Chapters Deep in the heart of the dark Everfree Forest a tiny green filly sat on a tree stump. She straitened her small butterfly-like wings and looked around. She was too young to have a very good memory and could not remember exactly how she got to the forest. All she knew was that she and her big brother, Cattail lived in the ruins of an old castle.
Cattail was a green pegasus colt and had a dark brown mane. He loved to make music, and Water Lily often would listen to him play instruments made from things he found around the forest. Water Lily had wandered away from the old castle, and now she could not remember how to return to her home.
Suddenly, she heard a growl nearby. She spotted three sets of glowing eyes, then three timber wolves erupted from the bushes in front of her. She didn’t know what they were, but she knew she had to run. She hopped down from the tree stump and took off toward a swampy pond. Water Lily felt afraid like never before. Energy pulsed through her. She leapt swiftly across some lily pads on the surface of the pond. The wolves failed to catch up with Water Lily. They fell apart every time they attempted to get through the slippery bottom of the pond, getting idly stuck in muck. Water Lily saw the glow of a light filtering through the trees up ahead. It wasn’t her castle, but it was her only hope.
Water Lily found herself staring up at a huge tree. It was unlike any tree she had seen before. It had a door and windows, from which warm light glowed. She was too panicked to remember anything Cattail had taught her about manners. The only way she could think to get the attention of whoever was inside was to throw herself against the door repeatedly while squealing and hope for the best. The door swung open and in the doorway stood a striped black-and-white pony a bit larger than Cattail. Her neck appeared to be made of gold and one of her legs had gold on it, too. She spoke. “You are not having fun, little one?” Water Lily answered in one of few words she knew.
“No.”
“You’ll be safe with me; come inside for tea,” the pony invited. Water Lily came inside the toasty hut and sneezed as she smelled a variety of fragrances that were new to her. They seemed to be coming from a kettle in the center of the room. On the walls were shelves covered with arrays of strange bottles and jars. The striped pony beckoned her to sit down and brought her steaming tea.
Water Lily soon learned that the striped pony was, in fact, a zebra named Zecora. She also learned that Zecora was not made of gold, but wore gold jewelry. Water Lily told Zecora about her castle home to the best of her ability. Zecora knew the place was the abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters, where Nightmare Moon and Celestia once resided together. Zecora promised to take her home in the morning. She let Lily stay in her hut for the night.
The three were relieved to see the hut hadn't been struck by lightning, but their relief evaporated when they saw the tree that had. It was a tall dead tree right next to Zecora's hut. Zecora gasped at the sound of the splintering trunk; the flaming tree was leaning closer and closer to their home. CRACK! The tree had fallen down, and it had lit part of the hut on fire.
Before Lily could process what had just happened, Cattail had rushed into the hut and grabbed four empty viles. He ran to the pond to fill them with water. Zecora helped him carry the viles back to the hut and he flung it onto the flames. The flames let out a hissing sound and seemed to disappear in one place, but they soon resumed spreading across the tree branches.
Water Lily's heart thudded against her chest and she let out a wail. All her limbs trembled with the adrenaline rushing through her body. Her home meant so much to her. It meant so much to Cattail and Zecora. All three of them would be devastated if it burned. She couldn't allow that to happen. She ignored the yells of Cattail to stop what she was doing as she flew up toward the fire. I have to smother the flames! She beat her wings violently against the fire, and was soon joined by Cattail, who did the same. "Children, NO! You'll be hurt, I know!" Zecora yelled at the two of them. Smoke rose from the top of the tree as the flames began to die out. hiss... Lily and Cattail had smothered all of the flames.
Lily breathed in a great, shaking breath. They were on the leafy ground outside the hut. Cattail lay beside her; he looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Lily, I'm glad you're alright. After we put out the fire you stopped flapping your wings and fell to the ground. We were worried," He explained. Zecora nodded in agreement. Water Lily tried to move her wings, wincing as she found they were sore and bruised.
"You two should rest; that would be best," Zecora assured Cattail and Lily. Lily noticed that, though the tree was still standing, it had a gap in the top where the wood had been burned through. Zecora set two potions in front of her and her brother, telling them it would ease their pain and calm their nerves. Lily drank it, ignoring the bitter taste so she would be able to get up again soon.
...
"Good morning," greeted Cattail; he already seemed to be back to his cheerful self. It was a new day. Lily forced a smile. She wasn't a morning pony, and she was frustrated that Zecora hadn't warned her about the drowsy side-effects of the potion. She guessed that Zecora had brought them into the hut the night before, as she had woken there. The hut was drafty and smelled smoky, but seemed otherwise back to normal.
Lily sat up and studied her tree home. It needed repair; that was certain. The flames had left a hole in the top of it. Lily thought back to a gardening technique she had recently discovered. She found that if she made a slit in a tree's bark and attached a branch from another tree inside it, the adopted branch would become part of the tree over time and grow into it. She found a knife Zecora used for slicing potion ingredients and went outside.
...
By the time Lily had started fastening new tree branches into the burned area of the tree, she was already certain she would be able to fix the bare spot. The additional branches were now covering it almost completely. Zecora, who had been mixing potions in the hut, came out to see what Lily had been doing.
"I can see you are grafting the tree," She observed
"So that's what you call it when you harvest another tree's branches. Yes, I am," Lily replied. The hut would look better in no time!
"Is this the place which you call home, or do we have more of the forest to roam?" Zecora asked Water Lily. The early morning sun shone down on the castle ruins. She had found her home again! Lily nodded. A pounding of hooves was heard, and Cattail emerged from the old castle. he bounded over to Water Lily and nuzzled her shoulder. They each smiled. Cattail gazed over at Zecora.
"Who is this?" he asked.
"I am Zecora, I helped your sister, Lily. A pack of timber wolves was chasing the filly," Zecora explained what had happened to a shocked Cattail.
"Thank you. I am so glad you let her into your hut," Cattail said. Water Lily followed him as he showed Zecora the crumbled corner where they slept in the castle. Just then, the three of them heard a startling screech of some monster come from the forest. Cattail abruptly pulled Zecora and Water Lily behind a stone pillar. Once the noise grew distant, they stepped warily from their hiding place, and Cattail breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is it really safe for the two of you to live alone, in this cold, vulnerable palace of stone?" Zecora questioned after some time, sounding concerned. Water Lily shook her head; Cattail hesitated.
"There isn't really any other place for us to go..." He said. Zecora looked thoughtful.
"How would you two like to live in my tree? It's warm and not drafty and safe as can be," She offered. Lily and Cattail brightened when she said this.
"Ok," The siblings answered in unison.
Water Lily and her brother had been living in Zecora's hut for a while now. They each had their own small beds and were happy living in the hut, especially Lily. She listened eagerly when Zecora taught her the best ways to solve problems, and she was becoming wise like her. Zecora taught her important things about the Everfree forest, too, such as which plants were dangerous, what animals to stay away from, and how to outsmart them. Cattail was teaching Lily to fly, and she was learning pretty well.
Plants were becoming a passion of Water Lily's. She liked to fly off into the forest with Cattail and look for any beautiful plant she could find. Then, she would take it back to Zecora's hut and replant it in the small garden she had made nearby.
When Water Lily wanted some quiet time by herself, she went to a little peaceful pond by the garden and sat by the water's edge, listening to the sounds of the forest and the pleasant sound of Cattail's music. Today she was thinking about her life. She wondered if she was going to live in the forest forever. She hoped so; the thought of places outside the familiar forest frightened her. Her thoughts were interrupted by a jarring noise erupting from the sky. Crackle-BOOM! Snap! CRASH! Lily gasped. She stood, shaking. A tree not too far away had been struck by lightning. She had seen lightning in the forest many times before, but never this close.
Boom! She heard thunder again; this time it was even closer. She darted into Zecora's hut. The wise zebra and her brother had heard the noise too. He threw down the bongo drum he had been playing. Zecora yelled, "Do not fear! Just get out of here!" How can she come up with rhymes at a time like this? Lily wondered. She and Cattail had been told by Zecora that it was dangerous to be inside a tree with lightning close by. The three rushed out of the hut.
Lily looked around them in despair. They were flanked by tress on all sides! She flew behind the hut where there was a ditch.
"Get down here!" she hollered, her fear turning into a frustrated panic. Zecora and Cattail joined her in the big hole in the earth. By this time, rain was pouring outside, but plants stretching over the ditch shielded them from most of the rain. Lily peered through the leaves at the sky. CRACKLE-CRASH! "It's getting closer!" she cried. Cattail pressed his shoulder against hers. Zecora said nothing; it was useless when the rain was so loud. She winced as another flash of lightning came. CRACKLE-CRASH-BANG! The young ponies screamed; it was the closest it had been yet. Lily shook as she gazed up at the hut, terrified of what she might see.
Lily grinned. She had just finished tying the new branches to the tree. She put gentle pressure on each one with her hoof; they seemed sturdy.
She could hear the repetitive sound of Cattail trying to tune his instruments nearby. It made Lily grit her teeth. According to Cattail, the smoke in the hut had caused them to go drastically out of tune. Right now he was plucking angrily at his favorite guitar, which he had made out of wood and cattail plants.
Lily looked over at her favorite spot. The little pond that was usually so clear and pretty was littered with mud and splinters of wood from the violent wind and rain of the storm. Most of the lily pads were uprooted or mangled, too. She got to work clearing the debris out of the pond. She knew if she could clear it away the lily pads would be healthy again soon.
Lily awoke to dim yellow sunlight streaming through the small round windows of Zecora's hut. She sat up and looked outside. It was a brighter day than usual in the dark Everfree Forest. "I have something for you to see; come outside with me," She heard Zecora's calm voice behind her. Puzzled, Lily got out of her bed and went outside.
She wondered what could be new at their home; the last few days she had seen no improvement in the wellness of her pond lilies, or the scar on the roof of the hut. Out of habit, she flew up to the top of the tree to see how sturdy the branches were. The new grafted branches had at last become a part of the tree. She untied the twine that once held them in place and let it fall to the ground. Lily flew down and landed next to Zecora. Lily gazed over at her special pond. Her gaze lightened as she noticed the lily pads had turned a healthy shade of green again and were beginning to grow beautiful pale lavender lilies. Lily smiled. She felt happier than she had in a long time.
"Do you not know you have a way with things that grow?" Zecora asked, a small smile forming on her face. The thought hadn't occurred to Lily that she was talented at growing plants and gardening. She gasped. A bright flash appeared on her flank. Lily was frightened and wondered what could possibly be happening to her. She looked to Zecora for help, but the zebra only smiled knowingly back. The light vanished and left a small picture where it had been. It was a picture of a round green lily pad with a beautiful purple lily one it.
"My cutie mark!" She exclaimed. "Cattail, come see!"
