Evergreen Heart

Chapter 33
Story Time, part 2.

We ate lunch and set off again, walking for most of the day. When night fell we decided to camp out in the woods. I could have just kept walking while carrying Trixie as she slept. But I wanted to cuddle up against her in our sleeping bag.

***

“Wait, so you guys are special some-ponies now?” Dash interrupted.

“Honestly Dash, were you even payin’ attention earlier?” AJ rolled her eyes. “They already said so like ah gazillion times.”

“Well.. yeah, but I thought it was just kissing ‘n stuff. I didn’t know they were actually... sleeping together.”

“You got a problem with that?” Trixie asked with narrowed eyes.

“N-no, I was just, surprised.” Dash backpedaled.

“Look, could I just tell the rest of the story? I want to be finished before we arrive in canterlot.” I sighed.

“Yeah yeah, carry on.”

“Alright, so there we were, in the woods, snuggled up in our tent when..”

***

“Did you hear that?” Trixie asked.

“Hear what, love?” I asked, not having picked up anything.

“There’s something out there.”

That’s when I heard it too. A faint rustling.

“Stay still.” I whispered to Trixie as I moved towards the tent flap. I opened it slowly and peered outside. A loud boom pierced the nights air and something smashed into my chest. Sending me flying arse over teakettle back into the tent.

“Aeron! Aeron are you okay?” Trixie shouted.

My vision was a bit distorted and while I don’t have ears, I did hear a distinct ringing. My chest was crushed and broken, and something was wedged in between two half collapsed sections. It looked suspiciously like a small cannonball. It’s size somewhere in-between a golf-ball and a tennis-ball.

“I’m alright.” I ground out as I pulled myself up. “We’re under attack, execute plan T.”

Trixie’s eyes hardened. Her horn lit up to snatch her hat and cape. “Teleportation spell, go!” She shouted, and vanished in a puff of cyan smoke and sparkles.

With the creaking of damaged wood rubbing against each other I pulled myself to my knees and crawled out of the tent. I looked around to find our assailant but saw nothing in the immediate area. I stood up straight, but just as I was trying to call upon my magical sonar another boom shattered the peace and quiet of the woods, just as the miniature cannon round blasted through my left eye socket and shattered the entire back of my skull.

For the second time in less than a minute I was on the ground, recovering my senses, and feeling a bit of worry. The fact that someone out there was using a small hand cannon like a sniper rifle to try and take me out meant these guys were playing for keeps.

I smashed my fist into the earth, summoning a stone barricade in a wide circle around me. The loud boom followed by the even louder crack of shattering stone told me I was just in time to block the third shot. I pulled myself off the ground for a second time, My shattered head re-growing slowly. The impact had spun me halfway round, so I had no idea where the shot actually came from exactly. The thunder of a pair of hooves made me look over the barricade.

A pair of giant boars were charging through the trees. I wasn’t too concerned about them though. A wild boar can be pretty dangerous, but to me they were mostly a nuisance. At least they were, until they were suddenly enveloped in a magical aura and started to grow. Becoming the size of a goddamn bison. The lead one smashed through my barricade as if it were nothing but a stack of empty cardboard boxes, then rammed into me, trying to gore me with its enormous tusks. Thankfully my body was more than tough enough to resist a pair of tusks. Even if they were almost the size of a baseball bat.

I responded with a series of left and right hooks. Smashing my fists into the beast's thick skull. But it only seemed to make it angrier. Then number two joined the party, trying to trample me. I was starting to feel rather pissed off by that point.

***

Trixie’s teleport spell deposited her in a tree somewhere between fifty and a hundred yards away from the tent. She immediately whipped her cloak about herself and activated one of the rune arrays she had embroidered onto the inside all those months ago. The cloak glowed briefly, then Trixie vanished from sight altogether as the invisibility spell kicked in.

Like she and Aeron had practiced ever since she expressed her desire to become a more capable combatant in order to defend herself, she cast a sensing spell next. Allowing her to detect any attackers nearby, hidden or not. The spell pinged back three signals. One off by itself, and another two huddled together. There were two more signals near Aeron, but she was sure that whatever they were he would deal with them. She had her own task ahead of her. Time to execute the next step of plan T.

***

Okay, I’ve got to ask,” Shining interrupted, “What the heck is this plan T you keep mentioning?”

“Plan T stands for Tactical retreat. Teleport a safe distance, hopefully behind the enemy. Observe their locations and actions, then, if possible, take out vulnerable targets. Or, if combat is not an option, stay hidden and run interference. And, should the worst happen, teleport as far away as magic will allow and go for help. That was one of the ideas we worked out.” I explained.

“And how many of these plans do you two have?”

“Fishing for intel are we? You don’t expect us to give away all our secrets do you Shining? Not when we might still end up as enemies if things go south once we meet with Celestia.”

His guilty expression told me that was exactly what he had been doing.

“Anyway, “ I said, getting things back on track. ”What happened next was..”

***

Trixie trotted silently to the lone figure. Feeling she had a better chance in a one on one confrontation. The figure turned out to be a minotaur, hefting a truly massive blunderbuss with an extra long barrel and a complicated array of lenses and loops attached to it. Something you would expect to see at a steampunk convention. He was leaning against a tree for support, raising his freshly loaded weapon.

Seeing him take aim once again, Trixie fired an angry burst of magic that zipped past his head, less than an inch from his left ear.

“That was a deliberate miss, the next one won’t be. Drop that lead spewer and get down on the ground.” She said through gnashing teeth.

Slowly the minotaur lowered the rifle. Only to spin around and fire at her. Had she not been under her invisibility spell she doubted he would have missed. As it was the lead shot passed mere inches over her head. The rush of passing air pulling off her hat. As the hat left her head, the invisibility spell dropped.

With a snarl, Trixie fired off a shot of her own. Hitting the minotaur in the stomach. Arcs of electricity danced across the minotaur’s body as her lightning zap spell struck home. Unable to keep hold of his weapon, he dropped it in the dirt. With a flourish of telekinesis, Trixie yanked the heavy weapon away, and stuffed it into her hat, where it vanished from sight.

“HEY! THAT’S MINE!” The minotaur bellowed.

“Just wait until you see my next trick.” Trixie shot back.

The big bull was not out of the game yet though. He pulled a knife from somewhere, throwing it at Trixie. She managed to dodge it, but it gave him the opening he needed to close the gap between them. He lashed out with a big meaty fist, but Trixie nimbly ducked under his swing. Kicking at his legs. Her hoof connected with a solid crunch, and the minotaur let out a pained bellow as she hit him in the kneecaps. Her second kick hit him in the groin, and he toppled like a tree at a beaver convention.

Trixie quickly conjured some rope to secure him and move on to the next target.

***

Whatever magic was fueling these two hogs was slowly starting to wear off. I could tell because they were starting to slowly shrink back to their original size. That made my task a lot easier. The sniper had stopped shooting at me as well. Either he didn’t want to risk hitting his allies, or Trixie had taken care of him.

I grabbed one boar by the tusks and heaved with all my strength. They were actually very heavy. As if the magic empowering them had also quadrupled their density and weight. With a grunt I swung the boar by the tusks like a bizarre baseball bat, Smashing it into its companion, sending it flying. I spun a full circle, then released the one i was still holding. Both went down in a heap and were out cold.

***

“I hope they weren’t injured.” Whispered Fluttershy.

“They were fine.” I said, surprised she had spoken at all.

“Anyway, with those two out cold I looked around for other attackers when a loud bang followed by a shout from the woods drew my attention and I stormed off.”

***

Trixie peered over the bushes she was hiding behind. There were two more attackers. One was a rather shifty looking Griffon. The other was a Zebra with a mane tied into messy dreadlocks. Making a swift decision, she charged up a firework spell, and sent it hurling at the griffon. The resulting detonation blew the griffon clean off his feet with a pained shout. Leaving him lying in a singed heap. Smoke rising from the tips of his feathers.

Trixie jumped forward, ready to strike at the Zebra, when a flask of liquid landed at her hooves and shattered. The cloud of gas that erupted from the broken flask sent her reeling. Her eyes burned and her nose stung, making it hard to breathe. A pair of hooves slammed into her side, sending her sprawling. As she tried to get back up, she felt the weight of a hoof pressing down on her neck. The tip of a dagger entered her vision.

“Wasio Moja sends his regards.” the zebra hissed in her ear.

‘NO!’ was the one thought that filled her mind.

The zebra raised his dagger, ready to plunge it into her neck. Only for a fifty pound log to smash into his side, sending him flying. He skidded off the ground several times and smacked into a tree with a sickening crunch of breaking ribs.

***

I was livid. No, I was beyond livid. The world had become shades of red. I stomped towards the fallen zebra, my hands morphing into wrecking balls full of giant cactus spines, ready to deliver a beating.

“Aeron, stop! I’m okay.”

Color returned to my world. I rushed to her side, making sure she was indeed okay, but keeping a wary eye on the zebra in case he was stupid enough to try something. Seeing Trixie was indeed okay I turned back into my normal humanoid form and wrapped her into a hug.

“Did I do well?” she asked as I slowly let go.

“You did fantastic, Trix.” I said as I nuzzled her snout. “Where are the others?”

“I left the shooter tied up in the bushes over in that direction.” She said with a wave of her hoof.

“Stay here and keep an eye on them, I’ll be right back.” I said and ran off into the woods to retrieve the minotaur.

I returned less than a minute later with our prisoner, and dumped him on the ground next to the other two. Trixie had secured the griffon with more rope. The zebra was too hurt to try anything, having several broken ribs.

“Normally,” I began as I looked down on them, “I would kill you. I follow a very simple rule you see. And that, is to never give an enemy a second chance to come back to attack me again. But today I’m going to break that rule. So you three are very lucky. You get to live, IF, you deliver a message to your employer.”

They all looked at me with a mixture of fear and defiance.

“You three go back to Zebrica, and tell Wasio that this is his last strike. The next mercenary he sends after either of us will be delivered back to him in seperate pieces. And then I’ll come back, and nothing, no law, prison walls or army is going to stop me from sticking my hand down his throat, and ripping his heart out through his oesophagus.”

They all gulped.

“He can either leave me and my girl in peace, or he will die screaming. The same goes for you. Once she and I leave here, don’t come after us again. I will kill you. And I will do it slowly. I suggest you consider your options carefully.”

Having delivered my ultimatum, Trixie and I swiftly packed up our camp and moved on. I transformed my body back into the one I used for the dragon disguise and allowed trixie to sleep inside me while I walked all through the night to put as much distance between us and the group of mercenaries. In fact I didn’t stop walking for two days straight. Only pausing long enough whenever Trixie needed to use the bathroom.

***

Trixie’s hoof slapped me on the back of the head.

“They don’t need to know that part.” she said with a blush.

I smiled sheepishly at her. There were a couple of quiet chuckles at out expense from around the cabin.

“That explains the reports of a monster roaming the countryside.” said Shining Armor. “Several farmers reported seeing some kind of dragonish monster passing by their farms.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that was us. We decided to take the most direct route back to the Everfree forest. After our encounter with those three, we didn’t want to stay out in the wilds any more than we had to.”

“Would you really carry out that threat though?” Shining asked me with a deathly serious expression.

“Shining, wouldn’t you do whatever you had to to protect Cadance? Or Twilight, or your parents?”

“Well, yes but…”

“But nothing. If you truly love Cadance, and the only way to save her would be to chop off another pony’s head, you wouldn’t hesitate. Love isn’t all roses and sunshine. It’s also pain and sacrifice. And if it meant you had to kill in order to save her life, you would. Even if it brought you guilt and pain later, you would make that sacrifice. Because that is love too.”

“That doesn’t sound right.”

“But it’s still true. Love is one of the strongest emotions a person can feel. It allows us to do things we never imagined ourselves capable of.”

The silence that followed dragged on for a bit, until Twilight got us back on track.

“You said you were headed for the Everfree. Why did you need to go back there?” she asked.

“To lift a curse.”

“A curse?”

“Yes, but I’ll tell you about that once we meet the princess. Before we get to that though, we paid a visit to a friend.”

***

After our journey across the country, we arrived at the edge of the Everfree forest. We could see Ponyville in the distance down the road. But since we didn’t want to be seen at the time, we decided to enter the everfree and stick to the edge as we got closer to the town. We had to duck into the bushes several times to avoid the new guard patrols, and I assumed my pony form for the duration since it had a smaller profile. Once we reached the edge of Sweet Apple Acres we entered deeper into the everfree, making our way to Zecora’s place. I was eager to see her again, and thank her for her help.

The trip from the edge of the Everfree to her home was uneventful, fortunately. And we arrived there early in the morning. As we approached, I noticed the door was open. So with a soft knock on the frame I stepped inside.

“Hello, Zecora.”

“Aeron, my friend, this is a surprise, but one that is especially nice.” She greeted with a smile.

“How have you been?”

“Do come in and sit a spell, as for me, I’ve been quite well.”

“Thanks, I hope you don’t mind, I brought along my marefriend.” I said as Trixie entered the hut. ”Trixie, meet Zecora. Zecora, Trixie.”

The two of them bumped hooves by way of greeting, before zecora led us over to her table. Trixie seemed to be sniffing the air with a strange look on her face.

“Something wrong love?”

“Not... exactly.” She then turned to Zecora, “Forgive Trixie’s bluntness, but are you….”

Zecora grew a light blush and nodded.

“Congratulations?” Trixie said.

“Thank you.” Zecora smiled as she put down a couple of coconut cups.

“Am I missing something?” I asked, now thoroughly confused.

“You can’t smell it?” Asked Trixie.

“Not a true pony remember.” I said with a smile. “What am I missing.”

Zecora sat down and smiled at me. “While you were away, things have moved along, I now find myself with a future little one.” She said as she placed a hoof on her belly.

“Wait… you’re pregnant?”

She nodded once.

***

“Zecora is pregnant!?” came a half dozen shouts, interrupting me once again.

“How , when, what?!” Shouted pinkie, “OHMIGOSH, I have to bake her a special congratulatory cake!”

“She’s really expectin’ a little ‘un?” Asked Applejack.

“Yes. I was surprised too.”

***

“So who’s the father? Wait, let me guess, Star Horn.”

Another nod.

Well, that certainly was unexpected. It took me a moment to process the idea before I snapped out of it to congratulate her.

“How far along are you?”

“Six months tomorrow, as far as I can tell. With a week or so margin for error, without using a spell.”

“Ohhh, so you will start showing soon.” Trixie said with a happy smile, “Could Trixie… would you mind if I, listened?”

Zecora smiled, giving her a nod. Trixie practically bounced over to her, dropped to the floor and gently put one ear against Zecora’s belly. She sat like that for a minute or so. Her eyes closed in concentration.

“Trixie can hear it. She hears a tiny heartbeat.” She beamed.

I let my magical senses reach out towards Zecora, touching her life force. I then felt it, the presence of a second source of life, growing within her. It was a feeling I can hardly describe. So different from sensing the life force in plants. The energies of fauna is so much different from those of flora. So much wilder. Where plants shine with bright starlight, other creatures seem to burn like bonfires in the dark.

“So you have returned at last to this land. Just to visit, or is your stay permanent?”

“No, I fear we can’t stay. The situation has become complicated. We only came back to do one thing. To lift the curse on the Everfree.”

“To hear you can’t stay makes me sad. Have things really gotten that bad?”

“Well, I have sort of, been banished.”

***

“YOU WHAT!” Twilight bellowed in my ear, loud enough to make my head ring.

“Princess Celestia banished me from Equestria.” I deadpanned.

“But… but… Why? How? That makes no sense! Why would she do that?”

“You will have to ask her yourself. It seems we are nearly there.” I said as I motioned to the window. Canterlot was looming large outside the window. We would enter the station in less than five minutes.

“Let me finish this part before we have to disembark.”

***

Zecora seemed just as shocked at my banishment.

“I hate be be rude, but you can’t stay with me. If starhorn comes home, trouble there will be.”

I nodded in understanding. “Because he’s in the guard.”

“When he is on patrol, he often comes to visit me. You standing there is the last thing he should see.”

“Too late I fear.” Said a new voice from the door. Star Horn had arrived.

I just looked to the ceiling and counted to ten while resisting the urge to facepalm. Fuck you Fate. Fuck you right in the ear. Seriously what are the chances of him arriving just then? I don’t know what sort of sadistic game Fate is playing at here, but there will be ear fucking for this. Mark my words.

“Well, this just got awkward. I don’t suppose you can just pretend we were never here.” I finally said.

He looked most apologetic. “Sorry, but with our little one on the way I can’t risk it. If I let you walk, it could land me in deep trouble.”

“Then how about a compromise.” said Trixie. “You can bring Trixie in, and let Aeron go so he can do what he came here to do. And afterwards..”

“Afterwards you turn yourself in.” Star said to me.

“Or I could just knock you out and leave you here with Zecora.”

“Please, no violence in my house. I do not wish to see my friend and my lover fight each other.” Zecora quickly interrupted. Her forgoing any rhymes told me just how serious she was.

I sighed. “Alright. We’ll play along. You can tell them I escaped when you found us. Just make sure she’s comfortable.” I told him.

“You have my word.”

“That’s good enough.”

***

“I hope you will keep this to yourself, Shining. I don’t want Star Horn to get in trouble over this.”

“I’m sorry,” Shining said with a grin, “I seem to have gone temporarily deaf and have no idea what you’re all talking about.”

“Thanks, Shining. You’re the best.”

“Can’t hear a thing, I’m deaf.” he said, looking at the ceiling as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. “But keep the compliments coming.”

I let out an amused snort. “What about your troops?” I said, gesturing to the rest of our guard escort.

“They know better than to go blabbing about classified information.” he said loudly, putting emphasis on the word classified. The other guards nodded almost imperceptibly.

“Final stop! Canterlot!” the conductor bellowed as the train slowed to a stop.

“Time to go.” Said Shining.

The short march through the city drew quite a few eyes. I guess it's not everyday that an armed escort passes through the streets. The presence of the element bearers also drew extra attention. Anypony who had been at the victory celebration after Discord’s defeat would know exactly who they were. Soon we passed through the gates of the palace proper.

“Into the lion’s den.” I mused out loud.

The walk to the throne room was relatively short. The double doors were closed, but even so we could clearly hear the noise from inside.

“Sounds like all the noble’s are in attendance.” Trixie snorted.

“Great, just what we needed. I can feel my sanity being drained from sheer proximity to those knuckleheads.”

Shining motioned to one of the door guards. “Announce us.”

The pony gave a salute, and vanished into the throne room. We waited for barely a minute before the doors were thrown open and the noise died down. As we approached the dais, I looked up at Celestia, trying to get a read on her. She was staring back with a cold, calculating look. No trace of her usual welcoming warmth was there. No motherly little smile. Her lips were set into a hard, thin line.

Shifting into my humanoid form, I stood in front of the throne, crossed my arms, and waited.

The silence stretched on as we stared at each other. Nopony made a sound except for the occasional cough from the audience. Finally, Celestia broke the silence.

“Well? Have you nothing to say for yourself?” she finally asked. Her tone barely tepid.

“Well, excuuuse me, princess. What would you like me to say?” I said in a carefully guarded voice.

“An explanation as to why you have returned to Equestria would be nice. As I recall, my last letter to you was pretty clear about the subject.”

“You mean the one where you banished me for all time?” The audience gasped. Apparently this was every bit as big a deal as I thought.

“Indeed, yet here you stand. Against a royal decree forbidding you from ever setting hoof on Equestrian soil again. This leaves me with little choice on what to do now.“

“And that would be?”

“Incarceration to Tartarus. Opportunities for parole will be available, eventually, but I can’t allow this blatant defiance of my sovereignty to go unpunished.”

“Your sovereignty? I was under the impression Equestria was a diarchy once more. And what would princess Luna think about that? I noticed her signature was absent on that decree. Where is she anyway?”

“Not that is any of your business, but my sister is not yet ready to reclaim her throne. She is still recovering from her prolonged stay on the moon.”

“She seemed perfectly capable when we fought side by side.”

“You are neither a qualified healer, nor in any position to determine what duties she is fit to undertake. And this isn’t about her. Before I pass judgement, you will explain what you are doing here in Equestria, and you will do so right now.”

I must admit, I was taken aback by her attitude. The last time we spoke she wasn’t so cold. She must be a lot more upset about all this than I thought. I mean this was Celestia after all, the kind and wise ruler. The mother figure who watches over Equestria.

Rather than let my temper run rampant and escalate things I decided to acquiesce with her demands for an explanation, since that was why we had come here in the first place.

“Alright, princess. If you want to know how we got here, I’m sure Shining Armor can give you a full report, but here’s the cliff notes version...”

I then then summed up what I had already told the others. Glossing over our confrontation with Star Horn at Zecora’s place.

“ As for why we came back to Equestria…. We came to lift a curse.”

“Curse? What curse? Does this have anything to do with the dark magic we sensed?”

“A very old and nasty one. And most likely. Here’s what happened after I fled from Zecora’s place.”

***

Having said my goodbyes to Trixie, with the promise I would return safely, I set off for the heart of the forest. I had never been this deep into the Everfree before. My journey took me past the Castle of the sisters and the cave of harmony. Beyond the lair of the dragon I’d killed all those months ago.

The deeper I entered the forest, the more I felt like I was being watched. I reached out with my senses. Timberwolves were following me. Staying well out of reach and sight. I chose to ignore them, for the moment. Something els was tugging at my senses.

I can only describe it as a sense of great darkness. Like a ripple or disturbance in the air. Pfft, I almost sound like a Jedi, saying it out loud. Still, it let the feeling guide me towards the heart of the forest.

I walked for well over an hour. The woods growing denser and more twisted the further I got. Then suddenly I came upon a dirt road, barely wide enough for two ponies to walk side by side. It was badly overgrown. Nearly swallowed by the forest. A layer of fog crawled across the forest floor, and a chill filled the air. I was getting close. I followed the road until I saw it in the distance. The road led to a small clearing at the center of the forest. The trees here were sickly looking. The grass beneath my feet was dead and dry. Entropy, death, reigned here.

I approached with steely determination. With every step I took the wind seemed to pick up more. The air grew cold and thick. And then I reached the clearing. At its center stood a trio of twisted, gnarled trees. Bark as black as midnight. With a foul green glow shining through gaps and cracks. Slimy tendrils of some sort of ectoplasmic goo dripped from their branches. And on those branches hung sickly looking chestnut burrs.

My magical sight picked up something else as well. Bound to each burr was the spirit of a wolf. They howled and scrabbled, twisted and turned in a desperate effort to break free from their prison. But to no avail. They were trapped.

The moment I set foot inside the clearing itself the light inside the trees seemed to intensify. And the sheer malice that radiated off of these cursed things was thick as tar. Even trying to get close felt like wading through molasses. The howling in the air became almost painfully loud. Spectral forms rose from the trunks. Shapeless blobs of necrotic energy that spawned bony looking limbs with ethereal claws as large as scythes. They hovered menacingly in front of the trees.

The wind shrieked in my ears. “They belong to us! Begone!” it seemed to scream.

The power that radiated from them was like nothing I ever experienced. It was beyond mere entropy. It was like a contagious disease. Filthy and cloying. Whatever it touched it seemed to warp and twist. From the trees to the animals to the very ground itself. Here was the dark heart of the forest. The birthplace of all monsters that roamed the Everfree.

“It’s high time this curse was ended. The spirits of this forest have suffered enough!”

In response the ghostly shapes raised their claws. The air grew ice cold.

“We are eternal. We are beyond you. Those that come here will die.” the wind seemed to screech. “Who are you to stand against us.”

From all around the clearing, Timberwolves appeared. Summoned by their master’s call they cut off any and all escape routes.

Doubt filled my mind. But then I felt another presence. The wolf was there with me. And so was the Tree of Harmony.

“Know what must be done, you do. Your heart follow, you must.” its voice rang in my mind.

“Thank you, Yoda tree.” I quipped. Why the heck does it talk to me like that? Strange sense of humor I guess. Or maybe it's simply how my mind chooses to interpret it? No time to dwell on that.

I faced the gnarled trees and took a step forward.

“Who am I?” I yelled over the raging wind, “I am the chosen of the Tree of Harmony. I am the wielder of Alitura’s power. She loved this world and all the creatures in it. In HER name I will wipe you from the face of HER creation!”

I punctuated my words by raising a large slab of rock and sending it forth to crush the cursed trees to splinters. It did not go as I planned. Spectral claws hacked and slashed with blinding speed. Reducing the stone to pebbles that pattered harmlessly off the trunk of the nearest tree.

With a terrifying howl the Timberwolves fell upon me at their master's silent command. Jaws locked onto my arms and legs and pulled me to the ground. And in a flash my mind was back where it all started. Back in the spot near the river. Claws and teeth sinking into my flesh. Blood everywhere. Screaming. I locked up as the terrible memory overwhelmed me.

‘No! Noooo! Not that!’ I couldn’t think. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and….

A single powerful howl rose above the din. A howl that did not promise death and pain, but conveyed strength. The wolf was there. Its presence dissolved the memory like a curtain of fog. Its eyes locked with mine, and determination flooded me. I am not alone. We are not alone. And we are not helpless!

My magic exploded outward. Knocking the timberwolves away like a concussive wave. The dead grass near my feet regained its luster as I stood up. The timberwolves made ready to move, but we unleashed a savage roar that froze them in place. Our gaze drilling into theirs. The message was loud and clear.

‘We are the ALPHA, you bitches stand down!’

They slunk back towards the treeline, tails between their legs. Their masters were not pleased, if the banshee like shrieking of the wind was any indication. I turned back to the spectral horrors and unleashed my powers.

Vines and brambles lashed out at blinding speed. But they did nothing to the incorporeal monsters. Their return attacks however shredded my vines as easily as steel through paper. I attacked with claws of diamond, blasts of acid and boulders the size of cars ripped straight from the ground. Dozens of vines covered with razor tipped thorns lashed out at them at once, but nothing so much as scratched them nor the trees they had emerged from.

I was starting to get truly worried now. How was I supposed to end this curse if I couldn’t even touch the source. Nothing I tried was getting through those incorporeal horrors ironclad defenses. And my magic was starting to feel the strain as I kept up my attacks. At least while they were defending their position, those deadly claws wouldn’t be tearing out my core. But I couldn’t keep this up forever. There was little to no ambient magic I could absorb here. The presence of the entropic magic had created a sort of dead zone. I was fighting with nothing but my own reserves.

My reserves, my core… my power comes from my core. But where does their power come from?

I let the beast take control of the attacks, letting my mind reach out with my magical senses turned up to eleven. Around me the world vanished, replaced with the light show that made up my life-force vision.

The forest floor, normally a dazzling carpet of stars was nothing but a black void. A black void full of purple veins of sickly light. They all spread out from the trees at the heart of the clearing. Sucking away all the natural magic and life in the vicinity. Twisting it. Perverting it. There was no balance.

Life is in constant flux. Life, chaos, entropy. These forces are always present in equal measure. But not here. It wasn’t even true death. Death is neither benevolent nor cruel. Death just is. It is ultimate fairness, for everything is equal in death. But this power was a sick mockery. It had corrupted the cycle, broken it and twisted the pieces into something cruel and unrecognizable. Like a festering wound. A wound crying out for healing.

Healing.

Of course. I’ve been approaching the problem from the wrong angle. I’ve been trying to remove the scar by cutting it out of the skin. That doesn’t help at all. It just makes an even uglier wound.

I took back control of my body from the beast. Ramming my roots deep into the ground, I began to call upon the energy of the world itself. Spreading them out far and wide, beyond the entropic deadzone.

It came from everywhere. Rushing into me like a river of green and golden light as nature answered my call for help. Every healthy tree, every flower, every seed and blade of grass. Every mushroom and spore in the Everfree forest. All of them answered my call, as if they knew their moment had come at last.

The spectres wailed like the mother of all banshees. Ethereal blades rammed into me. Sending pieces of me flying everywhere as they tried their damndest to flay and dissect me. Entropic corruption rotted away the wood around the stab wounds with frightening speed. But I cared not. My focus was entirely on the world of light.

I still don’t know if I was hallucinating at this point, but I swear I heard music. Like the world itself was humming, singing to me. I began to push the light from my body into the void. The purple veins sucked it all up, hungry for more life to consume. More was exactly what I gave them. The trickle of life became a stream, the stream became a river, and the river became like a tidal wave. More and more life energy, the regenerative power of nature, flooded the entropic roots. They began to bloat, unable to take it all in. Then they began to move, writhing and twisting as if they were being scalded. Inch by inch the black void was pushed back. The veins of entropic power being burned away and replaced with new life.

The spectral horrors twisted and shook as if in the throes of a full blown seizure as I speared the trees they came from with the regenerative powers of life itself. More and more, energy without end. The trunks of the trees began to break. Glowing cracks of golden light appeared all over.

‘No! We are eternal. You cannot… YOU CANNOT!’ howled the icy wind.

“Watch me!” I growled.

With a final burst I rammed home the wrath of nature so long overdue. The trees detonated. A silent explosion of life and magic that swept away the last of the corruption. It exploded upwards into a great vortex of darkness before it dissipated and vanished. When the dust settled and the wind stilled, there was nothing left of the vile, putrid mockeries of vegetation. A single green stalk sprouted from the ground where the cursed trees had been.

New life had begun.

I sank to my knees. Feeling both exhausted and elated at the same time. I had done it, somehow. The Everfree forest would be just that, free. Free of the darkness that had spawned it millenia ago.

Rustling drew my attention. Timberwolves were re-emerging from the forest all around me. Every last one of them. There must have been nearly a hundred. I could feel the entropic force inside of them. It was beginning to fade. Soon they would collapse and they would be gone.

And yet, that did not feel right.

The beast stirred as one of the wolves approached me. It stood facing me. An unspoken question in its eyes. The light inside those eyes was beginning to fade with their waning power.

‘Is this it? Is this the end of the way?’ those eyes seemed to ask.

“Is that not what you wanted? To be free?”

“Perhaps, a new way there is.” the voice of the tree of harmony mumbled in my ears.

I looked around at all the wolves. Now that they were not driven into murderous fury by their cursed masters constant torture they just seemed…. Pitiful. Like shadows of what a wolf should be. What they perhaps could be again.

“Is that what you wish for?”

By way of answer the lead wolf took a step forward and pressed its head against my chest. I had my answer.

Cupping its head in my hands I tapped into the life force of the world once more.

“Bloom.”

Magic and life spread through the wolf, and then jumped to the next one, and the next after that in a chain reaction of rainbow arcs. The rotten wood shook and collapsed, and from the remains emerged something new. Wolves of intricately woven vines. Covered in soft moss and flowing, grass like fur coats, ranging from very dark forest green to prairie grass yellow. Some even had flowers growing along their backs in a dazzling array of colors.

No longer crude mockeries of life, these reborn timberwolves were elegant and majestic. The baleful green of their eyes replaced with a much gentler aqua colored light. Like the shimmer of the ocean. They were renewed.

They were alive.

*****

“Stop!” Celestia commanded. “I’ve heard enough.”

“Princess?”

“What you’re saying is simply not possible. And I refuse to hear any more of this fantasy.”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“Did you honestly think we would buy this story? The Everfree forest and its timberwolves have been around since long before even my sister and I came to power. Hundreds of pony scholars and wizards have tried to lift the curse that holds it in its grip. They could not even determine the source. It cannot be done. There is a mountain of evidence in the Canterlot archives alone to back up that fact. Yet you claim to have lifted it by destroying a few trees.” She said with an angry snort.

“So yes, I am calling you a liar. Though I cannot begin to fathom what you hoped to achieve with this farce.”

“Princess, it’s the truth.” I said, trying to stay calm.

“I said enough! I don’t know what your game is, but it ends now. You are a danger to everypony. And until I can find a way to deal with you I will keep you locked up for everypony’s sake.”

“I’ve dealt with that problem! Why the fuck do you think I went to Zebrica in the first place? To get the help you couldn’t give me. And I found it! I am free of the madness that plagued me. I am in control.”

“I cannot be sure of that. Just like you’ve become very adept at passing yourself off as a pony, who is to say you’ve not become equally skilled at hiding your mad bloodlust.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Do you think she,” I pointed at Trixie, “Would stay with me if I was really some insane monster?”

“She could very well be under your control. I cannot risk it, until we can fully examine you and determine your true mental state, you will be taken to tartarus to await.. ”

“NO!” Trixie said loudly, interrupting Celestia.

“What.. did you say?” Celestia said stiffly. Turning a furious glare towards Trixie.

“I said, no! Trixie will not stand for this. And if you will not hear us out, then we will settle this in the ways of the ancient ponies.”

She stood up straight and looked Celestia right in the eyes.

“I, Beatrix Lobelia Lulamoon, daughter of the house of Lulamoon and heiress apparent, hereby declare Primores Pugnae Magicae! A noble’s magic duel.”