Blue

She sniffed the ground. The smell had suddenly, and without cause, changed. The trees around the Beta retained their shape. The jungle vines, the grass... It all remained the same visually. Yet the smell had changed. The smells of the Alpha's kind were no where to found. It made the Beta uneasy. She gave a bark... No response. Another bark... Nothing. She sniffed the ground again, nothing changed. She tried a different tactic and sniffed the air. Still nothing. The Beta hissed in frustration.

She knew not where her pack mates were. The last she had seen or smelled them was fighting the mutant... At least two of them. She had not seen the one since the mutant stole the Alpha's place. She hissed again and darted into the brush. There was no noise. No whisper of her passing. She was a hunter. Nothing like the noisy Alpha and his stone cold... Thing...

She smelled a small scent... Hardly enough to be a filling meal, but food was important... And she hungered again. She slowed, smelling her way to the prey...

There it was, a small hairy thing not dissimilar to the dead things Alpha threw her. It had not even heard her approach... And she was down-wind... She lunged and shrieked, catching the pitiful thing by surprise. It soon disappeared down her throat. The Beta gave a few chirps of victory... But it wasn't something to be overly proud of.

She sniffed the air again... Which hadn't changed since the last time she checked. She gave a final bark... Nothing replied. The Beta hissed again. One of the pack-mates had to be nearby... Surely the mutant hadn't killed them both? But the mutant was able to hold off the terrible king by itself... Maybe she was now alone? The Alpha had dismissed her from the pack... It stood that she was alone...

She gave a lonely chirp.

~~~

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh..." Twilight Sparkle pranced in place as she examined her instruments. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh..." she continued as she re-re-reviewed the results. "SPIKE!" she called. "Stop turning the toaster on and off!"

"WHY WOULD I BE TURNING THAT THING ON AND OFF?!" came the squeaky reply of the baby dragon.

"Just making sure!" Twilight replied as she re-re-re-reviewed her results. A monstrous spike stood in clear detail on the scrolling pages of her thaumoscope. The clacking of claws on wood announced Spike coming up the stairs.

"What has gotten into you suddenly?" the baby dragon asked as he entered the room. Twilight turned towards the baby dragon, an insane spark gracing her eyes.

"The thaumoscope finally got a massive reading!" she exclaimed.

"And... That's bad?" Spike asked hesitantly.

"Of course not!" Twilight grinned a grin that could give Pinkie Pie a run for her money.

"... Then why..." Spike began.

"Ever since I've moved here from Canterlot, I've kept a thaumoscope pointing at the Everfree in hopes of picking up the source of what makes the Everfree so wild!" Twilight grinned.

"... That sounds bad." Spike said after a moment of going over the information in his head.

"But it isn't! If we could locate, and disable the source of wild magic, then Ponies could colonize the Everfree Forest in saftey! Not to mention prevent all the monster attacks that come with being so close to it's borders..." Twilight explained. Spike looked over Twilight's shoulder at the energy spike on the paper.

"That looks like an anomaly..." Spike stated.

"Well... Yes... But there isn't any other source that I'm aware of that could cause such a reading!" Twilight explained.

"But you don't know what is causing it?" Spike asked.

"What else could it be Spike? Nothing is supposed to be out there that's supposed to cause such a reading! But since you are technically correct, and I was going to do it anyway..." Twilight trailed off as she trotted towards an equipment closet. Spike bounced off the Alicorn's back and stood behind Twilight as she dug through equipment.

"Now where was.... Oh! I've been looking for that!" A rubber duck bounced by Spike as Twilight threw it behind her. "That isn't supposed to be in this closet... Oh well! No time to organize it now! ... What is... Oh... OH! Keeping that in the back heheheh..." she chuckled weakly. Spike tilted back and forth on his claws as he waited for his surrogate sister to find what she was looking for. "Aha!" Twilight exclaimed as she pulled out a massive saddlebag.

"What's that" Spike groaned.

"This!" Twilight said as she put the bag down in front of Spike with a rather loud thud and clank. "Is my mobile thaumoscope!"

"... Since when did you have a mobile thaumoscope?" Spike asked with a small amount of confusion. Twilight gave the small dragon a deadpanned look.

"... We've had this since we moved to Ponyville Spike..." she deadpanned.

"Really? ... Huh..." Spike hummed. "Who knew?" he asked himself as he walked back towards the stairs.

"Spike? Where are you going Spike?" Twilight asked, annoyance tainting her voice.

"We're obviously going on a trip... I'm going to go pack." Spike deadpanned as he hopped down the stairs, leaving the Alicorn alone.

~~~

"So... You're saying you... YOU... A pony... A high born UNICORN pony... Wants to go on a hunting expedition in the Everfree?" A hunter Griffon selling exotic furs in Canterlot asked. The figure of Prince Blueblood sat across from him.

"Well of course!" Blueblood stated with an obviously noble born accent. "I've heard it's all the rage in the Minotaur and Griffon Kingdoms... I want to experience it first before anypony else in Canterlot gets the idea!" The brown Griffon raised a crested eyebrow at the noble unicorn. "Is it so wrong that I... Prince Blueblood, wish to experience everything life has to offer?" The Griffon shook his head and looked down at a sheet of parchment.

"It so happens you're in luck Bluebl..."

"It's Prince." Blueblood interuppted.

"... Prince Blueblood..." the Griffon amended. "We're leaving tomarrow for the Everfree for some manticore pelts... The Minotaurs love them..."

"Excellent... I'll arrange a payment of... Shall we say five thousand bits?" the Prince offered.

"Six thousand... I have a friend who's taken a Zebra royal on a safari... She kept complaining the entire time."

"I ensure you, I won't be complaining... But I see your point. Six thousand then." Blueblood agreed with a smirk. The Griffon held out a claw and the Unicorn Prince shook it.

"Our airship leaves at 7 tomorrow at dock 4... Don't be late." the Griffon informed.

"I'll be there." the Prince promised. "I'll bring a royal cert as payment in the morning."

"I'll make sure a cabin is prepared." the Griffon nodded as he got up from the pub's booth and made for the door. Blueblood smirked and took a sip of his drink, a 200 year old white wine. He glanced around the pub... Not normally his usual fare, but he was here on business... But now that his business was concluded... A trio of lovely mares caught his eye... He picked up his drink and trotted confidently towards the mares table.

"Hello ladies..." He greeted in his most salutary voice. "I happen to have an unopened bottle of 300 year old Celestia's Vinyard at home... It would be a shame to drink it alone... Would any of you care to join me?"

The three mares shared a giggle.

"Um... No thanks... We're just here for girls night out..." the forest green earth pony mare responded with a giggle.

"Oh come on Pastures! Where's your sense of fun and excitement?" asked a white pegasus.

"... I think it would be a divine experience to sample this Celestia's Vinyard..." the light blue unicorn smiled, the come-hither look easily evident.

"I'll make it worth your while..." Blueblood encouraged Pastures. She thought it over for a moment.

"Oh alright... What could possibly happen?" she asked. Blueblood let a devilish smirk escape. He would not be alone tonight.