//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Lost and Afraid // Story: The Warden: Part 2, The Crusader and The Warden // by FortressLegacy //------------------------------// When Apple Bloom awoke, she found herself face down in the dirt. Besides feeling sore all over, a strange tingling sensation played about on her body. "Ugghhh…" She groaned, beginning to stir. "What the hay was that?" She wracked her mind, trying to remember what had just happened. Last thing she knew, Sweetie Belle was trying to teleport that apple again. But then it began to look like she was going to sneeze, and when she did, there was a bright flash, then darkness. Still face down, she called out. "Sweetie Belle? What happened?" No reply. A cold breeze then swept over her, and she heard the wind working its way through some trees. Apple Bloom turned her head, and opened her eyes for the first time since Sweetie Belle's sneeze, pondering where she could be. She was in what appeared to be an evergreen forest, the trees towering tall above her. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. There weren't any evergreens near Ponyville, at least to her knowledge.  She continued to lie on the ground, her orange eyes taking in her surroundings as her clouded thoughts slowly cleared. Then it struck her. She gasped and bolted upright. If there weren't any evergreen forests near Ponyville, then where was she? She looked all around, desperately trying to figure out where she was. The forest extended as far as she could see, an endless sprawl of tall evergreens. In fact, she couldn't see very far at all, for it was quite dim. The sun was nowhere to be seen, although the sky could be seen in between the treetops, a brilliant spectrum of blue, purple, and pink. Apple Bloom could not help but put a hoof to her face and growl a bit in frustration. This was the fourth time she had gotten lost in a forest at night, and the irony was infuriating. "Aw, horseapples!" She exclaimed angrily. "Why am Ah always gettin' lost like this?! This time it ain't even mah fault!" She snorted, sending a cloud of condensation flying from her nose as she stomped the soil in frustration. She groaned, and began to walk away. But after a few steps, she stopped, and the full realization that she was lost finally set in. She turned around, and began to trot in the other direction, traveling a short distance before stopping again. She had no idea where to go. Slowly, fear began to take hold. "Sc-Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle?" She called involuntarily, desperation for some somepony she knew growing more urgent. "Big sis?! Big Mac?! Help!" Her cries went unanswered, echoing through the forest, eventually fading away into the vast wilderness. She was alone. Apple Bloom sat down and curled up, grappling with the fact that she was alone with absolutely no clue as to where she was. "Ah'm lost. Ah'm really lost this time!" She exclaimed, rocking back and forth fearfully. "This time, nopony knows where Ah've gone!" After a minute of panic, her rationality began to slowly take back control. She sniffed, and wiped away any tears that had come out. "Come on, Apple Bloom." She encouraged herself. "What would your big sis do?" Applejack always seemed to know what to do in an emergency. She never seemed to panic either, instead jumping into action to try and resolve the issue. Right now, the best thing to do would be to try and think of what she would do, and imitate that. "She'd remain calm, an' try to find a high place to look for a landmark." Apple Bloom reasoned, standing back up. Climbing a tree was out of the question, however. The lowest limbs of the trees were at least twenty feet up.  However, there was an alternative. She noticed that she was on an incline of some sort, like a hillside. Maybe she should work her way upwards to the top? She began to trek up the hillside, working her way around the shrubs and trees. But after a minute of walking, a spine tingling howl stopped her in her tracks. It came from up the slope, carried by the chilly wind. She couldn't say for sure, but it sounded a lot like a wolf. After freezing in place for a moment, she took a quiet, trembling sigh. So much for heading uphill. She looked around, hoping to see another elevated area that was away from the origin of the howl. After a moment, she noticed a mountain through the breaks in the forest canopy, rising above the surrounding landscape, its top still bathed in the sun's warm glow. Even better, it was towards where she came from, away from the wolf's howl. It looked to be some distance away, but it was her best bet. She swiftly turned around, and began walking downhill, towards the mountain peak.  Several minutes passed, and the light continued to diminish as she worked her way down. She tried to calm herself all the while, reassuring herself by acknowledging the fact that every single time she had gotten lost, no harm actually befell her. Of course, there was no guarantee that she would make it out this time, but she shut out any doubts out of desperation. She needed to remain hopeful. Time passed on, and every few minutes, a distant howl would send shivers down her spine. Thankfully, they seemed to be behind her, and because the wind was to her flank, there was no chance that the wolves would catch her scent. Gradually, the environment began to change. The slope gradually grew less intense as she went down, and it occurred to Apple Bloom that she was heading into a valley. This, combined with the fact that it was twilight meant that the light was growing dimmer with each passing minute.  She knew that after a while, she would have to stop for the night. Fearful thoughts began to swirl in her mind. The prospect of having to remain in this forest at night with wolves prowling around was not a pleasant one. Her stomach growled as well, and she began to worry about what she was going to eat. The ponies back home probably would have already eaten warm, filling dinners by now, but she was wondering if she would have to resort to eating the ferns beneath her hooves. She thought forlornly of Granny's delicious cooking, and felt a wave of hopelessness sweep over her once again. Would she ever taste her grandmother's food again? Would she never find her way back to civilization and be forced to become a hermit, surviving off of the land for the rest of her days? These thoughts dominated her mind so much, she was not paying attention to where she was going. She walked face first into a spider web, putting an end to her mind's downward spiral. Sputtering in surprise, she swatted her forelegs around, trying to remove the sticky material. After a few seconds, she wiped it away and looked around. It was now so dark, she could barely see more than a few feet ahead. No wonder she ran into that web. A tickling sensation then drew her attention to one of her legs, and she could see a small shape working its way up. It was the unfortunate inhabitant of the web that she had inadvertently destroyed. She brought her foreleg up, and gently blew the spider off, sending it falling to the ground. It wasted no time, promptly running away into the darkness. "Maybe Ah should stop now..." She thought to herself, barely making out a clearing in the trees a short distance ahead.  "There's a good spot." She told herself quietly, working her way towards it. However, the darkness would cause her to encounter yet another obstacle. As she walked along, she stumbled over an exposed tree root.  "Whuuph!" She grunted, falling with a thud. She shook her head, and noticed that she felt something sticky once again, this time beneath one of her forelegs. "Another web?" She wondered out loud, trying to stand up. However, this was a lot stickier than the other web. In fact, it was almost pulling her back down to the ground. "Ugh… Come on…" She groaned, pulling as hard as she could. Suddenly, she came free, and she stumbled backwards, stepping on another sticky spot. This time, she remained still, and took the time to try and examine it. The moon then emerged from behind some clouds, providing her with the light required to see a bit more clearly. Indeed, it was a strand of a spider web. Curiously, it was thicker than any spider web that she had seen before, being more akin to a thin rope than a thread. She visually followed the strand, tracing it to a cluster of trees. She shuddered. That entire group of trees was encased with a white sheet of webbing that was far larger than any spider web that she had ever seen. An urge to move on and get away from this particular spot began to intensify, and Apple Bloom began to try to pull herself free. Whatever occupied that massive web, she didn't want to stick around and find out. "Hrrrrnn! Let go!" She exclaimed, struggling to free her hoof. Then she felt the strand vibrate. Plink! She froze, unsure if that was caused by her own struggling. She held her breath for what seemed to be a full minute, not moving a muscle. Deep down, she felt a horrifying dread grip at her heart. But after some time, no further vibrations were felt. She exhaled, breathing once again. "Okay… Ah guess it was just mah strugglin'." She thought, beginning to tug on the web again. Plink! Plink! The vibrations began again, this time far more strongly and for a longer duration. She froze again, and her fur stood on end. She wasn't causing the vibrations. Several of the nearby strands began to pluck, sending sharp, needly sounds into the air from the direction of the webbed trees. Apple Bloom, now wide-eyed and breathing heavily, slowly turned her head towards the trees. She saw it. The largest, hairiest spider that she had ever seen was slowly and meticulously working its way towards her, delicately picking its way along. It was way bigger than Big Mac, and each of its long, spindly legs had to have been at least ten feet long. She remained absolutely still, resisting the strong urge to try and run. She knew that spiders typically had poor eyesight, relying on vibrations to locate their prey. If she didn't move, maybe it wouldn't find her. The spider continued to move, though. Slowly, it worked its way towards the terrified filly, its spindly legs plucking at the strands as it closed in. Plink! Plink! Plink! The sound steadily grew louder with each occurence, and Apple Bloom began to shudder in sheer fear. Plink! Plink! Plink! It was less than thirty feet away now, and it was not stopping. Maybe it had good eyesight after all.  Apple Bloom could now make out two massive, curved fangs on it, each glimmering in the moonlight as they twitched. She imagined what they would do to her if the spider bit her, and it was not a pretty picture. She was running out of options. She would have to try and break free, or become a meal. But it was getting closer by the second. If she tried to run now, it would have her in a few seconds. She frantically scanned the ground, trying to think of a way to buy herself more time. Then she saw a tree branch on the ground, within reach. Thinking fast, she slowly grabbed it with her mouth, resisting the urge to spit the nasty tasting piece of wood out of her mouth. Then, swinging her head, she flung the branch as hard as she could, sending it sailing out beyond the spider, towards the webbed trees. She heard the branch impact the ground, and the spider swung around in the blink of an eye. With horrifying speed, it rushed off towards where the stick had landed to investigate, disappearing into the darkness. Apple Bloom felt the vibrations that the spider created die down as it ran away. After a few seconds, she exhaled and relaxed a bit. She had bought herself some time, and an opportunity to escape. She began to slowly pull away from the strand, trying her hardest to be as gentle as possible. But try as she did, her hoof was still stuck. She gulped. She would have to try harder, and risk alerting the spider again. She counted to three, and swallowed her fears as she gave a massive tug, and felt some of the strand let go. A sudden surge of joy caused her heart to jump. She could escape! Plink!Plink!Plink!PLINK!PLINK!PLINK! The sudden increase in the strand's vibration and the intensifying sound of the spider's plucking caused Apple Bloom to go numb. It was coming back! Adrenaline flooded her veins as her body began to move on its own. She gave another massive tug, feeling as if she was going to tear her leg off of her body. But this final effort was all that was needed, and she came free! She stumbled forwards, barely avoiding the first strand that had caught her in the first place. She could not suppress a breathless laugh that bubbled up as the joyous euphoria from her escape overwhelmed her. Then she looked behind her. The hairy, spindly mass that was the spider was closing in at a speed that killed her laughter and sent her into a mindless frenzy to escape. She gave a shriek and bolted away as fast as she could, faster than she had ever ran before. Ducking under branches and weaving clumsily through the undergrowth, she fled in a sheer, desperate effort to save her own life. She could hear something crashing through the forest behind her, steadily growing louder with each passing second. She didn't dare to look behind her, for she already knew that the spider was chasing her down. More than once, she ran into a tree or straight into a bush, but she didn't feel any pain. The adrenaline was simply too potent. For Apple Bloom, time slowed to a crawl. It was just like one of those nightmares in which she was running for her life, but could only run agonizingly slowly. Then, one of her hind legs got caught on something, and she heard a sickening pop as her leg twisted in an unnatural way. Immediately, an intense, burning pain gripped her leg as she fell to the ground, the impact knocking the breath out of her lungs. After inhaling, she gave a painful cry. "aaaAAAAGGGHHAAA!" She screamed, a combination of pain, terror, and hopelessness causing the outcry. She rolled onto her back, and she saw the terrifying creature approaching fast, its fangs unfolded and ready to deliver a killing blow, drops of venom shimmering in the moonlight. Apple Bloom whimpered and desperately scooted backwards, her life flashing before her eyes.  Her fate was sealed. She would die a horrifying death as a spider snack and nopony would ever know.  She would never see Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle again. Her closest friends would never see her finally find her cutie mark, nor would she see her friends earn theirs. Tears came to her eyes. Not only would she see her friends again, but she would never see her family again. Not Granny, not Big Mac, and not Applejack. As the spider loomed over her, it reared back, its fangs twitching excitedly as venom dripped off. Was this going to be the last thing that Apple Bloom would see? As she prepared herself for the killing blow, she began to cry gently, heartbroken that things had to end like this. "HRRAAAGH!" An angry shout from the trees caused Apple Bloom to look upwards, beyond the spider that was readying a killing blow. Up in the trees, she made out a large metallic object coupled with a single green light falling towards the spider. It impacted the horrific creature with a soft crunch, and the spider recoiled back, screeching. As the spider flung itself back, Apple Bloom caught a glimpse of what  had saved her. It appeared to have the general shape of a pony, but it was covered in metal parts, shining in the moonlight. One of its eyes was the green light that she saw, and its face appeared to have been torn, its other eye not visible. The spider contorted violently, and the metal pony lost his balance and fell to the ground. He swiftly rolled over and got back on his hooves, the sound of scraping and grinding metal being made as he moved. The pony then approached and faced the spider, to Apple Bloom's astonishment. He was clearly not afraid to fight, and this display of sheer courage stunned her. "Go! Run!" The pony commanded her, lunging at the angered arachnid. Apple Bloom didn't waste any time, and she stood back up. But as she did so, she placed some weight on her wounded leg, causing it to be consumed in piercing pain once again. She cried out in agony, falling once again. As she tenderly picked herself up, she saw the metal pony trying to work around the spider's legs and fangs, holding it at bay. "What are you doing!?" He shouted angrily. "Go!" Despite her injury, she couldn't afford to stick around. This time, Apple Bloom hobbled off as quickly as she could, making an immense effort to remember to keep off of her bad leg. Running on three legs was slow and difficult, and it didn't help her fear to know that she wasn't nearly as fast as she was before. If she was barely outrunning the spider before, she now had no chance of escaping it if it kept up the chase. An alarmed shout and the sound of rustling underbrush behind her compelled her to look back, and her stomach twisted in horror. The spider was chasing her again, looking like a writhing mass of legs and hair. "Help!" She shrieked, knowing that it would be on top of her in seconds. Then she heard the spider screech again, and watched it tumble to the ground. Somehow, the metal pony had gotten back on top of it, and was now punching it in its eyes. The spider screeched again, and it bucked forwards, causing the metal pony to lose his balance and fall in front of it. To Apple Bloom's horror, he was right underneath its fangs. The spider noticed as well, and in the blink of an eye, it clamped its venom filled fangs onto him.  She heard a hollow clunk as the spider's fangs impacted the metal pony, followed by a sickening squelch. Apple Bloom felt her stomach churn. Had the spider killed her savior? But the spider gave a screech that was louder than any it gave before, and it jumped back. Apple Bloom gasped. It was missing one of its fangs, and the armored pony had it in his grasp! He then rolled off to the side, barely avoiding an immediate and wrathful counterattack by the spider. The pony extended one of his legs, and a line shot out of it into the treetops. He then flew up and away into the trees, and the spider angrily began to hiss. In an instant, it turned towards Apple Bloom yet again, and it began to run towards her. She tried to call for help again, but it stopped in her throat, resulting in an unintelligible, terrified noise. Where did the metal pony go?! Then she saw him, jumping down from the treetops, holding the spider's severed fang below him like a spearhead. He impacted with an audible splat, and the spider's internal fluids exploded out of the gaping holes created by its own fang.  The spider had been dealt a fatal blow. It gave a weak hiss, and its legs curled up as it rolled over. It was dead. Apple Bloom could not do anything but stare at the creature's corpse, and think about how close she had come to a disgusting death. Out from behind the spider's body, the metal pony emerged, an unnatural hulk of steel and mechanical parts. Then, with heavy hoofsteps that she could feel in the ground and the sound of grinding metal, he approached.