Celestia's sun rose calmly against the crystal clear blue canvas of the morning sky as it radiated a shower of warmth over Equestria. The rays of sunlight glistened through Fluttershy's window upon her bed, but there was no sign of the little colt she called her own. An eerie silence was all that existed within the bedroom, and down in the den unaware of the absence of her precious little one, Fluttershy was tending to her animals.
"Okay my babies, you all eat up, and get your little tummies full. I am going to go see if my precious little Toby is awake yet." She spoke soflty to her animal friends as they all, along with Angel Bunny, chittered, and chirped. She smiled warmly at them all, and turned to the staircase to carefully trot up. She starting humming a happy tune as she ascended the stairs.
"Toby sweetie, it's time to...AAH!" Fluttershy reached the very top of the stairs, and looked over at the bed to find an empty space in the bed, gasping. She galloped over to the bed, and reached for the bedsheets to see if he might be hiding underneath them. "Toby?!" She didn't find him under the bedsheets. "Maybe he is in the bathroom" she thought to herself as she quickly turned, and trotted down to the bathroom. She trotted in to see an empty room.
She trotted into the den, and looked at Angel Bunny eating at his specially made salad. "Angel honey, have you seen Toby this morning?" She looked at him with a look of hope and concern. Angel chittered, and shook his head. "Oh dear. Maybe he..." Her train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door.
She trotted quickly over to the door and opened it expecting the little colt. "Toby?!" She only found Rainbow Dash. "Oh, Rainbow." She looked at Rainbow with a deep concerned look.
"Heya Flutters, what's happening?" Rainbow asked in her usual cool tone. Yet seeing the look on Fluttershy's face, she became worried.
"Oh, Rainbow I can't find Toby!" She stepped aside to let Rainbow trot in. "He wasn't sleeping in the bed this morning, or in the bathroom. I asked if Angel have seen him, and he says he didn't." Fluttershy was bitting her lower lip, panting heavily.
Rainbow tried to calm her down by gently placing her forehooves on Fluttershy's shoulders. "Okay, first Fluttershy, you need to try to calm down." Fluttershy started to breathe slower. "That's it. Now, maybe the little guy already left for school, and just didn't want to wake you up. How about we go see, okay?"
Fluttershy nodded with a little smile. "Maybe you are right Rainbow." She turned to all of her animal friends, and motioned for Angel to come to her. "Angel honey, Momma's got to go out, and see if I can find Toby, okay?" Angel nodded, and looked up with concern at his caretaker. She gently brought in him in for a hug against her chest, and nuzzled between his ears on the top of his head. "Don't worry baby, Momma will find him." She turned to Rainbow. "Let's go!"
Together they galloped out of the cottage toward the town of Ponyville, to the schoolhouse.
Deep within in the Everfree Forest, although it was just morning the thick woods appeared to darken quickly. Limbs were covered with moss which hung freely down from them, and there were only a few patches of light shining upon the forest floor through small clear spaces above some of the towering trees. At the base of one trees, laid the little colt curled up in a little ball shaking with sobs that barely ceased from the night before.
"Hu..hu.hu..I-I would n-never hurt th-them, I-I love them." He whispered quietly to himself trying to calm his tears. "W-why would th-they want to hurt me for?" He wrapped his arms around himself as he thought "I know it was all a bad dream, but it felt so real. Maybe I really don't belong here, or anywhere. Maybe Diamond Tiara was right." Tears streamed down his face as his body was racked with sobs.
As Toby laid there curled up, he was unaware of the eerie green eyes that were peering at him through the thick brush of the forest.
Fluttershy, and Rainbow arrived at the schoolhouse where Ms. Cheerilee was standing out on front steps welcoming the last couple of her students. She spotted Fluttershy, and Rainbow galloping up to them. "Good morning Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, how are you girls doing today?"
Fluttershy looked at her with a concerned look. "Um..we are doing good Cheerilee..um..but has Toby come to school yet? I didn't find him sleeping in the bed this morning...and..um..Rainbow thought maybe he came to school already, so not to wake me up." She looked at Ms. Cheerilee with a small hopeful smile.
Ms. Cheerilee shook her head and had a concerned look on her face. "Oh dear, I am sorry Fluttershy, and Rainbow, but I haven't seen Toby this morning." She looked at the two mares worriedly as she looked behind them to see the CMC trotting up the pathway. "Wait, the girls might have seen him. Oh, girls!" She called out to the three fillies.
They galloped up to the three adult mares, and replied in unison. "Yes Ms. Cheerilee?"
Ms. Cheerilee gently asked. "Have you three seen Toby yet this morning? Fluttershy, and Rainbow couldn't find him this morning at Fluttershy's house, and thought maybe he left already to come here."
The three fillies looked at Ms. Cheerilee then at the other two shaking their heads. "No Ma'am." They replied in unison.
Fluttershy gently stepped toward them, and asked softly. "Um..girls..um..did Toby talk to you three about anything about not being a pony?"
"What?!" Rainbow exclaimed as she had a confused look on her face.
Fluttershy turned to Rainbow with a sad smile. "Well..um..last night when I was tucking him into bed..um.." She started to tear up. "He asked me if I loved him, even though he isn't a pony."
Rainbow gently laid a wing over Fluttershy's back to tried comforting her, but asked shocked "Why would he ask something like that for?"
"Diamond Tiara!" The three fillies exclaimed.
Ms Cheerilee looked at the three, and asked. "What girls? What about Diamond Tiara?"
Rainbow, and Fluttershy turned their heads to look at the three fillies.
Applebloom was the one to speak up first. "Well, yesterday when Toby didn't come sit with us during lunch Ms. Cheerilee, we got worried, and went to look for him."
"Then we heard a small voice at the side of the schoolhouse, and we went to go see who it was." Sweetie Belle spoke next. "When we got there, we saw Toby standing there shaking, and Diamond Tiara was in front of him holding up his glasses in her hoof." She lowered her head sadly.
Scootaloo was the last to speak. "We were about to stop her, but Silver Spoon grabbed his glasses, and gave them back to him." Scootaloo sighed deeply. "When they were leaving, Diamond turned around, and called Toby a mistake." She lowered her head.
Fluttershy, and Rainbow looked at each other shocked. Fluttershy gave the three fillies a sad smile.
"Thank you girls." She then looked at Cheerilee.
"If he does show up Cheerilee, please tell him that I am not mad at him, and just to stay here until I come back." Ms. Cheerilee nodded softly.
Ms. Cheerilee smiled softly at the three fillies. "Thank you girls for telling us the truth. I will have a talk with Diamond Tiara. You can go inside now." They nodded, and trotted into the schoolhouse. She turned to Fluttershy, and Rainbow. "Is there anything else I can do to help?" She gave a soft smile
Fluttershy returned the smile. "Thank you Cheerilee, but me, Rainbow, and the others will look for him. Just please tell Toby that I am not mad at him if he shows up" Cheerilee nodded as Rainbow, and Fluttershy turned, and started to gallop off.
"Oh Rainbow, I hope he is okay. My precious little Toby is out there somewhere probably scared, and alone." Fluttershy couldn't hold her tears back as she started to cry.
Rainbow carefully sped up and, stopped in front of her placing her forehooves gently on Fluttershy's shoulders. "Calm down Fluttershy, we will find him." Rainbow thought to herself for a second, and intently looked into Fluttershy's eyes. "You go get the girls and I will meet you all at Twilight's place. I am going to soar the skies see if I can find him." She gently pulled Fluttershy into a soft hug. "Don't worry Flutters, I promise we will find him." She gently pulled away, and gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile.
Fluttershy reached up with a forehoof to wipe at her tears. "Th-thank you Rainbow, I know we will. I will go get the others, and meet you at Twilight's. Just please make sure you, and Toby stay safe, if you find him." She looked into Rainbow's eyes pleadingly.
"You mean when I find him, Fluttershy. I promise I will keep him safe." She turned to look up at the sky, and bent her hind legs, and shot up into the sky. She hovered a bit, and looked down at Fluttershy. "I will be back with Toby, I promise." She flew off.
Fluttershy looked up at Celestia's sun, and whispered softly to herself. "Please stay safe Toby. Momma loves you." She turned to the path ahead and galloped off toward Golden Oaks Library.
As Toby laid curled up at the base of one of the many big looming trees of the Everfree Forest, his stomach started to make a little growl. "Auh..hu.hu.my tummy. I need to try, and find something to eat." He whispered to himself. He carefully yet weakly stood back up on his feet, and legs.
He looked around at the thick brush of the forest. "Maybe I can find some berries like mommy, and I used to do." He thought to himself as he started to walk, his tears finally subsiding as he wiped at his face. He hugged his stomach as he started to growl a little more, and aching.
As he ventured onward into the forest he found some bushes that had some berries on them. There were berries of red, blue, pink, purple, and black. "They look good. Maybe I can eat a couple of them." He thought as he walked up to a bush and picked a red one, and pink one. He popped the red one in first. He started to chew it feeling the sweet juice gush out onto his tongue. "Mm..this one is nice and sweet."
He decided to pop the pink one in next. As he began to chew it he could taste the juice of it, and scrunched his face a little. "Yuk..that one is sour." He thought to himself. He decided to see what the other colored berries tasted like, so he picked them. While he was trying out the other berries he could smell something floating through the thin forest air around him. "Eww..what is that smell?" He said quietly.
A low rumbling growl could be heard from behind him, and he swallowed deeply as his body shook nervously. He quickly panted as he very slowly started to turn around. He came face to face what looked like a pair of legs made out of the limbs of a tree. He swallowed deeply, and trembled as he looked up to a pair of green glowing eyes. He was looking at what appeared to be a wolf made out of wood from the forest.
The timberwolf roared at Toby causing him to fall backwards on his rear dropping the berries. He looked up at the wolf with his eyes wide with fear, and whimpering. He crawled backwards as fast as he could into the bush as the creature slowly stalked towards him. Toby was able to crawl back far enough into the bushes to get hidden enough. He heard the creature stop, and suddenly reach a wooden paw into the bush.
Toby backed away some more as best as he could until he bumped into a tree. He cried as now he was trapped in the bushes up against a big looming tree, and with the wolve's claws just a few inches from him. He brought his legs up to him with his knees against his chest, burying his head in his lap. He sobbed hard as he looked back up at wooden wolf paw, and timidly whispered. "Please someone help me."