//------------------------------// // 8. Out of the Woods // Story: Brave the Ulvenweald // by Silvermyr //------------------------------// In truth, Twilight could not remember much of her and Fluttershy’s journey trough the Weald that night. It was all a haze. She felt like she was having an out of body experience; like she watched her body stumbling through the woods from above. Her skull hammered like several Applejacks were trying to buck their way through her forehead, and the rest of her body felt strangely distant. She was freezing despite the night being warm and Fluttershy’s body pressing against hers. Her vision was narrow. Black-red tendrils were creeping and shifting along its edges, blurring her surroundings until it felt like she was seeing the world through unfocused binoculars. She just wandered in a daze with Fluttershy and hoped, hoped with all her heart, that they would soon get out of the forest. Moonglint was still out there somewhere, and she was still fit for combat. If she showed up now, Twilight did not know what to do. ”Just a little longer, Twilight, just a little longer,” Fluttershy said with certainty. ”I’m sure Pinkie will have a great party ready for us when we get home. With red balloons and punch for both of us and our friends. Then Celestia will catch Moonglint. We know where she is hiding now. We will get her, Twilight. You’ll see. We’ll get her and all will be well.” Fluttershy continued to whisper sweet, silly little things to her. Twilight did not know how long they went on like that, but it did make her feel just a little bit better. Fluttershy suddenly tensed up, ears lifted and searching. ”Somepony’s coming. And they are not alone,” she whispered. Twilight followed slackly when Fluttershy pulled her into a nearby bush. Before long, even she could hear hoof steps approaching from further down the game trail they had been following. ”Is there somepony here, girl?” a mare’s voice asked quietly. A wolf growled. ”Is there? Where?” Twilight willed magic into her horn, though it felt like somepony was trying to drill into her skull. With a groan of exertion she felt the light around her and bent it away. If no light reached them, they could not be seen. She slumped to the side, but Fluttershy held her up. One moment later, the village mayor, Evermoon, peeked through the bush, a torch in her mouth and a hunting knife in a scabbard on her leg. She was looking right at them, mere hooves away. ”I could have sworn I heard something,” the mayor said and looked towards her wolf. ”And you did too, right?” The wolf barked. Twilight forced her mouth to stay shut and prayed to Celestia that the mayor and her wolf would leave. She could not keep up the spell for much longer, and once she dropped it they would be seen. ”Weird…” the mayor shrugged and retreated. The wolf stayed, however. It growled lowly and sniffed. ”You coming, girl? There is nothing there.” The wolf stepped forward and promptly fell over Twilight. It gave a confused sound, jumped out of the bush and barked. The mayor came back. ”What’s gotten into you? Leave that bush alone already and- hey, gimme that!” The wolf snatched the mayor’s torch and threw it into the bush. Fluttershy pulled Twilight with her and threw herself to the side, but not before Twilight had her coat singed. Her magic waned for a moment. The mayor’s eyes visibly dilated when she saw Twilight suddenly flicker into existence, laying in Fluttershy’s lap. The two parties stared at one another. ”You’re here? SHE’S HERE!” The mayor screamed. ”EVERYPONY COME!” The wolf at her side joined in her call, howling loud enough to cause Twilight to flinch back and cover her ears. Then she was on Fluttershy’s back, dashing through the woods. Twilight gasped and coughed. Her breathing came shallow. She had never tested the limit of her magical regeneration, obviously, but it did not seem like she could regenerate blood like she could heal wounds. In fact, the more she exerted herself, the worse her condition seemed to become. Her already narrow field of vision pulsed and shrunk until it was like she was running through a long tunnel with only a pinprick of light at the end. The Applejacks in her head seemed to have broken out a battering ram. Every one Fluttershy’s hoofbeats on the ground sent shockwaves up into her chest. Her heart beat as if to escape her ribcage, each pulse diminishing her vision yet a little more. ”Got you!” Somepony shouted ahead of them. It was a stallion. ”Sic ’em, Gray Mist!” An angry snarl followed. Twilight could not see, but she willed magic in her horn nonetheless, though the headache made her grimace. The snarls changed into a confused whinny as Twilight levitated the entire wolf up and threw it back into the woods. Fluttershy had not stopped or even slowed down. She was running as fast as she could. Twilight felt her hop sideways to avoid the villager. Sluggishly, Twilight turned her head forward. She could hardly see anything, but what little she could see filled her with hope! The trees looked thinner up ahead! They could make it! They were going to make it! She and Fluttershy ran for the forest edge! Past it! Fluttershy squeaked and backpedaled, trying to stop herself. She was still carried forward by her momentum, but she did stop with flailing hooves and fluttering wings mere hooflegnths from the vertical drop of the Scar. Where there once had been a bridge, there was now nothing but a charred, blackened bridgehead. ”N-no…! Not like this…” Fluttershy peeped and looked around as if a new bridge was going to materialize out of thin air. ”This is not… not fair,” she peeped lamely. ”If you know your prey only have one means of escape, the hunt gets a lot easier. Cut off the escape route, and you have yourself a neat little trap.” Filled with dread, Twilight and Fluttershy turned back to look into the black forest. Without a sound, Moonglint landed just in front of her. Her black coat made her blend perfectly with the dark forest behind her. Twilight could not see where she began and the forest stopped. She just saw the blazing eyes, glittering like gilded dagger points in front of her, and a muzzle drenched in blood. Slowly the canine shape stalked closer, licking her spike-like teeth. Behind her followed many ponies and just as many wolves, some with torches, others with bows nocked and ready. ”NO!” Fluttershy screamed. The otherwise so anxious pegasus dropped Twilight placed herself in front of her, wings spread. Moonglint quickly averted her eyes, evidently still wary of the Stare. Fluttershy’s legs were shaking and her wings were twitching as if to take off, but she stood her ground. Twilight knew every fiber of her told Fluttershy to fly away, but she did not. Fluttershy stood firm in front of Twilight. ”You are not getting her! Not Twilight!” ”Fluttershy…” Twilight mumbled weakly. ”Stand down, pegasus,” Moonglint growled, though she did not look at Fluttershy directly. ”Before I lose my patience.” Fluttershy quivered and hiccuped, tears falling from her eyes. She did not move. Moonglint snarled. The wolves around the forest started to move closer. Fluttershy’s talent kicked in. Though barely a sound was made by the wolves and Moonglint, the message was all too clear. ”Stand aside, or you will be killed and eaten.” ”N-n-no animal will hurt me,” Fluttershy whispered. She looked around at the wolves. ”You won’t. I know you wont.” ”And me?” Moonglint asked and stalked closer and bent forward. Fluttershy could smell her, a powerful, somewhat metallic scent of bloodlust and hunger that sparked instant terror in any pony. The reaction was a heritage from an ancient past, when all pony tribes had to fear the predators of the forests. ”Are you sure I won’t hurt you?” She whispered, barely more than a breath in Fluttershy’s ear. ”Are you sure I won’t rip you to shreds, here and now?” Fluttershy felt the dagger-like nails press against her soft belly. Fluttershy was proud her heart had not stopped from fear at this point. Her voice did not carry. She just nodded frantically. Moonglint retreated slightly. ”Well, I suppose you are right. There is something else I want you to do. Now out of my way!” Twilight was glad she did not see, but hearing how Moonglint’s paw struck Fluttershy and sent her tumbling away was horrible enough. She felt herself being lifted. She kicked and bucked as best she could, but she doubted Moonglint even noticed. ”You, pegasus! You are going to give Celestia a message from me: If she wants Twilight back, she will have to give me somepony in exchange!” ”Y-you… won’t get Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered. ”I won’t let you!” Her last words were marked with despair. And around the gathered ponies, many voices answered her plea. With a guttural roar, a large bear rushed out of the forest, straight through the loose semicircle of ponies and slapped Moonglint away as easy as it would have knocked away one of Rarity’s dress forms. It placed itself in front of Fluttershy and the now unconscious Twilight and roared at the ponies around it, though not that many were looking at it; they were all busy defending themselves against the onslaught of deer and foxes and boars that rushed in after the bear. ”Don’t you dare!” Moonglint snarled angrily. ”I am the alpha in this forest, and I won’t take you opposing me!” With that, she leaped forward with her paws lifted to swipe with her razor-sharp nails. The bear roared back, just as angry as Moonglint over such an insolent challenge. Fluttershy looked around herself, scared out of her wits. So much blood! So much violence! All around her was a swirling melee where forest animals bit and gored and kicked their opponents. The wolves remained loyal to their hunters and were napping and bogging down any animal that got separated. They were a pack, and they fought like one too. Their masters, the hunters from the village were not much worse, supporting their wolves and friends with arrows and torches whenever they could. Whinnies of agony blended with angry snarls and howls as well as grunts and cheers from the ponies. But the animals were many; more and more were rushing out of the forest! Even a moose came charging in with its large horns bent down. A sickening crunch brought Fluttershy’s attention away from the bloodbath around her, back to the side where Moonglint had been sent. Fluttershy backpedalled in horror from the sight. Moonglint had caught the bear’s throat in her jaws and broken its neck. She spat out the lifeless carcass and leaped away into the fray with a carnal howl, her muzzle and paws bloody and glistering. She grabbed the moose by its horns, stopping it dead in its charge and lurched its head violently, breaking the neck like a twig. Many animals moved to attack her, and the forest around her became a bloodbath. ”STOOOOP! PLEASE!” Fluttershy screamed. She could not take it anymore. It was just too horrible to see! She could not stand to watch this anymore! ”Call them off of us!” Mayor Evermoon shouted back to through the hunting knife she held in her mouth. ”We won’t back down another inch, even if the whole forest is coming at us! Moonglint has helped our village prosper for generations! We won’t abandon her now!” She called the last part as some sort of battle cry. The ponies around her shouted in approval. ”Yea, for Moonglint!” ”Come on lads! They’re just animals!” ”Yea! We eat these runts for breakfast!” ”Come on! Let’s show 'em what species is dominating in this forest!” ”I want a new pair of leather boots!” ”Nonono! Just stop! Please!” Sniffling and half blind with tears Fluttershy leaped forward to try and hold back a hunter’s hoof as he prepared to let an arrow fly. She did not get all the way to him before she herself was tackled to the ground by Mayor Evermoon. They wrestled only momentarily until Evermoon’s earth pony strength allowed her to pin Fluttershy down. She held the knife just hooflengths from Fluttershy’s face. ”GET BACK, ANIMALS! GET BACK NOW!” she barked loudly. Slowly the melee stopped. All the animals looked at Fluttershy, and all the hunters looked back warily on their opponents. Moonglint stood on a minor pile of dead and dying challengers, licking her paws clean. She eyed Evermoon approvingly. ”Get back to where you came from!” Evermoon shouted. ”Leave us!” ”I promise I will let Fluttershy leave!” Moonglint filled in. ”She leaves! And nopony or beast more has to die!” Evermoon’s hoof on her skull stifled any protest Fluttershy might have had, not that she was sure she could bear to watch any more of this. The animals waited, watching Moonglint warily. ”I’m honest! We’ll retreat and leave her here!” the she-beast shouted. ”Get Twilight, the purple one,” she added to her loyal ponies, who hurried to obey. Fluttershy fought against Evermoon's hoof, but she had no power left. The fight with Moonglint at her hideaway, the desperate escape through the forest and this carnage had left her both physically and emotionally drained. She fell into a stupor, not asleep but neither awake. She was vaguely aware that the villagers and Twilight disappeared into the woods and she understood that a very large spider eventually helped her across the Scar. She heard two familiar bat ponies shouting around her, and then there was nothing more. ***** Celestia sighed and hesitated before the plain wooden door. She did not want to do this. It went against all she believed in as a princess, against virtually everything she did every day to keep her ponies and her realm safe. She felt her sister's hoof on her shoulder. ”I understand your sentiment, sister,” Luna said. ”I never thought we would be back here so soon either. However, for the sake of Twilight Sparkle, this is something that needs to be done.” ”That does not make this any more pleasant. And what will Cadance think? How can she find peace with this, even if it is for Twilight’s sake?” ”I don’t know, sister,” Luna said. ”But I know that she would go through with this too, just as we are.” ”Princesses?” One of the ten or so guards around her asked. ”Is something wrong?” Celestia sighed again and put her hoof to the door. It opened on silent hinges, baring a small room. There was a bunk for sleeping, a desk and a barred window, that was it. Inside there was one single pony, sitting on his haunches with his head dipped low, as if he had fallen asleep. He wore a thick wool robe with a hood and long ribbons hanging from around his head and chest, each one ending in a sharp metal spike. The thick garment looked like it would be very hot in his small room. His face was bent down, but Celestia still saw the mask over the pony’s face. The plague-doctor’s beak was unmistakable. ”He is meditating, princess,” the guard explained. ”I dunno why this guy is imprisoned here, but he’s been a real exemplar prisoner. He never complains about curfews nor does he get violent. Somewhat weird though; he meditates like that for hours every day and well into the night. I swear, if the prison somehow collapsed around him, he would not even get up to run.” ”And when he is not meditating, what is he doing then?” Luna asked. ”He is doing whatever ponies are doing to pass their time,” the robed pony answered. His voice was upbeat and perky. ”Reading the newspaper if the guards are kind enough to give it to him, talking with whoever would spend some time with him. Maybe play a game of chess or cards. He is not thinking of the screaming agony of a thousand murdered souls, or whatever you were thinking.” ”Golden Heart,” Celestia said disdainfully. ”The goldiest,” the pony replied and stood up. He met Celestia’s gaze. ”Come with us,” Luna said shortly. ”After such a kind request I can’t really refuse,” Golden Heart said sarcastically and went out behind the princesses, the battalion of guards forming a circle around him. ”So what gets me the honor of a royal escort?” Nopony answered him. Golden Heart sighed. ”If you’re gonna be this dull I might as well have stayed in the cell.” The dozen or so ponies went down a winding staircase until they came to a seemingly simple door. They went out and were greeted with what seemed to be an endless plain. As far as the eye could see there was nothing around but a flat field of grass swaying in the wind. Celestia knew the endless field continued for many hours of swift flight still. That’s why she put Golden Heart in this prison; it was near impossible to find and Cerberus had already failed once with disastrous results. Still, it had not helped. In the end, it was she who let Golden Heart out. The very thought made her stomach turn. She and Luna took their places in the chariot that had brought them. After some hesitation, Golden Heart climbed up with them, though he sat as far away from them as he could. ”Are you going to tell me where we are going?” he asked as the chariot lifted, pulled by the guards. ”Thou art to be exchanged for our beloved princess Twilight Sparkle, whose health and vigor is of greater importance than thine incarceration,” Luna said without looking at Golden Heart. ”Our journey’s end shalt lie at the Ulvenweald.” ”The Weald huh?” Golden Heart mumbled. ”I understand.” The three ponies crossed most of Equestria in less than a day, thanks to the great stamina of the guards. Not another word was spoken between the three chariot occupants. Instead reigned a chill between them that would make even a Windigo freeze. All of them sat and stared at in different directions, immersed in their own thoughts. ”Princesses, Hollow Canopy is below us,” a guard suddenly said, snapping the three ponies back to reality. ”Very well, lower us down,” Celestia said. For the first time, she saw Golden Heart fold back his hood and remove his mask to polish it slightly with the sleeve of his robe. His coat was pleasantly blue. A small crowd of bat-ponies met them when the chariot landed. It was early evening, so most of the town was still asleep. Two of them bowed respectfully to Celestia and practically pressed themselves flat against the ground before Luna. ”Revered Princess of the Night, we bid you welcome to this little corner of your realm. My name is Waxing Moon and this is my sister, Waning Moon. We helped guide the princess to the Ulvenweald entrance, and we humbly offer to guide you as well.” ”That is good, Waxing, Waning,” Luna said. ”Let us embark. Guards, circle formation. Should the prisoner attempt an escape, thou art allowed to use any means to secure him.” ”After command,” the guards said and formed a circle around Golden Heart, who put his mask on again. ”Be on your guard,” Celestia said. ”Our opponents are not to be trusted.” ***** Moonglint was bleeding. She had bit her lip so hard as to actually draw blood. Again. It was the tenth time that had happened in just a few days. She fell back on her haunches and dug out a small, carved jar with faintly yellow salve that smelt strongly of honeysuckle. She dabbed her hoof in it and gently smeared it over her lips. Once done she looked up towards the sun. It was almost time. She rose again and turned back to the clearing where she had made her temporary home, as her hideout was currently infested with bloodsucking plants that would reduce anything that came near to a mummy. In the middle of the clearing stood what few concoctions she had been able to brew with the items found in the village. More interesting that that though, was not in the middle of the clearing but in a tree at the side. There hung Twilight Sparkle, upside down and unconscious with a singe vine of Leechleaves wrapped around her barrel, her horn a few hooflength above the ground. The vine was visibly swollen. While they grew impossibly fast if given free reign, they could easily be controlled if potted, like this one was. ”That’s all I’m going to get, I guess,” Moonglint mumbled went up to the cauldron she had burrowed from the village. Using the ladle that hung from its edge she scooped up a generous amount of clear, viscous liquid. Carefully she went closer to Twilight and swiftly dumped the ladle’s content in the pot, whereupon the vine loosened its grip on Twilight and fell slack to the ground. She then removed the roots and pot, picked up the dead vine and threw it into a jar where similar red, swollen stems already laid. She then covered the jar with a piece of cloth. She did not want the alicorn to know she kept the vines. Twilight came about just as Moonglint turned around again. ”I’m going to let you down now,” Moonglint said, chewing on her lip again. ”My villagers have been working to build a new bridge. We are to meet the pretender princesses there in an hour. Don’t you dare to try any tricks. I still have enough potions to make you regret it.” That was a lie, but she hoped Twilight would not notice, being more dead than alive. Moonglint tried to appear unconcerned when she went around Twilight to cut the ropes that held her up. She heard Twilight hit the ground behind her. She was still bound by the wings and had heavy ropes around her hooves, linking all four legs together. Other than that, Moonglint counted on the blood loss and her experimental anti-magical potions to prevent the alicorn from escaping. And an escort, of course. Mayor Evermoon and another pony were already picking Twilight up. ”Should we go, ma’m?” The mayor asked. ”Any news from the bridge?” Moonglint asked worriedly. ”Nothing to report. Most of the village is keeping watch around it, and they are sending their companions to us every twentieth minute. Nothing so far.” Moonglint nodded. ”Okay, just give me a moment and we’ll get going.” Moonglint turned to the one small packet she had managed to save from her infested hideout. Using her beast-shape, she had been able to get in, grab her stuff and get out without dying a hideous death. A risk of course, but one she gladly took. All she believed in was in that packet. A dark steel mask. Hers had been modeled after her face while in beast-form, but made to fit her as a pony. That mask was her identity, the one wordily belonging that boldly proclaimed for all to see her allegiance to King Sombra, the Shadow Monarch. Other than that, she put on her practical gatherer gear. Heavy leather boots for traversing rocky ground, a pair of new saddlebags and some straps around her right front leg, holding a sickle, a knife, flint and steel and a vial, currently filled with colored water. ”Let’s get moving,” she said. ”Keep your eyes peeled. Our enemy is not to be trusted.” ***** ”There you are, finally!” Fluttershy said the moment the two princesses came out of the woods and to their side of the bridge. She had been waiting there for the last nights, ever since she had recovered well enough to leave the bat-pony town, hoping to catch a glimpse of Twilight. No such luck had come, but she did get to see how the villagers rebuilt their bridge and placed a few guards around a temporary campsite at their side of it. ”Do you have him? Who is it Moonglint wants so much?” ”That would be me,” Somepony said from within his circle of guards. ”I would come and greet you like a civilized pony, but I don’t think these fine fellows will allow that.” Fluttershy went up to the guards. ”Can I meet him? I want to see who he is.” The guards looked questioningly to Celestia, who nodded. The guards stood aside. Fluttershy reeled slightly from the plague-doctor mask, but swallowed her apprehension and went up to the alien pony. He had kind eyes. Pleasant amber. He shook her outstretched hoof vigorously. ”Golden Heart’s the name. Doctor, founder and only student of the magical arts of bacteriomancy, viromancy and fungamancy, at your service.” ”It was you who Twilight stopped in the Crystal Empire, wasn’t it?” Fluttershy asked. ”Is that’s why Moonglint caught my friend? To get you out?” ”Maybe,” Golden Heart said. ”I’ll be sure to ask her.” ”Twilight!” Both Fluttershy and Golden Heart turned around towards the Scar. Moonglint stood at the other side, leading a seemingly exhausted Twilight in a rope. Celestia took a step forward. ”Stand back!” Moonglint shouted. ”Only the prisoners cross the bridge! If any of you try anything I’ll have you filled with arrows!” ”Thank’s for your concern,” Golden Heart mumbled. ”By all means, make the alicorns angry while I’m still their prisoner.” ”We have brought who you asked for,” Celestia said. Her tone was cold and hard. ”We will send Golden Heart over and you will send Twilight. The moment you try something the deal is off.” ”I could say the same!” Moonglint called back. Golden Heart and Twilight stood up at either side of the bridge, and slowly started walking across, observed in deathly, anxious silence by both sides. They met at the middle of the bridge. ”Fancy meeting you again, eh?” Golden Heart mumbled lightly. He altered his steps ever so slightly to make sure his long robes momentarily brushed over Twilight’s side. ”Twilight! Are you hurt! What have they done to you!” Fluttershy was hugging Twilight the moment she had left the bridge, nuzzling her and wrapping her wings around her friend. Celestia too looked at her student with concern. Twilight must have been drugged or something. A twitch in the magic around her caused Celestia to look away from her student and over the Scar. Luna did the same, spreading her wings. ”Never felt better!” Golden Heart said and willed magic into his horn, making it glow in a pleasant orange aura. ”Great, now follow me,” Moonglint said with a worried look at Celestia and Luna. ”Let’s get out of here before this goes wrong. The rest of you, keep watch here, and if anypony tries to make it over the bridge, burn it! And send a messenger to me immediately.” Golden Heart and Moonglint took off into the Weald. ”Shalt we follow, dear sister?” Luna asked. ”Tis not an honorable thing to do, but for the sake of our subjects we oughtest pursue them, would thou not agree?” Celestia slowly shook her head. ”Not on their home ground, without any backup and with Twilight possibly ill. You saw how Golden Heart made sure his garments touched her? We cannot be sure he did not do something to her.” ”We… I presume you are right,” Luna said, glaring into the woods. ”So it would seem Sombra has equalized in our struggle. Both parties are back to square one.” ”Not quite, my sister,” Celestia pointed out. ”Much of their strength comes from their anonymity. We did not know what we were fighting. But every time we meet one of Sombra’s followers, we learn more. I know things look bleak now, but soon we will have the upper hoof again. With the Twilight and her friends, Equestria have stood against horrible foes and prevailed every time. I know we will this time too.”