//------------------------------// // Good Friends // Story: Battle of the Blanks // by HumanSVD //------------------------------// " SSSHHHIIIIITTTTTTT! What da fuk has happened here!" Konrad was freaked out for sure, and with good reason, the Blood Hooves were staring at him! Well, more specifically his Bronco, but that was beside the point. His blood was pumping real fast, adrenaline kicking in, and his brain constantly calculating information, more specifically what the best course of action to take. The two red pair of eyes were just staring him still, until one of them blinked. He assumed they were surprised just as him, as they definitely never seen a car before. They didn't seem to want to leave the forest to get a better look at him as they didn't leave the tree line. Most likely they couldn't leave even if they wanted to, which was a good thing. Konrad tried to get a better look at them in the rear view mirror and he still could only see their eyes. Konrad was still in near panic mode but he knew going to a panic wouldn't do any good. Panicking only produced mistakes, and mistakes cost lives, in this situation his life. "Ok, what are you guys up too?" After what seemed to be an eternity the eyes disappeared into the forest. "Good run away you sick fuckers! Wait a minute…" The implication of what he just saw hit him like a ton a bricks. If what he saw was indeed Ruby, and the eyes were Blood Hooves, then that meant he was in fact in Equestria. "Oh my god….I don't believe it. This is just like all those HiE fics I've read." Konrad was desperately searching his brain for any more information on what he could expect. The HiE fan fictions were quite varied in terms of how humans and ponies interacted. Some ponies were friendly towards humans, others were frightened, and others were just downright scary and odd in some darker fics. Of course some of the fics portrayed humans like assholes, and well….flat out evil like in the Conversion Bureau Series. He had never seen any HiE fics that had the Blood Hooves in them or the Blanks. Only the alternate ending versions were the ones he had seen and he hated those too, despite how well they were written. "Doesn't matter." he thought, "I'm not going in there." "They could be in there you know." "What are you talking about?" "Apple Bloom, and Princess Luna for starters, ring any bells?" Konrad was silent for a few seconds; of course he knew they could be in there. Briefly the images of an eaten Princess Luna and a converted/cursed Apple Bloom filled his mind. That definitely ruined his images of MLP:FiM for a few days. Then there was the fan fiction of Twilight being eaten and becoming one of them, which definitely pissed him off. "No. They aren't likely to be there." Konrad rationalized "You did make a vow to stop them." "But they aren't real! MLP is just a story, a cartoon!" "One that you watch, read, and play, and most of all enjoy. I know you Konrad, you can't hide anything from me. Deny it all you want but you're a brony." "NO! I AM NOT! This can't be happening! This is impossible!" "News flash! You saw Ruby! You saw the Blood Hooves! Well, their eyes at least, but you saw them. They are real, you're in Equestria, and you have to stop them!" "No I don't and even if they are real, what does it have to do with me?" "Despite being a trolling prick sometimes, you are a good guy, and more importantly you care for these ponies. You hate creepy pasta, and you hate innocent lovable creatures being hurt. If you walk away from this, and find out that, however improbable, Apple Bloom or Princess Luna are killed knowing you could have done something, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. And you might have to live in Equestria for the rest of life. IF you do have to it will be a much darker place than if should be. Plus, think of the loved ones they have. Do you really want either of them to live without their loved ones, and what if they found out that you could have helped? What if th-" "Alright right Mr. Jiminy Fucking Cricket! I get it!" "Do you real-" "Shut it! I'm going in." "I knew you'd make the righ-" "You're done for now Ian." Konrad couldn't believe what he was about to do. He was going to straight into the pits of Equestrian hell. He was going to prevent the Blanks, and Blood Hooves from inflicting pain and evil to anypony that was unfortunate to cross their paths. He then took another quick look around outside to make sure there wasn't anyone (anypony?) nearby. There was nothing but scary ass forest behind him, and the open pathway in front that most likely lead to Ponyville. "Oh why does it have to be SotBs! Why couldn't have been Human goes to a Pinkie Pie Party?! Agh, crying about it won't do anything." And with that in mind, he made a quick check of all of his weapons. His AKM, and SVD were still against the passenger seat, fully loaded and ready to cause death to those unfortunate in front of the muzzle. He quickly grabbed the AKM to make sure the safety was off and a round chambered. The rifle was ready to kill and he repeated the same for the SVD, and additionally turned on its illuminated reticle due to the low light conditions outside for it would only get darker. He realized that the low light condition would make aiming much worse and wished that he had added the glow in the dark aiming dots that he had seen on Battlefield 3 and on the Beretta M9 that he qualified with. There were many of these aftermarket parts available back in the USA for all sorts of weapons, but he had passed on them because he felt they were unnecessary and that they would ruin the authenticity of the Soviet designed weapons. Boy was he wrong about that! "Nothing I can do about it for now. Okay…..LET'S DO THIS MOTHERFUCKERS!" Cranking the Bronco in reverse, he put his foot on the gas ad performed a rather aggressive 180 degree turn. He then turned the gear into the forward position, and then floored the gas pedal. The trusty bronco went forward after shooting a lot of dirt behind the rear tires, which left a big dirt skid mark. The bronco then disappeared into Everfree Forest carrying a very scared, but pissed off human with soviet weapons. He was ready to kill anything hostile that was stupid enough to pop its ugly head his way. Well, except Apple Bloom and Princess Luna, they were always cool in his books. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two blood hooves knew that Ruby was near and they could sense her too. They couldn't let her get away as she would ruin the party. She always tried to ruin it every year, and the party was never complete because of it. Of course none of them were originally part of it, as they weren't there when it happened. They all had past lives before they became protected. They never had to worry about anything, for the Blanks of Sunny Town village had accepted them as their "Good Friends". Due to the fact that they weren't originally part of the village, they had the ability to roam the forest until the end of Nightmare Night. When that happened, they were forced to rest until it was time again to find more "Good Friends" and protect them of all the bad things in the world, especially Cutie Marks. Of course they remembered their old names, but it didn't matter. The only thing that did matter was the ponies of Sunny Town and their good friends. Blood Clop knew she was nearby and he told his friend Crimson Tail that she was close, very close. "Crimson Tail, I know she is here. She is very close to the opening line." He said in his very raspy voice. "Good. Let's find her before she gets away." replied Crimson Tail in her feminine but equally undead voice. They kept searching and searching, she was so close he just knew it. Though his good friend Crimson Tail did something that he wouldn't have done, "We know you're here somewhere…we can't let you ruin anypony's party now can we….." said Crimson Tail. And that was what he didn't want her to do, which was speak during a hunt. Blood Clop was the first one to become a Blood Hoof after the Blanks accepted him, which meant he was the most experienced. Crimson Tail on the other hand was new to Sunny Town. She had become his and the Town's friend two years ago after she wandered into the village. He had personally been the one to turn her. He had to remind himself to teach her the importance of silence during "Friend Searching". He wouldn't be too harsh on the undead mare, however, as he really wanted to become more good friends with her. He really did appreciate her bloody tail, and rotten flank, and she looked just as pretty when they were at Sunny Town in their party form. After running for a good four minutes, Blood Clop finally saw her. Ruby was near the opening of the Everfree forest tree line, just as he sensed. It appeared as if she was looking at something, but it didn't matter really, they were finally going to get her after she led them on a chase all the day. "Finally, we have found you. The chase ends today!" thought Blood Clop. Crimson Tail had run a little bit ahead of him trying to find Ruby, and wanted stop her just as much as he wanted to. Crimson Tail saw Ruby ahead as well and was cranking up her own speed. It was at this point Blood Clop took a quick look at her rear end. Due to the excitement that the trill of the chase provided and her Tail's image, he then broke his own rule. He spoke during the chase, "There she is….don't let her ruin the party!" This caused Ruby to turn around and spot them. "Damn! What did I just do? Oh well, I guess I can't scold Crimson Tail when we get back. Still I can't wait to dance with her before Nightmare Night is over…", thought Blood Clop. As they were gaining on Ruby, she did something that neither of them was expecting, her talent. Of course they didn't fully understand what a Cutie Mark meant. If they had understood what it meant, then Ruby wouldn't have been murdered, and the town wouldn't have been cursed. They were still ignorant of Cutie Marks and talents, that because of that they were doomed to repeat their mistake over and over again. Unfortunately, their curse had allowed them to bring others into their fold, ponies that hadn't sinned like them, but chaos always found a way to make hell for others. A big flash appeared in front of their eyes, more specifically where Ruby was. It was quite blinding, and it forced him and Crimson Tail to stop. There was also a big boom that accompanied it as well. BOOM! After they had gotten their bearings back, they realized Ruby had already left. "Damn. Oh well, we will still find her yet." "Uh Blood Clop…..I think you need to see this." spoke Crimson Tail with her raspy voice. He turned his head around from the direction where he suspected Ruby had run off too. And what he saw definitely surprised him. Out in the opening roughly 200 hooves away, was a big blue box like object with round wheels made with what he guessed to be rubber. He wasn't quite sure exactly what it was, only that it wasn't an animal. It was making a noise that was loud and had a rhythm to it, if you could call it that. Both of them just stared at it for a little while, before Crimson Tail spoke. "What is it Blood Clop?" "I don't know. I'm sure it isn't an animal. We can't get to it to check it out. Wait, did you see that?" "See what?" "I think there is something moving inside it." Squinting as hard as he could, sure enough there was something inside it. It appeared to be moving around real fast, looking in all directions before being still again. As far as he could tell, it didn't look like anypony he had ever seen, nor did he think it was a pony at all. Its head was round, green and no ears could be seen. He also couldn't see any eyes, because its head wasn't facing in their direction. "What do you think Blood Clop?" "I think this thing is some sort of carriage that isn't carried by ponies, and that there is somepony or something inside it. I am however just guessing based off the details." "You're very observant Blood Clop, are naturally this skilled at telling what things are?" That boost his ego big time, he had impressed her which definitely will work to his advantage at the party later. "It is something I learned over the years. You too will learn it over time, with my guidance of course." "What do we do now?" asked Crimson Tail with curiosity. "We should let the other Blood Hooves know as well as the Blanks of Sunny Town. They will be most interested in what we have seen. If this pony or thing inside this carriage comes into the forest, we could have a very new "Good Friend" that could help us find more friends in the years to come. The Party will be much better every year, and we could protect more ponies from the bad things out in the world." "Do you think it will come into the forest?" "Not sure, but if it does we'll be ready. Besides no one has ever resisted us before, it is after all a futile effort. And in the end they became one of us. Isn't that just lovely?" spoke Blood Clop with evil just pouring out of his voice. "Yes. It most definitely is…." Replied Crimson tail with just as much evil in her voice. They then looked at each other for a few seconds before turning to look at the newcomer. It was just still sitting there, not doing anything except making the loud noise still. Where did it come from? Did Ruby have anything to do with this? And more importantly, could it become their "Good friend"? All of the questions were racing in his mind. "Come, we must warn the other Blood Hoof packs nearby. I think Necro Hoof's group is nearby. We'll give them a warning of this thing and then we'll head off to Sunny Town." "But Blood Clop! I want to make a new 'friend'!" "Patience Miss Tail, your time will come soon enough. And we will find Ruby too, that I promise." "Okay, Blood Clop. Let's go." He could tell she was disappointed but she knew better to listen to him. He was after all the first "Good Friend" she had the privilege to make two years ago. She was scared at first but all was fine when she got to know him. She really liked her new body and the mark she had so looked forward to, despite being made fun of for not having one, was no longer a concern for her. How very good it was she came across him years ago and how nice he was to give her a very attractive body. Red after all, was her favorite color. And the ponies of Sunny Town were very, very…..nice. With that last thought, they both looked at each other one more time and then turned around to warn Necro Hoof and then onward to Sunny Town. It was going to be a very good party indeed. And if they could get this new thing to be their friend, then the better for Sunny Town it would be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Luna had left the ruins of the statue and was currently walking along the main pathway towards Ponyville. She still wasn't happy about Nightmare Night tomorrow, but she felt a bit better destroying the statue of her former self. "She isn't your former self. You're Princess Luna remember?" That made her fell a bit better reminding her self that she was her own person, her own personality, and most importantly a Princess of Equestria. Even though she still felt like crap due to her period, she knew she had buried a part of her past which was the purpose of the whole trip. She realized that her sister was going to furious for her leaving the castle and neglecting her nightly duties. It was something she could live with as afar as she was concerned. She realized that she needed to get to Ponyville soon because it was starting to get dark. Suddenly, she heard ruffle nearby. Trying to find the source of the sound, she heard another ruffle, and then instinctively reared her wings in a threatening manner and was getting to ready her magic. Her horn was charging up magical energy with its distinctive night blue color. It slightly hurt her head for split second, as she guessed that it was due to the effects of that flash from earlier. She then spoke in her traditional royal voice that she had not used since last year's Nightmare Night. "What creature dares to not show thy self? As Princess of the Night Sky, we order thou to show thy self!" And she got what she ordered, a figure roughly 25 hooves away appeared and what she saw scared the bucking crap out of her (not literally though). It was a pony but not like anypony she had ever seen before, its flesh was rotten, parts of its skeletal structure were exposed and its eyes were a complete crimson red that had an unnatural glow to them. It also smelled like death, the stench was almost unbearable. It just kept looking at her and then just stared, and stared. Fear starting to set in, she started to shake slightly but regained her composure, fully expecting to fight or flee. After preparing for the worst she just simply asked the pony in front of her, "What are thou?! And what is wrong with thy image!?" The pony, if it could be called that just sat there and stared at her some more. "We order thee to answer us! We are Princess Luna, and you will show us respect this instant!" The thing just began to chuckle, and said in an very raspy, slightly gargled, and venomous voice, "You are a Princess of Equestria…..how lovely. We never expected to see royalty ever, but what a wonderful opportunity to become "friends". "What are thou!? We will not order thee to answer again!" shouted Luna. She had just about enough of this thing toying with her. Her energy on her horn started to glow again, though at the cost of a little head pain. "I am Necro Hoof, but you may know me as a…Blood Hoof." replied the thing known as Necro Hoof. "What?! That can't be!" said Luna, "Thou are art just an old Mare's tale!". The thing that claimed to be a Blood Hoof continued to laugh just like as it did before, and it didn't make it any less creepy. "Once upon a time it was only a tale, but then one hundred years ago, it all became true. Well, WE all became true…" As if on cue, two more showed them showed up right at his side. One looked like it was a mare, the other a colt, and that made her sick to her stomach. "These things are also young ones too! How revolting!" thought Princess Luna with a look of shock on her face. "We can tell what pains you, oh princess. You feel that you are not accepted." Said the one she suspect was a mare, which she was right about. Then the one that appeared to have been a colt spoke up. "You feel that you aren't loved." Then Necro Hoof, "You have no sense of belonging." Again the mare spoke, "No sense of understanding from them." Then the Colt, "They don't deserve your friendship." Then Necro Hoof again, "But we can give you all of those things your Highness. All you have to do is relax and accept us." She couldn't believe what offer was thrown her way. They wanted her to become them! To be as rotten, disgusting and undead like death! Long ago when she was just a filly growing up in the castle with her sister, her father once told them the story of the Blood Hooves. They were and evil pack of Ponies who did nothing but pray of the unfortunate ponies that happened to come across their path. When they had found a victim they would kill, and eat their bodies down to the bone. After they were done, they would take their soul, twist it with evilness, and reconstruct their body into a new and undead one. When all was said and done, the victim would become a new Blood Hoof and would be doomed to wander the forest forever being cursed. No one knew exactly where the curse came from or why it even happened. Of course it was only a Mare's tale meant to scare young ones, but the presence of these things seem to disprove that. And it was exactly what she had vowed not become, not later or ever for the rest of her immortal life! "You evil….vile…..loathsome beings! We will never be like you nor will we ever accept your offer! Now, thou whilst get out of our way or thou shall face the consequences to thy actions!" said Princess Luna in her most loud and intimidating royal voice. Unfortunately, she just didn't have enough renegade points to scare them or that being undead kind of makes you not fear anything; once you are undead, you ARE the spitting image of Evil after all. "She does not want to be friends…come let's show her the real meaning of friendship…" "Yes….one of us….one of us…you cannot escape…more of us will find you no matter where you go." the other two Blood Hooves spoke. After that phrase was spoken, they slowly advanced towards her, and this caused her mind to start racing with panic. She then decided to launch a magic missile at the leader, who she suspected would be the greatest threat. But it didn't transpire, he head suddenly filled with pain, and her magic on her horn dissipated. The ricochet from earlier had weakened her more than she had though, and she slightly faltered but got back up and prepared to flee but then the most extraordinary thing happened. Down the road two bright lights were barreling towards them at a great speed. It was also making a loud noise that she had never heard before. The only thing that she could think of was maybe somewhat similar to a train, but it didn't matter as the thing got closer, brighter and louder. This startled the Blood Hooves as the strange phenomenon in question came right at them. Princess Luna took the opportunity to get out of the way and hide behind a tree next so some bushes that provided extra concealment. And what she saw transpire next was quite astonishing. The two lights in question were attached some sort of metal construction that what she could guess was a carriage, only there were no ponies dragging it! It had four wheels were akin to a four legged creature but only more astonishing was the fact that it was going fast, all on its own at what seemed to be the speed of a Pegasus, with the power of an earth pony. She watched as it made contact with the Blood Hooves, and what sight it was. The one that was a colt got crushed underneath the objects front left wheel, and was promptly turned into a flattened pancake of bones and flesh. The one that was the mare had its head hit by the thing's right front side. A sickening crunch sound, followed by her head flying off in the distance left a lifeless corpse collapsing on the ground. And last but not least the one known to her as Necro Hoof tried to jump in the air, with what she guessed was an attempt to go over the strange thing. Go over it did alright, Necro Hoof's legs cracked after making contact with the strange thing's front end. He was then carried over it, rolling in numerous turns again and again until he fell to the ground after the thing passed him. Then the strange carriage stopped, causing two red lights in a similar color to the blood hooves to show up. This scared Luna for a second, but shock replaced that feeling after an even more astonishing sight appeared before her. Facing the carriage's left side, a port of it opened and revealed that it apparently was a door. The fact that it was a door isn't what shocked her, but what came out of it that did. It was some sort of being that was a two legged creature with arms similar to a dragon, but it was anything but a dragon. It had no tail, no claws, or scales that she could see. It was all dressed in an odd camouflage like pattern, a green rag in a weird pattern covering its head, a gray gas mask with a green canister on its muzzle, and a vest that carried things that she couldn't quite make out but they were curvature in nature. It also carried something that she never had seen before. The best way she could describe it was that it was made mostly of metal, reddish wood and it had an odd orange curved object hanging out from underneath it. Perhaps it was one of the many things in its vest? And what was it for exactly? Even though it only had two legs, it walked with strength and purpose, as if it were on a mission. It took a look underneath the carriage that it had come out of and it looked like it was trying to see what it had hit. It had noticed the crushed blood hoof colt and made a murmur that she couldn't quite make out yet. He kicked dirt towards the corpse, and went around to the other side of the carriage's front. It was barely in her field of vision when it stopped, most likely it found the mare's body and it said something but the mask made it difficult to understand. It then went to the front, aiming the object it had towards the front area ahead into the forest. It then slightly lowered it, but it looked ready to bring it back up. "Is it a weapon of some kind? A strange bow perhaps?" thought Luna. She was grateful this thing came along and got rid of the blood hooves, but she still didn't know quite what it was or if it was even friendly. Though there was something about this creature that had an odd familiarity to her. Had she read about it somewhere? Her thought process was interrupted as the being took a look at its carriage. It moved its arm and clawless appendage across the front, wiping blood off the front end. It then examined that what it had hit in the center must have rolled over the carriage. It then immediately brought its object back up and slowly but surely made its way to the back of the carriage passing Luna only mere hooves in front of her. It had spotted the Blood Hoof known as Necro Hoof and slowly advanced towards it aiming whatever it had in its arms. Just as it was hooves in front of him it stopped, never letting its aim go astray from Necro Hoof. It seemed that it wasn't sure if Necro Hoof was dead or not and neither was she. They both got their answer as he tried to jump at the being, only to collapse on his own weight. His legs were severely crushed and bent in different unnatural directions. He huffed in frustration, and then turned his gross undead face towards the newcomer. Necro Hoof's eyes just beamed at the newcomer, no doubt with rage emanating has hard as his stare could give. The new comer just backed up and then did something she wouldn't have, ease up. It lowered its object and then pointed at Necro Hoof with one its clawless appendages. To make it even more surprising, the thing just well…..started to laugh. It was laughing Necro Hoof though only a murmur could be heard and it was showing defiance like she had never seen anypony (anything?) do before. It continued to laugh, and point and then it kicked dirt in Necro Hoof's face. Necro Hoof did nothing but continued to stare again as hard as he could towards the being. "This being is so familiar, I know I have read about it somewhere." thought Luna. Then Necro Hoof spoke to the being with the anger very apparent in his voice. It was obvious nopony or nothing had ever stood up to them before. "You are a strange being indeed, but you are making a very big mistake. We only want to protect ponies from the bad things in the world. Even though you're not a pony, and that you've hurt my friends here, I'm still willing to let you become my friend. You like having friends don't you?" "Don't do it!" thought Luna, "It is only a trick!" Luna was scared now, not just for her safety, but this being's safety as well. If it became one of them, then more ponies would suffer. This being was clearly more powerful than them, and the Blood Hoof knew it. The being then just slung its object over its shoulder and slightly tilted its torso as if it were resting. "What are you anyway? Well, it doesn't matter. The others and I can protect you from the bad world. Please, we only want to be your friend." Said Necro Hoof in a voice that was attempting to be sincere. Only a true idiot would accept his word. She just hoped this being wasn't one. Princess Luna was getting ready to take a risk of showing herself to the being in hopes she could convince it not to accept Necro Hoof's offer. She just hoped it wouldn't be hostile. Then the being simply took its mask off slowly and revealed its face giving a big smile towards Necro Hoof. This shocked Luna and what was odd was that she had seen a drawing of this being somewhere before. It wasn't a pony for sure, nor was it a dragon, but it was definitely male. It had a smaller nose than a pony's, its mouth was different, its front teeth slightly sharper than pony's, but not a dragon's teeth. It had eye brows that were brown and it had no scales, or coat on its face save for the mane that slightly showed underneath his green scarf. Perhaps that is why he wore clothes all over? Its skin was appeared to be some sort white color that was neither pink nor pale. He also had two eyes, just like a pony's, with white background, black pupil, and with his iris the color blue which was nice, since blue was her favorite color. Even though he wasn't a pony, she thought that he was well….handsome. "Fool! He isn't a pony and if that doesn't matter he isn't royalty!" another voice popped into Luna's head. "Is there ever going to be a pony worthy of me though? I have yet to see one." replied Luna. Then the strange male before did something that she had been waiting for him to do….speak! "My name is Konrad Ford, I'm a human, and I do like making friends." Spoke the human known as Konrad Ford. "What a strange name….wait! Human!? They don't exist! They're just a myth!" thought Princess Luna. "Blood Hooves are supposed to be a mare's tale but that isn't true now is it?" another voice in her head chimed in. "No! This can't be happening! This is impossible!...No! Don't do it! He is lying to you!" thought Luna fearful that he was going to accept Necro Hoof's offer. Necro Hoof just sat there and started to smile thinking that he had convinced this "Human" to become his friend. "But it is quite obvious that you are just plain well…..how can I say this? Umm Evil." spoke the human now known as Konrad. Just then at the corner of his eyes he noticed the renegade star just dangling in his right eye. Only he saw it and he knew what it meant. He gave into it. "So I'd like to make a counter offer." said Konrad. He raised his object at Necro Hoof, with what she had guessed earlier to be a weapon. Necro Hoof just stared in disbelief as this human raised the metal/wooded object with the strange orange claw pointed at his face. It was the last thing he would ever see. Princess Luna was wondering in anticipation of what this human male called Konrad was about to do. She got her answer alright in the form a big flash and loud crack noise coming from the object pointed at Necro Hoof or what was left of him. KRACK! The object that was now confirmed to be a weapon had completely blown his head into chunks of rotten flesh and bones that made her stomach slightly churn. "How about you go fuck yourself!" shouted Konrad. "Yes." She thought, "He is definitely not Prince Material, but he is most brave and handsome, and he recognizes evil when it stares him in the face. And he doesn't back down from it either." This was enough to convince her that this Konrad would be of assistance to a Princess in distress. She then made up her mind to make contact with this human. She then checked herself to pretty up her image as no self-respecting mare would want to look unkempt in front of male company, pony or human. Her mane was still dim, nothing she could do about that, but she was able to adjust it so that if flowed freely. She adjusted her feathers, wiped dirt off her hooves shoes, and adjusted her Royal Necklace and her Royal Crown. "I hope I am right about this." thought Luna. Before she could move however, Konrad spoke up. This caused her to freeze at what he said, which was directed at her! "You can come out now. I'm not going to hurt you." said Konrad with a cocky attitude that Luna didn't quite pick up on. He knew she was there the entire time! "Oh no what have I gotten myself into?! Keep your composure, speak like Royalty, and don't show any fear." thought Luna. She hoped that the Human male would find ponies, especially an Alicorn to be attractive, as she could use that to her advantage. "Not to mention you fancy him." a thought popped into her head. "Be quiet! I do not, I just met the man…..well about to meet him anyway." Replied Luna to that random thought. Little did she know that despite almost coming close to death, this part would probably be the greatest impact of her life, and probably one of the best things to come across her life in a long time. After taking a deep breath she walked into the clearing towards this human male called Konrad. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom and Twilight Sparkle had finally made it to Zecora's hut inside Everfree Forest. While a bit strange and exotic as she maybe, she was a very good Zebra indeed. Twilight Sparkle remembered the first time she came to Ponyville, and boy was that a day she would remember. In fact, it was Apple Bloom that had shown them she wasn't quite the scary stranger that everypony thought she was. Still Twilight couldn't quite figure out exactly why Zecora needed these books. One book was titled: Ghosts, Goblins, and Ghoulish figures, while another one was a very old book that contained mostly antidotes, some of which were for very comical ailments. Shaking her mind away of such silly thoughts, she went to go knock on the door, only to have Apple Bloom knock instead. Apple Bloom then knocked three times with her front right hoof, rather loudly she might add. "Apple Bloom! Was it that necessary to knock that hard?" "Sorry Twilight, ah was just so bored all day ah felt like doing something excitin' for a change." "Well, I know what you mean Apple Bloom, but you should be careful what you wish for." Before she could respond Zecora answered the door, though something wasn't quite right. She had a worried look on her face, but it quickly went away when she made eye contact with them. "Apple Bloom, I am glad once more to see you, as well as Twilight Sparkle too." "The feeling is mutual Zecora." said Twilight. "Me too Zecora! Here's them books we brought along." said Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom then went to hand Zecora her load of books, pulling them out of her saddle bag that she took from Twilight. Zecora took them by her mouth and put them on a small wooden table near the door. Twilight on the other hand used her Unicorn Magic. Her violet magic enveloping her horn, and the books, she carried them onto the table where Apple Bloom put her book load. Twilight was quite relived to have the weight completely gone. "Kind Ponies, I thank you for delivering what told." "Glad to help." Said Twilight with a smile. "Me too!" replied a happy Apple Bloom. Then it got rather ominous. "But you do not want to remain for the events that will unfold." Both Apple Bloom and Twilight Sparkle's smile slowly faded into a frown as Zecora continued. "Hurry back to Ponyville you two must. For the darkness this night you cannot trust." Replied Zecora always as cryptic as usual. "Well what the hay did that mean?" asked Apple Bloom who rather confused. "I don't know what this is about, but we better go. Come on Apple Bloom." replied Twilight. Then an echo came out of nowhere. Krack-krack-krack-kr-ack-kr-a-a-a. This startled both ponies for a second, but left both rather confused. "Twilight, what was that noise?" "It was probably just some of the same thunder noise from earlier." "Are ya sure? It didn't sound like thunder to me." "Of course I'm sure Apple Bloom. Oh my it's really getting late, time to take you home." said Twilight. "Okay, and Twilight, thanks for letting me come along. Ah appreciate it." This made Twilight smile, for she was glad that Apple Bloom wanted to come along with her. The company was rather better than she expected. For the next thirty minutes they were walking along the main pathway back towards Ponyville, and along the way they noticed some rather odd things. For one there was an unusual smell, they couldn't quite describe it other than that it was rotten. And that there were some rather unusual markings on the road, the looked like something had imprinted itself rather evenly, oddly and recently. This caused Apple Bloom to be a little bit frightened, but Twilight Sparkle was able to calm Apple Bloom down saying that it was just nothing. Apple Bloom believed every word Twilight said. She was smart and always knew what she was doing. But the actual truth was that Twilight didn't know what these things were. Between the loud strange noises and the marks, plus Zecora's cryptic warning, she was quite nervous. Nothing this strange ever happened in Ponyville or even near it except for Discord. And even then it had mostly consisted of annoying nuances. But this was something entirely different. Was it a residual effect from Discord or was he even that Evil? Sure he was Chaotic but could he be behind this? She made a mental note to consult Princess Celestia about these strange phenomenon occurring around Everfree Forest. Her primary goal right now was to get Apple Bloom home and herself as well. The quicker she and Apple Bloom were home the better, but unfortunately luck was not on their side. In front of them was a collapsed tree. This definitely wasn't there not too long ago, along with the marks and the scent. Twilight Sparkle then let out her confusion. "How in Equestria did this fall?" "Maybe it was….ghosts?" replied Apple Bloom. "Oh Silly, there's no such thing as ghosts." Said Twilight being as reassuring as best as she could be. "Never mind, I'll move it." Concentrating on her Unicorn magic, her horn was once again glowing with her violet magic and the tree glowed violet as well. The tree was then slowly cast aside to clear a path. "Phew. Now we…can…" said Twilight. More trees were blocking the pathway much to Twilight's dismay. "OH COME OOON! Stay right there Apple Bloom, this might take a while." Twilight again began to make the same pattern of getting rid of the trees that were strewn across the pathway. While Apple Bloom, was waiting she thought she heard something behind her. She turned around saw one of the strangest ponies she ever saw ever brief it may be. It was some sort of mare that was staring at her, she had weird yellow eyes, and a yellow short mane and long yellow tail. Then she disappeared as fast as she had appeared. Apple Bloom then turned around to tell Twilight Sparkle what she saw. "Twilight, there's a pony nearby. Ah think it's a Ghost!" "Oh Apple Bloom, no stories right now please. I need get these out of the way." When she was done replying another tree simply appeared behind the one she cast aside, eliciting another moan from Twilight Sparkle. With curiosity getting the better of Apple Bloom, she set off to where the mysterious pony had been. She hoped it wasn't a ghost, but then she remembered what she went through in school. "Just about as likely as Blood Hooves" She then reached the point where the pony had been and found no trace of her. Turning around to see Twilight still turning another tree over, with another tree behind it, she continued to go just a little bit further. She didn't actually mean to go too far but of course, young ones can greatly misjudge even the littlest of things. After going a little bit further in the forest away from the pathway, she asked out loud hoping whatever was there wouldn't be mean to her. "Hello? Who are you?" After getting no response she went a little bit further and tumbled upon a town. It was nice and sunny and there were couple of ponies that she could see. They appeared to be getting ready for a party and this excited Apple Bloom. "Oh cool! A party!" said Apple Bloom And then she walked towards the entrance of the sunny town, which ironically was the name of the town. She had no idea what she was getting into. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh no don't go there Apple Bloom! Looks like Princess Luna needs more work on being scary, and good thing that she caught a break too. To those you have read this already, I'm was severely rush before I was forced to go to work. This was supposed to be 3,000 words longer, but like I said I was rushed. Chapter was already in the works, but due to a system crash my ch6 progress is gone. Back up your files everyone! It also has come to my attention of some of my poor choice of words and small spelling mistakes. I will go back and correct a few words here and there to make the story easier to follow. As always let me know what you guys and gals think. Not sure I said it already, but game references are just for teh lulz! I hope you like them. Chapter 6 will be done soon don't fret!