//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: An Unexpected Visitor // Story: My Girl Fluttershy // by White_Cloud //------------------------------// “White Cloud…WHITE CLOUD?” My eyes flashed open and I sat up gasping for air and sweating heavily. It took me a minute to get my bearings and realize I was still at my childhood home when I noticed Golden Mane standing next to my bed. She had a hoof on my leg and looked very concerned. “You were having that dream again, weren’t you?” I slowly nodded to her as I brought a hoof up to my head and closed my eyes, trying to erase the nightmarish visions that kept dancing through my head. “I-I just can’t seem to stop. Since I arrived back to this house, I have had the same nightmare every single night.” Golden trotted a little closer and wrapped her hoofs around me in a gentle hug. “It’s going to be all right Cloud. We will get through this.” I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe that everything was going to return back to the way it was before I had run away. But with my father gone and my mother in a state of depression that no pony could seem to break, it was all resting on my shoulders to make things right. Golden had done her best to provide for the family and to take care of our siblings, but it was just too much for one pony to handle. Since my return I had tried my best to turn the house back to its original state. I made sure that the windows were no longer kept covered and that the fireplaces had enough wood to keep them burning for days. Since my father’s passing, the entire house staff had been let go seeing as Golden was unable to provide enough bits to keep them employed. I tried my best to make the house run as smoothly as possible and to help out wherever I saw something that needed to be done. Every morning, Golden and I would wake up our brothers and sisters and get them ready for their day of school. Golden made sure that they looked presentable while I undertook the task of packing their lunches and getting their books together in their saddle bags. Each day Golden and I waved them off as they trotted happily down the lane towards the school house. After they had left, I made it my daily goal to go and try to talk with my mother for about an hour. I still held some small hope that maybe if I just talked with her that she might snap out of this blanket of depression she had wrapped around herself. It made me so sad to see her like this. I wanted my old mother back. The one that had so much life and joy about her, even if that joy was not directed towards me. Lately I had been reading to her from one of her favorite novels: A Tale of Two Ponies. It was a beautiful tale full of romance, and I always remembered how my mother smiled whenever she read it. I had hoped that maybe this book would help bring her back to this world. However, nothing I did gleaned any sort of response from her. After a chapter or two and softly telling her how the children were doing and how Golden and I were getting along, I would kiss her on her forehead and quietly leave the room. When I came out, Golden was always at the foot of the staircase hoping that I had some sort of news for her. But every day, when she saw my eyes, she lowered her head and walked away. Every evening after supper, Golden and I would gather our siblings around the fireplace and read them a story before sending them off to bed. This part of the day was always my favorite. To see their little, glowing eyes wide in wonder as I told them tales of brave knight ponies battling fierce dragons to rescue princesses locked away in towers, or tales of princesses finding their true love, getting married and living happily ever after. Before they left, they would always give hugs and tell me how happy they were that I was back. Then Golden would shoo them away to their rooms, trotting after them to make sure they got tucked into their beds. I always sat and stared into the fire after everypony had gone. It helped me think as I watched the orange and yellow flames dance around the logs and then leap into the air. Soon Golden would return and kiss me on my cheek as she sat next to me in front of the fire. She still looked so tired and worn, but I could see that the little spark of hope in her eyes had not yet diminished. After a while of not talking, I would say “Good night”, give her a small peck on her head, and trot off to bed. …… I was in a forest. The Everfree forest. It was so dark I could barely see to put my hoof in front of my face. Every so often a bolt of lightning would streak across the sky, lighting up the path for a brief instant. On either side of the path were large trees with gnarled roots and hideous faces carved into the trunks. Each face was a pony from my past. My mother, my father, Golden Mane, Mr. Greenhooves, all of them were there. I slowly trotted down the path as the wind began to howl fiercely. It made the tree branches seem to reach out towards me, to try and grab me, and the faces began to contort and warp into ghoulish demons. I bolted down the path, frightened, not really seeing where I was going. I saw the branch hanging over the path just before I ran head first into it and it knocked me out. I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in my parents’ bedroom. It was dark and cold. I slowly rose onto my legs when I saw my mother in her rocking chair. She was in front of the window as always, but she seemed different. “Mother? Is that you?” The chair began to slowly rock back and forth, making a creaking sound whenever it moved. I quietly began to trot towards the chair. “Is that you mother?” I continued to ask as I got closer and closer. I reached the back of the chair and quietly said, “Mother?” The chair began to slowly turn, and I quickly backed away, frightened out of my mind when I saw what was seated where my mother should have been. It was a pony skeleton with bright glowing green eyes and a wicked grin on its face. I continued to scurry backwards as it rose from the chair and began to trot towards me. “Your mother isn’t here boy!” It cackled as it continued to advance on me. “She will never be here. You left all of them, remember? She is gone boy. Gone forever!” I screamed as it reached out with its front hooves to wrap themselves around my throat. ...... I shot up in my bed, gasping for air and dripping with sweat. I could still see the pony with the green glowing eyes in my head and hear its words echoing in my ears. You left all of them, remember? I began to cry as I continued to hear those words over and over. You left all of them. She is gone boy. Gone forever! It was right; I had left all of them. It was all my fault that things had gotten so bad for this family. I buried my face in my pillow as I continued to cry, but I still heard those words in my ears… you left all of them. …… The next morning, I went through the usual routine. Golden and I got the kids up and off to school, I went and read to mother for a bit, and then went down to the main floor to see what needed to be done today. I noticed the wood was beginning to get a little low, and I figured that maybe chopping some wood would help get my mind off of the terrible nightmares I kept having. I wrapped a scarf around my neck and headed out to the wood pile, grabbing an ax from the tool shed on my way. It didn’t take long for me to get to a point where I didn’t need the scarf anymore. The exercise felt invigorating and it helped me clear my head of everything that weighed so heavily on my mind. All that mattered was the wood and the ax. I was just about finished when I heard a voice coming from behind me that stopped me in mid swing. I dropped the ax, not daring to turn around for fear of who I would see. “So you came back. I wondered how long it would take before you came running back to your mommy and daddy. Oh wait…you don’t have a daddy!” The pony behind me began to laugh as I turned around and saw who it was. It was the last pony I ever saw before I had run away from home. The one at my party that said she thought my party was stupid. That laughed at me as she left to go to some other pony’s party. I began to grow heated with rage as I looked at her, standing there all covered in sapphire jewels and laughing. I was so angry I was barely able to speak. “Sapphire Desire.” I said through clenched teeth. “Oh, you remember me.” She said, batting her eyelashes at me and smiling a flirtatious smile. “I was hoping you would remember me. How could you ever forget a pony this beautiful.” She said this last part with a hint of smugness as she trotted towards me and began to circle me. “My, you have become quiet the stallion since you left, so strong and handsome.” She draped her tail over my neck as she came back to the front, slowly sliding it across my shoulders. “I just wanted to see for myself if the rumors were true and that your family had fallen on some hard times. Looks like I was right if it was bad enough to bring YOU back.” I was too angry to say anything. I just stood there, staring at her as she turned back around. “Well, I am happy to see you. I think you will be seeing much more of me. But, I must be off. Mother is throwing me a lavish party, and I mustn’t be late. Good bye, White Cloud.” She giggled a little at saying my name as she disappeared around the house. I stood there for what seemed like hours, seething, when I finally heard Golden’s voice. “White Cloud? Where are you?” I was still standing there when Golden came out the back door. “Oh, there you are! The kids will be home any minute from school. I know you……White Cloud? Are you all right?” She trotted over to me and waved a hoof in front of my face. “Are you there? Hello, Equestria to Cloud.” I blinked my eyes a few times and shook my head. “Yeah, I’m here.” “Whew, you looked like you just saw a ghost or something. Is everything alright?” I debated on whether I should tell her or not, but I decided to just keep the little visit from Sapphire Desire to myself. “Everything is fine. Didn’t I hear you say the kids are on their way home? I should get cleaned up before they get here.” “That sounds like a good idea. You are a little on the ripe side.” She said this last part with a little grin on her face. It was nice to see, seeing as there wasn’t much to laugh about these days. We both began to head inside, but I still had Sapphire on my mind. Why was she here? I thought to myself. What could she possible want to talk to me for? I tried to put her out of my mind, but something did not feel right, and I knew that I might have just made a huge mistake.