Darkest Equestria

The sounds of the Everfree filled the air, unnerving and hellish in nature. Buzzing insects and the squelching of mud were most prevalent among them, but the occasional howl of Timberwolves was more than enough to break up the monotony. Spores from sighing mushrooms filled the sickly warm air.

The group followed the bleeding bandit, who winced with every step. Blood flowed from his pierced gut, leaving droplets on the forest mulch.

Even in this oppressive, miserable atmosphere where they were following a dying bandit into the unknown, there was conversation. Applejack and Rainbow spoke in hushed whispers, and the others walked in silence. Baldwin hadn't said anything in the past hour, and it didn't seem like he planned to either.

Pinkie wondered if they were talking about her. Then again, who didn't wonder if some pony was talking about you? She really needed to apologize to Applejack sooner rather than later.

There was a presence next to her, and she glanced over to see that Trixie had sidled up next to her.

"Trixie would like to acknowledge your help... she has never had any pony stand up for her before." Trixie didn't look at her, pointedly averting her gaze.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Pinkie smiled. "I would do that for any of my friends!"

"Is that so?" Trixie's eye twitched.

"But of course, as a new friend, you're something special." Pinkie said with a wink.

Trixie puffed up at that, flicking her cloak into place on her back. Its royal purple was stained with mud, but the stairs woven into it still shone through. Ever presentable, even in the mud. Trixie really was a show mare. Pinkie could admire that. Her old friend Rarity probably would as well. She always wondered what happened to that mare. The last time Pinkie had seen Rarity, she was leaving town with a pickaxe without a word. That was a week after Filthy Rich died of poisoning, a shame that Rarity married him only for him to die so soon after. Maybe some things just aren't meant to be.

They marched onward.

As they did, Pinkie couldn't help but notice the occasional glare from Applejack towards her. Even with that steel helmet on, she could tell that there was animosity. She wondered what she could do to curb it but could think of nothing at the moment. The buzzing and biting of insects were muddying her thoughts.

"How much longer heretic?" Applejack pushed him forward.

"Here... it's just up ahead..." The bandit said. "No more than an hour."

"Another hour?" Rainbow asked. "We have already been walking for an hour."

"How many supplies do we have?" Applejack asked.

"Enough for a day." Rainbow said. "Split between all of us here."

Pinkie Pie thought about what was in her pack. It was mostly rations and bandages, things that could be found in Ponyville. Last time she had checked she only had a few bundles of hay. Not much, but enough for a short expedition to clear out some bandits. With this tangent though, she wasn't sure how far they would end up going. Maybe they weren't properly equipped for it.

"Maybe we should turn back." Pinkie said. The words hurt, because more bandit blood being spilled was always a good thing. However, it wasn't worth losing lives over. More opportunities would come in time. "I don't think we are properly equipped for this party."

"Turning back now? And you called me the coward?" Applejack said with a pointed glare. "This was your idea, and you can't even stick to it?"

"Well, a good idea once isn't a good idea twice!" Pinkie said.

"We are continuing." Applejack turned away. "This blow could be decisive, and I won't let your fear get in the way of it."

"Fear? I guess I am a little scared." Pinkie said. She wasn't going to lie; she was always scared of going into the Everfree.

Applejack just growled and turned away. "We continue. This is the mission, and now we have a way to complete it."

Rainbow nodded. "We are here now, might as well keep going. We will gut the bastards, with a little luck, they won't even see what hit them."

With that decision made, they marched onward. Pinkie followed, hesitant. If they ran out of supplies out here or got lost, things would not turn out well. But then again, what did she know about the woods? She was not a survivalist. Maybe they had more than enough food to survive.

The rest of the way was walked in silence. Except Trixie, who was mumbling darkly over the mud staining her hooves.

"Just up ahead..." The bandit hissed. He was on shaky hooves now. Barely standing, even if he received immediate treatment Pinkie wasn't sure he would make it. The serpentine sway of his body was a haunting sight, for it was surely a dead pony walking.

Pinkie Pie detected a hint of something in the air. A smell of rotten eggs that clung to the back of the throat. It wasn't out of place amongst the other wretched smells the Everfree had to offer, but it had a more acrid tang to it. Pinkie had smelled something like this before. It was Sulphur, and with it came gunpowder. The cannon was close. The smell brought back unpleasant memories. She really hoped that Vvulf was not with the cannon. She wasn't sure if she could face him right now.

"Smell that? That's the cannon." Applejack sniffed the air. "Reminds me of the north."

"Too bad they didn't figure out how to downgrade those. Could use a hoof-held one." Rainbow said.

"Let's get it going. No sense in waiting around." Applejack said.

Baldwin, having been completely silent this entire time, spoke up. "Be not the hurried hare, for it will surely run into the jaws of a predator."

"You can speak?" Applejack asked. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"A well-placed word is better than many." Baldwin said.

"We are already here, might as well take advantage of it." Applejack said. "I'm going in there."

The bandit leaned against a tree, clutching his wound. "Am I free to go now? I led you here."

Pinkie Pie glanced between the group. They all looked at the bandit, and some ponies did not look happy.

"I know you're just going to go tell your buddies. As sure as apples fall." Applejack said.

"I won't tell no pony." The bandit gritted his teeth. He didn't move from his spot. "You promised I would get free."

That was true, and it was a Pinkie promise. Even if Pinkie hated bandits with all her guts, she wouldn't go back on a promise like that. It hurt to say, but she would do it, nonetheless. "You're free to go!"

"What?" Rainbow's head snapped towards her.

"We promised." Pinkie said. "We can't go back on a promise."

"He could warn them." Rainbow said. "We can't just let him go."

"Yeah. What do you think would happen if we let him go?" Applejack said. "I'll tell you what, more bandits that know we are here who will be more than happy to kill us."

"We are no better than them if we kill him now." Pinkie crossed her hooves and looked towards the bandit. "Go on! Get out of here!"

The bandit nodded gratefully and started moving away. His hooves dragged, but he quickened his weak pace. As he left, Pinkie couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. Even now, even amongst the oppression of the Everfree, at least she still had herself. Morals, bits of harmony still left. Pinkie could smile at that.

And then a metal feather went flying through the air and embedded itself in the back of the skull of the bandit. He went limp immediately, collapsing to the ground like a sack of bricks.

Pinkie looked at the body. There was a certain feeling in her chest, a promise perhaps not broken, but betrayed. And with it, came not anger, but resentment.

"What was that for?" Pinkie asked, her voice almost monotone. A bitter opposite from her chipper and upbeat voice. She wasn't sure what to feel.

"He was going to warn other bandits. Took care of the problem before it became one." Rainbow unflexed her metal wing, and it came back to her side. "Something wrong with that?"

"We promised to let him go." Pinkie Pie said. "We just betrayed that promise."

"Well, the world doesn't work on promises anymore." Rainbow said. "Take it all, or get your things taken."

These were not the friends Pinkie once knew. To so blatantly backstab a pony, she could never have seen Rainbow Dash do that in the past. Maybe she was right, maybe this was just the way the world was now. Cutthroat, unyielding, and hellish in every nature. But she didn't want to believe that. Pinke never wanted to believe that.

"Let's just get the mission done." Applejack said. "We are burning time. The sooner we are out of here, the safer we will be."

"Trixie asks where the encampment is? The bandit never showed us exactly where it was." Trixie said.

"Follow the scent." Rainbow said. "I'm sure it will lead us there."

"Can you not follow the scent of dark magic?" Applejack snarled, full of vitriol.

Trixie huffed, her eyes hardening. As she went to say something, Pinkie nudged her.

"Hey Trixie, let's not antagonize them right now. We can't afford any more dysfunction." Pinkie whispered. "Once we get back to Ponyville, then we can talk about this."

"Trixie is beginning to hate them even more than she already does. Are these really your supposed friends?"

Pinkie watched them march off into the forest. Her gut churned, and a frown etched its way across her face. "Not anymore. If they remember the way things used to be, they don't care for it any longer."

Those words were harsh,. but they were the truth. It had been ten years since they had really met each other and shared moments. That had been a different time, one without dread and death. It had been a peaceful world. Not whatever this world was that they currently lived in.

Something had to change.

"Trixie will be your friend. As Trixie's one and only friend, you are special to her." Trixie said. "You will not have to worry about losing her friendship!"

"Thanks Trixie." Pinkie said with a smile. "Now, let's get this over with before some pony starts swinging blades in the wrong direction."

"Agreed."

She caught up with Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly. They marched in a line; the front group separated from the back group. A sign of a divide perhaps, or maybe merely the way ponies walk. Nonetheless, they marched. And as they marched, the smell of Sulphur grew stronger. It grew until it filled the air, mixing in with all the other smells of the Everfree.

Pinkie nearly held her breath as they grew closer to the smell. Tension filled the air, and unconsciously, the group stepped lighter.

"Quiet now." Rainbow whispered as they approached. "We may still surprise them. In and out, ten seconds flat. Remember that, Pinkie?"

Pinkie said nothing. There were no words she could muster at the moment to calm tensions. The irritation and anger burning in her gut saw to that. Ten seconds flat, once used to refer to kicking clouds out of the sky on a sunny day. Now, used in reference to butcher bandits in the Everfree. Times change, don't they?

The hum of voices came through the overgrowth. At the noise, Applejack held up a hoof. Pinkie stopped in her tracks as did the rest of the group. While they weren't particularly stealthy as a whole, the constant noise ensured a stealthy approach.

"Rainbow, want to scout ahead?" Applejack asked.

"Sure thing." Rainbow stalked forward, low to the ground. In moments, she disappeared into the overgrowth, blue coat mostly hidden by the dull colors she wore.

They were left to wait. Pinkie really wasn't sure this was a good idea. Yet again, her idea wasn't that great to begin with. This one could be better. If Rainbow was caught alone though, things could turn out for the worse quickly. In silence, Pinkie mulled over her thoughts. She turned to look at her group members.

Every pony looked tense. Eyes were set on the undergrowth; muscles were primed for action. Except Baldwin, it was impossible to tell if he was tense or not. Perhaps the subtle twitch of muscle beneath the wrapped cloth, but other than that, there was nothing. He was truly an enigma in this place. Totally at peace, totally unaffected by the sequence of events around him. What could he have endured and seen to become so at peace with the world? And thus, in himself? Pinkie could only guess.

Pinkie wanted what he had right now, the ability to be completely calm no matter the circumstance.

Rainbow returned from the undergrowth, stalking forward gracefully like a large cat. She was a predator no doubt, if the corpse of the bandit behind them wasn't proof enough.

"It's a small encampment." Rainbow said. "Looks like a forward bandit base. They use them to store things they don't want others in the group to see. A sign of infighting. Which means they are storing this cannon here temporarily. It will be relatively undefended."

Once again, Pinkie wondered how Rainbow knew so much about bandits. Though with how she killed that one bandit, it was becoming clear to Pinkie that Rainbow may have had more to do with them than she originally let on. For now, however, she held her tongue. Rainbow was helping even with her dubious origins.

"What is the plan then?" Pinkie asked.

"Close the distance and gut them. We act swiftly and take out as many as possible." Rainbow said. "Any objections?"

"I prefer a more head on approach." Applejack said. "Let's do this."

"Is the cannon active?" Pinkie asked, her heart pounding. "If that thing goes off... I won't have any ponies left to throw a welcome party for."

"I didn't see any pony operating it." Rainbow said. "As for numbers, I saw about ten bandits."

"Ten? Trixie does not think we can handle ten bandits at once." Trixie said. "Surely some pony would get hurt."

Pinkie nodded in agreement. "I hate to be the voice of reason, I really hate reason, but maybe we should rethink this. A head on assault is silly, especially against a cannon!"

"The cannon isn't primed and ready to fire." Applejack said. "We can easily make our way up to it before it can get a shot off. If you want to be a coward, do it elsewhere."

Maybe that little barb about Applejack being a coward dug a little deeper than Pinkie thought. Now she just wouldn't drop it. "All I am saying is that this is dangerous. One wrong move and some pony could easily get killed."

"We signed up for danger.” Rainbow said. "They don't call me Rainbow Danger Dash for nothing."

"Who calls you that?" Pinkie balked.

"Me. Now, are we doing this or not?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes. Now follow me." Applejack said. "I don't want any stragglers."

Pinkie knew that maybe she had in part caused this sequence of events. How was she supposed to know her suggestions would lead to this moment? To run into cannon-fire, which she had personally seen blow a pony to bits, was more than a little nerve wracking. In fact, it was downright terrifying.

"Trixie will provide a ranged support, she is of less use up close and personal." Trixie said.

"Fine by me. I don't want any of that dark magic anywhere close to me." Applejack said. "Now if you two are done being cowards, let's get a good look at the encampment."

They inched their way up the hill. Pinkie followed hesitantly, crawling on her belly as they got close to the top. She wormed through the mud and peeked through a layer of wretched undergrowth. By the time she was out of here, her coat and clothes would probably be brown from mud and rot green from spores.

On the other side of the bushes, she could see it. It was perched on a hill, just slightly lower than them. A small encampment was set up in a clearing. There were four hastily set up tents made of nothing more than brown linen propped up sticks. A wooden rampart made of sharpened logs surrounded the tents. The wood looked rotten; a few good kicks could probably break it in.

Sitting around a campfire in the encampment were six bandits. Their rambunctious voices filled the air as they talked to each other, clearly having a good time. How they weren't being swarmed by the nightmarish creatures of the forest, Pinkie didn't know. Perhaps their vile blood wasn't pure enough for the forest to want to spill. Like dark harbingers, perhaps these bandits had been welcomed by the rot.

And then there was the cannon itself. Sitting just above the encampment on a flattened dirt mound was a massive war machine. It was constructed of steel plates and bolts. It was rusted all over, but the skulls adorning it suggested it was no less deadly. Sturdy wood made up what little was not steel. Two massive wheels on its sides suggested that it could be moved freely. It was on-the-go devastation. Piles of cannon balls were stacked next to it. As for the gunpowder, Pinkie could assume it was probably being kept dry in one of the tents.

The sight of it froze Pinkie in her tracks. Memories of that day so long ago went through her mind, and she found herself unconsciously shrinking back. She recognized that cannon, for it was the exact one they used on that day. Her heart thrummed in her chest, blood racing to her limbs. Flee. That is what her mind was telling her. Pinkie forced herself to stay, no good would come from running alone.

"So that's it?" Applejack whispered. "The brigand pounder."

"That's what the bandit called it." Rainbow said. "I don't see any pony operating it."

"Trixie thought you said there were ten bandits, where are the others?" Trixie asked.

"Not sure where they went. They were all sitting around the fire earlier." Rainbow said.

Pinkie looked over the encampment. The four missing bandits were nowhere to be seen. "Maybe they are going to the bathroom?"

"Doesn't matter. Now is the perfect time to strike." Applejack said. "They are all away, so we can rush the six in the camp."

"Are we sure this is a good idea? I don't like the look of the cannon." Pinkie couldn't stop herself from worrying. "Maybe we should come back later."

"No. We are doing this right now. If you can't handle it, then stay behind." Applejack said. "You aren't made for this kind of work, Pinkie. You're a party pony. Stay back, let us handle this."

"No can do! All I am doing is trying to offer some ideas." Pinkie said. "If every pony is going in, then I am too."

"Then on three we charge the gap." Applejack said.

There was a pause in the air. They all stopped and listened for the words.

"One."

This was stupid. They had to all know this was stupid. Yet Applejack’s face was hard. There would be no budging.

Pinkie drew in a breath, calming her nerves. There wasn't any pony operating the cannon, she would be fine. Getting blown into itsy bitsy Pinkie pieces was not going to happen. She was fast, she was swift, she was deadly.

It was going to be fine.

"Two."

She hardened her stomach to try and quell her churning gut. She glanced over at her allies. Trixie looked uneasy as well. Rainbow Dash had hard eyes, locked onto her target. Applejack shut down her visor, sealing flesh from sight. Pinkie turned her gaze back to the encampment and took a deep breath.

"Three."

The word was the match which struck fire into the hooves. Pinkie dashed forward, matching Rainbow in stride as they ran forward down the hill. The bandits in the clearing didn't spot them for the first few seconds. Pinkie's hooves pounded in the mud, her balanced stance barely keeping her from slipping. She slid forward when she could, longing to reach the wall out of the cannon's sight. It remained stationary, unoperated, but she couldn't help but dread it all the same.

She reached the wall and sidled up next to it. The voices on the other side heightened as her group ran down the hill.

"What was that?" A mare asked from inside.

"Damn Timberwolves?"

"No, you idiot. They would have been howling. Maybe it's those damn walking mushrooms again."

"They don't appear until deeper in the forest."

"Shut up! Those aren't forest creatures, they're ponies!"

The inside of the camp exploded into activity. And that was when Pinkie knew their presence had been known. Shouts rang out, and the scurrying of hooves and panic filled the camp.

Applejack and Baldwin made it to the wall, while Trixie was behind, still on the hill. She was holding her prized skull, chanting beneath her breath. Pinkie looked towards the cannon. It wasn't operational, but she couldn't help but be nervous that Trixie was standing there.

Before Pinkie could say something, a voice rang out.

"For Celestia!" Applejack ran around the side of the camp, coming to a wooden door. She turned around and bucked it with her hooves. The door shook, its shoddy frame nearly shattering.

"Trixie! Move!" Pinkie yelled over the noise. "Get out of the way of the cannon!"

If Trixie could hear her, she wouldn't react to it. She was just looking at her skull, and her eyes started to take on a red hue. A red portal opened up in the camp, and spectral red tendrils reached down from it. They slashed at the inside of the camp, and screams rang out. It only lasted for a moment, and then Trixie reeled away from her skull, gritting her teeth and shaking her head. Perhaps it was the backlash of using such strange power.

"MOVE!" Pinkie yelled, glancing at the cannon. "Get off the hill!"

"Come on, don't worry about her, she'll be fine!" Rainbow snapped a feather towards the ramparts. "We need all hooves to take care of this!"

And then, Pinkie didn't have a choice any longer. Applejack busted down the door with a ground-quaking kick. The door to the encampment, already half rotted off, was sent flying off its hinges by the crusader. Immediately, a shower of arrows and bolts went flying towards her. She dived away, the projectiles failing to find their way into the thick plate.

A bandit came running out after her, sword in mouth and a wild gleam in his eyes. A metal feather found itself embedded in his side, and he retreated behind the barricade, howling in pain.

Pinkie turned her attention from the cannon and towards the door. Another bandit stuck a crossbow out and fired blindly. She hit the mud, the bolt slamming into the wooden wall above her. Pinkie had to turn her full attention to the fight. The slightest lapse in concentration could be her end.

Blood roared in her ears. She glanced up to see a bandit on the wooden ramparts, pointing a crossbow down at her. Pinkie hugged the wall with a jolt of movement, and the bolt sank into the mud where she had been standing. Metal feathers went flying in the direction of the shooter, forcing him to back off.

Applejack cried a zealous battle cry and went charging into the camp. Baldwin followed after her, his breastplate catching a bolt and sending it spinning off into the bushes.

Pinkie was just about to join them when she noticed something. The sight of it caused her blood to freeze. The cannon shifted, a slight movement, but movement, nonetheless. The great wheels of the iron beast started to turn, and it turned towards the hill.

"Trixie! Move!" Pinkie yelled. "Cannon! The cannon is being operated!"

Her greatest fears. Realized.

Trixie looked up from her prized skull. She looked at Pinkie with a confused look. Pinkie pointed towards the cannon, and Trixie's eyes widened as she saw it moving. Immediately, she started running down the hill. The cannon turned towards her slowly as she closed the distance.

"Damn it all! Why did you hang back there you fool!" Rainbow yelled and slung a feather towards the cannon. Whoever was operating it let out a yelp from behind the ramparts.

Pinkie knew Trixie wasn't going to make it. There was simply too much distance. She glanced towards the cannon. There was no way to stop it from firing in time, too many bandits to clear through. There had to be a way, there had to be something she could do.

Her hooves hit the mud as she ran towards Trixie in a blind panic. Not another pony dead under her watch, not another life wasted. She had failed too many times before. And so, she ran, with all her might.

"Trixie demands you run! She will make it!"

The muzzle of the cannon flashed ominously, hooves working to orchestrate their demise behind the ramparts. Something was lit there, beyond the sight of eyes. And Pinkie Pie saw it. A burning surge of adrenaline filled her body.

"Trixie will-"

Pinkie tackled Trixie to the ground. They hit the mud with a release of breath, limbs getting tangled together in the mud. A crack louder than thunder sounded, a boom that rattled the skull and ears. A sound that shattered spirits like glass. It was not just a cannonball this thing fired, but something straight from the depths of Tartarus. The ball of iron shot right over Pinkie's head with a whoosh of air, and into the hill. And when it impacted, it exploded.

Shrapnel and flame exploded outward with a familiar fiery force. Pinkie's body exploded into agony as shards of metal ripped through her, flaying cloth and coat to strips. Flame engulfed her senses, a brief but swirling storm. It singed her coat, threatening to catch flame. She screamed, but her scream was nothing compared to Trixie's.

Ears ringing, vision blurred, and a sound like the bell of the dead ringing in her skull, Pinkie drew in a gasp of air. Her entire body was in agony, but she still pulled herself to her hooves. Even with being so close to the blast, she was relatively unharmed. Her gaze fell down to Trixie, and it suddenly became clear why.

Trixie was bloodied from head to hoof, her body having absorbed most of the shrapnel. She looked dead, her body coated with blood, and yet, she was screaming. She may have been spared being directly hit by the cannon ball, but the shrapnel and flame of the explosion had taken its terrible toll. Her blood spread out around her, and its splatter almost looked like an iron crown, its spikes sticking into Trixie.

For a moment Pinkie stared blankly, every nerve in her body was on fire, but her limbs frozen. It was going to happen again. Another life wasted, another chance to save a pony squandered. No. Not again.

Pinkie forced herself to move despite the ripping agony. She grabbed Trixie by the cloak and started to drag her towards the wall. Even now, Trixie held onto her prized skull. Its ever-alight wick on the candle flickered.

Limbs screaming in agony, she dragged the wailing Trixie through the mud. The sound of clanking metal came through the rush of blood in her ears. She had to move faster; they were loading another cannon ball. And so, she did, exerting every last bit of energy she had into dragging Trixie.

She reached the wall and hunkered down behind it. With a grunt, Pinkie dragged Trixie and put her against the wooden wall. Panic fueled her limbs as she looked over Trixie's bleeding body. Something had to be done, and quick.

The sound of battle clamored inside the camp. She had to warn them, so she called out, "The cannon is active!"

Then she turned her attention back to Trixie. Her screaming had stopped, and now only breath remained. The rising and falling of her chest was the only sign she was alive. Pinkie set her saddlebags down and ripped them open. She withdrew a roll of bandages.

She was no medical expert, so she tried to remember what Nurse Redheart had done. "Come on, hang in there Trixie."

The roll of bandages was wrapped around what wounds she could. Pinkie picked shards of metal out when she could, but she wasn't sure if she had got all of them. Her hooves were hurried and shaky, the threat of a life hanging heavy on her head.

There was just so much blood. The bandages were soaked nearly immediately as she put them on. She wrapped them tight, stemming blood flow where she could.

Another clank came from above, and the cannon turned. It aimed towards the center of the camp and Pinkie saw a flash as something was ignited.

"Watch out! It's going to shoot again!" Pinkie screamed.

Shouts from within the camp sounded. Rainbow Dash came running out of the camp, Applejack hot on her heels. They were soaked in blood, clearly not their own. Baldwin came running out as well, his strides long and powerful, calm and collected. His massive blade was soaked in viscera.

The cannon clicked. For a moment, Pinkie’s blood froze. This was the moment they all died. But nothing came out. There was a puff of smoke and a curse from above. Something had gone wrong with the cannon.

But now was not the time for relief.

"We have to retreat!" Applejack yelled.

The urge to rip her throat out was immense.

"I can't, Trixie is wounded!" Pinkie refocused her attention and wrapped another bandage over a laceration. The flow was stemming somewhat. Not really.

"Leave her!" Applejack said. "She's done for. No pony could survive that blood loss."

"Help me!" Pinkie screamed, rage sweeping through her. "Get over here and help me carry her out of here! You did this!"

Applejack looked between the two and said nothing. She took a single step forward, but another pony jumped in front of her.

"We must be quick." Baldwin lifted one side of Trixie. Immediately, Pinkie lifted the other side. Together they balanced Trixie on their backs. "Ready?"

"Yes. Let's get out of here!' Pinkie glared at Applejack, who winced at the burning look. She then grabbed the prized skull of Trixie, its flame flickering weakly. Something told her it wouldn't do to leave this behind.

They ran then, towards the tree line. The cannon behind them was an ever-present threat. She heard a click, before the noises became too faint behind her. Pinkie prayed that it would not fire again, and if it did, they would miss. Every limb was shaking with adrenaline, making the act of keeping Trixie on their backs a near impossible task.

It was as if they were running in place. Time seemed to slow as they got closer and closer to the tree line. Pinkie's body was tense, and she shivered with anticipation. There was another crack of thunder, and a ball of iron went sailing over their heads. It flew into the thicket and erupted into a ball of flame. Brush and wood cracked; rotten matter went flying everywhere. A few mushrooms exploded into clouds of spores as flame erupted.

They kept running, and they reached the tree line. However, they didn't stop there. They ran and ran, weaving into the thicket. Hooves hit mud at a constant frenzied pace. Her heart was thundering in her chest, blood roared in her ears, agony spread across her body from wounds, but it all dulled beneath a wave of adrenaline. She ran, she ran for survival, for herself, and Trixie.

Pinkie ran, and she carried Trixie with her. She had to hold on, she had to survive.

The subtle rise and fall of Trixie's body against her meant one thing. She was still alive. How long that would last, Pinkie did not know.

They disappeared into the Everfree, leaving the encampment with the cannon behind. A mistake, an abomination of miscalculation and misdeed. It had cost them blood. She couldn't stop the tugging feeling in her chest, that this was somehow her fault. Her mistakes.

She ran into the Everfree, laughter spilling from her lips. Wasn't it just the greatest joke of all, her existence? Destined to fail again and again, slamming her head against a wall and hoping that something would change. No. No. No. She had to keep it together. For more ponies than her depended on it.

Mistakes would always be made. Some small, some large. They were all mortal after all. And Trixie's nearly lifeless body was a stark reminder of that. She had been saved for now it seemed, and Pinkie thanked Celestia for that small blessing. She only hoped that Trixie would keep her heart beating.

And yet… the blood kept flowing. Drop by drop.

Death was patient, it could wait.