Chapters The Everfree Forest was intimidating on the outside for most, but on the inside,it was terrifying . Darkness shrouded the inside of the forest; the branches and leaves were intertwined due to the trees growing so close together, leaving no room for sunlight to come in. Along the forest floor, a heavy, impermeable brush grew together, forming one large thicket that stretched in all directions Wild, chaotic magics ran through the forest, giving it a life of its own, as the seemingly sentient forest refused to be tamed, despite the pegasi’s most tenacious efforts to bend it to their will. Deep in its shadowy depths though, there were few who managed to thrive, supposedly having gained the forest’s favor and lived in eternal twilight between the dense canopy. The few ponies that were said to live amongst the wild animals of the far recesses of the forest reportedly had cannibalistic tendencies and would feast upon the unlucky few that were captured, having wandered too close to their homes.
One such pony, a rogue, who had been banished from his clan, was fleeing through the forest for his life. They would spring out from the shadows and just as suddenly melt back into them, moving silently through the dense bushes to plan their next assault. but he didn't know what they were; he'd never seen anything like them before in all his life. All that he knew was that they were merely waiting for the right time to strike.His heart raced as he galloped through the forest. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he looked around wildly, searching desperately; his breaths coming in short, ragged gasps as panic set in. He had tried to fight them but shortly realized he was outmatched They were smarter, stronger, and had the advantage of thumbs, along with claws.
His face throbbed, warm blood trickled down his neck as it flowed steadily from slash marks of one of the creature's claws, He knew he couldn’t keep galloping like this for much longer. His strength and energy were waning away. He hadn’t eaten in so long his ribs were showing. His face slammed into the ground as he stumbled; his right rear hoof caught up in some creeping vines that had grown along the ground. He jerked his leg violently, freeing it from the snare and scrambled to take off running once again His hooves flailed across the ground as he couldn’t find enough purchase amongst the detritus of the forest floor. Out of the shadows, a giant paw came flying out slamming into his side, and sent him sailing into a tree with a definitive crack. He choked and gasped for air; his ribs on fire. He groaned as he slowly pushed himself to his hooves and spit out a glob of blood. Everything hurt now and his wound from earlier now bleeding more severely. He felt three soft thumps on the ground beside him. Instinctively, he looked up, and his pupils shrank. Three large felines stood before him on their hind legs. One of them lit a lantern, it’s sudden brightness blinding him briefly. As his eyes adjusted, the lantern’s light revealed their faces, One began to step forward,with a predatory grin.
“End of the line, pony.”
The stallion growled as his fur bristled aggressively at them,Despite that he remained submissive slowly backing away from them. The large cat continued to simply grin at him, its eyes flashing with unspoken hunger and danger. The stallion looked behind him to see that he’d backed up to a cliff face, a river was at the very bottom of the gorge they were at.
The feline took a step closer confidently. “Go ahead, pony, jump, make things a little more interesting for us.”
The stallion looked back and forth from the cats to the river far below them, trying to decide whether jumping was a good idea or not. All the while, the cat was getting closer slowly but surely. Finally, the stallion took a deep breath and sighed before leaping off the ledge to the river below him.
Pain rushed to every part of his body from the impact of the water. “Who knew water could hurt so badly?”
This thought was quickly swept away with the river. Luckily, he managed to fight the current and make it to shore. He pulled himself out of the river, limping from the impact. He looked up to the cliff side to see the cat trio's eyes seemed to glow as they stared at him intently. He snorted as he limped off, feeling that he was safe now. Hopefully, the cats would give up and leave him be. He needed time for his wounds to heal if he wanted to survive.
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A calico she-cat stared at the pony with distaste. “Shouldn't we go and finish the job, Brodrick?”
The reddish brown tom smiled at her, amused. “Lighten up, Braith, we'll get him, but let’s have some fun for a little while. It's no fun simply killing him just like that.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis. “We'll give him a few days to recover before we chase him again.”
She rolled her eyes. “This is a bad idea.”
The larger cat, a huge black tom with a square jaw, his right eye completely pale where a large scar went across, smiled. “Yeah, I want to drink his blood.”
Brodrick sighed. “Aeron, shut up, you’re an idiot” --he received a glare from the hulking tomcat, which he ignored-- “Braith, I see what you mean, but he's just a stupid pony, and Aeron proved he is pretty much harmless, so why not have a little fun?”
Braith rolled her eyes. “Well, that stupid pony just made it out of the river and walked away. If he gets to that little town, we'll be hard-pressed to kill him quietly. Do you really think Celestia and Luna are as weak and stupid as their little puppets?”
“Of course not, but they won't find out because he won't go into Celestia's land. And even if he does, he isn't one of theirs, so they won't care.”
Braith laughed. “You're an idiot if you really believe that. You know those princesses will protect their own kind from us! They hate our kind.”
Brodrick shrugged, “trust me, everything is going to work out just fine.”
Braith muttered, “It's going to get us all killed is what it's going to do.”
Brodrick ignored this. “Come on, we are going to leave him be for a while.”
Fluttershy smiled as Applejack finished building a new chicken coop for her. Fluttershy's old one had been perfectly fine according to her, but Applejack insisted that she let her make her a new one because it was so old and out of shape it'd be easier to just make a new one.
“Well there ya go sugar cube! All done.” She wiped the sweat from her brow with a kerchief. Fluttershy was quiet as she stared at the chicken coop. Applejack gave her a concerned eyebrow raise. “Well, do ya like it, sugarcube?”
Fluttershy looked at her, surprised, then blushed sheepishly. “Oh yes, I love it, it's just that... well... you didn't need to go to all that trouble. My other chicken coop was perfectly fine the way it was. Oh, don't get the wrong idea, Applejack, I love this coop, it's gorgeous, and I know you put a lot of effort into it, and I'm sure my chickens will love it even more than me. Its just that... I dunno, I guess it’s just...”
Applejack chuckled. “Hey, don't sweat it, Fluttershy. Ah know what ya mean. Really, Ah did this cause Ah missed yer birthday a couple weeks ago. Think of this as a late birthday present ta make up fer not be'n able ta make it.”
“Okay, well, thank you, Applejack.” They shared a hug for a moment before breaking apart.
“Alrighty, well, have yerself a good night then, sugarcube.”
Fluttershy walked inside and found all the animals were enraged as they walked around in circles holding picket signs which read, WE WANT FOOD!! She sighed as she fluttered up to the cabinets to get bowls to put the feed into.
***********************
As the stallion's eyes slowly opened, he found himself under a bushel. He stood and almost fell over because of his back leg: it had been wounded the night before and now was painfully stiff. He groaned as he limped out of the bushel. He found himself in front of a cottage. He smiled hopefully: he might be able to find help here. He limped to the door and knocked. He saw a beautiful mare walk into the room just beyond the door; however, the moment she saw him, she quickly gave a startled scream, not very loud but definitely full of fear as she jumped behind the wall, hiding herself. Then she started playing peekaboo with him.
He stared at her, annoyed. “Come on, mare, let me in!” he thought to himself.
She played peekaboo for a few more moments before coming to the door hesitantly. “Um.. h-hello, can I, um… h-help you?”
“I need help, please, just give me a place to rest for the night. I don't know if I can make it much further right now.”
As she looked him over, she gasped, obviously realizing his wounds now.
“By Celestia, you're hurt, aren't you? Come in, please!” As she ushered him in, he didn't refuse, but instead thanked her for her kindness. “About time,” he thought.
“What happened to you? You look like you were attacked by some sort of wild animal! Did you happen to provoke it somehow?”
The stallion was silent a moment, “If I tell her, she'll probably throw me out.” “I, uh...” “Come on, think of a good lie!” “ I can't remember anything.”“Hopefully she believes it.”
Fluttershy stared at him a moment sympathetically. “Well, just go lay down on the couch and I'll get you all patched up.”
“Thank you, I don't know how to thank you for your kindness.”
“You don't have to. I'm happy to help somepony in need.”
The stallion looked around, confused. “Where is the couch? Better yet, what is a couch?”
Fluttershy's eyes filled with concern. “Oh my, you must have hit your head worse than I thought! Come and follow me, oh, and be careful not to fall!” She walked closer to him. “I don't think you should be walking around on your own like this. Here, let me help you into the living room.”
The stallion forced a smile, “No, no, please, I'm fine.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble, really, come on.”
“I can walk just fine!” he yelled in frustration. He stared at her awkwardly before smiling. “Really, I am. So, uh, please just show me to this couch thing if you don’t mind, miss.”
She took a step back hesitantly. “O-oh, um.. okay, sorry, um, come on and follow me, please....”
The stallion rolled his eyes.“I better calm down or she'll kick me out.”
*************************
Thestallion lay on the couch for the moment as he waited for Fluttershy to come back downstairs. He wasn't sure what she was going to use to wrap his wounds up, but she was certainly taking her time. He was starting to get annoyed at this point. “D id she get lost or something? It feels like I’ve been waiting forever . ” He sighed. He knew that he couldn't rush these things, especially since it was her home, but he was running on little patience. He was never good at being patient anyway, especially when in pain.
Suddenly a rabbit hopped up onto the arm of the couch and glared at him. The stallion glared back defiantly. “What do you want, rabbit?” It pulled out a carrot and bopped him on the head with it.
The stallion growled and snapped at it. The rabbit fell off the arm, startled by this. He smiled in satisfaction at this and laid his head down again. “I may be in pain, but this couch is so comfortable, I could lay on this forever , I think . T oo bad I’ll have to go in a few weeks.”
The mare suddenly came down the stairs. “Sorry I took so long; I had trouble getting everything.” She looked to the rabbit and smiled. “Oh, hi, Angel! Are you greeting our guest? Please be sure to make him feel welcome, okay?”
Angel looked to the stallion nervously, then stuck his tongue out at him.
“Why you little good - for - nothing - -” He realized he was glaring at itw and the mare seemed to notice. He smiled sheepishly at her. “The little guy is making me feel very welcome, believe me, miss.”
She smiled back at him. “Good. Oh, sorry, I forgot to give you my name. I’m Fluttershy.”
The stallion snickered at this. “Flutter-shy? what kind of name is that?! She’s as pathetic as she looks . ” He quickly stopped, however-- though he struggled not to start again-- and said, “That's a very…. interesting name. I’m Firesong.” He puffed his chest out in pride as he said his own name.
“Oh, well, what a lovely name you have,” she said. She poured peroxide onto the wound to clean it.
Firesong flinched at this. “O uch , what is this stuff?!”
Fluttershy then gently wiped it with a rag. “I know this hurts, but it’s very important I clean it, otherwise it will get infected.”
“Obviously.” “ I understand, Miss Fluttershy. I understand completely.”
**********************************
Once Fluttershy was done cleaning Firesong’s wounds, she took everything she had brought and put it back. “How would you like some tea, Firesong? I’m planning on making some right now.”
He shrugged. “I would enjoy some tea if you would be willing to make me some.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Well, of course!” “He’s such a nice pony . ” she thought to herself. She walked into the kitchen and began humming a tune while making tea; once it was made, she walked into the living room with two cups. “The tea is ready!” Fluttershy set the tray onto the table and filled both cups, then gave one of them to him. “Here you go, Firesong! Oh, and be careful; it’s very hot!”
Firesong rolled his eyes at this. “I think I can handle a little- YOW!” He screeched as he dropped the cup, spilling it all over his chest. “GAHHHH!” He flailed around in pain as the scolding hot tea splashed all over him.
. “P oor thing, he was injured then burned by his own tea!” She ran into the bathroom, grabbed a towel and ran back downstairs, then began to wipe him down with it. “Sorry, I didn’t know it was that hot, Firesong.”
He forced a smile. “It’s alright. I should have listened to your warning.”
“Well, um… yes, actually, you’re right. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I did warn you.” She could have sworn he glared at her, but she could only see him with her peripheral vision; when she looked straight at him, he was smiling a wide smile. “I guess I imagined it.” After wiping him down, she took the towel and tossed it on the floor next to her. “Lift your head, please, Firesong.” He obviously was confused but did as she told him. She fluffed up his pillow for him, then said, “Okay, you can relax now, thank you.”
He nodded and relaxed with a groan.
Fluttershy smiled and walked out of the room to wash the dishes
*******************
The three cats looked down upon the cottage, "I think it's high time we get rid of him, Brodrick looked to Aeron, take care of them both."
Aeron smiled sadistically and stalked towards the cottage licking his lips, laughing along the way.
Fluttershy put the last dish in the drainer to dry, turned the water off and wiped her hooves off. She started to walk into the living room but stopped. She looked out her window, feeling a little uneasy, but she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in her backyard.
Fluttershy shrugged as she got some sandwiches from her fridge and continued to the living room. “I have some sandwiches if you're hungry Firesong.”
He smiled. “I’m starving! Lemme get one, please.”
She set the plate onto the table in front of him, “Help yourself.” She took one of the sandwiches and ate one. “Oh my, I forgot how good these are. I think I’ll have one more.” She said this about ten times, and by the tenth she’d eaten them all.
Firesong glared at her. “Thanks for the food.”
She smiled graciously. “Oh, you're welcome”--her eyes widened in alarm-- “Oh my gosh, you didn’t get any, did you? I am so sorry, I- I couldn’t control myself, they were too tasty to resist!”
He rolled his eyes. “I bet they were.”
Suddenly a loud crash came from the kitchen. When Fluttershy ran in to see what happened, a giant cat pounced towards her. She screamed with a duck, and he went sailing over her, crashing into a wall and knocking dozens of things off the wall. He growled as he got up and went for Firesong, who was already up on his hind legs, only to be bitch-slapped across the room. Fluttershy ran over, reared around and bucked him in the face, sending him toppling to the ground.
She turned to Firesong and helped him up. “Are you alright--wait, no, don’t answer that, that was a stupid question.” Firesong nodded to this; whether he was assuring her that he was okay or agreeing that what she said was stupid was debatable. She let him lean a little on her, and they escaped the clutches of the cat.
********************
Twilight was reading a book while sipping her coffee when she heard a knock on the door. “Spike, get the door.” There was no answer, and the knocking came again, only louder this time. “Spike, get the door for Celestia’s sake, you lazy drake!!!” Still no answer, and the knocking was a loud banging now.
Twilight let out a loud groan of displeasure as she got up from her chair. She stomped to the door and swung it open. Instantly, her eyes softened, “Oh, Fluttershy, what are you--wait.Fluttershy?” She hadn’t expected Fluttershy of all ponies to be banging on her door. “Um… sorry for keeping you waiting, I didn’t mean--who's the stallion, and why is he so beat up?”
“Twilight, please, let us in there’s a cat trying to kill us!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Uh, aren’t you good with cats, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Not this one, he’s extremely dangerous!”
Twilight nodded. “Right. Come on in, Fluttershy,” “Geez,” she thought, “ if Fluttershy can’t tame this cat , it must be pretty evil.”
“We need a place for him to lay down and rest, Twilight. Could he use a spare room?”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah, just pick one, I’ve got like fifty of them now. So what happened to that cat?”
“Oh, well, I, um… kicked him, but he might be up and after us again…..”
Twilight sighed. “Great. Okay, well, get him upstairs and lock the door so this cat can’t get in. I’ll watch out here.”
***************
Fluttershy laid Firesong down on the bed and tucked him in. “Now stay here. After we get all this figured out, I’ll get Twilight to heal you.” She closed the door and locked it. (There were ten locks, nine of which required magic, so she only locked one of them.) She went and sat on the bed next to Firesong.
“So why is this cat after you, Firesong?”
Firesong raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think they are after me? Maybe they are afteryou.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in fear. “Oh my gosh… You’re right; it could be after me! It makes so much sense now, He must be planning get rid of the Elements of Harmony!”
“The Elements of Harmony? What the heck are those?” Firesong asked, confused.
Fluttershy ignored him. “I’ll be right back, Firesong. I need to warn Twilight that we’re both in danger!” She unlocked the door and ran off to find Twilight.
Firesong sighed and looked around the room in boredom.
Suddenly, the window shattered as the cat lunged through and pounced at him without warning. Firesong quickly rolled out of the bed and tried to get away. He had almost got out the door when the cat took hold of him by the back leg and slammed him into the frame of the doorway. Firesong yelped in pain as he felt his ribs shatter, then he was thrown into the wall across from them outside the door. Firesong didn’t have time to try and get up as the cat picked him up by the throat, bringing him inches from his face and smiling.
“Time to die, pony.” As he slowly opened his mouth wide, ready to stuff Firesong’s entire face in his mouth, Firesong quickly bucked him in the groin as hard as he could. The cat yowled in pain as he dropped Firesong and fell to his knees, holding his balls.
“You… worthless… little…” Firesong tried to stand and finish him, but his ribs were agonizingly painful. The cat took this moment of hesitation and tackled him down the staircase.
Ironically, Fluttershy was going up to see what the commotion was; she quickly flew over them, though. They rolled to the bottom with the cat on top. He lunged at Firesong in an attempt to rip his windpipe out, but Firesong was able to hold him at bay; granted, barely, but he did manage to do it.
Twilight quickly charged a beam of magic and shot the cat off of Firesong into a wall, rendering it unconscious. She walked over to the cat and bound it in invisible weaves. “That should keep him from trying to eat anypony else until Celestia gets here. SPIKE , GET IN HERE!!!!!”
Spike came running into the room. “Sorry, Twilight, I was on the other side of the castle in the kitchen making dinner.”
“Oh, well that explains a lot, I guess. Write a letter to Celestia. Tell her I caught an assassin in the castle.”
His eyes widened. “Wait, what?!”
Twilight glowered at him. “Spike, I’m not in the mood for questions. Just hurry it up and write that letter to Celestia and ask her to get down here!”
Spike nodded and dashed off.
Fluttershy helped Firesong up. “Twilight, do you think you can heal Firesong?”
Twilight shook her head. “Sorry, that’s one thing I can’t do. I’m terrible at healing spells.”
Fluttershy gave her the sad Flutter-eyes. “Please?”
Twilight sighed in defeat. “Fine, I’ll give it a try, but I’m telling you it won’t do a thing to help him!” She put her horn on Firesong’s head, closing her eyes in concentration. Her horn glowed, and Firesong began shivering. Five minutes went by before Twilight finally stopped. “See? Nothing! I told you I am horrible with healing spells, Fluttershy; I didn’t do a thing.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “Firesong, do you feel any different?”
“Um… well, I had a little scratch on my left buttcheek that seems to be gone” --he turned and looked at his butt-- “Yup, it’s gone.”
Fluttershy snickered at this. “See, Twilight? You managed to heal him a little.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I healed a scratch on his buttcheek, great, but what about the rest of him?”
“No, that was it, my ribs are still broke and my bruises and cuts are still here.”
“See?”
Spike ran back into the room. “Twilight, Celestia is on her way right now to take the assassin away. She should be here in about an hour, she said.”
************
An hour passed by before a knock came to the door. Twilight opened it to find a royal guard; behind him was Celestia.
“I read what happened, Twilight; where is the assassin?”
Twilight pointed to the corner. “I knocked him into that corner, princess.”
She nodded to the guards. “You know what to do.”
The guards went in, picked up the cat and carried him out to the carriage. Celestia walked inside and over to Firesong. “Hello, you must be a new friend. I don’t believe I’ve met you.”
He stared at her in surprise. “You…. you’ve been to the moonstone before?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Um… no, what’s the moonstone?”
Firesong stared at her suspiciously. “How did you become a clan leader without Starclan’s blessings, then?”
Celestia blinked. “I think you asked how I became an alicorn, but that's only a guess; if so, then I will tell you another time. I need to leave now, but before I go” --she put her horn to his head-- “I will do you a favor.”
A bright glow came to Celestia’s horn, which surrounded Firesong also. He began scratching uncontrollably. Though it lasted a minute and Firesong’s scratching only became worse, his wounds healed right before Twilight and Fluttershy’s eyes.
Firesong was breathing hard when it was over. “What was that?! ”
Fluttershy smiled. “Firesong, she healed your other buttcheek and the rest of you, too!”
He looked himself over. “Yeah, my ribs too. I feel a lot better, thank you.”
Celestia nodded. “It was my pleasure, Firesong.” She shared a hug with Twilight. Before she left, she added, “I’ll send a letter when the interrogators have found out the reason for this insolence.” She slammed the door with her magic, and that was that.