It was near midday, but if Twilight didn’t know any better she would guess that it was midnight. The thickness of the trees above her strangled any sunlight that came through, leaving the bottom of the forest hopelessly dark even with the sun at its apex.
Seeing wasn’t a problem at least, not with five horns between them that all doubled as flashlights. A mini rainbow of colored light cut through the dark expanse, waving back and forth in asynchrony as the heads of their owners looked around the forest.
Twilight kept moving at a brisk pace. The latent dangers of the forest made her anxious and stiff, so she took to following her mental map as quickly as possible.
There was always a clamor behind her as her acquaintances struggled to keep up. Even further behind them was the occasional bickering between Shining, Cadance and Nightmare Moon, though who was saying what was impossible to decipher at her distance. She would occasionally call back when she was about to make a sudden change in direction, but that was about the only communication throughout the entire group for a while.
At least until her acquaintances decided to talk to her.
It was a gradual process, so Twilight didn’t even know she was being sucked into a conversation until it was too late. Octavia quickened her pace to pull up alongside her, stayed quiet for a moment to let her presence sink in and then spoke. “Do you know what’s going to happen when we find the Tree of Harmony?”
Twilight blinked and turned to her suddenly, shining her light directly in Octavia’s face by accident.
“Ah!” Octavia winced and held up a hoof to block to influx of light. Twilight switched back to looking at the path ahead, the glow of her horn following.
“Sorry.”
“No worries.” Through her peripherals Twilight saw Octavia blink and rub her eyes a few times until it appeared her vision had rectified itself. “But my question still stands, do you have any idea? Because last time—”
“Yeah, I know, I screwed up.” Twilight’s ears folded down. “You don’t have to remind me.”
“That wasn’t my intent.” Octavia put a hoof on her shoulder. “But we didn’t really know what we were doing last time, thanks to Princess Celestia’s intentional miscommunications. I just want to make sure that isn’t happening again.”
“It’s not,” Twilight assured her. “I’ve pored over hours worth of notes that Princess Celestia has sent me. She’s not keeping me in the dark this time.”
“Well that’s a relief.” Twilight turned to see Bon Bon on the other side of her. “At least we know what we’re getting into this time around.”
“Sheesh, was it really that bad the first time?” Spike asked
“We were pretty much blind the whole time.” Now Twilight turned her head up and saw Derpy hovering just a few inches above her. “Both figuratively and literally.”
“It really could have gone better,” Twilight admitted. And it would have if not for me.
“Well, there’s no point in thinking about what might have been,” Octavia said. “Especially not when we can be doing something about it in the present.”
Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” That was one of the things she liked about Octavia: her calm logic. It would definitely be something she’d miss about the mare once this was all over.
...She would miss a lot actually. Not just from Octavia, but all of her acquaintances. Derpy’s goofy optimism, Lyra’s beautiful music, Bon Bon’s amazing pastries, even Vinyl with her unbounded energy had grown on her a little bit.
But at the same time, she was eager to get this done. She wanted to have her old life back; that had been the purpose of all her work after all.
Well, and to reform Nightmare Moon.
But now, on the precipice of finding the Tree and fixing everything, Twilight was… not really having second thoughts, but she wasn’t entirely comfortable with her first thoughts.
Who knows, maybe she’d be willing to exchange letters with these girls after she returned to Canterlot. They could be pen pals… or pen acquaintances.
“So Derpy,” Bon Bon asked. “How’s it going with Nightmare?”
“Pretty good… I think.” Derpy hovered down and landed on the other side of Bon Bon. “I wouldn’t quite say we’re besties yet, but I think we’re close.”
“We’re not!” Nightmare called out defiantly.
“She’s still getting used to the idea,” Derpy explained.
“Sure…” Twilight felt a twinge of sympathy for Nightmare for having to put up with constant friendship attempts, but it fizzled away quickly.
“Hey, Smart Mare, any idea how far we are from the thingy?” Vinyl called out behind her.
“Tree of Harmony,” she corrected, glancing back. “And we still have a ways to go.”
“Great...”
“Hey, you wanted to come,” Twilight pointed out. “Don’t start complaining because it isn’t what you were expecting.”
“Then can I complain that we haven’t eaten lunch yet?”
Bon Bon groaned. “Vinyl, we just had breakfast half an hour ago, how are you still hungry?”
In response, Vinyl’s stomach growled. “I just am, I guess.”
Twilight looked back to the path ahead. With her mental map she knew they were far from their destination. “Well, we can stop when we hit the halfway point. Until then, no complaining.”
Vinyl’s stomach rumbled again.
“That goes for you too,” Twilight snapped at it.
“Can I complain?” Nightmare Moon piped up.
“No!”
She grunted and rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m still gonna.”
Twilight refused to dignify her with another response. Instead, she started walking again, everypony gradually increasing their pace to follow her.
With no visible sun, it was impossible to tell for how long this went on, but Twilight was certain it was hours. Since hiking through a forest was not a very mentally strenuous activity, it gave her time to think.
The biggest thing on her mind was the Elements, but that was no surprise. Those six trinkets had occupied more of her gray matter in the past few weeks than months of studying under Princess Celestia. She was still uncertain about a lot of things surrounding them. Namely, what would happen once they’d got to the Tree. Despite her reassurances to everypony, the details around ‘resetting the Elements of Harmony’ were still a little fuzzy. She had no idea what would happen when they got to the Tree. Heck, she wasn’t even sure all of the Elements would react the same way to it.
Especially considering the Element of Honesty had yet to rekindle even in the slightest.
...Why was her Element the only one to not show signs of life?
She hadn’t really given it thought before, but the realization stared her in the face now. All of her acquaintances’ Elements were still sparkling, but hers was as inert as the day she got it.
Twilight glanced back at the five ponies stumbling around behind her. Had something they’d done activated their Elements? And if so, was it something she could do, too?
“Whoa! Uh, Twilight?”
She snapped back to reality at the sound of Spike’s voice. “Yes, what is i—” Her words cut off there as her head swiveled back around. While her mind had wandered, she’d still been walking and was a mere step away from plunging into a swamp. “Oh.”
“What’s the hold up?”
Twilight turned to Vinyl, as well as the other ponies giving her confused looks. To answer, she merely shined her light over a greater expanse of the swamp, enlightening them.
“Oh, that’s the hold up.”
Shining stepped forward to scrutinize the murky pond before them. “It looks like it might go pretty deep. I don’t think we can walk through it.”
“Thank goodness.” Derpy wiped her brow with a sigh of relief.
“Uh… you can fly. You know that right?” Octavia pointed.
“Duh.” Derpy lifted off the ground, hovering slightly in the air. “But with my luck I’d probably fly right into it.”
“Are you serious?” Lyra asked. “Derpy, I haven’t seen you crash into anything since last week! You even survived a bouncy house for Celestia’s sake.”
“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t prove anything.”
Twilight coughed, directing attention back to herself before their train of thought got even more derailed. “As nice as that all is, we still need to find a way to cross this swamp. The Tree is somewhere on the other side.”
“Can we go around?” Spike suggested.
Shining pointed his light along the edge of the swamp. The edge of the swamp careened deep into the dark expanse on both sides. “That might take us a while. It’d be faster if we can think of a way to cross it."
Princess Cadance tapped her hoof against the ground in thought. “That shouldn’t be a problem, between all of us we could just use levitation to get everypony across.”
They heard a small squeak. At first Twilight thought it was an animal of some kind, but when she saw Lyra shying away from eye contact she knew where it came from.
“Uh, do you think we could find a way to cross that doesn’t involve heights?”
Cadance pressed her lips together. “Are… heights a problem?”
Lyra nodded.
“Even if it’s just a few feet?”
Lyra nodded again, much firmer this time. “I like to keep my hooves on the ground, thank you very much.”
Vinyl poked her head past Twilight and took a look at the swamp for herself. “You know, it looks like there are a bunch of rocks. Maybe we could hop across.”
“That’s—” Twilight cut off her automatic reaction and gave the idea some legitimate thought. “That… might work actually.”
“What rocks are you talking about?” Shining asked, looking out into the swamp. “I can’t see any.”
“Over there.” Vinyl shined her light out a little further, calling to attention a particularly large mound of rocks. They were so tightly packed together that they almost seemed to form an island.
As Vinyl’s beam of light landed on the rocky expanse, it shook slightly. Twilight tilted her head in confusion, but didn’t have any time to express her concern. As the shaking increased, a pair of rocks in the front of the pile split apart, revealing a glowing yellow orb.
“Those aren’t rocks!” Shining realized.
Twilight’s eyes widened as the pile rose out of the swamp, revealing four thick legs and a long, powerful tail. Her brushing up on the Everfree’s flora and fauna allowed her to easily identify the beast: A cragodile.
She backed away slowly, biting her lip and folding down her ears as the creature trained its sickly yellow eyes on them. Its jaw slid open, followed by a low grunt that rose to a deafening roar.
“Everypony move!” Shining yelled.
The cragodile rushed forward, snapping its maw. Twilight dove to the right, Spike tightly gripping her mane. Everypony behind her retreated and scattered. Vinyl, on the other hoof, was acting like her hooves were glued to the ground. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide with fear. She quivered, but failed to get out of the way.
The rocky behemoth was almost on top of her when Shining ran in and tackled her to the side. They missed the cragodile’s body by inches and landed just in front of Twilight, Vinyl clinging to Shining’s foreleg.
“So when I say ‘everypony move’ what do you hear?” He asked her.
Vinyl opened her mouth to respond, but only a weak whine managed to push its way out. It was like her brain had shut off and all she could do was stare at Shining with her face reddening by the second.
They didn’t have any time to reflect on Vinyl’s lack of reflexes, though, because the cragodile realized nothing but dirt had made it into its mouth and it turned around, looking for them.
Twilight held her breath and remained motionless. She racked her brain again, trying to recall whatever information she’d read on the creature before them.
Poor eyesight. No sense of smell. Acute hearing.
“Everypony stay silent,” she whispered to Vinyl, Spike and Shining. They nodded.
The cragodile whirled around again, trying to find them, when a sudden, loud clinking noise commanded its attention. Its head whirled around, facing Nightmare Moon, whose chains were ensnared in a tree’s roots.
“Fantastic,” Nightmare grumbled, but her sarcastic quip was lost under the snarling of the monster before her.
Twilight’s eyes widened as the cragodile stalked toward her. As much as she really, really hated Nightmare, she couldn’t idly stand by as a cragodile tore into her. She was kind of the whole reason they were doing this in the first place.
Unfortunately she was too far away to do anything. Nightmare tugged on her chains, desperately trying to free herself with the cragodile drawing closer. Her eyes shrunk in fear.
“Hey!” A rock bounced off the cragodile’s hide. It snapped its head in the direction of the thrower: Derpy.
Twilight’s eyes widened even further, but she was unable to stop her from whatever asinine plan she had.
“Why don’t you try eating somepony who’ll give you less indigestion, like me!” She lobbed another rock at it, this time making contact with its eye.
The cragodile roared in anger and shifted from Nightmare to her. It started charging and Twilight saw Derpy’s bravado wither away.
She didn’t think this through, Twilight realized. Before she really thought of anything either, she stood up and yelled. “Hey, over here you big, stupid croc!”
It worked. The cragodile paused and looked over in her direction, giving Derpy just enough time to fly away.
Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight could see her other acquaintances jitter in understanding.
As the cragodile started toward Twilight, Lyra ran forward. “Come and get some! We got three ponies here just ripe for eating!”
The cragodile turned its head again focusing on the mares as Bon Bon and Octavia started making noise of their own. Before it could even take a step towards them another rock hit its head from above.
“No, up here!” Derpy interrupted.
The cragodile snapped up, but Derpy danced out of its range.
“How about you go back to eating me,” Nightmare groaned. “Be doing me a favor, honestly.”
“No, how about me,” Shining said, lighting his horn. “Come on, ugly!”
Twilight yelped and fell back as the cragodile lunged for them, but her brother’s training as a guard kicked it before they could all be snapped up. His horn exploded in a blinding flash of light, throwing up a barrier between them.
With a thud, the cragodile slammed into the shield. It grunted in agitation now that a barrier was between it and its meal. Rearing back, it inspected the pink—light magenta—bubble for a moment before clamping its jaws on the shield and squeezing.
Shining gritted his teeth and struggled against the force pressing on his magic. For a few seconds it was fine, but cracks formed shortly after.
Twilight’s heart pounded in her throat as it looked like her brother’s shield was about to give way. She flipped through her library of spells, hoping to find one strong enough to repel the beast in front of her, but none seemed powerful enough.
Shining grunted as he pushed harder, trying to keep his barrier in tact. “Cadance, now!”
Blinking, Twilight looked over and saw a massive blue light from a spell Cadance had undoubtedly been charging since she’d dodged the attack. At Shining’s cue, she let if fly.
A powerful beam of magical energy slammed into the cragodile not even half a second later, ripping it from its grip on the shield and sending it spiralling into the swamp. Murky water splashed upward and Shining kept the shield stable until after it finished raining down.
When the bubble dropped, Twilight finally stood back up. She turned to Spike, who’d been knocked off her. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” He sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t get too comfortable; it’s not over yet,” Shining Armor said, standing up to face the monster. It rolled over, coming to its feet and shaking its head to free itself from discombobulation.
Cadance swooped down beside Shining Armor, igniting her horn as she landed and tucked away her wings. Both of them tensed a little as the cragodile trained its sights on them, but held their ground.
“Ready?” he asked, his own horn sparking to life.
“Ready,” Cadance said, a determined glare in her eyes.
The cragodile roared, charging forward. For a beast its size, it sure could run. In just a few seconds, it covered half the distance to them. Shining gritted his teeth, waiting until it was almost on top of them.
“Now!”
Twin beams of magical energy erupted from their horns, slamming into the cragodile. The combined power of their blasts knocked it back with enough force to clear the swamp completely.
Twilight winced as she heard the sudden, thundering noise of trees being knocked down as the cragodile tumbled into them. The dust settled a moment later and after waiting a bit it became clear that the cragodile was out cold. Shining and Cadance dimmed their horns, finally relaxing.
“Okay, now it’s over.” Shining’s voice was strained. His breaths were deep and ragged and sweat was forming on his forehead.
Twilight glanced to Cadance, who was showing similar signs of exertion. She didn’t blame them; they’d just used a lot of energy to knock out that cragodile.
“That was amazing!” Twilight’s acquaintances swarmed them.
“You guys are incredible,” Bon Bon praised. Nightmare Moon grunted and rolled her eyes.
“That was quite the battlefield chemistry you two displayed,” Octavia noted.
Cadance smiled towards Shining at the statement, who in turn looked away, refusing to make eye contact. Twilight tightened her lips, but didn’t press the issue.
“Hey, Vinyl?” Shining asked.
“Yeah?”
“Can I have my leg back now?”
Everypony took a second to realize that Vinyl was still latched onto Shining’s foreleg. Vinyl seemed to realize it as well, as her face went pink for the two seconds it took to rip herself free.
“Uh, sorry ‘bout that,” she mumbled. “And thanks… for saving my life and stuff.”
“Welcome.” He turned his head to look at the unconscious cragodile. “We should put some distance between us and that thing.”
Twilight glanced between him and Cadance again, taking their exertion into account. “Okay, but then we should stop so you two can rest up a bit.”
Shining grinned, a ragged breath escaping his lips before he spoke. “Oh come on, Twily, we can power through.”
Twilight shook her head. “No arguing, we’re taking a break once we get to safety.”
He rolled his eyes, still smiling. “Okay.”
“Anypony want to give me a hoof?” Nightmare grumbled, rattling the chains that were still locked onto the tree roots.
“I gotcha.” Derpy fluttered toward her and landed just in front of her. With a tug and a grunt she began fiddling with chains. “So are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Nightmare refused to make eye contact.
“Are you sure? Because you looked kinda scared and—”
“I am scared of nothing,” Nightmare said coldly. “But…” Her lips twitched as she tried to force out the words. Twilight couldn’t be sure but it looked like she was trying to say—
“Thank you.”
Everypony paused with shock upon hearing the words. Derpy merely smiled and pulled the restraints free. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re all right.”
Nightmare blinked, as if she couldn’t genuinely believe that somepony cared about her wellbeing. “I’m glad I’m alive too.”
Derpy leaned in. “Aaannnd?”
“And nothing.” Nightmare attempted to brush past, but her restraints turned it into an awkward waddle.
“Well then, let’s move,” Twilight said, indicated deeper into the forest. “We’ll just have to go around the swamp.”
“Uh, we can get lunch next time we stop, right?” Vinyl asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
Vinyl hoof-pumped. “Awesome.”
Four hundred feet east and five hundred feet below, a changeling scout was approaching a throne shrouded in darkness. He nodded as he passed the guards at the entrance, paused when he’d reached a respectable distance and knelt.
“Speak.” A voice demanded from behind its veil of shadows. The cold tone reverberated around the room, sending a tingle running down the scout’s carapace.
“My Queen,” he breathed. “I’ve detected several ponies entering the forest and one of them is practically radiating love.”
Several teeth became visible as the figure in the shadows curled her mouth in a dastardly smile. “Yes, I know. I can taste it from here.” She stood up from the throne, becoming a more recognizable figure in the darkness. “Fate has smiled upon us today.”
“What are your orders, My Queen?” One of the guards asked
“Orders?” Queen Chrysalis stepped out from the shadows, her piercing green eyes settling on them all. “Why that’s simple. Clearly we have some guests in our humble home.” Her grin split as she gave off a heinous cackle.
The other changelings in the room remained silent until she quieted down. When she did, Chrysalis looked them over and smiled again.
“Let’s be sure to give them a warm welcome.”