//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: My Little Pony - Equestria Boy // by OliverSparkle //------------------------------// The light of the morning shined through Fluttershy's bedroom window. Slowly opening her eyes, Fluttershy looked down to see the little colt was still sleeping in her forelegs. He snuggled into her chest fur and continued to sleep peacefully. Fluttershy gave the colt a gentle smile before giving him a kiss on the top of his head. The small colt slowly opened his eyes and let out a yawn before looking at Fluttershy. The two smiled at each other for a minute, before Fluttershy began to speak. “Good morning little one, did you sleep well?” She asked the colt sweetly. The colt simply nodded his head while smiling as Fluttershy picked him up, moved the covers off them and sat on the edge of the bed while placing the colt on her lap. “Are you hungry?” Fluttershy asked him earning a nod once again. Smiling at him, she kissed him on the forehead before gently picking him up and placing him the bed before she got off the bed. “Okay sweetheart, you stay here and I will go make you a bowl of oatmeal,” She said to the colt. Turning around, Fluttershy began to make her way downstairs, only to stop at the doorway when she heard a soft quiet voice. “Lightning Twister.” Fluttershy turned around to the source of the voice. It was the colt, he had finally spoken to her. “M-my name is L-Lightning Twister,” the colt spoke nervously. Fluttershy smiled at the colt and let out a small giggle. “It's nice to meet you Lightning Twister,” She said to him, she was glad that he was finally comfortable enough around her to talk to her. Fluttershy went downstairs and headed to the kitchen to make Lightning Twister some oatmeal. While she made the oatmeal, she thought it’ll be nice to introduce Lightning Twister to her friends, but she decided to let Lightning eat first. Finished making the oatmeal, Fluttershy held the bowl carefully before flying upstairs. When she returned, she saw Lightning Twister was still sitting where he was as he was told to do. Fluttershy flew up to him and said, “Here you go, Lightning sweetheart.” She placed the bowl in his lap and he ate the entire bowl of oatmeal slowly and steadily. When he was finished, Fluttershy took the bowl from him. “Thank you Fluttershy,” Lightning Twister said to the mare in front of him. Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at Lightning Twister. He had some oatmeal all over his cheeks. Taking a napkin in her hoof, Fluttershy used it to clean Lightning Twister's cheeks. “You’re welcome Lightning,” She said with a smile while she cleaned the little colt’s cheeks. Once Lightning's cheeks was oatmeal free, Fluttershy asked him gently, “Lightning, how would you like to meet my friends?” Lightning just nodded for a yes. “Great!” Fluttershy said with excitement, but not loudly so she doesn’t scare the little one. A few minutes later, Fluttershy was ready to go out the door with Lightning Twister right beside her. “Are you ready, Lightning?” She asked the colt earning a nod in return. With nothing left to be said, the two left the cottage and began their travel to Ponyville. Lightning Twister was somewhat scared of his new surroundings. Everything was so much bigger than he was. Lightning stayed as close to Fluttershy as possible, not wanting to be separated from her. Arriving at Ponyville, Fluttershy stopped where she was and looked down at Lightning Twister. She smiled at him and said, “Welcome to Ponyville, sweetheart. Everypony here is really nice, so there is no need to be scared.” Lightning said nothing and stared at the town in front of him. After a few seconds of silence, Fluttershy and Lightning went into the town. Lightning Twister looked around the area he looked at all the buildings and ponies that were around him. Some of them looked and smiled at him, this made Lightning Twister very uncomfortable. Even though Fluttershy said that everypony here was nice, Lightning was still somewhat scared. All the ponies around him were like giants compared to him. He continued to stay as close to Fluttershy as possible until something jumped in front of him, making him yelp in surprise. Standing in front of Lightning was a bright pink earth pony mare. The Pony jumped closer to Lightning and stared at him with large eyes. She got as close to him as possible. The pony’s eyes were mere inches away from Lightning's as they came closer and closer until Lightning was on his back. The eyes continued to get closer making Lightning even more scared and uncomfortable than he already was. With the eyes being closer, than they should be, the mare opened her mouth and said with incredible quickness without even taking a single breath, “Hi I'm Pinkie Pie who are you are you new here I know everypony in Ponyville but I don't know you so you must be new and oooh aren't you such a little cutie you are so cute I could just eat you up what’s you name what is it huh huh huh huh what is it what is it I just got to know what is it what is it wha-” Pinkie Pie's rambling quickness speech was cut off by Fluttershy’s hoof in her mouth. Lightning then ran under the source of the hoof. Fluttershy continued to keep her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth as the two stared at each other. “Pinkie!” Fluttershy said, “You need to calm down now, you’re scaring the little one.” Fluttershy looked underneath her and saw Lightning was shaking violently with small tears in his eyes as he hugged Fluttershy’s hoof tightly and buried his face into it, he had never met or seen a pony that eccentric before. Fluttershy gave him a small nuzzle to try and calm him down. “It's okay Lightning sweetheart, you can come out now,” Fluttershy said softly and gently to the scared colt, “This is my friend Pinkie Pie, she's not going to hurt you. She may be very hyper but she's very sweet, so don't be afraid of her. Please come out.” Lightning however shook his head violently. He refused to go anywhere near that crazy pony. Lightning stayed under Fluttershy and tried to hide his face in Fluttershy’s hoof while continuing to tremble in scared and fear. He was extremely terrified of the pink pony. Letting out a sigh, Fluttershy glared at Pinkie Pie. “Now look what you've done Pinkie,” She said to her in an irritated tone. The tone in Fluttershy's voice caused Pinkie to step back a bit. Her animal caring friend never talked like that before. She then looked down at Lightning and reached a hoof out to him only for Lightning to let go of Fluttershy’s hoof and shy away from it while making a small whimpering sound as he then hugged one of Fluttershy’s back hooves. Seeing him like this caused Pinkie’s mane and tail to deflate like a balloon. “Oh, I'm so, so sorry, Lightning. I didn't mean to scare you. Please come out,” She said apologetically to the small and scared colt. Lightning said nothing and clung tightly to Fluttershy's leg while continuing to shake violently. Letting out another sigh, Fluttershy said, “I think you should leave now, Pinkie. We'll come by Sugarcube Corner tomorrow when Lightning Twister's calm and we'll try this again WITHOUT any hyper.” Pinkie’s mane and tail poofed back to normal and she said in her usual cheerful way, “Okie dokie Fluttershy, see you both tomorrow!” With that said, Pinkie bounced off acting like nothing even happened. With the hyper pony gone, Fluttershy turned around and nuzzled Lightning Twister’s cheek. Lightning continued to whimper in fear a bit even though what scared him had bounced away. “Shhh...It's okay sweetheart, she's gone now. We'll go see Pinkie tomorrow and I promise she'll be much calmer than she was.” Lightning started to calm down now that Pinkie was gone and nodded at Fluttershy. The two then continued to make their way through Ponyville. The next pony Lightning met was Rainbow Dash, however they did not get along well. Rainbow was in the middle of moving clouds when she kicked one that unbeknownst to her shot lightning and thunder. This scared Lightning Twister and caused him to cry due to his strong fear of thunder and lightning. Seeing this caused Rainbow to think that Lightning was a crybaby. Fluttershy was not pleased with Rainbow’s snide remarks and flew off with Lightning Twister being held in her forelegs. Things were not going the way that Fluttershy had hoped. The next pony was The Country mare Applejack. Not trusting anymore of Fluttershy's friends, Lightning refused to even look at Applejack. He clung to Fluttershy's neck while he was in her hooves. Fluttershy explained to Applejack what happened with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. She then tried to get Lightning to look at Applejack, but he didn't listen to a word she said. Things did not look well, until Applejack offered Lightning Twister some Apple juice in which he accepted hesitantly. Lightning took a small nervous sip of the Apple juice and was amazed how it tasted. It tasted sweet and tangy. The taste made the rest of the juice to tempting to resist, and Lightning slammed the rest of the drink with both Fluttershy and Applejack giggling in delight. When he finished the Apple juice, Fluttershy put Lightning gently on the ground, and he decided to take a look at Applejack who gave him a gentle smile. This was the first pony, besides Fluttershy, that was being nice to him and didn't scare him. Feeling completely horrible about how he treated her with such distrust, Lightning trotted slowly up to Applejack and gently hugged her leg since he couldn't reach her chest or neck. “Aw...don't worry sugarcube,” she said sweetly to the colt as she then stroked his mane. “I'm not upset that ya didn't trust me at first. And don’t worry about Rainbow Dash, she may be a bit rude, but she's one of the nicest ponies you'll ever meet once you get to know her.” Lightning Twister nodded deciding to trust Applejack's words as Fluttershy lifted the small colt onto her back. “Well Applejack, we have two more friends to meet, we'll see you later,” Fluttershy said to the country pony. After saying goodbye to each other, Fluttershy turned around with Lightning on her back and went back into town. The next place that Fluttershy and Lightning Twister went to was Carousel Boutique, the home of Rarity. Looking out of her window and seeing Fluttershy heading her way, Rarity opened the door and allowed Fluttershy to come in. Lightning Twister kept himself hidden in Fluttershy's long pink mane. “Fluttershy darling, it’s been too long,” Rarity said in an elegant and regal voice. “We simply must get together more often.” “You’re right we should,” Fluttershy said while giggling. “How can I help you, Darling?” Rarity asked Fluttershy sweetly while fluttering her eyes. “Well,” Fluttershy started, “I wanted to introduce you to somepony.” Fluttershy looked behind her and saw Lightning Twister hiding behind her mane. Fluttershy moved her mane away and gave the colt a small nuzzle before saying to him. “It's okay sweetheart, you can come out now.” Lightning Twister slowly poked his head out and looked into the blue eyes of the white unicorn mare in front of him. "Lightning, this is my friend Rarity. She is one of the best clothes makers in all of Equestira,” Fluttershy said to the small colt as she picked him up and placed him on the floor gently. “Rarity,” Fluttershy said to her friend, “This is Lightning Twister. He's this little colt I'm looking after.” Lightning Twister just looked at Rarity as she did the same. “Awww...aren't you just the most adorable little colt I've ever seen,” Rarity said to Lightning before she raised a hoof out to touch him. Lightning ran away from the hoof and hid under Fluttershy while shaking and holding Fluttershy’s hoof tightly. “I'm sorry Rarity,” Fluttershy apologized, “He's a very scared little colt. The only pony he is not afraid of is me. He's a little bit better with Applejack, but he's still somewhat scared of her.” Rarity looked down at the little colt and smiled gently at him. “Oh sweetie, you don't have to be scared of me,” Rarity said to the scared colt waiting for a response from him. This action caused Fluttershy to explain one more thing to her friend. “He doesn't like to talk much, he's only said a few words to me.” Rarity looked at the little colt and just nodded her head while smiling. After a few seconds, Lightning had calmed down a little bit and on his own came out from under Fluttershy and trotted up towards Rarity. He then gave her a small nuzzle on her leg causing Rarity to tear up a little. “Awww...you’re such a sweet little one Lightning darling,” Rarity said to him before giving him a small nuzzle of her own on the cheek. Rarity's curly mane tickled Lightning Twister causing him to giggle a little bit. Hearing this, Rarity got a mischievous look in her eye. “Oh so we're ticklish, are we?” She said before she reached a hoof under Lightning and began to gently tickle him. Lightning Twister fell on his back and laughed happily as Rarity laid down beside him and continued to tickle him making him laugh even more. Fluttershy looked on at the two while smiling, she was glad that the two were getting along so well. Things were finally starting to go right as she thought it would. After a few minutes, Fluttershy placed Lightning Twister on her back and said goodbye to Rarity as it was starting to become sundown. The final stop was the rainbow castle, home of the alicorn Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy knocked on the doors and waited for a minute. The Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle opened the door and greeted Fluttershy. “Hello Fluttershy, it's good to see you. Please come in.” Fluttershy went into the castle entering the main entrance. “How are you, Twilight?” she asked the Princess in front of her. “I'm okay,” Twilight replied while smiling at her friend, “Spike, Starlight and Sunset are in Canterlot with Princess Celestia for a few days while Oliver’s looking after Flurry Heart for tonight so it's only me here. It's actually pretty quiet around here without them around.” Twilight closed her eyes before letting out a small giggle. Reopening her eyes, Twilight looked at Fluttershy once again. She was about to say something, but she remained silent when she saw something sticking out of Fluttershy's mane. Realising she was looking at Lightning Twister, Fluttershy picked him up and set him gently on the ground. Lightning looked at Twilight for a second before trotting up to her slowly. It was a different and surprising reaction compared to his other reactions with the other ponies that Lightning had met. Fluttershy smiled at him before saying, “Twilight, this is Lightning Twister, a little colt that I'm taking care of.” Fluttershy then Looked at Lightning Twister. “Lightning sweetheart, this my friend Twilight Sparkle. She’s the Princess of Friendship and also a good friend of mine.” Twilight looked down at Lightning and said to him gently and sweetly, “Hello Lightning Twister, it’s very nice to meet you.” Lightning said nothing and just stared at Twilight. Everyone and everything in the hallway was completely quiet, until Lightning started to whimper and sob. Looking at Twilight, Lightning realised how much she looked a lot like his mother, except Twilight was an Alicorn and not a Pegasus. However, Twilight still reminded him of her. From the way she looked, to the sweetness in her voice. She was almost an exact replica of his own mother. Seeing her made Lightning realised just how much he missed his mother. “Lightning, is something wrong sweetheart?” Twilight asked the colt. Her voice was filled with concern and worry. Lightning backed away from Twilight while whimpering. He then laid on the floor and cried heavily. Fluttershy immediately scooped him up into her forelegs. “Shhh...It's okay Lightning, I’ve got you...Shhh...” She said to the little colt gently. Lightning buried his face into Fluttershy's chest fur and continued to cry. Seeing all this made Twilight's heart break into two. She stared at the ground and closed her eyes in sadness. But that sadness was quickly replaced with an idea. Knowing of a way to help calm Lightning Twister down, Twilight trotted over to Fluttershy and asked very gently, “Fluttershy, can I hold Lightning Twister for a few minutes please?” Fluttershy was a bit hesitant. She did not know how Lightning would react since she was the only one so far that could calm him down. Fluttershy however decided to let Twilight hold the little colt. Fluttershy nodded and Twilight motioned to her with a hoof to follow her. The group went into a room where the fireplace was with two chairs near it. Twilight sat in one of the them and held her hooves out. Fluttershy gently placed Lightning Twister in Twilight’s hooves as she cradled him close to her. Lightning continued to cry and becoming scared of being in the hooves of somepony else besides Fluttershy. Twilight began to rock him ever so gently while making a soft hushing sound. Lightning's crying continued until Twilight started to hum a soft song in his ear. Lightning's crying reduced to sobs as Twilight continued to gently rock him and hum the soft song in his ear. Twilight finished humming her song and continued to rock him. Lightning's sobs turned to sniffles. Twilight rocked him gently and once more made a soft hushing sound. After a few seconds, Lightning fell asleep in Twilight's forelegs. She gave him a small kiss on the forehead and said to him sweetly, gently, and quietly, “Sweet dreams, little one.” Twilight continued to hold Lightning Twister while Fluttershy looked at her in amazement. “Twilight, that was amazing!” She said quietly not wanting to wake up Lightning Twister. “How did you do that?” Twilight just smiled and said, “This was the same thing I did for Spike when I first started taking care of him. I actually do it for Flurry Heart now when she has nightmares or has trouble sleeping whenever I’m foalsitting her.” Twilight then looked down and smiled gently at the colt she was holding. Looking outside, she saw the sun had set and it had become dark. Without waking up the sleeping colt she was holding, Twilight gave Lightning Twister back to Fluttershy who cradled him close to her. Fluttershy and Twilight each gave Lightning a loving smile as he snuggled into Fluttershy warm and soft chest fur. “Well, you two better head home,” Twilight said quietly not wanting to wake Lightning up. “Have a good night Fluttershy,” she said with a cheerful smile. “You too Twilight, and Thank you,” Fluttershy replied. With that said, Fluttershy walked out of the castle and flew for home. When she arrived at her cottage, she flew upstairs and into her bedroom. She pulled her bed covers back and gently set Lightning Twister on the bed. Fluttershy gently tucked him in, without waking up the peacefully sleeping colt, Fluttershy gave him a soft gentle kiss on the forehead. Lightning Twister felt the kiss and a small smile crept across his face while he continued to sleep peacefully. Fluttershy gave him one last gentle smile and flew downstairs. Lightning Twister slept peacefully through the night with moon shining down upon him with a warm comforting glow.