Fluttershy watched in horror as the boy named Oak Wood disappeared into the base of the statue.
She simply sat there on the grass and stared at the base of the statue as she tried to make sense of what just happened. She wanted to curl up in a little ball and cry about how incompetent and useless she is and how she failed to save Oak. She tried to contain her fear and anxiety by taking deep breaths, but nothing seemed to work. Her eyes never left the statute as she began to assume the worst, tears welling up in her eyes. He could be in some scary place right now, filled with monsters and bad people and things that might want to hurt him. I can’t even begin to think what he’s dealing with right now, and-
Wait. Isn’t that the place where Twilight went back home?
She closed her eyes and remembered the days when Twilight Sparkle came into her life. She remembered how she stood up for her when Sunset Shimmer was insulting her in the hall, how she helped her reunite with all of her other friends, and how they defeated Sunset after she turned into some… bat… thing…
That was a scary night.
Most of all, she remembered how they had fun together after the battle. The dancing, laughing, and the group hugged their foreign friend for the last time before she left into the same base of the statue she saw Oak disappear into. Fluttershy relaxed a bit, knowing that wherever Oak was, Twilight was there to help him.
Fluttershy wiped the tears from her eyes. I should tell everyone what happened. I know that the others would want to hear about this. They might even be able to help me.
On cue, the bell rang. The students that were milling around the entrance began to head inside. Oh, I’m gonna be late for class! She got up from the ground, grabbed her backpack, and headed inside the school.
“So, let me get this straight,” Rainbow Dash said as she took a bite of her apple, “you’re saying that some guy-”
“Oak Wood,” Fluttershy interrupted.
“Yeah, whatever.”Rainbow Dash took another bite of her apple. “So you’re saying that this ‘Oak Wood’ guy went through the same base of the statute as Twilight?”
“Well, technically he was dragged into the statute, but yes, he went into the exact same statute Twilight went into.”
“I don’t believe it. We all saw the portal close. Pinkie tried to get in, but all she got was a face full of concrete.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie chirped as she drank her chocolate milk through a straw,” I tried to go through, but it was solid as a brick and I was super sad and disappointed that I couldn’t go with Twilight and hang out with her wherever she was, but then I remembered that if I went with Twilight, I wouldn’t be able to hang out with you guys and that cheered me up a lot.” She gave Fluttershy a big smile.
“Oh, right,” Fluttershy said.
After Geometry class was over and the lunch period started, she went to find her friends so she can tell them what happened at the statute and was hoping that they might help somehow. Now, she was beginning to think that they couldn’t help.
“Wait a minute everyone,” Applejack said, “if Fluttershy is right, then we might be able to see Twilight again. I don’t know about you gals, but if I had the chance to see our good friend Twilight, after all she done for us, I wouldn’t squander it. Also, we should try to help out that Oak fellow. Poor guy must be scared out of his mind. I know I would, being in some unknown place and no way to get home.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about him too much,” Rarity said to the whole group. “If he’s in the same place Twilight is, then we all can count on her to take good care of him.” She turned to Fluttershy. “But really, why do you worry about him so much? I could understand that anyone would worry if someone were to be in the same predicament as that Oak fellow, but you barely know him. Is it because of some other reason that you care about him so much, hmm?”
Fluttershy started to blush. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t see any other reason to worry about him for anything other that his safety. I just care, you know.”
“Hm, right,” Rarity said sarcastically.
Rainbow Dash got up from her seat and leaned forward, putting both hands on the table. “Well, I guess that settles it. After school, when everyone is gone, we’ll take a look at the statute. If Flutters is wrong, no big deal, but if she’s right, then we prepare.”
Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash with timid curiosity. “Um, prepare for what, exactly?”
Rainbow Dash stared hard at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, if you’re right, then we are gonna go inside that portal and see Twilight. And save your boyfriend, of course.”
“H-He’s not my boyfriend!” Fluttershy whispered loudly.
“Ooh, ooh, can we have a big party for Twilight when we find her?”
Rainbow pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Hard. “Yes Pinkie, we can have a party.”
“YIPPIE!!!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she threw up confetti into the air and showered everyone sitting in the table.
“Ugh, alright,” Rainbow Dash said, “so we’re in agreement. After school, all of us are going to check out the statute.”
Right then, the bell rang. Everyone in the cafeteria started throwing their trash away and started heading for their next classes. Rainbow Dash reminded the whole group. “Remember: Statute. After school.” Everyone gathered their things and went to their separate classes.
As the last bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, Fluttershy packed up her backpack, making sure to be careful of her critter friends, and headed for the statute. As she walked down the halls, whispering the occasional “excuse me” and “sorry” as she squeezed through the thick crowds of students, she thought for the umpteenth time about Oak.
She doesn’t know why she keeps thinking about him so much. It’s true that she’s worried for his safety, but Rarity’s words kept bouncing around in her head.
Is it because of some other reason that you care about him so much?
She shook it off. She was sure there was no other reason. She only just met him, he got sucked into the statute, end of story. And yet…
She still remembers how they first met, when he started to shed tears. She had felt bad for Oak. She didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, but she got shy like she always did when people approach her. Then she remembered Pinkie’s advice about how a hug can do a lot for a person going through a tough situation. So that what she did.
He was shocked at first at the embrace, Fluttershy knew because she could feel his heart beats quickening and his muscles tensing up. After a couple of seconds, he relaxed and returned the hug, and for a moment she felt… warmth. Protection. She felt the strength in his arms and for that moment, she felt right.
She felt loved.
It wasn’t like she wasn’t loved enough. Her friends all love her the same and her parents love her very much as well. It was just that this love felt different. Deep. There was no other way to describe it.
Maybe Rarity was right. Maybe there was another reason.
Before she even knew it, she was at the front entrance of the school, the statute in her sight. She could see her friends hanging around the back of the statute, probably waiting on her. Fluttershy took a deep breath. Well, here goes nothing.
“There you are Fluttershy!” Applejack said as the ever-so-timid teenager walked towards them. “We’ve been waiting just about forever for you! What took you so long?”
“Um, the hall was crowded.”
“Yeah, whatever”, Rainbow Dash said with a dismissive hand. “You’re here now, so let’s get on with it.”
The group crowded around the statue, studying it with great intensity, looking for anything that might suggest an entrance to another world. After a couple of minutes, Rarity let out a sigh and said to Fluttershy, “Are you positively sure this is where he went?”
“Yes, I’m quite sure”
“You know,” Rainbow Dash said, “why are we just looking at it? I’m gonna take a closer look.” The courageous girl took a step forward to the statute, but was stopped by Applejack. “Hold on, there. We still don’t know if it’s safe to go near it yet.”
“What are you talking about? It’s a statute. Really Applejack, how could it possibly hurt anyone?” And with that, she continued on.
She inspected the statute closely first before rubbing her hands on the smooth surface of the base. After she thoroughly checked the front side, she moved on to the other sides. Once she was done, she knocked on the hard surface. “Yup, solid. Nothing going through here.”
Fluttershy deflated a little. “Are you sure?”
Rainbow Dash must of saw the disappointment in her friend’s eyes, because she went over to Fluttershy to embrace her in a small hug. “Flutters, sorry you couldn’t help out Oak, but you shouldn't worry."
"She's right darling," Rarity said as she joined the hug. "As I said before, if he's where Twilight is, Oak will be alright."
"And we'll try to figure out how he got sucked in, so we can get him out of there as fast as we can, you hear?" Applejack said as she also joined the hug.
"And until we get him back, we'll try to cheer you up if you get sad. And when he does get back from wherever he was, I'll throw a big welcome-back-from-another-dimension party!" Pinkie Pie said happily as she also joined the much-too-big group hug.
Even though Fluttershy's still upset about not being able to bring Oak back, she's glad that she has friends like these that'll help her no matter what. She only hopes that Oak has found Twilight and is taken care of.
"It's already eight o'clock Red, where is he?"
Red let out a worried sigh. "I don't know Maple. Oak should've been back by four."
Red and Maple Wood are sitting on the couch in the living room. They have been sitting there since five, worried sick about the whereabouts of their son. They waited by the home phone, which was on a small table to the right of the couch. To the left of the couch, was another table with a lamp on it. As they were waiting for the phone call that might never come, they were watching the channel seven news.
"Red, I can't take the waiting anymore. I'm calling the police." Maple reached for the phone, but was stopped by Red. "The police can't help us. Not at least until twenty-four hours passes."
"But by then, he'll already be long gone Red!" Maple said hysterically.
"Calm down, Map-"
Maple quickly got up from the sofa. "I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!!!"
Red stared at his wife in shock as she took deep, agitated breaths and looked at her husband with pure fury. "How can you be calm when our son is missing! Do you even care, Red? Do you even care that our son may never return home? I have seen news reports about missing children and how sometimes they never get found all the time and I think, 'That will never happen to me. My son will never leave me! He'll never disappear into thin air, never to be seen again.' Well now it happened! and instead of doing something about it, we are on our asses not even lifting a finger! Don't you understand Red? HE COULD BE DEAD AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALL DOWN!!!"
She took a couple more labored breaths before Maple collapsed on the couch and started violently sobbing into her hands. Red stared at her sobbing figure before giving her a light hug around her shoulders. She cried for a couple more minutes before stopping. She raised her head up and looked at Red with red puffy eyes. "I'm sorry Red. It's just that I can't help but think he ran away because of us. He didn't want to move here, but we didn't care and we didn't listen. He wanted to stay with his friends, but we ignored him and told him he'll make new ones. We never listened to him, and now he's gone."
Red sat there silently as he listened to his wife’s mental afflictions and distress. Honestly, he doesn’t know what to do in this situation. Then again, how could he? How could he be prepared for the day when his son won’t come back home and his wife is becomes hysterical to a point where it becomes borderline madness?
Red gingerly embraced his wife again, worried that she might explode with rage again, but she accepted the hug. Maple never noticed how strong her husband’s arms were, probably due to his old job as a forest ranger. After the accident when a dead tree fell down and broke his leg, he was out of it for a while. He was worried that after the accident, he might never be able to work as a ranger again. She and Oak know how much Red loves his job. Every day, he’d talk about the fresh air and all the animals he saw, how happy he was that he has the greatest job in the world.
Of course, his worst fears was confirmed.
After the leg healed a few months later, the doctors said that he will no longer meet the physical requirements of a forest ranger. Red would have to work elsewhere in a less strenuous environment. Since he had graduated from high school, he was able to land a office job that paid handsomely well. Unfortunately, the location of the office was near the suburbs, which is why they had to move. Even though the job is utterly simple and required little to no effort, he hated every minute of it.
Every. Minute.
At least when he was a forest ranger, he got to do what he loved and got paid for it. Sure, most of the tasks he had to do were difficult, but in the end of the day, it was worth it. He used to get paid to do what he loved. Now he just gets paid. He’s a hollow shell of his former self, eaten away by loathing and self-pity. Reduced to nothing, he’s no longer a man.
But now he has to be strong. For Oak’s sake and Maple’s, he has to man up. He may have lost his job, but he’s not losing his son too.
Filled with new-found energy and purpose, Red quickly got up from his couch, surprising Maple. Red looked into her eyes and said, “Maple, I will not rest until Oak is safely back home. Do you understand me!”
Maple gawked at her husband, surprised by the sudden determination in his eyes. “Red…,” she murmured.
“I am the man of this house. It is my sole duty to protect my family, and if I can’t do that, then I’m not a man! I will get him back home, you hear me! First thing in the morning, I’m gonna call the police and look for Oak myself!” With that, he walked up the stairs to the bedroom.
Maple looked back at the T.V. It was still displaying the news, now showing the weather forecast for the week. Maple reached for the remote and turned the T.V off. She stared at the blank T.V and smiled. She hasn’t seen that flame of determination in a long time.
She turned her head to the window. This may be mother’s intuition, but she had a feeling that Oak will be just fine.
Celestia looked at the mirror as the events of the day unfolded. She watched as the parents cope with their lost son, as the five friends attempt to rescue a stranger. She walked away from the mirror and towards the exit. She sighed as she walked, a single thought plaguing her mind and will plague her mind from now on until Oak is returned to his world.
Am I doing the right thing?