With a rough plan set in motion, Fluttershy sat and watched Trixie carefully slide a volatile combination of two dozen silver bolts and arcane bombs into her magic hat.
By contrast, Fluttershy remained unarmed, save for the single potion which was her responsibility to administer. That is, if Applejack cooperated. Staring at the magical medicine she held in her hooves, Fluttershy couldn't help but wonder about the many potential outcomes of the encounter to come. Clutching the bottle tight in her hooves, she gazed out of a window to the night sky above.
Part of her wanted to hope with all her heart that Applejack would still be sane enough to take the potion without forceful restraint. Alas, she knew that, realistically, the chances of an easy rescue were slim. If what Trixie taught her about werewolf psychology was correct, it would be almost guaranteed she would have to use a more... unpleasant method.
A silver stake, still laying on the floor where Trixie left it. Despite knowing it was to be a last resort, the thought of her having to end the life of one of her oldest friends, it was almost too much for her to even imagine.
“Hey, you ready yet, Butter-shy?”
Silent, Fluttershy picked up the weapon, sheathing it under her wing. It was hard to stop the little voice in the back of her mind from worrying. But this time, she wouldn't let her timid nature rule over her. If she was to save Applejack, she would have to fight tooth and nail to free her from the lycanthropic curse. And if that meant ending her life, then that is what she would do.
“You know this is for the best, right Fluttershy?” Trixie’s emotionless tone brought Fluttershy’s attention back down to earth. “I assure you, it will be a better fate than allowing her to live in that ravenous lunar spell.”
Looking up, Fluttershy observed Trixie fiddling with a humongous padlock, held in place by several thick chains criss-crossing the wagon's door.
“That’s a little excessive, isn’t it?” Fluttershy queried.
“Trixie lives in trans-dimensional wagon filled with weapons and magic potions,” Trixie retorted. “Given Trixie’s recent popularity surge among Ponyville citizens? There can be no such thing as excessive security.”
“Point taken.”
“So, now that we’ve agreed on the obvious, are you ready yet?”
“Almost.”
Looking back at her cottage, Fluttershy waved her hoof at Pinkie Pie, who had just shown up out of the blue as she was pondering who could babysit the animals in her absence.With a sleeping Angel Bunny draped over Pinkie’s shoulder like a newborn filly, Fluttershy could breathe a sigh of relief knowing animal friends would remain in safe hooves.
“How much does Pinkie know?” Trixie queried. “Normally ponies would give you one look at your—ahem— ‘unique’ appearance before running off in fright.”
“It’s quite alright,” Fluttershy answered with a small giggle. “I didn't need to tell Pinkie anything; she already knows about Applejack's rescue mission, so I think she's already figured out the rest.”
“What... how?!” Trixie stammered, her eye twitching as her mouth hung agape.
Fluttershy shrugged. “She had a hunch.”
“Ugh!” Trixie groaned, rubbing her aching temple with her hooves. “Trixie is so getting fired if Princess Luna gets word of this.”
“Oh, there's no need to worry!” Pinkie exclaimed, having somehow appeared behind Trixie without her noticing. “I already made a Pinkie promise to Luna that I won't tell anypony who doesn't already know. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”
After she followed up her extravagant gestures by literally sticking a cupcake in her eye, Trixie let out a deep, frustrated sigh and accepted that questioning Pinkie Pie's logic was simply not worth the effort.
“Thanks, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said, holding her hoof to her lips, trying to conceal her laughter at Trixie's reaction. “Did you see my note about Angel's Thursday routine?”
“Yep-sir-ree-bob!” Pinkie chirped. “Cabbage for breakfast, bath at eleven, vet check-up at one with carrot treats, then super-special-pinkie-brand-carrot cake in the evening if he's been good! You don’t need to worry your Flutter-batsy little head about.”
Fluttershy laughed again, thankful for the small relief from her persistent worries. “Okay, I'm ready now, Trixie.”
“At last,” Trixie groaned, rolling her eyes. “Well hurry up then, my batty pupil. Trixie has something quite important to show you!”
She produced a small, silver compass from her cloak pocket and presented it on an outstretched hoof, head held high. “This a very special device of Trixie's own creation! It is a-”
“Compass calibrated to point to the strongest source of wild magic which just so happens to be werewolves?”
Trixie shot Pinkie a resentful glare, her thunder having yet again been stolen.
“Oops, sorry,” Pinkie said with an awkward grin, before whisking herself back to the cottage.
“As I was saying, Trixie knows the look of wild magic anywhere. So, this will be the perfect tool to find Applejack with.”
Fluttershy's eyes went wide as the compass needle swung into a wild spin, switching directions seemingly on a whim. Eventually the needle settled on a north-westerly position, pointing directly into the heart of the forest.
“Aha! It looks like Trixie's device has given her a strong lead already. Shall we go?”
Fluttershy nodded. No matter how many times she ventured into the Everfree, the unpleasant atmosphere of the place never seemed to wane. Even if she was to overlook the constant darkness and twisted trees—gazing over explorers with their frightening visage – there was always a consistent sense of dread and wrongness that followed ponies everywhere.
With the menacing flora being so dense, it was impossible to know what was lurking in the shadows not ten feet beyond one’s current line of sight. The slightest breeze was enough to send a shiver down Fluttershy’s spine, though she did her best to ignore it.
As much as Trixie tried to appear confident, Fluttershy knew that she too was paying close attention to every step she took. Only a fool would drop their guard in a place like this, and as egotistical as Trixie was, she was far from a fool. She knew how to keep her vigilance subtle, flicking her eyes between select points with short glances that would only be noticed by those who would be looking directly at her.
Fluttershy caught herself thinking about the claw marks again. She couldn't stop thinking about the size of them, the force behind them, the force that had buckled the tree to one side. The way Applejack's eyes lingered on them, eyes hard, jaw clenched.
She shook her head – she was sure everything all turn out alright. Wasn't she? She didn’t have time to think about it. She needed to find Applejack.
Navigation was tough enough already, even with a magic compass to help. It was nearly impossible to judge how much time passed while in the Everfree. One could spend days, or even weeks at a time without seeing a single sunrise.
“Aha!” Trixie exclaimed, after what Fluttershy guessed to be around forty minutes of travel. “Trixie has found a clue!”
Sprawled out at the foot of a withered tree, a severely injured timber wolf lay still – its slow rate of breath being the only indication it was still alive. Peering up at the two approaching ponies, it to forced out a barely audible growl, a feeble attempt at self-defence in such a weakened state.
“Oh, my goodness!” Fluttershy gasped, seeing the severity of the wound. The timber wolf had a massive gash torn out of its side, its wooden skin peeling back like a carpenter’s shaving, a pool of sticky green blood seeping out of it. “You unfortunate thing, what did this to you?”
“Be careful Fluttershy, this could easily be a trap,” Trixie warned, keeping her eye on the fallen beast for the slightest movement. “And even if it isn’t, a timber wolf’s jaws can slice a pony in two.”
“I've seen animal traps before, Trixie. By the look of the cut, whatever hurt it is long gone.”
“Well whatever the case, Trixie is not going anywhere near such avoidable dangers! She needs to save her magic for bigger foes, and she also recommends that you do the same.”
“Trixie!” Fluttershy protested, “I can’t leave an animal in pain like this. Maybe it'll know something about where Applejack went. Please let me talk to it, I promise it won’t take long.”
“Fine!” Trixie groaned, turning away from Fluttershy in a huff. “Just be quick about it, before Trixie changes her mind.”
“There-there big wolfie, I’m not going to hurt you,” Fluttershy said, the softness of her voice helping to sooth some of the animal's pain. Gently stroking its head with one hoof, Fluttershy carefully examined the severity of the wound. Her prognosis was not good. The gash cut through layers of skin, fat and muscle tissue around the ribs, severing the left pulmonary artery.
. “I don't think you should watch this,” she said to Trixie, her voice cracking.
“What? You don't think the Great and Powerful Trixie can't handle a little bit of blood?” She trotted up to the fallen beast, pulling out a small vial from her cloak and filling it with blood. “Surely you jest.”
“Suit yourself.”
With tears streaming down her face, Fluttershy stabbed her fangs through the timber wolf’s, drinking it dry; a sight which made Trixie wince. The blood tasted sickly sweet, like a combination of three-year-old strawberry jam and zap apple cider.
It took two full minutes for Fluttershy to drain the last drop of timber wolf's blood, but once it was finally over, she took a great sigh relief at the fact that the timber wolf was no longer suffering.
“Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick,” Trixie moaned, leaning on a tree with hoof over her mouth.
“I told you not to look.” Fluttershy replied irritably.
The more Fluttershy looked at the wound, the more it bothered her – not just because of the assault’s brutality. This was not a clean kill from a hunt, and no flesh had been consumed at all.This had been a desperate duel for survival, and the timber wolf had lost.
“Can we just move on please? Or does Trixie have to stick around for a funeral speech?”
Fluttershy shot Trixie a disapproving glare. “Alright, I’m done.”
Just as the pair turned to leave, a loud creak caught Fluttershy's ear, stopping her in her tracks.
“I was kidding about the funeral, you know,” Trixie moaned.
Fluttershy took no notice. She couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she was being followed, yet when she turned around, nothing was there.
Nothing at all.
“Oh no…”
“Ugh, what is it this time?!” Trixie groaned through gritted teeth.
“The timber wolf,” she said, her voice quivering. “It's gone.”
“What do you mean it's go-” Trixie's jaw dropped. The corpse of the timber wolf—along with every trace of blood—had indeed vanished, smothered by the sudden explosion in tree-root growth.
“Well Fluttershy, it's a good thing Trixie has a plan for situations like these.”
“And that is?”
“Run!”
They broke into a gallop, but didn’t make it far. A branch as thick as apple tree’s trunk lashed down from the canopy. Fluttershy threw herself to the ground, the branch skimming a hair’s breadth away from her mane.
Trixie was not quite so agile. Her teleportation spell came too late, knocked her off her hooves with such a force that she was gasping for breath before she even hit the ground.
“Trixie!” Fluttershy cried and leaped into the air with wings at full spread. The forest responded by weaving a thick mesh branches, blocking her rescue attempt.
Pulling herself to her hooves, Trixie wasted no time in blasting the assaulting flora with her magic. Each shot pushed the branches back, allowing for breathing room, though it did nothing to halt its advance. If she didn't think of a more permanent solution, a wooden tomb would be her end.
Fluttershy was not about to let that happen, and a little-known fact about Bat would be her solution. With a broad stroke of her webbed wings, she launched herself skyward, flying straight for the first opening in the enclosing treeline she could spot.
Shooting straight through the ever-tightening tunnel of brambles at top speed, Fluttershy folded in her wings at the last second and broke through the canopy, letting out a sharp gasp upon her eyes meeting the magnificent light of the full moon.
As the lunar magic seared through every inch of her body, her eyes narrowed into sharp slits, the world around her bursting to life with a vast array of iridescent colours. Everything gave off a shimmering aura, the lifeblood of Equestria flowing through her body.
Her ears twitched at the thunderous sound of shifting bark, combining with the distinct scent of a frightened unicorn, directing her to her target. Scanning across the canopy, she chose her point of entry, pulling in her wings tight against her side.
Pitching her nose forward, Fluttershy plummeted back down to earth, the tips of her wings twitched left and right to control her high-speed descent. With her eyes locked on Trixie's location, Fluttershy crashed through the corrupted entanglement, weaving through the maze of branches with the utmost grace.
With her target rapidly approaching, Fluttershy threw open her wings, levelling out her descent with less than a filly’s height of room to spare. Seconds before whisking Trixie away in her hooves, Fluttershy caught a brief glimpse of an arcane bomb hurtling past her, before finding herself consumed in a blinding flash of magical light.
And in the blink of an eye, the two ponies found themselves tumbling end over end towards the baron earth, skidding to a halt a dozen foot away from the ensuing explosion.
“Ow!” Trixie groaned, the world still spinning around her. “That's the last time Trixie will book Air Equestria for her trans-dimensional hop!”
Though neither of them was seriously injured, Fluttershy's whole body ached like mad; something she hadn’t felt since helping Rainbow Dash create a water tornado. “I think I need more landing practice,” she said wearily. “Are you okay there, Trixie?”
“Oh, never better,” Trixie's replied, her sarcasm razor-sharp as she rubbed her throbbing horn. “While Trixie appreciates the drastic stunt you pulled off there, it was far from necessary. Trixie can assure you that she already had her own plan of escape!”
Fluttershy glared back at Trixie. “Let me guess; just shoot at the trees until they went away?”
“Well… not exactly, no…” Trixie muttered under her breath before clearing her throat. “Trixie was aiming to shoot at them, distract them with an arcane bomb, then proceed to use a cleansing spell to wipe out the corrupting magic. Trixie has quite a few magical resources, you know!”
“And if the spell hadn't worked?”
Trixie opened her mouth to answer but closed it again.
“I thought so.” Fluttershy rolled her eyes. Although I do wonder what happened to make those trees start attacking us suddenly?”
“Well, I can tell you that Timber Wolf blood isn't supposed do that.” Pulling out a vial from cloak, Trixie rotated it in her hoof, carefully examining the consistency of the collected blood within.
“Hmm, nothing unusual here,” Rubbing her chin, Trixie decided to experiment further, ripping out a small strand of ivy from the ground. “Stand well back.”
Fluttershy didn't need to be told twice.
Holding both objects in her magic, she levitated them as far away as she could manage. If what she was pondering was correct, she wasn't taking any chances. With a deep breath, her muscles tensing, Trixie dropped the ivy into the blood.
In a flash, the ivy exploded into life, doubling its size and shattering the glass vial, its tendrils spiralling out in every direction.
Sweat pouring down her face, Trixie struggled to maintain her telekinetic grip on the plant, her magic glowing brighter as she pumped more of her power into the spell, struggling to keep it in the air. With her horn still aching from her dramatic teleportation, she hoped to Luna that the reaction would end soon.
The more the vines flailed, the more Trixie pushed herself to hold on, refusing to let herself be trapped by such monstrous vines again.
Then, just as quickly as the reaction began, the plant started decaying, withering away until it was no more than a blackened husk.
“Well then,” Trixie gawked between heavy breaths, levitating the shrivelled plant back towards her. “It seems that Trixie's hypothesis has been proven correct, and them some!”
Fluttershy gulped hard. The plant looked like it had been assaulted by a flock of vampire fruit bats. To witness such a sudden cycle of life and death made her blood run cold.
“W-what does this mean?” Fluttershy asked, though she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. “Did I cause all those trees to go wild?”
Trixie shook her head. “No. Though you may have triggered the process, neither lunar nor wild magic works like that; they only enhance what's already there. The closest I've seen to this is an earth pony’s cultivation spell.”
An awkward silence fell between them. Though neither would say it, the implications of this effected gave them both an uncomfortable weight on their conscience. The autumn wind washed over Fluttershy, invoking a shiver as the fine hairs across her body stood up on end.
“Perhaps we should make camp for the night,” Trixie suggested. “Give me a minute to set up a perimeter spell, then we can warm ourselves up around a camp fire.”
Fluttershy just nodded, her stomach growling. At least her rations would offer some relief while Trixie set up their protection.
Oh Applejack, what have you done? Fluttershy thought to herself, unaware of a familiar presence watching over her among the undergrowth.
Applejack gasped. She made it! Her mental barriers restrained the wolf, yet there could be no celebration yet. Massaging her head, she could still hear the creature's howls ringing in her skull. A sharp pang of pain on her temples mimicked its claws ripping at her mind, a furious attempt to breach through these new walls. Gritting her teeth and clawing at the earth, she unleashed a growl that matched the wolf's fury.
"Stop it... stop it!" she muttered to herself, shaking her head. Her eyes narrowed, the sharp slivers sending a half-transformed pony before her scrambling away in panic. She needed something to focus on, fast.
Her rumbling stomach provided the answer. The image of herself clamping her jaws around the neck of a small woodland creature was the first thing to come to mind. The thought of its bones crunching from the bite, her tongue lapping up the hot blood gushing from its wounds; it was enough to make her mouth water.
Tensing her muscles, Applejack, tentatively placed one paw in front of the other, easing herself into the new shape of her limbs like a new born filly learning to walk.
Run! The wolf commanded, whispering into her ear as it pulled at the chains in her mind. The wilds beckon you! Find your prey and eviscerate it!
Applejack bit her lip, digging her claws into the ground to restrain herself. Several werewolves among her pack had already given in, meeting a swift end at Ebony’s claws before they could escape. Her transformation from pony to wolf happened in the blink of an eye, her body seamlessly restructuring itself as if she were made from child’s putty.
Her wolf form was a magnificent sight. The colours of her coat struck Applejack as greater in vibrancy than before, her mane flowing from her thick jaws to draw the eye across the full breadth of her imposing stance.
Watching this, Applejack wondered how long it had taken Ebony to conquer her primal instincts.Given the ease of which she manipulated her form, Applejack reasoned that she was either had a lifetime’s worth of experience, or her earth pony magic was a source of magnanimous power.
“That'll do!” Ebony announced, allowing the psycho ponies to slit the throats of all who failed. “The remaining twelve of you, listen up. You have all far surpassed my expectations, so I think it's only fair that you are appropriately rewarded. Obey me as your pack leader, and together we shall have the greatest hunt this forest has ever seen!”
Her words were music to pack's ears. With a long, bellowing howl, the hunt began, sparking a surge of adrenaline through Applejack's body that sent her leaping forward. Each beat of her racing heart pumped blood in perfect synchronicity with each step she took, the wolf’s power merging with her natural stamina.
Mile after mile her pack ran on, Applejack's thoughts never straying from the type of prey her master had in mind. She had no idea where Ebony was taking her, but she didn’t care. Simply running in the presence of wolves on a hunt was enough to keep her satisfied—and the wolf—satisfied.
Her rhythmic trance ceased when Ebony halted the pack at the banks of the broad.
“Ears open and noses to the ground, my pack,” Ebony whispered. “Our prey won't be far now.”
“Now hold on just a minute there,” Applejack protested, her nose twitching at an uncomfortably familiar scent. “Doncha think it’d be best to plan our attack before we find it? ‘Cause what I smell is a real nasty piece o’ work.”
“That is a valid point, dear Applejack,” By the way Ebony licked her lips, it was obvious to all that she had something quite exotic in mind. “I have no need to tell you how important it is for our pack to be unified, am I right? Yes, of course I am. You all need something big to chew on; something that will test your physical mastery of the wolf…”
“Quit stalling and just tell us already!” a red-maned werewolf with a bloodied hoof for a cutie mark snapped, shoving Applejack aside with frustrated impatience. Applejack reactively gnashed her jaws, rumbling a low growl through her throat towards him.
“Tsk, tsk, such impatience, young Bloodmane,” Ebony scalded, wagging her finger at the underling.
“My name is Bloodhoof…” the impatient werewolf muttered to himself, though he soon came to regret his words.
Ebony’s smile faded, replaced instead with a harsh glare.
“Your name is Bloodmane now, we've been over this.” Her voice held no anger, but by the way he cringed at her look, Applejack could tell it was enough to express strong disapproval. She almost felt pity for the youngster.
“Now Bloodmane, what do you recall happens to werewolves who can’t keep their temper under control?”
Bloodmane gulped. “They are… disposed of, ma’am.”
“Good. And you don’t want to fail when you have made such excellent progress, do you?”
“N-no, ma’am.”
“I should think not. But you know what I do think?”
“…That I should be—um—disciplined, ma’am?”
“Yes, I think that is the appropriate course of action. Wouldn’t you agree, Applejack?”
Applejack was not unfamiliar with dealing out discipline. It was part of being a responsible guardian. However, what Applejack did to Bloodmane, she would never have dreamt of doing to her little sister.
Swiping her claw across his face, Applejack knocked him onto his back, leaving deep gashes torn across his face.
Bloodmane whimpered, his ears drooped and tail between his legs.
It took a moment for Applejack to realise what she had just done. She’d bruised a few cheeks in her time for self-defence – but never as a punishment, especially not to Applebloom. Not even in her darkest nightmares would she imagine deliberately inflicting harm onto other ponies.
“W-what did I just do?” Applejack stuttered, staring at the fresh blood dripping from her claws.
“What was necessary to do, my dear,” Ebony said, placing a claw on Appeljack’s shoulder. “Out in the wild, you follow the pack, or you die. There is no other alternative. The pain that Bloodmane feels is only a fraction of what he could receive from the forest beasts. I’d say getting off lightly has taught him a valuable lesson, don’t you think?”
Applejack looked back down at Bloodmane, who hid his face behind his paws, still wimpering. She nodded in acknowledgement to Ebony. No, she never desired to harm other ponies, but she wasn’t just a pony now. She was also a wolf, and if other wolves didn’t learn to shape up, they would be dead. Better to learn a harsh lesson now before the hunt.
“Now then,” Ebony announced. “The challenge of our hunt today is to bring down a five-headed hydra. Any worthwhile teacher would have taught you as children that decapitating the hydra doesn’t work. So, does any-wolf have an alternative plan?”
“Crush it!” One wolf at the back cried out.
“Tear it limb from limb!” called another.
“Rip out its still beating heart from its chest!”
Ebony let out an amused chuckle as she shook her head. “I must say, those are all fabulous ideas. But as… imaginative as some of them are, they aren’t exactly practical without wounding the beast first.”
“Actually,” Applejack spoke up, gesturing to the pack. “The first wolf who said to crush it weren’t far off the mark. I remember one time as a filly, I was runnin’ from a pack o’ timber wolves, an' I accidentally caused a landslide, trappin' them all.
“No matter how much they tried to wriggle out, those varmints just couldn't get themselves free! If we found enough loose rocks n’ such, maybe we could trap the hydra before we bite its necks; not cuttin’ it, just chompin’ hard enough to crush its wind pipe.”
“Oh, sweet mother earth!” Ebony exclaimed, grinning wider than ever. “Applejack, you are a genius of a mare! I never realised you knew so much about hunting.”
If Applejack was entirely honest—which she usually was—she surprised even herself with the level of violence with that plan. Though with her stomach was still growling, she supposed that killing it without prolonged suffering was the most humane end possible.
“Now that we have a plan of action, Applejack and Bloodmane, I am entrusting you to lead the hydra back towards the waterfall north of here. The rest of you, follow me and be prepared to shove as many loose boulders over as you can. We have one chance to get this, so if you fail, you will starve!”
The message was loud and clear; the hunt was on. Splitting from the group with Bloodmane in tow, Applejack crept alongside the river bank, her nose to the ground as she followed the hydra’s scent; licking her lips as the smell grew stronger. The fact that it would literally be like nothing she ever tasted did nothing to quell her desire. She wanted it, and if she and Bloodmane stuck to the plan, she would obtain it.
Speaking of the impatient crimson wolf, he was plodding several steps behind Applejack, grumbling to himself about how unfair it was that he got punished for asking questions.
Swipe him again. The wolf suggested. Harder this time. That will shut him up.
Shaking her head, Applejack kept her eyes away from her partner, using the scent to maintain her focus away from such violent distractions. Given that Bloodmane’s stomach growls were growing louder than his whining, Applejack reasoned he would quiet down once he had his teeth between big chunks of hydra flesh.
When the Hydra finally wandered into their sights, Applejack raised her front paw, signalling for her partner to stop. She could hear how much Bloodmane was clawing at the ground and grinding his teeth, using every ounce of willpower to wait for her signal. Perhaps Ebony’s method o’ discipline ain’t so bad after all.
Patience was a skill all farm ponies had to learn for their profession. Applejack could remember countless times from her foalhood where she had smothered a seed in piles of soil, only to find out weeks later that it never began to grow. This, combined with her memory of the Hydra encounter during the whole Pinkie-sense debacle, made it easy for her to sit and study the beast’s movements.
Once again, she recalled the incident with Pinkie and Twilight. The speed of which the hydra rose from the swamp to chase them almost took them by surprise. So, charging in while three of its heads were on the lookout, she was certain would be suicide.
There was a certain moment Applejack was waiting for; and that moment came when the multi-headed beast lowered two of its necks, changing which heads would scout and which would drink.
Once all heads were lowered, Applejack and Bloodmane pounced.
Leaping from the bushes, the pair struck at the two outer heads, tearing out two massive chunks from the hydra's necks to expose the muscles around the spinal cords.
The thrashing reflex action of both heads only made matters worse for it. In the confusion of the moment, each neck slammed into each other, their heads ringing as the world spun around them.
KILL! The wolf screamed at Applejack. DELIVER THE FINAL BLOW AND END THIS HUNT!
It was an enticing desire, but Applejack refused to obey. Ebony had formed a plan, and for the sake of the pack, she would stick to it.
“Alright Bloodmane, time ta pull back a little.”
Bloodmane didn’t respond. A single glance into his eyes for Applejack to realise why Ebony killed werewolves who could not control themselves. His pupils were gone, his vision glazed over as he clawed and bit into any piece of the hydra he could get to. He had succumbed to the bloodlust; the red, hot juices spewing forth from the hydra’s veins triggering a feeding frenzy that consumed his senses.
“What the hay do you think you’re doin’, Bloodmane?!” Applejack yelled as she leapt to the hydra’s, landing just below the youngster.
But her words fell on deaf ears, her attempted intervention only causing Bloodmane to lash out, kicking wildly – the Hydra following suit by flailing its neck back and forth. In a flurry of blows, Bloodmane knocked Applejack off.
She landed with a hard thump on her back, but quickly rolled back to her feet, thanking her lucky stars the soft mud took some of the impact.
“Now listen here!” Applejack yelled, wincing in pain at the damaged muscles in her back, desperately trying to reach whatever reason was left in the former pony’s head. “Come to your senses already! If you don’t start gettin’ a hold of yourself, you’re gonna get yourself killed; either by the Hydra, or by Ebony!”
The crimson wolf paid no heed. It was looking like nothing would stop him now, leaving Applejack with no other option. She had to call the pack now and finish this fight.
Inhaling as deep as her lungs would allow, Applejack let out a long, powerful howl. In those ensuing moments, all other sounds of the forest fell silent. Bloodmane’s focus was finally broken, but so was the hydra’s.
“Hey there, ya gruesome twosome!” Applejack snarled. “How’s about you try and grab a piece of this mean ol’ she-wolf!”
Now she had all four heads' attention. Charging at the hydra, Applejack dropped into a roll as the first head struck the ground, dodging each ensuing snap of its jaws as Bloodmane clung on for dear life.
Once she had cleared the second head, Applejack broke into a run, following the bank upstream with the two angered monsters in tow. While the slippery surface mud of river bank slowed the monster’s chase, it was never far behind Applejack, constantly nipping at her heels.
For over a mile she led the monster, the bites on the back of her legs piling up to leave a bloody path behind her. If she could reach the waterfall, her pack leader would be ready and waiting, Celestia willing. The plan may not have gone exactly as intended, but there was still a chance for to make it work, if only she could overcome her physical limits.
A subtle rumbling sound from beyond the falls caught Applejack’s ear, spurring her on. Her lungs were burning with exhaustion and her muscles ached more than after her first transformation. Still she pushed herself, the growing shudder vibrating in the earth beneath her feet fuelling her hope for survival.
She knew that Bloodmane and the Hydra could hear it too. But with his mind now lost to the wolf within, and the hydra too fixated on revenge, neither of them reacted; even as the shadow of a large, spherical object rolled into the edge of Applejack’s vision.
Allowing herself to slow enough to be in range of the hydra’s teeth, along with a series of forced yelps and feigned trips, she kept its focus strictly on her; tantalizing it.
That was when Bloodmane pounced. Applejack tried to dodge, but her weary muscles had dulled her reflexes, leaving to be pinned under the weight of a raging red wolf.
Luckily for her, fortune still shined in her favour. Bloodmane’s assault put his tail directly underneath the Hydra’s feet, causing it to trip over its own neck as it tried to attack.
Anything still in the path of the rumbling boulder immediately vacated the area. But with Applejack’s front paws locked in a deadly duel with Bloodmane, she had only one option left to preserve her own life.
Focusing as much remaining strength as she could muster into her legs, Applejack bucked at Bloodmane's chest harder than she had ever bucked before.
The blow knocked the wind out of the red wolf's lungs, shoving him off just in time for Applejack to roll away from two, massive boulders tumbling down river; crushing all five of the hydra’s heads in one blow.
Applejack lay on her back, gazing up at the darkened sky above. Her breaths were heavy, struggling to hold her consciousness together.
A bright red light filled her blurry vision. Flowers began sprouting around her, growing around her wounds to sow them shut.
Less than a minute after her fight ended, she found the strength within herself to pull herself up. She had reverted to her regular pony form, but other than that, all the exhaustion and pain from her injuries had vanished.
She looked back to the slain hydra.
Laying just three feet away from it was the body of Bloodmane, reverted into pony form. He wasn’t moving. Instead, he just lay on his side, eyes wide in shock as he met his end – though his body was oddly I tact for somepony who had just been run over by enormous rocks.
“Applejack!”
A sharp pang of guilt shot through Applejack’s heart upon hearing Ebony’s call, her form reverting to her Pony shape.
“Good to see you’re awake, my dear.”
The relief in Ebony’s voice eased a portion of Applejack’s pain, though not enough to prevent a confession bursting out.
“I’m sorry Ebony,” she said, kneeling before the pack leader and bowing, “I couldn’t save him. The fool just went off the deep end. I tried to reach him, but I guess he wasn’t of stable mind after all. Kinda ironic, him dyin’ in the mouth o’ thing very thing he was so dead set on killin’.”
“Uh-oh, Applejack got a pack member killed,” one of the psycho ponies said with a sarcastic giggle. “Looks like she’s in for some discipline!”
“Oh! Oh! Let me do it!” another growled, pushing his way to the front. “I’ll cut her paw off!”
“No! It’s my turn!” the first snapped back, shoving the other back. “I’ll chew off her ear and pull out her tongue!”
Ebony sighed. “Oh, quiet down, will you?”
Both wolves recoiled at their master’s words.
“Anyway, it’s quite alright, Applejack” Ebony continued, gently pushing up Appeljack’s chin to look her in the eye. “To be honest, I’m surprised Bloodmane even survived his first transformation! I can assure you that neither you nor the hydra are responsible for his death.”
“Huh?” Applejack asked, staring blankly. “What are you talkin’ about? Bloodmane’s as dead as a plague rat caught in a corn trap, and I don’t know anythin’ else that’d made puncture wounds like that.”
“You shall see momentarily.” Ebony lowered her hoof, walking past Applejack and looking up into the trees in front of her.
“Alright then,” she called. “I know, the Night Shift sends their regards. You can all come out now.”
Emerging out of the foliage, a quartet of lunar pegasi landed in front of Ebony. They all stared her down with the same stone-faced grimace of royal Canterlot guards; except for the smallest bat pony among them. His posture was as stiff as a board, trying to stop his knees from shaking as he scanned over the wolf pack.
“H-how did you notice us?” the smallest pony stuttered.
“Now there’s a face I don’t recognise,” Ebony said, extending her hoof in greeting. “You must be new here. My name is Ebony Star, although I expect your comrades have told you all about me by now.”
The rookie tentatively raised his hoof in return, only to be corrected by a superior officer before he could shake.
“Don’t listen to a word she says, Private Delta Quill,” the officer snapped. “Don’t let her play mind games with you.”
Ebony tutted, growing a claw just to wag it at the Night Guard ensemble. “Such poor manners. Though I do suppose this little game of ours is getting a little repetitive. What say we skip all the bluster and get straight to the fighting, hmm?”
“Y-you-your orders, C-captain Crescent Dawn?” Delta asked, unsheathing his wing blades.
“Hold your position!” Crescent ordered. “And avoid using lethal force! Luna wants these werewolves captured and alive.”
“Now hold on just a cotton pickin’ minute-” Applejack’s attempt to question the Night Guards was silenced by the clap of Ebony’s hooves. The look on her face said everything she needed to know; time to fight.
Clad in midnight-blue plate, the Night Guards dodged and weaved from every slash and rake, their superior dexterity allowing them to fly in circles around their lupine foes. They had been trained in disciplined fighting arts, countering the werewolves' savagery through their natural fighting rhythm; block, deflect, retaliate, block, deflect, retaliate, until an opening ensues, and an opponent is killed.
Following this pattern, Delta made his move, slicing two shallow cuts at the ankles of his attacker to sever its tendons, avoiding the blood vessels.
Crescent spear-headed a triangular formation around the rookie with both other guards a short distance behind, striking hard and fast with his spiked gauntlets to keep away any interlopers. Hovering above his opponent, Crescent swung himself around and slammed his weapon into its face; the force of the punch knocking out several teeth with a single blow.
What do you think you’re doing?! The wolf in Applejack’s head screamed louder than ever before. Join your pack! Defend your master against the ponies who want you dead!
Shut up! Applejack screamed back, shaking her head violently.
This was wrong, all wrong. The style of fighting the Night Guards displayed—shallow cuts and gut punches, twisting around and blocking every attack—it all served to make the werewolf attacks slower over time.
As a matter of fact, what was that Ebony said about being a 'criminal mastermind', again?
The more she tried to remember, the more the wolf rattled its chains, scraping at her mind and screaming to be free – making her head throb more than ever.
What the hay am I missing? Think, Applejack, think!
“Applejack,” Ebony whispered softly into her ear. “Sick ‘em.”
With those two words spoken, something snapped in Applejack’s mind.
The wolf was free.
It was time for Applejack to defend her pack against the evil Night Guards.
Leaping into the air with a thrust of her powerful hind legs, Applejack transformed and pounced on the back of the bat pony commander.
Pinned his wings to the ground, she ripped off his armour and clamped her jaws down around the back of his neck, snapping it in two with a mighty crunch.
Commander Crescent Dawn fell was dead.
Leaderless, the Night Guards tried to fly away, only to find their way blocked by a dome of twisted plant life thicker than the stone walls of Canterlot.
The sight Applejack’s face smeared with gore rekindled the bloodlust in Ebony's pack, dragging the bat ponies down by sinking their teeth into the warriors’ hooves.
Ignoring the agonized screams, Applejack pounced on a second bat pony, slicing her claws into the straps that held her breastplate in place. Turning her over, Applejack tore off the armour, and scraped her way through the victim’s chest; breaking through the layers of skin and muscle until she reached her still beating heart.
Biting down on the organ, a final scream erupted from the bat pony’s mouth, her last sight before death being the spectacle of her own heart being eaten.
All the while, Ebony sat and watched, clapping her hooves in excitement and cheering like a filly at a buckball game.
“Yes!” she proclaimed, giggling with insane glee as a third bat pony had her wings torn off by a pair of wolves pulling in either direction. “I am so proud of you all! But please, leave the little one alive. I have a special gift I want him to pass on to Princess Luna.”
At her request, the werewolves halted their attack, leaving Delta Quill to cower in terror.
When he finally peeked out from behind his hooves, his heart caught in his throat at the grotesque sight before him.
Pieces of his squad were scattered everywhere, their flesh mangled to such a degree that they were unrecognisable. Two of the wolves were still gnawing on the commander’s leg bones, including Applejack.
“How ironic,” Ebony gloated, collecting scattered pieces of shredded muscle as she slowly approached Delta. “The pony who was sent here to rescue Applejack now needs rescuing himself!”
Dropping the gory mixture in front of Delta, including the severed wing of Crescent Dawn, Ebony mashed all the bits together like a child with play dough.
“A little gift for you and the Night Shift,” Ebony said with a forced motherly tone. “Be a dear and deliver this to them for me, will you? Oh, and tell them not to bother coming back. Applejack is mine, and nopony is going to take her away from me. Do you understand?”
Delta nodded, refusing to even look at the wolf who once embodied the Element of Honesty.
“Good boy. So, run along now, it’s almost time for dinner.”
Ebony couldn’t stop herself cracking up at that last quip, sending a shiver of terror down Delta's spine. Clutching the sticky mess of meat against his chest, Delta took to the air, flying away through the provided opening as fast as his wings could carry him.
Once he was gone, Ebony pushed the remaining corpses into a pile beside the hydra, giving Applejack priority in getting the first bite.
As the werewolves gorged themselves on pony flesh, Ebony dug out a small hole in the soil, neatly burying the retrieved armour of at the base of a tree.
As she stomped the earth to pack in the artefacts, her hooves flared to life with a flash of crimson magic, twisting every piece of flora within a five-mile radius into jagged, thorny mockeries of their normal state – oozing a thick, red miasma from the blackened flowers that sprouted over every inch of them.
“Everfree is such a bland name for a forest,” Ebony scoffed. “I think ‘the Nightmare Glade’ is a much more fitting title for our new home. Wouldn’t you agree, Applejack?”
Applejack didn’t respond, too preoccupied with feasting on the dead bat ponies, even a thick covering of splintered bark grew over her.