//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: A paranormal encounter // Story: Gusty the Great book 2- The crusades // by Dianabel //------------------------------// Buttons got up in a second and ran around while calling Fizzy. “Fizzy?! Fizzy?! Where are you?!” she panickily sprang from place to place. “Did she seriously disappear while we were sleeping?!” Lancer yelled angry. Gusty gasped when she saw some hoofsteps. “Look!” she yelled as she pointed at the trail. “Oh dear! Oh dear!” Buttons exclaimed as she ran behind Gusty. The ponies went through the same bushes as Fizzy. When the fire couldn´t illuminate their path anymore, Gusty conjured up some light. They carefully observed their surroundings and had their weapons prepared as they followed her trail. The forest was dark, with not a soul around. The only sound that they could hear were their voices calling for their lost friend, an owl hooting or a wolf howling. “Ooh… What if an animal hunted her? What if she was captured by diamond dogs? Or what if one of Grogar´s beasts caught her?” Buttons bit her hoof. “Maybe it´s not that bad.” Lancer said to reassure her after he pressed his lips. “Maybe she discovered something and she cried from the surprise. I think what you need to do is to calm down a little so we-” “DON´T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” Buttons grabbed his cheeks. “Fizzy is like a sister to me! How would you feel if your sibling got lost and I told you to calm down?! Huh?” “I´m just saying that you should calm down so in case we have to fight you are in conditions to fight…” Lancer finished. “HOW CAN I BE CALM?!” “Ok, maybe ye need to be a little far from each other until ye no longer feel the urge to kill him…” Glory pushed Buttons and Lancer away. “Agreed.” Lancer took a few hoofsteps back. “Geeze, I think I prefer Gusty being anxious.” he muttered. Noticing that she was hyperventilating, Gusty walked backwards to her side. “Light the way, Starswirl.” she ordered him. The unicorn nodded. “Oh my, I can´t breathe.” Buttons held her chest. “That´s because you´re anxious Buttons.” Gusty explained her as she offered her a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “That happens to me often. It´s a very ugly sensation but you can make it go away.” “How?!” Gusty took air and exhaled it through her mouth slowly. Buttons took example and did the same. Little by little, she recovered her breath and didn´t feel a lack of air anymore. “Feeling better?” Gusty asked her. “Somewhat. I am still very nervous but at least I can breathe now. How do you deal with it every day?” “Well, it´s not every day.” Buttons raised her eyebrow. “Ok, maybe every day.” she smiled nervously. “However, now it´s not all the time. Some months after my husband´s death, every little thing made me remember that moment. No matter where I was, I always felt very anxious.” “Must have been very hard.” “It was. Especially because I couldn´t use my wind magic and that made it worse. When I got back home, I had to go to the basement because I exploded when I arrived home everytime. It was perfect because I would never get in trouble, since there was not a single object in there to break. And,” Gusty hesitated before continuing. “it was a good way to ensure my daughters weren´t around.” “Were you afraid that you would hurt them if they were around?” “Not only that. Imagine seeing the pony that is supposed to protect you breaking down. As a mother, you are supposed to make your children see that everything will be ok. No child should see their mother like that.” Buttons exhaled air from her nose. This time, she was the one to offer a comforting hoof. “You were and still are in a very difficult situation. Honestly, if I found myself in your shoes, I would be feeling far worse.” Gusty gave out a small chuckle. “No, no, I´m serious. Did you just see me? I would just start with coming up with the worst scenarios and whine non-stop! I can´t blame you for breaking down. The one to blame is Grogar and Grogar alone. He´s the one that makes this world difficult for families! But that will change once this is all over.” “You think so?” “Not really. But a part of me does.” Gusty smiled tenderly at Buttons. “But now let´s focus on finding Fizzy.” Buttons sighed. “I´m very very worried.” “I am too. Fizzy was the first one to be friendly to me back in the castle. Not only that, but she was also the first one to be kind to me in a long time. I wouldn´t forgive myself if something happened to her.” “If you wouldn´t forgive yourself if something happened to Fizzy, imagine me! That would be my downfall, really.” “Um… I don´t want to interrupt you but I don´t see any more hoofprints.” Starswirl said to them. “WHAT?!” Buttons asked shocked. She and Gusty ran to Starswirl. He was right, there were no more hoofprints! However, it was very strange. The hoofprints didn´t lead to a cave or a river, nor there were prints from other animals, especially carnivorous ones. Instead, Fizzy´s hoofprints stopped abruptly. Though, there were hoofprints on top of others from the end of the trail to where Gusty and Buttons were standing. “Eeeh… Hello? Can somepony explain this?” Lancer asked confused. “It seems that she got to this point and then walked backwards.” Starswirl deduced. He shook his head. “This is very strange, it´s like she vanished afterwards.” “Maybe she teleported?” Gusty suggested. “No, we would have heard or seen a flash if she did.” Glory replied. “Maybe a giant eagle took her!” Buttons put her hoofs on her cheeks. “Does that exist, Glory?” “There are rocs, which are giant predatory birds. But they are not on this zone. Also, I´m pretty sure we would have seen a giant bird flying.” “Then maybe the ophiotaurus from before?” “There would be tracks of it, if that was the case.” “THEN WHAT ON EARTH COULD HAVE HAPPENED?!” Buttons shouted full-throated while pulling her mane. Her shout was so strong that everypony had to cover their ears. When she realized what she had done, she covered her mouth. “I know you´re worried, and for a good reason, but quiet down, will you?” Lancer told her gently. “We could attract wolves or something.” “Sorry.” she apologized. Suddenly, they felt a chill wind running on their spines. Lancer sighed frustrated. “What is it now, Gusty?” “What do you mean?” “You are panicking about something. I felt a wind.” “Um… That wasn´t me…” Gusty denied. “Look, I know that I haven´t dealt with your feelings accordingly to the past but-” “No, no. I am worried about Fizzy, but I´m not panicking.” “I am the one that´s panicking.” Buttons laid her hoof on her chest. “You are right, you are not hyperventilating. But if it wasn´t you, then who-” Afterwards, they heard a loud roar. The ponies formed a defensive circle. “There´s a predator near!” Glory exclaimed quietly. “It could be a manticore.” Starswirl widened his eyes. “That´s no manticore…” Everypony turned their heads to him. What they saw next froze their blood. Not so far away, there was a figure approaching. They couldn´t tell what it was due to the darkness, but they knew it was no common creature. This creature was shining, meaning it could be a spirit. Before it could notice them, Starswirl cast a disappearing spell. Ironically, the nearer the creature was, the quieter its roar became. The unicorns shivered in fear when they saw the creature´s face. In its dark coat, there were spots as bright as the stars. Its eyes were perhaps the most terrifying feature. From those shiny feline eyes, there were permanent tears running down its cheeks. The expression it bore was full of anger. However, that was not what scared the unicorns the most. Buttons covered her mouth in shock when she saw what the feline creature had on her mouth. It was Fizzy! She looked unconscious, as if she was sleeping, and thankfully there wasn´t any blood on her body, which meant that the creature didn´t devour her. The creature approached her head to sniff, causing the ponies to hug as tight as they could. Fortunately, it turned around and ran away, fading away in the meadow of the forest. Once it wasn´t around, the unicorns stopped holding their breaths as Starswirl undid the disappearing spell. “What on earth was that?” Lancer couldn´t stop shivering. “I think it was a spirit.” Glory held her chest. “But not of the good ones that´s for sure.” “So you´re saying we had a paranormal encounter?” Gusty asked Glory. “Very likely.” Glory answered. “She had Fizzy! She had Fizzy in her mouth!” Buttons hyperventilated. Noting it, Gusty patted her shoulder. “I had hoped that I´d never see her again.” Starswirl laid his head on his hoof. “You saw her before?!” everypony exclaimed at the same time. Starswirl nodded. “Hm. On a day looking for supplies.” “Why is it that whenever you go for supplies something happens?” Lancer asked frustrated. “I know, right?” Starswirl chuckled. “And what do you know about that spirit?” Buttons ran to him. “How many times have you seen her? Does she eat ponies? Do you think Fizzy is in great danger?” “Ok, ok. One question at a time.” he told her, feeling a bit overwhelmed by her constant questions. “Firstly, I don´t know much about her since I only saw her once. But from my experience, if her roar is quiet, it means she´s near, whereas if it´s far, it´s louder. As for eating ponies, she´s a spirit. Spirits don´t need food to survive, so don´t worry about Fizzy being eaten. And the last question… I can´t tell, sorry.” he lamented. Buttons sighed worried. Glory patted her back. “What happened the day you found her?” Gusty asked Starswirl. “On that day, I noticed some earth ponies hiding. I offered my help, but they were too scared already to think clearly, that and the fact that it was the first time they ever saw an unicorn. Suddenly, I heard a small roar. From that sound I knew there was a predator around, but I didn´t imagine she was right behind us. And she wasn´t just any predator, she was a spirit. I tried to defend myself and the earth ponies, but against a spirit, there´s little that you can do. The earth ponies stopped moving and fell to the ground. Anyway, once they were not moving, she took them away, carrying them on her mouth.” “Just like she was doing with Fizzy….” Glory thought aloud. “Do you know where she lives?” Buttons asked him. “Unfortunately, I can´t answer that question. However, I noticed that she was following the path to Bridlengton that time. And she did this time as well” “Are you suggesting that the spirit brings Katrina ponies?” Gusty supposed. “It could be…” “But how on earth did Katrina manage to have a spirit working for her?” Lancer asked estranged. “I don´t know if black magic can deal with the spiritual world, but there could be a possibility Katrina corrupted that spirit with black magic. However, I imagine that must be almost unachievable. This is a higher power we´re talking about. One mistake and you die. Then again, I´m no expert at dark magic because I haven´t studied it.” “And what do you think the spirits does to the ponies? Does she…” Buttons took a pause, not wanting to verbalize that possibility. “kill them?” “I don´t know…” Starswirl shook his head. “But I guess Katrina sent the spirit to capture us so she could deliver us to Grogar. And he probably wants to see Gusty die or kill her himself.” Gusty shivered. “As for us… He might want to make an example of us too.” Starswirl continued. “So what you´re saying is that Fizzy´s not dead?” said Buttons. Starswirl clenched his teeth. “There is a chance for both.” “Then what are we waiting for? Let´s go!” “Let´s go where?” Lancer asked her. “To Bridlengton.” “Whoah, whoah.” Lancer blocked her way. “You want to go to an earth pony city alone?!” “If that means saving my friend, then I´ll gladly do so.” “But in doing so you´re risking your life! Earth ponies don´t like unicorns. It is not a good idea!” “Well, I´ve been risking my life from the moment I befriended Gusty.” Gusty bit her lip. “Don´t worry. I wouldn´t have it any other way.” Buttons winked an eye at her, making smile shyly. She turned to Lancer. “If none of you want to accompany me, I´ll go alone.” “You can´t go alone! It is one of the rules of the army: never separate from the group! We stick together.” “Then if we stick together, we need to rescue Fizzy. I can´t leave her at Katrina´s mercy. Besides, you see how efficient she is in battle! Why would you want to leave her behind?” “Who said I want to leave her behind?” “Well, you don´t want me to go to Bridlengton.” “I don´t want you to go alone.” Buttons widened her eyes. “Wait. So you want to go to rescue Fizzy?” “Obviously!” Gusty replied. “We are all we have, we can´t leave each other alone.” Glory added. “No, no, I knew you two would be in the ride.” Buttons told them. “But Lancer?” she turned to him. “Well, d´uh! She might be very annoying, but she´s amazing in the battlefield. I never thought I´d say this but she makes things easier. We can´t keep going on without her.” Buttons hugged Lancer tightly. “Thank you! Thank you!” “No need to thank me.” Lancer tried to free himself for her hug. “But we can´t go to Bridlengton just like that.” Glory looked at her armour. “We´ll need disguises.” “But where do we do get them from? Do we steal them from the first cottage we see only for those ponies to report us and complicate things more?” Lancer said. As they were talking, Gusty noticed some rocks, which gave her an idea. “Maybe we don´t need to.” The unicorns stared at Gusty. “Look, we have plenty of material here.” she pointed at the rocks. After looking at the rocks, the unicorns started to wonder if Gusty was crazy. “You´re not seriously thinking that we can make disguises with rocks, are you?” Buttons asked confused. “Of course we can! Don´t you remember what we learned at training?” After mentioning the training, all the unicorns, except Starswirl, understood what she meant. “Aaah…” they said in unison. “I´m sorry, but I don´t quite understand what you mean.” Starswirl said ashamed. “Yes, you do. You must have studied that spell!” Starswirl widened his eyes. “Of course, turning objects into other objects. That´s genius!” “Oh, it´s nothing.” Gusty blushed flattered. Every time they had interacted, Starswirl was the one to blush. And this time, Gusty was the one to blush. Starswirl felt butterflies in his stomach when he saw her cheeks turning red. She was adorable when she did that. He stared dreamily at her. “Hello…” Lancer waved his hoof in front of Starswirl. “We have a soldier to save. We can´t lose time.” “Oh!” Starswirl snapped off his thoughts. “Yeah, sorry.” Each pony picked up the quantity of rocks they felt they´d need. They turned the rocks into dresses, shirts and cloaks. They put them over their armours. “Oh, we´re going to be so hot in this…” Buttons wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Yeah, but it´s either that or getting caught. You choose.” Lancer told her. “There´s still one problem though.” Glory said after she put on her cloak. “The cloaks don´t cover our horns.” “I can fix that!” Starswirl suggested. After he ignited his horn, the unicorns´ horns were no more. Afraid of having lost them, they started to touch their foreheads. Starswirl chuckled. “Don´t worry, they are still there. It´s just an invisibility spell but instead of covering the whole body, it just covers the horn.” he explained. “That´s a great idea!” Gusty commented. Whenever Gusty complimented him, Starswirl would feel great joy inside. He smiled. “There´s a catch though.” his smile vanished. “You cannot use your magic. If you do, the spell will be broken.” “Well, it´s not like we are going to use our horns anyway.” Lancer shrugged. “I mean if we did, we would pretty much give away that we are unicorns.” “So, are we ready to go?” Gusty asked everypony. “I think so.” Glory replied. “Me too.” Lancer answered. Starswirl nodded. “Then, let´s not waste more time!” Buttons exclaimed. “Fizzy, I´m coming for you!” Determined, Buttons ran into adventure, leaving everypony staring at her. “Um… It´s the other way.” Starswirl corrected her with a nervous smile. Buttons slowed down abruptly. “Oh right! Sorry…” she apologized before quickly changing direction. Even though she sprinted, Glory caught her on time before she was far enough not to catch up with her. “Why don´t we let Starswirl take the lead in this one?” she suggested. “Since he´s the one that knows the path.” “Very well. But you better be quick!” she told Starswirl. She glared at Starswirl as he took the lead. He looked a bit worried at Gusty. The mare just smiled, shrugged and laughed it off, making him laugh as well.