Firefly looked around herself, trying to get her bearings. All around her, the Forest twinkled and shone in the light of the fading Sun, and she saw beams filtered down from the canopy. Taking a deep breath, she could smell the vegetation, a homely scent that would have brought up feelings of contentment, if the situation were different. She could hear birds twittering and in the distance, animals moving through the foliage. Any other time, it would have been peaceful. But not now. She'd never been by herself this long, much less alone in a forest. Tired, hungry, and beginning to panic as the Sun began to set, she sat down underneath a tree and tried to be brave. The thought of possibly spending the night in this Forest unnerved her. How she wished her uncle was here! She knew he'd probably be angry with her for getting lost, as he'd constantly warned her not to go in alone. But the Forest had been so beautiful, and she'd just had to catch that butterfly she'd been flying after! When it had finally fluttered away from her, she'd looked around and realized she didn't know where she was. So she tried to turn around and go back the way she had come, sure she would find her way soon. But that had been several hours ago, and as she fought back the tears her stomach gave another growl, only adding to her misery. Finally, she gave up and began to wail, clutching her knees and rocking. That's when she heard a strange voice.
"Hey. Why are you crying?"
She wiped her eyes and looked up. There, peering at her from behind a tree, was a tall figure. He was dressed in a casual shirt and jeans and was staring at her. What was odd about him was he was wearing what looked like a cat mask. But she didn't care. So relieved was she at seeing another person, she jumped to her hooves and ran towards him, arms outstretched. "I'm saved!" she cried as she closed on him, only for the tall one to nimbly step aside, causing her to miss and land flat on her face, wings outstretched to cushion her fall.
He looked down at her. "Please don't touch me."
She got to her hooves and tried to hug him again. "But I'm so happy to see you!" Once again she missed, as he dodged her advance. On the third try, he grabbed a stick from the ground and brought it smartly down on her head. "Ow!" she yelled as she clutched her head. "What'd you do that for?!"
"I told you, you can't touch me."
She stared at him, then burst into tears. "You're mean!"
The tall figure shuffled his hooves. "I'm sorry, but...you're a pony, aren't you?"
She looked him up and down, stared at his hooves, then back up to the mask. "Of course I am! Aren't you?"
He shook his head. "No. I'm...different."
She sniffed back her tears, then took a few steps backward and said, "How do you mean?"
He put up a hand. "Don't be frightened. I'm not going to hurt you. But, you really can't touch me."
She looked around the slowly darkening Forest. "But I'm lost and I need help! My uncle is going to be so mad at me if I don't make it home!"
He approached her and held out the stick. "Grab the other end of this, and I'll lead you out."
Her face brightened, and she cried, "So you will help me?! Oh, thank you!" She tried to glomp him again, only for the stick to come crashing down once more.
As she lay on the ground grabbing her throbbing head, he said, "You just don't learn, do you?"
She smiled as they walked, and she said, "So, this is like being on a date!"
He looked down at her. "Excuse me?"
"Boys always help their girlfriends out. That's what you're doing for me!"
He looked straight ahead. "I'm just helping you because you need help. I'm not your boyfriend."
She clutched her end of the stick more tightly and said, "Oh."
He heard the hitch in her voice and added, "But I can be your friend."
She smiled up at him. "Really? I'd like that!"
They were both quiet for a time as they moved through the Forest. A slight breeze grew, and it rustled the leaves that glimmered in the early evening sunlight. The path before them was smooth but meandered through the trees. The only sound was the gentle fall of their hoofsteps and the occasional snap of a twig as they walked.
Suddenly, Firefly noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked to see what it was, but it was gone. Then she saw it again. Her friend stopped and motioned for her to get behind him. Her eyes grew wide as a dark shape loomed off to their left side, partially hidden behind the trees. It had no discernible form, only a single eye that stared balefully at her. Then it spoke.
"Is...that a pony child?"
Her friend answered and said, "Yes. She's with me."
It grinned, showing rows of sharp teeth. "Can I...eat her?"
"No."
It hissed, then said, "Don't touch him, pony child. If you do, I'll eat you."
Firefly gulped and drew closer to her friend, being careful not to touch him. "Al...alright..."
The shape watched them for a few more moments, then slowly faded back into the trees.
Firefly clutched at her heart and whispered, "What was that?"
Instead of answering, he held the stick out to her again. After a moment she grasped it, and they continued walking. Some ten minutes more, they came to a break in the trees. Through it, Firefly could see the tops of houses off in the distance, and relief flooded her as she recognized landmarks. She turned to her companion.
"I know where I am now. Thank you for taking me!" As he turned to go, she added, "Can I see you tommorrow?" He stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. Then he nodded. "Bye!" she cried as she went skipping down the path towards her uncle's house. Then she stopped and yelled, "Hey! I'm Firefly! What's your name?" But he was already gone.
Just as she reached the end of the trees, she heard a whisper.
"It's Silver."
As she'd predicted, her uncle was furious with her once he found her. He and some neighbors had been combing the Forest looking for her, and he was on his way home to get more help when she suddenly showed up.
"Firefly! Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" he shouted. She quailed under his anger, then burst into tears and ran to him, enfolding him in a tight hug.
"I'm sorry, Uncle! I got lost!" she cried against his stomach, refusing to let go. After a moment, he hugged her back, and this time his voice was more gentle.
"Just don't ever do that again, alright? You really scared me." She nodded and wiped her nose, then took his hand and began walking back to their house. He looked down at her and said, "Why didn't you just fly up until you saw the houses?"
She fluttered her wings and said, "I'm...I'm not a good flier, Uncle. You know that. Besides, I can't fly when I'm scared."
He snorted. "Hmph! Time you grew out of that, young lady. When I was your age, I could fly for miles."
"I'll try, Uncle." Then they lapsed into silence.
Firefly was thoughtful as they made their way home. After a few moments, she asked, "Uncle? Have you ever seen anything...strange in the woods?"
He smiled. "When I was a kid, my friends and I used to play in this Forest. We never saw anything, but I was always told not to go in too deep. Supposedly, there are spirits living in there."
She grabbed his hand more tightly. "What kind of spirits?"
He shrugged. "I suppose it depended on who was telling the story. I've heard there are benevolent ones, beautiful ones...and some that would freeze your blood if ever you saw them." He looked down at her. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious."
The next day, right after breakfast, she got up from the table and made her way to the Forest. Her uncle yelled after her, telling her to be careful, but she was too excited to answer. Soon, she'd made her way to the part of the Forest where she'd left her friend, hoping against hope he'd be there.
She stopped and looked around. There was no sign of him. "Silver?" she called, as hope began to sink. But just then, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Facing in that direction, she saw him! He was leaning against a tree and staring at her.
"You waited for me!" she cried and ran towards him, arms outstretched. Just at the last moment, however, she remembered, and stopped just short of him and placed her arms behind her back.
"Hello," he quietly said.
She beamed up at him. "I'm so glad I found you again!"
He looked down and shuffled his hooves, then said, "I'm glad you're here." Motioning with his hand, he added, "Shall we go?"
"Where are we going?"
He looked around. "It's too hot here. I know a place where it's cooler. Follow me."
She flapped her wings and fluttered at just about his head height, keeping pace with his long strides. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, trying to get an idea of what he looked like underneath his mask. His gray mane was silky looking and flowed behind him at his shoulder height. His ears were perked forward, apparently listening ahead, and his gaze was steady. She couldn't see his eye color through the mask, so she steeled herself and made a request.
"Silver?"
He turned towards her, not slowing. "Yes?"
She fidgeted with her fingers. "Can...can I see your face?"
He stopped and stared at her. "Why?"
She put her hands behind her back and fluttered in place. "I just want to see what you look like."
He slowly brought one hand up to his mask, but then stopped and put it back down. "Maybe later."
She placed a hand over her own mouth. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you!"
He shook his head. "You didn't insult me. I just like wearing it, and seldom take it off." He motioned for her to follow him and began walking again, then added, "You wouldn't know I'm a spirit if I didn't wear it."
She startled. "You are?"
He nodded. "It's why you can't touch me. If I'm touched by a pony, I'll disappear."
She stared awhile at him as they went along. Finally, she said, "But you look so normal."
His smile was hidden. "Not all spirits look unusual, friend."
She was thoughtful, then said, "Was...was that thing that wanted to eat me a spirit?"
He nodded. "Yes, but he was just looking out for me, same as he's done my entire life. He was just trying to scare you."
She shuddered. "It worked..."
He stopped and gestured forward. "We're here." Before them lay a peaceful meadow full of colorful flowers, surrounded on all sides by tall trees heavy with Summer leaves. The Sun shone brightly down, but it was noticeably cooler than where they'd started. In the middle of the meadow stood a large rock, and her companion made his way over to it and sat down in the shade with his back to it. Firefly looked around. There were huge butterflies fluttering among the grass and around the trees, and she could hear birds singing.
"It's so beautiful here..." she said dreamily.
"I thought you'd like it. This can be our place from now on if you like."
She turned and smiled at him. "I'd like that very much!"
So for the next few hours, they played together. "Tag" was done with sticks, and they had to tap each other with them before one could be declared "it." Firefly was not above a bit of cheating, so once when she saw she was about to be "it," she flew up and supposedly out of his reach. That turned out to be an error, for Silver gathered himself and leaped up to meet her, tagging her with his stick while her mouth hung open in astonishment. When they started to gather flowers, Silver simply waved his hand over them and they appeared for him in sweet bunches. Then, he simply placed his hand on the ground where the flowers were, and once his hand stopped glowing the flowers reappeared, which delighted Firefly to no end.
After a time, Silver lay on his back on the ground and appeared to fall asleep. Firefly had been chasing butterflies all over the meadow when she noticed. Then a thought occurred to her: she could remove his mask while he was still, so long as she didn't touch his face with her hands. She crept quietly up to him and kneeled down at his head. Then, ever so carefully, she reached out and took hold of his mask. She gulped, then slowly lifted it. What she saw made her catch her breath.
He was beautiful.
She couldn't see his eye color, as they were shut, but she was still captivated by his face. Then he stirred and woke. She gasped and moved back on her knees, clutching the mask to herself. He sat up and looked at her. His eyes were a piercing blue, with gold flecks. He rubbed one eye and said, "What are you doing?"
"I...I...just wanted to see your face. Please don't be mad!" He held out his hand for the mask, which she gave him, and he replaced it. Then he stood.
"It's time to go." But she didn't move from her spot.
"Are you mad at me? I'm sorry!" He shook his head.
"No, I'm not mad. I guess I should have shown you before, but I didn't know how you'd react."
She smiled up at him, gathered her courage and said, "You're very handsome."
He cocked his head. "Am I? I didn't know...I have never seen my face and you are the first one to ever tell me." He started walking. "Come."
She fluttered to the air and followed him. Then and there, she decided she would visit him every chance she got.