The Spirits of Forest and Tree

by Never2muchpinkie

Chapter 3: Getting the gang back together

Twilight was lying on her bed, a frown upon her face. Following the mare’s disappearance all of them had just sorta split apart. She had tried to reassure them that it was all fake, but she hadn’t been able to convince them. What was most troubling to her was that, in a way, one of her predictions was already coming true: the one for her. Her friends were all miserable. Pinkie Pie was a critical element in the town’s happiness. She had seen that during the whole cutie mark switch fiasco. And in the end, as a princess and living in Ponyville, she had a responsibility to both her friends and her town.

Could it really be true? Could she actually be stripped of her title as a result of failing her friends? It certainly seemed that way at the moment. She had been the one who hadn’t just stuck to her guns and refused to play along with that fortuneteller. All the same, there was something off about her. She had forced her powers on unwilling ponies who hadn’t agreed. What was her game? And what was all this talk of a new world?

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a plate of milk and cookies on a tray in front of her. Spike looked over at her awkwardly. “I… I thought you might like something to cheer you up. You’ve just been sitting there looking miserable for the past twenty minutes.” He crawled up onto the bed. “What’s going on, Twilight?”

Twilight sighed, giving Spike a quick hug. “Thanks, Spike. I needed that.”

He smiled. “No problem.”

“Let me ask you something, Spike. Do you believe that the future can be changed?”

Spike’s face clenched in thought for a bit. “I don’t think so. You remember that whole thing where you went on a panic when Future Twilight came to warn you not to worry about the future but she wasn’t able to get the whole message to you in time? You spent the whole week trying to avoid a disaster, only to find out there was never a disaster coming in the first place. Then you tried to go back in time and tell yourself that, only to fail to do so. Both as Present Twilight and as Future Twilight the same events happened.”

“Hmmm. You’re right. If the future is set then it means that no matter what I do it won’t change what’s already set in stone.” Her face lit up. “Spike, you’re a genius!”

“I am?”

“Yes! I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia right now. If I can prove even one of her predictions as entirely false then it means her entire scheme will fall apart.”

“What predictions? What are you talking about?”

“I’ll tell you later. This has to be done now.”

“Alright, then.” He hopped off the bed and left the room, returning shortly with a piece of parchment and a quill. “Ready when you are.”

“Dear Princess Celestia… I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, have a serious situation on my hooves. I believe Ponyville may be in danger. I am not free to give details at the moment, but for the time being I am hereby resigning as princess.”

Spike stopped writing, not sure he had heard that correctly. “Come again?”

“Write it, Spike. I am abdicating my role as princess. Once you send it I’m going to head out.”

He finished writing down the words before blowing his magical fire on it to send it to the princess. “So what’s all this about?”

“We met a mare who was a fortuneteller. She claimed to be able to see the future of other pony’s misfortunes. She predicted a lot of terrible things for my friends. That Rainbow Dash would lose her wings in a flying accident, that Fluttershy would accidently kill Angel Bunny by feeding him a poisoned carrot, and I myself was told that I would fail as a princess and Celestia would officially abolish me for failing to keep the town happy and healthy.

“The vision she showed me can only come to pass if I am indeed a princess. If I quit right now that means it is completely, one hundred percent impossible for her vision to go the way it was presented, and thus that I have either changed the future, or her power wasn’t real to begin with.”

“I get it. If you can prove either of those things then it means they don’t have to be scared of the predictions, because either it was fake and won’t happen, or that it doesn’t have to happen exactly the way it was shown.”

“Right! I should go now.”

“What about your snack?”

Twilight let out a little snicker. “Fine.” She picked up a cookie and ate it before downing some milk. “Mmm. These are good as usual. If you were a pony I’m sure you’d get a cookie making cutie mark.”

“Why, thank you. I do have a few talents.”

“I’d love to sample some more, but I need to cheer my friends up first. I won’t let that future come to pass for any of them. I swear it on my title of… um…” Twilight laughed again. “Right. Not a princess. I swear it on my duty as a good friend.”

With that she flew out the window.

Fluttershy was walking around with a heavy heart. She had taken the longest route possible to get to her house. Now that she was here she wished she had never arrived. She felt like she was having trouble breathing. She thought she couldn’t feel worse, but as she opened the door she saw her little Angel hopping towards her. She let out a heavy breath, trying not to cry.

Angel could see Fluttershy looked upset, but he couldn’t understand why. Chattering in his bunny way he asked her what was wrong. She lay down on the ground and just began sobbing, which really troubled him. He and Fluttershy had their disagreements and he knew he could be stubborn sometimes, but he really did love his master. He hopped over to her and put a comforting paw over her, trying to wipe away her tears.

Fluttershy grabbed Angel, giving him a strong hug. “I love you, Angel Bunny,” she sputtered out. “I love you so much.” Standing up she carried him outside, and placed him in a cage. She heard his chittering protests, asking her what was going on. “It’s… it’s because I love you so much that I’ll never let that happen to you. I don’t ever want to hurt you.”

Angel strained to get out of the cage as they walked, not understanding what was going on. She had never put him in a cage before.

Soon enough they reached Ponyville Market. She slowed down her pace as she saw the pony she was looking for. He was someone that sold pets. She strained to keep her voice steady as started talking to him. “Excuse me, sir?”

“Yes?” he replied, a big grin on his face. “Can I interest you in a pet today? Cat, dog, bird… I’ve got it all.”

“Do you accept… donations?” She looked down towards the cage, and couldn’t suppress a shuddering breath. Her heart was beginning to race and she felt like she was going to start sobbing again.

“Hey, now. I understand. Sometimes the responsibility of owning a pet can become overwhelming. But I assure you I’ll take excellent care of your little bunny.”

Angel’s eyes went wide, disbelieving what Fluttershy was saying. She was going to sell him? Why would she do that? This had to be a mistake…or a joke. She…she…

He began slamming into the edges of the cages, going crazy as he tried to get out.

Fluttershy closed her eyes tight as she placed the cage on the counter. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” Tears began running down her eyes. “I don’t want to do this, but it’s for your own safety.” She began walking away without turning back. She knew if she did she might change her mind, and thus doom Angel to death.

Angel cried out to her, one of his paws coming out of the cage and waving frantically.

“Fluttershy!” came a sudden voice from above.

“T-Twilight,” said Fluttershy, wiping away a few of her tears. “What are you doing here?”

“Stopping you from making a huge mistake.” Using her magic she opened the cage, to Angel’s great relief. He hopped over to her and snuggled into her mane, giving Fluttershy a glare.

“Twilight, what are you doing? This has to be done!”

“No, it doesn’t! Her power is a fake.”

“That’s what you keep saying, but how do you know that?”

“Because I’ve already proven it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain in a moment.” Levitating Angel in front of her she said, “Don’t be upset with her, Angel Bunny. She was told that something very bad would happen to both you and her if she kept you. A fortuneteller said that she would feed you a poisoned carrot on accident and you would die, and that ponies would think she did it on purpose and call her an animal killer. She was only trying to protect you. She wasn’t trying to abandon you. Can you forgive her?” She levitated him in front of Fluttershy.

He avoided her eyes for a bit, then moved his paws toward her.

Fluttershy picked him up, beginning to cry again, but without the sadness that had threatened to crush her. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I love you. I didn’t want to see you hurt.” Looking up to Twilight she asked, “So what do you mean that you proved it?”

“I resigned my role as princess.”

Fluttershy gasped. “You WHAT?”

“Talking with Spike, he reminded me of the incident where I was visited by my future self. I saw from when I later went back in time that my conversation went exactly as it had in the past and the future. Thus, the future is set and cannot be changed. If I quit as a princess then it only follows that Princess Celestia cannot possibly fire me from the position. Thus, it means her power cannot truly see the future.”

“I… I guess you’re right. That means Angel will be safe. I love all of my animals, but I love Angel the most.” Angel let out a little happy squeal, holding tighter to her. “Losing one of my animals due to my own carelessness is my biggest fear.”

“For now let’s just find the rest of our friends. We can’t just leave things as they are.”

They headed over to Carousel Boutique next. They saw Rarity was trying to create a dress, but she kept pausing, and double-checking things. She was really doubting her skill.

“Rarity,” called out Fluttershy.

She looked up from her work, a heavy look on her face. “Yes, girls? I’m… I’m trying to create. But what if I mess up and never get another client again? My reputation will be ruined if I screw up any important orders. I live my life trying to improve the fashion scene and do my best. I can’t afford even a single screw up or I might never get a second chance. Fashion means too much to me to lose it. It’s my biggest fear.”

“Hmmm,” Twilight mumbled thoughtfully, an eyebrow going up. “Aha!” she called out, stars twinkling in her eyes. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?” asked Rarity.

“I get it now!” she said smugly. “That’s what she was aiming for.”

“What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy.

“The both of you said the same thing, and those are the key words. 'Biggest fear.' What she showed us in those 'visions of the future' was nothing more than the biggest fears in our hearts. Rainbow Dash loves flying more than anything, so losing her wings would be her greatest fear. Applejack loves her family more than anything, so being responsible in some way for the death of one is her biggest fear. Rarity, you and Pinkie Pie pride yourselves on being the best at your pursuits, so messing up or having someone upstage you at it are your biggest fears. Fluttershy loves taking care of animals, and so like Applejack would hate to be in some way responsible for one getting hurt or killed. And as for me, that vision showed a combination of fears: of disappointing Princess Celestia, letting down my friends and the town, and losing my title due to ineptitude.

“What makes all of these fears so devastating is the fact that they’re suppressed in our daily lives. We all know that the possibility of mistakes is there, no matter how much time passes. I can’t ever say I’ll never make a big mistake that will lead to me getting fired in the future, or that Rainbow Dash won’t get into some kind of flying accident that will cause her to be crippled in her ability to fly. That’s why everyone is taking this so hard, and why they believed in her power.”

“So… you’re saying it’s a big sham?” asked Rarity.

“Exactly.”

“Twilight resigned as princess,” said Fluttershy. “She wanted to prove her power was fake.”

“I see.” Rarity let out a deep breath. “Well, this changes everything. It’s no longer a certainty, but only a possibility. Let’s go share the good news.”

“Right!” Twilight nodded in agreement.

The three of them left Carousel Boutique and headed to Sugarcube Corner, and convinced Pinkie Pie.

They found Rainbow Dash after a good amount of searching. She was flying up in the air and seemed to be constantly looking up into the sky to make sure nothing was going to fall down on her. She got pretty ticked when she was told the truth of the matter. She couldn’t believe she had fell into the hype and believed that fake.

When the five of them arrived at Sweet Apple Acres they found a crying Apple Bloom inside. Big Mac was trying to reassure her.

“What’s wrong, Apple Bloom?” asked Twilight.

She turned to the five of them, saying, “A-Applejack said she ain’t coming back. She’s too afraid of hurting me. She said she’s going to move back into Manehatten with her aunt and uncle. I tried to get her to stay, b-b-but she wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom. We’ll get her back. We found out that her power is fake.”

“Oh, that’s good. Please bring my sister back to me.”

“We will.”

They all rushed to the Ponyville train station. They found Applejack standing there, her head down and looking thoroughly miserable.

Twilight explained what she had found out, but Applejack wasn’t moved.

“It doesn’t matter, Twilight,” said Applejack. “Even if her power is only to see into our memories and pull out what we’re most afraid of it doesn’t change anything.”

“Yes, it does. It changes everything! It goes from being a certainty to only a possibility, and that distinction is everything.”

“Just save it, Twilight. I’m leavin’. I won’t break my promise to my parents.”

A train pulled into the station, the doors opening.

“Applejack… we need you. I didn’t know that you could be such a coward.”

Applejack stopped walking, turning her head around and looking mad. “Don’t act like ya know how I feel.”

“You think by leaving you’ll be protecting Apple Bloom? If you promised your parents that you’d care for her then you’ll be breaking that promise by saying you won’t return. She’s already devastated and heartbroken back at the farm. The fact is that accidents happen, and there’s nothing we can do about that except apologize. If you want to run away from your problems then go ahead. We can’t stop you. But it’s completely unworthy of your title of most dependable of ponies. You’ll be leaving both your sister and your friends behind, both of whom need you. Can you honestly say that you can live with that for the rest of your life?”

A loudspeaker called out, “Final boarding for Manehatten. Repeat, final boarding for Manehatten.”

Applejack looked towards the train, then back to her friends, then back at the train. She let out a sigh, turning around. “There’s one more train for Manehatten today. If ya kin absolutely prove ta me her power is fake then I’ll stay. Otherwise, I’m going to leave on the next train, which is two hours from now.”

“Fine then.”

“So what’s next?” asked Applejack as the train pulled away and they started walking through town.

“We have to find that fraud. She’s the one with the answers.”

A familiar cackling laugh assaulted them. “No need to go searching. I’m right here.” The old fortuneteller appeared in front of them, a smug smile on her face.