//------------------------------// // Chapter 23: The Big Event // Story: The Recluse // by Live Light //------------------------------// Live Light had recently been placed in the hospital, after being poisoned by a Changeling. It is probably fatal, and there is no known cure. On top of that, the love of his life has been devasted when he was kissed by the former love of his life before his other former love of his life. So right now, he feels just as he did some days before... really lonely. Lone Light again, as it were. However, since he has nowhere to live, he still lives, bedridden (Well, couch-ridden, as he lies on the couch, not the bed), inside Fluttershy's cottage, but the two do not speak to each other much, usually just whenever Fluttershy asks him if he needs anything to eat or drink, or letting him know she is leaving. At least, that is how the two are going to go about it, anyway. By now, he probably only has two days of life left. He prefers to stay in the bed, not wanting much to do with the outside world anymore. Anyway, Fluttershy is outside, shopping for supplies. Light is still comfortable on the couch, and reading Daring Do, And The Extremely Frictional Pointless Cross-Over with Nothing in Particular, with that so far being the only joy in his life now. There was a knocking on the door. He ignored it. The knocking grew more frequent. It stopped for a moment, then came the sound of hooves moving. He rolled his eyes, and looked at the window. ...Pinkie Pie. Pinkie came in an extravagant costume that looked like she was a clown without make-up. She gave a cheerful, but somewhat hopeful wave to him. Light grinned in a rather disturbing way, and merely waved back, as if trying to deface happiness and making it seem ultimately pointless. Pinkie cringed, and turned around and walked off. Light nodded, and went back to his book. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie. "Hi!" "AGH!" Light yelped in surprise, when he heard Pinkie, standing a good distance away from him. "...Pinkamena. Hi. What do you want." Light asked in a dull, monotone tone. "Look... I just wanna say... I'm sorry." Pinkie said. "Apology accepted. Take care, bye-bye then." Light replied with a dim expression on his face and a weary tone in his voice. Pinkie didn't move. "I'm not convinced you actually forgave me." She said. "That's because I didn't." Light replied. "I really am sorry." "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." "...Just... hear me out, okay?" Light's eyes dimmed, and shrugged in defeat, motioning for her to get on with it. "I've... really liked you for a long time, okay? I didn't know you were with Fluttershy. The reason I didn't advance on you when you were with Bri-" Pinkie noticed him cringing, just at the near mentioning of the name. "...The other one, was because it's not nice to steal somepony away from another... if you'd told us about the two of you, I wouldn't have kissed you. So... not to pry, but, why didn't you mention it?" "We were kinda waiting until after the thugs had gone, but after the party seemed like a better time after it obvious they'd probably be staying." Light explained. "Oh well. What's done is done." "I just... don't feel right, because of what I did..." "Well, what'd you tell Fluttershy when she ran off crying because of what you did, then?" "I told her pretty much everything I told you." "And?" "She ignored me..." ...I should be fair with Pinkie, I guess. "Well..." Light began, "I had a crush on you, before... the other one. I kinda know how you feel... kinda." "Yeah, well... I never was the best with love... I didn't really know what a date was for a while, too." New to it, hm. I guess I don't blame you. "...I'm sorry for how I acted, Pinkie... I'm just... sad." Light explained. "I love Fluttershy but... she's sensitive about this, so... yeah." "Uh huh... just... letting you know." Pinkie Pie walked to the door. She looked back to Light. "See ya, Light." She said, before walking out of the cottage. Light laid back in his bed, thinking about his short-lived future. *Knock Knock Knock* FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU- Light was already weary of the interruptions, and so got out of bed, and, with effort, walked to the door, and opened it. "Oh. Hi, Snips and Snails." "Good morning, sir. Would you like a flyer for the upcoming event?" Snips asked. "No." "Wait..." Snails began. "Isn't it Fluttershy who lives here?" "Yes." Light answered. "Is she out?" Snips asked. "Yes." "Well, anyway, here's a flyer for you." "But I said n-" A pamphlet was given to him, regardless. ...Ugh. He decided to look at it for a moment. ... ... ... ... No. The pamphlet stated that Photo Finish was coming to Ponyville. Light remembered that Photo Finish had employed Fluttershy as a model. And she hated it. Her undeniable beauty is sure to be taken for advantage again... well, most probably anyway. Fluttershy never really said how she got out of it. Maybe Photo Finish thinks she went missing. If so, that means he has to intervene. He walked over to his bag, and pulled out his hooded cloak. He put it on, then went outside, walking fast, as running hurt him in his condition. ----- There were a bunch of last-minute banners put up for Photo Finish's arrival, and a lot of ponies were waiting. Rarity was waiting outside her boutique, hoping Photo Finish would come to see her designs (But she was more concerned about Fluttershy). Fluttershy, at hearing the news, 'eep'ed. She was now hurrying home. However, she heard a sort of crowd near her. She hid in a corner, and saw two earth ponies carrying a sort of platform, with Photo Finish, in her familiar attire, standing on it, and many ponies following the platform. She waited until they had left. She then visited a disguise shop, and bought a hooded cloak, hoping Light's hermit style was concealing enough. She followed the crowd into a building, and found Photo Finish at the center of it, speaking to the audience. She had the following thing to say to them. ----- Fluttershy walked among the crowd, to find a spot she could more easily be less seen, seeing how her disguise might not be tolerated by most of the fashionistas around her. She spotted a similarly dressed figure standing somewhere in the crowd. If somepony dressed like that is fine, she should probably stick with them, and make this 'infiltration' easier. She walked over to the figure, keeping her hood low, and standing next to them. It was hard to tell their gender easily, but it seemed to be in the shape of a stallion. A bit tall and skinny. She tried opening conversation. "Um... hello." She said. "Hi." Came a vaguely familiar voice, definitely male. "...Um... do I... know you?" She said, turning her hooded head towards the stallion, who, in turn, looked in her direction. "I should be asking you that question." She thought about a bit longer, until she thought of where she's seen that specific cloak before. She slowly extended a hoof to pull his hood down, and got a surprise when she did pull it. She stood there, obviously with widened eyes, despite them concealed under her hood. "..." "..." "..." "...Hi, Fluttershy..." "...Hi... Light..." ________________________________________________________________ Sorta short episode today. I introduced Photo Finish (Technically) and a musical number (Also technically.) Hoodieninja. See ya.