Nature's Healing

"You can't just walse off and take my body like this, Morning Glory or whatever your name is..." Illania sounded within her mind as Morning Bane would stop and sit at a rock. She'd kick her legs up on another rock, admiring Illania's purple legs. It was interesting to see the difference.

"My my, a little unappreciative are we? Perhaps I might keep you for longer. Like I said, you have much to learn." Morning Bane replies, relaxing against the rock.

"You seem so nonchalant with everything...why is that? What will you do with me...? Keep me forever?" Illania asked timidly.

"Your kind want so much, that you will never get. When you have lived as long as I have, you learn that wanting and having is not what it may seem. Sometimes wanting is better than having. Especially in your case." Morning Bane would grin slightly, feeling her hooves and legs a bit.

Illania was quite frankly embarrassed by such an intimate thing. Morning Bane knew everything about her through and through. And now she can see anything she like of Illania's body."But wanting is what drives life...wanting drives success and lively life. I've been all over the land, seen things many ponies do not. All due to my want..."

"That is where you are wrong, little one. Why else would you end up with those runes on your flank? Or why else would you have ended up so lost, and so alone?" Morning Bane twirls her hooves slightly, looking at the various scars on them.

"I...I guess you have a point. But you speak of being alone...but aren't you yourself alone here?" Don't look at those scars please..."

"Quite the contrary. I am never alone. Your scars are deep, and painful. But none as painful as the ones I have seen." Illania could feel a sense of slight rage within her spirit companion, but also loss too.

"W-what do you mean by that...?" Illania asked, knowing she was at the mercy of Morning Bane.

"Why tell, when I can show?" Morning Bane asked rhetorically as she hopped up off the rock and walked towards the nearby tree. It leaved Illania extremely confused until Morning Bane approached the tree. With her hoof she felt along the tree's trunk.

What happened next was completely unexpected. Illania felt a rush of wordless thought flow into her mind. It was a thought process that of which she had never thought of. Thoughts without words, smells, tastes, or any senses. It was just thought. Illania was confused.

"What is that? What are you doing? Can you stop? I don't like it..."

Morning Bane smiled sadly as she pulled away. "Everything in nature possesses thought and emotion to some degree. While lots of things cannot express themselves, they can still be hurt just like you and me. It pains me to see the actions of your kind towards the world around them, unaware of the pain they cause. The pain they cause to others. Imagine being aware of everything hurting you, but not being able to do anything about it. Or tell them to stop." Morning Bane said sadly, yet carrying a degree of harshness within her words.

Illania was left speechless at that. Morning Bane felt the way Illania felt. Sad. Yes, sad. Illania felt sad for the first time in a long while.

"I...I...don't know what to say to that really...but I guess I can see how horrible it is..." she'd finally reply.

Morning Bane would scoff. "You already know what to say, you just feel the need to say it. Now lets get to why you are here. You are here because of your wants, your desires. And the pain that they have caused you. You were lucky that I was around, or you would have died. Alone." Morning Bane's words were harsh, and ran deep within Illania, but it was the only way for Illania to understand.

"I have these wants and desires...because I had nothing else. No friends. Nobody to talk to. As you know the story...you know the rest." Illania thought sadly.

"You were that way because you were afraid to ask. If you simply asked, your whole life would have went down another path. But, everything happens for a reason. It is nature. Nature always has a way. Nature will always teach you a lesson. Because if you had gone down that path, would you have learned what I am teaching you?"

"I suppose not...but why are you doing this? Why did you save me...? You should have let me die...I deserve it..." Illania would start to cry, but Morning Bane held back her tears.

"Don't say that, little one! I couldn't let that happen to you. While I may not like the path you have lead, I would never let that happen to someone. But now that I have intervened, you will not live that path again. Don't be sad." she thought almost pleafully.

Illania didn't reply, she only felt shame for the way she had acted.

"Come on now. Lets get you something good to eat. You are still hungry, yes?"

Illania's stomach would growl as if almost on cue there. Morning Bane would grin serenely as she got up, and walked off. Illania didn't know where Morning Bane was going but she had located a grove of apple trees soon enough.

"Your kind are not as bad as you seem, at times. They planted these for me, years ago. As an offering. I do not wish or require offerings, but from time to time it helps remind me that I am appreciated for what I do." she'd say as she approached one of the low hanging branches. A bright bunch of green apples would hang low.

Morning Bane would pull one off and bite into it. Savoring her taste. She didn't ask or let Illania give permission to take a bite. She was going to make Illania enjoy it whether she liked it or not. She ate slowly, Illania never ate so slow in her life. But, it felt good. It felt really good. Enough to make Illania smile slightly.

"That was delicious...thank you for showing me that." Illania would reply.

"When you take the time to savor things, you will want less. And when you want less, you are happier. More content. More safe from the consequences of your actions. It felt good, yes?" Morning Bane leaned at the tree gently, rubbing its roots with her hooves.

"It felt good, thank you. Can you bite into some more for me...? I kinda like sitting back and letting someone else take the wheel." Illania chuckled mentally.

Morning Bane would chuckle slightly in reply, serenely. She would take a few more bites of the other apples. After long savoring chews and swallows, Morning Bane would rub her stomach in a satisfied manner. Illania felt warm, and content. Then, Morning Bane would pull out the seeds from the cores of the apples.

"See these? These seeds? What do they mean?" Morning Bane asked quizzically.

"Well they are seeds, so they will grow into more apple trees in the future? I don't understand your point..." Illania was confused.

Morning Bane would gracefully get up, carry the seeds in her mouth. When a good distance away from the other trees, she would spit them out into her hoof and levitate them over the ground in equidistant spacing. Then, she shoved them into the ground with just the right pressure and just the right depth.

"Those seeds will grow into beautiful, strong trees just like the others over there. You have to be patient. But, patience has its rewards. Eventually they will grow large, and with many apples of their own. But, they can come in all forms, and shapes. The possibilities that a seed can be, is truly marvellous, isn't it little one?"

"Well now that you put it that way, that is very interesting...all from a small seed, into one big tree." Illania said with a bit of wonder.

"But seeds aren't the only thing planted. Your thoughts. Your actions. Your ways are seeds. What will they grow into? You can never know for sure. But knowing what you plant, will at least give you an idea of what to expect. So think about what you want to plant, before you plant. Then you will get the results you seek, but not always. That is okay though, not every seed planted turns out beautiful. But some are truly stunning." Morning Bane said in a rather wise manner.

"I...I see what you are getting at. I am where I am now because of the way I acted. Actions have consequences? Is that what you are saying?" Illania asked curiously.

"Precisely that. Well done. You have passed your first lesson. But I will not let you go just yet. It will take a long time, if and when I let you go."

"Well, what will happen if you don't let me go? Will you just keep me here in these woods, with you...inside my mind?"

"Well, I will always be with you. You will never age. Despite that, it may take years. Hundreds of years to learn important lessons...like this lesson was now, it was just the seed of what is to come. Since you have nobody waiting for you out there in the world I suppose you are content with that?" Morning Bane asked, but she already knew the answer.

"Well...I don't suppose I can deny that? I mean, what other ponies out there gain lessons and...insight such as me? And if I am out here long enough, then all my crimes will be forgotten."

Morning Bane smiled knowingly. "There are others. Other spirits. But, I will take you one step at a time. And what you say about long enough...it's not about forgetting what has happened. It is about learning from it, and moving forward better than before. Now come. I have much to show you."

Morning Bane would look down at Illania's front legs as green vines twirled around them magically. As if they just spawned there. Then, Morning Bane would create a small flower from magic and place it into Illania's mane at the exact same spot it was at when Illania first saw Morning Bane as she really was.

"You have much to learn, little one. But in time, you will know more than any other chance you had. Do not be afraid. While this seems like a lot. You will learn that what it seems is not always what it is to be." Morning Bane smiled.

Illania felt content as Morning Bane walked off deep into the woods. Nobody was around. Perhaps for one hundred miles. Perhaps more. But Illania was more content. For once, she did not want anything else. She was content.

From what will the seed grow? Time will tell.