//------------------------------// // 16. An Innocent Picnic // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// Rarity took one of Pinkie’s cupcakes as a formality to make her friend happy, and not because she felt like eating anything after her encounter in the forest the previous night. But Pinkie Pie hadn’t been lying when she said her baking skills were out of this world; as soon as Rarity tried it she knew she had to help herself to three or four more, and Pinkie Pie was more than happy to oblige. Rarity sat at a table with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the proprietors of Ponyville’s leading bakery, Sugarcube Corner. She was reporting to them not only a job well done in banishing the timberwolves, but also of Fluttershy’s ‘gentle warning’. “Oh, we had no idea the spirit of the forest had been taking Ponyville’s logging so seriously!” Mrs. Cake said concernedly, her hand over her mouth. “We’re really glad to know though,” Mr. Cake added. “The last thing the folks here want is a problem with that forest, or the spirit who lives in it!” The two seemed to speak more out of genuine concern and respect for the forest, rather than out of fear like Rarity had anticipated, and that warmed her heart a little bit. “I really should just tell the mayor myself,” Rarity said, “but due to Pinkie Pie’s important errand, I’m afraid I just won’t have time before we have to catch our train home.” “Don’t trouble yourself at all, dear,” Mrs. Cake waved off Rarity’s concern with a flick of her wrist. “We’ll talk to the mayor and get this whole thing straightened out!” “Thank you,” Rarity bowed her head. “And thank you again for the meal, it was lovely.” Rarity wasn’t sure when the last time she had an honest to goodness meal was, instead of just rations or the like, and she found after the delightful little breakfast the Cakes had provided, that she sorely missed it. Rarity took a deep breath, recalling one more matter of business she had to make sure of before she left Ponyville. “May I ask,” Rarity said cautiously, “is Bubbles alright? I haven’t seen her since our little encounter in the forest.” “She’s absolutely peachy,” Mrs. Cake said casually, “why do you ask?” Rarity arched an eyebrow and gave the woman a curious look, which was mirrored by Mrs. Cake herself. “She was injured in the forest,” Rarity explained, not entirely certain why she had to explain what should have been obvious. “I just wanted to make sure she recovered alright. Her leg looked pretty badly hurt, and if she had to walk back to town on it—” “Bubbles is an odd one,” Mr. Cake said fondly. “She goes into that forest all the time, and she’s never gotten hurt in it.” “But—” Rarity shook her head. “But I saw her. Her leg was bleeding, she had gotten slashed by a timberwolf.” “Well both her legs were just fine when she came by last night,” Mrs. Cake said with a shrug. The woman answered Rarity’s next question before she could even ask it. “She came by to tell us that you were dealing with the timberwolves, and that you’d probably be hungry once you were finished so she asked if we could prepare a meal for you, on her, once you returned!” “And we told her no way,” Mr. Cake laughed, “cuz we already planned on treating you on us!” What a curious story. Rarity supposed it wasn’t all that odd, for Bubbles to want to pay Rarity back for saving her. But then why hadn’t Bubbles come to see her after she returned from the forest? “All done!” Pinkie Pie’s melodic voice clamored from the kitchen, and a smile graced Rarity’s lips at the sound as she allowed herself to forget about her little mystery. Pinkie poked her head out into the seating area and Rarity couldn’t stifle the giggle that came from seeing Pinkie’s face white as a sheet from all the flour and baking supplies she was covered in. “Are you ready to go, Rarity?” Pinkie asked with a huge grin. “Absolutely, darling,” Rarity nodded and stood on her hooves, feeling reinvigorated from Pinkie’s smile. A few more heartfelt words of gratitude were exchanged between the two travelers from Canterlot and the Cakes, the latter being thankful to Rarity and Pinkie for heeding their request to deal with the timberwolves, and Rarity and Pinkie couldn’t help but thank them again for their hospitality, and for allowing Pinkie to bake her super-duper-amazing-wonderfultacular cupcakes in their kitchen. As the two girls headed back to the forest, Rarity found herself oddly pleased at the thought that the spirit would definitely enjoy Pinkie’s cupcakes, and that surprised her. She shook it off though, and she just let herself feel delighted in seeing Pinkie Pie’s exuberance as she hopped alongside her toward the forest. The Everfree Forest was far less exciting to Rarity the second time going into it. Something about searching for a waifish spirit was much less adventurous than going in to hunt timberwolves. But not to Pinkie Pie, who couldn’t help but beam ear to ear as they entered the wood. It wasn’t long before they found the object of their search; Fluttershy had been waiting for them in a small clearing, sitting in a patch of grass surrounded by snow with her legs folded under her, and she smiled at the pair as they approached. “It’s good to see you again,” she said softly. “Fluttershy!” Pinkie squealed and nearly catapulted herself at Fluttershy, who caught Pinkie in her arms with surprising ease, not even flinching as Pinkie threw herself into Fluttershy headfirst. “I am so happy to see you! And I brought cupcakes, just like I promised!” Fluttershy allowed herself a small giggle, and she stood up as Pinkie opened up her bag to hand out the sweet treats. Though Rarity and Pinkie had already eaten, Rarity was sure just one cupcake wouldn’t hurt her. Or maybe two. Rarity was in charge of setting out a picnic blanket, a lovely little thing with a delightful pastel checkerboard pattern of yellow and pink decorating it. “Why, it looks just like you, darling!” she said teasingly to Fluttershy, who seemed surprised by the comparison, looking alarmed at Rarity before squinting at the blanket and leaning her head away, causing Rarity to giggle. Despite her rather intimidating nature the last Rarity had spoken to her, nothing about Fluttershy seemed dangerous to her now. If anything, she seemed more wary of them than they were of her. “Don’t get many visitors, I take it?” Rarity asked as Fluttershy knelt on the blanket, Pinkie Pie scooching up next to her. “Um, no,” Fluttershy replied, shaking her head slowly. “Most are afraid of coming into this forest, and the ones that aren’t leave quickly after running afoul of the forest’s protectors.” “Well that’s just too bad,” Pinkie pouted. “Cuz I’m sure anypony who gave you a chance would really like you! You’re so sweet and nice!” “Um, if you say so,” Fluttershy said awkwardly, twirling a strand of pink hair around her very thin finger. The little cupcake picnic went off without much of a hitch, if Rarity could be so bold to say. Granted, the three enjoyed their confectionaries mostly in silence, but if only Fluttershy knew what an enormous display of respect that was coming from Pinkie Pie. Pinkie stole glances at the spirit of the Everfree whenever she could, and Fluttershy either pretended not to notice or gave a humoring smile back to Pinkie. Rarity found the Pinkie’s crush on the supernatural pegasus nothing short of adorable, though she had trouble deciphering Fluttershy’s feelings. The spirit of the Everfree was incredibly reserved. Rarity could tell she was polite, patient, and she seemed genuinely kind, but despite acquiescing to Pinkie Pie’s offer of a cupcake picnic, Fluttershy didn’t seem terribly keen on opening herself up to the two ponies. Though perhaps that was to be expected; if she didn’t get many visitors, it’s not so surprising that she would keep herself so closed off. She had a forest to protect too, and if that was her priority— well, Rarity knew all too well how easily meeting other ponies could become unimportant. Lost in her thoughts, it took Rarity some time to notice that Fluttershy had been staring at Rarity’s necklace. “It’s quite fetching, isn’t it?” Rarity smiled as she ran her fingers across the dragon fang hanging from the choker around her neck. In truth, she thought the thing was frightfully garish, but with enough confidence she could pull off any look, so she would never admit to it. “It’s—” Fluttershy seemed lost as she stared at the fang. “It’s a dragon fang, isn’t it?” “It is,” Rarity nodded, examining the necklace and finding herself frowning at it despite herself. Rarity looked up from the fang to notice that Pinkie Pie had gone curiously stiff and was giving Rarity a concerned expression, which soon softened when Rarity smiled at her. “Why?” Fluttershy’s words took Rarity by surprise, and she tilted her head and looked confusedly at the pegasus. “Why do you wear something so ugly around your neck?” “Well, it’s not ugly,” Rarity said unconvincingly, “it’s just, um—” “That’s not what I meant,” the spirit said coldly, and Rarity was sure she saw a spark of fire in the woman’s glowing teal eyes. “Ah,” Rarity sighed and let go of the fang. “I see, you’re wondering where it came from.” Fluttershy responded only by staring; first at the fang, then at Rarity, who gave a cold smile as she recounted her tale. “It’s a memento,” Rarity said, “of the first time I—” “Rarity,” Pinkie whimpered, “are you sure you wanna talk about this?” The poor dear looked more shaken up than even Rarity herself was, and a wave of affection and sympathy washed over Rarity. She moved over beside Pinkie and put her hand on Pinkie’s thigh, and Pinkie responded by snuggling right up to Rarity’s side, wrapping her arms around Rarity in a protective embrace that Rarity was certain wouldn’t relent until her story was finished. Rarity found herself now sitting mere inches from Fluttershy, and she looked the spirit in the eye as she continued: “Imagine a young mare, just entering her twenties and feeling so proud of herself for getting a headstart on her dreams,” Rarity wasn’t sure how much embellishment her story required, but Fluttershy’s unenthused reaction made her clear her throat and decide ‘not a lot’ would be a good choice. “I was nineteen when I became a Celestial Slayer. Usually to take the license exam, you need to be twenty-five, but I was a special case due to—” Rarity shook her head; it wasn’t important. “Shortly after my twentieth birthday, I received my first A-Class mission, which is only for the most deadly and dangerous of creatures. While the level of lethality is generally up to the Slayer’s discretion in most missions, A-Class monsters are kill on sight.” Rarity found herself clutching her necklace tighter, just as Pinkie was clutching her tighter. Rarity looked up from the necklace to see a very pensive frown on Fluttershy’s face, the spirit anxious for Rarity to continue her tale. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the obvious; the creature in question was a dragon.” “So you took the fang as a trophy,” Fluttershy groaned in disgust, “to commemorate your very first ‘A-Class mission’. Good for you,” Fluttershy hissed, her eyes narrowing into daggers at Rarity. “No,” Rarity said sternly enough to make Fluttershy flinch. “You misunderstand. This is not a trophy, this is a reminder.” Fluttershy looked taken aback, but said nothing, and Pinkie Pie was practically in Rarity’s lap as she clung to the unicorn. Whether it was for her comfort or Pinkie’s own, Rarity had no clue, but she was grateful for the gesture nonetheless. “I went to the town the dragon had been hiding around,” Rarity said, “only to find it wasn’t hiding near the town, but in it, disguised as a pony with magic. When she met me, she was nothing but kind and helpful, pretending to offer advice and good wishes on my hunt. “When I discovered her treachery, I tricked her into following me to the nearby mountains, and drove my axe into her neck. She transformed and tried to kill me then, but I overpowered her.” Rarity grit her teeth as the memories came flooding back to her. Pinkie Pie tried to comfort her in some way, but Rarity barely noticed, too lost in her memories for anything around her to register. “She begged—” Rarity said through heavy breaths “—begged for her life. And I let her go. She looked up at me with tear-stained eyes and pleaded to let her live, and I couldn’t bring myself to harm her any further, but I told her to leave Equestria and never return. “When I went back to town to report my success, I found that she had beaten me there, and burned every single house to the ground, families still screaming from inside for salvation that would never come. “This time, I showed the dragon no mercy. I brought her down from the sky and as she laid in an ocean of her own blood she had the damn nerve to beg for her life again. My only response was to cut her head from her body.” Rarity was the one staring daggers now, the pain and fury in her eyes intimidating even the ethereal spirit of the Everfree. “This fang is no trophy, it is a reminder of what happens when I fuck up. It is to remember every scream from that night, the smell of burning skin, the crying children who would not survive the night with their wounds, leaving grieving parents behind. “And all because I couldn’t stand to get blood on my hands. My weakness killed dozens, and I will never let it happen again.” If Fluttershy was moved by Rarity’s story, the unicorn couldn’t see it on her face. Fluttershy stared impassively, like a stone wall, back at Rarity, her glittering teal eyes coming across as a mockery of Rarity’s pain. Rarity stood to her feet, toppling Pinkie Pie over as she tried in vain to hold onto Rarity. She walked away from the blanket lying on the ground and back toward Ponyville, turning back only briefly to bark an order at Pinkie Pie. “Collect your things, Pinkie Pie. We have a train to catch.”