The Toy Soldier and the Music Box
Once upon a time, in a land of magic and imagination, there was a village of living toys. In this village lived three toys named Twilight Sparkle, Timber Spruce, and Flash Sentry.
Twilight Sparkle was a beautiful porcelain doll with lavender skin and long wavy indigo hair. She was dressed in a lovely white leotard and tutu with a bright yellow sash, all made of porcelain. She was often sad and lonely because she had one foot fixed to a music box and was not free to move about as she wished. She would often watch the other toys enviously as they laughed and played with each other from whatever spot she and the music box happened to be standing on. Oh, what she would give to be free of her music box!
Thankfully, she was not completely alone. She had one friend in whom she relied on. His name was Timber Spruce, and he was a wooden marionette with green hair dressed in a red shirt and dark green overalls. As Twilight’s only friend, he had the task of pushing around her music box whenever she wanted to go somewhere. The two of them had befriended each other out of a shared desire for freedom. Even though, unlike Twilight, Timber was free to go where he wished, he was attached to several strings which were attached to two heavy, wooden bars. The strings and bars would often tangle into him and make him trip and fall, and he would have to spend hours untangling himself. Oh, how he hated his strings! He had tried to cut them off, but the magic of the land made his strings impossible to cut. So, Timber spent his days tripping over his strings, untangling himself, and pushing Twilight from place to place.
Now, Flash Sentry was a tin soldier painted in blue and gold with a tin sword secured in a tin scabbard. He was friends with neither Twilight Sparkle nor Timber Spruce, but like the two of them, he had a handicap of his own, for he only had one leg. Whenever he would go marching with the other toy soldiers, he often fell behind or bumped into someone because of his one leg.
“Why do you even bother marching with us?” the other soldiers would say. “You are so slow and clumsy! A soldier with one leg is hardly a soldier at all.”
Although hurt by his fellow soldiers’ words, Flash never gave up and carried out his soldierly duties as best as he could. He even took the time to help other toys and made friends along the way. Soon, even the soldiers who belittled him began to grudgingly respect Flash’s steadfastness and good will.
One day, an announcement spread throughout the land that Luna, Queen of the Moon Fairies, was holding a ball, for her only daughter Princess Rarity had come of age. Queen Luna promised to grant all the ball attendees a single wish each, but those who sought to have their wish granted must arrive before the end of the ball. This proclamation was especially of interest to Twilight, Timber, and Flash, for they saw an opportunity to wish themselves free of their handicaps. They each went off to journey towards the City of the Moon Fairies, Twilight and Timber together and Flash alone. To get to the City of the Moon Fairies, the toys first had to pass through the Peppermint Pine Forest.
However, Twilight and Timber were scarcely halfway through the forest when the marionette turned and said to the porcelain doll, “My dearest Twilight, I’m afraid your music box is nothing but dead weight. It’s bad enough that we have my strings hindering us. If I must push around your music box any longer, we will both miss the queen’s ball and not get our wishes, so I have decided to go ahead on my own, and once I get my wish, I will come back and help you get yours.”
Before Twilight could even get out a word of protest, Timber scurried off through the forest without her. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Twilight began to cry, and who should stumble upon her crying but Flash the tin soldier.
“Why are you crying?” Flash asked Twilight.
“I’m crying because my only friend and I were going to Queen Luna’s ball to get our wishes, but he abandoned me because he grew tired of pushing around my music box,” Twilight answered.
“Well, that’s not right,” Flash replied. “True friends should never abandon each other. Why don’t I help you instead?”
Before Twilight could even begin to try to refuse, Flash began to push her music box forward through the forest. However, having only one leg made pushing quite difficult for Flash, so the two of them were advancing rather slowly. Twilight began to worry that the two of them will not be able to attend Queen Luna’s ball at all.
“Oh, please just leave me behind,” Twilight cried out. “I will never forgive myself if you miss your chance to get your wish because of me.”
But Flash refused to stop pushing. “I said I would help you, and I will because that’s what true friends do.”
Shortly after, the two of them heard soft footfalls and the squeaking of wheels behind them and turned around. Clopping through the forest came a straw-stuffed horse pulling an apple cart. Flash smiled at the sight of the stuffed horse and called out to her.
“Applejack!” he called out.
“Well, Flash Sentry!” the horse greeted back. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“My new friend and I are trying to go to Queen Luna’s ball so that the queen can grant our wishes, but we’re having a hard time getting through this forest. Could you please help us?” Flash asked.
“I gladly would. I have plenty of room in my cart, but first, I have to get these apples to the Gingerbread Village, and I’m afraid I have gotten myself lost,” Applejack replied.
“I know how to get to the Gingerbread Village, for I brought a map with me,” said Twilight, “but going through the Gingerbread Village will delay us from getting to the ball.”
“Let’s go with Applejack anyway,” Flash reasoned. “Taking a detour on a horse and cart will be much faster than going through the direct route on foot.”
Twilight reluctantly agreed, and Flash and Applejack placed her music box in the cart next to the apples. As the three of them journeyed to the Gingerbread Village, Flash and Twilight talked about their lives and what they would wish for from Queen Luna when they arrive at the ball. Soon, they arrived at the Gingerbread Village where Applejack stopped in front of a bakery made of cake and candy.
Applejack knocked on the graham cracker door and was answered by a gingerbread girl decorated in pink frosting, marshmallows, and sprinkles.
“Applejack, thank goodness!” the gingerbread girl cried. “I thought my apples would never get here.”
“Hello, Pinkie Pie. I had gotten lost in the Peppermint Pine Forest, but thankfully, Ms. Twilight was kind enough to show me the way out,” Applejack explained introducing her companions to the gingerbread girl. “Now, I’m going to help her and Flash Sentry get to Queen Luna’s ball so that they can get their wishes granted.”
“You’re going to the City of the Moon Fairies?” Pinkie Pie gasped. “I happen to know a shortcut. As you know, the city is past the Rocky Candy Mountains and that going through will take a super long time, but my family owns a tunnel system that you can use to get to the other side quickly.”
Pinkie rushed back inside the bakery and returned with a parchment scroll and a picnic basket.
“Here’s a map of the tunnels to help you find your way and a basket full of goodies in case you get hungry on the journey,” replied Pinkie Pie. Flash and Twilight thanked the gingerbread girl, took the map and goodies from her, and continued on their way.
The three travelers arrived at the base of the Rock Candy Mountains and found the entrance to the Pie family’s tunnels. However, they soon realized that they had overlooked one small problem.
“I don’t suppose you brought a light with you,” Twilight asked Flash as she peered into the darkness.
“I did not,” Flash replied, “and it seems Pinkie Pie did not give us one either.”
“How will we find our way through the tunnels in the dark?”
No sooner had Twilight asked her question when a sudden cry reached the toys’ ears. Twilight, Flash, and Applejack turned towards the sound of the cry and saw a small, purple and green dragon tumbling down the side of the mountain.
“Are you alright?” Flash asked, helping the dragon up to his feet.
“I’m fine,” replied the little dragon. “I was just trying to climb the mountain and slipped.”
“Why were you trying to climb the mountain?” asked Twilight.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” explained the dragon. “My name is Spike. My friend Ember, Queen of the Dragons, invited me to her birthday feast, and her cave is on the other side of these mountains. Normally, a dragon would just fly over, but I cannot because my wings are late with coming in.”
Spike pointed to his bare back and continued, “If I want to attend Queen Ember’s feast, I must go through these mountains the hard way.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Flash offered. “We know a much easier way through these mountains.”
Twilight unrolled the maps in her possession and studied them carefully with a small frown. “We will have to take a small detour from our intended route, but I think we have time for one.”
“But we still haven’t figured out how we’re going to see in the dark,” pointed out Applejack.
“I can help with that,” Spike replied breathing out a steady stream of fire. The group laughed as Flash picked up the little dragon, and the four of them went into the tunnel.
As they journeyed through the heart of the Rock Candy Mountains, the four travelers marveled at the walls of the tunnels which were embedded with rock candy of various sizes, shapes, and colors. In the light of their fire, the candy shone like jewels scattering light and color through the tunnels. Spike licked his scaly lips in desire before plucking a piece of candy from the walls and devouring it. Thankfully, Twilight had the foresight to bring some dry branches with her so that the four of them could continue lighting their way whenever Spike wanted to take a break.
The three living toys and their little dragon friend talked and laughed together as they travelled through the tunnels snacking on rock candy and Pinkie Pie’s treats as they did so. The journey seemed to pass quickly for them thanks to each other’s company, and they soon reached the end of the tunnel. They looked around, saw a massive cave a short walk away from the tunnel’s exit, and made their way there.
Inside the cave, a massive flight of dragons large and small had gathered around an enormous horde of gems and were feasting ravenously. At their head, seated on an obsidian throne with a scepter of bloodstone and crystal in her claw was Queen Ember. She about twice as tall as Spike with blue scales, an agile build, and wings. She wasn’t the largest of the dragons, but she carried herself with a fierce yet refined strength befitting her title.
When the dragon queen saw the travelers looking into the mouth of the cave, she smiled, recognizing the small dragon in Flash’s arms.
She flew over and greeted, “Spike, you made it. I was starting to worry that you wouldn’t be able to come.”
“Well, you can thank my new friends for helping me through the Rock Candy Mountains,” Spike explained, jumping down from Flash’s arms. “They’re on their way to the City of the Moon Fairies.”
“The City of the Moon Fairies?” repeated Queen Ember. “That’s just past the Silk Meadow, and I know the quickest way there.”
The queen led them to a different cave where a river was flowing down the mountain. The river was clear as glass, and Flash, Twilight, and Applejack could see gemstones sparkling along the bottom. On the river’s surface floated a large, silver skiff tied to a rock.
“This river feeds into the Glass Lake in the middle of the Silk Meadow,” Queen Ember explained. “After that, it should only be a short journey to the City of the Moon Fairies. Be warned; the river runs fast, so you’re going to want to hold on tight to the boat.”
The three living toys climbed on to the skiff, but before they could cast off, the dragon queen stopped them and pulled out a gold box.
“Wait,” the queen cried. “Take this as thanks for helping my friend come to my birthday feast.”
She opened the box and inside was a glass wand with a star on top.
“What is it?” asked Twilight, gingerly taking the wand.
“It’s a wand that can unlock any lock,” replied Queen Ember. “Maybe it will be of some use to you on your journey.”
The travelers thanked Queen Ember and cast off. Since her music box prevented her from sitting on the boat properly, Twilight held on to Flash as he held on to the boat. At first, she shrieked, surprised and frightened by the river’s speed. However, as the three continued to race down the river, she found herself enjoying ride and laughed with glee along with her friends. The boat sped down the final length of the river splashing down into the Glass Lake and soaking its passengers thoroughly.
The three of them docked at the lakeshore and got off the boat. Flash and Twilight laughed as they shook themselves dry while Applejack scowled grumpily at having gotten her cloth hide and straw stuffing wet. Thankfully, Flash and Twilight were kind enough to help squeeze her dry.
Flash and Applejack helped Twilight back onto the apple cart, and they all continued down a stone path through the Silk Meadow. According to Twilight’s map, the path should lead them straight to the City of the Moon Fairies. The three of them could see Queen Luna’s castle sparkling in the distance. As they traveled down the path, the castle drew closer and closer. However, when the three of them were close enough to see the castle’s spires clearly, they heard someone cry for help.
“Help!” a soft, feminine voice cried out. “Oh, please help me!”
The travelers turned towards the cry and saw a maiden with butter yellow skin and soft, flowing, pink hair in a green dress running across the meadow.
They stopped and asked her, “What’s wrong?”
The maiden stopped running and said, “My name is Fluttershy, handmaiden to the daughters of Celestia, Queen of the Veelas. The witch Chrysalis has taken the queen’s daughters while they were in my company and plans to kill and eat them, and I must save them before the witch carries out her wicked plan. If such a fate were to befall her beloved daughters, my poor queen would be devastated.”
Flash and Twilight looked from Fluttershy, who had knelt before them pleadingly, to the castle’s spires still a distance away to each other. Taking another detour now when they were so close to their goal would be foolish, but leaving those two girls to die at the hands of a witch would be cruel. They both knew what they had to do.
“Take us to them,” Twilight said to the veela handmaiden.
Fluttershy nodded and raised her arms changing into the form of a hummingbird. She flew through the meadow, and the trio of living toys followed her. She led them to a small cottage hidden by a grove of trees. The four of them quietly crept up to one of the cottage windows and looked inside.
The wall across from them was lined with shelves of glass jars containing snakes, poisonous insects, spiders, and dismembered animal parts. On the wall to the left were two young women in chains futilely struggling to break free. The older one had amber skin and red and yellow hair and wore a fiery red dress while the younger had sky blue skin and rainbow hair and wore a dark navy dress. At the far corner, a horribly disfigured woman in a tattered cloak with gray skin and stringy green hair stood over a bubbling cauldron holding a rusty knife in one hand.
“Oh no, she’s about slit their throats,” whimpered the hummingbird as she flitted about in a panic.
“Not if I can help it,” declared Flash, picking a stone up from the ground. “The three of you, stay hidden.”
He hobbled towards the front of the house and threw the stone through the window with a mighty CRASH!
“Hey, you beastly hag!” Flash called defiantly. “Come out and catch me! I dare you!”
The witch became angry at the tin soldier’s taunts and, in her rage, forgot all about killing the veela princesses and chased Flash out into the middle of the Silk Meadow. While the witch was out chasing Flash, Applejack and Twilight snuck into the cottage, and the porcelain doll used the glass wand to free the princesses from their chains.
Out in the meadow, Flash brandished his sword at the witch, but the witch transformed herself into an enormous snake as big as a house and as long as a giant was tall. The snake coiled herself around the tin soldier, pinning his arms to his side. She opened her mouth wide, ready to swallow him whole, but before she could, a little hummingbird bravely flitted around her head distracting her. While Chrysalis was distracted, Flash yanked his sword arm free and plunged the sword into Chrysalis’s heart. The witch shrieked as she shrank back into her original form before melting into a puddle of tar.
“Flash!” Twilight cried as she, Applejack, and the veela princesses ran into the meadow to see if he and Fluttershy were alright. Upon seeing that the princesses were safe and unharmed, Fluttershy landed on the ground changing back into her maiden form and ran to embrace her two friends. After the veela maidens broke their embrace, they turned to the living toys and bowed gratefully before them.
“You have saved me and my sister and freed our people from the witch,” said the elder princess as the three of them rose. “How can we repay you?”
“Oh, no payment is necessary at all, Your Majesty,” said Flash as he and his fellow toys bowed in respect. However, neither he nor Twilight could hide the sadness on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” asked the elder princess.
“You see, Your Majesty,” Twilight began to explain, “my friends and I were on our way to Queen Luna’s ball at the City of the Moon Fairies because she has promised to grant a single wish to all who attend, but because we stopped to save you and your sister from the witch, by the time we reach her castle, the ball may well be over.”
The two princesses looked at each other and their handmaiden before nodding resolutely.
“Fluttershy, go back to our castle and let our mother know our whereabouts,” the elder princess said to the handmaiden. Fluttershy bowed before changing into her hummingbird form and flying away.
“Since you went through the trouble to help us, it’s only right that we help you,” the younger princess declared. She and her sister raised their arms and in a flash of light changed into enormous birds. The elder princess became a vibrant firebird, and the younger became a colorful rainbow bird.
“However, there’s a catch,” explained the firebird. “Since there’s only two of us, we will only be able to take two of you to Queen Luna’s castle.”
The three toys looked at each other before the stuffed horse spoke.
“You two should go,” she said to Flash and Twilight.
“Applejack, are you sure?” Flash protested. “You came all this way with us.”
“I came because I wanted to help you,” Applejack replied. “I don’t have a wish like the two of you do, and I already have all I could want or need. Besides, I best be getting back to the Toy Village. My apple farm is not going to take care of itself.”
“Thank you so much, Applejack,” Twilight cried, throwing her arms around the stuffed horse’s neck. “You’ve taken me so much farther than I dared to hope I’d be able to, and I will forever count you as one of my friends.”
Flash helped Twilight off the apple cart before pulling Applejack into a hug as well.
“I’ll see you when we arrive back home, my friend,” he said to her.
After the tin soldier and the porcelain doll parted ways from their friend, the veelas carried them into the air by their shoulders. The firebird carried Twilight while the rainbow bird carried Flash. The four of them reached Queen Luna’s castle in almost no time at all, and when they arrived, the ball was still underway. However, no sooner had they arrived when Queen Luna came forward with an announcement that saddened the two of them greatly.
“The time is drawing near for the presentation of my daughter Princess Rarity,” Queen Luna proclaimed. “We have enough time for me to grant only one more wish. Any one person who has not yet had his or her wish granted please step forward now.”
Flash and Twilight looked at each other after Queen Luna made her announcement. Only one of them will be able to receive his or her wish now, but who?
Before Twilight could get a word in otherwise, Flash pushed her forward getting the queen to turn her attention towards the porcelain doll.
“Ah, yes,” Queen Luna exclaimed, turning and making her way towards Twilight. “Tell me, my dear, what is it that you wish for?”
Twilight turned to Flash with wide, questioning eyes. Flash merely smiled and gestured for Twilight to tell the queen her wish. Twilight turned back towards the queen and looked into the queen’s serene, blue eyes. She took a breath and whispered her wish into Queen Luna’s ear. Queen Luna smiled at her and nodded.
“As you wish, so it will be,” declared the queen as she took out the last handful of moon dust out of her pocket. However, to Flash and everyone else’s surprise, she did not sprinkle it over Twilight. Instead, Queen Luna had tossed the magic dust Flash’s way.
The dust cloud began to glow as it enveloped him. When the dust settled and the glow faded, Flash looked down and saw that he was standing on two legs instead of one. Flash picked up and moved his new leg in disbelief. It was real; he could feel it. He began to walk around with it as if he had been on two legs his whole life. Then, he understood what Twilight had done.
The tin soldier looked into the porcelain doll’s eyes and asked, “But why?”
“Because you gave me friendship, wonder, joy, everything that I thought my music box denied me,” Twilight answered, “and those I will treasure far more than any wish granted. Besides, you have never let your lack define your happiness, and thanks to you, I will no longer let my burden define mine.”
Overwhelmed with joy, Flash jumped onto the music box and took Twilight into his arms in the sight of all the ball’s attendees. Princess Rarity was so moved by their friendship and selflessness that glittering, silver tears streamed down her snow-white face.
After Flash and Twilight broke their embrace, they stood among the ball’s other attendees to witness the presentation of Princess Rarity. The princess came forward and stood beside her mother.
“To signify her coming of age, the princess will demonstrate her magic by granting the wish of any one person in attendance who she deems worthy,” proclaimed the queen. Princess Rarity knew exactly who to choose.
The princess pointed at Flash and beckoned him to come forward. Flash hesitantly did so. Princess Rarity leaned her ear towards the tin soldier so that he could tell her his wish. Flash knew exactly what he wanted to wish for.
Like her mother before her, Princess Rarity took a handful of moon dust from her pocket. She stood in front of Twilight and gently blew the dust onto the porcelain doll. As what had happened before with Flash, the dust surrounded Twilight and glowed. After the dust dissipated, Twilight gingerly stepped off her music box, half-expecting her foot to yank her back onto it. To her delight, she was able to lift both her feet off the music box and go wherever she wished without the box hindering her.
Twilight squealed with joy as she began to dance and leap and spin to her heart’s delight. She ran to embrace Flash who caught her in his arms and held her close. Music began to play for one final dance, and Flash and Twilight happily shared that dance with each other.
The ball ended, and all the attendees began to return to their homes. Happy for their friends, the two veela princesses returned Flash and Twilight to the Toy Village before returning home themselves. As for Flash and Twilight, they remained friends with everyone they met on their adventure and with each other. Eventually, Flash and Twilight’s friendship blossomed into love, and the two of them lived happily ever after together in the Toy Village.
Author's Note
I was actually planning on skipping today because I couldn't for the life of me come up with anything that fit the prompt, but then, last month, after binge-watching both Fantasia movies, inspiration struck. I'll give you three chances to guess which segment inspired this story, and the first two don't count. 
At first, I dismissed it because I didn't think it fit the prompt, but then I thought to myself, "What if I had a way to make this idea fit the prompt?" So, I looked up the definition of "harmony", and two of the definitions were "the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole" and "agreement or concord." Those definitions made me think of different people working together, so I decided to have Flash and Twilight working together to help the other characters who help them in return. I sure hope that's enough to satisfy the prompt.
Anyway, there's two issues I'd like to address. The first is how I referred to Sunset, Rainbow, and Fluttershy's kind as veelas. According to my Google search, veelas are unnaturally beautiful magical beings that shoot fire and turn into harpy-like creatures when angered created by J.K. Rowling using the vilas of Slavic folklore as inspiration. The veelas in my story are NOT like that. I tried to come up with my own term for the kind of fairies the three of them were, but calling them "bird fairies" or "bird people" just didn't feel right to me. The only other mythological bird humanoids I could think of were harpies, and I didn't want to call them harpies because one, the word has a highly negative connotation and two, harpies aren't usually associated with magic. After doing a Google search for fictional bird humanoids, I decided that "veela" was the best fit since veelas are associated with beauty, magic, transformations, and birds.
The second issue that I'd like to address is the fact that I've once again shafted Timber Spruce. 
For those who take issue with how I portrayed him, I would like to bring up a few points in my defense. Firstly, other than my one story where he's the main character, this is the most sympathetically I have written him. Secondly, at the beginning of the story, Twilight is only marginally less selfish than he is. If you don't believe me, notice how Twilight's response changes every time she and Flash have to take a detour. Thirdly, the original antagonist/romantic rival from the segment that inspired me was a killer jack-in-the-box. I could have written Timber a lot more similarly to the original villain, but as much as I don't like him, even I'm willing to admit that Timber's not that horrible.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story. This is a reminder that Ro and Angy are accepting late FlashLight Week submissions all the way until the end of the month. I highly encourage you to send in at least one submission if you can. Having participants for this event really means a lot to Ro and Angy. Click here for rules, prompts, and instructions: https://www.deviantart.com/the-flashlight-week
