Living Mark of Courage

by Moowell

Fluttershy

Epona waved goodbye as Mirrors darted back into the forest to return to Trixie. When she turned to face the tree, she noticed many of the animals rushing toward her, especially the small ones. They were all chattering and tweeting and bouncing and climbing onto her back as she walked forward and approached the tree.

'You came back,' came a soft and gentle voice from seemingly everywhere. 'It's good to see you again, App- I mean, Epona.'

"Hello, Miss Willow." All the animals jumped off her back and stared up at her. "And you too, little critters."

'I am glad you came back. It's been so long since I've had pony visitors, especially two days in a row.'

"Ah'm not gonna lie. When Ah said I would come back, Ah didn't actually mean the next day. But mah caretaker said Ah should visit ya again and learn about ya, so here Ah am." Epona laid down among the animals and took out an empty journal and a pencil.

'Oh, I see... Well, there isn't much to tell about myself,' the willow began. 'I am a willow tree. I've lived here in the forest for 100 years, watching over my animal friends. I don't like violence, so I enforce a policy of non-aggression in my clearing. Creatures from all over the forest can come here and rest in peace, without fear of being attacked or eaten.'

"Wait. How do ya enforce a rule like that as a tree?" Epona asked. "Do ya have guards or police?"

'Oh no. Having guards implies that I need them to keep the peace, and less creatures will think my clearing is safe. No, I give any offenders "The Stare." That usually stops any fighting.'

"'The Stare?' How do you stare without eyes? Come to think of it, how can you see without eyes?"

Willow was silent for a moment before answering. 'I don't really know how it works. I just sort of understand that things are happening in my clearing, but I can focus on a small area if I try. It's a lot like seeing for a pony, so I just call it seeing. Staring is kind of the same way, only I'm focusing really hard on a single creature instead of a general area.'

Epona finished writing in the journal, then spat out the pencil. "That don't make any sense. How would you know what seeing is like for a pony?"

'Do you see that foggy area at the base of my trunk?' Epona looked at Willow's base. To the right was the misty area that she and Mirrors had noticed yesterday. She nodded. 'Stand just at the edge of the mist, but not a step closer. You will be safe there.

Epona stood up and walked toward the mist. The animals started to follow her, but when they realized where she was going they immediately stopped, and those on her back jumped away from her. She reached the edge of the mist and stood still, waiting for whatever the Willow wanted to show her. As the mist faded, Epona began to see glimpses of blue peeking out from beneath the white. Finally, the mist disappeared completely to reveal a blanket of blue flowers connecting Willow's base all the way to the bushes at the edge of the clearing.

"Wow, they're so pretty!" Epona exclaimed. She started to reach in to pick one.

'Don't touch them!' Willow suddenly screamed in her gentle voice, causing Epona to jump back. 'Those flowers are called Poison Joke. Its effects are different for everypony, but they can be drastic. Like changing a pony into a tree.'

Epona looked back up at the Willow with a new understanding. "Ya used to be a pony, didn't ya?" The silence was all the confirmation Epona needed. "Were ya by yourself when it happened?"

'There were some changelings with me, but they were turned into beetles.'

"Wow... Did ya ever miss your friends?"

'All the time... I think about them all the time... They... We...'

Epona heard quiet sniffles coming from somewhere. She scratched the bag of her head and looked down at her hooves, knowing she was responsible. She walked away from the blanket of Poison Joke with her head hung low, then she looked up at the tree. An idea began to form in her head.

"Miss Willow, would you tell me more about yourself before ya were a tree?"

'About before being a tree?'

Epona nodded. "Ah know what it's like to be without friends. To not have anypony to talk to, even about the simplest things. Ya haven't had anypony like that for 100 years, so talk to me. It'll help to get the past off your chest- er, trunk."

'Oh, I couldn't. I don't want to impose...'

"Ya aren't imposing. Ah want to help ya because Ah know what it's like not to have anypony there for ya. Let me help ya, Miss Willow." Epona stared up at the tree with wide, imploring eyes.

'Well, okay. It is nice to finally be able to talk with a pony. What would you like to know?'

"Do you remember your name?"

'My name? My name was Fluttershy.'

*****

Fluttershy was just finishing Angel's salad when she heard a knock. "Fluttershy, are you home?"

"Here you go, Angel Bunny. Don't eat to quickly or you'll get a tummy ache." She set the bowl down on the floor and went to answer the door. When she opened it, she found Twilight standing there.

"Oh. Hello Twilight. Why don't you come inside? I-I mean, that is, if you want to, I'm making tea. Would you like some?" she offered, but Twilight shook her head.

"Not now, Fluttershy. I need you to call Rainbow Dash. Right now. It's an emergency." Fluttershy saw the urgency in Twilight's eyes and demeanor. An urgency which usually meant some sort of experiment went wrong.

"What did you do to Rainbow Dash?!" Fluttershy asked sternly. She Stared into Twilight, demanding the truth with her gaze.

"I didn't do anything, I swear!" Twilight stammered.

"Oh." Fluttershy stopped Staring. "You didn't? Then what do you need her for?"

"Please don't make me tell you. I don't think you'd take it very well." Twilight glanced away.

"Twilight, you know you can tell me anything," she said sweetly.

"Okay, if you're sure..." Twilight took a deep breath. "All the foals at the school have been foalnapped by Diamond Dogs and Cheerilee was injured in the attack."

"..." Fluttershy just stared at Twilight.

"Now, could you get please Rainbow Dash over here? We'll need her speed against the dogs."

"..."

"Fluttershy? Hellooooo?" Fluttershy's eyes became pinpricks and her breathing became rapid. "Oh, ponyfeathers... I knew you wouldn't take it well," Twilight sighed.

"Eeeeeeeeep...!" Fluttershy screamed quietly. The next thing she knew, there was a loud, concussive sound and a rainbow-colored streak coming Ponyville.

"Great! Thanks, FluttOOPH!!" The streak struck Twilight and rolled several yards down the path. When the dust cleared, Fluttershy saw Rainbow Dash standing and staring into space and Twilight facehoofing.

"Three. Two. One..." Twilight put her hooves in her ears.

"...WHAT?!" Rainbow gasped.

"We don't have time to foal around, Rainbow! Come on, girls. We've got to get the others and save those foals!" Twilight enveloped her magic around the three of them, and the cottage disappeared, replaced by the interior Sugarcube Corner. "Pinkie Pie!" Twilight called.

"What are you doing here?!" The three looked backward to see Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Pinkie was pointing and glaring at Rainbow Dash.

"Why are you mad at me?!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"You're supposed to be saving Cheerilee! Didn't Twilight tell you that she was hurt? You're the fastest one of us, so get your butt over there and take her to the hospital already!" Rainbow stared at her for a moment, then facehoof'd.

"We'll go get Applejack while you're taking care of Cheerilee," said Twilight. "Hurry to Sweet Apple acres as soon as you're done." Rainbow saluted, then blitzed away.

*****

"Ya knew Miss Applejack?"

'I knew an Applejack, though she probably died a long time ago,' Fluttershy replied. 'She would be nearly 120 years old by now.'

"That's her!" Epona explained that Applejack had come to the school and told the class about what the past was like. About how the Element bearers went to save the foals, but were defeated and branded.

'That's exactly how it was. After we lost our cutie marks, we were split up and given to the different kingdoms that united to conquer Equestria. I was given to Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Badland changelings; however, I never made it back to their stronghold.'

*****

Fluttershy's head remained low. She was accompanied by several changeling drones. One carried a safe containing the Element of Kindness while the others held Fluttershy's leash and kept her complacent. On occasion, she would pick herself up to see where she was, but they would immediately beat her back down. And so she kept her muzzled nose near the ground. At least, until she caught a glimpse of blue approaching.

She looked up again and saw the dreaded plant, Poison Joke. She tried to run the other way, knowing full well that it was dangerous to enter, but the changelings only saw that she was acting up again. They struggled to hold her down, yanking and pulling on her leash in an attempt to keep her moving forward. When they overpowered her, she took to the air to stay away from the flowers. Finally, the drone holding the safe put it down and joined in the fray, flying above her and lunging downward to slam her into the ground. It looked down and found a vine, then it began to tie her wings down.

The drone never got the chance to finish. What had been a Badland drone was now a scarab beetle.

When Fluttershy picked up her head again, she found herself lying down in a sea of Poison Joke. The changelings who had been guarding her were little more than common bugs, and the safe holding her Element was a short ways away.

She stood up and tried to run to it and reclaim her Element, but her hooves were tethered to the ground. No, they were embedded in the ground. Her legs were slowly becoming stiff and rigid, and her mane scratched her back like it was covered with twigs. She stood up on her hind legs and flapped her wings desperately to pull herself out of the Joke, reaching for the safe with all her strength, but soon they also solidified. Her breathing and heart rate quickened, faster and faster until she could feel them stop altogether. Her torso stretched upward and outward, elongating to ridiculous lengths. Her fur hardened. Her forelegs stretched outward and sprouted appendages tipped with leaves. Her mane, tail, and wings became stiff, except for the tips of the hair and feather which remained soft. She closed her eyes and screamed voicelessly, until her neck and head solidified completely.

Fluttershy was a tree.

*****

'And here I am today. Thankfully, many animals came by and kept me company. I don't think I could have made it through all those years without their help. The changelings have also visited periodically. They usually come several times a year and stay for a week at a time.'

Epona's eyes grew wide. "They aren't gonna be here while Ah'm here, are they?"

'I don't think so,' Fluttershy reassured. 'They were here last month, so they shouldn't be back for a while.'

"Phew..."

'Epona, would you like to see where I lived while I was a pony?' Epona nodded, then felt herself being lifted upward into the sky, caught in the grip of a Manticore. The Manticore took her up to Fluttershy's canopy and set her down on the highest branch.

She gasped. From this height, she could see all of Ponyville. It seemed so small from this point, even Sunset Manor.

'Do you see that hill nearest to the forest with a building on it? The one outside the walls?'

"Yeah."

'That's where I lived. I used to take care of all of my animal friends in that cottage.' As Epona squinted, she discovered that it was the same burned cottage where she would go to be alone. Epona suddenly had an idea.

"Let me down." The Manticore took her back to the ground, and she bolted for the border of the clearing.

'Epona, where are you going?' Willow asked.

"Ah'll be back in a little bit, Miss Willow. There's something Ah have to do..." Epona stuck her little blue feather in her mane and ate a wing-shaped seed, which Fluttershy had called a 'Pegasus' seed due to its shape. Her speed instantly tripled, and she leapt out of the clearing.

*****

"Epona, what are you doing?" Wisp asked as she rummaged through the debris of the cottage.

"Ah'm looking for- found it!" She ate yet another Pegasus seed and rushed back into the forest.

"Wait for me!"

*****

"Miss Fluttershy!" Epona cried, bursting into the clearing over the berry boundary.

'Goodness, Epona! What has you in such a--' Fluttershy stopped as the filly held out a small picture. 'Is that...?'

"Ah found this when Ah first arrived in Ponyville." Fluttershy gazed at the picture. Only the bottom right corner was missing. In it, she saw five ponies all smiling. On the left, a pink earth pony stood on her hind legs, propped over a white unicorn with a fancy purple mane. In the middle, a blue pegasus with a confident smile was propped on a lavender unicorn sitting behind a very yellow pegasus with tender eyes.

'That was our first group photo...' Fluttershy finally said. 'I was the yellow Pegasus. The pink pony was Pinkie Pie. She was always laughing, and loved to make her friends laugh too. She worked at Sugarcube Corner, a bakery with the best cupcakes in the world.

Rarity, the white Unicorn, was a dressmaker who dreamed of living in Canterlot. We would go to the spa together every week. She wanted fame and fortune, and she had the skill to get there, but was the most generous pony I have ever known, even if she was a bit selfish sometimes.

The blue Pegasus was my first and best friend, Rainbow Dash. She was the only pony in Equestria fast enough to do the Sonic Rainboom, and she prided herself in that speed. Before we were captured, her life's goal was to become a Wonderbolt, one of an elite group of Pegasi known all over the world for their flying ability, but she would have dropped that goal in a heartbeat if following it meant she couldn't be loyal to her friends.

The lavender Unicorn was Twilight Sparkle, the smartest pony I have ever met. She wasn't perfect, but she was the best friend a mare could ask for. All of us looked up to her as our leader and as the Element of Magic.

The pony that's missing is Applejack, the most honest pony in the world. Only Discord could make her lie, and only because he brainwashed her. She was strong, athletic, competitive, and she had a family to match. She loved her family, friends, and farm more than anything.' Fluttershy sighed. 'I wonder what happened to everypony after they separated us...'

"Wait, was everypony in that picture an Element Bearer?"

'That's right. Pinkie Pie was Laughter, Rainbow Dash was Loyalty, Rarity was Generosity, Applejack was Honesty, I was Kindness, and Twilight was Magic.'

Epona took out Honesty and stared at it. "Ah guess Ah should return this to her, then."

'Oh my!' Fluttershy exclaimed. 'That's the Element of Honesty! Where did you find that?' Epona explained to Fluttershy about her journey through the Diamond Dog Ruins. About how her friends were taken, about Cerberus, and about how she found the Element at the end.

"But if it's Applejack's, Ah should give it back to her. It doesn't belong to me or the Dogs. It belongs to its rightful owner."

"Then give that charm to uss, thief!" Epona found herself surrounded by dozens of green-flamed circles with strange, bug-like ponies standing inside them. They had holes in their legs and gossamer wings, as well as a hard, shiny carapace instead of fur.

"What?! Where'd ya'll come from?!" Epona cried, startled and a bit angry.

"We have been here ssincce the beginning! Thiss tree iss a natural ssourcce of love, esspecially for ssmall creaturess. We've been tapping thiss love for nearly a ccentury!"

'Tell me what you have done with all my animal friends!' Fluttershy commanded. 'I-I mean, that is, if you want to...'

"Sstupid tree! We ARE your animal friendss!" The changelings assumed their disguises as the bunnies and birds, then returned to changeling form. Fluttershy gasped.

"If ya'll have been here this whole time, why are ya only attacking now?" Epona asked, keeping on the alert for any sudden moves.

"Our Queen Chryssaliss has jusst learned of a pony that iss sstealing the Elementss, sso she ordered uss to protect it from any thievess. Thievess like you! Earth Pony Epona, give uss the Element of Harmony!" The small horde stepped toward Epona.

"No way!" Epona jumped upward and put the Element back into her inventory just as they pounced at her. She threw down a flash nut, which popped in the center of the group and stunned them. When she landed, she jumped over the group and bolted away from them. They didn't stay down for long, however, and soon gave chase.

'You will not hurt MY FRIENDS!' Epona looked back and paused as she saw the horde, who had suddenly stopped. They were trembling wide-eyed, cringing back from some unseen force. 'Epona! The changelings must never get the Elements of Harmony. Quickly, hidden in my branches is the Element of Kindness. Climb up, take it, and run far away from here! I will hold this horde under my Stare until you are finished!'

Epona nodded and leapt up into her branches.

Comments

[Professor Donger]

FLUTTERSHY IS BEST TREE

[GMZ_Casper]

3556400
I full-heartedly agree! Even frozen in place, she still somehow managed to help out as best as she can.

And, 'Epona' has got two Elements of Harmony...or about to, anyway! CAN YOU SAY WOO WOO!!! But, I got a sneaking suspicion that a boss battle is about to arrive. Then, who know, maybe a run through another dungeon...

[Airoe]

Get em Flutter-tree! Stare em down!

[AxtontheMechanist]

Flutters, a tree? Ironic, yet well played, Author.

~Axton

[shapeshiftingpedro]

The Poison Joke made Fluttershy's wish into a prank- a 100-year prank...