“Wait for me, these are getting away!”
Twilight ran after the group of parasprites that were missed in rounding them up. Technically speaking, these were also heading outside of Ponyville, but she didn‘t want to risk them returning during the Princess’s arrival.
These few turned out more stubborn than the others, as even teleporting in front of them didn’t lead them back to the others rounded up.
She took a quick glance, searching for any of her friends nearby, but all of them were already busy with their own group of parasprites. She sighed and continued running after the persistent group of hers.
As she was running, the parasprites suddenly stopped and turned right. Without further thinking, Twilight followed them, but could see in the corner of her eyes a wired fence separating the field from a forest.
There was no time for investigating it, as finally the parasprites flew back to where they’re supposed to fly to.
With Celestia having to deal with an infestation in Fillydelphia, Twilight could calmly fix the damages the parasprites caused and prepare for the Princess’s visit. She even found time to relax and let the parasprite incident play out in her head again.
What a wonderful friendship lesson it had turned out to be at the end; a solution to one’s problem could come from unlikely sources and that one should always listen to your friends — even if they didn’t seem to make sense.
However, one small detail came back into her mind: the wired fence. Why was it there? What could possibly be kept out from others so far away from Ponyville?
As there were several hours till sunset and she had nothing better to do, she headed towards the direction of the location.
It was a longer walk than expected. Running after the parasprites must have made the distance appear shorter, but at the end she stood before the wired fence.
She looked at the forest behind it. The trees starting the forest were a duller green than the trees she usually saw, but what she noticed was the absence of any noises.
“What are you doing here?”
Jumping up in surprise, she turned around to see a unicorn guard wearing silver armour. She must have been too deep in her thoughts to not notice him before.
“Me? I’m just looking–”
“Leave!” He stumped on the ground.
“But I–”
“This area is restricted to any outsiders!”
“If you would be so polite to–” Twilight backed up when he raised a spear against her. “–tell me why it's restricted?”
Suddenly his ears flickered and he gave a quick glance towards the forest, before shaking his head.
“Listen here: If you don’t leave immediately, I’ll have to chase you away by force. Your choice.”
“But–”
The guard charged at her.
Twilight ran away, but when she didn’t hear his steps, she slowed down and turned back, seeing him remaining at the fence and watching after her with a fierce expression.
Seeing as he meant it seriously, she sighed and slowly walked away.
Why the urgency? Why didn’t he simply tell what was there?
Twilight knew however one thing: She’d find out what was inside the forest.
It was dark, as only the moon and a few stars were lighting the surroundings. Despite being a summer night, the silent wind gave Twilight a freezing sensation. Nonetheless, she kept pushing herself through the bushes to stay hidden.
Suddenly she stepped on a branch, which appeared loud enough in the silence surrounding her. She froze in her position, closely listening if she’d been heard.
Nothing happened.
She released her breath and continued further.
When she saw the wired fence, she unintentionally gulped as she watched the forest behind it.
There it was. Now at night it seemed even more unwelcome and, if she was being honest, slightly frightening. During the trip here she had heard all kinds of small insects, birds or even the wind, but here? All silent. Not a single noise came out of it.
Her horn lit up as she tried to make space between the wires, but to no avail.
“Anti-Magic wires?” she muttered in disbelief. She had seen those in some areas at Celestia’s palace for protection, but she didn’t expect to see them here in the middle of nowhere.
She opened her saddlebag and took out a rope. With quick but careful movements she tied the rope to a pair of wires and pulled on it, making a hole just big enough to squeeze through.
On the other side, she heard steps coming near her – in the surrounded silence appearing louder as ever. With shaking hooves she untied the rope and accidently cut her hoof in the process, but bit her lips together. Just in time she was able to hide, when she could make out the same unicorn guard as before coming nearer.
He stopped right at the part of the fence where she went through and looked intensely at the forest. Twilight didn’t dare to breathe as she waited for what he would do.
Suddenly his eyes widened and his ears were twitching, before he shook his head.
“I see no foals,” he said loudly and clearly and looked again.
A moment later he sighed in relief and continued further his patrol.
Slowly Twilight walked out of her hiding and watched after the guard. Why did he say what he said? What purpose did it pose?
Not being able to make sense of it, she pushed the questions away and turned back to the forest. It wasn’t a dense forest, as the trees weren’t close to each other, but the lack of bright green and the complete silence gave her a chilling feeling. Still, she stepped forward, her path being lightened by an illumination spell.
After a few steps she stopped, as an idea came into her mind. She took the rope she just used and tied it to a tree, while the other end she tied on her left forehoof. The middle part was put on her saddle bag in a way to fall down as she would walk. One could never be too safe to mark the way back, especially in a forest like this.
With a stronger confidence she continued on her path. Everything was in control, so she didn’t have to worry about anything.
The further she walked into the forest, the more confused she got. There was nothing — quite literally. Except for the now naked trees, there was no plant here, not even speaking about any animals that would usually be in a surrounding like that.
Maybe she overthought the mystery and it was just a secret military base? It would explain the usage of Anti-Magic wires in a place like this. If that’s the case, she had nothing to worry — as a personal student of Celestia, she had the ties to get free if she’d ever get caught.
Still, it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. She recalled the first time she entered a restricted area in Celestia’s palace. It took hours of questioning until she was released, not even mentioning the serious talk her personal teacher gave to her afterwards.
As she was about to turn around and walk back, she suddenly could make out a cry in the distance. Barely loud enough to notice, but she heard it.
She turned her head, trying to guess where it had come from.
But there was nothing. Only her own breath broke through the silence that was laying over this place.
She sighed and walked back, following the rope that showed her the way she had gone. Maybe she should have taken the easier path and simply ask Celestia in a letter what this place was about. Then she wouldn’t have wasted the hours of this night for something that would have caused her only troubles.
Her ears flickered. There was another cry, somewhere behind her.
“Hello? Is there somepony?”
But there was nothing in her view.
She bit her lips as she trotted into the direction of the voice. Whoever it was, they needed help. Twilight didn’t know why somepony in a military basis would be crying for help and not get heard, but if she was the one able to help, she would.
A fog had formed in the forest by now, but it was light enough for Twilight to make out all the shapes in the distance – which consisted so far only of trees. The air had also dropped further in temperature, but she was too focused to get bothered by it.
When she heard the cry again, she suddenly stopped.
Was this the voice of a foal? What was a foal doing in a place like this?
There, in front of her, she could make out the shape of a small foal next to a tree.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” she yelled and ran towards it.
It replied with a cry for help.
Twilight ran faster, passing tree by tree and having the foal always in her sight, but it remained in the distance, unreachable.
Suddenly her left forehoof was pulled back and she fell to the ground. Luckily, she didn’t hurt herself, but analysing the cause revealed that the rope tied to her hoof was stuck on a root sticking out of the ground. She hurried back, freed the rope and turned back to where the foal was, but she didn’t see it anymore.
Where was it? Did it run away? Didn’t it see her?
“Where are you?”
She slowly walked to where she had last seen the foal. Her worry for it grew with every step, until she heard a cry again.
Turning her head to the left, she could make out in the distance the shape of a foal again. This time, the voice was different, but still from a foal.
Twilight sat down, as she was keeping the foal in her view. Something didn’t add up. She hadn’t been able to reach the other foal, and now another was in a different place, but also far away. The guard's words came into her mind, a strange phrase that back then didn’t make sense before. What if…?
“I see no foals,” she said, keeping the foal in her view.
The shape of it got blurry, and the cry for help got more silent.
“I see no foals.” Her words were now louder and clearer.
The shape of the foal disappeared and the crying stopped entirely.
Twilight remained sitting motionlessly, processing what she’d just seen. This wasn’t a military basis — not with that kind of hallucination — so what was it? A place corrupted with dark magic?
Whatever it was, she had to know the cause of it.
With new determination she stood up and continued further into the forest. While the possibility of dark magic being involved here worried her, she knew now the needed phrase to defend herself – and if not, she knew the way out.
The fog became thicker, but she could still see enough in front of her. Only the slow and cold, but somehow silent wind made her occasionally shake her body — nothing a prepared blanket could fix.
She heard another cry for help.
“I see no foals,” she said the newly learned phrase.
It stopped.
The rope’s length wasn’t enough anymore for laying out the path, but Twilight simply tied her spare rope on another tree and continued further — if she won’t find anything after this rope ends, she’d have to return and investigate another time.
Once again, Twilight admired her determination, but also the calmness whenever she was eager to investigate something unknown. Anypony else would have been fearful and too scared to even step into the forest, and even if not, the hallucination of the foals would turn away the most brave ones. Not for her. Her hunger for knowledge kept her pushing forward – whenever it’s safe of course.
Speaking of hallucinations, in the corner of her eye she could make out another shape of a foal, this time closer than usual.
“I see no foals.”
The shape didn’t disappear, but there wasn‘t a cry for help either.
Wasn’t this a hallucination? Or did the forest have affected her too much? She tried another time, but now even louder.
“I see no foals!”
The shape slowly began to distort itself, but didn’t disappear.
“I. See. No. Foals!”
Suddenly, the shape bursted silently into pieces, leaving only a dark, black liquid flowing away from her.
That was new. She came nearer the liquid and looked at it. It was impossible to make out from what it consisted of, but she also didn’t dare to touch it – who knew what it would do? Instead, she followed the path the liquid made.
The path was far from linear — the opposite. It was full of turns and looped around trees, making it harder for Twilight to make sure that the rope didn’t accidentally touch the liquid. If necessary, she’d hang the rope on a branch.
As she was following it, she suddenly heard a cry right next to her and jumped in surprise. Hidden behind a tree was a dark shape of a foal.
“I see no foals,” she said, catching her breath.
The shape walked towards her.
“I see no foals!” she screamed and stepped back. Quickly turning her head, she made sure to not accidentally step into the liquid.
“I see no foals! I see no foals! I see no foals!”
Each time she said the phrase, the foal slowed down, stumbling over its own legs.
“I see no foals! I see no foals! I see no foals!”
Suddenly it layed down, its hooves covering its ears and begged her to stop.
“I see no foals!”
It screamed, like it was in pain. In panic, Twilight repeated the phrase another time, before turning around and running away.
This was getting worse!
She didn‘t pay attention to where she was running, she just had enough focus to the ground to not accidentally step into the liquid if it appeared into her way.
She saw one just in time to jump over it, but regretted it immediately afterwards. Turning around, she saw the rope being slowly soaked by the black liquid.
Her heart raced. What should she do now? Run back and leave the forest? What if she would cross the foal?
First things first, she removed the rope from her left forehoof. As she was trying to slow down her breath, she listened closely to her surroundings.
She bit her lips when she heard another foal’s cry, but luckily from a distance. Taking a look back at the rope, she saw it getting slowly dissolved by the liquid — presumably acidic.
There was no time to waste.
Gathering her courage, she ran back and followed the rope, even though the twisted path was confusing and worrisome. The cries of foals became louder, as now more than one joined the callings for help, but Twilight held them back with the phrase — even if the words were thrown out separately.
Suddenly a shape was right behind a turn. She yelped and threw herself to the side to miss it.
“I see no foals!”
She stood up.
“I see no foals!”
The foal begged her for help. Twilight gritted her teeth together, trying to not feel pity for it.
“I see no foals!”
She turned and continued running, but there were even more crying. From left, right, behind, in front of her, from every direction there was now a foal crying for help.
Twilight stopped and caught her breath from running, as she could make out several shapes slowly coming towards her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her hooves were shaking, and her eyes filled with tears.
“I see no foals!” she yelled with all her might, the only weapon against them.
“I see no foals! I see no foals! I see no foals!”
It worked. The shapes were still coming closer, but their crying for help toned down.
“I see no foals! I see no foals! I see no foals!”
The first ones stumbled and fell to the ground, while others were still fighting to get towards her.
“I see no foals! I see no foals! I see no foals!”
One bursted into pieces, the liquid it left flowing around her. Whichever shape it touched, it made the foal also burst into pieces and become part of it. It went a full circle around her, killing every shape that surrounded her.
However, her eyes were fixed on a single tree. It was bigger than any other tree in the forest, completely dried out and naked, but a single branch of it, parallel to the ground got her full attention.
It had several nooses hanging from it. Each rope was mouldy and barely holding themselves together.
Then it hit her. Her breath getting quick, she looked to the ground under the nooses and gasped. There were corpses of foals, now all just dark black shapes, but she knew that those were the victims of an incident – no, an unforgivable crime, an evil wickedness! They were innocent!
And the crime was being kept a secret! The guards, the wired fence, it’s all to erase their history, to let those who need to be punished get away!
Her tears rolled down her face, as she felt pity for all the foals here crying for help. They get ignored, pushed away by the phrase ceasing them out of one’s mind, but they just wanted the victims to be heard, to have them get their revenge.
But she would change it. She would leave the forest, make the crime public and make sure that those who kept it a secret get their deserved punishment! She would…
A feeling of burning ripped her from her thoughts. Looking back, she gasped when she saw the black liquid touch her back hoof.
She immediately jumped over the liquid surrounding her and continued running after the rope. A shape of a foal was running next to her.
“Just wait! I’ll help you get heard!” she said to it, but it kept coming nearer. “Please, let me leave to help you!”
It didn’t listen to her.
“I’m so sorry,” she muttered as she stopped.
The foal slowed down and walked into her direction.
“I see no foals!” Twilight shouted and ran again.
Her breath started getting short from the running and having to say the phrase in repeat, as she saw more and more foals running with her, but the panic, adrenaline and the pity for the innocent victims gave her the needed strength to keep going.
Finally she came to the end of this rope and quickly followed the other rope leading out of the forest. The shapes were now dangerously close to her, but she kept going.
Suddenly she felt a stinging pain in her right back hoof and stumbled on the ground. Quickly standing up, she looked at it and gasped. It was now covered in the black liquid! Did some of it keep sticking on her? Her horn lit up as she tried to grab her blanket with it…
What was wrong? Why couldn’t she use her magic? It felt like something in her horn was blocking the magic flow.
She didn’t have time to investigate it and removed the blanket on her by hoof, before trying to wipe away the liquid on her. It worked, partly — her back hoof still felt as if it was burning, but it should be enough to get away from the forest.
In the corner of her eye she saw one foal run towards her.
“I see no foals!”
Just in time Twilight could yell that phrase, making the shape stop and looking confused at her. However, several more came nearer.
“I see no foals!”
Something was wrong. None of the shapes were repelled by that phrase, instead even more appeared and were watching her, some even sat down.
“I see no foals!”
Her eyes widened. Her voice… it changed. She didn’t sound like that! It sounded like…
No, this couldn’t be it! It can’t be!
“I see no foals!” she screamed and ran, following the rope.
Her eyes were watering with tears, as her repeated phrases were interrupted by her sobbing. She had to get out of the forest as soon as possible!
How she wished to hear the cries of help of the foals, but instead they all were silent and watching her, not understanding what she was doing.
Finally she reached the wired fence. She untied the rope from the tree and tied it to the wire. She grabbed with her teeth the rope and pulled on it, but with no success.
She didn’t have the strength anymore to make herself a space to squeeze through.
“No, please! I have to leave!” she begged, as she could feel the stares of the foals behind her.
In desperation, she tried to get through it nonetheless, but the wires were too tight and strong.
After several fruitless attempts, she changed her strategy and tried to climb over it. No success either, just painful hooves.
This couldn’t be it! She had to get away from here! She had to by all means!
As she heard steps coming nearer, she got hope. The guards! They would be able to help her!
When the guard came to sight, she jumped in place to get his attention.
“Help! Help me please!”
The guard stared into her direction.
“Please help! I’m stuck here! I have to leave this place!” she cried.
The guard shook his head and stamped to the ground.
“I see no foals.”
“I’m not a foal! Please! Listen to me!”
“I see no foals!”
Her head turned dizzy, as the phrase made her body shake in pain. Unwillingly, she stepped back from the fence, as she realised that her last hope was gone. In a last attempt, she cried for help, begging for him to listen to her.
“I see no foals!” she heard him shout, each word feeling like needles poking into her body, before she was gone in the forest.
