“So what exactly is this thing we're looking for?” Rainbow Dash asked as she walked beside Sunset Shimmer.
“I think Fluttershy's bear friend has been infected by Equestrian magic and it's slowly turning him into an Ursa Major,” Sunset answered.
Rainbow nodded, then: “Yeah, still doesn't explain anything.”
Sunset sighed as she cast the beam of her flashlight around. The sun had almost set and the darkness was creeping into the woods. “Okay, there's an Equestrian creature called an Ursa. They come in two forms. Ursa Minors and Ursa Majors. The Majors are full grown, the Minors are the cubs. They're similar to bears, but they look like they have stars in their fur. Minors are blue and look like regular bears otherwise. Majors, however, are purple, have giant fangs similar to a saber-toothed tiger and large claws.”
“So why kind of freaky magic powers do they have?” Rainbow asked, excitement in her voice. “Do they like shoot the stars out of their fur like lasers? Or comets? Or--”
“Nothing like that,” Sunset interrupted. “Ursas don't really have any sort of magic powers. Believe me, they'd be a much bigger problem if they did.”
“So, we're basically fighting a bear with a 70s van paint job,” said Rainbow, disappointment in her voice.
Sunset shook her head. “No. Ursas don't need magic because they're huge. A Minor is about twenty feet tall. A Major is almost triple that. They're more than capable of destruction on a wide scale without magic. Normally, they live in the depths of the Everfree Forest and don't really bother anyone unless someone bothers them first. But this is different.”
“How so?” Applejack had come up on the other side of Sunset.
“Because Frank isn't a natural Ursa. He's an ordinary bear being transformed by magic. My guess is he won't get quite as big as an Ursa from Equestria, but from everything I've heard from Celaeno and seen on the news, he's got the same raw strength, and I think he started out as a Minor, but he's becoming a Major. Which means he's probably going to get stronger, even if he doesn't get as big as a regular Major.”
“And if that's true,” said Fluttershy, who had also joined the group. “He's probably scared, confused, and in pain. I can't imagine how much that kind of rapid growth hurts, especially if those fangs are growing. So he's been lashing out, trying to cope with the changes.”
“Exactly,” Sunset said. “And that makes him dangerous. I'm hoping that we can find him tonight, use our magic to purge the rogue magic from him and stop what he's doing before somebody gets hurt.”
“And before Agent Shadow decides to investigate all this herself.” Twilight had emerged from between a couple of trees pushing Rarity in her chair and followed by Pinkie Pie. “I'm pretty sure this kind of thing is well within STORM's jurisdiction.”
“Which is why we need to find him and do this tonight,” said Sunset. She turned to Fluttershy. “Are we close to the cave?”
“We should be getting there soon,” Fluttershy said. She cast her flashlight around and pointed when it illuminated a small creek a few hundred yards away. “Harry said Frank's den is just up that creek.”
“Well, let's go then!” Rainbow charged forward, taking the lead. “The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we can get things back to normal!”
She disappeared into the trees, making a racket as she did so. Applejack groaned and rolled her eyes before running after her. “You ever hear of bein' stealthy, Rainbow Dash?”
“Stealth is for Concrete Cog Gaseous!” came the reply, followed by another groan from Applejack.
The other girls looked at each other.
“I'm not certain whether to laugh or lock her up in one of my constructs,” said Rarity.
The dry comment broke the tension, causing the girls to giggle. Sunset cast her flashlight at the spot where Rainbow and Applejack had vanished. “Come on, let's catch up before they get themselves into trouble.”
This is the kind of comment that the universe takes as a cue. Within seconds of Sunset closing her mouth, Applejack and Rainbow's screams echoed through the trees. Rarity generated a crystal and levitated herself off the ground, allowing all of them to dash into the darkness, looking for their friends.
Elsewhere in the woods, Tempest Shadow had her own flashlight out and was keeping as quiet as possible. She could still hear the girls' voices echoing through the night, even if she couldn't make out what they were saying.
She was close now. She could feel it. She would finally find out what exactly was going on in this town and what those girls had to do with it. She paused for a moment and cast her flashlight on the ground.
Ah. There you are.
The beam had picked out several sets of footprints in the dirt, plus a pair of wheel ruts that had to have come from Rarity's chair. Tempest made little clicking noises with her tongue.
Sloppy, she thought. Very sloppy, girls. If this is how careless you are, I have to wonder how no one's figured out what you're up to yet.
As she followed the tracks, a pair of screams echoed out of the darkness. Tempest's head shot up. That couldn't possibly be good. She reached into her jacket and withdrew her pistol. She crossed her wrists, holding the pistol with one hand, while the other rested on top of it, gripping the flashlight. She made her way deeper into the forest, keeping an eye out for downed branches, stray rocks, or other obstacles.
A bellowing roar caused her to stop dead in her tracks. A moment later the sound of cracking wood and falling limbs accompanied by more roars hit her ears. Tempest felt the adrenaline begin to course through her veins and her breathing became heavier.
This was it. This was where she lived. What she was good at, what she was trained for. Something was hiding in the dark and she was going to drag it into the light, no matter what it was and no matter who or what else happened to be there.
Tempest took a deep breath and quickly moved into the shadows.