“Go then, there are other worlds than these.”

― Stephen King, The Gunslinger

The West Wind

“Umf.”

Clink.

“Umf.”

Clink.

“Umf.”

Clink. Clink.

“...Angel, let’s rest for a bit.” Fluttershy groaned.

The owner of the name--a white rabbit holding a glass of lemonade and a wet towel as he sat under the shade of a tree--shrugged and set his glass down and hopped over to the speaker.

Fluttershy took off her sunglasses and shook her head, letting her mane whip about. She dropped her hoe and kicked it away with her front hoof, sending it sliding across the grass. It thudded against the fence and stopped there. Angel halted beside it and gave it a little sniff before continuing his way to Fluttershy, who was now watering the ground that she had used the hoe on. He climbed on her back and applied over her head in an attempt to cool her. Fluttershy moaned appreciatively.

“Thanks Angel.”

The rabbit shrugged and slid off of the Pegasus and went back to get his lemonade.

Fluttershy had been hard at work all day on making sure her garden was back in order, after a sudden chicken freakout caused the said animals to stampede it. It wasn’t random though; the freakout had been caused by a troublesome fox who was clearly looking to reach them. Fluttershy had experienced the freakouts twice now, and the fox managed to get two eggs each time, much to her horror. She had to comfort the poor momma hens as they clucked in grief for their unborn babies.

The yellow pegasus wanted to catch the fox as quickly as possible, but so far her traps have not been fruitful. The fox was eating the animal food and gnawing at the door at night, and would flee whenever a trap went off. Fluttershy was starting to think that the fox was from the Everfree forest, and that scared her.

Taking care of itself, she thought in horror. She didn’t know much about the Everfree Forest, and rarely took hoof in there, but she found it quite scary. The thought of the unknown and independence seeping through the trees made her uncomfortable…

“Angel, would you like some more lemonade?” Fluttershy asked, pushing her somewhat dark thoughts away. The rabbit nodded and she moved to go to the house. Her tail was pulled painfully hard, and she let out a squeak.

“Oh! What…?”

Angel held out his empty glass.

“Oh.” Fluttershy smiled sheepishly. “I nearly forgot. Sorry Angel.”

She took the glass, unfurled her wings, gave them a flap, and flew towards the house She entered her home and sighed in relief as she was greeted by her animal friends who took refuge inside her cottage. At least the fox couldn’t get to them. One of the hens during the raid had been bitten on the leg by the fox, and was dozing on a pillow nearby, her injured limb wrapped up tightly. A black-and-white puppy sat beside her, eyeing her with fearful eyes.

This one was a tough case for Fluttershy--he was so frightened of everything. She had found him tottering about the Everfree forest, looking very close to starvation. He had tried to run away when the pegasus got closer, but she managed to coax him to her home by feeding him treats. Now he was just getting used to the surroundings. There were other animals, but these were the most recent.

“Hello everyone!” Fluttershy said as she flittered towards the kitchen. “I’m just going to go get some more lemonade!”

She barely got a response, save for a whimper from the puppy. The pegasus opened the fridge and pulled out the pitcher of lemonade, before setting it down on the counter. Pouring the juice into the glass, she gazed out into the window, where she had a good view of the chicken coop outside. It was filled with the chickens, refusing to step foot out of safety in fear of a fox running over to snap them up. Between the hens’ wings there hid the newly born chicks that survived the raid.

Poor things.

Fluttershy tutted and put away the pitcher and returning outside to stand back near the garden. She did have to admire the hens’ determination to protect their chicks, as well as other animal mothers. There was something about it that made Fluttershy envious for some reason.

It’d be nice to have a little foal of my own.

But Fluttershy didn’t think she’d want to go through the trouble of having on. She supposed she could just adopt, but adoption felt...strange. Plus it took a lot of time to apply, and even more time waiting.

Oh, but we could have so much fun. Fluttershy argued. Imagine teaching her how to brush a dog or feed a cat. And we’d tell a lot of good stories to each other, and I could take her to school...

Fluttershy always found herself thinking about what it’d be like to have a foal to look after. She had guest room that was constantly in use by seriously in need animals, but wouldn’t it be nice to give it to someone who needed a warm bed to sleep on?

“Ahem,” coughed a voice. Fluttershy snapped herself from out of her thoughts and looked at Angel, who was tapping his foot impatiently. She stared at him blankly for a while.

...Oh!

She set the glass of lemonade down.

“Sorry Angel,” she apologized, smiling as he began to drink. “I’ve been thinking, that’s all.”

Angel rolled his eyes and began to hop away.

“Wait Angel.”

He stopped and turned around to look at her curiously, as if to say, What now?

“Do you…” Fluttershy hesitated. How would Angel feel if she brought home a child to raise? “Would you be okay if I adopted someone to be my foal?”

Angel’s face was thoughtful. Fluttershy waited patiently. He shrugged at her and began to drink again. His owner let loose a sigh of relief.

“Okay, thank goodness.” That made her feel better. If she ever wanted a foal to live with her and call her mom, she’d at least know that Angel would be okay with it. She glanced at the garden.

“I’ll finish that later. I bet the chickens are hungry.”

The mare cantered over to her tool shed sitting a bit of a way far off. Opening the door, she walked in, brushing past multiple sacks of animal feed and gardening tools, stopping just before one sack labeled “Poultry”. The handles were worn away into thin strands, but still durable as Fluttershy gripped them with her teeth.

Backing out and dragging the back with her, Fluttershy felt a gentle breeze. Fluttershy looked up at the sky quizzically. What was up with the air? Why did she feel a breeze? She could have sworn that there’d be no wind today, that Ponyville was overdue for a very hot day.

“It’s windy all of a sudden Angel…Did anyone say anything about wind today?”

Angel shook his head. He looked just as clueless as she did.

That’s strange, she thought, nopony usually lets an unregulated wind blow through.

Fluttershy huffed crossly and continued to feed the chickens.

“Well, whatever the reason, I hope it blows over soon.”

The West Wind traveled long and far from the eyes of the gods once more, as she had for years now. Her body soared through the sky, space, and eventually time, as she removed herself from the world her pursuers had found. She had been expecting their presence for some time now, but now it was time to depart, for if she continued to linger, they would overtake her. But it wasn’t her that they wanted, oh no. They could call for her, and she would come. No, it was what she had.

Clinging to her robes, cradled in her arms, was a tiny unicorn, blessed with a special ability that also cursed him. His coat was pure white, his mane short and red. His name was Unico, and that was all he knew. He did not know who his mother was, why he was with the West Wind, or if there was an end to his journeys. He only knew his name, and that was all he really needed to survive.

The West Wind felt terrible pity for his ignorance, but it was better for him to forget and forget again, than to be forgotten forever. That was his alternative, like it or not, she thought with an inward sigh. He has no choice but to keep going, for destiney urges so.

Long ago in a far away land, a unicorn gave birth as unicorns alway do since the beginning of time. She gave birth to many young unicorns of different colors and personalities, but none was quite as special as Unico. Born with a white coat and red mane, he came along with the power to make everyone lighthearted and bring peace. In turn, everyone loved him.

But the gods grew jealous and believed that they were the only ones capable of controlling one’s feelings, so they wanted to kill Unico, but a few took mercy on him for being young. The gods wanted the West Wind to take the equestrian to the Hill of Oblivion, where he would be exiled and forgotten forever. That there was how the West Wind came to meet Unico, and she could not bear to have him suffer. So she would always whisk him away to a new place, where the gods could not find him.

But there was always a catch to these things. Unico would always grow lonely, and after making friends and moving somewhere else, he would always lose his memory and become lonely again. But again, the West Wind reasoned, it is better than the alternative…

She continued to drift, surrounded in pitch blackness, between worlds as she charted the next destination for Unico to go. In her ear, she could hear a tiny voice--

“Beezle...Beezle…”

--but she had long since dismissed it as the memories dwindling away from Unico’s mind. She knew that if she looked at him, he’d be asleep by now, not knowing what was going on. He never stayed awake during the trip.

But back to the world he would need to go to. The West Wind pondered for a while. It was obvious now that no matter where she put him, he’d use his magic. Was there any place where the unicorn could live peacefully for a while? Perhaps a place where magic was used on a regular basis?

A place where he would fit in…

But where?

“...Beezle…”

Where could Unico go?

Her mind became a river of inky blackness, dotted with sphere-like objects. They were the universe and more--the worlds that the West Wind could venture to. All she had to do was pick a sphere, look through them, and pick what suited her.

This world?

Like water pouring into a bowl, images of a world seeped into her, requesting to enter. She looked into them with earnest, flipping through the images carefully. What she found interested her.

This world is brimming with magic.

Indeed it was: the world was bright and pulsed with magic, practically bursting through the seems. It was so strong that the West Wind’s mind throbbed in pain. Along with it was a positive atmosphere, a feeling of…

Happiness.

The West Wind’s mind dug deeper into the world, clutching it tightly so it would not slip away. It held there, bobbing slightly, the images becoming sharper, more real. The West Wind had entered the world by doing this, drifting, and then---finding a pocket of warm air--sailed through the air. She only had to ask the name of the land she currently was in to get the answer.

Equestria.

She began to descend down a wooded area below, judging it as an isolated place.The sun was setting behind a purple-tinted mountain, painting the sky purple, pink, and orange. The West Wind could make out a castle situated on the mountain face.

I don’t know of this place. Could this be new? Did someone create this and live there?

But what did it matter? The place seemed good for now. If it didn’t suit Unico’s needs, she could always leave.

The spirit touched down on the ground, beneath the forest canopy. Squirrels scattered from her, and a startled buck let out a sharp bark before leaping away. The West Wind paid them no heed and set Unico on a small patch of grass. He stretched and yawned before resuming in his sleeping position.

“Unico,” the West Wind whispered in a gentle tone, “wake up.”

“...Mmhm?” The unicorn stirred from his sleep and looked at the spirit with a daze expression. His eyes were half-lidded, still fighting off the lull of sleep. "West Wind?"

“I’m leaving you here, Unico,” the West Wind informed him, “until the time has come for me to take you away again. You have a great gift, but for your sake you cannot use it freely. Fortunately I have found a world that has enough magic to conceal you from your pursuers for a very long time.”

Unico continued to look at her, this time in confusion. The West Wind rose into the air, smiling slightly.

“Be sure not to alert your enemies of your presence, dear one.”

“W-wait,” the unicorn stood up immediately. “Where are you going?”

She said nothing, but ascended into the heavens, leaving him alone.

The cycle had begun again.