Mist Town
By
Inky Shades
The letter came unexpectedly in the mail. The address on the envelope: Mist Town, Everfree Forest. Before today, Fluttershy had never heard of the town before. Though that came as no surprise, the Everfree Forest was filled with many untold mysteries. Perhaps this town was just one of them. Still, the letter made her curiosity. Why would somepony from the forest, the Everfree none-the-less, send her a letter?
Carefully, she pealed back the pointed envelope flap. Inside of it was a small note. Not much had been written, but what was, caught her eye. ‘Dear Fluttershy, we are in dire need of your expertise. One of our manticores is sick, and we are unable to provide it with the care necessary to its recovery. Your knowledge of animal care has reached even these remote parts. If you accept, then you will, of course, be compensated for your time. Mist Town is towards the southeast. Look for the clearing. We are looking forward to your arrival, regards, Mayor Grayhoof.’
Fluttershy’s heart thumped at the thought of entering the Everfree Forest. Despite living so close to the forest’s edge, she preferred to avoid it whenever possible. Many scary things waited for innocent ponies to foolishly enter their domain. She didn’t want to be one of the ones to enter and never come back. Her mind told her this was a bad idea, but her heart, despite its pounding, told her to go. A poor creature needed her help, and she felt obligated to provide its care.
Quickly, she ran into her cottage. There were some supplies she’d need before her journey to Mist Town. As soon as soon as she stepped inside, Angel greeted her by throwing a book at her head.
She rubbed the spot where the book impacted. “Ow, that hurt, Angel!”
The little white rabbit thumped his foot impatiently and pointed to an empty bowl.
“Oh, are you hungry? I’m sorry. I got an urgent letter in the mail today, and forgot to feed you! Can you wait until I come back?” She asked, filling her saddle bag with various herbal remedies.
A quick shake of his head, gave her the answer. He picked up another book and chucked it at her. This time she was prepared and blocked the book with her wing. “Please, stop throwing things Angel,” she said, placing her saddle bag over her haunches.
Angel crossed his fore legs, glaring at her.
“Oh, please don’t be mad!” she said, getting down to the rabbit’s level. “I’ll be back before you know it! Okay?” She smiled.
Angel sighed, shooing her away.
“Good bunny! I promise I’ll be back soon. And when I do, I’ll make you a big salad,” she said, rubbing behind the rabbit’s ear.
He pushed her hoof off and hopped over to a pillow, collapsing on it, still looking upset. “I love you, Angel,” she said, opening the front door.
After double checking to make sure all of her supplies were with her, she took to the sky. Normally, she preferred walking to flying, but she knew she’d never make it to Mist Town on time by foot. And besides, better to fly over the scary forest than to walk through it, right?
A gentle breeze carried her over the forest canopy. She scanned the area, searching for the clearing mentioned in the letter. However, she could find no such clearing amongst the thick, impenetrable, foliage. Even after what must have been an hour, she still couldn’t find the clearing.
Maybe she was flying in the wrong direction. It seemed unlikely to her, though. While she was by no means the best at flying, she did know her directions well. Perhaps her sense of direction wasn’t as good as she originally thought. She decided it would be best to turn around and retrace her flight. Then she saw the clearing a few hundred meters away. The strange thing, she didn’t remember seeing it a moment ago.
She didn’t give it much thought as she approached. Perhaps she didn’t have the right angle for viewing before, and that’s how she missed it. Flying over the clearing, she could see several wooden houses laid out in a circle. Ponies varying in shades of gray and brown watched her descend from the sky. There gaze was intent and made her want to hightail it out of there, but she didn’t. She mentally shook the feeling from her mind.
The towns’ people were probably just not used to visitors. It was an easy enough explanation to believe, so she had no trouble clinging to it. Gently, she set herself down. “Um, excuse me. Could any of you tell me where the mayor is… if it isn’t too much trouble?” They continued to watch her for a few more seconds before returning to their previous activities. “Oh, that’s okay. I-I’ll just find him… on my own,” she said voice barely louder than a whisper.
“Don’t mind them, my dear. They aren’t used to getting visitors,” a stallion said, behind her.
Fluttershy jolted at hearing the voice. “Eep!” Slowly, she turned around, finding herself face-to-face with a well-built gray stallion. “M-Mayor Grayhoof?” she asked timidly.
“Yes, my dear. Fluttershy, I presume?” Grayhoof asked, eyeing her thoughtfully.
Fluttershy nodded.
“I’m sorry, my dear. I didn’t mean to cause you alarm.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay. Please don’t worry about it.”
“Very well, I was actually beginning to wonder if you were going to show.”
“Well, you see, I had a difficult time finding the clearing you mentioned,” she said, cheeks feeling a little warm.
“Did you, now?” The mayor gestured to the largest of the wooden houses. “Shall we go to our patient?”
“Yes, please take me to the poor dear right away.”
“If you’ll follow me,” he said, walking towards the house.
Fluttershy got into position by his side. Around her, she could see the town’s ponies tending to sickly looking crops. “Um, excuse me, but what’s wrong with your crops?”
“You noticed? A disease has infected our crops, taking out over half of them,” Grayhoof said grimly.
“Oh, that’s terrible! Have you thought about asking Princess Celestia for help?”
“No. You see, we are a prideful bunch around here. Getting help from outsiders, even Princess Celestia, is out of the question. Besides, this has happened a few times in the past. We are currently looking into a solution, and I have a feeling we’ll have one in no time!”
“That’s great!”
“Indeed. Well, welcome to my home.”
“It’s very lovely.”
“Thank you. My great great grandfather built this house the day we settled here. Please follow me.”
Grayhoof led her around back. There, she saw a rickety looking fence. Inside, lying curled up in the center, was the manticore. The beast’s eyes shot open when Grayhoof opened the creaky gate. It growled menacingly at them, waving its scorpion tail as a warning to keep them away.
Despite the display of aggression, Fluttershy could tell the beast was in distress. The manticore struggled to raise itself on its massive paws. It succeeded for only a few brief seconds before collapsing. Carefully, she approached the beast.
“It’s okay, little guy. I’m here to help you,” Fluttershy cooed softly.
The manticore growled and took a swipe at her with its paw. She yelped and leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding its dagger-like claws. She took a moment to catch her breath before pressing on.
“Do be careful, my dear. It would be a shame if you got hurt, now,” Grayhoof said concern lacing his words.
“I-I’m okay,” she said, giving a quick glance back to Grayhoof. Refocusing her attention back on the manticore, she said, “I have something that should make you feel better. Can you please be a good little manticore, and let me give it to you?”
The creature growled, but let her come up to him this time. “Good manticore!” She dug through her saddle bag and pulled out a bottle containing olive colored capsules. “Now open wide.”
After the manticore opened its mouth, she stuck two capsules on its tongue. “Good boy! Now swallow. There we go,” she said rubbing underneath the manticore’s chin.
The manticore purred as it stood on its hind legs. After stretching its leathery wings, the beast let out a powerful roar.
“My, my, you are feeling better aren’t you?” Fluttershy giggled when she felt the creature’s wet tongue slide up her cheek. “Yes, you’re welcome.”
“Impressive, my dear. Your reputation for healing creatures is well deserved,” Grayhoof said.
“Thank you,” Flutershy said, feeling her cheeks warm. “I’m glad that I was able to help.”
“Oh, you have no idea how much help you’ve been, my dear. You’ve not only helped this manticore, but probably the entire town!”
“Really?”
“Yes. You see, despite our independence from the greater Equestria, there are still some things we need from the outside world that we just can’t make ourselves. So in order to get these supplies we need, we sell manticore venom.”
“Um, why?”
“Manticore venom is a powerful paralytic, that’s how they capture their prey after all. So we sell the venom to doctors so that they can use it in anesthesia. This way we can get the bits needed for our outside expenses.”
“That’s… nice. Well if that’s all then I’ll be go—”
“Oh, right, how silly of me!” Grayhoof smacked himself in the forehead. “You probably have to go somewhere, right?”
She nodded. “Well, I do still have to feed my rabbit back home.”
“Alright, let me get your bits. Follow me please. I have the bits inside.”
Fluttershy followed the mayor into his home. It was sparsely decorated with simple furniture, and a few black and white photos hanging on the wall. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to the photographs. They appeared to be of the mayor and a young colt, which she assumed was his son.
“Welcome to my humble home, please make yourself comfortable. Ah, yes that’s my son, Dusty, future mayor of this fine town,” Grayhoof said proudly.
“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, where’s his mom? I don’t see her in any of the photographs.”
“Sadly, she was taken from us some time ago. I had to remove the pictures because they bothered the boy too much,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean—”
“It’s quite alright, my dear. Before I get your payment, could I offer you something to drink, some cider perhaps?”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
“I’ll be back in a minute then. Please have a seat,” he said, gesturing over to the table.
“Thank you.”
When Grayhoof returned, he placed a mug of cider in front of her. “It’s a family recipe,” he said. “Please drink up; I’ll go get your bits from up stairs.”
“Okay, thank you,” she said, bringing the mug to her lips. The tang of apples and the spiciness of cinnamon coated her taste buds.
When she heard hoof steps coming down the stairs, she placed the mug back on the table. Turning around, she said, “That was—Oh, hello. You must be Dusty.” A young colt stood at the base of the stairs.
“You’re the visitor my dad was talking about, aren’t you?” Dusty asked, glancing at the mug sitting on the table. “You didn’t drink that did you?”
“Only a little bit. It’s quite good. I think it could give the Apples’ cider back home a run for its money.”
The colt’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. “Don’t drink anymore!”
His sudden outburst caused her to yelp and bump into the table, causing the mug to topple over. “W-Why?”
“Look, just get out of here, okay? Forget about the bits. Forget about this place, just—”
“That’s enough, Dusty. Can’t you see that you’re scaring our guest?” Grayhoof said walking down the stairs, carrying what appeared to be a sack of bits. Dropping the sack on the table, he said, “I’m sorry about that, my dear. Dusty go back upstairs.”
“Yes, Father.” Dusty gave Fluttershy a pleading look before trudging up the stairs.
Fluttershy couldn’t help feeling unnerved by the colt’s words. “He just said—”
“I know and I’m very sorry. He’s been like this ever since his mother died. It’s a really tragedy. I hope he out grows this before he becomes mayor. Anyway, there’s your payment.”
“Thank you, but isn’t this way too much?”
“Nonsense, my dear, you’re worth every bit in there.”
After securing her bits in her saddle bag, Fluttershy said, “Well, I guess I should get going.”
“Could I offer you some more cider before you go?”
“No, thank you, I’m good,” she said taking a few steps towards the door.
“I’m afraid that won’t do, my dear.”
“Um, why?” she asked.
“Well, you see, the town has prepared a little going away party for you.”
“Oh, that’s nice of them, but I-I really have to go. Maybe another time?”
“I’m afraid it’s non-negotiable, my dear.”
“I… I… really have to… have to go,” she said, stumbling into the wall. “What’s… what’s wrong with me?”
“I’m terribly sorry about this, my dear, but do you remember our little talk about manticore venom?”
Fluttershy could feel her heart sink.
“I slipped some into your cider before I gave it to you. Pretty soon you won’t be able to move or speak.” Grayhoof walked over to her.
“Bu… But wh…” She couldn’t finish getting the words out before collapsing on the floor. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.
With a sigh, Grayhoof slung her over his back. “See, I told you, my dear,” he said, opening the front door. “Now, I believe you were about to ask me why I was doing this, yes? My apologies, I forgot that you couldn’t speak.”
As Grayhoof stepped outside, Fluttershy could see dozens of ponies gathered around the Mayor’s house. If she had to guess then she’d say the entire town was here. All of them focused their eyes on her. She wanted to scream for help, but all she could manage was a moan.
“You see, it has to do with the crops. Every decade or so, they’d catch a strange disease. The first time the disease struck, my great great grandfather was mayor. Nopony knew why the crops were failing. The town’s folk were dying from starvation, and there wasn’t anything my great great grandfather could do, but then she came.”
The town’s people parted, allowing Grayhoof to proceed unhampered. Fluttershy tried to move her head to see where he was taking her, but the manticore venom was working its nefarious magic. She couldn’t feel any of her extremities. Though, she could’ve sworn the tips of her wings were tingling.
“A young filly, lost in the Everfree, came to our town. Naturally, my great great grandfather welcomed her in. What little food they had, they shared with the filly. Still, with another mouth to feed, the town’s food stores grew even barer. Then my great great grandfather got an idea, a terrible, brilliant idea.”
A tingle, she definitely felt a tingle in her wing tips. Were the paralyzing effects of the venom wearing off? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of her primary feathers twitch. The movement was so subtle it would’ve been easy to miss, but she did see it. Maybe there was a chance.
“He remembered how things were back in the old days, before Celestia and Luna. Back then, ponies made offerings to nameless deities in the hopes of receiving otherworldly assistance for their mortal needs. So, the very same evening of the filly’s arrival, my great great grandfather made such an offering.
“Towards the center of town, he dragged the filly, kicking and screaming. In horror, the town’s folk watched as he slit the filly’s throat. Of course, some ponies tried to stop him, but they were too late. Right there, he offered her blood in exchange for the crops to be cured. It’s amazing what desperation can do to a pony isn’t it? So after the sacrifice, they locked him in a cage. But then the morning came, and do you know what happened next? I’m sure you can guess. The crops were healthy again!”
Fluttershy could feel her stomach turn. She was almost certain she’d be sick under normal circumstances. This had to stop. If only she could tell the Princess, but her body was still too immobile. Though, feeling was slowly returning to her limbs.
“Thus began our tradition!” Grayhoof said, placing her on a cold stone slab. “Eventually we learned about the use of manticore venom. That discovery made the whole process a lot easier. I have to let you know that none of this is personal, my dear. I meant what I said when I told you that you were worth every bit, but a pony’s got to survive, right? Hand me the knife. Perhaps you can say hello to my wife for me.”
It was now or never. Grayhoof raised the knife over her. As the knife came down, she flung herself off the stone with all her might. The knife cut into her shoulder, but at least she was still alive. Quickly, she stumbled to her hooves.
“My, my, the effects of the poison have already worn off,” Grayhoof said sounding surprised. “Somepony grab her!”
Fluttershy stumbled through the crowed. All she needed was a few seconds to take to the sky. The town’s folk lunged at her with hoof and mouth, trying to pin her down. Still, she wouldn’t stop. Slowly, the strength returned to her legs.
A stallion smashed into her side, sending flying into a group of barrels. The wood splintered as she impacted. Momentarily she was stunned. The stallion clenched her tail between his teeth. She delivered a kick into the stallion’s jaw. He released her tail as his head whipped back from the force.
Scrambling back to her hooves, she scanned her surroundings for a way to escape. However, she couldn’t find any place to take off. Everypony was closing in on her. She was doomed. Then she got an idea.
“There’s no way to escape,” Grayhoof said. “Just accept your fate, and I’ll make your death as painless as possible.”
“I…I don’t think… so,” Fluttershy said, making a break for the forest. Maybe she couldn’t escape by flight, but she could still run.
“Stop her before she reaches the perimeter!” Grayhoof shouted.
The tree line was so close. She just needed to go a little farther. Then her progress stopped altogether. Glancing back, she saw yet another stallion had grabbed hold of her tail. She could feel herself being pulled back. To prevent herself from being dragged, she rooted her hooves in the ground. Progress slowed as her hooves left trails in the dirt.
She squeaked, feeling herself being hoisted onto somepony’s back. “No! Let me go!” she screamed, slamming her fore hooves into the stallion carrying her. He didn’t even flinch, and soon she found herself back on the stone slab.
“I told you there was no way, my dear.” Grayhoof shook his head. “Bring me some more venom!” he demanded.
A mare ran off. She returned shortly after, carrying a canister. Quickly she passed it to Grayhoof, who thanked her while walking towards Fluttershy.
“Hold her down,” Grayhoof said.
Two stallions held Fluttershy firmly in place. She tried to break free of their grip, but they were too strong. Seeing Grayhoof getting nearer to her, she kicked him, knocking the knife from his grip. He grunted and glared at her.
“Open wide, my dear,” he said, trying to force the lip of the canister into her mouth.
To her credit, she kept her mouth locked tight. At least until he slammed her in the stomach with his free hoof. Tears stung her eyes as she screamed out. Grayhoof took this opportunity and forced the container into her mouth. Fluttershy choked as the venom burned its way down her throat. She lost all feeling in her limbs once more.
“I apologize for the discomfort, my dear. That’s why we normally use cider. It stops the burn. Alas it is time for us to part ways, my dear. You put up quite a show. Somepony give me my knife!”
Fluttershy closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable. Then she heard a strange gurgling noise. Cautiously, she opened her eyes only to see blood pouring from Grayhoof’s throat. Next to him, holding the bloody knife in his hoof, stood Dusty.
“The sacrificial blood has been spilled,” Dusty said. “I shall now claim my position as mayor of this town, and as mayor I order you all to return to your homes!”
There weren’t any questions. One by one the town’s folk filed back into their homes. Fluttershy couldn’t believe it, the sight seemed too surreal. Dusty approached her from the right.
“You’re safe now. The effects of the venom should wear off enough for you to return home in a few hours. Forget that we ever existed. I’m sorry.” With that, Dusty left.
Right now, Fluttershy wasn’t sure if she’d laugh or cry. But she was alive and that’s all that mattered. She could return home and—a dread washed over her. Angel was going to be furious with her when she returned. She still hadn’t gotten his salad!
