The mountain

Shayla followed Jim to the pond, barely batting an eye at the landscape below, she'd seen it all too many times.
She had to hold back a laugh a Jim landed in the water and began swimming.
Landing lazily on the ground by the pool of water, she leaned against a tree.

"So, you don't like the busyness of the town?" she asked quietly, enjoying the serenity of the woods.

"Everypony needs their peace and quiet." Was Jim's reply.

He loved the serenity of this place. So quiet, so refreshing. And the smell was brilliant as well- that smell you only get in a forest. He felt the pond beneath him. He noticed something a little off.

"Why aren't there any fish in this pond?"

"The fish? There are fish. You just have to look closely." Shayla stated, leaning down to the water, her nose less then an inch above it. She put a hoof to her lips, telling Jim to be still and quiet. She waited patiently, watching the clea water.

A small, blue fish swam cautiously out of a hole in the rocks. It was almost see through, it's blue scales blending in with the water. Shayla motioned for Jim to move slowly towards her. A few more fish crawled out into the open, each had their own unique blue color.
"Jim, see?"

Jim stood still as directed. Looking into the water, he saw all these beautiful fish. They were all different somehow, but he couldn't put his hoof on what it was. He felt like a small colt- the sheer wonder and innocence of looking at something new.

"Woah, Shay....these things are amazing...."

They truly were that beautiful.

Shayla grinned, "I know. They are, but they only come out once in a while."
She gazed into the water, losing her train of thought.
The fish were like Shayla, cautious and quiet, rarely coming out of hiding.

Shayla shook her head slightly, returning her mind to the moment.

"I wish they came out more often." she added, staring wistfully at the fish.

Jim raised an eyebroe when Shayla spaced out. She clearly had been living out here for so long- she seemed to lack social skills. Jim was Ok with that sort of thing. She at least liked the fish too.

"Any way to coax them out or do you just have to wait?"

"Usually you just have to wait. Though once I lured them out with a shiny object I found lying around." Shayla replied slowly.
"They will come out eventually though, at least once a day." unlike me Shayla add to herself. She blinked and carefully lowered her hoof into the water.
The fish swam away, but they returned after a minute or so. They crowded around her hoof, and one cautiously approached her. She pulled her hoof out of the water quickly, and the fish scattered.

Jim watched Shayla control the fish. It was a very careful, graceful movement of the hoof. He watched the fish swim off, mesmerised. This place seemed to have more to it than Jim thought.

"So, is there any other hidden stuff around here? You know, similar to the fish."

"Oh yes. Plenty. Mostly animals though, some plants and a few caves. It's all very interesting." she smiled and began moving swiftly through the trees. She agilely dodged spindly roots crawling up from the forest floor and vines hanging down from the canopy.
She slowed down as she arrived at a large banyon tree.
"You ready for this?" she asked Jim mischievously. Not waiting for a response, she whipped back to face the tree and began climbing its thick branches.

Jim was a little suprised at the speed of Shayla's reaction. She started moving through the branches like a Neighponese legend of some sort. She then came to a tree and started climbing it. Jim watched a moment then remembered he had wings. He flew up in a relaxed position beside the mare, giggling as she climbed.

"You know you have wings too, right?"

This was too funny. Jim was laughing like hell as he flew up the tree on the path Shayla was taking.

Shayla rolled her eyes and stretched her wings, but continued climbing.
"I know, it doesn't work unles you climb up. Flying gets you stuck in the vines." She pause and pointed up at the creeping, green plant. She proceeded to pull herself up into the leaves, disappearing from sight.
"You comin' or what?" she called through the foliage.

Jim rolled his eyes at her comment. Aye right. Just making excuses. At least that was his thought process as he got stuck in the vines. He growled, using his teeth to break himself out. He fell down briefly before latching onto the trunk of the tree. He knew how to climb these- did that a lot back in trottingham when he was a lad.

He climbed his way up through the leaves and sat on a branch beside Shayla.

"So what are you gonna show me?"

"Just wait a sec." Shayla instructed, putting her hoof up. She knocked on the trunk once, then another time. A small bug crawled out of a hole. It was a deep brown with fuzzy antannae sticking out of its head. She held up her hoof, telling Jim to be quiet again. As they sat in silence, a bird hopped out onto the branch above them and looked hungrily at the bug. A few more birds appeared, each beautiful. They had colorful feathers and wonderful calls. One of them cawed and jumped down to Shayla's branch.
"I discovered this just last year."

Jim saw the birds. Just as before, they were magnificent. Though he wondered how the hell she ended up knocking on a tree trunk. He didn't really mind- these things were pretty cool.

"Got anything else like this?"

(Sowwy about the late post. Busy day.)

Shayla laughed, noting how he was confused by her knocking. "The knocking brings out bugs, and the bugs attract the birds." she explained with a smile, not remembering the last time she had this much fun.
"And yes, plenty." Shayla lept down from the tree, catching herself with her wings just above the forest floor.
"Follow me, closely." She called up to Jim. Turning, she began trotting back into the woods. She closed her eyes and winded around the trees through memory. She raced towards an opening in the dense foliage.

(Tis alright, ^.^)

Jim raised an eyebrow. He'd been more wondering why she'd discovered it in the first place, not afterwards. Whatever. He descended gently down to the ground with his wings then followed Shayla. Shr certainly seemed to be enjoying herself. Jim knew he was.

He followed closely behind Shayla, just managing to keep up with the wild twists and turns she kept taking. Eventually, she went through a gap and Jim followed.

Once through the entrance, Shayla stopped abruptly.
"Welcome," she said, pausing for dramatic effect, "to paradise." she finished with a gleeful smile, stepping aside to showcase the magnificent meadow before them.
It was filled with lustrous flowers, wondrous birds, and fantastic woodland creatures roaming about.
There were flowers of all kind, tulips, roses, daisies, lilies, and more. Each had its own special color, giving each its own place in the hidden meadow.
Birds flitted about the flowers, birds of all sizes and colors. Every bird had a different array of colored feathers, making each individual unique.
A few deer grazed among the flowers, but fled at the two pony's approach. Squirrels leaped from tree to tree, and chipmunks munched on acorns lying on the ground.
Shayla smiled,
"I haven't been here in ages." she explained, "I don't even know how I managed to find it again."

Jim's jaw dropped at what he was witnessing. How in Equestria could something that beautiful exist? He trotted into the field, taking in the smells and sights and all the wildlife. He could get used to living here. Then again he'd probably miss his mates. And he didn't have a clue how far Sunny would go.

Ah, he thought too much. For now, he could just bask in all that nature.

"To be honest I'm suprised that you ever left."

Shayla smirked "so am I, but it's too open. I couldn't stand to live here." she replied.
She loves coming here, but the meadow was way too open, no coverage or anything. Predators would easily find her, which was exactly what she didn't want. So she stays in her cave, occasionally leaving for town or to explore.

Jim walked further into the field and looked at some of the flowers. Lovely little spot this. Then something occurred to him. Well, several things. Firstly, what was the worry with it being too open? Sure there were monsters and such but it was pretty unlikely they'd attack a pony outside if their territory. Meadows weren't generally territory. Best not to ask. He then relayed his second thought to Shayla.

"How come I've never seen this place while flying? It seems a little weird that I haven't noticed this..."

And another thing crossed his mind. Did she even have a house? She wouldn't just sleep up a tree, she wasn't stupid. However, there wasn't any sign of any sort of structure. Hmmmmmmm.....

"It's too small to be seen by flying." she stated immediately "trust me, I've tried. Plus your probably never flown to this area, we have gone pretty far from the pond."
Shayla grinned eagerly, running into the tall flowers and rolling around like a dog. She stood up and shook out her coat, ridding it of the grass that clung to it.

Jim laughed at Shayla rolling about in the grass. Ah hay with it. He joined in, feeling the foliage all over him, blending in quite well considering his coat. He bounced through the meadow, totally carefree. He loved this place already- a little pocket of heaven if you may say. In fact, he was pretty excited for what she had to show him next.

"So Shay, what next?"

Shayla thought for a moment, tapping her hoof against her chin.
"Hm. Well, there's a den where the timberwolves like to play, and there's a cave just south of here. Which would you prefer?" she asked, not positive which he would pick.

The den wasn't dangerous, and there were hiding spots a-plenty. Plus, the timberwolf pups were adorable.

Jim thought a moment. Well, the timberwolves sounded more fun than a boring old cave, plus the way Shayla spoke of it implied it was probably rather safe.

"Alright then. How about the timberwolves?"

Jim followed after Shayla.

Shayla nodded and held out her hoof.
"We can fly there this time." she explained, lifting herself into the air. She oriented herself and began gently flying towards the den. Once she got a little closer, she softly landed on the grass, leaning against tree to wait for Jim.
"It's just this way." she called to him.