Chapter 1: Forest Travel Can Be Dangerous
l
High above the Manehattan Player’s Theater sat Luna, a cape and hood rested around her shoulders. She sat unmoving, just watching. Down below, ponies of all backgrounds were flooding into the theater.
A sign on the wall of the theater announced a new performer, Master Storyteller Trixie. The sign promised the audience to be wowed by the heroic tales of different ponies. The mysterious pony softly laughed.
It’s been two months and I still follow this pony. Why? Before Luna could answer why, the street barker called out that the show was starting in five minutes. She smiled to herself, flipped up her hood, and lightly jumped off the roof, landing in the street below. Maybe it’s because I want to see her fully redeemed with my saviors.
Luna walked into the theater and chose a spot in the center of the seats. For the past two months, since Trixie’s encounter with the ethereal helper, Luna had been keeping an eye on her. Now, she almost considered Trixie a project. Something to do, something to maybe learn a little bit out redeeming one’s self. Slowly, a plan had formed and now, the plan was about to officially start. A simple compulsion spell, a merry little chase, and some clues would lead Trixie back to Ponyville via the Everfree Forest. There she would meet a particular pony and then maybe, just maybe they could work together enough to become friends.
The forest made an ideal place for her plans for several reasons. The first reason had to do with location, it was close enough to everypony involved for them to easily travel to and from. The second reason had to do with its natural affinity to magic. The forest’s affinity to magic would make it easy for the pony to manipulate the surrounds inside the forest, and create the trials she had in mind. The third reason had to do with the relative safety of the forest. Despite the rumors about the forest, it was quite safe to travel, but had just enough danger, if one wandered off the path, to make things interesting. lastly, if the need arose, Luna could easily get to Trixie and her companion.
Of course, there’s more to the plan then that, but I have to first get the two ponies into the forest. The pony’s attention focused on the stage as the lights dimmed and out walked the very mare she had come to see.
---
Trixie was nervous. She had been lucky to get this job. Last time, she had been in Manehatten as a traveling show mare. She had had to run out of the city after becoming too boastful. This time she had come back as a storyteller, and the manager, who remembered chasing her out, agreed on two terms. Trixie stuck to storytelling and storytelling only. Secondly, she had also had to agree to not boast about feats that she hadn’t actually done.
The lights dimmed on stage and the stage manager whispered, “You’re on, go get ‘em.” He paused before adding, “If it helps the nerves, I think your stories were told spectacularly during your rehersals.”
Trixie glanced at the stage manager once before marching out on stage. Okay Trixie, you’ve performed before. This is… just a larger audience then you’re used to. She looked at the audience and gulped. A lot bigger.
Swallowing her fear Trixie reared up and conjured a picture of a dragon sufficiently large enough for everypony to see. Her skills in conjuring pictures had improved since her strange encounter in Ponyville, and now she used that to her advantage. In fact, she felt that she had improved enough that she could add sound. The dragon which appeared in front of the audience not only looked real with its dull, red, gleaming scales and rough texture, but it also roared at the audience, causing them to lean back in mock fright.
“Good evening ponies! Sit back and be wowed as Master Storyteller Trixie tells you the tale of how six ponies banished a dragon that threatened to melt all the snow and flood Equestria!”
Trixie sent the dragon flying to the top of a mountain, conjured to scale of course, that had appeared on stage. Immediately smoke began to drift from the cave in which it disappeared, and the audience could hear a faint snoring. “Our story begins in the small village of Ponyville.” The mountain swirled, collapsing in on itself in a bright flash. It was replaced with a tree house, of which, six ponies had appeared just beside it. “These six mares were the best of friends. Upon hearing the news of the dragon, they tasked themselves with banishing it to another part of the land.”
With grandiose effect, Trixie told the story she had only heard rumors about. The audience ooed as they watched the six prepare for the journey and set out. They booed at the six mares as tension built when one mare, wanting to go faster, complained to the lead mare about how the timidness of another one of the mares was slowing them down. They ahhed as each mare in turn tried to trick or force the dragon into leaving. They groaned as the dragon, now enraged at the efforts of the mares, attacked. They began cheering, but quickly fell silent as the timid mare watched her friends get attacked and finally took a stand herself, telling off the dragon and sending it away to find another place to take a nap.
With as much special effect as possible, she had the budding heroine vanquish the dragon, which flew away and burst over the audience in a rainbow of sparks. The crowd cheered, calling for an encore.
“Thank you all. Thank you all very much for coming tonight!” Trixie bowed again and again. “Thank you all, you were a wonderful aud—” Trixie stopped mid-bow. It was then that she noticed the hooded pony. There was something in the way the pony stood so calmly, something mysterious, that caused her to notice the pony. The pony wasn’t clapping, but Trixie could almost imagine seeing the approval from the pony.
Despite the distance between them, Trixie could almost see the faint grin under the hood and the small beckoning flick of the head. Something about the pony was familiar. Something urged Trixie to go and greet the pony. Trixie felt compelled to ask... something, but she couldn’t place her hoof on it.
The mysterious, hooded pony turned and trotted towards the exit. Ignoring calls for more from the audience and questions from the stage manager, Trixie jumped offstage and shoved her way through the crowd. That pony seems so familiar. I must find out who this pony is!
Finally pushing her way through the last of the crowd, Trixie ran out of the theater and into the chill evening of Manehatten. She looked both directions and saw the tail end of a cloak disappear into an alley to her left.
“Wait! Who are you?” Trixie galloped quickly past the entrance in pursuit of the mysterious pony. Again, she only saw the tail end of the cloak disappear around another corner. Panting, Trixie galloped around the second corner. She rounded it just in time to see the pony jump over a fence and disappear.
Not able to jump over the wooden fence, Trixie came to a halt at the end of the alley and glared at the obtrusive object. I could try to teleport over, but with no way of knowing what’s on the other side, it would be dangerous. Trixie sat down with a huff of frustration. Maybe the pony will be back for another one of my shows.
Trixie was so distracted that she didn’t notice the small sparks of magic and the piece of paper that was drifting down until it landed lightly on her forehead. “Huh? What’s this?” Trixie grabbed the paper and under the glow of her horn, read it. It didn’t say much, only: Ponyville is a nice place to perform.
Trixie read the paper over and over. If the writer knows about Ponyville, then surely they know how well that went for me before. Sighing, she dropped the paper on the ground and was about to head back to the theater when she noticed something peculiar. On the flip side of the paper it read: You must travel quickly now if you are to reach the village in time.
Puzzled, Trixie picked the paper back up. Pondering what this new discovery could mean, she slowly retraced her steps back to the theater. Back in her room, she took off her cape and hat and prepared for bed. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get her mind off the second part to the note.
Suddenly it all clicked. The day after tomorrow was a festival that most of Equestria celebrated. It was a festival honoring the heroes’ of the village, town, or city. As part of the festivities, they had a unicorn magically tell the story of the heroes greatest accomplishment.
Perhaps that’s what the note means. But why Ponyville? Again, it came to her suddenly. Ponyville would be perfect! I know the perfect story to tell too. Trixie resolved to leave the next morning. Perhaps this time I can do better. The memories of her last visit to Ponyville lingered as she lay her head down and fell asleep.
---
The early morning beams of the sun somehow managed to sneak past the curtains. Groaning, she turned over and put her hat on her face, hoping to get a few extra minutes of sleep. The sun was unrelenting however, and Trixie finally gave up. Yawning, Trixie walked over to a wash basin and splashed the frigid water on her face.
C... c... cold! Quickly, Trixie grabbed a towel and furiously scrubbed to mitigate the numbness that had begun to set in upon her face. Finally satisfied, she trotted about her room, humming a merry tune. Today was the day she would leave for Ponyville, and she wanted to get an early start. Besides, she would have to tell the manager of the theater. She gathered her meager belongings and happily trotted out the door and down the hall to the office of the manager.
Only when she was knocking on the door did it occur to her that the manager might not even be up. To her pleasant surprise, however, a faint “come in” followed her knocking. Pushing the door open, she walked in. The manager sat at his desk, furiously scribbling something down in a thick folder.
“Ah, Master Storyteller Trixie! Just the mare I wanted to see!” The manager paused to light a fat cigar. “The audience absolutely adored you last night! Profits went up twenty percent. I already have you booked for another show five days from now.” The manager flipped around some papers and thrust them at Trixie. He played with the smoke from his cigar, twisting the smoke into swirls, as he waited for Trixie to finish reading.
The papers showed an article proclaiming Trixie’s story telling as “wonderful”, “marvelous” and “five star all the way”. Trixie barely glanced at the article before turning back to the manager. “That’s great news, manager, but I didn’t come here to brag. In fact, I was just about to tell you about my trip.”
“What!” The manager stood up, his hooves knocking over papers and baskets from his desk. “You just had a groundbreaking performance though! You can’t leave now.” The manager sat back down, leaned back, and began fanning himself furiously. He snubbed the cigar and lit a new one, hoping it would calm him down.
Trixie backed away in surprise. “Oh no, I’m not here to tell you I’m quitting. I mean, I should be back in time for my next show.” Trixie glanced around the room nervously. It wasn’t that the manager made her nervous or anything, but Trixie was used to the open road a traveling showmare faced and the office made her feel as if she were held in place. “I’m going to Ponyville in hopes of participating in the story telling of their town’s hero, for the festival.”
The manager stopped hyperventilating and eyed Trixie suspiciously. “You’re not just saying that, are you? Weren’t you chased out of that town anyways? What could possibly be there for you?”
“No sir, I have every intention of coming back to perform here.” Trixie fidgeted with her hooves. “It’s just… well you see… I want to go back and try again. I think I can make it up to the ponies of Ponyville.” Trixie turned to leave. “I’ve already packed.” Trixie hefted a small shoulder pack to show the manager. “Just don’t worry. I’ll be back in time.”
The manager watched her leave, his eyes never straying from her. Just before the door closed he called out to her. The door stopped and Trixie peered back in. “Umm… Good luck. And… have a safe trip.” Trixie nodded and closed the door.
---
Outside the theater Trixie breathed a sigh of relief. That had gone better than she expected. Now... to get to Ponyville. That should be simple. I’ll just teleport. Focusing her magic, Trixie prepared to teleport. In a blinding flash she disappeared… and felt herself jerked back. It felt as if some force had grabbed and yanked on her tail, hard. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was still outside the theater. She sat down for a few moments, dazed and confused. When she regained her composure, she tried again. This time it felt like she had galloped into a wall. She fell back, hard. Again, she sat there for a few moments, dazed and confused, before opening her eyes. There was no forest, only the usual hustle and bustle of the morning Manehattan traffic, nothing had changed.
All right, this is strange to say the least. It was at that moment that Trixie noticed a spark of magic and the arrival of a slip of paper. It read: Nice try, but do you think the Ponyville ponies would like it very much if you just appeared in the middle of their town square?
To nopony in particular Trixie mumbled, “I suppose not. But what about to the edge of Ponyville, like last time?”
To her surprise, the paper tingled and upon flipping it over she read: Aww… but what fun would that be? There’s no adventure in that. Tell you what. I’ll let you teleport to the edge of the Everfree Forest. But no further! Again, the paper tingled, and Trixie flipped it over. Perhaps you’ll even find a new story to tell your audiences.
Perhaps this mysterious messenger is right. Sighing, Trixie rolled her eyes and focused her magic. She was familiar enough with the forest from her prior travels to Ponyville that she felt comfortable teleporting to the edge of the forest. Focusing her magic, there was a bang and a flash, and she was gone. This time, there was no sensation of being grabbed or yanked back. When she opened her eyes, she found herself at the edge of the forest.
---
On a hill overlooking the path to the forest Luna, still covered with the hood, watched Trixie. That was a close call, but I managed. she smiled, satisfied with her work. She watched Trixie hesitate in front of the forest a second longer before walking away.
Now to go and retrieve Trixie’s companion. Luna flipped back her hood and breathed deeply. Luna found the chill air to be refreshing. After a few seconds, she turned away, flipped her hood back up, and with a flash and a bang, disappeared.
Luna appeared outside a familiar cottage. She took a second to examine it. Everything was as she remembered it, the grassy roof, the cheery river, and an abundance of animals. She finished examining the cottage and walked towards the door.. Luna ignored the bunny who chattered fiercely at her. Stopping outside the door, she knocked.
“Oh, just a minute. Just let me finish feeding this family of squirrels and I’ll be right with you,” came a soft, gentle voice from inside.
---
Trixie heard a loud bang and turned just as the remains of a teleport spell could be seen floating to the ground. Trixie gulped. Whatever it was, it was gone now and hopefully it wasn’t something to worry about. She felt it best to move on quickly rather then waste time searching for ponies that were already gone.
Turning back to the forest Trixie gulped again. She had heard stories and rumors about the forest. About how ponies went in, but never came out. Tales of hydras and manticores came to mind. She even thought she remembered a story or two about a cockatrice.
Trixie took a tentative step into the forest. Come on, you can do this. Ponies have traveled the forest before and have come out fine. The second step was easier, and the third even more so. It didn’t take more then a dozen steps to trot around the first bend in the path and lose sight of the forest entrance. Immediately, the trees, with branches thick with dark green leaves, began overarching the path, blocking out the sun. The branches seemed to reach down over the path with the single purpose of obstructing Trixie’s way. To either side of the path was a sparse layer of bushes, no more then a few scraggly, sun-deprived bushes. Beyond the bushes was an eerie darkness that unnerved Trixie.
Trixie illuminated her surroundings with her horn, chasing back the shadows a few feet, but couldn’t shake the uneasiness that something wasn’t right with the situation. The darkness felt unnatural, but she supposed it followed all the stories she had read. Bravely, she continued forward. She opted to look dead ahead to avoid growing uneasy from the daunting environment of the forest.
This, however, wasn’t so easy. As Trixie walked, eerie noises assaulted her ears. Hoots from owls, rustles in the underbrush, and the ever-insistent buzzing of the bugs. Trixie turned her head from side to side, unable to shake the feeling that she wasn’t quite alone.
Suddenly, a creature bolted out from the undergrowth. Already having frayed nerves, Trixie jumped back. Breathing a sigh of relief, Trixie watched as a mouse scrambled to the other side of the path. Before she could continue walking, she could suddenly sense that the mouse hadn’t been alone. She turned back to the bushes just a cockatrice leaped out.
Trixie cried out in terror. Instinctively, she shut her eyes like any smart adventurer from her stories would. She had been lucky. The cockatrice hadn’t been expecting her, so its gaze wasn’t focused enough to turn her to stone.
The cockatrice eyed Trixie wearily. It backed away, hissing. Like many creatures, it distrusted the magic light that emitted from the horns of unicorns. Favoring the dark and a chance at easier prey, the cockatrice slithered back into the bushes. Seconds later, the frantic squeaking of a small woodland creature came from the darkness.
Slowly and carefully, Trixie opened her eyes. Her breathing slowed, as did the rapid beating of her heart. Turning back to the path, she continued on her way, opting for a quick trot. To keep herself occupied, she told went over her vast collection of stories.
The fork in the road was unexpected. Trixie stood at the foot of both and looked left and right. Neither looked better than the other. The fact that the sign that had once stood at the split appeared to have been torn down and trampled beneath somepony’s hooves didn’t help. Further adding importance to Trixie’s decision was the fact that one of the pointers read: Danger, dangerous beasts ahead.
Well, that’s helpful. Trixie rolled her eyes sarcastically. You’d think that the ponies from Ponyville would better maintain the path through the forest bordering their town. After a quick seeing spell, not Trixie’s strong suit, she decided on a path. The one to the left, from what Trixie’s spell could see, was nice and straight. The path on the right had curved around on itself, making it look less promising.
Sure of her choice, Trixie, for the first time since entering the forest, hummed happily to herself. It can’t be much further. And the mysterious pony was right. With a little embellishment, I can tell how I, the Master Storyteller of Manehattan, bested a cockatrice in the Everfree Forest.
Of course, Trixie was aware that there were larger creatures out there, but for now, she would take what she could get... anything to wow the audiences.
The trail abruptly ended at the mouth of a cave. Curious as to whether the path continued on the other side, Trixie walked in. Wisely, she kept the urge to shout and listen to her echo to herself. She spun around in wonder, shadows danced under the light of her horn. She stopped to examine the walls. The walls were a smooth, almost reflective surface. They were a pale white, and glowed a soft blue under the light from her horn. As she brought her eyes closer to the wall, shapes started to form. She squinted hard, trying to discern what they might be.
“Huh, that’s funny, that one almost looks like an Ursa Min—” A grunt from behind cut Trixie off. Slowly, she turned around, the form of a sleeping Ursa Minor coming into view. Slowly, she began to back away. She bumped into something. Cautiously, she turned around.
The roar of the Ursa Major caused Trixie’s ears to ring. The alarm Trixie felt even caused her horn light to extinguish, washing the cave in the light purple glow of the Ursa Major instead. Screaming, she ran between the Ursa’s feet and back down the now darkened path. She barely avoided the swing of a paw from the Ursa. The swipe leveled the foliage around Trixie. She careened down the path. She saw the fork in the path up ahead, but before she could start down the right path this time, the paw of the Ursa Major hit the ground close by. Too close for comfort. The shock waves sent Trixie flying off the path. Dazed, she stood up and stumbled through the forest, not even bothering to get back on the path, not daring to look back. Blindly, she conjured an image of herself and sent it scurrying in the direction of the Ursa Major.
Behind her, Trixie could hear the Ursa Major roaring in fury as it quickly lost sight of her. Looking back, she could see it swinging its paws again and again, leveling more of the area around it. Suddenly, it roared in triumph. Trixie guessed that it had caught something, probably the image of herself. Its blood-lust sated, it turned and lumbered back in the direction of its cave.
Trixie was now utterly lost. She slid down to her haunches and groaned. She remembered to light up her horn again and took stock of her surroundings. In either direction, she could only see trees, trees, and more trees. There was no sign of the path anywhere. Did I really cover that much ground in my flight from the Ursa? She groaned again.
It was then that she noticed a soft tug in her horn. Somewhere, she could sense something or somepony was pulling her in a direction. The pull was soft, like that of a mother pony correcting a foal when it went the wrong direction. Deciding to trust the pull, Trixie lowered her horn and let it guide her. Suddenly, the darkness didn’t seem so scary. The noises no longer made her blood run cold.. It was only her and her horn. Trixie even went as far as to close her eyes.
The pull gently dissipated. Trixie opened her eyes and found herself at the edge of a clearing. In the center sat a boulder. She could tell that the boulder had been the source of the pull.
I came all this way only to find out it was some stupid, magical boulder?! Trixie’s mind screamed at nothing. Growling, she started to the boulder. It’d better at least have some directions, or a sign on it. Something to help lost travelers such as myself.
A noise from the bushes behind her caused her to spin around. The noise had been too close for comfort and it sounded, to Trixie, like a growl. Cautiously, she backed further into the clearing in hopes that whatever was in the bushes wouldn’t jump out at her. She brightened the glow of her horn.
A bird from the bushes burst out close by Trixie as another growl emanated from the darkness. Surprised, Trixie jumped back and bumped into something. The object she bumped into yelped in its own surprise. Spinning around, Trixie caught sight of the tail end of a butter yellow mare jumping into the bushes in fright, only to spin around and stare out at Trixie with a pair of blue eyes.
“Wait!” Trixie called, extending a hoof to try and stop the other mare.