Everfree: Innocence Lost

by RampantArcana

Not Welcome

Everfree: Innocence Lost

How ought I to tell this story? What pony in their right mind would entrust the story of a lifetime to a court scribe? Good old Broken Record, always ready to clarify that one little detail mentioned twenty minutes ago, always ready to rekindle the debate of yesterday with good notes and summaries. But I am no author. I can barely do the tales justice. I rarely can verify the dates. All I can do is write down what she told me as it was told to me. But none of that matters. This is her story, not mine.

After my first run in with Twilight, she soon graced me with what I can only assume is the beginning of her story. It was a rare temporal grounding that I deeply missed in the days to come. It shocked me, as I suppose it might shock yourself, to learn that the beginning took place not two years after the Nightmare Moon incident. So soon after the return of the moon Goddess to the throne, a Goddess fewer know about came to visit our fair nation.

Chapter 2: Not Welcome – 1 Year, 8 Months ANM

Celestia's early morning sun shone brightly in the windows of the library providing light for the lavender unicorn within. Twilight Sparkle stood at her desk, quill at the ready, overlooking her latest checklist. She raised her eyebrow, scrutinizing, as the quill floated up to her face to tickle her chin. Finally, a smile broke out on her face. She brought the quill down and added one more item before nodding satisfied.

"There. That takes care of today's schedule." Happily, she placed the quill back on the desk and began rolling her checklist into a scroll. "Spike, how's breakfast coming?" she called over her shoulder.

Spike tiredly leaned over from the kitchen doorway, his exasperation for so-called morning ponies clear on his face. An apron covered his front scales and a chef's had covered the spikes on his head. "You asked two minutes ago and I told you five then, Twilight."

Twilight adopted a bashful smile as she turned to face him fully. "Sorry Spike. I just don't want to be late today." She trotted over to the bookcases perusing titles as she continued, "I promised Rainbow Dash I would help her with a new training schedule that fits in with how the Wonderbolts train. I had to plan on losing an hour just trying to wake her up." She pulled a book off the shelf considering briefly, before replacing it. No doubt she would lose interest in watching Rainbow Dash's workout at some point. That pony was amazing, but acrobatics just weren't Twilight's thing.

Realizing Spike hadn't answered her, she turned towards the kitchen, only to find him missing from the doorway. Sighing, she grabbed another book with her telekinesis. Naturally, that was when her front door slammed open.

"TWILIGHT!"

Twilight jumped, dropping her book to the ground. Mildly horrified, she quickly inspected the tome to make sure no pages had been bent, but she had been lucky. The book had remained closed as it landed. She glared at the pony who almost caused damage to such a precious font of knowledge.

Calling Pinkie Pie energetic was like calling the Everfree Forest spooky. They were both understatements taken to the extreme. The pink pony with the bouncy mane looked positively manic as she rushed up to Twilight faster than should have been physically possible. She leaned right up into Twilight's face. "You've gotta help me Twilight. There's somepony new out there, but I can't find them!" she said in a rush. As Twilight took a startled step backwards, Pinkie began bouncing from side to side nervously.

Twilight shook her head, turning Pinkie's flurry of words into common Equestrian. Then she chuckled, "Pinkie, how could you possibly know if someone new had arrived if you haven't even seen them yet?"

Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing for a moment. "Weeeeellll –"

Twilight frowned as she drew out the word, then frowned deeper as Spike reappeared in the kitchen doorway. "Oh hi, Pinkie Pie. What brings you over here this early?"

Twilight sighed and pulled out her checklist. Clearly, it was impossible to schedule for Pinkie's randomness. She had only allowed for fifteen minutes, and that was only after 11:00. Shaking her head, she resigned herself to being late for the rest of the day.

Pinkie promptly sat down and addressed Spike with a huge smile and a wave. "Hi Spike! I was just asking Twilight to help me find the new pony in Ponyville." She hopped back to her hooves. "What are you doing up so early?"

Spike stifled a yawn before answering, "Oh, not much. Just making Twilight some breakfast before she goes to wake up Rainbow Dash." He suddenly began sniffing the air. "Oh horseapples!" he exclaimed as he ran back into the kitchen, following the smoke lazily floating into the library proper. Twilight groaned and turned back to Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie, I don't have time for this. I know you like to greet everypony who comes to Ponyville, but there's no way you could know when visitors show up."

"Sure I could Twilight. My Pinkie Sense kicked in! I got a knee shake, eye twitch, knee shake, and then I tripped!" She paused and brought her hoof to her chin in thought, "Though I don't know for sure if tripping is part of my Pinkie Sense. It just sorta happens a lot when you're not paying attention, and boy, is it hard to pay attention to walking when you get that kind of combo. I almost fell on the twins, and that wouldn't have ended well."

Twilight shoved a hoof in Pinkie Pie's mouth. "Pinkie! I get it. But what's got you so worked up? It's not even nine in the morning. You're bound to run into them sometime today."

Pinkie pulled back from Twilight so she could speak unimpeded. "That's just it Twilight! It's the wrong combo! I know somepony new is out there, but that combo means that Gummy is somewhere he shouldn't be. But he was in my room with me when it happened."

"So you're Pinkie Sense is off today?"

"It's not just off!" Pinkie cried hysterically. She leaned in close to Twilight, trying to impart the gravity of the situation. "It's wrong. And usually when I get this feeling, the new pony's just around the corner. I've never gone more than five minutes knowing I'll meet someone new without actually meeting them!"

Twilight simply stood there a moment. "Uh huh. Tell you what Pinkie, if I see somepony new in town, I'll make sure you get to meet them. That ought to fix your Pinkie Sense, right?"

Pinkie's bubbly persona was back in an instant. She hopped up and down saying, "Oh thank you Twilight. Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Uh Twilight?" Spike said hesitantly from behind. Twilight turned to see her breakfast in his claw, a guilty expression on his face. The lettuce was burnt.

"Spike, what were you doing? You're not even supposed to cook salads!"

"Sorry Twilight! I was going to heat up some quartz, and then Pinkie came in, and... I must've put your breakfast on the stove when I got distracted."

Twilight brought a hoof to her face and growled in irritation. This was not a good start to her day.

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Nothing was going according to plan. Despite Twilight's assurances, it had taken nearly half an hour to placate Pinkie Pie. She even forgot to bring along her book. At least it had given Spike time to prepare a second breakfast. However, it seemed that being on time would have been a waste of time anyways. She had done nothing but shout up to Rainbow Dash's home for the past hour. Her progress thus far indicated that it was going to take at least another before the pegasus even peaked her head out the window.

"Rainbow Dash! Wake up now!" She stomped her hoof angrily. In response, she heard Rainbow Dash's snores grow louder. Reflexive snoring to block out unwanted sounds? It certainly explained how she was able to sleep all day long. At this rate she would never get to go shopping or visit Rarity. Looking around, she found a small rock. Picking it up with her magic, she threw it at the cloud house. Her aim was true, and the rock went through Rainbow Dash's bedroom window, then fell out of the floor near the center of the house back towards the earth. The clouds immediately began repairing themselves, but the snoring stopped. "Ha! You're awake now!"

Rainbow Dash flew out her front door, a glare on her face and a red mark on her muzzle. Twilight winced, "Uh, I didn't mean to hit you." Dash flew to a cloud and brought it right over Twilight's head. "Now wait a minute, I'm sorry I threw the rock – " Dash stomped on the cloud causing a small bolt of lightning shot past Twilight's horn. She jumped and squeaked in fright flattening herself on the ground, hooves covering her head.

When nothing further happened, she looked up to find Rainbow Dash gone, snores already starting to come from her window again. Twilight's indignant glare was suddenly covered by her mane as the cloud expelled its contents in a contained downpour. "I give up!" she shrieked, walking out from the dwindling rain. She shook the excess water out of her mane, then spelled the rest off of herself. This morning was quickly turning into a disaster. Maybe if she crossed out Dash's practice time (that filly wasn't waking up anytime soon) she could salvage the rest of the day.

Movement in the distance caught her eye. It looked like it had come from the Everfree Forest. Twilight's eyes scoured the forest edge, looking for the culprit. There! That definitely looked like somepony's flank moving between bushes. But most ponies were frightened to even approach the forest, much enter it off a well laid path. Twilight decided she ought to investigate. Moving at a canter, she quickly made it to the forest. She gazed into the bushes under the trees' shade, peering around for the pony she knew she saw. "Hello? Is anypony there?"

A pair of eyes opened in the bush directly in front of her. Twilight gasped as she took in the mare's head. It was no wonder she hadn't seen her. Her coat and mane blended perfectly with the lush green of the bush. Her long horn suddenly became visible from under a bunch of leaves as she turned toward Twilight. "Hello," the new unicorn replied. From the tone of voice, she sounded quite a bit older than Twilight. She gazed at her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable.

"Uh, hi there. My name's Twilight Sparkle."

The mare cocked her head to the side. "My name is Terra. You are Princess Celestia's personal protégé, aren't you?"

Twilight blushed slightly, both pleased and embarrassed to be recognized. She pawed the ground nervously. "Well, yes. I am. It's nice to meet you Terra." She thought for a moment. "You know, one of my friends told me somepony new was going to show up, but I didn't think I would run into anyone, and definitely not this close to the forest."

Terra hummed to herself. "This friend of yours predicted my arrival?"

Twilight nodded. "Oh yes, she's very good at making predictions like this."

"Interesting."

Terra was silent, still staring at Twilight. She fidgeted. "Uh, Miss Terra, would you mind coming out from the bush? It's making me a little uncomfortable."

"That would be unwise."

Twilight frowned. "What? Why?"

"Because somepony might take offense to my presence."

Twilight looked around. No one was in sight. Besides Rainbow Dash (who was not likely to look out her window), there wasn't a soul around to observe them. Maybe Terra was just shy. "Oh, I don't think so. Why don't you join me here?"

Terra blinked. "Is that an invitation?"

"Uh... Yes?" Twilight replied hesitantly.

Terra stared a moment more before nodding. Suddenly, her head rose far higher than any normal pony's. The brush parted as she stepped forward, forcing Twilight to step back. Terra was huge, possibly taller than Celestia. Two regal wings were held at her sides as she stepped gracefully out of the forest. Her coat and mane were covered in countless shades of green with hints of brown here and there. As she stepped into the sunlight, the colors blended into a solid forest green. A picture of a full tree planted in the earth resided on her flank. Twilight Sparkle suddenly found herself in awe of a goddess-like countenance.

"You're a... You're a..."

"An alicorn, yes," Terra finished for her. "You didn't think Celestia and Luna were the only two, now did you?"

"I – " Twilight gathered her thoughts. "Well of course not! I had an alicorn for a foalsitter. She even married my brother!"

Terra laughed. It was beautiful and melodious. "That is quite wonderful. I had wondered whether our mortal descendents were integrating with society. This gladdens me." Her grin faded suddenly as she looked up to the north, past Ponyville's western edges, towards Canterlot in the distance.

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"Oh nothing, just some important business I must take care of in Canterlot. It isn't pressing though." Nonetheless, her gaze from Equestria's capital did not waver.

Twilight smiled. Maybe she could help out Pinkie Pie after all. "Well, if you aren't busy, why don't we go into Ponyville? I could show you around and introduce you to everypony."

Terra turned back to Twilight. "That sounds lovely. Perhaps I could visit this Ponyville a while before I continue on to the castle."

"Well, you're welcome to stay. But the castle? Does that mean you're going to speak with the princesses?"

Terra nodded, "Yes, Twilight Sparkle. My business does indeed... concern Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."

"You're in luck! I could send a letter to them saying you've arrived."

Terra shook her head and looked up into the sky. "That will not be necessary."

Twilight frowned in confusion. "Why not?"

"Because they are already on their way here."

No sooner than Terra finished speaking, a dark blur rocketed out of the sky and landed heavily beside Twilight. Princess Luna adopted a fighting crouch, wings flared, a fierce glare on her face. "Twilight Sparkle, get back!"

Twilight jumped, backing up a few paces. "What? Princess, what's going on?"

Both alicorns ignored her. Terra spoke calmly, "Princess Luna, it has been a while. How are you?"

"Silence!" Luna cried, not quite using the traditional Canterlot voice. "Celestia is coming. You should leave at once!"

Terra was not deterred. "Still faster than Princess Celestia? I would have thought she might have gained an edge after a millennium, but you always did excel in the sky."

Luna's glare intensified, but Twilight had had enough. "What's going on?!?" she shouted.

A boom prevented either of them from answering her and the ground shook with the landing of another alicorn beside Luna. Princess Celestia was not smiling as she stared at Terra, her eyes narrowed. She spoke, not with the soft and caring voice Twilight had grown accustomed to, but with the voice Twilight had last heard when the princess had addressed Queen Chrysalis at Cadence's wedding. "Princess Terra Firma, goddess of the earth, guardian of nature, and ruler of the Everfree Outlands, you are not welcome here." A brilliant light gathered at the tip of her horn as she pointed it directly at the green alicorn. "Leave Equestria now or face my wrath!"