A late afternoon sun shone brilliantly into the lowland meadows and forests of Equestria, and it gave a friendly red color to the pastel houses that made up the large town of Ponyville. Its peaceful denizens trotted happily through the streets to finish up their shopping, visit with friends, or return home from a hard day at work, with a carefree attitude that belied years of facing countless threats and shenanigans. Oddly enough, for all of the antics that the town had been involved with, on top of the fact that it was home to the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony (affectionately called the Mane Six by close friends and relatives) and that the town was home to the newest Princess of Equestria, Ponyville remained a relatively ignored blot on Equestria’s map. To the peaceful citizens, though, that was perfectly acceptable in such times. Ponyville was a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the larger cities and the looming threat of war on the borders.

In the massive Golden Oaks Library near the town’s center, Princess Twilight Sparkle was curled up on her reading couch and staring down at some historical texts on the Everfree Forest. An expected firm knocking sounded at her door, and her muzzle split into a smile.

“That must be her,” she chirped to herself pleasantly.

A burst of violet magic zipped the young alicorn across the spotlessly cleaned room and to her door, where she took a moment to go over a quick mental checklist. Early dinner prepared? Check, the casserole would be done in exactly three point five minutes and she had the wine ready to serve. The research material Luna had asked for? Check, all of the books on Griffon military stratagems, customs, and maps of their homeland and colonies, all were ready on the research desk. More than likely to help her learn more about the aggressive nation that had recently struck a few towns on the border. Twilight gave a small wince. She hoped she could keep Luna in a good mood, and not let her brood and war-plan all night.

Satisfied that her home was ready, Twilight reached out with her magic and swung the door open, smiling brightly at her guest. Princess Luna looked… strained. That was a word for it, certainly: her face was pinched with worry, and the bags under her eyes spoke of little sleep or rest of any kind. She had thankfully left her guard at home it seemed, and she inclined her head to Twilight, a small smile splitting her muzzle.

“Thank you for letting me visit, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said softly, rolling her withers and flight muscles a bit, “I… needed to get out of Canterlot for a spell. Might I come in?”

“Of course, Luna,” Twilight replied happily, giggling faintly, “If you ever need to come over for a ‘spell,’ my door is always open and my horn ready!”

Luna paused for a moment and gave Twilight an incredulous smile, chuckling quietly and lightly shoulder-checking the smaller alicorn, “T’was a terrible jest. But welcome.”

Get Luna to laugh and relax a little? Check! Twilight recovered from the check gracefully, wings fluttering a bit as she led Luna over to the research area. Several fluffy chairs had been dragged over from the reading corner to be clustered around a table bedecked with the research books, notebooks, quills, and one of the new gas lanterns being sold out of Manehatten. It had been somewhat expensive, but Twilight was rather fond of the clockwork contraptions. She was rather hoping the mayor might get them set out on the town streets…

“Someone was prepared,” Luna teased quietly, giving Twilight a warm smile before tugging herself up onto a chair with a weary, relieved sigh, “Is Rainbow Dash not going to be joining us?”

Making a face, Twilight shook her head and gave a rueful chuckle, “As soon as I said the words ‘study session’ she was volunteering herself to take the Crusaders out into the Everfree for a camping trip.”

That got an eyebrow raise out of the Princess, and she tilted her head just slightly.

“Isn’t that dangerous, Twilight? The Everfree is hardly a place for young ones…” she replied softly, ears laying back.

Luna knew all of the Crusaders personally; she had visited them in their dreams many a time, and found them to be good little ponies, with their hearts in the right place, even if their heads were not always. It was hard to be friends with too many ponies simply through visiting their dreams- there were just too many- but through Twilight and her friends, she had gotten to know all of them rather well. And if anypony knew the dangers of the Everfree thoroughly, it was Luna. Manticores and chimeras were hardly the worst things in its depths…

But Twilight merely smiled, horn lighting up; as nothing in the room was moving, Luna assumed, with some degree of surprise and respect, that Twilight must be using her magic to manipulate something in the kitchen.

She has truly grown, she thought happily to herself, swishing her tail, How Celestia must be proud…

A wince came unbidden to Luna’s frame, one she was grateful to keep hidden from Twilight. Celestia. The thought of her sister was enough to send her into barely controlled frustrated shakes. The village raids had angered Luna as well; greatly angered in fact, and she had sent her own Night Guard to the help guard the borders between their nations. Griffons had been a problem back in her old lifetime as well, as brutal raiders and slavers. Her attendants, and Twilight, had been quick to reassure her that Griffons were by and large not at all like their ancestors. Even Celestia had made that point a few times.

Which is why it frustrated Luna so much that Celestia seemed to have completely forgotten this fact. Their last few talks on the Griffon problem had gotten fairly… dark. Which was wholly unlike Celestia; Luna had always been the warmonger, the warmistress. To hear Celestia entertain the idea of a sustained naval bombardment of the Griffon sea-side and cliff cities… It was somewhat disturbing. Nonetheless, the Griffons had certainly provoked Equestria to war, hence this study session. Luna needed to figure out exactly how she could hit the Griffons in such a way as to force a surrender. Before Celestia did something… rash, and further skewed Luna’s view of her sister.

“You know how Rainbow Dash is,” Twilight finally replied as she levitated a tray of steaming casserole into the room, “Nothing is too scary for her.”

She rolled her eyes at that, but giggled, “And I made her take a few enchanted objects to keep the worst things away. She wouldn’t risk Scootaloo. And Sweetie Belle’s magic has only grown as she’s gotten older.”

Smiling cheerfully, she carefully cut out a slice of the aromatic, somewhat cheesy food and set it out in front of Luna, smiling hopefully. Luna gulped. Twilight’s cooking was… generally hit and miss. One day it could be absolutely delicious! Like the pizza she had made for Luna’s birthday! The cheese and the veggies had been to die for. But the hayloaf she had made for the Summer Sun Celebration last year… well, suffice it to say, Twilight Sparkle was forbidden from making hayloaf for anypony, ever again.

…

Ever.

Taking a deep breath, Luna gripped a fork in her magic and slowly moved it to the casserole, eying it to check for anything out of place. Flakes of hot pepper? Whole cloves of garlic? Unchopped onions!? Gulping thickly, she slowly bit into the bite. One chew. Two chew. Oh thank the stars.

“This is is delicious, Twilight,” she purred out around the mouthful of cheesy bliss, eagerly diving in for more.

Luna needed it too; all the frustrations and unease at home had been upsetting her stomach more often than not, and she had gone without dinner for several nights past. It did not take her long at all to rip her way through the casserole, barely giving Twilight enough time to grab a single plateful of her own. Thankfully she did not seem to mind, a bright smile on her face, ears perked as she watched her fellow princess enjoy her meal.

Speaking of ears…

A smile widening on her own lips, Luna stared up at the brilliant little rainbolt ear-stud shining near the tip of Twilight’s ears. Seeing the smile, Twilight flushed; everypony else had already commented on her new accessory, especially Rarity, who found it adorable. Fidgeting her front hooves, Twilight gave Luna a sheepish smile, but kept her ears perked.

“I-it’s our six month anniversary. She um… s-she got it for me. I-I got her a bracelet, with m-my cutie mark on it.”

“Too bad it was not a ring,” Luna quipped, darting back with a giggle as Twilight’s left wing instinctively darted out to bap her nose.

“S-she will when s-she’s ready!” Twilight shot back shyly, face a deep crimson, “I-it’s only been six m-months, w-we’re taking things-”

“Calm, dear Twilight,” Luna whispered soothingly, giving her a playful grin, “I only jest. Rainbow Dash loves you a great deal; that is easy enough to see, even without looking in her dreams.”

Though after seeing those, it was fairly hard to look Twilight in the eye. The courtship of Princess Twilight and the Element of Loyalty had been a passionate affair, if Twilight’s friends were to be believed. Years of pining on both sides, only for the tension to come to a boil during a vacation to Mareami. According to Pinkie Pie, who loved to tell the story to all who would listen, much to Twilight’s chagrin, the whole hotel had heard their escapade. But embarrassments aside, both mares had been thick as blood from then on: Rainbow Dash had moved her cloudhome overtop the library, and a runic signal on the floor of Twilight’s bedroom took her right up into Rainbow’s beautiful home. As much as she loved her library, most of Twilight’s time was spent among the clouds, at least when Rainbow was home.

“I love her too,” she whispered shyly, blushing deeply at Luna’s playful giggle, “I do! More than anything in the world… b-but uh, s-shouldn’t we g-get to studying?!”

Very smooth, Twilight, Luna thought with an inward chuckle, turning herself towards the stack of books.

Studying had always been a soothing past-time for Luna; a way to let her fast-working mind tune in on one subject and not think of anything else. But today, it was simply… not to be. She was fidgety- wings and hooves twitching every few moments, her tail audibly smacking against the soft cushions of her chair. A deep-bodied sigh rolled out before Luna could stifle it. Her mind could not delve into her studies. It could only focus on the cold stare Celestia had given their map of Equus, pink eyes boring into the Griffon Kingdoms with what seemed like… like…

Hunger.

“You alright, Luna?” Twilight’s voice cut through the thought, and the Princess of the Night jumped a bit in surprise, flushing.

Twilight was watching her with wide, worried eyes, a hoof raised and resting gently on Luna’s shoulder. Despite herself, Luna leaned into the warm touch, sighing quietly.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked quietly, rubbing across Luna’s silken fur gently, a kind smile on her lips.

Princess of Friendship indeed. But also Celestia’s prized pupil.

Luna was worried. Deeply worried. Something was niggling the back of her mind; a memory buried so deeply that even in all her mental discipline, she could not pull it free. Every time she spoke with Celestia, or heard her giving orders, that feeling would return. Something in Celestia had changed since her visit to the raid sites. And it was not the steel for war that Luna would have wanted to see. It was something… more.

She could use an ally, should the need ever come up to speak with Celestia about this. But… not Twilight. Not yet. The poor mare had enough on her plate being a new princess, and one in a committed relationship at that. Perhaps she could contact Cadence and Shining Armor should things get too heated. But for now, Luna had to do what she could to watch over Celestia and this war, and find a way to soothe her sister’s wrath.

“It’s nothing, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna whispered quietly, forcing a smile, “Can you fetch me an atlas of the coastlines of Griffonia?”

For a moment, Twilight looked like she might argue, a small frown stretched across her muzzle, but she finally nodded, turning to head for the atlas section of the library. Luna sighed quietly, both relieved and disheartened. She hated to lie. She truly did. She had long since taken on the mantle of justice-keeper of Equestria, and lying tore at the very fabric of her core. Especially to a friend. But…

I can’t make her doubt Celestia. Not yet… it would destroy her.

She glared half-heartedly down at the map, eyes glued to the stretch of dense forest that ran north to the mountain range that separated Equestria and the Griffon Kingdoms, eventually joining up with the Everfree. Something in those woods had changed her beloved sister.

“What did you do to her…”

******************************************

Scootaloo let the laugh bubble out of her as she raced after Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, all three eager to get to the campsite Rainbow Dash had described on the trip up. This was the best camping trip she had had since grade school! All three of her best friends with her, her big sister, AND enough marshmallows in her bag to keep them all on a sugar rush for the whole time. Getting out of Ponyville was practically saving her mind from snapping too, if Scootaloo thought about it. She enjoyed school, to a degree- shop class was awesome, and she was finally learning how to use a magical welder- but the amount of homework piled on from other classes was weighing heavily on her shoulders. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle seemed to handle it just fine, but…

Smooth move, Scootaloo, trashed your own mood.

Shut up, me.

Glancing up, Scootaloo blinked in surprise, whipping her head around. Lost in her thoughts, she had managed to wander off the path and into a glade of tall oaks. Tall… leafless oaks. In the middle of summer.

Ominous, much…

Slowly stepping through the glade, Scootaloo nervously kept her head on the swivel, ears turning this way and that. The boughs of the oak trees hung low in gnarled bunches, gouging chunks out of the loamy soil and even out of other trees. Several smaller pines were wilted and drooping, the branches of one tree entwined so tightly around it that Scootaloo had the mental image of a gigantic constrictor snake, in for the kill. She gulped thickly, and stepped down.. and immediately sunk down to her fetlock. Jerking her head down in surprise, the young pegasus let out a surprised cry, finding her right foreleg stuck fast in a pool of bubbling liquid, almost like tar. But at the same time, it… wasn’t tar. Tar didn’t feel this cold, nor did it feel… good. Almost like a massage, wrapped around Scootaloo’s hoof and seeming to undulate and press gently over the sensitive hoof and fur. It felt good, but…

Grunting and pulling with all her might, even buzzing her stunted wings to give extra lift to her efforts, Scootaloo struggled to pull her leg from the pool, but the suction was tremendous. To her horrified eyes, tendrils of the black substance seemed to be rising up out of the pool itself, questing their way towards her…

“R-rainbow Dash! Sweetie Belle! S-somebo- yah!”

With a sucking and tearing sound, Scootaloo finally broke free of the pool, tumbling end over end several times before finally coming to a rest on her haunches. As the dizziness died away, Scootaloo frantically swiped at her previously leg, certain that the strange, clinging liquid would be there… only, it wasn’t.

Did it get sucked back in too? ...w-weird…

Skin crawling and goosebumps rising, Scootaloo turned tail and fled from the strange glade, glad to be free of the tar… but strangely curious of the feelings it had induced in her. Her hoof till felt tingly with each step she took on the grass and dirt… as did certain other parts. Scootaloo shuddered faintly and ran faster, determined to bring this up to her friends… well, as soon as she found them again.

*************************

Thankfully, Rainbow Dash had stuck to the path and made their camp within eyesight of it; two tents were already set up, and Rainbow was rushing back towards the path, likely having just realized that Scootaloo was missing. She both scowled and sighed in relief when she saw the little orange pegasus teen, which in turn made Scootaloo blush deeply beneath her fur. Whoops.

“There you are!” she exclaimed in irritation, mixed with a dash of worry, “I was about to go searching for you, kid! I told you, don’t leave the path!”

Wincing, Scootaloo glanced down at her foreleg; the tingle was still there, though somewhat lessened from before. Visually though, it… SEEMED fine. Maybe it was just some weird part of the Everfree she had never heard about before! She definitely had to tell the girls then. Maybe it was something Applebloom could use in her potions for the Crusaders.

Despite already having their cutie marks, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had lived on as the original Crusaders taught the next generation. Now it went beyond just looking for Cutie Marks; all thirty of their members had regular meetings to discuss bullies, problems around Ponyville in general, and discuss ways to deal with them. To date, their biggest accomplishment had been finding and rescuing some foals that had gotten lost in the White Tail Woods. In thanks, the Mayor had officially recognized the Crusaders as a community outreach program, much to the pride of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

“Sorry Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo replied quickly, wincing, “I uh… was thinking too hard, I guess, heh.”

Wrong thing to say, Scootaloo realized too late as Rainbow’s ears lowered, and she sat down on her haunches in front of the teen, giving her a worried look.

“What’s wrong, Scoots? Is it school?” she asked gently, giving her mane a mothering stroke that she would have NEVER done in front of any of the other girls, “Teachers giving you a hard time?”

Yes. And I nearly got… eaten, or… something, by some weird magical tar. But hey.

“N-nah, it’s nothing, Dash,” Scootaloo replied quickly, doing her best to give the older pegasus a reassuring smile, “Just a… hey, are Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in the tent already?”

It was getting fairly late in the day, with the sun already behind the tallest trees and casting the area into shadows. Rainbow Dash was fairly easy to distract, as she blinked at the sudden change, glancing over to a red-white-and-purple tent set up a little ways from Rainbow’s cyan-and-purple one.

“Oh err, yeah. You uh, you guys should probably get some rest. Today was a pretty hard march. ...you sure you’re-”

“Yep, never better!” Scootaloo replied in an instant, charging for her tent without looking back.

She didn’t want to see any look of hurt or worry there. This was supposed to be a fun trip, after all. As Scootaloo approached the tent, a soft moan and a devious giggle reached her ears, tinting her cheeks crimson.

“Stah-pit, Sweetie!” Applebloom whined, voice juuust a bit husky, “R-rainbow Dash is right outside!”

There was coy giggle from Sweetie Belle, and several soft, wet noises, combining with Applebloom’s sheepish little moans and pleased noises, “I just wanted a little taste…”

Rolling her eyes, Scootaloo hurriedly unzipped the tent, darted inside, and re-zipped it, turning her gaze down on her best friends. Applebloom was reclining on her back, her forehooves tied together with her red bandana, and a deep crimson blush on her admittedly adorable cheeks. Sweetie Belle, for her part, was settled down comfortably beside her, horn gleaming in the darkness of the tent as her magic held Applebloom’s legs spread wide open and vulnerable, sex glistening from recent lickings. Scootaloo sighed, but a smile was impossible to keep hiding. She loved these girls.

“Just pointing her right at the opening, huh?” she quipped, smirking at Applebloom’s stuttering, “If I had been Rainbow, I’d be flying back to Twilight to get my mind scrubbed. I don’t think she wants to see the ‘squirts’ doing… this.”

Sweetie Belle blinked and snickered, hoof quickly rising to her lips to hide her grin, “Oh, I dunno, she might appreciate the irony of seeing a ‘squirt’ squirting-”

“Will ya hush about that!!” Applebloom exclaimed frantically, wiggling in place and glaring up at her friends, both of whom merely giggled.

Scootaloo smiled as she settled into the pony-pile, stroking Applebloom’s stomach and kissing Sweetie Belle firmly, eager to forget the strange occurrence from before, at least for the moment. She hardly noticed as Applebloom began to shudder with each stroke of her earlierly-affected hoof, nor when Sweetie Belle quivered and moaned into Scootaloo’s open mouth when she stroked her cheek moments later. As long as she had her friends by her side, Scootaloo could get through anything, be they school, teachers… or weird tar pools.

******************************

Rainbow Dash felt a smile growing on her lips as she sat in front of the fire, ears perked and facing the little red-white-and-purple tent. The girls were not as quiet as they thought they were, and Rainbow had a good snicker at Sweetie Belle’s quip about ‘squirts squirting.’ She could get a damn good blush out of Twilight with that one. Despite Rainbow’s best efforts, Twilight could sometimes be a tad prudish. At least, till she got going. When the moans started up in the Crusaders’ tent, however, a blush filled her own cheeks, and Rainbow swivelled her ears away from the source.

Young love, she thought quietly, chuckling to herself, At least they’ll get into it without all the awkwardness that me and Twilight had.

Not that Rainbow Dash regretted that wonderful night in the Mareami hotel for one iota of a second. Twilight had surprised her; that bookish little mare that she had pined for, that she had watched away and lusted after for years, had returned her adoration with love and care. And a surprising show of dominance. For the first time in her life, Rainbow Dash had been able to let down her guard, to lay back and revel in the trust and pleasure of her best friend. Just thinking about everything Twilight’s magic, and teeth, had done to her that night left Rainbow Dash a shivery mess.

Blushing a bit, Rainbow Dash hurried to smother the campfire with sand and dirt, making absolutely sure no embers remained before all but sprinting into her tent. Not aware for even a moment of the crowd of shadows and fogs rolling in off the road. Darkness, streaming down from a little black pool in a grove of battling oaks…

******************************

Settled together in a sweaty, happy pile that night, the three Crusaders slept a dark, nearly-dreamless sleep. The first to “awaken” was Scootaloo, who blinked around blearily, eying the strange, greyish plane she had found herself on. All around the little orange pegasus and her friends were little tendrils of black, quite like the strange tar she had found herself stuck in earlier. But in this dreamscape, it did not give off an air of unnaturalness. If anything, Scootaloo scooted closer to them, reaching out to pet one slowly with a hoof. It was warm, and gently coiled around her affected hoof with something akin to affection. It made Scootaloo smile, and she reached to gently shake at her friends.

As Sweetie Belle awoke, she was startled to be confronted by a single tendril of the blackness, which gently stroked itself along her cheek. Blushing, she gave a small smile, the warmth of the strange thing counteracting the cold of the dreamscape. It slithered up and through her mane, its tingling surface making the young unicorn shudder and slowly stand on shaky legs, though as it engulfed and seemed to merge into her horn, the pleasure nearly drove her back to the ground. The loud, lewd moan from her friend quickly drove Applebloom to awakening, leaping up onto all fours… only to give a surprised, soft mrr as tendrils stroked her back and belly gently. Other tendrils rose from the blackness, corralling the three as close as they could to each other, bodies pressed firmly together and minds adrift in a sea of soft, gentle pleasure. Never noticing the dark, predatory shape of a shadowy beast on the edge of the shadows, prowling around them angrily. Angry dragon eyes watched them hungrily, but kept a wary distance from the nest of tendrils, all of which seemed to watch the beast just as warily. It could not approach and feed.

For now.