//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1-The Devil in the Forest 
// Story: Emerald Fires 
// by FolkloreBrony 
//------------------------------//

////
////Prologue////
////
The land was filled with the unholy aroma as we pursued our fallen brother. His rain of terror had only started two months before, but so much had been lost in that time. I shall always to the end of my days be haunted by the evil that has fallen on us all, and as I look out and beyond the black plains that now lay before me, with the twisted and deformed bodies of not thousands, no, but millions, as far as my eyes can see, and think back to the sight above the mountains, when the sun would not give its light for the day, even as all the clouds were distant and unseen from its face, where not even an eclipse scared its gaze, and the moon that rose from the horizon would not give her light, even when it rose every night in its fullness, and only when visible, had the appearance of blood, that I wonder what good could come out of this that the One would allow so much death and ruin. But I do not question, and I do not doubt, for I myself cannot see all ends.

Onward we went running after this dark spirit, and had been on his trail for five days, but had finally caught up with the demon that was now in control, who had fled into the city of Tar-La-Mina, yes, the very city that he would have died to protect, but now a barren waste of desolation. His eyes were a sickly yellow, that pierced through our very souls, frightening and evil, full of hatred as they burned with only that rage which fire can bring. No white emitted from them, only black, consumed in his own wickedness, doomed a prisoner in his own mind. His once beautiful coat was now a horrid black, and his mane furiously burned with flames of orange and yellow as a shadow of ash and dust hung in the air before him. The atmosphere of his body made the very air around him hot as a furnace, and his lust for the blood of others was unrestrained, nay, not even unto his own kin, and had we not been prepared, we would have surely perished.

But we fought long and hard against this monster who, being driven into madness, murdered so many for so few, brutally, without mercy or conscience, and with fire, he doomed them all to eternal damnation. So we were forced to fight with our full strength, though the innermost evils within ourselves threatened to drive us to that same insanity as well.

And in that final hour we subdued him, and with the help of those heavenly jewels, the El-I-Harmoni, we freed our friend, our Allie, our brother, from that living hell. But alas, what greater hell he had to face when he saw all that he had done. And so we shall lock ourselves away in a tomb, and we shall ever be there, till a brighter day shall dawn when SHE shall return. But I pray to Moa that all these things may come to pass before the power of those jewels return to us, and the seal that holds the darkness back is broken. Amen.

Passage from “The Book of Archs: Ancient Histories of Equestria” pg. 247.

////
Chapter 1: The Devil in the Forest
////
A calm silence dominated the road leading to Sweet Apple Aches, save for the sound of sparrows perched in the orange and yellowed trees to sing their early autumn songs, while the sun slowly made its way from the eastern horizon to climb into the blue void above. It was the start of the Golden Delicious picking season at the farm, so it wasn't much of a surprise that the path was littered with ponies going to and from the orchards on business.

But the peace and calm were disrupted by the youthful voices of laughter as the Cutie-Mark Crusaders ran down the path, many of the adults having to move aside to avoid being run into. The CMC had grown since a certain black alicorn filly joined the group, acting as a snowball effect that allowed them to expand, so that in the two years since it had added the names of Dinky Hooves, Pipsqueak, Rumble, and Peppermint Twist to its membership list, even though Twist had technically earned her cutie-mark a day before the organization's founding.

Nyx had certainly brought a lot of change to the table since she first joined the group. Her quiet, sympathetic nature and intelligence made her easy to talk to, if of course, she wasn't shy enough to pick up a conversation. Still, she was loved by her friends and family, and though she was made from magic and the bad memory of a Nightmare, friendship was what shone brightest from her and those around her.

That being said, not everything was good in paradise. Her little rain as Nightmare Moon had only ended a year and a half ago, and many still held a bit of a grudge. At first, the Princesses had denied that she even existed, trying to cool the flame. But it was a fire that wasn't to be tamed, and the truth eventually got out. Still, for the most part, things had been okay for the young filly, for the moment oblivious to an unfriendly world.

They had started the day with a meeting at the clubhouse to discuss their new ideas for their campaign to find their cutie-marks, but they had soon found themselves faced with a rather uncomfortable stalemate. Dinky, along with the first two colts to join the club, had suggested their ideas for carpentry, bowling, or baking as a good place to start. Nyx had agreed that these were pretty good ideas, and Twist happily stood with her on the matter, but because the original three members had already attempted these themselves they were unwilling to participate in them. To counter it, they had insisted that they should try something more into the direction of getting their cutie-marks as house painters, not really exciting anyone with their obvious lack of imagination.

That's when Scootaloo had suddenly dared them to a race, surprising everyone by coming out of the blue like that. At first, they had declined her, pointing out that they needed to devote their time coming up with new ideas for their crusade. But she had encouraged them by suggesting that one of their special talents might be as track-runners. They seemed to like that idea, immediately setting up plans for the rules and a location for the start and finish lines. Truth be known, Scootaloo had grown somewhat bored with crusading and just wanted to do something else. Not that she was giving up, but after wasting two months of doing the exact same thing when they could have been engaging in more social activities for the extent of their summer vacation, she was in desperate need for a break.

So they decided that they would run on the road that led from the farm towards Ponyville, but instead of the straight path that was normally used to get between the two locations, they would be taking a detour through Millsberry Road, where a dirt path lined the top of a hill that ran above the treeline of the Everfree Forest, and from there they would make their way to the castle, where Twilight was having several crates of books shipped in from Canterlot to supply the new library that she was setting up to replace the old one.

Turning on the path, the crusaders were now drawing closer to the borders of Everfree, trying to keep up with the pack leaders with little success, content with keeping them in their view while the speed demons worked anxiously to overcome the miniature orange pegasus.

In the lead, Scootaloo ran with the determination to win, hoping to score some recognition points with Rainbow Dash, since nothing would make her idol prouder than if she were to beat her friends in a competition. Since none of them had expected to be racing that morning, they had neglected to put a restriction on the use of wings for pegasi, and she had quickly used that to her advantage. Not that it really made a difference, but it proved to be enough to keep ahead of the earth-ponies and the unicorns. However, the same thing couldn't be said for Nyx or Rumble, who used their own wings to even the score, keeping themselves close on her heels. Surprisingly, Pipsqueak was also leading in the race, his legs able to move a lot faster than what any of them had thought possible.

“I’m gonna get you, Scoot!” Nyx shouted out happily, enjoying the opportunity to use her wings out in the open as she ran just a few feet behind her.

"You know Nyx, you might be right, but I'm placing my bits that Pipsqueak here is gonna leave all of us in the dirt!" Rumble commented, earning a grin from the colt, knowing beforehoof just how fast the spotted pony could move.

“Hey! Would you’ll slow down? Let us catch up!!!” Applebloom wined, breathing heavy, wondering why this was so taxing on her energy reserves.

“Yeah, no fair! Why do you guys get to use your wings!?!” Peppermint Twist called out, definitely feeling the last few batches of peppermint sticks getting burned off.

"Well next time make it a rule not to use them!" Scootaloo laughed while she looked behind herself as they entered on Millsberry, "I mean it's not my fault you guys are nothing but a bunch of slowpokes! You're never gonna catch me unless you hit the gym!" she yelled over her head as she made herself run just a little faster.

The group rounded a corner in the road where a grove of trees stood. The hill they were on was lined with tree roots and dead vines that protruded from the path, making it difficult to maneuver. But Scootaloo wasn't focused on this. She was too busy smiling at what she saw as she looked back on her pursuers. Applebloom and the rest of the slackers were getting harder to see, Rumble was falling behind, and soon Nyx and Pipsqueak would tire themselves out of the running, leaving her to take home the gold. She was going to win, and even if the two ponies in the lead were holding their place right alongside her, she wasn't going to back down now!

Of course, if she HAD been paying closer attention to where she was placing her hooves instead of how close her friends were, she might have noticed the tree root jutting out of the path. But before she could react, her hoof snagged on the upturned plant, sending her forwards into Nyx, who rolled on top of Pip, throwing them off the side of the road, and with a yelp, Scootaloo fell over the edge of the hill, taking the other two ponies with her into the trees down below.

The three foals tried desperately to grab a hold of anything that would slow their fall, scraping their hooves into the dirt and rock. But it was futile, since the steep hill was propelling them down faster than they could hope to grab hold of any of the roots that grew out of the dirt, and if any one of them WOULD get a hold of a root or branch, one of the other foals would slam into them and take them back down with them. Their arms and legs flailed frantically against the stones for what seemed to them an eternity, until it all came to an end with a loud crash as they hit the base of the hill, hard.

The three young ponies groaned, shaking their heads around so they could regain their senses. Scootaloo had fallen on top of Nyx, cutting herself slightly on her horn before she rolled onto the filly's back while suffering some minor scrapes on her legs and flank, but nothing serious. Nyx laid on the ground underneath Scootaloo, her glasses bent sideways with the frames cracked, finding it hard to breathe due to a combination of Pipsqueak lying on her head, blocking her airway, while simultaneously struggling to catch the air that had been forced out of her lungs by being crushed under Scootaloo’s weight, and Pipsqueak's eyes were rolling around in their sockets, and he was starting to get a nose-bleed.

Finally snapping back into reality, Scootaloo slowly looked down at both of them, wincing at the pain she felt in her legs, “Are you guys alright?”

“Huh huh…Y-Yeah...Huh…Yeah, I-I think so.” Nyx panted as she looked around, taking in her surroundings before she looked up at the colt lying on her head, "HEY! Get off me!"

Looking down at her half-dazed, it took Pipsqueak a moment to realize the awkward position he was in sitting on Nyx, his rump planted flat on top of her head.

"Oh, ah...sorry about that, Nyx." he stammered nervously in a British accent, rolling off her onto the ground with a thud.

Nyx nodded, deciding not to even dwell on the matter. Instead, her attention was focused on something that held more importance, and the moment she realized where she was it filled her with fear.

“Guys...I-I think we’re in the Everfree Forest.” She said fearfully, the admittance to the fact somehow making the reality worse.

Scootaloo and Pip raised their heads and looked around in acknowledgment of what she had said, though it still took them a few seconds to process the level of danger they were in. She was right, they were in Everfree, the fact sending a chill down their backs. The adults always talked about this forest as a bad place to be. Nyx and Scootaloo knew this all too well. Scootaloo had almost been turned to stone by a cockatrice, and Nyx had been forced to witness the worst nightmare in her life after getting a major download of Nightmare Moon's memories. The forest was far scarier from the inside than it had been on the outside. The trees themselves seemed to lock the darkness of the world underneath its canopy, and any ray of sunlight that placed its warmth on the leaves was soon choked out of existence by the tight interaction of the outreaching branches, whose gnarled, twisted bark worked to play tricks on their eyes, gazing down upon them like hungry trolls. Everfree was truly a dangerous, and deadly, place to fall into even for a grown-up, let alone a colt and two fillies, and if they didn't find a way to get out of there soon, not only could they be placed under some dark enchantment that the forest's black magic had to offer, but they would likely draw the unwanted attention of one of the many numbers of creatures that lived in these woods that would not hesitate to kill a pony to satisfy their hunger.

"HEY! What are you guy doing down there?!" a familiar voice rang from above them.

Turning their gaze upwards, Scootaloo, Pipsqueak, and Nyx looked back up the hill where they were met with the faces of the Cutie-Mark Crusaders, which would have been nice, if they hadn't started to tease them about falling down the hill.

“Yeah, what ARE ya guys doin' down there?” Applebloom shouted at them from the top, “I didn' know that hidn' seek was part of the race!” she mocked.

“We didn't do it on purpose!” Scootaloo wined, her face turning a deep red from her friend's teasing. This was embarrassing! One moment she was the leader of the pack, and now she was in the Everfree forest, at the bottom of the hill, lying on top of a pony. She quickly got off of her friend and looked around, hoping for any possible way to get out of this, “Can you guys get a rope?” She shouted up to them.

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow, looking down at her curiously, “Why? I can understand Pipsqueak needing help, but you and Nyx have wings. Can't you just fly out?”

Nyx looked up at her in annoyance, trying to readjust her glasses into a possession that was more comfortable, “You guys know that we can't fly outta here! I've just started my flying lessons with Twilight!" she then looked at Scootaloo with a devilish smirk, "And Scootaloo STILL hasn't gotten anywhere with the flying lessons she gets from Rainbow Dash.”

Accomplishing the impossible, Scootaloo's face turned an even deeper red than it had just been moments before, growing more embarrassed as she listened to the snickers that escaped from her friend's lips. Even in the midst of the danger they were in they could still find ways to get a giggle from each other, Nyx and Pipsqueak not even trying to contain their laughter. She jumped Nyx suddenly, causing her friend to squeak as they rolled around in the dirt.

Snap.

The sound of a twig breaking in the bushes made them both stop, slowly lifting up their heads to try and see what had caused the noise, as a silence filled the air.

"Guys, there's somethin' movin' down there," Applebloom called, noticing a black shape that moved slowly in the foliage far off to the right of them.

Pipsqueak looked in that direction and gulped. They couldn't see anything, but they could hear it, and he knew that whatever was moving around couldn't be good. Turning his focus on the girls, he immediately realized just how frightened they were.

"Don't. Make. A sound." he mouthed, keeping his eye on the bushes.

The girls stood frozen as the creature made its way through the underbrush. Everyone held their breath, hoping that the animal would pass them by without any incident. They could hear the low growl that it gave, a slow breathing that was replaced with a low rumbling sound every few seconds. They didn't know what to do, since both running and staying where they were seemed to be terrible ideas.

But soon it did pass, and after a few moments of patent silence, they were able to release from their breath a sigh of relief, but kept their guards up, looking up to their friends on the path to enforce their security.

"Is it gone?" Pipsqueak called.

The group at the top of the hill looked around the clearing carefully, sure with themselves that the danger had passed. In fact, it was too quiet, not even a bird's song could be heard.

"It's clear!"

The three foals finally allowed themselves to smile, however, this didn't divert their minds from the fact that they still needed to get out of the forest.

Too bad they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

Nyx, Scootaloo, and Pipsqueak looked around at the foliage for a way to get out, when the sound of breaking branches could be heard off to their right, before from out of the thickets, a large, translucent-blue wolf came crashing out, snarling as it made its way towards them.

The beast towered over the foals with a large, broad, hairy midsection, with a star that glowed on its chest. Its eyes burned an amber gold that glowed furiously like a flame. It was twice the size of Big Macintosh, and the constellation pattern that lined its tail identified it as only one thing.

A Lupus Major.

Pipsqueak was the quickest to react, barreling away at top speed to escape this approaching monster. However, panic had temporarily taken a hold of the two remaining foals, holding them in place in the path of the monster. The creature was quickly closing the gap between them and would have caught them, if its attention hadn't been distracted from its goal by a stone that knocked into its side.

"HEY UGLY! Up here, you flea-infested FREAK!" Rumble shouted, as the girls beside him began to throw anything that they could at the wolf, yelling and screaming at it, before he picked up another stone and hurled it right into the side of its face.

The Lupus took its focus off its prey for a moment to bellow at the ponies throwing stones at it from the top of the hill, giving the fillies the chance they needed to escape.

"NYX! SCOOTALOO! GET OUT OF THERE!!!"

Snapping out of her trance, Scootaloo grabbed Nyx, who had frozen up and dragged the filly with her, chasing in the direction that Pipsqueak had run off to.

“NYX! RUN!!!”
////
Scootaloo and Nyx ran as fast as they could under the forest underbrush, keeping just ahead of the star-wolf that was chasing them. Pipsqueak was running a few yards ahead of them, and if he hadn’t gotten himself caught momentarily in one of the surrounding thickets, they would have lost him in the forest maze of rotted trees and dead vines. The fillies were barely able to escape it, coming within a few inches of its mouth, the jaws of the Lupus snapping down on them only to miss its target. But thankfully the Lupus was strangely moving rather slowly for its species. However, it was still faster than the three foals, and the only thing that was giving them an advantage over it was the fact that the surrounding forest was overgrown with foliage to the point that their way of escape was composed of tight, underlining arches that acted as the only entryways to the path that they were taking, so whereas they were small enough to get through the cramped areas that they were passing through, the growingly furious Lupus Major was too large to enter in with them. Each time they entered into a space that it could not follow into, it would let out a deafening roar, baring its sharp teeth at them menacingly.

Entering into a clear pathway, the three were able to run together between the trees for a good ten seconds before the wolf crashed through the dead oaks about twenty yards behind them, quickly closing the gap between them. The foals ran faster than they had before, so hard that they could feel the burning in their legs, so that when the path came to a sudden drop, their speed made it impossible to stop themselves from sliding over the edge down to the clearing fifty feet below.

Scootaloo, Nyx, and Pipsqueak rolled down the hill unharmed, but even so, it took them a moment to get their bearings down so that they could see where they were. The three were stranded in a large space that was surrounded by trees in all directions, except for the steep hill behind them and an opening in the foliage that was completely illuminated in sunlight, and where it led nopony knew.

As they struggled to get back on their feet, the clearing was filled with the chilling roar of the beast that followed them. Looking up on the hill, the Lupus bellowed at them angrily, but they could tell that it was having second thoughts about its prey. The foals had been lucky to have gotten down the hill without a scratch, but it would be unlikely that the wolf would come out of it the same way. This was enough to give the group of ponies cheer, if not a little breathing room.

But as it roared out its rage, the ground under its paws caved, and with an angry cry, it fell down the slope towards them, and soon it would be right on top of them.

The three ran ahead as fast as they could into the light beyond the small clearing, before they came to a dead stop. Blocking their escape was a cliff that dropped straight down into the dark waters the forest's infamous Black Lake. A waterfall flowed to the right of them, dumping thousands of gallons of water into the pool. Scootaloo and Nyx both looked over the edge, as a few stones fell into the water, causing a ripple in the lake that churned the still waves, while Pip looked back anxiously to where they had run from. The body of water was the ending point of the forest river that came in from the mountains, cutting through the forest like a blade. But because it was the only calm part of the river, it was also the home of Everfree’s aquatic species, and gazing down into its stillness, they wondered want new threat could possibly be lurking under the dark waves.

Scootaloo broke the silence, panting, “N-Nyx, we need to go now!”

“But, where are we supposed to go!?”

“Umm...” Scootaloo looked around, but there was nowhere for them to go but back the way they came. Groaning, she called out to Pip, “You got any ideas?”

“Well, maybe if we go back and circle around, maybe we could find another way down there?”

The look that she gave him told him exactly how she felt about that.

“Right, that idea was awful.”

“Well, what else are we supposed to do?!” Nyx shouted out, just as the Lupus crashed into the bottom of the hill, “We don’t have any options at the moment, and the only thing we’re doing is wasting time!”

Scootaloo frowned, she didn’t like this. But what could she do? They were running out of time, and retracing their steps seemed to be the best course of action that they had left.

Sighing dejectedly, Scootaloo nodded as they both headed towards Pipsqueak to turn back into the forest. But they hadn't even made three steps before the Lupus crashed out of the entranceway to the foliage, blocking their escape. The three took several steps back as the wolf let out a roar before it began to circle around, stocking them. They watched helplessly while the beast eyed them devilishly as drool ran from its mouth down its chin, licking its lips at the thought of its next meal. Nyx looked at it carefully, noticing the strange limp that held it back, gazing at the web of scars that ran down its leg.

Pip tried to do his best to protect the girls, running up to the lupus and shouting at it, which was met with a growl and a loud bellow to the face, sending the colt backward into the fillies.

“That was stupid.” Nyx moaned.

“Sorry.”

As the three backed away, Scootaloo felt her back leg slip as they came in contact with the edge, giving her an idea, and the only option they had.

“Nyx, we need to jump!” she yelled.

Nyx’s went wide-eyed as she stared at the orange pegasus behind her, “Are you CRAZY?! Don’t you realize what could be living in that lake? Everypony is afraid of it for a REASON! We'll drown, or worse!!!”

But Scootaloo wasn’t going to back down, “Everypony talks about what lives in the forest RIVER, Nyx! Nopony said anything about the lake! And I'd rather take a possible maybe than becoming a definite lunch!” Scootaloo said with a quick glance at the wolf closing in on them.

Nyx wanted to retaliate but found that the words caught in her throat. She looked down at the water below, then turned her gaze at the hungry Lupus in front of them, which had not taken its gaze off her during the whole ordeal, before finally placing her eyes on her friends, who looked to her with kind encouragement. And, after a few moments, she came to her decision, turning to Scootaloo with a sigh.

“Well, whatever happens, you and the others have been the greatest friends that I could have ever hoped for. I... I just wanted you guys to know that."

Scootaloo nodded as the three turned, looking towards one another for what might be the last they would ever see of each other. Turning back to the edge, the foals took a deep and final breath, before taking that first step over the side.

"Let's do this!"
////
SPLASH!!!

Nyx, Scootaloo, and Pipsqueak gasped for air as they all broke the surface, paddling their hooves, coughing up the water they had sucked in when they hit the lake. Nyx had lost her glasses to the waves, revealing the serpentine eyes underneath, Pipsqueak was swimming around them to see if they were alright, while Scootaloo was holding her stomach after making a belly flop. It was truly a sad scene, three foals cold and wet, left to struggle to survive in a place where death was a common occurrence for those too weak to defend themselves.

But they were ALIVE! And now the only thing that motivated them to start swimming again was so they could reach the dry sandy shore far in front of them.

Scootaloo was the first to make land, rolling on her back with her tongue sticking out, with Pip soon in tow, panting up a storm, while Nyx passed out as soon as she made it to the shoreline. Scootaloo cracked open one of her eyes long enough to see the infuriated Lupus Major roaring at them from the top of the cliff. 'Hey, what's a matter, Fatboy? Don't know how to swim?' she thought to herself with a smile. But it was a smile soon faded, quickly leaving her as the wolf suddenly bolted off in a hurry into the darkness of the forest. At that moment her mind was racing, until one thought penetrated through the rest to the forefront of her brain.

Get out.

Quickly getting back onto her hooves, Scootaloo walked over to get Nyx, whose dazed expression showed that she was on the verge of falling into unconsciousness from exhaustion. But that wouldn’t do, and Scootaloo was determined to help her friends to safety.

“Come on Nyx, we need to go now,” she whined while nudging the filly to wake up.

Nyx groaned, wiping away several strains of her mane away from her eyes, before she looked around, trying to clear her head from all that had happened and the swimming that was going around in her skull.

“Augh… Mom’s gonna freak out when she finds out I lost my glasses.” Nyx whined with several appropriate coughs.

Scootaloo giggled, which eventually caused the others to join in as well. It was truly an odd thing to experience, given the danger they were in, but even through it all, they could still find a reason to smile. “Well, she’s REALLY gonna freak out if you get eaten, so get off your flanks and come on!”
////
Nyx, Pip, and Scootaloo walked slowly through the trees, keeping as quiet as possible, listening for the slightest sound from the foliage around them. The sun, now at the highest point in the sky ringing in the noon, with great difficulty illuminated the forest floor with its light, and other than the danger of what was following them, the forest surrounding did show off a form of beauty, bringing some cheer back to the foals.

Nyx, however, was too deep in thought to take in the scenery. Something about the Lupus that was tailing them troubled her greatly. It’s behavior just seemed …off, and it’s persistence made her even more uncomfortable. Something about its limp seemed so familiar to her, it was like it was the clue she needed for this riddle, but it was a clue that persisted to escape from her thoughts.

“So, d-do you guys know where we’re going?” Pipsqueak choked up hopefully, though he was placing them on bad odds.

“Ugh, no...I don’t think we’re anywhere NEAR Zacura’s.” Scootaloo sighed, “I could have sworn that it was in this direction.”

“I’m hungry.” the spotted colt complained, a loud rumble echoing from his stomach.

“Then go eat some berries.”

“And end up catching some weird disease from some strange plant-like Poison Joke? I think I’ll pass.” Pipsqueak groaned, lowering his head to the ground.

In the distance, the sound of a howling wolf made them huddle ever closer to each other. They could tell that it was nowhere near them, going off somewhere far behind them, but the mere sound was enough to send chills down their backs.

But with that sound, the answer that Nyx had been mentally searching for suddenly slammed into her like the Friendship Express, filling her with a cold realization that caused her to tremble a little. Having this knowledge, she turned to her friends, knowing that they needed her to tell them about her conclusions, “Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo gave her attention to the black filly, ignoring for the moment the fear that was welling up in her chest, “Yeah, Nyx?”

“You remember that stampede that went through Ponyville about two years ago? When...when I was-”

“Yeah, I remember.” Scootaloo interrupted, freeing Nyx from finishing her sentence. Scootaloo knew how sensitive Nyx was on that subject, and she wasn’t going to let her dwell on it.

“I still get nightmares about that hydra.” Pipsqueak admitted.

Really? Because I wasn’t scared!” Scootaloo said proudly, earning a glare from the colt.

“What do you mean, you weren’t scared? You, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle were being chased around by a pack of lupus minors!” he protested, a huge frown spread over his face.

“Psst...Big deal. We knew that Twilight or one of her friends would come and save us. Besides, Nyx was flying around Ponyville kicking butt!” She proclaimed, a blush forming on Nyx’s face.

“Guys, would you just stop?!” Nyx shouted, silencing the two arguing parties, “We were all there, and it was pretty scary, but that’s not my point!”

“Well, what are you trying to say, then?”

Nyx cleared her throat, “Umm, well...Do you remember anything about the Lupus Major who tried to killed Twilight?” she asked.

The two foals just stared at her for a moment, both deep in thought as they tried to recall that day. It was difficult, but they slowly began to recall the events of that day and the showdown that followed.

“Yeah. Yeah sure, I remember that old fleabag. But, I also remember that after you were done with him, he was running with his tail between his legs!” Scootaloo said, starting to giggle at the thought, “By the way, I think what you did to that mutt was awesome!” she said admirably, almost girlishly.

Nyx was flattered by this small piece of popularity, but she had every intention to answer Pipsqueak’s question, as she continued on to make her point.

“Well, I think that old fleabag is the same lupus that’s chasing us.”

Scootaloo and Pipsqueak stopped in her tracks, staring at Nyx in disbelief as they ran over what she had told them through their heads. They could not understand how Nyx had been able to come to such a conclusion, since that it only stood to reason that there had to be more than just ONE Lupus Major living in that dismal, God-forsaken forest.

Pipsqueak raised an eyebrow, “Nyx, what makes you so sure that THIS Lupus is the same one from the stampede?” he asked skeptically.

“Yeah Nyx, I mean come on!” Scootaloo laughed nervously, “That seems a bit out there, don’t you think?”

But Nyx held firm to her conclusions, “Because,” Nyx answered as they continued to walk slowly down a hillside, “While we were being chased by that wolf, I noticed that it had a limp in its left leg, which would explain why it was moving slower than normal.”

“So what? That ugly overgrown drool baby could have hurt himself recently. I’m sure that would be an easy thing to do in this place.”

“Well...yes. But that’s not the only thing I’ve noticed. What got my attention was WHY he was limping. And the fact is that his entire flank is scared with lightning bolt burns.” Nyx pointed out, causing the foals to think. Now that Scootaloo thought about it, she DID remember seeing those scars when the creature had circled around them on the ledge, and how those scars snaked down its side like a tree branch.

As reality set in, a coldness seemed to fall upon the group. If the Lupus Major was after them because of Nyx, then this would go beyond its basic hunting behaviors. This was a game, and out of all the games in the world, this was one of the most deadly among them.

A game of Cat and Mouse.

“If that’s the case,” Scootaloo started, “ then we better get out of here, and fast. If you’re right and this thing IS the same lupus, if he catches up with us, he’s probably gonna want to have some fun before it actually kills us.”

The three foals walked silently after that, often stopping to listen for a sign of their pursuer. But luckily that never came, silence dominating their surroundings, so it was likely that the lupus had lost them to the foliage.

Soon the group of equines came to a grove of trees that twisted tightly around each other, creating a narrow space to move through. But they moved on anyway, though the trees that they had to pass through, on closer inspection, were thorny and sharp. Scootaloo was the first to go in, wincing as the thorns dug into her flesh, earning some nasty cuts on her legs. Pip was next to go in, scraping the skin of his knees against the sharp plants tearing into him, leaving Nyx alone on the other side.

“Nyx, come on!” Scootaloo shouted through the trees.

Nyx stared anxiously at the thorn trees in front of her. She wasn’t necessarily afraid of the plants, but the trees reminded her too much of the thornbush that she had been trapped in for the first few hours of her life. It wasn’t a pleasant memory for her, and at that moment, she felt as if she was reliving it.

“I-I can’t!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes in frustration, “What do you mean, you can’t? Stop being such a crybaby and get in here!”

Nyx groaned. She didn’t like this. But, she knew she couldn’t stay in the forest. So, she held her breath and stepped inside, pain going down her body as the needles stabbed at her sides. It took a few moments, mostly because she had her eyes closed shut, but she finally came through, falling on the ground with a thud.

“Nyx, you okay?” Scootaloo asked, extending a hoof to help her friend up.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She said, holding back a tear from the pain across her body. Nyx looked at their surroundings. They were standing in a clearing of trees, the forest floor beneath them covered in a mass of roots and vine-like plants that extended along the path ahead of them. But there was a familiar sight that they were able to make out through a break in the trees, where a large orchard came into view, several apple trees growing near the opening.

“There! I-I think that Applejack’s farm!” Nyx cheered, all three ponies jumping for joy at the sight. They began to walk ahead eagerly towards the welcoming light of day, the roots cracking and snapping underneath them. It was with great anticipation that they realized that it would only be a few more feet and they would be free from this nightmare. They could on imagine the scolding they would get from their parents, but they would meet them with relieved smiles, ones that they would wear until they were safe in the comforts of their homes.

CCCCRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!!

The foals stopped right where they stood, held in place as they lessened to the threatening sound that came from beneath them. The roots at their feet suddenly began to break apart right from underneath their hooves, snapping under the combined weight of the three foals. They soon desperately tried to turn back the way they came. But they were too late, as the ground underneath them caved, several cries escaping their throats as they were sucked down under.

Pipsqueak, however, had been able to grab hold of the edge of the pit, keeping himself from falling into the darkness below as he desperately clawing at the loss dirt at his hooves. He slowly lifted himself over the edge and painted, then turned on his belly to look into the cavern. It was too dark to see where it went, but he was certain they would be safe, at least for now.

“Oh, bloody hell.” he silently cursed as he rolled on his back. He ached all over but, he had to get help. It was vital that somepony knew where they were, and now, he was the only one who could do that.

“Don’t worry, guys. I’ll get you out soon enough,” he said to himself, before climbing onto his hooves, running out into the orchard.
////
The two rolled down the dark tunnel, the hole made out of tree roots and thorny vines that had wilted long ago, and had been left to dry out in the cool autumn weather. Each earned a few cuts and brushes along the way, but what was worse was the speculation of where the tunnel was leading them. Their journey soon came to a close, however, as they fell out from the end of the tunnel and rolled on top of each other for the second time that day in a small open field illuminated by the warmth of the sunlight.

Groans escaped from both of them as they slowly got back on their hooves. For both of them, this day was turning into the worst nightmare of their lives.

They slowly began to investigate their new surroundings. they were in a tightly packed area that led off onto a path to the right of them. Deciding to peer around the corner, they were surprised to see an old rusty gate standing twenty feet ahead of them, which opened up into a large courtyard, littered with several pillars and crumbled statues that had eroded away long ago in the time since it had been built. But at the end of the courtyard, standing in the defiance of time, there stood erect before them the ruins of an old temple, long deserted and broken down while it was being reclaimed by the forest.

Nyx and Scootaloo stood in wonder as they took in the old but beautiful design of the building. At first, Scootaloo had thought that these were the ruins of the castle that Twilight and her friends had gone to defeat Nightmare Moon. But Nyx knew better. Though the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was roughly the same size as the temple, these ruins were much older, dating back centuries before the founding of Equestria. The temple had a round exterior that was covered all around in thorny vines, with four passageways that aligned perfectly with the north, south, east, and west, and a tower in the back of the building that would easily have broken through the tree line, but its top had been knocked down ages ago, either by the course of time or by some monstrous creature, nopony knew. The roof was set with a beautiful dome, lined with silver, gold, and what used to be royal blue, but had faded into what is now a blueish-gray.

As they both walked up towards the gate, their gazes were drawn to a pair of decorative statues of ponies that stood as the guards to the entrance of the gates. The two stone ponies wore a ceremonial armor similar to that worn by the  Canterlot Royal Guards, though they were more warlike in nature, with swords held close to their sides and a spear and a shield held in their claws.

Wait...claws?

The fillies did a doubletake on the statues, not at first believing what their eyes had seen. Sure enough, they had claws, one statue holding a spear ready to strike and the other holding the shield in defense, both posed ready for a fight. But that wasn’t the only thing that was strange about them. These ponies had a pebbly texture to their skin that popped out of their fur here and there. They were also bulkier than most ponies, and their eyes were large and serpentine, the irises slits just like Nyx’s. But it was the tails that really gave it away, thick and muscular, with a patch of hair that grew from the tips.

“What is this place?” Scootaloo asked, stunned by the architecture.

“Well,” Nyx started, “judging by the rate of decay, and the design of the building, we could conclude-” Nyx stopped mid-sentence, looking at the expression spread on her friend's face.

“What?”

Scootaloo looked at Nyx like her brain was going to have a short circuit, “Nyx, WHAT are you blabbing about?”

“Twilight said that I needed to use the books at the library to study for the history and archeology exams that we're gonna be taking when school starts next week,” Nyx said matter-of-factly.

“Their gonna make us do test right when we get back?!” Scootaloo shouted in surprise.

“Well, no.” Nyx answered, scratching her leg with her hoof, “The test isn’t for a few months, but after talking to Ms. Cheerilee, Twilight thought it’d be a good idea to get a head start. I've been reading up on ancient monuments and lost civilizations. It's really fascinating.” 

Scootaloo sighed, “You are such a geek.”

Nyx just rolled her eyes in annoyance as she turned to the side. That’s when she noticed that they were missing somepony.

“Hey, where did Pipsqueak go?”

Scootaloo quickly turned around to see where the colt had gone. Sure enough, he was gone, no evidence suggesting that he had even come down with them.

“I don’t know. But I don’t think that he fell down here with us. Maybe he got out.”

Nyx nodded. That made sense, and if it was true, then he would be going to get some help right now, meaning they would soon be rescued. She then turned to the gate, walking up nearer to it so she could study the masterful design of the structure, taking in every detail as they moved about the bars.

RRRRRRROOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nyx and Scootaloo were both frozen in place as they turned around to face what had just entered the clearing behind them, hoping that it had just been their imaginations. But it wasn’t. Standing twenty feet behind them, with its fangs bearing and foam forming at its mouth, the monstrous form of the Lupus Major hung over them. It had finally caught up with them, glaring devilishly at its prey as it crept slowly towards the foals.

Panic swept over scootaloo as she stared mesmerized by the creature, while curiosity and determination were dominant in Nyx. She had a theory to test, and this probably was a good a time as any, as she began to move towards the left, one step at a time, not once taking her eyes off the wolf.

“Nyx, what are you doing!?!” Scootaloo asked desperately, not wanting to be left alone.

“I want to see if this really IS the same Lupus from Ponyville!” she whispered loudly, keeping her eye on the monster. As she moved further to the left, the Lupus followed her movements, licking its lips as it did so. To be sure, Nyx told Scootaloo to move around so it would look like she was trying to run away. She was very convincing, too, dragging her left wing on the ground, pretending that it was broken. But it didn’t pay her any mind. In fact, it didn’t even look into her direction, it’s gaze upon Nyx seeming only to grow darker, crueler, and more menacing. It’s was a coldness in its expression that could only spell out one thing: Hatred.

Nyx quickly rejoined Scootaloo as they took a few steps back into the courtyard. They were lucky that the lock on the gate had fallen off years before, but it only meant that they would have a few extra steps to take before it caught, though they were steps that they were thankful for. That was of course, if they couldn’t get the doors to the ruins opened.

Nyx instructed Scootaloo to run for the doors. The pegasus was reluctant to do this however, knowing she would be leaving Nyx alone with the creature. But Nyx had pointed out to her that if she did it herself, the Lupus would be close behind, since any sudden movements on her part would trigger the beast to chase after.

“I-It's locked!” Scootaloo shouted frantically.

Nyx heard those words of desperation as if they were her own death sentence. She turned and ran as fast as she could towards the doors, using all of her strength, trying to help Scootaloo to force the doors open.

As if the Lupus knew that they had no chance to escape, the wolf charged them, snapping its jaws into a scowl, growling and snarling as it closed the gap between itself and the two fillies. Scootaloo and Nyx stared wide-eyed in fear as they held each other tight, tears forming in the corners of their eyes as the events of their entire lives flashed before their view.

FLASH!!!!!!

The two fillies opened their eyes to the blood-curdling sound of high-pitched whaling. At the entrance to the gate, a magical barrier had formed where the Lupus had passed through, trapping it in a field of energy that lifted it up into the air, and was now electrocuting it. Sparks and small lightning bolts flew of its body, forcing the two to duck underneath a pile of boulders to avoid being hit. The agonizing waling that the creature made pierced their ears like a hot knife through butter, howling in pain as it's body convulsed and smoked before flames burst from its mouth and eyes, silencing it. Finally, the energy field dissolved, allowing the charred remains of the Lupus to fall to the ground, rolling over with a thud.

Nyx and Scootaloo peeked their heads over the rocks to see what had become of their pursuer, looking at it's cold, lifeless body. Building up the courage, Nyx ventured out towards the corpse, levitating a stick in front of her.

“I-Is it dead?”

Nyx poked at the Lupus's stomach, testing it to see if the creature was just hurt. She got her answer when the end of the stick went right through its gut with no effort at all.

“Eww!” Nyx wined, trying not to throw up.

“What? What happened?” Scootaloo asked, still on her guard.

Nyx through the stick into the bushes and turned her focus to her friend, “Yeah, it's dead.”

Scootaloo relaxed her body as she walked out in the open, only to stop as a nauseating odor entered her nostrils, “More like deep-fried. He stinks, too!” She said as she struggled to cover her nose with her hoof to blot out the smell of burned fur. She stepped back to the temple doors, “What do you think happened to it?”

“I don't know. Maybe that gate is enchanted so nothing can get in.” Nyx suggested.

“We got in just fine.” Scootaloo reminded her.

“Well, maybe it only lets ponies in.”

“Who knows, who cares?” Scootaloo sighed as she leaned against the doors, standing on one leg and placing her front hoof on the door to keep her balance.

However, the door that she was leaning on suddenly yielded to her weight and opened, making her lose her balance as she fell flat on her butt while the doors flung on their hinges with a loud creak.

“Ouch!” she cried, rubbing her flank, “I thought you said these doors were locked!”

“They were!” Nyx protested, “You should know, you tried to open them, too!”

Scootaloo got back to her hooves and looked around, and as soon as she was able to gain a focus on her surroundings, she was captivated by the beauty of the interior of the temple corridor.

“Nyx, come look at this.”

Nyx walked up to the doors and looked inside, making her gasp. The walls were made of marble with decorative designs cut into them. The bases were laid with cobblestone, and just above the base of the walls, masterfully made murals were painted onto them. These murals acted as-as historical record, going over the countless ages and hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of events.

The first painting showed a small dragon and a pegasus happily flying through clouds together, and the next painting showed the dragon and the pegasus standing side-by-side, while ponies of all kinds stood around them, performing some kind of ceremony. The murals went on and on with similar depictions of the two characters until about halfway down the hall, where the scenes began to depict a third party. It was at the seventh mural, this one showed the two wrapped around each other while cradling a infant in their arms, the expressions on their faces all but joyful. The next one showed a filly and two colts playing in a meadow, and all three looked exactly like the gate statues outside, and the final painting had a large group of these ponies standing around together while both the dragon and the pegasus hovered above them with the warmest of smiles.

Nyx and Scootaloo came to a stop at the end of the hallway as their way into the main chamber was blocked off by a barred door, allowing them only to gaze into the mysteries inside.

Scootaloo huffed in annoyance, “How are we supposed to get in now?”

“Maybe you'd like us grown-ups to lend you a hoof?” a familiar voice said.

The two fillies made a sharp turn with their heads to see who had come up behind them. At the entrance, two mares stood in front of them with relieved smiles on their faces. One was a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, and the other was a light purple alicorn with a six-pointed star as a cutie-mark.

“MOM!”

“RAINBOW DASH!”

Scootaloo and Nyx ran as fast as they could towards the two mares,  running right into their hooves as they hugged the two foals close to their bodies, letting the two cry their eyes out from their horrible experience.

“We were worried sick! We thought-” Twilight bit her lip, not wanting to continue with that statement, “Don't you two EVER do something like this again, do you understand us?” she said in a scolding voice, though what she really wanted to do was hold her little foal forever.

“The same can be said from me too, you guys!” Rainbow added, holding back the same emotions as Twilight, “You two could have been eaten! I don't even want to see you two anywhere NEAR this forest again!”

The two fillies nodded their heads in response as they continued to cry while burying their heads into Twilight and Rainbow Dash's chest, not wanting to say one word.

“Oh, it's alright, shhh,” Twilight said, allowing her own tears to run freely as she wrapped her hooves around Nyx, as Rainbow Dash did the same thing, happy that the two were alright and safe.

“So, what is this place?”
////