//------------------------------// // Sedimental Memories // Story: Pagemaster/Nathan Quickfic Collection // by Nathan //------------------------------// Sedimental Memories Fluttershy raced through the Everfree forest as fast as she could. Fear kept her wings locked tightly to her side. She had long since lost her way in the forest, but she did not dare stop nor look about to find her bearings for fear that she might catch a glimpse of her pursuer’s eye. To look in the eye of the basilisk is death. The beast measured fifty feet in length and was measured at least two feet in diameter. In his wake the dreaded serpent left a swath of crumbling, dying vegetation, such was the power of his venom.  The head of creature was lifted high into the night sky, a plume of feathers extending around its neck.  If one dared to look, the noxious fumes carried by its breath billowed against the night sky. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Fluttershy thought furiously to herself. She had come to the Everfree to check up on the manticore’s paw, a simple task in and of itself. It wasn’t until the sun was dipping below the horizon that the pegasus realized she had outstayed the forest’s welcome, and it was a long way home. The Everfree was no place for anypony to be after dark. Even as she ran, Fluttershy was sorting through everything she remembered about basilisks. They were without a doubt among the deadliest creatures in the forest. Their skin, their venom, their breath; all deadly toxic. Some accounts even describe the poison being able to travel up objects a pony may be holding and kill them as surely as a direct touch. But the eyes were the worst. To gaze in them would bring death in an instant. Oh, what good is this stare if I can’t even use it! The only thing she knew of that could kill the basilisk was a weasel, and even then she didn’t know of any weasels off the top of her head that actually lived in the Everfree. Besides, even they would not be of much use if their bladders weren’t full. Abruptly, she found herself racing over a shallow pool of water facing a huge cliff. Over the edge of the cliff flowed a massive waterfall, breaking over a large pile of rocks that sat at the bottom of the falls. With cliffs to all sides but the way she had come, Fluttershy realize she had reached the end of the line. With a hiss and a splash, she heard the basilisk enter the pool behind her. Squeezing her eyes shut, Fluttershy huddled against the rocks and braced for the death that was rushing towards her. Oh please, Celestia. Don’t let this be it for me.  A crumbling sound echoed around her and a heavy blow shook the ground around her, causing the water to ripple and jump. Eyes opening wide in surprise, Fluttershy looked in awe at the barrier of stone that extended over her, blocking the basilisk’s assault. Rising from under the waterfall, the stones shifted and began to take shape. The creature was bipedal and had no visible head. There was nothing to distinguish a face, no way of telling how it could perceive the world around it. Its massive arms cracked and grumbled as it grabbed the basilisk by the face and dug its mighty fingers into the beat’s eyes. The basilisk screamed in pain and confusion. Never before had it faced an opponent who had dared to touch it, let alone one that carried on its attack after doing so. Its sight crippled the basilisk retread slightly, listening for any movement that might give away the location of its attacker. The water was beginning to steam and turn a sickly green. Fluttershy scrambled out of the pool before the taint could reach her. A small rock shot from one of the behemoth’s fingers, cracking against one of the cliff walls and splashing in the water. The basilisk lunged towards the sound, running headlong into the cliff. Dazed and perplexed, the mighty serpent recoiled into the waiting hands of the stone guardian. Grasping its head firmly in both hands, the giant squeezed. Fluttershy looked away in revulsion. The stench of the dead basilisk washed over the pool, causing the relived pegasus to gag. Her retching was cut short as she felt the cold, hard hand of the giant scoop her up and place her on his shoulder. Scaling the cliff, the earthen creature turned and pointed towards the familiar lights of Ponyville, clearly visible from this height. “Y-you’re a calcifix, aren’t you?” Fluttershy asked, determined to at least work up the courage to speak with her savior. Some of the rocks shifted and formed what passed for a head. It nodded. “I’ve met one of you before, you know. Oh, but that was many years ago and it was just a tiny bunch of pebbles.” The head nodded again, the rocks grinding together in the oddest way. It produced something suspiciously similar to laughter. “Oh, please don’t laugh at me, I-I’ve been having just a terrible night.” The calcifix stifled its mock laughter and held one of its hands up to Fluttershy, stones grinding and shifting until something dropped in front of her. It was a pendant. Small, smooth and crafted from wood. Over the years, a few flakes had caught in the wings and wore into the wood, giving it the strange appearance of being both wood and stone at once. It was the sight of the pendant that brought the memories flooding back. It was a few months after she had gotten her cutie mark. Her parents had been very understanding and allowed her to find a new home to live in (one which she still calls home today), so Fluttershy had been able to begin her work with the animals right away. She started with the ones she had met the day she tumbled from Cloudsdale and before long they had spread the word amongst themselves that there was a pony who was friendly to them and would assist their every need. During this time something interesting happened. The bridge which led across the stream near her house was beginning to crumble. No matter how she or the other ponies in town attempted to patch it, the same cracks would appear time after time. In an act of utter curiosity, Fluttershy stayed out one night to watch the bridge, thinking that she could discover the reason it cracked as it did. The hours drew on late into the night, and she nearly dozed off before she spotted something. One of the cobbles was wiggling! Cautiously stepping forward, Fluttershy rubbed her eyes and blinked just to be sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. Indeed, several small pieces of the cobblestone were attempting to wiggle free of their own accord. Never one to let any creature, no matter how strange, go unaided, Fluttershy quickly ran into home and found the closest thing to a chisel she had. Taking it outside, she clambered down into the stream and underneath the bridge. All through the night she worked, toiling away to free every last scrap that showed even a spark of movement. At last, as the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon and the bridge lay in ruins, all of the living pieces were free. Round and round they danced, spinning around Fluttershy and knocking gently against her in thanks. Glad she could help, Fluttershy rushed inside and fetched one of the many pendants she had made that she gave to her animal friends. Wrapping around the pendant like a protective shield, the strange pile of living rock dove back into the stream to be washed away by the current. She had done some research after that and discovered that the creature was a calcifix, a being of living rock that lived in streams and other flowing bodies of water. They spent their lives collecting minerals from the water, increasing their size and building new pieces for their body. Eventually they grew so large that pieces of them began to fall off and spawn new calcifi. “That was you, wasn’t it? In the bridge,all those years ago?” The head nodded. “When they built the bridge, they must have just used stone from the stream and scooped you up  by mistake.” Fluttershy sighed. “They couldn’t have known you were there, you poor thing.” The calcifix gave a large shrug, careful not to upset Fluttershy’s balance as they marched through the forest. “Thank you,” Fluttershy half-mumbled, “for saving me.” Nodding once more, the calcifix reached up and deposited a second article in front of Fluttershy, indicating that she should take it. It was a smooth stone in the shape of an octagon. A streak of blue ran through the center and cracks of green spider-webbed their way across the grey sides of the ornament. Pointing at the butterfly and then Fluttershy, the gentle giant indicated the stone and pointed a finger to his chest. Fluttershy nodded and accepted the token offered to her. “Thank you, I’ll treasure it always.” Having reached the edge of the forest, the calcifix stooped to allow Fluttershy to jump down. Waving a final goodbye, the silent guardian retreated into the forest. He would return to his waterfall where he would listen and wait until he was needed again. Fluttershy had shown him a great kindess, and he had vowed to pay it forward.