”CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS POTION BREWERS, YAY!”
By this point in time, the village of Ponyville was used to the deafening trio of screams that suddenly burst out from the CMC-clubhouse. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had seemingly thought up yet another plan to discover their talents and thus earn their cutie marks. Their ongoing quest was common knowledge among the villagers. The majority of them had already fallen prey to their different attempts to help them with their jobs and professions. More often than not, the results were disastrous. The young fillies always meant well, though, so the villagers took it in stride.
The crusaders’ plans were mostly harmless, usually taking place within the safe borders of Ponyville. But the fillies' plan today was anything but safe. Today, their quest led them to one of the most dangerous areas in Equestria. The great forest that was located just outside the borders of Ponyville: The Everfree Forest.
“Are you sure about this, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked somewhat nervously. The excitement that had filled her voice during her and her friends’ shout from before was gone without a trace.
“Oh come on! Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts,” the purple-maned pegasus replied, skipping several steps ahead of her two friends. “Potion brewing just HAS to be our talent. We made that love potion during Hearts and Hooves Day perfectly on our first try!”
“First of all, it was a love POISON that almost ruined Miss Cheerliee’s and Big McIntosh’s life!” Apple Bloom replied, the memories of the two ponies’ gross flirting making her gag. “Secondly, while I think potion brewing could be our special talent too, I’m not so sure about searching for ingredients inside the Everfree Forest.”
By this point, the crusaders had arrived near the borders of the forest. None of them could recall how many times the adults have told them to stay away from it by now. Judging by the many nightmarish creatures that dwelled within, their warnings were undoubtedly well-founded. Scootaloo just gave her friends a mock laugh and continued on.
“Hah! We’ve been inside there by ourselves before while visiting Zecora. Besides, it’s not like we’re planning to go that far in. We're just going to get a few pieces of bark, some flowers, and whatever else we find.”
“And how will we ever be able to make potions out of those kinds of things?” Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo gave the young unicorn a deadpan look.
“If we could make a love potion out of clouds, rainbows, and pegasus feathers, I’m sure we could make something out of flowers and bark. Especially considering that pretty much anything that comes from Everfree Forest must be special or magical in some way.”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked over their shoulders towards Ponyville. Both of them were thinking of the same thing: the huge scolding they would receive from their families once they found out where they had been. Apple Bloom’s sister Applejack and Sweetie Belle’s sister Rarity would be especially angry. Still, it wasn't like they were planning on looking for dangerous animals or anything.
“Well, I guess it’ll be all right as long as we stay within eyesight of the village,” Apple Bloom eventually responded. “Maybe we can-“
Her thoughts were instantly interrupted when a huge explosion suddenly rose from the forest, leaving the crusaders shaking together in a tight embrace. For what must at least have been a few minutes, they simply sat on the grass, petrified. Their eyes focused on the darkness that once again covered the inner forest. They were all expecting something to suddenly rush out and attack them, but silence once again reigned over the area as the last thunder faded away.
The fillies' embrace remained strong for a few more moments before Scootaloo decided that she'd had enough. She broke free from her friends' grip and promptly rushed into the forest.
“Wa… wai… wait!” Sweetie Belle finally managed to force out, her heart still pounding in fear. It was a miracle that none of them had passed out from fright.
“Come on!” Scootaloo yelled back, her voice clearly trembling from a combination of terror and excitement. “Whatever that was, we could be the first to discover it! We could become famous in a day!”
Sweetie Belle still hadn’t recovered enough to move, let alone run after her friend into the most dangerous forest in Equestria. Apple Bloom, however, was seemingly made of sterner stuff as she soon rushed after the pegasus.
“Scootaloo, stop!” she shouted after her friend as she ran. “You said we weren't going to go that far in! Are you even listening?! Hey, Scootaloo!”
Sweetie Belle sat for a few seconds and watched her friends disappear within the shadow of the trees, Apple Bloom's yells growing more and more distant as the two of them ran further in. Realizing that she was being left behind, she shook her head fiercely before pursuing them as well.
"I said WAIT!" Apple Bloom shouted as she made a latch-ditch effort to jump at Scootaloo after finally catching up to her. The effort paid off as she managed to knock the pegasus to the ground, finally putting an end to her friend's running.
"Ow!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she rubbed her head. "Was that really necessary?!"
"It wouldn't have been if you just listened to me and stopped on your own!" Apple Bloom answered with a noticeable amount of irritation. Behind her, Sweetie Belle finally caught up with the two, but she was too busy panting in exhaustion to contribute anything to the conversation.
"Why are you so worked up for? I know where we're... going..." Scootaloo trailed off as she realized that she, in fact, had no idea where they were. The vegetation around them was so tightly grown that barely any sunlight made it past the trees' crowns to light up the fillies' surroundings. Scootaloo offered her friends a sheepish smile, which Apple Bloom answered with a facehoof.
"Hehe, whoops," the pegasus laughed nervously. "But hey, it's no problem! I'm sure we can find our way back. Miss Cheerilee said something about following your own hoofprints when-"
A shadow suddenly dashed between the trees in front of her, and her words came to a grinding halt as she began to look around the area. Her sudden behavior was quickly noted by her friends.
"What... are you..." Sweetie forced out between breaths, finally able to actually talk after her rush.
“Quiet!” Scootaloo hissed back. Her friends noticed the serious expression on her face, something they nearly never saw her wearing. Scootaloo was looking all around her now, the sound of footsteps around them now audible when her friends were silenced. It didn't take long before several green eyes suddenly revealed themselves in the shadows. Growls and even an occasional howl could be heard as canine-like wood creatures revealed themselves.
"Timberwolves!" Apple Bloom shouted in terror. Sweetie Belle let out a loud scream and hugged her friends in a desperate attempt to calm herself. Granny Smith’s tales of the mysterious and vicious creatures had become a legend among her classmates after the old mare had told them her story during Family Appreciation Day. While her story at school had sounded exciting and adventurous, Granny Smith told Apple Bloom in detail afterwards about how dangerous the creatures actually were. If she had not managed to find and clang a couple of metal pots together all those years ago, the wolves would've caught and devoured her for sure.
"Y-Y-You wouldn't happen to have a pot or two with you, AB?" Scootaloo stammered. It wasn't common for her friends to see her scared like this, but nopony had any intention of making fun of her this time.
"E-E-Eeynope."
"Great... J-Just great."
The wolves walked around them in circles, closing the gap between them and the fillies slowly but surely. All the while, they were snarling and biting at each other, as if they were arguing over who would make the first launch. The fillies knew there was no way out, and thus they simply tightened their embrace and closed their eyes while waiting for the wolves to make their move.
One of the wolves finally broke free from the rest of the pack. It rushed towards the fillies and leaped into the air in order to pounce on its meal.
A loud crack sounded throughout the area. As the three fillies closed their eyes in fear, the wolf that had pounced at them suddenly exploded in shards of wood. The branches that made up its body flew through the air, one of them embedding itself into a nearby tree, nearly piercing itself through the entire trunk. It took a moment for the wolves to realize what had just happened, looking around at the pieces of their fallen comrade in surprise before turning their attention back toward the fillies. Instead of growling in anger however, the whole pack was instantly silenced.
Still shaking, the three fillies opened their eyes to see what had delayed their certain demise. What they saw made all of them let out a unified gasp.
They a saw a bipedal creature standing in front of them. It's body was black with a skeleton like bone around it. It had a dark like flame on it. The left arm was white while the right was black. It also had it's left arm up before lowering it back to its side.
A few of the younger wolves started to back away from the creature, the consequence of their friend’s last attack still fresh in their mind. Their retreat was soon halted by a sharp bark from their pack leader, who growled furiously at the blue creature before letting out loud howl. One by one, the other wolves began to join in with their own howls, and soon enough, the entire pack was in on it.
It was then that all of them, much to the fillies shock and disbelief, started to glow green. Their bodies slowly shattered into pieces as their branches began to attach themselves to the pack leader. Even a few stumps and old trees floated in over the fillies' heads as the monstrosity in front of the blue creature continuously grew in size. Giants claws dug themselves into the earth as they sunk deeper and deeper down into the soil from their owner's weight.
Once it was all over, the fillies didn't even dare to gulp as the now giant timberwolf let out a thundering roar. It's sickening breath came out of its mouth in a trail of dark green smoke, packing the punch of a powerful, stinking gust of wind. Drops of nectar dropped from its fangs as its lowered its head to look at the surely horrified expression on the creature's face.
The creature stared at the wolf without moving its body while the timberwolf turned and ran off.
Before long, the forest was quiet once more, save for the sound of the fillies’ shaking breaths. The creature stared after the fleeing wolf for a minute or two, making sure that it wouldn’t suddenly come running back. It eventually turned its head toward the fillies behind him, who were staring at it with hanging jaws. They saw it's eyes or at least where it's eyes were, was only white with no pupils.
The creature took a step while the fillies took a step back in fear causing the creature to stop walking as it simply stared at them.
"RUN FOR IT!" The three fillies yelled as they rushed past the creature who simply watched them run off with it's eyes.
A sweet milkshake was gently placed on the wooden table before a cyan hoof claimed it for herself. Following this, four more drinks landed on the surface before they too were taken by hooves of various colors. A fifth drink, larger than the rest, never made it to the table as it was already in grasp of its owner, who had a pink hoof.
The Elements of Harmony were gathered inside a sweets cafe enjoying each others company whilst they discussed personal matters that had transpired recently. The topic would be on whomever spoke first, and this time, the pony of benevolent arrogance opened her mouth first. “Nothing has really happened recently around here, Ponyville is starting to look dull again!”
Pinkie squiggled her hoof in a teasing yet forewarning fashion, “Famous last words!” She snickered before her eyes shot wide open and smiled formed on her face. “Oh yeah, I’m working on a new pastry!” Pinkie slammed her drink on the table her voice traveling faster than her thoughts. “Its gonna be a cupcake with a cream filling! I’m still trying to work out the filling though, it has to be just right! Not too thick, but not runny either, and it’s also not supposed to be sour, but I’ll…”
Shutting Pinkie out of her thoughts, AppleJack’s ears rose up when a memory clicked in her head, “Speaking of food,” She said drawing the attention of the others, “Ah for one am excited for Apple Bucking Day!” her expression softened in her state of reminiscing, “Oh that is one of my favorite times of the year, plenty of goods ta bake and sell!” Applejack sipped at her apple soda-vanilla float, concluding her announcement.
Rainbow Dash, who sat across from AJ, raised an eyebrow. “Yeah... okay then.” With no comment to build on the topic, she turned her attention towards Rarity as she was placing down her strawberry shake.
Rarity twirled her straw around the cup in mirthful thoughts, “I finally finished restoring some of those chicly decorations from the old castle,” She poked the straw at the air to make her point. “And I do believe it’s high time we really work to spruce that place up a bit!” The straw had a thick shake inside it from which she proceeded to suck clean before sticking it back into the cup.
A quiet voice made itself known, partly hidden behind a banana frosty. “That would be nice, it’s a quiet nearby getaway...”
“But Flutters dear, you already live on the edge of town.” Inquired Rarity repeating the tube cleaning action again.
Fluttershy shrank back into her seat a bit, “I know, but Angel says I need to take a break from the animals every once and a while... They have been getting restless lately, but I can't figure out why…” Fluttershy had barely touched her drink which was beginning to melt.
An empty glass covered in a lavender glow made an impact on the wood harder than necessary, startling the few around her. Its owner had wolfed the drink down to the last drop, “Ahhhh…” Twilight leaned back for a moment to let herself breathe before building on the topic, “That sounds like an excellent idea Rarity! The princesses’ diary advocated that there were many secrets built into the castle, so I’m sure we might discover something interesting in the process!” She stood up straight in her chair in an attempt to overlook her companions, but suddenly the downed shake came back to bite her in the flank with a brainfreeze. “Gah! Owww…” With a quick spell the freeze vanished. But not without her friends chuckling and giggling at the display of gluttony's price. “That said we should probably gather our cleaning supplies and get over there ASAP!”
“Yay!” Pinkie exclaimed with her fourth drink in hoof held up high. “Field Trip!”
The rest of her friends examined the slice of the table which belonged to their pink friend, where three extra large milkshake glasses (each being a different flavor) stood empty and dry.
“Pinkie,” Rainbow proclaimed with her face expressing wonder. “You must teach me your ways of eating...”
“My young cupcake,” She began to bounce out the room with a martial arts bandana on her head. “You are not ready.”
Rainbow pleaded her case. “But I can eat a whole meal in ten seconds flat as is!”
“But, my young grasshopper, that is why you fail!” Pinkie giggled as if something funny was said then disappeared through the door, leaving a disgruntled Dash behind.
By the time they saw her again they had gathered by the entrance to the Everfree Forest with carts full of cleaning supplies. Rarity had brought a cart full of refurbished decorations and tarps rather than disinfectants.
Applejack felt she was at a safe distance from her for a snarky remark. “Wow, you pulled a cart by yourself, Rares?”
A small laugh was then shared among friends, and even Rarity couldn't deny the truth behind it. “We- heh heh -ll, I didn't want to interupt Spikes nap.” she cleared her throat from laughing mid sentence.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “He would be here, but for some reason he felt insistent on not coming, he also said that it was a ‘bad idea’...” Switching the topic, she peered inside the fabric cart. “Are any of these original?”
“Absolutely!” Rarity proclaimed, standing proudly. “It wasn't easy, but everything is patched together, and the designs were copied down as well.” Rarity pulled the tarp that was protecting the beautifully crafted fabric pieces off. “I could even make a brand new one if I ever so desired. Oh! I even brought some tapestries to patch up some holes in the ceiling and add a bit of a flare!”
Twilight looked to her friends for approval. “Well, if everypony is ready?” -Nods of confirmation she received in turn- “Then let's go!”
Traveling through the forest was safer than one would think. The general rule was that so long you stuck to the path, predators will seldom cross yours. It was quiet, however. As a forest of strange and unusual phenomenon, the silence was not one of it’s fortes. The ponies noticed this ominous atmosphere giving the forest trek an overflowing feeling of tension.
Fluttershy was the first to notice this. “Umm, do you girls think the forest is a bit...quiet?”
Her answer came rather quickly from Rainbow. “Yeah, its kinda creepy…”
While AppleJack was just as creeped out as anypony else, one could not resist the chance to stab at Dash’s pride. “Does the forest scare ya still-”
“No!” Her retaliation was quick and arrogant, but short lived as a breeze made the leaves and branches rustling in a mezzo piano symphony of foreshadows. Rainbow’s voice slipped back into something more timid. “But, theres a difference between scary, and creepy…” Despite this lack of activity, the six continued onward.
After a long period of silence, Applejack stretched her neck for a nonspecific reason and in doing so, asked a specific question. “So, if this here forest was once a thriving city back when the castle was in it’s hayday, then where in the wide blue yonder did it come from?”
Ever the smart one to follow up on such a question, Twilight responded. “That is actually one of the biggest mysteries known to pony kind. Some believe the forest is the aftermath of Discords reign, others theorize it was a curse from Nightmare Moon, but I think that it grew from the tree of harmony as a way to protect and conceal itself.”
AppleJack answered in doubt. “Really now? Ya’ll sure about that?”
Twilight nodded. “Even Celestia thinks that it has intelligence, but so far nothing has been definitive.” Twilight’s brow constricted in thought.
Fluttershy spoke up, barely audible through her mane.“Makes sense to me...If the sisters were protecting me from something big and dangerous... and something that caused Nightmare Moon left me all alone...than I can see myself trying to hide, but not in a big scary forest...I’m sorry but that’s just my opinion...”
“Of course,” Rainbow Dash exasperated. “You would be the one to hide, the only thing you don't hide from is an average animal.”
“Oh? Then what would you do?” In Fluttershy’s defence Rarity posed a challenge. “You can't really fly away, you're a tree!”
Rainbow met this challenge with creative but illogical reasoning. “I would use my tree powers to create a super awesome mega fortress that would protect me from anypony that was after me!” She floated proudly in the air at this flawless plan.
Rarity’s voice was blatant as was her expression. “That’s not much different than hiding...”
Realizing that she was right, but not willing to admit it, she covered the stain with an overused comeback. “It’s hiding...with 20% more style!”
Pinkie bounced in joy at her version of tree self-defence. “Oh! Oh! I know what I would do! I would use my supertree power to surround me with other trees, so no pony would know I was any different than the others….But then I could throw a super-duper-tree party and invite all the little forest animals so that we could play!” Pinkie bounced with enthusiasm at her idea.
Twilight stared at her with astonishment. “Th-Thats actually a decent theory, just with aggressive monsters, darker intentions, and a signal of some sort instead of a party!”
“I’m surprised we didn't notice the giant cave where it was sooner, then again we seldom went out there back then, it was so dirty and unwelcoming, in fact, it still is!” An acute observation from Rarity.
Followed by another, made by AJ, “Actually, Ah wonder why the hay we weren't told sooner about that gosh darn tree, Ah would think the Princess would tell us before it became an emergency.”
“Well...” Flutters said. “None of us ever asked…”
Twilight disagreed. “I distinctly remember asking her that very question multiple times and now that I know she knew about it…” She began to mumble words of confusion about the subject, prompting it to end.
"Does anypony hear hooves?"
The question was answered as the Cutie Mark Crusaders bursted through slamming into Applejack w3ho was knocked over with the three fillies on top of her. "APPLEBLOOM/SCOOTS/SWEETIE BELLE!?" The three fillies rubbed their necks with their hooves while also letting out nervous chuckles.
"What are you three doing out here?" Twilight asked while staring at the three with an eyebrow raised.
The three then began to blabber out what they saw but couldn't be understood from talking so fast. They were stopped by Twilight clamping their mouths close with her magic. "I am going to let go and then you will slowly tell me what you are doing here." The three nodded their heads causing Twilight to let go of their mouths.
The rubbed their mouths then opened to speak only for their eyes to widen casuing them to shake. "Are you three ok?"
Their answer was to point behind them. The girl's were confused but turned only for their eye's to widen as they saw a bipedal creature twenty yards away staring at them. "It found us." Applebloom voiced out.
