The only noise that reached pony ears that night was the quiet tap-tap-tap of rain on glass. There were no ponies foalish enough to subject themselves to the rivers of rain falling from the sky. Fillies and colts of all ages were gently tucked into their warm beds hours previously. The entire town was resting peacefully.
Save for one mare. She felt the weight of the world on her withers. Even though she felt her eyelids trying to embrace the blessed peace that is sleep, she could not bring herself to abandon her search. She stared into the window for hours until she could feel another presence in the room. She didn't bother to acknowledge the intruder. Instead, she continued her gaze on the horizon.
"Honey, I went to bed hours ago. Will you please come?" The voice belonged to the husband of the town's premier confectioner, Mrs. Cake.
"It's Pinkie Pie. She never made it back home from Fluttershy's pet bunny's birthday party. She said she would be home hours ago." The mare said, her gaze never moving from the window pane. "You know that I care about her as much as I do Pound and Pumpkin," she added, finally turning away from the window to look at her husband's expressive eyes.
"You know Pinkie Pie. Her party most likely ran over."
"For the town's most well-liked pet bunny?"
Mrs. Cake felt her ears drooping at the sound of her stallion huffing in defeat. "I'm sorry sweetie, you know how I get when I'm worried about my children."
"Just promise me you'll come to bed soon." The sound of Mr. Cake's voice trailed off as he climbed back into bed. Mrs. Cake could her the sound of his hoof drawing the covers back over his body. She very much so wanted to be next to him, however she knew. She knew that sleep would be impossible without knowing where Pinkie Pie was.
Mrs. Cake stared out into the nothingness for what seemed like hours. The rain looked formidable. The pegasus weather team that set up this storm would sure go down into the record books. Eventually her battle of wills came to an end when her mouth filled with the taste of metal.
~*~
Some ponies liked sleeping with the sound of the rain hitting their windows. Others hated it and had endured through many rainy sleepless nights. Yet there was a third group of ponies, those who loved to curl up besides a roaring fireplace, with a nice book and a comfy blanket to read the night away. There were many ponies in Equestria in the first group, with an equal number in the second group. Yet in all of Equestria there was a single solitary pony in that third group.
Early that night, Twilight Sparkle had put her assistant, Spike, to bed. It was, after all, not proper for a baby dragon to stay up all night. No one told Twilight that it wasn't proper for anypony to stay up all night. That being said, nopony wanted to be on the business-end of Twilight's horn.
The book Miss. Sparkle was reading, however, had no opinion on the matter on the subject of Twilight's horn. On the other hoof, it did have an opinion of being on the business-end of Twilight's slobber. The book did not enjoy such sports. Nor did it enjoy being trampled over as the groggy unicorn tripped over herself, trying to reach the door of the library. Who in their right mind was awake at this hour (other than a certain nameless lavender unicorn)?
When Twilight felt her forehooves give out on her, she tried unsuccessfully to prevent a fall. A damp feeling on one of her hooves reminded her that she had surrounded herself with a collection of late-night snacks, one of which was a mug of hot cocoa, now cold and empty. The smell emitting from her hoof only expounded upon her misery.
Stealing a glance out of one of her many windows, Twilight saw that Celestia's sun was well above the horizon. Sighing to herself, Twilight let herself reminisce about getting herself into the same situation countless times as a filly. Her nostalgia was interrupted when the sound of a hoof knocking on her front door reached her ears. The unicorn did not even bother to get up as she was expecting Rainbow Dash to come in and laugh at her predicament.
"I can come back another time if you're busy." Last time Twilight checked, Rainbow Dash was a mare, with a voice to match. She looked up to see not Rainbow Dash, but a stallion. Mr. Cake to be exact. Yet, before Twilight could to get a word in edgewise, her vision suddenly became very, very pink.
"Don't you know that you drink the cocoa, Twilight, not dye your coat with with it?" Twilight didn't bother to acknowledge the pink pony as she felt a wet nose trail her forehoof.
"Although, this could be a fun party game..." The pink mare sat down on her haunches, deep into thought. Several moments passed, before Twilight heard anything other than Mr. Cake's hooves nervously pawing at the floor of the library. "But we have more important things to handle than parties. Tell her Mr. Cake."
Twilight waited for any response from the stallion, but none came. Pinkie tried to nudge Mr. Cake into talking. The only progress that Pinkie made was causing Mr. Cake to break down into tears.
"Pinkie, what's wrong?"
"It's Mrs. Cake..."
"My wife was not in bed with me at all last night." Twilight could barely hear the whimper emitting from Mr. Cake's
mouth. "She couldn't sleep because of Pinkie's absence last night..."
"Hey! I was perfectly safe at Fluttershy's during the storm!"
"We know that now, but not last night! And because of that, my wife is missing." After that last word, the only
sounds emitting from Mr. Cake was the quiet sound of sobs. Pinkie Pie made an effort to console the grieving husband. The mare is
good at a lot of things, yet to her dismay consoling grieving husbands is not on that list.
"Mr. Cake, we will find your wife. You can count on us."
~*~
"What do you mean you never saw her? Are you sure Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, suddenly immensely panicked.
"Pinkie stayed with me until after Angel Bunny's birthday party. She waited out the storm with me. I was too scared to be alone in my house, and as much as I love Angel, he isn't the best companion during a scary storm." The second half of that sentence was very hard to understand compared to the first half.
"Yep! Fluttershy and I played the bestest games during that nasty nasty thunderstorm. I'd say we had more fun during the storm than during the party! Speaking of which, where is Angel? I want to give him his after-birthday party present!"
"Um... He's resting..."
"Oh well, let's go Twilight. See ya later Fluttershy!"
"But Pinkie, what about Mrs. Cake?"
"Oh, I know where she is. She's in the Everfree Forest." At Twilight's insidious glare, the bubbly mare added, "Silly Twilight, I had a combo on the way over here. Twitchy Tail. Neck Twist. Sore Hindleg. It means that someone I care about is in a dangerous place."
Twilight felt some hair in her mane bouncing out of place. She really, really wanted to pounce on the mare and have her explain everything to her, but settled with a disapproving stare. "I shouldn't be surprised anymore. Well goodbye Fluttershy. I have a Pinkie Promise to keep."
"FOREVER!"
"Was that really necessary?"
"Yes, yes it was."
"Well lead the way Pinkie."
~*~
"Pinkie, are you sure that this is right? Why would Mrs. Cake go into the forest? We already passed Fluttershy's house. Unless..."
"Unless what Twilight?"
"Pinkie, how bad was the storm last night?"
"Of course it was bad Twilight. I could barely see my nose in front of my face, and trust me, I looked!" Pinkie replied, crossing her eyes in the process to needlessly demonstrate the move. Twilight couldn't bring herself to say anything to interrupt Pinkie.
"And are you sure that Mrs. Cake knows the way to Fluttershy's house?"
"She's delivered cak-" For most ponies, the realization of a significant fact was a good thing. However, the sudden change of hairstyle that Pinkie Pie's mane went through explained everything. "Nope, I did that. You know Twilight, I don't think she knows where the house is. In the dark I think she might have missed it and cantered straight into the forest." Twilight could feel her coat becoming damp for the second time in the day, except with the salty water of tears instead of instant cocoa mix.
"It's alright Pinkie Pie. We will find her. Pinkie Promise?"
The sad-eyed mare looked up and whimpered her affirmative reply.
~*~
The two mares stood at the edge of what was perhaps one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria, ready and willing to go into the danger to rescue a friend. Or, let's be honest, Pinkie's second mother and Twilight's acquaintance. The two stood silent, the world passing by their ears until Twilight felt that it was now or never. If they were going to save Mrs. Cake, they had to put one hoof in front of the other hoof right now.
Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was thinking of the combination welcome-back and I'm-sorry party she was going to throw for the wayward pony.
The first to make a move was the unicorn. Twilight felt the muscles in her lungs expand as she took a deep breath. She felt the soft grass no longer in contact with her forehoof, until it was there again. She felt the heart in her chest pounding, not from excitement, but from nervousness. She never liked going into the forest. Even visiting Zecora was enough for a mild panic attack.
Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was thinking of what games they would play during the party.
The two ponies continued on their path. There were no words exchanged between the two. They both knew what they needed to accomplish. Because it was midday, the forest should have been more alive than it was. Yet, incredulously, the two had not encountered a single creature since crossing the border.
Twilight felt the hair on her coat standing. Something was watching the two go their merry way, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. The forest's tree cover increased as the two ventured deeper. Twilight's pupils adjusted to the newfound darkness, her entire coat reacting to the subconscious feeling of being watched.
She strained her eyes, trying to discern where the unknown entity was. Everything looked like it was supposed to belong. The problem with the Everfree Forest is that everything looks like it belongs, even when it doesn't. Twilight made a mental note to read a book on the subject matter when she got back to her library.
Pinkie Pie scanned the tree line in twin with Twilight, but she was not looking for mysterious creatures. She was trying to figure out if a tree branch looked more like a crow or a cactus. She gazed intently to the tree branch for several minutes before she could hear Twilight's voice from up ahead.
"Pinkie, come here. We need to stick together."
"Okie Dokie Lokie"
~*~
"Pinkie Pie, we are way to far into the Everfree now. Do you think we missed her?"
There was no response from the pink pony. Looking around, Twilight could not see any trace of her companion. She suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable. She had to fight every single instinct deeply rooted into her brain to run. Abandoning her friend in this time of need was absolutely off of the proverbial table. Yet, she could not entirely suppress her herd instinct. She felt the subconscious buildup of magic into her alicorn, ready to strike at any predator stupid enough to attack her.
Her, the scared unicorn in a forest full of monsters who love fresh equine on the dinner table. Alone. At least she wasn't that far into the forest and there was still plenty of daylight to escape...
"NO! I will not abandon my friend in the time of her need." Twilight absolutely despised that part of her biology. This wasn't the herd age. Ponies did not need to stick together in order to survive. Having hoof-fulls of friends was a great advantage, but not required in this age.
"Twilight? Who are you tal-" Pinkie Pie bounced into view and before she could finish her greeting, she felt herself being restricted from movement. Her hooves tried to move, but there was no response from her muscles. Yet, before she knew it, she could feel her spine being pressed up against a tree with a very angry unicorn in her face.
Twilight had reflexively wrapped Pinkie Pie in a field of magic. For most ponies, it took a deal of concentration to move large objects. Twilight was not most ponies, however. Pinkie Pie struggled for a brief moment against Twilight's strong magic field, before giving up, accepting her situation, and enjoying the moment. Once Pinkie Pie started playing with the sparkles of the arcane field, Twilight had released her while simultaneously raising an eyebrow. The quizzical look only lasted for a second before being replaced by one of anger.
"Pinkie! Where did you go? You left me alone in here."
"Oh Twilight, I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget how you feel about this forest. I'll make it up to you, somehow," Pinkie was truly sorry for her misjudgment. She hated letting anypony down, and especially one of her good friends. "However, I did find something in the clearing we just passed. It's...not good."
Twilight visibly shuttered. Nothing good ever came out of Pinkie Pie's hair deflating like it just had. The downtrodden mare lead the curious unicorn into the aforementioned clearing. Twilight could feel her jaw opening in shock just as her heart doubled it's speed.
Pinkie Pie pointed with one hoof to a solitary pink earing. It was one of Mrs. Cake's favorite pieces of accessories, much to Rarity's dismay. The object was suddenly bathed with a purplish aura of magic as Twilight took it into her telekinesis grasp. The smell of blood filled her nose as she took a quick sniff of the object in question.
"Pinkie, it's blood. This earing is covered in blood."
"We don't know it's her just yet Twilight. There is still hope."
"There is always hope Pinkie, it's just that this is almost certainly equine blood. Furthermore, aren't Mrs. Cake's earings made out of ivory?"
"I believe so."
"These are stone."
Twilight could feel Pinkie Pie struggling to keep control over her emotions. For the umpteenth time in the past few hours, Pinkie Pie's response to the bad news was to break down and sob. Comforting emotional friends was never one of Twilight's strong suits, the only thing she could do was awkwardly console the mare.
As the two ponies sat in the clearing crying over the bloody earing, Twilight kept an ever-vigilant watch on the tree line. She knew that she was being watched. The hair on her back made sure that she was being reminded of that every time she moved. Furthermore, there was a right way and a wrong way to make sure that ponies who ventured into the forest came out in one piece and alive. Because of Pinkie Pie's loud sobs, the two were firmly in the "wrong way" category.
A twig. All it took to remove every single ounce of attention Twilight had for Pinkie Pie and to refocus it on the surroundings was the snapping of a solitary twig. The unicorn took audit of eight hooves. Eight hooves, spread between two ponies, exactly where they should be, meaning that there was something out there stalking prey. That something had made a fatal mistake. That is, letting it's prey know where it was.
Twilight could feel her heart almost give out from beating so fast in fear. Her instincts were screaming to run. The only thing her vision would process was the area where the twig snapped. She could feel her mouth becoming dryer as the seconds counted on. Her one hoof was subconsciously kicking the ground. She could feel Pinkie Pie saying something in the background, but couldn't process it.
Twilight did what comes natural to all horses when they are fearful: run. She tried to gallop away, her fear for her own personal safety overriding any Pinkie Promise she made. However, because of her tunnel vision, she could not look down at where her hooves were on the ground, and tripped over a root. She could feel her body slowly becoming airborne before feeling the soft dirt on the ground. The final thought that her brain processed was that soft dirt made a decent mattress before giving out and accepting fate.
