Stories

“Thanks again for helping me find my chickens Twilight.” A yellow Pegasus was walking underneath a thick canopy of leaves. Even during a cloudless day such as today, the overgrowth blotted out most of the sun, leaving the Everfree Forest dimly lit.

“No worries Fluttershy,” the purple unicorn walking beside her responded, “next time you’re fixing your fence though, make sure the chicken coup is closed.”

The pair walked through the forest, keeping close to the edge, lest they lose themselves.

“I will! I don’t want those poor chickens to get lost again.” Fluttershy’s soft voice was filled with worry as she spoke. “I hope none of those poor dears are scared.”

“I wouldn’t worry, judging by the trail of feathers, I’m sure they are both close by and safe.” Twilight reassured the Pegasus.

After walking for a while, the purple unicorn stopped in the middle of a small clearing.

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked tentatively as she stood capturing the different sights and sounds of the Everfree.

“I think we should split up here to start searching for your chicken. We can cover more ground and bring them back here.” Twlight’s horn was suddenly wrapped in a purple aura as she arranged a quick and crude cage to hold the chickens they found.

“I don’t know Twilight… are… are you sur-“

“Of course I’m sure!” the lavender mare interrupted, “You don’t have to worry or be afraid Fluttershy, it’s the middle of the day. The Everfree Forest is different during the day.”

Twilight was right. During the day, the Everfree wasn’t as scary as usual, Fluttershy thought to herself. It almost had a calmingly magical feel to it. Still-

“Okay…” the Pegasus drew out the word, her head low as it panned the trees.

“I’ll start looking south, you can start north. We’ll meet back here in about an hour if we don’t find anything, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded, and with that, the two ponies parted to search for some chickens.

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“It’s almost been an hour, and I couldn’t find any of them.” Fluttershy continued to walk, her gaze scanning the bushes for any sign of her poor chickens. “Well, I should head back and see if Twilight found them.”

Immediately Fluttershy stopped, her eyes widening to a realization. She had no idea where she was. Her heartbeat starting to pick up pace, her legs starting to weaken and shake, the yellow pegasus was frozen in place.

The Everfree Forest may indeed be less scary during the day, but being lost was scary no matter what time it was.

What should I do? What should I do? The meek pony’s mind started to race, her breathing getting heavier under the anxiety.

“Help!” Yet her cry was nothing more than a squeal caught in her throat.

No need to panic, she thought. If she just stayed here, Twilight will find her soon, or she would get everypony else and they would all search for her… But by then it will already be dark!

Frightened by the prospect of being lost and alone in the middle of the Everfree at night, the poor mare collapsed into tears. The birds and insects continued to sing their happy songs in the distance, the sounds of the forest ignoring the lone sounds of sadness.

“Now what do we have here?”

Startled, the yellow Pegasus shot up, her eyes red and puffy, tears flowing beneath.

“I apologize for startling you little miss, however, I noticed you here alone crying.”

A dark green stallion aproacehed her slowly, his gray mane and beard hanging heavily from his head and face. His deep brown eyes peered from under thick eyebrows, staring at her.

Looking at this strange earth pony, Fluttershy seemed to calm down. His presence made her oddly feel safe and at ease.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“yes…”

“What was that dear?” he stepped closer, head leaning in to hear the shy mare.

“I…I’m okay…” Fluttershy responded through her erratic breaths and receding sobs.

“So what is a sweet young filly, such as yourself, doing alone in a forest such as this?”

“I’m not alone – well I am right now – but I was with my friend,”Fluttershy slowly started to regain her composure. “She was helping me search for my lost chickens. We split up, and now… and now I’m the one that’s lost.”

Sounding defeated, the poor pegasus lowered her head, her long pink mane covering her face.

“Well then, let’s get you unlost!” The stallion slowly walked past her before turning his head over his shoulder. “You coming?”

Fluttershy just stood there, staring at that strange stallion. She knew she shouldn’t trust random ponies, especially ones you meet in the Everfree Forest alone, yet – she felt like she could trust him. Something about this mysterious earth pony made her feel almost… happy.

Cautiously, the mare put one hoof out and slowly started to follow the mysterious old stallion.

Walking through the forest, Fluttershy noticed all sorts of woodland creatures ducking in and out of the trees. The few rays of light leaking through illuminated the forest in such a beautiful way. As she continued to follow her guide silently, she was filled with the same amount of awe and wonder that flooded her the first time she came to the ground, the same day she earned her cutie mark and discovered her affinity with animals and nature.

“So, is that your friend over there?” the stallion said, breaking the silence.

Fluttershy had noticed he stopped, and she saw Twilight ahead, next to a cage full of chickens. Almost without thought, she ran towards her friend.

“Twilight!” she screamed softly.

Catching both the unicorn’s attention and the pony herself, the Pegasus embraced Twilight Sparkle.

“Fluttershy-” the lavender unicorn said, struggling to breath under the tight hug, “there you are.”

The pegasus dropped her hooves around Twilight, and noticed her friend a complete mess. Stepping back, Fluttershy saw Twilight’s disheveled mane, strands of hair jutting in various directions with sticks and leaves woven in. She noticed that the purple unicorn was also lightly bruised and beaten as well as slightly charred at her tail.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy asked with concern, “What happened to you?”

“It’s a loooong story,” Twilight responded with a deadpan expression, “At least it looks like you were able to find all the chickens by yourself. Good job!”

Shocked after noticing the cage full of chickens, she turned to respond to Twilight.

“I didn’t find any of the chickens, in fact I got lost.” Pointing toward the direction she just ran from, “If it wasn’t for that old stallion over there-“

“What stallion?”

Glancing over to where an old dark green earth pony should be standing, stood a great oak tree.

“Well, in any case, we have all your chickens.” Twilight said, “We should start heading back before it gets too dark.”

The two ponies counted the chickens to make sure they were all there. After a triple check by Twilight, the unicorn wrapped the cage in a purple aura; levitating it, along with the chickens, and starting toward the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage.

The yellow Pegasus looked back at that great oak tree. Staring at it, she felt like it was starting back at her, yet it soothed her and made her feel… happy.

“Thank you” she said quietly before trotting to catch up with Twilight, leaving the oak tree smiling behind her.