Mystery Over the Unicorns

by Catpaw616

Prologue

It was a gloomy night in the Everfree Forest. The winds calmly blew through the trees, and the animals were all quiet in their nests. Except for the owl, who hooted to no one in the cold night.

However, the owl wasn't the only one awake in the forest. Deep inside the Everfree Forest was a skinny orange unicorn carrying a unconscious pony on it's back. It finally set the body on the ground when two other ponies showed up. One was a slightly bigger orange-red unicorn, and the other was a azure-colored unicorn, who stared down at the body in disappointment.

"You were supposed to tie their hooves so they don't run away!" He angrily told the orange unicorn, who backed away in fear.

"S-Sorry, Azul. This is my first time doing this—" The orange pony stammered, then he was interrupted by a scoff from a orange-red unicorn.

"I knew that it was a risky move: sending him to kidnap a pony. We've gotten so far into this plan. It's only a matter of time before some inexperienced newbie ruins it." he scowled while he stared at the frightened unicorn.

"You better thank the stars that he was unconscious still. If he ran off, we would've been screwed for sure." Azul muttered as he grabbed the rope and wrapped it around their hooves, and carried him to a giant, wooden cart.

"We have to be more careful than usual. This is the part of Equestria that gets really dicey." Azul told the two.

"How is it different than the rest of the places we visited? asked the orange-red unicorn, who was named Thistle.

"Ponyville is one of the most populated towns in Equestria. It is the home of the ponies who wielded the Elements of Harmony. The Princess of Friendship even has a castle there!"

"Who cares? We'll rob Ponyville as easily as the other places." Thistle scoffed once more. Then the orange unicorn boldly stepped in.

"Um, hello? That place is home to Rarity, the Element of Generosity, and Twilight Sparkle! Those are two very important unicorns that we have to capture!"

Thistle bared his teeth in a snarl, which frightened the unicorn more. "In case you somehow forgot, Twilight is an alicorn, and we have made a rule to not go after them yet."

"But won't Twilight notice the missing citizens and eventually find out about us?" the orange unicorn asked, but it made Thistle even angrier for some reason.

Azul nodded in understanding as he faced Thistle. "You have to admit, Apricot does have a point. Which is why we won't steal as many—"

The orange unicorn looked stunned by what he said. "My name isn't Apricot! It's Riverdale—"

"Too bad. We've decided to call you Apricot because it seemed more fitting than... whatever you said." Thistle told him while chuckling to himself.

"Back to the point..." Azul rolled his eyes in annoyance. He turned to Apricot. "You are correct, concerning about Twilight's nosiness. But Ponyville is necessary. Ponyville has Rarity, and we can't leave without Rarity."

"What about the rest of her friends? It's not just Twilight we should be concerned about." Apricot asked.

"Relax. Without Rarity, they can't use the Elements onto us. Therefore, we are stronger if we fight them individually. Especially the weak one." Thistle told him.

"Even so, we will find a way to deal with them." Azul told the two of them. He shook his head while he smiled. "Twilight may be an alicorn, but I don't think she'll be matched against the three of us."

"You mean the two of us. I doubt Apricot would hold up." Thistle joked. Apricot rolled his eyes.

Azul looked doubtful. He cleared his throat and with his magic, he levitated a map from the cart. "Anyways, after we raid Ponyville, I decided that I want to make a special trip."

Thistle tilted his head. "I thought we were going to Canterlot afterwards."

"We are, but then a town popped into my mind and I just couldn't resist." Azul told him. He opened up the map with his aura, and when he showed it to his companions, he put his hoof on a little village with two rows, and with one house in front of the rest.

""There. That's where we're going next,"" He told them.

Apricot looked confused, meanwhile Thistle started laughing.

"Seriously? That's the special trip? That's the most blandest town I have ever seen!" He laughed while he playfully punched Apricot's shoulder.

Azul rolled his eyes once more. "Yeah, laugh all you want. But this town is home to a certain particular unicorn."

Apricot's eyes suddenly widened in interest. Even Thistle stopped laughing and looked serious.

"Go on." he said.

Thankful that he's finally starting to listen, he began his story. "Before I met the two of you, I was a traveler. I ventured the cold mountains, looking for a place to stay. Until finally, I saw a quaint, tiny town. Just like this one." he explained while he tapped his hoof onto the town.

"Then once I arrived, I was met with... weird smiles. All of them were staring at me in a creepy manner, and all of them had weird haircuts. But what shocked me the most is that all of them had their cutie marks as equal signs."

"But before I could even look around the village, or even ask what was going on, I met a mare. She was a unicorn—"

"You had me at unicorn!" Apricot raised his voice. He later got bonked in the head by Thistle, shushing him.

"Yes... anyways, she was a unicorn. From the moment I saw her, I knew that something was not right. Her coat and mane were brighter and vibrant than the rest, and even though she was welcoming, she always gave off a negative vibe... but despite that, I wanted to stay for one night because it was the only local town nearby."

"So, she wanted to tell me something. She encouraged me to follow her into a cave for a 'talk.' I followed her and before I could even react, she used this random stick and used its magic onto me. I was stunned and I couldn't move. Then I felt my cutie mark being ripped off of my own body! It hurt a lot and I felt my energy drain away in a flash."

"But... that's impossible! A cutie mark can't be taken away like that!" Apricot protested.

"I didn't want to believe it either, but it happened. But don't worry, while the mare was foolishly boasting about her success, I had enough willpower to fight back with my hooves. I caught her off-guard and I tackled her to the ground. Thankfully, she dropped the stick and my cutie mark popped right back. Before I could give her the chance to retaliate, I ran away from the cave, swearing revenge for trying to make me 'convert' in her town."

"So if this mare has the stick, then she could take away our cutie marks..." Thistle pondered. He looked at Azul in a fierce expression. "She could potentially ruin our plans."

Azul nodded grimly.

Apricot got up and rushed over to Azul. "Things will be ok, Azul. Think about it. As we know, this mare is living way over there," he said while he pointed at the town. He then dragged his hoof to the area that said "Everfree Forest"

"And we're all the way over here! Besides, I think that unicorn isn't that strong enough to take on the three of us."

"For once, I agree." Thistle agreed as he walked over to the two. He looked ahead to see a view of a distant Ponyville.

Azul looked at his companions. "So is it settled?"

Both of them nodded.

Azul nodded back. "Very well."

All of them looked at Ponyville from the distance. They watched silently as the wind blew through their manes. Then one by one, they disappeared into the darkness.

Comments

[Forcalor]

Ponynappers! Hide away your foals!
A promising start, will wait for more

[Catpaw616]

11568855
Thanks! New chapters will come not too soon 👍

[TasermonsPartner]

Your grammar needs alittle work.

When you end a dialogue with a period, but intend to identify the speaker afterwards, then you turn that period into a comma. For example:

"There. That's where we're going next." He told them.

Would actually be:
"There. That's where we're going next," he told them.

Question marks and exclamation points stay the same though. But the first word of the next sentence that identifies the speaker is still lowercase.

Hope that helps!

[Catpaw616]

11569506
Yeah it does. Thanks for the help!

Let me know when you see any more of these errors. I greatly appreciate it