> Strange creature in the strange forest > by Markbon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Curiosity and Fear > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a quiet night in the small town of Ponyville, the Princess Luna's moon was in a sky full of stars, all the ponies were resting in peace and quiet except 6 fearless ponies. "Twilight, this is a very bad idea" said Applejack. "Going into the Everfree forest at night is suicide!" said Rainbow with a strange preoccupation. "And during the night scary creatures roam in the forest" said Fluttershy tremble. "Huge and scary creatures" Pinkie in a strangely cheerful tone. "And no one can interrupt my beauty sleep" said Rarity, getting some confused looks in response. "Sorry girls, but I can't sleep after discovering the existence of the Princess Celestia's old castle, there are too many things I need to find out about the old relationship between the two princesses" said Twilight. "Why we are going now?" isn't it better to wait for the morning?" said Raimbow. "I NEED RESEARCH NOW!" screamed Twilight hysterically and getting the "shhh" from a nearby house. "Girls please, it will be quick, 15 minutes let's go to the castle, see and take some things and go back to Ponyville without anyone noticing" Twilight said hopefully. "Ah, alright Twilight" said Applejack in a very annoyed tone. "I am always with you, even with your hysterical searches" said Rainbow. "I have prepared an emergency snack for these occasions" Pinkie said as she started to pop some candy out of her mane. "if all go then I'll come too" said a more reassured Fluttershy. Everpony looked at Rarity who finally said "oh okay I'm coming too, goodbye my beauty sleep" said the white unicorn with his typical drama. "Thanks girls, let's go!" said Twilight. "Let's go!" repeated the girls and received another "shhh" from an annoyed neighbor. The girls were now in the forest, constantly tripping over small roots and always being on the alert, even for the smallest noise they frightened. "Twilight, how far to the castle? I am afraid here" said Fluttershy trembling with fear. "Not much, don't worry we're almost there" said Twilight also with a little fear. Suddenly a terrible stench turned the air into a barely breathable substance, all the creatures of the forest run away not because of the smell, but they understood who or what was coming, green eyes suddenly appear looking at the girls now petrified for the fear. Applejack finally understood the situation, in a trembling voice he said "Celestia, tell me it's not just them". A loud howl broke the silence followed by two less powerful ones, then 4, 6, 8, 10, about a dozen creatures howled as if they were already savoring their midnight snack, then silence returned, that damned terrifying silence before the end, the green eyes finally popped out to reveal their shape. "Timberwolves!!" scream Applejack as the girls desperately try to defend themselves from the wolves: Rainbow tries to outrun the wolves with her speed, Pinkie uses as ammunition for his party cannon what was supposed to be the midnight snack, Twilight and Rarity use their defensive shield to hold back the predators, Applejack kicks left and right with full force while Fluttershy was cowering in too much scare; but in the end all the girls were defeated: a sudden ambush stops Rainbow's run, Pinkie ran out of ammo and was kicked off her canon, Twilight and Rarity shield broke, Applejack was eventually overwhelmed by the wolves and Fluttershy was shot by one of the weaker timberwolf. All the girls except Fluttershy passed out from too many injuries while the only one left conscious said sobbing. "Please, no" said Fluttershy trembling. While the wolves were about to jump on the now defeated ponies a strange object flew into the area between the ponies and the wolves, shortly after the object exploded causing a very loud noise and a brief paralysis on both sides, taking advantage of the paralysis, a strange creature stepped between two sides, it was a tall creature, dressed in black, with a strange mask and a pointed hat and was armed with a strange staff connected to a large object behind its back, his presence was terrifying, both for Fluttershy and wolves. The creature pressed a strange button behind its back and its staff began to spit fire at the distraught wolves, the show was too much for Fluttershy and she eventually passed out too. The girls wake up at about the same time in a cave, but it wasn't a dark and scary cave, but an inhabited cave, with lighting, furniture and even beds (not that they were much but better than sleeping on the cold stone), the girls noticed that in the center of the room there was a letter, Twilight read it aloud: "Pony, I saved your life and patched up your wounds, I only ask you not to touch anything and to leave immediately, I have left you some pasta with tomato near the table, take it and go straight, at the pond turn right, go straight again and you will be in Ponyville. Ps: if I discover that you have stolen or touched something from my humble abode, I will not hesitate to give you timberwolfes". Signed by the humble inhabitant of this mansion. After reading the letter Rainbow cry "who wants to get out lift the hoof", everyone immediately lifted their hoof, they just wanted to leave. The tired and scary girls start to go out but not before taking the food offered by their savior, but in the meantime they start looking at his house\cave, it was a pretty good house even if it had some strange things, Pinkie noticed strange shoes, besides the fact that they were only a pair and not 4 like normal ponies they also had a strange shape, too long for a normal equestrian creature. "Our savior must surely be a minotaur, or a diamond dog, or both" said Pinkie. Twilight noticed a strange corner of the house, it was an image of two strange creatures, a large one holding a smaller one in her arms while underneath recited a writing: "In Nome de Patri, Filis and Spiritus Santis" It was a solemn image, like the representations of Celestia, but he could not figure out who or what the two creatures in the picture were, but he could not figure out who or what the two creatures in the picture were. Rarity instead was in the bathroom. "After all this a lady needs at least to clean her muzzle"she said as she entered the bathroom. But immediately noticed a strange thing, a strange smaller sink, in the end she came to the conclusion that it was a special sink for foals, although she could not read the Rarity products in the end she left the bathroom satisfied. While exploring the house, Rainbow found a calendar with the days circled in different colors based on their importance and sports commitments were written underneath. "Today at 12.30 Battlefield 1 tournament and at 20.45 Milan-Inter match" read Rainbow. "I don't know what is Battlefield 1 but it looks cool, and this match between Milan and Inter looks highly important if it's circled in red." Applejack found strange fruits called "pistacchio", he wanted to take one but he remembered the words of the owner of the house and in the end he resigned himself to take the fruits. Fluttershy found the pasta but looking at the shelf she was horrified by the presence of meat. Screaming she said "girls let's go I found the food" immediately the girls answered the call and came out of that strange house/cave. Luna's moon was waning while Celestia's sun was rising. It a huge yawn Rainbow said "how long did we sleep?". "Don't know, but the important thing now is to get out of this damned forest" said Twilight. The girls then began their return at home, the wounds and staleness taking their toll but their determination and desperation were their driving force in this place forgotten by Celestia, they didn't have the strength to be alert or fight the creatures. After a few minutes of walking that seemed like hours for the girls, they finally arrived at the much desired pond, and even though it was dangerous, they began to drink the water from the pond even Rarity, who had high standards drank the strange water out of desperation. When they had finished drinking they heard a terrifying noise, they were the howls of the Timberwolves, but they weren't their howls of happiness as at the beginning but loud, decisive, fighting howls. "Girls, let's leave now" said Twilight she said with approval from most of the girls except oddly for Fluttershy who protested. "But probably the creature that saved us last night is fighting the wolves alone, we can't abandon him now" said the yellow pegasus. "Fluttershy, it's crazy to go there I insisted on going here and now I insist on all of us leaving together " said Twilight. "But our savior, that creature who saved us? Do we abandon?" Fluttershy cried. At her name the other girls looked away except Twilight who said. "I don't know what or who he is, but he told us to leave immediately and not to pry, if it weren't for him our curiosity would have hurt us badly or even worse we would have become the timberwolves snack". "That's one more reason to help him!" said Fluttershy with tears in her eyes. "Fluttershy, please, let's go to home" said Twilight. But Fluttershy unexpectedly decided to leave the pond and head towards the battlefield. "Fluttershy!" said the other girls after the yellow pegasus disappeared into the forest. Fluttershy was flying with all her speed, she didn't know what came over her, this strange feeling of saving or see again that creature was too much, while she was thinking about her choice she hit a pile of leaves which made her skid. What she saw next was terrifying, the creature that had saved her was now bleeding, weak, had wounds and scratches everywhere and it was a miracle that in those conditions she could still stand. Suddenly a Timberwolf leaps at the creature, but with incredible speed the staff spits fire at the wolf's face stopping it, a strange green substance came out of the Timberwolf's body, the creature let out a strange object which in a few seconds sucked the substance, after the Timberwolf's body collapsed with all its wooden body now no longer tied. Fluttershy was marveled, though it's obvious weakness the creature still aroused terror and awe, another timberwolf tried to leap towards the creature now distracted but Fluttershy stepped between two sides. "Nooo!" said Fluttershy waiting to take the blow, but after a couple of seconds nothing happened, Fluttershy opened her eyes and saw that the wolf was being held by the magic, immediately the creature pushed Fluttershy away and activated his staff incinerating the Timberwolf head, then he used the strange gun to suck up the green substance causing the wolf's body to collapse. "What happened?" said a confused Fluttershy, her friends came out of the forest. Her friends came out of the forest. "Fluttershy! said her friends as we ran for a group hug. "You gave us a big scare!" said Pinkie. "Never do that again!" said Rarity. "Sorry Girls" said Fluttershy. The group hug broke and the attention of the main 6 was directed towards the creature who was writing something on a jar. "Thank you for saving us, we be grateful to you for that" Twilight said shyly. The creature put down the jar and took off his mask, a kind of hairless monkey came out, with a bit of a beard, curly messy hair and a slightly bigger nose than a pony, with a smile he said: "Thanks, this is for your" pointing to the jar. Twilight took the jar and read the writing aloud: "Timberwolf soul". Then the creature put on its mask again, with a strange hoof greeted the girls and disappeared into the forest. The girls were almost out of the forest by now, Celestia's sun shines in the sky, Ponyville was already visible and their nightmare was now over. "Girls" Twilight said stopping "please don't tell anyone what happened last night, not even the princesses". "But Twilight" said Fluttershy. "Our curiosity nearly killed us, i don't want anyone else to make the same mistake as us" said a Twilight regretted having brought her friends there. All, even if a little hesitant, nodded. Twilight adds: "I don't know why that creature saved our lives and I don't know why it prefers to stay there, but today I learned one thing, being curious is not a bad thing if you don't enter in the Everfree forest".