A Touch of Chaos

by Written Out

Diplomacy's Failure

"Good mornin', Twilight." The young earth pony foal smiled up at Twilight, her yellow coat matched by the bags on her back.

Applejack walked alongside the small filly, and nodded her head to the approaching unicorn in greeting. "Mornin', Twi. Didja figure out what you was workin' on last night?"

"Good morning Apple Bloom, Applejack." Twilight had woken up early this morning wanting to find her friends and head out to the Everfree as soon as possible. She had happened across Applejack first, who was traveling with her cute-as-a-button younger sister. "I finished without any troubles; we should be able to track the creature now. What about you, Applejack? Are you taking Apple Bloom to school?" It was unusual to see the farmpony in town without a cartload of apples to sell.

Apple Bloom jumped in front of Twilight's face as Applejack was about to respond, the young filly's red bow on her head momentarily blocking Twilight's view. "Ah tried tellin' her that Ah kin take care of myself, but she wouldn't listen," the energetic filly complained, pouting adorably.

Applejack rolled her eyes fondly at her sister's antics before speaking in a firm tone. "You should listen to yer big sister, Apple Bloom. Ah'm jest worried about you, what with that creature in the forest n' all. Besides," she pointed down the road at a pair of white unicorns approaching them, "it looks like I weren't the only pony with that idea."

"Good morning, darlings. Fancy meeting you here." Rarity greeted the group with a fond smile as she walked up to them, her younger sister Sweetie Belle walking at her side.

The smaller unicorn shot the already-present an amused grin. "Hey Apple Bloom. You got escorted too, huh? Sure its not just because you'd get lost on the way to school?" Apple Bloom tackled the teasing unicorn in greeting and the two fillies scuffled playfully in the dirt for a few moments before Rarity wrapped them both up in her magic and separated them.

"That's enough of that unladylike behaviour, you two," she said, frowning at both of them. "Sweetie Belle, what have I told you about engaging in such unladylike activities?"

"That it's unladylike," Sweetie Belle answered, giving an extremely charming – and completely unrepentant – smile. It would have been obvious even to a complete stranger that Sweetie Belle had no intention of following her big sister’s orders.

Rarity gave a long-suffering sigh before turning to the other mares. “Are we going to head out again today, Twilight?” Rarity was being deliberately vague with her wording, not wanting to give the fillies a clear idea of what she was talking about. They could get into enough trouble on their own even at the best of times, and she didn’t want them to get any ideas to sneak out into the Everfree – again – to get their cutie marks.

Twilight caught on to what she was doing and answered just as vaguely. “Yes, Rarity. I finished the spell I was working on last night, so we’ll be ready to begin as soon as we’ve found the others.”

“Hey, girls. Ready to head into the Everfree Forest again?” Rainbow Dash said, suddenly flying in above the group’s heads. The others facehooved at Dash spilling the beans, and the pegasus tilted her head at them. “What?”

Apple Bloom bounced excitedly at Dash’s words. “Ah knew it. Y’all are headin’ to th’ Everfree Forest. Does it have anythin’ to do with that creature you was talkin’ about? Can we come along? We might git our cutie marks in monster huntin’.”

Wanting to put an end to that thought as quickly as possible – the fillies could cause enough of a disaster with whatever plans they had to get their cutie marks even when it didn’t sound horrifically dangerous – Applejack quickly spoke against it. “Absolutely not. We’re only goin’ inta th’ forest because of direct orders from the Princess and Ah forbid you from goin’ in there unless ya receive the same.” AJ didn’t like needing to bring Princess Celestia’s name into an argument with her sister, but she knew that not even Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would go against something the Princess said.

As the fillies “Awwww’d” in disappointment, Applejack looked up at the latest arrival. “So what’re y’all doin’ here, Dash? Ah thought you’d still be asleep this early in the mornin’.”

The pegasus rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably with a hoof before answering without looking Applejack in the eyes. “Oh…I just had trouble sleeping, you know? Thinking about how we’re going to take down this creature. Yeah. And I was looking for you guys so we could head off right away.”

“That was awesome, Rainbow Dash!” An orange pegasus filly riding a scooter zipped in from the direction Dash had arrived in a few moments before. “Hey everypony, what’re you all doing here?” The orange filly screeched to a halt beside Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, covering both of them in dust. “Oops, sorry.” The orange filly was Scootaloo, the president of the Rainbow Dash fanclub. Her wings weren’t yet developed enough for her to fly for long periods, and she tended to use her scooter to get around. As the other two fillies were coughing up dust, Scootaloo turned to lavish more praise on her hero, not noticing Dash trying to shush her. “You were incredible! I never would have been able to keep up with you if you hadn’t been holding back. I was surprised when you offered to race me to school, but that was really fun.”

Dash was by this point blushing furiously and trying to look anywhere but at the amused grins of her three friends. “Well… Yeah, I mean, I am the most awesome pegasus in Equestria. Have to spend some time with my adoring fans, right? Ahahaha,” she laughed awkwardly before coughing. “Anyways, shouldn’t you three be heading off to school?”

Scootaloo saluted playfully before turning to her friends. “Come on, you two. Ms. Cherilee’s going to throw the book at me if I’m late again this week.” Fanning her wings, she propelled her scooter away at high speeds. The other two fillies shouted at her to wait before pursuing.

Rainbow Dash sighed in relief before turning to look at her broadly-grinning friends. “What?" she said defensively. "I happened to find her while she was on her way to school and thought a little early morning competition would be good for her.”

The others snickered for a moment before Twilight responded for all of them. “Of course, Rainbow Dash. We believe you. We believe that you just happened across Scootaloo and that you didn’t get up early to find her because you were worried. You’re far too cool to do something like that.” She didn’t believe it. The fact that Applejack was now laughing openly didn’t help matters, nor did the cheeky grin that had started spreading across her Rarity’s face.

Dash crossed her forehooves and glared at the three mares. “Let’s just go find the others.”

---

Less than an hour later, they had found Pinkie and Fluttershy and were once again standing at the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy still looked like she didn’t really want to be there, while Pinkie looked like she had to restrain herself from charging into the forest. Twilight began to lay out the new plan, pacing back and forth in front of the mares.

“Alright, we weren’t able to find the creature yesterday, but we will today. Last night, I developed a spell that will allow me to find and track Discord’s magic. Following his energy patterns should lead us right to the creature.” She didn’t mention the other energy source she’d sensed last night, since there was nothing they could do about it. Whatever it was, they would just have to deal with it when it came up. The other mares nodded at her words, and Rainbow Dash beat her front hooves together.

“Finally! I’ve been itching for a chance to get a little payback on that freak ever since yesterday. Maybe I’ll give him a taste of the ol’ ‘Dash One-Two’” She punched the air in front of her for a moment.

“No, Dashie. No no no no no,” Pinkie said, bouncing n front of Dash. “We’re talking, remember? What kind of friendship could we make if we started by attacking him?” Dash took a moment to wrap her head around the idea that Pinkie still wanted to befriend the creature after yesterday.

Rarity spoke up before Dash had finished processing. “Pinkie, I just can’t believe you still want to befriend that beast. Darling, he unleashed a manticore on us yesterday. I really don’t think that it wants to be friends with us.”

Pinkie withered slightly at Rarity’s reminder of the manticore, and her voice was shaking when she responded. “Well, yeah, but nopony got hurt, right? And he might just have been scared of us, for whatever reason. Maybe Discord’s in his head, telling him that we’re fearsome and evil and that we’ll hurt him if with catch him. That would scare anypony.” The others stared at their friend’s overactive imagination.

“Pinkie, a scared animal would instinctively lash against anypony that it felt was threatening it,” Twilight said, wanting to put an end to this matter before they entered the forest, “but this creature has shown several signs of intelligence. Not only that, but it deliberately tried to hurt us yesterday, when it could simply have hidden and waited for us to leave. We’re going to try peaceful one more time, but we will capture it if it won’t listen to Fluttershy.” Twilight was stressed, and not handling it well. The idea of trying to find a creature that had already tried to kill them was not a pleasant one, and she no longer believed this could be ended peacefully. If she had, maybe she would have realized how completely wrong her assumption was. Casting the tracking spell, she led the way into the oppressive shadows cast by the trees.

The others followed behind, Pinkie still trying to convince Dash to try being friends with the creature, but Dash was not listening anymore. “No Pinkie, I agree with Twilight. We’ll try letting Fluttershy talk to it one more time, but that’s it. The creature has no more second chances. What would it take for you to finally give up? For the creature to hurt one of us in front of you? Would that do it?”

Pinkie didn’t respond. The group entered the forest in an awkward silence. Fluttershy tried to comfort the saddened pink mare, but the others were too busy thinking about the inevitable confrontation that they believed they lay ahead. They had been walking for several minutes when Twilight stopped abruptly. Her eyes closed, and her only thoughts were on the tracking spell. She didn’t even notice when Applejack, who had been looking at the forest around them, walked right into her hindquarters.

“What’s up, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, rubbing at her snout with a hoof.

“He’s close. Everypony, be on guard.” They continued forward at a slower pace, and had barely made a dozen steps before they spotted him. He was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, his axe resting on his lap and his hands clenched around the handle. His small eyes stared at them, firm and unblinking. He had clearly been waiting for them, and was watching them to see what they would do. The mares stopped and stared back at him, not wanting to provoke or frighten him. After a moment, Fluttershy stepped forward.

“Then, if it’s alright with everypony, I’ll try talking with him.” Her voice shook a little, revealing her slight fear of the creature. Behind her, Twilight was looking around at the surrounding forest, her concern worsening and worsening. The creature had clearly been preparing the site, and she seriously doubted his intentions were good.

There’s no way the trees fell like that naturally, she thought. The trees had been methodically cut down so that they formed a circle around them and the creature. It wasn’t obvious, but it was clearly intentional. Her eyes widened as she realized what that had to mean. It’s a trap!

Twilight opened her mouth to warn everypony, but the creature acted before she could say anything. Abruptly standing up, he threw the axe at the mares in an over arm throw. The mares screamed and dove out of the way as it tumbled end-over-end past them. Twilight followed it with her gaze, and her eyes widened as she saw what the creature had intended. Quickly getting to her hooves, she continued running away from the axe, shouting for the others to do the same. “Don’t stop! Keep running!”

The axe thunked loudly when it reached its destination, slicing through several vines before embedding itself in a tree behind them. The tree had been leaning against the vines, and the remaining vines were no longer enough to support its weight. With a horrible crack, the tree began to break at a spot a few feet above the ground, a spot that had been weakened beforehand by several carefully aimed strikes of the axe that was now implanted in it. The group scattered as it fell towards them, barely able to get out of the way in time thanks to Twilight’s warning. Twilight took a moment to check that her friends were safe.

“Twilight! Look out!”

At Applejack’s shouted warning, Twilight turned her head to see that the creature had charged her while she was distracted by the falling tree. Its right hand was covered in a strange goop, and he smacked it into her face before she could react. Knocked back several paces but unhurt, she managed to land on her hooves before trying to wipe the stuff off her eyes.

“What is this? I-I can’t see!” Her eyes had gone milky white and she was struck blind. Twilight’s ears twitched as she tried to understand what was happening around her. Applejack suddenly shouted, a shout which ended in a thump and a groan.

“AJ! Are you alright?” Twilight shouted, an edge of panic starting to creep into her voice as she was no longer able to tell what was going on in the fight around her.

“Ah’ll be fine, Twi,” Applejack replied, sounding more angry than hurt. “The bucker just knocked me into a hole. Gimme a moment to get outta here.”

“AJ, that was awesome,” Rainbow Dash’s voice teased. “Here, let me show you how it’s done.” She launched herself at the creature, trying to tackle him, but he managed to dodge out of the way and thrust his hands into one of the many bushes surrounding the area. Grabbing something hidden within, he pulled it out and held it between him and Dash. It was a scythe, similar to the kind some farmers used to collect their harvest. It was sloppily made, barely more than a blade attached to a stick. It was also completely made out of wood, the ‘blade’ nothing more than a strip of bark. Dash raised an eyebrow at seeing the ‘weapon’, her smirk only broadening.

On the other side of the clearing, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity were trying to calm Twilight down. Twilight had started hyperventilating, and was incessantly wiping at her sightless eyes.

Pinkie glanced over to where Dash had started to mock the creature for his weapon. “Can’t you do something to stop them, Rarity?” she pleaded fretfully.

“I’m sorry dear, but it’s just like Twilight said. Magic just seems to slide off the creature. I can’t even touch that ugly thing he’s holding. Twilight might be able to figure it out, but…” Rarity trailed off.

“It’s okay, just keep breathing.” Fluttershy soothed. Twilight’s breaths were becoming more even and she was no longer gasping. Fluttershy firmly held her hooves, preventing her from wiping her eyes. “Everything will be alright, just focus on the sound of my voice.”

Rarity shook her head. “If she can’t see, Twilight won’t be able to cast any spells.”

“We’ll be able to help her though, right?” Pinkie asked. “Between Zecora, the hospital, and Twilight’s library, there’s no way we won’t find a cure, right?” Tears were starting to form in the pink mare’s eyes.

Rarity hesitated for a moment before answering. “I’m not certain, but you’re probably right. Zecora would be our best bet. She might not have much of a sense of style, but – ah!” Rarity quickly cast a protective shield around the four mares, similar to what she had seen Twilight cast before.

While Rarity and Pinkie had been talking, the battle had been continuing between Dash and the creature.

“So what are you gonna do with that thing, bludgeon me into submission?” Dash snarked. “Or maybe you’re just going to smack me with the stick when it breaks, because that is a totally uncool weapon.” Dash knew the creature couldn’t understand her, and she didn’t really care. The creature had managed to dump Applejack in a hole, and Dash was already planning the ways she could mercilessly tease the orange pony about this for weeks.

The creature pulled something out of a pocket and fiddled with it for a second. Dash watched curiously before a tiny light came out from behind the creature’s hands. As he placed whatever it was back in his pocket, she saw that he was now holding a tiny stick that was on fire on one end. He smiled wickedly at her and touched the burning end of the stick to the bark blade of the scythe. Dash jumped back in surprise as the blade was suddenly covered in dancing flames. The creature must have covered it in some sort of flammable substance beforehand.

Quickly getting over her surprise, Dash smiled. “And here I thought you weren’t going to make this interesting.” Tucking her wings tight against her body, she lowered herself into the battle stance she had practiced at the dojo so many times before. Her back legs slightly spread out and her head lowered, she beat one forehoof against the ground, issuing her challenge.

The creature frowned – the flickering light of the fire throwing his face into sharp relief. Possibly he had been hoping to scare away the cyan pony. Dash snickered to herself at the thought. He should know better than to think he could scare away The Dash. He swung his weapon at her once, wildly, and her grin widened even more. Yeah, he doesn’t have a clue how to handle that.

Her grin vanished instantly when the burning scythe brushed against some loose branches, which instantly caught on fire. The fire spread rapidly, following the fallen logs that Twilight had noticed before. Whatever flammable material was on that scythe must have been slathered on the logs as well. In seconds, the entire area was surrounded in thick, roaring flames. Dash sighed in relief when she saw that her friends had managed to get a shield up in time to protect themselves. Blue tint – must be Rarity’s.

Dash growled when she looked back at the creature. “You’ll pay for threatening them.” The two combatants stared at each other for a few seconds, neither paying heed to the mighty inferno surrounding them. Dash charged first, while the creature swung his scythe around in a wide arc in response, aiming directly at her.

Meanwhile, Rarity was struggling under the effort required to sustain the shield against such an oppressive heat. Her knees were already shaking, and sweat had begun to pour unheeded down her body. This wasn’t a spell she was familiar with, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to hold it for long. Twilight had managed to calm down, and was asking Fluttershy about the situation. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

“Never mind that, Twilight,” Rarity panted out. “Could you be a dear and give me some magic? I’m afraid I just don’t have enough.” Even in the direst situation, a pony simply must remain ladylike. With some assistance from Fluttershy, the sightless unicorn was led over to Rarity, carefully pressing her purple horn against Rarity’s white one and letting her magic flow into the other mare. Rarity smiled in relief as it felt like a weight was being lifted off of her shoulders. Twilight might not be able to cast any spells so long as she couldn’t see, but with her much stronger magical energy supporting Rarity, Rarity no longer feared that she would be unable to sustain the shield.

Outside the shield, in the midst of the full rage of the flames, Rainbow Dash continued to fight against the creature. Leaping away from her foe, she tried to get some distance between them. There was no fear in her heart – she knew she was both faster and stronger then the creature – but the creature had range, and a solid hit from that weapon would be devastating. Already, her fur was singed at several spots along her body, showing where she had barely managed to dodge. Nothing for it. She would not dodge the next attack. Planting her rear hooves firmly on the ground, she lifted herself up on them, standing upright in a bastardized stance of the one the creature was standing in. Her forehooves in the air in front of her, she made a gesture with one of them, telling the creature a simple message in the language without words: “Bring it.”

The creature responded as she hoped, rushing her and bringing his scythe across in a horizontal slice aimed at her skull. Dash calmly and smoothly stepped forward, bringing herself within the weapon’s arc. Raising a single hoof in the path of the wooden snath, she stopped the swing of the scythe. The creature stared in shock at the sight before him. The flaming scythe head, only inches behind Dash’s head, was already causing her mane to smoulder and smoke. She didn’t care. This fight was already her victory.

Bracing her rear hooves, she swung her free forehoof at the exposed snath of the scythe. She punched right through it with a resounding crack, severing the weapon. Casually flicking her hooves, she lazily tossed the head of the broken scythe aside, where it vanished into the roaring blaze around them. Arrogantly dropping back down to all fours, she gave a smug look at the creature before her.

“Give up yet?” she taunted. The creature was completely outmatched in a fight, and both of them knew it. While Dash had a smug look in her eyes, the creature had the look of a cornered animal. Despite the fact that he was more than twice the size of the tiny pegasus, he feared her. Dash had never faced anything that feared her more than death itself, and she didn’t know how an animal fighting with its back against the wall would act. She was caught off guard when the creature threw the useless stick at her face, and instinctively raised a hoof to block it. The creature threw something at the ground between her hooves in the moment she broke eye contact with him. A cloud of smoke was released, and she accidently inhaled a lungful in surprise before leaping away.

Her legs buckled beneath her as she landed. Her eyesight began to wobble and blur, and she could barely focus on her surroundings. The creature was standing well away from her, watching as she tried and failed to stand up.

“Wha…What didjya do t’me?” she slurred out. Whatever foul concoction the creature had used had robbed her of her motor control. Her thoughts were sluggish, she was starting to see double, and she couldn’t even stand up. The creature nodded to himself, confirming the effects of whatever she had inhaled. She barely saw when he started running towards her, and tried to gather her legs underneath her to dive out of the way. All she managed to accomplish was a feeble twitch before the creature’s foot came up and he kicked her squarely in the side of her head.

Rainbow Dash struggled against unconsciousness as she was flung back, and she barely felt the impact as she crashed against one of the many burning logs surrounding the area. She could feel the flames tickling her feathers and weakly tried to pull herself away from them. Over the roar of the greedy flames, she could hear a voice screaming her name.

“DASHIE!”

Pinkie Pie was suddenly there, dragging her away from the flames. Turning the pegasus on her front, Pinkie hurriedly beat out the tiny fires that had started to burn on Dash’s wings. The flames around them seemed to roar in disappointment and anger at having been denied its prey. Dash looked up at Pinkie, the gratitude in her eyes changing into horror at what she saw.

“Behind…you…” she weakly moaned out. Pinkie turned and saw that the creature now stood above them. Its face twisted in a snarl of rage, it gazed at them with undisguised hatred in its eyes. Pinkie faced the creature and stood her ground. She refused to leave Dashie at the mercy of-

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

Fluttershy flew in front of the creature’s face, the normally meek pegasus’ face showing only anger and determination. The creature took a step back, recoiling under the gaze of Fluttershy’s Stare.

“Just WHAT do you think you’re doing? Now you listen to me, Mister. I’ve stood by and watched you hurt my friends for long enough! What gives you the right? What lets you-glgh” The creature had recovered from his initial surprise of Fluttershy’s appearance, and his face had continued to bunch up in rage as she talked. Unable to understand the pegasus, he felt nothing at her words. His right hand had shot up as she threatened him and had wrapped itself around her throat, his thumb pressing against her windpipe.

She struggled in his grip, the authoritative look of the Stare fading into a look of panic as she tried to get oxygen into her lungs. The creature’s left hand had balled into a fist behind him, preparing to punch the pony held in his grasp. As the fist sped towards her, something suddenly grabbed it, stopping it midswing. Looking at it, he saw that the pink mare had latched onto his hand, preventing it from moving. Her mane was no longer poofy, instead falling down from her head like a waterfall of hair, and she matched his look of hatred with one of her own, despite the tears openly pouring down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to be your friend anymore!” she screamed in his face, her voice catching on the last word.

“Keep holdin’ him, Pinkie!” a southern-accented voice shouted out.

The creature shrieked in pain as Appejack’s rear hooves impacted the arm holding Fluttershy. A loud snap could be head over the sound of the flames, and Fluttershy fell to the ground, gasping for air. The creature flung off Pinkie, and clutched his broken arm, which had received an extra bend between elbow and wrist.

“Sorry Ah’m late,” Applejack apologized. She and Pinkie glared at the whimpering creature. “Now, as fer this varmint…” The creature reached into a pocket with his good hand, pulling out several of the objects he had used on Dash before. Throwing them at the ground by his own feet, he turned and sprinted towards the nearest wall of flames. Both AJ and Pinkie, who had jumped back to avoid the smoke, could only watch as the creature dove through the fire and flames, vanishing beyond them. Pinkie tried to follow him, but AJ stopped her.

“Let ‘im go, Pinkie. We need ta help the others.” Fluttershy had recovered and was dragging Dash away from the burning log, while Rarity was slowly leading the blinded Twilight towards them as well. Ducking her head under Dash’s prone body, Applejack slid the still woozy pegasus onto her back. With Dash’s hooves dragging against the ground, Applejack led the others towards the unicorn pair. She sighed in relief at seeing them mostly unharmed. The creature may have gotten away, but her friends were still safe. At the moment, that was all that mattered.

---

Dear Princess Celestia

I am sorry to report that we were unable to communicate with the creature that I told you about in my previous letter. It attacked us when we found it, and I am afraid we responded with force in kind. I was struck blind in the battle, though Zecora assures me it is only temporary. She gave me a potion to rub on my eyes every couple of hours to ease the return of my sight, and said that I should make a full recovery within the next twenty four hours. I am dictating this letter to Spike, and he is writing it down because he is the greatest assistant anypony could ever ask for.

Spike, are you adding things to my letter?

Rarity’s been taking care of me. She’s not here right now, and is checking how everypony is dealing with what happened today. She’s so dreamy and kind and sweet and generous and I’m lucky to have a friend like her. Spike, I can hear the quill scratching against the parchment. Please don’t add your own thoughts in my letter to the Princess.

As for my other friends, Rainbow Dash is getting a checkup at the hospital. I was told she took a pretty bad blow to the head during the fight. She said she was fine but Pinkie Pie, of all mares, insisted. Fluttershy backed Pinkie up, and Dash conceded.

Oh, Rarity just returned. I’ll let her tell you how everypony’s doing.

Hello Princess, it’s Rarity. I understand Twilight wants me to tell you how the others are doing. Putting it simply, I’m afraid they’re not doing very well at all. Pinkie’s locked herself inside her room at Sugarcube Corner and refused to speak to me. I fear the poor dear feels responsible for Dash getting injured. As for Dash, she’s spending the night in the hospital, much to her displeasure. She said she’s taken worse injuries during training accidents, but Fluttershy simply refused to back down. Dash stopped complaining when I told her I’d bring her a Daring Do book from the library.

Fluttershy told me she’s going to stay with Dash until visiting hours are over, and then she’ll head back to her cottage. She is being even quieter than usual, and I had trouble getting that much out of her. I don’t know if Twilight told you, but Fluttershy was nearly injured in our fight with the creature, and probably needs some quiet time with her animal friends.

Applejack is going to take care of Sweetie Belle for me tonight, so I’m going to be spending the night with Twilight. Of course I’m going to help you dear. I can’t just leave Spikey-wikey to take of you by himself. If I hadn’t decided to stay with you tonight, Applejack would have instead. That mare’s got her heart in the right place, but she just doesn’t have the gentle touch that an injured pony needs.

Spike here, maybe I shouldn’t have written all that down.

It’s Twilight again, Princess. Rarity’s left to deliver that Daring Do book to Dash before visiting hours end. We’re planning to rest tomorrow to give me some time to recover. I’m going to come up with a plan to capture the creature before we meet him again, so please don’t worry about us.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

P.S.: Please tell my brother I’ll be alright. I know he can worry.

---

To My Faithful Student Twilight,

It fills my heart with joy to hear that you and your friends are alright. I'm very sorry to hear that you and your friends have suffered because of my request to you. I would prefer to send some of my guardsponies to track whatever machinations of Discord’s are in the forest. Indeed, I would mobilize the entire army if I could, but I fear I cannot.

After their defeat a few weeks ago at the hooves of your brother, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence, the changeling army has begun to regroup. Their hive had remained silent, but they have suddenly begun preparing for something. I believe they are intending to launch a second strike on Canterlot, but I will not be caught off-guard this time. However, it concerns is that their hive is southeast of Canterlot, the same direction you told me that you detected some of Discord’s magic. I believe whatever creature you face in the forest is nothing more than a distraction, intended to blind us to Discord’s true intentions.

It pains me to ask so much of you, my beloved student, but I must ask you and your friends to hunt down and capture the creature in the Everfree Forest without any support from Canterlot. Even if I cannot be there, know that you will always have my support.

Please keep yourselves safe,
Princess Celestia.

P.S.: Your brother and Cadence say hello and asked me to pass on their best wishes.

---

Dear Journal,

I don’t understand what happened. I had intended to meet those tiny monsters – no, those tiny horses. I witnessed when they fled the manticore a strong sense of intelligence and comradeship. They put themselves in danger to protect the others. Would simple monsters act like this? I had planned the whole thing. I would await them, and try to communicate with them. If they attacked me, I had several traps set up, and would light the clearing on fire if I needed to before making my escape. So why? Why did I feel such hatred and anger when I saw them? Why did I attack them even though they didn’t threaten me?

Or did I? I don’t understand what is going on. I can clearly remember the orange horse breaking my arm when I was holding the yellow one. I can still feel the pain shooting up my arm. But…my arm is not broken. Not even as if it had healed, but as if it had never broken.

Did I imagine the entire thing? Did it even happen? But it must have happened. My clothes are scorched and blackened by the fire in some places. The fire that I started. But it couldn’t have happened. My arm would be broken if it had.

I can’t understand. Am I going insane? Or am I insane already? It feels like there's something in my head, like my thoughts aren't my own. Did the fight even happen, or did I imagine the entire thing? If anyone can hear me, I beg of you. Someone, anyone; help me.

Please help me.

Comments

[Written Out]

Woo. Longest chapter yet.

Now that the story's rolling, does anyone have any ideas for cover images? I wanted to wait until it became fairly clear what the story was about and...here we are.

[Gilgamesh King of Heroes]

Wow sucks to be him

[Soul Reaper]

i feel for the guy, it sucks to wake up in an unknown place and fearing the locals

[Firedon]

What, so an intelligent being is unable to be afraid of things? Cause that's what Twi's little speech about him seems to sound like.

[Written Out]

2188543 Keep in mind, she's not doing so well herself.

[Goffee]

This guy seems pretty crafty and resourceful. Perhaps Discord's magic is keening his senses and skills?

[AficionadoAvacado]

3025723 Maybe, maybe.. or it might be the 7-headed stingray with him.

[Apocryphal Frost]

Yeah...kind of on the human's side here. They barged into his home, multiple times, and he increased the deadliness of his traps each time. They should have realized "Maybe the creature wants to be left alone." It has not once done anything against them except in self-defense.

[PaxMano33]

ohhh. getting interesting. discord is playing the princess like a fiddle. but im surprised with discord. he has been keeping his interference with the world surprisingly un-subtle. i thought he didnt want his mysterious opponent to realize what he was doing. yet hes made sure that everything hes done so far reeks of himself.
(edit) i had a bunch of other stuff here, but it didnt make sense coming back and looking at it.
and again, the stenciled-in feeling i noted before about the mane six has only gotten worse.

[light snow]

This is getting intense

[Skittlebug]

3810749
I think both parties are to blame. Pinning it on one group is rather...unfair. Especially since we as an audience know that Discord is behind this