//------------------------------// // Eternal Night - Unexpected Encounters // Story: The Ever Changing Moon // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// The Ever Changing Moon - Chapter 3 Eternal Night Part 6 - Unexpected Encounters What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? The question kept repeating itself in Fluttershy’s mind as she stared at the entrance to the Everfree Forest, the one she had always used whenever exploring, visiting Zecora, or just having a peaceful stroll among the befriended beasts. Her breathing was quick, ears and wings were drooped and sweat covered her face. The peace of mind had been replaced with distress and fear by the challenges she now faced. She took a quick glance at her loyal clan filled with friends and animals, each member except for Vinyl staring at her with worry. She gulped. “Come on, Flutters. There’s nothing to fear, we have your back,” Dash said encouragingly. “Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded firmly. “Ya proved yer worth to be our leader. We trust ya and will fight for what ya believe,” Applejack said with a firm stomp. “I must admit, we ended up in a very troublesome situation,” Rarity started while raising her foreleg. “Should we remain loyal to Nightmare Moon as we swore? Should we side with Princess Celestia against this unknown threat? Is facing or protecting those hunters even a good idea?” Octavia stepped forward. “I understand it must be very overwhelming, Mistress, especially after your long absence.” She cleared her throat and pointed at the cottage. “If you wish, we can remain in your home and wait for Lady Fleur to recover. She is more aware of the current situation, after all. Her knowledge will help make up for your lack of experience.” Vinyl took off her glasses and poked Octavia in the side, shooting her a disappointed glare. “By the time that powerhouse of a pureblood gets better, it’ll be all over.” She stomped. “I didn’t spy on sounds all over Ponyville to have all that intel wasted.” “I agree,” Pinkie said as she bounced toward Fluttershy, who took a few steps back in response. “It’s no good to be late for a party, much less a bunch of parties.” She grabbed Fluttershy by her shoulder, causing her to whimper. “You did lots of great stuff before your long nap, and not long after you woke up, you found a way to save Fleur’s life.” She grabbed Fluttershy’s head as their muzzles pressed against each other. “Just think about all the lives you can save and the cool stuff you can do. You can’t give up now!” She released Fluttershy’s head and ran by her, only to jump from behind Hawkeye, perching herself between Big Mac and Applejack. Fluttershy held a forehoof against her chest and closed her eyes, taking a slow calming breath. They’re right. Enemies or not, I can’t let the hunters die. If I don’t talk with Nightmare Moon, she may believe that peace between ponies and thestrals is out of reach. And even if I can’t do anything to stop the fight in Canterlot, I can still soften the blow. Her eyes snapped open as she reared up on her hind legs, her wings flared and stare determined. “I don’t know how much I can do, but I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t at least try.” “Don’t you mean we? We’re in this together,” Dash said as she flew over, now hovering in front of the pureblood. “But… I wouldn’t want to put all of you in danger,” Fluttershy said, her voice no longer filled with confidence. “Too late fer that, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a proud smile. “Ya put yer neck out for us more times than Ah care to count. We’ll do the same fer ya. Just like we Apples help each other, as a clan we’re stronger together!” “Eeyup.” The young pureblood glanced between each of her members. Each was more than eager to put their well being on the line. “What about you, Miss Octavia? You’re a musician, not an adventurer. If you wish to stay away from the upcoming dangers, I’ll understand.” “I am grateful for your concern, Mistress, but I have been standing on the sidelines for too long.” She smirked. “Besides, somepony needs to keep Vinyl from slacking off, and she would certainly keep me from harm.” “You bet,” Vinyl said as she placed her glasses back on her muzzle. “Miss Ditzy, what about you?” The half-breed thestral said cheerfully, “If you want me to talk with somepony to learn more about them, I’ll do it. If you want me to demolish something, I’m game.” She pranced in place. “I’m so happy I can be helpful.” “And what about your parents?” Fluttershy asked. “They prefer to build and repair. If danger is involved, I’m the most capable,” Ditzy said as she puffed her chest. “Just leave me with a few hunters for a minute, and they won’t have any working weapons to fight with.” Fluttershy’s wings flapped as she flew over to Dash and whispered, “Is it me, or is Ditzy more eager to fight than I remember? Did something happened while I was asleep?” “Let’s just say she started enjoying her demolishing job more than she should. She likes to destroy almost as much as she likes to help,” Dash whispered back. “Oh my,” Fluttershy said, raising forehoof up to her mouth. “But she doesn’t want to hurt anypony, does she?” Dash rolled her eyes. “Of course she doesn’t. She likes to destroy stuff, not hurt ponies.” Harry roared from his spot behind the gathered ponies. The falcon and eagle sitting on his shoulders released a loud screech of their own. Fluttershy descended and nodded. “Alright, everyone. As dangerous this journey will be, if we work together, we can overcome any challenge.” A loud cheer followed. “Vinyl Scratch, your magic and talents focus on detecting and manipulating sound waves. Will you lead us to Nightmare Moon and help us avoid the hunters and the princess’s student?” “On it,” she responded with a salute. “Harry, I need you to assist Little Seed and Sunflower in taking care of animals.” Upon hearing a sad growl, she added, “I know you want to help, but monster hunters are trained to hunt big animals. Besides, someone needs to hold down the fort. Sunflower and Little Seed are too old to defend themselves, while Stormfang and the Breeze brothers are guarding Lady Fleur.” Harry nodded before turning around and walking back towards the cottage. Applejack approached Apple Bloom and said, “Ah know ya want ta help, but yer youn’ and this is too dangerous. Not ta mention ya need yer sleep.” “Awww…” Apple Bloom lowered her head. “Don’t be like that, little sis, yer not ready for such responsibility. Just take a nap in the cottage till this mess’s over. Ah’ll tell ya a story ‘bout our adventures once we’re back,” Applejack said. Apple Bloom sat and looked at her sister with forelegs curled up under her torso, eyes the size of plates, “But ya’ll will be back? Won’t ya?” “O' course we'll be back, sis." Applejack stroked her younger sister’s mane while giving a reassuring smile. “Ya know Fluttershy won’t have it any other way.” “Eeyup,” Big Mac said with a firm nod. Fluttershy smiled at their conversation. “The rest of you, please return to the cottage,” she said, before turning to her bats. “Except you my little friends. It is very dark in the forest at night, so our group could use your help to scout ahead.” With the bats flying towards the forest and her other animals heading back into the cottage, Fluttershy gestured for her friends to follow her. “Alright everypony, let’s do this!” “Vinyl,” Octavia said in annoyance. “What is it, Octy?” “When Mistress Fluttershy told you to lead the way to Nightmare Moon, she specifically instructed you to avoid both the hunters and the princess’s student. Am I correct?” “Yeah, what about it?” Octavia facehooved before peeking from behind the tree and gesturing ahead. “What do you see there?” Vinyl peeked from inside a bush, looking upon the spacious clearing. Ahead of her were at least ten unconscious and bound hunters with their shattered weapons scattered around the area. Before them were a group of unicorns and a young sleeping drake. She lit her horn, creating an invisible soundproof bubble. “Why in Celestia’s name did you lead us towards the search party organized by Twilight Sparkle herself?” “Chill, Octy. The royal pupil’s way ahead of the group. Besides, I heard a pony others refer to as Minuette complain about wounds left by bolts and blades,” Vinyl responded. “Surely our favourite pureblood medic would get angry if we avoided ponies in need of help.” Octavia sighed. “Fair enough.” She raised her foreleg, holding it against her chest. “I shall speak with them and learn more about the events which transpired here.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed at Vinyl. “You, meanwhile, should inform the Mistress.” “On it.” “Not so fast, Vinyl. There is one more thing for us to discuss.” The thestral rolled her eyes. “Vinyl, Vinyl, Vinyl… Would be nice if you called me Dj-pon3 for a change.” Octavia groaned in annoyance. “You are to inform our Mistress about what happened here: About the unconscious hunters, about Twilight going ahead of her search party and Minuette being wounded. Do not hide any details, am I understood?” “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the thestral responded with a dismissive wave of her forehoof, the aura around her horn vanished as she walked away. Octavia shook her head before stepping from behind the tree, walking casually towards the group. She looked at two unicorns sitting in front of the wounded pony, while casting some sort of spell. As she got closer, a few pairs of eyes and pointing hooves were directed at her. “Who are you?” asked a blue stallion with dark-blue mane, his two half-moons cutie mark hardly visible in the darkness of the night. The trees blocked most of the light from the moon and stars. “What are you doing here alone in this dangerous forest?” asked a white-grey mare with three violet stars as cutie mark, her mane a mix of violet and white stripes. “I am Octavia, Octavia Melody,” she introduced herself, sitting in front of the group as her attention focused upon the wounded pony. “The recent events which transpired in Ponyville are the reason behind my searching for Nightmare Moon in this forest. I do not know how much I can do to stop this conflict, yet, I could not sit in Ponyville and do nothing.” She gestured at nearby hunter and asked, “Did those armed ponies attack you?” “Not really,” Night Light said with a shake of his head. “When our daughter tried to stop this fight before it could escalate, she got into argument with the leader of those ponies.” “They called themselves monster hunters,” Twilight Velvet spoke up. “They stated that their goal was to eliminate, and I quote; ‘The leader of the purebloods known as Nightmare Moon, a cursed pureblood witch.’ My daughter tried to negotiate…” She rubbed her foreleg nervously. “Let’s just say, they weren’t happy that Princess Celestia has surrendered the town to, and I quote again, ‘that demonic spawn’.” Moon Dancer –who held Minuette’s forehoof as the wounded mare was gritting her teeth in pain– glanced at the tied prisoners. “Twilight tried to explain to them that Nightmare Moon is Princess Celestia’s sister, but their leader… Shackles was his name? Stated that they have their orders.” She took a quick breath. “He ordered a small squad to keep civilians out of harm’s way.” “Actually,” Minuette said, wincing in pain as she held her other forehoof against the closed wound in her stomach, “he thanked for information and said to keep Princess Celestia’s student out of harm’s way… and escort the troublemakers back to Ponyville so they won’t get in the way.” "There is very little difference in what we each said," Moon Dancer stated as she turned back to Octavia. “He then led the main force deeper into the forest. Twilight tried to teleport away, but those hunters were equipped with teleportation-disrupting crystals. Unable to talk this out, she tried to put those hunters to sleep with magic.” She sighed, continuing in a depressed tone, “They were equipped against such a spell, resulting in a fight.” She pointed at the sleeping drake, who was curled up like a napping cat, perched on a small bed of leaves. "Her loyal assistant, Spike, ended up getting hit with a spell in crossfire, resulting in his deep nap. We decided not to wake him up so he wouldn't rush into danger." Octavia nodded. “Should I assume you tried to help Twilight Sparkle break through?” “Correct,” Night Light said before once again focusing his magic upon Minuette’s wounds. “Those hunters were heavily equipped and well trained, but in terms of raw power, our family is the most powerful in Equestria. With the help of a few barriers, levitation and a lightning spell, we managed to knock them all out.” Moon Dancer said with a hint of guilt in her voice, her ears drooped and head lowered “Minuette and I, we tried to assist, but we were too weak. I didn’t know any defensive spells and Minuette protected me.” “H-hey… no biggie.” Minuette stood up and examined her healed wounds. “Nice job with patching my wounds, Velvet and Light. You got some talent there.” “Thank you, young one. I knew learning basic healing spells for first aid wouldn’t be a waste of time,” Velvet said before her ears drooped. “Though, I had hoped I would never need to use them.” “We’re glad we could be of assistance, especially for Twilight’s school friends. However, I would suggest a visit to the local hospital,” Night Light spoke up as he pointed at the visible cuts and bolt-marks. “We may be powerful, but my wife and I, we’re nowhere as knowledgeable as our daughter. It’ll be best if you got a professional's help.” “Awww… I don’t want to leave Twilight on her own, much less miss all the action!” Minuette complained, only for her wounded foreleg to bend as she whimpered. “I’m really sorry. If I weren’t so careless, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt like that,” Moon Dancer apologised as she helped support her friend's weight with her shoulder. Tears slid down blue mare’s cheeks as she embraced Moon Dancer in a hug. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t forgive myself if my friend was hurt, and I did nothing to help.” She released her friend, struggling to hide her pain as she massaged her foreleg. “Anyway, we can’t leave Twilight to face all the dangers on her own.” Octavia took a few steps forward. “Speaking of Her Highness’ student, is she really searching for Nightmare Moon on her own?” Velvet nodded. “After Minuette got hurt during the fight, she told us it’s too dangerous for us to come along. She asked us to escort Spike to safety, and Minuette to the hospital before teleporting away.” She shrugged. “We don’t even know where to find her.” Night Light stomped. “I know she doesn’t want to endanger her friends and family, and that she has certain responsibilities and knowledge as the student of the princess, but we can’t let our daughter face all those dangers on her own.” “I understand,” Octavia responded before fixing her saddlebag. I had better inform Fluttershy. She smiled apologetically. “I’m really sorry about what happened. I wish I could help, but considering the dangerous beasts and the presence of so many armed hunters, there is not much I can do.” She opened her saddlebag and picked up a first aid kit she had taken just in case Mistress Fluttershy was occupied. “I hope this equipment will prove useful. Please, take it.” “Thank you,” Moon Dancer said as she levitated the gift over. “I’ll look to my friend’s health immediately.” Octavia smiled and turned around. “I shall take my leave and return to Ponyville. I wish you all best of luck.” Her graceful steps were interrupted by something crashing through the underbrush. She stood immobile as the Mistress herself leapt over the bush, bypassing her and sliding to a stop in front of the blue unicorn. She could see her Mistress’ thestral features clearly despite the limited visibility. “I came as fast as I could! Where does it hurt?” Fluttershy asked, her breathing quick as she examined Minuette’s features. After a few confused blinks, she looked around, flinching at the sight of several unconscious and tied up hunters, some sleeping, some with visible signs of electrocution. “What… happened here?” She glanced back to the unicorns and asked, “Who are you?” “We’re Twilight’s best friends!” Minuette said cheerfully before bouncing around Fluttershy, ignoring her own barely closed wounds thanks to her rush of excitement. “You must be the pureblood Fluttershy, the one Nightmare Moon woke up with her magic after more than a year long rest. This is sooo cool.” She jumped forward, pressing her own muzzle against Fluttershy’s. “The name’s Minuette, nice to meet you.” She withdrew her head and grabbed her friend by shoulder. “And this is Moon Dancer.” “My name’s Night Light, and this is my wife, Twilight Velvet,” the stallion spoke before rubbing top of his head. “Wait a moment, you’re a pureblood who slept for over a year? You look similar to that yellow pegasus my daughter had on her picture.” “Daughter?” Fluttershy asked as her legs started to tremble. She gulped and asked, “You aren’t the parents of… the princess’ student… right?” “We are.” Fluttershy yelped before darting to a nearby tree and hiding behind it. Octavia facehooved with all of her strength, leaving a small hoof-mark on her forehead. “Vinyl, you brain-dead fool. Can’t you do anything right at least one time… just once!” “Are you sure you’ll be alright, sweetie?” Velvet cleared her throat. “I mean, Lady Fluttershy?” “I will. I can see in the dark and my powers are most potent at night.” “And what about those meanies with the weapons and stuff?” Minuette asked, her wounds no longer present thanks to Fluttershy’s quick aid. “Minuette is right. You may qualify as a powerful predator and benefit from the darkened environment, but monster hunters are trained and equipped to fight against you,” Moon Dancer pointed out, twisting her forehoof in the dirt while biting her lip. “The forest is full of your greatest enemies. By simple logic, blood-drinking creatures like you should be terrified!” Fluttershy gulped. “Oh, but I am afraid. Yet, I have a clan full of friends that will protect me, and I know this forest well.” “Not to mention Vinyl, our lazy walking noise detector,” Octavia said with a chuckle. Fluttershy looked at Octavia and nodded. “I agree, you should take them to Ponyville and update Mayor Mare about the recent events.” “What? I didn’t say any of that,” Octavia said as she took a step back. She shot her approaching musical partner an angered glare and asked, “What did you do?” Her attention now on the aura around Vinyl’s horn. “Thanks Octy, I’m sure we’ll need lots of luck on our adventure. Stay safe,” Vinyl responded. Octavia frowned and stomped. “Fine, be like that, but if I find out you were slacking off again, your music collection will meet an unfortunate end. I hope I’ve made myself crystal clear.” Vinyl’s left eye twitched, though nopony could see it thanks to her glasses. Night Light spoke up, “Once you find our daughter, please, keep her safe. I fear she’ll put herself in great danger for the good of everypony.” “I’ll… try,” Fluttershy responded hesitantly, failing to hide her lack of self-confidence. “Are you certain we can’t accompany you?” Twilight Velvet asked. “We can defend ourselves just fine.” “Oh, I don’t doubt it, but if those hunters see you in company of a pureblood, they will view you as traitors.” “It’s a small price to pay for helping our daughter,” Velvet said. “Besides, we already pledged our loyalty to Nightmare Moon, as ordered by Princess Celestia.” Night Light pointed at Fluttershy and smiled. “I doubt accompanying you will make much of a difference.” “And what about… ummm…” Fluttershy glanced questioningly at the other unicorns. “Minuette.” “Moon Dancer.” She nodded. “Who’ll escort Minuette and Dancer safely back to Ponyville? What if they are attacked?” “Hey, we can take care of ourselves!” Minuette said with fire in her eyes. “That’s debatable,” Moon Dancer commented. “You have a good point, but we still wish to help,” Night Light spoke up. “Is there anything we can do?” Velvet asked. Fluttershy rubbed her chin, now thinking deeply. After a moment, she looked to the side and rubbed her foreleg nervously. “There is, yet, I doubt you’ll be interested.” She yelped as she was levitated over by Velvet who looked her deeply in the eyes. “If it will help our daughter, anything!” Fluttershy squeaked out, “A tiny bit... of your b-blood. Pleasedon’thurtme.” “I'm sorry, dear, I got carried away," Velvet apologised and lowered Fluttershy to the ground. She glanced at her companions and asked, “Why blood, though?” Everypony except Moon Dancer shrugged. “She most likely needs it to enhance her powers,” Moon Dancer spoke. “I’ve read some vampony novels, not sure how much of it is accurate.” Fluttershy nodded. “It would certainly help me in case of danger and to heal wounds.” She smiled. “I could also transfuse it to your daughter, should she sustain heavy injury. Hunter’s bolts are umm…” she tapped her forehooves together and smiled awkwardly, “sharp… after all.“ “Will do, do you have a bottle or something to store it in?” Night Light asked. Fluttershy opened her saddlebags in her search, quickly picking up a half empty bottle of water. She promptly used it to water the grass next to her foreleg. “Not the cleanest container for blood, but my magic will keep it fresh.” Velvet nodded as she levitated over the bottle, only to cast some sort of spell at her and her husband’s foreleg. The bottle filled halfway with red liquid. Fluttershy took a step back and gasped. “There’s a unicorn spell for that, too?” Night Light grinned. “We’ll take it as complement.” Seeing his wife sway unsteadily, he supported her with his side, rubbing his head as his own dizziness hit. “Thank you, I promise I’ll put it to good use.” Fluttershy turned around and walked towards the nearby passage, gesturing for Vinyl to follow. “Are you feeling okay there, boss?” Vinyl asked as she walked beside Fluttershy towards the rest of the clan. “Y-yes, just a little shaken,” she responded as her legs trembled with every step. “I drank some of the blood they gave me, and I was overwhelmed with powerful magic.” She took a slow breath. “It replaced what Pinkie drained from me earlier.” “Nah, it’s not just the blood. You’re sweating bullets and I can hear your heartbeat even without using my talent.” “'Consarnit, Fluttershy, where did ya run off to all of the sudden?” Applejack asked as she galloped ahead of the group, Dash joining a moment later. “I bet DJ has something to do with it,” Dash said as she hovered over the musician. Vinyl fixed her bowtie and suit on her neck. “It’s agent DJ Pon-003 to you. Also, congrats, you won the bet. I simply sent info that somepony is hurt, Fluttershy’s ears only. She reacts surprisingly fast to that stuff.” Fluttershy sighed. “Turns out Twilight’s parents got it mostly covered. Luckily, they didn’t know about the involvement of purebloods in the ongoing invasion, or they wouldn’t have reacted so kindly to my presence.” “Yeah, luckily,” Dash said sharply as she lightly punched Vinyl in the side. “Chill, Dash, she would’ve talked it out like the pro she is,” Vinyl said as she patted Fluttershy on the back. As the rest of the group was approaching, Vinyl heard a chattering sound punctuated by rapid breathing. “No need to tremble in fear, you got this, boss,” she encouraged. “Tremble in fear?” Rarity asked. Upon not receiving any response as Fluttershy rubbed her cape nervously, she glanced at Ditzy. The grey half-breed thestral approached and placed her wing on Fluttershy’s back. “Now, now, you don’t need to be afraid. The Everfree Forest may be filled with hunters led by your arch-enemy, but you’re not their target. We can avoid them.” Dash rolled her eyes. “Where’s Octavia by the way? Don’t tell me you ditched her?” Vinyl shook her head. “Nah, she just had other plans. She escorted the search party back to Ponyville and gave Mayor Mare an update.” The pegasus narrowed her eyes and said, “I dunno about that. Sounds kinda fishy to me?” Vinyl smirked as her horn lit, her gaze now on Pinkie, whose ear twitched. Without any warning, Pinkie jumped in between Fluttershy and Ditzy and grabbed them both in a warm embrace. “And you have friends who will protect you, so cheer up!” “They aren’t the ones I’m afraid off,” Fluttershy said, not bothering to resist Pinkie’s hug. “Except the princess and Moon Shadow, the one I fear the most is Twilight, but I swore to keep her safe.” “Twilight?!” Dash shouted and spread her forelegs. “I know you said how she’s the student of the princess and stuff, but how can you fear her more than the ponies who killed your parents?” She put forehooves on her mouth, seeing her friend’s drooping ears and fading smile. “S-sorry.” Fluttershy took a deep breath. “I know it may be hard to comprehend, but that’s just how I feel.” She looked at Vinyl. “Lead us to Twilight and avoid hostile patrols, if it isn’t too much trouble.” The musician nodded and walked ahead as Fluttershy followed with her friends by her side. “Please, enlighten us, Mistress,” Rarity said, matching her steps with Fluttershy’s. Seeing curious and worried expressions on her friends faces, Fluttershy spoke, “Shackles views me as an investment for his son. I doubt he’ll try to kill me when he has a more profitable target in sight.” She pointed at the musician. “We can avoid small patrols or overpower them if necessary, and I can use the forest and darkness if they chase us. Veil of Darkness is also an option, though I would leave it as last resort. I need to conserve my magic.” “And what can one unicorn do that trained hunters can’t?” Applejack asked with a frown. “Don’t get me wron’, Ah know there are many bad apples in the guild Ah’m part of, and Ah don’t like how we put all thestrals in one basket.” She pointed at herself and narrowed her eyes. “Yet, Ah ain’t fan of bein’ insignificant. Not one bit. What’s Twilight have that we don’t?” “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, it is just that…” Fluttershy paused and bit her lip, her ears drooped again. “My parents always told me to avoid the princess because of her power and fear of our kind. Yet, besides alicorns, in rare occurrences an earth pony, pegasus or a unicorn can be born with incredible potential. Just thinking about how the powerful princess could train such a talented pony to fight against my kind is sending a chill through my bones. I wish I could at least know what to expect." She stopped and held a forehoof against her chest. “I’m no fighter, and even if I was, I wouldn’t stand a chance.” She started biting her own hooves. “What if she can bring flames from the sky to burn half of the forest?” Her breathing became faster and her eyes dilated. “What if she was trained to become a battlemage leading an army, or an archmage and equipped with powerful artifacts.” She grabbed her tail and stroked it. “What if she wants to kill me!?” Pinkie yelped in surprise as she was grabbed by Fluttershy and hugged. “And if she would hurt you all to get to me, I would never forgive myself for that.” “There, there,” Pinkie said while resisting the urge to cry, her eyes watering. She slid her forehooves from the embrace and patted Fluttershy’s back. “Please, don’t be sad, be happy. Twilight didn’t seem to be a pony who would do things like that. Not to mention she’s friends with that pink alicorn empress, Cadence was it? When I asked her why Twilight won’t join the party, Cadence said that Twilight prefers books and studying to social interactions, but she’s very kind at heart.” She smiled widely. “What I mean is, how can a kind bookworm be as scary and dangerous as you say.” Fluttershy gulped and released Pinkie, resuming her walk as Vinyl was already far ahead of her. “I hope you’re right,” She said in squeaky voice. “I hope...” Applejack slowed down to let Fluttershy catch up with her. “If yer afraid of her so much sugarcube, why do ya want to find her in the first place?” “Because I promised her parents,” the pureblood answered. “Why?” Applejack asked, one eyebrow raised. “Because they begged and pleaded for me to.” She took a quick breath. “How could I say no to worried parents who want their daughter to be safe? I just couldn’t.” “If that’s the case, why ya didn’t take them with ya? Surely they would help calm her down if Twilight decides to attack us.” “B-because…” Fluttershy gulped. “If Twilight convinced her parents to help her… we wouldn’t stand a chance. Even if Velvet and Night Light weren’t trained for combat, their raw power surpasses mine twice over. Not to mention that they could possess superior theoretical knowledge about magic. How do you think they beat all those hunters?” Applejack lowered her head and sighed. “Mah head hurts.” “Hey, boss,” Vinyl called as she stopped and pointed at the nearby line of trees. “Do you remember how you said to avoid enemy patrols and stuff?” “Oh, please, no,” Dash said before biting her lip. Fluttershy’s ears twitched as she picked up several noises from all around her. Rarity’s ears did the same a moment later. Vinyl added, “I hope you don't get mad, but I kind of lead us… to their leader.” Dash’s face turned red as she facehooved. She grit her teeth and turned to Vinyl as their muzzles collided. “Why in Celestia’s name would you do that!?!” “I had my reasons,” the musician said, shrugging. “Dj. pon-3. If we get out of this, I’ll personally introduce you to a thundercloud!” Dash shouted. Fluttershy stood still as if turned to stone while her clan formed a protective circle. Their attention now focused on the armed ponies walking from behind trees, surrounding them from both sides. “Sir, we have an unknown search party,” one of the hunters said as he armed his crossbow and aimed at the group. “Again? What’s wrong with ponies these days,” Shackles asked as he walked into Fluttershy’s view, wiping a few leaves and small branches that were stuck in his officer’s armor. His eyes became wide before he laughed. “Well, well, well, look who just walked out of her grave.” “Y-you…” Fluttershy said before gathering her courage as she took a defensive stance, her wings spread and eyes narrowed. Several hunters aimed their crossbows at Fluttershy upon noticing her bat-like wings coming from under the cape, as well as the fangs on her mouth. The pureblood struggled to maintain her fearless mask, which wasn’t very convincing. Shackles spoke up, “Now I understand what that old pureblood tried to do.” He approached and asked, “What’s up with you purebloods and faking deaths? You sure seem to abuse this method a lot.” “What’s wrong, brother?” Chain asked as he caught up, alongside Maud and Limestone Pie who were armed with crossbows and bracelets with silver blades, each twice the size of the ones used by other hunters. He focused on Fluttershy. “Is she the daughter of those we… You know…” “One and the same,” Shackles answered. Maud Pie turned her head slowly as she noticed Pinkie Pie among the crowd. “Pinkie?” she asked with a slightly less dull voice than usual. Limestone gritted her teeth and stomped, smashing a nearby tree root. “Great, just great… First monsters and a dark forest, and now this. Can this night get any worse?” Pinkie waved at her sisters. “Hey Limestone, hey Maud! What’re you doing here? Searching for large bugs in the forest?” She tilted her head to the side. “What’s your boss doing among those mean hunters, by the way?” Limestone facehoofed. *** Vinyl looked between Fluttershy and Shackles, and next glanced at the Pie sisters. The stage is set and everypony’s in place. Let’s get this party started. She fixed her glasses and grinned, now looking at her mistress. Let’s find out if you got what it takes to stop this conflict, Fluttershy. Are you the leader who can make the change, the one I have been looking for. She lowered her head and looked at the ground. Or if I should even bother to fight for unattainable peace in the first place.