I Don't Want to be a Tree

by Rawg

Rating: everyone
Tags: Fluttershy, Applejack, Discord, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Original Character
Length: 3940

An outdoors-loving pony gets more than he bargained for when a stranger makes him one with nature.

~Submission for the Equestria Daily Outside Insight Summer Fanfic Contest~

Spring Heart was never good at making friends. He never cared, though; he always felt more comfortable amongst the animals and trees.
However, his love for the natural world is put to the test when he is forced to live the rest of his life as a tree.

Published 2014-08-07 02:30:13 UTC
Last updated 2014-08-07 02:30:13 UTC

I Don't Want to be a Tree

Well, here we are. Nearly a thousand years have passed and I’m still—literally—firmly-rooted to the same spot as I have been for so long. Why did this have to happen to me? Why did I, of all the ponies in Equestria, have to suffer this fate?

Oh, I’m sorry; am I moving too fast for you? Here, let me start over and introduce myself.

My name is Spring Heart, and I am a tree. I’m about two feet wide and 10 feet tall; pretty small for a tree my age, but I don’t really care; it may not seem like it, but things could be worse, so I’m happy this is the fate I was dealt. My life is pretty boring these days; I don’t do too much other than absorbing nutrients from the sunlight, soil, and water.

Sounds pretty great, doesn't it? I wasn’t always like this, I’ll have you know. I used to be a pony; a handsome, earth-pony stallion with a long and messy brown mane, an earthy-green coat, and legs.

Oh, how I would love to have legs again…

Anyways, this all started, as I said earlier, little over a thousand years ago. I was on a quiet camping vacation, far away from my hometown and all the noise it caused. You may have guessed from my name that I love being secluded in nature, far away from other ponies. Being out there, alone with no company but the birds and the trees… utter bliss.

That was when the unexplainable happened.

As I was walking through an apple orchard I had happened across, a strange creature approached me. He was quite the character, let me tell you: he looked a little bit like a pony, but there wasn’t much to lend to that appearance other than the body and head. His arms were that of a lion’s on the right and eagle’s on the left, and his legs looked like they belonged to a goat on the left and some kind of reptilian creature, possibly a dragon, on the right. He had mismatched bird-and-bat wings, and stared at me with huge, yellow, red-centered eyes.

“Um, h-hello,” I said nervously, not wanting to be rude to the stranger.
He smiled warmly. “Ah, hello there, little pony! What is your name?” he asked in a tone you would expect a close friend to use.
I smiled, somewhat comforted by the creature’s friendliness. “My name is Spring Heart. Pleasure to meet you,” I said politely. I was already starting to like this guy!
His smile grew. “Well, hello there Spring Heart. I am Discord, Master of Chaos. You have to be the first pony that hasn’t turned tail and fled at my unusual appearance,” he said, sounding pleasantly surprised.

I shrugged. “I like all creatures of nature, big or small. I haven’t yet met an animal that has made me run away,” I said boldly.
Discord nodded slowly, scratching his chin with a talon thoughtfully. “Hmm. Your bravery and kindness impress me! I would like to reward your incredible personality with a wish,” he said with a goofy grin.
I smiled back at my new friend. “Well, I’ve always wanted to find a way to be even closer to nature than before. Could you do something like that?” I asked happily.
Discord’s smile changed suddenly, going from friendly kindness to mischievous malice. “I know just the thing for you!” he declared, and snapped his fingers.
Just then, I lost all feeling in my hooves, and the numbing sensation slowly creeped up my legs. I looked down to see my legs had fused together and sank into the ground, with gnarled roots twisting and snaking outward into the soft soil.

“What have you done to me?” I cried as I looked up at him, the uncertainty of the situation and the creature's now-malicious expression making me panic.
He laughed wickedly. “Now you know that I am a being to be feared! I hope you enjoy being 'closer to nature than ever before',” he called as he walked away, “because now you are nature!”
I stood there helplessly as the rest of my body lost its feeling, and I was stuck in that spot, not as a pony, but as an oak sapling.

All movement abilities I had mere moments ago were gone. I couldn’t even see what I looked like now, as my gaze was stuck looking at the spot I was focused on when the transformation got to my head; how I could see in the first place was unclear to me, as I knew better than anypony that trees didn’t have eyes. I could only assume that I simply looked like an ordinary young tree, out of place among the numerous apple trees that surrounded me.

That was a very long time ago. Now, I’ve gotten used to being a tree. The first hundred years or so were pretty scary, since I was so small and fragile, but now that I’m a fully grown tree, I don’t have anything to worry about.

That doesn’t mean I like being this way, however. I missed being able to frolic through fields of flowers, to feel the cool breeze running through my mane, and to taste the sweet juices of the fruits that nature provided a bounty of.I may be eternally stuck in nature, the place I had always felt I was at peace and at home, but for so long I have felt only sorrow and solitude.

That is, until she came along.

It was late in the afternoon that day, and I was napping when the sound of scampering paws woke me from my rest.
“Angel, please come back!” I heard a soft voice call pleadingly. I focused my attention away from my inner contemplation to the world around me, and saw a small rabbit hopping through my field of vision.

Hello there, little friend, I said silently as it stopped and eyed me curiously. The small creature must have known I was out of place, either because it knew I wasn’t supposed to be this way, or because I was an oak amongst endless acres of apple trees.

The rabbit turned around quickly as a butterscotch-yellow pegasus pony approached. She had a long pink mane that hung over her face, making it difficult for me to see her clearly. “Angel, don’t run off like that! I could have lost you!” she said scoldingly to the small white rabbit. The rabbit tugged at the pony’s mane urgently, hopping and pointing in my direction. She turned her gaze to me, and I saw her soft, beautiful green eyes. “Oh, my,” she said quietly, “what is an oak tree doing in Sweet Apple Acres?” she asked herself.
She walked around me slowly, looking me up and down as she circled.

I just sat there, confused. A pony had never taken time to notice me before, let alone talk to me. To be honest, it felt nice; I had long forgotten what it was like to be noticed by other ponies. There was a family of apple farmers that passed through my area every once in a while, but all they did was buck the apples from the trees, and then go on their way, ignoring me and my misplacement.

“You must be all alone out here, huh?,” she asked gently. It was a good thing I didn’t have a face, because I felt like blushing; she was beautiful, and her voice was more soft and gentle than any sound I had ever heard before.

That’s when she did something that really made me glad I was a faceless tree: she stepped forward and brought her muzzle close to where mine would have been, so it felt like she was looking me in the eyes. An inch closer and it would look like she was kissing me.
“You don’t belong here, do you?” she asked quietly, her eyes narrowed as if she were inspecting something for a moment, but they softened as her face took on a happy expression.

“I know what that’s like,” she said as she lied down on the grassy ground next to my trunk, and turned to the rabbit. “You go home and think about what you did!” she said in her quiet-yet-stern voice, and the rabbit put on a pouty face as it walked away.

I chuckled silently to myself as the pony continued to talk.

“I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t belong,” she continued sadly. “When I lived in Cloudsdale, all the other ponies used to tease me for being so quiet and shy. That’s why I try to spend more time with animals; they never tease me the way the ponies did.” She looked up, probably studying my branches. “I don’t know why, but something about you feels… friendly. Like you are actually listening to me, and know how I feel.”
I am! I cried excitedly, desperately hoping the timid pony would hear my cry. I knew my effort was in vain, however; I had cried out to others in my thousand years out here, and not one pony had heard me.

She continued to sit there, telling me stories of her and her friends in Ponyville, their adventures together, and all sorts of things as I listened to each and every one intently, not because I had nothing better to do - which I didn’t - but because as I listened to her soft, soothing voice, I felt… happy. I felt like I could sit there as a tree forever, and not mind as long as I could hear that gentle and lovely voice.

After about an hour, a voice called from the nearby trees.

“Fluttershy!” it called worriedly, and an orange earth pony appeared from behind one of the apple trees. I had seen her before; Applejack, I think she was called. She always wore her hair in a braid, and had a huge cowboy’s hat atop her head. She looked relieved when she saw the the pony that lay at my side.
“Fluttershy, there you are! You went into the orchard over an hour ago searching for Angel, and I got worried!” she said as she ran to the yellow pegasus, looking her over to make sure she was okay.

“I’m fine, Applejack,” she said reassuringly, “I’ve just been here, lying down.”
The orange mare looked at her friend suspiciously. “You’ve been laying here… doing what, exactly?” she asked slowly.
Fluttershy shrugged. “Just relaxing. This tree looked lonely, so I decided to keep it company for a little while,” she explained.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “The tree looked lonely? Fluttershy, how, exactly, does a tree get lonely?” she asked incredulously.

The butter-yellow mare directed her attention the the apple trees that surrounded them. “Just look around!” she exclaimed, “all of these are apple trees, but this is the only oak tree in the entire orchard! Wouldn’t you feel lonely if you were the only pony in an endless field of gryphons?” she asked, sounding upset.
Applejack gave her an unbelieving look. “I would feel alone, because I am a pony. This right here next to you is a tree. Trees don’t feel alone, they just feel hungry for water or sunlight,” she explained. “I’m worried about the effect this tree might be having on you, Fluttershy; let’s get you home,” she said, and led Fluttershy away, giving me a strange glance as they left my sight.

If I had lungs, I would have sighed. Fluttershy… I thought dreamily.

The yellow mare continued to visit me over the course of the next week, and she told me more stories about her friends in Ponyville, the animals around her cabin, and her loneliness as a filly. I felt so sorry for her, hearing how cruel the other pegasi in Cloudsdale had been to her; I knew how she felt, having ponies teasing you all the time. I spent so much time with animals and out in nature, everypony around me thought I was weird.
But now, nearly a thousand years later, I found a mare who felt the same way about nature that I did.

Late one evening, I sat in lonely silence; Fluttershy hadn’t visited me that day, and I had an immense feeling of neglect and worry.

What if she’s grown tired of me? I thought sadly, and suddenly gasped silently. What if something has happened to her?

Oh, no, I thought, horrified as I realized what day of the year it was and why my only friend hadn’t visited me that day. It’s time!

I had learned long ago about the dangers of the zap-apple season. Every year, a freak storm would appear over the orchard and strike the trees, leaving wondrous, purple-hued leaves behind that would soon grow into strange, rainbow-striped apples. The only problem with this event was the storm wasn’t so kind to me; if a rogue bolt were to strike one of my branches, it would be even more painful than what an ordinary thunderstorm could inflict on me. I still felt pain when an average, mundane lightning bolt hit me every now and again, but it was about on par with a quick burn from a hot pan. The zap-apple bolts, however, feel like a full-bodied electrocution.

These yearly storms were the only thing I had to fear these days, and I was more afraid of them than anything I had been scared of as a pony.

I felt a surge of panic run through my mind with every strike around me, and I watched in silent terror as each one disappeared as soon as it came, leaving behind a bunch of those curious leaves. I would flinch whenever one popped up in an adjacent tree, but I was relieved to know that I was okay.

Just as I thought it was all over, I felt an immense pain tear throughout my limbs and trunk; it was only in times like this that I could feel anything within my barky shell, and it was horrible. Imagine feeling a needle pressed into you at every possible spot, from every possible position, all at the same time. It only lasted a second, but it was enough to leave me silently screaming in pain and and unable to think clearly for quite some time. I could still remember my first zap-apple season, when it seemed like every other bolt was aimed like me, and I wanted to just curl up and die.

After the storm finally passed, and the last zap-apple leaves appeared on one of the nearby trees, I felt a sense of relief that it had only been as bad as it had been. There were many times I regretted meeting that ridiculous-looking creature all those years ago, but never as much as those split-seconds of agony I was forced to endure this time of year.

About a week later, after the zap-apple season had come to a close, I heard a familiar voice humming from beyond the trees. I felt a huge sense of elation as Fluttershy approached and greeted me. During the course of our time together, she had taken to calling me “Oaky”; I didn’t really like the name, but I had no way of arguing with her. So, I had no choice but to deal with it.
“Sorry I haven’t visited you at all this week, Oaky; there were too many ponies around because of the zap-apple harvest,” she explained apologetically.

I wanted to smile at her comfortingly, to let her know it was okay, and all that mattered was that she was here with me now. I understood she didn’t want too many ponies to know she was talking to a tree; after all, Applejack, who I knew was a close friend of hers, had thought she was insane for having one-sided conversations with me. I could tell she was a good friend to the yellow mare, however, for Fluttershy had told me that Applejack had reluctantly sworn to not tell anyone about her visits with me.

I wanted so badly to have my old body back, so I could talk to this beautiful pegasus and let her know she wasn’t alone in her love for nature, but I had long ago lost hope of ever returning to my former state.

So I continued listening to her, and hoped she wouldn’t grow bored of my company.

Fortunately for me, her interest in me never faltered, and she visited me every single day for the next month, and she would tell me about her day until the setting sun painted the sky a brilliant orange, when she would say a regretful goodbye and slowly walk home, after which I would simply eagerly await the next day.

That was, however, until the day Applejack decided she had put up with her friend’s antics long enough.

“Applejack, please don’t do this!” I heard Fluttershy wail as three sets of hooves approached. I looked ahead as Fluttershy, Applejack, and a powerful-looking red stallion approached. I felt a sharp pang of fear that I only felt during the zap-apple season when I saw what the stallion was carrying in his mouth: a long wooden shaft, topped off with a large, red blade.

An axe! I cried silently as he drew closer, the late-afternoon sunlight glinting off the blade.

“Fluttershy, I’m worried about you; you come here every day and sit here, just talking to… to a tree! It isn’t natural, and I need to put a stop to this!” she said, and turned to her bulky companion. “Cut it down, Big Mac,” she said with a determined nod.

“Eeyup,” the stallion said through gritted teeth as he stepped forward and took a ready stance, preparing to swing the axe at my midsection; with the spot my vision was stuck, it looked like he was aiming for where my neck would have been.
Fluttershy glared and rushed between Big Mac and myself and stood up on her hind legs, and spread her front legs in a protective stance.

“You are not hurting him!” she shouted, her voice filled with an anger that didn’t sound right coming from her lips.
Big Mac turned to Applejack and gave her a helpless look, and she rolled her eyes as she threw a lasso at Fluttershy and pulled her out of the way.
“NO!” she cried helplessly as she was dragged out of my field of vision, struggling against the orange mare’s surprising strength. I saw Big Mac take his position again and pull his head back for a powerful swing. As muscular as he looked, I knew this would be a quick and painless end.
So I waited, making sure that when my time finally came, there was only one thing on my mind: a lovely pegasus mare, with a soft, pink mane and caring, green eyes. The only pony who, in all my years as a tree, had shown me any sort of kindness.

And as I thought of her and the kindness she had shown me for the past few months, even though I was about to die, I felt happy.

“HOLD EVERYTHING!” an urgent voice cried out. I watched as an all-too-familiar creature descended from the sky behind Big Mac, who dropped the axe and ran over to his sister.
“What in tthe world is going on here?” Discord asked in scolding tone.
Fluttershy stood up, still partially tangled in Applejack’s lasso. “They’re trying to cut down my friend!” she shouted angrily.

Applejack glared at the pegasus. “Your ‘friend’ is making you go nuts! I mean, for pony's sake, Fluttershy: YOU’RE TALKING TO A TREE!” she snapped.
Discord stepped between the two mares and held out his arms to keep them apart, all the while keeping a goofy grin plastered to his face. “Ladies, please, there’s no need for fighting; aren’t you supposed to be friends?” he asked soothingly.

Applejack took a step back. “We are, it’s just… I’m worried about her! It isn’t natural for a pony to sit around all day and talk with a tree. I mean, what’s it gonna say?” she asked.
Fluttershy glared at Applejack. “It isn’t about him talking to me, it’s about him listening to me,” she explained.

The orange mare rolled her eyes. “Fluttershy, a tree doesn’t listen to ponies telling them stories. Besides, if you wanted to talk to somepony about being alone, one of the girls or myself would have been happy to talk!”

Fluttershy glared at her friend. “Did any of you grow up alone and misunderstood? No. You had your huge family to keep you company, Twilight didn’t care about friends until she came to Ponyville, everypony loves Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash makes it her mission to be well-known by everypony, and Rarity’s dresses have made her the most famous designer in town! When I was growing up in Cloudsdale, I didn't have any friends, and all the other ponies teased me for being so shy. This tree is an oak sitting in the middle of miles and miles of apple trees, without another of its kind nearby. If that isn’t loneliness, then I don’t know what is,” she declared.

Applejack stared at Fluttershy for a long, awkwardly-silent time, until Discord spoke up again. “You two should really make sure you know all of the details before you start fighting like this, you know,” he said smugly. “I may love a good bit of chaos now and then, but I hate to see such a wonderful friendship torn apart.”
Applejack looked at him suspiciously. “What do you mean, ‘all of the details’?” she asked slowly.

Discord ignored her, and instead strolled over to me, propping himself against my side in a friendly manner. “Sorry about this whole mess, Spring Heart,” he said apologetically, “I swear I meant to change you back after about a week or two, but I had a run-in with a pair of ponies that didn’t like my way of running things, so I’ve been away for a while.”
Applejack sighed. “Okay, Discord talking to the tree I can understand,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
Discord laughed. “Oh, my dear Applejack, are you really so naive? Have you not realized that this is no ordinary tree?” he asked incredulously.
Applejack shrugged. “Well, I can see that; it’s an oak tree,” she said matter-of-factly.
Discord sighed. “Do you see what I have to deal with around here?” he asked what seemed like no one in particular, but I’m pretty sure it was directed at me.

Discord stepped away from me and snapped his fingers. “For what it’s worth,” he said apologetically, “I’m sorry.”

Just then, something happened to me that hadn’t happened in a thousand years: I moved. Whatever Discord had done, it worked its magic instantaneously, and I suddenly found myself being supported by my legs once again; a change that caught me by surprise, and caused me to fall to my knees. I tested my newly-reformed legs one by one, carefully stood to my full height, and scanned the area around me with genuine pony eyes.

I smiled gently when my gaze fell on Fluttershy, who watched me with wide, confused eyes. We stared at each other silently for what seemed like ages—ages that I would have prefered to endure over the ones I had just been through—until I spoke up.

“Hello, Fluttershy,” I said quietly, “My name is Spring Heart. It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”