Chapters Ritter von Hossenfeffer was a blackfeather gryphon from the far north, and he currently wished that like his pony neighbors, he could sweat. It was hot. His home, the Passerines, were a large snowy range located just beyond the Windswept Moor, and past the Winter Sea. In the summer, it was a place of forest and sea and wind. In the winter, it belonged to the ice. The sea would freeze, and one could walk from one coast to the other by foot.
He shook his feathers until he could feel the breeze on his skin, and stopped to admire the flowering trees, whose leaves had just started to turn a glorious autumn gold.
He had passed Canterlot just a few days earlier, and the road from The Mountain down to the little hamlet of Ponyville was vibrantly gold and red and white. He had unfortunately taken too much with him to fly, so he had resolved to the enjoy the walk if he could. Leather straps crossed his chest and legs to secure his pack, but left his wings free, for which he was currently grateful.
Walking was slow going, but if nothing else, being able to watch the turning leaves had been worth the inconvenience. Despite the ache in his talons. He took a deep breath. The autumn weather had just barely begun to put a crisp in the air, but to the gryphon, used to the cold mountains of his home, it seemed far too warm.
He had almost arrived. His eyes wandered to the apple orchard that lay before the town. The leaves on the trees were turning too. Orange, browns and reds assaulted his vision, some colors darker than the earth, and some so light and breezy that they seemed pink.
Autumn was fine, he supposed. Winter was better. Winter was a time of relative safety for him, a time for staying indoors, visiting nestmates and flockmembers and taking it easy. The winters in the north were too severe for hunting, so autumn was comforting. It signaled a long-awaited break for him. It had been a long time since he'd been home. Too long.
But winter wasn't quite here yet.
Past the small, pastel-colored houses, he could see dark green trees of the Everfree Forest. He tried to estimate its size, looking from one horizon to the other, and then clambering atop a small boulder to try again with a better view. He gave up shortly thereafter. The expanse of trees, trimmed back to make room for farms and houses, extended far beyond what the eye could see, far beyond sight on left or right. Ritter sighed, and made his way down from the hill. He wouldn't want to be late for his appointment, after all. Twelve o'clock sharp, the letter had said.
Very specifically. Several times.
He sniffed. The smell of freshly baked apple strudel drifted lazily on the crisp air, carried past him by a languorous, unlucky eastern wind.
My Faithful Student,
I was distraught upon receiving your last letter. I hate to lose even one of my little ponies, but all of Ponyville knows the Everfree Forest is very dangerous. No matter how much I wish it, I cannot make the whole world safe. I am saddened that you have lost so many in such quick succession to those wild woods.
I am troubled by more than just your sadness, though, my student. Those woods do not take so many so quickly. The ponies in Ponyville are not so careless, and would not wander near the treeline so often, especially now.
I suspect that there is something in the woods. Something new. Or something old that has been antagonized.
I have made arrangements for a hunter to be sent to Ponyville. He will arrive in a fortnight, at noon. I will leave it up to you to make arrangements for his stay, and to answer any questions he may have. I would ask you to offer your assistance, should he need it.
I'm sorry that I cannot handle this personally. Griffonia still sees the Crystal Empire as an outright annexation by Equestria, and an attempt to circumvent Griffonian claims. They do not accept that this Crystal Kingdom was there before them, and I cannot fault them. The Crystal Empire was gone for a thousand years, beyond the memory of any living gryphon.
Still, I did not expect negotiations to go on this long, but Ambassador Gerulf is being exceedingly truculent.
Have faith, my student. I know you are more than capable of handling this.
With love,
-Celestia
Twilight bit her lip. She read through the letter one last time before rolling up the parchment and placing it in the chest at the foot of her bed, which was already getting full of other, quite similar scrolls. She'd have to box them up and put them in the basement with the others before too long. She made a mental note to add that to tomorrow's checklist, which in turn jogged her memory towards more immediate concerns. She started towards the stairs.
"Spike! How is the tea coming along? Remember, he's a Gryphon, so no hay or flowers," she began, trotting down the stars, before her assistant yelled back.
"No hay or flowers or raw oats, I remember, I remember!"
Twilight giggled as she heard him harrumph to himself in the kitchen. Spike may be getting taller these days, but his temper is only getting shorter.
"Just checking, Spike. I want to make a good first impression today. You only get one chance, after all," she said, walking into the kitchen. It smelled divine in here. It always did, lately. Her mouth watered.
Spike was absently stirring a bowl of some kind of ambrosia, his long, sinuous tail flicking behind him. He still had to use a stool to reach the countertop, but his cooking skills were really starting to shine. "Yeah, yeah. It'll be done in a few minutes. Lemonapple tea, two buttered scones, and cherry pudding. I'm waiting for the pudding to set, if you want to wait in the front hall. He should be here pretty soon," he said as he grabbed a handful of cherries and began plopping them into the bowl.
"Alright then, Maestro, I'll leave you to your domain," she said, pausing for a moment to inhale more of that scent of apples and cherries. "Will you be joining us for refreshments later?"
Spike shook his head, adding a few more cherries. The bowl clacked as he stirred violently with a wooden spoon. "Rarity said she needed help gem hunting today, so I'll be heading to the Carousel Boutique after I'm done." It was hard to see with him facing the counter, but Twilight could make out the contours of a smile on his face.
"Well, have fun digging in the dirt, Romeo," Twilight grinned, dodging a nasty glare from her number one assistant. She made her way through the main hall of the library and then back up the stairs to where she and Spike ate. It was a small table in front of a round, sunlit window that looked out over the town, and the Everfree Forest in the distance.
She bit her lip and waited for a knock on the door.
"You said how many flavors of pie?"
The pink pony in front of him giggled and pointed to the glass case again. "Fifty! We've got cherry and chocolate and apple and peach and plum and blackberry and blackberrywithcream and creamwithblackberry and bubble truffle and double bubble truffle and roasted apple and lemon meringue and—"
"Apple. Apple first. One slice."
The pink pony nodded. "Apple is the best! Along with chocolate and cream and banana of course. My friend AJ grows all our apples on the farm just outside of town, so you know they're fresh and juicy and delicious!" she said, sliding one of the more delectable looking pies from the case and cutting the gryphon a nutmeg-sprinkled slice. One generous dollop of cream later, and she handed him one paper plate filled with a thoroughly delicious slice of pie.
"That'll be two bits! Shave and haircut not included," she said, vibrating slightly.
If Ritter noticed the joke, he gave no sign, rather staring with eagle-eyed intensity at the confection that lay just out of reach.
For the moment.
"Thank you. Very much." he said, passing her the money and grabbing the plate, and skittering quickly to the empty corner table to devour his prize. His eyes sparkled. His claws gleamed. He struck, cutting off a small piece and deftly stabbing it through. Like any good pie, the filling was thick enough that it didn't spill out the sides and onto the plate, despite the slightly rough treatment.
He raised his claw to his mouth and took a bite. The cloying sweetness of the cream mixed beautifully with the slight spice of the nutmeg and the tart sting of the apples. The crust was gorgeous, soft and pliant without being chewy. He might not agree with these ponies about much at all, but they certainly knew how to eat.
Well, eat dessert, anyway. Hay Fries still sounded like a nightmarish concept. He shook his head free of disturbing thoughts, and took a moment to pause and savor his small slice of heaven.
The door chimed. Another pony, pastel-orange with three apples on her flank walked inside, quickly approaching the counter. Ritter glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to his pie.
"Pinkie, I'm here about Mr. Cake's payment he sent yesterday." she said, adjusting her hat to make it sit a just a bit higher on her head. "There just ain't no way it's right. It's twice as much as last month's. I haven't got done countin' every single apple we sent your way last week, but all the ponies in Ponyville couldn't eat that many."
The pink pony's smiled flickered, and her eyes looked left and then right. "Huh! That is kind of weird! Oh! AJ! Hey, have you met my new griffon friend! He's here from—"
Ritter's eyes went wide, but before the hyperactive bundle of cotton candy could leap the glass counter and start introducing him, AJ stomped one hoof on the ground. "Pinkie! I ain't here to play around! I already talked to you AND Mr. Cake about this once! I ain't gonna accept charity!" She set her jaw. "You can get train-shipped apples from Baltimare for five apples a bit, so we sell six apples for a bit. You paid us twice that. Three apples for a bit."
Pinkie frowned, her eyes pleading. "AJ, I don't understand. If Mr. Cake is fine with paying then—"
"Then nothin'!" Applejack said, cutting her off. "He pays twice as much as they're worth? That's not business, that's charity. He's got two kids to feed and a business to run! I ain't takin' his profits just because I'm on hard times. It ain't right for me to steal out of Pound and Pumpkin's mouth like that. I'll be bringing those extra bits back tomorrow morning."
"But you need help AJ! Without at least two more ponies, you won't be able to harvest even half—"
Applejack turned, walking away and hiding her face beneath her hat. "Just let Mr. Cake know I'll be here tomorrow." she said, her voice even.
"AJ..."
Pinkie Pie sighed. She looked at the ground, her eyes tracing the lines in the floor.
The orange pony was almost out the door before she stopped, and adjusted her hat. One hoof scuffed the floor. "Look, I'm sorry Pinkie. It just doesn't feel right. I'd be takin' advantage of ya'll."
Ritter wasn't sure how the pink pony had appeared next to Applejack, but there she was all the same, both hooves wrapped around her neck. "You're not! We're your friends AJ! Mr. Cake too. You've always been there when he needed help! He wants to help you, too! I didn't even ask him to pay double!" Her eyes watered. "Please don't be mad."
"I ain't mad, Pinkie, I just..." Applejack paused, not quite able to meet her eyes. "Gah! Fine, I'll think about it, alright. Gosh." she embraced the pink pony back, one hoof adjusting her stetson to keep Pinkie Pie's wild mane from knocking it down. "You're something else, Pinkie. I appreciate it. I truly do."
"Great! Now do you want to meet my new friend? He's sitting right over there and his name is Ritter and he's from the Passerine Mountains and he's not nearly as mean as Gilda although he doesn't have a cool moustache like Gustav aaaaaand he's not here. Huh."
Pinkie had dragged Applejack over to where Ritter had been sitting, but there was naught there but a empty paper plate and a few errant crumbs. "That's weird, he was just here. I guess he had somewhere to go? He said he didn't want a welcome to Ponyville party but I thought he'd stay to try more of our pies for sure. Do you think we scared him off when we were being angry and sad?"
Applejack disentangled herself from Pinkie's embrace, and put all four hooves firmly on the ground before responding. "I don't rightly know, but he sure seems like he's in a hurry." she said, pointing through the large front windows of Sugarcube Corner . Ritter was on the opposite sidewalk, running full-speed, wings flapping and legs kicking.
"I wonder if he's late fer somethin'?"
He was, in fact, late.
The letter had 'recommended' that he arrive at 'noon sharp'. Of course, no one 'recommends' you to show up at anything sharp . It was Ritter's suspicion that the letter was, in fact, subtly hinting to him that he being late was a very bad idea.
He'd almost made it too. He'd been walking right past the bakery. He had! Pausing, of course, for only the briefest of moments at the front window to look at what was making those amazing, incredible smells , when that pink hurricane had plowed right into him. He'd tried to get away, but she'd just kept describing desserts at him until he came inside.
Truth be told he was a little frightened of her.
His good intentions did not change the fact that he was still late, however. Picking up speed, he entered the town square and weaved carefully between narrow market stalls and shopping ponies alike, heading for the market exit on the other side of the square. The missive he'd received, among other things, contained careful directions to the Golden Oaks Library once he was inside of Ponyville.
Not that he needed very much direction: it wasn't a very large town to begin with, and even in the idyllic environment of Ponyville, a building made from a tree was difficult to miss.
The library rustled quietly in the autumn breeze. It was impressively tall and rather gorgeous in fall colors, the understated decoration of the building complementing well the red and gold foliage.
"I imagine it loses some charm in the winter." Ritter said, looking around.
A large closed sign hung from the front window. It looked like he was still expected then. Or the librarian had gotten tired of waiting, and gone somewhere else. He tried the handle first, which dutifully resisted his attempts to open it.
"Well. I hope she hasn't left."
He tried the knocker, a small brass loop much too small for such a large door. It banged and raised a fuss, but he didn't hear anyone scurrying to the door.
He waited.
He counted some clouds. There were only two, as far as he could see—one big gray one up above, and a small white one nearer to the ground, to the east.
He knocked again, a bit more forcefully. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost hear what might be activity coming from behind the door. Were those hoofsteps? The sound of some interior door opening?
Or not. He sighed.
"Perhaps I should check the backyard—"
He was cut off by the deadbolt slamming open, and then the somewhat quieter sound of the handle-lock turning. The door opened.
There behind it stood a somewhat maniacally-grinning purple unicorn, holding a long roll of parchment and a quill. A small pair of glasses sat perched on her nose, in case one was uncertain that this was, indeed, a librarian.
"Hello!" she began loudly. "I'm sorry I didn't get to the door sooner! I am amending my weekly, monthly and bi-annual schedule to account for a missed appointment! Unfortunately we're closed on Sunday as our sign clearly points out, but if you're here to return something I could be persuaded to take your books."
Ritter coughed.
Twilight hadn't quite been paying attention, her eyes scanning over the paper in her hoof. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."
"No, I've just got something in my throat, I think—"
"Oh! Do you need some water? Can you breathe?" The Unicorn's full attention swung towards the gryphon, the parchment forgotten in the urgency of this impending disaster. "Wait! I can help! I read about the hind-leg maneuver yesterday! Just hold on to this wall here—"
Her horn flared purple, and Ritter squawked as he was flung bodily against the Golden Oaks Library wall and held there.
"And I can attempt to clear your esophagus! You may feel some squeezing sensations in your abdomen as I apply pressure—"
"By the Twin Talons, no!" Ritter screeched. Twilight hesitated. "I'm fine, I really am, I just—are you Ms. Twilight Sparkle?"
The unicorn blinked, and then beamed, her smile turning from terrified to self-assured. "That's me!" she nodded. "And if you're a gryphon looking for Twilight Sparkle and not the latest Daring Doo novel, than you must be my appointment! I assumed since you didn't show up on time that I must have gotten the date wrong. Somehow." She frowned, clearly displeased by the break with schedule. "The Princess assured me that your group was very punctual."
Ritter could hardly ignore the disapproval in her voice. He smiled as widely as he could. "I was accosted by a one Miss Pie, who forcefully insisted I try the local desserts."
"Ah." Twilight nodded sagely, without missing a beat. "Pinkie related delays. Understandable. She does love meeting new people! That explains everything. Please, come inside, and we can discuss why you're here."
"Of course. Um, Miss Sparkle."
"Call me Twilight." She smiled.
"Yes, Twilight. Um, could you...?"
"Yes?"
"Could you let me down?"
The sun was still high in the sky when they sat down at Twilight's breakfast table, the large round window allowing them a gorgeous view. The river twisted lazily between the houses, lined with trees of various shades of brown, red and gold.
Ritter graciously accepted a cup of warm tea from Twilight and, for propriety's sake, dipped his beak in it. Gryphon's were not much for social drinking. It took too long, and it was hard to carry on a conversation when you were constantly submerging your whole mouth into liquid and then throwing your head back to swallow.
He had to admit that he liked it, though. Apple and lemon and just a hint of bitter.
The unicorn across from him did the same, taking a few meditative sips. He understood her reticence to dive right into things. It was, after all, an unpleasant subject.
Absent-minded, Ritter tapped his claws on his cup, the talons making a few metallic pings.
Twilights eyes drifted over them, and then lit up. A hint of a smile played across her face. "I thought your claws were just gray, but they're actually metal, aren't they? Yes! They gleam in the sunlight—why would you do that? Coat your claws in metal?"
Ritter shifted. "They're not coated. They're prosthetics."
A wonderful word, prosthetics. It made people uncomfortable enough that they generally stopped asking questions. This wasn't a line of conversation he felt like going down.
"I'm sorry. That must have been painful. But, um..." she bit her lip, and then continued on. "But why silver? It's much too soft to be an effective claw. You'd have to replace them constantly. Not to mention the cost!"
Ritter tapped his cup again. "What makes you say they're silver? It could be any alloy of zinc or nickel and steel."
Twilight smiled back. "Simple. Even if I chose to ignore the lustre and the color, which is very distinct, I would be left with the tarnish. Steel rusts, and steel-nickel or zinc always shines, but silver resists oxidation and forms a patina instead. Wherever your claws do not get worn, they're tarnished."
Ritter somewhat self-consciously waggled his talons. "Well-reasoned. In my defense, keeping them polished is not only an exercise in determination, but dexterity."
She laughed, but kept going. "It doesn't explain why, though. Why metal claws? Why silver? That's a lot of trouble to...hunt things."
Ritter was silent for a moment, contemplating what was appropriate to say, especially to a pony. They didn't like the idea of violence at all, although some were more levelheaded than others. He dipped his beak in the tea to buy himself a few moments, savoring the lemon flavor mixed with the acrid apple aftertaste, and when he did speak, his tone was careful.
"To answer why silver, they're not. They're steel, fire-gilded with silver. Remarkable process invented by an earth pony, if I'm not mistaken."
"Hoofaestus. He went mad as a hatter from the mercury fumes later in life."
"Right." Ritter said, "But, to answer why silver requires some explanation. I think you may be operating under some false assumptions, regarding my occupation."
Twilight looked surprised. "Well, I know you're carnivores. I've read up on hunting in the gryphon kingdoms. The definition was very clear-cut. You're a hunter, so you kill creatures." Twilight said. Her expression remained inquisitive, although her voice was a little tight. "K-kill them and eat them. Or allow others to eat them."
Ritter scrunched his face, and nodded. "That is what a hunter does, yes." he replied, setting his tea down. "Gryphons eat meat. And meat must be hunted. But hunting game animals, while challenging, is not so important that the Empress herself organizes and funds the Hunter's Guild. I am what's called a professional hunter. I don't hunt game. I hunt monsters."
Twilight started, but Ritter continued, cutting her off. "Generally I am called to assist remote villages with problems they cannot deal with on their own. Problems like Timber Wolves, or a rampaging Ursa Minor, or rogue parasprites. I like to think that my job is really about solving problems. It's not always killing either. If I can drive a creature away, I will."
He sighed. "Sometimes, though, I hunt very dangerous things. Things dangerous not only for me, but for everyone near them. Changelings. The warped monsters of the Deep Bog, or a creature of Tartarus when it finds a crack through the northern ice. Then, these silver claws are a potent tool. Silver has a mystic relationship to the moon, and magic. A creature immune to all but powerful spells, can be hurt with silver. They're very useful. Because of this, every professional Hunter has them."
"I..see." Twilight said, shifting in her seat a bit. "Well then. I can definitely see why you'd use silver! Ha ha."
She smiled brightly. Ritter's sighed, and leant back in his chair. "Let me tell you about my family."
The sun glinted off claws and cup alike as he began. "Every Hearth's Warming, my father takes my family to an Eyrie by the coast, called Hyll, to watch the icebergs drifting south. It doesn't sound exciting, and it isn't, unless they run into each other. But it's a northern tradition, and that's tradition for you." he shrugged. "But after you get done watching the ice, it's time to feast! Beneath the evergreen northern trees, they spread out every kind of food fit for gryphons, right there on a blanket in the snow. And then we dance, until we're so tired and cold we can barely stand."
He sighed. "The last time I was with them was years ago. I miss them terribly." He paused for a moment, and smiled. "But I feel that what I do is important enough to warrant the sacrifice. I don't want you to be afraid of me, Miss Sparkle. Please don't mistake me for something I am not."
Twilight considered this for a few beats, before a slow grin spread across her face. "For example, being a very tardy gryphon?"
"I suppose I can't deny that one." he snorted. "But tardy as I may be, I really am here to help. And speaking of that." he shifted in his seat. "I don't want to make you any more uncomfortable, but perhaps you could tell me what you know regarding the disappearances?"
Twilight nodded. "I notice you said disappearances. Do you think they're still alive?"
Ritter's voice was careful. "I don't know. It's possible. But they have been in there a long time. More than two weeks."
Twilight sighed.
"Well then. The mailmare, a pegasus named Ditzy Doo," she began, coughing to clear her throat, "was noticed missing when she failed to report for work three days in a row following her two-week vacation. Personal effects of hers—a picture of her daughter, an empty saddlebag with her initials, and a few personal effects like shampoo and a currycomb, were found inside the forest following a subsequent search. It was assumed she got lost in the forest. But even after extensive searching, no trace of her was found."
"She had a daughter?" Ritter shook his head. "Twin Talons give strength. Where is the foal now?"
"The Cakes volunteered to take her in for the time being." Twilight said. Her voice was tight, but she quickly brought it under control. "After Ditzy went missing, about a week later, Applejack's brother went missing as well. He was out plowing the far pasture at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack said, getting it ready for turnip and carrot planting. He never came back. His yoke was later found deep in the forest."
"I'm sorry."
Twilight shook her head. "Don't be. I'm fine. I..."
She took a breath, closing her eyes.
Ritter waited a moment before speaking. "What was his name?"
"Macintosh. Everyone called him Big Mac." Twilight said, her voice even.
"So, Macintosh went missing a week after Ditzy Doo, then?"
"Correct."
"He could have followed her in, I suppose. Hmm." Ritter shrugged. "That's odd though."
Twilight blinked. "Why do you say that?"
"The Apple farm is on the edge of the forest, right? Did he live there all his life?" Ritter said, his claw tracing an old gouge in the table.
"Well, as far as I know, yes." Twilight said hesitantly.
"He would know better than to wander in alone, then, even with a good reason. They know how dangerous it is. And he's the last pony on earth who I would expect to get careless and get dragged in."
Twilight picked up her teacup. "Do you think he went in willingly, then?"
Ritter was silent for a moment. "That would be remarkably foolish of him." he said finally, "Especially so soon after a disappearance." He tapped his cup. "It is possible that something new has come to inhabit the forest, I suppose, that is dragging ponies in."
"Oh?" Twilight took a sip of tea.
"But, supposing it is some new monster, that still doesn't explain what happened to Ditzy. There aren't many creatures in the world that can catch a pegasus. Maybe she was surprised."
"You don't think she got lost?" Twilight said, and raised an eyebrow.
Ritter scoffed. "If you have wings, you do not get lost in forests. One look above the trees and you can see Canterlot." he nodded. "I'm not sure why your town watch assumed she had gotten lost. It makes no sense."
Twilight looked away. "Well, um...Ditzy was kind of...strange. She wasn't...stupid, or mentally challenged, she just...was very strange. Sometimes it seemed like she wasn't quite on the same page as the rest of us, as it were. It's the sort of thing she would do."
"I see." Ritter said. "Did she have any friends in town? Anybody who might know why she went in there?"
Twilight shook her head. "Everybody loved her, and we would all do anything for her, but no one in town knows why she would go in. It's just like her. No reason, no rhyme, she just...did it."
Ritter took a sip of tea, and sighed. "I see. Well, in that case, we'd better talk to Applejack."
Author's Note
I need an editor.
(Edited slightly. Thanks to User:Burraku_Pansa for advice.)
They found Applejack in the northeast orchard, “'Smack in the middle of buckin' down half these trees”, as she put it.
Twilight embraced the farmpony tightly before flashing a smile. "Do you have a few minutes to talk, AJ? My friend here has a few things that he wants to ask you."
"Well, I'd love to Twi, but I'm kinda busy at the moment.” Applejack said, wiping the sweat from her brow before replacing her hat. “Can it wait until this evenin'? I got a lotta apples to harvest before dark.”
"It's kind of important AJ. The Princess-"
Applejack made a noise in her throat, almost like a growl. " Look Twi, I know the Princess has you doin' all kinds of things these days, but I’ve gotta get this done! I'd love to help you, but not until I’ve got this orchard finished, at least! And made sure Applebloom has done her schoolwork. And got supper cooked. And granny bedded down. And then...I'm probably forgettin' something."
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Your nightly applewhisky binge, maybe...” Twilight muttered, under her breath.
A bit more loudly than she intended. Applejack’s eyes flared.
Ritter tried to intervene, quickly stepping in front of the orange pony. “Wait, please! It’s about your brothe-”
Applejack snorted, stepping right past the gryphon and breathing hard. She poked Twilight in the chest. "Cuttin' a little close to the bone there, don't you think sugarcube?"
Twilight’s eyes were wide. "Applejack, I'm so sorry, I..."
Applejack was fuming, but instead of shouting she turned away from the purple unicorn and sat down heavily. She looked up, and ran a hoof over her face. Her hat fell off and rolled behind her. Twilight hesitantly joined her, a dejected expression on the unicorn’s face.
"Sorry?" Applejack said. The anger had drained from her face, leaving her just looking tired. "Well, don’t be.” she sighed. “You didn’t say nothin’ that ain’t true.” the farmpony stood up. “Just try not to kick me too hard while I'm down." she said finally, giving Twilight a weak smile.
She turned to the gryphon, picking up her hat while doing so. “So the Princess sent you here about my brother, huh? Well. I guess we’d better get back to the farmhouse. I don’t think I’m going to be bucking any more apples today.”
Ritter and Twilight both followed her back through the fields of Sweet Apple Acres, dodging the occasional wind-driven gust of leaves, and trying to fill the silence between all of them with the rustling of trees.
They sat in silence in the Apple family kitchen, waiting for Applejack to finish making herself a cup of coffee while the house creaked gently in the breeze. Sunlight poured in from the screen door, illuminating the otherwise-dim kitchen with the setting sun’s red glow. They were gathered around the apple family dinner table, an old, well made piece of furniture constructed out of some indestructible dark hardwood that hadn’t given in to many generations of rambunctious Apple children.
The coffee eventually boiled, and Applejack poured herself a cup. She offered one to everyone else, and after they declined, Applejack sat down across the table from Ritter, steaming mug in front of her.
“Alright, Mr. Gryphon.” she drawled. “What can I tell you about my brother?”
Coffee was not unknown to the gryphon. Prepared drinks were considered a novelty in Griffonia, with only Nobles and the pretentious drinking tea, and everyone else drinking water, if anything. Coffee disagreed with the gryphonian palette, tasting too much like mud. He suspected they were missing some of the taste buds required to appreciate it fully.
“My name is Ritter. I am a hunter, and have been asked by my superiors to investigate the recent disappearances here in Ponyville, at the behest of your Princess. Twilight has given me the basic circumstances of what occurred here, but there are some unresolved questions that I think you can help me with.”
“Well, shoot.” Applejack said. “I’ll help you if I can, but I don’t think I’d know anything Twi doesn’t.”
Ritter tapped his claws on the table. “You and your brother have always lived here, correct?”
Applejack nodded thoughtfully, taking a sip of her drink. “That’s right. Well, I went to Manehattan one summer, but that was about it.”
“What kind of person was your brother? Impulsive?”
Applejack snorted. “He was stubborn as a mule, pardon my language, but he was the most aggravatin’ly careful pony you did ever meet. Never did anything without thinking it through twice, and then thinking it through again anyways. Sometimes spent more time thinking than doin’ things. Had to get onto him about it sometimes.”
“Was he careful about the forest?”
Applejack took another sip of her drink, and gave Ritter a sideways look. “Yes, he was. Look, Mr. Ritter. I know people think that a big strong stallion like Mac must have had a brain twice as small as his muscles were large, but it wasn’t so. Nopony understood how smart he was. He was always thinkin’.”
Applejack sighed, her eyes looking at the setting sun. “If things had been different, if it weren’t for this farm and our parents and the forest and his granny and his little sister, he really could have made somethin’ of himself.” She looked back at Ritter, her green eyes strange in the sunset’s red glow. “So yes, he was always real careful around the forest. Never went near it after dark, never went in too far during the day. He wasn’t stupid.”
Ritter nodded, absently rubbing one talon against another. “Can you think of any reason why he might have gone in the forest?”
Applejack thought for a few moments. “Well. I-”
She paused, looking at the ground, before she finally sighed. “Yes. I suppose I can think of one thing.”
Twilight’s mouth gaped, but the farmpony quickly waved a hoof to cut her off.
“Now hold on a second Twi! I didn’t lie to you or nopony! I meant what I said when you talked to me about this. Ah mean, I don’t really even know if this is related. And Mac made me promise to keep it a secret. But I don’t think I have a choice anymore. He’s been gone a month. He’ll just have to forgive me.”
Applejack shifted in her seat. “They were keeping it pretty quiet, but Ditzy and Mac had... well, they’d been sweet on each other for awhile now.”
Twilight put her hoof over her mouth, but Ritter said nothing. An errant gust of wind blew the leaves from the front porch with a roar.
Applejack waited for the noise to die down before she continued. “Now I didn’t know that they’d been seein’ each other, but after Ditzy went missin’, I noticed Mac had been real quiet. More than usual. An eventually, I got tired of it, and asked him straight what was eatin’ him.”
Applejack took her hat off and set it down on the table. “So he stands there looking like a big lunk like he always does, and then he says to me, ‘It’s my fault, AJ.’”
Her face screwed up, and she sucked in a breath. A moment or two later and she’d composed herself enough to continue. “A’course, I had no idea what he was talking about, but eventually I get it out of him that he’d been seein’ Ditzy,and they’d had one heck of a fight about, oh, two and a half months ago now.”
Ritter nodded. “That would have been shortly before Ditzy took her two-weeks leave.”
Applejack nodded back. “Thats right. He hadn’t spoken to her since, and he was sure he’d upset her so bad that she’d gone off and killed herself in the forest.”
Ritter blinked. “That seems a bit extreme. Do you know what they were fighting about?”
Applejack shook her head. “He wouldn’t say. Wasn’t none of my business neither. I did what I could, told him that it was foolish to blame himself, that Ditzy was a grown mare and knew better than to run into the woods for any reason, even if she was upset. I don’t think it helped him much. I caught him staring at the woods a couple times since then.”
Applejack set her coffee down, and put her head in her hooves. “I just don’t know. Mac was smart enough to know that no good would come of tryin’ to find her now. I don’t think he would have gone in. But, maybe. Maybe.”
The sun had almost set, and darkness was falling over the fields. The three of them sat in silence for a good few minutes, before Ritter finally stood, nodding his head at Applejack.
“Well. I’m sorry, for what it’s worth, Miss Applejack. You’ve helped us out a lot, but I think we’ve learned all we can here, and we have other leads to follow. We’ll get out of your mane. If you think of anything else, please let me or Twilight know.”
Applejack nodded. “Sure. Sure. If you find him, let me know. Even if it’s just a...a body. The not knowing is, well. It’s killin’ me.” Applejack said, taking a breath and then one last drink of coffee before standing and showing them both out the door.
Twilight embraced her friend before they left, telling Applejack to come get her if she needed anything. A few goodbyes later and they left the very tired farmpony behind, and began the long walk back to the town. They both stayed as far from the treeline as possible.
Twilight waited until they were a good distance from the house, and then cleared her throat. “You said we had other leads to follow? I thought Applejack was our only lead?”
Ritter shook his head. “She was. There are no other leads. I didn’t want to say in front of her, but I think it’s pretty obvious what’s happened here.” they both stopped, the cold night wind refreshing after the oppressive heat of the Applejack’s kitchen.
“Ditzy, upset from the fight with Macintosh, went into the woods for reasons unknown. She got lost, and was eventually attacked by the creatures of the forest.” Ritter scratched the ground, feeling the dirt between his claws. “She goes missing, and Mac blames himself. While he’s alone by the forest, the guilt gets to him and he starts looking himself. He gets lost, and eventually attacked as well.”
Twilight’s expression was tight, but she couldn’t disagree with his logic. The gryphon gestured at the forest that lay not too far from them.
“It makes more sense than some new creature appearing out of thin air. That forest is a nightmare , but the native creatures don’t stray beyond the treeline. It could be a migrating creature from some deeper part of the wood, snatching up ponies, but there haven’t been any disasters, no floods or eruptions, to cause a migration.”
He shrugged. “That’s not to say it’s impossible, it’s just unlikely. It makes more sense that they were upset and acted foolishly.”
“So that’s your explanation, then? A lover’s spat?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“Maybe.” Ritter said. “It’s the only one we have so far. I’m going to sleep on it.” he looked at Twilight. “Do you mind if I stay at the library? I don’t really know where anything is in this town.”
Twilight blinked, and then nodded. “Oh, of course! I can have Spike make up the guest bedroom when we get back.”
Ritter stood silently for a moment, before turning to look back at the Everfree. “What do you think happened?” he asked.
Twilight looked unsure, but Ritter could see the gears whirring away in her head. She eventually nodded to herself and spoke. “I think we don’t have enough information.”
Ritter nodded, but Twilight continued. “Why would an argument make her run into the forest? That doesn’t make any sense.” Twilight made a noise, and stomped a hoof. “Ditzy was...strange, but even for her, that’s just ridiculous. She had a child for crying out loud! She loved Dinky with all her heart! She knew better than this! She was more responsible than this! Why would she do something so reckless ?!”
Twilight realized she was shouting. Ritter listened quietly, until he was sure she was finished.
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
It had been a very long day for a very little filly.
She had to get up very early to go to school, since it was so far from the bakery. And school was pretty hard when all she could really think about was momma. She knew Ms. Cherilee had seen her not paying attention, but she hadn’t said anything. She probably felt bad for her.
She’d had an idea while walking back to Sugarcube Corner, and as soon as she got there she’d asked Aunt Pinkie how to make banana-nut raisin muffins, because those had been her momma’s favorite and maybe if they baked some she’d be able to smell them in the forest and find her way back.
Aunt Pinkie had looked kind of unsure at first, which was weird because Aunt Pinkie never looked unsure, but then she’d gotten really excited, and helped her bake muffins almost all night. She’d had to rush to get her homework finished, and it was splotched with flour and sugar and banana gunk now, but she was sure Ms. Cheerilee wouldn’t mind. She was pretty sure Ms. Cheerilee liked muffins too, although not as much as momma.
She’d placed a tray of muffins on the windowsill above her bed, and even though it was fall weather and too cold to keep a window open all night, Aunt Pinkie said it would be okay just this once, and gave her an extra blanket to wrap herself up in.
Dinky Doo curled up underneath her covers and and snuggled deeper into her bed, the smell of the bananas and bran wafting through her room.
It wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.
The wind whistled through the streets, blowing dust and leaves alike along the cobblestone paths. It wasn’t long before the moon rose high enough to be seen, the silvery, luminous orb softly illuminating the streets of ponyville. It was beginning to get rather cold, and Dinky shivered just a bit in her covers.
“Good morning, my little muffin.”
Dinky’s eyes flew open. Outside her window, illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the clouds, a gray pegasus with golden eyes and golden hair was smiling beatifically at her. Dinky, more awake than she’d ever been in her life, leapt from her bed, shrugging off covers and sheets and scrabbling over the windowsill and into her momma’s waiting hooves.
“MOMMA! YOU FOUND ME! I KNEW YOU’D COME BACK!” she cried, and buried her face in Ditzy’s golden mane. “Momma I missed you! I missed you so much! I....” her throat closed with wracking sobs, the little filly becoming very rapidly overwhelmed.
“Ssshh, it’s okay, it’s okay” Ditzy said, holding her close, and wiping a hoof over her eyes. “it’s alright, my little muffin, it’s alright. I found you. I’m so sorry I was gone.” Ditzy said, giving her daughter a tight hug. Dinky snuffled.“You’re my little muffin. I would never leave you.”
“What happened momma? Where did you go? I thought...I thought I’d never...” Dinky’s voice cracked again, and she hiccuped.
“I know, honey. I’m sorry. Momma was wrong to be gone so long. I’ll never leave you again.”, she said, kissing Dinky on the forehead once. “Never.”
“Never ever?”
“Never, ever.” Ditzy’s said, brushing a bit of her daughter's mane out of her face. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I found something in the forest, and it kept me there for a little while.” She frowned a little bit, her expression serious. “I need to go back soon, but... do you want to come with me? Come with your momma?”
Dinky cried out, nodding frantically. “Yes! Please momma, take me with you! Please don’t go again!”
Ditzy ruffled her hair, “That’s my little muffin. Come on, darling. I’ll introduce you to our new family.”
Suddenly Dinky didn’t sound so sure. Her face was crestfallen. “A new family?” She sucked in a breath. “But you’re my family, momma...”. Fresh tears boiled over, tracing lines down her cheeks.
“Oh, muffin.” Ditzy said, her face falling. She hugged her little one tight. “You’re my family too. Nothing could ever replace you.” Ditzy smiled, and blew a raspberry into Dinky’s neck, eliciting a reluctant giggle in between her tortured breaths. “That’s why I had to find my way back. But, I think you’ll like them as much as I do. They’re so smart and strong and nice. I just know they’ll love a brave little filly like you.”
Dinky sniffed, not quite convinced. Her momma planted another kiss on her forehead, and another on her cheek. “They don’t have to be our family unless you want, muffin, but I think you’ll like them.”
Dinky shuffled her hooves. They both stood there for a long, silent moment, while Ditzy stroked her daughter’s mane.
“I love you, muffin.” the gray pegasus finally said.
Dinky hiccuped, clinging to her tighter. “I love you too momma.”
Finally, the little filly seemed to make up her mind, wiping her eyes with one hoof. “I guess...I guess we can go...” she seemed a little reluctant still, and looked at Ditzy hesitantly. “Do you promise we’ll come back, momma?”
“I promise muffin,” she said, smiling. “We’ll come back.”
“Ritter!”
Ritter groaned, and turned over.
“RITTER!”
A single yellow eye opened, fixed on an animated purple blotch.
He groaned, and turned over again.
He felt hooves shake him. “RITTER! Dinky Doo has gone missing!”
He bolted upright.
Ritter, Twilight, Mayor Mare, the Cakes, and Ponyville’s only two Guardsponies, were gathered in the alleyway next to Sugarcube corner, outside of Ditzy Doo’s window. The guardsponies, having already inspected the scene and written their own report, kept watch on either entrance of the alley to keep out passers-by.
Not that there was much risk of that. It was extremely early. So early it was still dark, and the stars were only just starting to fade as the sun rose. There was hardly anyone on the streets at this hour, although that would soon change. Ritter was examining the ground while Twilight spoke with the Cakes, writing everything down on scrap parchment she’d brought with her. It was something she’d normally let her assistant take care of, but it was much too early for Spike to be awake.
“Sweetie-pie and I normally get up around 4AM, you see.” Mr. Cake said, an arm wrapped protectively around Mrs. Cake. “To get the ovens started and brew the coffee and get the store ready.”
“I go check on the twins while gummi-bear is taking his shower.” Mrs. Cake continued, putting her hoof over Mr. Cake’s. “I’ve been checking on Dinky too, lately, just because...well, it seemed like the right thing to do. When I went in to check, her covers were flipped off the bed and the window was open. At first I...well, I didn’t know what to think. But I couldn’t find her. So I told honey-bunch, and then the guard and...well. Here we are.”
“What about these muffins?” Ritter said, looking up from the dirt and cobblestones and motioning at the muffins scattered around the street.. Mrs. Cake looked up at Mr. Cake, still holding his hoof.
“She asked Pinkie to show her how to bake banana-nut raisin muffins last night. I think they were her mother’s favorite.”
Ritter nodded absently, and continued examining the cobblestones, and the windowsill.
Twilight coughed. “How was she doing? I mean, of course she wasn’t doing well. But was she getting...worse?”
Mrs. Cake shook her head. “The poor little dear. She was very brave, but her mother and her were very close. I think Ditzy was the only family she had. She was devastated, there’s no other way to say it, and it was getting worse.”
“It didn’t seem especially bad yesterday.” Mr. Cake volunteered. Twilight nodded, scribbling furiously.
“Well it sounds like the poor dear just got too homesick and couldn’t take it anymore.” Mayor Mare said, and gestured at the pastries on the ground. “The smell of those muffins all night must have just been too much.” she said, and wiped her glasses with her neckerchief. She perched them daintily on her nose again, and looked at the gryphon examining the cobbles. “Have you found anything telling, Mr. Hossenfeffer?”
“Please call me Ritter.” the gryphon said, pulling a glass vial from the satchel on his chest. It was filled with a black liquid. “None of you can pronounce my last name right. And there is nothing visible here. No sign of struggle, no scuffs from hooves scrabbling around. It looks like she left without being forced. Maybe.”
He poked a silver claw through the wax stopper, and dexterously broke the seal. “Don’t breathe this, please.” he said, and poured the contents of the glass over the windowsill.
Twilight, the Cakes and Mayor Mare stepped backwards while the gryphon held a rag over his nose. The black liquid flowed thickly and in clumps, like marmalade on a hot summer’s day, spreading over the whitewashed wood and dripping onto the pavement.
Where it struck the pavement stones, it sizzled violently and evaporated. Ritter nodded quickly and placed the vial back in his satchel.
“What was that?” Twilight asked, eyebrow raised.
“In the far north, there is a shrine called the Shrine of the Great Grey. I don’t really know much about it. It’s a graveyard in the middle of the waste. But, a very curious plant grows there, that withers in spring and flowers in winter, with black petals and black stem. I have heard it called magebane, because of how violently it reacts to magic. It can’t stand the stuff, and burns right up.” he said. He pointed to the cobbles. “Like you just saw. There’s been magic here.”
Twilight looked skeptical at first, eyebrow raised, but then stopped herself before she spoke. “Most magic doesn’t leave residue like that.” She looked thoughtful. “But some things that are inherently magical could leave behind a magic residue, like if a dragon left behind a scale, or the ashes of something burned with dragonfire. Or the hair of a monster, or something similar.”
Ritter nodded. “Ms. Sparkle is correct. There are no hairs, but something inherently magical has been here and left something behind.” he said, going to the flowerbox at the end of the street and pulling up a handful of dirt. “And she is also correct in observing that it’s almost certainly something naturally magical. A very apt choice of words. Something from that forest, almost certainly.”
He sprinkled the dirt over the remaining magebane extract, waiting for it to absorb into the dirt before wiping it off onto the street. The clods hit the ground and sizzled gently.
Mayor Mare coughed. “Erm, well. Are you...sure? I mean, we’ve never lost so many so quickly, but a foalnapping creature seems very odd.”
Ritter shook his head. “No, I’m not sure. But I think it’s time to investigate the forest.”
The Mayor’s eyes widened, but Ritter spoke before she could voice her doubts. “Yes, it is dangerous, but I’ll hardly be going in unprepared.”
He turned to Twilight. “Do you have anywhere I can mix herbs? A mortar and pestle will do, if that’s all that’s around.”
“My alchemy laboratory is capable of safely storing and handling RL5-level substances, and has facilities and space for three separate experiments at once. All-glass mixing equipment, 3000F rated calcinator and is licensed to store magical reagents.”
Ritter blinked.
“I like chemistry.” Twilight beamed.
“Clearly.” Ritter said, hiding a smile.
He turned to the rest of the ponies gathered and nodded. “Thank you, everyone. I think I’ve learned all I can here. I’m going to go prepare. Please, after you, Ms. Sparkle.”
And so they left.
Substances made from magical reagents were not known for their stability. Some could last days, others only hours. The substances that Ritter knew how to make weren’t always necessary for his job, but going into that nightmare forest, he wasn’t going to take any chances.
“What do you think left that residue?” Twilight said, carefully crushing the juice from round, strange plant into a beaker of clean alcohol. Black veins shot through the clear liquid as she crushed.
“I don’t know. That worries me.” Ritter said, stoppering a vial and placing it in his bag. “No hair, no scales, nothing to leave the residue really, nothing but leaves and dirt. Hm.” he paused. “Perhaps some kind of plant.” He shrugged. “Just blind guesses. I don’t plan on going very deep in the forest today.”
“You should see if Zecora is back, while you’re there. She may be able to provide some insight.” Twilight said, taking the black fluid she had just mixed and pouring a measure out into a mixing bowl, and then emptying a different bowl-full of red powder into it.
Ritter looked confused. “Are you saying she lives in the forest?”
Twilight nodded.
The confusion melted away, replaced by disbelief. “Why didn’t you mention this before! If she lives and survives in there, she must be aware of any kind of dramatic change in the area!”
“Because, like I just said, she’s been gone .” Twilight rolled her eyes. “She travels every now and then to visit friends and family. And gather rare ingredients.”
“She’s an alchemist?”
“Sort of.” Twilight finished mixing the bowl in front of her, and proceeded to place it in the calcinator and close the oven door. She turned on the fume hood attached to its top, and began to speak loudly over the droning noise of the venting fans. “She said she’d be gone for awhile last I saw her, and that was about...two and a half months ago. Right before Ditzy disappeared, actually.”
Ritter would have ground his teeth, if he had any. Instead he took a careful breath. “That seems a little coincidental, don’t you think?”
Twilight shook her head. “No.” She turned off the fume hood and pulled out the mixture, the substance now thoroughly charred and blackened. She put it on the table carefully and measured out a cup of water. “The timing is strange, but it’s very normal for her to take trips. She’s a good friend of mine. If she’d seen anything strange while she was leaving, I’m sure she’d have told me about it.”
“Well.” Ritter sat back in his chair, not quite mollified, and scratched his temple. “I suppose I’ll see if I can find her then. Do you have some kind of map?”
“There’s a path to her hut not far from Fluttershy’s cottage. I’ll show you the way.”
Ritter nodded. “If there’s a path, I should be able to find it. I wouldn’t recommend you go in the forest right now. I’m trained for this, and prepared. You’re not.”
Twilight gave him a disapproving look. “I may not look it, Mr. Hunter, but I am the Element of Magic. I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself.” she poured the water in, and began to mix violently.
Ritter looked hesitant. “I’m sure you can. I just, well. Let me investigate first, and we’ll both go in tomorrow. I believe you, but Princess Celestia would never forgive me if something happened to her favorite student.”
Twilight still look irritated, but she sighed and nodded her head. “All right, fine. This is done, by the way.” she passed him the bowl of finished reagent. “I don’t know what you want to use that for, but there it is. You couldn’t pay me to drink that. “
“That’s what I said at first. Then I got lost in a cave for a week and nearly died.” he carefully poured contents into a flask, which he placed in his satchel. “Being able to see in the dark is worth bleeding from your...well. The bleeding stops eventually.”
Twilight made a face.
“Oh, one more thing, Ms. Sparkle.”
“Hm?”
“If I’m not back by dark.” he said, putting the satchel around his neck. “Don’t come and find me. If I’m not back by noon tomorrow, send a letter to Celestia, telling her that the forest swallowed a hunter. She’ll likely want to investigate herself.”
Twilight showed him the way to Fluttershy’s cottage, and the small path behind it that led straight into the interior of the forest. They knocked at the cottage door, but Fluttershy wasn't in. Soon after that they parted ways, and Ritter descended into the woods.
At first the trees were thinly spaced, allowing room for the sun to shine through the canopy above, along with brief glimpses of the autumn sky and the clouds. Strangely, the cold wind that had been blowing since he’d gotten to Ponyville was still blowing, even though by all rights it should have been broken or banked by the trees all around him.
Soon, the evergreens grew thick enough that one could no longer see the sun or the sky, and he was plunged into the strange, green-tinted twilight of the deep forest. It was colder than he expected, for the month, but not unpleasantly so. He took a breath. It smelled like fresh earth, like pine and dust and water.
It was utterly silent, except for the wind, and his footsteps.
“Where are the birds?” he said to himself.
It took him an hour to get to Zecora’s hut, following the directions that Twilight had given him, following the trail when he found it, and going by landmarks when it disappeared. He passed a great log, twice as tall as him, covered with moss and rotten with teeming insects that swarmed over and through it. A great, stone statue, bleached by sun and green with ivy, lay broken and toppled next to a stream. He couldn’t tell who it was of, but he could see a crown, and a horn.
Eventually, he found Zecora’s hut standing alone in a clearing, a solitary structure amid a strange absence of trees. A small pool of clear water lay next to it. No smoke poured from the thatch roof.
He tried the door. It was locked. He considered breaking it down, but relented. He didn’t have any way to close it up again if he forced it, and he would likely ruin the structure with animals and weather if he didn’t stop to fix it. He walked around the structure and looked in the window.
It was very dark, and he couldn't see much inside. He rapped the window.
No movement, no sound. She wasn't home. Or didn't want to see him.
Ritter took a step back, and scanned the clearing. Nothing out of place, as far as he could see.
He investigated anyway. He was about to give up and search elsewhere, when a flash of red caught his eye. Past the clearing, in the brush, waving in the wind.
As he got closer, he could make it out. It was a flower, but as he got closer, his heart stuck in his chest.
“Confirm before you panic, you fool.” he said, slipping around a gnarled root and kneeling down to get a better look at it.
He calmed slightly. The hue was too pink, the stamen not true gold. It was Culve Animus Vulgaris. Common desire. A much less potent cousin of the famed True Desire, Culve Animus Nobilis, commonly called Heart’s Desire. It was what happened when Heart’s Desire did not have an incredible store of magic to devour when growing. They grew, as did all forms of Heart’s Desire, when a parent plant granted a wish, and scattered its seeds on the wind.
He’d heard it could grow here, but he didn’t think he’d ever see one.
He saw another one, a little farther into the wood. He felt his blood chilling, but he forced himself to stand, and examine this one too.
“Vulgaris.” he said to himself. “But two? That can’t be right.”
He saw another two, not thirty steps deeper into the wood.
He kept walking until he could count twenty of them, and then forty, and then a hundred. Soon the ground was covered in them. The trees themselves, evergreens every one, were streaked with red, the flowers growing up them like ivy, their leaves shining like rubies in sunlight. The air was thick with pollen, the haze making it difficult to breathe. The forest floor writhed with the flowers, moving and waving in the air, and everything was red with flowers and magic.
“By the Twin Talons.” Ritter said. His eyes were wide.
He ran away, as quickly as he could, back through the Everfree.
Author's Note
Still looking for reviewers and editors. This should be the second-to-last chapter. There will be an epilogue.
“Are you sure? I mean, are you sure that’s what you saw?”
A library, unlike other public places, does not become surreal after the sun has set. Emptiness and quiet suits a library. On a cloudless night, when the wind is cold and every star is clear, when the sky stirs a longing in your heart, books and oil-lamps and ink and drying-sand become fast companions.
Ritter had not emerged from the forest until nightfall. He had found no trace of Dinky, or any other living thing.
Except for, of course, the flowers.
Ritter wandered by one of the stacks, eyeing the titles on display one by one. He didn’t bother to insist on what he’d seen. His silence was more compelling than any words he could muster.
He touched the spine of a book, a silver claw tracing gold-leaf letters.
“What do we know about the Heart’s Desire?”, he asked.
And so, because they were in a library, they began to read.
“This might be it.” Ritter said. “Listen.”
“‘The fifth day of Hearthfire, the first year of this second age. The fugitive Moonshine the Nightcaller eluded us and took shelter in the Everfree. Our scouts, sent to sniff him out, did not return. Despite our best efforts, we could not find any trace of them. Eventually, to our shame, we were forced to request assistance from her Royal Highness, even in this, her worst hour.
Moonshine was found in the midst of a copse of vermilion trees, and he himself entranced by the blossom he held in hoof. Our scouts were rendered somehow foul by his treachery, and they fought against us and their sworn monarch, and we were forced to slay them. I have never been so ashamed of our unit’s conduct, but our Princess, in her grace and wisdom, forgave us. I will forever admire her mercy, and pray that I might have the smallest fraction of her strength.
All attempts to wake the Nightcaller failed, and he remained blind and deaf to everything around him. Her majesty, inspecting him, declared that the flower he held was the rare flower of true desire. Such a flower, she said, was able to grant any wish, so long as it was the deepest, dearest wish a soul could possess. But he, poor soul, was stuck. She then took the flower from him, and with forlorn face stated “Not all wishes can be granted”, and she then crushed the flower underfoot, and when the Nightcaller awoke, our unit took him into custody.’ ”
Ritter tapped a claw on the page. “That’s what I saw. A copse of vermilion trees. But I did not see any person or pony there.”
Twilight was nodding slowly. “That’s a curious statement she made. Not all wishes can be granted...”
The purple unicorn stood, and trotted over to the stacks. “I know those names, and that year. The Era system is a relic of a long time ago, before Equestria moved to the Stable Calendar.” Twilight said, and pulled a leatherbound tome from the shelves, turning the pages like the book was an old friend. No glancing at the index. No looking for dog-eared corners.
She stopped searching, and placed a hoof on the open page. “That was the first year after Nightmare Moon was banished. And Moonshine is a common name, but Moonshine the Nightcaller is a semi-footnote in the Nightmare Moon incident. He was a unicorn that stayed loyal to Luna even after she turned into Nightmare Moon.”
She began to read from the page. “‘He was given the name Nightcaller by her royal majesty, as his mastery of Star Magic was the greatest she had ever seen.’” Twilight closed the book with a thud. “If I recall, he was also Luna’s personal protégé.”
“You think this has something to do with him?” Ritter said.
“Not specifically. Starshine has been dead for a thousand years. But I think that story is quite important. Remember what Celestia said? ‘Some wishes can’t be granted.’”
Twilight trotted over to Ritter, looking over his shoulder at the book of the good captain’s memoirs. She reread the passage to herself and nodded neatly. “The Princess doesn’t say things idly. The reason the flower didn’t work for him must have something to do with what he was wishing for.” she said, sitting down across from Ritter again. “Perhaps if the flower can’t grant whatever it is that is the soul’s deepest wish, it simply tries anyway.”
Ritter closed the book in front of him carefully. “And traps the person where they are? That doesn’t make much sense.” The gryphon shook his head, and reached for a cup of tea that wasn’t there. He caught himself at the last moment.
“You ponies are rubbing off on me.”
“Hm?”
“Nothing.” Ritter shook his head, glancing out the window. The moon was half-blotted out, and the stars were disappearing. Clouds were moving in. Strange. It had seemed like a clear night, when he left the forest.
“Anyway. How does this fit in? It has to be related to the disappearances.”
Twilight put a hoof under her chin. “You think so? You didn’t see Ditzy or anyone else there.”
Ritter nodded. “That is true. Although I didn’t stray far into the wood. But what else could it be? It’s hardly coincidence that a pony-trapping curse is found shortly after several ponies go missing.”
Twilight bit her lip. “Probably. Not enough information. There’s still the question of we never saw when we searched for her months ago.”
“I can’t really answer that. But I know what I saw.” Ritter scratched his neck, carefully. “Let’s see - Ditzy leaves approximately two months ago, enters the forest for unknown reasons, and finds a Heart’s Desire, and the wish in her heart is apparently somehow impossible. This causes a copse of cursed woods to appear, but only a few months later.”
Twilight shook her head. “Ditzy was weird, but there’s no way her deepest desire could be that strange.” She paused. “I think.”
Ritter sighed. “Yes, quite. Well, let’s start with this: what wishes can the flower not grant?”
Even at this late hour, Twilight was not one to lose a chance to elaborate on magic. “Most wizards would agree there are three true restrictions of magic. The magic of an Alicorn or other Deity is involiate, the dead cannot be returned to life, and the rules of magic themselves cannot be altered by magical means.”
Twilight thought for a moment. “I’m pretty sure we can rule out the third restriction. Ditzy’s heart’s desire probably wasn’t proving Starswirl’s Postulate wrong.”
Ritter nodded “That seems reasonable. That leaves raising the dead, and defying a god.”
Ritter sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, where his beak met the rest of his face. “Which is not much better. Neither one seems likely.” He sighed. “Well, you knew the mare. Any guesses?”
Twilight shook her head. “Ditzy had some weird ideas for political reform and some very strange opinions on the best way to distribute yearly cereal production, but she didn’t, well. I mean, it couldn’t be violating an Alicorn’s magic. There aren’t that many things Celestia directly enforces herself. And she wasn’t plotting against the throne or anything.”
Ritter nodded, but stayed silent.
Twilight bit her lip. “I don’t know much about her personal life, but I do know that Dinky was practically her only family. Maybe she really wanted someone to come back?”
Ritter glanced outside again. The night sky was growing blacker. Not a single star could be seen now, and the wind was picking up. He felt his down feathers begin to prickle. No doubt about it, a storm was brewing.
“That seems...almost reasonable.” Ritter said, staring at the blackness outside the window, and suddenly nodding. “Well, I’ve risked my life with worse theories. But, feel I need to make a recommendation, if I may.”
Twilight blinked. “Oh. Um, sure.”
Ritter tapped his claws on the table. “The Princess needs to be made aware of this. In my opinion, we know too little and investigating this with sufficient caution will take too long to guarantee the safety of the ponies of this town. We need a fast and proven solution. I recommend that you notify the Princess and ask her to take care of this personally.”
Twilight gaped. Ritter shrugged and continued. “This is, essentially, a very powerful curse, for which we have no remedy. Any way we approach it is going to go poorly, and from what we read in that account, could result in death.”
Twilight seemed conflicted at first, but with a sudden growl of frustration she slammed a hoof on the table. “I can’t believe this! How can you want to quit? Aren’t you a professional? I thought that’s why the Princess told you to come here!”
Ritter was taken aback. “I am a professional, but-”
Twilight cut him off. “But nothing! You haven’t solved a single thing since you’ve been here! You’ve just wandered around, acting crypting and drinking a bunch of our tea and sneaking around, and not doing anything useful! You look capable, but when it really counts you just give up!”
Ritter’s eyes flared. “I’ve done everything I can! I can’t just jump in and fix everything, no matter how much—”
The scraping of his claws on the table interrupted him, his silver talons ripping thin peels of wood from the polished oak. He sucked in a breath, and when he spoke again, his speech was more measured.
“Miss Sparkle. Be reasonable. We don’t have enough information. The only thing that can protect you from a curse is knowing its rules. We don’t know anything about this thing. All we know is that it’s dangerous, possibly lethal.”
“Assuming that this threat acts as we think it does, that it is a nearly all-powerful curse trapping those who get too close, then I, We, must act as though it will try to do the same thing to us, and I have no way to stop it.” he continued, his tone diplomatic. “If I can’t guarantee your safety or mine, then I’m left with no choice. I am not giving up. I am not being afraid. I am choosing not be reckless .”
Twilight’s snorted, her left eye twitching. “That’s...that’s! Ugh! That’s reasonable! .” she yelled, disgusted
Ritter was silent for a moment.
“Um. Thank you?” He said, hesitantly.
Twilight slumped, burying her face in her hooves. “Fine! It’s very dangerous, and there might be some risk involved, but we can’t give up! We have to take care of this. The Princess is counting on me. She’s trying to keep Cadance and my brother from losing their Kingdom, again , and she needs me to handle just this one thing. I can’t just send her a letter that says ‘Sorry, it’s too hard!’”
“I’m almost certain when she asked for your help, she didn’t expect you to recklessly risk your life.”
Twilight shook her head wildly. “No! You don’t understand. I already asked for her help, and you’re it! I knew she was busy, but I asked anyway, and now I’m going to have to ask, again , because I can’t do anything right.”
She let out a deep sigh. “I wish, just once, I could competently handle something for her.”
An awkward silence ensued.
“Um. Miss Twilight. I-”
A bright flash of light blinded him, a sudden flickering luminescence that bathed everything in the library stark white. The peal of thunder shook the table and rattled the windows so hard he thought for a moment they might break.
The strike must have been very close. Ritter blinked the spots out of his eyes and stood up, looking out the window. Another bright flash passed by, and he saw the forked lightning strike above the Everfree Forest.
Twilight stood and walked over next to him. The sudden interruption seemed to have bled the tension out of the room, for a moment.
“Miss Sparkle. It’s very late. We’re both tired. I’ll give what you’ve said some thought, and we’ll talk about it in the morning. Is that acceptable?”
Twilight paused for a moment, and then nodded, her distraught expression now replaced by a curious one.
“We never get storms like this. Rainbow Dash and the weather team keep a close eye on the feral weather system, to make sure wild storms like this don’t crop up. I wonder what’s going on?”
“It’s possible it formed quickly. It must have been very fast, It looked like clear skies when I left the forest-”
He was interrupted by a sudden, forceful knocking.
“Huh.” Twilight blinked, and trotted to the door. She began to work each bolt open methodically. A federal building had to be secured properly, after all.
Apparently she wasn’t going fast enough. The knocking resumed with greater intensity.
“Hold your horses!” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ve almost got it!”
The last bolt finally slid back and Twilight swung the door wide, revealing a rainbow pegasus. She was trotting in place, and looking around wildly.
“Rainbow Dash! It’s almost 3am, what’s going-”
Without preamble, Rainbow Dash leapt inside and shook Twilight, her expression one of abject terror.
“Twilight! Fluttershy’s missing!”
By the time they reached Fluttershy’s cottage it was already raining.
Wet grass and mud squashed beneath Ritter’s talons as he inspected the last portion of Fluttershy’s somewhat sizable plot of land. There was no sign of the yellow pegasus. Rainbow Dash and Twilight were inspecting the inside of her cottage for any signs of where she might have gone. A note explaining she was on vacation, perhaps, or some other indication of where she'd gone.
He wasn’t finding anything out here. He went back to the front door of the cottage, pausing for a moment beneath the stoop to shake some of the rain from his feathers before walking inside.
“Nobody’s seen her in a week!” he heard Rainbow say. “Which, I mean, isn’t that weird for Fluttershy, but she missed her Spa appointment with Rarity today, which happens sometimes, but when I stopped by to get her help containing this storm, she wasn’t here! Or any of her animals, or anything!”
“You were trying to get Fluttershy’s help? With a storm ?”
Rainbow shook her head. “It’s spooky, Twi. This storm, it just appeared out of nothing! Bam! No cold front from the north, no wet southern winds, just the biggest storm to come out of the feral system in decades, no warning. It’s so bad, the weather team is having to call in every pair of wings to try and contain it.”
Ritter began testing the windowsills of the house for magic with the small amount of magebane he had left. The one half-bottle didn’t last long, but the results were disturbing. Everything the black liquid touched was rotten through with magic.
He put the empty bottle back into his satchel, and began to adjust the straps, unbuckling a buckle here and pulling a belt there. He felt the tight network of straps slacken, and he yanked on another cord, and with some dexterity and wing-work he pulled the heavy bag over his head and set it on the ground in front of him.
“Miss Sparkle.” he said, and opened the buckle that held the satchel closed. “I think it might be prudent to revise my earlier position, but I need to clarify something with you, and I have some questions for Miss Rainbow Dash.”
“What do you need to know?” Twilight said, trotting over as Ritter began digging through his bag. “It might be dangerous to investigate the forest now though, with the storm about to break.”
Ritter nodded. “That’s what I wanted to speak with Miss Dash about. How long do we have until the storm starts to really pick up?”
Rainbow sighed. “Minutes. I need to get out of here and meet up with the team if we’re going to keep it from damaging Ponyville.”
“What’s the worst we can expect?”
Rainbow didn't have much patience for what she considered ‘egghead’ nonsense, but weather-work was practical, working-mare knowledge as far as she was concerned, despite the complex calculus and formulae behind predicting weather patterns, and her knowledge was extensive. “Winds in excess of 40 knots, heavy rain, lightning. There aren't any hot-cold fronts meeting here, so there shouldn't be any cyclones. But this storm shouldn't have happened in the first place, so who knows.”
Ritter made a face. “I can’t say I expected any better.” he sighed, removing a leather belt from his pack and looping it over his neck. Glass bottles followed, which he began to slide into pockets fitted through the bandolier.
“The curse, or whatever is actually causing this, is clearly picking up speed, and it’s affecting people entirely unrelated to Ditzy. I’m not a wizard, but I don’t think this storm is coincidence either. I don’t think we have time to wait.”
Twilight looked at Ritter hesitantly, first at him, then at the bandolier he was stuffing with the potion-vials she’d helped him brew yesterday. “I agree we need to take action, but we can’t go now . It’s dark! And going out in the storm would be almost suicide!”
“I have dealt with curses before.” Ritter said suddenly, closing his bag. “Not like this. But there was a village in the badlands east of the Evermore called Jubliee. Couldn't have been more than ten huts gathered in the same spot. It was a Zebra settlement. I’d been sent because they’d been plagued with nightmares, and the villagers believed that an evil spirit torturing them.”
He stood up and adjusted his bandolier. “I eventually narrowed the problem down to a family that had been grave robbing and triggered some sort of magical protective measure, but by the time I’d done that the nightmares were starting to get much worse. I waited a few days before confronting them about it, because I didn’t have concrete proof, which would have made accusing them troublesome.”
He scratched his beak. “So I waited and tried to gather more evidence. I wasn't fast enough. One night, the whole village wakes up to the sound of screaming, coming from inside one of the huts. It stops before we can break the door down, and when we finally do, we find a monstrous, fanged zebra spitting spiderweb from his nose, with hellfire for eyes. We subdue him, and kill him. No sign of his wife or daughter. They were only found later, when we cut open the creature's stomach.”
“I didn’t have much trouble getting the graverobbers to help me break the curse after that.” Ritter said. The room was silent.
He coughed. “In my experience, when a curse starts picking up steam, it’s about to go from bad to extremely horrible. Like I said. I don't think we don’t have any time left.”
“I see. This is horrible.” Twilight said, taking a breath. “This is really, really horrible. This is about the worst thing that could possibly happen.” she nodded to herself, and took another breath. She started to breathe slowly, bringing one hoof closer to herself as she inhaled, and extending her arm wide as she exhaled.
“This is pretty much as bad as it could possibly get. How can we do anything with the storm?”
Ritter shrugged. “The forest will actually likely help us there. The trees will break the wind, largely, unless there’s a cyclone, and they’ll protect us from lightning. We’ll only have to worry about getting wet and freezing to death.”
“That’s such a relief. I’ve always wanted to die of hypothermia.” Twilight muttered.
“It’s not a pleasant way to go.” Ritter offered helpfully.
“Not. Helping.” Twilight growled, trotting towards the door. “Seriously, how are we not going to die? How are we even going to see in there?”
“Drink this.” Ritter said, pulling a vial of some foul-looking liquid from his bandolier and tossing it to the unicorn. Twilight deftly caught it with her magic. “It will let you see in the dark. The bleeding later will be uncomfortable, but completely harmless.”
“Lovely.” Twilight deadpanned, uncorking the bottle. She took a sniff and gagged. “This smells like AJ’s barn after the cows have been in it all night.”
“The life of a hunter! It isn't glamorous, but at least it’s not boring.” Ritter said, pulling his own vial and removing the wax stopper with a single silver claw.
He raised his bottle in a toast. “Bottoms up.”
They drank.
Under the effect of the brew of the Cat’s Eye, the Everfree Forest was as brightly lit as the noonday sun, but everything was colored wrong. Forest greens became sickly blues. The dark sky above was a frightful cloudscape of orange, like the rotten rind of a pumpkin. The occasional bolt of lightning that ran through the sky like a white vein of fire would light things in their correct colors and end the surreal illusion, but only for a moment.
Both Ritter and Twilight were running through the forest, already soaked to the bone, and now almost at Zecora’s hut. The journey there had been frightful and hectic, but there had been relatively few obstacles in their way. A felled tree that had to be clambered over. A gentle stream had transformed into a roaring river, but Twilight had levitated the both of them safety across.
Now they were in the clearing where Zecoras hut stood steadfastly against the blistering wind. Ritter led Twilight to the path where he’d seen the first immature flower of desire. It was easy to find. Against the cold blue of the forest, it stood out a heart-throbbing red.
“IT’S THIS WAY.” Ritter yelled. Twiilght cocked her head, and mouthed something at him.
“Damn this wind.” Ritter said. They wouldn't be able to hear each other until it died down. He motioned for her to follow, and began to trek out of the clearing, into the deep wood. He moved slowly, looking back to make sure that Twilight was following.
The flowers began to multiply in number, and as before, he followed them until they covered the forest floor, and they led him back to where the forest began to run bloody red.
It was different than before. Vines had begun to run up the trees, each branch now covered in what looked like a dozen blossoms. The trees shook in the wind, but the flowers remained steadfast. No petals fell here.
It was easy to miss the red timber-wolf, covered in vines of red flowers, lumbering towards them between the trees. It was only a fortunate bolt of lightning that revealed his crouching form.
It leapt for them, the wooden snarl cut short by the crash of thunder. By reflex Ritter jumped onto his back legs, and swept his talons before him. His claws caught on the Timberwolf’s muzzle and barrel, and through he felt splinters dig into the quick he wrenched the wolf to the side, avoiding being pinned by the monstrously strong creature and throwing it to the ground.
Before he could jump onto the creature’s exposed side and rake with his rear claws, a green glow enveloped the creature, and Ritter again reflexively jumped back.
Not a moment too soon. The creature’s head exploded in a dark black fireball, leaving only a powdery, ashen residue that sizzled in the rain.
Twilight’s horn and eyes stopped glowing purple-green, and she gave Ritter a sharp look. Ritter nodded carefully.
“By the talons.” he muttered to himself. He lamented their inability to communicate. He wanted to ask Twilight what, exactly, she'd just done. He was certain something like that was not within a typical unicorn’s ability.
He almost missed the Timberwolf crouching in the tree above them. He spread his wings to try and get some momentum for to dodge, but the wolf was too close. By the time he had both wings extended it had dropped neatly on top of him and pinned him to the ground. He grunted silently as he felt the rough wood of the creatures’ claws pierce through both his wings, and was blinded by the sudden rough slap to the back of his head. His head banged roughly into the mud, and he almost blacked out.
He felt the explosion of wood almost as much as he heard it. Whatever Twilight was doing, it must have been some kind of extremely hot fire, as he didn't feel any splinters from the explosion, just a brief and sudden heat, and then the creature on his back going limp.
He felt the weight lift off his back a moment later. He looked up to see Twilight’s worried face, mouthing some unintelligible question at him. He slowly shook his head.
She must have been able to read his expression. She knelt down, letting the gryphon rest an arm around her neck and then rising to help him to his feet.
He let himself catch his breath in the rain, let himself feel the droplets work their way through his feathers and over his suddenly overly-sensitive beak. He was freezing, tired, aching, and in pain, but the rain was in some ways refreshing. He reached for another vial on his satchel, and held it up in front of Twilight.
She looked at him with a blank expression. He pantomimed drinking it, and her eyes lit with understanding. She removed the stopper and handed it back.
The brew was relatively unstable, and had some very nasty side effects. It was essentially a powerful stimulant mixed with painkillers and seratonin boosters. It wouldn't actually heal him, of course. It was addictive too, and it would leave him flat on his back when it wore off, but it would let him ignore his injuries until he could deal with them later.
He drank it slowly, and carefully replaced the vial when he was done. Like always, he felt a painful tightness behind his eyes as the brew took effect. It always reminded him of how it felt to wind a watch just a few too turns too tight. The feeling of the extreme resistance of the spring that let you know you were about to ruin something very complicated, very permanently.
He nodded to Twilight, and stood up on his own feet. She looked concerned, but he motioned for them to continue. He couldn’t really feel his wings, but he couldn’t move them either, so he let them drag on the ground as they went deeper into the red forest.
They hadn’t walked much further before the trees started to thin again. Which was why Ritter was surprised that it suddenly stopped raining. He glanced at Twilight.
She wasn't there.
Ritter’s head whipped around, but the forest had disappeared. Instead the rough hillsides of the northern gryphon territories greeted him. The rain ceased, replaced by softly falling snow. The trees disappeared, replaced by the tall evergreens of Hyll.
He could see the ocean, far below the hillside, and hear the roar of the waves as they crashed against the basalt cliffs. Icebergs drifted silently in the distance, small crags of sea-ice that belied what truly lay below them.
His father sat next to him. The brown-white speckled gryphon smiled, offering him an open talon. A sign of trust.
“Hello son.”
"You are not my father." Ritter said, his voice hollow. "My father is in Avesta, spending his days fishing and annoying my mother."
Ritter turned away and stared into the sky. The sight of the falling snow and the vastness of the sky was overwhelming, as it always was. He felt the flakes settle on him, little spots of cold between his feathers. "I think I understand what happened now. One breathes the pollen, and sees an image of what they want the most."
His father, Roland von Hossenfeffer smiled. "Indeed. And this, it appears, is what you want the most."
"My home? My home is where I left it. It is not anyone else's to give." Ritter stood and walked away from where he sat with his father, his wings leaving furrows as he climbed uphill.
His father followed him carefully, talons crunching lightly in the snow. "If this is your home, beloved, why are you not here?"
Ritter sighed. "Because my home is very far away. Past Canterlot, past Equestria, past the lowlands, past the Windswept Moor, and across the Winter Sea." He stared at the swell of the ocean from atop the hill, and let the wind run through his feathers. "It is very far indeed."
"Is that what you want? To be far from your home?" his father spoke softly.
Ritter turned. "Of course not. But—"
"Then let someone else go rooting through caves and crypts, child." His father's expression was stern, as only his could be. "How many years is enough? There are other brave gryphons. You could be in Avesta, with your family, whom you have not seen since—"
Ritter sucked in a breath. "I am well aware of how long it has been." he said sharply. "And you have no right to speak to me this way. You are not my father. You are not even a gryphon. What are you? A plant? Some pollen-addled figment of my mind?"
His father's expression was dark. "I am not a plant." he said, feathers unconsciously fluffing.
"Some drugged hallucination then." Ritter scoffed.
"I WAS A GOD." his father thundered. The illusion of Hyll disappeared, and they were both back in the forest, where the wind and rain threatened to knock Ritter to his knees in the squelching mud.
His father's face was twisted with sudden rage. "Stronger than the stars! Stronger than the sun! Stronger than the swirling heart of this world! All came to me, crawling and scraping on their knees! The strong, the weak, the great and the forgotten, kings and queens and heroes, to beg for my power! MY POWER! 'Just a sip from thy cup, my lady' they said, 'and I shall have everything I desire'. 'If only I was stronger', they said. 'If only she loved me. If only I wasn't such a coward'. They begged for a sip, and I gave it to them. They drank and drank, until they drowned in it, and in the end the last thing they begged for was death".
Ritter backed away slowly, keeping his eyes on the strange facsimile of his father, until he felt his legs catch on a felled branch and he fell, sliding in the mud. His father slowly approached, eyes blazing with power.
"Why so frightened, my beloved? Where is your mockery? Your contempt?" his father's expression turned ugly. "I am not some curse to be outsmarted. I am the Demon of Desire, and you and this whole world belong to me."
Ritter attempted to stand, but his legs betrayed him, and he wen't sprawling in the mud. Keep it talking. Wait for a mistake.
"I have never heard of a Demon of Desire. Only the flower that ponies call Heart's Desire." Ritter said, dragging himself atop the downed branch.
"This world has forgotten me," His father said, grabbing Ritter by the neck. He choked and sputtered as the demon dragged him to his talons. "But someone has once again begged me for their desire, and I will indulge them."
"Why the storm?" Ritter rasped. His breathing was labored. Every drop of rain felt like ice against his face.
"How else is pollen to travel, but by the wind? Ah, and the enchantments that contain the forest are a great source of power. What happens when a thousand years worth of storms break free?" His father grinned. "I can feel the pegasi trying to contain it even now. They're winning, but not for much longer."
Ritter could no longer breathe, but he held his arm out, with open talons. A sign of trust.
The image of Roland released his grip, and embraced his son. They were back in Hyll, where instead of rain and storms, there was only the falling snow, and the distant sound of the sea.
"I'm sorry, beloved, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, but like when you were a fledgling, sometimes discipline takes a firm hand. Everything is going to be alright, I promise," he said, stroking his son's head. "It's going to be alright."
"I love you, father." Ritter said, and embraced him back, burying his head in the down on his father's shoulder. He then clasped his talons, and with the utmost care, twisted his arms and snapped his father's neck.
Twilight, at the same time, found herself somewhere else entirely.
She was in Canterlot. Specifically in Princess Celestia’s bedroom, sitting on the divan before the Princess’s mirror, watching the alicorn carefully work a golden brush through Twilight’s purple mane.
“Before we depart, love, perhaps we should pay Luna a little visit. You know how she worries that all our little ponies still blame her for the Nightmare incident. Perhaps we could help put some of her fears to rest.”
Twilight was completely silent, her eyes wide.
“Did you hear me, Love? I think it might be best if we say hello to Luna before our honeymoon-”
Twilight shot bolt upright, whirling on Celestia and stumbling backwards. “What! What did you say?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, but still giggled. She put the comb over her mouth to cover her grin. “Our honeymoon, Twilight. I know it seems unbelievable, but we are entitled to one after being betrothed-”
“No! No, this isn’t right. I was in the forest. What’s going on?”
Celestia’s expression become more uncertain. “I’m...you’re not making sense, Twilight. What forest?”
“The Everfree. I was there investigating all the disappearances in Ponyville, after you sent Ritter von Hossenfeffer to help me with the investigation.”
Celestia shook her head slowly. “I don’t remember any of this Twilight. Are you sure you’re feeling alright? Perhaps the wedding took a bigger toll on you than you thought-”
“This isn’t right. This isn’t right. I was just, I was just there!” Twilight was breathing wildly. “This is some kind of trick. I don’t, I mean, I would never,”
Celestia’s expression became stern. “Twilight Sparkle. I’m not sure what you’re implying, but my love for you is certainly no trick. Calm down. Perhaps we should talk about seeing the Royal Physician regarding your stress issues again?”
Twilght was shaking, but she fixed Celestia with one eye, and spoke with as much firmness as she could muster.
“You’re not Celestia. Tell me what’s going on.”
Celestia twitched, and looked away. Twilight expected her to reply with some response designed to make her feel even guiltier than she did already, but Celestia's response was instead rather small, and quiet. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Twilight shook her head. “I...but...this isn't real. I know it isn't. I was just in the forest, with Ritter. This is some kind of trick. It has to be.”
Celestia turned to look at Twilight again, meeting her gaze. “Does it? Have to be?”
Twilight remained silent, so Celestia continued. “I mean. This is what you want, isn’t it? I can make it happen. You said this isn't real, well. I can make it real.”
The alicorn stood up, walking slowly towards Twilight, her steps swaying. “Just... go along with this, for now. You want Celestia to love you? I can make it happen. Not a vision of her. The real thing.”
Twilight swallowed hard as Celestia brushed up next to her. “It wouldn't be real if I wished it to be.” she said. Her voiced sounded small.
“Oh?” Celestia stopped, her voice angry. “And it’s more real if she loves you because she thinks you’re pretty? Or you manage to say something witty, or if she’s touched by the way you phrase your confession of love? I fully confess, I disagree.”
Celestia’s muzzle dipped down, close to Twilight’s ear. “If she really knew you, she’d love you already. Don’t you deserve it? All I offer is... insurance. A guarantee against your own inept blundering. To make sure that you don’t make a mistake and lose your chance forever.”
Her breath made Twilight shiver. “She probably loves you already. All she needs is just a little, extra push to make her admit it.” She bit Twilight’s ear, tugging gently before letting go.
“There’s no shame in admitting you want it. Everyone has desires.”
“This is a lie.”
Celestia paused. She looked slightly shocked. “If this is a lie, then why-”
“This is a lie, because I know what you are, and I think I know what happened to Fluttershy and Dinky and all the others now.”
Twilight pulled herself out from under the Alicorn, her horn glowing with magic. “You’re trying to trap me. And getting out should be as simple as this.”
Twilight’s horn flared brightly, the glow of magic briefly blinding the both of them, but the glow faded, and appeared that nothing at all had changed. Celestia looked around, and grinned. “Ah, but you see, magic is a function of your body, whereas we are purely in your mind. Leaving is not quite as simple waving a magic wand, so to speak.”
Twilight set her jaw, and tried to ignore Celestia’s smug look while she thought.
“I am curious - why do you think I’m lying? I assure you, I can bring your heart’s desire to pass.”
“Because love, among other things, is a decision. Taking that decision away from someone is akin to removing their ability to love.”
“That’s very idealistic, but I think you’ll find that you really can’t tell the difference either way-”
“I said no, and I meant no.”
Celestia’s face soured, but was soon replaced by the sight of a tree-trunk wrapped in red flowers.
Twilight blinked. She was back in the forest. Ritter was next to her, sitting rather pathetically on a log with his head between his paws, and his injured wings flopped to either side of him.
She wasn’t sure how long the two of them had been there, trapped in what was surely a vision, but the wind had died down, finally. She trotted over to the gryphon hesitantly, trying to gauge his reaction. Had he managed to escape? Would he attack her?
“Um. Ritter?”
He nodded.
“Are you alright?’
“No.”
Twilight shuffled on her hooves for a moment. “Yeah.”
She rubbed a hoof on her foreleg. “Did you see...Celestia?”
Ritter shook his head. “No. We must have seen different things.”
Twilight nodded slowly. “That, um, makes sense.”
“What did you see?” she asked.
Ritter sighed, and stood up. “What was it that Celestia said, in the book?”
“...some wishes can’t be granted?”
Ritter nodded. “Yeah. That’s what I saw. A wish that can’t be granted.”
He motioned for her to follow. “I’m getting very sick of this place very fast. Let’s try and find Ditzy before things get any worse.
He stepped into the clearing ahead and nearly bit his tongue.
Cocoon-like, wrapped in thorny vines that pulsed a glowing, magical red, Ditzy sat swaddled in the middle of the of the ring of trees, a single, sickly-small child on her lap, and a dazzling, blood-red flower suspended upside-down in front of her. Around her, like worshipers, Dinky, Big Macintosh, Fluttershy, and Zecora lay prostrate, each one of them wrapped in a thick bed of flowers.
He moved as cautiously as he dared into the clearing. Flowers crunched underneath his feet. He was poised for another Timberwolf to drop from the trees, or for another woodland creature to try and stop them.
Nothing came. He had a feeling that the flower had already done its worst.
It truly was a beautiful plant, he realized as he stared at it. All in red and gold, glowing with the magic, and the promise of fulfillment. It was entrancing, to watch the power gathered in the roots of this place ebb and flow through plant like blood through a magic heart. You could get lost, just watching...
He realized almost too late what was going on, and averted his gaze towards those lying prostrate in front of her. He could see them breathing, even Big Macintosh, who had been there for almost a month. A good sign. Except for Ditzy. Perhaps the stasis of the plant prevented her from even that much movement.
“In the book, the Princess crushed the flower, and that ended it. Do you think that will work here?” Ritter said aloud, hoping Twilight had managed to avoid staring at the flower for too long.
“Yes. I think so,” Twilight said. Her voice seemed distant.
“Good,” he said, moving deftly towards Ditzy, flowers crunching loudly under-talon. He felt a sudden wave of panic wash over him, but he recognized the ploy for what it was and continued on, ignoring it.
“If you can master desire you can master fear, demon.” he said, plucking it from the air in front of Ditzy. “Your threats are as hollow as your promises.”
He crushed it between his talons, and despite its power, it was as easy as crushing a flower.
The spell was broken.
Ditzy fell to the ground, softly, the small child on her lap following with her. Her four worshipers began to stir, roused from their sleep at last.
"No!”
Ritter blinked, taking a step back. Big Macintosh was shaking, crawling forward on his knees towards Ditzy’s fallen form. “It was me, I did it, oh Celestia, I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry...”
The rest of the prisoners were coming to their senses. Dinky was staring at the clearing with wide eyes. Zecora appeared to be still trying to get her bearings, and Fluttershy, it appeared, hadn’t quite woken up enough to be aware of where she was.
But Big Macintosh was clear-eyed, and he wrapped the small grey mare in his hooves, along with the little foal. “I didn't mean those things I said! I’m so sorry, I love you, and I’ll love our child too, please, please, don’t be gone, don’t...don’t let me have killed you...”
Ritter noticed for the first time that Ditzy still wasn't moving. It was hard to see with Big Mac cradling her, but he was fairly certain she wasn't breathing either, nor the child. He looked at Twilight, who appeared horrified.
A few tears pattered on Ditzy’s face, mixing with a fallen petal stuck to her cheek. The clearing was silent, except for Mac’s sobbing.
It wasn't a moment later that Ditzy took a single, shuddering breath.
Author's Note
Theophany is Greek for a Divine Appearance. It's different from just seeing something divine. It refers to the physical incarnation of a god to man. The mother of Dionysus, Semele, died when Zeus appeared to her in his full glory, as no mortal can behold the divine and survive.
I'm still looking for editors and/or prereaders. If you're interested, let me know!
Epilogue
“This isn’t bad.’ Ritter said, finishing his tea. “This is Green Tea, right? Nice to have a change of pace. Most of your drinks seem like they're half sugar."
Two days had passed since they found Ditzy and the Heart's Desire in the Everfree Forest. They were sitting at Twilight's breakfast table on the second floor of the Golden Oaks library, by the windows that overlooked the town.
Twilight glowered at Ritter while she finished stirring honey into her tea. "I didn't hear you complaining until now, mister. Pinkie tells me you're making good progress towards trying all fifty flavors of pie."
“Mhmm.” Ritter said, setting the earthenware cup down on the table. “Point taken. What can I say, you ponies know your desserts."
Twilight rolled her eyes. “I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." she said, taking a sip. "I see that the Doctor finished your dressings. Have you decided if you'll be staying your until wings heal?” Twilight asked, watching him carefully.
Ritter looked out of the window over Ponyville. The storm had been brief but intense, and other than stripping the trees bare, it had left the town largely untouched. Wet, black branches reached for the sky like twisted claws. His wings twinged with the memory of the Timberwolf that had staked both his wings to the ground. Doctor Stable had done a good job cleaning and dressing them, but it would be a long time before he would be able to fly again. At least the bandages themselves were only for a few weeks. Then he had to wait for new feathers.
"I'll be leaving with the bandages, I think. I don't feel like waiting around, for some reason." he said, sipping his tea. "But there are a few things I still need to take care of."
"Oh?"
"I was hoping you could clear up what exactly happened here." he laughed. "My report has blank spots you could drive a carriage though."
Twilight grinned, and nodded. "While you were lazing about in bed, I did manage to put the rest of the pieces together. Do you need a quill and paper?" Her grin turned predatory.
Now it was Ritter's turn to roll his eyes. "I'll just take the summary for now, if you please."
"Fair enough." Twilight said, setting her cup down. "This started when Ditzy became unexpectedly pregnant. When she went to tell Mac, he panicked, and you know how he gets when he's flustered," Twilight paused. "Well, maybe you don't. He just sort of shuts down. Completely clams up."
"I can see how that would be misinterpreted." Ritter said.
"Quite. Well, they fought, and Ditzy took some time off and decided that ending the pregnancy would be her best option. She went to Zecora, because she trusted her. But, like I said, this was unexpected. It was too late for Zecora's interventions. The Tansy Tea would have killed her."
Twilight poured herself more green tea, and picked up the decanter of honey while she was at it. "Ditzy...didn't care. And waited until Zecora left to break into her home and take what she needed anyway. Which led to the expected, tragic result."
Ritter was silent. He buried his beak in his tea and let the steam warm his face, and waited for Twilight to continue.
"Except that she found the flower. She says that it spoke to her, drew her close to it. After which tried to grant her desire, but couldn't. They died, and it couldn't bring her and her foal back to life." Tiwlight finished stirring the honey into her cup, and leaned back. "So it started gathering strength. The ungrantable wish was like a dam across a river of magic."
"How did Zecora get trapped?" Ritter asked quietly.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "She forgot to brew a potion of clear breath for one of her uncles. He has a cold, apparently. When she got back, she saw that her house had been ransacked, and was able to put two and two together. She was the first one to find the flower and Ditzy."
They both sat quietly, neither one willing to break the silence. The large grandfather clock ticked the seconds past slowly.
"And that's how the first person was taken." Ritter said slowly.
"Yes." Twilight said, using her magic to grab a book from the bookcase behind her. "And without her to inform anyone, the plant began to drain more and more power. It started eating the enchantments keeping the forest at bay first, resulting in the strange weather and sudden winds, then trying to turn people into its slaves by promising them their deepest desires."
"Did you ask the Princess about what I saw? About the 'Demon of Desire?" Ritter set his cup down carefully. The sun was already beginning to set, the light through the window tinting the table a deep rose-gold.
Twilight shook her head. "I had Spike send a letter. I haven't heard back," she sighed. "That isn't usually a good sign. Sometimes I wonder just how much the Princess has seen that she's never mentioned to anyone."
Twilight sipped her tea. "But that's something for another day, I think. I hear they're going to name the foal Summerfree," Twilight smiled, "after Big Maintosh's great great aunt, who was a pegasus."
"Hmm." Ritter shook his head. "It can only go uphill from here for them, I suppose. What's with the book?" Ritter nodded at the volume Twilight had retrieved.
"Oh. It's, um, Mareton. The old poet. I was reminded of it when Ditzy, well. Broke all the laws of magic and nature and returned from the dead."
Ritter grinned. "Something you've been taking in stride, I notice."
Twilight's mouth formed a hard line. "Yes, well. Something else I need to talk to Celestia about." Her expression softened, and she used her magic to open the blue-bound book and flip through the pages. "But, anyway. I have no idea how she did it. But it made me think of the passage about the star-crossed lovers. Perhaps the old loon wasn't as loony as we thought."
"What does it say?"
"Here, I'll read it." Twilight said, clearing her throat and reading with a practiced voice.
But, O sad Mare, that thy power
Might raise Musæus from his bower,
Or bid the soul of Colteus sing
Such notes as, warbled to the string,
Drew iron tears down Death's cheek
And made Hell grant what Love did seek!
Ritter's eyes were wide. "Do you really think that's what happened here? The power of true love?"
"I think...that I don't have enough information," Twilight shrugged, and and closed the book. "But I have no better explanation."
Author's Note
Apologies to John Milton, whom Twilight is quoting. A mound has surely formed on his grave by the constant tumbling of his angry corpse.
Tawrich is the personification of hunger. She belongs to the Daevas, a group of demons. Her eternal opponent is Haurvatat.
Haurvatat ("wholeness") is one of the seven Amesha Spentas. She is the personification of perfection and is associated with life after death. She brings prosperity and health. The third month is dedicated to her. Her eternal opponent is the archdemon of hunger, Tawrich.
