Dear Twilight Sparkle, Selene, and the rest of the Princess,
It’s been a while since I’ve set out and only now do I have anything worth relating back to you all. It was only after I left that I realized how limited my resources will be as I travel and I won’t be guaranteed to have a supply of parchment to send letters back on. Because of that, and us not setting up a way to send letters back to me again, means I will have to be a bit miserly with my resources so there will likely be long breaks between letters. I will at least try to keep you notified of any major events I am part of as well as anything that I find during my exploration.
On that note I have finally made peace with the last bit of my past in Rock Talon Heights. Being able to finally say goodbye and leave a small memorial lifted a weight off of my shoulders that I didn’t even realize was there. While I was in town I saw something which leads me to my current little detour while searching for my kind. While there I saw a couple of brownies and I wanted to find out more about them. Like most of the other lesser known races I’ve found that the Equestrian libraries often lacked information on them and even the more well-known ones are rather lacking. I know Twilight has lamented on this fact before when it came to raising Spike but in my time in Ponyville little had been done to rectify that.
Of course with me sending back copies of any notes I take means that I’ll have even less to use for these letters so expect some unconventional things to arrive if I run out. Back to the interest in the brownies, I’ve learned where one of their villages are located and am taking the time to visit. I am a bit wary considering how some of the being I got the directions from were chuckling behind my back when they thought I couldn’t hear them but I hope it is just me being overly paranoid. Not much else to mention for now so I’ll let you know how everything turns out in my next letter.
Your Friend,
Flarenza
I sigh as I roll up the letter and send it off for delivery through Spike with a burst of flame. I take a moment to once again admire the intricacy of the spell and wonder if there is a way to adapt it so a dragon isn’t required on the other end. Filing that thought away for later I turn my attention back to the forest in front of me that supposedly houses the brownie village called Woodberry.
The forest is primarily made up of evergreen trees that are packed together pretty tightly. Bipeds and the larger quadrupeds would have some issue moving through the forest comfortably but there was enough space below the trees to fit a walking pony so there was plenty of room for me. The scent of the trees, on the other paw, is rather strong and completely blocks my sense of smell preventing me from using it to search for danger. At least it doesn’t look or feel like too terrible of a place, but considering I only have the Whitetail Woods and Everfree Forest to compare it too that doesn’t mean much.
Thinking back to the two forests I have had the most experience with I’d say that there is a bit of a feeling of wariness here not found in the Whitetail Woods, but it feels nothing like the Everfree. Not that anything can really come close to how that place felt though over the years it was starting to feel rather comforting being under the branches of that place. Shaking myself out of my thoughts I start to pick my path through the forest.
I had no idea where I was going within the forest exactly as no matter who I talked to they didn’t know where the village was. Supposedly I just had to walk in and wander around long enough and one of the brownies would show up as an escort if they wanted you to find it. If they didn’t then I was told you could wander around the place for weeks without finding it though none could say how it was hidden. I had a few ideas on why this would happen but without actual proof then it was only just an idea.
Wandering through the forest I take them time to observe the wildlife that wasn’t trying to hide from me. Considering my resemblance to a common fox the smaller ground animals were in hiding but the birds were out in force. I took comfort in their presence as it was a good indication that there wasn’t anything too horribly dangerous around. I still kept up a habit of projecting a light magical screen as a precaution which has helped in the past. I could have used one of the enchanted gems that I’ve made in the past but I’ve gotten beyond the laziness of relying on them.
It really does feel nice to be out and about once again. Ponyville was a really great place to live but the urge to get out and explore never really left me. It’s just too bad I could never convince Fluttershy to come out with me on some of my trips, after she got over her fear she would have loved seeing the unique wildlife deep in the Everfree. My mood began to darken as memories of my old friend came to mind. It still hurt to think of those that I lost and I really wondered what happened to cause her to vanish like she did.
My attention is pulled away from my thoughts by a strange gibbering sound off to my side. Turning towards it I am surprised to see the form of a brownie as I didn’t expect to find one so soon. The sound I heard turned out to be it attempting to get my attention though I hoped it knew a common language as I never could get any translation spells to work right. I had learned a few major languages on the off chance I needed them though most beings I’d found knew the common language spoken in Equestria.
It gibbered at me a few more times in its language and made a few motions at me trying to get me to understand it. It looks disappointed when I shake my head at him as I can’t understand a word he is saying. “I have no idea what you’re saying but I’m not here to cause any problems. I‘ve never seen a brownie before and I’ve heard that there was a village out here somewhere. There weren’t many books on your kind where I was staying the past many years.”
The brownie looks at me oddly and cocks its head to the side. I am about to try another language on the chance that it knows at least one of them when it claps its hands with a smile. Gibbering something else at me it waves at me to follow before turning to lead me through the forest. Huh, maybe it really did understand me. Though if it did I would think it would at least be able to speak it as well. Though I guess there are some languages that are tougher for certain creatures to learn. Gryphon-speak has a lot of whistling sounds which are hard to duplicate and I had to use magic myself to imitate them.
Following the brownie give me a chance to examine it from up close without much effort. It’s about fifty centimeters tall and wearing clothing that appears to be made out of leaves and bark. Its skin also looks to be bark-like in appearance though I can’t tell if it has the same texture. It walks in a bipedal stance which looks rather odd to me and it has hair that looks to be made of moss. It has hands like a minotaur but I have no clue what to call the things it stands on as I have never seen their like before. Its overall appearance seems out of place in this evergreen forest yet it still somehow managed to sneak up on me.
After about an hour of walking I notice that the trees have started to change to ones that would more fit the looks of the brownie which helped to explain its looks. I had thought that the forest was only full of evergreens but it seems I was mistaken. Eventually we come in sight of what appears to be its village with the building built around, and even up in the branches of, the grove of trees it is situated in. The homes mostly appear to be made of wood, bark, and leaves and, though relatively simple looking at first, I spot some intricate designs if I look close enough.
The brownie I was following called out to the village as we approached and we were soon met with a small crowd of brownies. Looking over the gathering I feel as if something cast a copy spell over and over again as I can’t see any difference between one brownie and another. Soon I am surrounded by the crowd as they all gibber and jab at me in curiosity. I feel a bit wary as they do so as I don’t know much about these things though they don’t seem to be threatening. I still can’t understand what they are saying and I’ve even lost sight of the first one I met within the crowd of others.
They all seem happy to see me for some reason and their smiles seem to get even wider when I lower the hood of my cloak. If I hadn’t gotten used to some of the smiles I’d seen in Ponyville I would have probably run off in panic instead of just being uneasy. I try to take everything in stride as they hadn’t made any hostile actions but I still reinforce my defenses as a precaution just in case.
My arrival really seems to be an event for the brownies as they immediately set up a small feast and festival. I only nibble a bit on some of the fruit as the portions are sized for them, or nobles, and I don’t want to eat enough to cause problems for them. Throughout the entire things I just shrug at them whenever they say something to me since I’d rather not be agreeing with something I don’t want since I can’t understand them.
Eventually the party winds down and they all start heading off to their homes leaving me alone in the center of town. I really hadn’t had a chance to do any of what I came here to do and I wondered how I would even go about it when I can’t understand them. This is actually rather disappointing. If I had known that this town didn’t speak a common language then I would have just skipped it for another. I guess I’ll have to disappoint Twilight who probably would be expecting a small book worth of notes. Not like I ever got into taking notes to that extent in the first place.
Yawning I look around for a place that’s out of the way for the night. I find a decent enough spot between two buildings and settle down for the night. While I do happen to be in a town I’m still not sure how safe it is to be outdoors in it. I decide not to remove my packs in my usual precautions while putting up a couple more wards for safety as I close my eyes.
I am awakened some time later to the feeling of something prodding at my side. Opening my eyes to look I find that one of the brownies was the one to wake me up and after a moment I looked at it in confusion. “Hello there. Now how did you get in here?” The brownies just looked at me with a grin before it shouted out in its language. From everywhere brownies started boiling out of buildings and started to converge on my location. I leap to my paws in alarm at their actions and strengthen the wards that I placed around me.
Unfortunately I find out how the one brownie got in as the others start pushing through my shield as if it was just water. What the frig? They shouldn’t be able to do that. I almost think I messed up somehow with the spell when I notice that while they can enter rather easily anything they are holding doesn’t have the same benefits. Trying to push them away with my magic is met with similar results, which only adds to the evidence on what is going on. Are these things actually resistant enough to magic to be practically immune to its effects? This is not good. Looking around at the approaching swarm only one idea comes to mind on what to do about the situation.
Soon enough I am crashing through the bushes surrounding the town with a brownie hanging from my tails and a single train of thought on my mind. Frig, frig, frig, why do things always have to be more difficult than they need to be? Why couldn’t it be undead that I’m running in terror from instead of these magic-immune creatures? At least the undead I can just set on fire and forget about until they are nothing but ashes. Looking back at the horde chasing me I try to dissuade them anyways by tossing a ball of flame at them but it doesn’t faze them at all. I do notice that they avoid the patches of fire on the ground after one leaps away from them with a cry of pain.
Wait a second, they may be immune to the magic itself but that doesn’t mean things caused by the magic will slip right off of them. With that in mind I reach out with it and grab the rope that one is carrying and use it to trip up and bind a small bunch of them together. With this success raising my spirits a bit I start grabbing random items from around the forest to use in tripping up the brownies chasing me. Through all this I forgot about the one hanging off of me when it suddenly plops down onto my muzzle from above.
“What the!? Gah! Get it off! Not the face, not the face!” I fling my head around trying to shake it off as it hangs on while flailing its limbs when it has the chance. Through all this I can’t see a thing which is why it’s not a surprise at what is soon to happen. Just when I think that I may have to utilize drastic measures to remove it the brownie suddenly vanishes from my view. Unfortunately a tree is now blocking my view as I run muzzle first into it as I don’t have a chance to stop.
Blinding pain fills my head on impact and I cradle my face in my paws. “Ouch, anyone get the number of that carriage?” While my shield was still up and could absorb most of the impact there was still enough kinetic energy to throw my thoughts out of whack for a moment. Of course that delay was enough for the closest brownies to catch up with me and climb atop my back. When they tried to throw a rope around my head and catch it in my muzzle I recovered enough to bite down on it and severing it with my teeth.
By this time I was feeling a mite more annoyed than panicked as I turned my head to glare at my passengers with one eye. “Oh so you want to go for a ride, huh? Well you better hope you’re ready for a rough one then.” The glint in my eye must really worry them as my passengers start looking a bit fearful now. That’s the only warning they get before I take of running at an even faster pace than before as I use my magic to enhance my speed.
From that point I start to perform various stunts and maneuvers to shake the brownies off of my back. Unfortunately most of them seem to have a good grip as bounding off trees, tight turns, and even a leaping barrel roll does little do dislodge them. It’s only when I spot a hollow log that I get an idea to remove my little infestation. Weaving around a bit I make a sudden turn towards the opening before dashing inside of it. Luckily it was low enough that there wasn’t much clearance above my lowered head and a few resounding thumps as well as the absence of weight on my back indicates the success of my plan.
Now that I got rid of my passengers I can work on getting out of this forest. First to get out of this log and get my bearings again and… As soon as I exit the log I feel some excess weight on my back again. ....they’re back on me again aren’t they? A quick glance back reveals my fears to be correct. With few other options I decide to try and blinking away from them though it’s not something I would risk normally. At least with how magic doesn’t work on them they shouldn’t be pulled along with me.
Taking a moment to focus my thoughts I begin to channel the spell and vanish from under the brownies in a flash of light. When I reappear I find myself in the general direction that I was aiming for, but instead of on the ground I was falling through the air towards a pine tree. Oh this is going to hurt. Why do these spells always put my up in the air like this? Bracing myself I start crashing through the branches of the tree until I eventually fall out the bottom of it. Spitting out a bundle of pine needles I look around to see that the coast is clear. “One of these days I’ll manage to get those travel spells working right.”
I mutter to myself as I make my way out of the forest and find myself at the place where I first entered it. There I find the two gryphons that had directed me to this area in the first place, both with amusement written across their beaks. “Well you managed to make it out of there; did you manage to find what you were looking for?” I just glare at them before flicking my tails at them which dislodges a bunch of pine needles in their direction as well as a brownie that I didn’t realize was hiding in them.
I answer them as the brownie impact into the face of the larger of the two. “It would have been nice to have a bit of warning before going in there, of course watching this is helping my mood a bit.” I watch in amusement as the two realize what just happen and start flailing around trying to remove the brownie from the gryphon’s face. I chuckle as I walk away and even let out a laugh when the smaller one tries to beat it off with a stick only to bean the larger one between the eyes. I jerk to a halt for a moment when I hear a cry behind me. “That was really fun, come back again sometime!”
I just stare at the brownie that spoke in a language I could finally understand before I bring a paw up to my face. “Ugh, I’d rather deal with Discord than those things. I’m not even going to bother doing anything else with those things.” Turning back I just pick up the pace as I head off somewhere to settle down and rest for the rest of the night. I find a decent enough place though my day doesn’t end there as I fall asleep.
I raise my head to look around me to find myself surrounded by darkness. I start to wonder what is going on as I was last curled up under a bush when I spot a winged form approaching me. It takes me a moment but I recognize the form as well as the larger one following behind it. “Selene? Luna? I didn’t know you could reach me all the way out here. This is a dream isn’t it?””
The two nod at me as I focus to shape my dream into the sitting room from my old manor. The two take a seat across from me before Selene begins to speak. “We received your letter saying where you were going which worried Celestia. Luna thought this would be a good training session as there aren’t many chances to search for specific dreamers at a distance.” She looks up at the older princess who nods in response to this. “Yes, I also remembered the antics of the creatures you were searching for and according to my sister they haven’t changed much in the years I’ve been gone.”
I just shake my head and sigh as them having some knowledge about brownies would have been nice to know. Of course I didn’t know that they could find me like this so there wasn’t a way to get this knowledge before anyways. “If you mean how they are mischievous and seemingly immune to magic then I found that out the hard way.” The two wince at his as I continue. “It can wait until I send another letter back to you all later. How about we just spend some time catching up with each other as it has been a while since I’ve left?”
The two nod at me and we spend the rest of that night talking about the little things I’ve been going through as well as what I had missed in Equestria.