Chapters The setting sun bathed the land in an unnatural glow as a young unicorn mare with a gleaming white coat, and a red mane with strokes of golden in it journeyed the path of the Everfree Forest. Just beyond her flank (And on her flank was a star shooting through the sky, a golden lightning streak flying behind it) the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotting along behind her, chattering away like a trio of rather annoying bug.
"Ah dunno ya'll," Apple Bloom said, "Are ya sure that we'll be good Carrot Growers?"
"Sure we will!" Scootaloo smiled, "All we have to do is ask Carrot Top, right? And once she agrees, bingo! We'll have our cutie marks in no time!"
"First we're going to have to ask Zecora the best way to do that!" Sweetie Belle chimed in.
"Hey Dinky," Scootaloo said, turning to look at their newest addition to the group, "Your lagging behind! What's up?"
"N...nothing," Dinky whimpered, running up to them.
"I reckon ya'll are scared of this place," Apple Bloom teased.
"N...no I'm not, I'm just interested in it," Dinky said, "It's a new place you know? Plus I just can't stop thinking about the muffins Mom made earlier today!"
"Derpy sure does like those muffins," Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "She loves them so much, she could marry them!" The other fillies giggled.
"Okay girls, that's enough!" Star Shower said, noticing out of the corner of her eye, Dinky's shoulders drooping, "Remember that I'm only taking you here to stop your whining! As well, this is a privilege, and don't think I can revoke it!"
"What does 'revoke' mean?" Sweetie Belle asked. Star Shower rolled her eyes.
"Revoke means to take away," She explained, "Meaning I can make you little fillies turn right around and trot back to Ponyville!" Her horn sparked for added emphasis.
"Yes Miss Star Shower!"
"'Course Star Shower!"
"You got it!"
"Yeah!"
Dinky added hers halfheartedly. Slightly amused and at the same time annoyed, Star Shower shoved aside a few branches with her magic.
"Hey! Hey!" Apple Bloom announced, "We're here! It's Zecora's!" Squeaking and jumbling over each other, the four fillies jostled to get into Zecora's hut first. Shaking her head, Star Shower followed them. When she arrived in the hut, Zecora was already mixing up something up for her four small guests. Star Shower's horn glowed and the door closed with a soft snap. Zecora looked up, and smiled.
"Ah, of course Star Shower," She said, "I should have known you were coming when I saw these fillies." Ignoring the fact the Zecora seemed to be nervous, and her rhyming was off.
"I'm sorry to burst in on you like this," She told Zecora.
"Do not be silly! You are always welcome my little filly!"
She gave Star Shower a weak smile, and slipped five cups of tea onto the table, obviously forgetting the fact that the four fillies were a little to young to be drinking tea.
"Are ya'll okay?" Apple Bloom said, looking over her cup at Zecora, who was mixing up something that looked suspiciously like throw-up.
"Okay?" Zecora asked incredulously, "I am certainly not. Are you not aware of the Darkness to be fought?"
"What Darkness?" Star Shower asked.
"Tonight will be a night of fear, but you need to leave now, or you might shed a tear."
"Shed a tear? That's ridiculous!" Scootaloo laughed.
"Yeah, apart from that though Zecora, we want to ask you something!" Sweetie Belle said, putting her teacup down, and putting her hooves together.
"Ask me what you will," Zecora sighed, fumbling with a milk jar, but dropping it. It shattered upon connecting with the dusty floor of Zecora's hut.
"We wanna know what we can do ter convince Carrot Top to help us earn our cutie marks by growin' carrots."
"Silly question little ones," Zecora said, "Have you've been in the sun?"
"No!" Dinky said incredulously. Zecora frowned slightly.
A few hours later, Star Shower took the chance to glance out the window. She gasped slightly as she saw no trace of the sun.
"Everythin' alrigh'?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yes," Star Shower said, "We've stayed here a bit too long."
"Leaving already?" Zecora asked.
"We've got to go Zecora," Star Shower said, "Their families must be worried by now." She raised her hoof in farewell as her horn's glow closed around the door handle, and it opened. She ushered the fillies outside, not realizing what Zecora's warning had meant.
For tonight, would truly be a night of fear.
Star Shower led the Cutie Mark Crusaders through the woods, looking around cautiously. Her fear of the fillies being hurt, and her fear of the night intensified with each and every step she took.
"Star Shower, do ya'll know where we're going?" Asked Apple Bloom suddenly.
"Course I do," Star Shower replied, her voice shaking slightly, "We're going on this narrow path to get out of here!"
"This doesn't look like the path we came in though," Dinky commented. The other fillies nodded. Star Shower looked around. Through the darkness, she could barely make out a narrow path that looked nothing like the one they traveled on earlier. Star Shower lit her horn hastily to make sure she was seeing the right thing. She squeaked as she realized that there was no wide path. Just a narrow one.
"W...where are we?" Sweetie Belle asked, fear clouding her voice slightly.
"I'm not sure..." Star Shower replied, trying to appear strong an in control, while on the inside, fear was pounding in her veins.
Hee hee hee
A shrill giggle pierced the night air as the ponies fell silent. A small pegasus filly burst out of the plants of the right side of the Everfree Forest. She circled around them, and sat blinking innocently at the ponies for a few seconds, before giggling again, and running into the left side of the forest.
"Did ya'll see that?" Apple Bloom said suddenly, a large grin creeping across her face.
"That she was a pegasus?" Scootaloo asked, smiling widely too.
"Not only that," Sweetie Belle added, who had noticed what Apple Bloom had.
"She was a blank flank!" Dinky finished, grinning.
"Let's ask her to join us!" Scootaloo said.
"A new addition to the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Sweetie Belle nodded.
"Lets go ya'll!" Apple Bloom announced. The four fillies did a hoof bump, and followed the filly.
"Girls! Wait!" Star Shower called after them. She gulped, looking around, before diving after the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Hey!" Scootaloo called, as she shoved aside a branch. She trotted out into a large clearing.
"Hey, ya'll out there?" Apple Bloom asked, "We wanna ask you somethin'!" Sweetie Belle and Dinky followed the the two others. Scootaloo was peering around the clearing, looking for the mysterious blank flanked pegasus. Sweetie Belle started forward, but she stepped in something. She looked down, and screamed.
"What happened?" Dinky asked, galloping up to Sweetie Belle, but froze as she saw what Sweetie Belle was standing in the middle of.
"That's disgusting," Scootaloo said, wrinkling her nose.
"Maybe we ought to go back ya'll," Apple Bloom suggested.
"Not until we find her," Scootaloo said defiantly, "Not even a little puddle of...what is that stuff anyways?" Sweetie Belle lifted a hoof, and sniffed the red substance, and gave a small scream of terror.
"What? What is it?" Dinky demanded.
"I...i...it's blood," Sweetie Belle whimpered.
"Yeah...but a little blood won't stop us, right.....Right?" Scootaloo questioned.
"ARGHHHH!"
The fillies jumped as a scream of pain echoed in their ears.
"It came from over there!" Dinky pointed.
"Are ya sure we should be goin' over there ya'll?" Apple Bloom said uncertainly.
"Sure!" Scootaloo replied, trying to appear strong while her insides were crawling with fear. Apple Bloom nodded slowly, and followed Scootaloo in the direction of the scream, Sweetie Belle wiping the blood on the nearest tree. Scootaloo pushed aside a bush, and she too let out a blood curdling scream.
"What is it?" Apple Bloom demanded, running up. She pushed aside Scootaloo, and was soon joined by Sweetie Belle and Dinky. Together, they let out a scream.
The corpse of the little filly was lying on the ground. Her side was cut open, and blood was pouring from it. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly open.
"GIRLS!"
They turned as they saw Star Shower bursting into the clearing.
"Star Shower! Ya gotta see this!" Screamed Apple Bloom. Star Shower trotted over, looking relieved. She peered over their shoulders.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" She asked.
"A body!" Sweetie Belle said, "How can you not see-"
"It's gone," Dinky gasped.
"WHAT?"
The other two fillies turned, and Scootaloo came rushing over. The body was gone. No sign of blood. No sign of a struggle. They turned, and the puddle of blood was gone too.
"What in the world?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Okay," Dinky whimpered, "I'm ready to go home now!"
"HELP!"
Apple Bloom screamed her plea into the night sky as they trotted along the narrow path.
"Nopony's going to hear you!" Scootaloo told her.
"How do ya'll know that?" Replied Apple Bloom.
"We're in the middle of the Everfree Forest! Nopony can hear you but us," Scootaloo pointed out, "But I've gotta say Apple Bloom, you've got some pipes!"
"An' how does me havin' pipes help us get out of this creepy place?"
"It doesn't. It was just a complement."
"Why ah'd like to give ya'll-"
"GIRLS!" Star Shower gave the arguing fillies an angry look, and their quarrel wilted.
"We should'da never asked ter come with Star Shower! Or else ah would've been home by now!" Apple Bloom wailed.
Dinky nodded in agreement. There was a little sniffle, and they all stopped and saw Sweetie Belle standing, silent tears pouring down her face, and dripping off her muzzle.
"Are you okay?" Star Shower asked gently.
"I can't get the image of that pony out of my head!" Sweetie Belle cried, "She's just there. Permanently!"
"What pony?" Star Shower asked. Scootaloo turned and explained about the mysterious blank-flanked pegasus.
"Then you arrived, and she was gone!" Scootaloo said.
"That ain't exactly how it happened," Apple Bloom said.
"So? That just means that my talent isn't telling stories!" Scootaloo retorted. Apple Bloom opened her mouth to argue, but closed it as she saw the look on Star Shower's face.
"Look girls, we're not going to get out of here faster if we keep arguing. Dinky, separate Scootaloo and Apple Bloom," Star Shower ordered. Dinky nodded. She inched around Apple Bloom with difficulty, and separated the pair. Out of the blue, there was a rustling, and a pony jumped out of the plants. They screamed in terror, and Star Shower's horn glowed brigher, ready to fire a laser at the pony.
"No, wait! I come in peace!" Whispered the pony, "Listen to me, your walking on the wrong path! Trust me, you want to follow me! I lead you home!"
"How do you know we can trust you?" Scootaloo demanded.
"Please trust me!" The pony begged, "Listen, do you remember that little pegasus filly?"
"Y...yes!" Sweetie Belle sniffled.
"I was trying to lead her to the right path...and she decided to play a game of chase with me," The pony sighed, "She ran back the way we came, and scared you. She ran into the other side and was killed. Her body is currently being digested. Every bone of it. Now the creature that ate her, is stalking you, waiting for a chance to eat you too. I can help you loose him. Please, please trust me!" She looked pleadingly at them.
"We have no choice," Star Shower told the Cutie Mark Crusaders, "We have to trust her." She turned towards the pony.
"You trust me?" She asked.
"Yes," Star Shower said, "Lead us home." The pony nodded, and led them into the forest, not seeing the smirk growing on her face.