Both Applejack and Twilight walked back to the campsite with no idea on what to do next. Though the night was still young and the forest was still a long way away. Yet the decision had to be made at one point or the other. Whether it was liked or not, they all heeded the call of Twilight. And it would have been her who should be giving the sign to either go through Everfree of go around it instead.
Fluttershy was cooking the dinner for each of them above the campfire. Both Rarity and Rainbow sat relaxed on another treetrunk. The tent behind them seemed to be too small for the five of them but Twilight had enchanted the thing perhaps a little bit too much. In their eyes they noticed how the other two mares finally came back and it was the major who gained a grin across her face.
"So the two lovebirds finally returned, hm? Was it any good?” Rainbow questioned the both of them in a teasing and almost insulting manner. Rarity couldn’t really help herself and she let out a giggle in response. One that was blocked by her hand.
The pirate captain had made a promise to Applejack and she intended to actually keep it. Yet both Twilight and Applejack shook their head. They dropped down once again on a trunk of their own. “We ain’t lovebirds, partner. Never will be. Ah just happened to be the first one to be called in for this. Ain’t nothing special to it,” the admiral replied with a calm tone to her voice before she sniffed the smells of the cooked dinner. “What’s for supper?”
Fluttershy was still stirring through the content of the kettle as the words of the admiral were hammered into her ears. Her entire body was placed on high alert all of the sudden as she almost let out a small yelp of terror. “Uhm, well, I, I don’t have much to work with, so it’s a stew of, well, everything that we have and could spare.”
“Traditional naval meal then,” muttered Applejack. It seemed like she had already lost her appetite. “Throw everything in a kettle, make it become soup. Ah’m not even gonna ask what’s inside of it.”
“For the better,” the yellow pegasus replied quickly. The plates were then levitated up by Twilight and she gave one to each of them. “Dinner’s ready.”
After a dinner that could have gone much better, the anthronies had made the decision to call it an early night. The fires were kept on raging as they set up a watch system that would each be taking them about two hours to complete. Rarity was the first one who volunteered to take the first watch. Others could see immediately why she wanted to do such a thing though.
They didn’t complain about it, but they all knew that their sleep would be disturbed at one point or the other. “Sleep tight you lot,” the white mare said to them. Rarity made one last waving sign to them. Only to then watch the whole company slip away through the doorway of the tent.
It was still something that surprised the unicorn perhaps a little bit more than it should have done that they all could be fitting inside of it. “Soothsayers, interesting bunch,” mumbled Rarity herself. Then her eyes were turned up to the stars and moon high above them.
Songs of the sea slowly filled up the area while the hums were made by the unicorn. She had to keep herself awake with something on the great and silent plains. Not even the usual birds, critters or insects could be heard.
Inside of the tent did it became apparent that the insides were a lot bigger than the outside. Even though Fluttershy wanted to know how it actually worked, it was perhaps a matter left unanswered because of one single fact. The little fact that she most likely wouldn’t be able to understand a single thing from what Twilight would say.
All she knew for certain was that she had a place to sleep that was both safe and dry. More she really didn’t needed to know. Neither did the major and the admiral. All four of them had been walking for most of the day and they were tired. Weren’t they physically exhausted, they would have been it mentally.
The latter was more than true for Twilight. As much as her legs were almost killing her, it was the constant rambling of her mind that prevented her from falling to sleep as quickly as the others. During the night she even thought to have heard Rarity relieving herself from her watch and commanded Rainbow to take the second one.
Everything was blurry until the unicorn finally began to drift away into the void of her own mind. The hurricane of thoughts came to a gentle hold as the mare was granted her much needed sleep for a change.
~~~~
Only to have it disturbed again in the early morning. The unicorn rose herself up from the bed and hit her head against the one right above her. Almost instantly she fell back down and placed both of her hands against her forehead. “Why for the..!” she exclaimed quickly before silencing herself further.
Applejack was staring down at her with a confused gaze but then continued with her morning ritual. Twilight was actually glad that the earth anthrony didn’t make any form of comment to her stunt. Though she couldn’t help it but to sit right up in the bed and give the anthrony above her a punch through the mattress.
Not even a second later was it Rainbow Dash who came crashing down from the top bed and landed face flat on the floor of the tent. A deep groan was being released by her as her body slowly was hoisted back up. The magenta red rimmed eyes sought those of Twilight with a glare of thunder. “Was that really necessary?” Rainbow asked in an annoyed growl towards the soothsayer.
Twilight just waved it off as she got up and made her way over to the bathing area. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” Rainbow exclaimed after her. The pegasus was actually surprised over the fact that somepony just left her like that.
“Well, I’m not talking to you!” Twilight snarled in return. Only then she was gone from the eyes of the other anthronies.
“Geez, somepony is having a morning mood…”
“Tell me ‘bout that,” the admiral added before she closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. “Give her some time though, she’ll come back ‘round. Ah hope.”
Time went indeed by. Their breakfast was consumed and the tent folded up again. Their journey ahead was something that still troubled Twilight down to her very core. It was in fact the reason why she was so cranky almost the whole time and actually treated most of the company’s members like plain dirt.
Each of the anthronies quickly realized that it was perhaps better not to speak a word against her about anything for the time being. Only when they really needed to know something they would ask and hope not to get a sharp and burning comment in return.
~~~~
What not all of them knew was that the road was leading them directly to the woods of Everfree. The very woods they had all heard about in their youths yet never believed its stories at later ages. Though the tales told about that wood were all the more true.
The tree tops became higher and higher as the forest was drawn nearer to them. Rainbow Dash had taken herself to the skies and was flying almost constantly ahead of the group or right above them. As annoying as it was sometimes, it was always better to have eyes in the sky.
Applejack and Fluttershy had formed the rearguard together as the coat of the admiral wasn’t buttoned at all and therefore just flowed in the wind. Fluttershy couldn’t believe the sheer beauty it carried as it danced, nor was there another little something she didn’t fully caught. “How aren’t you freezing?”
“Heh, been sailing the ocean for as long as Ah can remember now, gotten used to it, is mah best guess at least,” replied Applejack to her with a smile. Only to have that same smile disappear again as she almost walked straight into Rarity’s back. “What in tarnation?!”
“We’re here,” answered Twilight with fear reeking from her voice.
Before them it laid, the dreaded intersection that would either save or destroy their land. The intersection had one road leading down to the forest of Everyfree and a path that went directly into it. While the other path was the one used a lot more often. The path that went around the place and brought safety to most.
“So, which way are we taking?” Rainbow asked after she landed back on her feet. The wings were tucked behind her back while she placed her arms on the sign that stood right in front of Twilight. “Should be easy enough, right?”
“Well,” the soothsayer began just before a deep sigh was released through her nostrils. “That’s the problem actually. It isn’t something easy. You know those woods behind you, Rainbow?”
The pegasus turned herself around and had a good look over the trees. Only to turn back around facing Twilight with a look of the unknown in her eyes. She didn’t have any idea what those woods were. “No clue,” she then said with a shrugged pair of shoulders.
Twilight almost wanted to plant the palm of her hand in her face, yet she didn’t do it. Instead she just collected her mind and took a couple of deep breaths. “That, major, is the wood of Everfree. As you might know, everything that’s evil is to be found in there. It’s also one of the furthest stretching pieces of forest in Equestria.”
“I can take on a few hydra’s,” interrupted Rainbow all of the sudden. Then it was Rarity who actually brought the palm of her hand to her face and released the deep ‘ugh’ sound from the core of her body. Something which caused a set of strange eyes from Rainbow to look at her. “What?”
“Rainbow, the decision to make the call isn’t easy. For the Frozen North lays north east of here. Problem is that the route around the forest is going south. Meaning we backtrack a terrible lot,” explained Twilight while the rest of the group walked forward. They all joined Rainbow in standing near the sign to give the soothsayer their fullest of concentration.
“And what about that rests inside of the woods?” Rarity asked. With a hand she stroked her chin a little bit. “What sort of evil can we expect. You said everything, but I hardly do believe that.”
“Hate to admit it, Twilight, but she’s having a massive point,” said Applejack to back up Rarity for once. Something that the ivory unicorn hadn’t expected in a long, long time.
The soothsayer herself began to pace up and down while the thoughts were crunched together. “What can be expected? What can’t be expected, is the better question. The servants of Nightmare Moon live there, the Dark Witches. Demons from realms long lost and forgotten are said to dwell through the darkness. Not to mention, the attackers of myself and Applejack. Our worst fears, lay in those woods. Who’s willing to face them head on in either this life or the next?”
Two hands were stuck in the air suddenly. Two hands that belonged to both Rainbow Dash and Rarity. “I think, that we are wanting to take our chances through the woods,” said Rarity for the pair of them.
“Hey, speak for yourself, I’m just going to fly over it and meet you on the other side.”
“Wow, you must be a great team player, aren’t you?” Rarity whispered to herself as she rolled her eyes away from the pegasus.
“So that makes two for going into the woods, who’s against it?” Twilight then said as both her and Applejack’s hands were raised into the air. Only Fluttershy couldn’t seem to be making a decision on the matter. Something that actually frustrated the lot of them a lot more than it originally should have.
They were at an impasse and literally stuck at nothing more but a crossroad. The levels of frustration that went through Twilight seemed to be going through the metaphorical roof. The veins inside of her eyes widened themselves while her horn was having a difficulty keeping itself under control. Something was about to blow sooner or later.
Applejack was the only one who noticed the sheer amount of difficulty that the soothsayer was having. All of the others were actually busy with something else that caused their attentions to be taken away.
The admiral made her way over to the unicorn with haste. She placed both of her hands on the shoulders and just turned the mare around. Only to then actually push her down the road a little bit until they were out of hearing distance from the others. All of them suddenly glanced over to the strange sights and couldn’t believe what they saw.
Mumbles and whispers were released by the lot of them as they didn’t know it anymore. They had no idea of where to go and that was probably something that they wouldn’t for a long time to come.
A little bit down the road came Applejack to a standstill. She turned the unicorn around wit care before their eyes looked into one another. “Ah know this is gonna be difficult for yar coconut, but ya need to calm down and tell me what yar thinking about, Twilight,” she spoke in a stern tone. The hold tightened itself further.
Spurts of magic left the horn of the mare and they danced away within the winds. They left a little trail of glitters as they went. “’Cause that face, ain’t right for this.”
“Don’t you think I don’t know that?” Twilight then returned almost in a snarl. She tried her best to keep everything under control. Which was something a lot easier said than done. What followed were deep in and exhales that came through her mouth.
“Take yar time, take yar time.”
Finally it seemed as if the soothsayer had calmed herself down enough to get a reasonable conversation out of. Something that was actually much appreciated by the admiral. The blood vessels inside of the eyes narrowed gently but surely again. “It’s, it’s just that I do not know how this all is going to work out Applejack. I can’t just say that we either go right into the woods or that we wait a whole lot longer by going around it. Timing, Applejack. It’s all about timing and I don’t think that the goddesses have a concept of that.”
The other mare listened to the words with the greatest of caution as she wanted to understand the words in the least bit. Which was actually a whole lot more difficult. “Ain’t gonna say Ah understand yar troubles Twilight, for Ah don’t. What Ah do know, is that ya have to look at what we have, and what we’re gonna be up against. Out of that, the decision will roll.”
The admiral turned herself around and finally let go of the shoulders of the soothsayer. Her arms just hung next to her body then. Her green rimmed eyes looked over the rest of the group. The longer she stared towards the anthronies just hanging and talking around the sign, the more she formed an idea of her own. A crazy one but one that might be working out in the long end.
“Hey Twi,” Applejack started before she turned herself around once again, “we’re pretty well armed, right? Ah mean, Rarity has her blade and flintlocks, Ah have mine, Rainbow has hers. Fluttershy’s our doctor and Ah’m sure ya have something up yar sleeve as well.”
“Where are you going with this?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. With a hand had she taken a strand of hair out of her eye. “Are you planning to make a full on assault on the forest? On a forest?” Twilight wasn’t able to connect the dots of Applejack’s mind just yet. They both operated on levels that were completely different from each other. Which often meant that they wouldn’t be able to understand the other.
The admiral shook her head under a chuckle before she replied to the words. “No, no, no, what Ah mean, is that we have enough armaments with us to make certain, we’ll be able to cross the woods in one piece.
Finally did the unicorn understand the direction of where the admiral came from. It was a plan of craziness, she had to admit that much right on the spot. Yet perhaps it was actually crazy enough that it might be working out in their favor. “I see what you have cooked up, though I’m still not liking it,” she returned with a sigh that left through her nostrils.
Though if all of the odds and chances were summed up into one big pile, they were actually more than ready to make a move towards the forest and cross its deadly ground. Countless ideas of the terrors they could be facing rushed through the mind of the mare suddenly. The faster she would be done with it all, the better it would have been for all of their health. “Alright, let’s go. Let’s go to the girls and give them the final words on the matter.”
“Sure thing partner,” said Applejack in a calm tone. A nod was given with her head. The admiral turned back around and walked up the path again to the others. Twilight remained standing there for just a little bit longer as she began to once again question just what was right and wrong.
Only to discover that there wasn’t a right and wrong in the traditional sense of the words. “Oh I’m gonna hate myself so much for this,” she whispered up to herself in a mutter. Her hands were placed behind her back. She then followed up behind Applejack, who wanted to bring the news to the rest of the anthronies of the group.
“Listen up y’all, the decision has fallen,” said Applejack in a raised tone. One which caught the attention of everypony present. All the eyes of the anthronies looked over to the admiral who took a step aside to let twilight pass. The soothsayer glanced all of them in the eyes for just a moment until they were closed again. A deep exhale came through her mouth while Rarity already began to fear the weight of the decision having become too much.
“The decision, has indeed fallen for me. After long thinking and consideration with my closest associate, I think it’s safe to say that we go into the woods. We are all armed pretty much to the teeth so we should be able to fight off anything that comes our way. However, it means that you have to walk, Rainbow.”
“What?!” the blue pegasus exclaimed right away. Both of her wings sprung out with a powerful force. One of them almost knocked Fluttershy down to the ground if she didn’t held herself to the sign. “Y-You can’t be serious, right? I mean, me, walking?! Though a forest?! What’s going on in that coconut of yours?!”
“Silence!” Twilight shouted back to her in a raised voice. She made a couple steps closer to the anthrony and was just an inch away of not squeezing her throat shut. “This decision isn’t one I liked to make. But with the time already wasted and the stuff that still lays ahead, it’s the best we can be doing! So I don’t want to hear about you whining of not being able to fly!”
Yet where Twilight restrained herself, Rainbow was going literally all in. She pressed her head against that of the soothsayer with a growl. “Flying is what I do, I was born to do it and will do it until the day I die. You try it, being cut off of your magic for a day because you have to do something, somepony else told you. Somepony you don’t even know!”
“You’re here voluntarily remember? I have never, ever, even pushed you to coming here. You want to go, go. But remember the shame you bring on your people,” hissed Twilight through her teeth. Then she applied just that little bit of extra force to the forehead of the other mare.
Though the statement did it for Rainbow. Twilight had learned from Applejack and used the information to make the sly comment. Dent a pegasi their pride and hell breaks loose. Or in their case, the stubborn Rainbow became like a pup that allowed everything. “F-Fine, have it the way you want,” she said in a tone that had lost all of the spirit to even want to fight against Twilight.
The soothsayer and major finally parted with their foreheads as Twilight made some steps backwards. “Any others that wants to argue about whether or not we should be going inside? No? Good. Then I want all of you locked and loaded in five more minutes.”
There were without a doubt two sides to Twilight Sparkle. One was the almost clumsy looking soothsayer that just wanted to have the best for everypony. While the other side almost seemed to be a tyrant that would be doing everything to get its way. It was a dangerous combination in the eyes of Rarity. She thought that the soothsayer would in fact have been corrupted by something. Or that she already was it.
It didn’t took away that she pulled out two of her most trusted flintlocks out of their holsters and looked down the sights. The hammers were pulled back before she assumed a more relaxed pose with them. Their barrels faced upwards for a change of pace. Her eyes looked down to the sheath of her sword and gave it a gentle nod. Only once the time would have been there, it would have been trusted upon as well as the strange device that could be seen peeking through her sleeve. A little something she wanted to remain out of view until the time was there.
Rainbow Dash did pretty much the same with her weapons. The only exception was that did them individually. She had to be certain that her weapons were in tiptop condition if anything even wanted to get remotely close to them. Applejack drew her sword and looked down the blade portion of it. Nice and sharp, exactly how she liked it.
The valves on the back of her leg were opened a little bit more which would give her an increased reaction time as the springs were used to her advantage. The only disadvantage was the fact that it could actually destroy her leg entirely. A risk she was willing to take.
Among them all was the almost scared to death Fluttershy. She quickly hopped from anthrony to anthrony without saying a word, yelping only softly when she heard the sounds of another weapon. It not only terrified her, it also seemed to be haunting through her. For a mare who claimed to never had seen any combat, had the facts almost showed the other statement. Though nopony wanted to make an argument with their doctor for probably the best of reasons.
Quickly had she made her way over to Twilight with a glance in her eyes. The watery eyes below the irises already said more than enough to the unicorn whose horn was charging up. “You’ll be in the center, Fluttershy. It’s probably for the best if we do that. Getting you hurt isn’t something that’s standing on my agenda for today.”
The statement made the mare finally yelp in her high pitched tone as the wings sprung open to the side. A gulp was given off by her before she finally dared to return a series of words. “W-When is it standing, i-in your agenda?”
“Never,” the soothsayer quickly added. Moments later had she stuck out an magical aura covered hand to the side. The ground began to tremble and rip itself open to make something come out of it. Fluttershy had a difficult time believing what happened next. For there was a staff that rose itself out of the ground. A long staff with an orb at the end of it, surrounded by claw like armaments.
Twilight coiled her fingers around the shaft and let the remaining bits of aura flow up to the orb itself. The white sphere on top suddenly turned into a raspberry colored one as it seemed to be ‘activated’ by her. “Hello old friend, missed me?” the unicorn grinned towards it. Naturally it scared Fluttershy only more.
“W-What does that do?” she carefully asked while pointing to the very staff. Twilight’s eyes followed the directions given to her before she nodded calmly. She understood what Fluttershy meant. Whether she was ready to hear the truth was another matter.
“This staff amplifies my combat magic like spells based on fire and ice. Massive beams can be fired from it and if that all fails, let’s say this orb isn’t from the softest material either.” Twilight spoke up with almost a silly smile coming to her face. Though it were the words that came next which caused her mind to think deeply about them. “Don’t worry Fluttershy, you’ll be safe. We’ll all be safe.”
Sometimes a reassuring lie was a whole lot better than knowing the terrible truth. Especially for a mare like Fluttershy. Who also had gone through a drastic change of personality, a thing that Twilight could clearly tell. “You don’t get outside much, do you?”
“N-No, why?”
“Nothing, just wondering.”
With their weapons ready, locked and loaded had the time come. The time to get across the first of many hurdles of their journey could finally begin. Each of the anthronies had their weapons ready. Twilight stood in front of them all, assured and confident. Her violet rimmed eyes glanced over the woods of Everfree for just a couple of seconds.
Only to give a short and powerful nod with her head. The time to get in was there. The time to cross the forest of darkness had come to them. The first steps were set, which were then followed by the others following suit. Warnings had been given off by the unicorn before they had entered and they all were pretty keen on making certain they would keep themselves on them.
Fluttershy was the only anthrony that could be found in the middle as both Rainbow and Applejack formed the side guards. With Twilight up front and Rarity in the back it seemed like the best way to divide the tasks. Twilight knew that the dark witches had made their home in the forests and with them losing daylight by the minute. Which meant that the race was on to find the exit.
Not too much later were they wandering through the dense forest. It seemed like hours had gone by already. Though the possible cause for that little fact was that they went at a snail’s pace. Twilight just had to make certain that they wouldn’t become corrupted by some kind of magical force that was flowing through the air. She rather played it safe then to be sorry later. Even if it meant they probably had to spend a night in the place.
Which was the next thing she was on the lookout for. Her eyes went off the beaten path and past the massive trees to find some place of shelter. Their tent could have been something, weren’t it for the fact that it would look like they were actually sitting ducks. The residents of the forest knew it like the back of their hands. If only one thing seemed off and they would all be knowing it.
The attention of the ‘locals’ was the very thing that Twilight tried to evade at any given cost. Both Applejack and Rainbow looked at one another every so often and would give a nod that everything was still clear. It comforted the both of them so much that they knew the same sign language. To them it meant that they didn’t differ all too much in training.
Though there was something about the whole forest that seemed like it was constantly watching them. Rustles within the treetops while there was no wind, shimmers of shadows rushing away into the darkness and almost inaudible growls of creatures that weren’t sounding too friendly. It scared Fluttershy almost to a literal death as her eyes were constantly looking up, down and to her sides.
Even though she was the one in the middle and protected by the others, she still felt herself as unsafe as she could. Not even Twilight’s magical staff seemed to be reassuring to her anymore. What they could be finding around the next corner, might have been their very end in her eyes.
Hyperventilation on a level that they couldn’t hear it was the thing that happened next for Fluttershy. Her eyes never ceased their movements as all her thoughts tried to be happy. Sadly enough was it the last little point, on which she failed miserably.
“Hold on a minute here,” said the soothsayer just before she stopped dead in her tracks. The pathway that they had been following so far began to split itself up into two. Two directions that could be going into every possible hell that was imaginable to the lot of them.
“What’s the matter, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her eyes never stopped with looking around. Not even Applejack seemed to be having the time to be doing that actually. They were all on the constant lookout for everything.
“Ah’m not liking this a bit. Can’t we move already?” the admiral quickly said. The urges to take another step were there. Yet she was stopped by the staff which was planted right before her. The earth anthrony almost went cross eyed and wanted to accuse Twilight of treason.
Weren’t it for the fact of the words that left her mouth. Words of madness and reason. “Shhshhshhshh, quiet will you. And listen…” Those were the words that she whispered out of her mouth. Curiosity struck all of the other mares as they ceased their sounds as much as possible. Their ears were perked up to catch even the faintest of whispers in the air. All of them were on high alert for whatever they could be hearing.
Tensions rose between them all while Twilight began to hear the things again. The whispers in the air, the whispers of dark words and deeds. Dark words spoken in a tongue that was known to only a few. It had to be something impossible, thought the mare to herself as she shook her head. For there was one word that seemed to be calling her. One tone, one sound, that haunted through her mind like that.
For a couple more seconds she continued to listen. The coincidence could be eliminated by that point. Something within that very forest was calling her out. It spoke her name loud in the dark language of old. Something had set its eyes on her and she wanted to figure out what.
Without a single thought that was going through her had Twilight rushed down one path. All of the other mares wanted to stop her but the unicorn never gave any words. “After her!” Rarity shouted just before the chase was on. A wild goose chase through pretty much the whole of Everfree. All caused because of something that couldn’t be explained at all. What would they find at the end of the path was the unanswered question.