It was a quiet, chilly day in Ponyville. Clouds almost completely covered the sky, blocking most of the sun's warmth. The nearby forest was faring no better. The clouds overhead had near blotted out the sun, and the air seemed colder.
"This place feels… strange."
"I'd say it's more 'creepy' than strange. Or maybe 'diabolical'. Ooh, or maybe..,"
Matt and Pinkie Pie were trudging through the forest at the request of the Pegasus who walked quietly behind them. She had a saddle bag strapped to her back.
"Thank you both so very much for helping me. This place can be scary when you're alone." Fluttershy said softly, much like she said everything.
"Of course we'd help, Fluttershy!" exclaimed Pinkie.
"Yes, of course. What exactly are we doing out here again?" said Matt, folding his arms in a desperate attempt to warm himself.
Though he couldn't say he was happy to be wandering through a deep dark forest, he also couldn't say he wasn't interested in the place. The Everfree Forest had earned quite a sinister reputation over the years. He had come across numerous tomes on the subject, and they all warned that it was an unnatural and dangerous place.
Besides, he couldn't bring himself to deny Fluttershy.
"Well, there's a fruit that only ripens around the end of autumn. I need some for a special treat I'm making for Angel bunny." Fluttershy answered.
When she unexpectedly knocked on the library's door earlier that day and stammered out a request for help, he had no choice but to oblige. Twilight said it had probably taken her several days to work up the nerve. Apparently all of her friends were too busy to help out, so he was a last resort.
All of her friends except Pinkie Pie.
"What kinda treat? A cake? A pie? A tart? A super taste-errific rooty-tooty fruit salad?" she said, performing several indefinable gestures.
"A sundae, actually. And Angel is very particular about his food." replied Fluttershy, still gingerly walking behind them.
Given their greatly differing personalities, Matt was finding it hard to understand why they were friends, as the two ponies were near polar opposites. One would think Pinkie's random tendencies would drive such a shy person away.
As they continued wandering aimlessly, Matt had come to a realization; they were wandering aimlessly. Fluttershy had neglected to inform them of what exactly they were looking for.
"So… what kind of fruit are we looking for?" he said.
"Oh, well, they're small, have little spikes on them, and they're light blue in color." Fluttershy replied.
"Like Rainbow Dash?' asked Pinkie.
"No, Rainbow Dash is a sky blue color; these are more baby-blue."
At least now he knew what to keep an eye out for, even if he had little to go on. The group continued walking through the dimly lit forest.
"Hey, aren't those spooky ruins nearby?" said Pinkie, sporadically looking about.
"I think so. It's been such a long time since we were there." said Fluttershy thoughtfully.
"Ruins?" asked Matt.
"Yeah! It's where we faced off with Nightmare Moon." began Pinkie. "And then we all started floating, and Twilight was all, FWHIRRRN!" she closed and opened her eyes dramatically, before throwing herself on the ground, then standing back up quickly. "And then we went back to Ponyville and had this crazy party…"
All movement had come to a halt as Matt looked back to her, trying to make any sense out of whatever she just said.
"Um… I think Twilight called it, 'The Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters'." added Fluttershy.
"Oh. I believe I've read something about that. It was the former site of the capital, correct?"
She nodded. It was interesting to know that such landmark was nearby. Perhaps he could take a look after they found whatever-it-was Fluttershy had them looking for.
"Hmm…" he said, formulating a plan. "I think it'd be faster if we split up. We could cover more ground."
"I didn't know you were such a super smart-smarty-smart pants! I'll go this way!" said Pinkie Pie as she bounded off in a random direction.
"I guess I'll go this way, then." said Matt as he walked the opposite way.
Neither of them had heard the disagreeing pleas of the yellow Pegasus who now sat alone on the main path. She called out to them, but they were far out of earshot within the density of the forest. She tried her best to stop trembling and take another step, and soon found herself slowly walking ahead.
Despite being alone in a dark forest known to be filled with dangerous creatures, Pinkie was enjoying herself. She was always up for a scavenger hunt.
As she continued merrily bouncing along in search of the fruit, she had begun hearing odd noises nearby. Though she probably should've ignored it, she found herself unable to resist and curiously drew closer to the source of the noises. Before long, she came across what looked like a large fallen branch in the middle of the path. As she attempted to hop over it, the branch sprang to life and revealed itself to be a large snake.
She let out a large gasp and began to run the other direction when she noticed it wasn't chasing her. It was going in the opposite direction. Still facing her. While she was still frightened, she decided to follow it. A backwards-slithering snake was a sight to behold.
Fluttershy meekly marched through the density of Everfree in desperate search of a small blue fruit. Nearly every step she took was followed by a minute of cowering over something she thought she heard. She eventually took a few steps forward and heard an oddly familiar sound nearby.
"Baaa."
Instead of cowering, she raised her head higher.
"That sounds like a poor sheep got lost in here…"
She began to delicately make her way over to the source of the sounds.
Matt was beginning to get frustrated. So far, he had come across a strange hut he didn't dare investigate, an old rickety bridge, and a tree of rainbow colored apples. But he still hadn't found a trace of the mysterious fruit he was there for. He had all but given up hope when he came across a small clearing. A hole in the clouds let some sunshine through, and the area was noticeably warmer. Mere seconds after approaching the clearing, a smile spread across his face as he spotted traces of blue among the greenery.
The clearing had but a lone bush in its center. And upon this bush, on tiny stems, hung spiky blue berries. He reached his hand out to grab one, and on contact quickly pulled it back. The small fruits were abnormally cold. So much so that it stung to touch them. He assumed that this was why Fluttershy had brought along something to carry them in.
He sighed. Now he'd have to wait for his companions to stumble along. He stood there, arms crossed, and debated on whether or not he should start yelling for them.
Pinkie Pie had nearly lost sight of her slithering target when she had to stop to catch her breath. A few seconds later, the familiar shape of Fluttershy came into view out of the canopy. She too, was out of breath.
"Did... you see… a sheep run through here?" she said, exasperated.
"No… but… I saw… that." Pinkie replied, pointing to the reverse-snake that had just left their view.
Fluttershy wasn't as confused as Pinkie Pie thought she'd be, instead wearing a face of fear.
"Oh no… where's Matt!?"
As if on cue, shouting was heard across the woodlands.
"Pinkie? Fluttershy? I think I found them. They're really cold and on this bush…"
A loud roar ripped through the silence of the forest.
The ponies turned their heads to see something large rushing towards the direction of their friend's shouts.
After letting out a rather unceremonious screech at the sound of an assumed roar, Matt turned to face its direction to see trees being felled, along with something large knocking them over. As the beast drew closer, the only thoughts racing through his mind were which direction was the most optimal to run away in. He couldn't make up his mind fast enough, however, as the creature burst out of the tree line and into the clearing.
"You have got to be kidding me!"
It mostly had the body of a lion, save for the goat head next to the lion's and a massive white feathered wingspan. Its tail flipped around and revealed itself to be a large snake.
At a loss for further words, Matt could only stand and watch as the snarling beast drew slowly closer.
The only thing he knew about dangerous creatures was that sudden movements were a bad thing.
"Matt!" he heard from across the clearing. "You have to move!"
"You're being slightly counterproductive!" he shouted back, looking past the hulking beast and seeing his friends.
He couldn't tell the difference between Pinkie and Fluttershy's voices from this distance, so he couldn't judge credibility on that little piece of advice. As the beast before him broke into a full on sprint, he quickly weighed his options and dove out of the way. Astoundingly, the monster didn't pursue, instead going after the berry bush.
He picked himself up and watched in awe as all three heads demolished the small bush. Though he couldn't exactly see what it was doing, he assumed it was devouring the poor thing. A few moments later his pony friends caught up to him.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay!? That thing almost gobbled you whole!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, rushing to his side.
"Yeah… mostly." he replied, allowing himself to relax.
"You aren't hurt, are you? Oh, I should never have asked you to come along…" said Fluttershy whilst sadly looking towards the ground.
"No, I'm quite alright. Just a little… shaken up." he said in an attempt to cheer her up. "Anyway, it looks like our little journey was for nothing. I'm fairly certain that's the only bush of its kind anywhere near here."
Fluttershy looked toward the ground before putting on a bold face and slowly marching towards the ferocious beast.
"U-um, I don't think one little berry is worth it…" Matt stammered out in an attempt to stop her.
She poked its back, and the massive monstrosity turned towards her. Matt flinched and covered his eyes. He didn't want to see what would happen next. After seconds of nary an angered roar or terrified shriek, he slowly opened his eyes to see Fluttershy engaging the beast in conversation.
He leaned over to Pinkie Pie. "Uh… why isn't it tearing her into adorable tiny pieces?"
Pinkie giggled. "Fluttershy can communicate with animals, duh!"
While he wanted to ask what insanity she was spouting this time, he turned back to see the snake tail slowly dropping a few of the berries into Fluttershy's saddle bags.
"Thank you, sirs. Have a wonderful day." she said, smugly trotting back to them.
"Oh. I see. Uh… good work." he said in confusion.
She trotted past them and Matt and Pinkie were quick to follow behind.
"Way to go, Fluttershy!" shouted Pinkie as she bounced alongside her friend.
"Thanks. We're just lucky that Chimera remembered its manners."
"Manners?" asked Matt.
"Normally it's very hard to convince them to part with frostberries, but they were really nice about it."
"So…" began Matt, "They're herbivorous?"
"Not at all." Fluttershy responded. "Chimeras are omnivores."
"Omni-who now?" said Pinkie Pie.
"Omnivores. That means they eat most anything." answered Matt.
"Anything? Even us?" she asked.
Fluttershy's eyes seemed to widen as she looked back to the massive beast, still devouring the innocent bush.
"W-we should go." she said quietly.
The three exchanged looks and quietly began walking away.
The entire walk out of the forest was silent until the Chimera was spotted flying overhead, off into the distance. Everyone let out a breath and said their goodbyes, content to call it a day.
Matt arrived at the library sometime later, and was surprised to Spike sat alone in the main chamber, munching on gems.
"Hey Matt." He said in-between chomps.
"Hello Spike."
He took a look around and noticed something was missing. Something purple.
"Where's Twilight?"
"Upstairs. She hasn't come down all day."
He felt a twinge of concern for his Alicorn friend.
"Is something wrong?"
"Nah, she just said she needed to, 'study intensively'. Whatever that means."
"Ah. I see. Good."
He took a seat opposite Spike and allowed himself to relax.
"So what did you do all day?" Spike asked.
"Well, I ran for life from a huge three headed monster, watched in horror as it annihilated a small berry bush, and then proceeded to have my life saved by the last person I'd expect. So, in short, I learned a few things today."
"Wow! Did you wanna, y'know, send a letter to the princess?"
"… No?"
Spike looked immensely confused.
"Really? Whoa… that's the first time anypony's ever said that."
"I just don't see a point in pestering her with something so trivial."