Rainbow shivered as the ground squished under her hooves. Each step made her hooves sink an inch or so into the muck and she left a long wet trail of muddy hoof prints behind her. Gilda had taken point and even though the griffon's long claws made the trip even messier for her the mercenary had yet to complain. The silence was slowly eating at the pegasus and the morale crushing wetness wasn't helping, so she finally gave in and tried talking to the griffon. “So tell me about yourself. What are griffons like? Where do you live?”
“Heh. Around. Mountains mostly. We aren't like you ponies with your magics and bending things. We're true warriors, some of the best mercenaries around because we don't depend on pathetic magic to keep us safe,” she said, condescension flowing in her voice.
“Right. Just depend on the fact you are the size of a house and have razor sharp claws. Oh, and blades on your wings. Real tough.” Rainbow rolled her eyes, ignoring the squish squish of each hoof.
“In case you forgot, I saved you from the timber wolves. Not the other way around.”
“Hey! They startled me! If I had a time to catch my breath I'd have thrashed them easily! I'm a master air bender!” She felt a little guilty lying, but it would be true soon enough so she was sure it wasn't that bad a fib. “Even without my air bending I'm twice the fighter you'll ever be. If we could fly in this place I would soar circles around you. There isn't anything that can take me down in the sky.”
“Oh yeah? Then where did you get those cuts on your wings? Besides, I doubt you could barely fly on those tiny little hunks of feathers on your back.”
“WHAT?! I'll have you know I'm the best flier you'll EVER see. Heck, I've performed the sonic rainboom, something NO PONY has ever been able to perform!” Rainbow snapped, glaring at the griffon.
“If no pony has ever performed it, then how does it have a name?” Gilda just smirked back at her.
“I... It... Fine. Apparently the avatar performed it before. But other than that no pony has ever done it,” she grumbled, walking faster as she pushed past the griffon.
“Are you sure you know the way? This swamp land is getting worse...”
“Yeah, I know the way,” she snapped in annoyance. They were going straight, so the forest had to run out eventually or at least open up. Once they got out and could take to the air getting back to Cadence would be a breeze. She just had to make sure she kept going straight. It didn't help that all the trees looked the same. But hey, if they had kept going in circles they'd have seen their hoof prints by now. Besides the more she walked in this direction the more she would swear it was getting brighter, she wasn't tripping over roots any more after all. She was certain they'd be out and able to fly free. Then she'd ditch the griffon, get out of here and wait for Twilight and the others.
------
Twilight's eyes felt like they were weighed down with lead. Her mouth was dry and she swore some pony was fire bending between her ears. The rest of her body wasn't fairing any better. It felt like she had been slammed into a few mountains before falling off one. Heck, even her tail and mane hurt! At the very least she was warm and whatever she was laying on was soft. There was even a pleasant rhythmic sound coming a bit away from them, that threatened to lull her back into unconsciousness. Slowly she opened her eyes, though it felt as if she was moving gravel. She was in a large but low roofed tent and her friends were sleeping on beds close to her. Even Spike was there in his own little bed. A bit away she could see a pony wearing a large hooded cloak.
The pony was grinding something into a fine paste before mixing it in with a purple liquid. Slowly the hooded pony grabbed the cup and brought it over to Twilight, placing it within reach. “Please stay where you are. Drink this potion and it will help you move, Avatar.” She was a little wary of the strange liquid, but in her condition she could barely move. So with no real other options she slowly dipped her head forward and drank from it. It tasted oddly minty, but not too bad.
After she drank all of it she waited for a few moments as nothing seemed to happen, but then the pain between her ears started to clear away, her dry mouth slowly faded and she began to feel rather hungry. “T-thank you. I don't know what that was, but it was amazing.” Even her sore muscles and eyes were starting to be relieved, albeit slowly.
“An old herbal remedy for those who know how.” Slowly the pony removed the hood, revealing a red coated and blue maned earth pony. “I found you in the forest, I must say I was surprised to find one with a dragon, but your fire bending and your little wings revealed you to me.” She reached out to gently help Twilight up. “I was amazed to see you and your friends eating poison joke. I'm sorry I did not reveal myself sooner, but the effects of digesting the plant can make one quite... volatile. I decided it was safer to just wait for you to lose consciousness and bring you here.”
“How did you bring all of us here? E-errr... Not that you don't look... strong or anything...”
The pony moved back towards a small counter and began grinding more herbs. “There were others about. We live in these forests and we know how to get around them. I just used one of our signals to draw a foraging team to me and we brought you here to our village.”
“Village? W-wait. Could it be. Is... is this the tribe of fire benders?!” Twilight couldn't hold it in. She darted towards the door and shoved the cloth covering aside, exiting the tent. It was beautiful. Above she could see tree branches and foliage covering the area but, as opposed to inside the forest, it was thin and allowed the sunlight to peek inside at points. There were dozens of tents and small cabins all over with even more ponies. The area itself was huge with a large number of trees removed to build the homes, only enough remaining to keep the thin cover above.
Within moments of her arrival ponies began to gather, whispering as they congregated outside the tent to see her. Some looked nervous, some happy and some startled. The best part of all was they wore the common reds that her tribes had used for years. These were her kind. A single tear went down her face as she smiled. She was home. Sadly her joy was not to last.
“So you are the Avatar I've heard so much about.” The crowd parted as a white unicorn with a radiant blond mane and tail walked forward. He looked her over with scrutinizing eyes, seeming unimpressed.
“Y-yes. My name is Twilight Sparkle and I am the avatar. And you are-”
“My name is Blueblood. Leader of the last remaining fire benders. I don't know why you've come here, but-” Before he could say anything more a cheer broke out from the crowd and they surged forward, picking her up and hefting her onto their shoulders as she eeked. The crowd took her away as the white unicorn glared. “I was speaking still!” he snapped as they ignored him.
------
Rainbow sat under a small tree, gently poking at the small round fruit the griffon had given her. Gilda was a few feet away eating a similar fruit.
“Something wrong, flutters?” the griffon asked between bites.
“You sure this is safe to eat?” The pegasus poked at it a few more times before taking a bite. It was juicy but a tad tangy.
“Yeah, I've had them before outside these woods. Unless you have a buncha food hidden under your wing I wouldn't complain about it. I don't have enough rations for the both of us and I'm sure not giving you any of mine. So eat it and shut up.” The griffon tossed the remaining husk of hers away as her ears shot up. “Somethings coming... hide,” she whispered as the two quickly moved into the bushes and waited.
They waited in silence, their bodies sinking slowly into the damp marshland up to their knees before stopping. They still didn't move, instead watching and waiting for whatever it was to arrive. After many long minutes the thick mud under them began to tingle. A strange, long creature that seemed to have electricity coursing all through its body swam through the swamp water. It stopped for a moment directly in front of where they had been moments before. Fortunately it didn't seem able to come any closer, only able to traverse through the water and not the thick mud.
Rainbow held her breath as she watched the creature. An electric eel. She'd never seen one before, but it was still impossible to not recognize such a creature. She had heard they only usually grew to a few inches long as opposed to this behemoth that was easily five feet. She didn't even want to think of what kind of charge it could give off especially with the way her legs were tingling just from it's passive shocks. After what felt like hours the creature began to move again, continuing slithering in its original direction. After the tingling sensations went away the two slowly pulled themselves from the thick mud and climbed back against the tree, sitting against it to avoid sinking back into the swamp.
“That was close. Think there are any more?” Rainbow asked as she shook the mud off her hoof and began to eat her fruit.
“Probably. Maybe I should just try breaking through the canopy again.” Gilda grumbled as she glanced up. Her wing blades were dented from the last few times she'd tried, the tree branches refusing to snap and let her through.
“You keep trying and your wings are going to break. We'll find a place to get out soon enough. No way this place goes on forever,” the pegasus muttered between mouthfuls of food.
“I thought you knew the way out?” the griffon growled, watching her closely.
“Course I do. Doesn't mean we won't get lucky before then.” Rainbow quickly got to her hooves and started walking. “Come on, let's keep going before any more of those things come by here. I'd rather not find out just how much damage one that size could actually do.”
“They aren't supposed to grow that big,” Gilda mumbled, “and they usually hunt in packs. Here's hoping that one just ate the rest of its pack.”
“.... That's disgusting.”
“And if we're lucky, it's what happened. Come on, move it slow poke.” The griffon took the lead, ignoring the pegasus's annoyance at being called slow.
------
Twilight was in heaven, being led around by the ponies and shown the homes of the fire benders. “So how did all of you come to be here?” she asked as they showed her another small hut. It really wasn't a lot, but to her it meant everything.
“Well that's a pretty long story, though none of us were around for it. It all started a hundred years ago when the Water Nation attacked,” her guide started, the same pony who's home she had awoken in. Her name was Ashmane, one of the few scouts of the villages hunting parties.
Twilight shivered, slowly nodding.
“We call it the Day of Star Fall. The stars themselves seemed to rain from the heavens on our homes and cities. Armies of the Water Nation soldiers attacked, capturing all they could and slaughtering those who resisted. Our ancestors escaped on the back of the great dragon, carried off to find a new place to survive. Actually I believe you were supposed to be with them. I'd love to hear what happened and how you managed to still look so... young. I mean... you must be well over a hundred by now?”
“Oh... That... Eh heh... I was on the great dragon but... I was knocked off. I'm not clear on the details after, but I was... encased. Locked away for a hundred years. I've only recently been released. So, what happened after that?” Twilight smiled at the earth pony.
“Allow me to answer that,” a voice said from behind them, making them pause to turn around. It was Blueblood. “With our leaders lost and our people torn asunder, my grandfather took the reigns. After the elder dragon left us far away from the battle my grandfather led our remaining members into the Everfree forest. Through hard work and dedication he rallied every pony together to create a home for us in these woods. It was thanks to his leadership than any of us have lived this long.” The unicorn posed proudly, his horn held high. “Since then my family has led us to survive in this harsh forest. My name is Blueblood, leader of the fire benders.”
“Oh, I know. I heard when you introduced yourself before. I'd love to hear more about how every pony works here and your methods of leadership?” The Avatar couldn't shake the feeling that this pony disliked her, though she couldn't imagine why.
“Well it is quite simple. As you probably deduced from your frolic through the woods, they are quite dangerous. The magic they have is different from the outside world. However since we have all lived here our entire lives the danger is non existent. Our best explorers are sent out in teams to find food and other things we need from the woods,” the unicorn said with a smirk.
“Wow. So you know how to navigate these woods? That's amazing!”
“Well... not me specifically. I'm much to important to go out and risk myself in the forests.I direct our scavenger parties and make sure everything goes smoothly around here. As a matter of fact I'd say we don't actually need you at all, Avatar. Our tribe is doing smoothly without your interference.” Oh, Twilight no longer doubted he disliked her, but an idea did form in her head.
“Wow. You must know all that goes on in the forest, maintaining all the scavenging parties, right? That must be really hard,” she flattered with a smile.
He quickly rose to the bait. “As a matter of fact it is, but I work tirelessly to held lead my ponies into safety.” He smiled and continued his pose.
“With such vigilance, nothing must escape your eye.”
“Not a thing.”
“That's great! In that case I need a favor, something only you can do.”
Blueblood's eyes narrowed, “What is it?”
“My friend, Rainbow Dash, she was lost on the way here. Surely some pony as organized and as great a leader as you would be able to locate her?”
The unicorn glared for a moment before turning away. “Very well. I will find your little friend. Avatar.” He then trotted off.
The moment he was out of earshot Twilight turned to Ashmane. “Is it just me or does he really dislike me? Is he really that important?”
“Only in his mind. He probably doesn't like you because he assumes you'll try to take over his command.” Ashmane sighed. “Though if any pony can find your friend, he can. He actually does keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and has every pony report everything to him. Especially if they see any other ponies.”
“Do you get a lot of ponies going through these woods?”
“No. Not really... on occasion we'll find some pony lost. Technically Blueblood tells us to just leave them, but we tend to help them get out of the woods or at least on the path.”
“So Blueblood really does lead the village then?” Twilight looked a little shocked.
“Well... sorta? For the most part he stays back in the village and we just let him think he's in charge. Most of the older ponies feel kind of obligated to it because of how great leaders his father and grandfather were. Despite his attitude he is one of our stronger fire benders. Not to mention when his parents died ages ago no pony else tried to take over the leader position so he kind of got it by default.”
“So... I'm guessing the village isn't normally welcoming to the outside ponies then. But then why is every pony so happy to see me? I mean... Its been a hundred years. Aren't you mad I disappeared?”
“... Some are, but to be honest most of us grew up hearing stories about you. How one day the avatar would return and defeat the Water Nation. My mother used to tell me how amazing and powerful the avatar was, how she could defeat an entire army of benders with a single gesture of her hoof. While there are a few who aren't happy to have you and are mad about your disappearance, most are excited and rooting for you to defeat the Water Nation.”
“Oh. Well, that's good. I'm happy that every pony is so... Actually... how long would it take to get every pony together? Well, all the fire benders.”
“Why?”
“Well... I do need to take over command, just for a short bit. Its been a long time, but I have something I need to teach them all. I got so distracted by all the excitement that I almost forgot.”
“Well... It could take a while, but I'll see what I can do. How about you go check on your friends? I'm sure they'll be up by now.”
“Okay! Thanks!” Twilight grinned as she started to trot off... and then froze in mid step. “Ummm... ehh... heh heh... Ashmane? Which one are they in again?”
The earth pony face hoofed before pointing, shaking her head as the alicorn trotted off.
------
Rainbow slowly tip toed through a narrow strip of muddy grass that separated two small ponds of muddy swamp water. She could tell it was quite deep because on each side there were two electrical eels giving off a blue radiant glow, bathing the area in a soft blue light near the bottom.. Fortunately they didn't seem to be moving much, unfortunately the pegasus and griffon were forced to try and sneak by them. Every step in the muddy water made little jolts of electricity flow through her hoof, making her mane stand on end and Gilda's feathers to puff up.
It also didn't help that the heavier griffon sank a lot deeper with each step than Rainbow did and was a lot louder. The pegasus was forced to keep hissing at her to be quiet, not that it did any good. She was about half way across the small grass bridge when another glow appeared on their left. Quickly she ducked down and went as still as possible as the Griffon mimicked her. The other two glows began moving around and she could feel their muddy bridge begin to shift slightly under their hooves and talons. It slowly began to sink, just a tiny bit as water started coating her stomach and bottom of her face. Fortunately the eels didn't seem to notice them yet.
Unfortunately it was at that moment that water shot up Gilda's nose and she thrashed about a bit, hacking and coughing. Six pairs of electricity filled eyes turned to them, the fact the eels were the only source of light nearby gave the eyes an ominous glow through the dirty swamp water. “RUN!” Rainbow yelled as she took off, flinging mud and grass behind her with every step. She took to the air as she moved forward, skimming over the water and heading away as fast as she could, narrowly dodging and weaving through practically invisible branches.
Behind her she could hear thrashing and branches being turned to splinters as the griffon tried desperately to keep up. Even farther away she could hear the crackle of electricity as the eels discharged and began swimming after them. Blue light lit up the waters as the forest seemed to come alive, more and more of the creatures being awoken as the water turned into a veritable death trap. She could hear Gilda grunting as she traveled through the mud. Even if it wasn't as deadly they could feel the jolts through the muddy ground. Rainbow's wings and mane kept getting caught in branches as she flew, but she ignored them as she pushed on, leaving an easy trail for the Griffon.
Soon the pegasus was forced to soar over small pockets of murky water as little bursts of electricity started to explode around her, forcing her to spin from side to side as she went. It wasn't easy but soon she saw hope. The swamp lands seemed to be almost at an end. All she had to do was make it over one final hurdle of murky water and they'd be out! “Come on!” she yelled at her comrade and took off full pelt. She made it half way across when the water under her turned completely blue. Arcs of raw power flowed under her as dozens of the creatures gazed up at her. An entire nest of them. “Gilda, don't come thi-” The voltage shot from the water, encasing her body as she screamed. She didn't know how long it lasted. All she could think about was the pain, followed by the cold envelopment of icy water as she sunk under the depths. Consciousness mercifully faded rather than allowing her to feel the pain flowing through her aching body.
------
Twilight entered the little tent with a smile on her face. Everything was going smoothly, Rainbow would be found soon enough, the fire benders would lower the sun, and everything would... She froze in mid step. Pinkie was hopping around and speaking so fast that it was impossible to make out the words, something about kebobs named Fred or something. Fluttershy was trying to hide under her blanket, while a red unicorn tried to drag her out.
“What is going on here?” Twilight slammed a hoof down, making the three ponies freeze in mid motion. The purple alicorn couldn't understand how Pinkie managed to freeze in mid air, but that was just Pinkie being Pinkie she supposed.
“I was merely trying to help your friends. I mentioned a celebration to the earth pony and she... well... Your pegasus friend has refused to come out since I informed her that every pony is going to be there.”
Twilight chuckled a little bit before moving forward. “Come on, Fluttershy, there's nothing to worry about. Every eye isn't going to be on you,” she gently patted the shy pegasus's back, slowly trying to guide her out from under the covers, “and you don't have to come out if you don't want too.”
“R-really?” the timid pegasus asked with a squeak.
“Yes... but I'd really like to have all my friends there. Oh! That reminds me... ummm. Pinkie, you can move now. Rainbow Dash should be found soon. Apparently they have ponies traveling all through the woods, so they should be able to find her no problem.”
“Oh! That'll be awesome! Once Rainbow gets here we can have even more fun! We can play all kinds of fire bending games, like pin the flame on the torch,” Pinkie began hopping around excitedly again, “hide and go flame, pictionafire, fireopoly, hungry hungry fire eaters, ummmm...”
“... Pinkie you're making all those up. We don't have any games like that.” She glanced to the red unicorn. “I think. A celebration does sounds great though, but first Ashmane is working to gather all the fire benders. I'm going to show them the spell. Everything is working out so wonderfully!” She couldn't help but hold her head high as the red unicorn departed. Soon all their worries and travels would be... Well. She'd still have a lot to do, but this was definitely a crowning achievement. If she could pull this off she could do anything.
As if in response to her enthusiasm, the tent flap opened up and Ashmane walked inside. “Avatar, every pony who isn't scouting has gathered. We await you.”
“Coming!” Twilight trotted out, head held high. Once again dozens of ponies had gathered outside the tent, watching her and waiting. The way they watched her made her heart soar. These ponies looked up to her, admired her even! This would be easy! “Okay, every pony. As you all know for the last hundred years the cycle of the sun and moon has been disrupted. I managed to hide the moon and bring out the sun,” Cheers erupted from the ponies as the stamped their hooves, “but that isn't enough. Now the sun is stuck above, drying out the world and that is why I sought you out. Together we are going to set the sun back on its natural cycle. Raise it each day and allow it to travel its path before sinking it behind the mountains each night.” She awaited a cheer, but all that greeted her was silence. “Well? What does every pony think?” She got the oddest feeling of deja vu.
“... You want us to raise the sun? Won't that let the Water Nation know we're here?” a voice called out from the crowd.
“Well... maybe that you exist? But that's only-”
“Why does it matter if the sun is out a long time? We lived with the moon for a hundred years! Let the world deal with the sun for a hundred!”
“But everything is drying out, and-” Again she was interrupted.
“We're safe in these woods now but if we lower the sun they'll be searching everywhere for us!”
Twilight gulped nervously. “Please, I know this sounds dangerous, but trust me. This needs to be done for the sake of the entire world. If we don't we won't be able to stop the Water Nation at all and countless ponies could die.”
“How does lowering the sun keep the Water Nation from winning? Don't they hate the sun?”
“Yes, but this hurts all the countries. Even the ones opposing them. I can take care of the Water Nation, I just need time, but I need every ponies help for this. Please, I know it's scary. Having hid for so long the idea of revealing yourselves in any way, no matter how minor, must be terrifying. But if ever there was a time for the fire benders to return, now is it. We need to make a move now before it's to late. While there is still a world to save.” Slowly she could hear the ponies murmuring amongst themselves, but no more objections were raised. Silence fell and they turned to her again. “Thank you. Okay, to do the spell you need to-”
“Wait! Avatar! I have pressing news.” The crowd of ponies parted as Blueblood ran forward. “I just received news from one of our scouts,” in fact he had received it earlier but had waited for the best time to inform her, “a pony matching your friends description was seen entering the froggy bottom swamp.”
“Really? That doesn't sound to threatening, why would-”
“It was called that back before it became the nesting grounds of electric eels. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of them roam those waters.”
“Electric eels? Those sound... unpleasant.”
“They aren't even the worst part. Past the swamp are the tunnels. If they enter those, well... it could be fatal. They are filled with quarry eels.”
“Is that section of the forest just filled with eels?”
“Yes. Yes it is. They are deadly. Even our greatest scouts can't go there. I'm sorry to say... your friend is as good as dead,” he said with a solemn face though internally he cheered at the thought of disorientating the avatar so.
Twilight froze as Fluttershy and Pinkie gasped. “That's.... that's impossible. Very well.” she stomped a hoof down. “I'm going to froggy bottom swamp. I'll need a guide however. Some pony who can help get there and try and find them. Would any pony be willing to volunteer?”
The ponies looked between each other but would not look her in the eyes.
“Any pony? Please. Rainbow is my friend. I can't just leave her there.”
“Avatar, you ask too much of us. Your friend is dead and you want us to go on a suicide mission to rescue her?” Blueblood shook his head. “Isn't it bad enough that you want us to unveil ourselves to the world that we are still around?”
“Hey!” A small voice yelled out, drawing the attention of the crowd. Spike was standing on a small hoof made box that the ponies stored seed in. “Twilight Sparkle is the avatar! She's going against the entire Water Nation by herself, she never even asked any of you to help her despite the fact they are your enemy too! All she wants you to do is help lower and raise the sun, something that will save your sorry hides too! The least you can do is show us the way to help one of our friends.”
For many seconds there was silence as the ponies guiltily shuffled their hooves before a soft voice spoke up. “I'll take you,” Ashmane stepped forward, “but there are some conditions. First, the spell. If it's really that important... teach it to all the fire benders first or at least enough so they can start it. Then just you and I, Avatar. The fewer of us there are, the better it'll go. I can't keep track of you and all your friends, but just you should be fine. Finally... if your friend is dead... we come back. No screaming, no trying to get vengeance, no trying to hurt yourself. We just come back. Deal?”
“... Fine,” Twilight grudgingly accepted. “That's perfectly reasonable, but we'll have to make this... well...” she let out a sigh as she began. At least this time she knew how to fire bend so she knew how the spell would interact. She just hoped Rainbow was safe. That the pegasus would be there for her when she got there.
------
Rainbow's body felt like she had been stomped on by a dragon, ran over by a cart of muffins and then thrown off a mountain top. To sum it all up she hurt. She hurt a lot. She couldn't move. Though she did feel a bit warm and something soft. It took her a few moments to realize she was bouncing around a bit and being moved. Great. That likely meant she wasn't dead. Unfortunately that probably... wait. She could breathe. She wasn't underwater! Slowly her eyes opened as she tried to look around. She saw dark, wet fur. “Gilda?”
“Yeah, flutter?”
“... You saved me?”
“Hmph. If that's what you wanna call it. I just saw you floundering about and thought I'd give you a lift. Would you rather I left you there?”
“... No. Thank you. For saving me I mean.” She began to notice her transport seemed to have a slight limp.
“Good to see you're up. Tired of hauling you around. Off!”
“No, wait!” Rainbow shrieked, but it was to late. She flew off the griffon's back as the larger creature reared. The pegasus landed with a groan, her body going limp. “I can't move...” she grouched into the ground her face was jammed into.
“Wow. Really? Like... at all?”
“Hate. You,” she groaned as the griffon rolled her over. Looking up at the griffon she could see that the girl had obviously been in a tough fight. Her feathers were all ruffled and her leg had a large slash up the length. “Wow... did you fight the eels off?”
“Huh? Nah. One just got close when I grabbed you. Luckily you seem to have of taken most their voltage when they zapped you. I was out so fast they never even got a chance to get me,” the griffon chuckled before poking Rainbow's nose.
“Stop that.”
“Or what?” Poke poke poke.
“Hate. You. Every fiber of my being,” Rainbow growled as she was poked, helpless to move. “Where are we anyway?” she let out a content sigh as the pokes ceased. At least temporarily.
“Don't know. Grabbed you and kept running, came to some tunnels and went inside. Been looking for a way out ever since.”
“... We're underground?”
“Yeah. That a problem?”
Rainbow groaned. “Don't fly and don't go underground. Cause it's suicide... We need to get out of here and back outside, who knows what's in these tunnels? I certainly don't want to know,” The pegasus grumbled as she tried to move again. She was able to slowly move her right hoof, though it felt like she was moving it through thick mud. But hey, it was a start. At least she wasn't permanently paralyzed. “I hope whatever Twilight wanted in these woods was worth it. As soon as I can move we can-” She went silent as she heard a grunting sound down the dark tunnel. She looked up at Gilda and hissed, “Put the glow out!”
“I can't! They aren't made to be put out!” The grunting was coming closer.
“Toss it and get us out of here! Who knows what that could be? It could-” But it was to late as the creature was upon them. The two let out a scream as it revealed itself.
It was dark red with a strange purple mane. It also had yellow eyes and a massive mouth with small teeth. It was definitely an eel with its shape, but not a type Rainbow had ever seen before. It was only about a foot long and a few inches around. The two stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“Oh man you should have seen your face! You looked terrified!” Gilda chuckled.
Rainbow laughed just as hard as she rebuttaled. “Me? You looked ready to wet yourself! It's just a little eel. Heh. Not like it-” There was a rock crunching sound as the ground began to shake around them. “.... What was that?”
“...” Gilda grabbed the pegasus and ran, moments later a much larger eels head sprouted from the wall, gouging out the place where the two had been a moment ago and burying the much smaller eel.
“Oh buck me,” Rainbow squeaked as the ground began to shake again.
------
Twilight grumbled as she followed closely behind Ashmane, having to occasionally reach out to grab the mare's tail to be sure she was still there. She wasn't allowed to use any of her fire to light the way as they went, since she might alert something in the woods.
The sun moving lessons had gone rather well as opposed to the moon raising. She was able to work with them and show them how the spell was done. It hadn't taken very long to demonstrate how to feel the sun, but grabbing it was another story. Grabbing it was turning out to be as difficult as trying to grab a big pile of mud, the majority of it just slipped through their magic and was unhindered. She was also having trouble understanding why it was that way for them. When she had tried doing it grabbing had been easy, she just enveloped the entirety in a thin layer of magic. It was moving it that was impossible. She didn't have nearly the amount of magic required to move it outside of her avatar state. She had given them a few small tips and then quickly departed, wanting to go find Rainbow immediately. Which was why they were now traversing through the woods towards the swamp.
There had been a few close calls when they went by a pack of timber wolves, but for the most part Twilight's guide knew exactly where to go and the fastest way there. Even without an ounce of light the paths they took made it easy for the alicorn to keep her footing, though she wished she could see her guide better. She wished it even more as she walked into her guides flank, falling back a little. “What is it?”
“Prints... hoof and timber wolf. Another pair, though I can't tell what they are. We are almost there,” the earth pony mumbled as the walking pace got even slower. Before long they were at a small river bed. “There is no doubt. Your friend traveled through here and across to the other side. I am afraid she is as good as dead...”
“No,” Twilight growled. “I refuse to believe that. I'll believe it when I see proof. Are you sure you won't come with me?”
“I know nothing of the swamp and would be nothing but a burden if danger arose. I will wait here for your return. But please, be quick.”
Twilight nodded and slowly she stepped into the water, shivering at the cold. Fortunately she did know how to swim so getting across was easy enough for her. Unfortunately the water was cold as ice and it chilled her down to the bone. She crawled out on the opposite side and walked briskly forward, feeling the swamp begin to tug at her hooves. She glanced up on occasion at the leaves above. It was hard to believe that behind that dense foliage the sky was blue and the sun was bright. She felt like she had been in these woods a life time and it was slowly getting to her.
She breathed a small bit of flame from her mouth, trying to warm herself as she walked. Occasionally she'd find spots where the ground would suddenly give way under her, turning to deep water, but she quickly pulled herself out. By the time she finally found something of use she was covered in dirty swamp water up to her mane. It was quickly forgotten as she picked up a small blue feather with her magic, a grin crossing her face. Rainbow! She was almost there! She grinned as she picked up the pace, her horn lighting up as she searched for tracks. Her blood froze when she identified them. The griffon. She kept her head low as she followed the tracks, occasionally she saw small strands of multi-colored mane or blue and brown feathers, but nothing definite.
She wouldn't give up though. She finally found a sign of her friend and she wasn't going to let it go no matter what.
------
Back at the fire bender's village a large hut near the center had its doors closed tightly. The only sign that any pony resided within was the small trail of smoke coming from the chimney. Inside the hut a large stump was used as a desk, makeshift inks and paper covering it. Blueblood paced around the room, practically glowing with glee despite the small amount of light from the fireplace.
He was giddy with excitement. The Avatar is gone! The Avatar is gone! Ashmane would return in a few hours with the 'troubling' news that the Avatar had died at the... whatever those things in the swamp have! Then he would be in complete control again. He'd been doing his best so far to stir up trouble for her, back handed comments, fanning the flames whenever some pony looked tired from these new additional tasks the mare had set on them.
His first order of business would be disposing of the Avatar's little 'friends'. Then stop all this lowering the sun nonsense. Bah! He'd actually already figured out how to properly grip the sun ages ago and been busy feeding false information to his less adept comrades. When would these ponies learn they needed him? If it wasn't for him they'd have gone off gallivanting around and alerted the Water Nation to their presence a dozen times over!
A small tapping on the door drew his attention. Quickly he moved behind the stump and sat down. “Come in!” he called out. The door opened to reveal a black coated unicorn with a purple mane.
Slowly the unicorn walked into the room. “Errr... Mr. Blueblood?”
“Yes Ashdancer?” Blueblood did his best to look as if he was trying to be comforting, but he knew the small fire cast flickering shadows that made him look much more intimidating than he truly was.
“Well... it's about what the Avatar said before. You have all the information from the scouts, so I was curious. How much danger is the world outside the forest in? I mean from the sun?” Ashdancer kept close to the door, not wandering to far in. He even jumped a little when it closed behind him.
“Ah yes,” the white unicorn mentally scoffed. Sure, they all think my reports are a useless waste of time before, but the moment something from the outside world affects them they all come running! Ashdancer hadn't been the first and wouldn't be the last. Blueblood knew exactly how to poison the mind just like he had the others, to slowly turn him against the Avatar. His horn glowed as he made a show of going through the records he held, only a few of which had been placed on actual paper. The spells to create paper was quite difficult and not one he enjoyed performing. “Ah yes. As a matter of fact... oh dear. According to our scouts there doesn't seem to be any real danger outside the forest, at least from the sun. But I'm sure the Avatar knows what she's talking about. It's not like she would ask us to throw away our lives for nothing, right?”
“Throw away our lives? You don't really think the Water Nation would be able to find us, do you? I mean, if she raised the sun why wouldn't they think she did it?”
“Oh. I'm sure they will. I mean, despite the fact they have been very precise and methodical in our extermination... Well, I'd say the chances of them actually finding us with their resources would be one in three.”
“O-one in three?!” Ashdancer squeaked, backing away and actually connecting with the door. “But... but...”
“Oh relax, Ashdancer. Sure the Avatar won't be here with us if they do attack... but I'll be here.” He held out a hoof as the flame got brighter, lighting up the room. “No matter what happens. Even if the avatar sees fit to make us do this act and then turn tail and run, I will always remain to help keep the village safe. Is there anything else?”
“Err... no... sir...” The unicorn left, head down. Blueblood just grinned as the door closed behind the scared unicorn. A few words here, a few words there. Without the Avatar's prescience there to give them hope, it was almost to easy. Now he just had to wait. Once Ashmane arrived with the news, he would just have to perform an act that would get every ponies attention and make them forget there ever was an avatar. Something flashy and awe inspiring.
He chuckled softly, Sometimes it is almost to easy.
------
Twilight's tracking brought her to a large river, far wider across than the first she had traversed. She couldn't even see to the other side in the dark, but she guessed Rainbow and the Griffon crossed here judging by the tracks. She could feel a light tingling racing up her hooves as she slowly reached out to the water. Slowly she put a hoof into the liquid, letting out a little yelp as it shocked her. She let out another yelp as light suddenly blossomed from the depths. Electric eels swarmed about as they came to the surface, hunting their new prey.
Twilight gulped, looking across the water towards the now visible shore. It wasn't to far so she doubted Rainbow would have any trouble getting across... So long as she hadn't gotten eaten by the- No. Not thinking about that. Her friend did get across... but the question was how would she? She turned and galloped as the swamp seemed to come alive. Electrical light burst from the murky swamp water as she ran, painting the forest a light shade of blue as she felt little bursts of static through her hooves. She didn't know which way she could escape the creatures, so instead she ran blindly through the forest.
Unfortunately blindly running didn't work out as she fell into another pit of muddy water. Before she could get stabilized electricity enveloped her and something wet and slimy coiled around the alicorn, pulling her deeper into the depths. She screamed as the slimy water filled her mouth and she struggled against the creature, hooves thrashing out.
Down deeper and deeper she was dragged as the creature took her to the muddy bottom, holding her there as it slowly gathered another charge. Twilight trembled but knew if she wanted any chance to survive she'd need to do it fast before it shocked her again.
She rammed her head forward, stabbing her horn into the creature. Focusing as hard as she could she formed an explosion of fire, the water around it quickly boiling as the eel exploded into a burst of blue lights. Released from the creatures grasp she quickly swam back to life giving air, crawling out of the murky depths. Every part of her ached though the air tasted sweet as she gulped it down, accidentally swallowing some of the swamp water as well. Though she was only given a few more seconds of relief before she heard the familiar sparking sound as the eel regathered itself and she was forced to run again.
She started running slower this time as she did not want to risk falling into another pit, but she could hear the things surrounding her and coming from the different sides. Waiting under the water to capture her. She was safe as long as she stayed away from the deeper areas but she didn't know for how long. She had to fight if she had any chance to find Rainbow. She planted her hooves down and glared defiantly. Fine! If they wanted a fight, they'd get one! She walked forward to the next pit of water, this time careful to avoid stepping fully in. Her horn lit up with fire as the creatures sparked at her. “Fine. Lets see how you like this!” She jumped onto the nearest tree and held herself on one of the lower branches as flame formed on her horn. The water and mud below was flooded with electricity as she glared down at them.
Sweat formed on Twilight's brow as a small sphere of flame formed and then quickly flew down into the water. A few moments later it exploded, sending a few of the eels flying into the air to explode into electric sparks as they slammed into trees or the muddy ground. She did it one more time but still the creatures seemed unwilling to abandon their prey, swimming around below. She knew if she touched the muddy ground they'd likely send another burst through it, but she couldn't do those explosions all day. She then grinned as an idea formed in her mind. It was a long shot but what did she have to lose?
She closed her eyes as once again she compressed the fire into a little sphere by her horn and, instead of sending it down, it flew up into the trees above the river. After a few seconds the large explosion erupted and sent branches falling from above into the water and, for the first time in about a hundred years, light from the sun punctured the Everfree forest. In a panic the eels fled from the light, unsure and unwilling to pursue their prey with this new experience upon them.
The alicorn groaned as she laid on the tree, exhausted. It wasn't easy compressing all the flame, it took time and energy. Three times was pushing her beyond what she should risk. She laid on the branch panting, barely able to move her hoof, but she knew she couldn't fall asleep. Not here, not in these woods. Who knew what could happen to her?
With great difficulty she dropped down from the tree, sinking into the mud a bit when she landed. Her vision was still blurry from the explosion, but she started walking again. Keeping her head low she couldn't help but feel her spirits rise with the sunlight piercing the darkness. The eels seemed to be stalking her again, occasionally she could see a little burst of blue light to the side and feel a tingle in her hooves. Fortunately they seemed unwilling to get to close after her earlier encounter. She just wished she knew which direction she should head, having to walk in a random direction again.
As she walked the swamp slowly gave way to the hardened ground she found herself back at the same river she had crossed before. “Oh you gotta be kidding me...” she groaned. “Ashmane! Are you there?” she yelled out. “ASHMANE!” She knew yelling was probably not the best but... well... she really didn't care. She was tired. She was wet. She was filthy. She was not in the mood to deal with these woods any more.
“Avatar? Keep it down!” a familiar voice hissed from across the small river as Ashmane came out from behind the bushes.
“I'm coming over,” Twilight growled, swimming through the river. It took her longer than she liked and she ended up farther down stream than she had expected, but soon she was across.
“What happened to you? You-” the earth pony gagged, backing away. “You smell horrible.”
“Thanks,” the alicorn grumbled. “I think I found where Rainbow went. I'm not going to be able to follow her without some rest. I'm going to need help.”
“No pony is going to be willing to come with you,” the guide said as they slowly started walking back towards the fire benders village.
“I'll deal with that when I come to it. For now I just-” She was cut off as a loud growl came from ahead of them. Timber wolves.
“I told you not to yell!” the earth pony hissed, backing away. “That or your smell. Okay, wait until- Avatar, what are you doing?!”
Twilight growled as she charged forward. The wolf looked confused, prey almost never charged at it. Granted prey never burst into flame and oh buck the pain! With a yelp the timber wolf retreated, its two comrades meeting a similar fate as flames enveloped their retreating flanks.
“Well... I guess that... works too,” Ashmane said with a slight tremble as they walked.
“Sorry... I'm just really not in the mood. Compared to what I found in that swamp, those were nothing,” Twilight grumbled softly as they walked. All she wanted was to sleep. The rest of the trip she barely remembered, dropping into her bed when they arrived without even washing off the smell. Fortunately she was so tired she didn't see her friends escaping the small tent to avoid the smell, even Fluttershy wasn't polite enough to try and ignore it. She also failed to notice the open mouthed look of shock that Blueblood gave her as she passed him on the way into the tent.
When she woke up she groaned weakly and rolled over. Lifting each hoof felt like lifting boulders. For a moment she considered just laying in bed, until thoughts of her friend popped into her head. With all the energy of a beached goldfish she crawled out of the bed and slowly walked towards the exit. She softly gasped when she found every pony wasn't hanging outside her tent for once. “Ashmane?” she called out, as the pony slowly came out from another nearby tent. “How long was I asleep? Ugh, anyway. Can you gather all the benders again? This time it's... well, personal. Also, why were you in there?”
“Because you smell like a skunk that's been rolling in trash and were laying in my bed. Thanks for that though. Happy to see you too,” she grumbled with a roll of her eyes before heading off to perform her task.
Twilight glanced down at the ground with sad eyes. Am I being to demanding? “Sorry...” the alicorn mumbled as she watched her new friend leave. She then moved her head back to sniff herself and recoiled in disgust. She quickly galloped off in search for a place to quickly clean up. Fortunately she found some ponies who were willing to donate some soap and water to help her. In fact, they practically threw it at her, unwilling to let her come to close. By the time she finished freshening up the unicorns were once again gathered, many starting to grumble and give her glares. “I'm sorry every pony that I have to keep doing this, but I really must ask. I know how to travel through the swamp,” she said as cheerfully as she could manage, “but I need help to get past it. I'd like to ask again. Please. Will one of you-”
“Go buck yourself!” an angry voice rang out.
“E-excuse me?”
“You heard me!” The crowd parted as Blueblood stepped forward, his eyes narrowed and mouth twisted in a sneer. “You've done nothing but boss us around since you arrived here. Making us run around at your beck and call, risking ourselves by raising the sun and drawing attention and now you want one of us to risk our lives on a suicide mission to save one of your friends?”
“I-I never, I just thought, that...”
“You never thought of anything! You think you can just disappear for a hundred years and then come back and become our leader? I don't care about your reputation. You're nothing but a spoiled child. I'm through letting you abuse your position and trying to tell our tribe what to do,” he growled and stamped a hoof down. “Avatar! I challenge you to an Agni Kai!”
The other fire benders gasped as they backed away from the two. Pinkie Pie popped up behind Twilight with her own gasp, hooves to her cheeks. “An Agni Kai?! Oh no! Twilight! He's challenging you to an Agni Kai!” She put her hooves on Twilight and shook her a little. “A real Agni Kai!” The alicorn was beginning to get dizzy when the shaking stopped. “What's an Agni Kai?” The silence was only shattered by the sound of the purple pony's hoof connecting with her face.