Fluttershy was having a rough day. First, she had woken up late, which meant that her animals had missed their wake-up song. Then, she found that Jackie the jackalope had hit one of her antlers on the fence, which gave her a headache. Fluttershy had gone to get some medicine for her, only to find that she was all out. Now, some mean, but probably actually kind stallion was taking a long time in the pharmacy line.
No matter how many times she cleared her throat, or politely asked him to go, he wouldn't leave. By the time he had finished, Fluttershy was in a panic over what horrible kinds of pain Jackie must be in. She quickly grabbed, and payed for the medicine, then rushed home as fast as her wings could carry her.
When she arrived, though, she was scared. Mortified, even, to find some strange creature, likely from the forest, leaning over Jackie, arm stretched out as if to take her as a meal. It was covered in some sort of clothing formed from bark, leaves, and vines. A long staff, adorned with carvings and topped with a grey crystal, leaned against her cottage next to it. Two large, branching antlers rose from its head.
She hid, naturally, and watched from beyond the fence. It hovered it's claw over Jackie, who stood still (likely petrified in fear). She jumped a little bit when it's claw began to glow with a soft, green light. It rested it's glowing claw on Jackie, who visibly relaxed herself. This motion, of course, was seen by Fluttershy as Jackie's giving in to her inevitable death.
She squeaked in panic, and flared her wings out unconsciously. The strange creature pulled his arm back, and looked towards Fluttershy's hiding spot. Upon seeing her wings sticking above the fence, it smiled. It briefly put two glowing talons to it's lips, and stood up. It's height made Fluttershy begin to back away.
It held up it's arms, and froze. "Please, have peace. I mean you no harm." Fluttershy relaxed at the sound of his voice. There was something very soothing that she just couldn't put a hoof on. "I presume you are the one these animals call Fluttershy?" He (she assumed it was a he) could communicate with her animals?
She let out a tiny squeak, before looking away. "Yes, thats me." She looked him over again. "Please don't hurt my animal friends." The creature paused, then laughed, then stopped.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I wouldn't think of it. Come here, I would much like to have an introduction face to face." He sat down, mindful of the animals around him, and patted the ground in front of him. Fluttershy slowly advanced towards him.
Once they were facing each other, he smiled. "There we go. My name is Fhrokka Heishardt." Upon seeing Fluttershy's confused look, he sighed. "Don't worry, I know it can be difficult to say. People often call me Oakheart, its easier to say."
Fluttershy looked at him, and cautiously offered a hoof for him to shake. He took it. "Um," she began. "It's nice to meet you, Oakheart. But if you can excuse me, I need to give this medicine to Jackie. She hit her antlers, and she has a terrible headache because of it."
"Oh, the jackalope? Don't worry, I already took care of her. Just a quick Remedy cantrip, nothing major. I thank you for your concern and care, though. I've hit my antlers before: it is not a pleasant feeling." In a slight contradiction, he reached up, and pulled his antlers off. They were revealed to be attached by just an wooden circlet of sorts. "That was when I first became Archdruid. Only the Archdruid may become a reindeer: it's a sacred animal to our beliefs."
"Thank you for helping Jackie." She looked up. "You can become a reindeer? Can I see?" Oakheart smiled, and nodded.
"Of course. It's my pleasure to do so." He shifted so that he was kneeling on both legs, then he closed his eyes. He glowed a gentle green as a breeze blew through. Leaves, grass, and other such flora swirled about him for a moment, before dispersing into the wind.
When the commotion cleared, a great and majestic creature. It had a pale brown coat, with white under and on the chest of it. Its great antlers had a deep, rich brown fuzz on them, with small ribbons of green magic curling off like smoke. Oakheart smiled, and gave a small nod to Fluttershy. "Here you are. This is my form as the Archdruid, to it's full extent. I will admit, though, I prefer the smaller reindeer to my own form. More subtle."
Fluttershy perked up, in awe of Oakheart's new shape. "Oh, wow! It's just- I mean-" She shrunk down. "It's really pretty." Oakheart gave a small chuckle, and nodded.
"I had a similar reaction when I met the Archdruid before me. I can also do other animal forms, limited only by my devotion to the wilds." He gave a quick chuckle, which sounded odd coming from a reindeer. "I can do requests, if you wish."
Fluttershy perked up at this. "You mean, you can become any animal you want? Oh! Um, can you maybe... do a pony?" Oakheart's eyes widened a small amount, then relaxed.
"I'm not sure. You are the first pony I have met. I will try my best though." He focused, the smoke on his antlers increasing. It joined the plants swirling about him, and cleared to reveal another pegasus. He had a green coat, matching that of forest moss. His mane was the same color as his antlers had been, with a green stripe matching his magic. His eyes were a red-orange.
"Here you are. I wasn't sure on some details, like gender, or the mark on your hip, but I did the best to become a pony." Fluttershy looked him over, then giggled. She quickly stuffed a hoof into her mouth, blushing. "Ah, I got something wrong, didn't I?" He smiled sheepishly.
"A little bit. You... um. You look like a mare." She looked to the side, trying not to be rude, and chuckle. He widened his eyes, looked back at himself, then began to laugh. Their laughing mixed together, until they were both crying.
Oakheart shook his head, and shifted into a smaller reindeer than his previous, more royal variant. He paused for a moment, magic glowing around his throat. "There we go. Now I'll be able to converse with people as a reindeer. Before, we were speaking in Petric, or nature's tongue. Ah, where should I go first to find somewhere to relax? I am here just to get away from the trials of my world."
Fluttershy paused, and thought. "If you just walk into town, over that way, look for either the big crystal castle, or the gingerbread house. Those belong to my friends, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie." Oakheart nodded.
"Wonderful. And thank you, Fluttershy, for your hospitality and acceptance. I know plenty of people who would not stand for having a stranger on their property, much less casting magic on their pets." He frowned. "I apologize for not having asked permission. I would just rather take care of an injury sooner than later, if you understand."
Fluttershy nodded. "Wonderful. I shall see you sometime later, hopefully. I don't know how long I shall be staying here. It could be a day, it could be a decade." He bowed, waved a hoof over his staff, which vanished into leaves, and started his walk away from the cottage, and towards the town.
Oakheart was very tickled by this new world. Everything was so magical, and natural, like the forest the druids lived in. If the rest of this world was this tranquil, he might actually consider moving to this world for some time. Compared to Setricie, this place was absolutely perfect.
As he stepped in the main street of Ponyville, he ignored the stray looks the crowd was giving him. He whistled a short tune, infusing it with a bit of nature magic as the Bards' College had taught him. A bird, caught by the song of peace and goodwill, flew to Oakheart, and landed on his left antler. He smiled, and continued onwards.
The castle was easy to find. It was almost impossible not to find, actually. It was a great crystalline tree, which caught the sun just enough to reflect it towards Oakheart's eyes. He looked at it with a squint, then continued. The bird resting on his antler introduced himself as Pippit, which prompted Oakheart to introduce himself. Their conversation about the best kinds of trees, seeds, and the like took up the duration of the walk to the castle.
Oakheart stood at its large, golden doors, then clopped his hoof against them. Pippit decided that this was a good time to make his leave, so he flew off. Oakheart nodded at Pippit as he left, then turned back to the door as it began to open. Standing in the doorway was a small, reptilian creature. After a quick mental comb, he termed the creature as a drake, and gave it a smile.
"Hello, young drake. My name is Fhrokka Heishardt, I am new in town, and I wish to meet Twilight Sparkle. I was told she lived here?" The drake scratched his head, and stared at the reindeer. "I also go by Oakheart."
The drake brightened up. "Oh, okay! Um, hold on. I'll go call her. I know that she's free right now, unless she found some new spell to study." He turned into the castle, and cupped a claw to his mouth. "Twilight! There's somepony here to see you! He's new in town." He turned back to Oakheart. "Though, if you really wanted to feel welcomed, I think you should have gone to Pinkie Pie. She's in the gingerbread themed building over that way. She greets all the new ponies."
"Yes, Fluttershy mentioned her. I figured that some... pony living in a castle could possibly give me the information I seek." Spike looked at me, then shrugged. At this moment, a flash of light burst behind the drake, revealing a very purple winged unicorn.
Oakheart recognized the mix of colors. The lavender coat, the dark blue hair. He had a friend, an important friend, with very similar coloring. If this pony had a large connection to magic...
She stood at the door, and looked Oakheart over. "I will admit, you are the first reindeer I have met. I've heard of deer that live in forests, and the north, but I've never met any. Come on in, I'll let you make yourself comfortable." She waved her foreleg inside, widening the door. Spike nodded, his job done, and walked off towards the deeper parts of the castle.
"Thank you. I must say, everypony I have met here has been very kind, and hospitable." Oakheart chuckled. "Forgive me, but you remind me of somebody I know. Do you, by chance, have some sort of significant connection with magic?" Twilight paused, and turned to look at Oakheart.
"Why yes, I do. I used to hold the Element of Magic, but that was given up to save the town. I also got my cutie mark in magic, which is more permanent." She pointed at the stars on her hip. Oakheart figured it would be good to know that term. He pushed it aside, and followed her answer.
"Hmm. Peculiar. Does the title Avatar mean anything significant to you? Or perhaps the words Diversity, Civilization, Nature, Magic, Darkness?" Oakheart raised a small, encouraging smile.
Twilight looked at him, and sighed. "Another one? Which world are you from? And yes, those both have special meaning. I ascended a year or so ago, been an Avatar of Magic since."
"Setricie, beginning of 12th Era. My name is Fhrokka Heishardt, you may call me Oakheart. I believe you know more about this whole Field system more than I do. I'm not an Avatar myself, I believe. I have a friend named Colleen who is the current Magic for our world. Anyways, lets put that out of the way. We are here, in your world, so I am the guest. I need not bore you with my tales of the ages."
Twilight waved a hoof dismissively. "Don't worry. I don't mind hearing those kinds of stories. Last visitor like you was Prism, from Spectrum. Have you met him?" Oakheart shook his head. "Great fellow, he makes you feel good inside. Can I get you anything to drink? Water, cider, lemonade?"
Oakheart shook his head. "Oh, don't worry, I can handle my food and drink alright. I am considering staying in Ponyville for a time. I came here looking for information about things to do, just small activities to take my mind off things for a while. Anything you can think of?"
She thought. "Well, the rest of my close friends almost always could use some help with their jobs. Fluttershy has a group of animals she cares for, which could be very relaxing, if a little removed."
"For sure. I actually met her a little while after I came here. I deeply appreciate her care for animals."
"Wonderful! Um, Pinkie Pie bakes pastries down at Sugarcube Corner, just be wary. She takes some getting used to... if she asks to throw a party for you, just accept and get it over with. Rainbow Dash is the lead weatherpony of Ponyville. On second thought, that may not be the best job for you." She coughed, and muttered something about not having wings.
"Oh, don't worry. I am quite adept in weather magic, if I may praise myself." He pushed a soft breeze through as he said this.
"Alright then, how about Applejack? She owns an apple orchard just west of here. She's always looking for an extra hoof. Have you ever bucked a tree before?" Oakheart shook his head. "Okay, that might be a little difficult, then. What about Rarity? She is Ponyville's resident tailor. I am positive that she would love to have a reindeer model for her, or to give her inspiration."
"That could be nice. I've never worn clothing as an animal before. It could be a little uncomfortable." Twilight gave him a strange look. "I am the Archdruid of my world. I can shift my shape. I am usually a human analogue." Twilight let out a little 'ah', then continued to think.
"I'm actually interested to hear about your world, just so I can compile a database of sorts concerning the other worlds in this iteration. Though, if none of those options interest you, I'm sure you can just go and offer your services to anypony who needs them. A handypony of sorts."
"I think I'll try them all. This is a vacation, after all. I'm meant to enjoy myself, and see the sights, right?" Twilight nodded with a smile. "What better way to do so than a helping hoof sort of position?" Oakheart shrugged, and smiled.
"Sounds good. If you need anything, just let me know. My doors will always be open." Oakheart walked to the doorway, waved a goodbye to Twilight, and set off towards Sugarcube Corner.
Oakheart stayed for another week, and then some. Pinkie's party for him was fantastic, with a large amount of more natural foods, as opposed to sugars. The piñata was out, simply because of the distaste of hitting a creature (albeit fake) with a bat. Pinkie had served a vanilla cake with graham crackers crumbled in with chocolate chips, which quickly became Oakheart's favorite pastry.
After the party, he took a spare room in Twilight's castle to live in, and woke the next morning with a sense of purpose. He helped control the weather with Rainbow as a dove, he helped Rarity design clothing by shifting into different ponies, and he helped pick apples in his natural form with Applejack. He took some time each day to tell stories of his home to the group, which Twilight earnestly recorded. He frequently spent time caring for the animals, and mixing in with them at Fluttershy's cottage.
All in all, Oakheart loved it. He returned home with a simple wave, and flick of the wrist. The only sign that he had ever been there was a dove feather, and a conjured antler from a reindeer. As he stood in his tree-home back in Setricie, he let out a relaxed sigh. Maybe the world wasn't as bad as his home made it out to be.
He snapped his fingers, and the fireflies in his room dimmed. He slept that night with dreams of rolling green plains, and kind words of welcome.
