Azure Edge

by Leaf Blade

59. Welcome to the Forest

The Everfree Forest was… decidedly less enamoring to Twilight than the train was.

Within seconds of stepping into the wood, Twilight felt the presence of its Spirit watching her, and a knot twisted around in her stomach.

She didn’t have the heart to ask Pinkie to reconsider now, and she was sure she was just being paranoid, but she couldn’t quite erase the sinking feeling in her gut that only grew with each step into the snow-covered forest she took alongside Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie seemed to have no such reservations; the dour mood she had been put in by Twilight’s earlier questions involving her past had been completely wiped away as soon as she’d stepped off the train. While the pair didn’t dawdle in Ponyville, Pinkie made a point to say hello and wave to every pony she passed by, her cheer only growing as they approached the forest itself.

Twilight took a deep breath, and Pinkie turned back to smile at her. Pinkie was really happy; this is what she’d been waiting for, she planned this trip for weeks, and Twilight wasn’t going to ruin that for her with her silly worries.

Though she felt the urge to ruin it with her silly worries growing when she saw Pinkie had stopped holding her arms to shield herself from the cold. Twilight wasn’t generally bothered by the weather, cold or warm, but she wasn’t so dense to not notice it getting curiously warmer very quickly.

The Spirit was here. She was watching them as they walked.

Twilight cleared her throat and stopped, and Pinkie turned around, her smile giving way to a concerned frown as she saw Twilight’s pensive expression.

“You okay, Twilight?”

Twilight didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t about her silly worries anymore; Pinkie had no idea what she was walking into, and Twilight felt sick wondering if she should say something.

But did Pinkie really need to know? Wasn’t it enough that the Spirit made Pinkie happy? Twilight would protect her if anything happened, and the more Twilight thought about it, the less sense it made that the Spirit—Fluttershy—would be hostile.

“Yeah,” Twilight gave a genuine smile as she tried to flush away her worries. “That said,” Twilight giggled, “I have to admit, I expected your friend Fluttershy to be better at hiding herself.”

“What?! She’s here!?” Pinkie looked around expectantly, darting her head this way and that with a big grin on her face.

“She is,” Twilight said calmly, placing her hands in front of her. “So why don’t you come out, Fluttershy? We’re both quite anxious to see you!”

Right on cue, a woman taking the form of a skeletal-thin yellow pegasus walked out from the foliage into the small, snowy clearing Twilight and Pinkie stood in. Her pink hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and insects and birds of all kinds made it their home, crawling out from the tangles in her hair or the knots in her fur.

Squirrels, rabbits and other such critters hounded her hooves that melted the snow around them, and birds chirped and fluttered around her head, some making their perches on her wings and shoulders.

“You came,” her voice was soft as she locked eyes with Pinkie Pie. “You really came back.”

“Of course,” Pinkie said, wiping tears from her eyes as she gazed upon the friend that she was so certain was going to be mad at her for returning, or for taking too long, or some other such thing. “I’d never break a promise to a friend.”

Fluttershy smiled, and if Pinkie had any worries left in her, Twilight assumed they had been dispelled, given the squeal of glee she gave at Fluttershy’s smile, the Spirit herself indulging in a coy giggle at Pinkie’s enthusiasm.

“And you,” Fluttershy’s glittering teal eyes shone with ethereal light as they seemed to look right through Twilight, but Twilight returned Fluttershy’s gaze with equal intensity. Fluttershy smiled brightly, as if she had been looking at a long-lost sister. “Welcome to my forest.”

Author's Note:

my girl is back

i mean, they're all my girls, but i feel bad for fluttershy not being in this fic very much yet

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[sexy nightmare moon]

I love this story so much

Sadly my only tiny complaint is the short chapters

Keep up the good work none the less

[Leaf Blade]

9917074
it's spelled "haysead" on the map of equestria so it's less a typo and more a creative liberty

[Timuri]

9917561
Heh...like you said before, here's that response about Haysead.

Fluttershy really doesn't trust most ponies much. I wonder if Pinkie will clue in on how quickly she welcomed Twilight, despite how frosty she was to Rarity and how hard it was for Pinkie to get her to open even slightly.