Author's Notes:

Hi-ho, Hi-ho, it's off to hell I go ...

The Usual Disclaimer:

The following is a work of parody, and is protected as Fair Use under section 17 U.S. Code § 107 of US Copyright Law. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all affiliated characters are property of Hasbro Inc.

I own nothing. All characters, settings and other belong to their respective owners. This is purely a fan-work with no intent towards profit, slander or harm towards the characters, settings or other, or their respective owners. If the respective owners feel that this fan-work in any way, shape or form threatens or besmirches their property, please let me know so that it be can be removed asap.

Please support the show.

As always, please tell me what works, what doesn't, if I'm making any errors or mistakes.

CHAPTER 8

10am, same day …

Stoically ignoring the inane and constant chatter from his little sister and her friends, Big Mac scowled as he considered the wagon, full of food he’d bought using the bits Princess Celestia had quietly sent to him via the Mail-Ponies and a box of ‘spare parts’, and the path he had intended to take to the Castle of the Pony Sisters.

Honestly, he wondered what Applejack would do if she ever realised that the new farm tools he ‘bought’ were instead payment from Princess Celestia for the barrels of ‘Black Label’ Apple Cider he kept back every year for the ‘mystery buyer’. And this time she’d sent a crate of spare parts, with a chest of bits hidden under a layer of spare bolts and nuts.

Whatever had set the Timber-Wolves howling in the Forest during the night had panicked them so badly that they’d abandoned their physical forms and fled to hide in living trees, leaving the path strewn with a tangled wall of logs, vines, tree-branches and worse, and without the proper tools, it was going to be impossible to get to the Castle of the Pony Sisters with the wagon.

It was going to take hours, if not the whole damn day, to get this mess out of the way, especially if he had to do it himself.

“Awwww … wait, maybe we can be Cutie Mark Crusader Lumber-Jacks!” Applebloom shouted eagerly from behind him, the danger-prone trio having followed him despite his many attempts to get them to go away.

“Nnnnope!” Big Mac replied emphatically, looking back over his shoulder and giving the three Fillies his sternest look. There was no way in H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks he was going to let those three get anywhere near sharp objects.

“Awwww, but brother …” The little filly begged, giving him her best ‘puppy dog’ eyes.

“We can help, really! We want to go see Zecora and hear about her homeland! Miss Cherilee said it’d make a great addition to show-and-tell!” Sweetie Bell added, the little Unicorn all but bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Ah. Said. Nnnope!” The huge Stallion put his foot down, both figuratively and literally. “Gonna need the tools for this mess. An’ you ain’t usin’ no axes.”

“Aaaaaaawwwww.” The three little Fillies all whined, looking crestfallen.

The Princess ain’t gonna be happy ‘bout this. Big Mac sighed heavily, already thinking about what tools would be easiest to break up the tangled mess on the path, the Cutie Mark Crusaders having forgotten their disappointment and had begun chattering excitedly as they came up with new, more hair-raising methods of discovering their Cutie Marks. An’ ahm gonna have to ask fer somepony to give me a hand, an’ they’re gonna want to know why ahm taking a wagon of perfectly good food into the Everfree Forest. Nope, the Princess ain’t gonna like this one bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the same time …

How did one speak to a friend after a bout of raw passion? What did you say in the aftermath of a good hard rutting?

Good morning? Good job? I’m so sorry? Or did you just kiss them and hope for the best?

Luna found herself wondering just how she would greet Twilight when she awoke, the newest Princess of Equestria still asleep and cuddling Luna like she was a giant teddy-bear. How could she talk to Twilight without blurting out something embarrassing, or offending her, or worse still ….

Is Twilight really the problem, or is it you? Luna’s infernal inner voice decided to offer its two bits at that moment, much to the Lunar Princess’s annoyance. Are you afraid she’ll reject you, or is it that you’re afraid she’ll think you’re rejecting her and you’ll lose the first real friend you’ve had in a thousand years?

Everything was too … muddled for Luna to answer. Twilight was precious to her, that was much was painfully apparent, but as a lover? Luna admired the body of a fit, active Mare as much as any Pony, but sexually? The thought of entwining with another Mare didn’t...okay, last night was a fluke, right?

But the feel of Twilight’s soft belly under Luna’s own, and the lingering dampness in the sheets they had made with sweat and other … things haunted Luna.

It wasn’t like Luna had been a virgin. She had lain with Stallions, as was the right of a Noble in that distant time before the coming of the Nightmare Spirit, and the allure of an Alicorn, one of two mythical beings who had saved Equestria from the maniacal whims of Discord, had drawn many poets, courtiers and knights to her side.

But it had been the Princess they wanted under them, begging for more and subservient to their needs, their bodies, not Luna, an equal in their lives and their beds.

It had been the nature of that era, after all, but still Luna felt she had been conditioned to believe that there could be no love in sex.

Yet with Twilight under her, smiling in her sleep, Luna felt a warmth that was more than just physical. She didn’t like Mares like that, she was sure of it, but Twilight was her friend, perhaps her best friend, in this strange world Luna had returned to, where the Mares outnumbered the Stallions ten to one, and all the social customs and quirks she knew had long since been thrown away.

I can’t lose her. Luna thought as she felt Twilight start to stir in her embrace. I can’t lose Twilight. She’s my best friend, the only one I can trust completely, the only one who sees me as Luna, not royalty, or a monster or a silly little sister. Whatever she decides, I will abide, so long as she does not send me away from her side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It felt … weird to take a bath in the river, especially so late in the day, but then, a lot of things felt weird right now.

Sore too, but Twilight was trying to not focus on that right now.

Everything was still awkward between herself and Luna, adorable, but awkward. Neither of them quite knew how to talk to the other without tripping over their own words, and getting untangled from the sheets with their horns all but useless after two hours of sparking each oth …

Twilight took a deep breath, closed her eyes and dived into the deeper part of the river, focusing on the coldness of the water and pointedly ignoring the hot, itchy craving under her tail.

Upon surfacing, Twilight looked around and waved a hoof towards Luna, back at the camp, who was in the process of airing out the tent, the bedding already soaking in a make-shift washing tub.

Not. Thinking. About. That. Twilight firmly told her subconscious, remembering Luna’s panicked reaction when she’d found the blood on the bedding, grabbing Twilight and asking where she had been hurt.

Awkwardly explaining to Luna that Twilight was, or rather had indeed been a virgin had been one of the hardest things the newest Alicorn had ever done, if only for the crippling embarrassment she felt admitting to it.

Watching all the blood drain out of Luna’s face as the Lunar Princess realised she’d deflowered her friend in a night of animalistic passion had torn Twilight between giving Luna a hug so she’d stop looking so stricken, or falling over laughing at the faces and noises Luna had made after that little bombshell had been dropped.

And the tent reeked of sex. Literally, as soon as the two Ponies had gotten outside and taken a breath, the heady scent became painfully obvious. They’d soaked the each other, which was bad enough, but somehow every inch of bedding had soaked in the smell, and even with it being aired out, the tent still held more than a trace odour of last night’s … incident.

If Celestia’s mysterious ally turned up right now, Luna and Twilight would be busted.

The one thing Twilight had to be grateful for was that the Sparking had helped recharge their internal reservoirs of magic faster than they would have normally.

While neither Luna nor Twilight could boast being up to even ten percent of their normal magical potential just yet, the Sparking had granted them more than enough magic that they could risk a portion of it shaping a nearby chunk of masonry from the castle into a deep ‘bowl’ and setting a magical fire under it. This allowed the Princesses to create a source of hot water to soak the blankets in, along with a bar of soap that had been shredded to pieces to allow it to be turned into a makeshift washing powder.

But I wish Luna had let me help. I know she feels bad about … hurting me during the Sympathy, but it’s not right that she does all the work! Twilight fumed as she watched Luna use her magic to enchant a large, smooth stick to agitate the sudsy water and hopefully dislodge the musky scent that had soaked into the blankets.

“Lunaaaa! I’ll take care of that, you come wash off!” Twilight shouted, paddling to the shore, her wings extended as she revelled in the feeling of the cold water pushing through her feathers, leaving them cold and tingling.

“Very well.” Luna replied, trying to sound calm, but Twilight could hear the hitch in her voice as Twilight came out of the water, her mane wet and clinging to her body, her wings extended fully so that the feathers could dry evenly.

Twilight found herself blushing furiously as Luna’s eyes trailed over her body, her wings twitched inwards towards her body in a sudden surge of shyness, which seemed to snap Luna out of her trance, making the elder Alicorn shake her head, mumble an apology and walk stiff-legged past Twilight.

As Luna moved past her, Twilight found her nose full of the heady scent of the sweetly earthy-scented musk that clung to Luna, and until recently, herself as well.

And now Twilight found herself the one unable to stop staring as the elder Alicorn walked into the river, her tail spreading out into the water like a pool of liquid night sky, her wings dipping down into the river to splash her back with the cold water.

Her heart began to thunder in her chest, and all Twilight could hear was the roar of her own pulse in her ears as Luna began washing herself, her coat becoming soaked with water, her mane plastering itself to her neck and body, and Twilight remember the ecstasy she had felt as that luminous, prehensile mane and tail had wrapped around her and held her tightly against Luna’s body …

“Uhm … Luna?” Twilight asked, blushing furiously as she felt her partially extended wings straightening and lifting on their own. “Did you need help with … with washing your back?”

There’s a moment of silence, a pregnant pause, before Luna turns around, blushing bright red under her dark coat, and nodded once, quickly, even as her wings start to twitch and extend into a similar pose.

Nervous but filled with a guilty eagerness, Twilight stepped back into the water, leaving the camp unattended as she walked up to Luna and began to hesitantly, awkwardly, put into practice all the things the books she kept locked in the sealed section of the library had taught her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ah should have asked you in the beginning, Miss Fluttershy.” Big Mac rumbled as the last of the debris left behind by the Timber Wolves was moved by her swarm of animal-friends, ranging from rabbits, squirrels, finches and the odd raccoon to a bear three times the size of a Pony.

“Oh … no … I was just … happy to …” Fluttershy mumbled, and Big Mac resisted the urge to sigh. He wasn’t sure if Fluttershy was being, well, Fluttershy, or if she was still intimidated by him.

He hadn’t meant to come on so strong the first time they’d met, but she was just so … so … perfect. Soft, quiet yet willing to stand up for those without voices of their own.

Of course, that drunken moment behind the stables had ended poorly for both of them, especially when Fluttershy had accidentally kneed him in the crotch as they clumsily embraced behind the family shed. He’d been horrified, thinking that maybe he’d been too drunk to notice that Fluttershy might have been trying to fight him off, Fluttershy had been mortified at hurting him and hidden away in her cottage for over a week before he’d managed to get a hoof in the door and offer his apology to her, only for Fluttershy to apologise to him for ruining the mood.

But he’d stressed that he didn’t care about her accidental bucking of the Apple Family jewels. Big Mac had hoped Fluttershy had understood, but the days of her not speaking to him had turned to weeks, and then when she did speak to him, it seemed like she could barely stand to be in the same room as him before finding some excuse to leave, and he’d begun to lose hope that the soft, butter-coloured Mare would ever come into his life again.

With Applejack being such a hard-ass, and Granny Smith being, well, such a hard-ass, and even little Apple Bloom always getting into trouble, and most of the Mares in Ponyville either treating him like a muscle-bound oaf or some sort of trophy to win, another notch to add to their belts, a Mare like Fluttershy who was so shy and reserved, yet still possessing a strong sense of right and wrong …

Well, Big Mac has realised long ago that the term he was looking for was ‘carrying a torch’ for Fluttershy, but he was an Apple stallion, and his family prided themselves on being good, honest country folk, and that meant being a gentlecolt to the Mares … even if his Pa hadn’t been one, his Grandpa had managed to hang on long enough to teach Big Macintosh how to be one.

“No, really, you’ve saved me. I need to get these supplies to Twili….aaaaah, I mean Zecora …” Big Mac began, stumbling verbally as he tried to recover from his mistake.

Not that that saying he was going over to Zecora’s was any better. Zecora and he had an … understanding after a bout with Poison Joke had left them in a compromising situation, and considering that Carrot Top, sour-tempered nag of a Mare that she was, had caught them and told half the town about it when Big Mac had refused to let her in on the ‘fun’. Big Mac didn’t want Fluttershy to think he was sneaking off to the Zebra for some afternoon delight, for fear that she might become angry or think less of him.

It always worried him that Zecora and Fluttershy got along so well, and thought of what they might talk about in regards to him when they were alone together always made the big farm-Pony break into a nervous sweat.

“Oh, it’s alright, Big Mac. Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash all convinced Spike to tell them that Twilight and Princess Luna are in the Everfree Forest.” Fluttershy mumbled at his side, and amazingly enough, reached out to touch him with a wing when Big Mac put a hoof to his face and groaned. “I’m sure the Princess won’t mind…”

“Well … we’ll just have to let her Highness know fast then.” Big Mac groaned, then went still as he realised that Fluttershy had touched him. “Ah … I guess you’d know … uhm … Miss Fluttershy, if your animals friends don’t need you … would you … like to … come with me? To see Twilight, I mean!”

Oh, brilliant, ah just invited Fluttershy into the dang Everfree Forest, full of Manticors an’ Dragons an’ Timber Wolves an’ …

“Yes, I’d love to come … if that’s okay? If you don’t mind?” Fluttershy squeaked … but her pinions didn’t leave Big Mac’s shoulder.

“I’d be delighted to have you along, Miss Fluttershy.” Big Mac replied, feeling a mite proud that his voice didn’t also squeak. This is your chance, Mac, don’t let it slip through your hooves! “Why don’t you just hop up onto the wagon, where it’s safe?”

“Oh, uhm, I’d rather stay next to you … if that’s okay?”

……

“That’ll be juuust fine, Miss Fluttershy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the simple things in life, Luna thought to herself as she lay on her back on the soft grass that lined the river-bank. The simple things in life that were best.

Twilight had been an awkward lover, hesitant at first, and then perhaps a bit too eager after Luna started to urge her onwards, but she had proved to the Lunar Princess that what she’d read in her precious books could indeed translate very well into the real world. A couple of times, in fact.

Their lovemaking had been shy, clumsy and awkward, punctuated by laughter and giggling apologies, yet by far one of the sweetest moments of Luna’s long life.

Just enjoying the warm sunshine as their fur dried, with Twilight cuddled up against Luna’s side and enjoying each other’s company, holding hooves silently …

“That was …” Twilight murmured softly, giving Luna’s hoof a squeeze with her own. “I just … wow, you know, books really don’t prepare you for the real thing.”

“And last night? That wasn’t ‘real’ to you?” Luna replied, lifting her head as much as she can to look at Twilight’s face, feeling a little confused about what Twilight had just said. “I hadn’t realised I had been your first, else I would have tried harder to fight the Sympathy.”

“Well, it was ‘real’, but I … I wasn’t myself, if that makes sense? I think what just happened was more ‘real’ than last night. It wasn’t us being moved by the Sympathy, or our magic, it was just us …” Blushing, Twilight tried to explain herself, stammering adorably before Luna brought her head down and silenced Twilight with a soft kiss on the lips.

She is just too cute. Luna thought to herself as she drew Twilight to her, the younger, inexperienced Mare embracing Luna clumsily yet eagerly on the cool grass ...

“Princess Luna? Miss Twilight? You here?” A Stallion’s voice boomed in the air, shocking both Alicorns and making them jump apart, giving each other wild-eyed looks of shock.

“Wha-what? Isn’t it supposed to be a secret we’re out here?” Twilight stammered, blushing from her face all the way down to the base of her neck.

“It … it could be this ‘Bag Marking’ that my sister mentioned …” Luna replied, also blushing.

“Bag Marki … wait, Celestia knows … Big Macintosh?” Gaping, the purple Alicorn turned her head to the direction the voice had come from, and sure enough a familiar red head appeared, with his trademark heavy wooden harness, then the rest of his robust body, towing the Apple Family’s cart behind him.

And then Fluttershy poked her head out from behind Big Mac’s body, giving a nervous smile and a wave with one of her wings.

And the two were smack dab between Luna, Twilight and the airing tent …

It was going to be one of those days, it seemed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well gosh-darn-it, did’ja see where your brother got to?” Applejack asked, more than a touch angry at being so easily avoided by her lunk of a brother.

“No, but he did ask us to go ask Fluttershy to help him move the branches, then Fluttershy asked us to look after Angel, and then we thought “Cutie Mark Crusader Rabbit Sitters” … and then we kind of had to chase the dang rabbit through Ponyville …”

“Applebloom … a ‘no’ would have done jus’ fine.” The farm-mare sighed, pulling her hat down over her face and counting to ten silently before speaking again. “Jus’ … go find Angel, without setting fire to anything this time, an’ wait at Fluttershy’s house till she gets back. Me an’ the girls will try to find your idjit brother.”

Behind Applejack, Rarity fumed that the perpetual wall-flower had stolen a march on them all, while Rainbow Dash kept on muttering about having to wait for ‘Ground Ponies’, her wings twitching with the need to get into the air and chase after Fluttershy.

Once the Cutie Mark Crusaders were finally out of earshot, Rainbow Dash let rip.

“OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS! FLUTTERSHY GOES ON AHEAD WITHOUT US? WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?” The cyan Mare yelled, stamping the ground with a hoof for emphasis. “There’s Manticores and Timber Wolves and Serpents and Cockatrices and Cragadiles and …. Aaaaaaaaagh!”

“Well, to be fair sugar, it is Fluttershy. She’ll likely have made friends with most of the beasties in the Everfree Forest an’ be fine.” Applejack pointed out, then turned an eye to the pile of Timberwolf ‘debris’ next to the track that led into the Everfree Forest. “ ‘Course, Fluttershy’s ‘Stare’ don’t work none on the Timber Wolves … maybe we should get a move on an’ see if she an’ my idjit big brother are doin’ alright.”

“Indeed. And when we find Fluttershy and Big Macintosh, I suspect we will also find Twilight and Princess Luna. Big Macintosh seems to be the only Pony in Ponyville who knows exactly where they are.” From the back, the pristinely groomed Rarity pointed out, looking at the deep wagon-ruts left in the wet, muddy road with some trepidation. “The things we do for our friends …”

“Errr, speakin’ of friends, where the heck is Pinkie Pie?” Applejack asked, looking around for the perennially random pony to show up.

“Pinkie said the Cakes needed her after the Pinkie Alert yesterday scared most of their customers away and left them behind in their baking.” Waving her white horn back to Ponyville, Rarity’s face broke into a brief, honest smile. “I haven’t seen Pinkie this enthusiastic about baking in ages. It seems she’s been wanting to push herself for some time.”

“Yeah yeah, wahoo, can we go already! I’m not that keen on leaving Twilight with Moon-butt out in the middle of the most dangerous forest in Equestria!” Trotting ahead, Rainbow Dash snapped over her shoulder to the two other Mares.

Applejack and Rarity shared a confused look before chasing after their surly friend, each wondering exactly what could have irritated the Pegasus so much.

For Rainbow’s part, the thought of Twilight laughing and chatting about egg-head things with that gloomy Princess of the Night irritated her on several levels. Bad enough that she barely got enough time to spend with Twilight before the purple Unicorn had been turned into a glowing magical star-thingy, and then an Alicorn of all things, but then almost every attempt to teach Twilight how to fly had been thwarted by Princess Celestia and her lessons on high society and snooty ponies, and now Twilight was being hoarded again, this time by Princess Luna.

And the letter to Big Mac had mentioned ‘magical entanglements’, ‘absolute discretion’ and ‘political consequences’. Most of it had gone right over Rainbow’s head, but some parts had made all too much sense for the Pegasus to feel comfortable about.

What it really meant, at least to Rainbow’s understanding, was that something had happened to her friend and Luna that meant they were now inseparable, and the very thought chilled Rainbow to the core even as it filled her with irritation and a surge of jealousy towards the Princess of the Night.

Despite being an egg-head and a nerd, Twilight had been there for Rainbow, even when Rainbow and Applejack had been feuding, even when Rainbow had made huge mistakes and could have been in a great deal of trouble, Twilight had been ready to put herself on the line to help out. Twilight didn’t hang around with Rainbow because of the cyan Mare’s local popularity like some of the other Ponies in town did. She was a true friend, and the thought that they might drift apart tore at Rainbow like gryphon’s claws.

Rainbow was the Element of Loyalty, and thus she was devoutly loyal to her friends. And if a friend needed Rainbow Dash to go push some Princess’s muzzle in to save them from this ‘Sympathy’ thingy, then that’s what Rainbow would do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mid-day, Day 2, Everfree Forest

“Soooo … You’re Celestia’s contact in Ponyville? I never realised you also knew the Princess!” Twilight asked as she helped Big Mac unload the wagon, while Luna tried desperately to get Fluttershy away from the tent, while the pale yellow Pegasus remained blissfully ignorant of the reasons why and kept on trying to help ‘tidy up’.

“Errr, nnnope. She jus’ pays me to keep aside the best of my family’s black-label apple-cider for her.” Big Mac replied bashfully, rubbing at the back of his head with a hoof. “An’ she knows no Apple worthy of the name’ll rat on her. Uhm … yer highness … ah should really be unloading these. You’re royalty now …”

“Oh no you don’t!” The purple Alicorn snorted angrily, giving Big Mac a glare that made him flinch in surprise. “I’m still me, Big Macintosh, and don’t you forget it. I will never let my title stop me from being able to help out my friends, and that includes you, buster!”

Big Mac blinked at her for a few moments before giving a short laugh and shook his head.

“Ah, yer right. Sorry ‘bout that, miss Twilight, been a heck of a day thus far, had to clear a heap of Timber Wolf pieces off the road, funny lights comin’ from the Everfree Forest last night too, an’ it’s left me all twitchy.” The massive red farm-pony chuckled nervously, his eyes trailing to where Luna and Fluttershy were engaged in a vigorous war of apologies. “ah’ve never heard of Timber Wolves bein’ so close to the farm except durin’ the Zap-Apple harvest, let alone leavin’ their bits an’ pieces lyin’ around like that.”

“O-oooh.” Twilight mumbled, holding a hoof to her mouth. Last night she and Luna had been sparking each other, caught in a feedback-loop created by their Sympathy to each other’s magic and the power of the Empathy’s Core. She hadn’t realised they’d created visible flashes of light that could been seen from town! Or that they had been sending pulses of wild magic all throughout the Everfree Forest, causing all kinds of … wait, maybe this could be used to get Big Mac and Fluttershy away from the tent! “OH! Oh no! Has anyone thought to check on Zecora?”

Big Mac blinked at Twilight again, obviously lost at this leap in the conversation.

“What if … uh … whatever spooked the Timber Wolves also went to her house?” Twilight stammered, hoping the explanation would be enough to get Big Mac concerned, and also to drag him and Fluttershy away from the tent.

Big Mac’s expression went from one of puzzlement to alarm, as he quickly deposited the crate he had been holding onto the ground and rushed over to Fluttershy and Luna. Twilight knew that the sturdy Farm Pony was stoic and loyal to those who proved to be friends to the Apple family, but she hadn’t realised he had considered Zecora to be a part of that circle.

Or maybe he’s just that kind of Stallion. Somebody’s in trouble, so he’s got to help them. The youngest ‘Princess’ thought to herself, feeling more than a touch guilty for how easily she’d turned Big Mac’s attention to a situation that might not even have happened.

In the scant few moments it took Twilight to gather her thoughts and join the other Ponies, Big Mac had gotten Fluttershy all riled up over Zecora possibly being in danger, and the two were discussing how to get to the Zebra’s house.

“Twilight, what did you do? Your friends are panicking!” Luna hissed as the two Alicorns stood together, watching the other Ponies nervously.

“I may have shifted their focus off of us, but I think we’re about to go on a trip to the deepest part of the Everfree Forest.” Twilight whispered back, giving Luna an apologetic look. “Big Mac mentioned that he found some Timber Wolf debris near his farm after our … experiment last night got out of control, and I said …”

Twilight found herself cut off as Luna’s hoof clapped onto her shoulder and shook her roughly.

“Twilight! You didn’t tell him about …” Now Luna looked more mortified than angry, and Twilight shook her head franticly, wincing as the movement made her head swim with vertigo even more.

“No no! I just said that Zecora might be in trouble, that’s all! It is a possibility, after all … that much wild magic running amok could do anything!” The younger Alicorn stammered, woozily leaning onto Luna as her vision spun.

“Princess Luna, Twilight, we need to go check on Zecora. Will you be alright unloading on your own?” Fluttershy called out, the Pegasus and the Farm Pony already moving towards the darkest part of the Everfree Forest.

“We will assist you!” Luna shouted back, more than a touch of her ‘Canterlot Voice’ coming out. “I cannot in good conscience let a friend of Twilight’s remain in danger!”

Oh buck. Twilight groaned mentally as she and Luna trotted to catch up with Big Mac and Fluttershy. What if Zecora really isn’t in trouble? And what happens if Zecora knows where the Wild Magic came from?