Into The Forest

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“I have a pulse,” Twilight Sparkle announced. She was kneeling next to Ed on the floor who still had an axe lodged in his back. The Princess looked back up at her friends, her face the picture of anxiousness. “He’s still alive, but I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

Rarity scowled and closed the front door with force. “Blast it,” She hissed.

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “So, does this mean that Big Ed isn’t a killer?” She asked incredulously.

“Probably, Rainbow,” Pinkie said sarcastically. “But maybe you should ask him yourself.”

Rarity spun around. “Enough!” she cried. “It must have been those Serbian Ponies.”

Applejack ran around the cabin, looking out of every window, checking to see if anyone was out there. “How do we know that Ed wasn’t already workin’ for ‘em?” She asked.

Rarity’s voice rose up in anger. “Because he saved my life, and he served our country..” She started talking faster and faster. “..and he lost his wife, and he’s got a garden, Applejack!”

Twilight stood up. “Why would the Serbian ponies be out there?” She asked, confused. “How would they have known that Applejack was going to uncover those bodies?”

Applejack nodded. “Right! I didn't do in on purpose!”

“Wait,” Pinkie said, and turned to Rainbow Dash. “We got here by canoe.  How did you guys get here?” The party pony asked.

Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy and looked back at the rest of the group. “We asked around,” She said. Everyone else face-hoofed.

“That’s why,” Twilight groaned. “The Serbian ponies are bound to keep tabs on the area…you practically advertised that you were out here!” The two Pegasi blushed.

Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. “Heh, heh…Oops…”

Rarity frowned. “Which means they knew their dumping ground’s been compromised, so they sent out some muscle to tie up loose ends and move the bodies!”

Applejack turned to Rarity, both of her eyebrows raised. “Including me?”

Pinkie’s expression flattened. “No, Applejack, you’re probably okay. Of course including you! Everypony!” She threw her hooves up in the air. “All of us, and poor Big Ed. He probably made it all the way back here to warn us! That brave, huge and cuddly teddy bear!”

Twilight raised a hoof. “Or they let him go so they can track him and see where he goes.” Everybody’s face paled at that theory.

“So some cold blooded Serbian ponies are coming to kill us?” Applejack croaked.

Rainbow swallowed hard. “Uh… has the Young Pony Film Competition Award ever been won posthumously?” She asked nervously.

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “We need to get out of here!”

Twilight frantically rushed over to her friends. “Wait, no! It’s too dangerous, that’s like leading lambs to slaughter!”

Rainbow Dash suddenly straightened up, with nothing but pure determination on her face. “Twilight’s right,” She said bravely. “They want a fight, we’ll give ‘em a fight.”

Rarity tossed her mane. “I’m really more of a lover,” She said simply.

“We know!” The other ponies shouted in unison. Rarity frowned.

“…So… what are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight’s eyes scanned the cabin.

“Well,” she said with a sigh. “Look around this place.” There we lots of furniture, chairs, etc. Twilight held up a knife and a screwdriver with her magic and grinned. “Let’s get ready.”

“You do realize we’re in grave danger, right, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. She and Fluttershy were walking across the clearing outside of the cabin. The yellow Pegasus was filming Twilight from behind. “Ponies need to know,” She replied.

Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head. “What does that even mean?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I have no idea,” she admitted. “It’s just the default excuse ponies give in documentaries for why they keep shooting no matter what happens. Also, I promised Rainbow Dash.”

Back at the cabin, the rest of the Main Six were using every bit of furniture they could find, and barricaded it against the front door. Big Ed had woken up, and watched the display from the floor. “Be careful with that vase,” He said with a groan, as he watched Pinkie pile a glass vase precariously on top of the pile. “That was one of my buddies’ during the army days.” Pinkie nodded and put another vase on the edge of that one. it looked like it was going to fall, but it stayed, like it was defying the laws of physics.

“Just try to relax Ed,” Pinkie said cheerfully. Ed looked at the two vases in awe. “How did you do that?” Rarity broke the glass in the window next to the front door and sat in a chair in front of it.

When all was secured, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack met up outside in front of the cabin. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were still filming. Twilight came out from the forest and joined them. She had been setting up equipment around the area. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “I think we’ve done all we can do for the night. With any luck, sundown will come without incident, and we can head out of here at first light. I’ll be keeping watch here. You guys, stay in the back with Rarity and take your cues from her.” The others looked at each other in worry. “We are light on magic,” Twilight continued. “But we still have it, and Ed’s got weapons in the back, and God knows what he used to do with them.” She looked around at each of her friends’ faces somberly. “I’m sorry it’s come to this. But we will make it out of here if we work together.”

Fluttershy nodded. “You’re right, Twilight,” she said. “And we’re sorry it had to come to this too.” Rainbow Dash glanced at her friend with her eyebrows raised. “We are?”

BAM!

A blast of green magic hit Fluttershy in the shoulder. With a gasp of pain, she fell to the ground.

“FLUTTERSHY!!!” The ponies cried. Twilight immediately stood protectively in front of the fallen pony, her horn fired up.

“Take cover!” She yelled.”Go! Now!” a second later, another blast came from a different direction, and hit Rainbow Dash. She too, fell to the ground with a painful thud.

“RAINBOW DASH!”

All at once, multiple blasts kept coming at the ponies. Twilight fired a few blasts of magic of her own, and turned to Pinkie Pie and Applejack. “You guys have to go inside the cabin! Now!” She yelled.

Pinkie gasped. “No way, Twilight!”

Applejack shook her head vigorously. “There’s no way we’re leaving you out here!” She shouted.

After shooting another round of blasts, Twilight turned back to her friends with a hard look on her face. “Yes. You. ARE!” With that, she teleported the two earth ponies into the cabin with Rarity.

“Twilight!” They shouted.

There was no way of getting out now. Twilight was about to teleport her two injured friends when a blast hit her horn. Twilight stumbled backwards, and shook her head to get rid of the dizziness. She saw pony figures behind the trees. With a snarl, she lit her horn once more.

A blast of magic shot through one of the windows of the cabin. Someone was shouting in a foreign language. “It’s the Serbs!” Applejack shouted. Outside, a Serbian pony shouted in pain. Twilight had shot an arrow at his leg with a crossbow. She dropped it on the ground, and continued to fire with her magic.

“Wowie, wowie kazowie!” Pinkie exclaimed. She was still holding her camera with her mane. Both mares were peeking out of the window. Another pony from outside was shouting in Serbian. Pinkie turned her head to Applejack who was crouching beside her.”What do you think that means?” She asked.

Applejack glared at her friend. “It means we need to get out of here, Pinkie!” She and Pinkie dove over a table and made their way to the living room. From outside, they could hear Rainbow Dash’s voice.

“Where did Everypony go?”

Pinkie bounced into the living room. “Rarity!” she chimed. “Twilight knows how to shoot a crossbow!”  Rarity still sat at the window, shooting out magic of her own to cover Twilight. There was more shouting outside.

Big Ed turned his head to the two Earth ponies. “I’m Serbian,” He grunted. “He said for you to surrender.”

“Everypony get down!” Rarity shouted. Blasts of magic where raining down on the cabin. Pinkie and Applejack were on the floor screaming.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were still lying side by side on the ground because of their injuries. Fluttershy was somehow still holding up the camera. This is the craziest thing I've ever done, she thought. Rainbow Dash was reeling about what was currently going on. They were right in the middle of the cross fires, blasts of magic just barely missing them. “Holy Cow,” Rainbow exclaimed. A Serbian pony came out of the blue in front of the two Pegasi. He slowly walked towards them with his horn lit up.

Fluttershy gulped. “Uh… R-Rainbow Dash?”

Back inside the cabin, the three girls saw the pony advancing on their friends. Ed was unconscious. “Shoot him, Rarity!” Applejack shouted. Rarity didn’t take her eyes of the Serbian pony. “Sit down, and shut up!” She hissed. “Come on, you ruffian…”

Back outside, the Serbian pony was coming closer and closer to the injured Pegasi, with his horn lit up, and ready to fire. Rainbow gulped. “Um… help? Somepony? Help! Somepony?”

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy wept.

“Hello? Somepony Help us!” Rainbow Shouted.

BAM!!  BAM!! BAM!!

Three blasts of blue magic knocked the Serbian pony to the ground. The Pegasi sighed in relief. “Uh, thank you! Thanks!” Rainbow called. “ ‘Kay, where’s the other one?...”

At the cabin Rarity smiled victoriously. Pinkie Pie was filming her. “Rarity, you got him! You totally shot that dude!” Pinkie said excitedly with a grin. Rarity turned her head toward the pink mare.

“Of course I did,” She said with a huff. “Now, why don’t you grab a weapon and HELP ME??!” Pinkie blinked and chuckled sheepishly.

“Oh, right.. yeah.. sorry.” She went to the back room. “Sweet, another crossbow!” She grabbed it, went to a window, and aimed it at a Serbian pony who was heading for the cabin. Then suddenly, it snapped. She looked over her shoulder at Rarity. “Um… Rarity… mine broke. A little help?” Rarity’s eyes widened. With a groan, she shot the Serbian pony before he could get to the baker. “Thanks, Raribear!” Pinkie called happily.

Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Never call me that again.” She turned back to look outside the window frame.  “Where’s Twilight? I can’t see anything to the West.” Pinkie turned around to see Applejack behind her, eating oatmeal.

Applejack looked up. “This could be my last meal, Pinkie.”

They heard a thud from outside, followed by Twilight’s voice. “Rarity! Cover me!”

BAM!! BAM!!

Outside, Twilight rushed over to the two Pegasi, and looked over their injuries. “Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! I need you guys to apply pressure to each other’s wounds, can you do that? Fluttershy, how are you holding up?”

Fluttershy blushed. “I-I had an accident,” She trembled.

“UGH!” Rainbow Dash groaned.

BAM!

Blue magic no longer came out of the cabin.  The back door was blasted open. “Girls!” Twilight cried.

“He shot Rarity!” Pinkie cried. The Unicorn was slumped against the window. She hadn’t moved since she got shot. A Serbian pony walked towards them menacingly. He lunged for them. Applejack quickly got up, and bucked him in the face. The pony stumbled back, then without warning, he grabbed a frying pan and hit the farm pony in the head with it. Applejack fell down next to Pinkie Pie, her head spinning. Pinkie threw her arms around her friend, forgetting she still had her camera in her mane. The Serbian pony scowled as he walked towards them again, his horn lit up.

“This goin’ be so hard on m’ son,” Applejack slurred in Pinkie’s arms.

“You don’t have a son.” Pinkie said gently.

Applejack looked up at Pinkie. “You know what I meeeeaaaan…” She said dizzily. Just as the pony began to fire, someone else was speaking Serbian behind him, and hit him in the head, causing the pony to fall to the floor. It was Big Ed. He stood over the pony with the axe still in his back.

Pinkie’s jaw dropped. “Ed? You’re alive!”

Applejack gave him a warbled smile. “Thanks you kiiindlyy.”

Big Ed nodded. “No problem,” He said, and then he started to sway. “I feel…woozy…” He fell to the floor in front of them.

Suddenly, Twilight burst through the door, her horn lit up.

“Hey, Twi!” Pinkie chirped.

“What happened?” Twilight gasped, as she ran across the living room towards Rarity.

“That meanie Pony shot Rarity!” Pinkie said.

Twilight knelt next to Rarity who was still slumped against the window frame. “Rarity?” She gently shook the Unicorn, hoping to wake her. “Rarity, oh, come on Rarity, talk to me. Are you okay?”

Rarity groaned and opened her eyes. “This really hasn’t been my day, Twilight.”