Chapter 10: Evergreen
Warmth coated the young pegasus’ face as he groggily drew himself to wakefulness, a welcome, orange light just visible behind his closed eyelids. His head felt light and bubbly from the sleep he had been able to catch, an urge to just snooze in the sunlight almost overpowering. A second later, one of his ears twitched as it picked up a sound, an unpleasant reminder that he couldn’t stay asleep forever. As if in accordance with that thought, his mind steadily becoming aware of the stiffening muscles and unyielding solidness of what he was sleeping on.
With these sensations came the reminders of all the things that needed to be done that day, not the least of which getting his oldest friend to somepony that could help her. Just five more minutes, he grumbled inwardly with a strange regret heavy on his mind. There was no going back to that kind of thinking, not with somepony’s life in his hooves.
Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and pushed the exhaustion away with by now practiced ease. I don’t think I’ve had a full night’s sleep since before I found the Professor, Novell thought as he checked his surroundings. Whisper was still asleep, snoring far softer than she had when the Dazey had effected her. A movement drew his eyes as Swirley scooted out from under her good wing, back to his regular size and heading directly toward a half-eaten leaf.
A flicker of recognition scratched at the back of the pegasus’ mind as he stared at the snail’s prize. Swirley ignored him other than a shake of his eyestalks in his direction, leaving Novell to wonder how the snail had hidden the snack. His morning daze was interrupted by raised voices near the cave’s mouth, where two silhouettes stood against the sunlight.
“We should leave him here!” Quills’ voice growled loudly.
“You know very well we can’t leave the mare by herself and he goes where she goes. You couldn’t leave her if you wanted to,” her twin responded, sounding reasonable and placating.
Novell’s ears strained against the sudden pause before the filly began speaking again. “Fine. Just keep him away from me. And tell that pegasus to tell him to keep a lid on that unicorn’s...everything.”
“You know it wasn’t really him tha-,” her brother began hesitatingly before being interrupted.
“I know that. It doesn’t make any difference. Now shut it before somepony wakes up.”
“Kind of hard to sleep when you two are bickering,” Whisper’s voice called out as she yawned and picked herself up. Novell noticed her wince as she stretched her wings involuntarily, a prick of deja vu affecting him. Her pet had noticed the mare’s movement right away and was already racing toward her hooves with as much speed as it could muster. A smile fell across her muzzle as she picked the mollusk up and placed it neatly on top of her mane.
The alabaster pegasus couldn’t help but grin at her gentle handling, careful to keep it concealed behind a feigned yawn of his own. Truth be told, that yawn isn’t all acting, he thought ruefully as he placed his saddlebags on his flank. They felt reassuring and served to galvanize him into motion. He joined the mare as she walked toward the cave’s mouth and shook his messy mane.
With the sunlight streaming in, Novell was surprised just how chilling it was outside, his body naturally ignoring the bite. He didn’t envy the two earth ponies even now grumbling against the weather. Fortunately, their clothing seemed to keep the worst away, Scrolls allowing his sister to adjust his scarf with her back turned toward them.
Still, Novell wasn’t paying any attention to them as he reached the ledge that overlooked the valley in front of him. It wasn’t his own, to his surprise, instead surrounded only on a few sides by mountain peaks that rose higher than he imagined he could fly. Rolling hills and trails crisscrossed the kingdom, all reaching toward a center point that the pegasus recognized as a town.
However, a large swath of green amongst the burgundy and golden colors that marked the nearing of winter drew his attention the most, the branches waving in defiance against nature’s course. The strangely out of place forest directly below their cave seemed to almost absorb the light in some places, a sense of foreboding entering the pegasus’ mind just from his perch. There was a name for this forest, but his sleep addled mind couldn’t procure it.
“The Everfree Forest,” Professor Search’s voice tolled out in a strangely subdued voice from behind the four ponies. Novell felt himself jump at his friend’s sudden entrance, a pair of snickers from the two females beside him evidence he was the only one not to see the unicorn coming. He felt his face blush, but there were more important things on his mind.
“That’s the Everfree?” asked the young pegasus, allowing his brows to furrow in consternation. “But weren’t we on the other side of the mountain from it?”
“At first, yes,” the Professor admitted, gazing out across the forest in question with more wrinkles than Novell remembered him having. “But when our guide brought us up the mountain trails, we trotted the entire way around. I confess I wasn’t sure, what with the snow and clouds surrounding us on the last leg of our journey, but I had a suspicion.”
The pegasus chewed on that for a few moments, watching as Quills examined Whisper’s bandages. A redness was seeping through the white, enough to make his stomach turn and further compound his guilt. She was like this because of him.
With a sigh and a sudden stomp that sent a bit of snow a few inches away, Novell replied. “So that’s Ponyville, directly across the forest?”
“Hmm. Yes, yes, I do believe it is,” the unicorn replied with a sudden grin appearing on his face. “An interesting place, to be sure, filled with all sorts of zany ponyfolk. I once conducted a study there on the antics of a particularly strange pink pony, but for some reason, I never finished the research. It might have been all the parties,” he paused and looked back at his paunch. “Though I did gain quite a few unwelcome pounds from those parties, at any rate.”
“How far away would you say we are if we cut straight across the forest?” Scrolls asked in an effort to bring the unicorn back to the main point of discussion. Novell glanced at the earth pony and noticed that while he seemed to not want to meet the Professor’s gaze, he wasn’t actively ignoring him either.
The Professor choked a bit at that, coughing behind his mustache. “Cu-cut through the Everfree? My boy, that’s...not the best solution.”
“Well, what other choice do we have? Can we go around it?” Novell asked curiously, though he felt like he already knew the answer. Putting aside the fact that judging from the distance, they wouldn’t be able to make it to the road and then head to Ponyville, the pegasus also felt a strange draw toward a few of the more darkened areas of the forest. It was as if they were reaching toward him with their shadowy branches.
“No. The mare shall not regain her ability to fly, should we travel around this place,” Pensive’s voice appeared out of nowhere, followed by a slight seam in the air before the pegasus. The unicorn’s head popped through with a burst of blue magic in a repeat of the scene Novell had witnessed back in the mountain. The pegasus felt his eyes slide toward the Professor, who was staring at the teal pony with a mixture of discomfort and interest.
Popping out of somepony’s head would definitely do that, Novell thought wryly, a grin sneaking onto his face. It quickly fell as his friend’s words registered.
“Wait, what do you mean?”
Pensive pierced the pegasus with his gaze. “I simply am saying that we will not make it in the time limit given if we go around. Doing so would take several days of travel, only one of them in the right direction.”
“So, what, are we just going to sit here while the mare looses her wing?” Quills put in as caustic as ever. Everypony swiveled their heads to glance at her and caused her to puff up in self importance. “We could just go through the stupid forest and make it to Ponyville in plenty of time. It’s right there!”
“My dear, regardless of your feelings toward me, I must tell you that the Everfree is an extremely dangerous place to be, no matter the experience even I have. Going through there would expose us to all kinds of creatures, hardly any of them benevolent.”
“So? It’s not like we have a choice.” Her scowl deepened at the unicorn. “Besides, we’re a big group! Nothing would mess with us if we’re together and if anything does, you can just use your zappy magic powers to turn them into bunnies or something!”
The Professor raised a hoof to his chest as if insulted. “‘Turn them into bunnies or something’? Who do you think I am, Starswirl the Bearded? Even if I were to know such spells, which I definitely do not, I doubt I have the magic reservoirs to deal with everything in this forest.”
“What about you, icy?” the teenaged filly twirled on Pensive. “You can turn them into ice or teleport us all away with your horn, can’t you? I saw you do all sorts of things for Havoc when we were in the mountain!”
Pensive blinked at her and cocked his head. “I have the same circumstances as the Elder, little Quills. I am cut off from my Originator’s ma-.”
“Ugh, I heard you the first time,” the earth pony groaned and raised her hooves to the air. “Is there anypony who’s useful in this group?”
“Well, what do you do?” Novell asked her pointedly as she turned around toward him with a glare already on her face. He was tired of her constant needling of his friends. “I mean, you’re just an Earth Pony, after all, and a young one, too! How are you any more useful?”
“I’m a genius.” She sniffed haughtily, turning around with her nose in the air and trotted down the path that led to the forest below. “I’m going through this Everdumb forest with or without you. Come on, Scrolls!”
With a pained look, her twin trotted off in pursuit. Novell snorted, shook his mane in irritation, and stared at his circle of friends. Pensive was staring off at nothing while the Professor huffed to himself and followed the filly, grumbling under his breath about ‘youngsters having no manners’. Whisper glanced at him curiously and stood a bit closer to him with a faint ruffle of her wings.
“I hate not being able to fly. If I could, we’d be there in ten minutes,” the mare said with a scowl.
“Well, if you could fly, we wouldn’t need to be there this soon.” The words were out of his mouth before he could control them, his irritation speaking for him. He saw Whisper stiffen just as his words splashed over his head like a bucket of ice water and instantly stammered an apology. “Whisper, I-.”
“I owe you a pounding.” She glared and raised a hoof to cuff him across his shoulder. As soon as she swiped at him, she winced and almost fell over before righting herself, waving away his helping hoof with a shake of her curly mane. Swirley blinked accusingly at Novell as she stalked away in the same manner Quills had assumed. He stared after her, feeling like an idiot as Pensive stirred in front of him.
“Friendship is strange,” the unicorn said after a time, following after the group of ponies.
For a few moments, Novell mulled over those words and his own reactions toward the mare. Why did they always seem to annoy each other? If he was honest, her annoyances cheered him up more than anything, but why couldn’t he do the same to her?
“Well, my cutie mark definitely has nothing to do with knowing when to speak and when not to,” he sighed to the empty air as the smell of the forest wafted around him. His stomach grumbled at the thought of the grass that had to be in the Everfree, with its seemingly perpetual greenness. The sound of gravel and snow crunching beneath his feet drew him out of his thoughts, now a few feet from where he had been standing.
He glanced to the forest again, wondering how he kept missing moments of time. Ah, well, I’m too hungry to think right now. Maybe after I eat something. With a nod to himself, Novell followed the party of five other ponies and imagined being back at the Hops’ lodge. He was really beginning to miss that orange juice.
*****
The Everfree Forest was a lot more frightening in my mind, the pegasus thought as he followed his friends through the light spattered trail they’d found. So far, nothing save a few squirrels had assaulted them with bits of twig and leaves as animals scurried through the trees above. Even so, Novell kept a look out, though he felt less on edge than he would be normally. Perhaps it was the dull pulling sensation in his chest leading him further along the trail, constant and insistent.
“Well, this is dangerous,” Quills interrupted his thoughts sarcastically, trotting along in the lead. She stopped and feigned fright by bringing a hoof to her forehead and theatrically sighing at a suspiciously gigantic sunflower. Its black seed face moved around and around in a mystifying dance as the petals flicked back and forth, following their progress.
“Ah, that plant brings back memories,” the Professor put in, momentarily brought out of his uncharacteristically silent mood. “If you ask it a certain question, it will even play a few notes. What was it called again? Oh, yes! A Sunlyre. I’ve seen a whole grove of them in here once, forming an absolutely stunning orchestra. In fact, I was almost caught by one of the Everfree’s many denizens as I stood there, shellshocked by the magnificent flowers dancing and playing in front of-.”
“Yes, yes, you’ve seen everything and know everything and blah blah blah,” the earth pony growled, pushing the Sunlyre backwards. Suddenly it began to chime, surprising the filly enough for her to take a few steps away from it. Novell smiled as the flower danced and rang like the sound of the wind bells that decorated the porches of many a Hoofington resident.
The Professor chuckled and winked at Novell as they moved past the flower, Pensive examining it for a few moments before nodding and following. “What are the odds that she’d use the phrase they respond to?”
“Blah, blah, blah?” asked Whisper with an arched brow as the Sunlyre resumed its one flower symphony.
“Why, of course! It only makes sense,” the charcoal-colored unicorn responded with a winning smile as he trotted away with a skip in his step.
“It’s a wonder it doesn’t sing more often,” she mocked, to Scrolls' delight. The colt chuckled at the joke as he pulled his sister along with him. Whisper gave him a curious glance at the sudden outburst.
“Oh, if only you knew Professor Mark,” Scrolls explained, Quills following sullenly behind him. “He made fun of all the stuffy old codgers in the universities all over Canterlot, but he always said Professor Search was his favorite bumbling researcher. They were friends at one point, too.”
Curiosity assailed both pegasi as the colt trotted between them, asking the same question at once. “Friends? What happened?”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two were twins, too,” Scrolls smirked at his own wordplay. “But, yes, they used to be friends. Professor Mark worked jointly with Search on more than a few projects when they were younger. I remember him even telling Quills she reminded him of the unicorn.”
“He did not! Shut it, Scrolls!” Quills objected from behind them, eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Ignore her. She’s just mad because she was outsmarted by Professor Search,” the male earth pony taunted, running around Novell as his sister chased after him. With a flap of wings, the pegasus flew upward enough to not be bowled over by the other pony’s ferocious charge. The twins raced through the group, Scrolls always one step ahead as Quills tried to strike him with her hoof.
As he touched down again, Pensive slowed to join the two pegasi. As if remembering she was still mad at Novell, Whisper scowled and trotted forward to break up the earth ponies even now caught up in a fight.
“I confess I do not understand these things,” the unicorn started as they watched the orange mare separate the twins. “We are in a hurry, yet they play and act as though time means nothing.”
“Sometimes ponies just have to have fun and forget all their troubles. Even in a forest like this, its just a natural reaction to stress,” Novell explained, though he hurried his own pace unconsciously.
Pensive sped up to match the pegasus’ stride and nodded. “I see.”
“How are you doing?” asked Novell, giving the unicorn a sidelong glance. “How are you acclimating to all this?”
“I do not know,” Pensive admitted as he glanced around the forest. “I have never been alone inside my mind before. It is...different. It feels like I can do whatever I want, but at the same time, I lack direction. I do not know what my purpose is, even though I have this mark upon my flank, something I find most troubling.” He paused in his speech for a few moments as he took in their group. “These things we travel with seem to have found their places in life, yet I feel as though I am simply looking in from the outside. Emotion and purpose...I wish to have these concepts I see as Life.”
The two fell silent as they became absorbed in their thoughts, Novell barely paying attention to his surroundings as he digested what the unicorn had said. The pronouncements mirrored his own concerns - he felt as if he had no purpose either beyond his promise. His life had only been one task set forth by another, over and over, in order to find his place. Direction had been given in the past, but the future was filled with freedom to choose. The thought terrified him. I don’t know what I want to do or even if I have a talent, the pegasus despaired.
Right now, at least, he was still being directed. His promise to stop Havoc was a general goal, though it was currently subsumed by Whisper’s predicament. Wearily, he put aside his fears and roused from his reverie to work at the problem. Where in the world is Havoc?
“Wherever there is chaos to be had,” Pensive said suddenly, intruding upon his thoughts.
“That’s really creepy, you know.”
The unicorn cocked his head as they entered a clearing, the sunlight momentarily blinding Novell. They’d been under the foliage’s canopy for so long, his eyes were unused to such brilliance. Blinking his eyes against the glare, the pegasus examined his new surroundings.
He recognized some Dazies in a circle near the edge of the clearing along with a few more Sunlyres rustling in the breeze as their seeds swirled about. To his left there was some kind of strange rock laying in the grass, a hint of moss already beginning to cover it. It reminded him of a rabbit if he had to be honest. Before he could investigate it, his stomach chose that moment to remind him it hadn’t had food in quite awhile.
“Alright, everypony, let’s go ahead and take a break here,” Novell called out as the twins and Whisper messed with the dancing flowers. Notes chimed through the air as one of the ponies spoke the silly phrase. The Professor was almost at the edge of the clearing already, staring off into the more darkened areas with a troubled expression. The unicorn turned when he heard Novell’s voice and dipped his head in acknowledgement. Even so, he stayed where he was and pulled out his journal again.
As Pensive and he bent down to tear into the grass below him, curiosity took hold of the pegasus. “Do you know what’s wrong with the Professor?”
“The Elder?” the teal pony asked, chewing and staring over toward the other unicorn. “No, I cannot see into his mind like I can yours. He is an Elder, though, and could be using magical shields to keep me out. Still, even if he was not, I would not dare to enter his thoughts without permission.”
“Why’s that? You do it to me all the time,” Novell retorted around a mouthful of good, old-fashioned daisies.
“We have touched minds once before,” Pensive said carefully, pausing in his meal. “There is a sort of...channel between us. I cannot help but see your thoughts, regardless of my own will. I find it comforting at times, though, since I can tell if you are troubled and react accordingly.”
“‘At times’?” he asked curiously.
A blush appeared on the pony’s muzzle and he looked away. “There are...certain moments...when you think of the mare. It is too private for this one to eavesdrop.”
“Wh-what do you mean by that?” His friend’s drop into more formal language was endearing, but the words were troubling. He didn’t think of Whisper at all, did he? She was like a sister - an annoying, brash, abrasive sister. Kind of like Quills.
“Yet another emotion I wish to experience,” Pensive sighed with genuine regret tinging his tone. “By myself, I mean. It is a warm feeling, similar to friendship, but deeper and...closer.”
“Ah.” Novell dipped back to the grass, at a loss for what to say.
******
The hours passed quickly as they travelled through the forest, though Novell had to admit he had a hard time telling exactly how fast. The canopy above them had become steadily darker, which could either mean the sun was going down or just that they were entering one of the more shadowy reaches of the Everfree. Along with his assumptions came his old fears of being grounded in a forest after dark. Even though his wings were healed and he could fly, there was nowhere to go with how tight the branches were interlocked above him.
As if to compound his terror, new noises had been scratching at his ears, strange cluck-hisses and even a few roars further in the background. Their party had collapsed closer involuntarily until Novell was hip to hoof with Quills and the Professor.
“Professor Search,” the pegasus gulped, his ear twitching with each crack of a branch beneath their hooves. “You don’t happen to know what’s out there do you?”
The unicorn harrumphed as he stared out at the darkness. “Well, there are many kinds of things that could be out there. I do know we have a cockatrice nearby, along with what I believe might be a...large beast roaring out there in the distance. Could be a Manticore or even a Sasquatch. I can’t tell.”
“A cockatrice?” Novell asked, thinking back to the stone in the clearing. Had it actually been a bunny?
“Quite so, my boy. Have no fear, though. As long as we stay together, like Miss Quills suggested before we came in, it shan’t bother us. The beasts are cowards for the most parts, only picking on something they know they can fight and only then if it’s small or alone. We are neither.” Professor Search gave him a wan grin. “Though I would be more concerned with whatever beast is making that racket. I don’t believe we’ve been discovered, but it is unsettlingly close.”
Whisper furrowed her brows as her ears flicked this way and that. “I thought you said it was still far away?”
“Being anywhere close enough to hear its cries is a bad thing,” Scrolls put in, seemingly unruffled by the knowledge they could be assaulted by any manner of beasts at a moment’s notice. Novell wondered if the colt was just putting on a brave front - either way, the effect served to quell the dark thoughts a bit. If the teenager could be brave, so could he.
“Let’s keep going. Just be careful and stay together,” Novell said unwaveringly, proud of his attempt not to sound like he was scared out of his mind.
Unfortunately, that was the exact moment being frightened out of his fetlocks was perfectly understandable.
With a roar that sent their manes flapping behind their heads, a massive form peeled itself from the nigh impenetrable tree trunks. A bulbous body, two wicked, ivory tusks jutting out from his jaw, and two great hands with three fingers each were the only things he noticed before it roared again. Novell involuntarily squinted his eyes against the rush of hot air, disgusting breath, and sticky saliva that pelted their group. A growl from behind him caused the already pumping adrenaline in his veins to increase rapidly as he twisted around to behold another gigantic monster pounding its chest.
“By Clover the Clever’s Crafty Cranium, a Sasquatch and a Cave Troll in the same space?” The Professor nearly squeed in glee, hopping from one foot to another in a bizarrely out of place dance. “I’ve seen them separately, but challenging one another to get at a meal? New behavior! I would never think the Sasquatch would strike out on its own, let alone fight a Troll!”
“We’re the meal, you blabbering moron!” Quills yelled over the din as they all backed into one another’s flanks.
“Any ideas?” Whisper hissed as she accidentally moved her wings.
“We could run?” Scrolls offered.
Novell shook his head and wracked his brain for some kind of solution. “No, running would just make us lose each other. I don’t want to run into anything else by myself.”
“Well, are we just going to sit here and wait for them to chow down, then?” the parchment colored filly asked sarcastically.
Before they could enact any of the half baked plans in their minds, the Sasquatch rushed forward directly toward Novell. Despite his fear, the pegasus set his hooves in the ground and growled. He wasn’t going to let anything take his friends!
A faint memory came to him - something the Professor had said about Sasquatches being similar to Yeti. A concentrated expression crossed his face as he ran toward the beast, diving through its legs as it reached down to swipe at him with its giant claws. This better work better than last time, he frantically thought as a feeling blossomed in his chest that this was the moment to seize.
Sliding to a stop, he dug his front hooves into the dirt and bucked the Sasquatch right in the left leg. His hooves bounced off the furry appendage, pain lancing through his hind legs as if he had hit a brick wall. Luckily his efforts were worth something - the beast roared in pain and fell forward the same way Novell had envisioned. A prickling between his shoulders warned him a moment before he heard a rush of something huge slicing through the air. The pegasus ducked, his hooves shielding his head as he fell to the grassy forest floor.
Without a thought, he sprang up into the air and opened his wings, just below the wicked branches that consisted of the canopy, and surveyed the scene. His friends were running and jumping away as the Troll pounded the ground with its meaty hands, the light from the Professor’s and Pensive’s horns aglow in the gloom. Even as he watched, a gray light took hold of one of the tusks on the beast and dragged the Troll to the side directly into a tree, which splintered under its weight.
The Sasquatch he had bucked was nowhere to be seen, though there was a sizable hole in the forest near him. Dismissing it for the moment, he dived toward the Troll, which even then grabbed a tree in its massive hand and brandished it like a club. It roared again, the sound enough to dull Novell’s hearing as he zipped across its vision in an effort to distract it.
The pegasus heard a whistling coming from behind him, panic filling his chest as he realized he was about to be pulverized by a swing from the monster’s new weapon. Gritting his teeth, Novell shifted his wings to bring him into a tight loop that gave him the opportunity to watch as the tree trunk flashed under him like a speeding train. The wind following it helped to complete his loop, leveling out and managing to get his hooves under him before he slammed into a nearby tree.
He used his momentum to bounce off the springy wood just as the Troll swung its club back around with surprising speed and cracked both trunks into splinters. An angry growl greeted him as he flew directly at the tusked jaw and stopped with a wing wrenching quickness.
Its eyes shifted upward at him as he floated there in front of its head, a glittering intelligence evident there. The pegasus was momentarily stunned by what he saw, a ‘what’ running through his mind.
“Novell! Move!” Pensive’s voice yelled out both inside his mind and out, breaking him out of his distraction to twirl around and see the fist heading right for him. Before he could bring his wings down to escape, the three fingered appendage caught him around the middle.
Oh, haystacks, he thought a second before he felt the hand compress him and bring his body to one of its big eyes. It opened its maw and Novell thought for sure he was about to be its next meal.
“Little pegasus,” it grumbled instead and for the second time in as many seconds, the pegasus was surprised. “Why attack Minh? Minh save!”
“It talks?” Whisper blurted incredulously.
“Attack you? You attacked my friends!” Novell responded, ignoring the mare’s question.
“They hurt Minh first!” it roared, shaking him enough for an audible rattle to come from the pegasus’ head. After a few seconds of his eyes spinning in their sockets, he shook his head and responded.
“Okay, okay, stop shaking me!”
The Troll growled at him.
“What did you mean you ‘save’?” he asked, hoping the beast wasn’t going to accidentally, or even purposefully, crush him in its grip.
“Squatch mean and stalk,” Minh replied, turning him around and pointing at the unconscious beast laying amongst a bunch of cracked tree trunks. “Minh hit and it fly but then magic hurt Minh! Unicorn ungra- ungrit- not thankful.”
“Oh, dear, he means me, doesn’t he?” the Professor said from below, who was currently stroking his mustache. “I apologize, good...Troll! I only wished to protect my friends and I did not know you were here to help us!”
A great snort came from the beast and washed over Novell with enough of an aroma to cause him to gag. “Unicorn sorry. Minh say no worry. We had good fight. Ponies full of spirit. Minh like that.”
“So, uhm, can you please put our friend down?” Scrolls called up to the Troll.
“No. Minh like pegasus. Minh bring home,” it responded, turning and stomping off toward one of the darker parts of the forest. He heard his friends trotting after him, but he couldn’t turn around to see them.
“Wh-what? Why are you bringing me home? Where is home?” Novell asked of his unwanted protector.
It knocked over a tree with a negligent backhand before responding and chuckled. “Pegasus ask too many questions. Pegasuses make good pets. Just need clip wings. Then they quiet.”
“C-c-clip wings!?” he cried out in terror. “Uh, no, Minh, no. That’s not necessary. I, uh, I like my wings just the way they are.”
“Pegasuses always say that. Then they sad. Maybe Minh no clip wings. Just use chain instead!” the Troll replied amicably.
“Professor!” Novell yelled, trying to wiggle out of the beasts’ clutches.
“Hold on, lad, we’ve got a plan!” his friend called out from behind him.
A plan? I’m going to be chained! What kind of plan is that?! Novell wanted to yell at his friends, but he kept silent. He had to trust them. They were his friends.
Still, that didn’t stop him from worrying.
The darkness of the forest grew as the Troll stomped his way through the forest, his friends’ hoofbeats reassuring as they followed. There are some benefits of travelling with something as big as this, I guess, Novell thought. Nothing bothered them, though there were more than a few roars from the distance. A few times, Minh even roared back, stopping in place and smacking a tree near him. Each time, the pegasus’ hearing descended into a dull buzzing, a headache steadily growing between his eyes.
“Are we even going the right direction?” Quills complained breathily, the first time any of the ponies had spoken in the last hour. She sounded winded and Novell hoped they were close to Minh’s home, if only so his friends could take a break. Trotting for an hour wasn’t the most pleasing sensation for someone who wasn’t used to it.
“Indeed we are, my dear,” Professor Search responded in a cheery voice. “All part of the plan. We should only be six hours away from Ponyville. We’ll reach the town by tomorrow if we hold to this course.”
“Thank the Goddesses. I can’t wait until I can fly again,” Whisper’s labored voice came, causing Novell to wince in sympathy. All this running couldn’t be easy on the mare.
“If ponies follow, ponies be quiet!” Minh growled threateningly, none the worse for wear from the trek. “Minh sleep here. Quiet now!”
Without aplomb, his captor fell to the ground and planted his back against a sturdy oak that only slightly creaked with the weight. The grip around his body loosened for a split second, but before he could even attempt to wiggle himself out, it tightened once more. Trapped against a smelly monster that’s going to clap me in irons. Wonderful.
Patience, Novell, Pensive’s voice echoed in his mind and suddenly Novell was glad the unicorn was skilled with telepathy. As soon as this thing falls asleep, we will free you.
Can’t you make it fall asleep? he directed his thought irritably at his friend. Or freeze it in ice like you did the Professor?
A flash of amusement flickered through his mind, but the unicorn didn’t answer. Frustrated, Novell tried to make himself as comfortable as he could being squished by the large fist. Night couldn’t come fast enough for him.
*****
Wake up.
The pegasus jerked awake at the mental prod, his eyes flying open and glancing around at the almost pitch black forest. The sound of steady breathing synced with the rush of sickening breath flowing over his mane. How he had fallen asleep with that lovely aroma surrounding him he didn’t know.
A click of hooves against a stone drew his attention to the left as a couple of shapes moved across the darkness. With a stuttering breath, Minh grumbled in his sleep at the sound, scooting back and forth momentarily into a more comfortable position. Novell held his breath through it all, hoping he wouldn’t squeak at an inopportune moment if the fist tightened too much. His ears twitched nervously at the sound of owls and crickets and he hoped they weren't enough to wake the Troll up.
“Quiet!” Scrolls’ whispered voice cut into the darkness, far too loud in the pegasus’ opinion.
Quills’ customary growl was all that came in response and the sounds of the forest once more reigned over the silence. A second later, something pushed on Novell’s flank and almost caused him to yelp in surprise. He swallowed the impulse and felt his body rise accompanied by grunts by whoever was pushing on him.
Eventually, after stopping several times whenever Minh fidgeted, Novell wiggled out enough to open his wings. With their help, the pegasus flew upward and out of the Troll’s clutches, suddenly filled with relief at being free. He hadn’t noticed how on edge he had been with his wings pinned to his sides.
“Mmmm....pony pet...” Minh grumbled and shifted his hand to his chest, accompanied by a squeak as he squeezed some-
wait, what? Somepony traded places with me?!
Panic filled the pegasus’ chest as he dove back toward the Troll’s sleeping form, intent on trying to save whichever of his friends was moronic enough to trade places. How was this a plan?
Go, Novell. Do not worry, Pensive’s voice echoed in his mind.
Don’t worry? Don’t worry? Of course I’m going to worry! Nopony should ever trade places with me! I’d rather be the one caught! he thought fiercely just as something grabbed his tail and stopped him on a dime. He hung there, swinging like a pendulum as the pale aura of the Professor’s magic pulled him toward the forest. No, no, no!
He futilely flapped his wings, glad they were mostly soundless as he struggled to get out of the magical grasp. Being maneuvered around against his will was getting old really fast. Seeding unicorns, he cursed inwardly.
“Calm down, my boy,” whispered the Professor as soon as he was brought through what he recognized as bushes. He could just make out the forms of the unicorn and Whisper, their eyes shining slightly against the glare of Professor Search’s magical field.
“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down when there’s another pony with Minh? If he wakes up and doesn’t find me, they’ll be crushed! Who switched with me anyway?” Novell hissed, trying to keep his voice low.
The sound of bushes rustling interrupted any chance of a reply, the pegasus already opening his wings in fright. Fortunately, the rustling wasn’t the work of a horrible, pony-eating monster.
“You are the loudest filly I know, Quills!” Scrolls muttered as they worked their way through into what Novell now realized was a small, hidden grove. Bushes surrounded them on all sides, enough cover to make sure anything sniffing around had a hard time finding them.
“If there wasn’t a giant beast that could crush us if we woke it up, I’d pound you so hard you’d wake up on the moon,” the other twin replied heatedly. As it was, there was a thwack as a tree branch whipped around and hit Scrolls in the face.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“Serves you right!”
“Quiet!” Whisper growled at the two teenaged ponies. “Can we go now, Professor? My wing is starting to feel stiff.”
A pinprick of guilt seized Novell’s heart at the last. They needed to keep going and here he was, slowing them down again.
“Of course, yes, of course. Off we go, my little ponies. I do hope all of you are rested, because we must unfortunately keep a rather swift pace.”
“What about Pensive?” the white pegasus asked, realizing now who had switched with him.
A snort came from the Professor’s outline as the unicorn twirled in a circle before his horn lit up. “He’ll be along shortly. Have no fear, young Novell, it is all part of the plan. Now, if my magical compass is correct, we must head this way!”
With that the Professor’s form exited the small grove, his horn lighting the way with a gentle ambiance. Novell swallowed his concerns about Pensive and followed, hoping the unicorn would be okay. Despite his powers, the pony was still just a regular unicorn now, mortal and able to be hurt.
I shall be fine, Novell, the pony in question whispered mentally as they passed the hulking Troll. Minh shifted in his sleep again, mumbling about pets and how he’d take care of them.
I’ll hold you to that then, he thought, pulling his wings in tighter against the growing darkness, glad he had friends like these to travel with him. Ten minutes later, Pensive joined them in a glow of pale blue, the roar of a Troll far behind them.
“Off we go then, everypony,” Professor Search said, looking nervously over his shoulder. They hurried their pace, sticking together under the cover of the malevolent trees, thoughts of being hounded spurring their efforts. They had less than a day to reach Ponyville.