Secrets of the Everfree

by ancientdragonduelist

Echoes of the Past

There was an awful ruckus coming from the second-highest tower of Canterlot castle. Such a thing hadn’t been heard in more than a millennia. In fact, that entire wing of the castle had been sealed off with a statis spell until recently. Princess Celestia almost never cast such powerful time magic, but she had made an exception when she learned of the prophecy. After all, the least she could do for her little sister was keep her few possessions safe until the banishment spell finally ended. Her room was one of the only things Luna recognized when she returned; it alone had stood the test of time. Now, it was being torn apart faster than you could say Discord.

“It has to be them!” Luna cried, throwing an ancient figurine against the wall to shatter. “But we defeated them! Banished them from our realm! There’s no way they could’ve re-opened the portal…”

A calm voice of reason drifted through the tinkling glass and cracking wood. “Lulu, just because we detected a non-magical sonic boom doesn’t mean the Demons have returned.”

Luna turned on the voice with fury in her eyes. “Are thou blind sister?!” she bellowed, reverting to the old tongue and punctuating each shouted word with another broken possession, “Only those Heartless! Brutal! Murdering! Beasts could have..” Luna’s voice broke and trailed off as horrible memories returned.

Celestia stood up, walked over to her little sister, and pulling her into a wing-hug. Luna’s entire frame shook with repressed sobs, trying desperately to hold back decades of loneliness and suffering. “Why Tia… Why did they take Mother away?…”

The princess of the sun felt her own eyes growing wet as she remembered a time before they were princesses. In the days of Dream Valley and Paradise Estate, there had been more than two Alicorns. In fact, there had been an entire herd of the immortal ponies, males and females alike. As with all ponies, the Stallions greatly outnumbered the Mares, so the concept of marriage was alien to them. Instead, each Stallion had a small herd of Mares, each bearing his foals. This resulted in weak-to-non-existent paternal bonds, but nearly unbreakable maternal bonds. Well, unbreakable to everything but the cold hand of death…

Celestia nuzzled her nearly weeping sister. “Do not worry dear Luna,” she murmured, “Whatever happens, you are right. We did banish those monsters, and they will never return.” Luna looked up Celestia, little more than a scared filly that needed her big sister’s reassurance. “I swear, I will never let them hurt us again.” Celestia vowed as she stared deep into her sister’s eyes. The eldest Alicorn meant every word; Luna was her only sister, and meant the world to her. If it ever came down to it, she doubted she could lose her for Equestria again.

A chuckle broke through Luna’s sobs. “Look at me sister. The princess of the night, huddling on the floor like a spooked foal...”

Celestia laughed lightly, and pulled Luna in a tighter hug. “Tis all right Lulu. You had good reason to be scared. But it is alright. Perhaps the sonic boom was simply a new creature from the Everfree Forest.”

A shadow passed behind Luna’s eyes. “The Everfree… the only place we could not cleanse of their influence…”

“And now brings forth only echoes of their world.” Celestia finished firmly. “Even if this new creature proves dangerous, we will not let it harm anypony. I have already sent word to Captain Navy Shield; he is establishing a garrison in PonyVille as we speak.”

Luna laughed, for real this time. “You were always the perfect ruler Tia, it is little wonder that Equestria has flourished so under your rule.”

“You were missed Luna,” Celestia quietly added, “Don’t ever forget that.”

“I forgot overprotective!” Luna laughed, and shoved her sister away with her hooves.

Celestia was surprised for a moment, and then her eyes narrowed in playful anger. The two ponies may be immortal rulers of Equestria, but when it comes down to it, they are also just sisters. No royal work was done for the rest of the night.

---

Look, it was never my idea to adopt three screaming foals from the forest! That was Thomas’ brilliant plan! Only that soft-hearted fool could’ve decided it was a good idea to share our meager food rations with three random animals! Why should I be blamed for snapping!? If anything, I put those foals in their place!... okay… so I feel a little bad about what I did. Maybe I should tell you what happened.

It was after I threw that piece of meat at David. He decided to give me a little wake-up call that I was supposed to be cooking. Forgive me if I want to learn the anatomy of a new creature! Anyways, David’s method of giving a wake-up call usually involves dumping something on your head. Since we lacked a bucket of water, I was doused with a soda can. Thus starting the food fight.

Turns out that piece of meat I threw, it hit one of the little ponies, and sent them all into a panic. Then Thomas yells to catch them, and all hell breaks loose. I’m chasing this yellowish pony (with a pink bow in her hair??) in circles on the main room’s stone floor. Every time I get close enough to take a swipe at her, she screams and changes directions on me. It’d getting frustrating, and every scream sends another shockwave into my brain. Slowly but surely, I’m losing my cool.

I swear it took a full five minutes to catch those runaway fillies! Have you ever sprinted for five minutes straight? It a’int fun. Eventually, I quit caring whether or not I hurt the little pony, and seized her by the neck. Then I lifted her up to my level, and glared deep into her strangely adorable eyes. The terror the poor thing was feeling must’ve been unimaginable. Probably wasn’t helping that I wanted to kill her at that particular moment.

Around me, the guys were finally catching their quarry. It would have been funny watching David trying to catch the orange one if I hadn’t been doing the same damn thing a second ago. Thomas was being a little girl; he had finally cornered the white pony, but wouldn’t finish the job and grab her! So she kept up her ear-piercing, maddening wail! At least David had the decency to quiet his pony after he caught her. She didn’t look pleased at the hand covering her mouth, but it was one less thing I had to listen to.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Thomas did nothing to silence the white filly he had cornered, and her shrill scream just kept drilling, drilling deep into my skull… The yellow one I had captured began squealing, chattering, or something, a mile a minute, sending pulse after pulse of heated chaos into my brain. Suddenly, the orange one bit David’s hands, eliciting a jarring yell from him. Then she began to scream. “Help!” “Help!” “Help!” Louder… LOUDER…LOUDER…

“SHUT! UPP!!” I bellowed.

And all was still.

The three fillies had clamped their muzzles shut, the instant my shout hit their ears. Thomas and David were motionless, shocked into silence by my display of anger. Beyond that, the forest itself was quiet. No crickets sung their chirping calls. No distant calls of the wooden wolves. No beautiful tunes from the friendly Nightingale. All was quiet. At last.

I took in the sweet peace for a moment, and then strode over to Thomas. He held out his arms, and caught my pony when I dropped her in his grip. It doesn’t happen often, but I’ve had freak-outs before. The guys know I need time to cool-off, and vent my anger. Sometimes I go hunting, killing six small animals with my revolver and bringing back dinner. Other times I’ll tear a tree to pieces, then bring back firewood. Whatever happens, I usually end up destroying something, and for whatever reason, I didn’t really want to hurt the little pony I had caught.

As I marched out of the castle, I noticed David beginning to move. Normally, most everything is too scared to draw my attention, rightly fearing I will murder it. David alone has overcome that. He suffers from far worse rages than mine, and they happen much more frequently too. That 18-year old man forever has my respect for learning to control them. One of the few plus sides of such a disorder is he knows exactly what I’m going through, and when it is safe to move. Plus, if I ever tried attacking him, there’s a good chance I would lose. It’s hard to beat a guy who’s gone to boot camp.

The last thing I saw before stomping out of the rotting castle was David bringing his pony to Thomas. Seems we both know that he’s the only one who really knows how to act around them, and how to calm them down. Then I was out, and facing a wide gorge that was separating me from my prey. I looked around, saw a massive tree, and grinned. I had found a target for my anger and frustration. Without missing a beat, I drew my axe, tossed it into the air, caught the handle, and ripped into the ancient oak like fury from hell. We would have a bridge across this chasm by tomorrow morning.

---

Big Mac let out a sigh as Applejack finally drifted off to sleep. The poor pony had been coughing up her lungs all day, and still tried to go and do some chores. Naturally, Big Mac just slid his little onto his back, and carried her back to her bedroom, ignoring feeble protests the entire time. His heart nearly broke at the look she gave him when he laid her back in bed. It was a smile, but a sad, broken smile that betrayed her failing hope.

The big red Stallion hadn’t done a lick of work on the farm that day. He spent his time entertaining and caring for his little sister. Big Mac had no real idea how to tell a story or joke, but Applejack loved them anyways. She knew her brother was trying, and it’s the thought that counts. When he wasn’t spending time with Applejack, Big Mac was making her warm foods. The old Apple Family recipes had helped save his family once; maybe they could do it again.

Seven years ago, a terrible epidemic of the anti-magic plague had ravaged Ponyville. If you were to pass the little town by during that time, you’d have thought it had been abandoned. The hospital itself had almost fully shut down, turning anypony with Plague symptoms away at the door. They could not treat the disease, and did not want it to spread. In fact, only two patients were admitted, and one visitor: Two very pregnant Mares and a rather insistent Stallion.

For all the death and destruction of the time, it did produce a few Glimmers of hope. One of these glimmers was Apple Bloom, born from her ailing mother and named with her final breath. Her father held on long enough to present his brand-new baby girl to the newly appointed Granny Smith, his own mother. Unfortunately, he died soon after. Many thought that poor baby Apple Bloom would be sent to an orphanage, like many other fillies and colts of that period. Well not while Granny Smith had anything to say about it!

The old mare became one of the very few survivors of that epidemic. (That had been infected) Earth Ponies were always the most resistant to the disease, and the Apple Family produced very healthy ponies, but most believe that Granny beat the disease through sheer willpower. That old pony wouldn’t have let the Princesses themselves get between her and her granddaughter! She cooked, cleaned; basically did everything in her power to keep the Apple Farm running and her family together. Unfortunately, her bucking days were past her. This is where Big Mac came in.

Big Mac threw his heart and soul into running that farm. He single-hoofedly took on the work of three ponies, and he did it without complaining. Most Stallions his age were signing up for the Royal Guard, ready to see the land and meet many Mares. As a result, Big Mac was left mostly friendless. Soon, he grew quiet, speaking only when necessary. But whatever he did, he kept those apples growing, and he kept his family alive.

Soon, little Applejack grew up enough to take a share of Big Mac’s work. She alone remembered the friendly, talkative pony he had once been, and remains one of the only ponies capable of coaxing more than an “Eeyup” out of him. Granny Smith wore herself out raising Apple Bloom and Applejack, and finally retired herself 6 years after the great Plague. Little Apple Bloom took over her Granny’s chores, sometimes assisted by her big sister. They sacrificed much, but in the end, this part of the Apple Family survived.

Now Big Mac was helplessly watching his little sister wasting away on her bed. He had gotten Granny Smith out of the barn and to the hospital the first time Applejack really started coughing. There wasn’t much they could do if the old mare fell ill again, but at least she was in a sterile, clean environment. Next he made sure Apple Bloom stayed away from the farm. One of Big Mac’s worst nightmares was easily finding his baby sister dead on the floor. She’s much too young, too innocent, too happy to go, and Big Mac would die to protect her. Once all that was out of the way, he turned his full attention to Applejack.

One of the hardest things he’d had to do that day was turn away Applejack’s friends. They really wanted to see her, and wish her better, but Big Mac turned them away far from the barn. He would damn himself to Tartarus before he unleashed another epidemic on Ponyville, and there was no better breeding ground for a disease that a “get well party”. All he could bring Applejack was little gifts from her friends. Fluttershy: Winona, Pinkie Pie: a Cupcake, Rainbow Dash: a copy of Daring Do, Rarity: a full set of evening clothing (filled with gems of course), and Princess Twilight: the Element of Honesty.

Not long after they left Big Mac received one more visitor: Cherrilee. She and the Red Stallion had become good friends since the rather… interesting Hearts and Hooves day last year. Big Mac had recently found himself spending more and more of his spare time with her. She was always patient, understanding, and wonderfully smart. Likewise, he knew she liked having someone to hear her ideas and opinions, not to mention without constantly commenting. He swore that sometimes he had seen Apple Bloom giggling at them, but he could never be sure. However, today wasn’t a social visit.

Cherrilee had brought all available information from the last epidemic, and added her own notes and theories. This would be invaluable in the fight to save Applejack. He thanked the Ponyville teacher profusely for her generosity, but she waved him off, saying he would do the same for her. The two shared a tender look, until a bout of coughing sent Big Mac galloping back to the barn. These next few days would prove to be quite the trial.

Big Mac had turned out the magically-powered lights and was about to leave when Applejack started coughing again. He reacted purely on instinct, wrapping himself around his little sister. Maybe it was the warmth radiating from his body, maybe it was the love he felt for her. Whatever it was, Applejack quit coughing and snuggled in when she felt her big brother. His heart melted a little, and he sent a prayer to Celestia, begging her to save Applejack from this terrible Plague. Then he drifted off to sleep, keeping his little sister safe in his hooves. He would dream of happier times that night.

---

A tired but satisfied human staggered into the ancient castle in the predawn hours that morning. He had tired himself out, but the job was complete. The others would be proud. Then he glanced at the three adorable sleeping fillies. His heart clenched in guilt for he did to them earlier. Before he entered his cocoon of warmth, he gently laid a small wooden gift in front of the ponies. He smiled, whispering Good Night, and slipped away into the world of dreams. Above, the first rays of Celestia’s sun touched the distant horizon.

Author's Note:

Don't except updates THIS often. It takes from two to three weeks to get these chapters written! Still, thankyouthankyouTHANKYOU for all these reviews! I've NEVER had this many before! I'm already brainstorming chapter 4, see you guys soon!

Comments

[strijer987]

awesome chapter is awesome!

[jamesofearth2]

This is interesting