The Path of Absolution - Punishment

by Morningstar1337

vi - The Forest of Despair

The next day, the Cutie Mark Crusaders woke up in the cave. Scootaloo scratched herself on the walls of the cave.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were a little puzzled seeing Scootaloo itching her body like that. The latter, however, was laughing uncontrollably.

“That’s so not funny!” Scootaloo said.

“I’m sorry...” Sweetie Belle doubled over in laughter.

“So sorry...” she said.

She laughed for a few moments more. “I can’t help it.” She still laughed for a few more minutes.

Apple Bloom noticed several blue spots on Scootaloo's orange coat.

“Oh no.” Apple Bloom said.

Sweetie Belle finally stopped laughing, and said, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s that plant. I hitkn it’s psonoi keoj.”

“What?” Scootaloo said.

“I adsi ti swa soonpi ekjo.”

Apple Bloom covered her mouth.

She saw a stick nearby and used it to write “POISON JOKE” on the ground.

The other two fillies said, “Oh.”

“What’s poison joke?” Scootaloo said. Her itch having subsided.

The fillies smelled something nasty. Sweetie Belle began laughting.

“It’s like poison oak," Apple Bloom explained. "but nadsite fo ginpoonis, it plays a kaprn no us.”

“Um... I can’t understand you,” Scootaloo said. She started itching again.

Apple Bloom facehoofed.

She tried explaining again. “Poison joke is a plant that plays a prank on ponies who touch it. I think we were affected by it.”

Sweetie Belle stopped laughing.

“Well those are terrible pranks,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Is there a cure?” Scootaloo said.

“We nca kas Cazore,” Apple Bloom mumbled.

She was about to use her stick to communicate but the three had heard a roar.

A timberwolf burst out from a nearby opening. The Crusaders screamed and ran away while the beast gave chase.

Nearby a cockatrice heard those screams and went to find the source.

---

Elsewhere in the forest, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack were looking for the Crusaders.

Twilight Sparkle was reading Mythical Creatures of the Everfree Forest.

“Hey Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said. “Can I read that book? It looks super fun.”

“Um... sure, Pinkie.” Twilight said.

She handed Pinkie the book. The pink earth pony skipped through some pages until she was on a section for cockatrices. “Ooh. Hey Twilight, look!”

Twilight read the page, “A cockatrice is a beast with the head of a chicken and body of a snake...” Twilight read up to the next page. “...However, there are rumors of a special subspecies of cockatrice. The Gallus ophis amethystos, or amethyst cockatrice. Rumored to have purple eyes instead of red and a purple body.

“This subspecies is said to cure anypony of ailments upon petrification, but there is no proof of this as like all others of its species. It leaves after petrifying in search of more victims. There are several sightings of the amethyst cockatrice, but few are reliable.

“Researchers in Canterlot were able to venture into the Everfree Forest and find evidence of its existence, but were not able to prove that it can cure anypony of any ailment before or during the petrification process, though they did discover that the victims of its gaze have a characteristic that distinguishes them from most victims of a cockatrice’s stare: The eyes of the victims become the mineral amethyst, hence it’s name.”

“Pretty neat huh?” Pinkie said.

“Pinkie,” Twilight said. “Why did you have me read that page? What are the odds that we are gonna find such a rare animal?”

“I figured that it would be useful to know. After all, you never know when we may encounter one.”

Pinkie bounced merrily along the path. Rarity and Applejack heard the conversation and silently wished that their sisters would not ever meet with a cockatrice.

Fluttershy also heard Twilight and Pinkie’s conversation and feared that they would encounter one.

Later the group of six returned to the Poison Joke field. Applejack once again saw dirt where the grass would had been.

“Hold on y’all,” she said. “I gotta check something.”

She went around to the other side of the field, hoping that her suspicions were wrong. The others followed.

Applejack let out a scared whinny. She saw bite marks on the grass nearby.

“Applejack?” Rainbow Dash said. “What’s wrong?”

“I think that they might had had some poison joke,” Applejack said. “We got to hurry.” The group then went down the other path.

---

The Crusaders were running away from the timberwolf. Sweetie Belle was laughing the entire time. The beast had cornered them into the edge of a cliff.

“Any ideas?” Scootaloo said.

Apple Bloom saw some rocks nearby and pointed to them. “Hte crsko. Teh sorkc.”

Sweetie Belle stopped laughing long enough to help Scootaloo and Apple Bloom kick the stones at their pursuer. Only one of them hit the wolf’s leg but it was enough to destroy it, the plant-like beast then tumbled over and broke into lumber and branches.

“That was close,” Apple Bloom said.

But the parts of the timberwolf began levitating and reforming. The Crusaders were terrified. They ran away, but they didn’t noticed the rock. They tripped on a rock and fell over the edge of the cliff.

The fillies had hit several branches on the way down, softening their landing but they were still knocked unconscious by the fall.

The timberwolf left the area, unable to get its prey from there.

---

While the bearers of the Elements of Harmony were busy looking for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Pinkie Pie was still reading the Mythical Creatures book. She itched her nose and said, “we better be careful.” She gave Twilight back her book and took out an apple from Applejack’s saddlebag.

A small swarm of parasprites had emerged from the left side.

Pinkie Pie was still eating the apple. “Oh, never mind.” She tossed the core to the swarm and they ate it and left.

The other ponies were baffled by this turn of events.

“What?” Pinkie said.

“You do remember what happened the last time we saw parasprites, right?” Rarity said.

“Of course, silly,” Pinkie merrily bounced along the path. The others were baffled.

The group let this moment go and moved on.

Later they found a cave. The mares looked inside.

“Do you think that they were here?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh they were here alright,” Applejack said. “But not anymore."

“Guys, look!” Pinkie said.

Pinkie Pie pointed to some hoofprints.

Applejack, Twilight and Fluttershy examined the prints and came to the same conclusion.

The mares followed the hoofprints.

---

The Crusaders had just woken up from their fall. Scootaloo woke up scratching. Sweetie Belle woke up laughing and Apple Bloom woke up remembering what happened the night before and sighed.

“Do you raylel kthni atht it worth all htit?” Apple Bloom said.

“What are you talking about?” Scootaloo said.

“Uro teceu sarmc, veen if we etg uro ctemi kasrm, ponnoy would still like us,” Apple Bloom lamented. She thought about what happened that fateful night, she thought about the mob’s anger. She then thought about how disappointed Applejack and Big Macintosh must be. She wondered if life would be better without her in it.

The three fillies went forward, unaware that they were being followed.

Comments

[Prince Applejack]

Very good story. Don't you mean Hoof prints instead of Footprints?

[Morningstar1337]

2659438 Okay I changed it to "hoofprints" sorry it toke so long.

[Matt11]

Great story you did a good job