//------------------------------// // Chapter IX: "Something Only You Can Answer." // Story: I Would Give to You // by Jet Howitzer //------------------------------// (Another chapter? So soon? Yes, comrades, another chapter. Enjoy.) The trip back to Ponyville had taken only a bit longer than the trip to Canterlot, and you were glad to finally be back in the peaceful town. You’d gotten a few curious glances from the others, but they left you alone for the most part. Nopony had been really interested in conversation, given how late it was, so you opted to simply head back to Fluttershy’s place, knowing that you needed to get some rest. Before you left the group, though, Twilight came over and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek, bringing a massive blush to your cheek. You sincerely doubted that Twilight’s actions went unnoticed, but nopony commented on it, and you were grateful for that. Fluttershy soon began walking to her cottage, and you fell into step beside her, careful to maintain an even pace with her. Most of the trip was silent, but once you breached the border of the town Fluttershy finally spoke up. “So, I see you and Twilight are getting along quite well.” Your blush, which had only faded slightly, came back in full force as Fluttershy spoke. “Not that it’s a problem. I’m actually really happy for the both of you.” You glanced at her, and you could see the tiniest flicker of uncertainty on her face. It was so brief, though, that you weren’t even sure if you actually saw it. “Well, Flutters, it’s really nice to know that there’s somepony out there who cares for me without being a part of the family.” You exhale explosively, and then you continue. “Just wish I had some way of expressing my feelings to the mare. Most pegasi resort to displays of aerial proficiency, but I can’t.” “Well, you could give her a part of you. Those goggles, for instance.” “Yeah, I’d thought of that. But I’d need to get an inscription made. So I’ll be making a trip to Rarity’s boutique soon to see if she can help.” You trail off, and several minutes pass in silence. “Do you think the goggles will be enough, though?” “I don’t know, honestly. But I think it’s more important whether you think it will work. A poor gift given with the best of intentions means far more than a wonderful gift given out of requirement. If you feel so strongly for Twilight I don’t think she’ll mind getting a small gift from you. In fact, I don’t think you’d even need to get her a gift. Your words would be more than enough.” You had just reached the small bridge before Fluttershy’s home when she finished speaking, and you stopped in your tracks, watching as the mare continued towards her home just a few yards away. She’d given you a measure to think about with her brief speech. Without even knowing it, Fluttershy had spoken some incredibly wise words. When you saw that she had just made it to the door to her home, though, you quickly made your way to the door. You got next to her just as she made her way inside, and you were greeted by the face of an upset looking Angel bunny. Fluttershy quickly gave him some dinner, and you made your way to your small room, your head filled with all manner of thoughts. Simple words could do more for you than the goggles could, but you still wanted to give them to her. They held a place of significance in your life, and surely that wouldn’t be lost on the unicorn. You leapt upon your bed with a fair amount of grace, and then you looked to the goggles sitting on the drawers. You were still looking at them when a gentle knock sounded on the door to your small bedroom. With a grunt of acknowledgment from you, it opened, and Fluttershy gave you a warm smile. “Tomorrow is the last day before the Summer Sun festival. Were I you, I’d plan to do something then. Princess Celestia will likely be there to make a speech, and afterwards there is always a magnificent fireworks display. Do something with her during that.” “Yeah, that could work. But what should I do, exactly?” “That’s something only you can answer.” Fluttershy gave you a quick hug before she slowly closed the door as she exited. You continued to look at the door long after the mare had left, your mind filled with questions that you couldn’t answer. Eventually, you reclined on the bed, your busy mind filling your sleep with dreams. The wind whipped past you as you flew amongst the clouds once more. Massive billowy clouds gave you a vague reference for your speed, but that was something that your mind did without you even thinking about it. You could hear the faint voices of your friends over the whistling winds, but they were soon forgotten as you flew onward. The entire scene was familiar to you, but at the same time it was different. As you maneuvered your way through the clouds you soon found yourself gliding through a massive open area in the clouds. You did a few simple maneuvers, but then you spotted a new cloud layer moving in above you. With a grin, you accepted the challenge presented. You wanted to have naught but the blue skies above you, and this cloud layer was threatening your desires. You began climbing through the air, your powerful wings giving you all the lift you needed, and more. But you didn’t notice that your breathing was growing harder with each beat of your wings. Not because of the strain, since you could do this for hours without exertion, but because of the thinning air. Just as you reached the gap in the clouds that you sought to pass through your body failed you, the oxygen deprivation forcing you to yield to the will of gravity. You blacked out for a moment as you began to fall, but soon enough you felt the tug of consciousness bring you back mere moments later. However, in that brief moment, everything had changed. Far below you was a boiling mass of deep gray storm clouds, their wispy tendrils crackling with lightning just waiting to be released. You glanced up, once again, at the gap in the clouds, and you knew that you couldn’t reach it even if you tried. A pang of anguish passed through you at that revelation, and at the same time your body failed you once again. The plummet to the storm below felt like it took mere seconds, and soon you were falling through the dense clouds. A bright flash appeared before you, and with a shout that was lost to the wind you felt a searing pain lance across your back. Despite your eyes opening to see the sun, and the firm grip of reality asserting itself, the pain in your back continued, even growing in intensity. You’d never felt anything quite like this before, and you found yourself unable to put words to the pain you felt. It lasted for several minutes before you found that you could move or speak once again. A gentle knock came at the door, and your suddenly hoarse voice croaked out. “Yeah…” The door opened slowly, revealing a smiling Fluttershy. As soon as she saw your face, though, her smile disappeared instantly, being replaced with a look of intense concern. She rushed to your side, and a hoof was soon pressed gently against your forehead. It remained there for several minutes, and not a word passed between the two of you. When she finally removed it the concern on her face had been alleviated, if only slightly. “What’s wrong? You don’t have a fever, but your nearly soaked in sweat.” You swallowed before answering, finding the dryness of your throat to be incredibly distracting. “Bad dream.” The mare didn’t look satisfied with the answer, and she continued to look at you. “Really bad. Sort of reminded me of when I lost my wings.” The look on her face softened at that, and she gave you a hug. “That was a long time ago. You’ve got a bright new future ahead of you, and you shouldn’t let your past hold you back.” “Fluttershy, I felt the pain again. When I was hit by the bolt of lightning, I felt the pain it caused. I woke up because I felt it again.” The concern returned, and she stood up from the bed. “We’ll head to the hospital, if you like. Or perhaps Twilight has an explanation for it.” You nod, and the mare begins walking out of the room. “I have some breakfast ready, if you’d like something to eat.” You watch as she leaves the room, and soon after you pull yourself out of bed, careful not to let your wings come unfurled from your sides. As you exited your room you sighed as the pain that had raced through your body sent another brief pang through you. You gently lowered yourself into the seat at the table where Fluttershy had already put down a plate of scrambled eggs, along with another apple. You felt a tiny smile come to your face as you looked at the apple and the plate of eggs. You didn’t know which to look forward to more, the known taste of the apple, or the potential greatness of the eggs. Deciding to be adventurous, you took a bite of the eggs, and you weren’t disappointed. While not quite as good as the omelet, it still offered up a diverse arrangement of flavors, each one working to compliment the others. You quickly finished the meal, looking to Fluttershy’s plate to see if she had anything left over. Sadly, she, too, had eaten her share. With the tiniest sigh of disappointment you turned to your apple, glad to still have that to eat. It was just as good as the one from yesterday, and you savored the whole thing. By the time you had finished, Fluttershy had already finished clearing the table, and so you just sat there for a moment. Fluttershy’s voice stirred you out of your reflection, though, as you listened to her. “Come on, let’s go see if Twilight has an explanation for what happened. And if she can’t explain, we can go to see the hospital. Maybe even visit Taupe and his sister.” You nodded in response, and soon enough the two of you were headed into town once again. The trip took only a short while, and neither you, nor Fluttershy, said anything during the trip. You spotted Taupe walking slowly towards the medical clinic, too lost in his own thoughts to even glance your way. You soon found yourself before the library, and you raised a hoof to knock. As you brought it down to make contact with the door you saw that it began opening. Sweet mother of Celestia, really? The lavender mare that opened the door stared at the hoof resting on her face, and then her gaze shifter slowly to you, seeing as how you were the pony attached to that hoof. You offered her a sheepish smile in response to her staring, and you quickly dropped your hoof back to the ground. She just smiled in response, and then welcomed the two of you into her home. “So, what brings you two by at this early hour?” She led the two of you to the kitchen where Spike was finishing up his breakfast. He shot Twilight a curious glance at her presence, but he turned back to his breakfast after just a moment. “Seems like I’ll be going out later, Spike. Unexpected guests take a bit of a priority over your favorite cereal.” You saw the dragon’s eyes roll in his head, and you felt the tiniest smile come to your face. “Actually, Twi, we’re here for…” Fluttershy grew incredibly quiet as she spoke, clearly uncertain about what she was saying. You decided to jump in, though, since you were feeling a bit more confident. “My wings hurt this morning. A lot.” The mare’s eyes went wide at that, and her demeanor shifted rapidly. “I was dreaming about flying, and after several minutes in the dream I woke up with an intense pain running though my wings. Although it felt like it was my entire body, not just my wings.” You pause, recalling the last time you had felt like that. “It was just like when you first tried to work with the nerves in my wings.” The mare’s ears drooped visibly, and she actually started to frown. “Yesterday, when I helped you get airborne for a bit, I also tried to see if I could forge any lasting nerve bonds. Clearly it worked, but not in the way I had hoped.” She moved over to the table where Spike was eating, and she took a seat. “When you were dreaming your body must have sent a signal along one of the nerve pathways I created, and it caused a feedback loop.” “So, what does this mean for me?” Your voice was tinged with doubt, and that wasn’t lost on any of the beings present. Even Spike looked up from his meal at your query. “It means that this might be a lot harder than I thought. The repair I made seemed perfectly in synch with the pathways that I saw in the flow of magic. I figured that I could start small, and return to you the minor control over your wings that I couldn’t mimic properly.” The mare let out a deep sigh, and she shook her head. “It seems that it won’t be that easy. And that my mistake caused you a great level of pain.” “Twi, don’t worry. It’s over now, and I know that you only meant well. But why didn’t anything happen during the day? Wouldn’t it be likely that something would’ve triggered it before this morning?” “Well, how often do you think about using your wings during the day?” A soft chuckle escapes you as you answer. “More often than I’d like.” “No, what I mean is, how often do you try to move them?” “Oh. Well, never. I know they won’t respond, so I don’t even try. I don’t need my body to remind me that I can’t fly.” The mare nods as you respond. “And that’s why you didn’t trigger the pain earlier. Your conscious mind knows that the attempt at flight won’t work, so you never even try to fly. Your subconscious, though, seems to still give you dreams of flight, and some of the dream leeched over into your body, and so the attack was triggered.” Spike lowers his spoon as Twilight speaks, and then he looks over to you. “Wow. That sucks. Dreaming about flying is just going to make it hurt all the time?” The unicorn shot Spike a glare, and he quickly fell silent. “If you like I can undo what I did, so you don’t have to worry about the pain.” You frown at the mare, and she raises an eyebrow. “I don’t want to undo what you’ve done. Instead, how about we try to fix the mistake you made?” The mare perks up at that, and she climbs down from her chair and she motions for you to follow. Fluttershy, who had remained silent throughout all of this followed close behind you. Soon enough you were standing in Twilight’s study once more. A large tome floated down from a shelf, and it landed on the table. Twilight opened it to a page near the middle, and you approached her to take a look at what she was reading. “Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy’s voice, despite its softness, seemed unnaturally loud in the silence of the study. “Yes, Fluttershy?” “I need to go and take care of all my animal friends, so can I trust you to be careful?” The mare nodded, and a smile found its way to her face. “You can trust me, Fluttershy. I won’t let anything happen. I Pinkie Promise.” Twilight quickly performed the ritual you had only read about, and you had to put a hoof to your mouth to stifle the laughter that threatened to burst forth. It was such a silly little thing, but from what you remembered from the letters they were a big deal for Fluttershy and her friends. The pegasus nodded with a smile on her face, and soon after she had left the study, telling you to come by the cottage when you were done here. Twilight read over the tome for several minutes before she finally turned the page. You had been lost amongst the plethora of medical terms on the last page, and this new page finally had something you vaguely recognized. The diagram of a pegasus with wings outstretched was easy enough to understand, but the hundreds of lines confused you. You pointed a hoof at it, and Twilight looked at the diagram for a moment. “It’s a representation of the most major veins, arteries, and nerves in the pegasus body. The red lines represent arteries, the blue lines are veins, and the black lines are nerves.” “Oh. Can you approximate where the damage to my body is?” The mare nods, before she points to a point where several dozen different black lines merge, before shooting several off down your body, and quite a few off to each wing. “So, it’s a big nerve cluster?” “Yes, one of the largest, actually.” The mare continued reading the book, and you decided to take a few steps back, to give her room. You busied yourself by looking through the books lining the shelves, and pulling the occasional one out. Before long you heard Twilight let out a small cry of success. “I think I’ve found something that may help. Just come over here, and I’ll see what I can do.” You approached her cautiously, still slightly nervous about what was happening. The mare’s horn began glowing softly, and you felt your wings both stretch out. The mare had the book levitating next to her, and she was still reading it as her horn began to glow. As the glow increased in intensity you closed your eyes. She Pinkie Promised… She Pinkie Promised… (Well, looks like something's about to happen. I'll just go ahead and leave this cliffhanger here.)