“Let a Song Carry You Along”

It was a beautiful day in Nebraska. Nine year old Megan Julia hartson was busy taking care of her ten month old sister, Molly while her other little sister, Julie, read on the couch.

          Julie had been reading a book now for an hour and she really wanted to do something else.  She really wanted to go to Ponyland, but she knew Megan wouldn’t take her yet.  Not that Megan didn’t want to, but she had to take care of Molly.  But little did Julie know what surprise Megan had in store for her.

          As Julie put the book down, Megan came over to her and put a hand on her little one’s shoulder.

          “Are you okay, my little one?”  Megan asked, giving Julie a kiss.

          Julie nodded.  She then sighed and whined, “Megan, I’m bored!”

          Megan giggled a little.

          “You’re bored?”  Megan then started to tickle Julie’s tummy, making her giggle.

          Julie nodded.

          “Can we go to Ponyland Megan, please?”

          Megan thought for a moment and then smiled just as a tap, tapping sound was heard at the window.

          “Whose that?”  Julie asked.

          “I don’t know,”  Megan said. “Do you want to see?”

          “Will you come with me?”  Julie asked.  She knew she wasn’t allowed to open the door without her big sister or Aunt Abby with her.

          Megan nodded.

          “Sure.”  Megan smiled as she walked Julie to the door.  She wanted to see if Julie could figure it out on her own.

          As the tap, tapping sound was heard again, Julie frowned as she opened up the door and looked out to see nobody there.

          “There’s nobody there!”  Julie said in frustration.  “Maybe it’s a wood peeker.”

          Megan giggled.

          “It’s wood pecker, little one.”

          Julie nodded.

          “Wood pecker.”

          “Good girl.”  Megan smiled and then said,  “Well, if the tapping sound isn’t coming from the door, then maybe you should check the window.”

          “Huh?”  Julie asked.

          Megan giggled.

          “Just trust me.  Check the window.”

          Julie gave Megan a strange look, but went to do so.  As Julie got to the kitchen window, she gasped and almost bumped right into Megan.  Firefly was hovering outside the window!

          Julie’s face broke into a grin.  She had hoped Firefly would come and visit. She had known Firefly now for three months and she liked her a lot. Firefly even had a special name for her.  She called Julie her Jules. Nobody else called Julie that except for Firefly.  Not even Aunt Abby or Megan.

          Julie grinned as Firefly landed and nuzzled Megan and then Julie herself.

          “How’s my Jules doing today?”

          “Good!” Julie said as she gave Firefly a hug.  She then turned to Megan with a hopeful look in her green eyes and asked, “Are we really going to Ponyland?”

          Megan nodded.

          “Yup.  Come on, little one.”  Megan picked Julie up and climbed onto Firefly’s back.  Once Firefly had taken to the air, she asked,  “What about my precious peanut?”

          Megan frowned.

          “Molly’s taking her nap. Aunt Abby’s home.  I told her I was taking my little one to Ponyland, so she knows where we are.”

          Firefly nodded. She knew that Abby worried about her nieces a lot.

          When they touched down in Dream Valley ten minutes later, Megan dismounted and patted Firefly’s mane as did Julie.

          “Thanks Firefly,” Megan said.

          “No problem, my sweet girl. Come on. I’m starving!”

          Megan giggled as she led Julie into Dream Castle.

          Once they got inside, all the little ponies came out to greet them. Fizzy was among them.

          “Hi Megan!!”  Fizzy said cheerfully, nuzzling her friend gently.  “I missed ya.”  She then smiled at Julie who had buried her face in Megan’s waist and asked, “Aw, whose that?”

          Megan smiled as she pried Julie’s arms from around her waist and picked her up.

“Everyone, this is my little sister, Julie. Julie, these are the little ponies.”  Megan began to point out various ponies to her little sister.

Julie nodded and buried her face in Megan’s shoulder. She was very shy and she didn’t like being around new people or ponies she didn’t know.

“What’s the matter with Julie?”  Fizzy asked.

Megan frowned as she carried Julie into the kitchen for a snack.

“Julie will be okay. She just needs a little time to get used to everyone. Right, little one?”

Julie responded by letting out a fearful sob.

“Aw, shh, shh, it’s okay, little one. It’s all right.  You’re safe and sound in Megan’s arms where you belong. You’re safe and sound in my arms, where you belong. It’s okay.”  Megan started to stroke Julie’s hair as she sat down in her usual spot.

“Gee,”  Fizzy said, frowning a little,  “I hope Julie’s goin’ to be okay.  She’s shy like you were the first time you came here.”

Megan nodded.

“Yup. But Julie’s going to be okay. I promise, Miss Fizzy.”  She smiled as she used her own special name for Fizzy, making the green unicorn giggle.  Megan then continued.  “I’m not scared anymore.”

“I should say not!”  North Star said nuzzling Megan gently.

“I agree with North Star,”  Wind Whistler said.  “Megan has overcome her apprehension when among us.”

“Huh?”  Fizzy asked.

Megan giggled.

“She’s agreeing with North Star.”  Megan told her friend.

“Oh.”  Fizzy said. She blushed and then smiled at Julie warmly.

After Megan and Julie along with the little ponies had their snack, they all went outside to play and enjoy the springtime weather.

Once they were outside, Firefly got Megan onto her back via the double inside out loop.

Megan was giggling, but Julie’s jaw was about on the ground!  She burst into tears and started to cry.

“Oh Julie!”  Fizzy exclaimed, coming over and nuzzling her new friend gently. “Shh, shh, hush now. It’s okay.  Megan’s not hurt, see? She likes it when Firefly does that.  Look!”

Julie looked to where Megan and Firefly were now flying around and saw that Fizzy was right. Her big sister was laughing up a storm.

Fizzy then got an idea.

“Hey Julie, watch this!”  Fizzy then stepped a little ways back and lit up her horn. Bubbles started to come out of it, which got Julie giggling.

“Do ya like ‘em?”  Fizzy asked.

Julie nodded.

“Can you do it again, pwease?”

“Sure!”  Fizzy said. She was happy that Julie was feeling a little bit better.

Just as Fizzy was about to blow another bubble, Julie reached out and popped the one she had just blown for her.

Julie’s lower lip started to quiver and she burst into tears all over again. She was sure Fizzy was upset, which was far from the truth.

“Julie, what’s the matter?”  Fizzy asked.

Julie didn’t answer. She just turned the other way and ran into Dream Castle, still crying. She Didn’t stop until she ran into a bedroom.  Once there, Julie threw herself onto the bed and cried herself to sleep.  She hadn’t taken her nap yet and all the excitement had worn her out!

Meanwhile back outside, Fizzy had started blowing  bubbles to get Firefly and Megan’s attention.  It worked and Firefly looked down.

          “What’s up, Fizz?”  Firefly asked, using her special name for Fizzy.

          Fizzy giggled, but then remembered what had happened.

          “It’s Julie!” Fizzy exclaimed.

Megan frowned.

“What about Julie?”  She asked.

Before Fizzy could answer, Megan jumped from Firefly’s back and landed on her right knee. She tried to get up, but couldn’t due to the pain.

“Megan!”  Fizzy cried in alarm. She ran to her friend and nuzzled her.  She wanted to make sure she was okay.

Firefly also wanted to make sure her sweet girl was all right, but boy was she going to scold her. Megan knew better than to jump off her back in mid flight and Firefly needed to let Megan know that what she had done was wrong. But first, she had to make sure that she was okay.

When Firefly reached Megan’s side, she nuzzled her gently and then asked sternly,  “Megan Julia Hartson, what did you think you were doing!  You scared me to pieces. You know that jumping off my back in mid flight is a BIG no-no, right?”

Megan frowned and nodded.

“Yes, ma’am,”  she said.

“Good.”  Firefly said. She then gave Megan another gentle nuzzle and asked in a more gentle tone, “Are you okay?”

Megan nodded and tried to get up, but her right knee was hurt.  As Megan tried for the third time, she burst into tears and buried her face in her hands.

“I can’t!” Megan sobbed.  “It hurts too much!”

“Shh, shh, all right, it’s okay, my sweet girl. You’re going to be okay. Come here, honey.”  Firefly nuzzled Megan gently as the young girl wrapped her arms around her neck and cried into her mane.  Firefly was still a little mad at Megan, but she couldn’t stay mad at her sweet girl for long. She loved her too much. Firefly knew she was going to have to punish her, but that would wait until she inspected Megan’s injury and got her some ice.  “Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you inside so you can rest, okay?”

Megan nodded and Firefly got her onto her back via her double inside out loop. 

When they entered Dream Castle, Firefly got Megan settled on the couch and went to get her some ice. Fizzy stayed with her to make sure she was okay.

“Okay, here we go, my sweet girl. I know it’s cold,”  Firefly added, seeing the look on Megan’s face when she applied the ice to her injury, “but it needs to stay there for awhile.  You bruised it pretty badly.  I never want you to do that again, do you understand me, young lady?”

Megan nodded and sighed.

“Yes, ma’am,”  she said.

“That’s my sweet girl.  All right, you just rest here for awhile.”

“Can you stay with me, please?”

Firefly nodded and nuzzled Megan gently.

After a few minutes of silence had passed, Firefly turned to Fizzy.

“So what was wrong with my Jules?”

Fizzy blushed as she started to explain what had happened.

“I started blowin’ bubbles for her and then we started to play bubble catch.  Everythin’ was okay, until Julie popped one of my bubbles by accident.  Before I could tell her it was all right, she burst into tears and ran into the Castle.  I don’t know where she got off to.”

Megan nodded. She went to get up, but Firefly pushed her back down gently.

“You aren’t going anywhere, my sweet girl.  You need to rest your knee.  I’m sure Jules is fine. She probably fell asleep in my bedroom or something.”

Megan nodded and sighed. Firefly was probably right.

Meanwhile, Medley had just gotten back from a flight with Locket and had decided to take a little nap before she spent time with Megan.  She knew her Human friend was there, and she would see her when she woke up. After all, Megan was staying for a few hours.

          As Medley pushed open the bedroom door, she gasped.  Someone was already sleeping in her bed.

          Medley smiled as she gazed down at the little girl who was now fast asleep.  She had reddish blond hair and green eyes. Medley could only assume that this was one of Megan’s little sisters.  Medley knew that Molly was just a baby, so this had to be Julie.

          As Medley went to leave the room, a gust of wind from outside, blew through the room and knocked over a picture frame.  Medley held her breath, but Julie just rolled over, mumbled something and slept on.

          Medley then decided to go and see what Megan was up to.  As Medley turned to leave, a clap of thunder sounded throughout the castle.  As another clap sounded, Julie bolted upright and looked around the room before letting out the loudest scream Medley heard in her life!

          “MEGAN!!!!

          Medley was sure that Megan along with the entire castle heard Julie’s cry.

Meanwhile in the living room, Firefly had heard her Jules scream and rushed to see if she could help. Megan had fallen asleep due to the pain in her knee and Firefly had covered her sweet girl with a blanket.

          When Firefly reached her room, she found it empty.  She then got an idea and went to see if Medley had seen Julie.

Meanwhile in Medley’s room, Medley was trying to calm Julie down. She didn’t want to scare her, but she wanted to help her see she had nothing to be afraid of.

          “It’s okay, sweetie,”  Medley said gently.  “You’re okay.  You’re all right.  Can you tell me your name, honey?”

          “Julie,”  Julie whispered.

          “Aw, well it’s nice to meet you Julie.  My name is Medley. I’m Firefly’s best pony friend.  Are you Megan’s sister?”

          Julie nodded.

          “You know Megan?”

          Medley nodded and smiled.

          “Yup.  She’s a real sweetheart.”  Medley then smiled and asked, “Do you like to fly?”

          Julie shrugged.

          “Sometimes. I don’t like to taked flights with Firefly cause she goes too fast.”

          Medley giggled and nodded.

          “I have to agree with you there.  And it’s take, sweetie.”

          “Take,”  Julie repeated.

          “Good girl,”  Medley said.  “If Megan says it’s okay, do you want to take a flight with me?  I promise I won’t go too fast.  I’m really careful when I fly.”

          Julie smiled and nodded.

          “You’re pretty,”  Julie said as she reached a hand out to touch Medley’s mane.

          “Aw, thank you, sweetie. I think you’re pretty yourself.  Go on.  It’s okay.”

          Julie nodded and patted Medley’s mane. It was nice and soft.

          Just then, Firefly rushed into the room. She sighed with relief when she saw that Julie was safe and sound.

          “Oh thank goodness!”  Firefly said, coming over and nuzzling Julie gently.  “I heard my Jules scream. Are you okay, honey?”

          Julie nodded.

          “I am now,”  she said. “Medley’s nice. Can we take a flight, pwease, Firefly?”

          Firefly thought about this and then said,  “Sure. I’m sure Megan won’t mind.  Megan is taking a little nap.”

          Julie nodded and climbed onto Medley’s back.

          Firefly smiled as she watched her best pony friend take to the air. She was glad that Julie had made a new pony friend.

          As Medley and Julie flew, Julie looked up in the air and then to her right and then left.

          “What are you looking for, sweetie?”  Medley asked.

          Julie smiled.

          “Hummingbirds. I like them a lot.”

          “Are they your favorite bird, Julie?”

          Julie nodded.

          “Yup.”

          “Ya know what?”  Medley asked, smiling.

          “What?”  Julie asked.

          “I’m going to call you my sweet little hummingbird.  Do you like that special name, Julie?”

          Julie nodded and smiled.

          “Uh-huh.”

          Medley smiled and nuzzled Julie gently. As they continued to fly around, Julie told Medley about some of the different things she liked to do. As they were flying back to Dream Castle, Medley gasped and said, “Julie, look!”

          Julie looked to her right and saw the prettiest sight she had ever seen in her life!

          “Hummingbirds!! Hummingbirds!!!”  Julie cried. “Look Medley!!”

          “I see them, my sweet little hummingbird.  I see them.  Aren’t they pretty?”

          Julie nodded.

          As the two new friends continued to look at the hummingbird nest, Medley started to sing.

          “There’s a song in the air in the forest, birds are singing as they’re winging here and there.  Could it be the scenery, the brilliant forest greenery?  Is that why there’s music everywhere?  There’s a beautiful sound in the forest, birds are tweeting out their greeting loud and strong. There is nowhere to be found, something sweeter than the sound of nature’s own sweet song!”  Medley then flew Julie over to a newborn robin’s nest.  As Julie reached out to touch one, Medley finished her song. “Birds feel safe and at home in the forest. They feel right there, cause they’re right where they belong!  There’s no way to recreate. To replace or imitate, nature’s own sweet song! Nature’s own sweet song!”

          Julie smiled.

          “I like that song,”  Julie said.  “It’s pretty.  You sing pretty, Medley.”

          “Aw, thank you, my sweet little hummingbird.”

          Just then, Julie gasped.

“I know what I can call you!  I’m going to call you my pretty Medley.  Do you like it?”

Medley nodded and nuzzled Julie gently.

“That’s perfect.  Thank you, my sweet little hummingbird.”

Julie nodded as she patted Medley’s mane gently.

“You’re welcome, my pretty Medley.”

When they got back to the Castle, Julie climbed off Medley’s back and patted her mane. They went into the castle and into the living room.  There they found Megan awake and pouting about something.

“But Firefly-”  Megan was saying, but Firefly wouldn’t hear it.

“NO buts, my sweet girl.  What you did was dangerous and even though I know you know that, I need to punish you to show you just how dangerous it was.  No double inside out loop for a week.”

“Okay,”  Megan said with a frown.  She sighed and then smiled when she saw Julie. “Did you have fun with Medley, my little one?”

Julie nodded and grinned.

“Yup. We went flying and guess what we sawed?  Guess what we sawed Megan!  Guess!!!”

“It’s saw,”  Megan corrected her little sister, while smiling.

“Saw,”  Julie repeated.

“Good girl.  What did you see?”  Megan asked,

“We sawe. . . . .I mean, we saw hummingbirds!!  We saw a bunch of hummingbirds and my pretty Medley sung a pretty song about them.”

Megan smiled and patted Julie’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you had fun, little one. But you know what time it is now, right?”

Julie frowned, knowing what was coming.

“I don’t want to go home!” Julie said, her lower lip quivering. “I want to stay here with my pretty Medley! I don’t want to go home! I don’t want to go!” With that, Julie ran out of the room in tears.

Medley followed her.  She wanted to make sure her sweet little hummingbird was okay.

Megan was about to  go after Julie, but Firefly stopped her.

“Let Medley handle it,”  Firefly advised. “She’ll get my Jules feeling better.”

Megan nodded and tried to relax a little bit.

Meanwhile in Medley’s bedroom, Medley had found Julie crying on her bed.

          “SHh, shh, hush now, my sweet little hummingbird. SHh, it’s okay, Julie. It’s all right. What’s the matter, sweetie?”

          “I don’t want to leave!”  Julie wailed. “I want to stay here with you!”

          Medley sighed as she sat down and nuzzled Julie gently.

          “I know you do, my sweet little hummingbird, but you have to go home with Megan.  I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise.”

          “Pomise?”  Julie asked.

          “I promise,”  Medley said.

          Julie nodded and gave Medley a hug.

          “I love you, my pretty Medley,”  Julie said as she wrapped her arms around Medley’s neck.

          “Aw, I love you too, my sweet little hummingbird.  Come on. We need to get you and Megan back home before dinnertime.”

          Julie nodded and followed Medley back to the living room.

          “Feeling better little one?”  Megan asked as she helped Julie to put her coat on.

          Julie nodded.

          “Yeah.  I’m going to miss Medley.”

          “Aw, I know you will, my little one. But you’ll see her tomorrow.”

          Julie nodded and smiled a little as she climbed onto Medley’s back for the journey home.

          Once they got home, Firefly nuzzled Megan gently and then nuzzled Julie. Firefly then gave Megan a kiss good bye and Megan hugged her best friend and patted her mane.

          “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay, my sweet girl?” Firefly said.

          Megan nodded.

          “Yup. And I PROMISE never to jump off your back like that again.”
          “Good girl. But you’re still punished from the double loop for a week.”

          Megan nodded.

          “I know. Safe trip back.”

          “Aw, thanks my sweet girl.”  Firefly then nuzzled Julie before soaring for the Rainbow again.

          “I’ll see you tomorrow, my sweet little hummingbird.  I love you.”  Medley said, nuzzling Julie gently.

          “I love you too, my pretty Medley.” Julie said.  After she hugged Medley one more time, the green Pegasus nuzzled her gently and left to catch up with Firefly.

          Megan then picked Julie up and carried her into the house.

Later that night, Megan tucked Julie in and sung her their song.  After Megan was done singing, Julie smiled up at her and said,  “Tanks Megan.”

          “For what?”  Megan asked as she tucked the covers around Julie.

          “For taking me to Ponyland.  I’m glad I met Medley.”

          “Me too, little one,”  Megan said, giving Julie a kiss.  “Me too.”  With that, Megan made sure Julie was going to be all right before checking on Molly and going to bed herself. It had been a long day and Megan was happy that Julie had made a new pony friend. Megan had a feeling that Julie and Medley were going to be friends for a long time.

          After all, there was always another Rainbow around the bend and if you looked hard enough, you could find a Rainbow anywhere.

                   THE END