“Ughh...”
As Rainbow Dash led the pack in crashing through the underbrush to avoid a patch of blue flowers overgrowing the path that she and Twilight Sparkle had labeled “dangerous,” Rarity let out a groan of discontent.
“How long, exactly, will it take for us to get to this castle?”
Twilight took a moment to tap a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well, the castle ruins are about eight and four sevenths miles along the path. Given a normal walking speed over less than hospitable terrain, that means the whole trip would take about one and a half hours, give or take a few minutes for variation in speed. Of course, that's assuming Nightmare Moon doesn't have any more surprises waiting for us.”
Pinkie giggled. “I like surprises!”
“It's only been thirty minutes, Rarity,” came Rainbow's irritated voice floating back through the branches. “Try not to let the dirt get to you so quick, alright?”
The soft blue light from Rarity's horn was a relief from the murky shadows of the forest as Rarity combed yet another twig from her mane. She scowled.
“The Everfree Forest would be much more tolerable if there wasn't quite so much debris in it, just waiting to ruin a pony's coiffure.”
“How in the hay can you tell how long it's been?” Applejack spoke up. “Everythin's so creepy quiet in here Ah can hardly think straight. And Ah can't make out the Sun at all, through these trees.”
“That's because there is no Sun,” Rainbow huffed. “Remember? We're here to rescue Princess Celestia.”
“Oh, right. Ah knew that...” Applejack sighed. “It's just, it feels like the Sun should be up by now, you know? Like, Ah feel like Ah should be workin', right about now. It just doesn't seem real...”
One of Twilight's ears gave a little twitch, and her face scrunched up as she turned to look at the farmer. “I know how you feel, Applejack. This whole disaster has completely thrown off my schedule.” She sighed. “And today was supposed to be the longest day of the year! I had so much planned to do today, and now it looks like it's going to have to wait until tomorrow.”
“If there is a tomorrow...”
Twilight blinked and stared wide-eyed at Fluttershy, hardly believing what the pegasus had just said. Fluttershy kept walking, with wings clapped tightly to her thin frame, and her face hidden behind her hair.
“Noooo worries!” Pinkie hummed, drifting back in line to loop a foreleg over Fluttershy's withers in one exaggerated movement. “We'll set things right with Princess Moon, and the Sun will be back up in the sky in no time, you'll see. So don't worry, Flutter-by!”
Applejack frowned. “... What do you mean, 'set things right?' You're not thinkin' of tryin' to make a deal with her or anythin', are you? 'Cause Ah ain't sittin' right with that.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded, looking back for the first time in a while. “You don't actually think she'll be willing to talk to us, do you? 'Cause I was hoping for a better plan. Like, one that actually has a chance of working.”
Pinkie smiled. “Oh no, we're just gonna blast her with the Elements. Although, there is always a lot of talking and lecturing and 'this is how you're wrong' and stuff. But it's really the blasting that does the trick.”
“Good,” Rainbow smirked. “Get the Elements and blast the baddie. That's a plan I can get behind.”
Applejack's frown deepened, but she didn't say anything as the group continued on into the forest.
“Alright. Here's the path again,” Rainbow said, turning back to where she was going. “Looks clear.”
“How exactly do the Elements of Harmony work?” Twilight wondered, as she stepped out onto the path. “There's not much really written about them. They haven't been used in such a long time...”
“Oh, it's pretty simple,” Pinkie nodded. “The bearers all get together and cast a spell through their Elements, and then the Elements blast everything that needs blasting when, uh, the bearers wish really really hard, or something. I dunno. The Princess didn't really tell me that part.” She shook her head. “You can have two bearers, or six bearers, or any number in between, but you've got to have more than one bearer or it doesn't work right.”
Twilight frowned. “So... the great and powerful ancient magic artifacts we're staking all of everything on are powered by... wishing really hard.”
“Really really hard,” Pinkie said. She shrugged. “Maybe it helps if one of the bearers is a unicorn? I think it's supposed to be pretty easy.”
“Right...” Twilight muttered. “If we get all the way there and wind up all decked out with a magical superweapon only to find out we can't fire it, I'm going to be so embarrassed...”
Pinkie giggled. “I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen, Twily.”
Twilight jerked a half-step, but the others didn't notice, as they stepped out into a wide strip of open grass. Rainbow Dash frowned.
“What the hay?”
In front of them was a placidly flowing river, with muddied waters and nicely sized stepping stones for a pony to make it across. Sitting there, on the only lily pad to be seen, was a rather large yellow and orange frog.
“Toll,” the frog croaked. “Toll. Toll.”
“A Toll Frog?” Rainbow glared. “What is something like that doing in the Southern River?”
“What?” Twilight blinked. “But Toll Frogs never leave the waters they're born in. Froggy Bottom Bog only connects to the Northern Everfree River, not Everfree South.”
“Well how did this one get here, then?”
“Is this thing not supposed to be here?” Applejack asked. “Do y'all think Nightmare Moon moved it?”
“How?” Twilight frowned. “Nothing and nopony would dare to move a Toll Frog by hoof. They're extremely dangerous when provoked.”
“Maybe she used magic then,” the farmer suggested.
Twilight shook her head. “That wouldn't work at all. Toll Frogs eat mana. Unicorn magic has no effect on them. Well,” she amended, “I suppose it would be possible, if you poured in enough that the frog couldn't eat any more, but then the frog would be... well, dead.”
“Well, maybe she was all clever about it,” Applejack continued. “What if you magicked up, say, the ground beneath it instead of the frog itself?”
“There are a number of reasons why that probably wouldn't work,” Twilight said. “Still, it's an interesting line of thought. I don't think anypony has taken the opportunity to observe a Toll Frog in captivity. Maybe I could look into that sometime...”
“It doesn't really matter though,” Twilight continued, “because I just realized something else. If we're only a bit more than half an hour into the woods, we shouldn't be coming up to the river yet. Something's very wrong here...”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Pinkie asked bouncing up to the bank across from the first stone. “Let's get across, already. Time's a'wasting!”
“Toll,” the frog croaked, as the lily pad drifted between Pinkie and the stepping stone. “Toll!”
“Pinkie!” Dash cried, snatching the excitable earther back from the shore just before she could take a leap. “What are you doing, you idiot?! Don't you know what a Toll Frog is?”
“Well,” Pinkie hummed, “it's a frog that says 'Toll.'”
“And eats anything with magic in it that tries to cross its river,” Rainbow finished. “Anything with magic. Like, say, ponies.”
“It eats ponies?” Pinkie blinked. “Huh.”
“Yes, ponies,” Rainbow said. “Ponies like you. You are a pony.”
“... Yes?” Pinkie said, her normal smile slipping into an amused grin. “I'm not sure where you're going with this.”
Dash growled. “For the love of... It was going to eat you!”
“Ohhh!” Pinkie gasped. “Well, I'm glad it didn't, then.”
As Rainbow Dash curled up in a seething ball of mild irritation, Fluttershy stepped forward with a cough.
“Um... Mister Frog?” she asked. “I'm sorry, but we didn't, um, bring anything to trade with you this time. I know it's very important to you to keep to your toll, but what we're doing is also very important. So, um... could you please let us pass? Just this once?”
“Toll,” the frog croaked. “Toll.”
The others glanced at Fluttershy. Her head hung down a little.
“... He said no. I'm sorry...”
“That's alright, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “A Toll Frog will always stick to its toll. Since they don't ever leave the water, they survive by forcing passers-by to feed them things with high magic density, like Live Vines, or Ember Stones. I don't think there's even a single recorded instance of one letting somepony pass without paying first.”
“But we don't have any of that stuff!” Rainbow scowled. “How are we supposed to cross now?”
“Rainbow Dash, why can't you just fly us across?” Rarity asked. “I don't see how it can do much to stop us then.”
Rainbow stared at her.
“You're joking. You're joking, right? Aggh, you're not joking. You want me to try to dodge a Toll Frog, with passengers.” She slapped a hoof to her face. “Before anypony else tries to volunteer as lunchmeat, I think maybe I should demonstrate just how dangerous a Toll Frog is.”
Rainbow stooped down low enough to the bank to scoop up one of the smooth river rocks. With a casual toss, she sent the stone sailing over her shoulder in the direction of the river.
Instantly, the water erupted as a massive pink tongue, wide as a tree trunk, smashed through the space the stone used to occupy. The tongue held there, reaching out of sight into the forest canopy, giving the ponies on the shore just enough time to see that it was coming not from the frog on the lily pad, but from something much bigger, hidden in the water. Then the tongue retracted, and the frog slid forward over the place the tongue had been.
“No. No,” the Frog croaked. “Toll. Toll. Toll.”
Twilight coughed.
“... In case you couldn't tell,” she said, “the smaller frog we can see isn't the whole of the Toll Frog, or even its main body. It's sort of an extension, an antenna or a periscope stretching from the main body to the surface, to interact with the creatures above the water. The periscope locates or arranges for a tribute, and then the main body, um... eats it.”
Applejack stared with wide eyes at the ripples dying away on the water.
“... Wow.”
“The rock didn't work, by the way,” Twilight added. “That's why the frog said 'no.' The rock wasn't magic, of course.”
“You mean to tell me that grotesquely large creature is the smaller beast?” Rarity said, face screwed up as she stepped gingerly away from the water's edge and held a hoof to her chest. “Oh ew, ew ew ew~! I hate working with amphibians. Their skin is so... slimy.”
“It's like an angler fish,” Pinkie said brightly, “except a frog, and with sound instead of light, and it's more of a warning than a lure, and it lives in a river not the sea, and it's not really like an angler fish at all. Except it is!”
“They're really not so bad,” Fluttershy said. “Their toll is very reasonable. You don't need much, just a pinch or two. And they like to live near things they like to eat, so it's easy to get some, even if you didn't bring any with you.”
“Why is Applejack the only one of you who reacts like you should?” Rainbow asked. “This is a Toll Frog. You should be terrified!”
Applejack frowned. “Are you callin' me a chicken?”
“I'm calling you sane.”
“Hey!” Pinkie cried. “Don't call my friends things I don't know the meaning of, Dashell.”
Rainbow Dash threw her hooves up in disgust.
“We need to look for something to trade,” Twilight said. “I'm afraid I'm not quite as familiar with plants or objects as I am with creatures. Fluttershy, do you know anything around here we could use?”
“Well... No, I don't really see anything around here...” Fluttershy replied. “There aren't so many things they like in the South part of the Everfree.”
“Hmm...”
The two stood a while in thought.
“Well,” Applejack said, “what about that plant we passed earlier? The blue one. You said it was magic, right? Would that work?”
“Poison Joke!” Twilight cried. “Of course! Not exactly a Toll Frog's normal diet, but it should have more than enough magic to pay for us to cross. We'll have to be careful transporting it, but if Rarity or I use our levimancy, that shouldn't be a problem.”
“Alright!” Rainbow cheered. “Let's just hurry. Hold on, Twi, I'll get us there and back in no time.”
“Wait, what are you – Ah!”
Dash pounced on Twilight's back and locked her forelegs around the unicorn's barrel, before tearing the both of them from the ground with a snap of her wings and hurtling back down the path the direction they had come. The others were left blinking owlishly as fallen leaves stirred in the backdraft.
“Okaaay,” Pinkie started. “Well then, while we're waiting for them to get back... Anypony want to play tic-tac–”
“What the hay?”
Pinkie jumped in surprise, and spun around to find Rainbow and Twilight already back, behind her. The hunter's face was screwed up in a baffled grimace.
“Wow!” Pinkie cried. “That was fast! Did you get the flowers?”
“How in the hay are we back here?” Rainbow asked, Dropping Twilight roughly to her hooves, and crossing her forelegs in front of her. “I couldn't have gotten lost. There's only one path! You didn't notice us turning, did you Twilight?”
“Speed–” Twilight moaned. She staggered drunkenly, her violet cheeks turning a pale shade of green. “Velocity– Acceleration, inertia just– not physically possible~ *Hurk!* Ohhh...”
“Darling, whatever is the matter?” Rarity asked. “Are you saying you got turned around?”
“I followed the path!” Rainbow growled. “Wait here. I'm going to check on something...”
Rainbow took off down the path again, slower this time, scanning the forest as she went. As she disappeared back into the trees, the others watched with bated breath. When she walked back out of the forest not a minute later, she frowned, heavily.
“We can't go back,” she said. “Something's messed with the path. That Nightmare's used some kind of weird magic; it hurts my head to look at too long. It's like it just... caves inward or something. Or outward. Ugh, I can't explain it...”
Pinkie gasped. “She bent space?!”
“Yeah...” Rainbow nodded. “I guess she did.”
“Did she bend it into a bubble,” Pinkie asked, “or just a wall?”
“I don't know!” Rainbow replied. “I didn't check up above.”
“Oh no,” Fluttershy gasped. “Are we – t-trapped?”
“If –” Twilight wheezed, color slowly returning to her face. “If it's just a wall, then we're okay. It can't extend up forever, even if Nightmare Moon is powerful enough to defeat Celestia. We can just fly over it. But if it's a dome...”
“Best think positive, dear,” Rarity chimed. “Ah! There's an idea. Would it be possible for you, Rainbow, to fly us so high that not even the Toll Frog would be able to catch us?”
Rainbow Dash winced. “I kinda wanted to avoid flying through the forest canopy. The only really dangerous thing around these parts are the Octospiders, and they like to hang out in the trees. It's safer to stay on the path. Still, if it's the only way... I'll check it out.”
Rainbow took a deep breath. Then, gritting her teeth, she flew straight up into the air. There was the sound of snapping branches and rustling leaves, and then she came slamming down into the ground, having turned completely round in her flight.
“Nope,” she sighed. “There's a ceiling.”
Twilight frowned. “So it is a bubble, or at least a dome. Or maybe another wall? Urg... This isn't good...”
Applejack had been staring at the strange river and the Toll Frog within it for some time. Now, her eyes drifted downwards until they rested on the bank. She paused, and leaned in closer to run a hoof across the ground.
“... Ah can see it,” she said. “there's a space – 'bout a hoof wide – 'cross which the dirt changes color. A line, running along the river. You see? On the one side, it's dark, and on the other side, it's sorta redish.” She gestured with a hoof. “That must be what she's done. She's moved the whole river here!”
“Really?” Pinkie asked. She drew a fetlock across her brow. “Whew! That's a relief.”
“W- what?” Fluttershy squeaked. She flinched as Pinkie turned to smile at her. “I- I mean... how can that be good?”
“Oh, well,” Pinkie scoffed, “for a moment there, when Dashiel mentioned the path, I thought Princess Moon might have just trapped us in a bubble of space. Buuut, since she also moved the river, that means she's piecing a whole bunch of distortions together; there's no way there isn't an exit somewhere.”
Twilight blinked. “You're right, Pinkie! She can't have pieced all these spells together and still achieved perfect encapsulation. In fact, since the river's still running, that means there must be a hole there for the water to come from! We're not trapped yet. Although,” she added, “getting sent to Everfree North would be a huge waste of time. We need to find a hole that lets us continue down the path. Now, where would she have put it?”
Pinkie shrugged. “Probably over there.”
She pointed across the river, past the Toll Frog, which croaked ominously.
“That's where I would have put it, anyway.”
The others shivered.
“... It's as good a bet as any,” Twilight nodded. “And I think – I can see a fair way down the path ahead, and I think it's clear.”
“Well shoot,” Applejack huffed. “How are we going to get across if we can't fetch any magic stuff to pay the toll with?”
“Well, if Pinkie had actually jumped in, our problems would be solved,” Rainbow snarked. “A pony is more than enough mana to pay a Toll Frog's toll. Who volunteers?”
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy scolded. “That's not funny.”
Dash smirked. “I kid, I kid...” Turning, she pointed at Twilight and Rarity. “You two are unicorns. Can't you just beam stuff at him until he let's us cross?”
Twilight frowned. “The amount of magic actually emitted by a unicorn's spells is barely a fraction of the magic present in a pony's whole body. When I was talking earlier about filling a Toll Frog to bursting, I was taking into account a magic ability powerful enough to move the Sun and Moon. There's no way even together that Rarity and I could emit enough power.”
“... I heard once,” Rarity said, “that ponies used to use the filings from a unicorn's horn to pay the toll.”
Twilight flinched. “W- well, yes. Unicorn horn is... highly dense in magic. B- but, the amount of horn required... you need almost two grams. Taking it all at once, it would be about half an inch from the tip of your horn. Even if you spread it out, and even if we both contributed, we would still have to cut into living bone. It used to be gathered over a period of weeks of growth and filing – we couldn't just do it now. It wouldn't just be painful, it could seriously damage our ability to perform magic.”
Rarity frowned. “I thought our horns grew back.”
“Well, t-technically, yes,” Twilight stammered. “But if they aren't cared for properly in the meantime, there could still be p-permanent conduction loss. And even a little damage would leave a unicorn unable to cast until it healed...”
There was silence for a moment as the others watched Twilight cringe under Rarity's inscrutable stare.
“... Well then,” Rarity said. “Rainbow, darling, could I borrow your blade for a moment?”
Twilight's head jerked up. She stared as Rainbow Dash wordlessly held her short sword out to the armorer.
“Rarity...” Twilight said. “You don't have to do this. We can find another way!”
“Nonsense,” Rarity sniffed, taking the sword up in her magic aura. “Perhaps we could find another way, if we looked; but I'll gladly accept a minor inconvenience if it means we can rescue Sweetie Belle that little bit more quickly. I can give this much.”
She paused. “I suppose I can't exactly use my magic for this, now can I?” Transferring the sword to her hooves, she lifted it to the tip of her horn. “Just a bit off the top...”
There was a small *snitck* of the blade cutting through the bone. Twilight blanched, and Fluttershy hid her face. Then it was over, and Rarity lowered her hooves again.
“There we are,” she said, holding out the bit of horn to Rainbow Dash. Rarity's voice was calm as ever, and her pale face hid any discomfort. “Would you care to do the honors, Miss Dash? I think I'll just sit down for a moment.”
“R-Rarity,” Fluttershy whispered. “You're bleeding...”
Rarity's eyes widened. “I am?” She crossed her eyes in an attempt to see the tip of her horn. “Oh. Oh my! Fluttershy, quickly, could I bother you for one of those bandages of yours? Blood is so hard to get out of one's coat.”
As Fluttershy hurried to tend to the wound, Twilight stepped round, face tense. “You've cut into the marrow,” she said. “Make sure not to cast any spells until that heals. Using your horn now would only make it worse.”
Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. “It's not like I use magic all that much anyway. Other ponies get along just fine without it. Rainbow Dash,” she called out, “what is taking you so long? Hurry up and give the frog the toll, so we can be on our way.”
Rainbow nodded numbly. Turning to the river, she tossed the white horn fragment over the waters, and the Toll Frog snatched it up.
“Yes, yes. Toll paid, toll paid.” The frog drifted to the side, clearing the way to the stepping stones.
“... Alright then,” Applejack said. “We can cross now.” She hopped over to the first stone. “Let's get goin'.”
“I'm almost finished here,” Fluttershy said.
“Go on ahead, Twilight,” Rarity hummed. “We'll be with you in a moment.”
Twilight nodded. She, Pinkie and Applejack all began crossing the river, while Rainbow hovered up to where Fluttershy was putting on the finishing touches.
“... That was pretty hardcore, Rares.” Rainbow coughed. “Uh. Could I have my sword back now? I still want it for when –”
“Toll.”
Rainbow's eyes widened. She whirled round to find the others across the stream, and the Toll Frog blocking the path once more.
“Toll. Toll.”
“Wha–” Rainbow sputtered. “Oh, that straw-feathered, worm-sucking spawn of a diseased iguana! We already paid you your toll!”
“Mister Frog!” Fluttershy gasped. “How could you do something like this? We need to get to the other side, or else terrible things will happen!”
“Toll,” the Frog said, changing neither tone nor expression. “Toll.”
Rarity frowned just slightly at the amphibian sitting in the water. She stood, and walked over to the river's edge. Without hesitation she carved off another piece of horn, shearing through the bandage and bone alike in a single stroke. She tossed the second toll into the river, where the Frog snatched it up before wandering off downstream, looking quite satisfied with itself.
“... Greedy brute,” Rarity muttered.
Sweetie Belle gaped at the image floating in front of her. Her hoof slowly drifted up to feel her own nub of a horn as her eyes were glued to the injured remains of her sister's.
“... Impressive.” The Nightmare grinned. “Your sister is quite exceptional, little Belle.”
“She didn't even flinch or anything!” Scootaloo cried. “She was just all whisk, and 'here you go, frog-face, it's not even a big deal!' Doesn't that hurt, Sweetie Belle? I'm pretty sure that hurts, right?”
Apple Bloom nodded slowly. “... You must be proud of a sister like that, huh?”
Sweetie Belle didn't say anything. She just kept staring at the screen, as her sister and the other members of the rescue party finished making their way across the stream.
Nightmare Moon leaned in over Sweetie Belle's shoulder.
“So,” she whispered. “She's got the looks and the poise of a true lady of nobility. Walking into the dark depths of a forest of death at the drop of a hat. Sacrificing her own well-being for the ones she loves without batting an eye. What must it be like, having such an image of perfection for a sister?”
“... I didn't think she would do that,” Sweetie Belle muttered. “She's fussy. Rarity can't even stand a little dirt – she wouldn't go into the Everfree. She wouldn't do – t-that. I'm the brave one... right?”
Nightmare pulled herself up to her full height. “Well. It seems that these intrepid ponies have managed to get past yet another road-block. I suppose I will have to start getting creative.”
With a flash of magic, a wide and detailed bracelet appeared around her metal bracer, glowing blue runes lining its edges and surface. She tapped a hoof on it, and the symbols changed, pulsing rapidly before settling into a steady line. Then she paused.
“But whatever shall I do?” she asked idly. “What new monster could I create that would completely overwhelm these hapless pursuers? A Ligon, perhaps? But no, those are hardly even viable. And so many of my good ideas have already gone into the Everfree Forest – I'm sure that scholar of theirs will know of them. What to do, what to do... I know!”
The fillies jumped as the magic bracelet clanged on the ground in front of them. Nightmare grinned in a way that showed far too many teeth.
“You're going to help me out.”