The Everfree Forest.
When Beckett had heard the name, she had thought they were going to walk through yet another Disney Cartoon style sugar dipped trail full of happy trees that whistled as they walked and grounds that were better groomed than Yankee Stadium’s infield. Heck, she was half prepared for a bluebird to flutter down and offer her a cup of tea and some cookies as squirrels braided her mane.
So the dark woods with its looming trees and stifling atmosphere was a bit of a surprise…but still, it was pretty tame in her eyes. Beckett had been in crack dens and the worst of slum houses…so a spooky forest that looked like it would be at home in some farm’s Haunted Hay Ride was not going to make her knees quake.
Castle had glanced over at her the moment the forest had appeared over the hill, a grin playing along his features. “This is so cool! Think there will be spooky ghost ponies that sing about the danger we are in?”
Beckett had rolled her eyes. Twilight and her friends had begun to tremble the moment they saw the forest (well, Fluttershy had been trembling since they left the museum, but still…) but, to their credit, they had sucked up their fear and plunged in.
Still, it was clear to the two partners that the 6 ponies’ confidence had begun to plummet. The forest was part of the problem, but Beckett knew from experience that the 6 were thinking about Tydal and the battle that lay before them. It consumed their thoughts and with every step they took they begin to doubt themselves and their ability to defeat the capricorn warrior, even with the Elements of Harmony. Beckett had seen many rookies on their first raid get attacked by the jitters and knew that something needed to be done to get them back on the right path.
And, for once, Castle’s mouth was the answer.
“So…” Castle said, looking about the forest. He had somehow managed to not say a word for almost two hours, which was rather surprising to Beckett. She hadn’t known him to ever go so quiet for so long. Perhaps he too was feeling a case of the jitters.
Or, more likely, he was looking for the singing ghosts.
“Yes Rick?” Twilight asked.
“Nothing, just admiring your lovely dark and spooky forest. I like what you’ve done with the place. The scary faces on the trees are a nice touch. Some thunder would make it a bit more terrifying, sure…” He looked about, poking at a rock and was sorely disappointed when it didn’t trigger a trap.
“How can you be so calm?” Applejack asked, glancing about nervously. “This is the Everfree Forest.”
Castle scoffed. “Beckett and I have gone through worse and lived to tell the tale. You ever hear of Hell’s Kitchen? Now that is a rough place. Or…uh…Satan’s Bathroom?”
“Satan’s Bathroom?” Beckett asked. Castle gave her a look and she quickly played along. “Oh, right, Satan’s Bathroom. Real dangerous.”
“And we survived. Trust me, if we survived those places, you 6 can survive this forest. I mean…you’ve gone through worse, right? What about those three monster thingies Piles had pictures of? You girls beat all of them and they looked worse than Mr. Fishy Tail.”
“I don’t know about that…” Rarity said, though it was clear she was perking up as she thought of their victories again the other threats to Equestria, “…though Nightmare Moon was rather dangerous.”
“Rather dangerous? Are you kidding me?” Rainbow Dash said, flying over to hover just in front of Castle. “Do you know who she was?”
“Uh…a…Nightmare…Moon?” Castle blinked, considering just what he had said. “Ooooh… Night-MARE Moon. It’s a pun!” He turned to look at Beckett. “It’s another pun.”
“Castle, everything is a pun.”
“Right.”
“…anyway…” Rainbow Dash said, not use to her bragging being yanked off course, “Nightmare Moon was the goddess of the night and shadows. She could create illusions, enchant objects, cover the world in shadows…and we kicked her butt!”
“Really?” Castle asked.
Applejack nodded. “Darn tootin’! That’s when we first used the Elements of Harmony and freed Princess Luna.”
“Freed?” Beckett asked. “I didn’t know there was a captured princess.”
Fluttershy trotted up to them, shaking her head. “Well, not freed like she was in a scary dungeon…Princess Luna was Nightmare Moon.”
“…really?” Beckett asked. “How does that…was she brainwashed or possessed or…”
Twilight blinked. “Uh…no. She was just angry at Princess Celestia.”
“And the Elements…made her not angry?” Beckett said, it clear that she didn’t believe a word she was saying.
Rarity frowned. “Well, when you say it like that it does sound a bit silly…”
“But that is just the power of friendship and harmony…it can heal any rift and bring people back together.”
Castle blinked. “So…it’s kinda like if Hans Gruber turned out to be Bruce Willis’ brother and they hugged at the end.”
“Totally!” Pinkie said. “Though I don’t know who any of those people are. Are they friends of yours, Bucket?”
“Beckett.”
“Oh…are they friends of Beckett’s, Bucket?”
“…sure Pinkie Pie.”
“Okie dokie!”
“So the Elements of Harmony…make bad guys good?” Castle asked. “That’s it? No magic fireworks? It doesn’t turn you into giant robots that create a megazord or something?”
“Nope, but that would be so cool!” Rainbow Dash said in agreement.
Twilight frowned, not liking the way Castle was so easily playing off the Elements. “Well, they were also instrumental in defeating Discord. Without them, all of Equestria would still be under his rule.”
Beckett nodded, turning her head so she could reach into her saddle bag and pull out an apple. All this walking was making her hungry. “So the Elements turned this Discord back into a good…dragon…thing?” She took a bite, eyes slowly drifting shut as she savored the juicy fruit. Be it just pony taste buds or some sort of magic, everything in this world tasted so much better than it did in the human world. If there was one thing she would miss when she went home, it would be the apples…and the cakes…and the salads…and the oats…
“Well…no,” Twilight admitted.
“Then what happened to him?” Castle asked. “Did he transform into a butterfly or was he sent to a place where he could do good?”
“Yup…if doing good is giving the birdies a place to land in the Princess’ garden!” Pinkie said happily.
“Huh?” Beckett and Castle both said in unison.
Applejack gave them an awkward smile. “The Elements…kinda turned him into a stone statue.”
“WHOA!” Castle exclaimed.
“Wow…that’s a bit extreme!” Beckett stated.
Rarity gave them a sour look. “Well, he was the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. He corrupted us and turned us into vile, evil shadows of ourselves…”
“But the chocolate rain was nice,” Pinkie said, licking her lips.
Beckett spat out her apple core, looking over at Twilight. “I want to make sure I have this straight…the first time you used the Elements of Harmony they turned Nightmare Moon into a Princess; the second time it turned this Discord guy into a rock.”
All the girls nodded their heads.
“So…how do you know it will do anything to Tydal?”
They all stopped nodding and looked at each other, confusion written clearly on their features.
“Uh…because they will,” Rainbow Dash said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.
Beckett wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “How does it work? Do the Elements affect beings based on the evil in their heart or is it more of what you guys feel for them? Are you controlling the…magic…” Beckett said the word like it was a vile poison, “…or are you just a vessel for it to work its…magic?”
The girls blinked.
“You don’t know how they work?” Castle asked slowly, using the same tone he’d used when Alexis was 5 and told him she was going to school dressed as Wonder Woman.
“They work…via magic,” Twilight said weakly.
“And you don’t know what they will do to Tydal,” Beckett complained, doing little to hide her frustration. She hated going into any situation where there were unanswered questions. “We are going to fight this capricorn warrior and our ace in the hole might be a deuce?”
Twilight and the rest of them grew quiet at that thought. The high spirits that had swelled within them once again deflated, leaving them once more consumed with doubt. The Princess had told them that the Elements had the power to protect Equestria and defeat evil and they had accepted that declaration without question. Now, Beckett was making them truly think about the mystical items they had tucked in their saddle bags and realize that they really didn't know anything about them. What if Beckett was right and when they used the Elements all it did was give Tydal a mild rash or a sunburn? What then?
"You see...this is why I hate MacGuffins," Castle muttered.
"Oooh, are those like muffins with gunk on them? Because I would hate that too!" Pinkie bounced over to him, leaping on his back. Castle let out a grunt, his legs wobbling as Pinkie tapped her hoof against her chin. "Unless the gunk was frosting...then I would definitely like it...unless it was a corn meal muffin, then I would rather have butter on it...is butter gunk?"
"Pinkie..."Castle gasped.
The pink pony leapt off of Castle and hurried to the head of the crowd. She held her arms up, motioning for them to stop and listen. "Ok, so maybe Bucket-"
"Beckett," Kate reminded her once more.
"-has a point. Maybe we don't know how the Elements of Harmony work. Is that such a bad thing? There are a lot of things I don't understand, but that doesn't mean they don't work!"
Applejack considered this. "You know, she does have a point...I don't rightly understand how half the doohickeys Twilight uses work but that don't mean they don't help us out."
Castle looked at them, not liking how the other ponies were already forgetting Beckett's warning. "Uh, guys, I think a doohickey and a magic weapon designed to defeat evil are...a bit different."
"Maybe, but we don't have time to figure it out now," Rainbow Dash said. "We need to be taking that lousy Tydal down, not running back to Twilight's place to figure out how the Elements work."
Beckett looked at Twilight, hoping she was at least getting through to her. "I understand time is of the essence...but we can't go rushing in just hoping that lightning strikes twice. We need to come up with a game plan."
Twilight mulled over the older pony's words before finally nodding her head in agreement. "Kate is right...we can't rely upon the Elements." She held up a hoof when the others began to stammer in protest. "I am not saying we won't use them...we'll just be careful. We all have skills that can be used first before we resort to using the Elements of Harmony." She looked over at Beckett and smiled when the detective gave her a nod of approval.
"I h-hope you're right, Twilight," Fluttershy said softly. "I don't want to let anyone in Ponyville down."
"None of us do, darling," Rarity said, flipping her mane over her shoulder.
Pinkie, still at the head of the pack, glanced at them in slight annoyance and exasperation. "Come on guys, don't be such gloomy roomies! We've done this before and we'll do it once again."
Castle and Beckett looked up as the forest suddenly began to fill with the sound of music. It sounded like an army march which had been dipped in sugar and covered in sprinkles. More disturbing was the fact that none of the other ponies seemed to notice.
Pinkie Pie
Once again we find ourselves facing danger!
And wow our foes keep gettin' stranger!
We will do what we must!
Success or Bust!
Once again, once again, once again!
Beckett slowly turned away from Pinkie, who was marching up and down the trail, singing to her friends like she was in some Broadway musical. "Is she..."
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I have no idea," Castle said as Pinkie Pie marched up to the rest of the girls, looking to them like Patton. "Maybe it's a Pinkie Pie thing."
Applejack
Once again we fight for those that we love!
This task, it fits us just like an old glove!
Rarity
Through the day and night
We'll bring him a fight!
Rarity & Applejack
Once again, once again, once again!
"Beckett, I'm scared," Castle said with wide eyes as he watched Rarity and Applejack dance-march with Pinkie along the trail, the music growing louder and...yes...yes there was an actual spotlight shining on them!
Beckett, for her part, turned to Twilight, hoping to appeal to the pony that, to her, seemed to have the most common sense. "Twilight, we have to get moving...I don't think a song-"
Twilight
Once again we find ourselves on the move!
"You aren't listening to a word I am saying, are you?" Beckett's ears drooped when Twilight continued with her verse, being joined shortly by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Soon, all the girls were singing and dancing about the trail, belting it out with so much passion that Castle's mother would have been giving them a standing ovation.
Castle
Ok Becket this is creeping me out!
Beckett
Of that there can be no doubt!
Castle
My ears are now ringing
Beckett
Great, now we're also singing!
Entire Cast
Once again, once again, once again!
One again...once again...once...a...gaaaaaiiinnnnnnnnn!
Once again!
Beckett and Castle blinked as the music suddenly came to a stop and the girls continued on their way as if nothing had happened. The two former humans looked at each other before racing to catch up with the moving party.
"Uh, Twilight?" Beckett said, nudging her. "What was that?"
"What was what, Kate?"
"The singing and the dancing."
Twilight just looked at her. "Oh that? We do that all the time. Sometimes music helps lift your spirits when you are down, don't you agree?"
"Uh, yeah, sure...but that was a bit more than humming to yourself or whistling."
Fluttershy frowned. "Didn't you like it?"
"Oh...it was very lovely," Castle said quickly, trying to keep the fragile pony's spirits up. "It's just that normally, when Beckett and I go after bad guys, we don't break into song."
"Well you should! It's fun!" Pinkie Pie squealed. "Ooo! Should we sing another one?"
Luckily for Beckett and Castle, there was no chance to begin another piece, as just as they came around a bend of the trail they happened upon Tydal. The mighty capricorn was leaning up to snag some fruit from a branch, quickly snacking on his treat. It was clear he had been running since leaving the museum and had only just now finally given in to the need for sustenance.
"There's that museum-wreckin' varmint!" Applejack shouted, pulling her lasso from her bag and spinning it around her head. Tydal looked at them, eyes narrowed as he watched the 8 ponies begin to approach him. "Now, why don't you do the smart thing and just stand still?"
Tydal looked upon them, his every move measured and calculated. He did not act rashly or jump into battle; instead he studied them, like a jeweler might gaze at a diamond, seeking out imperfections in its facets. There was something so revolting about the slowness of his gaze...so reptilian.
'No,' Beckett thought, staring at those slitted dark eyes, 'he's like a shark.' His tail swished back and forth, the fan-like ends looking so light and delicate yet holding an edge that could do them all serious harm. Tydal merely chewed on the pear he had captured, the juices dripping down his cheeks and into his beard as he looked upon them.
It would have been better if he had gazed at them in anger or rage. Beckett knew how to handle people…ponies…no, people, she reminded herself… like that. But he was so cautious, so studious that it left all 8 ponies frozen in place, unable to make a move against him.
"I see that patience is something they do not teach in your Ponyville." Tydal's dark tongue darted out to lick away a few seeds that clung to his teeth. His voice did not boom like it had before and there was a rich cadence to his words that would have made many a mare swoon. "I told you I would return and I assure you that I keep my promises. There is no need for you to come greet my army at Bridle Bay. We will return like the waves upon the shore and wash away all that you have known."
"Yeah, and that's why we are here to stop you!" Rainbow Dash said boldly, darting forward. The spell had been broken and all the ponies prepared themselves for battle (even if some of them, namely Fluttershy, prepared by hiding behind Castle).
Tydal scowled, or scowled as best as a goat could. "I had been warned there would be ponies like you. I offer a grand future and you chose instead to stand by that which you know."
"You're darn tootin' we do!" Applejack said.
"Yeah, you big...meanie head!" Pinkie Pie added.
Beckett pawed the ground with her hoof, ready to charge the moment Tydal made a move. "Do the smart thing and stand down, now."
Tydal snorted. "I will do no such thing. The day I listen to the boasts of ponies is the day I die."
"That can be arranged," Castle said calmly.
"I offer you this one chance, my little ponies: stand down and I will not hold your previous words against you." Tydal took a step forward, his horns beginning to glow. "But know this: if you continue down this path, I will not be held responsible for what happens to you. You are not the enemy I seek."
"Sorry, Tydal," Twilight said firmly, her horn glowing brightly, "but I'm afraid we'll have to reject your offer."
"Fools," Tydal answered, preparing himself for whatever Twilight threw at him.
Which is why Applejack was the one to attack first.
Her lasso landed neatly around him and with a tug she had him hitting the ground, his legs firmly bound. The capricorn's tail lashed out, making short work of the rope and freeing his legs before he rushed towards the farmer. Rarity was prepared though, her horn glowing as she lifted up a fallen tree and sent it right at Tydal.
He exploded into a puddle of water.
"Oh no..." Fluttershy said, before remembering he was the bad guy. "I...uh...mean...woohoo."
“Well…that was easy,” Castle muttered, seconds before the water began to swirl about, darting off in several directions as it formed into tentacles. “Me and my big pony mouth.”
The tentacles thrashed about, striking trees and bushes as they attempted to flee from the ponies. Each of the ponies gave chase after the slivering water snakes, not wanting to give Tydal a chance to escape.
Pinkie Pie let out a yelp, chasing after one only to hit a tree when the water shot up into the air. Rainbow Dash was coughing on leaves after taking a dive after one only for it to twist off to the right at the last moment.
“Everypony stop!” Twilight called out. “Ignore the water tentacles!”
“But that is Tydal!” Applejack shouted. “If we let him go-“
“That isn’t Tydal!” Twilight said, her horn beginning to glow brightly as she focused on where Tydal had been standing before he’d been struck. “I’ve studied elemental spells and it is accepted by everyone that it is impossible for a pony to transmutate into an inorganic form.”
Beckett spat out a mouth full of water she’d received after trying to sink her teeth into the tentacle (a stupid move, she knew that, but she needed to try something). “Twilight, are you sure?”
“Positive! I bet he’s using an invisibility spell to make us think he turned into water and he’s merely directing them.” Twilight focused on a containment spell that would lock onto Tydal and prevent him from wielding his magic. “But I know his tricks and I know how to deal with him!”
The magical blast left Twilight’s horn, buzzing through the air. The tentacles paused their frantic movements as the spell struck their origin point and Twilight smiled as her spell flashed…
…and sizzled out as the tentacles slammed together, turning into a liquid capricorn.
“Uh Twi,” Applejack muttered, the ponies regrouping as the liquid Tydal took a step towards them, “I think he did that trans-thing.”
“That’s…that’s not possible!” Twilight screeched.
“Come on guys, it’s just a wet version of the same capricorn! We can beat him!” Rainbow Dash said boldly.
Tydal chose that moment to split into 8 smaller watery capricorns.
Castle glanced at Rainbow Dash. “Ok…neither of us are allowed to say ‘can things get any worse’, alright, because we are apparently jinxes.”
“Enough talk!” Beckett shouted, taking a bold step forward and trying to look as tough and dangerous as she could in the body of a reddish-purple cute pony. “Let’s get him!”
“Leeroy Jenkins!” Castle shouted, charging forward and tackling one of the Tydals…only to go flying through the watery being and tumbled off into the forest.
“Rick!” The girls shouted. They had no time to worry about him as the mini Tydals began to dart about, trying to escape from the clearing in any way they could.
Applejack chased after one of the Tydals, trying to find a way to get in front of him and stop his progress. “Come back here, you slippery little polecat!” The apple farmer let out a yelp as she was unable to stop in time to avoid a large tree trunk. She looked around in a daze, little apples spinning around her head. “I don’t want to pick the apples today Granny Smith…”
Twilight was trying to use her magic to capture the little Tydals but every time she managed to get one in a sphere two more would run up, flicking her horn and causing her to lose her concentration and break the spell. Pinkie Pie was bouncing all over, pouncing on the Tydal spawn and giggling when they burst into puddles, only to frown when they reformed around her hooves.
“Uh…please stop,” Fluttershy asked, trying to keep track of all the Tydals that were darting around her. “Please…could you…no? Ok.”
“NOOO!” Rarity screamed in utter panic as one of the Tydals slammed into her.
“Rarity, what’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked, hurrying over to her friend.
“He…he…he got my mane wet!”
Rainbow Dash just stared at her.
“…just because you don’t care about your manestyle-“
Beckett looked about, trying to make sense of the chaotic scene. All around her the girls were running around with no sense of direction or purpose. It was like herding cats (‘Better be careful…for all I know cats can talk here too and it would be offensive to say that’ Beckett thought drolly). She wanted to regroup, to come up with a new plan, but there was simply no way to get the girls to pay attention and stop randomly attacking the little Tydals.
Deeper in the forest, Castle slowly came to with one of the Tydal spawns standing on his chest, glaring at him. His watery skin shimmered and shifted with every unneeded breath and Castle would have found the creature cute if he wasn’t so fearful of being water-boarded by living water.
“You are an artist, not a warrior,” the little capricorn hissed. “It is written in your movements as it is on your flank. Has Discord become so desperate to defeat me that he now forces poets and writers to face me?”
“What are you talking about? Discord-“
Tydal’s head snapped back, the little spawn grunting into annoyance. He leapt off Castle’s chest and raced into the underbrush, followed shortly by the other capricorn water spawn and, moments later, Twilight, Beckett and their friends, all dripping wet but hot on the trail.
“Castle, come on!” Beckett shouted.
“Wait a minute…”
“We can’t lose him!” Twilight shouted.
“But-“ Castle stammered, Tydal’s words ringing in his ears as he followed after the girls, plunging deeper into the forest.