Ponyfinder: The Lost Flowers

by David Silver

5 - Wind Through the Trees

Tree led the way along the branches of the trees that made up Prisma, flutters buzzing quickly past them in all directions. The branches seemed to exist only for visitors, like the flower mares, or the learning unicorn. "We are guests," she reminded, looking over her shoulder. "And you are not even welcome ones."

Rose edged a little away from the source of irritated energy. "You need to relax. We're not setting the place on fire."

"Not for lack of trying." Tree scowled at Daisy, who was bouncing a new ball of flame from the end of her nose. "I see now why they insist we have more learning before we even set a hoof on the path of primal magic."

"What?" Daisy nudged at the ball, but held it there at the end of her nose. "Bright's cousin here, Spark, doesn't care about the stars. He just wants to see this big ole forest!"

Lily tittered softly. "Did you just make that up? Are you going to consider a backstory for every fire you make?"

"If I can help it." Daisy's eyes crossed, focusing on the fire she held. "What's that? Yeah, there really are a lot of butterflies, aren't there? They made a very nice place, I think. Pity we haven't been able to start tending flowers."

Rose sighed at that. "I'll agree with that. Having a flower garden would go a long way. Going home would also be nice! Either of those things." She accelerate to Tree Wind's side. "So, we're going down?"

"Yes." She stepped out onto a platform that swayed a little with her weight. Heavy branches corded together with even thicker bands of vines and ropes. "Get on." She watched them hawkishly, her horn glowing as she wrenched back a lever. With a loud clatter, the entire thing wobbled anew as it lowered slowly towards the ground. "You rode one of these up, didn't you?"

Rose moved for the center of the platform. "Yeah, I remember that... They go through a lot of effort for things they don't need themselves."

Tree smirked at that. "Need, no, but that doesn't mean they don't use it. Given the choice of sloth, some will take it, especially for the trip up." She turned to face the flower mares directly. "Now tell me the truth, outsiders."

Lily inclined her head. "Outsider? That's a bit harsh."

"Hm?" Tree inclined in the other direction. "That's the proper term. You are from another plane, an outsider. Any creature from another plane is that."

Daisy rolled her fire off onto a hoof, which she got right to bouncing from one hoof to the other. "You have enough of those you have a specific name for it? That is somehow worrying."

Rose nodded firmly. "I'll echo that. Our world... usually... Well..." She danced from hoof to hoof. "There was that one time, and it was bad and nopony liked it." The other flower mares nodded in easy agreement. "We're just happy not having 'outsiders'."

"But you are one." Tree waved a hoof at the three. "So what now?"

Lily suddenly laughed. "She has you there."

Tree's ears perked. "Oh, thank you... Most don't accept when I make a valid philosophical point." The floor jolted beneath them, coming to a rest on the forest floor. "Here we are. Now, I need to perform this task on top of keeping track of you all."

Rose drew out a pad from her pocket. "So why don't we work together instead of making it a competition? I didn't hear any rules against it."

Daisy bobbed her head quickly, fire bouncing at the end of her nose. "We'll spot lots more things if we're all looking and put all the notes together." Quickly she also got out a pad and a quill, each stuck to a hoof firmly in a way unnatural to an Everglow pony.

And commented on by one of them, Tree watching it happen, "Another spell you learned? How many do you know?" She stepped down from the platform. "Nevermind, get off. This thing will go back up whether we're ready or not."

With a chorus of yelps, the flower mares rushed off the platform, allowing it to ratchet itself upwards. As it went, flutters descended on it, perching for a ride back up to the tree city above. "Told you," noted Tree with a smile. "It's hard to pass up a free ride, even with working wings."

Lily poked Tree with her own notebook. "We're going to start looking at things. She said any living thing counts, right?"

Rose nodded quickly. "That's what she said. I call dibs on flowers."

Lily pouted at that. "Unfair! Then I'll go for trees and bushes."

Daisy inclined her head, the fire staying at the topmost point of her snout in the process. "Well, fine. I'll go for animals. Fluttershy isn't here to do it, and somepony has to."

The three scattered, but did not separate. Their calls were loud, making it clear where they were as they discovered things.

"This flower!" came Rose's excited cry. "Oh, my, Celestia. It's so colorful!"

Lily poked delicately at a bush. "This one is very spiky, and here's another cousin." She moved to another bush that seemed to be of the same species, but... "No... The thorns are different." Her trained eyes could spot it. They were different species, even if related. "Huh." Notes were taken.

Tree tried her best to keep all three strange ponies in sight, though that was a challenge to do simultaneously. "Don't try to run away. You'll get me in trouble too! I worked very hard to get into this class."

Daisy held out a hoof towards a creature that was like if a rabbit and a squirrel had discovered love, but she was still not Fluttershy. The wild animal fled rather than say hello. "Aw." She made a note of the creature anyway. "There are all kinds of interesting things around here."

The creature had returned. "Aw, hello there." And another of its kin, and another... and... oh dear. She was surrounded in a ring of over a dozen of the small creatures. "Um..." Daisy was unsure how to feel at that moment, other than worried. "I come in peace?"

A loud branch snapping startled the creatures and they bolted in every direction away from the scene. Tree stepped out into view. "Tirbounders are mostly harmless, unless they feel threatened and have superior numbers, then they can attack." She approached the still rattled Daisy. "Loud noises scare them off. Next time, shout. Be as loud and big as you can and they'll back away. Otherwise, you may be lunch."

Daisy let out an explosive gust of air. "Thank you!" She grabbed Tree Wind in a full body embrace. "You saved me!"

Tree squawked in dismay, pushing Daisy back as best she could. "Hey. If I let you get hurt, that'd be on me too. Now where are the others?" She turned away. "Try to avoid being eaten for a second." And off she went in search of her own prey.

Lily was sniffing at the sappy extension coming from a slender tree. "Hm." She flicked her tongue out to sample it, to discover it did not taste like honey at all. While it was sweet, sour notes threatened to overwhelm it. Citrus with a dash of... pepper, or more paprika? Lily struggled to place the flavor she was experiencing. "Hm." She made dutiful notes of her discovery. "Found something way better than flutter honey," she shouted out.

"Tell me you didn't eat that." Tree was hurrying closer, drawn by the call.

Lily turned, only to wobble during the motion. When did Tree gain so many different hues?! When did the rest of the world? Everything seemed to be awash in colors bright and alien. What she couldn't see was that it was her eyes that were swirling with colors, as if she were looking through an especially colorful kaleidoscope. "Look what I found!" However dizzy she was, she looked cheerful about it. "It tastes good."

Tree covered her face with a hoof even as her magic worked to help keep Lily upright. "That is a mildly poisonous, actively psychedelic, plant. The sap can, and has altered your perceptions and thoughts. Used carefully, flutters employ it in some rituals to explore their 'inner colors'. You are not a flutter, nor are you approaching this with any fashion of reverence or care. All you're getting is a cheap, and potentially dangerous, thrill."

Lily sagged against Tree, her eyes wandering, not even in sync with one another in a feat that was clearly a challenge to Muffins a world away. "If you tried some, you'd be singing a different... melody. Tune! I meant tune!"

"Did I mention it's very strong?" Forest had a brow raised. "If I was just watching you, this would be amusing, perhaps, but the other two could be getting into even more trouble." She coiled, burying her snoot into her saddlebag and drawing out some rope. "So I'm taking you with me."

"Noooo!" Lily swatted and struggled against being lassoed, but her efforts were woefully uncoordinated. Soon, she had a rope around her neck, and Forest smugly held the other end in her magic, with only a few bruises from flung hooves to show the struggle. "Fine," Lily allowed in a petulant whine. "Way to be a buzzkill."

Forest tugged Lily along. "I will gladly kill any buzz of that sort."

"Don't kill buzzes!" A flutter descended upon them. "That's hardly nice. Hey Forest! Are you two playing a game?" A female butterfly, she looked between the two. "Is that the kind of game you should be playing out in the open? How bold! I love it." She clapped her hooves together with a big grin.

Tree rolled her eyes at the misunderstanding. "The newbie stuffed her snout in some Rainbow Mind."

"Oh!" The flutter seemed to grasp what had happened without any further details. "Oh, that explains the eyes." She was looking at Lily's swirling eyes. She flew in close to Lily, touching nose to nose. "You have to be care--Eee!" Lily had bitten her, right on the nose. "Ow!" She retreated, backpedaling in the air, hooves over her injured nose. "That wasn't very nice at all."

Forest glared at her charge. "You apologize. We are guests of the flutterponies. We do not bite them."

"Unless they ask," laughed Lily, wobbling in place. "She looked so bright and tasty, like candy..."

"How would you like it if I bit you?" threatened the butterfly, glaring at the strange alien pony. "Is that how you do things wherever you're from?"

"What? No! Noooo. No biting." She listed to the side. "No biting animals." It was only then it dawned on her. "I bit an animal!" She flopped to her belly, burying her face in her hooves. "I am unclean! I've broken my promises! A monster, that's what I am! A terrible monster!"

The flutterpony blinked softly. "Um..." She looked to Forest. "Tell her I said she's forgiven." And off she flew, leaving the confusing situation behind.

Forest took a slow breath. "Alright, let's be logical. You all like screaming at each other... You are Lily, the other was... Daisy, so... Rose!" Her voice rose into a shout at the name. "Can you hear me?"

"Over here," came the reply shortly. "There are so many flowers. Come look at these."

Tree's progress was, alas, slow. Lily didn't want to stand, sobbing about her mistake. "I can't do that... Can you come here?"

"You can't see the flowers from over there!"

"I can't see you from over there, and that's the problem." Forest stamped the forest floor. "Daisy, come to my voice too, let's all meet up, kindly?"

"Alright," came the reply from two directions. The mares were coming. Tree sank next to Lily. "Your friends will be here soon."

"Yay," Lily smiled, face still a mess of tears. "They're going to make fun of me though." She flopped weekly, still in a world of colors.

Author's Note:

Like many mind-altering substances used by indigenous people, there are proper ways to use them, or you can just take them and get a high.

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Good thing it wasnt one of those compounds you have to dilute to rediculous levels to get an effect.

That is, if you dont, you is deaddified.

[badninja]

I really think most Equestrian ponies are very silly to outsiders.

[David Silver]

11060735
If it helps, she only touched her tongue to it for a quick taste. Imagine if she actually ate some, nom!

[redmar]

Lily should know better than to eat an unknown plant.

[Venerable Ro]

11060796

She really should, Equestrian florists double as confectioners really, so it's incumbent on them to know the ins and outs of what is and is not safe to eat. Therefore, licking some strange tree is right out.

Silly pony...

[FridayPie]

11060796
Perhaps they got used to world with no dangerous plants.

Except plundervines. But those are actively dangerous.

And poison joke. But that's in Everfree too.

And Flash Fever tree... Ok, I stop here.