Chapter Two Hundred and Six—Thicket
“You seemed awfully in a hurry to leave this morning,” Fleur said as we took off in the chariot she brought for us. “Did you have a change of heart about visiting the deer?” The reason I could hear her clearly despite the wind was Darya. Fleur seemed quite interested in a method to contact me whenever she wanted, so she accepted Darya into her head without a single complaint.
“Celestia came by to prepare breakfast this morning,” I said with a mental sigh. Telepathy is pretty neat. “Long story short, it ended in a catfight between sisters, ironically enough egged on by Kat herself. Taya and I had to take shelter in my room to avoid the drama. It’s exactly the reason I didn’t want her visiting often.”
“You really shouldn’t have been so quick to cast Princess Gilda aside, Nav,” Fleur said. “You could have let her know things wouldn’t escalate and then continued playing with her until she went back to the palace. At least then you’d have some manner of shield from Celestia at home.”
“That isn’t the point. Why should I need a shield from Celestia in my own home? If this happens again, I’m going to tell her not to come back at all, or only with permission.”
“Wait, she didn’t even get permission?” Fleur asked.
“She was already in the kitchen cooking when everyone woke up.”
“It was creepy,” Taya said. “She turned herself into a changeling so she could disguise herself as a random pony and even found a maid dress in our color scheme.”
“...I see your dilemma,” Fleur said. “Oh, and I’ve come up with a plan to deal with Lord Darkplume.”
“Who?” I asked.
She stared at me in silence for several long seconds before rolling her eyes. “The griffin who bought you.”
“Oh, that guy! Sorry, I only heard his name once. Thank you for dealing with him, Fleur. You make my life so much easier than Celestia does.”
“If you marry me, Celestia will probably leave you alone. Or at least, she’ll bother you slightly less.”
“What’s sad is that I don’t even know if that’s true anymore. After all, she still has Spike and Luna as excuses to visit. Well, now that I’m founding a village, if she starts annoying me too much, I can just spend time there. I’m already planning on using it as an excuse to get out of going to any parties.”
“I highly doubt Celestia will accept that excuse,” Fleur said. “She’ll probably send Flo to drag you into the Gala.”
“Why would you assume Flo would side with Celestia? Besides, she’d have to get past Darya and Luna. Anyway, that’s enough about my problems. So what’s the plan for the day? I think you said we were going to a nature preserve of some kind, where we’ll meet the deer guide.”
“And the guide will take us to their city in the Whitetail Woods,” Fleur said with a nod. “We have an appointment with the lord of the forest, King Aspen. We’ll meet with him to discuss the matter of the pageant. He has a wife named Fyr and a child around Taya’s age named Bramble. I asked that his wife be in attendance at our meeting in the hope that she’ll see the value in the pageant, as a doe herself.”
“Are they immortal?”
“Not to my knowledge, no,” Fleur replied. “It’s my understanding that the deer race ages similarly to ponies. Their royal family is just as mortal as the griffin royal family. King Aspen is probably just slightly older than I am. I believe his wife is a few years younger.”
“I spoke to Luna about the deer this morning and she told me something… troubling,” I said. “Do you remember the war games I competed in?”
“I think all of Equestria heard about it. You won the most crushing victory ever seen, after all. It was quite the scandal for Shining Armor. Why do you mention it now?”
“The games took place near the deer territory. Apparently they were spying and saw my exploits. When they requested more information about me from Celestia, they were given a slightly edited version of my record, basically painting me to be even more violent and dangerous. So I might have a bad reputation with the deer.”
“That is… troubling, but as you would say, the dice have already been thrown. When I sent the missive requesting a meeting, I included your name. They approved it, despite that. It’s possible they’ve forgotten about you. It’s also possible they’ve learned more about you and realized that you’re not a threat.”
“I figured you probably wouldn’t care, but going in without letting you know might have been troublesome.”
“Just think of it like an opportunity to show off the new and improved you, Navi! You certainly look the part of Lady of Nature now. Those flowers in your hair are simply gorgeous! A part of me wonders how they taste…”
“Removing them is incredibly painful. I already learned that lesson the hard way.”
“Ah ha, noted.”
“Taya, how long can you leave cute mode activated?” I asked. “It would be ideal if you could turn it on when we get to their city.”
“These flowers will make it much easier, so I should be able to make it all the way through. Well, assuming I’m not too annoyed or they don’t attack us. I promise to behave, of course!”
“Thank you. I’m sure it’ll be difficult, but I can probably find some way to make it worth your while.”
“What is… cute mode?” Fleur asked, a slightly disturbed look on her face.
“I knew I needed something to fight against Rarity, so I asked Taya to learn to be cute,” I replied, patting my filly on the head. “She can activate it at will, but it’s draining on her. It’s turned into one of our trump cards. When Moonbeam saw it, she considered teaching the same thing to some of her soldiers and spies.”
“I see,” she replied, relaxing a little. “It’s good to know she’s already received some training. It has to be pretty decent if it impressed Queen Moonbeam. But… Well, never mind.” She muttered a few things, but I dutifully ignored it. “What about you, Nav? How’s your cute mode?”
“Mine’s on all the time.” That made Taya giggle and Fleur lift an eyebrow at me. “What? I’m adorable!”
“You talk like a sailor, act like a slut, walk like a warrior, and glare like a tyrant,” Fleur said. “While your appearance is certainly adorable, everyone who actually knows you understands it’s only because Doppel and Kat put so much time and effort into it. What matters a lot more is how you behave, and your behavior is certainly far from cute. Usually.”
“And you can’t turn it on at will, either,” Taya said. “It just sort of happens sometimes.”
“I think I might know myself a little better than you two,” I said with quite a… cute grin. “Trust me on this one: I’m cute all the time. Got it?”
“Even your grins are terrifying!” Fleur said. “You simply must get your act together, Nav. The pageant is almost upon us and you’re supposed to represent the contestants to the deer!”
“Wait, I thought I was there as the one who had the idea for the event. If you wanted someone as a representative for the contest itself, why didn’t you pick someone from a normal race like Gilda, Kumani, or Kat?”
“You obviously know why I didn’t pick Kat,” Fleur said. “The deer have a bad history with dragons and griffins, so that’s why I didn’t pick Gilda or Kumani. I could have picked Miss Equestria, but I’d much rather spend the day with you instead.”
“Well, fair enough. I am, after all, always cute. Who’s Miss Equestria, by the way? Anyone I know?”
“Not to my knowledge, but it’s possible. Her name is Octavia, a noble mare who is exceptionally gifted in many areas, but especially in music.”
“I believe I do know her, in fact. I had no idea she was Miss Equestria, though. I thought she was just a talented musician.” Does that mean I can say that Miss Equestria herself tried giving me a blowjob under a table at a party? Though it was ruined because one of the princesses was already there…
“One does not receive a standing invitation to play in Canterlot Castle as just a talented musician,” Fleur replied. “In fact, she plays at most of the royal events and makes enough money doing so that she happily plays charity concerts whenever she can. Apparently she got the idea for that… from you, as it happens.”
“I vaguely remember mentioning something like that… Equestria does a pretty good job of taking care of its own, for the most part, but the people who get missed tend to suffer a lot. It was on my mind for a time, so I mentioned charity concerts to some of the musicians when I was giving them human music. Most of them didn’t seem that interested in events where they gave away all or most of their profits, but I guess some of them found it appealing. I really hope she’s not attributing them to me, though.”
“No, of course not,” Fleur replied. “After all, she’s the one playing. She is, however, spreading the concept of human charity, and that she learned it from the culture of your people. Though she hasn’t shared many of the details of that culture, to my knowledge. So everyone knows the idea for the concerts came from you. With that, much research was done into your past, whereupon it was discovered that you gave all the foals of Ponyville gifts one year, you forced quite a large sum onto a declining rural school in Ponyville, you gave a ton of gems to a local business, you donated an unfathomable sum to a clown college of all things, and much more besides.”
“Ugh, they found out about the donation to the clown college? Now I just feel gross…”
“Why a clown college, mommy?” Taya asked. “I thought you hated… Wait, was it Popsy?”
“It was the only way I could think of to repay my debt, yes. Fleur, you said everyone knows this. Define everyone. How is this the first I’ve heard of it and how long has it been known?”
“I knew about all of those but the clown college, for what it’s worth,” Taya said.
“The latest Miss Equestria pageant actually wasn’t that long ago,” Fleur replied. “Most of this news about you has come to light within the last month or so, I’d say. And you’ve mostly been away from Canterlot in that time, of course. It’s been in a few newspapers, for sure, but nothing about it was sensational enough for the front page. There’s been so much happening so quickly that I haven’t had time to ask you about it. I must say, the clown college was a surprise for all of us. Who’s this Popsy? What kind of debt did you have toward him to owe that much?”
“Do you remember the spooky bunker I visited in Antarctica?” After a few seconds, she slowly nodded. “Popsy was the friendly spirit who guarded a safe zone. He protected me while I rested. He also took me on several terrifying theme park rides. In life, he was a clown in the bunker who spent the last years in the failing bunker using his skills to keep the children smiling as their world slowly turned into a living nightmare. Personally, I’m not a fan of clowns. They just don’t jive with my humor. At the time, I didn’t know how else to pay my debt to him, so I decided to make a donation in his name. I figure that most ponies are childlike enough to enjoy clowns, so they should have a chance to flourish in this new world.”
“Popsy sounds like an amazing person,” Fleur said with tear-filled eyes. Is she… crying? “As are you, my lady, to display such wonderful camaraderie!”
“It’s to be expected, isn’t it?” I asked. “All debts must be paid in full.”
“Most wouldn’t consider what Popsy did as something to be indebted to, in the first place,” Fleur said. “Being saved by a ghost is just… supernatural. Wouldn’t most just consider it a one-off event that has no connection to anything else? That you tied together being saved by a ghost with being indebted toward clowns is… astounding.”
“It was a ghost clown. Did I not mention that? What other aspect of him was I supposed to feel indebted to? I don’t know anything else about the guy, since he was immortalized as the part of him that was the strongest at his time of death.”
“I’m still struggling to understand why him saving your life led to you donating to a clown college in Canterlot.”
“I didn’t know where any other clown colleges were,” I replied with a shrug. “I still had to ask directions to this one, but it was pretty easy to find.”
“Why would you donate at all?!”
“The same reason you were teary-eyed: It’s a really sad story, isn’t it? I felt bad, especially after he went and helped me. Throwing money at the problem was enough to make me feel better about it. Why are you putting so much thought into this? I didn’t want this to come up at all, let alone have to explain it to the smallest detail!”
“So I know what to tell Clementine when it’s time to make it front page news,” Fleur said. “Oh, you might not know that name. She’s the mare I put in charge of maintaining your new image in the media.”
“I’ll have to meet her soon, then. Thanks for getting her on my side.” Taya snorted.
“It was no problem at all!” Fleur sweetly replied, completely glossing over the fact that she had blackmailed Clementine to get it done.
“I’m somewhat surprised anyone in the media was willing to support me, though,” I said. “Was she hard to convince?”
“Oh no, not at all. She was quite happy to help, in fact. There were times she shed tears of joy to be of use to the great hero herself!”
“She sounds very enthusiastic. I’m suddenly not so sure about meeting her, but the time for an interview is coming up, I’m sure.”
“I could have one scheduled for as early as tomorrow morning,” Fleur replied. “Perhaps even today, after we finish with the deer!”
“That wouldn’t bother Clementine? I’d hate to mess with her schedule.”
“I’m sure she’d be delighted to pencil us in!”
“She sure sounds like a kind mare. I’m surprised she’s lasted so long in a job like that.”
“That’s just how important of a client you are, Nav. An interview with you would be worth quite a lot of money!”
“That’s true, I suppose. I don’t really want to just walk in for a general interview, because there’s no telling what I might get asked. If I could get a list of questions in advance, I might be down. Or at least a general list of what I might expect. But I’ve done a lot during my sentence in Equestria. There’s no telling what she might ask.”
“Nothing that would make you look bad,” Fleur said, patting my side. “She’s completely loyal, I assure you.”
“I’m grateful to have her, then. Maybe I should give her a belly rub to make up for all the trouble.”
“You really shouldn’t go around touching the belly of just any mare, Nav,” Fleur said. “There’s no telling how it might make her feel. You saw what it did to Blossom. You shouldn’t make a mare you don’t know very well feel that good.”
“True. Speaking of which, I might go visit my favorite vampire tonight, now that I don’t have to sleep anymore.”
“That’s what she was waiting for, in fact,” Fleur said with an adorable chuckle. “Blossom wanted to visit as soon as you woke up but she knew you’d be busy and that when spring came, you’d have more time available. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if she came by to nibble on you tonight!”
“I’ll lock her in my room, forcefeed her a blood gem, and touch her all over.”
“Mommy, don’t be creepy,” Taya said.
“Fine, then I’ll only do that if she tries refusing me when I ask. Is that better?”
“Not really, no.”
“You wouldn’t want your most adorable friend’s first experience with touch in so long to be unpleasant,” Fleur said. “You should go at her pace.”
“True. Now that I think of it, she did mention that the extra benefits were conditional, so maybe I should behave myself…”
“What extra benefits?” Taya asked.
“You’re too young to worry about it,” I replied with a boop.
“What extra benefits?” Fleur asked.
“Have you ever heard of friendship with benefits?” I asked.
“Ponies have the concept, yes,” Fleur said. “Well, it’s relieving to know that Blossom isn’t an easy mare. Just be careful about accidentally seducing her. The last thing you need is another immortal in love with you.”
“That’s actually a really good point. I’ll definitely behave.”
“Wait, wouldn’t you want someone as adorable as Blossom falling for you?” Taya asked.
“Part of what makes Blossom cute is that she’s so reluctant to admit it. Another part is how she isn’t used to physical affection. Take both of those away and make her someone that’s angling for me and she’d just be another cute chick trying to get my hand. Just in vampire form, which is even scarier.”
“Is that how it works?” Taya slowly asked.
“Yep, that’s how it works. Anyway, Fleur, are there any other deer we need to know about? I’ll try to behave around everyone, but if there are more important people, I might just try to talk less.”
“The only ones you really need to be wary of are in the palace. That said, I know none of their faces, so it’s possible deer that work in the palace will be watching us from the city. It’s probably best to just assume you’re being watched at all times.”
“Gross. That almost definitely means I’m going to screw up. But it’ll be fun, so promise you won’t get too mad.”
“Nav, you’re a noble now. You can’t just mess up every social event you attend. You are treating this seriously, aren’t you?”
About as seriously as I treat everything else. “Well, I went through a whole coma to try to fix things like this. I at least intend to do my best. With luck, that’ll be enough. I just wish we didn’t need luck for that…”
“You’ll never win the pageant with that attitude, mommy,” Taya said.
“I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of out-ladying Kat, let alone Octavia or an actual princess. I might beat Kumani, but it’s likely I’ll get knocked out on the first or second night. Now that I think about it, it’s kinda embarrassing to lose so quickly in the event I suggested, but I guess that’s life for you.”
“Shouldn’t your goal be to do better, then?” Fleur asked.
“Sure, but I have to be realistic about this. Kat spent years training to disguise as all kinds of things, including a rich upper class lady. Gilda may be somewhat eccentric, but she’s still a princess and has been trained to act like it her entire life. Octavia is almost perfect as a lady. In comparison, I haven’t even been a girl that long. As you yourself just said, I’m pretty uncouth. I can be polite and nice when I put a whole lot of effort into it, but I’m usually rough around the edges.”
“Then I’m happy to inform you that there are many paths to victory in this upcoming competition,” Fleur said with a smile. “Although… If I’m completely honest, I do highly doubt you’ll actually win. I’ll be rooting for you, but if I was putting money on it, I’d pick Gilda or Kat. The sheep candidate is also a princess, but I don’t know much about her.”
“Not Octavia?” I asked.
“As I said, there are many paths to victory. Kat is a woman with many talents and Gilda is a woman with much knowledge. Octavia is a refined noble lady and quite the musician, but I believe the other two outpace her in enough other fields.”
“If Kat wins, there’s something wrong with the world.”
“...I can’t disagree,” Fleur replied with a sigh. “But shouldn’t you be kinder to your vassals?”
“I’ll be kinder to her when she’s kinder to me. So we basically have no intel on the deer, do we?”
“We really don’t,” Fleur replied. “You’re quite blatant with your subject changes, Nav. That’s something else you should work on.”
“The main thing we should work on now is fixing our intel problem on the deer. So far, everything I’ve heard paints them as apathetic, bordering on rude. My sources are Blossom, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and a few others. What have you heard?”
“The same,” Fleur said. “But I have hope for them. They’re nearby, they’re also herbivores, and they’re shaped mostly the same. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be more friendly with us, as far as I can tell.”
“Luna said their arrogance is based on fear. At this point, none of us look scary. As long as we don’t do anything hostile, we shouldn’t spook them. Although… my tail looks kinda weird. Doppel didn’t seem to want to hide it, though, so I guess that’s fine.”
“It’s very nature-oriented,” Fleur said. “And if you move it at all, it gives us a wonderful view! I see you chose black and lacy today, hm?”
“I guess nature-oriented is good for a race like the deer.” For some reason, my response made her giggle. It might have been the blush on my face, though. “Although looking at the two of us, I’m surprised you don’t feel underdressed.” At the moment, she was wearing nothing.
“I’m told the deer typically don’t wear any clothing, either,” she replied. “I thought if at least one of us was without, they might feel more comfortable.”
“So I got dressed up for nothing?” Taya asked.
“They make you look even cuter, so it wasn’t for nothing,” I said. That made my filly giggle.
“And they help keep you warm, of course,” Fleur added with a shiver. “The air over Ponyville is so much colder…” Sure enough, we were already passing over the small town. The residents were out in force, doing their best to get rid of all the snow by hoof.
While I was looking down on the peasants, I felt an unpleasant gaze on me. My eyes honed in on her immediately and Pinkie’s face split into a terrifying grin. It wouldn’t have been as bad if her neck wasn’t bent at an angle that shouldn’t have been possible. The rest of her body was still helping move snow. None of the others around her seemed to notice a thing. Or more likely, they were pretending not to. I decided to stop paying attention to the peasants.
I may have also decided to pray, even if I didn’t think anyone was listening.
“That’s an easy fix,” Taya said. Her horn lit up and the wind stopped blowing on us. We already weren’t getting that much from the design of the chariot, but my filly put us inside of a little heated bubble. “There we go!”
“Why didn’t we just do this from the start?” Fleur asked.
“Because I wanted to show off my new toy,” I said.
“Darya isn’t a toy, mommy,” Taya replied, finally using her mouth to talk.
“It’s impressive that you can have an entire conversation without moving your lips at all,” Fleur said. “Especially since it apparently works at any distance!” As she said, our entire conversation had gone through Darya.
“Not quite any distance. Communication might become distorted if we get too far from Darya’s main body, but that would require going to another continent. Even then, it would still work most of the time. But now if we get separated from the deer, we can keep in touch. And if I start messing up, you can scold me silently.”
“And then punish you later, of course,” Fleur unnecessarily added.
“I’m somewhat surprised you were willing to accept her in your head without an explanation, though.”
“Well, you wouldn’t ask me to do anything that might hurt me, at least not without a warning. We’ll probably be touching down pretty soon. The nature preserve is just on the other side of Ponyville.”
“Is it Fluttershy’s?” Taya asked.
“Indeed, that’s the one,” Fleur said. “Apparently she had quite the windfall and planned to spend it building the preserve, but then Luna showed up out of nowhere and did it all for her in a week. As the closest pony business to the deer city, I decided to use it as our rendezvous point. Ah, if only Fluttershy had agreed to be our pony representative…”
“No offense to Fluttershy, but she doesn’t even begin to compare to Gilda or Kat when it comes to other talents,” I said. “She’s good at singing, sewing, cooking, a few other wife-related things, and taking care of animals. Octavia has her beat. Even worse, Fluttershy is super shy and would have issues on a big stage like that. She sounded pretty anxious when she told me about your invitation.”
“I feel like you’re selling the Element of Kindness short, but I will admit that her personality might make competing troublesome. I imagine she’s much happier working with her animals.”
“Especially after mommy destroyed her heart,” Taya muttered.
Unfortunately, Fleur heard it. “You did what, now?” she sweetly asked, staring up at me with eyes that definitely weren’t smiling.
“Fluttershy had a crush on me. I… could have turned her down in a better way. It’s not like I meant to break her like that, but I’m an idiot and an asshole, so it kinda just happened. It’s not like we’re on unfriendly terms, but I’d rather not spend much time alone with her, if possible.”
“I’m surprised you were so quick to spurn her,” Fleur said. “Wouldn’t a mare like her be fun to play with?”
“Not for me. She’s too quiet, passive, and shy. It’s to the point where it’s honestly aggravating sometimes. I couldn’t have a relationship with her and I know she wasn’t interested in me just for playing around. Anyway, that’s all in the past and I’d rather not discuss it.”
“Well, we’re about out of time, anyway,” Fleur replied. “There’s her home now.” Of course she would build it there.
Sure enough, the chariot was coming up to Fluttershy’s home. The area around it had changed quite a lot since the last time I visited, though. A bright red barn had been built off to the right. The doors were open and several critters were running around inside, maybe trying to keep warm. Several bears were walking around the barn, using plows to push the snow away. A large webbed net led from the top of the barn to the edge of the forest. Several birds and squirrels were shaking it clear of snow and ice. A well-maintained trail led into the woods behind the barn.
Four large silos stood on the other side of her home, along with a sizable water tank. Another bear was doing his best to work a water pump that seemed to pull water from underground and pump it into the tank. Fluttershy was currently directing a line of animals that were gathering in front of the silos, presumably for breakfast.
Our deer guide was nowhere to be seen.
The chariot touched down in front of the barn, where there was the least snow and ice. The ground was still uncomfortably cold, but Taya’s magic fixed that in no time. Fleur got a magic tool from the chariot pullers before they took off again, heading back to Canterlot. The tool apparently let her summon them whenever we were ready to be picked up. I could hear some light singing from the forest, but nothing that was too distracting.
“I can’t believe this place doesn’t stink,” Taya muttered, looking around in disinterest.
“You should play with the animals while we wait for the guide, Taya,” Fleur said with a smile.
“We should ask Fluttershy before we do anything like that,” I said before Taya could reply with something sarcastic. Fluttershy clearly noticed us landing, but she was currently in the process of being swarmed by creatures seeking food and definitely wouldn’t be able to move any time soon. “We… might also need to help her.”
“She chose this fate,” Taya said. “We should support her choices and just watch instead.”
“I guess it might be hard to hire staff for a place like this. I imagine her bears usually patrol and keep the peace. At the very least, we need to go say hi.” I finally started walking toward the buttery mare. Fleur followed right alongside me. Taya sighed and trailed behind.
Thankfully, the disorderly line cleared itself up without our interference. A few wolves stepped out of the line and started growling. I noticed that Fluttershy’s pet bunny was riding on top of one of the larger wolves. The weaker creatures froze in place.
“If you’d all get back in line, you’ll be fed much faster!” Fluttershy called out. “I know you all want to get to cleaning up the snow. You’ll be able to get moving much faster if you can just be a little more patient!” With that little speech, her animals all ambled back into something resembling a line. The wolves started slowly walking up and down the line, glaring at any critter that tried pushing forward. The one Angel was riding joined Fluttershy at the front of the line. By the time we got to her, everything was moving smoothly again. She was watching us approach with a gentle smile, but when we got closer, her eyes moved to my hair and she gasped.
“Nav, your hair… Are those flowers… part of you?” Fluttershy asked.
“They sure are,” I replied. “It looks like your preserve is off to a good start. This is a lot of animals.”
“Yes, but this is only about half of them,” she said. “It’s much easier when my helpers are here, but I let them take the day off for Winter Wrap Up. Good morning, Fleur and Taya. I see your hair matches your mother’s today!”
“Yeah, being part-tree is the best,” Taya said with a smug grin.
“Speaking of which, you told me something a while back,” I said. “Fluttershy, if you still want to be a tree, we can make that happen. The potion to become a tree sister isn’t all that difficult to make. The process is painful, but very fast. If you find yourself interested, let me know and I’ll let you read a book about the changes your body will go through. If you’re still interested after that, we can give you the potion.”
“Oh, I’d be very interested in that book!” Fluttershy said, actually looking excited. “Even the most hostile of animals rarely attack you, right? That means I could make so many more friends! And since I’d be around for so much longer, I could help so many more critters!” She’s so cute and innocent that it hurts my heart a little.
“So this is the charm of one of the Element of Kindness,” Fleur said with a smile. “It truly is a shame you chose not to participate in the pageant, Fluttershy…”
“I… didn’t enjoy my time in the limelight,” Fluttershy said, looking down. “And I know I’m not the greatest mare in the world. There’s no way somepony like me could ever win a competition like that. Especially not when I’m competing against Nav and a few princesses…”
“You easily have me beat as a mare,” I replied, booping her to make her adorably squee. “And you have me beat as a girl in general, too. I am an influential person, not a great one. But I know how you feel. I don’t want to compete either, but Fleur guilted me into it. Just be thankful she didn’t try to set her hooks in you, too.”
“I wasn’t the only one twisting your hoof,” Fleur said. “So don’t put all the blame on me, please.”
“I can’t be mad at Blossom because she’s too cute. I’m perpetually angry with Kat, so adding one more thing doesn’t matter much. That means you get all the blame.”
“Hm… Perhaps now would be a good time to discuss that dream I had last night?” Fleur said, poking at her chin with a hoof. “It was quite a bit more than I requested, if I recall.”
“I took some creative liberties. Are you gonna try and tell me you didn’t have fun? Besides, what I did to you last night is nothing compared to what Twilight did to Rainbow Dash. So really, you should consider yourself lucky, right?”
“Wait, what did Twilight do? Is that why Rainbow looked unwell this morning?” Fluttershy asked.
“Man, I really feel sorry for Dash after that… But don’t worry about it. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Although… Is that why Pinkie was staring at me? Maybe she thought it was my fault?”
“Isn’t that bad?” Taya asked. “If Pinkie thinks you did something to one of her friends, are you… are you gonna be safe?”
“Well, what Twilight did also involved Pinkie, but really, don’t worry about it. Dash probably doesn’t want the pity that would come with it. But if anyone mentions it, what happened was completely Twilight’s fault and I could do nothing to stop it.”
“I didn’t hear anything that sounded like an apology in there,” Fleur said, tilting her head. “Are you just trying to brush over the cruelty that you unleashed upon me?”
“You made a request. I granted it. What’s the problem?” I’m not sure why, but Fleur didn’t seem convinced.
“You’re still accepting dream requests?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yep. What animal do you want to try next? I think you loved the dogs, didn’t you?” Fleur made a weird noise, but we both ignored it.
“Oh yes, I’ve never felt anything so amazing! But this time I want to try something different, if it wouldn’t be a problem. Would dolphins be possible?” This time, it was Taya’s turn to squeak.
“Probably, but are you sure? It might be a little much for you.”
“Don’t mind me, my lady. I can take it!”
“True. And it’s just a dream, so if it gets a little too intense, you’ll just wake up.” For some reason, both Fleur and my filly were blushing bright red. “Still, though, are you sure all you want is to be turned into different animals? Twilight could do the same thing with magic. Apparently there’s even a spell to turn someone into a housecat.” And that made it Fluttershy’s turn to blush.
“W-well… Becoming an animal in a dream is different than in real life. There’s no danger in a dream, after all. A-although if you w-want, I’d let Twilight turn me into a kitty so you can p-play with me!”
“A pet kitty would be cuter than Taya’s pet cockatrice, that’s true,” I said.
“I see,” Fleur said, sounding relieved for some reason. “So becoming an animal in a dream is possible, too…”
“Of course,” I said. “Why, what did you think we were talking about?”
“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Fleur immediately replied.
“Personally, I thought you were talking about bringing animals into her dreams for her to have sex with,” Taya offered. Fluttershy’s blush grew even deeper and the wolf sitting next to her started glaring at my filly. Fleur actually face-hoofed. “But thank you for clearing it up, mommy!”
“Happy to help, but there are some things you shouldn’t say in public. This isn’t like Rarity’s fetish for crossdressing boys that everyone is aware of. Fluttershy actually has a reputation that can be damaged. Her dream requests have always been pure and wholesome. So you don’t need to worry about having your mind in the gutter.”
“Well, now I feel debased, given all of my dream requests,” Fleur muttered.
“C-can we… not talk about this?” Fluttershy whispered. Her face was still bright red.
“Fine, fine. Have you seen a deer this morning? We were supposed to meet one here, but our guide is nowhere to be found.”
“Well, we are a little early,” Fleur said. “But I was expecting our guide to be here early as well…”
“I haven’t seen any deer this morning, I’m afraid,” Fluttershy said. “I know she’s on the way, though. I asked a few birds and squirrels to keep an eye out for her in the forest. She should be here soon. Now that the breakfast line is properly in order, I’d be happy to show you around until she arrives!”
“If it wouldn’t be a problem, I’d be delighted to see everything,” I lied with a smile.
And so Fluttershy very happily showed us everything. At the moment, there wasn’t much more to the preserve than met the eye, but she was still very proud of it. Each piece of equipment was made to be easy enough for critters to use. We even got to see a few birds dropping seeds and grains into one of the silos. Apparently the goal was to make the facility mostly self-sufficient, so the animals would be fine if Fluttershy ever had to go on another journey. Even with that self-sufficiency, there was plenty of room for her overwhelming love.
Most importantly, I suppose, the animals all seemed happy.
Right around when Fluttershy was running out of friends to introduce us to, some birds flew out of the forest to land on her back. They chirped a few times and Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, she’s almost here? Is she taking the path?” One of the birds chirped a few more times and Fluttershy lifted an eyebrow. “In the snow? Well, I suppose it’s mostly dry now, further in. Still, hiking in the woods? Deer sure are hardy!”
“Is there a trail that leads all the way to their city?” I asked.
“There is,” Fluttershy replied. “Luna helped me connect a path from my house to the main road. It is fairly new, though, so it’s possible your guide just didn’t know about it. I’ll lead you to where she’ll be coming out.” She began walking toward the forest. We all followed, of course. “I do actually have a question for you, Nav. Do you… do you happen to know when we’ll be setting off on our journey again? I’d like to make arrangements beforehoof, if possible.”
“It’s possible that Celestia won’t make you accompany me anymore. Or at the very least, not for the next leg of the journey. The last fire elemental is in Tartarus, which is going to take a lot of preparation. I don’t think she’d want to put you and some of your friends at risk.”
“If any of us are going, all of us would like to go,” Fluttershy evenly replied. “It’s something we talked over between ourselves after you and Twilight went to the Zone without informing the rest of us.”
“Well… We might have a little more leeway when it comes to the Tartarus trip, so that might not be an issue. But we’ll be dealing with demons, Fluttershy. If you want to go, you’ll need to learn at least some basic self-defense skills.”
“I learned a little on the ship, but the guards who were teaching me all said I was best at running away…”
“Running away is the best self-defense skill you can have. If nobody can catch you, nobody can hurt you. If push comes to shove, just Forrest Gump your way through.”
“I… don’t know what that means, though?” Fluttershy said, looking back at me in confusion.
“That’s okay, you don’t need to,” I replied, patting her on the head.
“Ava said it’s from a movie,” Taya said. “Apparently Forrest was a character who was really good at running.”
“Who is… Ava?” Fleur asked. “Is that an elemental?”
“No, it’s the human ghost stuck to my body,” I said. “Taya uses her to understand human references when I don’t explain them.”
“She’s grateful for the attention, but talking to her in public is kinda hard,” Taya said. Her eyes suddenly looked behind and above me. “Because it’s like I’m talking to air, of course! I don’t wanna look as weird as mommy! I mean, I have to act normal enough for both of us, after all…”
“You’re right, it does look weird,” Fleur said. “Why are you able to see ghosts, Taya?”
“I used a spell.” Taya’s horn lit up and a light shot out of it and into Fleur’s eyes. “Isn’t it cool?”
“S-so… This is a g-ghost, I see?” Fleur said, looking behind me in fear. “Um. I can’t understand her, though?”
“Oh right, the translation spell. Forgot that one.” Taya’s horn lit up again and another light hit Fleur. “There you go!”
“Ah ha, I understand you now! It’s nice to meet you, Ava. I am Fleur, one of Navarone’s friends.” A few seconds passed. “O-oh. I… I see. Well, it’s still my first time meeting you, even if you’ve seen… plenty of me. W-wait, she disappeared!”
“It’s a pretty complex spell, actually,” Taya said. “I usually don’t make the effect last long. But it’s totally cool, right?”
“R-right…”
“Anyway, it probably won’t be an issue if you girls join us for the next campaign,” I said. “That said, I don’t know exactly when it’ll be. We’ll be sure to let everyone know once it’s decided.”
“Thank you, Nav,” Fluttershy replied with a nod.
When we got to the edge of the forest, I still couldn’t see the deer guide. Most of the forest was a dull grey or brown, so she’d probably blend in effortlessly. There were a few patches of green here and there, but spring hadn’t quite come in full force yet. There at least wasn’t too much snow, so walking through shouldn’t be overly difficult.
“There she is,” Fluttershy said, suddenly waving. I still couldn’t see anyone, but Fluttershy was probably used to hunting for critters in the forest.
That said, soon enough, the deer suddenly popped into view. Just like that, I could even hear her tender hoof-falls as she picked her way through the woods. Since this was the first deer I had ever really met, I couldn’t say much about her expression. However, if I had to guess, I’d say she was irritated.
“It’s a surprise that the first one who detected me was the pegasus,” the deer said. “I expected the predator to be more observant and the unicorns to be on the lookout for magic.” It’s nice to meet you, too. “My name is Glade. I am here to serve as a guide for Fleur de Lis to the city of Thicket.”
“So that was deer magic,” Taya said. “I knew something was approaching, but I wasn’t sure what.”
“I’m afraid my senses aren’t that strong,” Fleur said with a small smile. “I had no idea. But it’s nice to meet you, Glade. I am Fleur. Countess Navarone and her filly, Taya, will be accompanying us.”
“I am Navarone,” I said. “This is Taya, my filly. And technically, I’m an omnivore.”
“Oh, a true rarity. I also heard you were male, and yet…?”
“I got cursed by a demon.”
“...That’s quite the curse.” Her eyes finally turned toward the yellowest pony present. “It’s good to see you again, Fluttershy. I was entrusted with a message for you from his highness, King Aspen.”
“Oh, is another animal hurt? Should I go with you?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” the deer replied with her first smile. “He heard about your new business and would like permission to direct any animals in need toward you, assuming it’s something with which we could not assist.”
“Of course,” Fluttershy replied with a perfect smile. “Though if any critter has an infectious disease, I ask that you warn me beforehoof so I can make preparations.”
“Your reply will be transmitted.”
“As part of this sanctuary, we added a path from here to the main road,” Fluttershy said. “You’re welcome to use it whenever you visit.”
“The path was created for the rare pony guest,” Glade said. “Deer have no need for roads. However, since it will be more convenient for our guests, will you lead us to it?”
“Happily!” And so Fluttershy once more got to lead us around, this time to the well-made path leading into the trees. I decided the most effective way to not offend the deer was to say nothing, so I diligently did my duty.
When we got to the path, the deer followed it with her eyes before grunting. “This was made using magic, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, it was fantastic!” Fluttershy said. “I asked Luna if it was possible to just move the trees without cutting them down and she actually had a spell for it! The trees just moved aside for her! I’ve never seen anything like it. After that, she flattened the earth, then hardened the dirt to the point where it was as strong as stone.”
“Building roads through the Everfree is going to be easier than I thought,” I said. “If we don’t even have to cut any trees or transport building material, we could finish in no time!”
“You said… Luna, correct?” Glade asked. “Is that Princess Luna?”
“She’s not a princess anymore, but that’s her,” Fluttershy said. “She was quite helpful! I’m sure she’d make building up the Everfree a breeze, Nav.”
“I’m sure,” I said. “Now, are we ready to go? I don’t want to keep King Aspen waiting. And Fluttershy needs to get back to wrapping up winter.”
“True, we should not waste time,” the deer said. “I shall lead the way. Please keep up.”
“I’ll get back to organizing the animal brigade,” Fluttershy said. “I’ll see you all when you get back. Have fun with the deer!”
“I’m sure we will,” Fleur said. “See you soon, Fluttershy.”
I booped Fluttershy as payment for guiding us, then we began following the deer down the path. Fluttershy waved at us for a moment before returning to the much smaller line of animals.
“I didn’t think it would get colder in the forest,” Taya said, her horn lighting up. The air around us suddenly got warmer and she grinned. “Well, that’s what magic is for.”
“There’s less sun in the forest, so of course it’s colder,” Glade said. “That’s why there’s still so much snow left despite the advent of spring. You will see less of it as we get closer to Thicket, the center of our weather-governing magic. There, spring is already in full bloom.”
“You’re much better than Ponyville at regulating the weather, then,” I said. “I know the pegasi are usually in charge of the weather in most of Equestria. Do the deer have some kind of artifact or is it just a part of your magic?”
“It is part of the magic we have for controlling our domain. It is, of course, high level ritual magic that not many can make use of. This magic is not unique to the deer, but only those with a strong affinity for nature could cast it. Your filly, for example, could probably cast it with a decade or two of effort.”
“Sounds boring,” Taya said. “I bet Twilight could figure out a few shortcuts and make it work in a few days.”
“Twilight’s also a genius-level magic researcher,” I said. “Plus, I doubt she has a high affinity for nature magic.”
“Her affinity for all types of magic is as high as it can go, actually,” Taya said. “Apparently it’s part of being the Element of Magic. Or maybe it was one of the requirements she had to satisfy to become the Element? She wasn’t sure which.”
“That said, is this magic something that can be shared with outsiders?” I asked.
“We make all of the magic we don’t use for combat available for those willing to pay for it,” the deer said. “However, deer do not use gold. You’d have to part with something we’d find equally valuable. I’ve heard tell that you have quite a large amount of forbidden and lost knowledge, Countess. Some of that could be quite valuable to us.”
“Magic to control weather would be valuable given that I’m going to try taming the Everfree. However, I’ll need some time to think before deciding to trade information.”
“I would have expected a true predator to latch onto an offer like that. I see the mind of an omnivore is not so easily captivated.”
“I’m bad at living up to expectations. I do hope you’ll forgive me. We tried doing some research before we left Canterlot, but we weren’t able to find out too much about the deer or your city. Can you tell us what to expect, and maybe a few things about your people?”
“It is no surprise you were able to find little information about us. Ponies care little for other races, something I’m sure you’ve felt quite acutely. It came as quite a surprise when we were contacted about sending a representative to a pony event.”
“There’s a lot of information about other races in pony books, but not about deer,” I said. “Most of the information I was able to obtain pointed at your kind being relatively secretive and close-knit, to the point where few visitors enter and fewer deer leave.”
“Well, it is true that we tend to have little to do with the other races. Life tends to be safer that way.”
“But much less interesting,” Fleur said. “Besides, Equestria is quite safe as it is now, as long as you stay in the cities. Even monster attacks are rare unless you’re near a cursed location.”
“Monster attacks in our forest are nonexistent. Crime is also quite common in Equestria, from what I hear.”
“Depends on where you go,” I said. “The only crimes that happened in Ponyville were accidental ones, for example. Sometimes a few old ponies will forget to pay at a restaurant or someone will trespass somewhere they didn’t realize was private. But some of the larger cities have organized crime. Sometimes there’s blatant corruption, too. Is crime uncommon in deer cities or is it nonexistent?”
“Extremely uncommon to the point where it might as well be nonexistent,” Glade said with a smile.
“It’s easier with a smaller, insulated population. But if it’s just extremely uncommon, I imagine the punishments are severe.”
“Criminals are sold to the griffins and dragons,” our guide casually replied.
“Wait, what?” Taya asked. Fleur missed a step and stumbled, but didn’t comment.
“Our society extolls nature. Our punishments are in line with our philosophy. As such, all dissenters are sold to griffins or dragons.”
“That makes sense,” I said. “Celestia’s been doing similar things with her political prisoners for a while.”
“How does that make sense?” Taya asked. “If you steal, you get sold as a slave or maybe even eaten? How’s that fair?!”
“It discourages stealing,” I said. “Authoritarian governments have been doing it since the dawn of time. In my world, there were some places where stealing would end up with one of your hands chopped off. My understanding is that changelings kill their criminals, too.”
“That’s not right!”
“What is right?” the deer asked. “Should the thief have no penalties?”
“Of course, but you shouldn’t chop off a limb because somebody stole an apple!”
“Then what price is fair?” the deer asked. “What penalty can one pay for committing a crime?”
“That should depend on the context of the crime,” Taya said. “If a starving deer stole an apple, they shouldn’t get sold to griffins!”
“There is no context,” the deer said. “Crime is crime and it must be punished.”
“But—”
“Taya,” I said, putting a hand on her head. She calmed herself, thankfully. “That’s just how authoritarians are. They pick their dogma and their tribe and stick to it.”
“But what about everybody else?”
“They don’t care about everybody else. Glade, how much of your own history do you know?”
“I’m very well versed,” she said.
“I know basically nothing about it, so please let me know how close this sounds to you. At the founding of your nation, the first leader said something along the lines of forming a coalition with the common interest of defending against predators.”
“Correct,” she replied with a nod. “The deer race convened as a confederacy for common protection.”
“Thus, you have the tribes,” I said. “Predators versus prey, specifically the deer. You have one person, or maybe a small group of people, who sees an opportunity for power and uses a common scary enemy to unite the people behind him.”
“How kind of you to assign motive to our founder,” our guide sarcastically replied. “Perhaps he just wanted to protect his people from being eaten!”
“By giving people he says are evil to the predators as food?”
“Correct.”
“And by whose definition of evil are you going by?”
“Society’s, of course.”
This is going in circles. “To continue our history lesson, I imagine the original king cut off all external communication and limited all contact with the outside world. This was likely under the guise of keeping them safe from the scary predators.”
“Again, correct,” our guide said.
“In the beginning, there were probably crackdowns and purges to deal with dissenters. There are always those who stand in the way of progress and security, after all. If I had to guess, I’d say the king probably paid off a few griffins or dragons to create a lot of trouble to make it seem like he was just doing it to keep people safe. That’s called false-flagging and it’s extremely common among authoritarians.”
“Again, how kind of you to assign motive to our founder. And to say he colluded with predators is akin to treason!”
“Uh huh. Were there a lot of predator attacks in the beginning?”
“...Until we were able to get things properly secure.”
“And once those crackdowns were finished, the king was left with a scared, insulated population that he could do with as he pleased. A few thousand years later, you have an entire society built around feeding their own undesirables to predators, saying it’s for the greater good.”
“While living in comfort and decadence,” our guide huffily replied.
“Oh yeah, it’s great for everyday Joe Blow,” I said. “Your average deer is gonna love the system. It works perfectly for them. All their needs are met, they’re surrounded by a warm community, and they feel safe. But the instant you do the wrong thing, you become dinner.”
“...It astounds me that you were able to guess their history based on a single conversation,” Fleur said.
“It follows a formula,” I replied. “That’s how most authoritarian movements begin. Celestia did the same thing in Equestria on a much larger scale, taking over almost half the planet. There were a few governments in my time that exterminated millions of dissenters, but they didn’t last anywhere near as long as Celestia. Living in Equestria has been a very eye-opening experience for me.”
“You certainly won’t be welcome to live in Thicket,” our guide said.
“Why would anybody want to?” Taya asked.
“It has its upsides,” I said. “Like I said, it’s great for the average person. Equestria’s the same way. Generally low crime outside a few major cities, no war, stable economy. But if you ask the wrong question, you disappear. If you say the wrong thing, you disappear. As long as you fit the appropriate mold, you’re just fine. Any deviation will be punished.”
“And what alternative is there?” the deer asked. “Allow the griffins to hunt us freely? Surrender before them as mindless animals?”
“It’s not like the griffins are just gonna swoop in one day and start snatching deer away,” Taya said.
“What would stop them, if not for our king?” the deer asked.
“Common decency,” I replied. “This is what happens when you insulate people enough. I bet you’ve never met a griffin, have you?”
“I wouldn’t be speaking to you if I had!”
“Man, those hooks are in deep. This might be a lost cause, Fleur.”
“There’s no such thing as a lost cause,” she sweetly said. “Perhaps we should have brought Princess Gilda!”
“Gilda probably isn’t the first predator you’d want them to meet,” I said. “Her pride can make her a little prickly. Spike or Doppel would be better choices. I really don’t know why you dragged me to this. I’m probably the worst representative you got.”
“You are the reason there is a pageant, Nav. I hope King Aspen will respect that. If nothing else, you are a force with which to be reckoned,” Fleur said. “An entity all unto your own, outside of predator or prey.”
“...You mean an omnivore?” Taya asked. “Because she already said that.”
“She meant that I transcend troublesome titles such as that,” I said. “Which I guess is technically true, since I am mostly human.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” the deer asked.
“Humanity is the race that came before all others,” I replied. “After the demon called Discord caused a war that eradicated a huge portion of life on the planet, the humans created new life and made life-like entities to guide them down their evolutionary chain. A few million years later, here we are.”
“That’s utterly nonsense,” she said with all the assurance of someone who’s been lied to all her life.
“Taya, lie detector.” She nodded. “The sky is green.” Her horn lit up. “Go ahead, say any lie you want.”
“...Grass is blue,” the deer said. Taya’s horn stayed alight. “Grass is green?” The light vanished.
“Discord killed off humanity millions of years ago and right before we died off for good, we created a bunch of new races,” I replied. The light stayed down. “Water is dry.” Her horn lit up. “There, happy?”
“Not really,” the deer slowly said. “So what happened to Discord?”
“He’s still alive,” I replied. “At the moment, he’s working up to his next big genocide. For reference, his last one was around six thousand years ago, when he eradicated the alicorn empire and created the ponies and changelings.”
“Good thing we’re safe here,” the doe sighed, shivering slightly. “That just means we have even more reason to stay in our groves!”
“I guess if you’re boring,” I said. “I bet nothing exciting ever happens here.”
“We have wonderful events all the time!” she quickly said. “We have all kinds of amazing holidays!”
“Ooh, like what?” Fleur asked, jumping in to move the conversation back to a more friendly topic. I slowed down so she could walk next to the deer. Taya and I fell a few steps behind them.
“Do you hear that?” I whispered.
“The singing is getting louder,” Taya whispered back. “The deer city is supposed to be full of nature magic, right? If the singing gets loud enough, will we even be able to hear what the deer are saying?”
“Darya, can you mute it?”
After a few moments… nothing happened. “If I’m honest, I can’t even hear what you’re talking about,” Darya finally replied in my head. “I can block normal music, but this seems to be magical in nature.”
“I can tell that you’re hearing something, but at the moment, we can’t seem to do anything about it,” Flo added. “We’ll continue working on it, but I make no guarantees.”
“They can’t block it yet, but they’re working on it,” I whispered down to my filly.
“So why are we whispering, anyway?” Taya asked in my head.
“Because I forgot this was an option,” I replied back, also using Darya. “Learning about the deer culture frazzled me a little.”
“Do you think the griffins and dragons really eat the deer they buy?”
“The griffins may be predators, but I think most of them are civilized enough to not eat anything sapient. However, I’m sure there’s a niche for it. I could easily see some corrupt nobles paying for the privilege of eating something that can talk. I’ll discuss it with Princess Gilda. As for the dragons… Probably. Not all dragons would eat someone sapient, but a dragon has actually tried eating me before so I know there are some who don’t care.”
“Can you… talk to Pyrite about that?”
“There are two main groups of dragons, to my knowledge. Those in Iceland, led by Pyrite, and the migratory dragons, who are led by some kind of dragon royalty. I could ask Pyrite to keep an eye out for it, but I really don’t want to deal with him if I don’t absolutely have to. And when I almost got eaten by a dragon, it was during one of their great migrations. I’m not in a hurry to meet them again.”
“Well… I guess it’s not our problem. You said the changelings also kill their criminals, right?”
“That’s my understanding, but it may have changed. It seems like they got slightly better since their source of food stabilized. Do you think we should try to jump back into the conversation?” At the moment, they were still talking about deer festivals. Apparently they had one every full moon, plus several more besides.
After a few seconds passed and Taya hadn’t replied, I realized she also stopped walking. When I looked back, I saw she was staring at one of the trees along the path and frowning. “There’s something wrong with this tree,” Taya said aloud.
Our guide immediately stopped to look. When she saw the tree, she frowned for a moment before smiling and looking at my filly. “What makes you say that?” Glade asked.
“Its song sounds sad. Although… It sounds like several trees around it are also in pain!”
“It actually does sound like that,” I replied, eyes wide. “I wasn’t really paying attention, but their song sounds different.”
“I could tell by looking that you both had strong connections to nature, but this is a surprise. I didn’t expect you could hear the song. Not many of us have that particular ability. I don’t have it, myself, but you are correct that these trees are ill. There’s a disease affecting them. I only noticed after you mentioned it. I will have healers dispatched when we return. You have our gratitude for noticing this.”
“...I didn’t realize the song actually meant anything,” Taya said. “I guess it’s good I was paying attention.”
“You said it’s an ability other deer possess,” I said. “If I’m honest, we both picked this skill up recently. I do know a little about how it works, but I also didn’t realize it could be used for diagnostics like this. Do you think any of the deer would be willing to teach us about it?”
“I will ask, but you should not get your hopes up. Shall we continue?”
“Yes, by all means,” I replied with a nod. And so our group began moving again. This time, our guide actually seemed a little nicer as she answered Fleur’s many questions.
After about an hour of walking, our guide suddenly stopped. I wasn’t quite sure why, since there was nothing that indicated this part of the path was any different from the rest of it. The only strange thing was that the singing from the trees was very quiet, even though we were in the middle of the forest.
“Is this the legendary barrier?” Fleur asked.
“It is indeed,” Glade replied. “Though I’m surprised the ponies consider it a legend.”
“Well, I only found a single mention of it in an old encyclopedia that called it a legendary piece of ancient magic,” Fleur said. “But none of the other books I read mentioned it, so I wondered if it was actually real.”
“So are we standing in a barrier?” I asked. “Is that why the trees are quiet, there aren’t any birds singing, and there’s no wind?”
“We aren’t standing in it, it’s right in front of us,” Taya said. “That’s some pretty stealthy magic. I didn’t even realize it was there until you mentioned it.”
“This is part of our city’s defense,” Glade proudly said. “It’s a barrier that turns around anyone who isn’t accompanied by a deer, considered one of our friends, or is exceptionally gifted at magic. It’s quite comforting to learn that it works against omnivores.”
“So, this barrier must be why I never found the deer city,” I said. “I used to walk through this forest a lot when I lived in Ponyville, but I didn’t even realize there was a city here until after I left. How far are we from Thicket now?”
“Once we pass the barrier, we’ll be on the outskirts. The other deer are aware that visitors are coming, but guests are rare here. I wanted to warn you before we step inside. You’ll be in the receiving end of many stares. Especially you, Countess.”
“I understand,” I said with a nod. “As long as it stops at staring, I won’t mind.”
“Yes, I imagine you tend to attract a lot of them. Are you all prepared?”
“My body is ready!” Taya proudly replied.
“Lead the way,” I said with a nod.
“I’m quite eager to finally see the deer city,” Fleur added. “Shall we?”
And so we did. The path that I always thought was a loop turned out to actually lead to one of the few deer capitals. I guess that’s a world of magic for you.
“It’s… quiet,” Taya whispered. “But beautiful!”
“I guess if there are deer who can hear it, they’d have to take steps to tone it down,” I replied. “The city is pretty neat looking, too. A city on the side of a cliff is cool, but nothing says fantasy quite like a city made of living trees. If I’m honest, it’s hard to tell where the dense forest ended and the city begins.”
“I regret not being able to hear the song they keep mentioning, but I must admit the city has quite the charm,” Fleur said, looking around in wonder. “The trees that make up these houses are grown into these shapes, correct?”
All the snow was gone and the air felt quite warm. The flowers weren’t in bloom yet, but several of the house-trees were starting to produce buds. Each house was made of several different types of trees, all grown together like some kind of tree Frankenstein’s monster. Thankfully, they looked and smelled much nicer. Oddly enough, none of them had doors or window panes.
Despite being on the outskirts, several deer were out and about. Sure enough, all of them were staring at us, though it felt like most of their eyes were actually on me. There really wasn’t that much variety in the deer, aside from their age. Most looked just like the deer from my time, though it was obvious from the judgemental stares that they were intelligent.
I could barely see the sky with all the trees in the way, but it seemed to have a golden hue to it that gave the air a strange feeling. It reminded me of Celestia’s garden, something she kept perpetually in bloom using some kind of overpowered ritual magic. It was probably something she bought or stole from the deer, if I had to guess. There’s no way she would have ever shared something like that with anyone else.
The trees were still singing, but it was quiet and gentle. I dubbed it the Deer City Background Music. It seemed perfect for a fae village. Between the treehouses, the judgmental stares, the golden air, and the music, I finally concluded the deer were essentially shittier versions of elves. If I’m honest, that made me lose almost all my interest in the day’s trip, but I forced myself to suck it up and deal with it.
“It can take generations to grow trees into shapes like these,” the guide proudly said, answering Fleur’s question. “And each owner can slowly modify their home with different seeds and splicing. You can’t tell yet, but many of these homes grow several types of fruit. They’ll be quite fantastic in another few months!”
“I hope we’ll be able to visit again soon, then,” Fleur said, still looking around in wonder.
“Are there no guards?” Taya asked. “I know the barrier is impressive, but shouldn’t there be someone here?”
“There is no need for us to be on guard against anything strong enough to break through the barrier,” the guide replied. “It would be capable of killing us all whether or not we tried resisting, after all. Fighting would only mean dying tired. Besides, we haven’t had any violent visitors in several hundred years. The only ones who come are those like Fluttershy, who seek only to help others, and master mages, who seek us out for our magic. Even if we did want to put out guards, patrolling the entire border of the city would be unrealistic. There aren’t enough soldiers here.”
Is that really something you should be telling to foreign nobles? “Do the soldiers here patrol at all, or are they solely for emergencies?” I asked.
“They’re for events and emergencies, for the most part,” she replied.
“What about crime?” Taya asked.
“Crime is an emergency,” the deer stuffily replied. “Not that it happens enough to warrant patrolling for it. The deer living in this city don’t feel enough fear to warrant soldiers everywhere, not like the Equestrians.”
“If I’m honest, the Equestrian guards don’t make me feel safe,” I said. “Most of them aren’t competent. For a small nation like this, defended by a powerful barrier, keeping a select group of elite soldiers makes more sense. Anyway, shall we get going?”
“Yes, of course,” Glade said. “This way, please.” She began leading the way again. All the conversations around us went silent as all the deer stopped whatever they were doing to stare at us. It was like they had some way of detecting us coming. Even whispering would have been less eerie than the total silence that surrounded us.
So it wasn’t surprising that we wanted to fill it. “Where are the male deer?” Taya finally asked. “I’ve only seen females.”
“We’ve passed several,” I replied. “They were standing right alongside the does, Taya.”
“None of the deer we’ve passed had antlers, though.”
“Antlers break off after the rut ends,” I said. “Or at least, that’s how it worked in my time.” Darya, point out the male deer for her.
“...I’m surprised someone not well-versed in our society would know of that,” Glade slowly said. “The rut you mentioned likely corresponds to our mating season. Quite a crude term for it, but it gets the meaning across. Buck antlers grow before it begins and fall off after it ends. Most of the antlers are converted into tools or crafts.”
“Are they for sale?” I asked. “Stag equipment is beautiful. I imagine the crafts would be cool, too.”
“We have no use for gold, but we do allow outsiders to barter for them. Typical payments involve food that’s hard to get in forests, crafts and tools of a similar quality, or drugs.”
“Drugs?” Fleur said.
“Equestrians have recently been producing an amazing substance called alcohol,” the deer replied with one of the most genuine smiles we’d seen all day. “Some Equestrians also use salt and other things to produce exquisite feelings. Deer are always on the market for such products.”
“That’s good to know,” I said with a smile of my own. Producing highly refined alcohol was something I intended to do with my village. Adding a weed farm would be simple. If I had trouble selling drugs in Equestria, I could trade them to the deer for goods that I could turn around and sell in Equestria for gold.
“...You may call yourself an omnivore, but you still have a predator’s smile,” Glade muttered.
“Realistically speaking, an omnivore is just the best of both worlds,” I said. “The temperament of prey with the mind of a predator. I’m fairly different, mentally speaking, from most other races in the world.” Add on a bunch of trauma and whatnot and you get a fun mix. “Besides, it’s not like the smile was a bad one. As it happens, Celestia has tasked me with founding a village next to the Everfree. Two of the things my village will produce are the drugs of which you speak. I was thinking it was fortuitous that I’d have products in which my neighbors would be interested.”
“You were definitely thinking something villainous,” Taya said. “I know that smile.”
“Then we’ll have to agree to disagree.” And stop trying to make me look bad. That part was transmitted through Darya. Taya muttered, but didn’t talk back.
“Has the princess approved your plan to produce drugs?” Fleur quietly asked.
“She didn’t tell me not to, and she knew where all the recipes for alcohol in Equestria came from. It’s illegal to import it into Equestria, but there haven’t been any problems so far from producing it domestically. I should point out, however, that too much alcohol at once will straight up kill you.”
“An acceptable risk,” Glade replied, not missing a beat.
“Far be it from me to tell a customer how to live his or her life,” I said with a shrug. “Whatever a product is used for when it’s no longer in my hands is no responsibility of mine, as long as the customer is at least warned about the dangers.”
“A commendable attitude,” Glade said. “Truly the mindset of a merchant.”
“Isn’t that incredibly irresponsible?” Fleur asked. “You’re producing things that can kill someone, then selling them off while refusing to take responsibility for what they do?”
“A lot of things can kill,” I said, booping her. “At the end of the day, I can’t let myself take responsibility for someone else’s actions.”
“If they’re only in a bad position because you enabled their behavior by producing poison, isn’t that your fault in the end?”
“It only becomes poison in a high enough quantity,” the deer replied for me. “If a deer dies because of it, that is solely the fault of the deer who drank too much of it. The many shouldn’t suffer the loss of such a wonderful product because of the stupidity of a few. The same goes for crime. Why should the many be oppressed by guards in the streets for the criminal acts of a few?”
“Yes, I think the deer might make for good trading partners after all,” I said with another smile.
“I swear, it sends shivers down my spine,” the deer whispered, looking away from me.
“It’s a good thing you never claimed to be a hero, lady countess,” Fleur said with a sigh, sounding quite tired.
“I have, in fact, claimed the opposite many times. I wouldn’t quite say I’m a villain, but I’m probably a bad person. It’s okay, though. Soon I’m going to be a bad person who’s swimming in sweet, sweet profits. I can donate as much money as I need to refill my karma meter.”
“Please pick something other than a clown college,” Taya said.
“Of course.”
“The buildings are starting to look much more complex and elaborate,” Fleur said, forcefully changing the topic. “Do they get older the closer we get to the center?”
“That’s right,” Glade said. “The king and queen live in the tree palace at the center of the grove. In time, all the tree homes will grow and meld together with the palace and it will slowly spread its influence across the entire forest.” And Celestia’s just okay with that? I guess losing a forest doesn’t matter much when the nearby village doesn’t use it anyway.
“Do the deer living in those houses have to move when that happens?” Fleur asked.
“No. They get the privilege of joining the royal staff in taking care of the palace.”
“Do deer have ranks outside of the royalty?” I asked. “Things like nobles or other officials.”
“We do have some nobility, yes. However, they have to earn the titles. Children of nobles are not counted as part of the nobility unless they earn titles of their own. They all manage different parts of the forest. There’s a noble for agriculture, the barrier, the magic sustaining the environment, and several others. It’s unlikely that you’ll meet them today. Each is quite busy.”
“Understandable, if disappointing,” Fleur replied. “I’m quite impressed by the magic keeping up the weather. It reminds me of Celestia’s garden.”
“The ponies have purchased several magicks from us. That is likely one of them.”
“No, the magic in the garden is different,” Taya said. “Really similar, though. Celestia probably modified it.”
Glade snorted. “As if perfection can be improved upon.”
“A modification isn’t the same as an improvement,” Taya said. “She changed the mental effect the barrier produces. I think the purpose is to make whoever’s in the garden calm instead of openly influencing them.”
“Ah, so that’s how she manages her menagerie of wildly different animals,” I said. “I guess it would make sense to have a garden that calms the people who walk through it, too.” Although knowing the mare she used to be, it was probably for a more sinister purpose. The first time I met her, she took me on a walk through the gardens… I noticed that magic was there, but I didn’t realize how it was affecting me.
Judging by the frown on her face, Fleur was probably thinking something similar. Thankfully, she knew that wasn’t something to talk about in another nation. “Perhaps I should have studied up on my magic a bit more when I was a filly,” Fleur said. “Taya, your sensitivity and knowledge are incredible. Do you think you could do something like modifying magic?”
“No, it’s too dangerous for me,” Taya said. “Especially something this powerful. It might turn into a bomb in—Actually, maybe I’ll try it after all! An incomplete spell has a lot of destructive power, right?”
“No, it unleashes chaos magic all over the place,” I said. “Don’t do it, trust me. Something crazy might happen, like getting turned into a pegasus. It also screws up the environment all around the epicenter, warping reality to an almost dangerous degree for years and years.”
“Isn’t that how you got your wings?” Fleur asked.
“Yes, which is why I know it’s not worth it. I was lucky it ended with me turning into a pegasus for a week. Or at least, that the effects on me personally ended that way. As far as I know, the land it happened on is still messed up.”
“What happened to the one who used the magic?” Glade asked.
“She disappeared, only to show up later, insane and a lot more powerful. She was also working for Discord, the genocidal enemy to all life. I beat her up and sold her as a slave to a demon from Tartarus.” Fleur groaned and facehooved.
“Oh ho, so you even have contacts in Tartarus, of all places,” Glade said. “That’s quite impressive. We tried selling some of our criminals to the demons early on, but in the end, we elected to stick with griffins and dragons. If you don’t mind me asking, what did he offer in exchange?”
“His help. I’m not quite sure what goods they might have to offer. Most of what demons offer are services. This particular demon was an alphyn, one of the native races of Tartarus. He was originally summoned by the insane unicorn, but didn’t want to work with her. He helped me beat her and in exchange, I helped him get revenge on her.” Though the look of utter terror on her face as she sunk into the pits of hell was good revenge for me, too. “You said before you didn’t have guards. You might be able to trade slaves to demons for protection, instead. You know, on the off chance anything makes it through the barrier.”
“Quite the interesting take. I’m beginning to see why King Aspen decided to grant you an audience.”
“Nav, do you remember your promise?” Fleur quietly asked.
“Hey, I’m just having a conversation,” I replied with a shrug. “It’s not my fault our guide is more interesting than I thought. I mean, you talk about summoning demons in Canterlot and people get a lot more pale. You actually seem to have a pulse, Miss Glade.”
“The ultimate joy of prey is to welcome death whenever it comes,” Glade said. “There is no room for fear in our lives. To us, demons are just another way that death may come.”
“Then why’s everyone just staring at us?” Taya asked. “If they aren’t afraid, why aren’t they talking?”
“It’s just to make us feel unwelcome,” I said, patting her back. “Don’t pay them any mind, Taya. We aren’t here at their invitation, but their king’s.”
“Do you have any sense of restraint at all?” Fleur hissed.
“Now you know why Rarity’s stuck making me so many dresses. But fine, I’ll stop talking. Happy?” She probably wasn’t, but it made Glade giggle. Fleur groaned and wrenched control of the conversation back. Since she wanted to be the center of attention for a while, I let her take over.
“This place is eerie,” Taya said in my head.
“Seriously. We’ve probably passed a few hundred deer, but it’s been so utterly silent. I was hoping to have more of a glimpse at their society, but this… We’re clearly not welcome here, are we?”
“Do we really want to be welcome in a society where they sell their own as food?” Taya asked. “That seems kinda scummy.”
“True. But it’s also true that the world outside their bubble is scary. It’s clearly not as bad as they think it is, though. Fleur’s goal with this trip is to help them realize that. So even if this place is eerie and even if their behavior does seem kinda scummy, we have to play nice. Especially when we get before their king. Don’t do anything except introduce yourself.”
“Don’t worry, mommy. I’ll leave it to you to ruin everything.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. It’s good we can talk in front of them like this. If not, I probably would have lost my mind. Seriously, can they do anything but stare? Actually…”
I finally realized part of why it all felt so uncomfortable. Every buck around us seemed to be paired with a doe. It seemed too perfect to be mere chance. Everywhere I looked, I found two pairs of eyes watching us. I realized it had been the same since we arrived.
“Glade, I have a question,” I said, breaking into Fleur’s pointless conversation about flowers.
“I’d be happy to answer,” our guide evenly replied. It actually did seem like she was more interested in dealing with me than with Fleur, oddly enough.
“I’ve noticed something about the deer around us. Bucks seemed paired with does. It took a while to notice, but they’re all prepared to run, covering for each other in groups of two. For them to be this in sync… Are deer paired off at birth?”
“That’s quite the eye you have, Countess,” Glade said with a laugh. “Indeed, bucks are paired with doe at birth. They spend all their time together, from birth until death.”
“That’s… interesting,” Fleur said. “So spouses are determined at birth?”
“Correct, Lady Fleur,” Glade replied. “There are exceptions to this, but it holds true for the common deer.”
“It seems to work out pretty well, all things told,” I said. “You said they spend all their time together. Is that literal?
“Indeed. Where a buck goes, the doe follows. When a doe wanders, the buck hurries behind her.”
“Sounds romantic. How are partners decided? Do the parents pick or is it some kind of lottery?”
“The king picks. It is all part of his plan.”
“Interesting! I wonder if he has a eugenics plan of his own going on. And there’s never any unplanned pregnancies or anything?”
“Such incidences of rebellion were stamped out long ago. Any children that aren’t born under the king’s guidance are no children of the deer. Such abominations were quickly and harshly dealt with.”
Who’s the prey, again? Jesus. “Ah. That was my last question, thank you.” Letting Fleur take over seemed like a pretty good idea, after all. She did so with relish, once again turning the talk toward flowers.
“I think I wanna go home,” Taya said in my head, looking around in disgust.
“Get that look off your face,” I said. “You can’t openly disdain others. Keep your judgement to yourself, like the deer are now. You could learn something from their blank, emotionless stares.”
“This place is super creepy, though,” she said. “I’m not sure if you can tell, but the nature magic is getting stronger the closer we get to the center. There’s a low-level brainwash effect.”
“Is that targeting us, or is it just in the air?”
“Just in the air, probably part of the barrier. It’s actually avoiding all four of us, but it’s surrounding all the other deer. It’s not enough to actually control them, but it can at least influence their emotions. Whatever’s powerful enough to control this magic is something we don’t want to make an enemy.”
“No wonder Celestia decided it wasn’t worth the effort to conquer them. Some stones are better left unturned. Do you think there’s actually a mage controlling this, or is there a source for this power?”
“From what I can sense, all the trees here are connected at the roots. They’re providing the energy necessary, I think. When we get closer to the big tree, I’ll know for sure. That said, someone still has to actually control that power. The deer would probably be able to tap into it as long as they’re within the barrier, but I don’t think they could take advantage of it outside the city.”
“Do you think you’d have issues escaping, if it came to it?”
“I… think I can teleport within the barrier, but there’s no way I can get us outside of it. But once we’re on the other side, I can get us away with no problem.”
“Well… Let’s prioritize not having to run away in the first place. Activate cute mode. Do your best.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing your cute mode in action too, mommy,” she bitterly replied. With that, the bored look on her face was quickly replaced by a gentle smile. She began looking around in wonder, occasionally oohing and ahhing.
Flo, I put you in charge of my cute mode. I believe in you.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she replied. “But isn’t this something you should perfect on your own?”
No, don’t be ridiculous. I have you two to help me make up for my weaknesses, right? We can maybe practice or something later, but this isn’t the right time to be practicing. It’s better to get it right. If that means entrusting it to a third party, so be it.
“Sounds like an excuse made up on the spot, to me,” she retorted.
Fine, be that way. Darya, I put you in charge of my cute mode. I believe in you.
“Understood, my lady,” she replied. “I would never do anything to let you down, after all. Then if you don’t mind, I’ll be taking control and dumping you back into your mind. So you can be alone together with Flo. Enjoy!”
I didn’t have time to regret my decision before ending up back inside Flo’s glade. The regret started kicking in right as I was picked up and hugged from behind. “Hello, Navi,” Flo warmly said.
“Greetings. Darya, please don’t go too overboard. I don’t want Fleur to get her expectations up.”
“I shall keep that recommendation in mind, my lady.”
My regret suddenly skyrocketed, but I wasn’t given time to change my mind. “So why did you ignore my advice, hm?” Flo sweetly asked, gently rocking me back and forth.
“Why did you ignore my point of view, hm? At least I had a reason for my choice. You just disregarded it entirely, calling it an excuse.”
“That’s because I know part of why you wanted me to take over was because you didn’t want to be bothered. The reason I’m not even more upset is because you also didn’t want to make Fleur look bad. However, I’m not sure that leaving her to deal with the entire meeting with the king on her own is wise. Once the introductions are over, you should definitely take back over. And be on your best behavior, of course. Just pretend that he’s a single wrong word away from executing both you and Taya.”
“Given what Taya said earlier, that might be possible. Now, shall we enjoy the view? If nothing else, their city really is pretty.” I summoned a TV with surround sound so I could see and hear through my own body.
“I’ll let you get away with changing the subject this time, but only because it actually is pretty neat. I was once seen as a deity of the forest, yet my imagination never dreamed up something as wondrous as this.”
“Wow, you got beaten by the deer? Oof.”
“Don’t make me snuggle you tighter.”
That sounded scary, so I stopped and watched the scenery pass instead. Darya wasn’t participating in the conversation, so I could safely ignore it and focus on the cool tree houses. They were getting progressively larger and more intricate the further we went. All the deer inside seemed to be staring at us in silence, too. Now that I saw it from the outside, it honestly felt like a horror movie.
“...I hope we’re not walking into an ambush,” I whispered.
“The king surely wouldn’t do something as stupid as officially inviting two Equestrian nobles to an ambush,” Flo replied. “I can protect you and Taya from any brainwashing effect. Fleur’s a risk, but if Taya can detect it, we can move to protect her. I do agree that this behavior is unbecoming of the deer, though. I get that they aren’t used to guests, but this is a little much!”
“It has to be on purpose, right? Did they all get together and decide this before we showed up or is this part of the brainwash effect? There’s no way every single one of them would have the same reaction at the same time unless they actually practice this. Imagine having a drill where you have to stop whatever you’re doing and stare blankly at someone until they’re not in sight. This place is crazy!”
“The point is probably to unnerve us, and it’s certainly working.”
“Should I make silly faces?” Darya asked from the speakers. “Maybe we can make them change expressions.”
“Silly isn’t cute. Well, unless Pinkie is involved, but she’s only fake cute, not real cute. Point is, no silly faces. We’ll just keep ignoring these creeps.”
“As you wish, my lady.” Thankfully, the tree castle was finally in view. The first leg of our journey through the trees of judgment was almost at an end.
“We’re almost there,” Fleur said directly in our minds. “You better not have just left this to your elementals, Nav and Taya!”
“How’d you know?!” Taya demanded. “Wait, the eye color! Flo, you gave it away!”
“What, you’ll help her, but not me?” I asked. “She made me use Darya!”
“Permission has been rescinded,” Darya said. “Returning control of your body.” I had just enough time to sigh before I was jolted back to reality. Fleur was still carrying on with the guide. Taya was muttering and glaring at Fleur’s back, but quickly returned to the perfect cute mode. Since my cute mode was always on, I didn’t have any extra work.
The castle we were walking up to was easily the largest collection of trees I had ever seen. They all hung off each other, forming a large mass of wood and leaves that gradually got higher and higher. With all the foliage, though, I could barely see much except the front of it. Even this place seemingly had no guards, though several deer that were previously walking around and inside the palace were currently stopped to stare at us. Their blank looks were the same as those from the deer we already passed. The only difference is that these deer were better groomed, had a larger variety of colors, and one or two even had accessories.
Glade led the way straight through the overly ornate front doors. The entryway was quite spacious, but at this point, looking around and staring might be seen as rude. To that end, I focused on how I walked in an attempt to look slightly more graceful. The tail actually made it slightly easier. My filly was doing pretty well, too. We probably wouldn’t shame Fleur more than necessary.
Getting to the throne room actually didn’t take very long. It was the only door so far we ran into that actually had what looked like guards in front of it. Those two guards actually didn’t lifelessly stare at us. Instead, their eyes were fixed on Glade.
“I have come with our guests,” she said, bowing her head to one of the guards, the buck of the pair. “Is his highness prepared?”
“King Aspen was informed when you passed through the barrier,” the hornless buck replied. “The royal family is gathered to meet them. Go through.”
“Nav, behave,” Fleur whispered.
There was no reason to reply to that. After all, it’s not like the hero of the story would ever ruin everything, right? No, I’d be happy to leave that responsibility to my filly.
Although I guess the ideal end result would be to not ruin everything, but we can’t always get what we want. I disregarded Flo’s utterly disappointed sigh and followed Glade into the throne room.