The Psilocybience

"Perhaps there is always pain when you touch something larger than ordinary life"

"Applejack, isn't the road supposed to be protected by Celestia's magic?" Sweetie Belle inquired.

A thin trickle of sweat ran down the earth pony's forehead as she replied, trying to make the issue seem less important than the observation, "Well you're a sharp little whippersnapper aren't ya? Yea, Ah'd think. At least that's the way the tale goes".

The filly positively beamed at her rightness yet despite Applejack's efforts, it slowly dawned on her that something was indeed quite wrong. "So... does that mean there's stuff stronger than Celestia's magic?" She said this as though such a thought were blasphemous, the gears in her head starting to tumble with interpretations that AJ had chosen to ignore.

"Now I don't know a whole lot about magic but, if it was outright stronger than Celestia, Ah don't think this would be much of a path here. It's probably just that it's been unchecked so long they're finally poking a few holes, that's all. Look", she pointed with a hoof, "these spores here are tiny, struggling like they aren't living in the right conditions. Ah'd bet a bushel of apples that Celestia's magic is the only reason the path isn't carpeted right now"

"OH that is a good theory!"

"Well it's the best Ah can think of although right now Ah figure that in a few years once you really get into your magic training, you'd be able to come up with better", Applejack stated modestly.

The ponies continued their trudge through the deepening wood until they came across a split in the path. Unlike the right fork, which was much the same as they had been trotting on, the left fork was nearly overgrown with fungus- it was the path to Zecora's hut. Applejack paled and let out a quiet, stressed whinney. She hadn't known what to expect, but she had been hoping with every ounce of her spirit that the wise zebra would have been prepared in some way. There were few with greater knowledge of the forest and it's contents than Zecora, perhaps none with similar wisdom that were on friendly terms with Ponyville.

Sweetie Belle interrupted her reverie with a shrill squeal, a note of surprise but not immediate danger. Nonetheless, the orange mare spun around, heart racing in her chest.

"Why you silly filly! Scaring me half to death and.. What on earth are you doin' eating that? You don't know what it could do to you!"

The smaller pony had a guilty look on her face as a thick yellow stem poked it's body out between her teeth. A sucking noise followed by the disappearance of the plant-matter into Sweetie Belle's gullet was almost enough to break Applejack's forced, calm demeanor. She waited, tense, to see if there would be any immediate reaction. In case it was poisonous enough of a shroom to be obvious right away, she was ready and trained to perform a Hooflich maneuver.

"Huh, It tasted like a normal mushroom although maybe it was a little bitter..." She blinked innocently, attempting to evade a lecture she knew was probably coming.

"Why you... Ah'm startin' to think it was a bad idea to bring you out here, what with you takin' all sorts of unnecessary risks and all."

"I was just hungry, I haven't eaten since breakfast and I love mushrooms! Did you know, Rarity says truffles are a del-i-cacy!" There was a note of triumph in her voice, as if anything Rarity said made everything else a moot point.

"Hmmph," AJ's nostril's flared in mild disdain, "well you seem ok, but we don't know about Zecora. I think we ought to check out her place, see what we can find."

Finding herself off the hook, the pink and purple maned pony took off with a great bound down the left path, kicking fungus up in her devastating wake. Shaking her head, amused, Applejack followed a short distance behind.

It was half a turn of the clock when Zecora's clearing appeared before them. Well, once it had been a clearing. Now, the red growths had choked out everything up to the small shelter; even the well kept herb gardens were no longer apparent. None of it was a good sign, not the creeping invaders, not the overgrown path, and especially not the door to the hut, hanging open ominously, the shadowy interior indiscernible past that looming mouth.

"Applejack, I feel-"

"Not now Sweetie Belle, Ah need to check inside there for signs of... anything".

Swallowing her fear, the mare took a tentative hoofstep through the doorway. Her throat was dry, tongue parched as she struggled to cross that dread threshold. Her eyes steadily adjusted to the dark, enough for her to make out the rough shapes of furniture but not enough to pick out any real details.

"Oh I know!" Exclaimed Sweetie Belle from a few paces behind, "Twilight just taught me this trick last week!" She screwed her eyes up in concentration, a vein throbbing out on her forehead. White light began to shimmer up the length of her horn, coalescing into a globe of white energy. With a final grunt, she rammed her horn forwards, knocking the ball through the open door.

From behind Applejack, Sweetie Belle could see a room deserted as if left for only a minute but never returned to. A couldron sat over a fire that had burned down unevenly, the logs not having shifted at all. A hardened crust of some grime covered the broth in the pot and several piles of herbs could be seen scattered across wooden counters as if waiting to be tossed in. If the yard is that messy and this room looks like it was just left for what was meant to be a minute... That means Zecora must have been gone for awhile!

Coming to the same conclusion Applejack said, "Why don't you keep an eye outside while I poke around in here a little more?"

"Ok!" The filly turned point and plopped her flank onto the ground, training her gaze hither and thither in search of any other presence. She could hear Applejack behind her, shuffling things around and turning things over to look for any clues of a struggle or kidnapper.

That was when it began, a sensation in her stomach that trickled around inside her slowly, shifting down her body to her hooves faster than it crawled to her face. The tingling began to morph her sensory input, distorting and melding senses together. The jagged bark on a tree erupted into a toothy grin, guffawing at her jaw slackened in disbelief. A breeze whipped through her mane and caused a bright flash of orange across her field of view, the color as cheerful as a Scootaloo who had learned to fly.

It was as if a demented yet playful sort of chaos had been let loose inside her being.

Every beam of light had a swirling tail, swatting away the flies of darkness as they buzzed around the clearing. Each leaf on any tree she gazed at had it's own smiling face, winking at her mischievously. Dust motes glistened and laughed, drifting idly by in their own universe, embodiments of Xen.

Sweetie Belle wondered where this brand new universe had come from, has this sprung from my mind directly or has it always existed, hiding inside of the Everfree just waiting to be discovered? She swayed with the rhythm of this new world, peaceful in her bliss.

She listened to her nerve endings. Each stimuli, be it a gust of air rustling her hairs or a patch of light on her hide, was whispering a conversations to it's neighbors. The whorls of each mushroom cap called to her sweetly, singing:

Sweetie Belle, Sweetie Belle

Can you see us now?

We've wanted to speak with you

But didn't know how

So here we are, face to face

Have you any questions for us to taste?

The patch of spores that had addressed her were positively flushed with revel at their collective cleverness, happy with their successful communication.

The filly giggled at the nonsensical nature of everything happening around her

"Now what in tar-nation are you laughing at?" Applejack stood at her shoulder, stone serious and frowning in concern.

Oh no! Not her! That bucking mare

She'd like us gone, out of her hair

But we'll say NO! The power here

Resides in us, not her, my dear

To Applejack, this exchange was non-existent. One moment she had been questioning Sweetie Belle's seemingly random mirth and the next, blackness had enveloped her, rooting her in place. She was immobile and snared, unable to see or smell or taste anything other than the dark.

When, before her very eyes, Applejack morphed into a cluster of 4 mushrooms (one stalk for each leg), Sweetie Belle did the only appropriate thing she could have- scream at the top of her lungs and bolt in terror.

The blood cells, carrying what a scientist would classify as Psilocybin, pumped around her small body as she sprinted as fast as she could back towards Ponyville. As the chemical spread farther through her bloodstream, Sweetie Belle lost more and more clarity of thought. All around her tiny voices shrilled in horror as she stomped her way back down the overgrown path. Her ears lay flat against her skull, attempting to block out the bone-chilling cries.

Come, Stay with us!

She came upon the split of the regular path: left to go deeper and right, towards home.

Don't run away from us!

Her eyes were dilated, pupils the size of saucers. She flared her nostrils and stormed away as fast as her hooves could take her. Colors swam around her field of view, darting and swooping at her face, trying to rear her from her course.

We want to play with you!

Rivulets of sweat streamed into Sweetie Belles eyes as she pounded down the path, causing stinging yet shining diamonds to dance before her. She clenched her lids shut, forcing all of her will on escape, lest being lured by amazing sights.

Sweetie Belle, don't be a fool!

Even with her eyes closed, the filly could sense the aura of the place lightening as she approached the exit.

Fine. You've made your mind

The *Psilocybience** will have you.*

Despite the fact that the last sentence spoken sounded far away, those words had the most weight to them. Sweetie Belle burst out into the brightly-lit plains. Relief flooded through her, a surging swell so powerful she collapsed. The last thing she remembered before the enveloping folds of unconsciousness closed around her was the sun looming over her, whispering, "Hush now little one, you're safe now. You're safe."