Ponyfinder: The Lost Flowers

by David Silver


12 - Welcome

Lily stood at attention with a nervous little smile. "Everything alright?"

The flutterponies that were assembled before her were whispering back and forth, a lot. They were having quite the chat, glancing at her once in a while.

"I can go if you want?" Lily pointed back out of the tree they were in. "It's no big deal..."

"Not so fast." A male flutter broke from the group. "You are a unique situation, you know that. A druid that has learned first circle spells and proven they belong, yet does not know the language. How do you even..." He frowned, question not finished, so a new one came up instead. "Do you not hear words you can't understand, in your dreams?"

"Oh, right, the secret." She curled her hooves to make two quotes in time with that last word. "If you want to share it, you can. But I'm already learning a lot, and I don't even see the advantage, since everyone here speaks Ponish." She sank to her haunches. "Thank goodness for small favors."

He shook his head. "That language is sacred to our order." He brought up a hoof. "I mean, the larger ones. Druids, as a whole." He threw both hooves wide. "Not this specific one, of animals. When we receive our spells, the song is in that language, so it is confusing to think that you still manage it." The other druids nodded in agreement, little murmurs of confusion coming from them. "But, that is how nature works."

He took a step towards Lily. "When a creature performs the impossible, well... It must not be as impossible as one thought, and nature cares little for your confusion. Why, we are impossible creatures." He lifted off the ground on little flutters of his butterfly wings. "These are not fast enough. They are not large enough. Despite this, my wings give me freedom." He came in closer, hovering in with a smile. "I am talking to myself now, but I feel I have made some sense of this, so do forgive me."

Landing right in front of Lily, he reached out to set a hoof on her chest. "We are wasting time, arguing the facts before us. I can fly, and you hear the call of nature. Neither of these things can be argued."

Lily smiled with dawning hope. "So we're all good then?"

"I think we are." The druid leaned in, tapping the end of his nose to Lily's. "So you wish to help animals?"

Lily shied back, hoof raising to rub the point of unexpected contact. "It felt right, to give a hoof to them. Poor things needed a little help."

"Animals will only rarely thank you." He circled Lily at a sedate pace. "Many will hiss and bark to send you away, even if you have worked very hard to make their lives a little better."

"They're animals." Lily shrugged softly. "They don't know better." She suddenly perked. "Is there a spell to talk to them? Then I could Fluttershy it up."

The man inclined his head. He did not bother asking what a Fluttershy was or how one performed one. "There is, but that is not the point. We do not exist to force our concepts upon the natural world. To speak to them a trick used when needed, but that they do not is the normal." He sat and brought his hooves together. "If you never learned that spell, what would you do?"

"My best?" Lily offered a bit lamely. "What else would I do?"

"A fine answer." He fluttered his wings without taking flight. "But there is a thing all animal order druids have that you do not." He extended a hoof out and waited patiently. A wolf emerged from the back and moved up to the extended hoof to be petted without any words being shared between the two. "But, you are a unique case, as we covered. Perhaps this will not be your way. I'm not sure."

Squinting into the dim lighting of the animal order's den, Lily could see other animals were about, watching the exchange almost as intently as the other animal druids. Were they friends of the other druids? "A... pet?"

The druid frowned at that word. "Only an outsider would call our companions 'pets'." He smiled at Lily just as quickly. "Fortunately for you, that is exactly what you are." As if that fit some joke that amused him. "They are tied to us in a way no family dog ever could be. As we grow more sure and our connection to nature deepens, they can sup gently and grow alongside us. They are part of us, and we, part of them."

Lily worried a hoof against a smooshed cheek. "Huh. So how do I get one, if everycreature in the order gets one?"

He pointed past her. "I have a feeling your bond is already half-formed, but you didn't know to reach for it. Prove my hunch correct, and lay to rest any lingering doubt as to your place in our order. Think to animals you came into contact with recently. One came closer. One listened. Go and find them, and apologize for being so slow to notice."

Lily raised a hoof, ready to turn. "Is that a 'now' thing?"

"There is little more to discuss before it is done." He dipped his head at her. "I wish you luck. When you have them, bring them here and we will celebrate with you."

And so it was that Lily was dismissed. But she hadn't been kicked out of the order, just given homework. She tried to think of animals. "I messed that up." When she could have seen some animals, she had drugged herself loopy. No animals seen that day. She had seen all kinds of colorful birds, basically every day. There were insects about. The big flutterponies lived with small little butterflies. They were all over, but they didn't chat, or listen, so far as she knew.

"The beavers?"

Rose raised a brow at the odd statement. "The beavers?"

Lily had arrived back at their home without really thinking. "Oh, huh. Hey Rose." She accelerated towards her friend, the two sharing a brief hug. "I was told to find an animal that 'had listened' to me."

Rose inclined her head. "Then, yeah, the beavers." She pointed the way, down and to the side. "The first one? You put out your hoof and one came up, remember? I thought you were doing that on purpose! Showing off your Fluttershy moves."

Lily blinked slowly, eyes wide. "Oh! Oh yeah!" She clopped a hoof to her face. "I made a friend and didn't even remember. I was too... bit at the end of that. I fixed his den and trotted right off." She raised a hoof out straight. "I did it just like he did! And the beaver came right up..." Just like the wolf had, and accepted a gentle petting the same way. "I feel so dumb!"

That was when she noticed something missing. "Where's Daisy?"

Rose grinned at that. "When you were off saying hi to your order, she went mad with jealousy."

"What?! She alright?" Lily began looking around, peeking under a chair as if Daisy might be hiding under it. "We have--"

Rose pounced Lily, crashing onto her back. "Calm down." She held her flower sister down, hugging her tight. "I was joking. I meant she went off to the fire order. She worked it up in her head that she could prove her worth if she just went and asked properly." She slipped free of Lily. "Conveniently forgetting she doesn't have permission. You do, she doesn't. Like I said, mad with jealousy."

Lily sat up, recovering from the sudden pounce. "Oh, alright, but... She really is, I mean, she belongs there. I don't know how or why, but she loves fire."

Rose poked Lily right on the snoot. "And since when were you into animals? I don't remember you hanging out much with Fluttershy or Doctor Fauna."

Lily's thoughts went back to the two animal tenders of Ponyville. "I have a lot to talk to them about now." A silly smile spread on her face. "Especially if I get that animal talking spell before we go back." Suddenly she flinched. "Speaking of that! When do we get to go back? Do we get to go back? They came here, and they got back, right? So there has to be a way..." She pawed at the ground, her good mood shattered. "We can't stay here forever."

Rose lifted both hooves and shoulders in a mighty shrug. "What's the alternative plan? The others ran off to adventure I think. So... if you two decided you want to risk that..."

Lily shrank at the idea. "No..."

"I didn't think so." Rose nodded firmly. "So we just do the best we can right here." She waved a hoof in a slow circle. "At least, this place is actually pretty nice. And I feel like I'm getting a hoof on it. Tomorrow, after we're sure Daisy didn't get in trouble, I plan to march over to the head druid, who is also the mayor, and asking for property to start our flower stand up. I mean here." She tapped at the ground. "Flutters like flowers too! Nice colorful ones that smell nice."

Lily smiled nervously. "That would be nice... It's been so long since we've run the stand... Can we do that and be druids at the same time?" She tapped at her own chest. "Will a beaver want to hang out with flowers?"

Rose rolled her eyes at that. "You'll just have to ask them, won't you?"

"Oh yeah!" Lily rushed out of the house without further words. She had a beaver to find! She danced the entire time the lift lowered her down towards the forest floor. "Please be there!" But before she could get much off the lift, several flutters descended on her in a circle. "I'm a little busy."

The dragonfly directly ahead of her shook their head. "No can do." A female. "You aren't allowed outside the city, remember?"

Lily recoiled. She had been told that! But... "I have to go back to where I was summoned." She pointed the way. "And chat with a beaver. I'll come back after that, promise."

In many places, this would have been a mad request. But in a community that had so many druids... "Oh. Well, I'll come with you. She'd get mad if I let you wander off." The dragonfly moved to Lily's side instead of barring the way and walked in time with her. "Why are you hunting a beaver?"

"I'm not hunting them." Lily made a face at the idea. "I would never hurt an animal. I want to apologize and say hello."


Elsewhere, Daisy threw fire from hoof to hoof. "This is Ferdinand, and he says hello. He doesn't have long, but he'd love to show off a bit before then." She threw him up in a lazy arc, just to catch him. "The life of a fire is like that, short, but so bright."

Six druids sat before her, watching her escapades, some with raised brows, others flat of expression. One of them, a pony with dark brown fur, stood up. "Fire is a beast, always hungry, and ready to feast. Its dance brings life, but also death. One in the future, and the other in the present. Do you understand that?"

Daisy shrank back, cradling Ferdinand close as if to protect the flame child she had made from the others. "Not every fire has to eat."

"Every fire has to eat," argued the pony. "A fire that does not eat is no true flame. Even the one in your grasp." He nodded at Ferdinand. "They devour your magic and attention. Without them, it would fade away. If you give it better food, it would spread without you. Fire has no loyalty."

There was more yet to learn of flames.