//------------------------------// // Forest // Story: Ruin // by RB_ //------------------------------// Sunset passed through the portal with practiced ease. It felt weird, crossing over without the weight of a black box on her back. She was the first one through. The others came through one at a time, their inexperience with the process causing them to stumble. Sunset helped each one as they filed into the library. “So this is Princess Twilight’s castle,” Rarity remarked, the last one through the portal. “I must say, it fits her rather well.” “This is just the library,” Sunset said. “Well, a library.” “Exactly.” It was at that moment that Ember appeared in the doorway.  “Oh, you’re here,” she said. “Finally.” Rainbow took a step back. “Whoa! What the heck is that!?” Ember narrowed her eyes. “Relax,” Sunset said, putting her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “That’s Ember. She’s a dragon. She’s going to be helping us.” “A dragon?” Fluttershy said. “Equestria has dragons?” “Equestria has all sorts of things that are only myths in your world,” Sunset explained. “Ooh, ooh, can you breathe fire, Ms. Dragon?” Pinkie asked. Ember snorted. Small jets of purple flame billowed from her nose.  “Neat-o!” Sunset introduced everyone. “Bunch of pony names,” Ember grumbled. “How am I supposed to remember all of that?” “Just do your best,” Sunset said.  She turned to the humans and gestured to the pile of supplies against the wall. “Everyone take a backpack,” she said. “What’s in these things?” Rainbow asked, picking one up. “Rocks?” Sunset ticked them off on her fingers. “Camping supplies, food, water, first aid kits, flashlights, sleeping bags, a multitool…” “Gee, over-prepared much?” “This is the Everfree Forest we’re talking about,” Sunset said. “No amount of preparation is too much.” “Ooh, I wish you wouldn’t say things like that,” Fluttershy said, slipping on a backpack of her own. “Sorry.” Once they had all geared up, Sunset led them through the halls of the castle. “So the entire building is made of solid crystal?” Rarity asked. “Yep,” Sunset replied. “How exactly did they manage that?” “It came out of a magic box, apparently.” “I… see.” “It doesn’t taste very good, either,” Ember added. Rarity adopted a look of bewilderment. “T…taste…?” “You’ve been eating Twilight’s castle?” Sunset asked. “What else is there to eat? It’s not like anyone’s using it, anyway.” “Fair point, I guess.” Sunset couldn’t say she was happy about it, but she didn’t want to raise an objection. They continued on until they reached the main hall. The doors to the outside were still open. The dust was thick, here, but Sunset knew it would only be thicker outside. “Okay, she said. “Last chance to back out.” “We’ve all already committed to this, Sunset,” Applejack said. “We’re not going to leave you alone now.” The others voiced their agreement. Sunset smiled. “Thanks, guys.” She turned back to the doors. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s go.” It was the first time Sunset had been in Ponyville proper since she had gone with the ponies. It was just as bad there as it always had been. Maybe even moreso, now that more time had passed and the magical decay had progressed. “My word,” Rarity said, as they made their way through the streets. “It’s… It’s so…” “Awful,” Fluttershy finished for her. Applejack nodded, silently. “This is what’s left of the ponies’ home?” Pinkie asked, sounding small. “This is… this is it?” “Yes,” Sunset said. “This is Ponyville.” Eventually, they made it to the outskirts of town, and then farther, until they were standing on the edge of the forest. The trees were brown and withered, their barren branches seeming to sag under their own weight. The dust hung thick in the air like a deep fog. And yet, even still… “This is the Everfree?” Rainbow asked.  Sunset nodded. “Yep. This is it.” “I think I’m starting to see why you were so worried,” Applejack said. Fluttershy let out a whimper. “R-relax,” Rainbow said, not able to keep the tremor out of her own voice. “It’s just some dumb forest. We’ll be fine!” Sunset pulled the map from her backpack. She’d spent plenty of time memorizing it and the various instructions written upon it, but having the actual thing in front of her made her feel a little more in control. “Okay,” she said. “We just have to follow the path as far as it goes. The map will tell us where to go from there. As long as we stick to what it says, we should be fine.” “I sure hope you’re right about that,” Applejack said. Sunset swallowed.  “Me too.” Bare branches overhead blocked out most of the grey-tinged light from above, leaving the ground in a bitter sort of twilight. Dead and dying plants surrounded the narrow dirt path on both sides. Even here, the silence reigned supreme; all there was to be heard was the sound of their boots. And even still, Sunset couldn’t shake the feeling that something had to be waiting for them, just out of sight behind the tree line. “So this is a ‘forest’,” Ember remarked. “Uh… yeah?” Rainbow said. “We don’t have a lot of trees in the Dragon Lands,” Ember said. “Kinda weird seeing so many in one place.” “What, um…” Fluttershy began. “What do you have in the Dragon Lands?” Ember ticked them off on her claws. “Rocks, lava, volcanoes… That’s pretty much it.” “That sounds kind of depressing.” Ember shrugged. “It’s everything a dragon needs.” They pressed on. Eventually, they reached the end of the path. To their right, Sunset could see a tree with twisted branches and a door set into its trunk. Bottles and lanterns hung off of its appendages, and masks decorated the front. “This must be Zecora’s house,” Sunset said. “Wait,” Rainbow said. “You mean someone actually lived in here?” “Apparently.” Sunset consulted the map, then her compass. “Alright,” she said. “From here we head straight northeast for a while until we hit a river. Also, there’s a note from Zecora…” “What’s it say?” “Avoid you must the flowers of blue, lest you find out what they do to you,” Sunset read off the map. “Why the rhyme?” Pinkie asked. “They’re all like that,” Sunset answered. “I guess it’s her thing.” They pressed on. As they did, the idle chatter amongst their group slowly subsided. The oppressive nature of the forest only seemed to grow thicker the further in they got. At last, they reached the river. The water was grey and cloudy, but rushed on all the same. Too fast and deep to wade through. At least the treeline had receded; they had a little more light to go by. “So now what?” Rainbow asked. “We need to cross,” Sunset said, lowering the map. “Somehow.” “You didn’t happen to pack an inflatable raft in one of these backpacks, did you darling?” Rarity asked. Sunset shook her head. “Couldn’t get my hands on one in time. We have to follow the river north until we find a place we can cross. There’s a place with some rocks not too far from here, according to the map.”  “I could just fly you across,” Ember said. Everyone turned to look at her. “What?” she asked. “Right,” Sunset said. “Wings. Forgot about that.” “Can you carry us?” Applejack asked. “One at a time, sure,” Ember said. “I don’t know how I feel about, erm… flying,” Fluttershy said. “B-but I’ll do my best!” “Okay, then,” Sunset said. “We’re in your claws.” She surrendered herself to Ember’s care. The dragon wrapped her arms under Sunset’s. With a beat of her powerful wings, they lifted into the air. “Okay,” Ember said. “You’re a little heavier than I expected.” “Too heavy?” “Not even close.” They flew across the river, Sunset trying not to look at the rapids below. She was a unicorn in her past life, after all, not a pegasus. Ember let her down gently on the opposite bank. Sunset didn’t say it, but she was glad to have solid ground back beneath her feet. Ember flew back over to the other side of the river to pick up the next member of their little expedition. Meanwhile, Sunset scanned the tree line. Nothing stood out to her, but she knew how little that actually meant in a place like this. She turned back to look at the other bank. It looked like Rainbow had volunteered to go next; she was grinning ear to ear as Ember flew her across. Sunset snorted. Typical Rainbow. Soon enough, they had all made it across. “Thanks for that, Ember,” Sunset said. Ember nodded. “No problem.” Sunset consulted the map again. “Okay, everybody,” she said, turning in the direction the map indicated. “Follow me.” Some time later, they emerged from the trees into an open clearing. Sunset checked her watch. It was around eight o’clock. She looked at what she could see of the sky. It had not changed.  “The sun really doesn’t set,” she said. “How much farther is it to the Elements?” Applejack asked. “We’re a little over halfway there,” Sunset said. She looked back at the group. Their resident athletes seemed fine, Applejack and Rainbow, and Pinkie and Ember seemed okay to keep going. Rarity and Fluttershy, on the other hand, looked like they’d seen better days. “Alright,” she said. “This looks like as good a place as any to set up camp for the night. Or, uh… whatever passes as night. Applejack, Rainbow, you help me set up the tents. The rest of you can take a breather.” Rarity let out a sigh of relief. They set about their task. They had two tents between them, each fitting about three people comfortably. They went up without a hitch. “We’ll take turns keeping watch,” Sunset said. “We’ll take two hour shifts. I’ll go first.” “It’ll be better with two people,” Rainbow said. “I’ll stay up with you.” They worked out an order from there. “Alright,” Sunset said. “Get some rest, you guys. We’ll take it from here.” “I hope they’re okay,” Twilight said, back in the tent, her nervous gaze fixated on the solid base of the statue. Starlight unfurled her sleeping bag. “Me too.” Sunset sat in the dirt in between the two tents. Rainbow was sitting beside her. Her colourful hair sat in sharp contrast to the dying browns and greys of the forest and the sky, even restrained as it was by the straps of the respirator mask she was wearing. “So,” Rainbow said. “That was Ponyville, huh?” “Yep,” Sunset replied. “What was it like before, uh…” Rainbow waved her hand in a circular motion. “Y’know. All of this.” “I don’t know. I’d never been there before this happened.” “Oh,” Rainbow said. “I, uh… kind of assumed most ponies lived in Ponyville. It’s in the name, y’know?” Sunset shook her head. “Nope. Ponyville’s just a small town, and Equestria is a big country. I lived in Canterlot. Er, pony Canterlot.” “Huh.” They sat in silence for a few moments. “So what was pony Canterlot like?” Rainbow asked. “Is it like our Canterlot?” Sunset snorted. “Not even close.” “What do you mean?” “Well, it’s built on the side of a mountain, for one thing,” Sunset said. “For another, it’s a lot more… high class? A lot of nobles and wannabee nobles. It’s the richest city in Equestria.” “Sounds snobby,” Rainbow said. “It was snobby,” Sunset admitted. “Everyone was vying for power and status all the time. But, well, so was I. So I guess I fit right in.” “Yeah, you were, kinda…” “A raging bitch?” Sunset finished for her. “Yeah. I know.” They lapsed back into silence. Sunset fiddled with the straps on her mask. “Where was Princess Twilight from?” Rainbow asked. “She’s from Canterlot, too.” Rainbow’s eyebrows raised. “She uh, didn’t seem like a raging bitch to me.” “She was too busy burying herself in books and her magical studies to worry about her status,” Sunset said. “At least, from what little I saw of her back then. She’d changed a lot between then and when I… y’know.” Rainbow nodded. Sunset sighed. Her gaze turned towards the treeline. “Not the least of which was becoming an alicorn princess.” “She wasn’t born a princess?” Rainbow asked. “How does that work?” “She was appointed Princess of Friendship after she became an alicorn,” Sunset said. Rainbow opened her mouth to ask, but Sunset got ahead of her. “An alicorn is a pony with both wings and a horn. It’s possible for a regular pony to become an alicorn, but it’s extremely rare. I only know of two who’ve done it, and one of them was Twilight.” “Huh,” Rainbow said. “There’s… so much I didn’t even know about her.” “She wasn’t big on sharing that aspect of her life, I guess,” Sunset said. She looked back at Rainbow. The other girl had her gaze firmly planted in the ground. “You okay?” Sunset asked. “I’m fine,” Rainbow replied. “Just… it feels like I barely knew her, I guess. I mean, we were friends, and I owe her a lot, but I never thought to ask her about any of this, and…” She trailed off, before resuming. “I still can’t believe she’s gone, y’know?” “I get it,” Sunset said, and now she was looking at the ground, too. “I can’t believe it either.” Once more, the silence prevailed.  “Can I ask you something?” Sunset said, eventually. “What?” “It’s about your pony counterpart,” she said. “I think she hates me.” “Hates you?” Rainbow said. “Why would she hate you?” “I nearly got pony Rarity killed,” Sunset said. “And I couldn’t save Princess Twilight, and I can’t send the pony-siders home. I think she resents me because of all of that.” “Well, okay, that’s all true,” Rainbow said. “But you’re still trying your best, right?” “I don’t think that’s enough for her.” “Well…” Rainbow frowned, her brow knitted in thought. “I guess I would be pretty upset by all of that, too. I don’t think that’s all of it, though.” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” “I was really happy when you told us about this expedition thing,” Rainbow said. “’Cause it finally meant I could do something. When all this started, I felt pretty useless. I wasn’t smart enough to help you guys with the portal. The most I could do was donate some supplies for the pony-siders and stay out of the way. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t. That was, uh… really frustrating, I guess.” Rainbow sighed. “And then I found out Princess Twilight was dead, and that only made me feel even more useless.” “There was nothing you could have done,” Sunset said. “Yeah, I know. That’s the problem.” “Oh.” “Anyway, I bet that’s how pony me feels,” Rainbow said. “Only worse than me, because she can’t even be here.” She snorted, and rubbed the back of her head. “That’s what I think, anyway. You know I’m not good at all this touchy-feely stuff.” Sunset shook her head. “No, that… that makes sense. I would feel the same way.” She looked down. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. Celestia, she must be—” A rustling sound cut through their conversation like a blade. Their heads snapped up. “What was that?” Rainbow said. Sunset held an arm up. “Quiet.” She listened. All was silent for a moment, but then… There it was again. “Wake the others up,” Sunset whispered. Rainbow nodded, and ran over to the closer of the tents. Sunset grabbed the backpack at her feet and opened it slowly. She reached inside and pulled out her multitool. Her hands shook as she unfolded the knife.  It wouldn’t be enough. She knew that. But it was all she had. More rustling, behind her now. She whipped around to face it, knife at the ready. A roar split the silence of the forest, wild and angry.  Sunset grit her teeth. Whatever the thing was… …it wasn’t a friend.