A fiddle tuned to crows.by LucidTechChaptersEnter the CharactersEnter the Unexpected ChapterEnter the PanicEnter the CharactersFiddlesticks ran, she ran as fast as her hooves could carry her. She dashed over molding wood and deeper into the Everfree forest, the insessant chirping of delirious birds echoed around her in a horrible clashing cacophony that pounded against her ears. The sounds of barking played a hellish accompaniment that slashed against the discordant song of the warbling avians. Amidst the noise the lone hoofbeats of the pony were lost, and she feared that soon her voice would join them, doomed to fade from memories until it was nothing more than a ghostly echo left on the wind. Though her mind begged against it, she glanced over her shoulder. The frantic wolves were closing in, closing the distance that the mare had cherished throughout the chase. Snapping her head forward, Fiddlesticks put her focus into running as fast as she could. In the back of her head she knew it wasn’t fast enough, but she tried anyway. Her fiddle bumped against her side as she ran, a demented heartbeat to match the rest of the chaos that filled the air around her. Adrenaline and blood pumped fiercely as the fiddler’s body fought to keep the life it currently held, but the muscles screamed in protest. In her exhausted delirium, her hoof crashed against a mischievous root. She was sent tumbling down a steep ravine, her body was brusied and cut as she slid down the wild dirt that grasped and grabbed at her, sending shocks of pain through her tired mind until she came to a stop at the bottom. The near limitless supply of strength that the apple family was known for had come to an end, she had run for five hours and she couldn’t do it anymore. Still, she drew from the well until she managed to roll onto her back. She gazed up into the darkness above her. Green eyes stared back. The angry wolves began to shuffle about, searching for a safer way down then the slide that their prey had taken. Realizing the game was up, Fiddlesticks tried to lean back, but a pain shot through her back as something jabbed into it. Moving a little to get around she found the offending object and lifted it in front of her body. She smiled. Her fiddle. The one thing that had always been there for her and here it was again. She had spent countless hours with it, ignoring her family as they pressured her towards finding a husband. Husbands who tried to tell her when and when not to play her instrument. Her half sister Octavia was the only thing that kept her from completely giving up on life, the crazy canterlot musician that was in love with another mare had set an example for Fiddlesticks. Never let anyone tell you what to love. So, she never had. With a cracked smile Fiddlesticks pulled the instrument in front of herself. She examined it in the half light of the ravine, her memory filling in every curve and bend of the instrument before she ever felt them. With a burst of an exhale, that resulted from the pain that ran through her throbbing joints, she rested the bow on the strings and pulled it. It hummed in response, like an old friend who knew the song you had in mind. The sudden notes caused the wolves to pause for a breath in puzzlement before they continued their slow movement down the ravine towards her. Muscle memory forced the exhaustion out of her and before too long Fiddlesticks was playing a quick paced melody that rose into the air, tearing through the chaos and replacing it with her music. In utter elysium the mare played, her tune calming her mind as her body moved to keep up the song. A smile broke across the mare’s face and tears began to trickle around her muzzle. ‘I guess that was my last family reunion, sorry everyone.’ She thought, letting her music numb the emotional pain that was ripping into her soul. The wolves were at the bottom of the ravine now, approaching the prey that was announcing it’s location to them so loudly. Snarls escaped their wooden lips as slivers of sound creaked from their joints. But still, the mare played on. She thought about all her family that she would miss. Applejack and Big Mac, the strongest workers in the entire family without a doubt. Then there was Braeburn, the always excitable stallion who would help you with anything in a heartbeat. And Applebloom, Fiddlesticks cursed the fact that she would never be able to see the filly get her cutie mark. The wolves pounced and Fiddlesticks ended her song with a flourish. It was instantly replaced with the sound of crows, far more crows than should exist in one place. They dashed through the air. But the cries of the murder were different then the other wildlife, they seemed directed, like instruments in a symphony. Each knew it’s part and did it with skill, Fiddlesticks tried to look past the blurs of black that obscured her view, but she was unable to. Eventually the birds separated and disappeared. Fiddlesticks felt the fear coursing through her body as she wondered how she was still alive. Cracking an eye open, she spotted the scattered wood that marked the corpses of her attackers. The sound of creaking wood still permeated the air, however, and so Fiddlesticks turned to find it’s source. Her eyes dilated from the scare and the mare found her body unable to move at the mere sight of her savior. A scarecrow, not unlike the costume she had donned for Nightmare Night, loomed over her. A single crow sat upon it’s shoulder, which rang oddly with the mare as the purpose of scarecrows was not to serve as a perch. It clenched a deadly scythe in it’s grip and the blade of the weapon dripped with sap. The cut in the bag of it’s face widened, then a surprisingly high pitched voice filled the air. “Hello Summoner, what is your bidding?” Enter the Unexpected ChapterFiddlesticks moved quietly through the apple farm, the strange monster on her tail the entire way. She had been trying to ditch it the entire way here but it had always showed up right behind her when she glanced over her shoulder. It was, quite easily, the creepiest thing in the entire world. Worse still was that it didn't seem to want to hurt her and while that had originially been a comforting thought it now carried a malevolent fear of what it did want with her then. She moved into the barn, and turned to watch the door so she could see the creature enter behind her, but it never did. As she was watching the door intently she slowly began to realize that there was a creaking sound that seemed to be coming from directly behind her. She looked over her shoulder and couldn't help but let loose a gasp and thank the stars that she had used the rest room right before leaving town. The creature stared at her with it's deep emerald eyes and Fiddlesticks felt the desperate need to freak out. She restrained herself though, maintaining composure, and breathed in through her nostrils while her wide eyes kept themselves glued to the nightmarish creature. Slowly she stuttered a few words in the direction of the thing. "Can you stay here for the night?" "Yes Master." The voice sent shivers down her spine, and she once again felt the need to run as far away as she could. "That's great, I'm going to go into the house, and ask for a bed. I'll come get you in the morning. Alright?" "Yes Master." "Good..." Fiddlesticks backed slowly out of the barn, keeping an eye on the monster, and then slowly closing the door. She sighed and turned away from the door and right into a pair of emerald green eyes. She let loose a blood curdling scream and backed away in a hurry, only to find that the pair of eyes belonged to a different being. Applejack looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh it's you Fiddles. I was wonderin' who could be out here at this hour." "Yea, sorry, I was on my way home through the Everfree but I got ambushed by timber wolves. I hope you don't mind if I stay another night." "'Course not!" Applejack exclaimed. "But timber wolves huh? Sugarcube, that's some bad luck there. How'd you get outta that sticky situation?" Fiddles ran through the possible answers in her head. But she also tried to talk at the same time, and that was two activities that didn't work very well together. "Well they ran away?" "Ran away?" Applejack's voice was doubting and Fiddle's immediately began to curse her cousin's perfect ability to know when people were lying. "Yea, I think something scared them off." "Oh, I guess that would make-" Fiddles' eyes caught some movement and she redirected her attention. Standing above Applejack on a wooden post a very familiar being stood with arms outstretched. In the distance she heard the sound of approaching crows and she realized that it must have heard her scream, and had come to save her, again, for whatever reason dictated this thing's movements. "STOP!" She shouted and watched as the creature stood from it's pose and the sound of crows began to die away. She was relieved to have managed the situation, and she remained relieved right up until she looked at Applejack, who was looking at her like she was completely and totally insane. Which, at this point, Fiddlesticks was beginning to think she might be. "I meant, we should go inside and talk about this, it's gettin' kinda cold." Applejack let loose a brisk laugh. "You know I love you Cuz, but sometimes you city folk can be a bit too... what's the word.. fragile, that's the one!" "Yea, I know, but what can I say? I'm not nearly as practiced at this hard working thing as you guys are." "Alright, let's get you inside sugar cube, then you can tell me your story." "Sounds good." As Applejack began to move Fiddlesticks realized that the monster wasn't in sight anymore, and instinctively looked behind her, only to find it wasn't there either. Keeping her voice low, she looked towards the closed doors of the barn and whispered. "If you're in there, try and stay out of sight until morning." She got a crow's call in return. Author's Note It only now occurs to me, right before I write this, how much of a pain it's going to be to refer to this characters. Enter the PanicFiddlesticks snuck away from the apple household while they still slept, an act that required she get up long before the sun rose. The apple's were dedicated workers, and while this was a very admirable trait it made it hard for one to sneak away from their house without being tailed by at least two family members offering their help. Fiddlesticks reflected on this and greatly regretted the fact that she couldn't ask their help at this juncture, because help was one thing she could really use right now. She slunk to the barn, quick as a flash, and rounded the corner to the interior with careful ease, making sure not to emit any more noise than necessary. As she faced the interior she was once again greeted with the haunting face of the creature that had been following her all the previous day. It still made her want to scream, but she was slowly getting used to it, she just had to expect it everytime she looked at anything, ever. She cringed for a moment, closing her eyes tight, and when she opened them the creature was still there, awaiting some kind of command. "Alright, here's the plan. We're going to go see Twilight Sparkle, you're not going to scare her, she's gonna tell me what she knows, we're gonna send you back to where you came from and then I'll go back to living my life. No objections? Good." "Fiddles?" The voice of Apple Bloom came from the doorway. Fiddlesticks' mind began to scream and she turned to the filly with all speed. The filly was rubbing her eyes and yawning, and the musician was desperately trying to think of a way to get rid of the monster before she gained her vision back. She failed though. "I heard ya leave an ah-" Apple Bloom stopped rubbing her eyes and glared at the monster that looked back at her. "W-w-w-w-" She began to stutter as she slowly backed away. The filly didn't wait for an answer and instead made a break for the door. "Wait!" Fiddlesticks called, not wanting the situation to get anymore out of hand then it was. After she had called that she saw the creature at her side make a motion with it's hands. Suddenly Applebloom's run became much more erratic and she began to run around in circles inside the barn. This lasted until the filly ran into the wall, at which point the force of the hit knocked her unconscious and she fell into her dream land as she lay in a pile of unused hay. "What the heck was that?" Fiddlesticks shouted, turning to face the creature. It wasn't given an opportunity to respond as another pony entered on the scene. Applejack entered through the open doors. "Either a you two seen Appl-" She stopped suddenly, mimicing her younger sister's actions. "Either..." She began to back away and, following the previous pattern, began to run away, no doubt to seek out help from her friends. The creature mimiced it's act from early and the same thing occured, down to the very detail of A.J. hitting her head on a wall and falling over unconcious. "How often can you even do that!?" Fiddlesticks shouted, realizing that the situation was quickly getting out of hand. And then, of course, a third pony entered the barn. Big Mac stood there, chewing a long piece of hay, and simply examined the situation. He glanced at Fiddlesticks, than at the monster by her side. Then to his unconscious siblings. "You aren't gonna run?" Fiddlesticks asked in surprise as the red stallion simply stood stock still. "Eenope." "Well... why not?" "Ah reckon that you're strange friend here won't do anythin' so long as I don't freak out. Or try an' attack ya. He seems like a pretty loyal fella', if a bit of an eager beaver." Fiddlesticks shared a glance with the monster, who looked equally surprised by the occurrence. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on the mare's part, she couldn't even tell if she trusted her own head anymore. "Anythin' I can do ta help?" "Well... yes. Actually."
Enter the CharactersFiddlesticks ran, she ran as fast as her hooves could carry her. She dashed over molding wood and deeper into the Everfree forest, the insessant chirping of delirious birds echoed around her in a horrible clashing cacophony that pounded against her ears. The sounds of barking played a hellish accompaniment that slashed against the discordant song of the warbling avians. Amidst the noise the lone hoofbeats of the pony were lost, and she feared that soon her voice would join them, doomed to fade from memories until it was nothing more than a ghostly echo left on the wind. Though her mind begged against it, she glanced over her shoulder. The frantic wolves were closing in, closing the distance that the mare had cherished throughout the chase. Snapping her head forward, Fiddlesticks put her focus into running as fast as she could. In the back of her head she knew it wasn’t fast enough, but she tried anyway. Her fiddle bumped against her side as she ran, a demented heartbeat to match the rest of the chaos that filled the air around her. Adrenaline and blood pumped fiercely as the fiddler’s body fought to keep the life it currently held, but the muscles screamed in protest. In her exhausted delirium, her hoof crashed against a mischievous root. She was sent tumbling down a steep ravine, her body was brusied and cut as she slid down the wild dirt that grasped and grabbed at her, sending shocks of pain through her tired mind until she came to a stop at the bottom. The near limitless supply of strength that the apple family was known for had come to an end, she had run for five hours and she couldn’t do it anymore. Still, she drew from the well until she managed to roll onto her back. She gazed up into the darkness above her. Green eyes stared back. The angry wolves began to shuffle about, searching for a safer way down then the slide that their prey had taken. Realizing the game was up, Fiddlesticks tried to lean back, but a pain shot through her back as something jabbed into it. Moving a little to get around she found the offending object and lifted it in front of her body. She smiled. Her fiddle. The one thing that had always been there for her and here it was again. She had spent countless hours with it, ignoring her family as they pressured her towards finding a husband. Husbands who tried to tell her when and when not to play her instrument. Her half sister Octavia was the only thing that kept her from completely giving up on life, the crazy canterlot musician that was in love with another mare had set an example for Fiddlesticks. Never let anyone tell you what to love. So, she never had. With a cracked smile Fiddlesticks pulled the instrument in front of herself. She examined it in the half light of the ravine, her memory filling in every curve and bend of the instrument before she ever felt them. With a burst of an exhale, that resulted from the pain that ran through her throbbing joints, she rested the bow on the strings and pulled it. It hummed in response, like an old friend who knew the song you had in mind. The sudden notes caused the wolves to pause for a breath in puzzlement before they continued their slow movement down the ravine towards her. Muscle memory forced the exhaustion out of her and before too long Fiddlesticks was playing a quick paced melody that rose into the air, tearing through the chaos and replacing it with her music. In utter elysium the mare played, her tune calming her mind as her body moved to keep up the song. A smile broke across the mare’s face and tears began to trickle around her muzzle. ‘I guess that was my last family reunion, sorry everyone.’ She thought, letting her music numb the emotional pain that was ripping into her soul. The wolves were at the bottom of the ravine now, approaching the prey that was announcing it’s location to them so loudly. Snarls escaped their wooden lips as slivers of sound creaked from their joints. But still, the mare played on. She thought about all her family that she would miss. Applejack and Big Mac, the strongest workers in the entire family without a doubt. Then there was Braeburn, the always excitable stallion who would help you with anything in a heartbeat. And Applebloom, Fiddlesticks cursed the fact that she would never be able to see the filly get her cutie mark. The wolves pounced and Fiddlesticks ended her song with a flourish. It was instantly replaced with the sound of crows, far more crows than should exist in one place. They dashed through the air. But the cries of the murder were different then the other wildlife, they seemed directed, like instruments in a symphony. Each knew it’s part and did it with skill, Fiddlesticks tried to look past the blurs of black that obscured her view, but she was unable to. Eventually the birds separated and disappeared. Fiddlesticks felt the fear coursing through her body as she wondered how she was still alive. Cracking an eye open, she spotted the scattered wood that marked the corpses of her attackers. The sound of creaking wood still permeated the air, however, and so Fiddlesticks turned to find it’s source. Her eyes dilated from the scare and the mare found her body unable to move at the mere sight of her savior. A scarecrow, not unlike the costume she had donned for Nightmare Night, loomed over her. A single crow sat upon it’s shoulder, which rang oddly with the mare as the purpose of scarecrows was not to serve as a perch. It clenched a deadly scythe in it’s grip and the blade of the weapon dripped with sap. The cut in the bag of it’s face widened, then a surprisingly high pitched voice filled the air. “Hello Summoner, what is your bidding?”
Enter the Unexpected ChapterFiddlesticks moved quietly through the apple farm, the strange monster on her tail the entire way. She had been trying to ditch it the entire way here but it had always showed up right behind her when she glanced over her shoulder. It was, quite easily, the creepiest thing in the entire world. Worse still was that it didn't seem to want to hurt her and while that had originially been a comforting thought it now carried a malevolent fear of what it did want with her then. She moved into the barn, and turned to watch the door so she could see the creature enter behind her, but it never did. As she was watching the door intently she slowly began to realize that there was a creaking sound that seemed to be coming from directly behind her. She looked over her shoulder and couldn't help but let loose a gasp and thank the stars that she had used the rest room right before leaving town. The creature stared at her with it's deep emerald eyes and Fiddlesticks felt the desperate need to freak out. She restrained herself though, maintaining composure, and breathed in through her nostrils while her wide eyes kept themselves glued to the nightmarish creature. Slowly she stuttered a few words in the direction of the thing. "Can you stay here for the night?" "Yes Master." The voice sent shivers down her spine, and she once again felt the need to run as far away as she could. "That's great, I'm going to go into the house, and ask for a bed. I'll come get you in the morning. Alright?" "Yes Master." "Good..." Fiddlesticks backed slowly out of the barn, keeping an eye on the monster, and then slowly closing the door. She sighed and turned away from the door and right into a pair of emerald green eyes. She let loose a blood curdling scream and backed away in a hurry, only to find that the pair of eyes belonged to a different being. Applejack looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh it's you Fiddles. I was wonderin' who could be out here at this hour." "Yea, sorry, I was on my way home through the Everfree but I got ambushed by timber wolves. I hope you don't mind if I stay another night." "'Course not!" Applejack exclaimed. "But timber wolves huh? Sugarcube, that's some bad luck there. How'd you get outta that sticky situation?" Fiddles ran through the possible answers in her head. But she also tried to talk at the same time, and that was two activities that didn't work very well together. "Well they ran away?" "Ran away?" Applejack's voice was doubting and Fiddle's immediately began to curse her cousin's perfect ability to know when people were lying. "Yea, I think something scared them off." "Oh, I guess that would make-" Fiddles' eyes caught some movement and she redirected her attention. Standing above Applejack on a wooden post a very familiar being stood with arms outstretched. In the distance she heard the sound of approaching crows and she realized that it must have heard her scream, and had come to save her, again, for whatever reason dictated this thing's movements. "STOP!" She shouted and watched as the creature stood from it's pose and the sound of crows began to die away. She was relieved to have managed the situation, and she remained relieved right up until she looked at Applejack, who was looking at her like she was completely and totally insane. Which, at this point, Fiddlesticks was beginning to think she might be. "I meant, we should go inside and talk about this, it's gettin' kinda cold." Applejack let loose a brisk laugh. "You know I love you Cuz, but sometimes you city folk can be a bit too... what's the word.. fragile, that's the one!" "Yea, I know, but what can I say? I'm not nearly as practiced at this hard working thing as you guys are." "Alright, let's get you inside sugar cube, then you can tell me your story." "Sounds good." As Applejack began to move Fiddlesticks realized that the monster wasn't in sight anymore, and instinctively looked behind her, only to find it wasn't there either. Keeping her voice low, she looked towards the closed doors of the barn and whispered. "If you're in there, try and stay out of sight until morning." She got a crow's call in return. Author's Note It only now occurs to me, right before I write this, how much of a pain it's going to be to refer to this characters.
Enter the PanicFiddlesticks snuck away from the apple household while they still slept, an act that required she get up long before the sun rose. The apple's were dedicated workers, and while this was a very admirable trait it made it hard for one to sneak away from their house without being tailed by at least two family members offering their help. Fiddlesticks reflected on this and greatly regretted the fact that she couldn't ask their help at this juncture, because help was one thing she could really use right now. She slunk to the barn, quick as a flash, and rounded the corner to the interior with careful ease, making sure not to emit any more noise than necessary. As she faced the interior she was once again greeted with the haunting face of the creature that had been following her all the previous day. It still made her want to scream, but she was slowly getting used to it, she just had to expect it everytime she looked at anything, ever. She cringed for a moment, closing her eyes tight, and when she opened them the creature was still there, awaiting some kind of command. "Alright, here's the plan. We're going to go see Twilight Sparkle, you're not going to scare her, she's gonna tell me what she knows, we're gonna send you back to where you came from and then I'll go back to living my life. No objections? Good." "Fiddles?" The voice of Apple Bloom came from the doorway. Fiddlesticks' mind began to scream and she turned to the filly with all speed. The filly was rubbing her eyes and yawning, and the musician was desperately trying to think of a way to get rid of the monster before she gained her vision back. She failed though. "I heard ya leave an ah-" Apple Bloom stopped rubbing her eyes and glared at the monster that looked back at her. "W-w-w-w-" She began to stutter as she slowly backed away. The filly didn't wait for an answer and instead made a break for the door. "Wait!" Fiddlesticks called, not wanting the situation to get anymore out of hand then it was. After she had called that she saw the creature at her side make a motion with it's hands. Suddenly Applebloom's run became much more erratic and she began to run around in circles inside the barn. This lasted until the filly ran into the wall, at which point the force of the hit knocked her unconscious and she fell into her dream land as she lay in a pile of unused hay. "What the heck was that?" Fiddlesticks shouted, turning to face the creature. It wasn't given an opportunity to respond as another pony entered on the scene. Applejack entered through the open doors. "Either a you two seen Appl-" She stopped suddenly, mimicing her younger sister's actions. "Either..." She began to back away and, following the previous pattern, began to run away, no doubt to seek out help from her friends. The creature mimiced it's act from early and the same thing occured, down to the very detail of A.J. hitting her head on a wall and falling over unconcious. "How often can you even do that!?" Fiddlesticks shouted, realizing that the situation was quickly getting out of hand. And then, of course, a third pony entered the barn. Big Mac stood there, chewing a long piece of hay, and simply examined the situation. He glanced at Fiddlesticks, than at the monster by her side. Then to his unconscious siblings. "You aren't gonna run?" Fiddlesticks asked in surprise as the red stallion simply stood stock still. "Eenope." "Well... why not?" "Ah reckon that you're strange friend here won't do anythin' so long as I don't freak out. Or try an' attack ya. He seems like a pretty loyal fella', if a bit of an eager beaver." Fiddlesticks shared a glance with the monster, who looked equally surprised by the occurrence. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on the mare's part, she couldn't even tell if she trusted her own head anymore. "Anythin' I can do ta help?" "Well... yes. Actually."
