Inhaling again, Elise attempted to isolate it. Yes, there it was again—a scent that was a cross between honeysuckle, cinnamon, and freshly baked bread. Weird, but also delicious. Could this be the smell of the trail? Almost unconsciously, she began to drift toward it—and the closer she got, the better it smelled. Was it possibly there was a Kindred version of Krispy Kreme around here somewhere? Elise’s mouth watered for a hot glazed donut. It was silly, but the scent just smelled so damn good.
At last she found the source of the smell. It appeared to be coming from a small clearing in the jungle—very small, in fact—only about five feet across. The little, roundish patch was covered in long, pale pink grass—much different from the blue-gray color that dominated the rest of the jungle. From the pink grass, tiny bell-shaped flowers sprouted. The flowers seemed to come in every pastel color imaginable—pale blue, mint green, lavender, peach, cotton-candy pink… To Elise they looked like they were made out of frosting—like something you might find on a very imaginative wedding cake. Though she knew they might be poisonous, she couldn’t help wondering if they tasted as good as they smelled. Not that she would actually try one…
And then she saw something that made her forget all about the flowers.
There was a rustling sound in the grass and a small animal about the size of her hand suddenly appeared among the pale pink blades. At first Elise shrank back, uncertain of what it was—a snake? Some kind of big bug? But no…the animal came closer and she saw she’d been wrong. This was no terrifying jungle creature, slithering toward her, poised to strike and ready for the kill. This was a…
“My Little Pony!” Elise breathed.
It was true—the tiny animal looked almost exactly like the plastic retro toys Elise had played with as a little girl. It was a bit shaggier, to be sure but when it tossed its miniature mane and let out a clear, bell-like whinny, the resemblance was unmistakable.
As though the first creature’s call had been a sign that the coast was clear, several other tiny ponies appeared and began moving around the pink patch of grass. Like the flowers they were grazing on, they came in a variety of pastel colors. In fact, as Elise watched she saw that they seemed to prefer eating the flowers that corresponded to their own color—the mint-green pony only ate green flowers, the lavender pony only ate purple ones, and so on.
Enchanted, she dropped quietly to her knees, taking care to go slowly so as not to startle the small creatures. All thoughts of the trail and Merrick’s warning were completely forgotten—her entire attention was centered on the tiny ponies.
As an experiment, she found a pale blue flower that was growing close to her foot and plucked it. Then, still moving very slowly and quietly, she held the tiny, sweet smelling blossom out to the pale blue pony.
“Here, sweetie,” she murmured in a low, coaxing voice. “Come on, come a little closer…”
The pony put its head to one side almost like a dog and considered her in what appeared to Elise to be a very intelligent way. Then, apparently deciding she wasn’t a threat, it trotted forward and delicately took the flower from her open palm. As it munched contentedly, Elise dared to stroke its tiny, arching neck very gently with just her fingertips. The pale blue pony tossed its head and neighed, then appeared to decide it liked her attentions. Turning, it nudged her hand as if asking for more.
Elise was delighted. “You like that, huh, pretty boy?” she said softly. “Would you like another?” Gently, she stroked the pony again and then offered it another flower, which it took with no hesitation at all.
By this time, the other miniature ponies were becoming interested in Elise. They came forward tentatively, sniffing at her blue leather boots and then happily accepting the flowers she picked for them. Soon, she literally had the whole herd of them eating out of her hand.
Later, when she thought about it, Elise was certain this was the most magical—and peaceful—part of her journey away from Earth. She felt like she was seven years old again—completely happy and at peace with herself in a way she hadn’t been in years. There was nothing to interrupt her bliss, nothing but the warm, living hum of the jungle around her, the sweet smell of the pastel flowers, and the tiny herd of shaggy ponies surrounding her and begging for more attention.
She fed and petted them all and had just coaxed the pale blue one to jump up into her lap for a very gentle cuddle when the wind changed. A breeze gusted through the blue-gray leaves around her and suddenly one of the other ponies threw up its head and neighed shrilly—a sound of unmistakable alarm. At once, the entire herd took flight, scrambling madly away as though in mortal fear for their tiny lives. In a second, every last one was gone—all except the pale blue pony. He stayed in Elise’s lap, apparently frozen in terror, though she couldn’t see why.