Book
At night, when the Everfree is at its most beautiful and most terrifying, I find myself relaxed. With the moon to light my way, I walk along a well worn path leading into the Everfree. Fireflies glow in the darkness and crickets chirp, singing their songs in the silent night.
I have some idea of where I’m going, though it’s more of a general direction really. Well, no plan is perfect. A wooden hut lies ahead of me, though it seems to be part of a living tree. If it weren't for the potions and bottles hanging from the branches, I never would have noticed it.
Curiosity gets the better of me again and leads me to one of the windows where light spills out. Sticking to the shadows, I peek inside. What I see is someone much like a pony but with stripes, as if someone had taken dark paint and ran it all over her. She hums a tune to herself as she fills a cauldron with various herbs and pours liquid from strange flasks. All the while, her hips sway to her own rhythm, bangles jangling to her tune. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have said she was a dancer from some exotic lands.
I move away from the window and continue my trek. If I am going to make it back by sunrise, I have to move quicker. My pace changes to a quick trot.
Past some brambles and bushes, the path disappears and everything grows wildly in front of me. Moonlight comes in trickles as the canopy grows dense. It’s harder to see now as I trip over roots and rocks and other small shrubbery. As if I haven't had enough problems walking as it is.
There is something up ahead. Through the shrubbery, I can see a dark hulking form. It's at least twice as big as a full-grown pony. A pair of wings and a scorpion-like tail stick out of a lion’s body. Its back is turned towards me, unaware of my presence.
Dead or not, you would hardly find a pony warmed to the idea of being a manticore’s next meal, and I do not plan on waltzing into a predator. So, I back away slowly. Stiff limbs struggle to move, like rusty cogs grinding against each other as I kick into reverse. I hear a sickening crunch come from whatever the manticore is eating.
Another step back.
So far, so good. Once I’m out of sight with a good amount of Everfree Forest between us, then I can rest at ease.
One more step.
Crack.
I freeze. The manticore whips its head towards the sound and stares in my direction. It's practically looking at me as I stare back through the leaves. We don't break eye contact. If my heart was working, this would be the part where it would be pounding in my ears as I wait for the dark, sickening surprise that is bound to happen any minute now.
The manticore stands up and falls into a position to attack, low to the ground and ready to jump at the first sign of movement. Those sharp teeth and those sharp claws on that manticore look very suitable for tearing into flesh, and soon they will be on me. I try to imagine myself what I will look like when the time comes. Will I let out a deathly scream? Or will I go quietly back into a lifeless form?
As I brace myself for the next event to unfold, the bush, a little ways down from me, rustles as a cockatrice comes bursting out, squawking and cawing up a storm.
Despite being smaller than me and much smaller than the manticore, it didn't seem to care about the size difference as it challenged the manticore with flared wings and a snapping beak full of sharp teeth. But to be honest, I'm more worried about the manticore than the chicken. One can't do much when they're petrified statue. With one against one and me at the sidelines, I can already tell that this was a place I shouldn't be at.
Thanking small miracles, I turn tail and run, stumbling over unseen roots. The trees around me blur as I gallop. My head begins to throb as an overwhelming sense of déjà vu threatens to split my head open. My legs run automatically, steering along a vaguely familiar path. Ahead is an opening in the forest, highlighted by the moonlight.
I charge ahead into the opening. My hooves lose purchase on the ground as the end of treeline leads to a steep hill. The surprise catches me off guard as I find myself tripping over my own hooves and tumbling haphazardly by my own momentum. Along the way down, I hear something snap out of place in my shoulder. My roll comes to a stop at the bottom of the hill. When the world has stopped spinning in my eyes, I listen for any of the Everfree inhabitants.
Silence.
Not a single sound can be heard. I sigh and try to stand up, though I seem to be having trouble with that. Something is wrong with my right shoulder. It probably got dislocated in the fall. No matter. A little bit of fiddling with my leg and joint pops it right back in, good as new. Sort of.
When I take a look around, I find myself in a ditch. But what lies beyond has me smiling again as I see before me a large patch of wild blue flowers. I trot up to it and lie down to admire them. It’s amazing how something so beautiful can grow in a place like this. I don't know how long I've been staring. I could probably spend days watching it grow. Shaking my head to get back on track, I pick one of them and fix it into my mane.
I gather enough flowers for a bouquet and hold them in my mouth. I've gotten what I've come here for. Now I just have to get back to Fluttershy’s place. However, it would help if I knew which direction to go. North? South? Left? Right? I've been lost for so long that I'm afraid that I've gotten quite good at it.
As I circle around the patch of flowers, trying decide which way was Ponyville, my hoof kicks something solid. A curious glance reveals a book. Too small to be a novel. Perhaps a journal or a notebook for one’s most private thoughts. But why is it out here, all alone, without anybody to accompany it?
I nose the book open to a random page, watching the pages flutter as they fall. A flower falls out, the same one I have. It’s all flattened and pressed, having been stuck between somebody’s words for some time, but not so long as to wither because it still clings onto life with its vibrant blue hue. Neat, curly writing adorns the pages in ink, its meaning still lost to me.
Each page turns with crinkles from days of weathering against the Everfree’s wild elements,and with each new page, I am pleasantly surprised by a new flower, pressed into the pages. Suddenly, I remember that I had to be somewhere else right now.
I take two steps, stop, and look back at the book. It would be a shame to leave something so nice here. I take two steps towards the book and stop. But what if someone comes back to look for it? I turn around and take a step, before looking back again. Then again, ponies are known for being forgetful.
After a few more times of going back and forth, I take the book, putting my bouquet between the pages so that the flower petals are not crushed within. I try to leave back the way I came. The way up is steep but not impossible. My teeth grip tightly to the book as I make the arduous climb up the hill. Every so often my hoof slips under me. My chin would hit the rocky ground when it happens. By the time I reach the top, I'm a mess. Nonetheless, I move on. Though, I hope I don't bump into that cockatrice.
~~~~~~~
The forest ends and I step out into the open. Scratches cover my body like battle scars, mostly self-inflicted. In my mouth, I carry the spoils of war: a bouquet of bright blue flowers and a book. I march towards Fluttershy’s cottage just as the sun is rising. The early morning birds are chirping. They stop momentarily at the sight of me but continue.
I quietly trot up to Fluttershy’s room next to her bed. She is still sleeping soundly. Her mouth hangs open as little snores escape, matching the volume of her voice. I set the flowers on the bed next to her. Surely, she will love them.
Once I've settled back on the couch with my book, I open it to a random page. Illegible scribbles meet my eyes once again. I want to understand. With all my heart, I want to understand these words written by this unknown author, who may or may not be dead. Why? Because someone cared enough to put thoughts down onto paper, knowing they may never be read. And that, I find, is beautiful in itself. In a way, it's like having a chance to listen to someone who’s not around anymore and get a glimpse of who they were.
My eyes stare at the first word until, I don’t know how long, it begins to change. Letters take form and fit into place where nonsense once was, and in its place a single word starts forming. I try to draw the word out slowly with my mouth.
A scream shatters the calm of the early morning. Except, the scream doesn't sound like it's coming from Fluttershy. It sounds more like a stallion. I nearly jump at the sound, tearing my eyes away from the book. Last I checked, there weren’t any stallions in her house.
Faster than I’ve ever moved before, I run up the stairs towards Fluttershy’s bedroom. When I reach her, she is still in bed, awake. She is holding her blanket up to cover herself. Her eyes are wide and they lock with mine the moment I enter, though perhaps it may have to do with my barging into her room like a charging bull and making as loud of a ruckus as I can in the early morning. Her panicked expression soon softens at the sight of me.
“Oh, it’s just you,” she says in a deep, masculine voice.
I stand there, unmoving. Her lips are moving and words are coming out. But it doesn’t sound like her. I close the distance between us. She subtly tries to cover herself for whatever reason. When I’m at the edge of her bed, she herself blushes. A glance under her bed reveals nothing. There’s no stallion under there as I had thought. That brings my gaze back to the pegasus in bed, scrutinizing every detail of her face and comparing it to the sleeping face I saw last night.
“Goldie, it’s me,” the pegasus says. “Fluttershy.”
I fall on my rump and tilt my head. One of my ears twitch at the low bass of her new voice.
“Fluttershy… Not mare?” I ask.
She shakes her head frantically. “No, I am! Believe me. I’m just...” she trails off, her eyes flick to the bouquet for a moment. “Sick.”
My eyes lock onto the bouquet that had gotten slightly crushed. Perhaps putting it there had been a mistake. “Sick…” I repeat. “Flower… Make sick?”
A wave of guilt hits me. Were the flowers poisonous? Was she allergic? The thought of doing harm to someone who has done nothing but kindness to me twists my insides. I back away from Fluttershy and sulk in the corner.
A feathered wing brushes against my back. “It’s okay, Goldie. You didn't do anything wrong. I think it’s a wonderful gift,” she says in that deep voice of hers.
I sigh, drawing circles with my hoof on the floor.
“Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. It's really easy to fix,” she says.
I look at her questioningly. “Hmm?”
“All it takes is a quick trip into Ponyville and I'll be back to normal.” Her eyes trace over my figure. “Oh dear. You're hurt. We better fix you up and change your bandages first.”
I follow her as she pulls out her first aid kit and begins wrapping a new roll of gauze over my body. Of course, she would put my needs before hers. Because that's the kind of pony she is.
~~~~~~~
We are crossing through Ponyville’s market. Wearing a large sunhat and a pair of saddlebags, Fluttershy looks just as conspicuous as I do. She insisted that I also wear a hat as well as sunglasses and that I leave the blue flower behind. She might be thinking of my own shyness around other ponies, and I smile inside at the thought of that. How thoughtful of her! Despite the choice in apparel, most ponies either don’t notice Fluttershy or they choose not to notice her out of respect for her seemingly inconspicuous disguise. Regardless, Fluttershy is still trying to be subtle in hiding herself, unaware that doing so only makes her stand out much more.
Every so often, I find myself distracted by a vendor’s wares or school children playing on the street. And every so often, I find Fluttershy bumping flanks with me or steering me closer with a wing as I wander off. I can't help it. What’s that mare selling? What are those kids playing? Can I play too? I'm as easily fascinated as a foal.
We enter a place that appears to be a spa. There is a waiting room with magazines on fashion and beauty. At the moment, there aren’t a lot of ponies probably because it's too early in the day. While Fluttershy talks to a pink pony with blue mane, I busy myself with trying to read one of the magazines. Again, trying. Mostly, I like to look at the pictures of all the mares with their makeup and pretty dresses. There’s even one that looks like Fluttershy, coincidentally.
My ears catch the end of Fluttershy’s conversation. “Right this way, please,” the spa pony says, leading Fluttershy inside.
“Stay here for a bit, Goldie. I’ll be out quick,” she says in that deep voice of hers. I'll never get used to that.
I slowly nod. She smiles and trots away. Sitting in one of the seats in the waiting room, I peek inside the hallway Fluttershy went through. There are large bathtubs further in, about three times larger than the one in her home.
“Hello there! How may I help you?” someone says.
I turn around to see the same pony from before. No, wait. Not the same pony. At least I don't think it is. The color of her mane and coat are swapped.
I point to where Fluttershy had gone. “F-F-Flu…” I stutter. I wish Fluttershy was here to do the talking for me. I'm no good with words.
“Are you here for the full body treatment? Newcomers get a half off discount.”
I shake my head and force myself to talk . “No… Thanks…”
The pony frowns after giving me a onceover but then smiles. “At least come in for a massage. No charge.”
I ponder this for a bit. A massage shouldn’t take too long. “Okay…”
“Great! My name is Lotus, and I will be taking care of you today,” she says as she leads me down the hall and into a room at the side.
There is a table for a pony to lie on comfortably and a shelf filled with towels and oils.
“Please, lie down. Oh, and if you could please take off your hat.”
I do as she says.
“Now, I’ll start around the withers and work my way down. If you feel discomfort, let me know, okay?”
I nod. I never noticed before, but she has an accent. I can't put my hoof on where it's from.
She grabs a bottle of oil for her hooves and starts working around my shoulders and withers. There is a satisfying crack from my shoulder, the one I had fallen on in the Everfree, as she puts pressure there.
“Oh my, you have a lot of tension! You’re completely stiff around here.” A hoof digs into my back as she kneads the piece of meat.
I try to shrug, but her hooves are keeping from doing so. Then, she moves further down, eventually massaging my flank where my cutie mark is. “It’s no good to keep all this stress and worry in you. Are you cold? You feel cold. Well, no matter. You'll be warmed up after this. After this massage, I guarantee you will feel much better.”
She bends one of my hooves experimentally, slowly twisting it in wider motions. More cracks and pops come from my back and joints. Limp limbs fold and bend at awkward angles with ease. If I had started a career as a professional contortionist, I can see myself doing quite well. Just when I find myself beginning to get comfortable, it's over.
“There! You should be feeling much better now.”
When I roll onto my hooves, I notice that it’s somewhat easier to move.
“How did you like it? It was good, yes?” she asks.
I nod and pick up my hat, but I don't think my face left the impression that I enjoyed it because she smiles uncertainly, not quite sure if she did good or bad. These sunglasses make it difficult to read my expression.
I hold up a hoof. “It’s… fine," I say, following her back to the lobby.
Lotus manages to relax, though she tries to hide it behind the professional smile. “Good. Would you like to schedule an appointment for next time?”
I fumble for words to say. How do you tell someone you're flat out broke? Not only that, but living off of someone’s kindness at their home?
When we reach the lobby, Fluttershy runs up to me. “There you are, Goldie! Where did you go?” she says, now with her sweet normal voice.
I paw at the ground. My bad habit of running off must have worried her.
“She was with me getting a massage,” Lotus says, standing next to her twin. “You have quite the friend, Fluttershy. You should bring her with you next time.”
“At a discount, of course,” says the other spa pony.
“Would you like that?” Fluttershy asks me.
I nod, standing a little behind Fluttershy as the spa ponies look at me.
“Quite a shy one,” the twin says, giggling.
“Come now, Aloe. Don’t tease the dear.” Lotus turns to me. “Perhaps next time, you can try one of the baths.”
Fluttershy is suddenly pushing me out the door. “Maybe. If we have time,” she says. “Bye Aloe. Bye Lotus.”
We are walking side by side in total silence. When I look at Fluttershy, she’s thinking about something. Something deep by the thoughtful look on her face. What's gotten her so bothered?
“Fluttershy…” I say.
She jolts out of her thoughts. “Yes, Goldie?”
“Feeling better?”
“Oh! Yes, I'm fine now.”
Another bout of silence. There’s an air of uncertainty between us.
“Say, Goldie,” she says. “If we happen to find a cure for your… situation, would you take it?”
To be honest, I hadn't thought about that. The fact that there could be a cure never crossed my mind. If I was cured of my deathly condition, would I be able to remember who I was before? If I could remember myself, I bet it’d be like being reacquainted with an old friend. I nod slowly.
“Even if it means things might be different? Or if things don't go the way you planned?”
I stop in my tracks. Fluttershy stops, too, at my sudden lack of movement. All this complex thinking and these deep questions have left me unprepared for what to say next. Things like what-if’s and plans for the unexpected are things I can't entirely answer as of now. Because they're unexpected, of course. The could be a million answers and I still wouldn't be able to give an outright answer. But I am certain of one thing and that is the present, here and now, regardless of how I got here.
I trot ahead of her. “Yes.”
She sits there deep in thought until she notices me walking off. “Goldie, wait! It’s this way!”
I hurriedly turn around and start walking.
From the corner of my eyes, I can see Fluttershy giving me a smile, though it’s a small one. She’s still thinking about something. I wonder what's going on in that head of hers.
When we come to a stop in front of the library, Fluttershy knocks at the door.
“You can come in! The library’s open,” a voice calls from inside.
We walk in, and I am surprised to see the purple mare from before. She had just closed her book as we came in.
“Fluttershy, Goldie, what brings you two here?”
“I'm just here to look for a book,” Fluttershy says.
“Oh? About what?”
“The Everfree’s flora, if you could. I need to find a special plant for one of my animal friends.”
“Sure, just let me find it,” she says as she skims the titles on the shelves.
While Fluttershy and Twilight are busy chatting about the new things in their lives, I can't help but wander around the library and put my nose into things I shouldn't. Books are neatly arranged on the shelves, and I start taking them out haphazardly. With little control on my grip, I fling them over my shoulder into a pile. For some reason, the eagerness to relearn how to read is gnawing inside me.
“Hey hey hey! Stop! I just reshelved those!”
I turn around to see the little dragon from before.
“You gotta be more careful with these. Twilight’s gonna have a fit if she sees someone throwing books around.” He organizes the pile into a neat stack. “There, see?”
He stares at me.
“Do I know you? You look kind of familiar.”
I shake my head. One thing was certain now and that was he lived here apparently. What bad luck, more for him than for me. Thankfully, my disguise worked like a charm.
“Well, whatever.” He twiddles his claws, unsure of what to say next. An air of awkwardness lingers between us. “So, do you like reading comic books?” he asks.
I begin to shrug, but the more I thought about it, I realize this could be my chance for him to teach me to read. I nod my head.
His eyes light. “You should see my comic collection! Oh, my name’s Spike by the way.”
“Goldie,” I say, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady.
He leads me upstairs into a bedroom containing a bed and a basket beside it. The dragon walks up to the basket and pulls out different issues of various comic books.
“You should read this one if you haven't already. It's the latest issue of The Power Ponies. Or this one! The Mysterious Mare Do Well!”
I glance at the selection. Illustrated covers, some slightly bent, make it all look appealing, and the amount of pictures inside make it easy for any child to read. But my curiosity is drawn to one particular comic and that is the one with the zombie on the cover.
Spike notices where I'm looking and picks it up. “Night of the Living Dead? It’s alright, I guess.”
“Not scared?” I asked.
“Me? Pssh, no! Why would I be afraid of a dumb old zombie?” he says with a nervous laugh.
I nod slowly.
I hold up one of the comic books. “Spike, teach me… read?” I ask.
“You don't know how to read? But I thought you liked comic books?”
I look at the cover in my hooves. “Pretty… pictures.”
He gives me a weird look. “Hasn’t anyone taught you how to read?”
I stare at him and shrug.
He scratches his head. “Huh… Well, I guess I can teach you.” He picks the book out of my hooves, turns to the first page, and points at a word in a speech bubble. “Can you sound out the letters? You know what letters are, right?”
I squint at the word. Bits and pieces of the Equestrian written language fade in and out of my memory. The muscles in my mouth twitch.
“Fr… Fre...md. Fremd?” I ask.
“Fremd?” Spike looks at the word. “Close. It’s ‘friend’. Those sunglasses might make it hard for you to read. How about we take those off?”
Before I can voice my objection, he lifts the shades off my face.
“There, isn’t that… better?” he trails off. I can practically see the neurons firing in his brain as recognition crosses his face.
I try to tell him not to be scared. Yes, I am a zombie, but that doesn't mean I'm any less of a pony. But instead, what comes out of my mouth are some strangled syllables and a horrible groan as my mouth fails to cooperate with me. I accidentally bite my tongue at some point and pretty hard too because when I stick my tongue out I can see the gross open wound on the tip of my tongue. In hindsight, I should not be sticking my bloody tongue out in front of Spike. Looking back at him, he seems to be stuck in a state of shock.
Then, without warning, he faints. I look left, then right, then back to Spike. I am alone in a room with an unconscious dragon on the floor, and any minute now, two mares can come walking in.
A heavy sigh leaves my mouth. “Sorry...” I say to him.
I gingerly lift him into his basket. I start humming one of Fluttershy’s songs to calm myself as I throw a blanket over the young dragon. It also seems to have an effect at calming him as a content look takes over his face.
Picking up my sunglasses, I leave the room to join Fluttershy and Twilight. When Fluttershy notices me, she wraps things up with Twilight.
“It’s been so nice talking to you, Twilight. But Goldie and I need to get going.”
I nod quickly. The faster we were out, the better.
“Alright, Fluttershy. It was nice seeing you too, Goldie,” Twilight says to me.
I smile politely. “Same…”
When Fluttershy and I are outside with some distance between us and the library, I let out a sigh that is heavy from all the things that happened today. It has topped one of biggest sighs in the past few days, a new sighing record. Fluttershy’s eyes glance at me. Noticing my depressed mood, she puts a comforting wing on my shoulder. “I had fun today being with you. How about you?”
I can see she's trying to cheer me up. I think about the things I saw and the spa and the comic books Spike showed me. Looking past all the bad stuff, this day didn't turn out so bad.
“I had fun too,” I say.
Then, she smiles. “That's good. Though, I'm starting to think the hats were a bit too much,” she says as she adjusts her large hat.
I can't help smiling. It's contagious. “Maybe,” I say.
She lets out a laugh, like little bells ringing, and I hope one day my voice will ring alongside hers. Just once more, I give a small sigh, the kind that is reserved for moments like these, knowing that there will be more of them in the future.
When her laughter has subsided, she gives a small sigh of her own, and I wonder if it means the same thing to her as it does to me.
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This I like, more you write?
7450253 I'll try.
I just barely came across this story, and I'm completely charmed.
I hope we'll get to see it through to its conclusion.
i am loving this, it is pure awesome sauce, so good work on this man
Loving it like Mcdonald's
Is the zombie a human?
A fascinating read. Here’s to hoping you update this more regularly from now on.
A pretty cool concept for a story and it's well executed. Can't wait to see more.
This is creative and unique.
Well done, very well done.
Oh, poor Spike.
Nopony believes him, and now he's going to question his own sanity.
Eh, hope he gets a chance to get to know our zombie a little better later on.
Great story, will track.
Poor Spike. Oh sorry for taking this long to read the latest chapter of your story.