//------------------------------// // Chapter 4.) My Reflection // Story: Blaze // by Blazing_Mane01 //------------------------------// Three days have passed since I arrived here in Ponyville. My sleep these past days has been nearly nonexistent; for out of fear of what I may see in my dreams, or insomnia, it has been effective. My fatigue has caused my head to spin with questions. What was that shadow? Whose dwelling should I stay in until I can own a proper residence? If ever? Why were those ponies so quick to offer their homes to a complete stranger? I tried to roll over and force myself some shut-eye. My wing is feeling significantly better, so much so that the doctor says I should be out of here before tonight. Good. I've been dying to get some fresh air. I guess I actually DID pass out, for the clock tower now rings 2:00. I'm being shoved by who I believe to be the nurse aid. Her calm, gentle voice sooths my tender ears when she speaks; "All right, Blaze. Time to go." She has an oddly happy tone following her words. Either she's agreeing with me when I say I need to get some celestial sunlight glistening on my mane, OR she just can't wait to kick me out. She also offers to take off the bandages, and I allow her. It feels a little stiff, so I give it a slight flap, but I quickly regret it. The reaction of the wing made me wince a little. It's still not fully recovered, but I'm sure I can comfortably fly. I hop out of the thick hospital sheets and land on the tile floor below. Oh, how to walk again! My excitement gets the better of me as I find myself dancing around the room. The nurse has the silliest expression printed on her face, almost as if she could fall over laughing. I confirm this when I cross my eyes at her. It takes her a good minute before she could stand up and say, "Okay, let's get you out of here." Not wanting to keep anypony waiting (including myself), I followed. The way to the front door consisted of two flights of stairs and an adequate-size lobby. Ponies in their desks wave, and I give a smile back to them. Upon opening the main doors, I am flooded by some six colorful friends of mine. Indistinct chatter makes me ask them to take this outside. I mean, after all, we ARE still in the hospital. I wave my last wave to the doctors as they slowly get swallowed by the building's mouth. "So Blaze! How ya feelin'?" Rainbow Dash started our official conversation. "Well, I finally qualified to get out," I say with a little sarcasm. This has the desired effect; the majority of the ponies start to giggle to themselves. "So, whose place au wanna see first?" AppleJack reminded me of the first thing on my to-do list. "Uhh... ..." I haven't given this much thought. My mind is a bit slow when comes to planning every single detail. "...You know what? Surprise me." Twilight Sparkle once again used her adorable giggle and continued with the topic, "You heard him. All right, girls, blindfold him!" "Wha..? Hey!" I suddenly get deafened by laughter and indistinct yelling. My eyelids adjust to the front of the strap of cloth that is now planted on my face. Okay, yeah I said surprise me, but I never expected them to take it this seriously! After a few minutes of following their voices and occasionally walking the wrong way to get them worked up, they skid to a stop. I feel hooves undoing a knot on the back of my neck, followed by a blast of cleansing sunlight. My eyes take their sweet time adjusting to a cottage with an amazing garden. Others find my dropped jaw faster than I do, as an anonymous hoof pushes it back shut. "This is where I live," Fluttershy flew up and hovered above her respective property. "It's on the outskirts of town, so it's the perfect place to raise my friends." "Uhh, Fluttershy? I'm capable of taking care of myself, thanks," I say in a sarcastic tone. All the other ponies quickly duck their heads and smile. Fluttershy only blushed and continued, "Oh, no no no, I-I meant the animals!" I was going to say sorry I understood, when Rarity's regal voice overpowers mine. "But that's not it! We still have five - Well, at least four... - offers to feast your eyes on! We can take you over to Carousel next, if that's okay with you, right darling?" She blinked her eyes so rapidly her eyelash could've flown right off. "Uhh, fine! Sure! Lead the way!" Rarity threw her hooves in the air along with a high-pitched scream you'd need dog ears to hear. With the decision unanimous, we headed for Carousel Boutique. I caught Fluttershy sigh out of the corner of my eye as she landed to follow. Night has fallen by the time I've been introduced to Carousel, Golden Oaks Library, Cloudsdale, Sugar Cube Corners, and Sweet Apple Acres. I made my final decision then that there wasn't one location that fascinated me more, so I wanted to avoid favoritism and make my own bed in the wilderness. All of the ponies had let out their moan of defeat when I departed from the group and headed for a nearby tree. "It's okay! I'll be here when you decide to look for me!" I waved. This seemed to bring the six back to life as they picked their heads up and left for their respective beds. I make a quick carpet out of leaves and pine needles, the way my dad showed me. My dad. I rolled onto the makeshift bedding and slid my way into a comfortable position. However, no matter how much I toss and turn, me and sleep refuse to find each other. an hour passes beofre I finally decide to get up. I start to fly, for the hopes of finding a lake or a beach or SOMETHING to ease my mind. Fortunately, there was a lake about a hundred meters away. My hooves find the ground at the bank where the water washes up on shore. I stare at my reflection in the water, hoping that I could remember more about my village, my family, than their brutal ends. The ripple in the wave caught me off guard. I hadn't even noticed it, but alas, my eyes began to moisten again with tears. Who was that shadow? Why did it do that to my people? Why did Faded Ivory have to die for me? Why couldn't she let me die with her!? Why can't I remember!? "Maybe that's what I should've done," I find myself thinking out loud. "I should've just let that monster kill me. That way, I wouldn't've put a dent in these ponies' lives, and our history would've ended..." The more I think about it, the more I want to throw rocks, scream at the top of my lungs, or dive to the bottom of the lake and never come up. This is rediculous. All the pain, and for WHAT!? So I could live with it the rest of my life!? Why does my life have to ber so horrible!? I said it before, I'll say it again... "I quit."