A lone unicorn was walking along the forest floor of the Everfree, the worn trail grass making barely a sound beneath her hooves. It was nearly evening, the sunset casting the forest in deep reds dappled with gold. The insulated satchel around her waist was full from her foraging in the afternoon, making her a bit slower than she would otherwise be on this trail.
Perhaps though, it was to her benefit. The slower pace made it all the easier to tell... something was following her.
Her ears flicked to the side at a crunch in the brush to the side of the trail. Too close, stranger.
Before either could blink, The unicorn moved, a crackling aura of red-orange magic grabbing the cast iron pan at her side and pointing it at the stranger's throat.
The earth pony on the receiving end blinked, glancing down at the cooking implement with a curious eye, the other hidden by their mane. He didn't seem all that startled by the sudden movement, and she took a second in the silent pause that followed to inspect the newcomer.
With her soft pink coat, and a mane that couldn't decide if it was wine red or raspberry pink, this stranger was too bright to fit into the dark blues and greens of the woods.
"Who are you." She cleared her throat, voice raspy and hoarse. "And why are you here."
"Ah- Well, well, Strange pony who's threatening me with a cooking implement! You do seem to have quite the upper hoof here!" He let out a nervous sounding laugh, flashing them a salesman smile, her single golden canine flashing in the dappled light.
"Folks call me Moonshine- and I was wandering while wondering- dreadful habit, really."
The unicorn cocked an eyebrow. Ponies didn't just wander this deep into the Everfree. Unless, of course, they were very lost- or very stupid. Which of the two this pony was, she had yet to see.
"Now that you know what to call me," He interrupted their train of thought, leaning to look around the pan. "May I have your name?"
She stared at him, processing the request as it hung in the air between them like a wire snare awaiting a rabbit.
"...Some know me as Cast Iron." She sidestepped just as he had, too used to setting snares to step into one, even if she wasn't sure what trap it was attached to.
Carefully, She lowered the pan. She had enough food for the next few days. No need for unnecessary waste. "Ponyville is the closest settlement. Follow the trail. You'll be out before midnight."
At her answer, Moonshine seemed to flash between emotions; horror, curiosity, fascination- he finally settled on a sort of despairing confusion, clambering out of the brush and onto the path beside her.
"Before midnight? Alone?! But it's so dark in the forest! You know the stories, don't you? I could be eaten by manticores, timberwolves, zombies- vampires! Who knows what's out here!!"
Cast Iron couldn't stop the small snort of amusement at the list, continuing to walk the trail without answer. He scowled. "Aren't you scared? What are you out here for anyways?"
She gestured deeper into the woods. "I live here."
There was a pause as he went silent, staring at her. Whatever he was feeling about that statement was replaced only a moment later with a bright grin. "...Perfect! I can stay the night with you then, and in the morning when it isn't dark, I'll be out of your mane!"
"...You're not afraid I'm a zombie or.... whatever in disguise, then?" She cocked an eyebrow.
"You haven't eaten me yet!" He chirped in reply.
Yet. Dead Pan sighed, and holstered her pan.
"...Fine. I don't trust you not to throw yourself directly into the mouth of an Ursa Major, and I don't need concerned ponies ruining my trails looking for you."
She holstered the pan at their waist, magic lighting up her horn with a dim orange flame and Moonshine cheerfully humming along with the Everfrees evening chorus of insects as they walked deeper into the Everfrees embrace..
Author's Note
Hello! This is part of an ongoing Worldbuilding/Au Project I'm working on. More of an "Adjacent" universe rather than an Alternate one? When stuff pops up in the story related to stuff thats important to the worldbuilding for whatever reason and you have questions about it, It'll get answered down here, in the Authors Notes! If a chapter gets a several questions about something that I forgot to mention, It'll probably get mentioned in the next chapters Authors notes as well.
It's my first time writing in Quite a while, so apologies if the qualities a bit janky at all.
Any works I pen for this au will have "Everfae" somewhere in the description!
More than one chapter is planned for this, though I can't say how many it'll end up being- I'm not sure!
I hope you enjoy it regardless!
As a reference, "Cast Iron" uses She/They/Any pronouns, and "Moonshine" uses He/Her!
Moonshine had an eye for value and an eye for seeing- Or so he joked, often raising his bang with a hoof to reveal her golden right eye with an over the top wink for whoever he was talking to.
He wasn't being metaphorical however, not fully. He did have a good sense of what was valuable to people and what was not. A good skill to have as a salesman, in her opinion.
And so, Looking at the pony who had introduced themselves as "Cast Iron", Moonshine couldn't help but feel absolutely and profoundly baffled by her.
Unlike most ponies, she didn't value her name in the slightest. Not even negative value, the name she had handed him was one she was entirely apathetic towards. It was clearly not one she made up on the spot- She'd introduced himself with "...Some know me as...", a statement that rung true in Moonshine's ears. Some knew her indeed.
That wasn't the only oddity either. They were also huge, taller than he had ever seen a unicorn, with the muscle of someone very used to physical labor and the visible bones of someone who didn't eat well very often. Their green coat was mottled with scars- a slash across their muzzle, a tear in her ear. Scratches and bites were overlaid with burns, wounds that had been cauterized rather than stitched. On their right flank, scarring almost completely obscured their cutiemark- A cast iron pan with a pair of crossbones.
Their horn was strangely sharp and curved slightly, Mane and tail tangled loose curls of purple and yellow that looked very clearly like they had been recently hacked short with a blade.
If it wasn't for the soft blue and pink scarf wrapped around their neck several times over, she would've been the perfect picture of a ghost story slasher. In Moonshine's opinion, at least.
"...Pay attention."
He was snapped out of her thoughts by the raspy voice of her guide. The pair had gone down into a shallow canyon at some point while walking, with Cast Iron stopping at what was once a walled up cave, the entrance now blocked by stone bricks with a door roughly installed.
Near the entrance was an empty fire pit, a rough mat of woven grass, and a large flat stone that didn't seem to serve any immediate purpose. Moonshine glanced around it curiously as Cast Iron idly lit the fire pit with her horn, the light jumping from her horn to the dry logs and embers within.
"Right, Well! Nice little place you've got. Cozy fire, shallow canyon, door cave..." Moonshine trailed off as Cast Iron walked into the cave, closing the door behind them. "...Alright. Bit rude."
He sat by the fire. Cozy as it was, she couldn't deny that this place carried the same imposing feeling as the pony who lived there. The canyon was shallow, but even still the walls were just a bit too tall to climb on ones own. Concave, steep, and smooth- the only entrance or exit was the ramp.
It was like a gash in the earth, an open mouth that he had walked directly into.
Hah. How amusing.
Author's Note
Hello! Me again (of course)
Your lore note for this chapter- Unicorn horns!
Your typical unicorn in Everfae has the usual straight, round-tip horn you see in canon. Curved or Pointed horns are typically a side effect of prolonged or extensive powerful magic use! In some circles it's got a reputation as a sign of 'Dark magic' use, but that's mostly due to most things categorized as 'dark magic' being long term or incredibly powerful magic.
Cast Iron closed the door behind herself, ear flicking at the other ponies squawked protest from outside. They didn't care if not inviting the other inside was "rude" or not- She had no intent of letting the other pony inside her house.
Here, it was… quiet, the ever present life of the Everfree muffled by the stone walls. The small house space was just part of the small cave system of course- a small door in the wall beside a hefty storage chest led deeper inside.
She had no need to head to their cellar or bedroom however. She shrugged off her saddle bags and placed her pan down on the stone block of a counter, glancing around the room.
Hanging from the ceiling in various bunches was an assortment of dried herbs, a few of which she plucked leaves from with her magic, tossing them in the pan. From the satchel came an opaque bag, alongside various other foraged goods that were quickly stored away.
This was routine for her by now, one she settled into easily, albeit with the addition of an ear angled towards the door and her… guest.
With a practiced motion, the contents of the bag landed in the pan with a wet slap.
Guest. Something to think about. Moonshine would be gone by morning, by his own will or the forests. That much, Cast Iron was certain of.
Normally they took care of any "guests" themself, but something about the pink pony was… Strange. Most ponies didn't replace a missing tooth with a fang if given the opportunity.
Taking the pan outside, the sound of the closing door made Moonshine look up, the pony lit only by the firelight in the dark, solitary eye glowing. Another oddity.
…He'd be gone in the morning. Then she could forget whatever… mystery he was.
Author's Note
Shorter chapter this time! Felt like a good place to end it.
