The Gang's All Here - Or Not!
Early in the morning, Princess Celestia awoke. The grand leader of all of Equestria stretched her legs and wings and arose from her bed, turning to look out the window at the tranquil scene of a darkened Canterlot. It was Celestia's job each and every single morning to work together with her sister and raise the sun after the moon was lowered to begin the dawn. This morning, however, there was something else that plagued her mind. Something about the air this morning seemed... amiss. Shaking it off, or attempting to, Celestia left her quarters to begin the day.
Almost one hundred miles away in Ponyville, several minutes later, the sun was beginning to peer over the line of trees in the distance. In a certain well-maintained treehouse, Spike the dragon awoke from his dream and blinked for several seconds, yawning.
"Oog... I'm not normally up this early... Twilight? Did you wake me up?" He sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Twilight?"Hearing no response, he hopped from his tiny bed and clambered up to the high spot near the window where his friend always slept. "Twi – huh?"
It was empty. And what was far weirder was the fact that it wasn't made. Twilight Sparkle was incredibly meticulous about her bed and wouldn't even eat breakfast until the sheets were perfectly folded and the pillows flawlessly fluffed. But not today. The sheets were wrinkled but not tossed aside... almost as if she had just slipped right out of bed.
A few blocks away in the downtown area, the tenants of the apartment above the Sugar Cube Corner cafe and bake shop were awakening as well.
Cup Cake was the first to wake up. She rolled out of bed and yawned, beginning to ready herself to feed the twins and make breakfast for herself and her husband, Carrot Cake. As she began fixing her hair, however, she paused. Ear twitching, she reached over and nudged Carrot awake.
"Hm, huh, wha?" he groaned sleepily. "Er, what is it, pumpkin?"
"Dear, do you hear that?" Cup Cake muttered.
Carrot listened. "Uhh... no, I don't hear a thing." He shrugged.
Cup Cake gave him a concerned look. "That's just the thing... it's so quiet. No jumping on any beds, no singing, no exercise routine... nothing."
Carrot immediately sat up. "Something is very, very wrong."
Right across the street, Sweetie Belle was stirring in her room in the house next to her older sister's dress shop, the Carousel Boutique. She wasn't stirring as much as she was jolted awake by a sharp pain in her side.
"Reowwr!!!" Opalescence yowled to her and clawed at her again.
Sweetie Belle yelped and pushed the cat off her bed. "Ow! Opal! Why are you in my room?!?"
The cat meowed and pantomimed eating out of a food dish.
"Huh?" Sweetie cocked her head and frowned. "But... doesn't Rarity feed you as soon as she wakes up?" She looked at the clock. "7 A.M.... she's usually woken me up by now...
"Rarityyyyyy???"
A ways away from the town, over in Sweet Apple Acres, another little filly – Apple Bloom – was poking through the halls of the family farmhouse.
"Hey Big Mac?" She said to her older brother, who was in the front room putting on his trademark harness. "You seen AJ around this mornin'?"
Big Mac thought a minute. "Nnnope," he shook his head and said. "Mebbe she's out in th' fields already."
Apple Bloom sighed. "Maybe, but ah don't think so. Ah ain't seen hide nor hair of her all mornin'. Ain't heard her neither."
Big Mac lowered his ears. "That's mighty odd... Didja check in her room?"
The young filly nodded. "Sure did. Nuthin'. Didn' even bother ta make her bed."
"That's..." Big Macintosh put his harness down and looked out the window. "That's mighty darned odd."
Not too far away from the farm, Fluttershy's cottage was unusually quiet. Angel the rabbit could sense that there was something going on. With a mighty kick he broke the door off his sleeping crate and bounded into his owner's bedroom... then her kitchen... then the garden... then the aviary........ nothing.
He sat down in a patch of wild clover, awash in sadness and confusion. Flutters is gone, he thought to himself, and laid down in the clover. How will I be fed? I'll starve to death!
"Twilight? Twilight?!?" Spike left the treehouse after searching all over for his mentor and looked around in the clearing. She hadn't left any notes or anything, and the little dragon was starting to get seriously worried.
"Pinkie Pie? Pinkie?!?" The Cakes had searched all over the house and the shop, and now the babies were starting to get upset.
"She... she doesn't just leave like this..." Carrot muttered. "Something has to be going on here."
"Rarity? Rarity?!?" Sweetie Belle and Opal had nearly trashed the pace in their search. Opal yowled and scratched at the cat food cupboard, but Sweetie ignored her, instead rushing outside to pull up the rosebushes, in the hope that Rarity might be hiding under one.
"Ow! A thorn! Rarityyyyyy, waaahhhhhhh!!!"
"Anythin' in th' North fields?" Granny Smith croaked, seeing Apple Bloom trot back from her search.
"Nothin'," Apple Bloom panted. "An' she ain't in th' Northeast 'r' Northwest ones neither... an' Big Mac already checked the East, West, an' South fields..."
She sank to the ground and started crying. "Why is she gone?"
The two were interrupted by the sight of a white rabbit racing towards them through the trees.
"A VARMINT!" Granny Smith cried. "Lemme get mah shotgun!" She turned, but was stopped by her granddaughter.
"Wait granny, that ain't no varmint! Why it's Angel Bunny, as I live an' breathe!" She patted the little rabbit's head as he caught his breath. "Why in Equestria are ya so far from home, lil' fella?"
Angel began jumping up and down and waving his little paws frantically in the air. Apple Bloom sat and watched, not having a clue what the little animal was doing.
"Well I'll be!" Granny Smith said, coming up behind Apple Bloom. "The lil' varmint says that Flittershy is gone jes' like Applejack!" She squinted. "An'... either he's hungry er constipated. I'll git th' cod-liver oil!" She sprang off, leaving a wide-eyed Apple Bloom with Angel.
The little rabbit stomped his foot on the ground, gestured to Bloom, and scampered off in the direction of Ponyville.
"H-hey... wait up! Are ya tryin' ta git me ta foller ya?" Apple Bloom shouted to him, and he nodded. "Well, if'n it'll help find ma sister... ah'm a-comin'!!!"
"THEY'RE GONE!!!!!!!" The voice raced through all of Canterlot Castle and shook the entire building to its core. It was the Royal Canterlot Voice... but unlike the norm it was not Princess Luna speaking in such a voice. No, this voice was far more powerful and many times more frightening – it belonged to Celestia.
The tall alicorn ruler stormed furiously out of her quarters and turned to a nearby Solar Guard. "GET ME MY GUARD CAPTAIN!!!" she roared.
The guard nearly soiled himself as he nodded shakily and raced off to find Shining Armor. When the captain was brought to her she reverted to her normal voice, but the tone was filled with fury. "Shining, I want the entire castle and the whole city of Canterlot on full lockdown. This is not a drill. Somepony has stolen all six Elements of Harmony." She gave a mighty flap of her wings and Shining raced off with several guards to sound the alarms and secure the city.
Luna sidled up to her older sister. "Sister, what does the elements' disappearance mean? I do not think I have ever seen you in such distress before."
Celestia sighed. "After Twilight gained her wings, I was certain that moving the Elements back to the castle would ensure their safety, even after she moved back to Ponyville. The elements have gone missing only twice... once, when Nightmare Moon destroyed the orbs, and again when Discord stole them. Both times it was known who had taken them... but not once in the fifteen hundred years that I have led Equestria have they just disappeared this way. Those elements were protected with a large number of spells... only a user of incredibly powerful magic could have ever even dreamed of sneaking in and snatching them this way. With the elements gone and such magic on the loose, our nation is in a great deal of danger."
Luna shifted uncomfortably and looked at her sister. "You don't suppose that..."
Celestia nodded sagely. "You go and send a guard to notify Twilight Sparkle. I will summon Discord to be questioned."
Apple Bloom and Angel raced into town, the former stumbling after the latter, panting and red-faced. The first thing Apple Bloom noticed when she got into the downtown area was her friend Sweetie Belle, who was seated around several uprooted rose bushes and sobbing. She ran over to her friend, concerned.
"Sweetie Belle! What in th' world are ya doin'?" She nudged the dirt-covered filly to her hooves.
Sweetie wiped her eyes, smearing dirt on her face. "A-Apple Bloom... I can't find Rarity anywhere! She just disappeared without a trace!"
With a gasp, Apple Bloom quickly told her friend about the supposed disappearances of Applejack and Fluttershy, albeit with a lot of help from Angel.
"That's awful... Applejack and Rarity and Fluttershy, missing?" Sweetie Belle shook herself clean and stood up. "We gotta talk to a grownup. Let's ask Twilight."
"Speakin o' Twilight, lookey here! It's Spike!" Apple Bloom pointed to the little dragon, who was running frantically toward them.
When he got there, he spoke to Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie, I gotta talk to Rarity! Where is she?"
The little pony shook her head. "Rarity's missing, Spike. So's Applejack and Fluttershy!"
"Oh no..." Spike put his head in his paws. "But... Twilight's missing too..."
The two ponies, dragon, and rabbit were all three suddenly interrupted by a voice behind them.
"Excuse me, children?" Cup Cake was walking towards them from across the street. "Have you seen Pinkie Pie?" When the three of them shook their heads, she frowned. "Oh dear... she seems to have disappeared. As much of a burden as she is, she's indispensable to the shop, and the babies are simply distraught without her!"
Half an hour later, there was a small crowd in front of Ponyville Town Hall. It consisted of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Cakes, Spike, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and several other ponies who had come to complain about the fact that the nighttime clouds had yet to be cleared on a day that was scheduled to be sunny.
"Calm down, everypony!" Mayor Mare said loudly to the crowd. "It is my duty to inform you all of the dire circumstances we are all in. Recently I was visited by a royal guard who informed me that something very bad has happened in Canterlot... and it has something to do with what has happened here. Either way, I am now declaring this a 'missing ponies' case."
Meanwhile in Canterlot, there was a similar crowd forming in front of Canterlot Castle... but this one was much larger and much more concerned. Within a few hours, word has spread to every furry ear that the sacred Elements of Harmony were missing, and the barely-trustable Discord was being questioned on the matter. Or rather, some ponies had heard "Discord has been accused of stealing the elements" or even "Discord stole the elements". Shortly the form of Celestia stepped onto the balcony in front of the crowd, and the princess spread her wings to ask everypony to be quiet. Although the volume decreased significantly, several voices were heard shouting out in dismay and anger.
"Bring out Discord!"
"What will become of Equestria now that we're unprotected???"
"What has Princess Twilight said of all this?"
"Fluttershy was Discord's reformer! What has she got to say for herself?!?"
Celestia stomped her hoof and the outcries ceased. "Fillies and Gentlecolts, I am afraid I cannot answer your questions about the princess or Fluttershy, as they are not available for comment." When faced with the cries of why not, she gave another stomp. "Because, I am afraid, they and the rest of the Mane Six have disappeared. Due to the circumstances of their disappearances, it is suspected that they have been ponynapped around the same time the Elements of Harmony went missing. The two issues are likely related."
Gasps of horror arose from the ponies, but they remained quiet except for some murmuring that ran through the crowd. Celestia continued. "Word has leaked that Discord is involved in these cases. This is not in any way confirmed fact, although he is a suspect and is being questioned." Before Celestia could speak further a guard came onto the balcony and whispered something to the princess, who hurriedly spread her wings to signal that she was done speaking and went back inside, leaving the crowd confused, frightened, and somewhat beginning to slowly disperse.
One pony in particular was especially confused. The small white unicorn, who went by the name of Splitend, was particularly upset because she had liked Discord. She had heard the story of his reformation and had even met him on several occasions. He seemed perfectly pleasant, albeit very... well, chaotic. I know he used to be so horrible, she thought, flattening her ears. But would he go from totally reformed to stealing the Elements and kidnapping a princess just like that? She shook her head and cleared her starry mane out of her face.
"Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking, stranger?" A voice behind her made Splitend turn. The voice belonged to a somewhat tall, gray pegasus with black red-tipped hair leaning against a lightpost. He stood up straight and walked toward her. "The name's Hiroticus – call me Hiro," he said, casually extending a hoof.
"Splitend." She took his hoof gingerly and cocked her head. "Anyway... what were you thinking?"
"Well, think about it," Hiro shrugged. "Discord has no reason to both steal the Elements of Harmony and ponynap the Mane Six. And even if he did, there's no reason for him to remain here in Canterlot... especially since he's obviously the only creature in the area who could possibly do something like this." Hiro walked as he spoke, forcing Splitend to trot to keep up with him. "My brother is in the royal guard, I happen to know that those elements are guarded with some seriously powerful magic. No regular unicorn could break in there, not even an alicorn unless they were REALLY powerful."
"What are you saying?" Splitend said, intrigued by his logic.
The pegasus looked back at her. "He's been framed. By who or what... I have no idea. But despite what Celestia may believe, I'm almost certain that our resident draconequus is innocent."
Splitend nodded. "You know what? That is what I was thinking." She upped her speed and soon the two were side-by-side in the rapidly dispersing crowd. "That's really awful... I sure hope he's able to prove his innocence."
Hiro stopped abruptly and shot her a disparaging look. "What makes you think he CAN?" He snorted. "Pretty soon they'll have him under lock and key. Celestia will be using her strongest spells to keep him from escaping until he confesses to a crime he didn't commit... then she'll have him turned back into stone. Or killed." He put his ears back. "And we'll be left six ponies and six elements short."
Splitend shifted uncomfortably. "You really think so?"
"I know so." Hiro's voice was quiet but his tone had a hint of danger in it. "The question is what to do about it."
"Could we... is there anything we can do?" Splitend's eyes went wide and she grimaced. "I don't think there is..."
"Maybe not for you. But I..." he stood up tall. "... plan to do something to figure this all out."
Before Splitend could respond, she was interrupted by another voice, this one coming from a pony who stepped out of what was left of the crowd. The pony was an off-white, a little darker than Splitend, with a short gold-and-brown mane. Her build suggested mare, but she was almost stallion-like in her face and the way she held herself. As she revealed herself, she scoffed at Hiro. "And how do you intend to do that? Much less alone?"
Hiro seemed a bit taken aback at the sudden appearance of the other pegasus. "Excuse me?" he snorted.
Splitend perked up. "Hey... I know you!" she said. "We went to school together. You're Onabe, right?" Onabe nodded, and Splitend smiled big. "It's been a while, good to see you!" She pranced up to her old friend and grinned. "How have you been?"
Onabe shrugged and mustered half a smile. "Alright, I suppose. Anyway," she turned again to Hiro. "It's obvious that Discord is innocent, but I doubt that one pony alone is going to be able to prove that." As she spoke, she got increasingly closer to Hiro until the two were nose-to-nose.
"So," Hiro said coolly. "What do you suggest?"
"Glad you invited me along!" Onabe flapped her wings and laughed.
"..."
"I know, you're speechless that I accepted." Onabe stepped past a wide-eyed Hiro and turned to Splitend. "Whaddaya say, Splits? You up for a little investigation with me and Twinklehooves over here? We need to look further into this and figure out who or what would steal six ponies and the Elements or Harmony, and then frame Discord for it."
The exchange of dialogue had shocked the starry pegasus, but she quickly nodded. "Hey... yeah!"
"It's settled then. Hiro, right?" Onabe turned toward Hiro and he nodded. "Well... let's go!" She turned and began trotting – and then stopped. When she looked back, there was a rather sheepish expression on her face. "So... what now?"
Hiro smirked, but before he could make a snide remark, Splitend piped up.
"I think I know what we need to do first. Follow me, guys... I have a friend who can help us."
Splitend had led her two pony friends all the way to the west end of Canterlot, to a small, pretty apartment complex. She went up to one of the doors and knocked enthusiastically.
"Aver? Hey, Aver! Open up!"
The door opened and a fair-built stallion, also a pegasus, opened the door. The gentle breeze coming from the outdoors managed to ruffle his black mane, and he gave his head a slight shake. When he saw Splitend, he brightened. "Splitend! It's so good to see you!" He moved and gestured for her to come in. "You and your friends come in and sit down, make yourselves comfortable, I'll put the tea on!" His feathers fluttered excitedly. "Gosh, I never get guests..."
Splitend motioned to the other two ponies as she entered the cozy apartment. The three of them stood a bit awkwardly, none of them quite comfortable enough to sit.
"Splitend..." Onabe whispered. "Dis niqqa be gay."
"Actually, he's engaged," Splitend whispered back. "Didn't you see the band around his leg?"
When Aver returned, he smiled at the three ponies as Splitend introduced everyone.
"Guys, this is my friend Aver Credence. Aver, this is Onabe and Hiro."
Aver nodded. "And what brings the three of you to our home?"
"Speaking of which, where is Kinetic Blast?" Splitend queried, referring to Aver's sparkly fianceé.
"Oh, Kinney isn't here at the moment. She's visiting her aunt in Applewood." He settled into a chair, and the three visitors finally sat on the large sofa.
As Splitend informed Aver of the situation, he listened intently. When she said that the three of them had plans to clear Discord's name, he seemed doubly interested.
"Aver, you're a reporter for the Canterlot Gazette, right?" Splitend asked, getting a nod from Aver. "Then that means you're good at getting stories."
"That's a-right!" Aver beamed proudly. "Lemme guess, you want my help in figuring out how to clear the good name of Discord?"
"That's right."
"Fantastic!" Aver clapped his hooves together. "I would be happy to help. And I've already started thinking about it, too." He leaned back in his chair. "You gotta think... who knows the layout of Canterlot Castle, has a good reason to want the Mane Six and Elements out of the way, and is clever enough to frame Discord in order to do so?"
The four of them thought for a second, and Hiro was the first to speak. "Well... the most logical culprit would be Chrysalis."
"That doesn't make any sense," Onabe frowned. "When the Changelings attacked last year, it was the Princess and Shining Armor that defeated them."
"But then you think, the Princess was the Changelings' main attack point in the first place. Getting power by feeding off love... and then defeated by it. They could easily have changed tactics. As a changeling, Chrysalis could even have turned into a tiny bug and slipped into the room where the Elements were held undetected."
Onabe nodded. "True..."
"The question is..." Hiro said with a pensive look. "How are we supposed to convince Celestia to pay a visit to Zebrica to confront the Changelings?"
"Zebrica?" Splitend cocked her head. "What's that?"
Onabe gave her a slightly condescending look and patted her on the back. "You poor damn fool."
"Zebrica is the continent to the west of Equestria," Aver explained. "It's a lot different from here – and that's where the Hive is located; the place where the Changelings live."
"That's far away..." Splitend frowned. "Celestia isn't going to go there."
"So we'll just go there instead."
Three ponies stared in shock at the fourth, who shrugged and twitched her ears.
"Onabe, that's crazy," Hiro said bluntly.
"Well..." Aver raised a hoof. "It would be the only way to clear Discord. And we could rescue the Mane 6 and get the Elements back as well."
"We??" Splitend looked at her friend in shock.
Aver grinned. "Splitsy, you know I love a good adventure story as much as I love a good news story. And this could be both. Why..." He fluttered his wings and wiggled excitedly. "A story like this could get me promoted to Head Editor!"
"So..." Hiro gave the stallion a blank look. "You want to accompany us to a dangerous land to confront a powerful Changeling queen and her horde of minions for the sake of a news story and MAYBE a promotion?"
"Yup!"
Hiro facehoofed, Onabe and Aver hoof-bumped, and Splitend sat and thought. This wasn't just an investigation with some friends on how to get Celestia to pardon Discord anymore. If they all decided to go through with this, it would be a serious journey. It would be dangerous; easily any of them could be killed. These were her friends; could she really take this chance?
And then she thought of the princess, Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight and her five pony friends were the stuff of stories. They had braved manticores, dragons, and parasprites. They had faced Nightmare Moon and King Sombra. They were heroes. And now that they weren't there to save the day... maybe, just maybe, these ponies could be the heroes Equestria deserved.
"Let's do it!" She shouted.
Onabe and Aver cheered, and Hiro shrugged. "Well, at least we have a plan."
Splitend stood and faced her friends. "Well, I guess this is happening, so we need to prepare. Hiro, Onabe, go back to your places and pack. Aver, get ready. We'll all meet back here."
Everypony nodded and agreed, and three out of four ponies left the apartment. Hiro and Onabe, being pegasi, took to the sky immediately. Splitend trotted towards the wooded area on Canterlot Mountain's edge, just past the capital city limits. There were already four ponies involved in this trip, and she knew a fifth who she wanted traveling with them.
Let's just hope the little guy hasn't skipped town yet...
She made her way through the light trees until she came upon a small cottage. She hadn't seen the thing in years, but she instantly recognized it as the home of her oldest and best friend, an earth pony by the name of Shadow Gazer.
Shadow had been an alicorn once – not part of the royal family, but he had been given wings as a foal by a visiting foreign ambassador as a gift for rescuing said ambassador's cat. A huge gift for a small feat, but he had been honored by all of Canterlot for it. A few years back, however, he had been stripped of both horn and wings by Celestia, as a punishment for the crime of using forbidden magic. It's not like it was Shadow's fault, either. He had been born with a unique ability called "soul gazing", which made him capable of reading minds and seeing pasts to an extent, and creating migraines and nightmares, as well as giving him minor healing powers in the field of brain disorders and injuries. That is, he could heal a headache or a concussion easily, and alleviate things like mental conditions to a degree. Even after being stripped of his magic and flight ability, Shadow had retained the power that had gotten him into trouble in the first place. To hide that fact, he had taken up residence outside the city. It was the reason Splitend hadn't seen her friend for years.
Now she figured this power could easily be an asset to them. Plus there was the added bonus of being able to become reacquainted with Shadow.
As she pondered, she went up to the gnarled door and knocked a few times.
"Splitend?"
She turned, only to see the pale gray pony standing behind her, his face a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"Hey, Shad- oof!!!" At the same time that she began speaking, Shadow Gazer tackled her to the ground and knocked the wind out of her.
"Oh my gosh, Splitend!!! I can't believe it's really you!!!" Shadow squealed.
"Heh, yeah, Shad, it's me," Splitend chuckled. "Oof... please get off me?"
"Sorry," Shadow chuckled and helped her up. "But, this is so great... I haven't seen you in forever. What's up?"
The two went inside as Splitend recounted her tale and the plans she and her friends were making. When she asked Shadow if he could accompany them, he shrank back nervously.
"I... I dunno, Splitend. It sounds awfully dangerous..."
"That's why we need you."
"Are you absolute for 100 percent certain sure that it's Chrysalis, and not Discord?"
Splitend sighed. "We're a hundred percent sure that Discord is innocent, but we'll never know who the real culprit is unless we go find out." She gave Shadow her best pleading look.
The earth pony looked down at the ground, an unsure expression on his face. He brought a hoof up and rubbed his temple, grazing the dark, circular patch of fur where a horn used to be.
"I... I can't let you go without me. If something bad happened, I would feel awful." Shadow looked back up at his bright-eyed friend. "I... I'll do it."
Splitend shouted with delight and squeezed Shadow tight. "Ohhhhh thankyouthankyouthank you!!!!"
"Don't, urgh, mention it."
Half an hour later the two ponies, packed and ready, set off for Aver's apartment with Splitend in the lead. Hiro and Onabe were already there and waiting for her when the two of them arrived. Hiro had a single light saddlebag on his back, and Onabe had on a double bag, one of which seemed to be stuffed with papers.
"Who's this?" they asked in unison.
After the initial introductions, the four ponies waited for Aver to leave. When he came out, he turned to lock the door behind him and it became apparent that a rather pretty-looking pigeon was perched atop his shoulder.
"Who's the bird? And what's Kinetic going to say when she comes home and you're gone?" Splitend remarked to her friend as they all got situated.
"This is Talon. He's my pet, AND the answer to your second question," Aver replied. Before Splitend could ask what he meant, he took a rolled-up scroll from his pouch and tied it securely to the bird's leg. "Go on, Talon!" With a single soft coo, the bird took off into the air.
The group began to move as Aver explained. "He's taking a letter to Kinney explaining our situation. He should meet back up with us in a little bit."
The sun was still rather high in the sky as the five horses headed across the city; it was about two in the afternoon. The streets were deserted. It seemed the news had frightened everypony enough that they had resigned themselves to waiting out the danger at home. It occurred to Splitend that, had they done the same thing, the waiting could easily go on forever.
Or until the changelings strike, she thought with a shudder.
At one point, they found themselves face-to-face with a patrolling guard. He came up to the five of them and eyed them suspiciously.
"Where you going all packed up like this now?" He said.
Splitend, being a terrible liar, stammered for a split second until Onabe came along and saved her flank.
"Party over at my house," she said, plain and simple.
The guard seemed unimpressed. "Staying in Canterlot, right? Due to the recent circumstances, the city is on lockdown. At least until Discord confesses."
"You don't even know he did it!" Splitend blurted out before she could check herself.
The guard snorted. "Well, he's been imprisoned. If that doesn't mean he's been found guilty, I dunno what does!" While Splitend stood, speechless, he faced Onabe again. "You're packed awfully tight for a party at YOUR house, aren't you? Whatcha got in there anyway?" He suddenly opened up her saddle bag and pulled out one of the papers... then proceeded to drop it in shock. Now lying on the ground was a recent issue of Hoofler magazine, conveniently open to a page sporting a rather large photograph of a pink unicorn mare sprawled out with her lady parts as exposed as they get.
Onabe calmly picked the magazine back up, shook it off, and placed it back into her bag. "It's gonna be a FUN party," she said to the guard with a wink, and gave Hiro an affectionate nudge for emphasis. Before the guard could figure out something to say, she rushed the other ponies forward.
"C'mon, let's get outta here," she muttered.
Splitend obliged and the five of them hurried out of sight of the guard. Hiro shuddered. "That was pretty awful, Onabe," he said.
"You shut your whore mouth," Onabe smiled and replied.
Before long they had reached the city's true limits, which was just a bit farther away from the center of the city than Shadow's cottage had been. There they stopped... although they didn't mean to.
"Ow!" Splitend yelped as she bumped into thin air. Shocked, she put up her front hooves and felt the solid, invisible wall in front of her. To her four friends, the sight of her stamping her hooves against the empty space was not unlike watching a mime perform his "invisible box" routine. It wasn't very funny now, however.
"Damn it..." she sighed. "Celestia must have created a barrier around the city as a alternate form of protection. We can't get out!" She hit the point of her horn against the barrier, to no avail. Hiro, easily the biggest pony aming them, kicked the barrier with both hind hooves in an attempt to get through – but ended up crumpling to the ground in pain, moaning that it was like kicking a brick wall. It seemed as though their adventure had been cut short.
Splitend sat down, frustrated, and contemplated this new development. She was suddenly alerted to the sound of rustling bushes. Quickly she got back up and whirled around. The rustling came closer and closer, and Splitend bristled. As her friends heard the noise, they too became alert. If it was a guard, they might have to fight him or make a break for it. In a foresty area like this, that would be hard.
As the rustling grew ever closer, suddenly out from a nearby bush popped nothing more than a small, black and white cat. It was small, almost a kitten, and sported a cute purple collar with a tiny bell on it. The five ponies heaved a collective sigh of relief, and Splitend approached the small cat.
"Here, kitty kitty kitty~" she cooed.
The cat ignored her, and instead astounded them all when it turned and called out in a clear female voice, "Hey, Victory! They're over here, I found 'em!"
"'Kay!" A voice responded, and its owner quickly bounded into view – a young unicorn mare with ligt aqua fur and a freckled face. She straightened her green and brown mane before speaking again. "Gosh... hey!" She gave them all a disheveled grin and motioned to the cat. "Mizu, get back on my back."
"Umm..." Splitend put her ears back. "Who are you?"
"Yeah, are you a guard?" Onabe assumed a battle pose. "Don't think I won't whip out another dirty magazine, cuz I will!"
"Gosh, no!" The mare waved her hoof. "My name's Victory Dance. This," here she pointed to the cat. "is Mizu. We saw you trying to leave-"
"I saw them." Mizu corrected her.
"Right, Mizu saw you going into these trees. We figured you had to leave for some reason or another, but as you can see..." She stepped past Splitend and knocked on the solid nothingness. "This barrier is blocking anypony who wants out."
"Uh huh, we got that already," Hiro shrugged. "What's it to you?"
"I figured I would help you out!" Victory Dance smiled wide at him. "Gee, you're cute!"
"You can help us get out?" Splitend said, ignoring Victory's last comment as much as Hiro was trying to. "That'd be great! But how? I doubt you have a spell that can bypass a barrier like this..."
"Au contraire, my friend," Victory said with a flourish. "I happen to know just the spell for the job. It's literally called the Barrier Bypass charm, and it's gotten me out of a good many tight squeezes!" She grinned and then turned to the wall. What she did next was obvious only to Splitend, being the only other magical creature in the group. Victory closed her eyes and summoned magical energy from deep within herself, focusing it into her horn to be channeled into the barrier. Her horn glowed a bright orange, and when she touchd the tip of it to the barrier it rippled and a large hole was created about the size of a pony. She stepped back, panting, a light sheen of sweat dampening the fur on her face and neck. "There," she huffed.
Gratefully, Splitend and co. slipped through the hole to the other side. Once all six ponies were on the outside of Canterlot, Victory, who had gone through to allow Onabe to pass, smiled.
"I'm glad I was able to help you out," she said. "Good luck on your journey, wherever you're going!" She prepared to slip back through the shrinking hole, when Splitend stopped her.
"Wait, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet!" She said. "I'm Splitend. This is Onabe, Hiro, Shadow Gazer, and Aver Credence." She pointed to each pony in turn as she spoke.
"Nice to meet you, everypony!" Victory beamed.
"Listen..." Splitend began. "Are you... always this good with magic?"
Mizu spoke up from her perch on the little pony's back. "She's the one who enchanted me so I could speak. What does that tell ya?
"Quiet, Mizu," Victory hushed her cat. "I'm not good at a lot of spells, but I try to be the best at the spells I DO know, so... kinda." She shrugged. "Why?"
Splitend looked back at her four pony friends. They were a fivesome already... why not match the numbers of the Mane 6 as well as the mission? Their expressions told her they would be okay with it, so she turned back to Victory Dance.
"Look, we're on a quest to go to Zebrica, confront Queen Chrysalis, rescue Twilight Sparkle and her friends, retrieve the Elements of Harmony, and prove Discord's innocence. You've got strong magic, so we could really use you. You in or out?" She said it all in one breath and rather quickly, so much so that she startled both unicorn and cat.
The cat in question seemed instantly eager. "A quest? Cool!" She jumped off of Victory's back and pranced over to Splitend."Come on, Vic! This sounds cool!"
Splitend was surprised at Mizu's eagerness, and was equally as surprised when Victory smiled and said "I'm game. Let's go!"
"Really? You're not even a little hesitant?" Shadow Gazer said dubiously.
"Hmmmm.... nope!" Victory hopped in a circle around him. "Adventures are fun!"
Mizu let out an excited yowl. "Bitchin'!"
Splitend laughed and nodded. "Well, okay then. I guess this means we're off!" She started down Canterlot Mountain, heading towards the distant sound of the waterfall. If her map was correct, there would be a rocky area at the side of the river that would make the steep pat of the mountain a cinch to traverse.
In this way, the six ponies started off – Splitend in the lead, using her magic to unfurl a map, Victory Dance laughing with Onabe and flirting with Hiro, Shadow chatting with Mizu, and Aver bringing up the rear as he scanned the skies for his trusty pet pigeon. As they clambered cheerfully down the side of the mountain, the thought was in the back of all their minds that this was not going to be an easy journey. But they were a team – they were friends.
And by hook or by crook, they were going to save the SHIT out of Equestria.
"There's the waterfall!" Victory Dance shouted.
"Ugghhhh, don't mention waterfalls around me, you jackass!" Mizu shuddered.
"According to this map, right along the side of the waterfall there's a rocky path. It's the only safe way to get down this part of the mountain; it's too steep any other way." Splitend led the way, her face buried in the map.
"Hey Splitend," Onabe called out.
"Not now, Onabe."
"Splitsy!"
"Not now- WAH!!!"
Splitend's hoof caught itself on a rock and she tripped, falling flat on her face into the mud. When she picked herself up, she looked like a reverse Santa Hooves – white fur, with a big brown beard.
Onabe burst out laughing. "I was gonna tell you to look out for the rock, numbnut!"
Splitend sighed, chuckled, and shook her head to get the majority of the mud off of it. "At least the map is still dry," she said.
The six ponies got closer to the waterfalls until they were skirting the edge of a small cliff. The water plunged down about fifty meters or so before hitting the bottom and becoming a rapid river for another hundred meters. After that, it was another waterfalls. There were three waterfalls after this one before the ground began to even out.
"Boy, the water is sooo sparkly!" Aver fluttered over it, and whinnied as the spray from the top of the falls made his fur damp. "Oh, my mane!" He alighted back onto the ground where the others were. As thin and wispy as his hair was, it already looked rather wet. "Awwwww..." he whined, shaking his head. "I spent twenty minutes styling this thing before I left. I swear, this always happens! All that effort, gone to waste." He hung his head low and continued walking.
Onabe snorted. "I swear, if it wasn't so obvious you were straight, I'd SWEAR you were a coltcuddler." She gave Aver a friendly nudge to show she was kidding.
Shadow coughed uncomfortably and sped up his pacing so he was at the front of the group with Splitend.
"Something wrong, Shade?" Splitend twitched her ear and looked at her buddy.
"No, nothing," Shadow avoided her gaze. "Let's get a move on, huh?"
The unicorn shrugged and turned her attention back to the map.
"Ugh, the sooner we get down this mountain, the better," Mizu groaned from her spot atop Victory Dance. "All this water is making me wanna barf up a hairball."
"Ummm... Mizu?" Splitend called back to the cat with an air of concern.
"Yeah?"
"We're going to be following the Rio Canterlot all the way to the Western shoreline so we don't get lost. And then we have to find a way to cross the ocean to make it to Zebrica."
"Ffffffuuuuu....." Mizu proceeded to hack up a hairball.
"The ground seems to be leveling out a bit," Hiro commented matter-of-factly.
"That it does," Splitend looked up from her map. "We just passed the last waterfall. Look up, see? We're almost at the bottom of the mountain!" The six of them looked up and were surprised to see the regal city of Canterlot looming miles above them. It had taken them about three and a half hours to get to where they were; they were making good time.
"Let's go, then!" Hiro sprang up with sudden enthusiasm and galloped along the shoreline. His friends followed suit, Splitend yelling for him to slow down.
"Wait for us, Hiro!" She yelled.
"Or maybe you hurry up and catch me!" Hiro jeered.
He did a little leap and continued running along the side of the water, gazing at the crystalline surface of the running river, when suddenly a huge scaly creature the color of pond scum reared up from the side of the water and hissed loudly at him, baring its fangs and hideously twisted claws.
"EeeyaaAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Hiro shrieked and floundered, too terrified and shocked to do much of anything.
"Dear sweet Celestia, it's a naga!" Splitend screamed, racing over to her friend to help him. The rest of the ponies followed behind her, galloping at full speed.
In a second Onabe took to the air and barreled straight towards the naga. Just as it was about to strike Hiro, she hit it full on and knocked the reptile sideways. That moment was all Hiro needed. He collected himself quickly and got to his hooves. The naga shook its head to clear its mind after the blow, and turned to face Hiro just in time for the pegasus to deliver a powerful kick directly to its ugly face.
Hissing wildly, the snakelike creature recoiled as greenish-gray blood spurted from its eye and nostrils. It twisted and writhed violently, spasming like a crazed earthworm. Gradually the hissing became quieter and weaker, and the naga sank, still writhing like crazy, back into the water.
The place where it sank was dyed greenish-gray for a few minutes until the running water washed away the color. A stain still remained in the mud on the shore, and the air retained the smell of cold sewage.
Panting, Hiro and Onabe stared at the place where the serpent monster had come from.
"Well, that was... interesting," Hiro managed to remark.
"That's it?" Onabe shot him a glare. "That's ALL you have to say?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, I dunno, maybe a 'thanks for saving my ass'?" Onabe put her ears back.
"Please. I didn't need your help. I could have taken that thing out easy." Hiro turned and trotted back to the group. "Shouldn't we get going?"
"Don't you guys wanna rest up a little bit or something first?" Aver said with concern. "You guys just beat up a river naga – you probably killed it. Even I'm pretty shaken up after that."
"Look, I'm fine," Hiro shook his head. "My ass is a bit bruised from the fall, but other than that I'm perfectly fine."
"I'm alright too," Onabe shrugged. "That thing went down pretty quick with both of us beating on it."
Hiro huffed. "Like I said, I could've killed that thing all by myself without Little Miss Helpful over there 'assisting' me."
Onabe growled. "Take that back!"
"I won't."
"Y'know, maybe I should've just let the fucking thing eat you."
"Yeah, maybe you should've."
In this way the two argued for the next twenty minutes as the team walked along the increasingly flattening mountain base. As time progressed the argument became less and less serious, until it simply mingled in with the rest of the scattered conversation among the rest of the four ponies and the one cat.
"So, what is it you do, Victory?" Aver asked of the freckled pony.
"Oh, I used to own a pet shop," Victory Dance replied, skipping along.
"Used to?"
"It burned down," Mizu yawned, having given up her resting spot in order to walk alongside Victory. "Month and a half ago. We got all the critters out safe, but..." she shrugged. "The two of us have been out of a job for quite some time."
"And a home, too," Victory added. "My apartment was above that shop."
"That's awful!" Aver exclaimed, worriedly fluttering his wings. "Goodness, no wonder you were so eager to come with us."
Victory nodded and grinned. "This came at a great time. I had this job at a McHoofen's, but geez... I'm just too scatterbrained to have a job like that. I got canned after, like, three weeks." She scuffed the dirt with her hoof as she trotted.
Aver nodded his condolences. "Well, maybe you'll find something after this is all over. Or maybe we'll be rewarded, and you can use the bits to build a new shop!"
"Maybe."
A little over two hours later, Splitend stopped abruptly. "Hold it!" she exclaimed.
"What's going on?" Hiro and Onabe said in unison before glaring at each other.
"THAT'S going on," Splitend said, and motioned with her hoof at the river. Here it had reached a rather sharp bend, and the width of the whole thing was significantly reduced. "We can cross here."
"Why do we need to cross?" Victory cocked her head. "We can just follow the river on this side."
"Following the river on this side will lead us straight through Ponyville," Splitend said. As proof, she showed Victory the map. "We want to avoid going through any towns, considering they're probably on lockdown too."
"Ahh, I get it." Victory Dance nodded. "So how do we cross? I'm not the best swimmer... and Mizu doesn't swim at all..." She gestured to the small cat, who looked absolutely sick at the sight of the rushing water.
"Bit odd, really," Aver remarked as an aside. "considering 'mizu' is the Japony-ese word for 'water'."
Hiro shrugged. "No problem for me. I can just-" He spread his wings and took to the air, getting to the other side of the river is just a few wingbeats. "-FLY ACROSS!"
"Boy, for someone so cute, you're pretty dense!" Victory called out to him. "After all, three of us don't have wings, and my Wink spells aren't that good!"
Unbeknownst to all of them, Aver was studying the surrounding area carefully, trying to figure out a way for his flightless friends to get across the river. That's when his eyes alighted on the tree.
Ah, the tree. It was huge, an old sycamore at least eight stories tall. Branches started jutting out from the trunk at around twenty feet. And it was dead as a door knocker. The base was cracked and slightly blackened, and the top was frizzled and leafless. All the signs indicated that it has been struck by lightning. It would undoubtedly topple within the next month, the way that base was. No doubt about it. Nosiree.
Now would be an excellent time to give it a little "push" in the right direction, however.
"You guys!" Aver called, and flitted over to the tree. He landed on the ground next to it and gave it a sharp kick in the direction of the water. "Who's up for building a bridge?"
The other ponies suddenly saw what he saw and quickly joined him. Victory, Splitend, Shadow, and Aver spread out and repeatedly walloped the base of the tree, right where the crack line was. Onabe and Hiro took to the air, kicking and ramming the wood near the top, attempting to convince the thing to topple.
"Grrr... c'mon, you piece of crap... fall!!!" Splitend growled, whacking the tree with all the might her hind hooves could muster. The six ponies went at this for several minutes, nearly exhausting themselves, until a creak and a CRACK! was suddenly heard.
"I think I just severed my spine!" Shadow complained.
"No, it's working! We're doing it!" Onabe whooped. "Down you go, wooden dildo from Hell!!!" she cackled, giving the wood a series of rapidfire kicks. "Woohoo!!!"
Slowly but surely, the tree began to wobble and crackle, moaning and groaning as the wood splintered and gave way. At last, with one mighty, collective KICK from all six ponies, the tree gave a series of cracks and crunches, a long, loud groan, and toppled. It made an incredibly satisfying CRASH!!!! sound as it hit the other side of the shore.
The ponies cheered and shouted in triumph, and the two unicorns and one earth pony began their trek across the fallen behemoth.
"See how easily Splitsy and Shady are doing it? It's okay, Mizu; it's fun!" Victory was trying desperately to calm the frantic feline by holding her, petting her, and gesturing to the ponies in front of her as she crossed the tree. "It's fine! Ow, Mizu, my foreleg is NOT a scratching post..."
Once all six ponies were safely on the other side, Mizu calmed down enough to let go and stand on her own. With Victory limping from the deep cuts in her right foreleg, the party pressed on.
It was beginning to get faintly dark when the seven of them rounded a corner around a grove and caught sight of Saddle Lake. Here the water had become incredibly calm, and a sweet lake breeze was blowing the evening leaves into twirls beneath the gnarled maple and oak trees that dotted the area.
"This looks like a good spot to set up camp," Splitend announced.
"Sounds good to me," Shadow yawned. "I'm tired and hungry."
The other four ponies nodded their agreement and began setting up. Splitend, Shadow and Aver had all brought blankets; everypony except Victory had brought food supplies. Of course, Victory had brought nothing at all except a tiny satchel on her left hind leg. It was too small to fit food or a blanket in. Shadow and Onabe went to gather firewood, Victory started the fire, Hiro and Splitend used several close-together trees to make a decent shelter to sleep in, and Aver busied himself cooking oatmeal for everypony's dinner. Mizu, being a carnivore, went off to do some hunting.
"Mmm," Victory grunted her approval at Aver's oatmeal while the six of them were seated around the fire, eating. "This is amazing, dude. What'd you put in this?"
"I looked around and found some wild cinnamon grass and apple nuts nearby," Aver replied cheerily. "Glad you like it!"
That night, full and exhausted, the seven friends slept soundly and peacefully in the cozy blanket shelter. Not a thing disturbed them all night, and when they awoke the next morning, they all felt surprisingly rested, refreshed, and happy.
"All right!" Hiro called out while folding up the blankets. "I've got a good feeling about today! Let's do this!"
"Agreed!" Victory hoof-bumped the stallion and gave him a coy smile, which he did his best to ignore.
Once everypony had packed up (and eaten the leftover oatmeal and some wild bluegrass for breakfast), they all headed off again. The majority of the day was surprisingly nice and uneventful; they had to spend several hours going around the wide curve of Saddle Lake, during which one exciting thing DID happen: Onabe spotted a particularly pretty butterfly the size of a raven and Victory identified it as an incredibly rare species of swallowtail. They then tried to catch it. It didn't work. The walk around the lake was rather flat and a bit tiring, and the group rested at one point for over an hour, during which time they had a lunch consisting of water lilies sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Around 4 that afternoon they passed Saddle Lake and continued down the Rio Canterlot. Through the mist, Mizu pointed.
"I see Ponyville!" she cried.
They all looked, and it was true – Ponyville was right across the river from where they were walking. In fact, it was across the river from them fr forty-five minutes until they passed it. As relieved as Splitend was to not be in the town's sights anymore, she wasn't happy at all about the miscalculation she had made when she assumed it would be easier to go own the river on the left side rather than the right.
"What the HELL is that??" Victory asked frantically, staring up at the big, black forest that loomed in front of them.
"That's... that's the Everfree Forest." Splitend gulped while trying to say the words.
"I h-heard it doesn't work the s-same as the rest of Equ-questria..." Shadow stammered.
"Yeah..." Onabe said in a hushed whisper. "Like, the plants grow..."
Aver nodded. "...animals take care of themselves..."
"And the clouds move..." Hiro hissed. "...all on their own!!!"
"Well..." Splitend heaved a sigh. "We have no choice. We have to go straight through it."
Reluctantly, the group entered the forest. As soon as they set hoof inside the forest, it seemed to close around them like a flytrap. The air went from pleasant and warm to damp and cold. The trees overhead obstructed the sunlight, so it was automatically darker. The chirps and various sounds that were so obvious thirty seconds ago were sucked out of earshot and replaced with eerie hisses, growls and hoots. From the start, it was obvious that this place was not a pony-friendly area.
Splitend urged her friends forward, and they picked their way through the trees. They had to be extra-careful here; dodge a twisted root here, a spiderweb there, a big slimy bug here, there, and everywhere. They kept going at a steady pace, except for Hiro. From the moment he had walked into the forest, he had had this... feeling. It wouldn't leave him alone.
Have I... been here before? I'm having the strangest feeling of deja-vu, he thought to himself.
"Yo, Hiro! Come on, we don't wanna lose track of anypony here, of all places"
Hiro shook his head to empty it. "C-coming, Splitend!" he called and quickened his pace to rejoin the group.
As they marched on, Shadow became all too aware of the distant sound of howling coming from all directions. "Guys, timberwolves..." he muttered, moving closer to Splitend.
"Relax, Shadow," Splitend gave him a friendly nuzzle to calm his nerves. "We'll be fine."
Shadow groaned inwardly and stuck close to her.
"AWHOOOOOO!!!!" The sound came from directly behind Shadow. He leapt up and turned around.
"Timberwolf!!!" He screamed.
Instead of a jaw-snapping timberwolf, however, he merely saw Mizu the cat, laughing so hard she had fallen on the ground and was rolling around.
"Oh...my... GOSH..." Mizu gasped with tears in her eyes. "Man, you should have seen your FACE! Hahahahaha, with your eyes as big as they were, it's a wonder you couldn't!!!"
"Hey!" Shadow stamped a hoof. "That wasn't funny at all!"
Mizu snorted. "Hehe, yeah it was!"
Victory whacked the cat on the back of her head. "Mizu, no it wasn't. You just scared the crap out of the poor guy. Besides, you know how many timberwolves are in these woods – and you don't speak Timbertalk. What if you just fucking summoned a whole pack of them here?"
Mizu laughed. "Yeah, right, Vic. I doubt I said anything in Timbertalk, let alone a call that indicated I wanted them to come he–"
She suddenly paused. Three things had caused her to stop talking. The first was the fact that everypony else had stopped talking, and were now staring at her with wide eyes. The second was the feel of something hot and humid on the back of her neck. The third was the additional feel of something sticky dripping onto her tail.
Mizu turned around very slowly.
When she did this, she came face-to-face with two glowing green eyes and a mouth lined with sharp thorn-teeth that was dripping tree sap drool onto her fur.
The hulking timberwolf opened said mouth and gave a deep, low growl.
"...Fucking son of a shit."
With those words said, Mizu took what could easily have been her last steps, twisting and shooting away from that mouth and far the hell away from the wolf.
"RUN!!!" Victory shouted, tearing after her cat. With a round of terrified cries and a bloodthirsty snarl, the remaining five ponies raced away from the timberwolf, who followed them close behind. In retrospect it might have been a good idea for the seven of them to split up and confuse the animal, but they were all terrified of separating and getting lost in the Everfree Forest. As it was, they all ran as a group until they miraculously lost sight of the wolf, a good half-hour of running later. They stopped in a clearing, huffing and puffing and on the verge of collapse, which is exactly what Mizu did.
Shadow saw her fall and snorted. "That's... what she... gets!" he huffed.
Onabe and Splitend had been the heads in the race, and were now leaning on each other for support. Being white-furred, the red in both their faces was very visible.
Not another word was spoken for several minutes as all of them got their breathing back to normal.
Splitend was the first to speak again, being the unofficial group leader. "I guess... we should start... setting up... camp," she panted.
"Are you... crazy??" Hiro shook his head. "We can't possibly sleep in here! This place is a d... damn death trap! We just now almost got killed!"
"We don't have much of a choice," Aver said, eyeing Splitend's map. "We aren't even halfway through this place and it's already getting even darker. By nightfall, it will be absolutely impossible to see in here."
"It's true," Splitend nodded.
"Damn... well, we need to get a fire going, then," Hiro stood and stretched his wings. "Timberwolves ARE made of wood, after all."
"Alright, you get firewood then. The rest of us will set up everything. Just... stay close. It's seriously dangerous out here,"Splitend cautioned.
The pegasus stallion nodded and trotted out of sight of his friends and back into the frenzy of twisted trees and vines that might or might not actually be poisonous reptiles. As he walked searching for dry wood, he looked all around him contemplatively. It all seemed so familiar...
Pleasant in an unpleasant way... like a nightmare he liked.
In this grove especially the feeling was particularly strong. He KNEW he remembered this place... there was a distinct memory tied to it. But...
The memory wasn't his...
"Ha!" Ivory sneered at him. "You can't do a thing to me. I know your sec-ret!~" She said it in a snide, sing-songy voice that only pissed him off more.
Hiro's head hurt. His mind was swimming with a memory that wasn't his...
And he knew whose it was...
He leaned aginst a tree and rubbed a hoof against his temple.
He snarled and grabbed the knife. With a flick of the pastern, he had it stuck straight into th tree's trunk. She was pinned there by the wing. He grinned. Bitch was stuck now.
"Quit..." Hiro moaned and leaned his head against the tree trunk. His eyes fluttered open.
There was a gash on the trunk.
Like some kind of blade had stuck into it...
He soared up to her and used the blades that tipped his wings to slice her skin open in a hundred different places and make her bleed. Ah, the sound of her screams...
Delightful music indeed.
"No.... Agghhhhhh!!!!" Hiro backed up several paces. "Quit! Don't... do this!"
She managed to rip herself free and tried to run. Oh, stupid little filly...
He grabbed her by the wings and rammed his head into her back.
The CRACK was such a satisfying one...
She fell to the ground, her wing barely attached anymore. They physical shock had rendered her unable to mke a sound. Pity, that meant he couldn't hear her screams fade away when she died.
Hiro's vision blurred. He saw red. Theyn he saw green. His eyes, normally a pale, nonthreatening red, suddenly fadd to gray, then flared a radioactive green.
He wrenched the knife from the tree and used it to pin her body there. He then sat to watch her struggles slowly cease as each passing moment the life slipped from her...
Pity there's never a popcorn machine when you need one.
He grinned. Not the normal, cheerful, happy grin he was known for, but a cold, cruel smile that showed off the sharpened, glistening fangs.
He blinked his green eyes and stretched. He shuffled his wings, tipped with razors thin as paper and sharp as wit itself. The shadows that emanated from his body like horrid tentacles melded with the shadows deepening the color of the Everfree Forest.
With a wry chuckle, Jad set off back to the clearing. He checked to make sure he had his favorite knife with him.
He did. Time to put it to good use.
"Oh, there you are, Hiro!" Splitend said to Jad as he stepped into the very edge of the large clearing. "Was getting a bit worried. You've been out there for a while..." She looked him over a second time. "Wait a second... where the hell is the firewood??? Don't tell me you actually forgot the whole damn reason you went out there in the first place!!!"
Jad didn't respond. He looked around the clearing with cool calculation. The one with the starry mane was being awfully annoying at the moment, it was true. Hmm, the white pegasus simply irked him, but boy, would she put up a struggle. No, he needed somepony he could kill easily. His eyes landed on the cute little unicorn tending the fire. What a precious little thing... how he HATED her.
Okay, then. She would die first.
Victory Dance made sure that the fire was going well before she stepped away. It was alright, but it needed more firewood. She turned and saw Hiro, who was supposed to bring said firewood. Why didn't he have it, she wondered a bit absentmindedly. She turned toward him, wondering if she should ask.
In a split second, he shot forward and tackled her, pinning her roughly to the ground, and not in the way she liked. She barely had time to yelp before the wind was knocked out of her. She looked up at Hiro confusedly – and didn't see Hiro. Hell no, this wasnt Hiro. Who WAS this? Would she live to find out? This imposter-Hiro grinned evilly and quickly drew a knife, raising his foreleg at an angle that made it evident he intended to slit her throat.
Oh Luna, I'm going to die...
She shut her eyes and prepared for the end, when suddenly the weight was lifted off of her with a WHAM! as Onabe barreled towards Hiro and kicked him in the head, sending him flying several yards.
"... I've always wanted to do that," she remarked.
"What... what just happened?" Victory asked, feeling slightly dazed.
"Grab him!" Aver cried, and he, Onabe, and Shadow pinned Hiro to the ground the minute he began to stir.
Hiro struggled under their weight and let out a muffled, "Wait! Lemme go!"
"Not after you just fucking tried to KILL Victory!!!" Aver shrieked.
Hiro managed to get his head free. "Gah! That wasn't me!!!"
"Bullshit!" shouted Shadow.
Victory sat up suddenly when she saw the red in Hiro's eyes. "Guys, let him go! He's telling the truth!"
The three ponies were so shocked to hear this coming from the victim that they relented at once. Hiro coughed and picked himself up, shaking the dirt from his fur and wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Victory, I..."
"That wasn't you," Victory said coldly. "What the hell was it?"
Hiro sighed and looked down. "THAT... is a very long story."
"We have all night, Hiro," Splitend said, tentatively stepping towards Hiro.
"Well... okay." The pegasus sat down and put his ears back. "You know what multiple-personality disorder is, right? Yeah? Well... I kinda got that. Except it's more than that. I have this pony... inside me. His name is Jad, and..." Hiro shook his head. "I sound fucking crazy... but Jad is a killer. And when he comes out... ponies suffer. I try to keep him bottled up, but something about this forest just makes him come out. When he does, I change. I know what's going on, but I can't control what happens." He sighed. "And now he just tried to kill Victory. Victory, I'm so so so sorry..."
He moved towards the smaller pony, but Victory instinctively shrank back.
"Not that long a story," she said.
"But you get that it wasn't me doing that, right?" Hiro pressed.
"I get it..." Victory gave him a slightly frightened look "But what did do it is still in you..."
Hiro slumped to the ground in despair. "I'm so sorry..."
Splitend stood. "I'm tired. We need to get food and get to bed before it's too late to see. Come on."
Slowly the ponies got up and finished preparations in near-total silence. Dinner was honey bread with applesauce. There were only five slices of honey bread. Hiro went without.
That night was nowhere near as peaceful as the first. Everypony had to stay up in shifts to tend to the fire that kept the animals away, but nopony slept anyway.
The next morning was also spent in uneasy silence. Breakfast was dried daffodils with butter. Hiro got the same as everypony else this time, but the other ponies were still very uneasy around him.
There was a bit of small talk exchanged as the seven of them went through the forest together, but not much. Nopony wanted to discuss the alicorn in the room. Eventually, though, it got to Hiro. He couldn't stand not discussing this. These were his FRIENDS, for pony's sake. And if he was wrong about that, well... better he leave the group early.
So he stopped in his tracks. At first he thought the other ponies were going to go on without him, the way they kept walking for several seconds after he stopped. Eventually they realized he wasn't walking among them, and one by one they turned to face him.
"I'm Hiro, dammit," he stated. "Not Jad. Hiro. I'm the same pegasus you guys have been with the past two days. There's absolutely nothing different about me! Just because I have this... other pony... in my body, doesn't make the REAL me any different. And if you can't believe that, then..." he sighed. "... then I don't belong here."
Hiro turned to leave and spread his wings. "Wait!" The voice behind him made him stop long enough for Splitend to speak.
"You can keep this... other side of you in check most of the time?" She said.
Hiro nodded.
"The Everfree Forest does strange things to a pony."
He nodded again.
"I don't have any kind of problem with you staying."
Hiro smiled. "Thanks..."
"We're cool, Hiro," Aver said with a casual shrug.
"I'm okay with you," Shadow nodded.
Onabe grinned. "I'm just looking for another excuse to kick you in the head. That shit was fun!"
Hiro smiled and rejoined his friends. "And... Victory?"
Victory Dance had been looking down at her hooves this whole time, but flinched slightly when Hiro drew near.
"I... I guess we should all go," she said flatly. From atop her back, Mizu flicked her tail over the pony's ear in an attempt to comfort her.
With that, they did. The next several hours were far less cloying than they had been, with the air cleared and the ponies able to smile at each other again. It was still the Everfree Forest, and they walked with caution until they managed to reach a space where the wicked trees recoiled to reveal a patch of beautiful creamy blue sky.
"He-hey, there it is!" Aver did a little hop when he saw it. "Gosh, I was starting to forget what this thing looked like. Splitend, where are we?"
Splitend consulted her trusty map. "It says we've crossed Everfree-"
There was a cheer.
"-and now we're entering Froggy Bottom Bog. Huh, cute name for such a putrid place..." She eyed the slimy swamp with evident distaste.
"Ugh, swamp sludge is even worse than WATER!" Mizu yowled and jumped onto Onabe's head. "It tastes soooo awful and never comes out of your fur...
"GET OFF OF ME."
"Sorry..." Mizu leapt down, hissing when she stuck her paw in a slime puddle.
"We can get through here," Shadow stepped over to a spot where there appeared to be a raised area. "The slime won't be near as thick."
With a collective grimace, the team went over to the spot where the raised area began.
"The ground is so awkwardly lumpy here," Victory commented.
"Yeah," Splitend pawed at the ground under about six inches of yuck. "It must be peat or something. It's squishy, but I can't dig into it."
"The raised ground is the widest over here," Shadow motioned his friends in one direction. "We can get to the other side from here, and back to dry ground."
"This is almost a direct tributary off of the Rio Canterlot..." Aver grumbled. "So why in the world is it so thick and goopy?" He suddenly tripped and nearly slid into a deep spot. "Oh gosh!"
"Hey," Onabe called. "The ground isn't so raised anymore..." She puttered around one side of the area. "Feels like there are some tree trunks or rotten logs or something here. They should reach to the other side."
"Cool," Splitend stepped onto one. "Gosh, it's slippery. Careful, guys!"
The six ponies split up so as not to break one log with combined weight. Onabe, Splitend, Aver and Victory each took a log and started walking.
"Ah – hey! Mine ended!" Victory cried.
"Yeah so did mine." Onabe shuffled her hooves. "Feels like I'm standing on a rock."
Splitend felt the lumpy surface beneath her, and started getting a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Feels weird..." Aver started jumping on the rock he was on.
Splitend whirled around. "No Aver, don't!"
It was too late. The rock beneath Aver's hooves suddenly lurched and raised up. Victory, Onabe and Splitend all felt their rocks raise as well, slowly moving back and forth as the slime dripped off of them.
Shadow gasped as he watch a patch of crud drip away from one to reveal a huge eye. "What is going on here???" He yelled.
"Don't you see, you idiots???" Splitend reared up as the head opened its mouth and roared.
"WE'RE STANDING ON A HYDRA!!!"
