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// Wishing a Wish to be Well 
// Story: Tales of Another Ponyville 
// by Paradise Oasis 
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"I wish for more Socks!" 

"I wish for a dashing new outfit, dahling!" 

"I wish for, like, a totally new surfboard, dude!" 

The wishes of the ponies of Ponyville... they reach my ears, from all the ponies who come to my well and toss a coin in. These ponies ask for everything their little hearts desire... a new pair of shoes, a new dress, a teddy bear for their friend. Mares, stallions, fillies and colts alike will come trotting up, and ask for anything and everything you can possibly think of. I am in no position to grant those wishes, though, all I can do is sit on the edge of my well, and listen. Not that the ponies who come to wish can see or hear me, anyway. 

"I wish for a new notebook for school!" 

"I wish I could win the next motor scooter race!"

My name is Princess Crystal Crown, and I was the youngest daughter of the Princess of Friendship- and her only earth pony child- back in the age of harmony centuries ago. Back then, I loved spending all of my time staring deep into this well, gazing down into the water, and making wishes of my own. But one of the things I wished for was the same stallion one of my older sisters also wished for, and a few well-paid pony thugs clubbed me over the head one day, and threw me into my beloved wishing well with a stone tied around my neck, and I sank deep into the waters. Nopony ever knew what became of me. 

"I wish for a dolly for Christmas!"

"I wish I could learn a new dance step!"

Now, my spirit is bound to the well. Wishes made to it are wishes made to me. If a unicorn with magic sensitivity were to come by, she'd see me as I actually am; a blue earth mare with a white mane and tail, and a pink heart cutie mark with a crown in front of it. Nopony has seen or noticed me in centuries, they just come and talk into the well. I have no choice but to listen to my visitors, but at least it gives me something to do. I do find it amusing about some of the odd and downright bizarre things ponies wish for, no matter how odd or trivial.

"I wish they'd start publishing daring do books again, so I'd have something new to read!"

"I wish my friends Star Light and Heart bright could fly!"

"I wish I could visit unicornia!"

These requests feel the oddest to grant, even if I actually could. They seem like things that these ponies could achieve in regular life if they chose to really work to get what they wanted. I mean, why just sit around and wish for something, when you could just go out and get it? Other wishes come off as well meaning, but still seem like things that could be achieved with a little bit more effort. I mean sure, some of these things might be a bit more difficult, but certainly easier than getting your old life back when you're already dead, right? 

"I wish I could win the spelling bee in Miss Teacher's class!"

"I wish I could have a cute little breezie for a pet, so I didn't feel so lonely!" 

But there are some that are just heartbreaking, some I wish with all of my heart that I had the power to grant. Ones that hurt me to the very core as a pony, and I wish I had actually been there as a princess to stop these terrible things from happening. I just can't stand to see these poor ponies suffer, and I wish I could become solid again, just for a moment, so I could give them a hug and tell them everything will be all right!

"I wish mommy would stop hitting me so hard..."

"I wish I weren't such a sick filly all the time..." 

"I wish daddy hadn't fallen off the house roof, he hasn't woken up since..."

Of course, it's been a really long time since anypony- or anyone, as modern ponies say these days- has come to my well to make a wish. A pony named Skywishes handles almost all the wishing in Ponyville now, and the only thing my well is used for these days is drawing water out with the bucket when they are thirsty. Still, I can hear conversations around the well when ponies are getting a drink, and I'm happy to hear things have improved here in Ponyville in more recent generations. My mother and her friends would be proud with how well these ponies have lived up to the ideals of friendship. 

But recently, a few wishers have started coming by again.

"I wish I could show up Fiesta and get all the birthday parties back..."

"I wish the ghosts would stop scaring me..."

"I wish they would find my mommy, so I wouldn't have to be princess of Ponyville anymore..."

The last one finally caught my attention. You poor little child... I would be happy to take that burden off of your shoulders. But there is nothing left of me but this spirit of the wishing well, and all I can do is watch in sadness. But I sense something is terribly wrong in Ponyville, the shades of my time have begun to rise, and I have seen them floating around the town. I have tried to talk to these wraiths that resemble my mother and her friends, but they simply fly by and do not acknowledge me. These shades are not true spirits like myself, but are something far, far worse.

For the first time, I truly fear for Ponyville, and all of the ponies who call this town home.