1:5 - Into the Deep Dark Woods
So, this chapter kinda took on a mind of its own. Not complaining, though! I love it when that happens!
Also M A P
As the group had walked further into the Forest, the night had grown darker as the trees closed in around them. The trail here was less well defined, more of a game trail than anything, and there was far less underbrush as the sunlight could not reach through the canopy overhead. If it weren't for Twilight Sparkle, they'd've been walking in pitch blackness at this point, but the unicorn had channeled a simple spell, and her horn was now glowing with her aura, illuminating the surrounding trees in soft, pink light.
The mare herself was barely paying enough attention to stay on the path, however, her nose buried once more in the old book about Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony. Applejack walked up alongside her, nudging her in the withers. "Huh?!" She exclaimed, looking up in surprise.
"Y'all're driftin', Twilight." Applejack said, nodding to the thick trees that the unicorn had been edging closer to as she walked.
"Oh. Sorry, thank you, Applejack, I just . . . " She trailed off, glancing down at the book, and Applejack looked at it, as well.
"Somethin' wrong?" The farmer asked, and the unicorn looked up at her, pressing her lips together, before shaking her head.
"I . . . I don't know. This book goes into some detail on the Elements . . . It does make me wonder why it didn't say anything about where they were kept, really. But, either way, it says here that there are six of them." Looking back to the book, the mare began reading; "'Of the Elements, five are known; Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter and Kindness. The sixth, however, is a mystery. According to legend, when the other five are brought together, a Spark will lead the way to the Sixth.' What does that even mean?" Twilight asked, frowning.
Applejack had felt something odd, like a tug on her mind, when Twilight had been reading the names of the Elements, or what they stood for, or whatever they were. She didn't know what it meant, though, and shook her head. "I dunno, Twi." She said, sighing, before suddenly staggering to a halt as Pinkie Pie popped up between the two, grinning and waggling her eyebrows.
"Huh! Six Elements, eh? And there's six of us! Weeeeiiiirrrd, amirite?!" She said, before leaning away and suddenly jumping back to the head of the party. Twilight and Applejack both blinked after her, before the lavender mare glanced aside at the farmer, who sighed.
"It's Pinkie Pie. Ya kinda . . . get used to it, I guess, the more yer around her." She said, shaking her head. "She always seems to know things she ought not to, and never responds to things the way ya'd think she would." She thought about the mare's comment earlier, and frowned, shaking her head. "Darn filly's caused more than her fair share of chaos around town, I know fer sure. Still, nopony ever gets hurt, and she seems like she's bein' honest, about makin' others happy, so. . . . No harm, no foul, right?" The mare said, glancing aside at Twilight, who blinked.
"I . . . guess? How does she do it, though?" She asked, and Applejack shrugged.
"Beats me." She said. "Last time some feller tried to figure her out, he wound up in the hospital talkin' to a nightstand." She looked back to the pink mare, bouncing along at the lead of the group. "I guess some things ya just gotta accept, and not worry too much about how they work."
Twilight snorted. "Hardly. If it exists, it can be studied, and if it can be studied, it can be explained." She said, confidently.
Applejack glanced over at her, tipping her hat back and quirking an eyebrow. "Y'all sure about that?" She asked, smirking slightly.
The mare nodded. "Definitely."
Applejack chuckled. "Well, we'll see how that goes, if'n ya stick around."
Twilight frowned, mouth turning down a bit. "Stick around? I mean . . . I don't think we should get ahead of ourselves. We've still got to find the Elements, first, and then figure out how to use them, and then we still have to try and somehow defeat Nightmare Moon. . . . " She drifted off, looking thoughtful, and a little melancholy.
Applejack took a breath, frowning as well. It was quite a task ahead of them, that was for sure. She still wasn't even sure if all this was real, half expecting to wake up back in the cell, under the old tool shed on her farm and find out this was all just some weird fever dream brought on by her Change.
"Guess y'all're right, Twilight. One step at a time." Applejack said, before looking ahead at a small, frustrated sound. Pinkie had stopped, looking around in confusion, a frown on her face. The pink mare reached up into her mane, digging a hoof into the mass of hair for a moment, before . . . pulling out what looked like a small metal box, a few wires and beeping lights on it. She bent down over it, muttering to herself.
Applejack and Twilight glanced at each other, then back to the other three. Rainbow Dash was frowning in annoyance, while Rarity was trying to sling a bit of mud off her hoof, with little luck. Fluttershty just looked like she'd rather be anywhere but there.
Applejack and Twilight both took it on themselves to go talk to the pink mare and see what was going on.
"Um . . . who is she talking to?" Twilight asked, glancing aside at Applejack, who was staring wide eyed. The farmer glanced aside at her again, and gulped.
"I dunno." She said, turning to look back at the pink pony, who stood a few yards off, ostensibly 'hiding' behind a bush, though she was still in view, and could be heard speaking to . . . the air, apparently.
When Twilight and Applejack had approached the mare, she had been shaking the small metal box around and grumbling about something or other. Before either of them could say anything, the baker had jumped up, exclaimed that she needed a minute, and shot off into the bushes.
Now, the pair of them stood, watching her, and Applejack could honestly say she had never felt more concerned when in the presence of the baker.
"What do you mean, I can't use it anymore?!" The pink mare exclaimed, before glancing around and returning to an overly loud stage whisper that could still be heard. "But I need it! What? How else am I supposed to know what's going on?! What do you mean, I'm abusing it?! What? No! No, no, no! Look, I'm sorry! I won't- No! I won't use it again, I swear! What? No!" Strangely, with that there was a sound of electricity shorting out and sparks started flying out of the pink pony's mane. She yelped and hopped around, pulling the metal box out of her hair and juggling it before losing her grip on it. It flew up into the air, bounced off of a tree trunk and flew back, hitting her in the head, flooring her.
The mare sat down hard on her rump, eyes spinning while little sparks kept fluttrering around her head for a minute, before she shook her head and looked around, snatching up the now very broken box. "Awww! My Plot Device!" She said, before looking up. "Wait, what?! You're . . . No!" Her face turned distraught, almost fearful. "Please, I won't- n- But- . . . Awwww, alright, fine! Be that way!" She said, pouting angrily, before her eyes suddenly went blank for a moment. She blinked rapidly and looked around, leaning over and picked the box up again, tilting her head at it and staring curiously for a moment, before shrugging. "Meh." She said, tossing it over her shoulder before hopping up and skipping over to Twilight and Applejack, who both looked at her with worried expressions. "What's up, girls?" She asked, smiling.
"Uhhhhhh. . . . " Twilight said, wide eyed, before stepping back and pushing Applejack into the pink one's path with her magic.
"What the- Errr, hey, Pinkie . . . " Applejack said, caught off guard. She looked into the party pony's big blue eyes, that friendly smile on her face, and felt mildly concerned. "Uh . . . Y'all . . . doin' alright?" She asked, tilting her head and frowning.
Pinkie lifted her eyebrows, looking around, before giggling. "Hehehe, oh, Applejack, you ol' kidder, you! Of COURSE I'm fine! This is great, right?! Like a big old camping trip!" She said, before walking past the pair of them, still giggling.
Applejack took a breath and let it out, before she turned a frown on Twilight, who had the grace to look sheepish. "I panicked." The unicorn said, shrugging, and Applejack nodded.
"Eeyup." She said, turning and sighed, before following Pinkie Pie back to the others.
The pink mare paused, glancing around, and tapped her chin. "Hmmm . . . Huh. I feel like . . . Something should've happened by now, but I can't think of what. Oh, well, I guess we don't need to worry about it, right?"
And that's when the trees started moving.
Pinkie Pie giggled as the branches, like clawed hands, grabbed her and lifted her off the ground, angling her towards an open maw of dark wood that seemed to lead down into nothingness, a dark abyss that seemed to writhe with an internal hate, a seething nest of corruption and loathing.
And, down deep, at its bottom, the blackness glittered with blue stars.
"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack snarled, fear clawing at her throat and guts again, as a gnarled old oak tree, its leaves long gone, a snarling face in its trunk, eyes glowing wickedly, stepped towards her on long, spindly legs. A clawed oaken hand reached out towards her, and she turned, bucking at it, feeling the wood splinter under her kick. The thing roared, gnashing its teeth, before grabbing her by the tail and lifting her up off the ground.
Rainbow Dash was struggling between two of the things, one holding her tail, the other one trying to grab her by the wings. Even held as she was, the mare was flitting back and forth like a hummingbird, too fast to catch, but not strong enough to break away. Every time the one holding her tried to pull her in, though, she'd spin around and kick it in the face, catapulting herself back into the air only to be pulled up short again.
Fluttershy was cowering in the middle of the clearing, laying flat on her stomach, tail tucked under her and wings up, covering her face and eyes, making small mewling noises as one of the things stomped nearer to her.
Twilight, horn glowing, was barely holding one back with a magical shield while shaking her head. "This isn't right! Ents died out four centuries ago! These things can't exist!"
"Tell that to them, Darling!" Rarity exclaimed as she ran in a circle around the clearing, trying desperately to evade a smaller tree that was chasing her, teeth and claws drooling sticky sap everywhere. "Gah, not my mane!"
"Damnit, Rarity, I think we got more important problems, right now!" Applejack growled, eyes glowing as she lashed out with her forehooves, punching at the face of the tree-thing that was trying to bring her in to swallow her.
"Like what, Applejack?" Pinkie asked, grinning at the farm pony, just before the tree holding her dropped the pink mare into its mouth, closing its teeth with a sharp snap, swallowing her whole.
"Pinkie!" Applejack yelled, anger fueling her struggle as she fought to break free, begining to feel the first flicker of static magic over her fur.
"Pinkie Pie!" Even Rarity gasped, feeling a strange catch in her throat.
"No!" Twilight snapped, horn charging, shoving the Ent back across the ground and into the brush. However, no sooner had it hit, than it lashed out at her magic, and she flinched as her shield shattered in a burst of pinkish sparks. "What?! No! No, that-! No!" She stammered, stumbling back away from the thing as it approached her, eyes gleaming with hate and hunger.
The one that had swallowed Pinkie smacked its lips, a sound like tree branches clacking against each other, and looked thoughtful, as though pondering the pink pony's taste. It leaned backwards, oaken cheeks bulging, before it belched harshly, little bits of confetti and candy sprinkles flying out of its mouth. Its comrades came to a halt, turning to look at it, and the ponies did so as well, blinking at the odd sight, as the Ent lifted a hand to cover its mouth, almost seeming to smile apologetically.
Then, with a wooden groan, it grimaced and hunched over, like it was experiencing a really bad case of indigestion, or maybe diarrhea.
It gave a small, creaky whimper, looking up at everycreature gathered in the clearing.
And then, with the sound of a million balloons deflating, it exploded in a shower of splinters, bark and approximately a metric ton of confetti.
Standing at the center of the blast, Pinkie Pie was grinning manically, blue eyes seeming to glow with an inner fire, while she leaned on an oversized, cartoonish looking cannon that was painted blue and yellow, and decorated with swirls and balloons.
"I guess he ate something that disagreed with him." She said, turning her gaze on the other Ents in the clearing. "Eh?"
The other Ents stepped back, looking between each other and, as they watched, the ponies saw a blue, smoke like substance leak out from their mouths and eyes, coalescing in the air above, before darting away rapidly through the trees.
The Ents then quickly made a hasty exit, panic plain on their features, the one holding Applejack dropping her roughly to the ground before taking off in a lumbering run through the trees.
As the orange mare picked herself back up, shaking away the feeling of her beast clawing at her mind, though she could still feel it, hovering so close to the surface, Rarity walked up to her, glancing after the Ents, then turning and giving a look towards Pinkie Pie. "She . . . Darling, remind me to never, ever get on that mare's bad side."
Applejack smirked, tiredly. "Heh. Ya think?" She said, picking her hat up off the ground and putting it back on her head.
Rainbow Dash flew over to Pinkie Pie who, sans cannon, was helping Fluttershy up off the ground. "Pinks, that was awesome! It was like something out of a movie!" She said, grinning from ear to ear, while Pinkie just giggled.
"Oh, it was nothing, silly! My Granny Pie used to say, well . . . " With that, she began singing a peppy little tune, like something from a kid's show, as she began bouncing around the clearing, before turning to continue down the path.
Twilight, standing in the middle of the clearing, stared wide eyed after the baker pony, blinking rapidly, her mane starting to frizz and poke up at odd angles.
"WHAT?!" Her shout sent more birds flying off into the night sky, squawking angrily.
The path had taken them further west into the forest, following an offshoot of the river Epona that wasn't on any map. The interior of the Everfree Forest was so dense and so hostile to intrusion, that the only portions that were well mapped were those along the main road through, which followed alongside the Epona River, heading South. This far off the main road, maps only had a vague notion of where things were, or how far into the forest they were.
According to the map of the Ponyville Area that Twilight had been using to try and guide them, before Pinkie Pie took over, they should have already reached the Castle Ruins, but instead they found themselves walking along a high, steep embankment. To their left, down the slope, they could hear the gurgling of a stream or creek, though they could not see it through the thick foliage and the darkness of the unnatural night.
To their right, the forest rose, blocking their sight of anything beyond. One thing that was certain, however, was that the land was growing rougher, and higher. Applejack was certain they had been steadily going uphill for the last hour.
Pinkie Pie trotted along at the head of the party, smiling happily, head bobbing back and forth as though to some tune only she could hear, eyes shut, not even paying attention to where she was going along the narrow path between forest and slope.
As she walked, she was under the most careful of scrutiny, a pair of purple eyes took in the pink pony from eartip to hoofshell. Narrowing, they glanced back to a parchment floating in a pink aura, a quill scratching at it.
"Where were you born?" Twilight asked, not looking up from the paper. "When were you born? Do you have any siblings? Who were your parents? What was your foalhood like?"
Pinkie pronked along, eyes still closed. "On a rock farm by Rockville April first, 982 C.E. at three-fourteen in the morning, Three; Maud, Marble and Limestone, they were all born at the same time as me, well, not the EXACT same time, that would be ridiculous, our parents are Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz and they were perfectly loving and not stifling or controlling at all and my foalhood was normal as well . . . so, kinda boring, I guess." The mare said, ebfore suddenly stopping and looking at Twilight, grinning. "My turn! Where did you get those?" She asked, nodding to the quill and parchment floating in the air. "Also, did you know parchment is actually made from sheep skin?" She closed her eyes, practically glowing as she grinned, and sounded off in a sing-song voice. "The More You Know!"
Somewhere above, a shooting star flicker past.
Twilight stopped as well, nearly stumbling, before blinking at Pinkie's questions. She looked at the parchment in her magic, and turned slightly green, before glaring at the pink pony who giggled and turned, pronking away down the path again. "I promise, Pinkie Pie . . . I am going to figure you out, if it's the last thing I do!"
Applejack bit her lip to hold back a snicker as the lavender mare continued along behind Pinkie Pie, turning her parchment this way and that, studying it cautiously, as though afraid it would suddenly grow teeth and bite her.
"The poor thing, she certainly doesn't know what she's getting into, does she?" A soft voice asked, and Applejack nearly jumped out of her hat. She turned, blinking at the butter yellow mare who had walked up beside her, so quietly that even her sharp ears hadn't heard her. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She excalimed, softly, blushing and hiding her face in her mane. "I didn't mean to . . . That is . . . I should have . . . Umm . . . " She stammered, slowing her pace as though to slink away from the farm mare. Applejack was having none of it, and moved over beisde her, gritting her teeth.
"S'okay, Fluttershy. No need to be so skittish about things. I was just distracted, is all." She said, before looking back at Twilight and biting her lip. "I tried t' warn her, about Pinkie Pie, but I guess she wasn't in a listenin' mood." She glanced aside to see the shy pegasus peak out from behind her soft pink mane and look at her, smiling slightly, but not making eye contact. A shame, her turqouise eyes were absolutely beautiful. . . .
Applejack blinked and shook her head, turning away from the other mare.
"Sorry." Fluttershy said, softly, and Applejack looked back at her, frowning. Seeing this, Fluttershy looked away, biting her lip. Applejack opened her mouth to ask what she was sorry for, when the pegasus spoke up again. "So, how long? Have you been . . . like you are, that is?" She asked, and Applejack felt herself choke, mouth snapping shut so fast she nearly bit her tongue. She turned away from the other mare, not meeting her eyes.
"I . . . " She began, before choking on the words a bit. ". . . Eh, I-I dunno what yer talkin' 'bout!" She said, looking away at the treeline.
A second later, she snapped her head back around as she heard Fluttershy laugh, a small tittering sound that was far too adorable to be real, and yet there was nothing but genuine humor in the shy mare's gaze. Fluttershy shook her head, smiling, and looked away. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Applejack, but . . . you really are a bad liar!" She said, turning to look at her again with a puzzled frown. "How have you kept it a secret so long?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, ear perking.
Applejack ground her teeth angrily, turning away from the other mare and looking out into the trees. After a moment she took a breath and, without looking at Fluttershy, spoke up. "By not . . . bein' around other ponies much, if I can keep from it . . . and by just not talkin' about it." She said, sighing. She felt something soft on her withers, and turned in surprise, seeing the mare had placed her wing gently on the earth pony's back.
There was pity and . . . sympathy, in the pegasus' eyes. "I know what that's like." She said, softly. "I won't tell anypony else, don't worry." She said, smiling slightly and nodding. As she did, Applejack caught a hint of something, a glint in her eyes, and the farm pony's frown deepend.
"What about you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "How'd you know? And what . . . what are you? Are . . . Are you like me?"
Fluttershy stiffened up a bit, biting her lip and looking away, drawing her wing back towards herself. She sighed softly, looking at the ground. "I . . . Yes and no. It's complicated, really. We . . . Maybe we can talk about it later?" She said, glancing sideways at the farm mare, who gritted her teeth, but finally nodded, smiling.
She had no real reason to trust the pegasus but . . . she did. The mare showed zero signs of dishonesty, and in spite of her oddities, she seemed both gentle and sincere, especially when she said she wouldn't tell anypony about Applejack's secret.
"Alright, Fluttershy. Later, when this is all over." She said, getting a smile in return from the demure pegasus.
"Ugggh! This sap is so . . . sticky! Those damned . . . whatever they were! Should be glad that I'm not better at evocation than I am, or I'd've turned them all to kindling!" Rarity exclaimed, holding her grandmother's shawl away from herself in her magic, while trying her best to remove a glob of semi-solid tree sap out of her tail.
"Godsdamn, Rarity, would you quit whining?! Seriously, you'd think it was the worst thing ever, the way you're going on about it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed from where she hovered in the air above her. "You should try being me! I broke my fuckin' pastern fighting that manticore!" She said, and Rarity glared up at her.
"And YOU should watch your language, Rainbow Dash! Or else I might decide to practice my evoacation on you!" The fashionista threatened, angrily.
"Oh, please! I'd like to see you fuckin' try, Miss Priss!" Rainbow Dash goaded, smirking down at the ivory unicorn, who's glare turned cold as she tipped her head down, horn glowing brighter.
"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack snapped, earning her a surprised look from Fluttershy. "Don't go goadin' the unicorn, now! Might end worse for ya than y'all think it would!" She warned, and the pegasus scoffed.
"Feh! Yeah fuckin' right, AJ, what's she gonna do, whine me to-"
"Raaggh!" With a yell and a burst of magic, Rarity's aura formed itself into a large blade, which slashed through the air angrily, the air whipping as it cut cleanly and neatly, severing her indigo tail just a few inches shy of the dock. She lifted the strand of hair in her magic, eyes burning even as a sneer twisted her lip.
With a flick of her horn, she threw the hair, sticky sap first, into Rainbow Dash's face, which set the stunned pegasus to flapping awkwardly, trying to get away from it before it became stuck to her.
Rarity turned her magic to her newly cropped tail, tweaking it here and there, making it look more presentable, before glaring up at the pegasus again. "Fortuantely, short tails are in this season . . . How was that for 'prissy', darling?" She said, before snorting in a ladylike fashion and stamping a hoof, turning and trotting towards the front of the line.
Applejack couldn't help but give a surprised chuckle. Maybe the snooty unicorn wasn't so bad, after all.
Rarity flinched, reaching up to rub her head and groaning slightly. "Ugh, stupid Rainbow Dash! That spell has set my head to hurting, now! I hope you're proud of yourself!"
Twilight, who had been grimacing while staring at her parchment, glanced up, frowning. "What?" She said, before flinching slightly, at the same time as Rarity did so again.
"Ouch!" The fashionista stated, reaching up to rub her temple, frowning as she glanced over at Twilight to see the mare's eyes widening.
Applejack smelled it, suddenly . . . A scent like the air before a thunderstorm, that she had come to assosciate with powerful magic, and with it was mixed emotions, of rage and hate and jealousy, and . . . was that fear?
Before Applejack had a chance to say anything, nor Twilight time to do any more than take a breath to shout a warning, a flicker of indigo magic raced over the downhill side of the slope they were atop of, shooting in and out and through the ground, leaving cracks and divots and holes in its wake.
The weakened slope took very little encouragement to collapse.
Applejack felt the earth slip out from under her hooves, and reached out her neck, gasping, and managed to catch the trunk of a slim sapling that had its roots buried into the stable side of the slope, holding it in place while everything else went careening down towards the dark treetops below. She grunted in pain, gripping it tightly in her teeth, eyes wide and glowing as she watched Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy go screaming past her on her left, rolling and tumbling amongst the dirt and rocks.
A prismatic blur flew through the air, snatching up Fluttershy by the tail and tossing her into the air. "WINGS!" The blue pegasus yelled. "Flap 'em!" With an 'eep', the buttery pegasus snapped her wings open and started beating the air with them, even as Dash sped off, grabbing Pinkie Pie and tossing her up onto a sturdy looking rock nearby.
"Help!" A voice called from Applejack's right, and she snapped her head around to look, seeing Twilight Sparkle. The mare had grabbed hold of a boulder when the earth loosened, but that rock had not been as deeply set as she had thought, and now it had come loose, and she was slipping down the slope, heading for what was clearly a dead drop into more trees below. On the other side, Rarity had reached that edge, stammering in terror, before Rainbow Dash suddenly swept in and snatched her up, struggling to hold on to the panicked unicorn. The pegasus was fast, but especially having to deal with the terrified fashionista, she wouldn't be able to get to Twilight in time.
Without thinking, AJ released the sapling with her jaws and went sliding down after Twilight, angling her body to speed herself up. She turned in her slide, reaching out with both forehooves. "Twilight!" She snapped, catching the unicorn's attention, and the purple mare scrambled in the loose soil, reaching out for the farm mare.
As they slid, Applejack and Twilight locked eyes, the lavender mare's pleading for help, even as Applejack felt her fur starting to glow lightly, as she felt the stress building up inside of her. Not now, damnit!, she thought as she snarled, stretching out in her slide, feeling her hoof brush against Twilight's.
And then, with a yelp of terror, the unicorn slipped over the edge of the cliff, her eyes disappearing from view as she screamed.
Without a second's hesitation, Applejack kicked the ground and launched herself after the mare, flying over the edge, her hat coming off as she went.
"Applejack!" Rainbow Dash yelled, still trying to keep aloft with Rarity while feeling the pain in her foreleg screaming at her, as she watched the farm mare disappear over the cliffside into a drop that was who knew how long.
As she felt herself go over the edge, Twilight didn't think of what led her here, or see her life flash before her eyes. Rather, she barely had time to register the orange mare who had been coming after her, fur almost seeming to glow in the moonlight, before all she could see was darkness, and dirt, and branches, and then something hit her in the side and she spun in midair, feeling the air leave her.
Then, she felt something else hit her, something softer and warmer, and stronger, and she opened her eyes with a gasp, seeing the bright, emeral eyes of the earth pony, who was grimacing as she used her legs to turn their weight. "Hang on, Twilight!" Applejack yelled, before grunting as she hit a branch.
The pair of them spun through the air, Twilight wrapping her legs around the other mare before closing her eyes and focusing past the dull ache that was still throbbing in her head. She felt the power build, a pressure in her mind as her horn began to glow, and she envisioned what she wanted. An image building in her mind only to be shattered as the pair hit another branch. She didn't have time. With a gasp, she ignited her horn and wreathed the pair of them in a magical shield. A bubble similar to what she had used on Rainbow Dash, back in the library.
Just in time, too, as the magical bubble smashed through several layers of lower branches of the trees around them, sharp, jagged wood breaking and ripping at the force field. They hit the ground with a sudden stop that caused both of them to impact the floor of the shield, almost as hard as they might have the solid ground. Applejack was on the bottom, taking the brunt of the impact, almost as though she'd planned it that way.
They lay there a moment, tangled in each others limbs, before, groaning, Applejack pushed Twilight uncermoniously off of her and staggered over and away. "Let me out!" She snapped, seeming to hyperventilate.
Twilight gasped at being pushed away, blinking up at the other pony, before shaking her head, waking herself up from her daze. "Are you alright, Applejack?!" She said, stumbling up to her hooves, feeling pain lance through her right side.
"I said let me out!" The farm mare snarled, a distinctly bestial sound, and Twilight felt herself take a step back, tail tucking instinctively in response.
"O-Okay!" She said, focusing a moment as she cut the spell, so that there would not be too much backlash. The minute the shield dropped, the orange mare staggered out, rushing over and leaning up against a tree, looking as though she were going to vomit.
Twilight walked towards her. "Applejack? Are you okay?" She asked, hesitantly.
The farm mare held out a hoof, as though telling her to stop. "D-Don't! Just . . . Just stay there, Twilight." She gasped, turning away and hunching over, shaking.
As she watched, Twilight saw . . . it was like little arcs of static electricity, greenish in tint, flickering over the other mare, arcing between her fur as though each strand was a conductor. She watched as that fur seemed to shift and glide, growing longer, almost. Twilight's heart caught in her throat, and she took a step back, eyes wide.
A butter yellow form suddenly appeared out of nowhere, landing between them, wings spread. Fluttershy glanced over at the unicorn, red eyes glinting. "It's okay, Twilight! Just stay there and don't move!" She said, before moving with a lot more speed than she had shown thus far, going over to the earth pony mare.
As she neared her, Applejack spun, face twisted into a snarl of fear and anger, eyes glowing brightly even as her teeth, sharper than they had been a moment ago, glistened wetly, a snarl ripping out of her throat, fur standing up along her back. Her hooves seemed to be awash in the green glow of that magic that had arched through her fur, and they seemed to be shifting and sliding. It was like looking at an optical illusion of sorts, like Twilight's brain couldn't decide whether it was looking at hooves or paws or something in between.
"Applejack. It's okay." Fluttershy said, softly, looking the werewolf, for that's what Twilight was seeing, in the eyes, wings held out to her sides in a placating way. Those wings that seemed to have molted slightly, the feathers thin, showing leathery skin through them. "It's all okay. We're friends here. Nopony's going to hurt you, and everypony's fine." She said, voice gentle and calm and soft and beautiful.
Twilight pulled her eyes away, shaking her head and gasped, staggering back. Applejack shook, snarling, looking around as though caught between panic and fear and trying to find a way out, and Fluttershy reached a wing back slightly, towards Twilight. "Still." She said, still in the same soft, calm voice, never taking her glowing eyes off of Applejack. "Be still. If you run from a predator, they think you're prey." She said, voice far too gentle and calm for what she was saying.
"I-I-I know that!" Twilight said, fear plain in her voice. She had read that in a survival guide, once. She had personally thought the idea of charging something like a Bugbear to make it go away was ludicrous, but . . . Then, she'd also never thought for a million years that she'd be in a situation like this one.
So, she froze, stilling her hooves on the ground, griding her teeth, as the bat-like pony in front of her continued softly speaking to the wolfmare, a hint of sharp fang occasionally slipping past her lips. "It's okay, Applejack, look at me." She said, the last said with a faint command that made even Twilight struggle to not try and meet her eyes. Applejack stood no chance, looking up immediately, finding Fluttershy's gaze with her own. Instantly, she grew still, her glowing, emerald eyes seeming to take on a reddish cast, even as they grew distant. "That's it, Applejack. Calm down. Calm. Everything's alright." Fluttershy said, stepping closer slowly. "It's alright . . . Applejack. Wake up." She said, once again having that tone of gentle authority that brooked no argument. The wolfmare blinked, the glow in her eyes, along with the reddish cast, fading away.
As it did, green static washed over her body from ear to tail, reversing the changes that had begun. As the final flicker of fire left her, all that was left was an exhausted looking earth pony mare, mane and tail mussed and eyes shadowed. Applejack sat back on her rump hard, groaning, before blinking and looking up at Fluttershy.
The former Pegasus now stood in full glory, leathery wings spread out to either side of her, tufted ears perked and red eyes glowing, the tips of her sharp fangs poking out over her bottom lip. The farm mare blinked, taking a breath. "Wh . . .What are you?" She asked, gently.
"Vampire!" Twilight gasped, finally unable to keep herself calm anymore as she stumbled backwards, tripping over her own tail and landing on her own butt, hard. Fluttershy turned, looking at her, frowning.
"Twilight-" She said, before the unicorn mare gasped, averting her eyes and held out a hoof.
"You won't bewitch me! I . . . I've read books about you! Stay back! Or, I'll . . . Er, I'll . . . "
Fluttershy took a step back, glancing down at the ground, lip trembling slightly. "It's okay. . . " She said, voice soft and sad. "I understand . . . I wouldn't trust me either."
"Bullcrap!" Applejack snapped, standing up. "Twilight Sparkle! Y'all listen here, now!" The farm mare said, and Twilight looked at her, wide eyed. Applejack stopped, ears folding back as she held up a hoof, placating. "Okay, sorry. Look, I know . . . This must look . . . bad. And, I don't really blame ya fer bein' afraid, or mistrustin', but . . . I don't wanna hurt nopony, Twilight, and somepony woulda gotten hurt if that . . . beast had gotten out." She said, earning a small glance from Fluttershy. "If Fluttershy here hadn't done what she did . . . She helped me, so . . . I reckon if she wanted anypony to get hurt, she wouldn't o' done that. Same with . . . if either of us wanted to hurt ya, or anypony else, we woulda by now."
Twilight hesitated. Applejack had been nothing but up front with her, until now. Of course, she had also been a werewolf the entire time! And Fluttershy was a . . . this wasn't possible! Lycanthropes were a myth! And the last Vampire had died five centuries ago! This wasn't . . . She closed her eyes, grinding her teeth as she though.
Once you've removed the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. The two of them were standing in front of her, very much real and here. So, clearly, there were some holes in the knowledge base.
She opened her eyes.
That settled it, then.
Applejack stood, breathing heavily. She couldn't believe it had gone that far! She would have changed, right there, and there was nothing she could've done to stop it. The terror and stress and then the pain from hitting the ground so hard, while saving Twilight, it had all built up on her until there was no other choice.
Then Fluttershy had shown up. A vampire, huh? She supposed she wasn't really one to point the hoof and say that wasn't possible. Still, it was a bit of a surprise, to be sure. Of course, she was also in the position of not really being in a place to cast judgement on another, simply for being something most thought of as a monster. While she had questions, and would definitely be treating the shy mare with a LOT more caution, moving forward, she was willing to give the benefit of the doubt, especially after Fluttershy stopped her Monster from getting loose.
And now? Now, one more pony was privy to her secret, and she was having to try and defend herself and Fluttershy from the fear she could still smell emanating from the unicorn mare across from her. As she watched, Twilight took a breath, closing her eyes tightly, and frowned. She seemed to think for a moment, before opening her eyes again, a determined look on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, when a sound reached their ears. Distantly, a voice was calling out, from somewhere in the darkness.
"Hey?! Applejack?! Twilight Sparkle?! Where are you?! Are you okay?! Shit!" It was Rainbow Dash, looking for them.
Fluttershy's eyes went wide and she looked down at herself. "Oh, dear! I can't let another pony see me like this! I'll change back, given some time, but using my powers like that . . . it causes this to happen. I have to go hide! I can meet you further up the river . . . Umm . . . Twilight, I understand if you don't trust me, and want to tell the others . . . I guess I'll just have to find somewhere else to live . . . " She said, looking sad, before taking to the sky and flying off into the darkness.
"Uhhh." Twilight said, looking between where Fluttershy had been, to Applejack, and to the distant sound of Rainbow Dash calling their names, getting closer.
"Over here, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack shouted, loudly, and Twilight blinked at her in surprise. The farm mare stepped up towards the unicorn, who leaned back slightly. Applejack fought the urge to take charge, and instead ducked her head low, keeping her ears and tail down, trying to look as small as possible. "Please . . .Twi, I get ya bein' afraid, like I said, but please . . . Damnit, I hate askin' anyone t' lie, least of all fer me, but . . . Don't tell anypony. My little sister can't find out about this. I wouldn't . . . I dunno how I'd live with myself, if she did." She said, looking down at the ground at her hooves.
Before Twilight could repsond, a blue figure darted through the trees and came to a halt, hovering in front of them, breathing harshly. "Twilight! AJ! You're . . . You're alive! Are you okay?!" She asked, darting between the two of them.
Applejack glanced at Twilight, and the lavender unicorn tightened her lips a moment, before sighing through her nose. "We're fine, Rainbow Dash." She said, looking up at the pegasus. "Well . . . Maybe not 'fine'." She said, flinching as she stood up, glancing back at her right side. "I think I cracked a rib or something." She said, frowning.
"Does it hurt when you breathe?" Rainbow Dash asked, face and voice serious.
"A little, yeah." She said, flinching as she breathed in too deeply.
The pegasus nodded. "Yeah. Probably a fracture, then." She said, before glancing at Applejack. "What about you?"
Applejakc swallowed, and shrugged. "I'm banged up pretty bad, but ain't nothin' broke." She said, not meeting anypony's eyes.
"How?!" Dash snapped, making the orange mare look up at her. "You two fell a good hundred feet through the trees! You should both be dead! Not just nursing a broken rib and a few bruises!"
Applejack froze, trying to think of what to say . . . when Twilight spoke up.
"It was me." She said, not looking at APplejack. "We hit a couple of trees, when we first went over, but then I used my magic to bubble us. It took the rest of the tree branches, and . . . it cushioned our impact with the ground." She said, glancing over at the farm pony, who looked at the ground. They both knew that last wasn't true. Applejack had been the cushion, not the bubble.
"Whoa! That's awesome! Ya know, maybe you're alright, for an egghead, Twi!" Rainbow Dash said, grinning. "Oh! Hey, c'mon! I left the others at the foot of the slope, before I came looking for you . . . Hey ,have you seen Fluttershy?" She asked, and Applejack looked to Twilight, who nodded.
"Yes." The mare said, and Applejack's eyes widened, before Twilight continued. "She came this way, looking for us, before leaving again, saying she was looking for you." She said, and Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Ugggh! Great, now we gotta go find her! I swear, that pony is worthless!" She said, turning to fly off, before a shield of magic blocked her.
"Actually, she saved our lives." Twilight said, glaring up at Rainbow, who blinked down at her. "A . . . Timberwolf came out of the trees, and she got it to leave." She said, looking at Applejack, who smiled slightly. Twilight turned back to Dash. "She said she'd meet us further up the river."
Dash blinked again, grunting. "Huh. I guess . . . Maybe . . . she's not totally worthless, then. Why would we head upriver, though?" She asked, frowning, and Twilight leaned around the blue mare, pointing with one hoof.
"That's why." She said, and Rainbow Dash turned, while Applejack glanced around her. About a mile upriver, on a high rise overlooking the forest below, the spires of an ancient structure could be seen, silhouetted against the moon.
"Oh." Rainbow Dash said, chuckling and rubbing the back of her head. "Gotcha. C'mon, let's go get the others and we'll keep going! I wanna get this over with!" She said, flapping her wings and taking the lead.
As they fell in a few yards behind the fast pegasus, Applejack glanced at Twilight, who didn't meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, Twi." She said, biting her lip. "I really don't like it . . .the lyin', I mean. But . . . I gotta look out fer my family and . . . I can't stand the thought of Apple Bloom findin' out . . . Well, I got my own reasons fer that."
Twilight took a breath, meeting Applejack's eyes for the first time since Rainbow Dash had appeared. "I suppose I understand, Applejack. But . . . We will be talking about this, later, in private." She said, eyes hard, and Applejack gulped, nodding.
"Yes, ma'am." She said, deciding it best to not push her luck with the lavender unicorn, right now.
When they met back up with the others, Pinkie Pie bounced up and held her hoof out to Applejack, holding Tellulah. AJ smiled, feeling her heart catch at the thought of how close she'd come to losing the hat, and she put it on her head, turning that smile on Pinkie, who grinned from ear to ear with a small squee-ing sound.
They fell in, walking down the river, and Applejack saw Rarity, once again toying with her tail, a pensive look on her face. Before she could say anything, though, a figure came out of the trees ahead of them. Fluttershy. The mare looked perfectly normal once again, just a shy, butter yellow pegasus with a pink mane that was longer than anypony's that Applejack had ever seen before.
The fact she was a vampire . . . What did that mean, exactly? In stories, Vampires drank blood, hunting down living ponies to sustain themselves. They were the undead, soulless abominations that the sun burned on contact.
Unless it was that one crappy series that nopony liked, except sappy teenagers. Apple Bloom had one of them books in her room, once, until Applejack found it. She wasn't old enough for that kinda stuff, yet!
Either way, she wondered . . . Calling Fluttershy a 'Souless abomination' seemed rather harsh, given how kind, caring and gentle the mare seemed to be. She was pulled from her thoughts as Rainbow Dash berated the mare for going off alone into the woods at night, like an older sibling, almost. THere seemed to be some history there, which made Applejack wonder how much Dash knew.
Didn't the vampire in that one old book have a servant or something? Was that what Dash was?
No, she doubted any kind of servant would be caught dead or undead talking to their master the way Dash was Fluttershy. And all the while, the shy pegasus took the tonguelashing with her head down and guilt on her face. It wasn't an act, either, Applejack was sure of it.
When Dash finished, Fluttershy fell back in with the group, and Applejack watched as Twilight, jaw set, trotted up beside the pegasus, and began talking softly to her.
Looks like it wasn't just Applejack that would be having a talk with the unicorn, when this was all done. With a sigh, the farm mare set her sights on the here and now, and the steep, rocky path that was leading them back up a rise. The stream they had seen seemed to cut into the land on their left, staying down low, while they were moving up, to what seemed to be one side of a great rift in the land, the castle spires still visible on the other side.
Something more was going to happen, before they could get there.
Applejack could feel it in her bones.
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nice work.
Please have the folowing two things done:
1) don't get to much on the mad scientist twilight with Pinky, AJ and Flutters
2) make a sister story that tells the same story as this but form Flutters's perspective called flutterbat, and please make her be in the townhall when Luna escaped from the moon
I can see why Twilight would jump to Vampire, but I'm thinking Fluttershy is probably a Dhampir, if we're going with traditional folklore.
11027595
No promises.
11027601
Well . . . this isn't exactly following real world folklore, this is just . . .
She's a vampire, per Equestria, so, yeah. XD
That said, I will be drawing on a lot of older stuff from folklore to spice things up, with her, so, yeah.
11027649
The second one would be great considering that in the show rainbow was stopped by AJ to not make a fool of herself when confronting Luna and the fact that you said pinkie grabbed Rarity and Fluttershy after she was at AJ, and that maybe Fluttershy stayed to help Rarity with the clean up of the town hall after the incident, not to mention the relation between Fluttershy and Rainbow and lot of other things. Also bonus points if you make Rarity a werecat and oppen that can of worms especially with Twilight's interests
11027670
I'm not writing another story. This is the story.
This is an AU, things happened differently, here. That's all there is to it.
11027750
Yeah but you can write the same story from a different perspective, it won't be the first time someone does it, retelling the story from other characthers perspective, you already have the action planned, just need to change the main character and fill the gaps in it from their view
11027887
But I'm not doing that. Okay? You should maybe think a little more before leaving comments like this. Suggestions are fine, but at this point you're just being pushy.
If you want to see a story like that so badly, why not write it yourself, and let me write the story that I'm here to write?
11027944
OK, how much, how much do I or someone else needs to pay you to write that story? And this is a honest question, I'm not asking because I'll pay, I can't really do that, but I'm really curious if you take story commissions and how much do they cost
11028064
I do not take story commissions. I write what I want to write, and THIS story is what I want to write. NOT the one you're talking about. Now, stop pushing, or I will start deleting your comments.
Is there going to be a fight between Timberjack and Nightmare Moon? Not telling you how to do your story, just saying it would be interesting considering how close the beast was let out last chapter.
11042558
You'll have to just wait and see.
AH HA!!! I am so beyond pleased at this scene. So glad she's not going to be abusing it any more, now it's a question of how much she has left, and if somebody will come across the device in the forest and repair it.
Wow, I was not expecting that with fluttershy, but so far, the execution is flawless.