“Are we sure this is the best plan?” Sweetie Belle asked as she walked over to the others. They were standing by the entrance to the Everfree Forest. She adjusted the knapsack on her back. They each wore one filled with candy. They had raided their emergency Nightmare Night supplies to make sure they had enough for the mission.
“We don’t have a choice. We only got one shot at this,” Apple Bloom said. She pulled Zecora’s potion out of her bag. “We go in, find the Timberwolf, and get it to drink this here potion!”
“Well, first, we have to figure out who the Timberwolf is,” Lilymoon reminded them. She opened her bag, one black hair and one pink hair visible inside. “Once we find out which one it is, we drop the hair in the potion…”
“And wait for it to turn pink,” Scootaloo finished. She reached into her bag and pulled out a buckball-size peppermint. “Once it does, we pour the potion on this. We know that whoever it is likes candy. This they won’t be able to pass up!”
Sweetie Belle was terrified, but she was determined to do what needed to be done. A pony’s life was at stake! Maybe Ambermoon, maybe Pinkie Pie. She would not be a scaredy-pony.
“You ready?” Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie Belle screamed and jumped.
“Yes. Sorry. I-I’m just a little nervous,” Sweetie Belle replied. The others looked at one another.
“Sweetie Belle, nopony will be upset if you don’t come,” Apple Bloom said gently.
Sweetie Belle took a deep breath. She could do this. “We have a pony to save! Let’s go, Crusaders.”
Apple Bloom smiled. They all hoof-bumped and marched into the Everfree Forest as the last rays of sunlight faded on the horizon.
Continuing deeper into the Forest, they left a trail of candy behind them. Whoever the Timberwolf was, the sugar would be too much to resist. After they had been at it a while, Sweetie Belle was starting to wonder if the plan was going to work at all.
Then she heard a noise.
“What was that?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously. The others stopped and listened, but there was nothing but the sounds of the Forest.
“It’s just your imagination,” Scootaloo said. But a second later, it happened again. This time Lilymoon heard it, too.
“It sounds like… paper?” Lilymoon said. The ponies all quietly made their way through the Forest, following the noise. Above them, clouds blanketed the night sky, blocking the moonlight and making it hard to see. However, they could hear the rustling noise getting louder. Scootaloo motioned to the others and pointed toward a ravine up ahead. The fillies all crept closer. They poked their heads over a ridge and looked down to see what was making the noise. A shadowy figure was hunched over a large mound of something.
“Is that…Twist?” Sweetie Belle whispered. Below them in the ravine, Twist sat next to a pile of candy. The rustling they had heard was her unwrapping the candy before she popped in into her mouth.
“She took all our candy!” Scootaloo said. “Now the werepony will never get it!”
“Twist! Cut it out!” Apple Bloom yelled, jumping over the ridge. Twist looked up, shocked to see them.
“What are you guyth doing out here?!” she asked nervously.
“We are tryin’ to find a werepony. But you’re eatin’ all our bait!” Apple Bloom shouted.
Twist looked scared. But why would she be scared of them?
“Pleath! You all have to go!” Twist said. “Before ith too late!”
“Too late for what?” Scootaloo asked. Above them, the clouds parted, and the light of the full moon shone down on the ravine. Twist doubled over, like she had a really bad stomachache.
“You guys…” Lilymoon said, backing away slowly. Tiny leaves popped out of Twist’s mane. Vines wrapped around her hooves.
“Oh no…” Scootaloo said.
“Hey. It’s okay, Twist,” Apple Bloom said slowly as she motioned for them all to back out of the ravine. “Why don’t you keep the candy?”
Twist howled up at the moon. The fillies turned and rushed out of the ravine. But Lilymoon suddenly stopped. She looked back at Twist.
“Hang on!” she called. She rushed down as Twist continued her transformation.
“Lilymoon! Be careful!” Sweetie Belle yelled.
Lilymoon leaped down next to Twist. Leaves, wood, and moss covered her body, but her orange tail was still visible. Lilymoon snagged a single hair in her teeth and rushed back to join the others. As they hurried out of the ravine, Sweetie Belle glanced back down. The transformation was complete.
They had found the werepony. Twist was the Timberwolf!