//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Boast Backers 
// by Bed Head 
//------------------------------//

	Deep in the Everfree Forest, a cloaked figure suddenly jerked her head upward.
 
For several long moments the zebra was almost completely motionless.  Her only movement was that of her eyes and her ears as they twitched every direction.  Standing there in the flank-high grass, all her senses on alert as she scanned the trees around her, the hooded mare made for a near-perfect image of a wary prey animal.
 
If not for the way her eyes narrowed, looking significantly more frustrated than frightened.
 
Silently, Zecora's ears twitched and strained.  It was difficult to hear much of anything over the sound of her own pulse.  A fact that only made the zebra's heart race faster as she turned slowly in place.
 
For just a moment, she could have sworn she'd heard something.  Something aside from the usual growls or odd bird cries of the forest.  Rather, it had almost sounded like a pair of voices.
 
Distressingly familiar voices.
 
But no matter which way she focused her senses, the Everfree was quiet.  No sounds of anypony talking, or even walking past.  Just the whistling of the wind as it carried between the trees.  Slowly, Zecora tilted her head.
 
Finally, she kneeled down once again.
 
"Nothing around but shadows and air," she muttered as she began sifting through the curly ferns by her hooves.  "I'm just imagining somepony there."
 
Quietly she took a deep breath, feeling her agitations ease as she did.  The zebra gave a small smile as she returned to her work, breathing in deeply once again.  Her eyes closed as she took in the smell of the fresh plants, the warm earth...
 
And the oddly musty scent of moisture.
 
Zecora's head snapped back up.  This time so her eyes could scan the sky above.  Even through the tree branches above her, she could just barely make out the sky.  Especially the thickening carpet of clouds gathering overhead.
 
Without another word, she was back on her hooves and strapping on her saddlebags.  As she broke into a brisk trot, however, her mind began to wander back a bit.  For some reason, it dwelled on the voices she'd thought she'd heard.
 
"Nopony was there, a search would waste time."  Zecora was firm as she told herself that.  With a determined stomp of her hooves, she forced herself to focus on the trail ahead.  "Even if they were real, I'm sure they'll be fine."


Chapter 10

 
"We're lost, aren't we?"
 
"For the last time:  We are not lost!"
 
Spike resisted the urge to groan as he rolled his eyes.
 
He had lost track of just how long he'd been in the forest.  The ceiling of gnarled branches overhead had made sure of that.  Even if it were still the middle of the day, the thick leaves and vines blocked the light of the sun, leaving the roughly formed trail he was walking covered in gloomy shadows.
 
Vaguely, Spike realized most ponies would have been trembling with fear in such a situation.  Especially if they had woken up at half their normal age like he had.  He could even recall acting like that the night before.  Somehow, though, the colt simply wasn't feeling the gnawing fear the Everfree usually instilled in him.
 
He was a bit too focused on a slowly growing feeling of annoyance.  One particularly focused on the hoofprints stomping down the trail in front of him.
 
"Trixie—" Spike started to speak up.
 
A dismissive "Hmmph!" answered him as the tracks sped up.  With a frustrated grunt of his own, the colt began to trot faster himself.  His shorter legs were nearly tripping over each other as he struggled to keep up.
 
"Hey!" Spike yelled.  "Trixie, wait up!"
 
"Then you quit dragging your hooves!  The sooner we reach Zecora's, the sooner I'm out of this mess."
 
Spike was breathing faster, and not just due to his brisk jog.  His back teeth were grinding as he glared daggers at where he assumed Trixie was.  A few green sparks gathered around his horn as the colt thought over what spells he knew...
 
Maybe we can try to work together?
 
The sparks faded.  Inwardly, Spike was already cursing what he'd said outside the forest.
 
"Do you at least know how much further it is?" Spike asked, letting out a sigh as he bounded forward.
 
"Well it's... uh..."
 
"It's-oof!"
 
Spike's question came to a halt as he bounced off something mid-stride.  With a pained grunt, he fell to his haunches, his thoughts scattering along with his breath.  He coughed a bit, shaking his head as he tried to recollect himself.
 
Trixie, however, remained oddly quiet.
 
That observation caused Spike to raise an eyebrow.  Lifting his head, he glanced around for the mare's hoofprints.  It took a moment to spot them, turning in a small circle just a few steps away.
 
Almost like she was trying to get her bearings.
 
Two words ran through Spike's head again.
 
We're lost.
 
"Trixie?"  Spike did his best to keep his suspicions out of his tone as he spoke.  
 
"It's... not much further now.  Come on!"
 
The hooves were moving again.  Much faster this time, Spike noticed.  The colt could barely scramble back to his own feet in time to follow them.
 
"Trixie, are you sure--" he started to ask.
 
Something flicked across the tip of his nose, cutting him off mid-sentence.  He winced sharply, rubbing one hoof over it as Trixie's voice sounded again.
 
"Of course I'm sure.  Which of us has been to Zecora's before, huh?"
 
"Uh... both of us?"
 
Even as he wrinkled his muzzle, Spike put on a small grin.  Somehow the doubt and frustration plaguing him became a little easier to ignore.  Especially as he heard Trixie stumble in mid-step.
 
"Wha-wait.  Huh?"
 
Trixie's pace had slowed again.  Even with the situation being what it was, Spike still had a spring in his step as he pulled up alongside her.  Or at least, where he assumed she was.
 
"Last night, remember?" he pointed out as he dropped into step alongside the showmare.  "That tree with all the masks and bottles and stuff on it?  The one that I found?"
 
Spike's ear twitched as he heard a low grumble from beside him.  That sound turned his smirk into a fully satisfied smile.
 
"At least, I'm pretty sure that was Zecora's house."  The colt thrust his chest out as he walked, not caring about the bragging tone he'd developed.  "I mean, how many trees around here could be like that?"
 
"Yeah, that's her place."
 
Spike stifled a laugh at Trixie's growl.  He settled for enjoying the warm, happy glow that was growing inside him.
 
"Of course, that doesn't count."
 
And just like that, the good feeling vanished.  Spike stumbled as he tried to look at Trixie.
 
"Wait, wha—?"  He snapped his muzzle shut as he regained his balance.  "What do you mean 'that doesn't count?'"
 
"Isn't it obvious?  You didn't 'find' that place last night.  You nearly ran into it because you were running around like a fraidy-cat!"
 
Spike's mouth started to open in protest, but his voice refused to come out.
 
She has a—
 
"Don't start," he hissed under his breath.
 
The damage was already done though.  Spike could already picture the look Trixie probably had on her face.  Likely a mirror to the one he'd had a brief moment ago.  Probably straining that much harder to hold back her laughter.
 
"So, if you're done bragging—"
 
Look who's talking
 
"—How about you leave finding Zecora to the pony that actually knows how to get there, hmmm?"
 
A low growl of his own started.  Spike glared at Trixie's tracks, dark mutterings squeezing from between his clenched teeth.
 
Work.  Together.
 
As much as Spike would have liked to argue, however, those two words silenced him again.
 
Every bit of sense he had told him Trixie was lying.  They were lost and she didn't want to admit it.  Any other day, he'd have called her out long ago.  Even a casual glance around told him nothing looked remotely familiar from their trip last night.
 
The problem, however, was just what he remembered of last night.  As much as he hated to admit it, the only images that came to mind were trees and bushes passing by in dark blurs.  All speckled with glimpses of Trixie in her hooded disguise, culminating in a brightly-colored mask as he tripped his way to Zecora's home.  Even with his significant doubts, Spike couldn't deny the simple truth:
 
That even if they seemed lost, there was a small chance Trixie still knew the way.
 
"Hmm... hold up a second."
 
Spike shook himself from his thoughts.  Just in time to walk into something that felt much like an extended hoof.
 
"OW!"  Spike quickly bit back hard on a string of curses as he fell to his rump once more.  "What is it now?!"
 
"We're in the Everfree Forest, right?"
 
Spike's eye twitched.  Whether it was due to anger or the fresh lump on his head, he wasn't sure.
 
"Yes..." he hissed out, rubbing at his new bruise.
 
"Even if-er, though Trixie knows where we're going, we don't know what might be up ahead, right?  All kinds of weird weather and monsters around here after all."
 
Spike's head throbbed.  He simply waved for Trixie to continue, not trusting his ability to avoid cussing if he opened his mouth.
 
"But Trixie is invisible!  It's not like anything up ahead would see me.  I could... make sure the path is all clear, then come back and get you!"
 
The headache came to an immediate halt.  Along with Spike's voice, apparently.  The colt's jaw dropped in total silence as he just stared at where Trixie's voice was coming from.
 
"Trixie can see her great idea left you speechless."
 
"Are you... seriously suggesting we split-up?" Spike asked his voice slowly coming back to him.  "Like, in the middle of the Everfree Forest?  Are you crazy or—"
 
"Aww, is little Spikey-wikey scared without his friends around?"
 
The sudden burning feeling in his cheeks halted spike's protest.  His ears gave an irritated twitch as a light chuckle sounded.  He could practically taste the smugness rolling from Trixie's invisible body as her hooves began to move again.
 
"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it!"
 
A rustling sound brought Spike's attention back where it belonged.  A nearby bush was already parting, as though somepony were pushing their way through.
 
"Trixie—" he tried to protest, scrambling towards the plant.
 
He nearly got a noseful of leaves and twigs as the bush closed in front of him.  Spike scrambled around it, eyes searching in every direction.  Trixie's hoofprints, however, were already fading.  The tracks indicating where she currently stood were lost somewhere in the shadows of the trees.
 
"You can thank me later, Spikey.  After we're back to normal, of course!"
 
Spike's ears fell flat as the voice echoed.  Along with the sound of Trixie trotting off, bouncing among the trees from seemingly every direction.  He nervously bit down on his lip as he glanced at the bush she'd pushed through.
 
"That's not even the way we were going before," he muttered, already knowing Trixie couldn't hear him.
 



 
Even if Trixie had heard Spike, she was a bit too preoccupied to answer.
 
Too much of her focus was on running as fast as she could.
 
The invisible mare had to grit her teeth as she galloped.  Every step sent a tingle of magic up her legs as it altered the sound of her hooves.  Once again the noise of her fastest gallop was reduced to a casual trot.
 
"Come on, come on..." Trixie panted to herself as she ran.
 
Her neck twisted to glance back from where she'd come.  There was no sign of anypony else through the trees.  No glimpse of purple to indicate Spike trying to follow her.  Her run slowed to a halt, the noise spell on her hooves fading as she gasped for breath.
 
"Alright... alright, he won't buy that for long..."  Trixie swallowed hard as she turned to take a longer work back from where she'd come.  "I mean... he's not very smart but... Argh!  Focus, Trixie, focus!"
 
Thankfully, nopony said anything in response to the mare's monologue.  Only the sound of her own breathing could be heard as Trixie turned in place, taking in the woods around her.
 
"Okay, we came into this stupid forest from the same place as last night..."  Her eyes swiveled back-and-forth as she spoke, heart hammering away in her chest.  "Zecora's hut has to be around here somewhere!"
 
Nervously, she bit down on her lip.  Her stomach gave a lurch as she began to turn faster and faster.  No matter which way she spun, though, the same sight greeted her:  An endless grove of trees stretching into the distance.  Each possible path looking just as dark and foreboding as any other.
 
And as much as she hated it, one though immediately jumped to the front of her mind.
 
Spike was right.
 
"Darn it..."
 
A low growl began to rise from Trixie's throat.
 
We're lost.
 
"DARN IT!"
 
Her hind legs lashed out.  She just had to kick something.  Anything.  The buck, however, found nothing but empty air.  In a split-second, Trixie realized how badly she'd misjudged the reach of her invisible limbs.  Right before her momentum threw her into a clumsy somersault.  With a heavy thud, the showmare found herself flat on her back with a sharp pain running through her spine.
 
All of which did little to distract her from the purple colt running through her mind.
 
"Every time—"  Trixie gasped through her grit teeth as she rolled back over.  "Why does this stuff happen every time he gets involved in my life?!"
 
Her hooves were under her again.  Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears as she looked around.  She couldn't even see the forest around her anymore, however.
 
Not as memory after memory forced its way across her vision.
 
She glanced left, and found only the angered glare of a hooded zebra..
 
To the right, a multitude of eyes stared.  The citizens of Ponyville, all silently judging her.
 
Trixie didn't even have to turn around to know who was behind her.  A pale-blue unicorn mare and a white stallion.  The disappointment in their eyes just kept drilling through her as they lead her away from Celestia's School for the last time—
 
"AAAARGH!"
 
The formerly calm patch of forest was suddenly in an uproar as Trixie screamed.  Leaves, stones, sticks, and other forest detritus began to fly about on invisible threads as her magic surged.  Trixie barely seemed to notice, or even care, even as nearby bushes began to rustle and crack as they strained to remain rooted.
 
"It all just falls apart when he's around!" she howled, eyes turning skyward.  "For once, just once, can't things go my way?!"
 
CRACK-BOOM
 
The sudden blast of thunder brought an end to Trixie's tantrum.  Loose forest debris tumbled down around the invisible mare.
 
Followed swiftly by a downpour of water.
 
For a minute, Trixie did nothing.  The sudden rain was rattling through the canopy, the leaves providing barely any cover.  She could feel her invisible cape and hat starting to cling to her as they were quickly soaked through.  Her coat and mane joined in short order as the icy water drenched her from head to hoof.
 
Still, she simply stood in silence, letting her eyes and nose fill with rain as she continued to stare up at the sky.
 
"... Fine."
 
Finally, her head lowered.  She snorted the water clear from her nose as her legs began to move.  Slowly she trudged along, each step feeling like it was sinking her deeper into the rapidly softening ground.
 
"Guess the whole world just hates me then," Trixie continued to grumble as the brim of her hat stuck to her forehead.  "Well FINE!  Stupid world!  Who needs it?!"
 
With another snarl, her head snapped up.  She winced at the feeling of wet fabric and hair slapping against the back of her neck.  Some tiny smattering of warmth began to rise in her chilled body, however.  Squinting through the torrential downpour, she could just make out something dark and surrounded by what looked like gray stone just ahead.
 
A few steps more confirmed it to be just what she'd suspected:  The entrance of a cave.  With a relieved sigh, the mare plodded inside.
 
"At least Spike is caught in that too..." Trixie muttered, glancing back over her shoulder.
 
She paused mid-step.  Despite the shivers running through her body, a small smirk appeared on her muzzle.  A giggle even slipped out as she flicked some excess water from her tail.
 
"Heh, he'll probably look like a drowned rat once I get back."  The thought warmed Trixie slightly more as she began to shake the excess water from her body.  "And it's not like he can blame the stupid storm on—"
 
Clack-clack-clack...
 
Trixie's froze mid-sentence.  Her leg, half-raised in an attempt to dry it, still had the feeling of an impact racing up it.
 
But that wasn't what had caught her attention.
 
Her eyes were wide as she stared at just what her hoof had kicked as she lifted it.  Slowly, the leg lowered and she trotted deeper into the cave, following the item.  Her horn grew warm as she levitated it from the ground.
 
"What the..."
 
Lightning flashed outside the cave, briefly lighting the interior.
 
Trixie hadn't thought her eyes could grow any wider.  As the object slipped from her telekinetic grip, she realized just how wrong she was.
 



 
A low groan could barely be heard over the pounding of the rain.  Not that there was anything around to hear it in the first place.  One of the only things Spike was thankful for at that moment.
 
He could only picture how pathetic the whole scene looked.  A lone colt, huddled beneath a bush and trembling against the cold.  All while being splattered by rain that his meager cover couldn't protect him from.  The spikes of his mane were already drooping over his face, and one question was burning in his mind as he shook them away.
 
"What am I still doing here?" Spike grumbled to nopony in particular
 
BOOOM!
 
Spike didn't even flinch as a roar of thunder answered him.  With an increasingly frustrated sigh, his head fell to ground.  He barely acknowledged the feeling of cold mud coating his chest and face.  The colt simply placed his forehooves over his ears.
 
"We're never gonna find Zecora at this rate!" he lamented, his grumbling voice holding back the noise of the storm.  "I'd have a better chance of her just wandering past for no good reason!"
 
Another flash of lightning arced somewhere above.  Spike snorted as he waited for the thunder, silently ticking off the seconds in his head.
 
One...
 
Nothing to watch but more rain splattering against the forest floor.
 
Two...
 
He shuddered as a chilly breeze blew across his back.
 
Three...
 
With a hurried Clack-clack-clack of racing hooves, a set of striped legs raced by his hiding place.
 
Fou—
 
"Wait, wha—"
 
BOOOOOM!
 
Though the thunder cut off his voice, it didn't keep Spike from jumping back to his hooves.  He cursed briefly as he tore himself free from the bush, before twisting frantically to the right.
 
A familiar, brown cloak was fluttering down the trail, with a half-open saddlebag bouncing against it.  The whole ensemble was being moved along very quickly by the four legs of the mare wearing it.  Even as they drew further away though, Spike could clearly make out the black stripes on the figure.  Stripes that could only belong to one pony...
 
"I... wha... but... no.  Way."  He stammered.
 
For several long moments, all he could do was stand in place.  Watching the retreating, cloaked figure get further and further away before vanishing among the trees.
 
"She actually... are you kid—"  Spike cut himself off with a loud clunk as his leg lashed upward.  He winced at the feeling of his hoof meeting his face before quickly shaking his head.  "Why am I questioning this?!"
 
He didn't give himself time to answer.  The colt broke into an immediate gallop, not caring about the rain flying into his face nor the mud splashing all over his legs and belly.  All he was focused on was the space where the zebra had been.  His chest began to ache as he pushed himself harder, slipping and sliding as he weaved between the trees.
 
"Come on, come on!"  He muttered as he ran, eyes frantically darting about.  "She was right heEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAH!"
 
Spike's coaching cut out in a scream as his legs flew out from under him.  Suddenly he was flat on his back, sliding down a steep incline.  Mud flew in every direction, splattering him from nose to hoof until—
 
SPLAT
 
For a moment, the Everfree was still again.  The moment ended with a unpleasant squelch as began to pick himself up once again.  His face was pulled into a taut grimace as he spat a mouthful of grime.
 
"Ugh!  Blech!"  He spat once again, coughing at the gritty taste in his muzzle.  "Well... that figures..."
 
With a final, exhausted grunt, Spike felt his legs stumble onto firmer ground.  His head gave a hard shake, sending clods of mud splattering from his eyes.  Blinking, Spike raised his head again as his vision swam back into focus.
 
And he found himself staring right into a vicious red-and-green face.
 
"GA—Wait a second..."
 
Spike's hooves slipped on the muddy ground as he tried to stop mid-leap.  He just barely managed to keep his balance.  Though his jaw still hit the ground as he rubbed a hoof over his eyes.
 
The face was still there as he cleared the last of mud and rain water away.  All bright colors painted on a barely visible wood grain.  Just as fearsome, frightening... and familiar as he'd thought.
 
"I know this mask..." Spike realized, his head slowly turning to the side.  "If this is here... then that must mean—"
 
Spike's voice immediately cut out with a short gasp.  His heart had leapt to his mouth again, but for once it wasn't due to fear.
 
The rain was lightening around him, improving visibility and finally letting him see more than an inch in front of his muzzle.  Not that he needed much more than that to see the twisted tree.  His eyes searched all over the strange hovel, taking in every colored bottle, sneering mask, and other strange knick-knack hanging from it.
 
"Zecora's house..." Spike whispered, eyes nearly bulging out.  "I found Zecora's house."
 
The colt stood there silently.  He hardly even realized that the lightning and thunder had stopped.  Spike just remained perfectly still, seemingly frozen as he stared at the gnarled old tree and it frightening decorations.  The only part that moved was his muzzle as it curled upward into a massive grin.
 
"I found it... aheh... ha ha..." The words seemed so unbelievable he simply couldn't keep the laughter inside.  "Ha ha hahahaha-YES!  I found it!"
 
Suddenly his mud-splattered, sopping-wet coat didn't matter.  Spike could feel his cheeks aching but still he smiled and laughed.  His legs nearly flew out from under him as he began prancing in a joyful circle.
 
"I made it!  I made it!"  he cheered, springing as high as his shorter legs would allow.  "Yes, yes, yes, yesyesyesyes!"
 
He landed, with a heavy SPLASH in a massive puddle, sending a spray of water in every direction.  Even that failed to wipe the smile from his face as he spun around.  Triumphantly, he jabbed one hoof outward and upward.
 
"YES!  Take that Trix... eeeeeeeeee..."
 
With that, Spike's smile finally fell.
 
His hoof was pointing back up the slope he'd fallen down, right to the empty tree line above.  He could practically feel the good feelings rushing out of his body as he slowly lowered his hoof back to the ground.  Suddenly, staring back the way he'd came and surrounded by silence, one discouraging thought came to him.
 
Trixie's been gone a while...
 
Spike grimaced and turned his head sharply.  His gaze immediately snapped to the only other thing worth noting nearby, namely Zecora's tree.
 
"M-maybe... maybe she's already got here?" he told himself as he stood back up.  "I mean... y-yeah!  She's probably inside...cuz of the rain."
 
She went in the completely opposite direction.
 
Spike flinched at the thought.  As much as he didn't want to, he realized just how right it was.  Still his legs stayed rooted to the spot as he stared at the goal of his journey.
 
"She said it herself, she's invisible," Spike said, one hoof dragging through the puddle he still stood in.  "What's the worst that could happen?"
 
A knot was tying up his stomach before the question was even finished.  Spike's mind had already conjured up an image.  One of the several horrifying things that had been flitting through his mind not too long ago.  The formless, unknowable monsters of the Everfree, waiting for a fresh meal.  Only rather than a plump little colt, they now has a juicy, loud, easy-to-catch mare—
 
Even with the rain fully stopped, Spike still felt a chill run through his body.  He quickly shook his head as hard he could, struggling to banish the image.  Gritting his teeth, he stamped his hooves hard against the ground, sending more water splashing up.
 
"It... it's not like she'd come help me..." he tried to argue, his eyes drifting back toward the forest.  "And I... I..."
 
He could almost feel his conscience tapping its hoof.  With a low groan, Spike turned away from Zecora's house.  His legs felt like lead as he trotted out of the puddle, his gaze moving back toward the trees around him.
 
"I just know I'm gonna regret this..." Spike grumbled to himself.
 
Taking a deep breath, Spike broke into a brisk canter.  Even as it took every scrap of willpower he had, the colt managed to not look back.
 
As such, he never noticed the ripples formed by the sound of his retreating hooves.  Nor how they died out as he drew further and further away.
 
And he especially didn't notice when a new wave passed through the water.  Followed almost immediately by another, larger one.
 
And another.
 
And another.