“Lily, should we really be out this far? Everfree is off-limits for a reason!” Roseluck bemoaned from the rear of the group. Their hooves crunched on the leaves and twigs of the forest floor, sunlight dappling the scenery around them through the thick canopy above. While it was not too far into the forest, the atmosphere was much different than any of the three were comfortable with.
The pink pony laughed exuberantly at her friend. “Oh, Rosie! We need to find something to WOW the judges this year! Surely something exotic from here is sure to win us the Manehattan Botanist Competition! With us three on a team together, we’re sure to win!” Lily called back, leading the group into ever thickening foliage.
Daisy looked around the area nervously, trotting apprehensively. “I know the competition means a lot to you Lily, but is it worth getting eaten by a manticore? Turned to stone by a cockatrice?” Roseluck squeaked in terror from the thought of such fates.
“Oh, don’t be such fillies, you two! How about if we don’t find anything in the next clearing, we head back? Does that sound good?” The two earth ponies nodded, drawing a sigh from the lead mare.
The sun crawled tepidly across the sky, the hour passing at a sluggish pace. Lily’s eyes picked something out before them: the trees thinned out several yards in front of them. She surged forward, the two other ponies following her. Lily burst out into a large grassy field, flowers and bushes spread out across the large expanse. They all spread out through the long swaths of grasses and flowers, investigating each bloom for the special exotic quality Lily wanted.
“Anypony find anything?” Roseluck yelled from the edge of the clearing, her head poking up from behind a curtain of long grass. She spied her companions’ heads pop up one after the other, each shaking their head in frustration.
“Just some dandelions over here,” Daisy replied.
“Nothi- AAAAAAH!”
“LILY!” the two shouted in unison upon hearing their friend scream. They dashed through the grass, leaping and galloping to where Lily’s head had just been. Before they could halt their momentum, the two fell over a sheer drop into a deep ditch in the ground, piling on top of Lily.
After a few moments, the three finally each got to their hooves, brushing the dirt from their coats and manes. Lily nursed a small cut on her foreleg, before she noticed something. “Girls?”
“Yeah?” The pair replied simultaneously.
“I think I just found our flower.”
In the middle of the wide ditch sat a single, lone flower waving in the light breeze. Its petals were a deep scarlet, and appeared almost translucent with small white spots scattered across them. The stem was a deep green, two thick leaves sprouting from the base, bright green against the brown dirt beneath. The three gazed in wonder at the strange flower, completely enraptured with its beauty.
“It’s... so pretty! What is it?” Roseluck asked, her eyes locked on the flower.
“It looks like some sort of hibiscus... But I’ve never seen any kind like THIS before!” Daisy replied.
“I’m thinking this will guarantee us a win this year! And not a moment too soon! The competition’s coming up next week!” Lily brought a hoof to her chin. “I’m... gonna bring it home with me. I’ll... keep it at my place until then.”
Roseluck looked at Lily. She seemed hypnotized somehow by the flower, utterly lost in its beauty. “That sounds... okay. Let’s get out of here, though. If we leave now, we can make it back to Ponyville before dark.”
Daisy and Roseluck climbed out from the ditch, looking back to Lily. “Lily! Come on! We’re leaving!”
Lily shook her head, returning her attention to her friends. She pulled out her small trowel and scooped the hibiscus from the dirt and into a container, strapping it to her back, on top of her saddlebags. “Coming!”
***
“Lily! COME ON! We’re running late! We’re up next!!” Roseluck hissed, keeping her voice hushed. The lights in the auditorium were hot and oppressive on Lily. She was already sweating when they had just gotten to Manehattan earlier that morning, and the lights weren’t helping.
The judges were making their way around the displays, many large and elaborate, relying more on arrangements of common flowers and greens than anything too complicated or exotic while they had just the one hibiscus in a simple arrangement of ivy and evergreens. Lily had to be honest with herself. She was scared. She was out of her league if she just planned on winning with a single flower, and in some pitiful arrangement.
“Oh, Lily, it’ll be alright! I’m sure the judges will love it!” Daisy patted Lily on the shoulder, trying desperately to comfort her friend. Lily looked back at the hibiscus again. The petals were glowing in the bright light, the white spots shining like small stars. It turned out the petals were translucent, similar to a deep crimson stained glass window.
The flower was perfectly healthy. Lily took the small watering bottle and soaked the loamy soil the flower was rooted in, the dirt thirstily drinking it up. Lily checked the arrangement checklist. Water. check. Ivy in place. check. Evergreen needles pointing the right way. check. Not much to go over, but Lily wanted to make sure everything was-
“Miss Lily, Miss Roseluck, and Miss Daisy, I presume?”
Perfect.
“Y-Yes, that’s us!” Roseluck stammered, striking a confident posture. Lily turned around to see the three judges: two mares and a stallion, all earth ponies. Lily put on a feeble smile as the judges moved in closer for a look at their entry.
“Oh my.”
“What is this?”
“Good heavens!”
The three stared at the flower with the same enraptured gaze Lily and her friends shared upon seeing it for the first time themselves. One of the judge’s spectacles fell from her nose, clattering onto the floor. She didn’t even notice or care.
“I don’t even know what to say.” The stallion finally broke his stare, instead focusing now on Lily. “Miss Lily, was it? What in the world is this flower? It’s simply... the most beautiful flower I have ever had the fortune to lay my eyes on! What is it called?”
Lily was too shocked to speak. Were they truly that impressed with the display? And what was the flower called? She never came up with a name before. But before she could think on it, a name popped into her head.
“Um, it’s called the Sanguine Hibiscus.”
The judges looked up at each other from the flower and joined in a hushed discussion between themselves. They looked up at Lily and the flower before looking back at each other. After a short moment, they rose to their previous statures. The stallion walked forward and cleared his throat.
“Fillies and gentlecolts! I believe we have already found the winner! Miss Lily with her Sanguine Hibiscus! Congratulations!” A roar of applause from the entire room erupted into existence, deafening Lily’s ears. Tears began flowing from her eyes in joy. She had finally achieved the award that she had tried so hard in the past to get, ever since she was a filly.
“Thank you! Oh, thank you!” Lily cheered. She closed her eyes as the lights began to grow brighter as each spotlight focused in on her. They kept growing brighter until it started to hurt.
***
“Ugh.”
Lily moaned as she opened her eyes. The beige ceiling. The birds chirping from the window. The feeling of sheets on her body, a pillow beneath her head. It was a dream. A wonderful dream, but simply a dream. Lily rose from her bed, smacking her lips. Her head was spinning; the light from the sun became blinding, driving her to fall back onto the bed.
The mare stayed in her bed for a while. She stared at the ceiling, reflecting on the rapidly-fading memories from the dream. She was at the Botanist Competition with Roseluck and Daisy in Manehattan. She was showcasing the hibiscus. She had won. And yet... it felt so real. She could feel the beads of sweat that was on her brow, she felt the breath of the judges as they spoke, she could smell the wonderful aromas of the other flowers in the auditorium. Truthfully, she wished she could relive the dream again.
Lily kicked her hooves out from the sheets and off from the bed. She clopped slowly to her bathroom, readying herself for the day. As she walked past, a long root growing from the pot the hibiscus had been planted in swayed in the breeze, falling from the sheets of the bed to the floor.
*** One Week Later***
It was raining. She was sure of it. She felt the warmth sapped from her bones by the icy drops, but instead of feeling miserable from it, she reveled in the fact that she could simplyfeel it. She stopped in her tracks, letting her hooves sink into the loose mud as she bent her neck up to the sky, letting the drops of water rain down on her face.
“Twilight! We need to keep moving! Why are you just standing there?” a brash voice called from over the roar of the rain. Twilight didn’t move, but smiled.
“Ah gotta agree with Dash, sugarcube. We need ta keep movin’. We don’t have all night.” The southern drawl of the other pony reached Twilight’s ears, finally bringing the unicorn to opening her eyes.
“I’m sorry… it’s just so wonderful to feel something… something so real!” Twilight chuckled weakly. Her limbs felt shaky in the cold and her mind was foggy from her lack of sleep. She would need to reapply the spell before they went any further. “Come here, girls. I need to recast the spell.”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash both reluctantly stepped forward, their hooves sloshing in the mud as they walked. Twilight struggled to concentrate, her magic feeling more distant than ever before. She finally located the repository of energy in her mind and released it, a soothing yellow glow settling over the trio. Each one of their eyes suddenly opened a bit wider, their energy creeping back slowly but surely.
“Twilight, this can’t be good for us. We need to get some actual sleep sometime soon. We can’t keep staving it off with this spell of yours,” Rainbow chided.
“I know… but we can’t afford to stop. You said it yourself. And going to sleep only makes us more vulnerable to it.” Twilight shook her head back and forth, shaking the rain out of her mane, parts of it sticking to the side of her face. She could feel her attention coming back as well, but she didn’t know for how much longer. She had been needing to cast it more often the longer they had been using it. Eventually, she would collapse from exhaustion just trying to cast it.
“How much longer is it ta Zecora’s, Twi?” Applejack asked.
Twilight looked around at their surroundings, analyzing their route. “Uh… I think we have just a little bit more to go. We can rest once we get there.” Twilight pressed on, her friends following in her wake. The canopy overhead was thickening, the rain losing some of its power.
“Why are we going to see Zecora again, Twi? Wouldn’t it be better to get the Princess to help out? I mean Celestia could just fly in and WOOSH! Everypony would be all better!”
Twilight sighed. “No, we can’t afford to let the Princess get caught as well. Imagine how much more powerful it would get if it got her! All of Equestria would be doomed!” Twilight could feel the shaking creeping back into her legs. “Anyway. Zecora is more likely to know about this. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll see if I can get a message sent to the Princess. Maybe Zecora has something I can use since Spike…” Twilight choked on her last words. She could feel the lump in her throat growing more and more.
“Let’s jus’ worry ‘bout gettin there first, sugarcube.” Twilight nodded to Applejack.
The trio walked on for another few minutes before the glow of the old cottage finally began to peek through the thick foliage of the Everfree Forest. The three traded grins as they all dashed forward, their hooves sinking into the mud with each step. Twilight slammed against the door, banging her hooves against the wood.
“Zecora! Let us in! We need your help!” Twilight stepped back as she heard rustling from within the hut, the door opening out, revealing the striped form of their friend.
“My goodness, Twilight, what brings you here on this perilous night?”
“Zecora, we need to come in. We need rest. I’ll explain everything to you.” Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all tumbled into the zebra’s home, the latter two collapsing on the spot, falling directly to sleep.
“Twilight, you and your friends are exhausted beyond compare! What gave you all such a scare?” Zecora began pouring a small helping of her herbal tea into two mugs, setting one aside for herself and handing the other to the exhausted unicorn.
“Zecora… Ponyville is gone. And everypony with it.” Twilight shook with dread at the thought of what had happened.
“How could this come to be? And for that matter, why have you come to me?”
“Zecora… have you ever heard of a flower that can… affect somepony’s dreams?” Twilight saw the zebra’s eyes narrow at the mention of it.
“You speak of this flower. Yes, I know of it and its power.” Zecora stood up and paced over to one of her bookshelves, retrieving one of her older tomes. The title had long since faded; the leather bound covers worn with age. “It is a common belief held by my kind that the stars send their minions down for us to find.”
“What do they want with us?” Twilight asked. Never before had Zecora mentioned her race’s beliefs before.
“They simply revel in the affliction of pain on the rest of us. With this flower, they sap a pony’s life while they are unconscious.”
Twilight felt a weight press against her chest. “So wait… our friends are dying? Everypony?”
“The process takes a long time to complete. In this time, we can act to fix this while being discrete. Now first I must know of how this came to pass. Tell me everything up to the moment you ended up here in this morass.” Zecora took another long sip from her tea, setting it on the table next to her. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were both snoring away, their exhaustion finally catching up to them. Twilight could still press on, and the tea was certainly helping with it.
“It started about a week ago, when some friends of ours brought the flower to Ponyville for a competition they were going to enter it in…”
***
Twilight Sparkle looked around her library. Well, Ponyville’s library. But nopony ever borrowed any books, so it was effectively hers. And it suited her little independent studies. She frequently ‘entertained’ herself with these projects, from cataloging the migrations of birds around Ponyville with the help of Fluttershy, to natural weather patterns in the Everfree forest.
Her current project was very similar. After her encounter with the book ‘Supernaturals’ and Zecora’s advice, she was eager to begin cataloging all kinds of plants around as well as their possible medicinal traits.
“Spike! I’m heading out!” Twilight yelled. Spike popped his head out from the door to the kitchen.
"No breakfast? But I made toast!"
Twilight sighed. "Sorry Spike, but I-" Twilight was interrupted by the growling of her own stomach. She put on a weak smile as the dragon frowned. "I guess I could use some toast..." She trotted into the kitchen and saw Spike standing on top of a stool, a tall white hat sitting upon his head.
"Would you like anything on your toast?" Spike asked before breathing out a small spout of flame from his mouth, just barely brushing the slices of bread with it.
"I'll just have some cinnamon and sugar with mine, thank you." Twilight smiled as Spike brought over a small plate of the perfectly browned toast, light sprinkles of cinnamon and small crystals of sugar glistening on top from the morning sunlight. Twilight levitated the slice to her mouth and took a small bite, her face lighting up in joy as soon as she tasted it.
Spike folded his arms and smiled. "Another satisfied customer."
"Thank you, Spike. Sometimes I think you're too good to me!" Twilight trotted out from the kitchen and levitated her bags onto her back and pushed the door to the library open. "I'll be back later this afternoon!" she yelled before closing the door behind her.
It was a beautiful day in Ponyville, and perfect for what Twilight wished to do. As she walked along the dirt streets of the quaint town, many ponies were out and about, working and talking the day away. A flash of color blinded Twilight for a moment before the blur landed next to her.
“Hey there, Twi! What’s up?” Rainbow Dash asked a smile as warm as the sun worn on her face.
“Oh, hey, Rainbow. I’m doing some work today. Wonderful job with the weather! It’s positively beautiful!” Twilight exclaimed.
The blue pegasus basked in her praise. “Yeah, it was no sweat. Just had to puff up some smaller clouds, and that’s it! Got some nice cumulus floating around with some cirrus up high accenting the whole thing.”
“You’re sounding a bit like Rarity, describing it all like that!” Twilight chuckled. Rainbow Dash frowned, snorting.
“Cloud sculpting is so much more important than dressmaking! One false move... and BLAM! Thunderhead! Last time I checked, Rarity’s dresses didn’t try to destroy the town.”
“Uh...”
“Huh? Oh... OH. Oh yeah. THOSE dresses.” Images of the dresses they asked Rarity to make surged to their minds, as well as the embarrassment of what they had done. Rainbow Dash and her gaudy armor set. Twilight with her wearable star-map. They had an effect on the audience at the show, that was for sure.
“Well, uh, I gotta go... Um... fix that cloud! Yeah! Later, Twi!” In a blur of color, the pegasus disappeared into the sky and behind a cloud.
Twilight continued on her walk down the road. She had finally reached the center of town, a large open area surrounded by buildings and stores. Many carts were set up around the plaza, one in particular standing out to Twilight.
“Twilight! Over here!” the orange farmpony hollered to the unicorn. Twilight trotted up to the wooden cart, buckets on each side practically overflowing with crisp, ripe apples of every variety.
“Hey, AJ!”
“Howdy, sugarcube. Care for an apple?” Applejack pushed forward a red apple towards the unicorn across the carts top. Twilight levitated the fruit and took a small bite, lighting up as soon as it hit her tongue. “Don’t worry sugarcube. It’s on the house.”
“Thank you so much, Applejack!” Twilight took another bite as part of her vision was obscured by a red figure.
“Welcome back, Big Mac! Glad tah see yah got the last bushels of apples from the farm! Sure yah didn't pull anything this time?" Applejack teased.
“Nope. Not a problem, sis.” The stallion removed himself from the cart harness, pushing it up next to the apple stand before noticing the purple unicorn staring right at him. Twilight was fixated on the stallion, unable to bolster the willpower to look away from his statuesque form. “Why howdy, Twilight. How are yah this fine mornin’?”
Twilight stumbled over her words, her cheeks feeling warmer already from blushing. “I-I-I’m...” She turned her gaze away in shame, in fear of embarrassing herself further. She turned around and ran off, her tail waving in the breeze behind her as she disappeared into the crowd of shoppers.
She wandered around for a bit, looking over the various carts and vendors. Many of them were selling plants and flowers both as decorations and foods, but they were familiar and already categorized. She needed something newer, something exotic. She happened on one of the flower carts, bright lilies of many different colors giving off a wonderful aroma.
“Lily? Lily, are you- Oh! There you are!” Twilight looked over the exhausted mare standing behind the flower stand, her eyes sunken in, her expression slack. “Oh my! Lily, are you okay?”
The mare stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes. “Oh, hey Twilight. Sorry. Slept in a bit this morning. Had the greatest dream, though. Wanna hear about it?”
Twilight put on an innocent smile. “Oh, uh, I was hoping to ask you if you found any-”
“I was in Manehattan at the Botany competition...” Lily began, completely ignoring Twilight. Her eyes were a bit glazed over, her gaze focused out in the distance. “I had brought the new flower I found in Everfree as my entry...”
Twilight’s attention snapped back at the rambling mare. “Flower? From the Everfree forest? Can you tell me about it?” Twilight levitated her notebook and pencil out from her bag and began scribbling.
“It’s the most beautiful flower I’ve ever seen. Vibrant red pedals, bright green leaves... the judges were hypnotized with it, just like how Roseluck, Daisy, and I were when we found it. Oh, Twilight!” Lily moaned in joy. “You should have seen how happy I was when I won! It... It was amazing!” Lily began tearing up, burying her face in her hooves from the recollection.
Twilight backed up a bit, looking at the mare. “Oh, don’t worry. She’s been like this all morning since she showed up.” Roseluck trotted up from her stand to the unicorn, looking down at the sobbing form of Lily. She slowly shook her head.
“Will she be okay?” Twilight asked.
“Just give her a bit of time. The Botanist competition is her life’s ambition. The fact that she had such a vivid dream about winning it... it’s only to be expected.”
“What about this flower? Lily said you and Daisy were out with her when she found it. Can you tell me about it? I’m trying to do some research on plants and flowers from Everfree Forest.”
Roseluck brought a hoof to her chin, her eyes pointed to the sky. “We found this clearing in the woods. Lily fell down into this great big ditch, and Daisy and I followed her into it. It was huge! No grass, just the single flower growing in the middle of it. But she was right. It was beautiful.”
“Can you describe it to me?”
“Uh... It was a hibiscus, that’s for sure. The petals... they were a bright red, and looked like they were glowing. White specks all over them. Dark green stem, bright green leaves. About a foot tall. Why don’t you ask Lily to see it yourself at some point today?”
Twilight turned around to Lily’s cart. The mare was nowhere in sight. “Uh, where is she?”
“Oh dear,” Roseluck sighed.
“I saw here heading back towards her house just now. Looked like she was in quite a hurry! Is everything okay?” Daisy asked, trotting up to the pair.
Twilight nodded and tucked her notebook and pencil away. “Yes, everything is fine. I just wanted to ask Lily about the flower you three found yesterday, is all. Thank you for your time, Roseluck. Good luck at the competition!”
Roseluck and Daisy waved Twilight goodbye as she trotted away from the town market, making her way to Lily’s small cottage near the edge of town. The cool air blew through Twilight’s mane as she walked down the road, her mind concerned for the poor mare. Finally arriving at Lily’s home, Twilight trotted along the stone path leading through the flower garden, up to the front door.
*knockknockknock*
Twilight tapped her hoof on the ground, waiting for a response, but none came.
*knockknockknock*
Still nothing. Maybe Lily was feeling ill? “Lily? Are you in there?” Silence was the only thing that responded to her. Twilight sighed, turning around to leave. She decided she’d come back tomorrow to see how Lily was doing.
***
Twilight moaned as the hooves pressed deeper into her back. She had never felt this good. They began to move in newer motions, tracing wide circles, inching their way down her back towards her rump. Her cheeks began to boil with embarrassment, but she didn’t object. It simply felt too wonderful, and the last thing she wanted was for it to stop.
“Oh, keep going...” Twilight moaned. She opened a single eye, but she didn’t feel the need to bother with focusing it. She could smell the scented candles from across the room, she could hear the crickets from the window, and she could hear his soft breathing. She was deluged with pleasure and delight.
The massage continued, stronger than before. She felt him press his chest against her back, his hooves digging into her shoulder blades, unwinding the kinks and knots from her muscles. It was simply heavenly. She might have to ask Rarity if she could join her and Fluttershy on one of their spa trips if all massages feel this good.
A cooling breeze blew in from the window, sending shivers down her spine. The air nipped at her skin, but the heat from his body kept her nice and warm. “Please... don’t stop...” she pleaded.
Much to her dismay, his hooves withdrew from her back. She tried to look behind her to see what he was planning, but her eyes still wouldn’t focus. She felt the bed depress on either side of her, a stocky red hoof coming into focus next to her head. His chest pressed on her back once more as he moved his mouth next to her ear.
“Now, this might hurt just a little...” Big Macintosh whispered.
***
“NOOO!” Twilight shouted, shooting out from her bed. She landed on her rump, her back against her dresser, her chest rising and falling in gasps. She blinked a few times as she looked around the darkness. She was in her own room. There were no candles. And he wasn’t actually going to...
Twilight felt her whole body shaking. She felt her whole body heating up, some parts more than others. She struggled to her hooves, her legs trembling violently, threatening to fall out underneath her. She made her way over to the window and eased it open, letting the cool night air waft over her mane and coat. The chirping of insects greeted her ears.
She stood in the breeze for a while, enjoying the cool air as it washed over her body. The shaking was finally subsiding, the throbbing also fading. Slowly, she snuck back into her bed, looking out into the night sky. The crescent moon hung low, the sliver of light meeting her eyes as she stared out in a combination of wonder and confusion.
What in Equestria was that?
