Chapters In the open clearings that some would call the paths through the Everfree forest, a traveler is usually dead meat. On the Ponyville side it isn't as bad, but this part is a different story entirely. Countless beasts, some without names, stalked among the trees, searching for their next meal, at all hours of day and night. From my vantage point, I could see one, gazing through the bushes. A lone timber wolf, a little larger than most that I'd seen, was ready to leap over the bushes and snatch the poor pony. I'd make too much noise if I made the first move, though, so instead I prepared my own ambush.
The wolf sprung from its cover, and I dove down to meet it as its large mouth opened. I could hear the traveler scream while I accidentally drove my front hoof info its mouth. What was once an intimidating bark turned into confused choking sounds. I fell on top of it, pinning it to the ground on its back. The timber wolf desperately bit down on my foreleg, but I ignored the pain and punched its throat until it stopped.
The timber wolf forced itself out of my grip and fled, whining in agony. With the wolf taken care of, I turned to the pony. "Are you okay, miss?" I asked quietly.
"Yes, thanks to you! How can I ever repay you?" She exclaimed.
"Don't worry about that. I just want to know what you're doing in the Everfree forest alone."
"I was trying to get to Brave. I have a friend there, and she's suddenly stopped replying to my letters. Do you know where that is?"
"Of course," I said.
When we arrived, the sun was setting over the gentle hills that overlooked the small village of Brave. My escortee quickly found the friend she'd been looking for at the communal bonfire. I took a seat a few spots away from them next to my mother.
"It's great to see you again, Arva," she said, pulling me against her side with her wing.
"You too, mom," I replied. "How's the village been?"
"We're doing well enough, other than the mailmare, but I want to hear about you, dear!" Her smile was warm despite showing the first signs of age.
"I'm doing good, too, don't worry about me."
"Are you sure? I know you can handle yourself out there, but you're looking a little thin." I could never tell whether or not she was joking when she said that.
By the time our dinner was ready, the sun had disappeared, only hints of its light remaining in the sky. The dinner bell rang, and my stomach instinctively rumbled. The elders, of course, got the first bowls of soup, then the pot went around the bonfire in a circle so that the guard ponies would get meals second.
The village chatted the night away over their thick soup. My father used to ask why I wouldn't join in, but he stopped bringing it up a while ago when I started making small comments here and there. "Never forget you're still one of us, even if you live in that forest," he'd tell me, and I always said that I knew.
I finished my meal quickly, knowing that night was the most dangerous time for the forest. Before I left, I said goodbye to my parents, waved to the guard ponies, and took a bundle of food from the farm house. Ever since I became guardian of the Everfree, the arrangement was that I would s in the forest for a few weeks, stay for a night's dinner, and take a prepared package of fruits and vegetables to my home in the forest.
The cave I called home wasn't much, lacking basic things like running water and magical lighting, but it was still the safest place in the Everfree forest. I'd found it a few weeks after I got my cutie mark, and moved into it the following week after being named guardian of the Everfree. I'd traded for some everlasting torches a few years after that, but they were very rarely lit. Most of my time was spent outside of the cave, either because I was doing my duties, exploring, or being completely lost, though I'm very rarely lost in the woods now.
The night was peaceful enough, nopony tried to get through and no fights broke out amongst the animals. I liked to break those up because it made the beasts more cautious about starting fights with ponies. I had no way of knowing for sure, but the looks on their faces suggested that they knew who I was whenever we would meet.
While on watch, I suddenly remembered that tomorrow was supposed to be the day to meet the mailmare. She was the only real link between Brave and Equestria, and I'd escort her through the Everfree forest once a week as part of my duties. I liked to wait at our meeting point and meet her there, so off I went.
The mailmare wasn't there when I came, she wasn't there that night, and she didn't show up at any time from dawn to dusk. This was the fifth time she hadn't appeared, and last time I'd seen her, she was having trouble walking. I was worried about her health, but my job kept me in the forest. Without anything else to do, I returned to my home for much-needed rest.
The mailmare wasn't there when I came, she wasn't there that night, and she didn't show up at any time from dawn to dusk. This was the fifth time she hadn't appeared, and last time I'd seen her, she was having trouble walking. I was worried about her health, but my job kept me in the forest. Without anything else to do, I returned to my home for much-needed rest.
A few years ago, I saved a squirrel from a musceagle, essentially an eagle that was much larger and stronger than usual. He's followed me ever since, so I named him Skitters and trained him to help me find ponies. The night after the mailmare missed her pickup for the fifth time, he woke me up and brought me out into the forest.
A deep-blue unicorn was lost in the dead of night, and was doing seemingly everything in his power to get attacked. He was sending orbs of light along the clearings and calling for somepony to come help him. I watched eagerly, weighing the risk to my own life should I decide to help him. After his response to a timber wolf attack was to blast it to pieces with some kind of loud explosive spell, I realized I had no choice.
I fired off a small blue signal flare, meant only to get a pony's attention, and yelled, "What the hay do you think you're doing?!" At this point, half the forest would be coming for a meal, so it didn't matter if I shouted.
"What?! Who are you?! Where are you?!" he cried. "I'm lost, and I need to go to Brave!"
I jumped down from the trees. "What's wrong with you? Do you want to be attacked?! You're making so much noise and light that half the forest has to be coming by now!"
"How else am I supposed to defend myself from these monsters?" he insisted.
"By not starting fights everywhere you go, keeping your head down, and not traveling in the middle of the freaking night! I was practically screaming at him, glaring straight into his eyes.
The unicorn, having started shaking, took a few steps back. "Sorry, sorry! Please just take me to Brave!"
"You're going to follow me and stop casting spells, or we're going to have a problem. Got it?" Suddenly, I heard the rumblings of a dozen Everfree predators in the distance. "Actually, it sounds like we already do. Come on!" I took off, not really caring whether or not this stupid unicorn was actually following me.
As soon as I arrived at Brave, I rang the guards' signal bell. "Stampede!" I shouted. "A stampede is coming! Get ready!"
A dozen ponies rushed from their houses into the barracks, reemerging with rope, spears, and other equipment. Moments later, the unicorn that got us into this mess burst from the Everfree forest wailing for help.
"Troops, form a line! Hasty, get us some light! Arva, do what you do best!" The captain of the guard ordered. Orbs of red light appeared near the edge of the forest and in the open ground before it as I took a position in front of the guards. Preparing for a fight, I leaned into the ground and extended my wings.
Within seconds, I saw dozens of animals rushing through the trees. All shapes and sizes, growling, snarling, and certainly hungry.
I threw my weight upward and drove a mighty roar from my body. My blood warmed as these guards roared with me, and all the animals froze in their tracks. Six flaming arrows flew into the crowd, scaring most of the beasts back into the forest. I was the first to charge in, gouging the small end of a torch into a bugbear's eye and kicking both of my hind legs into its throat. As it choked out a scream, I caught its swinging arm in my teeth, riding it to the opposite shoulder so I could buck the back of its head. It fell face-first to the ground with a loud thud. I hopped off its back and ripped the stinger out amidst the bugbear's panicked grunts. The monster lumbered to its feet, fear and pain in its eyes, before fleeing for its life. Looking around, I could see the guards were cheering amidst an empty battlefield. I raised the stinger and cheered with them.
Most of the guards returned to their homes, but a few were assigned to watch for more activity. Before accepting the captain's suggestion to stay in the barracks, I had a word with the unicorn I had to save.
"Do you know how much work we had to do just to protect ourselves, let alone your sorry flank, because didn't use your head?" My face was inches from his.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do anything," he pled.
"I just had to fight off a bugbear, and that's all you have to say for yourself?!"
The unicorn slowly began backing away from me. "And I'm really grateful for that! What more do you want?!"
"Tomorrow morning, first thing after breakfast, we're going back to Ponyville, and when we get there, you're never going to come back to the Everfree forest unless I say otherwise." I took his horn in my hoof and pressed my snout to his. "And while we're traveling, you are not going to do anything I don't tell you to do! Got it?"
"Y-Yes, okay, just please let me go..." I shoved him away and watched him run away from me, a trail of tears following him.
"Stupid unicorns." I went to the barracks and caught up on my sleep.
I brought both the earthpony and the idiot unicorn through the forest the following day. Fortunately, he didn't cause any trouble for us, but we ended up running into two earthponies and a Pegasus all trying to get to Brave. I took them to Ponyville and told them not to travel through the forest without me.
"But how are we supposed to ask you to escort us if we can't even send a letter to you?" one of them asked. "I tried sending three letters to you when my friend wouldn't write back, and they ended up telling me no more mail was going to Brave!"
"I'm going to work on that as soon as I can," I promised. "In the meantime, tell everypony you know not to try going through the Everfree forest. It's extremely dangerous, and if somepony riles up the animals, they might attack Brave."
"But how will I know my friends are safe?" another insisted.
"We can take care of ourselves. You'll have lots of time to write to them once the mail situation is sorted out."
When they finally agreed to go home, I rushed to my village. This was getting out of hoof fast, and we needed a solution. Skitters watched the forest while I was in Brave. Once I'd explained myself to the village elders, they promised a meeting would be held that night after dinner.
That evening, a horn sounded at the end of the communal meal, calling everypony who wasn't already there to the bonfire. The elders spoke once they were sure everyone was present. "Good evening, my fellow ponies. We have heard your concerns about the absent mailmare, and feel it is time we decided what to do."
"She's been gone for over a month," one pony said. "I can't get letters from my friends until she comes back!" Another with a saddlebag full of random items said, "How am I supposed to make my sales without her?"
"We hear and have heard your complaints," the elder repeated, "but we must get to the bottom of this." The elders turned to look at me. "Arva, guardian of the Everfree, you are the one closest to this mailmare. Do you know anything about what happened to her?"
I stood up. "She's never disappeared like this for more than a week. The last time I saw her, though, she seemed to have trouble walking. That may have something to do with it."
"You are the only one with the knowledge of the Everfree forest needed to travel safely. Can we trust you to find out what happened to her?"
"Of course."
"It is decided. Arva will find the mailmare and return as soon as possible with either her or news about her. We will defend ourselves in the meantime. So ends the meeting." Another horn, and everyone returned to their homes.
"Stay safe out there, sweetie," my mother said, giving me a hug. My father wished me good luck as I made my way back home. When I made it, I packed my supplies into my leather utility harness, making sure I included my ragged copy of Timeless Wisdom.
Skitters woke me at first light, and we set off for the surprisingly fast journey through the forest. Ponyville itself was strangely empty, until I found the town center. A showpony unicorn had captivated an audience, and she was blocking my way into what looked like the town hall.
The unicorn was doing magic tricks for the massive crowd. I could have sworn I saw one drooling. An argument broke out between her and some other ponies, at which it became a talent show dedicated to her one-upping and humiliating the others. I hopped up onto stage and trotted past her as she threw a tornado at a Pegasus.
"What are you doing on the Great and Powerful Trixie's stage?!" she demanded, noticing me in front of the door.
"I need to see the mayor," I told her, "and unless you know about what happened to the mailmare I was supposed to take through the Everfree forest, I don't care about anything you have to say."
"If you knew just how great and powerful The Great and Powerful Trixie is, you'd change your mind!"
"You could raise the sun for all I care." I got back to the door, only to be lifted off the ground by her spell. "Hey, let me go!"
"I'll have you know that The Great and Powerful Trixie once vanquished an Ursa major!" She twisted, spun, and manipulated my body in midair for a few seconds before setting me on the ground. When I took a look at myself, I had been turned into some kind of balloon form of myself.
"Change me back, or else," I ordered, as calmly as I could manage.
"Or else what?" A large needle appeared in front of me, over the unicorn's smug face.
I didn't bother saying anything, instead dodging the needle as it flew towards me. I discovered this form was amazingly light when I attempted to tackle Trixie to the floor. I only succeeded in latching onto her side, but after evading the needle a second time, I heard her cry out in pain. Her giant needle had stuck right into her flank, and in a panic, she undid both the needle and the spell she'd cast on me.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is... tired now, and must return to her
I approached an orange earthpony who was talking with a few others. "Excuse me, but do you know where the post office is?"
"It's right around the corner there, miss." She pointed to my left. "It ain't open now, though, it's too late."
"Okay, thanks. Have you heard of a pony named Jewel Carrier? A blue earthpony? She's been missing for a while now."
"Can't say I have. Sorry."
"Thanks anyway." I sighed before walking away, catching looks of confused disgust on the faces of the earthpony's friends.
I heard one say, "What's wrong with her? She smells like she's afraid of soap or something."
"Come on now, Rainbow, maybe she just can't afford to take a bath," the earthpony said. It was then that I remembered that the people of Equestria probably bathed more than once every few weeks and didn't roll around in mud to re-mask their scent.
The fact that I had taken up woodcarving as a hobby a few years ago was something that kept on paying off. I was able to trade one of my figurines -- a small replica of my idol's cutie mark -- for a new bar of soap. Once I finished, I felt oddly refreshed and relaxed, but at the same time vulnerable. My bath out of the way, I took up camp on the edge of the Everfree forest.
Just as I was settling in and had opened my book, I noticed a pair of colts going into the forest. I followed silently, waiting for them to stop before I approached. I was more likely to be spotted, so I had to be as careful as I could.
When they stopped, they were looking into a cave. I shuddered, knowing it was home to both minor and major Ursa. Before they had the chance to enter, I leapt down in front of them. From the surprised gasps, they hadn't expected me.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.
"We're gonna get an Ursa major and watch Trixie vanquish it!" one announced.
"No, you're not. You're going home, and you're going home now." I picked them up by the manes in my teeth. The other one started yelling into the cave. Just as I was about to get going, I heard a rumble from in the cave. They'd woken something big.
I couldn't face that thing alone, and not with two kids to watch over. I broke into a sprint for Ponyville.
The showpony rushed out of her cart moments after I bucked the door off. "What did you do that for?!" She roared.
I dropped the kids at her hooves. "Thanks to these two, there's an Ursa coming for Ponyville. Are you gonna help me or what?"
"Yeah, Trixie, vanquish it!" one of the colts said just as I heard the beast's thunderous steps.
I could tell from the look on her face that it had found us. I stepped aside, urging her, "Go ahead then, vanquish it!" Her distraction would let me prepare my own attack.
An Ursa minor. I'd lucked out. It seemed oddly patient, as though it wanted an explanation for why it was woken up. This situation would have been so much easier if I could talk to animals, but all I could ever do was intimidate them.
The showpony's attempts to defeat the Ursa minor were pitiful at best. When she finished casting useless spells, I charged towards the bear, ordering the other ponies to get help. Having leapt onto its back, I bit down on a flare stick. Four yellow sparks shot into the sky and exploded into fireballs with deafening booms.
The sleepy bear was disoriented by the blasts, giving me time to tie its huge snout closed. It roared against my bindings and thrashed its head in an attempt to throw me off. I held on as tight as I could, and just when it stopped, a huge translucent paw was headed straight for me. I jumped off the Ursa and watched it smack itself in the face as I landed.
"Get off that Ursa!" somepony called. I looked back, seeing a purple unicorn, and backed off. She was clearly casting an immense spell, and I didn't want to be in the middle of it.
Music came from nowhere, the town's water tower was detached, and the rope I'd tied to the Ursa minor's snout came undone. The bottle-shaped container was passed through a cow farm, much to their displeasure, and given to the bear to feed it. Finally, it floated away into the Everfree forest. The crowd that had come was cheering, and I emerged from my cover.
"What were you doing on the Ursa minor?" the purple unicorn demanded. "Those are really dangerous!"
"I live in the Everfree forest, of course I know," I told her. "Protecting other ponies from animal attacks is my job."
Her eyes widened a little. "You live in the Everfree forest? Not near it, not next to it, but in it?"
A pink earthpony interrupted. "She lives in the Everfree forest? It's the evil enchantress! RUN!" She grabbed the unicorn and ran before she could protest, and everypony else fled the scene. I was left standing in a clearing, with no idea what had just happened.
"I'll never understand civilized ponies," I muttered on my way back to camp.