It wasn’t long before the darkness started to win out over the ponies’ vision once again; having fallen from the higher road, everyone found themselves surrounded once more by the thick trees that had greeted them at the entrance. To add to the uneasiness, the silence had also returned.
The group had been walking for probably another half-hour after the avalanche. Vinyl tried to think of a good subject to talk about. When nothing came out of her head, she tried shifting her head to get some possible inspiration. However, she couldn’t see much, due to the only light in the area being herself and Lyra; all she ever saw were the trees, the shrubs, and the other ponies beside and behind her. The first pony she had seen was Derpy.
That was when something sparked in her. “Hey, uh, Derpy,” she said, trying to sound as casual as possible. Derpy turned toward Vinyl, humming in response. “I just realized something.”
“What’s that?” Derpy asked.
“Out of all the ponies here,” Vinyl answered, “you’re the only one I haven’t really met yet.”
“Um, I’m sure you’ve seen me delivering mail at some point.”
“If I did, I don’t remember it,” Vinyl pointed out. “Either way, I never knew you personally until tonight.”
“Vinyl,” Octavia warned. “Is this really the best time?”
“Well, in my defense,” Vinyl replied, “the whole Nightmare Moon thing was kinda taking priority. Besides, if those two,” she motioned back to the Doctor and Bon Bon, “can talk about candy, I think I’m allowed to talk about something that’s a little more important.”
“What are we talking about, exactly?” Derpy asked, almost nervous.
“And what do you mean candy’s not important?” Bon Bon interjected.
“I’m talking about a name,” Vinyl said ignoring Bon Bon's outburst. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Derpy. I’m sure your name is perfectly fine; after all, you’ve lived with it for this long. But if you’re gonna hang with me, I need something that makes you sound cooler, you know?”
“No,” Derpy replied.
“Perfect.” Vinyl started scratching her chin with her hoof. “Okay, this one’s gonna be a little trickier than most.” She hummed in thought for nearly half a minute. “How about ‘Ditzy?’” she finally asked.
“Ditzy?” Derpy repeated in confusion.
“Well, my first choice would have been ‘Derp,’” Vinyl explained, “you know, like short for ‘Derpy.’ But that just sounds kinda mean, and I do have my limits, regardless of what Tavi would tell you.” Octavia harrumphed at this. “Now, ‘Ditzy’ on the other hoof, that has a nice ring to it, it still has the same idea behind it, and as a bonus, it makes you sound cute. Normally, I don’t deal with cute, but I can afford to make exceptions now and then.”
“I don’t suppose I have much choice in the matter, do I?” Derpy asked. All the other ponies started talking at once to the effect of “No” or “Not really.” Lyra even sounded like she was saying, “None whatsoever.”
“Well, I can still call you ‘Derp’ if that’s what you want,” Vinyl said.
Derpy sighed in resignation. “Fine, ‘Ditzy’ it is.”
“Awesome!” Vinyl said. “Welcome to the DJ-PON3 fanclub, Ditzy!”
“Fanclub?” Derpy repeated.
“Gotta build up a rep, right?”
“I’m confused.”
“Don’t bother thinking too hard,” Octavia said. “She has that effect on ponies.”
“Don’t I know it,” the Doctor said. “Just be glad she gave you a choice, Derpy. I had one almost immediately. Twice,” he added, remembering how Vinyl had called him “Doc” not long ago.
“Well, to be fair,” Vinyl pointed out, “your names were easy to work with. Hers, on the other hoof,” she pointed at Derpy, “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being insensitive.”
“You mean more than you already were,” Octavia muttered. Vinyl was about to come back with a retort when something crashed in front of them. The ponies quickly looked ahead and saw a large creature that looked like a lion, with the exception of the dragon wings on its back and its scorpion-like tail.
“A manticore!” the Doctor shouted.
The manticore reared up and roared like it was ready to kill. It crouched down and leapt at the ponies. Everyone scattered before the manticore landed. Bon Bon was just inches away from its face, so, taking advantage of her facing away from it, lifted her hind legs and bucked, hitting it in the nose. Bon Bon smiled to herself before the manticore roared again, angrier than before.
Suddenly, there was a loud whirring noise. The manticore turned to the Doctor, who held his sonic screwdriver out. It started moving toward him.
“Okay,” the Doctor thought aloud, “that got him away from Bon Bon. This would be a great time to come up with step two.” He started backing up.
The manticore stopped advancing, however, when it felt something on its back. Lyra had hopped and started powering up her magic. The manticore jumped around, breaking Lyra’s concentration on whatever spell she was going to perform and forcing her to hold on tight as the beast kept moving. Finally, however, her grip failed her and she flew off the manticore.
She landed next to Octavia, who, having never gotten into a hooffight in her life, stayed far enough away from the battle. When Lyra landed, Octavia noticed something fly away from her. The object fell in front of Octavia, giving her a clear look at Lyra’s lyre. I hadn’t even noticed, she thought to herself. She’s carried it with her everywhere she goes for so long, I had completely forgotten she even had it.
“Ditzy!” Vinyl shouted. “Keep him distracted! I have an idea!” Derpy started flying around the manticore, just out of reach of its paws. Vinyl started walking up behind it; her horn was glowing intensely. Derpy tried to keep the manticore’s vision focused on her. However, when the area started to become even brighter with the light coming from Vinyl’s horn, the manticore glanced behind it.
“Uh-oh,” Vinyl managed to get out before the manticore swung its tail knocking her backwards. She tried firing the spell in her flight, but she was only able to hit the canopy, far off-target. By the time she stopped, she was near exhaustion. Derpy flew away from the manticore and landed near Vinyl. The Doctor, Bon Bon, and Lyra also came closer to inspect the damage done.
The three standing ponies turned toward the manticore again. It was on all fours, ready for another attack. “Let’s rush him,” the Doctor said. “He should be easier to subdue if it’s all three of us.” The other two nodded. They took an attack stance and charged.
“Everypony stop!” a voice shouted. The three ponies halted in surprise; even the manticore seemed confused. Octavia stepped out between the two sides. She stood up on her hind legs and revealed the lyre.
“Where’d you get that?” Lyra asked.
“It fell off after you were playing rodeo,” Octavia replied. “But I have something more important to think about.” She turned toward the manticore and began softly strumming the lyre. As she played, she sang:
Hush now, quiet now,
It’s time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now,
It’s time to go to bed.
The manticore started to relax and let out a big yawn
Drifting off to sleep,
The exciting day behind you,
Drifting off to sleep,
Let the joy of dreamland find you.
The manticore’s eyelids started to become droopy. The other five ponies looked on in amazement as Octavia’s lullaby seemed to actually be working against the creature.
Hush now, quiet now,
It’s time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now,
It’s time to go to bed.
Octavia finished singing and played one last glissando on the lyre. By then, the manticore had fallen asleep completely. Octavia stood herself back on all fours. The other ponies finally drew closer, albeit cautiously.
“That was amazing, Octavia,” Lyra said in awe. “I didn’t know you could even play the lyre. Hay, I didn’t even know earth ponies could play a lyre.”
“Lyra, please,” Octavia responded. “I can play a cello, an instrument that requires much more delicate and precise hoofwork. Playing a lyre, by comparison, is foal’s play.” From the way she said it, the Doctor got the feeling she wasn’t trying to brag.
“That was indeed impressive, Miss Octavia,” he said. “And very effective, from the look of things.”
“Not everything can be solved by violence alone, Doctor,” Octavia said. “If there is a calmer approach, I’ll be glad to take it.”
“But why did it attack us?” Derpy asked. Vinyl had recovered by now and they both met up with the rest.
“It’s a manticore,” Vinyl responded. “Big, mean, nasty, and that tail isn’t just for show. I should know that firsthoof.”
“Not everything fitting those descriptions picks a fight because it can,” the Doctor said. “We were nowhere near it, so it had no reason to even look at us.”
“Then what happened?” Bon Bon asked.
“Best case scenario,” the Doctor answered, “it was just confused by the lack of sunlight and was merely lashing out.”
“And the worst case…?” Lyra added.
“Nightmare Moon must have sent it into a rage,” the Doctor finished. “I realize I probably can’t stop you from following me at this point, so we’d best keep moving.”