//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Don't go in to the woods tonight… // Story: S-0452-9 // by AvianAlpha1 //------------------------------// S-0452-9 Chapter One: Don't go in to the woods tonight… Starswirl smiled softly as wrote in his journal, having completed yet another successful experiment that may prove useful for further study. The idea of turning a grain of wheat in to bread through transfiguration was an incredible discovery. Granted the taste left much to be desired, if he could perfect it, it'd certainly ease the need for food supplies on the front lines. The multi spectral shield spell was a long way away from being ready, so this would have to do till then. With his notes complete, he released the pencil from his magical grip and closed the book, the pencil sitting on top of it. Starswirl stood with a groan, stretching for a moment before moving to a nearby window. He opened a window, allowing a breeze to drift in as the sound of children playing could be heard outside. He peered down and smiled as he saw a familiar filly playing with an earth pony colt, and a pegasus filly. “Clover,” he called out as the unicorn filly looked up at him with a smile, “how goes your fun?” Clover smiled as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes, accidentally depositing dirt on to her sage-green furred forehead in the process. “It's going well Master Starswirl!” “Clover, how often must I ask you to speak candidly with me,” he asked with a slight chuckle. “Mother says to be respectful to thy elders,” Clover responded with a slight grin. Starswirl was taken aback for a moment, processing over what she had said before grinning. “Yet again, I see why you were given the title of clever,” he said with a chuckle as Clover playful stuck her tongue out. “Come, I require your assistance in gathering ingredients from the forest.” Starswirl turned from the window and back in to his study, hearing a collective groan from the ponies outside as goodbyes were said and the clip clop of hooves on dirt could be heard moving away, a single pair heading for the castle. Starswirl was appreciative of the princess for allowing him to choose where he stayed in their castle. The tower in which he could do his research was spacious, but not to the point where it was absurd. He also appreciated the view from his tower as it looked out over the forest in ever direction, allowing him to observe the forest from a safe distance, and judge when was the best time to head out to collect ingredients. From what he could see, something had the attention of a pack of timber wolves, which lead them away from their normal hunting grounds. This gave him a unique opportunity to head in and look around for some rare species of flora that he needed for his next potion. Starswirl sauntered over to the staircase leading down to the door, collecting a pair of tattered saddle bags on his way by. He opened the door to a smiling clover as she stood there with saddle bags of her own. “Where are we going today,” she asked as she fell in to line behind him as they walked in to the castle, wandering the halls to the front gates. “Well, you remember how I was observing that pack of timber wolves to the east,” he asked receiving a nod in return, “well, something gained the packs attention just enough to cause them to move from their hunting grounds. I want to head out there while we have this opportunity to collect some plants for an experiment that I am working on”. “Do you think it safe,” clover asked with a bit of worry in her voice. Starswirl chuckled as he said, “my dear clover, what have I always said?” “Those who do not take risks achieve nothing,” she repeated from memory. “Precisely,” Starswirl said as they headed out of the gates. “Now, we must hurry. There's no telling how long those wolves will be gone.” Cortana groaned as she felt her stomach grumbling once again, once again letting her know how hungry she was. Grazing helped tide her hunger, but it was quickly becoming inefficient. Granted, the stream was fresh and clean, so she was lucky for that. Finding shelter for the nights that she had been traveling proved difficult, but she always was happy to find a nice empty cave to settle in to for the night. Then there was the constant ache from her body if she exerted herself too much, some of which would sometimes continue to hurt in to the next day. All in all, being organic wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Cortana was happy that she didn't run in to any dangerous creatures on her journey. She couldn't exactly make any weapons, and using her horn to impale was out of the question as it would be unwise to do such an act. Her best chance was to run if she got in to any danger. In her current state, she'd have the endurance to outlast any hunter, and if she was able to keep her traction, she'd be able to get away, then eventually return to the stream when it was safe. That was the plan at least, and she hoped that she wouldn't have to use it. With a heavy sigh, she wandered to the edge of the stream, having found a nice thick patch of grass next to the water. She leaned down and began to graze, stopping every once in a while to drink, her ears twitching as she kept alert for anything suspicious. It was actually rather relaxing, as everything felt at ease. The birds singing, the wind blowing gently in to the air, the water rushing gently by. Then she smelled something, and the world stood still. The stench was hard to describe, but she knew it smelled off by instinct. She stood up straight as she looked around, trying to find the origin of the stench. That's when she heard a faint growl, and her heart began to race. Her body froze as her ears twitches back and forth. She knew that she should run, but her body wouldn't let her. It was as if every fiber in her being was restrained. With a sudden roar, the creature leapt from the forest, diving straight for her. Her body reacted on instinct at that point, as her mouth opened and she screamed. Then she felt a sudden pain from her forehead as there was a flash of light, the creature missing her, but one of its claws nicking her right leg. Fortunately at that point, adrenaline was pumping heavily through her body and numbed the pain as she regained control of her body and dashed off in to the forest. Cortana could hear the padding of multiple paws behind her, along with what sounded like wood clacking. She got to a straight away as Cortana chanced a look behind her, what she saw making her mind reel in shock. The creatures looked like wolves in shape, but their bodies were constructed of twigs and leaves, their eyes compromised of some form of green energy. All in all, they were physically impossible, yet there they were, chasing her, and they were gaining. Cortana needed to think fast if she was going to survive. If these creatures hunted like wolves, then they'd surely catch her eventually. Her best bet was to out last them long enough to find a place to escape from them. With that in mind, she decided to test their agility. Cortana made a sharp left turn, weaving through the trees in her way. She heard a yelp behind her and the sound of clattering twigs. Judging from this, these creatures couldn't maneuver efficiently. Using this to her advantage, she weaved left and right, right and left, each time, a wolf loosing traction and falling in to something. This continued for many minutes until the worst case possible for her happened. They started to learn, as they began to predict her movements, and she was beginning to tire. Her legs started to burn as she gasped for air, her heart pounding out of her chest. Apparently being an equine didn't automatically give you great endurance. At this point, it was only a matter of time before they caught her. Cortana panted as she felt her legs starting to give, fear over taking her. She screamed, loud and hard for help. Clover look around the forest in awe, as various flora and fauna surrounded her. She took several trip with Starswirl in to the forest before, but she never saw it this beautiful before. She even caught a glimpse of a kaleidoscope of butterflies fly by as well as several variations of water plants. Clover loved those the most as they always seemed to have some of the more beautiful colors in her opinion. A quick call from Starswirl brought her out of her trance. “Huh?” Clover said, as her mind was brought back to the here and now. “I was asking if you'd like to help me on my latest endeavor.” Starswirl picked a bit of moss from the trunk of a nearby tree before putting it in to his saddle bag. “Though it would seem as if your mind is already preoccupied.” Clovers ears laid back against her head as she smiled sheepishly. “Sorry sir, I was enjoying the scenery.” “Ah, well, it is a beautiful sight,” Starswirl said,”but I'd rather we complete our task first before we go sightseeing. We wouldn't want to become lunch for any of the timber wolves or various other creatures that live here.” “Sorry, I'll focus on the task at hand.” Clover said as she resumed collecting the flora on the list. “Don't be, attention to detail is useful in this line of work, but you should never let your mind wander from your task.” Starswirl said as he gave clover a pat on the back, a smile returning to her face. Starswirl returned to his work, a small smile on his face before his ears twitches towards the sound of chuckling behind him. He turned back to her with a raised eyebrow and asked, “is something wrong?” Clover shook her head as she stifled a giggle. “No, I was just imagining you having a beard. Like a really long one.” Starswirl huffed as he smirked and said,”a beard would only get in the way of my work.” “I think it'd make you look like a wise wizard.”Clover said with a smirk. “The day that I actually make a revolutionary discovery in magic like”- Starswirl took a minute to think-“time travel, for example, I'll wear a silly wizards outfit, grow a beard, and call myself Starswirl the bearded!” "I'll hold you to that promise,” Clover said as she calmed down from her chuckling. At that moment, a scream rang out through the forest as their ears twitches toward the sound. The cry for help wasn't easily missed, and it sounded close. Clover looked to Starswirl who only gave her a nod before they both took off toward the source of the cry. Their hooves could be heard pounding against the forest floor as they ran as fast as they could, weaving back and forth between the trees. Eventually, they started to approach a clearing, but the stench of timber wolf breath had reached them long before they got there. It was at that moment that Starswirl figured out why the timber wolves had moved from their hunting grounds. A pony would surely be a savory meal to them. As they burst through the clearing, they found them facing a rather terrifying scene. A sky blue unicorn was backed against a tree, her left foreleg scratched deep as she watched the timber wolves in fear, the wolves slowly closing in on her. Without a second thought, Starswirl cast a spell on the frightened unicorn, levitating her in to the air just as the timber wolves kept toward her, causing them to crash in to the tree and fall apart. He quickly hovered her over and dropped her on to his back with a grunt. “What, how, huh?” The unicorn looked around confused, her eyes turning to Clover and then to Starswirl. “Running first, talk later!” Starswirl exclaimed as he took off, Clover putting a shield around the reassembling pieces of the timber wolves before dashing off after Starswirl. It unfortunately didn't take long for the wolves to reassemble and break through the shield and give chase. Starswirl began to pant heavily, as the weight of another pony on his back caused to exert much more effort in to running than he was used to. He looked to Clover as she seemed to be tiring as well. The castle was too far away to run all the way there, and with the timber wolves slowly gaining ground, they would never make it to safety. They had to do something to get the wolves to give up the chase, or at the very least delay them. That's when inspiration struck Starswirl as he ignited his horn as it began to glow brightly. With a grunt, he flicked his head back as a bright orb flew over his shoulder and hit the ground, a wall of flames erupting from the ground between them and the wolves. The timber wolves yelped as they skidded to a stop, scrambling away from the flames touch as Starswirl with the unicorn on his back, and Clover continued to run, the wolves fading in to the darkness of the forest. It took them several minutes to reach the gates of the castle, quickly explaining to the guards of what had happened before heading straight to Starswirls tower. Starswirl panted as he levitated the now unconscious unicorn off of his back as he set her down on his bed. Starswirl, with Clovers help, began dressing the unicorns wound, applying a past to her cuts to help them heal quicker and to prevent infection. With their work completed, Starswirl sat down heavily on the wooded floor, as clover practically collapsed herself. “Mister Starswirl, I thought that you didn't use offensive magic.” Clover looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he chuckled. “Fortunately for us, timber wolves don't know the difference between an illusion and actually fire.” Starswirl chuckled softly. This earned a slight smile from Clover as she shook her head before standing. She headed toward a chest of drawers next to the east side window as she levitated out a blanket and a spare pillow. Starswirl watched her as she started creating a makeshift bed on the bench in front of the west side window. Once she was finished, she walked over to Starswirl and helped him up on to his hooves. Starswirl didn't feel like arguing with her, his exhaustion quickly starting to overtake him as he let Clover lead him over to the makeshift bed. He climbed on to bench as she draped the blanket over him, resting his head on the pillow as he quickly fell asleep. Clover smiled softly as she watched him sleep, before deciding it best to stay the night. Collecting another blanket and pillow for herself, she made her self a bed in a rocking chair in the northwest side of the room, quickly succumbing to sleep herself. Days after awakening: 4