The six ponies continued down the path to the Castle. It wasn’t long before Zecora used her staff to block the way of the other ponies.
“Do not continue unless you wish to be broke. Those leaves of blue are Poison Joke,” Zecora said, pointing to the field of glowing blue flower-like plants, “If you are to touch those leaves of blue, an ironic joke will be played on you. These plants are common in the Everfree. But so many at once is baffling to me.”
Trixie started snickering at a memory. This caught Flutters’ attention, “What are you laughing at?” Flutters asked accusingly, “Poison Joke is a serious thing!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean any disrespect,” Trixie said, “It’s just that I know about Poison Joke. When me and Twilight were fillies, we saw a plant in the royal garden that specifically had a sign that said ‘Do Not Touch’. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she got too close. For the next week, Twilight’s horn was as limp as a wet noodle.”
“It’s not… heh …not nice to… heehee …to laugh at Poison Joke,” Flutters said, clearly failing to hold back her own laughter, “The jokes it plays are really… HAHAHA …mean!” Flutters then broke down laughing at the image Trixie gave of a Unicorn with a floppy horn.
“I’m not laughing at what happened to her,” Trixie said, “After all, we both panicked at what happened. She was panicking more than me, but we both were traumatized. I just find it ironically funny that out of the two of us, it was her who broke the rules. Ever since then, Twilight has obsessively obeyed any rules. And now she has a fear of the color blue.”
Flutters completely broke down in tears with laughter. She felt guilty at laughing at the expense of somepony else. But she just couldn’t help finding the idea of somepony being afraid of a color funny.
“Thanks to Princess Celestia, we also learned of the cure,” Trixie continued, “It may have been a week before the Princess found out, but at least we know of the cure. Or at least Twilight knows the cure. I never got around to remembering it.”
“Poison Joke never grows this immense,” Zecora said, “And on the main path? It makes no sense.”
“So, it’s another trap set by Nightmare Moon,” Thunderlane concluded, “The only way we can continue is either to risk Poison Joke or to go off the main path.”
“I don’t plan on walking through. So going off the path is what I’d do,” Zecora said, “But it’s not my place to take away your voice. Perhaps we vote to make a choice.”
“As Pegasi, Flutters and I could fly over the Poison Joke,” Thunderlane said.
“From what Zecora has told me, I’d rather not even fly over Poison Joke if I don’t have to,” Flutters said, “At least not an entire field.”
“I think a prank is preferable to possibly being attacked by another Everfree creature,” Vinyl said.
“I’d rather not find out what Poison Joke would do to me,” Trixie said, “Knowing my luck, it’d probably turn me invisible and inaudible.”
“Off the path,” Maud said simply.
“Off the path wins, four to two. Come this way, let us hurry through,” Zecora said, pointing to the right, deeper into the dense forest, “Stay close because, in the dead of night, the darkness devours any and all light.”
“Did you really need to say ‘dead’?” Vinyl groaned.
“Are you kidding me?” Twilight asked.
Twilight was getting tired of dealing with this noble. For starters, he absolutely refused to interact with anypony other than Twilight, so despite what they tried to negotiate, Twilight was on her own with this. But that’s just the beginning. This noble specifically wanted to talk with Twilight and Twilight only because he assumed she would be gullible.
But the most frustrating thing was that the world was in chaos with the Eternal Night and the missing Princess, and this noble came to Twilight assuming she’d be gullible… to ask if royal funds could be used to fund the construction of his beach house.
“It makes perfect sense!” the nobles insisted, “If we’re going to be stuck in Eternal Night for the rest of eternity, me having a beach house would mean I could lift Ponies’ spirits by throwing parties for others. And it’s for that reason that such a selfless act should be rewarded by being funded by the crown!”
And the most annoying thing about this noble isn’t even the request for a beach house to be royally funded. The most annoying part was the fact that he absolutely refused to take ‘no’ for an answer. Twilight had been taking part in this debate for over an hour now, and nothing about it had changed.
“And for the fiftieth time: NO!” Twilight shouted, “The Royal Treasury is not your personal piggy bank.”
“Please, I must as you to reconsi-”
“You’ve asked me to reconsider forty-nine times!” Twilight exclaimed, “And every time, the answer is the same! The only reason I’ve allowed this to continue as long as it has is out of hope that perhaps I could convince you of being reasonable. You should consider yourself honored that you were allowed so much time to say the same thing over and over again. But you’ve had enough time. You can either leave now, or I can have the guards escort you out.”
“Just who do you think you are talking to me like that?!” the noble asked, not realizing what he was getting himself into.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle. I’ve Princess Cadance helped to raise me. My older brother is the Captain of the Royal Guard. And I am the personal student of Princess Celestia herself! And currently, I’m in charge!” Twilight said, “Guards, escort this fool off of the premises.”
Two of the guards approached the noble. They did their best to keep stoic. But they were impressed and entertained by how Twilight dealt with this foolish noble. So they still had grins on their faces.
As the noble was forcibly being escorted out of the palace, Prince Blueblood approached Twilight with an impressed expression, “You have a level of patience that not even Auntie Celestia has,” he said, dropping any formal titles, “That noble always gets on Auntie’s nerves. But she would’ve kicked him out after about twenty minutes.”
“That could be because it doesn’t take as long as I did to realize nothing would come of it,” Twilight assumed.
“Perhaps,” Blueblood admitted, “Or perhaps she simply can’t handle him for that long. And you were able to get him to break his polite demeanor. That’s something that not even Auntie could do. You were able to hold your own quite well. Take pride in that.”
It was dark in the Everfree Forest, even on the main path. But while traveling off the path through the denser parts, the forest seemed unnaturally dark. It was a claustrophobia-inducing darkness. Even the Unicorns’ light spells seemed to struggle to pierce the darkness. But thanks to the combination of Zecora’s expertise and the Unicorns’ light spells, they were able to get through the dense forest faster than they had expected.
When they got to the end, however, they met with three Ponies in dark uniforms that resembled the uniforms of the Wonderbolts. The first was what appeared to be a Pegasus. But her wings were not the feathery wings of a normal Pegasus, but rather the leathery wings of a bat. The second appeared to be a Unicorn. But his horn was curved and sharp. The third appeared to be an Earth Pony. But his coat seemed thicker, his ears had furry tufts at the ends, his hooves were…not hooves at all, but paws, and he had sharp canine teeth of a predator.
“Who are you?” Thunderlane asked, “Some Nightmare Night-themed Wonderbolt cosplayers?”
“Careful!” Trixie exclaimed, “Those three aren’t real Ponies. They’re magical constructs.”
They all turned to Trixie, whose eyes were glowing with magical energy. Trixie was using her ability to see magic.
“The Unicorn is correct for the most part,” the Bat Pegasus confirmed, “We are merely an extension of our Queen’s will. We’ve come as messengers.”
“If you’ve got a message for us, then let’s hear it,” Vinyl said.
“Our Queen wishes to offer you six an opportunity of a lifetime,” the Bat Pegaus continued, “But first, let us introduce ourselves. Though we may be constructs, we are part of an elite group known as the Shadowbolts. She has been watching you and how easily you got through the challenges put in your way. Our Queen recognizes your formidable strength and would like to offer you the chance to ally yourselves with her and become the new Commanders of the Shadowbolts.”
“So… she wants us to become evil so we don’t kick her flank?” Vinyl asked.
“Do not underestimate our Queen’s power,” the Bat Pegasus continued, “She acknowledges that you are a formidable force. She extends this offer to you because she deems you worthy of being the Shadowbolt Commanders. If you accept this offer, our Queen will make sure that your every wish will be granted to you. Together, we can reshape Equestria into a Lunar Empire. However, if you choose to oppose her, despite how formidable you may be, our Queen can easily destroy the six of you. You do not need to answer yet. Our Queen will allow you time to think her proposition over. When you come to a decision, she will be waiting for your answer in the old castle.”
With the message sent and the offer given, the three Shadowbolts dispersed into a cloud of smoke.
“You’ve gotta admit, that does sound pretty cool,” Vinyl said, causing the other five to glare at her, “What? It’s not like I’m gonna turn evil. I’m just saying that being the Commander of an army, being called a Shadowbolt, it just sounds cool. If Nightmare Moon wasn’t the enemy, I’d totally take her up on that offer.”
“I think what Vinyl is trying to say is that what was offered sounds ‘cool’. But it’s not worth turning evil for,” Thunderlane said, “That is what you’re trying to say, right Vinyl?”
“Well, duh,” Vinyl said casually, “Wasn’t it obvious that’s what I said?”
“The Poison Joke we cannot breach,” Zecora said, bringing the Ponies’ attention to the canyon they’ve come to, “The bridge to the other side is beyond our reach.”
“Well, we’ve got two Pegasi who can carry one Pony each across the expanse,” Thunderlane said, “And then there’s Trixie and her Cloak of Levitation.”
“Has anypony seen where Maud went?” Flutters asked. The others realized that they were missing one Earth Pony.
“We can take the stairs,” Maud called out from the cliff, pointing to a set of stairs carved into the side of the cliff.
“Huh. That’s convenient,” Trixie said as she followed Maud down the stairs. The other four followed suit.
They had determined that this crevice acted as a clear path to the castle. The Castle and its surroundings were untouched by the Everfree Forest, making this the final trek to their destination.
As they followed what had become a dried-up river, it was evident that the trek had taken its toll.
“Can we stop and rest?” Flutters asked, “All four of my hooves are aching.”
Trixie looked at Flutters’ prosthetic hind legs, “You only have two hooves that can ache.”
“EXACTLY!” Flutters exclaimed, “I’m either so tired that my prosthetics are tired, or I’m so tired that I miscounted because I can’t think straight.”
“Do you ever think straight?” Vinyl asked, “I feel like your thought process is less of a straight line and more like a zigzag.”
“Well, zigzags are made of straight lines,” Flutters countered.
“Flutters’ mind works like lightning,” Thunderlane said, “One quick flash, and it’s gone.”
“Exactly!” Flutters exclaimed proudly before her brows furrowed in confusion, “Wait, what’d you say?”
“Hey, look over there,” Vinyl said, “There’s a cave over there. Let’s see what’s inside while we rest.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Trixie said, “Besides, time is of the essence.”
“But it looks like there’s something glowing in there,” Vinyl countered.
“We can come back later to check on what’s in there,” Trixie said, “For now, we have to defeat Nightmare Moon and save Ocellus.”
“Though I agree that time is not on our side,” Zecora started, “To avoid exhaustion, it’s best that we take five.”
“Considering how bad that rhyme was, perhaps we should take a short rest,” Trixie defeatedly admitted.
The six of them entered the cave to rest. Out of the six of them, Maud was the only one who didn’t look tired. Then again, considering her lack of expression, for all any of them knew, she was the one who needed rest the most. Although being an Earth Pony made that highly unlikely.
As they entered the cave, they saw what was an amazing sight. There was what appeared to be a crystal tree with magic so dense you didn’t need to know how to sense magic to feel the magic radiating from this tree. It was evidently old if the vines crawling around the trunk were any indication.
“For all my time in the Everfree, this is a sight I have yet to see,” Zecora said.
Trixie used her magic sight to look at the tree. It was unlike anything she’d seen before, “I don’t know how to describe the magic I’m seeing,” Trixie said in awe, “It’s like I’m looking at a song.”
“How can something look like a song?” Thunderlane asked.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know how else to describe it,” Trixie tried to explain, “It’s ambient magic and a lot of it! But it has a frequency that only comes from Unicorn spellcraft. Ambient magic cannot have a frequency. It’s also pulsating through the ground in a way that Earth Pony magic does. And the way it seems to be manipulating the ambient magic around it is like Pegasus magic. It burns like Dragonfire. It shifts like Changeling transformation magic. It’s acting in so many ways that ambient magic doesn’t.”
“From how you described it, I can see how it would look like a song,” Vinyl said with understanding, “It has a frequency. It’s a constantly changing frequency. The ‘burn’ could be like changes in volume. The pulsating would be like a beat. And the manipulation of the surrounding magic is like how Ponies dance to music. I wish I knew your magic sight spell. Imagine the inspiration I could get simply by seeing the magic of this tree.”
“There’s a lot more happening, but that is the jist of it,” Trixie confirmed, ending her magic sight, “And each of the five branches are all pulsating in sync with each other. Those pulsations are traveling through the branches and to the central point where they all meet. It’s like the core magic of this tree is being fueled by the branches rather than the other way around.”
“I believe the magic acts as fuel,” Zecora said, “I feel rested for our upcoming duel.”
“There’s another set of stairs here,” Maud said, pointing at a set of stairs deeper in the cave, “And we’re under the castle.”
“I guess stopping to rest found us a shortcut,” Flutters said.
“Stopping to rest was worth it,” Trixie sighed in resignation.
The six of them headed up the stairs leading into the castle. If Trixie had been using her magic sight on her friends, she would’ve seen that their internal magic was pulsing in time with the branches of the tree.
“Those six Ponies may think that they’ll reject my offer. And I knew they would at the time,” Nightmare Moon said to herself, “But by the time they arrive here, they’ll take my offer.”
Nightmare Moon then magicked up a miniature illusion of the six talking with the Shadowbolts.
“They’re too loyal to Celestia to turn against her,” Nightmare Moon said with so much venom in the name Celestia that it would kill a Dragon in seconds, “And that’s why I didn’t make then choose right away. The Seeds of Darkness I’ve planted in them need time to bloom.”
The miniature illusion revealed that as the Shadowbolts were talking, there was a magical mist around the Ponies. The six of them were breathing in that mist, planting the “Seeds of Darkness”.
“Their most deepest, darkest desires will be brought out to the forefront,” Nightmare Moon continued, “And the offer to have their wishes granted to them will inevitably result in the seeds pulling out those dark desires and making my offer irresistible. If I had let them answer then, it would’ve subdued those thoughts. By not letting them answer right away, they’ll end up thinking about the offer and what they desire.”
The image showed the six now in front of Nightmare Moon as they transformed into nightmare forms of their previous selves.
“And I am not a liar. I will grant their wishes,” Nightmare Moon continued, “At the cost of their free will, of course. They will become an extension of my own will, just like the Shadowbolts. The only difference will be that I won’t have to expend energy on creating them or worry about them being dispelled.”
The image changed to an image of six stone orbs.
“I’ll even offer the chance to either take the Elements or to accept my offer,” Nightmare Moon continued, “Even if they foalishly choose the Elements over me, the likeliness that they are capable of using the Elements is next to impossible. And even in that unlikely chance that they could use the Elements,” Nightmare Moon stomped on the image of the 6th orb, causing it to vanish, “they’re useless without the Element of Magic. Either way, I win. MWAHAHAHAHA!”
Silver Spoon came running to her mother crying, “What’s wrong, dear?” Octavia asked as she embraced her daughter.
Silver Spoon took off her glasses to wipe the tears out of her eyes before answering, “Ocellus is getting worse!” She cried.
Rarity came over to hug Silver Spoon as well as allow Octavia to check on the Youngling. And it seemed like Silver Spoon didn’t care who it was who comforted her. She just needed to feel comforted.
Octavia went to check on Ocellus. And Silver Spoon was not lying. The first thing she noticed was how pale Ocellus had gotten. Her chitin was gray. And though it wasn’t a light shade of gray, it was a light enough shade that she practically looked ghostly compared to her normally black chitin. Then was the sound of short, labored gasps. She was struggling simply to breathe.
What scared the Cellist, however, was how cold she was to the touch. Her knowledge of Changeling biology is about as extensive as a bubble gum wrapper to an encyclopedia. But considering that she had a fever earlier, it was safe to assume that Changelings are endothermic. Even assuming that chitin was a bad conductor of heat and that Changelings had a naturally low body temperature, she was sure that this was a lower-than-normal body temperature at best.
But what she wasn’t doing suggested the worst-case scenario. Ocellus wasn’t shivering. And she saw Ocellus shivering earlier, so the possibility of Changelings not shivering was off the table. And with how low her body temperature is, there’s no reason for her not to be shivering…unless…
“Will she be alright?” Octavia looked down to see that the voice came from Rumble. The worry in his voice and the look in his eyes were distressing. He already knew the answer. The only reason he asked was in hopes that it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was.
Octavia’s ears folded back, “I honestly do not know,” was the most optimistic answer she could give without it being a lie so blatant that the foals would see through it. But she didn’t have the heart to tell them that she thought her body was beginning to shut down, “I think that all we can do now is to have faith in Trixie and the others.”
‘Hurry up, Vinyl. Ocellus is running out of time.’ Octavia prayed, hoping that somehow the message would be heard.