Twelve

The Everfree Forest.

Home to some of Equestria's most deadly creatures. The land that had been the battle ring for Princess Celestia's final match with Nightmare Moon before banishing her to the moon. As a result, the entire forest was forever changed, mutated, the vast power of the alicorns and the elements altering it into the land of darkness and death that it was today. Few ponies dared to approach it, even fewer entered it. Fear was a powerful deterrent that kept intruders out.

Unless you were stupid or a crusader.

Both adjectives were not mutually exclusive.

"This is starting to seem like a bad idea." Sweetie Belle trembled.

"We barely entered twenty minutes ago! We still have have an hour of walking. At least, that's what Applejack told me." Apple Bloom leaded the group as usual. Crickets and birds could be heard every now and then.

"Why would this seem like a bad idea?" Gem asked as he trotted besides Apple Bloom.

"The forest is supposed to be dangerous."

"It is dangerous. Remember the cockatrice?" Sweetie Belle said, shivering at the thought.

"Ah've seen worse." Apple Bloom answer. Minnie was about to ask what was it that she saw, but Apple Bloom's expression told her to not to.

"I hate all this trees. Why don't they just cut some of them down if its so dangerous?" Scootaloo inched closer to them.

"Ah' bet its because its a landmark thing or something like that. Why can't they never get rid of the useless stuff?" Apple Bloom answered. The forest grew quiet around them as they reached a river. No bridge was in sight.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Applejack told me the way. This has to be."

"But how are we supposed to cross now?" Sweetie threw a rock at the river. The deep splosh that followed confirmed the deepness of the stream. An adult could walk it. A kid would have to swim.

"Can you, eh, teleport us to the other side?" Apple Bloom turned to the twins.

"It's too far to see a safe place where to move. We might reach a dangerous part." Minnie answered. Apple Bloom waited a few minutes before jumping in the water. It wasn't as deep as she thought it would be.

"It's okay. Just a tad cold..." she as she slowly walked through the waters. The rest of the group hesitated before following her. The water was cool, steady and strong, but nothing a good stance could stand. The stream all the way to their necks, occasionally splashing their faces. At this rate it would take them a few minutes to reach the other side.

"This is easier than Rarity said. What a drama queen." Sweetie commented, immediately cursing them with Murphy's law, for no sooner had she said that, the ground took a sudden step downturn, leaving Apple Bloom, Minnie and Scootaloo desperately trying to swing agains the current. Sweetie Belle and Gem tried to grab them, only to in after them.

"Glak! Help!" Scootaloo shouted, flapping her wings as hard as she could. The rest of her friends weren't faring much better. The crusaders were losing ground, bot literally and figuratively.

"SOMEPONY HELP US!"

But nopony came.

"Gem, stretch!" "Right!"

The next few seconds were all but a blur to the pony fillies. One second they were drowning in a increasingly deep river, the next they floated in a pitch black bubble of water, finally popping back in existence in the shore. The five of them were gasping and coughing for air, expelling the water from their lungs.

"Wha...what gah....happened?" Apple Bloom chocked. Sweetie Belle knocked on side of her head, trying to drain ears of water.

"We...moved...so much water..." Gem panted, surprised at the amount of wet ground around them. Minnie was still trying to spit all the water out.

"You did it! You saved us!" Scootaloo cheered, completely drenched. The rest didn't seem so cheerful.

"Is this really a good idea? Who knows what we'll find next." Sweetie complained. She had a point there. Though it wasn't much different from their usual ideas.

"I say we go. We're to close to quit now." Scootaloo shook the water off.

"I vote we go back." Sweetie Belle said.

"Well...Ah' really thinks it worth the risk, but not by much. What about you two?" Apple Bloom asked the twins, who were now more recovered from the tiring ordeal.

"We have used so much power..." Gem commented.

"We should see what we have to gain." Minni replied.

"We should continue." Both finished.

Onward it was then. Time waited for nopony, and if there was one thing they were sure of, is that if the forest was dangerous during the day, then at nighttime it would be all but deadly. Luckily, the kids had learned from the improvised swimming lesson had quickened their pace, making the rest of their trip mostly uneventful. Except for Sweetie Belle falling in a puddle of mud. Because the forest just hated whiners.

"I knew this was a bad idea..." Sweetie said as she shook the mud off as best as she could while Minnie stifled a giggle. After a few more minutes walking, they arrived at the bridge that connected the forest to the ruined castle.

Or used to.

"The bridge is out." Apple Bloom said." Ah' can see the other side from here. You think you think you can get us there?"

The twins peered into the distance. Indeed, they could see other side, just as Apple Bloom said. It was far though, and while normally this would be a problem, they earlier run with the river had left them exhausted.

"We can try." "Stay close."

Gem frowned as they gathered their cosmic powers. With a small blackout, the five of them appeared in front of the ruins. By now, the twins were panting.

"Wow. You two alright?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Tired." Gem said.

"We need a moment." Minnie panted.

Even in their old age, the ruins were imposing. The dark walls and the general atmosphere of uneasiness would make anypony shiver a little. But not the crusaders. They had stared uncertainty with a daunting forwardness. The main tower however, was perhaps the most obscure place. There was the confrontation between Nightmare Moon and the elements of harmony. Of course, the first thing that crossed the mind of the kids was to safely stay away, since who knew what kind dangers could lurk inside. Thats what smart kids do, right?

"Let's check it out"! Apple Bloom leaded.

Maybe not.

Inspecting the place was slow, and without proper tools of archeology, chemistry or investigation, the kids came to predictable conclusion once they reached the maine chamber.

"This is boring." Scootaloo said as she stared out a window.

"Yeah, Ah' expected more somehow." Apple sat on the ground. This was not going as expected. Where were the battle marks, the burnt patches of rock and dirt!

"Can't say I like this place..." Gem said.

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Something is in the air..." Minnie answered cryptically. " We should go. This place reeks of darkness."

The return to the entrance of the ruin was quick, since anything of actual interest was quickly found. Not there was much to begin with. They soon reached their place of arrival. The fog had increased and even through the thick foliage, the sun was going down. It was time to go home.

"Ok guys, last jump. ready?" Sweetie asked. The twins nodded. Closing their eyes, they started focusing their energies into their bodies. The whistled as they stood there, completely motionless.

"Well?" Scootaloo asked.

"Something is wrong." Gem started.

"We can't use our powers!" Minnie noted.

"What?! Try again!" Apple Bloom insisted. The twins once more stood still. The result was clear once they opened their eyes, finding themselves in the exacta same spot.

"The ruins must be interfering with our powers." Gem noted.

"But without them, we can't cross the ravine!" Sweetie exclaimed.

"Maybe you just need to focus harder. Mah' sisters says that if all you have is a hammer, the solution is to hit harder."

The twins tried once more, this time focusing completely into the task at hand. They could the star energies flowing through them, along with something else. Something dark and full of mischief. They ignored it as best as they could. Their friends counted in them. The ends of their mane started tingling. This was it. They could feel it.

Almost there!

"Eh, guys? are you supposed to be glowing?" Scootaloo asked.

The twins didn't answer. Just a little more! Almost-

BAM

And with that, all that was left of the kids was a scorching mark on the ground.