"And I would like to be a pony," said the tree.
"I'd like to be a tree."
It took Fluttershy half a minute to both recognize her own voice and to search back through her memory to when she had said that. It was so long ago now - decades of distance muddled the specifics. The circumstances were lost in the fog, but enough stayed on that Fluttershy could remember that she had said it.
The question, of course, is why that was important now and who was speaking.
Old, tired eyes went first to Discord - asleep at her bedside in the quiet cottage, wrapped in a quilt made by Scootaloo more than forty years earlier. But he was unmoved, still exhausted from the day. (Though his weariness was from restraint rather than effort - it was difficult for the draconequus to not simply snap a talon and 'fix' everything over Fluttershy's objections.)
A momentary fondness - built up from their many decades together - overtook Fluttershy and distracted her from that voice, but she was drawn back to it quickly when something sparkled out of the corner of her eye. A turn of her head resolved that into Twilight Sparkle, who shouldn't have been standing in the doorway.
No. No, that wasn't Twilight. It looked as Twilight did all those decades ago (that is to say, a bit short and still carrying that slight bookworm pudge), but was wreathed in a glittery translucence. And Twilight had also come and left hours before, returning to Canterlot after one final visit. A few more elderly synapses fired and she remembered: the Tree.
Tilting its head to the side, the projection of the Tree of Harmony seemed to notice Fluttershy's recognition.
"Oh." The elderly pegasus smiled gently, and immediately faltered as her voice croaked and cracked. Reaching out a trembling wing, she picked up the glass of water by her bedside to dampen her throat before starting over. "Um. Hello again. It's been a while."
The image nodded - a mechanical movement that straddled the border between realistic and uncanny. The Tree, it seemed, still hadn't quite gotten the hang of how ponies moved. "It has been approximately fifty-two years." It paused. "I have a precise number as well, but my interactions with mortal creatures suggests that such a thing would be considered either annoying or nerdy depending on the listener." It paused again - possibly trying to mimic taking a breath it didn't need. "However, I expect that you would smile, nod, and not comment, Kindness."
Fluttershy laughed, quiet and raspy. "I haven't been the Element of Kindness in almost that long."
"There have been successors, but that does not lessen your identity." The Tree's tone sounded oddly scolding. "You are Kindness and always have been. Perhaps my favorite, as well."
A genuine smile came to the pegasus' thin lips. "That's very nice of you to say to an old mare."
"I speak only Honesty."
The mention of Honesty banished the smile as Fluttershy remembered Applejack. That specter only darkened her face for a few moments, but it was enough to mire her in more serious thoughts. "Why are you here? Um, not that I'm complaining, Tree, but it's a little strange that you came to see me after so long."
That glowing image of Twilight took a step closer. "You will die tonight." It was an even statement of fact.
As was Fluttershy's nod of acknowledgement. "I know." Her ears flattened and her eyes panned over to the sleeping Discord. "I've been trying to teach him about what that means, but I don't think he understands."
"He cannot," stated the Tree. "It is not in his nature to understand. I am certain you have explained it enough for him to know what the words mean, but he will never truly come to terms with it. He cannot."
She sighed. The white mane - faded from pink so many years before - sagged down over her face. "I know, and I'm sorry he's going to have to go through what's coming. I hoped as the others passed he would start to…" Fluttershy trailed away until she finally shook her head. "But I guess that I'm out of time." She looked up to the image. "Besides that, I'm ready. Death is a part of life, and I know there's no denying it." She smiled - a comfortable but somber one, given to an old friend. "I'm glad you came to say goodbye. The real Twilight - um, no offense - she said hers earlier. There aren't a lot of others left to say theirs, so you coming makes me happy."
"I have been present for the death of all my Bearers. If nothing else, they each deserved to know how I valued their service." The Tree pursed its phantasmal lips. "I know I am poor at communication with mortal creatures even now, and I struggle to both understand emotions and express them. I do not have words for my opinions of my Bearers, so I must show them through action."
Treelight stepped closer, drawing up beside the bed. "Each of you, I have offered and given what I felt was an earned and desired reward. Generosity was reborn as a constellation and is eternally a beautiful star. Loyalty asked to be the wind and Honesty the earth - now they dance around one another for all of time. Laughter wished only for me to smile before she went Beyond. And you, Kindness…"
"I'd like to be a tree."
Fluttershy's young voice rang out again from no obvious direction. It sounded so foreign to the Fluttershy of now.
"I don't understand." Her voice - so much rougher than the one that had just spoken - was feather-soft.
The Tree smiled - perhaps the same smile it had given Pinkie Pie. "I will exchange your time for mine, Kindness. Let us trade places. You shall be a tree, immortal in your own way. Chaos will not have to understand, for you will still be by his side. And you will be able to guide those in need in the future. A home to birds in your branches, beasts in your roots, and virtue in your heart."
Fluttershy's breath caught in her throat. "But… what about you?"
The Tree's smile didn't change. "I shall be a pony for just one night. That, perhaps, is my earned reward."
Silence settled between them. Long, tense silence between the three beings in the room that was only broken by one of them breathing.
"This is your choice, Kindness. I offer, but I cannot be sure this reward is what you truly would wish." The Tree's resolve wavered slightly. "I can leave and change nothing if you–"
Fluttershy's voice was quieter than ever, but it still pierced the fog of silence. "I accept."
Another pregnant pause as the Tree waited for her to finish speaking - but that was all she had to say.
"Then I will give it to you. You need merely ask."
"I'd like to be a tree."
And so she was.
Author's Note
I wasn't actually planning to enter this contest.
Then this story sort of just happened in about an hour and a half yesterday.
Plus I honestly just enjoy writing the Tree of Harmony. It's such a fun alien character. (Really should petition site staff to get it a character tag at some point.)
