//------------------------------// // A Bittersweet Conclusion // Story: Out on a Limb // by arcTangent //------------------------------// Twilight and Applejack galloped through the woods. They didn't know how far away the dungeon was from Fluttershy's throne, but they had to find it quickly and without being seen, or there would be ramifications. Twilight was right about one thing: the guards had been alerted to their escape and were currently combing the area, searching for the missing prisoners. Fortunately for the convicts, the trees assigned to guard duty had terrible eyesight; they passed by several of them without being apprehended. Soon they didn't even need to jump to the side and dive into the bushes. They trotted on by without a word. Man, Fluttershy really needs to find better help around here, Twilight thought as she and her partner-in-crime searched for the leader in question. Several unsuccessful minutes later, Twilight articulated a quite immaculate statement, one that would later be carried over through generations of ponies long after her passing, forever immortalizing her and her words of intellectual wisdom. "I think we're lost." Applejack stared at her. "Ya think?" "If only something oddly convenient would happen at this precise moment that would allow us to continue on our mission instead of wandering around aimlessly!" Twilight moaned. As if on cue, she head the shouts of her assistant calling her name. "Twilight!" Spike yelled. "Help!" She blinked. "Well, that was oddly convenient. Come on, AJ, let's stop wasting time and find Spike!" "But we don't even know where he is!" Applejack cried. "I'm over here!" came Spike's answer, sounding much closer than the ponies had realized seconds before. He was in plain sight of the two of them, about twenty yards away. He was dangling over a campfire, his arms and legs bound on a spit, as a small group of ravenous-looking trees licked their lips and proceeded to don white cloth bibs. "Huh," Twilight said with a confused expression. "Wonder why we didn't notice that sooner." "Who cares?" Applejack shouted as she ran to save the dragon. "Let's get him outta here!" The group of trees had formed a tight circle around their fire. One tree who seemed smaller than the rest was passing out forks and knives, which the other three trees held high above their heads in anticipation of their meal. Spike emitted another shriek of terror as the carnivorous plants opened their large maws and dove in for the feast. Before Spike could even have time to blink an eye, there were suddenly four unconscious tree trunks lying facedown on the ground. Applejack was burying her hoof into one of the tree's backs to make sure it was really down, as Twilight pulled Spike out of the fire and off the spit. He watched, his underdeveloped brain having been unable to register the events as they'd happened, and tried to piece together the situation with the information he was receiving. It wasn't working. "But--how did--and then--you were--and they--but you--" he stammered incomprehensibly. "No time to explain," Twilight said with finality. "We've got to find Fluttershy and get her home before something worse happens to her!" "Twilight," Applejack responded. "Fluttershy's a walking, sentient tree who's gone mad with power. What could possibly be worse?" ---- Fluttershy was beginning to grow bored. All she had done since becoming Dark Lord and Empress of All Botanical Organisms was sit on her throne, drink water, and watch as an entire forest of talking trees bowed down before her. As pleased as she was to have command over anything for once in her life, it was starting to become stale. She needed more entertainment in order to keep things fresh. But what could she possibly do to stir up some excitement?... "I know!" she shouted aloud. "I'll organize a mass execution! Yes, that's exactly what I need to liven up this place!" The guards closest to Fluttershy glanced at each other worriedly. "Um, Your Supremacy?" one of them spoke. "How exactly is a forest-wide killing going to liven up things?" "Yeah," spoke the other guard. "Wouldn't it deaden them?" The forest queen turned to the two subjects, a look of anger upon her face. "Don't tell me what to do! Buck the police!" The first guard paused before responding, knowing full well that an angry Fluttershy was not good news. "But Your Almightiness, we are the police." Fluttershy was really steaming now. The guard had gone too far. "I don't need you to tell me how to rule my empire! For I am now Fluttershy, the Supreme Overlord of Everything that Lives In Addition To Everything that Does Not Live, and you shall address me as such or you will not address me at all!" "Your Omnipotence, isn't that a rather long title?" the second guard asked. "Yeah, can't you abbreviate it or something?" the first guard chimed in. Fluttershy, now breathing heavily in an attempt to control her rage, had had enough of her backtalking, disrespectful bodyguards. With an outcry of exasperation and anger she swung a branch at full force towards her underlings, which knocked them both over onto the ground. The tree guards were astonished at the speed at which their empress had attacked. It dawned on them that they were in serious danger of being executed. They quickly got up and scampered away, leaving the snarling Fluttershy standing in the center of the clearing, filled with a deep internal rage. She realized that all the other trees were now staring at her, watching with terrified looks as they imagined all the terrible things the Supreme Overlord would do to them if she had her way. They cautiously backed away from their leader, who noticed the movement and lashed out with all her strength. When the nearest tree fell hard on his face, it set off a warning sign that told the others it was time to get the hell out! A stampede instantly erupted among the tree-people. The entire Everfree Forest seemed to uproot itself and run faster than Rainbow Dash had upon hearing that the Wonderbolts would be giving away free posters for the first one to meet them in Cloudsdale. As they ran, they heard the demonic cackles of their ruler as she drove them away with her shrieking. Soon Fluttershy, who was supposed to have control over everything that exists in the entire universe, was suddenly all alone, standing in the middle of what was once a forest. But when all the trees had fled from her, it had transformed into just a flat, grassy plain. A single tree cannot call itself a forest; it needs to be surrounded by a multitude of other trees to be classified as such. She realized all this as her breathing slowed and her anger subsided. She glanced around, seeing not a single tree anywhere in the vicinity. The power-hungry, malicious Fluttershy was now gone; the animal-loving, kind Fluttershy had returned. And the old Fluttershy was very, very lonely. ---- Twilight, Applejack, and Spike had been walking for what felt like an eternity. The sun had started to rise over the forest canopy. Twilight hadn't realized how long they had been looking. It only now occurred to her that they had entered the forest some time in the late evening. They'd been at it for over eight hours at least. Applejack was about to collapse. "Boy, ah'm plum-tuckered out. Can we go home now?" "No," Twilight insisted. "We can't leave until we find Fluttershy." "We've searched every possible place, and we haven't seen her! Where else could she be?" To answer the earth pony's question, a rather large crowd of tree-creatures suddenly came barreling towards them, shouting, "RUN! IT'S QUEEN FLUTTERSHY! SHE'S GONNA GET US!!" Twilight barely had time to react. She threw up a quick Protection charm, creating a magical barrier that prevented them from getting trampled by the horde of trees. The rampaging trees parted around the barrier as they ran by, leaving the ponies and Spike unharmed. When all the trees had fled, Twilight gazed at the scene left behind from the stampede. The forest was barely recognizable anymore, looking much more like a calm meadow that a dangerous wooded area. It was rather serene to look at, with everything exposed due to the lack of trees to hide behind. And with the sun rising over it all, it had an almost magical quality to it. Yet at the same time there was a hidden layer of sadness, invisible upon first glance. The more she looked at the treeless plain, the more it depressed her. Thankfully, with all the trees out of the way, it was easy to see where Fluttershy was. She seemed quite far away, standing in the middle of the meadow. It was hard to make out exactly what she was doing from the distance. The ponies quickly galloped over to the abdicated queen, calling out her name. She looked up to see her friends coming to her, and she perked up immediately. "Oh, Twilight!" she yelled gleefully as the unicorn approached, followed by Applejack and Spike. "I'm so sorry I ran off like that!" "It's okay, Fluttershy," Twilight consoled her. "Just tell us what happened since you left." Fluttershy took a deep breath. "Well, I was worried about Angel Bunny, so I went to go find him, and I thought I saw him in the woods so I went in, and then the trees attacked me! And it was sooooo scary, I thought I would pass out! But then I saw that they weren't attacking me after all; they put a crown on my head and made me their leader. And then I guess I got...carried away." She finished the tale, glancing sheepishly at the ground so as to avoid her friends' gazes. Twilight saw that Fluttershy was emotionally damaged from the experience. She and Applejack both ran up and wrapped their front legs around the tree trunk, giving their friend a big hug. Fluttershy noticed this and proceeded to awkwardly attempt to put her branch arms around the two of them. There was a short silence as they held each other, which was broken by Spike rudely complaining, "My feet hurt! I wanna go home!" Twilight broke away from the group hug and began to reprimand the dragon for his insensitivity, but Applejack interrupted her. "He's right, sugar cube. We have to find out how to change Fluttershy back to normal!" "I agree," Twilight said. "It would be very wise of us to consider heading back into Ponyville." "And we need to find Angel Bunny!" Fluttershy added. "Then what are we doin' standing around?" Applejack said. Then she smiled as the thought of a clever pun. "Pardon me for sayin' this, Fluttershy, but we've got ta make like trees and leaf!" ---- Their first priority: getting the book back from Lyra. Twilight knocked on the door to her apartment, but Bon-Bon was the one to answer. She explained that Lyra was busy with an...experiment of some sort and couldn't come to the door, but she was glad to fetch the book for them. Twilight turned to the index and scanned the page. When she found the spell for turning trees into ponies, she read it several times to make sure she knew how to properly cast it. After feeling confident enough, she closed her eyes and imagined Fluttershy as a pegasus, in her normal form. Her horn gave off the familiar glow as magic power was drawn into it. Within seconds Fluttershy was back in the body to which she belonged. She flexed her muscles, glad to finally be free from that stiff tree form. "I've never felt so limber in my life!" she cried happily. "Don't ya mean lumber?" Applejack joked, causing the two of them to giggle loudly. Twilight did not join in the festivities. She was busy staring transfixed at a small white object heading towards them. At first she thought it was just a piece of trash, but then she remembered: Ponies don't litter! That's bad for the environment! She chuckled to herself, wondering how she could have possibly come up with that ridiculous notion. As the object came closer, she began to make out two floppy ears. Turning to Fluttershy, who was still rolling on the floor laughing, she said, "Hey Fluttershy, isn't that your rabbit?" Fluttershy stopped snickering and looked out at the unidentifiable white object. She could see that it had long ears and a bushy tail. Her mouth broke into a wide grin. "It is! It IS Angel Bunny!" She rushed over to her rabbit, quick as a whip. She scooped him up in her arms and cradled him, saying, "Oh, Angel Bunny, don't you ever run away from Mamma again! I was worried sick about you! Now let's go home and I'll give you a nice, juicy carrot to eat...in fact, a whole bushel of carrots!" She gently flew home, hugging the rabbit tightly against her chest so as not to drop him. Soon she was out of earshot. Applejack watched her go, then turned to Twilight and said, "Well, this has been quite the adventure! Ah think ah'll go home and rest fer a while. I've had enough of this magical whatnot!" "I thought you wanted me to come over and plant some trees for you?" Twilight asked. The cowpony shook her head violently. "That's okay, Twi. Ah've dealt with enough trees fer one day." She waved a hoof goodbye and said, "See y'all tomorrow!" before trotting home to Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight smiled. It had been a rough day indeed. Maybe a little rest was a good idea. "Spike, cancel my appointments for today. This girl's got a lot of relaxing ahead of her..." ---- Twilight frowned at the gelatinous mixture covering her library's floor. No, that's definitely not it, she said internally. Frustrated at the amount of progress she wasn't making, she cleaned up the sticky results of the failed spell. This was just like what happened the other day. It was a few days after their toilsome adventure. Pinkie Pie was planning another one of her insane parties, and she needed lots of sweets and treats for the guests to eat. She'd prepared a wide variety of desserts, including cakes, cookies, candy, and crème brûlée, but there was still one item missing from her list: marshmallows. "Oh, Twilight," she'd asked the purple unicorn, "can you pleeeeeeeaseeee use a spell that makes marshmallows? That would be so super-duper FANTASTIC! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeeeaaaassssseeeee?" Sighing, she'd acquiesced to her friend's outrageous request. As she had with the apple tree spell, she conceptualized what the perfect marshmallow would look like. She could feel magic power being drawn from within her, arching its way into her horn. When enough magic had accumulated, she sent out a concentrated blast. Then Rarity walked in, and all hell broke lose. "Dearest Twilight, you wouldn't still happen to have that Gossip Filly book series, would you? I've heard wonderful things about it and I'd like to--" POP! When the dust settled, Twilight looked at the results of her spell. There, in the middle of the floor, was an ordinarily-sized marshmallow, a tuft of dark blue hair identical to Rarity's curling out of the top of it. She sighed. "Here we go again..."