Ponyfinder: The Lost Flowers

by David Silver

23 - Like Us

A butterfly flutter landed in front of their stall. "Where are the cute rounded ponies?" She looked left and right, but there were no Equestrians in sight at all! "Are you watching it for them?"

Rose stuck out her tongue. "It's me, Rose." She leaned forward. "Really look that different in Everglow lines? Come on." She turned to present her rose of a mark. "See, same mark!"

"Mostly." The rose was more of an actual rose. Simpler than if someone had painted it on meticulously, but more than one expected from an Equestrian pony. "I'm glad you're all here then." She clapped with building joy. "I would like to get some flowers, please."

"With pleasure!" all three of them promised.

---

Purple Auspex inclined his head at Tree. "So they've come over?"

"Yes." Tree nodded vigorously. "I was going to... Is she busy?"

"She often is." Purple set a hoof on his own chest, bee wings buzzing. "But she trusts me, and I will tell her. Did this upset them? Are they healthy?"

"No and yes. They're happy as can be." Tree rubbed at her cheek softly. "For as worried as they were before, they just decided it was alright and, pop, Everglow ponies."

"Hm." Purple considered quietly a moment. "Can they still cast spells in concert?"

"I... don't know." Tree took a step back. "I didn't even think to ask about that. Should I?!"

"If you can, subtly." Purple worked his hooves together. "It is not of the utmost importance, but I know she would wonder, and I do too. Do they still have their abilities, robbed of their extraplanar bodies? They are druids still, I imagine?"

"Yep! They hear the songs and speak to nature." Tree raised a hoof as if blocking her voice. A singing aid? "Completely druids, and now Everglow druids."

Purple tapped at his head. "Whatever their bodies may be, they are still Equestrians, with Equestrian thoughts. That is why I am curious to know what talents came with them or not."

"Right..." Tree began turning away. "I'll ask, next time I see them. They don't seem all that changed, outside of how they look. Is that all we want?"

"It's all we can ask for." He lifted into the air on his buzzing wings. "To demand much more would be rude. They aren't harming anything, so there is little reason to fret from this point. The natural order of things has accepted them. At this point, it is up to us to catch up with nature."

"As it tends to be." Tree began for the door. "I'll come back when I find out more." She departed the mayor's office with a smile. She had done her job. Speaking of jobs... She considered with a growing frown. "As a waves druid, I am not spending much time by the water..." She had said she would watch the local streams.

And she had! But there were already wave druids watching over them. They had tolerated her coming by and looking things over, but they did not need her, or even want her, really. Druids were like animals, in a way. They needed their space. She was not part of that ecosystem...

"Hmm..."

"You look busy." A butterfly of a flutter rose up on the side of the branch Tree was walking along. "Is it a good busy?"

Tree shook her head. "Thank you for asking, but I do not think it is a good busy."

"The worst." But rather than flee, she remained at Tree's side. "Want to talk about it?"

The first instinct was to shoo the kind but nosy flutter away, but she managed to resist that urge. "Perhaps an outside set of eyes is just what I need. If you have time, I will share."

"I had other things in mind." But she was still there, following Tree as she went. "But I can wait, and so can they."

"That's very nice of you." Tree considered with eyes turned skywards a moment, even if the canopy blocked the view of it. "It started with the Equestrians..."

She told her story to the friendly stranger.

---

"Do you want a larger space?" The large moth pointed to another stand. "They are behind on their payments and considering leaving, anyway. It's more central, and larger on top of that."

Daisy considered their landlord. "Are we doing that much better than they are?"

Lily shook her head. "We're doing just fine where we are. We couldn't expand much further without more help."

Rose nodded towards Lily. "And, as nice as they are, we're not hiring. Besides, we're not permanent. A friend of ours is coming for us."

Later, back at home, Daisy clopped a hoof against the side of her head. "I forgot! Where is Twilight? Shouldn't she already be here?"

Lily sat back. "Wow, completely skipped my mind. I was more upset that my hooves don't work so well."

"Yours too?" Rose placed her hoof on a jug and nudged it around in little pushes. "I can't pick things up!"

Daisy waved that way. "Think the Everglow way. They don't pick it up like that." She marched up and snatched the jar away from Rose in her teeth and poured out a serving of water for Rose before setting it back down. "Ta dah!"

Rose applauded in appreciation. "Thanks! I was going crazy." She inclined her head slowly. "You get used to doing it a certain way... Now, what were you saying?"

"Twilight?" Daisy pointed to the window. "Does it take that long to get here?"

"Maybe?" Rose shrugged softly. "I really don't know. Somewhere between a second and a few years, from the info we have."

Lily smirked smugly, her arms crossed. "Which is a codeword for 'she does not know'." She reached for the fresh glass of water, but her hoof was no better at grabbing it. "Dang it."

Rose nudged Lily's hoof away. "That's mine, thanks!" She went in and plunked her snout into the water, sipping it directly. "Mmm..."

Daisy casually poured herself a glass. "That isn't how you drink it." She showed how she tilted the glass towards herself with a task that required both hooves and snout working in harmony to bring the lip of the glass closer. She was able to far more easily chug down the water in three big gulps of the stuff. "Ah, that feels good. Seriously though, Twilight? And Spike, and his girl. They're all supposed to be coming, right?"

Lily went for the jug of water, chomping at the handle. "I think so," she got out muffedly as she started the less skilled effort of pouring herself a glass. "Everglow ponies make this look so easy!"

"Practice." Daisy let her glass fall back to its neutral position. "I've been practicing since before we went native." She shook her new tail behind her. "So I was prepared. I thought you two would be ready too, but that's what I get for assuming." She stuck out her tongue even as the other two glared at her.

Rose coughed into a hoof. "Putting that aside... We really don't have any idea when Twilight will get here. Soon? I hope whatever she's doing it isn't really dangerous or anything."

Lily set the jug down, heaving for breath. "That is harder than it looks!" Still, her glass had some water. So did the surrounding table. "This is Twilight we're talking about. So of course she's doing something dangerous and they're having a big ole adventure about it. Would it be Twilight otherwise?"

A knock at the door caught their attention. It opened a moment later to reveal Tree, smiling as she kicked it behind herself. "There you are. Looking sharp... literally, come to think. You really should wear clothes more often."

It was only at that moment that Rose had a reason to really pay attention to that. Tree was dressed in simple off-green clothes, like a leather tunic that covered most of her. She had no hat. Her shoes were concealed by sneakers of a sort, also made of leather, though a much tougher sort at a glance. It was simple, but worked. "Huh..." She didn't have much reason to pay attention to Everglow fashion before then. "Wait, we're under-dressed?"

Daisy applied a hoof to her face. "I thought it was optional!"

Lily perked an ear at Daisy's outburst. "So you noticed that too, then?"

"Yes." Daisy sank miserably. "But I thought it was just a fashion thing. If I had any idea, I was looking like a jerk..."

Tree sat at the table where all the action was at. "Most understand you're from a very different world, but now that you look the part, what you don't get right is more... obvious. If you'd like, I can show you where they sell some basic clothing."

Rose reached for one of Tree's hooves, rubbing hoof to hoof without getting a good grip on it. Curse the lack of Everglow sticky hooves. "You are a treat, but we don't want to fill up your day."

Lily nodded quickly. "Just point us in the right direction."

Tree wagged a hoof at the three. "What if I want to show you? What then?" The three glanced at each other with obvious uncertainty. "You're going to have to let me do it. Now, if you're not busy, let's get you dressed. You'll do better at your stand when you're looking presentable." She stood up and turned away. "I'll be honest, just glad you at least understand the situation. I was ready for you to stare at me blankly when I brought it up."

Rose stuck out her tongue. "We're not that clueless!" Sure, she hadn't noticed how much clothing was going on, but she knew what they were! "I want something rocky, advertise my rock circle."

Lily raised a hoof. "I want... wait... I don't want something that looks like you took it off an animal, that'd be horrible! Fashion is tricky..." That she didn't partake of it often was clear.

Daisy ran a hoof over her form. "Bright reds and oranges. Fire is a nice color and I'm ready for it! Let's get fashionable and trendy, or at least fashionable." One of two was good enough? "Lead the way, wise unicorn."

Tree smiled awkwardly. "I've never been called that before." She rose and started for the door on easy hooves. "This way. You've been running a business, so I trust you have money and know how to use it?"

"That we got under control." Rose chugged the last of her water and spilled about half of it in the hurry. She got up to her hooves, water dripping from her. "Lead the way!"

"Yeah... You're going to have to not do that when you're wearing clothes, just a warning." Tree willed the door open and stepped through, waiting just outside. "Clothes rarely like getting wet."

Daisy dashed out next. "No water, check. Except washing. Gotta wash clothes, duh."

Tree nodded at that. "I can't argue that. But, you know a spell to clean them without water. I know it too."

All three frowned in thought, but it came to Lily first. "Least Wish! It can clean things."

"Precisely." Tree let the other two and the beaver escape before she closed the door behind them. "That'll take care of your laundering needs and it's nice and gentle on clothes, so it works out pretty well."

Rose trotted along behind Tree. "Clothes need a lot of attention, don't they? I thought the point was for them to attract attention."

"Sure." Tree started up some stairs. "Starts with getting yours, to buy it, then to take care of it. After that, it grabs everyone else's attention. Attention magnets, that's what they do and keep doing so long as you keep them." She tossed her head up ahead. "The clothing shop is a few trees away, about fifteen minutes hike. Let's get you all looking nice."

With a communal cheer of action, the flower mares went to get dressed.

Author's Note:

Proper Everglow ponies wear clothing, dangit!

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Just hope the displacement spell didnt drag along a few Rarity, specials.

Or even Applejack alternates.

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Practice." Daisy let her glass fall back to its neutral position. "I've been practicing since before we went native." She shook her new tail behind her. "So I was prepared. I thought you two would be ready too, but that's what I get for assuming." She stuck out her tongue even as the other two glared at her.

You know what they say: "To assume is to make an ass of u and me".

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Yeah... You're going to have to not do that when you're wearing clothes, just a warning." Tree willed the door open and stepped through, waiting just outside. "Clothes rarely like getting wet."

Not that they can typically express that.