Chapter Three: Recklessness and a Reunion
Chapter Three: Recklessness and a Reunion
“So, what do you... think we’re going to... see and do in... the forest today?”
“No idea, Snow... Maybe we’ll get... to see some... strange and magical… plants and monsters?”
Snow Flurry and Heat Wave sat on the swingset, each thrusting themselves higher with every pass. Out in the yard, their classmates had all huddled in their own separate groups, busy chatting about their own subjects. Ornate Jade and her friend, Golden Circlet, rested beneath the lone willow near the sandpit. Ambrosia and Toffee Swirl continued arguing over the queen while they watched the other five foals, engrossed with a game of tug-of-war in the nearby sandpit.
“Don’t be... ridiculous, Heat...! Next you’ll be... suggesting that we... roll around in… a batch of... poison joke! Or eat some… pink-’n’-purple… toxic mushrooms!”
Heat Wave stretched his dark orange wings, dragging his swing to a stop. “Well, we might get lucky and find some green-and-white ones? They’re supposed to be delicious!”
Snow Flurry brought his own swing to a squeaking halt. “Green-and-white? Yeah, right. Next you’ll be telling me that a Lupus Major would make a great Hearth’s Warming gift.”
“It would make a pretty good guard dog—”
“Hey! Hailfire twins!”
Snow and Heat both looked left in unison; Ambrosia had left Toffee Swirl behind to watch the ongoing tug-of-war. She approached them with a slight frown. “Either o’you colts seen Wild Seed since class?”
The twins looked at each other and shook their heads. “No, sorry,” Heat said. “He’s been keeping a low profile since recess started. Why? Didn’t he just have to, y’know, whizz?”
“I’ve got a funny feelin’ he’s nicked off somewhere again.” Ambrosia lowered her head and sighed. “I just wanna find him before he gets in a world of trouble.”
Snow chuckled. “That Wild Seed. Lives up to his name, doesn’t he?” He glanced around at the rest of the yard. “Nopony else seems to have noticed—has Missus Turner, you think?”
Ambrosia peeked her head around the twins and stared through the schoolhouse window; Cheerilee seemed engrossed in her own novel, a small stack of papers next to her.
“I don’t think she’s noticed just yet—if she had, she’d have come asking about him.” Ambrosia took another quick scout over the playground, then back to Heat and Snow. “I’m gonna have a stickybeak around for him. Could you two help me?”
“Sure thing, Ambi.” Heat nodded and dismounted from his swing. “I’ll check the toilet around the corner. Snow, you fly up and see if Wild’s around.”
Snow leapt off his own swing and buzzed his wings. Straining with the effort, he ascended above the schoolhouse roof and came to rest on top of the bell tower. He panted for a few seconds, then raised a hoof to his forehead and peered around from his vantage point.
“Ambi, you keep an eye on Missus Turner,” Heat Wave said as he turned to walk around the building. “Snow’ll be in heaps of trouble if she sees him up there.”
“Sure.”
Ambrosia scanned the schoolyard again once Heat disappeared around the corner. With a silent prayer, she sat on one of the vacated swings and began to push herself. Every few swings, she switched her focus from the foals around the sandpit, to Jade and Circlet, before completing the cycle with a glance through the window at Cheerilee.
Is it just me, or do her cheeks look a little more pink than normal—
“He’s not there, Ambi.”
Ambrosia almost fell off the swing.
“Heat! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” With a final glance up at the bell tower, she held out her legs to slow herself. She dismounted and trotted toward Heat, where she promptly gave him a swipe across the back of his head. “You coulda been one of the others.”
Heat simply rubbed the spot behind his spiky dark mane and snorted. “That would mean you weren’t doing your job properly. Some lookout, hey?”
Ambrosia rolled her eyes. “Urgh. Forget it then. So he’s not in the toilet—”
“—and he’s nowhere around Ponyville, either.”
For the second time in as many minutes, Ambrosia jumped at an unexpected voice. “I swear to—” she lowered her voice “—Celestia, you two do this on purpose.”
Snow Flurry chuckled as he descended, then tucked in his white wings. “Perhaps.” His smile vanished as he looked around at the other students. “That aside, I saw not tail or hide of that troublemaker. He’s not here, and I couldn’t see him from up there, either. Why’d you want us to look for him anyway? You got an idea where he went?”
Ambrosia dropped her head, looked all around, then waved each twin in closer to herself. “Yeah,” she whispered. “He asked me in class durin’ readin’ time if I wanted to join him on an early tour of the forest. I’m sure that’s where he went.”
Heat Wave brought a hoof to his face. “You’re kidding.”
Ambrosia shook her head. “I wish I was. But if he’s gone there alone, he’ll have more than Missus Turner’s ruler across his flank to worry about. If he’s not careful—and I know he’s not all there when it comes to safety—he might end up lost, or worse.”
She broke up the huddle. “I’m goin’ to go and find him. Hopefully I can bring him back before recess ends.”
Two pairs of wings stretched out before her. “You do that and Missus Turner’ll have you in detention ’til you’re old and grey,” Snow Flurry said, pawing at the ground. “Wild Seed’s always getting up to mischief—let him take the fall for being in such a hurry.”
“Um, I’m sorry. You must have missed that I’m worried about my cousin’s safety, not his school grades.” Ambrosia fumed and made to turn around, only to find her progress barred by a pair of orange wings. “What, Heat?”
“Don’t do it, Ambi. Missus Turner might not have noticed Wild Seed’s extended stay in the ‘little colt’s chamber,’ but she’ll sure notice if anypony else goes missing for no reason.”
“Who’s missing?”
The trio sighed as Toffee Swirl trotted toward them. “Nopony, Toffee,” Ambrosia said. She held out a leg and waved her hoof. “Go on now, just go back and watch the tug-of-war, or make a sandcastle or somethin’. We’re talkin’.”
Toffee stamped and shook her head. “Nuh-uh! I wanna know what’s so super-secret-squirrel over here.”
“Why, you nosy brat?”
Toffee poked out her tongue at Ambrosia. “Because I wanna, and, and if you don’t tell me, I’ll go and tell Missus Turner that you’re keeping secrets, and you’ll all get in trouble, since we’re not as’posed to keep secrets from each other. That’s why. Oh,” she added, “I’ll tell that Snow was on the roof as well.”
“What?” Snow Flurry spread his wings and reared onto his hind legs, his shadow covering Toffee Swirl. “You little—”
Before whatever insult could roll off of Snow’s tongue, a hoof pressed against his muzzle. “Shhh. Calm your farm, bro,” Heat Wave said. “The last thing we need is this little blabbermouth tattling on us all. Looks like we have to tell her.”
He lowered his hoof from Snow’s lips and turned to Toffee Swirl. “Look, we don’t know for sure, but we think that Wild Seed went to the Everfree Forest by himself. He’ll already be in enough trouble with Missus Turner if she finds out, so Ambrosia was going to try to find him and bring him back before recess ended.”
“But what about the other missing ponies I heard you mention?” Toffee asked. “He’s the only one missing, so who else were you...?” Her eyes widened. “Ohhh, you were all gonna run after him, huh?”
“Well, no,” Ambrosia said. “Just me, but these two were trying to—hey! Come back!”
She set off in a gallop after Toffee Swirl—surprisingly nimble for her age—as she ran to the end of the yard and jumped the boundary fence.
“I’ll find him! Don’t worry!” Toffee called out. She rounded a corner and vanished behind a neighbouring building.
Ambrosia reached the boundary and slid to a stop. She punched the fence, pivoted, and marched back to the twins. “Why’d you have to tell her?” she hissed, with a wary glance over her shoulder: Jade and Golden had not moved, while the other foals had taken to making an enormous sand monolith with two of them as moulds.
“Excuse me for trying to keep us out of trouble.” Snow Flurry stood and crossed his forelegs. “It’s not my fault that she’s just a little—”
Ambrosia let out an exasperated sigh. “You wanted to keep us out of trouble? Great job—you just made even more for us. Now we gotta go catch that silly filly and bring her and my idiot cousin back.”
Heat Wave held a hoof to the point between his eyes and closed them. “Ah… damn that Toffee Swirl… fine. Come on, let’s get after her.”
“Glad you’re seein’ things my way,” Ambrosia said. With a smirk, she ran back and also cleared the boundary fence, the two pegasi gliding in her wake. “I am gonna kill those idiots. We are so dead when Missus Turner sees we’re gone.”
The sky darkened, and rumbling rolled over the town.
“And now it’s startin’ to rain. Make that double-dead.”
* * * * *
Dark clouds floated above as a small silver unicorn looked up from her book. She stared out the compartment window; The train took approximately two hours to reach Ponyville from Canterlot, and watching the hills roll by and the sun’s gradual ascent could only hold her attention for so long before boredom latched onto the filly’s mind.
Well, that, and the irrational thought of the train running off the rails and plummeting to the ground hundreds of metres below, after rolling fifty times down the Canterhorn and tearing itself to pieces…
Don’t think about that. The train is perfectly safe. You are on the ground, and Ponyville is only a few minutes away.
The filly sighed and shook her head. She activated her horn; the travel saddlebag above her head floated out of its cage in a haze of pale green and came to rest in midair before her. One side unzipped itself, allowing her book to slide neatly into place. Maintaining the spell, she extracted a brush and a small mirror from another pocket.
With an air of one used to grooming themselves regularly, the filly deftly held the mirror before her while simultaneously running the brush through her long, wavy mane. Each stroke claimed a knotted victim, and the brush soon became a new resting place for many a peachy strand.
“Excuse me, Miss?”
The filly looked outside her compartment door—her mirror and brush still floating—at the conductor, wearing a striped red-and-silver overcoat. “The Ponyville Express will be arriving in roughly five minutes. Please ensure you have everything ready for departure.”
The filly nodded. “Thank you. I assure you, I have everything together already.”
“Very well.”
The filly watched as the stallion stepped through the compartment’s main door and headed toward the engine. With a show of rapid blinking, she reverted her attention back to her mirror and resumed brushing.
Remember, a lady can never look too good.
She glanced a final time in the mirror before tucking it back into her saddlebag. She slid the compartment window open a few centimetres, and soon enough, the strands claimed by her brush found yet another new home on Ponyville’s outskirts. After placing the brush back in with her mirror, she zipped up the saddlebag slot. Green surrounded the bags, which floated up and over her head, then came to rest upon her back.
The rumble beneath her hooves slowly lowered in pitch and volume. She wandered out into the empty carriage hallway and made her way forward while the train gradually lost speed. As Ponyville Station rolled into view, the first raindrops began to fall. Unwilling to let her freshly brushed mane come undone, she unzipped a pocket on the other side of her bag and extracted a black rod; just one small green nudge and a hidden button clicked, releasing a compact umbrella from its confines.
The doors opened with a loud whoosh as the train came to a complete halt. The filly stepped onto the platform and cast her eyes around. Other ponies followed her off the carriage, while more departed from further back. She turned to the conductor at the door and floated a single bit from inside the saddlebag onto his hoof.
“Thank you, miss,” he said with a wide smile and a bow.
The filly offered her own smile, then set off across the platform. A gentle breeze caressed her coat. She held the translucent umbrella closer to her body, rain falling upon the material with a gentle pitter-patter. She trotted slowly down the platform steps, all the while keeping her head down while ponies glared, their eyes as green as her aura.
Gosh, one would think they’d be used to it by now.
The drizzle persisted while she trotted across town. Glancing about, she took in her surroundings, all snapshotted and stored by her brilliant green eyes. Her heart fell when she passed the dwindling marketplace; far fewer vendors seemed to have stock to sell than her last visit. Her eyes roved over the closest mare—pale grey-and-pink streaks through her mane and tail—sitting at her stall, surrounded by a small assortment of potted flowers that bore the early onset of wither and mildew.
Beyond the glum flower seller, another mare stood before a wooden crate containing what looked like only a family’s worth of carrots. A fading sign sat atop the crate: Winter stock, reduced to clear. Despite the aged carrots inside retaining their vibrant orange, there was no hiding the multitude of blemishes upon their skin. The yellow mare sat beside her produce on an upturned crate, her grey-and-orange mane and tail eerily similar to the flesh of her wares. As the filly passed by, the mare’s soft humming drifted into her ears.
With a small flick of her horn, the filly lifted her umbrella a little higher, also unzipping the left side of her saddlebag. Four golden bits floated out from inside, two flying toward each mare.
“Don’t give up, Ponyville,” she muttered under her breath while both mares smiled and waved, each bearing the unexpected generosity in their hooves.
Minutes later—after passing through the market and passing bits to every pony she came across, to many a “thank you” and a “bless you”—the filly finally arrived at her destination: town hall. Her purse empty, she smiled, tucked it toward the bottom of the bag, and pulled out a bound roll of parchment. She stepped under the awning and shook off her umbrella; it collapsed upon itself, allowing her to stow it away. After zipping up her bag and clasping the floating scroll in her mouth, her aura finally vanished.
She turned away from the rain and headed inside the hall. Trestle tables and chairs were stacked up along the left wall, giving the place a rather dilapidated air. Upon a stage at the back of the hall, a single elongated table was covered in paperwork. A grey mane poked over the tallest stacks of scrolls and sheets. Two tan legs were visible beneath the table.
The filly removed the scroll from her mouth and floated it next to her face. “Mayor Mare?”
The scratching of a quill ceased at her word. A wrinkled, wizened face peered around the stack. Dark blue eyes squinted through thick lenses.
“How may I help you, young lady?”
The filly passed her scroll to the mayor and stood straight. “My name is Liberty Belle, daughter of Sweetie Belle, apprentice to Her Majesty the Queen, Twilight Sparkle,” she announced. “It is her will that, on this day, I accompany the students of Missus Cheerilee Turner on their class field trip to the Everfree Forest.”
She stood patient and still while the mayor squinted at the parchment. After she unraveled the thin string binder, a purple spark shot into the air. Both ponies’ eyes traced the spark which soon detonated into a red-tipped, six-pointed star.
“That certainly confirms your claim, Miss Belle,” Mayor Mare said. She lowered her eyes to the parchment. “Now let’s see here… ‘Purposes of research and observation’… ‘Personal favour for my student’… ‘In the interest of forging possible friendships’…”
Mayor Mare placed the parchment down and blinked twice. “Well, I am hardly going to refuse an explicit order from Queen Sparkle. Please wait here a moment, dear.” She pressed a brass bell on her desk. Mere seconds later, a brown stallion approached them and stood next to Liberty.
“Yes, Mayor Mare?”
“Please escort Miss Belle to the edge of the Everfree Forest,” Mayor Mare said. “You are to wait with her until either Cheerilee or Zecora arrive to meet her.”
“Very well, Mayor.” The stallion turned to Liberty with a smile. “Please follow me.” He walked back toward the entrance, Liberty at his side.
“Thank you, Mayor,” Liberty called over her shoulder.
“Enjoy your time in Ponyville, Miss Belle,” said Mayor Mare, resuming her paperwork as the pair departed.
Outside Town Hall, Liberty brought out her umbrella again and held it over both of them. The stallion led her east, past Sugarcube Corner and some housing, finally to a bridge that led into a winding path.
As they walked, Liberty pondered her surroundings. Housing in general seemed shabbier than her last visit: roofs were missing tiles, gutters were filled with dead leaves and general litter, windows had accumulated layers of grime, and paintwork was chipped and beginning to peel.
“Excuse me, sir?”
The stallion turned his head. “Turner, Miss Belle. Time Turner.”
“Oh. Okay then,” Liberty said. “I just wanted to ask you how things are going around town. My mother comes from Ponyville, you see, and she misses it dearly.”
“Your mother is Sweetie Mash, nee Belle, Queen Sparkle’s apprentice, correct?” When Liberty nodded, he smiled at her. “I knew her in her youth. Always a dedicated troublemaker, that filly and her friends. If she’s not told you of her exploits with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I’m sure I could entertain you for hours with the strife they got up to.”
“She has told me some stories, sure. They make her sad, though, so I do not press for more.”
Time Turner sighed. “Ponyville has fallen on hard times. You and your mother are far better off in Canterlot under Her Majesty’s eye—take it from me. As an Earth pony town first and foremost, it falls to us to feed as many ponies as we can. We’re expected to supply Manehattan, Los Pegasus and even the faraway town of Tall Tale. Unfortunately, the soil is losing its fertility, and our yields have been… insufficient.”
“That sounds terrible,” Liberty said as she bowed her head. “I cannot imagine how it feels to have so much pressure on such a small town.”
“Ponyville is not what it used to be, I’m afraid.”
“How do you mean?”
It was Time’s turn to hesitate. “It’s… rather tragic, really. I could tell you, but… you might not like what you hear.”
Liberty smiled up at the old stallion. “I am a scholar, Mister Turner. I have general knowledge of what happened to Equestria, but nopony likes to talk about it. I would very much appreciate a first-hoof recount from somepony who actually witnessed the beginning of the end.”
The corners of Time’s lips twitched, but he nodded his head. “Very well then.” He inclined his head, and Liberty trotted closer to him as they continued along the path.
“See, ponies made the best of our situation that we could. But with only a few select foals—blank-flanks, basically—able to develop their magic after the apocalypse, life became so much harder. Discounting those lucky foals, unicorns had to adapt to doing everything with their hooves, and lacked the muscular development of Earth ponies. Pegasi could no longer just fly everywhere, and we received many refugees from Cloudsdale. Our resources were stretched to the breaking point, before Queen Twilight assumed responsibility for our entire nation’s weather and oversight of food production.
“Even newborn foals were magically deficient. Try to imagine, Liberty, the unfair hopes—the demand, the expectations—we had placed on our future offspring, to restore the world and our species to our former way of life that we had taken for granted every day. When the first foals after the apocalypse were born, but showed absolutely no signs of improvement…”
Liberty reached up and touch Time Turner’s shoulder. “I am so sorry. That sounds terrible.”
“Mmmm, yes,” Time Turner said. His face fell. “That was when the riots started.”
“I see.” Liberty lowered her hoof. “I know of the riots, but again, only from a select few history books that touch on the subject. If it’s not too much to ask… could you continue?”
“Indeed. You see, without magic, and refugees everywhere clamouring for food and shelter that we simply could not supply, Ponyville… went berserk, is how I remember it. All the Earth ponies who lived here herded together and decided they didn’t need “useless” pegasi, or “weakling” unicorns. Perfectly reasonable ponies I had grown up with basically chased away any who weren’t Earth ponies, claiming that feeding them all was a massive waste of resources. Ponyville was originally an Earth pony town, and in the end, most of its residents decided that was how it needed to be again.
“Of course the unicorns and pegasi resisted, but against the naturally stronger, majority Earth pony population, their endeavours were ultimately fruitless. Many were injured. Some even died. In the end, they left for other towns. I lost a lot of friends that day, and the evicted don’t even count for all of them.
“Now, Liberty, try to imagine how it must have felt for your mother to witness all this carnage and injustice. She and her two best friends were always upset because they could never make their cutie marks appear. But in the end, that very twist of fate no doubt saved their lives, for she and her friends were still considered potentially useful for Ponyville’s restoration. As many… misgivings that you or I may have about the Queen, I believe pulling your mother out of here was the best thing she could have done for her.”
“So that’s why my mother apprentices for the Queen,” Liberty murmured. “Mother… no, both of us owe her our lives.”
“So it would seem,” Time said. He snorted. “Bah. The whole thing was utter foolishness, if you ask me. This town needs all the help it can get, and the queen can only do so much.”
The shadow of Everfree loomed ahead as they crossed the bridge in silence. A sunken mound of something that resembled a mossy boulder attracted Liberty’s attention. Fragments of wood and glass poked out from various parts of it. Nearby, a broken fence encircled a rotting chicken coop, and the area was overgrown with weeds. A small, broken bridge led over a dry riverbed and up to the dilapidated dwelling.
“Mother told me about this place,” she whispered. “She had a slumber party with her friends, and then ran into the forest after midnight chasing a chicken…”
“Such a tragedy, what befell our old animal expert, Fluttershy,” Time Turner said. “The kindest and most gentle mare you would ever meet. Of all of the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony, only Queen Sparkle remains. It was Ponyville’s darkest time.”
The decaying dwelling disappeared around a bend in the trail.
* * * * *
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Snow Flurry muttered. He, Heat Wave, and Ambrosia galloped eastward through the darkened town, rain matting their manes. “We’ll have detention for a month when we get back.”
“Quit your belly-achin’ already, Snow!” Ambrosia said, eyes forward. “We’ll find ’em, and we’ll get back before recess ends. Missus Turner won’t know we were even gone.”
“I am gonna kill them,” Heat Wave said. “Both of them. I’ll knock those thick skulls together so hard, they’ll crack like eggs.”
They quickened their pace and ascended the bridge’s low crest, a pitiful trickle of water beneath their hooves. Descending the bridge’s other side, they stepped onto a winding trail.
Ambrosia looked ahead at the Everfree’s canopy line, squinted, and slowed. “Hey, Snow, is that them?”
Snow squinted as well. “I don’t think so. Wild Seed’s a big boy, but he’s not full-grown yet. And that isn’t Toffee’s coat either…”
“Then who could—”
With a gasp, Ambrosia stopped and pushed her hooves up her cheeks. “No way! She’s here!”
“Who’s here?” Snow and Heat chorused.
“Liberty Belle, of course! It’s been way too long since her last sleepover!” Ambrosia rocketed up the path to the two, calling Liberty’s name.
The twins looked at each other, then back at her, already a yellow streak in the reduced visibility.
“Oi! Aren’t we looking for the other two?” Snow yelled.
“Let her go, Snow,” Heat said. “Besides, they look like they’re heading for the forest anyway. May as well chase her and see what’s up.” He kicked up his hooves and pursued Ambrosia down the path.
“Sure, let’s do that!” Snow said as he watched his brother give chase. “Not like we can possibly get in more trouble or anything!” He sighed as he brought a hoof to his face, while Heat and Ambrosia’s forms shrank. “Darn it, I’m coming!”
* * * * *
Liberty Belle and Time Turner approached the Everfree’s entrance, Liberty staring around at the scenery. Her horn tingled as she approached the shadows. When a small shiver ran through her body, Liberty turned to her escort.
“Mister Turner, do you feel that?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Feel what, Miss Belle?”
“I guess not, then,” Liberty said. She rubbed her horn, sending out a spurt of pale green sparks. “Perhaps it is a unicorn thing. No offense, of course.”
“None taken,” Time Turner said. He glanced over his shoulder and peered through the lightening drizzle. “Oh, it seems my wife and her class are on their way. Strange… if memory serves, their recess shouldn’t be over for another few minutes.”
Liberty dropped her hoof from her horn and turned around. “Is that… Ambrosia!” She dropped her umbrella and charged past Time Turner, who opened his mouth and held out a hoof, then closed and lowered both. She blazed up the path, squealed, and threw herself at the larger yellow filly.
“Ambi!”
“Libby!”
The fillies collided, rolled, and came to rest off the path in some foot-high grass. Both let out shrieks of laughter as they rubbed their heads.
“What’re you doin’ here, Libby?” Ambrosia rose first and offered a hoof to her panting friend. “Mama never told me you were comin’ to visit!”
Liberty accepted the hoof and felt herself yanked to her hooves. “Whoa… you’ve gotten tougher since last time, Ambi. That felt like tackling a boulder.” She closed her eyes, shook her head and steadied her hooves. “I wish I could have told you I was coming, I really do! But Mother told me it had to be a surprise. ‘Queen Twilight’s orders,’ she said.”
“You mean Queen Twilight wanted this? That is so cool! But what are you doing here? I mean here as in, ‘at the edge of the creepy forest,’ here?”
“It’s all part of the surprise!” Liberty said, offering a hoof-bump to Ambrosia, which she returned. “I’m going in with you and your class on this field trip. It’s actually an assignment from Mother: I’m supposed to take notes on the state of the Everfree Forest, its wildlife, and its effect on the town. At first it was just going to be me, but then Mother heard about Queen Twilight’s plan for you all and convinced her to let me accompany you.”
Ambrosia opened her mouth, but a series of yells drew both fillies’ attention. Snow Flurry and Heat Wave caught up from the west, and Time Turner pinched them in from the east.
“Please, Miss Belle, I would ask you to refrain from galloping off like that while under my care,” Time Turner said, a frown upon his wrinkled face. “And you three—” he waved at Snow, Heat, and Ambrosia “—why are you here early, and not with the rest of your class?”
“Uh-oh…”
“Busted…”
“I told you guys!”
Time Turner shook his head. “You know that I will have to tell your teacher about your escapades, of course?”
“It’s not our fault, Mister Turner; promise!” Ambrosia said. “We wanted to be good and wait, but my dumb cousin ran off somewhere and another filly chased him.”
“Yeah,” Heat said, nodding in agreement. “We were just trying to find them both and bring them back to school before they got in trouble!”
Time Turner raised an eyebrow. “Two others? Which two, and where do you think they went?”
“They are so cooked.“
Ambrosia shushed and held a hoof up to Snow’s mouth. “Wild Seed and Toffee Swirl, Mister Turner. Wild said something about getting a head start on us all earlier in class, and when Toffee noticed he was missing—”
“You mean when Heat told her—”
“Whatever. Point is, they ran off toward Everfree by themselves, and we were tryin’ to keep ’em outta trouble. But it looks like we found it anyway.”
Ambrosia and the twins bowed their heads. Time Turner scratched his greying chin and frowned. “I’ll take your word that you were acting with good intentions… Ambrosia, was it?” At her nod, he relaxed, though he still wore his frown. “Very well. Since it was my charge to accompany Miss Belle here, I shall watch you all until my wife arrives with the rest of your class.”
“B-but what about the others?” Snow stammered. “What if they already went inside the forest? Aren’t we gonna try and find them?”
Time Turner shook his head. “Absolutely not. You four will remain at the edge with me until—”
“Until somepony else finds them?”
Ambrosia pointed behind Time Turner. Five pairs of eyes focused on the entrance, where a brown colt and a smaller, lighter-shade filly emerged. Behind them hobbled a grey mare, wrapped in a brown cloak. A black patch covered her left eye.
“I see your friends have chosen to join us. Perhaps now they will not make such a fuss.”
Zecora’s lilting voice reached the party, who all trotted up toward the entrance to meet the others. Ambrosia glared at Wild Seed, looking sheepish with a hoof behind his head and a nervous smile. Snow Flurry and Heat Wave cast disapproving looks of their own upon Toffee Swirl, who seemed remarkably fascinated by the ground.
“Wandering my domain alone, I found these foolish two,” Zecora said. “Only fortune kept them from becoming Cragodile food.”
“Wild, ya big dummy!” Ambrosia cried. She strode over to him and smote his left cheek; every other foal cringed at the sharp crack while Wild stumbled back. “I told you not to run off. What’ya think I woulda had to tell Auntie Babsie if…” She shook her head and snorted. “And you, missy—” she rounded on Toffee Swirl “—you need to keep your nosy muzzle outta other ponies’ business! We stuck out our necks for your hides, ya know!”
“Sorry, Ambrosia.”
“Yeah, my bad, Ambi.”
“Ahem.”
Time Turner cleared his throat, drawing everypony’s attention. “Now that you have all assembled here, I should depart. I must inform your teacher, and that despite your negligence of her rules, you are all safe and sound. Zecora, are you willing to wait here and supervise these foals?”
She nodded. “To the forest entrance, I was already making my way. Cheerilee’s teaching partner, I am serving as today.”
“Thank you, Zecora.” Time Turner coughed, then cast a final gaze across the foals. “You all behave yourselves today. The Everfree is dangerous to explore unsupervised, as you two—” he glared at Wild and Toffee “—have already discovered. The last thing Zecora or Missus Turner needs is to be sending your remains home to your parents in a bodybag. Is that clear?”
A smatter of muttering and general assent answered him.
“Good. As you were.” He tapped his head and lowered it slightly to Liberty. “Have a nice day, Miss Belle. I trust you will be the most sensible of the group.”
Everypony watched Time Turner as he headed back toward Ponyville, crossed over the bridge, and disappeared from sight.
“Fillies and colts, your ears I now require,” Zecora said. All heads turned to her. “Understand that your safety is first desired. Everfree holds many secrets in its depths, some beautiful, some deadly. It will not do to explore too deep, ’til I determine that you are ready.”
When all heads were finished nodding, she continued. “Young ones, I sense tremendous magical potential in you. I advise you to be wary of using it, unless necessity demands you do.”
“What do you mean, Miss Zecora?” Ambrosia asked. “I don’t have any magic.”
Before Zecora could respond, voices floated over to them. All turned to the bridge down the path, and saw seven more foals accompanied by Cheerilee.
“There you are!”
“Uh... oh…”
Cheerilee strode right up to the truants—her other students right behind—and stopped just short of the twins. Ambrosia swallowed; Heat and Snow looked at each other. Wild Seed looked at the ground, and Toffee Swirl paced backward to hide behind Zecora.
“I have a mind to give you all detention for the rest of the year! Do you have any idea how reckless your actions were?”
“Yes, Missus Turner,” Ambrosia started, “but see—”
“I don’t care what your motivation was to leave like that. You know how dangerous the forest can be without complete adult supervision—even with supervision, it’s still not one hundred percent safe at the best of times!”
Cheerilee seethed for a short while, her mulberry coat an even darker flush than usual as she breathed heavily.
“Missus Turner… it was my fault.”
Everypony looked as Wild stepped forward in front of Ambrosia. “It was my idea to go to the forest alone,” he said, eyes averted from Cheerilee. “Mother has always warned me to stay away, but… I’ve always wanted to see what’s inside. I can’t help it—I love exploring. And since we finally had permission… I just couldn’t wait. So please, before you punish my cousin, let me take all the blame. The others—” he waved across the small group “—they just came to get me, to stop me getting in trouble. I’ll take all of their detentions myself.”
As he lowered his head, Cheerilee raised a grey eyebrow—wrinkling up her forehead—and brought a hoof to her chin. Ornate Jade and Golden Circlet sniggered behind her, while the other foals remained silent.
“Well, Wild Seed, you are still in a load of trouble,” Cheerilee said slowly. “I should really disallow you from this excursion, write a note to your mother, and give you a month’s detention.”
“Yes, Missus Turner.”
“However—” Wild Seed looked up “—you have done a very brave thing just now. And it is my last day as your teacher, so… You can have a week’s detention instead, starting from when Missus Doo takes over my post. One hundred lines of ‘I must obey school rules’ every session... And your friends are excused from punishment.”
Wild smiled as the ponies behind him whooped, cheered, and patted him on the back.
“But—” everypony froze “—let me make this undeniably, one hundred percent crystal clear: do not ever disobey your elders to such an extent again. Otherwise, you might find out just how many lines you can complete with an entire pint of ink dedicated to the cause. Does everypony understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” chorused the group.
“Very well, then.” Cheerilee turned to Zecora, who had retained a very slight smile the entire lecture. “Zecora, are you ready to begin?”
“I have been ready since sunrise, dear Cheerilee,” Zecora said. She made to continue, but was interrupted by a bout of vicious coughing. When the fit subsided, she shook her head and trained her eye on the herd. “Ah, forgive me, my foals—old age plagues me, you see. Now, before we descend into the dark, deep wood, there is something that should first be clearly understood. Come out, little Miss Belle, you have nothing no fear—ponies should know your name, and why you are here.”
All eyes focused on Liberty as she blushed, her silver cheeks stained like the horizon at sunrise. Yet when she spoke, it was with the eloquence of one accustomed to giving speeches.
“My name is Liberty Belle, everypony. I came from Canterlot to join you today, and study the forest myself. It was Queen Twilight’s idea.”
Everypony stiffened, including Cheerilee. The moment passed, and she smiled broadly.
“Of course we must respect what Her Majesty wants. If she wishes for you to join us today... then let me be the first to say, ‘Welcome to the herd,’ Liberty Belle.”
“Thank you, Missus Turner. I met your husband earlier, too. He was a very helpful stallion.”
“Uh…”
Liberty and Cheerilee looked at Ambrosia, waving a hoof in the air. “This is great, ’n’ stuff, but are we goin’ into the forest or not?”
Zecora chuckled softly, then coughed again. “I see the young ones are eager to proceed,” she said after lowering her hoof. “If everypony is ready, would you kindly follow me?”
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On gdocs I said that it's famous last words. Now I think that they may also want to get high... Though I guess it may be some kind of Chekhov's gun...
Welp, thats an element of generosity if I ever saw one.
Interesting set up so far. I hope that these foals have a few years to grow before leading a rebellion, if thats what is going to happen. Child heroes are meh, in my humble opinion.
Also, Liberty Belle's name has to be a sly jab at Tyrant Sparkle. I approve.
Princess Sparkle is best psychotic horse demigod. Lord Britishhooves ploughin that field.
4825526 I would not call her a demigod.
4825866
In this story, she pretty much is.
This story is dark.
Not so much in the splatter/gore/violence manner but rather in the irresistible, slow society collapse and the all-pervasive feeling that omnipotent Twilight, teetering on the verge of a complete breakdown, is merely 3 missed/tardy tasks away from melting down and going absolutely mental.
4826505
Thank you, SIG. I can tell you that I was definitely inspired by the works of Eakin, in particular his AU-side story to Hard Reset, called The Reign of Queen Twilight Sparkle. The mental descent he puts her through in that story is nothing short of horrifying.
Brilliant read.
Liberty Belle, while a nice jab at tyranny without being too blatant about it, is not a name that I can easily see being given to a pony with any sense of actual meaning behind it.
Harmony Belle would retain the same meter for any of Zecora's lines with her name, while having a much more subtle anti-tyranny jab since Sweetie could EASILY justify the name as being musical rather than reflective of how things used to be. Liberty seems a bit too blatant to be tolerated by Twimulet. Harmony as a name, coming from a mother who had a beautiful singing voice as a filly, would raise far fewer mental alarms.
Furthermore, the Liberty Bell is not a universal symbol of throwing off opression. It is firmly and wholly an American symbol. Something from our world that seems very out of place in the setting should be replaced with a more fitting name.
4832257
Sorry. I thought Harmony would be too cliche, and I'm an Australian, so of course there was no thought given to anything historically significant.
In fact, there's a pony called Liberty on the wikia as well.
You're not the first to speculate the name in that sense either, though I can see the train of thought there. Also, I'm bucking the fandom trend of Sweetie being a singer in later life. Queen Twilight has had far higher priorities on her mind in regards to her pupil's studies.
Patience.
Edit: plus, Libby is such a cute nickname
That's not so much bucking the fandom trend as it is preventing it from happening by dictator fiat. I was speaking in terms of something more like a wistful memory or something she wishes she was doing instead of being forced to study magic being expressed in her daughter's name.
I agree that Libby can be a cute nickname, but the full name just feels...wrong.
Good story, and the name might grow on me.
4832795 so is luna, celestia and cadence, u know deceased?
4838120 Yes or no, either way, you'll find out later.
I haven't forgotten about them, if that's what you're wondering.
Their (questionable) existence has not been ignored.
4825873 I would say that she far more powerful then that. Discord is said to be in a god like level. Tirek did not fully know ho to control his magic yet he had the sheer force of it (still not as good as controlled magic). If were going by christian way then nothing can even be at a god level if there is a limit to the power. Yet they also do not have demi gods (Lucifer can be said to be a demi god, but he does not count as one). She is in all ways a god (we also do not know if she tried to take old magic back but was not able to give it back do to her amulet. Not a thing I would put past her and not a thing she may remember. Or she could of took even more new magic in some corrupt or even some more corrupt then alicorn amulet)
4854418
Someone has a mind for speculation.
I like that.
Forging possible friendships? Is Sweetie trying to teach Liberty the same lesson Celestia tried to teach Twilight upon sending her to defeat Nightmare Moon, albeit in a less 'the world is at stake' kind of way? Doesn't seem like it, considering Liberty has clearly been to town before. And the more I look at this, the more I wonder what Sweetie Belle is really up to.
Well now, time for us to enter the creepy Everfree. Are you ever going to connect the forest to the events of Flowers, or is that to remain a permanent unknown for all time?
They're going in there to study the effects of climate change and the carbon emissions from all of Twilight's food. Is she like, fat now, or does she have a magic weight-loss spell that she can use? And yeah, she's eating up food like there's a bunch of it to go around, while her subjects are starving.
One minor nitpick with this chapter. It is stated several times that Liberty Belle had been to Ponyville before. Wouldn't she then know why there weren't as many pegasi and unicorns around in the town as earth ponies, or is this the first time that she had thought to ask? Or, had they all been driven out since the last time that she was there? Seems unlikely, since the demagicking event happened thirty years ago at this point.
Oh, and "stickybeak." I learned a new word today. I've heard that in Australia, you can just make up your own words and use them. Is that true?
5365430
Hey, Carts! Sorry I never replied for so long. But now that I'm going through and revising my chapters to be less expository and wordy, I thought I'd take the time to say that your feedback has been incredibly helpful. I've had it on hand while making my revisions and I truly appreciate it. Not that I expect you to go back and reread them, but you should know they're much more streamlined to read now. Once I finish with edits on ch3, 4, and 5, I'll be getting back into this. It also dawns on me that you never commented on chapter five. If you read it, what did you think? If you didn't, perhaps wait until I've posted edits.
You will be pleased to know that I addressed this nitpick. I also added in some universal backstory while I was at it. You can find it in my latest blog if you're curious.
Thanks again for the critique. Perhaps I could have you as a prereader for later chapters?
edit: Twilight eats a tonne because she needs all that energy to physically do everything required of her.
Also, yes, we invent gibberish words all the time. Like strewth, and bonzer.