Equestria, Everfree Forest, 07-07-06 A.N.M., 1:22 P.M. (After Nightmare Moon)
Sweetie Belle shivered as she sat in front of the small fire that Apple Bloom had painstakingly built. Her shiver, however, was not because she was cold; rather, it was a result of the fear she had been dealing with all day.
She, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were deep in the Everfree Forest, in a part where even the indigenous creatures were seldom found. While that meant that the three fillies didn’t have to worry about cockatrices turning them into stone or getting chomped on by a Timberwolf, the nature of this particular part of the forest wasn’t exactly homey.
Then again, unless you were Zecora, homey wasn’t a word that described the Everfree anyway.
Sweetie shivered again as a howl sounded off to the left. Scootaloo flared her wings, which began to spark as she channeled static from the air into them; it was the lowest form of Arcane Lightning Wing there was, and practically every pegasus knew of it.
Apple Bloom’s ears twitched at the howl. “Huh; that sounds like an ordinary wolf howl. Not good.”
Scootaloo scowled at the yellow filly. “What?! Apple Bloom, a regular wolf is a shade better than a Timberwolf!” The earth pony shook her head.
“Oh sure, fire will scare the poor thing off, but that’s about it.” Bloom’s expression soured. “But that’s all; my horseshoes and ribbons won’t work against them.”
At that reminder, Scootaloo grew silent, remembering just what Apple Bloom’s special silver horseshoes were really capable of…
Scootaloo dodged to the left as another of the small force of changelings lunged at her. Two more were off to the side, out cold from a pair of bucks from a very angry earth pony filly. Another three were still trying to put out their tails, while a fourth writhed in its death throes from ruptured eardrums, a result of a sonic screech from a seemingly helpless unicorn filly.
“Where’s your cousin?!” the pegasus shouted to Apple Bloom. The earth pony didn’t respond or a moment, as two more changelings made to grab her. She dodged both of them, then delivered a pair of quick bucks to their heads. A pair of cracks signified a pair of broken necks, adding the two to the four Apple Bloom had already felled.
“Ah saw him run off just before this lot attacked! He probably went looking for the patrol that was supposed to meet with us. Ah should have listened to mah sister, and cancelled the trip!”
The changelings at this point had once more stopped; the fact that six of the twenty had been killed by one half-grown earth pony gave them pause. The leader pointed its horn skyward, sending a bolt of energy into the air. The three fillies could see that even more were headed their way.
Apple Bloom snarled. “Ah’ve had about all I can take from you’s. Let’s see if you like what My Most Precious Possession can do!” With that, she pulled the tie that kept her ribbon secured to her head, and threw said ribbon at the leader.
The seemingly-innocuous object- filled with the enchanted hopes and dreams of a growing filly -hit the leader in the horn. Instinctively, the changeling sucked up the love energy in the bow and shared it with its fellows.
This left them all open to the spell woven into the fabric of the hairbow. Scarlet lightning travelled down the legs and over the wings of the changelings, as the willing sacrifice of her precious dreams turned the pooled love into hatred. The remaining fourteen changelings collapsed as their love-glands burst.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared at Apple Bloom. They never knew the depths that such a kind, gentle filly would go to to protect herself and those she loved. Apple Bloom tossed down a flash pellet. The clearing soon filled with a pungent smoke that did nothing to the ponies.
However, the approaching changelings veered away from the enchanted smoke; heavily laced with both oleander and cleansed moonflower, it would have done the same to them as well.
The fillies used the cover of the smoke to get under the tree line; once under a blessed sandalwood tree, they slumped in relief.
A few moments later, the three fillies heard the gallop of hooves. Braeburn soon showed up on the trail. He slowed down when he saw all of the dead changelings near it. He looked around for the fillies, and sighed with relief as he saw them under the treeline.
Braeburn walked in their direction, seeming to shiver a little as he approached the treeline. Apple Bloom’s eyes narrowed as she caught the shiver; this, added to some other clues she had, cemented some things in her mind.
“Cousin Apple Bloom! Thank the stars that you’re all right! When the wagon ran off like that, Ah was plum worried.” He gave a stern gaze to Sweetie Belle. “That’s why we don’t cast spells we don’t know lil filly; hard telling what they’ll do.” Shaking his head, he gestured to the cart.
Hesitatingly, the three fillies walked over to the lanky stallion, who was shaking his head at the state of the object. “Two broken axles, and three broken wheels. This is going to take days to fix. Well, there’s no help for it; we’ll have to make camp until the patrol arrives.” Braeburn smiled down at Apple Bloom, who didn’t smile back. “At least Ah get to spend more quality time with my favorite lil cousin.”
“Ah think there’s a problem with that,” Apple Bloom said softly. “Mah cos is still in Appleloosa Ah think; cause y’all sure ain’t him. Heck, y’all aren’t even a real pony.”
With that startling statement, the earth pony filly spun around on her front hooves and delivered a two-point apple buck to the lower part of Braeburn’s flank, just below his right Cutie Mark. The silver horseshoes she was wearing glowed brightly as they connected. The stallion let out shrill inequine shriek as he was thrown tail over teakettle into the nearby sandalwood tree.
As he landed, his shape morphed, becoming twisted. The creature raised its head and glared at the earth pony.
How?! You’re not a priest! You’re not an alicorn! You’re not a pegacorn! You’re a weak EArth Pony filly! How could somepony like you kill a shadow wraith?!
“Mah family has worshipped the Lady of Life since well before my grandsire’s grandsire was born,” Apple Bloom said softly. “Ah knew just what you were when Ah felt the first tickle from mah shoes. Granny isn’t just teaching me the way to make Zap Apple Jam; Ah’m learning all of the old Apple ways.”
The wraith let out a screech of pain and anger as the rest of its life force faded. Apple Bloom snarled as she felt the last of the mis-born’s energy go off in another twisted spell. The sky darkened as the illusionary magic took hold. The shape of the clouds above took on sinister qualities as well.
None of this bothered Scootaloo, as she could see through the illusion. However, Sweetie Belle’s already troubled mind- due to the artful hijacking of her earlier animation spell -was unable to handle what she was seeing. She screamed and fled into the forest.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both shouted, and chased after her. Neither one noticed the arrival of a certain striped mare.
“When a sour wind does blow, there’s little else to know;
By the sounding of Death’s Drums,
Something Wicked This Way Comes.”
With this little macabre rhyme, Zecora followed after the fillies, knowing that others weren’t far behind.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had found Sweetie Belle next to a small pond, shivering in fright. After getting a fire going, Bloom brewed a pot of a strange, sweet-smelling tea. The fragrance was enough to chase the fog that the illusion held over Sweetie’s fragile senses, breaking the hold the twisted magic had over her.
“Sweetie Belle, listen; that ‘Animate Object’ spell ya cast was spot on. That Whatever-it-was posing as mah cousin Braeburn- who never left Appleloosa -used its own magic to hijack it.”
“H-how did you figure t-that out Bloom?” the unicorn filly said, her word coming out in fearful stutters.” Apple Bloom snorted.
“Lotsa little things, and one big thing. For starters, his accent was forced; allus can tell when somepony is acting like they’re a country pony, just like allus can tell that ya sister fakes that Canterlotian accent she has.” Despite her fear, this caused Sweetie to let out a giggle.
“Another thing was the fact that ‘Cousin Braeburn’ kept calling me ‘his favorite lil cousin.’” The filly snorted. “Cos calls mah sister that, not me; Ah’ve never really been round him outside of reunions, so Ah’s don’t know him as well as AJ and Big Mac do. Ah’m closer to Babs’ side of the family anyhow.” Apple Bloom took a sip of the tea before continuing.
“The biggest thing though, was when he first showed up. Mah horseshoes done an shocked me something fierce; Granny Smith allus said that they’d only do that ‘in tha presence of Somethin’ Wicked And Downright Spooky.’” She snorted. “The only other time they ever did that was when all those fake Pinkies were around because of that Mirror Pool.” She snorted again, this time in aggravation. “Ah’s had to work real hard to keep them from glowing after ‘Braeburn’ hijacked a spell that worked fine right up until that moment. Didn’t expect him to make the cart run us to where it did, though Ah do think he was trying to avoid those changelings.”
Scootaloo looked up at that. “Hay, I thought they were working together, but you make it sound as if they weren’t.” Bloom shook her head.
“Ah think they were supposed to, but Ah recognize that lot from the fliers at the Post Office. Them’re some of Metaphorpha’s brood; they’re just as bad- if not worse -than ol’ Sticky Spit.” Bloom spat. “No honor among them at all; the only pony their Queen is in fer is herself.”
Apple Bloom looked up at the angle of Sol. “We’re probably gonna be here for awhile, so’s Ah think we should try and get some sleep.” She reached into one of the pouches of the belt strapped to her barrel and pulled out three small balls. Tossing these to the ground, the shrinking charm she had placed on them was cancelled, causing them to spurt out as a set of sleeping bags.
The three fillies climbed into the bags. Once settled, Apple Bloom passed around some trail bread, along with cups of tea. Meager though it was, it was enough to take the edge off their hunger.
Though they tried, none of the fillies were able to get any sleep that night. Which was why they were up late enough to hear the howling of a wolf.
A rustling of leaves woke Sweetie Belle from a fitful doze. The filly jumped up, lighting her horn to throw a spark at the nearly-dead campfire.
A form along the left side of their camp drew Sweetie’s gaze. The frightened filly moved closer to the fire as what was obviously another of the same creature that had masqueraded as Braeburn slithered its way into the camp.
Apple Bloom leap up suddenly, her hooves glowing brightly. The creature chuckled darkly and waved a claw. The moonlight in her horseshoes dimmed as its energy was sapped.
Before the creature was able to move further into the camp, a shaggy form barreled into it. In moments, the creature was torn apart by a large silver wolf.
Three other mis-born lurched from the treeline. Apple Bloom’s anger rose. With a trumpeting neigh, she called upon her earth pony heritage, and slammed her fore-hooves into the ground. This, coupled with the moonlight streaming into the camp, recharged the blessing within her horseshoes, restoring their magic.
A concussive wave of magic flowed outward from the point of impact. This rendered every misborn present- all save a winged one -into mere motes. Apple Bloom snorted in satisfaction. She turned just as the massive silver wolf barreled into her.
The other fillies watched in shock as Apple Bloom giggled while rolling around with what apparently was a big puppy. “Trevor, ya big goof! Lemme up!” The wolf let her up, a happy doggy grin on his muzzle.
Sweetie Belle blinked as the fact that the wolf suddenly looked familiar to her. She then started to grin. “Trevor, is that really you?” The wolf gave a soft woof. Sweetie jumped up and gave him a hug. “Scootaloo, don’t you you remember? Trevor was one of the puppies we foal-sat that one time we were trying to be Cutie Mark Crusader Foal Sitters!”
Scootaloo blinked, then looked closely at the grinning wolf. “Trevor?” she said softly. Her expression cleared, and she let out a happy yell. “Trevor!” The small orange filly leapt at the wolf in prelude to a glomp for the ages.
All Trevor did was let out a few happy barks and bathed Scootaloo’s muzzle with wolfy kisses. After a few minutes, Scootaloo settled down.
“But how did you get here? You’re not lost or anything, so how did you get here?” Scootaloo asked.
“In order to find you fillies three, young Trevor came with me.” Apple Bloom turned with a big grin to see a very familiar face off to the side.
“Zecora, you made it! So the spells on my bow worked!”
Zecora nodded. “Yes in truth young Earth Mystic; your bow and smoke did guide me well, though the sun and stars did more to tell.”
Apple Bloom blinked. “Um, what does that mean Zecora?” She asked, her one confused.
Zecora only smiled. “Worry not on the words that I just let fall; they are meant to tease and confuse those beyond the fourth wall.”
Everyone not a zebra- filly and wolf -blinked in confusion at this.
Zecora just smiled her enigmatic smile before joining the fillies at their camp fire.
“In case you have not heard, I have come to bring word. She of Friendship is on her way, to come and save you three this day.” The three fillies sighed with relief. Scootaloo looked up at Zecora.
“Is Rainbow Dash with her?” the orange filly asked. Zecora tilted her head in thought.
“What She of Light is doing today I cannot say; she may even be on her way.” Scootaloo sighed and nodded.
The four talked for a few more minutes before the fillies started getting sleepy. Under the watchful gaze of wolf and shaman, the three finally fell into an exhausted sleep.
The next morning, the three ponies, one zebra, and one overgrown wolf waited for Twilight to arrive. While they did, Zecora provided three growling bellies with enough trail bread to settle each, as well as settling her own hunger. Trevor went off to hunt rabbit for breakfast.
While the equines all ate, they talked about little things, instead of the situation they were currently in. This was a tacit agreement to avoid having to think about the fact that they were lost.
Zecora looked up at a growl from the woods surrounding the camp. She stiffened, as that wasn’t Trevor. Suddenly, a very large behemoth charged its way into the camp.
Zecora reacted, though she was already too late. Cages of shadow descended around each of the fillies in her charge. The zebra snorted, and called to the wind.
It answered her call, cutting the behemoth in two.
A snarl came from the tree line. A blast of shadow mana rendered the shaman senseless. Another dealt with Trevor.
However, before the shadow wraith could do anything to the fillies, bands of darkness flared from Sweetie’s horn. The filly was able to free herself, and shorty freed her friends as well.
The wraith chuckled. “Truly honorable prey. It’s a shame you must die.
“Not if I have anything to say about it, misborn.” The wraith’s head separated from its shoulders as Twilight stalked into the clearing. The three fillies clamored around the alicorn.
“Well, it seems as you three have had a bit of an adventure,” Twilight said. She frowned. “Did you pass any archways by any chance?”
Applebloom nodded. “We passed by a pair of stone pillars a little while ago.” She gestured at the trail behind them.
Twilight sighed. “I was afraid of that. Let’s get the wolf and Zecora up; you’ll have to come with me until I can get you to safety. The Forest Heart doesn’t allow for unicorn magic outside of a few spells, so I can’t teleport you back.”
“Can we please get some sleep first? I’m still tired,” Sweetie whined. Twilight giggled.
“Yes Sweetie Belle, we’ll sleep first. It’s not safe to move through the Heart at the moment anyway.”
Twilight built the fire back up as Apple Bloom roused Zecora and Trevor. Twilight smiled at the wolf. “It’s always nice to see you Trevor. “ The wolf gave bathed the mare’s muzzle, causing her to giggle. “Yes, you’re coming too. I hope Cadance doesn’t mind. Get some sleep girls; we’ve got a long day tomorrow.”