• Published 11th Apr 2014
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At the Inn of the Prancing Pony - McPoodle



Celestia awakens from an enchantment to discover that Equestria has been taken from her.

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Chapter 12: Cruelty Trap

Author's Note:

Alright, just warning you in advance: This is the first chapter in this story that earns the "Teen" rating.

At the Inn of the Prancing Pony

Chapter 12: Cruelty Trap


Night was coming.

“It would be the height of insanity to enter the Everfree in darkness,” Firebelle declared as she unhitched herself from the cart. “So we’ll make camp here. I’ll take the third watch, because that’s always the hardest one.”

“I can take first watch,” said Midnight.

Hope shrugged and started helping Firebelle to make camp.

Midnight stepped to the edge of their chosen camp location, while looking around. Her horn lit up to pull her dagger closer, nervously twirling it and pondering having to actually use it.

After a short meal, Firebelle and Hope settled down around the campfire to sleep.

# # #

Midnight silently watched the stars until her namesake hour, and then woke Hope.

“It’s your turn,” she said. “Nothing amazing...do you want a dagger, or a sword? I’ve been trying each and honestly I think I’m leaning towards dagger.”

“No,” Hope said quietly, “I think I’ll depend on these hooves. I’ve quite a bit more experience with them.” She got up and slowly stretched herself to avoid cramping in the frigid air.

“Yeah, yeah...” Midnight sighed and settled into Hope’s bedroll without thinking about it, quickly falling asleep.

Celestia smiled and looked indulgently down at the two sleeping ponies.

Not quite little this time,” she murmured.

Then she set out to pace the area around the hill, trying to remain as silent as possible.

# # #

Several hours later, she woke Firebelle.

“So soon?” the pegasus asked.

Celestia merely nodded.

“What happened to your bed?” Firebelle asked.

Celestia shrugged with a smile.

“You might as well take mine,” Firebelle said.

Celestia nodded her thanks and settled in. Before she went to sleep she saw the dim silhouette of Firebelle, slowly stretching her mismatched wings. It looked like she grimaced with pain every time she worked her stunted appendage.

# # #

Midnight and Hope were awoken by the smell of pancakes being cooked on a skillet.

“You two had better dig in,” Firebelle said. “We’re probably not going to be eating this well again until we get to the Inn.”

The unicorn stood, looking at the bedroll she had woken up in, then at the still-rolled bedroll she was supposed to have used. A small blush showed itself as she got out a small wood plank and piled on a few pancakes. “Thank you, Firebelle. I look forward to the Inn more and more.” Her eyes moved to the cart as she ate, thinking over something in silence.

Hope made methodical work of her breakfast, her eyes on Firebelle.

Firebelle for her part took her time, relishing every bite, before cleaning everything up and packing their supplies back into the cart—all three ponies worked at this task.

Firebelle reached into her saddlebags and removed a letter-sized piece of gleaming white paper. Written atop it in very regular print was “Firebelle, Page 2”. The page was divided into sections by ruled lines. Each section had a header in the same style of print as the page title, but the details were filled in with somewhat jagged hoofwriting.

“What’s that?” asked Hope, coming near.

Firebelle carefully looked around, as if there could possibly be anypony anywhere near them to overhear this conversation.

Of course by this point, Celestia had very good reason to be at least a touch paranoid. She checked her internal sky map to be sure that the Summer Hexagon (and Foaltus) was below the horizon. It wasn’t perfect protection, but it would have to do. “Go on,” she prompted in a quiet voice.

“It’s my record sheet,” Firebelle replied, in a voice so low that the other two ponies had no choice but to huddle close in order to hear her. “Every pony that has a chance at reaching the Inn magically gets one. My Uncle Bernie snuck mine out to me. See? Here’s a summary of my life so far!” She seemed to derive no disparagement from the fact that it was only three sentences long.

Firebelle pointed at the third of those sentences, which read “Assisted Midnight Sparkle (q.v.) and Hope Springs (q.v.) in escaping from Prince Blueblood.” “This part wasn’t there a week ago,” she told them.

“What’s ‘q.v.’ mean?” asked Hope.

“Oh, that’s Adventurer-ese code to tell you that they have sheets of the two of you on file. At least, that’s what Uncle Bernie told me when he showed me his sheet.” She pointed to other parts of the sheet. “Here are my possessions, and here are my special abilities.”

“Special abilities? Did you write this yourself?” Midnight leaned over to try and get a look. “Does it say ‘leadership’ or something generic like that?”

“They missed that,” Firebelle said with a pout. “I’m sure it will show up any day now.”

“Well...maybe we can gamble for some food and amenities in the next town, see if this bit about ‘luck in dice games’ holds any truth to it,” Midnight scoffed.

Firebelle shrugged. “I’m just dexterous with my wingfeathers—that’s all.”

In the upper right corner of the sheet was a thin box labeled “Patron Deity”. Written in big bold letters in the box was “CELESTIA”, which gave the actual Celestia a sinking feeling in her gut. “Alright, if that’s Page 2, where’s Page 1?” Hope asked, looking for any excuse not to have to see her true name given that impossible role anymore.

“I’m not allowed to see that until I’m an adventurer,” Firebelle answered. She slid her hoof under the sheet and flipped it over...revealing Page 2 once again.

The paper was then surrounded in Midnight’s glow, as she incredulously flipped it a few times. “I don’t...why would someone make both sides the same? They are the same...” Before she could start folding it or ripping it to test its magical properties, it was snatched back.

“Wait, I think I see something,” noted Hope. “Hold it up to the sun.”

Doing so revealed that there definitely was another side that they weren’t seeing. At the very least, there was a grid with some numbers on it.

“Yeah, I think we’re done here,” Firebelle said with a dismissive sniff, as she replaced her “record sheet”, and took out a second, much larger sheet of paper, which had been folded a couple of times to make it manageable. She spread it out on a nearby rock to reveal a map of the Everfree.

“Alright, here is the path I planned out,” she told them, tracing a black line through the forest. “It’s a two day crossing—three, if any of us are injured.”

Midnight blanched. “You’ve...planned for our injuries. I don’t know if that impresses or frightens me.”

“I’ve had my whole life to plan this out. So don’t take it personally—I had no idea who I’d end up crossing the Everfree with. Now, here is the settlement of Everhold; it’s where we will be staying tonight. Prices are exorbitant, as might be expected, but the dangers of camping in the Everfree make it more than worth it.”

Celestia pointed at a dark shape located right next to the settlement on the map. “And what is this?” she asked. She knew quite well what it was, but thought it best to get that information out into the open.

“It’s the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters,” explained Firebelle. “It’s abandoned. My sources are not very clear, but for some reason no ponies crossing the forest ever use it to hide in.”

Firebelle swept her hoof over the map. “The Everfree is designed for two purposes,” she told them, a dead-serious expression upon her face. “One: for would-be adventurers to prove themselves traveling from east to west, and two: for new adventuring groups to discover their own and each other’s abilities, traveling west to east. The monsters all seem to know this. Therefore, the more difficult creatures will always attack parties traveling east. Never travel east.”

As if the artificial nature of this situation could be made any more obvious, thought Celestia to herself.

“Next, if anypony needs to use a healing potion, take one now—I’ve got three for each of us. We will be scanned for magic when we arrive at the Inn. Any pony found to have taken a healing potion after entering the Everfree will not be allowed into the Inn.”

“Oh well that’s...” Midnight mumbled, frowning.

“Finally,” Firebelle continued, ignoring the interruption, “you may have noticed this large ram’s horn tied to the cart. Blowing on it will summon a party of adventurers to rescue us. It should not need to be said that doing so will also bar us from the Inn.

“So, any questions?”

Midnight raised a hoof. “Wouldn’t those who run the Inn prefer to have those who plan ahead survive, rather than ban those who know how to keep themselves safe?”

“You mean the potions?” asked Firebelle. “Healing potions are considered to be buying your way out of a problem. They are mass-produced by a factory in Pegasopolis, after all. That specific aura is what the Inn mages are looking for. Original magic is encouraged, whether defensive, offensive, or for recovery. One party used a shield spell so strong that they walked right across the forest without having to fight anything—it drained so much of their life force that they had to sleep for four days afterwards to recover, but technically, they didn’t break the rules. I don’t suppose you’ve got a spell like that on you?”

"Well, not as such, no. Though I do have a few spells that I hope will be helpful. My shields are immobile," Midnight admitted.

“Alright,” Firebelle said with a nod. “Hope and I will do our best to make sure that you’re not interrupted when you’re casting, so try to make every spell count. Oh, and there is no way to keep yourself safe in the Everfree.”

"Ominous but I believe you. Thank you for being so prepared..." Midnight trailed off. "I have a project I want to work on before we reach the inn, will we have any rest time after the travel?"

“There is only the one inn in Hoofington,” Firebelle replied, “and as the map shows, the town runs right up to the eastern edge of the forest. If you have something to do, do it now, or tonight at Everhold. I’d advise here—Everhold is known for its high population of thieves.”

The unicorn nodded. "I'll start it now then. It can work while traveling." Leaving the other two, she went off to start filling one of the smaller barrels with liquids and stuffing in some of the aluminum foil, carefully coiled into a loose spiral. Bitter smells came out until she sealed it off with a metal band.

While she had been doing this, Hope had quietly made her way over to the edge of the Everfree, where a large rectangular area of burnt soil was delineated by low piles of stones. She walked across the area to a spot near the front, and bowed her head in reverence before returning.

"What’s that, a ceremonial campfire?" Midnight asked from the cart.

“It was the Temple of the Sacrosanct,” Celestia said with a sigh. “I thought it deserved to be remembered by somepony.” She looked up. “Well, let’s go.”

They entered the Everfree two hours after dawn.


Firebelle led the trio on a heading of west-by-southwest. Around them, the forest gradually encroached, closer and closer.

“Shouldn’t there be some sort of trail?” Hope asked.

Firebelle shook her head grimly. “The vegetation grows over it every night.”

After an hour of walking, their steps started becoming more and more difficult, as hard-packed dirt transitioned to wet squelching mud.

Firebelle began to study her map.

Midnight grimly raised her dagger, her hooves unsteady and trembling a bit.

They suddenly emerged from the trees into a small open area. The air was full of a fetid odor, as dragonflies flitted from one lily pad to the next.

Firebelle scowled. “There is not supposed to be a swamp here!” she exclaimed with a stomp of one hoof. She scowled some more at how hard it was to extract that hoof from the muck afterwards.

"Well, how deep is it, and how likely is it that there are things down there eager to eat us?" Midnight said.

“The water’s too murky to tell,” said Firebelle. “Unless we dropped a rock in, and then the thing that most certainly is down there will know that we’re here.”

“Can we go around?” asked Hope.

“Yes, and that’s what we’ll...everypony stand perfectly still.”

Two sets of eyes swiveled around to point in the same direction as Firefly’s.

Crouched at the edge of the marsh, and drinking in its foul waters, was an utterly alien creature, especially when it then reared up on its hind legs.

Its form most closely resembled that of running lizards, those creatures that sometimes comically run across bodies of water on their hind legs. This reptile was similar, only it was as tall as a Princess, and lacked the colorful neck fringe. Its small beady eyes looked utterly cold and merciless. It seemed to bounce lightly back and forth on its long legs and thick tail, as if waiting for something.

It’s perfect,” Firebelle whispered. She quietly removed the blanket from her back, exposing her wings to sustained daylight for the first time in months. Streaks of red ochre ran across them, like trails of blood. Curled in the feathers of her left wing were four light daggers. From her panniers she removed a short scimitar which she held lightly in her teeth. “Well?” she asked the others.

Hope’s mouth dropped open in shock.

Midnight's horn shimmered as her dagger rose and began to smoke slightly. "If you get it closer, this should be red hot in a bit..." she whispered.

“Liz-zard!” Firebelle piped, hopping from one hoof to another. “Do you like...meat?” Her eyes seemed to be dilated.

The creature whipped its head around and stared at the trio.

“We could go around,” Celestia said quietly. In all her long life, she had never seen a creature like this, had never heard of anything even remotely resembling it. It truly was alien, imported to Equus along with the adventurers. Her traditional advantage of knowledge, of being able to judge the nature of her adversaries, when to use words and when action, was utterly lacking, and it left her terrified.

Slowly, and with big loping steps, the giant lizard began to approach them. It flexed its clawed fingers, and they could see that its mouth was filled with needle-like teeth.

“Just a leedle closer,” Firebelle said in a sing-song voice, as she crouched down.

The lizard stopped, raised itself up to its full height, and stared at them with unblinking black eyes. It turned its head, and presented its neck to them.

Nearly a minute passed.

“Aw, to Tartarus with this!” Firebelle snarled, and launched herself straight up in the air with her powerful legs. Flapping both of her wings, she quickly descended in a chaotic-seeming corkscrew, deploying all of her daggers as she did so.

The gutted lizard dropped soundlessly to the ground. It had made no move to defend itself.

Midnight gasped, the shimmering piece of metal falling from her magic onto the ground, as her eyes went wide, pupils dilated, breath coming too quick and too shallow. She slowly backed away.

“And that, my friends, was the ‘firebelle’ in action!” the pegasus boasted as she turned around. “What?” she asked incredulously on seeing their expressions. “Not afraid of a little—?”

She never finished her sentence, because that was the moment when the other six lizards in the pack attacked them from all sides. These lizards wore short skirts around their waists, made from a repugnant dried and wrinkled fabric. All were armed with daggers and spears, although most of the spears were immediately discarded as not being necessary.

"Blood..." whispered Midnight shakily as she raised the blade again and started pouring magic into it.

Celestia turned quickly and bucked the nearest lizard into a tree.

Four of the lizards concentrated on Firebelle, having identified her as the biggest threat. The pegasus spun the scimitar in her mouth so it was held out instead of sideways, and lunged forward, catching one of the creatures in the throat. With the faint hiss of expelled breath, it collapsed, its hands clasped to its gushing wound.

The other three lizards didn’t even pause for a moment. Firebelle was stabbed in the right wing, twice, causing her to cry out. The third lizard tried the same, but its blade only glanced across her feathers.

"Nonono...not now...!" Midnight retched before sending the red hot blade into the chest of a nearby lizard, causing it to scream out and claw at its burning wound until it died. A shield came up around her to protect against the one remaining lizard who was attacking her, as she threw up on the ground.

Celestia made to buck another lizard when the shield suddenly appeared around her. She lowered her hind legs and looked around.

The lizard that had been prepared to attack Midnight and Celestia bumped against the shield and fell down—what would be a comic sight under other circumstances. It then got up to join the two lizards attacking Firebelle, who was too far away to be included in Midnight’s spell.

Firebelle tried to launch herself into the air in order to unleash her signature attack once again, but was unable to pull free from the marsh muck she had unknowingly sunk into. The two lizards on either side immediately took advantage of this mistake by pulling her down, leaping upon her body, and tearing into her flanks with their tooth-filled jaws.

Firebelle’s scream was one of the most horrifying things that Celestia had ever heard.

“No!” Midnight screamed, the shield falling as she, sweat stained and looking to be drenched in mud or something else, fired four bolts of magical energy at the remaining lizards, downing one but only injuring the other two.

“Come for me! I will not let it end like this!” The unicorn screamed as she yanked the still smoking blade from the one she killed first.

Celestia rushed forward the instant the shield fell, grabbing one of the feeding lizards in her teeth by the tail, and yanking it away. She winced at the even louder scream from Firebelle, as this action ripped at her side.

Firebelle was bleeding profusely, and too weak to fight back. She looked like she was on the verge of passing out, and one last lizard was still trying to eat her alive.

The now only warm knife flew in from the side, merely scoring a glancing blow on its neck, as Midnight’s telekinetic hold faltered. The unicorn’s eyes started to cross, a sign of her magical fatigue.

Celestia, not used to how fast her earth pony body became tired when stressed, tried for a buck and nearly struck the pegasus by mistake.

The lizard continued to eat pegasus tartare.

The knife dropped, to be succeeded by three direct blasts of magic, while Midnight came within range to be nearly in tackling distance.

The lizard’s eyes, which had glazed over in the ecstasy of gorging, returned to normal as it noticed the unicorn’s existence for seemingly the first time. Reluctantly, it let go and raced away.

“Firebelle! Can you hear me? I can’t heal you but I can numb you, are you awake?” Midnight asked in rapid-fire, eyes locked on her face and avoiding the bloody pools all around.

Firebelle’s eyes flickered slowly open. “No...potions,” she insisted. “I can still...make it...to the Inn.”

Hope began to quietly and professionally bind Firebelle’s wounds with strips from the cloth that was being used to package their food, but there wasn’t nearly enough. Her look of disapproval was evident, but no words were spoken.

“I’m so sorry...I don’t know...I thought I was...I thought I was over the blood thing I just...I’m so sorry...” Midnight started to choke up, backing away.

“It’s alright, my minions,” Firebelle said, her eyes unfocused as she looked up to the forest canopy. “I can carry you all on my back. Climb aboard, climb aboard! For don’t you know that I can fly? Here we go!”

Celestia was in the act of opening her mouth—although not quite certain what to say—when the sensation swept over her. Just like after her battle with the timberwolf, she was overtaken by god magic. She felt a bit stronger after it was gone, a bit more sure of herself. Like maybe next time she faced seven lizard beasts, she wouldn’t miss bucking the last one like she did this time.

Something similar seemed to have happened to both Midnight and Firebelle. Midnight looked utterly flummoxed by what just happened, while Firebelle seemed to pass into a brief moment of quiet and desperate sanity before returning to her blabbering. Midnight simply muttered to herself as they walked.

“The rush of the experience...”

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