Mommy Pleasant

“There are stories told about the lakes and rivers of Equestria, and how going up and down the twists and turns of the great rivers had been the peak of travel. All that had given way to the Friendship express once it had been completed, but before then, the riverboat was the way to go. Trade boats still travel the winding tributaries and slow-moving currents of the rivers, but passengers now find it faster to go by train.
“There are some who say there are other reasons the rivers have been abandoned. Tales tell of great beasts that swim the waterways. Perilous pike, cantankerous catfish, and surreptitious snakes. That’s not even bringing up the times where the riverboat must pass through inhospitable forests. With branches hanging low over the desk, passengers could only huddle down with their cards and chips, and pray to Celestia that they wouldn’t be plucked off the deck by some opportunistic predator or other mischievous animal.
A young voice pipes up from the crowd gathered around the old pony. “Do the animals really pluck ponies right off the deck?”
“Oh yes! Cragadiles will circle the riverboat, looking to snap up anypony the animals drop in the water, or anypony foolish enough to fall off.” The old pony furrows his thick eyebrows and stares at the foal. The crowd gasps almost in unison and the foals start to mutter amongst themselves.
“What about Mommy Pleasant?” An older stallion said.
The older pony whipped around to look at the source of the voice. His brow was furrowed and he looked tense. “Mommy Pleasant?” The old pony said. He stroked his beard carefully, the hoof he was using shook just the slightest amount. “Do you really want to hear the story of Mommy Pleasant?”
Having seen his reaction, the gathered foals all nodded in excitement. Something that would scare a grizzled old stallion like him must be entertaining indeed!
“Very well.” He cleared his throat, and began to sing in a deep baritone voice.


The rivers young, their channels free, their banks so green and lush.
Their waters ran so fast and clean, the stones beneath; untouched.
The fish passed through, they ate their fill, were eaten in return,
And though some fires passed o’erhead, the waters never burned.

‘twas in these years of plenty, when the waters were at peace,
That Mommy Pleasant came to call it home.

Her hair was that of ravens, so black and smooth it was,
It hung from ears all way down to her shoulders.
Her eyes were bright and green, seeing land live in its prime,
She’d pass her eyes ‘cross large and mossy boulders.

Her looks were bold and striking, but the river flowed, unmoved.
When Mommy Pleasant lived upon its banks.

For her all life was sacred, and the river, hers to guard,
To keep the fish all safe and waters clear.
But time, it passed, and Mommy found, the river was unique,
It gave a route from far to places near.

She couldn’t ever stop it, and the boats came paddlin’ through
When Mommy Pleasant found herself get mad.

The waters browned, the trees were downed, the fish were eaten fresh.
The animals and plants were killed for fun.
Their lives were lost, their homes destroyed, and Mommy lost hers too,
When progress made its way into the trees.

‘twas here she found her magic, all her spells and hexes true
When Mommy Pleasant was within the trees.

There’s no more rhyme or reason, just Mommy Pleasant here.
She stole the rhythm from the boat and from the song.
She’s there within the trees you know, still angry at us all.
She watches for the riverboat.

She knows it still comes by and now she’s waiting for her moment,
When Mommy Pleasant comes to bid goodbye.


The old pony finished the song, and many foals looked at him in confusion.
“That song sucked!” One yelled.
“Why start with a rhyme and end without one? That’s dumb!” Another shouted.
The old pony chuckled and waved a hoof to quiet them down, though many kept grumbling. “Allow me to explain further without a song, then: Mommy Pleasant is said to have come to the rivers–nopony knows which one–many years ago. Some say she came during the mass exodus to Equestria during the time of the windigos. Others say she came more recently, and was a pioneer like many others, settling on the river.” The old pony leaned forward. “All stories agree, that when the riverboat started running for the very first time, Mommy Pleasant is the pony who caused the early accidents.”
“What kind of accidents?” A foal asked, his interest renewed.
“Any kind of accident that could befall an old riverboat like this one here.” He motioned to the riverboat Prancing Princess everypony was waiting to board. “Fouling the engines so they burst and start fires. Broken paddles on the back. Holes springing up in the hull. Railings breaking and foolish foals falling overboard where the cragadiles will snap you up!” He clapped his hooves together with a loud *CLOP!* and the foals directly in front of him jumped.
“Those are all just normal accidents. Mommy Pleasant would be far too old to still be alive, anyway!” An older foal said.
The old pony leaned back in his chair, hooves folded in his lap. “Quite right, quite right. She would be far too old by normal pony standards to still be alive. But Mommy Pleasant is no normal pony.” He leaned forward again. “Mommy Pleasant stays alive through twisted and dangerous natural magic. It’s said she made a pact with a magical beast in the forest, and as long as the forest lives, so, too, shall Mommy Pleasant.”

“Is that true?” Somepony asked.
The old pony spread his hooves wide. “Who can say? Other stories say she steals the life force of those who fall overboard, the river and the creatures in it sucking the health out of those ponies who fall in, then delivering it to Mommy Pleasant, wherever she may be. Only Mommy Pleasant knows for sure.” The old pony waved a hoof. “But, I’ve taken up enough of your time. It looks like they’re allowing ponies to board, now. Just remember, if there is an accident on the riverboat, you surely know who to blame.” He winked and chuckled.

Flim clucked his tongue and turned to his brother. “Now that’s just bad business, what’s he trying to sell? He got the crowd all worked up and didn’t even offer protection from this ‘Mommy Pleasant’ character. I would have had charms and other such things available. One bit per bauble.”
Flam shook his head. “I think you give the stallion far too little credit, brother. He might have a brother on board to sell just those things, or he may be trying to take business away from the riverboat itself.”
“Well that seems a bit pointless. It’s not like there’s any other way to travel the river. A rowboat certainly wouldn’t do the job.”
“He may just personally hate it. Without getting to know him I couldn’t answer that,” Flam said. “But either way, we came to ride the riverboat, so let’s pile on, Flim. Wouldn’t want to miss it.”
“Indeed, Flam. We have enough work of our own to worry about rather than fussing about the holes in somepony else’s.”
The brothers boarded the riverboat, carrying their trunk of belongings between them with their magic. They passed their tickets to the ticket-taker, were ushered on board, and went searching for their room.

Upon arrival, Flim opened the trunk and pulled out several items and placed them in various pockets on his shirt. Cards, dice, poker chips, bits, and many more. Flam, meanwhile, pulled out a tray covered with snacks, trinkets baubles, and other miscellany all touting the joys of riverboat travel.
“I was thinking, Flim.”
“Oh? What about?”
“We could take advantage of the story our erstwhile acquaintance back there told back there on the docks.”
“You think so?”
“Oh, of course, we’re passing through the middle of the Everfree Forest on this week-long cruise…”
“…and the ponies scared of Mommy Pleasant are sure to buy a further ruse!”
“Oh, exactly! We claim that the most esoteric of the jewelry is proof against curses, and the foals he scared are like to badger their parents into buying protection.”
“Oh, but we’d need an accident for that to have the same punch as just saying so.”
“We could make that happen, you know, with a little ingenuity, know-how, and if necessary; greasing the right hooves.”
“I like the way you think, Flam. I’ll make the necessary inquiries at the tables, you focus on the passengers.”
“Of course, dear brother. I’ll be seeing you for dinner, of course.”
“Don’t sell it all in one place!”
“Of course not! We have a full week, after all.”
The brothers parted ways, wasting no time in finding out which portions of the riverboat were dedicated to what. Flim took his gambling tools with him, but Flam began by finding out where the boat’s crew spent most of their time. He went and found the helm to ensure he knew where the captain was, and spent time talking to the pony to get to know the route they were taking a bit better. No scam could be run without good knowledge of the environment, after all.

They met up much later to share stories over dinner. They had theirs paid for, of course. They’d paid for cheap tickets for the ride, but they had forged meal tickets that were a few steps higher than their lodgings. It wouldn’t do to eat like peasants when they had to impress upon the common folk that they were well-to-do.
“So, what’ve you found, Flam?”
“Well, the crew spend much of their time idling for now.” Flam pulled out a map, unfolded it on the table and pointed to where they were just outside Las Pegasus. “The first leg of the journey is calm. The river only gets a bit rougher in three days when we reach the Everfree Forest, which will encompass two full days of the trip.”
“It’s not a dangerous leg of river at all.”
“Of course not. Safe as can be. The crew comes up on deck during that part to provide comfort to ponies unfamiliar with the river of the Everfree. For the first three days they’re belowdecks for the majority of the day, desperate for something to do.”
“So, I’ll go down there and give them entertainment for free, keep them complacent and happy and maybe earn their trust and a few bits while I’m at it.”
“Meanwhile, I’ll stay up top and encourage ponies to think about Mommy Pleasant, sell a few trinkets here and there, earn some bits and get in the passenger’s good graces.”
“Then when we hit the Everfree, with my access to the crew…”
“…and my friendship with the passengers…”
“We cause an accident to stir up concern and sell our brand-new charms!”
“It’s perfect.”
“Of course it is, we thought of it.”
The two brothers hoof-bumped each other and ate the rest of their meal with grins on their faces. They were prepared for the voyage ahead, and thought everything was golden.

The trip was quiet and enjoyable for the first day. Flim and Flam were there on business, but they certainly enjoyed themselves as much as they could. Flim spent his time with the crew, gambling and chatting the days away. Flam spent his time schmoozing with the passengers, learning all he could about their fears and playing into them.
Sadly, it appeared that not many of the passengers bought into the story of Mommy Pleasant and her curse upon the river. The foals were divided in their beliefs. Those that were young and impressionable believed it, but the older ones, ones that had received their cutie marks already, mostly didn’t believe it at all.
Flam wouldn’t let a little thing like that stop him. “Oh, but how do you explain the mechanical failures that plagued the first riverboats? They had some of the brightest minds and most powerful magicks working on them,” Flam said. “Then, without explanation or reasons why they might have failed, the engines would all just mysteriously shut down or break.”
“That’s not true. Not all of them,” somepony said.
“Not all, no, but enough that it couldn’t simply be called a coincidence. How about the time vines tangled the riverboat paddle? Or the occasion when the food stored for the voyage got infested? Or when the furnaces of every ship cracked in a single week?” Flam was running with the story. Nopony could disprove it, after all. He just needed them to believe him long enough for this week.
“Those didn’t all happen!” Somepony said.
“Oh, but they did! And do you know where these all happened?” Flam was on a roll, now. He could set this up perfectly.
“Where?” One scared pony said.
“Soon after they entered the Everfree Forest!” Flam said. Somepony gasped, and Flam knew he had them.

“That’s nonsense. The crew are prepared to handle anything the Everfree Forest has, and there hasn’t been any significant loss of life in five years.” A mare said.
“In five years,” Flam said. That mare had just given him plenty of ammunition to use, he just had to play it right. “What do you think happened to cause all that loss of life? Who do you think was responsible? After she stole all that life force, Mommy Pleasant hasn’t needed any more. How long do you think it will last, though?” Flam raised an eyebrow and leaned forward.
The ponies muttered amongst themselves. He heard somepony mention he overheard the crew talking about furnace troubles, and another mention how the paddles in the back needed screw replaced. All of them were probably overreacting or making up something they imagined just now, but that was exactly what he wanted. Most of the ponies left to go do other things with the conversation over, but he knew they’d remember it, and they would share what they had heard. It was perfect.
Flim, meanwhile, had been talking to the crew and learning what he could about any problems the boat may have. He hadn’t learned much, but he had discovered the crew were not as loyal to their jobs as they could be. He suspected it had to do with the loss of business for the riverboat industry once the trains had been built. The crew consisted of the poor, mostly. Those who’d lost their jobs as the riverboats disappeared. Them, thieves, and liars.
Flim could detect the latter two easily. They were the ones most likely to rat out a scam if it would profit themselves. He would do the same in their position. But he needed to watch for them. It wouldn’t do to be robbed by them before he could rob them.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t discover from the first group what would likely break on the boat. The portion of the crew he had met thus far didn’t know anything about the ship as a whole. These were the ponies who were going to be the guards for the Everfree Forest portion of the trip.
“So, if you’re not the ones in charge of the mechanical aspect of the riverboat, where are the ponies who manage that? Don’t you all bunk together?” Flim asked.
“Nah. The ones you’re talkin’ about get paid more than we do,” one pony said.
“Yeah, they get to live deeper in the hull. Hot as Tartarus down there,” another said.
“But, their meals are all paid for, and they get to live on the riverboat.”
“Yeah, but who wants to live on this dump? Everything’s falling apart.”
“Some ponies like it.”
“I’m not one of them.”
“Well...” Flim interjected. “…do they enjoy a game of cards?”
Almost as one, the ponies all shrugged. “We don’t talk to them much.”
“The captain doesn’t like the workers and the guards to intermingle.”
Flim nodded. He wouldn’t want them to, either. It was good business to keep everypony you employed in the dark about what the others were doing. That ensured that you were the only pony who knew everything that went on, and could underpay whoever you wanted without the others being the wiser. Sometimes Flim and Flam would even start rumors about one half with the other half, and they’d actively start undermining each other to stay in his good graces. In this case, the separation was useful to the captain, but not to Flim. He’d have to find them and start chatting with them within the next couple days, or he and Flam would have to improvise.

That evening, Flim and Flam met up in their room to discuss their progress. Flam was happy with the gains he had made in spreading fear of Mommy Pleasant, but Flim was less than pleased with his.
“I’ve been schmoozing with the guards, not with the actual crew. I mean, they’re on the crew, but they don’t take care of the ship, and they don’t even know each other very well.”
“Sounds like the captain knows what he’s doing.”
Flim nodded in agreement. “He must. I’ll need to find them, but don’t you worry, the boat is only so big.”
“I believe in you, brother, but remember not to be too pushy. We want their help, not their hate.”
“Of course. I know. I’m just upset that I had the wrong group. I even shared my drinks with them.”
“Well, they’re not completely useless. I can think of several ways to use the guards to help us out,” Flam said. “Picture this: We reach the Everfree, and the guards are ‘nervous’, as you say. Then, they ‘see something’ in the woods. Nothing’s actually there, of course, but the passengers get nervous, then they buy protection.”
“Oh, that’s excellent! I can see that working splendidly! I’m glad you thought of it.”
“Well I’m glad you’ve been chatting with the guards!”
“Well, in the event we cannot convince the guards to work with us, what other plan should we have?”
“Well, we weren’t planning on using this Mommy Pleasant thing to begin with, but it would be a shame to waste it.” Flam stroked his moustache in thought. “We could just damage something and blame the curse.”
“We don’t want to get caught doing that. That would discredit us utterly and we’d be forced to pay for damages.”
“Wait…” Flam’s smile widened. “What if we were affected by the curse?”

“I’m not sure I follow you.”
“We talk about the curse and how it causes bad things to happen to ponies on the riverboat, right?”
“Of course, that’s the point.”
“So, we want to show them an accident that would prove the curse is real, but not get ourselves into trouble, right?”
Flim’s face lit up as he understood. “So, we show them an accident, with us as the ones having it happen to them!”
“Exactly!” Flam tapped a hoof against his leg. “The exact nature of the accident can be determined later, but if we have something that seems dangerous, then that’s much better.”
“But without damaging the boat, what would be a crisis big enough to make the passengers panic?”
“Hmmm.” Flam tapped a hoof against his chin in though. “Snakes?”
“We’d have to catch some.”
“Get caught in the paddle?”
“Too dangerous for us without the crew’s help.”
“Illusory cragadile?”
“Guards would prove it’s fake.”
“Pony overboard?”
“That one could work,” Flim said. “Find a crowded section, ham up how you feel bad, then drop off the edge. Do it right after we enter the Everfree, and the timing would be beautiful!”
“So, back-up plan?”
“Back-up plan.” Flim held out a hoof to his brother, who took it and shook it hard. “Brother, I think we’ve done it again.”
“Ah, ah, ah! Don’t count your chickens until you have two in the bush, Flim.”
“Is that how the saying goes?”
“It is now!”
The brothers laughed and turned in for the night. The next day, Flam continued communicating with the passengers, fomenting fear of the Everfree everywhere he went, while Flim tried to find out where the rest of the crew spent their days. He found out they were deeper in the ship, and they kept the door locked to where the furnace and paddle access were. He would need a key, or need to be on the crew’s good side to even get inside.

Flim waited near the door for some time, but nopony came out or went in for a good few hours. He figured they must have shifts, but as far as he could tell, there wasn’t much going on down here. He pressed his ear against the door and he could hear voices, but there wasn’t much else beyond that. They didn’t sound excited or bored or anything. They were doing their job, and that was that.
“Doing it too well, if you ask me. What pony doesn’t like some entertainment now and again?” Flim needed a new in, and the captain might be his only lead.
Flim knocked on the door to the helm and waited for a response. The door was opened by who he assumed must be the captain’s first mate. Were there first mates on riverboats? Flim didn’t know, so he would have to avoid bringing that up. She glared at him and he gave his most winning smile. He took off his hat and gave a deep bow.
“Well hello there, ma’am. My name’s Flim and I was wondering if I might bother you and the captain for a little bit of information and possibly also a favor.”
“Well make it quick,” she said.
“Well, y’see, I’m here traveling to Baltimare, and although your boat has all the entertainment a pony of class might want and enjoy, I’m finding myself at a bit of a loss.” Flim slouched a bit and put on his best frown. “See, I’m not exactly a stallion of class, and although the passengers aren’t bothering me at all, I’m looking for some entertainment that might have just that extra bit of spice, if you take my meaning. I remember my time working on the docks back in Vanhoover, and the sailors that came and went had just the right amount of danger and excitement. If it’s not too much to ask, could I meet the rest of your crew? Have a few games of cards with ‘em?”

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “We have gambling tables on board. None of those are your style?”
“Well you see, and this is nothing against you or your lovely boat, but there’s no real sense of risk involved. All I lose at those tables is bits, and they won’t let me up the stakes at all. I’m looking to—” Flim waved his hoof in a small circle. “—get a little bit crazy, you know? Crazier than the passengers seem to be willing to get, anyway.”
“And you think the crew, who should be working to maintain the integrity of the ship, are going to be getting this crazy, do you?”
Flim’s smile faltered. “Well… in my time at the docks…”
“…you met ponies who were not working and were letting loose after a long voyage,” the mare said flatly. “If you’re looking for fun, I’m sure they’ll be more than willing to gamble their earnings away with you at the end of the trip, but until then, they are expected to be working. I’m sorry Mr. Flim, but you’ll just have to find some ponies among the passengers who share your desire for some ‘dangerous’ fun.”
Flim nodded and turned away as the door was shut in his face. He grumbled to himself. The captain and his mate were just trying to keep him from the crew. No wonder the door was locked. He would need something a bit trickier to get in that just the Captain’s permission. Or… he realized he hadn’t actually spoken to the Captain, just his mate. Maybe he needed to catch the captain alone? He only had the rest of today and tomorrow to manage it. He’d need to get everything squared away before they entered the Everfree, or they wouldn’t have enough time to set up. Was it worth the effort?

Flim wandered back down to the locked doors he suspected were the crew and maintenance tunnels, and waited some more. He waited a while longer, but nopony came out during the time he spent idling. He was forced to give up and head back to the dining hall to meet with Flam, who hopefully had better luck.
Flam stuffed a generous forkful of salad into his mouth, chewed a few seconds, then looked at Flim. “You look like you bet the farm and lost it. What’s the trouble? Can’t find the crew?”
“It’s worse than that, Flam. I found them, but I can’t talk to them. The captain won’t let me down where they work. His mate says they should be working while on the boat, not gambling.”
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it, can’t win ‘em all. We’re regular ponies and sometimes regular ponies have to work with what they have, and we have smarts.” Flam tapped himself on the temple with a hoof.”
“You’re right. I’m just upset I couldn’t get down there. It’s strange that the door is locked so tightly.”
“Well we have a back-up plan, so there’s nothing to worry about. I found a good spot where a lot of ponies gather we can have our ‘accident’. There’s a life preserver right next to it, and crowds get together to chat, eat, and dance.”
“I suppose that will have to do. With only a single day left to go I don’t think I can get the crew in on anything we could have tried.”
“Ahhh, we’ll be fine. Let’s enjoy our dinner, sleep on it, and see what tomorrow brings. I’ll work on making some of the charms look like they should protect ponies from evil magic, and you can try to get in to see the crew.”
“Alright. One last attempt before the forest.”

Unfortunately, the next day produced nothing. Flim stood by the door for hours, even going so far as to eat by the door, and nopony came out, nor did anypony go in. It was a mystery, and a strange one. He saw the Captain’s mate come down once, but all she did was glare at him and then leave. She didn’t try to go inside and she didn’t even say anything. It was very strange.
They came to the end of the third day, and the loudspeaker crackled during dinner. “Attention passengers, this is the first mate speaking,” the mare’s voice said. “We are coming up on the Everfree Forest. We will be entering it within the next half hour, and we want to inform you that it is as safe as any other waterway. The creatures inside ate not known to attack boats, and as long as you stay out of the water, none of the creatures that do can harm you. To ensure that you feel as comfortable as possible, we have guards that will be watching day and night to help you keep your peace of mind and enjoy your riverboat travels upon the Prancing Princess. Please enjoy your meal, and feel free to look at the wonders nature provides here within the Everfree Forest.”
Flim smiled at her choice of words. She was playing directly into their hands. Guards on deck, possible creatures in the water, it was a perfectly mixed powder keg, and Flim and Flam were the match.
“Are you ready, Flim?” Flam said with a grin.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Flip for who gets to fall in?”
“Of course.”
Flim pulled out a bit and flipped it into the air with his magic. “Call it.”
“Tails.”
Flim caught the bit on a hoof and looked down. “Tails it is! My brother, you get to be the lucky recipient of Mommy Pleasant’s curse of misfortune.”

Flam scoffed. “Lucky indeed.” He plucked the coin from his brother’s hoof and flipped it over. “Double-sided coin, Flim?”
“Well…”
“Hah! It’s all right. I know you don’t like the water you little cheat.” Flam slapped his brother on the shoulder. “Just be ready with that life-preserver. I don’t want to be in that mess any longer than necessary.”
“Of course, brother.”
They continued eating and watched the spotlights on the front of river boat illuminate the ever-approaching border of the Everfree Forest. Flim stayed seated while Flam got up and gasped along with the rest of the passengers. He made a big show of talking to as many of them as he could, asking how they felt about it.
The guards made their appearance. They were the same ponies Flim had been talking and gaming with, but now they were wearing old-fashioned guard-pony outfits with swords at their hips and spears in their hooves. It was for practical purposes, but Flim could appreciate the needs for some pomp and circumstance. Ponies ate that sort of thing right up.
As soon as they slipped under the canopy of the Everfree, Flam started hamming it up. “What’s that?” he said, and pointed to some part of the forest. Everypony turned to look, and he followed some invisible ‘thing’ along the side of the boat until he reached the spot right next to the life preserver. “Something’s moving in the trees!”
Flim finally got up and moved toward his brother. “Now Flam, you’re getting everypony worked up for nothing. Even if there were something in the trees, nopony could see it. It’s far too dark.”
“I think it’s a pony! You don’t suppose it’s…”
“Mommy Pleasant? Oh, come now, Flam, stop bringing that old bird up. She doesn’t exist, and if she had, she’d be long dead.”

Flam had reached a part of the railing that dipped down with a short staircase, and he moved carelessly closer, leaning out to try and glimpse what he claimed was out there. As he approached, his hoof ‘slipped’, and he took a tumble off the stairs, and over the railing into the water!
“Flam!” Flim rushed forward, grabbing the life preserver with his magic. “Pony overboard!”
The assembled crowd gasped in terror as Flam’s hat fluttered down to where he had splashed into the water. He was paddling and gasping, putting on as much of a show as he could. Flim reached the railing with the life preserver and hurled it down to his brother. It sailed through the air, but right as it hit the water, it split into two halves, severed neatly down the middle.
Flam stopped struggling as much as he was surprised by the separation, but he grabbed one half and held on. Flim tugged on the rope with his magic as he tried to lift his brother back out of the water. To Flim’s surprise, none of the guards had moved to help, and the passengers were all just staring.
“What are you waiting for, help me!” Flim yelled. He felt a tug on the rope and looked down. “Don’t worry, Flam, I’ll have you up in a jiffy!”
Flim felt another tug, harder this time. He looked down at his brother who was just clinging to the half of the life preserver the rope was attached to. He didn’t look panicked, and he wasn’t even using his magic to hold on. He felt a stronger tug, and his hooves slipped on the deck. This time, he could see the middle of the rope was being pulled straight toward the forest.
“Flam, what is that?”

Flam could see it too, and was looking in the direction of the tugging, but the darkness of the forest was absolute, and it concealed anything that might be hidden within it. The brothers could only watch helplessly as the rope was pulled harder then Flim could resist, and he felt himself slide across the deck. He struck the railing, and tried to hold on, but his magic wasn’t strong enough.
“Flim! Help me! Don’t let go!”
Flim gritted his teeth and his horn flared. The guards and passengers were still all just staring their glassy-eyed stares at Flim, not even moving. “I can’t… hold on!”
Just as he was about to let go, Flim felt his hooves leave the deck, and he toppled over the railing. He flipped around to see one of the guards watching him plummet into the water. Dark waters closed over his head, and he paddled upward. Once he broke the surface, Flam hoofed him the other half of the life preserver. The two could only watch helplessly as the riverboat paddled on down the river away from them, the passengers all staring as they disappeared into darkness.
“What… what just happened?” Flam asked.
“I don’t know, brother. The guards pushed me in, and the passengers did nothing.”
“I think we’ve been...”
“…cursed? Do you think so?”
“I think it a high possibility. Something was out there pulling you in.”
“So it was, I agree with that.”
“What do we do now? Climb into the forest?”
“I think the forest is more dangerous than the river.”
“Well the water certainly isn’t safe. What about cragadiles?”
“I don’t think we’re safe no matter where we are.”
“I’d rather be in danger on land if it’s all the same to you.”
“Wait… what’s that light?”

From behind the Prancing Princess, rounding a bend in the river was a swinging lantern. It was attached to a raft upon which sat a shadowy figure, humming in a low voice. As the sound of the paddling riverboat disappeared into the darkness, Flim and Flam could hear the soft *swoosh* of a smaller paddle propelling the little raft through the water.
“Oh! Hello there! Please help! We’ve fallen off the riverboat!” Flim shouted.
“Flim stop!” Flam chided. “We don’t know who this pony is.”
“Well whoever it is, it’s got to be a sight better than waiting for a perilous pike to nip my hooves off.” Flim turned back to the raft and its obscured occupant. “Can you help us?”
“Maybes I can. Maybes I can’t. Who’s that in the water, then?” A cheerful voice said.
“I’m Flim, he’s Flam. We’re the world-famous flim-flam brothers.”
“World famous are you? You can say that when I’ve heard of you.” The light bobbed closer. “Though I suppose I have now, haven’t I?”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Flim grabbed hold of the raft when it approached and pulled himself onto the wooden craft, then reached out a hoof to help Flam up. “To whom do we owe our thanks?”
“Oh, just call me Mommy Pleasant, dears. All the foals I meet call me mommy, after a while.”
Flim and Flam turned to look at each other, fear plain on their faces, then they turned to look back at their benefactor. Her mane was raven-black and exceptionally long, draping down to cover most of her face and body. Her tail was the same, and hung off the back of the raft to trail out behind in the water. Her muzzle poked through her hair, and when she grinned at them they could see a mouth full of jagged teeth, smiling a cruel smile.

“Mommy Pleasant, hmm?” Flam said as he scratched his chin. “I’m not sure I’ve heard that name before. How about you, Flim?”
“Oh, surely you know Mommy Pleasant? Age-old benefactor of the woods and rivers of Equestria? Famous lover of nature and everything in it?”
“Of course, of course! The mare who gave everything she had to ensure the rivers were clean and clear and unpolluted!”
“I heard she’ll live as long as the forest!” Flim understood what his brother was doing, and tried to come up with his own compliments that might make sense.
“I heard she blesses travelers who plant a tree as they pass by!”
“I heard she tamed a timberwolf who can grow and shrink as the situation demands!”
“I heard she can travel from one side of the forest to the other in the blink of an eye!”
The mare’s voice interrupted them. “I heard she curses riverboats that pass by. I heard she attacks those who dare enter her forest uninvited. I heard her mane is made of tar and entraps ponies. I heard she steals rhyme and reason and foments confusion. I heard her singing ensnares all who hear it. I heard she made a pact with a spirit for everlasting life. I heard… she devours the life force of those who fall in the river.” She grinned at the two brothers again with that jaggy-toothed smile. She tilted her head and they could see a single green eye looking out at them from behind her pitch-black mane.
They gulped in unison as they looked at her. Flam reached up for his hat, but groped only air. Mommy Pleasant saw him grab at nothing and reached behind her into the water where her tail fanned out. There was brief splashing, and she produced his jaunty hat from her tail and held it out to him. He took it cautiously, looking it over before placing it on his head. She reached back again and produced another, which she held out to Flim.

“The river is my home, that much is not a lie. Everything that happens in it or on it is known to me,” Mommy Pleasant said. “The rest of those tales I will neither confirm nor deny.”
Flim took his hat and placed it on his head. It was wet and limp, but it was his hat, and it fit neatly on his head. He glanced at Flam and the two shared a knowing look that was both fearful and shrewd. If she was dangerous, they both knew they had to try to get on her good side. If she was just old and strange, they would just need to bide their time. So far, all they’d seen was that she had bad teeth and could pull things from the river. That didn’t mean much, she might have picked up their hats earlier, and kept them for safekeeping until the moment was right. They needed to test her somewhat and find out just how much she was capable of.
“Well, if you are indeed Mommy Pleasant, then it should be no matter for you to deliver us to our riverboat again, correct?” Flam said.
“It would be a trifling matter, yes. Asking the river to change its ebb and flow is a simple matter,” she said. “I will not.”
“Of course not, Flam. To speed up the river for two minor ponies such as ourselves would upset the balance of the creatures and plants in the river. It would move creatures besides just ourselves. That’s a very selfish desire, indeed.”
“Flattery will only take you so far, and you two push your luck. Be glad enough that I chose to lift you out of the water. I did not have to. Now be silent and I will bring you to my home where you may dry off. Then I will decide what to do with you.” She began paddling, and the raft skimmed easily across the surface of the river faster than it should have been able to.

Flim and Flam shared a grimace. Once the stories reached a certain point, Mommy Pleasant was nothing but capricious and cruel to anypony she met. Stories started out lauding her ability to help nature and bring beauty everywhere she went, but once civilization encroached on her territory, things got dark fast. The brothers needed an out, sooner rather than later. They held no doubts as to how nice she might be once they reached her home.
“Well, we don’t mean to intrude. Just pointing us in the right direction to lead us to the nearest town would do,” Flim said.
“Quite right, Ponyville is just on the outskirts of the Everfree, point us toward it, and we’ll be out of your luxurious hair,” Flam said.
“Ponyville?” Mommy Pleasant spat in derision. “Ponyville sits on the edge of my beautiful forest, mocking it with their orderly trees and weather. There’s even an apple farm where the trees are all lined up in rows, and every single one is an apple tree, as if that’s natural!”
Flam held out a hoof placatingly. “Well of course it isn’t. Not everypony is as equipped as you are to survive in the wild.”
“They certainly don’t try, do they? Now hush. I desire silence,” Mommy Pleasant said.
Flam looked at his brother a moment before turning back to Mommy Pleasant. “Could you just tell us–”
Mommy Pleasant whipped her head around to look at Flam with that one and pulled a hoof across her mouth. Flam shut up mid-sentence. He put a hoof to his mouth, but it was still there, and he could still open it, but no sound was coming out.
“Flam, are you okay?” Flim put a hoof on his brother’s withers. “What did you do to–”
Mommy Pleasant did the same while looking at Flim, and Flim stopped talking. She made no attempt to explain herself or what she had done, but paddled silently through the darkness.

Eventually, the meager lantern light illuminated a dark shoreline, and Mommy Pleasant disembarked. Her long mane hung down to her fetlocks when properly standing, but her tail dragged behind her in the water. Even as she went further ashore, the end of it stayed in the water, preventing Flim and Flam from seeing how long it truly was.
“Come along, colts, the night is cold, and it would not do for you to stay out here while wet. You’ll catch your death.”
Flim and Flam’s eyes were fixated on her tail, but they turned as one to look at her as she walked onto the shoreline carrying the lantern. They followed her as she moved deeper into the forest, leaving the raft and the river behind.
They came upon a little cabin soon. It was built into the bole of a tree, and from the minimal light available, Flim and Flam could see a neat stone pathway leading up to the door. Mommy Pleasant swung a hoof in front of it, and the door creaked as it swung open, roots shifting to allow them entry to the quaint little house.
Flim and Flam numbly followed her inside, and once there they silently sat down on two of the many little chairs that lined the room. Mommy Pleasant rubbed a hoof along the wall and moss lit up under where she had rubbed, spreading quickly to cover the ceiling of the cottage.
Flim stared in awe, but Flam wasn’t so easily impressed. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He motioned to Mommy Pleasant, and pointed at his mouth until she finally took notice. With a heavy sigh, Mommy Pleasant looked at Flam and pressed a hoof to her mouth, the waved it at Flam, then did the same to Flim.

“Mmmah?” Flam tested his ability to speak, then smiled wide at Mommy Pleasant. “This is a lovely house Miss Pleasant. It’s—dare I say it—naturally built into the tree.”
“It’s Mommy, dearest. Colts don’t address their mothers as ‘Miss’, but yes.” Mommy Pleasant went to a small corner filled with stones and coals and began striking flint and steel together to make a fire. “The cottage is grown naturally into the tree over decades. Unfortunately, ‘civilized’ ponies don’t want to wait. They want their houses immediately, and so chop the trees down.”
“Well, can you blame them? They’d be homeless if they didn’t,” Flim said.
“I can blame them, because even with their instant houses, they still do not make the effort to switch to anything different!” Mommy Pleasant put a kettle over the fire and came to sit down across from the brothers. “At least some of them use stone. Stone I can abide.” She sighed and shook her head, droplets of liquid fell from her mane to spatter the floor. “Ahhh, I’m letting my emotions get the better of me. This is no way to act around foals.”
“But we’re not...” Flam began.
“Ssst! Silence. You will answer only when I ask you a question. It is late, and there is time for tea before bed,” Mommy Pleasant said.
Flim put a hoof on his brother’s foreleg and shook his head. Flim motioned to the floor, sweeping his hoof across the ground leading out the door. Flam followed the motion, and hissed a sharp breath inward. Mommy Pleasant’s tail was spread across the floor, an inky carpet covering most of the cottage and spilling out under the door. Flim didn’t know for certain, but he had a hunch it would lead all the way back to the river if they followed it.

The two sat in silence while they waited for the water to boil. Flim started to tap a hoof while waiting, but Mommy Pleasant whacked him on the knee.
“Good colts do not fidget.”
He bit his tongue and kept silent as they waited. Finally, the kettle began to whistle, and Mommy Pleasant pulled it off the fire. She poured the water into a teapot, then set out three cups on a small wooden table. She set the teapot down in the center, and got herself comfortable across from the two brothers. When she was comfortable, she pulled her mane to the side, uncovering the left side of her face.
Flam did not disguise his approval. She was young, or at least appeared to be. Her cheeks were full, and the single green eye he could see had no wrinkles or crow’s feet nor dark circles. She was beautiful. Flam had to remind himself that they were only seeing what she wanted them to see. If she could shut them up with a look and a motion, who knew what else she was capable of.
Flam stroked his moustache and tried to think of what tricks she might be pulling. Illusions, certainly. If this was the Mommy Pleasant from the stories, she was old, even if she didn’t look it. Mares were known to be vain, though she might instead be trying to hide something horrifying. He was going to lean toward the latter, her teeth were jagged and ugly, which would normally be something to be hidden. The fact that she wasn’t meant she was trying to distract from something else. In addition, her tail was supernaturally long. Her beauty might be trying to distract them from that, if she assumed they were your typical stallion. Fortunately for him, Flim and Flam were not typical.

Mommy Pleasant poured the tea into each cup and motioned for them to drink. “Drink up, young ones. Warm tea before bed helps a pony sleep.” She sipped from her own cup first.
Flim looked at his cup, then to his brother, then to Mommy Pleasant. He was reluctant to drink, but her piercing eye seemed to brook no nonsense, and she would not approve of him rejecting the beverage. He looked at Flam again, who shrugged and took a small sip. Flim followed suit, and Mommy Pleasant smiled. She continued sipping her drink in silence.
Flim concentrated on himself as he drank, trying to take note of any differences. If there was something in the drink to help him sleep, he wanted to be aware of how quickly it took effect. If there was something in it to coerce him to listen to her, he wanted to be aware of that as well. He drank slowly, trying to keep himself hyper aware of himself as he did. The main thing he was aware of was that he needed to drink the tea, or Mommy Pleasant would be mad.
When they were all finished their tea, Mommy Pleasant set down her cup and looked at Flim and Flam. “Well, it is very late, we’ve had our tea, it is time for bed. I will show you to your rooms. You may hang your shirts and hats up on the rack to dry. The blankets should be warm enough to keep the chill off.”
Mommy Pleasant led them to a small room next to a much larger one. There was a bed on either side of the room, with a rack against one wall and a dresser between them. “If you must get up to use the bathroom during the night, I will come guide you so you don’t get scared, sweet dreams, little colts.”

She pushed them into their room and shut the door. They could hear her hoofsteps going into the larger room, and then another door swung shut. Once Flam thought she was out of ear’s reach, he turned to his brother.
“Well, let’s get the obvious out of the way; she’s rather good-looking for a centuries-old mare,” Flam said.
“Flam! Now is not the time to be ogling a supernatural mare.”
Flam chuckled. “I said it was obvious. Now that’s out of the way we can discuss more pressing matters, like what tricks she’s playing. She knows a few, and they’re powerful tricks.”
“She got us to shut up, and she doesn’t even have a horn. I’m not sure how she did it,” Flim said.
“The power of suggestion? I didn’t see or feel a magic aura. Do you think she’s using hypnosis?”
“If she was, she’s better than you or I. We tried to learn that once, remember?”
“Yes, I had you pretending to be a chicken for two days.”
“Ah-ah, I had convinced you you’d done that when you hadn’t, remember?”
“Well, that’s beside the point. I think her looks are an illusion. She’s trying to distract us from something. Why keep her face hidden for so long? Also, we saw her teeth, they’re jagged. She’s hiding something. Something big.”
Flim scratched his chin. “That much is obvious, but I’m not really keen on staying to find out what it is.”
“Nor I. But you saw her tail? I don’t think it’s safe to touch. Like, crack the door right quick.”
Flim opened the door a crack and looked out. Mommy Pleasant’s huge tail covered the floor, shimmering in the dim, mossy light. He closed the door again and looked to his brother. “You think that’s why she said; ‘I will come guide you’ without telling us to come find her?”
Flam nodded. “That’s the dangerous part, I’m sure of it.”

“What do we do, then? We can’t stay here. I don’t want to give her more opportunities to bamboozle us,” Flim said.
Flam pointed to the tiny window in their room. “Well, we can’t fit through that, and I really don’t want to risk touching her tail until I know more about it. I don’t think there’s much we can do right now.”
“So, you just want to give up, then? That’s not like you.”
“Brother, you wound me! I’m merely saying we bide our time until tomorrow. She was right, it is late, and we’re both cold and wet. We can’t leave without significant effort, and traversing the Everfree Forest is ill-advised at night. Patience, and gather information about the mark, right?”
“You’re right, but if we wake up as animals, though, I’m blaming you.”
“That’s fair, Flim. Sleep well.”
“Goodnight, Flam.”
The brothers removed their damp clothes and hung them on the rack near the door. They crawled under the covers of their diminutive beds and tried their best to sleep. The strange and alien sounds of the Everfree Forest spilled through the window of their room and lulled them to sleep.
Flim and Flam had troubled dreams, and were awakened early by a sweet voice calling to them. Upon opening their eyes, they were greeted by Mommy Pleasant standing in the open doorway of their room. They could hear the sound of the kettle whistling in the background, and the sound of some great beast came into the house through their window.
“Good morning, colts. I trust you slept well? I’ve taken the liberty of preparing you some breakfast before we begin today’s chores,” she said. “I’ve also taken your shirts to wash them properly. Although they got wet, they were in dire need of cleaning. They were filled with all sorts of strange junk in several hidden pockets.”

“Oh, those were our–”
“Those were our favourite shirts! Thank you so much for your kindness, Mommy,” Flim interjected. He gave Flam a sharp look and a frown.
“No colt of mine will be poorly-dressed. Now get up so we can properly greet the day. Once breakfast is done, your chores await.” She turned and stepped out of the room, leaving Flim and Flam to themselves.
In the daylight, the house was fully revealed, showing a cozy veneer painted over a rotting husk. The tree the house was in had long since given up the ghost. Mommy Pleasant’s constantly cold and damp presence had caused rot and mold to build up over the years she had made her home here. The glowing fungus was not pretty to look at in the light, with fruiting sections that pulsed. There were cracks in the wood everywhere they looked, where insects crawled hither and thither, eating away at it.
“Does everything seem more… pitiful to you, Flim?”
“It does. I think it’s true what they say, dawn burns away the strongest illusions.”
“If that were the case, why doesn’t Mommy herself look different?”
“That would mean it isn’t an illusion, and she’s doing something else. We’ve only seen half of her face so far.”
“That’s a horrifying thought,” Flam stepped over a crack in the floor and grabbed his and Flim’s hats from the rack. He tossed Flim’s hat expertly onto his brother’s head, and the two followed Mommy Pleasant out to the dining room.
The main room of the house had mildly better lighting, but all that meant was that they could see the poor state the house was in that much better. Sick blackness covered much of the wood. What they had assumed was a soft carpet beneath their hooves last night, turned out to be soft, damp, and spongy wood.

In the light, Mommy Pleasant herself was not much different. She looked young. Her fur and skin appeared supple and firm. Attractive, even. The odd part of her was that she appeared to be damp. Her mane and tail looked wet, and wherever her tail went it left behind a trail of wetness. That probably contributed to the current state of the house.
Flim and Flam sat down in the chairs they had used the night before, and waited patiently for Mommy Pleasant to finish preparing their tea and breakfast. While they waited, Flam picked up a small and smooth stone from the little table in front of them. He turned it over with his magic and looked it over until Mommy Pleasant came back to the table with their food. She whacked him on the horn with a spoon.
“Don’t play with things that do not belong to you.” She grabbed the stone from the table and tossed it behind her. It disappeared into her tail with a *plunk*.
“Sorry… uh… Mommy.”
“Now eat. We’ve a long day ahead.”
Flim took his bowl of fruit and cleared his throat. “If I may ask, how long will you need our help for? We do still have places to go, and directions to town would…” he trailed off.
Mommy Pleasant smiled a toothy smile at Flim, her jagged teeth a stark contrast to her her perfect face. “Why, we have to chop wood, then tend to the garden, then fix some leaks in the house. We need to turn the compost, mend the tools, clean the laundry, forage, and” —Mommy Pleasant grinned wider— “we have to go down to the river.”
Flim’s mouth was set in a grim line. Most of the chores sounded like perfectly mundane chores, and Flim and Flam could perform them with minimal effort thanks to their magic, but whether any of them would provide them an opportunity to run was a different matter. Not to mention, he didn’t like the way she smiled when talking about the river.

“And… once all of those chores are done, we can go?” Flim prodded.
“Oh, certainly! But these things are going to take a long time to complete,” Mommy Pleasant said. “But don’t you worry, I don’t mind taking care of you colts as long as I have to. It’s been so long since I took care of somepony.”
Flam ate his food silently. He knew there was no way she was going to let them go. The way she was talking and the implications behind her words all indicated she was planning on keeping them here for the foreseeable future. She was merely trying not to alarm them. She was waiting for something. Something he couldn’t figure out. She hadn’t yet played her hoof, and that was worrying.
“Well, no sense letting daylight go to waste, then!” Flam took big bites of his food to finish it sooner.
Mommy Pleasant whacked his hoof with her own. “Small and polite bites! I didn’t raise a pony with no table manners!”
Flam wanted to say she hadn’t raised him at all, but she was clearly crazy. If she wanted to think of him as her own foal, he wasn’t going to correct her. Nevertheless, he struggled to keep his mouth closed as he chewed his food. He even put a hoof in front of his mouth to try to make it seem polite. She glared at him, but when he eventually swallowed she was all smiles once more.
“Now that you’ve both had a good breakfast, let’s go take care of the chores, shall we?” Mommy Pleasant stood up and took their dishes back to the kitchen. Flim hadn’t quite finished, but he didn’t say anything as she took his bowl and food away. She dropped them into a basin filled with water, and then motioned to the two to follow her outside.

They were taken outside and shown to a pile of logs that had yet to be split. Mommy Pleasant picked the axe up with her mouth and passed it to Flim. He lifted it in his magic and gave a forced smile.
“So, I’m to chop all of this?” He motioned to the pile of logs twice as tall as himself.
“Of course, winter is coming. We’ll need to be prepared,” she said. “Now you come with me.” She grabbed Flam by his forehoof and tugged him away.
Flam looked back at his brother as they were separated, and pointed to a large nearby tree, then stamped a hoof once. Flim nodded and waved before Flam disappeared around the house.
Mommy Pleasant led him to a garden plot that had seen better days. The plants were growing, but the food they were offering was meager, and very small. Some of them even had bugs inside them. Flam realized then that he hadn’t seen any fruit trees, and they had fruit for breakfast. He tried desperately to recall what kind of fruit, but he couldn’t bring it to mind. Had it been apples? Melon? No matter what it had looked like, it probably wasn’t even fruit to begin with. She had convinced them it was something else. Flam felt queasy.
“Did you hear me?” Mommy Pleasant was glaring at Flam.
“Uh– weed the garden?” Flam guessed.
“And?”
“Get… rid of the bugs?”
Mommy Pleasant clucked her tongue. “Not paying attention. Bad colts don’t get to rely on their magic while they work.” She moved her hoof in front of her in an intricate pattern, but nothing seemed to happen. “Pile the weeds in the trough over there. I will be using them.” I’ll come check on you later. You had better be finished when I return.”

Flam watched as she walked away. When she was gone, he looked up at the sun. If Flim had understood his message, then they were to meet in an hour behind that tree. Only five minutes had elapsed by the motion of the shadows, so he had a while, but that would let him get finish Mommy’s task. He looked down at the meager plot and tried to rip all the weeds up with his horn, but found he couldn’t even make it glow.
He tapped his horn. It wasn’t sensitive, and it didn’t feel like there was a spell on it, so Mommy Pleasant had done something else. He thought back to the motion she had made with her hoof. That was the key point that prevented him from casting any spells, but damned if he knew what she had done. It had to be suggestion of some kind. He had watched her do it, so the motion itself was what caused the effect. It was curious, and very powerful. It would be useful to remember that if he could figure out the trigger. In the meantime, he had a job to do.
Flam looked down at the weeds, covered in wet slime, and grimaced. This was going to taste terrible. He bent down and ripped a weed out of the dirt. He gagged. It tasted exactly as awful as it looked. How did earth ponies do this? It was nasty. It was awful. He gripped another weed in his teeth and pulled. He felt something crawling on his nose, and he yelped, dropped the weed, and wiped a hoof over his muzzle. He scraped at his moustache, desperately trying to get the nasty thing off his face. When he finally stopped, he waited a moment to feel movement, but felt nothing further. He picked up the weed in his hooves and moved it to the trough Mommy had pointed at.

Flam watched the sun as he worked. It was slow going without magic. He wasn’t used to this kind of work, but he was getting the job done. It tasted awful, and he tried to use his hooves more than his mouth, but sometimes his mouth was just going to be more dexterous than his hooves were. He really didn’t envy earth ponies right now.
When the sun had indicated an hour had passed, he looked around to see if Mommy Pleasant was anywhere nearby. He couldn’t see her, though he could see her tail, but he felt comfortable enough to skulk around as long as he didn’t touch any of the damp hairs.
Flam snuck away from the garden patch, keeping an eye out for Mommy Pleasant. The direction her tail went indicated she had gone to the other side of the house, but he wasn’t going to make any assumptions. A tricky mare like her could be anywhere. He just hoped Flim was going to be able to get away from his work long enough to meet with him. They needed to plan something out before they went down to the river at the end of the day. Whatever was waiting for them there, Flam wouldn’t bet on it being good.
The tail was next to the path Flam walked as he went along to meet Flim. When he arrived at the area of the forest behind the wood pile, he discovered that it was dividing him and Flim, like an inky-black fence separating them.
Flam looked over at his brother, then gave a quick glance around for Mommy Pleasant. “Flim, we can’t stay here much longer. The next opportunity we have, we need to take it and get out.”
“Why not now?” Flim asked.
“Because she locked away my magic. I need it back. Have you ever had to weed a garden with your mouth? It’s disgusting.”

Flim grimaced. “Well stop making her mad.”
“It was an accident! Anyway, do you think we should try to kill her and escape? Or just run? I feel like she can chase us better than we could run.”
“Would she even die?”
“She’d immortal, not invincible. She has to be. All I know is that we can’t wait for the trip to the river tonight. She gets far too happy when she brings that up. I have the distinct feeling that will be the end of us if we let it go there.”
“I’d have to agree with you, brother. Keep working, and we’ll meet here again in an hour. You should focus on getting your magic back. I’ll speak with her and see what information I can glean about her weaknesses.”
“Done. One hour, Flim.”
“One hour, Flam.”
The brothers parted ways, and Flim returned to his logs. They weren’t hard to chop, but there was a lot of them. Even though he was using magic to do all the lifting, it was getting very dreary doing the same thing over and over again. His brief chat with Flam had been a welcome break, but now he had to worry about Mommy Pleasant taking away his magic. If she had the ability to do that, he was doubting her ability to even die. Anypony that had lived that long and could nullify a unicorn was likely to have protection against mundane things like death. Still, they couldn’t give up.
Mommy Pleasant’s motives were confusing, but they were still pony motives. From what he had been able to glean so far, she was a mare, and liked to look pretty like a mare. She liked foals, and wanted some of her own. She was even going so far as to treat Flam and himself like young colts she had raised. That comment she had made: “I didn’t raise a colt with no manners.” Indicated she was thinking they were her foals. That was dangerous.

If Mommy Pleasant was thinking of them as her own foals, and was going to treat them as foals, then what purpose was there in taking them down to the river? Flam thought it was the end of everything if they let it get that way, but it didn’t really fit with the rest of her behavior. She wanted something from them, but what was it that she wanted? Flim couldn’t put his hoof on it.
While he was thinking, he was chopping, and the constant noise masked Mommy Pleasant’s approach from behind him. “How goes the chopping my strong little colt?” Mommy said.
Flim jumped, and the axe dropped from his magic right next to his hoof. “Woah, geeze Mommy! You almost made me cut myself.”
“Oh, my apologies, little Flim. I see you’ve chopped a lot of the firewoord. You’re quite the industrious fellow. I think that will do for now,” Mommy Pleasant said. “I think it’s time to move on to the next task. I need you to help me mend some holes in the house. Woodpeckers like to hunt for insects in the bark of the tree, and so they put holes in it. I need you to mend them with a special paste I make.”
“Okay then. Lead the way.”
Mommy Pleasant led Flim to one side of the house, where she picked up a bucket of some brownish fluid and a brush. She then led him to a rope dangling from the trees branches high above. She pointed at several holes in the wood some distance up the tree where the lighter wood underneath had been exposed to the elements.
“You just need to climb up there and brush that paste into those divots in the wood,” Mommy Pleasant said. “Just be very careful. It’s very high up, and a long way down.”

Flim stared up at the tree, and down at the pot of goo and brush, then over at Mommy Pleasant. He could just use his magic to brush the spots from a safe distance down here. He didn’t think it would be too much trouble, and likely not out of range of his telekinesis. He almost opened his mouth to mention that, but decided against it. Mommy Pleasant seemed to react in a strange manner to the smallest of things, and he didn’t want to lose his magic like Flam had.
Flim swallowed, nodded, and started climbing the knotted rope. It wasn’t too terribly difficult, and with the pot of fluid and brush held in his magic, he made it to the first divot. He dipped the brush in the pot, then slathered it liberally over the tree’s injury. It soaked in quickly, and the wood grew back around the hole. The wound closed, leaving just fresh growth in its place. There was no bark, but there was new wood.
“Well, that’s interesting,” Flim said.
“Excellent work!” Mommy yelled from below. “Don’t miss any of the holes. I’ll be back in a while. I must check on your brother.”
Mommy Pleasant left Flim suspended far above the forest floor. As soon as she was out of sight, he wasted no time in just covering each of the remaining holes in some of the fluid, then he slid down the rope and put everything down. This was an easy job to accomplish, and that left him plenty of time to do whatever else he wanted or investigate whatever else he could until Mommy Pleasant came back. They still needed information on whether Mommy could die, and he knew a good place to begin hunting for answers. Ponies always kept secrets in their rooms. Small and big ones. Flim would start there.

Flam had just finished weeding the garden when Mommy Pleasant came walking around the side of the tree house. Her mane covered half of her face, but the smile she gave him was less than comforting. It looked like she was happy, but there was a sinister twinkle in her eye. She looked him up and down as she approached, taking in his filthy appearance, covered in slime and dirt.
“Well, you did what I asked, but you’ve gotten yourself filthy, little Flam,” Mommy said. “Your brother isn’t nearly as dirty as you and he’s already finished one task. We’ve only just started and you’re already looking worse for wear.”
“I’m… sorry, Mommy,” Flam said. “I could get clean and keep myself that way if you could let me have my magic back.”
“Oh, it’s no worry. We’ll clean up when we go down to the river, you know.” Mommy’s smile wasn’t very comforting. “But you did what I asked, so yes, you may have your magic back.” She made a gesture in front of herself and blew him a kiss.
Flam tested his horn, and lifted up some of the weeds in the trough. As his aura surrounded them and they floated free, he smiled wide. “Thank you, Mommy. What else needs to be done today?”
Flam did a double-take when he saw Flim’s face peering around the corner of the house. Flim made a frantic gesture to him. He didn’t catch the entire meaning, but Flim had pointed at himself and the house. If Flam knew his brother, he’d thought of the same thing Flam had. Mommy Pleasant had something important in her room. That meant Flam’s job was to keep Mommy Pleasant busy until Flim had finished his search.
“Uhhhh… didn’t you say… we had to do the composting? How… uh… how does that work?” Flam asked. “Oh, somepony did listen after all!” Mommy crooned. “You’re right. Bring that trough and I’ll show you your next job.”

Flim hoped his brother had gotten the message correct. He had only checked to make sure Mommy Pleasant was doing what she had said she was going to do. In her position, Flim might have lied about what he was doing, then observed from a distance. Thankfully, Mommy Pleasant was far more unassuming than he himself was, and actually followed through on her statements. That would hopefully give him some time to sift through her effects for something incriminating.
Flim crept into the damp house. Mommy’s tail was no longer inside, instead following her as she walked about the outside of the house, surrounding them on all sides. The floor was still damp, and the wood was spongy. It was gross, but at least his hooves weren’t clopping as he snuck through the place.
He walked down the hallway up to the door Mommy Pleasant had disappeared behind last night. It looked normal, but if he were her, he’d have a trap of some kind to deter possible intruders who would steal his secrets. He lit his horn and examined the handle for anything out of the ordinary, but found nothing at all. He wouldn’t put it past her to be a master of magic that couldn’t be detected by conventional means, so he’d just have to test it the old-fashioned way.
Flim reached out, and firmly clicked the handle down. The door opened.
There was no explosion. No lasers cut his head from his body. No gas that would cause him to choke or hypnotize him. Nothing happened at all. Flim was almost disappointed.
She never had guests, and nopony was stupid or brave enough to enter the Everfree Forest without some expectation of where they were going. It’s possible that Mommy Pleasant only preyed on those who fell off the riverboat, and those were not the cream of the crop in being surreptitious.

Flam hoped whatever Flim was looking for was easy to find. He was carrying the trough Mommy Pleasant had pointed out to him, and he wasn’t sure how long he could keep her interested in teaching him whatever job she wanted done.
The trough was filled with the slimy weeds he had placed on the top, and a disgusting, rotten slurry on the bottom. Wherever they were taking it, he didn’t believe she ever moved it, and was only doing this for his benefit. Busywork, as it were, to while away the hours of the day until they could go down to the river. The reason he believed that was that the legs of the trough had been embedded into the dirt below, and it had taken some effort to pull it out. Now he was balancing the thing with his magic as they walked to the edge of the woods for whatever reason.
“Okay, this will do. Dump it on the ground here.” Mommy Pleasant pointed to a spot on the ground.
“Okay…” Flam did as he was told, and the slop puddled into a slight depression in the soil.
“Now stomp on it.”
“What?”
“Crush it with your hooves. It will help it decay faster.”
“I’ll get–” Flam started to speak, but stopped as he realized what was going to happen. He was going to get filthy. Chopping wood, weeding the garden, stomping the compost. He was going to get dirty. Everything was going to get them dirty. Exceptionally quickly, the way she wanted them done. If they were dirty colts, they would need to be cleaned, and to clean colts, you need to get them wet, and what better place to get wet than at the nearby river? They were quickly running out of time.
“I hope you found something, Flim,” Flam muttered to himself as he stepped onto the pile of filth.

Inside the ominous door to her room, Mommy Pleasant’s living quarters were almost a disappointment. It was dim, but Flim could make out several normal items that a bedroom would have. Mommy Pleasant had a dresser, a bed, a vanity, a closet door stood off to one side, and a bed-side table. It was all very average in appearance, which was a bit of a let-down.
Was she truly so average that she wouldn’t have anything hidden in here? Was all her magic in herself? That would leave Flim and Flam in a very unfortunate and unenviable position. If her magic was all inherent, and she was so unafraid that she had no secrets to keep, then they were well and truly screwed. If Mommy Pleasant was immortal and invulnerable, she couldn’t be stopped.
Flim almost stepped into the room, but he stopped to double-check the floor. It looked like it was suffering from the same rot as the rest of the house, but as a professional con-pony, he wasn’t going to take anything for granted. If he were a powerful nature-witch, he’d have something protecting his secrets, no matter how far from other ponies he might find himself.
The floor seemed safe. It blended seamlessly with the rest of the floor leading out to the dining room. There was no off-colour portion that might indicate a trap. Flim tip-hoofed inside the room, and when nothing happened, he wandered about more bravely.
He checked the dresser, the bed, and the closet door without touching anything, but they all appeared safe. Even his usual spells didn’t reveal any secret spells or traps. Was Mommy Pleasant really that confident in her power? Did she truly have nothing to fear? He lifted a hoof to grab the handle of the closet, but when his hoof touched it, he heard the sound of flowing water, as of a creek washing along a shoreline.

Flam’s hooves were covered in filth and slop. Mommy Pleasant watched with a small smile on her face as he tromped the plants into a nasty slurry. She seemed to be enjoying it much more than he thought was normal, but he wasn’t going to talk back. If this was what she wanted, this was what he would do. He was beginning to worry he wouldn’t have the freedom to go meet Flim if she stuck around, but he didn’t want her to leave to go find Flim until he had received the all-clear.
“Well, it looks like you have this under control,” Mommy Pleasant mused. “I’m going to go check on your brother. Don’t worry, we’ll go down to the river soon enough, then you’ll be cleaned.” She turned to go.
“Wait Mommy!” Flam yelled.
She whipped around to look at him.
“I… still need help,” Flam wracked his brain for something he could talk about to keep her here. “I don’t know when the plants will be properly crushed.” Mommy Pleasant looked at him funny, but he kept talking. “You see, usually when I want plants to decompose, I leave them to decompose naturally, but if you’re asking me to help them along, then it’s not something I’m familiar with. Will they properly decompose if left in sunlight? Do I need to add water? I’ve made smoothies out of dandelions, and they need extra water and a good amount of cutting before the stems will stop being so chunky.” Flam wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about, but he was in the zone, and he was going to sell this as hard as possible. “Why, I remember one time when Flim and I were trying to create a new thirst-quenching drink out of apple cores. The seeds were a big problem, and so we had to figure out if allowing the apples to ferment a little would create a strong enough beverage that would distract ponies from the chunks left in it.”
Mommy Pleasant was confused, but she was watching him.

Flim, meanwhile, had his hoof on the handle to the closet. The sound of rushing water was faint, but it was present. He looked around, but could find nothing that might be the source of the sound. He took his hoof off the handle, and the sound disappeared.
“Well, that’s the source, and that could likely be a trap, but of what kind?” Flim said to himself.
He put his hoof back on the handle. The sound began once again, faint, and seeming to come from somewhere behind him. He pulled on the handle, and the sound increased in volume. He let up a little bit, and the volume decreased. Whatever the trap was, it was likely warning him that it was going to go off, and if he completed the action of opening the door, that was going to be the tipping point.
Flim looked all around the room for anything he could use to pull the handle instead of himself, but didn’t see much that would be of use. The blankets weren’t going to be rigid enough, and any clothes in the dresser would have the same problem. Mommy Pleasant didn’t need a cane, so there were none of those. No, if he wanted the door open, he was going to have to do it himself.
He stepped back from the door, and stood behind the bed on the other side from it. He lit his horn and gripped the handle from on the other side of the room. If the trap on the door was going to hit the creature that opened it, and was smart enough to determine it was him, he couldn’t help that, but if something was going to blast the spot in front of the door, he would at least avoid that. With one final intake of breath, he pulled the handle down and the door clicked open. The rushing sound seemed like it was directly behind him for a split second, then it stopped.

Flam was busy trying to make the story about him and Flim spinning the idea of eating apple seeds to be good seem interesting. He knew he was failing, but he was just trying to buy time. “…so growing trees wherever you perform your daily bowel movement wasn’t the most interesting idea to many ponies. When we learned they weren’t interested in having their outhouses or other bathrooms turning into apple groves, we knew we’d have to pulverize the seeds properly, so Flim got–”
“Hush!” Mommy Pleasant said and held up a hoof.
Her head tilted to the side and her ears flicked back and forth. Fearing the worst, but not wanting to get himself hexed by her strange magic again, Flam stomped the weeds even harder, trying to make as much noise as possible. In his haste, he splattered some of the slop a little too hard and hit Mommy Pleasant in the mane with it.
Flam froze in fear.
Mommy Pleasant didn’t even seem to notice. She was intently listening to something, and her head was turning toward the house. Flam couldn’t keep her attention, and he couldn’t block it, and if he were to touch her, she would probably “discipline” him somehow. Flim’s time was up.
“Product recall!” Flam yelled as loud as he could.
They had a code for nearly every eventuality for every scam or plot they could conceive of. Product recall meant the deal had gone south, and somepony would be after them. It could be the police, a vigilante, an irate customer, or just an angry pony who hated them for some reason. No matter what was after them, it meant it was time to skedaddle. Pick up what you could, and make a break for it. Cut the losses and get gone.
Flam yelled, and Mommy Pleasant looked back at him briefly with her cold green eye. She whipped her head back to the house, gave one last look at Flam, then jumped into her own tail with a splash!

The closet had opened, and Flim was peering inside. He was confused at first, because what he was looking at looked like a huge mess of hair. It was a pile of black hair, and it appeared to be damp. The fact that it was damp was what told him what it was.
It was Mommy Pleasant’s tail. Or at least some of it.
Why she kept some of it bundled up in a closet, he didn’t know, but it undulated and flexed in an unnatural manner. The more he looked, the more it seemed like it was wrapped around something. He was wary of touching it with his bare hoof, so he tried to grip it with his magic, but magic just slipped off it and was unable to affect it at all. Without any other options, he reached out and touched it to pull it away from whatever it was wrapped around.
“Product recall!” Flam yelled from outside.
Flim didn’t question it. He was curious, and was sure that was something important, but if Flam was yelling about product recall, then Flim was in danger.
 He left the closet open and bolted for the front door. As he left Mommy Pleasant’s room, he heard a splashing sound and then hoofsteps behind him. The hoofsteps moved in an unsure pattern for a moment, then started clopping after him through the house.\
“Bad colts invade their mother’s privacy!” Mommy shouted.
Flim didn’t say anything in response. She wouldn’t listen to anything he had to say anyway. He had hoped to find something, or get more time before things went so bad, but he would never get away from her if he let her punish him for this one. He was waiting for some curse or hex or anything to land on him, but as he broke out the front door and rounded the bend, nothing hit him. The only reason he could think of was that she had to use a hoof to hex them, and she couldn’t bring it to bear while running.

Flam could only stare as Mommy Pleasant disappeared into the damp hair of her tail. He wasn’t sure what had happened at first, but when he heard her yelling from inside the house, he understood. He bolted toward the house. He didn’t know what he and Flim could do to stop her, but they needed to think of something fast!
He met Flim pelting around the corner, Mommy Pleasant’s enraged growling coming up behind him. Flim motioned to him frantically.
“Run! Run! Punishment is going to be too much!” Flim shouted.
Flam turned around and started running the other direction. He didn’t know where they were going to go, but the forest was as good a start as any. As they passed his pile of slop, Flam reached down, scooped up a hoofful and tossed it over Flim. He heard a *slap!* and more growling, and knew he’d hit his mark. She was going to be even more angry, but in for a bit, in for a bag, as they say.
 “Bad foals must be punished!” Mommy Pleasant said from behind them.
Flam heard Mommy Pleasant stomp, and the ground underneath them shook. A crack appeared in the dirt ahead of them, and a powerful spray of water shot up from the ground, creating a wall. Flim faltered, but Flam pushed him ahead, and the two of them barreled into the geyser.
The water stung at first, but as they were lifted off their hooves, it became less painful and just disorienting. The brothers were flung into the air, the spray of muddy water all around them. Flam couldn’t tell where they were going, but once they were thrown out of the geyser and falling again, he tried to orient himself to the ground to see where they were going to end up. He righted himself just in time to see leaves and branches as he began to crash through them. He had a brief glimpse of the leaf-covered ground, then he hit it.

Flim pulled himself to his hooves with a groan. His ribs hurt, but he didn’t think anything was cracked or broken. He tested all his limbs, and though they ached, nothing hurt more than he would expect. Once he was sure he was in one piece, he looked around for Flam. Flam was sprawled out on the roots of a tree nearby. Flim scrambled over to him to see if he was okay.
Flam was breathing. A quick glance at his chest and a hoof waved over his muzzle confirmed that, but he had a nasty bump on his head. His moustache looked wet and disheveled, and one of his hooves was chipped. They couldn’t stay put, though. Mommy Pleasant would be hunting them.
“Sorry, Flam. This will probably hurt,” Flim said, as he lifted Flam up and draped him over his back.
Once he was sure Flam was in place and not going to move, Flim walked deeper into the forest, where the trees were much closer together. While he walked, the sound of running water was all around. He couldn’t see any signs of Mommy Pleasant, but that sound of running water never got any quieter.
While he crept through the trees, Flim hunted for a place to hide and check his brother. He eventually found an open bole of a tree that he could crawl into, and lay his brother out on the ground. Flam groaned, and Flim felt bad for needing to move him, but at least he was alive enough to do that much. That was a promising sound.
He had nothing on him to bind any wounds, but he knew some cursory ways to check a pony for injury. At a glance, Flam wasn’t bleeding from anything other than a scrape on his head. Flim lit his horn and checked for surface wounds, and found nothing. Flam was okay on the outside, but that was as far as Flim could go. He couldn’t do anything more than wait for him to wake up, and hope Mommy Pleasant didn’t find them.

Flam awoke, and the first thing he felt was an aching pain in his head. “Uuuugh. What in–” He stopped as a hoof was pressed against his mouth.
Flam opened his eyes and looked around. He saw his brother, sitting over him with a hoof on his mouth. He saw that they were in a wooden trunk of a tree, and he saw that the only light was coming from the dim illumination of Flim’s horn.
Flim was looking around frantically, and there was the sound of running water coming from somewhere. Flam assumed his brother had dragged him somewhere safe, because he could still use his magic, meaning Mommy Pleasant hadn’t found them.
Flam pulled the hoof away and spoke in a low voice. “Where are we, and what is happening?”
Flim slowly turned to look at Flam. “Mommy Pleasant blasted us somewhere into the woods with that wall of water. I don’t think intentionally, and now we’re hiding in a tree until you wake up. We need to leave. If she finds us, it’s over. She’s not happy.”
“She hasn’t found us yet, so that’s good, right?”
“Maybe not. That sound of running water is constant. I think she’s preparing something, and she’s just waiting for us to make a move.”
“What could she do? That wall of water backfired on her.”
“We were foolish enough to run into it. She wasn’t expecting that.”
“That’s what most ponies find when they try to corner us.”
Flim chuckled. “Right you are, Flam, but we still need to escape. As dangerous as it sounds, I think we need to make for the river.”
“But that’s her home advantage! All the stories say she lives in the river!”
“But she’ll think that’s where we’d avoid, precisely because of that!”
“If we can make our way downriver somehow, we’ll have a headstart before she figures out where we’ve gone.”

“I know it sounds only a little safer than trying to force our way through the forest. But first, we need to get down there. Do you remember the way?”
Flam shook his head. “Not in the dark. If we could find her house again, then yes, I think I could find the river.”
“Alright, then we’ll try to get back to the house. Can you stand?”
Flam pulled himself to his hooves, staggering only a little as he straightened up. “I am ready, brother. Let’s get on with this.
Flim turned off the dim glow he had going and stuck his head out of the little alcove. He looked around for anything that might be Mommy Pleasant, but he saw nothing. The darkness wasn’t helping, and the constant sound of rushing water was disorienting, but there was no shout of triumph or screech of anger, so Flim assumed they had not been spotted. It may be Mommy Pleasant’s home, but it would appear that even she wasn’t able to see in the darkness.
Flim and Flam snuck through the bushes and past a series of trees as they made their way back to where Flim assumed Mommy Pleasant’s house to be. They began to hear a quiet burbling in addition to the rushing sound of water, and they eventually found themselves splashing across flooded ground.
“This must be where the geyser came out,” Flam said.
Flim nodded. “Indeed. She has a lot of tricks, but they mostly rely on water and her tail. If you see her tail in this awful darkness, do not touch it. She has something important hidden inside it in her house.”
Flam looked intrigued. “Do you think that’s the secret to killing her for good?”
“I do not want to go back in there to find out. She probably has it protected even more, now that I broke in and found it.”

“What did you find in there, by the way?”
“Her tail in her closet,” Flim said. “A lot of her tail, and it was coiled around something, and then she just leaped out of it!”
“I remember that. She jumped into her tail and disappeared. That’s where she ended up?”
Flim nodded. “It’s some kind of horrible magic, and it’s not something I want to get close to again.”
“That’s a good point. Let’s get to the river. We’re here at her house, but everything is covered in water. Um…” Flam turned in a circle, looking around at what little he could see in the forest illuminated only by stars.
While Flam was looking, a splashing sound began from somewhere nearby. Flim looked at Flam, and Flam looked at Flim. When they both realized they weren’t the ones causing it, they hunkered down in the shallow water and tried to figure out where it was coming from. Moving would give away their position in an instant, and they both knew it.
The brothers crouched as the splashing approached. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the house, and their eyes trained in on it. They waited and watched, ears perked up, for the cause of the sound to appear.
It got louder. And louder. And louder. It sounded like it was right next to them, but nothing happened. They couldn’t even see anything that might be causing any splashes. There weren’t even any splashes appearing in the water around them besides the ripples caused by the geyser Mommy Pleasant had created.
When the splashes came up next to them and passed by, Flam looked down into the water. “Something” was moving next to him. He could see, underneath the water in the moonlit reflection, Mommy Pleasant moving on past him. Her tail was within a couple feet of his hooves. Her ears were perked up, and every so often she would swish her tail. Every time she did, the rushing water sound increased in volume for a second.

Flam shivered as she passed by, barely daring to breathe. Flim looked confused, but he remained standing still. He could see the expression on Flam’s face, and trusted his brother to let him know when it was clear. Flam watched, not willing to move a single hoof for fear of alerting Mommy Pleasant to their position. He just stood, and waited, and prayed to Celestia she wouldn’t notice them in the darkness.
Mommy Pleasant went on her way, moving around the house and into the dark of the forest. Her tail trailed behind her, and Flam knew it was lying in wait for them to accidentally touch it. With that tail—according to Flim’s and his accounts of what she had done—she could be anywhere somepony touched it in an instant. Combined with her hexes, if they touched it, she would be on them and have them crippled faster than they could blink.
When Flam exhaled, Flim turned to him and breathed out as quietly as he could; “What did you see?”
“Mommy Pleasant. She rules the waters more than we thought. She was causing the splashing, but she was walking on the underside of the water! Her tail was on our side of the water’s reflection!”
Flim didn’t know what to say to that. He put a hoof to his chin and looked down at the water around their hooves. She could be anywhere and they wouldn’t be able to see her coming. They would have to hear her instead. That and they couldn’t step on her tail. That would all make it a difficult walk to the river.
“Okay, well the river is that way, I’m pretty sure,” Flam said, and pointed.
Flim recalled when they had first arrived, and had to nod in agreement. “I think you’re right. Make your way that direction, but watch your step! And keep your ears open!”

The brothers splashed across the open yard of Mommy Pleasant’s home. The pile of sludge Flam had been asked to create was gone, washed away in the deluge. The chopped wood was strewn about and sodden beyond use. The open door to her house had allowed the flooding to seep in and ruin what furniture hadn’t already rotted. The constant flow of water from the geyser Mommy Pleasant had created was making a terrible mess. If it was meant to make it easier for her to find them, it was doing a poor job so far.
Flim and Flam made it across the yard without any trouble, and slipped into the woods on the other side. They expected it to be just a short walk down to the river from there, but when they entered the woods, it got darker than before, and the sound of rushing water got louder. They were loath to light their horns, but the darkness was going to make it necessary if they wanted to see what they were walking into.
“Flam, do you think we should?”
“Make some light? I think we might have to. I can’t see.”
“I’m going to make a small one. We just need a small bit of light for a moment, then we’ll orient ourselves. If you hear anything out of the ordinary, run for it.”
“Okay. Go ahead. I’ll watch your back, brother.”
Flim’s horn illuminated. The light was small, but in the darkness, it was more than enough. They could see around themselves the trees, bushes, and undergrowth, but in addition to that, not far off, there was a black, undulating wall from which emanated the sound of rushing water. It was tall, and in the brief moment they could see it while Flim’s horn was lit, they could see droplets of water dripping from it and falling to the sodden ground below. The brothers gasped in unison, and the light went out.

“What in Equestria was that?!” Flim shouted.
“Shhh! I don’t know if she can hear through that stuff, but be careful!”
“What do we do, what do we do? Does it go around the entire area?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s frightening me more and more as time goes on.”
“That’s her tail, right?”
“I think so. She’s surrounded us with it. That’s why she hasn’t found us yet. She’s just waiting.”
“Waiting? What if we’d made it out before she surrounded us?”
“That was probably the first thing she did. It’s why she didn’t find us while you were unconscious.”
“Well dammit, what can we do now? Climb a tree and jump over?”
“We might have to.”
“We don’t know how thick the barrier is.”
“Good way to find out.”
“You’re right, of course.”
“I’ll climb,” Flam said.
“Are you sure? You hit your head rather hard not too long ago.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve always been better at climbing than you, even when injured.”
“Alright. I’ll be here to help if anything goes wrong. Just scramble up and find out how thick the hair is.”
“Of course.”
Flam lit his horn and looked at the nearby trees. When he found one he deemed suitable, he gripped the lowest branches, and with the help of his magic, he hoisted himself up into the branches. He climbed up, shining his light at the barrier of tail hair as he went, until his light hit the top of it. He climbed up just a bit more until he was above it, and tried to judge the thickness from his new vantage point.
“Well?” Flim called from below.
“Well, from all the noise we’ve made, I think we can rule out her ability to hear through it, and the barrier is quite thin, but I’m sure if we so much as touch a single hair, she’ll show up. But it is very thin. The thickness of an average tail.”

Flam looked over the barrier again. It undulated like the surface of a pond had been tilted onto its side. The hairs of the tail moved in ripples, as if they were floating on the surface of the water. The barrier itself was tall. It appeared to be about ten ponies high, but that put it at the height of some of the stronger branches of the forest’s trees, if they could just find some that went over it.
“Flam, something is happening,” Flim said from below.
Flam looked down at Flim, and his horn light showed that the water underneath Flim’s hooves was beginning to ripple and flow in a rhythmic fashion. Waves were starting to grow under his hooves, splashing against him and the tree’s trunk. The water splashed up against the barrier of hair, and it moved back, buffeting Flim on its way.
“I think she’s tired of waiting!” Flim yelled.
Flam scrambled down the tree. As he watched, the waves began to grow taller, the amount of water in the area looked to be growing. Mommy Pleasant wasn’t leaving anything to chance. Flam understood the purpose of the barrier now. The barrier was there to prevent them from leaving the area without significant effort, and if they didn’t come up with a plan of escape soon enough, then she was just going to drown them. Her connection with the river, whatever it was, gave her more than enough tools to just wash them out at her own whim if she couldn’t find them. They were running on borrowed time.
Flam extended a hoof to Flim. Flim grabbed it and Flam pulled him up into the tree. The two clambered up the branches and looked around.
“We need a branch that extends far enough for us to climb over the barrier. We find one of those, and we can hopefully leap to safety,” Flam said.

The waters continued to rise beneath them, and Flim and Flam climbed up until they could see over the wall of hair next to them. They had found a branch in their tree that extended a short distance over the wall, but it was skinny, and they were worried it might not hold their weight.
“It’s too skinny,” Flam said. “It’ll never hold us, and the moment we touch that hair, we’re done for.”
“Well, we don’t really have much of a choice. We’ll have to risk it.”
Flam looked at the branch, then down at the wall of hair. “You’re right, of course. You go first, you’ve always weighed less than me.”
“Be ready to catch me if I fall.”
“Of course.”
Flam waited at the trunk of the tree, standing on a separate branch. Flim shuffled out toward the end of the branch, careful to avoid jostling it any more than he had to. He got halfway, and the branch began to flex underneath him. It bent down, the end coming close to the undulating wall of hair.
Flim stopped. “Flam, I’m going to jump. I think I can make it.”
“Can you see what’s on the other side, yet?”
“Not yet, but it can’t be worse than what’s on this side.”
Flam nodded as he held his horn light steady on Flim. “Alright. Signal me when you’re on the other side and safe.”
“Of course. Be ready to follow me, brother.”
“Ready, Flim.”
Flim coiled up, his legs finding solid purchase on the branch beneath him, then he jumped! The branch bounced beneath him, and he gasped as the end of it struck the wall of hair. He heard a screech as he flew over it and plummeted down to the ground on the other side. His brother’s voice yelled out in surprise and a loud splash sounded from the waterlogged side of the wall.

“Flam! I’m okay!” Flim yelled. He impacted the ground with a *splat*. The water had seeped into the dirt so there was enough mud to cushion his landing. He stood up and swiveled his ears, waiting to hear something from his brother. Nothing came. “Flam?”
There was no immediate response, and the light from Flam’s horn had gone out. There was just the darkness, and the sound of water. Flim was worried about attracting attention from Mommy Pleasant, but his brother was more important, and if both of them couldn’t escape, there was no point to escape in the first place. Throwing caution to the wind, Flim lit his horn and cast his light up to the wall of hair.
“Mommy sees the little colts, their coats so clean and new.
Mommy knows they’ll do their best to see their chores all through.
Mommy watches from the house to keep her foals so hale,
But Mommy knows the end to this, though that’s another tale,” Mommy’s voice sang through the darkness.
“Flam?” Flim said. There was still no response.
Flim tried not to panic. His brother was smart, and if Mommy Pleasant had arrived, he was probably trying to hide. There had been no cry of pain or anguish, and while it was possible she had muted him, Flim wanted to believe he was okay. Flim didn’t have much time to think about it though, because as he watched, the wall of hair was beginning to fold over, releasing the deluge of water filling Mommy Pleasant’s little home.
Flim scrambled to his hooves, splattering mud every which way as he galloped away from the wall, searching for something to hide behind or hold on to. It needed to be a good hiding place in addition to solid enough to cling to, because Mommy Pleasant likely knew he was out here, and she was going to be in her element.

Flim found a tree that was large and solid enough for him to hide behind, and he dashed behind it, then turned off his horn light. The rushing water was right behind him and when it hit, although he tried his best, he was swamped and washed away down the hill.
Flim was tumbled and tossed by the water down the hill toward the river. He could hear cackling, and he thought he saw a shape leaping through the water in the darkness. A wet cackling followed him as he was forced through the bushes. He struck a tree, then bounced off and felt the ground disappear beneath him, and his head went under. Something dark swam in front of him, and he felt something grip his legs. He knew it wasn’t seaweed. His head breached the surface and he gasped for air, and Mommy Pleasant’s head, with her wet mane pooling around her on the surface of the water swam in front of him.
“Bad colts who don’t obey their mommy need to be punished. You and your brother are overdue for yours.”
“Oh, but you’ll have to catch us first!” A voice called from the shoreline.
Flim looked over at the shore, and saw… himself? He was standing in the mud on the shore, waving to Mommy Pleasant.
“While our time together has been very entertaining, ‘Mommy’, I must say, I never thought you’d fall for such a trick. My brother and I are unicorns, you see, and we specialize in fooling other ponies. You’ve just fallen for the oldest decoy trick in the book! Now that your hairy wall is down, we’ll just be taking our leave. Farewell, ‘Mommy’!” The Flim on the shoreline yelled, and disappeared into the underbrush.
Mommy Pleasant looked at the Flim she was holding in her tail, then over at the bushes. She hesitated only a moment before she released Flim and made her way to the shore. She ran into the bushes, her tail following behind her. Flim was disoriented and confused, but he had the presence of mind to make his way to the far shore and tried to pull himself together.

Flim dragged himself up onto the far shore and tried to process what had happened. He had seen himself on the shore, mocking Mommy Pleasant. But that couldn’t have been what it was. Was it an illusion? Flim had been in no position to cast any spells, but maybe Flam had done it. Flam must have hidden and stayed silent until Mommy Pleasant had shown up and pursued him instead, then had come to the rescue. But that meant Flam was still in danger! He had drawn Mommy Pleasant away, back toward himself.
Flim stood up and looked back across the dark river. He couldn’t see much without any light, but over the sound of the river he could hear crashing through the underbrush. He needed to help somehow.
His horn lit up and he cast a bright light across the river. The spotlight beam landed on the trees and bushes, and he could see rustling and shaking. There was occasional noise, but without being able to see what was happening, Flim couldn’t tell if it was good or not.
He waited, but she either didn’t see the light, or didn’t care. He needed to make her care. So he yelled. “This one’s going fast, folks! Even though the stores don’t want you to have it, if you want your trademarked Bad Colt, you’d better come to the far side of the river before ‘product recall’ and keep it all to yourself!” Flim put the code in there in case Flam heard it. He’d then know that Flim was okay, and he should get to safety.
There was a rustling sound, then the swooshing sound of somepony moving through the water. Flim didn’t wait, or try to locate the source of the sound. He dimmed his horn light and began running through the forest alongside the river. If Flam was alright, he only hoped he was heading in the same direction.

Soon after Mommy Pleasant entered the water, Flim heard yelling from the other side. Flam was attracting her attention back to himself.
“Leaving so soon? When you’re gone, I’m going to get into mischief and ignore all my chores. Then I’ll refuse to bathe or wash my hooves and walk all over the floors inside!” Flam called.
The swooshing sound stopped, and Flim was confident she was in the middle of the river. “Oh, but if you buy now, you’ll catch me in the act! Stealing cookies, nicking sweeties, or refusing to eat my broccoli!”
“But maybe it’s not as bad as you imagine, and we’ll be good little colts…”
“…who never refuse anything, and keep ourselves clean even without asking.”
“But you’ll never know, because this was the day…”
“…you almost caught Flim and Flam!”
Flim kept running, a smile on his face. Flam was alive and well, and the trick had worked, confusing Mommy Pleasant and trying to force her to chase one of them or the other, she had given up and ignored both of them! Flim hadn’t heard her leave the water, but he wasn’t going to feel safe until they were far away from her home. Given half a chance, she was sure to catch them again, and they needed to avoid giving her one.
Occasionally, Flim saw a flickering light from the other side of the river, and he would signal back. The brothers kept going, pushing through the underbrush, carefully watching for anything strange and avoiding it. They were still in the Everfree Forest, and it would kill them given half a chance. They needed to be sure not to give it that chance. They also needed to meet up with each other and reunite, then find their way out. There was a lot ahead, but they had at least left the dangerous part behind.

Much later, as the sun was peeking over the trees, Flim and Flam found a place they could see each other from across the river. Flim was only slightly surprised to see that Flam was missing his moustache.
“I thought it was an illusion at first, but then I remembered you’re awful at creating illusions. The whole moustache, eh?”
Flam poked at his bare upper lip. “It will grow back. I was hoping she was not familiar enough with us to notice any differences immediately, but seeing a second Flim would surely throw her off.”
“Well your plan worked. Do you think she’ll chase us?”
“If she was going to, she’d be behind us already. Our next big problem is getting onto one side of the river.”
“Right you are. It’ll be a lot easier surviving with the two of us together. I must say, I’m not quite ready to swim it.”
“No, right you are. I think we should continue downriver and try to find a tree or something.”
“Ponyville shouldn’t be too far away, right?”
“Likely not. It’s north of the river and the forest itself.”
“Am I on the north side?”
“You’re on the south, brother. Look at the sun.”
“Ah, right you are. So you’ll have to go find Ponyville, then. I think the nearest town to me is Appleoosa.”
“That’s not what I’d call ‘near’, Flim.”
“I didn’t say it was close by, I said it was the nearest, and that’s not feasible. Ponyville is our best bet.”
“True enough.”
The brothers began walking along the riverbank, tired and sore, but safer than they had been. Behind them, coiling through the dark waters of the river, black tendrils snaked their way slowly along the river, covering the surface of the water with an undulating black sheen. Hidden in the midst of it, a single green eye looked out, watching, and waiting.

The End.