Chapter 86: Great Big Woods 2

Once enough distance was made between The strange Earth Pony and the two Siblings, Pattern Hearts turned to Kingfisher and asked him a question.

"Ask yourself this," Kingfisher responded as he felt his cutie mark guide him, "An Earth Pony is walking alone in the Everfree Forest, and she meets two members of the crown, She then leaves the forest and tells her friends what she saw, rumors start spreading from that, leading to questions. What were Prince Blueblood and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza doing in the Everfree Forest? That question causes some to start digging, searching for answers to questions I don't want them to ask,"

The two ponies soon reached a river, with a glow of an invisible horn Pattern Hearts created a temporary bridge for the two to cross.

"And then there's this Gloriosa Daisy, what was she doing so far into the forest? She said she was a director for a Camp, but there's more to her being here than that," Kingfisher continued once the two crossed the river, "So in order to keep this little excursion of ours on the down low, we'll be using these fake identities, at least until we reach Thicket."

Pattern Hearts hummed in thought before sighing, "I guess you are correct, although it would have been fine to get Gloriosa out of the forest before we left her,"

Kingfisher grunted at that, "She is an adult, Free to make her own decisions, and deal with the consequences. Just because we are Royals of Equestria does not mean we must babysit the people, if she wanted to leave the forest she would have told us before we moved on."

Kingfisher shook his head as a thought passed through his mind, "Freedom is one of the most important aspects of life, She had the freedom to ask for whatever help you think she would have needed, and yet she didn't. And therefore we must respect her choices, even if we may not agree with them ourselves."

"But what if she actually does get attacked by monsters?" The Pegasus asked.

"Then she gets attacked by monsters, Life moves on," Kingfisher answered nonchalantly, frowning as he saw the look on Pattern Heart's face.

"Oh don't give me that, You can't save everybody in the world, especially if they're dumb enough to enter the wilderness without thinking of their own safety." He shook his head as Pattern Hearts looked away from him, an inquisitive frown on her face.

"Don't cry for the stupid, Cadance, You'll run out of pity."

Pattern Hearts took a deep sigh and shook her head, "This is bumming me out, Blueblood, Can we please change the topic?"

Kingfisher grunted in acknowledgment, moving a fallen tree out of his path with a glow of his horn, "Very well, let's talk about what you and Cosmos are doing in your dreams," A small smirk appeared on his face, "Did you save Princess Zelda?"

"Princess Peach, actually," Pattern Hearts smiled at the change of topic, "We beat Cackletta and saved the Beanbean kingdom,"

"Oh, You did?" Kingfisher asked Pattern Hearts in a tone similar to one might use when speaking to a toddler.

"Yes, And-" And if Pattern Hearts recognized the tone, she didn't show it, as the two Siblings (False) talked about their time in a dreamlike prison.

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Deeper into the Everfree Forest, a brown Deer rubbed his forehead as he watched his Prince slip away from him once more, using his slim and nimble body to jump up onto the many walkways that make up the vertical City-State of Thicket.

"Portunes, The Prince is getting away, Aren't you going to go after him?" A nearby Deer asked as she poked her head out of the hollowed tree that acted as her bakery.

"No," The Deer guard shook his head, "These little runaways are the only thing that makes the Prince want to leave the castle. If he didn't get a bit of time for himself every week, He'll probably suffocate under His Majesty's attention."

The Baker bit her lip at that, "Won't you get fired if Aspen finds out?"

Portunes smiled a tired smile, "Then let's hope for my sake that His Majesty doesn't find out what his son has been doing for the past year and a half."

"You're gonna' be in big trouble, you know that?" The Baker shook her head at the lax guard before she passed him a warm bun in a recyclable bag.

"I know," Portunes took the bag and thanked the baker, "But his Highness loves it, so that's what really matters,"

"Aye, I guess you're right about some things," The baker shook her head and returned to her work, "Keep yourself safe, Portunes,"

"You as well, Barely," And with a small bow, Portunes returned to his duties.

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"No guards are following me, right?"

At the edge of Thicket, in a shaded corner by the tall walls that surrounded the kingdom, a young Deer made his way to a hidden exit he found.

On his head, holding on to his horns, was a small yellow bird, who chirped at the deer, telling him that he was in the clear.

"Great! How about we go and meet up with Miss Pawton, you said she wanted to give me some of her honey, right? Let's check up on the cubs while we're at it," With an excited smile on his young face, The Deer made his way out of the hole in the wall, squeezing his body through the thick magical wood that made up the walls of the kingdom, before he popped himself out into a small clearing on the other side, away from any watchful eyes of Guards or concerned citizens.

Stretching his muscles, the young Deer grumbled about how the hole in the wall was getting too small before the bird on his head chirped again, bouncing a bit on its four small legs as it chirped a happy little song.

"You want to sing?" The Deer asked the yellow bird, which responded by bouncing happily from one horn to the other, eliciting a giggle from the Deer.

"Okay then," He smiled as he started skipping away from the walls of Thicket, making his way onto a small dirt road that was paved by the many different animals visiting him over the years.

"Here's a story I hope, 

You'll like.

It's the one about the Deer going on a hike.

I know, 

It's a tired old tale, 

But it still rings true."

The Deer sang as he skipped down the dirt road, His thin, light brown legs jumping over small puddles of mud and avoiding tiny twigs in his path, the Yellow Bird on his head chirping along with his words.

"He could never be rude, or unkind.

But a sad song played at the back of his mind.

Oh-ohh,

Can someone show me a different day,

To take me away?"

Several critters came out of the forest, squeaking and chirping and joining his song as they all together made their way down the road.

"Take me out of the woods.

Great Big World

You know I'm wanting for you."

He sang louder, the chorus of his little song accompanied by the improvised singing of the forest critters that joined him, like an entourage of colorful animals, from Rabbits and Squirrels, Raccoons and Gophers, Birds and Butterflies and critters of all kinds.

"They say some ponies make the clouds,

go 'round.

And every day they kick the sky to wash them out

You know,

If you spin those tales everything's okay,"

The Deer kept singing with his animal friends, his mind wandering to the world outside of the forest, of places he's only ever seen in books that were clearly hundreds of years out of date.

"There's a boy who's been on, 

my mind.

He was never one who ever cared to color in the lines.

Oh-Ohh,

Did you know this boy looks a lot like me?"

The Deer smiled as he felt the yellow bird on his head bounce happily between his two small horns, the smell of wildflowers entering his nose indicating to him that he was getting closer to where he wanted to go.

Although... There was someplace he wanted to go to more than Miss Pawton's home.

"Take me out of the woods.

Great Big World

You know I'm wanting for you."

The Deer and his yellow bird kept singing, not noticing that their entourage started lagging behind.

"You know I'm waiting for you- Oof!"

The Deer paused as he felt his body slam into something firm yet fluffy, knocking him onto his haunches.

"Ow..." He said as he shook his body a bit, slowly turning his head up to check what he smacked into.

Only to feel his eyes widen and his body freeze as he looked into the cold face of what he could only guess was a Unicorn.

"Nice singing!" The Deer jumped back as a purple Pegasus poked her head from behind the White Unicorn, smiling happily at him.

"Oh... Thanks?" The Deer didn't know how to respond, this was the first time he ever met anybody that wasn't another Deer.

"I apologize if this sounds strange to you, but you wouldn't happen to be able to point us toward the Kingdom of Thicket, would you?" The Unicorn asked him, looking down at him with an emotion in his eyes that he couldn't quite recognize.

"Thic- Wait a moment, back up!" The Deer stood up and took a few steps away from the two, "Who are you two and what do you want in Thicket?!"

The Unicorn opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the Pegasus speaking before him.

"I am Princess Cadance of Equestria," As those words left her mouth, The Deer could see a mix of several different emotions crossing the unicorn's face, landing on a tired acceptance after a short moment.

With a sigh escaping his lips, The Unicorn also said, "And I am Prince Blueblood Platinum of Equestria," And with a glow of magic on his horn, his body seemed to peel away, like bark from a tree, revealing a different appearance underneath.

"And we must speak with King Aspen," the two Pony royals said at the same time, a small grimace crossing the Unicorn's face at that fact as the Pegasus-Turned Alicorn seemed to smile wider.

"You want to speak with Fa- I mean, King Aspen?" The Deer quickly corrected himself as he repeated their question.

"We do," The Alicorn Princess nodded, smiling gently at the young Deer.

"We are conducting a sort of investigation into an incident that happened over one thousand years ago, and King Aspen is currently the only available lead we have," The Unicorn Prince added, his hoof moving to rub a necklace holding what looked like a crystal shard, like a broken piece to an unfinished puzzle.

"Okay... Follow me then," With a resolute look in his eyes, The Deer turned his back onto the two Ponies and started skipping back the way he came from.

He tried to hold back a yell of excitement at meeting two Ponies, and royalty at that, as he felt his Yellow Bird grab onto his horns once again.

"We never got your name," The Pink Princess said as she walked forward a bit, to stand beside the Deer.

"I didn't introduce myself? Oh..." The Deer quickly reprimanded himself in his mind, too lost in his excitement to remember proper etiquette.

Something he rarely needed to use with the small population of Thicket.

"My name is Bramble," The Deer said with a small smile on his face as he walked the two ponies in a different direction from where he came from, soon reaching two tall, magically grown trees, holding a gate of gold between their logs.

"And welcome to Thicket!"

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"...Why does that bird have four eyes and legs?" Prince Blueblood asked in his mind as he briefly made eye contact with the small yellow creature that sat on the young Deer's head.

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Gloriosa Daisy made sure to keep herself close to the ground as she followed far behind the two Ponies, following the hoof-prints that Pattern Hearts left in the mud.

Kingfisher walked lightly, leaving nary a trace behind him, but his sister wasn't as careful.

Gloriosa Daisy's face turned into a smile as a smaller pair of prints joined The Pegasus's on the Muddy trail.

"They found a Deer..." She whispered to herself as she followed the tiny pair of prints, noting a point where the prints split into a different direction than they came from.

"So there's a secret entrance?" Gloriosa rubbed her hooves together in anticipation.

The Heart of the Everfree was already in her grasp, it just didn't know it yet.