The Everfree Forest was like a blast of nostalgia for me. I hadn't seen this dark wood since the "great" King had foolishly created it. I could still see the castle's residents fighting for their lives, not caring who or what was left behind.

I needed to focus. Whatever Whooves had said about this place, it was dangerous. As if the forest had read my thoughts, a manticore leapt out fo the darkness, snarling. Before I could brace myself, it was on top of me!

"Down, Bastet, down!" He stopped licking me and sat, watching me adoringly. "Good to see you again, buddy." I reached out to stroke his mane, and a bolt of light overwhelmed my senses.

"Lantra, this way!" I wheeled at the voice, casually knocking aside a guard with one massive paw. It was the searcher! And there, right behind him, the changeling! A bunch of spells flew by me after them, and I turned, snarling to face the iron-ponies. I leapt across the strange place, my tail blocking the now ineffectual spells. With another deafening roar, I scattered the iron-ponies.

Without the attackers blocking the way, I could see a jet grey horn-wing trying to shout orders at everypony, even though they were obviously ignoring him in the chaos. Had Changeling done this? No, too much chaos, and he would have warned me first. He never would have brought some of these creatures, either! I threw a distasteful glance at the basilisk, but not too much of a glance!

A voice behind me shouted something, and I was thrown several feet onto my side by a magical blast. Curse my foolishness and distractibility! What was it Searcher had said... Curiosity killed the cat? Another distraction, as Changeling leapt over me, firing knives at the source of the magic. I rolled over to see a pure white horn-wing, slightly older than Changling trying desperately to dodge his knives and scramble away. "Bastet, get that amulet away from the king!" Changeling cried, nodding at the grey horn-wing before leaping after the white one. I nodded at his back and pounced at this "king", but yet again I was knocked aside. A light grey wing-mare with pure blonde hair was blocking my path. Battle armor covered her back and wingtips, and her forehooves glinted with blades.

I braced myself as she lunged at me, knowing this was going to hurt, but still fully determined to get this amulet Changeling needed. I realized how nice it was for someone else to be taking the tumble for once as Searcher leapt out of nowhere, smashing the wing-pony aside with his staff. "Go Bastet, quickly! We can't stay here much longer! I leapt over him and his new opponent, bringing my massive paws to bear against this "king" that was keeping something from my ponies! Some barrier surrounded him however, and both my paws and tail bounced harmless away with every strike.

"Stop moving, everypony- or Corozone dies!" I froze, recognizing the Pony name for Searcher. I told myself over and over I needed to focus on getting this amulet thing, but curiosity got me again- I turned and looked behind me. The wing-pony had Searcher pinned down, one of her blades at this throat. Everything was silent, even creatures who hated Searcher weren't moving, shocked. Behind me, King started to laugh.

"Well done, Elizabeth Doo, well done. Now, Corozone, fix all of this."

"I cannot fix your foolishness."

"You can and will, you merely led me astray!"

"I instructed you not to use the elements- no one pony is meant to wield them. Particularly not one as weak minded and tainted as yourself."

"Kill him, Elizabeth!"

"Yes, sir." She turned, pulling her hoof back into the air. I felt like something was screaming at an unbearable tone, freezing me in place. The blade was slowly falling down at Searcher's unprotected neck, and I could do nothing to stop it!

"NO!" A wave of blue-green magic surged over everything, effectively blinding me. When my vision returned to normal, the wing-pony was nowhere to be seen.

"Elizabeth!" Ah ha! A dull red haze around King shimmered and dissipated. That must have been the shield! My tail flicked out, nabbing the amulet and I flung it to Searcher. As he caught it, everything erupted into madness again, as if a trance had been released. Maybe that amulet had some special powers? A massive roar and gout of flame from overhead corrected me- they could also be running from the dragon, yeah, that made sense. I bounded out, keeping pace with Searcher and Changeling.

"Well done, Bastet! Now run and hide! May we meet again soon!" Searcher cried, and veered off away from me, back towards the destroyed castle. I started to turn to see what they were doing, but another dragon roar cured my incessant curiosity.

I shuddered, jerking back to reality. "Yeah, that was a frightening day..." I held onto Bastet's warm fur, remembering Father. I couldn't help but smile at Bastet's names for everything. So smart, yet so innocent... I would have loved to stay and talk to him for hours, to see what had happened since I'd last seen him all those years ago, but I needed to get on with my tasks. Maybe another day... "Do you know the way to the old castle still?" Bastet pointed past two rock pillars, but showed a strong desire to not go beyond them. "Still obeying our instructions to stay away from the castle?" He nodded gravely, and licked my cheek. "Good, you're safer that way. I'll see you again soon, ok?" Bastet nodded vigorously, and I headed off, happy to be back somewhere it felt like I belonged.

My mind continued to drift as I calmly trotted through the dark forest. Surely these trees couldn't be the same ones as Father and I grew back then, filling in between the magical patches. The trees at the very edge were definitely not the same- they had not moved to stop my entrance to the forest. Father and I had enchanted the original ones to do just that- an innocent but ignorant pony could have wandered into danger and been killed. Here, further into the forest, I couldn't tell the difference though. The trees still hung low and dark, giving everything a gloomy, eerie atmosphere that I quite enjoyed. I wondered if I would run into the forest's living protectors, or if they to had-

"Why Heloooo!" A cheery, vaguely effeminate voice called out.

"Ah, hello Sir Serpent."

"And what finally brings you back to your forest home after all this time?"

"That's something I'm trying to discover for myself."

The serpent's mustache drooped, and something about the gesture struck me, although I couldn't place what. "You mean you don't intend to remain? Come now, it was bad enough when we thought you had returned because your hut was inhabited, and you were actually nowhere to be found."

"Someone is in my home base!?"

"Yes indeed- a mare with the most peculiar stripe markings. She's been living there quite some time now. Name's... Zacoya, or something like that."

I relaxed. "Ah, Zecora. But, at present I don't intend to fully leave again, so you can relax. I am living in the town just outside the forest. There are ponies there that... interest me..."

The serpent nodded in understanding. "Is one a white unicorn, purple hair, similar to this side of my mustache?" I blinked at it again, finally realizing what I had been noticing.

"She's... somewhat attractive. But you know fashionistas were never my type."

"True, true. Ah well, we can't all be fabulous. So, what are you here looking for now?"

"How do you know I'm looking for something?"

"All those years have not made me forget that slightly frustrated but hard, determined look in your eyes, little Lantra. Blood or not, you inherited that from Corozone perfectly."

I grinned sheepishly, blushing. "Fair enough... I'm looking for the ruined castle- I have things to attend to both there and in the town."

The serpent frowned. "That may not be so easy. Much Dark Magic has taken residence in those parts of the forest- particularly after the purple wisp incident." He gestured distraughtly at his mustache, and I groaned inwardly. I didn't' know what he meant by "purple wisp" but frankly, if it had to do with his precious mustache I wouldn't care."

"I shall watch my step. Until we meet again, Sir." I trotted across the top of the water, back to thinking. Dark Magic, in the castle? Why was I not surprised? I'd always suspected King Cepheus of practicing Sorcery of the Damned... So, how best to-

A dark, low growl cut through my thoughts yet again. Couldn't I have a nice, deep musing in peace!? In my thinking, a small pack of timber wolves had surrounded me. Ah, such memories... As the leader started advancing, I raised a hoof. "Pax querco luporum," I said calmly, and the wolf stopped and sat at my feet. "Do you... understand this new language?" This was going to be inconvenient if I had to speak in that archaic script to converse. The wolf nodded as the others lay down. Oh thank the Night. "Ok, good. Are you Alpha?" Nod. "Even better. Now, have you kept all ponies from the ruins?" No. "Did they take anything?" Nod. "Money?" No. "Spells?" Yes, no. Yes and no!? What could possibly... A fearful chill swept through me. "An artifact?" Nod. "...The Elements of Harmony?" The wolf whined and bowed his head.

My mouth went dry. Celestia must have found a new, acceptable bearer. That must be why Luna had been re-defeated without a country-shattering war... I would need to ask Twilight about it later... "Any other intrusions, Alpha?" No. "You have done well." All the wolves looked back up, wagging their tails happily. "I will handle the lost Elements. Now, follow me to the castle- I need resources. Stay on guard- there are rumors of Dark Magic. All the wolves were back on their feet in an instant, growling.

Focusing, I shifted. My legs grew more spindly, my tail fluffed, and my ears grew slightly, pulling in all the minute sounds around me. I felt fangs growing as my tongue lolled slightly. I was still distinctly equine, however, not the wolf I wished to emulate. Only the most skilled kelpies with a unique transformation talent could truly be another creature. Though, Dad had always said every one of us had at least one creature we could be. He'd always back himself up by being an adorable little cat, although he complained that the mist made his fur wet. I grinned, wishing yet again I could find my animal...

I was running free and wild though my forest again, at the side of my creations. It was an epiphany of joy! It was sheer exuberance! It was... excruciating? A wrenching pain tripped me up, sending me sprawling helplessly on the forest floor. Unused to transforming after so long, my body must be resisting my alterations. I gritted my teeth trying to transform back as quickly as I could. It's difficult to focus with a feeling like your insides are being ripped out with a spoon! Alpha gave me a questioning look. "I'm sorry- it's been too long since I transformed. My body can't handle it yet. I'll have to slow down. We must still hurry, though." A nod, and we were back off.

In no time, we reached the edge of the ruins. I trotted in among them, finding memories all around. Here a small tower of rocks I had kept watch from while Father worked. Over there were some stone guards from the basilisk or cockatrice. Ah, and there were the remnants of the thrones. So, that meant the treasure chamber is right over... I turned 78 degrees off north and pushed on the wall with magic. Yes, yes. Here it is. "Watch my back." Alpha growled and nodded. Lighting my horn and drawing several knives, I descended into the darkness. For a time all I could see was stairs, but then the reflections of hundreds of thousands of coins assaulted my eyes. Quickly, I gathered the 7k for Derpy, then a further 1k for me. A quick pocket rift stored them all away with ease. It took a moment once reaching the surface for my eyes to get used to the ambient light. I never saw the black cloaked figure come at me from above.

Luckily for me, one of the wolves saw my attacker and leapt into his way. Knocked to one side, my assailant spread his wings and swooped back around at me. The valiant wolf leapt again, but the assailant raised a talon and hissed "Attrīvistī!" The wolf fell harmlessly to pieces, but my followup knives were far less harmless, forcing him to wheel away suddenly. He settled out of my sight, probably to plan his next move. The other wolves were nosing the pieces of their companion. He wasn't getting back up. I swore loudly. "Black Magic. Alpha, get your wolves out of here! Now!" Nothing rips through a nature spell like Black Magic... The pack fled back to the forest, taking my only possible advantage with it. I wheeled about, trying to watch every angle for the threat I knew was coming. I hadn't handled this sort of fight in so very long, I was no longer sure I could win. The enemy's fighting style was so familiar, though... Surely I could at least fend off this attack and force my foe to run, even if I might not win. I turned again, taking a stance that would leave me ready to block any attack. Pity my reflexes were so rusty I thought to myself as I felt talons rake down my side and I went down, already succumbing to the poisons seeping through my blood. The last thing I heard before passing out was the voice of a mare chanting some incantation. What's the point? I should have been more careful... I'm sorry, Derpy...

So, sorry that took so much longer than predicted. I had a busy time back, and then managed to lose my precious notebook at my co-author's Eagle Scout Ceremony. Yep, Seth is now an Eagle Scout with me, and I couldn't be more proud. :)

But now I have my notebook back, I'm back to work writing up new chapters, and all is good. I've decided the next chapter needs a re-haul after some advice from Bluemane, and writing in rhyme takes me a while. :/

Hopefully you all enjoyed this new chapter and yet another glance into Lantra's past. As always, I don't own MLPFIM. You'ld think this would have been established by now, but hey... better safe than sorry.