//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Boast Backers // by Bed Head //------------------------------// It was almost impressive just how long Trixie had been waiting. With all the stories about the dangers of the Everfree Forest, most ponies made a point of avoiding being anywhere near it. Even the townsfolk of Ponyville, famed for being so close, kept the majority of their homes and businesses as far from its dark borders as possible. Anypony that had to get within sight of it usually hurried by as quickly as possible. Only three exceptions stood out in recent memory. The first being the odd, yellow pegasus in her cottage. Even then, she was content with the animals that flocked around her home. She never seemed interested in crossing the Everfree's borders. The second (and most notable) was the group of six that had trampled through just two short weeks ago. The ones that the townsfolk had praised as heroes for their defeat of Nightmare Moon. Even they seemed to think that one trip was enough for a lifetime, as none of them had stepped close to the woods since. Trixie, however had been in the forest once already. Normal expectations would have had the mare simply run back to town. Yet there she was, along with her cart and the two colts that had been waiting for her. All easily within sight of from the Everfree's border. Somehow, Zecora had a feeling it wasn't courage that had brought Trixie back. Based on the way she was pacing, it wasn't her conscience either. The zebra's face felt stuck on a disapproving frown as she glared at the frustrating, blue mare. "Ow!" Trixie's voice carried as her hoof jerked up. Zecora twisted to the side just in time to avoid the pebble that had been kicked toward her hiding place. As she did, the zebra could see Trixie's eyes grow wide. The unicorn actually stumbled backwards a bit as her eyes tracked Zecora's movements. The striped mare went still again, staring back at Trixie. For a second she wanted to step out of hiding. Confront the unicorn and maybe talk to her one more time, to warn her— "Hey, Trixie!" Zecora merely shook her head as Trixie spun back around. The purple stallion from yesterday morning was there. Trixie was already smiling again and standing more confidently. And Spike's voice carried just far enough for Zecora to hear, "Let's get this over with." With a solemn sigh, the zebra found a darker shadow from which to watch. Chapter 7 Act tough, act tough, act tough Despite his brave words and the mantra running through his head, Spike could feel his legs starting to shake. Tightening his jaw, he began tapping one hoof in what he hoped looked like an annoyed manner. He wanted to believe it was the anger making him twitchy. Trixie was continuing to smile even with his glare fixed on her. The same, infuriating grin she'd worn on-stage just the day before. Of course, anything beat looking behind the mare Act tough... For some reason his inner voice was getting harder to hear. Spike's leg paused mid-tap as he tried to figure out why. It wasn't as though his gaze had wandered to the dark, foreboding forest just over Trixie's shoulder. Suddenly, though, his pulse was hammering in his ears. It was almost as bad as the first time he'd laid eyes on the Everfree in person. He could see the tangled trees swaying in the chilling night breeze. Their branches hanging low like so many clawed hands, waiting to drag him into the shadows within their borders— "Well, you certainly kept us waiting long enough," Trixie's voice broke in. Spike tore his gaze away back to the blue mare with a sharp gasp. Time had (thankfully) slowed somehow while he'd been staring at towards the Everfree Forest. Trixie hadn't seemed to noticed anything judging by how casually she buffed the clasp of her cape. Spike could feel heat building in his chest, warding away the cool summer night as he watched the reason for his midnight excursion fix him with her mocking smile again. "I'm here now," he said, finally finding his voice again as he pawed at the ground. "Are we doing this or not?" A short bark of laughter was Trixie's answer. The heat surged through Spike as he grit his teeth in response. He couldn't remember why he'd nearly been trembling just a moment ago. All he could focus on was Trixie as she circled around him. "Well aren't you eager all of a sudden?" she taunted. "But we can't have the show without a decent crowd!" Spike's breath caught in this throat at the words that followed. "So, 'fess up." She held the same, venomous smile the whole time. "Where are your friends?" He was picturing Twilight before he could stop himself. The little dragon, curled up in her bed and clutching her blankets tightly. Muttering two simple words in her sleep as he slid toward the exit of their shared loft. Spike... don't... "They're not coming." Spike let out a little snort as he growled out the words. "This is between you and me." For a second, he savored the surprise in Trixie's eyes as she looked over him. The shock faded quickly, however, as her hoof rose over her mouth. Spike's ears twitched as he heard the start of a suppressed giggle. "Well, I guess there's always Snips and Snails—" she started to comment. "Soooo... you're really gonna do it Mr. Spike?" a slow, drawling voice broke in. "You're gonna get rid of Zecora?" The unicorn's frustration froze as his head turned to the pair of colts standing nearby. Snips and Snails both had their eyes locked on him, and Spike could swear they were shining with adoration. Before he could respond, both of them jumped forward. The journalist barely managed to keep his balance as the two younger unicorns crowded around him. "Oooh! Are you gonna use the rainbow like Princess Celestia told us about?" Snips was speaking so quickly Spike could barely understand him. "Or did using the Elements give you some kinda—" "Ahem!" A pulse of pink light reached out and grabbed the two colts. Something Spike was silently thankful for as it dragged Snips and Snails back. Even knowing the source of the spell, he couldn't help his smirk as he noticed the frustrated glare Trixie was shooting the two colts. "Rein it in, you two," Trixie scolded as she released the two colts. "Don't forget that Spike's just here to finish what the Great and Powerful Trixie started." The annoyance had already vanished from her face as she looked back to Spike. His own smirk quickly twisted to a sneer in response. "If he can, that is," she finished, a bolt of pink light flicking at his hat. Spike's own horn flared, catching the fedora before it could fly off. "Anything you can—" he shot back. "Spike! Don't!" Spike's mouth snapped shut, one hoof going to his head as Twilight's voice echoed between his ears. Pull it together! Don't think about... wait. Spike's expression softened, his ears twitching at the sound of incoming footsteps. Very fast incoming footsteps, coupled with the bemused look Trixie was casting over his shoulder. His chest tightened as he realized the voice hadn't just been in his head. Oh please no... He knew the silent prayer would go unanswered before he even turned around. There was no mistaking the purple dragoness sprinting toward him. Twilight was nearly tripping over herself as Spike broke into a canter of his own toward her. He stumbled as, with a sudden burst of speed, Twilight lunged forward. The air drove from his lungs as she clasped her claws around his chest. "Well, isn't that sweet?" Trixie commented with a chuckle. Spike let out a frustrated snort, his horn lighting with a harsh glow. A crackling sound filled the air as a dome of emerald light popped into being around him and Twilight. With the sound of Trixie's obnoxious snickering shut out, his attention turned to the dragon burying her face against his chest. "Twi, what are you doing here?" Spike asked as he gently pushed her down from the embrace. "How'd you even know—" "It's you we're talking about." Twilight answered as she wiped at her nose, turning a hard glare up to Spike. The unicorn's tongue tangled, unwilling to admit the truth to her statement. Even with the harsh look his assistant was giving him, however, he could still see tears at the corners of her eyes. The little dragon's chest was heaving in and out as she tried to pant as quietly as possible, struggling to catch her breath. Or possibly from trying to keep herself from crying. Either way he was quite surprised as a scaly fist lashed out, bouncing off his chest. "Hey!" Spike protested, rubbing at the spot. "Didn't you listen to Thunderlane and the others?!" Twilight scolded, ignoring his complaint. Spike suppressed the urge to groan as Twilight's body trembled, this time with anger. Even as her claws bunched up for another feeble punch, however, his thoughts turned to Trixie. He could picture the showmare just watching and starting to laugh all the harder. Twilight's weight suddenly collapsing against his front forced his focus back to her. Another exhausted fist pounded on his shoulder as her whole body shook with suppressed tears. "Y-you know she's just trying to make t-trouble!" Spike could feel his body burning again, and not from Twilight's natural warmth. There was no doubt Trixie was rolling on the ground with laughter as the little dragon's tirade continued. "You—" Another punch. Trixie was was probably encouraging Snips and Snails to join in. "Know—" Another fist, more laughter, and a growl finally tore its way from his throat. "Yeah, I know what Trixie's like!" Spike shouted, pushing Twilight away. Blood was pounding in his ears as he jumped to his hooves. He was vaguely aware that Twilight had stumbled and fallen onto her rear. He could feel her wide-eyed stare as he began restlessly pacing. "You know what Trixie's like too, Twi! She's not just gonna stop and leave us alone!" Spike strained to focus on the shield, even as his voice continued to raise. "Not unless somepony shuts her up like last time!" Twilight wasn't the only one staring at him. Cracks were starting to appear in the dome. Through them he could just make out five phantom ponies, each fixing him with a disapproving look. A sight that only made his pulse hammer harder against the inside of his head. Why doesn't anypony think I can handle this?! He winced as his vision rippled, the ghostly images of his friends vanishing from sight. The shield was trembling, starting to split at the cracks as something incessantly rapped against it. Twilight was already picking herself up as Spike turned around, unsurprised to see Trixie tapping at his spell with one hoof. "I'm waaaaaiting," she taunted, her voice muffled only slightly by the magic. With a low snarl, Spike dismissed the bubble of light between him and the showmare. Trixie simply returned his glare with a nonchalant shrug. "Hey, you're the one that was so eager to get started a second ago," she pointed out. "Getting cold hooves, Spikey?" "You wish," he answered, green light shimmering around his horn. "Fine. Then let's get going," Trixie declared, spinning toward the forest. "We've got a lot of ground to cover!" Spike barely avoided catching her cape across the face. He blinked once as Trixie's last sentence slowly sank through his skull. "Wait," he said, breaking into a trot after her. "What do you mean 'we?'" Trixie paused for a moment to look over her shoulder at him. For just a second, Spike could see something more than the usual malice in her smile. Something almost wickedly mischievous. "Oh Spike, somepony has to make sure you get the job done," Trixie said as she turned back around. "And it's not like I'm going to just take your word for it." Spike grit his teeth, his eye twitching as the mare trotted into the trees with a bounce in her step. His hooves pushed forward, eager to keep Trixie in sight as her pink light pushed the shadows aside. His canter swiftly slowed to a walk, followed by a crawl, then a full stop just one step from the borderline. He swallowed hard, unfortunately failing to stop the lump forming in his throat. "Awww, don't worry!" Snails' slowly drawled from behind him. Spike's head snapped back, and his breath hitched in his throat for a second. Snails wasn't speaking to him. The colt had one lanky leg draped over Twilight's shoulders, the little dragon having not moved from where she'd fallen. "Mr. Spike will be fine," Snails was saying as he gave her a gentle shake. "Trixie's going with him!" "Yeah! She'll protect him from that mean old Zecora!" Snips added, bouncing eagerly to Twilight's other side. "Uh... you know. If he needs the help, I mean..." Somehow, Spike doubted that his safety was the reason Twilight had her arms around her knees. She looked up once, teary purple eyes meeting green for just a second. Then her gaze turned sharply downward, away from his. Like you can blame her? Spike grimaced at the thought, struggling to swallow back the bitter taste as he turned away. With one final, raspy breath, he followed Trixie into the borders of the Everfree. The major wonder of the Everfree was how easily it made a pony forget their troubles the second they were inside. The idea of a forest full of dangerous creatures, unstable cliffs, and raging rapids was certainly giving Spike plenty of other things to worry about. He could only marvel at the bravado he'd shown mere moments ago. Now his legs felt like they were trying to anchor themselves to the ground. "Something wrong back there, Spike?" Trixie's asked. Spike tore his attention from his own hooves and his attempts at willing them to move faster. "I'm fine!" he answered, wincing as his voice came out a half-octave higher than normal. Clearing his throat, he forced himself to focus upwards. A soft green glow shone from his horn, mingling with the pink light of Trixie's. He tried to ignore how easily the showmare's light spell overpowered his as she slowed to keep pace with him. "Well good," she said as she nudged him with one hoof. "Trixie was starting to think you were scared or something." Spike did his best to ignore her laughter, trying to walk a bit taller as he pushed his hooves forward. Trixie began to pull ahead again, but her head turned to keep him in sight.. "Of course if you were scared you wouldn't have to stay," she pointed out. "There's still plenty of time to go back after all." "You'd l-love that, wouldn't you?" Spike grumbled under his breath. He clenched his teeth. Even unheard he couldn't keep the stammer out of his voice. His eyes were wandering, darting to each shadow as it shifted under his and Trixie's light spells. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise he could swear there was something darting amongst them, following the two unicorns. "So how far is Zecora's anyway?" he asked, as carefully as he could, straining to keep the words steady. "Ten minutes? Fifteen mayb-oof!" A yelp of surprise made Spike jump back, his horn instinctively flaring brighter. Trixie had stopped and was now glaring at him, her horn sparking as she smoothed down her cape and fixed her hat. Before he could even be sure what his response was, her hoof was holding his muzzle shut "Quiet," she ordered, lowering her hoof while the light around her grew brighter. "Did you hear that?" The hairs along Spike's back bristled as even his heartbeat followed the mare's orders. Still, a fire was lighting in his chest as he fixed Trixie with as suspicious a glare as he could manage. "N-nice try..." he drew in as deep and quiet a breath as he could. "You're not scarin—" He was interrupted again. This time by a sudden, deafening WHAM off to the side. Somepony let out a startled yell was he jumped, spinning toward the direction of the noise. It took a second for Spike to realize it had been his own voice, his cheeks flushing as his eyes darted to Trixie. Unsurprisingly, she was giving him a highly amused look. "Nice one, hero," she taunted. "Bet that scared them off." The stallion's efforts to make a witty comeback were for naught. His tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth as Trixie stalked toward the bushes lining the trail. "Alright, who's there?" Trixie shouted into the darkness. Spike grunted, prying his tongue loose. As much as part of him wanted to see something answer the blue unicorn's challenge, memories of just what might follow were running through his head. The mildest of which included a sparkling bear the size of a house. "Trixie? Maybe we should worry about why we're here?" he suggested, pointing in the direction they'd been going. "Zecora, remember? Protecting Ponyville?" Trixie didn't seem to be listening, her tail twitching to-and-fro like cat cornering prey. A gleam shone in her eyes as she crouched low. He cleared his throat again, trying not to let his eyes follow the shapes darting about in the shadows. "If you're scared, all you have to do is say so," Trixie taunted, flashing a smirk up at him. "I'm not—" Spike coughed, the lie dying in his throat. "Trixie, I've been in here before. We don't know what—" Another WHAM cut him off, sending him springing into the air once more. Only the fact that his heart had stopped all together kept him in one place. Trixie, however, spun right toward the sound, her horn flaring even brighter. "There!" she shouted, lunging forward. Spike's eyes flew wide as the mare charged forward, recklessly trampling through the brush. He could hear leaves and branches crumbling beneath her hooves as her light grew more and more distant. "Trixie?" Spike called out, trying to turn up his own spell. No voice answered him. Spike swallowed hard, watching as the pink glow darted between two trees. A second later, it blinked out. He could feel his blood freeze in his veins. "T-Trixie?" Spike shouted again, his voice quieter this time. AAAAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE! The unmistakable sound of the mare's scream flattened Spike's ears. In an instant he was bolting into the undergrowth. His lungs burned as bushes and branches scratched at his coat. A tight magical grip was the only thing that kept his hat from flying off his head as he galloped, his eyes locked on the last place he'd seen Trixie's magic. I didn't want this, I didn't want this! Somehow, repeating it over and over in his head made him realize how true the statement was. Just which part of the night he was thinking of was lost in the jumble as he slowed to a halt. Spike's chest heaved in and out as he looked around, the green light of his horn slowly shining brighter. "Trixie?" he called out, moving past the trees he'd seen her light vanish between. "Trixie!" Something rustled behind him. Spike gasped, his spell extinguishing with a soft pop as his focus on it wavered. "Trixie!" he gasped out in a harsh whisper, trying desperately to reignite his horn. "I-I swear, if this is a joke—" The green light returned, and Spike's eyes went wide. A figure in a brown cloak stood before him. Harsh, yellow eyes glared at him from beneath the hood. Their glow seemed to pierce into his very soul. One word hissed from the figure's unseen muzzle. "Run." Spike might have screamed first. He didn't really pay attention as he shot off down the first trail he could find. Twilight looked up from the small stones she'd idly been rolling between her claws. "Did you hear something?" Snails asked, staring off toward the Everfree. Twilight's fangs dug into her lower lip as she let the makeshift marble slip from her gasp. She'd been deeply hoping she'd imagined the noise that reached her ear fins. Even now it barely sounded like more than howl of wind, albeit one that cut out rather suddenly. "It was probably nothing," Snips said, nosing at a saddlebag laying next to him. "Are you sure?" Twilight asked, her claws knitting together. "It... it kinda sounded like..." Screaming? The little dragon shook her head. She hadn't wanted to think of that. Her claws nearly pierced the scales on her tail as she twisted it worriedly. Slowly she drew a deep breath, turning to the two colts nearby, her jaw opening to try and voice her concern. The effort stopped as she spotted Snips lift a camera from the bag he'd been poking at. "What's that for?" she asked as the colt began fiddling with it. "Huh?" Snips asked, his hooves scrambling to try and push the camera behind his back. "Oh, uh... what's what for?" Twilight raised one brow, fixing her sternest gaze on the chubby colt. With a defeated sigh, Snips brought the camera back around. "M-miss Trixie said I wasn't supposed to take it out till she gave the signal," Snips admitted, clutching the device close to his chest. "But I've never really used one before and I wanted to make sure it worked..." Twilight's eyes moved from the camera, to Snips, and then to the Everfree Forest. The distant (possible) scream played in her head again as comprehension slowly dawned on her. "What's Trixie supposed to signal for?" she asked, almost dreading the answer. "That she and Mister Spike were coming back," Snails answered from behind her. "She wanted us to take pictures of him." Twilight winced as she spun toward the taller colt. She did her best to ignore the scale she'd just yanked from her tail as well as the rather desperate shushes that Snips was hissing to his friend. "Pictures of when he came back," she confirmed, her voice flat. "Yeah, of when he comes outta the forest," Snails said with a slow nod. "So the whole town'll know about what happened tonight!" "And that part was supposed to be a surprise!" Snips lamented as his hoof clunked against his face. Twilight snorted herself, twin puffs of smoke blowing from her nostrils. It was suddenly becoming very clear just how annoying being right about everything could be... "Oh, is that a fact?" Twilight could feel her rapidly mounting frustration vanish. The dragon glanced between Snips and Snails, their widening eyes confirming neither of them had spoken. In fact, their stares were focused behind her. Probably on the source of the shadow that was falling over her as she spun around. "Sounds like Trixie's quite the class act." Twilight swallowed hard. This is gonna be a bad night.