Zecora

by GJT_Productions

Into the Forest

"Finally! I was wondering if they would move out before it got too dark to see!"

"Quiet P2, they'll hear us if you keep blabbing! Is the trap ready?"

"Yes it is, P1."

"Good, we'll deploy it while they approach the seeded bed. Stay in the treetops to avoid detection. Let's go!"

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The sun was rapidly descending toward its usual resting place when the trio of Guard stallions finally moved out to the Everfree Forest. Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor, Lieutenant Stratocumulus and Guard Upper Class Meadow Song, the latter in dress uniform and the others wearing glinting armor, stepped along the path into the Everfree Forest the Element Bearers had taken to reach the Castle of the Two Sisters.

Not surprisingly, there was only one good path to take through the forest, presumed to have once been a road that lead to the now-ruined Castle of the Two Sisters. All other destinations in the Everfree Forest were reached through narrow branches off this main path, only some of which were currently marked, and Zecora's residence was off one of those as-yet unmarked branches, so Shining Armor was levitating using unicorn magic both a crude parchment map and a lit torch in attempt to find the right turn off and not get lost in the darkness. After all, unlike the experience of his sister and her new friends, Shining's target destination didn't rise out of the forest canopy like the castle ruins did.

Lying in wait at the specific turnoff was Agents of Chaos P1 and P2, ready to spring their trap in the treeline above. Their plan was two-prong, depending on the three Guard stallions being affected by the poison joke and being forced to turn back once they realized they were affected. The mission would thus be thwarted, at least temporarily, and the Agents of Chaos would have more time to implement another plan, although what that exactly was they hadn't figured out yet...

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"Poison joke dead ahead, sir!" rings out from the ground level, the cue for the Agents to get to their positions in the treetops above. Awkwardly they position a large bucket filled with the dangerous blue flowers - one they had taken great care in filling to avoid falling to the poison joke effects themselves - so that it could easily be dumped onto the stopped stallions below. They freeze in place when one of the stallions - Meadow Song - briefly looks up in their direction, but the trees provide enough cover to avoid detection.

"So this is the flower that caused my sister and her friends so much trouble?" Shining Armor observes, his caution balancing his curiousity to observe the flowers from a safe distance.

"Sir, what are we going to do? Surely we're not going to try to walk through them!" Lieutenant Stratocumulus comments.

"We need to clear them out because they are in the way to the turnoff we need to take." Shining Armor replies, taking a glance at the crude map lit by torch. While he ponders what to do, the unseen Agents above ready to dump their bucket.

"I wonder, though, how these plants ended up here. They look like they were placed instead of..." Shining speculates, his concern mimicked by the looks on the other two stallions.

"On three, dump." Agent P1 whispers to P2, who shifts to ready himself to push over the bucket filled with poison joke.

"Did you hear something, sir?" Meadow Song comments, looking around in concern. Both Shining Armor and Stratocumulus shake no in response to the comment.

"One... two..." P1 begins counting...

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"ROAR!"

The heart-stopping noise that comes from directly behind the two Agents in the treetops startles them into falling off balance, the bucket tumbling after them. The blue flowers inside the bucket shower down on the two Agents as they fall down.

"It's a trap sir!" Meadow Song shouts as the three Guard stallions scatter away from the spot they were standing, the two pegasi Agents and their bucket with its bright blue contents landing just moments later. Right after impact, another roar is heard from the tree and the two Agents take off on hoof as soon as they can get back upright, wondering how in Equestria this plan went wrong so quickly.

Shining Armor encases himself and the objects he's carrying in a shield bubble, poison joke plants being pushed away by the forcefield. He catches a glimpse of a large shadowy figure - possibly a manticore, he reported later - fly out of the tree the two Agents of Chaos had just tumbled out of.

"Sir, the plants are all over!" Stratocumulus exclaims, snapping Shining's attention back to the dilemma of his fellow stallions. Shining quickly notes that both Stratocumulus and Meadow Song are surrounded by poison joke plants that had been dumped from above, making it impossible to move safely more than a step or two.

"Hang on one second." Shining Armor replies, trying to focus on keeping his powers in control. He grits his teeth and slowly smaller forcefield bubbles encase both the other stallions.

"Will this keep the poison joke out, sir?" Stratocumulus asks as he looks around inside his small magenta-colored bubble.

"Should. Roll toward me. The bubbles will join together on contact." Shining Armor clips out in his intense concentration - the multitasking he is trying to perform is taxing on him, more from lack of focus than any apparent weakness on his part.

Stratocumulus and Meadow Song look at each other, exchange shrugs and slowly step - rolling in the forcefield bubble - toward Shining's location. Poison joke plants are squished underneath and pushed away by the glowing bubbles, and the two stallions are relieved when their respective bubbles indeed join with Shining's to form a larger sphere that encases all three stallions.

"Sorry about that - tough to focus on so many things at once." Shining comments with a relief in his voice after the joining up.

"Never mind about that, sir. We're just glad to stay unaffected. Are we going to proceed?" Meadow Song replies graciously.

"Yes, but I'm marking the location on the map. Lieutenant Crispin may want to investigate this incident later." Shining answers, using his unicorn magic to pull out a charcoal pencil from his saddlebag and making an "X" on the crude map for future reference.

"Don't try to leave the bubble for now. We'll keep moving inside it until we get to the river crossing. Understood?" Shining Armor continues to address the other two stallions, putting away the pencil he had pulled out.

"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant Stratocumulus and Upper Class Guard Meadow Song reply simultaneously, saluting as they speak.

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LATER, AT THE RIVER CROSSING...

Shining Armor held the torch up to see the crude writing on the sign better, while Stratocumulus and Meadow Song stand back looking around for any other potential threats. Just like the main road, to get to Zecora's hut they needed to cross the river that ran through the Everfree Forest.

"I'm curious how Zecora gets across this river - you'd get all wet trying to swim across." Meadow Song comments.

"Judging from the posts driven into the bank, there was a hoofbridge here, but it's fallen into the river now. Completely useless." Stratocumulus replies with a sad shake of his head.

"The map shows a bridge still here, so it might've been sabotaged by those two pegasi causing trouble around here. This sign has new writing on it." Shining Armor adds, squinting in the torchlight to try to figure out the text.

"What does the sign say, sir?" Stratocumulus asks.

"'Bridge out - please ring bell for Steven Magnet'... Who's Steven Magnet?" Shining Armor returns.

"No idea, sir. I don't think the Lieutenant knows either." Meadow Song replies, and Stratocumulus shakes his head to affirm Meadow Song's speculation.

"Well, wading would ruin everything on us, so I suppose we should hope the bell works..." Shining Armor comments again.

The bell in question seemed to be a fair sized older model (Meadow Song later said it seemed to have been used by the Ponyville Schoolhouse at one point), with some exterior rust but still appearing to be in good working order. The bell's rope began glowing with Shining Armor's magenta-colored magic and then was tugged in one direction so as to ring the bell. The action was repeated a few times, each time a medium-tone "gong" sound emanating through the forest. A few birds are disturbed by the noise, then settle back into the trees after it has died out.

There was a disappointing stillness after the birds had settled back in, and then the low burbling of the river was interrupted by waves and shadows barely visible underneath the water. Due to the relative lack of moonlight, the three Royal Guard stallions could only see the outline of the shape that rose with a dramatic splash out of the river, but could only come to one conclusion: the river's "sea serpent"!

The trio involuntarily backs away a bit as the larger creature lets out a long yawn and then mumbled speech the stallions recognize: "At this hour, who could possibly wanting to cross the river at night...?"

"It knows our language?" Meadow Song comments in surprise, nervously exchanging looks with Stratocumulus.

"They're like the dragons, smarter than usually given credit for. I knew there was one here in this river, but I didn't expect to meet him." Shining comments as the sea serpents bends down to study the Royal Guard stallions more closely.

"Odd for ponies to be wanting to cross at this hour. I hope you haven't interrupted my beauty sleep for some trivial reason." the sea serpent warns, staring down suspiciously at the three stallions on the bank.

"I am Shining Armor, Lieutenant Captain of the Canterlot Division of the E.U.P. Royal Guard. I and my subordinates here are here on official business of Princess Celestia and need passage across the river." Shining Armor calmly states, using his unicorn magic to pull out from his saddlebag a copy of his orders from Princess Celestia to visit Zecora, then holding it in the torchlight for the sea serpent to read.

Once the sea serpent has had a chance to read the orders, his attitude starts to improve, although the interrupted sleep still makes him annoyed: "I see. I'm Steven Magnet, it's been my job to help with the river crossing since the ropes of the bridge around here were cut. I'll let you cross, but make it quick. I need my beauty rest, you understand don't you?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you very much, sir." Shining Armor replies with a relieved smile as he puts the orders copy back away.

As Steven reluctantly positions himself to provide a bridge across the river, the stallions able to tell he was muttering under his breath because of the interruption, Shining gestures Stratocumulus to act as spotter while Shining himself and Meadow Song prepare to traverse the humps of Steven's improvised bridge.

"Once we get across, remind me to note down the broken bridge for the report, Meadow Song." Shining comments.

"Yes, sir." Meadow Song replies with an amused smile, prepared to cross behind the Lieutenant Captain with Stratocumulus now hovering beside the bridge to catch either of the other stallions should they slip.

Slowly and carefully, Shining jumps between the humps and then onto the far bank, Stratocumulus moving beside him the whole time. Once Shining is across, Stratocumulus resets his position back so that he can watch Meadow Song as he follows Shining's lead in jumping between the humps. Meadow Song makes it across safely, but notes that the bridge really needs to be rebuilt as soon as possible.

"I agree, Guard." Shining laughs in reply to Meadow Song's comment.

"That's everyone?" Steven asks, having repositioned himself again facing the other bank.

"Yes, sir. Thank you again, sir." Shining replies with a salute, the other two stallions quickly joining in.

"Sure, sure, now if you'll excuse me..." Steven Magnet replies with a toothy yawn before slowly slipping back into the river.

The three Royal Guard stallions watch Steven swim away, then turn and look further down the path. In the darkness of a quarter-moon night, the Everfree Forest looks even more intimidating than when Twilight Sparkle and her soon-to-be fellow Element Bearers faced the perils of the forest.

"Resume formation! Onwards!" Shining shouts, starting forward down the path. The other two stallions slip into line behind their commander, and down the path they go. Next stop: Zecora's house...

Comments

[i_am_the_jam]

Well, now the agents will be able to be spotted easily, with the effects of Poison Joke on them...

[Da Fennec]

6992402 Depends on the effects if they are minor or something no one would notice since the pair hides most of the time... Best thing for everyone would be something that freaks them out enough to seak treatment

[GJT_Productions]

6992402 You'll see what the effects are next chapter.

[Iron Comet]

For two who like to hide, the going to be pretty flashy I think soon.