Unforeseen Consequences - Cherrywood's big adventure (pt. 2)

“Coooool! I love ghost stories! Please Grandma, tell me everything about the “weeping mare”!”
>”Then you better get comfortable my little Cherrywood, because this story is one of the scariest tales in Equestria!” KeKeKe~! I love when Grandma makes her scary face, she looks so awesome! “You see, my dear child, the weeping mare’s tale dates back to centuries ago, when Manehattan was nothing but a small town created by colonists. When life was rough and ponies had to work their hardest just to get through the day…”
“Ooooooh! Wait… I uh, have a question! This was after or before Nightmare Moon took away Princess Luna from us? Y-You know, I just want to know when the story takes place”
>”Before, way before, remember my Cherrywood. The ponies that colonized the Manehattan region were sent by our beloved Princess Luna. She even helped them to deal with the monsters that dwelt on the coasts of what would become the first big districts of this city…”
“Aaaah… yeah… I think that I saw that at school… kekeke~! Sorry”
>”You better not forget that kind of information ever again, my dear child. I would hate to know that you are wasting your education…” Eeep! I-I think that grandma got angry for a second there… “But as I was saying, this tale is about a mare that lived a long, long time ago. Her name may have been long forgotten, but her sad story isn’t.”
>Grandma served another cup of tea for herself, took an itty bitty sip and then continued “This was a mare that lived in the most precarious conditions, a mare who despised everypony that crossed her path and the life that she was given, but this mare still had a heart. Because you see, she was the mother of two beautiful foals, who she loved with all her being”
“Geez… she sounds like a jerk, but… I’m happy that at least she wasn’t THAT miserable”
>”Yes, but that happiness didn’t last. As you may know my dear child, similar to the Everfree, the forests that surrounded the early settlements of Manehattan were filled with dangerous creatures and other unspeakable horrors. The mare of our story lived near to these horrible places, and sadly that would cost her the ones that she loved the most…”
“W-What?! Did a monster eat her foals or something?! How could she be that dumb? Because c’mon-“
>Eeep! Grandma was glaring at me, better shut up! “Very good, let’s continue and this time without any interruption of any kind, at least until I finish the story, we don’t want to ruin the mood, do we?”
“O-Okay…”
 >”Wonderful! Now, where was I? Hmmm…  Aaah, yes… the forests had claimed the thing that the mare loved the most in this world. What exactly happened to them? Nopony knows, what we know though, is that the mare came to the settlement one day, screaming in agony that her children had gotten lost in the forests. Of course, after hearing such terrible news, many ponies gathered to search for them… but nopony could ever find the missing foals, not even the slightest clue hint was found, it’s as if they never existed in the first place… and eventually, the searches stopped after it was clear that the foals weren’t coming back…”
>S-Sheesh! Now THIS is what you call a spooky story!
“A-And then what happened? What did the mare do?”
>”She never stopped looking for them. The mare went into the Manehattan forests every day of every week, she continued on with her search for years, until…”
“U-Until?”
>”Until one day she didn’t come back either. Just like with her children, no clue was found on her whereabouts, the forests had claimed her too… and to this day, the local ponies say that the mare’s spirit is still looking for her missing foals. Some say that she wears a white dress, weeping and sobbing, asking anypony who crosses her path about her long lost children, and if you don’t give her an answer, well….”
“W-Well?”
 “The mare will unleash her hate on you, dooming you to haunt the Manehattan forests for an eternity … and that’s the story of the weeping mare. What did you think, my little Cherrywood? Really spooky, right?”
“It… was… AWESOME! Kekeke~! I was super scared, but I also felt bad about that poor mare, she just wanted to bring her foals back”
>”Indeed, it is a sad story that lacks a happy ending. Now, what do you say if we-“
“Let’s look for her!”
>”What?! Cherrywood, you can’t possibly be serious about this. We can’t do that!” You know, if it wasn’t because it was grandma, I would probably have laughed that she just spilled her tea all over the place.
“W-Why not?”
>”Because that would require us to go into the Manehattan forests, and that is something far too dangerous for you-”
“B-But I wouldn’t be alone! You would come with me! We will look for the weeping mare, together! Please grandma! We never do anything together! Please, please, pleaaaase!”
>”Cherrywood Bellemare! You know very well what I think about begging!” Eeeep! “Your mother have made great efforts so you could have an actual education, and I shall not tolerate that you disrespect all of her sacrifice by lowering yourself to such standards, am I clear young lady?!”
“Awwww, but-“
>O-Oh! Now Grandma was getting REALLY angry, m-maybe I should drop t-this
“Alright… I’m sorry Grandma Umbra…”
>”Apology accepted. Remember my dear child, I am not telling you how to live your life, but lowering yourself from a fine lady to a mere beggar, is something that you should avoid. With that said…” Huh… why did grandma get up from her seat, and… what… did she just tell to her maid?
>“I do own a small chateau that is located near the Manehattan forests, we could spend our weekend there if you want, after all it is clear for anypony that you absolutely hate this city, and my old bones do need to get some fresh air from the country field”
>W-Wait, is she… oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!
“Yes! Thank you Grandma Umbra! You’re the best grandma ever!”
>And she felt funny when I hugged her too, her perfume still smells horrible though.... but I still love my grandma! Still… I had to ask something very, very important!
“But uhm… we are still looking for the weeping mare, right?”
>”Within the limits of the property, yes” She accepted!
“Yay! This is gonna be the best!”
>…
>… …
>… … …
>This is the worst! Why does Manehattan has to be sooo laaaame! It took us like FIVE HOURS to get out of that stinky city! And all because there was a lot of dummies who crowded the frickin’ streets! How can they even live like that?! All that noise, noise, NOISE! And those bright lights gave me a headache!
>Ugh… at least the actual trip across the fields was nice, and Grandma’s chata, chash… Grandma’s big house in the woods was super-duper awesome! Kekeke~! It is soooo creepy, and sooo scary! I LOVE IT!
>But… uuuuugh! It took a while for Grandma and me to actually get to the fun stuff… First I had to get to “my” room… which was also super spooky, so at least there’s that.
>Then I had to take a bath, which I totally didn’t need because I didn’t smell like rotten fish like Mr. Discord, then have dinner and finally…
“Yaaaay! We are finally, FINALLY going on ghost busting! YAY!”
>At least the sun had already set, so the whole place was even creepier since it was night already.
>”Yes, but remember, under no circumstance we shall venture into the Manehattan forests, this little ghost hunting shall only take place inside the chateau grounds. Is that clear, my dear child?” Hmmm… I wonder why grandma is wearing that funny dress and those weird jewels…
>I mean, I could totally ask her, but on the other hoof, I do want to live many, many years…
>And… why was Grandma giggling? I-It always creep’d me out when she did that out of nowhere “My dear child, I can see that you are curious as to why I’m wearing this ridiculous outfit. You see, our family has dealt with spirits as well as other supernatural creatures ever since we lived in Hollow Shades and this is a traditional dress used by the members of our family when we deal with those types of tasks”
“Wait! Waitwaitwaitwait! Are you telling me that I come from a family that has worked with spooky monsters, spirits and other scary creatures for generations?! Why in Equestria I never knew that?!”
>A-And there was that creepy giggle again “Oh, Cherrywood, you simply never asked… or more like you never paid attention to any of the stories that I have told you. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you; after all your mother is the general of the Night Guard, isn’t she?”
“W-well, yeah! But I mean, this is different!”
>”How so? Isn’t Moonlight’s work to keep Equestria safe from any danger? Isn’t my beloved daughter trained in dealing with dangerous monsters and other unknown creatures that threatens the safety of everypony?”
“I… she…”
>Dang… I went full dummy this time… geez…
>And that pat that my grandma gave me didn’t make me feel much better either “Our family’s long tradition is still alive and strong. Even if my foolish son has neglected his roots after he got lost in his own greed. Hmm-hmmm, if you think about it, you are not exempt from our family’s history. After all, you have a special talent in understanding the horrors that dwell in the deepest, darkest corners of Equestria, am I right?”
“Yeah… huh, I never thought of that…. But when you put it that way, it is pretty cool, right?”
>And… and I also felt pride, because c’mon, my special talent also represents the coolest tradition that my family has, that is sooo cool! I can’t wait to tell Annony and Sister Eris about this! Oh, and I’m sure that Princess Luna will love to hear about it too!
>”Indeed it is. But I think that we better leave now, before Princess Luna’s night grows older. Oh, and before I forget, please take this with you” Grandma took a green bracelet from the many, many jewels that she was wearing and gave it to me…
“Thanks! Err… what is it?”
>”It is a magical artifact crafted by a powerful wizard of the old ages. It is designed to protect the user from any evil spirit… and I also happen to think that it goes perfect with your mane, if you combine it with the proper dress and make up, I’m completely sure that you will charm the young Prince without fail”
>Aaaaaaaah! Why did she have to mention Anon!
“G-Grandmaaaaaa! I-I don’t need advice about t-that! H-he’s already my special somepony!”
>”I’m aware of that, my dear child. But it never hurts to show your beauty once in a while. But I suppose that beauty advices can wait for later, we have to leave now.”
>I-I wonder if I can ask Sister Eris to arrange another date, maybe we could go this time to… AAAAAAAH! Forget about that! T-this isn’t time for lovey stuff! Now is ghost busting time!
 >Grandma and I walked all the way from her big, old study to the mini-forest that was behind the super big house…
>Duuuuude! This was almost as scary as the Everfree forest! I mean, I saw the mini-forest when I arrived to this place, but now that it was night and all that, the forest had this vibe that it was actually super dangerous and was the home of tooooons of different creatures… this, this is the place where I want to get married…
>But as we ventured inside this awesome creepy forest… I had to ask Grandma something
“Hey grandma, can I ask you a question?”
>”Hmmm? Sure you can, my dear child.”
 “Well, first of all, like I know that you have seen toooons of scary stuff since my mom told me that you were the sheriff of something of Hollow Shades before our family moved to Manehattan, but I was wondering… what’s the scariest thing that you have seen in your entire life?”
>”Well, first of all, I wasn’t the sheriff; I was an honorary member of the Royal Guard, appointed by Princess Celestia to protect our town. Keep in mind that and never forget it.” Eeeep! Even with this darkness, I could still see Grandma’s scary stare, scaaaaary!
“Y-Yes Grandma Umbra!”
>”But, considering where we are, I think that this is the best question to set the mood. Very well my child, if you really want to know, the scariest creature that I have ever encountered in my long, long years serving as the guardian of Hollow Shades… was Princess Celestia herself”
“W-What?! I mean, Princess Celestia has always felt like a mystery wrapped inside another mystery, I-I mean, even Anonny can’t figure out completely… I think… sometimes I can’t figure out that colt either…. Hmmm, I guess that’s why he’s her son…”
>Why… why did grandma laugh at that? “Well, if the Prince is just like Princess Celestia, then I’m sure that Equestria shall be safe from any danger. But I think that I need to clarify myself; of course that I don’t find the Princess herself to be scary. What I found scary… is the way in how she used to handle threats… I can only resume it like this: You don’t want to make Princess Celestia angry.”
“Huh… Mom never mentioned anything like that…”
>Grandma gave me a pat on the head… h-hey! Don’t do that! It makes me feel like a dummy! “Don’t be so harsh on her, my dear child. After she became a General, your mother once told me that Princess Celestia handles things in very rare occasions, and in such a confidential way that not even my daughter knew the entire specifics.”
“B-But why do you say that Princess Celestia is the scariest thing that you have ever seen? Why do you know more about how the Princess kicks the bad guys’ flanks than mom?”
>”Before I go into details, let us prepare for our actual task, shall we? Hmmm… AH! This clear looks like the perfect spot!” Grandma pointed at a spot that was clear of any tree…
 >And the creepiness just increased when Grandma Umbra started to draw a circle with runes in it… I swear that she told me once about our family’s rituals, but I honestly can’t remember ever hearing about drawing a circle like this and then placing weird jewels all over it.
“Uuuuh… Grandma Umbra? What are you doing? I-I mean, it’s not like I forgot our family’s rituals or anything, it’s just that… well… yeah, I have no idea what’s this supposed to do.”
>”Do not worry my child, just for this time; I shall not scold you for forgetting our traditions. Mostly because this is one of our most secret rituals, one that involves long forgotten magic designed to protect ponies from other worldly creatures.”
“Magic? But we are bat ponies, we don’t have magic… we just fly, hear things pretty good, and every bat pony except for me can see super good in the dark.”
>Yeah… that’s why they call me Blindwood at school… bunch of jerks
>”Cherrywood, you should really pay more attention to what they teach you at school, in fact I must discuss with your mother that lack of attention of yours” Eeeep! Why did I have to ask?! “Anyways, every pony has some sort of magic. Unicorns are the most common example, sure. But the pegasi has magic that allows them to walk in the clouds and control the weather with ease; earth ponies have magic that allows them to grow crops better than anypony else. Even the zebras possess a tremendous magic that allows them to be the best at alchemy.”
“W-Wait, I-I know that! My teacher always tells us that when hearts warming eve is around the corner, but I meant in like, you know, the creepy stuff that you’re doing right now, is it really magic?”
>”Yes, you see my dear Cherrywood. Bat ponies, and specifically our family, have always had a special bond with the night. That is why Princess Luna is so beloved to us, and that is why we have a unique type of magic. We can use these talismans and incantations to deal with the super natural, that is something that nopony else other than our family can do”
“Coool! S-So this is like… like advanced creepy weirdo magic, right?!”
>”That’s… that’s a way to describe it… yes…” W-Why was Grandma Umbra giving me that look? “And yes, I can teach you how to perform the rituals, if you promise to actually pay attention and not forget anything.”
“I super-duper promise! I mean, c’mon! The story on how Cloudsdale came up with the rainbow factory is so boooring! But THIS?! How could I ever forget something THIS cool?! KeKeKe~! And I’m sure that Anonny will get super excited when I tell him about my new creepy weirdo magic!”
>”Hmmm… are you sure that the young Prince will be okay in knowing about this, though? Don’t get me wrong my dear child, I’m sure that he’s a great colt, but our family’s secrets have this tendency on scaring most ponies away… that’s why throughout our history, many members of our family have been labeled as outcasts”
“Nah! Don’t worry! I’m already considered a weirdo by everypony in school! And besides, Anon is as weird or even weirder than me… I mean, he’s handsome… and super smart… and kind… and…”
>AAAAAAAH! GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF! DON’T BLUSH, DON’T BLUSH, DON’T-
>”And the pure thought of him makes your cheeks go red. That’s adorable, but I’m still concerned my dear child. Sharing our secrets with the son of Princess Luna doesn’t bother me, what worries your poor grandmother is that this information will drive him away from you”
“Eeeeh… I doubt that he will do that… Anon is… weird… that’s why I like him, but he’s still weird. Like, he does get scared and all that, but instead of running away like any other dummy he… well… starts analyzing everything and spouting science-y mumbo jumbo… and then he gets excited about stuff that I can’t understand…  Besides, he’s like, besties with Discord and Eris, and those two are even bigger weirdos than me or Anon… then there’s that bodyguard of his…. Now THAT is a scary pony”
>”Alright, alright, I understand, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have done a marvelous work as his mothers. Now, why don’t you come here so I can teach you how to perform this ritual, hmm?”
“A-Alright, Grandma Umbra”
>And well, better follow all of Grandma’s instructions, I don’t wanna get sent into the other world if I mess something up… or if I make Grandma angry…
>”Very well, I need you to stand at the very center of the circle with me… that’s right. Now, see all of these runes that I drew? These are the very foundations of the incantation, our family knows many of these, and the ones that you are looking at are designed to summon any powerful and ancient spirit like the weeping mare”
“Hmmmm… Okay! I-I think that I get it… each rune is a part of the summoning spell, but what are the jewels for?”
>”For many, many things, these artifacts that have been passed down through our family members hold an ancient magic created by a powerful wizard. Now you see my dear child, the artifacts are what power the runes, but they can be used to cast a separate spell too. It all comes down to what runes you use, in this case, the artifacts shall cast a barrier, so the weeping mare can’t harm us once she’s summoned”
>Coool! Grandma Umbra whispered some weird words and then the circle lit up with a creepy blue light! And the jewels… err, artifacts started to glow and float too!
>”Now, the incantation has been activated, all that is left for us is to wait for the weeping mare to show up.”
“Oooooh! That’s awesome! But, Grandma Umbra, I don’t get it. I thought that you were like my mom and kicked the bad guy’s flanks when you lived in Hollow Shades with Grandpa, and then after you became… err…”
>”Old?” O-Oh no, Grandma was… laughing? “Do not worry my dear Cherrywood. I know very well that my best years are long gone, I do not mind it in fact, I’m quite proud of that. It shows that I proved wrong all of those evil spirits and ponies that told me that I wouldn’t get to be as old as I am now.”
“O-Oh… well… I was gonna say that my mom told me that you basically stopped doing any flank kicking once you became a business mare, and I was just curious when did you use this weirdo magic”
>”Oh…well, if you want to know about that…” Grandma looked at the sky, and... Why did she get so sad all of the sudden? “I have used these incantations through my entire life, well… through my entire life as one of the guardians of Hollow Shades. Your grandfather was the pony who engaged in physical duels… what a great stallion he was… I know that you never met him, but believe me my dear child, your mother’s prowess in physical combat is something that she inherited from her father, not from me”
“Aaaaaah… Grandpa sounds like he was super awesome… was he… was he also scared by how Princess Celestia kicked flanks?”
>”Heh… I almost wished that you had forgotten that subject…” Grandma! I forget some things, but I’m not a dummy that forgets stuff that happened like 20 minutes ago! “Yes… your grandfather never admitted it, but he feared the anger of Princess Celestia even more than I did…”
“B-but why?! What did she do?”
>”That’s the thing… we were never sure about what happened that night, nor did we ever want to discuss it…”
“Oh c’mon, Grandma Umbra! Please tell me the whole story! I love scary stuff, and this sounds like a scary tale that I’m sure will love… and that weeping mare isn’t showing up, I think that she’s lazy or something…”
>”Okay… Okay… but don’t blame me if you get nightmares” Kekeke~! This is gonna be awesome! “You see my dear child, as you already know, your grandfather and I were the guardians of our home town, and we were quite the team. There was no spirit or monster that could stand against my powerful incantations and your grandfather’s skill in hoof to hoof combat”
“So you were like mom!”
>”Well… in a sense, I have to admit that your mother’s skill far surpasses anything that me or her father could have ever hoped to do… but we were still a great team. Anyways, one night a family of farmers came to tell us that a group of suspicious ponies were performing some rituals in the forests that surrounded the town. Naturally, your grandfather and I accepted the petition and went to investigate what was going on…”
“And then you kicked their flanks right?”
>”Not quite… when we arrived to the place, we saw that group of ponies dancing around a bonfire, chanting a name that I didn’t know what it meant at the time, but nonetheless, it inspired fear in our hearts. I will be honest with you my dear Cherrywood, I was quite the hot headed mare when I was younger, and as such, I jumped in, not really thinking about what I had gotten myself into…”
>Grandma…
>”Those ponies were tall, strong… and they vastly outnumbered me. Of course, your grandfather stepped in to rescue me, we pulled in a fight… but in the end we had to retreat. They had more numbers than us… and they somehow knew dark magic, we simply were no match for them. When we returned to Hollow Shades, we immediately sent a letter to Canterlot, asking for backup from the Royal Guard…”
“Wait… waitwaitwaitwait… what name were those jerks chanting? Because I’m amazed that you and grandpa got so scared by something like that”
>”Sombra… those ponies were chanting King Sombra’s name, of course we didn’t who that was at the time, but after we sent that letter with all the details of our encounter, Canterlot castle’s response didn’t took long, and I have to admit, by the tone of the letter that we received we expected a whole battalion to come to our aid, instead we got four ponies… and yes, Princess Celestia was with them”
>Grandma looked at the dark forest with an empty stare… and I have to admit that this is starting to scare me
“A-and what happened then?”
>”Princess Celestia ordered those four ponies to stand guard outside the forest while she handled those King Sombra’s fanatics on her own… nopony was allowed to accompany her, not even us, but it’s not like she needed any help. I still remember that moment where she told us that she was going on her own like it was yesterday… and the smile that she gave us… a smile that could warm even the coldest heart… what a beautiful contrast to the horrible screams that we heard after Princess Celestia entered the forest… we never saw anything, but … when Princess Celestia came back the following morning, those previously fearsome ponies were now trembling in fear, sobbing like little foals who lost their mother… it was at that moment that me and your grandfather realized how terrible the wrath of the sun was”
“Man… I-I think that… well… wow… Princess Celestia surely is scary as heck when she gets on it… I mean, dude… I wouldn’t want to mess with her anytime… but what about those four ponies? What was their deal?”
>”Those four ponies as your mother told me decades later, were the original founders of the secret service, but not even Moonlight knows what is the connection between them and King Sombra’s worshipers”
“Did you say the secret service? For real?! Grandma, that is like, the most awesome coincidence ever! Anon’s bodyguard is something like the boss of those guys! And my mom tells me that she fights like a mad mare”
>”Hmm-hmmm, as expected of our dear Princesses. They are not taking any chance when it comes to the safety of their heir. Whoever that mare may be, I’m sure that she-“
>”* my childreeeeeeeen wheeeere aaaaaare youuuuuu*”
“Wait! Do you hear that?”
>”Yes, yes I do… I think that our special guest has finally arrived…”