Pinkie Pie hadn't taken much notice of the amount of time that had passed since Twilight ran off. She hadn't been given an explanation; she just saw the two unicorns whisper something to each other, then the purple one was gone. It didn't bother her much, really. Fluttershy had kept her busy with giving medicine to the animals in the meantime. Mongooses were so picky.
Soon, Rainbow returned, and not long after that, the remaining two showed up again. Not many words were shared, except when Twilight informed Muzzo that they were ready to roll out. It was a shame the pegasi weren't coming along, but as exciting as the reverstone was, medical attention was pretty important too. Next time they hunted down an artifact, Dashie and Flutters would definitely be there.
The town the group had been in wasn't very well shaded by trees. The area ahead, however, had no such problem. A forested area thicker than the one they had been in a few days ago—maybe even thicker than the Everfree—laid before them. The only way into the area at all was underneath a low-hanging tree branch, as everywhere else was blocked by thorny bushes and immovable trees. This was not a popular tourist attraction, apparently.
Muzzo stopped a short distance away from the insect-breeding bonanza before them. Since he was in the lead, the four ponies behind him halted in their tracks as well. "The In Snare Jungle," he stated. "I do not find myself saying this often, but I believe this is the location you are searching for."
"It certainly fits the bill..." muttered Rarity.
Pinkie felt it was going to be hard to top the excitement building in her at that moment. They were practically staring straight at the object they had searched so hard for. All they had to do now was put a little effort into grabbing it.
The zebra tribe leader turned around so he could face his pony followers. "I do not know just how familiar you are with werebears."
Applejack caught herself before she laughed. "You might be surprised."
Her words made Pinkie look at her fellow earth pony for the first time since earlier. She looked so... tired. What was she really doing with Rainbow before?
The thought slipped from the pink mare's mind when Muzzo's deep voice pressed on. "It is not easy to defend yourself from a werebear when the need arises. However, it is rumored that they are resistant to many kinds of magic. If combat is necessary, you may wish to rely on your physical strength instead." He was doing it again. He was looking straight at Applejack, just like when they had arrived. Was it because she looked like the strongest in the group? That would make sense, considering what he just said.
"Thank you, Muzzo, for everything," Twilight said graciously. "We'll keep that thought in mind."
Muzzo bowed. "May you and your princess find what you seek. I will be in town when you return."
With a round of understanding nods, the striped creature began a trot to return to his tribe.
After their host got out of earshot range, Twilight faced the team. Her eyes seemed the teeniest bit bloodshot. That was strange, too. "Rarity, I know you dislike fighting. Even if our magic won't help us much like Muzzo said, do you still want to come along?"
Rarity played with the springy curl in her mane, bouncing it up and down while looking fearlessly into the jungle. "Darling, a lady such as I is more than capable of taking care of myself. Besides, I feel like this is a way to redeem myself from that unfortunate Canterlot scene."
"Okay, then," responded Twilight with a grin. "On behalf of the princess and the sake of Equestria—" She narrowly remembered the last reason they were here. "—err, and the reverstone, let's do this!"
Things blackened almost instantly after they squeezed underneath the log-sized branch. A rough path could be seen laid out ahead of them, but they needed to keep their wits sharp if they didn't want to accidentally stray from it. Enormous trees, entire families of shrubs, and poisonous berries were everywhere around them, and little else was. For at least the time being, they had just enough light to pass without requiring Twilight's magic.
"So what exactly is it we're lookin' for, anyway?" Applejack wondered. She quickly moved her hoof's direction so it didn't fall into a sea of overgrown grass.
Pinkie, keeping herself in the lead, was quick to answer. "The werebear's home."
Rarity spoke up next. "But isn't this entire In Snare Jungle their home?"
"I don't think so." That was just an educated guess by Twilight. But as far as educated guesses go, one could do a lot worse than Ponyville's librarian. "If past experiences are any indication, werebears seem to live in tunnels. I'm thinking we'll find a cave or something like that somewhere in here. However, that doesn't mean there won't be any strolling around this place. We need to be careful."
"Or an ancient temple of doom," Pinkie offered.
That suggestion earned her three deadpan stares. The responses made her blink in confusion. "What? It could happen!"
Not a long time passed. Silence had already fallen over the group. They were excited, nervous, and cautious; any thoughts of words just took a backseat. Twilight's voice, though quiet, cut through the nothingness.
"I don't like this. I was hoping to see more werebears by now."
"Hopin' to see more of 'em?" echoed Applejack like she didn't believe her ears. "You just a glutton for punishment tonight or somethin'?"
Twilight sighed. Not in a "your simpleton mind could never comprehend my genius" kind of way, more like a "I'm generally depressed by this news" fashion. Twilight Sparkle had notably well-defined sighs. "But the more that we find in here, the less that are out there in Equestria. If the cave we were in was labeled a Ponyville base, who knows where else they could be hiding. What if they have even more around Ponyville? Or Canterlot?"
Pinkie blinked her eyes. She thought she saw something in the distance, in between those two elm trees; even after clearing her eyes, she found that the object was still there. It was shadowy, but the features were near unmistakable. "Um, Twilight?"
"Princess Luna said that she would have the guards ready, but how can she do that without alerting everypony?" she went on, probably not even realizing Pinkie had spoken.
Apparently, AJ had spotted the same thing. "Twi?"
"We don't actually have any proof that they'll attack us. That's why we're here. We're just visiting! They shouldn't attack us unless they have something to hide, right?"
The last one cleared her throat. "My, that is one big boy. Twilight, dear, you really should..."
"Should wha—eep."
No doubt about it from this distance, that was definitely the outline of a werebear. The only reason they hadn't gotten caught yet was because his rump was turned toward them. His head moved side to side rhythmically, like it was searching for something. Or somepony. After a moment of very shallow breathing from the ponies, the oversized creature turned to his right and started walking that way, further off the trail. So he was definitely a patrol, then.
When they felt it was safe enough, three of the four equines hopped behind a bush large enough to cater them. Pinkie crouched down, but remained where she was just long enough to relay her new mission. "I'm goin' after him!"
As she crept forward, she heard a hushed shout from behind the bush. "Pinkie Pie, are you mad?!" It definitely belonged to Twilight, but nothing was going to get her to turn around now.
It was sneaky sneak time. Ignoring incomprehensible whispers from her friends, she began Operation: Track The Werebear.
Just like when she told Twilight to disappear back in the werebear cave, her instincts were telling her this was the right thing to do, even if she wasn't sure why. On paper, it really didn't sound like a good idea to silently track a werebear through territory only they knew. Luckily, however, Pinkie Pie didn't have any paper in her head, so she felt like she had an edge.
Her camouflage was faulty, she admitted. There wouldn't be much hiding in sight with totally unfitting pink curls everywhere. With that thought in mind, she took the extra step of leaping behind a tree when the werebear came to another stop. Leaning up against it on two hooves, Pinkie poked her head out from the side so she could keep a visual on him. He looked from side to side again, just like before. Then, he continued... but not before lifting his furry paws over something.
Sight was limited in this dark jungle, so she couldn't risk losing him. Spinning out from behind cover, she resumed creeping along a relatively safe distance behind him. When she got to the same spot the creature had been standing in just moments before, she came to a hasty stop. An old rope was fastened low to the ground between the two trees at either of her sides. She looked up; there was even more twine up there, but this one had metal cans strung though it. Pinkie rubbed her chin in thought. "Hmm... Some kind of futuristic alarm system," she concluded.
She would take no chances on this. Quietly setting herself on the ground, she slid her body underneath the string, one careful crawling step at a time. When she cleared the obstacle in certainty, she sprung up and dashed forward, risking a little sound for the sake of making up lost ground.
The rope made things complicated, she thought along the way. What would entice them to booby trap their own territory like that? Unless, as Twilight put it, they had something to hide. The fact that she had only just now found a trap was encouraging. It meant that he was going to lead her somewhere she wanted to go. As long as she could stay quiet enough.
The werebear pressed on for awhile in that same direction this time. Pinkie's heartbeat was so erratic that she was afraid he might hear it. The level of stealth needed for the cave back around Ponyville didn't hold a candle to this. Again without warning, he stopped; trying hard to keep her breaths steady, Pinkie soundlessly stepped off to the side just in case he looked behind him.
Peeking her head out from behind the vertically-gifted pillar of bark, she saw that her target had stopped in a cleared out area. Or at least as cleared out as this place was going to get. A little more sunshine managed to break its way through, revealing green grass all around the compact clearing... except for in a wide circle that the werebear was standing in front of. The greenery in that orb-shaped spot seemed much darker, and overall not very fitting in the surroundings. Another trap, she bet.
"Anything yet?"
Pinkie dove back behind the tree as quickly as she was able to. That raspy voice did not come from her target. Worse, she was hearing paw steps coming her way. She was about to have company of the wrong kind if she didn't do something.
"No. It doesn't matter. Today, tomorrow, next week. They'll be here."
"They?" Pinkie thought to herself. "Is they us?"
No other words were exchanged, leaving only the sound of moving paws to be heard. They were growing closer, completely unaware of her presence for a moment that wasn't going to last much longer. In a state near panic, Pinkie looked at the ground. There it was: a rock. Hardly a smoke bomb, but it would need to do.
She dared the briefest of glances out again so she could figure out what angle she was working with. He was maybe four or five meters away, and luckily not paying attention to any pink curls hiding behind trees. She dug the stone from the earth and positioned it in front of her front left hoof. That tree over there was her only hope.
It was no different than launching a party cannon, really. After all, one doesn't simply point and shoot those things—accurate measurements need to be taken first. Otherwise the balloons fly out the window and the tablecloths land on the cat. And she wasn't about to make that mistake again.
Three steps. Two. Just one more step. Pinkie brought her hoof back in preparation, then kicked the rock in front of her with as much strength as she could muster. The result was near instantaneous. The pebble grabbed air while hurtling straight toward a tree. From there, it proceeded to ricochet straight into a thump.
Nailed it.
The werebear had gotten nicked hard by the small stone. Much more importantly, he had gotten nicked hard in the opposite direction Pinkie Pie was in. Having felt the rock, the werebear growled to himself and jerked in the direction he had gotten hit from. His back was completely turned to Pinkie.
Not missing her cue, the pink mare exited out the left side of the tree. She squatted low to the ground to maximize the quietness of her hoofsteps, which also allowed her to hide in the local foliage a bit. Once she slipped past the bear still looking for the perpetrator, Pinkie scrambled to catch up with the original bear she had been hunting, who was already on the move.
She found that he had turned directions. Now he was moving in the same direction the group of ponies had started out in. They were heading deeper into the In Snare Jungle.
A couple minutes of quiet walking passed. Pinkie Pie's heart rate was doing much better. Having gotten out of that jam without issue made the rest of this seem like another Tuesday. An ear was kept out for further steps that weren't by her or the single werebear in front of her, but nothing was heard. She carefully wove around fallen leaves, fearing that even a single crinkle could blow her cover. The bear then sidestepped around something, but proceeded in the same direction.
Pinkie paid it almost no mind until she reached that same exact spot. Just before setting her hoof down on the grass, she looked at where it was going—and quickly changed her mind. Laying on the ground was a steel device. It looked like it had a set of jaws on it, except it was ringed with razor-sharp spikes, not teeth. Any amount of pressure would send those jaws snapping up for a very, very big owie. The skull of some small animal rested uncared for directly next to the trap, confirming the owie's size.
She couldn't help but stare at the object, like she was hoping her gaze would make it disappear. That... was different. That trap wasn't just an alarm to trip intruders up, it was downright dangerous. If the werebears had no qualms about employing a trap to kill someone, they weren't likely to take very good care of any trespassers they caught.
With a gulp, and a long step over that trap, she pressed forward.
Her mind was allowed a distraction from that disturbance before long. The werebear turned left to patrol down that way. However, Pinkie discovered something far more important than that. Once the enemy had gotten far enough away, she allowed herself out of the crouching position she had been stuck in since she'd first taken off. Gazing forward in awe, she took a couple small steps, but was able to get no farther before a voice from behind her cried out.
"Pinkie, that was insane, even for you." It was Twilight's voice. How long had she been following her? If Pinkie wasn't enraptured with something else at the moment, she would have put more thought into it. "You're unbelievably lucky you didn't get caught. Now that we got that out of your system, let's get back and figure out a plan—"
She was silenced without a word being spoken. Pinkie Pie lifted a hoof and pointed directly in front of them. That shut her up on the spot.
Beyond some bushes, beyond a defensive wall of trees was a clearing far larger than the earlier one. Sitting in the very center of the area was a structure that would make Daring Do grin with nostalgia. Battered by weather and weak with age, a scary temple loomed before them. Its foundation was made entirely out of stone, but the rest looked like it was crafted with wood generations ago. The building reached up just as high as the treetops did; resting stationary on the peak was a large design of a bear head, it too being made from wood. It appeared that they were facing toward the wall of the shrine, as stone steps leading upwards on a different side led to the assumption that the front door was over there.
Twilight stood in that same spot for a moment, her mouth having already dropped open. She seemed to be most caught up in the werebear's head and the way that the sinking sun hit it at such an unnerving angle. The creepy shadow that hung over only half of the sculpture made it seem like it could turn and bite them any second. After a minute or two, the librarian remembered to blink. "I'll go get the girls," she said.
Using the technique successfully this time, Twilight vanished on the spot, disappearing without a sound supposedly to where Pinkie had left them. Not that the other noticed. She, too, was pretty attached to the thought of watching the building in front of her. "Uh-huh," she finally responded to Twilight.