A Wish Granted

Outside, the western valley was dark, Luna’s moon rising over the rocky slopes. Barely any of the cacti were visible in the dim light and not a sound was heard except that of the train, the Friendship Express. The stallions were tired, but never stopped for a break. They kept pulling the train down the rusty track. The train whistle bellowed, disturbing the few crows that were settling down for the night. It might have appeared to be a quiet, undisturbed cargo train at first, had it not been for the warm lights and laughter leaking through the last car’s window.

Inside the train car, the one beside the caboose, a lot of chatting was going on. Despite the late hour four mares were wide awake. Cots were on each side of the car. On the right top bunk sat Fluttershy. Her pale pink mane was neatly brushed back, falling over her clear, blue eyes. She sat with her wings open, her hooves folded over in a comfortable position. As her name suggested she was normally shy. However, she felt quite comfortable around her friends.

Looking over to Rainbow Dash she saw her talking with Twilight, who was beneath her. They were talking about some Daring Do book. She rolled her eyes playfully as Pinkie Pie tried to join in the conversation. However, it was rather hard since Pinkie didn’t read that genre. Still, it didn't matter to her as she kept on chatting.

She, of course, knew almost nothing of Daring Do. She only knew what her friends said about her. She only read books such as “Beauty Bell and the Beast” or “Animal Keeping Tips.” Adventure books such as those did not interest her. She already had enough adventures in real life to deal with. Finding the conversation not to her taste she stretched her neck to see if Rarity was available to talk.

All she saw was a very tired unicorn, lying on her side away from the group, her mane in curlers. Before Fluttershy could invite her to chat, Rarity covered her ears to block out the other ponies chatting, indicating her wish to be left alone. Scooting back into a comfy position, she sat back and watched the other mares.

“Hey, Spike, I need your help,” said Rainbow Dash to the sleepy Dragon beneath Rarity.

He looked up groggily at her.” What is it?” Spike said, annoyed.

“There was a popcorn kernel here that didn’t get popped.” She pointed to a little kernel on top of the batch. She ducked in time to avoid getting burned by the fiery breath of the baby dragon. Rainbow Dash looked, and saw the buttery batch had been burned to ashes. Suddenly, the kernel popped and hit Rainbow right in the eye.

“There. Now leave me alone.” Turning over he let out a sigh.

The mares looked at each other, a bit stunned.

“Um,.perhaps it’s time for bed,” said Twilight hesitantly, before blowing out the lamp.

Fluttershy started to close her eyes and all was silent for a moment, maybe two, before she heard Rainbow whisper, “Pinkie Pie, are you asleep yet?” A small light appeared, and Fluttershy could see Rainbow out of the corner of her eye.

“No. Are you?” Pinkie replied, and appeared in front of rainbow.

Rainbow let out a huff, responding sarcastically, “If I was sleeping how could I have asked you if you were asleep?”

“Oh, yeah,” Pinkie responded with a giggle.

“I was just wondering...when we get to Appleloosa, do you think we’ll have to carry that heavy tree all the way from the train to the orchard?”

“What tree? You mean Bloomberg?” replied Pinkie, sincerely confused.

Rainbow sarcastically said, “No… Fluttershy.”

This peaked Fluttershy’s interest very much. She knew that RD was being sarcastic, but found herself bemused at the thought of being a tree.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Twilight asking “What’s going on?”

“Rainbow Dash thinks Fluttershy is a tree!” explained Pinkie.

“I do not think she’s a tree! I was just-” Rainbow tried to say, before getting cut off by Twilight.

“Did you say she was a tree?”

“No! Well, yes. But not exactly-”

Twilight intervened again “Ya…know she’s not a tree, right?”

“She’s not a tree, Dashie!” Pinkie added. Here, Fluttershy decided it was time to add her point of view. After all, if they were going to argue about her they ought to hear her own take on the matter.

So Fluttershy stated “I’d like to be a tree.” Inwardly she thought, “How bad could it be? I would be able to house my critter friends and get to be in the beauty of nature all day. It would be nice.”

Suddenly, a now awake and angry Spike shouted “Oh, for Pete’s sake!” He jumped off the cot and stomped over to the door. With a loud bang that made everypony cringe Spike left to the next car, the one that housed Bloomberg.

It was silent for a moment, before Fluttershy heard Twilight say, “Well, that was kinda huffy.”

“Huffy the magic dragon,” teased Fluttershy.

They all giggled at the statement, for “Huffy the Magic Dragon” had been a bedtime story that they had all read before. The thought of Spike being “Huffy” was amusing.

“Would you all be quiet NOW!” screamed what seemed to be Rarity, except this horrid beast was covered in beauty products and mane curlers.

The girls scattered to their cots as Rainbow Dash blew out the light. Fluttershy settled in her bed, breathing heavily. Once her heart rate was normal, she gave a small chuckle and snuggled under the forest green blanket. Tucking her wings over the covers and laying her head down, she sat there for a moment, maybe two. Her eyelids blinking slower and slower until they stopped. Her breathing slowed and a serene peacefulness passed over her face, as she drifted off to sleep.

***

Fluttershy’s eyes opened. She blinked a few times and then stretched and yawned as she began to wake up. The sun was shining hotly through her window and two robins sweetly sang by her windowsill. A small smile appeared on her face as she thought over the previous day's events.

“What an adventure that was,” she mused to herself as she thought of the big conflict between the settler ponies and the buffalo that they had had to resolve.

She giggled. “Or made it worse.” She shook her head as she thought of Pinkie Pie, and how her singing had driven the wedge further between them.

“Oh, well. At least Bloomberg is safe, planted in his new home.”

Getting out of bed she walked over to the window, opening it and letting in a soft, autumn breeze. Everything appeared to be normal, but appearances could be deceiving. The sky was a bright hue, and even the trees of gold and red swayed gracefully with serene peace. Clearly there was nothing to be worried or afraid about. Still, she felt a little unnerved for some reason. She pushed the thought away, deciding to feed her critter friends.

After making the bed she flew down the stairs and was greeted by Angel Bunny.

“Hello, Angel. Are you hungry?” she asked.

He nodded his furry head yes and ran to get the cookbook. She followed him into the kitchen and found him pointing at an entry called “The Simply Simple Salad.” Only, it didn’t look too simple. She tried to suggest some other things, but Angel would not take anything else.

“At least Angel Bunny is acting normal. Maybe I am overreacting?” she wondered as she got the ingredients for his meal.

Fortunately she had everything for the recipe, and it only took ten minutes to fix it. The little rascal ate it greedily, so Fluttershy went outside to feed the rest of her animal friends. She was greeted by warm streams of sunlight pouring onto her face. Sunlight always put her in a good mood and she went humming to the food bin. She greeted each furry friend with a smile and a sweet word.

She went into the pantry and grabbed a bag of sunflower seeds. Going back outside, she sat down on a bench on the south side of her cottage and started to munch on a few. She took a deep breath and let her body relax, taking in the breathtaking scene. She began to drift into a content daydream when she spotted a blue speck in the distance.

It came closer at an alarming speed, and Fluttershy snapped out of her dream state and lifted her head with a concerned look. At three yards away the speck could be identified as her friend, Rainbow Dash. She stopped and hovered over Fluttershy, panting from her speedy flight.

Fluttershy could see she was distressed and looked up perplexed and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Rainbow Dash never stopped flying but replied hastily, “Oh, Fluttershy, am I glad to find you. Something is the matter in the White Tail Woods. I heard something crying out in pain!”

“Oh, wow! Um, are you sure you heard a scream?”  Fluttershy said hesitantly.

“Well, I am pretty sure and it’s good enough for me, so are you coming or not?”

“I, uh, um… why me? I am not very well equipped in these situations,” she faltered.

“I choose you, because it sounded like an ANIMAL CRY!”  Rainbow Dash said urgently.

The mention of a critter in trouble caused Fluttershy to spring up on her hooves.  “AN ANIMAL! Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” She flew up to Rainbow Dash right before the airborne Pegasus flew off toward the woods.

“R-Rainbow! Wait for ME!” she yelled as she followed Rainbow Dash towards the west side of Ponyville.

“ So,” Fluttershy panted as she finally closed the distance, “where did you hear the cry?” Fluttershy panted as she finally caught up to Rainbow.

They had been flying for over ten minutes now on the way to the forest. While the scenic view was spectacular she didn’t stop for a moment. The thought of a helpless animal injured, all alone and maybe dying a little bit more each second, caused fear and gave speed to her flying. Still, it was not enough to keep up with her athletic friend ahead, until Rainbow braked. That only happened as they came to the edge of the destined place. Rainbow Dash slowed a bit until Fluttershy was by her side, and then she zoomed off again into the heavily dense trees. Sighing, Fluttershy tried to keep up and also flew into the White Tailed Woods.

The woods were beautiful this time of year. The medium brown bark added a lovely touch to the golden, red, yellow, and orange foliage. The sun, as it got lower, gave out dandelion rays of light that seemed to float and sing of the joy of fall. The feeling of happiness was not with Fluttershy at the moment. She was just barely able to keep up; it took all her strength just to keep off the ground.

This forest, unlike the Everfree, was a normal forest, so it was odd to hear of a pony or critter being endangered there.

It was just west of Ponyville and though it was not as big as the Everfree it was still large for a forest. Of course it got its name from the main types of trees that grow there: white tailed trees. Though it had been known to have an oak or beech here or there. The forest was in its peak in the fall, so when the “Running of the Leaves” event came it was such a dazzling run. Fluttershy had been near its edge often enough to gather acorns for a pie or two, but she had never gone in. She didn’t even know what its center was like. She secretly hoped if they were going to go in it than perhaps she might get a glance at the heart of the forest. The mother tree; where it all started, and it was often the most beautiful sight ever of all the trees.

Fluttershy’s mind was not on the scenery though, or even the “helpless creature.” She was too busy thinking of catching up. Since they had entered the forest it seemed more trees kept getting in her way. Each time she tried to fly faster a branch or trunk got in her way that wasn’t there before.

“Or, it seems like it wasn’t there,” she told herself. “I’m probably just imagining it, so stop being such a worry wart!” She maneuvered around a large branch in time to see Rainbow Dash up ahead, but only her body was visible.

“Rainbow Dash! Wait up!” Fluttershy called despairingly. She received no answer. She had to land to catch her breath. She couldn’t fly any faster.

She stood there, panting, hoping Rainbow would come back for her soon.

Spending a minute to pluck out the leaves and twigs from her mane and wings she looked around her. It was a bit darker for the leaves were blocking out a bit of sunlight. Still, she could see it looked safe. No dangerous animals. “Or injured animals for that matter,” she said to herself. If there was an animal being hurt she thought she should be able to hear it squealing.

There was nothing. Not a whisper. Not a sound. Not another living soul, unless you counted the trees.

She was alone in a creepy forest. That did not please her too much. She lowered her head as if something was creeping over her.

“RAINBOW DASH!” she yelled. “COME BACK!”

All the fears and doubts from earlier came back in a flood of emotions. Many questions formed, some logical, most panicky, but the main thought was just staying safe.

Sitting down, she took a deep breath. It calmed her a little bit and cleared her head for some logical thinking. “It seems to me,” she reasoned, “that there is no possible way to find Rainbow Dash now. Seeing as my help isn’t worth waiting for, I will head back the way I came and get out of this forest. Maybe we flew past the poor dear and on my way out I might see it!"

Slowly, she got up on all fours and looked around, noticing every detail. The light was getting dimmer and dimmer, slowly but surely, it was as if the trees were determined to block a way to fly out.

“Well, that’s an unnerving thought. Focus now,” she said quietly to herself. Even the whisper made a slight echo in the stillness. The trees seem to rustle back in response.

“Enough talking. Time to move!”

She moved her right foreleg forward. Nothing. She moved the other foreleg. Still nothing.

A moment later she moved both her hindlegs. Nothing happened. She began to walk, one hoof at a time. Her head was moving in all directions sharply and cautiously. She walked four yards and nothing stirred. She passed a tree. It didn’t move. She kept watching, hoping and praying to get out of this alive. She passed another tree. It was still.

It had been one minute, but it felt like an eternity. It felt like she had walked a mile, but it was only fifteen feet. She felt uneasy and calm at the same time. The suspense was high, but since nothing was happening she began to feel as if she was overreacting.

She looked around the trees and peered into the distance. She saw no fur and heard no sound. Still, she called out several times in a loud but sqeaky voice, "Here critter critter! Where are you? Are you hurt? Call if you can here me."

She walked another ten feet. Still, nothing happened. Well, nothing besides the fact that the light was still waning.

She sighed at not finding the hurt animal; hoping it was alright. Looking around, she got up the courage to look at the tree tops. She was curious. After a few seconds she hit something, losing her balance. Fluttershy found herself face down on the ground. Her muzzle was a bit bruised, but not too bad. She turned her head to see what she tripped on. She was surprised to find a green vine wrapping itself around her hind leg. Jerking her body to where she was lying on her back, she tried to scrape it off with her other hoof. Instead, it raveled itself around that leg.  With both her legs trapped in an ascending vine, she panicked and began to struggle and move forward using her two free legs. She broke free of the vines and began to gallop.

However she did not get far.

More vines came toward her. She let out a squeak and began running full-out. “HELP!” she yelled. “SOMEONE!”

Almost as if on cue she heard a cry up above, and as she turned to look behind her saw her friend crash down into the vines, now unmoving on the ground.

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness,” she said as she slowed her panicked run.

Rainbow Dash walked toward her, Fluttershy quickly closing the distance. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Everything is going to be alright now.”

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy said in a rush. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

As she went to give her a friend a hug Rainbow hopped up and away from her a small distance. “Yeah, I’m not in a very huggy mood.”

Fluttershy pouted, but she knew that was the way Rainbow was. “Alright. Did you find the injured critter?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. It’s fine. It just got caught in a spider web and was panicking.”

Fluttershy let out a relieved sigh. “Phew! That’s good.

“In that case can we get out of here, Rainbow? This forest is starting to give me the creeps.”

“But you can’t leave yet, Fluttershy. You’re the guest of honor.”

Fluttershy cocked her head, an eyebrow going up. “What does THAT mean?”

“Don’t be afraid, Fluttershy. There’s nothing to fear. Don’t be afraid.” The tone of Rainbows voice...seemed a little off.

Before she knew what was happening, she was suddenly gently, but firmly, jerked from the ground by a mess of vines. She was so focused on her conversation with her airborne friend  she didn’t notice the vines making a second attempt at capturing her. She struggled to be released as it carried her higher into the tree tops.

“Help me!” Fluttershy screamed. “Rainbow Dash!” She put her hoof out, but Rainbow Dash stayed right where she was, a calm expression on her face.

The vines had all four of her legs. It covered her middle section in seconds and her wings were trapped in the forming cage. She was now unable to fly away. They grew downward, swirling and wrapping around her legs. She tried to break free, but she couldn’t move her legs, much less feel them. They were giving off a magical aurora which was putting her legs to sleep. In fact, her entire lower body was numb.

“R-R-Rainbow! W-why are you just sitting there?”

“Don’t be afraid, Fluttershy,” the pegasus responded. “Soon you will understand.” Then, she seemed to turn into dust, blowing away in microscopic pieces and scattering like a breeze.

She began to form tears of fear and despair, having no clue what was going on, but she never stopped trying to get away. She moved her hooves wildly as if trying to hit an unseen villain. It didn’t seem to help at all, for they just kept getting closer and closer. Winding themselves on her shoulders, they took a detour to the hooves first. They began to move slower as the magic worked and tightened. All but her head was covered by this leafy, green cocoon. She had no chance. She was defeated.

As the vines began to encase her pretty pink head she tried one more useless, fruitless effort of rescue.

“Help…,” she cried out in a tiny voice. But no one was there to hear her cry.