Chapter 4: To The Forest of Firefly Light
"THUNDERSPRINT!"
Out of nowhere, the wood wolf was suddenly struck by a huge flash of blue lightning, causing it to become electrocuted and the forest to literally explode in a blue light, blinding everything and everyone temporarily. Medley, despite being so weak from the slash, managed to get up as she watched the wood wolf turn into burnt toast because of the huge explosion of flashing blue lightning. But no, the wood wolf wasn't the only one that got electrocuted. The other two wood wolves got electrocuted as well. The explosion of blue lightning was so bright, so powerful, that it looked as though the entire forest lit up in a sea of blue light. Everything in the clearing became electrically charged, even the trees. Medley could see blue sparks everywhere and that a lot of the big trees have been stripped bare of their leaves, allowing the sky to be seen. All of a sudden, a bluish pink blur zipped by the wood wolves at the speed of light, making them dizzy. Despite the pandemonium going on, Glory and Bubbles both helped Medley get up and away from the wood wolves. Medley gazed at the blur with her blue eyes.
She had seen all of this before.
"...Firefly...?"
Finally, the blur finally stopped in one place, flying in front of the wood wolves who, despite being electrocuted by the huge explosion of blue lightning that came out of nowhere, still tried to lunge at the thing that tried to attack them, and Medley was right.
The thing that caused the explosion turned out to be none other than Firefly.
"You're gonna pay for hurting my best friend, you beasts!" Firefly yelled, her body literally glowing with a blue aura, her hair sticking up because of all the static electricity running through her little pink body like adrenaline. Everypony watched as Firefly decided to face off against the three remaining wood wolves.
"Firefly! You can't fight them alone! We'll help you!" Twilight called out as she, Lemon Drop, Bow Tie, and Moondancer attempted to help her.
"I'm not alone!" Firefly called out as the wood wolves attempted to lunge at her...only to be stomped on by another pegasus.
A white one with rainbow hair.
"Starshine?!" All the ponies yelped as Starshine karate chopped one wood wolf in the face and kicked another one with her back legs. She did a backflip and managed to headbutt the other one enough to make it fall to the ground.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, my little ponies!" Starshine exclaimed as she flew before the other ponies. But the other ponies knew that the battle wasn't over yet. One wood wolf finally gave up and ran away while the remaining two attempted to finish off Firefly, who looked quite confident and ready to take them on.
Medley watched in awe as Firefly literally radiated blue electricity. Sparks were literally flying off of her pink body. 'Firefly...you came to save us...' Medley thought as Glory got a better look at her wing.
"Oh my! Your wing got slashed good! Stay still, I'll take care of this one," Glory said as she got her first aid kit out and began using it and her magic to tend to Medley's wing.
"Prepare to get charged, wood wolves!" Firefly said as she did another thundersprint, which meant she flew at them at full speed while making sparks fly around her body again, which in turn managed to electrocute the two other wood wolves so much that their bodies succumbed to the pain and they fell to the ground, numb and unconscious.
All the ponies exhaled a sigh of relief. The battle is finally over.
Firefly turned around and saw Glory wrapping gauze around Medley's wing. Firefly's purple eyes and mouth widened at the sight of her now weak friend.
"MEDLEY!" Firefly literally glomped Medley and held onto her tight, causing Medley's good wing to slap Glory a bit (this was an accident). "Oh thank Eques you're alive!"
"Firefly..." Medley mused as she felt herself be squeezed by Firefly's tight hug. Then Firefly let go of Medley.
"You sure took a beating there, Meds," Starshine said.
Medley was about to say something until Firefly interrupted her with worry literally oozing out of her lavender eyes. "Why the hay did you come into the Forsaken Wood?! You know how dangerous it is! And look! You got badly hurt because of it! You all could have been killed!"
"We came looking for you!" Bow Tie suddenly piped in.
Firefly turned to the other ponies with shock on her pink face. "You all came here...to look for me?"
"Yeah!" Moondancer said. "We had to come. We couldn't let you stay here! Besides, Medley feels pretty awful about what happened earlier today, so she wanted to apologize to you!"
"I only said I wanted to make sure she's safe, then leave her alone so she can cool off!" Medley retorted.
"Yep! She did say that!" Sunbeam exclaimed excitedly.
"Medley was really worried about you, Firefly. She really wanted to make up with you," Twilight told her kindly.
Firefly suddenly found herself touched by their plight, but she didn't show it with tears. "You came all this way...just for that?"
"DUH!" All the ponies (except for Bubbles, Glory, and Medley) yelled in unison.
Suddenly, Medley began whimpering. Firefly turned around to find her green pegasus friend in a paroxysm of tears. "Firefly...I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I said all those awful things to you! I truly am! I don't deserve to be your friend after being so cruel to you when you didn't do anything wrong!" Medley screamed wildly and cried her heart out. Glory continued to try and fix Medley's wing despite this.
"Just so you know, Medley didn't get much sleep last night. That's why she was all grouchy and fussy," Lemon Drop told her boldly.
'So Starshine was right after all...' Firefly thought. Now it was confirmed. Medley really didn't get enough sleep, which is why she became so controlling and grouchy. All of Firefly's anger faded away upon seeing her broken and injured friend, who was so bold, so courageous, and so reckless as to literally journey into the Forsaken Wood despite the danger just so she could apologize to Firefly or keep an eye on her. Firefly became really touched this time. She knew Medley cared about her in her own way, but she never expected Medley to go to such great lengths for her sake, especially considering that Medley wants nothing more than to avoid dangerous situations like this. Not only that, all these other ponies came with her, further emphasizing how much they care about her. With a soft smile, Firefly stood in front of Medley and gently stroke her messy green hair with her hoof. This made Medley stop crying. Firefly then put her hoof on Medley's wet cheek.
"I understand. I'm sorry too, for being such a brat. I forgive you," Firefly told her. All of a sudden, Medley began blubbering again. But this time, Firefly hugged her gently and let her cry her heart out. Bubbles covered her ears since she hates the sound of crying, and Lemon Drop stroke Bubbles' blue hair gently, like how Firefly did earlier. After a while, Glory finished fixing up the gauze on Medley's wing.
"The injury isn't as bad as I expected, and if she rests up, she'll be able to heal before the Talent Competition arrives," Glory told them, but Firefly and Medley didn't seem to pay any attention. Bubbles looked up.
"Look! The leaves are gone! I can see the sky!" Bubbles exclaimed, which stimulated the other ponies into looking up as well.
Much to their surprise, the sky is turning bright orange.
"Whoa! The sun is setting already?! Jeez! Time sure does go by fast!" Lickety-Split exclaimed.
"I say we leave now before any more trouble starts!" Moondancer said.
"I couldn't agree with you more. Come on, Medley. You can hop on my back. I'll carry you out," Starshine said. Without hesitation, Medley climbed onto Starshine's back and clung to her. All of a sudden, Lemon Drop laughed out loud.
"Hey Medley! Your hair looks funny!" Lemon Drop laughed. Medley looked up and saw that the top of her hair is standing up in the air. The other ponies began laughing as well, except for Glory, who looked quite disappointed.
"Come now! You should never laugh at other ponies for their peculiarities!" Glory scolded, but no pony paid any attention, not even Medley. In fact, Medley laughed as well.
"It must be because you were brimming with electricity earlier, Firefly," Medley said jokingly.
"Oh yeah! Ha ha! It's gonna be a while before it all wears off, and I think the forest's gonna be electrically charged for a while, so I say we make like a bee and buzz off before somepony gets turned into a wood wolf's dinner," Firefly said as she tried to straighten her hair out but failed miserably. All the ponies were about to leave until somepony called for them.
"Look! They're down there!"
All the ponies looked up to find Wind Whistler descending before them, along with another pegasus. This pegasus has pink fur like Firefly, only of a slightly paler and more faded shade. Her pale violet mane and tail are massively curly, and her eyes shone in a blue color. Basically, she looks like Firefly, only her eye and mane colors are reversed, and on her flank is a purple and blue compass rose and star. The pink pegasus is also wearing a pair of goggles as well.
"Hey! It's Wind Whistler and North Star!" Bubbles exclaimed as the two pegasi descended before them.
"There you are! We've been journeying all throughout this wretched forest for you all!" Wind Whistler exclaimed.
"We never told you we were here!" Moondancer said.
"You didn't need to. Sparkler did," The purple-haired pegasus, North Star, said with a heavy British accent.
"WHAT?! Sparkler told you?! Awww, ponyfeathers!" Lemon Drop complained and facehoofed.
"Anyway, we're glad you're safe. We better get out of here quickly before any trouble starts," North Star said.
"We better," Starshine said. Since Twilight still has her lit up helmet on, she decided to accompany Wind Whistler and North Star in leading the way for the other ponies. After a long while, the ponies finally made it out of the Forsaken Wood unscathed!
"Yay! We're finally out! Woohoo!" Lickety-Split cheered.
"I certainly hope we don't have to go through something as awful as that ever again!" Glory exclaimed, sounding a little exasperated.
"Me too!" Bubbles backed her up.
"You're back!" Fizzy's voice said. When the pony group became aware of their surroundings, they realized that Fizzy, Truly, Sparkler, Majesty, and Skydancer are in front of them. Upon laying eyes on a very guilty-looking Sparkler, Moondancer immediately threw herself in her face.
"Sparkler! I can't believe you told them!" Moondancer yelled angrily. Sparkler flinched upon receiving a scolding from Moondancer, but she was determined to tell her what really happened.
"I didn't tell them on purpose, I swear! Wind Whistler and Truly saw me in front of the Forsaken Wood and interrogated me! I tried to keep my mouth shut, but they were so persistent and refused to leave me alone!" Sparkler snapped back.
"Moondancer, you mustn't be so crass to dear Sparkler like that. I'm sure she tried her very best to keep our affair a secret, but you know how persistent Truly and Wind Whistler can be," Glory told her younger sister as calmly and politely as she could.
"I see Firefly is back with you, I presume," Majesty said with a smile. Unfortunately, Skydancer crossed her hooves and hovered in front of the pony group with a very austere and uncompromising look in her face.
"How could you all be so thoughtless and so reckless as to go into some place as dangerous as the Forsaken Wood?! You all should have known better!" Skydancer scolded angrily.
"Skydancer! Don't be mad at them! It's my fault!" Firefly cried out. "I'm the reason they went in. Medley and I got into a fight earlier and I stormed off into the forest without knowing it. They were just trying to come and get me! That's all!"
"She's right, Skydancer, and besides, we weren't gonna go in there without proper equipment!" Lickety-Split said. "Look! We brought first aid kits and blow horns and-" She wanted to say more, but Skydancer interrupted her.
"That's not the issue here, Lickety-Split! You ponies have caused a lot of trouble! Why didn't you all tell us about Firefly's disappearance?!" Skydancer snapped.
"Skydancer, please calm down!" Starshine pleaded.
"You stay out of this, Starshine!" Skydancer snapped again.
"The only reason we didn't tell you all was because we wanted to try handling it ourselves without making a bigger deal out of it than it already was! We knew the risks, and we made sure to properly prepare before going in! Besides, the rest of you had a lot on your plate already, and we didn't want to cause you all any unnecessary trouble," Glory told them as politely as she could.
"I wish I could have accompanied you so things wouldn't have gone out of hand," Majesty told her.
"I know you had good intentions, and while I do exalt the fact that you care for your friend, whether you meant to cause us trouble or not doesn't matter here! The fact of the matter is that you all DID cause trouble by not telling us and being so stupid as to go in that wretched place! You all should be ashamed of yourselves! Didn't you all stop to think about how your little trip would affect other ponies around you? Did you even think that going in there would benefit us? Well, it doesn't! You've inconvenienced us all terribly with your appallingly irrational judgment and stupidity!" Skydancer scolded sternly. Bubbles, not liking the tone of her voice, hid behind Twilight.
"You really shouldn't have worded it like that, Skydancer. They meant well! They knew what they were getting into was dangerous, and they-" North Star tried to talk to Skydancer, but the choleric, rainbow-haired yellow pegasus interrupted her.
"Don't contradict me! It's the truth!" Skydancer snapped.
"We're awful sorry, Skydancer. Really, we are," Medley whispered timidly. The rest of the ponies nodded in agreement, looking guilty. Unfortunately, Skydancer didn't see it that way.
"You don't look very sorry to me!" Skydancer yelled.
"Skydancer! You know they wouldn't lie! Why would you think they're not sorry?!" Fizzy exclaimed, appalled by Skydancer's insinuation.
"I agree with Fizzy, and you have to admit, these ponies here have proven themselves to be quite courageous and audacious for journeying into a treacherous place like the Forsaken Wood. Yes, they did choose not to tell us authoritative ponies about Firefly and did take a great risk, even if it meant putting themselves in danger. While I do agree that the ponies should be punished for throwing themselves into harm's way, they weren't trying to bring harm to anypony else. They journeyed into the noisome forest that is the Forsaken Wood because they truly cared for their friend, and any intelligent pony with even a meager dash of common sense would actually ponder about the risks and actually take the time to prepare for this trip, and that's not something a reckless pony would do. They knew the gravity of the situation, yet showed great audacity in the form of taking that risk. Yes, they didn't tell us about it, which in a way is reprehensible, but they wanted to find Firefly, bring her back, and leave the Forsaken Wood without any extraneous trouble and without causing a panic, even though that backfired. Not only that, I see nothing but veracity in their words. Why would these ponies lie about something like this? It's not like they were going in there just to push at your buttons and send you into a paroxysm of anger," Wind Whistler explained.
"Uh...did you catch all that?" Lemon Drop asked Twilight, who shook her head.
"I really don't know how Wind Whistler can talk like that and not forget all those big words," Twilight replied.
"Maybe her brain's a dictionary," Bubbles chirped happily, which made some of the ponies chuckle a bit.
"And besides, the other important thing here is that everypony's safe and sound. Right? Ain't that somethin' to be proud of?" Truly asked.
"Unfortunately, Medley's hurt because a wood wolf scratched her. If Firefly and Starshine hadn't come when they did, then we'd be in a bigger pickle!" Glory said, pointing to Medley's wing. "But Moondancer and I made sure to keep everypony in line during this trip."
"It's true, and this whole thing was my idea. If you want, I can take full responsibility for everything," Moondancer told Skydancer.
"Why everything? You didn't-" Sunbeam was about to say something, but Firefly smacked her across the neck with her wing. "OW!"
Skydancer closed her eyes and ruminated for a while, then opened them.
"Alright then. Since you all have caused us a lot of trouble, I will take the liberty of telling your parents about everything and advise them to put you all under house arrest until the day of the talent competition so you all can still participate. Do I make myself clear?" Skydancer said.
All the ponies nodded. Weirdly enough, nopony complained about it. Normally, ponies who have been threatened to be told off by their parents would whine and complain and say that it's not fair. But the ponies all knew they did something reprehensible despite their best intentions and decided to accept what came to them, even Firefly and Moondancer, who both hate being deprived of their freedom. None of the ponies wanted to anger Skydancer any further, so they decided to keep their mouths shut.
"Good. I expect you all to behave yourselves from now on. Come on, Starshine! You're coming with me!" Skydancer told her sister as she flew away. Reluctantly, Starshine decided to follow, but not before stopping before the ponies and whispering something to them.
"You guys sure showed some guts going into that forest like that. I think Skydancer should learn something from you," Starshine whispered, which made everypony laugh. With that, Starshine left them with a smile. Wind Whistler and North Star left as well. As Starshine left, Fizzy, Majesty, and Sparkler both approached the group with sympathetic eyes.
"I'm glad you guys are alright. I wish I could have been there to help you out," Fizzy told them in her sweet voice.
"Me too, but our magic isn't suited for combat," Sparkler said.
"It's quite alright. Everything turned out alright in the end after all," Twilight told them.
Moondancer sighed. "My parents are gonna hate me after this..."
"I have to admit, I'm proud of you for taking responsibility for what you did, Moondancer," Majesty said.
"Thanks, but it's not gonna do me any good," Moondancer moaned a bit.
"You shouldn't put it like that," Glory told her.
"Let's just go home. I'd rather get this done and over with than delay the inevitable," Firefly said. But before she left, she noticed Medley and flew over to her.
"Need a hoof?" Firefly extended her hoof to her injured friend. Happily, Medley took it and hopped on Firefly's back. This was a clear harbinger to all the other ponies that Firefly and Medley have made up and reconciled.
Of course, making up won't make their punishment any lighter. Skydancer, true to her word, went to the homes of all the ponies and told their parents everything, without leaving out even the smallest, most insignificant details while Starshine told them to at least praise them for being brave and at least trying to handle the situation so it wouldn't get any worse. Since Medley lived alone, the first thing she did was lay on her bed and rest as Firefly escorted her home. Medley's parents and sister visited her immediately upon hearing that she was hurt. While they were glad she was alright, she still got a mild scolding anyway, though they had to admit they were proud of her for actually taking a risk for Firefly's sake, even thinking that she's finally grown up a little. They didn't put her under house arrest like Skydancer asked because Medley's injury prevented her from going out much anyway, so they didn't find it necessary. Medley's mother decided to take the liberty of staying with her and tending to her wing until the competition. Since the competition isn't until another week and a half, it was likely Medley would get better with lots of bed rest, and that's just what she needed.
Word spread fast, and Medley could tell the town was bustling since she looked out her window. Funnily enough, through it all, she received quite a lot of visits from ponies (excluding the ones who accompanied her into the Forsaken Wood since they're still under house arrest), like Sweet Stuff, Sparkler, Truly, Fizzy, Wind Whistler, North Star, and a few other ponies. Medley felt so blessed to be having all these ponies take time out of their hectic schedules to come and see her. She could even feel her wing getting better because of them. But one particular visit made Medley feel as though she could overcome anything. Two days before the competition, Medley's mother opened the door to find a familiar face. Medley happened to be in her room, reading one of her favorite books when she heard her mother's voice.
"Medley! Your friend Bubbles is here!" Medley's mother exclaimed from down below.
"What?!" Medley yelped suddenly. 'Bubbles? She practically never goes out on her own! Especially not without Lemon Drop! And isn't she under house arrest?' Medley thought as she heard hoof steps coming her way. As Medley tried to regain her equanimity, the cute, slender-legged, sunny yellow pony with blue hair came into her room with eyes as bright as the sea on a very lucid, sunny day.
"Hi Medley!" Bubbles chirped in her cute voice as she walked up to Medley's bed with an innocent smile on her face.
"Hello Bubbles. Thank you for coming to see me, but...aren't you under house arrest?" Medley told her, but she couldn't help but ask why Bubbles was allowed to go out.
"They kept me in the house for four days, that's it," Bubbles said. "They said they were proud of me for going out on my own and going in the Forsaken Wood to help you all find Firefly. They said I was brave."
Medley smiled upon hearing this. "You are brave, Bubbles."
Bubbles shook her head as she sat next to Medley. "No I'm not. I'm a scaredy-filly. Oh! Are you okay?"
Medley stroke her wing gently. "It's getting better, and you are brave, Bubbles. You came here all by yourself, and normally you never go out on your own."
"I...I want to be brave. Like you and Firefly," Bubbles said. "I'm not a unicorn who can do magic, or a pegasus who can fly in the sky. Just a normal earth pony. I wish I was brave and strong like you, Medley. I wanted to see you and make you feel better. That's why I came. By myself. I've been to your house lots of times, so I thought I could try coming on my own without getting lost."
"Did you get lost?" Medley asked curiously.
"Nope!" Bubbles shook her head to emphasize her answer. "I did it!"
"See, Bubbles? You are brave. This is just a small step to becoming a stronger pony, and you don't need to be a pegasus or a unicorn to be brave and strong. Earth ponies have their own way of being strong. Sometimes, gifts have a way of being curses in a way. Back in the very old days, pegasi could fly, but their bones were too hollow and they had to be careful about rough-housing, and unicorns could do magic, but they had to practice continually or else the magic would overwhelm their system and cause them to die from too much magic build up. Things are different now, but Earth ponies can be special in their own way," Medley explained. "Besides, you're one of my best friends. One of the sweetest, nicest ponies around. You cheered me up when we were in the Forsaken Wood taking a break. I didn't cry out of sadness. I cried out of joy, because you cared for me despite what I did."
"You're a nice pony, and it's not good to be sad," Bubbles told her, getting the message this time. "Can I stay and play with you for a while? Lemon Drop can't play with me because her parents are very mad at her. I heard them yelling from my room."
"I'll bet that must have been unpleasant, and sure, you can keep me company if you want. But I don't know if I have anything exciting you can do here," Medley told her yellow friend.
"No worries! Just being with you is fine with me!" Bubbles chirped happily as she nuzzled Medley's face again.
Again, Medley was touched. 'Oh, Bubbles...I love how you're so blissfully innocent and yet so wise, despite being so young. I truly feel blessed to have a pony like you in my life, even if nopony else sees how wonderful you really are...' Medley thought. In a way, Medley and Bubbles were as close-knit as they were with Firefly and Lemon Drop, since they're both timid ponies who aren't very good at making friends, but for different reasons entirely.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask...are you going to partake in the talent contest?" Medley asked.
"Nope!" Bubbles said as she shook her head again. "I'm not good at anything, and I'm scared to perform in front of people. They'll laugh at me!"
"You're good at lots of things, Bubbles. You're good at blowing bubbles, cleaning things up, organizing, and drawing!" Medley told her.
"Ponies don't like seeing stuff like that! Lemon Drop's gonna do it instead."
"Is she going to show off her jumping skills again?"
"Yep!' Bubbles nodded this time.
The two ponies laughed together merrily. What they didn't know was that Medley's mother happened to pass by and eavesdrop on their conversation. The butter-yellow pegasus found herself growing teary-eyed and quickly fled. 'Oh Medley...look how far you've come. I'm so proud of you!' She thought as she left.
Bubbles wound up sticking around for quite a long time. The yellow earth pony and green pegasus played together quite a lot. They read books together, played simple games together (like board games, hide and seek, or Would You Rather), ate dinner together, blew bubbles together, talked about a great many things, big and small, together, and teased each other (like getting into txxxxx fights). Both young ponies enjoyed and cherished every minute of their time together, happy to be able to do simple things like this. Perhaps this is what true friendship is like. If only they had met as little fillies! Maybe they'd be a lot closer if they met earlier in life, especially since Bubbles is the younger of the two. At around 7:00 PM, as Medley braided Bubbles' hair, Medley's mother heard a knock on the door. She opened it to find a bulky beige earth pony with messy yellow hair with a dark orange streak in it, and on his flank is a dark blue checkbook. On his head is a brown cowboy hat. He took it off his head and tipped it to Medley's mother.
"Good evening, Rhythm. Is Bubbles here by any chance? It's getting late," The pony asked.
"Oh! Good evening! Hold on, let me go fetch her," Medley's mother, Rhythm, said as she trotted up the stairs. Medley just finished tying a light pink bow in Bubbles' braided mane.
"I love it, Medley! It's cute! Thanks!" Bubbles chirped.
"You're welcome," Medley said sweetly.
"Bubbles, dear. Your father is here to pick you up," Rhythm told her.
"Awww!" Bubbles complained. "But I wanna play some more!"
Gently, Medley stroke Bubbles' sea blue hair. "It's okay, Bubbles. We can play after the talent contest when we have time. Okay?"
Although reluctant to leave her friend, she nodded and accompanied her father back home...but not before shouting, "I hope you feel better soon!" as she left with her father.
Who knew that friendship would feel so fulfilling, especially when one was so deprived of it before? Medley loved the time she spent with Bubbles, and felt rejuvenated. She couldn't wait to get better so she could use her wings and partake in the talent contest. The day after that, Rhythm took Medley to the doctor to have her wing checked. Much to the doctor's surprise, Medley's wing is completely healed, and she can use it for flying since she's stayed off it quite a lot. That meant Medley could partake in the talent competition! But Rhythm still had her doubts, even though Medley tried to reassure her. Medley spent the rest of that day folding, stretching, and flapping her wings, but not flying with them. She didn't want to risk flying and then come crashing down, but she did try to move them as much as possible so they'd be ready for the contest.
Finally, the day of the contest arrived, and everypony gathered in the town square. Sitting in the very middle of the town square is a large stage, donned with bright orange curtains that have many yellow suns, silver moons, white stars, and blue raindrop patterns embroidered on them. Since there weren't any chairs, the ponies were expected to stand as the others prepared for the talent contest. The judges sat at a big desk covered with white table cloth, neatly arranging papers and adjusting their glasses. Medley and Rhythm walked along some less crowded parts of the square so Medley wouldn't get stuck in the crowd. She couldn't help but be awestruck by how lively it is today. Ponies talked and palavered amongst themselves, young foals played and tumbled about in the grass, and some ponies handed out snacks from their snack stands. They were about to approach the back of the stage until Rhythm stopped her, looking very worried.
"Medley, dear. If you want, you don't have to do this. You're allowed to quit if you wish," Rhythm told her kindly, but Medley gently shook her head.
"No mother. I don't want to quit. I want to do this," Medley told her mother just as kindly.
"But what if your wing gives out while you're on stage? I don't want anything bad to happen to you," Rhythm said.
"Even if it does give out, I still want to go through with the routine. I want to assist Firefly as much as I can, and I want to partake in this contest knowing that I did my absolute best. I don't want to let Firefly down," Medley replied.
"But it won't be worth it if you get hurt."
"You needn't worry, mother. I'll be fine."
"Oh? Is that Medley I see?" A lady-like, dignified voice asked from above. Medley knew it didn't belong to Glory or Majesty. But then again, she knew who the voice belonged to, and considering how it sounded, she could recognize it from a mile away.
"Hello down there, Medley!" Another voice called out, a much more childish-sounding one.
All of a sudden, two pegasi descended before Medley, looking quite merry and vivacious today. The pegasus with the polite and lady-like voice is a pale pink color, with her massively curly mane and tail both being of a darker, deeper shade, giving it a more raspberry kind of color. Her eyes are light blue, blue as the sky, lovingly brought out by her thick eyelashes, and on both sides of her flank are four pinkish red hearts, all donning a pair of little silver wings. The second pegasus is a bright, buttery shade of yellow, just like Rhythm, only her hair is yellow too, but of a darker shade and tied in a very big and thick braid with a lavender purple ribbon at the end. Her tail is plump and straight, going past her feet, her eyes are a stunning maroon color, and on both sides of her flank is a pink hot air balloon with three orange strings and surrounded by four little orange stars.
"Oh! Heart Throb and Lofty! Hello!" Medley greeted the two pegasi politely, and so did Rhythm.
"Glad you could make it, Meds!" The all yellow pegasus, Lofty, chimed happily, her braid swinging a little as she said it.
"We both heard about what happened. How have you been since then?" The pink pegasus, Heart Throb, asked politely, with a twinge of worry in her dignified voice.
"I feel great! Where's Wind Whistler?" Medley replied, then remembered that Wind Whistler isn't among them.
"She's setting up our stuff on the stage. We go up first! We call ourselves The Three Primary Colors! Y'know, I'm yellow, Wind is blue, and Heart Throb is red!" Lofty explained.
"Technically, I'm pink," Heart Throb interjected.
"Yeah, but red and white makes pink, so it still counts!" Lofty told her.
"It has a nice ring to it," Medley said with a smile. "I hope you all do well in the contest."
"Same to you!" Lofty said. "...uh, you ARE performing, right?" Lofty asked, remembering Medley's wing.
"Yes, I will be. Firefly needs me," Medley replied.
"Do you think you can handle it? It's fine if you can't. You shouldn't push yourself too hard, darling," Heart Throb told her.
"I want to do this, and even if I do fail, I'll be happy knowing that I did my best," Medley told her. Medley was about to ask them about their experiment until Bow Tie and an older unicorn came out. The unicorn is the same shade of blue as Bow Tie, only her mane and tail are yellowish green with a red streak in them, green eyes, and a white bow on both sides of her flank.
"Meds! You made it!" Bow Tie exclaimed happily.
"Hello Bow Tie and Ribbon," Medley said with a smile, greeting the unicorn, Ribbon.
"It's nice to see you, Medley. Firefly's backstage waiting for you," Ribbon told her in a nice voice.
"We better hurry, because the show's about to start!" Lofty said as she and Heart Throb flew to center stage. Rhythm gave Medley a gentle pat on the back.
"Do your best, Medley, and don't push yourself too hard," Rhythm told her. Medley nodded and happily trotted backstage. She found quite a good amount of ponies backstage either preparing or talking amongst themselves. Firefly happened to be next to Sparkler and a white earth pony with a tri-colored rainbow for a cutie mark, deep blue eyes, and a mane and tail in the following colors: light yellow, orange, aqua green, and light purple(1). Firefly immediately saw Medley and flew over to her.
"Awesome! You made it, Meds!" Firefly hugged Medley gently and high hoofed her.
"Are you ready to win?" Medley asked cheerfully.
"I was BORN ready!" Firefly thundered happily, puffing out her chest. "But are YOU ready? I don't want you to push yourself too hard."
"I most certainly am, my friend. Let's do our best together!" Medley told her pink friend with a smile.
"Hey everypony! The show is starting!" The white earth pony with the rainbow cutie mark exclaimed with a smile.
The announcer was a young, enthusiastic, ruddy-looking earth pony who started the show off with some jokes that the audience didn't quite understand, but it didn't look like he cared. The first contestants are Heart Throb, Wind Whistler, and Lofty, who performed a very complicated science experiment involving Lofty's wing power, Heart Throb's chocolate, and Wind Whistler's giant machine that creates very strong heat. Even the announcer didn't understand what they were doing. But it proved to be very interesting despite hardly anypony understanding what the heck went on. Even after the experiment was done, it took them a while to take everything off the stage. The second contestant was Lemon Drop, who performed tricks while jumping on a trampoline. Some younger unicorns put on a little magic show. Bow Tie and Ribbon worked together to make a sculpture of a pony entirely out of bows and ribbons within a 15 minute time span, and boy, did that beribboned pony look absolutely beautiful! But they were outdone by Sparkler, who made a pony entirely out of jewels and accessories, though she took more time to do so. After about a few more acts...
"Next up are contestants #15 and #16, the pegasus pair Firefly and Medley, who are going to perform an air show appropriately named the Firefly Thundersprint Medley!" The announcer edicted happily.
Firefly and Medley knew this was their cue. They looked at each other and nodded solemnly. They walked to the stage with their heads held high. Upon looking up at the lucid, cloudless blue sky, like they practiced, they ascended into the air. The two pegasi swirled around in the air, first forming an 8 shape, then flying far away from each other. As soon as they got far enough from each other, with great speed they descended to the ground, but without touching the stage floor, they met at each other's noses and quickly ascended into the air together, like two parallel lines. Once they got high enough, they swirled around each other like a tornado, then flew at each other on a near collision course. Both pegasi felt adrenaline rush through their veins, which probably increased their acceleration. Medley's wing didn't give out. She felt absolutely rejuvenated.
'I can do this! I know I can! I...I can do it!' Medley thought as she found herself going faster and faster, until finally...
BOOM!
Everypony gasped as the two pegasi finally collided, and a huge sonic boom of flashing blue lightning bolts and glowing green musical notes filled the skies, stretching on for what could possibly be for miles on end. Everypony watched in awe as sparks flew and green musical notes floated into the sky loftily. Not only that, a flash of blue lightning trailed behind Firefly, and a green ray of emerald green light trailed behind Medley as they both zoomed over the audience, doing some loops and back flips and zig-zags. Firefly flew to the stage and began cheering.
"Yee-ha! That was fun! Wasn't it, Medley?!" Firefly cheered until she noticed that Medley was no longer flying next to her. Firefly failed to notice that before she started cheering, everypony gasped loudly, and it wasn't because of their display either.
"Meds?" Firefly looked around but didn't find her...until she looked down.
"Oh no! Meds!"
Medley's wing finally gave out, and she fell back onto the stage like an injured bird. Upon seeing this, Firefly quickly descended to the stage fast as lightning and helped her up.
"You alright? What happened!?" Firefly asked with worry in her purple eyes. Medley looked at her friend with a slightly tired look.
"It seems my wing gave out after all..." Medley whispered.
"Oh ponyfeathers!" Rhythm moaned backstage as she facehoofed. "I KNEW it would happen! I kept telling her she should have quit!"
After that, Firefly took Medley and led her backstage, since their performance ended. All of a sudden, everypony flocked over to the pegasus pair, and for different reasons.
"Yowza! You girls really electrified the audience out there!" Moondancer exclaimed happily.
"You were simply magnificent! That was quite the electrifying display!" Glory chirped.
"You really stole the show!" Twilight said.
"Congrats on finally nailing that trick!" Gusty chimed.
"Think you can do it again?" Sunbeam asked.
"I knew I shouldn't have let you go on that stage! Why didn't you listen to me and quit?!" Rhythm complained.
"Sorry for saying this, but I have to agree with your mom," Lofty said. "You kinda overexerted yourself a bit, and since your wing gave out, I think your chances of winning slipped."
"I know, but at this point, I don't care about whether I win or not," Medley told them politely. "I did it with Firefly, my best friend, and that's more than enough for me."
"Oh! We're up! Come on, unicorns!" Moondancer said as she darted out on stage. Seeing that this is their cue, Glory, Sunbeam, and Majesty followed her out.
"I wonder what they'll be doing?" Lickety-Split asked.
"Let's watch and see!" The white earth pony said.
Moondancer, Sunbeam, Glory, and Majesty all stood in center stage, closing their eyes as they let the magic build up in their horns. Moondancer's horn glowed in a rosy red light. Sunbeam's horn glowed in a golden yellow color, like sunlight. Glory's horn glowed in a sea blue light, and Majesty's horn glowed in a pure white light. All of a sudden, much to the audience's surprise, the area around them began changing dramatically! Instead of being in their town, they suddenly found themselves in space! Surrounded by planets, galaxies, and about a million twinkling stars! Even the ponies backstage found themselves floating in space! But before everypony in the audience could comprehend what was happening, the scenery changed again! The space around them now changed into a winter wonderland. Trees were frozen and encased in ice. Snow covered all the land, and little snowflakes fell from the cloudy grey sky.
"I wonder if Snowflake is in the audience? I bet she'd squeal over this!" Gusty asked the white earth pony.
All of a sudden, a very high pitched voice echoed, startling quite a few audience members.
"EEEEEEEEE!"
"Yep. That's her," The white earth pony said. The unicorn quartet didn't lose their concentration or their cool. Then the scenery changed again, and everypony was now thrown into a field of beautiful, blooming flowers in multifarious colors! Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, every single color you can imagine. Everypony could feel the warmth of the golden sun and smell the sweet aroma of the myriad flowers surrounding them, and they loved every minute of it. Then, the scenery kept changing. The desert, the forest, great big castles made of crystal, a field of sunflowers, a town made entirely of sweets like cake and chocolate and candy, a big castle made of clouds, and finally, the inside of an active volcano. With that, the scenery around the ponies finally changed back to their home and stage. The unicorn quartet stopped working their magic, and the glow from their horns vanished. All of a sudden, pandemonium broke out in the form of massive applauding and hoof stomps.
"Wow! That magical display was simply beautiful! I never knew those four together would be capable of such a feat!" Medley exclaimed.
"They're the most magical out of all us unicorns. That's why they're so amazing when they do their magic!" Fizzy piped in.
"I know they're going to win for sure!" Sparkler said.
"I wish I could do magic like that," Gusty grumbled.
"Were they awesome or what?!" The white earth pony asked Twilight.
"They sure were, Triad(1)!" Twilight piped in happily.
The final act of the competition was Skydancer doing ballet for an ancient classical music piece, and wow, did she dance beautifully! Firefly and Medley couldn't help but notice that when Skydancer dances, she looks much more peaceful, more merry, and more docile. After a few minutes, Skydancer stopped dancing, and with that, the competition ended. Then came the time to give out the awards. Some trophies sat on a table, along with many small, pale green and yellow striped bags.
"Wow! That was a mighty fine talent competition we had, and now is the time to decide the winner!" The announcer edicted. One pony gave him and envelope.
"Third place goes to...contestants numbers 15 and 16, Firefly and Medley, for their Firefly Thundersprint Medley!"
Firefly's jaw dropped to the floor and her purple eyes widened in shock. "WHAT?! THIRD PLACE?!" Firefly screamed, appalled with the fact that they didn't win first prize. Medley, however, thought differently. She silently walked to the announcer and received the third place trophy with a smile.
"The judges say that while it wasn't the best feat you performed, they could tell that a lot of effort was put into it, and that you two showed genuine prowess and courage when performing it despite the danger, even if things didn't go well," The announcer said.
"Thank you," Medley thanked them politely and walked back to a very irritated Firefly, who sat on the stage with her front hooves crossed, moping because of not getting first place.
"I'm sorry we lost. It's my fault, because my wing gave out," Medley told her gently. Immediately, Firefly's angst faded away, and she looked at her friend with her purple eyes.
"Don't say it's your fault, Meds! That's not true! Sure your wing gave out, but you and I still managed to pull it off! You made it even more awesome!" Firefly exclaimed.
"I'm glad, and don't be sad about not winning. I don't mind if we got third place. I'm just happy I got to do the FSM with you, my best friend," Medley said. Firefly smiled and, admittedly, became a little teary eyed. But the announcer moved on.
"Second place goes to...contestants numbers 1, 2, and 3! The Three Primary Colors!" The announcer announced.
By The Three Primary Colors, he meant Wind Whistler, Lofty, and Heart Throb. When all three brightly colored pegasi heard their title, they beamed happily, flew over to the announcer, and accepted the second place trophy, though it must be confessed that Heart Throb whined a little.
"Awww! We didn't get first place! How utterly bothersome!" Heart Throb moaned.
"You needn't feel like you haven't accomplished anything, Heart Throb. While it is true we have been bereaved of the first prize, achieving second place is in itself a very noble accomplishment, as quite a myriad of ponies do not have the rudimentary capabilities to even come to the smallest nanometer close to achieving second place. In fact, the odds-" Wind Whistler tried to explain, but Heart Throb cut her off.
"I GET IT! Sheesh! You wonder why I don't like being around you!" Heart Throb snapped angrily, which made both Wind Whistler and Lofty quite shocked, though Lofty was more angry than shocked.
"Come on, HT! She was just trying to cheer you up! Second place isn't bad at all!" Lofty scolded, angry that Heart Throb would yell at Wind Whistler for trying to give her some encouragement.
"But I wanted to WIN! How could somepony as beautiful and dignified as I lose?!" Heart Throb complained like a spoiled princess, which made Lofty roll her eyes as Wind Whistler took the trophy and left the stage.
"Winning isn't everything, y'know..." Lofty grumbled under her breath as Heart Throb walked away.
Lemon Drop, Bow Tie, and Ribbon watched as the three pegasi left the stage. "Wow. Now I see why those two don't get along. Heart Throb's a spoiled princess who wants everything to go her way and Wind Whistler loves going off on random, big-worded tangents on anything and everything," Lemon Drop said.
"Heart Throb isn't totally snobbish. She's just a little self-centered, but she can be kind when she wants to be," Ribbon said.
Then the final moment came
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! The first prize winner of this year's National Talent Competition is..." The announcer said. Medley found a drum and decided to perform a drum roll to increase the tension, which worked. The tension increased. Everypony began whispering as a pony gave another envelope to the announcer.
Who is going to win?
The answer turned out to be...
"...Contestants numbers 17, 18, 19, and 20! The Unicorn Quartet, for their absolutely stunning and magnificent illusionary magic!"
Yes! They all heard right. Moondancer, Glory, Sunbeam, and Majesty all managed to win first prize! Moondancer jumped and cheered happily. Sunbeam began bouncing off the walls. Literally. Glory and Majesty smiled at each other and gave each other high hoofs.
"I knew it..." Gusty grumbled.
Once they calmed down, Moondancer, Sunbeam, Glory, and Majesty all accepted their big trophy.
"Everypony else gets their own little consolation prize for their participation in the talent contest. We hope everypony can participate next year!" The announcer said. Then everypony in the audience cheered and stomped their hooves happily.
"Aww," Bow Tie moaned a little. "We didn't win, and we worked so hard!"
Ribbon stroke Bow Tie's pink hair with one of her front hooves. "Don't be sad, Bow. I kind of expected we were going to lose anyway, but we can always try again next year. Besides, we did our part, and we get a little consolation prize, too. Let's see what they are," Ribbon told her reassuringly.
Firefly, Medley, and other ponies approached Moondancer to congratulate her and the others for winning. Moondancer, however, did look a little embarrassed.
"Sorry we took the first prize, Firefly. I know how much you and Meds wanted this," Moondancer told them with sad eyes.
Firefly shook her head. "That's okay. I'm over it. Besides, you and the others deserve it, and you were right, you DID shoot us down with your trick!"
Moondancer laughed a bit, then looked at Medley. "Speaking of being shot down, you're not hurt or anything, are you, Meds?" Moondancer asked with a slightly worried look in her blue eyes.
"My wing's still throbbing a bit, but I'm fine. Congratulations to you and the others for winning," Medley said with a smile.
"I'm quite surprised we managed to do what we did, and you should all feel proud for at least participating and doing your best," Majesty told them with a sweet smile. Some of the other participants came back with their consolation prize.
"Hey look! A gold medal with silver wings! How cool is this?!" Lemon Drop hopped around happily, showing off her consolation prize like it was a real trophy. The metal is made of solid gold with a horse's face carved into it, and two silver wings protruded from the sides.
"I guess the contest wasn't a total loss after all!" Bow Tie said as she put on her medal.
"I love the way it shines in the sunlight," Sparkler said as she polished hers with her hoof.
Despite not winning the competition, the majority of the ponies were happy with their accomplishments...well, not ALL of the ponies. Heart Throb and Wind Whistler are still at each other's throats despite the efforts of other ponies to break them up, and some younger ponies cried and whinnied sadly. But the end of the contest was still a celebratory time.
But it wasn't the end of the day for one pair of pegasi.
"Come on, Medley! Hurry up or we'll miss it!" Later in the night, Firefly dragged Medley out of the house. Medley didn't understand why Firefly is so excited but went with her anyway. The sky had darkened to a deep shade of blue, and the stars had not yet come out yet, but were getting close to doing so.
"Firefly! What in the world has gotten into you? Will you please tell me why you're dragging me out to the edge of the woods?" Medley asked, perturbed by Firefly's sudden excitement. No, they're not going back to the Forsaken Wood.
"I want to show you something beautiful! Oh! We're here!" Firefly said, then noticed that they've made it to the edge of the woods. The trees aren't as thick as those of the Forsaken Wood, and there's a nice little pond nearby, with lots of lily pads, closed up flowers, and weirdly-shaped rocks. Medley looked around and noticed the scenery around her is growing darker.
"Why are we here?" Medley asked again, hoping for an answer since Firefly has been too excited and too obstinate to give her one.
"Look!" Firefly shouted.
As Medley wound find out, the answer presented itself.
On a tall blade of grass, a small but piercing yellow light flashed for about a second. Then came another flash from another part of the pond. Then many more.
Both Medley and her pink friend knew what these beautiful yet fleeting lights were the minute they saw the first flash.
"...Fireflies?" Medley asked with wonder, watching as one little lightning bug flew around them.
"Yep. Isn't it beautiful?" Firefly asked as she saw a firefly land in her hair and light up.
Soon, many little yellow lights enveloped the entire edge of the woods. Medley extended one of her hooves out and watched with awe as she saw a firefly land in her hoof and glow in the same sunny yellow light as its myriad friends did. The two pegasi watched with wonder as the light of the fireflies enveloped them and made them feel warm and like they had entered a new world. It was one of the most beautiful things they had ever seen.
"...I was born here," Firefly suddenly whispered out of nowhere.
"Huh?" Medley asked, shocked with what she just heard. "You were? I always thought you were born in the clouds, like I was."
"I never told you, did I?" Firefly said wistfully as she let the firefly in her hair fly back to it's friends. "My parents came here on vacation once, when I was still in my mom's belly. A couple days before they had to leave, they came here, and she wound up going into labor. The ambulance didn't make it in time, so I wound up being born before the paramedics could arrive. But night fell, and the fireflies popped out, just like they're doing right now. Mom told me that I woke up in her arms and the first thing I opened my eyes to was a little firefly that glowed on my hoof. That's when Mom and Dad decided to name me Firefly, in honor of that moment. Since then, every year on my birthday, Mom and Dad would take me here and let me watch the fireflies for as long as the night went on. I know today's not my birthday and all, but..." Firefly looked Medley in the eyes when she said this, and oh, was she solemn. "I really wanted to show this to you, and I feel tonight's just the right time to do so, now that we've made up and all."
Medley was not only amazed by the beauty of the myriad firefly lights, but the fact that she's learned something new about her friend, something she never expected. But she didn't mind. In fact, she loved finding out that Firefly's name has very special meaning behind it and learning the story of her birth.
"I want to thank you...for being my friend, and I thought this was the perfect way to do it, since I know you like fireflies and all," Firefly said.
Gently, Medley hugged Firefly. She didn't know that a firefly nested itself into one of the many clumps in her green mane.
"No. Thank YOU, Firefly...for being my friend," Medley said softly in a whisper.
Yes, both pegasi felt very blessed to be friends, but that night they felt themselves be pulled closer.
Their friendship blossomed further when they came to the forest of firefly light.
Footnotes:
1. For those of you who have seen the first My Little Pony special, Rescue from Midnight Castle, did any of you notice there was a white earth pony with a rainbow for a cutie mark and a cat on her back? Well, she doesn't have a toy released, nor does she have an official name. I have decided to rectify this and give her a name, which will henceforth be Triad since her cutie mark is a tri-colored rainbow.