White Demure

by Heitomos


Twilight and Pinkie Pie: Part 1

While in the library, they conversed for a short while longer, making their plans before parting ways. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith stayed behind to try and be there for Apple Bloom in her time of need. Twilight and Pinkie Pie remained behind as well, as the purple mare had to gather her supplies, and since her pink friend was to be her partner on this trip, she hung around as well.

"Alright, Pinkie, do you know of anything over at Sugar Cube Corner that you need to take with you? Some food from there would be nice. And what should I take? I've never gone this far into the Everfree Forest before. I don't know what I should bring! Maybe I should just take everything?" Twilight said, rambling a little as she thinks of all the possible dangers and what she'll need to get out of them.

"Hmm... nope! Well, except for the food. Ooo! I should bring some cakes and sweets and treats galore!" Pinkie chirped as she responded to Twilight Sparkle's initial question before bouncing around the room.

"Umm... Maybe just enough to fill your saddlebags, Pinkie Pie. If you take too much, it'll just slow us down." Twilight replied, trying to calm to the hyperactive pony down a bit.

The unicorn then turned around, looking out at the pile of things she'd been gathering since she started to prepare for this trip, and brought a hoof to her face as she realized that the advice she just gave her friend applies to her as well. With that thought in mind, she goes about resorting her things, separating the necessities from the things she just didn't need.

"Aww! Oh well! I'll be back in a jiffy, Twilight, then we can go off together and save Ponyville! ...again!" Pinkie said, giggling brightly before zooming out of the door in a blur of motion.

Twilight Sparkle watched as Pinkie Pie left the library, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Not completely alone, due to the others in the room, but they were still so very silent that they might as well have not been there.

Now that she had time to think without any large amount of panic, she started to rationalize the events that were taking place here. She wondered just how and where Apple Bloom had caught this illness. From what she could tell, it was going to be really bad, and it was going to be spreading if it lasted too much longer. Such an epidemic would be devastating to Ponyville, and she only hoped no one brought it to any of the neighboring villages and towns.

Not only that, it was probably going to be a good idea to try and find where this disease came from in the first place. She was going to have to figure out a way to find its source, and then try and put a stop to it so that it didn't get out of control; but with her being preoccupied with getting a cure for Apple Bloom, she didn't know what to do.

With Spike gone, getting a message to Princess Celestia would be very time consuming, as the local postal service only went out that far a few times a week. In the end, however, she figured that it wouldn't hurt to at least send a message, no matter when it arrived. Twilight looked around for a moment, making note of the time on the clock, and then she trailed her eyes over to her scrolls and quill.

The unicorn took her quill and scroll and began to scribble down a letter to the princess, wanting to get all she knew about the disease across in the message before she sent it. After checking it over twice to make sure it was satisfactory for her princess, she quickly wrapped up the scroll and went outside, her eyes turning to the sky the moment she stepped out her door.

Ah, right on time.

"Derpy!" Twilight shouted, catching the attention of a certain grey mailmare flying in the sky.

Suddenly disturbed from her route, Derpy Hooves, Ponyville's resident mailmare, turned her good eye towards the source of the voice, only to find a floating scroll with a bit attached to it in front of her face.

"Sorry to bother you, Derpy, but do you think you can send this to Canterlot? Sorry about not having it in an envelope, but I did write the address on the side for you, and there's a bit for the service fee too."

The blond maned pony gave a bright smile as she nodded to Twilight, "I'll get your letter there! Won't I, Mr. Letter?" She said, a bright smile on her face as she grabbed on to the letter before continuing on her route.

"Thank you, Derpy!" She shouted, "Well, that's done. I can't get a letter there any faster until Spike gets back, so now all I can do is focus on getting Apple Bloom that plant."

While wishing that there was more that could be done right now, she walked back into her library, wanting to get back to packing her things.

"Heya, Twilight! Are you ready to go? Cause I am! Oh, this is going to be so much fun! Last time was so much fun too, lots of action and you falling off cliffs!" Pinkie Pie shouted to Twilight as she came in.

Jumping from fright, the purple unicorn saw that Pinkie Pie had somehow gotten inside the library while she wasn't looking for only a minute or two. Not only that, she was surrounded by cakes and treats of all kinds, not to mention two very stuffed saddlebags hanging off of her back, with not only sweets bulging out of it, but also various party favors and invitations.

"Pinkie! But how did you? Ugh... never mind, I know I shouldn't ask. I've learned my lesson on that. Anyway, Pinkie, you can't take all that! I told you it would slow us down if you took too much!" Twilight said, scolding her friend.

"Oh, don't worry silly, this is just a snack to help us get our tushies moving! Have some!"

Twilight sighed as Pinkie proceeded to push some of the sweets towards her before diving in and devouring her own small mountain of candy. Thinking it might be a good idea to eat anyway, she levitated a few of the sweets to munch on as she spoke. "Alright, Pinkie, I just need to sort through my things, and then we'll leave for the Everfree Forest."

"Okie dokie lokie! I'm all ready to go, just as soon as I finish these delicious pies!" Pinkie said, giggling delightfully as she continued to eat her stack of treats.

Twilight gave a nod to Pinkie Pie as she turned back to her stack of things. With her magic, she started to sort out the things she needed from the things her imagination made her think she wanted. As she reduced her pile of travel gear from an immovable mountain to something that would fit inside of her saddlebags, she continued to glance curiously to her pink friend, her logical mind still trying to understand how she worked.

Once her bags were full, she levitated them into the air and placed them on to her back. They were heavy, but as she tested them by walking towards the group of sulking ponies in the room, she came to believe she could handle the weight. "Alright, everypony. The others have already left to prepare, and Pinkie Pie and I are just about ready to go. Don't worry, the six of us together will get everything Apple Bloom needs to recover, and once my letter reaches Canterlot, the Princess is going to help us find and contain whatever did this to her. You have my word." She said, believing her own words and doing her best to cheer up the sorrowful bunch.

It seemed to work ever so slightly, with the young ones raising their heads and the sincerest of hopes crossing their small faces, a look that nearly broke Twilight's heart. If she needed any more motivation to go and get that plant, this would be all that she needed. "Pinkie Pie! Are you ready?"

"Hmm?" Said Pinkie, looking up all of a sudden, her face coated in frosting. With a quick wave of her tongue, she slurped her face clean and smiled, "Ready as I can be! So, does that mean you're ready to go now? That's great! I was just getting bored!"

"Well, while I can't say it's going to be fun, it's going to get rid of your boredom at least." Twilight replied, "Alright then, let's..." She gulped, "go to the Everfree Forest."

Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie stood in front of the daunting entrance to the Everfree Forest. The pink mare remained absolutely fearless in front of the terrors within, but her purple friend was looking a little more frightened. Recently, she had stopped having troubles of any kind reaching Zecora's house, but according to the little drawing the zebra had given Rainbow Dash, this plant was clear across the forest, in places she'd never even seen before. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for the long journey into the dangerous woods.

"Come on, Twilight! We gotta get moving if we wanna get that plant in time." Pinkie Pie said, suddenly several feet into the forest already, eager to get this adventure under way.

"Ack! Pinkie, wait up! We have to stick together!" Shouted Twilight, trying to catch up to her pink friend.

Together, the two of them entered the Everfree Forest, taking the path that had once led them towards the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters, where they had faced off with Nightmare Moon. According to the vague directions in Zecora's note, the two would have to pass by, or even through, the castle once more, the area marking their halfway point into the forest. The six of them had been through so much in their first journey to the castle, and now there were only two of them. Twilight was afraid of what might happen to them.

"So... anything yet?" The purple mare asked.

"Hmm..." Pinkie let out as she focused, stopping and frowning as she scanned every part of her body for some signs of change or twitching, "Nope! Not a twitch to be felt! Sorry Twilight, but I can't control it, so I guess we just have to hope it happens when we need it! La, la la, la la!" The pink mare finished, trotting away without a care in the world.

A small feeling of dread passed through Twilight Sparkle as she realized that Pinkie Pie was right. Last time they came into the forest, her Pinkie Sense hadn't activated at all, and even after that one particularly sensitive day or two, she didn't have all that many twitches from day to day. The unicorn gulped hard, hoping that today her senses would be extra sensitive; they were going to need it.

"Alright, well... you let me know the moment you feel anything, alright? There are a lot of dangerous things in the forest, and we can't afford to be surprised by any of them." Twilight said before continuing on into the murky fog of the woods.

The two continued to walk through the forest side by side, Pinkie Pie bouncing with a large smile on her face, and Twilight trying to keep up with her. The purple mare's eyes were darting every which way, looking for some sort of danger that would jump out at them for whatever reason. She knew that the last time they were here, most of their problems stemmed from Nightmare Moon trying to stop them from getting to the Elements of Harmony, but her presence also kept a lot of the creatures away out of fear of the dark alicorn. Now, they didn't have that nuisance or protection, and that worried the bookworm.

All of a sudden, Twilight heard a familiar sound coming from nearby. She turned her head towards her companion, and saw that Pinkie was getting one of her twitches Not only that, but it looked to be the worst kind of twitch. Her entire body was vibrating intensely, the pink mare's eyes wide open as she took in the information her sudden spasm delivered to her. The studious pony gave a hard gulp as she watched her friend shake around, finding a breath held in her lungs as her companion stopped.

"Woah..."

"W... what was it, Pinkie Pie?" Asked Twilight.

"I dunno! I've only felt his kind of twitch once before, and it was really vague then, and just as vague now. It's not as big as the last time, but it's definitely a doozy!"

"That's what I was afraid of... is it close? Is it going to happen soon?"

"I'm not sure... but it definitely feels like it's coming from the other side of Black Snooty's castle! It's going to happen there for sure! I wonder what its gonna be? Oh, I can't wait to see it!" Pinkie Pie said, her cheerful smile returning to her face.

"Past the castle? Then... right in our way... I just hope it's only as simple as what your last doozy turned out to be." Twilight replied, hoping that at least the journey to the doozy wouldn't be as hard as the last one.

After the exchange, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie continued walking down the small path they once walked over a year ago, keeping an eye out for danger. Things were quiet in the forest; not a single sound could be heard save for the bouncing of Pinkie, the clip clopping of Twilight, and the worried breaths that the purple mare was letting out.

"It's just so quiet... why aren't there any noises? The forest wasn't nearly this quiet the last time we were here..." The bookworm said as her eyes darted around, ever searching for danger.

"Hmm..." Pinkie tried to reply, but her shudders returned. "O-o-o-oh m-m-m-my, it's get-t-t-ing close!" She waited a moment for her shudders to stop before continuing, "Oh, there, it stopped again. But it's starting to get worse! Whatever it is, we're getting close..." She finished, her brow furrowing in thought.

"Well, whatever it is, I-" Twilight began, only to have her words halted suddenly by a loud crashing sound coming from in front of them.

From the side of the path, a few trees were knocked to the side as a hulking figure, standing at double the height of any pony, rippling with muscles, and sporting a coat of black fur suddenly burst out into the path. Once it was completely out in the open, it turned its head, or rather, heads, to look to the two ponies it had found. All three of its heads began to growl fiercely, hunger shining in all six of its eyes.

Pinkie Pie was frozen on the spot. Normally, she was good at dealing with fear, but when faced with giant, multi-headed monsters, she suddenly froze up. Twilight, on the other hand, began to scream.

"Ahhhh! I-it's a cerberus! I d-didn't think those existed anymore! Pinkie! Run!" She said, shouting to her companion, shaking her to get her moving.

The cerberus advanced on the ponies, getting ready to pounce on the two potential meals. The purple pony prodded Pinkie over and over, but the pink pony simply wouldn't move on her own. As she noticed the great beast ready to pounce, she realized she had to act now, or neither of them would make it.

Twilight Sparkle shut her eyes tightly, her horn beginning to glow. The beast lowered itself for the pounce. The unicorn placed a leg around the frightened earth pony. The cerberus pounced into the air. The magic became focused, and a fraction of a second before those large teeth met their mark, the two ponies vanished into thin air.

The cerberus crashed into the ground as its prey suddenly vanished. Fifty yards behind it, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie suddenly reappeared in a flash of light, the pink pony shaking her head and looking around, while her purple friend put a hoof to her head. The unicorn had mastered teleporting herself, but teleporting anypony else with her still made her dizzy. It took her a quick moment to regain her senses, but luckily for her, she had the time to spare.

"Ugh... okay. Pinkie! Now is the time to run! Go!" She shouted, trying to get her friend to focus.

"Wha? Oh! Right!" Pinkie replied, her shock fading and her fear powering her legs to run.

Together, they fled as fast as their hooves could take them, running away from the great beast behind them. They managed to get quite the head start, but the cerberus had recovered, and was now making chase. Its hulking size slowed it down, but it was still slightly faster than what it was chasing, and it gained more and more distance with each passing moment.

"Oh no! What are we going to do? I haven't recovered from the last teleport yet and it's gaining on us!" Twilight shouted, panic lacing her voice.

"I don't know! I have-" Pinkie suddenly stopped her words, but not her legs, and let out a large gasp. "There! That's what's going to save us!"

The purple mare looked forward, trying to see what her companion was talking about, "But... all I see is the river! That'll doom us even sooner!"

"No, silly! Come on! I'll show you!" Her friend replied, before dashing on up ahead.

The cerberus was a mere forty yards behind them when they finally reached the river. Twilight was full of panic, her thoughts racing on how to get out of this. As she was still recovering, a two pony teleport was out of the question, and she couldn't very well leave her friend behind. However, to her surprise, Pinkie suddenly dunked her head into the water, and from the mumbles and bubbles, seemed to be shouting something into the river.

Her eyes opened wide as she realized what the pink pony was up to.

The cerberus was only a few more leaps and bounds away, but it suddenly halted in its tracks as it saw something rise up out of the water. A massive, purple sea serpent suddenly came into view, water splashing over the area in its wake. The beast saw the giant creatures eyes lock on to it a mere moment before it took a deep breath and leaned forward, letting out a massive roar that shook the ground beneath it. The three-headed hound stood motionless in shock for a moment, before its ears flattened, its heads lowered, and it turned tail and ran away, whimpering into the dark forest.

Twilight's mane went from soaking wet to standing on end as she was splashed, then frightened by the massive roar. After shaking her head to get her head straight, she looked up to the sea serpent and broke out into a smile, "Steven! You saved us!"

"Oh my, that tickles the throat..." Steven said as he rubbed his throat for a moment before noticing Twilight. "Oh, why of course, Miss Sparkle! A gentleman would never let a lady come to harm! When I heard Miss Pie's cry for help, I just knew I had to come to your aid!"

Twilight smiled wide. They had kept in contact with the fabulous sea serpent on occasion after they had first met. The river that ran through the Everfree Forest spread out into the rest of Equestria, so while this was his home, he left to go visiting on rare occasions. "So that's what you were doing, Pinkie. I had no idea what you were up to until you started yelling into the river."

"Well duuuh! What did you think I was doing? Trying to see if I could sleep with the fishes? I just knew Stevie had to be here! I knew he'd help us. Thank you, Stevie! You're the best!" Said Pinkie, praising the large purple serpent.

"Oh it was no trouble at all! I'd gladly do it again if it meant my friends were safe. But, I just have to know, why are you two here? It's ever so dangerous, and with only the two of you, it must be simply horrid!"

"Well, it has been so far. But we've still got a long way to go yet, and we can't stop now. Apple Bloom is sick, and we're trying to find some medicine for her, but the only place where we can get it is far on the other side of the forest, quite a distance past the castle. And, while I thank you, Steven, and it's great to see you again, I have a favor to ask. Do you think you could get us to the other side of the river? We're in a big hurry." Said Twilight, having calmed down enough to think straight and want to get back on track.

"Oh my! That's Miss Applejack's little sister, isn't it? Well! I simply cannot interrupt you further! Hop on, and I'll take you across in no time at all!" He said as he puffed out his chest in pride, before leaning down and allowing the two ponies to hop onto his hands.

Since there were only two of them, instead of making a bridge for them, he simply decided to pick them up and carry them over; much easier for him. As the two hopped on, the pink one spoke, "Thank you, Stevie! When we get back from this, I promise to throw you a 'Best Sea Serpent Ever!' party, and I'll invite everypony in Ponyville to come and see how great you are!"

"Oh, you are too kind, Miss Pie. Now, off you two go! Be careful now!" Steven replied, having already put the ponies down on the other side of the not-so-wide river.

"Thank you again, Steven, and I'll make sure to get you a nice gift for your party." The purple mare said as she hopped off of the hand, giving one last look behind her to wave a hoof in goodbye.

Steven waved goodbye to the two, receiving a couple of waves in kind, the pink pony's being much more energetic and bouncy. Now that they were out of immediate danger, the two ponies moved on, leaving their water bound friend behind with the intent to reward him another time. From what she remembered of their journey through here a year ago, this was going to be the easiest part of their trip, a straight shot to the castle; as long as the bridge was still holding up at least.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie. Are you still getting that twitch?" Twilight asked, wondering if whatever they were destined to see was still there.

Her companion took a moment to pause, put a hoof to her chin, and frown in thought, "I'm not sure... maybe! I haven't gotten the twitch in almost ten minutes now. But, I'm still confident in my Pinkie sense. Whatever I felt should still be there." She said, going back to her normal bounce.

"Well, I hope that, whatever it is, it's going to be good news at the very least. Come on, we need to keep moving if we want to get back in time. We'll probably be the last ones back, but we shouldn't keep them waiting too long at least."

"Okie dokie lokie, Twilight! Lead the w-w-w-w-ay!" Replied Pinkie Pie, her body being hit by a sudden burst of the shudders.

"Oh my..." Was all Twilight said as she looked first to her friend, then ahead towards their destination.

It took them some time, but they eventually did reach the chasm, and were dismayed to find that the bridge had collapsed, either from age or some pesky animal. Twilight knew the castle was a stone's throw away now, with only this large scar in the earth in their way, and beyond that... she feared what they might end up meeting, but she wouldn't give up, no matter what.