Well, this was boring.

Here Fluttershy stood, waiting her cute, furry friends to go on a picnic. On her frail shoulder rested a basket with a checkered cloth, full to the brim with delicious goodies, cakes and many other fantastic treats. She waited rather patiently in the clearing for her animals, who were more than just fashionably late. The plan was to meet up half an hour ago; they were extremely tardy.

Just like an animal to give up on you. Seriously, what would an animal do that was so important? Go on a stupid shopping spree in the middle of Manehatten? After all she'd done for them...

No, she mustn’t think like that. They'll be here any minute now. Fluttershy only had to be patient. That was it. Patience was key when dealing with animals.

In fact, what was the point in standing up? It would only tire her out. The gangly mare decided to sit down on the warm grass beneath her, finally resting her exhausted hooves. She placed the small box down in front of her, preparing for her friends to appear with their usual, happy, smiling faces.

The bright sun shone down on her, filling her with warmth from head to hoof. As she lay on the relaxing curvature of the grassy bank, she took in the sight before her eyes. The day was still young, so she was able to look down into the valley of Ponyville. There she could see the faint outlines of several ponies as they went about their own business. She saw several exchanges between the ponies in the markets, hoping to get as much as they could for their bits.

Every so often, she could hear an occasional word out of someone's sentence. The sound of an overjoyed pony bursting into laughter echoed throughout the valley. The cries and wails of a miserable pony being told awful news. Even the unmistakable voice of Pinkie Pie as she obviously pulled out a fresh batch of cupcakes, singing her infamous cupcake chorus.

They'll be here any second now.

The mare closed her heavy eyes as she waited.

A cold breeze sent shivers down Fluttershy's spine. With a gasp, the pegasus jumped up in surprise, only to notice the darkness surrounding her. The bright, early day had vanished, leaving a starry canvas of blackness in its wake. As she moved forward in hopes of finding her bearings, her hoof bumped into something fragile, sending the contents sprawling down the obscure bank.

It only took her a couple of seconds to realise that it was her picnic. Her food was now sliding down into the darkness. With this now processing in her mind, another thought rose to mind.

They didn't come for her.

Her beloved, furry friends had abandoned her, leaving her to stumble around in this...bother. Maybe they just forgot. Well, an animal has quite a good memory, no matter what others may think. Or maybe they simply didn't know where to meet up. No, that didn't make much sense - she had definitely been up here before with them.

Perhaps they just didn't love her anymore.

As the frail pegasus took in a strong sniff, she tried to retrieve what she could in the obscurity. She had just managed to pick up several pots of jam when the checkered cloth flew away towards the star-ridden sky. As she furiously flapped her wings in pursuit of catching the cloth, a strong breeze caught it, sending it flying across the valley and far out of her reaches.

Never mind, she didn't really need that anyway. The old thing wasn't of much use to her. Putting this and her bursting emotions to the back of her mind for a moment, she returned to the cold ground to place the remains of her food back in the basket. Which, of course, burdened with the new weight, rolled down the steep, grassy bank, leaving all of the delectable goodies sprawled across the darkness once more.

With another deep sniff, Fluttershy decided to give up. Obviously, something didn't want her to have a good time that day, so she simply gave up. Sitting on her frozen haunches, the yellow pegasus stared up at the unchanging sky as a lone tear fell down her cheek.

Her so-called friends had abandoned her. They didn't even bother showing up, let alone greet her. Fluttershy shut her eyes tightly for fear of releasing more tears. Now was not the time for crying - now was the time for thought and consideration.

Her animals had left her.

Why would they do such a thing? She had always treated them well - feeding and giving them as much attention as they wanted. She had brought them up, taught them how to look after themselves, and when they came back with failure in their eyes, she had cared for them. They were only animals, but surely a little picnic wasn't too much to ask in return...

“Hey, lil' pony, come over here a sec.”

A deep voice came out of nowhere, shocking her for a brief moment. With a curious, almost scared expression, Fluttershy looked around for the source of the voice. However, there was not a pony to be seen. It's not like she would've been able to see them anyway; the darkness surrounded her.

“Hey, you! Over there with tears in your eyes! I only wanna talk to ya. Throw me a bone here!”

The deep voice returned, and Fluttershy had managed to detect the general direction of the sound. Now unsure of herself, Fluttershy decided to look down at the ground while she walked over to the voice. If she looked down, the mare wouldn't be so scared by whatever it was when she found it.

The pale pegasus shuffled over to the clump of trees from which the sound had come. Maybe it was just a couple of colts playing some pranks on her. They had always done that kind of thing to Fluttershy as a filly, so why not now? Even more unsure of herself, the mare closed her eyes in fear. This was quite rare for her. Fluttershy had never been this brave before.

“That-a girl! I'm just to your left, but turn slowly...I might scare ya.”

Fluttershy didn't like the sound of that. Not one little bit.

Complying to the will of the stranger, the pegasus turned very slowly and cautiously, looking out for any unwanted surprises or guests. When she finally managed to fully turn around, she was shocked by the lack of ponies. Literally, no-one was there, aside from several overgrown trees.

“H-hey, mister. Is this some kind of j-joke?” Fluttershy spoke nervously, unaware of the watching eyes prying on her. She braced herself for an answer, clenching her teeth in anticipation.

“Nope. I'm right here, lil' darlin'.” A crude mouth appeared on the tree in front of her, replying to her question. On closer inspection, the tree had an actual face - complete with a nose, ears, and of course, a mouth. A pair of big, green eyes settled on the frightened pegasus.

Well, this was new.

With an ear-piercing shriek, Fluttershy hid behind the closest thing beside her, which turned out to be another tree. Now frightened of trees, the mare just simply sat down on the cold ground below her, covering her face with her hooves. As she quietly whimpered, the tree gave an audible sigh.

“Ah well, I knew this was gonna happen. Ain't never actually had a talk with a pony before. I knew Momma was right. Now Forrest, she said: don't you go talkin' to those ponies now. They're much more trouble then they're worth, ya hear?”

The tree's green eyes dimmed, most likely as a result of its disappointment. “I shoulda listened to her really, but I guess ma curiosity got the better of me...See ya later, lil' pony.”

Fluttershy's small amount of confidence of returned, allowing her to overcome her surprise. The tree didn't sound so bad - it only wanted to talk! Maybe she should give it a chance. She could always just turn and run away if it got too scary.

She got up from the earth and turned to face the talking tree.

“Hey, um, Mister Tree? What would you like to talk about?”

It sounded absolutely ridiculous talking to a tree as if it were an talking, breathing thing. Fluttershy was used to talking to her animals, but a tree was a long stretch, even by her standards. It wasn't doubt that kept her listening though - it was curiosity.

“Oh, is lil' pony okay now? Well, nice ta meetcha, missy, ma name's Forrest,” Forrest gave a small wink at the mention of his name. “And what would your name be?”

It wasn't everyday that somepony asked her her name, let alone a tree. For some reason, not many paid attention to her. Maybe because of the very scarce presence she had successfully tried to preserve over the years. That was probably it.

“Oh, uh...My name's Fluttershy,” She spoke quietly – unsure of herself. The mare looked away from the pure green eyes staring back at her, hoping to regain her previous burst of courage.

“I'm sorry, darlin', what was that?” Forrest made a kind smile in an attempt to get a clearer, more clarified response from her. It just looked weird on a tree though - on something that was usually inanimate and unsmiling.

“I said my name's Fluttershy...”

“Aw, well ain't that a pretty name! Fits ya like a glove, Fluttershy.” The tree repeated the name several times, as if he was trying to get used to the feel of it. With this odd ceremony complete, Forrest made another odd-looking smile.

Fluttershy was going to ask what a glove was, but unfortunately her nerves got the better of her. Instead, she just stood still, grinning like a moron, hoping that the tree would begin a conversation between them.

“So..uh, you're not wonderin' why I'm a talkin' tree?”

Strangely enough, Fluttershy hadn't been thinking of that; despite the fact that she was talking to a talking tree. Who, surprisingly, was talking back. Hence, why it was called a talking tree.

Yet, the thought hadn't come to mind, because she was busy talking to a tree.

Was it a figment of her imagination? A creation formed by her lonely thoughts and feelings? It looked and felt so real though. As if it actually existed, no matter how silly or crazy it sounded. It was a physical entity, manifested in front of her, and yet it seemed so ridiculous...

“Lil' darlin'? Alright down there?” Fluttershy shook her head in a physical attempt to regain attention. She looked up at Forrest to find it gazing down on her with worried eyes. Its mouth formed a small, inquisitive frown.

“Yes, I'm fine, Mister Tree. Just a little dizzy.” She spoke slowly to clarify her exact feelings.

“Hey, you gonna be alright. I guess it's just talkin' to a tree that's got you all worked up.”

If Fluttershy had the courage to reply honestly, her response would've been rather sarcastic. That being said, would a tree even be able to understand sarcasm? Forrest seemed reasonably knowledgeable, for a tree at least, but surely emotions and feelings were reserved for actual thinking beings.

Not trees.

“An' by the way – call me Forrest. That's ma name. Quite ironic for one tree, might I add, but ma Momma had a sense of humour. Yggdrasil bless her soul. Uh, that's probably not helpin' you too much.”

Without a doubt in her mind, Fluttershy had never experienced anything as weird as this. She had seen many crazy things in her life, but nothing that could even begin to compare to this. Could you even imagine it? Maybe taking a leisurely stroll through the park, and boom. A tree starts talking to you. How would you feel at that precise moment? Pretty surprised, right?

Fluttershy continued to stare at the unblinking tree as her imagination talked to her invisible audience she liked to keep entertained. Her motionless face slightly disturbed Forrest, who was waiting for any sort of understandable reply. As the moments passed by, the oak tree grew impatient.

“Anyways, I'm gettin' off topic. I called ya over fer a favour, so would ya kindly listen?”

Snapping out of her daydream, Fluttershy stood straight and nodded half-heartedly. Content with the response, Forrest continued his speech.

“So...sittin' here, bein' a tree all day isn't too much fun. Ya start to get itchy and yer bark starts to crawl. I called ya over to help me with that problem...” The tree stopped for what seemed like a dramatic pause. However, bearing in mind that it was a tree performing this motion, it obviously wasn't as effective as any other, normally talking being - who wasn't a tree.

“Say, Fluttershy...Could ya maybe scratch ma branch? It's been awful itchy, an' I hope ya don't mind none.”

It seemed like a harmless request.

Compared to the usual task of looking after her animals, this seemed positively easy. Ridiculously easy, even. At least it was something new, unlike most of the care she provided for her animals. Her low-life, good-for-nothing animals.

Flapping her wings softly, the mare took to the air and hovered next to a prominent branch. After confirming it was the right branch with Forrest, Fluttershy began the scratch.

The pegasus started gently at first, allowing her hooves to get used to the texture and general feel of the branch. As Forrest asked for a harder scratch, Fluttershy dug her hooves in more vigorously. She worked her muscles as fast as they would go, itching the branch to the best of her abilities.

After several minutes of this exhausting exercise, Fluttershy grew tired. Before long, her hooves were sore from the labour she had done.

“Hey, Forrest, my hooves are starting to hurt now. Do you mind if I stop?”

The oak tree gave a broad smile before nodding. Well, it was a type of nodding. Forrest just sort of tilted his face back and forth several times in an attempt to copy the motion.

The frail pegasus landed softly back on the ground, her hooves instantly cold from the brief touch. She looked back at Forrest, who's face was filled with comfort and bliss – obviously content with the scratch.

“Aw, thanks, lil' darlin'. I'm feelin' better already! You were really good at that, ya know? Maybe ya should consider bein' a tree masseur!”

Almost ecstatic, Fluttershy made a massive grin. “Really?” She replied, waiting urgently for an answer. It was always nice receiving a compliment, no matter how silly it was.

“Naw, that would be really stupid. Trees don't talk, silly."

-END-

A/N: Yep, I don't know what the hell that was either. I hope it at least put a smile on your face, because it definitely put one on mine writing it. Considering I wrote it at the dead of night, be merciful. Please leave whatever comment you want. Especially nice ones. I like those kind of ones.