“Slow down, sis! I can't -pff- I can't keep up through althese trees. How do you even do this all the time?” Scootaloo spat out another branch as it got caught in her teeth as she tried to push through the undergrowth while following after her sister. I didn't help that they also got constantly snagged on the saddle bags she was wearing that were also stuffed to the brim.
“Well you wouldn't be out here if you didn't somehow blow up Zecora's potion lab. Also since you didn't want to go to the Sisterhood Social the week before this is the perfect time to spend some time together while you help replace some of it. Besides, you're always coming out here when I tell you not to so I thought you'd be happy to have permission to be out here.” The young pegasus just glared at her sister as she yanked her tail of the underbrush, causing her to wince as a couple hairs are pulled out.
“Why would I want to do another obstacle course when you already push me through the one in our back yard? It's not like it would have been fair to the others if we did compete with all the practice with it.” The elder sister had to raise an eyebrow at the maturity her sibling was showing with her thought process causing her to let out a small smile. She slowed up a bit when she noticed the young pegasus starting to stumble over the rough terrain the were moving through.
“How much longer are we going to be out here anyways? I'm tired, I'm sore, and I hate to sound like Rarity but I really need a bath. I think I still have some gunk from that flower monster that tried to eat me in my feathers.” She fluttered her wings as she looked them over before pulling out a loose feather with her teeth while grimacing at the taste.
Aegis Flare just shook her head as she shot a ball of fire from her horn into the brush, causing it to detonate sending the smoldering remains of a timberwolf flying out. “Well I did tell you to stay close and not run ahead even if it looks safe. Some of the most dangerous places here in the Everfree look the safest while some of the safest are the other way around. Luckily for you we have only one more area to pass through on the way home and it's on the way back.”
The unicorn looked around the are for any more threats before she nodded and put up a barrier around their clearing as an extra precaution. When the filly saw this she collapsed onto her stomach without even bothering to remove the bags from her back. “Ugh, finally. I don't know how you can do this for months at a time. It hasn't even been a week and I never want to be out here again.”
Her sister just grins as she looks away as she congratulates herself in finally getting through to her sister on how dangerous it is out here. Of course she knew her well enough that she'd probably forget in a month but at least she'd be a bit more careful. After giving her sister time to rest up she signaled that they were on the way again, causing the young filly to let out a groan. “I used to think that at first but there was always something that kept me going no matter how hard everything got. Even with everything that I went through over the years I'd still do it all again.”
Scootaloo's ears perked up at this as she walked next to her sister. “Really? Why would you keep doing this if you didn't want to?”
Aegis Flare just smiles as she looks down at her sister fondly before turning her attention back to the surrounding forest. “Everything I did was always for you.”
Scootaloo just groaned as she rolled her eyes. “Ugh, so sappy. It was bad enough before, but you've only gotten worse after your friends dragged you out of the basement.”
Her words only caused her sister to smirk though she didn't deny that she had been a bit more open with her emotions after that. Of course she didn't really have to argue when she was given the perfect ammunition to use against her sibling from that same day. “You're one to talk with how you and Sweetie were cuddling up with Spike that same morning.”
The only answer she received from the pegasus was a deep red blush while she sputtered out half-formed denials. She let out a laugh at the reactions which was soon cut off as the ground disappeared from below her front hooves causing her to instinctively flare her magic out to catch herself and her sister with a barrier before they could fall off the cliff that was suddenly in front of them.
“Whoa! What the hay happened here?!” The unicorn took a deep breathe as she tried to calm her racing heart as she looked around the area for an answer to her sister's question. The land in front of them just dropped off into a deep pit but she could see a cliff on the far side of it. Taking a closer look at the ground in front of her she noticed that the cut-off area was too smooth to be natural and she soon realized where they were.
“This is the place I was talking about we were going to stop at. After that last storm I expected to see some changes but this is much tamer than I was expecting.” Pulling a small telescope from her packs she used it to examine the bottom of the ravine where she spotted some crystal formations and even some mining tools. Following a trail up the cliff side she saw an odd looking rock and the forest that continued beyond it. “It's also much smaller as well though it looks like there might have been something living caught up in it judging from the tools down below. Hop on, we're going across the short way.”
Kneeling down she allowed Scootaloo to climb onto her back before she formed a bridge across the opening with her magic. She spent a bit of extra energy to make it look a bit fancy as she added artistic railings and pillars that glowed warmly as the two crossed. The filly just rolled her eyes and said one word that caused the elder to chuckle. “Showoff.”
“Well it's not like this is that hard with all the practice I've gotten with it. As Rarity would say, might as well add a bit of flare with my magic even if it's going to be something simple.” This earned another eye revolution from her sister but she didn't say anything else as the two finished crossing. Scootaloo hopped off and dart over to the large egg-shaped rock as she wandered around it curiously.
Aegis Flare didn't bother yelling at her for running off as these displaced areas were almost always safer than the forest as any dangers were usually more obvious. She instead focused on checking for signs of life along the ground to see if anyone had been caught up in the area. Luckily, even though she found traces of hoofprints around the area they were washed out showing that they were all from before the storm happened.
As she looked along the forest edge she found part of a board that had been cut off by the edge of whatever caused these occurrences and she picked it up curiously. As she turned it around she froze in place for a moment as she read it before she called over to her sister. “Scootaloo, I think we need to get back to town really fast.”
Kneeling down once again for her sister to climb onto her back she used her magic to create a simple harness around her sister to keep her in place. Taking a moment to orient herself she took off running at a fast speed towards Ponyville, leaving a trail of flaming hoofprints behind her. Scootaloo wondered what her sister was worried about and she looked down at the object her sister had found and was sticking out of her bags. On it she could read part of some words but from what was sticking out all she could see were the words 'Pie' and the letters '-rm' of another word.
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“...and while I'm still improving on what I can make with my shields for stationary objects I'm still working on anything that moves beyond the basics. I still haven't had a chance to test how strong I can make them now, but I'm really not going out of my way to hunt down an ursa minor to see.” Twilight just nodded as she continued jotting down notes on what Aegis Flare had finished describing, ignoring her attempt at a joke. The orange unicorn hoped that she had finally satisfied her friend's curiosity as she had been answering her questions for the past couple hours now and plotted on a way to get her sister back for telling the magic enthusiast about what she was up to.
Twilight read through her notes once more before nodding with a smile and putting it away in her bags. Turning back to her friend she only then noticed how tired she looked, causing her to grin sheepishly at getting carried away again. “I still can't believe how much you've been able to do with your magic even without any formal training and your condition. I can't even think of many that can even do half the things you do with your magic.”
Aegis Flare just rolled her head on the back of her seat before looking in the direction of their other friend. “It's not that hard when you focus almost exclusively on a couple spells instead of a large number. Since I can only do the two things I have to really focus on my control of them more than anything. I bet I could keep up a basic shield near indefinitely now if nothing interferes with it with all the practice I get with it. But shouldn't we be focusing more on why we're on the train instead of wasting time on this?”
Gesturing with her horn to the side causes Twilight to look over at Pinkie Pie that had been silent the entire time. She started to look worried as she realized that the pink mare hadn't said anything the entire trip and had in fact not moved from her position at the window the entire time. The two shudder as they watch the unnaturally still mare for a couple minutes.
“I never thought that I would see the day when she wasn't bouncing around everywhere while still awake.” Twilight whispers to the orange mare who nods.
“She must really be worried. This is her home and family that could be in trouble with whatever happened there. I'm not even sure what we will find since this is the first time I've found a recognizable area in the Everfree like this, and who knows what might have been caught up in it.” Twilight wavers between fearful and excited about this information as she checks her bags on the things she brought with.
“I hope that nothing happened to them, but this could also be the chance to finally learn more about the Everfree and why it works like it does. There is almost nothing in the Canterlot Library about the Everfree Forest and even less on many of the things you've found.” The purple mare was frustrated about how little there was on the place as well as the fact that much of it was only speculation.
With a sigh, Aegis Flare looked out the window at the passing terrain and found that she could see a town coming up in the distance. “Yeah, most of the books you'll find might as well be in the fiction section. Ironically the best source is labeled as fiction by the so-called experts but is actually the best source you can find. Look for A.K. Yearling's book called Exploring the Mysteries of the World if you want a better impression. Also I think that we're almost at our stop.”
Her words were proven correct as Pinkie had been starting to vibrate in place for the last few minutes once the town came into view. As soon as the train stopped the pink mare vanished outside leaving the other two blinking before the rushed to catch up. They soon found her rushing up to the various ponies in town and they finally caught her as she went up to an elder stallion at a market stall.
“Well now, if it isn't young Pinkamena. Why I haven't seen you for a few years now. Too bad you chose such a bad time to visit your parents since the went on vacation to let your sister run the rock farm alone. Of course your sister sure seemed anxious the last couple days so maybe the young spitfire would enjoy spending time with you.” Pinkie seemed to perk up when she heard that her family was safe causing her to slow down a bit for the other two.
With the earth pony no longer in a huge rush, the two unicorns were able to take some time to take in more of the town. The two weren't sure what to make of it when compared to their friend as it was nothing like her. Where Pinkie was bright and peppy, the town was dull and gray as everything was made of stone and lacked decoration. The only thing they could really see that matched up with the party pony was the fact that they were the only non-earth ponies that they could even see. Not even a single pegasus could be seen flying over the town even though the sky was clear of clouds.
The two unicorns were quiet as they followed after their friend through town in the direction of a rocky bit of landscape beyond it. They had trouble reconciling their image of Pinkie coming from a town like this though they were soon distracted as they rounded a large rock to see something that was completely out of place for the area. “Is that?”
Aegis Flare nods at Twilight's question as she instantly recognizes the trees. “Yeah, it's part of the Everfree Forest.” They watched as Pinkie picked up her pace again quickly leaving the two behind and forcing them to break out into a slow trot to try and catch up. They soon saw a building located next to the displaced bit of forest and knew it was their destination when they heard voices, one of them especially panicked.
“Oh thank Celestia, you're here sis! Ma and Pa left everything for me to take care of and then this happens, I don't know what to do, I even lost Holder's Boulder! Please you have to-” She froze as the two unicorns came around to see her hugging the pink mare desperately with her third sister nearby behind her. The two unicorns blinked as they saw the two gray mares, one of them hiding behind the other two while the one hugging Pinkie turned to stare at them as her face went from one of panic to one of anger. “And who the hay are you two?”
Pinkie just lightly bopped her sister on the back of her head causing her to wince and turn her glare towards the brighter pony. “Be nice now, these are my friends Aegis Flare and Twilight Sparkle and they came out with me to help.” She gestured to each of the unicorns as she introduced them before turning her hoof to her sisters. “These are my sisters, Limestone and Marble Pie. Flarie there was the one who found where Holder's Boulder went which led us out here.”
She couldn't get any further as when Limestone heard that one of them knew the location of the objects she was soon shaking her with all her might. “Where is it? Where is Holder's Boulder!?” Aegis Flare's head bobbled back and forth as the strong earth pony shook her for information. When Pinkie pried her out of her sister's grip the unicorn fell to the ground with her eyes spinning. Seeing that she was incapacitated for the moment Twilight stepped forward.
“We're still trying to figure out why this happened but she found it, along with the land around it, deep within the Everfree Forest. This is the first time we've been able to find the origin point of this phenomena and all we really know is that it happens and that it causes a storm when it does happen. Everything returns when the next storm happens as well... At least we think.” Her words calm Limestone down until she says the last bit which causes her to stiffen up again but any further violence is stalled when Pinkie tosses her forelimb across her shoulders.
“Oh don't worry so much Limey. With both Twi and Flarie here they'll be sure to make sure everything turns out just fine.” The gray mare didn't look convinced but she couldn't really argue when her sister drug her away to catch up on things with her other sister. This left the two unicorns to walk over to the piece of Everfree to begin looking it over.
“I guess I'll be looking through the interior just to make sure that there isn't anything dangerous in there. It's probably safe since it's been here a week with no problems but with the Everfree I've learned not to take any chances.” Twilight nods absentmindedly as she was already caught up with examining the border between the two terrains while taking notes on what she found. Occasionally the magic around her horn flared up as she magically examined the area for anything of interest.
Seeing as her friend was caught up in her studies, Aegis Flare cracked her neck to the side before walking into the patch of forest. As she entered she immediately felt that something was off about the forest as she didn't get the same threatening feel that she was used to. She wasn't sure if she felt that was as she couldn't find any dangers in the area or if it was something else but she quickly surveyed that area considering how small the area was.
Peering over the edge down into what she found was a quarry she saw that the edge was mostly a cylinder except for where it intersected with underground air pockets. This was the first time she had been able to find a displaced area like this so she hadn't known the shape of the area affected until now. Looking up she wondered how high the displacement effect went and if it had something to do with the storms or not.
After going through the forest one more time, while reflexively gathering up potential food items as she went. Exiting the forest she found Twilight pacing in the general area she left her muttering to herself. “Well everything seems to be safe in there but something just feels off still but I'm not sure what.”
Twilight doesn't even look up from her notes as she makes a non-committal noise as she continues writing. Looking over her shoulder, Aegis Flare tries to understand what the purple mare is writing down but it is much more advanced than anything she'd looked into before. The math she saw wasn't as bad even though she didn't know what it was referring to. Seeing that her friend was completely out of it she shook her head before walking off towards the Pie's home with the food she had gathered. “Well I hope that you can hear me, but be careful around the edge as it drops off into the quarry for most of it.”
Still not getting an answer, the orange mare hopes that her friend will be fine as she looks for Pinkie or one of her sisters. She quickly found one of them, but seeing as it was the shyer one of the trio she slowed her steps as she watched her move around the room with a feather duster. She was glad that she followed her instincts as when Marble noticed her she let out a squeak before hiding behind the nearby couch. With a sigh she waiting for the mare to peek out from behind the couch before she lifted the fruit, vegetables, and mushrooms she had gathered in a basket of her magic. “Where do you want all this? I thought I'd grab some of what I found in that forest while I was in there.”
Marble leans out to see what the unicorn had brought in and on seeing the variety of colors her eye not hidden behind her hair lights up. She points a hoof towards a nearby doorway and when Aegis Flare goes through it she finds the kitchen along with Pinkie who was hard at work. “Hey Pinkie, I found a few things out there, where do you want them?”
Looking back to see what her friend had brought, Pinkie's smile grew at the sight of the variety the unicorn had found. “Ooh, those look yummy! Just set them down over there. Dinner tonight is going to be perfect!”
Aegis Flare shakes her head at Pinkie's exuberance but does as she asks before turning to help with the meal preparations. Neither of them saw tail that was peeking up over the table where the unicorn had set everything, nor the gray blur that appeared causing a red berry to vanish. This happened a few more times before a low moan sounded through the room.
The two didn't didn't hear the moan, but they did hear the impact of pony on pony as Limestone entered the room and was suddenly tackled. “What!? Marble, why are you!?” Turning, the two see Marble wrapped around her sister as she nuzzled at her affectionately. Limestone's eyes widened as she noticed all the food that was on the table, especially the berries that were being stolen. “Pinkie! What were you thinking feeding Marble berries of all things!? You know what those do to her!”
Pinkie smiled sheepishly as she watched Marble snuggle up with her sister. “Sorry Limey, I kind of forgot to warn Flarie about that when she brought it in. She is so cute when she's like this though.”
The trapped mare just rolls her eyes at her pink sibling before trying to drag her other one into the next room. While Pinkie continued with her cooking, Aegis Flare took her leave to check on Twilight to find her still where she had left her. Rolling her eyes she found a spot in the sun to relax for a bit as she drifted off until she was awoken by Pinkie calling everyone in for dinner.
Seeing that Twilight had not heard her friend the orange mare sighed before grabbing up the purple unicorn in a bubble before dragging her back into the house, ignoring her struggling as she was pulled away from the forest. Once she was inside she plopped the now sulking mare down into a seat at the dining table. As Twilight glared at her she just rolled her eyes while Pinkie set a covered plate in front of them all. “No matter how much you glare at me you aren't going to sit out there the entire time without food or sleep, again. I thought you would be used to me or Spike dragging you away from your research to take of yourself by now.”
Twilight glared for a couple more seconds before she sighed in defeat and nodding to her friend. “Ugh, fine. Maybe a night's sleep will give me an idea to help figure out why this is happening.” Her stomach chose that moment to speak for her as it rumbled throughout the room causing her to blush. “And I guess some food wouldn't hurt either.”
Pinkie was the only one to react by laughing at the reaction but both Aegis Flare and Limestone had a small smile while Marble was still cuddle up next to her sister. Seeing that they were all there they remove the covers on their plates to reveal Pinkie's creation. While the three earth ponies instantly dig in, the two unicorns warily examine what they found before them.
While Twilight wasn't a complete stranger to odd foods, having been dragged to the occasional event up in Canterlot, she had never before seen a rock used in cooking before. As she poked at it with a hoof, Aegis Flare poked at it with her tongue causing her eyes to widen in realization. “I thought I recognized this. It's a soup stone, just much smaller than I am used to.”
Limestone's eyebrow rose at this before turning to her pink sister. “Huh, I guess at least one of your friends isn't as much of a waste as I thought. Never expected a high-and-mighty unicorn to know something so common.”
Twilight looked a bit insulted at the tone that the gray mare was using but Aegis Flare just rolled her eyes before pointing a hoof at her ears. “These aren't just for show, my father happens to be a thestral. I still have the large soup stone that is traditional to some of the meals from his home country.” She takes a quick sip of her soup before smacking her lips in thought. “Hmm, a tad bitter. Must still be relatively new or haven't seen much variety yet.”
The pie sisters looked at each other in shock at her words while Twilight is just bewildered by the topic as well as the rock still in her food. The orange mare knew what her friend wanted to ask and she took another sip of her food to wet her throat a bit. “Soup stones are a special kind of rock that absorbs and holds the flavour and nutrients of foods which it later releases when heated enough. Fresh ones don't taste very good, and these ones are borderline palatable, but older ones can be used to make soup that even Canterlot nobles would eat. No thestral home would be without one as there are traditions that require one.”
Limestone Pie rolls her eyes at her words before she starts muttering to herself in thestrali. “Great, she's one of those types that act all smart. She probably just read about all that in a book or something.”
She jerked back when the unicorn's eyes shot up to met hers and she started to regret her words just a bit when she actually replied. “I did mention the ears right? I would think that if you know the language, which I wonder how you know it, you would also know that thestral ears are very sensitive.”
Pinkie reaches over and starts to noogie her cringing sister as a mild form of punishment before she smiles at her friends. “Oh, don't mind her, she's just a real grumpy pants at times. Our parents taught the language us since the weather team here is all thestrals since they are big on boring old traditions.”
While Limestone is growling at her sister, Twilight''s ears perk up at hearing that a group of nocturnal ponies was in the area. “Wait, if there are thestrals living around here then maybe they saw what happened that night!”
Her hopes were dashed when the vocal pie sister shook her head while rolling her eyes. “Oh, what a great idea. If only somepony around here thought of such a simple bit of common sense and already did that to find that they didn't know how the storm appeared out of nowhere.”
Aegis Flare's eye twitched a bit at the verbal abuse directed at her friend, but something else had also been bugging her since they had arrived at the rock farm. “Pinkie, this has been bothering me for a while but I just have to ask. Are you three triplets or something? It would really explain so much.”
Though Twilight's eyes widened at what would normally be considered a somewhat rude question, Pinkie just started to giggle. “Oh wow. Usually ponies ask if I'm adopted but you are much closer than all the others.” The two unicorns wonder which one is the twin since they only see the two there but the pink mare's answer sends a shiver through them both. “Our sister Maud is away at university earning her Rockterate. Mama was really surprised when she found out that she was carrying all four of us.”
As twins were already rough on a mare, the image of one carrying four foals at once caused the two to blanche at the thought of it. Knowing that there was a forth sister also caused them to wonder what she was like as the three they knew all had vastly different personalities though it was easy to tell they still loved each other despite that.
Dinner soon ended and the two unicorns were escorted to a small guest room where they were forced to share a bed. It took a while but they were soon able to get somewhat comfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings. Twilight stared at the ceiling as she tried to slow her mind but with the mystery of the Everfree still unsolved she had trouble sleeping. It was hours later when she finally drifted off to the sound of the screeching wildlife outside the home.
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The next few days the three Ponyvillians were busy around the farm either examining the forest or helping out with the daily running of the place. Since there wasn't anything else that she felt she could help with in the bit of forest; Aegis Flare spent time hauling rocks around and taking care of any delicate work that needed to be done. While she couldn't keep pace with the three earth ponies, she still felt she did rather well given that she didn't know what was normally done on a rock farm.
By the end of the week they were no further to finding out why the event happened as well as why it had chosen this location. All five mares were gathered in the front room to savor the latest dessert that Pinkie had made, though Twilight was constantly glaring out the window at the Everfree. “It just doesn't make any sense. I've used every spell I can think of to scan it yet I can't find anything abnormal with the forest or the land around it. I should be getting something, even if it's just the disharmony caused by the displaced soil.”
Marble reached over to pat consolingly on the purple mare's shoulder, but jerks back when Twilight turns her head towards her. She was about to continue with her complaining when her gaze was drawn to Pinkie who's hooves were jittering across the ground while her ears were flapping. “Pinkie? What are you doing?”
“I'm not sure! My Pinkie Sense is acting up and I don't know why!” All eyes locked onto her when she mentioned her Pinkie Sense as her tail whipped around to tie itself around her muzzle. Moments later both unicorns had their heads whip around in the direction of the forest as they were pulled across the room into the wall.
“What in Equestria is going on!?” While both tried to pry themselves away from the wall, neither succeeded even with help from the earth ponies. Twilight, being pressed against the window, could see outside from her position and what she saw defied most explanations. The air outside seemed to warp and twist in ways that even Discord didn't manage and the last thing she saw was a flash of light as the patch of Everfree disappeared leaving a large boulder and a storm that appeared from nowhere.
The three pie sisters were shocked by what was happening and started to panic when the two unicorns were released only to fall unconscious. “Twilight! Flarie!”
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Twilight awoke to the sound of beeping and, thinking that it was a clock, reflexively tried to reach out with her magic to silence it only to wince in pain causing her to clutch at her head in her hooves as a severe headache made itself known. The sound and motion was enough to grab the attention of someone else that was in the room. “Welcome to the realm of of wakefulness, Twilight.”
Opening her eyes and looking in the direction of the voice the purple mare saw Aegis Flare laying in a bed as she cradled a glass in her hooves. Glancing around she found herself in a hospital room, and from the view from a nearby window, back in Ponyville. “What happened, last thing I remember...” Her eyes widened as mind caught up with her weary self. “The forest! It vanished back to the rest of the Everfree but it took the magic in the area with it!”
Aegis Flare nodded as she took a sip from the glowing mixture in her hooves. “I thought as much, but I wasn't sure since I've only once been near one of those events, but that was on the Everfree side. I was asleep at the time so the only thing I remember was the storm and the replaced terrain but no drain. Speaking of there is a drink next to you that should help with your head, just drink it slowly.”
With a nod Twilight carefully reached out to the indicated drink to drag it closer to grasp in both hooves. As she slowly sipped at the drink she sighed as it relieved her of the pain caused by her magical exhaustion. “How did we get back to Ponyville? Pinkie's home was a long way from here.”
Her friend gestured to the foot of her bed where she found Spike sleeping in his basket when she sat up straighter to look. “Pinkie somehow did her thing to drag him to us and had him send a letter to the princess. He didn't know how she did it as he was sleeping at the time but a chariot arrived to bring us here. I woke up yesterday and asked them to bring my mana potions since the ones they had were really low strength ones.”
Twilight rubbed at her head as a headache started to form that had nothing to do with the previous one as once more Pinkie did the impossible. “Just, don't think about it...” With a sigh she leans back into her pillow while nursing her drink some more. “Learning about what is going on with the Everfree is going to be almost impossible if what I suspect is correct. If the only time there are any changes is when there is a displacement then unless I get lucky and have it happen right in front of me I'll never find the answer.”
Twilight looked crestfallen at admitting this and Aegis Flare wasn't sure how to cheer her up. She needn't have bothered as Pinkie, with her perfect sense of timing, burst into the room with a shower of confetti followed by the rest of their friends. With the pink mare's assistance any negative feelings were soon driven out of the room as they caught up with the rest of their friends over what they went through over the past week.