The Everfree Forest was home to some of the most dangerous things in the world but what few know about it are that there are many wonders as well. Aegis Flare was one who did know about this from her trips into it and it was from these wonders that she made her living off of. Though with how often the forest changes it was hard to focus on one thing to sell so she made it her business to keep in touch with a variety of ponies for when she finds things.
She was heading towards one of those contacts with a large load of berries that she had found a new temporary source of. Walking through Ponyville during the early morning she made her way to a house that was near the park that was marked with a bunch of grapes next to a strawberry. Knocking on the door she waited until it was answered by a mulberry colored pony with a cutie mark like the on marking the house. Holding up one of the berries she brought with her she greeted the earth pony. “Hello again Berry, those berries are back again but this time I hope you could be a bit more careful with them? It is hard enough cleaning up after Pinkie's party without having to deal with drunken ponies as well.”
Berry Punch grabbed one of the white gooseberry-like objects closely before turning a glare to the orange mare. “It was only one time! You make one mistake and nopony ever lets you forget about it. Of course if you told me that these things were already full of alcohol then that wouldn't have have happened in the first place.”
The unicorn couldn't meet her eyes at this accusation since she did fail to warn her of the potency and in fact wasn't sure what it was in the first place. “Right, I did forget to do that back then. Did you ever figure out how much alcohol was actually in these things? I remember trying one of them after that mess happened and I woke up the next morning trapped under my sink. It didn't even taste like there was any alcohol in them.”
The earth pony waves her inside and walks back to her pantry area to store the berries while gathering up the bits for payment. “That is actually the reason why it all happened and if you didn't tell me that you got them from the Everfree I wouldn't have believed what I found. Whatever is in those berries it's not quite alcohol, but something even stronger. If I had to guess, whatever is in these is about a thousand proof at the least.”
Letting out a short whistle, Aegis Flare looks at the load of berries with a tad more respect now knowing what they really were. Looking over the number of berries she had brought she estimated there to be at least fifteen bottles worth of juice which, when adjusted for the content, came out to seventy-five bottles of pure alcohol. Just in what she had brought was probably enough to get the entire town drunk at the same time.
The mulberry mare brought over a bag of bits as payment as well as another bag with a few berries in it. “I have a few ideas to try with these now that I know more, but could you please bring these over to Bon Bon at her sweet shop for me? When I talked with her about them she asked if she could get a couple to see they would work well in some of her candies for adults.”
Aegis Flare took a second to consider the request before nodding in agreement. She soon found herself on the path towards the center of town while she thought about the mare she was going to meet. She actually found herself drawing a blank as she couldn't think of anything about the mare other than a few mentions of her from her sister. She didn't find it especially odd as there were many ponies around town she hadn't met, but she probably knew less about her than anypony else in town.
She found Bon Bon's Sweet Shop easily enough as she had walked by it often enough. Outside of the building she saw a mint green unicorn mare she recognized as Lyra as she played her lyre, which was drawing some customers into the shop. Nodding to her as she walked by she made her way into the candy store, taking in the sugary scents as she passed through the doorway.
“Welcome to Bon Bon's Sweet Shop! I'm Bon Bon and if you need help with anything just let me know.” Aegis Flare paused as she got a good view of her as something tried to rise out of the back of her mind. Giving a nod to the mare she looked around to see the variety of candies that were there for sale and made a note to keep a better eye on Scootaloo when she asked to come here or at least schedule more trips to the dentist.
Walking up to the counter she set the bag of berries on the counter while taking a closer look at the mare. “Berry Punch mentioned that you were wanting to have a few of these to experiment with for some of your candies.” Bon Bon looked at her for a second before taking a glance inside the bag and gasping at the contents.
“Oh these are going to be perfect! At least as long as I'm careful to not use an entire berry for a single candy like Berry used the pure juice in a single bottle of her wines.” This brought an eyeroll from the unicorn as she finally realized why the earth pony looked so familiar, though it was a much younger version of her.
“I already made that joke with her when I dropped off the rest of the berries with her.” Taking another moment of thought she decided to breach the topic since the mare might know something. “I'm not sure if you know me but I remember seeing you in a photo with my mother. It's strange that we haven't crossed paths much but if what I think is true then you might have been working with her. You do remember Bella Donna, right?”
At the mention of the name of the unicorn's mother, Bon Bon dropped a small jar of candy-coated peanuts causing it to shatter and scatter across the floor. Hearing the sound the mint unicorn came dashing through the front door to see what happened. “Bonny are you okay! What happened, are you hurt?!”
As the mint unicorn was looking over her friend, Bon Bon was looking over at the orange mare with a look of worry as she tried making some gestures with a free hoof. Seeing the fear in her eyes as she looked at her friend, though Aegis Flare suspected they might be more, she got the idea that Lyra didn't know. She glanced down at the spilled candy and glass before motioning to it behind Lyra's back until Bon Bon got the message.
“Lyra, can you go upstairs and get the broom and dustpan for me?” Lyra nodded and carefully made her way upstairs while the other two watched her. As soon as she was out of sight Bon Bon turned towards Aegis Flare with a panicked look. “Please don't tell her about me and the Captain. Lyra doesn't know anything about my past job and I want it to stay that way. I didn't even know that the Captain was in this town until you mentioned her...” She paused for a moment before glancing to see if her friend was returning yet. “...How Is she anyways? I haven't seen her since before the Princess disbanded the Black Guard and scattered its members to protect us.”
Aegis Flare was confused about this as she hadn't heard about the Black Guard being gone, though it did explain a bit of why they weren't sent after that dragon. “She's been missing for a few years now along with my father. They were supposed to be on a simple trip to another kingdom but were never heard from again.”
Bon Bon looked surprised about this but she couldn't say anything else as Lyra came down the stairs at that moment. The two watched as the mare cleaned up the mess but when she finished she looked up to see the two watching her. “While I don't mind Bon Bon eyeing me, I don't think I've seen you around much for you to be doing that.” She looked over at the earth pony and smiled at her blush. “Is she a friend of yours or something that you wanted to invite over for something?”
While Aegis Flare just rolled her eyes at this comment while Bon Bon's face looked as if it was in a furnace. The orange mare watched as the candy-maker started sputtering at her friend for a moment before she stepped in to diffuse the situation. “It's nothing like that, I just recognized her from some photos of some of my mother's friends. It's a bit personal but I was wondering if she had heard from her since she vanished a few years ago.”
The cream colored earth pony shook her head to clear her thoughts before taking up the conversation using that as an opening. “Well she was more of a teacher than anything back when I lived in Canterlot. I learned a lot about plants from Mrs Donna and it helped me create some of my better candies. I didn't even know she was missing or her daughter was even in Ponyville until now.”
Lyra let out an 'oh' of understanding before looking back at the orange mare who was looking over the various candies in the shop. She took a moment to look over the mare seriously when she recognized where she had seen her before. “Oh hey, I recognize her now. She's one of Twilight's new friends here in town, the one that goes into the Everfree all the time.”
Lyra absently used her magic to reach out for something nearby and popped it in her mouth. The other two mares caught a glimpse of it but neither were fast enough to stop her before she bit down and swallowed the berry. In horror the two watched as she went from a perfectly sober mare to completely smashed in a matter of moments. “Oh Lyra, how many times do I have to tell you not to eat the things behind the counter?”
The mint unicorn didn't respond as she was too busy draping herself over her friends as she tried to nibble on Bon Bon. Aegis Flare wasn't sure whether to be amused or embarrassed about the current outcome, but on glancing around she noticed that the rest of the store was empty and she flipped the store sign to closed. “Right, I think you might want some time to deal with her so I think I'll head out for now. You'll probably need some extra time to finish preparing for Nightmare Night as well as well so I guess we'll talk again later?” Bon Bon couldn't do much more than wave a hoof at her as she tried to fend her friend off with the other which the orange unicorn took as agreement as she left the store.
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“Come on sis, hurry up! We're going to be late!” Aegis Flare rolled her eyes as Scootaloo tried to hurry her up with assembling her costume. Looking over she still wondered where her sister had found a rainbow colored wig that looked like Rainbow Dash's mane. She was glad that she was able to talk her out of using blue paint for her coat and instead got Twilight to do a simple illusion.
Looking into the mirror she examined her own costume of a thestrali noble that she had made from an outfit in her parents closet. It was almost perfect, though there was something off about it still and if she could just figure it out it would be perfect. Looking at the holes in the side she was distracted by a sound above her causing her to smile. “Hey Scoots, how about we bring Scarlett along with us? It's been a while since we brought her along for a walk and she should be awake for this one, plus she'll be leaving for the winter soon.”
Scootaloo stopped bouncing around for a moment as her ears perked up before turning back towards her elder sister. “Really?! Can I actually play with her for a bit? She's always asleep and I never get to spend time with her since you send me to bed so early all the time.”
With a smile she nods to her younger sister as she makes her way up to the attic. “Of course, but it will have to wait until after meeting up with my friends. I think I might be able to get back at Rainbow Dash for some of her pranks finally.”
Her sister got even more excited at the prospect of seeing her idol though she also had a bit of a smirk. “Great, she's such a cool pet and I bet the other fillies and colts will be jealous. Also Rainbow Dash is too awesome to fall for a prank like that, she'll see right through it easily.”
Rolling her eyes she glanced over at her sister as she pulled down the stairs to the attic and began climbing them. Once there she found the one they were talking about hanging from her perch while chewing on a juicy apple. Seeing her owner, she perked up a bit as the unicorn whispered into one of her ears before nodding with a chittering laugh and climbing under her outfit.
Heading back down the stairs she found her sister waiting for her but she looked confused when her elder sister came down alone. Before she could voice that confusion her sister waved a hoof. ”Don't worry Scoots; Scarlett will be meeting us out there once we find my friends.”
With a final check the three head out towards those that they had promised to meet for the night. Soon they came upon Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack in the town square along with Sweetie Belle, who Scootaloo went over to join. Looking around the orange unicorn failed to see the other ponies she was expecting, though she was expecting that Fluttershy was in hiding. “I can probably guess where Fluttershy is, but is Twilight going to be coming?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head before adjusting the helmet of her faux-guard outfit. “Nah, the egghead is too wrapped up in her books to join us tonight. I left before she could start lecturing me about what she was reading though.” The others rolled their eyes at this, though it was hard to tell if it was for what Twilight was doing or Rainbow Dash. Seeing as they were all there, Aegis Flare took a step forward to join them until she stumbled and fell to her knees. “Hey Flare, are you all right there?”
The four mares advanced towards the fallen mare, but none of them noticed the small smile on her face though the two fillies were low enough to see it. As soon as the mares were close enough she gave the signal to her passenger and took a deep breath. A moment later she threw her head up and hissed at the other four, showing off the fake fangs in her mouth as a pair of wings flew out of the side of her outfit spread wide. “VAMPONY!”
Three of the mares leaped back in horror at the visage before them before they turned to look at Pinkie Pie who just stood there laughing. “Oh wowie, that is a great costume Flarie. How did you get the wings to look so realistic? Did you get some help from Twilight or something?”
The three looked between the two in confusion until Aegis Flare laughed, drawing all looks towards her. Those looks soon changed when they saw the movement beneath her clothes as the wings drew back in and started moving down. Pinkie, being the closest, leaned in to watch as it moved and soon came face to face with a pair of beady eyes attached to a foxish-looking face. As soon as she got a good view of what was hiding her eyes shrunk to pinpricks as she let out a scream. “BAT!”
The group watch as the pink mare rapidly backs away and falls headfirst into a barrel leaving her hind legs to continue to flail around. Shaking her head the orange unicorn moved over to a nearby tree to allow the flying fox on her back an easier time as it flies up to hang from a low hanging branch. “Well that worked better than I thought with Pinkie, but you can consider us even for that time on the hill, Rainbow Dash.”
Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all examined the large bat that was hanging from the tree. Her head looked much like her namesake with a look vaguely resembling a fox which went with her red colored fur. She was a rather large specimen of her species as well, with a wingspan large enough to look like real wings on a pony when riding on their back, though they were proportioned well for her own body as well. “Darling? Where did you get such an interesting creature like that?”
Aegis Flare looked back over towards Rarity as she asked this while pausing in her scratching of behind Scarlett's ear with her magic. “Huh? Oh right, I don't think I've introduced any of you to her yet except for Fluttershy. This is Scarlett, and I found her when she was just a baby during one of my early trips into the Everfree. Actually it was more like she found me as she got caught in my mane during one of those times that I didn't braid it and I didn't notice until I combed her out.”
She looked at Scarlett affectionately as she remembered back to that day and the confusion she felt when she heard the squeaking sound as she tried to get what she thought was a knot out of her long mane. “But what is she? Ah've seen varmints like her stealing mah apples before but nothing like her.”
Glancing over at Applejack she noticed a look of suspicion but quickly reassured the farmer. “She's a breed of bat called a flying fox. Fluttershy says that they don't normally live in this area so I think she got caught in one of those strange Everfree storms that bring odd things into it. While she does eat apples and other fruits I've made sure she understands not to just go stealing from the farmers around here. She usually just takes the few that are left behind as well as the nectar from flowers. Actually I think Fluttershy mentioned that flying foxes help pollinate plants a bit and help them grow in other ways.”
She looked up at Scarlett for a moment as she moved over to hang above Scootaloo who was dragging Sweetie Belle closer. “Actually if she was stealing fruits you probably wouldn't notice anyways since she is only out at night and most of your pests are around during the day. She is rarely awake during the day which is probably the why none of you didn't know that I had her.”
By this time Pinkie Pie had pulled herself out of the barrel and was hiding behind Rainbow Dash while keeping a close eye on the large bat. The cyan mare had finally gotten over her shock of the earlier prank as well and was eyeing the creature while being held back by the party pony. “Yeah, yeah, so you got a cool looking pet. I can't believe that you actually got me like that though. I'm supposed to be the one doing the pranking on Nightmare Night, not the one being pranked.”
Shaking her head, Aegis Flare gave one last pat to the bat before sending her to keep an eye on Scootaloo before returning her full attention to the other mares. “Well shouldn't you be getting on with that since we are all here now? The night isn't getting any shorter and I'm sure that there are things planned for tonight since Pinkie invited all of us.” It took a while, made easier after sending the two fillies off with the bat as an escort, but eventually they were able to calm the pink mare down so that she could finally lead them off to what she had planned that night.