Prologue: Into the Woods
Prologue
“I’m going to be late!” I yell out, though no one was actually home to hear me. I dash through my house, running through it like I’m raving mad. I grab my phone and my laptop from my bedroom, toss them into my backpack before I hastily grab my body armor. Once I have everything, I grab my backpack and throw it over my shoulder. I almost run out the door before I realize I am missing something very important: my gun. Frustrated I turn back to the room and retrieve my paintball gun from my dresser before quickly making my way out of the house.
Flying out the door, I run across my front yard and into the forest just outside my property. Before long, I meet up with the rest of my team, who are waiting impatiently in a clearing.
“Sorry I’m late,” I wheeze out, taking a moment to catch my breath. "You know your positions?" My two friends, Max and Nathan, merely smile and nod their heads, suppressing their laughter.
"I will be going to an animal shelter tomorrow to help with the animals there, I'm guessing you two are going to be at Six Flags?" I take another moment to make sure everything is in order with my team. They both are decked out in gear similar to mine, though there are tiny alterations that suit each of them.
"We have the season pass, we might as well use it for what its worth," Max states, bending down to tie his shoe. He was taller than me, so it was funny when he was bending over, thus shorter than me.
"You do know that a season ticket is only worth two trips to Six Fags, and not twenty trips, right?" I reply flatly. Max laughs at the question, getting back onto his feet, making me feel short again.
"Yeah, I do know that. But I don't want to go only twice a year. You're with me, right Nathan?" Max glances over at Nathan, who nods in response, a smile playing across his lips.
I pause momentarily as I think that over, "Well, I guess you're right, it would be stupid to only go two times when you live so close." Max and Nathan focus on something behind me, reaching for their paintball guns that are strapped across their chests.
I hear a chuckle from behind me and turn around, "Talking about Six Flags instead of the game? Makes me think you're worried, Bridget. We will pound you into the ground," A captain from another team states while he walks up to us.
"Me? Worried? Ha! At least I didn't cry on a roller coaster, and besides you know I practice a ton and you don’t even touch your paintball gun, Ben." I tease with a smug smile as I remember hitting all my targets dead on in my last practice run.
"Alright then, lets see what you're made of," Ben says mockingly. He pulls up his own gun, aiming it straight at me and pretending that he was shooting me. I almost fell to the ground laughing when he made a pew-pew sound.
I merely smile instead and say, "With pleasure, little brother. I hope you don't get scared when I beat the rest of your team and save you for last, because I would hate for you to run home and hide.”
Ben just stares flatly back, "Not if i get you first!" He shouts, his face turning red with embarrassment and rage.
"Good luck with that~!" I sing as my team and I run off further into the woods to wait until the whistle is blown to start the game.
"Bridget, is Ben anything like you,or is he worse?" Max asks as we run. I really don’t like answering questions when others ask me about my brother. I thought people understood how I despised talking to others about my brothers skill, because I knew absolutely nothing about how he actually did. Just his practice schedule.
"I have never seen him play so, I don't really know. I just know I practice way more, but maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Lets just hope he isn't.” I gasp as we come to a stop and I try to catch my breath.
Max jogs past me and leans up against a tree. “Yeah, lets hope so, because I know the rest of his team is.” I pause as I ponder the situation. The other two players on my brothers team were kids I really didn’t know, because my brother didn’t let me get to know his friends. Not after I made him look like an idiot in front of Max and Nathan.
“Anyways..., we need a strategy. Max you cover me, Nathan you go and hide behind the trees over there and see if you can get a shot.” I say as I point to some random trees across from us. “You wait them out. I’ll scout, Max you shadow me.” The two nod, silently agreeing.
A silence falls over the group except for me humming softly. "What do you think they will try and do?" I ask no one in particular. I also didn’t really expect an answer either.
"Most likely try and get you first because you made fun of their captain," Max laughs. I join in the laugh for a moment, realizing that he was probably right. My brother would want me out of the way first and he would want to be the one to do it.
I nod and go back to watching the trees, searching for brush I can use for cover. "I'll be sure to get the first person I see before they see me, I mean look at what im wearing." I comment as I gesture to my camouflage painted skin and clothing. It had taken me forever to actually paint the camo onto my skin, especially some of the areas that were harder to reach.
"Yeah, no one should be able to see you if you’re careful, but neither will Nathan. So you might not want to sneak behind him, or he might shoot you." Max responds. “For that matter, don’t let me lose sight of you either. I don’t really need you sneaking up on me anytime soon.”
"Trust me, if I have to do that, I’ll warn him it’s me before getting too close," I remark with sarcasm as I roll my eyes. I didn’t really want to end up shot by my own team member.
Max smiles and laughs. "Always the smart one you are Bridget, always the smart one."
A loud whistle echoes through the trees, signaling the beginning of the game.
"Time to start!” I exclaim with a large smile as everyone gets into their positions.
******
In Equestria, a lavender unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle scanned the treelines of the surrounding forest. The Everfree Forest.
Spike sighed, turning to her with a small glare.“Come on, Twilight! You promised me you wouldn’t get carried away. We’re here to help Fluttershy with her animals, not to do research off in the woods, remember?” He commented with a mildly concerned look. “Now lets get this over with before I end up missing my afternoon nap time.”
Twilight shook her head, snapping out of her daze. “Uh, yeah, sorry about that Spike, I was just wondering about-”
“I know.” Spike interjected flatly with an unamused look before casually gesturing a claw to a small cottage ahead. “Look, we’re almost at Fluttershy’s, so focus. You can get back to whatever that crazy idea is you have been going on about the past few days after we help her, and after I am back in my cozy bed.”
Twilight looked back to spike with a sheepish smile. “You’re right, sorry, not the time or place.”
Twilight scooped the baby dragon up in a magical glow, levitating him onto her back before trotting the short distance to Fluttershy’s cottage. But not without one last glance at the forest.
*****
As I run through the woods, scouting for our opponents, Max has already taken out one of the boys on the opposing team. My plan for scouting was simple. If I saw one of our opponents, I would jump behind a bush and hope my camouflage actually did it’s job. I am quickly becoming paranoid as the more time passes without a single sign of anyone.
About 20 minutes go by and still no sign of my brother or his teammate. I begin to wonder if they ran away? Though that seems rather unlikely. My brother is brash and never gives up until the end. I decide to walk back to the starting area by our gear bags and happen to spot my brother’s teammate along the way. Dropping to the ground and taking careful aim, I fire a shot and hit him in the chest. I grin happily as the red paint splatters his armor, a perfect shot to the chest. He falls down and plays dead like we're supposed to, with an angry look on his face. I stand back up and take a look around the surrounding area.
“Now... to find my brother,” I think aloud to myself, scratching my head with the tip of my gun. “I need to make sure I see him before he sees me, easy enough!”
I smirk as I continue the walk to the starting area, hardly making any noise; sometimes it’s good to be light on your feet. I get to another clearing and see my brother looking around and... waiting? I think about it for a moment and it hits me. He is looking for his team, and when they don't come, he will be determined to take me and Max out. Sadly, Nathan got taken out before Max could get the first guy we eliminated.
I decide to go the long way around to where his back is facing. As I get there, I hold steady, take careful aim and fire a shot, hitting my brother in the back with a bright red paintball. He turns around and as he sees me, his face turns as red as the splatter on his front. He starts to charge for me, so I run the short distance back to where we started, grab my bag in case he wants to mess with my stuff and run deep into the forest in an attempt to lose him. I am looking behind me when it happens. I feel my foot catch on something and trip, falling hard head first into a large root , my last thought before I lost consciousness is, “I got him, I won!.”
**********
"I’m glad you came to help me with my animals today, Twilight. Though, you didn’t have to if you really didn’t want to." Fluttershy mumbled, a light smile on her face.
"Its fine, Fluttershy. I'm more than happy to help, but I can't stay too long. I still have to find a spell for an experiment I’m conducting later today." Twilight responded, catching her breath. She had spent the better part of an hour running about with different foods, helping Fluttershy feed her animal friends. Though, she refused to go anywhere close to the snakes that Fluttershy kept down by the river.
She kept her mood light, the idea of whatever may be in the Everfree keeping her from becoming too stressed. She was chanting “Yes, yes, yes,” under her breath, excited to find what could be out there.. Before she could finish her thoughts, the Cutie Mark Crusaders came bounding into the cottage, out of breath. The three fillies were obviously still on their adventures to find their cutie marks.
Sweetie Belle spoke first, before the other two could catch their breath. "Fluttershy, do you know have anything we can do to get our cutie marks? We’ve ran out of ideas." Scootaloo rolled her eyes, no doubt mocking the unicorn filly because she probably had a lot of ideas, but they were deemed “too extreme” by her friends.
"Oh girls, we have talked about this before, many times. Why not keep trying the things you know and love? Maybe you can still find your special talent that way Um, safely?" Fluttershy said with a hint of concern in her voice. “Remember the last time you tried to help me?”
Unfortunately, the girls were barely even paying attention, somehow wrapped up with a new idea that Applebloom had come up with during the middle of Fluttershy’s speech. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS LIFEGUARDS!!! YAY!" The trio shouted, at a ridiculously high volume, before running off to see if their special talent was actually saving ponies from drowning.
"You, uh, might want to go after them Fluttershy. They won’t be able to save anypony else if they can’t even save themselves,” Twilight said as she looked out the door with a worried expression. Fluttershy nodded and flew after the crusaders.
Twilight paused a moment before looking at the cottage door. “Now to go to the library and find that spell." She smiled, closing the door, leaving a very disgruntled bunny with a bowl of carrots and lettuce.
Normally Twilight would simply walk or run to her destinations, but today, Twilight could hardly hold back her excitement. She decided that it would simply be easier for her to teleport home. Her horn lit up with the glow of her purple magic as she vanished, appearing in the lobby of her library home.
“Now, where was that mass illumination spell...” she mused as she read through her spell books
**********
I find myself waking up in the middle of the forest, only it seems far darker and much scarier than I remembered it being.
“Ugh... what time is it?” I groan as I rub my head and stand up before cursing at the tree that I had hit. I then realize that I’m in the middle of a clearing. Maybe Ben had dragged me here and went to go find some help. I didn’t really know, nor did I appreciate him leaving me in the middle of the forest.
I take a moment to collect myself then throw my bag over my shoulder and start to walk the short distance back to home. Unfortunately, I find my sense of direction has left at the same moment that I decided it was a good idea to look behind me. Not looking where I was going, I bumped into another tree. Though the distance from where I was to home was quite short, I feel like I have been walking for hours.
I stop for a moment and sit my bag down to rest a moment. “Something’s not right...” I say to myself as I scan the area around me. It looks so familiar, but at the same time, It doesn’t. The trees seem alive, like they were going to stand up and try to get me. I then realize that is the most ridiculous notion ever.
My train of thought is quickly interrupted by a loud growl and I begin to worry because there are a lot of bears in the woods close to my home, though I have never personally seen one. I decide to make a lot of loud noise in an attempt to scare it off, but this only seems to draw the noise closer to me. Something comes out of the nearby brush, but whatever it is, it isn't a bear. Looking over the small mass of the beast I find I recognise it from a mythology book I read back in school.
I promptly say the only coherent thing I can think of at the time "TIMBERWOLVES?!?!?!, THEY’RE REAL?!"
I stand up and start to run, but it quickly begins to follow me. While I am running around, screaming like a banshee, I also may have said, "Help help help help help!!! Stupid monster!" I shot him with the paintball gun once or twice, which only seems to make him angrier and run faster, so I scream, "HELP!" even louder and run as fast as my legs can physically carry me through the forest. Much to my dismay, my foot catches another branch and I trip and fall again.
“WHAT IS WITH ME AND TRIPPING TODAY!?” I scream out before rolling onto my back and facing my pursuer with a look of anger on my face.
I find the timberwolf only feet away from me, followed by 3 more so I do the most logical thing any scared person would do in this situation; I promptly faint in fear, but not before I catch a glimpse of something yellow flash into my field of view. As I once again begin to lose consciousness, I think, “What have I gotten myself into?”