Chapter 3. A Walk In The Woods

Hours passed since Twilight Sparkle and her friends entered the Everfree Forest, making their way to her mentors former castle. Their journey this time around was much smoother since they first trekked inside all those years ago to defeat the entity known as Nightmare Moon.

Every obstacle from before was now passed with ease now that the Elements have faced many perils since the start of the beginning of they're friendship. Perils that to this day, would go down in Equestria's history as the Equestria's triumphs over the evil's of the dark.

To pass the time they talked about the many things going on in there lives, subject's pertaining to work, music, food, video games even stallions. But for one mare there was many questions plaguing her thoughts wanting to be let out and answered for her own peace of mind.

'What could the anomaly be? The magical force I felt when the storm climaxed was a force of high magical power, something I only experienced when we used the 'Elements of Harmony' to defeat Discord or Nightmare Moon. Could this anomaly be just as powerful as the elements? ...No that can't be it, the elements are the only fragments in existence that could ever achieve such high levels of magic. Even the Alicorn amulet pails in comparison to the magic the elements contain. But if that's the case just what could this anomaly be?

The purple mare hounded herself trying to find a plausible answer that could satisfy her thoughts and to let her be free of the torment she created for herself.

With the unicorn mare deep in her own thoughts, she could not sense or hear her friends trying to grab her attention on an important subject they discussed since passing the small river that housed the effeminate sea serpent that helped them from their first quest through the forest.

"Twilight?" The alabaster mare called to her. Without even a notion of recognition from the purple unicorn, Rarity moved forward from her place beside Fluttershy and placed her hand up onto Twilight's shoulder, braking her away from her thoughts and scaring the living daylights out of the mare.

"Wahhhhh!" Twilight screamed as she quickly turned around looking for the one who scared and most importantly broke her away from her thoughts. "Rarity! What the hay! Why did you do that!? You nearly scared me half to death!"

Rarity was taken back from Twilight's reaction, she knew the purple unicorn might have been frightened, but she didn't think that Twilight would almost bite her head off for it.

"I'm terrible sorry darling but we've been standing outside the castle gate entrance for quite some time now." Rarity looked into Twilights eyes and could see the frustration and wariness' in them "...Twilight, dear is everything alright?"

Twilight took this time to look around and realized that the alabaster mare was right. Looking ahead of her she could see the two statutes of the two alicorn sisters facing one another as a wall of flora covered the entrance to the castle grounds.

Twilight quickly turned to ready her friends for what may lie ahead but when she did she could see the concerned looks crossing the faces of her friends. Twilight gave a sigh in frustration as she rubbed her temples. "I'm ok girls, alright! It's just... I'm a bit worried right now. Earlier this evening when the storm began to die down I felt an immense magical force when the last lightning bolt struck. And the force alone... The only time I ever felt a power so immense was when we fought Nightmare Moon using the 'Elements of Harmony '!"

All five mares facing Twilight visibly cringed at the thought. They knew that the Elements where the most powerful artifacts in Equestria, but to have another magical force that can rival the Elements truly scared the six mares. And if that wasn't enough, the princess had tasked them to confront the 'Magic Anomaly' without the use of said Elements.

"Well." Applejack began as she stepped forward passing the others as she made her way to the front of the group. "I know y'all are just as scared as I am, but Princess Celestia gave us a job ta do and I reckon we best get in there lickity split so we can figure just what were dealin with."

"Hey yeah!" The rainbow maned Pegasus piped up. "Applejack's right, we can't stay here like scared little filly's. The faster we get inside the faster I can get back to kicking flank in haylo."

With Rainbow Dash and Applejack on board to head forward, a certain pink earth pony began hopping up and down with excitement to continue their adventure. "Silly Dashie you keep playing that game yet you still get beat by that one colt. What was his name? Oh! Spetsnaz Pinkie Pie! You always lose to him."

Rainbow gave an unamused look to the pink party pony showing her disinterest to what her friend said. "Ugh! I hate losing, and I think that guy was using mods. And beside Pinkie don't you find it kinda creepy he uses your name as his gamer tag?"

Pinkie Pie immediately stopped bouncing in excitement from the cyan Pegasus words and quickly grew a more heated look. "Actually Dashie." She said as the pink mare began twiddling her fingers around one another. "I kind of find it flattering really. To think that some colt out there that likes me enough to use my name, even if it is for his video games, it's-." The pink mare couldn't finish her own thought as the entirety of her face grew red as a large smile graced her lips.

"Girls!" Twilight exclaimed getting everyone's attention. "You can talk about your video games later, but for now we have to get to the castle!"

"Darn tootin' sugarcube. Come on y'all let's hop to it."

"C-c-can't we w-wait h-here for the P-princesses?" Fluttershy stutters as she walked along the path next to Rainbow Dash.

"No we can't Fluttershy. We need to find anything we can, that way we won't have to waist the princesses time when they get here!" Twilight said as she placed her hands on the foliage that separated the castle grounds from the forest.

"Very well darling let us be off. I need to return back to my boutique soon to get some rest, I have an order due in a few days and Onyx is taking me out to dinner tonight."

With a nod Twilight brushed away the vines and leaves that covered the broken gate leading into the open area of the castle grounds. Slowly, one by one each mare passed the flora and walked straight into a most horrifying site.

"In Celestia's name what happened here!?" Rarity screamed. The girls were in shock. The sight before them was more horrifying then the storm that once hit Ponyville a couple of years back.

The castle grounds were scorched black from the fire that even now still lit the grass plain that surrounded the area. There were Large amounts of broken trees that littered all around the castle grounds, and if the mares were to look closely to the trees before them they would be able to see the carcass of small animals smashed between trees were pools of blood would seep down and gather into the divots

"This... This is horrifying!" Twilight said as she and the others began walking through the debris of broken trees and burnt grounds.

A high pitched scream was heard right beside the mares as they traversed through the broken foliage. They quickly looked to the one screaming and found Fluttershy on her knees balling her eyes out with tears.

The five other mares quickly went to her side only to find an even more horrifying sight. Fluttershy sat there, her arms wrapped around her legs as as she cradled herself in a tight ball as her tears and screams of sadness fell from her eyes from the sight before her.

There, under the large broken tree was the corpse of a baby fawn. It's body crushed by the large willow causing the fawn's body to explode in a heap flesh and blood. On to the side of the blood stained bark, it's head was free from the impact but was greatly affected still. The weight of the willow caused it's eyes to pop out and the blood flow out from every orifice the head had. Blood spewed from it's ears, mouth, snout and eye sockets.

None of the girls had the stomach to stand at the site of the dead fawn. Tears began to stream down every mares face as they tried to take Fluttershy away from the gruesome sight. It took the strength of both Applejack and Rainbow Dash to carry the distraught mare away to an area where the damage was nothing more then burnt grass.

Although Fluttershy was a usually quiet mare, but from what she just saw, she couldn't help but cry out in terror asking why? Why such a terrible fate should have befallen such a poor innocent creature.

"Why!?" The butter yellow Pegasus cried out through heavy tears. "W-why d-did this h-have to h-happen!?"

"There, there Fluttershy." Applejack said as she began to comfort the distraught mare. "it's all gonna be okay sugarcube, that there critter is in a better place now, ya hear."

"B-b-b-but the poor b-baby!" Fluttershy wailed more as she tightly hugged the apple farmer. Rarity drew closer to her friends and began to calmly pat the crying mare on her back.

"Fluttershy." Twilight spoke as she sadly walked to the crying Pegasus. "I know it hurts now but there simply nothing we could for it. We have to move on. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be here soon and we still haven't seen the inside of the castle."

Fluttershy said nothing as she kept weeping into Applejacks shoulder. The apple farmer stroking her mane as she did. Twilight gave a sad sigh as she brought her hand onto pink maned Jared shoulder. "Fluttershy how about this. When this is all over we'll make a burial for the fawn..."

Fluttershy slowly lifted herself away from the orange earth pony's shoulder and looked to her purple coated friend and began to slowly nod her head in approval. "I-I" She sniffled back a few tears before she went on. "I-I guess that's okay. Can you say a few words for her Twilight?"

Twilight gave her friend a small smile as she gave a nod. "Sure thing Fluttershy"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah real sad. But incase you girls have forgotten we still have to get inside that castle and I just checked the bridge and it's gone, completely gone!"

Twilight's smile vanished as she and the rest of the girls looked to the cyan Pegasus flying above them. Rainbow held a scowl as she looked back to where the bridge to the castle use to stand only to find chard pieces of rope and the end of the stakes that held the bridge.

"What!" Twilight yelled quickly making her way to the burnt out bridge. The others walked up next to her as they all looked to where the non existent bridge use to be.

"Oh my stars!" Rarity exclaimed "How in Celestia's name are we supposed to cross over that dreadful chasm now?"

Everyone was quiet for the moment until a cough from the orange earth pony caught everypony's attention. "I think y'all are forgotten that we got two unicorns here. And dat one of them is ta element of magic."

Twilight along with Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash physically face palmed from forgetting such a thing. "Okay just give a few seconds to prepare and I'll teleport us over."

Everypony stood close to Twilight as her horn began to shimmer in a light of lavender color. In a flash the six mares were gone and in there place stood only the charred remains of burnt grass and trees. Another flash erupted, this time not to far from the castle doors.

Twilight stood tall being used to teleporting, but the others began to wobble just a bit from the dizziness the felt after being teleported. "Ugh. I think I'm gonna vomit. "The cyan Pegasus said as she lurched herself forward onto her knees feeling the remnants of her previous meal fill into her esophagus. With a gulp she pushed it down back into her stomach, but even then she could still feel the after taste.

"Twi remind me to never let you teleport us again." The apple farmer said to the lavender unicorn as she, Rarity and Fluttershy regurgitated the last meals. Fluttershy let loose a few tears as the bile left her maw. Pinkie Pie... Not really sure? The pink party mare didn't seem to be sickened by the effects of the teleportation.

"I'm sorry girls that usually only happens on the first teleportation. It shouldn't happen again." Twilight gave her friends a crooked smile of embarrassment as she scratch the back of her head as the girls began picking themselves off the ground.

"Look egghead were cool just... No more teleporting for me. I'll think I'll stick to what I do best." Rainbow said flexing her wings as she did.

"Alright everypony here good now?" Applejack asked looking to her friends.

""Heavens no darling! My breath stinks of this wretched bile! Oh I should get back to the boutique. I don't want Onyx to think I'm uncouth because of this."

Applejack looked to the alabaster fashionista in bewilderment "Rarity yer datin a black smith for the Royal Guard! I recken he won't mind something small like dis."

"Never the less Applejack, a lady must always be clean especially for there stallion."

"Girls!?" Twilight asked in a questioningly stern voice catching the others attention. " Are you two finished yet?! We still have to go inside, unless you want to tell the princesses that we couldn't complete our task because we were to busy arguing with each other."

Applejack and Rarity looked down to the grass beneath there hoofs both giving a sorry sigh before apologizing to the frustrated unicorn ahead of them.

"Sorry there Sugar cube."

"Please accept our apologies darling. We shouldn't have been arguing over something so pointless."

Both mares looked up to Twilight, the lavender mare giving her friends a happy smile before speaking. "It's alright girls. Let's just get going, the princesses should be here soon."

"Alrighty then let's do dis!"

"Finally!" Dash exclaimed, jumping off a large stone. "I thought I would of been an old timer by the time we finally get moving again!"

"Hush now Rainbow Dash. We're moving now so no need to fret."

"Pfft, whatever."

Walking up to the old wooden doors to the old castle brought back memories for the six mares the last time they were there. It was a time only a few short years ago were there bond as friends were strengthened once they realized who they were. The holders to the 'Elements of Harmony'.

Twilight breathed out a heavy sigh as she remember what she and the others had done that day. The day they defeated Nightmare Moon and brought back Equestria's second princess back from the evil that plagued her.

Twilight began to pull the handle to the large ornate door that held the carved image of the Lunar princess out. The hinges creaked as the years of age and rust played there toll on them. But as the large door opened further, the sounds of sobbing reached the groups ears as they took small hesitant steps forwards.

"Girls do you hear that?It sounds like some ponies crying."

Author's Note

I never meant for a chapter to take this damn long to write. And I mean it!

I know alot of you are mad for waiting so long. But all I can promise is that there will be more chapters.

Well the next chapter is about 1\4 finished so there's that right???