Zodiac Brave Story

by Blankscape

Chapter 6: Morrow's Milk and a Side of Mischief

The Everfree Forest: a maze-like patch of woodland within Equestria that was an entirely different and bizarre place on its own.

As viewed by ponykind, it was a place devoid of the order and harmony that had come to define their great land. In the sanctuary of its dim and misty weald, beasts of the wildest and most savage kind roamed about their untrellised territory, fending for themselves and preying upon hapless wanderers and their fellow forest denizens alike. Strange and dangerous flora of varying size, shape and hazard grew unimpeded underneath the protective shade of the ancient trees that towered over them like the very sky. The untamed climate willed its own clouds and storms to their pleasing, yielding to no mortal master without power and pride equal to its own. In the eyes of the ponies who lived and thrived in the land beyond the reach of its canopy and sky, the entire forest was indeed a desolate, chaotic and unrestricted Eden of the lost. It needed no being to care for its proud and stalwart trees, its ferocious animals or its formidable weather; it was its own master.

It was and always will be the Everfree.

This was not the way of things, however, in times olden and lost to legend.

In such an era long forgotten and only existing in the past, what sparse number of ponies who lived in the then snow swept tundra tended to this verdurous oasis with much diligence and ardor, for it was the only haven of warmth and respite from the scorn and frosty magicks of the wicked Windigoes that plagued the region at the time. Even after the founding of Equestria and the banishment of these frosty spirits that terrorized the new found nation, many a creature, both civil and feral, still frequented this haven for its bountiful fruit-bearing trees, its cool, invigorating spring waters, and the safety of its expansive awning. No plea or cry for aid was denied by the caring and compassionate woodland, nor were there any tales of vehement clash between the guest and the residing wildlife. But that was all before a certain draconequus, who on a fickle whim, warped the very soil into madness past redemption.

From then on, no longer would its branches and grottoes shield the tired and weary from the merciless elements, nor the misshapen flora cater to even their most basic of needs, and just as the color of the land dulled to a dark paranoiac grey from his chaotic touch, the animals themselves who dwelled within its verdant expanse turned vicious and wary of outsiders, who, either by happenstance or choice, wandered into their woods, falling prey to the numerous jagged claws and many a powerful maw ready to tear flesh from bone. Both the land and its bounty, as well as the beasts that called it home, were twisted beyond recognition, their visage no longer caring, tolerant and nurturing, but now stuff of legends, ghost stories and nightmares.

And so, it was for this enchanted woodland the Royal Pony Sisters made way in this sleepy Monday morrow. Earlier that night, in the company of her most faithful student and her friends, Princess Celestia alone had detected an incredible sliver of magick, possibly a remnant of chaotic will belonging to the scion of chaos, Discord, radiating from deep within the wood. She had informed Princess Luna of her unfortunate discovery and then made a beeline for the Everfree with her sister in tow, intent on dispelling this last vestige of malevolence.

The chilly morning air sieved past their majestic wings as they approached the forest, then descending downward into a clearing, chary that magickally blinking in will cause an influx of energy which may activate the remnant should it be within the immediate area. Poisonjoke grew at the fringes of the hush glade, the larger and more potent of the blue foliage trailing into the shade where the pure, unfiltered light of the sun or moon did not reach. With her horn emanating a subtle yet brilliant golden aura, Celestia made a swift survey of the area, attempting to pinpoint the origin of the stifled surge of magick. The nightscape started to shimmer in an equally subtle golden aura and the Poisonjoke seemed to cringe in displeasure as the discreet solar radiance of the alabaster alicorn’s spell passed over and went on its brief inspection.

“It’s faint, but there is definitely something over at the far end of the clearing,” said Celestia in conclusion of her quick scan, pointing a hoof over to a lone hollowed tree that barely stood out from the rest of the forest.

“We shall peer on ahead for any sort of veils of deception that may lie in wait for us, dear sister,” replied Luna in confidence that whatever mischief this remnant may have planned for them hidden in the dark she would easily take notice of.

The midnight alicorn closed her eyes and with a soft azure glow from her horn, her vision became one with the shadows. This ability allowed her see everything under the cover of night, albeit in limited sense; it did not give her an omniscient eye but it did permit her sight to leave her body and be projected at a certain area from a specific point of view, all within reason, of course. It also allowed Luna to view the specific area in both the physical and magickal plane as clear as polished silver, and, having honed this skill to a fine point prior to her banishment, she was sure that nothing of either sorts in that area could escape her sight if it wanted to.

Her vision left her body and flew over the moonlit terrain in a matter of seconds and rested over a branch of a tree behind the area in question. As it settled on its rickety wooden limb, Luna felt perplexed by what her disembodied eyes saw unhindered by darkness.

Under normal circumstances, were the culprit of the anomaly any impish vagabond with access to magick such as a horn or a magicked seal of some sort, the second highly unlikely being a lost art, she would have perceived its form surrounded by a faint aura resonating the strongest at the point where arcane energies would be channeled. On the other hoof, had their suspicions been true, the remnant of Discord’s chaotic magick would have stood out as whirling spiral of twisted energies, radiating and vibrating in and out of different spectrums and wavelengths of reality in its fervency to fulfill its purpose of causing havoc and turmoil.

To her surprise, it was neither of the cases.
At the base of the tree was a patch of nothing. This nothing, however, was not the usual absence expected of normalcy such as a missing tooth, an item left at home, or a book out of place; what Luna had seen was void of complete and absolute nothingness. It was a vacuum leading into the most intense and pure shade of black the alicorn had ever seen. Then it dissipated without warning, leaving something behind as it did.

“Tia, something is ahoof! We must make haste!” exclaimed Luna urgently as she unfurled her wings and took off for the other end of the clearing.

“What is it, Luna?” the alabaster alicorn inquired anxiously as she followed.

Arriving at the designated spot, Celestia wondered if what her sister had seen was something that posed an immediate threat to Equestria. However, her fears were put aside upon noticing the unremarkably dull, green crystal no bigger than a chicken egg that barely reflected Luna’s hazy azure silhouette on its surface in what meager illumination that had managed to reach them.

“Is this it?” Celestia questioned anticlimactically.

“We are certain, dear sister; this is the source of the remnant. Some sort of esoteric void of the deepest black vanished from mine senses, leaving the stone in its place thereafter,” the midnight alicorn explained, having seen things transpire as they did before she arrived there herself.

“Had there been any other source of arcane energy that may have trailed off over yonder, we surely would not have let it go unnoticed so easily,” Luna concluded.

As she studied the features of the unimpressive rock, the Princess of the Sun was slightly skeptical on whether this was truly the origin of remnant she had detected earlier, thinking that her sister’s attention may have been diverted from the actual remnant bidding to escape.

Had Celestia’s latter assumption true, then they would have been in for a wild goose chase all night since this sort of shenanigan did fit her dubious image of Discord’s attempt at petty revenge; if not, then the alabaster alicorn would be sorely disappointed that she wasted an evening’s worth of rest to search for a dumb-looking rock. Things like this weren’t uncommon in a forest tainted by the draconequus’s magick and this was not the first time it happened after all, so whether this was all the machinations of Discord’s mischievous remnant or just the twisted inconsistencies of the forest itself, it was near impossible to tell the difference, the extremely fine line between either being hazy at best.

Then again, there was the off-chance that karma had somehow caught up to her and set up this elaborate ruse as a counterbalance to the little prank she pulled on her faithful student and her friends earlier.

After these mental considerations and moment’s pondering over the next course of action, Celestia spoke, “I shall bring this back to Canterlot and keep watch over it should anything else develop. In the meantime, I’m counting on you to do the same with the forest for the next week. I hope this won’t trouble you too much with your own plans for the celebration.”

“T’was quite troublesome indeed to secure arrangements for the early morrow immediately preceding the Raising of the Sun Ceremony, so it shan’t burden us even in the nariest, Tia,” Luna reassured in her reply. “Your worries on that aspect are unfounded. In the end, we hope the same can be said this peculiar of a nugget.”

Placing the mysterious stone in a saddlebag they had brought along, the alicorn sisters took flight and headed for home. Seemingly right after taking leave, the entirety of the enchanted forest seemed to howl eerily at their find, ever the voiceless and fateful herald of things to come, fortuitous or otherwise.

Later that morning, the bright rays of the sun cast themselves over the sleepy town of Ponyville as the radiant orb began to peek over the horizon. At its twilit outskirts where Fluttershy’s verdant cottage stood, the sleepy atmosphere that lingered in the air bustled into wakefulness as woodland animals left their nests and burrows to start the day in their own wild way. Meanwhile, the resident mare herself had woken up in a fright from possibly the scariest dream she ever had in her life, and oh, what a nightmare it was!

She was gasping for air as sweat broke through her fur and inched down her face with nothing but the memory of that surreal armageddon of a dream still fresh in her mind. The crumbling landscape, the blackening skies, and the utter hopelessness of it all felt so very real. Even more so was the vivid image of the phantasmal shell that was the hyperactive party pony. The disturbingly lifeless colors of its coat and straightened mane and the crack that had formed on its dark, wicked grin sent chills down her spine while its piercing amber stare that could shatter thinking beings into insanity terrified her to the very core. The demure pegasus held herself and sighed in relief as she felt the sweat run down her muzzle, the sensation of it and the panting of her breath telling her she was wide awake and safe in her cottage.

When she got up from bed to begin her morning routine though, Fluttershy saw a shadowy figure standing at the side of the room, looking at her with what she thought was a face contorted in concern as her eyes adjusted to the dim twilight. One scare coming right after another was too much for her fragile wits to take all in the same night, and after such a harrowing reverie, she would have screamed her lungs to exhaustion had the meek mare not taken a brief moment to realize it was her friend, Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie Pie, is that you?” she timidly asked for a confirmation.

“Of course it’s me, Fluttershy. Who else would it be, silly?” the party pony replied as she turned on the lights.

“Oh, right… so, what are you doing here so early in the morning anyway?” asked the meek pony as another sigh of relief escaped her lips.

“Well, before we left, Applejack made me Pinkie promise to make it up to everypony for pulling that prank on all of you,” Pinkie said in a peppy yet apologetic tone as she began her explanation.

“So she’s having me come over to help at the farm on Sunday and with her chores here tomorrow. Rarity told me I didn’t have to do anything for her because the Princess did that spell to help manage her coat and some other stuff. Rainbow Dash said the same thing saying she thought it was cool how I pranked everyone and that she’d get me back on Nightmare Night. Twilight decided that I’d be watching the library for her when she’d get too busy with helping the mayor, but just plain walking you to the station would be the least I can do on such short notice, so I’ll Pinkie Promise to finish the rest of the favor when you come back,” she finished deftly in one breath, following up with the appropriate gestures of said promise.

“Oh, you don’t have to do anything for me. That little joke’s water und-”

“Flutters, I saw you were on the verge of tears back at town hall, so I’m doing this to make up for that frowny-face. I want to do this for you as your friend, okay?” the party pony sincerely interrupted.

“Well, okay, if you insist.”

The two ponies briefly locked each other in a hug of pure, comforting friendship after that friendly compromise. When the embrace broke, Fluttershy asked “So…since you’re doing me a favor, won’t there be even the slightest chance of you accompanying me to Dodge City, even if you head back ahead of me?”

“Afraid I can’t, Flutters. Didn’t I tell you why earlier?” Pinkie Pie countered.

“Huh? U-um I’m sorry, I don’t-”

“It’s my Pinkie Sense! It told me somepony really important is coming to town! I’ve got to be ready with a welcome party since I have no idea when they’ll get here!” the party pony reminded with vigilant anxiety.

“Wait… wasn’t that all-” But Fluttershy stopped herself as she felt some sort of weird rug rustle underneath her hooves. The pegasus looked down and saw a familiar face with a pink flowing mane flat on the floor, which caused her to frantically stumble back onto bed, then promptly fall over to the other side face first with a resounding thump.

“Ouch, that must have hurt,” her friend commented as she winced upon witnessing the unintended feat of incoordination.

“What is that thing!?” the demure and panicked mare demanded as she had her bearings, in a shout almost at a normal volume and with a hoof holding her aching muzzle.

“It’s the Flutterskin I made,” the pink mare reiterated as she put it back into only Celestia-knows-where.

“Flutter-what?” said the meek pony, sticking her head up from behind the bed.

“Gosh Fluttershy, we had this conversation a minute ago, so how could you have forgotten by now?” Pinkie quizzically pointed out.

“But wasn’t that all just a dream?”

“A dream? I thought you were awake... hmm… I guess you weren’t then. Hope it wasn’t too much of a bad dream. You were kinda fidgety there when you woke up,” the party pony mentioned with another look of concern.

“It’s about five minutes past six, so I’ll be downstairs if you need me. Twilight gave me a checklist of your belongings and other stuff so you won’t miss anything before you leave. I also brought a stroller cart Rarity lent you for you to use on the trip. The one you brought out last night was kinda worn out after all. Too small to fit a party cannon If you ask me.” Pinkie told her friend as she went out the door and descended down the stairs, leaving her friend to collect her startled wits and aching nose as her hoof-steps beat against the hard wood of the oaken floor.

‘So that conversation really did happen, and I was sleep-talking with Pinkie,’ Fluttershy thought while turning around to make her bed.

‘Let’s see. Back in the dream, I was thinking about my friends who couldn’t possibly come with me, then I asked Pinkie Pie if she could, but then she said there was some very important party planning that couldn’t be put aside,’ she recounted with a hoof to head that somewhat ached in the middle of that thought.

‘I’m sure there was something else…… but what was it? Oh, I hope this isn’t some sort of condition,’ the meek mare worried when she finished and descended down the stair to follow Pinkie Pie. She went on filling her head with other sort of illnesses this apparent symptom could possibly indicate but the thought, however, was set aside when she felt a tug on her mane, and that meant Angel Bunny was hungry.

“Oh, good morning there, Angel, I’ll have your breakfast done in a jiffy. I just hope you’re not too particularly picky today,” Fluttershy said as she greeted her charge.

Having been given the same cookbook from yesterday, the little rabbit held it back to his mistress with the same request he made before: a big serving of Ceasar salad laced with carrots, cucumbers and a side of garlic bread. The meek mare felt happy that Angel understood that this trip meant a lot to her, that he didn’t want to give her trouble and right before she left at that. After prepping up her Angel’s meal, Fluttershy went out to attend to the rest of breakfast for the animals in her care. Laying the bowls and pouring the feed for each and every kind of critter, including Mr. Bear’s rescheduled weekly ‘back massage’, would take her about close to an hour to complete. That would leave her with less than forty minutes to trot all the way to the station. Quite reasonable she thought since it took her ten to get there yesterday and she could have her own quick breakfast at Sugar Cube Corner along the way.

When she finished the middle-aged ursidae’s backrub, the demure pony thought it would be a pity as much as a challenge that this journey would be a lonely one for her.

“Back massage for Mr. G. Bear: check, and with your things out in the front, that means we’re good to go, Flutters,” Pinkie Pie announced as she popped her head through a window.

“So, is everything on the list done?” the meek pony asked to confirm.

“Yuppity-yeppers, every one of thirty-two items checked. All the way from Angel’s breakfast to Zoning and Flagging fence points for that new rabbit burrow Applejack has to build,” the party chimed while humming a catchy tune.

She looked down to the mentioned hare who had finished his meal and gave him a hug as she bade him farewell, “Now, watch out for the others, and be especially nice to Applejack and my other friends while I’m gone. She’s going to help you take care of the house."

"I'll be back by Sunday morning the latest, so be a good bunny while I'm gone.” Angel simply responded with an snobbish eye-roll in resignation that he’d be playing second banana to a farm pony for potentially a week in his domain. His mistress took that gesture as a yes and waved good bye as she went over to the front.

With every chore taken care of and every loose end accounted for, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie then made their way to Sugar Cube Corner for some much needed breakfast, the latter chattering on about dreams, the unbelievable mess left in the wake of her Pinkie Sense going off earlier, and other party-related stuff. She hardly heard anything the party pony said though, as she diligently went over the checklist with a zeal Twilight would have been proud of. After a few stops to recheck the checklist, the pair arrived at the bakery. Oddly enough, the meek mare didn’t feel too hungry this morning and only had two muffins and a glass of orange juice; her hyperactive friend, on the other hoof, hastily savored a large serving of hay fries, nearly two-thirds of a dozen of cupcakes, two muffins, and the rest of the orange juice carton they had opened.

As they then took off at a light trot for the train station, the demure pegasus took notice of the slight spring missing in her friend’s bounce and chalked it up to the lack of sleep. She thought it strange that she felt as fit as a fiddle while the one and only party pony had eye bags starting to show on her after only five hours of sleep.

It was seven twenty-five when they arrived, and the train staff was nearly ready to depart themselves. They only had a few more sacks of coal to load to last the transit.

“Thanks again for helping me with my morning chores. I hope it didn’t bother you so much to wake up after getting so little sleep yourself,” said Fluttershy when saw the party pony mellow down to walking.

“It’s no biggie, Flutters. After all, I’d do anything to make my friends smile,” the pink mare managed past a yawn.

“Well, it’s almost time to go, so I’ll see you again in at least 3 days. Goodbye, Pinkie Pie. Take care,” the meek pony bade as she boarded the train, waving to her friend as she did. The party pony said nothing and simply waved back as she turned around to head home, her mind and body starting to set into a drowsy stupor which could only be remedied with slumber’s reprieve. She nearly left the station when her pink mare felt another bout of Pinkie Sense come at her with an unbelievably achy neck. Pinkie Pie then made swift U-turn to impart this new information to her gentle friend, but unfortunately for her when she reached the loading platform, the conductor had sounded his whistle for the train to depart. Nonetheless, she ran up to the side of the Fluttershy’s cart and knocked on her window as she approached the end of the rostrum.

“Fluttershy!” she desperately called out.

The pegasus past the glass saw her friend frantically trying to keep up, so she opened her window just in time to hear the party pony shout a strange farewell as the train left the station completely.

“Watch out for snakes!”

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