5. Poems in the Forest
On a grassy hillock by the trail, the six ponies sat together. The noon sun hung high in the sky, leaving the flat land devoid of shadows. As she nibbled on a patch of daisies that grew nearby, Applejack watched through half-closed eyes while Twilight pored over the parchment for the fifth time that morning. “So Twilight, that there parchment Rowanoak gave ya… What’s it say?”
“It doesn’t really say anything!” Pinkie chimed in, glancing at the parchment from her precarious perch on Twilight’s shoulder. “Just a bunch of funny-looking squiggles and pictures!”
Rainbow Dash grunted. “Hmmph, so Rowanoak really was just a crazy old mare after all.”
But Rarity shook her head, as she glanced over a quatrain of the strange writing herself. “Not at all. These aren’t random old squiggles, as Pinkie so eloquently put it. They’re letters in the Runicorn alphabet, the old writing system unicorns used to use in the olden days.”
“Rarity!” Twilight looked up from her studies in surprise. “I didn’t know you knew Runicorn! C’mon, you can help me translate it!”
“Apologies, Twilight. I only really know it from when clients ask me to embroider Runicorn text on personal designs. I recognise the script when I see it, but when it comes to reading and writing in Runicorn, I’m, er, not the most learned of ponies.” Rarity replied, taking a dainty sip from her canteen.
“Well, what have you got so far?” Fluttershy asked.
Horn aglow, Twilight levitated before her both Rowanoak’s original parchment, and her own translation. “Well, I’ve only really managed to translate bits here and there, but I’ve got the first four lines pretty much done.”
Clearing her throat, she began to recite the first stanza of Rowanoak’s words:
“If I were a fool without any fears,
From Neighagra I’d travel forth,
For only fools seek Gaia’s Tears,
Upon the pathway leading North.”
“Ooh, so it’s a poem!” Pinkie squeaked with delight. “I like poems! It’s like singing, only you don’t need a good singing voice, so anypony can do poems…”
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings impatiently. “Yeah yeah, real pretty and all, but how is it supposed to help us find the Tears?”
“Well as best I can discern, “Twilight replied, “The entire poem is a list of instructions on how to find the Tears. It mentions things to keep an eye on, where to go, even some dangers we should watch out for on the way.”
She laid the parchment on the ground. “But this first bit doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t know before. Basically, it’s just telling us to travel due North from Neighagra Falls.”
“And callin’ us fools for goin’ after the Tears, apparently.” Applejack muttered. “Givin’ us directions in fancy poetry… Call me crazy, but I reckon old Rowanoak didn’t want us to go on this trip.”
“Well, she has been all alone for Celestia knows how long. It’ only natural that she’d want us to stay a bit longer.” Reasoned Rarity.
“I did feel kind of bad for leaving her.” Fluttershy added as she swallowed a mouthful of trail-mix, “She was just such a nice pony.”
“Well, once we find the Tears, we can all pay her a visit! Or maybe we should go back to Ponyville first and get her something, and then go visit her. What do you think?” Pinkie asked, hastily making a mental note to bake a special cake for the old mare.
“I think we best leave that planning for after we find the Tears. Once I’ve finished translating Rowanoak’s poem, we can get moving.”
So Twilight returned to her task, writing down the stanzas as she translated them into the common Equestrian script. Meanwhile the others returned to their lunch, making small talk about the journey ahead. It was then that something struck Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, how’d Rowanoak know about us going after the Tears anyway? I’m pretty sure nopony told her.”
“Oh believe me Rainbow,” Twilight replied. “If you try to start making sense of that old mare, you’ll drive yourself mad… Believe me, I know.” She added under her breath. “Maybe she has some strange connection to magic, maybe she’s just really wise. Or maybe she’s just funny that way.”
From there onwards, the ponies’ conversation turned to Rowanoak and Neighagra. Theories of their power and origins went back and forth, each more radical than the last. Final, as amusing as it all was, Twilight was forced to interrupt as she finished her translation. One she and her friends were packed up and on the road again, she recited it aloud as they walked:
“If I were a fool without any fears,
From Neighagra I’d travel forth,
For only fools seek Gaia’s Tears,
Upon the pathway leading North.”
The foothills bring death with each pace,
Beware of dangers lurking there.
Monstrous beasts with friendly face,
Fangs that in the waters stir.
After the swamps, north-eastern way.
Seek out the grey ones, colt and wife.
Forsake the path, cross country’s way.
Stay on the trail and lose your life.
Camp close by night, keep watch by day,
For wooden ones with amber eyes.
If wizards travel up that way,
They save you from where Slaughter lies.
Where the green meets whitest snow,
There the second step doth lie.
Look to the Shard in moonlight’s glow,
To seek the jewel of Gaia’s cry.”
"That's a pretty good poem!" Pinkie piped in.
“Quite. Who knew Rowanoak was such a master of poetry?” Rarity wondered aloud as she walked.
Applejack peered ahead, at the looming mountains in the north. “So, accordin’ to that poem, we gotta head North into those hills, and look out for a swamp o’ some kind. Should be easy enough!”
“But what about the danger it mentioned? ‘Monstrous beasts with friendly face’, I wonder what she meant by that… Some sort of creature that looks like a pony but isn’t, perhaps?”
“You mean like a changeling?”
“Maybe, I dunno… Keep your eyes peeled.” Twilight replied from the head of the group. She glanced nervously at the surrounding flatlands, leading up to the wooded foothills at the base of the Crystal Mountains. What could be lurking among those hills, waiting for them?
As they hiked across the vast plains, they passed through green fields and groves of trees, accompanied by the sounds of wild birds and creatures all around. Camping at the base of a massive oak tree, they slept under the stars, huddled together close to the fire. But by the time the sun reached its zenith the next day, they had passed far into the Northlands and the clear sky became clouded and grim. The wind carried with it a cold chill, forcing them to don their cloaks again. Thankfully, they were dry and warm ever since their time at Neighagra Falls. All around them, Twilight and her friends began to feel that no matter where they looked, danger could not be far away, be it from their mysterious cloaked friends, or some new threat, native to these lands.
It was some time mid-afternoon when the six mares came to the foothills of the Crystal Mountains. As they sat down for a brief rest, Fluttershy gazed in the direction of the dense woods that covered the hills. The pegasus frowned. “Huh…strange.”
“You say something, Fluttershy?”
She squeaked, hiding her face behind her pink hair and scuffing the dirt. “Oh, it’s nothing really…”
“No please, darling, do tell. It sounds like something caught your eye.” Rarity pleaded, wrapping her cloak about herself.
“Um… alright, well,” Fluttershy coughed quietly and continued, “It’s just… the trees here, they… they feel different, to the trees back in Ponyville.”
“Feel different?” Twilight asked. “You mean, as in their texture is different?”
“Oh no, not like that…though there is that too, since these trees are all pine trees, and the kinds we get back in Ponyville are mostly oak… Anyway, it’s kind of hard to explain, but I can sometimes get these… feelings from trees. I can sort of sense them.”
Twilight hastily extracted a small notepad and a pencil from her bags, scribbling down notes of this new discovery. “Interesting… so, what sort of feelings do you get, exactly?”
Fluttershy brushed her hair aside, her shyness forgotten. “Well, it depends. I can go walking in Whitetail Woods, and I just get this feeling of welcoming and friendliness. But then you have the Everfree Forest… well, it just feels like I shouldn’t be in there. It’s like the trees are all judging me or something.”
“Spooky! So what do these trees feel like?” Pinkie asked, gazing up at a nearby specimen.
“That’s the thing.” Fluttershy replied. “I can’t tell with these trees. It’s almost as if they’re empty or something… ”
Twilight rolled up her notes and shouldered her bags. “So, they don’t feel unwelcoming or bad or anything?”
The pegasus shook her head, standing up. “No, not bad at all. But not good either.”
The six mares looked nervously into the thick woods before them, none of them particularly eager to enter. Finally, Applejack stepped to the front. “Well, if it ain’t good, but ain’t bad either, that’s good enough fer me. We gotta get movin’ if we’re ever gonna reach the swamps. Let’s save the worryin’ for when we actually run into something’.”
With one last nervous glance at the trees, the other five ponies followed the farmgirl into the forest.
The thick branches cast heavy shadows across the ground, not quite thick enough for total darkness, but dark enough to make everypony take a collective nervous gulp. Fluttershy was right: Even if it was only the subtlest of hints, there was a very strange feel about the trees. Something foreign, unusual. And that ever present feeling that somewhere, somehow, danger was nearby. The path became overgrown with strange plants that brushed against the mares’ legs as they walked.
But most unnerving of all, was the silence. Since they entered the trees, the only sound was of their own hoofsteps. Even in the Everfree Forest there was the breeze and the occasional sound of an animal, but here… nothing.
Breaking the spell, Applejack spoke up. “So, what was it the rhyme said about the swamps? “
Twilight recited from memory, “Monstrous beasts with friendly face, fangs that in the waters stir. Not exactly the most reassuring of warnings. And from there, we head northeast, until we find the Grey Ones, whatever they are.”
“Well, we’re about to figure some of it out!” Rainbow called from where she hovered a few feet in the air. “I can see the swamps from here! You want me to go check it out?”
Twilight glanced nervously to the others. She was hesitant to let anypony be alone in these woods, especially considering the poem’s warning. But if anypony would be able to get out of trouble, it’d be Rainbow, reasoned a tiny voice in the back of her head. “Well, alright,” She said at last. “But if you see anything unusual, come straight back to us. Don’t investigate; don’t follow anything, come straight back, alright?”
“Yes mother.” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes. Fluttering a few feet higher off the ground, she took off through the trees, following the path on the ground below. Soon the trees spread out into a clearing, and in the middle, the swamps.
A thin curtain of mist hung over the murky water, broken only by the occasional insect buzzing its way across the mire. Damp patches of scrub sprouted from the water here and there, some large enough to stand on. The far side of the swamp was hidden by the mist, but to the right Rainbow could see a gap in the trees. Under Twilight’s orders, Rainbow turned about to fly back to report her findings.
Something behind her splashed.
Rainbow whipped around again in mid-air, her multi-coloured mane going in all directions. Sweeping a bang of orange from her eyes, she peered through the fog at the waters of the swamp. Just over to the right, something moving caught her eye. A tiny patch of bulrushes and reeds wriggled slightly. Before the pegasus’ wide eyes, the rushes seemed to stretch up out of the swamp. Then a head emerged, and Rainbow Dash’s jaw hit the ground.
Peeking out of the water, bulrushes woven into her turquoise mane, was the most stunningly beautiful mare Rainbow had ever set eyes upon. The mysterious pony stood up, the water coming up to her knees. She was a dark aquamarine blue, her dripping mane clinging to her body. Rainbow slowly floated down to the ground as the mare reared her head, tossing her mane back and out of her eyes. For some reason, Rainbow Dash suddenly found it very hard to fold her wings. She then looked at the dumbstruck pegasus with the deepest, sultriest eyes imaginable. Her wings sprung wide open in an instant, with a tiny ‘pomf!‘ sound.
Rainbow took a step closer to the waters of the mire. She had never been absolutely certain whether she liked mares or stallions, or maybe a bit of both, but this strange pony… there was no questioning it. Rainbow wanted her. The way the water dripped off her mane and body… the cheeky grin on her face… the way her flanks swayed and bobbed with her every movement… She slowly neared the water’s edge, the mare gazing at…no, into her with a seductive smile gracing her lips.
Every instinct and compulsion in Rainbow’s mind and body urged her on, to approach this stunning mare and take her for her own.
Except one.
Deep, deep in the recesses of her mind, a tiny voice cried out. Dash, what are you doing, it shouted. Twilight said to go straight back to her if you saw anything unusual! But her body seemed to b acting of its own accord. As her forehooves stepped into the shallows of the swamps, the mare giggled, her laughter like the ringing of crystal chimes. Even now the voice in her head screamed in protest, but Rainbow was determined. As she came closer, the mare gave a teasing wink and dove under the waters again. Rainbow Dash caught a glimpse of the mare’s perfect rump and what lay hidden beneath her tail, and that was it. Throwing caution to the wind, Rainbow pushed through the rushes after the mare. Soon the waters deepened, rising to her withers. Then her collarbone. Then her chin…
“Rainbow Dash!”
The sudden sound of her own name threw her off, and on her next step she stumbled. The bottom of the swamp seemed to suddenly deepen as Rainbow fell face-first into the muddy waters.
The sumptuous mare saw her chance and in a flash, she was upon the helpless pony.
“Rainbow Dash! What’s taking you?!” called Twilight as she hurried down the pathway to the swamp, her friends not far behind. They came to a skidding halt at the water’s edge and froze with shock at what they saw.
Rainbow Dash was up to her chin in the mire, thrashing splashing as a monstrous blue and turquoise blur struggled and wrestled with the pony, a clawed hand forcing her head below the waters. Rainbow Dash put up a solid fight, kicking and bucking at the thing, but to no avail, as this just made the creature force her head deeper under the water.
The spell was broken as Twilight shook her head clear of the shock and launched a magenta blast of energy from her horn.
It narrowly missed the tussling mares, but halted the fight long enough to get a good look at Rainbow’s assailant. The creature that was once a stunningly beautiful mare turned its face to the newcomers and hissed, baring row after row of pointy white teeth. Rainbow Dash frantically waved a forehoof from below the water, bubbles streaming from her mouth. Twilight fired off magical blast after magical blast at the creature, who continued to hold Rainbow under the murky waters, igoring its attacker.
Applejack pushed her way past the other ponies and jumped into the swamp without a moment’s hesitation. Splashing through the mud she charged straight at the beast, butting it with her head, right in its chest. It reeled back, sending waves all through the marshes. It tried to get back up and leap at Applejack, but a beam of magic shot over the cowgirl’s head, slamming into the monster, full in the face. With a splash the creature fell back again into the waters and was still for a few seconds, before rising up again. It gave one final hissing snarl at the six ponies before diving of into the water and swimming further into the swamp.
Without a second’s hesitation, Applejack ducked her head below the water and hoisted the unconscious Rainbow Dash out of the water. Soaking wet and caked with mud, Rainbow was deposited onto the banks and lay face up, gasping for breath. Fluttershy emerged from her hiding place behind Twilight and landed by Rainbow’s side, wiping the mud from her face. “C-can somepony get me some clean water?”
Twilight levitated one of the canteens from her saddlebag and passed it to Fluttershy, who proceeded to rinse Rainbow’s face until she came to, sputtering and coughing up water.
The pegasus spat out a gob of mud. “Gah! Wha… What happened?”
“You tell me, Rainbow Dash!” replied Applejack. “You went off to check out the swamp, but when you didn’t come back we went to find you. When we got to the swamp, we saw you fightin’ with that…thing!”
“Whatever could have possessed you to set hoof in that foul swamp in the first place?” Rarity asked.
Rainbow sat up, rubbing her head tenderly. “Ugh… It was weird. I checked out the swamp, and I was gonna fly back to you guys, but then this pony showed up. This mare, she came right out of the swamp, just like that! She looked at me and I looked at her and… I dunno, I just wanted to…”
She trailed off as a blush began to spring up on her cheeks. An awkward silence hung in the air as the other ponies put together what must have happened, broken only when Twilight spoke up:
“Sounds to me like you had a narrow escape from a kelpie.”
All eyes turned to the lavender unicorn. “A what-ie?” Pinkie asked, her head tilted.
Twilight sat down to explain. “A Kelpie. They’re creatures that live in ponds and swamps. They can change their shape, in order to trick other creatures into their pools by…ahem, attracting them. Then when their victim is close enough, they’ll pounce and try to…”
“Okay okay, enough!” Rainbow cried, shuddering at the memories. “Uuggh! It was horrible! That thing, the kelpie or whatever…she grabbed me and pushed me under the water…. Filled my nose and mouth… I couldn’t see anything…” she collapsed limply into Fluttershy’s forelegs. “I’m never gonna be able to forget that!”
Fluttershy patter her back gently. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s over now. Just relax.”
After a few minutes of silent sobbing, Rainbow got back up on shaky legs with a deep breath. “Hoo man! Alright, I’m feeling a bit better now. Thanks you guys, especially you Applejack. I would’ve been that thing’s dinner if you hadn’t come along when you did!”
“Are you quite sure?” Rarity asked with a doubtful face. “You nearly drowned just a moment ago! We can stop for a rest if you need a moment.”
But the pegasus shook her head. “Nah, I’ll be alright once I’ve dried off. And actually…uh…” She dug bashfully at the ground. “The sooner we get away from that swamp, the better… Oh, that reminds me, I think I found where we go next!”
She then led the group to the trees to the left of the marshes, where the small gap revealed a path through the trees. “I’m no genius at directions, but I’d guess this way is northeast from the swamp.” She announced with a grin.
After some hearty cheers and clapping on the back for Rainbow Dash, the six friends proceeded down the path, heralded by the glowing horns of Rarity and Twilight. Rainbow Dash walked shakily at the rear of the group, flanked by Fluttershy, who caught her any time the pegasus seemed about to stumble. As Applejack walked by her side, Twilight gave her an affectionate nuzzle.
“That was really brave of you back there, Applejack.” She muttered.
“Aw shucks, what was I supposed to do?” Applejack chuckled, “I couldn’t just let Rainbow get munched by that water-dwellin’ hussy!”
Twilight giggled too. “Heh, well, still you were brilliant.”
“You weren’t too shabby yerself, Twi. Those magic bolts of yours definitely gave her somethin’ to think about!”
The two laughed as they led the group down the path. The light was fading as the sun began its descent from the sky. After about half an hour of hiking, Twilight was striding a dozen or so paces ahead of the others, for whom exhaustion was beginning to set in. She peered through the darkness and saw what appeared to be an end to the path they were walking along. And standing at its end, two shapes, distinguishable in the darkness. Moments later, Twilight came to a halt as the glow of her horn fell upon the two figures standing before her.
“Hey girls! I think I’ve found the Grey Ones!”
Stats
Page generated in 0.049 seconds
Total duration
829 users online
767,330 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
W-what? I- No! You can't just- Why would you- Ugh. Fine. Do a cliffhanger, why don't you.
Anyways, the story's great, looking forward to more. 
Sounds like a timberwolf.
Keep up the great work.
>>>Monstrous beasts with friendly face,
Fangs that in the waters stir.>>>
Knew instantly it was a kelpie. Interestingly, it the opposite of the legend here. The beautiful mare turns into a deformed humanoid, instead of the beautiful woman becoming a demonic horse. A clever touch.
I think this story should definitely get more thumbs up and comments. The characters are well written, the adventure is entertaining, and the action scenes well paced. I look forward for the next part.
1642424 Huh, I can't say I've heard that version of the legend. Most versions I read involve the kelpie resembling a horse and tricking humans to ride on their back, when they will dive into the water and drown the human, before devouring them.
But hey, if the version you've heard makes my story sound more intelligent, then more power to ya!
1643893 Well, if you know anyone who'd be interested in this kind of story, do send them my way.
1644088 There are several variations. Wikipedia (as usual) has a good overview. There is also the similar creature the each uisge, which behaves in a similar manner.
Interestingly, a common trait of both is that they devour everything of the victim save the liver, which floats to the water's surface, thus proving that even horrible demonic monsters cannot stand the taste of liver.
Kelpie eh? Reminds me of the Rusalka, who are water spirits of young women who usually had been murdered by their lovers by drowning and as revenge lure men into the water into their deaths.
The idea that the kelpie was actually a vengeful spirit of a young murdered mare is interesting, no?
1650116 Heh, not the direction I was going for, but yeah,that's actually a pretty neat idea. Feel free to do a spinoff fic of your own detailing such a story, if you want
1650858
Or you could use it to expand upon your "Tears of Gaia" universe.
Hmm. Is there gonna be a character named Mariel? You know...Like, the one from Terramort? Son of the Bellmaker? The poem...Redwall.
1683573 Heheh, gold star for noticing it! I confess, as LOTR-ish as this fic seems to be, the Redwall books are also a major inspiration.
We just hit the 4000 views marker! It's not a huge accomplishment but it feels like some sort of milestone, so huzzah, and thank you to all my loyal readers!!
“Hey, how’d Rowanoak know about us going after the Tears anyway? I’m pretty sure nopony old her.”
i think you mean "told" ;)
Oh yes, this is another one of those stories that is extremely well-written and yet does not have the thousands of likes it deserves.
Bah, so many plebians around here!
"Nary" means "not a single". You would not say, "Not a single fears", so you do not say "nary fears".
It should read, "nary a fear", although that does weaken the rhyme.
If you want to preserve the rhyme, you can go with "without any fears".
That typo is miniscule, but this story is too good for it. Could you possibly fix it? :3
Oh btw, I ADORE this story so far. I'm reading it slowly, but everytime I want to calm down a bit before sleep, I read one or two chapter. At least that's what I'm planning to do :)
1689502
Sweet Celestia, I have got to read that book series one of these days.
Anyway, a kelpie...haven't seen one of thoze in ages, nice way o putting in something o monsterous into the story.
1689502 I KNEW IT!! I KNEW there was something familiar about this book series. Glad to see I'm not the only one who reads Redwall.