//------------------------------// // Chapter 7.5 - Apology Part 2 // Story: Little Lost Raichu // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Little Lost Raichu - Chapter 7.5 - Apology Part 2 Raichu was perched on Starlight, massaging her own back. Taking weird poses for six hours isn’t how she imagined yesterday to go. The fact that she somehow managed not to move an inch for half an hour despite the cat’s continuous attempts to play with her tail, occasionally even using its fluffy tail to tickle her nose was anything but a miracle. Back then a mere glance at a napping Starlight had filled her with jealousy. Wishing to have a nap herself seemed reasonable, but she couldn’t bring herself to say ‘no’ to those passionate ponies. The taller one called Rarity put a lot of effort into her work, trying various styles to make her look great, while the filly just seemed to enjoy putting random stuff on her little body. At first she followed all their instructions out of guilt, trying to be obedient in return for their kindness and forgiveness. But part of her had to admit that it was kind of fun. The fact that not moving didn’t seem to bother her improved the experience, as if she was doing stuff like this in the past. Fun or not, she still felt stiff from yesterday, and a round of stretching on Starlight’s back seemed like the best course of action. "Rarity was on fire yesterday. I'm surprised you got out of there without a whole wardrobe, including a ball gown," Starlight commented while walking toward the school. Unlike yesterday, they got up much earlier, trying to arrive during one of the school breaks. “That’s Rarity for you. She gets emotional very easily. You should’ve just said no or calmed her down. She would understand,” Twilight said, walking by Starlight’s side. She looked to her student with pride. A few days ago Starlight had almost permanently hurt Raichu in an attempt to help her, only for them to then become good friends in the end. The initiative her student showed by using her own dark past to cheer up the critter impressed her. “I must admit, you look really good in this collar, not to mention the additional features.” Raichu stopped stretching her legs and rubbed the back of her neck, displaying her teeth with a smile. She wore a big blue collar on her neck with two white gemstones attached on the left and two gemstones attached on the right with yellow lightning inscribed in between each gemstone, like a circle of thunderbolts and diamonds across the blue sea. She poked a small green metal tag with ‘Raichu’ written on it and a blue gemstone under the name, and raised her head proudly. “Rarity was right about the blue color standing out from the white fur on your belly and orange fur on your neck, and that lightning between the gemstones was a nice touch,” Starlight complemented. Twilight took a few steps to the side, still matching Starlight’s speed. “It’s not only the collar. I like those bows as well.” She pointed at Raichu’s ears, each decorated with a smaller version of Apple Bloom’s pink bow. The third bow was present between the yellow bolt and black length of Raichu's tail. “Those were Sweetie Belle’s idea,” Starlight commented. Raichu said while poking the decorations on her ears. With an apology to an entire group she was going to perform soon, any distraction from her fears was more than welcome. She looked down at her own skirt, which was long enough to cover half of her belly and legs, yet short enough not to get in the way. White-yellow stripes in the shape of lightning decorated it, as well as gems similar to the ones tattooed on Rarity’s flank. Blue skirt, blue collar and a few pink bows, not a rich clothing combination, but she prefered it that way. “We're here,” Twilight said, stopping in front of the school. Starlight lowered herself, waiting for Raichu to step down from her back, but her companion held her neck instead. “You can let go now.” she said, peeking from behind her friend’s neck with a sheepish smile. Twilight chuckled. “You don’t need to feel nervous, we have your back.” She approached and spread her wing, sliding it under Raichu’s legs. “Let’s go.” She raised her wing, taking the critter from Starlight’s back before placing her on the ground, or at least trying as the critter held her wing tightly, refusing to step from it. “Suit yourself.” She turned towards the school playground and walked forward, keeping her right wing spread. Raichu stood on her four legs as bronze edges of her paws sank between lavender feathers. Her tail swung left and right in rhythm with her breathing and heartbeat. “I’ll go talk with Miss Cheerilee. Just wait here.” Twilight placed the edge of her wing on the carousel as if making a bridge, and gently pushed the critter towards it. The moment Raichu stepped onto it, Twilight embraced the critter with her wing, pressing the worried face into her chest. “You did nothing wrong. Just believe in yourself and everything will be fine.” Raichu closed her eyes and pressed her head deeper into the princess’s embrace, feeling the warmth of the alicorn’s fur on one cheek and feathers on the other. Beside the pleasant warmness, she felt an aura of compassion, wishing she could stay in the wing-embrace for a few minutes. “I think enough is enough,” Twilight said and withdrew her wing, finding it difficult to take her gaze away from those pleading oval eyes. Raichu plead, stretching her paws in attempt to reach the alicorn’s wing from her current spot. As the alicorn started walking away, she lowered her paws and head in defeat. Starlight gave an encouraging glance at Raichu before entering the school building alongside her teacher, leaving the critter to her own devices. Raichu pressed a paw onto her chest and took a deep breath. At this point it didn’t matter if what she did was an accident or not, or if the kids hated her or not. It was a matter of principles. She messed up, so she needed to apologize and accept her punishment. Raichu raised her head and observed the school with full attention, feeling as if seconds turned into minutes. Finally, young ponies started to leave the building and walk in her direction. The tall pony that had yelled at her two days ago, their teacher —Miss Cheerilee was it?— walked ahead of the class. The fact that Starlight and Twilight were behind everypony did little to calm Raichu down. “Scootaloo and Princess Twilight explained everything to me. Do you really have amnesia and don’t remember how to use your… your talents?” Cheerilee asked before gesturing for her students to form a double line and keep their distance. Raichu gulped and nodded. she squeaked. Cheerilee approached at a slow pace, each step causing Raichu’s heart to hammer away in her chest. “Are you truly sorry for what you have done to my students?” Unable to understand the critter, she studied body movements instead. Raichu nodded again before holding her paws together and lowering her head. She whispered. Cheerilee didn’t need to understand the critter, though still finding it odd that it would keep repeating its name or parts of it. Working with children so often let her easily read Raichu’s apologetic gestures. Even if this critter was an adult, it was still small and seemed soft-hearted, as if an innocent youth. Moreover, the princess herself spoke in a positive manner about it… not it, about her. She sat in front of the carousel and gently grabbed Raichu between her forehooves, raising the critter up to her face. “Tell me how sorry you are, but this time, do it while looking me in the eyes," Cheerilee commanded, easily recognizing Rarity’s hoof in the shining collar and skirt, though the bows between ears reminded her more of Apple Bloom’s fashion choice. Raichu struggled with a mere attempt of keeping an even look into the teacher’s eyes. Cheerilee reduced the distance from the critter, now having her tiny nose a centimeter away from her own muzzle. “Can you swear that you won’t harm my students, no matter what?” As the critter nodded, she asked, “Can I trust you?” Unsure how to gain the teacher’s trust, Raichu went with her instinct, licking the pony’s muzzle while staring with puppy eyes. Cheerilee chuckled and placed Raichu on the grass, patting her on the head. “I forgive you. You may be dangerous, but you’re certainly innocent. All you need is some guidance and care and you’ll fit in just fine.” She glanced at her students and said, “She doesn’t have ill intentions, and Princess Twilight assured me that the collar will absorb electricity. I think she’s safe to be around.” The fillies started to murmur with each other while Twilight and Starlight displayed victorious smiles. Raichu looked at the smiling teacher, and next at the judging glares of the children. While she still sensed a weak aura of fear and worry coming from Miss Cheerilee, she could also sense concern and acceptance. Did the teacher just start thinking of her as one of her pupils? Or maybe more like a potential school mascot? Whatever the reason, she didn’t complain. The fear and uncertainty coming from the young ponies was stronger though, and she couldn’t blame them for it. The filly who two days ago ended up crashing into the playground equipment and ended up trapped under it, stepped ahead of the group and raised her forehoof. “What is it, Diamond Tiara? Please, speak up,” Cheerilee encouraged. “We want to make sure if it’s really safe to be around her, so we came up with an idea how to test that improved collar,” Diamond Tiara said and pointed at the pink filly behind her. “And we have a volunteer.” She looked at the alicorn. “You have no objections, right, Princess Twilight?” “Of course not, and I guarantee that this collar is 100% electric-proof,” Twilight said, rubbing her foreleg. “And I apologize for our last rushed work.” The teacher spoke up, “I approve.” Raichu quickly recognized the pony. It was the one who had lifted the equipment away from the trapped fillies. One look at her face and body movements told her she was somewhat shy. Yet the aura she emitted stood out the most. She sensed a massive amount of hesitation and fear, but it didn’t seem to be fear of her but of something else. Trying to lighten the mood, Raichu forced a smile and waved with her paw. Her gesture did little to calm the saddened filly. “I know how you feel.” “Not wanting to hurt anyone, but being too dangerous for your own good,” the filly explained. “I know that fear. I managed to hide my strength, and I feel sorry that you couldn’t. You must feel devastated. Instead of fearing dangers that may happen to you, you fear the danger you possess to others.” Raichu took a step back and gasped. This filly just read her like an open book. While only a week had passed since she woke up in a crater in the dangerous forest, a lack of memories and her unexpected powers had caused her a lot of trouble. Experiences of hurting others were emotionally painful. “Are you willing to struggle and even get hurt for the sake of others?” the filly asked, stopping herself only centimeters away from the critter. Raichu kept staring curiously at the filly, trying to comprehend her words. She clenched her paws and narrowed her eyes. She nodded firmly. The filly understood her well enough and spread her forelegs. Raichu didn’t move, gladly accepting the hug, only to regret it immediately. Unlike her previous hugs, this one had a lot of force behind it, and the filly’s forelegs sunk into her fat fluffy belly. She didn’t feel as squeezed since her encounter with the giant beast where its massive paws pressed her little body into the ground. If anything, having more force pressed into a much smaller area was waaaay more impactful. “I’m not too harsh, am I?” the filly asked. Raichu said between her breaths and shook her head. Much to her surprise, she felt a massive change in filly’s aura, a big rush of happiness. The filly displayed a weak smile, and for some reason radiated with satisfaction. “Thank you.” Raichu titled her head to the side. Why was this filly thanking her? She couldn’t think it over though as the force of the hug increased in strength. She gritted her teeth and her ears drooped. Her tail shook in random directions. Outside of physical pain, she felt power surging inside her body. Drops of sweat fell down her forehead and her paws started trembling as she struggled to keep the electricity inside. Enduring both outer and inner pain at the same time proved to be extremely difficult. Even if her collar would prevent an electrical surge, she wasn’t going to risk it, no matter the pain. “How are you holding up? Can you still endure more?” Raichu nodded slowly with tightly closed eyes, still gritting her teeth. The filly displayed a wide grin. “How long I have waited for someone like you!” Being a bit taller, she raised Raichu from the ground and nuzzled her affectionately, only to press Raichu’s face into her chest. Her forelegs started squeezing with extreme force, sinking even deeper into Raichu’s fur, yet no noise of breaking bones was to be heard. The gems on Raichu’s collar flashed brightly for a moment as they absorbed electricity literally squeezed from the electric rat. Once released, Raichu landed on the grass and breathed hastily, desperately gasping for air. Sweat was still present on her face. The moment she raised her head, she noticed tears falling down from the filly’s eyes, but a wide smile and massive aura of joy told her those weren’t tears of sadness. Another odd thing she noticed were the wide gasps of Diamond Tiara and a few fillies who seemed to understand the extreme strength that was used by their fellow classmate. Diamond Tiara turned around and addressed the group. “That settles it. This critter is safe to be around.” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who had both remained silent this whole time while doing their best not to stand out, gave Raichu proud smiles. Raichu kept smiling sheepishly at the surrounding ponies, remembering Starlight’s words. Ponies were indeed fast to judge and even faster to forgive. Yet there was something she didn’t understand. Why were these ponies so happy and supportive? Until now she just ate their food, slept in their homes and caused troubles while giving nothing in return. Why were ponies so happy in her presence? Was it because they wanted a cute mascot around? But those ponies were as, if not cuter than her, so that couldn’t be it. She sighed and decided to play along. Maybe not now, or in the near future, but one way or another she was going to repay them. The teacher, Princess of Friendship and her student, all looked at the scene in confusion as Raichu was surrounded by curious fillies and colts, all eager to interact with her without fear. And all it took was a long-lasting hug from one filly. Was there something special behind the filly with a hedgehog as a cutie mark? They looked at each other and shrugged.