The wind howled around them, making Daisy's ears rustle, the fur wafting as she struggled to get another hoof into place to drag herself along the steep rock surface. "Do we have to... go this far?"
Rose tugged on the rope that held Daisy, helping her ascend a little faster. "These flowers are beyond the pale. I hear they'll knock the socks off any pony that sees them."
Lily stuck out her tongue at the idea. "I hope not. It's cold, I need my socks."
Daisy scrambled up to the step that Rose had helped her reach. "It's a figure of speech." She focused on Rose. "Right?"
"Yeah." Rose snorted with a smile as she got towards the next narrow trail that allowed them to get higher. "Let's get to a nice solid ledge before it gets too dark."
Shimmying along the sheer surface, the path broadened a few minutes in to something they could consider. Lily nodded at it. "I vote here. It's only getting darker." She waved a hoof up at the dimming sky. Stars were already peeking out behind day sky, warning of impending night.
"But check out the view." Daisy sat, viewing the sunset with its brilliant colors. "It's different, from up here."
"Yeah." Rose crashed next to her. "I was so focused on the flowers, it's easy to miss things like that. Um, but if we don't get our tents up soonish, we just won't have any."
Lily joined the other two, enjoying the sunset. "Is that such a big deal? It's not raining and it isn't that cold, with my socks." She waggled a sock-adorned hoof, shielded from the cold sufficiently in her view. "Let's enjoy the moment."
The girls sat quietly as the sun sank beneath the horizon, the moon raising in its place. Rose was the first to stand. "Well, it was your call, so we're sleeping under the stars tonight." She moved away from the ledge and flopped over. Drawing out her rolled tent, she used it as a pillow instead. "G'night!"
"Nice idea." Daisy copied the notion, soon curled with her tent as more of a body pillow, hugging it for comfort as she dozed off.
Lily giggled at the two as she sank to her belly and just closed her eyes without a pillow to speak of. Her mind was filled with the happy idea that they'd get their flower the next day and head down back to flat lands.
It was quiet and still, until it wasn't. With a great peal of thunder, all three yelped, bolting to their hooves, or trying. The wind picked up to a great roar around them. They weren't laying on the ground, swirling around in some great torrent of air that carried them. It was as if they were in the middle of some kind of tornado. "What's going on?" screamed one of them, not that any of them could be sure which one of them said it, and even the one that said it couldn't hear themselves screaming.
Lightning lanced and jumped around them, some coming within inches of their flailing hooves. The angry storm had them, but they weren't struck at least. Just as suddenly as it came, the wind faded away, leaving them hovering for just a moment. "Oh... No," got out Rose just before gravity remembered to do its job, yanking all three of them down in a rush towards what seemed to be a forest so dense, the Everfree was just a city park in comparison.
It was perhaps without surprise that everything went dark on impact.
Daisy was first to awaken, head spinning. "Oof," she grunted, her hooves kicking weakly at the air. Oh, she was on her back, she realized. "Ow." Her eyes began to focus and she squeaked, realizing something was above her, watching her! A pony, with strangely thin limbs and alien details. It also had two great antennae curled from its head. It had big butterfly wings with a variety of dazzling colors. "What?"
"Hiya," it replied with a musical trill, grinning down at her. "You aren't a pegasus, or a flutter. Why were you flying? Are you a wizard?" It clapped its hooves with building excitement. "I bet you are! I never met a really powerful wizard before. Do you have to be powerful to fly as a wizard? I forget." It tapped its chin thoughtfully.
Daisy was left bewildered. "Um..." That was a lot of questions... "Um... I'm not a wizard. I'm not even a unicorn."
"Daisy?" came a familiar and concerned tone. "You alright?" Looking over Daisy could see Rose with a confused expression. "Just stay still, I'll rescue you."
Daisy looked back up at the strange butterfly-pony that was hovering over her. "I... don't think it's mean."
"I'm not mean," assured the butterfly. "And I'm a he." He leaned in waggling his brows. "But we don't know each other well enough to worry about that. Hiya! I'm Warm Sunset."
"That's a nice name," allowed Daisy, sitting up slowly. "Did you see another earth pony, like me? Pink, also like me, darker though, flowers for a cutie mark, also like me, but different flowers?"
"And a blond mane," added Rose as she closed in. "I'm Rose, by the way."
"Rose!" Warm seemed pleased at the knowledge given. "You look like a rose. Do I look like a warm sunset?" He twisted, showing off his body and wings with a grin.
"Uh huh..." Rose was more paying attention to sweeping the area. They were in some kind of thick forest. A jungle, but not as hot as one might expect a jungle to be. Did jungles come in moderate? Apparently so. "We really have to find our friend. She could be hurt."
"Oh no!" gasped out Warm, hooves to his cheeks. "Guys!" Suddenly there were countless other flutters poking their snouts out of various places. "Missing pony, could be hurt. Earth, pink, blond mane!"
For as silly as he had been, it was suddenly quite serious. The area swarmed with the other flutters, the search fully mobilized without complaint with shrill cries. Some were calling the lost pony, others were calling to each other, noting what they had found or not found. The forest was alive with activity.
Rose watched, mouth agape, at the sudden transformation of things, with all those insect ponies rushing about. "Found her!" came one cry, pushing an earth pony up out of the water with loud splashes.
Lily was awake, angry even. She shook herself vigorously, sending water everywhere as she looked around wildly. "Where am I?!"
"The forest of dreams," came a new voice, a similarly pink flutter standing on a ledge just above Daisy was smiling down at her. "Just outside of Prisma. Welcome!"
"Welcome!" called the crowd at once even as it began to disperse, the emergency handled.
The original flutter hovering over Daisy nodded at her. "Your friend looks alright. Was she flying too? Flying takes practice, take it from me."
Rose waved to Lily across the stream as she was. "We're over here," she shouted at their separated friend. Her eyes went back to Warm. "So... Forest of Dreams, huh?"
Daisy inclined her head. "Does that mean we're sleeping?"
"That would be pretty funny." Warm bobbed his head. "But no. we're all awake." He lifted up only to come down next to Rose. "I answered a lot of your questions but you aren't answering mine much. That isn't fair. C'mon!"
Daisy got up to her hooves, legs shaking a little. "We weren't trying to fly."
"Step away from them," boomed a sudden new voice. A female flutter descended towards them with two other flutters flanking her, one at either side. Her antennae were long and heavy and she wore fine jewelry in the pattern of leaves and branches. "They are aberrations. Nature recoils from their presence."
Warm made himself scarce, flying away on fluttering wings and not looking back.
One of the two flutters accompanying the new present went and grabbed up a squeaking and resisting Lily, bringing her across the river to her friends and dumping her with them.
Rose cleared her throat. "Um, hi? We happen to like nature."
"A lot," agreed Daisy.
"We're florists," finished Lily. "Nature is one of our things. We're also earth ponies, so, you know, living up that stereotype."
The seemingly older but not elder flutter inclined her head faintly. "I am not aware of that stereotype, nor do you appear as an earth-bound typically would. Ponies are welcome here, but I am unconvinced you are one. Four hooves and a brand of destiny does not assure that." She raised one of her own. "I have all five of those, and yet, a pony, not precisely."
Rose gestured at her co-florists. "Well, we are ponies. We always have been. What's a 'brand of destiny' anywho?"
"That." The elder directed a hoof at Rose's rose on her rump. "This." She directed to her own, showing a tall tree festooned with life and small ornate houses in equal abundance, quite complex for a cutiemark. "Though I am old enough to admit mine was added with paint, instead of the touch of gods. I still fancy it."
"Very nice," agreed the flutter on the left.
"Awe-inspiring," chimed the one on the right.
Daisy inclined her entire body for a better view of the art piece. "For a pony, trying to disguise your cutie mark doesn't end well, usually."
That got a smile from the matriarch. "That statement does much to calm me. A matter of frank truth, but one not known to many who are not a pony themselves. I am mayor of this city." She turned and gestured, directing their eyes at a dazzlingly colorful cities in the branches above them that had just been unnoticed until that point.
The bee-like flutter on the left stepped forward. "She is also our head druid."
"Wise," echoed the moth on the right. "Only one of few to achieve both at once."
The druid/mayor batted away at the comments, but her smile hinted she was alright with a little ego polishing. "You are not of this world, however. That much is clear. For now, I would ask that you remain in the city while we learn more. Do you have coins?"
Lily dug out a pouch of bits. "We have these. You do take bits, right?"
"Bits?" She lifted from the ground, the mayor hovering closer at an angle to peer into the bag. "How curious. Are they still made of gold?"
"I think so?" Lily got one coin out onto the flat of her hoof, holding it up for inspection. "Always assumed they were."
Rose shrugged softly. "We don't mint them, just use them."
"And earn them," chimed Daisy. "Speaking of that... Our shop needs us, at it. If you could just point us back towards Ponyville?" She turned in place. "Whatever direction that is."
The mayor sighed. "Not a name I know, which does not surprise me." She hovered over each visitor, tapping each on the head. "They are guests. Lost and confused. See they are comfortable, but they are not to leave the city." She landed as her assistants both saluted. "If you wish to practice your profession, we have other lovers of flowers here, a great many. Perhaps lessons can be learned?"
The moth perked, fluffy ears twitching. "I have a friend who has a wonderful garden, more dazzling at once than the city is as a whole, if you can believe it."
The bee rolled their eyes. "You always claim that. It doesn't make it true. It is pretty though."
Rose took a step forward. "Thank you, for your welcome, um... So, bits, not the local currency?" All three of the flutters shook their head. "So how are we gonna get anything done with no money at all?"
"A little gift, for a new friend." The mayor/druid drew out a pouch and from it took a single coin of off-silver, holding it out until Rose snatched it in her teeth. "That is a platinum piece, worth ten gold, which are, in turn, worth ten silver, which are ten copper each. That one coin has quite remarkable value, and should see to the needs of you and your friends for now."