Secrets of the Everfree

Chapters

Into Darkness
First Contact
Echoes of the Past
Shadow of Fear
A Tenuous Pact

Into Darkness

The climb to the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse seemed longer than usual for Big Macintosh. Maybe it was the worry and pain weighing down on his heart. Even so, the clubhouse itself brought some warm memories back to the Red Stallion. He'd helped Applejack build this little fort when she was just a filly who loved to tussle with her big brother at night. They were so happy and carefree back then. Before the Dark Plague…

Big Mac arrived at the meeting room to find a full-on brawl going. Such a thing was uncommon, but not unusual. Sometimes he didn't know why the three fillies were such good friends. Shaking his head, the massive Earth Pony waded into the fight. Now, Applejack might have needed to shout at the girls for a while, but Big Mac just separated them. He held his baby sister in the air by her tail, and kept one of her friends under each front hoof. A few minutes later, they noticed him.

"Oh, Heya Big Mac! Whatcha doin here?" Apple Bloom seemed pretty happy for somepony hanging upside down from her brother's mouth. "Uh Oh, is it time ta collect the bad apples? Ah tried to… Ow!"Big Mac had dropped her.

"Now listen close, I a'int playin." The three fillies shut their mouths. Big Macintosh doesn't talk much, and when he does, you better listen. "I don't want none of you inside the house for a few days. Applejack is sick; real sick. I can't tell for sure, but I think it's the Plague. You understand what I mean?"

Apple Bloom looked like she had been paralyzed. She didn't move a muscle, her hooves were shaking, and the pony could barely breathe. She forced out a single nod to acknowledge her brother. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo felt a little left out. "No. What's the Plague?" Sweetie Belle asked, as if she didn't understand a problem for one of Cherrilee's tests. The young unicorn didn't understand the dark look in Big Mac's eyes at all.

"The Plague," the enormous Stallion stated, in a rather cold tone "is why our ma and pa a'int here no more." Any response Sweetie Belle had died on her tongue. The little unicorn may be naïve, but even she understood the implications of that statement, and why she had never met Apple Bloom's parents. The pony shrunk back, embarrassment and shame on her face. Next to her, Scootaloo cringed, as if those words had brought back a terrible memory. Big Mac let his words sink in before continuing.

"I've arranged for Granny Smith to help out at the hospital for a while. That way she'll be right there if the Plague catches her. I'll take care of Applejack, I can take whatever this Plague dishes out. Apple Bloom, I want you to stay with your friends until the danger is past. This sickness is very strong, I don't wanna know what would happen if you caught it."

Apple Bloom found the strength to force out a few words. "Applejack… Is she gonna…"

"Not if I can help it!" Big Mac cut her off, his voice filled with a deadly determination. "I've already lost two of my family to this Plague; I'm not losing my little sisters. Either of them." He added, leaning in to nuzzle Apple Bloom.

The little Earth Pony threw her forelegs around her brother, tears in her eyes. "Big Mac, I'm scared."

Big Mac gathered his sister into his hooves, wetness forming around his own eyes. "Me too Apple Bloom, me too…" They stayed that way for a while, brother holding sister, while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked on. The entire situation was wrenching their hearts in more ways than one. For that moment, it seemed the entire world was still. All there was were two ponies holding each other, letting their love and fears flow between them. Unfortunately, these moments can't last forever.

Big Mac stood up. "I'm going to make Applejack some hot tea. Maybe it'll help purge her body of this sickness. Remember, none of you are to go into the house. I'll get Apple Bloom when it's over." Then he left. Everypony noticed how he said "When it's over", not "When Applejack is better". It was a while before anypony said anything.

Scootaloo was the first to move. "Don't worry Apple Bloom; I'm sure Applejack will get better." The young Pegasus did her best to sound encouraging, but it didn't come out right. The Plague was scaring her more than she let on. Sweetie Belle quickly added her own encouragements, which were much more genuine. The white filly was the only one of the group not to have lost somepony close.

Apple Bloom took a long time to reply. The shock still hadn't worn off of her. Yet as it did, her creative mind went into overdrive. In those few minutes after Big Macintosh left, the impatient Earth Pony came up with more ideas than she had over her entire career as a Cutie Mark Crusader. Finally, one popped up that satisfied her, and Apple Bloom galloped out of the clubhouse, yelling for her friends to follow. They only managed to catch up to her at the edge of the Everfree Forest.

"Apple Bloom, where are you going?!" Scootaloo called out.

"Zecora's. She's gotta have somethin to help mah big sis!" Apple Bloom replied, not bothering to slow down.

"But it's almost nighttime! We aren't allowed into the forest after dark! Remember the Cockatrice?" Sweetie Belle yelled, desperate to deter her friend from the very dangerous forest ahead.

"Ah don't care! Ahm not about to watch mah big sis die!" Apple Bloom practically screamed.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo paused, taken aback by her words. As they stopped, Apple Bloom began to disappear into the forest. Scootaloo couldn't help revisiting herself a few months ago. As she remembered what happened, and what she would've done to stop it, the resolve of the young pony changed. Not even Rainbow Dash would have let her enter the forest at night, but this was very different. The little Pegasus would do everything in her power to help save Applejack. She wouldn't let what happened to her, happen to her friend. The little orange filly nudged Sweetie Belle. "Well? Come on! We're gonna lose her!" Then Scootaloo practically (but not quite) flew into the forest after Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle looked up at the moon. She didn't want to disobey her sister and cause another fight, but she couldn't let her friends go in alone! "Luna protect us." The white unicorn muttered, and galloped after her friends into the darkening forest.

Darkness wasn't the only thing to fill the Everfree that night. A strange, tri-colored fog was billowing in from somewhere within the forest depths. The shades of bright blue, hot red, and sharp yellow made seeing anything three feet in front of your face impossible. Zecorra, the master herbalist, decided to barricade herself in her hut that night, and Rainbow Dash brought in Cloud Kicker and Snowflake for weather patrol. They didn't want any of the strange weather to affect Ponyville. But as for the Cutie Mark Crusaders…

"Hey! Watch it!"

"You're stepping on my tail!"

"Ow! Stupid tree…"

"Apple Bloom, are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Course ahm sure. I've been to Zecora's tons of times, member?"

"Ahh! Help, I'm stuck!" Sweetie Belle's cry cut through the chatter.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo couldn't help rolling their eyes. Sweetie Belle could be so darn clumsy sometimes.

"What are you caught on?" Scootaloo asked, not particularly eager to leave the path in such thick fog.

"I don't know. I can't see it." Sweetie Belle yelled.

The other Crusaders promptly preformed a face-hoof.

"If ya can't see it, how can ya be caught on something?" Apple Bloom asked, rather incredulously.

"I don't know! It feels like it's wrapped around my leg though, help!" Sweetie Belle was starting to sound scared.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went back to help their fellow Crusader. They found Sweetie Belle about a foot from a tree, tugging hard on something. It was like something had a grip on her right back leg with an invisible claw, and wouldn't let go. "Alright, let's see what… Ah!" Apple Bloom had tried to go between Sweetie Belle and the tree, and went sprawling into the dirt. Scootaloo cracked up laughing.

"Scootaloo!" the embarrassed Earth Pony yelled "Quit it! She's right, sometin's here." Scootaloo didn't stop laughing, but cantered over to her friends. Only to join them face-down in the dirt. Apple Bloom couldn't help but snicker. Usually this would be grounds for a fight, but given the current circumstances, Scootaloo settled for a death glare. Then they went to work trying to free Sweetie Belle.

"Ahl right, how do we break this thing? Apple bloom asked, poking at the invisible string. Sweetie Belle squeaked when Scootaloo tried just stomping on it. The string yanked her hoof back and sent her sprawling into, you guessed it, the dirt. While down there, the bright filly got an idea.

"Hey, let's see if we can find the other end! If we can't make thing let go of me, we can make it let go of whatever else it's holding!" Thinking creatively, Apple Bloom put her muzzle under the string and followed it away from Sweetie Belle. She soon found her nose in the ground, next to a suspicious looking piece of wood. Not one to spend too much time analyzing things, Scootaloo simply grabbed the wooden thing in her mouth and yanked up. Against all odds, it worked. However, the instant it was free, Sweetie Belle tugged at the string, knocking Scootaloo into Apple Bloom and sending both back into the dirt.

"I'm free! I'm free!" the excited unicorn squealed, bouncing around with joy. She was completely oblivious to the green glowing eyes materializing behind her in the mist. Nor did she hear the low rumbling growl emanating through the trees. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stared in horror as a massive Timberwolf emerged from the fog and approached Sweetie Belle. Sensing something was off; the naïve filly stopped bouncing and looked at her friends. "What?" she asked with carefree confusion evident in her voice. Then the Timber Wolf struck.

The wooden predator never got a bite out of Sweetie Belle. Seeing her friend in danger gave Scootaloo a strong burst of courage, and she rammed the fragile beast. Her blow knocked the beast back, but didn't kill it. A blow from Apple Bloom's hind legs did. The hard life of a Farm Pony had given the young filly a powerful set of hind legs. A gift she had just learned to appreciate. For a moment, it seemed as if the Cutie Mark Crusaders were safe. That is, until the rest of the pack arrived.

Words cannot accurately describe the terror felt by the three little ponies that night. The cool night air stung their lungs as they desperately gasped for breath. Every single leg was burning as if it were on fire, and only grew worse with each galloping step they made. Pure adrenaline surged through their veins, and pumped more into their system with each excited howl from the bloodthirsty pack. Their minds were that of a primal beast escaping a predator, but a single thought kept resurfacing in each of their young minds. I don't want to die.

Apple Bloom kept seeing her sister wasting away on her bed, waiting in vain for her to come home. She wouldn't be there to comfort her big sis, and if Applejack ever learned that she had lost her sister, it would break her. Then Granny Smith could only hold on so long, and Big Mac would be all alone… All the little filly wanted was to go home, hug her family, and have them tell her that it's all going to be all right. That she isn't about to be torn apart by a pack of Timber Wolves…

Sweetie Belle wasn't faring much better. She was regretting every mean word she had ever said to her big sister. Sometimes Rarity could be petty and dramatic, but she's family! Some of her best memories were competing with the mud-covered pony at the sisterhooves social. The little white unicorn had had no clue her somewhat vain and occasionally snobby sister would be willing to get so dirty just for her! Now she'd never be able to tell Rarity how much she loved her…

Scootaloo alone wasn't hoping to see her family again. She'd given up on that long ago. The only pony the flightless Pegasus considered family now was Rainbow Dash, her surrogate big sister. Just looking at the best flyer in all Equestria lifted Scootaloo's spirits and filled her with a powerful resolve. When she was with Rainbow colored mare, sometimes Scootaloo even found hope that she might fly again someday. Yet the orange filly would've traded both of her wings to be back in Ponyville with Rainbow Dash right now. A wish she was quickly giving up on.

The pack chased the little group of fillies deep into the Everfree Forest. Far deeper than Zecora's hut, into an area that hadn't been visited since the last Summer Sun Festival. It was so dangerous, that nothing smaller than a Manticore would dare make it it's permanent residence. The castle of the ancient pony sisters was once the capital of all Equestria, but is now just a crumbling ruin in the most forbidden part of the land. The castle once held a secret older than Equestria itself as well. But, as evidenced by the strange fog covering the land, no spell lasts forever.

Through blind luck (and perhaps divine intervention), the Cutie Mark Crusaders spotted the old rope bridge before they plunged straight into the misty gorge. Breathing hard and about to collapse, they fell into single file and thundered across. The pack tried to follow, but only one wolf made it across before the rotting planks snapped and sent the unlucky predators howling into the abyss. Yet one made it.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo collapsed at the door of the castle in utter exhaustion. Their lungs felt as if they were filled with magma and screamed for air. Every muscle in their bodies burned in raw agony and felt as weak as jello. The poor fillies couldn't have run another step if their lives depended on it; makes things pretty easy for the surviving Timber Wolf. Tree sap dripped from its jaws as it approached the helpless, trembling, beaten ponies. After a moment of indecision, it placed a paw on the orange pony's back and prepared to deliver a killing bite. Scootaloo couldn't hold it back anymore; she started crying, wanting nothing more than to go home. Then the world blew up.

For a moment, the night sky was lit up as if Celestia's sun were just overhead. There was a sound like a thousand thunderclaps going off at once, and a shockwave not unlike the Sonic Rainboom rattled the trees. It only lasted half a second, but it's aftereffects would ring in the ears of the living for several minutes. The Timber Wolf was not among this category, and collapsed onto Scootaloo like a pile of twigs. The young Pegasus trembled in absolute shock. Her little body had taken about as much punishment and trauma as it was capable of. Still, something inside pushed her to turn her head. What she saw was something out of fairytales.

There stood a strange creature that would've towered over Princess Celestia herself. It balanced on two legs, which seemed to be colored the same as the forest. Further up, it changed color, to a lighter brown with a series of white dots up the middle. It also had a long pair of arms with strange looking claws at each end. These claws seemed to be colored a pale white, as did the creature's face. It had a small pointy nose, two strange-looking ears on the side of its head, and a pitiful excuse for a mane on top. One claw held something shiny and billowing smoke. This was too much for the little filly, she passed out. The last words Scootaloo heard were "Guys! Look at this!"

First Contact

Sweetie Belle awoke in a cold sweat. The poor filly had just gotten through one of the scariest nightmares in her entire life! She was in the Everfree Forest… and there was a pack of Timberwolves chasing her… The last thing Sweetie remembered before she woke up was that one of the Wolves had cornered her, and was about to tear her apart. But if it was a dream, why was she so tired?

The young pony's entire body hurt, even her horn. Her legs weren't burning like they had in the dream, but punished any movement with sharp bursts of pain. Her lungs felt heavier than usual, like they had to work a lot harder to give the filly the air she needed. The bottoms of her hooves, usually pretty tough, felt tender and soft. Even the soft breeze ruffling her fur was enough to inflame her aching feet.

One thing Sweetie Belle noticed right away was that she wasn't in her own bed. She was lying on a course fabric, one Rarity would never allow in her boutique. Nor could she feel her pillow, though her head was resting on something pleasantly soft. The filly almost panicked, tossing about and whimpering, fearing she had been foalnapped. Fortunately, somepony noticed her distress, and whoever it was didn't sound dangerous. The voice was masculine, a rare thing in Ponyville, but soothing and calm. Feeling vaguely reassured, Sweetie Belle opened her eyes. Then she screamed.

The innocent filly found herself staring at what could only be called a monster. It had a squished face with beady little eyes, always the sign of a trouble-maker in Equestria. Its face was a pale white, but shone hairlessly in the glistening moonlight. Its mouth was little more than a giant red blister at first, and then it opened, revealing rows of jagged white teeth. Certain she was about to die, Sweetie covered her nuzzle with her hooves and waited for the end.

It took a long time for the monster to come for her. The terrified pony heard it making noise, but couldn't understand a thing; her ears were squished against her head. Maybe it was deciding what part of her to ear first? Sweetie Belle wished it would just hurry up and get it over with. Tears were leaking through her eyelids when its terrible claws first touched her back. Then slowly slid down and over her tail.

Sweetie Belle had no idea what was happening. Why wasn't the monster hurting her? If anything, it seemed to be grooming her, like her mom sometimes did. Whenever the happy little filly came in from her latest adventure, her mother Pearl would be there to gently wash her fur with long sweeping strokes that warmed the young pony's heart. It confused her to no end, but Sweetie Belle found her suspicions evaporating with every full-body rub the monster gave her. She was starting to feel safe again.

Soon the Crusader was in a state of pure bliss. It felt like she was at the spa, every care in the world melted away by expert hooves. She would turn and stretch, allowing the not-so-scary monster to stroke other parts of her body. The monster knew how to give a good massage too, which was enhanced greatly by its surprisingly soft talons. Instead of just a hoof or two, Sweetie Belle could feel up to five areas in her fur practically singing in joy. She even pressed back on the claw a little, to feel it better. Sweetie was very disappointed when it stopped rubbing her.

Convinced the Monster wasn't going to hurt her for now, Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and looked at it properly. The it still looked scary, but not quite so much anymore. It still had a blister-red mouth, but said mouth was happily. The hairless skin wasn't anything anypony would be used to seeing anytime soon, but the creature did have a beautiful red mane. The tiny eyes would always subconsciously unnerve the pony, but they shone bright with kindness. Then the monster did something unexpected.

"Do you feel better now?" it asked. Sweetie Belle just stared it. First off, it was a talking monster. Second, it was wanted to make her feel better? If this was a dream within a dream, it sure was a weird one. "Do you understand me?" The monster's question snapped the filly back to the present. Yet she only nodded, still somewhat wary of the massive beast. Even if it was nice, it could still be very dangerous.

"Okay then. Hi, my name is Thomas." The monster said while holding out one of its claws to the pony. Sweetie Belle cringed back, instinctively scared of such a massive appendage. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to scare you." What confused the young crusader to no end was its tone of voice; it was acting like this was no different than a conversation in Ponyville square. All she could do was stare at 'Thomas', she didn't know what else to do. 'Thomas' sighed. "You do talk, don't you?" it asked, sounding almost bored now. As if a pony that couldn't talk wasn't worth his attention.

Suddenly scared of losing Thomas' approval, Sweetie Belle finally spoke. "Of course I can talk! All ponies can talk!"

The sudden speech surprised the monster and it laughed heartily. "Oh good! I was worried for a second."

Sweetie Belle went from scared back to confusion. "Worried about what?" As far as she could tell, this monster didn't need to worry about anything.

"That you couldn't talk of course!" it exclaimed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Man, how lame would it be to be stuck in…Oops." 'Thomas' covered its blister mouth with its claw, looking strangely embarrassed.

"You're stuck here? How could you be stuck? You look like you could climb Canterlot's mountain!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, rather incredulously.

For some reason, Thomas' squished face turned red when it spoke next. "Well…You see…Uh…" The white pony looked at him expectantly. "We're on an epic adventure!" he exclaimed out of the blue, as if he had had an epiphany. Sweetie's head tilted in confusion. "We're just lost and need to find our way again." He explained, thinking that was what the pony was confused about. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

"We?" Sweetie Belle asked.

It took a moment for Thomas to respond, but when he did, he didn't sound quite so nervous. "Well yeah! You can't have an epic adventure without an epic adventure team! There are two more like me somewhere in the castle." he said, gesturing to the stone walls all around them.

The filly sudden got nervous when a thought passed through her head. "Do you monsters eat ponies?" she asked, fear evident in her voice.

Thomas laughed at first, but caught himself when he saw the look in her eyes. "No." he answered seriously, "None of us do. I eat fruits and vegetables only. My friends might eat forest creatures, but they don't eat ponies." Sweetie swore she heard something else, but could only make out: "…I'll make sure of it…" The stress of the day was really getting to the filly.

The stress escaped via horn, not a pleasant process for the little unicorn. "My head hurts." She moaned, rubbing a hoof against her horn. The monster decided to do something about that. Without warning, Sweetie Belle found herself scooped off the ground with a *squeak*. She looked up at Thomas, unsure of whether or not to trust him. Yet his eyes still glowed with kindness, easing the filly's fears. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"I'm taking you back to your friends; it sounds like you could use their company." Thomas replied, smiling kindly.

For the first time in a while, Sweetie Belle really smiled. It wasn't a big smile like Pinkie's, but a quiet one like Fluttershy's. You might've missed it if you looked too quickly, but for the human and pony, it carried a clear message. I feel safe with you. Even if Thomas had missed her smile, no one could miss the filly snuggling into his arms, getting comfy. It took all of Thomas' willpower not to squeal in joy, he didn't want to scare Sweetie Belle. Besides, his buddies would never let him live it down.

Before long, the pony riding a human found Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. The other crusaders were wiggling around in their sleep and whimpering, probably having nightmares about the Timberwolves. Thomas reflexively looked up at the rising moon. Was Princess Luna truly flying through their dreams, keeping them safe from the night's terrors. How much of what he thought he knew was accurate. If it was, could Twilight Sparkle find a way home for everyone? Despite all the questions raging within the closet Brony's mind, he gently laid Sweetie Belle down next to her friends, and went to find his own. David was sure to be pissed.

Apple Bloom was the first to awaken after Thomas left.

"Aaahh! Wolves! Wait, where…"

"Apple Bloom! You're awake!" Sweetie Belle squealed as she tackle-hugged her confused friend.

"Sweetie Belle? What happened? Where are we?" the poor earth pony was completely bewildered by her surroundings.

"You know, I don't actually know where we are." The unicorn admitted while scratching her head. Then she brightened. "I do know that we were saved by the Timberwolves by some humans!" she exclaimed happily.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes – again. "Riight. Like some mysterious evil fairytale creatures came and… EKK!" The yellow filly quickly hid behind a nearby rock.

An orange filly was woken up by all the commotion. "Wha.. What happened?.." Scootaloo murmured as she rubbed her face with her hooves.

"Humans!" Apple Bloom squeaked, pointing a hoof at said creature.

Scootaloo gave the human a long, hard look. "And? It's big alright, but it doesn't look so scary."

The little Pegasus soon grew uncomfortable under her friends' disbelieving stares.

"You've… never heard any stories about humans?" Sweetie Belle asked, as if the very concept were foreign to her.

"Deceitful Killers? Cunning Monsters? Loves to eat ponies? Any of those ring a bell?" Apple Bloom prompted.

Now Sweetie Belle looked angry. "Hey! These humans aren't monsters! They saved us from the Timberwolves!"

Apple Bloom huffed. "Well duh! They just wanna eat us themselves! Haven't you listened to the stories?"

"I did too, they're just wrong!" Sweetie Belle yelled.

"Are not!"

Are too!"

The two fillies leapt at each other, but crashed before any blows could be exchanged. They had pushed their little bodies to the limit to escape the Timberwolves; a fight was just too much for them right now. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both laid down, keeping a distrustful eye on each other. Scootaloo just kept watching the humans, trying to figure them out. They seemed to be talking…

David was pissed.

"What do you mean you didn't ask the pony any questions?! Do you not remember what kind of situation we are in?" David yelled at Thomas, right up in his face.

Thomas kept his cool. After being friends with a guy that has anger-management issues for a few years, such rage just rolled right off his back. "No David, I haven't forgotten. But that doesn't mean we're going to get any answers by demanding them from colorful little ponies like interrogators from Moscow. Unless you were planning on using torture techniques on innocent creatures we know so little about?"

David looked about ready to scream again, but caught himself. The 5'8" Texan took several deep breathes before continuing. "Okay, we gotta play nice for a while, I get it. But we also gotta hurry. If I a'int back by the end of the week…" he left that statement hanging.

Thomas knew exactly what his friend was referring to, and laid an arm on David's shoulder. "Don't worry man, I got this. Why don't you go help Nick cook that Manticore? He looks like he's too busy trying to figure out its anatomy to do something as silly as get us food."

David good-naturedly shrugged off his arm. "Good point there, poor bastard looks like he's been given an early Christmas present. I'll go set him straight." David cackled, cracking his knuckles. Whatever he had in mind, it wouldn't be peaceful.

Thomas closed his eyes, both enjoying the serenity while it lasted, and pondered the events before they woke up in the middle of an ancient castle in a haunted forest…

"Anddd...Victory! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" A 6"1' Alaskan Native was parading himself around a campfire, demonstrating moves that will never be seen on a dance floor. His two buddies were laughing hard, fully appreciating the display of silliness.

"Hey, I'm so calling bullshit on that! There's no way you could've shot that stick from 50 yards." David yelled out, mostly to antagonize his friend. They both knew a 50 yard shot was cake for an experienced hunter like Nick. Especially with his 44 Magnum Revolver.

"Normally that might be true," Nick stated in a rather poor impressions witch-doctor's voice, "were it not for, the Water Spirit!" The last few words were bellowed to the heavens, as if he was calling said spirit down right then.

Everyone broke down laughing.

Thomas was the first to regain his composure. "All right dudes, settle down, settle down. We gotta get up early for the hunt tomorrow."

Nick took full advantage of this. "Yes dad. You're really gonna knock them caribou dead with that Kodak of yours!" he stated sarcastically.

"I'll let you suckers do the skinning and gutting, I'm sticking to my vegetables." Thomas replied with an air of importance.

David pretended to whisper to Nick. "Maybe if we try hard enough, we can get him to live off of this moss."

Everyone cracked up again.

"It's getting dark out, we actually better hit the sack." Noted Nick once things had settled.

"How hard?" jabbed David, totally unable to pass up the opportunity.

"Whoa now, I brought my own bag! You can have Thomas!" Nick remarked, pointing at the vegetarian of the group.

"Hey! Why me?!" Thomas helpless squeaked.

"It's more fun when they can't fight back…" David cackled.

This time, everyone just chuckled lightly on the way into the tent. (They made sure to extinguish the fire first, relieving themselves of the day's fluids in the process)

"Goodnight guys." Thomas said, snuggling into his blanket.

"Night man." David replied, snubbing out his cigarette.

"See you in the morning." Nick finished as he extinguished the lamp.

The three friends expected a peaceful but exciting hunt for the rest of the week. They had no idea exactly how much excitement they were getting into.

Thomas was broken out of his thoughts by what could best be described as a food fight. Seems David was a lot less than subtle when he informed Nick that they were hungry. Even in the face of an unknown land and danger around every tree, the guys never could stop messing with each other. It had gotten so rough that Thomas had to duck to avoid a flying piece of Manticore meat. It went sailing over his head…

…and hit Scootaloo on the nose.

Echoes of the Past

There was an awful ruckus coming from the second-highest tower of Canterlot castle. Such a thing hadn’t been heard in more than a millennia. In fact, that entire wing of the castle had been sealed off with a statis spell until recently. Princess Celestia almost never cast such powerful time magic, but she had made an exception when she learned of the prophecy. After all, the least she could do for her little sister was keep her few possessions safe until the banishment spell finally ended. Her room was one of the only things Luna recognized when she returned; it alone had stood the test of time. Now, it was being torn apart faster than you could say Discord.

“It has to be them!” Luna cried, throwing an ancient figurine against the wall to shatter. “But we defeated them! Banished them from our realm! There’s no way they could’ve re-opened the portal…”

A calm voice of reason drifted through the tinkling glass and cracking wood. “Lulu, just because we detected a non-magical sonic boom doesn’t mean the Demons have returned.”

Luna turned on the voice with fury in her eyes. “Are thou blind sister?!” she bellowed, reverting to the old tongue and punctuating each shouted word with another broken possession, “Only those Heartless! Brutal! Murdering! Beasts could have..” Luna’s voice broke and trailed off as horrible memories returned.

Celestia stood up, walked over to her little sister, and pulling her into a wing-hug. Luna’s entire frame shook with repressed sobs, trying desperately to hold back decades of loneliness and suffering. “Why Tia… Why did they take Mother away?…”

The princess of the sun felt her own eyes growing wet as she remembered a time before they were princesses. In the days of Dream Valley and Paradise Estate, there had been more than two Alicorns. In fact, there had been an entire herd of the immortal ponies, males and females alike. As with all ponies, the Stallions greatly outnumbered the Mares, so the concept of marriage was alien to them. Instead, each Stallion had a small herd of Mares, each bearing his foals. This resulted in weak-to-non-existent paternal bonds, but nearly unbreakable maternal bonds. Well, unbreakable to everything but the cold hand of death…

Celestia nuzzled her nearly weeping sister. “Do not worry dear Luna,” she murmured, “Whatever happens, you are right. We did banish those monsters, and they will never return.” Luna looked up Celestia, little more than a scared filly that needed her big sister’s reassurance. “I swear, I will never let them hurt us again.” Celestia vowed as she stared deep into her sister’s eyes. The eldest Alicorn meant every word; Luna was her only sister, and meant the world to her. If it ever came down to it, she doubted she could lose her for Equestria again.

A chuckle broke through Luna’s sobs. “Look at me sister. The princess of the night, huddling on the floor like a spooked foal...”

Celestia laughed lightly, and pulled Luna in a tighter hug. “Tis all right Lulu. You had good reason to be scared. But it is alright. Perhaps the sonic boom was simply a new creature from the Everfree Forest.”

A shadow passed behind Luna’s eyes. “The Everfree… the only place we could not cleanse of their influence…”

“And now brings forth only echoes of their world.” Celestia finished firmly. “Even if this new creature proves dangerous, we will not let it harm anypony. I have already sent word to Captain Navy Shield; he is establishing a garrison in PonyVille as we speak.”

Luna laughed, for real this time. “You were always the perfect ruler Tia, it is little wonder that Equestria has flourished so under your rule.”

“You were missed Luna,” Celestia quietly added, “Don’t ever forget that.”

“I forgot overprotective!” Luna laughed, and shoved her sister away with her hooves.

Celestia was surprised for a moment, and then her eyes narrowed in playful anger. The two ponies may be immortal rulers of Equestria, but when it comes down to it, they are also just sisters. No royal work was done for the rest of the night.

Look, it was never my idea to adopt three screaming foals from the forest! That was Thomas’ brilliant plan! Only that soft-hearted fool could’ve decided it was a good idea to share our meager food rations with three random animals! Why should I be blamed for snapping!? If anything, I put those foals in their place!... okay… so I feel a little bad about what I did. Maybe I should tell you what happened.

It was after I threw that piece of meat at David. He decided to give me a little wake-up call that I was supposed to be cooking. Forgive me if I want to learn the anatomy of a new creature! Anyways, David’s method of giving a wake-up call usually involves dumping something on your head. Since we lacked a bucket of water, I was doused with a soda can. Thus starting the food fight.

Turns out that piece of meat I threw, it hit one of the little ponies, and sent them all into a panic. Then Thomas yells to catch them, and all hell breaks loose. I’m chasing this yellowish pony (with a pink bow in her hair??) in circles on the main room’s stone floor. Every time I get close enough to take a swipe at her, she screams and changes directions on me. It’d getting frustrating, and every scream sends another shockwave into my brain. Slowly but surely, I’m losing my cool.

I swear it took a full five minutes to catch those runaway fillies! Have you ever sprinted for five minutes straight? It a’int fun. Eventually, I quit caring whether or not I hurt the little pony, and seized her by the neck. Then I lifted her up to my level, and glared deep into her strangely adorable eyes. The terror the poor thing was feeling must’ve been unimaginable. Probably wasn’t helping that I wanted to kill her at that particular moment.

Around me, the guys were finally catching their quarry. It would have been funny watching David trying to catch the orange one if I hadn’t been doing the same damn thing a second ago. Thomas was being a little girl; he had finally cornered the white pony, but wouldn’t finish the job and grab her! So she kept up her ear-piercing, maddening wail! At least David had the decency to quiet his pony after he caught her. She didn’t look pleased at the hand covering her mouth, but it was one less thing I had to listen to.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Thomas did nothing to silence the white filly he had cornered, and her shrill scream just kept drilling, drilling deep into my skull… The yellow one I had captured began squealing, chattering, or something, a mile a minute, sending pulse after pulse of heated chaos into my brain. Suddenly, the orange one bit David’s hands, eliciting a jarring yell from him. Then she began to scream. “Help!” “Help!” “Help!” Louder… LOUDER…LOUDER…

“SHUT! UPP!!” I bellowed.

And all was still.

The three fillies had clamped their muzzles shut, the instant my shout hit their ears. Thomas and David were motionless, shocked into silence by my display of anger. Beyond that, the forest itself was quiet. No crickets sung their chirping calls. No distant calls of the wooden wolves. No beautiful tunes from the friendly Nightingale. All was quiet. At last.

I took in the sweet peace for a moment, and then strode over to Thomas. He held out his arms, and caught my pony when I dropped her in his grip. It doesn’t happen often, but I’ve had freak-outs before. The guys know I need time to cool-off, and vent my anger. Sometimes I go hunting, killing six small animals with my revolver and bringing back dinner. Other times I’ll tear a tree to pieces, then bring back firewood. Whatever happens, I usually end up destroying something, and for whatever reason, I didn’t really want to hurt the little pony I had caught.

As I marched out of the castle, I noticed David beginning to move. Normally, most everything is too scared to draw my attention, rightly fearing I will murder it. David alone has overcome that. He suffers from far worse rages than mine, and they happen much more frequently too. That 18-year old man forever has my respect for learning to control them. One of the few plus sides of such a disorder is he knows exactly what I’m going through, and when it is safe to move. Plus, if I ever tried attacking him, there’s a good chance I would lose. It’s hard to beat a guy who’s gone to boot camp.

The last thing I saw before stomping out of the rotting castle was David bringing his pony to Thomas. Seems we both know that he’s the only one who really knows how to act around them, and how to calm them down. Then I was out, and facing a wide gorge that was separating me from my prey. I looked around, saw a massive tree, and grinned. I had found a target for my anger and frustration. Without missing a beat, I drew my axe, tossed it into the air, caught the handle, and ripped into the ancient oak like fury from hell. We would have a bridge across this chasm by tomorrow morning.

Big Mac let out a sigh as Applejack finally drifted off to sleep. The poor pony had been coughing up her lungs all day, and still tried to go and do some chores. Naturally, Big Mac just slid his little onto his back, and carried her back to her bedroom, ignoring feeble protests the entire time. His heart nearly broke at the look she gave him when he laid her back in bed. It was a smile, but a sad, broken smile that betrayed her failing hope.

The big red Stallion hadn’t done a lick of work on the farm that day. He spent his time entertaining and caring for his little sister. Big Mac had no real idea how to tell a story or joke, but Applejack loved them anyways. She knew her brother was trying, and it’s the thought that counts. When he wasn’t spending time with Applejack, Big Mac was making her warm foods. The old Apple Family recipes had helped save his family once; maybe they could do it again.

Seven years ago, a terrible epidemic of the anti-magic plague had ravaged Ponyville. If you were to pass the little town by during that time, you’d have thought it had been abandoned. The hospital itself had almost fully shut down, turning anypony with Plague symptoms away at the door. They could not treat the disease, and did not want it to spread. In fact, only two patients were admitted, and one visitor: Two very pregnant Mares and a rather insistent Stallion.

For all the death and destruction of the time, it did produce a few Glimmers of hope. One of these glimmers was Apple Bloom, born from her ailing mother and named with her final breath. Her father held on long enough to present his brand-new baby girl to the newly appointed Granny Smith, his own mother. Unfortunately, he died soon after. Many thought that poor baby Apple Bloom would be sent to an orphanage, like many other fillies and colts of that period. Well not while Granny Smith had anything to say about it!

The old mare became one of the very few survivors of that epidemic. (That had been infected) Earth Ponies were always the most resistant to the disease, and the Apple Family produced very healthy ponies, but most believe that Granny beat the disease through sheer willpower. That old pony wouldn’t have let the Princesses themselves get between her and her granddaughter! She cooked, cleaned; basically did everything in her power to keep the Apple Farm running and her family together. Unfortunately, her bucking days were past her. This is where Big Mac came in.

Big Mac threw his heart and soul into running that farm. He single-hoofedly took on the work of three ponies, and he did it without complaining. Most Stallions his age were signing up for the Royal Guard, ready to see the land and meet many Mares. As a result, Big Mac was left mostly friendless. Soon, he grew quiet, speaking only when necessary. But whatever he did, he kept those apples growing, and he kept his family alive.

Soon, little Applejack grew up enough to take a share of Big Mac’s work. She alone remembered the friendly, talkative pony he had once been, and remains one of the only ponies capable of coaxing more than an “Eeyup” out of him. Granny Smith wore herself out raising Apple Bloom and Applejack, and finally retired herself 6 years after the great Plague. Little Apple Bloom took over her Granny’s chores, sometimes assisted by her big sister. They sacrificed much, but in the end, this part of the Apple Family survived.

Now Big Mac was helplessly watching his little sister wasting away on her bed. He had gotten Granny Smith out of the barn and to the hospital the first time Applejack really started coughing. There wasn’t much they could do if the old mare fell ill again, but at least she was in a sterile, clean environment. Next he made sure Apple Bloom stayed away from the farm. One of Big Mac’s worst nightmares was easily finding his baby sister dead on the floor. She’s much too young, too innocent, too happy to go, and Big Mac would die to protect her. Once all that was out of the way, he turned his full attention to Applejack.

One of the hardest things he’d had to do that day was turn away Applejack’s friends. They really wanted to see her, and wish her better, but Big Mac turned them away far from the barn. He would damn himself to Tartarus before he unleashed another epidemic on Ponyville, and there was no better breeding ground for a disease that a “get well party”. All he could bring Applejack was little gifts from her friends. Fluttershy: Winona, Pinkie Pie: a Cupcake, Rainbow Dash: a copy of Daring Do, Rarity: a full set of evening clothing (filled with gems of course), and Princess Twilight: the Element of Honesty.

Not long after they left Big Mac received one more visitor: Cherrilee. She and the Red Stallion had become good friends since the rather… interesting Hearts and Hooves day last year. Big Mac had recently found himself spending more and more of his spare time with her. She was always patient, understanding, and wonderfully smart. Likewise, he knew she liked having someone to hear her ideas and opinions, not to mention without constantly commenting. He swore that sometimes he had seen Apple Bloom giggling at them, but he could never be sure. However, today wasn’t a social visit.

Cherrilee had brought all available information from the last epidemic, and added her own notes and theories. This would be invaluable in the fight to save Applejack. He thanked the Ponyville teacher profusely for her generosity, but she waved him off, saying he would do the same for her. The two shared a tender look, until a bout of coughing sent Big Mac galloping back to the barn. These next few days would prove to be quite the trial.

Big Mac had turned out the magically-powered lights and was about to leave when Applejack started coughing again. He reacted purely on instinct, wrapping himself around his little sister. Maybe it was the warmth radiating from his body, maybe it was the love he felt for her. Whatever it was, Applejack quit coughing and snuggled in when she felt her big brother. His heart melted a little, and he sent a prayer to Celestia, begging her to save Applejack from this terrible Plague. Then he drifted off to sleep, keeping his little sister safe in his hooves. He would dream of happier times that night.

A tired but satisfied human staggered into the ancient castle in the predawn hours that morning. He had tired himself out, but the job was complete. The others would be proud. Then he glanced at the three adorable sleeping fillies. His heart clenched in guilt for he did to them earlier. Before he entered his cocoon of warmth, he gently laid a small wooden gift in front of the ponies. He smiled, whispering Good Night, and slipped away into the world of dreams. Above, the first rays of Celestia’s sun touched the distant horizon.

Author's Note

Don't except updates THIS often. :raritywink: It takes from two to three weeks to get these chapters written! Still, thankyouthankyouTHANKYOU for all these reviews! I've NEVER had this many before! :pinkiehappy: I'm already brainstorming chapter 4, see you guys soon!

Shadow of Fear

“Comin’ Sis!” Apple Bloom called down the hall. Applejack had been feeling a little ill lately, and had asked for some cool apple juice to help settle her stomach. Not to underdo things, the filly had prepared a full tray of juice for her big sister. Normally, an Earth Pony can’t carry something and talk at the same time, but Apple Bloom was quite skilled in carrying trays of food on her head. (no cutie mark in it though, she’d tried) It was something Applejack had taught her. Humming happily, she skipped through the door into her sister’s room, ready to deliver a quick drink. And promptly froze in terror.

Applejack wasn’t lying on her bed anymore. She was up on her hooves, and ready for a fight. Not only that, but her eyes were shining with a very rare emotion for the dependable earth pony: fear. It was understandable, considering three massive humans had her surrounded and looked pretty angry. Applejack had backed away as far as she could, but had inadvertently cornered herself. A harsh glare told Apple Bloom to stay quiet and not draw attention to herself. For a moment, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Then the humans attacked.

One human foolishly decided to attack from the side. Applejack was easily able to turn and buck him straight in the chest. There was a sickening *crack* and a pained grunt as her powerful hooves struck the chest. The injured human was thrown off its feet, and out of the fight. The Element of Honesty had disabled her first attacker, but it came at a heavy cost. The human right in front of her seized the little pony by her front hooves and lifted her high into the air. Applejack kicked and fought, but it was no use in the human’s powerful grip.

For a moment, all Apple Bloom could do was stare as the other human approached her sister, extending its claws. Then Applejack screamed as they ripped into her flesh.

“Hey! Leave mah sister alone ya big bullies!” Apple Bloom cried as she charged the monsters. Normally she wouldn't dare attack such dangerous creatures, but seeing her sister hurt had truly angered Apple Bloom. They foolishly ignored the tiny pony, focusing on hurting the one they had caught. Remembering something Big Mac had taught her, Apple Bloom stopped, twirled around, and hit one of the humans in the leg with her own powerful buck.

*CRACK*

The human howled in agony as its right leg broke. Apple Bloom fell on the floor, absolutely horrified by what she had done. The human’s leg hadn't just gone limp or hung there, like it had with some pony she had seen at the Ponyville hospital one time. No, the break was bad that the human’s leg had actually bent inwards! Even worse, through all the gushing blood and pulsing muscles, Apple Bloom could see a little white. She had nearly kicked the bone right out of the Human! Through it all, the human’s agonized wail screeched at her eardrums like a hoof on the chalkboard.

The innocent filly was screaming at what she had done when a set of hard talons closed around her neck. Her scream was abruptly cut off as the cruel claw choked off her windpipe. She looked up, to find the last human staring at her. At that moment, she would rather face anything else, anything else in the world. Timberwolves, Ursa Minors, Dragons, Nightmare Moon… she would've preferred to stare Discord himself in the eye than this foul, angry, murderous human. It squeezed her throat, ready to drain the tiny filly of her lifeblood. But the human had forgotten about somepony.

“Git..Yer..Paws..Off..OF.. MAH.. SISTER!!” Applejack bellowed, slamming into the human with all of her might. Taken by relative surprise, the human was knocked off balance and dropped Apple Bloom. She quickly scampered away, desperate to escape this nightmarish scene. Only once did she look back. Her big sister was charging the human again, trying to knock it off of its feet. This human was smarter than the rest though, and was seemingly dancing around her, evading her every move. Apple Bloom quickly reached the door, and turned around to see how her sister was doing. What she saw froze the blood in her veins.

The human was plunging a knife deep into Applejack’s neck.

“NOO!! Applejack! Get up! Get up!” Apple Bloom screamed at the absolute top of her lungs as her sister dropped to the floor. The human wiped off his blade and looked on with detached interest as the little filly ran to her sister, pulling on her body and screaming. He shrugged, and scooped up the filly with his free hand. She looked up at him, yelling, kicking, biting, and basically doing everything in her power to cause him pain. He ignored it. With one quick flip of his arm, the human had Apple Bloom by her scruff, and his knife pressed against her neck.

“Such a cute pony.” He said, mostly to himself. And it was over.

Apple Bloom jolted awake in a surge of pure terror. Her frantic eyes searched the area, looking for murderous humans or dead sisters. Her heart beat faster than a jackrabbit, and her breathing was coming in pitched, gasping breaths. In an instant, she was up on her hooves, ready to run for her life. For a horrible moment, the poor filly thought she was still in her sister’s bedroom. But she wasn't. Which didn't do much to ease her fear and sorrow.

Nearby, the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were sleeping. Neither looked very peaceful, tossing about and whimpering. Scootaloo had it worse than Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom could just make out a few mumbled words.

“No…Please…Come back…”

Her friends were obviously having nightmares. Apple Bloom wanted to wake them, but she couldn't right now. Big Mac had taught her a few things to keep herself safe in dangerous situations. The first thing she had learned was how to hit a pony with a buck, though her brother warned her that she would be grounded for a month if she used it without a good reason. The next lesson was to stay quiet and hidden if she didn't know where she was. Apple Bloom didn't like the lesson at all, and she suspected Big Mac knew she wasn't going to follow his advice if she ever got attacked or foalnapped. Leading to a side of her Big Brother Apple Bloom didn't know existed.

As soon as he finished his little lecture on staying hidden, Big Mac head-butted his little sister, hard. She had gone tumbling through the dirt, and then looked at him with an indignant, but also confused look. His face had gone as blank as stone, then he walked over and did it again. Apple Bloom had yelled at him, and then tried to return his attack. He shrugged off the blow, picked up his sister by the tail, and dropped her on her head. She lay there stunned for a moment, and he gently pinned her down with his front hooves. Then Big Mac said one thing the impatient little filly had carried with her since: “There’s always a bigger pony.”

Apple Bloom had learned her lesson. Whenever something obviously dangerous or angry came around, Apple Bloom had very little problem hiding. Zecora had been an entirely different case. She didn't find anything about the masked zebra particularly scary, only different. She never understood why Applejack had gotten so scared; though being treated like a baby had seriously annoyed her. When Nightmare Moon had come though…

Well, hiding wasn't going to work forever, and Apple Bloom needed to know where they were. The filly had inherited Granny Smith’s unbreakable will, and she wanted out of this stupid room! Applejack was depending on her to find a cure, and she wouldn't her big sis down! Gathering her courage, Apple Bloom crept to the far wall of the little room, which seemed to be nothing more than a cloth drape. Maybe if she looked under it, she could find a way out! With a look at her friends to steel her nerves, Apple Bloom stuck her muzzle underneath and peered into the outside world.

It took the filly a moment to figure out where she was. They were still in the old castle from last night. Apple Bloom’s heart suddenly froze as she remembered more from last night. There were real, full-sized, flesh-eating humans here! Almost in conjunction with her realization, two of them came walking in from the main doors.

She didn't see the really scary one that had bellowed in her face last night, but these two were terrifying enough. Well, maybe not the red-maned human. He actually seemed really kind. But the others… Apple Bloom stared at the humans so long; she forgot they might see her too. The black-maned human noticed the peaking filly, and his eyes met hers.

For a moment, his gaze was as gentle as anypony’s. Yet his eyes hardened as he looked at Apple Bloom. Terror griped her as his piercing gaze went directly into her soul. His eyes were searching her for every weakness, yet promised unimaginable pain if she wronged him. Even the hungry gaze of that meanie Queen Chrysalis paled in comparison to this legendary monster. Poor Apple Bloom felt she would die if forced to watch much longer. Mustering every bit of willpower she had, the filly tore herself from his gaze and went running back into her stone sanctuary.

Apple Bloom ran hard, harder than she had in her entire life. A once dormant instinct in her mind was screaming danger, so much danger. For reasons she couldn't explain, that single angry human had scared her more than the entire pack of Timberwolves. So great was her terror, Apple Bloom forgot where she was, and how little room there was to run. The little yellow filly crashed into the unforgiving stone wall at her full speed. The cry of agony that quickly followed woke Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“Dad!” Scootaloo cried as she was torn from the land of dreams.

“Ahhh!” Sweetie Belle shrieked as she was jolted into consciousness. Both fillies’ heads darted around in fear, until they saw each other. They held the gaze for a moment, to make sure they were real, and then sighed in relief. The peace didn’t last, as a choked sob drew their attention.

“Apple Bloom! What happened?!” Scootaloo yelled as she galloped over to her friend
.
“Are you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked, raising her hoof in uncertainty.

Apple Bloom didn't reply; she was, for the first time in recent memory, crying. Yet it wasn’t the loud, painful kind of cries, hers was more of a hitched sob in-between mountains of tears. Her big sis was dying, she had gotten her best friends trapped in the Everfree Forest, and now they were all going to be eaten by humans! It was just too much for the little filly to handle.

“Hey, it’s okay, don’t cry.” Scootaloo said, wrapping her friend in a gentle hug. The flightless Pegasus may not be known to be touchy-feely, but she couldn't leave Apple Bloom crying on the floor.

“Yeah, we’re here for you.” Sweetie Belle added, joining in the group hug.

Apple Bloom leaned into her friends as her tears flowed. She couldn't deal with much of anything at the moment, and was content to bathe in her friend’s warmth and cry her fears away. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo didn't say a word. Something told them that this wasn't a time for speaking.

Eventually, the sobs quit wracking Apple Bloom’s shoulders, and tears dried up. She looked up at her friends with a sad, yet hopeful look on her face. They looked curious, but patient. Finally, the worry was lifted from the little Apple’s heart. These were her best best friends, and they would always be there for each other. The emotionally drained filly let out a small cough, and finally relaxed. She finally felt safe again.

“Sorry about that girls…” Apple Bloom mumbled, sounding downright ashamed of herself.

“Don’t worry! I won’t tell anypony you broke down on us.” Sweetie Belle happily declared, oblivious to the implied insult.

“Hey! You aren’t supposed to say that out loud!” Scootaloo said.

“I did not break down!” Apple Bloom protested.

The three fillies were interrupted by the cloth covering being lifted up. They froze as one of the humans peered in, holding something they couldn't quite see. The Cutie Mark Crusaders grabbed a hold of each other, ready to fight for their lives. But the human didn't try to grab them, he just slid a tray with three bowls on it into their little alcove and left, closing the drape behind him.

It was a long time before any of the girls moved.

“… Is..is it gone?...” Apple Bloom shakily asked.

““I-I think so...” Scootaloo stuttered, unwrapping herself with a bit of a blush.

“What is it?” Sweetie Belle asked, trotting towards the bowls, with her friends right behind her.

Nopony could really tell what was in the bowls. It looked almost like soup, but not any soup the fillies had ever seen before. It was yellow, and had strange looking chunks floating around in it.

“Don’t touch it! Those humans might’ve poisoned it!” Apple Bloom declared, with a noticeable tremor in her voice.

“Yeah, plus it looks disgusting!” Scootaloo agreed, turning her head away in disgust.

“It smells pretty good.” Sweetie Belle said, sounding a little confused as to why her friends were so scared. It was only soup. Without a second thought, the unicorn filly stuck her head in a bowl and started eating.

Apple Bloom quickly yanked her back. “Sweetie Belle! Don’t ya remember the stories?! Humans will try anything to catch a pony!”

Somewhat oblivious to her friend’s anger, Sweetie Belle let out an MMM. “This soup is really good!” she decided, “You girls should try it!”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stared at her, dumbfounded. Sweetie Belle took the opportunity to finish her soup, groaning in satisfaction every now and then. Before long, she finished her bowl, and trotted over to their makeshift bed to lie down. Her friends didn't move for the whole ordeal. They had no idea what to think.

Still, the longer the fillies stared, the more their stomachs hurt. They hadn't eaten in a long time, and that suspicious soup was looking a little tantalizing now. It hadn't helped that they had run the equivalent of a marathon last night. It would also be time for breakfast back home. Yet Apple Bloom steadfastly refused to eat the human’s soup. She didn't trust them at all.

Scootaloo was a different story. She didn't have a loving family to tell her bedtime stories of humans like Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Her mother had died when she was very young. She had been raised by her father, but he wasn't the best stallion for the job. Every day after work, he would drown memories of his perished wife in cider, leaving his daughter to mostly fend for herself.

Don’t get the wrong idea, the Stallion loved Scootaloo with all his heart. He did everything he could to care for her. The problem was that when his wife died, it shattered the Stallion. It was all he could do to keep his job at the weather factory and make sure his daughter was feed. He almost never was well enough to spend time with her, or play, as a father should. But he kept little Scootaloo out of the orphanage. He’d known what happened to little fillies who went there.

As a result, the orange filly learned very quickly how to fend for herself. She walked herself to school, she never let anypony visit her home, and she sang herself to sleep, using old lyrics from her mother’s desk. Sometimes, if she listened hard enough, Scootaloo could swear she heard another voice, singing along. Her most treasured possession was her Scooter, a present from her dad on her birthday. It had been the only time he stayed presentable long enough to buy her something other than food.

Despite this, a filly wasn't meant to raise herself. Sometimes, when she was really lonely or sad, Scootaloo would wiggle her way into her dad’s embrace. Then he would hold her, keeping her safe from the world, and everything would be all right. Until the rising dawn, when he would have to fly off to the weather factory again, leaving her all alone. And there were times she needed something to aspire to, to hope for. So, during the long daylight hours, Scootaloo would find a new pony to place her love in: Rainbow Dash.

Eventually, Scootaloo’s hunger overpowered her fear. Sweetie Belle had eaten it, and she was fine. Ignoring Apple Bloom’s protests, she strode bravely forward and took a sip from her bowl. It was like nothing she ever tasted before. The floating chunks tasted horrible, and Scootaloo made sure to spit them out. But the soup itself was warm and filling, and filled her aching stomach.

Thomas sighed in relief as more slurping came from the little alcove he put the Cutie Mark Crusaders in last night. The poor things had looked terrified when he gave them their soup, and he had been worried they wouldn't eat. For some reason, he was intensely concerned about their well-being. Even more than he was worried about his annoying step-siblings at home. David, on the other hand, was not. In fact, he was wondering why they had taken them in at all.

“Man, you gotta tell me. Why are you so worried about the little talking ponies?” the eighteen year old Texan asked, leaning up against the castle wall.

Thomas hesitated. David and Nick were his two best friends, and he would trust his life to them in a heartbeat. Yet the knowledge he carried was a double-edged blade. It could give them a crucial tool for survival and a vital advantage in any fight… or it could break their minds long enough to be eaten by a Hydra. For now, Thomas decided to keep his knowledge of Equestria secret. He would tell them later, when things had settled down a bit.

“They remind me of my pets back home. Must be parental instincts or something.” he truthfully replied, fixing David with a knowing look. “Besides, even you can’t deny they’re pretty cute.

David heartily laughed. Thomas was one of the few people capable of seeing past his mask. “Yeah Yeah, whatever. What I’m wondering is how that yellow one got a bow in her hair. Does she have an owner or something?”

“I doubt it.” Thomas carefully replied. “I mean, if I had talking ponies, I wouldn't be shy about letting others know.”

A light came on in David’s eyes. “Yeah. Hey, if we can get these things…”

“Girls!” Thomas interrupted, surprising his friend. Thomas never interrupts. “They are girls like Jessica, call them what they are.”

“Okay okay, girls. Geeze man.” David replied, somewhat annoyed at being interrupted. “Anyways, we take the girls back to town. People will pay good money to see and talk to them. We could make a fortune!” he excitedly declared.

“Until the military developed an interest in a real, magical unicorn.” Thomas dryly replied. David had spent time with the military, he knew their ways. “On top of that, we’ll be parading some children around the state, exposing them to all kinds of people against their will, and basically making them our slaves.”

David’s smile slowly faded as he imagined that. Though he may not look it, the dangerous ex-military guy was actually quite sensitive. He would never intentionally harm kids. “Okay, bad idea.” He sighed. “So, what’s your plan veggie boy?” he asked Thomas, making a quick jab at him in the process.

“I vote we take the good Samaritan path.” He calmly replied, totally unfazed by his friend’s teasing. “Take the ponies home, and see if whatever civilization they have can help us get home.”

“I don’t like it, leaves way too much to chance.” David grunted. He had excelled in strategy before he had left the army. “What do we do if they’re hostile?”

“I don’t know.” Thomas sighed, as if deflating. “But I do know somepo-someone who might.” He stuttered, pointing at the alcove. That was close. He had almost revealed his status as a brony at the worst time.

David gave him a long stare before replying. “You make your point well, oh Silver Tongue of Mordor.” He declared, as if addressing royalty.

“That’s Equestria!” Thomas replied on instinct, and then froze. David didn't notice, just laughed at their running gag and left. Thomas had once declared himself king of all Equestria. (It had been a rather interesting day) The guys had decided it sounded too horse-ish, and decided he should be king of Mordor instead. They had no idea of the importance of that word… so far.

Thomas sighed again, though more in exhaustion than relief. He glanced forlornly at the alcove. He hoped the Crusaders would come out soon. Maintaining this charade of ignorance was really beating down on him. He took a moment to think to the future. He would have to win everypony’s trust, be accepted into Ponyville, get the princess’s help… For the fourth time that day, Thomas sighed. It was going to be a long week.

Rainbow Dash stretched out on a cloud and yawned. Cloud-busting had really taken it out of her today. That, on top of a brutal self-imposed mandatory training routine, had sucked every bit of energy from the rainbow-maned Pegasus. Oh well, all in a day’s work for her. If everypony else had to work as hard as she did, they’d take daytime naps too. Rainbow was about to drift off to dream about the Wonderbolts when a commotion started up. Groaning, she rolled over to what all the ruckus was about.

The Carousel Boutique seemed to be shaking on its foundations. This is rarely something to take interest in. Considering Rarity lived there, the place was bound to be shook up once in a while. But this particular tremor seemed to be particularly strong, and wasn't letting up. Vaguely interested, Rainbow drifted over to the side of the building. Noting the ground vibrating, she began to count slowly backwards. Right on cue, Rarity burst out the front door. “Oh this is the Worst. Possible. THING!” the unicorn wailed, before collapsing onto a sofa.

Rainbow Dash took this as normal behavior for her dramatic friend, and drifted over. “Hey Rare, what’s up?” she asked nonchalantly.

“Oh Rainbow Dash!” she cried, grabbing the Pegasus’ face with her hooves. “It’s Sweetie Belle! I simply cannot find her!”

While being grabbed in the face did a little to wake up Equestria’s most talented flyer, the news that somepony was missing did the rest. “What? What happened?! Where do you think she is?!?” Rainbow asked, urgently rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“I thought she had slept over at Sweet Apple Acres, then I remembered Applejack has that terrible illness, then I wondered if she had gotten lost, then I remembered she’s been in Ponyville for months, then…”

“Whoa! Calm down.” Rainbow yelled, putting her hooves on Rarity’s shoulders. Usually Applejack would do this, but she wasn't exactly available… “C’mon, let’s get to Twilight’s place. She’ll know what to do.” She said, pushing the sofa down the street. As she did, she let her mind wander over the past few days.

Man, when Twilight had told them all Applejack was sick, Rainbow had flown straight to the Ponyville hospital and demanded to see her. Imagine her surprise when Nurse Redheart had informed her that Applejack wasn't in the hospital. Before say could say anything more, Rainbow had made it back to the library and demanded to know what was going on. The full news... it had hit her hard. Applejack was quarantined in her room, sick with an incurable disease. That was predominantly fatal.

Rainbow Dash didn't remember too much more from that day. They had all gone to Sweet Apple Acres to give Applejack their condolences, but Big Mac had stopped them at the gate. That stallion had always been quiet and little shy, but back then he had looked like a Royal Guard. Not angry, but dangerous if provoked. Rainbow doubted he would've let even the Princess’ past unless they had something to help Applejack. Still, for all the power he projected, Big Mac was scared, even Rainbow Dash could tell. They were all scared that they were gonna lose Applejack.

After they had given their gifts to Big Macintosh, Rainbow had spent the rest of the day in a bit of a daze. She still had weather patrol, and didn't want to let Ponyville down. Yet she was so confused and distracted her entire crew ended up telling her to take the day off. Not an easy thing to do, considering how aggressive the tomboyish pony usually reacted when she was told she should step down. Indeed, she had almost gotten up in their faces before the sadness pulled her back down. Then she had flown off to Sugarcube Corner, for something to help cheer herself up.

It’s funny, Sugarcube Corner was actually closed when she got there. It was the height of summer, and lots of ponies would want to stop by and grab something sweet. Rainbow Dash had gone to go look through the shutters to make sure there wasn't some mistake. As it turns out, Mr. Cake was standing guard, and immediately let Rainbow in when he recognized her. He didn't answer any of her questions, just pulled her along as fast as he could, with a bit of a desperate look on his face. Rainbow didn't like it, but allowed herself to be dragged all the way to Pinkie’s room. What she saw shocked her.

Pinkie was crying. Not the happy kind of crying she had done when Luna had finally been reunited with Celestia, but full-on sadness crying. Mrs. Cake was trying to offer her any number of things a mother would, to no effect. The twins were covered in flour for unknown reasons, and were looking at each other in confusion. Mr. Cake had obviously been making sure nopony they didn't trust saw Pinkie like this. As much as they loved her, Pinkie’s adopted family had no idea what to do. Rainbow Dash did.

The bearer of Loyalty had simply trotted up to the bearer of Laughter and hugged her. No words, no offerings, just hugged her. Pinkie immediately latched on to Dashie as if her life depended on keeping a hold of her friend. Then she started talking, or maybe blubbering would be a better word. Nopony really understood what she was saying, but it didn't matter at the moment. She just needed to release her fear. And Dashie let her.

It wasn't long before the Cakes caught on and joined Rainbow Dash in hugging Pinkie Pie. Together they cocooned the pink party mare in safety and love. Gradually, her tears began drying up, and her grip on Dashie began to loosen. The tomboyish pony looked at her friend and smiled. Pinkie, through her tears and straight mane, smiled back. They would be there for each other, whatever happened. Together they would get through this.

That had been quite the day. Today, Rainbow had buried her fears in work. She put her heart and soul into cloud-busting, ensuring not a single shadow would cross Ponyville that day. Once her shift was over, Rainbow began her training. Every time a treasured memory of Applejack began to surface in her mind, she flew faster and harder. She had to keep telling herself that there was nothing she could do; all she could do right now was hope and wait…

It turned out that her method succeeded. By the end of her training regime, Rainbow was so tired all she could think of was sleep, not a certain orange pony. Her dreams would've been hopeful ones of flying with the Wonderbolts if Rarity hadn't accidently woken her back up. In fact, Dashie considered adding “fast enough to outfly memories” to her reputation, but quickly dismissed it. Not cool enough.

Before long, they reached Golden Oaks library. Rainbow had decided that particular sofa had gone far enough, and tried to pull Rarity off of it. Turns out that mare can be pretty darn stubborn when she wants to be. Giving up on doing it herself, Rainbow opened the door to enlist Twilight’s help. And nearly tripped over Spike.

*yawn* “Hey Rainbow Dash. What’s with the sofa?” the baby dragon asked, rubbing some sleep from his eyes.

Rarity chose that moment to pop her head up. “Oh Spiky-Wikey!” she cried, grabbing his cheeks, “Have you seen my Sweetie Belle anywhere??”

Spike was paralyzed for a moment, as his brain was attempting to process the fact that his crush had a hold of his face and way mere inches away. Thankfully, Princess Celestia had raised him to be a gentledragon, and that meant never taking advantage of a Lady. Though it took a moment, he managed to shake himself out of his trance.

“Uh…No, not recently! But I’ll get right on it! Fear not fair Lady, I will soon return with your beloved sister!” Spike declared in his best heroic voice. Then, with a theatrical bow, he was gone. Rainbow Dash had somehow not rolled her eyes through the whole ordeal. Quite the feat, considering her view on the situation.

“Oh I do hope he finds her.” Rarity sighed, dramatic as ever. This time Rainbow did roll her eyes, and added an exasperated sigh for good measure. That poor dragon would never move on if Rarity kept stringing him along like this. Oh well, it wasn't her place to step in.

“C’mon! We’ll never reach Twilight at this rate!” Rainbow yelled as she tipped the sofa over. That finally succeeded in getting it’s unicorn occupant off, though not without a large degree of indigent noises. In fact, Rarity looked ready to knock Rainbow Dash out of the sky once she regained her hooves.

“Do you want to find Sweetie Belle or not?” she asked, staring Rarity in the eye without a hint of fear. Finally, the fashion pony came out of her episode.

“Let’s go.” Rarity replied, serious again, and they galloped into the library to find Twilight.

Author's Note

I'm SOSOSOSOSO sorry this took so long!!!! :(( I just had midterms, then I was working, then... blah blah blah, I've kept you all waiting too long. Here is chapter 4!

Hey, do you guy think I should add a gore warning? That was one brutal nightmare I gave Apple Bloom. No I DON'T like torturing ponies, thank you very much! I made it that bad for a reason. Anyways, read and review! The next chapter is underway!

A Tenuous Pact

David yawned as he stretched out on the floor. Things were honestly a little boring right now. Then again, he was happy for the rest. The last 36 hours had been pretty damn crazy. Waking up in some random castle in the middle of a creepy ass forest, getting attacked by a bat-winged lion, stopping a wooden wolf from eating a few miniature ponies…

Yeah, he was perfectly fine with a little boredom.

As he lay on the moss-covered stone, David’s thoughts began to drift. He started wondering how Jessica was doing. The little booger had probably managed to sneak out again; it had been two days already. Not even the man of the house ever managed to keep her grounded for more than a day. With any luck, one of her friends would be in the mood for a sleep over. If not…

David’s face tensed up as he fought the surge of rage. He couldn't let his anger issues take over, not now. It had surprised the trained soldier when Nick had snapped, but it had scared the living daylights out of the little ponies. If he let the anger overpower him now, they’d probably run off into the forest and get themselves eaten. David couldn't have that on his consciousness; the ponies were too darn cute. Not that he would admit that to anyone but Thomas or Nick.

“Um…Hello?”

He looked down to the alcove. The three little ponies had finally come out, more or less. The orange one was trying to look tough and unafraid, but its hooves were shaking. The white pony didn't look particularly scared, but she had something in her mouth. The yellow pony kept straining back towards the alcove, stopped only by the fact that the unicorn had her by the tail. Seems it hadn't been a unanimous decision to come talk to the big bad human.

“Sup?” he replied, nodding his head in greeting.

There were several moments of awkward silence.

“Uh…” the orange pony started, self-consciously scratching the back of her head.

“What?” David probed.

“We were wondering...” she said, almost looking away in shy embarrassment.

“If, you know…” the little white pony added, after spitting out her friend’s tail.

“You’d, you’d help us get home?..” the yellow one finished, giving him the puppy eyes for good measure. Her friends were quick to join.

David grinned. Such adorable and pleading looks would've broken Thomas’ will in no time, and Nick would've been close behind. He however, had a younger sister. To him, ‘the look’ had lost its effect a long time ago. Instead, some of his big brother instincts were kicking in.

“I have a question for you.” David countered. He leaned in close and put on what Jessica called his ‘stern face’. “Why were three young ponies out in the middle of the woods with no adults around?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders blushed a deep red at his question. They had thought this human would be angry or brooding, like the other had been. Instead, they felt like Big Mac had caught them trying to dodge chores. Apple Bloom in particular, since her friends had both pointed at her when it became apparent the human actually wanted an answer.

“Well?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow and making this extremely weird sound with his claw. It sounded like mini-Applejack at a full gallop. Some part of Apple Bloom’s hyperactive mind noted that the crazy green mare who played a Lyre would give anything to spend an hour with this human. Maybe it’d be worth some cutie mark training. The rest was shrinking rapidly into a corner at the human’s questioning stare.

“Uh…Well, we didn't have anypony else because…” the hard look became too much for the little pony. She broke down. ”We couldn't wait! Mah sister is dying!!”

“Who’s dying?!” a surprising loud voice boomed, over from the fireplace where Thomas had been eating. Shortly after, the perpetrator of the shout appeared, covered in the soup Nick had invented last night and breathing hard.

“Mah sister, Applejack!” Apple Bloom wailed, as the hopelessness of her situation began to sink in.Though Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo quickly rushed to her side, tears were beginning to fall.

Thomas looked at David. He didn't look like the quiet, caring, somewhat sad person he usually was. There was a fire of determination within him, one that David himself felt on occasion. He knew that once this will took hold of you, it gave you a new strength. And you never really took no for an answer either.

“Get Nick, we’ll all need to be here when she starts talking.” Thomas said calmly, not leaving any room for argument.”

“Poor guy’s been up all night, might not be a good idea to wake him.” David pointed out, so he wouldn't have to face the Native Alaskan’s wrath alone.

“Her sister is dying. Are you about to let one of the few people capable of helping save her sleep in?” Thomas asked, manipulating his friend with ease.

There was a few moments of relative quiet as David tried to think of a counter-argument.

“Screw your ability to read minds Thomas.” David casually shot as he went to fetch his exhausted friend.

“Love you too brother” was his reply.

David stomped up the lone intact staircase, readying himself for a storm of verbal abuse. Despite what had happened last night, Nick was not a violent guy. He would slit the throat of a chicken without a second thought, but he had gotten in exactly two fights with humans so far in his life. One had been over a playground swing. The other was when he found out about Bridget and the wannabes. Man, David still wondered how they all survived that night…

The 18 year old ex-soldier sighed as he came across the occupied sleeping bag. Past experience had proven that Nick could go deaf at will, so yelling at him to wake up would be about as successful as trying to teach proper military cleanliness to Jessica. He’d have to do this the hard way, and it was going to be loud. Shaking his head, David grabbed the sleeping bag and started pulling it to the stairwell.

The occupant was quick to respond.

“Hey, what the hell is going on?! David, if that’s you, I swear to God I’m going to shove my knife up your ass!!”

“Shut your dirty trap Nick, there’s kids downstairs.” David replied, totally unafraid of the threat. Nick knew how to use his knife, but wouldn't use it on his friends, no matter how what they put him through.

“Hey, I worked my goddamn ass off all night, why the hell am I being drug downstairs?!”

“Don’t ask me, ask pretty boy. By the way, I’m gonna knock your teeth out if you swear in front of the ponies.”

“They might be cute, but they a’int your sister’s friends dude. Get that through your head.” Nick growled from within his bag.

“I will once you apologize for yelling in their face.” David said.

Nick finally went quiet at the last comment. David knew his friend was feeling insane levels of guilt for scaring the ponies last night. Nick probably would've apologized by now, except that Thomas had warned him it was too soon. If there was one thing Thomas was better at than them, it was Social Skills. Neither Nick nor David could ever quite figure that one out.

“OK, you ready to come out yet?” David called over his shoulder.

“What do you think?” came the reply, which was open to interpretation.

“Got it.” David said, and started down the staircase.

A short string of curses later, Nick was out of the sleeping bag.

“You’re an asshole, you know that?” he mumbled, rubbing a few bruises.

“Just following orders.” David replied, his personal catchphrase. Then he punched Nick in the gut. “No cursing”

“Up yours.” was the wheezing reply.

“Good enough” David decided, and helped guide his rather battered friend downstairs. They found Thomas talking to the ponies.

“What are the symptoms Sweetie?” they heard him coax, gently giving them bits of an apple.

“Well, there’s…” Sweetie Belle started, assuming he had addressed her by name.

“He didn't mean you!” Scootaloo interrupted.

“Whoa, calm down girls.” Thomas soothed, gently separating them. “Anypony who knows may answer me.”

David and Nick each raised an eyebrow. Anypony? Thomas must be pretty damn good at acting.

“I do! I do!” Sweetie Belle called, bouncing with excitement.

“Okay, tell me about this Plague” he said, leaning back to listen.

“It’s...” the naïve little pony faltered. “It’s pretty gross. Sick ponies just start puking everywhere. It doesn't even matter if they ate anything. After that, they get something called the trots.”

“The Trots?” Thomas inquired.

“Diarrhea.” Nick broke in. Thomas and David gave him a look. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were rather surprised, and scared, to see Nick and David behind them. In fact, they looked ready to run for their lives. “Helped cure a sick barn for my friend once.” He stated.

“Don’t worry; he’s not going to hurt you.” Thomas soothed. He could tell the fillies were one wrong word away from running for their lives.

“Yeah, sorry about last night. I just wasn't myself.” Nick nervously said, scratching his neck and looking away in embarrassment. Much like Scootaloo had done earlier.

Thomas knew the ponies weren't really reassured, but that apology was the best his friend could do. He’d have to redeem himself to them later. “Anyways, back to the Plague?” Thomas prompted, knowing that things would get out of hand if they started in on why he had shouted at the ponies in the first place.

“Right…” Apple Bloom muttered, keeping her eyes on the scary human.

“Well, whenever somepony uses magic near the infected pony, they start puking and don't stop. Like, at all.” Sweetie Belle said.

“That’s all?” Thomas asked. It sounded a little too pleasant, if this was the disease he thought it was.

“It’s pretty gross when they die.” Scootaloo threw in, shuddering from a bad memory. “You don’t wanna know what happens.”

“We've seen worse.” Nick stated. “Let me guess, they puke and puke until blood coats the room?”

“EWW!!” The girls squealed in disgust. They couldn't even picture that. Well, except for Scootaloo.

“Anyways,” Nick started, oblivious to how disturbing his last statement was. “It sounds like a simple case of cholera to me. With a lot of water and no “magic” around, it should work itself right out of her body. Though if pony immune systems are weaker than ours, a little Penicillin should give her enough of an edge to win the fight.”

“Say whut?” Apple Bloom asked.

“With a lot of water and a little medication, Applejack will be fine.” Thomas clarified.

The moment those words left his mouth, Nick had a pony in his face.

“Are you sayin... you can save mah sister??” Apple Bloom demanded, staring directly into Nick’s soul.

“Uh… yeah…” he said, not quite knowing what to do.

There were a few moments of silence as the little Earth filly processed his words. Then five different sets of ear drums exploded.

“Yaaayyy!!” Apple Bloom squealed, bouncing around the room in absolute joy.

Nick immediately took several steps back. He wanted no part of a hyperactive pony. While Thomas chased Apple Bloom around the room, David started thinking. They’d heal the sick pony of course, it would be cruel not to. Still, perhaps the cure of a deadly plague would be worth something to the town. If they were really stuck in a world of magic and ponies, maybe those magic ponies knew a way home…

A well-dressed Earth Pony approached the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres with a bit of a hitch in his usual stride. This was outside his jurisdiction; usually Unicorns would be the ones coming to inspect patients. Unfortunately, the older mare who had shown up at the hospital was insisting that one of her granddaughters had caught the ‘Dark Plague’, and Unicorns were strictly forbidden from approaching patients suspected of having the deadly disease. Whenever a spell was cast nearby somepony suffering from the Plague… things got messy.

He honestly didn't believe this was a real case of “VooDooFlu”, the informal name given by the ponies that had to deal with the badly mutilated bodies of dead patients. While it was true that VooDooFlu had decimated Ponyville more than a decade ago, it would be fairly unusual for such an epidemic to return so soon. Honestly, the young doctor had been ready to dismiss the claims that it had returned, until the old mare had shown him exactly how much willpower she still had within her old frame. He doubted she would actually force “shove that scalpel up his plot”, but disagreeing had seemed like a very bad idea at the time.

An involuntary shiver passed through the pony when he reached the front door. Crazy as the old mare was, there was a chance she was actually telling the truth. If she was, then Ponyville was in very serious danger. He’d have to quarantine the patient, make sure the disease didn't have a chance to spread. The doctor hadn't been there for the last epidemic, but he’d seen the pictures, read the reports. Another wave of the Dark Plague would massacre the tightly packed citizens. Gathering his courage, the stallion knocked on the old wooden door.

The Doctor really wasn't sure what to expect from the older brother of the Apples. He rarely went to the marketplace, the only place where the farmers and doctors interacted. He had heard that “Big Macintosh” was big, but quiet. The stallion did not disappoint on those fronts when he opened the front door. Big Mac was huge! He looked as if he could win a fight against a Manticore with ease! Yet, he also looked… vulnerable somehow. Something was afoot that he couldn't deal with.

That was a bad sign.

Big Mac ushered in the Doctor without a word. There was a quiet tension in the air. The Doctor wanted to ask his host a few questions, but didn't feel as if it would be a good time. The silence weighed heavily in the room, to break it would carry untold consequences. It was the epitome of awkward silences. This lasted for a few minutes, until the sound of a dry heave from down the hall broke the peace.

Before the Doctor’s brain had finished processing the implications of that sound, Big Mac was up and moving. By the time the higher-class Earth Pony had gotten to the bedroom, Applejack had already thrown up. Her brother was getting the full…ugh…bucket away from the side of her bed and moving a clean one to its place. The Doctor had seen his share of gore over the years, and the vomit in that bucket nearly made him empty his own stomach. Even then, the most unsettling thing wasn't what was there. It was what wasn't there.

“Her vomit seems entirely liquid. There’s no food chunks in there at all.” He noted to Big Mac, who was nuzzling his sister.

“Same as last time.” The quiet Stallion grunted, after tucking Applejack back into bed. “A’int no rhyme or reason to it, just pukin’ your guts out.”

“That isn't all, if I remember correctly.” The Doctor added. “Doesn't the patient start to suffer from extreme diarrhea soon after?”

Big Mac swore under his breath. Without missing a beat, he gently pulled his sister out of bed and moved her to the outhouse. Not a moment too soon either, for as soon as they got there, Applejack whispered in her brother’s ear. He nodded, left her in the outhouse, and went galloping back to the barn. Apparently the diarrhea was setting in.

“You’re doing a good job of caring for her.” The Doctor mentioned to Mac after he came back from the barn with a cot in his mouth. The Stallion barely even acknowledged him, giving a half-hearted nod on his way to the outhouse. The Doctor hid his smile. He’d been working with the families of sick ponies for years; he knew how well some could hide their anxiety. This sturdy farm worker wouldn’t show it, but he scared silly to lose his sister. He’d bet anything Big Macintosh had smiled when the Doctor was out of sight.

Still, even as Big Mac disappeared into the outhouse, the Doctor’s own anxiety flared up. This was VooDooFloo, no doubt about it. He’d have to disinfect himself before returning to Ponyville. Dear Celestia, the town wasn’t ready for another wave of the Dark Plague! The foals could be orphaned, the school shut down… What if Mayor Mare got infected?! Or Cherrilee?! Or…

Big Mac found the Doctor hyperventilating when he came out of the outhouse with Applejack on his back. The massive Stallion rolled his eyes. All that schoolin, and look. Broke down like a nervous schoolfilly. With a bit of a sigh, he rolled Applejack onto the emergency cot and slowly trotted over to panicking pony. He put one hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder and waited. Granny always said touching somepony helped relieve stress. Apple Bloom had been a little young the first time she heard it, and they spent the rest of that day explaining the difference between friendly touching and inappropriate touching. Thank Celestia she didn't need to have “the talk” yet.

Before long, the tremors that were wracking the Doctor eased. “Sorry…” he mumbled. “Something, something just came over me there.” He said.

Big Mac nodded.

“I better get back to the hospital. They need to know what’s going on.”

“Anythang you got ta help?”

“No…Nothing you haven’t thought of already. You’re doing everything right. It’s like you've been through this before or something.”

Big Mac nodded again, though this time it was more of an acknowledging gesture than anything.

“Well, good luck.” Before he left, the Doctor locked eyes with the red stallion. “We will do everything in our power to cure your sister.” With that, he was gone.

“Big Mac?...”

He was instantly at Applejack’s side.

“Ah think ah know what I got…”

“Don’t you worry none, ahm sure them doctors…” Big Mac trailed off, not even he believed his own words.

Applejack laughed softly. “Ya never was very smooth with words.”

Big Mac just hugged his sister tightly, tears leaking from his eyes.

“Will ya take care of Apple Bloom for me?” she asked, voice shaking as she held back her own tears. “Poor filly a’int ready to be on her own.”

“Ya a’int leaving us, not yet.” Big Mac whispered. “Yur friend’s need you, We need you… Ah need you…”\

“Oh Big Mac…” Applejack cried, and buried her muzzle in her brother’s mane.

Lyra was humming happily on her way home that day. That crack of the air she had heard yesterday from the forest was one of the strangest things that had happened to Ponyville… well, maybe not the strangest. For some reason, ever since that Summer Sun Festival, monsters had decided this was the ideal place to hunt ponies. Nightmare Moon had been the first, followed by an Ursa Minor, Discord, even a stampede of baby bunnies! Ever since she and Twilight first moved here (separately of course), it seemed like Tartarus itself was banging on the door.

Still, the strange thing about that crack is that there was no magical way to produce it. Lyra had run straight into the library and nearly forgotten to bow to Twilight. It was so strange; having to bow before a pony you had more or less known since fillyhood. Twilight hated it too, she never failed to get embarrassed and insist it wasn't necessary. Everything was just so confusing, and nopony quite knew what to do. Still, she and Twilight had a long, in-depth discussion on that crack, and reached the same conclusion: Whatever had generated it wasn't magical.

Naturally, Twilight had Spike immediately write a letter to the Princess. Lyra asked if she could include her own theory, on the off-chance Twilight was feeling open-minded. The condescending look told the mint-green pony more than she needed to know. Twilight offered to let her add her comments after her own report, but Lyra declined. The eccentric unicorn knew that nopony really respected her opinion anymore. Once, she had given a report on humans at a town meeting… since then, whenever she found herself talking with other ponies, they would smile politely and agree with what she happened to be talking about, then gossip behind her back about “that naiive Canterlot unicorn”. No, if she wanted to get the Princess’ attention, she’d need to write her own letter.

Mailing it was out of the question. Though Derpy meant well, and did her job with remarkable speed, mail tended to get lost from time to time. Lyra knew she had to get her idea on what was happening in the forest to the princess while it was still fresh. If they got there late, she would be written off as a crackpot theorist, desperately trying to use strange circumstances to advance her theories. Lyra would have to be one of the first responders if she wanted any chance at being taken seriously. Which is how she ended up she kidnapping Spike.

It didn’t start out as a kidnapping! She had simply offered to buy him a gem cupcake at Sugarcube Corner at first. He enjoyed it a lot, and agreed to a short walk afterwards. When nopony else seemed to be around, Lyra asked the baby dragon if he could write a letter for her. He said no, only Twilight could use him to contact Princess Celestia, unless it was a friendship letter from a bearer of harmony. She tried everything, begging, bribing, reasoning, blackmailing; but the baby dragon would not cooperate with her! Eventually, things got a little… out of hand. (HANDS!!)

Lyra’s thoughts were nearly interrupted by the front door. Thankfully, she noticed before she got her horn whacked. Unicorns are the most sensitive of the ponies. All of their natural magic is focused in the horn, and any pain the horn feels is transmitted straight to the brain. Even a light flick on the horn is enough to cause pain; running into the door would’ve given Lyra a headache for an hour. She knew, it had happened before. Thank goodness Bon-Bon was such a caring friend.

Speaking of Bon-Bon…

“Hey! Bon-Bon! Where are you?!” Lyra called. She was just dying to tell her housemate all about the day. Bon-Bon was the only pony who really listened to her stories and theories. Everypony else would pretend to listen, others would blatantly turn away and ignore her. She tried not to let it show, but it hurt Lyra’s feelings every time she figured out somepony didn’t really care what she was saying. Wasn’t she a pony, same as them? Still, it never bothered Lyra too long. Bon-Bon was always there to make it better.

Right on time, Bon-Bon emerged from the living room. Something felt… off though. Lyra’s best friend in the entire world, sometimes her only friend, wasn’t smiling. She had her head down, and her eyes were closed. Lyra forgot all about what she had been about to say, it didn’t matter now. Nothing did until Bon-Bon was happy again.

“Hey, what gives? Are you all right?” Lyra asked, nuzzling her friend just behind the check, where she knew Bon-Bon was a little ticklish. The Beige-coated Earth mare visibly tried to resist what she knew Lyra was doing, but couldn’t hold back a twitch of the corners of her mouth. Lyra grinned, knowing she had gotten her hoof in a crack, and started tickling Bon-Bon’s belly with her tail. Her friend starting shaking, trying to hold onto whatever was making her feel bad, and failing. A grin was starting to spread over her face. Lyra giggled, and whispered “The Tickles don’t stop until you smile” in Bon-Bon’s ear.

Bon-bon tried to push Lyra away, but failed; the shakes were getting to be too much for her. Finally, the dam broke loose, and Bon-Bon started giggling as bad as Lyra. The Unicorn was overjoyed she had fixed the problem, and playfully tackled her roommate and friend. They tussled around like fillies for a while, laughing the whole time. No matter how bad things were, the two ponies always found a way to keep each other smiling.

It couldn’t last forever though; eventually the mares had to stop. When they did, it was with exhausted panting and playful pokes. There are some who say their love goes beyond friendship, neither Lyra nor Bon-Bon ever listen. Their lives are as intricately linked as a spider’s web, but they will never cross that invisible line. You don’t need to be in love to love each other. After the tickle fight, for lack of a better term, both ponies found themselves fairly hungry. And few candies are as good as Bon-Bon’s.

“Hey Bon-Bon, what was that earlier?” Lyra asked around a mouthful of caramels

“What was what?” Bon-Bon replied in a thick Canterlot accent. She had become quite adept at mimicking voices throughout her life, and switched voice to voice without even realizing it sometimes.

“That long face you had on, I thought you’d heard that the Cake’s were buying us out or something.”

“Oh.” Bon-Bon went quiet for a moment. When she started again, it was in a Los Pegasus accent. The one she used whenever there was bad news. “Um, Lyra, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What? Did the Princess order more candy than we can make? Are the Diamond Dogs trying to integrate into the Griffin clans?”

“Lyra…The School of Gifted Unicorns isn’t supporting us anymore.”

There was a pause, in which Bon-Bon looked like somepony had died, and Lyra just looked confused.

“So? Who needs those closed-minded muttonheads? I don’t need their permission to look for humans!”

“Lyra, if they aren’t funding you, you can’t cover your half of the rent anymore. You need to find a job now.”

“No I don’t! I make a few bits playing my Lyre in the park sometimes.”

Bon-Bon gently laid a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, giving her lifelong friend a sad, but understanding look. “You and I both know that won’t be enough. Do you want us to lose the house? What if we never see each other again?”

Lyra’s voice started getting higher and more frantic. ”But… The humans… All my work…”

“It’ll have to be left were it is Lyra. You won’t have the time with a job.”

“But I’m so close! I can feel it! That sky crack, it had to be from a human!” Lyra was getting desperate.

At this, Bon-Bon hugged her rapidly despairing friend, and softly began a mantra in her ear like a mother soothing her foal. “It’s okay, it’s okay…”

Lyra finally broke down. She leaned heavily into Bon-Bon as sobs wracked her fragile frame. “Everything was finally coming together…” the mint-green pony murmured through her tears. “I was finally going to prove to everypony that humans are real...”

“I believe you Lyra.” the Carmel earth pony whispered. “I always thought they were an old pony’s tale, but you convinced me that humans once walked Equestria’s soil.”

Lyra was still crying, but her friend’s words brought a smile to her tear-soaked face. “I just wish everypony else could see it.” She whispered back. The two ponies nuzzled each other, finding happiness in not being alone. They would face this conflict, and together, they would move past it. The professors at Celestia’s school might have crushed Lyra’s dream, but with Bon-Bon around, they could never extinguish her heart. As hard as it would be, the PFFs (Pony Friends Forver) would survive.
Right at the moment, there was a knock on the door. The two mares were too distracted to care much at first, but the knocking persisted. Eventually, Bon-Bon tore herself away their embrace and headed to the door to tell off this intruder distracting her from comforting Lyra. The heart-broken unicorn slid to the floor, sitting like a normal pony the first time in a very long time. The pony at the door turned out to be Princess Twilight.

“Oh for Celestia’s sake! Why does everypony keep bowing to me?!” Twilight yelled when Bon-Bon fell to the floor.
“EEEEE” Twilight hissed, failing to keep her frustration down. “Just. Call. Me. Twilight.” The young Alicorn hissed, giving Bon-Bon a decidedly creepy look. The beige Earth Pony decided she had had enough fun fooling around with royalty. Nopony had ever forgotten that Smarty Pants incident.

“Yes Twilight.” Bon-Bon quickly replied. “What brings you here?”

“Well, although Spike has a rather interesting story, he burped up a letter for Lyra. I figured it would be only right to deliver it to you.” The purple mare said, putting a scroll with the royal seal in front of the Earth mare.

“Really?!” This was a very strange move for Celestia.

“Yes. Spike said he had written a letter for her, but he also said a lot of other things. Things that I really don’t want to believe.” Twilight finished with a shudder.

“Well… Thank you for bringing the letter Twilight. It will mean a lot to her.” Bon-Bon finished. Twilight was a good pony and all, but she probably shouldn’t be looking too deeply at Lyra. There were things that mare did nopony could understand. They never hurt anypony, but it was best if they stayed between her and Bon-Bon.

“No problem. See you around!” With that Twilight left.

Bon-Bon fell to the floor with a sigh of relief. She and Lyra were going to have a very talk about what had happened earlier. It could wait though. There was a good chance that this letter would be giving Lyra something she needed right now. Whatever it was.

Author's Note

I cannot excuse myself for taking so long to finish this. It's been sitting in my computer for a month. It's just kinda been stuck. I can clearly see how this story will end, and can even see the sequel forming. Still, sometimes it's so hard to keep going. You just kinda wonder who watching, and if it's worth it. Especially next to some of the other master writers here on Fimfiction. I intend to finish at least this story. If it goes well, I'll get the sequel going. If not...

Hope you like this chapter. :) The next one is a bit slow in coming. I have one section planed out, another is in the works. Three part chapters have become a thing for me. It is going to take a while, but it is coming. I will NOT abandon this story. Stay with me.