Chapter 4:
The Beast Within Part 1
It was a beautiful day down in ponyville. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and all the little fillies were running around having fun and playing with their friends. Two young fillies, one a red alicorn with orange eyes, a bright orange and red mane with a bushy tail, the other a grey unicorn with red eyes, a light green and dark red mane with a curved tail with a sharp end, were running along side each other towards the dark forest known as the Everfree Forest.
"Hurry up AD we're going to be late" said the alicorn with an excited grin on his face.
"I dunno Crimson the Everfree forest isn't a very safe place to go during this time of the year. A lot of the creatures Miss Cheerilee taught us about are going to be lurking about" replied the grey unicorn.
"Ah come on ADHD stop tryin to wimp out on us. Quindem is already at the randevu point. He won't be very happy if it takes us forever to get there. Besides you're the one always tellin us that danger is your middle name, why don't ya prove it" Crimson told the unicorn named ADHD.
"Oh alright but if we get killed, I'm going to kill you" replied AD
"Fair enough, but I'm telling you we are not going to die" stated Crimson with a smirk on his face.
The two fillies sped through Ponyville's marketplace doing their best to avoid any obstacles and ponies in their way. At one point they missed bumping into a small yellow pegasus with a long pink mane by about an inch. The young filly shook her head and looked towards the fillies that had almost ran into her.
"Where were they going in such a hurry" she thought. "Were they running late for something? Were they running from somepony?
A red unicorn was pacing back and fourth on top of a hill on the outlines of the Everfree forest. Crimson and AD should have arrived my now. What was taking them so long? The faint noise of hooves trotting along the ground made his ears perk up. At the bottom of the hill were his two friends Crimson Sky and ADHD running towards him. No doubt they rushed to get here their hooves were covered in mud and they looked as if they were bathing in sweat.
"What took you guys so long? It felt like I was waiting here for hours" complained the red unicorn.
"Sorry Quindem, the marketplace was really crowded today so we had a bit of a hard time getting through" replied Crimson.
"Well you guys are here now so lets get going" said the unicorn known as Quindem.
"Crimson wake up" Crimson heard a mare's voice say in his head.
"W-what?" whispered Crimson as he reached up and rubbed his forehead with his hoof.
"Crimson, you okay dude?" asked ADHD
"What? Oh yea I'm fine I just... I'm fine thanks" said Crimson. "Come on lets uh, lets go"
The three fillies advanced towards the Everfree forest. As they walked deeper and deeper towards the heart of the forest it became darker and colder. It was so quiet that they could hear they're own hearts beating inside their chests. Thudum thudum thudum. Every now and then they would hear the howling of a wolf, the hiss of a cat, and rarely the hoot of an owl. The wind rustled through the trees making the branches creak and moan. Soon it became so cold that when they breathed they could see the air in front of them. In the distance they could hear thunder rip through the air. The silence of the forest was broken when a high pitched scream cut through the sky.
"What the hay was that?" asked ADHD.
"Ahem Correction. Who the hay was that?" replied Crimson.
"What are you a dictionary?" asked ADHD.
"Maybe why does it matter?" answered Crimson with a smirk.
"Guys we don't have time for this. We need to find and help whoever just screamed. For all we know they could be dying" said Quindem.
"Okay well first of all the scream sounded as if it came from just a little deeper in the forest than we are" said Crimson.
Crimson turned and ran towards the sound of the scream, the others right behind him. Another crack of thunder ripped through the sky. A storm was brewing, and they didn't want to be there when it struck. It would be best if they would hurry up and find the screamer and what they were screaming at. The three of them skid to a stop at the edge of a cliff, about five feet below them was the filly that Crimson and ADHD almost bumped into on their way to to the randevu to meet up with Quindem. She was backed up against the bottom of the cliff and surrounded by a pack of wolves. However they were not ordinary wolves. They were timberwolves, Their bodies were mostly made of wooden sticks and branches. They had glowing bright green eyes, leaves for eyebrows, and extremely sharp teeth. While they may seem to be weak because of the material that forms them their attacks can deal an incredible amount of damage to the victim and can withstand most magical attacks.
"Okay we don't have much time before the wolves reach her. Running in with nothing but our hooves would be suicide. Do you guys see anything that we can use as a weapon against them?" asked Quindem.
"Well we do all have something called a horn, it is on our head, it casts magic" Crimson sarcastically replied.
"They aren't effected my most magical attacks dummy" replied an irritated Quindem.
"Oh, uh nevermind then" said Crimson
"Do you even pay attention to what miss Cheerilee says Crimson?" asked ADHD
"Sometimes" replied Crimson.
"Ugh we don't have time for this. Here gather up some rocks we'll throw them at the wolves. I don't believe they will do much damage but we can at least wound them" stated Quindem.
"Uh Quindem. Where did uh, Where did Crimson go?" asked ADHD
"What?" asked Quindem looking around. "Well shoot where did he go?"
"HEY!!! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST ATTACK A DEFENSELESS FILLY AND GET AWAY WITH IT?" yelled a voice from below.
The timberwolves stopped advancing and looked around confused. All of a sudden a bright green light flew from one of the bushes beside them. It struck and knocked over one of the wolves but didn't damage the creature. Crimson jumped onto another wolf's back and started whacking it in the head with a rock.
"Hey you guys gonna help up there or not?" asked Crimson.
"Using magic not to harm but to distract. Smart move Crim." said ADHD
"Yeah yeah. Can you guys just hurry up and get down and help me?" asked Crimson who was becoming annoyed.
Quindem and ADHD both ran over to the cornered filly. Just then one of the wolves howled and another pack came rushing towards them. Now they were all cornered and Crimson was stuck on the back of one of them. The wolf that Crimson was attacking slowly walked towards a large tree, occasionally snapping it's head trying to dodge the rock. It bagan to shake it's back causing Crimson to lose his balance and fall onto the wolf's side. When the timberwolf saw it's chance it shoved itself and Crimson into the tree causing him to fall off it's side. Dazed from the impact Crimson could barely move, the timberwolf slowly began to advance on him. Drool dripping from it's mouth waiting to learn the taste of it's next meal.
"Is this the end? Is this how we die? Devoured by a damn wolf in the Everfree forest. Nobody will even know what happened to us. But why would it matter? I lost everything the day my parents died. I could join them, I could be happier with them around". thought Crimson. "N-No not like this not here not now. If I won't fight for myself I will, I must fight for my friends, for the filly that these wolves were attacking before we arrived. I won't let them die, not now, not this way".
Crimson's eyes began to glow orange as bright as fire. His body was slowly levitated into the air by an unknown force. His body began giving off heat burning nearby patches of grass. Blood began running out from his ears and dripped from his nuzzle.
"I AM NOT GOING TO ALLOW YOU TO ALLOW YOU TO HURT ANYPONY ELSE HERE!" yelled Crimson
Flames began to form around his hooves sending extreme bursts of pain through his body but he just ignored it and carried on.
"YOU KNOW, THEY SAY YOU ARE IMMUNE TO MAGIC. BUT HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT FIRE?"
Crimson's horn began to glow, he slowly lifted his front hooves up towards a group of timberwolves. The wolves backed up a foot and whimpered as their body slowly ignited. When they discovered they were burning they retreated into the woods trying to find a way to put it out. The other wolves that were attacking them suffered the same fate. Some denigrated others retreated. When they were all gone Crimson was slowly lowered back to the ground. He landed in a puddle of blood, the blood that came out of his ears and nuzzle while he attacked the wolves. His front hooves were burnt from when they ignited so he could burn the wolves. His vision became blurry from blood loss. Soon after he lost consciousness everything faded to black.
"Crimson Sky you must wake up. Leave this memory, this vision" he heard the voice in his head from earlier say. "Wake up"
___ ___ ___
My eyes slowly opened. I was lying in a bed, it was still dark outside. There was an open window on the far right wall allowing the cool night air to flood the room. Crickets could be heard singing their nightly tune. The moon lit the room just enough for me to barely make out the room I was currently resting in. The flashback confused me. Most of the time my flashbacks consist of me being some sort of strange creature, but this one I was a filly.
"ADHD was there, but if I was always a pony and not some strange creature then why did he say I was 'Made' an alicorn?" I thought. "Was this even a flashback? Or was it just some dream?"
"It was a flashback Crimson. If you are looking for the answer to that question" said a voice from the shadows.
"WHA- Who's there?" I asked startled by the voice.
"I apologize for my speaking without you knowing I was here" said the voice.
A tall dark blue alicorn mare stepped out of the shadows. She had dark blue eyes, her mane and tail was wavy and looked as if they had stars inside of them. The moonlight shining from the window reflected off of her eyes making them brighter than the rest of her body.
"Princess Luna" I asked staring at her in awe.
"You are indeed correct Crimson" she replied.
"B-but how did you know about the flashbacks, or dreams that I have been having?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Your friend Twilight Sparkle sent me a letter the first night you arrived telling me that you were acting odd and saying unknown things in your sleep. It is my duty to watch over dreams of ponies all over Equestria, and ever since that letter I have watched yours more than any others. I can help you Crimson. I can help you regain your memories and find the one responsible for all this trouble. However first you must decide" said Princess Luna
"Decide what?" I asked.
"For me to be able to help you, you must first decide. Are tou truely Crimson Sky or are you only a puppet to be controlled by something or somepony else? I need you to decide who you really are"