The Phantom Pony of Everfree

by LightningSword

We're Even

Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle turned back toward the way they'd come as the hissing roar got louder. Coupled with the rustling of leaves and the breaking of branches, it could all only mean one thing.

Nocturne lost the fight.

The Crusaders screamed and continued running, not even sure where they were going and desperate just to get away. Behind them, the rumble in the foliage grew, and the animalistic screech grew more intense. The Lamia was gaining on them again, giving all three of the girls a horrific sense of déjà vu. It only urged their little legs to keep pumping, their little hearts to keep beating, and their minds to long for a savior.

“I can’t see!” Scootaloo yelled. “Where are we?!”

“Not back there!” Apple Bloom yelled back. “That’s all that matters!!”

“Oh, Celestia help us!!” Sweetie Belle shrieked.

“Apple Bloom?” came a familiar voice piercing through the dark of the woods, “C'mon, sugarcube, answer me! Where are you!!”

“Huh? Wow, I didn’t think she’d answer!” Sweetie Belle squealed.

“That wasn’t the Princess!” Scootaloo snapped. “Listen!”

“Hey, Scootaloo!” came another voice. “Is that you in there? Over here! You're almost home!”

All three fillies gasped and shifted their direction toward the voices as they ran. Triumphant hope now broke through the unbridled fear amongst them

“That's Applejack and Rainbow Dash!” Apple Bloom yelled. “They found us!!”

“We're saved!” Scootaloo cheered. “Rainbow Dash could totally take on that ugly snake-cat thing!”

Racing between trees and jumping over bushes, the girls ran on and on, staying ahead of the vicious din that closed in on them. They could hear the distance shrink fast, and each filly was sure she could feel the Lamia's hot breath on their back hooves.

“There they are!!”

The girls saw movement in the green ahead and ran on; two grown pony silhouettes appeared before them in the dark, slowly taking shape as an Earth pony and a Pegasus.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash climbed through the dense shrubbery and spotted them.

“Hang on, hon! You’re safe now!” Applejack ran to her sister and swept her onto her back. The older mare then bolted into a run, triple the speed of any one of the fillies. At the same time, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were swept off the ground by Rainbow Dash, and the Pegasus rocketed into the sky, blowing past the canopy.

“Fasten your seat belts, girls!” Dash called to them. “You're in for a wild ride!”

“Yeah! Way to go, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo continued to celebrate as she and Sweetie Belle soared through the air with Dash gripping them tight at her sides. Below, Applejack's longer, stronger legs pumped her and her sister over branches and logs, between decaying trunks, and toward the forest’s edge. In minutes, all three fillies and their saviors saw light, and sprang to the other side.

They were back in Ponyville.

“Look, there they are!” Spike called, and he, Rarity and Pinkie Pie ran to them. Applejack stopped and let Apple Bloom down, and Rainbow Dash landed, letting Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle touch down. Scootaloo hugged Rainbow Dash and whooped loudly, Apple Bloom clung to her sister, her eyes watering, and Sweetie Belle proceeded to kiss the grass beneath her hooves.

“Sweetie Belle!!” Rarity shrieked and ran to snatch her sister off the grass she worshiped and into an embrace. “Oh, darling, I was positively drowning in worry!! Are you hurt? Are you quite all right? Whatever's happened, it will be all right, now! You're safe!”

“I'm all right, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle replied, barely heard past Rarity's fretted smothering.

“Thanks for comin' after us, you guys,” Apple Bloom said as she hugged her sister. “We thought we were goners for a minute, there!”

“Well, we wouldn’ta had to,” Applejack cut in sternly, “if you three hadn’t gone all half-cocked inta the Everfree all by your lonesome. Just what in tarnation were ya thinkin’ goin’ in there?!”

“Come on, AJ, cut ‘em some slack!” Rainbow Dash said confidently. “If it came down to it, I would've given that Lamia thing the old one-two hoof! But it looks like you got away from it. How'd you do it?”

“Well, that's the weird part,” Scootaloo tried to explain. “Just before the Lamia started on us, Nocturne came in and—”

“Nocturne?!” Dash growled. “That Phantom jerk?! What did he do to you, kid? I swear, if he touched one hair on your mane—”

“No, it wasn't like that,” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “He . . . well, he rescu—” she, too, was interrupted, but by the sound of another break in the foliage. Bursting from the edge of the woods, crawling out by her paws, was the Lamia.

“YOU!!” Rarity snarled, shoving Sweetie Belle behind her (Spike voluntarily joined Sweetie). “You disgusting brute! Don't you ever lay a claw on my sister again!!”

“That goes for me too, you foal-snatchin' varmint!” Applejack cursed the beast. “Y'all messed with the bull, so you'd best git 'fore you take the horns!”

“I'M SORRY!!”

Everypony in attendance was dumbstruck. It was almost as though this sudden apology was heard in an alien language. The extra silence showed the group that this wasn't the only unusual thing about her—her words had come out in a lisp due to missing teeth, she was covered in bruises, both her eyes were blackened, her lips were swollen, and it seemed like one wing was broken.

“Oh, well, that's okay!” Pinkie Pie squeaked happily. “If you're really sorry, and promise never to do it again, we forgive you!”

“Pinkie!” Dash bit before turning back to the Lamia. “You're . . . sorry?”

“Yes!!” she answered desperately. “I'm so sorry! I promise, I'll never touch your fillies again! I'll swear off eating children for the rest of my natural life! I'll never eat another living thing, ever again! Just don't let him get me!!”

The bizarreness of the situation had reached its peak, until everypony realized what she was talking about. Apparently, Nocturne hadn't lost the fight, after all.

In fact, judging by the burning red eyes in the dark woods behind her, this had just been Round One.

The Lamia was suddenly jerked back, as if something in the forest behind her was yanking on her tail and pulling her back into the woods. She dug her claws into the dirt trying to resist, but could only leave long trenches behind as she was forcibly dragged back into the darkness.

“HEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEE . . . !!”

Her voice faded as the shadows and the trees obscured her. Everypony jumped at a slew of new sounds: screaming, blows landing and branches (or were they bones?) systematically breaking. In several instances, one could swear there was a hint of sobbing within the woods.

There was one final blow, a sound so brutal that everypony cringed as they not only heard it, but felt it, and they saw the Lamia burst up through the tops of the trees, screaming and careening hundreds of feet away, deeper into the forest. The ponies couldn't even see where she'd landed.

There was an awkward pause, broken only by Scootaloo, who looked up at Rainbow Dash and said, “Uhh . . . I-I still think you could've taken that thing, Rainbow Dash.” Dash simply stood, awestruck. Even she looked impressed by that.

Seconds later, the bright glow of Nocturne's red eyes returned, illuminating a small speck of the dark. He eyed them all up and down silently, as if inspecting them for some reason. His quiet observation led to Sweetie Belle slowly stepping out from behind Rarity; the latter made to step back in front of the former, but Sweetie held up a hoof, still looking into the piercing red eyes in the woods.

“Thanks again,” she addressed him tentatively. “You saved our lives in there.”

The eyes narrowed, and there was another, shorter pause before Nocturne's cold voice spoke up from the dark, making everypony jump.

“The next time you see Fluttershy, tell her that I said . . . 'We're even'.”

And with a movement that befit a puff of smoke, he vanished into the forest once again.

Spike slowly peeked out from behind Rarity, staring out into the trees for movement. “Is . . . is it gone?” he muttered with a cracking voice.

Whether he was talking about Nocturne or the Lamia was unclear.

Comments

[Necron Lord]

I have no words, Nocturne is awesome

[ConfettiColored]

Good to have this story back.

[CaioCoia]

Nocturne you are the best. Another great job Lightning.

[TheOneAJ]

Ha! Take that, you bloody haters! :fluttershya: nothing's going to stop Sword from doing the things he loves ^^ this was worth the wait

[The oracle]

No words for the awesome that is Nocturne.

[The Villain in Glasses]

Damn... don't fck with nocturne...

[Grekoy]

Awesome!!!!

[EchoWing]

Dang that was creepy awesome.

[forrest yuchnitz]

i loved that ending just drag the bitch back its like in the movies where they get dragged back screaming then you hear nothing but noises

[Randomizer77]

...

Just wow.

That. Was. Epic!

I guess it goes to show that you don't have to be an alicorn to kick ass!

[Truthseeker]

A damn shame he didn't kill the thing. If it had been murdering sapient creatures for food, it needs to die. Plain and simple.