//------------------------------// // Chapter V: Marshmallow Massage And Much Needed Support // Story: A Love To Remember // by SapphireWings999 //------------------------------//             The next day came around, seemingly just like any other day.  However, I knew full well that it wasn’t just like any other day for I was one day closer to being erased from existence entirely unless I could get Fluttershy to fall in love with me again.  That being said, I still had the responsibilities of my job to take care of at the same time.  But how was I supposed to balance that with winning Fluttershy’s heart back?  My job took up a pretty sizable chunk of my normal day, not allowing as much free time as I would’ve liked, so it was even more important for me to make the most of the time I had with Fluttershy if I was ever to get that Kiss Of True Love to break the curse.             As I made my way over to the Ponyville Day Spa to start my shift, the thought occurred to me that it might be a considerate gesture for me to stop by her cottage after my shift was up to make sure she was doing O.K.  I could only imagine how strange and jarring this experience must be for her, having over 20 years worth of memories taken away from her just like that.  In that regard, I was positive that she’d need as much support and encouragement as she could get, having someone there to listen to whatever concerns she might have, even if she’d just said yesterday that she most likely wouldn’t need my assistance with anything.             Arriving at work, these thoughts still lingered heavily on my mind even after I’d punched in and started working my massaging magic on all my clients as they came in.  Lyra was among the first clients I saw that day which was of very little surprise to me.  Ever since I’d first started up working at the spa, she’d been one of my most faithful customers, always seeing me for her massages every opportunity she got.  This was perfectly fine by me, though.  Having a customer as loyal as Lyra was clearly showed that I must’ve been doing something right around here.             Before long, I’d completed my massage session with Lyra as she hopped off of the table before speaking up to me.             “Great job as usual, David.”             “Thanks, Lyra.  Guess Ah’ll see ya sometime later then?”             “Yup.  See you later.”             And with that, she exited the chamber as I called out for my next client.             “Ah’m ready fer tha nex’ customer.”             It wasn’t long after I’d made my announcement that the next pony entered the chamber.  The pony in question was a familiar marshmallow Unicorn with a wavy violet mane and tail, both of which were highlighted with a streak of silver that made her look even more glamorous.             “Oh.  Hey, Rarity,” I spoke up. “How ya doin’?”             “Pretty well all things considered.  Just dealing with the normal rush of the holiday, so I decided to come here for a little bit of much needed R&R, a little escape from the hecticness if you know what I mean.  How have you been doing?”             “Ah honestly wish Ah could say things were goin’ well with me.”             A look of concern crossed Rarity’s face before she posed her own question towards me.             “What’s wrong, darling?”             “Ah’ll tell ya in a little bit, but first Ah’m sure ya mus' want that massage ya came here fer.”             “Oh.  O.K.,” she replied as she made her way over to the massage table and assumed the position.             After a quick popping of my knuckles and flexing of my fingers, I finally laid my hands on Rarity’s back and began slowly working my way up and down her spine.             “Mmmm.  David, this feels absolutely divine!” she moaned happily.             “Glad ya ‘pprove.”             “So what exactly is troubling you?”             “Well,” I began, my hands reaching the base of her tail in the process, “las’ night, Ah went on a date with Fluttershy where Ah was plannin’ ta propose ta her, but it got interrupted.”             “That can indeed be frustrating.”             “Unfortunately, it gets even worse than that.  Ya see, tha guy who interrupted ma proposal was another human, someone who’d apparently been here even before Crystal had come.”             “Another human?” Rarity gasped. “Where do all these humans keep coming from?”             “It’s a pretty long ‘n complicated story, but all that really matters was that he put a curse on Fluttershy that caused her ta forget everythin’ that had happened between y’all defeatin’ Tirek tha firs’ time ‘n now, completely erasin’ any memory that Ah’d even existed, although he was originally plannin’ on strikin’ me with that blast o’ his before Fluttershy leapt out in front o’ me ta sacrifice herself ta tha curse.”             “Oh my!  That sounds awful.  Were you able to find out what the curse was that this barbarian had cast on her?”             It was then that I switched to my knife-hand technique, chopping up and down her back before continuing.             “Well, Starlight was able ta find that tha curse in question was ‘Tha Curse O’ Fergotten Love’, an ancient curse datin’ all tha way back ta when Discord ruled tha land.  It’s even believed that he was originally tha only one ta possess that curse.”             “Twilight had mentioned to all of us a few days ago how Discord had mysteriously lost his powers.  It would seem that this particular individual is the reason behind what you’ve just mentioned.  Were you able to find anything else about the curse?”             “Apparently, tha curse itself causes one ta completely ferget ‘bout their significant other whether it be someone they’re datin’ or even married to.  Tha pony who’s memory had been fergotten by their significant other begins ta slowly vanish from reality.  Once a full week is up, they’re gone entirely as if they’d never existed.”             “Wait a minute.  That means that you’re vanishing from reality!”             “Unfortunately, yes, though nothing’s happened ta me yet.”             “Well there must be some form of antidote or countermeasure to this curse, right?”             “There is one solution fer tha curse ta be broken.  That bein’ True Love’s Kiss.”             “Huh,” she protested. “Sounds awfully stock and cliche to me.”             “That’s what Ah felt too, but it’s not quite as simple as that.  Ya see, in order fer tha kiss ta work, both parties involved mus’ perform tha kiss willingly.  Fluttershy would hafta want ta kiss me in order ta break tha curse.  Unfortunately, she seems ta be far more terrified o’ me at tha moment ‘n doesn’t want that much ta do with me.”             With those words off of my lips, Rarity’s session with me was over as she got up from the table before answering.             “Well, I’m sure that with your charming nature, you’ll be able to win her love again no problem.”             “Ah sure hope so.”             “As a side note, I really enjoyed my massage from you.  I think this is the first time I’d ever had you as my masseur and I’ll definitely be sure to make any and all future appointments with you from now on.”             “Thanks, Rare.”             “You’re welcome, darling,” she smiled back. “In the meantime, I really must be going.  Far too much to do for Hearth’s Warming Eve coming up, but I’ll definitely see you later.”             “Yup.  See ya.”             And so, Rarity left the chamber as I continued on with the rest of my shift, massaging customer after customer as time passed on.  With that passage of time, I could hardly wait for my shift to be over so that I could check up on my dear Flutters.  With her having lost over 20 years worth of memories, I couldn’t begin to imagine all the things that could come as a shock to her.  I wanted to be there as a supportive friend for her, to comfort her, and help her get through this confusing time.  One question burning deep in my mind as my shift went on was, Would she ever be able to accept me as a friend (or even more) again? *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *             After what seemed like countless hours of work, I finally punched out of my shift and made my way over towards Fluttershy’s cottage to check up on her.  I wasn’t entirely sure of what to expect when I got there, but it was far more important that I be there as a support for her should she need me.  Reaching her cottage after a quick flight there from the spa, I went to knock my familiar pattern on her front door only to hear a soft noise coming from inside.  Pressing my ear against the door, I was able to make out that it was the sound of crying; Fluttershy crying.             My heart broke inside upon hearing her weeping, even if from the other side of the door.  Considering my concerns for her wellbeing, I hoped that she’d be able to forgive my slight breach of etiquette and decorum as I opened up the door to reveal Fluttershy lying on her couch, face buried in a pillow as she sobbed.  Seeing that she didn’t seem to notice my entrance, I quietly made my way over to where she was before finally speaking up.             “Flutters?”             Letting out a startled “Meep!”, Fluttershy swiftly raised her head from her pillow, eyes red and puffy, pupils dilated, before posing her own nervous question to me.             “D-David?  Wh-wh-what’re you d-doing here?”             “Ah’m sorry.  Ah-Ah jus’ heard ya cryin’ ‘n Ah wanted ta make sure ya were alright.”             Wiping the tears from her eyes, Fluttershy finally gave her reply.             “No.  I-I’m not alright.  I went to ch-check up on m-m-my animal friends earlier, particularly Angel.  B-b-but…, he’s gone and… I-I don’t know why.  My animals told me he died years ago, but… it seemed like he was just here the other day.  How… how can that be possible?”             Heart full of compassion for my amnesiac girlfriend’s plight, I sat down on the couch next to her as she continued.             “Not only that, but when I went to look in my mirror earlier after waking up, I… I couldn’t even recognize myself.   What I saw reflected back at me… was an old mare I have no memory of ever becoming.  What’s even happening anymore?”             With that last question, Flutters began crying all over again as I tried my best to think of how I could possibly help ease her pain over these memories she’d forgotten.             “Ah might not know tha pain yer goin’ through at tha moment,” I began, “but what Ah do know is that ya’ve got plenty o’ friends who’re more than willin’ ta help ya through this hardship yer dealin’ with, includin’ me.”             I then softly placed my hand on her forehoof before continuing with my thoughts to her.             “Ya might not be able ta remember much ‘bout me, but Ah’m still here fer ya nonetheless.  While Ah don’ know what kind o’ hardships might come in tha future, Ah’ll be there ta stand by you, just as Ah remember tha times ya stood by me even if ya can’t recall those instances at tha moment.”             “But how can you be soo faithful and loyal to me when I don’t even know who you are?” she puzzled.             “Because that’s jus’ who Ah am ‘n it’s what true friends do.  Even when Ah was much younger, ma mom was always quick ta point out how loyal Ah am towards those Ah’m closest with.  You ‘n yer friends are some o’ tha closest individuals Ah’ve ever had tha pleasure o’ gettin’ ta know ‘n be friends with.  Plus, even if ya can’t remember who Ah am, Ah still remember who you are ‘n Ah’m willin’ ta fight whatever battle needs ta be fought if it means gettin’ yer memories back.”             It wasn’t long after I’d spoken to Flutters that I noticed a slight blush forming across her cheeks.  Could this possibly be a sign that she was more likely to give me that Kiss Of True Love even sooner than I’d originally expected?  Could it be that I’d managed to win her heart back that quickly?             “I appreciate your concern for me,” she began, “but… I wish I could actually remember us being friends.  A small part of me wants to know while another part is scared to remember everything I’ve forgotten.  According to my animal friends, the memories I’ve forgotten go back as far as 20 years ago.  That’s a lot of memories for me to forget and I fear that, if I ever do get them back, they’ll be far too overwhelming for me to take in all at once.”             “Then all of us will be here ta help ya face those memories when they do come back ta ya.  Ya have no shortage o’ friends who want ta be there fer ya whatever challenge comes along.  All ya need ta do is simply ask ‘n we’ll  offer any assistance we can.  Yer not alone through any o’ this, no matter how alone ya might feel at this current moment.”             At my statement, Fluttershy’s eyes began watering again as I did the only other thing that I could think of to do at the time: pull her close to me in a gentle, comforting hug as the tears ran down her face onto the shoulder of my shirt.  This didn’t really matter much to me as I just focused on being the support Fluttershy needed most in that moment, gently patting her back during this friendly embrace.             “There there,” I spoke soothingly. “Let it all out.”             It took a good couple of minutes before she finally pulled away from me, the tears ceasing as I reached my hand out to gently dry her eyes much to her appreciation.             “I hope,” Fluttershy finally spoke up, “that you and I can become as good friends again as you say we were before I lost my memories.”             “Ah honestly hope so too, Flutters.”             She smiled softly back at me before I noticed how late it was getting.  Even with Fluttershy not remembering the fact that we’d ever been lovers, time with her seemed to go by way too quickly regardless of that detail.  As much as I didn’t want to, I knew that it was time for me to leave Fluttershy’s place and go my own way, possibly grab something to eat as it was dinnertime.             “Ah’ve really gotta be goin’,” I broke the silence, standing up and making my way towards the front door. “Gotta see ‘bout gettin’ dinner fer maself before callin’ it a night.”             “Oh.  O.K.,” Fluttershy answered back, a twinge of disappointment in her tone.             “Hey.  Ah’ll still be ‘round if ya ever wanna spend more time with me.  Ma place is just a short fly away from here.  If ya ever have any problems or need someone ta talk too, ma doors are always open.”             “I appreciate that offer, David.  Guess I’ll see you sometime later then?”             “Definitely.  Goodbye, Flutters.”             “Goodbye.”             And with that, I exited Fluttershy’s cottage and made my way back towards Ponyville to see about getting something for dinner.  Thinking over my most recent visit with Fluttershy, things had gone somewhat better than I’d expected they would considering her amnesia.  But reminding her that we were friends again was something entirely different from reminding her that we’d once been soulmates.  Something of that level of significance and magnitude would take even greater time to convince her of.  Time that I was rapidly running out of with each passing day.  As these thoughts circled around inside my mind, I could only hope and pray that I’d be able to remind Fluttershy of the love we’d once shared before my time ran out permanently.