//------------------------------//
// Secrets of the New Guardian 
// Story: Secrets of the Everfree 
// by ChroniclerOfFantasies 
//------------------------------//

	I shuddered again as I kept running, my heart beating like a sledgehammer against the unbreakable wall that was my chest. It was only supposed to be a simple walk down the road to my sisters home. I was going to knock on her door, acquire enough bits to take the train to Canterlot, and complete my mission. Yet here I was, running away as monsters from the Dawnwoods chased after me and a shiver I couldn’t stop kept running up my spine ever few minutes. Normally Dawnwood level beasts wouldn’t be a problem even when I’m not transformed, but there were just so many chasing me that there was nothing I could do without wasting another seed.
I looked back to find the four angry packs of timber wolves chasing me. Four packs with eight wolves per pack. Thirty two wooden monstrosities total. They shouldn’t have been able to escape! My master has special precautions to make sure things like this don’t happen. 
As I ran, I thought about the mimic’s attack as well as the timber wolves that were now pursuing me. A powerful spell was kept and maintained by my master that bound the beasts inside the forest. Just like the forest itself the spell had layers that formed four ‘spheres’ of barrier magic around each section of the forest. None of them should be able to leave even if they flew through the air or dug underground. The only exception to that rule were the weakest of the creatures in a zone, which could make it to the next one as their powers were so low they sometimes fluctuated under the limit imposed by the barrier, at which point we guardians were summoned to either kill or capture the beast.
Since I was strong enough to handle the monsters in the Twilightwoods, I had sometimes been ordered to face an escapee from the Duskwoods, and those were NEVER easy fights. I was always left battered and bruised afterwards. Once my injuries were so great my master had to nurse me back to health for a week. He didn’t seem to mind, but I felt so ashamed. After all, the reason he gives his guardians tasks is so that he can concentrate on bigger more important things. Every time I thought about my seniors and how one of them was actually powerful enough not only to venture into the Duskwoods, but to actually fight escaped creatures from The Heart, it terrified me.
Still though I was worried. Mimics were on the weaker end of the Twilightwoods, and I had dealt with more than a few of them that had slipped through the Twilightwoods barrier, but I could gauge the strength of that monster easily. It should never have been able to pass through, it was too strong. The same goes for the timber wolves. Timber wolves are among the strongest in the Dawnwoods, they shouldn’t be able to leave the forest. I mean yes both are weak in comparison to me, but the only monsters I had trouble with were the strongest of the Twilightwoods and up. 
I mean yes there are multiple reasons the Mimic could have escaped. Master had told me that on occasion several monsters would work together to breach the barrier and would end up creating a hole just big enough for one to squeeze through, but that normally only happened with the strongest creatures in an area. And even then if they did make a hole, they normally ended up fighting each other to be the one to go through causing the hole to seal back up while they were squabbling.
I could have understood if the timber wolves had been attacking the barrier and then a weak mimic that ended up in the Dawnwoods came at the last second and slipped through, but the problem with that however, is that master would have called one of us to deal with the mimic long before it ever left the dawn woods and the timber wolves would still be stuck there. And even if the wolves had escaped he would have called us for that as well. After all defending the life outside of the Everfree IS our main purpose. I could understand him not calling me since I’m already following another order, but I had two sisters who were both more than capable of handling a mimic and a few wolves. The only reason he’d have for not calling us is if he was in such a state of urgency that he actually had to put the safety of the citizens immediately around the Everfree into the back of his mind. And he’d only do that if whatever he was facing was a threat to all of Equestria, if not the world. 
But that was just silly. If anything of that level of power were to suddenly show up in the forest it would be in The Heart and he would immediately weaken all the barriers around the Dawn, Twilight, and Duskwoods in order to contain whatever it was until help arrived. But the barriers were still holding strong…..
My eyes grew wide. Of course! Why hadn’t I seen it sooner! It didn’t make sense until now but that had to be the reason the mimic and the wolves were all the way out here. It also explains why he gave me three longevity seeds. A trip to Canterlot and back shouldn’t have taken more than a day, two at the most. He gave me the seeds not for the journey to Canterlot itself, but to help me fight off the creatures that would undoubtedly follow me out. I suddenly regretted all the time I spent sleeping at the Apple farm. If I had just gone straight to my sister like I was supposed to I would have been able to warn her and she could have handled the problem with Apple Bloom and the wolves while I would be warning the princesses right now. 
I cursed myself for being greedy. He was right to tell me not to indulge in the pleasures of my old life but I got swept up in the moment. I knew the Apple family was just trying to comfort me before they told me the truth about my father, a truth I discovered long ago, and abused that to get a few hours of simple pleasures. I didn’t listen and now I was paying the price. I sighed mentally, not having the time or the energy to do so outwardly. 
After nearly fifteen minutes of running I finally reached my destination, fighting off another annoying shiver. I wished I could stop to catch my breath. In the forest I could have run like that for an hour without so much as breathing heavy, but here in the regular world, it took twice the energy to do half the amount of work. Just another price a guardian has to pay. I looked towards the old cottage as I steadily got closer, surprised to find light streaming through the windows. It wasn’t exactly late, but my sister wasn’t known for staying up. I saw shadows dancing on the walls taking the form of multiple ponies. She had company? That wasn’t good. I didn’t have time to be discreet. I took a deep breath and shouted with all the energy I could muster. “SISTER FLUTTERSHY! TIMBER WOLVES!”
I heard a loud smashing sound and watched as the door flew open. Rather than my sister however, it was Rarity and Twilight who stood in the doorway, their eyes wide as they looked at me and then behind me. I watched as Rainbow Dash flew out of the window to the left wearing the same shocked expression as the two of them. Her head turned from me to the wolves and back again several times. Finally the one I was waiting for flew out of the right-hoof window.
She flew down next to me and I was finally able to stop, for a short time anyways. I could hear Rarity and Rainbow Dash whispering my name in the background but I didn’t have time to worry about the shock I had given their systems. There were thirty two very angry snarling logs chasing after me and they were going to rip us all apart if we didn’t act.
“Flutter… shy…” I panted. “Please… tell me… you have a…”
“Of course. I only have the one though so we’ll have to share.” she said reaching into a saddlebag I hadn’t noticed earlier. A short second of digging later she brought out a small red fruit with a green tip that poked outwards like a crown. I always thought they looked a bit like a cross between an apple and a pomegranate. She bit into half of it, her face contorting from the taste before handing it over to me. I did the same, recoiling as I swallowed. It was bitter, I hate bitter foods.
My body shook violently as I felt my fatigue slip away and another shiver run down my spine. My heart began to pump hard and fast, but not frantically like it had been before. No, it was a steady rhythm and a strong one at that. My heavy limbs seemed to lighten as energy coursed through me. Every part of me was pulsating with raw force ready to be released. Had I not known better I would have thought I had returned to the Everfree forest. I looked my elder sister in the eyes and we nodded to each other before turning back to the wolves. Both of us began our chants taking our true and proper forms.
I had heard of my sisters form and powers from my master, but had never seen it up close. Her fur didn’t change much, only growing slightly darker. Just like all guardians her eyes became a dark blood red with thin black slits. At first I thought part of her mane and tail had disappeared, only to realize that they had simply become as black as the darkness around us with thin red stripes coursing through. She stretched a bit and I took a step back as her mane suddenly glimmered. Even though it was mostly black it seemed to give off a red shine that moved with the light as though it were made of metal. My eyes moved down, focusing on her chest which had little difference aside from the new armor that she bore. It had a striking resemblance to the chest pieces worn by the princesses, save that instead of a gem or moon on the front there was instead a broken heart. Her wings had changed as well, becoming black at the base and red at the top. Her cutie mark would have seemed strange to anyone who didn’t know the truth about Fluttershy, but to me it made perfect sense. It was a single red line that seemed to drip at the end, like someone had taken a paint brush and drew a single streak across her rear. The most noticeable difference about her was her new boots, if you could really call them boots. Truth be told it was actually her blood, swirling and twisting around the bottom of her hooves before rising above her in intimidating strands that danced all around her. 
That was the source of her power. Bloody Mary my master had called it. The ability to manipulate her blood and use it both as a weapon and as a shield. We were lucky, being guardians of the Everfree. Otherwise her body would never be able to handle that. Every time she attacked she’d either lose blood or get said blood contaminated by whatever she touched, neither of which bode well for her health. Being a guardian of the Everfree though made that of little concern. We were built to fight the worst this world had to offer. We’re made tough and near impossible to kill, especially in the forest itself. Our enemies could stab us, crush us, rip us apart, and so long as we were in the forest we’d slowly regenerate over time and if we could manage to eat one of those seeds, regardless of whether we were in the forest or not, all of those wounds would heal in a matter of seconds. My favorite boon was that you literally couldn’t die from the way you had died originally. I could fall on beds of spikes all day and get up every time like nothing ever happened. As for Fluttershy she never had to worry about bleeding to death.
“Tiara, look.” Fluttershy said. I turned my attention back to the group of monsters, only to realize their numbers had grown. Twelve more had shown up with one more the size of a small building standing at the very back, for a total of forty five very hungry piles of sticks. This wasn’t going to be pleasant.
The area around Fluttershys house had become eerily quiet. Even the bugs had stopped chirping. I wasn’t sure what Rarity or Rainbow Dash were doing but honestly at the moment I didn’t care. I watched the now single massive pack of timber wolves stare back at us unmoving. Suddenly the big one, who seemed to have a strange scar over his right eye, lifted his mouth to the air, letting out a bestial roar. The wolves immediately howled back before charging us in one big rampaging group.
Fluttershy ran out to face them while I remained where I was. My powers were best suited for long distance as I could sprout spikes from the earth anywhere. Fluttershy on the other hand had to get up close and personal. Just because the blood regenerated, didn’t mean that she could hit her target from a mile away.
The first thing I did was impale the big one. Not enough to break it apart, just enough to hold it still. After that she jumped right into the fray, hacking and slashing at the wolves, her blood hardening into the shapes of scythes on the ends of long strings. I assisted her as best as I could, impaling each wolf one at a time with pillars of sharp pointed rocks. At first things seemed to be going just fine, until the timber wolves began reforming. That’s what made timber wolves so annoying. You see timber wolves are actually wisps, little spirits that float around as balls of light, that used to be the souls of actual wolves. The corruption of the Everfree forest turns those spirits evil and they then possess wood to recreate their bodies. Why wood? No idea. They don’t have to use wood, I’ve seen them use rocks and even water to create a body when they were in enough of a pinch, they all just seem to prefer wood the most. That’s not the point though. The real point is that every time you break it apart, the spirit just picks up the pieces and puts itself back together. The stronger the wisp the bigger they and tougher they could get. Add that on to the fact that they can actually fuse together for a short while, and you get a recipe for disaster.
They’re far from invincible though. Wisps aren’t ghosts, they have a physical form. The problem is that physical form is surrounded by a bright light, making it very hard to see just where in the light it’s at, especially when they’re inside their wooden bodies. 
That’s why I needed Fluttershys help. Every time she or I would break one apart, she’d use her blood like ropes, picking up the pieces and tossing them away to create an opening for one of us to attack. Every time she cut one down, I’d look for its weak spot and impale it. Every time I broke one apart, she’d find its vulnerable point and slice it to bits. We continued this process over and over, missing more times than we hit. Of course once we got about half of them down they finally managed to catch on to our tactics. After that every time we busted one apart they just fused with another. After a few more minutes of fighting, we had five timber wolves left, all the size of houses.
It was a very bad day to be a guardian.
I guess they realized they couldn’t beat us with quantity so they were going with quality instead. I ran to Fluttershy’s side as the four new mega wolves began to rip and tear at the spikes holding their comrade. The drawback to my powers, the farther away I was, the weaker my pillars. If I wanted to take on all of these guys when they were this strong, I needed to be close to them.
As I looked at her I noticed her breathing being a little on the heavy side. I thought it was strange, until I felt a sudden small rush of exhaustion hit me. I grit my teeth. It seemed the apple of discord’s affects were wearing off.
The apple of discord, the special fruit found in the Duskwoods from which you can salvage longevity seeds. They taste horrible, but have incredible effects on a guardian. They used to be called the apples of Eden, back when it was the garden of Eden and not the Everfree forest. Back then they were the main delicacy, granting an extended life to those who ate them. According to old legends, once every hundred years if you were lucky you’d pick an especially potent one, turning you into an Alicorn. My master assured me that that was never more than a story though. Now however things have changed. Like everything else the apple was corrupted. Now when we’re inside the forest eating one gives us an incredible power boost, however it also turns off our regeneration for twenty four hours. If we took too much damage after eating it, nothing in the world would be able to save us. If we eat it outside the forest, we could maintain our true forms for a half hour, assuming you ate the whole fruit. Fluttershy and I had only eaten half so of course we only got half the time and we were both hitting the ten minute mark. I have to be honest I couldn’t wait to graduate from my training. Once it was over my master would give me three of them like he did to all of his guardians. Only three though, if I wanted more I’d have to become strong enough to get them myself, which wasn’t easy. Not because they grew in the Duskwoods, but because they were so hard to keep fresh. The fruits themselves were already hard to reach and according to master, quite rare and if you didn’t put them in a special mixture they rotted away within ten minutes, leaving nothing but the seeds. Also not helping was the fact that the mixture itself had rare, hard to find ingredients. Basically, they were a pain to get hold of.
Still though, the ever increasing exhaustion aside we had a job to do and not a lot of time to do it. I looked at Fluttershy, raising my right hoof in the air like I was about to take a step. She nodded her head, extending her blood as far out as she could get it to go without losing any of its strength, which was pretty far.
I slammed my hoof into the ground attempting to hit the five wolves and end it in one blow. Luck was not on my side however as two of the wolves completely dodged while two more still didn’t land a killing blow. I did manage to take one of them out which was nice. The lumber that once made up it’s body crashed to the ground as the glowing lights inside of it flickered and died.
Fluttershy jumped up quickly, taking to the skies as she dashed towards one of the two injured timber wolves. Their comrades both quickly rushed after her, but I made an obstacle course of spikes to slow them down. Fluttershy hovered above the wolf, shooting strands of blood like tentacles inside of the beast. I watched as the lights carefully moved around, both to keep its body intact as well as dodge Fluttershy’s attacks. Suddenly the parts making up it’s body began to shift and move before shooting up and attempting to swallow Fluttershy whole. I almost began to panic until I noticed her clever defense. She used the blood on her hind hooves to form a kind of sticky net that held all the pieces in place, keeping them from touching her as she continued her assault. While she did that I was slamming spikes all over the place, attempting to slow or ensnare the two still rampaging wolves, as well as kill the already trapped one. Finally I managed to kill the one that was already trapped while impaling one of the other rabid monsters in the throat, forcing it to a stop. I heard the distinct sound of falling debris, but felt it was too loud for just the one I killed. I looked behind me to find Fluttershy had also killed hers, and was now moving on to the one I had trapped.
I placed two more spikes inside of him before realizing it felt a bit too calm all of a sudden. I turned behind myself quickly to find that the other wolf had abandoned trying to defeat Fluttershy and I and had found a new target in Fluttershys cabin, or more accurately, the two mares inside of it. I watched in disbelief as Rainbow Dash actually flew out the window, mocking the beast like it was just another timber wolf. I knew better though. That was the original leader of the pack, the one with the scar. He was much older and much stronger than the others even if his size was the same as these new ones. Any guardian knew that he was easily within the upper tier of Twilightwoods monsters.
I looked behind me giving a signal to Fluttershy that I was leaving her. She nodded her head and assured me she was fine. Just to be cautious I placed three more spikes into her wolf before heading off to fight the last one. I was beginning to breathe heavily now and knew I didn’t have much more than two minutes left. I’d have to make them count.
I began to shoot spikes out of the ground at a rapid pace, but they did next to nothing. Time and again the wolf would jump out of the way like he always knew where they were coming from. Though to be truthful it wasn’t that hard to guess, most of the time I just tried to impale them from the ground directly below them or at a slight angle so as I could get a clear strong shot and completely immobilize them. That plan however wasn’t going to work so I had to change tactics. As he continues towards the cottage, I slammed on the ground one more time bringing up a spike directly in front of him. As usual he dodged it with little effort, only to roar in anger as he suddenly got hit from the left. After I shot the first spike, I immediately grew another one from that one allowing me to hit him as he tried to run past. I don’t really like doing this, as the second spike becomes much weaker than the first, something that quickly became evident when, after some minor struggling, he managed to break free. I wasn’t done yet though. Before he could take another step and gain any momentum I stabbed him with as many spikes as I could, after which I began to grow more spikes off of those in a desperate attempt to finish him off. I could tell I only had seconds left as I listened to the sound of falling wood in the background. As much as I would have liked to check on the results of Fluttershys hard work, I was just too busy at the moment.
I could feel my energy beginning to slip as relentlessly created spike after spike trying to kill the thing. Time ticked by ever so slowly as I began to count down from five. I watched its movements carefully trying to find a pattern. Wisps tended to like patterns and enjoyed moving in a certain one, if I could find out what it was I could find where it would be and hit it. The clock hit four as I panicked, its movements didn’t make sense! I was down to three seconds now as I watched the lights inside writhe and wriggle like it was having a seizure. Gah! Another shiver! Now was not the time especially with how frustrated I was! It’s movements were completely random! Two seconds now, I had to find a way to read its… ah ha! It wasn’t going in a pattern it was spinning in a counter clockwise direction! There was one second left as I carefully timed my next spike. I only had one shot as I plunged the stone deep into its abdomen.
Zero. I felt all of the energy leave me as I slumped to the ground in exhaustion with a loud thump, the sound of falling wood close behind. Twilight, who had still been flying, deactivated a moment before me and crashed into the ground at my side. My legs were shaky and beginning to tingle. I grimaced, looking over to Fluttershy to find that she was bleeding on one of her fore hooves. So her wounds had opened up too huh? Well I guess I couldn’t be surprised. I reached into my pocket, pulling out my seeds. I placed one in my mouth before offering the other too her. She looked at it a little confused until she looked down and realized her old wounds were opening back up. She took it rather sheepishly, trying to hide her wound. Maybe she thought I didn’t know the truth about the way she died? Master had told me about both her and my other sisters death, but I wasn’t sure if they knew I knew.
Regardless though I popped the seed in my mouth as I was approached by both Rarity and Rainbow Dash. They stared at us wide eyed. Oh the shock, so much shock. I was worried about all of this. We weren’t ordered to keep being a guardian a secret, it was just something we did. After all, if you knew your neighbor could turn into a super powered monster for thirty minutes after eating a weird fruit, you might not want to be around them. What’s more if parents knew that their kids had a chance of being saved from death if they wandered into the Everfree, they might not pay attention to the giant stack of problems that come with and let their children wander into the forest all the time. I’m not saying they wouldn’t still keep them away, only that their would be more deaths due to carelessness and that would ruin the point of everything my masters trying to do. But with monsters running about, the apple family and more importantly the former element of honesty Applejack knowing the truth, and soon Rarity and Rainbow Dash as well, for I’m sure they’re waiting on an explanation, I was worried how much longer we could keep this secret.
“Fluttershy… Tiara… what… what just?” Rarity asked. I sighed. Here we go again.
“Um sorry about that Rarity. If you , Twilight, and Rainbow Dash would be so kind as to wait for us in my house I’ll explain everything. I need to speak with Diamond a moment.” Fluttershy said. Well at least I wouldn’t have to do it on my own this time.
I watched as Rarity, Twilight, and Raibow gave each other concerned glances before nodding their heads gently and walking into the cabin. When the door closed Fluttershy let out a sigh before turning to me with a concerned look. “Tiara what’s going on? Lord Everfree sent me a message saying you were on your way, but you were supposed to be here hours ago. And why are there so many monsters leaving the woods? That was my second apple you know. I only have one left.”
I looked down in shame. I had disobeyed orders and I was paying a very heavy price for it. I needed to finish this mission as quickly as possible and yet I went and slept and took showers and all of that nonsense I had in my previous life. It was already bad enough I had to swallow my pride and ask her for help, now I had to explain why I was so late and what I’d done wrong. And explain I did.
When I was done she shut her eyes and placed a hoof to her head. “Let me get this straight, you ignored masters orders for a nap and a shower? I can’t believe you Tiara! Still, I guess some good did come of it. Apple Bloom knows the truth about her and Applejack now, so I guess it could be worse. Come on into my house. We need to talk to explain things to Rarity and Rainbow. After that I’ll give you the bits and some more seeds and send you on your way.”
I nodded my head as she turned towards the cabin. Opening the door I followed her inside to what was likely to be a very long very difficult explanation.


* * *


“Soooooooooo… what you’re saying is you died, got brought back to life, and now you’re the slave of some alicorn who lives in the Everfree?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Um Rainbow I don’t think they appreciate being called-” Twilight began to say, but we cut her off.
“WE ARE NOT SLAVES!” we shouted in unison. We looked at each other awkwardly before smiling. It really was like we were sisters, even if this was the first time we’d properly met.
“Well if you’re not slaves darling then just what are you?” Rarity asked. 
To be honest it was a good question. After becoming a guardian you don’t really give your relation to him that much thought. You realize pretty quickly that you can trust him, as he does nothing but care for you, and that he truly does need your help with all sorts of problems he has in the forest. I’ve seen him get grumpy from having too much to do. To others he may not seem like he’s changed at all in how he feels, but once you’ve been connected to him long enough you end up realizing just how emotional he actually is. And he’s not a very nice person when he’s agitated.
After a little thought I gave them the best answer I could. “I don’t know about Fluttershy or my other sister, but I guess he’s a bit like a father to me.”
Rainbow looked at me like I’d said something strange. “A father? What about your real da-” Rarity quickly covered up her mouth, cutting off whatever she was about to say. Fluttershy seemed to hunker down a bit, realizing where this conversation was quickly going.
“Ah don’t mind her, Tiara. Having two father figures in your life is perfectly fine!”
Twilight started acting a little strangely as well. Her eyes darting between the different ponies in the room as she tried to find something to say.
“Uh Rarity?” Fluttershy said. They both looked at her while I just sighed inwardly. “She… kind of already knows…”
Their eyes grew wide as they darted back and forth between Fluttershy and I. I sat quietly sipping on a cup of water Fluttershy had made for me, waiting for the question I knew they were about to ask.
“H-how?”
I put my cup down, staring into it as a much stronger vibration passed through my body. I started to get worried. My body shouldn’t be acting like this. I opened my mouth to explain, but Fluttershy spoke first. “It’s a technique you get when you become a guardian. You can see these… strings. They let you see how a pony is connected to others, like if their friends or family.”
“And if the person whose string its connected to dies, then the string cuts itself leaving a little stub.” I finished, taking another sip of my water. Yes, my father Filthy was dead. Had been for two years now. It wasn’t a big deal, at least not anymore. I had come to terms with my fathers death a long, long time ago. The only thing I was really concerned about was what they did to my house. I had hoped he left it in Fancy Pants name. He was a good friend of ours and his wife was even more so. Almost like the mother I never had. Though perhaps now I should say sister. If they still had the house then at the very least I’d have somewhere to live when my training was over.
“Oh… Tiara I-” Rainbow started. But I cut her off.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had two years to get over it. I’m fine now. Besides, lord Everfree was with me so it wasn’t so bad.”
“This lord Everfree… you said he’s always been in the Everfree didn’t you?” Twilight said. Ever the inquisitive one isn’t she?
“No. He hasn’t always been in the Everfree, he IS the Everfree. The two are one in the same.”
“Well then how come we’ve never heard of him? I mean you’d think that they’d mention him in a story or something.”
“Well uh that’s the thing Twilight… you have heard of him. Everyone has.” Fluttershy said.
“What do you mean?”
Fluttershy looked at her uneasily, not that that’s saying much. She IS Fluttershy after all. “Remember the song? The rhyme we’re all taught as foals? That’s his mark on history. It’s a message to any child who gets lost in the Everfree that they need not fear death while they’re there because if something bad does happen to them, master will save them.”
Twilight looked a little stunned. Honestly I thought that we had covered that during the explanation. I guess some things just go over peoples heads no matter how many times you explain it, even when they’re braniac princesses.. “Wait,” she asked. “If he does that for young fillys, then how come he doesn’t just take care of them the whole time they’re in the forest? Or teleport them out? Or even help any adults. And wouldn’t it be easier to just let everypony know that he exists rather than just keeping everypony in the dark?”
Fluttershy began to answer but I raised my hoof to signal to her to be quiet. I was growing agitated with sitting here answering this mares questions. I had only recently realized how important my mission is and I didn’t have the time to deal with her pointless nonsense. “To answer your questions one, our master holds back every evil beast that exists in this world. You really think he has the time to watch over a small confused child that can’t take care of itself? It’s one thing for us guardians. So long as he keeps us near the edge of the forest, we can live easily given how resilient we are. But a regular child? Not a chance. He can’t teleport them out for the same reason, takes too much power. He’s got to conserve that for ACTUAL problems. As for adults, they’re SUPPOSED to be responsible. If you can’t handle the Everfree, you shouldn’t be in there. An adult should also be smart enough to get out on their own. As for keeping ponies in the dark, well…” I looked at her dead in the eyes, whispering the final word of my chant, Vladimare, to show her a kind of watered down version of my true form. I wanted the intimidating effect without eating through all of the power the seed I ate provided. So long as I didn’t actually do anything, I should be alright, especially since Fluttershy lives right next to the forest. 
I didn’t have any armor and my robe and tiara remained perfectly the way they were supposed to. I put my face right up to hers giving her the most intimidating look I could muster. “There aren’t that many ponies that want to live next door to a monster now, are there?” I said before reverting back to my original form. Twilight just stared at me, eyes wide with fear. I chuckled to myself. I guess I still got it.
Rarity sat there quietly the whole time looking down at the ground, much to my surprise. I would have thought she’d been the first to jump all over me asking about how I felt and if I was dealing with everything well. Instead she just seemed lost in thought.
“Fluttershy…” she said. “Can… can those threads tell you where someone is?” I looked at her confused. She wanted to find someone?
“Um… yes… no… sort of. They can tell us which direction they’re in. But you’d have to actually follow the string to find out exactly where they are.”
“Why haven’t we been using it then?!” Rarity screamed as she stood up. 
I jerked my head backwards in surprise. I was really confused. Fluttershy looked at me noticing my confusion and said  “She and Sweetie Bell got into a fight a couple of days ago and no ponies seen her since.” Sweetie Bell was missing? That was most definitely not good, especially with all the monsters on the loose.
“And to answer your question Rarity, I’m not supposed to without special permission. It’s pretty much the same as spying on someones personal life and Lord Everfree doesn’t like invading ponies privacy.” she said casting a quick glance at me. Whoops. Guess I forgot about that…
“Well it’s not an invasion of privacy now! I’m giving you permission! Use your stringy… thing and FIND MY SISTER!” she yelled so loud Fluttershy and I had to cover our ears. Heightened senses and upset high maintenance ponies did not go well together apparently.
“Okay okay we’ll look. Sheesh just be quiet.” I said, the old me dribbling out a little. Then again if anypony was going to make me act like my old self, I was pretty sure it would be Rarity. Either that or Pinkie Pie… that mare creeps me out!
Fluttershy and I concentrated for a moment before opening our eyes again to look at her strings. We had to ask Rarity a couple of questions about her family to figure out which one was Sweetie Bells, but when we did, our jaws dropped. Suddenly the shivers made sense. They were warnings. This was bad. This was very, VERY bad.
“Rarity…” Fluttershy whispered. “Sit down, I need you to listen very carefully to me. Don’t do anything rash.” Rarity sat down slowly, fear quickly consuming her face. I looked down at the ground, unable to meet the mares eyes anymore. “Sweetie Bell is in the Everfree… and it looks like her string is… growing.”
Rarity looked at us confused. She didn’t understand what Fluttershy meant but I certainly did. Strings don’t get bigger when your feelings for a person change. They only end up moving a different way at different speeds. The threads of life only ever grew for one of two reasons. Either it was the formation of an entirely new bond or the bond had been severed and was being reattached.
I watched the string in silence as Fluttershy explained what we both knew had transpired. For a moment, the room suddenly became so quiet you could here a pin drop. Then the most mind curdling scream rang out from Rarity as she began to sob into the chest of a completely stunned Rainbow Dash.
I sent a silent prayer to my master, begging him to take good care of my new little sister.