Chapter Six
Part Two: The Ponies of Everfree Forest
Scootaloo was starting to get antsy. She listened with half an ear as Wings prattled on. The chatty unicorn made her do weird little excises with her wings, and now they hurt from excursion, but when Scootaloo tried to tell Wings, the unicorn ignored her and just continued to write notes in her little book that she refused to share with Scootaloo. Scootaloo sighed as Wings continued to mutter to herself and stare at the wall, only once in a while looking down at her notes or snapping a command Scootaloo's way.
"Why are you ponies here?" Scootaloo demanded, trying to get the other ponies' attention by raising her voice and banging her hooves on the table. The other pony's head shot up and then Wings stared vacantly into space as she dragged her brain away from whatever it had been preoccupied by. Scootaloo smiled, she had been asking random questions for what felt like hours. Apparently she just hadn't been loud enough to get through to the obsessed unicorn.
"What do you mean?" the unicorn asked eventually. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Why are you unicorns in the middle of the Everfree Forest?" Scootaloo asked slowly.
"Princess Celestia asked us to study here of course, well, most of us anyway. We ended up with a weird group, but most of us are here to do research," said Wings with a shrug. Her quill hit rhythmically on the paper, her magic as nervous and obsessed as she apparently was. Scootaloo wanted to rip the thing from the unicorn's magic grip and break it.
"What kind of research?" asked Scootaloo through gritted teeth. Wings stopped tapping and smiled.
"To find out why the Everfree Forest is still controlled by Discord of course," said Wings, she made the tape measure start taking Scootaloo's measurements again the purple glow of magic bright against Scootaloo's eyes.
"What?" demanded Scootaloo. She thought that Rainbow Dash and her friends had taken care of that creep.
"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but this is not a normal forest," said Wings sarcastically. Scootaloo glared at her, and Wings shrugged. "Even when Discord was encased in stone, chaos continued to reign in the Everfree Forest. I mean, we can never escape Discord completely. His grip on Equestria is too tight to ever free the land and its natural inhabitants of him completely. Still, in most places, his influence is minimal and chaos easy to manage thanks to Celestia. But life in this forest continues to display signs of Discord's rule, though the forest appears to have an order of its own with rules foreign to any place I've seen, in reality, it is free of restraints and its inhabitants and magic as unpredictable as the whims of Discord. There are many theories as to why his influence is greatest here. For one thing, this forest houses plenty of his creations, those creatures with odd destructive powers, creatures of mixed ancestry, or ones that make no sense within the confines of science. The researchers brought in some snake, kitten thing to me that had four different kind of wings."
Scootaloo tried to imagine that, but the image just wouldn't mesh She could do the kitten snake thing, she actually had some fun first imagining a kitten all stretched out like a snake. Then a snake body with a cat head. But four kinds of wings? Outside of discord, who only had two, Scootaloo just didn't see how a creature like that could survive.
"That sounds beyond weird," the pegasus said with a snort.
"Believe me, I studied it myself, and I still can't believe it existed," said Wings with a laugh, then she looked down on her notes and sighed, a frown marring her face. "Well, I'm afraid that you have underdeveloped wings unfortunately. I can't be sure, but I'd guess the reason the wings are so weak is because you have mixed pony heritage yourself."
Scootaloo blushed and then pursed her lips angrily. Little tears entered her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back and forced them back. It wasn't her fault. She hadn't picked her mother or her mother's hatred of the one of the things that defined both her husband and daughter. If it were up to Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash would have been her mother. That would have been awesome. It was bad enough that her parents weren't the same type of pony. It was worse that she never got to learn how to be a pegasus because of her mother's hatred and then death and her father's stubbornness and idiocy.
"Oh, don't give me that look. We have all sorts of medicine here, and I am an Equestia renowned surgeon. Plus, I've discovered all sorts of useful medicinal plants, kinds you only get in the Everfree Forest. We'll start your treatment right away. You're young, and while I'm afraid to say you'll never be the strongest flier, you will be able to fly to Cloudsdale by the end of the week," said Wings looking more and more excited. Scootaloo narrowed her eyes but couldn't help a little well of hope springing inside her.
"You really think that's possible?" asked Scootaloo.
"Of course, we all have our side projects here. This has become mine," said Wings with a smile. "Actually, if you'll sign a few consent forms, I'll start the procedure. You're parents are dead right?"
"Um," Scootaloo looked at the mare. She wasn't sure she was good enough to lie about that.
"You don't have your cutie mark yet, and I need parents' permission," said Wings. Scootaloo blushed hotly.
"My dad would never agree. He hates that I have wings," spat Scootaloo.
"Filly abuse. That works just as well," said Wings dismissively. "I have a couple of connections in Cloudsdale. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be able to fly there and back again five times a day if you had to."
"I don't understand," said Scootaloo.
"Listen, I'm a unicorn that was meant to fly, but Discord played a trick on me and I have this horn instead," said Wings with a sigh. She paused for a moment, her eyes filling with mist. "Anyway, my whole adopted family consists of pegasus. I know them, and more importantly for you. I know their rules. Refusing to let your fillies fly, that's grounds for losing said filly. Don't worry; the way pegasus society is set up, you'll fit in right away."
Scootaloo felt her breath catch. Could she really do it? Could she leave her father and Ponyville behind her and finally learn to fly? It would be perfect, but she would also be leaving her friends. Could she do them again? She'd put them all in danger the last time she had abandoned them to try and reach her dream of getting Cloudsdale. Still, even if she went to Cloudsdale it wouldn't be for forever, and it wasn't like Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were stuck alone in the Everfree Forest anymore. These unicorns seemed willing to help all of them. They were even looking for Sweetie Belle's make believe teacher and Wings was willing to help Scootaloo fly without the assurance she would be paid. Scootaloo was starting to think that she could tell the village the truth and the village would take them in on principal. They obviously cared and appreciated fillies, and wouldn't do anything to stunt their growth or reject them completely.
"Will the princess be mad that you're working on this and not experimenting on helpless, mismatched animals?" asked Scootaloo. The mare snorted and prodded at Scootaloo until the pegasus was lying on her side.
"As long as we get results, I don't think she'll care what little hobbies we picked up on the side. Most of us have ten separate projects going at once. Too many thoughts in our head to focus on one subject. If we tried to do that, our brains would start to sag from lack of use," said Wings with a slightly high pitched laugh that made Scootaloo wonder if the unicorn was completely stable. "She won't mind. Plus, it's nice to have you here. We've been here so long, and the Everfree Forest is so cut off from everything else. It feels like decades, sometimes centuries, since we've seen a new face."
Scootaloo watched Wings' expression. The unicorn tried to smile at Scootaloo, but it fell quickly and her eyes had this haunted faraway look in them again. Wings then shook her head and took out a very long needle.
"Now, for this procedure I'm going to have to put you to sleep. Closing your eyes is probably the best way to prepare yourself for the sting of the needle," she advised. Scootaloo winced as the needle entered between her wings. As she felt herself drift off, she wondered how Wings could already have everything together in order to start her treatment.
-S-W-E-E-T-I-E-B-E-L-L-E-
Sweetie Belle was finishing her tour of the pictures Shade painted across the village when Scootaloo drifted off. The house she was in was plastered in paintings. Shade told her that the ones in the living areas had more personal meaning to him, and that Pinup had even built a room to hold the pictures he'd painted based on some other ponies' work. Sweetie Belle had to admit, the paintings were very impressive. They had this gentle feeling to them despite the explosive color Shade used. Somehow this endeared them to her and reminded her of her friendship to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. There was one particular painting with three fighting warriors. They looked terse with armor and focus crystals, but they had expressions of such joy and respect that it was clear they were having fun despite their circumstances. Sweetie Belle didn't even have that much interest in art, and even she was able to appreciate his subtly in his paintings, though they did get old when shown all of them in one day.
Shade happily prattled about every painting he showed the white filly. Most of what he said about each picture was the same. He told her how long it took him to paint them, what his inspiration was as the time, how good or bad the paint he used was, and things like that.
"And that's it," Shade said finally, smiling. He looked back at Sweetie Belle and Pinup. Pinup had showed up near the end of the tour, not adding anything, just smiling. Sweetie Belle smiled shyly at him. Spending hours staring at paintings wasn't very fun, but Shade obviously took great pride in his paintings, and he was good. Sweetie Belle didn't want to hurt his feelings, she really did like his painting, and he was obviously a very delicate unicorn. He was like the gentlecolts in the city her mother always talked about, nothing like the colts in Ponyville who were strong physically even if they were a bit quiet. Still, that had been a lot of paintings. "Except for the ones in the attic, and well, they're up there for a reason. How about I make you two some tea?"
"Honey, what about your comet painting in our bedroom? I really love that one, and it has a really interesting story behind it," said Pinup. Shade perked up and started trotting toward the stairs. Pinup watched him go, and then trotted over and stuck her head into the kitchen.
"Mini, tea please," she said and then turned toward Sweetie Belle. Pinup led the filly to the sitting room. "Mini's apprenticing under me. It worked out perfectly really. Mini's mom is a tracker and that turned out to be my daughter's special talent. It feels like we've traded daughters. Shade is having separation anxiety and isn't sure what to do with a mare in the house that isn't family. All my butterflies have been moved into one room and into the university because he's gone on such a painting frenzy."
"Am I making him nervous?" asked Sweetie Belle. Pinup laughed and shook her head. A grey unicorn with a single flattened out butterfly cutie mark came in and set the tea on the wooden table.
"Don't be silly. You don't even have your cutie mark yet. Shade is just sheltered is all, but that's part of what I love about him," said Pinup.
"It sounds like you have to take care of him," said Sweetie Belle. Pinup looked at her in confusion.
"Well, of course, he's my colt. I'm supposed to take care of him and support him. But, he's a good husband. He makes me paintings, entertains my friends during parties, and he's there at the end of the day to sooth my aches and listen to my petty gripes," said Pinup with a smile. "I love spoiling him. He has the most precious blushes, and I have to admit, I might keep him a little too sheltered. He's just so innocent and I don't want to ruin that part of him."
"But I thought colts were supposed to take care of mares," said Sweetie Belle, remembering how her sister used to talk about her perfect somepony. Pinup looked at Sweetie Belle like she was insane and then sighed.
"I'd blame that on your friends, but now that I think about it, I think some mares got the wrong idea about how earth ponies court their colts," said Pinup with a sigh. "Ask that little earth pony friend of your for specifics on her own kinds dating rituals, but I know that while earth ponies expect their colts to be almost as useful and strong as they are in the field, they don't expect them to be dominant or take charge in the family. No more than any unicorn would let her colt completely run the household. Earth ponies have a different dynamic because they have a different lifestyle they have to adhere to. You shouldn't listen to them on how to seduce a colt."
"They didn't tell me how. My sister did," said Sweetie Belle.
"Ah, yes, of course. Listen, your sister's going to be very disappointed when she starts to date seriously. I mean, does your mother drop everything to follow whatever 'career' your father is pursuing?" asked Pinup. Sweetie Belle shook her head.
"My mother has the job, my father is her secretary," said Sweetie Belle, repeating back what one of her aunts had said. Of course, then her aunt had snorted and said something about her parents' relationship only being a little better than if her father had been proven inadequate and dumped in a convent somewhere. Sweetie Belle had asked her mother if her aunt had ever had a husband and if she had dropped him off at a convent. Her parents had blushed hard and changed the subject. Sweetie Belle never brought it up again. She'd forgotten about it until now, she hadn't seen her aunt since she had asked her parents.
"Progressive parents. Reminds me of Mark and her son. I really don't know what's going to become of us," said Pinup in exasperation. She then seemed to remember that Sweetie Belle was still there and forced herself to smile. "Never mind. Being a secretary is a good job for a colt if he wants to make sure he can always stay with his mare. But think of it this way, your sister has a job right?"
"She's a designer," said Sweetie Belle softly.
"Respectable," said Pinup with a nod. "When she gets a husband, does she plan on leaving her job?"
"What? No, Rarity could never stop designing!"
"Even if her husband was rich, and she didn't need to work?" asked Pinup.
"Designing is her life. She might like to live a slightly higher lifestyle, but I couldn't imagine her giving up designing," said Sweetie Belle.
"And what if her husband had his own company or job and needed her to stop being a designer and instead be an obedient wife?" asked Pinup. It was like a bolt of electricity went down Sweetie Belle's back.
"What?" the filly demanded. Pinup chuckled.
"And now you see why it's silly switch roles. Mares are not supposed to be actively seduced by colts. I don't care what modern mares say about a colt's jobs being securing a wealthy wife; we set the wrong tone when we allow them to court us. We need to court them because they need to know that they can trust us. They need to know we ready to protect and provide for them, and they need to understand that in the end its our decision on whether we can accommodate them into our lives. That's why we are the pursuers and make the official first moves. We lead to see if they follow, especially if they need go out into the middle of Discord's land in order to study his freaks," Pinup said with a snort, then her expression soften. "Colts live such lonely lives. They have but one job they're allowed. Oh, they're cutie marks show what little hobbies they're likely to pick up, but in the end, it is their looks and their mother's social standing that is going to land them their wife and their future prospects. I think, as mares, it is important to court colts because it is the one time they get to feel special. It's a time when a mare can show a colt that she finds him desirable as more than just a thing that's use is to give her a healthy daughter. We pamper them because they have always been pampered. We shelter them with our gifts, smiles, and little ways we take care of them to show we will always see them as treasures. That they are worth the time to woo and worth the money we spend to impress them."
Pinup trailed off, a vague smile still plastered across her face. Sweetie Belle wondered where the unicorns' mind had wandered off to. Was she remembering courting Shade?
And was Pinup right? Was her sister doing a disservice to colts by expecting them to court her? But colts had always been quick to cater to whatever Rarity asked. They hadn't complained. They even seemed to expect her treatment of them.
"What are you thinking about dear?" asked Shade. Sweetie Belle jumped at his voice and turned to see the colt come into the room while he levitated a canvas that was facing away from them.
"About how I met you," said Pinup with a genuine smile. "Go on, show Sweetie Belle your painting."
Shade smiled widely and flipped his painting to show it to them. The background was simple, a deep purple blue for night and an almost back green for the forest. A couple of blotchy stars and light reflecting off the dark green landscape to suggest trees and a farmhouse, but what really drew the eye was two gigantic yellow, orange, red colors that were at once two comets and two...
"Butterflies," Sweetie Belle whispered. They were really stunning. Vibrant and detailed, it looked like they could pop out of the painting and fly away.
"Yeah, first two she brought butterflies home for me," said Shade coming to stand next to his wife.
"He cried," said Pinup conspiratorially to Sweetie Belle. Shade puffed up his chest and then blushed. "You think he'd have figured out my profession from my name in combination with my cutie mark, but the sight of dead insects just broke his heart."
"My mother does not approve of you," said the colt stamping his feet and throwing his nose into the air.
"That's because I stole away her precious son," said Pinup. She bumped flanks with Shade, and he let his head fall and then bent to rub quickly at her neck. Sweetie Belle blushed at their behavior and looked away. "Now, we don't want to be rude. Is there anything you want to do Sweetie Belle?"
"No, um, this wasn't really planned," Sweetie Belle pointed out.
"Great, I think it's time to fill in those gaps in your education," said Pinup, curled back in her seat. Sweetie Belle bit back a groan. Shade chuckled and went to curl up in his own chair opposite his wife.
"Don't worry Sweetie Belle. I'll make sure it's interesting," said Shade.
"Sh," Pinup mock scolded Shade. "Now there's a good lesson to start with, the role of the husband in the unicorn family." Pinup pretended to glare at Shade her playfully stuck his tongue out at her before the tea was brought in and he tucked his head in and became a ball until Mini left.