The Everfree forest is a dark and harrowing place. Filled with all manner of hideous monsters and dangerous black magic, the danger that lurked within this vile forest was legendary. Stories had been passed down from generation to generation telling of the evil that resided within. Ponies spoke of the blood curdling screams that could be heard echoing from the deep underbelly of the accursed forest at night. Celestia herself had damned the place to isolation, ensuring that whatever monstrosities hid behind the many shadows of the forest would never see the light of day. Yes, a pony would be wise to stay far, far away from the Everfree forest, lest they succumb to the horrors that lurked within. Naturally, all of this ensured that Rarity would find herself lost in there at some point or another.
Twilight Sparkle and her friends stood at the edge of the Everfree forest. Soon they would brave the dangers of the forest and embark on a daring mission to rescue their friend Rarity. For now though, they had enough trouble getting started.
“I can't see a thing in there! Why did Rarity have to get lost in this stupid forest anyway?”
This was why.
Twilight sighed and turned to face an irritated Rainbow Dash. She had started complaining almost from the moment they arrived, and Twilight's patience was growing thin.
“I don't know Rainbow Dash, we haven't exactly been able to ask her, have we?”
Rainbow Dash gave a frustrated grunt.“Well it's Rarity! Why would she even be in the forest? She can't walk to the end of the street without whining!”
Applejack muttered under her breath “Talk about whinin'....” and Twilight couldn't help but agree. Still, not wanting to let Rainbow Dash challenge the premise, Twilight offered up a suggestion.
“Maybe she thought there were gems in the forest?”
“Come on, everypony knows there aren't gems in the forest. Even Rarity.”
She had a point, the forest offered very little of worth to anypony, let alone Rarity. Regardless, they had to find her, valid reason to be in the forest or not.
“It doesn't matter why she's lost in the forest, what matters is that she's out there alone and needs our help." Twilight looked to Applejack for support, and the loyal pony nodded her head.
“I agree” agreed Applejack “There ain't no reason to sit around here bickerin' when Rarity could be out there surrounded by a pack uh' Timber wolves.”
Twilight was glad for her friend's assistance, but slightly less glad about her choice of words. Timber Wolves were scary creatures, and she didn't want to spook anypony before they set out. Sure enough, a wide eyed Fluttershy quiveringly squeaked out her concern.
“Oh you don't think she could really be hurt do you?”
Before Twilight could answer, Pinkie Pie popped in front of Fluttershy with a smile on her face and an answer on her lips. She deftly handled Fluttershy's question with a grace that would stun the elites of Canterlot.
“No! Timber Wolves gobble you whole, silly! Rarity wouldn't feel a thing. I bet it'd hurt the Timber Wolves coming out though. Do you think they have wide enough-”
“Pinkie this is serious!” interrupted Twilight mercifully.
“Oh I'm always serious.” replied Pinkie Pie.
That is terrifying. Ignoring the dire implications of Pinkie Pie's statement, Twilight attempted to turn the conversation back to finding Rarity. Not that she'd had much success before.
“Okay, we really need to get going if we're going to find Rarity before it gets dark.”
Applejack nodded her head in agreement. Twilight was thankful that somepony was being sensible and levelheaded.
“Yeah we do. Course' we'd have bin' gone by now if' it weren't for somepony” said Applejack sensibly.
Oh boy
Rainbow Dash shuffled defensively, and offered up an explanation for her reluctance. “Look, I just don't want to rush in there without thinking about it is all”
Twilight was floored. She doesn't want to rush in there without thinking about it?
“You don't want to rush in there without thinking about it?” asked Twilight.
“What's that supposed to mean?” counter asked Rainbow Dash.
Twilight flinched, which made Applejack chuckle. Applejack walked calmly to Twilight's side with a confident smile on her face. “Don't read too much into it Twi, she's just chicken.”
Rainbow Dash's face flushed, and she prepared an elegant rebuttal. “Am not!”
Alas, Applejack seemed to be prepared for that. Without losing her not quite smug smile, Applejack offhandedly gave Twilight the explanation she had on hand. “Are too. She's just scared 'cause the last time she was out here she got her wings put on all funny. Not that it made much of a difference in her flyin'”
Pinkie Pie giggled, which made Rainbow Dash blush. She tried to stammer out a defense, but the words never came to her, making her face glow a brighter red. Twilight began to question whether they would ever be able to leave to find Rarity.
“Ha!” laughed Applejack. “See! She's mumblin' worse than Fluttershy at an oboe recital. Now let's get on with this and find Rarity, if we hurry she should have most of her bones intact.”
Before Fluttershy could ponder the specificness of Applejack's analogy, or why she thought she owned an oboe, Rainbow Dash started to speak again.
“Well how do we know that Rarity is even in the forest? I haven't anything from anypony but you guys.”
Twilight had been in her library reading when Applejack told her Rarity was missing. Almost immediately she had started to round up her friends to go look for Rarity, but now that she thought about it, Applejack hadn't actually told her where she had heard it. Curious, Twilight allowed Applejack to field the question.
“As a matter of fact, I heard it from Sweetie Belle. She was talkin' to Applebloom out behind the barn and she said, and I quote 'We have to find my sister! I saw her go off into the forest this morning and I haven't seen her since!”
Alarms were going off in Twilight's head.“Wait, so you didn't actually speak to Sweetie Belle?” asked Twilight.
“Well no, they up'n ran off before I got a chance too. Probably to go find Scootaloo.” said Applejack.
Oh no.
“How long ago was this?”
Applejack paused to think for a moment. “Maybe an hour before we left.”
Oh no no no.
Rainbow Dash seemed to catch on quickly as she groaned and threw her hooves into the air.“So now we have to rescue Rarity, and the CMC?”
Applejack shook her head and answered Rainbow Dash in a dismissing tone. “Naw, I know my sister. She wouldn't do something so foolish as running off into the Everfree Forest without tellin' anypony.”
“She's done it twice!” shouted Twilight. She couldn't believe her ears, Applejack of all ponies had completely dropped the ball. “Applejack! How could you be so thoughtless? Of course they're going to run after her! It's what they do!"
“Aww it's not her fault” said Pinkie Pie “How could anypony have realized that three reckless little fillies, whose history includes reintroducing the cutie pox, concocting a love poison, and unleashing God of Chaos, would ever run off into the spooky, forbidden, super secret forest without asking for permission? Again.” Fluttershy quietly informed Pinkie Pie that she wasn't helping.
Applejack bowed her head and looked back at the forest, her eyes heavy with worry. She sighed and turned back to her friends. “Look, I'm sorry y'all. I guess I had gotten so caught up with worry when I found out Rarity went missin' that, well, I put sense in a place where sense don't exist. But now, if my sister and her friends are lost in there too, then we definitely to go in there and get 'em.”
The others nodded their heads in agreement. If they had an option before, they had lost it now.
“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash said reluctantly. “Yeah, you're right. I guess we do have to go in there.” She glanced at the forest apprehensively. “I was just worried. We don't know what's in there, and last time it didn't work out too well for us.” Catching herself, Rainbow Dash stopped and looked directly at Applejack. “I'm not scared though, understand? Don't even think of calling me a chicken.”
Applejack gave Dash a wry smile.“I wouldn't dream of it.”
Twilight felt relieved. She appreciated Rainbow Dash's honesty, and now they could finally get back to what they came here to do. Wasting no time, she laid out the task ahead of them.
“Okay, now that that's settled, we need to think of a way to cover the entire forest quickly, and without splitting up. Does anypony have any suggestions?”
Crickets and tumbleweeds answered Twilight. After a few more minutes of silence, Rainbow Dash spoke up.
“Maybe we can get Spike to burn up some parts of the forest so we can get around easier. I mean, technically he's a dragon right?”
“NO!” Fluttershy exploded forward, ramming into Rainbow Dash and knocking her off of her feet. She towered over the terrified Rainbow Dash, and stared threateningly into her eyes. If Dash had been wearing pants, they would have been soaked. “Rainbow Dash if you harm a single bug in this forest, Celestia help me, I will turn those wings of yours upside down myself!”
Rainbow Dash nervously squirmed under her glare. “Okay, jeez Fluttershy relax, it was just a suggestion.”
Fluttershy stared at her for a bit longer until she was sure that Dash posed no threat to the wildlife. Mollified, Fluttershy eased off of Rainbow Dash and turned to see her friends awash in pure unadulterated terror. She blushed, and seemed to shrink several sizes as she returned to the place where she had been standing.
Now more afraid of Fluttershy than she had ever been of the forest, Twilight was thankful as Applejack awkwardly changed the subject. “So, uh, where is Spike anyway? I'd have thought he'd have run off into the forest as soon as he heard that Rarity was missin'.”
She was right, if Spike had heard Rarity was missing there would have been no stopping him from charging into the forest. Maybe we'd have actually been able to leave with Spike around. But Twilight doubted even that. Something told her that their trip would've stalled no matter who had joined him.
“That's why I didn't tell him, I didn't want to risk him getting getting lost in the forest. Rescuing Rarity was enough of a challenge, and I didn't want to make it even harder on us.”
Applejack looked at her hooves, her cheeks turning a rosy hue. Smooth Twilight. Attempting to change the subject yet again, Twilight tossed out another question. “So how long have we been out here anyway.”
“Too long.” said Rainbow Dash. Funny you should mention that. Rainbow Dash paced back and forth, starting to grow restless. Twilight wasn't sure whether she was eager to rescue her friends, or just eager to end the conversation. “Enough waiting around. We need to take action.”
“We need a plan first.” reminded Twilight.
“Well I say we-”
“No fire.”
“Right no fire.” assured Rainbow Dash. “I saw we go check out Zecora's hut. She always knows what's going on in the forest.”
“Plus Applebloom's been there plenty of times before, I'm sure she'd have gone to see Zecora if she went searchin' in there.” said Applejack.
Twilight could feel the hope rising in the air. Progress is magic. Not wanting to let any details slip between the cracks, Twilight asked about Rarity.
“Rarity sticks out, like, well, Rarity. I'm sure Zecora would've seen her.” answered Rainbow Dash.
Was this it? Could they finally leave? Twilight looked up at the sky, the sun was starting to set, but they still had enough light for this to work. She addressed the gang hopefully. “So are we ready? Can we finally leave.” The others nodded their heads. It was time to go.
Twilight gestured for her friends to follow her, and they marched into the forest.
Wherein the Fourth Wall was Eroded
The interior of the Everfree forest lived up to its sordid reputation. Everywhere Twilight looked, she received a terrifying reminder of why ponies feared it. The trees towered above them, reaching into the sky and blocking any sliver of sunlight that dared attempt to break through. Strange and alien plant life decorated the landscape, their hideous appendages sprawling across the ground, shielding the hissing shadows that stalked Twilight's every movement. Creatures beyond her comprehension reached out to her, speaking to Twilight in an indecipherable tongue that defied logic(Though that was mainly Pinkie Pie.). Twilight had never felt more ill at ease than she did right now. Compounding this unease was the fact that they, like Rarity, had gotten themselves lost.
Twilight hadn't intended to get lost, few do, but she was working at a higher disadvantage than most. When they first started to journey into the forest, Twilight had been leading them by sight. Following the landmarks she recognized from their last trip, she had been able to guide them about a third of the way when what little light they had in the forest disappeared. Unable to tell one hoof from another, let alone two trees, Twilight suddenly found herself without any idea which way to go. Pinkie Pie quickly offered her services as “map pony”, and in a lapse in judgment that Twilight wouldn't been able to explain for years to come, she agreed to let Pinkie Pie lead the way.
Several hours later, they were no closer to Zecora's hut than when they started.
“Pinkie, are you absolutely sure that you know where you're going?” asked Twilight.
Pinkie Pie, who was currently interrogating a branch that had fallen while they were walking, cheerfully turned around to answer Twilight. “Of course I do, Twilight! I'm going to Zecora's hut.” Twilight waited for her to continue, but she said nothing else. Sighing, Twilight tried to squeeze more information out of her.
“Okay, but how are we going to get to Zecora's hut?”
Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight incredulously. “Through the forest, duh.” Twilight slapped her hoof against her head in frustration.
“Yes, but where in the forest are we going?” tried Twilight.
“To Zecora's hut! Jeez Twilight, you ask the most obvious questions. It's a good thing I'm here to explain it, just think of where we would be if I weren't!”
Sensing the futility in this line of conversation, Twilight dropped the subject and turned her attention to trying to figure out where they were. Straining her eyes in the darkness, she could make out the vague outline of trees. Using this knowledge, she concluded that they could be literally anywhere in the forest. Twilight started to ask Pinkie Pie where they would be going next, but after observing her argue with what was a pile of branches now, she decided that this was as good a place as any to stop.
“Alright girls, let's rest up here. Walking around on tired hooves isn't going to help us find Rarity any quicker.”
A grateful Applejack plopped onto the ground, buckling under the weight of a terrified Fluttershy. Several miles ago, after a rogue encounter with a were-gerbil left Fluttershy frightened and unwilling to continue, Applejack agreed to carry her to Zecora's hut. Seeing as how they had never reached their destination, she had been forced to carry the surprisingly heavy Fluttershy far longer than she had intended. To her credit, Applejack had not complained the entire time, silently carrying her friend through Pinkie's bizarre directions. That was the kind of loyalty that Twilight appreciated.
“Twilight..” The voice of Fluttershy brought back Twilight's attention, and she looked at the quivering Pegasus that was picking herself off of Applejack.
“Yes Fluttershy?”
“I was just thinking, we're kind of sitting in the middle of the forest, and, well, there are a lot of scary creatures out there...”
Twilight walked forward and put her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. “It's alright Fluttershy, there are five of us here, and I don't think there's anything out there that will want to attack all of us at once”
“Yes, but what if we get separated? Some ponies, uh, aren't so good at fighting.”
“Well, we won't get separated. You have my word.” soothed Twilight.
“Yeah, I mean it's not like any of us are out here in the forest alone or anything.” unsoothed Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy whimpered and lied down in the grass. Twilight shot Dash an angry look, to which she just shrugged. Sometimes Dash's blunt honesty had its downfalls.
“Twilight? How do you know if you can sit on something?”asked Pinkie Pie.
That certainly came out of left field.
“What? Why would you even need to ask that?” Twilight was starting to grow impatient with her friends.
“I dunno, this thing just feels funny.”
“Is it trying to eat you?”
“No?”
“Then you can sit on it.”
Having dealt with that 'situation', Twilight decided that she needed to find the path to Zecora's before she started pounding her head in the dirt. She started to think, perhaps there was some sort of spell that could help her. Then it hit her, My Light spell! How could I have forgotten! Twilight prepared herself, this would take a lot of concentration.
Twilight clenched her teeth and felt the magic rise and channel through to her Horn. She dug her hooves into the ground, this would be painful. A small ball of light formed at the tip of Twilight's horn. Slowly, it began to grow, until it had doubled in size. Twilight was shaking, but she had to make it bigger if she wanted to be able to see. The ball grew bigger and bigger, taking up more and more of Twilight's strength. She was almost there, just another minute and she wou-
“Twilight?”
The ball disappeared, and Twilight collapsed to the ground. Bitterly, she stood back up and barked at Pinkie Pie. “What? What is it now?”
“You know how you asked me about if my seat was trying to eat me?”
“Yes?”
“Well I'd like to change my answer.”
Twilight turned in horror to see Pinkie Pie rise in the air, a mass of fur teeth beneath her. Pinkie screamed and jumped off, hitting her stride and running into the trees. The beast roared, and Twilight took that as her cue to leave. “RUN!”
A flying blur zoomed past Twilight, speeding into the trees after Pinkie Pie. Twilight cursed silently, she needed Rainbow Dash to help Fluttershy get out in time. Applejack rose clumsily, and the beast lunged at her, missing her head by an inch. It turned to strike again, but Applejack was well ahead of it, being carried off by a determined Rainbow Dash. Twilight searched for Fluttershy's outline in the dark, but it was nowhere to be found. She must've been the first blur thought Twilight, explaining things to the slower readers. The beast snarled, and set its sights on Twilight. Remembering that she too, was edible, Twilight high tailed it into the trees, hoping that the others hadn't gone too far for her to catch up.
The beast was right behind her. As she leaped past the fallen trees, it broke right through them. Ignoring the nasty scrapes it got on its shins as it did so. Twilight now knew that the situation was more serious than she had imagined. She turned a sharp left, and cut through some bushes. She wasn't sure if this was the way the others had gone, but right now it didn't matter. The beast didn't lose any speed as it adjusted mid stride to follow Twilight. It was gaining on her, a few more seconds and it would have her. She had to think quickly if she wanted to survive.
Luckily for her, she wanted to survive rather drastically. Remembering the teleport spell that she used often, and that the author had completely forgotten about, she concentrated and -poof- she disappeared, leaving the wild animal bewildered.
Unluckily for her, the author had actually not forgotten about her teleport spell, and she reappeared right behind the beast. Cursing the railroad plot she found herself in, Twilight began to run again.
Twilight dashed once again through the bushes, and found herself on the path she was on earlier. The beast roared, shaking the ground beneath her. Increasing its already impressive speed, it began to regain the ground it had lost. Twilight ducked under a branch and tried to think of another spell she could use to defeat the beast. There were only so many offensive spells she had, and most were of a smaller nature. Before she could finish thinking, the creature pounced on her. It drew its claws across her face, and Twilight squealed. It had her now, she had only one chance to save herself.
Twilight felt the creature bite into her leg. Oh Celestia, it's not even going to wait to kill me first!
Yet, it did wait. Its teeth stopped just inches from repeating its action, as did the rest of it. It didn't blink, and it certainly didn't continue eating. Twilight felt a little miffed, she was at the very least the tastiest of her friends. Then, however, she noticed the purple aura surrounding the creature, and she sighed a sigh of relief.
Even if she didn't consciously control it, her magic had saved her. I must've cast a freeze spell in my duress. It certainly wouldn't be the first time I cast a spell under stress. Having finished her mild exposition, Twilight cast another spell, and sent the creature into a deep sleep. Stepping carefully as to not wake him up, she tread further into the forest, hoping to find her friends.
She followed the trail of broken twigs, and trodden upon plant life for a good hour or so before she heard the familiar sounds of her friends' voices. Deeper still, she could hear Pinkie Pie giggling, along with what sounded like Rainbow Dash. Encouraged, she turned into high gear, and ran after her friends voices.
“But.. how?”
That sounded like Applejack. With any luck all of her friends would be there.
“It just doesn't make any sense!” cried Rainbow Dash's voice.
Twilight slowed down a hair, that didn't sound too good. Please, please don't let there be any trouble. I've already had enough for the day. As she slowed down, Twilight felt herself getting woozy. Her wounds ached, and she suddenly didn't feel fit to stand up. She had made it this far based on her focus, and now with that gone, the injuries she sustained were making their presence known. Twilight shoved aside the pain and continued, if she was going to make it to a doctor, she needed to find her friends.
She plowed through the last few trees that separated her from her friends' voices, and was relieved to find them in no danger. Applejack and Rainbow Dash's mouths were agape, but they looked otherwise unharmed. Fluttershy seemed to smiling. Pinkie Pie was jumping up down with a grin on her face in front of.... Zecora's hut?
You can't be serious.
“Oh I'm always serious Twilight.” said Pinkie, somehow reading her thoughts.
Twilight didn't know whether to be relieved or astounded. Perhaps worried would've been the appropriate emotion.
“Twilight! Well thank Celestia you're here! I was scared that you'd gone and gotten yourself eaten! We were plannin' to... Uh, Twi, you don't look so good.” said Applejack.
She didn't feel good either.
“I feel like I'm dying.” Twilight croaked.
“Well let's get you inside, I'm sure Zecora can fix you right up.”
And so the ponies walked inside of Zecora's hut, happy that they had accomplished something that day.
