Season Z, Episodes V-X: Playtime?

(Part 1 has been updated. If you've read part 1 before parts 2-3 were posted, it may be useful to re-read part 1. However, it is NOT NECESSARY to re-read part 1. Enjoy the rest of the story!)

Season: Z

Episode: W

Playtime? (Part 2)

(By: Flame Runner)

Zecora stepped onto an open path. An unnatural blue mist slowly faded away behind the zebra. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes intense. In her front hoof she held a vial half full of some kind of red liquid. She glanced quickly around her, but saw nothing except the thick foliage of the dark Everfree Forest. A swirling vortex of black clouds was ever expanding over her head. She stomped at the ground and called out, “Twilight Sparkle where did you go? Could it be that I was too slow?”

She sighed angrily and then took in a deep calming breath. She turned around. The mist was now totally gone. Where once purple foliage had grown, a large tree with tribal decoration adorning its branches and which held a door stood in plain sight. Zecora walked toward this hollow tree. Soon the sounds of bubbling liquid and the sight of rising steam came out of the house. A feint red glow began to light the atmosphere from within the zebra’s ornate home.

(Insert Theme Music Here)

* * * * * * * * *

“Rarity,” Applejack looked over to her white companion as they both walked along. “I think we jus’ might be lost.”

The dark forest did not make it easy to travel in, especially with the dark clouds overhead.

“I have never been lost in my life,” declared Rarity.

“Then what do you call what we’re doin’ right now?”

“We are simply taking the scenic route.”

After stating this, Rarity tripped on a thick root and landed face first into a pile of leaves. She squealed as she unexpectedly fell.

“That’s one way to get a closer look at the ‘scenic route’,” Applejack chuckled.

Rarity lunged to her feet and began to quickly brush herself off.

“Ew! Ew! Ew! Those leaves are all muddy! Get off my mane you icky mud!”

Rarity flipped her hair and scarf around to send the mud splattering in Applejack’s face. The orange pony wiped it off only to find Rarity staring peculiarly at the ground. The farm pony began to look as well.

“What’cha lookin’ at?”

“Can’t you see it? It’s right there and it’s glowing.”

Rarity pointed at a small pebble. It was a slightly luminous purple and barely lit the area, but it was beautiful to look at as it shimmered its light around the dim forest.

“I know just what to do with it too! I can put it on my latest dress to add to the flair! Never have I seen a stone like this before.”

But instead of reaching out for the pebble, Rarity simply kept staring.

“Uh Rarity, I’m not sure that now is the best time to be thinkin’ of your dresses. Our sisters are still in here somewhere and we’ve got to keep movin’ or we’ll never find ‘em.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Rarity replied dreamily. She never took her eyes off the enchanting stone.

“Rarity!” stated Applejack sharply.

The unicorn shook her head and blinked.

“What?” shrieked the white mare.

“We’ve got to find our sisters. Come on!”

Applejack walked deeper into the woods.

“Yes, quite right,” Rarity agreed but glanced back at the small stone as she followed after Applejack.

When the mares had walked out of sight, the stone disappeared in a cloud of blue mist.

* * * * * * * * *

“Ha ha!” laughed Scootaloo as she raced over the home plate. “That’s 12 points!”

“Is not! It’s only 11!” Apple Bloom shouted back from the pitcher’s mound.

“Who cares? You only have 2 points anyway,” Scootaloo called back flippantly.

“My turn to kick!” cried Sweetie Belle happily.

The small unicorn trotted jovially up to home base. Apple Bloom ran off to retrieve the rubber ball they had been using and then stepped up to the pitcher’s mound. The young farmer grunted and then rolled the sphere along the grass.

“There they are!” a call echoed from the far end of the meadow the Cutie Mark Crusaders were playing in.

All heads turned toward the sound and the ball bounced off of Sweetie Belle. An orange earth pony and a white unicorn mare stood where the noise had come from.

“Rarity! You made me miss my kick!” Sweetie Belle whined.

The two mares quickly ran over to those in the open field.

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo! I’m sure glad that we found y’all!” Applejack grabbed her sister in a tight embrace.

Something seemed a little off about her sister’s eyes though. They looked somewhat dull and cloudy.

“What are you two doing here?” Apple Bloom managed to squeak out through the hug.

“You all walked right into the Everfree Forest and you’ve been in here for hours! We didn’t want anything bad to happen so we came to get you ourselves,” Rarity responded.

“But they’ve been with me and we’ve only been here a few minutes,” the sea foam green unicorn, Lyra, replied. Her eyes were also foggy and had lost some of their color.

“Ya’ found Lyra!” Applejack said happily but she was somewhat unnerved at Lyra’s discolored eyes. “Come on! We’ve really got to get out of here now.”

“Could we finish our game first? Like Lyra said, we’ve only been here a few minutes,” Scootaloo asked.

Rarity noticed that Scootaloo’s eyes had also lost their color.

“Well, I’m sure that you can play your games when we’re out of the Everfree Forest and no, you’ve been here for a few hours,” Rarity stated curtly.

“No, we’ve only been here a few minutes and we’re going to finish our game,” Lyra announced snootily.

“Yay!” shouted the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they ran off to resume their field positions.

“Now remember, Scootaloo you just scored your fifth point and Sweetie Belle is up to kick,” Lyra reviewed.

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, awestruck and worried.

“No!” Rarity stomped her hoof into the ground. “Girls, you are coming with us right now.”

A loud chorus of groans came from the fillies.

“Do we have to?” Sweetie Belle whined.

“Yes,” stated Applejack. “We’re not stayin’ in this forest a second longer. Now come on let’s get a move on.”

The orange mare motioned for all of the others to follow after her and Rarity. With heads down and shoulders slumped, the three fillies followed. The fillies constantly tried to run off or start some other game, but the two older mares persisted in their efforts and kept the young ones moving forward. Suddenly, however, Applejack had an epiphany.

“Lyra’s missin’!”

“What?” cried Rarity.

The orange pony moaned.

“She must’ve gone back to that meadow. I don’t like what’s gotten into everypony. And have you seen their eyes? It’s not natural. I’m gonna go back and get her. Rarity, you get these three out.”

“Right,” the unicorn nodded as Applejack took off, back toward the meadow.

“I’d rather be playing with Lyra,” wished Sweetie Belle dreamily.

“Yeah, me too,” agreed Scootaloo.

Rarity’s eyebrows raised in caution as she watched over the young fillies, yet they continued to move along at a steady pace. The group had made it a good distance through the Forest when a new mystery appeared before them. In the distance they saw a small red dot.

“What’s that?” Apple Bloom pointed as she squinted her cloudy eyes.

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo replied as she raised her hoof over her own colorless eyes and peered into the distance.

As the group came closer they soon found the source of the glowing.

“It’s Zecora’s house!” shouted Sweetie Belle happily.

The fillies surged forward and left Rarity to chase after them shouting, “Slow down!”

The young friends burst through the door.

“Zecora!” they shouted cheerfully.

The zebra looked startled as she yanked her head away from her bubbling cauldron toward the invaders. Soon however, she began to beam brightly as the fillies gathered around.

“Greetings to you and welcome to my home. But tell me why are you in this forest alone?”

Suddenly Rarity burst through the gaping entrance.

“Don’t run off like that!” the unicorn scolded her young charges. “This forest is dangerous!”

“Rarity! A fine welcome to you. But this sight is something quite new. When dark clouds billow over the Everfree, the Forest is not a place any should be.”

Zecora walked calmly up to Rarity and patted her gently on the shoulder to calm the fussy unicorn down. Then she closed her door shut with the slightest of creaks. When she had turned back around, Zecora found the fillies bouncing around her home and giggling.

“Ooo, something’s bubbling in here!”

“These bottles make a funny clinking noise when you smack them together!”

“Whoa! Look at all of these different potions! I wonder what this one does?”

“No! Be careful with those! If you drink them, they will cause many woes!”

Both of the older mares rushed off to stop the three rambunctious fillies. They held down two, but one still remained to energetically run around and generally cause chaos.

“Zecora! I don’t know what’s gotten into them all. Ever since Applejack and I found them they’ve been acting strangely. Even more so than usual. And there’s something wrong with their eyes,” Rarity bemoaned while struggling to hold down her own sister.

“How long have they been here? Could it be as long as I fear?”

“They’ve only been in the Forest for a few hours. Do you think they ran into some strange plant?”

“A plant from the Forest, this would not do. But if their eyes are changed, an unfortunate answer I have for you.”

“Unfortunate?” asked Rarity who had also somehow managed to snag Apple Bloom and pinned her down along with Sweetie Belle.

“It was the sign I did fear. But do not worry for a cure is near.”

Zecora released Scootaloo, whom she had been holding, and the pegasus dashed off instantly to poke at a case full of mysterious plants from the Everfree. The zebra did not waste a second, but snatched an empty vial from one of her various shelves and swiped it through the bubbling liquid in her cauldron. In a burst of speed, she spun Scootaloo around and shoved the vial into the pegasus’ face. The red liquid slowly drained down Scootaloo’s throat.

Almost instantly the pegasus’ eyes cleared up and regained their color. Scootaloo also shook her head and grimaced.

“YUCK! EW! NASTY!”

Zecora then rushed at the two struggling Crusaders held by Rarity and poured the last drops of the liquid into their mouths. This was met with a very similar reaction.

Rarity let up her hold on the two fillies as they had finally stopped bouncing around. They were instead trying to brush the awful taste off their tongues.

“What WAS that?” moaned Scootaloo. “And where are we?”

“You are in Zecora’s house,” Rarity sighed gladly. “And she just cured you of…What did you cure them of?”

“A powerful creature had you in her trap. This potion cleared away her magic and gave you clear thought back.”

“Wait…what? The last thing I remember is finding Lyra in that meadow,” Sweetie Belle said.

“But what about that other thing?” Apple Bloom asked Sweetie.

“You mean Phillis?” Scootaloo replied.

“Yeah! That’s her!” the little farm pony agreed.

“So that is the name of this creature of blue. She locked me in my house with her trees of purple hue.”

“You mean you were here the whole time?” Rarity asked.

“Were those flashes we saw you?” Sweetie Belle also questioned.

“Yes. This is all true. I tried many potions until I broke through.”

“I am sorry to ask, but just who is Phillis?” Rarity asked.

“Phillis is a… She’s sort of… Kind a like a…. What exactly is Phillis?” stammered Apple Bloom.

“Phillis, as you call her so, is a creature who will cause great woe,” answered Zecora. “She is a Siphon, creature of great power, she will your joyful play devour. They draw you in and take your mind with a playful spell that they do wind. For it is in play that a Siphon grows, and through you their playful power flows. If she is not stopped very soon, I fear that Ponyville is certainly doomed.”

All the eyes in the room grew to the size of dinner plates as they listened to Zecora.

“And Applejack is out in the Forest alone with THAT thing?!” shrieked Rarity. “Girls, stay here. I need to find Applejack!”

The prissy mare threw caution to the wind as she charged back out into the bleak Everfree Forest. The door slammed shut behind, leaving the three fillies with Zecora and a bubbling pot of red liquid.

“Rarity! Wait up!” cried Sweetie Belle as she turned into the slamming door.

The little filly pulled her face off of the sturdy wood.

“Didn’t you hear her?” asked Scootaloo indignantly. “She said to stay put. Phillis is nothing but bad news.”

“I know! But now my sister is out there with that Phillis…thing!”

“Not a Phillis thing, but a Siphon sibling,” corrected Zecora as she began to reposition a glass bottle, with a curious red dot floating in it, on her shelf.

“A Siphon sibling?” asked Sweetie Belle. “What exactly is a Siphon?”

Zecora walked over to her bubbling pot and motioned for the fillies to join her. Soon they were all looking into the red liquid. The zebra found a powdery substance and threw it in. As she spoke, the new mixture played out what Zecora said before the eyes of the three fillies.

“The Siphons are sisters four: green, yellow, red, blue. They slowly take your mind ‘til play is all you can do. When you neglect your work and play all day long, their power grows into something unimaginably strong. Creatures of magic and born of the earth, they gain their strength from your playful mirth. And now we face this Siphon child who has chosen the Everfree as her domain for a while. The clouds above tell of her might, if they reach Ponyville, then the future will not be bright.”

A silhouette of a creature like Phillis appeared in the cauldron, floating above a group of frolicking ponies. But as the ponies continued to jump and dance, the creature grew larger and larger until the entire cauldron was filled with the dark silhouette. Then the mixture began to bubble and turn back to its original hue. The fillies slowly trotted away from the frightening scene. Nopony spoke for a while.

“That’s what Phillis will do?” Apple Bloom finally squeaked out.

Zecora nodded slowly but resolutely.

“So what can we do?” Scootaloo asked brazenly.

“For now we wait as Rarity said, for Phillis must not be fed,” replied Zecora. “If the Siphon has no ponies to control, her power will cease to grow.”

“Right!” shouted Apple Bloom merrily.

The fillies instantly sat down on the floor like little angels and watched as Zecora continued to move around her home, pouring more and more ingredients into her cauldron.

* * * * * * * * *

Rarity moved slowly through the dark woods. Overhead the dark clouds continued to roil restlessly.

“Applejack! Applejack!” called Rarity as she spun her head from side to side, trying to peer through the bleak forest.

A twig snapped beneath her hooves and she jumped backwards with a shriek.

“SIPHON!”

Then she saw the broken twig and began to chuckle nervously to herself.

“Heh. Heh heh. J-Just a little stick. Get a hold of yourself Rarity. You’ll be fine. Find Applejack and Lyra and leave. It’s simple really. Just navigate through the Everfree Forest with a mind-controlling monster in it. N-Nothing to worry about.”

But she screamed yet again as she felt herself suddenly falling and then slamming into the ground. She turned her head to find that a large root had tripped her.

“You rotten root!” she yelled at the inanimate object as she leaped to her feet. “Don’t you know better than toooo…”

The unicorn’s chastising speech slurred off as she found herself staring a small, glowing pebble.

“That’s the stone! The one from before! I shall take you back home with me. Thank you root.”

She slowly reached out a hoof to take the purple glowing rock, but at the last moment it jumped away with a puff of blue smoke trailing it.

“Huh? Come here!” demanded the prissy unicorn.

Rarity ran over to the pebble’s new location and reached for it again, but it once more evaded her grasp with another leap, this time onto the untrodden surface of the Everfree. Rarity still chased after the purple stone as it hopped further and further away from any recognizable path. Behind the white mare a small, child-like voice giggled softly.

As Rarity chased further into the deep recesses of the Forest, the color in her eyes began to fade and slowly fog over. After a lengthy chase, the mare finally dove at the stone and held it firmly between her hooves. She began to cackle with happiness.

“Ha! Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha! Got you! I finally got you!”

She held the precious glittering stone up before her face. Suddenly, the pebble was shrouded in a blue mist and floated into the air. Rarity followed the stone with her colorless eyes until it came to rest in the hands of a strange blue creature, floating behind the mare.

“Let’s play a game!” stated the creature joyfully and with a smile.

“Give that back!” cried Rarity as she leaped at the blue fiend.

But she dove straight through the being, like diving through water, to find the being floating just behind her.

“Here’s the game! It’s called catch the pebble.”

The purple rock floated right in front of Rarity’s face and then whizzed quickly away.

“My precious!” shrieked Rarity.

The white mare rushed after the stone and her eyes began to lose even more color, looking more and more like glass. Rarity began to chuckle uncontrollably.

“Good luck!” the creature shouted and waved as Rarity ran away.

Then the being disappeared in a cloud of blue mist as the mare chased aimlessly after the purple stone.

* * * * * * * * *

“Lyra! I’m not gonna tell ya’ a second time! Get over here!” called out the angry voice of Applejack.

“Ha ha! Hee hee! Come and make me!” giggled the sea foam green pony as she jumped and danced around the meadow.

Applejack charged the playful pony, but Lyra jumped out the way just in time to let Applejack slam her head into a tree. Lyra kept laughing. The musically gifted unicorn’s eyes had fully glazed over. They were now dull and shiny; a pony could see their own reflection in them clearly as if looking at the glass eyes of a doll. Suddenly, a blue puff erupted at the far end of the dark meadow.

“Hi Phillis!” called Lyra joyfully.

With a skip and hop the mind-washed mare bounced over to the side of her captor.

“Gah! What is that thin’?” screamed Applejack as she took her first look at the small, blue, floating creature.

“I’m Phillis. And you’re silly,” the creature giggled at the work horse.

Phillis’ hands began to glow a bright blue and mist enshrouded Applejack’s well worn hat. Phillis floated the Stetson onto her own head and adjusted it.

“Hey! Give that back!”

Applejack rushed at Phillis, but the Siphon floated just out of reach and laughed at the mare’s futile attempts.

“Well, yall it looks like we’ve got a real lively one right here,” Phillis said in a poor southern accent.

Applejack grunted and leaped high into the air, narrowly grabbing the hat off the Siphon’s head.

“Aw…” whined Phillis. “You meany. All I wanted to do was play.”

“Well sorry, whatever you are, but I don’t have time to play. Now come on Lyra. We’re leavin’.”

The farm horse grabbed Lyra and started to yank her away from the meadow, but the musical pony fought back, desperately trying to get back to Phillis. Applejack was too strong to resist though, until Phillis intervened.

“Leaving so soon? But I just thought of a fun game!”

“Yay! Let’s play! Let’s play!” begged Lyra.

“No! We ain’t got time for no games!” Applejack grunted against Lyra’s weight.

“You’ll play my game or else you won’t leave,” pouted Phillis.

“Sorry missy, but we’re still goin’.”

“Fine! Be that way!” screamed Phillis.

The Siphon’s eyes blazed with an angry blue fire and a choking smog filled the entire meadow. Applejack began to hack and wheeze and was forced to let Lyra go free. Suddenly, a large hedge maze grew up quickly from the ground. Odd purple leaves clung to the magical hedges and large, shimmering blue flowers grew from the bizarre foliage. The mist slowly faded away but left Applejack standing in the maze, but at the far edge. She turned around and around until she found an exit which lead to the end of the meadow.

“I told ya’, I’m not playin’ your game!” Applejack roared into the sky as she stomped toward the exit.

“Tag! You’re it!” shouted Lyra.

The playful mare tapped Applejack on the shoulder and then ran off into the maze.

“What? Lyra! Get back here!”

The farm pony grunted and then ran in after Lyra with brows furrowed and a disgruntled huff. At the first turn, Applejack lost sight of her charge. Even so, Lyra’s taunting laughter filled the bizarre maze. Applejack managed to catch a glimpse, but she heard the laughing from behind. Every turn she made only got her more and more tangled in the purple hedge maze. The exit was no longer in sight and Applejack’s eyes soon began to lose their color as they slowly hazed over. The orange mare began to chuckle joyfully as she ran. Phillis giggled as she floated over the entire maze, watching the foolish ponies play her twisted game.