Equestrian Chronicles: The Fated Ones

by Plasmadon

Darkness in the Night

The Fated Ones: Darkness in the Night

The Everfree Forest: a place of many mysteries. The entirety of Equestria has explored only a measly five percent of the dark woods. More than a hundred documented flora and fauna have been recorded by civilization, and science estimates that is only .27 percent of the species hidden away. The Everfree Forest has a strange, twisted magic to it, being the place where Nightmare Moon released part of her soul to prevent being destroyed entirely. Clouds move on their own, the trees grow with no care and animals are self-sufficient. Even the occurrences in the woods are rare. Just like the explosion that begins our tale. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the show. I am Aithusa, your guide in this fantastical land. This is a tale of adventure, romance, and most of all…
The Fated Ones.

Let the show begin.

“Applebloom, pass the ball over here!” Scootaloo shouted.

A red ball came bouncing through the air and landed near an orange Pegasus with a cerise mane, who buzzed her small wings to reach it in time. A white unicorn with a pink and lavender swirled mane cheered her on.

“Wow, Scootaloo. That was awesome!” she exclaimed. Her delight was cut short, however, when the ball was sent flying towards her. She just barely caught it, using her manifesting magic to propel her to the ball in time.

“Sweetie Belle!” a yellowish pony with an amaranth mane called. “Yah just used yer magic!” she then fumbled backwards as the ball thumped her on the head.

“Well, she can finally do something!” said a snobbish voice from the fillies’ right. A pale magenta filly with a violet and white streaked mane mocked them with her grayish friend.

“Yeah, she was useless before,” the gray one remarked.

“Shut it, Silver Spoon!” Scootaloo shouted, causing some other foals to look their way. “Just because you two have your Cutie Marks you think you’re better than everypony else!”

“That’s because we are better than everypony else!” the pink one stated.

“Yeah, Diamond Tiara’s right!” Silver said.

“Shut up, Silver Spoon,” Diamond Tiara growled.

“What are you girls doing on this fine day?” a violet-pink mare with a striped mane asked as she passed. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon immediately feigned ignorance of the situation.

“We were just playing with our friends, Miss Cheerilee.”

“Liars,” Applebloom muttered under her breath. She and her friends soon left the playground to escape from the bullying fillies. It was a lot to handle, being a kid. She barely had any more time to go Crusading for her Cutie Mark, what with her homework, farm work, school and hiding from Diamond Tiara.

It’s just not fair, Applebloom thought bitterly. Ah don’t have any more time to have fun anymore.
“Ah don’t like goin’ ta school,” Applebloom muttered darkly. “It really messes with our plans.”

“Tell me about it,” Scootaloo said, zipping along on her trademark scooter. “I had this awesome idea to build a half-pipe and do some crazy tricks, too. Hey, maybe Rainbow Dash could help us?”

“Maybe,” Sweetie Belle put in. “I think Rarity would be happy to help us out as well.”

“Aw, come on!” Scootaloo retorted. “Your sister is a stick in the mud, Sweetie Belle! Besides, she hates doing anything that involves work.”

“She’s right, ya know,” Applebloom interjected. “Yer sister won’t even touch dirt unless it’s imported, and even then, she’ll tiptoe through the stuff.”

“Hey, Rarity is the best pony ever!”

“No, that’s Rainbow Dash!”

“Yer both wrong, it’s Applejack!”

The three friends continued to bicker as they headed steadily away from the school. The trio argued and argued, not noticing the fringe of trees that loomed over them. They were unknowingly heading straight into the Everfree Forest, and they immediately felt its effects. The debate grew more heated and sinister as the magic of the forest ensnared the three fillies. Eventually, the small argument turned to shouts, and each filly became more and more heated.

"Ugh!" Applebloom snarled, after over an hour of pointless quarreling. The triad did not yet notice their location, nor the looming threat that would soon overtake them. "You guys are jus' stupid!" She stormed off, leaving the other two in shocked silence. She stormed through the trees, anger blinding her. She only just noticed where she was a half-hour later, when her rage had finally subsided. She gulped as she noticed the unfamiliar trees.

"Um... gals?" she whimpered, shrinking from the dark shadows that the evening light cast.
Oh, ponyfeathers, she thought miserably.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were panicking. Their best friend had just stormed off the trail to who-knows-where in the Everfree Forest, and even they barely had an idea of where they were. The only indication was the faint trail that led back to where they came. Sweetie Belle just stared off into the distance, while Scootaloo buzzed around, quite frankly freaking out.
"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh ohmygosh!" she squeaked, pacing back and forth. "This is so bad! We don't even know where she is! She could be mauled by manticores, or frozen by a cockatrice, or eaten by timberwolves, or..." she trailed off as more horrid possibilities flowed through her mind. Sweetie Belle cringed when Scootaloo stopped; obviously, she was having the same thoughts.

"No!" she suddenly shrieked. Scootaloo stopped and stared at her. "We gotta go find Applejack and the others! We're obviously not strong or fast enough to find her without getting hurt, and the more we panic, the less time we have."

Scootaloo was stunned by Sweetie Belle's newfound responsibility. She liked to think that she was the most direct and responsible of the group, but in all reality, she was slightly envious of Sweetie Belle's ability to think under pressure. It was a sign that her idol, Rainbow Dash, had obviously inflated her ego to disproportional levels.

"A...Alright," Scootaloo said blankly. She fluttered her way to the edge of the path and sighed softly. "I hope you're okay, Applebloom. Crusading just wouldn't be the same without you." With another sharp whistle from Sweetie Belle, she trotted back onto the path and back to Ponyville, the sun descending on the treeline.

A white backdrop expanded for miles, illuminating everything evenly. The three figures sitting by a table seemed two dimensional in the flat light. One of them cracked a smile through the high collar of its tunic.

"All of the pieces are falling into place," it said in a decidedly male voice. He chuckled as he conjured up a small orb of crystal that revealed a small filly with an amaranth mane.

"Be careful, ______," the second figured said shortly. "We still don't know how she could affect our plans. The heroes need to be manipulated in just the right way to save prevent the future I foresaw."

"Calm yourself, __________," a third, female voice whispered. "If she refuses to join her friends and turn back, then she must join them on their quest. There is nothing we can change. We've already spent two millennia worth of energy just to bring them to this world. It is here where they must prove their worth, or die trying."

"They have all proven their 'worth' several times over in their respective times," the first one rumbled. "The only reason they are here is to defeat the evils located in this era." The voice stopped from beneath the collar. "The three greatest men in the history of the planet Terra Firma, coming together to correct Fate itself. This kind of thing has not been done before. While I agree that we need to 'go with the flow', as the mortals say, there is a certain precision required to it. Not even those self-proclaimed goddesses know of our existence, nor of anything beyond their species."

"This country seems to be a happier North Korea," the third one observed.

"Quite," the second agreed.

The three spoke together next, an eerie and displacing harmony. "To the safety of The Fated Ones." The three conjured glasses filled with a deep blue liquid and toasted, gulping down the fluid in quick gulps. A single splotch of blue spilled over.

The same blue that burned in a certain sorcerer's eyes, the fletching of a thief's arrows, and the signet ring of a great knight, all unconscious in a clearing near the Everfree Forest.

Comments

[BaconHazard]

Interesting... I'm keeping my eye on this one. It may be a keeper!

I wonder why this story doesn't have more views? It's greatly written (IMO) and the plot isn't half bad so far. But I sure as hell know that you're going to have one extra follower if you keep this up.