Everypony sees trees as, well, trees. But they aren't just plain old plants. There's the Treehouse of Harmony, and the Castle of Friendship.
But there are also the trees that look ordinary. Although they may not have powers, they have thoughts. And only one pony knows that.
Edit: Featured on 2/26/23 - 2/27/23 for some reason I don't know. But thank you!
Written for the Arboreal Yearnings Contest and the Science Fiction Contest II.
Poor Oakley
Pulling off the Unicorn Variation, eh?
11516858
Haha, it seems so
As it turns out, trees are capable of (very rudimentary) communication. Make of that what you will...
11516922
I have learned that before, actually, but now it's twisted into a sci-fi story. Maybe in the near future I'll extend this story to the point where trees can communicate with ponies better!
This hits the same irritating spot as G5: We just don't know how things got this bad. Mind you, one leads into the other; you'd have more to work with if the source material were more wiling to delve into the past. Still annoys me, but you're not to blame. In any case, enjoyably daring attempt to hit two contests with one stone. Thank you for it, and best of luck in both.
Why is Twilight the main character in this story? Wouldn't it make more sense to use Applejack instead? She is the one who reads bedtime stories to at least one of her apple trees, after all.
11516991
Oh yeah, that is true. But she is the alicorn who would have the longest life, similar to how a tree does, so it made the most sense to me that Twilight be the main character.
11516941
Thanks for both the constructive criticism and confidence! I may write a sequel to this, actually, so your comment will definitely help!
I’m going to piggyback off what FoME said and add that I think providing more context of what’s happening in the world and what’s going on with Twilight would give the story more emotional weight and make it hit harder. As it is, it’s a bit sparse on details, and I think that’s to the story’s detriment.
Other than that, though, I liked it! As a fellow competitor in the sci-fi contest, good luck to you!
11518201
As I, too, have said, I really like your advice, both of you, which will help me in writing the sequel, and all future stories, actually!
Thank you! Good luck to you, too!
Huh.
Hmm neat
11557448
Thanks
a paradoxical sentence for a tree to think, but of course he means that a tree is not supposed to think
it is funny to think it, but it makes sense. these trees are to Twilight what the ponies are to me as a human
aww, adorable!
and what a touching tribute.
i was hoping to see a double contest submission like this, because it is always very fun to see how a single story can fit multiple premises. thank you for writing!
11595517
Thank you for all these comments, and for taking the time to judge my story so thoroughly!
Hello! I'm reading all the treefic entries, so here is your review. I rather liked this, especially for its atmosphere. It maybe doesn't go anywhere much, perhaps related to the lack of context other commenters have already mentioned -- but what is here, I like. As such, liked!
11621214
Thank you so much!
11621290
You're welcome!