//------------------------------// // Chapter XII // Story: Journey to the center of Equestria // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// The eyes of Spitfire were still locked firm against those of Twilight while the silence came to the soothsayer. She didn’t had any idea of what she could have done in the matter outside of telling the truth. But if she told the truth to the grand field marshal, who knew what would have happened to their entire quest? Of course there was also another thing she needed to do. Twilight had to keep her own pride intact, no matter what would happen next. Of course she could yell out to Applejack that she needed her help in one way or the other, but that would only show that she indeed needed all the protection that she possibly could be getting. No, Twilight Sparkle just had to toughen up and take the game into her own hands. To prove the two anthronies that she wasn’t a near helpless foal as they pictured her. The eyes of the unicorn narrowed themselves only seconds after the words had been spoken against her before her horn charged itself up in the raspberry colored magical aura. Though as she began her charge did the hold of Spitfire became more powerful as she tightened her grip. It was a feeling that Twilight just wasn’t used too and found it everything bit nice or polite. She needed to get out of the pegasus’ hold and she only could come up with one way that could be done. “Well, I’m waiting,” continued Spitfire to hiss through her teeth. She even brought her head closer to the soothsayer. Though a bit further ahead in the hallway had Applejack turned herself back around and was leaning against a wall. Her arms were crossed over one another as her green rimmed eyes calmly looked over the scene. She wanted to know just how Twilight thought she could be resolving the situation without her help. It was perhaps even allowed by the admiral that there was room for her to grow. Experience told her that even the least trained sailors could become the biggest assets over time itself. Applejack could only hope that the same fact would be going for the soothsayer. “Ya can do this partner,” she said in an inaudible whisper towards Twilight. Then there was a smirk that traveled over her lips in calm. Applejack saw something in Twilight’s eyes, a fire unseen before. “I owe you nothing, grand field marshal,” hissed Twilight back through her own teeth. The mare knew it was there or never. Something had to be done about it and the moment was just there whether it was liked or not. All of her energy focused itself in her magical powers as their never broke the contact. Spitfire really wasn’t pleased with the answer that she got out of the soothsayer and tightened her grip even further. She then continued to give the unicorn a couple of shakes in the hope it would cancel out the spell she was preparing. “You have the duty to tell me where you take one of my soldiers on.” And then it finally happened. Under a massive poof and a bright, raspberry colored light did Twilight just disappear from their plane of existence. A mere second ago did Spitfire held the sleeved arm in her hands, then she held nothing anymore but air. It was strange of the grand field marshal and it wasn’t something that she was really happy about. Soon afterwards did she turn around her spot in the hope to see her somewhere. “Where are you?!” she exclaimed towards the air. Her eyes had turned into a glare of thunder. A glare of thunder which actually managed to miss the admiral as a whole. Then again, Applejack did stood completely still and just watched over the scene without a word. Yet she had to admit that it was a great use of the spell. She had managed to get out of Spitfire’s hold without causing much of a fuzz. At least in her own eyes. That, and it was just great to see the air force receive a kick in the butt for a change. The smirk never had left the face of the admiral as it actually had turned into a nasty grin as she shook her head calmly. It was moments later that the raspberry lightning strikes came back into existence and Twilight poofed back into their realm of existence like that. With the magic fading away from her horn, she took on a bit more of a regal posture while her eyes turned back to Spitfire. A Spitfire who was still surprised about everything. The demand to know the answers was still there of course, but she didn’t shout it out by her mouth. Her eyes on the other end were screaming as loud as they possibly could have been. Something that Twilight did notice before she took a step back to join Applejack. “The answer upon your question, is the simple fact that the three races of anthronies shall be reunited as the ponies of old. Three races, living under one joined flag,” brought Twilight forth as her excuse. It was a witty one but the tones which she gave to Spitfire actually made it seem believable. The calm in it, the truth that she seemed to be speaking about it all. “W-What?” Spitfire brought out in confusion. She brought a hand to her forehead in order to rub it. She couldn’t believe a single one of the words that were spoken against her and she wanted to argue against them just so much. Though Twilight had already turned her back to her and walked past Applejack. “You planned, what?!” Though neither mare gave her any more attention and they walked away from the scene. Applejack gave a gentle and calm nod that said to Twilight she had done a good job. Spitfire was left confused about it all as the two anthronies made their departure from the building. “I need to talk to Dash, asap,” were the last words that the two could hear coming out of the mouth of the field marshal. Who then just left the hallway and walked into her office to see what had happened to it. Both Twilight and Applejack never would have thought in their lives that it would actually be working, but somehow it did. The two of them had escaped the clutches of the grand field marshal and had gained a new member for their company of troublemakers. Whether the two liked it or not, they were just that. Because wherever they went, trouble would always be close by. With a calm pace in their hooves did the two walk towards the entrance of the building before Applejack stopped Twilight with an arm. “What’s the matter?” she asked while she looked over towards the admiral. “Ya sure ya already want to leave? ‘Cause out there ain’t nothing but sun and ya know it,” returned Applejack in a concerned tone. “Ah have mah hat, but ya have nothing upon that scalp of yours. Ya sure ya don’t get a sunstroke?” The concern was rightfully placed. The blistering sun against an unprotected head was something that not many anthronies could withstand for long. Yet Twilight released a gentle chuckle before she placed her own hand on the shoulder of Applejack. Even through her coat she could feel the coldness of it traveling onto her skin. A gentle shiver was given by her before she looked even deeper into Twilight’s eyes. “What have ya done?” Twilight released a gentle chuckle as she took the hand back off and placed both of her arms behind her back and took the first step. “I’ll tell you outside,” she simply said to the admiral. Then she made the massive step of leaving the cool insides to the blistering outsides. Applejack did have little to no confidence that whatever Twilight had done actually would have worked. Though staying inside wouldn’t really have helped them with their quest in any other way. So even the admiral walked back into the heat of the sun as her coat almost immediately adjusted itself again. She walked up to Twilight who had already began the journey towards the fence so that they would leave the air base. Once she had caught up with the mare, the most important question was asked again. “What have ya done to yarself?” The violet rimmed eyes of Twilight turned over to Applejack. She let out a gentle giggle at the looks of her eyes. “Let’s just say that whatever magic has been fabricated into your coat, I also have now, kinda.” In an instant did the face of the admiral turn into a confused expression. She had not a clue of what was being said. Had Twilight actually taken the arcane powers of her coat one night, or was it something else that she had done? “Ya really need to be more clear with me here, cause Ah didn’t understand a single word from that,” she spoke in an honest tone to the soothsayer. It was of course something that Twilight had expected to come out of her mouth and could only agree on it. She needed to explain the matter a bit more if there was going to be any kind of cheese made. “Alright, simplified version then,” said Twilight with a dry voice. She looked in front of her and began to whisper. “When you said that your coat adjusts itself to the temperature outside, I have been thinking about stuff. Manners to keep one cool or warm and not having to be packed in tons of clothing. Basically, there’s a little shard of ice that surrounds my heart as we speak. That keeps me cool and caused you to shiver. It’s complicated soothsayer magic, really. Harmless.” Baffled was the best way to describe Applejack’s reaction to the fact that there was an actual shard of ice somewhere in Twilight body. Even though she really didn’t understood how it worked, she also really didn’t wanted to know. Her own coat was already a marvel, but the words of Twilight made it almost look like it was a shame. “Ah think Ah know enough,” she spoke up before they continued to travel further towards the checkpoint in silence. Only the soles of the shoes and the metalized leg of Applejack were the sounds that were obvious against the asphalt. An cloud asphalt that was then turned into more traditional clouds as they walked through the checkpoint without anyone stopping them. ~~~~                       Minutes later they could be found again wandering through the massive city and Applejack only had one question that had been plaguing her mind. “Can’t we, go back down now? Ah mean, Ah don’t really think there’s anyone else up here that wants to join us,” she questioned to Twilight. Applejack was almost begging the unicorn to take her back down to the surface of the land. A deep exhale was being taken by Twilight before she gave a calm and single nod towards her companion. “Yes, let’s do that. The altitude is also nothing for me really. Just hold on tight alright?” she said before her horn charged itself up again. Applejack did remember the first time they teleported themselves up and she wasn’t a fan of it. She would be doing it again but at least she knew there was going to be land under her hooves again. That was the plan at least. Small sparks of magic left the horn of the unicorn before under both a poof and an explosion of light the two just disappeared. Many of the pegasi that were either walking or flying around them couldn’t believe what they saw and thought it was actually an attack. Only to then realize there was nothing going on. It was a relief for them, for they really didn’t wanted to have to fight anyone at the moment. So the everyday life quickly managed to pick up the pace again as if nothing had happened. Somewhere down the massive city of pride did the orb return to the scene and out of the explosion came both Twilight and Applejack. The admiral shook her head a couple of times as she really wasn’t used to the mechanics of a teleport. It scrambled her brain perhaps a tad bit more then she would have liked and she was already rubbing her forehead. “Let’s see where exactly we are,” mumbled Twilight to herself. All while she gave Applejack the time she needed to adjust herself again. The hills that surrounded them gave an indication they might have been near the sea and that they were actually grass covered dunes. Though something wasn’t right in the eyes of Twilight. She knew the way that the currents of air were going and the city itself literally went against the currents that time. It was a clear indication that they had arrived at a place where not even the city of the pegasi would be daring to go or come close to. “Interesting indeed,” she whispered to herself. Her legs began to carry her up a hill. The unicorn was in the need to have a vantage point of something in order to see just where they had managed to end up Once she had climbed up the hill with both her hooves and hands, Twilight wiped the grass out of her palms before she finally rose back up and gave her eyes the time to look at the surroundings. But the things that she saw were all but pleasant. “Oh no,” was all that she could say before Applejack turned her attention towards the soothsayer. The admiral knew that something was wrong. Though instead of calling out, she made the decision to climb the hill itself and witness the possible horror with her own eyes. The struggle was great as the slopes were rather steep and her steam powered leg actually had quite the bit of trouble keeping up. Moan and groan were released by her before she finally did reach the top and stood next to Twilight. The earth anthrony fixed her hat before her green rimmed eyes looked over the massive stretch of land. A massive stretch of land that was covered in trees as far as the eye could see. A massive forest laid before them and Twilight knew all too well what forest it actually was. Something Applejack didn’t. “Ain’t looking too bad, now is it?” she said while she pointed out a possible route through the place. In an instant had Twilight turned herself around and took the shoulders of Applejack with her hands. They were forced to look into each other’s eyes and the admiral could see the sheer anger and fright within them. “Did, did Ah said something wrong?” Twilight’s head began to shake calmly and gently as she just wanted to smack the admiral across her face. Yet somehow she managed to maintain herself with a series of deep exhales. Only once her mind was calm again she released the admiral and turned her attention back to the forest before them. “That, admiral, is the Everfree forest. Anthronies have nothing to say about it and is the biggest forest that lays between Canterlot and the Frozen North. Judging everything, I would say we are standing with our eyes towards Canterlot. Meaning we have to go around it.” “’Round it?! Ah beg your pardon partner, but that’s gonna cost us days we don’t have!” Applejack immediately exclaimed. She really wasn’t looking to walk around the place in a big arc. “What lays in there that ya don’t want to go in there Twi? What secrets does this wild forests hold.” “The Dark Witches,” whispered Twilight almost inaudible for the admiral. A quick shake of the head was given before she rose an eyebrow towards her partner and hoped she would repeat it again. “The Dark Witches,” she then spoke up a bit louder, “servants of her who mustn’t be named. Soothsayers gone rogue, unicorns who made pacts with demons. Death lurks inside of that forest Applejack. I can feel it as we speak.” It was true, for when the earth anthrony looked at the hand of Twilight could sparks of a black aura be seen travelling through it. It only made her wonder even more about the matter but perhaps it was better she knew less about it. “These, Witches, as ya call ‘em, are they dangerous?” “Extremely.” “They can kill you?” “Instantly if they want.” “No chance of bargaining?” “Not a single one of them reasonable.” That did it for Applejack. With the words of Twilight surging through her mind, it made it seem like the only way they could be going was actually around the forest. If the words of Twilight were true about the place, going through it was an almost certain death for them both. “So what’s the plan?” she then asked to the unicorn. Twilight’s eyes never took themselves off of the woods. “The plan, is that we walk around the woods as much as we can. One step inside of the tree line and they all know we are there. Even one of them finding out that we are there could spell disaster for us. Stories do their turn, about a Dark Witch who... I’ll tell another time,” said Twilight before she shook her head. “It can wait for now.” “So is it gonna be right or left?” Applejack asked, she decided to change subjects instantly. Her eyes looked back over the darkened woods of Everfree and tried to see which end had the shorter distance for them to cover. “Not to mention, who’s next on our list?” It made Twilight actually chuckle a little bit. A chuckle that she needed more than anything in the moment of time itself. But even she had to calibrate the distance of either side that they were standing on. Soon afterward did Twilight thought to have the right answer. “From the looks of it, the right side seems to be shorter. I can’t remember the way that the place is actually walking anymore and pinpoint our exact location.” “Doesn’t matter, Twi, we have a heading and the wind is favorable,” her partner replied just before she placed a hand upon the unicorn’s shoulder and smiled. “But Ah still wanna know whom our next one is going to be.” The unicorn calmly glanced back to Applejack before her lips curled up into a small smile of her own. “We, are going to see the doctor.” An eyebrow was raised by the admiral. She didn’t fully understood the words. “The hospital that stands on the other side, leading to Canterlot, that’s where we are going to,” the mare added as explanation. Hoping to clear things up for the earth anthrony. “Sounds good enough for me actually. With that triggerhappy mare on our team, any kind of medic is great,” added Applejack with a gentle smile. She then removed her hand again and nodded. It was the go-signal, their journey around the woods of Everfree had finally begun. They could only hope that the everything would be in their favor for a change. Wishful thinking in a harsh reality. ~~~~                       Hours on hours had been going by already as the sun had already lowered itself beneath the hills and the moon was shining brightly. The night had set in already and it was the last place where the both of them wanted to be in and around. With the forest of Everfree only three dozen hooves away, they were really toying with the devil’s tail. A fireball could be found within the hand of Twilight and was used to act like a torch while they both walked calmly by. Or at least they tried to do that. For the eyes in the forest were always following them. They followed their every last move and traced them. Almost as if they were waiting to finally be able to attack the two of them out of nowhere. “Timberwolves, manticores every day, but a Dark Witch is the last one you want to come across,” muttered Twilight to herself. Whether or not she knew, but Applejack could hear the words. "But didn’t ya say they couldn’t come out of the woods?” she asked with a strange curiosity in her tone. New facts were revealed to her the whole time, she needed to know the details. “Oh believe me, they can move out of the forest if they want, nothing holds them back. It’s only that the dark magic is the most powerful there and there they feel the most comfortable with. They can charge any moment, but prefer to seduce you to come into their domain. Because one step out of the woods and they travel into the realms the goddesses can’t watch them,” said Twilight. “So, basically it’s a game of hide and seek?” Applejack then replied. It did resemble the game a little bit in her mind. “You can say that, yes. But the only problem is that this version of the game is a lot more intense. Let’s keep it on that fact shall we?” Twilight said in response. It became only more and more difficult for her to actually keep her focus upon the road ahead. Almost constantly were her eyes drifting away and into the trees. Only to see figures of her past and possible future as shimmers in the light of her fire. It was a thing that drove her crazy as she saw her parents shaking their heads as if she had failed. But there was also this one stallion that looked so charming, so cute. A stallion that was perfect in her every possible way. The true love of her life, the perfect stallion. The unicorn had to shake her head a couple dozen times in order to stay on the right track. None of it was real as all of it were manners to get one into the treeline. Even after a couple bashes to the head it didn’t seem like something was going better. Applejack also noticed how figures of her past and distant future were revealed to her. Yet there was one who took the crown for her. Something that could be seen as her Moby Dick, her greatest nemesis who she wanted nothing else but down by the blade of her own sword. Her eyes had a difficult time actually taking themselves off of that cursed being. It was nearly impossible as even the light of the moon placed the creature into the brightest light. An unicorn with an ivory skin and deep purple hair. The devil herself had Applejack called her in whispers. It drove the two of them to madness itself as they knew none of it was real. But the illusions were done in such a manner that it actually did seem realm. “Twi, Ah don’t like to break to ya, but we gotta set up camp here and now. If we wanna get through the night, we have to do the smart thing,” called Applejack out. Twilight froze upon her spot. Slowly and shivering did she turn herself around with a raised eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to spend the night here? Next to the cursed forest?” the unicorn then said, disbelief filling her voice. Twilight needed to know exactly what her partner meant and whether or not she was actually sane enough. “It sounds crazy, but if we don’t get our sleep, we’ll only be an easier target and ya know it,” the admiral countered. The fireball in Twilight’s hand lit up both of their faces in the night. It was something that neither of the two wanted to do but Twilight knew Applejack was right. Once taken from their sleep was an anthrony indeed more sustainable to the fact that it could walk into the woods. So the only thing they could do was to set up camp and hope for the best. So said, so done. The two of them expanded their distance from the woods a little bit and sat down at the foot of a hill while the fires crisped between the two of them. Blankets weren’t needed because the temperature was actually still rather pleasant. The two of them had shut their eyes for a couple of minutes. But sleep they never did. For the thoughts continued to roll through their minds as they couldn’t stop thinking about the manner in which the forest would be trying to lure them in. Though there was one other matter that plagued Applejack’s very thoughts. “Hey Twi, when ya spoke of that one Dark Witch, who did ya mean?” The mare released a deep exhale through her nostrils as she really didn’t wanted to be reminded to that fact. But she had to tell the truth to the admiral as she knew it. “Alright, but it isn’t a pretty tale. Words have it that one time, long ago, one anthrony unicorn managed to make a deal with her who-mustn’t-be-named. Before the deal was completed, said unicorn had already taken off and hidden herself into the woods.” “Bet one of ‘em was pissed,” chuckled Applejack. She tried her best to lighten the mood a bit. But little did she knew what chain of words she had unleashed. “Oh you have no idea how much. Words had it that the dark mistress herself is still hunting this anthrony to this very day. Lurking through the shadows in the hope to catch a glimpse of her, before taking back what’s rightfully hers. And that one unicorn, most likely has been hiding inside of that vegetation before us.” There was a gentle gulp was being released by the admiral. Applejack had never expected something like that to happen. She was used to the seas with their high tides and massive waves. Magic was about the least of her worries, but from the words of it, it would be changing rather quickly. “But this dark mistress ya spoke of, whom is it?” The soothsayer really didn’t wanted to say the name of the devil itself but felt like she was required to do it for her partner. A deep inhale was taken before the eyes of Twilight opened up and stared into the countless stars in the skies. “Her name, is Nightmare Moon.” “Ah heard of her back in class once,” added Applejack while she fixed her sleeping position. “Let’s say Ah know enough. Night.” And just like that had their conversation ended as if it was nothing. Twilight simply gave a small shrug before she also closed her eyes again and wanted to get some much needed sleep of her own. Only minutes later it seemed that the both of them had fallen into a deep sleep for the night. But while it was true that the mind of a tired was easier seduced, the easiest one was the mind of a sleeping anthrony. ~~~~                       The sunlight began to tease the very eyelids of the unicorn. Twilight felt that something else then grass was laying against her back. Something didn’t feel right yet everything felt just so comfortable at the same time. She didn’t wanted to open her eyes because of the simple feeling that it felt like she was actually sleeping in her own bed. But there was the problem as it then just surged through her mind like that. She hadn’t slept in her own bed for a couple of days. The last thing that she remembered was that she and Applejack went to sleep against the foot of a hill and looked over the woods of Everfree. Was it all a dream? Was everything they had done up to that point a dream and she had awoken only just from it? It was an explanation that was really farfetched, but one that wasn’t entirely impossible either. The only way to figure it out truly what happened to her was to give in to the teasing sun and open up her very own eyes. Which was something a lot easier said than done. Quiet moans were released by the unicorn before she began to turn and twist within the bed and for the first time actually felt the blankets she laid under. Everything looked just so right but also so wrong at the same time. And it was that feeling that caused her to forcefully open up her eyes again before she shot up from the bed. Half of her body had risen out of the bed while the eyes were blinded by the light of the sun. A deep groan and growl was being released as she started to rub her eyes in the hope to make them adjust quicker to the sudden burst of lights. After only half a minute did the eyes of the mare finally reveal themselves back to the world. With a couple of blinks did everything became known to her. Everything that could be seen was revealed to her and it wasn’t what she had expected. Twilight had expected the torture room of some kind of ancient castle that stood deep within the forest. Instead she found herself laying in what seemed to have been a hospital room. “What on earth, has happened?” Twilight mumbled to herself. Yet then her ears twitched in response to a second voice filling the room. A voice she knew too well. “You tell me, partner. Woke up like this an hour ago,” the well-known voice of the admiral spoke to her. Quickly did Twilight manage to turn her body around and she looked upon the relaxed earth anthrony. She really just laid down in her own bed as if nothing had been the matter. Almost as if she was on some sort of vacation. Her coat was hung up next to the bed. Twilight tried to figure out just had happened with everything and everyone. Both of her hands were placed at the side of her head. The memories did flow back to her from that previous night. She knew about what she had spoken and discussed. But after they had fallen asleep, there was a massive black gap until she woke up in the bed. “I wish I could tell you, Applejack. But I really don’t know how we ended up here. No tingles of dark magic flow through my fingers so, I think this is the real deal. We are actually in a hospital. A hospital that has us as its patients. So many possible things could have happened but which is the actual one?” wondered Twilight. She looked to both of her hands and noticed the lack of dark sparks. Everything was literally turned upside down and inside out for the two of them. Nothing made sense anymore and that was just the thing they really wanted. To know the sense of the situation and actually get to know what happened to them both. “Shall we call a nurse, or a doctor?” Applejack then asked after one of her eyes had opened up and was staring calmly towards Twilight. Who simply released a nod before she dropped her own body back into the pillow and gave up the fight. There was not much that she could be doing in order to make her remember. “Doctor, nurse?!” Applejack called out as loud as she could. Then only the waiting game could be played for the pair of them. Time would tell what their story had been, whether they would be liking it or not.