The Everfree forest was calm on this night, the dark trees giving the enchanted woods its infamous aura of danger and mystery. Nopony truly knew all that lay hidden beneath the brush of the Everfree, nor were they curious enough to go looking to find out. Not even the lone pegasus marching along one of the few paths that lined the forest. Oh no, this butter-yellow mare would never venture so far into the most the dangerous area near her home, unless of course one of the many animals that she had befriended needed her to.
Which, with her luck, happened to be on this dark night.
The mare stopped in her tracks for a moment to shiver from the spring cold, her long pink mane draping in front of her face for a brief moment. Brushing the hair from her face, she looked up and couldn’t help but sigh from the dark clouds that lined the sky. Not even the light of Princess Luna’s moon shone through to guide her. Mustering her lingering courage, which of course was very little, she continued onwards, intending on finding the poor little critter she had been told was all alone in this scary place.
Her words of course, not my own.
The dear Fluttershy continued at a brisk pace, hoping to Princess Celestia she would be able to get the animal and get out before some other beast decided she looked delicious. Secretly she made a note to ask her friend Rarity if she’d accompany her to the local spa the next day; her long pink tail was getting absolutely filthy being dragged along the rotten forest floor. She was very thankful that at least the forest was calm tonight. Another one of her friends, Rainbow Dash, had informed her earlier that day there was a high chance of stormy weather coming from the forest today, yet nothing had come.
Then the sound of lightning came crackling from above, thunder follow almost immediately after it and rattling the ground below like a quake.
Poor Fluttershy scared herself into the air with an “eep” that would have made a puppy howl and put its paws on its ears. Fluttershy fluttered in place for a moment as the forest began to change around her. It was no longer dark and scary; it was blustering with wind, thunder rumbling around, lightning attempting to strike the forest, and dark and scary.
The next round of thunder sent the pegasus running, unable to see where she was going. Wind howled in her ears, branches and leaves slammed into her as she ran. With each blast of sound from the heavens, she made a sharp turn in a random direction, sending her who knows how far into the Everfree’s depths.
She didn’t know for how long she ran, though it was certainly enough to take her energy away. Fluttershy was running out of strength to run and she knew it; she was no athlete like Rainbow after all. Rain had started to fall during her run, causing her mane to stick to her fur and mud to coat her legs and tail.
Finally she came to a stop, looking around as best she could what with rain, wind, and of course darkness hiding almost everything from sight. Fluttershy did her best to not cry, but sniffling, whimpering, and tears building in her eyes were pushing her close; the sight alone would have melted even the coldest heart and challenge mother nature herself for making such a delicate creature upset.
Thunder and lightning crashed again, causing the mare to shut her eyes from the sudden intensity of light. As she closed them though, something seemed outlined just ahead of her. She squinted her eyes to try and make it out, her eyes widening as lightning struck again to alleviate the darkness momentarily.
There, only a few hooves away, was an old wooden door. Fluttershy internally rejoiced as she ran forward to what she hoped was shelter from the storm. She crashed into the door, causing it to slam open for only a moment before she turned and shoved it closed, taking in deep breaths as she braced herself against the weathered wood.
Outside she could hear the faint sounds of the storm still, but she was more than grateful that she didn’t have to be in it anymore. With her heart no longer racing, the little pony moved her head to look around at where she had found herself. Like the door, the room she was in seemed to be made of well weathered wood, but thankfully not to the rotting degree. She’d almost swear she was in tree with the pieces of floor and wall that looked like roots were sticking out.
The inside was rather small, she noticed as her head continued to swivel. There was a fireplace directly opposite her with a small pile of wood sitting there, looking ready to be lit. Off to the side of the fireplace was a small bed, perfect for a pony of her size, with a short barrel being used a nightstand next to it. A single serving table and chair were on the opposite side of the room from the bed. Of course the strangest thing she saw was the multitude of pots surrounding her, each one looking pristine despite the apparent age. Carefully she moved over to one and opened it, only to find nothing. She tried a few others as well, only to find the same result.
Fluttershy took a small sigh as she looked up, another boom of thunder muffled by the… house, she assumed. After a small shiver, she decided to put the fireplace to use, grabbing a match from the old matchbook atop the fireplace mantle. It took a few swipes, but Fluttershy was able to get the match lit and threw it into the fire, thankfully getting a quick result as the logs took to the flame. Soon enough, there was light and warmth radiating through the room.
With the fresh source of heat, Fluttershy quickly remembered how exhausted she was after rushing through the forest. She let an big, yet adorable yawn before deciding to move to the little bed. There were no sheets, only a small pillow, but she didn’t mind the slightest. She climbed on to the bed, too tired to even use her wings to help her up, and immediately curled up with her head on the pillow. She was fast asleep in only seconds.
….
She didn’t know how long it had been, but sooner than she would have liked, something was prodding her head to get her to wake up. Her groggy mind didn’t even come to the realization of such a thing until a new sound came from beside her form.
“Excuse me, but why are you in my bed, small yellow horse with wings?”
There were a few seconds before Fluttershy’s fearful disposition kicked her into full awakeness and she jumped in fright off the bed. She crashed down on to the floor, letting out a soft “Ow”, rubbing her back. Carefully and full of fright, she peeked her head up over the bed, finding the strangest sight yet: standing there on the other side of the bed was a bear. Not just any bear however; oh no, this was nothing like her dear bear friend, Harry. This bear was much shorter, being just about her own height. And he was wearing a small red shirt that didn’t even hide his big, pudgy tummy. He was also yellow and his hands didn’t have claws, though he did have big thumbs. Two dots of black for eyes looked at her in a bit of concern.
And then he spoke.
“Oh, my apologies. I did not mean to scare you, small yellow horse with wings.”
Fluttershy took note that the bear spoke softly and a bit slow, as if taking a small break between certain words. She found it rather… soothing. He didn’t sound like a meanie, just pleasant. “Um,” she started softly before adjusting her voice a little so her usually quiet voice could be heard, “my name is Fluttershy, not ‘small yellow horse with wings’.”
“Okay, Fluttershy,” he said, as if testing the new word on his lips. “I did not mean to frighten you off the bed. I was only wondering why you were in my bed.”
“Oh, I didn’t know it was your bed, mister bear,” she answered truthfully. “I didn’t know anypony lived here. Sorry for sleeping in your bed.”
“No bother,” he waved with a smile. “And my name isn’t ‘mister bear’. My name is Pooh Bear, or just Pooh for short. Nice to meet you, Fluttershy.”
The more Pooh spoke, the ever more Fluttershy felt herself calm down. There was something about his voice and mannerism that were just so… nice. A small smile formed on her muzzle before she stood to her full height. “It’s nice to meet you too, Pooh.”
“What brings you to my home, Fluttershy? Did you come by to visit?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, sorry. I found your home by accident when I got lost in the storm. It was very scary.”
“Oh yes,” he said with a nod. “Storms can be very scary. But, like I always tell my good friend Piglet, storms aren’t so bad when you have company.” He began to laugh and Fluttershy just couldn’t help but giggle along, his laughter being so infectious despite so simple. It was as if there was nothing that could ever bother this kind soul.
Then the thunder struck again, louder than it had ever been, meaning not even the tree could muffle enough of the sound. Fluttershy jumped and “Eep”ed again, shaking on her side of the bed. Pooh had jumped as well, but he simply looked at the ceiling.
“They’re being very loud up there,” he commented before looking at the shaking pegasus. “Oh bother. Oh Fluttershy? Would you like to stay here with me until the storm goes away?”
Fluttershy gently moved a wing away that was hiding her face to look at him. “M-m-may I please?” she stammed out.
“Why of course,” he said with a gentle smile, moving across the bed to sit on it front of her. “Storms aren’t so bad when you have the company of a friend after all.”
“W-w-we’re friends?” she asked, finding it astonishing he considered her as such already.
“But of course! I’d like to think we’re friends already. And, just maybe, we could become best of friends.”
The mare couldn’t help the smile growing on her muzzle if she wanted to. He was just so kind and caring that she almost thought that if all those meanies she’d had to face over the years had met this bear, they never would have become so mean in the first place.
“Sure, I’d like to be friends with you, Pooh Bear.”
“Great! But no, what do we do while we wait out the storm?” Pooh looked around for a moment before crossing his arms, his face scrunching up slightly as one of his paws reached up and began tapping against his head. “Think, think, think,” he muttered.
Fluttershy just stared at the sight, trying to hold in her sense of adorableness as she watched him think like that. It was simply too cute.
“Oh, I know!” he suddenly said, climbing off the bed and walking over to the other side of the room. He grabbed one of the many pots from before and walked back over to Fluttershy with it held outstretched. “Whenever I get scared, a good smackeral of hunny always calms me down. A full tummy is always calming.”
“Oh, but Pooh, those pots are-” Fluttershy tried to tell him. Only he opened the pot and she saw within was a golden substance that was practically glowing within. She could have sworn that was one of the pots she looked in earlier, but right now her tummy grumbled slightly and the gooey, sticky goop looked absolutely delicious. “Um, Pooh, do you have a-” Again she was interrupted as a big wooden spoon was presented to her and she looked up at the smiling bear.
“My good friend Rabbit tells me not everyone likes to eat hunny right from the pot, so I keep a spoon just in case of such emergencies,” he explained to her.
Fluttershy smiled and took the spoon in her hoof. “Well, I’ll tell your friend thank you when I get a chance to meet him.” She moved the spoon down to the pot and lifted out a good glob of golden hunny. She took a small lick to try it and her eyes lit up before she shoved the whole spoon into her mouth, humming in delight at the taste of the hunny. When she finished the spoonful, she licked her lips to try and get any bits that had been left behind. “That’s some really good honey!” she exclaimed happily.
“That makes me glad,” he cheerfully smiled. “Let’s dig into is shall we?” Pooh took a paw of his and shoved it into the hunny and began shoveling the stuff into his mouth.
“Hey save some for me,” Fluttershy giggled, getting Pooh to laugh along as they both enjoyed their delicious snack.
…
After finishing off three jars of hunny, the pair found themselves sitting next to each other near the fire. They just watched the flames and laughed as they told each others stories of the many misadventures they gone on with their respective friends.
“Oh your friends sound like a lot of fun, Fluttershy,” he told her as he stopped his giggling.
“Yours too, Pooh,” she said, a hoof on her muzzle to hold in her giggles.
“I hope I get to introduce you to Owl, Rabbit, Tigger, Kanga and Roo, Gopher, Eeyore, and of course Christopher Robin.”
“I’d like that,” she said with a smile.
“It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Christopher though,” Pooh said, his voice becoming softer. “A long quite a while. I hope he’s okay.”
“Oh Pooh,” Fluttershy said as she wrapped her hooves around the bear and pulled him close in a hug. “Sometimes friends have to go away for a while, but you’ll see them again. Friends are never truly gone, they’ll always be right here,” she said while poking him in the chest softly.
“In my tummy?”
Fluttershy giggled. “No, in your heart. You’re a silly ol’ bear.”
Pooh couldn’t help but smile and giggle along. “Will you be in my heart too, Fluttershy?”
“Of course, Pooh. We’re friends after all,” she said with a yawn, her earlier tiredness catching up with again.
Pooh smiled and leaned into the hug. “Thank you, Fluttershy.” He looked down and saw Fluttershy had fallen asleep hugging him. He smiled and looked to the fire, whispering, “You were right, Christopher. A new friend would come along someday to see me.”
....
Fluttershy mumbled in her sleep as harsh sunlight shone on her face. She closed her eyelids tighter before she gave up and fluttered them open. The first thing she noticed is that the fire had gone out while she was sleeping, the second was that she couldn’t see Pooh Bear anywhere, and third… she wasn’t in the same place as before.
No, this place was much different from Pooh’s home. It was made of wood as well, but this was far older and rotted wood. The room looked absolutely ancient, mold and fungus growing through several planks in the floors, walls, and ceiling. The table and chair were still there, only there were three now and the table was slightly larger and taller. The bed was there too, only it was bigger too and the mattress was barely there anymore, having been rotted away as well. Even all of Pooh’s hunny pots were gone. Sunlight shone in through two broken windows in the front which allowed her to see the room as well as realize the storm was over.
But that wasn’t all that the light of Princess Celestia’s sun revealed.
Over by the bed was a small little chest that seemingly called to her. Watching her step, the pegasus made her way over to the chest, putting her hoof on the latch and undoing it. Carefully she lifted the lid and gasped at what lay inside.
Inside the chest was several plush animal toys, all looking worn with age and, no doubt, play along with a book. But what caused her to gasp was the plush on the very top: a soft golden teddy bear wearing a red shirt and black bead eyes with a permanent smile on his muzzle.
“Pooh?” she asked in shock. She quickly looked inside, finding plushes of a rabbit, owl, tiger, a big and small kangaroo, a donkey with his tail loose, a gopher, and a piglet. She simply could believe her eyes.
Then she looked at the book.
Slowly she lifted the book out of the box and read the title aloud. “The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh.” Her voice was soft, unable to comprehend what was going on. “Was… was it all a dream?” she asked herself, looking between the book and the box.
The previous night was played over time and again in her head, all completely vivid in her mind’s eye. But the proof in front of her was just as real.
Fluttershy continued to run things through until she looked back in at Pooh, his smile looking back at her from the stuffed plushie. And just like that, her worried face melted into a soft smile and her worries washed away with it. Gently, she picked Pooh up out of the box and gave him a big hug.
“We’ll all be great friends,” she whispered. Putting together a small plan, she grabbed the old sheet off the bed and spread it out on the floor, after shaking all the icky bugs and gross stuff of course. With it laid out, she grabbed each plushie from the box and gathered them in the middle of the sheet, squishing them together with the book inserted between them. She grabbed the corners of the sheet and brought them together in the middle above the plushies and tied the corners together, essentially making a carrying sack for herself. Smiling with a bit of pride, she grabbed her sack of new friends and headed for the door.
Once outside, the sunlight nearly blinded her it was so bright. Shaking the surprising brightness off, she took into the air, thankful that a bag of stuffed animals really wasn’t that heavy.
“Fluttershy!” cried out a gruff, yet feminine voice.
Said mare looked forward in time to see a rainbow and cyan blur tackle into her, causing them to spin about in the air and she nearly lost hold of her bag. The blur backed away, showing a familiar face. “Oh Rainbow Dash. What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you, duh!” the cyan pegasus exclaimed. “We’ve been looking for you all morning!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry anypony,” Fluttershy said with a downcast look.
Rainbow just shook her head. “Don’t worry about it; what matters is that you’re safe. Though, what’s with the bag?”
Fluttershy smiled softly. “Just something special I picked up in the forest.”
The other pegasus raised a brow slightly before shaking her head again. “Tell me once we’re back at your cottage. Come on, I’ll get us back safely.”
Fluttershy nodded in agreement and followed as Rainbow Dash took off back towards Ponyville, neither minding any look backs at the old, hollowed out tree Fluttershy had spent the night in. The ancient oak once again stood in silence, it’s former inhabitants once again free to brighten the life of someone who would care for them, just as the previous tenant had. A brief wind flowed around the dead, weathered tree, brushing away some loose rubbish from the front, revealing a plaque with a single word:
Robin
Author's Note
Just a quick one shot idea I came up with when I saw an old nostalgic video.
