A Deer in Ponyville

Albert is our protagonist. He is a deer.
He lives comfortably in a quaint little cottage, in the middle of the Ever-avoided Everfree Forest. Since it's so avoided, he rarely gets visitors, but, to him, that's good.

You see, characters like Albert here are the kind who just stare and smile awkwardly at the mail-mare, or in his case, the mail... tree?

He doesn't exactly get mail. That was merely a minute example on his personality type. In lamen's terms, he is an introvert. But, I guess that is inevitable if you live thirty years alone in a cottage in the middle of a forest, in which the cottage in question consists of no more than two rooms. A bedroom, and a bathroom.

But, to Albert, he enjoys living the minimalist life.
His source of drinking water for decades has always been a small little brook behind his house. It's a peculiar little brook. It has a sort of U-shape to it, bending around the cottage like a castle's mote.

His source of food is the various and diverse vegetation within the heart of the forest. As a deer, his stomach is quite resilient, allowing him to eat almost any plant in the area.

To him, Poison Joke tastes a little dainty, a bit flat, with a berry-like aftertaste. Even touching the plant has no effect on him.

But, perhaps we can talk a little more about Albert himself, as opposed to his preferences. He has a tan fur coat, dainty cloven hooves, and a large crown of white antlers. Every year, his antlers shed, and regrow, like most deer. Since it's close to summer time, his antlers are a generous size, and not too large.

Now, a little about his daily schedule. It consists of getting up in the early afternoon, and staying up until way past midnight. He immediately walks out of his cottage in search for breakfast. Perhaps a nettle? Maybe one of the many varieties of ivy on the towering trees around his cottage, or maybe even the thin yet tall blades of grass just outside the front entrance. He enjoys all of it, and is anything but a picky eater.

Next, he gets a sip of fresh brook water. The sounds of the trickling stream are quite soothing to the ear, and they fill him with a great sense of peace and tranquility, as do all of the surroundings, really.

Next, he takes a little prance around the forest. He has used the same route and pathway for decades, and remembers it by heart.

Next, he decides on lunch. He doesn't eat very much to begin with, thus maintaining a lean build. Nevertheless, when lunch comes, he chooses from the various vine leaves and exotic trees only a short pace from his cabin.

Next, he picks a few flowers to use for his upcoming dinner. Which, unlike breakfast and lunch, is carefully prepared indoors with an oven and typical kitchen utensils.

His favorite dish, a simple flower salad. Well, the contents within the salad are anything but simple, but the concept of the dish is quite easy to understand.

After dinner has been prepared, it's time to sleep. Although there's very little on his schedule, the days feel quite fulfilled.

Albert is quite the enthusiast in nature, and knows every single plant and flora in the local area, and nearly every species in all of the Everfree Forest.

The hours spent between each meal feel quite lengthy. Most of it is spent meditating, gazing at the trees and plants, analyzing them, and simply enjoying silence.

Every now-and-then, a chore around the house is necessary.

Sometimes, Albert felt the need to plant something.

Point being, his life is pretty simple.

For some, it may be too simple. Some ponies, or even deer can't seem to fathom the idea of sitting around and doing a whole bunch of nothing all day. But to Albert, it was something. Something dear to him. (pun not intended)

As mentioned before, Albert is quite the loner. He's only talked to two individuals over the course of five years. Both of which were deers. One was his nephew, and the other was his mom. Both on the same day.

Albert is such a loner, he rarely interacts with his family. He occasionally enjoys time with his mother, but he never knew his father. He has four siblings, and doesn't know the names of any of them. He has three nephews, but only talks to one of them.

His mother tells him he was part of a powerful deer tribe. A well-known tribe amongst the inhabitants of the Everfree Forest. She tells him about his father, who she only knew for a few months before he left her. He was a skilled fighter, but not a good father or role-model.

Albert, along with his mother and nephew, left the tribe quite a while ago. The tribe itself experienced many issues that led to their leave.

Now, at the cusp of his forty-third birthday, he sits at the brook. He thinks extensively, and, almost instantly, realizes something.

Suddenly, his daily mundane tasks no longer feel interesting. His daily prance feels quite lackluster. Perhaps, he's getting bored.

It's not unusual for our protagonist Albert to feel bored. it happens to all of us the same. But today, it felt different, a little extra boring. Albert munches quietly on a blade of grass, he hears the soft trickling sounds of the brook tingle his ears. The breeze blowing through the lushious tree leaves.

Yet, his boredom is not satisfied. Albert stands up, he cranes his head around, taking in the all-too familiar scenery he has lived amongst for about three decades. He looks down a path, and thinks extensively,

"What if just keep walking?" he thought.

So, that's exactly what he did.

He pranced calmly and contently down an open path. Trees of all kinds surrounded him. But gradually, the trees began to change in shape and height and color.

They would become more sparse. Albert approaches his favorite patch of Poison Joke, and takes a brief break from prancing and munches on the bright blue petals of the exotic plant.

Then, he keeps walking. The trees become even more scarce. he begins to get a clear view of the light blue sky and the bright sun. He's not used to seeing the sky all too much.

Then, he approaches a large, expansive meadow. The meadow is quite gorgeous. A colorful spectrum of colors sweeps across the land in the form of dainty, delicate flowers. The grass is tall and sways in the wind, dancing freely in the breeze.

This is the farthest north he has traveled in his life.

Albert walks a little farther, and approaches a wide river.

Across it, a town.