Breath in. Breath out. Let your mind wander. Embrace the feel of your surroundings. These were the thoughts that ran through Anon's mind. A mantra that he followed completely from under his new favorite tree. Under its shade, the Human sat cross-legged, back straightened against its trunk, arms limp at his side, and eyes closed. As he did, his body and mind were lulled into a gentle peace by his surroundings. Birds chirped and leaves rustled in the breeze, the sounds conjuring small green orbs in his mind in their general directions. He let it happen, a soft smile gracing his lips as he let his awareness spread further through his surroundings.
For a long few minutes, he stayed like this, enjoying his zen surrounded by nature.
His smile wilted slightly when an unknown presence entered his range of perception. It was a faint presence, barely noticeable even from the three foot range he could register it in. On top of that, he didn't hear anything out of the ordinary , thought he did catch a faint floral scent in the air. Curious, he opened his eyes and looked around only to be met with the sight of trees and abandoned homes.
Frowning, he closed his eyes and returned to his trance.
This time, when he found the presence again, he zeroed in on it directly. Doing so didn't reveal all that much, the presence seemingly cringing away from his attempts. Aside from that, he didn't feel any kind of hostility from the presence. In a lot of ways, it felt similar to what he sensed from young rabbits or butterflies, but he could tell there was....something sitting just beneath the surface. He also knew that whoever this was, was watching him from what he now knew was one of the abandoned homes. It was for that reason that he was especially cautious as he came out of his zen.
He let out a slow breath and casually rose to his feet, brushing dirt and stray blades of grass from his pants. While calm on the surface, he was as tense as a pressed spring, trying to watch the building in question from his peripherals as he made his way towards his home. When he couldn't do that anymore, he focused on his hearing while keeping his eyes locked onto the path before him. At the same time, he kept his hands in his pockets, one held tightly onto his knife.
Okay, so, what are we dealing with? he thought, maintaining his act. They're way too quiet for an Earth Pony and I'd think a Unicorn would've been better at hiding their presence. Pegasus? Maybe, but I don't think they'd be able to hide their wingbeats all that well. Plus, they almost feel like they belong out here. A nature spirit? Wouldn't be all that surprising. This is a world full of magic, right?
A faint branch-snap ten feet behind him stopped him dead in his tracks. Peeking over his shoulder revealed an empty trail, but the feeling of eyes on him was still present. He let his tension become visible as he looked forward, his pace becoming more urgent as a result. A bit of relief filled him when his home started to come into view, only for it to fall out of him when he heard a set of footsteps start to make themselves know. With only ten feet standing between him and his home, he heard a branch snap about two feet behind him.
In one fluid motion, he spun to face his pursuer.
***
Fluttershy was not a brave mare. At least, she never saw herself as one. Even now, a week after the Nightmare Moon incident, she did not see herself as a particularly brave Pony. As such, even she was surprised that she was doing what she was doing.
It had all started with a passing comment from her friend, Rarity. While on one of their weekly spa visits, the ivory Unicorn mentioned how she had insulted a creature's home in the older outskirts of town. While her curiosity pressed her to learn more about this strange creature, she couldn't muster up the nerve to do so. Her interest grew when Pinkie told her more about the creature. She had to admit, what the pink mare described fascinated her, but her nerves just refused to let her give-in to her growing curiosity. When Rainbow gave her opinion of the creature, that started to change. According to her, the creature also had a knack for working with animals, even ones that were protectively violent if the Pegasus' leg was anything to go off of. Even Applejack seemed to hold the creature in high regards, though she did mention that he didn't seem all that eager to enter the more populated portions of town. That was a sentiment Fluttershy could relate to, the shy mare often opting to take less active routs through the town. Ultimately, It was Twilight and Spike that where the ones to give her what she needed to get past her nerves.
It surprised her just how much the lavender Unicorn had managed to learn about the Human. All of it just added to the growing curiosity gnawing at the back of her mind. Eventually, it became to much for her and after getting a map of the area from Pinkie, headed out to meet Anon.
Unfortunately for the yellow Pegasus, when she did find the Human, all of that fire quickly died. As such she found herself taking shelter in one of the abandoned homes near him. She gulped, her teal eyes peaking out from the building's front door, her long pink mane hiding half of her face and reaching her lower-back. Her tail was similar, flicking nervously behind her as she watched the Human meditate. Her dark green turtleneck and gray skirt helped her blend into the wild tones of her surroundings while also emphasizing her full hourglass figure to anyone skilled enough to see her. Anon didn't seem to be one of those people, the Human seemingly oblivious to her presence. When she saw him start to open his eyes, she shuffled further into the shadows, her soft step and open-toed whicker sandals masking her footsteps almost perfectly.
She waited with her hands over her muzzle, hiding her breathing as best as she could while her ears tracked him. A heavy silence hung in the air, the sounds of nature the only signs that the whole world hadn't suddenly vanished. Taking a steadying breath, she peeked out of her cover. To her surprise, he had chosen that precise moment to get up and start making his way down the path. Once her hiding place was out of his line of sight, she silently crept out of hiding. Keeping to the shadows of the forest canopy, she lightly hovered and followed him down the trail. As she did, she couldn't help studying him. Just like Twilight had told her, Anon was physically similar to an Earth Pony stallion in the most basic of senses. The only differences she noticed was that he seemed more like an ape than a Pony and that he lacked the mostly heavy build most Earth Ponies seemed to naturally hold. He seemed to stand on the border of Earth Pony strength and Pegasi speed in terms of build. She could also sense the hunter's nature Applejack and Twilight mentioned, the biggest give away being the way Anon seemed to be subtly scanning his surroundings. The façade became even more apparent when what she assumed to be his home came into view. The shift in demeanor startled her so much that she stepped on a stray branch as she glided behind a tree, the sound almost blowing her cover.
She quickly ducked behind cover when she saw him start to look over his shoulder, again having to cover her muzzle to hide her panicked breathing. When she eventually recollected herself, she peeked out of her hiding place just in time to see him resume his march. Seeing his slightly quicker pace, she staggered out of hiding and continued to tail him at a light hover. By the time he started to close in on his home, Fluttershy's wings couldn't maintain her hover and she was forced to land. When that happened, Anon seemed to notice, and when she was just a few steps away from him, he pounced.
Faster than she thought possible, the Human spun to face her, knife leveled at her at a warning distance. They stood like that, shocked teal eyes locked with equally surprised gray ones. Fluttershy started to tremble, the delicate mare not sure what to do. Her fears lessened when Anon let out a sigh, then took a step back, folded up his weapon, and slid it back into his pocket.
"I don't know how things work around here, but you really shouldn't sneak up on people like that," he frowned.
In a voice just a touch louder than a whisper, the mare stammered out, "I....I'm sorry."
As she did, she seemed to fold in on herself, her mane hiding her face while she looked down at the ground. He wanted to be annoyed with the mare, but the more he stared at her, the less he could bring himself to do so. With another sight, he held out his hand to her.
"I'm guessing you're one of Pinkie's friends, right? Names' Anon."
The mare let out a soft squeak, then took a step back from him. He immediately felt like he got kicked in the gut and balls at the same time. After all, he had just pulled a knife on her.
Not sure how to progress, he looked around, awkwardly scratched the back of his head, and said, "Right, I uh, guess you...right. I'm gonna head into my house and leave you to....yeah."
Not waiting for a response, he quickly closed the distance and entered his home. Unknown to him, Fluttershy had just managed to regather herself. When he closed the door, it was while she was reaching out towards him with a soft "Wait."
***
Three days had passed since the strange mare had visited him and Anon still had no idea what to make of her. The odd vibe he got from her while he was meditating was so much more pronounced when he met her. It really made him wonder if she was actually a spirit and the house he sensed her in was her home. At least, it did, until he investigated the abandoned house in question. He tried meditating in the same area to see if she would appear, but that didn't work either. Left with no way to summon her directly, he sat in his living room shuffling a stack of green sleeved cards trying to get his mind off of her. Unfortunately, that was proving to be easier said than done. No matter what he was doing, his mind would always keep wandering back to her.
"I can't keep doing this," he sighed, setting his deck down onto his coffee table. "Maybe Applejack knows how I can get in touch with her."
Before he could start choosing a rout to the mare's farm, a loud mew at his front door caught his attention. Rolling his eyes, he got up and made his way towards the door. He froze with his hand on the doorknob when he felt a familiar presence on the other side of the door. Suddenly nervous, he opened the door a crack and peeked outside. Like he had suspected, Jinx was waiting for him to let him in while the mystery mare stood nervously behind the cat. Cautiously, he opened the door enough to let the cat in, not once taking his eyes off of the mare. The mare met his gaze, but did so from behind her mane. Jinx stared back and forth between the two beings, then gave the mare an encouraging mew before he walked into the house. Anon raised a brow at the odd gesture, but pushed it to the back of his mind when a soft cough came from the mare.
"H-Hi," she forced out, her voice so soft he almost missed it.
"Hey," he returned, tone coming out more guarded than he meant it to. "Um....can I help you?"
Silence greeted his question, then, the mare nervously whispered, "Fluttershy."
"Huh?" he asked.
"Y-You told me your name," she whispered, her mane parting just enough to show her muzzle. "M-M-Mine's F-Fluttershy."
"O-Oh!" he blinked, nervously chuckling. "Fluttershy, eh? Nice name. It, uh....suits you."
She nodded, staring down at her shoes.
Another curtain of awkward silence settled between them.
At the same time, Anon struggled to think of how he should proceed. If Fluttershy was indeed a forest spirit, the last thing he wanted to do was insult her. Looking back on their last meeting, he considered himself lucky he didn't wake up with a bed full of spiders or whatever crazy shit a fae would come up with as payback. Should he present her with some kind of offering? What kind of things would an Equestrian nature spirit accept as an offering?
A soft "Um," pulled him out of his musings, making Fluttershy flinch.
"C-Can I come in? I-If that wouldn't be too much trouble, I mean."
"Uh, sure," he nodded, opening the door fully for her. "Come on in."
Nodding and gnawing her lower lip, she silently stepped past him into the house.
As he closed the door, she cautiously looked around, her nerves slowly trading places with wonder. Anon watched her, ready to throw the door open and book it the second the assumed spirit lost her shit. Instead, his mind slowly froze as the mare seemed to subtilely change right before his eyes. Slowly, all of the tension seemed to bleed out of her with each passing glance she gave his home. Her posture straightened, her muscles relaxed, and her mane fell away from her face. Her teal eyes took in everything with a cautious curiosity, like a kitten that had been brought to a new home. His brain nearly fried when a small smile graced her muzzle.
The fuck was that?! he thought, snapping himself out of it. Damn faery magic!
"So, Fluttershy, right?" he asked.
She turned to him and nodded, her nerves coming back a little bit upon seeing him.
"Uh, do you want something to drink or something?" he pressed. "I don't have anything fancy right now, but I'm sure I can find something you'll like."
"Oh, you don't have to do that," Fluttershy smiled.
"None of that," he chuckled. "Guests get a drink at least."
Fluttershy looked like she was going to argue, but instead looked down at the ground and shyly whispered, "S-Some tea would be good. I-If it wouldn't be too much trouble."
"Tea, huh?" he replied. "I think I can manage that."
As he said that, he made his way towards his kitchen.
"D-Do you need any help?" Fluttershy asked.
"Nah," he chuckled. "It'll just take me a few minutes to get everything set up."
"Oh, okay," she nodded, watching him walk out of sight.
left with little else to do, the mare sat down in one of the living room couches and looked around some more.
Just like her friends had described, the Human's home held a very nature-heavy theme, a fact that helped to put her at ease. It reminded her of her own home in a way, but held a distinct charm that held her interest in a firm grip. The fact that the Human made everything added to her opinion of the place.
She flinched when something jumped up from the ground and joined her on the couch. Her fear vanished when she saw that her guest was a large black cat. Said cat stared up at her inquisitively, his large green eyes scanning her while he took cautious sniffs of her.
Fluttershy smiled lovingly down at the creature, offering her hand to him to sniff.
"Why, hello there," she cooed. "What's your name?"
The cat let out a mew, then rubbed his face up against her fingertips.
"Jinx? Well, it's nice to meet you jinx. I'm Fluttershy."
Jinx mewed out a reply, his purring adding an extra growl to the response. Fluttershy giggled at that, scratching the cat's chin. After a few seconds of this, the Maine Coon happily spread himself out across the mare's lap, small mews coming out of him along with a mountain of purring. Fluttershy only smiled, happily running her fingers through the large cat's thick fur and nodding every so often when he mewed.
"I see," she smiled, scratching him behind his ear. "And have you always protected him?"
A small, almost sad-sounding, mew came from the cat.
"Are they really that bad?" she asked, her smile wilting.
A sharper cry came from the cat, his lips pulling back to show his fangs.
"That's awful," she gasped.
The cat didn't respond beyond letting his jowls fall back into place.
"Does he have anypony in his life?" she asked.
Jinx suddenly sat up, fully facing the mare with his tail draped over all four of his paws as he let out a proud mew.
"Besides you," she pressed, a faint tremble entering her tone.
The cat's pride fell away at that, his ears folding back as he looked away from her. Two small mews were the only answers she could get from him. Her own ears wilted from just that, sadness and worry for Anon filling her as she turned her head towards the kitchen.
***
Anon glared daggers at his tea kettle, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently on red tiled floor. It was often said that a watched pot never boils, but never had he thought that there may have been some truth to it. Left with nothing but colorful things to say to his appliance, he tried to be a bit more productive with his time. Namely, trying to make sense of his situation and the mare sitting in his living room.
The presence she gave off was almost impossible to ignore. It sent off several instincts of his that made it hard for him to get a proper feel of her. She wasn't threatening, but she didn't make him feel safe either. It was like walking through a forest for the first time with no idea what was living there or if the trail you were taking was safe.
She seems nice. Maybe too nice, he thought staring at the floor.
Shaking his head, he decided to leave the kettle be and entertain his guest. When he returned to the living room he had to do a quick double-take to make sure what he was seeing was real. Jinx was sleeping cross Fluttershy's lap, the mare smiling softly down at the cat as she gently ran her fingers through his fur.
"Well I'll be," he whispered.
Fluttershy's ear flicked towards him before she looked up at him, her smile wilting slightly.
"Sorry, the water is going to take a while to get ready," he sighed, taking a seat across from from her.
"That's fine," she nodded.
An awkward silence sat between them, a pattern that both of them were keenly becoming aware of at this point.
Clearing his throat, Anon decided to break it and get a least one question answered before he lost the nerve.
"So, are you a dryad or forest nymph?"
"A...what?" she blinked.
"Well...I've never met a forest spirit before so I have no idea what to call you," he clarified, scratching the back of his head.
"B-But I'm not a forest spirit," she stammered out.
"You aren't?" he blinked.
She shook her head, looking even more confused.
"But then what was..." he started, then sighed and said, "Never mind. Probably some magic mumbo-jumbo."
"I'm sorry," she wilted.
"No, no. It's fine," he chuckled, waving off her apology.
"Okay," she nodded, then sheepishly asked, "What is a dryad? Is that an animal from where you're from?"
"Not really," he chuckled. "It usually looks like a really pretty Human girl with plant traits. Usually things like long reed branches for hair or living clothes made of flowers."
She tilted her head at that, even more confused.
"Right, you don't know what that looks like," he grumbled.
Before she could respond, his eyes fell on the deck he had left on the table.
"Perfect!" he cheered, scooping up the cards and quickly sifting through them.
When he found the card he was looking for, he gently laid it down on the table before her. On it, a nearly naked woman with pale skin and red hair could be seen running through the forest, her body phasing seamlessly through the trees as if they weren't even there. A flurry of glowing leaves orbited her in a loose swarm, large clusters of them providing the woman any kind of modesty. While the image intrigued her, the implications made her face turn bright red.
"Y-Y-You thought I....eep!" she squeaked, hiding her face behind her mane.
"I thought.." he blinked, then turned just as beet red as her when his brain finally caught up with him. "Wait! No! That wasn't what I was getting at! I mean, yeah, you're pretty, but I don't see you like that!"
The mare peeked out from behind her mane, face still a little pink.
"R-Really?"
"Yeah," he groaned, returning the card to the deck. "Look I...should've picked a different card for that. Let me see if I can give a better example."
"N-No that's fine," she stammered. "I...think I understand what you were trying to say."
"Thank the gods," he sighed.
She giggled at that.
"Those are the cards Pinkie mentioned, right?" she asked, pointing at the deck.
"I guess," he snorted. "Guess she's letting all of her friends know about them, huh?"
"Just that we shouldn't touch them," she nodded, then hastily added, "N-N-Not that I would without permission!"
"That's fine," he chuckled, already setting five of them onto the table. "I bet you have a few questions about it, right?"
Fluttershy nodded, her blush returning as she asked, "Are all of your cards as....revealing as that dryad was?"
"Not really," he chuckled. "A lot of the old cards were a bit more bold like that, but most of the ones I use are from the newer sets. That was just a bad pull on my part, even if it does mostly fit the color."
"Huh?"
Happy to be back in his element, he smiled down at his cards and explained.
"In Magic the Gathering, there are five colors, each with their own philosophies and play styles. This deck is a pure Green build, so it runs entirely on that color's way of doing things."
"And that is?" she asked.
"Green is the color of nature and instinct. Everything Green does is geared towards working with or harnessing the raw power of nature in all of its aspects. This can come in the form of summoning a huge creature to deal with a threat or gathering resources to make it easier to make big plays later. This also means it hates anything unnatural and will almost always destroy artifacts and enchantments on sight if it messes with things too much."
"That's terrible," Fluttershy gaped.
"Nature isn't always nice," he shrugged. "But, it's not always destructive either."
She nodded in agreement at that, eager to see where he was going with this.
"Green is all about interconnectedness, everything playing its role in the ecosystem and working in harmony. From that, small things can grow to be massively powerful. This makes Green the color most dedicated to growth. That could mean the growth of an individual creature, an entire nest of them, or the resources surrounding them. Even the creatures under Green can be used to make it easer to summon others or cast spells by creating mana."
"They can?" she blinked.
Nodding, he pointed to one of the cards on the table. On it, a bright yellow crane could be seen taking flight, its long tail-feathers turning into shades of violet and blue on the way towards their end.
"We call them mana dorks. Don't ask how they got the name, cuz no one could ever give me a straight answer on it."
"That's a really mean thing to call them," she frowned.
"No arguments there," he sighed. "Though I think it's become more a term of endearment than an insult these days."
"I don't like it," she huffed.
Shrugging at that, he pointed at the card next to it.
"This card has the power to protect other creatures under your control from battle damage and then make them stronger."
Fluttershy stared down that the card in question with wide eyes, happy to see an example of kindness on the table. The creature in question was a hulking bull, a thick green shell coving his visible hunched back while moss and birds adorned his massive curved horns. The name Vigor was printed proudly on the top of the card, a name Fluttershy felt was more than fitting.
"Green can also increase your mana base by pulling land cards from the deck."
"Is that good?" Fluttershy asked, look up from Vigor.
"Considering you need land to make mana and you need mana to play cards, yes." he nodded. "Green is also the color that is the most dedicated to its creatures, meaning that its spells often requires them to make any meaningful plays. This can be both a good and bad thing for it at times."
"Huh?" she blinked.
"While this means Green typically has some of the most balanced creatures, it also means that they are the most blunt. Green rarely uses any fancy tactics and mostly resorts to sending a large creature off to crash through enemy defenses. It also doesn't have any effective mass-destruction spells sense it needs its own creatures to be alive to make most of its plays. It's also fairly slow and while it has a few cards that can deal with air-born threats, it has almost none that it could send the enemy's way."
"Why?" Fluttershy asked, looking legitimately sad for the cards on the table.
"That's just how Green is," he shrugged. "Green is mostly passive in nature, so fast and overly aggressive tactics can very quickly overwhelm it."
"Oh," she frowned, placing a comforting hand next to one of the cards.
"All the same though" he continued still staring down at the cards," I still like Green more than all of the other colors."
"Really?" she asked, staring up at him.
He nodded.
"Green doesn't try to change the world or does anything too crazy with what it has around it. It tries to work with what is naturally there and lets it grow without any kind of restraint. It's simple, but complicated in a way that can catch you on the back foot in ways that you never see coming. It's peaceful when it needs to be and violent when the situation calls for it. It just seems like the most stable and fair of the five colors to me."
"I see," Fluttershy nodded. "I....I think I like Green too."
Taken aback by that he looked up from his cards to her. He was met by a small smile the second her eyes met his. A mountain of anxiety shot through him, holding his tongue hostage as he struggled to understand what was happening. His fight-or-flight instincts kicked in the second he heard the kettle start to whistle.
He shot to his feet, startling both her and his cat as he stiffly power-walked towards the kitchen.
"Gotta go check the kettle!" he cried, hoping his face didn't look as red as it felt.