That’s it! I’m through with trying to predict the weather in the Great Forest! I mean seriously, I went to sleep with Willow as it was pouring rain and howling wind, and the next morning, I open my eyes to see that the sun is shining in the morning dew without a single cloud to be seen! The wind and the floodwaters were all gone too! The only thing to even indicate how monstrous of a storm it was before were the missing branches on the trees and the still soaking ground that was left behind after the rush of water that nearly washed Willow and I away.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh as I cleared my mind of the confusion and rage that had consumed it. “It’s not worth getting upset over, Sapphire. Just be thankful the storm has passed and that you and Willow can continue on your journey without any further trouble.”

“Why are you talking to yourself?” Willow asked as she walked up next to me and sat down, her eyes shining with excitement as she looked out over the glittering forest canopy.

I smiled as I turned my gaze down to the timberpony at my side, “Oh, it’s nothing, just frustrated with how unpredictable the weather is. It’s not that big a deal.”

Willow shrugged as she climbed up onto my back, hooking her hooves around my neck as she secured her hips against my own, “Well then, can you get us down from here? I don’t think I can jump that far without hurting myself.”

I glanced down at the ground below us and realized that the forest floor was a good twenty hooves from the base of our cliffside sanctuary. “Yeah, probably a good idea if we use the trees to get back to the ground.”

With that in mind, I stretched my tail out and secured it to one of the thicker branches on the trees opposite the cliffside, making sure I had a solid grip before shifting my weight forward and into open air. It took some careful balancing, but with a little effort, Willow and I were once again hidden in the upper branches of the forest canopy, although that quickly changed as I climbed down to the ground so Willow could walk on her own. We came into contact with the soaked soil and I shivered as the cold water and mud sank into my belly scales, lowering my body temperature as Willow hopped off my back and nearly tripped on the slippery surface.

“Whoa!” She yelped as her hooves made skid marks in the mud, her balance nearly faltering until I was able to stabilize her with my tail. “Yeah, that might not have been one of my better ideas.”

I giggled as I pulled my tail back, “That would seem to be the case.” I glanced around at the rather waterlogged forest, “Do you think there’s any prey around that avoided the floodwaters?”

Willow took some deep breaths through her nose, although given our current situation I could predict what it was she was going to tell me. “Nope, not a single scent as far as I can tell, but that’s most likely from the water and the rain instead of there being no prey.” She blushed as her stomach growled, placing a hoof over her midsection as she averted her gaze, “What I wouldn’t give for a nice juicy rabbit right now.”

Well that answered my question about her diet, at least in part, “Can you eat anything else besides meat? We might not be able to find prey for a while until they come out of hiding.”

She shook her head before turning in the direction we had been travelling prior to the storm, “I’ll manage to find something. It isn’t the first time I’ve had to go a few days without food. I can hold out for a while until we get into more plentiful hunting grounds.”

I shot her an uncertain look but shrugged my shoulders in defeat as she led me through the brush, her nose to the ground as she struggled to find a fresh scent trail to follow. For a few hours we wandered through the foliage, although our patience was rewarded as Willow’s head shot up and her ears jerked into a forward position. I immediately froze and waited on a held breath as Willow dropped into a hunting crouch and stalked her way through the ferns on our left, keeping her movements slow and deliberate as she made her way towards something I couldn’t see. Just as her tail disappeared into the bushes, I heard the rapid intake of breath of fright as whatever it was sensed danger, but it was already too late. With a bark of aggression and the scuffle of rapid hoofsteps, Willow attacked, causing a short squeal of fear and pain before the forest fell silent again.

Willow returned shortly with a large rabbit dangling from her mouth, her cheeks stained with blood as she held her head high as she nearly pranced back onto the trail. She dropped her catch and began munching on the still warm flesh, the crunching of small bones filling the air as she pulled the small creature apart and swallowed the chunks with barely any chewing involved.

She was about halfway through the rabbit when she glanced up at me, her mouth full of what looked like its liver as she indicated the carcass with a hoof, “Waff shum?”

I shook my head, tapping the shrinking bump that had once been the deer I had eaten, “I’m still good for a few weeks. I ate a whole deer before I left my clan’s hunting grounds. I shouldn’t need to eat anything for a while. Thank you anyway, though. It was a kind thought.”

Willow shrugged as she swallowed the meat in her mouth, “Suite yourself.” She finished off the rest of the rabbit in quick order and was soon rearing to go. “Alright, now that I’m not going to pass out from hunger anymore, let’s get going so we can find your mate.”

She spun on the spot and marched off into the plant life, only pausing when she noticed I wasn’t following along. “Um, you coming, Sapphire?”

I rolled my eyes as I giggled, “My Mating Bond is pulling me in that direction.” I pointed down another trail almost directly to the left of where Willow had been going. “Remind me how exactly you find your way with such a terrible sense of direction?”

Willow huffed as she fell in at my side, following me as we began moving in the proper direction, “Well excuse me if I have to follow the directions of a sense that I can’t feel. It’s not exactly like I can read your mind or anything.”

A snort escaped my muzzle as I failed to hold in my mirth, “Well then I’ll be sure to give you pointers to that way you don’t get turned around.” I gave her shoulder a gentle shove with my elbow as we moved out of the flood path and into more dense foliage, “You’re not doing anything wrong, it’s just funny when you try and be all heroic and end up completely backwards.”

Willow rolled her eyes but chose not to retort, staying at my side as we followed the rather thick game trail as it wound its way through the brush. Yet, the further we ventured into the unknown, I began to notice something odd about the trees that we were passing, “Hey Willow, do you notice anything off about the trees?”

“Hmm?” She glanced up at me before turning her attention to the forest around us, “What do you mean?”

I couldn’t put my tail on it, but something about the rather gigantic trees that surrounded us was putting me on edge, “I can’t really explain it, but for some reason the trees here are making me feel like we’re being watched.”

Willow’s movements became slower and more guarded as she shifted her gaze around us, “You don’t think there’s a predator hiding in the branches, do you?”

I shook my head slowly, my eyes traveling around the titanic grove as we wound our way through them, “No, it doesn’t feel like a predator, more like something very old and very powerful is aware of us, but not sure how to react.”

Willow nodded, although her careful steps made it clear she was still unsure about the situation, “Alright Sapphire, but I’m keeping an eye out for trouble anyway.”

My mouth hung open in awe as we ventured further through the massive trees, some so old and so large that one could hold my entire clan in its titanic branches all by itself. Most of them were over ten times my length in height, and so thick at the base I couldn’t even reach half way around. Yet the most striking thing were the vibrant colors that shined from the leaves as the midday sunlight filtered through the canopy. Flowers of all shades and sizes littered the branches of almost ever tree while thick vines hung between the branches like pathways for the thousands of birds and other small animals that called this place home. My heart was filled with an overall sense of peace as we came into what seemed to be the center of the grove, and I lowered my eyes back to the ground to give my neck a break as Willow stalked around the edge of the clearing.

The clearing itself wasn’t very big, maybe three times my length in diameter and covered with very short grass from edge to edge. There were no other plants in the area save for a very young tree near the center, although I could tell even at such a small size, it was the same type of tree as the others that surrounded us on all sides. I slithered up to the tree to inspect it closer, noting that it was only about half as tall as I was long, maybe a little more than two hooves thick at the base. The branches were still small and pliable to my touch, and I could smell the sweet perfume of the flowers that littered the bark between the budding leaves.

All at once, Willow barked out a warning, and I spun around only to halt in my tracks as something green, thin and very sharp was pressed up against the curve of my throat. I stayed perfectly still as I looked around us, and I saw to my utter amazement that there were over a dozen creatures in the clearing with us, all different shades of green and seeming to be made of plant life in the same relative pony shape as Willow. Yet these were not half breeds like my companion, these were all plant from hooves to ears and everywhere in between. The two things that struck me as the most noticeable things about them was they all had what looked like wings attached to their backs, but instead of feathers or any other kind of flight surface, each was made up of several vine-like structures with sharp blades at the end of each ‘branch’. The second thing I noticed was that all of them looked very old, if the wrinkles and rather muted colors were anything to go by.

“You are trespassing in our home, creature.” The one holding his wing blade to my throat said in a calm yet powerful tone, “Leave now or we will be forced to extract you ourselves.”

“Oh yeah,” Willow spoke up as she stood defiant against the three warriors that all had their blades trained on her, “What gives you the right to pick on us? We were just minding our own business when you jokers came out of nowhere and attacked us!”

“Be silent, halfling.” One of the plant ponies, a female by the tone of voice, commanded as she brandished her blade against Willow’s neck, “You speak to the warriors of the Redwood Nymph Coven and you will give us the respect we deserve.”

“Respect is earned, lady,” Willow retorted, although she stayed still as the blade was pressed closer to her neck, “in my pack you either made your own way and took the right to lead, or you were cast out and left for dead. You know nothing of respect if all you do is demand it from others.”

“Why you little whelp.” The male on Willow’s left pulled back his blade and prepared to strike, “I’ll make sure you know your place when I’m through with you.”

I was helpless to stop the attack as the blade swung towards Willow’s side, but we were interrupted by a sharp and rather young cry as the soldier’s blade halted only a hair’s breadth from Willow’s flank.

“Wait! Please, no more fighting!” I glanced over my shoulder and saw to my amazement that another plant pony, or nymph, I guess they were called, appeared by stepping out of the young tree that I had been inspecting earlier. “Guards, stow your weapons and release our guests. We are better than simple monsters that attack others without reason.”

“The Princess is right. Stand down and let our new friends speak for themselves without being threatened with attack.” I heard yet another voice coming from our right as a trio of even older-looking nymphs stepped out of the bushes and walked into the clearing.

The one in the middle was hunched with age and had a long beard of moss running down his chest until it nearly touched the ground, although his vibrant emerald eyes were still sharp as a thorn and bright with life as he looked around at our collective group. The other two were females with long manes and tails comprised of the same faded moss, although one had bright pink lilies sprouting from her body while the other had dark red roses. Yet other than that, they could very well have been twins if one went by looks alone.

The elder male let out a sound that resembled a huff of repressed frustration, “You all should be ashamed of yourselves, rushing into battle even after all of these centuries. You are the greatest warriors our coven has ever produced, as your continued service stands as a testament to the lasting peace we have prospered through. Yet even after all this time, you still make such foolish decisions as to reveal our kind to outsiders without any real reason. Now,” the word cut through the air like a whip as the soldiers visibly flinched, “do as your Princess commands and stow your blades, or I will be forced to do so myself.”

In a flurry of movement, all of the warriors folded their wings to their sides and stepped back, allowing Willow and I to move freely as the elders walked up to me and whom I assumed to be the Princess.

The elder looked up at me with a curious eye, his small form belying the power I could practically feel coming off of him in waves. I could believe that he would have carried out his threat had the warriors not done as he asked, and I felt my body bowing lower to be closer to his level as he walked around me and inspected my tail.

“It has been many years since I have seen one of your kind,” he said softly as he glanced up at me, “what are you doing so far from home, little scale?”

I gaped as he used one of the common terms that my kind referred to hatchlings by, “How do you know that phrase?”

He chuckled warmly as he returned to my front, smiling up at me with cracked bark lips as he spoke, “You are not the first of your kind to venture into this grove, although it has been nearly three centuries since the last one came to our homeland. Are you on some kind of journey, young one?” He glanced at Willow with a raised eyebrow made of a withered leaf, “Perhaps escaping from a hunter who would do you harm?”

I shook my head at his second question, “Oh nothing like that, sir. Willow is a close friend of mine who is coming with me as we search for my mate. You see, we lamia have a magic bond that tells us where our destined lover is once we come of age, and so I’ve set out to find my mate with Willow here as a companion.”

The elder nodded, turning to face the younger nymph as she glanced between the elders and me, “So, you decided to reveal yourself to strangers, and in defense of their lives from your own personal guard no less.” The smaller mare hung her head as if she was in trouble, but the withered stallion lifted her head with a hoof as he smiled down at her, “I am proud of you for having such strong character, Evergreen. It is not easy to stand up for those you do not know, but it is a sign that you will grow up to be a great leader of our coven once you get a little more experience.”

As the young mare nodded, she turned to look at me and I got my first clear look at the so-called princess. Rather than the deep emerald and sea green eyes that the rest of the nymphs sported, Evergreen had instead bright rose eyes that shined in the light like dew. She also sported a horn out of her forehead that was made of several spiraling vines, although they seemed to be as hard as stone if the perfectly rigid form was anything to go by. She also sported sections of bark that covered her upper body and forehooves like a set of armor, although it looked to be thin enough to be mobile if she needed to twist her body or bend her legs. Her mane and tail were also slightly different from the others. Instead of the moss or vines that the rest of her kind had, her neck and shoulders were covered by long, flowing leaves that curled and molded together much like my own hair. Small flowers also grew from said mane and tail, diamond-shaped and a soft periwinkle blue that contrasted nicely with the bright pink of her eyes. All and all she was a beautiful creature, and I felt myself smiling as she hid herself behind her mane and averted her gaze.

“You’ll have to forgive Princess Evergreen.” One of the twin elders said softly, her lilies flowing through the air as she walked up and placed a hoof on the young mare’s shoulder, “She is rather shy and not used to those outside of our own.”

“Ah, it’s alright.” Willow replied as she walked up and sat down at my left side, “She’s cool in my book if she stood up for us like that out of the kindness of her heart.”

Evergreen glanced up at Willow from behind her mane and smiled, “It was the least I could do. It’s not like I could just let you get into a fight when you hadn’t done anything wrong. Although,” she blushed a vibrant green as she glanced up at me, “if you wouldn’t mind, could you not touch my tree again unless I ask? Our trees are very important to us nymphs, so please, refrain from doing so in the future.”

My head tilted slightly in confusion, but I nodded all the same, “If that is what you wish, then I will do my best to heed your words.”

Evergreen smiled again as she and the elders led us out of the clearing, most of the warrior nymphs vanishing back into their trees as we travelled through the brush and into another clearing. The rest followed close behind us as we ventured through the grove until we came upon the next area, this one much smaller and nearly filled to the brim with bright berry bushes. Willow and I stared at all the vibrant colors as the thick scents washed over us like a wave.

“Wow.” Willow whispered as we entered what looked like the mother of all fruit gardens, “I’ve never even seen plants like these before.”

“That is because they only grow in our grove.” The old stallion replied, “We care for these plants and fill them with a special kind of magic. Any creature can eat the fruit of these plants with no fear of becoming sick, and it has been said that they are the most delicious fruit one could ever taste.”

“So, even meat eaters can take this fruit and not get sick?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around the very idea of it.

The rose twin nodded, “Indeed, you could eat all of the fruit in this entire grove, and while you may regret it later for having eaten too much, you would not get sick from eating them by themselves.”

“Oh, how silly of me,” the stallion muttered as he turned to face Willow and I, “I forgot to introduce myself. I am Elder Lichen, and these two are my fellow Elders Rose and Lily. We govern the Redwood Coven ever since our last Queen passed away.” His eyes glazed over for a moment as he saw things none of us could, “She was a true vision of beauty and power in her time, but alas fate saw fit to take her from us.”

He glanced to our left and my gaze followed it until I spotted a truly massive tree, one that made even the others around it look small in comparison. It had to be at least twenty times my length in height, although the top half was split down the middle by what had to have been lightning, blackening the bark and wood with sky fire as the great monolith stood above all the others, dead, but not forgotten.

Lichen turned back to us as he indicated Evergreen with a hoof, “And thus one of the seeds we managed to save from the Queen’s ailing life force was planted in the clearing you came through, sprouting into our young Evergreen and giving us hope that we would one day have a Queen to rule us as we once did.”

Evergreen blushed as she hid behind her mane again, “Stop it, Lichen, you’re embarrassing me again.”

Elder Rose giggled as she whispered to Willow and me, “She may not look it, but even at such a young age, Her Highness has almost enough power to take on the entire guard by herself, if she ever had the courage to use it.”

Willow’s eyes widened, “Wow.” She turned to look at the young nymph with a new light as she bickered with Elder Lichen over something, “Never would have guessed.”

While Evergreen and Elder Lichen talked about whatever it was they were talking about, I directed Willow over to one of the larger fruit bushes. This one was about even with my chest and contained bright red berries that were covered in soft yellow stripes that ran around the surface of the hoof-sized spheres. The smell alone was making my mouth water, and I figured as long as I didn’t have too many, I wouldn’t make my stomach upset with me about having too much food. I picked one with my hoof and carefully took a bite, savoring the soft texture as the juices exploded into my mouth. My eyes widened in awe as I rapidly devoured the rest, picking a second as Willow followed my lead. The taste was indescribable, other than it being the single best thing I had ever eaten. Willow fell into the same death-defying speed as she too discovered how amazing the fruit were, and in mere minutes we had picked the entire bush clean.

I groaned as my pony stomach protested the rapid expansion it had been forced to do, but I smiled none the less as Willow waddled over to another bush and prepared to sample some of the deep blue fruit.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Rose warned as she stopped Willow’s questing hoof, “Many travelers have gotten sick from overeating, and we wouldn’t want you to be burdened during your journey, now would we?”

Willow made a pitiful whine in the back of her throat and gave Rose the most perfect puppy eyes I had ever seen, although it did little to dissuade the Elder as the nymph led my friend back to me and the rest of the group.

“You can take some of them with you when you leave,” Rose promised, “But only a few. We cannot let the plants suffer from over harvesting if we can help it.”

Willow grumbled under her breath but acquiesced to the old mare’s instructions.

“Well then.” Elder Lichen said as he clapped his front hooves together, “how about we let you two settle in and then we can discuss other things this evening? I’m certain you’re tired from your journey thus far and would like to rest before we pepper you with questions of the outside world.” He sent a pointed look Evergreen’s way, to which the young mare hid behind her mane as a blush overcame her cheeks again.

“We would be honored, Elder.” I replied, bowing my head to the nymphs as I turned to Willow, “How about we head back to the other clearing and get some rest next to Evergreen’s tree?” I glanced at the Princess, “If you don’t mind, that is.”

She waved it off with a hoof, “Oh it’s fine. Just remember not to touch the tree and we’ll have no problems.”

I nodded my agreement and lead Willow back to the main clearing, although just as we were about to cross the tree line, Willow stopped me with a hoof across my chest.

“What is it?” I asked, sensing something amiss with my companion as she tilted her ears back and forth.

“Something is coming.” She said in a whisper, “Something big, and dangerous.”

Before either of us could react, a huge shadow overtook the sunlight filtering through the canopy, and as we looked up our eyes widened in shock and terror as a massive form broke through the branches above us. The bright red monster crashed through the trees like they were made of sand and impacted the ground with a thunderous bang. Its scaled head turned to look at us with slit gold eyes while two huge wings folded against its back, its tail snapping back and forth in slow motions and cutting down the bushes behind it like a scythe. Its four clawed feet cut into the soil beneath its massive body and his long navy spikes shined in the now much brighter light.

“I have come for the Fruit of Plenty,” The beast rumbled in its long throat, “and none shall stand in my way.”

Willow and I were frozen in place as the nymphs filed in around us, Evergreen shrieking in fear as the glittering dragon looked down upon our group with an expression of contempt.

“You are not welcome here, fire breather.” Elder Lichen growled as he stepped forward, “Leave before you force us to take drastic measures and force you out of our grove.”

The mighty dragon chuckled deeply, nearly shaking the ground as he turned his gaze upon the aging nymph, “And who are you to stop me? An old nymph with no power and a collection of little twigs that will go up like so much smoke.” Flickers of flame spread around the dragon’s maw as his eyes narrowed in anger, “Now give me what I want, or I shall be forced to burn this grove to the ground.”

Willow looked up at me as the two sides faced off, “What do we do Sapphire?”

My eyes were locked onto the dragon as he stared into my very soul, and for the first time in my life, I had no idea what was going to happen next.

“I’m not sure, Willow, but I know one thing for certain,” I was barely able to speak as my jaw quivered in fear as the dragon and the nymphs stared each other down, “We’re very far out of our league.”

Author's Note

Well, another one in the book and a new character for all of you to enjoy! You know what that means. Yep, it's time for another amazing picture of our newest cast member, Princess Evergreen, drawn by the amazing Scarlet Spectrum. So, without further ado, let's see what our little nymph looks like.

Pretty amazing right? Yet this is only the beginning. As we progress, we shall embark on an awesome adventure to far off lands and even close to home and the familiar, all while discovering new friends and maybe even finding love along the way. So, hold onto your seats, because things are just getting started.

See you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.