//------------------------------//
// Bonds 
// Story: The Music of Ponyville 
// by GrassAndClouds2 
//------------------------------//

The Everfree was dark, spooky, and mean.

Octavia grunted as she stumbled over another half-buried rock. Fluttershy had shown them a 'path,' a grassy trail two ponies wide without too many trees or boulders in it, but the going was still slow. The ground was strewn with sharp rocks and twisting roots that seemed to want to reach out and snag her hooves, and the sides of the paths were full of thick bushes and trees that painfully snagged her coat, mane, and tail. Visibility was low, strange noises came from everywhere, and the thick tree cover completely blotted out the sky above. It felt, the cellist thought, like they were descending into a deep, dark cave, from which there might well be no escape.

Biting back a cry as another branch caught in her coat and gave it a painful tug, Octavia carefully extricated it, then shifted her right saddlebag to try to better protect that side of her barrel. She had volunteered to carry some of the food and medical supplies that Fluttershy had offered to bring along. At the time, she had worried about the added weight sapping her strength, but she now wished she'd had even more bags, or maybe some clothes, to stop the foliage from poking and tugging at her. It had been over an hour since they'd entered the forest, and she had lost count of the number of scratches she'd picked up.

"You doing okay, Octavia?" called back Vinyl. She had volunteered to take point, along with Fluttershy, who was keeping them on the right trail. "Is the pace alright?"

"I am fine." The walk was strenuous, but Octavia refused to slow the group down on her account. "I am able to maintain this pace."

"Great!" Vinyl turned to Fluttershy. "This forest sucks, though. I am totally complaining to the Ponyville Tourism Board when we're done."

"We don't have a tourism board," said Medley. She was behind Octavia and Lyra, flying next to Bluenote.

"Good point. Let's tell the Mayor to make one for me to complain to."

Bluenote laughed. "The Everfree's not that bad," she said. "It just needs a little work. Expand the path a little, put some vendor stands and water fountains in, maybe make a little park... hey Fluttershy, isn't your dad in the House of Commons? He should propose it!"

Octavia blinked. "Your father is in the government?" she asked Fluttershy. "Perhaps I know of him. What is his name?"

"Thundering Posey." Fluttershy's voice rose a little in pride. "He's represented Cloudsdale Province for all my life. He's the best pony in the Commons!"

"Did he inspire you to be an activist?" asked Octavia.

"Oh, yes. He told me that ponies who have a lot are obligated to give to ponies who don't have much," said Fluttershy. "It's our purpose. When he was a foal, one of his classmates couldn't fly because his wings were very brittle. So while all of the other foals got to fly around, all that pony could do was watch them from a cloud. My dad wanted to help him, so he talked the rest of the class into making a park! They saved their allowances, bought this cute little cloud at the edge of Clousdale, and sculpted a little cloud playground!" Fluttershy let out a soft sigh. "One day, I'm going to have helped as many ponies as my dad."

Octavia said nothing for a long moment. She knew it was wrong of her, but she could not help but feel slightly worse at the thought that she, a noble heir, had failed in her duties to help others, while a commoner had already surpassed her. "That... that is a lovely goal, Fluttershy."

"Thank you--"

There was a 'crack' from further ahead in the forest.

"Eeek!" Fluttershy sprang back, shaking in fear. "Something's ahead of us!"

Vinyl's horn lit up like a streetlamp, shining a beacon of light ahead into the woods. There was some squeaking, a bush rustled, a few more branches cracked, and then a ferret dashed out of the bushes. 

"Oh," said Fluttershy. "It's just a ferret..."

Octavia paused, then increased her pace until she was even with Vinyl and Fluttershy. "Would you like me to take point?" So far I have only been a pack horse, she thought. I have barely contributed at all. If I can do this, I can at least ease Fluttershy's worries a little bit...

"Woah," said Vinyl, holding up a hoof. "No offense, Tavi, but Fluttershy's on point because she gets the animals and can ask them not to eat us."

"You are also on point," pointed out Octavia. "And you cannot talk to animals."

"Yeah, but I have, like, epic levels of awesome." Vinyl grinned, somehow managing to look cocky and smug despite their grim circumstances. "As for you... I mean, you've got maybe a few levels of awesome, but not quite epic levels, you know?"

Octavia looked at her blankly. "What?"

"Please don't ask her to quantify awesome," said Medley. "We'll be here for days."

"Nah, just a few hours," said Vinyl. "But -- anyway. I'm good at this. I'm strong, from lugging around all my sound gear, and fast, from running away from mobs of adoring fans, and agile, because I have a jungle gym in my house!"

Octavia wondered about the third point, but pushed it aside. "I want to help," she said.

"You can help the most by carrying the extra food and medical goodies," said Vinyl.

"No, don't you see?" Medley flew up to the front of the pack. "That's not enough for Octavia. She wants to take the most dangerous, prestigious position, so she can feel like she's really contributing something. Even if she's not, and she's just putting us in more danger. Because, of course, this mission to save the world is really all about her."

Octavia turned to Medley. "I want--"

"I don't care what you want," said Medley. She flew ahead of Vinyl and Fluttershy. "What, is carrying luggage too insignificant for a noble like yourself?"

"Hey, hold on!" said Bluenote, hurrying forwards. "We're all working together here. No fighting." She smiled. "If we all get along, we'll be much more likely to succeed."

"I'm trying," said Medley. "But if she says something stupid just so she can feel better about herself, I'm going to call her on it."

"Can we stop fighting?" whispered Fluttershy, eyes darting around. "Please? We'll attract monsters, and--"

As she spoke, she took another step forwards, and the ground shifted under her hooves. Suddenly, the ground collapsed, sending the four non-pegasi and Fluttershy tumbling into a pit. Octavia opened her mouth to cry out but found it slammed shut as she hit the ground. "Oww!"

"Everypony okay?" asked Vinyl. She groaned softly. "Dang. That hurt my flank."

"I'm fine," said Lyra. "A petty trap like this could never stop me for long!"

"Okay over here," added Bluenote.

"I'm okay..." whispered Fluttershy. "But I want to go hide now..."

"Shoulder," instructed Lyra. She struggled to her hooves, brushing at a dark liquid that had filled the bottom of the concealed pit, and buried Fluttershy's head in her left shoulder. "Head on shoulder. Nothing can hurt you here, Flutters."

"Thanks..."

Octavia got up, trying to shake the liquid off, but it was quickly congealing. "Does anypony recognize what this stuff is?"

"No clue," said Vinyl. "Kind of gross, though."

"You girls okay?"

Octavia looked up to see Medley peering down from the top of the pit. They weren't that far down, but the poor lighting made it hard to see her. "I think so," called Octavia.

"Good, because I hear somepony coming." She paused. "A lot of ponies, actually."

Octavia tried to raise a hoof to start climbing out of the pit, but she couldn't. Looking down, she found that it was stuck fast in the now-congealed liquid. "Can anypony move?" she asked, trying to keep the panic from her voice.

There was a flurry of struggle, after which Bluenote said, "Uh oh."

Fluttershy let out a cry, but Lyra wriggled so the yellow pony was pressed deeper against her. "Breathe," she said. "Don't worry. We'll figure this out."

"You girls need help?" called down Medley.

"Yes!" said Octavia, biting back a sarcastic reply. Isn't it obvious? Of course we need help!

"No," said Vinyl.

Medley growled something. "Which is it?"

Vinyl ignored Octavia's glare. She spoke, her voice more serious than Octavia had ever heard the DJ. "If whoever's coming is close enough for you to hear them, you're not going to have time to pry all five of us out of here first. Plus, you might get stuck too. There's no bones or carcasses here, so whatever they catch is probably removed from the pit and taken somewhere. Follow us there. If you get a chance, try to free us, okay?"

"Are you sure?" asked Medley.

"What are you doing?" hissed Octavia. "We could be eaten--"

"Octavia." Vinyl twisted her body to look at Octavia. "You asked us to trust you earlier when you wanted to come with us, right?"

"Yes--"

"Trust me now." She grinned, winking at Octavia. "I know what I'm doing." She looked up at Medley again. "Follow us, then free us. Got it?"

"Alright. Hope you know what you're doing." Medley jumped into the air and took off into the woods.

In a few minutes, several pony-like forms appeared at the top of the pit. Their bodies were black and their coats were slightly wavey, like they were covered in a thim film of liquid. They snarled at the ponies below with obvious pleasure.

Octavia gulped.

***

Octavia gave it her all, but the thick post that she was affixed to was no easier to escape than the pit had been. With a sigh, she stopped struggling and stared weakly in front of her. The sight gave her little hope.

The monsters had transported the captives for about a mile, at which point they had found themselves in a collection of forty or sudden wooden buildlings. There were dozens of the monsters, some going into and out of various buildings, others hissing to each other on the paths between them, and several tending to a large fire in the town center. A few of the monsters, bent and shriveled with age, sat in rocking chairs on porches and watched the struggling ponies with obvious amusement. About a dozen foal-sized ones, sticks and stones stuck to their coats, scampered about. There was no sign whatsoever of any ponies, or any other creature that might help them.

"I wonder if the little ones can't control their sticky powers yet?" asked Bluenote. The monsters had transported them by forcing them onto the backs of the five biggest members of their group and then immobalizing them. Their coats seemed to have the same properties as the liquid in the pits, and none of the ponies had been able to move their lower bodies. "Maybe that's why they're all messy."

Who cares? wondered Octavia. She looked up in the sky, but there was no sign of Medley.

"I think I know what these are," said Lyra. Somehow, she had twisted herself about so that Fluttershy could keep her head nestled securely against her. "I've heard legends about them. Black-coated equines, sticky coats, sharp teeth... these are kelpies."

Octavia didn't much care what they were called. "Does anypony have any suggestions?"

"Working on it," said VInyl.

"HEY!" yelled Lyra at the kelpies. "Hey, you! You think you can stop us? You'll never stop us! Heroes like us eat monsters like you for breakfast every day!"

The kelpies looked at each other.

"You might stick us in a pit. You might tie us to a post. But you will never CRUSH OUR SPIRIT!" roared Lyra.

The kelpies paused for a moment -- and then burst into fits of hissing laughter.

Octavia hung her head. "Lyra. That does not help."

"Don't give up," said Bluenote. "Things have a way of working out."

Her voice was warm and comforting, but it couldn't overcome the dire signs that Octavia had observed. "I fail to see how," she said.

"Medley will be back," said Bluenote. She chuckled softly. "She's pretty reliable. Trust me."

"Perhaps normally, but--"

"I once knew her to fly through three miles of sleet and snow, after even the post office was shut down due to bad weather, to deliver a package of sheet music to a foal who needed it for a competition. She doesn't back down."

Octavia wasn't sure how to respond to that. "I hope you're right," she said. She did feel a little cheered by that information... but only a little. 

The fire flared up. A few kelpies trotted over with some fish on their back and began to toast it. Within moments, the food was cooked, and the monsters dug in. Octavia leaned as far away as she could from the sharp teeth and the ripping sounds. She found herself wishing that she could also cry into Lyra's shoulder. 

"Here they come," murmured Vinyl. "Get ready."

Three kelpies approached the ponies and began to gesture from one to the other. Octavia, seeing them drool a bit, guessed that they were picking which one to eat first. She shut her eyes. Mom, Dad, Melody, Viola... I'm sorry. I tried at the end, I really did.

Steps approached. Slimy, sticky hooves pressed on either side of her, and she felt the sticky liquid attaching her to the post dissolve. She didn't open her eyes. Maybe it will be fast--

"HEY! UGLY!"

Octavia looked up, and that was when she saw Medley fly down and body-slam the nearest kelpie.

***

Octavia, having lived a relatively sheltered life, had rarely seen anypony fight. 

She had certainly never see anypony fight like Medley.

The green pegasus punched one of the other kelpies, sending it stumbling backwards. The third grabbed at Medley, touching her right wing and then yanking itself back. Medley was thrown sideways and hit the base of another building. The kelpies approached, but Medley hopped right to her hooves and decked the nearest one. It fell backwards.

There was a brief span of silence.

Then the kelpies swarmed at Medley.

The mare jumped into the air, flying to the top of a building. The roof was made of long, thick branches. She grabbed two, then swooped back down and began beating the kelpies left and right. They couldn't reach her to immobalize her, and she rained blows down on them with aplomb. Several fell back.

"Fluttershy!" said Vinyl. "We need you right now. You okay?"

"I'm scared..."

"It's okay," said Lyra. Her voice was as warm and comforting, Octavia noted, as when she had offered the cellist hot chocolate earlier. "We're going to be okay."

Fluttershy shifted. "What is it, Vinyl?"

"You're a vet and these are animals. Got any idea where these things might have weak points? Something Medley can target?"

One of the kelpies had climbed to the top of a hut, and as Medley passed, it jumped at her and tackled her to the ground. No sooner had they hit, though, than Medley reared back and threw it into a nearby hut. The kelpies swarmed her, this time too quickly for her to fly away, and the fight resumed.

"Under their front shoulders!" called Fluttershy, suddenly. "Medley, they're weak where their front legs meet their shoulders!"

"How can you tell?" asked Octavia.

"The way they're balancing, posture, size..." Fluttershy sounded almost embarrassed. "You work with enough animals, you learn these things."

A kelpie brushed against Medley to stick to her, but Medley twisted around and began beating on the now-trapped kelpie. Another ran up and grabbed her other leg, stopping her from using it... so she turned and headbutted the second kelpie. It fell backwards, and Medley was free. Another one kicked her in the back as she bucked it in the face,  both revealed for a moment, and the fight continued.

Octavia winced as Medley took hits. She was fighting hard, and several kelpies had fallen back to nurse their wounds. But there were so many, and for every one Medley knocked down, another took its place. "She can't keep this up."

"Sure she can." Lyra chuckled. "Medders might not be the speediest pegasus around, that's Rainbow Dash, or the strongest -- that's probably Raindrops -- but she's got more stamina than any other three ponies. It's nearly impossible to take her out."

Octavia shook her head as best she could. She didn't believe it. I could help, she thought. Her mouth opened slightly as she prepared to yell to Medley to give up on fighting alone, to come over and free her so she could join in. Octavia figured that she could throw a strong punch or kick, so she could help defend the team and...

Before the words formed, she forced her mouth closed. No. I am not a trained fighter. Freed, I would most likely be a liability in this situation. She sighed to herself. I want to help. I want to save the others. But this is not about me. I will not let my selfish desires interfere with Medley's work.

"She doesn't need to beat them all," added Vinyl. "Just enough that... wait for it..."

Medley dove under the biggest of her attackers, a huge kelpie with red stripes dyed on his sides. She launched a kick up, striking him squarely under his front shoulders. The kelpie's legs were dislocated with two loud 'pops' and it fell backwards, yelping and groaning in pain.

Medley rose to her hooves as the kelpies backed away from her. She was bruised, bloodied, and battered, but she just waved a hoof menacingly at the monsters. "Alright," she growled. "Who's next?"

There was utter silence. The kelpies looked at each other, faces nervous and unsure. The kelpie foals had all run under cover or were hiding behind bigger ones.

"Anypony? Anypony at all?" She approached one part of the circle, and the kelpies scurried backwards. A few of them tripped over a fallen kelpie that had been knocked down by Medley's hooves. "How about you?" She pointed at a kelpie, which yelped and ran behind another, bigger monster. "Or you? Maybe you over there?"

More silence. 

"Fine. Glad we understand each other." Medley gestured a hoof at the other five ponies. "Free them. Now."

The kelpies didn't seem to speak Equestrian, but somehow, they understood.

***

A few minutes later, the party was moving away from the kelpie village, deeper into the Everfree. They had been released from the post and cleansed of all traces of the kelpie liquid. With the exception of Medley's injuries, Octavia thought, it was like they had never seen the kelpies at all.

"That was awesome!" crowed Vinyl. "You kicked so much flank you should get some special horseshoes!"

"Yeah!" yelled Lyra. "That's, like, deserving of a ballad in and of itself. The Tale of Medley Versus the Kelpies!"

Medley grinned. "I had some help. Thanks for the tip on the shoulders, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy blushed. She was applying ointment to Medley's wounds as they walked, with Bluenote helping to hold her supplies as she used them. "I'm just glad we weren't eaten."

Octavia approached Medley from her other side. "Um. I... the kelpies were about to eat me when you intervened."

"They were going to eat all of you," said Medley. 

"I mean, they were about to eat me specifically." Octavia paused. "I know you despise me, and you believe that the team is weaker for my presence. You could have waited a few moments for them to... deal with me, then proceeded with rescuing the others. Nonetheless, you saved me. Thank you."

"Of course I did." Medley turned to look at her. "No, I don't like you. But I'm not going to abandon somepony I'm working with, even if I don't like them. It's not who I am. And I definitely won't let another pony get eaten if I can help it." 

"I know you have not accepted my apology, but... please, at least accept my thanks." Octavia bowed her head. 

Medley inclined her head. "Accepted." She cracked a grin. "Next time you get yourself trapped by pony-eating monsters, send me a note. I'll knock some heads."

Lyra grinned. "Yay! Friends?"

"...I wouldn't go that far," began Medley, but then Lyra was squishing them both into a gigantic hug, and despite their desperate circumstances, Octavia could not help but -- for that single moment -- feel happy and safe.