Author's Note
Hey! Just wanted to let everyone know that before you read this, THERE IS NO DIALOG This was a challenge I set up for myself, to have an entire story without any dialog whatsoever. and Man was it hard. Anyways, here ya go!
A Change In Pace
Manehattan. A bustling city of fashion and upper class. Ponies line the streets, rushing around to get to their destination albeit a fashion show, party, or wedding. Pristina Fair was no different. Her magenta mane and tail bouncing with her trot along with her pearl necklace, dodging other ponies with finesse and ease, the sidewalks of Manehattan were her second home. Not a day went by she didn't follow in everyone else's hoofsteps. Only instead of attending such affairs, she was setting them up.
As an event planner, Pristina never took time for herself. Her daily routine consisted of clients, clients, and more clients. Occasionally, sleep. But she didn’t complain; it was her special talent, her Cutie Mark. And she loved the results every time. Alas, she didn’t have many ponies to share this with. Her business was run by herself, not because she didn’t like working with others, quite the opposite. Her line of work simply requires a keen eye that not everyone has. Those she calls friends are merely returning clients, only preferring her skills over other event planners in the area.
On this particular afternoon, one of Pristina’s “friends” was having a meeting with a coworker to congratulate them on a promotion. Afterwards, there’s to be a party held at a park just outside of the city, thanks to a telegram the mare received this morning from her client. Having looked at a map prior, she knew there would be a shorter way to come about getting to the park without taking any main roads with the mid-day traffic through the forest nearby. Her bags of party supplies in tow in her deep purple-ish magic, she reached the edge of the city. The surrounding forest was lined with caution tape.
Bright yellow letters screamed “KEEP OUT. SPELL TESTING ZONE.” Meanwhile, nearby in the Manehattan University of Magic, students prepared spells to test late in the evening in those very woods. No spell had ever been harmful to the trees or animals, or the ponies in the city close by. At least not in the past few decades. Pristina, affixing her mane and checking her bags, approached the treeline, leaving the smog and babble of the city behind her. The trees of the forest loomed over her head, blocking out most of Celestia’s noon sunlight instantaneously.
The indigo light of Pristina's magic grew around her as she walked further into impending darkness, her supplies in tow. The canopy of leaves stood tall overhead as the ground deepened beneath her hooves. A brighter spark of her deep ocean magic sparked to life, guiding her way through the overgrown roots, moss, and wildlife. Not a single sound was heard, save for the crunching of twigs and grass beneath hooves. No animals scurried away as she walked, if there were any to be found at all, and no winds to brush against the leaves. Silence surrounded her, accompanied by the smell of growing plants and moss underneath and above her, and the coolness of the darkened forest. A forest, she thought, that'd be eventually torn down to make way for an ever-growing city. To become a place of pavement and street lights, and one day be forgotten there were ever trees here at all. And yet, she marched forward, not a care in the world as to how many hundreds of years of hard pony work and affection put into every bit of mulch and rock beneath her latest hooficure.
Her mind was clear. Get to the party early, set up shop. Clean up quickly, and make it in time for the next appointment. Whilst counting the amount of sleep she might be getting that night, Pristina took no notice to the shift in her environment. Bushes lined the bottoms of trees, vines creeped down from towering treetops, and a slight breeze could be felt. A warm breeze. A warm, odory breeze. Breathing. Something was breathing. The orchid colored mare dared not turn around, immobilized in fear. It came closer, Pristina now able to feel where the beast's separate nostrils were. A blue glow followed suit, much dimmer than her own, but no less massive. Breathe in, breathe out. Stillness. When she thought it was gone, the mare inched her hoof forward, forward, forward. Snap. A head-splitting roar shook the very earth itself as concerns were thrown to the wind, and hooves patted the damp ground faster than a locomotive. Dipping and dodging, jumping and swerving, all to avoid the plant life; the natural entities that seem to be after her. She peered back as the thundering steps subsided, the forest posing its own constellation beneath the trees. And yet she still ran, her eye shadow running down the sides of her face. Up until a branch, covered tip to base in thorns, ripped through her mane and ear, tearing hair off of both. Wincing in pain and now off-balance, she tripped over a previously uprooted tree, and fell over a short cliff to the lowest level of ground, inches away from landing face-first on rigid rocks as she looked at them in fear. As if one movement would cause them to strike.
Shaken and roughed up but still mobile, Pristina checked around for all of her belongings, still determined to get to her destination. All but one bag remained- the food. Thinking to herself as she gathered her things in the deepness of the forest, she concluded that the creature was after only that. Her big-time city food, brought into the unknown. While irked at the idea of losing event supplies, she was more than thankful for her life. She owed Celestia for whatever force caused that, that thing to go for her food instead. The mare’s head stung, the feeling of the branch and thorns just now catching up to her through her adrenaline. She searched her bags for some ribbon, taking matters into her own hooves and wrapping one around her ear to help the cuts. Her magic enveloped her pearl necklace as well, bringing it and her hair behind her head, wrapping the jewelry around it, clasping it into a ponytail. With wounds tended to and mane out of the way, she continued on, her baggage following close behind in her signature blue magic.
Now deeper in the forest than she ever thought she’d be, Pristina had nowhere to go but forward. Sheer darkness engulfed her, nighttime in the midst of day. A strange place filled with even stranger things. As the weight of constant magic set in, Pristina twisted her neck left and right, desperately searching for another light source. Nothing. Nothing. A light blue speck in the distance. Nothing. She snapped her head back, eyes wide. The flight flickered and bounced, but stayed true. Hope flowed through Pristina as she took the sprint to capture whatever brought such light forth. Gently it bobbed, swaying back and forth as it slowly moved away as she ran towards it, causing it to dart away just before it fell to her grasp. The mare examined the light closer, and in squinting, she saw tattered dragonfly wings attached to it. She tried again with her magic, and it phased right through it. A being made of light and magic. Nothing more, nothing less.
The creature- fairy, Pristina decided- drifted away slowly, gaining speed. Unable to keep up her spells any longer, the mare took the bags in her mouth and carried them along. The hundred-year old tree towered above her head still, as she finally gazed up to meet their darkened stare. Such a big city pony as herself felt minuscule in comparison to this forest.And yet, monsters, darkness, and all, the forest felt welcoming with the light of her newfound friend. It moved at a constant rate, showing no signs of tire or reluctance to continue on. The tiny ball of light danced around trees and hanging vines, as if excited to show the orchid mare something. After a while of guiding, it zipped away in a blur. Pristina took no second for granted as she chased down her only hope of finding her way out of here alive. In an instant, it was gone. Perpetual darkness seeped towards the mare, the utter silence beginning to consume her until- it came back. The fairy jumped around in front of her before it darted to the ground. Pristina thought nothing of it until she noticed it circling around a fungus. Curiously, she brought her hoof up to touch it gently. It began to glow a calming teal color, lighting up a small, narrow path of grass ahead, stopping just before another mushroom.
Pristina stepped lightly on the bright grass illuminated before her. Arriving at the next mushroom, she tapped it softly, and followed its segment of path. Recycling the process four more times, the mare noticed her fairy friend zipping away from her and quickly coming back. At the end of the grass where the light dwindled off, no fungi arose from the infinite night of the forest. Leaving her bags, Pristina took a few steps forward with her hoof outstretched to prevent her from running into anything unpleasant. Her hoof barely brushed up against something much sturdier than a mushroom. The mare looked back to see her luggage at the lit grass a few yards back.Her fairy friend was nowhere to be found as she looked forward again to place her hoof on the mass. Wood. A tree. A tall, very firm tree that billowed from the ground.
A glow of green could be seen coming from underneath the ground. The earth beneath Pristina grew brighter and brighter, the forest lighting up like Hearth’s Warming Eve lights. The aura climbed up the gargantuan tree, creating a gradient from green to blue to purple. Towards the canopy stood darkness, still. The vines that draped down were a brilliant magenta. Other trees began to show their colors, most a variety of greens; leaving the thicker, long-aged trees for gradients to blues and indigos. The tree that stood in front of the mare, the only one to have three colors on it’s thick body. The very heart of this forest. She soon realized that this tree towered above the rest. Noticeably, even from the ground. It watched over the rest of the forest, a protector. On its trunk, scars and markings from fires and floods, from other trees and from animals that’d previously called it home. Hundreds of years this tree has been here, guarding the very life around it.
Pristina stared up at the tree, its loving branches carrying beds of sleeping leaves. There she stood, watching, listening to its stories, and understanding the world a little better, until her tattered-winged friend fluttered back into view. She trotted up to it in greeting before noticing the large glow following it of its same color. Dozens upon dozens of fairies emerged from the bright forest, spreading around the oldened tree, almost motionless; a small, fairy-spaced gap awaiting Pristina’s friend.
Once Pristina's fairy friend joined the others, they began to move in sync, dancing in ritual as they began to glow brighter. The faint sound of bells could be heard as they bobbed together around the old tree. As the ring of lights slowly constricted around the trunk, the bright blue auras began to change. From purple to red, to orange to yellow as it glowed brighter still. Borderline blinding to Pristina, after having been in such a dark place for what felt like hours. Hours. She'd been in here for hours. Her stomach growled and her head hurt something nasty. Her stomach yelled at her again, threatening to erupt again. The mare rushed over to her bags by the edge of the now brighter lighted grass, poking her head inside; fresh out of food. She sighed and hunched over the bags as the tree behind her sent a magical pulse through the air and ground, sending waves of energy in every direction.
A tiny ball of light and tattered wings quickly took notice and zipped all around her to get her attention. Once obtained, the sprite went off to the far side of the clearing, bobbing up and down waiting for the mare. She nodded, grabbing her bags and walking along behind them, leaving the heart of the forest. The trees stayed lit for as long as she could see in this place, leaving the darkness to the canopies. The path ahead easier to see now, Pristina could see a big body of glow becoming more and more prominent in the ground. She trotted along, picking up her pace, before realizing it was a pond. Leaning over the side, she saw straight through to the bottom, as if staring through glass. Crystal clear yet reminiscent against the rest of the woods, untouched, the water was pure and crisp. Sand and dirt dare not muster up this body of life. Looking to her fair friend for the answers to her inner questions, it gently landed on a blade of grass, bobbing up and down over the water before tilting it's tattered wing towards it. Pristina carefully and graciously drank the seemingly sacred water to her friend, but once she tasted it, she drank and drank and drank.
As she wipes the excess water off of her muzzle, she spotted a bush out of the corner of her eye. The branches glowed a healthy plant green, a younger bush, she decided. On it, she realized, were small bunches of berries. They were sky blue in colors, and had small crows close to where the fruit connected to the stem. Testing her strength, she picked a few with her magic, only to be startled into dropping them when the crowns exploded in bright blue sparks. To herself, she thought they “zazzled” when she plucked them, for lack of a better word. She picked the fruits off the ground and rinsed them in the pond. Popping one into her mouth, she examined the taste and texture of it, never having seen one before. Tart was its skin, but its center was sweet and juicy. After a short-lived aftertaste, Pristina didn’t feel tired anymore. Her aches and pains from running and falling were gone, her magic rejuvenated, her fatigue vanished; ready to get moving. Though, her stomach still felt empty as it cried out for a full meal, but for now she could manage. Full of energy, the mare started back up her magic and carried her bags with her, back to where her friend of light bobbed up and down. She smiled at them, eyes ablaze with determination, warming her to the core as her aura positively glowed around her.
They started onward again, in the general direction of her destination, as Pristina felt something growing in her. As important as getting home was, she couldn't help but find herself attached to this place. She hardly knew it, but it changed her. It challenged her, showed her more parts of life, and reminded her that sometimes a break from fancy foods and pony-made lighting is good for the soul. And being serine and at peace is what the forest does best. As Pristina trotted through the rows of glistening trees, each one a tad dimmer than the last, the utmost silence still filled her ears, less alien now than when she first entered, having come from nothing but a world of hooves on pavement and yelling. Out here, where smog subsided for fresh, pure air, and all sounds were left at the treeline, where the water didn’t have to run through a mixture of machine and magic, there was only tranquility. A sensation that Pristina wished she could experience once a day. Time to herself, away from stress, noise, troubles, and even time itself. Something to remind her that there’s more to her life than a checklist of party supplies and pretending to like a client’s idea. But visitation is all she’d allow herself. To stay here permanently is to disrupt the peace this place stood so long for. A marking that shows ‘new and improved’ isn’t always the best of things.
As Pristina pondered to herself, the vines and brushery began to subside, all while her fair friend guided her still to the closest edge of the forest. She felt almost reluctant to leave, but she knew that her life outside this surreal world that awaited her. After a good while of walking, she saw it. The smallest ray of light peeking through the canopy, strong enough to make a small patch of light on the group before her. She quickened her pace, heart pumping as she ran right up to the edge of the shadows. She stopped, unable to believe she’d made it. Pristina set her bags down with her magic and turned to her friend to thank them, and found them bobbing slowly behind her. She assured them that they’d meet again, and the ball of light nuzzled against her cheek before bobbing away as it does. The mare turned back, picking up her bags again and looked up at the light dripping in through the leaves, thanking Celestia for waiting for her.She stepped through the threshold of light, blinding her in an instant. Sound flooded back into her ears, a dam finally released. Her hearing almost hyper-sensitive, she heard everything; trees rustling, animals scurrying, and ponies playing in the distance. Foals. The park.
Her tattered bags still in tow, she raced towards the sound, finding herself closer to the playground than she thought. She watched the children run and play, flying kites and playing ball. Confused, she looked from her bags of supplies to the fillies and colts and then back again. There shouldn’t have been anypony there by the time she was supposed to set up. Pristina looked up at the sun, her hoof over her eyes, to see it hadn’t changed it’s position in the sky at all since she entered the forest. As if time had stopped- or slowed down. She was sure she’d spent hours in those woods, but the sun and ponies proved otherwise. A concerned stallion with his son came up to her, having seen her frazzled mane, torn-up ear and confused look; almost scared. He asked if she was okay, and in return Pristina only asked for the time, seeing the watch on his left hoof. When he told her, it’d only been a few minutes since she’d last checked the time while in the city. She sat on her haunches in disbelief, while the stallion and colt walked away. A moment later, an idea hit her like a brick to the face. She dashed off out of the park around the forest to the farmer’s market on the outskirts of the city.
Around four, fillies and colts left with parents while high-class ponies came in, looking for their elegant party. Instead, what they found was a simple park. From nowhere, the darker playground lit up, showing the setup to them all. Fake vines intertwined with pink lights flashed on, bright blue balls of light hung from branches, and trees had lights wrapped around them from the trunk up. The tables were simple, made of wood, obviously hoof-crafted. They carried atop of them fresh-baked pastries, and a large punch bowl with flavored water in it, with several berries in them, still zazzling, not unlike fireworks. The ponies awed at the calming scene before them, caught entirely off-guard. The serenity of the park couldn’t be matched in the rest of Equestria, save for one secret place. A light track of piano music began to play, keeping the silence from being awkward. As Pristina adjusted a vine with her magic, she turned to see the mare who had hired her still awestruck at the scene before her. She reminded the magenta-maned mare that this is nothing like what she had asked for, Pristina’s ego being struck as if by lightning. Seeing this, the other mare quickly assured Pristina that the decor was amazing, and the surprise is pleasant.
Pristina watched as she walked to another small group of ponies to start chatting before the mare felt something move in her mane. She moved her hoof up to her mass of hair, still held up by her pearl necklace, and shimmied it around. A familiar glow popped out, floating right onto her nose. She looked at it, the tattered wings she loved so much making her smile. Slipping away from the crowd, Pristina found her way back to the opening of the forest she escaped from earlier. The mare pushed on for her friend to go home, but it stayed stubbornly in her mane. She laughed and thought for a moment, agreeing to let them stay, but they needed a name. In the air itself, the ball swooped around, leaving a trail of light that read “Lightbreeze”. Pristina nodded and welcomed her new friend. Walking back to the party, she knew in her mind that she’d be able to see her life in a new set of eyes.
