//------------------------------//
// 11 - The Tree of Harmony 
// Story: The Story of Everfree - a Narrative Chronicle 
// by Recon777 
//------------------------------//

One concern Celestia developed was late in Luna's absence. Luna had taken their mother’s horn crystal with her. She had developed a spell that could use the crystal to help locate the Elements of Harmony. But in the crystal's absence, something strange had begun to take place in Everfree.

The region for miles around the memorial began to grow very strange plants and trees. Nothing apparent had seeded them, so this was a mystery to Celestia and the citizens of Ponyville. An entire forest had developed over the course of a year, and the most alarming thing about it was that it seemed to... hate ponies. 

Whenever a pony ventured through the region, there was a good chance of some sort of mishap. Perhaps she got tangled in vines, or attacked by rats, or haunted by nightmares for weeks afterward.

What's more is that entirely new species of creatures began to appear in the forest—species with no apparent origin other than the forest itself. These creatures were generally frightening and seemed to be confined to the forest’s boundaries, although Celestia worried that one day they might venture further out and cause trouble in nearby Ponyville.

When Luna returned with the Elements, she was surprised to see the changes Everfree had undergone. It made visiting the memorial difficult and presented a risk to nearby ponies. She set about her plan to create the anti-alicorn weapon by binding the Elements to one another using her mother's horn crystal.

With the weapon completed, Luna placed Peri's crystal in the ground at the bottom of the ravine where the battle had taken place and surrounded it with the Elements. She then cast her binding spell and covered them with dirt.

Within a week, a small tree had sprouted where the crystals were buried. Another month had gone by, and the malevolent forest transformed into a normal, healthy forest. The dangerous beasts seemed to fade away, and no pony was harmed or felt threatened when travelling through the region. Everfree had become neutral land once again.

What nopony realized was that the malicious plant and animal life had spawned because of Hyperion's influence. His horn had been shattered into thousands of tiny fragments and scattered across the region, providing immense amounts of energy to manifest and sustain these dangerous creatures.

Since his horn had captured the essence of his thoughts and feelings at the moment of his death, Hyperion’s malice against ponykind permeated the Everfree region and produced a wilderness that was hostile specifically to ponies. When Peri's horn crystal was returned to Everfree, her influence counteracted Hyperion's with the help of the Elements, making the region neutral and safe to travel in.