Celestia stood in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres watching the Everfree Forest turn blue. The outlines off the woods had become blurred with the night sky. In front of this backdrop it was even harder to make out the movements of the watchdogs. The royal princess pressed her wings to her side and took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult. "Everypony go home!" She told the Applefamily and their friends. She should have known that these ponies would not listen. Only her former student even considered her order for a moment, but in the end even Twilight Sparkle put her hoof down. This was too personal for them to step down. These poor little ponies...
"Are ya out of yar mind? No pony gonna stop us from getting Granny back!"
"Gehehehe you are so funny." Pinkie giggled, this had to be a joke. Right?
"With all due respect, Princess. We can´t let these wolves get away with this."
"With all due respect, Princess." Celestia looked down on Twilight. "I really want all of you stand DOWN!" The last word echoed in a booming voice from the white alicorn. The manes of the ponies flowed in the wind due to the surprisingly strong lungs of Celestia. "You have no idea what you are up against! The Everfree Forest is dangerous whoever has gone in has never come back out!"
Everypony gave her an odd look, including the Cutiemark Crusaders, as they had all been in the woods many times. For crying out loud, Zecora had lived in there for years and came to town when ever she wanted! The ponies themselves were very vocal about this fact. They also pointed out that the Castle of the Two Sisters was located in the middle of the forest. Princess Celestia rolled her eyes and pulled Twilight and her friends out of her way using her golden magic. "Yes, it is not like Evefree has let her guard down over the last two thousand years", with this snarky comment took Celestia place in front of the group. Once again the big alicorn used the booming royal Canterlot voice, shouted in a calm tone: "EVEFREE, IT IS WE, CELESTIA. IF YOU CAN HEAR US RELEASE THE PONY YOU HAVE APPREHENDED."
Twilight flicked her ears. She had to be hearing things or did Princess Celestia just said..."Ifrit?" Twilight asked out loud, wondering if this beast was indeed real.
"It´s Eve-Free, Twilight." Celestia watched over her shoulder with an apologetic demeanor towards her former student: "You are not completely off, thought. Everfree and Ifrit have their names roots in her. Go back to your castle."
Granny Smith kept staring at her kidnapper standing in front of her. Her grey hair bun was opened by limegreen magic, carefully but clumsily. "This must be very inconvenienced for you. This stupid vines have sometimes have an mind on their own." The elder pony did not believe her eyes as the same green aura pulled a rainbow colored apple from the tree. "You like them, don´t you? Here, have a bite, my little..." Princess Celestia´s message echoed from the trees as the zap apple touched her lips. Her majesty herself had come to rescue her? "Princess?"
The white alicorn had just passed the other ponies when one of the poison joked timberwolves started moving in front of the forest. When it had reached halfway to the group it started to scratch trails into the ground. When it was done with its work it returned to the woods. Soon stood Celestia over this place. `Leave us alone´ was written in an ancient rune language. "WE ARE ENTERING." In another blazing flash was she gone.
"She teleported in, Twilight! Teleported INSIDE", shouted Applejack, her emotion somewhere in between anger and disappointment. "How could none of us think of that?!? Take us in there, right now!"
Twilight watched her hooves in shame: "Maybe we should let Princess Celestia handle this?"
The front gate of the castle of the two sisters, her old castle. How long had it been since she was here for the last time? Yes, the one time she and Luna had searched for remains of their time before Nightmare Moon. They had found a few molded boardgames and books they liked. Vines from treetop to treetop covered in poison joke with big yellow flowers few and far between. Even here on giant clearing the castle resides was this blanket outspread. A nightsky made of flowers. Hanging so deep. It would be wise not to fly in here. "Okay Evefree where are you hiding?" Celestia asked herself stepping down the staircase of the canyon surrounding the castle.
"No, you don´t understand, Applejack! Princess Celestia has never ordered us to stay down before! Discord. Tirek! She trusted us to handle things she could not do on her own! This... this is different!" Twilight refused the request of taking her friend into the forest.
"Yeah, ya re right. It is different! Ma grandma is in there and Celestia has lost her freakin mind!" The stubborn earthpony pressed her head against Twilight's. Her stetson flopped onto the grass. Staring her sternly in the eyes. "Get me in there! Ya can chicken out if ya want, BUT GET ME IN THERE, FIRST!"
"No!"
"No?"
"No."
Applejack pushed Twilight so hard she almost fell beside the hat. "Screw ya! Rainbow, the Rainboom!", she demanded, but the usually so bold pegasus was a lot more hesitant about a second breakthrough.
"What? You want me to crash head first into that?" She inquired pointing her hoof to the `Everfree Fortress´ and its blue armor-clad guards
Applejack was outraged. Did none of her so called friends see what needed to be done? "Ya are backstabbing me too!"
"Applejack, do you even know the stories about Ifrit? The stories about the Everfree Forest that had kept ponies out of this woods until we had to go inside them to stop Nightmare Moon? If only parts of those..."
"Ya remember we didn´t know anything about most of the enemies we battled, ah say we got a way better edge to fight something we kinda know!"
While the mares were arguing, tiny Applebloom approached them with Fluttershy by her side. Both were letting their ears hang. In a very sad voice the filly asked, "Uhm, Princess Twilight?" Hearing the filly using the formal title got their attention right away. "Ah know Princess Celestia is going to help Granny... ." Her big orange eyes gaze right into her soul. "But what about Zecora? She´s gonna be okay, right?"
"Twilight, we have to check how she is... if that´s okay, that is." The meek yellow pegasus reinforced the request of Applebloom. Everypony around them knew that Zecora had almost become a mother figure to the youngest apple sibling. She had spend many days in the zebras' hut and even learned potion making. Somedays Applejack feared that Applebloom would start to rhyme every words she spoke like Zecora did or leave the farm to live with her - like she did after mom and dad died - ; yet how could she not like somepony that filled the void for her little sister?
"Fine", Twilight agreed, "I'll get in there and teleport us out."
Calm and steady boiled the brew in the big black cauldron in the middle of the hollow tree, covering everything in a soft green glow. The walls were hung with cupboards filled with potions and traditional masks of her tribe. On her bed laid Zecora snuggled inside her leopard blanket. Suddenly was the peaceful night over.
In a flash two ponies slammed to the floor rolling in ball against the wall. Neatly organized glasses shattered in the rhythm of a rain shower. "Are You Crazy! You could have killed us! What were you thinking?!"
"Hitch-hiking a snitch."
"Applejack and Twilight Sparkle why do you two fight - in my home at the middle of the night?" Zecora sat upright in her bed, clearly holding back her anger about the violation of privacy and trespassing of her hut. But the ponies did not react to her at all. Instead the farm pony tossed Twilight against the desk and moved to the door. It was impressive how far the former unicorn had mastered her new pair of wings since she had become an alicorn, a princess of Equestria. She had caught the force of the vicious throw to glide pass the cauldron and blocking the entrance for Applejack. "I don´t know what caused this rage - but would you stop this rampage! You have destroyed my work - by going berserk!
"Get Zecora and leave the forest, Twilight!" Applejack wanted to pull her hat in her face, but as she as touched her mane she realized that it was still on the ground outside of the forest. Great she has to face Twilight´s disproving gaze. Why does she have to make things so difficult? Rescue the Zebra and let her safe her Granny. Simple. Applejack sighed. "Get out of my way, before Ah do something Ah would regret."
"That´s why I am standing in your way!" With a leap Twilight tried to suppress Applejack, but all that happened was that she was hanging over her back like a big lavender saddle bag. Applejack was rocking and kicking as if it was a rodeo. It took the young alicorn a lot of strength to not topple of the orange back. "Zecora! Come here, we have to go!"
Zecora stepped closer with a questioning look on her face and a rhyme to go along with it: "When we reach our destination - I expect an explanation. About why we have to flee - from the forest of Everfree."
Applebloom had been walking nervously in circles since her sister had tackled Twilight while teleporting inside. "Shouldn´t they be back by now?"
"Eeyup."
Rarity complained behind the worried siblings back about Applejack´s attitude while everypony watched the forest. The timberwolves still roamed the forest edge without any attempt to attack the ponies. It really looked like they were safe at a few yards away from the wooden wall. But then one of the blue coated timberwolves started howling. It fell apart and new twigs, sticks and poision joke floated to its former position. The three normal sized poison wolves had now formed, retreated into the woods. "This can´t be good", muttered Spike more to himself than to anypony else.
"Eeyup."