Chapters Chapter 1
Highlight of the Week
"Just a few more preparations, and everything will be perfect." Twilight Sparkle happily announced as she moved another desk across the library, placing it next to its matching chair on the eastern edge of the circular main room. A large space had now been cleared out, ready for the guests who would soon arrive.
Twilight had planned this sleepover for weeks, trying to work it into everypony's busy schedules: Rainbow Dash had been given more weather control duty these past few weeks; Rarity's dresses were getting more popular up in Canterlot, and the increasing demand was taxing on the seamstress; the Apple family was gathering this year's harvest, clearing the extensive apple orchard and selling the fruit in Ponyville and the neighboring towns; and a recent illness kept Fluttershy occupied, forcing her to divert most of her time to helping her animal friends heal. Pinkie Pie had been the easiest by far, since she apparently knew every day she would work in the next two months by heart. She had taken a calendar and marked each day she would be available in a matter of seconds.
This day was the only one that lined up with all six of their schedules. There wouldn't be another like it for many weeks. Everything had to be ready.
"Spike!" she called up the stairs.
The small dragon came down moments later, carrying a broom and dustpan. "I'm here! Just doing some last-minute sweeping up here. Allergy season and all."
"There's no need for that, Spike. We'll be staying down here for the night; you have the upper level all to yourself."
"Really? Even the bed?" Spike had always wanted to sleep in the soft, full-sized bed Twilight used, opposed to the small circular bed he normally had.
"Even the bed." Twilight laughed. "Help me clean the rest of this room before everypony's here, and you can use it tomorrow, too."
Without another word, Spike grabbed took up his broom and duster and resumed his work, sweeping diligently while Twilight looked over her checklist for the day. "Let's see now...spare mattresses, check...snack table, check...I think we have everything. Now we just need to wait for..."
"Hiya, Twilight! Waitin' for me?"
Pinkie Pie was standing behind the shocked unicorn, her mouth fixed in the largest grin she could muster.
"Pinkie Pie! How did you...I mean, hello, happy to see you've arrived. I didn't hear you come in, though."
"Well, I couldn't use the front door. You went and locked it, silly! The window was open, though, so I came to ask why it was locked, or if you were asleep, or..."
"Wait," Twilight interrupted, "the window by my bed, on the second floor?"
"Of course. That was the only one open, right?" The pink pony's smile never diminished as she made her way to the snack table and helped herself to a cheese-topped cracker.
"But, how...never mind," Twilight sighed.
"We thought maybe you forgot about the sleepover. You were making so much noise you didn't here us knock."
"Hold on a second, we ?"
"Yup! The others are all waiting at the front door. It's been a whole four minutes since we started trying to get your attention. They said it must have been a really good book, but then I thought, 'Why would you be making all that noise if you're just reading?' so I came to see what was happening and everything's ready for us! You didn't forget the sleepover after all!"
Spike unhooked the latch on the front door and pulled it open. He was immediately knocked on his back by a speeding Rainbow Dash as she flew through the opening. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked, rubbing a sizable bruise on his forehead.
"The door wouldn't budge." Rainbow flatly stated as she dusted herself off. "I was trying to open it and you were in the way."
Fluttershy was next to approach, pulling Spike up from the ground and scowling at the cyan pegasus. "You should be ashamed of yourself, hurting an innocent baby dragon like that. Apologize right now!" Her command was halfway between a shout and a whisper, trying to sound assertive without being too loud.
"No, I'm fine, really!" Spike protested, freeing himself from Fluttershy's grasp.
"I'll get you some ice. Just stay still..."
"Please, Fluttershy, I know you want to help, but I'm not hurt. I don't want you wasting your afternoon looking after me when you should be spending it with your friends here. I'll just go inside and lie down for a while if it's that important to you."
Fluttershy nodded her agreement. Spike turned and headed up the stairs, pausing to straighten a bent spine before leaving the mares' sight.
Rainbow Dash patted Fluttershy on her shoulder. "See? He's fine, Fluttershy. No worries, right? What's gotten you so concerned, anyway?"
"I don't know...I guess with so many of my animal friends sick or injured, I just..." Fluttershy paused. She appeared to be on the verge of tears at this point. "I don't want to lose him."
Rainbow Dash stepped aside as Rarity approached her. "Don't you worry, dear. I'm certain Nurse Redheart will take excellent care of your friends in your absence. Just enjoy your time here and leave them in her capable hooves."
"Thank you, Rarity. You're right, I shouldn't worry. Let's just go inside, then." Fluttershy quietly stepped around everypony and through the doorway. "Thanks again for inviting us, Twilight. I really needed something like this with all the stress the last week has caused."
"Anytime, Fluttershy. I think we all needed this."
The sun had begun to set on Ponyville, slowly disappearing behind the Everfree Forest treetops. The streets were clearing as everypony headed home to retire for the night. Sounds of bats and other nocturnal creatures filled the air as they began their usual hunt. The moon had also started its ascent from the east, and the faint twinkle of stars shone in the fading sunlight.
Rainbow Dash looked angrily out the window. "What's this? I wasn't told about a storm scheduled for today. What's going on?"
A large mass of dark clouds was approaching from the northwest, and the rays of sunlight showing beneath the clouds revealed the rain they would bring once they reached Ponyville. Twilight quickly moved about the library, magically closing each window, then returned to the main room. "Relax, Rainbow. I'm sure they just neglected to tell you so you could enjoy your day here. Otherwise you might be too proud to let somepony else take care of it on what should be your day off."
"Hey, I'm not that… yeah, you're right. I probably would."
Pinkie Pie was busy preparing her s'mores, stacking chocolate squares on each of three marshmallows and topping them off with graham crackers. She paused for a moment to admire her work, then took all three in a single bite, chewing and smacking her lips noisily. "So…what are we…gonna do now?"
"Pinkie Pie, please," Rarity protested, "finish your food before speaking. My word, where are your manners?"
"Oh, I know! We should tell ghost stories! Wouldn't that be fun?"
"Are you really suggesting that we scare each other out of our wits as a storm gathers around the town?"
"Yeah, that's the perfect time to tell a story, except around a campfire, but that would be really hard to do in the middle of a library."
Twilight stepped between them. "Then that's exactly what we'll do, Pinkie Pie. And Rarity, don't you remember our last sleepover? Those stories made up one of the best parts of the night. Wouldn't you want to repeat that now that all six of us are here?"
"I'm terribly sorry, Twilight, but on that night yours was the only actual story. Applejack and I were too caught up in our argument to put in any real effort."
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Applejack added. "Sure the night would've been much better if we'd just learned to get along sooner than we did."
"It's no problem, Applejack," Twilight replied, then turned to face everyone in the room. "Now, before we start, we should turn off all these lights and get the room as dark as possible for the best effect. Rarity, if you wouldn't mind assisting me..."
"Of course, dear."
The two unicorns turned around the room, magically extinguishing each lamp and candle. When all was finished, a single candle lay in the middle of the room, surrounded by the six mares.
Rarity nodded to Twilight. "You should be the one to begin these stories, Twilight; you are our hostess, after all."
"Thank you, Rarity. Does anypony else want to start?" Silence greeted her as all five waited for her to begin. "Alright. This is something I found in a book roughly a year ago. I thought it was interesting enough to memorize, in case I would want to tell it to others later. I'm sure it didn't actually happen, but it was found in the nonfiction section of the library and..."
"Um, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash interrupted, "I know this is really interesting to you and all, but can you please just get on with the story?"
Twilight turned to the pegasus. "What? Oh, sorry, Rainbow. I guess I didn't realize what happened just then. Of course we can begin. Now, it started one bright summer afternoon..."
Nurse Redheart trotted swiftly along the path, picking up speed to get out of the rain that could begin any second. At the top of one hill, she finally saw the cottage she was looking for, the home of Fluttershy. The recent illness had apparently not been limited to the town's pony residents, and many of Fluttershy's friends within were not in the best of health. Normally fairly reclusive and shy, she had decided to ask for professional help this time, and took a day off from caring for her many animals to spend some much-needed time with friends.
Checking her saddlebag again to make sure everything was intact after the run, Redheart approached the front door and knocked twice. The door was opened by a sniffling rabbit who led the nurse inside. Redheart was startled by the sheer number of creatures within the house; it seemed as though half the Everfree Forest's inhabitants were crammed into this single house! Was Fluttershy really trying to heal so many animals at once? No wonder she was so exhausted , Redheart thought. The place appeared busier than the average hospital, and without the help of her assistants...
"Gonna be a long night," Redheart sighed. "Well, might as well start right away." Removing her saddlebag, she emptied it out and laid everything on a table. She walked to the kitchen and began boiling a kettle of water, then moved to the living room, choosing to feed the animals first and get to work afterward. An assortment of various feeds lay in one corner of the room, and posted nearby was a list of acceptable fruits and vegetables for each species. It took roughly thirty minutes to go around the house and fill every bowl with the appropriate food, and it was quite tiring carrying those bags up and down the stairs so many times. Nurse Redheart paused for a moment, sipping a cup of tea as she surveyed the house.
"Glad that's over, but something's missing..." Redheart's eyes fell on the bag of bird seed in the corner. "Of course, how could I forget them? I'll just..." She then noticed the bird houses, some of which were well out of her reach. "Right," she realized, "she's a pegasus. No problem for her, but how..." Redheart hung her head and sighed again. "Gonna be long night."
Chapter 2
A New Friend
"Where is he?"
The anxious Lightning Chaser continued to look outside the house through the small window, turning to face any slight movement that might signal the return of her missing son. The colt had promised to come back by 1:00 p.m., in time for lunch, but had, as foals often do, lost track of time. He could be anywhere, either playing at the house of one of his friends, or flying around town in search of make-believe quests to fulfill or villains to capture.
"Alright, enough of this!" she decided. Marching to the door, she swiftly unlocked it, exited the house and re-locked the door. Taking a deep breath and spreading her wings fully, she took off. Her path quickly gained altitude, reaching a near-vertical climb as she soared upward to get a better view of the area. The mare's eyes missed nothing: everything was easily spotted by her perfect vision, down to each bird resting on the roofs of Cloudsdale's residential section. Everything except the speeding colt directly behind her.
The collision sent both pegasi spiraling downward, heading toward the roof of the house below at alarming speed. The mare recognized her son had been the one to crash into her, and started berating him even as she righted them both and turned away from the roof. "Rain Runner, what have I told you about looking where you're going? You could have hurt somepony, or hurt yourself. You really should be more careful next time, or I can't keep letting you go out to play with your friends like this."
"Sorry, mom." Rain Runner replied, his head drooping as he glided home beside his mother.
"Where are your friends, anyway? I thought they would be somewhere nearby, unless you're all finished with your game."
"Yeah, she left. She said she'd back tomorrow, so can I please go out again? I promise we won't go too far from the house this time."
Lightning Chaser slowed down slightly, realigning herself to point directly toward home. " 'She?' Well, now… I thought you were still afraid of playing with fillies. You're just growing too fast for an old lady like me to keep up with." she laughed.
"Aw, mom, you're not old. When I'm done with flight school, that's when you're old."
"You'll know I'm old when I start filling the house with pet birds or something. I might even start trying to teach them tricks, too."
Once they both arrived home, Rain Runner explained tomorrow's schedule while his mother prepared dinner. "She says she has to leave soon, so tomorrow will be the last time we get to play."
"Leave? So her family's moving?"
"Family?" Rain Runner looked up from his meal with a confused expression. "She doesn't have a family. It's just her."
"What do you mean she doesn't have a family? You mean she lives all alone?"
"Yeah, she gets really sad and lonely a lot. That's why I went out and played with her all the time. It's okay, though. She says we can go visit her someday."
"That's nice, dear. Now, finish your dinner before it gets too cold. Bedtime's in a few hours."
A bright half moon shone in the sky as Rain Runner leapt into bed, losing his balance and nearly falling off the other side.
"Good night, mom. Can you wake me up early tomorrow? I want to get up at dawn to get as much time as I can playing."
"Of course, I'll get up in time to make sure you have all the time you could want with your friend. Good night, Rain Runner." Quietly closing the bedroom door, Lightning Chaser thought aloud, "Strange friend he's met. What kind of filly would live alone like that? I hope nothing terrible happened to the family. I should make her something nice to send her off. That should help at least a little. Now, let's see…"
Lightning Chaser woke just before the sun rose the next morning. To her surprise, she found that Rain Runner had already gone out, leaving a small note on the front door to tell her where he was. She quickly finished her light breakfast before wrapping up her gift for Rain Runner's friend: a basket of breads and pastries filled with various cheeses and fruits. They would resist minor impacts, and would not spoil for days. It would be a perfect present for a hungry traveler, Lightning Chaser thought as she headed out the door.
She gasped as she saw the pony in front of her. It was not a pegasus standing on the cloud that made up yard, but an earth pony. Her fur, pale blue in color, was also slightly translucent, allowing Lightning Chaser to see straight through her. The filly looked up at her and smiled.
"Thank you for the present, but I can't really use it," she explained. "And thank you for letting Rain Runner play with me the past few days. It really cheered me up, and I'll never forget you two."
Lightning Chaser was awestruck. "Wait, are you…"
"Thank you," the filly repeated. She turned and jumped away, fading into the air until she vanished completely.
Twilight Sparkle picked up her cup at her side and drank the remaining water, parched from the long story. "So, was that alright? I don't know much about ghost stories, but…"
Pinkie Pie jumped. "That was great, Twilight! I mean, sure it's not the usual 'Boo, I'm gonna get you!' kind of ghost, but that was fantastic! Wow!"
"Yes, it was a marvelous story," Rarity added, "You've set the bar quite high for the rest of us, Twilight."
"Thank you both. Now, who's next?"
"That'd be me, Twilight." Rainbow Dash assumed a dramatic pose, attempting to look intimidating. "Prepare to be amazed, everypony, as I begin my terrifying tale!"
The timing of her pose was perfect; a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky just as she finished speaking, lighting up the window behind her and producing an impressive, if not intentional, effect. "A group of young ponies was playing one day, a simple game of Truth or Dare, until one brave colt dared his friends to enter the Everfree Forest."
Good start, Twilight thought as she listened. That forest is home to all sorts of myths and superstitions. I wonder what Rainbow Dash has planned for this.
The small treehouse at the Apple Family farm was filled with the excited voices of the three fillies within. Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell had planned their own activities for this night. Sweetie Bell had brought a length of black cloth, and was busy cutting it as the other two talked.
Scootaloo peered out the window, ignoring the light rain falling into it. "This is gonna be great! There's nopony awake to stop us now! It's the perfect time!"
"O' course it is!" Applebloom replied cheerfully. "Now that everypony's asleep, we can go anywhere and do whatever we want. We're sure to find our talents tonight, soon as Sweetie Bell's finished with those hoods."
"Almost done with the last one," the unicorn filly said as she made a few quick cuts to the black cloak. The material slipped, resulting in a jagged cut across the middle of the hood, just where it would have connected to the neck of the garment. "Oh, dumb fabric. Just a little longer, okay?"
In a few minutes, the cloaks were completed. The three fillies exited the treehouse, pulling their hoods up to protect from the rain. Applebloom stood in front of other two. "The Everfree Forest has all kinds o' ways we can find our talent. It could be somethin' with the weird plants all over, wild animals, or just bein' brave explorers and facin' unknown danger. Ah can't wait! Let's go, Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
Together they took off down the path, toward the entrance to the mysterious forest. As they trotted down the dirt road, slowing down as the rain started turning the path to mud, they soon reached the border of the Everfree. The sky disappeared behind the thick, tangled branches of the trees above. The fearless fillies did not notice the pair of eyes watching them intently, or hear the light steps behind them over the sound of the rain and the cries of nocturnal creatures.
Chapter 3
"Well, what is it? Come on and tell me!"
The irate filly looked at the three faces around her, each trying with difficulty to hold back their laughter. She had fallen asleep during the foals' party, and when she woke up, everypony seemed to think something about her was absolutely hilarious. "What happened? Is there something in my mane?"
She left the room in search of a mirror. Moments later the three remaining foals heard a scream, followed by heavy hoofsteps as their victim approached. "Which one of you did this?" she demanded, pointing to the crudely-drawn marks across her face. Swirls and zigzagging lines covered her, all but the patch that had been covered by her leg as she slept. Somepony even dared to tape a square of paper to her flank; on it was a drawing of a cone-shaped hat with a large letter "D" written on its side. "Come on, this isn't funny!"
"Sure it is!" a yellow-coated colt replied, the first of the three to speak up. "You should see the look on your face!" He closed his eyes and fell backward in his laughter, oblivious to the furious pony just a few steps away.
Minutes passed, and the four young ponies now sat in a circle within a makeshift tent. Consisting of two blankets and several poles to hold them up, along with a few books to keep the corners down, it appeared to them as an impenetrable fortress. A sign reading "Keep out!" was placed by the entrance, next to a drawing of a scowling pony. The yellow colt who had spoken earlier now held a bag of ice to his swollen cheek as the other three talked.
"Know what would be fun right now? Truth or Dare!"
"Oh, Cherry, I wanted to play tag…"
"You can't play tag in a tent, silly! Come on, I'll start."
All eyes followed the pink filly as she decided who to ask to begin the game. "How 'bout you, Lemon Drop?"
The yellow colt looked at her for a moment. "What...okay, I'll go."
"Good. Now, truth or dare?"
"Truth," he replied without hesitation. He didn't want to imagine what kind of dare he might be given by the victim of his last prank.
"Have you ever kissed a filly?"
"What?" Lemon Drop gasped, his cheeks flush with embarrassment. "What...no! Of course not!"
"Are you sure?" the filly giggled, "If you're lying, you get a dare, too. You'd better be telling the truth, or else..." her voice drifted off, leaving the threat hanging where it was.
"Okay, I did, but just one time!"
"Really?" Cherry Cobbler leaned toward the colt, pressuring him to continue. "Who was it?"
Lemon Drop looked down at the ground, sighing in defeat. "Promise you won't tell anypony?"
"We all promise."
"Twist."
Everypony but Lemon Drop burst into laughter at the name. Twist had been one of the last in the class to get her cutie mark, just before Featherweight. Her cutie mark was a pair of peppermint sticks, which she gave to everypony in class in celebration. Still, most foals still avoided her, and made fun of her slight lisp. That she had kissed Lemon Drop was perhaps the most hilarious piece of news all week, at least within that tent.
Cherry Cobbler wiped a tear from her eye, trying to stop her laughter from returning. "Okay, now you can ask one of us."
The game went on for many minutes, mostly consisting of dares. One filly slid down a staircase on a baking sheet, and another leapt from a stack of furniture onto a pillow. Few truths were told, but each one was taken as seriously as the foals could manage to avoid hurting anypony. Before an hour passed, they were exhausted from their play, and sat just outside of the tent.
Cherry Cobbler looked at the remains of their tent, which had collapsed sometime during their game. "What can we do now?"
Two ponies stood up, walking toward the front door of the house. "My mom's coming to pick me up soon," said one, "Good-bye!"
"I have to go, too," moaned the other. "If I'm late for dinner, I might get grounded again. See you tomorrow!"
Cherry saw the only remaining guest, Lemon Drop, start to rise as well. "Not you too!"
"I'm not going." Lemon replied. "I was just thinking...how about we go to the Everfree Forest? That would be fun, right?"
"I don't know...what if we get lost? What if nopony can find us? Or a monster finds us?"
"There aren't any monsters in the forest! That's just a story so kids don't want to play there! Everypony knows there's nothing really scary in there!"
"Well...if you're sure...okay, let's go. But we have to be back before it gets too dark, okay?"
Lemon Drop trotted quickly with Cherry Cobbler down the path toward the Everfree, eager to get as much time in the forest as possible before nightfall forced them back home. They hadn't gotten far, however, before running into another familiar face on the road. Lemon Drop knew immediately who he had knocked down. "Sorry, Twist. Um, what are you doing here so late?"
Twist slowly rose from the ground, adjusting her glasses to get a better view of the two who had run into her. When she recognized the colt, she quickly looked down, her cheeks turning nearly as red as her mane. "Oh, hi, Lemon Drop. I wath jutht going home. Why are you here? It'th almotht dark."
"We're going to the Everfree Forest! You can come with us, Twist! It'll be fun!"
Twist backed up a step. "I don't know...what if thomething happenth to uth? I heard there are monthterth in there."
The colt struck what he thought must have been a heroic pose. "Don't worry, there aren't any monsters. That's just something our parents tell us to keep us out. I'll prove there's nothing there." He rushed down the road to the forest, yelling over his shoulder. "Come on!"
Twist ran alongside Cherry as they caught up to the colt. Together they soon crossed the entrance to the Everfree Forest. The first change they noticed was the complete disappearance of the sky – the thick, tangled mess of branches overhead blocked out the waning sunlight – and the mist that wound its way around them. The mist rose higher, eventually rendering the foals nearly sightless.
Twist, slightly taller than the other two, had an easier time of navigating the forest. She led them down the barely-visible path, turning back every now and then to make sure she had not lost the others. "Are you both okay? There'th a clearing up ahead."
The path led into an open area about fifteen meters across, and beyond that was the bank of a river. It was far too fast and deep to even try crossing. Cherry Cobbler sat at the riverbank, looking to the other two as she spoke. "Okay, Lemon Drop, we came here and we didn't find any monsters. Can we please go home now?"
"See? Just like I said, there's nothing to be scared of. Now we can...wait, what's that?" Something had caught Lemon Drop's eye. Cherry and Twist moved closer, trying to see exactly what was so interesting; a ball of light could be seen in the fog, as if somepony was holding a lantern. It hovered in the distance, slowly moving down the path the foals had just been on. Lemon Drop ran after the light, calling to it. "Hey! Come back here! Who are you?"
Twist and Cherry Cobbler struggled to keep up with the rushing colt as he chased the mysterious light, Twist running just ahead of the smaller filly. When the fog made it impossible to see him, she tried following the sound of his continuing calls. As the sounds got louder, Twist was sure she would soon catch up to the colt, but then the calls suddenly ceased. He was gone, as was the ball of light. Twist looked all around, trying to figure out where they had ended up; she and Cherry were back at the forest entrance, the same one they had used earlier. "Where'th Lemon Drop?" she asked Cherry, who appeared just as surprised as her. "Did you thee him anywhere?"
"No, I didn't see him anywhere." Cherry replied, her voice shaking slightly. "Maybe he passed by us and we didn't see him?"
"But he wath yelling. He wath yelling at that light, and then he jutht...thtopped. What if..."
Twist was interrupted by a shrill cry that echoed from somewhere within the forest. It sounded almost like a bird call, but neither filly had ever heard such a bird before. Cherry cringed at the sound. "Twist," she whimpered, "I'm scared."
"It'th okay, Cherry. Let'th go home. We'll find thome really brave and tough ponieth to go find Lemon Drop. He'll get back thafe and thound, and we'll never play in the foretht again. We'll thtay inthide and behave and..." Twist felt a rush of air from behind, like something running past her. She turned around and found that Cherry Cobbler, too, had vanished.
The same sharp cry tore through the sky again, now seeming closer than before.
Rainbow Dash stepped down from her perch by the window, joining the rest of the group. Applejack gave a short whistle of approval. "Fine story ya had, Rainbow."
"Thanks, AJ. You know, now that I think about it, this is really different for me. I mean, I used to hate reading, but after reading those Daring Do books I just got hooked. If you'd told me a few months ago that I'd be reading books for fun, I'd have laughed you away. Of course, now I almost worry I'll turn into Twilight before long!" she snickered.
The room fell silent as everypony tried imagining Rainbow Dash actually going through such a transformation. In a second it was again filled with laughter.
Twilight stood up. "Alright," she announced, "this candle won't last much longer. Let's take a short break while I find another."
Chapter 4
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were beginning to regret their plan to explore the Everfree Forest this night. The storm was worsening, the forest path had become obscured by a sheet of rain, and the fillies could hardly see anything ahead of them. They found shelter within the trunk of a great tree, which had somehow split to form a sort of cave, and huddled together as they tried to form a plan. Scootaloo pulled her hood farther down over her eyes. "I can't see a thing! How are we supposed to get back home if we don't know which way to go?"
"We're not gonna go anywhere," Applebloom answered after a pause. "Mah big brother always says when there's a storm, the first thing ta do is ta find shelter, then wait fer the rain to stop."
"But how long will that take?"
"I dunno. Could be minutes, or hours. We can't tell right now."
"Hours?" Scootaloo stamped a hoof in the dirt. "I can't spend hours stuck in some tree! There's gotta be something else we can do!"
"Well, how 'bout Sweetie Bell? She hasn't said anythin' yet."
The unicorn filly was holding a necklace. She closely inspected the pendant attached to it – a violet, six-pointed star set in a silver coin – and rubbed at it with her hoof. She seemed to be talking to it, though it was too quiet to hear even from such a close distance. Applebloom tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Um, Sweetie Bell? What're ya doin'?"
Sweetie Bell held up the pendant for her friends to see. "Remember when Rarity went to Canterlot a while ago, before Twilight's birthday party? Well, she and Twilight made this necklace for me before she left. She said whenever I'm really scared, or if I'm in danger, the necklace will let them both know. But nothing's happening. It's been a long time, so maybe the magic just couldn't last this long..."
"Don't talk like that, Sweetie Bell." Applebloom faced the other filly directly. "Ah know we're gonna get outta here, an' if we're in real danger, Ah know somepony's gonna save us. We're all goin' home tonight, jus' wait an' see!"
An hour passed and the rain would not stop, but it did lessen enough to clearly see the road back toward Ponyville. The three fillies stepped out of their shelter, pulling up their cloaks and starting down the path. The dirt trail had turned to a thick layer of mud, and it was very difficult to walk, but nopony complained; if one should step off the path, they can quickly get lost, or run into one of many unknown dangers in the forest. They had already met one such creature: the Cockatrice, which would have turned them all to stone had Fluttershy not arrived to aid them. None wanted to see what else could be lying in wait for them.
After a few more minutes of walking, the path seemed to change: the mud was not as thick as before, and in some places it had even dried completely; the rain had nearly stopped, though the storm seemed far from passing; and the usual mist had returned to cover the ground in all directions. Pausing at a fork in the road, Scootaloo leapt up, her wings beating furiously. She couldn't fly quite yet, but she managed to hover for a short time, enough to land on a low tree branch and get a better view of the path ahead. "Hey, there's a clearing coming up!" she called, "Let's go that way!"
The first change the fillies noticed was the rise in temperature. Second, they saw the smoke rising from the opposite end of the clearing. Finally, they could make out the shape within the cloud of smoke as it turned and approached them. Applebloom looked at the shape, then to Sweetie Bell. "Um, now would be a great time fer that necklace to do somethin'..."
"Forget the necklace!" Sweetie squeaked. "Somepony's comin' out of the fire!"
The "pony" appeared normal until it left the dark cloud. Once visible, the fillies found it seemed to be covered in fire, but it didn't appear hurt at all. Scootaloo had the best eyes of the three, so she was able to get the clearest view. "No," she gasped, "that pony is the fire."
The strange pony-shaped flames walked slowly toward the fillies, its steps creating small fires in the grass beneath it. It raised its head and opened its mouth, like it was trying to shout something, but no words came. It then dropped its head to the ground for a moment, and came up holding a ball of fire in its mouth. The fillies managed to turn around and start running before the fireball exploded at the ground they had been standing on. They sprinted down the path toward Ponyville, looking away only to make sure they were all together. They could hear the fiery pony galloping after them, and heard also the sounds of more fireballs striking the ground behind them.
It felt like they had been running for ages when they finally saw the end to the twisting trees, the way out of the forest. The flaming pony was still following them, still setting small fires everywhere it went. Sweetie Bell was moments away from the exit when she tripped over a log that had been buried halfway in the mud. The fiery pony tilted its head, readying another fireball. The necklace around Sweetie Bell's neck began to glow brightly.
Applebloom and Scootaloo couldn't see the necklace from where they were standing. To their horror, they saw only their friend lying on the ground, the fireball flying toward her. It never reached her, however; it was stopped in the air, detonating against a wall of bright, violet light. A flash blinded the fillies for a moment, and when they opened their eyes again, Twilight Sparkle stood between Sweetie Bell and the strange creature. Rarity had appeared as well, and all the others who had been at the library. Rarity helped her sister up, walking with her to join the other fillies. Twilight took a moment to look at the fiery pony, then at the sky. The rain had become a light drizzle, and very little of it was making its way through the layer of leaves overhead, but the clouds were still low and dark. "Rainbow..." she began.
"On it." The cyan pegasus took off, diving into the clouds. She returned seconds later with a small storm cloud, placing it just over the fiery pony's head and stomping repeatedly. Rain poured from the small cloud, sizzling as it made contact with the creature, but it would not stop. Another fireball exploded on the magical barrier. Twilight flinched. The barrier flickered. "Try something else!"
"What else can I do?" Rainbow shouted, flying higher to get out of the creature's throwing range. "I just can't put it out!"
"Water won't work, but there has to be something..." Twilight looked around her. The small fires were beginning to add up; it wouldn't be long before they spread, and that would be a disaster for such a large forest as the Everfree. "What about..."
"Can we blow it out?" Pinkie Pie chimed in, now standing just to the left of Twilight. "You know, like a candle?"
"Blow it out?" Twilight paused. "Yes...yes, I think that could work. Let's see...how about this one?" Twilight's horn flared. A small tornado appeared at the fiery pony's hooves, growing in size until it enveloped the creature. The fire dimmed, but it still was not completely put out. The spell wore off, and another fireball struck the barrier; cracks appeared in the magical wall.
Rainbow Dash flew down toward the creature as it tilted its head downward. She hovered just above it, spinning rapidly until another tornado began. This one grew much larger than Twilight's spell, pulling in dirt and other debris from the road and blocking any view of the fiery pony. Seconds passed and the light within the vortex faded. Soon Rainbow Dash ended the tornado, leaving a pile of leaves and dirt where the flaming creature had been.
Rainbow flew down, landing softly on the dirt pathway. "It's been a while since I made a tornado like that; I'd almost forgotten how to do it. Oh, and I saw your spell, too. I think you should leave that to me next time, Twi," she said, playfully tapping the unicorn's shoulder, "Weather control is my job."
Twilight ended her barrier, tired from casting so many spells in so short a time. "Certainly. Now, let's all head to my house and talk. I think we've all had enough fun for one night."
All of the lights on the ground level of the library were turned on to help comfort the three fillies, who were still shaken from their encounter earlier. Pinkie Pie had quickly prepared a batch of cookies for them, which they happily accepted. Everypony sat in a circle on the rug while Twilight set a book down between them. She flipped through the pages, stopping on a picture of the same creature that had been in the forest before. "I read about this about a week ago. It's called an elemental, a creature formed from something in nature, like water or fire. It usually looks somewhat like a pony from a distance, but you don't want to get very close to them. They don't think like normal creatures, and they can be very dangerous. It's a good thing you three found it when you did; with enough time, it could have burned down the entire forest, or worse."
Sweetie Bell and Applebloom didn't look at all grateful for finding the elemental. (Scootaloo was busy pestering her idol, Rainbow Dash, about how she saved her and her friends from the monster) They ate their cookies in silence, looking nervously at the picture as if it could come out of the book and set another fire. Finally Applebloom spoke up. "So where do those things come from, Twi'? I've never heard of 'em before."
"That's my main concern with it, actually," Twilight answered, pacing around the room. "From what I understand, elemental creatures don't exist naturally in Equestria. They have to be made by somepony, or ponies, with very strong magic. You make the elemental, give it an order, and send it away." She turned to the window, looking out into the night sky. "But why would anypony want to burn down the Everfree Forest? Why would they want to make such a dangerous creature at all?"
The window provided no answers. The rain continued its light tapping on the windowpanes, and the clouds resumed their path across the sky.
