The Fairytale Fiasco

Chapter 2: Princess of Thieves (Part 1)

Twilight didn’t even remember falling asleep, but when she groggily lifted her head and looked around, she was confused by the sight that greeted her. In complete contrast to the forest from before, the foliage surrounding her almost appeared to glow an emerald green as sunlight cheerfully filtered through a bright canopy. A wind playfully rustled the leaves, while birds sang in a chorus of quiet songs.

“Spike? Flurry Heart?” She moved to take a step forward and felt nothing beneath her hoof. Glancing down, she immediately scrambled backwards when she discovered that there was no ground where she had stepped. She planted herself firmly against the branch, legs shaking as she tried to orient herself and figure out what she was doing in a tree.

“Twilight!” Spike suddenly dropped into view and landed skillfully in front of her, digging his claws into the bark. He let the rope he had swung from fall away and ran forward to catch her in a tight hug. She happily wrapped a leg around him and returned the embrace.

“Spike!” she exclaimed with surprise, pulling away to look at him. “Have you seen Flurry?”

Spike shook his head. “I just woke up here. Sorry, Twilight.” He looked up at the forest around them. “At least this place looks better than the last one, but where are we now?”

“Hmmm…” Twilight spun as carefully as she could to get a good look at their surroundings. Aside from the cheery atmosphere and pleasant sunshine, she saw nothing of importance that hinted at the story they were in.

“I'm not… sure?” she said, eyeing Spike’s unusual attire. He had on a short cape and a hat with a wide brim that was pointed in front, like the beak of a bird. Realizing they were both wearing something new, Twilight looked down at herself and tugged at the large cloak covering her wings. There wasn't much, but the style looked familiar enough to remind her of a possible setting.

“This is Marewood Forest, and I think I’m Robin Hood. So you—” Twilight pointed at Spike with a giggle “—must be Little John.”

“Great! I’m your trusty companion,” Spike declared and jerked a thumb to his chest while posing proudly.

Twilight lifted her head to look over the woods again. “I hope we can find Flurry Heart soon. This place might be more dangerous than the last, and there are so many characters in this one.”

“More dangerous than being eaten by a dragon?” Spike huffed before wrinkling his snout. “What about Sombra? How did that happen, anyway?”

Twilight leaned back with a sigh. “He got pulled in with us. He cast a spell that corrupted the enchanted storybook I made for Flurry Heart and got us all trapped in here.” She stood and paced along the branch. “Then, when I tried to leave him in the forest from The Lost Foals, I wound up right back next him somehow. Since it looked like the spell wouldn’t let us separate, we sort of made a truce.”

“Sort of?” Spike asked with a skeptical look.

“Well, he didn’t actually agree with words.” She flattened her ears. “But he did stop attacking, so I was able to find you and complete the story.”

“But we didn’t exactly follow the book,” Spike noted. “By the book,” he added with a soft snort and Twilight rolled her eyes. “I don’t remember The Lost Foals happening like that.”

“We distracted the dragon instead of putting him to sleep…” Twilight listed out the important details that she could remember. “The cauldron didn’t really create a feast, but it did help keep Garble distracted. And we didn't have to trick him, but we still rescued Flurry and escaped.” She tapped her chin. “Maybe as long as the key elements of the story are followed, it works. We got out of the cave with Flurry, so that’s all that mattered.”