Dark Legacy

Chapter 2: The Everfree Forest

“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! How could we forget about Zecora? She is our friend and we simply forgot her” Twilight said beginning in a normal tone and to the end of her sentence nearly screaming. Applejack walked towards her putting a hoof around her neck and said “Sugarcube, calm down let's go inside and send a letter to the princess. Then we go and get Zecora.” Twilight and the others said nothing. They just walked into the town hall.

“Spike! Spike!” Twilight shouted inside of the town hall

“Yes, Twilight, what is it?” Spike asked scaring Twilight a little because he was so fast at her side.

“Send a letter to the princess informing her about what’s going on here.”

“I already have” Spike said while lifting an eyebrow up and looking at Twilight.

“That’s my number one assistant” Twilight said proudly to Spike

“Now we only need a way to get to Zecora” Pinkie pointed out.

Twilight put a hoof to her forehead and began to slightly hit her forehead repeatedly with her hoof while saying “Think. Think. Think. Think. Think!”

“Why don’t we run as fast as we can? Maybe we will make it” Rainbow Dash asked the group only to get a swift answer from Rarity.

“Oh dear, such a question could only come from you”

“Hey what’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow said while taking off and flying in front of Rarity. But before Rarity could answer Applejack moved between them and wanted to say something but at that moment she was interrupted by Twilight who only said “I got it. I know how we can get to Zecora but it won’t be easy.”

Her five friends and many other ponies from Ponyville just looked at her in completed confusion.

“What’s ya plan, Sugarcube?”

“I will explain to you what my plan is but first I need to talk to Mayor Mare that nopony is allowed to go outside the shield until the princess is here.”

“Okay, we will wait outside”

With that spoken the five friends went outside.

The ponies waited outside the town hall for Twilight to come out and reveal her plan how to get to the Everfree Forest and to Zecora. They waited quietly a time, because Twilight hat to convince some ponies of Ponyville that the shield would hold and that they were really save. Many ponies were so afraid of the Storm because they saw what it had done to their houses but Twilight did her best to grow some faith in their hearts by mentioning that Princess Celestia was, as she hoped, already on her way there to help.

When Twilight went outside she saw that her friends were in a bit of an argument. Rainbow Dash still insisted that they just had to run as fast as they could and they would make it. Strangely she was backed up by the other Pegasus of the group, Fluttershy. Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity didn’t know why until Rarity asked

“Fluttershy, dear, you can’t possibly think that this is a good idea?”

“No, it’s actually a terrible idea” Fluttershy answered while looking down to the ground. Then she put her head up looking at Rainbow Dash and said “Sorry, that I said your idea is terrible.”

“You don’t need to say you are sorry, I know it’s a terrible idea but we have no other option.”

“Actually we do” Twilight said just when Rainbow finished her sentence.

“And what is the other option? And don’t you dare to say we ditch Zecora and leave her in this Storm” Rainbow said sharply.

“That would never come to my mind. She is our friend and so we have to find her.”

“So what’s ya plan Twilight?” Applejack asked

“A shield spell around us that is strong enough to withstand some hits from the Storm. But the thing is that it won’t be that big we have to stay together.”

“Now I think that won’t be a problem” Pinkie said with a loud voice as she stretched her hooves and put everyone in one place with a big hug.

“But don’t you need every Unicorn in Ponyville to cast such a spell?” Rarity asked her.

“No, no. I needed their help to make the spell to protect the whole town hall. To make the shield big enough for only us won’t be a problem” Twilight answered with confidence in her voice.

So Twilight prepared the spell and after the spell was cased they stood together under a barrier that surrounded them. The moment they wanted to move out of the shield spell that surrounded the Town Hall they heard someone asking “Will you bring Zecora here, and will you be okay?”

As the six friends turned around they saw a little filly standing there with a very sad look on her face. They approached the filly together because of the spell they had to move together or somepony might get outside the shield and won’t be able to get inside again without lowering the shield but Twilight friends weren’t sure whether if that would happen Twilight might be able to put the spell up again.

So they stood together in front of the filly and Applejack lowered her body and said “Don’t ya worry little Sis. We will get Zecora and we will make it all back save before ya can say ‘Lickety Split’. So go back inside the Town Hall to ya friends.”

With these words spoken a little smile was formed on Appleblooms face and she then ran back inside the Town Hall. The six friends watched her and when she was back inside they turned around looked to the Everfree Forest and all of them had a serious facial expression and the only thing they said when they began running was

“Let’s do this!”

The six ponies beneath the shield ran through a destroyed Ponyville. It looked like Ponyville was the center of a massive war. Everything had been destroyed and almost every house had collapsed or was damaged to a point where nopony could live there anymore. But it hadn't been a war that had caused that destruction. It was a magical storm and that only in the short time of less than an hour. They were reminded of that as one of the magical lightning bolts hit their shield but they didn’t stop. No, they kept on running but they soon recognized that for every meter the moved towards the Everfree Forest the Storm let more and more Lightning Bolt rain upon them like it had a mind on its own. The six friends tried not to think about it and not to think about how many hits the shield could hold back before it would collapse. So they kept on running so that if the shield would fail they could go back to Plan B, Rainbows Dash's plan to just run as fast as they could and hope they were lucky enough that they wouldn’t get hit.

Then the rain of Lightning Bolts stopped and it was quiet except of the sound the friends made with their Hooves and with their breaths. Then suddenly there was light. A very bright light that blinded the six mares so they stopped. But they shouldn’t have done that.

The light came from the Storm. It was like a big pillar shooting down from the Clouds at the six ponies under their shield. Blinded by the light the friends hugged each other tightly and screamed because they thought it would end here.

After some time the ponies were able to see again. Even though they were alive they they were shocked. They found themselves at the center of a crystal covered crater that had a radius of nearly 15 meters and they were under a dome made of crystals.

The shield collapsed but luckily for them only after the crystals had grown over it.

“What in the hay? How are we supposed to get out of here?” AJ asked hoping anypony had an answer.

“We just crush through it” Rainbow rapidly answered.

“Oki Doki Loki” Pinkie said with a bright smile on her face as she jumped only to realize that the crystals were harder then she had them expected to be. Pinkie hit her head and after she fell back down the only thing she said was “Hey, that hurt you mean crystals.”

That sentence forced a giggle out of her friends and Rainbow said “So crushing through it will only hurt us. So what do we do?”

Completely ignoring that sentence Twilight moved to the wall of the dome, put a hoof on it and asked “Why are they clear?”

“What do you mean Twilight?” the others asked.

“I mean if it is Sombra who is causing this, why are the crystals that are created by the storm clear? Sombras crystals were always black and dark. When we encountered him in the Crystal Empire you weren’t able to see through them. But these are clear. You can see through them.”

“So you are thinking it could be somepony else who is causing this?”

“Yes it could be possible but to be sure on that point we need to go and check the Everfree Forest. The storm clearly doesn’t want us to be there so it stopped us here. The one who is causing this is most likely there.”

“Yeah, good point. But we still have a problem. We are STUCK here and can’t get out. The crystals are most likely too thick to crush through and if we try it will most likely only hurt us. We need a plan how to get out of here and into the forest Miss ‘I am analysing the whole situation and not the situation we are in now’.” Rainbow pointed out in mid-air with her hooves crossed.

“Rainbow that wasn’t nice” Applejack said before biting Rainbows tail and dragging her to the ground.

“Okay, Okay. I’m sorry but...”

“No ‘But’ Rainbow. Ah know what ya want to say. We are so close to the Forest and now we are stuck here. There is only a possible distance of 20 or 27 meters between the Forest and us.”

After twilight heard that her pupils grew bigger and she had an idea.

“Girls, I know how to get out of here and into the Forest”

“How?” her friends asked

“Teleportation with all of us at once”

“But isn’t that really hard and doesn’t that cost a lot of magical power?” “I think I will be able to do it. Everypony, bite the tail of the Pony in front of you and I will cast the teleportation spell.”

Her friends did what Twilight had ordered them to and with a bright magenta flash of her horn the six ponies weren’t trapped in the crystal dome anymore. Instead they found themselves between the bushes of the Everfree Forest.

“We made it to the Everfree Forest but OUCH! These bushes have spikes. Why couldn’t you teleport us onto the road?” Rainbow protested

“Sorry, but as mentioned before teleporting six ponies at once isn’t easy.” Twilight answered while lying on her back on some bushes.

“I don’t get it. I don’t feel any spikes at all and the bush is really soft. I could lay in it the rest of the night.” Pinkie said with a cheerful voice.

“That’s because ya lying on me” a muffled sound drang out of bushes under Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, hey there Applejack. Didn’t see you lying there” Pinkie answered while getting off her friend.

“Oh my... Am I lying on you Rarity. I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy said and quickly spread her wings and soon wasn’t lying on Rarity anymore.

After everyone was out of the bushes they didn’t waste any more time and quickly got to the road that lead through the Forest. They followed the road but they were nervous. Everyone of them had the feeling of being watched. Not by Timberwolves or other monsters but by the Storm and the pony or thing who was causing it. But the sky was clear that the moon and the stars were shimmering. The Everfree Forest was at that moment the center of the storm like the eye of a hurricane but before it became the eye the forest didn’t go untouched. Many Lightning Bolts had hit the Forest and had turned the trees into big crystals.

The six friends went deeper into the forest when they saw something that really horrified them to their bones. Zecora's cottage had hit by some one of the magical lightning bolts. They ran to the cottage and went inside but no Zecora anywhere. Then Fluttershy found some hoofprints in the dirt that most likely were Zecora's. But they were leading deeper into the forest.

“Why did she go deeper into the forest when she could have come to Ponyville? That doesn’t make sense. There is nothing in that particular direction she went” Twilight said with confusion in her voice.

“No it does make sense there is something there”

“What was that, Fluttershy? Did you say something?” Twilight asked because she thought she heard Fluttershy say something.

“No, no I didn’t say anything”

“Mmmmmm referable to the hoofprints she must have been in quite a hurry” both Rainbow and Applejack said.

“Then lets follow the hoofsteps” Twilight said looking to her friends. They said nothing. They just nodded and so they followed the hoofprints.

As they walked along the hoofprints they became more and more frightened of the forest because everyone felt an enormous presence that felt like it was looking at them and not only at them but even through them.

The ponies wanted to slow down and not go too fast to that presence but one pony kept walking normally and that pony was the easily scared yellow Pegasus with the pink mane and tail who had three pink butterflies on her flank.

“Fluttershy, aren’t you scared?” her five friends asked.

“No, should I? I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry, but why aren’t you scared? Don’t you feel this presence? Twilight asked her.

“Oh you mean that. That’s just” Fluttershy ended the sentence unfinished

“What do you mean with ‘That’s just’?” Rainbow asked the fellow Pegasus

“It means nothing. I’m sorry that I said anything”

“I don’t think it means nothing. I think you know something Fluttershy. TELL US!” Rainbow said with an angry voice.

“Yes, just tell us sugarcube” AJ said looking at her.

“But what if it’s a Pinkie Promise and she will break it if she tells us? You all know, nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise” Pinkie added to the conversation.

“That won’t be necessary” Twilight said.

“Why?” her friends asked.

“Because we are here where the trail of hoofprints ends”

“So you are saying whatever causes the Storm and Zecora are in there in this dark cave?”

“Zecora will be in there. Here spoor is ending here but I never even mentioned that the pony or thing that causes this storm could be in there too.”

“But it’s still possible?”

“Unfortunately yes”

“So who will go in first or are we all going in together?” Rainbow asked the group only to realize that one is already halfway in the darkness of the cave. That pony was Fluttershy. She sneaked inside without her friends realizing it.

The ponies shouted ‘FLUTTERSHY, COME BACK!’ into the cave but didn’t get any answer. When they wanted to go inside they saw something in the dark that looked like eyes. The five friends only had seen them because they had reflected the moonlight.

They thought it were Fluttershys eyes that looked at them but they were wrong.

What was looking at them was not Fluttershy, not even Zecora. Neither of these two had such eyes.

The pupils of these eyes weren’t shaped like the pupils of a normal pony. They had the same shape like dragon eyes and they were pitch black. But it wasn’t a dragon that was looking at them. It was something else and then they felt the presence growing stronger and the five friends were frozen in fear. They couldn’t move or scream and then in the darkness of the cave a smile spread revealing razor-sharp teeth.

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