that indicated he was insulted by the response, but Sky didn’t care. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere. He rolled his eyes and looked back to the castle. One way or another, he was going to face down Nighthawk and give him what he deserved. Nothing was changing that.
“Alright, then how about this?” Tread offered. “Would Lily be comfortable knowing that you used her as the fuel for this little crusade of vengeance you’re on?” His voice grew louder, and as Sky finally turned to look at him, he looked about as animated as Sky had ever seen him. “When she wakes up, will she be glad to know that she was the inspiration for your little quest to settle the score with Nighthawk?”
Sky merely held Tread’s gaze and offered one word in response: “When?”
“Yes, when!” Tread shouted back. “Not ‘if’, WHEN! Don’t tell me you’ve stopped believing in her! I’m sure she still believes in you!”
Sky opened his mouth, then, after a moment of silence, found that it was closed again. Believes. Not believed. Believes.
“Sounds to me like you’ve given up on her,” Scope observed. “No wonder your thoughts are so dark. A hopeless heart is a desperate heart. And that makes it a seedbed for vengeful thoughts.”
“I’m not hopeless,” Sky said, though his own voice sounded unconvinced. “Just honest.”
“Being hopeful doesn’t mean hiding from the truth,” Scope explained. “If anything, it gives us courage in the face of trying times because we dare to believe that better times will come again.”
Sky stared in disbelief at Scope. I never thought I’d hear anything like this from him. It’s almost like he...like he speaks from experience.
“Rumors say that you managed to channel the Elements of Harmony to defeat the Chimera,” Tread said. “I don’t know if that’s true or not, but that’s irrelevant at the moment. My question is, do you think you could use them as you are right now?”
Sky didn’t even attempt to say anything. His defiance was gone. Between his two companions, he knew that he had no defense.
Tread continued. “Well, until you can honestly say that you can, I wouldn’t go in there,” he said, gesturing towards the castle. “Because the battle that awaits you is a battle against your own dark desires more than anything else.”
Sky sat perfectly still, staring again at that same patch of dirt. “I have to go in there,” he said softly. “I don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Perhaps,” Scope conceded, “but you do have a choice about how you go in there. You don’t have to go in looking for revenge.”
Sky’s staring contest with the earth continued. “Do you guys believe in me?”
“We wouldn’t be having this discussion if we didn’t,” Tread answered.
Sky rose to a standing position, but did not lift his head. “I don’t know how I’m going to go in,” he admitted. “But I have to go in there. There’s no one else for it.”
“Blitz, listen to me,” Scope said, and Sky felt a hoof on his shoulder. “Your heart is hurt, but your mind knows what the right thing to do is. You can’t let them exist separately; your mind needs to tell your heart what to do. You can’t let your emotions control you. But in the same vein, you have to use your heart. Those feelings of love and courage give you strength and purpose. They are the powerful emotions that are proof of the connection between the heart and the mind.”
Scope’s hoof withdrew, and Sky looked up into Scope’s eyes. “Nighthawk wants to create a disaster, and he wants you to be a part of that disaster. Don’t let him have the pleasure. Be at peace with yourself. If he wants to create a storm, show him that you can be the calm at its center.”
Sky’s eyes opened wide at the mention of the word ‘calm.’ He thought back to that first night in Polarmino, when Lily first used her magic to calm the storm. He thought of how she had used it to still the Chimera’s reign of terror in the windigo kingdom. He remembered how she had used it to signal him that the Elements of Harmony were ready against the Chimera. And he thought of the dozens of times she had used it simply to ease his own anxious spirit. Peace. Calm.
He drew a deep breath. “It’s time.”
“Are you sure you’re ready?” Tread asked.
“No,” he admitted, “and I don’t know that I ever will be. But I think that after listening to you guys, I’m about as ready as I can be.” He took a few steps out from the trees until he was standing in the gentle glow of moonlight. “Go back to Canterlot. Even if Nighthawk is here, I don’t trust that he doesn’t have something else in mind back there.”
“So you’re still planning on facing him alone? You know this has to be a trap,” Scope commented.
“I told you; it’s theatrics. But yes, it’s also a trap,” Sky admitted, shaking his mane.
“Then do you want our help?” Tread asked.
Sky pulled his cloak from over his head and laid it in a heap beside him. He looked down at his faithful shoulder wrap, which looked even bluer than usual. The two jeweled pendants that hung from the wrap glistened like stars in the moonlight. “You’ve already helped me. One pony I care about has already been hurt as a result of this conflict.” He turned around and looked at each of his comrades. “I refuse to risk the lives of any others that I love and care for.”
Tread still looked fairly unconvinced, but Scope nodded. “Then good luck,” he said. “We’ll be waiting for you back in Canterlot.”
Sky watched as the two signaled their departure with a pair of reluctant-looking waves, then disappeared into the consuming blackness of the forest. He turned again and faced the twofold blackness that awaited him: the shadowy Castle of the Two Sisters…and the villain that lay within.
Sky warily approached the castle, crossing the chasm by the rickety bridge that had been out of service during his first trip here. The castle did not seem menacing and evil as it had the first time he had come; instead, it seemed old and sorrowful: a witness to far too many conflicts. Sky actually felt a pang of pity for the ruined stone citadel. It had been the site of numerous battles, some ending well, some ending tragically. And here he was, unwillingly forcing it to partake in another.
Nighthawk was here. His essence was so powerful here that Sky didn’t need Scope or Tread to tell him that he had arrived. This place was full of Nighthawk.
As he reached the crumbling stone steps, he stared for a moment into the darkness of the inner chambers. No glowing red eyes stared back, much to his relief. But a strange breeze floated from within, and Sky decided to approach from another angle. His wings spread from his sides, and he gracefully flew up onto the parapets of the top of the castle.
Where he found a pair of eyes staring back at him.
A dozen brass urns suddenly blazed to life between Sky and Nighthawk, causing several ruined banners still hanging from the towers to flap wildly for a moment. The orange pegasus smiled wickedly. His eyes were black again, with that eerie purple light pulsing at their centers. “Nice trick, wouldn’t you say?”
Sky approached, fighting to maintain his composure. Just the sight of his enemy caused the hairs in his mane to rise. “I’m not interested in tricks. You’re coming back to Canterlot with me, willingly or unwillingly.”
“Oh, you’re so cute, trying to hide that thirst for revenge,” Nighthawk taunted, rising to his back legs and pressing his hooves into his cheeks. “Would you also like a bottle and your binky?”
Sky rolled his eyes. “Alright, unwillingly it is,” he said.
Nighthawk snorted in amusement. “You really think you can take me down? How’d that work out for you last time? Oh, that reminds me, how’s that lovely girl of yours doing? Bet she’s the best-looking mare in the entire ICU!”
Sky surged forward, taking a furious swipe at Nighthawk, who ascended into the air, avoiding the blow. “My, my, you are angry, aren’t you?”
Sky stared up at his former teacher. “Yes, I’m angry,” he replied. “You went and stole something precious to me.” He paused, steadying his breath. “Lily completes me. I’m the storm, and she’s the calm. She makes sure that I never get out of hoof.” His eyes suddenly blazed with magic. “But now you’ve gone and stolen her away from me. And she can’t restrain me now. So I hope you’re prepared to answer for that.”
“Hmph.” Nighthawk continued to hover in the air, looking rather disinterested. “If you really wanted to have a chance at taking me down, you should have tried coming in secretly. You know, a surprise attack. But that never was your strong suit, was it, Blitz? I could see you coming a mile away.”
“I want you to see me coming!” Sky shouted. The anger in his mind pressed against the bounds of his control. “I wanna see the fear in your eyes when you realize exactly what you’ve made me capable of!”
Overhead, a sudden boom filled the clearing. A quick glance to the skies revealed that the once starry heavens were now hidden behind a thick wall of thunderclouds. A stroke of lightning illuminated the scene below, revealing the two opponents preparing for battle. Sky’s pendants gleamed like a pair of heterochromic magical eyes. His wings glowed and every inch of his being tingled.
A second thunderous boom shook the forest as a heavy rain suddenly descended upon the castle. Sky’s mind felt about as clouded as the atmosphere above. On the one hoof, he knew that revenge was wrong and that the only right choice was to bring Nighthawk back to Canterlot for justice. But on the other hoof, he could circumvent that needlessly time-consuming process and fill the role of vigilante, killing two birds with one stone. In more ways than one.
“Well, Blitz? This is about as appropriate a setting as we could hope for,” Nighthawk called over the roar of the storm, legs spread wide, inviting an attack. “What are you waiting for?”
Sky’s eyes refocused on his opponent. “Nothing at all,” he whispered, then ripped through the driving rain.
Twilight’s Library, Ponyville
April 31, 8:50 PM
Twilight and Rarity jumped to their hooves and spun towards the door, eyes wide with alarm. Across from the table, Applejack sat between a confused Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. And in the far corner of the room, the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ laughter had fallen silent, and they were now staring with concern at the two mares in the center of the room.
“Uh, Twilight? Sumthin’ wrong?” Applejack asked.
A distant peal of thunder rolled from the east. Rarity and Twilight did not move, but as the thunder faded, every pony heard the alicorn whisper one word: “Sky…”
Spike was beside her instantly. “Sky!?” he shouted urgently. “What’s going on? Is everything alright?”
“I’m…not sure,” Twilight responded, looking concerned. “But that’s definitely his magic. And it’s strong this time. He’s not trying to hide it at all.”
“I wonder what he’s up to,” Fluttershy commented, trying to relax after being startled by Twilight and Rarity.
“From what I can tell from his magic, he’s quite angry,” Rarity said, looking more and more worried with each passing moment.
“Angry? About what?” Rainbow asked, flying over to a window and searching for the storm. “I mean, if he’s really mad, we should go help him.”
“No.”
Every head turned toward Twilight, who still looked concerned, but a bit more resolute. “Whaddya mean, ‘no’?” Applejack protested. “Sky’s our friend, an’ we should help him if he needs it.”
“Yeah!” Applebloom echoed. “Ah’m sure even Mister Sky needs help sometimes.”
“We can’t,” Twilight said. “He doesn’t want help.”
“WHAAAT?!” everypony shouted at once.
“What in tarnation is that s’posed to mean?” Applejack said.
“I have to agree with the rest of them, dear,” Rarity said to Twilight. “Sky understands that everypony needs help. Why wouldn’t he want it now?”
“Listen. Sky’s in the Everfree Forest right now, and he’s fighting something. Something important. Something strong.” Twilight sighed and shook her head. “But he needs to fight it alone. I can’t explain any more than that. It’s just that everything I can sense tells me that this is Sky’s fight, and his alone.”
“How can you tell that?” Sweetie Belle asked, walking over beside her sister. Rarity placed a leg around the filly in an apparent attempt to reassure her that everything was alright.
“I suppose that since it was me that helped give Sky his magic in the first place, it might be that I have a connection to him and can tell what he’s feeling through his magic,” Twilight explained. “But that’s just a guess.”
“What about this storm?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, just a few minutes ago, I could see the stars and moon, and now, it’s all overcast and stormy over the forest. What gives?”
“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed. “First it was all quiet and peaceful, and now it’s all CRASH! BOOM! Kcklkclklkclklcklkckl!”
“Uh…what was that last sound?” Rainbow asked, looking rather confused and skeptical.
“That’s the sound of lightning, silly!” Pinkie answered with a confident smile.
“Lightning doesn’t make sound, Pinkie,” Scootaloo replied. “Thunder makes sound.”
“Actually, thunder is the sound that lightning makes, but that’s not important.” Every eye again focused on Twilight, whose expression had changed into an anxious frown.
“Then what is important?” asked Spike, who was wringing his claws in worry.
“We can’t help Sky directly,” Twilight explained, “but do you remember what we did when he faced the Chimera that last time?”
“We…um, what did we do?” Rainbow asked, scratching her head.
“Nothin’ physical,” Applejack answered. “We all believed in Sky. We expressed our trust in him and our faith that he could win.”
“Exactly,” Twilight agreed. “And that’s what we need to do right now. I get the feeling that Sky is fighting not just someone else, but also himself, in a sense.”
“Fighting himself? What’s that mean?” Scootaloo asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, but he’s dealing with some sort of internal conflict. I couldn’t tell you what it’s about, but he needs our help for both of those things.”
“Then he’s got it!” Rainbow shouted, touching down as her friends assembled together. “He’s always got our trust!”
They stood together, side-by-side, facing the direction of the Everfree Forest, all focused on their friend. And as their thoughts all merged into one, Twilight uttered the words that they were all thinking, just as they had been spoken a year earlier.
“Your friends are with you.”