Sweetie Belle hummed a pleasant tune to herself while spreading the red and white checkerboard blanket on the grass. The tune she was humming was her favorite song from her favorite singer, Ruby Rose, called Dance by Midnight. She always sung it to herself whenever she felt good about something. When the red and white blanket was flat on the grass Sweetie sat down on the center and set down the basket. The beat to Dance by Midnight was still playing in her head, and she took out all the snacks from out of the basket. Two dandelion and cheese and tomato sandwiches with mayo, slices of watermelon in the shape of triangles, a plumb, a peach, potato chips, and a cup of cranberry juice, and that wasn’t even half of what was in the basket.
Her late-Sunday morning picnic was a special event Sweetie had planned for a long time. She always told her friends and Rarity that ponies just don’t go on picnics anymore, but Scootaloo would always counter the argument that their teacher Miss Cheerilee would let the students eat lunch in the courtyard, which was in some ways like a picnic. Rarity would say that the restaurant in Ponyville she frequented had an outdoor section where she had a nice view of the street. Still, to Sweetie Belle nothing could beat an old-fashioned outdoor picnic at the park. Unfortunately neither her two best friends or her older sister could accompany her on such a lovely day. A relative of the Apple family was visiting Sweet Apple Acres and Apple Bloom and her brother and sister had to stay and entertain the familiar guest and Scootaloo sprained her hind leg while riding her scooter. Rarity had orders to fill at the Carousel Boutique as well have tea with Princess Twilight.
Sweetie hummed the last note of Dance by Midnight by Ruby Rose, then she let out a sad sigh. It wasn’t ideal to have a picnic alone, especially on a day when the sun was shining bright. She unwrapped the aluminum that covered the dandelion sandwich with cheese, tomato and mayo and took her first bite. Her face contorted a little; she probably put too much mayo, she thought, but it didn’t taste all that bad. She washed it down with the cup of cranberry juice only to find that it wasn’t cranberry juice, it was prune juice. Sweetie spat it out and made a disgusted face. Luckily she had back up, and pulled a small juice box of fruit punch. “Who made prune juice, anyway?” she said to herself.
She continued to eat her sandwich, but something in the back of her mind was itching her. The itch on her brain grew fierce, then she remembered she left her Princess Andromeda book on her dresser. It was too late to go back for it now, and with no entertainment she decided to gaze at her surroundings. The trees stood as usual, not doing anything in particular but stand on their roots. Some yards from her there were two colts throwing a frisbee to each other, but they disappeared later from her sight. She turned her attention to the sky and watched the clouds. That’s what ponies used to do pass the time, she told herself.
Suddenly a brown bear approached her. “Hey,” the bear said.
“Hi,” Sweetie said nervously. The brown bear and Sweetie gazed at each other, but the little filly was frozen, afraid to make a sudden movement out of fear. “Can I help you?” she said, her voice weightless.
“Well, I was in the neighborhood, and I see that you’re having yourself a little picnic,” the bear said matter-of-factly. Sweetie cautiously nodded in agreement. “I was just wondering if I can, uh, borrow that basket of your’s.”
“Um, for what?”
“You know, bear stuff.”
“W-what’s bear stuff?” she stammered.
“The kind of stuff only bears would know about.”
“I kind of need this basket. And it’s not mine, it belongs to my sister.”
“I just need the basket for one moment, then you can have it back, I promise.”
Sweetie felt herself cornered by the large bear. If only Fluttershy were here, she thought to herself, then she’ll talk some sense into the bear. The brown bear stared her down, not going anywhere until she gives him the basket, but she couldn’t do that. What if the bear only wanted to steal her food? Sweetie was told long ago that bears are known for their persuasion skills, and stealing her food seem to be his motive, and if not that, then he wanted to leave a little brown package for her inside. The bear edged closer, and Sweetie had to act quick.
“Look, a bear on a unicycle!” she shouted, pointing to the direction behind the bear. The foolish bear looked behind him and didn’t see a bear riding a unicycle, but the town oddball Derpy Hooves on a unicycle. He looked back to find that Sweetie was gone, and the basket as well.
Sweetie Belle ran as far away from the bear as she could, not stopping for breath until she knew she was safe. She hung the handle of the basket over her horn, which in retrospect was a bad idea since she couldn’t see where she was going. She tripped on an outgrown root and tumbled on the ground, but she quickly got up and wiped the dirt off her face and mane. The basket fell off her horn, which fortunately had not sustained any damage from the rough landing. She picked up her basket and carried it with her teeth, then turned around to check if the bear was on her path. She didn’t hear anything, so Sweetie figured the coast was clear. Now she has to figure out where she was.
The gazed upward to see that the sunlight couldn’t break through the large black tree branches. Everything around her was dark, like she’d entered an entirely different world. A chilling breeze passed through her that made Sweetie shiver. Looking backward and forward, she saw nothing but tall trees surrounding her. If she knew she was going to be lost today, she should’ve brought a map, or at least a compass. Now she wished Apple Bloom was here. She had a better sense of direction than Sweetie (most of the time). Well, no use standing around, she thought to herself. Might as well keep walking and hope for a way out.
The forest grew dark the further she walked. Strange noises came from all directions; everything from harsh squawks of crows and ravens to the croaking of frogs and toads, and the worst of them all were the hoots of a nearby owl. Why would an owl be out in the daytime, Sweetie asked herself. She thought they only came out at night, like bats. Suddenly, she heard squeaking of a bat that frightened her. She covered her head to make sure it wouldn’t bite her, but looking up she was relieved that there was no bat. “I hate this,” Sweetie said. Then she saw something overhead. There was faint, glowing multicolored light by the trees. First there was a paleish-blue light, then it changed to a colorless green. It continued to change colors every few moments. Sweetie slowly walked toward the alluring lights while softening the grip on her basket. As she drew closer, the pale lights became brighter. She poked her tiny head through a bush and was greeted by an incredible sight.
There were tiny creatures whose bodies glowed with colorful light. Looking further she saw there was an entire colony of them. They moved two and fro from one tree to another. The tiny creatures seemed to hover and float above the ground, only for Sweetie to believe that she was hearing soft flapping of wings, and she was correct. Their wings were translucent, and a million sparkles of light flowed from them as they flew. At that moment Sweetie Belle knew what she was looking at.
“Faires,” she said with wide eyes. All her life she had heard stories of fairies; of how they appeared to little foals on the day they’re born, grant wishes to miserable children, and how they dance around your head whenever they’re happy. Her favorite story was about how a colt who never grew up was able to fly with a little sprinkle of fairy dust. Sweetie always wanted to fly. She cautiously climbed through the bush to get close to the fairies. Unfortunately, she grabbed their attention when she stepped and broke a stick on the ground. The fairies ceased movements and gazed upon them with huge eyes. Sweetie took a step back, never taking their eyes off of them. “Hello,” she said nervously, although she tried to smile.
The fairies squinted their eyes; their mouths grew and revealed their razor-sharp teeth. That was strange. Sweetie never heard of any story where fairies had sharp teeth, but she had no time to think, because on that instant the fairies charged at her. They surrounded Sweetie like wasps to an unwanted visitor to their nest. She dropped her basket and tried to swipe the fairies away, but they pulled her mane and snapped their teeth, having a frenzy as she screamed for help.
“Wait!” one of the fairies shouted. The fairies stopped and flew inches away from a cowering Sweetie on the ground. A fair-skinned fairy with long golden hair and a long white gown flew to examine the poor filly. She was a few inches taller than the others. The two exchanged looks for seemed like an eternity. The fairy brought her face closer to Sweetie’s, then the hard look on her eyes soften. “Tis one here is a pony, a unicorn.”
The large teeth on the fairies disappeared, and they murmured to each other about how their intruder was a unicorn. Two of the fairies flew to Sweetie Belle and helped her to her hooves, and brushed her little mane until it was neat, although she was still shaken from what had happened.
“Don’t be afraid little one,” the fairy said. “There is no need to be afraid.”
“Why did you attack me?” said Sweetie.
“May I offer a thousand apologies. We fairies are very weary of outsiders, but we highly favor unicorns, especially one such as yourself.”
Sweetie looked on confusingly. The fairies gazed back at her, some whom were just as confused as she was while others murmured in excitement and caution about a unicorn in their midst. “What is your name, little one?” the fairy asked.
“Sweetie Belle,” she said nervously.
“I am the Queen of the Fairies. Welcome to our colony, fair Sweetie Belle. It’s been nearly a three generation since we have seen a unicorn.”
Once the queen made that statement, the fairies bowed down to Sweetie, including the queen herself. Two of them descended from the trees and adorned her with a crown made of daffodils.
“You’ve never seen a unicorn before?” Sweetie asked.
“I have never gazed upon one until now. The reason why we attacked you was because we mistook you for a goblin.”
“A goblin?”
“Yes. Nasty creatures, they are; so vile and full of hate,” the queen said. “There is a fierce rivalry between our races. They are trouble-seekers and troublemakers, wanting nothing more than to spread their wickedness upon us, meanwhile we carry the virtues of friendship and kindness. We believe the goblins are planning an attack on our colony, an attack that will cost us our very lives.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Sweetie asked desperately. She was willing to help anyone who shared the same values as she did.
“You can,” the queen said. “We need you to go to the goblin and infiltrate their defenses. You are absolutely big enough to cause enough damage to their city and army.”
Sweetie happily nodded. It was good to know that she was doing something for a good cause. Several fairies carrying a green cloak wrapped it around Sweetie’s neck. Afterward, a group of fairy musicians grabbed their lyres and pipes and played a triumphant song celebrating their new savior. The queen waved her hand and out of thin air a portal opened, and led Sweetie to it. “Good luck, Sweetie Belle. We await your return.” The queen gave her a long flat piece of stone that will allow her to make magical portals. Sweetie was about to walk through, but remembered to fetch her picnic basket. She couldn’t lose it, or Rarity would be very upset.
Sweetie stepped through the portal and landed on the other side. The sun was bright and shiny, but where she was now there were no trees or grass, only the dry soil. There was no signs of life anywhere, it was like walking through a desert. Sweetie placed her hoof over the top of her eyes to get a better view of her surroundings. Further ahead she saw a wooden gate between two large piles of rocks that stretched from both sides miles on. She figured that must be where the goblins live. Before rushing toward the gates she placed her basket on a rock so she’ll know where to find once she had completed her mission, then she readied herself for the task to come. The filly thought of herself as a hero, and legendary character about to do a great deed that will be remembered for ages to come. Sweetie approached the door, no more taller than her older sister, and knocked.
The gate slowly creaked opened, a little green head propped through. “Hello?” the little creature said with a voice like a parrot. “Who’s there?” The creature was surprised to see that a young smiling unicorn was standing before him. “What’s this? A unicorn? What trickery this be?”
Sweetie used brute force to push through the gate that she knocked the little creature to the ground. The fairies were right, she found herself in a village full of goblins. There was no time for standing around, she must foil their plans for invasion once and for all. She ran and scream like a wild pony, frightening the goblins to no end. She pushed those carrying carts, wagons and wheelbarrows to the ground, then knocked the carts, wagons and wheelbarrows on their sides. Remembering a trick she learned from Applejack, she used her hind legs to kick a group of goblins to make them fall like dominos. If anyone was watching from the outside, it looked as though Sweetie Belle was destroying a cardboard model of a town. Other goblins who were brave enough tried to seize her, but she having too much destructive fun to be contained. As she knocked over another small miniature building, she saw a large safe. This must be where they kept their secret plans, she thought, or maybe diamonds and jewels, even gold. Sweetie lifted the safe, but the goblins begged her to put it down. She raised the safe over her head, and by the count of three threw it onto the ground.
When it burst open there were no plans for a goblin invasion of the fairy colony, instead fruits, vegetables, bread, fish, and all sorts of food was revealed, damaged and bruised. The smile on Sweetie’s face disappeared, replaced with another look of confusion.
“You blockhead!” a raspy voice shouted. “You buffoon! You twit! Look what you’ve done!” Sweetie looked behind her, and a short, stout, balding goblin with red pants and a yellow shirt appeared. He was bald and sported a large white beard, and he looked very angry. “You wrecked our village, you giant imbecile!”
Sweetie looked around some more and she saw goblin children crying while their mothers tried to comfort them and goblin men trying to repair the damage done to their town. The short stout goblin, probably their leader, continued to throw a fit. Sweetie felt something terrible inside of her, as she thought it over, something just didn’t seem right. “Why did you destroy our village?” the goblin leader asked in a fit of rage.
“I was sent here by these fairies, and - “
By hearing the word fairy, all goblin activity stopped, and all eyes were upon Sweetie; some curious, others frightened, many filled with hate. Even the leader couldn’t believe what he heard.
“Fairies?” he said angrily. “Those ruthless, blasted, conniving fairies! You’ve been tricked, little one! You’ve been lied to!”
Sweetie explained that the queen of the fairies told her that the goblins were planning a massive attack on their home and sent her to destroy the advancing army, which made the goblin leader angrier than before.
“You foolish filly! We’re not planning anything! We were minding our own business until you showed up! A terrible drought has fallen upon us. We’ve been storing what food we have left for months, and you ruined it! Now we’ll starve!”
Sweetie gazed at the terrible sight of goblins surrounding the broken safe and trying to store all the food inside once more. The terrible feeling inside her grew worse now that she saw they had so little. She couldn’t understand. Why did the fairies told her to do such a horrible thing?
“I’m sorry,” Sweetie said sadly. “I didn’t mean to do any of this.”
“Being sorry isn’t going to fix anything! Go away and never come back!”
The goblin leader turned his back on her and walked away mumbling frustratingly to himself. Sweetie, tears coming down her eyes, ran the other direction, and kept running until she was out of their village.
She found the rock she placed the picnic basket and sat on the dirt, crying her eyes out, believing herself to be a terrible pony. The angry face of the leader and the sad faces of the villagers were stuck in her mind, and the more she saw them the harder she cried. Sweetie clutched her basket. What was supposed to have been a pleasant picnic at the park turned into a nightmare. She’d figure she’ll just go home since it’s very likely she will never see the goblins or fairies again. Sweetie pulled the magical stone that created portals and waved in the air.
Nothing happened. She waved it a dozen times, and nothing continued to happen. She threw the rock away and covered her face in shame.
“Don’t cry little one,” a parrot-like voice said. Sweetie brought her head up and saw that a goblin was standing next to her. This goblin was much skinnier, his head bigger and rounder than his body. He had large ears and a pointy nose, a tan vest and dark-brown pants.
“Go away. You shouldn’t be around me,” Sweetie said. “I’m the worst pony in the world.”
“No you’re not. You’ve been tricked by them darn fairies, just like we were long ago.”
“Long ago? What happened?”
“Many years ago we used to live in a land full of trees and grass. The soil was rich enough for anything to grow, the little ones ran and played on the meadows, and there was enough food for everyone. Then the fairies came. Their queen promised to bring us great fortune if we gave them our land. Then she kicked us out, and forced to live in this desolate land. They knew we were having a drought, so they sent you to make things worst. It wasn’t your fault.”
From that moment, Sweetie Belle became disillusioned with her idea of fairies. All the stories she heard as a foal, the pictures she drew and the dreams she had, nothing but lies. She didn’t want to know what other dark secrets they’ve been hiding after learning the truth. The situation became worse when she realized she had no way to get home.
A noise in the sky caught Sweetie and the goblin’s attention. She was greeted with another strange but welcoming sight - a hot-air balloon was descending. Sweetie stood and tried to get a better look at the pilot. She thought the pilot could take her home. Sweetie grabbed her basket and rushed towards it when the balloon landed, but skidded to a halt when the pilot revealed himself. It was none other than the brown bear from earlier who tried to take away her picnic basket.
“Oh, it’s you,” the bear said. “How did you get here?”
“Fairies,” Sweetie said nervously. “What are you doing here?”
“You know, bear stuff,” he said. “Which reminds me, I still need to see your picnic basket.”
Sweetie clutched her basket, but the bear’s balloon was her only way home. What could that bear possibly want with her basket, anyway? Out of all the other picnic baskets in the world, why did he want Sweetie’s? The brown bear stood waiting for her answer. If she wanted to go home, then she’ll have to give him the basket. Sweetie surrendered to the bear and handed the basket to him. The bear held the basket with one paw, and searched his furry pockets with the other.
His other paw held a jar of honey. The bear placed the jar inside the basket then gave it back to Sweetie Belle.
“But… what… you?”
“I see ponies having picnics where I live all the time, so I thought why not give them jars of honey? It might come in handy, eventually. You will never know when you’ll need it.”
Sweetie felt even more terrible than she had before. It wasn’t bad enough that she nearly destroyed the goblin’s village and their food, but this bear wanted to do a good deed. It was official: this has been the worst day of Sweetie Belle’s life. She had made too many mistakes in one day. All was lost, however she remembered what her sister Rarity once said regarding mistakes.
Everypony makes mistakes, but it’s up to you to correct the things you did wrong.
She looked at the balloon, then she turned toward her goblin friend and his poor village. The terrible feeling inside her was getting smaller. Sweetie knew how to make everything right.
The fairy queen and her loyal subjects were in the middle of their celebration. Musicians played a lovely tune on their pipes, lyres, and drums and food was served on blades of grass and leaves. There was mid-air dancing as well as on the ground. From the moment the party began they had forgotten about the little unicorn they’ve sent to hustle the goblins. The younger fairies made jokes and laughed at her expense, so much so that the queen joined in the jest as well. The fairy queen flew in the center of the festival, and held her cup.
“I propose a toast to our new savior, Sweetie Belle the goblin slayer,” she said in a mocking tone, making the others howl with laughter. “May she live a thousand years.”
The laughter and music stopped when they heard rustling from the bushes. The fairies huddled together, believing a monster was approaching. A white horn appeared from the leaves, then a creamed-colored mane. Sweetie Belle revealed herself, much to the surprise of the other fairies. She didn’t look very happy.
“Sweetie Belle, you’ve return,” the queen said hesitantly. “We were just having a toast in your honor. Please, join us in the festivities.”
“You lied to me!” she yelled.
“Lie? I beg your pardon.”
“You told me the goblins were planning an attack, but they weren’t doing anything! They were trying to get through a drought, and you sent me to destroy everything they had! Why would you do something so horrible like that?”
“... Because it’s fun.”
Sweetie was ever so appalled from what she had heard. This was coming from the mouth of a creature she used to admire. It was fun to make the lives of others miserable?
“Wow, for a fairy queen you’re such a jerk! You’re worse than Tirek! You probably lied when you said you haven't seen a unicorn before!”
“Come now, Sweetie Belle. Don’t tell me you actually care about those ugly, wretched, stupid, abominable goblins! What has the world come to? They're such inferior beings! Well, no more inferior than unicorns, I might add. In fact, all equines are just worthless as the goblins!"
“Nopony talks about me or my friends that way!”
Sweetie whistled, and a rumble shook the forest. Out of the same bush she arrived from, a bear appeared and released a roar that sent many of the fairies away in different directions. Almost half of the goblin village, lead by the stout leader, rode on the bear’s back, and jumped off him. A fight ensued between the fairies and the goblins, with additional help from Sweetie Belle and the bear on the goblins’ side. The goblins used pots, pans and long wooden sticks as their weapons while vicious teeth was the fairies only resource. As goblin and fairy struggled against each other, Sweetie and bear demolished the fairy colony. The queen was frightened, and in a desperate attempt to fly away Sweetie caught her inside a jar. As the battle reached its climax, the goblins overpowered the fairies, all of them were bound and tied.
“I got the queen!” Sweetie said. She held the jar over her head, and the goblins cheered. The queen frightfully pushed her back against the glass when Sweetie glared at her with her huge eyes.
“What are you going to do to me?”
“Maybe take you to Princess Twilight so you can explain yourself,” Sweetie said. “I just hope her punishment won’t be too harsh.” Sweetie placed the jar inside her basket, and although she sealed it shut everyone could hear her yell and curse and banging her fists on the glass. The goblins cheered for their hero once more. The skinny goblin ran towards Sweetie Belle and faced the crowd.
“Three cheers for Sweetie Belle, bear tamer and fairy conqueror!” Sweetie smiled, her white cheeks turning bright red.
“Looks like my work here is done,” the bear said. “You done good thing, kid. By the way, I think you forgot this.” The bear gave Sweetie her red and white checkerboard blanket, neatly folded. “Take care of yourself. Adios.”
Sweetie Belle waved goodbye to the bear as he went to parts unknown, probably to give ponies on picnics more jars of honey (if he doesn’t frighten them). A new celebration was about to commence, the reclaiming of the goblin’s home, and the unicorn who came to save them. Goblins grabbed their pipes and string instruments and played old-fashioned goblin dance music, much to Sweetie’s delight. The goblin leader, no longer holding a grudge against Sweetie, shook her hoof. Soon things will be the way the were before, and their race will once again prosper. She couldn’t wait to get home. Sweetie was sure that Rarity, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo will want to hear about this. They missed an exciting picnic.
