Chapter 16
Detention in the Everfree Forest
Things couldn't have been any worse for Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity. The amount of house points they lost from last night costed the house cup for Gryffindor. The rest of the Gryffindors were angry with the three friends and wouldn't even bother with talking to them. If that wasn't bad enough, Twilight and her friends had to spend detention in the Everfree Forest of all places. They waited for Cranky outside of Big Mac's cottage.
Despite how dark it was, Twilight noticed a gloomy expression on Big Mac's face. "Big Mac, are you feeling alright?" Twilight asked. "I'm fine. I just really miss Peewee." the stallion answered. "I hope he will be happy in his new home." "I'm sure he will. He is going to be with his own kind." Rarity explained. "Not to mention that he is going to make lots of friends." said Applejack. "I guess so." Big Mac muttered, even though he still missed his former pet.
After a few moments of waiting, Cranky finally arrived carrying a lantern. "Alright, everypony. Listen up!" the donkey ordered. "There has been a change in plans. I just received word that a filly got himself lost in the Everfree Forest." Everypony gasped in response to the news. "But nopony is supposed to go in there without an adult present!" Big Mac explained. "Some fillies just never learn." Cranky sighed. He then handed out a lantern to each pony. "If we are going to find the lost filly, we have to split up into groups." Cranky explained.
"Wait! Were you serious about heading in the forest?" Trixie asked. "We can't go in there! It has timberwolves!" As if on cue, everypony heard howling from the Everfree Forest. "We are not going to leave that child behind!" Big Mac argued. "I will search the forest with Cranky while Applejack and Rarity go in together. That would leave Twilight and Trixie." Neither unicorn felt very exited about working together. "Uh, can I switch with somepony else?" Trixie asked. "This is obviously not going to work out." "There is no time to argue!" Cranky replied. "If anypony sees anything suspicious, cast sparks into the sky as a signal. Now let's get this over with." Everypony then gathered their courage as they made there way into the forest.
The Everfree Forest was as frightening as everypony claimed it was. As Twilight and Trixie stumbled through the dark forest, they caught glimpses of various creatures watching them from behind the trees. The moonlight was the only thing that kept the unicorns from getting lost. "Just wait until my father hears about this!" Trixie complained. "I can't believe that I am in here with you of all ponies!" "Well we wouldn't have been in here if you didn't try to get us in trouble, Trixie!" Twilight shot back. "Whatever! Let's just find that filly so we can get out of here!"
After a few minutes of searching, the moonlight was blocked by the trees making the forest even scarier. It was so dark that neither unicorn could see past their muzzles. The unicorns became more fearful with every passing minute. When it seemed like the night couldn't get any worse, both ponies were startled by a scream in the distance. "D-Did you h-hear that?" Twilight stuttered. "Y-yes, but I wish I hadn't!" A moment later, they heard somepony shouting, "Help me!" Twilight and Trixie followed the cry for help, but stopped when they found who was calling for help.
A cowering filly was being cornered by a mysterious, black-robed pony. As if sensing the unicorns' presence, the hooded pony took it's attention off the filly and turned to Twilight and Trixie. They couldn't see the pony's face, but just the fact that he was watching them gave them chills. Trixie suddenly let out a scream and ran for her life. As for Twilight, she felt the familiar burning pain from her cutie mark. Twilight tried to get away from the pony approaching her, but she felt too weak to move.
Before the black-robed pony could reach her, an enormous centaur jumped between the two ponies. He fended off the cloaked pony with numerous kicks, forcing him to retreat. Twilight no longer felt the pain from her cutie mark, so she took a closer look at the centaur who saved her. He was an elderly centaur who wore a golden crown with antlers attached to the sides. He also had a long-velvet cape hanging from his neck.
"Are you two alright?" the centaur asked. "Yes! Thank you for saving us!" said the filly who came out of hiding. "What's your name, mister?" "I'm King Vorak, the ruler of the centaurs." the centaur introduced. "That creature is gone now, so you two should be safe." Twilight still didn't get over her frightening experience and looked to see if the monster really was gone. "Your Majesty, if you don't mind me asking this, what was that thing that you saved us from?" the unicorn asked. "What you saw was a pony who takes the blood of other ponies just to stay alive. He won't stop until he regains his full body." Vorak explained.
The purple unicorn gulped upon hearing this. She could only imagine what the creature would have done to her if Vorak hadn't come to her rescue. "What kind of pony can live such a life?" "Is there anypony in particular you can think of?" the king asked. The unicorn took a moment to ponder this until the answer finally hit her. "Do you mean that the pony that attacked me was King Sombra?" Twilight asked. Vorak nodded. It wasn't long before everypony heard some rustling in the trees. Twilight braced herself, thinking that Sombra was coming back. Much to her relieve though, it wasn't Sombra, but her friends.
"Twilight! There you are!" Big Mac exclaimed. "When Trixie told us what was going on, we searched the forest for you!" The stallion took notice of the mighty centaur next to Twilight. "Your Majesty! It's an honor!" Big Mac said with a respectful bow. "I assure you Twilight is alright and she is not the only pony I found wandering the forest." Vorak said gesturing towards the tiny filly. "Pipsqueak is that you?" Big Mac asked. Pipsqueak approached the stallion and hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Big Mac. I promise I will never wander off again." "Take everypony back to the castle, Big Mac! They will be much safer there!" Vorak explained. He then trotted deep in the forest while everypony else returned to the castle.
Back at the Gryffindor common room, Twilight told her friends about her frightening experience and what she learned from Vorak. "So what you are saying is that you-know-who is out there right now?" Applejack asked. "Yes! It all makes sense now!" the purple unicorn exclaimed. "Flintheart doesn't want to steal the stone for himself! He needs it to revive Sombra!" "That's terrible! We need to tell somepony about this!" Rarity advised. "That won't do us any good, Rarity. Not even Big Mac believes us about Flintheart." Applejack explained. "Even if nopony believes us, you are still safe, Twilight." Rarity spoke up. "Professor Celestia is the one pony who you-know-who fears. As long as Celestia is around, you won't get hurt."
"I hope you are right, Rarity." Twilight said with fear in her tone. "Let's just get some sleep so we can work this out tomorrow." Her two friends agreed and followed her to the mares' bedroom. Twilight didn't get any sleep that night because she had nightmares of King Sombra. She never forgot the cloaked pony or the pain from her cutie mark.