Counselor In The Forest

by RedBlack

The Usual Day

In the confines of the ever mysterious barrier that is both my prison, and my current home, I was sat on a random log in front of the campfire, carefully bringing my lips to a steaming cup. Two teal eyes with sharpened irises stared as the eyebrows were furrowed in expectation and anxiety. Random spots on the grass were littered with weird purplish or greenish blobs of slimes.

A loud slurping sound came as I gave a soft sigh after swallowing the hot liquid.

We both stayed silent as I thought about the different qualities of the tea. How soft it is. How easy it went down. She watched on nervously, having already failed numerous times.

"It's, actually drinkable." I said with clear surprise in my voice.

"Finally!" Moonshine loudly celebrated as she slumped down.

"Indeed. You've improved quite fast since you were making poison this morning." I casually commented as I shudder from memories.

"It ain't my fault I never made tea before." She replied with a small frown.

I only gave a few chuckles at that. Which was followed by a few seconds of serene silence. Something that felt rare lately. I grabbed an apple and started breakfast.

I'll catch some fish for her after I finish.

Though, my enjoyment was quickly interrupted by remembering the argument.

"Hey, Moonshine?" I started.

"Yeah?" She replied with some pieces of fruit in her mouth.

"I thought you were royalty." I muttered under my breath before asking. "Who is Nocturne?"

"Oh, he's, kinda my dad. Kinda not, but he still tried" She replied bluntly.

"What?" I just ask.

"Yeah, he was the ruler, slash god of the Nocturnals. Pretty much the exact same as Celestia." She explained with reminiscing look as she swallowed the fruits. "I wasn't actually born from his essence. But I was birthed by his first wife, who cheated on him, because he couldn't make enough time for her." Her face was saddened by that. "Which I just don't understand. I mean, he was literally the one managing the whole Nocturnus Kingdom. It's not like he actually had time for, her, or me, when he couldn't even enjoy a cup of tea without a report coming in." Her body slumped and she hung her head low.

I didn't know what to say to that. Not like I experienced something like that before.

*Sigh*

In the end, I only let out a silent sigh and put a hoof on her shoulder. Empty words from somepony who doesn't know how it feels would just annoy her.

"Thanks." Her words were almost silent as we just sat there for a while.

Feels like I'm in one of those books dad used to read with how many emotional events have been happening lately.

She suddenly looked away and wiped her face with one hoof before turning to me. Her eyes were slightly red and there was a wet spot left on the middle of her eyes. Though I chose not to point it out.

"Anyways!" She yelled a bit too loud to break the ice. "What about you? You definitely have a story to tell." She finished with a strained smile.

I shrugged in response with a small smile as I take my hoof off. "It's not that interesting." I calmly replied.

"No way." She said with an exaggerated eyeroll. "You're telling me, that the pony inside a mysterious barrier that doesn't allow death, that also apparently has no problems with killing others, doesn't have a backstory?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Mhmm." I gave a nod.

I guess mine does count as interesting, but it's still a bit awkward to talk about it. Especially since she herself is somewhat involved.

Her face was full of suspicion as she just narrowed her eyes at me whilst letting out a humming sound. I raised a brow in response as I stared back.

"Fine, keep your secrets, but I know you're hiding something, Remedy." She said in a voice that failed to be threatening. "Actually, what is your full name?" Her tone suddenly changed.

"Natural Remedy, it was lethal to meet you." I replied with a nonchalant smile.

"Good, it was quite beheading to meet you too." She gave a response as she sat near the fire and poured herself a cup of tea.

Then proceeded to cough it back up from how terrible it tasted. I couldn't figure out how she managed to change the properties with nothing but tea leaves and water.

"I made this?." She muttered to herself. "How'd you manage to drink this with no issues?" She asked with a disgusted face.

"I've tasted worse." I gave a simple reply.

Yeah, raw blood wasn't that much of a better choice than snow. Too bad all I had was that weird sippy cup that didn't allow for refills.

I felt my mood dropping as some unpleasant memories popped up. Moonshine seems to have noticed my change in expression.

"Anyways, I'll go to the river to catch some fish." I told her to distract both myself and her and got up.

---

"Pray tell sister, just how far hast Equestria progressed without mine own presence?" Luna asked with a rather excited voice as she repeatedly opened and closed the fridge. "Doest this 'fridge' actually extinguish its light once closed?"

"Yes it does, Luna, else we'll be wasting all that energy after all." I gave a reply.

Shortly after awakening to raise the sun, I had gone to Remedy for a visit that turned out to be, quite different than the usual. After coming back, I am currently spending the rest of the morning with Luna. I was absolutely filled with joy at her return. And her reactions to whatever new technology that she happened to get her hooves on, are simply adorable.

"Please, do not let our presence disturb your work." I told the cooking staff, who were all nervous.

They gave a bow of sorts and carried on making preparations for breakfast, which was almost a disaster. Almost, being the keyword, as an assistant chef tripped on something and threw a pot of dough in the air. Thankfully, the head chef is on duty to save the day, and the dough.

Giving a slight chuckle at their antics, I turn back to Luna, who was staring at a coffee machine.

"Do tell, Tia, what wondrous thing this doth?"

"That, is a coffee machine. It's used to make coffee." I explained calmly.

"And, what is this 'coffee' that thee speaketh of?"

"It's a drink made from a type of beans that's mostly used to give a boost of energy. Personally, I prefer my blends to be hoof made, just tastes better somehow. Though, I don't drink much to begin with. Why don't you try a cup?" I tell her as I bring a coffee mug under the nozzle.

"Hmm. This drink may beest useful during mine own duties in the night." She said in an inquisitive voice.

Perfect.

She's showing positive interest in modern day aspects. This should make it easier for her to get used to the changes since a millennia ago.

A slight delay of water boiling and coffee beans being crushed, the hot liquid poured into the cup. She took it in her magic and gave it a gentle sniff. With a simple shrug, she took a sip.

Ah.

I believe I've made a mistake.

On the outside, I maintained a steady face as I stared at the slightly shaking Luna. On the inside, I was worried about her current condition.

"Are you alright Luna?" I tentatively asked.

She suddenly chugged the whole thing in one motion and turned to me.

"TIA, THIS DRINK IS MOST WONDROUS. I FEEL AS IF I AM ABLE TO BRING DISCORD TO HIS HOOVES." She sprang up with a burst of energy.

I gave off a few nervous chuckles at her behavior. She might not be able to make it to her dream walking tonight.

---

"Are you sure this'll work?" I asked Remedy, who was currently nailing in a set of stairs into the giant tree.

"Positive. We'll need a house to sleep in sooner, rather than later anyway. And having it higher up is just safer. " He replied with a few nails in his mouth.

He had spent most of the day nailing different sized boards together to create a set of stairs, though I'm not entirely sure if this is possible, or even remotely safe. Though, safety hasn't really been a matter of concern for a while now.

"After I make this steady, I'll put a few pillars underneath for support, then maybe some walls for better stability. It can also work as a shed." He explained with another swing of a hammer.

"Wouldn't it have been better to just put the support in first?" I asked as I tried to hold the hoof-made ladder more steadily.

"Maybe." He replied and he took a look at the hammer before dropping it down. "But I don't know much about buildings." He punched another nail in with his hoof.

"Then why haven't you asked Celestia about it. Seemed like you were friendly enough to ask for help on this." I put more strength into my hooves as the ladder wobbled.

There was a small period of silence as he put a few more nails in.

He eventually gave a sigh as his body slumped slightly.

"Hey! Careful. This thing is really fragile." I told him as the ladder started to shake even more.

"Sorry." He blankly said. "To answer your question, it's because, I already got so much from her. Just doesn't sit right with me to ask for more." He explained calmly.

"I, guess that makes sense." I gave a reply.

*Crack*

"Yeah, it's pretty sappyyeeeeEE!"

"Gah!" I let out a pained sound as he fell on top of me.

"Fuck." He said with a strained voice.

"Get off me." I told him with a grunt.

We groaned in pain whilst getting up. I'd shut my eyes in pain as I rubbed my back

"I told you that that fucking ladder would break." I told him.

"Yeah, yeah, not like we had a better choice." He replied while massaging his neck.

"Why couldn't we just build-." My words were caught in my throat as I stared at him.

"You good?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as his eyes shone a dull light green, clearly emanating magic.

I felt my body lock up as I stared at those eyes. At first, I thought it may be fear, but strangely enough, I was more entranced.

There was a muffled sound as I stared deeper.

A sense of belonging swept over me as I felt a familiar sensation inside myself. Feeling myself becoming light, my senses started to feel numb as I felt disconnected from the world. Soon I felt weightless, almost like air as a sudden feeling of constriction invaded me. It slowly became stronger, it started to get harder to breath. It's like a cloth was draped over me as it started to shrink.

Giving a few coughs, or atleast something that felt like it, I drew in a gasp of air as my eyes opened up.

"For fucks sake, Moonshine, are you alright?" Remedy asked me with a worried frown.

Still struggling to breathe, I looked down to see what was constricting me.

"What?" I said in confusion as I stared at myself inside a bag.

"Yeah, you suddenly started turning to mist, and I didn't know what to do. So I kinda just gathered you in this bag." He said with a tone that even he himself was unsure of what he did.

"Please get me out." I told him as I was reminded that I shouldn't fit in the bag.

A few pulls and a cut later, I was free from the clutches of the bag as I stretched my body.

"Uh, any idea what this is?" Remedy asked as he pointed at my neck.

"Oh." I let out a stupefied sound as I stared at the wooden necklace, or collar. "That's why it was hard to breath." I simply commented.

"So, any ancient knowledge about what just happened?" He asked with a slightly annoyed face.

"How the fuck would I know? Isn't this place your domain?" I shot back.

"No, actually. I'm as trapped as you are in this place." His reply shocked me.

"Wait, seriously? I thought you were just some weirdo who wanted to stay in the Everfree." I replied without thinking much.

He gave a deadpan face as he stared at me. A small trace of realization hit his face before quickly disappearing.

"Anyways, help me gather some wood. I'll try this again, but with a sturdier ladder." He told me.

"Yeah, yeah, but I won't hold that if it's as crappy as this one." I replied and followed him.

Ugh. My neck hurts.

Author's Note:

Fucking finally!

Dude, the time it took to write this small ass chapter is baffling me.

Like, life itself, is going way too fast for me. Fucking wake up, go to school, come home, and sleep. Eating is optional.

I had to finish this damn chapter during LUNCH.

Anyways, as always, thanks for reading.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why is there a tragedy tag?

[RedBlack]

11861196
No particular reason. No, sir. Nothing suspicious about it.

[TheBlueArmada]

Great chapter, all the build up and character development is just perfect

[Korosuke]

11861201