Project Everfree

by SkyHighFlyer

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Dark
Length: 4632

The Everfree forest is an enigma to even the brightest minds in Equestria, but it's origin has always been the biggest mystery to all but two individuals, who have never told a soul of their mistakes.

The Everfree Forest has been subject to tales of horror, adventure, and mystery for as long as anypony can remember, yet when asked nopony has any idea where it came from or why. The power that drives the Everfree forest has served as a source of constant rumor and speculation, mystifying foals and adults alike with tales of ancient treasures and evil beings who have made the forest their home.

The truth however, is only known by two ponies. Two ponies so ashamed of their mistakes that they have never told a single soul what they had done, and never revealed to anypony the nightmares they had unleashed.

The only evidence of the truth the remains are the memories of two guilt stricken and terrified ponies, and an ancient logbook titled 'Project Everfree'

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-13 05:48:27 UTC

Chapter 1

Project Everfree: Log Entry 1

This log formally marks the beginning of Research Project Everfree. As per usual, I'll be using this first log as a base to reference for the projects goals, as well as recording my personal thoughts on the projects concepts and potential for success. All subsequent logs shall be written by myself, Princess Celestia of Equestria, and project leader, unless otherwise specified.

The primary goal of Project Everfree is to create a self sustaining environment in Equestria, relieving the necessity of constant maintenance by its citizens by making weather systems, plants, and animals capable of independent regulation. This would make the weather capable of occurring without the need for pegasi management, plants capable of growing and thriving without earth pony farmers, and animals capable of learning, feeding, and caring for themselves without the need for anypony to guide and nurture them. This will take much of the effort away from the ponies of Equestria. Finally, upon the completion of each of these tasks, the project shall shift to the final goal of freeing the sun and moon from control, automating the day and night cycle. This goal is one that my sister and I personally look forward to the most, as it will relieve a great burden from us both.

In order to facilitate the completion of this project, my sister and I have sought out experts in animal behavioral and feeding habits, agriculture, pegasus and earth pony magics, and advanced arcane theory and application. The team that has been selected consists of a total of twelve earth ponies, seventeen pegasi, and nineteen unicorns, with four ponies having refused the offer.

The project is divided into subdivisions, each carrying out a different goal of the project. Three subdivisions exist to complete three different independent goals.

Team A consists of seven earth ponies and five unicorns. Team A is tasked with applying earth pony magic with the assistance of trained unicorns in order to modify plants and apply large scale modifications to Equestria's magical fields to apply changes as necessary, to allow plants to grow and maintain themselves. The final goal is to adapt Equestrian flora to grow and thrive without the need for caretakers. The team will begin work on smaller plants and shrubs, progressing to larger and theoretically more difficult plants, such as trees and bushes. The team will finish with plants grown by ponies for agricultural purposes, as these will be the least necessary for the project's overall success.

Team B consists of fourteen pegasi and six unicorns and has two coinciding tasks. Team B is tasked with applying a combination of pegasus and unicorn magics to create season appropriate weather events that form, move, maintain, interact with each other, release precipitation, and disperse without the necessity for pegasus management in any stage listed, but still allowing management if necessary or convenient. Team B will have two overall goals, first to create a self sustaining system for weather events, and second to automate the cycling of the seasons.

The first goal will be achieved by creating localized chaotic manifestations that result in weather events that meet all of the specified requirements. This technique, while experimental like all others in use for this project, is more dangerous, and has more questionable chances of success than the technique used by the other two subdivisions due to the uncontrollable and unpredictable nature of chaos energy, especially in long term and when expected to interact with themselves as well as other energies. As a result, a fallback plan was set in place. By using ordered reconstruction of parts of Equestria's magical fields, they could be used to generate weather effects based on predetermined templates and rules, having the same end result. Though more reliable, this technique is estimated to take several generations or more to fully complete as each weather event and each reaction will need to be applied separately, and may react unpredictably while only partially finished.

The second goal is intended to be completed with whatever means prove most effective in the completion of the first goal, although from a theoretical standpoint it would appear that chaotic manifestations would be least effective and least efficient in this matter, despite being the easier of the two methods for the first goal, which may necessitate alterations to the plan unless theory is proven wrong. This goal is less important than the automation of weather events, so it will receive a lower priority and will be completed last if it does not need to be integrated into the other goal in order to interact with weather properly.

Team C consists of five earth ponies, three pegasi, and eight unicorns. Team C is tasked with applying large scale changes to Equestria's magical fields to allow for animals to over time develop independent behavioral patterns, reducing to outright removing the need for animals to be cared for by ponies. In order to facilitate the correct instincts and behaviors, the larger portion of the team will consist of animal caretakers, or experts the field of animal behavioral development. The team will start on small animals an work up to larger ones. In order to prevent ecological damage the team is required to move quickly, so they will be testing the magics involved on single or small groups of animals in controlled conditions and using the animals as templates for large scale application within a short timeframe.

Upon the conclusion of all of the above goals, the team members will be reassessed and new members will be brought in as needed for the final goal, where with our help they will use the knowledge provided by the other groups to free the sun and moon from control, after which time Project Everfree with officially close unless something else occurs between now and then to necessitate any form of continued work or maintenance, which will be resolved to the best of the teams ability in a hopefully short time.

My sister and I will observe the project and provide assistance or advice whenever needed. That being considered, some of our subjects may feel uncomfortable working so close to their princesses, though hopefully the pressure will not interfere with their abilities.

Now would be the best time to put into words my lack of confidence in the projects odds of success. My sister and I have had this idea for several centuries and have searched on numerous occasions to find a means to make the idea reality, all of which ended unsuccessfully. It is only because of recent advances in the field on arcane theory and our understanding of the nature of the magical fields that permeate Equestria that either of us believe this to even having a chance of succeeding, and that doesn't even apply to Team B, who's techniques, though approved by my sister and I, are far closer to Discord's magics than I feel comfortable with.

To finalize this entry, I will say that I have little faith in the project and neither does my sister. The methods are untested, some even purely theoretical, and others are only somewhat relevant to the end goal despite their significance which leaves even more uncertainty in the odds of success. Despite our lack of faith, I have much hope that the project will succeed, and even if it doesn't what we learn from it may lead to countless breakthroughs that will revolutionize our understanding of magic for years to come.

Celestia set down her quill as she closed her new logbook, spending several seconds simply sitting at her desk, staring at the ornate text on the front. Project Everfree, it was more than just a name, it was also a dream she and her sister had shared for centuries, one that may soon become more than just a dream.

Slowly she stood, and moved towards her balcony like she did every morning. As she looked out, she saw clouds ready for the day's scheduled rainstorm dotting the skies and carefully tended flowers lining the gardens just outside the castle, and though they were not unusual sights they held much more meaning this morning than they ever did before. To her they were signs of the many years of dedication and care her little ponies had given to keep their land alive and beautiful, and she prayed that in this effort they would be successful, and after all these years her ponies could rest as the world began to care for itself.

And as she lifted the sun over the horizon, she prayed that she too would be free of her burdens soon.

Chapter 2

Her first task of the day completed, Celestia left her quarters, ready to begin the first day of Project Everfree. While normally she wouldn't set aside time for matters such as this she had decided in her enthusiasm to cancel all court sessions for the day to dedicate her time to the project, granting her time to address the teams and get them started, though she could not say that her decision was purely professional.

She set out for the dining hall, hoping to have a chance to eat with her sister as they did most mornings before she retired for the day. To her disappointment however she ran into her sister in the halls, already on her way back, her tired eyes and frazzled appearance giving hint to the reason of her early return.

“I take it you have had a rough night?” Celestia said as she joined her sister on her walk to her chambers.

Luna hung her head low began to speak, “Perhaps morning would be a more accurate statement. Yes, I've had a very bad morning.”

Celestia smiled, “And tell me, what have you been through to bring you to skip our morning meal in favor of an early rest?”

“Project Everfree,” Luna said in a displeased manner, “I had requested they begin early today so that I may meet them before the night ended, but already they have proven their own incompetence!”

Celestia's expression fell, this was not boding well. If they had already done enough to anger Luna things were already looking grim for the project, though Celestia knew that her sister was easy to annoy. She hoped that Luna was simply overstating a slow start, but regardless she asked, “What happened?”

“They have proven they...”

Celestia cut her sister off, “I mean what specifically happened?”

“Oh, well Team A simply simply cannot get started at all. They have no idea where to start, let alone where to go from there.”

On hearing this Celestia laughed in relief, “Is that it. I was worried there was actually trouble.”

“Oh no, in fact Team A was probably the least troublesome of the three.” Luna said, causing Celestia to frown once again. When her sister didn't respond, Luna continued, “Team B is perhaps too eager to start. Thought they have many brilliant ideas they are irresponsible. For the time being I have ordered that they may not bring thunderclouds indoors, or anywhere near guards wearing metal armor.”

Celestia's frown deepened, but Luna was not deterred, “I cannot speculate on how Team C is doing, as they have yet to begin. They brought a rabbit with them, and it has escaped and I have spent the better part of the past two hours attempting to recapture it.”

Celestia, though annoyed, was slightly amused by that. The source of her sister's annoyance this morning had become apparent. Acknowledging that, she said, “I see, I suppose I had best get down there and help them sort out their problems.”

Luna replied, “See that you do, as I cannot be asked to do so again.”

As Luna stormed off to her chambers, Celestia went her own way, towards the space in the castle set aside for the project teams.

Team A was little better off than Luna implied. Their work area was filled with books, scrolls, and charts that they obviously couldn't figure out how to use, piled high on the tables and floor. Upon her entrance, a somewhat startled and nervous pony jumped up from her work and rushed over.

“I'm so sorry about the mess Princess, I didn't realize it was this bad until you came in. Please, my name is Misty Vision, I'm in charge of this team.”

“The mess is no problem,” Celestia said, “but I was not aware that the teams had leaders, could you elaborate?”

Misty's expression beamed as she replied, “Of course, I would be honored. When we arrived this morning and finish speaking with Princess Luna we decided to elect a leader, somepony to represent us and make decisions for the team if we cannot decide on a course of action, as well as keep the team organized and on task. We all introduced ourselves and then voted, and I was chosen.”

Celestia smiled and said, “Well, it may not be an official decision, but things such as this are always good for morale and boost the entire teams capability. Tell the team that I'm proud of their initiative. I would love to stay, but unfortunately the other teams are having more trouble than your own. Perhaps they might benefit from your example.”

Misty smiled nervously, “Of course Princess, we'll do our best to find a solid ground to start from, good luck.”

“Good luck to you as well,” she said.

Before Celestia had even stepped into the room, it was obvious Team B had been making some progress, as was evidenced from the several distinct scorch marks on the inside of the door left by stray lightning bolts. Whether or not this was as good sign or a bad one wasn't clear yet.

The ponies inside were working, though perhaps not as enthusiastically as Team A. Ponies where engrossed in various activities, ranging from simple tasks such as reading paragraph out of a book or drawing out spell diagrams on a piece of parchment to more obscure tasks, such as draining excess water out of a raincloud.

Nopony in the room even noticed that their princess had arrived for a short time, until finally some pony called out, “Princess.”

After that nearly four ponies jumped up and all tried to speak at once. Finally, Celestia shouted, “ENOUGH! One pony at a time.”

Now the ponies looked at each other uncertainly, until one finally spoke up, “Well, we've been drawing out plans, and we think we'll be ready to test some of our theories before the end of the week.”

Celestia smiled weakly, “Good, now I would assume that each of you have something to show me, yes?”

Celestia spent the better part of the next hour going between workstations, examining different theories on creating a chaotic manifestation, and how to control it's effect on the world in a limited manner. Sometimes she would point out things that could be revised or improved upon, but ultimately the odds of success eluded her just as much as it did them.

Team C's area was a mess, there was no better way of describing it. In all truth the upturned tables, chaotic shouting, and running ponies would under any other conditions have given her more alarm, but now it only annoyed her. Just standing in the open doorway made her sister's displeased condition that morning even more understandable as she saw what a single escaped animal could do to the lab.

Fortunately the problem was easily solved. Seeing the open doors as an escape route the rabbit attempted to flee past Celestia in an attempt at freedom, but millennia of training had given Celestia a far greater reaction time than most ponies, and as soon as he made a break for it he was caught in Celestia magic.

As she strode into the room a stallion ran up to her and said, “Thank you Princess, I honestly don't know how long it would have taken to track him down if he got out of the lab.”

“My sister should be pleased at least, though I am far from amused. Your inability to prevent this from becoming a problem, and then your inability to resolve it once it has become so does not bode well for our opinions your ability, nor does it reflect the reputations that brought each and every one of you to our attention and led to your selection for this project. I expect better from you. Team A has displayed initiative and despite having nothing solid to give us yet it is not for lack of trying, and though Team B may not have had perfect behavior thus far they are already estimating their first tests to be ready by the end of the week. You would do well to heed their examples.”

Under Celestia's intense glare, that stallion nervously said, “Yes Princess, terribly sorry, we'll get started right away.”

Project Everfree: Log Entry 2

Today's court was canceled to make room for Project Everfree. I had honestly expected more of an opportunity to involve myself in the development of the teams and assess where each team and its members stood in terms of progress prior to the beginning of the project. In reality, today progressed much less smoothly than I would have liked and my sister agreed, though in hindsight she found that some of her perceptions of the teams were incorrect.

Team A, though my sister warned me of their lack of progress when we spoke earlier in the morning, has proven to be the most well organized and dedicated of the three, but through no fault of their own they cannot find where to begin. All day they have been hard working, pouring over magical texts and scrolls ranging from recent publications to ancient works, and in some cases even old tales and stories who's origins stretch into times far beyond memory. They have elected unicorn team member Misty Vision as an unofficial leader and representative. I spoke to her briefly at the beginning of the day before leaving to assist the other teams, and returned shortly at the end of the day to deliver a welcoming speech to the whole team. If they still have such difficulties tomorrow I shall dedicate my time assisting them.

Team B initially had several disputes about where to begin, so after an argument the team members divided into four separate groups, each working towards the same problem under a slightly different approach. This methodology will eventually lead to better chances of success, as if one group's plan fails another might succeed. I spent several hours divided among the different groups assisting each of them with minor revisions. They have proven the most productive group, estimating their first test's within a week from now. Their theories are all different, but they are all based on structuring a mass of contained magical energy to display the results we desire, and destabilizing it with chaotic energy. First tests will be small scale, short lived, and incapable of self replication.

Team C made arguably less progress than Team A, as one of the animals they brought with them escaped and their pursuit had devastated the lab before I caught it in a desperate attempt to escape through the open door as I entered. Most of my time was centered on restoring their work area and efforts to aid them in the beginning of their work. Though they have a theory on how to accomplish their goal, they have yet to develop a means to accomplish it.

My sister an I also began discussions of possibly revising the teams sleeping hours so they may spend an equal time working both at night and during the day, to allow my sister a chance to oversee and assist in their work as well. The only detail that remains undecided is whether or not they begin during the day or the night.

With today's events in mind, I've become concerned about whether or not what is being asked of Team A and Team C is even possible, though I remain confident that in time any issues will sort themselves out.

Chapter 3

Today was monumental. It was that simple in Celestia's eyes, the first step towards the Equestria they had envisioned.

It was six days into Project Everfree and just as they promised Team B was ready to perform their first tests on some of the theories they had developed.

Everypony was present, all the teams and both Celestia and Luna stood in the room, around a strange chamber that eluded most of their understanding. Using crystals as foci, the team intended to channel magic in such a way that it would destabilize through the crystals and amass within a containment field in the center.

The entire process would be invisible to all but an alicorn's eyes because of their extreme sensitivity to magic, but all present would see a small thunderstorm form in the room, at least assuming that it worked.

“Start charging the stage one relay... now!” called out a stallion in the back. As soon as he gave the order four unicorns began channeling magic into a series of dark blue crystals near the top of the chamber.

Celestia saw the effect immediately, like a prismatic light show inside the crystals. Luna saw it too, though the rest of the crowd waited impatiently.

“Release charge in three... two... one... now!” called out the stallion again. The energy flowed out of the crystals in streams and met in the center of the chamber, where another two unicorns generated a containment field in the center.

Yet again the stallion called out, “Begin charging stage two relays now!”

The team began charging another series of silver crystals near the bottom of the chamber. The same light show occurred as energy flowed into these crystals as well.

“Release charge in three... two... one... now!” came the order again, an energy flowed out of the crystals into the containment field in the center, and with their previous jobs done the other four unicorns focused their attention into reinforcing the containment field as the energy destabilized.

In that moment, something caught Luna's attention and she briefly asked, “Do you see that?”

Celestia focused her attention on the reaction trying to see what her sister had noticed, but she could see nothing out of the ordinary, or at least anything that shouldn't have been there. However, Celestia was overcome by a sense of dread, though she could not figure out why.

It didn't take long for something to happen however. Celestia saw in a short moment what looked like a surge of energy that definitely should not have been there. Unfortunately it only lasted less than a second before everypony's attention was focused elsewhere.

As soon as the energy surged a bolt a black lightning flew from the chamber into a table at the end of the room, resulting in a powerful explosion. Though before they could see nothing, the crowd saw this very clearly. In the following moments there was panic as everypony tried to make sense of the situation. Fortunately nopony was close enough to be caught in the blast.

“Shut it down! Shut it down!” shouted somepony in the panic, and the team quickly attempted to disperse the energy in the containment field, but it wouldn't disperse. Even after the containment field was completely dropped the energy still remained, not dispersing but rather compressing, getting stronger and holding together naturally dispute all calculations indicating that without containment it should have resulted in a violent release and spread out, gradually losing it's effect.

The energy compressed to the point that some of the more gifted unicorns in the room could see something akin to a faint shimmer. Both Celestia and Luna were almost certain the result of this compression would be a massive explosion, and the both wordlessly prepared together to contain it, or if that failed shield the crowd to protect them.

They began preparing to stop the cataclysmic explosion that would occur in moments, but before they could they were blown back by a gale so powerful that even as alicorns they could barely hold their footing. The energy had dispersed upward and before anypony in the room could get their bearings they heard the sound of thunder, followed momentarily by a torrent of rain. One by one, the ponies in the crowd began laughing and cheering, as despite the near catastrophe, it was a success, and they were looking at a rainstorm indoors, a direct result of their work.

Despite the fact that they were in the same room as an explosion only a moment ago, and now they were soaking wet, they were overjoyed and ecstatic, nothing could possibly ruin the moment.

Celestia and Luna however, who knew just how dangerous the test had become looked at each other in relief, and then both broke out into joyous laughter.

For that one moment, they just laughed.

Project Everfree: Log Entry 9

Today's test proved a success, despite minor complications. Although the setup was complex, a series of two focus relays in the form of crystals allowed magical energy to be destabilized before being transferred to a central containment field. Two relays were used, both to amplify the potential for reaction in the energy in different ways, both making it unstable, but each meant to make the magic reactive with that of the other relay, resulting in chaos energy forming in the center. I won't say I understand the complete mechanics of the process but the result, after several incidents, was a heavy thunderstorm the covered the room, as well as most nearby portions of the castle.

The test did result in several complications, the most significant of which being the amount of compression occurring even after the containment field was deactivated. Both Luna and I were certain that the result would be a catastrophic explosion, but it instead dispersed into the desired weather event.

Less notable, at least for Luna and I, was an unidentifiable energy present in the containment field after the release of energy from stage two. The energy surged before violently discharging and resulting in an explosion. Nopony was hurt as the explosion was in a different part of the lab than the audience, but it was still very noticeable. Notably, Luna claims to have notices a sort of spark in the field before the surge, though when she pointed this out to me I could see nothing, though I did get a strange feeling.

Both events are under investigation, though unless something else turns up it will be considered chaos magic living up to it's name. Though chaos magic is a recent theory, having seen Discord in his prime I can say safely that when dealing with chaos energy, nothing is set in stone, and 2+2 can most certainly equal something other than 4. Should this be the case, additional work may need to be done into controlling and stabilizing chaos energy, as well as development of safety and security protocols in the event of serious danger.

Unless proven otherwise, Team A and Team C are not subject to the same or similar problems, though recent reports for both teams, Team A most notably, have indicated that chaos magic may have some potential application in their work. I can see the potential of using chaos magic to make plant's and animals self sufficient, but the problem lies in making sure that nothing else happens. If I've ever had doubts about using chaos magic so liberally it's now.

Today was a success however, and everypony involved in the project is celebrating. I will join them shortly.