private Shifted: The Remake

[Key Gear 6,663]

“Pleasant.” she answered, smile never wavering. “But about to heat up.”

Numbers tilted his head as some slight rustling sounds continued coming from the thicket after he had stopped moving. Looking at the red pony, he noticed a faint glint of yellow in her eyes. A reflection? Numbers turned his head just in time to see something that intrigued him - the head of a wolf that appeared to actually be made of timber. So that's why the noise I made in the thicket seemed to be so loud. I wasn't alone…

 

The creature's eyes glowed with a menacing yellow as it sized up its prey. As it opened its mouth, its teeth were dimly visible in the darkness - they looked impressive. Its attentions were wholly focused upon the red pony. Numbers took in the sight of this creature. It looked dangerous. Numbers tensed as he felt an unstable mixture of fear and panic wash over him. Fear, panic, and something else…

 

Wolves made of woods living in the woods. That's hilarious! Numbers's eyes twinkled madly as fear, panic, and his sense of humor collided in his mind. He chuckled quietly, hesitantly. Through vision that was rapidly becoming distorted by some type of haze, he saw a quick, brilliant flash of flame as the red pony gracefully dispatched a second wolf as it tried to ambush her. She hit the wolf in the jaw with a flaming blow and it crumpled into a heap beside her - its jaw was crushed and singed.

 

That was when the first wolf made its move. Leaping from the thicket, it made a beeline straight for the red pony. Unfortunately for the wolf, its path just happened to carry it closer to Numbers as well. Powered by an incendiary mixture of emotions, Numbers crouched and then dashed towards the wolf with every ounce of strength that he could muster. The wolf was blindsided; its yellow eyes shot wide open as it felt the force of the blow. A sickening cracking sound reverberated loudly through the forest.

 

The wolf and Numbers rolled for a few moments as momentum carried them both forward. After what seemed like forever, Numbers was able to find his footing. The impact had left him momentarily dazed. He breathed heavily as his head pounded from the force of the impact, and he staggered for a few moments before suddenly whipping his head around to stare at his fallen opponent. The wolf lied on the ground - completely motionless.

 

Timber wolves? Numbers laughed once, a loud wheezing laugh because he was out of breath, and then continued to chuckle quietly.

[Grace Braid 240]

@,

 

Jack couldn't help but grin and give an absolutely massive sigh of relief at the knowledge she was alright. He pretty much only half-heard the rest of what she said, too distracted with the thought that she was alright. "Don't worry about the bugs. If they come, I promise to protect you no matter what." At this, he puffed out his chest as best he could to try and look very manly. Instead, he looked absolutely ridiculous and would probably send somebody into a laughing fit if they saw him. He, in all of his obliviousness though, did not see this and instead imagined himself as an extremely manly stallion who would swoon his girlfriend with his sheer man.

 

His ridiculous chest-puffing stopped, however, when he saw her head sag to the ground, out of his vision. "Artsy...?", he started, meaning to ask if she was alright, before she claimed that it was all her fault that he was there. "Oh, Artsy...", he started, before stopping for a moment and tried(and somewhat succeeded) at putting his arm around her body. "It's not your fault. I'm the one who followed you into that glowing crack...thing on the dumpster, even though my everything was screaming it was a bad idea." It was true; he positively thought it was a horrible idea to get anywhere near the glowing crack, and his body in its entirety agreed, yet he did anyways. He couldn't bare to let her go near anything like that and see her hurt while he just stood back and watched. "Don't blame yourself for what I decided to do! I'm just fine, really." He began to nudge her down onto the ground, saying "Now come on, you need to lay down. You said you were tired, so why don't you get some rest?"

[Ice Storm 1,020]

Daylight moved over to Ice Storm as they waited for his strength to recover. He seemed to be well at ease, while Aurora still seemed to be a bit upset. Hopefully this doesn't affect her too much. She's really nice, and I'm sure she's more capable thinks she is, she thought to herself smiling. Despite everything that had happened within getting here, she was very happy. Everything around her even in such a grim place as the Everfree forest was so much better than was home. She was around friends, and she had to admit, Daylight was not only really nice, but he was kinda cute too. She let out a small giggle, before turning to Starry Sky as she spoke.

 

She told everyone that she could try to move, but feared that it would be painful, which made Ice wince. She didn't want her to go through any pain. If she didn't think that she could move she didn't have to try, that wouldn't make anything better. She went on to thank Daylight for healing her as well. It seemed that everypony was indeed a lot nicer than she was led to believe from her first experience with the rest of the group. She had also apparently watched her coat herself with ice and was astonished by that stating that unicorns were so cool, and that she was just a mere pegasus struggling to even fly.

 

"We're all still trying to get used to our new bodies. That doesn't make one of us better than the other. Just like how you might never be able to use magic, we'll never be able to get our hooves off the ground while you'll have your wings figured out in no time. I'm sure of it. right now we just need to..." she said hearing what sounded like more trees falling off in the distance making her jump to the ready. It was coming from the same direction as the group was. "Something's not right... there's too much commotion over there..." She said after hearing what sounded like explosions. She moved over quickly towards the small hole that was created through the forest as they ran in here. "It sounds like something is under attack near by. It could be the others, we need to get to them and help!" she said Looking towards the direction where the fighting seemed to be taking place.

[Somebody 570]

Finally having a moment where there was no excitement, apart from the drama going on between Artsy and Jack, Klopp was able to take a good look at the mare who instinctively went into a death grip on his back for her own protection. She was a brilliant shade of pink, with a tremendous, flowing, lovely, magenta mane. A cute yellow flower with a rainbow ribbon waving gently in the breeze. He could not deny what was going on in his mind; he found this pink pony to be oddly attractive.

 

It did not turn long for his face to turn bright red, as he turned his head away in hopes that no one would see, yet he kept his pupils focused on the pink pony as he said to her, "Um... sorry, I wasn't paying attention before, but, um... what's your name?"

 

Magenta was still staring off into space, quite embarrassed. Oh no, why did I do that?, she thought as a flood of irrational ideas invaded her mind. She had no qualms about her form having changed, as it was all the same to her, but was it all right for her to behave that way as a pony? Was a human-on-the-inside allowed to feel this way toward a different creature? Was she even human at all anymore? Did Klopp's identical situation to hers offset the difference? Did it really matter, anyway? Everyone in this magical place seemed just as sentient as any human, if not more... But what if this change of form made romantic feelings somehow unacceptable?

 

Her thoughts were running a mile a minute. Once the thought came to her that she might never be able to love in this world, a mental breakdown began to set in. Magenta really had no idea why her emotions had suddenly become so fragile. Maybe it was her phobia of insects that triggered some sort of mental response like this. Closing her eyes, she resigned to whatever fate would bring, allowing more tears to flow unrestricted. Her eyes were still soaked from the ordeal she had previously experienced, and she was thankful her outburst was not terribly obvious.

 

When Klopp asked for her name, it took a few moments for her to process the request. Wait, he's asking for my name. I couldn't have been TOO forward if he wants to know my name... Looking back up at the pony in that wonderfully stylish hat, she answered. "W-w-well... I don't remember my real name. I know everything else about who I was, but I have no idea what my name was, or who the people I knew really were." Suddenly, she realized she had just revealed her unstable emotional state, so she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to smile. "The zebra lady said I should be called 'Magenta,' because she thought I looked very bright, even for around here." Magenta smiled a nervous grin, hoping to hide her instability. "Your name's Klopp, right? I overheard you mentioning it earlier..."

Edited August 22, 2012 by Questio

[Legendary Emerald 622]

Unfortunately for the wolf, its path just happened to carry it closer to Numbers as well. Powered by an incendiary mixture of emotions, Numbers crouched and then dashed towards the wolf with every ounce of strength that he could muster. The wolf was blindsided; its yellow eyes shot wide open as it felt the force of the blow. A sickening cracking sound reverberated loudly through the forest.

 

The wolf and Numbers rolled for a few moments as momentum carried them both forward. After what seemed like forever, Numbers was able to find his footing. The impact had left him momentarily dazed. He breathed heavily as his head pounded from the force of the impact, and he staggered for a few moments before suddenly whipping his head around to stare at his fallen opponent. The wolf lied on the ground - completely motionless.

 

Timber wolves? Numbers laughed once, a loud wheezing laugh because he was out of breath, and then continued to chuckle quietly.

 

Serah was left staring at open air as her attacker was tackled by Numbers. She heard a sound like the snapping of twigs to her left, and when she looked over, she saw Numbers laughing over the corpse of the wolf. Serah found herself smiling once again, but this time she caught her self, and took on a more disinterested expression.

 

“Not exactly graceful.” she remarked. “But effective enough.”

 

The wolf near her own feet tried to stand up, barely able to whimper through it's destroyed snout. Serah ended it's life with a stomp of her bottom-left hoof, leaving a steaming hole where the dog's head had once been.

 

“Need to figure out how to control body temperature... wasted most firepower fighting a god damn tree.” Serah thought to herself.

 

A familiar sound drew Serah out of her thoughts. Five more wolves materialized from the forest, forming a line in front of Serah and Numbers. They growled viciously, eying their dead comrades. All five of them were also much bigger than the ones that lie dead.

 

“Don't tell me; we just ended the pups first hunting trip.” Serah snorted. One of the wolves howled. “Thought so. Numbers, run.”

 

Serah dropped to all four of her hooves and ran off in the opposite direction, not pausing to see if Numbers had taken her advice or not.

 

“Hate to retreat. Hate the odds more.”

 

She raced across the forest trail, hearing the pounding of the wolves' paws following behind her. She felt heat rising up in her once again, and tried to calm herself. She focused on her breathing, and once it was measured, she could no longer felt the fire burning inside her so intensely.

 

“Have to save it. Can't run forever.”

 

Voices from up ahead began to reach her ears, a few of which sounded familiar. Serah changed her course and headed for them.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

@,

 

She lifted her head slightly to look at her man, and cracked a small smile as she saw him puffing out his chest. How adorable... but true. To her, he was the manliest of all men. And no man could be any better. To humor him and herself, she let out a small little swoon. "Oh... yes... I'm... I'm so helpless... I know a big strong man like yourself can protect me." The mare closed her eyes and leaned her head on his neck, letting out a little sigh as a bit more of the wetness around her eyes dripped down. His warmth... his arm around her... it was something that she could appreciate no matter what her form.

 

"I suppose... that's a good point. But... but... if I had never gone in it, you would've never followed me. I just... I don't know what came over me. Please know that I knew it was a bad idea the whole time. Just... something was pulling me in. My mind wouldn't stop. I... I guess it wasn't my fault. Maybe the crack... had some weird magic that does that to people. But... thank you. I... I..." Her face had become tinged with a small ruddy color as she allowed him to nudge her down onto the ground, and naturally took on a pose that she considered to be more doglike (in her mind, at least) than human; laying down upon her stomach rather than on her back. The grass tickled her fur a little, which was something she had not quite noticed when she had first awakened. Yet it felt rather pleasant to bask in the remnants of the morning dew. (Though her mind didn't stop thinking it was unsanitary.)

 

"...I think I'll rest. Will you just keep talking until I fall asleep?"

 

There were some distant noises of shouts in the background, but she disregarded them. It was probably the others getting attacked by the insects or some nonsense like that. She didn't know them particularly well, and was rather comfortable in her position. Artsy's apathy made her feel a little bad, but hey, there was probably nothing she could...

 

...Do?

 

Her ears perked up more slightly... the sounds of hooves galloping on soft ground. Distant at first... then closer and closer... approaching them. One brown eye opened and peered in the direction of the forest, but she saw nothing as of yet. She shrugged and closed her eyes again, going back to her rest. Even though all of these strangers around her and these sounds made her uneasy, she decided it best to unblock them by thinking the relaxing thoughts of how near her Jack was, and how well their date had been going. And... one sudden happy realization...

 

In this world, he never had to go home to where he lived so far away. If they had stayed here, they could live together sooner... and nobody could pull them apart. The longer they stayed, the more time they had together. She sighed contently and edged closer to him. So what if they were ponies? Even if there were still some things about this body she didn't know, and it was possibly uncontrollable... they could still talk, still think, and be together.

 

And to her, this made all the difference.

[Key Gear 6,663]

The forest was gone. In its place was an open field where children were playing some kind of game. Off to one side, he was being confronted by a small group of kids that seemed to be upset by something that he had done. His mind was overflowing with emotions. He felt panicked, terrified. Suddenly, he felt himself become strangely relaxed. In the eyes of the other kids, he saw the reflection of his human form as he started laughing - first quietly, then maniacally.

 

Another memory. This time from when I was a child? Numbers took a deep breath and held it in to stifle his chuckling. He wanted to calm down, to analyze the situation, but he also wanted to laugh. He didn't really know why. Just like I did in the memory. He fought to regain control of himself.

 

More rustling. Numbers exhaled quickly and stole a glance back at the thicket. This time, there were five wolves, all noticeably larger than the earlier pair. They seemed to be upset - greatly upset. Numbers felt his heart pounding like a jackhammer. His head suddenly felt as though it was floating in the sky. His ears twitched wildly as his eyes widened. Of course, wolves travel in packs. Packs of wooden wolves? I wonder if you can smoke them…

 

“Don't tell me; we just ended the pups first hunting trip.” Serah snorted. One of the wolves howled. “Thought so. Numbers, run.”

Serah's words landed in the chaos of Numbers's mind with a thud. A pup? Is that really what you call a little wolf made out of trees? That doesn't make much sense. Numbers shook his head. He waved a hoof at the wolves and smiled crazily. “Sorry about your saplings, but I've got to run now!” He bolted after the red pony. The wolves, unimpressed with his condolences, barreled after them.

 

As Numbers ran, he was oblivious to everything except for the red pony that he followed. Irrational thoughts continued to parade through his mind. He didn't even notice when the red pony changed her course to head towards the voices in the distance. He simply followed her.

[Klopp 2,050]

Klopp didn't understand. He knows he was just recently a human, so how could he be attracted to a pink unicorn? Could it be that his ideas of what is attractive changed with his new form? Would he still find her to be attractive if he were not a pony? He had no clue why, but as it were, it was quite evident he thought her to be beautiful.

 

"The zebra lady said I should be called 'Magenta,' because she thought I looked very bright, even for around here." Magenta smiled a nervous grin, hoping to hide her instability. "Your name's Klopp, right? I overheard you mentioning it earlier..."

"Magenta? That's... a pretty name, er, um... a pretty NICE name."

 

Klopp pulled his head back shifting his eyes back and forth, quickly getting of the subject of her name and onto his own.

 

"My name isn't really Klopp... but I don't remember it. Please do call me Klopp though, I quite like the name."

 

Completely unsure of his emotions, knowing they had changed drastically before, he decided it was best to do a quick test to see if this mares attraction wasn't just his recent transformation giving him some odd changes in his interests. He managed to remove his hat with his right hoof, and then proceeded to fling it in the direction of Magenta as he said, "Hold Pheddie for me, please."

 

The stallion looked so wrong without the fedora atop his head, but he didn't want it to be damaged with the stunt he was about to perform. He carefully turned and started walking over to a nearby tree. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this walking on four legs thing. Once he got to his desired location, he stood with the tree directly in front of him, planted his hooves firmly into the ground, and thrust forward smashing his brow firmly into the trunk of the tree.

 

He turned around, walked back, somewhat groggily, to where Magenta stood. He looked at her intently, scrunching up his snout and squinting, tilting his head to the left and right, focusing on all the details of her pretty little pink face. Once finished with his analysis, pulled his head back, and gave a content grin as he laughed and said, "Hahah! Yeah, you really are kinda cute!"

 

Now content that his attraction to this pony was not a mere illusion, he finally let the concussive force he had applied to his head finally take effect. His muscles just completely gave way and he collapsed into the grass where he stand.

[Dave247 568]

Day was enjoying the peace of just sitting there next to Ice Storm, despite the fact they were lost somewhere in the dark and dangerous forest, until he heard a loud and prolonged howl from nearby.

He frowned, he was rather enjoying the moment he was in but knew it couldn't last forever. Feeling that he had at least recovered some energy, Day stood up and looked around for the source of the noise.

 

He then heard a loud crack, as if it was coming from a tree being smashed echo though the forest from the same direction. He was getting worried now, feeling that they could well be in danger.

Day then heard another howl, followed by snarling. Listening closely, he could also hear what sounded like hooves slowly getting louder as if they were running towards them.

 

"It sounds like something is under attack near by. It could be the others, we need to get to them and help!" she said Looking towards the direction where the fighting seemed to be taking place.

"I don't think we need to go anywhere" Day said anxiously, "because what ever it is, it's heading right for us. I think though..." he said listening carefully, "It sounds like it could be a pony...".

By this point Day was getting extremely worried, not only was there something hostile nearby, but that it was probably chasing what sounded like another pony that was heading straight for the group, bringing the danger to them.

 

The sound of the hooves were getting much louder now as if they were only a few feet away, and it now longer just sounded like one set of hooves, but two.

Day looked around the group, stressed, and not knowing what to do, or how to prepare for what was about to happen, he prepared for the worst and hoped that if they were lucky, the worst wouldn't come today.

Edited August 23, 2012 by Dave247

[Killian Jones 2,655]

Tich saw Numbers irrationally running into the forest after. She trotted in place for a moment in a bout of panic. "What should I do?" she said somehow losing her internal monologue. "Should I follow him?" She looked around trying to find reassurance, but everypony else was busy panicking. Not noticing her own pacing.

 

She contemplated for a moment but thought Numbers has been such a nice pony to me lately. I should go to him. But she was afraid of going into the forest. She shook her head trying to brush off those fears. "Alright Tich." she muttered to herself, "Just think of this as an adventure." She put her goggles over her eyes and ran in a small while after Numbers left.

 

She ignored everything around her. She started moving slower and slower. I have no idea what I am doing. she thought to herself. She looked around seeing if she could see anything. but her precarious position didn't give her a proper overview. She sighed flapping her wings once when it struck her. "I could use my wings!" There was no immediate threat around her so she gave them a good flap. "That won't do, maybe I should try more at a time." she muttered to herself rolling her eyes. She gently moved the wings up and down. She started going up, she wiggled her hooves in excitement as she got a little of the ground.

 

She picked up the pace and awkwardly got higher then she did before. She could see things better, but the forest was slightly dense. She noticed movement in the distance. She got back onto the ground a small thump unable to properly control herself yet and ran towards what she saw. She could hear the wolves howling and stopped. "I hope they are alright." she murmured. She once again flew up to get a better angle. She called out for Numbers. Hoping he would hear her.

[Aureity 3,055]

There was commotion in the forest. In contrast to the usual stifling silence, the sound of poundings hooves might as well as have been a war drum. Puzzled, Aurora turned her gaze from the comforting patch of light in the canopy towards the sound of the commotion. 'W-what's going on?" she asked quickly.

 

 

"Something's not right... there's too much commotion over there..." She said after hearing what sounded like explosions. She moved over quickly towards the small hole that was created through the forest as they ran in here. "It sounds like something is under attack near by. It could be the others, we need to get to them and help!" she said Looking towards the direction where the fighting seemed to be taking place.

 

A stab of panic seemed to hit Aurora squarely in the chest. U-under attack? Help? The panic multiplying inside of her and surging towards her brain, Aurora desperately searched her brain for any combat skill she might somehow know, before coming to the inevitable conclusion - none. Backing away slowly from the sounds of the noise, Aurora bumped into the large trunk of a tree that blocked her path - ironically, the same tree that she had crashed into before. And as she attempted to maneuver around it, she tripped over a rock, and fell flat on her face with a thud. Literally trapped between a rock and a hard place, Aurora gave up her attempts at a hasty retreat.

 

 

The commotion grew louder as Aurora struggled to her hooves for what must have been at least the fifth time that day, but a new sound had joined the fray. She could hear howling - hoof-quakingly powerful assertions of power that could only belong to one creature - timber wolves. No, don't jinx it!...too late. As if to answer her predictions, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared from the dense thicket, and Aurora winced, preparing for the worst. Almost a second later, a pony burst from the thicket, followed by another. Aurora paused in the middle of turning tail and running away. "H-hang on, you're not timber wolves." She recognized both ponies immediately - the aggressive red one and the other one that she had seen but never actually talked to. Both were panting heavily. Great way to stay in shape, Aurora thought, running for your life.

 

 

A menacing growl issued from the thicket again, and a pair of beady yellow eyes flickered into view, only barely visible in the light undergrowth. A chill crept up Aurora's spine - this time, she knew for certain what they were. The panic gripping her tightly, Aurora made to turn and run, but paused as another growl rumbled from the row of trees behind her. And then another from the left...and from the right. Aurora blinked slowly, accepting the inevitable truth. "W-well," she managed to the others. "I-it's been nice knowing you all. I-I just wish I could have shown you all the c-comet shower in a few days." She hoisted an unconvincing, wavering smile on her face that betrayed the emotions she felt inside.

 

 

Random memories seemed to swim through Aurora's mind, and she had a split-second flashback of her father fighting off a timber wolf with his lumberjack's axe. "The trick," he had yelled over the incessant growling, "is to chop the heads off o' these lil' beasties. They're still made o' wood, scary as they look. So do to their heads exactly as you'd do to a tree you're tryin' ta chop down." He brought the axe down - then a shower of splinters.

 

 

But there was no conveniently-placed axe hidden here in the Everfree. And even if there was, she thought glumly, I'd have a hay of a time trying to find it. For a second, she considered the unthinkable, but discarded her idea almost immediately. I-I'm not doing that. I'd reduce the forest to ashes if I tried - or kill myself. Probably the latter. She dropped her head, her gaze sweeping the leaf-littered ground around her.

 

 

Y'know, that's a really interesting-looking rock. W-wait, why am I even...? I-I'm so easily distracted...but really, that's an interesting rock. Aurora examined the rock, puzzled as to why she was spending so much time looking at it. Surely it was no different from any of the other rocks scattered across the Everfree. A little irregular, maybe. With a side that tapers to a sharp point. Almost like an axe-head, kinda.

 

 

She hesitated a split second, then, with some difficulty, magicked the heavy black rock into the air.

[Flow 1,629]

"We're all still trying to get used to our new bodies. That doesn't make one of us better than the other. Just like how you might never be able to use magic, we'll never be able to get our hooves off the ground while you'll have your wings figured out in no time. I'm sure of it. right now we just need to..." she said hearing what sounded like more trees falling off in the distance making her jump to the ready. It was coming from the same direction as the group was. "Something's not right... there's too much commotion over there..." She said after hearing what sounded like explosions. She moved over quickly towards the small hole that was created through the forest as they ran in here. "It sounds like something is under attack near by. It could be the others, we need to get to them and help!" she said Looking towards the direction where the fighting seemed to be taking place.

 

"Eh? S-something under attack? What could that possibly be?" Starry said, worried, "What's going on?" It wasn't long till she heard howling "Howling? Wolves? They exist in this world? Eh?"

 

The howling got louder every second "Oh no, what is this?" She pondered, then came the sound of galloping "Huh? a pony galloping? No, two ponies" Then she heard Daylight say something

 

"I don't think we need to go anywhere" Day said anxiously, "because what ever it is, it's heading right for us".

 

"W-what? Shouldn't we move out of...the way then?" she thought, then the two ponies appeared, it was the red one, along with a grey one that she never met before, "It's her! Along with someone I haven't met before, what are they running from?" Then her worst fear was confirmed when wolf-like creature appeared after them, "EEEEEKKKK!!! What is that....monster?" She shrieked before hearing Aurora say:

 

"W-well," she managed to the others. "I-it's been nice knowing you all. I-I just wish I could have shown you all the c-comet shower in a few days." She hoisted an unconvincing, wavering smile on her face that betrayed the emotions she felt inside.

 

"What? Are you saying were all going to die?" Starry asked sharply, moments later, she saw her levitate a big rock into the air, "What on earth is she doing?" she wondered, "Is she attacking those...hideous creatures with that large rock?"

Edited August 23, 2012 by Narutardedscum!!

[Ice Storm 1,020]

When Daylight said that it sounded like the ponies where heading right towards them, she listened again, indeed in fact they were She made sure to stay move as it sounded as if she were to stay were she was, she would get trampled in the process. Right as she moved, a red unicorn, and a gray pony bolted by her. She could also hear the snarl and howl of wolves running from behind them. Immediate she put herself in between where the wolves were coming from and the group of ponies. "Everypony behind me, Now!" she stated as she heard Aurora stating that it was nice knowing everypony and that she had wished to be comet shower in a few days, with Starry Sky taking it as she was going to run away again. "No pony is going anywhere. Doing so would be suicide, and sure as hell ain't no pony dying while I'm still breathing," she stated looking towards Aurora who seemed to have found a rock that was oddly blade shaped.

 

Ice looked around to everypony, especially the two new comers. One she recognized as the somewhat snotty unicorn that she had met earlier. Perhaps it was just the situation, right now we have bigger issues than petty differences, she thought to herself. She didn't look injured at all but it was very obvious that she was winded, and the earth pony whom also appeared to be uninjured. She looked back to Daylight and Aurora, Daylight looked stressed, and anxious, and Aurora was still preparing for a fight.

 

Ice turned back around though as she heard a series of thuds around her as the wolves that were chasing the two other ponies landed in front of her. It started with one, but then others appeared and there was soon a line of wolves in front of them. She glanced around to the ponies again. "Six on five, looks like today was your unlucky day," she stated confidently towards the wolves. Her horn started to glow again and she fired a bolt of ice towards the front wolf freezing it in place, thought taking a bit out of ice as well. Okay, note to self, weaponizing the ice takes a bit more energy than I thought... she thought to herself. "Okay, I'll immobilize as many as I can, Everypony else, go after the ones that are frozen. they'll be the easiest to take down!" she stated using tactics and their magics to give them the most advantage possible.

[Somebody 570]

...He managed to remove his hat with his right hoof, and then proceeded to fling it in the direction of Magenta as he said, "Hold Pheddie for me, please."

Klopp tossed Magenta his hat, to which she stood up on her hind legs and grabbed it in her arms. Her eyes lit up at being entrusted with Klopp's metonymic fedora. Pheddie... How cuuute... she thought affectionately. Slowly dropping to all fours, she carefully levitated it out of her hooves and gently onto her head, where it would be safe. It didn't fit over her horn very well, but at least it would never get lost this way. Magenta then tilted her head in curiosity. She began to wonder why Klopp had lent her his most precious heirloom, but it would not be long before she found out...

 

The stallion looked so wrong without the fedora atop his head, but he didn't want it to be damaged with the stunt he was about to perform. He carefully turned and started walking over to a nearby tree. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this walking on four legs thing. Once he got to his desired location, he stood with the tree directly in front of him, planted his hooves firmly into the ground, and thrust forward smashing his brow firmly into the trunk of the tree.

As Klopp smashed his head into a nearby tree, Magenta's jaw dropped as she stood in shock of what she had just seen. What is he thinking? she thought. Her instincts said she needed to help him, but her mind was frozen and bewildered.

 

He turned around, walked back, somewhat groggily, to where Magenta stood. He looked at her intently, scrunching up his snout and squinting, tilting his head to the left and right, focusing on all the details of her pretty little pink face. Once finished with his analysis, pulled his head back, and gave a content grin as he laughed and said, "Hahah! Yeah, you really are kinda cute!"

Still unsure of what to do or say, Magenta just stared at Klopp. Though upon his gracious compliment, her ears stood up and her eyes widened. A feeling of relief washed over her as she realized she had done nothing that was inappropriate. And though her expression implied mostly surprise, her blushing made it all too obvious that she was enjoying the attention.

 

Now content that his attraction to this pony was not a mere illusion, he finally let the concussive force he had applied to his head finally take effect. His muscles just completely gave way and he collapsed into the grass where he stand.

 

Klopp suddenly fell to the ground in a heap. "Klopp!!" Magenta screamed as she bent down to examine her funny stallion's head for injuries. "Why would you-- How could you--" She frantically looked him over to find he was mostly uninjured, thankfully. The reason for his foolishness suddenly dawned on her. "Of course, I'm real! Haven't you ever seen a pretty girl before? Besides, you need to preserve your own cute face!"

 

@, @,

 

Magenta noticed a light scrape on the top of Klopp's head. "Oh you poor little dipstick, you..." Magenta leaned in and tenderly licked his wound for him. He is quite a cute little thing, though... she thought, standing up and turning to look at Artsy and Jack. Klopp's fedora was still on her head, though badly lopsided. In fact, she looked just as ridiculous as her new friend on the ground did.

 

After a long and awkward pause, she spoke. "I... um... well, don't just stand there! Come help this poor--" Suddenly a noise from the forest interrupted her. It was as though she woke up from a daze, as she realized most of the other ponies had gone into the woods. "Not in there!" she yelled in the general direction of the trees. "It's dangerous!... Uuugghh!" The frustrated Magenta was proving to be just as derpy as her goofy new companion...

[Electrobolt 2,069]

As he simply sat there and gazed at the forest, Electrobolt had seen yet another pony start heading that way: a purple pony with wings and some rather curious goggles. *Wait... Why is that pony going into the forest alone??? Unless...* His eyes looked back to the forest, then the pony, and then the forest again. *What if the other ponies went into the forest too???* He shook his head as he slowly got to his hooves, before he started to trot towards the forest to see if it was possible that he could find them and get them all back to the group. It was just then that he heard a thudding sound when he stopped and began to look around.

 

@, @

 

As the young pony looked around for the source of the noise, Electrobolt saw the white winged pony, whom he believe he heard was named Klopp, slowly walking back towards the pink-and-purple pony. Although he thought he heard the name of this pony, he shook his head, unable to recall what he thought the name was. As he was watching them, however, he noticed Klopp eventually collapsing to the ground. Still confused, he waited a bit, unsure of what to do.

 

After a long and awkward pause, she spoke. "I... um... well, don't just stand there! Come help this poor--" Suddenly a noise from the forest interrupted her. It was as though she woke up from a daze, as she realized most of the other ponies had gone into the woods. "Not in there!" she yelled in the general direction of the trees. "It's dangerous!... Uuugghh!" The frustrated Magenta was proving to be just as derpy as her goofy new companion...

 

As he heard the pink-and-purple pony calling out to two others for help, he also heard this noise from within the forest. Hearing this noise had practically confirmed that the others were most likely in there. Turning his head towards the forest, he was worried about the ponies that entered there, before shaking his head. *No... No, I shouldn't... I'm here right now, and I can easily help these two out... I don't think I can make it to the guys in the forest in time anyways...*

 

Looking back to the two ponies whom were talking to each other, he recalled that thud earlier. Perhaps it was the white pony, Klopp, that did something revolving around the noise. But what he had done, he wasn't sure. He knew that help was needed, so instead of approaching the forest, he now began moving towards the two ponies nearby. Looking at the pink-and-purple pony, then to Klopp, he asked, "Um... Hi again... So, what... What happened...?"

[Aureity 3,055]

Eyes flickering warily from one timber wolf to another, Aurora held the rock in front of her a tail's length away from her weakly glowing horn. There's just so many of them... Shifting her weight uncertainly, Aurora tried to maintain a confident aura around her, but her facade cracked as one of the timber wolves, apparently unimpressed, took a step forward, snarling menacingly. I-If they're anything like other wolves, t-they'll go for the weakest one first. Aurora had absolutely no illusions about which pony was the weakest-looking as, if agreeing with her, two more pairs of narrowed yellow eyes turned to glare at her.

 

There was a flash of light to the left of Aurora, and the air seemed to chill a few degrees as one of the wolves let out an enraged howl, its paws frozen to the ground. The good news was that the wolf was now focused on Ice Storm rather than her. The bad news, two other wolves were still eying Aurora up for lunch. Aurora took a few steps back and accidentally bumping into somepony. "S-sorry," she murmured under her breath, not daring to take her attention off of the timber wolves advancing eagerly in her direction.

 

Aurora made a desperate swing with the rock, trying to discourage the wolves from coming any further, but she might as well have thrown a pebble for all the good her wild miss did. The first wolf howled derisively, lashing its tail in irritation. The other lost its patience and made a quick lunge at her, which Aurora avoided only narrowly by rolling to the side. O-oh no, I... Her head was throbbing fiercely, and Aurora was horribly aware of the wolf's dual rows of deadly, sharp teeth, and four sets of equally sharp-looking claws as it opened its jaws wide, still advancing on her calmly.

 

Aurora's nerve broke. "Waaah!" Dropping the large rock onto the ground, she turned and bolted for safety, oblivious to the ponies near her or the timber wolf behind her. That was her mistake - as soon as Aurora had turned her head to flee, it pounced, clearing the gap between them in less than a split-second, and slamming her back down onto the ground unceremoniously, a note of triumph in its growl. Aurora struggled to throw off the suffocating weight, adrenaline rushing into her brain from all parts of her body. Her hind hooves flailed wildly in the air, until she finally connected with a solid target, and ferociously kicked the wolf away from her. She had barely rolled over onto her back when the wolf had recovered, two hundred pounds of angry, feral...tree. Aurora had no time to appreciate the irony of the situation - she scrambled for the heavy rock and had just managed to levitate it back into the air as the wolf made another heavy pounce on her belly, flattening her lungs and leaving her gasping for breath. The rock dropped back onto the ground with a dull thud, its owner's concentration shattered.

 

H-how could I have thrown away my life s-so carelessly? The feel of the warm summer sun, the taste of freshly-picked berries, and the sight of the sparkling stars sprinkling a velvet night sky...I-I'll never experience it again... Although the adrenaline surged through her veins, Aurora's feeble struggles only grew weaker and weaker. A tear rolled down her cheek as the wolf's crushing jaws loomed into her field of vision, larger and larger.. A-and I'll never find my brother again...

 

N-no. I promised him... Momentary strength from the core of Aurora's heart seemed to reignite a fire inside of her, a final shred of hope smoldering brightly in her eyes. In one last desperate gambit for freedom, Aurora released the last source of energy still contained in her weakly heaving frame - the sunlight still swirling gently around her horn. A searing flash of light was all that accompanied the sudden outflow of magic, a flash of solar energy that managed to light up the clearing for one heart-stopping second as the timber wolf reared back on its paws with a roar of fury, momentarily blinded.

 

The adrenaline acting for her, Aurora nodded her horn at the rock still lying discarded on the forest floor, and it rose up almost immediately. Turning her attention back to the timber wolf, which was just recovering, rapidly blinking its pale yellow eyes as it attempted to re-orientate itself, Aurora closed her own eyes, and pretending she was a filly again in Baltimare taking her first chop at a large forest tree, swung the rock at the timber wolf like a comet streaking through the sky. I-if I miss this...

 

There was a sickening thunk and crack of broken wood inches from her face, and it was a few seconds before Aurora dared to open her eyes again. The timber wolf...or rather, what was left of it, was lying splayed on the ground in splinters, a clean chop severing its lifeless head from its silent body. Shakily, Aurora drew in a deep breath, hardly daring to trust her own eyes. Tears of relief sprang to her face as the adrenaline fueling her body vanished as quickly as it had come. She drew in another breath, savoring the crisp, chilly air.

 

There was a growl from behind her, and Aurora's hopes plummeted instantly. I-I forgot...about the other one. Helplessly, she craned her neck towards the timber wolf now carefully plodding around the body of its lifeless comrade as it narrowed its gazed at her, twin beacons of intense hatred and two sharp rows of canine teeth glinting in the dim light. Powerless, Aurora could only stare back at it, utterly defeated.

[Klopp 2,050]

His head had this throbbing pain in his head as he lay there in the grass. Not unconscious, but dazed and unwilling to move at all. He heard Magenta speaking and her concerned voice calming his mind.

 

"Of course, I'm real! Haven't you ever seen a pretty girl before? Besides, you need to preserve your own cute face!"

My own cute face? Hah! I have a cute face. Klopp smiled and closed his eyes with the one thing on his mind being that pretty little pink face he had just recently discovered. He had completely ignored the pain in his head, laying motionless in the grass, only his chest breathing in and out. Even that stopped for a moment when he felt something soothing on his brow. His eyes remained closed for a moment, but he opened them and saw some hooves directly in front of him. Then a voice above him spoke, a very cute and worried voice which he would probably never forget.

 

"I... um... well, don't just stand there! Come help this poor--" Suddenly a noise from the forest interrupted her. It was as though she woke up from a daze, as she realized most of the other ponies had gone into the woods. "Not in there!" she yelled in the general direction of the trees. "It's dangerous!... Uuugghh!" The frustrated Magenta was proving to be just as derpy as her goofy new companion...

He heard the noise and tilted his head to look towards the forest. As he did the pain he had forgotten about was amplified by the slight adjustment, and he just stopped all motion as he stare into the woods. He saw nothing, but thought he could hear some faint roars in the distance. He pointed his right hoof towards the forest, and gently opened his mouth.

 

"There's still some... Ow... Ponies... in there? Should we... maybe... go help them? Ugh... this hurts... I shouldn't have... Goddamnit..."

 

He decided to neglect the pain and struggled to get up on his four hooves again. Slowly rolling onto his stomach and placing his hooves onto the grass, stopping halfway when he caught a glimpse of Magenta, just to stare at her cause she was his favorite thing to look at in this strange new world.

[Alex Night 870]

Everything was dark, so dark that not even a single speck of light shone. "How long have I been falling? Is any of this real?" he thought. So many questions were circulating around his mind. The most thought-of question was "Will I ever stop falling?" Soon enough, his question was answered when all of a sudden, a sprawling field next to a lush forest opened up before his eyes. His relief was quickly replaced with fear as he remembered that he was falling with no way of stopping. He started to scream.

 

Closer and closer, he saw some blurry figures appear before him and they all seem to be looking at him fall to his apparent death. Not bearing it any longer, he closed his eyes as to not see the ground close in. After falling for what seemed like forever, he felt himself stop and hit the ground. However, he didn't hit the ground hard; he landed softly on the grass. His eyes popped open and looked to his relief that he was okay. After a moment of thanking the ground for sparing his life, he decided to get up.

 

Unfortunately, he quickly realized that it would be easier said than done as he wobbled violently and fell over on his left side. "Huh? What is going on with me? I can't be this uncoordin--." He lost his train of thought as he looked down at what should be his right hand to find that is actually a hoof! What is?!..." he thought, trying to comprehend what was happening to him. He lifted his left to find that it was also a hoof. He looked all over himself and found two hooves for legs as well as a wing on his right. Not only that, his body was light blue and a brown tail on his rump. That's when it hit him.

 

"I'm a pony!" he exclaimed loudly, also realizing that he is capable of speech.

 

The blue winged pony saw that he wasn't alone as he saw other ponies nearby. Some had horns, some had wings like him, some had neither. "I can't believe this. Unicorns?" the blue winged pony thought through disbelief. They were all looking at the blue winged pony with curiousity and caution in their eyes. He saw a lime-green pony looking with jaw open and a tan-colored pony with a horn hugging close to another pony. The blue winged pony stared back at the other ponies, unsure of what to say.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Alex_Night

[Marcato 2,143]

Silver's eyes flickered open, then immediately shut again as dust filled his eyes. He took a deep breath and inhaled more dust. He burst into a fit of coughing and sent dust flying into the air and all around him. He rubbed his eyes with his hooves and pulled himself off his back and onto his side.

 

He had been laying on his back, on cold stone as well. His muscles ached as he stretched, the dust hovering around him. He breathed through his nostrils as a way of filtering the dust. His legs cracked as he shifted on the ground, regaining his senses. His sight was blurred and he had difficulty feeling around him. He could hear the muffled sound of dripping water, and was at least able to tell it was dark.

 

As his eyes adjusted he noticed that he was in a cave. The air was moist and the sound of dripping, possibly trickling water echoed throughout the dark cavern. On the walls crystals shimmered from an unseen light. Silver was beginning to wonder if the crystals themselves were generating the light from magic.

 

What happened...? Silver thought as he attempted to regain his memory. He remembered first arriving in Equestria when he was seven years old, and how he was taken in by a castle servant to live because he was an orphan. He remembered becoming...

 

Ah yes... we remember now... Silver noticed. He had been a royal guard at Canterlot. He became a guard at eighteen, and had been successfull in what he did for two years... but then what?

 

Silver got a bit of a headache as he tried to remember. How did we get here...? He thought desperately trying to remember. He shook his head, sending dust into the air again.

 

His senses had finished waking up and Silver slowly pulled himself to his hooves. We were once human... we came here young... lived to fulfill a goal... He began summarizing his past. Somepony... somepony dark and blue... she attacked the castle... He came close to remembering.

 

He gasped, and broke into a fit of coughing as he inhaled more dust. He hacked and heaved for air as he stumbled towards one of the crystaline walls. Everything came flowing back to him.

 

"P-princess Luna...!" He said out loud as he remembered. Something happened to her... something dreadful... she changed and... "Ack!" He cried as his head throbbed. He held a hoof to his forehead in pain, and crouched on the ground.

 

"Why... why did she do it? Why wouldst our own princess harm us?" He said out loud fighting the pain in his head. He was trying to figure out too much at once. He couldn't focus properly. "We warned them... we warned them of her! She approached us and..." Silver could barely believe his own mind.

 

The princess Luna sent us into a deep sleep... one we were not meant to awaken from...! Silver realized. He began sobbing silently. We were a royal guard... we failed to protect our princesses... we cannot protect the princess from herself! He screamed in his brain. After training since he was a filly it hadn't been enough.

 

The duty of a royal guard was to protect the castle and it's inhabitants. Especially the royals, princess Celestia and princess Luna. What happened to her... why did we awaken? We were not meant to ever wake up... Silver questioned himself.

 

He discovered he could never find answers this way. He had to get out of this cave and find out why and how everything happened that night. The dust suggested he had been asleep a long time, but how long? He figured he could only find out if he went above ground for some answers.

 

Looking around, he noticed a hole in the wall. Within that hole was a slope that led out somewhere. Light was shining through a tiny hole there. That must be where the light was coming from... Silver figured. Wearily and slowly he made his way into the hole and climbed his way up the slope until he reached the little opening.

 

Sunlight drifted through, and the area around it was all made from gravel and dirt. He dug his way through and came out into the world of Equestria he had known for so long, and wished to see safe again.

[Key Gear 6,663]

The forest that, mere minutes before, had been overwhelmingly silent was now alive with the sound of the wolves' pursuit. Enraged by the death of the young pups, they wildly pursued Numbers and Serah through the forest. Their guttural grunts and growls rolled through the stale forest air like thunder. As they crashed through the underbrush, a symphony of cracking and splintering could be heard. Their paws drummed the ground with primal intensity.

 

Running behind the red pony, Numbers could feel the wolves getting closer. With each meter, the discordant thoughts in his head grew in intensity. As Numbers and Serah leaped through another thicket and into a small clearing with the other ponies, the noise in his head had become a screaming fury. Numbers kept running for some distance and then wheeled around. He felt sick. The wolves had begun to attack the other ponies, but as much as he wanted to help them, he was immobilized by the force of his panic.

 

@@Aureity, @@Ice Storm, @,

 

While the ponies outnumbered the wolves, the wolves had the size, the speed, and were natural killers. The fight was chaotic at best. The icy blue pony had shot a bolt of energy at one of the wolves and froze its paws in place. A pegasus was shrieking shrilly. The unicorn that had offered them food earlier was being encircled by a number of the wolves. She wielded a strangely shaped rock with some kind of energy field. A rock? She's going to fight the wolves with a rock. Even through his panic, Numbers was intrigued.

 

Aurora took a weak swing at one of the wolves with the rock and then dropped it and ran. Numbers sense of intrigue turned into horror as the wolf pounced and smashed the unicorn into the ground. Aurora was now in what looked to be a desperate and losing battle for her life. He knew that he had to do something, but it felt as though he was chained to the ground where he stood. He took one step forward but he felt as though his muscles were shredding due to the effort. I can't do it… Aurora had offered us, complete strangers, her food. An act of kindness. Now she is going to die right in front of my eyes because I couldn't defeat my own panic. We are all going to die.

 

Just as Numbers was prepared to resign to his fate, a blinding light flashed through the forest. Aurora's attacker roared with fury and reared up. The wolf, with its glowing eyes and thrashing paws, looked demonic, but but the unicorn, finding strength from some unknown source, was intent. Aurora's horn glowed and the oddly shaped rock from earlier rose in the air yet again, but, this time, it came down on the wolf's neck with a mighty blow. Splinters and wood chips flew through the air, it was a clean-cut. The wolf's severed head skittered across the ground. Numbers spoke out loud “So that's what the rock was for. It was an ax!”

 

His eyes widened with understanding as he realized what Aurora had been trying to do this entire time. “She's a lumberjack and they are made of wood!” A second wolf now eyed Aurora vengefully. Numbers moved quickly. He charged towards the second wolf. He covered the distance between them within just a few seconds. This older, more experienced wolf did not fall for the same trick that the younger one had though. It nimbly dodged Numbers's charge. “I didn't miss.” Numbers growled the remark through clenched teeth as he kicked backwards towards the wolf with every ounce of strength he had.

 

His kick connected with the second wolf and sent it sprawling. Wood chips scattered everywhere. But before he had a chance to survey his fallen opponent, a third wolf leaped from the thicket and tore into him with reckless abandon. Numbers could feel the stinging pain as sharp claws and teeth connected with his coat and tore into his side. “Aurora! Use the axe!” He shouted as the weight of the wolf and the power of its attack knocked him down.

 

Numbers was now a creature of instinct. He fought savagely with the wolf. Kicking with all four hooves, he frantically traded blows with the wolf, but he was now losing blood fast from the gash on his side and he could feel himself growing weaker with every passing moment.

[Flow 1,629]

@@Aureity,

 

Starry still didn't know what these creatures are called, but she was definitely intimidated by their bright yellow eyes and razor sharp teeth, once she tried to look for a place to hide, one of them tried attacking, but she barely dodged them, thanks to her wings. She wanted to hide somewhere, but after she seeing Aurora get pinned to the ground by one of them, she stood there frozen,

 

"N-no, A-Aurora...........d-dying?..No!...I can't...leave her!...She was the only one who helped me..I must return the favor........but....how can I beat these things?"

 

Starry thought in fear, then suddenly, a blinding light flashed throughout the forest, the light surprised her, then she learned that it came from Aurora, who is now levitating a rock once more, she held it above the wolf and dropped it, killing the odd creature instantly. It's death sent pieces of wood flying around the place.

 

"What? Those creatures...they're....made of wood?...That's....odd," Her relief was cut short after another one attacked Aurora from behind "Aurora!!" she screamed

 

@,

 

Next, Starry saw the grey pony kick the wolf away from Aurora before fighting another one..and it didn't take long for him to suffer a harsh beating,

 

"...My friends...no.....NO!! YOU'RE NOT HURTING MY FRIENDS!!" Yelled the normally timid pegasus, she then charged at one of the wolves with vengence, with the aid of her wings, she was able to glide with her front hooves forward and tackle it, despite her light weight figure, the force of the tackle killed the wolf....barely. Both were thrown into a shrub nearby.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Narutardedscum!!

[Aureity 3,055]

Aurora winced as the wolf drew nearer. T-this is going to hurt. She barely had enough left in her to move a hoof, much less run away. The axe-rock wobbled as Aurora's concentration flickered, and dropped to the ground heavily - she just didn't have enough energy left to keep up her magic. She was only dimly aware of the cacophony of noise coming from every direction as she watched it draw nearer, quickening its advance as it saw her only weapon fall with a thud onto the ground. She saw it bend its knees, preparing to strike her defenseless form as it opened its hyena-like jaws.

 

And then it was gone - or rather, a pony had thrown himself at it in a flying tackle. The wolf turned, hissing, and managed to avoid the pony's clumsy attack with lightning speed, and Aurora exhaled hopefully, glad not to be the target of attention anymore. She was feeling light-headed and drowsy, but slowly managed to make her way across the ever-evolving fight, her attention focused on the single beam of sunlight that permeated the dense Everfree treetop canopy. I-I have to...

 

The pony that had saved her earlier called her name, and Aurora turned around, startled. She saw the pony, pinned down to the ground much as she had been, struggling tooth and hoof to survive the timber wolf's ferocious onslaught. Each feeble blow he gave the wolf grew weaker by the second, while the wolf's attacks seemed to gain in strength. "Use the axe!" the pony yelled desperately, and Aurora blinked, then began frantically looking around her. Ah no, w-where did I put it...? It was impossible to find amidst the rolling, tumbling bodies, and each second that she searched, panicked, the pool of blood around the pony grew larger. After a few moments of fruitless searching, she turned her attention back to the pony, horrified, who was now too weak to offer much resistance at all.

 

Aurora began sprinting towards the combatants, adrenaline suddenly surging throughout her body once more, but in her heart knew that she'd never make it in time. She was dimly aware of the single beacon of the sun's rays giving off a warm yellow glow just behind her as she ran, and once again, the thought crossed her mind. W-would it be worth the destruction? But before she could make her decision, a speeding dark blue blur appeared out of nowhere as a very angry-looking Starry Sky tackled the timber wolf about to deliver its final killing blow, sending the pair of them flying into a nearby shrub.

 

Aurora reached the gray pony a moment later, her elation at his survival turning into horror as she saw the thick gash running down his side, from which blood gushed freely onto the forest floor, tainting it dark red. H-he's going to die anyway. From blood loss... N-no, I can't let that happen... Desperate to repay the pony that had saved her own life, she seized his leg, being too weak to carry him, and began unceremoniously dragging him over to the sunlight, leaving a trail of red behind them. Even though it was only a few meters away, it felt like an agonizing century to Aurora, but the adrenaline fueled her on, urging her to complete her task.

 

The light now directly illuminating the gray pony's deep wound, Aurora turned her horn skywards, allowing the warm sunlight to flood through her horn once more. As solar energy swirled through her horn like an electrical current, Aurora shakily bent her head to the still-bleeding wound along the pony's belly, just barely grazing it with her horn. Please...work, she begged herself, absolutely clueless as to what to do next. Her horn remained unresponsive, although the tip was now scarlet red with blood. Please...he's dying. Each ragged breath the pony took grew shallower and shallower, until Aurora could stand it no longer. I-I'm useless, she raged at herself, tears flooding her eyes again. O-one last try...I need this to work just as much as he does. T-to prove to myself that I can repair just as much as I've rended...please...A sudden rush of emotion filling her heart, replacing even the adrenaline that was coursing through her veins, Aurora's horn involuntarily let off a sound like a rushing wind, and let off a soft orange glow. To anyone else, it paled in comparison to the flash of light she had loosed earlier, but to her it carried the power of a thousand splendid suns as it illuminated the gray pony from head to hoof. Her own vision grew hazy as her strength seeped from her, and Aurora barely had time to appreciate the fact that the gash was gone before sleep rose to claim her, and she dropped with a soft thump onto the ground.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Aureity

[Marcato 2,143]

When Silver came out of the cave, he found himself deep within the everfree forest. At first he was genuinely confused. When he looked back to the cave, it had vanished. Silver knew the crystal caves were supposed to be underneath Canterlot. How had he wound up in the everfree forest? Was it some sort of teleportation spell? As if everything else wasn't confusing enough, now the cave had magically vanished. He shook his head trying to focus on the more important matters such as finding out how long he was asleep and how that dreadful night had gone. The fact that the sun shone was proof that her majesty Celestia must have triumphed, otherwise it would have been nighttime forever. He was thankful, but he still had not a clue how to get to Canterlot, which was where he would most definitely have to go in order to learn about everything that happened.

 

He looked around to take a look at his surroundings. Silver's eyes widened when he saw a bow and quiver of arrows on the ground. How didst this get out here? He asked himself. He walked over and studied it a moment. He recognized it as soon as he was close enough to notice the design. The bow was black and had the royal crest of Canterlot engraved on it. This... This is our bow! He realized. How did his bow and arrow wind up far out in the wilderness like this? In perfect condition at that! The arrows confirmed that it belonged to him. The shafts were coloured Silver, and the tips were made from sharpened steel. The feathers glinted from the reflective grey finish and Silver sighed satisfactorily.

 

He still wasn't sure how it had gotten here, but he was grateful for a weapon in this dangerous forest. He placed the quiver around his body and-

 

CRASH!! There was an explosive sound of splintering wood and fire nearby. What in the name of Faust is that? He exclaimed in his mind. He picked up his bow with one hoof and ran out towards where the sound came from. Before he got there however, he spread his wings to fly. He winced at the pain of moving them again after sleeping on them for so long, but he leaped into the air, letting his wings give him a boost, and landed on a tree.

 

With a better viewpoint now, he saw a tree collapsed and blazing around where it broke. It was a very large and old tree, and it burned at the base where it had been split. Silver's eyes widened at the destructive scene. What sort of unicorn could have done such collateral damage to a tree a as large as that one? The only one's he knew with that power were the princesses and maybe some of the unicorns in the palace, but then again he had been asleep for at least a year based on the amount of dust in the cavern.

 

He followed the trail of embers and fire with his eyes until he saw the maker of such a humongous blast. There was a red unicorn there she seemed to be panting from something. She looked somewhere near Silver's age. (Or, at least last time Silver checked his age, after all he had only just turned twenty when the castle was attacked.) He noticed behind the unicorn was a trail of fire and ember. Perhaps that is my ticket out of here... He thought.

 

He jumped down from the tree as silently as he could and followed the trail. He didn't want to be too close to that unicorn that cause the forest to burst into flames like that. She was very intimidating with that sort of power. So he just walked on ahead, besides if she was lost she would surely be wise enough to figure she could get out by following her own trail.

 

After some time Silver reached the edge of the forest, and saw a group of ponies there. They looked a little too friendly with each other for Silver's comfort. Also, he had no idea who he could trust at this point. He jumped up into a tree again a made his way as close to them as he could without being seen or leave the concealing leaves of the forest. He noticed they were talking about something. The one pony wore an unusual leather hat, and he seemed to be hurt by something. They were speaking, be Silver couldn't tell what they were saying.

 

He leaned in closer to hear better.

After a long and awkward pause, she spoke. "I... um... well, don't just stand there! Come help this poor--" Suddenly a noise from the forest interrupted her. It was as though she woke up from a daze, as she realized most of the other ponies had gone into the woods. "Not in there!" she yelled in the general direction of the trees. "It's dangerous!... Uuugghh!" The frustrated Magenta was proving to be just as derpy as her goofy new companion...

 

Silver's eyes widen as he heard her mention the other ponies whom had run into the forest. What sort of fools would go into that forest without some way of getting back? I pray they know what they are doing... He said in his mind. Either way he figured he should probably head back to help them if they were in trouble in there.

 

However just before he did so, there was a crack beneath him. He swore under his breath as the branch he was on broke from his weight and he fell unceremoniously fell out of the tree into the clearing. He law there a moment winded, then pulled himself up. "Our apologies... We ah, we did not mean to interrupt such a moment..." He said awkwardly as he stood up. There goes our cover. He thought angry with himself.

[Legendary Emerald 622]

Leading the timber-wolves into the group of other ponies hadn't been such a terrible idea after all. Already one wolf was encased in ice, and another had lost it's head. Two more were knocked out from physical blows, most likely dead.

 

All the while, Serah had stood perfectly still, keeping a close eye on the chaos but not involving herself. She'd almost jumped into the fray when she saw Aurora fail to save Numbers, but Starry Sky had reacted quickly enough that any action on her part was unnecessary.

 

There was only one wolf left now, and it eyed Aurora as she dragged Number's incapacitated body. The axe-wielding pony paused in the middle of the forest, and began to charge up her horn with magic, unaware of the beast who'd found it's perfect opportunity to strike.

 

"Long enough." Serah stated, fire dancing in her eyes. She held her right hoof forward, aiming it at the wolf as it crouched. Her horn blazed with magic, and she felt all the heat in her body move towards her outstretched limb. The ground beneath her began to burn and smoke, and she had to hold her right hoof with her left to keep it steady.

 

The wolf leapt through the air right as Aurora's spell was near completion.

 

"Now!"

 

A torrent of fire flew out from Serah's hoof, intercepting the timberwolf in mid-air. At the same time, the area was lit up by a bright light from both Aurora and Numbers that obscured her vision, making it impossible to see if her attack had landed or not.

 

But when the light had vanished, the timberwolf was gone, and Number was no longer bleeding. The only indication that there had ever been a crisis was a small, barely distinguishable pile of ash that stuck to Aurora and Number's pelts.

[Ice Storm 1,020]

Ice Storm focused on the wolves. Everything was happening so fast that she didn't have time to react or do anything. No sooner had she attacked the first wolf, were two of the others literally on Aurora trying to take her down. As she got ready to bolt over there to help the gray pony bolted over and took one of them out in a brawl while Starry Sky tackled a wolf so hard that she was surprised it was even in one piece. She lost them through a bush though so she wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't. She then turned to look towards the one that was right next to the red unicorn. She took it out relatively easily from what it had appeared to Ice before she noticed the extremely large gash in the gray pony's side. That would have to get take care of immediately once it was safe to do so, or that would not end well at all.

 

Since everypony else was focus on dealing with wolves of their own for obvious reasons, Ice took it upon herself to finish the immobilized one before it had a chance to break free. She walked right up next to it and placed her horn in it's side and shot a beam of energized ice straight through it causing it to collapse to the ground. She looked to see Aurora glowing again, and the wolf that was next to her turn almost completely to ash and the gash that was on the gray pony was gone. She had to admit, that was a lot closer than she would have liked. Whatever Aurora did though, it looked like it took its toll on her as well, as she was out like a light.

 

She walked over to where a vast majority of the group was and looked. For the most part, everypony seemed okay otherwise. It was relieving because it meant that they could get out of the forest now and hopefully out of danger. "Is everypony okay?" she asked making her way over towards Aurora's body. She lowered her head to nuzzle her neck to see if she would respond. "She's breathing at least, perhaps she overwhelmed herself. If everypony's capable of walking, we should get out of here before more of those come back. I'll carry Aurora if needed," she stated that way in case she didn't wake up, she still had away out. One thing was for sure, she wasn't going to get left alone, or abandoned here. Ice would make sure of that.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Ice Storm