The Tales of Old

Thousands of stars twinkled in the sky, as the moon watched from her pedestal in the night.

The moon shined her light upon the city of Manehatten, illuminating the artificially lit streets below. Hundreds of bright streetlights covered the black pavement with their electrically powered sunlight, and occasionally one would flicker like a candle.

The moon was visible to all, but only a few paid any heed to her beauty. But today, the moon seemed to shine upon a small apartment building, her light radiating through the small window of a young colt’s room.

A small bed stood proudly against the wall of the room, right next to the window as it took the brunt of the brightness. A large toy chest, hidden in the corner of the room seemed to avoid the growing moonlight, and one could almost swear they could hear a slight hissing coming from it. A large wardrobe stood to the side, it’s drawers pushed outward as a small fuzzy creature looked into it.

Midnight Blue looked through his drawers, a small dark blue hoof running across his muzzle. He picked up a small onesie from the drawer, and put it on. Once it was securely fastened on his body, he walked over to the toy chest, pulling it open to reveal a mound of various plushies, action figures, and other fun items. He pulled out a small teddy bear before hopping into his bed, seemingly oblivious to the moon’s light.

The only other light in the room came from the small gap between his barely ajar door and the wall. After several moments of silence, hoofbeats could be heard, and a pair of ponies walked through.

“Hey there Hun’, are you ready for bed?” His mother, Gleaming Pearl, asked, a small smile below her baggy eyes.

Midnight nodded, his own tired face stretching out with a yawn. His father, Gliding Storm, tiredly chuckled. Both stood by the bed, as Pearl slid the blanket over her child’s form. “Night Hun’, have sweet dreams.” The two began to walk out, but Midnight slowly began to rise.

“Umm, would you mind if I asked you for a bedtime story?” The two parents looked to each other, before Pearl rolled her eyes at her husband’s disappointed look. “Sure Hun’, what would you like to hear about?”

Midnight looked excitably to the two caretakers. “We talked about the harmony era today at school! They had magic and all sorts of cool stuff! Could you tell a story about that?”

The mare looked upwards, hoof in chin. “Huh, I may just have one.” She looked back to Midnight. “Have you ever heard the tale of the Siren and the Tree?”

The colt shook his head, and got himself comfortable. Storm sighed, leaning against the wall as he thought of soft beds and warm blankets. Pearl once again put her hoof up to her chin. “Okay, how did it go now? Ah, yes. Once upon a time…"

There was an elderly mare named Tree Hugger. She was a simple earth pony who longed to travel the world. Her entire village had to move into the woods, because the war between the pegasai and the unicorns had begun to-

“Hey, wait a minute, there weren’t any tribe wars in the harmony era!” Midnight Blue pouted. “Why does there have to be any fighting?”

Gleaming Pearl smiled. “I know, this is currently in the pre-Celestian era, but don’t worry, this ties into the harmony era.” Midnight settled back into his bed once more, ears perked.

So, since the war was beginning creep into the earth pony lands, this village moved into the woods to avoid being caught in the crossfire. This was a large patch of woods they went into, with massive amounts of trees and countless numbers of creatures making their homes within it. The woods also had a large number of streams and rivers passing through it, giving every creature its fair share of its cool waters.

One day, Tree Hugger grew tired of just sitting around waiting for the sound of spells firing and the clash of steel. So she decided to take a walk through the woods. She passed tree after tree, stream after stream, moving through the woods at her own pace. Eventually, she came across the entrance to a cave, blocked off by vines, right by a wonderful waterfall.

Once she entered, she couldn’t believe her eyes! It was a beautiful sanctuary, with a massive river flowing through it. Countless numbers of flowers grew on the cave walls, with colors that seemed to create a natural mosaic. She sat silently at the entrance, too filled with awe to move. But then, she began to hear an odd noise, one that she did not expect to find so far out in the woods. Singing!

She looked throughout the small cave, going from end to end, before looking around outside of the cave’s entrance. When she couldn’t find the source, she simply walked back to the river, and was surprised to hear that the odd song grew louder the closer she got. She sat right at the bank of the river and listened to the beautiful song. Even though it had no discernable words, the song was so beautiful that it brought a tear to the mare’s eye.

She continued to sit by the river, alternating between slowly dancing with the music and simply sitting in silence, allowing it’s sweet harmonies to cascade throughout her body.

Unfortunately, she eventually had to leave, with the sun beginning to set, and the sound of her foals and husband calling her back. She dearly wished to stay, but knew she had to return. As she left, she quietly hummed the tune of the song to herself.

Once she had heard the music, she fell desperately in love with it. Every day, she would take the trek into the woods, just so she could sit by the river and listen to it’s wondrous song. With every visit, she would hum the rivers tune to herself, and with every visit that hum grew louder, until it began to form the full song. But, everyday she would have to go back to her family, and she would look back to the river with a disappointed look. This whole cycle continued onward for almost five years, until something terrible happened.

The war between the pegasai and the unicorns grew in intensity, and both sides grew desperate, hiring and forcing earth ponies to join their side. Countless battles raged across the countryside, ravaging the landscape and burning crops. Eventually, a battle began just outside the villager’s encampment, and they were forced to move even further into the woods. They moved through the woods, passing the cave, and going straight out the other side.

Once they passed through the woods, they came across a massive clearing, capable of providing enough space for Manehatten itself without needing any trees cut down. The village was completely surrounded on all sides by the thick woods, and they had plenty of food and resources on hoof to start their village anew. Every hoof was needed in constructing the new cottages and wooden walls. The old mare was caught up in the mess, providing a helping hoof for the new town.

Eventually, the town grew large enough to be considered a city. Once the war was over, countless numbers of ponies came to the thriving city, and eventually the princesses themselves made their first castle there. But, as time went on, and the mare grew older and older, she began to lose the strength to even attempt to go back to the river. And one day, she woke up, knowing that within a week she would be dead.

So, she packed a few supplies into a satchel, grabbed what she needed and shedding the rest, and began her final trek out into the woods, one destination in mind. It took her many days and nights, and she risked being killed by many of the fearsome creatures lurking within the dark woods. But she knew the way, and she knew an old technique taught to her by her grandmother that could be used to scare away predators.

After almost six days, she finally made it to the cave entrance. After moving the thick layer of vines away, she was graced with a sight she thought she would never see again. The river. For almost thirty years had passed since she had stopped her daily treks out to it, and know she planned on dying by the rivers side, listening to its tune.

She shucked all of her supplies, placing them in the corner of the long cave. She laid nearby the river, and began to sing the song that she learned from it. For an untold number of hours she laid there, simply singing to herself. But something happened, causing Tree Hugger to look up from her spot. Before her, lying in the water was a large siren, whose scales seemed to shine like the sun.

“Who are you? I have been to this river many a time, and yet, I have not once seen a creature such as you.”

The siren spoke, and the old mare began to tear up at the sheer beauty of its voice. “Hmm, quite a curiosity, considering the fact that I have been here for quite a long time. I have been singing in this river for the past hundred years.”

The old mare was shocked. “But, if you have been singing in this river, then you must be the one I have been hearing ever since I first arrived here!”

The siren nodded. “Indeed, I remember how you came up to the river, singing the same tune as I. If I may be so bold to ask, why did you stop coming back to my waters for so long?”

The mare told her of the war held between the two tribes, and how Tree Hugger and her village had to move throughout the massive woods in order to escape it, as well as her failing and weakening body unable to make the long trip back. The siren listened to all of this with a small smile upon her face.

“Ah, so you came back to this river to die beside it. A shame. I would have loved it if you could continue to come by here, continuing to sing my song.”

The old mare chuckled. “Well, we all die at one point or another; I just found it fitting that I would die by my favorite river.”

The siren nodded, seemingly thinking of something else, as she looked at the wall behind the old mare. Finally, the siren's eyes focused once more, and her smile deepened.

“Say, I just remembered a way you could be with the river without worry of death. You could continue to stay in this cave, continue to sing to the river. I have the magic to do so after all.”

The elderly pony looked at the siren with wide eyes. “You would do that, grant an old mare the capability to live longer just to be by your river?”

The siren nodded, her smile turning into a grin as she held out a hoof. “Yes, and all you have to do is step forward, and climb into the water with me.”

Tree Hugger looked to her hoof, to the river, to the cave entrance, and back to the siren’s outstretched hoof. And finally, she nodded, and grabbed it in her own, allowing the siren to help her to her hooves as the siren’s grin widened. The siren began to sing her old song as she led the old mare to the water’s edge. The old mare suddenly slipped, and fell into the water, her form quickly disappearing in the shallow river.

“Yes! HAHAHA! I am finally FREE!” The siren jumped out of the water, and she used her magic to transform her dolphin-like tail into pony-like back hooves. She laughed, testing out her new legs as she bounded about in joy.

“Umm, hello? What happened? I can’t see anything!” The old mare’s voice rang out from the water, seemingly coming from all of it. “Siren? Are you there? Did something go wrong?”

The siren chuckled darkly. “Oh, everything went perfectly! Well, for me at least! When you fell into the water, your physical body completely disappeared, forcing your soul and mind to find something physical to latch on to. And since the water was right there…”

The old mare was shocked. “But... why?”

The siren rolled her hoof. “I’ve been water bound for hundreds of years, forced to follow the slowly shrinking streams and rivers of this accursed wood. I lacked the magic to travel on land, and if I attempted to, well the phrase ‘a fish out of water’ became quite literal. But, since you came around, and since your new body has no use for earth pony magic, I simply took it.”

The siren stretched her back legs, happily sighing. “Welp, a deals a deal! You get to be singing with the river again! I happen to have a date with your old village, so, ta-ta!”

The old mare turned river could do nothing but listen as the siren grabbed her old bag and listen to the slowly fading sound of hooves on dirt, and once they were gone, she simply began to sob.

For countless centuries she remained in her fluid form, her old voice slowly beginning to turn young again as time went on. Eventually, she began to sing the song she learned from the siren, calming herself with its clear melody.

One day, as she continued to sing her song, she heard the sound of hooves on dirt, and she called out like she had done so many times before. Occasionally, a pony will enter her cave to get out of the rain, or simply to camp for the night. But, every time she would speak, they didn’t seem to hear her emotional pleas, nor did they seem to hear her song. The only time she had any reaction was with a small group of colts, with one of them complaining that the cave was too ‘windy’.

She knew that it was a pointless endeavor to call for help, but she did so anyway, if only to appease her mind.

“And what do we have here, is that a cry for help reaching my ear?”

The river gasped. The thought that somepony could actually hear her brought her a small portion of hope, but she had to be sure. “C-can you hear me?”

The oddly accented voice spoke once more. “I can hear you my dear. With your panicked talk, are you injured as I fear?”

The river choked back a sob. “No I-I’m not injured at all. I am the river. You are the first pony to hear me call for help.”

The voice sounded perplexed. “The river, you say? However did you get this way?”

The river calmed herself down, before beginning her explanation. She told the voice about how she found the river when her village ran from war. She told about how she went to the river every day, but had to leave when threats of war grew. She told about how in her last dying days she came back to the river, and how she was tricked by a siren into becoming the very river itself.

Once she told all of this, the voice remained silent for a while, and she feared whoever it was left her.

“Hmm, quite the predicament you are in, all started from a false win. But, I believe that whatever spell has caused you to sink, has a solution closer than you think.”

The river was confused. “But I’ve tried everything! Nothing has worked in the slightest.”

“Oh? Are you certain of such a statement? Because I find that the solution is quite blatant. After all, you have been using the solution for so long a time, water could turn into wine.”

The river became even more confused. “What do you mean? There is no way I could have been using the solution all this time, and even if I was, then shouldn’t I have been a pony by now?”

“The magic that has incased you within this river was similar to a unicorn’s spell and any similar kin. To use magic, one must use their intention that dwells within.”

“But I don’t even know the spell that got me sealed in here! Are you telling me to simply intend to turn myself into a pony? Because I’ve been doing that ever since I became a literal river!”

The river groaned. “Oh, I’m going to be stuck like this forever at this rate!”

“You misunderstand me my dear, please, get rid of your fear. In order to remove yourself of the siren’s magical intervention, you must know both spell AND intention.”

The river sighed. “But, like I’ve said already, I don’t know the spell! How will I get out of this mess if I don’t know it?”

“Well, that is the beauty of this whole ordeal, for you have used the spell before, I feel."

"But, where have I..." Suddenly, the river remembered how the siren sang her old tune before she became a river, as well as how captivated she was when she first heard it.

"The song... you don't think that the song the siren sang was..."

The river could practically feel the elation radiating from the mysterious voice. “It seems you didn't require my intervention! Now, try using both spell and intention!”

The river calmed herself, drawing energy into her waters. She felt every tug and pull of the water’s minuscule waves, and felt every time that her fluid-like body crashed against the stone and dirt. She imagined herself as a pony once more, and raised her invisible head high into the air. Once she felt everything was in order, she began to sing.

The soft, soothing voice of the river started as a whisper, moving and swaying against the walls of the cave like a churning wind. The low baritone notes soon began to increase in pitch, slowly becoming the high notes of a soprano.

The entire cave seemed to vibrate, the very walls singing along. The vines covering the entrance seemed to dance about, and even the small patches of glowing mushrooms splattered about added to the cacophony.

The water began to calm its small chaotic waves, before beginning to form almost perfect arches of water that seemed to follow it’s own physics. The notes sung became higher and higher, the entire cavernous orchestra growing in intensity. The mysterious voice could also be heard, singing along with the very water itself.

The song hit a final high note, before an odd crack was heard, and all became silent. The river gasped, eyes shooting open, looking wildly around. Her eyes finally landed on her body, and tears welled within her eyes.

She looked upward, noting that the voice she heard earlier came from a striped pony, if she could be called that. She also noted the massive bags upon the odd pony’s back, seemingly filled to the brim with untold objects. The pony helped a wobbly Tree Hugger to her hooves, steadying her.

Tree Hugger spent a few moments balancing herself, before looking to the striped pony once more. Her already wet eyes overflowed and she hugged the pony who managed to turn her back into her old self, after being stuck as a river for countless centuries.

After some proper introductions, Tree Hugger, and Zecora the zebra trekked back to Zecora’s hastily made hut within a large, hollowed out tree. There, for the next few years, Zecora told Tree Hugger of the zebra’s homeland, their traditions, their magic, and their spirituality. She taught Tree Hugger how to use her beautiful voice for the benefit of all, and how to see the world through an open mind.

After some time, Tree Hugger went on her way, traveling about Equestria. She eventually met up with Fluttershy, one of the element’s of harmony, and became an important teacher and guide to her during the harmony era.

Gleaming Pearl happily sighed, looking to Midnight Blue. “And that’s the story of the Siren and the Tree Hugger.”

Midnight Blue blinked. “That’s it? Is there any more to it?”

Gleaming shook her head, chuckling. “I’m afraid that’s as much as I can remember, although I am certain there’s more to this story. There should be a few books down at the library we can check out in the morning.” Midnight pouted, causing Gleaming to chuckle once more.

She looked to Storm, only to blink when she couldn’t find him. She sighed when she saw him curled up in a ball near the bed, lightly snoring. She was about to wake him up, before she remembered something. “Oh! I almost forgot to talk about the lesson of the story!”

Gleaming turned towards Midnight once more. “So, can you figure out what the lesson in that story was?”

Midnight blinked, before a hoof came up to his chin. “Uhh, is it to… never trust a siren?”

Gleaming shook her head, a small smile on her face. “Nope, that’s not it. Do you want me to tell you?” When Midnight nodded, she cleared her throat.

“The lesson of the story is that the solution to your problems is usually closer than you think.”

Gleaming pearl stopped, looking confused for a moment. “Wait was that… Oh, whatever. I’ll grab one of the storybooks over in the library later tomorrow. And sorry for my terrible memory, my mother told me this story from the top of her head just like her mother did, so I’m bound to have made a mistake somewhere.”

Gleaming trotted over to Storm, poking him awake. Once he was on his hooves, she slid up to the side of Midnight’s bed, tucking him in. “Night Hun’. Hope you have sweet dreams.”

Gliding Storm muttered something tiredly, before trotting out of the room with Gleaming. Gleaming Pearl carefully closed the door, turning off the hall light.

Midnight Blue slowly settled himself into his blanket, letting the story play through once more in his mind. He was a tad upset that he couldn’t ask any questions. Questions like: How did Tree Hugger live for so long after her second transformation, even though she was dying before the first? And how could she have transformed into a pony once more, even though the siren took her earth pony magic?

He sighed, knowing that such questions could wait until morning. He slowly let sleep take him, his eyes closing as he began to fall asleep.

Somewhere outside, the sounds of somepony singing could be heard, and Midnight began to dream of caves, sirens, and rivers.

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