Octavia sighed, staring at the crowd, bored as she played her cello. Her parents had forced her, BEGGED her, to join an orchestra after she finished her musical studies despite her repeated claims that she hated classical music and hated the nobleponies of Canterlot even more.
She snarled as she spotted Prince Blueblood, the greatest example of what Canterlot had to offer. Boorish, womanising, selfish, egotistical and incredibly stupid; he was basically everything she hated about Canterlot condensed into a single pony.
She saw that he was with a mare and Octavia’s mood soured even more. RARITY. Her nemesis. That mare was her most hated foe ever since college. She was everything Octavia was expected to be, everything Octavia despised: way too girly and self-conscious but not in an endearing way, obsessed with appearances and fashion. She was basically the pony Octavia’s parents wanted her to be.
And she was yukking it up with Blueblood. Octavia sighed. They were PERFECT for each other, her two most disliked ponies, together on the Grand Galloping Gala.
Octavia’s parents waved at her and pointedly looked away. She had been to Gala before. It was boring and filled with too many rich fat cats with an overly high opinion of themselves, all cloying for the Princess’ attention.
Dull atmosphere, dull company, dull food and dull music. It summed up everything about Canterlot in the end.
“Wow, I thought the GGG was supposed to be a party. This looks more like...ok, not a funeral, but still something depressing.”
Octavia blinked, pausing in her playing, causing the other members of the orchestra to glare at her for disrupting the flow. She set her cello down to better look at the mare beside her.
The stranger was a cream coloured mare with a dark blue and pink curly/swirled mane. She had on a tuxedo that was ripped in places and she was covered in dirt and bruises. She was also smiling amusedly, as if she were seeing something really, really, REALLY funny.
“Who...are you?” Octavia said with a brow raised.
“Oh hey!” BonBon grinned. “I’m BonBon, I’m from Ponyville!” She shook Octavia’s hoof gently.
“Ponyville? I thought the only Ponyvillians who were invited were the Bearers?”
BonBon nodded. “Exactly! Of course, I was NOT going to accept them getting in here while I had to sit at home and WORK, so I came here! But then they turned me away because it’s ‘invite only’.” She made an overly dramatized simpleton voice as she said the last part. “But I wasn’t going to let that stop me! No sirree bob! So, I snuck in! I hid in the bushes, climbed the pipes and rafters and then used the ventilation to get in here!”
Octavia blinked, wide eyed. “That...explains why you look like you’ve just survived a mud avalance.”
BonBon nodded sagely. “And what do I get once I finally get in here? DISAPPOINTMENT! I mean, everyone goes on and on and on about how awesome and fantastic the GGG is, but I mean, it’s just a bunch of stuffed shirts yukking it up. They’re not even talking about anything interesting! How can the Princess stand this place!?” She roared in frustration.
Octavia smirked. “I was just thinking the same thing.” She gestured to herself. “Octavia Philharmonica.”
“Gesundheit.”
“No that’s my NAME.” She rolled her eyes.
BonBon gasped in horror. “O-oh dear! You poor thing!”
Octavia sighed in exasperation. “I know! I wanted to change my name to Thrash Metal or something cooler, but my parents made absolute certain I couldn’t! And now look! They have me playing the most boring music ever on the most cumbersome instrument I ever played and during the most boring, stupid event in Equestria.” She blinked. “You Ponyvillians seriously expected something...different!?”
BonBon scratched her chin in thought. “You’re right. What were we thinking? Hmmm...I really wish something would liven this place up...”
*CRASH*
“YOU! ARE GOING! TO LOVE MEEEEEEEE!!!!”
BonBon smirked, looking over as the white mare with the purple mane tore into the stuffy looking blonde guy. “Well this party seems to be looking up...”
Octavia grinned. “You know, with all the animals on the loose, I doubt anypony would notice if somepony were to, oh I dunno, commit some vandalism and harass some of the nobles.”
BonBon smirked wickedly. “I like the way you think, Octavia.”
And that was how Octavia first met her best friend.
---------------------------------------
The group trudged into the forest, Lyra and Time turner warily, Octavia begrudgingly, everyone else didn’t seem to care too much and in fact where admiring their surroundings and BonBon was humming a jaunty tune.
Suddenly Time Turner and Lyra screeched in horror, cowering in fear as stared up at the horrifying faces peering down at them.
“No! Get away!” Time Turner screamed, pale.
“Don’t eat us!”
“Lyra, Time Turner.” BonBon began.
“No!” Lyra shrieked, waving her hoof. “Save yourselves!”
“Lyra! Time Turner!”
Time Turner was chanting a hurried prayer while Lyra curled into the fetal position. “It’s all your fault BonBon! We should never have let you talk us into this, now we’re gonna get eaten and”
“Guys!” BonBon shouted, she and Octavia sharing hooded stares as the others looked unimpressed. “They’re just trees.”
The mare and stallion blinked and looked up at the trees that were decidedly not horrible creatures eating their souls and instead just stood there terrifyingly. The two stood up, dusting themselves, grinning nervously.
“Yes...Yes of course..” Lyra chuckled embarrassedly. “I-I knew that...”
“Y-yeah!” Time Turner shivered. “J-just trees...”
BonBon rolled her eyes and began to march. “Seriously, do you think the Elements of Harmony would get scared of a bunch of harmless trees?”
The others shrugged and began to follow her as Time Turner and Lyra hurried after them. However, behind them, one of the trees, a massive oak, started to move.
It stalked towards them, its roots dragging along into the earth, creating large scars in the earth. One of its roots rose up out of the earth like a charging snake, wrapping around Time Turner’s neck.
“Ahk! Help me!”
The turned in and the group just barely dodged as the massive monster slammed a large arm-like branch onto the ground where they had previously stood.
“What the hay is that!?” Lyra screamed in terror.
Berry punch stood beside Octavia, suddenly sober. “It is a Treant, or Ent for short. It’s a monster that resembles a tree while it sleeps, and are extremely territorial and incredibly aggressive.”
BonBon grinned excitedly. “Oh. My. Gosh! A real live monster for us to fight! And it’s actually attacking one of our comrades! This! Is! Perfect!”
Lyra glared at her roommate. “Now is not the time to be squeeing! That thing is probably going to kill Time Turner!”
BonBon smirked. “Relax, Lyra, Turner’s not going to be hurt at all.”
“Oh! That is very reassuring!” The stallion shouted as more roots wrapped around him tightly.
BonBon ignored him and nodded at Octavia. “Drop the bass octy!”
Octavia nodded and stood on her hindlegs, gripping her cello in her hooves as she leapt at the massive wooden monster, smashing the blunt end of the instrument on its cracked face. It glared at her, slamming its arms against her and she fell to the ground in pain, shakily getting up.
“Ok...That...could’ve gone better.” BonBon mused.
“You think!?” Time Turner screeched, almost completely wrapped up in roots, being dragged into the earth.
“A Treant’s hide is tough, but its roots are its weak point!” Berry pointed out.
Octavia glared. “Really should have mentioned that BEFORE I was an Octy pancake!”
“This is my first adventure, cut me some slack!”
Octavia snorted and got up, hefting her cello up like a bat. “Alright Colgate, you’re the only one with a sharp weapon among us, so I’ll expose its roots while you drill them!” She grunted as she blocked another of the Treant’s attacks with her cello. “Well, when I find an opening.”
Colgate smirked and started rotating her large hoof-held drill. “I don’t need you to expose them. Who the hay do you think I am!? I can drill through anything!” She charged and dived deep into the ground, leaving behind a hole just big enough for her body to fit through.
The Treant stared incredulously as the roots holding Time Turner fell loose and dead and the stallion hurriedly ran away from the monster and back to the group. The wooden beast screeched in pain as its roots wore torn apart due to Colgate drilling through them. The unicorn surfaced back with the group as the monster fell to the ground lifelessly.
“Alright...gotta admit...that was pretty exhilarating.” Colgate panted, covered in dirt.
“OK, adventure over! Monster beat, can we go home now!?” Lyra was shaking and pale, staring at BonBon pleadingly.
“Nope!” The mare grinned. “That was just a random encounter, everyone knows that every adventure needs a quest or else it’d be boring!”
“Y-You’re joking right!?” Lyra snapped. “Time Turner almost got killed!”
“But he didn’t.” Octavia pointed out.
“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” The unicorn countered. “And besides, what quest!? Do you just think we’ll stumble on some..some...plot to take over Equestria by just wandering around the Everfree!?!?”
“Yep!” BonBon answered cheerfully.
Lyra screamed in frustration while Time Turner went pale.
------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, in the mountains within the Everfree Forest...
Three hunched figures lurched into the cavern, every wall flanked by others of their kind. At the far end sat a large, imposing figure. Their king.
Rover snarled indignantly.
“You finally back.” The king growled. “Come back with less than promised. You explain why?”
Rover glared. “Not our faults. Ponies faults! They ruin everything, ruin us plans!”
“Why ponies involved anyway?” The king, Rex, countered. “You job mine gems, ponies not go underground.”
Spot and Fido looked away, trying to look nonchalant as Rover folded his arms. “We no good digging gems. Saw pony do job better, make her work. Plan work good, she do good job.”
Rex narrowed his eyes. “Where gems, then? Why not more, meet quota?”
“She complain!” Rover spread out his arms in exasperation. “She make noise, very much annoying! She no shut up! Her friends come by, we give them her, so she shut up!”
Rex growled. “You did not gag her? Make it so she have no choice but to obey? And what happen to gems, huh? You didn’t explain why!”
Rover growled, looking down. “We...we desperate, panicked. Gave...gave ponies gems.”
Rex stood at his full height, clad entirely in armour made from white gems that hid his appearance, the only part of his face visible where his eyes, almost glowing through thin slits in the face of the armour. “and so, like the idiotic cowards you are, instead of start again you ran, hoped to hide from me! Am I not right!?”
Rover snarled. “No! We sick doing what you say! You not boss! I am! You just Runt!”
The other diamond dogs, including Rover’s two minions, froze, staring, growing pale as what Rover had said sunk in. Fido and Spot moved away from Rover as did the other guards, wanting to get as far away as they could.
Rex’s red eyes widened and grew bloodshot, the pupils narrow. “What. Did. You. Call. Me!?”
Rover smirked. “That you name, right? You Runt. You always smallest, weakest. You just say you king, not true. You just weakling.”
Rex lifted the dog by his neck, squeezing tightly, making Rover gag and choke. “Stupid mutt. You have proven yourself to be nothing but a problem for me and my plans. You lost the gems. You let the PONIES see you. And now, you have the GALL to call me that INSULTING name!?” She sneered. “I think it’s time for you to be disciplined.”
He tossed Rover around like a rag doll, before slamming him against the ground, pulling him up and slamming his back against his knee. He dropped the Diamond Dog to the ground, and Rover reached for his comrades Spot and Fido, but the other two Diamond Dogs cowered some distance away, the other dogs watching fearfully.
Rover looked up, face pale as Rex loomed above him.
“Now is not the time for fear.” He grabbed Rover by the neck and lifted him to his face before whispering with a smug smirk, “That comes later.”
---------------------------
As the group trudged through the forest, the heard something.
“What was that?” Octavia enquired.
“I-it was probably nothing!” Time Turner shouted. “We should ignore and turn back home!”
“But we just started our epic quest!” BonBon complained.
Lyra growled in exasperation, pressing her face close to the earth pony’s. “For the last time, BonBon, THERE! IS! NO! QUEST!”
As she said that, a yellow pegasus with a long blue mane ran towards them. “Please! You have to help me!”
The group blinked as Lyra turned to her. “Help you? What’s the matter?”
“Please don’t say it’s a Timberwolf!” Time Turner pleaded timidly.
“No it’s...”
Before she could say anymore a whole opened up beneath her and a long chain flew towards her, a collar on the end of it latching to her neck, and the chain dragged her, screaming, into the hole and underground.
The other’s stared in surprise, shock, fear and some in bewilderment, as BonBon grinned widely. “There you go! A quest! We must journey down below and rescue that poor pony!”
“Are you crazy!?” Lyra shouted. “She could be an escaped criminal for all we know!”
“Oh come on, this is the best plot thread we got!” Bonbon argued and dove into the hole before Lyra could protest.
“Well if she’s going down there...” Octavia said, jumping after her.
“Hey you’ll need my help if you’re gonna be digging!” Colgate shouted after them.
“Eh, what the hay.” Berry Punch shrugged, following after.
“Whoohoo! Quest!’ Derpy hollered, pushing Timer Turner and Lyra forward.
“Hey wait! Derpy, stop...!”
Soon, everyone was inside the hole.