For the Birds
Applejack yawned as the sunlight streamed across her face through the window. As was customary for the members of the Apple family, she got up and made her way to the bathroom without the slightest protest. She could already hear the sounds of her elder brother and younger sister stirring in their rooms and she suspected that even her elderly grandmother was also getting up as well. Who needed an alarm clock when Princess Celestia herself provided the greatest wake up call anypony could ask for?
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Applejack made her way down the stairs towards the kitchen for a breakfast that would fortify her for another hard day's work on the farm. From the low thumps echoing back upstairs from a set of heavy hooves and a series of small taps from a set of much smaller ones, the orange Earth Pony figured that her siblings weren't far behind.
True to Applejack's suspicions, Granny Smith was already up and about, whipping up a breakfast fit for her three hungry grandchildren. The old, green mare looked up from her work as Applejack clopped into the room and took her seat at the table. "Now then Applejack, do ya remember what the list is fer today?"
Applejack nodded eagerly, happy to get a jump on everything that needed doing. "First, Ah need to take Apple Bloom to school, then there's apples that need buckin' in the east orchard and we need to finish plantin' the saplings in the south fields."
"Darn tootin'" declared Grany Smith, glad to see how much her granddaughter had grown in those years since she had run away when she was a little filly. Applejack was now a mare who understood responsibility and how to get things done. The aged mare felt more confident than ever that she could safely leave Sweet Apple Acres in Applejack's capable hooves.
It wasn't long before the two of them were joined by Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom. While Macintosh was just as awake and eager to get started. On the day's tasks as Applejack, little Apple Bloom hadn't yet discovered the wonders of early rising and was more miserable than anything else; although the prospect of seeing her friends at school and going off on more crusades for their cutie marks brightened her day somewhat.
After a hearty breakfast, the members of the Apple family were ready to face the day. Apple Bloom and Applejack stood in the front hall, waiting while Apple Bloom finished packing her school bags. Finally satisfied that she was ready, Apple Bloom turned to grin up at her elder sister. "All ready to go big sis!"
"Alright then!" exclaimed Applejack, her voice full of good cheer, as she swung the door open and stepped boldly out onto the porch, savoring her first look out over the desiccated and blighted fields of. Her family's ancestral home, "Let's get goin'..."
Applejack paused as the reality of what lay before her sank in. Her bright and eager smile changed to a confused frown before succumbing to a look of absolute horror. "HOLY HORSEAPPLES!!!"
"Applejack!" hollered Granny Smith as she tottered into the all and out the front door, "What in tarnation are ya thinkin' usin' that kind 'o language around yer sister, why Ah outta tan yer hide..." The elderly mare's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as the tableau that was the current state of Sweet Apple Acres unfolded before her before lapsing into a stream of profanity that made Applejack blush while Apple Bloom listened eagerly, practically about to reach for some paper and a pencil so she could take notes.
"What in tarnation is goin' on here?" demanded Granny Smith, having finished her recitation of what seemed to be just about every expletive in the Equestrian language and a few that Applejack was pretty sure weren't from Equestria.
"Ah don't know, but this is bad," said Applejack, stating the obvious. The orchards of Sweet Apple Acres were her family's livelihood, not to mention the other crops that they grew. But the entire farm was practically a desolate wasteland now. Trees stood in the discolored earth, devoid of their leaves and wilting in death. The ground was covered by leaves that were sickly colored while some of the apples seemed to have rotted off the branches...those that weren't eaten.
Applejack's eyes narrowed when she saw several discarded half-eaten apples and cores. There weren't many apples on the ground, which meant that the bulk of them had already been consumed. Those that remained were discolored, misshapen and quite possibly rotten.
"Granny, Ah don't think this is any ordinary blight," said Applejack, suspicion in her tone, "Y'all had better wait here. Ah'm gonna go get the one pony who might have any idea as to what's goin' on."
"I'll be honest with you, Applejack," said Twilight Sparkle as she turned to face her friend, "I have no idea what's going on."
"Now that just ain't right!" snapped Applejack, "Ya've got that blasted library chock full of every book on every subject Ah can think of and plenty that Ah can't. And Ah'm darn sure that ya've read every single one of 'em and yer tellin' me that ya don't know anythin' about what did this!"
Applejack's voice had risen to the point where Twilight had to cover her ears to avoid going deaf. "I'm sorry, but even if I studied for a thousand years, I wouldn't know everything there is to know in Equestria, much less the rest of the world. Please calm down."
Applejack settled on her haunches looking horrified. "No, Ah'm sorry sugarcube. Ah didn't mean to fly off the handle at ya. It's just," she turned her head to look out over the acres of devastated farmland, "These fields are everythin' to mah family and now they're completely ruined. Ah just don't know how we're even gonna make it through winter at this rate. Applebuckin' season just started and we haven't even cleared a tenth of the orchards and now it's all gone." Tears started to fall from the mare's eyes. "This land's been our family's pride and joy since Ponyville was first built and now it's like this. Ah just can't stand it!"
Twilight nodded and threw a forelimb around Applejack's shoulders, hugging her close. "I know what this means to you Applejack and I promise to do whatever I can to help."
"How're ya gonna do that?" asked Applejack, "Ah thought ya had no idea what was goin' on here."
"I don't," said Twilight resolutely, "But with Celestia as my witness, I'm going to find out. SPIKE!!!"
Looking over, Twilight saw the little purple dragon look up from where he sat, his arms currently occupied by giving Apple Bloom a steady hug as she cried into his shoulder. The severity of what had befallen her family had finally dawned on the little filly and she had nowhere near as much control as her older and more experienced sister. Spike was trying his hardest to give what encouragement he could. "What do you need, Twilight," he said at the sound of her voice.
"I need you to go back to my library and get my equipment. You'd better get the full field kit together, just in case. I want everything."
"Sure thing," said Spike eagerly. Standing up, he let go of Apple Bloom and gave her an encouraging glance. "Don't worry, Twilight will find out what's going on here and we'll get things fixed right up. You'll see."
Apple Bloom heartened at the dragon's encouraging words and gave him a weak smile. Without another word, Spike shot off back towards Ponyville and the library while Twilight turned to give the ruined grounds a more careful examination.
Ditzy Hooves, sometimes affectionately (and sometimes not so affectionately) known as Derpy Hooves beat her wings with all her might, flying as fast as she could. Inwardly, she cursed the crosswinds that had blown her out over the Everfree Forest on her delivery route. She had been knocked off course. And while a few hours delay would have been bad, what was happening now as even worse.
The shrill screeching sound behind Ditzy was increasing in volume, a sure indicator that her pursues were gaining on her. Ditzy was no Rainbow Dash, but that didn't change the fact that she was a fast and reliable mailpony with years of experience flying difficult routes under belt. She hadn't been overtaken yet, but the dogged persistence of these...things, was wearing her down.
Something hummed past her ear, shearing off a few strands of the grey Pegasus' blonde mane. Ditzy didn't dare look back, but weaved as frantically as she could to make herself a more difficult target. Another projectile buzzed past her, this one in her field of view. It was a bronze-colored feather, slicing through the air with the deadly intent of an arrow. Even worse, she heard the sound of more of those feathers flying in her direction. In retrospect, Ditzy realized that weaving might have been a mistake. These creatures weren't taking careful aim with their attacks. Rather, they seemed to be flinging those horrible feathers in barrages, preferring volume of fire over aim. All Ditzy's dodging and weaving had done was eat up enough of her lead to allow more of them to come within range. The air was thick with flying feathers.
Ditzy gave up trying to dodge and put everything she had into speed. In one final, last, absolute act of desperation, she did the one thing that no self-respecting mailpony would ever do. She shed her saddlebags. No longer burdened by her cargo, Ditzy's speed increased, which she hoped meant that she wouldn't be under assault much longer. She could hear the harsh shrieking slowly beginning to drop back behind her. The sounds of flying feathers were also dropping off. She was about to get away.
A single lucky shot found its mark in the worst possible place for a Pegasus. Ditzy screamed as a razor-edged feather sank into the base of her shoulder, just above her wing. The wing folded and the grey Pegasus was no longer able to keep flying. She plunged. Using her remaining good wing, Ditzy did what she could to slow down, remembering the emergency landing procedures she had been taught in flight school.
Increase your surface area to slow your speed. Whatever you do, don't let yourself go into a spin. Keep your legs out but don't let the joints lock. Come in at as shallow of an angle as you can manage. Don't try to stop at once. Stop over a distance. Be mindful of what's in front of you. Instructions whirled through Ditzy's head as she let her hooves drag through the dirt of the road that lead into Ponyville. She was loosing speed. With any luck, even though she could no longer fly, she would at least be able to run back to town and find cover.
A rock in the road had other ideas though. Ditzy's front hoof caught on it and her carefully controlled landing turned into a head-over-hooves tumble that ended with her sprawled out and groaning. As her vision swam and her had rang with the impact, Ditzy became aware of one important thing. She was no longer moving, which meant...
Over the ringing, she heard a metallic rustling noise that was coming from all around her. Ditzy couldn't see them, but. She knew they were there. Horror filled her at the thought of what was about to happen. No! Dinky! Sparkler! Ditzy's beloved daughters were the first and last things on her mind as she screamed. She saw a flash of bronze and they were on her.
"Ah don't get it," declared Applejack as she followed Twilight and Spike into town. Satisfied with their collection, Twilight had declared that it was time to return to the library and the lab in her basement where she could run some tests and try to determine the nature of whatever it was that had ravaged the Apple family's land. "We've been livin' in this here land for generations and we ain't never had anything' even close to this happen."
"If it's an animal of some kind, it might be new around here," explained Twilight, "When a new species moves into an ecosystem it can cause all kinds of problems. I bet Fluttershy could tell you even more about that than I could."
At the mention of their shy, Pegasus friend, Applejack's ears perked up. Perhaps if it was an animal, then Fluttershy could identify it. However, as knowledgeable about animals as she was, Fluttershy did have some glaring gaps in her knowledge. The affair with the parasprites came to mind.
"In either case, I intend to find out what is behind this," said Twilight, "If it did that to Sweet Apple Acres in a single night, who knows what might happen to very other farm and garden in the region."
"And since we have no idea what it is, we have no way of knowing whether or not it's dangerous," added Spike.
As it happened, matters conspired for them to learn the answer to that particular question sooner rather than later in the form of a streak of blue and grey leaving behind a rainbow contrail blazing right through the center of town.
"GANGWAY!!!" yelled the familiar voice of Rainbow Dash as ponies scrambled to get out of her way. She rushed straight through, completely heedless of any obstacles she might have encountered.
"Darn it! Ah've told her to be more careful than that," snapped Applejack as she oriented on Rainbow's path of travel.
"She seemed to be in a hurry, even for her," said Twilight in a cautious manner. There was something off about Rainbow's rush through town that bothered her.
"Is it just me, or was she carrying somepony?" ventured Spike.
"Of course!" yelped Twilight, "That grey coat. I think she was carrying Ditzy! She may have been injured!"
Applejack's eyes narrowed as she looked in the direction their brash friend had rushed in. It was definitely in the direction of Ponyville's hospital. "Now that y'all have said that, Ah can't help but wonder if it's got some connection to our current predicament."
"Only one way to find out," said Twilight, "Spike, get our samples back to the library and get everything ready."
"Yes ma'am!" answered Spike, snapping off a sharp salute before rushing back towards the library with his burden. Twilight and Applejack turned and rushed in pursuit of Rainbow Dash.
"It was crazy!" exclaimed the blue-coated Pegasus as a doctor patched her up, "I've never seen anything like them! And they sure were a mean bunch of buzzards."
"So they're birds of some kind," observed Twilight pensively. Rainbow Dash had been indeed been carrying a severely injured Ditzy Hooves, who was currently in the emergency room as doctors worked desperately to save her life. From what they had gathered, Rainbow Dash had been practicing her stunt flying when she had noticed Ditzy crashing into the road just outside Ponyville while being pursued by a small flock of unfamiliar looking birds. Hearing her friend's screams, Rainbow had rushed to the rescue and had succeeded in fighting off the aggressive avians, but had not emerged unscathed herself.
"Of that, we can be fairly certain," commented the doctor, having plucked something out of Rainbow's chest and deposited it into the tray at his side. Looking at it, Twilight was shocked to see some kind of feather. "You're quite fortunate Miss Dash. That thing lodged in your rib. A few centimeters over and it would have punctured your lung instead."
That drained some of the cockiness from Rainbow's expression. Meanwhile, Applejack looked over at the emergency room where Ditzy was being operated on. "Ah'd better go pick up Dinky from school," she decided, "Ah'll swing by Sparkler's place while Ah'm at it and bring 'em over here."
"Good idea," agreed Twilight, "I'm going to go talk to Mayor Mare. With what just happened to Ditzy, I think we need to make sure that all of Ponyville is on alert."
"Then what?" asked Rainbow right before wincing as the doctor continued his work.
"Then I'm going to send Pinkie to go get Fluttershy and bring her into town. Fluttershy lives right next to the Everfree Forest and I don't like the idea of her being there while those things are lurking about."
"That's true Ah reckon," remarked Applejack, "But why are ya gonna send Pinkie? What are ya gonna be doin' while that's goin' on?"
Twilight gulped and steeled herself. "I'm going into the forest. Somepony's gotta go get Zecora."
"That's crazy!" snapped Rainbow, "Listen Twilight, I've met those buzzards and they make a nest of angry hornets look tame by comparison. There's no way you're gonna go rushing into the very forest where they're probably living right now!"
"I wish I didn't have to," admitted Twilight, "But Zecora's at even greater risk as she already lives in there. Besides, given where she's from and where she's been, she might actually know what these things are and have an idea of how to deal with them."
Twilight grimaced as she looked around. Ever since that incident with the cockatrice, she had been extra wary while going into the Everfree Forest. But now that the forest might be infested with a flock of what were apparently extremely hostile birds, things seemed more dangerous than ever. Twilight kept a careful eye on the branches of the trees around her. Rainbow Dash had given her a description to go by, so she hoped she would recognize the birds before they had a chance to strike.
Much to her relief, Twilight made it to Zecora's hut without incident. Cautiously, she knocked on the door, praying silently that the zebra herbalist hadn't fallen afoul of the creatures already. She relaxed as she heard the sound of hooves inside and the door opened to reveal the smiling face of her friend.
"Twilight, my friend, I say. What brings you here today?"
Twilight had to suppress a grin at Zecora's typical rhyming speech. "Hi, Zecora, may I come in?"
The zebra nodded and stepped aside so that Twilight could come in the door, before shutting it behind her before repeating her question. "In your tone, I sense much fear. What is it then, that brings you out here?"
"Something bad is happening," said Twilight. She then laid out an explanation of the day's events, starting with the devastation of Sweet Apple Acres and then following with the attack on Ditzy Hooves.
Zecora's expression darkened as she heard the news. "These birds do sound familiar to me. Please describe what your blue friend did see."
"Well, she said that they had long necks, sort of like swans or geese. Their feathers are primarily white with bronze lining. The bronze feathers apparently can be launched like arrows and are razor-sharp and seem to be hard, like metal. Their beaks are really long and sharp. On top of that, they seem to be extremely aggressive. I don't think that Ditzy did anything other than fly near their nesting grounds or whatever and they chased her nearly all the way back to Ponyville. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the only reason that they didn't follow poor Ditzy all the way back was because they caught her before she could make it."
Zecora shook her head sadly. "That is terrible news I just heard; for indeed, I do know of that bird."
"You do?"
"From the faraway marshes of Stymphalia they do hail. Where they flock, the land is ravaged without fail."
Twilight gulped nervously. "Oh no!"
"To make matters worse, they are quite fierce. When aggravated, they attack and with beak and feathers pierce."
"Well, given what's happened already today, I could have figured that out already," Twilight deadpanned, "But is there anything we can do to stop them."
Zecora wandered to a shelf that held a small number of books. Reaching over, she picked one up and set it up on a reading stand. Paging through it, she apparently found what she was looking for. "Hmm. A rattle I could make. The birds will flee when it does shake."
"A rattle," said Twilight, slightly skeptical, "That's it?"
Zecora shook her head. "As easy as it does sound, certain materials must be found." Laying out paper and taking a quill and ink, the zebra began to compose a list of what she needed to make the instrument. When she was done, she rolled up the paper and gave it to Twilight. "And because the birds are in a crowd, the noise it makes must be quite loud."
Twilight reviewed the list. "Okay, good. It looks like these materials can be gotten in Ponyville. I was a little worried that we were going to have to search the Everfree Forest with those birds hanging around for what we needed. This saves us a lot of trouble."
Rolling up the scroll, she turned to Zecora again. "You should probably come back into town with me. I don't think you're safe out here with those birds lurking around these parts."
She realized that Zecora was not looking at her, but was instead gazing out the window. "I fear that if you wanted to spare me from that fate, you are indeed a little too late."
Twilight walked over to join her and also looked out. A lump formed in the Unicorn's throat as she saw what Zecora was talking about. The trees around the little hut were filled with birds that matched the description that Rainbow Dash had given her. Worse, they were all glaring down at Twilight and Zecora. Already, she could see that a few were about to take to the air.
"Get back!" shouted Twilight as she jumped away from the window. Zecora followed suit and not a moment too soon as a barrage of metal feathers hummed in through the opening. With her magic, Twilight shut every window in the hut at once and bolted them, along with the door. A series of thudding noises sounded from the closed shutters that failed to drown out the angry screeches of the birds themselves. Then, with a loud thunk, something long and pointy plunged straight through the wood of the set nearest to Twilight. She stifled a cry as she realized that it was the beak of one of the birds. It was not the only one either. Other beaks punched through the wooden shutters all around the hut before withdrawing and striking again at different points. To her horror, Twilight realized that she and Zecora were trapped. Worse still, the barriers wouldn't keep the birds out forever.
"What to do, what to do," muttered Twilight had she paced the modest diameter of Zecora's hut, "What to do, what to do what to do whatodowhatodowhattodo!"
"Please do not panic," said Zecora, "For it makes you quite manic."
"Manic!" exclaimed Twilight, snapping her head around. To glare at the Zebra, who was remaining strangely calm in spite of their rather dire situation, "We're trapped in the middle of the most dangerous forest in all of Equestria; a forest, I might remind you, that is even more dangerous because it's been infested with a flock of angry birds that even now are trying to work their way into this very hut so that they can punch us full of more holes than a block of Swiss cheese!" At that moment, another beak punched straight through the hut's door to punctuate Twilight's statement. "We have the instructions for a tool that can get rid of them, which is useless, because everything we need for that rattle is back in Ponyville, which we can't get to until the birds lose interest in us, which I don't think is going to happen very soon." Another beak punching its way through a nearby shutter reinforced her point again. "And if those birds do lose interest in us, it's probably going to be because they've decided to move on to Ponyville itself, which would be a disaster. Who knows how many ponies could be hurt in the meantime."
"Then we require a solution fast," admitted Zecora, "Perhaps a spell that you could cast."
"A spell..." Twilight thought carefully. "I suppose I could cast a shield spell. That might let us get out of here without getting impaled. The problem is that's not going to stop the birds from following us, which could result in us leading them all the way to Ponyville."
"That would be bad, I fear. Could you send a message from here?"
"A message...". Twilight frowned, "I couldn't send a message without Spike here...Spike...SPIKE!!!" Twilight almost hit the ceiling as she jumped in excitement. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe I didn't think of that. I completely forgot that I knew that spell."
"There is no need to shriek," muttered Zecora as she rubbed her ears, "Of what spell do you speak?"
"The spell that lets me send letters through Spike," explained Twilight as she grabbed the scroll Zecora had written the instructions for the rattle on earlier and began to right furiously on it, "I completely forgot about it because Spike is with me almost constantly. I usually use him to send letters to the Princess, so I almost forgot that she taught me the spell that she uses to send letters back. I'll send this letter to Spike, along with the instructions for the rattle so that he and the others can get to work making it. Then they can come and bail us out of this predicament."
Twilight re-rolled the scroll and set it on the table. Pointing her horn at it, she muttered, "Here goes," before her horn flared with magic. The scroll erupted into a greenish blaze before turning into a glittering cloud that streamed out of the window and away. Sighing, Twilight sat down on the floor and listened as the birds continued to try and peck their way into the hut. "Now, all we can do is wait."
"What's takin' her so long," grumbled Apple Bloom as she slipped another piece of the puzzle she was working on into place.
"No idea," grumbled Spike as he drooled over another picture in his book of gems and minerals the same way a chef might drool over a recipe book, "I did what she asked and set up all the stuff for the experiments, but she hasn't come back at all yet."
Apple Bloom stared at her purple friend anxiously, "Ya don't think that those bird thingies got her, do ya?"
While Spike was getting increasingly worried about Twilight's well being, he decided to put on a brave front for Apple Bloom's sake. The filly had joined him in the library, explaining how she and the rest of her family had been fetched by Applejack and given a rudimentary explanation of what had been happening, an explanation that, unfortunately, did not explain Twilight Sparkle's whereabouts. Thus, with both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo out of town with their respective families (Sweetie for a vacation in Manehatten and Scootaloo for a Wonderbolts show in Cloudsdale) Apple Bloom decided that she had nothing better to do but go and see how things were progressing in the library...which they weren't, due to the absence of a certain lavender Unicorn.
"Twilight's fine," said Spike with as much confidence as he could muster, "She's faced down an Ursa Minor. A bunch of angry birds don't stand a chance against her. Right now she's probably just URP!" Spike was cut off as a belch built up in his throat before bursting out of his mouth and a blast of green fire. The fire transformed into a scroll that dropped to the floor between the two.
"That's weird," muttered Spike, picking up the scroll, "Why would the Princess send a letter now." After pausing to examine it for a moment, his jaw dropped. "Wait! This is from Twilight. I completely forgot that she knew how to send letters through my fire like the Princess did." He unrolled the scroll and perused its contents. "HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!"
"What is it, Spike?" asked Apple Bloom anxiously as she tried to work around to read the scroll's contents with him.
"Twilight is trapped with Zecora in her hut in the Everfree Forest. Those birds have the place under siege!"
"Oh no!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, "We've gotta save 'em. Ah'll go get big sis and tell her and the others that Twilight and Zecora need to be rescued right away!"
"Hold on!" Spike hollered, stopping the filly in her tracks before she could make it halfway to the door, "There's more. Twilight found out everything: what those birds are, what they do, and how to get rid of them!"
"Really!" Apple Bloom bounced back over to Spike's side.
"Yeah, there are directions for making some kind of rattle that makes a noise that the birds really don't like. Apparently everything we need for it can be found here in Ponyville. We just have to get everything together and then build the rattle and the birds will fly away whenever they hear it." Spike looked up at Apple Bloom. "We have to get this to your sister and the others."
"Ah wish Ah could do that, but Ah'm up to mah eyeballs in panicky ponies," said Applejack in a frantic and harried tone as she moved her hooves to direct the flow of traffic through the area. "If Ah leave now, things'll fall apart and we'll have a darn riot on our hooves. And if that doesn't bring birds like bees to a flowerbed, things'll still be right pear-shaped before long. If Twilight were here, she could run the whole show herself. But right now, Ah know that all the others are workin' their tails off too." Having been warned by Twilight, the mayor had ordered an evacuation of the outlying homes and farms of Ponyville. This meant that several families worth of ponies were now streaming into the town proper. Naturally, Applejack and Twilight's other friends had been called on to assist in keeping the resulting evacuation organized. But without Twilight herself there, things were difficult for them to manage.
"What'll we do sis?" asked Apple Bloom, "If we don't do something fast, those mean birds'll come anyway and that don't help Twilight one bit."
"Ah'm sorry Bloom," said Applejack, turning to look down at her little sister and Spike, "But it looks like it's gonna be up to ya and Spike to get this done."
"What?" Apple Bloom stared wide-eyed up at Applejack. "But Ah can't do it sis. Ah'm just a little filly who doesn't even have her cutie mark. Ah can't save the whole town!"
"Yer not just any little filly," said Applejack with a wide and loving smile, "Ya're an Apple and there ain't anythin' ya can't do if ya put yer heart and mind to it. And besides, ya've got Spike with ya. He's the best assistant Twilight has. Between the two of ya, Ah'm sure ya can do it."
Spike gulped, his stomach fluttering. In spite of this, he managed to cram his fears down and put on a confident face for Apple Bloom again. "Your sister's right," he said, patting Apple Bloom's back, "If we work together, we can do this."
Spike unrolled the scroll so that he and Apple Bloom could get started. "Let's see. The first thing we'll need is a short log of Zap Apple wood."
"Let's get to the wood shop then," said Apple Bloom, "After every harvest, sis and Big Mac take all the pruned branches down there to sell. They'll have some in stock."
"Let's go!" The two of them sped off to get started.
Gathering all of the necessary materials was proving difficult. Naturally, the owner of the wood shop wasn't too inclined to believe a filly and a baby dragon when they came rushing in and asked for a piece of his most limited product. The exorbitant price was certainly more than the two could afford to pay. However, upon realizing that Bloom was from the Apple family, whom he owed for that stock in the first place, he became much more willing to part with it.
Their next stop took them to the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity was working up a storm to make pillows and bedding that the displaced ponies could use in the absence of their own possessions. The scroll's instructions specified several different kinds of beads of different size and materials that would fill the rattle in order to produce the necessary noise. While she was still busy with her work, Rarity was able to help the two find what they needed. The pair quickly made their way to their next stop...or rather, Apple Bloom did while dragging a love struck Spike along with her before he could ask to help Rarity with her current project.
The next step required them to visit half a dozen different places to acquire ingredients for the varnish. Why that mattered, Spike and Bloom had no idea. But they weren't musicians, so they decided it was best not to ignore the steps. The list included strange things like Zap Apple (again) tree sap, clotted corn syrup, and a bright rainbow's glow (luckily, Apple Bloom had some left over after that Hearts and Hooves Day fiasco) among other things.
After gathering the needed materials, Apple Bloom and Spike rushed back to Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom rushed to shed that held all the tools she needed to work the wood and assemble the rattle. Spike made use of the family kitchen to cook together the ingredients for the varnish. Once the sticky substance was the right consistency, Spike carried the pot containing the gunk out to the shed, where Apple Bloom was putting the final touches on the instrument itself.
"It says here that once we apply the varnish, we've got to wait for it to set," said Apple Bloom, before lifting her eyes from the scroll and grabbing a brush and dunking it into the mixture before spreading it across the surface of the rattle.
"Uh, and how long is that supposed to take?" asked Spike, looking out the door of the shed nervously.
"It should take about seven minutes for each coat, and it calls for three coats" said Apple Bloom as she finished applying the first coat and turned over a nearby hourglass to help her keep track, "Why're ya askin'?"
Spike gulped as he saw a cloud of feathered fiends lifting off from the Everfree Forest. "No reason."
Rainbow Dash had been posted on lookout. Fortunately, her injuries from driving off the birds attacking Ditzy hadn't been so severe as to prevent her from flying (although she was to lay off the stunt practice for a week). During the evacuation of the outlying sections of the village, Rainbow had been flying back and forth, monitoring the Everfree Forest for any sign of the birds.
Rainbow gulped when she saw the flock beginning to lift off. There were a lot more than she had thought there would be. "This is bad?" She spun about and rushed back to Ponyville. "They're coming!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Spike carefully glanced out the shed's window. He had closed the doors to keep him and Apple Bloom from being seen by the birds. Fortunately, they hadn't been noticed. He had been worried that they might have already moved on to Ponyville. However, he was relieved to see that the flock had descended on one of the other farms in the area instead. That would keep them busy for a while.
Then a frown spread across the dragon's face as he watched. The birds were working their way through a pumpkin patch. Even as he watched the birds eat and...do their business, he saw the plants wilting away, as though they had been poisoned. "I wonder..."
"What is it?" asked Apple Bloom, who had just finished laying on the second coat of varnish.
"I was just thinking about the birds' poop."
"Spike! That's disgustin'!" gagged Apple Bloom.
Spike shook his head vigorously and turned to look down at the filly. "That's not what I meant," he protested, "It's just, I was thinking about the damage to your family's farm. Those birds just flying though and eating everything in sight wouldn't have accounted for all that damage. It looked more like the ground itself was poisoned."
"What're ya gettin' at?"
"I think that it's the birds' droppings. There must be some kind of poison in the droppings that was poisoning all your plants. I was watching them eat their way through the next farm over and the same thing was happening."
"Still," muttered Apple Bloom, "That don't help us much."
Spike shook his head. "Maybe not now. But when this is over, I'm betting Twilight will be able to figure out a way to undo that damage. It'll be a lot easier to figure out how if we know where the problem came from in the first place...uh oh!"
"What is it Spike, did ya think of somethin' bad."
"No, it's just..." Spike broke off the conversation to throw himself away from the window and tackle Apple Bloom out of the way just as a fusillade of feathers came buzzing through the window. "...I think they know we're here now," finished Spike.
Oh dear, you can do this Fluttershy. Don't panic. These birds just don't know any better. Everything will be alright once you just explain to me how things work in Ponyville. In spite her attempts to work up her courage, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel extremely nervous as she made her way towards the field where the birds were now devouring their way through the local crops.
"You can do it darling," Rarity had told her by way of encouragement.
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash pitched in, "After all, you've Stared down a dragon. These birds are probably nothing in comparison."
Honestly, thought Fluttershy in a tone she would never dare use out loud, You talk down one dragon and suddenly everypony expects you to walk on water.
Fluttershy cantered nervously to within earshot of the flock. The birds appeared to be intent on their meal, all but ignoring the yellow Pegasus approaching them. That was a good sign. If they were anywhere near as aggressive as Rainbow Dash had made them out to be, then they probably should have attacked her by now.
"Um....excuse me," said Fluttershy, her voice barely audible. The birds appeared to take no notice. "Oh dear, excuse me." She raised her voice ever so slightly, but to no avail. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Fluttershy inhaled as deeply as she could. "EXCUSE ME!!!" Her voice was barely above the volume of normal speech, for a regular, non-Fluttershy pony, but the birds stopped what they were doing and took notice. The turned in almost perfect unison to look at the Pegasus.
Fluttershy gulped again. "Now I know that you're new to Ponyville and I would love to welcome you. But...um, the way you're all acting is no way for proper animals to behave. What you've been doing is extremely rude and um, I hope you know that you all can be better than this..." Fluttershy trailed off as she realized that her words were not sinking in. She didn't want to resort to using the Stare on the birds if she could talk them out of this. But she was getting more than a little worried. With this many birds, it would be all but impossible to Stare them down all at once. Worse still, she got the feeling that they weren't going to give her the chance.
One of the strange birds, slightly larger than the others, squawked imperiously and raised his wings. The other birds oriented in unison on Fluttershy, murder in their gaze. Fluttershy could only let out a strangled squeak as they launched themselves at her, beaks angling towards her for attack...only to connect with nothing but air as a rainbow-colored gust of wind swept Fluttershy out from in front of them. Rainbow Dash held her friend close as she swooped up and away from the flock with every ounce of strength that she could put in her wings. Looking behind them, Rainbow could see the mass of irate birds giving chase.
"Good," she said, "This way, we can lead them away from Ponyville." With that, Rainbow Dash, still carrying a terrified Fluttershy, shot away from the village at an angle, the bulk of the angry flock hot at her tail.
"Is that last coat dry yet?" asked Spike anxiously as another of the birds tried to force its way in through the window. The little dragon responded with a stream of greenish fire that caused the bird to backwing away before it could get burnt. Spike had to duck out of the way as another series of feathers rocketed through the opening instead, but was back in position to prevent another attempted invasion.
"Almost," said Apple Bloom, staring anxiously at the hourglass that marked the time until the rattle would be ready for use. She watched intently as the last grains of sand fell through to the bottom before reaching out for the instrument. However, she paused just as she was about to grab it.
"What's wrong?" asked Spike, daring to take his attention away from the window for a few seconds.
"It's just..." the filly shivered, "This is so important. The fate of Ponyville...No! All of Equestria is ridin' on this. What if Ah messed up. What if Ah missed a step or somethin', or forgot one of the parts? We'll all be doomed."
Spike decided to take a gamble and stepped away from the window. He hoped no more birds tried to force their way in in the meantime. He threw his arms around Apple Bloom and held her close. "It's okay," he whispered, "You did everything just right. I know you did. You're good at this kind of stuff, Apple Bloom. Everypony knows it. That's why Applejack and the others trusted us with this. We all believe in you.". He gulped and looked into her eyes. "I believe in you. This sort of thing is a part of who you are."
The yellow filly sniffed. "Okay." Reaching out, she grabbed the rattle. She turned to look at Spike, who had taken a position by the doors of the shed. "Ready?"
Spike nodded and threw the doors open. Now there was nothing to keep the birds from charging in. Several of the ones circling overhead spotted the opening and swooped down, screeching. Apple Bloom took one last look at the rattle before gritting her teeth and shaking it with all her might.
Twilight grimaced as the hinges on one set of shutters gave way. Using her magic, she held the crumbling mass of wood in place as she looked around frantically for something to barricade the opening gap. Unfortunately. The sparse furnishings of Zecora's hut left them with very little that could be pressed up against the windows. The birds besieging the hut were not deterred in the slightest by the resistance to them getting in and continued to punch their beaks through every barrier with unabated ferocity.
"We're not going to hold out much longer," the Unicorn remarked to her zebra friend.
Zecora looked at her with an encouraging smile. "If this is the way our lives must end, then I prefer to perish in the company of a friend."
Twilight smiled back. "I feel better knowing I'm not alone either."
One of the other shutters cracked. The birds, apparently sensing a weakness, began concentrating their attacks with increased frequency. As the two friends watched, the shutters practically disintegrated under the assault before Twilight could do anything to reinforce then. "This is it," said Twilight as the first of the birds forced its way into the interior of the hut. Determined not to go down without a fight, Twilight leveled her horn at the creature and prepared to unleash her magic.
Then a strange noise echoed through the forest. The bird halted before suddenly throwing itself back out the window, screeching in alarm. To her shock, Twilight could hear all the other birds outside taking to the air while making the same alarmed cries. Stretching her ears out, Twilight tried to discern the strange sound from the racket made by the birds as they fled en-mass. Then she recognized the clicking and shaking noise. It was the sound of a rattle.
"Twilight! Zecora!"
A smile burst onto Twilight's face as she found herself rushing out the door, almost slamming into it as she only barely remembered to unlatch and open it before the impact. "Spike!"
And there was Spike, along with Apple Bloom, who was carrying it in her mouth while shaking her head vigorously to keep the noise that the birds so clearly despised going. "You did it!" shouted Twilight in exultation. Spike practically threw himself at her and the two hugged fiercely for a moment before letting go. "Oh Spike! I'm so glad you came through for us."
"Thank Apple Bloom," replied Spike, "Without her, we wouldn't have been able to do anything."
Apple Bloom blushed fiercely at the dragon's praise. Twilight turned. To look at the filly and smiled proudly. "Good work Apple Bloom."
"Indeed, you are no phony," added Zecora, beaming down at her young friend, "We are so proud of you, my little pony."
After a moment, Twilight cleared her throat. "Right...now we have to go save Ponyville," she said as though she had only just remembered (which, in all fairness, she had, their recent harrowing experience having been at the forefront of her mind at the time). "Alright now, hold still Apple Bloom. I'm going to cast the strongest sound amplifier spell I know on that rattle..."
Rainbow Dash was gasping for breath as she flew with all her might. "Darn these birds are persistent," she groaned as she tried for the umpteenth time to lead them back away from Ponyville. It seemed that whenever she had nearly succeeded in leading the flock back out over the Everfree Forest, they lost interest and turned back towards the village. Only now, they were ignoring the outlying farms and heading straight for Ponyville proper. Rainbow had swung around several times to get between the dangerous pests and Ponyville (dropping Fluttershy off in the process) to gt them back to chasing her. Every time, the birds seemed to lose interest part way and turned back to Ponyville itself. And it was getting harder and harder to get their attention.
Swinging back around, Rainbow came at the mass of birds head on, thinking to punch right through the middle of the flock, which would get their attention easily enough. However, even as she did so, she saw her mistake in the form of countless metal feathers flying straight at her. The cyan Pegasus ducked and weaves through the barrage only to realize that through her desperate dodging, she had been forced too close to the ground. Rainbow had to flare out her wings and kill her speed to avoid crashing. Landing lightly, she looked up in preparation for take off, only to see that the flock had closed ranks in the sky around her. The birds weren't going to let her get airborne again.
This is it, huh, though Rainbow as she saw them descending, screeching in triumph. She could even hear her friends back in town screaming her name. With this many birds, there was no way she was going to survive. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and waited for the end to come.
A loud, gravelly sound echoed out over the fields, drowning out the cries of the monstrous birds. The birds halted their attack immediately, shrieking in anger and confusion. The sound came again and they began to draw away. The rainbow-maned pony blinked in surprise. Was that the sound of a rattle?
Seeing that the birds were no longer blocking ting out the sky above her, Rainbow Dash took to the air to see if she could spot the source of the noise. As she did so, she noticed the large flock of birds, which was being joined by a few smaller flocks, flying away over the Everfree Forest as fast as their wings could take them. Even as she spotted the two ponies, zebra and dragon rushing out of the forest itself, the birds had already dwindled to specks in the distance. It was Twilight along with Spike and Zecora. And there was little Apple Bloom, carrying a rattle that was sheathed in the aura of Twilight's magic.
Rainbow took a moment to let out a sigh of relief, before pumping her hooves in the air. ALRIGHT! THEY DID IT!"
Some days had passed since the departure of the foreign birds. While the birds never managed to make it to Ponyville itself, the damage that they did inflict fell hardest on the farming families like the Apples that lived between the village and the Everfree Forest. However, there was good news for the farmers. At Spike's suggestion, Twilight had examined the samples of the birds' droppings she had taken during her visit to Sweet Apple Acres and was indeed able to identify the poison in the excrement that had caused the afflicted lands to waste away. Even now, she was working to create a compound to neutralize the toxin and make the land fit for planting again.
Another piece of good news affected the Apples in particular. Because they only bore fruit for a few weeks out of the year, the family's Zap Apple orchard had been bare when the birds had first arrived and had been left untouched by the feathered plague, leaving the original source of the family's prosperity ready and able to keep the family in bits long enough for them to recover from the disaster. On top of that, all of the afflicted farms were to receive grants from the royal treasury after Twilight wrote to Canterlot to inform Princess Celestia of the events that had taken place. With the money, the Apples were able to purchase saplings to replace the trees they had lost to the invading birds and begin the process of rebuilding their livelihood. Along with the grant came a notice from Celestia that she had detailed a section of the Royal Guard to monitor the progress of the flock from a healthy distance in order to be sure of the birds' movements and prevent any other communities from being taken by surprise.
After much work on the part of the doctors at Ponyville's hospital, Ditzy Hooves pulled through in spite of her severe injuries. The grey Pegasus mare was expected to make a full recovery, much to the relief of her two daughters. This was a welcome surprise for all the ponies that had worried about her.
But the biggest surprise yet came two weeks after the birds had been driven away, when Princess Celestia herself came to visit Ponyville.
Ponies lined either side of the street as the Princess gracefully trotted along towards where her beloved student and her friends were waiting. Celestia stopped in front of Twilight. "My faithful student, I heard that you had a difficult time."
"We managed," replied Twilight modestly, "And in all honesty, we hardly did all that much."
Celestia nodded. "Quite true, which brings us to the matter of the true hero of the hour. Now, where is little Apple Bloom?"
The little yellow filly peaked out from behind her elder sister, just in time for Apple Jack to plant a hoof on her flank and shove her forward. Apple Bloom gazed up at the Princess with the usual measure of awe and nerves. She was especially conscious of all the other eyes on her, including those of her friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, watching from the crowd.
"From what I've heard, your actions were pivotal in saving Ponyville from the threat of the Stymphalian Birds," announced Celestia with her most benevolent smile, "And not only did you save your village, but you have also spared a great deal of Equestria from a similar fate with your actions."
"Ah shucks Princess, Ah didn't to anythin' that special," replied the filly, looking down.
"I disagree. I am familiar with the tasks needed to build the instrument that would drive the birds away. That is a feat few ponies could accomplish, especially at your age. Your skill in the art of making is a genuine reflection of who you are." Celestia used her magic to levitate a medal out of a box being carried by a nearby guard. "And so, it is with great pleasure that I bestow this award to honor you for saving the lives of many ponies." The medal descended to loop its ribbon around Apple Bloom's neck. The little filly had to struggle for a second to avoid toppling face first into the dirt from the unexpected weight before she could bring herself to stare back up at the Princess.
Apple Bloom's mouth worked silently as she tried to come up with something, anything that she could say that would fit this momentous occasion. Before she could do so, she felt Applejack encircle her with a foreleg and draw her into a tight hug. "Ah'm so darn proud of ya Bloom! Now yer a bonafide hero, just like yer big sis!"
Before she could say anything, Apple Bloom was interrupted again, this time by Spike, who had been standing next to Twilight during the ceremony. "And it looks like that medal wasn't the only thing that you got today," the dragon commented slyly.
Wondering what he was walking about, Apple Bloom looked down at herself before realizing that there was something different about herself. Her once blank flank was now decorated with a little blue toolbox. "Mah cutie mark!" she exclaimed, jumping out of her sister's embrace, "Ah finally got mah cutie mark! This must mean Ah'm really good at fixin' and makin' stuff. Ah wonder why Ah never thought of it before."
Celestia chuckled at the filly's antics. "There's an old saying. 'It's darkest under the candlestick.' Sometimes the thing you're looking for is much closer than you think. Because it was something so natural to you, you probably never gave your talent much thought until recently."
"So I guess that's another thing we have to celebrate now," said Spike cheerfully.
To his surprise, Apple Bloom cantered over next to him. "And Ah couldn't have done it without ya," she said before kissing him on the cheek.
Spike flushed, but before he could respond, Apple Bloom was knocked over by a white and orange blur. After a few seconds of tumbling, she ended up on her back while her two best friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle grinned down at her. "If you just got your cutie mark Apple Bloom, then we can't be far behind," declared the orange Pegasus.
"Not only that, you got yours while saving the town," added Rarity's younger sister, "Maybe that's how we should try to get our cutie marks too!"
"Ah reckon ya have a point there," said Apple Bloom, "If it worked for me, then it outta work for y'all too."
"Awesome!" declared Scootaloo, "You know what that means!"
In an instant the three of them were standing next to each other and hollering loud enough to be heard back in Canterlot, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PONYVILLE HEROES YAY!!!!!" The three fillies disappeared in a cloud of dust, leaving behind a completely flummoxed Princess Celestia and a crowd of shocked townsponies, the ceremony completely forgotten.
While the Princess tried to come to grips with what had just happened, the residents of Ponyville all began to express varying degrees of shock and fear. "The horror! The horror!" cried one rose-colored pony before fainting dramatically.
Confused, Celestia turned her gaze on Twilight and the others. Unsurprisingly, it was Applejack who broke the silence by coughing. "Ah hope ya don't judge me too harshly fer sayin' this to ya Princess," said Applejack as delicately as she could manage, "But ya've done gone and created a monster."
The End...maybe?
