//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Ghost Stories 
// by PrelateZ 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were beginning to regret their plan to explore the Everfree Forest this night. The storm was worsening, the forest path had become obscured by a sheet of rain, and the fillies could hardly see anything ahead of them. They found shelter within the trunk of a great tree, which had somehow split to form a sort of cave, and huddled together as they tried to form a plan. Scootaloo pulled her hood farther down over her eyes. "I can't see a thing! How are we supposed to get back home if we don't know which way to go?"

"We're not gonna go anywhere," Applebloom answered after a pause. "Mah big brother always says when there's a storm, the first thing ta do is ta find shelter, then wait fer the rain to stop."

"But how long will that take?"

"I dunno. Could be minutes, or hours. We can't tell right now."

"Hours?" Scootaloo stamped a hoof in the dirt. "I can't spend hours stuck in some tree! There's gotta be something else we can do!"

"Well, how 'bout Sweetie Bell? She hasn't said anythin' yet."

The unicorn filly was holding a necklace. She closely inspected the pendant attached to it – a violet, six-pointed star set in a silver coin – and rubbed at it with her hoof. She seemed to be talking to it, though it was too quiet to hear even from such a close distance. Applebloom tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Um, Sweetie Bell? What're ya doin'?"

Sweetie Bell held up the pendant for her friends to see. "Remember when Rarity went to Canterlot a while ago, before Twilight's birthday party? Well, she and Twilight made this necklace for me before she left. She said whenever I'm really scared, or if I'm in danger, the necklace will let them both know. But nothing's happening. It's been a long time, so maybe the magic just couldn't last this long..."

"Don't talk like that, Sweetie Bell." Applebloom faced the other filly directly. "Ah know we're gonna get outta here, an' if we're in real danger, Ah know somepony's gonna save us. We're all goin' home tonight, jus' wait an' see!"

An hour passed and the rain would not stop, but it did lessen enough to clearly see the road back toward Ponyville. The three fillies stepped out of their shelter, pulling up their cloaks and starting down the path. The dirt trail had turned to a thick layer of mud, and it was very difficult to walk, but nopony complained; if one should step off the path, they can quickly get lost, or run into one of many unknown dangers in the forest. They had already met one such creature: the Cockatrice, which would have turned them all to stone had Fluttershy not arrived to aid them. None wanted to see what else could be lying in wait for them.

After a few more minutes of walking, the path seemed to change: the mud was not as thick as before, and in some places it had even dried completely; the rain had nearly stopped, though the storm seemed far from passing; and the usual mist had returned to cover the ground in all directions. Pausing at a fork in the road, Scootaloo leapt up, her wings beating furiously. She couldn't fly quite yet, but she managed to hover for a short time, enough to land on a low tree branch and get a better view of the path ahead. "Hey, there's a clearing coming up!" she called, "Let's go that way!"

The first change the fillies noticed was the rise in temperature. Second, they saw the smoke rising from the opposite end of the clearing. Finally, they could make out the shape within the cloud of smoke as it turned and approached them. Applebloom looked at the shape, then to Sweetie Bell. "Um, now would be a great time fer that necklace to do somethin'..."

"Forget the necklace!" Sweetie squeaked. "Somepony's comin' out of the fire!"

The "pony" appeared normal until it left the dark cloud. Once visible, the fillies found it seemed to be covered in fire, but it didn't appear hurt at all. Scootaloo had the best eyes of the three, so she was able to get the clearest view. "No," she gasped, "that pony is the fire."

The strange pony-shaped flames walked slowly toward the fillies, its steps creating small fires in the grass beneath it. It raised its head and opened its mouth, like it was trying to shout something, but no words came. It then dropped its head to the ground for a moment, and came up holding a ball of fire in its mouth. The fillies managed to turn around and start running before the fireball exploded at the ground they had been standing on. They sprinted down the path toward Ponyville, looking away only to make sure they were all together. They could hear the fiery pony galloping after them, and heard also the sounds of more fireballs striking the ground behind them.

It felt like they had been running for ages when they finally saw the end to the twisting trees, the way out of the forest. The flaming pony was still following them, still setting small fires everywhere it went. Sweetie Bell was moments away from the exit when she tripped over a log that had been buried halfway in the mud. The fiery pony tilted its head, readying another fireball. The necklace around Sweetie Bell's neck began to glow brightly.

Applebloom and Scootaloo couldn't see the necklace from where they were standing. To their horror, they saw only their friend lying on the ground, the fireball flying toward her. It never reached her, however; it was stopped in the air, detonating against a wall of bright, violet light. A flash blinded the fillies for a moment, and when they opened their eyes again, Twilight Sparkle stood between Sweetie Bell and the strange creature. Rarity had appeared as well, and all the others who had been at the library. Rarity helped her sister up, walking with her to join the other fillies. Twilight took a moment to look at the fiery pony, then at the sky. The rain had become a light drizzle, and very little of it was making its way through the layer of leaves overhead, but the clouds were still low and dark. "Rainbow..." she began.

"On it." The cyan pegasus took off, diving into the clouds. She returned seconds later with a small storm cloud, placing it just over the fiery pony's head and stomping repeatedly. Rain poured from the small cloud, sizzling as it made contact with the creature, but it would not stop. Another fireball exploded on the magical barrier. Twilight flinched. The barrier flickered. "Try something else!"

"What else can I do?" Rainbow shouted, flying higher to get out of the creature's throwing range. "I just can't put it out!"

"Water won't work, but there has to be something..." Twilight looked around her. The small fires were beginning to add up; it wouldn't be long before they spread, and that would be a disaster for such a large forest as the Everfree. "What about..."

"Can we blow it out?" Pinkie Pie chimed in, now standing just to the left of Twilight. "You know, like a candle?"

"Blow it out?" Twilight paused. "Yes...yes, I think that could work. Let's see...how about this one?" Twilight's horn flared. A small tornado appeared at the fiery pony's hooves, growing in size until it enveloped the creature. The fire dimmed, but it still was not completely put out. The spell wore off, and another fireball struck the barrier; cracks appeared in the magical wall.

Rainbow Dash flew down toward the creature as it tilted its head downward. She hovered just above it, spinning rapidly until another tornado began. This one grew much larger than Twilight's spell, pulling in dirt and other debris from the road and blocking any view of the fiery pony. Seconds passed and the light within the vortex faded. Soon Rainbow Dash ended the tornado, leaving a pile of leaves and dirt where the flaming creature had been.

Rainbow flew down, landing softly on the dirt pathway. "It's been a while since I made a tornado like that; I'd almost forgotten how to do it. Oh, and I saw your spell, too. I think you should leave that to me next time, Twi," she said, playfully tapping the unicorn's shoulder, "Weather control is my job."

Twilight ended her barrier, tired from casting so many spells in so short a time. "Certainly. Now, let's all head to my house and talk. I think we've all had enough fun for one night."

All of the lights on the ground level of the library were turned on to help comfort the three fillies, who were still shaken from their encounter earlier. Pinkie Pie had quickly prepared a batch of cookies for them, which they happily accepted. Everypony sat in a circle on the rug while Twilight set a book down between them. She flipped through the pages, stopping on a picture of the same creature that had been in the forest before. "I read about this about a week ago. It's called an elemental, a creature formed from something in nature, like water or fire. It usually looks somewhat like a pony from a distance, but you don't want to get very close to them. They don't think like normal creatures, and they can be very dangerous. It's a good thing you three found it when you did; with enough time, it could have burned down the entire forest, or worse."

Sweetie Bell and Applebloom didn't look at all grateful for finding the elemental. (Scootaloo was busy pestering her idol, Rainbow Dash, about how she saved her and her friends from the monster) They ate their cookies in silence, looking nervously at the picture as if it could come out of the book and set another fire. Finally Applebloom spoke up. "So where do those things come from, Twi'? I've never heard of 'em before."

"That's my main concern with it, actually," Twilight answered, pacing around the room. "From what I understand, elemental creatures don't exist naturally in Equestria. They have to be made by somepony, or ponies, with very strong magic. You make the elemental, give it an order, and send it away." She turned to the window, looking out into the night sky. "But why would anypony want to burn down the Everfree Forest? Why would they want to make such a dangerous creature at all?"

The window provided no answers. The rain continued its light tapping on the windowpanes, and the clouds resumed their path across the sky.