//------------------------------// // Second Chances // Story: A Change of Scenery // by Silent Sir 224 //------------------------------// "Just let it all out." Rarity assured. Turrok complied fully, sobbing uncontrollably. All the pain and sorrow from years of tragedy pouring out freely. He never let his emotions show before, at first it was to keep a strong front for his little brother. That strength turned to weakness, leaving him numb to the fact that his last living family member had passed right in front of him. After building for so many years, the dam burst. Nothing was going to stop it, not even the burning in his eyes. "I just... I just couldn't protect them!" He spoke through the sobs. "Hush! There was nothing you could have done!" She tightened her grip on the changling. "You don't... you don't know that..." "But I know you, and I know you would have taken their place given the option." "Yeah... in a... in a heartbeat." Turrok started to calm down. "That's just the kind of pony you are." "But... but I'm not a pony..." He pulled away from her embrace. "Yes you are." She placed a hoof on his shoulder. "You're more of a pony than half of the ponies I know." "That... that really means a lot. Especially from you." His episode had officially subsided. "I'm no pony special." "Heh... you're kidding right?" "A lady never kids." "Does a lady also sell herself so short?" "Whatever do you mean?" "You are taking care of mental case. Your letting him sleep in your house and eat your food. Your also letting him thoroughly soak your coat with tears." He had been crying on her shoulder and back for more than an hour. "It's nothing, I assure you. I need to bathe anyway, don't worry." "You're also the Element of Generosity, no?" "How did you know that?" "Word get's around after a failed invasion. The soldiers mentioned seven ponies that had repelled the invasion. Well, six ponies a 'thing.' The details of each bearer were taken and recorded. One unicorn was mentioned as a beautiful mare, even by my people's standard, being the Element of Generosity. A very appropriate name if you ask me." "Oh stop, you're going to make me blush." It was too late for that, her cheeks turned crimson. "It's the truth." Rarity's smile faded a little when a loud knocking came from downstairs. "Oh dear, will you be alright if I go downstairs for a minute?" "I'll be fine, thank you." Rarity took her leave, Turrok laid his head on the pillow alone with his thoughts. She really is something special. Something that I can't have a part of my life, that's for sure. Why not try? What could I give her, what could I possibly give to Rarity? Protection, comfort, love. Ha, protection? How? Wake up and smell the desert roses! I can't even keep myself safe, let alone someone else! Dusk could keep her a lot safer than me! It's more than physical protection, emotional protection is something Dusk can't give her. You can be the one who helps her through that. Ha, any stallion could do that. Can you willingly let someone else walk off with her? If she's happy and safe, then yes. You are lying to yourself, you are fully aware of this, right? Enough! No. You will listen! You will go over the edge if you miss this chance! The gods know that you're on that edge already and she's the only reason you haven't fallen off it yet! Ask her dammit! If she says no!? I wouldn't stay here, the situation would be too awkward for me to want to stay! I don't want to risk that! Now you're just making excuses. That's an over reaction and you know it. Okay, I'm done arguing with myself. I knew I was insane a while ago, but this is too much. You owe it to both of you to try, if not for you then do it for her, she deserves to know. "Turrok? Is everything alright?" Rarity asked as she stood in the doorway. "I would be lying if I said yes." He replied, staring at the ceiling. "Do you want to talk about them?" She sat on the edge of the bed. "That's not bothering as much as now compared to earlier." "Then what's bothering you so much?" Turrok was silent. Tell her! "Turrok, please tell me. Maybe I can help." Turrok gave a heavy sigh and sat up right. "Rarity, I think..." "You think..." "I think that I..." He fought to form the words "You... "I think I... love you." He shut his eyes tightly, fearing the response. ... "Rarity?" He opened one eye to see the mare staring blankly at the wall with her mouth gaping. Great, I put in a state of shock. He waved a hoof in front of her face, no response. He gave a heavy sigh and stood up. "I'm sorry. I knew telling you was a bad idea. But before I take my leave, I just want to say 'thank you' for everything you've done for me." He left the room and headed down the stairs with a heavy heart. He put up his disguise and walked out the door for the last time. His destination was obvious, the home of the two ponies that convinced him to tell her. The pain in his heart made the sting of his injured shoulder almost nonexistent. Luckily, no one in the town did more than glance at him. Not that Turrok really cared, his eyes were fixated on the ground in front of him. Eventually, he reached the path from the trap from the day before. He followed it to a small cottage outside of town, the place where Dusk and Fluttershy lived. Upon reaching the doorway, Turrok took a deep breath before knocking on the door. After a few moments, a familiar pegasus cracked the door to see the changling. "Turrok? Is that you?" "Yes, can I come in?" "O-of course." She opened the door fully. "Is something wrong?" Turrok walked inside and sat down on the couch. "I messed up." "Oh, dear. What happened?" She sat down next to him. "I told her." He admitted coldly. "What?" "I told Rarity." "Oh my, was her response that bad?" "I put her in a state of shock." "That isn't that bad is it?" "How could it be anything but that bad?" "She didn't outright say no, did she?" "She didn't need to." "Turrok, you can't give up that easily." Fluttershy put a hoof on his shoulder. "What else would I be able to do?" "Go talk to her. She didn't say 'no', right?" "Not directly..." "Well, there you go. It's not over." She smiled. "I guess." "Trust me, she doesn't handle romantic surprises too well." She laughed a little, "Of course, I can't handle surprises of any kind." Turrok felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Really?" "Oh yes, one Hearts and Hooves Day a colt asked her if she would be his special somepony." "How did she react?" "She, uh, fainted." "You're joking." "Oh no, it was quite a few years ago but she actually fainted." Turrok couldn't help laughing. "So what did the colt do?" "He did what you did, he just left. Even though, after she came to, she wanted to talk to him. But she couldn't find him, not surprising considering her reaction." "So, she just needs to snap out of it?" "Exactly." The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Fluttershy?" Rarity? "One second." "Is Turrok in there?" "Yes. he's here." Fluttershy opened the door and was passed by a white flash. "Can you please explain to me what in Tartarus you were thinking!?" Rarity shouted, inches away from Turrok's face. "I'm sorry, Rarity. I never should have asked." He couldn't keep eye contact with her, though he could tell she was trembling. A hoof violently struck him on the cheek, he was now looking her in the eyes. Eyes that were filling with tears. "How dare you!? What gives you the right to just tell someone 'I love you' and then just leave before they can give a response!?" "I... I saw how stunned you were... I thought that the idea was so ridiculous that... that it couldn't even be considered." He admitted. The unicorn took a breath and gave him some distance. "Okay, granted I was a little surprised. You never gave me a chance to reply. I want you to think about that, but I expect you back before sunset. Do not keep me waiting, we will discuss this when we have both given this some thought." "Of course." Rarity left the house. "I told you so." Fluttershy spoke. *** "Goodbye, Fluttershy. I will be back soon with groceries." Dusk walked out of their home with a list and some saddle bags. The day had been good so far returning from the meeting. Minus Rainbow Dash's reservations about the name of a daughter. What does she know? I doubt she will ever want to settle down and be a mother. He wandered through the maze of stalls, picking up everything from apples to zucchinis. Before he was finished, a familiar body was navigating the market. "Dusk? Dusk! Darling I need your help!" Rarity was frantic. "Rarity? What's wrong? Is someone hurt?" "No, thankfully. It's Turrok, he ran off." "What!? Why would he just up and leave? Did he say anything to you before he left?" "Well... yes but, can we discuss it in a less populated area?" "Of course." The two slipped out of the crowded market to the park, where there were far less ponies. They found a bench and sat down, Dusk put the saddlebags on the ground next to him. "Okay, from the beginning, what happened?" "Well, we just got back from the meeting, and he was just... broken. We barely got inside the house before he ran up to his room and just started crying." "Well, I expected as much." "Of course, after what he had to talk about I would have been concerned if he wasn't letting his emotions out." "So, what happened next?" "I gave him a shoulder to cry on. He cried for about an hour before he calmed down. We started talking and he got his emotions under control. Then Rainbow came by to tell me the code word, adorable name by the way, and then when I went back to the room something... happened." "Can you be a little more specific?" "Well, he seemed... worse than when I left. Bear in mind I was gone for maybe five minutes. I asked him if he wanted to talk about his family. but he said that something else was bothering him. I asked him what that was... and he told me something really surprising." He didn't. "What was that?" These's no way... "Before I do, I need you to swear you won't say a word to anyone, not even Fluttershy." Dear Mentor, he did. "I swear, not another soul will here of this." "He said he loves me." I knew it! Ha, he took my advice... so why did he leave? "Wow." "I didn't see it happening, I didn't know he had such feelings. Did you?" "Actually... yes. So does Fluttershy." "When did you find out about this!?" "Yesterday, during Mentor's interrogation." "Oh sweet Celestia, Fluttershy overheard something in that argument, didn't she?" "I'm afraid so. All we did was tell him to go for it. Just tell you how he felt. I'm assuming things went downhill from there." "As if it were a sheer cliff side. I was speechless, I didn't know what to say, what to do, what to think. Turrok took notice and just... left! He didn't even wait, he just left. And I don't think he plans on coming back. So I need to find him and bring him home, even if he's kicking and screaming!" "Okay, there's only a two places he would go. The library or our cottage, most likely the cottage." "I will go see if he's with Fluttershy. If you find him at the library, bring him back to the boutique. I will meet you there." "Okay, if he's not there I will head back home." Rarity nodded before bolting toward her goal. Dusk took the saddlebags and headed for the library. I can't believe that he did it. He's a braver pony than I, that's for sure. I really hope he's at the library, otherwise... he's toast. With that thought, he picked up his pace considerably. By the time he made it to the library he was running as fast as his legs could carry him. I really need to learn how to teleport! He took a minute to catch his breath before knocking on the door. Spike opened it, "Oh, hey Dusk. You need to talk to Twilight?" "Not right now, I just need to know if Turrok is here." "I haven't seen him since this morning during the meeting." "Darn, that means he's at the house. Thanks Spike." "Wait, what's going on?" "I'll fill you in later. Right now I need to go." Before Spike could say 'goodbye' he was already running down the street. Gotta hurry, she might just blow the door off it's hinges if he's there. He ran across town back to the house. I am going to ask for some lessons in teleportation first thing in the morning! Upon reaching the path, he noticed Rarity walking toward him. "Did you find him?" He asked. "Yes, but I need to ask a favor." "Which would be?" "If he is not back by sunset, can you help me hunt him down?" "I... suppose, I can lend a hoof." "Thank you." She walked back into town. So, is that a good thing? Or a bad thing? He noticed the door being intact and gave a small sigh of relief. He entered to find the changling sitting on the couch. Fluttershy sat next to him with a smile "So, you did it?" "Yes, yes I did. I knew it was a bad idea." "I think the bad idea was leaving so quickly that she couldn't even reply." Dusk countered. "Yeah, that didn't exactly help." "No it didn't, but Rarity asked me to make sure you are home by sunset. So that's a good sign." "But, what do I do? What do I say to her? What's going to happen when I go back?" "I can't say, but I have an idea." "Well, I'm all ears." "Just go out, get her some flowers and just tell her how you feel." "Really?" Turrok raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Sir, do you have a better idea?" "So, what kind of flowers?" "I would say red roses." "But... I don't have any bits. I lost all of my things before I came here." Dusk shook his head and pulled out a small bag. He tossed it on the couch. "That should be plenty." "I can't accept this." He took the pouch and opened it. "No way." "I helped make this mess. I should help clean it up." "I... thank you." "No thanks are necessary. Just go and make up for earlier." The changling nodded, put on his disguise and walked out the door. "Am I going to be getting any roses?" Fluttershy teased.