My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition

by SuperPinkBrony12

Chapter 8: Into The Everfree

"So let me see if I've got this straight." Fancy Pants said "The Elements of Harmony reside in some old crumbling castle somewhere within this forest. And those elements are the only thing that can stop Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes." Shining Armor replied "But I'm afraid this is as far as you guys will go. I appreciate all that you've done since my arrival, but I cannot ask you to put yourselves at risk for me. This is my mission, and I must undertake it alone."

"No can do buckaroo." Braeburn said.

"Braeburn's right." Big Macintosh said "The Everfree Forest is dangerous even in the daytime. Who knows what could possibly be waiting out there at night?"

"Which is why I must ask you all to let me go alone." Shining Armor said "If anything ever happened to you guys I'd never be able to forgive myself. I'm glad you care about me, but I'm not going to drag you into something that doesn't concern you. Nightmare Moon isn't upset with you guys and I don't intend on changing that."

"Like it or not we're all in this together bro!" Soarin said "Going into the Everfree Forest by yourself is crazy. You need backup."

"And we're just the sort of backup you need." Fancy Pants said.

"Don't try to change my mind guys." Shining Armor said "I'm going in alone."

"Not a chance." Thunderlane said "The Everfree Forest is a scary place, far too scary for you to wander through in the darkness of night. All on your own no less."

"There's really no way to convice you guys otherwise is there?" Shining Armor asked. The other stallions shook their heads. Shining Armor sighed "Fine, you can tag along with me. But if anything happens to you guys I won't be held responsible, for the record I was opposed to this from the start."

"We know." Big Macintosh said "Now let's go. From now on we're sticking to you like caramel on a candy apple."

"Especially if there's actually candy apples involved." Braeburn said. Shining Armor looked at him as if he were crazy. "What? I can't help it if they're so delicious." Braeburn said.

And with that the six stallions trotted into the Everfree Forest. Their goal, reach the Castle of the Two Sisters and find the so called "Elements of Harmony". It was a quest that seemed pretty straightforward. But as the old saying goes "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Shining Armor and the gang had not been trotting for very long when Shining Armor asked a question. "So have any of you ever actually BEEN in the Everfree Forest?" he asked.

"Of course not." Big Macintosh replied "Everypony who's anypony knows this place ain't natural. And it's crawling with creatures of all sorts, most of whom aren't very friendly."

"I've heard rumors that some ponies believe this forest is haunted." Thunderlane said nervously "But why?"

"Nopony knows." Soarin said in a spooky voice, making use of the shadows to try and scare his teammates.

Big Macintosh wasn't amused. "Would you quit it Soarin? This isn't a game!" he said.

"Relax, you worry too much." Soarin said "As I was saying, nopony knows. And that's because nopony has ever gone into this forest, and lived to tell the tale." To his amusement Braeburn, Thunderlane, and Fancy Pants seemed to be rather spooked. "Come on guys." Soarin said "I was only teasing ya. I don't believe in those silly ghost stories anyways."

At that moment however the ground began to shake. Noone knew it but this was the work of Nightmare Moon. She was determined that the ponies never reach the Castle of the Two Sisters. She could not afford to let anyone get the chance to foil her plans.

"Um guys, do you hear that?" Shining Armor asked.

"I feel that." Big Macintosh replied glumly.

"What's going on?!" Fancy Pants asked. All of a sudden, the ground gave way! Soarin and Thunderlane were able to fly up but everyone else was dragged down with the falling cliffside.

"Oh man!" Soarin said "Come on Thunderlane, they're counting on us! Hold on guys! Help is on the way!"

"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" Thunderlane said nervously as he and Soarin flew down to rescue their friends. Soarin managed to grab Braeburn and pull him to safety, Thunderlane managed to do the same with Fancy Pants, and Big Macintosh managed to grab hold of a branch with his mouth. But Shining Armor slid all the way down, coming to a rest at the edge of another cliff.

"Help me! Please!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. He knew he couldn't survive a fall from this great a height.

"Shining Armor! Hang tight buddy, I'm coming!" Big Macintosh shouted, he let go of the branch and slid down. He grabbed Shining Armor hooves with his own hooves and held on as best he could. Shining Armor was still in a state of panic. "You need to stop shaking!" Big Macintosh shouted "I can't hold you if you keep shaking like this!"

"Pull me up already!" Shining Armor pleaded.

"I can't! You're too heavy!" Big Macintosh said. He then felt Shining Armor's hooves starting to slip, he knew he couldn't hold on much longer.

"Don't let go!" Shining Armor said "I don't wanna die!"

Big Macintosh said nothing, he was trying to think of some way to save Shining Armor before it was too late. Then suddenly he looked up to the sky above, and said "Let go of my hooves."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Shining Armor shouted "I'll kill myself!"

"Look I know this sounds crazy-" Big Macintosh explained.

"Crazy doesn't even begin to describe this!" Shining Armor said.

"But you've got to trust me." Big Macintosh said "Let go and I promise you'll be safe. Somepony will be there to catch you."

"That's not true!" Shining Armor said "There's got to be another way."

"There's no time." Big Macintsoh said, already feeling his grip weakening "You have to trust me. It's your only chance. Would I lie to you now?"

Shining Armor wasn't sure what to say. Eventually he decided to, against his better judgement trust Big Macintosh and let go. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he plunged to what he was certain was his doom, and shut his eyes.

"Open your eyes Shining Armor!" Big Macintosh shouted. Shining Armor did so, what he saw surprised him. He was being held firmly in the grip of Soarin and Thunderlane. Big Macintosh had been right after all. "See! What did I tell ya?" Big Macintosh said as Soarin and Thunderlane slowly lowered Shining Armor to the ground.

"Thank you." Shining Armor said "But maybe next time we could skip the whole trust exercise thing and just cut straight to the part where I'm safe."

"Sorry about that, but I had to do what I had to do." Big Macintosh said as he and the others made their way down the cliffside.

"Hmmph. That wasn't enough to stop them!" Nightmare Moon thought to herself, having observed the whole thing in her mist like form "Well there's no way they'll make it past this next obstacle. The elements will be mine!" she then raced off. Noone saw her do so.

"So after me and Thunderlane managed to get Fancy Pants and Braeburn to safety we looped back around and caught you." Soarin explained to Shining Armor "That Big Macintosh sure knows how to plan em."

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh said.

"Hey, don't be so humble." Shining Armor said "If it weren't for you I'd be a pony pancake right about now."

"Mmm, pancakes." Braeburn said.

"Oh Braeburn, always thinking about food." Fancy Pants said.

"That ain't true." Braeburn said. As soon as he finished speaking those words there came a loud roar. It was unlike anything the ponies had ever heard.

"Was that your stomach?" Thunderlane asked.

"No." Braeburn said. The roar was heard again.

"What could be making that noise?" Fancy Pants asked.

"Um. I think I have may an idea." Shining Armor said nervously "And it doesn't look too happy."

"What do you mean?" Braeburn asked.

"Look! Up ahead!" Soarin shouted. There standing in front of the path was a vicious wild animal. It had a lion mane, bear paws, and a scorpion tail.

"A manticore!" the stallions shrieked. Manticores were some of the most violent and dangerous creatures known to inhabit the Everfree Forest. It was said that they could crush a pony with one foul swipe of their claws, they were even known to cause quite a bit of damage on the rare occassions where they left the Everfree Forest and attacked cities or towns. This manticore was as vicious as any other, and poised itself for an attack.

"Leave this to me boys!" Soarin said "It's time someone taught this guy a thing or two! And I'm just the stallion to do it!" He promptly raced forward without a moment's hesitation.

"Don't do it Soarin! You can't win!" Big Macintosh shouted. The warning fell on deaf ears. Soarin quickly encircled the manticore, striking hard and fast. He even managed to grab its tail and give it a good tug. This only served to make the manticore even more angry, he tried to swat at Soarin with one of his front paws. Soarin barely dodged it, but the near miss broke his concentration. He flew away from the manticore and crash landed right in front of the other stallions.

"Now what are we gonna do?!" Fancy Pants asked.

"There's only one thing we can do!" Shining Armor said "We'll have to attack it!"

"And you really think that will work?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Well if you've got a better idea I'm all ears." Shining Armor said. Big Macintosh said nothing. "Alright men, get in formation! And be careful! One false step could spell disaster!" Everyone struck a fighting pose, everyone that is except for Thunderlane. He had spotted something, and was trying to no avail to bring this to the attention of the others.

"Ready when you are!" Soarin said.

"Wait for my signal!" Shining Armor said. "On three. One! Two! Three! Charge!" He, Big Macintosh, Soarin, Braeburn, and Fancy Pants all charged forward at once. Their intent was to overwhelm the manticore through strength in numbers.

Before they could attack however Thunderlane jumped in front of them. "WAIT!" he shouted.

"Thunderlane? What are you doing?" Fancy Pants asked.

"I have a hunch that there's something different about this manticore." Thunderlane said. To prove his point he slowly trotted towards the manticore, who roared viciously as Thunderlane approached. Thunderlane took no notice. "It's okay Mr. Manticore. I'm not gonna hurt ya." Thunderlane said, using the kind of voice one would expect from a parent who was scolding their child. The manticore whimpered a little as Thunderlane stopped in front of its back left paw. "Let me see." Thunderlane said softly.

To everyone's surprise the manticore obeyed. As it turned out it had somehow gotten a dark purple thorn stuck in its back left paw. Clearly it had been in pain. "Oh you poor thing." Thunderlane said "Don't worry. I know how to make it all better. Now this might hurt for a moment, but I promise I'll make it as quick as possible." He bit down on the thorn, and to the surprise of everyone yanked it right out. The manticore roared the loudest it had ever roared, and scooped Thunderlane into its front paws. Everyone gasped.

But the manticore mearly began to lick Thunderlane's mane. Thunderlane seemed to enjoy it. "Stop it, that tickles." he said. The manticore seemed to become a lot nicer as it obeyed Thunderlane again and put him down. It then went away.

"How did you know about the thorn in its paw?" Shining Armor asked.

"I noticed it wasn't really using its back paws much. It seemed to be guarding the back left one in particular." Thunderlane explained. "I wasn't sure what the exact cause was, but I knew it was hurt."

"That's impressive. But how could you be so calm?" Shining Armor asked "What if you'd be wrong?"

"Well sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness." Thunderlane said "And when you've been around a mare like Fluttershy for long enough she tends to rub off on you."

"Curses! That rotten pegasus saw through my disguise! They're still going" Nightmare Moon thought to herself as she transformed from the dark purple thorne into the dark blue mist.

"I could do with a change of scenery right now." Fancy Pants said "I'm sure it hasn't been that long but I'm getting tired."

As the journey continued the stallions ventured into a part of the woods that was so thick with trees no moonlight could shine through it. It was completly pitch black.

"When I said I wanted a change of scenery I didn't mean this." Fancy Pants complained.

"It's so dark in here, I can't see a thing!" Soarin said "Hey, Shining Armor! How's about you or Fancy Pants try to light this place up a little?"

"I would if I could." Shining Armor said "But the darkness is too thick. An illumination spell won't work."

"Just great." Soarin said sarcastically "Now what are we suppose to do?"

"Try to stay together." Big Macintosh said "If anyone gets lost in here we'll probably spend hours searching for them."

"Now's my chance!" Nightmare Moon thought to herself, creeping past the ponies without them noticing her "I know just what to do to stop them right in their tracks. They don't call me Nightmare Moon for nothing!" She slowly began to work her shadowy magic on some of the nearby trees.

"I don't think we have long to go now." Shining Armor said "I can hear running water in the distance. There must be a river of some kind not too far from here."

"Good. Because this place is giving me the creeps." Thunderlane said nervously.

"Wait a second guys! I think I just stepped in something." Big Macintosh said.

Meanwhile Thunderlane bumped into a tree, and when he took one look at its face he instantly started screaming.

"Calm down Thunderlane." Big Macintosh said "It's only mud. Or at least I'm pretty sure it's mud." Then suddenly he too bumped into a tree, and like with Thunderlane when he saw its face he screamed as well. The same thing happened to Shining Armor, Soarin, and Fancy Pants.

"We're surrounded!" Soarin said.

"I can see that!" Shining Armor said.

"What are we suppose to do now?" Thunderlane asked.

"I don't know." Shining Armor said "But I'm scared." And he started to scream again, as did Big Macintosh, Thunderlane, Soarin, and Fancy Pants.

Author's Note:

In case you can't tell Nightmare Moon's dialogue is while she's in mist form, the stallions can't see or hear her.

Comments

[Nebula1701]

not the manliest chapter. xD xD

Though it was good.

[Night--Mist]

Oh boy, singing time coming. Great chapter, keep going.

[The-voice-of-the-dragon]

I'm batman

[Captain-Brony]

I'll give you this much, you're good at updating

[SuperPinkBrony12]

3539821

[Alticron]

Nice chapter, though I found something you may want to edit.

To proove his point he slowly trotted towards the manticore, who roared viciously as Thunderlane approached.

That should be "prove".

[CharTate101]

3541202 WHY HAS
3539821 's comment not been deleted?

[Godiswithus3]

It's hard to be brave in a scary and dark forest like the everfree, so I consider the screams to be realistic.

[lunarderpy1]

big mac=honesty
thunderlane=kindness

[Jordan179]

My wife can tell you that sometimes if you startle a big strong man, he will scream like a little girl. Why, why do you assume she means me?

[Yoshifan30]

Whoa so for this is how I imagine they how they act like the main 6 again i never thought Thunderlane would be so kind and good with animals

[eemoo1o]

Genuinely, this is great so far, but the only issue I’ve been having is that Big Mac talks too much. He can easily be the Element of Honesty without needing to talk as much as AJ, and can even take Fluttershy’s place as the quiet one.

[eemoo1o]

"I can't! You're too heavy!" Big Macintosh said. He then felt Shining Armor's hooves starting to slip, he knew he couldn't hold on much longer.

Literally a season later: pulls a house