Chapters How Lily got her "creepy" super strength
On the edge of Ponyville there was a small quaint little house that blended in with the rest of the homes. From its front yard you could see the town hall rising above the buildings and from its back yard you could see the Everfree forest in the distance. The couple that called it home made their living from knitting clothing, particularly socks that were shipped to ponies who lived in cold regions. They were known as the Longsock family. They had recently moved into the town with their three children. The two oldest were following in their parent's hoof steps. Their youngest daughter though, Lily had an unusual talent, not just in her family but in general. She could handle sharp, prickly things without getting hurt. Nopony knew how she did it. She didn't know how she did it but even though it was not the most useful talent she liked it. It was quite nice after all to be able to walk through a thorn bush and without getting pricked. She had realized her talent when she had rescued a baby hedgehog and raised it. How she loved that little hedgehog that she named Prickles. He was so sweet and cuddly, cuddly for her. There was one thing though that she did not like about him. He had a bad habit of wondering off and getting into trouble. Most of the time he crawled under something big and heavy and then got stuck. She was always having to dig her way under houses or go find help. He did this so much that she had given him the last name Pricklebutt and used in on the days that he got into trouble. Today was another one of those days.
"Pricklebutt!" Lily called as she walked around the house and peeking beneath the foundations. "Pricklebutt come out this instant!" She demanded squinting into the dark. There was no response. "Uuuggg! Where did you go?" She stomped her hoof and began walking around the yard trying to think like a hedgehog. She paused and rubbed her chin with a forehoof. "Let's see, twice I found you under the house. No, make that three times. You crawled under the neighbors house a couple of times but only got stuck once. They've already said that they haven't heard you running around under their house anyway. There's the tree that you like to tunnel under only I've already checked there. I didn't see you under the rocks in the garden."
Lily turned her head to the forest while remembering the last time that she had seen little Pricklebutt. This morning he had been sitting on the windowsill and breathing in the sweet smell. His little pointy nosed face was covered in a dreamy smile.
"Oh you did not!" She said scanning the ground as she walked in that direction. She hadn't thought much about it this morning because she was certain that he knew better than to go there but sure enough she spotted little hedgehog prints leading towards the forest. "You did." She sighed. "Oh, no. Please stay safe until I find help to come find you."
Lily started to bolt inside but froze in mid-step. If she went for help she probably would not ever find her dear pet hedgehog. Not many ponies would willingly go into the Everfree forest. Even fewer would go into it after a hedgehog. Of those few who would be able to find him? There was only one who might and that was the element of kindness but she would be terrified to go. She might if her friends came but none of them would allow a filly to accompany them into the forest.
Lily looked back and forth from her house and to the forest. She shifted her feet around and chewed her lip. She so did not want to go into the Everfree but she was not going to lose her hedgehog. The best pony for finding him was her.
"Hey mom, Pricklebutt wondered into town and I'm going to go find him." She called to the house. "Then I might go over to Dinkies to play." She added to give herself extra time since she would have no idea how long this would take except quite awhile. Without waiting to hear her mother’s reply she took off along the outskirts of Ponyville. Once she gained a little distance from her house she turned towards the Everfree. Her hooves pounded the ground as she charged towards the forest. She wanted to get inside the trees as fast as she could before anypony spotted her. As she neared the forest she encountered a fallen tree in her path.
"Nothing is going to stop me!" She declared and jumped aiming to leap over the log. Her hind hoofs caught on it and she was sent rolling in the dirt. She skidded to a stop under the shade of the forest. She raised her head and shook dirt out of her mane.
"Success is falling down nine times and getting up ten." She said getting to her hoofs. She looked up at the looming trees above her head and cringed as much of her zeal faded. "Pricklebutt you’re really in trouble over this," She called as she started forward while scanning the ground for his prints.
How Lily got her "creepy" super strength
Inside the Everfree forest and forests like it there lived rare and elusive creatures, the mini dragons. Being very few in number and so prone to sticking to the shadows they had been all but forgotten by ponies, griffins and all manner of creatures. Only ancient ponies like the princess sisters or very studious ponies like Twilight would know about them anymore. Even the large sized dragons hardly remembered that they existed. Not that mini dragons noticed. They never spoke to anypony or outside creature anymore. Nor did they ever creep out of their forests. For them it was still the ancient times.
Though they were dragons they never grew to the huge size of the ones that the pony world knew about. They never got larger than the average stallion because they were not cursed with greed like the known dragons. What they had was strong magic. More magic than average unicorns. One of the special things they could do was grant wishes within limits. It was because of this that ponies of the ancient past began to hunt them. They sought to capture them like their own personal genie in a bottle. In turn the mini dragons had come up with a strategy to deal with such ponies. They convinced them that they had to answer riddles or compete tasks to make the wishes able to be granted. This gave the mini dragons time to escape. In the end all of it had made them more reclusive and caused them to harbor great distrust and even bitterness that passed down through generations.
In the Everfree there was one mini dragon in particular that couldn’t stand ponies though he had never met one. Had only seen a group of about six from a distance a couple times and a striped thing that he wasn’t sure if she was a pony or not. He, like all mini dragons had stories passed down and was more bitter than most. He hated ponies. He swore to himself that if he ever encountered a pony alone in the forest he would make them play those stupid games over and over and over. Today was his day.
* * *
A thorn bush was not obstacle to Lily. Just as she knew exactly how to hold a hedgehog she knew just how to press through. She never had to think about it. It was all instinct and second nature. Following her pet wasn’t too hard. Whenever she lost his track she just kept following in the sweet smell of the berries and sooner or later she would find them again.
Lily paused and looked up upon hearing something in the treetops. It sounded very much like something scurrying. She watched and waited a moment but neither heard nor saw anything else. She decided it was a squirrel and continued weaving through the bush.
Behind her the mini dragon peaked out from behind a tangle of branches. Finally, it was his chance for payback. She was alone unlike the others he had seen and she was not creepy like that striped thing. She would demand wishes to be given the moment she saw him of course. Typical ponies. Thought they were here to be served. It would be perfect though, once she demanded wishes he would send her on wild goose chases and stumbling over riddles.
He was clever. He knew that he was clever and he would show her. She would believe that she had to answer those riddles and complete tasks and he could use this make her know that ponies were stupid compared to mini dragons. It was time that ponies paid for all the trouble that they had given them. He just needed the right moment to jump out.
Lily exited the thorn bush and came to the edge of a deep crevice. Below water rushed by. It looked like a huge knife had cut through the forest. Further down was a log laying across the gap. Even from where she stood she could she the scratches left from her pet's claws.
"Prickles Priklebutt you are in so much trouble," She grumbled and walked over to the log. She kicked it a couple times to make sure it was sturdy and then hopped on. Making sure to stay in the center of the narrow log she inched her way across. Suddenly a huge shadow swooped over her head making her yelp and duck. She fell flat on the log and covered her head as it passed over. Then she heard a thump as a something landed on the log in front of her. It wasn’t as loud as sound as she expected. She looked up and stared in surprise. It was not some horrible huge monster that was before her. The thing stood only a head taller than her. It had dark red scales and black spines down it's back. It looked like a small dragon and while that was a fearsome color scheme he was not at all terrifying. It was not just his size but his overall design. He was cute similar to the way a tiny foal was adorable when he wore scary costume and tried to act fierce. The way he stood there glaring at her with a tough expression almost made her laugh.
Lily sat up trying to hide a smile.
"Well?" The little dragon asked.
"Well what?" Lily tipped her head confused.
"Aren't you going to ask me for something?"
"I would ask you to please move out of my way," Lily replied. "I'm on a serious mission to save a creature."
"Get out of your way!" The mini dragon angrily roared. "Who do you think you are ordering me to move?"
"Well you did just purposely leap out into my way," Lily replied, "And you have wings so you really don't need the log but if it will make you feel better I'll go back let you walk across first."
"No!" The little dragon snapped. "I know what you want from me and you have to complete the challenge first."
Lily looked at him with her face twisted in confusion. "Why would I ask you for anything? I don't even know you. Look, I'm just here to find my little hedgehog friend and save him. I'm not here to bother you or ask you for something so there is no need for me to complete the challenge. If you let me past, you will never have to look at my face again."
The dragon scratched his chin realizing that the filly was genuine. She really did not know what he was. "You must be a simpleton to not know what I am," He said thoughtfully.
"Well thanks," Lily replied flatly. "That is perfectly fine. Just please just let me past."
The mini dragon just grinned and was not about to let her slip by. He had waited a long time to take revenge the same way it was done in the past. "No, to gain permission to go to the other side you must complete the challenge."
Lily sighed and sat down. "Fine. what is the challenge?"
"Riddles," The dragon replied. "You must be able to answer my riddle." He couldn’t help but grin to himself. He had spent so long coming up with and gathering complicated riddles so there was no way this little filly could win. Especially when she was so simple as to not even know what he was. "My riddle is a scenario. You have two doors to choose from. One leads to freedom and the other to certain doom. There are no markings on either door. Next to them are two brothers. One is under an enchantment that makes him always tell the truth and the other is enchanted to always lie no matter what. They know which door is which but you can only ask them one question to which they both will answer. What question could you ask them to know which door is safe and none of this asking two questions in the same sentence. One question." With that the dragon crossed his forelimbs and smirked at the pony. There was no way she could answer that one because it was impossible. He had pondered it for so long and if a creature as smart as he was could not think of a way than this pony certainly couldn’t She would be stumped. Though why was she smiling back?
"That one is so easy," Lily said. "That riddle has been around forever. You ask them 'if you were your brother which would you say is the correct door?' They will both point to the same door. From there you will know that you should go out the other one."
"What! That's stupid! How do you reason that?"
"It's simple," Lily replied. "The one that always tells the truth knows that his brother will lie and point to the wrong door so if he was his brother that is the answer he would give. The other one always lies. So even though he knows that his brother would point to the right door he will still point to the wrong one." The mini dragon stood there blinking after she had finished trying to take that all in.
"UUAAAGGGHHH!!!" He roared. "That isn’t right!"
"Yes it is, now please let me pass. I won," Lily said.
"No...you didn't win yet. You still have to stump me with a riddle."
"What? That wasn’t part of the deal," Lily stated. "You said if I answer your riddle I could pass. You’re just making this up as you go."
"So what if I am," The mini dragon said with a haughty snort. "Your still not getting past till you stump me with a riddle like you possibly can."
Lily glared at him a moment then replied with her riddle. "A unicorn walks into a pitch black room with a box of matches. There is a candle and a lamp. Which will she light first?"
"The match of course. You lost," The dragon stated.
"No, she's a unicorn," Lily countered. "A unicorn will light up their horn first. I win."
The mini dragon snarled. "Well...now you have to beat me at trivia questions!"
Lily groaned and rubbed her forehead. She knew that no matter what he would keep going. He would not allow her to win in the end no matter how many games she won. It was like playing a game with a younger foal. She was contemplating trying to dart past him when an idea struck her.
"Alright but I go first." She stated stomping a hoof down. "What color are the thrones at the old castle of the two sisters?" She didn't know herself but that didn't matter.
"HA! I've been out here all my life and to the castle many times," The dragon laughed. "One is blue and one is yellow."
"Wrong their both pink," Lily stated sitting down and crossing her hoofs.
"Pink! Listen filly, I have actually been to the castle! Have you?"
"I read it in a history book. Their pink," Lily persisted.
"Well then you have stupid history books. I know what colors they are and they are not pink," The dragon snarled.
"Well prove it," Lily demanded. "Go to the castle and bring back a piece of each so you can show me that their not pink."
"Fine I will!" The dragon growled. "I can even teleport so it won’t take long and-"
"And I'll be hiding somewhere nearby when you get back." Lily stated.
"What? why? For what stupid reason would you do that?"
"Because I want too." Lily replied with her hoofs still crossed. "It's part of my challenge."
"Fine! Do what you want. I'll be back shortly to show you that your wrong and that I won!" The mini dragon snarled. With that he vanished.
How Lily got her "creepy" super strength
The small red dragon teleported himself to the castle and flew inside. "I'll show that little filly who thinks she knows it all, who thinks she's so clever," He muttered to himself as he speedily weaved his way to the throne room. It never occurred to him that she might not be there when he got back. He was in a hurry to prove to her that he was right.
Getting a piece of the old throne was an easy task. They were so worn that pieces had crumbled off. He picked up a small chunk of each throne and flew out a window. One of the odd quirks of mini dragon magic was that they had to be outside to teleport to another location. It was a fact that had made capturing them possible.
He quickly teleported back to the same patch of forest when he had confronted Lily. He looked down on the log and snorted. "Stupid pony really is going to play hide and seek with me." He landed on the log and held up the two rocks that he clutched, one in either paw. "There's point in hiding! Here they are. Blue and yellow."
No voice answered him.
"Oh, come on. You’re just hiding because you know that you lost," He called but still received no answer. "Stop being so butthurt that you lost!" No response. "Fine! It's not going to be hard to find you." He set the stones down on the log and flew into the bushes. He weaved around the trees, scoured the shrubs and even flew up into the branches in case she was able to climb. All the while he muttered to himself about stupid ponies playing stupid games and demanding that she come out. He searched for a good fifteen minutes until he spotted the faint tracks of a little pony leading off into the forest.
"Oh, you little trickster! You think your so clever," He roared and took flight to chase after her. "I'm going to show you whos clever! I'm going to win this game and set right all the times ponies made us go through this."
* * *
Lily was still following the scent of the berries. It was growing stronger and while she wanted to hurry she tread with more caution. The closer that she got to the berries the closer she got to the creatures of the Everfree. They would not be so keep to share their berries and probably would not care that she was just passing through.
Another reason for her to be cautious was that she was walking along the edge of a cliff. This was a more dangerous roundabout way but it was necessary. She had heard something big moving in the forest ahead of her and had decided it would be wise to go around. She didn't know what it was and she didn't want to find out.
A thick grove of vine covered trees grew right up next to the cliff making a narrow path along the drop off but for a filly of her size it was not a problem. She had almost forgotten about the little red dragon but then she heard the familiar flap of a set of wings. He swooped over her head making her duck again before landing in front of her. Lily looked up to see him standing there and glaring angrily at her. "You think you’re so cleaver don't you," He growled.
"Uugg!" Lily groaned, "Why are you doing this to me?"
"It’s because of your forefathers," The red dragons replied.
Lily looked at him with confusion now. "You mean my great granddads? I didn't know you knew them? Do you hate enchanted creatures or something?"
At first the dragon was confused then was enraged. "What kind of joke is that?! What is wrong with you?!"
"What is wrong with you?!" Lily cried. "Both of my great grandfathers are famous for rescuing the breezies from the griffins. The griffins used to catch them and keep them as pets. My great grandfathers used to risk their lives to rescue them. Then they started an advocacy group to help all enchanted creatures against such-"
"Shut up!" The dragon snapped. "It's time for the next challenge!"
Lily groaned and rubbed her forehead. She did not understand this at all.
"It's a game of dare," The dragon sneered.
"Ok, but you do know that the rule of dare is that you can't dare somepony to do something that you wouldn’t dare to do yourself," Lily stated hoping that he would not think of something too dangerous.
"Of course, I dare you to jump off this cliff!" The red dragons replied with a smirk. "It's something I would dare to do." The dragon said waggling his wings. "Oops, you don't dare. You lose. You have to turn around now." He mocked.
Lily didn't even acknowledge his mocking. She looked down the cliff and then up at the vines hanging from the trees. She picked one and gave it a hard yank to test it. The she bit down on it, wrapped her forelimbs around it for good measure and jumped. She fell only a foot over the edge before she came to a stop and then climbed back up.
"That doesn't count!" The mini dragon snapped.
"Yes it does." The dragon started to argue but she cut him off. "You only said jump off the cliff. You didn't give any other requirements and now it's my turn."
"Fine! Just try to pick something that you would dare to do that I would not!" He snapped crossing his forelimbs.
"I dare you....to go away and leave me alone." Lily stated.
"What?! What kind of dare is that!?"
"The dare I give you," Lily replied crossing her forelimbs as well. "I would be happy to walk away and leave you alone. If you don't leave me alone, you lose."
The mini dragon glared at her angry enough for steam to come out of his ears. "That's not fair!"
"Is it less fair than daring me to jump to my death?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Fine!" He finally yelled. "How about this!? A challenge game! Can you fly? No you can't! You lose!"
"I can fly. In a hot air balloon," Lily stated.
"What in the Everfree is that? Your making that up." The mini dragon accused.
Lily stared at him. "You mean to tell me that you don't know what a hot air balloon is? Haven't you ever seen one of those large round floating things with a basket underneath passing over the forest?"
"Ua..maybe." He replied. "I still think that your lying." He lied himself.
"I'm not and anyway there are spells that can make me able to fly or I could do so if a pegasus would carry me."
The mini dragon snarled. "Whatever! See if you can think of something that you can do that I can't! Go ahead! Just try! Anything you want to see me try!"
"What I really want to see you try to do it get lost," Lily groaned.
"Get lost?" The mini dragon snorted. "I can't get lost in the Everfree. I've lived here all my life and know it like the back of my paw. It's impossible for me to get lost. Pick something else."
"I was being sar-serious," Lily replied with a grin. "You said pick anything that I wanted to see you try. If you don't try and accomplish it you loose and I win."
"But that's a stupid one!" The dragon roared.
"Well I guess that I won again."
"No you didn't! I can get lost if I want to," The mini dragon retorted taking to the air. "I'll show you!” With that he was off soaring through the forest.
Lily waited until the sound of his wing beats faded before taking off again. She tried going back to her pace of trying to move quickly but still silently and cautiously. It would have been a lot easier if she hadn’t been laughing so hard.
How Lily got her "creepy" super strength
The Thing that stalks the berry patch
The little mini dragon flew in wild zigzag patters through he forest to purposely throw himself off. He had gotten turned around for a minute or two before so he could do it again and finally win. The problem was that now that he wanted to get lost, doing so was impossible. He tried going to every place that he rarely visited but it still didn't work.
"I'll do it!" He repeated for the twentyish time to himself. "I will win this." He flew through the forest at increasing speeds. "That filly thinks she's so smart! I'll show her and she won’t fool...she..." His sentence trailed off and he slowed to a hover outside a cave as a realization dawned on him. His dark red face turned bright red as he gritted his teeth and clenched his paws.
"Grraaarrrr!" He roared in outrage.
The sleepy eyed and grumpy face of a large green dragon poked out of the cave and roared back. The force sent the mini dragon tumbling into the bushes. He quickly clambered about and flew back the way he had come muttering about Lily as he went.
The large green dragon watched him go wondering why that dragon was so small. He dismissed it as it simply being because he was young and went back to sleep. At least it wasn’t that purple dragon who ate his gems. Too bad he hadn't been able to catch that little annoyance and his pony friend.
* * *
Lily herself had to inch past a cave mouth where heavy breathing echoed out. Beyond that was a short climb up a steep rocky hill. It was a combination of stones and loose soil making her have to tread carefully. The top plateaued off and trees grew densely atop it. On the other side of them was a huge berry patch. It covered the rest of the hilltop with thick woven vines that were heavy laden with copious amounts of ripe berries.
In this berry patch were monsters. Lily stayed crouched behind the trees watching them and worrying about little Prickles Pricklebutt. On one end there was a group of timber wolves nipping at the berries. She was surprised. They actually ate? They were made of fallen branches! Who could explain Everfree monsters though.
On the other side was a strange beast. It had three heads. One was a tiger, one a goat and one was a snake in the place of its tail. It was a chimera.
In about the middle of the patch was a small group of changelings. Those things came out here? Why not. You could probably find anything out here.
Lily crouched down in despair. It was quite likely that her little pet had met a bad fate and if not how was she going to look for him with those thing walking around.
Suddenly she blinked, almost as if seeing the vines of the berry patch for the first time. They were so thick that she was certain that in most places you could not see through them from looking straight down. Laying at the edge though she could see that there were little tunnels through the vines as it was with all brush patches. It was perfect for a little hedgehog to slip through and in the dirt she could just make out faint hedgehog prints.. While it was small enough to put a little pony at risk by the thorns this was not problem for her.
Lily took a deep breath to summon courage and then crawled into the vines. If it came to a chase she still had her two advantages given by her talent and size. While she could slip through easily they had to step carefully to avoid thorns and tripping. Each animal had to raise each foot straight up and place it down through a gap in the vines. The timber wolves probably weren’t bothered by thorns but they still could trip.
The three types of creatures seemed to have staked out different sections of the patch so which one to slip past? The changelings, being the size of a pony were probably the most likely to spot her. The timber wolves had too many big feet stomping around. Not only that but their noses were a problem. She was pretty sure that the overpowering smell of the berries would cover her scent but better not get to close since she didn't know for sure.
The best place to try to go was where the Chimera was. There was only one being, albeit it had three heads but they were occupied with arguing as they ate berries. It was mostly the tiger head and the snake tail. The goat kept snapping at them to knock it off.
Moving with care Lily crept in their direction. She couldn’t see them through the think vines most of the time but she could hear them. It became harder when they fell into a sullen silence but she kept on.
"Prickles." She whispered as she crawled and searched. She was sure that he was here somewhere. If not she didn't want to think about the alternative. As she crawled through she came across tracks that were not made by any monster. The little tracks of her hedgehog ran a weaving line under the vines. She also saw the random dropped berry and some drag marks. She realized that he must have gathered leaves to collect berries in. This way he could drag them to somewhere safer and eat in peace.
"Smart boy." She whispered and started to follow them. She hadn’t gone two steps before a huge tiger foot stomped down beside her.
"Eep!" Lily had to clamp her hoofs over her mouth to cover her yelp. She laid frozen with fear beside the paw that was almost as big as she was. Then she relaxed slightly. The Chimera didn't grab her so it probably hadn’t heard her. All she had to do now was wait until it moved on. At least the feet of this strange creature didn't have a head.
That thought had no more than crossed her mind before a large serpentine head pushed its way through the vines. Her mouth was wide open to bite into the larger berries underneath but she spotted the little filly instantly. For a moment they just stared at each other, Lily crouching on the ground and the snake with her mouth still open.
"A little filly all for me," The snake finally whispered while licking her lips.
With no time to think Lily did the first thing that popped into her head. She bit down as hard as she could on the tiger paw. The tiger's surprised and enraged roar covered up the sound of Lily scrambling away. The tiger quickly swatted the snake, his tail.
"So you pretend to let it go just to sneak up and bite me!" He roared.
"I did not bitesss you. It was a filly under the vinessss." The snake hissed back.
"So now you're lying," The tiger snarled. "If you’re going to lie then make it something that doesn’t assume I'm stupid."
"You are sssstupid if you think that it wasss I who bit you and the filly isss getting away."
The goat head rolled her eyes. "You two are always fighting like kids so I'm going to be in charge from now on."
The arguing quickly became bleats, growls and hisses. Lily peaked through the vines to witness the strangest sight that she had ever seen. A creature fighting its own tail that was fighting him back while it's goat head kept trying to head-butt the both of them as she complained , "Hey! All of us are going to feel this later."
Lily ducked back down. She now had to stay away from that side of the berry patch or risk getting trampled in their brawl. At the same time she wanted to get out faster now just in case they did believe the snake whenever they stopped fighting. All she had to do was get to the other side. She could pick up Prickles trail anywhere. So try to sneak past the changelings or the timber wolves?
She could hear the changelings laughing at the chimera while it sounded like the timber wolfs had gone back to their own business. She was afraid of the timber wolves’ sense of smell but the berries were overpowering. It was even hard for her not to stop and eat some despite the danger. The changelings were much closer to her level making them more likely to spot her and they seemed to be paying more attention to their surroundings than the timber wolves.
In the end Lily decided to try to creep past the timber wolves and hope that the scent of the berries was enough. It was hard to see from underneath the vines but she tried to pick a path that took her in the least proximity to any of the timber wolves. The problem was that they were more spread out over their stake in the patch.
She was halfway there when her dreaded fear was realized. A timber wolf poked its nose under the vines and began sniffing around. He couldn’t tell just what was under the vines but could tell that something was different.
Lily changed direction slightly and tried to hustle without making too much noise. Suddenly she felt a hard yank on her tail and she fell on her stomach. Another timber wolf had walked over to see what his companion was up too and had stepped right on her tail. Lily could not pull it free and the nose of the first timber wolf was coming closer. She snatched up a stone and slammed it down on the paw that pinned her tail.
The timber wolf yelped and hopped backwards with it's foot in the air. The other wolf looked up at him then plunged his nose back into the vines trying all the harder to find what was under there.
Lily saw the nose come back down and threw the rock right into the tip. It yelped, yanking it's head up and shaking it wildly with the tip of its now nose missing. By now the rest of the timber wolves were staring at them. As Lily tried to rush away one of them saw the vines quivering slightly. It ran over and tried putting its foot down on whatever was under there. He was rewarded with a hard blow to the top of his foot. He yelped and yanked it out of the vines. A moment later he felt something hard slam down on a hind foot.
A fourth came running and biting blindly at the vines only to have a large stone shoved into its mouth and knock out it's wooden teeth. It was still howling when another timber wolf yelped and yanked its foot out of the vines.
In short order all of them raced out of the berry patch tripping on vines all the way. They ran to the edge where they stood staring with wide eyes at the mesh of vines.
The changeling stood laughing and pointing at them. Laughing until one of the shrieked and clutched its foreleg. They all took a hint and flew out of the patch. They stared down at the tangle of vines a moment before deciding it was time to leave.
After that day, among the creatures that lived in and visited the Everfree a legend became known. The Legend of The Thing that stalked the berry patch. For years to come every time a creature stubbed its toe on a rock or tripped on a vine it was blamed on The Thing.
None of them believed the snake that it was a filly. A filly was responsible, come on!
Author's Note
If you liked the berry patch scene thank Fluttercheer who suggested adding more monster encounters.
How Lily got her "creepy" super strength
The vines grew right up against the trees in some places and even a little beyond them. This provided Lily with the cover to slip out of the patch on the other side with no creature noticing her. She was still shaking from both fear and excitement. After the chaos with the timber wolves she had found herself near the changelings. She had chunked a rock at the legs on one of them and it had had the desired effect. They had scattered out of her way.
She now breathed a sigh of relief and began searching again. It didn’t take her long to find the tracks of her pet again and she began following them. They lead her a little distance from the berry patch where the trees thinned out and boulders stood here and there. The tracks led right up to the largest one and into a little hole leading beneath it.
"Please don't be stuck." Lily muttered and rushed over. She lay on the ground and peaked in.
"Prickles?" She called and was answered by a tiny hedgehog voice. As her eyes adjusted to the dark she made out his beady eyes staring back and his juice stained muzzle. "Prickles Pricklebutt come here," She commanded. The little hedgehog squirmed and pawed at the ground but stayed right where he was.
"Come on! You were able to back in there," She called but as Lily looked at his stained mouth she realized the facts. He had squeezed in there with a load of berries and then ate all of them. This had caused his little belly to swell up and trapped him inside like a cork in a bottle.
"Oh, Prickles," Lily sighed heavily and laid her head on the ground.
* * *
The mini dragon searched the forest with a plan. His encounter with the larger member of his species had given him an idea. The filly had kept going in the same direction the last time she had tricked him into leaving and he was pretty sure that she was going after the berries. Of course she would, greedy filly. And she had told him some lie about rescuing someone. PPtthh!
Sure enough as he got closer to the berries he saw her hoof prints heading that way and oh, she had even gone right past the cave. He landed outside and listened. He could hear the deep breathing echoing out. He was home. Perfect!
The mini dragon took flight and headed in the direction of the berry patch. He winged out of the trees to hover above the patch. He saw no pony below just a few Everfree creatures, a pack of timber wolves and a chimera. The chimera looked like it had just been in a fight and sat sullenly in the middle of the vines. He wondered just what it had battled with for it looked like it had had a hard time.
The timber wolves were acting a little odd. They stayed right on the right edge of the patch. They nipped at the berries that they could reach from there and took great care not to place even one paw in the vines. This didn't make any sense to him but he didn't care. What mattered to him was who he didn't see. That little pony. He was starting to worry that something out here had eaten the pony and ruined his revenge. He wasn’t about to give up though and began circling above the trees. His keen eyes quickly picked up a splash a familiar color that didn't belong in the forest. He quickly winged over and landed in the trees above it. There she was crouching on the ground and trying to dig under a boulder.
Lily was very frustrated. The ground was hard and a boulder half the size of her house was not going to budge. Eventually the berries would pass through his system but one does simply wait around in the Everfree. Its black gates were guarded by more than just timber wolves. There were things here that do not sleep. Namely that mean little dragon.
She kept calling to Prickles and encouraging him but the little guy gained no ground. Things got worse when Lily heard wing beats and a shadow fell over her.
"You’re out here for some stupid crawling animal?" The dragon hissed.
Lily glared up at him. "He is not just some stupid animal!" She snapped. "He's my pet hedgehog!"
The dragon snorted back. "Whatever. I have the ultimate dare now."
Lily's vision was suddenly blotted out for a second with a flash of light and when she blinked she found herself sitting outside of the cave that she had passed earlier. The deep heaving breathing was still emanating out. Lily’s ears fell back. She was pretty sure that she was not going to like where this was going.
"The biggest and meanest manticore in the forest lives in there," The mini dragon explained. "When he goes to the berry patch all the other monsters clear out until he's gone. Your dare, should you choose to accept it, is to sneak inside while he sleeps and pluck a whisker."
Lily definitely didn't like it accepting it. "Well...you have to be willing to do it as well because that is the rule of a dare."
"I'd do it just for fun," The dragon snorted. "But would you?" He said crossing his forelimbs and leering at her.
I don't believe you." Lily stated. "Prove it." She gestured in the direction of the cave.
"Oh, no you don't," The dragon growled. "You'll simply take off again while I'm in there."
"And you'll do the same to me." Lily replied.
"I'm not about to let you fool me again."
"And I'm not about to let you fly off and leave me in there to get eaten....wait a minute. How about this. We both go in there together, side by side. That way we both prove that we would do the dare."
The dragon eyed her a moment and then nodded. "Fine." He took one step towards the cave and looked over at Lily. Lily also took a step and waited for him.
Slowly they walked into the cave with each one making sure that the other did not bail. Because the trees blocked out much of the sun it became pitch black quite quickly. Both had to tread carefully to avoid tripping.
"I hope you’re not frightened of the dark." The dragon taunted in a whisper.
"Shh. We're going to have to stop talking because he might hear us. Even whispers," Lily replied.
"Funny thing for you to say," The dragon replied. "Your hoof steps are louder than your voice."
"Don't worry, I can tread so softly that even you won't hear me at all but let's be quite now."
"Yeah right."
"Ssshhh."
"Fine." The dragon whispered back. He was surprised though. She was treading so softly now that he could not hear the sound of her hoofs on the stone at all. She apparently was pretty good at stealth. Oh well, she was still a stupid pony. After a few minutes he could hear the snores of the sleeping manticore ringing in his ears. He could even feel the breath tickle his wings with each exhale.
He wanted it to be Lily to pull the whisker. It was not like he wanted to get any closer to that huge maw. He reached out to find her and direct her to the manticores' face. He was quickly confused because all he felt was empty space. He felt around for a while with the same result and then dared to whisper, "Pony?"
There was no answer. He decided to try to give just a little light in order to see where she was. She was probably cowering against the cave wall or something. He raised the set of claws of his right forepaw. The claws for a mini dragon were the conduit for magic just like a unicorn's horn. A low, soft glow was emitted, illumining the cave just enough to see that she was gone. The mini dragon clenched his teeth in anger and in the next second the manticores’ eyes snapped open.
* * *
Lily's steps being too silent to hear were the results of no steps at all. She had simply stopped and waited until the footfalls of the dragon faded. Then she had backed out of the cave. Once out in the light again she hurried back towards the steep hill that would lead her to the berry patch. Now she had to sneak back past the monsters again. It was even worse now. The manticore could very likely be woken up by the dragon and bring more danger.
She didn't like leaving him alone in there because she was not too sure how well he could escape but he was there by his own choice of trying to put her in danger and there was not anything she could do against the manticore anyway. The dragon was more capable than her in that situation.
A massive roar echoed out of the cave. The dragon came shooting out with his wings pumping as fast as they could go. He had no idea that he wasn’t being chased. The manticore was growing fat off berries this time of year and didn't want to waste energy chasing a small scalely meal when he had a feast of berries so close by.
The min dragon never looked behind him though. He flew out of the cave both scared and angry. The moment that he was outside he spotted the little filly trying to climb up the steep slope. It was a treacherous climb in which one could not go too fast or risk bringing the rocks tumbling down.
All that the dragon could think about was being tricked again. He was so angry at that little filly that he didn't think at all. He simply acted, wanting to keep her from running away once again. He flew at the steep hill with his claws starting to glow. He slammed, talons first into the middle of the hill a ways above the filly and sending a shockwave through it. Rocks began tumbling down. With a triumphant grin he looked down the steep slope as the rocks began to cascade and spread his wings to fly. Before the first flap he felt something hard slam into the back of his head.
He had been so focused on the filly and his rage that he had put himself in danger. He tried to fly or teleport but his vision was blurred and his head was swimming. Quickly everything went black as the rocks continued to tumble down the slope.
* * *
When the dragon awoke he was a little surprised that he had woken up at all. Even more surprising was that he was not covered in rocks or had any other real injuries save a large lump on the back of his head. That and his right wing felt like it had been bitten near the base. Even stranger was that he was at the bottom of the hill hidden in a mound of high grass. He slowly got up while clutching his head.
Did he crawl here in a daze? He looked out of the grass stalks. He could see where the rocks had tumbled down and from there a set of hoof prints leading to and from his patch of grass. That little filly had grabbed him, by the wing from the feel of it and had yanked him out of the way or something. She had probably hidden him her to hide him from the predators that roamed the forest.
The mini dragon snorted. "Good at least that filly recognizes what she owes me for what-" He growled at his own ungrateful response.
"Yeah, but she tricked me all those times!" He snapped out loud at his own convicting feelings.
Something she would not have done if not for you making her play pointless games.
The dragon's pride cringed at that inner voice. "She left me alone with the manticore!"
After you tried to make her go in alone and all for your pride and bitterness.
"It's not my pride and bitterness! It's because of what ponies are!"
What are you?
It went this way for some time with the mini dragon arguing with concepts and those thoughts that just would not go away. Why would they not go away and leave him alone? After a while though he sat there and just felt ashamed. His pride and habitual self rebelled against feeling shame but he let it overtake him anyway. Sometimes it was good to feel shame. He knew that he could keep fighting it down and talking over to where he would never hear it again but he knew that that was a terrible place to be. He knew because he had been on its edge for so long. His mind still argued but after opening the door a bit but those arguments suddenly didn't mean so much anymore. Especially as he stared at the prints leading to the grass patch and away.
He sat for some time just thinking and staring at those prints. Finally, he got up and stretched his wings. He decided to go home and finally leave her alone. What a waste of time and trouble he had provided for the both of them. He wished that he could do something for her. After all, saving the life of a creature that gave you so much headache and nearly got you hurt or killed deserved something in return. He hadn’t really intended to harm her but in his rage he very well could have.
Part of it was that he knew that if he didn't do something this would not leave him alone but he also genuinely wanted to repay her somehow. He could go and apologize even though the very thought made his stomach tighten and his throat gag. He would go and do it though if it didn't seem so empty in measuring up against the bad he had done. She probably didn’t want to see his face anyway.
At least he could completely leave her alone as she had requested. He could at least give her that one wish. That one wish! Well there was something he could do for her that he always swore that he would never do for anyone, especially a pony.
Author's Note
The dragon is arguing with the inner voice that many of us humans often hear when we realize something or forced to face something but don't want to accept it. He's not crazy.
How Lily got her "creepy" super strength
Lily hadn’t even thought about what she was doing when she saved him. She simply saw him fall as rocks were rolling down towards him. The next thing she knew she was beside him and grabbing him by a wing with the only thing that she could hold on to something with while running. Her mouth.
It was mostly a blur as she was half running and half tumbling down the hill while taking the dragon with her. Somehow he had the presence of mind to run at an angle instead of straight down. The dragon was surprisingly light despite him being a little more than twice her size. He was made for flying though.
Once at the bottom she didn't know what to do with him except hide him from passing predators and then get back to Prickles. She hoped dearly that he would stay passed out until she could get her pet out from under the boulder. If she could ever get him out from under it.
Getting back through the berry patch wasn’t hard since the other monsters had heard the manticore's roar and just as the dragon had said they had all fled. She was glad that she didn't have to deal with that thing. The timber wolves and chimera was bad enough.
Upon reaching the boulder Lily sat down and sighed. She sat there a few minutes, staring dismally at the hug rock. Then she took a deep breath and went back to work. The only thing that she could think to do was dig. The ground was still just as hard and now it was getting rocky. It wasn’t long before her hoofs were sore and she had made no real progress. She tried encouraging him. She tried looking for a downed branch to use as a leaver even though she knew that there was no budging it. She tried everything that she could think of but in the end she just went back to digging again.
Suddenly she heard the beat of a leathery set of wings. She laid her head in her hoofs and groaned, "Why can't you just leave me alone. Just let me get my hedgehog and I'll be gone from here."
"Don't worry. I'm not here for any more games," The dragon replied. "I...you saved my life. I'm....ua….look I can help you with getting your hedgehog. You see, I...you did something that I never would have done for anyone who treated me the way that I treated you. I want to give you something in return. You see, we mini dragons have the power to grant wishes."
Lily tipped her head sideways and looked at him with one eye. She wasn’t sure if she should believe him or be expecting a trick. He sounded sincere but after all of his behavior before she didn't think that it would be wise to trust him so quickly. Especially when what he was saying sounded a little farfetched. There was a lot of magic in the world but granting wishes was considered to be proven to only be an element of wishful tales, no pun intended. She sighed and put her head back in her hoofs as she thought.
"Really!" The dragon insisted. "I'll help you get your hedgehog out but first let me grant you a wish." With her head in her hoofs Lily didn't notice that the little red dragon had begun to glow slightly. "Just tell me what to you want? I mean it does have limits and I can grant only one since every time we grant a wish our magic is cut in half for a few days but just tell me. What do you wish for the most? If I can, I'll give it to you."
Lily sat up and yelled, "I wish that I could just pick up this rock and toss it aside so I could get my pet and leave this forest! I wish I could do that whenever he got trapped under something so I wouldn't have to worry about this anymore!"
"Oh, that so easy!" The little dragon declared. "I can help you with your pet and grant a wish all at once!"
Lily turned her head to see the glowing dragon raise his claws in the air as rays of light flashed from them. She flinched but the only thing she felt was a sensation as if someone had sprinkled water on her. Water that oddly was not wet. She opened her eyes to see the dragon standing there with a happy grin on his face. "There," He said. "You will have no problem lifting that boulder and anything else that he crawls under. I really don't know just big an object that you can lift since the wishing side of our magic has a bit of a life of its own but that boulder will be no problem." With that he vanished leaving Lily staring at an empty space.
Was it true, she wondered. No it had to be a trick. She glanced around at the trees certain that he was watching her. What was he up too? Or was it true? Whatever it was she was sure that he was watching from somewhere. She definitely didn't want to get tricked but she also wanted to get her hedgehog and leave pretty badly.
"You mean that I can just reach out," She slid her hoofs under the boulder using the shallow hole that she had dug as she spoke, "And pick it up like-eeep!" She squealed as the boulder lifted easily above her head. Lily stood there a moment not believing what she was seeing. Neither could Prickles who was crouched on the ground and staring at her with bulging eyes.
"Is this happening?" Lily asked as she held the boulder that felt as light as a playground ball. "Maybe it's just an Everfree Forest trick." She tossed the boulder aside. The was a loud wooden crack as it collided with a tree snapping the trunk and proving it’s weight.
Lily stared down at her hoofs still not sure how to react. Prickles came creeping up and she knew how to react there. She picked him up with one hoof and shook the other in his face. "Prickles Pricklbutt don't you ever sneak off like this again and don't you ever go near this forest again! Do you understand!?" Prickles nodded his head rapidly.
* * *
Since the monsters had retreated from the berry patch Lily decided to stop and eat some for when would she ever get a chance to again? Humming to herself she walked out into the patch only to find herself staring down a huge manticore. After being woken up and unable to go back to sleep the creature had decided to return to the berry patch. He was already mean and was now in a pretty bad mood. With a snarl he jumped in front of her and stoop up on his hind legs giving out a ferocious roar that nearly knocked her over. Lily froze on the spot for a moment as the manticore stood snarling over her but then an idea entered her head. She quickly reached out and slid a hoof under both of his foot paw. She lifted him up as easily as she would pick up her hedgehog and set him aside out her way.
The manticore stared in confusion at her. Lily held up a hoof to indicate him to wait a moment and hurried back into the trees. She came back carrying a boulder with one hoof. She held it not quite as if to throw it but pretty close.
The manticore looked at her then up at the rock. He scratched his head and then quietly sidled off to the other side of the patch where he left her alone to eat all the berries that she wanted.
* * *
A little more than an hour later she approached the edge of the forest with Prickles riding on her back. She spotted the same fallen tree that had tripped over her on the way in. She walked up to it and easily picked it up.
What they didn't notice was a certain classmate that was on walking on an overlooking hill while on her way to pick up posters for her class president campaign. Her mouth was hanging open as she stared down at Lily.
"What!? Is that Lily!? The pony with the stupid hedgehog cutie mark," She cried. "How did she...I didn't know she had a secret like that!" Slowly though the expression of astonishment became a grin. An awful, terrible grin. "Another secret that will ensure that somepony votes for me," She said pulling out a notebook and quill.
(And you know the rest of the story. Unless of course, by rare chance you haven't seen The Crusaders Of The Lost mark episode which I would recommend. It's awesome and if you don't sooner or later someone is going to spoil it for you.)
Author's Note
This story now has a sequel Lily Mare Do Well
How Lily got her "creepy" super strength
Author's Note
This is just based on a what if though that stayed in my head after seeing Lily lift up the school house in Crusaders of the Lost Mark.
Bonus Chapter
The school day after the election ended with little foals chatting excitedly as they left. Some walked out heading straight home and others followed after Pip as they gave endless suggestions on how he could convince the school board to fund the new playground. The joy was thick in the air after finally having a new class president. Some practically wiped their brows in relief. Lily Longsocks watched them as she retrieved her book bag. Their reactions were rather curious to her for they were the ones responsible for voting her in the first place.
Lily shrugged. She had another issue on her mind. Every foal knew about her super strength. At the moment they were too excited over Pip’s win to focus on it. It also wasn’t like that had never seen strange happing’s or magic but sooner or later they would come asking. Hopefully she could convince them to keep the secret. After all foals had to stick together.
Lily slung her book bag across her back and watched as the last of her classmates ran out to catch up with Pip. She hadn’t lived in Ponyville all that long but she was already sure that most of the fillies and colts were pretty nice. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were the only bad apples she had met in the little town so far. Perhaps it would be just one now though. Silver Spoon was following Pip along with the rest of the class.
“Is something wrong Lily?” The voice of Mrs. Cheerilee broke Lily out of her thoughts.
Lily looked up into her teachers concerned eyes. “Oh..uh..no. Just thinking about the election.”
Mrs. Cheerilee looked at the retreating group of foals. “I’m kinda’ glad with the outcome. It was about time that Diamond was taken down a notch and I mean that for her own good. I just hope that she will learn from this rather than just becoming bitter.”
“I think that the Cutie Mark Crusaders went to talk to her,” Lily replied as she headed for the door. “Hopefully they can help her.”
“I hope so too. Perhaps I’ll go have a talk with her parents tomorrow and see how she is doing,” Cheerilee said. “Are you sure that you’re alright. You seem a little anxious.”
“I’m fine,” Lily assured her. “I’m just eager to get home and tell my parents what happed at school today.” With that Lily fled out the door. She hated being rude to the nicest teacher that she had ever met but now that her secret was out she couldn’t help but feel transparent.
Mrs. Cheerilee watched her go wishing that her students would be a little more honest with her. They would find out that she could actually help them a lot. She shrugged and sighed before heading out the door. She locked the school house behind her and waived to Lily who was heading down the path. Lily smiled a little too big as he waived back.
Mrs. Cheerilee shook her head and started off in the opposite direction. She hadn’t gone too far before she suddenly stopped. “Oh, ponyfeathers. I forgot to grade any papers in all the excitement today,” she muttered to herself. I’ll just take them home with me.” She turned and made her way back to the school house.
* * *
“It’s been an exciting day, Prickles,” Lily said looking back at her book bags. “Pip won instead of Diamond Tiara. They stood up against her bullying and fake charismatic niceness. Me too. I almost fell for her show of friendliness a couple times in the past but you only have to look back on what she’s done in the past to know that she’s not a pony that you would want for president. She didn’t win this time though and now we have a president who wants to actually use the position as what it was meant for. I mean seriously? A statue of her?
There was no response. Lily stopped and took her book bag off her back. Prickles always came out when she headed home from school.
“Prickles? Are you sleeping?” Lily asked as she opened the bag. Inside there were her books, quills and paper, even the little nest Lily had made for her pet hedgehog but no Prickles. Lily face hoofed. “Not again.” She groaned. “He knows that if he comes to school with me he has to stay in the book bags!” Lily swung her book bag onto her back and galloped towards the school house.
The country quaint little building was soon in sight. Heading straight for the playground Lily scanned the ruined and damaged equipment. The last that she had seen him was out here just before the last campaign. A quick search of the playground turned up nothing and Lily’s eyes fell on the school house. He did love to burrow under things including buildings.
“At least I don’t have to worry about heavy things anymore,” Lily said aloud. She trotted over to the edge of the building and slid her hooves under the foundations. With one easy pull she lifted the school house above her head.
Instead of just hearing sliding desks Lily heard the high pitched scream of her teacher. Lily yelped dropping the building.
“Cuur.” A tiny little voice sounded our behind her. Lily spun around to see prickles crawling out from under the fallen merry-go round, covered in dirt and rubbing sleepy eyes. Lily snatched up the little hedgehog and bolted.
The door to the school house slung open. Mrs. Cheerilee’s head poked out amid a flurry of ungraded papers.
“Wha…what….?” The wide eyed teacher looked around the path but saw nopony or anything out of the ordinary was to be seen. She ran around the building but only to find everything as it should be.
As her teacher stood flabbergasted Lily was racing away. Her ears were laid back and her hoofs pounded the earth as she propelled herself home with all her might. Prickles stood on her back all the way with one paw holding on to her mane and the other in the air. A huge grin was plastered on his tiny little face as he cried out, “Weeeeeeeee!”
(When Lily lifted up the school during the vote song I started wondering what if Mrs. Cheerilee was inside?)
