//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: I guess it could be worse... // by Mekapix //------------------------------// “Well I'm flattered Doc but I don't think we'd make a good couple. I mean, what would the kids look like?” Josh said as he admired the silver ring on his index finger. Doctor Whooves rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I'll admit Josh, since you started working with me, my daily conversations have become much more entertaining. They'd usually consist of me just muttering equations and theories to myself for hours on end until I slept.” “Don't forget when you get to talk to that mail mare Doc, I've seen the way you look at her when she comes by.” The Doctor blushed a little bit at that, then Josh smirked. “I've seen that way you look at her when she leaves too, there's more to her back than just what's below the waist you know.” The Doctor blushed heavily and frowned at Josh, who wads barely containing his laughter. “Is it too late to go back to equations and theories?” Josh nodded with a large grin. The Doctor then looked over to his desk and grabbed another ring, similar to the one that Josh was already wearing. “Make sure Sam gets this, it should help a bit during your trip.” Josh inspected the ring then looked at the ring on his finger. “So how do these help again?” “Your friend Twilight had me make them. They are magical stabilizers, they attract the magic in your body to them and assist in maintaining it, allowing you to learn to control your magic flow. They are usually used for unicorn foals that struggle learning magic, Twilight had me change two of them so they'd fit on your fingers due to your lack of horns.” “Ah ok then. So mixed with what Twilight was teaching us then...” Josh concentrated and before long, he could feel the magical energy travel through his arm towards the ring and when he opened his eyes, he saw his hand enveloped in a blue, mist-like aura. “Ohhh, pretty.” “The only issue is that the magic will be completely pulled to the ring, meaning that you wont be able to use your magic from anywhere else but where ever you wear the ring.” Josh nodded and put the other ring in his pocket. “Where are you going anyway?” “Twilight said that there's a zebra in the Everfree forest that knows a place that me and go to meditate and learn to better our magic control. The library seemed like an ok place to practice until a misfire caused a book to get ripped in half, I still say it wasn't my fault though. Anyway, we are going up there for a few days and when a few others found out, it turned into a camping trip.” “Who else is going then?” “Well me, Sam, Twilight and the zebra, Zecora I think her name was. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are going, the CMC think they can be professional campers or something like that so they're coming too. Vinyl is coming too, with her friend Octavia, said they might able to get musical inspiration while they're out there.” “And where are you going?” “It's called Mithweald Grove.” “Ah yes, I've heard of it. It's supposed to connect Winsome Falls to the Everfree if I'm not mistaken, I've also heard it's haunted.” Josh just shrugged. “Oh what woods haven't got a ghost story or two?” The Doctor smirked slightly. “Ah yes, but it's said that if you get caught by the ghost, you will one day die.” He said in his best eerie voice. Josh just deadpanned at him. “Well that's true for anything if you wait long enough.” The Doctor smiled and they both chuckled. “Right, I better get on my way, see you in a few days Doc.” “Ok then, take care now.” XXX “So where's the elven writing?” Sam asked as he inspected the ring Josh gave him. Josh sighed and played along. “Look, it's right there, inside the ring.” “I can't see it.” “Look a bit closer.” Sam pulled the ring closer. “Still can't see it.” “Little closer.” Sam brought it closer. “Nope, still not there.” Josh placed his hand over the ring as Sam held it close. “Look, it's right... here!” Josh pushed hard, causing Sam to slap himself in the face with the ring. “Ow, my nose!” “Well that's what you get for being a smart arse.” “You say that but I bet you made some dumb remark when you got yours.” Josh chose to ignore that as he looked over at the rest of the group. “Oh look, I think it's over now.” He said. Sam looked over and nodded in agreement. Twilight had been going through a check list of what she needed to bring, everyone was sitting around, waiting for her to finish her fourth check. “Come on Twilight, we're gonna die of old age before we get there. Haven't you checked enough times by now?” Rainbow called out. “Now that'll be a trick.” Sam muttered, earning a giggle from his fellow human. “Sorry Rainbow but I need to make sure. The princess told me that guards reported some weird sightings out here lately so I want to make sure we're prepared.” “It's the Everfree Forest, of course there were weird sightings out there. The whole forest is weird. Uncontrollable weather, strange creatures, crazy plants. There's not exactly anything normal about it.” “What kind of dumbass built a town next to it then?” Josh asked. “It was founded when Applejack's ancestors were given the land by Princess Celestia, they grew their orchard there and more ponies came along and settled here.” Fluttershy explained. “Yeah! Granny told us about it in class one time!” Applebloom spoke up. “Land next to a creepy and dangerous forest? Well done princess, well done.” Jossh said. “It's ok, the animals don't leave the forest anyway.” Fluttershy continued. “Ok, we're all ready to go now.” Twilight said as she approached, everyone else nodded and began standing up. “Zecora should be here any moment.” “Right you are, my dear Twilight. So who am I escorting till night?” A voice said from behind. The two boys turned to see a bipedal zebra looking pony with a black and white mohawk. She was wearing a brown knee long skirt as well as a grey shirt that was cut from her neck to her naval. “Ah there you are. Boys, this is Zecora. Zecora, these two are Sam and Josh. They're the ones I'm taking to the grove for magic practice.” “It's nice to meet two, though I must ask, what are you two that take up this task?” “We're humans. Do you always speak in rhymes?” Sam asked. “What do you mean by speak in rhyme? I talk like everypony else, all the time.” “You rhyme when you speak, you're doing it right now.” Josh answered. “I know not of what you mean, now we should head out before we make a scene. I will lead you to this ancient place and hope that no creatures try to give chase.” Zecora turned and began walking into the forest, ushering everyone to follow her. “I'm not crazy right? She is rhyming, isn't she?” Josh asked the purple unicorn beside him. “What do you mean? I'm not hearing her rhyme.” Twilight replied. “I can't hear anything either. Sorry.” Fluttershy said quietly. Josh stared at the slack jawed before turning to Sam and grabbing him by the collar. “You said she rhymed too, didn't you? Tell me I'm not crazy!” “Well the crazy bit I can debate but yeah she's rhyming, I swear she is. Magical pony-not pony land, fucking with our brains I'd bet.” “Evil magical pony-not pony land.” Josh mumbled. “Hey! Why do you guys look so glum?” Came the voice of certain DJ. She jumped onto Josh from behind, promptly causing him to fall flat on his face. She grinned down at him while still attached to his back, he just mumbled something in return before she helped him back up. “I'm so sorry about that. Vinyl hasn't ever been one to act softly towards others, friend or foe.” Came a rather posh voice from behind Sam. They turned round to see an ash grey pony looking at them apologetically. She had a black mane and tail as well as deep purple eyes while sporting a shirtless black top as well as a pair of jeans. “It's no problem, I take you must be the Octavia we've heard about?” Sam asked, holding out his hand. “That's right. Octavia Philharmonica, a pleasure to meet you.” She said, returning the handshake. “Samuel or Sam, the one that Vinyl just tackled is Josh.” “Oh I know your names, you two are the ones who helped Vinyl get my cello if I'm not mistaken?” Sam grinned and gave a bow. “The two and only, at your service.” Octavia giggled slightly, ending with a happy smile. “I'm very grateful, that cello meant a lot to me and it was very upsetting knowing that that so-called prince had his grubby hands on it.” “It was no problem, only too happy to help.” “Awww, aren't they so cute.” Josh teased as he watched the two talk. “It's not surprising, Octi's been wanting to thank you two since she got her cello back.” “Well we aim to please.” “Oh? Do you always think with that in mind? Especially when it comes to climbing into other ponies beds?” Josh flushed a hot red before glaring at the DJ. “Quiet you! It only happened once!” “Oh, you told her about the thing with Princess Luna?” Rainbow asked as she came up behind the two, Josh gulped and felt the blood drain from his face. “Wait, what? What happened between you and Princess Luna?” Vinyl asked. “Wasn't he just telling you? He got lost and ended up in Princess Luna's bed. Then Princess Luna ended up getting in, not realising and the two cuddled up together before she chased him out.” “Oh did he? I was actually talking about when we all went out together. His room was being used so he stayed at mine. Octi was away so he got her room but got up in the night, wandered into my room and just got in without a care in the world.” “Is that so?” Rainbow snickered. Josh just stared down at the ground, his face completely red. He was finding his feet much easier to look at right now but then he felt a chill run down his spine. Without even looking, he could feel the eyes and grins of two Cheshire cats boring into the back of him, down to his very soul. “Wow, would you look at that. I'm pretty sure that Twilight just called for me, I'll go see what she wants.” Josh made to move ahead until he felt a hand on each shoulder. Without looking, he could tell that the unicorn and pegasus were leaning to each side of him. “Oh don't worry about it, we'll make sure to catch up later.” Vinyl cooed. “Who knows, maybe I'll get my turn soon...” Rainbow teased. Josh made an odd noise, which sounded like a terrified squeak, before running off ahead, leaving two ponies in fits of laughter. “I wonder what they're laughing about?” Fluttershy asked, after already joining Sam and Octavia during their own conversation. “No clue, but if his face is anything to go by, they're having some fun at his expense.” Sam answered. “Oh dear, that doesn't sound like fun at all.” “Then you haven't tried it. A good way to spend the day if you ask me.” “You have a strange friendship.” Octavia mentioned. “The day your best friend falls flat on their face and you laugh before helping them up, that's when you realise true friendship. Anyway, I'm quite surprised you came along Fluttershy. Scary forest, scary things in said scary forest, thought you'd head for the hills.” “Oh, umm, well. We're not going into the forest so I don't mind plus, there are some animals that I let out into the forest when they got older so I'd like to check on them.” “Fair enough, what about you Octavia?” “I came for some inspiration for a concert I have soon. I've been having a block and some fresh air might do me some good. Why are you going on this trip?” “I'm having to learn how to use magic because Twilight wont stop going on about the fact that we have an ability we don't know how to use. I don't see why she's so worried.” “Umm, you were both kidnapped by changelings that wanted to use you in an attempt to take over Canterlot and overthrow the princesses.” Fluttershy mumbled. “Ok, one little thing happens and suddenly there's cause for concern.” “And you broke into a royal party, stole a cello and publicly insulted Prince Blueblood.” Octavia added. “Good times.” Sam answered with a soft smile. The group made their way towards the falls, deciding it would be a nice spot to camp out as night fell. XXX “So you been in these parts before?” Josh asked the three little fillies at his side. “Yeah!” Scootaloo answered. “We all got to go on a camping trip. We were going to try to earn our camping cutie marks then but, umm, things... happened.” “And by things, Scoots means she got scared by a ghost story.” Applebloom giggled. “I wasn't scared! Just... concerned.” “Don't worry about it Scootaloo, we all get scared sometimes.” Sweetie Belle comforted, only resulting in the pegasus getting more flustered. “Oh come on, everypony's scared of something. I'm sure even Josh is scared of something. Are you scared of anything Josh?” The fillies looked up to him expectantly. “Scared of anything huh?... I don't think I've really been scared of anything besides spiders and...” It was about now that Josh had a flashback to his youth. An image of going to a circus, watching all the performers, the fireworks and even one of those Chinese Dragon acts. He found it incredible, but that was when... it came. A few men, dressed in clothing that was far too big for them jumped and danced into the circus arena. They seemed silly and fun, with their big red noses and giant red lips, not to mention their crazy hair. They were throwing pies around, spraying each other with hoses and performing all sorts of magic tricks. How mislead he was by their shenanigans. Suddenly the lights died down, cloaking the arena in an impenetrable dark cloak. He grabbed onto his mothers arm for comfort, so young that the unexpected darkness scared him. He gazed into the abyss, trying to find the funny people again. He got what he asked for. A red mist floated onto the arena and with a loud bang, they reappeared. Flickering red lights exploded from the darkness, illuminating the funny men however now he could see them again, he realised their true nature. They were monsters. The lights showed their evil grins and maniacal laughter, their teeth looking sharp in the crimson laced hole that was their mouths. He could see what they really wanted now, the lights showing their true intentions. They desired to eat him. The world returned to Josh as he felt fingers prod him in the leg. “Josh? Josh, are yah alright?” Applebloom asked. “I'm sorry, what happened?” “We asked yah if ya'll scared of anything. Yah said spiders then kinda zoned out, mumblin' something 'bout monsters with red noses.” “Oh, errm, don't worry about it. I'm only really scared of spiders.” 'Clowns... One day, I'll send you all to the pits hell in which you belong!' “Hey! We're here at the camp spot, time for a break guys.” Rainbow called out. The group set down their packs and began pulling out camping equipment. The two boys had decided to share a tent, as had the CMC. Rainbow, Fluttershy and Twilight were also sharing, as were Vinyl and Octavia. Zecora had decided to have her own tent, for reasons that were explained but no one could remember. Zecora had set up her tent in mere moments, obviously having done this many times. The three little fillies had brought with them a pop up tent which was now set up and housing the CMC, a small flag with their insignia poked into the ground just outside the tent's entrance. Sam pulled out the pack containing the tent pieces while Josh grabbed some firewood from nearby trees. “Ok then everypony, make sure you set up your tents according to the supplied instruction sheet.” Twilight stated. Sam just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Real men don't need instructions.” He threw the sheet back into his pack and stared at the equipment in front of him. “Now then, what part should I start with?” While Sam worked on the tent, Vinyl and Octavia looked at their instruction sheet. “So first we start with pole V and connect it to pole M using screws 5, 9, 12 and 3. Then we repeat the process with pole W and R and screws 4, 8, 15 and 14. This is followed by hammering pegs B, O, X and D into the holes Q, F, P and L of the aforementioned poles.” Octavia read. She then looked around the sheet to see the equipment on the ground, then back to the sheet, then to the equipment again. “Hey Octi, do you actually know what any of that means?” Vinyl asked. “Honestly Vinyl, I haven't the slightest idea. Which ones are poles M and R?” “I don't know, what does aforementioned mean?” The two continued to try and decipher the cryptic message written on the sheet while Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were having their own problems. “Umm, Twilight? Is this part right?” Fluttershy asked. “Not really Fluttershy, you need to connect the two rods, twist them then press them together before holding them there and screwing them together. Rainbow! What are you doing?” “I'm trying to get this all into the right places. How about you get your flank over here and help instead of standing there staring at that sheet of paper?” Twilight just raised an eyebrow. “Rainbow, you know that I'm trying to help by making sure we stick to the instructions given.” “We don't need instructions Twilight, we need you over here to help connect these pieces together.” “Well how can I connect them together if I don't know what parts go where? I need to make sure I know these instructions off by heart.” “Come on Twilight! You already checked four times to see if we had all the pieces, everyone is nearly finished already.” “Calm down Rainbow, it's not a race.” “Certainly not a close one!” Sam shouted out. The groups turned to see him standing smugly in front of his finished tent, Josh having returned and admiring his friends work. “Well done dude! Let's check out the inside.” Josh said as he crawled into the tent. He froze however when he heard an odd creaking sound, followed by a snapping sound before the world went spinning. Sam now looked up at the tent, which now resembled an animal trap, suspended from the top of all the poles connected together. Josh eventually found the tent doorway and stared down, seeing he was suspended in the air. “What the hell is going on?!” He yelled. “Huh.” Sam muttered. “You only ever see that in cartoons.” “You know what? I'm not even mad, I'm actually impressed... Now can you hurry up and get me down?” XXX Night had fallen by the time everyone had set up their tents. A small camp fire had been set up and everyone had gathered around it, roasting marshmallows. The only one missing was Zecora, who had gone off in search of some nearby herbs. “So then, we'll be working a little on your magic tomorrow on the way to the grove. As long as we don't run into any problems then we should be getting to the grove at a good time and will be able to set up the tents.” Twilight said, placing a tick on a small check list before putting it down. “Sounds good to me, now no more work and onto more fun things.” Josh said before pulling his marshmallow back, blowing on it before munching on it. “The Doc told me that there were ghost stories about this area, care to share?” “Ah yes, there are a few stories, such as the tale of The Olden Pony. An old wrinkly mare who goes around looking for her rusty horseshoe.” Twilight chuckled. “Go on then.” Sam ushered. “Let's hear it.” “Oh! Oh! Can I do it?” Rainbow cheered, holding her hand up like an eager school girl. Twilight giggled and nodded to her. Rainbow cleared her throat. “On a dark night, in the middle of a forest just like this one. An old mare had lost her little filly in the woods. She searched high and low in the darkness for her child but couldn't find her anywhere. The mare eventually came across a small horseshoe stained in blood, and just ahead was the body of her child.” “She grabbed hold of her horseshoe and cradled it to her chest. Then, from the darkness in the trees, some dark, shadowy tentacles seeped out and grabbed the old mare before dragging her into the woods as she screamed. It's said, that on nights like these, she searches for the now old and rusty horseshoe. Creeping around and finding travellers, she lures them into the darkness then asks in her old, crotchety voice." "'Who has my rusty horseshoe?' Then, before anypony can even move, she jumps out, screaming 'You do!'” Josh and Sam raised an eyebrow, Twilight was more interested in tending the fire. Octavia shared the same interest while Vinyl was eating more marshmallows, not even bothering to roast them over the fire first. The only ones really effected by the story were Fluttershy and the three little fillies. “Scary huh?” Rainbow said proudly. “That's it? That wasn't really much, was it?” Josh said. “How about this one?” Vinyl said before clearing her throat next. “Legend says that deep in the Everfree forest, there were a tribe of travelling diamond dogs. They were making their way through the forest as a short cut to get back from diamond hunting. They were able to avoid most creatures due to their sense of smell and hearing.” “A few days into their trip, one of the diamond dogs went to go get a drink of water, he never came back. The group looked around but couldn't find him anywhere. The next night, a few more diamond dogs just vanished into thin air. The same thing happened the following afternoon but it was now that the remaining dogs heard something. Just after the members of the group vanished, they heard a guttural growl coming from the forest around them. The group decided to head to Ponyville in order to inform the town guards, around thirteen entered the forest, six headed to town, only one made it.” “They say that when he arrived, he had gone mad, saying that he had seen the forest eat his friends. It only took a few days for him to snap again, he stole a sword off of one of the guards and ran into the forest to get his friends back. He never came out.” “Ohhh.” Josh said, clapping his hands. “I liked that one, decent set of suspense, I'm getting tingles from just thinking about it.” “It gets better when you realise it's a true story.” “Wait, what?” Sam asked. “She's right.” Twilight confirmed. “There are records of a group of diamond dogs entering the Everfree forest and one of them did in fact come out of the forest ranting about something eating his friends. He only said it was the forest because the scent was the same and they never heard it. He was taken to the hospital and told that the guards would search for his friends, they came across one of their camps but couldn't find anything. When they told the diamond dog, he pushed them out of his way, took the sword off of one them and ran into the forest. Princess Celestia sent a message to the diamond dog city in the badlands but they said they'd never had any of the diamond dogs return.” “Oh my goodness.” Fluttershy stated. She had the three little fillies crowded around her for comfort after hearing Twilight's explanation. “It certainly is strange but this was around 60 years ago, so nopony really remembers it. Was probably an unfortunate run in with timber wolves that they didn't see coming until it was too late.” “It couldn't be that Twilight, everypony knows that timber wolves stink to Tartarus and they couldn't smell anything.” Rainbow explained. “Fear causes mistakes Rainbow Dash, plus if the timber wolves had been following them for some time, they probably would have thought that what they were smelling was the forest and wouldn't realise it was timber wolves.” “W-Well then, I think I'm going to go to bed now.” Fluttershy said. The three fillies huddling round her agreed, ushering out a goodnight to everyone else before scampering into their tent. “Oh shame, I was about to tell a horror story from where we're from.” Josh said. “Oh I gotta hear this.” Rainbow said. Vinyl quickly nodded in agreement whereas Octavia let out a sigh. “Actually I'd love to hear a story from your world.” Twilight said with keen interest. “I suppose one more wouldn't hurt, not like any of these are true anyway.” She muttered. “Oh no, I think I've had enough for tonight. Goodnight everypony.” “Night Fluttershy.” They replied. After Fluttershy returned to her tent, Josh decided to begin. “All right, here goes.” “There was once a young girl called Tilly who was afraid to go to bed, she had never had anything happen to her but after hearing some scary stories, she was terrified. One night, as she laid in bed, she could have sworn she heard a voice." "'Tilly, I'm coming up the stairs.' it said to her. She felt fear grip her. There was nothing else said that night and in the morning, she assumed it had all been a dream. She continued her day as usual until it was time for her to go to bed once more.” “That night, she asked her mother if she could leave the light on. Her mother told there was nothing to be afraid of, and since she didn't hear anything that night, she didn't ask again. However, the night after, while afraid to go to sleep, she heard that same quiet voice call out to her." #'Tilly, I'm on the first step.' Tilly was too scared to go to look. The next night, she heard the voice again. 'Tilly, I'm on the second step.'” “She got more and more scared each night, though she was reassured that it was nothing. There were eight steps that made up the staircase and each night, the voice would call out. 'Tilly, I'm on the third step.' 'Tilly, I'm on the fourth step.' 'Tilly, I'm on the fifth step.' Until one night, she heard the voice say." "'Tilly, I'm in the hall.'” “She was so scared that she didn't eat her breakfast or dinner the next day. She laid awake in bed that night, it wasn't long before she heard the voice speak again. 'Tilly, I'm outside the door.'” “The next night. 'Tilly, I'm in the room.' Tilly was terrified, so much so that couldn't even scream for her mother. The next night, the voice spoke. 'Tilly, I'm by the bed.'” “And then the next night...” Josh trailed off. None of the ponies present had noticed Sam trail around behind them and, with a wide grin, he crept up right behind them. Once close enough, he quickly slammed his hands on Rainbow's and Twilight's shoulders. “I GOT YOU!” He shouted. Causing everyone to scream, besides Josh and Sam who were holding their stomachs with laughter. “Oh god! You should have seen your faces.” Josh giggled. “I'm back!” Zecora spoke loudly as she emerged from the tree line, causing everyone present to fall over in fear. “Sweet Jesus...” Sam said after he got his heart to stop trying to break out of his chest. “What is wrong? You all look scared, I hope nothing came by with fangs or claws bared.” “It's fine Zecora, don't worry. We just got a little carried away with some stories, that's all.” Twilight explained. “Well, I don't know about anypony else but I think I'm ready to sleep now.” Octavia suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement before saying their good nights and returning to their tents, unaware that near their intended destination, something had been alerted by their screams.