A/N: Not enough action in the last chapter? Well, I hope this will fix the issue! (Said in a goofy voice)

Something else to note: starting in this chapter, I'll be giving out some codes you can plug into a "game" on DeviantArt known as Pony Creator. You can find the address in my profile, or you can Google it, if you wish. One such code will be in the bottom A/N.

All right, enough chitchat! Let's get it on!


Chapter 2: Single Steps

Having finished their respective breakfasts, all the girls agreed to show their lockets to their roommates. They all had two pictures, and the pictures raised several questions…


In the first house, Lucy had elected to go first.

Rosie thought her little brother, Drake, was really cute, though she asked why the tips of his hair were green.

"I have no idea," Lucy answered.

Rosie also declared her liking of Lucy's older brother, Edward, asking if he had a team or something. Lucy had no idea what she meant.

And it doesn't sound like anything good…

In Rosie's locket, one picture was similar to Lucy's family portrait. In it, a smiling older couple—bakers, most likely—were holding a pair of babies, a brown-haired boy and a redheaded girl. Between them stood Rosie, sporting a broad grin. Lucy couldn't help but smile herself. She then asked if they were Rosie's family.

"I dunno…" Rosie answered. "I mean, it feels like I am, but it feels like I'm not…weird, huh?"

The other picture surprised Lucy. It was an alligator with purple eyes. As one would expect, she asked Rosie about it as well.

"My pet baby alligator!" Rosie squealed with joy. "Don't think he's teething yet, so he's safe…"

Well, I certainly hope so…Lucy thought, glancing at the uncomfortably.

xXxXx

In the second house, Nessa showed Serena her locket.

Her first picture was a family portrait. From it, she could tell her mother was quite fashionable, while her father…not so much. In front of them were Nessa and her little sister, Pamela, who looked quite similar to Nessa, except for lighter and shorter hair. The other picture was just a close-up of Pammie.

"Aww, she looks like such a sweetie," she said, staring doe-eyed at the latter.

As for Serena, one of her pictures confirmed her love of animals. In it, she was surrounded by all kinds of animals from squirrels to even bears. She was holding a small white rabbit, which had a rather odd expression on its face…

How can a rabbit look disgruntled? Nessa wondered.

Then she looked at the other one and gasped.

"Oh, my WORD! Who is that?!"

Serena looked the picture. She was in that one as well, only, instead of the animals, she was with an older-looking man, dressed in the gaudiest outfit imaginable. None of the colors matched, even remotely. He was giving her bunny ears as he grinned.

Serena blushed.

"I…I…I don't remember…I think it was something like Chaos or Trouble…"

I wouldn't be surprised, thought Nessa with a small chuckle. He looks like a lord of chaos…


In the third house, Iris was showing her pictures to Ava.

Naturally, Ava asked what sport Iris and the uniformed man played.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Iris replied.

When she saw the other picture, Ava gasped.

"A-Ah think Ah know that Finch girl! Ah think she's friends with mah sister!"

"Sister?"

"Here, lemmeh show yeh."

With that, Ava opened her locket and held it up for Iris to see.

On the left was a picture of an elderly woman. For some reason, it reminded Iris of getting smacked by a purse, though she couldn't say how exactly.

"Her?" said Ava when Iris asked. "She's mah Granny. Quahte a fahsty woman. Or so Ah remembah…"

The other picture had Ava in it along with two others. One was a tall man in a red shirt and jeans with a straw-colored mullet. He was holding up a redheaded girl in a yellow T-shirt and overalls who looked around Finch's age. She somehow seemed familiar, especially with the red ribbon in her hair…

"He your dad?" Iris asked.

"Nnope. Tha's mah brother, Maxwell. We jus' call 'im Mac, tho'."

"And that's your little sister he's holding?"

"Eeyup, that's Lily. Always trahin' t'fahnd what she's good at, but she still has a ways t'go…"

"Yeah…" Iris chuckled, looking at her own locket, "…just like Finch…"


These conversations may have continued like this, had it not been for some unexpected visitors…


Lucy looked over at the remaining muffins on the counter, including the last dozen which Rosie had been baking when they had met. Lucy had eaten four muffins, excluding the bit of the first one she had tried. All of the other hot sauce muffins were gone as well.

How could she even eat those without even breaking a sweat? Lucy wondered. Is she just that crazy?

Suddenly, she heard Rosie gasp. She looked over to her roommate, who was staring past her.

"Um, Lucy…" Rosie pointed where she was looking. "What's that?"

Lucy turned around to see for herself. Her eyes widened.

There was a floating white ball made of light. It slowly bobbed in the air.

"I dunno…" Lucy answered her. "I've never—"

"Greetings, young ones," said a gentle but strong female voice.

Both girls jumped and yelped at the sound.

"Y-y-you…" Lucy stammered at the white ball. "You can talk!"

"I'm sorry if I startled you," it said. "What are your names, young ones?"

Rosie stood up walked over next to Lucy, who was shaking a little bit.

"M-My name's Lucy." There was a slight quiver in her voice.

"Hiya…I'm Rosie, short for Rosalina." She sounded half-excited, half-nervous.

"Thank you, Lucy, Rosie," the voice continued. "But now, I need you both to listen, and listen well. You're both in grave danger."

"W-We're listening," replied Lucy as Rosie nodded.

The voice paused for a second.

"The house you're in right now won't remain safe for long. I'd estimate you have about ten minutes to get ready and leave."

"Leave? And go where?" Lucy sounded worried.

"Outside, there's a path leading into the forest. You need to follow that path. It's the safest way through the forest. But be on guard, as it isn't completely safe."

Lucy and Rosie looked at each other uncomfortably and then back at the ball.

"How d'ya know?" Rosie asked. "Didja put us here?"

"I can't say right now, Rosie. But I will later, once you reach me."

"Reach you? But aren't you—?" Lucy started to ask.

"No, I'm somewhere else entirely," the voice calmly informed her. "This orb of light is simply a tool with which I can communicate with you."

Again, the voice paused for a second.

"I'm sorry, but I must leave you soon. There are four others like you, and I need to warn them before it's too late. There's a backpack in your bedroom, under your bed, Lucy. Pack what you need and get out before it's too late."

"Gotcha," Lucy answered.

"This orb will follow you as you make your journey in case I need to communicate with you again. I'm sorry I can't help you further. Good luck, young ones. I have faith in you both."

With that, the ball fell silent. The girls looked at each other again.

Who was that? Lucy thought worriedly, looking back at the ball. The voice sounded familiar, so I might know this person. And I feel like we can trust her…

But something didn't make sense.

If I know and trust this person, then why does she scare me?


"Now what do you make of that?" Nessa stared at the floating white ball in front of her and Serena.

"Uh…I dunno…" Serena peeked out from behind Nessa. "But something tells me we should listen to it…"

"Yes, me, too." Nessa turned around to look at her roommate. "Let's go find that backpack."

Serena nodded nervously. Both of them quickly walked back to the bedroom. Nessa quickly checked under her white-blanketed bed, as the voice had instructed. Indeed, there was a small grey backpack. Nessa was quite surprised.

"Hmm. I thought it'd be bigger…"

After a moment, she unzipped it and reached inside to see if anything was already in it.

Both girls gasped as her upper arm almost disappeared into the bag.

"Oh…my…" Serena breathed.

"So it is bigger…on the inside, at least!"


"Well, Ah'll be!" said Ava as Iris pulled her arm from the bag. "It's lahke magic!"

"And I thought there was no such thing!" Iris chuckled, looking at her arm.

"Well, that there ball thingeh sure looked magic…" Ava mused. "Wunder how it knew y'had that backpack unda there…"

Iris shrugged. Then Ava's green eyes migrated over to her orange-blanketed bed.

"Maybeh…"

She walked over to it and knelt down. Then she reached underneath and started to feel around.

"Maybeh Ah got somethin' useful unda—aha!"

Her eyes lit up as she pulled out the something useful. Iris raised her left eyebrow.

"A…rope?" Iris asked uncertainly.

"Eeyup!" Ava smiled as she gave it a small tug to see its strength. "This oughta come in handeh. Ah'm realleh good with knots. Heck, Ah could jist—"

"That's nice, but we still gotta get outta here!" Iris blurted out. "We only got ten minutes, remember?"

Ava's eyebrows went up.

"Oh, rahght! Sorreh 'bout that. Now let's git packin'!"

They didn't pack much more than the rope: just Finch's letter, the papers, and a few fritters for the road. The ball of simply followed them on its own.

They were passing through the front door when the kitchen timer, which Ava had set for ten minutes, went off.

"Just in time," Iris muttered as she pulled the door shut.

She and Ava nervously looked ahead at the path leading into the forest. The chilly air and dim light from the overcast sky did not make the first steps any easier to take.


Lucy looked around at the trees on either side the path lit by the glowing white ball. The light was even worse past said trees.

She then looked at Rosie, who was skipping along in front of her. The darkness and chill didn't seem to bother Rosie.

How can she stay so cheerful in a place like this? It doesn't make any sense! Lucy wondered. Unless…

She thought back to when they had been packing inside the house. They had gone back into the bedroom to get the backpack when Rosie had looked into the mirror. After a second, she gasped and ran away from it as if she had seen a monster.

Then I asked her what she saw. She said that her reflection had changed on her, like another Rosie had appeared in the mirror. A Rosie with straight hair and a crazy grin. But I don't think I'd grin like that if I were late on something…would I?

After telling Lucy what had happened, Rosie had perked back up in almost an instant. It seemed weird at the time and even now, but now Lucy thought about it…

Maybe it's just…just how she deals with things, her coping mechanism. Yeah, that's it. I hope.

Lucy had then found the backpack under her bed (just as the voice had said), and Rosie proceeded to give her a little shock with it.

For a second there, I actually thought she'd lost her arm, Lucy thought with a chuckle.

Seeing backpack's true nature, Rosie had decided to pack all sorts of things in it: gag items, party decorations, whipped cream and foil pie plates from the kitchen…

I'm surprised how light it is, even with all that junk! But why'd she pack all of that? We're not gonna throw a party out here in the woods!

Suddenly, Rosie stopped with a loud squeak. Lucy almost walked right into her.

"What's the matter?"

A worried-looking Rosie turned around to face Lucy.

"My knee just got pinchy, just like the mirror!" Rosie told her. "Something scary's gonna happen, I just know it!"

"Wha—? W-Why's that?"

"'Cause my knee got pinchy!" For some reason, Rosie sounded completely serious.

Lucy just had to roll her eyes.

"Honestly, Rosie," she grumbled. "You can't predict the future based off body spasms; it just doesn't—"

A nearby rustle made them both jump and look into the woods around the path. It was followed by another noise:

"Grrrrrrr…"

"What was that?" Lucy whispered, her breathing getting faster.

A howl almost made her scream. It also answered her question.

"Wolves!"

Just as Lucy said it, five of said predators leapt out of the woods, right in front of the girls. Both of them screamed, startled by the sudden appearance. Without thinking about it, they started to back up.

Suddenly, one of the wolves charged at the girls. Lucy raised her arms in defense.

"Stay back!" she shouted, thrusting her right hand forward, as if by instinct.

A blast of magenta energy shot out of her hand with a strange zapping noise and hit the wolf. It yelped in surprise as it flew back towards its pack.

Rosie and Lucy stared at the latter's palm, which was glowing with the same energy she had shot.

"Wooow…what's that all about?" Rosie asked in amazement.

"I dunno, but I'd better keep it up!" Lucy answered, pointing her hand towards the wolves. "Let's just hope these are the only ones here!"

She started to brandish her arm at the wolves, causing the one she had zapped to cower. The others backed up, too, but not as much. And they all looked more hungry than scared.

"I don't think so!"

Rosie grinned as she thrust her hand at the wolves, causing the one Lucy hit to flinch. Nothing happened.

She tried again and again, but to no avail.

"Uh-oh…" Her face fell with awful realization.

She looked at the wolves and then at Lucy. Suddenly, she perked up.

"'Scuse me for a second," she said, reaching into the backpack.

After a moment, she pulled several unused party balloons. She picked one out and loudly inhaled.

What's she planning to do with those? Lucy wondered as Rosie blew one up.

When she was done, Rosie raised the overinflated balloon and let it go. It flew towards the wolves, startling them. That didn't deter them, however. Rosie blew up another balloon to do it again.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Rosie…" Lucy's voice was shaking again. "They're just getting angrier!"

Indeed the wolves were. Their growls had become snarls, and they were snapping their jaws as if to say, "You're on the menu tonight!"

"Then I got a better idea!" Rosie all but shouted.

She threw down the other balloons and ran behind Lucy once again.

What's she gonna do? Cream them with pies? That's not much better than—

Lucy yelped in surprise as Rosie grabbed her right forearm and left hand. Lucy didn't fight it, though.

"Ready…" said Rosie, looking down Lucy's arm.

It felt so familiar; had they done this before, Lucy wondered.

"Aim…"

Rosie adjusted Lucy forearm. Lucy didn't resist.

I think I remember the drill now! Though I can't remember where—

Lucy's thought was cut off by a shout.

"FIRE!"

With that, Rosie pulled down on Lucy's left hand, causing Lucy to shoot out a constant stream of rapid-fire magic blasts.

The blasts hit the ground right in front of the wolves, which yelped and cowered away from them.

"It's working! Keep it up, Lucy!"

Lucy felt a drop of sweat trickled down her forehead.

"I don't know if I can—"

A distant scream and zap that sounded like Lucy's magic cut her off. Rosie stopped firing Lucy, and both looked at where it came from. So did the wolves.

After a second, the girls and the wolves looked at each other again. Lucy made her hand glow again. The wolves looked at her for a second and then ran into the forest on the opposite side of the path. As soon as they were out of sight, Rosie let go of Lucy's arms.

"Woo-hoo!" Rosie squealed, jumping for joy. "We did it! We fended 'em off!"

"Yeah, we did," Lucy answered, worriedly. "But whoever screamed over there—"

"Don't worry! They'll be fine!" Rosie giggled.

"Rosie! They just told a bunch of hungry wolves where they are! How can you say—?!"

"I read the outline, and it says everypony's fine! Boy, I'm glad the author didn't have the later parts filled in; I don't like spoilers!"

Lucy could do nothing but gawk at her companion in utter confusion.

What is WITH this girl? she thought in disbelief. What's this about an author and an outline? We're not in a story!

And why'd she say "everypony"? We're humans, not horses!

For some strange reason, she wasn't absolutely sure about her last thought.


"I know she almost hit you, but you startled her," Serena said to a spider on the ground.

Nessa stood a little ways away, wide-eyed and shaking. Her right arm was extended towards the burn mark where Serena was kneeling. A light blue glow surrounded her hand

"No, she didn't mean to, either. But we're both a little scared right now."

After a moment, Serena spoke again.

"Thank you," she said with a gentle smile. "On your way now."

She watched as the arachnid scuttled off into the woods. As she stood up, she looked at her frazzled companion.

Nessa slowly put her arm down as her hand stopped glowing and walked to Serena.

"It's okay, Nessa." Serena smiled gently. "She won't scare you like that again."

"Whew!" said Nessa as she wiped her forehead. "Thanks. I don't think I've ever been that scared before!"

"She wasn't really that scary. The vines were worse…"

Serena shuddered at the thought.

"Vines? You mean those low-hanging ones we saw just before…?"

Serena nodded, bringing her head down in fear.

"What was so scary about them?" Nessa asked.

Serena hesitated for a second.

"I-It's…well…I-I don't really know…I just…"

"Yes?"

Serena sighed.

"I just don't like vines touching my ankles…" she admitted, blushing.

Nessa raised an eyebrow, baffled by this strange fear.

"C-Can we s-stop talking about it?" Serena begged her. "Please?"

"Sure thing, darling." Nessa smiled gently. "The last thing we need is to scare ourselves unnecessarily."

Serena and relaxed her shoulders. Nessa looked at her hand and made it glow again.

"This ought to come in handy sometime…" she chuckled.

A howl and several growls from the right side of the path made them jump. Five hungry-looking wolves then jumped out of the forest right in front of them.

"No! Stay back!" Nessa shouted in a panic, holding out her glowing hand.

After a second, one wolf ran into the forest with a panicked yelp. The others backed up, but they weren't deterred. Instead, after a moment, they started to advance again, snapping their jaws.

Nessa's hand stopped glowing, and she fainted. Serena glanced at her with a gasp and then looked back at the wolves, which were all looking at her.

She whimpered for a second, but then a memory stirred. She had seen this before, or something like it.

She stared back at the wolves with a stern look.

"Now what do you think you're doing, picking on a pair of defenseless girls?!"

The wolves stopped in their tracks and fell silent. They looked back at Serena, apparently surprised.

"What would your mothers think if they heard about this? You're just being a pack of big, mean bullies; you scared poor Nessa so much, she fainted!"

They hung their heads in shame. One of them whined.

"Now I want you to go back home and think about what you've done!"

They all whined as they re-entered the forest. One paused and looked at her with a whine. As this happened, Nessa sat up.

"No buts," Serena told it firmly. "You got that?"

It lowered its head and walked into the forest. Nessa slowly picked herself back up, staring at Serena and her stern expression.

"D-Did my ears deceive me," Nessa faltered, "or did you just…?"

She voice faded before she complete the sentence. Serena looked at her as the sternness vanished from her face, replaced by a look of worry.

"Did I go too far?" she asked shakily. "Was I being too—eep!"

Nessa had thrown her arms around Serena, startling the latter.

"Thank you!" Nessa whispered with tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Serena! You saved my life…both our lives!"

Slowly, as she recovered from the surprise, Serena returned the embrace. She could feel a tear trickling down her own face.

"You're welcome, Nessa," she whispered back with a soft smile.

After a long moment, they let go of each other and looked back where the wolves had blocked their progress. They looked at each other and nodded as they continued. Serena, however, still looked worried.

That one wolf…she wondered. The one Nessa scared off…

She shuddered as she thought about it.

Oh, no, I hope it doesn't find anyone…


"Man, this is so BORING!" Iris groused as she took a bite of fritter.

Ava sighed and shook her head.

"I mean, we've been walking this stupid path for who-knows-how-long, and nothing exciting's happened!"

"Careful wha'cha wish fer, pardner," Ava cautioned her. "Y'mahght just git it."

Iris rolled her eyes as she swallowed and adjusted her backpack.

"You had t'say it, didn't you?" she mumbled sarcastically.

Suddenly, a growl came from behind them.

Both girls gasped turned around. A single wolf stood right behind them, baring its teeth in a show of aggression.

"Oh, tarnation…RUN!"

Iris didn't need to be told a second time. She was almost surprised that Ava was keeping pace with her.

It wasn't helping that much, though. They may have been fast, but so was the wolf. In fact, it was gaining on them.

"HERE!" Iris shouted, hurling her half-eaten fritter at it.

She heard the wolf yelp and coming to a halt like the fritter was something dangerous. She laughed victoriously as Ava rounded a sharp bend in the path. Having slowed down to distract the wolf, Iris sped up to catch up. She rounded the corner…

"WHOA, NELLEH!"

Ava's shout came just in time. Iris screeched to a halt right next to her.

At the edge of a long cliff over a wide pit. They could see the slightly lower opposite side, but they also saw the mist below, dark, dank, and unclear.

Iris stiffened and backed away as she started to sweat and hyperventilate.

Suddenly, Ava stiffened as well.

"Mah rope!"

Iris jumped a little at her outburst.

"Ah need mah rope, Ahris!"

Ava ran behind Iris and reached into the backpack for a moment. When she returned to Iris's side, Ava started to spin her lasso over her head.

What did she see out there…? Iris had to wonder.

Then she saw it: a tree branch, halfway across the chasm.

So she's gonna use her rope to make a…oh, boy…

Ava hurled the lasso around the branch and pulled it tight.

"Grab on!" she shouted, tugging the rope. "We gotta swing across!"

Iris's fear redoubled.

"Um…I'm not so sure about—"

A snarl from behind them drew her attention. The wolf had shaken off the sweet distraction and come around the corner, ready for the main course.

"Never mind."

Iris stood opposite Ava and grabbed the rope. She looked at the pit and shuddered.

"Y'ready?" Ava all but shouted.

Iris swallowed hard.

"On three! One…"

The wolf crouched, ready to spring forward.

"Two…"

It charged with a loud snarl. Iris gritted her teeth.

"THREE!" Ava shouted.

Iris reluctantly ran forward with Ava and jumped off the cliff. The wolf barely avoided falling into the mist-filled pit.

Iris was pretty sure she had a death grip on the rope. She knew for certain she was screaming her head off.

They swung through the mist, clearing some out of their way as they did. Before they knew it, they were swinging over the other side of the pit. Seeing how close to the ground they were, Iris let go and tumbled to safety, lying on her back. A moment later, Ava landed a little ways in front of her, still holding the rope.

"Whoa…" Iris muttered. "That…was…"

She sat up and raised her fists in the air.

"AWESOME!"

Ava offered Iris her hand, and Iris gladly accepted.

"Let's never do that that again," Iris told her, semiseriously.

Ava chuckled nervously as they looked across the chasm.

There on the other side was their pursuer, probably shouting some unsavory things in wolf, as Ava put it. Suddenly, another wolf appeared as if out of nowhere and approached it, making both girls gasp.

But it was nothing to be afraid of, they realized; this second wolf's attention was trained solely on the first. It growled at the first as if scolding it; it worked, as their pursuer lowered its head with an audible whine. The second one then turned around and snorted before walking away. The first followed it, its tail between its legs.

"Okay…" said a thoroughly confused Iris. "What was that all about?"

"Don' ask me," Ava answered with a shrug.

She looked at back at the rope in her hand and sighed.

"Whadda shame…Ah was hopin' t'save it fer later…"

Her eyes moved to the lassoed branch, as did Iris's.

"That's onna mah knots up there…" she sighed, tugging at the rope. "Ain't gonna come undone in a hurry—"

Just as she said that, the knot came undone. Both girls stared at it as it fell into a pile on their side of the chasm.

"Wha—?" Ava sounded as confused as she did surprised. "Now what in tarnation is THAT all about?"

"Don't ask me!" Iris answered with a shrug.


"Reference!" Rosie blurted out, screeching to a halt.

"Wha—?"

Lucy stopped and stared at her companion.

"What was that for?"

"I dunno," Rosie responded with a shrug. "Just thought it made sense right there."

She started to skip along again with Lucy walking not too far behind, shaking her head.

Suddenly, Rosie squeaked and came to a halt yet again.

"What is it this time?" Lucy was starting to get annoyed.

"My knee just got pinchy again…" Rosie gulped.

As much as she wanted to shrug it off, Lucy got a bad feeling from that statement.

Last time that happened, she said some scary would happen, and then that pack of wolves got in our way. What's gonna happen this time…?


Though he could not see nor hear them, he knew what was happening.

So…you give them paths? A valiant move, I'll give you that, but still a foolish one. You're not the only one in control, you know…

He smiled nastily as he opened his yellow, catlike eyes and licked his dark grey lips with his pitch-black tongue.

and their encounters with the wolves have only whetted my appetite.

He lifted his dark grey hoof in front of his face.

SHING!

It unfolded into a five-fingered hand, each finger ending in a talon. It started to glow with a black aura, red around the edges.

I believe it's time for a little…landscaping.

He lifted it over his head, palm down, and its glow intensified. He gave a shout and hit the ground with this hand. The ground absorbed the glow.

Yes, he thought at the travelers. Be afraid.

He smiled and licked his lips in anticipation as the ground started to rumble and shake.

Feed me your fear…


A/N: Uh-oh, looks like they're in trouble…what's that guy up to? Find out in the next chapter!

Like it so far? Then please leave a review! It'll encourage me to write more sooner. Following and favoriting also help but not to the same extent.

Finally, here's the first ponycode:

Create: 0O5K000000FE9999FE660000000875C000Z1A35000000000P0 7F5009FF7FFF05107F3FCC004CB2
Accessorize: 066CC668122312066CC66066CC66066CC6604E8FBAFFFF8C06 6CC66066CC66066CC66066CC66

No, it's not my OC from the last section. Instead, this is a ponified character from an educational show I enjoyed as a child. Mega bonus points to anyone who can figure out who he/she is!

Vivas diu fortunesque. \V/