Thomas and Friends: Dean Forest Nightmare

by The Blue EM2

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Original Character, Equestria Girls, Mystery, Misty, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Horror, Profanity, Violence, Crossover, Alphabittle
Length: 8754

If you go Down to the Woods Today, you'd better Not go Alone...

Misty and Alphabittle have been invited to attend the Dean Forest Railway's Autumn Gala, and things seem to be going normally for the most part. However, the locals seem oddly cagey about the local region, and warn them about the land that lies beyond the end of the line.

One day, Misty finds herself on the other side of the barrier. Thrust face to face into a nightmarish struggle between good and evil, can she and her new allies escape the forest and its strange disease? Or will she remain trapped in the woods- forever?

An original story inspired by the Friendship is Magic episode A Health of Information, but played explicitly for horror. Written to mark the 40th anniversary of Thomas and Friends, and my contribution to the Infection craze currently sweeping the fandom.

Published 2024-10-27 08:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-10-31 07:45:12 UTC

Intro

"...the area where patient zero first reported..."

"...some sort of defence mechanism..."

"...trees cannot scream... right?"

"You thought you could defeat the power of the Ancient Ones?"

"Stay away from the forest, stay away, STAY AWA-"

Fimfiction Proudly Presents

A Story by The Blue EM2

Sponsored by the Guild of Equestrian Railroaders

And Based on an Idea by Thomlight Sparkle

THOMAS AND FRIENDS: DEAN FOREST NIGHTMARE

Starring the voices of:

Bahia Watson

Phil LaMarr

Joseph Swash

Theresa Gallagher

Freema Agyeman

John Barrowman

Derren Brown

And Tobin Bell

Animation by Boulder Media and Arc Productions

Model Effects and Sequences recorded at Ellstree Studios

A Hasbro and Mattel Co-Production, Copyright MMXXIV

Chapter 1: Down in the Woods

It was Autumn in the United Kingdom, and this meant that schools were out for the holidays. With such an increase in potential footfall, visitors wanted to see all that the United Kingdom had to offer. They had piled into their cars and travelled to all sorts of places within the country, keen to find something to do or some place to take their minds off their troubles if only for a while.

One of these places was the Dean Forest Railway. A small heritage line nestled into the heart of Gloucestershire, it ran through an ancient forest that was so old, nobody was quite sure how old it was. The first references to it had been found in records predating the arrival of the Normans, but apart from that many things about it were mysterious.

This heritage line carved its way through the forest, heading from the small port town of Lydney up to Parkend, where once a short freight branch to a coal mine continued onwards. Today, you'd never have guessed there were industrial remains in the region, but that was part of the area's charm; new discoveries and strange things waited around every corner.

And this October, the line had some special visitors. The engines of the Maritime Line had become rather well known throughout the railway preservation circles of England and Wales (Scotland was yet to give any of them an invite), and as a result they were often getting requests to visit other lines. This time, the railway had requested Bellerophon for the Halloween season, and as such Misty and Bellerophon were more than happy to oblige.

They weren't the only ones going, though. As they were anticipating heavy traffic the railway had decided to hire in Janet as well. As Alphabittle was her driver, this meant that father and daughter would be getting a few days away in the lovely bucholic lands of the Borders.

They also got to know the local engines too. The bulk of trains were worked by Wilbert and Warrior, a pair of saddle tanks that had once worked in coal mines all across the country. The main driver, Torque Wrench, was a good hand and a helpful figure to know, once you got through her rather odd sense of humour.

However, the railway's General Manager did cause some confusion. His name was Sunny Skies, which as you'll recall means he shared a nickname with one of Misty's friends. This meant that in conversation Misty would have to clarify which Sunny she was speaking about, as the other engines would get very confused when she suddenly started using female pronouns when speaking of Sunny.

But, overall, things went well. The trains weren't too heavy for the old tank engine, and together the four ran the line swimmingly. Passengers did turn out in droves to look at Bellerophon, as he was much older than most steam engines they had seen, but they weren't too problematic. They always remembered to stay behind the safety barriers and maintain a sensible distance from the locomotives.

But one day, things took a turn. Bellerophon and Misty had taken the first train of the day up to Parkend, and had had a relatively trouble free run.

"The scenery here is lovely," Bellerophon commented, as Misty uncoupled him from the coaches. "Makes for a nice change from the seaside, doesn't it?"

Misty nodded. "I do like Swanage, but sometimes a change of scenery is quite nice. As mom says a change is as good as a rest."

Bellerophon looked confused. "You know she isn't your biological mother, right?"

"She's the closest thing to a mom I have," Misty said. "Dad's never really talked about my biological mom, and Lady Haven specifically asked me to call her that. I guess I'm still not really secure with this whole family thing."

Bellerophon smiled. "I'll always be by your side."

"Thanks."

As the pair backed up into the headshunt, Misty sounded the whistle to let the signalman know they were clear of the points. But as she was looking round, she spotted a strange sign deeper into the woods.

DANGER

KEEP AWAY

NO TRAINS PERMITTED PAST THIS POINT

BY ORDER

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Misty was surprised. What was a sign doing there- and put there by the Department of Health and Social Care of all organisations? Her understanding of government departments was a bit limited, but she was pretty certain that old railway lines were beyond their remit.

The signal dropped, and she opened the regulator to bring Bellerophon forward. "That was weird," she said.

"What was?" Bellerophon asked.

"The sign warning us to keep out," Misty replied. "Why would the Department of Health and Social Care be regulating where trains can and cannot run? It doesn't make a lot of sense."

After they got back from the run and backed onto the shed at Norchard, she decided to ask Wilbert about it.

The old saddle tank thought for a moment. "That sign has been there for a while, and occupies the old line to the old coal mine. It was abandoned many years ago, and railwaymen put that notice up as a warning. We're not allowed to go that way, and for good reason- legend has it that evil lurks in the forest beyond the line."

"Is this a local legend?" Bellerophon asked.

"Yes," Wilbert said. "Ancient stories tell of things too horrible to describe that lie beyond the end of the forest, and that we must, for our own safety, never go there. I shan't tell the stories- I hardly want to give you nightmares, do I, especially when we have hard working days ahead of us."

This just left Misty even more confused. Why was the Department of Health and Social Care concerned with an old railway line and ancient stories and myths? This wasn't making any sense at all, so she decided to mull it over in her sleep that night. Or so she planned.

The next morning, the sun shone, and the first order of the day was a goods train to Parkend. Janet had been booked on this working, so Misty accompanied her father for the run down the line, sitting in the secondman's position for the journey.

The run was relatively easy for the most part- the speed limits were low and the goods was light, so there was not much to worry about.

Misty hadn't thought over the strange things in the forest, so was a little apprehensive about going down there again. But as they reached Parkend, it happened.

Alphabittle looked concerned as he moved the brake handle. "I'm not getting any response from the train brakes!" he said, adjusting them more. Nothing happened.

He applied the locomotive brake, but this didn't seem to have much effect either. "Something's not right here," he said.

And it was about to get worse. The line down into the headshunt at Parkend is on a gradient, and the line drops continously to the old coal mine site. As the train rolled through the platform, they began to pick up speed.

"Misty, take the controls," Alphabittle said. "I'm going to apply the hand brake."

Misty nodded and hopped over, doing her best to stay calm.

By the time they'd swapped positions, the train had continued to gather speed. They flew down the grade towards the barrier, which was now looming closer and closer.

The barrier had been built as a warning to stop, not to prevent the weight of a train smashing through it. And the diesel went clean through the barrier and out the other side.

"I can't see!" Janet called. "The barrier's in my face!"

Alphabittle was still turning the handbrake wheel as hard as he could, but it was having minimal effect. They continued to go faster, and faster, and faster down the hill.

Misty slammed the brakes into emergency, which started to have an effect. The speedometer was starting to show dangerously high speeds. She leaned up and blinked in shock.

"We're not gonna hold the bend!" she shouted. And they didn't. Janet's wheels left the rails as she tipped onto her side, followed by the trucks following down. They clattered into a heap and piled up on the ground by the side of the embankment.

And everything went black.

When Misty came to, she was still in the cab. The cab door was on the ground, so she climbed over the controls and out the other side. "Dad?" she called.

"I'm over here, Misty!" Alphabittle called. "I'm going to try and get a phone signal!"

Misty climbed out of Janet's cab and landed on the floor. She knew she was in a place she shouldn't logically be, but she had to get out of there. She began to move as fast as she could, but her foot got caught in a tree root, and she rolled down a small slope.

She came to rest in front of a strange orange plant with blue spots, attached to the base of a tree. As she looked at it, the plant started to open.

Author's Note

Hello everybody, and welcome back to another story. It's been a while since I did a horror story, and with Nightmare Night coming up it only seemed fitting to write one. This time around, I am taking inspiration from an episode of the seventh season of Friendship is Magic.

The Dean Forest Railway is a heritage line in Gloucestershire, which runs from Lydney to Parkend. It preserves a section of the former Severn and Wye route to Cinderford and is well known for its rural character.

Wilbert and Warrior were two core engines on the line in its early days as a heritage operation. The former is named in honour of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, and appears as a character in one of the books. Warrior, another member of the same class, appears in the same book as 16. The fanbase gave the character the name Sheffield, a rather odd choice given that Bickershaw Colliery, where the engine worked, was in Lancashire.

On the topic of collieries, the Dean Forest was once a hive of coal mining activity- which to a modern visitor seems implausible considering the woodland present today. Locally, coal mines were called gales, a holdover from legislation from the 14th Century. The last ones closed in 1965, but many of the buildings still exist today.

But now our heroes are in the dangerous place they were warned not to go! What will happen next?

Chapter 2: Unwelcome Sights

Before Misty could react to the plant, there was suddenly a loud bang, and the plant in front of her exploded into fragments. "What the?"

She hurriedly scrambled backwards, stopping in the middle of the wooded area to try and figure out where the noise had come from.

Alphabittle looked about. "Interesting choice of weapon for that."

Misty got up and looked at her father. "What do you mean?"

"If I identified the sound correctly, it's a hammer rifle. But I can't think of many people who own or use those given magazine weapons are so common."

"You can identify guns from the sound they make?"

"Well, technically it's a rifle, but yes, I can."

Suddenly, another voice cut through the darkness.

"They'll be approaching your position. This way! Head towards the orange beacon! I'll cover you if they start to head your way."

Misty looked about. "Who was that?"

Alphabittle looked around as well. "I'm starting to get a sneaking suspicion as to who is speaking to us. Come on; let's go. Beats standing around out here with this mess on our tail."

And so, they began to set off across the terrain, the murky terrain lit only by a series of orange beacons leading through the forest. Without them, they'd have gotten lost, and as a result it was vital they paid close attention to where they were leading.

Most importantly, who was the 'they' this mysterious voice had referred to? Was there something down there with them, and if so, what? Would it be causing them any difficulty, or was it benign and not a problem?

They continued on their way into the forest, the beacons continuing to light the way and show them where to go.

"Hurry! They'll know you're hear."

Alphabittle broke into a run. "Quick, Misty! Pick up the pace!"

Misty nodded, and broke into a sprint herself. Or her best approximation of a sprint. It was a bit hard to assess precisely how fast she was going in the dingy light.

Speaking of which, why was it so dark and dingy down here? It had been perfectly bright back at Parkend. Why had it dropped so very dark? Misty knew they were deeper in the trees here, but it shouldn't reduce it to effectively night time levels of visibility.

At last, the path seemed to be coming to an end, and as they looked forward a large building loomed out of the darkness. It was heavy built and made of metal, quite out of keeping with the local area, and they continued to close in on it. There was a balcony facing towards them, and they could see a hooded figure standing on the balcony with a rifle of some description in hand. They seemed quite serious. "Get through the doors! I'll meet you in there!"

"Not much point in standng around out here!" Alphabittle said, as he reached the door. Once at it, the doors opened and he entered alongside Misty.

No sooner had they entered then the doors slammed shut again, and lights came on to illuminate a previously dark hallway.

"To your left are the decontamination chambers. Step into them."

"Just who are you?" Misty asked.

"Does it matter? Do as I say and I shall explain everything."

Without hesitating, Misty and Alphabittle hopped into the machines sitting to one side. The doors closed once they were inside, and within moments they were fired up to full power, with some flashing lights and pops to boot.

"Decontamination complete. The airlock to the main lab is opening now. Step through, if you please."

The doors on both the decontamination chambers and the end of the room slid open. Misty and Alphabittle stepped through them, and into a lab which seemed to be humming with equipment.

"Good to see you both made it!" said the voice from earlier, and a woman stepped around the bend. "Now that you're here, you're..."

She trailed off as she saw who was standing there. "Ohh..."

She was a woman with mildly lilac skin and greenish eyes that seemed to pierce the room with their light, at least that's what it seemed like. Her hair was dark green, and based on the way it was sitting she probably had rather noticable bangs were her hair not tied back for the environment she was in. She was currently wearing turquoise slacks, a pair of black boots, a grey shirt, and a medical labcoat which currently had a pen set in the top pocket. A case of rounds sat next to one of the doors, and she had probably just finished taking it off.

Alphabittle looked coldly at her. "Nearly twenty years and all you can say is 'oh'. I can see we're off to a flying start."

The woman blinked, then began to walk round a table. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, that's all. Now then, I know it's a lot but-"

"You'd better have a pretty damn good explanation for why you ran off all those years ago."

The woman stopped and turned back. "I didn't run off, I was moved to a new station. You know that."

"And it was just after Misty disappeared," Alphabittle said. "Coincidence I think not, Faven. No doubt you already had another guy lined up to replace me."

The woman looked furious. "How dare you. You know I didn't take it anywhere near as well as you did! Out here there was a chance I'd find her again, but work got in the way!"

"A likely story," Alphabittle said mockingly. "What sort of mother does that?"

"And for your information I didn't have somebody else lined up," the woman interrupted him. "In the eyes of the law we're still married unless something has happened nobody told me about. I may be a many things, but an adulterer is not one of them."

Misty was now very confused. "Can somebody explain to me what's going on?" she asked.

Alphabittle looked over. "Family business," he said. "I don't think I ever mentioned her to you. This is Faven Blossomforth."

"I go by Firstmorne professionally," Faven said.

Alphabittle rolled his eyes. "You never were that committed to the marriage, were you?"

Faven looked annoyed. "You know exactly why I practice medicine under my maiden name. I was already an established doctor before I met you, and to get everything changed over and renamed would be a massive amount of work. It was just easier to keep using my maiden name."

Misty had partly tuned out of the conversation, and her eyes were drawn to a pair of photographs sitting on a desk. The first showed what appeared to be a forest scene from many years ago. She recognised Alphabittle in a posh suit, although his hair and beard were blue rather than white, suggesting this was from when he wore a younger man's clothes.

The woman standing by his side was the same one Misty had just been speaking to, and she was visibly younger too. Clad in a sleeveless white wedding dress that looked like a flower in bloom, the scene was clearly one of happiness based on their smiles.

Faven had noticed Misty looking at the picture, and looked over. "That was our wedding day," she said. "Alphie loved the outdoors, so we decided to get married in Ashdown Forest." She smiled. "I still remember it like it was yesterday."

Misty then looked to the next photo. It showed Faven in a hospital bed, holding a baby in her arms. Misty looked closer to see... herself?!

What was she doing there? She had no clue who her mother was, or even her own age, unless... but it couldn't be...

Misty blinked in shock, looking from the photo to Faven and back. "Y- you're my mom..."

Faven bent down to Misty's level, and smiled. "Welcome home, Misty," she said. "You know, you really do resemble your grandmother very closely."

Misty quickly pulled Faven into a hug. "I'm so glad to finally know who my parents are!" she whispered quietly.

Faven sighed. "I'm glad you're safe too. I know I could have been a better parent-"

"You can say that again," Alphabittle said snarkily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise I was done speaking," Faven said coldly, before turning her attention back to Misty. "But I'm here now. And we need to stick together, as this forest is not what it seems."

"Yeah, what is going on here?" Alphabittle asked. "Why do you have all this kit here? Decontamination chambers? They? A rifle? What sort of doctor needs all this stuff?"

Faven picked the box up and popped it in a cupboard, before placing the rifle in a glass case and locking the lid with a key. "This is going to take a while to explain, but it's why I've been out of the loop for so long. You see, I was sent here a long time ago to respond to a strange series of medical incidents in the towns surrounding the forest. Only this was no ordinary disease."

Author's Note

Well, we are deeper into the forest, and now another major source of inspiration comes in. Part of the depiction of the Dean Forest is modelled on illustrations of Mirkwood from an old edition of The Hobbit, and some inspiration was also taken from this video which re-imagines Winnie the Pooh as a dark fantasy movie.

But by far the most notable part of this chapter is...

Faven Firstmorne. A character created by Thomlight Sparkle 1 to serve as Misty's mother (seeing as the cancellation of TYT means we'll never learn who she was), here she makes her formal debut in my writing. If you have read Infection, you now know who the focus character of that story was. Aspects of her personality here are modelled on Martha Jones, a character Freema Agyeman portrayed in the BBC series Doctor Who.

Faven's firearm is the model depicted above, though I have decided to go for a wood and steel finish instead of the colours depicted above. For firearms enthusiasts, it's a double-barrelled hammer trigger rifle chambered in .450. These weapons were designed for hunters; the first trigger 'sets' the weapon to fire, then the second is effectively a hair trigger. This allows the hunter to configure the weapon to fire without worrying about accidentally setting it off.

The inspiration for the description of Faven's wedding portrait came from a discussion myself and Thomlight Sparkle 1 had whilst I was planning A Sky Full of Stars. He commented that one idea he'd had was that Alphabittle and Faven would probably have a forest wedding in Bridlewood, so I chose to reference this idea. This also inspired the description of Faven's wedding dress, which I have linked below:

I mean, it does look like a flower in bloom, doesn't it?

But, next time, more of the mystery will be unearthed.

Chapter 3: Patient Zero

"You saw the flower, right? The one I shot?"

Misty nodded. "I don't mean to be rude, but it was rather difficult not to spot it. Orange and blue are not colours I'd normally associate with the English forest landscape."

Faven nodded in agreement, and brought an image up on the screen of a monitor. It was a closeup of the pod itself. "This pod is what we term in the science world a spore carrier. This carries a selection of small spores within the flower itself. It has some sort of proximity tracker which allows it to detect when a living being is nearby. It then opens and fires the spores directly into the creature's face, which results in the spores being absorbed into the pores of the skin and through the breathing tubes."

She switched the display over. "After a few days, other symptoms start to emerge. We first spotted these in a local hospital when patients started to arrive with very strange symptoms. They were doing things like coughing up bubbles and sneezing lightning. But what was most notable was the fact their skin was covered in orange spots."

Misty shuddered. "Coughing up bubbles doesn't sound fun."

"Can't imagine that having large amounts of fluid in your lungs is what I'd consider a fun time," Alphabittle agreed.

Faven updated to a new image. "And that was just the start. After a few days in isolation, all neural activity ceased. Their brains effectively shut down, and the subject was brain dead, although other organs continued to function. Any navigation appeared to be conducted by some sort of hive mind as the corpse wanders around based on some sort of higher instruction. I know it sounds highly unprofessional, but they'd effectively turned into zombies."

"Given that neither of us are medics, an element of layman's terms is required for us to follow what you're saying," Alphabittle admitted. "But please, do go on."

"We soon lost control of the hospital and the police had to be called in to contain the problem. But we then started getting reports of people all across the Dean Forest area getting similar symptoms, and similar moments of violence which required police support to bring down. All of them, the infected, that is, had been to this part of the Dean Forest in the previous few days.

"Naturally, I had to investigate, so I went there myself in some protective gear and discovered the flowers. I was also able to recover a specimen of the infected and dissect them, and what I found was bizarre."

She moved the image to a different image, showing what appeared to be an autopsy result, with a body chopped open. A hand was indicating to something. "See that there? The unmistakable appearance of tree bark."

Misty shook her head. "This is starting to sound like something out of a folk horror movie."

Faven continued on. "This, I only later learned, is the precursor to Stage IV of the disease, which none of us had observed before."

"Stage IV?" Misty asked, confused. All of this was very strange to her- not least as no disease she had ever heard of behaved like this.

Faven reached over to some controls. The display changed once more to an exterior view, and something began to rotate. It could be inferred from context that Faven had turned a camera on the exterior of the building. She pointed along a line of trees. "See these trees here? The ones with the spore pods at the bottom?"

"Yeah?" both of the other people said.

Faven paused. "Those trees weren't there a week ago." She brought up a photograph of the same spot from a week earlier, before running her hand over the same spot. "That's what Stage IV does. It causes the infected to rapidly mutate into trees- trees that produce the same spore pods that infected them in the first place. That's how the disease spreads, and how it always spread. The infected can cover a great deal of ground in only a week, and although most of these trees have been eradicated in other parts of England they've remained here for centuries."

"How long have we known about it?" Misty asked innocently.

"My research revealed stories of the Spotted Men, people who were forced into the forest by locals who were terrified of catching the disease itself. And it goes back even further. This disease, which I have dubbed Swamp Fever after a similar infection was observed in Louisiana, is so much more than a disease. It's a weapon. I know what I'm about to say may seem insane, but bear with me.

"The Swamp Fever disease is a weapon used by the Wight King, a figure from English folklore. I know this because I have encountered him." Some new video footage appeared on the screen, showing a figure floating above the treeline near large numbers of trees.

"You thought you could defeat the power of the Ancient Ones, Doctor Firstmorne? What folly. The forest shall rise again!"

Large numbers of the zombie like creatures then rushed the camera, which appeared to be producing flames as it reversed.

"Damnit! Running low on fuel!" The pilot looked directly at the camera, revealing them to be Faven. "This is the only warning we'll get. Stay away from the forest, stay away, STAY AWA-"

"The camera broke before I could get back to base," Faven said. "I was lucky to escape with my life, but somehow I'm here. And we're the only ones standing in the way of the Wight King."

"Could we have a bit of context on who the Wight King is?" Alphabittle asked.

Faven nodded. "The Wight King is an ancient figure from English folklore. He ruled this land with a cruel fist and subjected the people to all sorts of torment in his desire to rule the forest. Eventually, a group of druids led by Clover the Clever succeeded in hunting him down, and he was sealed away in the forest thousands of years ago. Unfortunately, mining work in the local area disturbed the seal, and the Wight King has emerged once more to destroy us. He intends to take over the country with Swamp Fever as his main weapon. His armies will sweep across the land and infect as many as they can, with those who survive unable to defeat the resulting tide."

"So why are we standing in his way?" Misty asked.

"Because I fought him and lived to tell the tale," Faven explained. "And I have a plan to end this once and for all." She hit a button, and a wall spun round to reveal a suit of orange armour mounted in the wall. At the ends of the arms were two large nozzles, and on the back were a pair of fuel tanks.

"This is the Firebat. I built it to allow me to navigate through this section of the forest whilst avoiding getting infected, as the suit is environmentally sealed. The flamethrowers are for burning plants and the infected. My plan is that we do this on a much larger scale."

"We're going to need an awful lot of fuel if we're going to burn this area of forest," Alphabittle said.

"I know," Faven said. "I intend to use the suit the start a fire in the middle of this section of forest, but to pull off a fire of that scale will need a lot of fuel. Luckily, I happen to have some. I got some fuel tankers moved here loaded with a mixture of conventional vehicle petrol and kerosene, and they are currently parked at the old coal mine. We need to retrieve them, take them to the main point, and saturate as much ground as we can with fuel. We can then ignite it and escape."

"I assume we come in at that point," Alphabittle said.

"I can't pull the tankers, but you have an engine that can," Faven said. "I'll help get it back on the rails, and then we can proceed to the mine and collect the fuel. Then we can end this nightmare once and for all."

Misty had been silent for most of the time, and truth be told had rather lost track of time. As a result, she was surprised to see it was now evening. "How did time pass by so quickly?"

"That can happen when you're stuck in isolation," Faven admitted. "You're the first humans I've seen in quite a while. We'll set off on our plan in the morning, but first I'll prepare us something to eat. Owing to my isolation it won't be Michelin quality, but it should keep us going."

Misty had to admit this was quickly proving to be one of the strangest days of her life. Not only had she met her mother for probably the first time in a very long time, she was now involved in a struggle for Britain's survival.

Again.

Author's Note

Now we have a name for the disease. As the inspiration for this story was stated in the description you probably saw this coming, but the disease is indeed Swamp Fever from the 7th Season episode A Health of Information. Although Swamp Fever is a real disease that infects horses, the disease in the show behaves more like cordyceps, which infects insects and hijacks their bodies to convert it into a flowering plant. Considering the fact that the cure for Swamp Fever was absurdly hard to obtain and the end result so horrifying, one can only wander if mercy killings were common in Hayseed Swamp.

Faven's suit of armour is based on the Firebat, a unit type from the video game Starcraft 2. A combat suit designed for fighting biological enemies with little to no armour, it seemed like an ideal fit for the setting.

Next time; fiery time!

Chapter 4: Burn it to the Ground

"You thought you could escape from me, you little hussy, huh?"

Misty suddenly shot up in her bed and looked around in confusion. "Huh? Who's there?"

But nobody replied.

Misty shrugged. "I was probably just hearing things." She lay back down. "I'll try and get some more sleep."

"I don't recall giving you permission to sleep, Misty."

Misty had barely any time to react before she was suddenly yanked forward, her eyes darting open as she was rudely jolted awake by whatever was going on.

Her eyes focused in on the last figure she had wanted to see here.

"Honestly, did anybody ever teach you any manners, Misty? Look somebody in the eye when they are talking to you!"

Misty blinked in horror at who was standing there. The same scorched armour. The helmet which hid part of her face. The gauntlets which seemed to crackle with energy that flowed through energy cables. "Opaline?"

"No, Donald Duck," Opaline replied. "Who do you think, Misty?"

Misty tried to scramble backwards, but the woman's grip was too strong. "N- no! How can you be here?"

"Some things are just best left unexplained," Opaline smiled, as she continued to hold Misty in a vice like grip. "Now then, you running away from me like that caused me a lot of bother. And I don't like loose ends being unresolved. So, tell me... how have you been enjoying life in the sun whilst I rot in a prison cell?"

Misty's eyes went wide with horror. "How can you be here and there at the same time?" she asked, quietly.

"Am I really here?" Opaline asked. "You see, Misty, anybody who we encounter leaves an imprint on us in our lives. This imprint can be positive or negative, but you, unfortunately, betrayed me, and for that you will not be able to escape."

Misty tried to close her eyes as the painful memories of her life under Opaline started to flood back.

"YOU IMBECILE! Can't you do anything right?"

"I- I buried it in a place I could easily find it again, but it got moved and-"

"I've had enough of your excuses. You have messed up one too many times. You are on your last chance, Misty. If you fail me again, there's an orphanage with your name on it."

Misty's memories were suddenly interrupted by Opaline grabbing her again. "What did I say about looking somebody in the eye when they are talking to you?"

Misty's quietly whimpered. "This is all in my head..." she said quietly.

"Is it?" Opaline smiled, her grin spreading across her face like a demented Cheshire Cat. "Maybe this is all in mine. Perhaps you are a figment of my imagination."

Misty started to shuffle backwards to give herself more room between herself and Opaline, but her tormenter simply stepped closer. "You know, Misty, I'll always be a part of you. I was there through your formative years. I raised you, shaped you. You have nightmares of me. You cannot escape me, Misty! I'LL BE WITH YOU TO THE DAY YOU DIE!"

Opaline suddenly covered the ground with blinding speed towards the terrified girl. Misty, understandably, screamed and lunged back. "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Her fist came not into contact with metal but what felt like a face, and suddenly the sounds around her started to shift. Misty slowly opened her eyes to see there was no sign of Opaline anywhere. Instead, Faven had stumbled backwards and had her hand over her nose.

Misty looked from Faven to herself, and saw her left hand was clenched into a fist. She'd just punched her own mother.

Misty looked up, fearful. "No," she said quietly, trying to hold back the tears. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

As Faven stepped closer, Misty shuffled back again. "I'll do what you want! PLEASE, JUST DON'T HIT ME!"

Faven stopped, her hand now down at her side. Instead of looking angry, she just looked utterly confused. "Misty, what made you think I'd hit you?"

"I thought everybody hit people when they were mad with them," Misty said. "That's what Opaline did."

"I'm more confused than anything else," Faven admitted. "You started screaming in the middle of the night and kept mentioning this Opaline person. Who is she?"

Alphabittle looked bitterly at her. "The very same person I've had to help her with this entire time. You'd know that if you hadn't left." He then walked away without saying another word.

Faven ignored him, and sat down next to Misty. "Come here, Misty," she said.

Misty bolted over with great speed and stopped. "Y- yes, ma'am," she said.

"I want you to explain to me who this Opaline is and what happened," Faven said calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you. But I can't help you if I don't know what happened."

So, Misty told her as much as she remembered. Basically being used as a slave. Sent on spying missions. Not being fed properly and having to scavenge food from bins. Struggling with other problems. Stealing things for Opaline. Being thrown from a train and nearly dying as a result. And then the ongoing battles with Opaline.

Faven looked horrified when Misty had finished. "You really can't remember us at all?"

"No," Misty said. "I don't really know who I am. How can I when my mind is in such a mess?"

Faven stepped up for a moment, and turned towards the door. She seemed to be shaking.

Misty got up and walked over to try and figure out what was wrong. She soon got a clue. Her mother was crying, who then unexpectedly pulled her into a hug.

"Misty... what did Opaline do to you?"

Misty was silent for a moment, then replied. "What didn't she do?"

The next morning, work got underway on getting the plan into motion. Faven had powered up the Firebat, freshly refuelled and ready for combat, and used it to get Janet back on the rails. Once the stock from the crash had been dealt with, Alphabittle conducted checks on Janet and concluded she was safe to operate.

"Not sure that will fit in the cab," he said to Faven.

"I'll ride on the outside," she replied, hopping onto the cab steps and holding onto a grab handle. "This will secure me in place."

Once she was onboard, Alphabittle engaged a forward light, and Faven swung the light on the Firebat forward to illuminate the track ahead of them. Once the way was lit, they could proceed to the old coal mine.

The journey was tense and silent, with the trio looking about carefully for any threat from the treeline. Strange screams and loud noises echoed through the forest, undoubtedly belonging to those unfortunate enough to be infected with Swamp Fever.

"How much further to the coal mine?" Alphabittle asked.

"Only a few miles," Faven replied. "I assume this is as fast as we can go?"

"With how bumpy this track is, I daren't risk going any faster," Alphabittle answered. "If we derail again it'll slow us down on the move."

Misty continued to look ahead, her eyes still locked in a stare. How had this become her life? She'd never asked for this. Something in her simply craved a normal life- and the childhood Opaline had stolen from her. Even if the monster was rotting behind bars, nothing would ever give Misty those years back.

The journey continued with tension, the trio scanning about trying to find out where the enemy were. The train rattled along, the familiar rumble of a Class 37 engine sounding around the area as the train rumbled along. But at last they came closer to reaching the destination, and soon the fimilar pithead gear of a coal mine loomed into view.

The mine looked like it hadn't been maintained in many years. Structures were rusting and collapsing, and much of the landscape was covered in abandoned machinery.

That, and zombies. Lots of zombies.

"Keep Janet back," Faven said, hopping off the side of the engine. "I'll clear them out."

So she did, the Firebat's twin flamethrowers finishing them off with lethal efficiency. Misty had to cover her nose to deal with the consuming aroma of charred flesh and burning wood. Janet was moved into position and coupled to the tankers, and once the brake hoses were tied on they were on their way.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the destination. It was a small grove with a pond in the middle. The rear tankers had been opened to let fuel drain into the ground and give the region some greater combustability.

Unfortunately, it seemed their arrival was anticipated. A great force of the undead stood there, and above them levitated an eldritch monstrosity from nightmare itself.

"Nice to see you again, Faven," he said. "I thought you wouldn't be coming back."

"I have unfinished business with you," Faven replied. "This ends, now."

"Nothing ends whilst this forest stands," the figure said. "ATTACK!"

Author's Note

I doubt you were expecting to see Opaline again, but this sequence was intended as a reflection of a common symptom of abuse or trauma; seeing your abuser in different places (such as your nightmares, or unpleasant experiences being triggered by people who resemble them or places you associate with them). Cindy Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford, recalled for years after escaping from her mother that she had nightmares of the abuse she suffered. This also seems to have carried over into Tell your Tale; in the episode The Lone Alicorn Sunny has repeated PTSD flashbacks as a consequence of being back in Opaline's castle, and Emotional Rollercoaster reveals Misty has very low self-esteem-no doubt a consequence of Opaline belittling her for years.

But now we have seen the main villain, and it is time for the final battle to commence.

Chapter 5: The Call of Power

And then they were on top of them. They swarmed towards Faven at speed, screeching and roaring as they followed orders from their master, their hands flailing and clawing at those they perceived a threat to their home.

Faven, naturally, just lit them up with the twin flamethrowers. "This should stop them in their tracks!"

Moments later, Alphabittle leaned out of the cab and drew the revolver he kept handy for emergencies. He aimed, lining up the shot on the floating creature apparently called the Wight King, and fired.

The shot passed clean through the eldritch abomination, producing a quiet (and rather disgusting) squelching noise that would have made anybody feel unwell had they heard it. And it did little, other than annoy the target a bit.

"You fight an actual God. You think you mortals can bring us down?"

"We can try!" Faven said, continuing to fire. She stood in front of the tankers, carefully monitoring the fuel drain to ensure the fuel was dropping in the correct locations. "We've dropped about 40% of the required fuel in the area!" she radioed to her compatriots. "Not much longer now!"

Suddenly, more of them appeared from the treeline.

"That's not hugely specific!" Alphabittle added, still firing. "There seems to be no end to these guys, and my weapons aren't exactly effective against those things!"

Misty had been assigned to monitor fuel gauges, but her ability to focus on that was somewhat impaired by the ongoing battle that had erupted around her. Although she had been involved in battles before, never had that involved engaging the undead in battle.

This had certainly been a strange few days.

Suddenly, a screeching noise from the other side of the train caught her attention, and Misty looked out of the cab window to see what was going on. Her jaw dropped in a mixture of horror and confusion. "THE TREES ARE MOVING!"

And they were. They were somehow sliding across the terrain, their limbs flailing back and forth as if trying to strike something in front of them. They also had faces. Were those screeches battle cries? Or the tortured screams of people who had been turned into trees?

For once in her life, Misty didn't want to know the answer.

She lacked easy access to a weapon, and having been drained of her magic lacked any ability to fire back at the threat.

Suddenly, there were a series of loud scrapes, and an uncomfortable hissing noise could be heard from several of the tanker cars.

"What's going on?" Alphabittle radioed.

"Several tanker cars have been damaged!" Faven radioed back. "I'm going to uncouple them. Pull away and get to safety!"

"Understood!" Alphabittle replied.

Misty looked horrified. "What if the tankers blow?"

There was a loud clunk, and the couplings were disengaged. Janet roared forward with several of the other tankers, crushing some of the unfortunate zombies under her wheels as she did so.

Misty looked back, hoping for any sign of Faven. Unfortunately, what she saw next confirmed her worst nightmare.

As they pulled away, there was a spark, which found its way into the damaged tankers. And then they exploded, a massive ball of fire reaching upwards into the sky.

The Firebat had been right next to the fuel vehicles at the time and was thrown across the ground, landing on its back in a heap. Armour plating landed nearby, some of it having been blown off the vehicle itself and also burning.

Misty grabbed the door handle. "We can't leave her there!"

"And get ourselves killed? If we go back, we both die!" Alphabittle shouted. "She knew the risks when she planned the mission!"

Misty threw the door open anyway and jumped out, sprinting across the ground as best she could before skidding to a stop in front of the damaged Firebat. The front of the armour had been blown off entirely, and this gave a good view of the pilot.

It was not a pretty sight. Faven was badly burned and covered in nasty injuries. "Misty..." she gasped, the act of speaking incredibly painful thanks to her injuries. "Run... save yourself..."

"No, there has to be a way!" Misty said, searching for any way to disconnect her mother from the armour. "I can't leave you to die!"

"I'll hold them off..." Faven said. "There's enough... fuel to make... a pretty... big... bang..."

Misty, by this point, was sobbing as she tried to figure out what to do. "This is all my fault," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry... please, I don't want to lose you!"

Misty closed her eyes to try and hide her grief, but a blue light suddenly appeared in her vision. So she opened them again to try and figure out where the light was coming from.

And what she saw stunned her.

Her entire body was glowing blue, much as it had back when she still had magic. Some sort of energy was moving from her to Faven. And what was happening was mind boggling.

Faven's injuries were healing. Bones were reset, burns faded, skin returned to its former colour and texture. Somehow, something was working to bring her mother back from the brink.

"What's happening?" Faven asked, now back up to full strength. She disconnected herself from the armour and jumped out, standing by her child's side.

"A magic user?" the Wight King said, confused. "How can this be? The human form is too weak to handle magic!"

Misty got to her feet, realising what had happened. "My magic is back?" she asked. "And I can heal people?"

She fired off a blast at a group of approaching zombies, knocking them down and clearing a way. "Maybe this is my purpose in the world!"

"THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!"

Misty looked back. "I might seem a little quiet, but my strength is very real. When my power comes to life, my heart helps me feel!"

"Less power up mantras, more shooting!" Alphabittle suggested. Misty and Faven had jumped onto the cab steps of Janet, and she then moved off.

Faven pushed a button on a remote, and suddenly a massive explosion echoed from the place where the battle had been raging. Massive amounts of fuel was ignited and began to burn the domain of the Wight King.

Luckily, Faven had her rifle to finish off the stragglers, and the set accelerated away into the forest as the fireball followed them.

"We need to outrun the fireball!" Misty shouted.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Alphabittle asked, as they hammered along the line. The flames continued to roar along behind them, building in intensity as the flames consumed more and more of the treeline and surrounding greenery.

But still, they kept going. The flames could be felt from the back of the engine as she roared along, but at last she reached the uphill climb that marked the edge of the danger zone. They hammered up the line and then cleared the danger zone, emerging into the relative safety of Parkend.

"The fire won't follow us here," Faven said. "The firebreak we built will see to that." She wiped her forehead. "I could do with a drink after that."

The fire that burned devastated a large amount of ground, but had the most important effect of all. The trees that had once spread the devastating Swamp Fever disease were burned to ash, and there was no trace of the Wight King or his undead army, both having seemingly perished in the blaze.

Although the fire had rather required the world to be informed of the mystery disease, it was a source of relief to many that it had been eradicated. People could sleep soundly in their beds once more in the local area.

Misty and Alphabittle returned to their normal lives on the line with new stories to tell, but all good things come to an end. Eventually, Misty had to return to Swanage, and Alphabittle to Falmouth. Faven had been informed of the rather unusual family dynamic, but understood entirely.

She was there to see them off. "Best of luck, you two!" she said.

"You coming with us?" Alphabittle asked.

"I'd best stay and help with the cleanup," Faven said. "But I'll be sure to follow when I can. I know we're not exactly a conventional family unit now, but I'll try to be in your lives as much as I reasonably can."

And so, they were on their way. Misty knew these days would stay with her. Although the horror of these days would not be forgotten soon, knowing her mother was still with them and part of her life was a reassuring experience. Though this did rather raise the question of what she would call Lady Haven from now on, there was no denying this was an important moment for her.

Her magic gently glowed as they rumbled along. Misty was glad to have it back. No doubt this power to heal would come in handy later on. But for now, she had emerged from the nightmare stronger than ever. Strength that would serve her well in the coming days.

Author's Note

Well, that's another story over. I know this was a rather unusual turn in terms of tone, but exploring old English folklore and some vintage horror seemed like a fun thing to do.

Misty's apparent abilities were inspired by a conversation with Thomlight Sparkle 1. The conversation, which centred around Star Wars, revealed he'd worked Misty into his setting as a Force Healer, which is essentially a Jedi who can serve as a battlefield medic. I thought this would be a good fit for my own work, so thank you to Thomlight in advance.

And with the Wight King vanquished, the struggle rumbles on. But remember; it won't be long until we meet these characters again. See you then!

Credits

Cast - In Order of Appearance

Joseph Swash - Bellerophon
Bahia Watson - Misty Brightdawn
Tom Hollander - Wilbert
Phil LaMarr - Alphabittle Blossomforth
Theresa Gallagher - Janet
Freema Agyeman - Faven Firstmorne
Athena Karkanis - Opaline Arcana
Tobin Bell - The Wight King