//------------------------------// // Forests and Fears // Story: Dragon's Bane // by Sazura //------------------------------// When you are surrounded by dark There is nothing to fear. All you need is a spark And you know light is near. Darkness is only an opportunity For light to shine. ~~~ Spike awoke to the sound of primal growls and birdcall. His head still throbbed with an almighty thud, and his eyes were struggling to make sense of the alien situation around him. Slowly and painfully, he began to define figures. First, the sun in the sky, then the line of the treetops. The grass underneath him was rough and unkempt. His ears detected voices he did not recognise. “Like I said, he can’t know who we truly are, not right now.” This voice actually did sound slightly familiar. “Do not pester me with your lectures. I know what I must do.” The voice that replied was deep and thunderous, resembling a roaring fire. Suddenly, Spike’s memories of recent events snapped him out of his stupor. Fluttershy’s house. What happened? When did he collapse? And where was he now? “Quiet, he’s starting to wake up,” the familiar voice cried. A deep rumble was heard in response. Spike sat up, and his eyes took in the scene around him. He was in a small meadow in the thick of a forest, though he did not know which forest. Across from him sat a unicorn pony. Across her neck dangled a medallion, with the runes that depicted the words Bane of Dragons etched upon it. Her entire body was covered with a thick material, obscuring her face and cutie mark. Curled on the grass next to her was the largest dragon Spike had ever seen, even among the dragons in The Migration. This dragon was dyed sapphire blue all over, and the shine of his scales made him look like…well…a giant sapphire. His eyes were the purest shade of jet black, and it was rather intimidating. “I will go now,” the pony said. “I have a task to complete, you two get along, now.” The pony’s horn glowed, and she vanished instantaneously. She must be skilled in magic, Spike thought, I’ve only ever seen Twilight and the Princesses teleport before. What bothered Spike more, however, was what a giant dragon wanted with him, and why he was in the middle of a forest with no memory of how he got there. "Uhh...hi?" Spike stammered out. The dragon only looked at him in contempt. "Are you curious about your situation, childling?" The dragon asked. He spoke on without waiting for a reply. "We have taken you from Ponyville, as you can see. Do not think of yourself as our prisoner, that is not the case. It would be wise to not anger me, however.” "Well...who's the pony who just teleported away then?" This just happened to be the first question that popped into Spike's head. "I do now know her name. She is a member of an ancient cult known only as The Dragon's Bane." "Wait, doesn't ‘bane’ mean something bad? Why are you working for them, then? And what do you want with me?" "I am not working FOR them, childling! Choose your words carefully, unless you wish to insult." The beast's outburst made Spike jump quite severely. Taking several deep breaths he took on the dragon's advice and spoke carefully. "Why...did you take me away from Ponyville, and why are you associated with this group?" "I have my own reasons for being here. The reason we took you from your friends will be revealed in due time." The dragon's reply was kind of useless. "Well...what's your name?" Spike inquired. The dragon stared at Spike in silence, as if he were deciding it was necessary for Spike to know or not. "I am named Koblat. There will be no more questions," Koblat finished. His tone made it clear any more interrogation would not be responded to kindly. Spike's stomach gave a weak growl. He realised he didn't know how long it had been since he had passed out. A few hours? Several days? Koblat directed a huge black pupil in Spike's direction. Without a word, the huge dragon hoisted himself onto his feet, and flew off into the sky with speed Rainbow Dash would awe at. Spike had another revelation then. He did know that dragon. He had burnt down Fluttershy's house, after all. ~~~ Rarity wandered through the thick underbrush behind her friends. The tops of the trees blocked out the sun, making it difficult to gauge the time. The repeated clops of hooves combined with the ever-present ambient noises of the forest made everything seem to blend together, each new shrub and tree looking identical to the last. The fashionista was not accustomed to this environment. She knew this was not for naught, however. Spike was waiting for them. She wondered how Spike would feel about being rescued by the pony he always fantasised about rescuing. Would he feel ashamed of himself? Or just grateful? Those questions would have to wait, however. At the moment, more pressing issues were at hand. “Twilight, are you positive the is the right direction? I’m sure we went a different direction the first time we traveled there,” Rarity asked, looking around the scenery. It all looked the same. “Yeah, Twilight, I think you’re reading the map wrong. There aren’t even any holes in it.” Pinkie’s advice didn’t make sense. As usual. “I’m pretty sure we’re going the right way. To get to the Frostbitten Mountains after this, we’re going to have to cut through the Everfree forest diagonally. There’s no official road, but its not much different from the rest of the forest apart from that,” Twilight explained. “If you’re sure.” Rarity decided to trust Twilight’s judgment. The group kept on walking. After what seemed like several hours, or what could have been several minutes, a faint light began to shine through the thick foliage of the tangled forest. “There, the exit!” Rainbow accelerated with blinding speed and raced on ahead of the group. “Rainbow, wait!” Twilight cried. It was no use, however. Rainbow was already out of earshot. Twilight began running after headstrong pegasus, a look of panic on her face. The rest of the group followed, unsure of the reasoning behind Twilight’s worry. The source of the light neared, although they still could not see what exactly it was. When they finally arrived, they saw a unicorn pony. Against the black of the forest, her horn glowed a magnificent silver. Next to her lay Rainbow’s unresponsive body. ~~~ Twilight attempted to think logically about the situation. First, they did not know this unicorn. Second, Rainbow was hurt somehow. So, the logical conclusion was that this unknown pony hurt Rainbow. But that was not proven, and this pony should have a chance to talk. Twilight knew this, but the only thought running through her head was how much she wanted to attack the pony that caused Rainbow pain. Twilight concentrated into her horn, and a beam of pure energy shot out in the direction of the pony. Her aim was true, and the beam looked to be on a direct collision course for the pony. Except it never hit. The pony’s horn glowed, and a force field instantly erected itself around her, deflecting Twilight’s beam. What? How could she manage that? Even Celestia has to be on guard when I’m practicing combat magic! Twilight was flabbergasted. “Calm yourself, Twilight Sparkle. Your friend is mostly unhurt. I took care to cause no lasting damage,” said the mysterious assailant. Through her rage, Twilight faintly recalled the voice. She had heard it somewhere before. Twilight didn’t stop her assault. Her horn glowed with even more power than before, and a charged beam left her horn with an audible boom. The unicorn’s force field went up again. Except this time, it shattered when the beam came into contact. The unicorn was thrown back several meters, and landed with a dull thud on the earth. She quickly sprawled to her feet, and her horn began to glow. Twilight readied herself for a counter-attack, but it never came. Instead, the unicorn vanished instantly. She could be several leagues away now. Twilight slowed her breathing, and attempted to calm herself before looking back at her injured friend. Rainbow still lay in the dirt. There were no visible marks on her body; the unicorn must have attacked her magically. Fluttershy was at her side, administering basic first aid, though Twilight knew it was for naught. Magic damage had to be healed with magic. If the assailant were to be believed, Rainbow could be awoken with a simple spell. However, using the wrong spell could be disastrous. She would need time to find the right one to use. “Guys…we should probably stop here for the night. That unicorn is involved with Dragon’s Bane. It said on the medallion she was wearing. I’ll heal Rainbow, but I need time to find the right spell,” said Twilight wearily. It was not the exertion of magic that had tired her, though what she just did would have crippled most unicorns. The crash after the rush of adrenaline left her groggy. “Alright y’all. I saw a good spot for pitching up camp a while back.” AJ motioned back the way they came. Her knowledge of the outdoors would most likely prove vital for this journey. Twilight levitated Rainbow’s limp body, taking extreme caution to not damage her in any way. They arrived at the clearing AJ mentioned, and pulled out several unfolded tents. Once they were constructed, the group sat around Rainbow’s body, unsure what to do next. “This might take a while. I’m not as learned with healing magic as I am with other schools.” Twilight began mentally organising all the information she would need. “Are you sure she’s gonna be alright, Twilight?” Pinkie asked. She did not want to lose her pranking partner. “Yeah…don’t worry. I’ll just be a while,” Twilight replied. “C’mon, y’all. We should get some things for camp tonight. Firewood and such. Let Twilight concentrate,” AJ said. The group nodded and stood up. Twilight directed her willpower into Rainbow’s mind. She would have to find inconsistencies from normal brain activity, and from those clues, determine what spell the unicorn had used, thus finding the counter-spell. It was draining work, searching like this, but Twilight would not let her suffer. Eventually, she gathered enough information to be sure what spell she should use. The unicorn had put Rainbow into a state of dreaming, not sleeping but not quite awake either. Twilight simply had to give her mind a…kick, of some sort. To remind her what she was experiencing wasn’t real. Twilight’s horn glowed purple, and a few seconds later Rainbow salt bolt upright. “Hey, what’s going on? Twilight? What happened?” Rainbows eyes were wide open in surprise. Seeing Rainbow awake made Twilight realise how truly worried she was, her emotions had been numbed with adrenaline and grogginess. “Oh, Rainbow, you’re alright. You were attacked after you flew on ahead. A unicorn put you to sleep magically.” “What? Who was it? I’ll find them!” Rainbow’s eyes burned again with ferocity. “You’d better not…she’s quite skilled in magic. She gave me a tough time…” Twilight rebutted. Rainbow simply sat there fuming. Suddenly, she looked over worriedly at Twilight. “You okay, Twi? I’m fine, you know,” she said suddenly. Twilight was confused. Why wouldn’t she be okay? Despite being in this situation at all. “I’m fine, Rainbow. Why?” “Well…you’re crying…” she sheepishly pointed out. Twilight hadn’t felt the moisture forming on her face. She was crying. Why? She didn’t feel particularly upset about anything anymore. She felt a soft texture wrap around her. Rainbow was slowly embracing her with her wings, just like the night at the hospital. Twilight gratefully accepted the gesture again, allowing herself to sort out her muddled thoughts in the privacy of Rainbow’s wings. She didn’t want any of this. Her friends being hurt, Spike being in danger, and the possibility of an entire race depending on them. It clicked then, why she was shedding these tears. “Rainbow…I don’t want this…” Twilight sobbed. Rainbow withdrew her wings, looking hurt. “No, Rainbow, I don’t mean that. I don’t want to do any of this. I wish Spike was here with us now, you and Fluttershy wouldn’t have gotten hurt, and Equestria wouldn’t be so dependent on us. I know we’ve handled things like this before, but so much more is at stake right now.” Twilight ended her words with another wave of tears. Rainbow drew forward and drew the quivering unicorn into another embrace. “Twilight…you can do this. I know you can. There’s a lot of things depending on us right now, but that’s even more reason to do it. I know the feeling. I know I act all tough all the time, but truth is, half the time I’m not sure I can live up to what everypony is expecting of me. This is way bigger, but we have each other. There’s nothing we can’t do, right?” Rainbow said kindly. Twilight had never known the sensitive side of the daredevil before. Twilight simply drew herself into Rainbow’s chest and allowed all the emotions she didn’t know she was bottling flow out. Rainbow’s hoof stroked through her mane, each stroke sending another wave of bittersweet emotion through her. Eventually, she managed to stem the flow, and sat quietly against Rainbow’s soaked coat. “Thanks, Rainbow…” she simply said. Twilight pulled herself out of the embrace and looked into Rainbow’s face. The usually cocky pegasus had an unusual look on her face, one Twilight rarely saw on her. Was it…longing? Suddenly, Rainbow pushed herself forward and forced her lips upon Twilight’s. Shock ran through the bewildered unicorn. Her friend, Rainbow Dash, kissing her? She made no effort to stop her, but did not return the passionate gesture, either. “Uhh…” another voice suddenly called. AJ had returned, hoisting a bundle of firewood on her back. Rainbow pulled away quickly, refusing to make eye contact with AJ or Twilight. AJ decided it be best to not mention what she saw, and hastily began prepping up wood for a fire. Eventually, everypony else returned. A simple meal was cooked, and Twilight went to sleep that night more confused than ever. ~~~ AJ couldn’t properly believe what was happening right now. She had expected the rest of her life to be simple farm work, each day a routine that she enjoyed. It was incredulous to her, then, that she was about to leave Equestria altogether, her future unknown. But her friends needed her. And she wouldn’t rather be anywhere else. The forest loomed threateningly around them. Each hour blended into the next, and it felt like several days before they saw the trees thinning out. Eventually, there stopped being trees altogether. Rolling hills stretched out before her, the grass forming waves as they were assaulted by the wind. On the horizon, she could see the Frostbitten Mountains. They towered over the rest of the landscape, capped with white snow and black rock. She looked around at her friends, and saw they were anxious about crossing the border of their home. “C’mon. What’s a few mountains to the Holders of Harmony?” AJ said cheerfully, attempting to lighten the mood. It managed a small smile from everypony. “Nothing ever gets you down, does it Applejack?” Rarity joked. AJ stared on ahead at the unknown terrain once more, as storm clouds began brewing over the hills that lay before them. “Those rain clouds might.” AJ took the first stride, determined not to let this obstacle defeat her. The six friends ventured from Equestria into lands unknown.