Pursuit of Harmony

Stormy had left the bar the moment after pony had told him everything he knew about the forest that hadn't been tamed by the ponies of Ponyville and it was filled with strange creatures and magic. It was known as the Everfree Forest. Which Stormy found to be a very interesting name, like the ponies had decided it would never be in there control. He had walked almost across Ponyville to get there, he even past this delightful little cottage on the way. Stormy always liked the idea of a cottage, so homey and when ponies visited you it meant they came to see you. Stormy had stopped along the way to speak to a few ponies and each one told him to steer clear of the forest and not to go there. He hadn't listened of course do to the more they told him he couldn't or shouldn't it would make him want to go even more. He had heard the most interesting things and stories about this forest. This was a highlight location in many local stories and he wanted to get a feel of the place. He looked to his hoofs where he had left a hoof track all the way down the road the edge of the forest where he stood now.

He loved when his hoof prints where in the ground because that meant he was on softer ground and it was a place less traveled by most. Before setting off in to this forest he decided to have a meal do to there was a chance this could be his last if came across the many creatures said to live there. He set up a little lamp with grin on his face as he put out a picnic dinner of soda and Carrot lo mein he had made himself. He did love that dish very much, he learned how to make it from a old pony chef in Manehatten who had been traveling chef add on his mother and father were chefs from the opposite sides of Equestira he was filled with the most interesting dishes. He threw down a pillow to sit on and happily start eating his meal. He decided to talk to himself as he often did.

"What a lovely sight this forest is, it seems to send a shiver down my spine and makes feel the tingle of society. Clearly this is not a place for ponies, I wonder what secrets you hid within you." He takes a bite out of his dish with a happy smile as he drinks a little soda. "I think I would die if I wasn't able to eat a dish like this again. so yummy it's almost a crime for how much pleasure I get from eating it. AHahahahahahaahahaa." He laughed to himself and it echoed through the surrounding area clearly audible to any with ears.

Stormy looked down at the chest he been carrying with him and patted it softly. "Is your key in the forest? Is that where I should look?" The chest didn't answer though Stormy hadn't expected it to. He sat enjoying this peaceful moment as he had is possible, but unlikely last meal of sorts.

Lauzet heard the sound of laughter in the everfree forest. Which suprised her because she thought she was going to be alone in the forest. She wasn't sure why anypony would even bother visiting a place like this. Then again she forgot why she was even here, it would take a moment or two for her to remember that she was here because she was told by some shifty psychic that great fortune lied for her in the forest. It didn't matter to her now though because somepony was also in the forest and she wanted to meet them.

She made her way to the laugher, and came across to a pony enjoying a meal. Lauzet smiled and wondered who that was eating their meal in the forest. She made her way to the pony without any worry and just continued smiling.

"Hey there!" She said perkily. Lauzet wondered to herself what kind of pony she was going to meet. She hoped to herself that it would be someone as perky and bubbly as her, or at least someone she could "help".

Stormy had been enjoying his night verymuch so far and was mentally preparing himself to brave the forest. Stormy wasn't really a fearless type unless he didn't have time to think about it. He was a tad scared of going in, but it was being crushed by his over-powering curiousness and he always was in a seeking mood. He tapped the lamo to make a brighter light when he heard a of a filly catch his ear. He turned to face before him was in fact a filly with a smile painted on her face.


She seem to give off the words: perky and bubbly, maybe a tad silly to some if you want, but Stormy liked her already. It was so rare to find anyone this friendly anymore. Maybe the dark forest does bring out the best in you quite literally. He tapped the light to make it brighter. "Hello there Madam, what brings you out on such a fine night?"

He grinned as the light hit his eyes which seem to have cuaght stars in them as they twinkled with interest.

Lauzet continued to smile at Stormy. She replied to his question by saying "My psychic friend had told me that there was a fortune out here." Lauzet let out a small laugh after saying that. She continued on by saying "I got lost in here for a couple of hours not knowing where to go, but then I heard your laughter and made my way to you!"

Lauzet made her way to Stormy, and sat next to him. She looked at the food with wonder and awe. "Where did you get that food?!" She exclaimed not noticing the chest that was also nearby. She felt a bit peckish from wondering in the forest. Lauzet was unsure if she would get anything from her new aquaintance, but it was worth a shot to bring up food in the hopes that she would get something.

Stormy was surprised by the fact his laugh, which most said was too loud and didn't seem to have a real reason to be had technically saved a pony's life in a way. "Ahahahahaahaha! Didn't know my laugh would be a life saver to someone, though laughter is a powerful thing."

She sat down nest to him which surprised him a lot considering her friendly nature seem to even pass social bubble norms, which Stormy always seemed to have fight to pop. Seems this one had already. He looked up at the stars and gave a wink. "Fortune teller huh?" He looks you with grin and gestures to welcome you to have some food. "So what did this teller of fate say ? Because believe it or not, she mite be right." Stormy wondered what pony was playing with the strings of fate, or saw them clearly. Perhaps because of his recent actions he has triggered the attentions of forces unknown to even himself.

Lauzet ate a bit of the food that was offered in a slow manner. She let out a small laugh and replied to Stromies question by saying "My dear friend cotton told me that if I did not go to the everfree forest I would not get any fortune." she stopped for a moment to think. After a moment of thought she continued on by saying "She was such a nice dear, I'm so glad I helped her out."

It did not really take alot to convince Lauzet to do something all it took was just a sob story, or some sort of scam. Her pyschic 'friend' Cotton had told her some bizarre story that involved going to the everfree forest in order to keep her fortune safe. Despite Lauzet being a ditz she still was a rich pony. Even when she drained her money by 'helping' her 'friends', she would somehow come across another large sum of money through some bizarre means.

After Lauzet was done speaking she took notice of the chest. "Hey what's that?!" she wondered to herself if that was what would be the source of her 'fortune'. She then turned to Stormy wondering he would answer her question.

Stormy closed his left eye as she asked what the chest was. She had said it with a treasure hunter's tone, which Stormy loved and hated to hear. She seem like a nice pony so perhaps he should give her a chance, besides it would be rude to not answer.

"There is treasure in this box, I dug it out of the Lope Lake a week ago or so." He pats the chest as he points to the forest. "Me thinks the key to this chest lays in that forest over there." Stormy seem to get a vibe she really liked to help ponies which seem to glow out from her personality. Stormy loved to help Ponies to, but he liked to do it from the shadows in a sense. Playing the background character and influencing the main roles. Sounded twisted and sort of bad when you think about, but his kind heart always lead ponies to good things. Every action he did had nothing but good intentions.

Then Stormy got this crazy idea in his head and turns to you. "Want to help me find it?"

Lauzets face beamed with excitement, never before had she been asked to help somepony. Most of the time when she was asked to help somepony it would involve doing something trivial like sitting in a corner, or loaning money. Although she was excited to help, Lauzet wondered something to herself 'Is this going to involve actually doing some sort of labor?'. She hoped that it would not, but she had a feeling it would.

"Sure, sounds like fun!" she replied happily. Lauzet got up to question to Stormy "So, when are we going to look for the key?". After saying that Lauzet made, yet another realization. Did she even get this stranger's name? Well she decided to ask anyway "Have I introduced myself to you kind sir? How rude of me if I haven't. My name is Lauzet. What's yours?"

He stood up and puts his hoof to his chest with a grin. "Madam, my name is Stormy Hugeheart, It is a absolute and complete pleasure to meet you." He always did love to give a good first impression, he found it always went much better. He then started packing up do to his excitement to get to looking for the key. He was folding the the picnic blanket as he explained. "As to where the key is I hadn't a clue, well I do, but it's so like a vague clue to a clue if that makes any sense." Stormy was sort of a jump first and plan for the fall then bring a parachute. Then again that's a bad example. Stormy trusted and respected parachutes completely and would jump from anywhere without one. The again if he gets this key and what's in the chest what he thinks. Then maybe he won't need a parachute anymore. "Also Lauzet is such a nice name, what does it mean? The word Lauzet I mean." He looks up as he tucks the blanket away with a grin.

Lauzet just looked at Stormy in a confused manner and exclaimed"Uh I actually don't know what it means." She looked up confused and continued on "I never actually did learn what my name means.... I guess it has something to with wine, or grapes, or something like that. Um it doesn't really matter what my name means." She then looked at Stormy with a semi-excited look on her face and asked "Are you ready?" She turned to the forest getting ready to search for the key. Lauzet was still filled with excitement, but was also nervous she was unsure what she would encounter in here. It did not really matter to Lauzet though she felt safe around Stormy.

Stormy thought her to be a very funny sort of pony. She seem to be in a mad panic when he asked her a question she hadn't known the answer to. Which is understandable, most don't like not knowing and being expected to answer. Stormy packed the rest of the things and he picked up the chest, putting in his back, walking to the edge of the forest and deposits it in some thorny bushes. He wouldn't risk taking it into the forest where the danger was going to be. He turns back to you with a grin as he stepped into the veil of black that seem to hold to the trees, almost like he passed through a portal to the other side.

Lauzet followed Stormy in a quick manner, she did not want to be alone in this strange place like before. She entered into the black veil unsure of what other strange things she would encounter in this place. While she did see some bizarre things in this forest it did not startle her to much. Still she was feeling certain that what she saw was not the worst this forest had to offer.

Lauzet felt a little more alert then usual hoping that nothing would come out at her and Stormy. Despite this Lauzet had decided to make some small talk with her new companion. "So... What do you think is in that little chest?" For some strange reason she had a feeling that what was inside that chest was likely something that would not really be as beneficial to her as she first expected. Lauzet still smiled though she was hopeful that this little trip would make her a new friend, and she always enjoyed more friends.

The forest was dark a pitch black and only the only thing shedding any light were the two flashlight wrapped around Stormy's front to the as headlights and two lamps on both side hanging from his sides. The forest seem to try and block out the sunlight, yet seem to have a eerie glow to it as Stormy walked about looking at the trees. He was a rad upset at the fact there were just normal trees, though it was interesting to see such old ones. The stories these trees could tell wold be something of wonder.

She asked Stormy what he thought was in the chest and he turned his had back with a grin. "I have a few ideas, but it could be anything really." Stormy in fact had a very big suspicious as to what it was, but he didn't want to get her or his own hopes up to high.

Marching along he suddenly turn left.

Lauzet continued to follow Stormy closely. She was afraid of this eerie location, and was getting more and more nervous as the two went through the forest. Despite this Lauzet still smiled, 'At least I'm not alone.' she thought to herself as the two trekked through the forest. Also Stormy mentioning that anything was inside that chest made her feel excited.

"Anything at all?!" Said Lauzet, as she started to think about all the possible things that could be in the chest. She was unsure if Stormy was being serious that anything could be in that chest, so her first instinct was to ask if certain items were in the chest "Even money? Or wine? Or fancy stuff? Or.... uh... um.... I'll think of more things to ask later." She giggled after she was done asking what could be inside that chest.

Still more questions came to her mind. She was unsure if she should ask them though. Lauzet had memories of bothering people like her cousin with her constant questioning. Even though these questions were more important than what she had previously asked. She decided to keep quiet in the hopes that she would not make Stormy mad. At least she had forgotten about her fears about the forest for the moment.

She seemed so excited at what could be in the chest it gave Stormy a sort of energy boost as he trotted along. She also asked a ton of questions, which was a new thing for Stormy. It was so hard to find ponies who talked much. Most times it was him trying to pry them open or get them to talk.

"Bits, wine and fancy stuff? What do you mean by fancy stuff? magic items perhaps?"

Lauzet felt slightly awkward after Stormy said magic items. Magic items to her were fancy, but she was not focused on those kind of fancy items. When she said fancy stuff she meant it in the way of Jewelry, or something trivial like that. She gave stormy an awkward response "Uh no I was referring to jewelry, but I guess something magical could be in that chest."

A few moments after answering Stormy's question Lauzet had one of her own. "So... where in this forest do you think the key is?" She started to get a little more comfortable near Stormy. He didn't yell like most of the other people at Lauzet. She started to smile some more, and moved closer to Stormy.

Stormy was nod his head when she explained what she considered fancy. Would of been surprising to meet a filly that didn't have a least a little diamonds on the brains when treasure hunting. Stormy however always hunted for magic items. So in a sense only looked for 'fancy stuff'.

"Oh, I could use a fancy necklace, a big orange gem the size of my hoof! Think of it! AHahahahahaa. Then again for your help I'll be sure to have you get first snatch on jewelry. More of a magic item sort of colt. Then again jewelry is sometime magical...which could cause a problem." Stormy noticed her walking closer, which made Stormy think she mite be scared.

"You alright?"

Lauzet gave Stormy a small smile, and replied to his question. "Why yes I'm fine. Is there something wrong?" For a moment she thought she had done something wrong, but she decided to just shrug it off. She continued to stay close to Stormy still paranoid of what lied in this place.

She decided to ask yet another question to Stormy. "Say... how long have we been travelling anyway?" Lauzet was starting to get a bit tired, but she could still continue on.

Stormy happy with her answer as he grinned as a reply and went back to looking around. In all honesty he had no clue where he was going, but he certainly couldn't tell her that. Though Stormy always had a saying about himself. 'If you tell me where it is and give me a map. I'll get lost. Point me in random direction and I'll find it like I was born and raised there.'


The forest gave into a clearing where the light shown down is a beautiful display of color. "how interesting, the tree leaves seem to reflect different colors...." He was speaking to himself mostly before he turned back to you. "As to answer you question I have been travelling sense the moment I could leave my hometown of New Saddle." He seem to almost glow from the colors hitting his coat as he spoke to you.

"So you're a professional traveler?" Said Lauzet to Stormy in her typical fashion. "But that wasn't what I meant to ask." Lauzet giggled for a moment and continued on "What I meant to ask was how long we actually were travelling for as in actual hours, or minutes."

Lauzet noticed the glowing light. "Oh my, how beautiful this place is." Said Lauzet in an amazed tone. She didn't expect to see such a thing in a place like this. She smiled happily knowing that this place wasn't so scary after all. She felt a lot more relaxed in this area.

"Oh, my mistake then. I suppose I let out some fun facts about me. AHhahaahhaa." He rubs the back of his head as he beamed a grin. The forest clearing was very beautiful and the darkness of the surrounding forest seem to add to it's splendor. Stormy pulled out a pocket watch and opened it up and took a look at it. He in all honesty didn't know that amount of time they had been in there, but he had a rough idea.

"As to the true answer to your question. I think we have been in here maybe a hour or two. What is driving you to ask?" Stormy could think of a few reasons she could be worried, one being it was getting darker and darker as the sun set.

She giggled, and responded to Stormy by saying "No reason... Actually I'm just getting tired." Lauzet was kind of disappointed to hear that. To her it felt like 3 to 5 hours had passed on their expedition. She was tempted to ask Stormy if they could take a break, but decided to just continue on.

As the darkness started to come Lauzet started to worry more and more. "What sort of animals do you think live here?" She hoped that nothing to eccentric lived in these parts, but she had a feeling she was going to be wrong. She hoped that Stormy knew a lot about this place. It always made her comfortable to be near smart ponies.

Stormy had started trailing off in his own little world, humming a song that h had gotten stuck in his head. He was going in random directions and turning suddenly, he sort of just changed his course when it felt right to, or when he got bored. Really either way he didn't really see anything in from of him, but pure pitch black. The only source of light was a poke of moonlight or his lamps and flashlights. He once had been afraid of the dark once upon a time, but now it seem just dandy to him. He liked now in some ways, the only he he didn't really like is he couldn't see.

He heard a worried tone as Lauzet asked about creatures. "AHaha, well there are monsters of every kind in this forest, so they said. Anything mystical or monstrous, anything that would make you shriek with fright when you little lives in slumber most likely just around the bend. Though I'm pretty sure there aern't any about right now.." He decides to start listening for noises now. Just in case.

It relieved Lauzet to hear that there likely were not any creatures lurking about right now. Still she felt uncomfortable because of the surrounding darkness, and there were still no guarantees that she was safe from harm. Lauzet's eye sight was not too good, at least in the dark.

Lauzet was starting to get tired and wanted to rest. She still was going to keep on going despite her body's want to rest. It felt tempting for her to ask Stormy if they could rest, but she concluded to herself that it would be better for her to continue. After all the more they rested, the longer it would take for them to get the key.

She soon decided to ask Stormy another question "Do you have a job, or do you just go on adventures?"

Stormy hops over a log and brushes aside objects like rocks and such to make your walking a little easier. Also it was entertaining on this boring walk in the dark. Stormy was getting restless and a tad worried he had gotten lost in the forest. Worst of all he had dragged someone along for the ride with him.

"Hey! Adventuring could be a job of sorts. As for a job I do is I once was a air balloon announcer for local news and I have done all sorts of little odd jobs. Though I am writing a book and getting ideas for it with me adventures." He explained as he breaks a branch so it didn't whip you in the face.

We couldn't see but there were a few eyes watching us as we trotted.