By
Inky Shades
We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and nothing ever stops us in our quest for our cutie marks. It doesn't matter how dangerous or crazy it might be. If there's even the slightest chance it will grant us our cutie mark, we'll do it. It's just the Crusader way.
“Scootaloo, I-I don't think this is such a great idea, after all.” I turn my head and see Sweetie Belle slink behind Apple Bloom, eyes full of fear. The sound of a snap travels through the air. She squeaks. “What was that?”
I shake my head. “Oh, relax. It's just a twig. There's nothing to be afraid of.”
“I don't know 'bout that,” Apple Bloom says. Does she have second thoughts too?
“Are you chickening out on me too, Apple Bloom?” My words sound harsher than I intend, but we'd only been in the forest for a few hours. It was too soon to give up.
“I ain't a chicken, but we've been at this all day, and our families are sure to be worried 'bout us. Besides, it'll be dark soon and I don't know how you feel, but I don't want to still be wandering the Everfree after dark. Remember the cockatrice?”
She's right, but we're so close. I'm sure of it. If we stop now then it would be a waste of all our time. Maybe if I motivate them for a little longer... “Come on, guys! Just think about it.” I drop back to where they are and wave my hoof in front of myself. “Cutie Mark Crusader monster tamers.”
“That sounds all fine and good, but you're forgetting one thing. The monsters. We haven't encountered anything more dangerous than a raccoon while we've been here. And if we did run into a monster, what would we use to tame it, anyway?”
I open my mouth to respond, but I can't think of anything to say. She has a point. What would we use to tame a monster? “Huh, I guess I didn't think that far ahead.” I rub the back of my head.
“Does that mean we get to turn back, now?” Sweetie Belle asks. She sounds hopeful, and we probably should, but I still want to search. At least for awhile longer.
“Let's just search a little more. Then we can go back. Okay?” I ask.
“Promise?”
“Stick a cupcake in my eye.” I place my hoof over my right eye.
“Okay,” she says, but I can hear the unease in her voice.
“Apple Bloom?” My attention turns towards her.
“Well... I guess if Sweetie's okay with it,” Apple Bloom says.
“Great!” At least now we have some extra time. Although, I know that I'll owe both of them when we get back to Ponyville.
We press deeper into the Everfree. Through the gaps in the canopy, I see the orange light of sunset. The light casts eerie shadows on the foliage around me. This reminds me of the time I went camping with Rainbow Dash. My cheeks warm at the memory.
It's some time before I hear Apple Bloom's voice. “Scootaloo, we should turn back now.”
I sigh. So much for being monster tamers. “Okay. Let's go.”
The relief in both their eyes is instant. “Let's hurry then,” Apple Bloom says.
We turn around. The light gets dimmer. It dawns on me that we may not make it out of the forest before the sun sets completely. I wonder if the others think this too.
“H-Hey, guys?” Sweetie Belle's voice quivers. She knows. “It's dark.”
“Ah, don't worry 'bout it.” Apple Bloom places her hoof around Sweetie's shoulders. “Long as we stick together, we'll be fine.”
The trees groan in the wind, but when I peer at the branches, they don't shake. I pause. There's no wind. Why did the trees make a sound if there wasn't any wind. It takes the others a moment to realize I've stopped. They turn my way. “Why'd you stop?” Sweetie Belle asks.
“It was just...” I stop myself. If I say the trees made a sound without the wind then that would just make the others worry. Better to just keep it to myself. Maybe it was a slight breeze that I hadn't noticed. “It's nothing. Let's keep going.”
Apple Bloom shrugs, but we continue onwards. Leaves rustle next to us. We stop. There's a growl that sounds like an old rocking chair. Then I see them and my breath pauses. A pair of yellow, glowing eyes stare at us from the brush. Another pair pops up a few moments later. A white hoof reaches out of the brush. A pony?
“Who's there?” I ask.
No reply. The silence makes me nervous. Then the pony comes into the open, and his face makes me want to scream, but the sound gets stuck in the back of my throat. The fur around his face appears hard and chiseled, like somepony took a knife to a piece of wood and carved markings of hair into it. His smile stretches from cheek to cheek, a toothy grin befitting a beast more than a pony, and it doesn't falter. It would've looked painted on had it not been for the red droplets falling from between his teeth. Is that... No. I push the thought away.
The stallion tilts his head, eyes lit like fire. His breath whistles between his teeth as he exhales. A second pony steps from the brush, a mare with a face just as wood-like as the stallion's. Her jaw creaks when she opens her mouth. A strange fog billows out of her mouth. The fog floats towards us and makes my head feel fuzzy when it enters my nose.
I take a couple tentative steps back and jolt when I bump into something soft. It's one of them, isn't it? I'm almost too afraid to check, but I do. It's just Apple Bloom. Her ears are pressed to her head when she glances at me. I see Sweetie Belle to my right, pupils the size of pins, teeth sinking into her bottom lip.
A crackling growl emanates from the stallion as his mouth opens wider, wider until I thought it would snap off. The strange fog pours from his mouth.
Sweetie screams and coughs when she inhales some of the fog.
I find my voice too. “Run!”
My mind goes blank. There's only the need to get away from those monsters. A burning sensation travels up my legs, but I try to ignore it as best I can. The only sound I hear clearly is the sound of my breath. Are the monsters pursuing us? I don't know. Just keep running. A low branch scrapes my face. I feel the sting in my cheek. Keep running.
How are Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom? I want to check behind me to make sure they're still there, but it's too dangerous right now. My eyes need to stay forward. So I have to trust them to keep up. The brush thickens around me. I close my eyes. Leaves and twigs scratch at my face and body. Run. But my body is tired, I can't continue. I stop next to a tree with a twisted trunk and breathe deeply. Leaves crunch near me. It's a relief to see Apple Bloom.
“Wh-What were those th-things?” Apple Bloom tries to catch her breath.
“I don't know.”
“Did they follow us?” She turns her head.
My vision sweeps our surroundings. However, the only living things I see are us. “It's just you and me,” I say. Wait a second. If it's only us... “Where's Sweetie Belle?” My voice rises.
“She's not with us?” Apple Bloom preforms her own sweep. “Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle, are you here?” Her movements are frantic. “Sweetie's not here!” She runs to me and shakes my shoulders. “We have to find her!”
Of course we were going to find her. There was never doubt in my mind that we weren't. A dread digs a pit in my stomach as I stare into the forest. Those monsters are still out there. I wonder if we will encounter them again in our search. Part of me doesn't want to move, but if Sweetie Belle is out there, I have to.
“Let's go,” I say.
We enter the brush where there's no longer any light to show us a path, only darkness. Leaves crunch underneath my hooves. I try to be careful so I don't make too much noise, but I can only see a few feet in front of me. Even then, my surroundings blend together. My eyes dart from side to side in an attempt to find the white shape of my friend in the shadows, but I don't have any luck.
“Sweetie Belle! Where are yo—” I cover Apple Bloom's mouth with my hoof.
“Shh!” I hiss. “Not so loud. Are you trying to let those things know where we are?”
“Sorry,” she says, lowering her tone. “Sweetie Belle!”
Our voices carry into the air, but all we receive is silence. Time passes. Still no response from Sweetie Belle. I wonder if she's hurt and that's why she can't respond. Or she could... I shake my head.
“We've been at this for awhile now,” Apple Bloom says. “Why hasn't she responded? Why haven't we found her?” I hear her concern and wonder the same. “H-Hey, you don't think Sweetie Belle's...” She trails off, but I don't need her to finish her thought to know what she was about to say.
“No. I don't,” I say with as much firmness as I can muster. However, there's a doubt that eats at me. But my words seem to reassure her. So that's all that matters. Still, if we don't find Sweetie Belle soon... No. Focus on the search.
I hear the creak of trees nearby. The sound stops me in my tracks.
“Is that them?” Apple Bloom whispers.
But I don't answer. I'm too busy searching for the glow of their eyes. The wind blows and I hear the noise again. I tilt my head up. A gust of wind rustles the branches above me.
“Just the wind.” It's a relief that I can say that. I press on.
Through the corner of my eye, I see movement, but when I turn my head, there's nothing there. Must be the shadows playing tricks on my mind. In the foliage ahead of me, I spot two small flashes of yellow. A trick of the mind or something more? Better not risk it. I steer us away.
In doing so, I spot a white form near the root of a tree. Sweetie Belle? I tap Apple Bloom on her shoulder. When I have her attention, I point to the spot. She runs over before I can stop her.
“Sweetie Belle, is that you?” Apple Bloom asks.
The silhouette stirs. I notice a lavender mane and tail. It's Sweetie Belle. We've found her! Now we can get out of the forest.
“I'm so glad we found you!” Apple Bloom throws her hooves around Sweetie Belle's shoulders.
“Yeah, you really had us worried, Sweetie,” I say. A twig snaps nearby. My heart jolts. There are several pairs of eyes around us. The monsters are here, but they don't make a move towards us. “We need to leave.”
Sweetie Belle turns towards me, and my blood runs cold. The fur on her face is hard. Apple Bloom releases the grip she had on her and screams as she scrambles away. No, no, no. What did those monsters do to her? Sweetie Belle's voice crackles when she opens her mouth.
The crackle turns into a throaty growl. Several of the monsters respond in kind. Their sound makes it seem like the entire forest is angry at us, a chorus of groaning wood that grows in volume as the seconds tick by. I cover my ears.
“Sw-Sweetie Belle, it's us,” Apple Bloom says. The sound stops, she continues. “Do you remember?”
A tilt of Sweetie Belle's head. Is she still her in there? She opens her mouth, fog pours out. Any hope I may have had disappears. More fog drifts from the shadows. We've got to get out of here!
I place my hoof on Apple Bloom. “We have to leave her!”
She shakes her head. “How can you say that? We can't leave her like this!”
Her words sting. Am I a terrible friend for having said that? There isn't anything I can do, though. My knowledge of the Everfree is limited. Why do I have to be so useless? Wait. My knowledge is limited, but... “Zecora!” I say.
“What?”
“Didn't you say she helped with the poison joke incident last year? Maybe she has a cure for whatever happened to Sweetie Belle.”
“You're right!” There's hope in her voice. “Let's hurry up and find her! We'll be back for you, Sweetie Belle. Promise.”
The monsters scream behind us when we run. “Stay close to me,” I say. This time we won't get separated.
“Do you know which way to go?” she asks.
I duck under a fallen tree. It's at this point I realize that I've never been to Zecora's. “No, I don't,” I say. “Please tell me you do.”
“Um... I think we need to head this way,” she says.
A wood-faced pony jumps in front of me. I yelp, hooves digging into the dirt as I skid so I can change directions. “Not this way,” I say, dashing to the right to avoid the monster's mouth.
Two more monsters appear, forcing us to change directions again. Monster. New path. They're everywhere. I can't find a way to avoid them. A feeling nags in the back of my mind. What if the monsters are trying to confuse us? What if they want us lost? Monster. But it won't sway me this time. I spot a hollow log under the monster and run for it.
“Stay behind me,” I say.
“Scootaloo, what are you doing?” I don't have to see her face to know that she thinks this is crazy. She's right.
“No time. When I say 'dive', dive!”
“What?”
Now. “Dive!” I throw myself to the ground and slide past the monster's legs and into the log. My mane brushes against the top as I crawl through it.
“Ouch!” I hear Apple Bloom. Good. She made it.
“Watch your head,” I say.
There's a knocking sound above me. Bits of wood fall on my back. I hear a loud crack. Fog flows in from above. Before the fog reaches me, I suck in a deep breath of air. My lugs burn to keep in the oxygen. Despite not breathing any of the fog in, a fuzziness still builds within my head.
After I make it out of the log, I pick myself up and move off to the side, away from the fog that pours out of its exit. I gulp down air and see that the monster is near the center of the log, mouth pressed against its surface.
I hear Apple Bloom cough inside the log. “Come on, Apple Bloom, hurry up!” I say.
When I see her still on the ground after getting out, I help her stand. “Scoota... Scootascoot...” she shakes her head. “Scootaloo.”
“Are you okay?” I ask.
Apple Bloom looks at me, but her eyes don't appear to focus. I wonder if she even sees me. “Hmm? Oh, okay? Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little out of it. I'll be fine in a minute or two.”
“Alright.” I don't know if I believe her, but I'll just have to trust that she will be okay.
“Hey, Scootaloo. Who are they?” she asks, pointing her hoof behind me. “They seem friendly. Let's say hi.”
I wonder what she's talking about. My heart almost stops when I follow her hoof and see five wood-faced ponies. Their jaws clack in unison as they approach us. Apple Bloom walks towards them, but I grab her by the tail and pull her back before she gets too far. “What are you doing?” My voice is high. “Don't go near them!”
“Right. They've been chasing us. Don't do that,” Apple Bloom says to herself.
We need to get out of here. I scan the immediate area in a desperate attempt to find a way to escape. There's a small gap between two trees across from me. If we run now, we might make it, but was Apple Bloom even capable?
“Apple Bloom, we're going to make a run for those trees over there, okay? Can you do that?”
She nods. “I'll be right behind you.”
I run for the trees. You better be behind me, Apple Bloom. My hooves slip from under me. The world spins as I bounce against the earth. Stems snap when I smash through a small bush. My momentum comes to a halt when I crunch my skull against a tree.
The world sways in and out of focus. I collapse. Though my body is still, the world keeps spinning. There's a deep, throbbing pain in my head. I stand, slow. In the distance, I hear faint crackling, but its far enough away so I don't feel too concerned right now.
Where's Apple Bloom? I stumble around, but don't find her. “Apple Bloom, where are you?” I shout. The sound of my voice makes my head throb. A groan escapes my lips.
She was right behind me when I tumbled down that hill, right? So why can't I find her? Did she wander off without me? Maybe... Or she might still be up th... No. She's just out of it so she didn't notice me by the tree. If she's out there alone, I have to find her.
As I walk, I notice the trees begin to thin. There's light in the distance. Ponyville? Zecora? A flicker of hope. I pass the last tree and find myself in a clearing surrounded by more trees. My hope vanishes.
I sit in the center of the clearing. If Apple Bloom came this way, there was no way to tell which direction she went in. My ears perk up when I hear a rustle. I turn my head. Apple Bloom? Two yellow spots stare at me. Not Apple Bloom. A second pair of eyes appear next to the first. A third to the second and a fourth to the third.
Everywhere I look there are eyes. The sounds of crackles. I imagine the trees with gaping maws laughing at me, mocking my efforts to escape. A last set of eyes next to the first. There's no escape. I'm surrounded.
Fog drifts towards me. Maybe it's because I'm done trying to run. Or maybe it's because of my head injury, but I don't feel afraid, just... done. Hopefully, Apple Bloom manages to find her way to Zecora's.
Two monsters creep from the fog and stop a short distance away from me. They're smaller than the others. Sweetie Belle and... “Apple Bloom,” I whisper.
So she didn't make it. There would be nopony to come and save us now. Our friends and family will miss us, mourn us, but they will never know what became of us. Why did I make us stay here? We should've just gone back home. No cutie mark was worth all this.
The fog reaches me. I hold my breath. A futile act because I feel the fog poke at my mind. My will to not breathe lessens, but I hold on until my lungs are an inferno. The fog smothers my senses as it pours into my mouth and fills my lungs. My mind becomes like mud, thick, dirty, and I find myself moving towards a white, and yellow being. They seem so... friendly.
