//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: The Coffin // Story: Heart of Raven Black // by Vin Diesels Go-Kart //------------------------------// Apple Bloom walked along the path leading into the Everfree Forest. After her fear inducing encounter with Thomas' brother, the Zealot had instructed her to travel into the forest, offering no explanation as to why. Under normal circumstances, the filly would have run back to Ponyville and gotten help from her big sister, but the raven that was perched on her back greatly hindered her ability to do anything other than exactly what Daniel said. The escort of crows that were flying some distance away also ensured her unwavering compliance. She looked back at the raven and her pink bow flicked it in the beak, resulting in an angered caw. "Oops, sorry." she apologized half-heartedly. "I was just wonderin, where are we goin?" The raven stared at her intently, not making a sound. She rolled her eyes. "You do know I can't rightly go where ya want me to if you don't give some kinda direction." The bird continued to regard her silently, so Apple Bloom merely kept walking along the pathway. Her frequent visits to Zecora's hut had made the filly quite adept in traversing the Everfree Forest. In fact, she could probably navigate its darkened, winding trails better than just about anypony else in Ponyville. As they walked, Apple Bloom noticed the turn off to Zecora's home, and her heart skipped a beat. This may be the escape she was looking for. All she had to do was make it to the zebra's hut and she'd be home free, at least that was her hope. The trail that branched off from the main pathway was barely noticeable, only used occasionally by Zecora herself, or the rare visitor. Calmly, Apple Bloom made her way to one side of the trail, intent on taking the exit that was coming up. Unfortunately, the bird had other ideas, and pecked her hard in the ear after a loud caw. "Ow!" she exclaimed. "What was that for!?" The raven cawed harshly, but she kept going toward the trail. It pecked her again in the same spot. "What!?" she asked, feigning ignorance. Several of the crows landed on the fork in the road, blocking off access to Zecora's trail. "Ah fiddle sticks!" Apple Bloom muttered under her breath. Reluctantly, she made a course correction and continued down the main trail. She would never usually go down this trail unless she was feeling particularly adventurous and she wasn't expected home for some time, but since Thomas' death, the filly found herself exploring the Everfree much more often, normally to think and ponder. She sometimes had close calls with the local wildlife, like the occasional roving timberwolf or cockatrice, but these encounters did little to deter her from coming back. In her travels, she never went further than a large river that was deep in the forest, so everything beyond that was uncharted territory for her. Even so, everything this side of the river, she knew like the back of her hoof. Slowly, a plan started to formulate in her head. She knew that along this trail there was a manticore den on the left shoulder. Usually Apple Bloom would tip-toe by its home, and the beast would be none the wiser, but if she happened to alert it to her presence this time around, maybe that could provide her with a nice distraction. "So, do ya like zap apple jam?" she asked the raven, who seemed uninterested in anything she had to say. "My family is known far n wide for makin the best dang zap apple jam in all of Equestria." The bird cawed, and the filly couldn't tell if it was interested to hear more or it wanted her to shut up, but judging by the tightening grip of its talons on her coat, she guessed the latter. Apple Bloom could see the manticore den coming up and knew she'd have to get its attention soon. She continued to talk, even louder than before. "Have ya ever tried zap apple jam before? It's likely the best tastin jam to ever grace your taste buds, I tell ya." the raven pecked her on the head and cawed louder, but she just ignored it and kept talking. "Did ya know that crows are actually a big part of zap apple season? My Granny Smith told me that a murder of crows marks the third sign of zap apples. That's when zap apple flowers appear on the trees!" the filly tried sounding as enthused as possible, practically shouting at the den. The raven squeezed tighter with its talons and Apple Bloom knew she wouldn't get away with anymore small talk. They were now passing the den, and the filly prayed it was enough to get the beast's attention. Much to her relief and the raven's surprise, a loud roar bellowed out of the den, shaking the ground and causing the crows to fly out of the surrounding trees. The raven quickly looked to the opening as a large manticore angrily stomped out and gave another loud howl. Apple Bloom stopped in her tracks, pretending to be frozen in fear. The large beast roared in her direction, and the crows immediately began attacking. Like an angry swarm of bees, they ambushed the creature with gruesome efficiency. The manticore had clearly not expected the birds to be there, and now they tore at it with talons and beaks, going for exposed parts of soft tissue and obvious facial features, like eyes. The creature covered its face with its front paws while simultaneously flailing its dragon-like wings and scorpion tail in an attempt to discourage the crows from their onslaught. The raven remained perched on Apple Bloom's back, but it hadn't punished her for stopping. Its eyes remained fixated on the ensuing battle. The crows continued their merciless attack on the manticore. Blood began dripping onto the forest floor as wounds opened up all around the creature's body. It continued to flail around, ineffectively swatting at the assaulting birds, but this only opened up its face for their attacks. Apple Bloom was transfixed, horrified by the sight before her as the creature she once feared was being reduced to a bloody mess. The manticore ran around in a circle, panicked by its inability to retaliate against the birds. It tried flapping its large wings, but there were already large gashes that made it impossible for the creature to get any lift. There was now a thick cloud of crows surrounding the beast, bits of flesh hanging from their bloody beaks. Finally, the manticore retreated back into its den, desperate to get away from the nightmarish crows. The birds did not relent however, their thirst for blood not yet quenched, so they went in after the retreating beast as it continued to howl in pain. The raven could resist its blood lust no longer, and quickly took off from Apple Bloom's back. It flew into the cave as well, disappearing into the den. Apple Bloom managed to shake herself out of the fearful state she was in long enough to run far away from the grisly scene that was unfolding. She didn't have a clear idea of where she was going, but anywhere was better than there. She stumbled down the pathway, trying to get the manticore's pain filled roars out of her head. * * * The expedition to the Everfree Forest had been awkwardly silent. Twilight led the group, still carrying an incapacitated Rainbow Dash on her back. She was followed closely by Spike and the other Elements of Harmony, while Daniel and Trixie brought up the rear. Applejack glanced back at Daniel. The Crow seeemed to be exchanging words with Trixie, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. This gave her confidence that any conversation they had would be equally inaudible to the Zealot. "Twilight, we gotta do somethin." she whispered. "I need to find Apple Bloom and we gotta stop whatever this guy is plannin!" "I know, Applejack." Twilight replied. "Well then what are ya waitin for? Cast a spell at him n lets wrap this up." Applejack suggested. "No, I can't risk any of you getting hurt. If it were just me and him, then I'd gladly try my luck at putting an end to this, but not if it means putting my friends in danger." Applejack groaned, clearly frustrated. "Don't worry bout us Twi, we can handle ourselves, but you gotta stop him. Like ya said before, he could be a danger to all of Equestria." she pointed out. "What do you think he wants, anyway?" Rarity chimed in. "What could he possibly do in that old castle? There's nothing there but ruins." "Maybe he's throwing a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for himself, and he wants an old spooky castle theme!" Pinkie whispered excitedly. "I doubt that." Rarity said, shaking her head. "That......that.....rapscallion hurt Rainbow Dash, forced her to fight her friends and then used her as a bargaining chip! Anyone that heartless wouldn't be thinking about a soiree of any nature." she said, clearly upset. Pinkie put a reassuring hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry Rarity, I'm not good at name calling either." The white unicorn gave her a quizzical look and then rolled her eyes as they approached the entrance to the Everfree. Daniel and Trixie hadn't said much on the way to the entrance. The Zealot could easily see she was upset by what took place in the orchard, which made him laugh inside. It was about time he put the show mare in her place. "You've been pretty quiet. Did something happen?" he asked snidely. The magician shot him a look. "Don't even speak to me. I've done things in the past I'm not particularly proud of, but what you did back there was outright appalling." "I don't take kindly to threats." he explained. "They should not have forced my hand by attempting to detain me." "Why? What are you doing here? You told me it was just for your brother." "Yes, but you and I both knew I was lying." The unicorn looked down to the ground. "So? What's the real reason?" Now it was Daniel's turn to look away. "I'm saving my city." "From what?" The Zealot looked back to her. "Obliteration." Trixie didn't understand, but there was something else bugging her that she wanted the Crow to answer. "Would you really have let Rainbow Dash kill herself?" she asked sadly. Daniel didn't answer, so she looked up to him. Trixie couldn't see his face, she couldn't tell what he was thinking, couldn't read him. He was about to answer when Twilight stopped and turned around. "This is the entrance to the Everfree Forest." she informed. Daniel stopped and thought a moment. The forest was dark and deadly looking, naturally, and it seemed as though the trail got narrower as it went on. He could see roots, vines, and other vegetation slowly creeping onto the path. The Crow concluded that right here was as good a place as any. "We'll enter the forest in a moment. I have to take care of something first." he said. Carefully, the Zealot unchained the coffin from his back. The chain quickly went slack, and Daniel swiftly turned and caught the coffin before it hit the ground. He gently laid the casket flat on the pathway, and flipped a latch that looked much newer than the coffin itself. The ponies all watched in curiosity as he opened the lid. It made a creaking noise, slowly opening and falling to the other side. Daniel held his hand out to whatever was inside. The ponies didn't make a sound, waiting on bated breath to discover the source of the noises. Hushed gasps could be heard as another hand slowly and hesitantly reached up and grabbed Daniel's. The Zealot pulled with little effort, and another human became visible. The resulting gasps weren't due to the fact that it was a human, but due to his appearance. He was incredibly lanky, and wore what looked like a school uniform that he'd outgrown years ago. Even with his scrawny physique, the uniform looked tight and constraining. The most disturbing feature was the grey sack that was covering his face. Written near the top were the words Tabula Rasa, as well as a blood red smile crudely smeared on the front where a mouth would be. The Boy stood up with his back hunched, shielding his eyes from the light. He looked scared and confused, whimpering quietly and shaking profusely. "Jacob." Daniel called. The Boy stopped shaking and he no longer whimpered, instead standing quietly. "Jacob." the Zealot repeated. Suddenly the Boy faced Daniel and made a noise as if it had a sudden revelation. It hobbled over to the Crow and started hugging him gratefully. Jacob started crying as he grabbed Daniel's robes and used them to support himself. "It's alright Jacob, you've been very patient." Daniel soothed. The Boy only cried louder. "Come now, stop with that. We're in the presence of company." he said, gesturing to the ponies and dragon. They were all silent, completely taken aback by what they were seeing. The Boy looked over to them and examined them silently, still whimpering a bit. "This is Jacob." the Zealot said, addressing the group. "Please excuse the Boy's crying. He's usually much more Silent."