I don’t want to leave. Toad can go back. I bet he can find another yoshi to help Mario from now on— there are plenty of other yoshis on the island. I’m sorry, Mario— I’m staying here. She is just too good for me to let her go.
“I don’t want you to leave either, *sniff* but you have to go.”
“Huh?” I woke up to Fluttershy looking at me with a tear in her eye. She quickly swiped it away with her hoof.
“You talk in your sleep, silly. I guess you didn’t know.” I looked at her and smiled with a shrug. We clasped together in a warm embrace.
Well, I’m sure she already knew I feel that way. It wasn’t like I tried to hide it.
We just stayed in bed and cuddled for a while. I allowed myself to fall into a kind of trance. Despite how good all of our intimate moments had been, including last night’s, this was the closest I felt to Fluttershy since I arrived in Ponyville. I really didn’t want this to stop.
I snapped back to reality when Fluttershy tapped me on my oversized nose. “…Breakfast?”
“Yeah. Okay. Do you think Angel’s waiting on us?” I looked toward the bedroom door. Angel was indeed in the doorway, but he wasn’t tapping his foot. As soon as I caught his eye, he smiled and waved, then bolted down the stairs before Fluttershy caught a glimpse of him.
“He doesn’t seem to be. I think we’re okay.”
I chuckled to myself, One of these days, Angel. One of these days she’s gonna catch you as the naughty little rabbit you are.
Miraculously, it was early when we went downstairs. I helped Fluttershy make each individual breakfast for the animals that were regulars in the house. I told her I would make Angel’s, because it seemed apparent that I wouldn’t have another opportunity to do it after today. Fluttershy nodded and sniffed.
We all sat down for what we figured was going to be our last breakfast together. It turned out to be a quiet one. We couldn’t really think of much to say.
Afterward, Fluttershy went upstairs for something, and I took the opportunity to say goodbye to the critters that I had seen so much of. Angel put on the ‘I’m too cool for this’ façade, but I gave him a little noogie and thanked him for helping me with Fluttershy the way he had. I also warned him that one of these days his innocence charade was going to get busted. He shrugged at me and smiled, gesturing, Hey, I’ll keep it up for as long as I can!
When Fluttershy came back downstairs, she was holding a circular piece of cloth. I wasn’t sure what it was— it looked like some kind of handkerchief at first. As she came up to me, I realized it was too big to be one of those. I didn’t want to sound rude and ask her outright what it was, but luckily I didn’t need to. She came up to me and began explaining right away, but not before giving me one of her small blushes.
She began, “Um, I started making this the day you went to hang out with Pinkie Pie. I finished it while you were searching for the Augmentation Stones.” She gave it to me and I took a good look at it. It was as smooth as silk, and she had stitched her cutie mark, along with a heart, right into the center. “It’s meant to line the underside of your saddle. When you were first injured, it looked like it was rough underneath. I realized that was probably what caused the cut you got, so I decided to make something that would make the rides more comfortable, and less likely to cause another injury like that, even if it was minor. The design is so you won’t forget me.”
I let the liner run through my fingers. I looked at her with a tear in my eye and simply said, “How could I?” I hugged her for a good minute. When we separated I said, “Thank you, it’s beautiful. I’ll wear it every day from now on. In fact…” I lifted my saddle and pressed the liner in; it covered the entire underside right to the rim, and she hadn’t even taken a measurement. I put the saddle back on and pulled down, attempting to simulate a ride. I stood for a moment, then my arms fell and I sank to the floor, pure bliss on my face. I have never felt more comfortable with a saddle on. I'm actually wearing that liner now.
Fluttershy let out a soft giggle and said, “I’m glad you like it.”
I looked up at her and smiled. “Now all I need is you in my arms.”
“I can arrange that.” She got down on the floor with me and we held each other again. The warmth that spread through me was incredible. Something about her… I’ve never felt the same way since…
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. We jumped up and got off the floor. Fluttershy opened the door to find the Princess. We stepped outside like we had the previous day.
Fluttershy clearly asked her, “Uh, Princess? Forgive me for being forward, but what are you doing here?”
“It is quite alright, Fluttershy. I am here because I wanted to know if our friend had made a decision about his timing regarding his return to his world. He is welcome to stay longer if he wishes, I would just like to know.”
“Oh… um… well…” She looked at me and I nodded. “We thought it would be best if he left today.”
“Oh? So soon?”
“Yes. He needs to help his friend.”
“Very well. Yoshi, you should collect your friend and explain the situation.” I nodded and started walking around to the back of the cottage toward the shed.
“So after everything that’s happened here, you’re telling me that we can stay here as long as we want, while time back home is practically at a stand-still, and you want to go back NOW?? Are you INSANE??” Toad was more than a little miffed that I hadn’t given him more warning about our departure. He seemed to be enjoying himself in Ponyville as much as I had been. I didn’t blame him— despite not being particularly social, he had his own place, all the supplies he needed, nobody bothering him to do stupid stuff— it was a much better setup than back home in the Mushroom Kingdom. I told him that we had to help Mario— it was our duty. He painfully agreed.
I noticed that he was still wearing the robe Fluttershy had made for him. He hadn’t taken it off since she gave it to him. When I made a comment about it, he got flustered for some reason. “It’s… uh… just really comfortable. Your girlfriend’s a good seamstress. I like keeping it on!” He sounded defensive, like he was hiding something, but I decided to leave it well enough alone. I told him to come with me to the front of the cottage so we could start preparing to go back home.
When we emerged in the front, Celestia greeted us both and introduced herself to Toad. We both were wearing our hoof-made masterpieces from Fluttershy, and Celestia gave us official permission to take them back with us. I sighed with relief— after all the effort Fluttershy put into them, I didn’t want to be told they were going to be confiscated like I was dealing with a security guard for Mushroom Airways.
Since the Princess had come on her own, not expecting us to be ready to leave so soon, I asked Fluttershy to translate for me again. “So, what exactly is going to happen?”
Celestia responded, “Well, the short version is that I am going to open the portal to your world and cast the spell to reverse the time loop. After that’s done, we are going to make sure that Discord is back here and determine what he has done with the Princess from your world who has gone missing.”
Toad and I looked at each other; both of us rolled our eyes and raised an eyebrow. In unison we said to each other, “Again…”
The Princess continued, “Uh… yes. Anyway, because the portal lies up in the sky, I am going to have Rainbow Dash fly you two up to it and send you through. Hopefully we will be able to do all of this before the portal closes.”
It sounded simple enough. I had one more thing to ask before we left, though— I asked for Fluttershy’s assistance again. “I can say goodbye to everyone before we have to leave, can’t I?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t dream of making you do otherwise.” The Princess smiled, and I gave her a grateful thank-you. I took Fluttershy by the hoof and asked her to bring me around town, to which she gladly, but sadly, said yes.
It took a good while, but by mid-afternoon I had said my goodbyes to the citizens of Ponyville. I spent some extra time with the Whooves family, and thanked the Doctor again for all of his help. After which, the farewell committee gathered in the field where I first appeared in Equestria.
The Princess, Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and even the Cutie Mark Crusaders had gathered at the departure point along with Toad as Fluttershy brought me back from saying my goodbyes to the wonderful community that had been my home for the past month plus. Toad and I were ready to make the trip back, however reluctantly.
Celestia gave everyone a quick briefing of our plan. It was fairly detailed, but not overly difficult. Fluttershy and I were given some time to give each other our last farewells, then the process began.
However, something happened that none of us, not even the Princess, expected…