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1. What More Is Out There.2,164 words
2. Soar Like An Eagle3,928 words
3. Time To Come Together4,864 words
4. Never, Never, Never Give Up5,604 words
5. Some Other Woods Pt. 14,812 words
5. Some Other Woods Pt. 26,535 words
6. Stylish & I Know It Pt. 15,362 words
6. Stylish & I Know It Pt. 28,784 words
7. Home On The Acres7,012 words
8. Come On, Irene8,391 words
9. I Want Cupcakes7,654 words

5. Some Other Woods Pt. 2

Welcome To Canterlot High
Short Stories!

5. Some Other Woods Pt.2

With the threat of Canterlot Park's forest at risk of being torn down, Henry and Fluttershy had been working to ensure this doesn't happen. They spent a good portion of the day before planning and setting up a fundraiser to support the wildlife by expanding the Animal Rescue Center or preserve the forest all together. They made fliers to put up around town, organized an online crowdfunding, and uploaded a PSA video to the internet.

While working to save the forest, Henry was going through his own crisis. It was discovered he could tap into Fluttershy's magical Geode Crystal and talk back to various animals. Henry, to say the least, wasn't crazy about this discovery. So, he asked Fluttershy if she could keep her Crystal away from him to avoid hearing animals speaking back, under the condition that he'd let his friends from Sodor know about this revelation.

[Thursday Afternoon]

That morning, the gang from Sodor and Canterlot High all met by the school entrance, standing and sitting on the front door steps. They were mostly talking about what they each did the day before. Then Fluttershy brought up what's being done to Canterlot's forest, much to their concern, and support of their goal.

"Any way we can help at all, Fluttershy," Twilight suggested, "We'll be happy to pitch in."

Everyone happily agreed.

"Um, Henry and I were going to post fliers around school," Fluttershy said, shyly holding a stack in her arms. "We've already covered the park and half of town. I don't suppose, you wouldn't mind putting some up too?"

"Well of course, darling," Rarity said. "We simply must spread the word of this horrid tragedy. The poor animals need a home and we're not gonna let those hard hats deprive them of such."

"We'll Take Some Too!" Pinkie Pie said. "That Way Percy And I Can Hang Them Up At The Mall."

Fluttershy felt very grateful. "Oh. Thank you so much, everyone."

Meanwhile, Henry was standing by when Hubert and Reginald flew over him.

"Oh, hello, you two," He said.

The two birds chirped to Henry, who held his hand to his ear to test if he can still understand them. He couldn't, however, which made him breathe a sigh of relief. Fluttershy heard her friends chirping and turned to see Henry, almost disappointed in him for just blissfully listening to Hubert and Reginald tweeting away without knowing what they're saying. The two birds look at each other, noticing Henry wasn't responding to their appeal, and started chirping the same message again.

"We're doing everything we can," He said, proudly. "You won't have to worry about a thing."

Eyes lidded, Hubert & Reginald then flew over to Fluttershy and repeated the same message. She had left her necklace at home, so even Fluttershy couldn't quite understand them. Just then, Constance showed up with Fluttershy's Geode necklace in beak. Noticing the necklace to her surprise, she then nervously looked over to Henry, just as nervous as she was. If it was an emergency, then she had to speak to them despite what she promised.

Fluttershy sighed. Hoping Henry was just as true to his word, she took her necklace and puts it back around her neck while Henry walked away from a now upset Fluttershy. She didn't like him not wanting to be around so long as she wore her necklace.

Trying not to let it get to her, she listened in on what the three birds relayed then gasped in shock.

"Oh, my!" She said. "They've already began?"

The three birds tweeted again.

"Well, I'm sure by the time people hear about our fundraiser, we'll raise enough to stop it on time."

She continued talking to Hubert and Reginald. Henry could mostly hear the conversation, but did everything he could not to.

"Goodness. How many?"

Fluttershy listened intently until the next few tweets made her inhale.

"You can't do that! You'll get hurt!" She said, concerned. "I know you're all scared, but we can't just get in their way. We have a plan to save the forest. Until then, stay away from Filthy Rich and his monsters-I mean construction vehicles. Okay?"

They tweeted sadly in agreement. There was no way to convince Fluttershy of their request.

All the while, Henry paced back and forth with his ears covered, trying to drown out their conversation and keeping his whimpering silent. He stopped for a moment and saw that the Girls and Engines were giving him perplexed faces. Looking back with widened eyes, Henry then rubbed the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly. It was by gathering his friend's reaction to Henry's unusual behavior that Fluttershy suspected Henry didn't hold up their end of the promise.

After school, Henry and Fluttershy went around town handing out fliers to people walking down a busy street market. Fluttershy still wore her necklace. And with it back around her neck, Henry could hear animals speaking back to him as well. This only added to his discomfort when a raccoon family approached him. They asked Henry if he could join them and the other woodland animals in Canterlot's forest for the big gathering Hubert and Reginald told Fluttershy about. Henry heard their plan, but tried paying no attention. Fluttershy noticed this and looked concern. He was trying really hard not to listen or freak out. Eventually, he couldn't drown out their chatter and stiffly walked away to another side walk. The raccoon family shrugged while all Fluttershy did was stand, not knowing what to do.

Later on, Henry and Fluttershy joined Percy at the Sweet Snakes Café. While waiting at a booth, Percy asked about the fundraiser after looking over the flier, to which Henry and Fluttershy shook their heads in disappointment. Next to nobody accepted their fliers, and they've only been able spread some awareness on social media while gaining only a quarter of what they need for funding. Pinkie Pie dropped off their meals and the three friends dug into their food. As Henry goes to eat his meal, he sees from the corner of his eyes a moose and bear glaring and snorting air on the glass from outside their window. Henry got up and shouted, alerting Percy, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and everyone in the café. A red-faced Henry sat back down while grinning with embarrassment, then shied away when Fluttershy tried comforting him.

The two friends were walking down a sidewalk when they run into Rainbow Dash and Gordon. As they stood and talked, Henry felt something tugging his pants. He looked to see two chipmunks, ferrets, and rabbits pulling on the back sleeve of his green pants. It only got worse. Three birds grabbed the collar of his green denim jacket and tried yanking him backwards. Over hearing this, Fluttershy, as well as a confused Gordon and Rainbow Dash, look over and stared at Henry. Having enough of hearing the animals harassing him, Henry shook them off and ran away screaming past Gordon and Rainbow Dash. The birds, mammals, and even more animals of the woods came out of nowhere and charged after Henry. Gordon and Rainbow Dash had no idea what was going on. They tried looking to Fluttershy for answers but she could only shrug and hold reserves.

Henry was shaking and jittering by the time Fluttershy brought him back to the animal shelter. Upon their entrance, dogs, cats, and birds barked, meowed, and tweeted all at once.

"Why would you bring me back here, Fluttershy?!" Henry said, covering his ears.

"We have to print off more fliers, remember? We gave all of ours to our friends. Now we need more to put up outside of town."

They all gathered around the two and told them again about the large gathering taking place in the forest. Even Angel Bunny pressed the importance of their demand to Fluttershy. Finally, Henry had enough. He was furious with all the animals bothering him. Fluttershy started to worry when she saw Henry glaring at all the pets.

"Stop talking to me, all of you!"

He ran off into another room with drawers, a large sink, and reptile habitats. Fluttershy followed and found Henry sitting by a corner in a fetal position grit teeth. Despite how sorry she felt, Fluttershy wasn't too happy with his behavior towards her animal friends. Fluttershy's Geode necklace began glowing in its bright yellow light again. She takes it off and examined it, almost blinded by its glare.

"Can you please put away your necklace now?" Henry asked, impatient.

"I… I…"

"Please? You've had that on all day. It's driving me crazy."

She crossed her arms. "Well, maybe I kept it on for a reason."

"But you said you'd keep it off around me."

"And you promised to tell your friends what my Geode can do."

Shamefaced, Henry turned away.

"I saw the look on their faces," She said. "They don't know what's going on; or why every animal in the city keeps following you."

Henry explained how he tried bringing it up to his Sodor friends. None of them seemed to believe Henry saved for a few who were actually worried for him after the laughing matter was done with. However, Henry was too afraid to indulge and said no more on the matter. She wanted to be angry with him, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Fluttershy knew too well how scary the thought of being ridiculed over something beyond their understanding was. But these were his friends. Why didn't he feel comfortable in confiding this? Henry stared at her Geode locket nervously, still hung around her hand and giving off it's bright light.

"They keep saying we need to join them in the park. I was only doing what you did by not following them."

"I know. But you could at least tell them that yourself."

Henry stared at the floor and shook his head.

"Oh, Henry," She said, more upset. "This whole thing wouldn't be so bad if only you just let me or my friends help you."

"I don't need help," He said, frustrated. "I just want it to stop."

"But why? What's so wrong with talking to animals? You see me do it all the time. There's no harm in it at all. Are you afraid they might hurt you?"

Henry couldn't think straight and grew more frustrated.

"It's just not normal."

This hurt Fluttershy a bit.

"Oh…" Then she spoke timidly, "You don't think I'm, not normal, do you?"

"No. I-I meant, It's not normal for me. I don't want animals talking back to me, Fluttershy."

Henry got up and sighed unenthused before walking towards the door. "Let's just go. We better get back to saving the forest."

"Please, Henry. I know it's scary, but you'll feel much better when you try talking to your friends again."

Fuming with confusion, he turned to face her again and nearly snapped back.

"I can't, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy grew more concerned. She had not seen this side of Henry. Regardless, Fluttershy plucked up courage and continued speaking to Henry, who began debating on just escaping through the door to avoid this conversation all together.

"Your friends should be helping you, Henry, not teasing you."

"They wouldn't understand," Henry said hugging himself. "You're the ones with powers; not us."

"I know for a fact that Thomas wouldn't think differently of you. Is it Gordon you're worried about?" She asked, approaching him slowly. "Or James? Edward and Toby sounded like they'd understand. Why wouldn't they believe you?"

"Please, stop," He said, quietly.

"I'm just trying to understand, Henry."

"I know, Fluttershy. But I don't."

Henry said nothing more, knowing the next thing he says might get carried away. The two stood in silence, listening to reptiles in their enclosures exchange their own conversation. The Geode's light grew brighter beneath her enclosed hands.

He knew she was only trying to help. But all he wanted was nothing more than to wish away his connection to her Geode. It Seemed like the only way to avoid this conversation, this situation they're in, and the anxiety of Fluttershy's claims now circling his head and bugging him. Henry couldn't explain why he's afraid of opening up to his friends. Perhaps it was his own past experience of the Engines teasing him over silly things. Regardless if they laughed or not, they'd all think of him as being strange, and that scared him the most about revealing his predicament.

Finally giving up, Fluttershy sighed and headed out the door to leave the small room before turning back to Henry.

"I'm afraid of being judged, too. But I'm never ashamed of letting my friends know when something's wrong. That's what makes them different from everyone else."

"Even your pets?" He mentioned.

Fluttershy felt hurt again for some reason. Perhaps it was the way he said it, considering how she spends more time with stray animals and feels more reliant on them never judging or see her differently.

"What kind of friends would laugh at something troubling you?" Fluttershy asked.

Henry wasn't so sure anymore, and it only angered him because of it. He turned to face her.

"We might fight sometimes, but at the end of the day we're still considered friends."

"Then you shouldn't be afraid of them."

He crossed his arms and looked away. "Says the girl who can't talk to people unless they're animals."

It wasn't until the words escaped him did Henry immediately regret this response. Fluttershy's forearms locked and tears instantly dripped from her eyes.

"F-Fluttershy?" Henry stuttered, worriedly.

Whimpering through her cry, she stormed out of the room with her face in hands. Henry called and chased after her. Still crying while running through the main office, Fluttershy dropped her Geode necklace on the floor right by the desk as she exits the building. Henry stopped as soon as he saw the front doors swinging. She'd be too long gone by the time he tried catching up.

Beneath his vision was the flashing light of Fluttershy's Geode necklace now laying on the floor. Henry reached down to pick it up, but as he does, the light slowly fades away, growing dimmer and dimmer. The second Henry takes the chain, the necklace ceased glowing entirely. As he examined her Geode, Angel stood on the top desk, glaring at Henry with crossed arms. Henry wasn't sure why her locket stopped glowing, perhaps she was too far away for it to work.

Angel squeaked something angrily to Henry. He turned to Angel waving his fist at him.

"W-what did you say?" Henry asked.

He squeaked irately again. Henry looked at the dim Geode then at Angel again. This time, Henry's eyes shot open for a completely different reason.

"I can't understand you."

Other animals barked, meowed, chirped and squeaked. But he couldn't understand any of them either, despite Fluttershy's Geode resting in his hands. Henry began worrying immensely even more than being able to understand them. Angel hopped off the desk and kicked his feet back at Henry before hopping outside to find Fluttershy.

"Wait!" Henry chased him through the exit. "Come back, Angel!"

Standing under the threshold, Henry then froze upon seeing his path blocked. Surrounding the entire entrance was every animal of every kind from Canterlot Park's forest. Every deer, moose, squirrel, chipmunk, turtle, duck, ferret, skunk, bear, raccoon, fox, snake, mice, beaver, otter, flamingo, and possum all stood around the front doors. Various birds including jays, parrots, eagles, toucans, bats, owls, falcons, and different colored butterflies flew above the enormous pack. Among them was Angel Bunny, Reginald, Hubert, and even Eugene. They all glared at Henry, knowing fully what he did to Fluttershy, on top of them rejecting their pleas. A nervous Henry wasn't sure what they'd do.

Birds tweeted and animals roared, snorted, and cried. A moose stepped forward, lowering their head to aim their antlers toward the doors and began pawing their forefeet. Henry then immediately shuts the door before they could do anything. Upon doing so, the moose had rammed themselves into the entrance, jolting him back a little. When all seemed calm, he turned and pressed his back against the door, sinking down to the floor in full dejection. Henry examined the dim Geode, realizing then and there why it's glowing had stopped.

"What have I done?" He said to himself.

Henry's face buried under his arms, and lets a stream of tears leak out. He hasn't felt this awful since before needing special coal. 'How could I have said that to her?' He thought. Fluttershy was only being kind and helpful, but he kept pushing her away. He never meant to hurt her feelings. He didn't know what to do now. Henry wanted to apologies but didn't know how.

The thought of his friends laughing or treating him differently now made Henry angrier then scared. When Fluttershy questioned their friendship, this set him off, and so he fired back with a statement Henry truthfully wasn't even bothered by. He only said what he said out of his own anger; only he took it out on the wrong person with poor choice of words.

He felt even worse when reminded of how afraid he was just minutes ago. Would telling them make up for what he did? All the fears, worries, and his fight with Fluttershy would've never transpired if only he did. He no longer feared his friend's judgments anymore. Henry feared he'd just ruined his friendship with the one person who tried helping him cope with his worries.

Wiping away his tears, Henry gets up and exits the Animal Shelter, walking towards the large pack of animals. Standing between the shelter entrance and the gathering, Henry dejectedly looks around at all glaring animals crying out. They suddenly stopped when Henry fell to his knees with his head hung.

"Do what you have to," He said. "I deserve it."

All the animals still stared angrily at him, except Angel Bunny, who was more surprised than angry.

The front row stepped aside to clear a path for Harry, the brown bear from the picnic. Harry growled with anger as he approached Henry. Now standing in front of him, Harry roared in his face, while all Henry did was whimper and shield himself. Harry stood tall and waved his claw back.

Just then, Angel Bunny hopped in between them and waved his arms out. Harry stopped and stood on all fours again, listening to Angel's squeaking. Henry lowered his arms to see the two animals talking. Harry growled and snorted in Henry's face before leaving to rejoin the pack. Much to his confusion, Henry looked at Angel with his arms crossed and his right foot stomping the ground.

He stared at Fluttershy's Geode necklace in his hand dejectedly.

"Fluttershy knew what I was going through. But I pushed her away, just so I wouldn't face my fears. Now I may have lost a good friend in exchange."

Henry stood and faced all the animals, no longer angry, but doubtful of his sincerity. He noted the large pack and their resentful grimace.

"We weren't listening to what you needed. We were your only hope. You knew this…" He paused to accept the facts in front of him," because I we were connected to her magic. That's why it chose me to hear you; so, we could answer your call."

The animals gathered closer to Henry as he talked. Nervous at first, not knowing what they were gonna do, Henry soon realized the animals did nothing. They simply stood and listened to what he had to say next.

"I'm so sorry, everyone. My fears kept me from realizing her rock was the answer. Talking back to animals wasn't something I could do before. The thought of my friends thinking I was strange was too frightening."

He felt something tug his pants and saw Angel hopping with his arms reaching out to him. Henry smiled and bent down to pick him up and rest him in a cradle hold with one arm.

"I wish I could make up for what I did." Henry sighed wearily, "And make it up to Fluttershy, most importantly."

Angel had one of the fliers on him and wiped it out for Henry to read. 'Help save Canterlot Park's Forest', read in vibrant fonts. He looked back at all the animals, then takes the flier and crumbles it up, much to their surprise.

"Those were never going to work," He remarked, cheekily.

Angel smiled. Just then, Eugene the warbler flew in front of Henry, who then held his other hand out for him to perch on.

"I may not be connected to her necklace anymore, but I'd still like to help anyway I can. And if you'll let me, I'd like to join you all in saving your forest!"

The animals became excited and cried out eagerly in agreement. Eugene flew off as Henry waved his fist to the air with the necklace still in hand.

"Who's with me?!"

Eugene, Angel, and the entire pack all cheered in their own animal cries as Henry grinned at their hailing response.

Suddenly, a blinding, glowing light radiated from Henry's hand. Lowering his arm back, he examined Fluttershy's Geode necklace, now glowing in it's bright yellow light once again. Following in that, a collection of cheers and happy praises flooded his head, celebrating their plan to stop the monsters from tearing down their home. He exchanged smiles with Angel upon seeing the necklace glow again as well.

Boiling with determination, Henry takes Fluttershy's glowing Geode necklace, and hangs it around his neck.

Harry the bear then grabbed Henry and lifts him onto the back of a moose. Henry grabbed their antlers nervously as the moose rocked back on hind legs. Angel held the collar of Henry's jacket before the moose took off and charged away from the center and down the sidewalk, along with the other animals all following after in their wake.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was still crying and wiping away tears as she walked down the sidewalk of a suburban neighborhood. Brushing hair away to hold a hand to her ear, she heard thundering clatter, distant chanting, and cries from various animals. On the other side of the street, she saw to her surprise Henry and Angel Bunny riding on top of a moose, with a parade of wildlife charging side by side one another.

"Henry?" She said, confused.

A determined Henry held on tight to the moose's antlers with each rocking motion while Fluttershy's Geode shined in full glory. Angel was pulled back against the wind but kept a firm graps on Henry's jacket. Smaller animals who couldn't keep up also rode with Henry and the moose, along with the bears, a few deer and boars. Eugene, Hubert, Reginald, and Constance soared across the sky with other birds above the pack. Fluttershy was baffled. Henry and the entire woodland herd continued sprinting down the sidewalk, and on their way to save their home.

At the forest, bulldozers, excavators, front loaders and dump trucks parked around the spot where the picnic took place, waiting for Filthy Rich to give them the okay to start tearing down the marked trees. Nearly every oak and pine tree were marked with a white X. Filthy Rich was on the phone, busily speaking with someone very important. Then, something emerged from a set of bushes, alerting some of the workmen. It was Henry, stepping out and walking to the middle of the open space. Filthy Rich sees Henry and sighed in frustration.

"Gotta go. I'll explain more in detail upon your arrival."

Hanging up his phone, Filthy Rich then grabbed a megaphone.

"You wanna move out of the way there, son? This space is off limits to the public til further notice."

Henry plucked up courage, already intimidated by Filthy Rich and the large construction vehicles all facing the tall trees behind him.

"I'm not going anywhere until you agree to leave this forest and never tear it down again."

Glaring at him, Filthy Rich hands the megaphone to a workman and walked towards Henry, trying very hard not to show any fear as Mr. Rich stood and stared him down.

"Where's your little friend the nature girl?"

Just then, Henry noticed someone standing by one of the board signs closing off the area. It was Fluttershy, looking very puzzled but worried. She half expected to see all the animals for the gathering. But only Henry was present. She was even more surprised to see her Geode around his neck. Henry became more nervous now that she was here, but tried baring a courageous stance

"I'm sure she'll be here soon," He faced Mr. Rich. "Depending if you stop all of this or not."

"Really?" He said, unintimidated. "And what makes you think I'll just halt construction now? Just because you told me to that means I'm obliged to comply?"

"Nope. Because the animals say so. They said this is their home, and they don't like that you're taking it away from them."

Some of the workmen broke out into laughter and pointed their thumbs at an unfazed Henry. While mildly amused, Filthy Rich remained firm.

"Well now, seems you've really gone off the deep end," he whips out his phone. "Now scoot along, son, before I have a few friends of mine escort you out."

Henry smirked. "Hmm. I don't think my new friends are going to like that very much."

All at once, every woodland animal emerged from the thicket and flew in from the skies and trees. Filthy Rich and a few workmen watched all the various birds fly in and soar around them. Then a bear, moose, a few skunks and other small mammals gathered and sat around Henry, forcing Filthy Rich to back away, astonished by this sudden assembly. Fluttershy was just as astounded.

"This forest is where they belong, and that's how it's gonna be."

"This is your last chance," Filthy Rich said. "Mosey your animals on out of here now."

They shared collective glances to one another and stood their ground, shooting Mr. Rich and his crew angry looks. Henry and the animals refused to leave. Mr. Rich pinched the bridge of his nose, then ordered some workmen to take him away.

"Get him out of here. We're already behind schedule."

But as the workmen neared him, Harry the bear stomped the ground, stood next to Henry, and roared his loudest cry while Henry simply glared with his arms crossed. Shaking in fear, the workmen turned away and fled the work-site all together. Skunks sprayed their nasty stench that nauseated the workmen. A moose charged head first and rammed their antlers against the front of a bulldozer. Eugene and the birds flew around and pecked at workmen, waving their hands frantically to shoe them away with no luck. Overwhelmed by the wildlife, some crew members took what they can and fled the forest.

"Where are you going?!" Filthy Rich yelled. "They're just animals!"

Filthy Rich, however, soon found trouble shoeing away Eugene and the other birds himself. Some workmen stayed, however, and started up their vehicles. An echo of engines revving surrounded the area. Henry and some of the animals became nervous.

"I didn't want it to come to this, boy," Filthy Rich called to Henry. "But you just keep on testing me. Smoke 'em out!"

Bulldozers and excavators drove closer and closer to the gathering. Henry and the bear hugged each other, as did the moose, squirrels and all the other animals assembling around Henry for protection.

"They're not moving, Sir," One workman said, turning off his bulldozer.

"They'll move!" Mr. Rich urged.

The impending vehicles persisted towards the large pack. Fluttershy became more worried when she noticed Angel Bunny hugging Henry's leg and shivering with fright.

"Angel!" She gasped.

She couldn't stand aside anymore, and ran out to join Henry and the pack. Fluttershy stood in front of them with her arms waved out, her eyes closed and her cheeks puffed. The construction vehicles stopped in their tracks inches away and shut off power.

"Fluttershy?" Henry said.

"What's going on here?" said a voice.

The area became silent as Fluttershy, Henry, the pack, and even Filthy Rich looked in shock to the person entering the site. It was the Mayor, surveying the site until noticing with widened eyes the large pack of animals.

"Mayor!" Filthy Rich said nervously. "W-what are you doing here so soon?"

"I thought I'd come and oversee construction," She said. "What is the meaning of this, Mr. Rich?"

"Just a minor inconvenience that'll be dealt with shortly, Ma'am."

"Please, Miss Mayor," Fluttershy said, approaching her. "You can't let Filthy Rich tear down the forest. The animals won't have any home to go to."

"Aren't those the two teens promoting Canterlot forest's preservation?" The Mayor asked. "How's that funding to expand the rescue center going?"

"We've only raised half."

"Half eh?" she said, stroking her chin. "Sounds like there really are people who care about this place. But, I'm afraid I've already given Filthy Rich full permission."

Just then Eugene flew in and tweeted angrily at Filthy Rich and the Mayor.

"Language, Eugene!" Fluttershy said.

But instead of making them mad like Filthy Rich, the Mayor was surprised upon seeing Eugene.

"Is-is that a warbler?" The Mayor said, surprised.

"Um, yes?" Fluttershy said with a raised brow.

"Interesting. I've seen many types of birds in all my years of hiking through this forest. But never have I seen a warbler in person before."

"Neither have I. He must be the only one of his kind in the entire forest. You used to visit the forest too?"

"I did. It was a nice get away from all the stress, you know?"

Henry joined in. "Then how come you want it torn down?"

"I didn't at first. Not until Filthy Rich pitched me his plan to open his spa resort. I figured if it draws more people to the park, then the city won't have to worry about funding."

Fluttershy and Henry slouched in sadness, while Filthy Rich grabbed the collars of his jacket and smirked. The Mayor continued looking at Eugene and smiled as if reflecting on the times she spent wandering the forest and observing the many wildlife that it inhabits.

"However," The Mayor continued. "If the park's home to rare or endangered species, then we shouldn't be upsetting it's natural habitat."

Hopes risen, Henry and Fluttershy gasped excitedly.

"In light of this discovery, construction on Mr. Rich's resort is now terminated! The park's forest shall remain not only as a piece of this town's rich background, but also serve as a home to the Canterlot Warbler!"

The two teens cheered and hopped up and down in excitement along with all the animals crying out in celebration.

"B-but, Mayor!" Filthy Rich muttered. "You gave me full authorization."

"And now I've revoked it," She smiled. "Sorry, Mr. Rich. Perhaps you'll have better luck elsewhere?"

"You don't understand! If I don't get this spa up and running as soon as possible then-"

"Honey!" called another voice, cutting him off.

Frozen stiff, Filthy Rich then looks behind and sees his wife, Spoiled Rich, angrily tapping her feet with glaring eyes at her husband and fist resting on her hips.

"Spoiled, sweetie," He said approaching her nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's my spa resort?"

Mr. Rich chuckled sheepishly. "Well, see, there's been a few setbacks. I've had to cancel construction for the time being."

"Again?! That's the fifth time this year. How does this keep occurring?"

Filthy Rich leers in Henry's and Fluttershy's direction. Intimidated by his grimace, the two simply watched as Spoiled Rich went off on a tangent while Filthy kept tugging at his tie nervously.

"I mean honestly," She said harshly. "We're the richest family in town and you can't even open one spa resort?"

The two walked away and left the forest with Filthy Rich trying to calm Spoiled Rich as she blabbered on and complained with no success. Just then, Fluttershy happily lunged at Henry and wrapped her arms around him for a tight hug.

"We did it!"

Henry happily returned the gesture. However, it wasn't until remembering their fight earlier did the two let go and blushed.

"You two do make quite the team," The Mayor smiled. "Not many people who pursuit this kind of goal are ever successful. But somehow you managed to pull through. You should both be very proud of one another."

The two teens awkwardly shared glances at first, until they ended up smiling again over their achievement.

After the forest was clear of all construction vehicles and equipment, Henry and Fluttershy said their goodbyes to the Mayor as she left the woods. Harry, the moose, Eugene, Reginald, Constance, Hubert and the rest of the forest mammals and birds surrounded the two teens and exchanged hugs and nuzzles. Henry does the same, wrapping his arms around Harry the bear and laughing along with the animals of Canterlot's forest. Meanwhile, Fluttershy picked up and happily hugged Angel tightly.

Henry still felt awful about the things he said earlier as he watched Fluttershy giggle with her friends. He got up and walked over to her. She does the same, still holding Angel. Staring at each other longer than they realized, Henry then took off Flutterhy's Geode necklace and hands it back to her. She takes it and examines the locket.

"Fluttersh-"

Fluttershy pressed her finger over Henry's mouth, and wore a warm smile.

"Thank you for saving the Forest, Henry. Though I'd rather you and the others hadn't done so the way you did, at least now their home is safe."

Henry smiled under her finger. Then Fluttershy shied away.

"And also… I'm sorry too."

"You're sorry?" He muttered through his shut lips.

She lets go. "It was my fault for putting too much pressure on you earlier. If you'd rather keep your connection to my Geode to yourself, then that's okay too."

"I'm the one who should be sorry, Fluttershy. You were only trying to help me. But I kept pushing you away because I was afraid of what my friends would think. And then I said that mean thing,"

He didn't even want to finish his sentence, especially seeing Fluttershy appearing upset again. Henry went on.

"You were right all along. I should be able to tell my friends anything."

"Do you still wanna tell them?"

Henry paused for a hot minute, then shook his head.

"I'm so sorry, Fluttershy," he sighed dejectedly. "Guess I didn't really learn anything from this."

"I wouldn't say that."

"You wouldn't?"

"Mm-mm. You still helped my friends when they needed someone to stand up with them. That's why my Geode chose to share its powers with you. You've had it in you all along. All it needed was a little kindness, and a lot of love towards your fellow animals to really shine. "

Henry rubbed the back of his head bashfully. Fluttershy also bashfully hid her arms behind her back before speaking up again.

"Why not try waiting until you're more comfortable speaking with animals? That way you'll feel less discouraged when you finally confess to your friends."

"You're saying I should keep this a secret still until I get used to it?" Henry asked.

Noticing him still expressing doubt, Fluttershy creases Henry's cheek with her palm.

"Whatever you decide, I'll always be there to support you, Henry. Because that's what friends do."

Henry grinned despite a few tears leaking down his cheek and over her hand. He gently overlapped his hand on Fluttershy's as the two exchanged grateful smiles.

After a while, the two friends walked back to the park through the forest with every woodland animal happily parading behind.

"Hey, what are the odds my friends also have powers from the other necklaces too?" Henry asked, cheekily.

Fluttershy giggled. "I wouldn't be surprised. They're probably going though what you are right now."

"Fluttershy!"

Sprinting from the pathway in front of them was Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle, catching up and standing in front of Henry and Fluttershy.

"We just saw you two on the news," Twilight said. "Is everything okay? Did you manage to save the forest?"

"Sure did," Fluttershy confirmed happily. "Everything's now a-okay! Right, Henry?"

The two sighed in relief and congratulated their friends. Henry didn't respond however. He looked at Fluttershy as if still upset over something, which greatly confused her. Then, after thinking over what Fluttershy told him, Henry hesitantly approached Sunset and Twilight.

"Sunset, Twilight, there's something I wanna tell you."

"What is it, Henry?" Twilight asked.

He looks back at Fluttershy quickly before continuing.

"You have to promise me you'll keep it a secret. None of my friends can know about this."

"Why not?" Sunset asked.

"Because Henry doesn't really understand it himself," Fluttershy chimed in and stood beside him, gently placing her hands around his arm. "He needs time to figure this out before anyone else can know."

She smiled proudly back at Henry, already feeling more confident with her by his side. Sunset rubbed her neck while Twilight adjusted her glasses, both trying to deduce what exactly they're talking about.

"Until then," Henry continued, "Maybe you two could help us with something we're having trouble with."

"Sure," Sunset said. "What do you wanna tell us?"

"Does this have something to do with Fluttershy's animals following you everywhere?" Twilight asked.

"You could say that," He smiled.

Meanwhile, Eugene flew above the tall pine trees tweeting happily to himself. Next he flew towards a man resting on a hammock made of clouds. The strange man raises his right hand out. As he does, his hand transforms into a spider, which crawled all the way down his arm. Eugene lands on the stub, flaps his wings out and turns back into a hand. The stranger flexes his fingers as the Spider makes its way up the man and rest on his head, transforming back into a green fedora hat.

"Would you look at that," The Genie said. "Eugene actually came through for once. Not the way I was hopping. But I suppose there's still room for development now that Eugene seems to have found a permanent residence."

He looks down at Henry, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, still in shock by Henry's revelation but eagerly intrigued regardless. A sinister chuckle slipped from the Genie.

"Wait until those nay-sayers back home hear about my kindness now. Just another reason for them to see why I'm so great and sing more praises about me."

The Genie eyed Fluttershy particularly, seeing her beaming with serenity once again, and smiled warmly. He exhaled and laid back on his relaxing, pink cloud hammock, stretching his arms out before resting them behind his head.

"Then again, who am I to object when it comes to Fluttershy's happiness."

The Genie looks at the reader, and winks with a dashing grin.

More To Come Soon!

Beginning Paragraphs Edited by: The Red Werewolf.

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