Chapters The Huebirds of Happiness
While Fluttershy was busy introducing herself to the Huebirds, Angel continued pouting in place. While she knew that Fluttershy cared about her a lot, she hated how Fluttershy was easily distracted by all the other critters. Just today, Fluttershy insisted that her furs get neatly brushed. Angel recalled protesting Fluttershy’s insistence on brushing her furs…
“Oh Angel!” Fluttershy called out with excitement as she searched for her dear pet bunny. “Today you’re going to get your furs brushed! It’s been a while since I’ve gone out of my way to neaten them for you!” Angel hid underneath the couch, hoping that Fluttershy would see that she didn’t want her furs brushed since it was only two days since her last brushing. But her efforts to hide were for naught as Fluttershy peeked underneath her couch and proceeded to lift it upon seeing a small white patch.
“Oh there you are Angel! I need to make sure you’re looking real pretty and neat when Pinkie Pie visits us later today! Plus, you’re going to be hopping around a lot, so I want to make your furs extra neat for today!” Fluttershy then scooped Angel out of her hiding, much to the bunny’s annoyance. Fluttershy then carried Angel outside of her house, leaving Angel to wonder why Fluttershy didn’t perform the brushing on her favourite mini-couch. At least the couch gave her some comfort while Fluttershy pulled on her furs with her ever spiky brush!
“Normally, I’d be brushing your hair inside the house, and I know how much you like being brushed in your favourite couch.” Angel pouted and grunted, expressing her disdain at not giving her that staple comfort for brushing bunny furs. Fluttershy ignored the pouting and proceeded with her explanation. “But you need some fresh air while you’re being brushed! Just feel the wind flowing through you as I brush you with this brush!” Angel could only roll her eyes as Fluttershy finished her explanation with an exclamation and lifted her brush, ready to begin her brushing again…
Angel angrily stomped back to Fluttershy’s tree upon seeing that she was preoccupied with the Huebirds. When she entered her house, some of the birds and rodents began laughing at how silly Angel looked as a puffball. Angel lashed out angrily by jumping up and down. In an effort to make the other critters stop laughing at her puffy complexion, Angel jumped up and down as much as she could towards the mirror. The other critters began wondering why Angel was getting so riled up at a window, so they crowded around the window and looked outward to see Fluttershy with the strange bird creatures! The critters chattered among themselves as to what exactly those bird creatures were. All of them hoped that Fluttershy would explain soon enough…
Meanwhile, the twenty-five huebirds were led away from the road into Fluttershy’s humble abode. Once Fluttershy and the huebirds entered her home, all the critters began to gather around with curiosity and bewilderment in their faces. None of Fluttershy’s creatures saw such lanky, yet animated creatures before. Furthermore, the huebirds’ squawks weren’t that soothing to hear, so some of the other birds covered their ears, hoping that their squawking would stop. Making matters worse was how Noticing that some of her other critters were apprehensive about the huebirds, Fluttershy motioned for calm by gently waving her hooves. Once the critters stopped chattering and covering their ears, Fluttershy cleared her throat before she spoke soothingly,
“Hello everyone! I want to introduce you all to the Huebirds! You haven’t seen these creatures before because they’re not from Equestria!” The critters chattered amongst themselves again. The Huebirds were foreign creatures, and while it explained their awkward appearance, it didn’t explain how they arrived. Fluttershy quickly cleared her throat again and motion for calm with her hooves to calm the critters. Fluttershy then continued her introduction,
“Now I realize that none of you have ever seen a creature like this before. But all of the huebirds with us got sidetracked into the Everfree Forest from the main pack! Many of them perished in the Everfree Forest as well since they started as a group of two hundred…” The critters’ faces quickly turned into sympathy and grief as they settled down even further and began surrounding some of the huebirds, wondering how they got sidetracked.
“Now, with what the birds have gone through on their explorations of Equestria, I’ve offered to care for the huebirds until they get better. It shouldn’t be longer than two weeks before all their bruises heal and we can let them move forward on their journey.” The creatures, particularly Angel whose fur was still puffed outward, groaned, which forced Fluttershy to give off a stern pout to the critters. The critters quickly hushed down, and Fluttershy finished her speech.
“Good. I expect you all to give the creatures as much comfort and care as you can while I tend to them all. I know it means less time for the rest of you, but I need to make sure they’re fine before they move onward.” The critters nodded slowly, albeit disappointingly, as Fluttershy flew towards Angel. Angel pouted again and turned her head away from Fluttershy. Fluttershy, noticing that Angel was very cross, took out her brush and kindly whispered to Angel,
“Angel, I’m sorry for leaving you looking like a puffball. Although… you do look very cute as a puffball.” Fluttershy giggled as Angel huffed and thumped her foot to the wooden floorboards. Fluttershy composed herself before continuing with her apology,
“I know the Huebirds will take away some attention from me towards you Angel. I’m really sorry about that. But I have to care for all the creatures, both big and small, and these huebirds seem like nice creatures! Maybe you can befriend one of them while they’re here!” Fluttershy tried to offer a chance for Angel to be friends with the huebirds, but Angel continued to puff. Fluttershy then remembered that Angel still needed her hair brushed… Fluttershy took out her brush and then gave another offer:
“Oh Angel… I’ll brush your hair in your comfy chair from now on. I won’t even make you go anywhere else for your daily brushing. Plus, I’ll be sure to give you more deserts after your dinner while the huebirds are still here!” Fluttershy squeed at Angel, hoping that her offer would be enticing enough for Angel to take. Thankfully, Angel nodded and took the offer, albeit grudgingly. Fluttershy nodded happily before she took Angel to her comfy chair and continued brushing Angel’s hair…
“La, la-la! La, la-la, la, la!” Pinkie Pie hopped with a skip and a jump around Sugarcube Corner, getting ready to finish up her chores for the day. She had quite the busy day, even for her standards. She already took care of the store’s café for a few hours while Mr. Cake ran some errands for Pound and Pumpkin Cake’s baby supplies. She then prepared a chocolate-caramel birthday cake for Pipsqueak’s birthday party which was set for the next day and made plans for a Party Cannon Cake which would be filled with an assortment of flavours that not even Pinkie Pie knew the names for!
Despite all the activity she was working on, Pinkie Pie took merely a small huff and a puff before remembering that today was Gummy’s play day at Fluttershy’s home! She hopped over to Gummy who stood there with his scaly eyes remaining open the whole time Pinkie Pie jumped around doing all the Cake’s errands and then some. Pinkie Pie gave Gummy a light kiss on his cheek before she spoke energetically,
“Oh Gummy! You’re going to have a bumbletastic time at Fluttershy’s place! Fluttershy promised a wonderful tea party between the four of us, and YOUUUU get to see Angel today! Just let me finish cleaning up Sugarcube Corner by the time the Cakes get back right about…” Pinkie Pie then jumped around even more frantically as she swept the floors, washed the dishes, and rearranged all the glassware and baking equipment to their proper places. By the time she was done, Pinkie Pie heard the entrance to Sugarcube Corner swing open! Pinkie Pie then jostled back to Gummy and merely screamed,
“NOW!” The two ponies who entered Sugarcube Corner were stunned as usual by Pinkie Pie’s energetic demeanor. It was Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Sure the couple knew of Pinkie Pie’s energy and light-hearted nature, but they could never understand how she kept on having that energy day in, day out! The Cakes chuckled awkwardly before they asked Pinkie Pie,
“Sooo… Pinkie Pie, it seems you have everything under control here?” Mr. Carrot Cake then added: “And you made sure all the orders were done for today?” Pinkie Pie responded by bopping her head up and down to express her confirmation.
“Well that’s wonderful Pinkie Pie! It looks like you can head off to Fluttershy’s place now for your tea party!” Mrs. Cake responded with a warm smile. “We’ll take over things from here. Tell us how the tea party went, and say hi to Fluttershy for us!” Mrs. Cake added. Pinkie Pie then gave out a big smile before she responded with a hop, skip, and a jump,
“I sure will Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie Pie then rushed out the door, before realizing that she completely forgot to bring Gummy along! Pinkie Pie instantly rushed back in, calmly placed Gummy on her back with a big grin, giggled, and spoke cheekily,
“Silly me! I can’t forget Gummy!” Pinkie Pie then rushed out the door and calmly hopped towards Fluttershy’s home. The Cakes gave out a sheepish chuckle before they both said in unison,
“Oh that Pinkie Pie! Some things never change…”
The Huebirds of Happiness
Tea Party with the Huebirds
The Huebirds of Happiness: Tea Party with the Huebirds
Fluttershy continued brushing on Angel at Angel’s favourite green, comfy chair. The leader Pink Huebird couldn’t help but squawk in laughter at Angel’s puffy complexion. A few other huebirds began squawking along jokingly, facing their heads at Angel’s direction. Angel huffed in anger, hoping that Fluttershy would finish her brushing as soon as possible to not look like a puffball anymore. Fluttershy noticed the huebirds squawking at Angel and quickly motioned them to stop with a hoof by her mouth. The huebirds quickly went silent, letting Fluttershy hum as she straightened out Angel’s furs. A few minutes later, Fluttershy lifted her brush away from Angel.
“You’re all done Angel! Now see what happens to those who wait? You get good things! Your furs look all neat and tidy for our tea party today!” Angel huffed before she got up from her couch, awaiting for the arrival of their guest, Pinkie Pie. After brushing Angel’s furs, Fluttershy flew gracefully to the huebirds, still bruised from the incident at the Everfree Forest.
“Is everything all right with you all so far?” All the huebirds nodded, with the exception of one that meekly tweeted. Fluttershy trotted gently to the green huebird and patted it on its head. Fluttershy stooped down to hear the green bird tweet about being thirsty. Fluttershy flied away to her kitchen sink, prepared a bowl of water, and gently flew back to the green huebird with some water. The green huebird stooped down, drank up on the water, and cooed happily. Fluttershy giggled at the huebird, marvelling at how cute the huebirds were.
“I’m glad I helped you out Mr. Huebird.” Fluttershy giggled again as the huebird quenched its thirst. At that moment, Fluttershy heard several knocks on her door. Fluttershy quickly left the huebirds and flew straight to the door. Fluttershy opened it, knowing that it was probably her special guest, ready to start their weekly tea party.
“HEY FLUTTERSHY!” Pinkie Pie jumped about as soon as Fluttershy opened the door. Fluttershy briefly jumped up. Even if she learned to expect it, Fluttershy always jumped up in fright every time Pinkie Pie greeted her.
“Oh! Hey Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy replied after composing herself. “I see you brought Gummy along as well! I can’t wait to start our tea party!” Pinkie Pie nodded in reply.
“This tea party will TOTALLY BE AWESOME, RIGHT GUMMY?!” Pinkie Pie nudged Gummy and awaited his response, but none was provided. Pinkie Pie merely grinned and nodded quickly in reply.
“Well Pinkie Pie, let’s get our tea party ready!” Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie trotted in together, the former leading the other. Pinkie Pie hopped into Fluttershy’s house as directed. The first thing she noticed as soon as she walked in were all the coloured birds that were flying around Fluttershy’s house.
“OOH!” Pinkie Pie said, enthused at the many colours the flying birds had on their bodies. “Fluttershy, I didn’t know you got more pets recently!” Fluttershy giggled at Pinkie Pie’s enthusiasm. Such activity was something only Pinkie Pie could exhibit with such energy and passion.
“Oh, I forgot to mention! Pinkie Pie, meet the huebirds!” Fluttershy pointed her hoof to all the flying huebirds, squawking happily as they spread their wings and flew around the house. Pinkie Pie didn’t notice the bruises, only marveling at how cute and colour the creatures were.
“You see Pinkie Pie, these creatures come from a distant land outside Equestria. No pony has ever visited this land, but these huebirds have recently visited our land as part of a scouting mission. There’s a group of two-hundred, but these huebirds were sidetracked into the Everfree Forest, and many of them either got injured or were… eaten.” Fluttershy whimpered as she ended her explanation. The thought of many of the huebirds perishing because of the Everfree Forest unsettled her.
“That’s too bad Fluttershy… I hope the huebirds get better!” Pinkie Pie replied warmly. “After all, these creatures are the weirdest, wackiest, and coolest creatures I’ve ever met in my life!” Pinkie Pie giggled again. The huebirds squawked along as they flew, enabling Pinkie Pie to begin mimicking them. She too began to squawk and was now performing a chicken dance just to show her interest in the birds.
“Oh Pinkie Pie…” Fluttershy giggled before realizing that she still had to get the tea party started. “Oh Pinkie Pie! I’m so sorry! I entirely forgot to set up the tables for the tea party!” Pinkie Pie was completely unaware of Fluttershy’s forgetfulness while explaining the huebird’s plights, having too much fun mimicking them.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie now set their red and white checkered blanket on the floor, with Angel and Gummy sitting beside their respective owners. Fluttershy gently set down her glass tea cups and began pouring green tea from her teapot into the tea cups. Fluttershy and Angel quickly took a small sip from their tea cups, while Pinkie Pie quickly gulped down on her green tea.
“Fluttershy, this green tea is great!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, pumping her hoof upwards. Fluttershy giggled happily while Angel nodded solemnly.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying the tea Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy replied with a smile. “How are things going with the Cakes lately?” Just as Fluttershy began asking Pinkie Pie about her time with the Cakes recently, some of the huebirds began aggregating around the tea party table, intrigued by what they were observing. Some of the huebirds then began to squawk among each other.
“Tweet-tweet-twe-twe-tweet-tweet-squawk?” Spoke the blue huebird.
“Squawk-squawk?” Spoke a red huebird, clearly confused by what was transpiring between the two ponies.
“Tweet-tweet-tweet. Squawk?” The blue huebird replied, hypothesizing about what the ponies were doing.
“These huebirds are just SOOOO CUTE Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie giggled as she began to mimic the huebirds in their squawking. The surrounding huebirds began to squawk along with Pinkie Pie in laughter, enthused by the party pony.
“They are indeed Pinkie Pie. From how they’re acting, they seem to be making really good progress already from their ailments!” The huebirds tweeted happily to express their thanks to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie for their hospitality. Many of the huebirds were still injured and bruised, but the two ponies were clearly making life much better for the huebirds.
“Would you all like some tea too dear huebirds?” Fluttershy offered another tea cup for the huebirds to feast on. A few more of the huebirds gathered around the small cup of green tea, looking frightful at how green the liquid looked. The huebirds looked at each other with apprehension, wondering which of them would taste the green tea first. Eventually, the red huebird agreed to try the green tea as a sign of politeness. The red huebird sipped on the tea, but quickly choked and spat out the green tea! The red huebird quickly shook its head before the other huebirds and Pinkie Pie squawked in laughter together.
“Oh my… I’m sorry Mr. Red Huebird.” The red huebird regained his composure after the huebirds and Pinkie let their laughter get out of the way. The red huebird grumbled at how weird-tasting the green tea was before it flew away to explore the rest of the house.
The tea party went on the rest of the way without much interruption or eventfulness. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie shared their recent experiences, like Fluttershy’s first encounter with the huebirds, and Pinkie Pie’s busy day at Sugarcube Corner while the Cakes were busy with parental and administrative duties. After the tea party was completed, the two Earth ponies got up from the floor, cleaned up, and trotted towards the door.
“That was a great party Fluttershy! Let’s do it again next week!” Pinkie Pie jumped away with Gummy on her back.
“I’ll be sure to hold another one then! Goodbye! See you later Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy waved Pinkie Pie goodbye before Fluttershy trotted back into her house and attended to the huebirds and her other critters.
The Huebirds of Happiness
The Huebirds of Happiness: Pinkie Pie’s Big Mouth
Pinkie Pie jumped away from Fluttershy’s house with glee and joy, heading back towards Ponyville. She still had some minor maintenance chores back at Sugarcube Corner before she took off and prepared for parties of all kinds to end her day. But for now, Pinkie Pie raved about the tea party, particularly the drinks and snacks that were provided and the huebirds Fluttershy invited to rest at her home.
“That was a great tea party wasn’t it Gummy?! The green tea was so delicious, and the crumpets she brought along were just as tasty!” Pinkie Pie licked her mouth with her tongue to express her delight at how tasty the strawberry crumpets were. Gummy only stood on Pinkie Pie’s back, sticking out his long towards Pinkie Pie’s ear.
“Hehehehe! That tickles Gummy! Quit that!” Pinkie Pie giggled uncontrollably as Gummy’s tongue continued to lick on Pinkie Pie’s ear. Pinkie Pie continued to hop into Ponyville, Gummy’s tongue having finally let go of Pinkie Pie’s ear. She didn’t force his tongue off her ear because to Pinkie Pie, Gummy always loved licking her tongue as a sign of affection.
Once she hopped over the bridge and into Ponyville, Pinkie Pie caught sight of Rarity exiting the Carousel Boutique. Rarity was tending to her house, making sure that it was still looking as polished as it should be. Excited at what Pinkie Pie encountered at Fluttershy’s home, she hopped over to the entrance where Rarity stood. Pinkie Pie waved excitedly at Rarity, to which Rarity waved back with a warm smile.
“Hey Rarity!” Pinkie Pie stopped hopping upon seeing her glamorous friend.
“Why, hello Pinkie Pie! Ever excitable and joyful as always?” Rarity greeted Pinkie Pie back with a smile as Pinkie Pie stopped just short of her.
“Oh nothing much! I went over to Fluttershy’s place and had a tea party! Sure the tea party was fun for me and Gummy, but the BESST part were the birds that Fluttershy were taking care of!” Pinkie Pie quickly spoke. Rarity gave Pinkie Pie a confused look; Fluttershy was always tending to birds. In fact, birds were practically her specialty!
“Oh… I see. Pinkie Pie, whatever do you mean?” Rarity sheepishly asked.
“Oh! You see, Fluttershy has got these really cute birds that aren’t even from Equestria! They’re called huebirds, and-” Rarity quickly shut Pinkie Pie’s mouth, causing Pinkie Pie’s cheeks to puff up and inflate.
“Wait, Pinkie Pie, birds that aren’t from Equestria?” Rarity asked apprehensively. It was bad enough that Fluttershy already invited strange creatures once, but for them to not be from Equestria?
“Mmmm…mmmm…mm…!!!!” Rarity quickly let go of Pinkie Pie’s hoof, letting her finish what she had to say.
“Rarity! These birds came out of the Everfree Forest, and all of them were hurt! Fluttershy’s tending to them all!” Rarity gave Pinkie Pie a blank expression… the idea of the parasprites invading Ponyville once was bad enough, but the situation repeating itself? The horror!
Pinkie Pie, noticing that Rarity’s expressions were completely blank, hopped along further towards the Sugarcube Corner, leaving Rarity to think on how to take the news in…
Pinkie Pie continued to hop along towards Sugarcube Corner, but along the way she encountered Twilight Sparkle, who stopped by the site where her old library was destroyed by Lord Tirek during one of the many battles for Equestrian control. Twilight had stopped by to not only remember the memories she had with her old home, but to also begin to layout the plans for a public library for all Ponyville to enjoy.
“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie Pie gave out a wave to her, to which Twilight responded with a wave of her own after turning her head to see her.
“Hey Pinkie Pie! What have you been up to lately?” Twilight smiled back to Pinkie Pie.
“Oh Twilight! I had this TOTALLY AWESOME party at Fluttershy’s place! You won’t BELIEVE what I saw there!” Pinkie Pie giddily jumped up and down, leaving Twilight dizzy trying to follow her erratic movements.
“Ughh… Twilight… What are you talking about now?” Twilight asked inquisitively. She knew about Pinkie Pie’s antics, but she was certainly excited about something, so she might as well hear about it.
“Oh Twilight! I had so much drinking green tea and enjoying her snacks with Angel and Gummy! But that wasn’t the best part! There were all these creatures, and they’re not even from Equestria!” Pinkie Pie wanted to continue to explanation but Twilight quickly interrupted her.
“Wait Pinkie, say that again?!” Twilight’s face quickly turned into apprehension and worry as she began to wonder what these creatures were…
“Oh, they’re called huebirds, and they recently came out of Everfree Forest injured and hurt! Fluttershy’s tending to them right now, but all she knows is that they’re from a really distant land!” Twilight quickly waved at Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie Pie, thanks for letting me know about all this, but I have to get reading! Who knows what these creatures could do to us?! This could be the parasprites all over again!” Twilight Sparkle quickly trotted off to her castle to begin her search on these huebirds, while Pinkie Pie simply giggled and hopped further into Ponyville, towards Sugarcube Corner.
Pinkie Pie already met two of her closest friends along the way, with Gummy still hopping along on her back. Remembering their responses to Pinkie’s revelation made Pinkie giggle again and again.
“Oh Gummy. Twilight and Rarity are so silly, especially Twilight! These creatures don’t look anything like parasprites! Sure they’re from outside Equestria and came out of the Everfree Forest, but that doesn’t mean they’ll destroy our town like the parasprites did!” Pinkie Pie chuckled to herself while Gummy merely stuck out his slithery tongue to his nose.
Before Pinkie Pie could continue reminiscing about what happened with Twilight and Rarity, Pinkie Pie now saw Applejack and Applebloom selling apples together by the town square, a little ways before Sugarcube Corner. Now it was time for Applejack to hear about the encounter she had at her tea party with Fluttershy.
“Hey Applejack and Applebloom! You two and your apples are looking great there!” Pinkie Pie waved her hoof as she gave a warm compliment to the two ponies.
“Why thank you Pinkie Pie!” Applejack waved back with her hoof and spoke with her characteristic Southern accent. “What brings you here to these parts?” Applejack asked politely.
“Oh, I’m just heading back to Sugarcube Corner from a nice tea party with Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie cheekily smiled and chuckled. Applejack, noticing her chuckle, began wondering whether Pinkie Pie was hiding something.
“I see… I’m sensing that something happened at this tea party…” Applejack paused briefly, only to see Pinkie Pie chuckle again. “Come on Pinkie Pie… what happened?” Pinkie Pie chuckled again before she spilled the beans about the birds,
“Oh Applejack! I can’t hide much from you can’t I?! You see, there were these really cool animals called huebirds that aren’t even from Equestria! They came and visited Fluttershy’s place after Fluttershy offered to care for them!” Applejack gave Pinkie Pie a blank stare. Applebloom on the other hand, took note of the whole conversation and excitedly exclaimed,
“You met birds from outside Equestria?! They’re all coming to Ponyville?! This is so cool!!!” Applebloom began to holler before Applejack shook her head and quickly shushed her before she caused a commotion.
“Pinkie Pie, what in tarnation are you talking about?! This had better not lead to another paraspritin’ round up! They caused enough damage to Ponyville just before Princess Celestia herself arrived remember?!” Pinkie Pie giggled at how serious Applejack looked.
“Oh Applejack! You look just as serious as Twilight and Rarity when I told them about the huebirds! They don’t look mean at all! In fact, they were hurt when they got sidetracked to the Everfree Forest!” Applejack facehoofed herself in frustration.
“Pinkie Pie, these creatures ain’t even from Equestria! How do you know they won’t be hurtin’ us again?! The parasprites are Equestrian creatures and they caused enough pain, even when they looked all cute and cuddly!”Applebloom continued to jump up and down, expressing her excitement at telling the other crusaders about the new development. Pinkie Pie simply giggled again.
“Well Applejack, I have to get back to Sugarcube Corner now! The huebirds are really nice creatures! You should check them out sometime!” Pinkie Pie waved goodbye and hopped away with Gummy towards Sugarcube Corner. As Pinkie Pie hopped away, Applebloom’s excitement was beyond what Applejack could bear.
“Oh Applejack, I wanna see the huebirds now! They’re probably really cute and cuddly, and really nice too! Please, please, please please?!” Applejack snapped back in retort,
“No Applebloom! For all we know, those creatures could destroy Ponyville just like the parasprites did! We don’t even know why they came to Equestria in the first place! They could be enemies!” Applebloom pouted in disappointment as Applejack paused. Feeling bad after snapping at Applebloom, Applejack continued with a sigh.
“Now get back to selling apples. We’ll talk more about this when we get home ok?” Applebloom nodded with disappointment as Applejack patted her head. These huebirds were certainly going to be something the Mane 6 had to check out…
The Huebirds of Happiness
The Huebird that Got Away
The Huebirds of Happiness: The Huebird that Got Away
While Pinkie Pie trotted back to Ponyville and spread the word about the huebirds and her tea party to the rest of her bestest friends, Fluttershy was cleaning up her things from her tea party. Many of the critters had also left the house and returned to their homes to perform their own duties for the rest of the day, whether it be storing and preparing food or maintaining their homes. By the time all the critters left, only Fluttershy and the huebirds remained.
“Well that was a wonderful tea party wasn’t it fellow huebirds?” Fluttershy giggled along with the squawking of the huebirds in approval of their new friend Pinkie Pie.
“Oh you liked Pinkie Pie a lot didn’t you?” The huebirds tweeted happily in reply. “Oh yes! Pinkie Pie is certainly a very light-hearted and funny pony!” The huebirds squawked in laughter, particularly at Pinkie Pie’s puffy pink mane and her imitations of their squawks. Fluttershy giggled once again. These huebirds, although strange creatures, were adorable despite their somewhat discordant squawks. She then trotted to each of the huebirds, beginning her head count and ensuring that their wounds continued their healing as they should.
When she finished her count, Fluttershy noticed that there were only twenty-four huebirds in the room, and that one was missing! Worse yet, it was the leader huebird who was missing! Fluttershy performed another count, this time flying around her home in search of the missing huebird. But the leader pink huebird was nowhere to be seen!
“Oh no! Where’s the leader?!” The other huebirds squawked and looked at each other, but all they gave was a shake to their heads. They had no idea where their leader was, but none of them seemed too worried. That was a stark contrast to Fluttershy’s reaction, who noticed that one of the upper windows of her house was opened just slightly.
“Oh my! I have to go and look for your leader! Everyone, please stay here while I go and find your leader!” The other huebirds nodded and squawked again in reply, understanding her command but laughing because they were sure that their leader would find his own way back with ease. Fluttershy flew out of the front door, now beginning her hectic search for the missing huebird.
The leader pink huebird made its way out of Fluttershy’s abode, enthused at exploring around as much of Ponyville as it could before it was inevitably found. He appreciated Fluttershy’s hospitality, but it already felt fully recovered. It wanted to explore Ponyville and perform what the rest of his group were supposed to do: scout as much of Ponyville as possible, make friends, and spread happiness to as much of the world as possible. The huebird felt it was clever enough when it sneaked upstairs while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were enjoying their tea party.
The leader continued to march towards what looked like an enormous pink-coloured building that had an outline of apples surrounding the building. The building also had a large red roof as well as many windows that spread throughout the house. The huebird was quite fearful of the large establishment, realizing that perhaps not everyone would be as kind as Fluttershy was. But it was brave enough to continue onward, hoping that there would be another smaller building it could explore first.
The huebird then encountered a small wooden establishment that lay on top of a small tree. The huebird, filled with intrigue by the structure, began trotting closer to the treehouse, despite it being located near the large building behind it. After all, the structure was surrounded by large apple trees that blocked the treehouse from the view of the apple building. With that in mind, the huebird marched synchronously to another “Tweet-twe-twe-tweet-tweet squawk!” towards the treehouse…
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were at their treehouse once again, this time trying to deliberate on what they were going to do for their next school project…
“Now it’s about time we began yet another Crusaders meetin’ at this ‘ere treehouse!” Applebloom declared by banging her wooden gavel excitedly. The other Crusaders, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, groaned when Applebloom continued banging the gavel.
“Look, Applebloom, you can stop banging the gavel now!” Scootaloo interjected, with Sweetie Belle nodding. Applebloom stopped her banging, disappointed that she couldn’t bang them a bit more.
“Awww… I love banging this gavel.” The other Crusaders glared at Applebloom before she was resigned to moving forward to their first order of business.
“Anyway, the biggest thing we need to discuss is the upcoming show and tell! We were allowed to show something together, but we don’t have anything!” Applebloom raised her hooves with a sigh.
“Yeah… what in Equestria are we going to show off to the rest of the class? I mean, I have my personal scooter and the medal I got from Rainbow Dash, but we have to present something together!” Scootaloo remarked, trying to come up with some ideas for the crusaders to try.
“It’s easier to show something separately, but now Cheerilee wants us to find something together! Just earlier, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had already found something for show and tell and already had the whole class filled with excitement over what they were going to show!” Sweetie Belle commented with a groan.
“Yeah! So we gotta beat ‘em ponies at their own game! We gotta find ourselves something even cooler, especially after they started makin’ fun of us for not having anything to show cause of our blank flanks!” Applebloom angrily grunted, growing more enthusiastic about beating the two fillies at their own game as the meeting proceeded.
The Cutie Mark Crusader meeting was suddenly put on hold when the three fillies heard the sound of an unfamiliar squawk growing louder.
“Wait, did you hear that guys?” Sweetie Belle quickly waved the other crusaders towards the treehouse’s opening. The other crusaders quickly trotted to Sweetie Belle and looked out to the outside from their treehouse. The crusaders couldn’t see anything of significance… until Applebloom pointed out towards a pink figure in the ground.
“Wait… what’s that down there… it looks like… a bird! And… it’s marchin’ towards our treehouse!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle oohed and ahhed quickly, looking down towards the pink bird marching towards their treehouse.
“Ooh, ooh, ooh! I’ll come down there and have a look! Let me, let me, let me!” The other crusaders chuckled at Sweetie Belle’s enthusiasm as she quickly left the treehouse, climbed down the wooden boards to the ground and trotted towards the huebird. The huebird quickly stopped its marching upon noticing the white-bodied, purple-maned pony and squawked out. It then began to fly away from Sweetie Belle, only for Sweetie Belle to implore the bird to stop flying.
Hey! Come back! I just wanted to talk to you! Wait!” The leader of the huebirds then stopped, opting to fly back towards the white filly. It promptly landed in front of Sweetie Belle and squawked.
“Tweet-tweet-tweet?” The pink huebird asked Sweetie Belle who she was and what she wanted.
“Ummm… Hi… I’m Sweetie Belle…?” Sweetie Belle asked with confusion, wondering what exactly the huebird was trying to say… The huebird tweeted again, leaving Sweetie Belle to scratch her head in complete confusion. The other Crusaders quickly trotted down from their treehouse and towards the leader huebird, who quickly squawked again at the sight of more fillies in fright.
“Wait, wait, no Mr. bird! These are my friends! They’re Applebloom and Scootaloo! We just want to know you more, that’s all!” The other Crusaders wanted to object to Sweetie Belle’s interaction with a bird they had never seen before, but they couldn’t pass up this opportunity to have a foreign bird for their show and tell! The other two crusaders nodded with Sweetie Belle. The huebird responded with more tweets of his own, which left the Crusaders even more confused.
“Ummm… guys… I have no idea what this bird’s saying… Do you reckon we should take it back to Fluttershy before we do anything else with it?” Applebloom questioned the other Crusaders, hoping that the bird wasn’t going to be too harmful. Sweetie Belle objected quickly.
“But what if Fluttershy doesn’t give it back to us for the show and tell? We won’t have anything to show for Monday!” Scootaloo objected as well, but this time towards Sweetie Belle.
“Sweetie Belle! Do you even know how to take care of this bird?! It’s completely foreign! Plus, will Rarity and the others even agree to having her on the farm with us?!” All of a sudden, Applebloom had an epiphany. She recalled what Applejack said when Pinkie Pie mentioned of a creature called huebirds… the ones who Applejack objected as being a parasprite.
“Guys… Ah know the others won’t agree with us caring for the Huebirds. And perhaps Fluttershy too may object after what happened with the parasprites! And Ah don’t want this bird to be treated like a parasprite!” Applebloom declared with determination. The huebird began tilting its head around, intrigued by what the Crusaders were talking about. A part of the huebird wanted to leave and head towards the rest of Ponyville, but it also had the intuition to stay along… perhaps this was a perfect chance to start spreading the word about the huebirds to Ponyville and spread some happiness along. So stay it did as the Crusaders continued to deliberate amongst themselves on what to do with the huebird. After a period of deliberation, Applebloom came up with the solution:
“Ah guess our only choice is to care for the huebird. It’s a risk we’ll have to take. Sides, it looks like a really cute creature, nothing dangerous at all! And I’m sure we won’t have a parasprite problem again! This bird just… feels different.” The other crusaders nodded in agreement, happy to have reached a resolution.
“That’s great! We’ll have the huebird stay at our treehouse, and take it around Ponyville!” Scootaloo jumped up and down happily.
“But we have to make sure the bird doesn’t get too noticed by Rarity or the rest of the ponies! Who knows what they’ll do to it?!” Sweetie Belle cautioned the rest of the Crusaders. The ponies nodded once again.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do in making our huebird comfortable, but it seems willing to stay along with us for the time being! Let’s get this huebird settled in our house then!” Applebloom declared happily, with the other Crusaders happily cheering about their new-found pet, even if it was inevitably a temporary enterprise…
The Huebirds of Happiness
Fluttershy's Frantic Fracas
The Huebirds of Happiness: Fluttershy’s Frantic Fracas
Fluttershy flew around Ponyville as fast as she could, desperately searching for any signs of the pink huebird that got away from her grasp. All throughout the flight, Fluttershy bemoaned her lack of attention towards all the huebirds and hoped that the pink huebird didn’t go off too deep into Ponyville. Celestia forbid the thought of how the residents would react upon seeing a bird that nopony had ever seen before!
Fluttershy flew into the bustling town of Ponyville, completing ignoring all that was around her. Her mind was entirely focused on finding the leader Pink Huebird, so much that she began bumping on many of the ponies she flew past. Fluttershy continued flying around in a complete frenzy before she bumped herself into Rarity as the earth pony was just getting ready to head back to her farm after a long day of selling apples to the town. Both ponies tumbled across the stone road, with Fluttershy toppled on top of Rarity.
Rarity quickly shook her head and slowly got up, shoving Fluttershy out of the way. With Fluttershy still laying down on the ground, Rarity gently helped Fluttershy up to her feet.
“Oh… I’m sorry Rarity.” Fluttershy meekly apologized once she regained her composure moments after getting up.
“Well whatever are you doing flying around like that?” Rarity asked Fluttershy. “You could easily have hurt yourself flying like that!” Rarity continued with growing concern on her face.
“Ohh… I’ve been in a frantic search for a critter that trotted away from my house!” Rarity scratched her chin with her hooves. Then she remembered the huebird that Pinkie Pie was talking about on her way to Sugarcube Corner…
“Wait a moment… is the creature you’re looking for a huebird by any chance?” Rarity raised her right eyebrow, almost expectant of what would come next… Fluttershy gasped. This wasn’t supposed to happen at all! She wanted to keep the huebirds a secret…
“H-h-how… how did you know?! You weren’t supposed to know!” Fluttershy shrieked in reply, her worst fears being realized.
“Well, Pinkie Pie trotted back to Ponyville and waved at me. She was talking about a tea party she enjoyed with you earlier today. Apparently, you showed her these creatures called ‘huebirds’ or something like that.” Rarity explained, but before she could ask more about the birds, Fluttershy gasped.
“Oh Rarity! Have you seen a strange bird creature that has a pink hue and straw-like legs?! That’s a huebird!” Fluttershy frantically asked, grasping for hope of any signs of the leader pink huebird.
“I haven’t seen any bird looking like that in Ponyville today Fluttershy!” Rarity paused, growing increasingly concerned at the worried look that was glued on her face.
“Oh Rarity! If you find a pink creature like that, let me know!” Fluttershy immediately flew off to continue her search, leaving Rarity confused.
“And she leaves without an explanation of these so-called huebirds and whether they’re harmful… This won’t do…” Rarity scratched her chin in thought, trotting back to her Carousel Boutique in hopes of coming up with some sort of plan…
Fluttershy had no choice. If she wanted to find the pink Huebird, she had to get help. Fluttershy scolded herself for letting Pinkie Pie know about the huebirds during their tea party. She should have remembered that Pinkie Pie was quick to spread the word about something, especially if it was something related to the strange and the new.
Fluttershy flew as quickly as she could to the smartest pony she knew. She arrived at Ponyville’s crystal castle that lay just at the town’s borders. Fluttershy quickly trotted to the castle’s front doors and knocked on it, hoping that Twilight was home. After a few moments of jittery waiting, the large golden door was opened by none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight gave out a smile to Fluttershy, but the smile soon turned to concern upon noticing how worried Fluttershy looked.
“Hey Fluttershy. Is… everything alright?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy looked beyond Twilight, hoping that her beloved creature was somewhere inside her castle. Twilight immediately noticed Fluttershy’s unusually erratic expressions.
“Umm… Fluttershy… what are you looking for?” Fluttershy immediately gasped, not having realized that Twilight just asked a question to her.
“Oh! I’m sorry!” Fluttershy apologized before continuing. “You see, I’m looking for a critter that ran away from home today. It’s a huebird, if Pinkie Pie already told you about it.” Twilight Sparkle put herself in a thinking position, tapping her chin and closing her eyes in thought. She immediately opened her eyes once again, having recalled her conversation with Pinkie Pie.
“Fluttershy. Before we continue the search for the huebird, I need you to tell me more about the huebirds. All Pinkie Pie told me is that the creatures aren’t from Equestria. I just finished some royal dealings, so I can help you see if there’s anything Equestria knows about the huebirds.” Fluttershy slowly nodded before she started describing the huebirds,
“Well you see… these creatures came out of the Everfree Forest. They started off as a group of two hundred scouts but were taken off course into the forest. There they were attacked, losing the majority of their company. Now there’s only twenty-five left.” Fluttershy paused briefly. “That’s all I know about the huebirds. I’m sorry I don’t know more. I’ve spent much of today taking care of the birds before and during the tea party.”
Twilight Sparkle immediately invited Fluttershy into her castle and trotted down a flight of stairs that were located to her right. Fluttershy trotted alongside her down the winding stairs, wondering where Twilight was taking her. She didn’t want to lose too much time while at Twilight’s. All Fluttershy could think about was her fear of losing the leader huebird because she didn’t take good care of her. While deep in her worried thoughts, Twilight spoke in her usual academic tone.
“Now, my biggest concern with these huebirds is that they’re like the parasprites you welcomed to Ponyville. I don’t want these huebirds destroying Ponyville like the parasprites did in the past. I don’t even know what these creatures are, so we have to act quickly.” As soon as Twilight finished her response, the two mares arrived at a large wooden door. Twilight turned the doorknob to open the door and reveal a large room filled with bookshelves stacked with books in them.
Fluttershy looked around the room, filled with awe at now neatly organized all the books were. They were all organized in alphabetical order, bold letters placed at every other shelf to signify the shelves’ positions on the alphabet. Fluttershy immediately flew to the shelf labelled “Hu-”. Once she flew to the shelf, she felt distraught that there was no book on huebirds at the shelf.
“Hmmm… I don’t think we’d have any books directly related to huebirds, but I’m sure we can find something inside a bird encyclopedia!” Twilight immediately flew to the shelf labelled “B” and picked up a bird encyclopedia.
The bird encyclopedia was a book thicker than most books in the castle’s library. Twilight flew back to Fluttershy and turned the pages to “H”, hoping that there was an entry on huebirds… The thickness of the book left Twilight and Fluttershy very hopeful.
Then. Twilight found something! An entry on huebirds!
“Here we are! Huebirds!” Twilight exclaimed with excitement as she motioned Fluttershy to look at the entry. But what the encyclopedia said left Twilight disappointed. A brief pause led to a piercing silence between the two ponies before Twilight gave out a disappointed sigh.
“This book only tells me what you already told me, along with a picture, and it was the most in-depth bird encyclopedia I have.” Fluttershy gave out a sigh, but appreciated what Twilight did for her.
“I’ll keep searching for anything on the huebirds.” Twilight assured Fluttershy. But there was still one thing that bothered Twilight.
“Fluttershy… was there anything special about this particular huebird?” Twilight asked Fluttershy, hoping that she could learn more from the missing huebird. Fluttershy scratched her chin.
“Well, he’s the leader of the group of huebirds that came by to visit me.” Twilight scratched her chin once more in her characteristic thinking pose.
“Hmmm… If he’s the leader, then I’m sure he can handle himself on his own. What you need to do is to make sure the other huebirds are fine and that they don’t cause trouble in Ponyville.” Twilight pointed her hoof to Fluttershy. “I don’t want another parasprite incident.” Fluttershy nodded.
“Thanks Twilight. Let me know if you find the huebird ok?” Fluttershy shyly requested Twilight, to which she nodded.
“I will. Now go back to your home. You need to care for the other birds. I don’t believe our leader went too far away from your home. He’ll turn up.” Fluttershy nodded. She always appreciated Twilight’s wise advice.
“I’ll be sure to do just that Twilight. Good bye!” Fluttershy waved goodbye as she flew away towards her home, hoping that none of the other huebirds left either. Meanwhile, Twilight was left to sit and ponder… what were these huebirds? What lessons could she learn from them… Where did they come from for that matter? Twilight had much to think about as she trotted back up the stairs towards her throne room…
The Huebirds of Happiness
The Squawk out of Everfree Forest
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.
