You're in the Everfree, So Just Leave the Animals Alone
(2)
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There wasn’t any way out of it. Much to Fluttershy’s chagrin, the powder thrown at her had paralyzed every part of her except her eyes, which left her to helplessly watch her companion get similarly defeated. Her thoughts had already turned to what it would be like to be mind controlled. Would it hurt? Was it actually enlightening? Twilight talked about it like it was, and that was a good thing, right? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?
Her thoughts were startled as Trixie let out a cry. She blinked, realizing that she hadn’t counted on the possibility of her friend doing something completely… out of the box.
“Taste your own medicine! Literally!”
As Zecora turned to Trixie and reached her hoof back to her pouch, the unicorn magically grabbed all the nearby potions off the hut’s shelves and flung them at her attacker. The swarm of bottles erupted into a cloud of smoke as soon as they hit their target. It lingered and obscured its victim, flashing odd colors and shapes, leaving Fluttershy to desperately hope that Zecora hadn’t been seriously harmed.
When the last wisps dissipated it was apparent that she was alright, though hardly unscathed. There was now a green, stripeless, frizz-maned, unconscious zebra on the hut floor.
“Well, it could have been worse.” Trixie shrugged and prodded her defeated enemy several times. “Time for some rope.” She poked around the hut, making an “aha” as she found a coil inside a cupboard. Her horn glowing, she snaked the rope around Zecora, binding her hooves together securely, and rolled her over to the corner of the room. “Trixie prevails again!” She puffed her chest out and her eyes fell on Fluttershy. She exhaled. “Except what am I going to do with you?” She walked over to the motionless pony and lifted and dropped a wing. “You’re completely paralyzed aren’t you?”
Fluttershy reflexively tried nodding her head before resorting to blinking. It was going to take awhile for her to get used to.
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “But you can move and blink your eyes? That’s something, at least. Can you feel anything?”
With a quick test of all her muscles, Fluttershy confirmed to herself that she couldn’t feel any of her extremities. She blinked a few more times.
“Just use the standard. Blink once for yes, twice for no. I have no intention of trying to aimlessly interpret your wide-eyed stares.” She lifted and wiggled one of Fluttershy’s hind legs. “Yes, you’ve definitely been magically paralyzed. Wonderful.” She shook her head. “What am I going to do with you? Because if you think I’m going to be your keeper for the rest of this endeavor then you have a few more thinks coming your way.” She turned to the lone bookshelf up against one wall of the hut. “Though I suppose I should cure you, shouldn’t I?” She magically grabbed a bundle of books and circled them around her so she could quickly read their titles. “Whatever Zecora just used on you has to have an antidote. It’s just a matter of looking through the books she has around here and examining that powder in her pouch. How hard could it be?”
Not that hard, Fluttershy thought. Trixie was very capable. She would make sure the paralysis didn’t last any longer than it needed to. Grinning inwardly, she felt a surge of confidence.
“Aha, I bet it’s this! Prune’s Paralysis Powder.” Trixie retrieved the pouch from Zecora and looked inside it and back at the book. “Success! It’s not even her own concoction! What a hack! And I was expecting to have to figure out zebra writing. Let’s see… we’re going to need some burning chrysanthemums, crimson tree bark, and frog’s lily. What is the matter with these sketches? That lily looks like a bad deformity. I’m going to have a hard enough time figuring out where to look for these without having to figure out what a frog lily really looks like.”
Fluttershy lit up internally. She knew what each of those were and where to find them. Though, the only way she was going to be able to help was if--
Trixie looked up and gritted her teeth. “But you know, don’t you?” She narrowed her eyes. “And I’m going to have to carry you aren’t I?”
Fluttershy blinked.
It really wasn’t at all bad, at least Fluttershy didn’t think so. Her hooves hung limply over each side of Trixie’s back and her head rested on her friend’s shoulder rather easily. However, the longer they were out in the wilderness, the more irritated her ride became, or so it seemed. Unleashing what would have been a squeak had her vocal chords been working, her thoughts were interrupted as she suddenly lurched forward, half of her sliding up Trixie’s neck onto her head.
“Stupid log! I hate you nature!”
Fluttershy’s thoughts put on a frown. That wasn’t a very nice thing to say, especially to one of the best parts of life.
Righting herself from her trip, Trixie turned to stare daggers at her passenger. “Would it have been too much trouble for you to have just held your breath as soon as you saw a cloud of paralysis coming your way? Yes, of course it would, because by being rendered useless now I have to carry you on my back through the Everfree Forest on a scavenger hunt for the ingredients to cure you all while some crazed, corrupted unicorn and her henchponies are out to get us!” She breathed heavily and snorted.
Fluttershy certainly would have tried to hold her breath had she had enough time to think about it. Maybe that was the problem. She wasn’t a quick thinker. A pony like Pinkie Pie would have dodged something like that. At least Trixie was willing to forgive her. She seemed angry now but Fluttershy knew better. Her friend was just venting. The poor mare needed a comforting pat on the head but until she could provide one Fluttershy had to remain content sending her mental well wishes.
Trixie pulled out a folded page from the pouch at her side, an item she relieved from the hut. She opened it up, revealing the map on it. She pointed just to the right of its center. “We’re here, right?” She looked into Fluttershy’s eyes.
She blinked once. They had just walked east of the hut which meant that the plants they needed were just to the northwest.
Turning back to the map, Trixie rubbed her chin and peered at the notes on the side. “Weird flowers and rare bark. This is looking to be so much fun.”
It probably would be fun. What could be more fun than enjoying nature?
Trixie glanced at Fluttershy again. “I don’t even want to know what’s going through your mind right now. It would only make me angrier.” She folded the map back up and continued on.
She could hardly think of what thoughts she could be thinking that would make Trixie angry. She was, in a way, almost enjoying her predicament. It was somewhat refreshing to not be responsible for anything but thinking and blinking. She hoped she didn’t have to remain in her current state any longer than necessary, but until her cure, it gave her a great opportunity to just passively take in life. Despite it being the Everfree, the forest seemed quite peaceful with its background wildlife noises. It was so much easier to handle when it was in daylight.
Trixie grunted as she stepped over a large fallen tree. “Ha, ha, not this time, rotten log!” She shot a glance at Fluttershy. "It’s a good thing you’re very light. That’s the only bright spot to this entire venture.” She paused as she entered a clearing and approached a patch of plants in its center. “Hey, is this what we’re looking for? It’s got green speckled petals.” She leaned forward and tilted her head to the side, looking at the nature expert’s eyes.
Fluttershy blinked twice. It didn’t have a purple stem. It was a good thing that Trixie decided to bring her along. She didn’t seem very detail oriented.
“Great! Fantastic!” Trixie stomped on the flower.
Fluttershy blinked in dismay and tried to poke Trixie with her hoof, but as usual, her attempt proved unfruitful.
“You know," Trixie continued. "I didn’t come out here to lock horns with a crazed, amulet wielding maniac! Had I known that was part of the vacation package then I would have happily stayed back in Manehattan! I could still be asleep in bed right now after having stayed all night in a bar downtown!”
Fluttershy tried to wrap her head around that scenario but came up blank. The outdoors trumped the indoors in just about every situation. The forest they were in was a far better locale than some concrete jungle.
“Is there a reason that we haven’t come across any dangerous wildlife yet? I thought the Everfree was supposed to be perilous? Where’s the pony crushing beasts of legend?”
Glancing around, Fluttershy had wondered that herself, though she had long suspected that Zecora somehow managed to pick out a quieter part of the Everfree. How she had managed that, Fluttershy didn’t know, but for a fair radius around the hut there just wasn’t much animal activity. It had been that way ever since she started visiting the zebra. She wondered if magic was involved.
“And of course, I’ve opened my big mouth,” Trixie whispered. She ducked behind a tree and slowly peered out of it. She lifted Fluttershy’s head to her level and pointed it ahead. There was a family of manticores in another small clearing ahead. One of them was playing with three cubs while the other one slept. Smack dab in their midst was a clump of flowers. She looked into Fluttershy’s eyes. “Are those what we need?”
Fluttershy had no choice but to blink once. She quickly averted her eyes. She let her heart settle down and gave the situation some thought. With the proper behavior they could avoid upsetting the manticores and get what they needed. It would just take a keen animal knack.
Had she been the one to enter the clearing, Fluttershy would have slowly approached the animals. She would have clearly shown them that she meant no harm and that all she wanted was the flowers they were laying around. As long as she maintained a calm demeanor and the manticores weren’t in a bad mood, then she would have had two burning chrysanthemums in a matter of a minute. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the one to enter the clearing.
Trixie turned to look behind her while she sped at a full gallop. “I don’t see why you’re chasing me! I wanted nothing to do with your ugly young! They just happened to be next to a flower I needed to make an antidote! Cease before I unleash some serious pain!”
Fluttershy wanted to tell Trixie that the manticore wouldn’t have gotten angry if she hadn’t pushed one of the young ones aside to get the flower. She wanted to tell Trixie that given how big the manticore was, if she went up one of the thicker sets of trees then they could easily shake it. There were a lot of things she wanted to say, and possibly even do, but all she could do was radiate fear. She couldn’t tell which was worse: being able to do something or nothing at all. She supposed that when she was able to do something she oftentimes just froze up anyway, which made the whole comparison rather moot.
“Hold on, there’s a big jump coming up!”
Her thoughts scrambled as she watched the ground distance itself from her and turn into water. She felt the momentum of being launched into the air and her eyes widened as saw her hooves loosening from what passed as a grip around Trixie’s neck. As the ascent turned to descent, her hooves finally came free and the last thing she saw before she hit the water was Trixie landing on the other end of the stream. It was just deep enough to cushion her fall and instantly push her back to the surface, and thanks to what could only have been the will of Celestia, she landed on her back. She saw the manticore jump over her before the flowing water started carrying her forward.
“I’ll come back for you as soon as I lose this annoyance! Everything will be fiiine!” Trixie’s voice faded into the distance.
The water carried her slowly through the Everfree and Fluttershy’s pounding heart started to slow down. With a nice view of the sky above and the soothing sounds of flowing water, the journey was quite peaceable. She closed her eyes and tried to get some rest. Maybe it would lead her straight to another town where she could get some help? One never knew.
“Fluttershy?”
Her eyes shot open. Something was stopping her progress. She was hauled out of the water and onto the ground. Two crossed eyes peered over her.
Fluttershy’s brain raised its eyebrow.
Derpy leaned in close to her face and stared into her eyes as best she could. “Oh, thank Cadence’s cutie mark, you’re not red-eyed! What are you doing out here in the middle of the Everfree Forest, in a stream, on your back?”
There was a pause. Fluttershy desperately hoped that Derpy picked up that she was incapable of replying. She blinked back in response.
“Fluttershy… are you okay?”
Fluttershy moved her eyes from side to side.
“Fluttershy...?” Derpy poked her a few times. “Well… if you can’t move, then I guess I’m going to have to take you to safety.”
With a scoop of her hooves, Derpy had Fluttershy on her back and was carrying her into the forest. “So you must have fled here too, huh? Smart thinking, Fluttershy. The all-seeing eye can’t find us here. The Purple Usurper hasn’t claimed these lands yet!”
Purple usurper? Twilight wasn’t that bad, was she? How badly was she abusing her power? Was she treating the rest of her friends kindly? They were red-eyed too, weren’t they? That at least entitled them to fair behavior, right?
“I’ve found a place that we can hideout in until this all blows over. Hopefully other ponies will find us eventually and then we can form a resistance movement!”
Fluttershy started blinking rapidly. That sounded dangerous. Couldn’t they just find a way to get to Canterlot and get the Princesses to handle everything?
“So far it’s just Carrot and me, and I guess you now. As soon as we get you back up to shape then we can start to take back what is rightfully ours!” She pumped a hoof into the air. “Follow me, Fluttershy, and I’ll show you the heart of the next revolution!”
Revolution? That definitely sounded dangerous. So waiting it out wasn’t an option?
“And here we are! Home sweet, temporary home!” Derpy started picking up the pace.
A cave? They were going into a cave in the middle of the Everfree? She wished with all her heart that she could start chewing on her hoof nails. This was getting into critical territory.
The cave descended down a rocky path that was lit with torches until it opened into a large space with a campfire in its midst. “Welcome to my new abode!” Derpy deposited Fluttershy gently on the ground by the fire. “I found some daisies while I was out. They’re wild daisies but I think they’ll taste fine inside my muffins.”
Fluttershy didn’t know what to do anymore. Her brain was about to overload and she decided to shut it down before things got worse. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the fire she was next to was instead one she made inside her cottage and that she was lying by it instead of Ponyville’s eccentric mailmare.
“It’s a good thing I managed to raid the bakery before I escaped. Like I was going to survive in the wild without my muffins. Ha!”
Angel Bunny would be nestling in between her front hooves and all the other animals would start to quietly enter and start sleeping beside her while the fire crackled soothingly.
“Fluttershy, are you alive over there?” Fluttershy felt hoofsteps coming in her direction and a poke in her side. She reluctantly opened her eyes, her relaxing fantasy melting away. “I really need to find out what’s wrong with you. Did Twilight steal away your voice and limbs? Did you get hit on the head? Did you take a vow of dead weight? I’ll get to the bottom of this! Until then, you want somepony to keep you company while I cook? I’ll get Carrot.” Derpy left Fluttershy’s field of view and there was a dragging sound from down the cave. Slowly, she saw a tied up pony with a cloth in her mouth pulled into view. Derpy removed the gag and patted the mare on the head.
Carrot Top growled. “Derpy, how could you leave me like that for several hours?”
“Sorry, Carrot, but it took longer to find what I needed than I thought. Here, I have another pony to keep you company.” Derpy gestured towards Fluttershy. “She’s mute and unable to move for some reason right now, but still, maybe you guys can learn how to communicate psychically. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Carrot Top turned her head and stared at Fluttershy with burning red eyes. “Aw, come on, she hasn’t even been enlightened yet.”
“And she won’t ever if I have anything to say about it!” Derpy pumped another hoof into the air.
“No, my compatriots will help me and then you will both be shown the Way of Twilight!” Carrot yelled.
“It’s okay, Carrot, I forgive your treason.” Derpy patted her friend on the head again and left Fluttershy’s field of vision.
The corrupted pony turned her gaze back on Fluttershy. “It’s really the best way to live you know. I’ve had a few turn-arounds in my life, but none as existentially satisfying as being shown the power of Twilight and her Amulet. When she and her followers finally find us, I suggest converting willingly.”
If it came down to it, Fluttershy was pretty sure that she would convert willingly. She’d get to be with her friends again. She far preferred the alternative of getting everypony back to normal, but beggars could hardly be choosers. She blinked a few times to convey her thoughts.
Carrot Top stretched her neck out and narrowed her eyes. “Because they will find us and you will be converted. It is as inevitable as the cycle of the crops and all will come to know the glory of Empress Twilight.”
“Carrot, how many cups of flour does this need again?”
“Derpy, dear, it only needs two. Are you going to forget every time?”
“No, not every time! Just… most of the time. I hope the wild daisies still work. I haven’t had a daisy muffin in forever.”
“You know, if you join Twilight’s empire then she’ll make you as many daisy muffins as you could ever want.”
“Oh, silly Carrot, I’m perfectly content making muffins myself.”
“But think, Derpy, think of all the wondrous muffins that could be made by a horde of Twilight-dedicated bakers. Think about it!”
Derpy walked over to Carrot and put a hoof to her mouth. “Shhh, now, Carrot. I have muffins to make. Do you want me to put the gag back on you?”
“No! It’s always the gag with you!”
“Well, you keep on talking about Twilight, so it sounded to me like you wanted the gag back. I don’t know why, it’s been getting kind of dirty from this cave and it’s not a very pretty color.”
“I want to be heard, Derpy! I want my words to be understood, to be acknowledged! I want you all to know the wonder that is the new joy in life that I’ve found!”
“Carrot, are you sure you don’t want the gag back on? You’re sending me mixed signals here.”
Carrot Top turned her head to the side. “No.”
“Oh… Well that’s good.” Derpy tossed the gag over her shoulder and smiled cheerfully. “Back to the event of the evening!”
She wanted a re-do. Trixie wanted to jump back in time to the moment she decided to go to Ponyville and beat the ever-loving stuffing out of herself. The idiot. How could she have thought returning to Fluttershy would have ended with anything other than trouble? Had she forgotten what had been a source of misery to her for months? Of course she did. With a smile plastered on her face, she just went gallivanting off. How Luna-blasted smart.
She sucked in a sharp breath as she barely avoided tripping on a rock. Stupid things popped up in the most inopportune times. A roar sounded behind her and she could feel the hot breath brush across her neck. How long was this thing going to chase her? This was far past territorial and fast approaching the realm of vendetta. It was a good thing that Fluttershy landed on her back or Trixie would have been forced to rescue her and then they would both be pushing daisies. Well, Fluttershy would be pushing daisies. Trixie would probably be pushing something much prettier, like tulips.
It was time to ditch the beast. Long past time. But what could she do now that she hadn’t counted out before? She smirked. The situation had changed. Now that Fluttershy was no longer a burden, there was a solution. Her horn lit up as she shot a ball of magical energy into the ground in front of her, sending up a shower of dirt which she quickly caught in a magical field and coalesced into a ball. Still in a gallop, she looked back at the manticore and threw the dirt ball in its face. It halted its chase and wiped at its eyes. Darting into a thick set of brush, she ducked her head to hide her horn’s glow. She watched as a fake version of herself continued to run down a gap in the trees. The manticore growled and started its chase again, running after the illusion that would keep on galloping straight ahead until it ran out of magical energy.
She turned and headed back the way she came. She doubted it would be long before the manticore realized that it was following a figment and as much as she was now ready to never see Fluttershy again, she couldn’t just leave her paralyzed and stranded in the middle of the Everfree.
She pushed aside leaves and brambles, hissing at each twig that caught her mane and each stick that scratched her. She was going to be a mess before everything was over. She pushed a particularly thick patch of bushes out of her way and heard a sharp click as she put her hoof forward. Hard ropes flung up into her face and wrapped around her as she was carried into the air.
“See, Bon Bon, see?!"
Trixie scrunched up her nose at the sudden sight of a red-eyed, mint-green mare beaming a Smile of Death inches away from her.
"They doubted my skills!" continued Lyra. "They thought it'd take too long to hunt down two ponies! They thought it would be best just to setup traps and sit back, but no, I convinced the Empress to let me use my tracking skills! Now they'll see who was right!”
“Lyra, where did you learn tracking skills?” A white mare walked into the clearing and shot a red colored glance at Trixie before approaching Lyra.
Lyra pulled back and pointed at her head. “It’s all up here! It’s filled with countless facts! Countless ways of handling any situation! Stick with me and you might learn something!”
“Lyra, I’ve been sticking with your for years now, and I’ve learned nothing other than you’re always full of surprises.” She smiled and shook her head. “Now how in Equestria did you know that she was going to come by here?”
“Intuition! Pure intuition! Intuition that comes from knowing your prey!” Lyra turned her terrifying grin back on Trixie.
“You don’t know me from Princess Platinum’s royal cat!” Trixie yelled.
“Don't I?! I know everything about you, Trixie! Everything I need to know! Everything I needed to know to capture you and now to bring you back to Empress Twilight!” Lyra’s eyes glinted and she slowly moved closer to her prisoner.
“Oh really?” Trixie wriggled in her rope cage before quickly giving it up as pointless. “What’s my favorite color? When was I born? What’s the most amount of tacos I’ve ever eaten in a single night?”
“Irrelevant!” Lyra threw her hooves up and grabbed the sides of the rope trap. She inched her face forward until her nose was almost touching Trixie’s. “My methods are a secret!”
“What’s a secret is how you could be this stupid.” Trixie narrowed her eyes at the red eyes in her face.
“How is this remotely stupid?!”
Trixie’s horn lit up—and quickly fizzled out. She hit it a few times. “What gives?”
Lyra giggled and brought a hoof to her mouth. “Surprise!” She threw her head back and let out a cackle.
“Those are anti-magic ropes. We knew one of you was a unicorn after all.” Bon Bon walked up to Trixie and smirked.
Her guffaws finally settling down, Lyra looked back at Trixie. “Thank you! I’ve been holding that in for awhile!” She pulled a knife from her pack with her magic and sliced off a lock of Trixie’s mane that was poking out from the net. “There! I’ll put that away for safe-keeping!” She stuffed it into her pack.
“Did you just cut off some of my mane?” Trixie gaped and tried to pull her hair back.
“Silence! Time to take you back to the Empress!” Her horn glowed as the rope trap was unhooked and brought to the ground. She kept her magical hold on it and dragged it behind her as she and Bon Bon made their way out of the small clearing.
Trixie stared at the leaves and fallen sticks that littered the ground, watching as it all passed slowly beneath her. She made a mental note to never visit Ponyville again.
“Sweet glory! They’re done!” Derpy plopped herself down in between Fluttershy and Carrot Top, a plate full of still steaming muffins in her mouth. She put it down next to Fluttershy. “Do you want any?”
Doing what she was only capable of, Fluttershy blinked. It was getting rather tiresome.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” Derpy picked the plate back up and deposited it next to Carrot Top. “How about you, Carrot?”
She snorted and eyed the muffins with distaste. “Fine.”
Derpy smiled and took a muffin from the plate and placed it in her mouth. “There you go! Tell me how they are.”
“Ahh cahhn ell yuh wihh ih uh ma mouh.”
“Well take a bite first, silly.” Derpy did what Fluttershy could only assume was rolling her eyes.
Carrot Top bit out of the muffin and Derpy caught it before it rolled onto the ground. She looked at her friend with wide eyes. “Well?”
Carrot chewed it slowly, closing her eyes. She swallowed. There was several seconds of silence. “Pretty good this time, Derpy. Those wild daisies actually worked well. Perhaps a bit more sugar next time, these flowers are a little more bitter than the ones we grow in Ponyville.”
Derpy took a muffin, threw it into her mouth, and sped-chewed it. “You’re right. It could use a little more sugar next time. Good one, Carrot! But I’m glad they at least turned out edible this time!”
“You know,” said Carrot, “If we go back to our place then we could easily make a whole lot more.”
Derpy shot up. “You know, Carrot, you’re right! We could! I’ll—“ She stopped and put a hoof to her chin. “But if we go back to Ponyville then we’ll be walking right back into the midst of the Purple Menace. That’s not a safe plan. That sounds like an unhealthy plan.”
“Oh, she won’t bother us if we tell her that we’re on a muffin mission. It’s like diplomatic immunity.”
“I don’t know. Don’t you worship her or something? Are you trying to get me to walk into certain corruption?”
“No, of course not, Derpy. Why would I do that?”
“It’s what I would do if I were you.” Derpy shook her head. “No, I think I’m fine with what we have right now. I’m sure I can go just… a few… days without… muffins.” Her ears flopped down and she stared down at the plate before her with a pouted lip. There were only two muffins left on it.
“Just think, Derpy, think about more muffins than you can possibly imagine. I promise you that the Empress will be able to provide them in abundance.”
“Hmmm.” Derpy narrowed her eyes until they were barely slits. “That does sound amazing.”
Fluttershy started blinking rapidly. Surely she wasn’t seriously considering going to Ponyville just on the promise of numerous baked goods? That wasn’t a good enough reason to get corrupted by Twilight. Well, it wasn’t a good enough reason for Fluttershy. Maybe Derpy just really, really, really liked muffins. Who was she to judge? She reflexively brought a hoof to her face. Her foreleg wiggled. Her eyes widened. It wiggled! She did it again and it did the same thing. Does that mean the paralysis was wearing off? How much longer?
A deep growl sounded from the entrance of the cave. Derpy raised her head. “Uh-oh. I think the wolfies figured out that they have visitors and I did forget to call ahead.”
“Wolves? Wolves? Derpy, is this a timber wolf cave?”
“I… I think so.”
The growling intensified and sounded closer.
“Think so? Derpy, why? Why, Derpy? Why?”
“Oh, well that’s easy to explain. I was—“
“No time! We got to get out!”
Derpy quickly grabbed both Carrot and Fluttershy and tried to fly into the air only to instantly fall back down.
“That’s not going to work!” yelled Carrot Top.
“Well, if you two weren’t so heavy…”
An echoing pounding sounded from the caves entrance.
Derpy picked up the plate of muffins and walked forward to stand right in front of the entrance to the chamber they were in. The thunder of the approaching wolves grew louder and louder and finally through the darkness emerged three large figures. Their shapes bore a strong resemblance to that of timber wolves but they were made out of dark, jagged stone. Their eyes glowed orange and they growled as soon as they spotted the ponies. It sounded to Fluttershy like this was their home.
Lifting the plate of muffins higher, Derpy offered her life’s obsession to them. They all sniffed the goods being proffered. One of the more adventurous wolves snapped out its tongue, snatched a muffin, and rolled it into its mouth. Its eyes lit up and it turned to its fellows and nodded its head. They both moved forward to take the other muffin. Derpy shook her head and tossed the plate into the corner of the cave. The wolves leapt after it. “Now it’s time to go,” she said matter-of-factly. She hoisted Fluttershy onto her back and quickly released Carrot Top of her bonds. They both started galloping out of the cave with loud roars chasing behind them.
“I think they ran out of muffins. I would roar like that too if I suddenly ran out of muffins.”
The light from outside stabbed at Fluttershy’s eyes as they finally made it out.
“Where are we going?” asked Carrot Top, glancing behind her.
Fluttershy knew that the best place would be Zecora’s. She was willing to bet that that the zebra had some sort of ward around her house. She tried wiggling her hoof again and to her amazement she could actually move it around a little. She patted Derpy with one of them. The pegasus looked back at her and she pointed to the northeast of them.
“I think Fluttershy’s telling us to go this way.” Derpy made a quick adjustment to her running.
“Well that direction is as good as any, I suppose!” Carrot looked back again. “Though those wolves are looking to be much faster than us!”
Fluttershy could hear their heavy paws thud into the ground behind her. She dearly hoped she was right about the wards.
“Do you think we’ll get a reward?”
Lyra puffed her chest out. “For bravery such as this?! Of course we will! The Empress will have no choice but to let us into her inner circle for besting one who claims to be so Great and Powerful!”
“I hope she’ll pat me on the head!” Bon Bon brought a hoof to her flushed cheeks. “Can you imagine? Getting a pat by the Empress herself?”
“It’d be the best moment of my entire life! And I’ve had many fantastic moments!” Lyra gave her rope sack an extra hard yank with her magic as she dragged it behind her. “You hear that?! You will be our good little ticket to the Empress’s heart!”
“Stab it for me once you get to it, if it’s not too much trouble,” said Trixie.
Bon Bon gasped. “How can you be so casual talking about killing the Empress?”
Trixie closed her eyes and brought both her hooves to her temples. “It’s very easy. I’m imagining Twilight being maimed by a dragon right now. Dear Luna, it’s gruesome. Oh my, that’s not suitable for little colts and fillies. Was that her liver? Oops, not anymore.”
“Quiet!” Lyra lifted the rope cage into the air and brought it back down to the ground hard. “I have to bring you back alive but I can easily make up excuses for bruises if I have to!”
Trixie grumbled to herself and crossed her forehooves, glancing around her. Then, because Celestia decided to have pity on her, she saw a savior in the distance. The savior was in the form of a manticore plodding through the forest, but it was a savior nonetheless. It was the same that had tormented for what felt like a mile, but enemies quickly became one’s friends in the right circumstances. “Ahem!” she said, loudly. The manticore’s head turned in her direction.
“What is it now?” asked Bon Bon.
“Yeah, come and get me you simpleton!” Trixie grinned as the manticore got closer, finally locking eyes with Trixie.
“We already have you! What is with the taunting?!” Lyra gave Trixie’s ropes another yank just as the manticore picked up its pace and started to run at them. It gave a roar.
Lyra gasped. Bon Bon squeaked. Trixie beamed. She backed up and stuck her back hoof out to put distance between the edge of her trap and herself. The manticore leaped and unleashed its claws. With one swipe it had inadvertently cut her from her bonds, as well as nicked her back hoof, but she could worry about scratches after she was in safety. Slipping out of the ropes, she grabbed both Lyra and Bon Bon by the tail with her magic and pulled them to the side of her before galloping ahead.
“Clever girl!” Lyra called after her. Trixie glanced back to see her ex-captors almost on her tail with the manticore taking up the rear. Back where she started, just with different company. She felt a magic field form around her tail. She quickly dispelled and looked back to see Lyra grit her teeth. Trixie stuck her tongue out.
There were very few actions she had taken in her life that she considered heroic and none that were the sort of thing that could be found in an epic novel. She had read plenty of adventure stories when she was a young filly and she always dreamed of being able to do what the heroes in those books did, dreams that left her as she aged. Now, as she ran through what some considered the most dangerous woods in the entirety of Equestria, those thoughts came rushing back to her. As she led the living example of a pecking order through the trees she came upon a scene that on any other day would have thrown her for loop, but today she was over everything. So what if a group of rock-like wolves were chasing a trio of ponies? Instead, she looked past the chaos and a glorious idea formed before her mind’s eye. She yelled and tore towards the one pony she recognized.
Fluttershy turned her head to see the source of the new commotion and her eyes widened. A squeal flew out of her throat and made her blink. "Icanshpeak!” she yelled. She waggled a hoof at her oncoming rescuer. Her newfound vocal powers emitted a squeak as Trixie ran right behind Derpy and magically yanked Fluttershy over onto her back. “DuntforgetabutDerpy!” she yelled as she struggled to get a grip around Trixie.
Her eyes narrowed, Trixie leaped on top of one of the wolves and then onto another right next to it. They growled as her hooves met the ground again and changed their direction to go after the annoyance. She whipped back around and galloped headlong towards the manticore she had just invited to the party. Lyra and Bon Bon gaped at her and ducked out of the way. However, the manticore seemed entirely okay with playing chicken. Trixie grinned, waited till the last moment, and darted to the sidelines, cringing as she heard the wolves and manticore slam into each other. There was a roar and she ducked as a wolf flew over her and smashed into the ground right in front of Carrot Top. Despite digging her hooves into the ground, the earth pony couldn't put on the brakes fast enough to prevent herself from running into it. Derpy ran towards her friend but didn’t make it to her before Trixie caught up with her.
“You’re coming with us!” Trixie pulled Derpy back with her hoof.
“But what about Carrot?” Derpy looked at her friend laying stunned on the ground rubbing her head.
“She’s a crazy! And we don’t have time to linger!” Trixie pointed ahead of her. “That way if you want to join us living ponies!” She started up her gallop again.
“I shall have you yet, Trixie! I shall have you yet!”
Trixie looked back to see Lyra shaking a hoof at her while sitting beside Bon Bon on a higher branch of a tree as a wolf barked at her from its base. On the other side of the clearing Derpy hit Carrot Top on the head again and dragged her behind a bush right before the manticore and a wolf tussled past them. The ditzy pegasus took to the air and flew towards Trixie who turned her concentration back to running as fast as her hooves could carry her.
The door slammed so hard that the entire hut shook. Trixie took deep breathes and dropped Fluttershy onto the floor.
“Are you all right?” Derpy looked closely at Trixie, who held up a hoof and continued to gasp for breath. She shrugged and start looking around the place.
“Hulpm.”
“Coming, Fluttershy.” Derpy pulled the still paralyzed pony up from her face-down position on the ground.
“Did you see that?” Trixie sucked in another gulp of air. “Did everyone in this room just see the amazing feat I just performed?”
Three pairs of eyes fell on her. She did a double take at the last one. “Looks like someone is with us again.” She approached Zecora slowly.
“I found it quite unkind for you to go and leave my hooves in a bind.” The zebra narrowed her red eyes at the magician.
“Well I found it unkind for you to assault ponies with paralysis powder! And if you keep up that rhyming then you’re about to get a gag! Speaking of which…” Trixie emptied the pouch at her side. She sighed. “We only got the burning chrysanthemums, nothing else. We’re going to need to make another trip.”
“Acthually I think I’m gettin’ buther.” Fluttershy rolled onto her side.
“Yeah…” Trixie trailed off and stared at the pegasus with an ever furrowing brow. She pointed an accusatory hoof at her. “Yeah you are! So we could have waited it out this entire time? The zebra's book said nothing about that!”
“I felt certain facts not needed, something you would have known had the footnotes been heeded.” Zecora made a “tsk” noise.
Trixie slowly turned around. “What?”
“Though if cure you needed fast, then it is the pots you should have looked past.” Zecora smirked and nodded at a shelf holding several samplings of zebra pottery.
“What?” Trixie ran to them and moved them out of the way revealing a hole in the wall filled with several bags of various substances. “What?” She rifled through them, spotting one with the right label. She slowly walked towards Fluttershy, took a hoof-full, and blew it at the prostrate pony. She almost instantly shot up and squeaked. “What?!”
Fluttershy glanced into Trixie’s eyes and moved to the same corner Derpy had already retreated to.
“It was here the whole time? All of my amazing feats were for nothing?” A low growl emanated from her throat and she frantically searched the room, her eyes landing on its only table. The growl grew to a yell and she flipped the table straight up into the air, upending it and sending its plate and pots crashing to the floor. “That’s it! Trixie has had enough! She’s had enough of you!” She pointed at Fluttershy. “She’s had enough of your kind!” She whipped around to face Zecora. “And she’s had more than enough of Ponyville!”
“The Empire of Twilight, actually.”
Trixie jumped into the air and recoiled with a shriek. Twilight had somehow appeared right before her eyes.