//------------------------------// // Separation // Story: The Night of the Trotters // by Strongbolt Stonewing //------------------------------// The group stood in the fields just outside the cave, Dice was busy organizing the supplies whilst everyone sat awkwardly watching him. "So, the Everfree Forest is where we're heading?" Whooves asked sheepishly. "Yep." Dice said sternly whilst adjusting his saddlebag. There was a short pause, in which Whooves and Roseluck glanced at each other, and then Whooves said: "Did something happen?" "What are you talking about?" Dice's eyes narrowed. "You're acting differently. I'm struggling to pinpoint which emotions you're showing." "Oh, no, I'm great, really, just super happy to be taking orders again." Dice laughed sarcastically. "Again?" Roseluck raised an eyebrow. Dice glared at them, his eyes filled with something between anger and insanity. "Why don't you ask Little Miss Lies?" He gestured to Laura, who sat on a small hill staring up at the moon, and aggressively readjusted his bag. "Enough." Whooves decided. "What happened?" His tone was serious and somewhat frustrated. Dice stared daggers at him. "Let's just say Laurocerasus isn't who we thought she was." "Then who is she?" Roseluck asked. "What is this? Pester Dice day? Can't you see I'm busy? If you want answers go talk to her!" He snapped and angrily trotted away, still attempting to fix his saddlebag. Whooves and Roseluck exchanged looks, Roseluck was the first to speak. "Looks like whatever went down between these two was... pretty serious, huh?" "No kidding, he's completely lost it." Whooves agreed. "Well, I don't know about you, but I want answers." Roseluck walked towards Laura, she climbed the hill and sat beside her. "Good evening, Roseluck." Laura said peacefully without even looking at her. "Um, yeah, good evening to you too." She said awkwardly. "Listen, there's something I need to ask you." "Ask ahead." Laura's eyes stared directly at the moon. "It's about Dice. Who is he?" Laura turned to Roseluck. "Still working that out." "Okay, then who was he?" Roseluck countered. Laura turned back to the moon. "A legend, known for his expertise." "Expertise in what?" "You have seen his mark? The dice? They do not just reflect his name. Notice how both have the six side facing up." "Which means?" "Luck, he was known for his luck." "Known by who?" Roseluck asked, suddenly she became more intrigued. "Dice has a... rare characteristic. It is a mixture of bravery, fearlessness and insanity; let us just say that a certain group picked up on this." "And I'm guessing you're part of this group too?" Laura nodded grimly. "Do you wanna tell me who this group is?" Laura sighed. "If only it were that easy." "Laura, this is it. The end of the world! I'm pretty sure you can tell me." "In time, young one, in time." Laura stood up, brushed the dirt off of her dress and regrouped with Dice, Whooves and Derpy. "If we live that long..." Roseluck muttered. "The trek'll be about ten minutes." Dice marched backwards and forwards. "Once we're in the forest, it'll be a totally different story. I'm no expert on this place, but I'm pretty sure it ain't safe." "We've lived in Ponyville longest. If anyone knows the forest it'll be one of us." Whooves suggested. Dice studied him. "Agreed." He said at last. "Let's move out!" As the group came closer to the forest, the sickly green grass began to turn into an even darker tone. The number of trees and exotic plants also increased. Strange dark green vines hung from the branches of the trees, and there were more odd abundances of multicolored flowers that Dice had just said were "not too fun" and winced. He never walked through them, and oddly enough, neither did Laura. The thick wall of dead trees approached, ominous noises could be heard from within. Roseluck was scared of a lot of things, she could write a list if she tried, but forests and supernatural occurrences would not be part of that list; for the first time in a while, Roseluck felt brave, unless they ran into zombies. Whooves had felt different since the encounter with Luna, not necessarily scared, but, more wary. He felt like he had died inside and regenerated as another pony. The way he felt about Roseluck had changed also. Is this what love is like? He wondered. Laura, for the first time in a while, felt utterly afraid. Not of the zombies, or the forest, or any dangers that they may face. But of Dice; she had heard the rumors about him: supposedly a proud pony who hated being lied to. If the legends really were true, she could only wonder why she was not dead. Dice could feel the fear the others were emitting. He knew that Roseluck and Whooves's relationship had changed somehow, whether it was more respect for each other or love, he did not know. He began to feel like there was not a single pony he could trust. Muffins, Derpy thought, I wonder if there will be muffins. I hope there will be muffins. I like muffins. "Right." Dice said suddenly. "Let's get this straight. We go in, get the bird and get out. Okay?" Everyone stared at him, their trains of thought were cut off. "I said... Okay?" Whooves nodded. Roseluck muttered: "Hmm?" and Laura's eyes widened. "I hope that's a yes. Now stick together." Dice turned to the wall of trees behind him and jumped through a small gap. The others followed him cautiously. As soon as they entered the forest, the world turned pitch black. Laura illuminated her horn and Whooves activated his screwdriver. The ponies were illuminated in an ominous blue glow. "So, where do we start?" Roseluck asked. "Well, I was hoping you could tell us." Dice admitted. "You said it yourself: you've been in Ponyville longest." "The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place, bad things happen here, unnatural things." Whooves explained. "Honestly," said Dice, "with everything that's happening, I don't think there's much more unnatural stuff we haven't seen yet." "Believe me, the forest is not a good place." Roseluck whispered. "We don't even consider it as part of Equestria. Nobody goes in, nobody comes out... well, except..." "Wait." Dice interrupted. "This is where the Elements were found, right? Can't be that dangerous if they managed to recover them." "True," Whooves admitted, "but a lot has changed since then. Rumour has it that the forest is changing... adapting." "Not my problem. We need to go deeper in, nothing could live in a place this dark." Dice replied. The others agreed silently and the group pushed forward in the darkness, occasionally hitting low branches or boulders that could not be seen. Whooves stood at the back, illuminating the area behind them. Roseluck stood in front of him, her eyes darted around restlessly. Derpy stood in the middle of the line, her expression was blank. Laura was behind Dice, she lit the path in front of them as well as she could. Suddenly, a faint, hissing laugh reverberated into Roseluck's ear. She turned around, and Whooves walked past her. "Hey, did you hear that?" She asked. There was no answer. Roseluck turned to where Whooves had just stood, he was gone; Roseluck was alone. "No... no!" She screamed. "Not again! Not alone..." She ran forward crying: "Hello? Anyone? Some pony please help me!" "She was right behind us!" Whooves exclaimed. "She couldn't just disappear! We have to go back for her." "I told everyone to stick together! We've got no chance of finding her in there." Dice retorted. "We must do something!" Laura insisted. "Hey if you wanna go wandering through a pitch black forest full of monsters to find a pony we don't even need, you be my guest." Dice replied aggressively. "What do you mean 'don't even need'?" Whooves yelled. "Where's your damn sympathy?" "All I care about is getting this job done!" Dice retaliated. "I don't care if we've lost your pathetic girlfriend!" "How dare you!" Whooves said, enraged. He jumped at Dice who intercepted him in mid air, grabbed his front hooves and swiftly smacked him in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards. When Whooves recovered, Laura, Dice and Derpy were gone. "Where are you?" He called. Moments later he realized he too was totally alone. He pulled out his screwdriver and shone it on his surroundings. Something with fur brushed past him, he turned and yelped. A bright light shone and Whooves collapsed onto the ground. "Where is he?" Dice breathed angrily. "He could not just vanish, this defies logic." Laura said. "Listen, we need to get this done. Whether it's five of us or three." Dice looked around. "Wait, where's Derpy?" Laura and Dice were alone in the darkness. "Great, of all the ponies, I get stuck with you. Come on, we gotta move." Laura hesitated, then followed Dice closely. "You know, nobody ever said you were this aggressive." "Well, my apologies, remind me to update my profile back at HQ when this is all over! Just so all the gossiping brats at the agency can see exactly who I am!" He replied, both sarcastic and livid. "I... I am truly sorry." Laura said as apologetically as she could. "Look, I don't care what you know about..." "No," Laura said firmly, "I mean, I am sorry about what happened before all of this. You were abandoned, and they had no right to do that." "Well, they did. They sent me in and forgot about me." Dice said calmly. "You have any idea what that's like? When you figure out there is no evacuation coming? When you realize you've outdone your usefulness, and you get thrown away?" There was a long pause. "How did you do it?" Laura asked at last. "How did you escape?" The sound of hoofsteps approached. "I'll explain later, we've got company." Roseluck knew she was being followed, she could hear faint panting behind her. Regardless, she continued running forward, too scared to do anything else. "Just leave me alone!" She screamed. Suddenly, the ground underneath her disappeared and she tumbled down a rocky hillside, smashing into various jagged stones as she went. When she finally reached the bottom, she slid forward in the wet and muddy earth and hit her head on a tree stump. She groaned and turned over onto her back, she saw the moon piercing through a gap in the canopy, then a silhouette of a pony obscured her vision. "P-Please..." She managed to mutter before fainting. Everything went black, the darkness crept into her sight and shrouded everything, the moon faded. "Rainbow!" A low pitched, slow voice yelled, as the world halted and disappeared.