The Huebirds of Happiness

The Huebirds of Happiness – Chapter 1: The Squawk out of Everfree Forest

The Huebirds of Happiness are a special lot of creatures. Having hailed from the land of Huebird, these birds march around the world, teaching all those who look onward the secrets to everlasting happiness. The huebirds are about as tall as the average filly, with round bodies, short wings, and eyes as large as a dot. Do not let their short, stubby wings fool you however! These creatures can fly long distances and have flown even into the borders of Yakyakistan with their wings! Even though they have their wings to fly, their preferred method of transportation is the flock step. These creatures march along in complete unison with one another, the result of an elaborate sensing method that distinguishes one friend from another. These creatures are few in number, but are prosperous in their own right because they have few enemies and know how to conserve their energy for the flock step. Whenever you hear the characteristic ‘Tweet-twe-twe-tweet-tweet-tweet, SQUAWK!’, their marching cadence, you know these huebirds are near, marching along joyfully and blissfully into the world  ahead…

“I hope you’re enjoying your daily brushing Angel!” Fluttershy squeed happily as she brushed on Angel’s fur just outside her humble abode on a sunny spring day. All Angel could do was pout angrily as the brushing continued. The brushing was put to a brief halt however, which allowed Angel to give out a sigh of relief. Fluttershy got up from the ground and attended quickly to Tank. He had been recently sick from a mild fever and Rainbow Dash, being away for a few days in Cloudsdale to temporarily lead weatherpony duties, left Tank to Fluttershy’s aid for the time being.

“And Tank, you’re looking a lot better from your fever!” Fluttershy lightly and happily exclaimed, “You’ll get all better by the time Rainbow Dash gets back from Cloudsdale in a few days!” Tank gave Fluttershy as big a smile as he could before giving off a light cough. Fluttershy then quickly turned back towards Angel. Once Fluttershy got back to her sweet Angel Bunny, she heard a faint sound… Fluttershy couldn’t make out the sound, but knew that it was one that she never heard in Equestria... She stopped her brushing just as she was about to begin. She gave out a gasp as the sound gradually grew louder and anxiously asked herself,

“Oh my… what’s that sound, and where is it coming from?” Fluttershy got up and began trotting away from Angel, leaving the bunny infuriated that her furs made her look like a puffball. Angel was so angry that she hopped along towards Fluttershy. Once Angel caught up with Fluttershy, she began tugging on her tail. Fluttershy ignored Angel’s tugging despite Angel pulling as hard as she could. Fluttershy quickly trotted towards the sound’s source as it became more and more audible.

Fluttershy could finally make out the sound. It was the sound of squawks that were put together in such unison! Upon hearing the squawks, Fluttershy quickly deduced that she was hearing some bird sounds, but one thing left her perplexed:

“What type of bird would make that type of sound? I’ve never heard any creature from Equestria speak like that before!” Fluttershy placed her hoof on her chin, wondering what type of bird would make the sound as the squawks moved closer and closer to her. Now she could hear what the birds were saying. It sounded like the sort of chants she’d hear at a Canterlot military procession. Angel continued to tug on Fluttershy’s tail but Fluttershy continued to stare at the figures that were making the squawk sounds emerge from the top of a small hill…

‘Tweet-twe-twe-tweet-tweet-tweet, SQUAWK!’

‘Tweet-twe-twe-tweet-tweet-tweet, SQUAWK!’

‘Tweet-twe-twe-tweet-tweet-tweet, SQUAWK!’

Fluttershy was amazed by the squawks the birds were making. She was even more mesmerized by the colours of all the birds that she finally saw. Red… yellow… blue… green… each of the huebirds had a unique colour that made the birds stand out from everything else around Fluttershy. All of the birds had stick-like legs, round, circular bodies with yellow beaks, and eyes as small as a bead. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she walked up to the huebirds who were walking by, wiggling her tail to force Angel out of her tail… Angel felt a light thud on her head as she was forced free from Fluttershy. Angel then pouted angrily in place, wondering when she’d ever get her furs brushed after Fluttershy kept insisting that she’d get them done to her chagrin! Meanwhile, Fluttershy looked closely at the huebirds’ marching stances… Afraid to disturb their march, she made sure not to get too close to any of the huebirds who were marching in single file.

As the huebirds marched along one by one, Fluttershy noticed that each one of them had some sort of bruise on their body. Some were worse than others, with cuts as well, forcing Fluttershy to gasp. Fluttershy then turned her head around to see the last huebird marching by… As it marched closer and closer, she noticed that the yellow huebird was the most wounded of them all as it struggled to march like the other huebirds! Fluttershy quickly called for the last huebird as nicely as she could,

“Ummm excuse me Mr. Bird…” Fluttershy’s call to the last huebird made all the other huebirds stop their march in complete unison. All the huebirds, including the yellow one, turned to Fluttershy, and spoke with irritation,

“Tweet-tweet-tweet? Tweet-twe-twe-twe-twe-tweet-“SQUAWK.” Fluttershy listened intently to what the huebirds were trying to say. Understanding that the huebirds were annoyed at her for stopping their march when they were in physical pain, Fluttershy apologized,

“Oh… I’m sorry for interrupting your march! My name’s Fluttershy, and I’ve never seen you creatures here before!” Fluttershy replied as politely and meekly as she could, knowing that she interrupted a seemingly important procession for these creatures. The huebirds continued to bop up and down in their place as they squawked amongst each other. Finally, the leader huebird, the pink coloured huebird came out with a series of squawks of his own,

“Squawk-SQUAWK. Tweet-twe-twe-twe-twe-tweet-tweet-tweet! Tweet-SQUAWK.” Fluttershy nodded and softly caressed the pink huebird’s head. The pink huebird responded with a sweet-sounding coo. Fluttershy giggled happily before she replied gleefully,

“Awww! You’re soooo cute!” Fluttershy then remembered the yellow huebird who had a bruise on its head, pointed at the last huebird, and expressed her concerns.

“You see, I stopped you all because I wanted to offer my aid to all of you. I noticed all the bruises and cuts on your heads, and I wanted to help you get better.” The huebirds squawked among each other and then nodded happily before tweeting their gratitude to Fluttershy for her offer.

“Does this mean you’ll accept?” Fluttershy squeed, hoping that the huebirds would accept her hospitality. The huebirds nodded once more to signal their wishes. Fluttershy jumped up and responded with a gleeful smile,

“Alright then! Come with me! I’ll show you off to the other animals! I’ll make sure you feel right at home while you all recover!” The huebirds tweeted joyfully at Fluttershy’s accommodating spirit, and marched with Fluttershy to her humble abode, perhaps setting the stage for an adventure she and the rest of Ponyville would never forget.