Making their way through the Everfree Forest after half an hour had passed, everything became quiet. Flurry Heart and Apple Bloom were still hot on the trail, but they still had a ways to go. The only form of sounds that kept them company were the animals that scurried throughout the forest as well as rustling that came from the bushes. Apple Bloom kept Flurry Heart close to her side so that she wouldn’t lose her, but the latter kept ahead of the former and continued sensing the magic as they moved.

“Have we gotten closer yet?” Apple Bloom asked.

“No. There are many sources of magic, but I can’t feel any of Aunty’s or Mommy’s magic. I hope they are alive.” Flurry Heart said in a worried tone.

“They are. Nopony would kill anypony this important if they had a reason. And knowing them, they have been through far worse than this.” Apple Bloom affirmed.

“I know, but I can’t feel any of it. All that I can feel is this scary magic up ahead of us and I have no idea why… but it feels… familiar.” Flurry Heart shivered.

“That’s because it’s the same magic that you felt before when you were a foal. Only that goes far beyond magic.” Apple Bloom said as she looked around the woods.

“What do you mean…?” Flurry Heart said, starting to get worried.

“You’ll see when we get closer.” Apple Bloom said, still surveying the area.

Flurry Heart had no idea what Apple Bloom meant by it, but continued to press on into the woods. Along the way, they began to hear rustling in the bushes. Only it was louder than the critters that usually roamed the lands. Walking through the woods, Apple Bloom accidentally stepped into something. Looking down, it appeared to be a puddle of blood. The earth pony told the alicorn princess to look away before she dug her hooves into the puddle. Reaching into it, Apple Bloom pulled it out and it appeared to be the corpse of a freshly-killed squirrel.

“Did you find something, Apple Bloom…?” Flurry Heart asked, still keeping her eyes averted.

Picking up the smell of various creatures surrounding them, Apple Bloom grabs Flurry Heart and whispers,

“Stay by me until I say run.”

“O-Okay…” Flurry Heart responded, starting to feel scared.

Sweat trickled down Apple Bloom as she readied her spear. Batting her eyes everywhere for enemies, she kept a cool head and waited for the ambush. She and Flurry Heart slowly walked across, keeping themselves quiet while keeping an eye out for the ambushes. But as they kept moving, Flurry Heart heard more rustling in the bushes. Only this time, it was accompanied by a deep growling noise. She looked closer and spotted a pair of glowing, slit eyes in the bushes. Flurry Heart watched it slowly raise its head and on that note, Flurry Heart screamed,

“LOOK OUT!!!!!!”

Startled by this, Apple Bloom swiftly turned around and a giant manticore jumped out of the bushes. Dodging out of the way, the earth pony thrusted her spear into its head and it died. But this encounter was far from over. Manticores, timberwolves, and various creatures ranging from dragons to griffins jumped out of their hiding spots with their weapons ready as they snarled and growled at the duo.

“RUN!!!!!” Apple Bloom shouted.

Doing as the earth pony told her, Flurry Heart flew away while Apple Bloom stood behind to fend off their attackers. Apple Bloom ran towards one of the dragons and thrusted her spear into his torso before pulling it out. A griffin aimed its crossbow and fired a few bolts at Apple Bloom, hitting her a few times. Shrugging off the pain, she focused her attention on the griffin and aimed her spear at the griffin before throwing the weaponing, getting his head. She ran forward and retrieved her spear and refocused her attention back on the rest of the remaining creatures.

. . .

Flurry Heart kept flying ahead, trying to stay away from the creatures that chased after her. She kept her head forward, but she could hear the creatures jeering as they got closer.

“C’mon, baby alicorn~! You’re needed for the god’s rebirth~!” a griffin taunted.

“Leave me alone!” Flurry Heart tearfully shouted while she kept flying away.

“We can’t do that, princess~! The Abyssal God is on his way to achieving our salvation and the only key ingredient needed to complete his resurrection… is you~.” a female dragon taunted.

Scared of this, Flurry Heart continued to fly her wings off while the creatures continued to chase after her.

. . .

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom kept fighting off the creatures that ambushed her and there were only three left: one dragon, one griffin, and one manticore. Covered in bruises and scratches, the Apple pony appeared to be on her last legs. But she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. After going all this way with Flurry Heart, she was unwilling to abandon the little alicorn or break her heart by dying in vain. Readying her spear and steeling her nerves, she waited for the next attack.

“You can still give us the alicorn, earth pony. Surrender her, and we promise to make it quick.” a griffin said in a malicious tone.

“OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!” Apple Bloom screamed as she prepared herself.

“So you would rather be devoured by us? So be it!” the griffin said before firing his crossbow at her.

Apple Bloom dodged out of the way and lunged towards the griffin before stabbing him in the head. Pulling it out, the Apple pony faced the dragon and dodged some of its attacks before stabbing through his heart, causing the blood to gush out. Suddenly, the manticore charged Apple Bloom and swiped its right claws at her, knocking her into a tree. Then the manticore attempted to bite off Apple Bloom’s head. But using the pole of her spear, she was able to fend off the creature’s crushing bite before getting it snapped in half. But before she could get away, the manticore grabbed Apple Bloom with its claws and proceeded to slowly bite into her body, causing her to scream in pain.

“You overgrown feline! BITE INTO THIS!!!!” Apple Bloom screamed before grabbing the half-broken spear.

Using it, she leaned in closer and stabbed the manticore in its left eyeball, causing it to roar in agony. Getting up with the rest of her strength, Apple Bloom jumped on top and jammed the spear into the manticore’s head, stabbing its brain and killing it in the process. But before she could recover, she heard a cry from Flurry Heart. Apple Bloom, the earth pony heard from the distance. She could hear the princess getting closer, so she pulled her spear out of the manticore’s head as well as pulling out one of its large teeth before hiding behind one of the trees and waited for her return.

“Apple Bloom…!!!” Flurry Heart shouted, starting to get closer.

Ready for the next attack, Flurry Heart passed by and Apple Bloom sprung out of her hiding spot to ambush the two creatures chasing after the former. Using her broken spear, she stabbed the dragon right through its brain while holding onto the griffin. Holding onto the manticore’s tooth, she proceeded to stab the struggling griffin repeatedly. It continued on for several minutes as she screamed in primal rage while repeatedly stabbing the helpless griffin. Five minutes later, she kept stabbing away until her vision was coated in blood. She released the griffin from her grasp and took several breaths before she decided to get up, but she felt the pain course all over her body after her skirmish against the creatures, even going so far as to cough up blood.

“Flurry Heart? Where are you? You can come out now!” Apple Bloom shouted, trying to find the princess.

Just then, she heard breathing. Looking past the trees, she saw Flurry Heart in a traumatized state. Already feeling remorse, Apple Bloom got closer to Flurry Heart and said,

“Don’t worry. They’re not gonna hurt you. I promise.”

“Not that. You’re hurting, Apple Bloom.” Flurry Heart whimpered.

“Oh, this? This is nothing to worry about. I’ve been-!”

Just then, Flurry Heart lunged at Apple Bloom and tearfully shouted,

“IT IS SOMETHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT!!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I DID TO DESERVE YOUR ANGER, BUT SEEING YOU LIKE THIS JUST HURTS ME!!!”

Hearing this hit Apple Bloom very hard. While she clearly intended to protect Flurry Heart, she was unaware of how much her wellbeing was affecting the princess and it just amplified her guilt even more. But deciding to help alleviate her worries a bit and cheer her up, Apple Bloom said,

“Hey. I’m still here. So are you. If you hadn’t lured in that dragon and that griffin, we would’ve been toast. I think we made a good team back there.”

“You really mean it…?” Flurry Heart asked, sniffling a bit.

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” Apple Bloom said before coughing again.

“You know that you shouldn’t say those things when you’re already like this.” Flurry Heart said, trying to make a joke.

“Hey, it’s an adult thing. You’ll understand when you’re older. Your momma shouldn’t be too far ahead. And if we’re lucky, we could run into the trio when we get there.” Apple Bloom said, focusing back on the task.

Flurry Heart nodded and proceeded to fly ahead with Apple Bloom following up close towards their destination.

. . .

Having defeated the malformed dragon, the trio ran all the way over to the source of the dark magic from the distance. They made it all the way over and they have found Cadance laying there, hardly breathing.

“Your Highness!” Sunset shouted upon seeing her damaged state.

They rush over and right beside her, they see Spike’s corpse in a much-ravaged and mutilated state. Starlight was aghast of the defilement laid on the deceased dragon. Taking her cloak off, she places it on Spike’s corpse and hugs it before laying it down gently. When she was finished, Starlight turned to Cadance along with the others as they desperately tried to keep her awake. Starlight said

“You’re gonna be okay, Your Majesty. As soon as we-”

“Where’s Flurry Heart…?” Cadence said in her shallow breath.

The three looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing that question. They had no idea how to respond, but then Sunset said,

“Your daughter’s back over in Canterlot. She is safe.”

“Thank you… when you see Flurry Heart… tell her… that I…”

“Your Highness!? What’s the matter!?” Tempest desperately shouted, trying to wake her up.

Fearing what could have happened to hear, Tempest laid her ear close to Cadance’s mouth. Luckily, she was breathing. But before Tempest could do anything, Sunset said,

“I feel her magic.”

“What?” Tempest asked.

“Flurry Heart is out there.” Sunset answered in a horrified voice.

Both of the hornless unicorns recoiled in terror upon hearing her answer. So instead of arguing, Sunset set up a barrier on the queen before deciding to split up and search for Flurry Heart before they can take Cadance back to Canterlot. So without a second thought, they split up and proceeded to find Flurry Heart before she could endanger herself or worse.

Author's Note

There are two chapters left of the first arc left and I have an announcement to make. I intend on getting back to the Sunset story, but be aware that I will not be publishing chapters until I have finished the whole story. I will also try and get back into writing more of Tempest's story and I still have a lot to write. However, I will be working on Zecora's story. As soon as I write the drafts, I will figure out how to figure to tie them into a psychological horror story. But one more thing... I am also writing a draft. I will not say much, but it will involve an Anthro story between Celestia and Luna.

This is Ghoul. I'll see you on the other side.