Compared to navigating the forest with a Breezie, travelling with the deer was much easier. As opposed to being guided by a creature small enough to fit through almost any gap, the deer was at least similar in size to me, meaning we both had to weave between the trees and plants. Of course, he was able to do it with an unnatural ease, but it was nice not having to be left behind as often.

If this were any other circumstance I might add.

“So why aren’t you interested in me?”

“Ugh! You’re still on this?” I groaned,

“I want to know!” The deer replied, sounding extra hurt.

Currently, it was just the two of us. Seeing how we were heading to another location in the forest, I went ahead and told the Breezie I knew to go and let the others know I would be taking a while. There were still a few others that followed along of course, but none actually spoke, and almost all had broken off after just a few moments of walking. I knew it was important to inform the others, but I began to regret sending away my only other conversation partner, even if they could only speak in broken sentences.

“Well?” The deer asked,

“What do you want me to say?” I have no experience with romance, and the only stuff I’ve seen is far from realistic. I don’t know how to manage a situation like this, I could only speak my mind. “I don’t like you.”

“Why not?”

I clenched my fist, then forced myself to calm down. He was being very brazen, which was obviously ticking me off, but I wasn’t exactly helping the situation either.

“You’re too forward,” I began. “All it took was one look at me for you to begin trying for my love.”

“How else am I supposed to know who I’m interested in?” The deer defended, “You look good, so I want to be with you.”

“You don’t even know me!” I argued, “And yet you’ve already asked for marriage! Who does that?!”

The deer pouted, “I know you…” He muttered,

“No you don’t.”

“I know you’ll help others in need, even without a reward.” The deer continued, “I know you’re nice to the Breezies, and I know that you’ve left a lot behind, yet are still going.”

At least he’s observant. That was a pretty nice compliment too, but there was still a glaring issue.

“I’m not ready for that sort of relationship yet.” I said simply,

“Why not?”

Only because I’ve spent most of my life bedridden with little to no contact with other human beings. What little friends I did have were just that, friends, and they moved on long before I passed. Nevermind the fact that at that point we were nowhere near the age to even consider something like that.

“Because I’m still finding myself,” I explained, “I can’t just enter a relationship without knowing who I am first.”

“I could help you find yourself.” The deer said, glancing back.

Okay, what little rep this guy had earned was immediately lost. I could appreciate what he said if it was said genuinely, but right now he was looking at me with the same eyes he had earlier in the glade. When he was trying to seduce me into bed with him.

Speaking of, “How would we even work?” I asked, “Last time I checked, I’m not a deer.”

Let’s just gloss over the fact that I don’t have any reproductive organs either, or any organs at all for that matter.

The deer suddenly got very flustered, “Uh… I’m sure we could… figure something out…”

“Uh huh,” Like I would even let him get that close in the first place.

Thankfully, that comment brought about a large stretch of silence. Or as large a stretch allowed when the other end is dead set on winning your heart.

“So what else don’t you like about me?” The deer began again,

I grit my teeth. “No, if you’re gonna ask that, then you go first. What do you like about me?”

“You’re beautiful.”

I crossed my arms and waited,

“...and nice?”

“Was that a question?” I demanded,

“I uh… no?”

“Anything else?” I asked with an eye roll.

“Um… I like how adamant you are.”

“Adamant..." I repeated, "I'm not a diamond. Still, I suppose that’s something. Is that it?”

The deer scoffed, “What do you expect? I barely know you.”

“Well maybe you should get to know me first before trying to romance me.” I said with as big of a smile I could manage,

“Well fine! Maybe I will.”

“Maybe you should.”

The deer glared at me, but after some prolonged eye contact, the anger left his face all too soon. “What don’t you like about me then?”

“You’re relentless, immature, stubborn, you have a serious attitude problem, and frankly, you’re trying way too hard.” I laid it all out plain and simple.

“Well what do you want me to do?” The deer exclaimed,

“Take it slowly.”

“How? I can only see you when you come into the forest. I can’t leave, and you’re not going to stay around here forever, are you?”

Wow… he actually got me there. Whatever argument I had prepared was quickly dashed to pieces. He was desperate, I understand that now, but he was still going about it the completely wrong way.

“Alright fine,” I held my arms up, “But you’re not exactly leaving the best impressions. Maybe you should try to appeal to me more instead of just hoping I’ll go along with whatever you try.”

The deer grumbled, “How am I supposed to appeal to you?”

He really just said that out loud. I can’t believe it. I suppose if he has the gall to ask, I’d better answer.

“You could start by treating me with more respect. I’m a person, not an object, and I’m not stupid, I can tell that you’re leading us in circles.”

The deer stopped dead in his tracks, then slowly turned to look at me. You better believe I was crossing my arms and giving him the meanest stink eye.

“We’ve passed that same tree five times now,” I pointed back with my thumb.

It really was a good idea to tell the others I would be taking a long time. When I was subject to this sort of shenanigans, there’s no telling how long I would be here.

“Are we at least close to the sanctuary?” I asked,

“Y-Yes…” The deer muttered,

“Then can we actually go to the sanctuary?”

“...Yes…”

“Thank you.” I resumed following him.

And then, sweet, sweet silence, for the remainder of the trip. The deer just trundled ahead, holding his head low. Once we got moving again, the scenery quickly changed, and a few Breezies came into view as an incredibly dense thicket appeared in front of us. The deer sighed, and without another word began meddling with the plants ahead, causing the bushes to peel back and the tree trunks to bend out of the way.

At least he wasn’t playing up the pathetic bit, even though I half expected him to.

“Look.” I said with a sigh, “If you want to talk, then just ask to talk. You don’t have to go through all this convoluted stuff just to spend time with me.”

“But what if you don’t want to talk?”

“Well that’s my decision, and you have to respect that.”

The deer mumbled something, then pushed through the hole in the treeline he made.

“What was that?” I asked, following him into the tunnel of plants.

“Do you want to talk?”

“One more time.”

“Do you want to talk?” The deer asked,

I smiled, and gave a small victory chortle, “Well, seeing as we’re going to be together for the time being, sure.”

Like a switch, the deer’s cheerful demeanor was back, and he practically jumped out of the tunnel. “What do you want to talk about?!” He turned around and asked immediately,

His enthusiasm was quickly overpowering my own, and I started to think that this wasn’t the best idea. I made my choice though, so I might as well try to get something out of it in the process.

“Why don’t you tell me about this place?” I began, “What is the sanctuary?”

“Hmph.” The deer snorted, “That’s easy. The sanctuary is the oldest place in the forest, where the first seed sprouted.”

He stepped to the side, allowing me to exit the tunnel and get a full view of the other side.

If the glade was gorgeous, then the sanctuary was downright transcendental. Ancient trees rose higher than I could see, each trunk looking like it was carved by an expert artist, with the bark flowing in complex shapes and spirals. A multitude of hanging vines reached back down, with all manner of flowers and fruits decorating each one. Countless Breezies could be seen fluttering through the air, and though it was hard to tell, it sounded like some of them were even singing. An ever present chime lingered in the air, only slightly dampened by a faint mist.

“I… I…” I struggled to find the words. “I… I feel like I don’t deserve to be here.” I eventually mumbled,

“You’d be the first,” The deer said, “This is a place that has never been seen by outsiders before.”

“I-I’m honored,” I gaped at the ridiculously tall trees, craning my neck just so I could see the bottom of the canopy.

“Makes you want to stay here forever, huh?”

There he goes again, ruining the moment. I stopped taking in my surroundings to look at him.

“What exactly are we doing here?” I demanded,

“Um…” The deer paused for a second, “My mom is letting you take something for proof.”

“Right.” I nodded, “So what do I take?”

“I dunno.”

“You don’t know?” I asked,

“Nope.” The deer replied, rolling his hoof, “Just… take a look around, I guess, see if there’s anything you like.”

“Okay…” I said through clenched teeth, turning to look around the sanctuary again.

There were brightly colored flowers, fruits I’ve never seen before, and plants that were so large you could carve a house into them. It was quite the impressive selection, but I wasn’t sure where to even begin. Nevertheless, I started browsing the extensive flora.

“Your mom said something about the ‘essence of the forest,’ right?” I asked, “Can you help me with that?”

“Sure, but it’ll cost you.”

I sighed, not even bothering to look back, “What’s the cost?”

“One conversation.”

At least he was getting better, and it was a much better deal than anything he suggested before.

“Alright.” I shrugged, “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself.”

“What would you like to know?”

“Well…” I thought for a moment, “You know my name, is it okay for me to know yours?”

“Hm… I suppose.” The deer began, “It’s Lycus.”

I nodded slightly. I’ve heard that knowing a fairy’s name gives you a certain amount of power over them, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that. I still don’t even know if it applies in this scenario. I guess it was just something to know for the future.

“Alright, Lycus. How long have you lived in this forest?”

“My whole life.”

Right, that should’ve been obvious. “Well how old does that make you?”

“Like a hundred winters or something, I haven’t really been keeping count.”

That many years and he still acts like this. Maybe despite his age he was still a child, and he’s most definitely never left the forest and probably only ever interacts with his mom. That would explain a lot.

“Do you like the forest?”

“Of course, it’s my home, I love it.”

Another dumb question on my end, but that brought another to mind, something I noticed back in the glade.

“Did you actually want to start a forest of your own?”

Lycus choked, “I uh…”

That alone was enough to answer my question.

“I mean I would’ve if I had to…” He trailed off.

I certainly wasn’t going to dwell on that. “What do you like to do for fun?”

“I like to play with the Breezies, I like to watch things grow.” Lycus readily answered, “Oh! Whenever a pony wanders too far into the forest, I get to chase them out. That’s always fun.”

I had already pegged this guy as a scamp anyway, this was nothing new. “And what’s your most favorite thing in the forest?”

“You.”

“In the forest.” I repeated,

“You’re in the forest.”

“From the forest.” I reiterated, exasperated.

“Hmm…” Lycus thought for a moment, “I guess there’s this one fruit I really like.”

“What’s it called?”

“I dunno, but it’s purple, and grows in clusters. I really like the taste.”

A purple fruit that grows in clusters… “Is it grapes?”

“Sure, let’s call them that.” Lycus nodded, “I like grapes.”

Speaking of fruit, that’s what I was currently looking at. One of the hanging vines was right at my eye level, allowing me a perfect view of the fruit it had to offer. Each one was slightly different, like a gradient down a line. To one side were larger, yellow, gourd-like fruits, but as they continued down the vine, they thinned out slightly and took on a more reddish hue. They each had their own flowers to accompany them too, ranging from small, violet striped flowers to larger, pink ones.

“Just to be sure.” I began, “I can pick any fruit or flower?”

“Yeah.”

“And they all have ‘essence’ in them?”

“More or less.”

“And picking them won’t cause any harm to the forest?”

“Nope.” Lycus answered,

I cupped my hand under one of the yellow gourds, but stopped. What kind of proof would a fruit be? What about a flower? I didn’t recognize any of them, and I doubted that Lycus or his mother had names for every type. What would Sir Manuscript think if I just brought him a strange fruit? Sure it was natural, but it didn’t exactly scream ‘proof of spirits in the forest.’

Maybe I was overthinking this, but it would probably be better to get something more… permanent.

My eyes landed on one of the massive trunks surrounding us.

“What about bark from a tree?” I asked,

“Um,” Lycus followed my gaze, “I’m sure you could take some, just don’t take enough to hurt the tree.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” I traced the lines in the bark with my fingers.

It was beautiful, the way the wood twisted and turned created an intricate design that looked impossible to simply carve. Looking closer, I could see slight veins of green set deep within the grooves. A very faint amount of light emanated from them, and they almost seemed to pulse every few seconds.

Oh yeah, this would work.

Placing my palm against the tree, I began looking around for a good place to start. The patterns in the bark made it hard to find the divide between the layers, but the tree was huge, meaning any segment I chose was going to be bigger than my entire hand. The tree was also still alive, meaning its bark was still very much attached. I learned this the hard way when I dug my fingers into the grooves and tried to pull. I ended up leaning completely sideways with my feet up against the trunk, and yet it would not budge in the slightest.

“This tree must have a lot of life force.” I grunted,

“Definitely,” Lycus responded, “Just one of these has more energy than the half of the forest getting cut off.”

“Wow,” That sounded like some important information, “I promise I’ll keep that secret.”

Lycus gasped, then nodded rapidly, “You’d better.”

With another tug on the bark, I glanced at him, “Only if you help me with this.”

He squinted at me, “Fine. Move over.”

I carefully dropped back down and stepped to the side. Lycus then came over and knocked around the bark surrounding the piece I’d selected, then he dug his hoof into the same crack I had been using. He muttered something, then started rubbing the tree with his other hoof.

“I can only loosen it so much, the rest is up to you.”

“Can you help with that too?” I asked, holding up my one hand and flexing it,

“What’ll you give me?”

“Some gratitude.”

“Mmm… Deal.”

“Okay.” I slipped my fingers back into the crack, “Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Then three, two, one, pull!” I shouted, immediately yanking back,

With our combined efforts, the piece of bark pulled away somewhat, yet it still held strong. I placed a foot against the trunk and braced, while Lycus resorted to simply biting down on it and dragging his hooves in the dirt. After a few moments of no progress, a couple of vines snaked their way into the recess, quickly filling the space and pushing with all their might. At one point even a Breezie or two fluttered down to help, but they didn’t accomplish much.

Something started cracking, and I really hoped it was the wood. A moment later the bark peeled away even more, and with newfound vigor I tugged it even harder.

A snap, then a crackle, and pop, we were both sent tumbling backwards. Thankfully there were no rocks for me to smack my head against this time, and I landed relatively softly amongst the grass.

For the next moment I just laid there, staring upwards as a couple of Breezies swarmed above. Then I held up the piece of bark we managed to strip off. Just like the rest of the tree, it was huge, easily able to cover my entire face, and thicker than my forearm to boot. It wasn’t as heavy as I was expecting though, and I was easily able to lift it with just one hand.

“Yes!” I cheered,

My arm fell off.

“No!”

“What are you complaining about?” Lycus started from off to the side, “We got the- Ah! Your arm!”

“Yeah, I noticed,” I grumbled,

He wasn’t listening, “What are we gonna do?! What are you gonna do?! What am I gonna do?! I can’t replace it!” He started pacing in circles.

I just watched him for a moment, then slowly sat up, placed both stumps on my knees, and shakily tried to stand.

“Oh… my mom’s gonna kill me!” Lycus exclaimed,

Once I was on my feet, I took a few wobbly steps over to him and clonked him on the head.

“Ow! What was that for?” He demanded, rubbing the spot with a hoof.

“Relax, will you? I’m fine.” I chided,

“You are?” He sniffled, “But… your arm.”

“I know. Just…” I sighed, “Grab it for me please.”

Lycus looked from me to my arm a few times, then silently stepped over to scoop it up with his hooves.

“Hold it out.” I commanded,

He did so, presenting my arm to me hand first.

“Other side,”

Once it was flipped around, I carefully aligned the limb with my left shoulder, and with a bit of prodding, Lycus rotated it so the two sides fit together.

“Help with the binding.” I nodded towards my arm, “Make it strong.”

“O-Okay.” Lycus placed a hoof along the break.

The plants making up my disguise quickly merged back together, and a few thicker roots wove together to form a brace of sorts. Once it was secure, I pulled my arm out of Lycus’s grip and tried to move it.

Slowly but surely, each finger closed into a fist, and a few seconds later I was opening and closing my hand regularly. I then extended my elbow and twisted my wrist a few times, everything was in working order.

“There, see? I’m fine.”

“W-W-W-W-W-What?!” Lycus built up the outburst, “What was that?! You can do that?!”

“Uh, yeah?” I shrugged, “Why do you think I wasn’t that upset when your mother took my toe?”

“I- Uh- …huh…”

“I wonder if I can get it back now…” I said quietly

“Wait a moment!” Lycus suddenly shouted, “Why didn’t my arm work then?”

“Huh?” I looked over to him, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? If you can take pieces of yourself off and put them back just like that, then why didn’t my piece work?”

“Uh…” I looked at him strangely, “Maybe because only my original pieces will fit-” I blinked, “Wait no, a prosthetic should work.”

That wasn’t just guesswork either, I knew that for a fact. I don’t know how or why, but I did.

“So why didn’t it work?” Lycus demanded again,

I shushed him, “Let me think.”

There were prosthetics in the anime and manga, right? It made sense, if you were getting broken countless times, it would be inevitable that you would eventually lose some piece of yourself. Yet there were never any extended periods of time where a gem was missing pieces. They had to have gotten their parts replaced, but how, and with what?

More of the same material?

…

…Yes… Yes, gems could replace body parts if they had more of the same gem to make them out of. But what about gems that were rare, like Phosphophyllite? He definitely broke on more than one occasion, and absolutely lost pieces of himself, yet there was never any more phosphophyllite other than himself. How did he replace his body parts?

With other materials?

…

…Maybe… It seemed possible, my memories of Phos aren’t exclusively of him being one solid color either… So why didn’t an arm made of roots work? What was different about the plants versus the other unknown materials that were used.

Despite the fact that they are unknown. I remember Phos being made up of more than one material, but what they actually were eludes me.

…

They weren’t plants though, I knew that.

…

…

No matter how many parts were replaced, Phos never lost his luster. He must’ve used something that was close to, if not exactly as dazzling as he was, and coming from a living gemstone, that doesn’t leave much.

“Maybe it needs to be similar to me.” I wondered out loud,

“Like a crystal?” Lycus asked,

“Yeah, like a crystal.” I nodded, “Or something… uninhabited?”

Lycus huffed, “Like there are any crystals in this forest.”

He was right. Despite this being a magical fantasy land, there were no giant nature crystals floating in the air, or embedded in the trees, or anything like that. You would be hard pressed to find any sort of crystal here, and it wasn’t like the forest could produce crystals either.

…

Or maybe it could. Sugar was a crystal, and sugar was made by plants. We could easily get enough, but I don’t think an arm that would just dissolve whenever it got wet was the best choice. Were there any other crystals that could be produced by plants? Preferably something with a bit more resilience.

“What about amber?” I blurted out,

Lycus stared at me for a moment, “What’s amber?”

“It’s… Oh, uh...” I trailed off, rolling my wrist. “It's tree sap... but like old, really old. It hardens in the ground, and… I think it’s a crystal?”

All I got was another blank stare, with Lycus tilting his head more after every word. He frowned deeply for a few seconds, before suddenly gasping out.

Before I even had a chance to ask what was up, he reared up and stomped both hooves on the ground. Not a moment later a tremor shook the area, causing me to stumble and almost fall.

“What-”

The earth split before me, gigantic roots pushing upwards, carrying literal boulders with them. As they twisted and turned, a lot of the rock crumbled and shattered, and I shielded my face from any stray shards. Once they were high enough, they stopped, a cascade of rubble and dirt falling down in their place.

I traced the lifted roots with my eyes, before finally landing on Lycus, who was standing there triumphantly.

“Why did you do that?” I asked,

He scoffed, before stepping over to one of the roots. “Look!”

At his touch it twisted slightly, revealing several yellowish orange orbs dripping down the side.

“Is this that amber you were talking about?”

I say dripping, but that was only because they looked like large droplets. They weren’t actually moving, and looked remarkably solid.

“Uh… Maybe.” I began moving over to inspect them more closely.

They had the same golden color as honey, but were completely solid to the touch. Having just come from the ground, they were pretty rough around the edges, but some of the globs were larger than my fist, and it looked like some continued further into the roots of the tree.

“So?” Lycus continued,

“I’m not an archeologist.” I responded, “So maybe. Can I have some to check?”

“Ye-” Lycus stopped himself, pursing his lips. He glanced from me to the roots a few times. “No.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Why not.”

“Um, because…” His gaze shifted around rapidly, “This is uh… sacred tree sap… Yeah.” He stamped a hoof down, and the roots began receding back into the ground. “I can’t just give it to you…”

I narrowed my eyes. What was he playing at? “Not even as say… a reward for helping the forest?”

Lycus gulped, and avoided making eye contact with me. “I’ll uh… I’ll have to ask my mom first.”

“Right,” I crossed my arms.

“B-Besides, you still have to actually finish uh… helping.”

I just stared at him for a moment, before shrugging, “Fair enough. I’ve got what I need, so I’m going to head back now. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“Wh-” Lycus did a double take, “You’re leaving? Already?”

“Yup.” I held up the piece of bark, “I gotta get this proof back to Sir Manuscript so we can save the forest.”

“R-Right…” He mumbled, before shaking his head, “Wait! I’ll guide you back.”

Before I could respond, I noticed a familiar green sprite rocketing towards me from across the sanctuary.

“No thanks,” I tilted my head out of the way as the Breezie shot passed, “I’ll manage.”

Upon turning around to continue after the Breezie, I swear I could hear Lycus tsk to himself.

“Oh yeah," I called back, "and thanks for all the help!”

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

I am well aware that the study of amber does not fall within archeology. Phos on the other hand...

Well, Phos only has one hand right now.

Time for another etymology lesson. Adamant and diamond have the same root word, the Greek adamas/adamant, meaning untameable or invincible.

Why does Phos know this? Two reasons, one pertaining to their seemingly above average knowledge of Greek myth (and surrounding areas), and the other contains spoilers for Land of the Lustrous, so I won't say it.