//------------------------------// // Fangs and Fears // Story: My Little Pony Next Generation: The New Harmony! // by Alphamon_Ouryuken //------------------------------// After narrowly escaping that bottomless trap, the three young ponies found themselves in a seemingly endless tunnel in the mines, their path occasionally turned and weaved without rime or reason, and apparently without any branching paths either. Despite her frustrations (and growing doubts about the average Diamond Dog’s IQ), Crystal Clarity kept quiet as she and the two younger ponies continued their trek. Still, she’d much rather have brought the smallest of luxuries to make this situation more bearable. Thankfully, both Golden Delicious’ and Cotton Candy’s company was more than welcome in this dreary place. “So Del, are you seeing the Tree of Harmony this time?” “Cut it out already CeeCee,” The only colt in their group pleads. “I already feel bad enough for almost letting you fall to your doom, y’know?” “Yes, we thank you for coming back to your senses, darling,” Claire adds while giving Candy a look that clearly conveyed “That’s enough” before turning back to look at the road “Let’s just hope we can just find a way out of this dreary mine sometime soon.” “Yeah,” Candy sighs. “We’re definitely going up though. It’s just a matter of time before we find~” “A branch!” Claire exclaims excitedly. “Of course not, silly. Those are on trees!” “No, Candy, there’s a branching path ahead!” She explains as she starts trotting towards it with feline grace. “With any luck, we’ll find our way out!” Claire then turns the corner and bumps noses with a teenage dragon. “Oh goodness!” Both she and the dragon jump back and recover from their shock. Clarity takes a moment to look at the aqua-blue dragon as she does the same, as if both were trying to recall something. Both Del and Candy glance at each other and cautiously approach, watching as the scene unfolds. Then at the same time, both Claire and the dragon come to their realization. “You!?” “You are that dragon that chased me and Illusion all those years ago!” Claire explains, utterly surprised. “And you’re that little pink freak who came looking for trouble and made her daddy beat me up back then!” “That’s ridiculous!” Candy interjects. “Can’t you see she’s lavender, not pink?” She says indignantly, even as Golden gently pushes her back while muffling her complaints. Meanwhile, the dragoness starts huffing while she grumbles “This is great. Not only do I find another group of lost ponies in the same day today, but one of them is that little troublemaker. Can’t I catch a break?” “Pardon me. Did you just say you’ve encountered another group of ponies today?” Claire inquired with urgency. The dragon raises an eyebrow before replying. “Yeah. You know ‘em?” “If we do?! Ha ha, yes! Please miss… um?” Claire gestures with her claw towards the young wyrm, who luckily catches on with a roll of her eyes. “Avarax. And don’t call me miss!” “Right,” Claire offers sheepishly. “Could you tell us where they are?” Avarax let out an exasperated sigh. “They’re back at the surface.” Something amiss finally caught up with Claire at that moment, seeing how compliable Avarax is acting, but she decided to keep poking around to confirm her suspicions. “Alrighty… would you mind telling us where the nearest exit is?” At that, Avarax’ eyes open wide as plates and she rears back. “Definitely not through here! Nope! This is not the nearest exit!” Her claw goes directly to her mouth, while a knowing smile creeps onto Clarity’s. “So this tunnel does lead to an exit. How fortunate.” She says with a musical chuckle. CeeCee stage whispers to her “Claire, what are you doing? Do you wanna get her angry?” Crystal Clarity simply laughs more at the prospect. “Oh, I believe that will hardly be an issue at this moment. I think Avarax here became acquainted with Anthea, did you not?” She asks, addressing Avarax herself. “The one with the magic thing on her head? Yeah. You’re very lucky that whatever she did to me hasn’t worn out yet, or else I'd have opened a can of whoop-your-rump on you right at this moment.” “Or maybe not right at this moment,” Candy interjects once again before adding in a nervous whisper. “‘Diamond Dog mine’, ‘cave-in’, ‘buried forever’...” “Uhhh, right…” Avarax says dismissively before gripping the walls of the cave with her claws. “Either way, you three have to scram someplace else. I’m not letting you ponies through my tunnel.” At this, Claire’s face dons an unreadable expression. “Why won’t you?” Avarax squints her eyes in a scowl. “Because! I don’t need to explain anything to sissy little ponies. ‘Specially not to a half-dragon freak like you!” “Alright missy, you take that ba~!” Del’s retort and approach is cut short by a raised, cloven hoof, as Clarity continues to calmly inquire. “But there is a reason for your animosity- er, anger towards us other than simply wanting anybody away from your hoard, correct?” Avarax’ eyes widen a little, though not lessening her stance. “Wait, how did you know I keep my hoard here?” For the first time, Claire lets out an embarrassed laugh. “Let’s just say I know the tell tale signs first-claw. Nevermind that. If you are worried we will plunder anything from your hoard, I can assure you, we have no intentions of doing that. Is that not right, friends?” “Yeah!” “Sure!” “No need for them!” “We’re just fiiine!” Comes the deluge of agreements from the two ponies in the cave. Claire continues. “So I say we strike a deal: We want to be out of the mine, and you want us to be out of the mine. Let us go through, and the faster we will be out of your hair- um, spikes.” She ends her offer with an extended hoof-claw. Avarax drops back on all four claws and stares at the extended limb. After a few seconds she looks up with a scowl. “No.” “Oh WHY NOT?!” Cotton Candy whines, prompting Golden to push her down, panic defeating the gentleness of the action. “Because, I haven’t forgotten about what you did.” She growls, pointing at the scar under her left eye for emphasis. Claire is taking aback. “That wasn’t my fault. My father…” “Came flying to the rescue of his little precious princess!” Avarax interrupts in a mockingly sweet tone before frowning again. “Which wouldn’t have happened if said little princess wasn’t being so nosy in the first place.” “But she didn’t do anything wrong. You are the one who went and chased her through the forest!” Del points out. “Nobody asked you!” “Right, sorry.” Del apologizes before Candy sweeps both of his right legs off the ground and makes him trip, all the while wearing a quiet smile. “The point is, that I can’t forget something like that. So yeah, call me spiteful, selfish, whatever other fancy-word you know. I won’t change my mi~!” “I am sorry.” “... What?” “I am truly sorry, that my actions carried such a negative consequence on your well being. I never intended to cause such a violent outcome back then, and I resented my father for a long time for hurting you.” Claire lets out a sigh. “Sadly, that does not change what happened.” “My apologies. We will be on our way now.” Crystal Clarity states before turning and starting back down the main tunnel, leaving a perplexed teenage dragon staring as her two companions rush to reach her. After distancing themselves a few paces, Del steps up to walk next to Claire. “Pardon me, but how can you be so calm after she talked to you that way?” “Oh, I am far from calm, Golden,” She replies, stopping where she stands but never raising her voice. “However, had I failed to contain my distress, who knows how things would have escalated. Trust me, I am livid by her words. But her cuts are quite literally deeper than mine.” She then shakes her head. “No, an unadulterated apology is all and everything I could say to Avarax.” “Yeah…” Candy says as she walks up to the two of them. “Shame it wasn’t enough to change her mind.” “Wait!” Calls the dragon’s voice from up the tunnel. “… Oooor maybe it did.” Avarax skids to a stop as she reaches the group and looks directly at Claire. “Are you reaaally sorry for what happened?” Claire walks up to her. “I am. I never intended for any of that to happen.” Avarax holds her gaze for what feels like an eternity, and Claire holds it back. Finally, Avarax breaks eye-contact by rolling her eyes. “You can go through my exit…” All three ponies cheer at the announcement. “BUT! You leave my hoard alone.” The dragoness adds while crossing her arms. Claire nods graciously. “Absolutely. You have my word.” “Yeah, yeah. Hurry up before I change my mind again.” Avarax says while letting them walk past her. Claire hesitates to speak again, but Avarax simply holds a claw and smiles wryly. “No need to thank me.” “Very well.” Claire relents before dashing after her friends. “I’m still sour at your daddy, though!” The path through the tunnel was a surprisingly straight walk, so all three of them ended up running up, and up and up until there was a blinding flash. A few seconds pass as their eyes adjust to the light and find themselves back in the surface, in a tiny clearing in what’s definitely the Everfree Forest. “Whoo hoo! We made it BACK!” Cotton Candy cheers, jumping up and down and everywhere. “I’ll be darned. Never expected to be out so soon. Thanks Claire.” “Oh, do not be absurd, Golden,” Claire says while waving a claw. “I barely did a thing.” “That might be, but we are outside thanks to you, you cannot deny that!.” “Hmm… I guess I can not,” she concedes in a knowing tone. “Cool! Now, let’s go find the others!” Candy interjects, landing in between the two of them before turning to Claire. “Care to do the honors?” Claire’s smile is adorned by a furrowed brow as her horns begin to glow. “I’d be delighted.” Prism Bolt and the rest of his group continue their trek through the Everfree Forest, being wary of their surroundings in anticipation for anything out of the ordinary. “It’s quiet… too quiet.” “Prism, if you say that one more time, so help me I’ll make you eat your own tail.” Starburst threatens in a bored yet frustrated tone. “Yeah, I’m getting pretty tired of that too,” Anthea adds from beneath Blitz’ wing. “Besides, aren’t you the one who insists on not inviting danger with worn-down phrases?” “Yes, because I know what those phrases carry on in these situations! And I’ve been proven right every time! I just want to make sure we are all on edge for anything that could happen!” Prism explain, a bit too loudly for anypony’s comfort. “We are already on edge,” Turquoise mutters in a tone not unlike Star’s. “Ugh… Why don’t you check over the canopy again Prism Bolt? See if you find sign of the guys.” Star suggests in a commanding voice. The pegasus colt replies by shaking his wings before lifting off the ground. “Alright. You stay here and stay together, okay?” “Okay” All three of them drone boringly as he takes off. Once up in the air, he hovers in place while slowly panning his gaze over the horizon in search for some kind of sig- A flame is shot skyward in the distance… A blue flame… Followed by another. Eyes widened, Prism Bolt shoots in direction to the fire. ~~o~~ Claire lobs a third fireball into the air, followed by a fourth one, making sure to use just enough magic fire so that it dissipates as the projectiles reach their apex. After the sixth flame, she decided to take a break. “I believe that should be enough for now.” Not a second after, a tri-colored streak crashes into her, followed by a loud cheer as Prism Bolt hugs the living patience out of Crystal Clarity. “I found you! Foundyoufoundyoufoundyoufoundyoufoundyou!” “Well, somepony is happy… now, please let me go.” Claire happily says, despite the deep frown and thinning pupils. Prism complies and lets go while hovering in the air. “I’m really happy that you guys made it back up. I need to tell the others!” He points with a hoof down a path “I saw a larger clearing up ahead. You start walking there and we’ll meet you in a second!” And in a blink, he shot back up and out of sight. Del looks after the point where he left. “… Gee partner, I’m also glad to see you.” He deadpans “Yeah, I would rather have him tackle you than myself any day.” Claire comments while shaking off her coat. Cotton Candy tries to stifle a giggle. “Yeah, well, let’s not worry thinking about that, let’s go,” her struggle becomes hard not to notice as she starts down the road, leaving the two older ponies to stare confusedly at her. “What is up with her?” Claire wonders. “Beats me.” ~~o~~ Back with the other group, they all decided to lay down after Prism took more than a minute to come back down. And even there in the dangerous forest, all three ponies were starting to get bored. “What about we hide so he freaks out when he comes back.” Annie suggests while drawing dribbles with her hooves. “I don’t think it’d be very funny afterwards.” Star counters. “It’d be funny to me.” Anthea replies boredly. “I FOUND ‘EM!” Prism crashes through the trees, startling all three ponies. “They’re back up and up ahead! Follow me!” And just as suddenly, he takes off once again, this time frantically followed by Star and T, the latter carrying Anthea in his arms. “Prism! Where are they, where did you find them?” “That doesn’t matter. We’re meeting them all over at a-” ~~o~~ “A swamp?!” Claire exclaims indignantly at the edge of a wide, humid and gaseous marsh. “Of all the places he could lead us to, Prism Bolt has the nerve to lead us to a sticky, muddy SWAMP?! Ugh, send me back to the cave!” “You’re worried about gittin’ dirty now? C’mon, Clarity.” Del amusedly comments. “That is not the problem,” She says while cautiously eyeing the nearest puddle. “We do not know how deep the marsh might be, or what might be living in it.” A loud giggle makes both of them look forward to see Candy jumping to and fro the swamp and splashing water in her wake. “Looks pretty shallow to me. Let’s get moving.” Del says, ignoring Claire’s annoyed moan. Soon, the three land-bound ponies spot the rest of their friends approaching from the sky, landing amongst a few clouds of fog. “See? I told you I found ‘em!” “Claire!” Blitz says as he gently drops Annie on the ground and rushes to hug his sister. Likewise, Cotton Candy jumps in and pulls both Anthea and Starburst into a tight hug while Golden and Prism start telling each other about what the each of them has done and discussing about which feat was better. Starburst smiles while rolling her eyes, when something draws her attention. “What is that?” Everypony stops and follows her gaze and find the inklings of a castle spire over the treeline. “Is that…?” “The castle ruins!” “Then that means we finally arrived!” A loud cheer goes around the group of ponies as their joy and excitement returns tenfold. "Okie-dokie! The whole gang's back together, and the Castle's right on sight! Nothing can go wrong now!” CeeCee cheers as she starts trotting forward… only to notice Prism glaring at her. “What?" "You just had to say it, didn't you?!" Prism groaned. “You just had to jinx it a third time?” “Uh, guys?” Claire interrupted. “Was the fog always this thick?” The seven ponies look around and realize that indeed the fog is growing thicker in an alarming rate, instantly obscuring the castle from them. What is more alarming is that all of them were unable to see farther than three hooves in front of them. “See?! Bad things for everypony!” Prism yells from somewhere within the fog. “W-What’s going on?!” Annie calls out in terror. “Where is everypony?!” “Annie?! ANNIE!!” T shouts. “Everypony, stay calm!” Starburst commands to her friends. “Stay together and most importantly, don’t~” Her words are drowned by a sudden tremor and the floor beneath her immediately gives away, causing her and -as she could deduce from the varied yelps- all her friends to fall out of control into a deep chasm. Starburst instantly tried to stop her fall, spreading her massive wings to correct her position, intent on helping everypony immediately after. But before she could do any of that, she collided with something thin, elastic and resilient, jerking her up and completely stopping her fall. After recovering from the whiplash, she shakes her head and starts calling out “Is everypony okay?” Star crans up her neck to look around for signs of her friends. She found and heard nothing but darkness and silence. Concern floods her mind as she tries to get herself back up again, but finding herself stuck to whatever had broken her fall. “What the…” she mutters before looking at the substance. She is laying in some kind of net made out completely of white, silk-like ribbons that extended and crossed each other as far as she could see, in a pattern that triggered an alarm in Star’s brain. She pulls her hoof off of it, but the thread stretches and rattles with each of her movements. Her heart starts thumping on her chest as her eyes quickly dart around, realizing not only that none of her friends are with her, but confirming what she was currently on. She is on a giant spiderweb… And she’s trapped like a fly! Her pupils shrink in fear as she starts feeling a vibration on the web, coming from somewhere in the dark cave she was in. “Somepony…” Star squeaks out. “Help!” ~~o~~ Prism Bolt landed in something soft and familiar after falling for a few seconds. He stands up and shakes his head before taking on his surroundings “Guys are you oka~ What the…?” He is standing on a cloud high up in the sky. “What? When did I…?” Bolt shakes his head again and furrows his brow. “Alright Prism, make sense of things after you find everypony.” He says to himself as he crouches down and jumps up from the cloud… …only to fall right on his face. “Ow! My band-aid!” Prism says while rubbing his muzzle, before gathering himself up and trying to take off again, only to fall on his hooves. “What the heck?” He asks while looking to his back. “Aw great. My wings are missing…” He listlessly says… before the realization set in. “MY WINGS ARE MISSING?! What?!” Bolt starts pacing on the cloud and to hyperventilate. He peeks over the edge of the cloud. “Oh man, that is really high… How am I getting *gulp* down?” Before he could ponder on that, a small speck of cloud broke from his platform and drifts away. “Wait!” Prism shouts as he catches the tiny cloud with his hoof and pushing it back into the main cloud, “You stay right there!” Even as he does this, another tiny cloud breaks and floats off from the main one. “Wait, stop it!” He screams as he futilely tries to catch it. Another cloud breaks off, followed by another and another, at the same time Prism Bolt rushed to gather as many tiny clouds as he could, all the while feeling his heart jumping into his throat. “I want my mommy!” ~~o~~ Cotton Candy fell a few meters before landing in some sort of springboard that immediately threw her upwards and through a trapdoor, before the contraption closed itself and she landed on her rump. Before she could recover her bearings, a powder pad applied a thick layer of makeup on her face, a microphone was pushed into her hooves and a spotlight turns on above her. “Wowzies, what is going…” she starts saying before actually looking around where she was currently in. “... on.” She is in a theatre stage in front of rows and rows of ponies, all of them staring directly at her…  the lighting allowed to discern that much. Her eyes, wide as saucers at that very moment, started darting left and right; she notices a sign reading “Cotton Candy’s Clever Comedy,” which only causes her to start sweating profusely. ‘I have to think fast. I have to think fast!!!!’ Candy flashes a daring smile as her hooves quickly scramble in an effort to take her off the stage. However, a vaudeville hook comes from the opposite end she was heading towards and pulls her back on the spot. “He he, he… Uh, sorry everypony, but I…” Candy mutters through a mouthful of hair, which she had started biting without realizing. “I’m not exactly a come~” “Say something funny!” Calls a pony from the audience as they throw a tomato next to CeeCee, making a loud *SPLUT.* “Eeee! Okay, okay!” She says even as she tries to still herself from quavering. “So… Wh- when I heard I’d be p-performing tonight, I-I was besides myself with joy…” She pauses, letting a few seconds go by before speaking again. “Then I realized I was next to a changeling.” *deafening silence* “…Not funny!” *SPLUT* Another tomato lands right on her face, splattering on impact. Distressed, Candy wipes it off to see that everypony also started throwing more food at the stage, pelting her relentlessly and laughing hysterically while at it. With tears in her eyes, she starts trotting off the stage before another hook catches and pulls her back on stage, where several ropes shoot out of the darkness and wrap themselves around her hooves, pulling her up and forcing her to dance like a puppet as the crowd continues to laugh at her. “MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP!!” ~~o~~ To say Claire was baffled was an understatement. One second she was falling down a chasm, and now she’s fallen into a lake of some sorts. Claire desperately flails to reach something solid she can cling onto in a panic. “Of all the places in this forest I could have ended up in, why did it have to be deep water!?” She gasps as she finally pulls herself out of the water and onto a solid surface. Before she could even start to shake herself off however, she notices that she’s actually standing on logs instead of solid land, which is in fact nowhere to be found in her current scenery. That is because she’s now in the middle of the ocean on a rickety raft. “Eek!” She yelps before laying belly down and clinging on to the edges on the rocking raft. “Oh no. No, no, no, not here. Anywhere but here!” She trembles as she holds on for dear life at the relentless waves. “SOMEPONY HELP ME!!” ~~o~~ “Gotta go fast. Gotta go fast!” Golden Delicious repeats to himself as he runs through the cave he had just fallen in. Behind him, flapping their leathery wings, the very reason why he is running: A swarm of giant bats! As he continues to run he finally spots an exit from the tunnels and quickly makes a beeline for it… only to to be confronted by twice the amount of bats that were chasing him, each one baring its fangs menacingly and drooling as they set their sights on him. “OH, COME ON!!” He screams as he continues to flee in terror. ~~o~~ “I’m telling you! You got the wrong pony!” Turquoise Blitz repeated himself for the nth time as the ponies in lab coats and surgical masks push him through impeccable white hallways. “I’m sorry Doctor, but there is nopony else qualified for this job,” the nurse pony drones to him in an eerie monotone that raised the scales on the back of Blitz’ neck. “Everything is prepared for surgery.” “Su-su-surgery?!” He echoes, unable to pull himself away from the ponies no matter how hard he tries. “Please, you gotta let me go, I am really not comfortable with~ Hmmf!” His voice is muffled by a surgical mask placed over his muzzle, just as the same time he is pushed through a pair of doors and into a dimly lit room, with a pony laying on an operating table in front of him. Blitz could barely register that fact before a scalpel was pushed into his claw. Eyeing both the body and the cutting tool and the multitude of nurses watching him expectantly, Turquoise Blitz could only let out a quiet “Gulp!” ~~o~~ It was dark, cold, quiet... and lonely… not a single hint of color anywhere around Anthea. No matter where Annie looked there was only darkness. “Please…” She whispers as she curls down on the floor. “Someone please help me… I don't wanna be alone... I don't wanna be alone in the dark!” No one replies, which only helps to make the pale unicorn feel even more isolated and lonely. “I don’t wanna be in the dark. Not alone,” she whispers to herself, afraid that the darkness would swallow her. Anthea couldn’t see anything beyond her muzzle, couldn’t feel any warmth around her and could barely tell what she is laying on. She wasn’t even able to tell by scent where she is. She is lost, with nopony around to help her. “I don’t want to… I don’t want to…” She repeats once and once again, hoping that somepony would find her. She couldn’t help herself now, and her breathing gradually becomes more and more erratic. Anthea soon registers that she’s about to have a panic attack, and couldn’t do anything to stop~ Somepony help me! Annie’s breath hitches for a second, and she feels her ears lifting up. She holds her breath for a second, trying to catch again that sound. Leave me alone! I’m gonna get sick! Help! “T? Starburst?” Annie trembles as she climbs onto her hooves. “Guys! Where are you?! I’m over here!” Annie doesn’t hear any reply, only more faint cries for help. “Am I losing it?” she wonders out loud before shaking her head. “Okay Anthea, question your sanity later. Everypony is near, and they’re in danger too… I gotta do something!” She says, filled with a sudden surge of courage. Then, she tries to conjure light from her horn; even if she couldn’t really see better with it, it would still help her find the guys. However, she still couldn’t see the light. She could feel her magic working, but she couldn’t see the light shining over anything, not even the tip of her muzzle. She could only see the absolute darkness around her. “That isn’t right. My magic is working, so why can’t I see anything yet?” Annie takes a hesitant step towards the nearest sound, keeping her body low to avoid tripping. Just a few seconds after, she stumbles upon something near her hooves, which flinches back at her touch. Keeping herself from yelping back, Annie slowly neared a hoof to the object. Whatever it was, it is moving on its own, and has a familiar texture to it. “Blitz?” ‘So gross, so gross, so gross…’ Comes the muffled sound of Turquoise’s voice “Blitz! It is you!” Annie nuzzles the large dragon-pony, heedless of the quivering of his body. “T, what happened? I can’t see anything!” She nudges him to draw his attention, but to no avail. He keeps tossing and turning on the ground. “Biltz, wake up. You’re having a nightmare?” ‘So much… blood…’ “Oh… I hope you are having a nightmare. Where’s everypony else?” She asks herself as she cautiously threads over to another voice. She finds a small pony with massive pegasus wings, also thrashing on the floor. ‘They’re all over me… get them off...’ “Star? Not you too.” With a spring in her step now, she approaches the next pony she could barely hear. Soon, she found out that everypony was still with her, but they were all thrashing and quivering in fear, often muttering in between fits. “Why is everypony having nightmares? It’s almost as if…” Annie stopped herself mid-sentence. Quickly, she recalls everything she learned about Dream Magic from both Princess Twilight’s lessons and her off-talks with Nidra, as well as going back to the seconds before this very moment. “Yes, that must be it!” She finally concludes as she starts charging up her magic, focusing on the spell she was going to cast. A pale green dome forms around her, restoring the little sight she ever had before it expands all around her and engulfing each and every one of her friends. Everypony wakes up with a start. Starburst jumps to her hooves, takes a low stand and flares her wings, Candy and Claire yelp and hug each other, Turquoise simply snaps his head up while laying in the floor while Prism and Golden both sit up from where they laid screaming, with the latter throwing a hoof at the former’s face. “OW! WHAT THE HECK, MAN!?!” “Sorry partner!” Says the befuddled earth pony. “Oh good, it worked,” says an almost fainting Anthea, who quickly finds herself draped by a wing and next to a body to lean onto. “Thank you, T.” “What… did just happen?” Starburst asks, ruffling her chest feathers. “I’ll explain later, we need to leave the marsh first!” Annie instructs, being picked up and flown onwards with the rest following close behind. After a moment, all seven kids were resting by an array of rocks overlooking a chasm next to an old bridge. “Okay Annie, do you know what was going on back there?” Starbursts asks, being careful to keep her voice unrattled. Anthea massages her temples before saying matter-of-factly. “We were in a Spooky Swamp.” “I bet it was!” Prism Bolt exclaims. “No. I mean it was a Spooky Swamp. They are a rare natural phenomena that produce a gas capable of inducing sensory hallucinations. Particularly, they make ponies experience their worst fears.” “So basically, we were all having a nightmare?” Golden offers. “Essentially, yes,” Anthea answers before shuddering. “Had none of us woken up… well…” She hesitates and finally decides to keep quiet, leaving the implications clear and a many of the ponies gathered to shift uncomfortably. “He-Hey you guys, quit it with the long faces,” Prism urges everypony, breaking the silence. “None of that happened in the end, did it? We’re all lucky that Annie is crazy smart about all this nature stuff!” “Yeah! If it weren’t for Annie, we would’ve been swamp goop!” CeeCee adds too. “You saved us!” Anthea smiles sheepishly. “It’s not as if I wouldn’t have done it. You’re all my friends! I would do anything to help you guys!” Star stands up and starts walking to Annie. “Still, you were very brave to overcome that illusion all by yourself. Well done, Annie.” She places a hoof on her shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. Anthea smiles at the gesture before talking again. “Yeah! How lucky that Princess Twilight taught me that spell yesterday! Then we would’ve been in deep trouble.” Star stiffens a little, Anthea’s smile falters after. But before any of the young mares could say anything else, everypony else gathers to cheer for Anthea, who is swept away from the tiny pegasus. Starburst herself is left standing, silently pondering on why did she feel upset for half a second. Yet, she didn’t have much time left to ponder. Somepony found the stairs descending the chasm, and one commented on what appeared to be a cave entrance. Star didn’t have time to be upset. She has a mission, and she is definitely going to finish it.