//------------------------------// // A trap, what could go wrong? // Story: The Blank Flank Adventurer // by Sapare //------------------------------// The Blank Flank Adventurer Part 3: A trap, what could go wrong? Light pierced Dream Feather's eyes as he slowly opened them. It took him a moment to remember the events of the previous day, particularly the reason he was sleeping on the floor. He could not help but voice a pained groan as he moved his tired and sore body. Sleeping in an uncomfortable position was the least of his problems, but it was still very unplesant. "I see you're finally awake. Do you always sleep so long?" The voice startled him, but he soon recognized it as belonging to the unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. He wasn't used to the company of other ponies, but he had to admit that Twilight was easy to relate to. Even if she was frantic and stressed out. At least she had a good reason to be in a bad mood. He turned towards her and smiled. He was feeling strangely comfortable, though he couldn't fathom why exactly he felt so at ease. "Hello Twilight." He blushed, "I guess? I don't really know how to respond to such a statement. Has the sun risen yet?" He could not help but chuckle. Yesterday's worries and fears were gone and he felt like they had never been worth worrying about in the first place. His only concern was that no matter how much he tried he couldn't recall exactly what had happened. As he continued to struggle with his recollection of yesterday's events, everything around him began to feel fake and wrong. I've never seen Twilight this... calm. And she's acting like she's knows me, when we've practically just met. And since when do I NOT worry about something? Concentrate and remember Dream Feather. If somepony wants me to forget then that makes it even more important that I remember. Twilight was so still it was as if she was frozen at a single point in time. The library had suddenly become dead silent and colder than a snowstorm. Dream Feather was no longer feeling comfortable. After what felt like an eternity, Twilight finally spoke, "I know what you did Dream Feather. And you are going to pay for it with your blood." Twilight's voice was cold and Dream Feather could not help but take a step backwards. Her smile had faded. It was impossible for Dream Feather to determine her mood from the strange expression she now wore. This is not real, I mean...it can not possibly be real. Time does not suddenly stop! And nopony could have such a sudden shift in personality.. What is going on? Is this a dream? A vision? Magic? "I... I'm sorry? Could you tell me what you are referring to?" He asked her with a small stutter in his voice. His surroundings felt so unreal, yet he could do nothing to fight the terror that was quickly overwhelming him. He glanced out the window, but there was a thick darkness obscuring his vision of the outside world. "Spike trusted you, and you attacked him like a savage beast. If you feel any regret for your actions, you will accept your punishment." She said in the same frigid tone as before. Dream Feather desperately clung to the conclusion that this must be some form of nightmare, but logic holds no sway over fear. Before he could overcome his horror enough to respond, Dream Feather noticed that his hooves felt wet. By reflex, he looked down and immediately regretted it. For at his hooves lay Spike's body, with both the corpse and his hooves covered in blood and viscera. "Bu- I...I did n-" He mumbled and tried to take another step backwards. His unsteady retreat was halted by something cold and hard. Unable to push past his dread enough to search for another angle of escape, Dream Feather instead looked back up at Twilight, who was now coated in shadows. "Oh yes Dream Feather, you most certainly did. You feel the guilt for your actions. Your memories do not lie. The question is, what will you do to fix this problem? Are you willing to die to set things right? Or will you kill to survive?" The voice was still emotionless, but Dream Feather was in no condition to notice such things. He had drawn himself up against the ice cold wall behind him and was begging for his life. "Please! I didn't do anything! I didn't harm him!" He shut his eyes tight, shivering and dreading what was to come. Silence stretched on for a long time, before he managed to open his eyes again. Unfortunately, he was still trapped in the dark frozen nightmare, but a few things had changed. For one thing, now there was an knife laying on a table next to him. And now Twilight was no longer an imposing figure, instead she was bound and helpless. Dream Feather was utterly baffled and could only stare at the strange imagery which greeted him. Until the same monotone voice that had previously come from Twilight seemed to echo from every direction at once. "You or her. Kill or be killed." The knife lifted into the air, as if by magic, and hovered in front of his mouth with its blade pointed at Twilight. He didn't take the knife, he couldn't. He was still too shocked, too stunned to even consider taking action. After a very long silence he whispered to the darkness, "I'd rather die than kill..." The response came, not from the same source as before, but rather from his voice. The words being shaped by his mouth aganst his will, "Are you certain?" Dream Feather received no opportunity to answer the question, as he saw the blade suddenly spin around and felt an sharp pain in his throat. He tried to scream... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dream Feather was screaming when he woke up. It took him a moment to realize that the nightmare was over. He was back in the library, but to his relief it was much brighter and warmer than the one from his horrible vision. The room was crowded with the five mares he had met the previous day. "Are ya sure he's alright? He seems really out of it." The orange pony said, sounding very concerned. Her name was Applejack if his memory was correct. "It's probably a bad dream brought on by his guilt for his actions. I would say this reaction proves his involvment, but he mentioned the menace of memory and mind manipulation magics yesterday. With that possibility in mind, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. At least, for now." Twilight responded. Dream Feather was very glad to hear her voice filled with emotion and life. "Mind manipulation? Such magic is hardly commonplace. However, I do not doubt that whatever villain is behind these events would dare to use them." The other unicorn, Rarity if he wasn't mistaken, was obviously very concerned about the possibility. The other ponies fell silent. They knew very little about magic, but the thought of somepony being able to alter their memories didn't exactly sound pleasant. Even Pinkie Pie had lost her seemingly ubiquitous smile. "I have the same worries. Anypony who would attack and foalnap other ponies, isn't likely to flinch away from misusing any magic they have access to. Sadly, we have no way of knowing how powerful this pony is or what the limitations of such spells might be. My own knowledge of the subject is cursory at best and..." Twilight trailed off for a moment and frowned, "And I have no expeditious means of contacting Celestia for more information." Dream Feather felt quite small and unimportant as he heard all of this. How could he, a simple author, help these ponies fight an evildoer who seemed to have everything planned out? I am in way over my head. What do I know about adventures and fighting evildoers anyway? How are all those stories I've read supposed to help me deal with the real thing? All I've ever done is read and write about them, but it's not the same... He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Applejack's voice, strong and certain as she made her case, "It's still better than doing nothing! Just talking about how dangerous this evil pony is won't get anything done. We have to go out there and get our friends back!" Evidently, he had missed part of the conversation while he was absorbed in his own thoughts. Twilight give a sigh as she glanced at her friends. While all of them were obviously anxious to take action, it seemed that some of them did not share Applejack's opinion on what that action should be. "Well, we can't go running into the Everfree without a plan and expect to find this evildoer. That would be an even bigger waste of time than 'just talking.'" Rarity said, giving Applejack a look that Dream Feather couldn't quite understand. It was like she had expected Applejack to suggest such a thing. "I agree with Rarity. We are not wasting time Applejack, rather we're making sure we use our time efficiently. We need to discuss what options we have. Anypony with an idea feel free to speak up." Twilight explained, her tone filled with sympathy for Applejack. She wanted to be out there searching as well, but she knew that charging in blindly was a mistake they couldn't afford. "We should contact Celestia and tell her of recent events." Rarity proposed. Applejack spoke up immediately, "And tell her what? Going to Celestia would be a big waste of our time. Even if we brought her back here with us, the pony behind this all would just stay hidden away. I say we start tracking them down right now!" "Applejack, you are not thinking this through! We would be accomplishing nothing, but wasting time if we start wandering around in the Everfree with nothing to go on." Rarity shot back at her. "Girls! Both of you make good points, but we have to go at this with thought and not emotions. Rarity, what are we going to tell Celestia that she doesn't already know? That Spike is gone and we don't know if we can trust Dream Feather? We could leave Dream Feather under the supervision of the Royal Guard, but that doesn't bring us any closer to finding our friends. And Applejack, if we just search the Everfree on our own without any indication of where we should be looking, we''ll be putting ourselves in danger with little hope of actually finding Spike and Rainbow Dash." Twilight quickly took back control of the conversation. It was obvious she found the argument between her friends exasperating. If we have no way of finding the villain... then we should make them come to us instead. Some sort of ambush perhaps? That's how the heroes I've read about would do it. "All of us going to Canterlot would take too long and sending only a few ponies would be like asking for them to get attacked. And if the Everfree is as dangerous as you say, then searching around for somepony that doesn't want to be found would be foalish. So instead of searching for them, we should make them come to us. Lure them to someplace where we'll be prepared to face them." Dream Feather related his thoughts as best as his could, feeling slightly nervous about suggesting anything to the tense ponies. Twilight was obviously surprised by his idea. She hadn't expected him to contribute to the conversation at all with how silent he'd been. "A trap? That sounds reasonable. We probably wouldn't be able to track him or her down anyway. What kind of trap do you propose we should use?" Her positive response helped bolster Dream Feather's courage. Maybe this was how he could help? "Based on what Spike told me, I believe that this pony is targeting the Elements. Waiting until one of you is vulnerable. We can use this knowledge to lure them to us. We could split up into groups and start searching the Everfree, but make sure we have some way of contacting each other. If we can make it look like one of the Elements is alone or something, we should be able to catch them off guard." A gentle murmur swept through the room as the five mares considered his plan. Applejack was the first to decide how she felt about the idea, "I'd say that sounds like something a lot more useful than sitting around and doing nothing. I'll even agree to be the bait, if it means we can get RD and Spike back!" "Yeah! Once we've caught this meany pony, they'll have to tell us where Dashie and Spike are! Then we can throw a super terrific party!" The pink pony bounced arround the room as she spoke. Her rambunctious behavior dispelled the tension that had built up. Twilight, however was not as easily convinced that such a vague plan would succeed. She spoke words of caution, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves now. This plan might not be a bad idea, but we have to consider everything that could go wrong. If we take action without the proper preparation, we could end up even worse off than we are now." "I do not approve of this plan at all. You are suggesting that we intentionally place ourselves in exactly the situation that this villain would want. Seperated from our friends in the most dangerous location in Equestria. Twilight is right, too many things could go wrong. It seems to me that the best option we have at the moment is making the trip to Canterlot." After Rarity had spoken the room fell silent for a moment. Neither Fluttershy nor Twilight had given conclusive statements as to their opinions. Everypony knew Fluttershy was not going to speak up on her own and Twilight had hoped to maintain her neutrality. "If nopony else has any objection, then it looks like we have decided to go through with this. But this plan needs to be more than just splitting into small groups and hoping for the best. What exactly did you have in mind Dream Feather?" Dream Feather couldn't hide the surge of excitement and joy that rushed through him. He'd never really had anypony depend on him before. The fact that they were willing to trust him with this task made him happier than he would have expected. If this plan works then the villain will be caught and my innocence will be proven. I will finally be able to return to my normal life. Everypony will be safe and sound. This plan has to work... The five mares were staring at him expectantly. There was another part to having somepony rely on you, he realized. The pressure. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so great about having everything depend on his plan. "Well, I had not really planned this out. I was just throwing the general idea out there. But obviously we need to divide into groups and set some sort of signal for each group." Dream Feather awkwardly concluded. The other ponies were obviously anticipating a more detailed plan than what he had to offer. "Alright, if we are going to attempt this then we need much better planning. Dream Feather doesn't know any of us well enough to arrange the groups and choose the signal. So I'll handle all of the specifics, if nopony has any objections." While Twilight spoke she turned towards Dream Feather. Obviously the last part of her statement was directed at him, but he could see no reason why he would want to object. Afterall, he rather disliked being in the spotlight and she was certainly a more adept leader than himself. With Dream Feather making it apparent that he had no complaints, Twilight continued, "We will form two groups of three ponies each. The first group, which will contain Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack, will go to Zecora's hut. The second group, which will consist of Fluttershy, Dream Feather, and myself, will search a seperate path that runs parallel to the first group's. Both groups should take the time to investigate any possible leads they notice until the first group reaches Zecora's hut. Once the three of you arrive at Zecora's, Applejack will leave to begin searching on her own while Pinkie and Rarity do their best to keep an eye on her without revealing themselves." "And if we spot anything unusual, then we somehow contact you?" Rarity questioned. "Yes, something simple will work best. Make the brightest light you can with your magic. That should be visible to me as long as the first group stays close enough to Applejack. Then I'll teleport the three of us to your location and we'll catch the pony behind all of this off guard. Actually if your light is sudden and intense, you may be able to startle them long enough for Applejack to take care of everything herself. But we won't be relying on that." Everypony considered the plan silently for a moment. "Sounds like a good plan to me. All I have to do is play bait for a bit. And once this evil pony shows up, I'll show him what he gets for hurting my friends." Applejack spoke with such passion that Dream Feather could not help but wonder how loyal Rainbow Dash must be, for her to be considered the Element of Loyalty, instead of Applejack. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The walk to the Everfree Forest was not very long. As they got closer to the edge of the forest, Dream Feather couldn't stop thinking about all the tales and horror stories he'd read about the terrifying place. Why had he thought this would be a good location for the ambush? "Alright, it's time for us to split up. We will search for any clues or leads until the sun starts to set. Everypony should be back here by the time it gets dark. Then we will discuss our findings. That is sadly the best we can do to help our friends. Now everypony remember to stay vigilant, a moment of inattention could have a terrible cost." The apprehension in Twilight's words was apparent to them all. The other mares did their best to raise her spirits. "Don't worry Sugarcube, I won't let my guard down for a second." "Of course Darling." "There's no need to be so gloomy. We'll have our friends back before you know it!" "...I'm sure everything will turn out okay." Dream Feather was too preoccupied by his own fears to pay much attention to the others. "Why does this forest have to look so grim?" He muttered to himself. After noticing that he'd been speaking out loud, he felt incredibly silly. He was the one who proposed this plan in the first place and now he was getting cold hooves because of some creepy forest. Luckily, none of the other ponies heard him or at least they didn't make a big deal out of it if they did. After seperating into their predetermined groups, the six ponies entered the foreboding forest. "So... how dangerous is this forest really? How many of the stories are just old mare's tales made to scare young colts and fillies?" Dream Feather couldn't stop himself from asking. He wasn't entirely certain he wanted to hear the answer. "The Everfree Forest is every bit as dangerous as it is made out to be. Maybe even more so. However, as long as you stay close to us, you should be fine." Twilight reassured with a surprising amount of compassion in her voice. With Twilight's words alleviating some of Dream Feather's fears, he noticed that Fluttershy seemed to be even more on edge than he was. He was terrified, but at least he knew how to hide and suppress it. Afterall, freaking out would only make things worse. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, seemed to be getting even worse the further they ventured into the Everfree. Twilight's reassurance had proven fairly effective for his worries, maybe if he talked to Fluttershy he could draw her attention away from their dark surroundings? "Hello. I am Dream Feather, but you probably already know that..." Dream Feather wore his comforting smile, he was certain they could both use a little comfort at this point. He cleared his throat and continued, "I just wanted to learn more about you and the Element you hold. It is not every day I get to meet a hero like you." "...learn more about me? A hero? I'm not a hero, I'm just... a normal pony." Her response was whispered so gently that Dream Feather could barely make out her words. He wondered how somepony could have such an appropriate name, and also how such a timid pony could be one of the Elements of Harmony. He knew he was very socially awkward, but at least he could talk. "Alright... But you saved the world with your friends before, right? I mean, I heard Spike talk about Discord and some other things. If you have faced those kinds of threats, then why are you so scared of this forest?" Dream Feather wasn't ready to give up on the conversation just yet. He felt sympathy for this pony who was clearly no more apt to adventure than he was. To his luck the mention of Discord seemed to have grabbed Fluttershy's attention. "Discord was a big meany. But that's not the same as this... The Everfree Forest isn't dangerous because it's mean. It's dangerous because these animals are very territorial or hungry." Dream Feather was surprised by Fluttershy's response. She is very timid, but she's no coward. She just doesn't want any confrontation if she can avoid it. And her insight about the dangers of the forest demonstrates a greater degree of understanding towards the monsters than I would have expected from anypony, let alone one so scared of the Everfree. "I guess I can understand that. If it's no trouble, could you tell me what Element of Harmony you represent? Your words have only made me more curious." Dream Feather wanted to know more about this gentle pegasus. This was the third pony he'd met who intrigued him so, the other two being Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. Was it something about the Elements of Harmony that drew his attention? Or were all ponies this interesting and he had simply never spent enough time talking to them to realize it? "I bear the Element of Kindness. I um... I spend a lot of time caring for the animals around Ponyville... So maybe that's why. I mean... I always try to be nice. I'm really not a hero though, I just want everypony to be safe and happy. I don't want anyone to get hurt." Fluttershy's voice got a little louder as she talked. "That is a very respectable go-" Dream Feather was interrupted by a brilliant flash of light in the distance. "That's the signal! Hold still for a moment while I teleport us to Applejack. Be ready for anything." Dream Feather fell silent and waited for Twilight to work her magic. He couldn't believe that he had gotten so distracted talking to Fluttershy that he'd completely stopped paying attention to his surroundings. What if they had missed an important clue while they were talking? While he was waiting he glanced over at Fluttershy, she seemed a lot more determined now that her friends were in danger. Dream Feather, however could not shake an uneasy feeling as he thought about everything that might go wrong. If this forest is so dangerous, what if something else attacks Applejack and forces Rarity to give the signal? Or what if this villain targets some other pony instead of going for the bait? It's not like we can easily see what's happening with all these trees in the way. Actually, now that I think about it... couldn't any unicorn send the signal? There are so many holes in this plan! What was I thinking? Before he could bring any of his concerns to Twilight's attention, the teleportation spell began. It was over in a flash, a brief moment of weightlessness and then he was somewhere else. Alone. The spell worked, but I don't see anypony... This was definitely not a part of the plan. Dream Feather could feel his panic rising. He had no idea where in the Everfree Forest he was and the fact that nopony else was around did not bode well for him. Strangely, he felt even more concerned about the others than he did about his own predicament. It is safe to assume that if I'm not where I'm supposed to be, then Twilight and Fluttershy aren't either. Lost alone in the most dangerous place in all Equestria. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! Why didn't Twilight know this could happen? Why didn't I realize how stupid this plan was sooner? He heard a noise and immediately dropped prone, hoping that whatever it was wouldn't notice him. After a few minutes of hugging the ground with nothing happening, he had calmed down enough to stand up again. Ok... cowering in fear certainly never helped anypony. I have to keep my wits about me and try to find the others. He examined his surroundings in greater detail. It didn't help much. This area of the forest was so densely packed with trees that he couldn't see very far. If only he could get on top of the trees, he'd be able to see so much farther... Dream Feather smacked himself in the face with his hoof. He couldn't believe he had completely forgotten about his wings. Without wasting another moment he took to the air. For the first time in his life, he felt a deep appreciation and respect for his wings. He'd have to take better care of them from now on. As he approached the canopy, he noticed the reason why it was perpetually dark in the Everfree Forest. The branches had formed together into a tightly knit barrier of wood. Dream Feather took a moment to doubt his planned course of action. If he tries to break through these branches he might end up severely hurting himself. Or his wings. And then he'd be completely stuck. Well, I could wait here for the others to find me. Or try navigating the forest by hoof. But with how dangerous it is in here, I'd surely end up with worse wounds than these branches can possibily cause. Or I might become food for some hungry creature... I don't even want to think about that. With that possiblity pushing him onwards, he steeled himself and flew into the weave of branches. It felt like flying into a brick wall. Dream Feather gave a howl of pain as the strangely sharp pieces of wood seemed to reach out and dig into his soft skin. But it was too late to stop now, his momentum had carried him through several layers of the branches. He continued to struggle against the thorny protrusions and for a brief moment it felt like he was making headway. Then his body refused to continue the fight. He wasn't strong enough. He plummeted back down to the hard forest floor. Dream Feather's mind was a muddled mess. He lay amongst the strange plants covering the ground for several minutes, as he recuperated from his failure and his fall. Even after he had cleared his thoughts, he continued to lie on the hard ground. He couldn't bring himself to move his hurt and tired body. I am not supposed to be here. Why did I ever step outside my cloudhouse door? My hooves took me somewhere I never wanted to be... I hope the others are okay. I've managed to ruin everything so far. His surroundings seemed to fade away as he lay there unmoving. Dream Feather knew that he couldn't just stay like that. He knew that he had to try to escape. That he had to find a way out. He opened his eyes again and looked around. Okay, I am still alive. If anything wanted me dead I would be at this point... So nothing wants me dead? At least right now. All I have to do is walk far enough in any direction to get out of the forest. Once I'm out of the forest I can find my way back home. Unless I can manage to break through the rest of those branches. That would be much quicker. He looked up at the branch cover once more and sadly concluded that it would be impossible for him to break them all. He just wasn't strong enough, he couldn't fly fast enough. Simply thinking about it made the many cuts and wounds he had receieved burn, the pain dominating his focus for a moment. Maybe if I were Rainbow Dash or one of the famous Wonderbolts. But not me... not Dream Feather, I am a pony who's always concentrated on mental strength, not physical. How can all those books I've read help me now? What use is there for all that time spent writing? He sat back down on the ground and gave a sigh. It didn't matter how much he tried, there was nothing to use as a guide. The sun was almost completely hidden by the tightly woven branches and all of the trees looked the same to him. It wasn't like there were a lot of books on how to survive in the Everfree. Nopony was suicidal enough to do the research. Is this really how I am going to die? Stuck in this stupid forest, because some stupid unicorn messed up her stupid spell? Okay... it probably wasn't Twilight's fault. But what am I supposed to do now?