//------------------------------// // 91 A Trip into the Everfree // Story: Moonie shorts [Filly Nightmare Moon] // by Eighth //------------------------------// You're barely off the train from Canterlot when Moonie tries to make a break for it. You grab her by the scruff of the neck and turn her to face you. "Where are we off to?" "Nowhere," she shrugs. "Oh, then you can take your bag," you reply handing the thing in question. She impatiently clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes. "Me, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle are going to venture into the Everfree." "It's and I. When listing people you should put yourself last." "Why?" A puzzled Moonie asks. "It's impolite," you answer, unsure if there was ever a proper grammatical reason. "But," Moonie pauses to think about it, "I'm more important." "Yeah, I bet you think that. So why is Sweetie Belle last?" "Because I can't say all their names at once so I just went alphabetically," plainly replies Moonie as if that were obvious to all but you. "Do I need to remind you about safety in that Forest?" "No," she replies in a exasperated drone as she repeats part of the lecture you've always given her, "Don't stray from the path, I'm not to go too deep into the Forest, and if we encounter any animals or monsters we are to quietly turn back immediately." You nod and take her bags off her which excites the little filly as she darts off to find her friends. As you're heading home with all the luggage in tow, you grumble about not receiving a thank you at all which earns you the giggles of a few mothers nearby who overheard. The sky has been painted with sprawling hues of blue, orange, and pink that looks a little captivating out the kitchen window. Then you rinse the glass you were drinking from and note that it's getting late yet Moonie still hasn't returned. While you trust Moonie and the girls to be... mostly safe in the Everfree Forest, you can't help but hear a little voice of doubt and worry. It doesn't take long for it to eat at you, so you head out to go check on them. The entrance to the Everfree isn't too far away from Sweet Apple Acres, so you head over the there. Usually that's where they all hang out if not in the town. The wide reaches of the farm is a rather idyllic play area for any child really. "Hey," you wave to Granny Smith, "How's things?" "Oh, Mayor Anonymous. Things are good, I'm just taking a breather while I let the ol' cider air out." You notice a mug of foaming cider on the floor beside the old mare as she rocks back and forth on a deck chair. "Moonie around?" "Not that I know of. Ain't seen them since morning. Everything alright?" "Oh, yeah. Of course," you say in your best attempt at 'I'm not an overly worried parent' as you try to play it cool, "It's just almost tea time and all that. You know." "Ah, yep. Sounds about right. Well, if Applebloom is with her, could you send her home. It's nearly dinner time here too. We're having Apple Stew." There's the urge to question Granny about her endlessly apple-themed diet, but you decide against it. It might be rude. But you always wonder about it. Because either she should be sick of them by now, might have a deficiency in some vitamins or something, or maybe it explains her long life span. She is one of, if not the, eldest pony in Ponyville after all. "Well, I'd best be off then. Take care Mrs. Granny." She glowers at you briefly, knowing you did it deliberately but still waves you off with a hearty smile. While you could look around town a bit more, just in case, you figure it most likely that they never left the forest. And so, that is where you go. There's something about the Everfree Forest and then endless directions it seems to lead off into that makes you think that at some point you'll look up into the trees and there will be a cat grinning its little grin. And in some small way, you're little disappointed when there isn't. There really aught to be, sometimes this world just doesn't really follow the proper narrative expectations. The Everfree Forest, known for it's dark, gloomy, and ominous atmosphere looked dark, gloomy, and ominous. You follow the path but look out past the foggy tree line for any sign of fillies that strayed off the track. While there isn't, sometimes it seems like something stares back. Letting her go in here was stupid. Pushing the thought of monsters out of your mind only lets you focus on worry for the girls. And so you're in this weird thoughtful conundrum where you'd rather not worry endlessly about the girls for hopefully no reason, but the alternative is to worry about whether you're alone in theses woods right now. Both of which wrack your nerves as you push deeper in. "Uh, you know, I'm not really so sure it was such a good idea coming in here in the first place, you know? And we definitely shouldn'ta walked off the path like that." Applebloom stammers, determined to fill the silence. Birds caw, the trees rustle in the wind, and hoofsteps on dirt are the only things you can hear otherwise. "It was your idea," Scootaloo grumbles. "No it wasn't," shrieks Applebloom indignantly. "Yeah, Applebloom's idea was to come here. It was Moonie's idea to walk off the track," squeals Sweetie Belle. "We're almost out." you reply in a bid to calm them down as you feel three sets of eyes burrow into your back. "We should have stayed on the track, we're going to get into trouble," one of them states, it's hard to tell which as all their voices start to sound the same when they whine like this. "Look, we're back on it now and heading home. Relax, we're not going to get in trouble. Maybe a little for being so late but we'll be back well before it's dark." Your tone is firm, and a little on the harsh side. But it seemed to do the trick. The paranoia and fear that was swamping them earlier fades. Clarity prevails. For now. "Still, shame we couldn't find that manticore," grumbles Scootaloo. That sours your mood now. It was the whole reason the four of you stepped of the track in the first place. You found manticore tracks and wanted to see one, dragging the protesting crusaders behind you. "Uh, girls," Sweetie Belles softly squeaks. "Probably would have been a bad anyway," Applebloom replies to Scootaloo, completely ignoring Sweetie. "It's not like we were going to get close to it. Just look. Right Moonie?" "Girls, little problem," Sweetie reiterates. You turn around to try and put a stop to the endless chattering they're making when you notice just behind a wide-eyed and terrified Sweetie Belle towers a manticore. While trying to step over a fallen tree, you stamp your foot into a puddle of mud that sprays all the way up your shirt. "Typical," you remark as you try to flick off the chunky bits. There's still no sign of anyone, let alone a group of four fillies. Just as you begin to resign yourself to admitting it might be best to head back and grab a few people, you hear shouting. In an instant, you break into a run heading towards the noise. Hanging leaves and over-extending branches whip your body but you keep going until you see a mass of shapes in the distance. You push harder now. You feet hit the ground so hard your knees tremble a little before you're upon the group and the manticore. "Anon?" squeals Sweetie Belle, "You shoulda seen it." The manticore is out cold. No marks on it or any of the fillies give away what happened. "Sleep spell," Moonie beams maliciously, "Can we keep it?" "No!" You reply is quick and escapes your lips before you can even think about the possibilities for terror that would cause. Looking at how massive the thing is, it's easy to see that this one would stand nearly as tall as you are. Your eyes are drawn to examining it, from it's wings, to it's large fangs protruding from an under-bite, and its massive paws would have to hide claws large and sharp enough to do all sorts of damage that you don't even want to think of. "Aw, why not?" A million reasons fill the mind. Most clearly of all, that it's wild and dangerous. But rather get into that argument, you opt to get straight into discipline. You straighten, harden your glare, and temper your voice. "Because it's late and you're in trouble. All of you. Now march your butts back home now before I get angry." "You mean he isn't mad already," Scootaloo tries murmur to Moonie. But you hear, scowl and she accepts her fate of walking back with her head down low. Inside you sigh a deep sigh of relief at having found them all unharmed. And deeper in your mind you think about what Moonie just asked. Definitely not a manticore, there's not a chance that would ever happen. But maybe something else. All of the crusaders walk back looking deflated, Moonie however, her ego inflated to the point of swelling at having beat a manticore so deftly and single-handed. This would be something you'd hear about for a long, long time.