In Youth Eternal - A Dark Secret

Chapter 12: Hunted

Captain Strong Wing had already informed his troops about the new developments, explaining how the fugitive Spike and his cohorts were still at large. He ordered his troops take no prisoners, and to kill on sight. The Captain left the camp with a group of guards, one of them being Cloud Runner. Cloud Runner took point, leading to the location of the ambush.

“So, Captain,” Cloud Runner started, glancing back at his leader who followed in tow towards their destination. “You said you’ve encountered this blue pegasus before?” He arched a brow.

“Indeed I have,” replied Captain Strong Wing. “I tangled with a pegasus of the exact description you gave a little while ago.” He narrowed his eyes. Deep down, he wished he could have finished his fight with Rainbow Dash. Although Princess Luna interfered to lure then Mane 5 and the baby dragon into a trap, it failed, and he had fully intended on finishing the cyan, rainbow-maned pegasus in that final charge.

“How strong is she?” he asked, curious about the pegasus who survived a direct confrontation with the Captain. Rainbow Dash was indeed a world class athlete.

“Too strong for you to handle alone. That is why I am seeing this through personally,” he said in response to Cloud Runner’s question. “Anyways,” he continued. “I find it likely that where we find her, we will also find her cohorts.”

“Heh. Sure makes our job easier,” remarked Cloud Runner, letting out a small chuckle as they arrived at their destination. Cloud Runner came to a stop in mid air. Like a chain reaction, Captain Strong Wing and the rest of the troops that accompanied them came to a halt as well.

The grass rustled softly beneath their hooves as they lowered themselves to the ground. It was cold and damp, if a little a muddy. The flight had only lasted several minutes. It was darker now; the evening sky looming overhead as it slowly passed on. The fully dark, star filled night sky was only a couple hours away.

Their wings folded back up, pressing against their bodies, having no further use for now upon touching down. The group of armored pegasi arrived at the scene of the ambush on Cloud Runner and Tempest.

“Right here. This is where it happened,” claimed Cloud Runner, pointing a hoof in the direction of Tempest’s dead body. It was still there, unmoved and untouched by the local wildlife. It made things easier than to have to search for a missing corpse.

Captain Strong Wing calmly approached the corpse of the pegasus. Lowering his head to inspect the body, he could tell that Tempest’s final moments were that of excruciating physical pain. He turned to a pair of guards and ordered them to take the body back to the base.

“-And rest of you will remain here. We’re hunting down the perpetrators,” the Captain ordered, giving a sweeping glance at his troops. They all returned the Captain’s orders with a salute.

With that, a pair of the guards retrieved the corpse of Tempest and took flight, returning to their makeshift base. As this happened, the Captain instructed his men to split up and search the area in pairs.

Four guards remained with the Captain now, one of them being Cloud Runner. Captain Strong Wing carefully investigated the surroundings around where the body of Tempest once rested. He took note of a number of hoof steps that led away into another part of the forest.

To his observation, there appeared to be two sets of tracks. One set was a lot less noticeable than the other. Cloud Runner and the other guards also took notice, only after the Captain had.

Captain Strong Wing turned to troops, his eyes narrowed. “I suspect this will lead us to the fugitives,” he claimed, his voice gruff as ever. “Let’s move!” the armored pegasus in command ordered, darting off into the forest, following the tracks indented into the damp ground.

*     *     *

The deed had been done, and now, they waited in anticipation.

Twilight Sparkle had been fed the crimson red vitality potion, brewed by Zecora. The zebra had made it clear to the friends of Twilight that the potion would take just a little while to kick in and restore Twilight to her former self.

“I can’t wait for Twilight to wake up! I’ll have to throw her a super-duper ‘You got better’ party!” exclaimed a certain bouncing pink earth pony, her eyes closed and smiling with excitement. Rainbow Dash facehoofed, given that now isn’t the best of times to be throwing parties.

“Listen sugarcube, ah know yer’ happy n’ all that Twilight’s gonna be okay. We all are!” said Applejack, giving a sheepish grin. “But now ain’t the best time.”

Pinkie Pie slumped a little and frowned, disappointed. Fluttershy trotted over put a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder and smiled warmly, attempting to comfort her party loving friend.

“It’s okay, Pinkie. We can always have a party once this whole ordeal is over,” she spoke softly. She was always a very motherly pony.

Pinkie Pie perked up and nodded, giving a Fluttershy a chipper smile.

“So how much longer is this gonna take?” asked Rainbow Dash, leaning against a wall as she crossing her front legs as if they were arms. The tone of her voice indicated her patience was growing thin. Then she threw her hooves into the air. “It’s been like, 15 minutes!”

“Patience, my friend. I assure your wait is almost at an end,” replied the zebra. Indeed, the potion would take a little while to kick in, as it needed to be processed in Twilight’s body like any other medicine. Rainbow Dash remained leaned against the wall as a sigh passed her lips.

“Well, I’m just worried that we’ll be found before Twilight can wake up! That’s all,” asserted the cyan pegasus, recrossing her forelegs. “If they sent out scouts to search the forest, there’s no telling when they’ll find this place... Not that I couldn’t take them or anything.” she said sheepishly, yet with a hint gloating.

“We’re just gonna hafta wait, Rainbow Dash,” remarked Applejack. The earth pony trotted over to impatient pegasus and placed a hoof on her shoulder as reassurance. “Ah’m sure Twi will wake up any minute now.”

Rainbow Dash made eye contact with Applejack and lowered her head with a sigh. “Alright alright...” she replied. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie simply listened to the conversation. They knew Rainbow Dash was getting restless and nervous about the guards, and how they had made their way into searching the Everfree Forest.

It was then that heard the voice of a mare groan. Everypony in the room suddenly shifted their eyes to the source of the sound, curious as to who it was.

Twilight Sparkle was shifting around in the bed a little as she gave off another groan. Smiles began forming on everypony’s visage, thrilled to see that the potion was finally taking affect, and giving Twilight Sparkle her strength and consciousness back. They all gathered around Twilight as she awakened.

The lavender unicorn’s eyes slowly crept open as she let out one more groan. She started to sit up, somewhat dazed. Her eyes, mostly open, shifted to see her friends surrounding her.

“Wha... What ha-” began Twilight. Her friends suddenly tackled her in a group hug. This jerked Twilight to a fully awake state. “Ah!” she exclaimed. Her friends couldn’t be happier.

“You. Guys. Are. Crushing. Me!” remarked the recovered lavender unicorn as she had the life half-squeezed out of her. With that, Spike and the Mane 5 let go of Twilight. Each one of them expressed happiness in their smiles.

“Glad ta’ have ya’ back, Twilight,” said Applejack softly.

“Indeed, darling. We were all so worried!” a white, purple maned unicorn commented.

Pinkie Pie began crying tears of joy. Tears which spouted like fountains out of her closed eyes. Then, within the blink of an eye, her expression changed to one of happiness as she opened her mouth to speak. “Hey! You know what this calls for!? A par-” Applejack shoved a hoof in her mouth.

“Yes, we know Pinkie Pie. But now ain’t the time fer one,” Applejack said. Pinkie looked disappointed again. “Remember what ah said earlier, sugarcube? We can have a party after this whole mess is over!”

Pinkie smiled in response, although she was still a little bit disappointed about not being able to throw a party.

“So, what happened? How long was I out?” asked the confused lavender unicorn, tilting her head.

“Well, um, you were out for just a little while,” began Fluttershy.

“But Zecora fixed ya right up!” Applejack finished, interrupting the shy yellow pegasus. Twilight briefly smiled and nodded. She turned her head to face the zebra, who had merely been watching the scene quietly with a smile on her face.

“Thank you very much, Zecora,” thanked Twilight. Zecora merely replied with a nod.

After that, the unicron began to think. Twilight put a hoof to her chin, trying to remember what had happened. Memories flashed in her head, recalling how the small chamber housing the Elements of Harmony had been rigged as a death trap. She could remember how intense sadness and rage exploded at the sight of her friends almost being crushed to death, and how the Princess sisters were proud of their work.

The next thing she remembered was how her anger exploded. The memory was fuzzy however, but she could at least recall having felt immense power flowing through her.

“What is it Twilight? Is everything alright?” inquired Rarity.

Twilight snapped out of her thinking trance. “Oh! Yes. I was just trying to remember what happened before I blacked out,” she said, with a small grin. She proceeded to let out a sigh of relief. Things seemed to have calmed down for now, and she was with her friends. A tranquil smile formed on her visage.

*     *     *

“Captain! Look!” a royal guard shouted. “There appears to be a hut over there.” The pegasus emerged from behind a few shrubs, followed shortly by the other guards and his captain.

“Hmm. So there is,” said Captain Strong Wing, calmly. He noticed that the tracks they were following led straight to the front door of the hut.

“It must belong to the zebra that Tempest and I were questioning,” Cloud Runner stated.

Captain Strong Wing grinned lightly, gazing towards the hut. He could see a bit of movement through the window from his location. He could feel it; At least, another chance to snuff out the fugitives, and the opportunity to retrieve the target. “Then perhaps, it’s time we drop by for a visit.”

*     *     *

Inside Zecora’s hut, Twilight Sparkle had just gotten out of the and began to stretch her legs. Her ears had suddenly perked up however. The mare thought she heard something.

“Did anypony hear that?” she asked, giving a sweeping glance at her friends. “I thought I heard voices from outside.” They all shook their heads, having not noticed. As this happened, Pinkie Pie started getting a bit a twitchy.

Her ears flopped, followed by her eye lids fluttering rapidly, finishing with her forelegs shaking. Pinkie Pie’s Pinkie sense had activated. “Uh oh...” she said with concern. Everypony in the room looked at Pinkie Pie.

Her sentence was cut off by a loud and sudden thud that caused the door to Zecora’s hut to cave in and fall over. The sudden event startled everypony in the room, especially Fluttershy, who squeaked and hid behind Applejack. Their eyes, frantic, shifted towards the doorway.

Captain Strong Wing was the first to enter Zecora’s hut, with Cloud Runner and the other guards in tow. “Well well. Look what we found.” the captain remarked with his gruff voice. His eyes narrowed as he gave a sweeping glance at the startled ponies, the baby dragon, and the zebra.

“What? You again!?” shouted Rainbow Dash, pointing a hoof at Strong Wing in anger.

“Yes, it is me again,” he replied. “Now, I regret to inform you that all you are going to die,” he continued. “Princess’s orders.”

Applejack stomped a hoof on the floor. “We ain’t goin’ no where or doin’ no dyin’!” she protested, loudly. The orange mare gritted her teeth. She wasn’t about to let her friends die at the hooves of Celestia’s mooks.

“We still have a score to settle!” remarked Rainbow Dash, narrowing her eyes and scuffing the ground. She wanted to charge him head on, being the impulsive pegasus that she is.

Twilight decided not to waste anytime. Her horn suddenly gave off a purple glow. With a flash of light, she and her friends were gone. Only Zecora remained inside. Captain Strong Wing gritted his teeth a little, but mostly kept his composure. He and his troops turned around to see the Mane 6 and the baby dragon outside.

“Come on! Run!” shouted Twilight. With that, the Mane 6 and Spike made a run for it, deeper into the Everfree Forest. Even Rainbow Dash complied, despite how much she wanted to have a rematch with Captain Strong Wing. As she glided away, she turned her head a shot a glare back at the Captain.

“Forget the Zebra! After them!” the Captain ordered, raising his gruff voice. He and the guards took flight to pursue the fugitives, maintaining an altitude below the canopy. “Don’t let them escape!”

The Captain was a little irritated that he wouldn’t able to fly at his full speed, lest he lose control of himself trying to avoid hitting one of the numerous trees. He knew he would be unable to pursue the group of fugitives from above due to the cover provided by the forest’s canopy.

“Stay close girls!” yelled Twilight, galloping in full sprint to escape the pursuing royal guard. Spike rode on Twilight’s back to allow him to keep, given his small size.

Twilight’s horn lit up again before flashes of purple light engulfed her body, and that of her friends. She used her teleportation spell again, sending her and her friends off further ahead to drastically widen the gap between them and the Royal Guard.

“Oh buck! Where did they go?!” asked one of the guards, shouting in frustration.

“They couldn’t have gone far with that. Pick up the pace! We need to catch up to them!” the Captain barked as his eyes narrowed.

“You won’t get away, Twilight Sparkle...”

*     *     *

A flash of light abruptly appeared on a river bank in the Everfree Forest. In place of that light, once it subsided, was the group of fleeing ponies and the baby dragon. They all stopped to catch their breath from all the sprinting, with the exception of Spike and Rainbow Dash. Spike was still on Twilight’s back, and Rainbow Dash could fly fast for a while before getting tired.

Twilight Sparkle was unsure how much more she should teleport like that, bringing all her friends with her using that spell. It was taking more of a toll on her than she would like, given how she had only just recovered. But she was determined to evade capture and be used as a sacrifice.

Dwelling within the river nearby, was a familiar serpent they hadn’t seen for a long time. He poked his head out from the water, revealing his well groomed hair and his fabulous mustache, which still had Rarity’s tail fur merged with it.

“Oh! It’s you guys again!” he exclaimed, excited to see the group of ponies. He lifted more of himself out of the river and towered above Mane 6 and Spike. They all turned towards the large river serpent, surprised.

“How have you all been? It’s been quite a while!” chimed the serpent.

A certain pink bouncing blob was the first to reply. “Hi!”

“Oh, hello darling! I see your mustache is still fabulous as ever,” Rarity observed, smiling at the serpent.

“Oh yes! I’ve taken good care of it!” said the serpent, making a kissy face.

“Anyways!” a lavender unicorn interrupted. “We don’t have time to stop and chat! There’s no telling how close behind they are!” asserted Twilight, referring to the Royal Guard.

“So uh, would ya kindly help across this here river, Mr. uh-” Applejack began to ask, unsure of the serpent’s name. During their first encounter, nopony had actually learned his name.

“Steven. Steven Magnet!” the serpent replied, informing the group of his name.

“Oh. Yeah, so uh, can you help us across the river, Steven?” the orange mare asked again.

Steven nodded, prompting parts of his body to arch above the surface of the water, creating a number of platforms for the Mane 6 and Spike to hop across. Fluttershy and Rainbow dash had no need for them, however.

With that, the ponies thanked the well groomed serpent for his help as they made their way across the river. One by one, they hopped across Steven Magnet, reaching the other side rather quickly. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy simply glided over to the other side.

Once they had all made it across, the Mane 6, with the baby dragon, continued their retreat deeper into the Everfree Forest.

*     *     *

After a few more minutes of flying, Captain Strong Wing and his squad stumbled upon a river. The river bank was open, not covered up by the trees. The Captain noticed a serpent swimming off into the distance, downstream, but he didn’t think much of it. They stopped for a moment to take a breather.

The moon was bright and visible in the sky, looming over the tree infested hills. The sun was setting on the other end of the sky, being late in evening and all.

“It is getting late...” he stated out loud to himself. The guards merely glanced at their captain. “So we shouldn’t waste much more time. Let’s keep moving, now!” he ordered. The guards nodded in acknowledgement before they took flight once more.

Once they glided over the river, the Captain spotted a large number of hoofprints. He recognized 5 different sets of tracks, and immediately recalled how, despite there being 7 of them, only 5 of them actually traveled on hoof.

Cloud Runner also noticed the tracks. “Looks like we found their tracks, Captain,” he said, turning to look at Strong Wing.

“Indeed we have. Let’s move!” he commanded.

They weren’t going to waste anymore time. The group of soldiers and their captain quickly took off, carefully following the tracks left by the group of fugitives.

*     *     *

Twilight Sparkle and her party of friends came upon an old, rickety looking bridge.

“Hey, isn’t this that bridge that led us to that old castle?” Rainbow Dash questioned,remembering how she tied one of its ropes to a post to allow safe passage during the Nightmare Moon incident.

“Yes. It is,” replied Twilight, giving a nod. “I think we lost them, so we should rest up in the castle ruins and try and make a plan.” Upon finishing her sentence, she began to trot across the bridge.

“Ah’m with Twilight,” said an orange mare wearing a stetson hat. “It’s gettin’ mighty late.” She promptly followed Twilight across the bridge.

The others had no objections. With that, the remaining Mane 6 crossed the bridge towards the Ancient Castle of the Royal Sisters. As usual, Rainbow Dash kept to the air.

A short walk brought them upon the entrance of the ancient, forsaken castle. The group of friends didn’t hesitate to enter the decrepit ruins. They headed into the large chamber where the Elements of Harmony once rested.

“Ugh. My hooves are killing from all that running,” Rarity complained. She winced a little as her eyes scanned her hooves for any visible irritation.

“Well, don’t worry. We’re safe for now. We should just try and get some rest,” the lavender unicorn replied. Spike had fallen asleep, still holding on to Twilight. She hadn’t even noticed he was asleep. Looking back at him, she smiled warmly and left him alone. He was still a baby dragon after all, and needed his sleep. He’s been through a lot for a dragon his age.

*     *     *

The Mane 6 had all sat down and rested their hooves, with Twilight doing most of the talking. She explained to her friends about what Princess Celestia had told her; about how she sacrificed her personal students to sustain her immortality. Looks of horror spread like wildfire among their faces at what they heard.

What they failed to notice however, was an armored figure flying above them, watching them. Most of the roof in this section of the castle had long since collapsed, revealing the chambers inside.

The figure promptly flew off a small distance, and descended to the ground outside the castle, meeting back up with a group of similarly armored stallions.

“Sir, I’ve confirmed their location. They are resting inside the ruins,” spoke the armored pegasus.

“Good work, Cloud Runner,” the Captain spoke. “They don’t even know we’re here. This makes it easier on us.”

They began their approach on the main entrance of castle. The Captain let out a satisfied grin. This would likely be their best chance to dispose of the fugitives, and he knew that.

“And remember, that purple unicorn,” began the Captain, giving one last command. “We need her alive.”

“The rest, can die.”