//------------------------------// // Chapter Fifteen: The Deep Dark (Lisa) // Story: A Displaced Chaos // by Prince_Zodiac //------------------------------// Chapter Fifteen: The Deep Dark After using her tendrils to lift them out of the gorge, Lisa lead the Cutie Mark Crusaders through the Everfree Forest, passing by mystical animals and magical beasts of all kinds! “Whoa,” Scootaloo gasped, “I've never seen a timberwolf this close before! Well, not a nice one at least.” Being Lisa’s “guests,” came with certain perks, one of them being the safety the forest now provided. No creature in the Everfree would ever dare to imagine hurting anyone Lisa was guiding, much less actually trying to. She was their queen, and friends of the queen were friends of theirs. “This little one is so cute!” Sweetie Belle practically squealed. It wasn't often that one would get to see a timberpup. The litter of the alpha timberwolf were hardly ever allowed to venture out of their pack’s nest, only doing so upon Lisa’s request, or when they were being trained to hunt. “Careful,” Lisa warned. “The little ones tend to nip when they get excited.” It was rare that she got to share the more peaceful and caring side of the Everfree. Most ponies only witnessed the horrifying terror it constantly displayed, which made Lisa all the happier when others saw it for more than that. “How much longer till we get back Ms. Lisa?” Apple Bloom inquired. “Not too much longer,” Lisa replied. “So, have you girls learned your lesson after all this?” “Never enter the Everfree Forest without another pony,” the three replied. “Very good. Now, I believe you three have somewhere to be.” Passing the last tree and bush revealed the apple tree vineyards of Sweet Apple Acres. The red barn that served as their home stood tall in the distance, and three ponies could be seen moving about in said distance. “Here we are, Sweet Apple Acres. You three get on home alright?” “Thanks Ms. Lisa!” the three fillies replied as they headed for the barn. Seeing the three of them scurry off made Lisa smile. It reminded her of another young filly she used to visit. “Welp, time to head home.” And head home she did. She wandered through the woods, the occasional animal coming to say hello, and ventured back to her house, intent on getting some rest after such a long day. On the dawn of the next day, it occurred to Lisa that she didn't exactly dissuade the CMC from telling every pony in Ponyville about her existence. Most knew of her, but thought she was merely legend, and the ones that did know she existed, tended to keep things quiet per her request. Her hope was that the three fillies had enough sense to keep their meeting a secret. A few hours later, and the presence of six ponies and three fillies, told that they did not, and thus Lisa’s day just got a whole lot busier. “Why does this crap always happen?” Lisa lamented as she made her way to her would be trespassers. “A person wants to keep a secret, but somewhere along the way, someone doesn't know how to shut up!” Stepping outside and wandering into the forest once more, Lisa began to take note of who exactly had come with the Crusaders. Six familiar, magical presences alerted her that these newcomers were very powerful indeed. After all, there were the elements of harmony. “Of course it's them. Who else would they bring?” It took awhile, but Lisa soon came upon them, the eight intruders of her forest. “Apple Bloom, that demon is nothin’ more than a legend, y’all should know that by now,” the element of honesty, Applejack, said to the three fillies before her. “But sis, we met her! She saved us when were falling into that raven outside the castle of the two sisters!” “Say what now?” A pause. A pregnant pause. A pause that was pregnant with the terror at the realization that you just said something you probably shouldn't have. “Wait wait wait wait,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the tension. “You guys went all the way out, to the castle of the two sisters?” “That's about a mile into the forest,” Twilight, still a unicorn by this point, which Lisa preferred, asserted. “What were you three even doing all the way back there?” “Um…” Scootaloo began, “...looking for the demon of the Everfree?” The three did not escape scrutiny, all of which Lisa promptly ignored as she walked away. She would keep an eye on them, but if they didn't go past the castle of two sisters, then she had nothing to worry about. Keeping out of their sight wasn't hard. Ponies were notorious for ignoring things that weren't right in front of them, perhaps due to their skittish and docile nature. Keeping them in sight was even easier, as the group wasn't really going for stealth, and stayed upon the path to the ancient decrepit castle. Once there, the fillies looked around, and called out. “Lisa?” Apple Bloom shouted. “Lisa?” Sweetie Belle copied. “LISA!” Scootaloo shouted, hoping maybe an increase in volume would better her chances. But unfortunately, it did not. “Who in the hay are y’all callin fer?” Applejack asked. “I thought you said we were lookin for the demon of the Everfree.” “We are!” Sweetie Belle replied. “Her real name is Lisa, and we found her around here. Lisa!” The, “mane six,” as they were sometimes referred to, looked skeptical of their younger cohorts, but began the call as well. Lisa sighed at the sound of the uproar. ‘Should I just show myself? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?’ Then Lisa remembered the last time she asked that question, and how wrong it actually went. So instead Lisa decided to wait, hopping the mares would get bored and finally leave. Unfortunately, the group kept going, wandering farther and farther into the forest. Lisa had hoped they would turn back at the castle of two sisters, but they instead decided to wander farther into the forest than any of them had ever been. ‘Come on, turn back already!’ Lisa cried in her mind. But the herd of mares could not hear her, and subsequently went onward. And as they walked, Twilight noticed something was… off. “Hey, does anypony else think the trees are… different?” Indeed, the trees had begun to change appearance. While normally their gnarled trunks of brown were topped with green leaves of varying shades, these trees were slender and bare, as if it was still winter. Seeing these, the group felt more unnerved than usual, and they began to wonder if coming here was such a good idea. “M-Maybe we should t-turn back,” Fluttershy said fearfully. “I-I don't think we're s-supposed to be here.” “Ah’ve gotta agree wit’ Fluttershy on this one,” Applejack agreed. “This place is givin me the creeps.” “But we haven't found Lisa yet!” Apple Bloom said. “Can't we search a little longer?” The older mares were unsure at first, but the puppy eyes given to them all by the three young fillies evidently convinced them. “Oh very well,” Rarity said. “But only for ten more minutes, then we leave okay?” And so they continued, unaware of the demon that was now hurriedly searching for them. The Deep Dark. Lisa always hated this part of the forest. Unlike the rest of the Everfree, the Deep Dark messed with her in whatever way it could. In this case, it made her lose her quarry. Upon seeing them enter this part of the woods, Lisa had attempted to call out to the mares she had followed, to keep them from going further, but after passing a tree, they were gone. The Deep Dark was the most mysterious part of the forest, able to switch those who wandered inside from place to place, attack them with illusions, and generally do things to keep them trapped forever. “Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle!” Lisa cried the young fillys’ names, hoping to get a response, but none came. She begged whatever powers that be allow her to find them before they found it. The group of mares and fillies kept wandering further into the forest. It had already been fifteen minutes by this point, but the illusions of the Deep Dark kept them thinking that they had only been here for two. And as they went further and further, Twilight suddenly heard something. ‘Come…’ “What?” Twilight inquired out loud. “What?” Pinkie asked. “What? Wait, who said that?” “I did!” “No, Pinkie not that. I meant the other thing.” “What other thing?” Rainbow asked. ‘Come…’ “That other thing!” “Twi, ah haven't the foggiest idea what you mean,” Applejack said. “Can none of you hear that?” And it was true, none of them could. Only Twilight was able to catch, the calling from afar. ‘Come…’ “Well something's calling out to us.” “L-Like a g-g-ghost?” Fluttershy asked fearfully. “No, I don't think so.” It was strange. Twilight knew she should probably ignore whatever was talking and just turn back, but she was oddly drawn to the voice. She couldn't ignore it. She had to go to it. “You girls head back. I'm gonna investigate this.” “Are you sure darling?” Rarity asked. “I can't imagine that anything beckoning in a place like this could mean you any good.” “It'll just take a second, I'll be fine.” Rarity was about to protest, but Twilight was already going on her way. She thought about going after her, but decided against it. Besides, Twilight was the most powerful unicorn she knew, what could go wrong? ‘Come… Come...’ Twilight continued onwards into the dead woods, the voice that beckoned getting louder and louder. ‘Come… Come… Come…” The voice she followed made her shiver, but Twilight wasn't dissuaded. She kept following the sound, coming to the call. Up ahead, the dead trunks thinned out, making way to a bare field, empty, save for one tree that stretched into the sky like the tower of a castle. While most of the trees were varying shades of dark brown, this tree was black, and gave off an ominous presence. The wind had chilled slightly, and not a sound could be heard. And that's what she noticed first. All was quiet, so quiet in fact, Twilight felt the need to shout just to hear herself think. Even the voice, which had beckoned her all this way, was silent. Clearly, she had arrived. Although no voice was calling, Twilight felt drawn to the tree. She slowly approached, careful of any creatures or magical runes that could cause her misfortune. But soon the thought of danger was cast aside when she stood before the wood monolith. On the trunk, Twilight noticed a small carving. A circle, that had been crossed out, almost making a target. She reached to inspect the odd marking, questioning its origin and- “STOP!” Twilight froze in surprise. She went to turn towards the voice, but she was stopped again. “Don't move!” Obeying the call, Twilight became as still as a popsicle. “Now, walk back slowly.” Doing as she was told, Twilight backed away from the tree. Her yearning to touch and investigate the tree grew suddenly, but the stranger behind her wasn't having it. “Okay, now that you're away from the tree, let me first apologize.” Before she could ask what that meant, Twilight felt something hit her from behind, and she collapsed, her vision going dark. Lisa investigated the purple unicorn, checking her physically and mentally. “Good, I just barely stopped her.” Twilight had gotten awful close to touching the tree, and it was only by sheer luck that Lisa had been able to make it in time. Looking up, she glared at the mark. “I told you a long time ago, you're never getting out of that tree.” All she received in response was silence. Grimacing, Lisa picked up the purple unicorn, and made her way out of the Deep Dark.