The Everfree Forest loomed on all sides, crowding Fleur de Lis in as she walked along the wide path. The trees were bare, their limbs holding up thin layers of white. The dirt on the path had been rendered soft by the snowmelt, making it squish faintly beneath her hooves. She tightened her coat and shivered against a soft wind, quietly wishing she were back in her mansion in Canterlot and resting before a warm fireplace.
But such conveniences were also ahead. Fleur’s boss was not an inhospitable stallion, and she knew he’d have a suitable place for her to stay the night. She just wished he didn’t live so far from Ponyville. Calling it ‘the middle of nowhere’ was an understatement. In the past she had understood, but now that he'd been cured it was little more than a nuisance. Couldn’t he move into town now that it was safe from him?
Not that it mattered. The issue raised in his summoning letter made it clear she’d have been coming out here, whether he lived in these parts or not. With this in mind and a pout, Fleur pressed against the bitter cold and moved on. She couldn’t wait for Spring…
The house was still fairly new. Her boss preferred to say ‘house’ because it sounded more modest, but it was clearly a mansion. It stood tall before her, almost completely filling the clearing that it had been built in. A dark wooden exterior and towers at the corners gave it a shape resembling a castle. It was certainly imposing enough for the role.
Which was the point.
Hooves crunched on half-melted snow and dead grass as Fleur entered the clearing, her eyes going to the large double doors. She was mildly surprised to find them open. A large cart half-filled with food sat by the entrance, and judging by the ruts in the snow it was a new arrival. A supply drop of some sort? She entered the building without fanfare, taking a moment to rub the muck off her hooves.
The interior was just as big as the exterior suggested. She found herself standing in a two-story entrance hall that seemed more like a ballroom due to its size. A pair of massive staircases led to a single balcony opposite her, but she knew that her boss would be down the hall to her left. Her ears perked to the sound of heavy hoofsteps.
The stallion was big. Impressively so. He paused at the hall’s entrance, tall and red with an unkempt orange mane. As his green eyes took her in she pondered at his expression, which she could only describe as blasé. It wasn’t the kind of reaction she usually received when meeting a stallion for the first time, and it left her mildly uncertain.
But she maintained her practiced regality. “Is Fine here?”
“Eeyup.” The stallion gestured behind him and made for the entrance, revealing his green apple cutie mark. He didn’t even offer a second glance as he walked by, though he had a gentle smile on his lips.
What rudeness! How could he just ignore her? Fleur raised her head high and trotted towards the hall with determined grace. She could ignore him just as easily!
The kitchen was a couple doors down the hallway, and seemed rather small for a building of such size. There Fleur found her boss. He was taller than the average pony, though still short compared to her and nothing compared to the massive stallion she’d just met. He was a mottled-brown unicorn with a dark mane, though she knew it to be dyed. He wore a thin necklace, upon which dangled a sharp-looking knife with a black blade.
He was busy moving baskets of produce into a storage closet when he noticed her entry. “Ah, Fleur! Welcome back. I hope your trip was at least halfway decent?”
Fleur pursed her lips and tossed her mane. “You know I hate this weather, Fine.”
Fine nodded as he set the basket on a shelf just within her view through the closet door. “I know, and I’m sorry. But you know as well as I do how important this is.”
She sighed and moved towards the center of the kitchen, eyes roaming the boxes and baskets of fresh food. “Yes, that is why I came as quickly as I could. I do not intend to wait, either. Tell me about this problem you are having so that I might fix it immediately.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Fine replied as he came back to the kitchen. “It’ll be getting dark in a couple hours, and if our wild weather experts tell me there's a serious cold front moving in. You’ve probably had enough of the cold for one day.”
“Nonetheless, I would at least like to go out to—” She paused at the sound of hoofsteps. A moment later the big stallion returned, boxes stacked on his broad back. He nodded to her with that same soft smile, and she politely backed away so he could get to the spot clearly designated for stacking.
Fine grinned and gestured between his two guests. “Fleur, Big McIntosh. Big Mac, Fleur de Lis.”
Big Mac, busy setting boxes down, gave her a nod. “Nice ta meet ya, ma’am.”
She peered at him. “A pleasure.” He went right back to work, paying her no more mind.
Fleur shot a questioning look at Fine, to which he answered, “I asked Big Mac to help me with supplies this month. I’m rather busy this week, and just can’t take the time to head all the way out to Ponyville on a shopping spree. Speaking of which—” he turned to his helper, “—you did remember the pears, right?”
Big Mac reached into a box and tossed one of the fruits Fine’s way. Fine caught it with his magic and grinned. “Yes! You, sir, are a lifesaver!”
Big Mac just went back to work, though there was a certain amused touch to his smile.
Fleur watched her boss bite down on the pear, eyebrow raised. “I can see I will have to prepare something…proper for myself tonight.”
Fine took a moment to swallow. “What, you don’t like pears?”
She flicked her mane with muzzle high. “I prefer my meals cooked and plated, thank you.”
He grinned. “And you’ll have it! I reckon I’ve got at least something that you’ll like in my recipe repertoire.”
Fleur blinked, her haughty manner cracking just a touch. “You are going to cook for me?”
Fine nodded. “Consider it a bonus for braving the cold. Let none doubt the generosity of Verity Fine Crime!”
She sniffed with a smile as he took another bite of pear. “What I doubt are your cooking skills.”
His attempt to laugh left him choking on his food, which in turn made her giggle. Big Mac walked between them for the door, eyeing Fine with lips curled in what wasn’t quite a smirk as he left for another load of goods. Fleur watched him leave with a taught frown, her pleasant mood just a little dulled.
Fine regained control, using a dish rag to wipe his face clean. “That’s a challenge if I ever heard one! You watch, by the time you get back I’ll be working on something that will make your mouth water!”
“A Lady never lets her mouth water,” Fleur declared pompously, but then she leaned forward with a wicked grin. “Since I know you’ll fail, I reserve the right to be off for a week.”
“Oh-ho, so that’s the way it is? Alright, then if I succeed, you’ll have to come to Ponyville for this year’s Nightmare Night to entertain my friends’ families with your spells.”
She blinked and leaned back. “You have friends?”
He blushed and tapped his knife, an old habit that made it sway like a pendulum. “It’s a…new development. Do we have a bet or not?”
She studied him for a moment, a dainty hoof set to her playful lips. “Deal! You make me a meal worthy of Canterlot, or I get the week off of my choosing.”
“Otherwise you’re performing for foals this year,” he agreed. They tapped the tips of their horns together with a clink.
“Well,” she turned to the door with a grin, “I should investigate the problem! Don’t want to give you any time to cheat by looking up recipes in that library of yours.”
When Fleur was in the hall she found herself almost bumping into Big Mac, who was carrying another load. She frowned and backed away, giving him room to reach the door. He still had that smile. It annoyed her to no end, and she didn’t even know why. He nodded to her before entering the kitchen, and she leveled a scowl at the back of his head.
“Right back, Big Mac.” Fine appeared in the hallway, chuckling at what he apparently thought was wit. He gestured to Fleur and headed for the entrance. “So anyway, to business.”
“You said the town was acting up?” Fleur asked.
“Indeed,” he replied as they reached the main hall. His horn flashed, and smoke began to form. The clouds surrounded him until she couldn’t see him anymore, but quickly faded away. When they did he was wearing a thick red coat.
She raised an eyebrow. “That’s an impressive spell. Is it a new?”
He nodded with a proud grin. “Something I’ve been working on with Twilight Sparkle. Took a couple months to get the kinks out.”
They went out into the chilly evening air and began to circle the massive building. Fleur was compelled by the wind to once again tighten her coat. “Has anypony been to the town since it was made?”
Fine shook his head. “Not since Rainbow and Nye stumbled into it, and you were still making it at the time.”
They rounded the corner and continued their walk. Fleur relaxed a little now that the structure was blocking the winds. “So what seems to be the problem?”
“I tested the town the other day,” he explained. “It seemed…shaky. Some of the ponies kept fading in and out, and a few reset their roles as a result.”
She considered this, going over the intricate details of one of her most challenging creations. “Hmm… That could be a number of things. I will have to investigate it up close.”
They rounded the next corner, a blast of wind making them both shiver. They turned to face the woods at the back of the mansion. The bare trees swayed in the gusts, snow raining down on the forest floor with every motion. Fleur noted that ice had begun to form on the puddles in the clearing. She cast her eyes slowly over the thick underbrush, seeking out the sight that had once been so very familiar.
Nothing. It seemed the forest’s mysterious resident wasn’t going to make an appearance.
“Don’t stay out there too long,” Fine ordered, his tone serious. “Don’t forget: we have no idea where the real town begins.”
She glanced over to see him studying the woods, head bowed in a dark glare.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. She turned and pressed a hoof against his chest. “You just worry about making me a culinary experience.” She turned and trotted for the trees, grinning.
His voice called after her. “Don’t underestimate what’s out there, Fleur! Back by nightfall, you hear me?”
She waved a dismissive hoof over her shoulder and entered the thick wood.
Big McIntosh spent well over an hour getting all Fine’s food stored. He’d insisted upon helping, even after the cart had been emptied. It was the neighborly thing to do, after all. What really kept him around, though, was when Fine had asked if he knew any special cooking tricks from the Apple Family. Big Mac suspected such help qualified as cheating when it came to Fine’s bet with Miss de Lis, and he also didn’t consider himself as good a cook as Applejack or Granny Smith.
But he offered some tips, anyway. Fine was a studious stallion, and took diligent notes. Though Big Mac thought that a little excessive, he shrugged it off as he did so many things. Like that high-class mare who’d come around for such a short time. He wondered more than once what had happened to her. After all, why come all the way out to Fine’s house just to leave right away? It didn’t make any sense.
He thought back on her, recalling just how pretty she was. A high-class pony like that almost certainly came from Canterlot. Big Mac had no idea Fine Crime knew such a beauty! If Big Mac were any less of a stallion he might have fallen for her at first sight.
He hadn’t seen horn or hoof of her in some time, though. He didn’t mind – what she did was not his business, and she didn’t seem to like him, anyway. He couldn’t understand why, but he didn’t understand Important Ponies. On the other hoof, he did wonder how she knew Fine Crime.
“Oh, me and Fleur are partners in a little business venture,” Fine explained as they made their way for the front door. “She conjures the demons, I sell them pony souls, we both get rich. How do you think I can afford this house?”
Big Mac rolled his eyes. Like everypony in Ponyville, he was well accustomed to Fine’s misguiding lies. “Ah thought ya got the place from a geniecorn.”
“Well, yeah,” Fine answered with a grin, “but I had to pay the geniecorn.”
They stepped outside, where the world had turned orange from the setting sun. A blast of wind hit them hard as they turned to Big Mac’s cart.
“Are you sure you don’t want a coat?” Fine asked, pulling his own tight. “I’m sure I could whip one up for ya in a jiffy.”
“Nnope.” Big Mac began attaching himself to the cart. “Ah’ll be just fine.”
“Must be one thick coat on ya,” Fine noted with a shiver. “Well thanks again, Big Mac. You really saved my flank, this time.”
The large stallion nodded and began to make his way home. He glanced back to offer a wave…
Something moved at the edge of the woods. Big McIntosh did a double take, confirming that his imagination wasn’t playing tricks on him. It was a young pony, barely old enough to be called a mare. He could barely make her out in the brush, but saw enough to recognize that she had a blonde mane and grey coat. The mare cast a glance his way…and her eyes shined like lamps.
Big Mac’s eyebrows rose. He turned and peered into the woods, but the mare disappeared beyond the corner of the house.
“Big Mac?” Fine watched as the larger stallion quickly detached from his cart and followed. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Big Mac said nothing, only went to turn the corner of the house. He paused and saw the mare again, flitting amongst the trees at the edge of his vision. She was already at the back of the house. Was she lost? Shy? In some sort of trouble? He continued after her at a trot.
“Whoa there, big guy!” Fine was walking next to him. “You don’t wanna go that way, trust me.”
“She might need help,” Big Mac noted, not pausing.
“It’s nothing,” Fine insisted with a nervous chuckle. “Your eyes are playing tricks on you.”
He saw her, too. His anxiousness made hat clear. Big Mac reached the back of the house and headed for the woods, eyes roaming the trees for another sign of the pony.
Fine was abruptly in his way, and now he seemed genuinely worried. “Listen to me! You do not want to go out there!”
Big Mac finally paused, giving Fine a questioning frown. “Wah?”
Fine breathed a sigh of relief before sitting in front of his friend. “It’s dangerous, okay? It’s not like the rest of the Everfree. You go in there and you might not come out.”
Big Mac raised an eyebrow, then peered over Fine's shoulder. There she was again, walking directly into his vision between two trees. She sat, bowed her head, pawed the ground. She seemed…worried.
“There’s nothing out there,” Fine insisted. “Come on, let’s get you back to the—”
The mare spotted them, and her eyes went wide with fear. She immediately turned and bolted into the woods.
“Wait!” Big Mac circled Fine and gave chase. He just couldn’t leave her by herself!
“For the love of… Big Mac, don’t go in there!”