Vines. There were vines everywhere. Sweet Apple Acres was choked beneath the deluge of vines that had exploded out from the Everfree, twisting and crawling across the land. Massive creepers sprouted from the ground, wrapping around trees and buildings, and covering fields in a tangled mess of thorny vegetation. They were still on the move too, inching along in a determined attempt to cover everything in a sea of thorns. There was very little of the farm left that remained bare, save for a few of the sturdier buildings. This included a particular barn in the middle of all the chaos, one that a certain human had visited earlier last fall—not that he nor the owner of the barn would ever admit to anyone.

The white walls of the barn were almost completely hidden from view beneath the choking black vines. The metal letters above the main door—once having read ‘SAA HBB’—were now torn from the siding and tossed to the ground where they lay scattered about in a chaotic mess of letters.

Trapped within the confines of the barn by the dark vines, a small fraction of the Sweet Apple Acres humans huddled together. Gazes locked fearfully on the windows, they could only watch as the creepers slowly crawled across the panes of glass. Several of the panes cracked, sending spider webs across the glass. The very walls of the barn seemed to creak and groan under the building pressure as the blanket of trailing plants covering the building continued to grow.

With each creak, the humans huddled closer together. They were comprised entirely of females. The younger ones—ones that had only just reached maturity—cowered behind their elders, who herded them into the center of the group.

The humans were not alone in the fragile prison, however. Alongside them, their caretakers huddled as well. Big McIntosh and Granny Smith had been forced to flee their home when it was overrun by the vines; the creepers seeped up from beneath the floorboards and through the plumbing. With half of their family missing, and unsure of what was going on, the pair bore witness as their livelihood was slowly consumed. Apple trees bent and buckled under the pressure; barns were toppled, fields were engulfed. Unable to flee due to the vines blocking the path to town, they took refuge with their humans.

A loud crack caused the occupants of the barn to jump, and with that a particularly large vine pushed its way through a window, sending glass and wood flying. It twisted and turned as it pushed its way further into the barn, as if searching for something. Only when it came within hoof’s reach did Big Mac make his move.

Wielding an old rusty woodcutter’s hatchet, the large stallion stepped forward and brought the axe’s head down upon the vine. Instead of cleaving the vine in two, however, the dull head simply smashed the vine, crippling it. The possessed creeper lashed out, quickly wrapping itself around the hatchet’s handle as well as Big Mac’s forelegs, who let out a startled cry as the vine proceeded to drag him across the ground. Several humans quickly leapt forward and began to wrestle with the vine, trying to free the trapped pony. Digging into it with their teeth and nails, they barely managed to tear the creeper to shreds.

The now-damaged vine thrashed about wildly, sending several humans tumbling to the ground. As soon as the humans were free, Granny Smith stepped forward. Wielding a makeshift flamethrower that ran on some old moonshine she kept in the cellar, she sent several controlled bursts of flame across the vine, quickly burning it to cinders.

The vines outside the barn reacted to the charred vine’s untimely demise, constricting the sides of the barn and the roof with renewed vigor. Several humans helped Big Mac back to his hooves before the group huddled together again.

A second window shattered, allowing another vine inside. It too was met by a burst of flame. For the next hour, the vines slowly slithered through holes and cracks in the barn’s structure, only to be met with fire. The beams and columns creaked and groaned but held firm against the assault.

The same could not be said for the inhabitants of the barn.

During a brief lull, Granny Smith checked on her moonshine levels. The jug was half-full, which meant that she could keep this up for a little more, but she would eventually run out. When that happened… well, some things were better left unconsidered.

As the vines continued to slowly consume their livelihood, the occupants of Sweet Apple Acres pressed together. The shepherds watched over their flock, while the flock watched over their shepherds...

“Oh, this is bad. Bad bad bad bad bad,” Twilight muttered as she paced back and forth across the throne room. The splint on her leg clicked softly with each step, the pain from her injury temporarily forgotten in her distress.

Her friends watched her from the foot of the throne dais, and Celestia and Luna from their thrones. Celestia’s face held a look of weary humor; Luna’s, one of exasperation.

As Twilight moved close to the dais again, Luna sighed. “Be calm, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight paused.

“Be calm? Be calm?!” she squawked. “This is no time to be calm. Oh no, this is the perfect time to panic. I don’t know if you’ve noticed at all, but the Everfree Forest is just a teeny-tiny bit out of control! Or didn’t you see the vines?”

“We saw the vines, same as you,” Luna said, “but panicking will do us no good at the moment.”

Twilight’s eye twitched. “Ponyville is being overrun by the Everfree Forest, and you two—” she waved a hoof at Celestia and Luna “—are just sitting here, doing nothing!” She paused, before muttering a quick, “Princesses.”

“Astute as ever, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna snarked. “Yes, indeed. The Everfree is out of control. Your observation skills are outstanding.”

“Discord’s behind this. I know he is,” Twilight muttered, ignoring Luna and beginning to pace again. “I don’t know how he managed to escape from the Elements of Harmony again, but we just need to find him and—”

“This is not Discord’s doing,” Celestia interrupted. She was silent for a few seconds before adding, “—at least as far as I can tell. His magic signature faded when his body crumbled, so it is safe to say that he is either powerless at the moment, or dead.

“Though I shouldn’t be too hopeful about that,” she added under her breath.

“He could have enchanted the plants before we defeated him,” Twilight muttered. “There were several times that he was out of sight while chasing us. He could have easily teleported to the Everfree while we were—”

“Once again, I highly doubt that, my faithful student,” Celestia said. “What purpose would that serve? Why have a backup plan when he assumed that he was going to win here in Canterlot?”

“But—”

“Besides, the magic in the vines are ancient,” Celestia continued. “They are not a recent occurrence. They have been festering for a while, much like an infected wound. One that has gone unnoticed for far too long.”

Twilight’s eye twitched again. “Then he planted them a long, long time ago!”

Celestia opened her mouth, only to close it and purse her lips. Glancing sideways at her sister, the pair shared a look of dawning realization before they returned their attention to Twilight.

“An interesting theory, I will admit,” Luna hummed, “and we see the merit behind it, but we don’t have any real proof at the present time. Nor does it really matter. The vines are here, regardless of who planted them. In any case, the solution is simple: we need to locate the source and eliminate it.”

“Which means going into the Everfree Forest,” Celestia added thoughtfully.

“So, let’s get the guards together and go take care of this,” Twilight said, stomping her hoof. “We’ll get several squads together and track down the source immediately! Problem solved!”

“If only it were so simple,” Luna harrumphed.

“Why isn’t it?” Twilight shot back. Her mane and tail were beginning to fray.

“Because of what horrors have been wrought here in Canterlot!” Luna said with irritation. “Given the current state of affairs within our city, we can’t just up and send guards out to solve this mess. Many of them are currently receiving medical care, and the ones that aren’t are either combing the castle for any remaining threats or out trying to calm the citizens currently massing outside our gates. We practically have a full blown riot on our hooves. Face it, Twilight Sparkle, whether you like it or not, we have no guards within the city to spare at the moment.”

“Unfortunately, my sister is right, Twilight,” Celestia said. “We have no guards to send.” Her ears splayed back. “I would have liked to send a few Battlemages, as this falls perfectly under their expertise. Given their current condition, however, that is definitely out of the question.”

Twilight’s tail thrashed back and forth as she glared up at the sisters. “So, what? What do we do then? Just let Ponyville crumble beneath the vines? Leave the ponies that live there to their own devices? Turn a blind eye?” She stomped her hoof. “That is not acceptable!”

“Still thy tongue, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna snarled. What little warmth that was left in her voice was now gone. Her presence grew larger and menacing; her shadow creeping up the wall behind her. The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. “Do not dare to presume to speak as such to us. You think that you are the only one here that cares for those down in Ponyville? Nay. There are those there that I deem precious to me as well. Is it not that some of your friends have family there as well?” She gestured to the mares currently huddled at the bottom of the dais. “Strange, I haven’t heard them panicking, yet they seemed to have greater reason to do so.”

Twilight’s ears splayed back as Luna finished talking, an ashamed blush spreading across her face. Her tail tucked between her legs as she turned to face her friends. “Sorry, girls. I… I got so caught up in everything that I forgot.” She winced before hanging her head. “I shouldn’t have panicked. You guys are suffering too.”

“That’s alright, sugarcube,” Applejack said, although the smile she gave Twilight was strained slightly. “Ah’m… Ah’m sure Granny and Big Mac are handlin’ the farm just fine by themselves. They can look after Applebloom as well.”

Twilight bit her lip. “That may be, but still…”

“You are under a great deal of stress, darling,” Rarity said, a weak smile on her face as well. “It’s understandable, given what we’ve been through in the last few hours. No need to blame yourself.”

“That still doesn’t excuse my behavior though,” Twilight murmured. “I should have realized that I wasn’t the only one worried about Ponyville. You all have been living there longer than I have.”

“Everything’s going to be fine!” Pinkie chirped, nodding her head. “We just need to figure out how to get rid of those big ol’ nasty vines.”

Twilight frowned. “But there are no guards to spare. We have nopony to send.”

“You didn’t let me finish, my faithful student,” Celestia said. There was a small twinkle in her eye and a faint smile on her lips. “While it is indeed true that we have no guards to send, that does not mean that we aren’t going to be sending ponies to help Ponyville. Far from it, in fact. We’ll be sending the best ponies we currently have available.”

“Really?” Twilight asked. She perked up, only for her expression to turn to confusion a few seconds later. “Wait, if they aren’t guards, then who are you sending?”

Wordlessly, the smile still present on her face, Celestia lifted a hoof and pointed down at the mares at the foot of the dais. The five mares. Her friends, the other Element Bearers.

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as understanding washed over her.

“Wait, you’re sending us?!” she yelped.

“Of course,” Celestia said.

“It makes sense, does it not?” Luna added. “If these vines are indeed the work of Discord and his chaos magic, then who better than the Elements of Harmony to take care of them?” She glanced sideways at her sister, sharing a knowing look again before she returned her attention back to Twilight. “Unfortunately, this is something that you six will need to handle by yourselves. Neither I nor my sister will be able to accompany you. We must tend to matters here in Canterlot.”

“You want us to go into the Everfree?” Twilight asked, her eyes wide.

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so anxious for the guards to do this instead of yourself? If I recall correctly, you've been in the Everfree many times before. Only now do you hesitate. Why?”

Twilight bit her lip.

“I… I don’t want…” she began softly, only to pause and take a breath. Her eyes darted up towards the ceiling, or more specifically, what was beyond it. “I don’t want to leave Max.”

Luna’s eyes widened before her gaze softened. “Ah, I see. You needn’t worry about him. He’s in good hooves.”

“I know, I know,” Twilight groaned. “It’s just, after everything that’s happened I can’t help but worry. It seems like every time we get separated, something bad happens to him.”

Celestia frowned. “That seems a little—”

“The pit fight, the manticores, the infected human, the Gala, Hearth’s Warming Eve, Winter Wrap Up, and now this!” Twilight ranted. “Whenever he goes off by himself, he ends up hurt. He’s already hurt at the moment… I don’t think I can handle seeing him hurt again right now.”

“She’s got a point,” Applejack muttered to Rainbow, who nodded her head in agreement.

Luna and Celestia exchanged looks.

“I can assure you, Twilight, nothing bad is going to happen,” Celestia murmured gently. “Discord’s been defeated, the Terran humans are under watch, and we have control over Canterlot again. Luna and I are present within the halls. Our healers will look after him while you’re gone. He’ll be right as rain by the time you return.”

“I know, but—”

“There are guards around him as well, even if some of them may be injured,” Luna added. “His own guards are there as well; I highly doubt that Avera will allow anything threatening to come anywhere near Max. Even your father is there, watching him.”

“I know!” Twilight shouted. “I know, okay? I know it’s not logical. I know that he seems safe at the moment, but I... I just have an uneasy feeling about it. I can’t explain it.”

Luna rolled her eyes and let out a small huff. She opened her mouth again, only for another voice to cut her off. “Can’t explain it, huh? If that’s the case, I’ll watch the knucklehead for ya.” Heads turned in the direction of the throne room’s doors and the white unicorn currently making her way towards the dais. Dark violet glasses covered her eyes and seemed to flash in the torchlight.

“Lady Scratch?” Luna asked, cocking her head to the side slightly. “This is a surprise, albeit a welcome one. I thought you’d be at home with your marefriend.”

“Well,” Vinyl said as she sashayed her way across the room, “I was in the neighborhood, grabbing a quick bite to eat—” Luna’s eyes narrowed “—when I decided to drop by and see what all the commotion was about.” She stopped in front of Twilight and eyed her from behind the tinted glasses. “S’up, Twi?”

“Vinyl.” Twilight nodded. She eyed her curiously. “Not that it isn’t nice to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“Like I said, I was in the neighborhood. Anyway, I couldn’t help but overhear your predicament. I’d be willing to keep an eye on Max for you while you’re gone, if you’d like.”

“That would actually work in your favor, Twilight,” Celestia said with a smile.

Twilight cocked her head to the side. “How so?”

Celestia motioned towards Vinyl with a hoof. “Lady Scratch here is an ex-Captain of the Lunar Guard.” When Twilight glanced at Vinyl, she nodded in confirmation.

“It’s true,” she said, a smug smile on her face. “I quit to pursue my career in witchcraft and wubbery.”

“Is that satisfactory, Twilight?” Luna asked.

Nibbling on her lower lip, Twilight stared at Vinyl, studying her closely. Vinyl just stood there, her body relaxed and a small smile on her face.

“You’ll watch after him?” Twilight eventually asked, a slight tremor in her voice.

“Yup!” Vinyl nodded.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “You promise?”

Reaching up, Vinyl lowered her glasses and peered over the top of them. She gave Twilight a hard look, her red eyes flashing brightly for a brief moment before she covered them again. When she spoke, her voice seemed to echo around the room. “I promise that nothing and no one will touch him without my permission.”

A shiver ran down Twilight’s spine as all the torches in the room suddenly dimmed and flickered, almost as if an unfelt wind blew through the room.

“Ooooh,” Pinkie cooed, her eyes wide. “That was a good one! Even better than mine.”

Twilight gave Vinyl one last look before sighing. “Alright. I guess that’s good enough for me.” She turned and glanced over at her friends. “You girls up for another adventure?”

“Oh yeah!” Rainbow whooped, leaping into the air and doing a flip. “Just like old times!”

“A-boo-yah!” Pinkie chirped, jumping up as well.

A faint smile on her lips, Twilight looked up at Celestia. “Princess, do you have a plan for getting us to Ponyville?” She paused before lifting up her splinted leg. “Preferably a way that isn’t too strenuous.”

“Well, it’s safe to say that the train is not an option,” Celestia hummed, causing Luna to facehoof and grumble something under her breath. “That being said, there are a couple of chariots that are currently available, though there are no guards to fly it. If only we had a pair of strong, able-bodied pegasi...” Her gaze slowly drifted over to Rainbow, who perked up.

“Yeah! Fluttershy and I can do it!” she chirped. “We’ll get everypony there in ten seconds flat! Right, Fluttershy?”

“Eep!” Upon being called up, Fluttershy let out a startled yelp before quickly hiding behind her mane. After a few seconds she reemerged and gave a shaky nod and a timid smile.

“It’s settled then,” Luna said with a nod. “You six will go to Ponyville and, once there, find the source of the vines.”

“Once you have located the source,” Celestia continued, “it should be simple enough to figure out how to banish the vines. If all goes well, it should be clear to you how to proceed.”

“We just use the Elements on ‘em, right?” Applejack asked, cocking her head to the side.

Saying nothing, Celestia just gave her a knowing smile before turning to one of the guards positioned at the base of the throne dais. “Kindly escort the Elements to the chariots.” The guard saluted before motioning for Twilight and the others to follow him. They did so, Twilight limping along in the rear, the splint on her hind leg still clicking softly on the marble floor.

“Welp, I better head up to the infirmary,” Vinyl sighed, though a small smile touched her lips. “Catch ya later, Luna.” Strutting off, she bobbed her head along to music that only she could hear.

As the throne room door closed behind her, Luna glanced at Celestia. “Do you think that—?”

“Yes,” Celestia answered.

“And they will—?”

“Most likely.”

“...”

“...”

“...and the tree?”

“We shall see, Luna. We shall see.”

“W-wha… what the buck was that?!” wheezed Spitfire, gasping for breath. Her Wonderbolts uniform was torn and muddied from being forcibly dragged to the ground not moments ago.

Her assailant now laid motionless on the ground—save for a few occasional twitches—having been taken care of by her teammates. The thing looked like a weird cross between a spider and a flower. It had attacked Spitfire out of nowhere while she and her squad had been doing reconnaissance over the edge of the Everfree Forest, trying to figure out what was causing the sudden appearance of the vines. Latching onto her face, it had immediately blasted her with a spray of some kind of gas. Just that one short burst was enough to make Spitfire woozy. It had only been the quick thinking of one of her teammates, who had ripped the spider-flower thing off of the vine it was attached to, that had prevented Spitfire from passing out.

Retching loudly, Spitfire gagged as a gritty taste filled her mouth; it felt as if she had a mouthful of sand.

“What the buck is that thing?” she growled, glaring at the twitching plant.

“Don’t know, Spits,” one of the Wonderbolts, Fleetfoot, answered. She eyed the plant cautiously, her brow furrowed. “Whatever it is, it was on you faster than Soarin’s on pie. Didn’t even see it coming.”

Another Wonderbolt, High Winds, approached Spitfire, pushing up her goggles to reveal concerned green eyes. She had a small pair of saddlebags across her flanks, marked with a red cross. Reaching up, she gingerly grabbed a hold of Spitfire’s face. “Here, let me see.”

“Bucking thing got in my mouth,” Spitfire groused.

“Some minor scratches,” High Winds said after a few seconds of examination. “Doesn’t look like anything major though. You should be fine.”

“It’s in my bucking mouth,” Spitfire said again before spitting. The glob of saliva that fell from her mouth was tinted black and seemed to cling to her lips.

High Winds blinked. “I take that back. That can’t be good.”

“Hey, uh… Spits?” called a male pegasus with light blue coat and dark blue mane.

“What, Soarin?” growled Spitfire, black spit still dripping from her lips.

“There’s more of ‘em,” Soarin said, pointing a hoof towards the Everfree. There, just within the tree line, several more of the spider-plants could be seen slithering about. They seemed reluctant to emerge from the safety of the crooked trees, though.

“Hope nopony else has run afoul of them,” Fleetfoot said.

“Sound off!” Spitfire ordered, glaring at the shifting plants in the treeline. “Misty Fly?”

“Here!”

“Fleetfoot?”

“Here.”

“High Winds?”

“Here.”

“Surprise?”

“Still kicking.”

“Lightning Streak?”

“Yo!”

“Fire Streak, Blaze, Soarin?” Three more sounds of confirmation and Spitfire sighed in relief. Nopony else had been snagged by one of those damned things. “Fire Streak, Blaze. Figure out what that is,” she ordered, pointing at the downed plant that had attacked her. “I want to know what’s going on with this forest, and I want to know about it five minutes ago. Got it?”

“On it, Spits!” the two pegasi answered before descending upon the plant.

“Here,” High Winds said, handing Spitfire a bottle of water. “Clean out your mouth. No telling what that stuff is. Better safe than sorry.”

Grabbing the bottle of water, Spitfire glanced around at the rest of her squad. “Scout the area, but don’t stray far. As soon as we figure out what that… thing was, we’re on the move again.” The pegasi saluted before speeding off in all directions.

“You doing okay?” High Winds asked as Spitfire tore into the bottle and began to chug the water, only to spray it onto the grass. The liquid was tinged black, little specks floating about.

“Fine,” she sighed.

High Winds cocked an eyebrow. “You sure?” She glanced down at the tainted water. “That looks nasty.”

“I’m fine,” Spitfire snapped, only to bite her lip. “Well… no. No, I’m not.” Her gaze drifted towards Canterlot. Black smoke could be seen wafting up from the palace, though it did look to be in better condition than it had been earlier, now that the islands of land floating around the airspace were gone. The sky also wasn’t blood red anymore.

“They seem to have things under control,” High Winds said, glancing up at Canterlot as well. “They can take care of themselves, Spits. We need to focus on Ponyville right now. These vines aren’t going to take care of themselves. Ponies are counting on us.”

“I know, I know,” Spitfire grumbled before spitting in the grass again. She stared up at Canterlot for a few more seconds before suddenly turning and shouting over her shoulder. “Learn anything yet?”

“Not yet,” Fire Streak shouted back. “It just appears to be an ordinary plant! I can’t even figure out what magic is controlling it.”

“The same magic as timberwolves?” High Winds offered.

Fire Streak shook his head. “Nope. Completely different.”

“Ordinary plant, my flank,” Spitfire huffed. “If that thing’s a normal plant, then I’m a parasprite.” Bringing the water bottle to her lips, she swished the water around her mouth before spitting it out again. This time, there was less black in it than before. “I’d bet my ridiculous salary that they’re magical in origin.”

“I’m not taking that bet,” High Winds muttered. “Around Ponyville? What isn’t?”

Spitfire just smirked, only for her ears to perk a second later. A shout came from further down the tree line: Fleetfoot was returning with other ponies in tow. As they drew nearer, Spitfire blinked in surprise.

“A zebra?” she said, scrunching up her muzzle. It was indeed a zebra with Fleetfoot, the mare decked out in golden rings and a torn cloak. She was pulling a loaded cart full of various personal effects. Also with her were three fillies: an earth pony with a large bow, a small pegasus, and light gray unicorn. “Where’d you even find them, Fleetfoot?”

“They were coming out of the forest. Over there,” Fleetfoot said with a point of a hoof. “It looks like it used to be a path before the vines took over.” The other Wonderbolts were beginning to return, huddling around the zebra to hear her story.

“From my home, I have had to flee,” the zebra said, breathing heavily. “The forest has grown too wild, even for me!” Spitfire noticed that the earth pony and unicorn were huddling behind the zebra. They nodded their heads in agreement. The pegasus however was staring at her, a disturbing look of awe on her face.

“The Everfree has cast me out,” the zebra continued. “I can't go back, I have no doubt. And now, I think, it wants your home to shrink!” She motioned toward Ponyville, which was getting harder to see beneath the sea of vines.

“Wait. You live in the Everfree?” High Winds asked, eyebrows raising. When the zebra nodded, she perked up. “Really? Then do you have any idea why all of this is happening?”

The zebra sighed. “I’m afraid it’s a mystery to me as well, for what is happening, I cannot tell.”

“Damn,” High Winds muttered, her ears splaying back.

Fleetfoot nudged her with a hoof before giving the zebra a small smile. “Well, at least you got out in time. You could have gotten trapped by the vines if you weren’t careful.”

The zebra opened her mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by a shout.

“Hey, Captain,” Fire Streak called out slowly, trepidation clear in his voice. “You’re… you’re gonna want to see this.” The group turned to look at the two pegasi who were examining the spider-plant. Fire Streak was holding up a small test tube, an uneasy look on his face. The liquid within was glowing bright red.

“No…” High Winds gasped.

“Chemical test confirms it,” Fire Streak said, giving the vial a small shake. “This thing is packed with Black Vine Virus spores.”

Spitfire and High Winds glanced at each other in alarm before they both looked down at the blackened water Spitfire spat from her mouth moments ago.

“Buck me running,” Spitfire growled before reaching quickly into her saddlebags and pulling out a vial of her own. Giving it a good shake, she used her teeth to pull the cork stopper out of the top. Spitting the cork into the grass, she lifted the vial to her lips and spat. The minute her saliva touched the liquid within, it began to glow red as well, although not as strongly as Fire Streak’s vial was glowing.

“Well, that’s not good,” High Winds muttered as Spitfire began to rub at her tongue with a hoof, “although it does explains things.”

“It was in my mouth!” Spitfire whined.

“Wait, hold on,” Fleetfoot said uneasily. As she glanced around at the sea of vines, her ears splayed back. “Are you telling me that all these vines contain the spores?”

“No, not the rope-like vines,” Blaze said with a shake of his head. “Just these things.” He gave the dead spider-plant thing a good kick, unintentionally causing a puff of spores to be released. Backpedaling quickly to avoid the cloud, he continued. “They have special pouches in them that contain the spores. It looks like we finally have a source for the Virus.”

“Yay,” said Spitfire sarcastically. “Perfect timing for these things to appear. Just what we needed: more stuff added onto our plate. Ugh!” Rubbing her temples with her hooves, she glanced around. “Does anypony know where the nearest large source of humans is?”

“Ooh! Ooh!” the earth pony filly said, waving her hoof as she stepped out from behind the zebra. “Ah know this one! Ah know this one! That’d be Sweet Apple Acres, mah family’s farm.”

“Of course it’d be a farm,” Spitfire muttered. “Alright, we should probably head over there and make sure that none of these things are there, infecting the humans. The last thing we need is an infected human outbreak along with all these motherbucking vines.”

“I thought we were trying to figure how to stop the vines,” Lightning Streak said.

“At the moment I’m more concerned about infected humans,” Spitfire answered.

Lightning Streak scrunched up his nose. “The spore-carriers don’t appear to be leaving the forest. I don’t think we need to worry about them infecting humans in town. Just any that wander too close to the forest.”

“If there’s any chance of an infected human outbreak, we need to prevent it,” High Winds huffed.

“The faster we stop the vines, the faster the threat is eliminated.”

“And if we can’t find a way to stop them? What then?”

“Stop it, you two,” Surprise shouted. She motioned towards the zebra and the fillies. “You’re scaring the foals!”

“Hey, wait a minute,” Fleetfoot hummed. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced over the zebra and two fillies who were hiding behind her legs, watching the pegasi bicker. “Weren’t there four of you? Where’s the unicorn?”

The two fillies blinked before their eyes widened and the glanced around.

“Hey, yeah!” the earth filly yelped. “Where’s Sweetie Belle?!”

Racing under and around the tangled conglomeration of vines, Sweetie Belle raced through the streets of Ponyville. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she ducked, weaved and leapt over obstacles. Her head was on a constant swivel as she tried to minimize the impact of the blind spot her sightless eye caused.

As she ran, she passed by many ponies that were in various states of distress. Some were running from the vines, others were huddled under carts and behind barrels, while even more had already been captured by the blackened creepers and were now calling for help. Her ears folded back against her head as she tried to block out their cries.

Reaching the edge of the marketplace, she took a hard turn only to almost collapse when her back right leg—the one with the limp—nearly buckled underneath her. Barely keeping her balance, she raced through the abandoned stalls as quickly as her little legs would allow her. The world around her was a blur as she ran faster than she had ever run in her life.

But in her opinion, it still wasn’t fast enough. Not fast enough to escape what was coming. Not fast enough to run from what the pegasi had said the vines had contained.

Not fast enough to run from it.

Her little chest heaved as she took in great gulps of air. Her sides burned, pain racing up and down her body, especially her flank and face. It wasn’t from running though. In fact, the pain wasn’t even real. It existed in her mind—only as a memory—but that was enough for her. It was more than enough for her.

A memory of the most terrifying day of her life.

The creature loomed over her, as its sick, glowing eyes glared down upon her through the gloom. Black tendril-like protrusions covered the human’s face, climbing up its forehead before disappearing into the tangled mess that used to be her hair.

She tried to get away, but the thing just clamped down on her back leg harder. Its cracked fingernails dug cruelly into her flank, drawing blood. It dragged her across the ground, pulling her closer and closer. She screamed, scrambling to get away, but it was no use. The thing was too strong. She could hear her friends in the distance, shouting and crying for her to run. Every so often a small stone would impact the thing’s chest as one of them tried to distract it, but it paid them no mind.

Far off in town, the bells were clanging loudly.

It reached out its other hand—a large bite mark clear on the lower arm—and grabbed Sweetie by the back of the neck. Lifting her bodily into the air, Sweetie screamed as all her weight fell on her mane and right back leg. Something in her leg popped, sending blinding pain racing up the now-limp limb.

Ignoring her screams, the infected human lifted her closer to its face. Its mouth fell open, a wheezing gasp escaping its cracked lips, accompanied by a cloud of black mist. Cracked teeth glinted in the gloom, a black, dry tongue waggling back and forth as the human leaned down and sunk its teeth into the flesh of her flank.

Sweetie shrieked as the teeth tore into her leg. Her entire body jerked, causing the part of her mane that the human was holding to be ripped from her scalp. She fell forward, now dangling in the air by her back leg. Blood poured down her leg and body, cascading like a crimson waterfall.

The human thrashed about, grabbing blindly at its prey that was trying to escape. It scratched and tore at her sides until its free hand finally grabbed her face.

Sweetie screamed again as one of the fingers dug into her right eye. A few seconds passed before blood began to flow from the ruined socket. The pain and terror grew too much for her, and Sweetie felt herself beginning to lose consciousness. The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was a streak of gray and blonde fur descending from the heavens like a thunderbolt. She was unceremoniously flung from the infected human’s grasp as the newcomer impacted it from above, and she knew no more.

Since that day, just the memory alone of the infected human was enough to send Sweetie Belle into a panic. The sight of humans—infected or not—would send her running and crying. It hadn’t been until she had met Max that she slowly started to get over her anthropophobia. She could actually go to Applebloom’s farm again without having a panic attack. She didn’t have to take the long way home to avoid the pound and guard station. She didn’t have to run and find Rarity whenever she encountered somepony walking their human.

She finally had her life back, but according to those loud pegasi in their weird jumpsuits, it might be taken away from her again.

“N-no.” Tears still streaming down her cheeks, Sweetie’s eyes narrowed. “No.” The phantom pain in her sides began to fade, pushed back by the fiery determination welling up within her. “No!” Lowering her head, the tiny unicorn put on an extra burst of speed. “Not again! Not anymore! No! No! No!”

As Sweetie skidded around another corner, her destination came into view. Making a beeline for the building, she all but threw herself at the door which flew open with a loud ‘bang’. It hit the inside wall and ricocheted back, but Sweetie didn’t care; she was already racing up the winding staircase, taking the steps two at a time. Around and around she went, her pace never slowing until she finally reached the top. Puffing like a forge bellow, she staggered slightly before throwing herself forward onto the rope.

With a strangled cry, she pulled with all her might.

F’TAANG DOOOONG DOOOOOOOOONG CLANG

High above her within the bell tower, the warning bells boomed out their message, the sound echoing out across the countryside for all to hear. Over fen and field, over glen and glade, over hill and brook; the message rang out.

F’TAANG DOOOONG DOOOOOOOOONG CLANG

As the bells tolled, below Sweetie Belle added her voice to the chorus: a constant sobbing chant of “No more. No more. No more.” Though her legs burned and her muscles screamed, she continued to pull upon the rope with vim and vigor.

She would not let her life fall apart again.

She would not let somepony else suffer as she had suffered.

She would warn them all, no matter what.

And so, with tears in her eyes and a fire in her heart, Sweetie Belle continued to heave on the rope.

Far above, the bells continued to toll.

F’TAANG DOOOONG DOOOOOOOOONG CLANG

“What does that filly think she’s doing?” Fleetfoot asked. Staring at the bell tower in the distance, she scrunched up her face. Her ear flicked in time with the tolling bells. “That’s not going to accomplish anything but cause more panic.”

“No… no,” Spitfire said, her eyes lighting up. “No, that filly has the right idea! Fire Streak! Blaze!” Both ponies saluted as she turned to look at them. “Fly as fast as you can to Oakvale and get their bells ringing as well. I don’t care if the vines are there are not, they need to be prepared. Lightning Streak, Soarin—” The two pegasi stiffened as she pointed at them “—you two take Dodge City and do the same. The more ponies we can warn, the better. Got it?” All four nodded in unison. “Then what the buck are you still doing here? Get moving!”

Four blurs of color exploded into the air: two headed west towards Whitetail Woods, while the other two shot off south over the Everfree Forest.

“Uh, Spits. Care to explain?” Fleetfoot asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“What do those bells signal?” Spitfire asked, pointing a hoof at the bell tower. “What do they warn of?”

Fleetfoot cocked her head to the side. “Infected humans, but I don’t see how—”

“When those bells toll, what do most ponies do with their humans?” Spitfire asked, interrupting her.

Fleetfoot gave her a blank stare, but beside her, Surprise’s eyes lit up.

“Oh!” she gasped. “They secure them! Lock them up, get them out of the open and away from potential infection!”

“Precisely,” Spitfire said, “and the less humans out and about, the lower the chances of infected humans popping up. It might not be a perfect solution, but hopefully it buys us enough time to deal with these things.” She kicked one of the vines, causing it to twitch.

“What’s the plan then?” Misty Fly asked.

Spitfire stared off into the distance for a brief moment—her eyes narrowing—before she turned to High Winds. “Take the zebra and fillies into town and find a safe place for them to take shelter. Once that’s done, see what you can do around town to help out, got it?”

High Winds nodded before motion for the trio to follow her. As the zebra and her cart—now with two fillies sitting atop the stuff—trundled off towards town, Fleetfoot asked, “And what are we doing?”

“Simple,” Spitfire said as she set her gaze on the Everfree. Reaching up, she pulled her goggles down over her eyes. “We’re gonna follow these vines to their source.”

Author's Notes:

Welp, here we are. 6000 likes. Hard to believe it. More people have liked this story than live in my hometown. Who could have believed when it was first posted that this story would turn out like this? How many of you are still here since the very beginning? How many have we lost and how many have we gained?

...

Oh well! Back to writing. We are nearing the end of the story, after all!