It was a dark and stormy night in Ponyville. A pony screamed: “No, no, NO… I am NOT going into the Ever-Free Forest again. Something bad always happens when we enter there…” The normally meek voice of Fluttershy protested to her gathering of friends while she backed herself into a corner.
“Wow, she really means it!” Pinkie Pie whispered to Rainbow Dash next to her.
“Tell me about it, that was an actually scream instead of her usual whimper...” Dash responded as her and Pinkie watched from the back. It was no surprise which pony of the group was the first to try and reason with the frantic yellow pegasus.
“But Fluttershy, this is an official mission from Princess Celestia. We, and possibly everypony in Equestria, would be in more trouble if we DIDN’T go.” Twilight Sparkle said while, trotting back and forth in her library home; her horn beginning to glow with her magic as she neared the end of her sentence. A scroll, which had been sitting on a nearby desk, floated over to them as she finished speaking. Levitating the letter before her eyes, she began to read it aloud so everypony could hear:
“To my Faithful Student; Twilight Sparkle,
I deeply regret that I must task you once more with a mission of grave importance. There have been several frightful rumors floating around. Speaking of a relic I once thought lost to the ages. It is called the Equestrian Box, and the last time anypony knew of its location was in the area that is now known as the Ever-Free Forest. The box has been known to cause any that open it to be driven completely mad. As you are the closest to the forest, and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, I wish for you and your friends to help me investigate the truth of these rumors. For if there is even the slightest bit of truth to these tales, then the very nature of Equestria itself could be in peril. I have the utmost of faith in you all, as you have proved yourself many times, task after task. My own investigation is already underway, but in such a time of crisis, I must utilize every pony available. However if there is any trouble, send for me immediately. My troops and I will be doing our own investigation at the other end of the forest and will set off to help you without a moment to spare.
Your Proud Teacher:
Princess Celestia.”
Twilight finished narrating the letter she had received to her five friends, her face as serious as ever. “This box could be even more dangerous than Nightmare Moon or Discord, especially if she has this many looking for it already. The Princess is counting on us to help find it and prevent anypony from being hurt by it. As the keepers of the Elements of Harmony, we are the Protectors of Equestria whether some of us like it or not.”
“Much as I hate the idea of going back into that forest, I agree with Twilight.” Applejack chimed in, as she took a step forward “We all need ta do this for the safety of Ponyville and all the rest of Equestria. With the six of us together, there ain’t nothing we can’t do!”
“Oh yeah! I bet we’ll have this box found before the Princess has even made a dent with HER search!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a boast and cocky grin. “Besides, I don’t see why you’re so scared Fluttershy. We’ve all seen what you can do: Dragons, Manticores, and Cockatrices... Why, you’ve handled them all!”
“Well… umm… those were just animals when you get down to it…” Fluttershy said meekly from her Corner, though it was clear she was starting to cave, “Handling animals isn’t that hard… I mean, once you get past their mean exterior… But… This is different… This is a box… A cursed item that can’t be reasoned with… And it’s not just the box… It’s everything else that’s in that forest too... It’s just so unnatural… Any number of bad things could happen to us…”
“But with us all together, nothing bad will really happen!” Pinkie Pie giggled as she leaped forward to comfort her friend “You just stay close to us and we’ll keep you safe from that mean old box!”
“A-alright… If you all say so… I guess it will be alright…” Fluttershy replied meekly once more. Despite the change in her words, her body refused to move from its corner. At least for the moment.
“Good! Now that that is all settled… It IS all settled right?” Twilight asked with a quick glance to Rarity.
“What? You expect me to protest and complain about how dirty tramping through that forest is going to make me? How it’s going to just ruin my new pedicure? I am shocked and appalled that any of you would think that! Surely you all know me better by now!” Rarity demanded, sounding absolutely taken aback by the possible accusations.
“Well, it’s just…” Twilight began, but is cut off by Rarity who simply continues her little rant.
”What? That you think I am too vain to care about the safety of anypony else? You all disappoint me. Besides, if everyone is driven mad, who will admire beauty, or all my handiwork? A girl’s admirers have to have rational sane minds; otherwise they’re just creepy stalkers.” Rarity finishes with an hmph.
The others are unable to do anything but blink in stunned silence at Rarity after that for several minutes before Rainbow Dash places a hoof on her forehead.“And I say Pinkie is the random one...” She mutters.
“Anyhow,” Applejack speaks up, attempting to change the subject before it gets dangerous. “Guess that means it’s settled. Let’s all mosey along and get this over with.”
Outside of the Library the six ponies, along with one baby dragon who up until now had been packing things upstairs, make their way through the darkness of night towards the forest.
“Dear me, was it not storming a few moments ago?” Rarity asked while glancing at the sky. “I was certain I was afraid I’d get wet...” The large umbrella she had pulled from her saddle bags remained floating near her for a few moments more before Rarity decided to put it back.
“You gotta love the efficiency of the Pegasus weather service,” Rainbow Dash replied with a laugh as she pointed to the sky. Above, several different Pegasi were flying about clearing the sky of all the stormy clouds. “Now, If only our mail service was just as reliable...” She added as a blonde and gray cross-eyed Pegasus, carrying a brown satchel crashed into a tree nearby…
“More people should rely on D-Mail” Spike spoke up from his spot upon Twilight’s back.
“D-mail?” Rainbow Dash and a few of the others echoed.
“Yeah, Dragon Mail.” Spike replies while breathing a plume of green fire onto a letter Twilight had given earlier with instructions to the Princess, letting her know they were on their way. “Quick, simple, and much more reliable!”
Pinkie Pie giggled as she seemed to materialize out of nowhere next to him, “Silly Spike, not everypony has access to a baby dragon during these times… But someday there’ll be a baby dragon in every house hold, and then we’ll be able to communicate with each other without ever having to leave our homes!”
The group falls into stunned silence once again, this time with their focus on Pinkie Pie.
“Oh Pinkie, that will NEVER happen. Who would want to stay locked in their houses to speak with others when they can talk face to face?” Twilight asked after a bit of awkward silence.
“Anyway… Let us keep our thoughts on the task at hand. That way we won’t have to spend any more time in the Ever-Free Forest then we have to.”
“So then, where should we start to look for this box, Twi?” Applejack asked.
Twilight hmms softly for a moment before replying. “I think the most logical course of action, is to ask the one pony that knows the Ever-Free Forest better than any of us; Zecora.”
“Sounds like a plan then.”
The group slowly enters the dark and foreboding forest, making their way on the only path that hasn’t been overgrown and taken back to by the unnatural forest. Gnarled trees overlook their every step as they journey deeper and deeper in, in search of the zebra mystic Zecora.
A sudden rustle of leaves causes Fluttershy to panic. “Wh-what was that? So-something is out there…” She says, her blue eyes darting around to watch the trees as she bumps into Applejack.
“Hey now, just settle down. Don’t let the forest get to you. They’re just a bunch of trees. Besides, you wouldn’t want to start Pinkie singing again about them would you?” Applejack says with a playful smile.
“W-well… I wouldn’t mind… I like Pinkie’s songs…”
“HEY! What’s wrong with my songs?” Pinkie asks and she gives and evil eye to Applejack.
“Nothing at all is wrong with them, Pinkie. We just don’t have the time for one of your elaborate musical numbers while that there box is out there. We need to hurry along as much as we can.” Applejack says with a slightly nervous laugh.
“Now, now girls; we can all listen to Pinkie sing later.” Twilight speaks up taking her usual role as mediator to her friends. "But Applejack is right, in that we need to hurry along. Last Time I was here, I got stoned and I really don't want to go through something like that again"
Rainbow Dash can't help but giggle before Fluttershy gasps. "Somepony threw STONES at you!? How awful!"
"What? NO! You were there Fluttershy! You almost got stoned as well!" At this Rainbow Dash completely lost it, and was now on her back laughing up a storm, tears in her eyes.
"Darling, are you sure you don't mean TURNED to stone?" Rarity interjected, attempting to keep the peace.
"Oh! I remember that now." Fluttershy said with relief.
"Exactly! It was horrible! I don't ever want to be stoned again!" This time Applejack couldn't help but snigger as well.
"Most ponies don't Twi." Barely containing her own laughter.
"I don't see what you find so funny about this! What humor is there in being stoned?" By this point Rainbow Dash had managed to collect herself a bit and answered the statement herself.
"Oh, you're right! There certainly isn't anything funny about the image of you being stoned, Right Applejack?"
"Right you are there! Can you just imagine little ol' Twi stoned?" Both managed to keep their cool for a few seconds before they both burst out into laughter again. Twilight, now fed up with this nonsense, simply hmpthed and continued to trot along.
"Heh heh heh heh-" Pinkie Pie echoed her two laughing friends before stopping. "I don't get it..."
“ANYway…” The purple unicorn replies as she tries to keep her calm composure as they continue their trek. “We’ve got to stay focused! Zecora’s cottage is just up ahead. We should be their soon if we don’t get distracted talking about unimportant things.”
“Indeed Twilight. The less time we spend out here, the better.” Rarity says, as she tries to keep calm about being in the Ever-Free Forest. ”Everyone will be better off the sooner we find that box, so let’s all focus on that instead of what might be out there in the shadows waiting to snatch us up, torture us or worse… Ruin our manes…”
Applejack huffs softly “That mare really needs to get her priorities straight…” She says under her breath.
Little did the group know that Fluttershy’s fears were correct; there was indeed a presence watching them as they trekked through the forest. Yellow eyes peer out from the shadows. “My, those little ponies certainly do make a habit of visiting my forest lately.” The voice says to a pair of green eyes. “Maybe it’s time to show ourselves to them, and maybe have a bit of fun while we’re at it…”
“Oh Yes! Let’s do! It’s been too long since I’ve had any ponies to visit Temsik or me. Let’s give them a welcoming they won’t soon forget!” The second younger voice replies eager at the thought of visitors, before both sets of eyes disappear into the shadows to make their arrangements.
After a mostly uneventful walk, with the biggest annoyance being Pinkie trying to figure out the joke, they arrive at the large twisted, hollowed out tree that Zecora has made into her home. A large tribal mask hangs over the door, seeming to stare down at the as they walk up.
“That thing always gives me the creeps…” Fluttershy says as she passes under it and into the hut.
Inside, Zecora looks up from her shelves, where she is going through her herbs to see what needs to be replaced, as the group enters. “Welcome! Welcome unexpected friends of mine! Though I must ask what brings you here during night time?”
“I’m sorry that we are here so late at night, but it’s of grave importance; and you’re the only one we know that might be able to help us.” Twilight apologizes to the Zebra.
“No trouble at all Twilight dear! Please make yourselves comfortable as you tell me why you’re here.” Zecora replies with a pleasant smile.
Twilight shakes her head. “I’m afraid we haven’t the time, Zecora. We need to know all you know about The Equestrian Box.”
Zecora’s face became suddenly serious at the words Twilight spoke. With a quiet steady tone she replied. “Such an artifact I know of it’s true. Though I never imagined I’d be asked about it by you. The object you inquire is a thing of great danger. The reason you even wish to know of it I admit find even stranger...”
“Princess Celestia believes that it is in the Ever-Free Forest, and could be a danger to all of Equestria. She’s asked us to aid her in finding it.” Twi says as she trots over to the Zebra, the rest of her friends watching quietly as she speaks with the strange zebra.
“Such a thing you should not seek! No telling the chaos that it could wreak!” Zecora replies as she backs away bumping her shelf, but luckily nothing falls over.
“Please Zecora...” Twilight pleaded. “I promise you that if Princess Celestia is looking for it even now, then it’s already a danger! We simply wish to prevent it from causing any damage.”
Zecora sighs softly. “Very well my dear friend. I’ll tell you what I know to the end. But at promise from you if you would be so kind. When you find this box, an end to its terror you will provide.”
Twilight nods. “I promise you. That is the mission Princess Celestia has given us.”
“Then listen carefully to my tale. I know of only one way in which you may prevail. In this forest indeed is the box you seek. But the path to find it is not for the weak! Much older is this artifact then you think. Shortly after the Nightmare War can you find records of it in ink. Legends tell of its power so bad. The ability to drive anypony quite mad! If the tales are true, then they pertain. The box’s location is a city known as Shadow Mane. How one might travel to a place so strange, I must admit is information I’ve yet to obtain.
“This forest you know is very large, and thus when you travel it you must always be on guard. As such there are many places within it I must say, that even I hesitate to stray. But fear not my little pony friend. One tidbit of info I have managed to apprehend.
“In the ruins of Old Canterlot. There are tales of a fox statue seemingly left there to rot. Seemingly out of place this thing might be. It is the very thing that might aid thee. Tales say that if this statue you appease. The way to Shadow Mane can be found with ease! A fox this will summon, but beware he can be rather scrappy. Though if you wish to succeed you must seek to make him happy. Only when he feels generous may he decide to sway, and send out a North Star to point the way. This is the only means I fear, for the path to Shadow Mane to become clear.”
Fluttershy seems relieved for once about a part of the quest. “At last! Something I can actually deal with! I’m sure I can convince a cute little foxy to show us the way!” She replies with a bit of glee.
Zecora looks over to Fluttershy and scoffs. “Do not treat him like the cover of a book. You’d be wise not to be fooled by how he may look. Though harmless enough he tends to be. For those who seek him he extracts a fee. Tricks and games he loves the most. In short he is not the most helpful a Host...”
Fluttershy’s mood soured. “Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good...”
“Hey come now Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash interjected. “You have a real gift with animals! No way this fox won’t like you!”
“B-but the animals at the grand galloping gala didn’t like me much... What if it’s like that again?” Fluttershy asked clearly worried.
“Aw, that was a whole bunch of animals. This is just one. After all, look how good you’ve gotten getting Angel to do what you need him to! After him this fox should be a cake walk!”
Fluttershy was silent for a few moments before smiling “You’re right! I can handle such animals! I’m certain I can make this fox see reason!”
Rainbow Dash laughed while slapping Fluttershy confidently on her back “That’s the spirit! If he tries to cause US any problems, you’ll just stare him down! Everything will be fine! You can do it!”!”
Zecora nods “Very well my friends, I wish you luck. I pray for you safety with so much running amuck...” She pauses for a moment and then rushes over to shelf and gets a flask. “Before you leave a token for thee. If your senses are clouded, this shall grant Clarity.”
Twilight nods “Thank you so much, Zecora.” She says and levitates the flask over to Spike. “Make sure to store this carefully Spike. I’m sure we’ll need it at some point.”
“You got it Twi!” Spike replies and places it in one of her satchels as she and the others leave and head once more into the deep darkness of the Ever-Free Forest.
As Zecora watched them go she sent out a silent prayer. “So long my friends and god speed. For I fear much more then luck this night you’ll need...” With that she shut the door, once again going to her shelves to organize the contents.
Leaving Zecora’s cabin behind, the group of intrepid ponies traveled deeper and deeper into the Everfree Forest, the light of the moon starting to grow fainter as the twisted trees obscured the night sky. A light fog starting to roll seeming to silence the world around them like a blanket. The normal noises of the forest fading into nothingness...
“I-I don’t like this… I-It’s quiet…” Fluttershy stuttered softly as she looked around nervously.
“What? Now you’re scared when the forest isn’t making noises?” Rainbow Dash Asked with a roll of her eyes.
“No… Fluttershy is right…” Pinkie Pie says a bit more quietly then is usual for her, “My Pinkie Sense is acting up…” As if on cue her knees began to wobble a bit. “Uh-Oh pinchy knees… Something Scary is about to happen…”
“Alright girls, be on your guard.” Twilight orders quickly. Without a word the group reforms into a circular pattern to be able to watch as much of their surroundings as possible. Their eyes darting every which way. Still, a fallen tree suddenly rising into the air and flying at you is something nopony would expect, so it wasn’t a surprise that Twilight was nearly caught off guard.
”Scatter!” Twilight yelled as the six spread out quickly. Unfortunately Applejack was a bit to slow to react, the tree plowing straight into her.
“Ugh… I’ve bucked plenty of trees in my time, but never have I had one buck me.” She groaned before getting back on her hooves, stumbling only slightly.
Pinkie Pie can’t help but giggle. “In Everfree Forest, Tree Bucks you!”
“This is no time for jokes Pinkie!” Applejack grumbles as the tree starts to lift back up, “That tree ain’t done with us yet!”
It flies towards Pinkie this time, gaining speed. Twilight watched it steadily as it passed through one of the few slim beams of light from the moon above, having found a way through the thick overhead of leaves. All the ready to alter it’s course with magic in the event that Pinkie was unable to doge it. Though she’d be surprised if Pinkie didn’t.
She never got the chance to see Pinkie’s reaction at all. Much to a different surprise, the tree immediately wobbled as if struck and fell harmlessly to the ground.
“... What the?” Applejack asked staring at the fallen again tree.
“Did... Did it loose interest or something?” Rarity asked next.
Twilight couldn’t figure it out either. It was coming right at them, only to fall shortly after hitting a beam of... Moonlight... Her eyes were drawn to the surrounding shadows, as they seemed to flicker ever so slightly... “UMBRA!” Twilight called out rather suddenly, causing her friends, minus Pinkie, to jump.
“But I didn’t bring an umbrella.” Pinkie Pie replied giving her an odd look.
“No, Umbra! Creatures of living shadow! They can only exist where there is no light! They don’t have any physical form of their own, so they overshadow objects and sometimes creatures to attack. Only light is able to drive them out. Rarity we need light spells and quick! Between the two of us, we should be able to hold them off!
“Indeed Twilight, we can’t let some drab shadows show us up.” She replies as both her and Twilight create magical funnels of light with their horns. In the illumination they can see vaguely pony-like shapes shudder and recall in pain as the light hits them.
“Can’t you just make a big flash thingy or something Twi?” Applejack asks while looking around. She’d be darned if another tree got HER tonight.
“Not unless you want to announce to every creature of the forest where we are!” Twilight called back, attempting to focus just enough light to drive the creatures away.
Rainbow Dash was beside Fluttershy almost instantly. “Come on! Let’s try clearing some of those branches to shed more light on this fight!”
“A-Alright…” Fluttershy replied softly before both took to the sky.
Pinkie Pie watched them fly up before calling out herself. “Oh! Oh! What should I do!?” She asked,
Applejack was quick to reply in Twilight’s Stead. “You’re with me on perimeter detail. Make sure these umbremacallits don’t hit Twi or Rarity with no flying objects!” She called out before bucking away a rock that had come dangerously close to hitting Rarity.
“Okie Doki Loki!” Pinkie said with a salute as she attempted to divert the path of any trees, rocks, or other miscellaneous things that came their way. Between her and Applejack, nothing came anyway near the two unicorns. However their light spells, while effective, were just not enough to drive the threat away. They couldn’t keep this up forever.
“Rainbow, not to be a nag or anything, but now would be a good time to... ‘Shed’ some light on our plight?” Rarity managed to call up to the two pegasai as she did her best to keep up with Twilight.
“We’re trying!” Rainbow called back before being swatted away by yet another tree branch. The Umbra weren’t foolish, they knew exactly what the ponies were trying to do, and were making certain the two had no luck in clearing any branches.
“We-We can’t get near the branches!” Fluttershy called out, stealing a glance at her friends below. “What are we going to do Dash!? They can’t keep that up for much longer!”
“I know! I know!” Rainbow yelled in frustration. Even with her speed, it’d be nearly impossible to out race a shadow! Especially in all this darkness! How on Equestria were they going to manage this? Maybe they could try something else? Was it possible to blow the leaves away with their wings? No, it’d take many more pegasai to do that! Besides, it wasn’t like their wing flaps caused that much of a gust effect anyway. Heck it’d probably take all the pegasai in Ponyville to create that kind of gust! Like the time they made that tornado to funnel the water up to...
Rainbow’s eyes lit up as an idea struck her. She may not be an egghead like Twilight, no offense to Twilight of course, but she could still come up with a pretty good idea from time to time.
“Fluttershy!” She yelled, getting as close to the yellow pegasus as she could. “The Cloudsdale funnel!” It only took a few seconds for Fluttershy to pick up on what Rainbow Dash was suggesting. With a confident nod, she flew away, ready to take her position.
Making sure she was just the right distance from her friend, Fluttershy gave small wave of her hoof before beginning to fly in a perfect circle. It took both of them a few moments to get in the right rhythm of things, but before long they were both spinning at the exact same speed, and the exact same distance from each other. As their speed increased, a small whirlwind began to form, its winds tearing at the surrounding leaves. Before long it was tearing large clumps from their perches, bathing the area below in light.
The Umbra gave up almost immediately after that, unable to stand both the light from the unicorns, as well as the natural light of the moon. Finding it easier to retreat back from wench they came. The six friends watched them go with hesitation, before sighing in relief.
“Alright, everypony I think we need to stop here for a bit.” Twilight spoke up, deciding this was a good time to take a break. She also wanted to make sure that everypony was okay after that battle. “That got a bit intense, and I feel that we’re going to need to be at our all to face whatever awaits us in old Canterlot.”
Her friends nodded as they all found a place to settle down, Applejack and Pinkie combing the trees to insure they were still safe. Fluttershy got to work looking over each of her friends, eager to provide first aid if required. Rarity had found a nice rock clear of dirt and grim that she decided to settle herself atop. As for Twilight, she was already eager to get this over with. That had not been a fun encounter, and she knew that the night’s events had likely only just begun.
