Fall Weather Fiends

by Bookpony579

Chapter 4

Rainbow and AJ looked around widely for their friend.

"Twilight? Twilight!?" Rainbow called out desperately.

"Sugarcube!" AJ shouted.

"Uh oh folks!" Pinkie announced as the balloon floated above the two girls. "It looks like we have a bit of a situation here!"

"Pinkie! It's an emergency!" AJ called out.

"Twilight's gone!" Rainbow continued.

"Wowee! Isn't that a coincidence! That makes five runners that are gone now! Do you think they may be planning some kind of secret 'we're lost in the woods' party!? In that case, I'd better bring the cupcakes!" She then proceeded to bring out a try of freshly made cupcakes from.....somewhere....

"It's not a party Pinkie!" AJ scolded.

"We just saw Twilight get taken by some crazy old lady and her giant bear....bug.....thing!" Rainbow explained.

"Oh....that makes more sense." Pinkie nodded.

"You have to go and get help!" AJ said.

"They won't get here in time!" Rainbow argued. "We're going to have to save her ourselves!"

"But the woods go on for miles! We don't even know where they are!"

Rainbow held up her ankle. "Take off this dumb thing for me and I can comb this forest in no time!"

"But-"

"Hurry! Who knows what could happen if we're too late!'

AJ nodded, and, with a simple tug, pulled the bracelet in two.

"Thanks." Rainbow turned to Pinkie. "Tell everyone what's going on and stay in the sky and try to see if can spot anything."

"Okie dokie!" Pinkie said as the balloon began to float away. "Good luck!"

With that, Rainbow ran off, leaving AJ along for about fifteen seconds before she returned.

"Well?"

Rainbow pointed. "Okay, I managed too see the Bugbear guarding some sort of campsite in that direction."

"Alright then, let's go!"

With that, the girls took off deeper into the woods.

---

AJ and Rainbow soon arrived to see the Bugbear guarding a small clearing hidden by a canopy of trees. Inside was a pentagram of sorts made of stones. At the end of each point was one of the missing runners. They were all female, and they all looked to be around the same age.

"Look!" Rainbow whispered and pointed. "There's Twilight."

She was, like the other, bound with magical restraints, though that didn't stop them from struggling.

Suddenly a new figure emerged from the shadows: the old lady from before.

"Ladies!" She announced with a raspy voice while spreading her arms out. "I'm so glad you could all join me for this special occasion!"

"What are you talking about? Who are you, and what do you want with us!?" Twilight demanded.

"Just a moment!" The woman said before pulling her hood back, revealing her deathly pale skin, white, stringy hair and bird like nose.

However, when she stepped into the pentagram, she began changing: her wrinkly skin smoothed out, her nose became smaller and more graceful, and her white hair became dark and silky.

AJ's and Rainbow's jaw dropped as they saw the old hag disappear and be replaced by a beautiful young woman.

The woman felt her face, smiling at the smoothness. "Ah! I feel better already!" She then turned to Twilight. "You know there's a saying: 'Curiosity killed the cat', but I do love indulging my audience with a story before it's over. So pay attention." She cleared her throat and put a hand to her chest dramatically, like an actress before reciting an important speech. "My name is Noctambula! And as for why I need you well...." She gestured to her now youthful appearance. "You saw what happened when I stepped here, right?"

The girls gasped.

"That's right! Through research and my travels, I've found a way to restore my youth every few decades or so. However..." She glared down at her now perfectly manicured hands. "There is a certain price to pay, as with all powerful magics. Part of the price is that I lose a large portion of my powers with every ritual."

"Then how are you able to keep doing it?" Twilight asked, trying to prolong it as long as possible.

Noctambula smiled cruelly and walked up to Twilight. "That's the other benefit of the spell. I regain my youth and become more powerful! You see, I just need five young girls like yourselves. The only problem is making sure at least one of them is a mage." She cupped Twilight's chin, ignoring the bound girls' glare. "And that's where you come in my dear! You can't imagine how excited I was to find you! When I drain the girls of their youth, I also drain any magic they may possess." She reached down the neck of her robe, revealing a glowing light blue crystal on a chain around her neck. "Now not only will I regain my youth, but I will become the most powerful mage in the world to boot! I'll have enough magic to last me centuries without needing to refill!" She gave a wicked laugh that echoed through the woods.

"Yeesh!" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Somebody sure loves to hear herself talk."

"Nevermind that! We need to find a way to stop her!"

"But how?"

As they talked, they were unaware of a small avian in the tree above them, watching them. Without warning, it let out a piercing screech, forcing the two teens to cover their ears.

This caused Noctambula to turn, glaring. "Who's there!?"

The Bugbear quickly flew off, and soon returned carrying the two young mages in his arms.

"Let go of us you abomination of nature!" AJ cried, struggling against the beasts' grasp.

"Applejack! Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed when she saw her friends.

The avian then flew out of the trees, and onto Noctambula's outstretches hand.

"Excellent work my sweet one!" She baby talked as she nuzzled the yellow canary. "Kyrie here's excellent at rooting out spies and nosy people. However..." She smirked at the bugbear. "...it does help to have some muscle assisting you."

The Bugbear, carrying the two teens, approached the pentangle.

"Well well well." Noctambula clicked her tongue as she looked over AJ and Rainbow. "It appears we have some special guests for tonight! I'm assuming you heard everything I just said?" She didn't wait for an answer. "No matter once I'm done with these girls, I'll just drain your magic too and get rid of you afterwards."

She waved her hand and the Bugbear flew back a ways, still holding the teen girls.

"Now then!" Noctambula raised her hands up high. "Let's get started!"

Author's Note:

Did guess who it was?

It's Somnambula from G1.

Comments

[Comickook]

Hey there. Thanks once more for getting the next chapter up. Again, the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places. And, yeah, the girls are in a really tough spot now. Let's see how they get out of it.

And, yeah, I DID guess wrong because I thought the G1 Somnambula, simply from the sleep-related name, would be striking through her victims' dreams (you know, like a much less gory female Freddy Krugger). Though I suppose it DOES make the name change make a bit more sense (given G4 has a heroine by that name now and you probably wanted to avoid confusion.

And, yes, I WILL most certainly be looking forward to the climax.