Chapter 7

“Why are you seeking for answers to what you don't even know?”

Hello, hello. You're 0.01 second late, but that doesn't matter now, does it? Come on in. Oh, by the way, it's my sister's birthday today! I've made her a gift, all neatly wrapped with a pink ribbon on top, her favourite color, and stuffed it inside of her mailbox at 3am in the morning. I'm sure she'll love the gift I've sent her!

What is it? It's a heart! No, not those paper cutout ones. A literal heart. What? It's not disgusting, it's how I show somebody I care! Well, I did some sort of murdered an innocent rabbit... But... Uh, let's forget about that.

Run away if you'd like, but knowing you, you won't, won't you? Hah, knew it. You want to hear the end of the story, don't you? We're not even close to the end. I'll go prepare something for us to drink, some tea perhaps? No? Coffee then? Water? Seriously? Again? You need some taste in your life, kid. Give tea a try, coffee too, maybe? Okay, fine, fine... Water it is.

Oh, by the way, don't look under the couch. I forgot to dispose of... Well, you know. And yes, I did purposely put it under the couch you've chosen since day one. Choose a different one if you'd like!

☽ ♕ ☾

“I really have to take a shower once I get back home... I stink!” Rarity grumbled as she walked uncomfortably through the forest. Some mud had gotten into her shoe. “Why does the forest have to be so extremely muddy?”

Her hair was a mess, leaves were stuck on it, and whenever she tried to take them off, it hurts. Something was holding the leaves and her hair together. Honey? Sap? She didn't know. Her once cleaned dress was now covered in mud and dirt, and looked as if she'd gotten it from a dump.

“I regret my decision to come in here,” she mumbled to herself.

“Another one of you kids! Oh, bravo for me! I've found another!” A voice cheered.

Rarity turned around to see who it was, but saw nothing. “I must be imagining things,” she told herself.

“Nope, you're wide awake. I'm not an illusion either. I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere!” The voice exclaimed.

Rarity didn't know where the voice came from, but the voice sounded as if it was coming from inside of her head. “How is this possible?”

“It is.”

Rarity was extremely surprised that it could know what she was thinking. She searched the area frantically, “Where are you?”

“Up here,” the voice was can be heard from up in the sky. “Down here,” now it was coming from the ground. “North, south, east and west,” the voice continued as it can be heard circling around Rarity. “Lastly, in your head.”

“Leave me alone!” Rarity screamed.

The voice laughed, “If your voice was any higher, I bet you could break a glass window or something!” Soon after, the voice had stopped laughing, and the tone in its voice sounded serious. “Look here,” the voice said before rephrasing itself, “No. Listen here.”

Rarity silenced herself.

“I know where your friends are. And I know what your desires are,” the voice said. “All of your friends are scattered around the forest, like mice lost in a maze. Some are in trouble, while some are heading towards trouble. And you, on the other hand, want to avoid these ‘trouble’ am I right?”

Rarity slowly nodded her head.

“From what I can see, you're a mess,” the voice laughed, as if it was mocking Rarity. “But I could fix you right up...”

“Fix me right up?” Rarity questioned.

“Well, yes! You want to go home, do you not?”

Rarity looked away, she did indeed wanted to go home. “Of course,” she said.

“Hm... Let's say that I'll transport all of you home, if only you do me a little favor?” the voice asked.

Rarity backed away, this doesn't sound good. She had a bad feeling about this.

“Scared?”

“Of course I am,” Rarity glared at nowhere in particular. She had a feeling whatever was talking to her could see her. “Not everyday will a voice without a physical body will talk to you, you know?”

The voice laughed. “Most would be running in fear. But somehow, you and your little friends did not. Why is that?”

“How would I know,” Rarity shrugged.

The voice went silent for a mere while, “Do you want to make a deal with me?”

“I'm sorry, but I don't make... Deals,” Rarity said.

“You're just like that nerd girl! Smart! But you're smarter!” the voice laughed. Rarity noticed that the voice had been laughing a lot. “Since I've failed to make a deal with you, there's nothing more for me to do with you. See ya around!” And with that, the voice vanished and never came back.

“See me around...” Rarity repeated it in her mind over and over again. She had a feeling that she might come across whatever that voice was someday soon, in the future. “What a creep,” she said with a disgusted expression on her face. “If you can hear me, don't bother showing yourself ever again! Or talk to me, in fact!” She shouted to the forest, hoping that the voice could hear her.

She crossed her arms and glared at a deer nearby, “What are you staring at?” She hissed at the deer before it ran off.

She continued her search without much of a problem. Except, she did complained about how dirty the place is every now and then. From time to time, she would take her phone out from her purse to check the time.

“The battery's almost dead,” she let out a sigh as she stared at the percentage of her phone. It said ‘15%’. She kept her phone back into her purse and held her stomach, she was hungry. She looked around the area for anything to eat. Berries, fruits, whatever she could find that's edible.

“If I'd knew I would be lost in the forest for more than a day, I would've packed more sandwiches,” she thought to herself. Her stomach was now grumbling.

☽ ♕ ☾

“Check this out!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she pointed to an old broken down hut in the middle of the forest.

“What's a hut doing here?” Fluttershy questioned.

Rainbow Dash shrugged, “I don't know, but I doubt anybody lived there. Hey, this gave me a great idea, let's go loot the place!” She exclaimed as she ran excitedly towards the hut.

“H-hold on!” Fluttershy squeaked as she tried her best to keep up with her friend. Fluttershy stopped beside of Rainbow Dash and held her shoulder, “What... What if something's in there?”

“Are you scared?” Rainbow Dash smirked.

“Well... No? Yes? I...” Fluttershy stammered.

Rainbow Dash let out a small laugh before dragging Fluttershy into the hut. Everything in the hut looked broken down and old. “Whoa...” Rainbow Dash looked around the area. She searched through the bookshelves, only to find books of ancient history and folklore. “Meh, boring,” she said as she tossed them onto the ground.

Fluttershy pointed to one of the books that were different from any other, “Look at this one.”

Rainbow Dash walked towards Fluttershy and stared at the book she was pointing at. The book had no title and no author, and had three golden diamonds at the front cover of the book. Rainbow Dash opened the book and flipped through the pages, she couldn't understand a thing that was written in there.

“What's this? This doesn't even make any sense!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, tossing the book to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy looked at the book and closed it, staring at the cover. “Maybe it's important?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged, “I don't know, maybe it is, maybe it's not. I'm not keeping it. It's boring when you don't understand a thing.”

Fluttershy kept the book inside of her bag and followed wherever Rainbow Dash was heading. They were walking down a spiral stairs, leading to the basement. “Creepy and scary,” Rainbow Dash had a smile on her face, “Cool! I like it!” She had always been the type for adventures.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, was shivering non-stop. “I-i-i don't think it's... A... G-good idea to g– Eep!” Fluttershy hid behind of Rainbow Dash when she heard something fell onto the ground.

Clank.

“I think we should go back!” Fluttershy quickly said.

Rainbow Dash laughed, “Maybe it's just a rat. Nothing to worry about,” she said as she continued walking down the spiral stairs.

Clank.

“I really don't...” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Don't worry about it, Shy. I'm here, okay?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I know... But I do–”

Footsteps.

“Somebody's there, Rainbow! Somebody's there!” Fluttershy screamed as she shook Rainbow Dash by her shoulders.

“Fluttershy! Calm down!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she was being shook back and forth, “Let me go!”

More footsteps. Much more louder. They're coming closer.

Fluttershy stopped and she froze at the spot.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh as she looked at Fluttershy, “Don't do that again.”

Fluttershy didn't speak.

Rainbow Dash waved her hand in front of Fluttershy's face, “Hello? Earth to Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy raised her hand, pointing to something behind of Rainbow Dash. Her mouth shivered, and all she said was, “Monster.”

Rainbow Dash turned to look behind, and she fell onto the steps. She looked back at Fluttershy, who was still frozen in fear. “Should've listened to her, that's what Rainbow thought to herself.

The creature that stood before them was covered in darkness, and only their eyes glowed in the dark. “Who dares to step into my territory?” The creature said in a deep, loud voice as it echoed in the room.

Rainbow gulped, “We're gonna die. We're gonna die. We're totally gonna die.”

☽ ♕ ☾

“This had been on my mind for a while now... Actually, it's been on my mind since yesterday,” Twilight started.

Pinkie spun around and stopped to face Twilight. “What is it?” She questioned.

“Remember how Rainbow, you and I shared the same dream last night? Don't you find it odd how we're able to share that one dream? I mean, it doesn't make any sense!” Twilight exclaimed, waving her hands in the air. “People don't normally share dreams, and if they do, there's only a 0.000000001% chance!”

“That's a lot of zeros,” Pinkie whistled.

“But that's not the case,” Twilight said.

Pinkie tilted her head, “Then what is?”

“What's up with last night? With all the cannons and streamers? Floating bubble shaped nuggets, balloons with creepy faces drawn on it, chicken riding a scooter, and how in the world did you load those cannons with PEOPLE?!”

“Psh! It's a dream, Twilight. Anything could happen!” Pinkie said.

“Yes, I know. But PEOPLE STUFFED IN CANNONS?! What's going on in your mind, Pinkie?” Twilight flicked Pinkie's forehead with her finger. “You're one of a kind, Pinkie... One of a kind. I don't think I'll be able to understand you the way you want me to.”

Pinkie laughed as she rubbed her forehead, “You don't have to if you don't want to!”

Twilight let out a sigh. “Well, anyways... We're here,” she said, pointing to the crystallized part of the forest.

Pinkie ran in front of Twilight and examined the area, “Ohhh, shiny!”

“Yes, yes. Let's find that... Rainbow crystal, was it?”

Pinkie nodded her head.

“Yeah, let's find that and give it to that unicorn,” Twilight said, already searching the area.

“We don't even know how it looks like,” Pinkie said.

Twilight shrugged, “It's a rainbow crystal. Find a crystal that's rainbow-colored.”

Pinkie stood still and observed her surroundings. The lights reflected on the crystals were making the crystals looked as if they were rainbow-colored. She squinted her eyes, “Yeah... Find for a rainbow-colored one...” She mumbled. She turned to Twilight, “All of them look rainbow enough for me, couldn't we just pick one and give it to her?”

“Ah... It's not that easy,” Twilight said, sighing as she walked towards Pinkie. She laid her hand on her shoulder, “Listen here, Pinkie. This is like some sort of trade. Two parties must have the exact thing the other party request for, and if one of them doesn't have the thing the other party wants, then it's cancelled. Something like a deal, if you'd like to call it.”

“I see! Okay, I got it!” Pinkie exclaimed, giving Twilight a thumbs up.

Twilight walked pass Pinkie and begun looking around the crystallized forest for the rainbow crystal. “I wonder if it's a rare crystal?” Twilight questioned herself.

“Maybe,” Pinkie shrugged as she followed Twilight from behind, searching the right side, while Twilight was searching the left side. “I don't see any rainbow crystal here. Other than one colored ones,” Pinkie said as she picked up a blue crystal. She then picked up a green one and looked at it for a good while.

Twilight turned to her, “Pinkie, stop wasting time.”

“This may be a silly idea,” Pinkie said as she scatter around, finding all six different colored crystals. “But what happens if we combine all six colors to one crystal?”

Twilight placed her finger under her chin. “That might... Actually work,” she said. “Pinkie, you're a genius!” She exclaimed as she placed both hands on both sides of Pinkie's shoulders.

“I know I am!” Pinkie laughed proudly.

Twilight turned away from her friend and begun pacing around. “The question is... How do we combine all the colors from six different crystals to one?” She begun mumbling to herself. “We could melt them, but we got nothing to melt them with...”

“How about using some fire magic?” Pinkie suggested.

“One wrong move and it could melt this whole forest down,” Twilight said, shaking her head. It wasn't a good idea. “Even burn the rest of the forest,” she later added.

“Oh...”

“Does the diary say anything about rainbow crystals?” Twilight questioned.

Pinkie placed the crystals on the floor and took the diary out of her bag. She begun flipping through the pages, searching for an entry that tells anything about rainbow crystals. “Ah-hah! Found it!” She exclaimed, pointing to the page.

‘September 12, I've returned to the crystallized part of the forest to find out what had caused part of the forest to turn into crystals. Honestly speaking, it's magical. I have yet to find anything that may or may not cause the forest to turn into crystals. The funny thing is that some crystals are bendable, but are hard as rock. Why is that? I brought some back with me in order to analyze it. What they're made of, and how are they the way they are.’

“This got nothing about the rainbow crystals,” Twilight said.

Pinkie shushed her and begun reading through the book.

‘There are multiple colored crystals in the forest, from red to purple. My sibling believed that something could be made using these crystals. I kept telling her that nothing could be created, and we should leave the crystals, but she insisted I bring them back... So I did. Surprisingly, it did made something stunningly beautiful. A rainbow crystal. We've tried everything to cut it, burn it, smash it and destroy it, but not even a scratch was made.’

“So... The rainbow crystal isn't something to be found, but something to be made,” Pinkie said quietly.

“I thought we've already established that?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

Pinkie let out a nervous laughter, “I didn't thought it was true.”

“From what I read and see, it's more or less true.”

‘The rainbow crystal was kept by my sibling, who refused to show it to the world, saying that some selfish people may learn to make it for themselves and create a weapon of mass destruction to rule the world. I laughed at the idea of that. Who in the world would do that? My sibling kept the steps to make the rainbow crystal hidden somewhere... I'm not too sure where, but I have to say, wherever she kept it, she kept it good.’

Twilight flipped the diary off of Pinkie's hands.

Pinkie looked at Twilight with her eyebrows raised high. “What was that for?!”

Twilight clapped her hands together and walked towards the diary, picking it up and handing it over to Pinkie. “All we have to do is find wherever this guy's sibling kept the steps in making a rainbow crystal, and we're out of here. Should be simple, right?”

Pinkie glared at her before opening the diary once more. She flipped through the pages, in search for more answers.

Twilight turned back to her, “What are you doing?”

“Maybe whoever wrote this found the thing later on?” Pinkie shrugged.

“Whatever you say, do what you want,” Twilight let out a sigh.

Pinkie did what she did.

‘November 30, I'm so stupid. The paper was kept in my sibling's shoebox. Who would've thought? I'm taking it away and keeping it somewhere else. I need it for... Research purposes. I'm heading back to my lab with this.’

The next page has a few burnt parts.

‘November 31, phew! My goodness, I'm never doing that again. Don't ever mess with mutant lava creatures. Ever. I thought it was a good idea to rid myself and my sibling of that rainbow crystal by throwing it into a lava, but no. It doesn't work. That lava creature now has an amazing crystal for an eye. It sparkles too! You know, I shouldn't be writing this in the middle of crisis.’

Part of the paper was burnt, and was unreadable.

‘December 1, yesterday was an adventure. Luckily, the paper is still with me... It's not here! I swore I brought it back with me! Oh shoot, where is it? I need it! Did I left it back at the lab? Dang... I would have to get through that lava creature once more... Urgh.’

“Found anything yet?” Twilight questioned.

Pinkie flipped through the other pages before answering. It looked to her that from that day onwards, whoever wrote the diary did not return back to the lab, and failed to retrieve the paper. “I think I may've found where they kept the paper at,” Pinkie smiled.

“Where is it?” Twilight asked.

“The laboratory!” Pinkie exclaimed, tossing the book into the air and caught it in her arms as it fell. “But problem is, I have no idea where it is!”

“Woo... Another adventure! How exciting,” Twilight said sarcastically. She then crossed her arms, “Well, where did you last fell into the laboratory?”

“When we're separated from each other,” Pinkie answered.

“Do you think we can recreate the scene and make you fall into the laboratory again?” Twilight questioned.

Pinkie thought of it for a while. Honestly, she didn't know.

“This whole place is weird and strange. It's filled with abnormalities, as you've said. Magical stuff too,” Twilight pointed to the grimoire. “So maybe if we separate from each other, you'll fall into the same place you've fell into the previous time?”

“Maybe... It's worth a shot,” Pinkie nodded her head.

“Okay then, guess we better get running,” Twilight said.

“Why?”

“Because that's what we did before. Chased by Timberwolves, separated from each other and got lost in the forest separately,” Twilight answered.

“Right... But we're not being chased by any Timberwolves right now.”

Twilight shrugged, “I don't think it really matters if we're chased by Timberwolves.”

“If you say so,” Pinkie said.

“On the count of three, we split,” Twilight said, readying herself to run.

Pinkie did too, but she was running from the opposite direction from where Twilight was heading to.

“One.”

“You sure it will work?” Pinkie questioned.

“This place is magical and stuff, many things happen without a warning,” Twilight said.

“Two.”

“True,” Pinkie agreed.

“Three!”

And the both of them took off in different directions.

☽ ♕ ☾

Applejack had a great sleep. Nothing disturbed her, nobody disturbed her... Well, except for Steve, cause' he's just doing his job. Keeping an eye on her and make sure she didn't slack off, like she did. Looks to me that Steve isn't doing a great job.

Applejack whistled, she was in a great mood. In just one day, she had already collected three days worth of food for the gnomes, with the help of Steve's direction and a few forest animals. “Gotta say, we're finding loads of berries and fruits than yesterday!” Applejack exclaimed.

Steve coughed and cleared his throat. It still hurts from screaming. “Well, yeah. I'm surprised you collected this much with all the slacking you did yesterday. Boy... My throat hurts,” he said while rubbing his neck.

“Yer fault when ya think yer can wake me up with yer noisy screaming,” Applejack laughed. She had been using her hat to hold the berries and fruits up till now, and she gotta admit, that made her food collecting days much more easier.

“I don't like you,” Steve hissed. “Quickly finish up the job and leave, will you? I would be more than happy to not see your face ever again.”

“Ah wish ya ill tidings before ah leave. Don't ya worry,” Applejack snickered.

Not much talking was done between Applejack and Steve. Just bickering and insults. They stopped by the gnome village whenever Applejack's gathered enough food, and she'll leave the food in a silo the gnomes had built. Things was progressing really well in her opinion.

“If ah keep this up, ah could leave the gnomes to whatever they're doing after tomorrow,” Applejack thought to herself as she continued searching for berries and fruits.

A few hours passed, and she had found something. A wagon. Applejack walked closer to the wagon and inspected it at all sides, “It doesn't look like it's been left here to rot,” she said. The wagon looked brand new. “Could somebody else be here?” She looked at Steve.

Steve shrugged, “Many people come and go.”

Applejack took a peek inside the wagon and found a pile of berries and fruits. “Whoa, check this out!” She motioned Steve to look inside the wagon.

Steve slowly walked to her, “Why? There's snakes in there?” He asked jokingly. When he joined Applejack and saw what's inside the wagon, his mouth was wide open. “Whoa! This could last us for more than a week!” He exclaimed happily. “Let's take it!”

“What? No! That's stealing,” Applejack said, crossing her arms.

“Nobody's using it, it's practically out here for grabs,” Steve said, already taking the berries and fruits out of the wagon. “Come on, you don't want to stay here any longer than you've already have, right?”

“Stealing's still bad,” Applejack glared.

“Not listening to you,” Steve said as he walked away into the forest. “I'm going to bring this back to the village. You stay there and make sure nobody takes the food.”

Applejack rolled her eyes at him, “You'll get in trouble.”

“No. It's we'll get in trouble. You're in this too,” Steve said before disappearing into the forest.

Applejack took her time and look inside of the wagon. The wagon was filled with boxes of fruits and berries. But something else caught her eyes. A book. The book had a dark blue colored hard cover and a golden cloud symbol at the front cover. Below the symbol were words... Of some sort. Applejack couldn't make them out, they were already faded.

Applejack opened the book, but all the words were scribbled out. “What in tarnation is this suppose to be?” She questioned herself as she flipped through the pages. Everything in the book was scribbled out, and can't be read. She couldn't even make out a single word behind all the scribbles. She closed the book and looked at the cover at every angle, “Could there be some sort of secret?”

As she was handling the book, a piece of paper fell out of it. She picked it up. Words were written at the top left, saying ‘Rainbow Crystal’. Applejack raised her eyebrow when she read that word. The paper had a step-by-step instruction on how to make a rainbow crystal of your own.

“Rainbow crystal? The hay's that suppose to be?” Applejack questioned as she stared at the paper.

“I'm back!” Steve called out.

Applejack stuffed the paper back into the book and put the book inside a backpack she'd found on the wagon. “How fast,” she said.

“Of course. I know my ways around this forest, from short-cuts to long-cuts, you name it!” Steve exclaimed. He walked to the wagon, “Pass me more of those berries,” he said.

Applejack carried the backpack and eyed Steve, “Why're ya so willing to help me now?”

“I'm not. Don't get me wrong. These food can last us gnomes for weeks! This is an opportunity that can't be wasted! Plus, it could get me promoted!” Steve said.

“Ah see,” Applejack said, crossing her arms. “So, yer going to take all these back to the village yourself?”

“You're still coming with me,” Steve said.

“Wouldn't it be much better if ya found some sort of deer to pull the wagon?” Applejack pointed to the saddle and rope tied around the wagon.

“Great idea!” Steve clapped his hands. “I'll get right to it!” And he walked back into the woods before coming back with a deer. “Meet Jeffrey,” he gestured to the deer.

Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Jeffrey?”

“Me and him go a long way. Am I right, Jeff?” He nudged Jeffrey, the deer, on the hoof. “Well, Jeff, if you would be so kind as to help a dear old friend, could you please help drag that wagon back to my village?”

The deer said nothing and walked to the wagon.

Applejack stared at the deer, then back at Steve. “What?” She questioned.

“Saddle him up, duh!” Steve said.

Applejack let out a sigh and did as she was told. “Do ya think the owner will kill us if he or she saw us stealing their wagon?”

“Most likely, yes, but it doesn't matter,” Steve replied.

A few minutes ride and their back at the village.

“Brought ya a week's worth of food, as we agreed,” Applejack said.

The gnome with the longest beard walked towards her, “Yes, and you can leave.”

“Not even a thank you?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, sure, thank you,” the gnome said.

Applejack let out a smile and she walked back into the forest. Once she'd reached deep enough in the forest, or far from the village, she took out the book she'd found from her bag and took a good look at the paper. “Rainbow crystals, huh? Wonder what those are.”

She then looked at the pages of the book, “Couldn't understand a darn thing with this!” She growled.

☽ ♕ ☾

Hey, listen here. I'm going to change the promise a bit. Remember me promising you about telling you everything you want to know after I'm done telling the story? Well... I want to change it a tad bit. Instead of me telling you answers after I finished telling the story, I will tell you everything you want to know, from informations to answers, during my own time.

What do you take me for? Of course I'm not breaking the promise. It's just been changed! So, technically it's not broken, because you'll still get everything you want from me answered and told.

No, you don't have to tell me your questions. I already know what they are, and I'll answer them during my own time. Expect some answers from me after a few visits or so. Who knows when will I answer your question? Only I do, and I promise you, I will answer whatever you want to know from me honestly without a lie.

Oh, that wasn't what I wanted to tell you. The thing I wanted to tell you was that I'm going to end it here for now. Some kids in town requested me to tell them a story of fairytales, and they're coming for a visit tomorrow, and the day after that and so on. I'll call you once I'm free, then we'll continue with the story.

What? You thought you were the only one who asked for a story? Don't be silly, you're one of them, not the only one. Now, that's all I have to say and tell for today. Go on, run along. Your friends are waiting for you outside. Yes, I've called them. Told them you wanted to murder somebody. They sound excited.

Just messing with you, kid! Don't take me so seriously! But really, your friends are outside, go join them.

Author's Note

☪ I'm going on hiatus for a while, probably weeks, maybe months, who knows? Not going into detail on why I'm going on hiatus, but I bet all, if not, most of you all will know the reason. Reality and stuff, it's harsh, ain't it? Well, until then, the status would be changed to ‘hiatus’.