//------------------------------// // 110. Alone for Too Long // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// Applejack had left to check on the others, so Twilight was left alone staring across the horizon over the busy town of Ponyville. She allowed herself one last transformation back into her natural form, knowing it would be a little while before she could safely transform again, and so she thought to take advantage of these last few moments in the forest. It was almost time to leave; Fluttershy would soon be done with her farewells, and Rarity would be back soon with her clothing, and everyone would set off toward Canterlot, the place Twilight used to call home, before heading to the Crystal Empire to see her brother. It was… a lot. Twilight hadn't seen her brother in years and barely had any correspondence with him. Their last fight had been a pretty ugly one. She was certain he would welcome her back if she went to him— she wouldn’t have suggested going to the Crystal Empire at all if she wasn’t confident that she could trust him— but going to him and admitting that her attempts to hide in Equestria failed, after he warned her repeatedly that they wouldn’t work… it was going to be painful. No more painful than seeing the glare in Rarity’s eyes as she charged at Twilight with a sword though. That really happened, hadn’t it? it wasn’t just some horrible nightmare. Rarity really had… tried to kill Twilight. Part of her had still been in denial about it, but Applejack’s bluntness kinda did away with all that; any attempt to hide from or rationalize Rarity’s actions was now moot because she couldn’t change the fact that, yeah, Rarity had tried to kill her. And yet, Twilight still couldn’t find it in her heart to be angry, at least not at Rarity. She was angry, but moreso at Trixie, and at herself, and at this whole shitty situation and the cursed centuries of ponies and dragons being taught to hate each other. Twilight lived most of her entire life believing that ponies were just monsters that wanted to hurt and kill dragons, but living amongst them, she realized that wasn’t true at all. Ponies were afraid of them, just as dragons were afraid of ponies. Even the Slayers were just doing what they thought was right, and weren’t just mindless, bloodthirsty killers out to harm dragons. Well, some of them definitely were. But that was a whole thing and wasn’t really relevant to Twilight’s point, so she would thank her brain not to interrupt her again. Regardless, if Twilight’s exposure to what ponies were really like could open her eyes, she was certain the reverse was true as well; that meeting her brother, and seeing the community he was building in the Crystal Empire— ponies and dragons living side by side in harmony— could help her friends to realize that the lies they had been told about dragons were just that. She hoped. But she couldn’t entirely disregard the possibility that this plan of hers would completely fail. After all, her last one failed, didn’t it? She needed to accept the reality that her ‘family’ of the Golden Oaks Library was no more, and it likely never would be again. That she had failed not only herself, but Spike as well; dangling in front of him the hope of a family that he’d always yearned for, only to snatch it away from him when it was all starting to feel real. She had to face the fact that Rarity would never look at her the same way again; that where once she saw a cute librarian in Twilight, now she only saw a monster. And it was all Twilight’s fault. Twilight curled into a ball and covered her face with her wings, weeping quietly at what she had ruined. She didn’t even notice the other presence skulking up behind her, until she curled up right next to Twilight and laid a golden wing across Twilight’s back in a show of support. Twilight peeked through her wings and looked up to see Fluttershy in her own dragon form smiling back at her. “You look distressed,” Fluttershy said. “I thought you could use some company.” “Why are you being so nice to me?” Fluttershy blinked and cocked her head. “I don’t understand.” “Why are you being so kind to me?” Twilight repeated. “Healing my wounds is one thing, but allowing me to bring dangerous ponies into your forest, leaving your forest to accompany me to the Crystal Empire? It’s so much! Why are you going out of your way to help me like this?” Fluttershy took a second to ponder Twilight’s question; in Fluttershy’s mind it seemed obvious, but she supposed from Twilight’s perspective her behavior might come off a little strange. She just hoped Twilight was okay with Fluttershy trying to help, and that she wasn’t messing everything up by putting her big nose where it didn’t belong. “I suppose it’s just in my nature,” Fluttershy smiled. “I can’t turn my back on someone in need, if I have the means to provide help to them.” “But leaving your forest?” Twilight asked perplexedly. “Going all the way up north to the Crystal Empire? It’s so far away!” Fluttershy hoped Twilight wasn’t trying to hint that she didn’t want Fluttershy to come, but she presumed that was just her anxiety talking so she settled with simply answering Twilight’s question. “I guess,” Fluttershy hummed, happing her chin with a claw, “I’m tired of hiding too.” Fluttershy had long since lost track of how long she had lived in her forest; she had seen at least one generation of children grow into adults in the nearby village, but the years flew by too quickly for her to keep track of how many there were. And it was true, that she would miss the forest; for many reasons, not the least of which being that she was now connected to it. She didn’t just live inside it, she lived through it, she could feel every leaf and snowflake within her forest as though they were her own fur and feathers, and being apart from that connection would make her feel very small indeed. All the tearful farewells she had to bid to her dear animal friends didn’t make it any easier, but the words she spoke were true. She was tired of hiding. She was tired of living in fear of the day that dragons came to Equestria, she was tired of waiting for the inevitable day that the village beside her forest grew larger than her realm and realized they had no need for her. She was tired of wondering whether her death would come at the hands of ponies or dragons, and living every day with that thought pounding at the doors of her mind. If Twilight could risk her safety and her comfort to fight for a life worth living, so too could Fluttershy. “And I want you to know,” Fluttershy smiled and nudged Twilight with her wing, “that I’m happy to help.” “I appreciate it, Fluttershy,” Twilight sighed and arched her back, yawning herself awake. “I’m glad I won’t be alone for this trip.” “I don’t know, Twilight,” Fluttershy thought about Pinkie Pie and brought a paw up to her cheek, vividly remembering the touch of the pony’s hand against her fur, “maybe I’m being too hopeful, but I don’t think we’ll be alone for too long.” “You know what, Fluttershy?” Twilight flashed a smile, and Fluttershy smiled back, overjoyed to see Twilight finally smile for the first time since she’d landed in Fluttershy’s forest. “I bet you’re right.”