//------------------------------// // Frolicking in the Forest // Story: Ponysona: Arcana Crusaders // by Phoenix Kitten //------------------------------// "Remind me again why we waited until Dead Time started to move our weapons over?" Silver Spoon shouted as she jumped back to avoid an earth pony shaped shadows strike. "Well for one it means no pony else can see our gear, we have to stay under the radar with this!" Sweetie Belle called back as she vaulted over one of the sword wielding shadows and kicked off it's head, summoning Nightmare and frying it to a crisp with a blast of lightning. "There'th one to your left Thcootaloo!" Twist called out from inside her sphere of ladybugs. Scootaloo planted her hoof on the ground and swung her hindlegs out in an arc around her, knocking the shadow into the air. "Tempestas!" The card appeared in the path of her hindlegs and shattered, allowing the large blue bird to appear and loose a series of large green tornados to hit all the shadows, flinging them all into the walls nearby. "Alright Scoots!" Sweetie cheered as her eyes took on a sinister gleam. "Now let's finish this! Silver Spoon. Buff me" "On it!" the grey earth pony acknowledged as she skewered her Persona card, the ice fairy blowing a tailwind behind Sweetie Belle to help guide her attacks. The unicorn filly nodded and smirked, as she brought her hoof down and shattered her own card. "Nightmare! Ma-" "Mahama Trumpeter!" Another voice shouted as four pillars of light erupted around all the shadows. After a few seconds the pillars erupted into white flame, killing all of them. "No way..." Twist and Diamond both uttered. "I didn't even detect them..." The last shadow had slid down the wall in time to dodge the pillar aiming for it and had gotten back to it's feet when a soccer ball shot over Sweetie's shoulder, impacted it in the face, and left a gaping hole through the rest of it's body before it dispersed into the black mist that the others had. "Good shot...Sunny." Sweetie said without turning around. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara took up a combat stance, ready to react should the other filly turn hostile. "Are you here to attack us like Icing and Dewey did yesterday?" Scootaloo asked, her tail twitching in anticipation. The teal pegasus filly trotted through the gauntlet of four fillies to the white unicorn at the edge of town. "Would I have destroyed those....things if I wanted to fight?" Sweetie's ear twitched, a small smile gracing her muzzle. "Well then Sunny, consider this an initiation." She turned and raised her voice. "Crusaders!" In an instant, the other five fillies formed a V out from her, with Twist taking a spot behind Sweetie and between Applebloom and Scootaloo. "Sunny, you have the rear guard, get behind Twist and watch our backs!" She ordered. Sunny nodded and fell into her assigned position silently as the group of seven fillies marched into the Everfree forest. "Look out!" Sweetie yelled as she tackled Silver Spoon out of the way of a shot from a large tank Shadow, the explosion from the flaming bullet sending the two fillies tumbling off a nearby hill and into a ditch. "Sweetie! Silver!" Applebloom, Diamond and Scootaloo cried out together. "Oh come on!" Sweetie yelled up. "Did I do something to offend those Shadow's or something?" her sigh could be heard. "I don't think we're making it back up there... Applebloom!" "Yeah?" The earthpony asked as she ran her pitchfork through the armored Shadow. "You're in command until we reunite!" "Alright. Come on fillies Let's move!" "Wait!" Scootaloo called out, peering over the edge. "Why can't Sweetie just teleport herself and silver back up here?" Silver Spoon finally spoke up,confirming that she was still conscious. "Remember what happened yesterday?" The orange pegasi's ears drooped. "Oh yeah...but wait,isn't that cause she teleported all of us?" Before Sweetie could answer she heard Sunny speak up, the normally cheerful tone of voice she held had returned. "The creature's dead." "Okay, question time over. You five move out... Silver Spoon and I will try to rejoin with you later." Sweetie ordered,waving the others off. "You really think we'll be able to rejoin them without leaving the forest and traveling back through it?" Silver Spoon asked. A puzzled look spread across the unicorns face. "I hope so." she said before standing up and dusting herself off. "Now let's go. we might have to reach the old castle and head back from there." Silver Spoon nodded as she got up and followed after Sweetie, her eyes drifting to the songbird cutie mark on the fillies flanks. 'huh...she's actually really pretty now that I look at her...' she thought. It was a few hours and a few close shaves before the two wayward fillies reunited with the rest of their friends outside of Zecora's hut. "Ah Applebloom, the final trip for you and your friends I presume?" The zebra asked as she opened her door, watching the seven fillies locked in combat with seemingly nothing. "A little busy here Zeco- wait...how come yer here?" Applebloom asked incredulously as her pitchfork was snapped in two by a Shadow's attack. "Durn it...." She griped. "Use it like a quarter staff." Silver Spoon suggested as she hopped over a sweeping strike from what looked like a pink polka-dotted manticore. "just jab like normal and see how that feels!" she finished up as she charged up the manticore's tail and slashed at her Persona card, Khione appearing and charging through the air behind her. The manticore's end was spectacular as both filly and fairy leaped into the air and twirled, kicked off a low hanging tree branch and skewered the shadow through it's face. The grey filly hadn't even hit the ground before she used the force of the exploding Shadow to propel her into a second skewer attack that finished off the Shadow threatening to attack Diamond Tiara from behind. Sunny just watched as Trumpeter bellowed out Mahamas and Maragis from his trumpet like they were the judgement of Celestia, the skeletal pegasi's robe fluttering behind him as his wings worked the valves with a deftness that would have even the best trumpet players in Equestria jealous. She glanced over in time to see Diamond Tiara slam her great sword into the ground and propel herself into the air, the large blade trailing behind her as she flew. With little effort she heaved the blade over her head and angled it towards what looked like a golem made out petrified wood, wielding a small crescent moon and a sword twice as large as the blade that the pink filly was now surfing on. With a resounding thunk, the blade penetrated the Shadow, causing it to drop it's sword. Diamond was quick enough to dive off her trapped sword and grabbed a hold of the Shadow's Zweihoofer. With a grunt she managed to heft the sword, which towered above her, and let it fall into the Shadow's head, the sword in half, but killing the Shadow. With a deftness that once again belied her size, the pink filly snatched her own sword out of the air and skidded to a halt next to Silver Spoon. All of them had finished off their opponents by that stage except Sweetie Belle. The six fillies watched as the unicorn ran up a Shadow's face and twirled horizontally in mid air, imitating a saw blade and cutting the Shadow to ribbons before summoning Nightmare and decimating the last three Shadow's with a mamudo. "Now then... back to mah question." Applebloom spoke up, turning to face the zebra behind them. "Miss Zecora, how are you movin' about durin' dead time?"