//------------------------------// // Chapter VII: Discovery // Story: Downfall of Equestria // by Shadow Storm //------------------------------// I woke up, looking towards the sky. It was different; it looked like a wall of rock. My eyes quickly opened as I looked around. I was in a cave with Cosette sleeping soundly next to me. I stood up and went outside, my eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness of the outside. Down below was a vast amount of trees. I guessed that was probably Everfree Forest. If that were true, where’s the castle? I looked around and found no sign of any buildings. We probably wandered into another land of some sort. I entered the cave again, lying down. I looked at Cosette; her breathing was so quiet and soft, it made her look even more beautiful than ever. I sat there for awhile, thinking about where we were going to go until Cosette woke up. “Good morning, Cosette.” I casually said, still in thought. She yawned very inaudibly, standing up shortly after. She looked down at me. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?” I looked up at her as I nodded. I slept like a foal. I didn’t even remember coming here, though. “Good, so, where are we gonna go?” Cosette asked, sitting next to me. “I was just thinking about that. I’m not sure. Let’s just keep walking until we find a place. Sound like a plan?” I began to chuckle as she rolled her eyes and giggled. “Yeah, great plan.” She responded with a sarcastic voice. We both laughed as we walked out of the cave. We started walking down the side when we heard a big boom. Frantically, I looked out and saw an explosion near some mountains. There was a battle going on, and it was a good thing we were a safe distance from it. We continued walking down, reaching the bottom in a short amount of time. The woods were a lot nicer here; they weren’t damp like the ones in the Everfree Forest. We began walking when I turned my attention to Cosette. “Say, how did you know I was leaving camp?” She looked at me with a guilty smile. Her head lowered a bit as she continued to stare at me. “I... didn’t know if you were okay, so I went to your tent and you weren’t there, but when I left the tent I saw you going to the front. I saw you trotting around like some sort of spy.” She claimed, making me laugh. “Sorry I seemed so mysterious.” I apologized in a somewhat sarcastic tone. We both laughed for a bit when she began again. “You know, I’ve always wanted to tell you this… but I really find you fascinating. You’re not like all the other stallions I meet.” I turned and faced her, my heart now beating its usual beat. “Really? How so?” “Well…” She started, beginning to blush. I could notice her cheeks getting red as she continued. “you don’t try to act like a hot shot, unlike the others.” I laughed and smiled at what seemed to be a compliment. “You also find me interesting, even though the stories I told you about how our days were sucked.” She laughed, making me laugh even louder. “Really? My stories always sucked. All I did was stand doing nothing all day. Your stories were better than mine by a long shot.” She blushed more, so much that even I started to blush a bit. “Thank you Shadow. You know, you’re the first pony to ever find me interesting. We’ve been friends for such a short amount of time, but it feels like we’ve been friends for a long time. You even saved my life, Shadow! I…” She stopped suddenly, trying to hide her face. I stopped too, confused as to why she stopped. “You what?” I asked curiously. “I… I…” She stuttered. She kept mumbling under her breath something I couldn’t hear at all. I chuckled and turned facing her completely. She still refused to look at me. “Come on, tell me.” She finally looked up, her face red from embarrassment. “I… I really like you.” I blushed more and more, my entire face turning red. Our eyes locked in place as we stood there, silent for a few minutes. I really liked her too. I liked her ever since the day I met her out on the battlefield, but it took me until the day I went on my mission to finally realize my feelings. I couldn’t help but smile to the blushing Cosette. “I like you too, Cosette. I always have.” Her eyes widened in astonishment, glistening beautifully. “You do? Really?!” She giggled in her girly voice as I nodded. She came over, wrapping her head around mine. I returned the embrace, feeling the warmth of her fur. I remembered the scent in her hair back when I saved her. It smelled as elegantly as it did now. “That’s a lot of weight lifted off my chest.” I confessed, as she giggled. She pulled away from the hug, smiling at me. We both confessed our feelings, feeling as though a chain of stress became untangled, loosening my body a bit. We started walking again, staring at each other with smiles. “You know what’s funny?” I asked, chuckling. “What?” “What you said was true. It feels as though we’ve known each other for so long, but I know we haven’t, have we?” “We haven’t.” She answered, giggling. “We’ve known each other for such a small amount of time… its crazy.” She also added, letting out a sigh. I laughed. I felt so happy that I could finally begin to open up to her. As a matter of fact, I was really happy, no, really overjoyed at the moment. My heart was pounding fast as I ran thoughts through my mind, a little too fast. “Hey Cosette, have you ever been in a relationship?” I immediately stopped, closing my mouth shut with my hoof. She stopped, looking at me. I began to blush deeply. The question slipped out of my mind. I was wondering if she ever had been in a relationship. I removed my hoof from my mouth, blushing even more. “I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to ask that, it just, slipped out.” She began to smile, her eyes half open as she stared into mine, almost seductively. It made me feel even more funny inside. “It’s okay, and to answer your question, no. I have never been in a relationship before.” I looked away, beginning to walk again. I felt so stupid for asking that question. That’s when she shoved me. I didn’t expect her to do that, so I stumbled a bit. I looked at her, as she smiled at me, giggling. I began to smile too as I shoved her back. Eventually, we began to constantly shove each other out of shier fun. This time, she didn’t shove me. Instead, she stuck out her hoof in front of mine, causing me to fall forward and trip. I fell and rolled on the ground onto my back, staring at her from the ground. She laughed louder as I rolled my eyes, laughing as well. “Okay, that wasn’t cool.” I admitted through my laughter. “I’m sorry, did you want help?” She said sarcasticly as she stuck her hoof out to help me up. She continued laughing as an idea popped in my head. I took a hold of her hoof, pulling her down. She didn’t expect it, and came slamming down to the ground right next to me. For the next five minutes, we laid there laughing. “I haven’t had this much fun since I was a filly!” She confessed through her laughter. “Neither have I! I never had this much fun as a colt!” I turned my head, as she turned hers. Our eyes met, and stayed there. Her violet eyes glistened as her smile began to subside. Mine was also faded as she rolled over on her side. I rolled over as well, facing her. We both stared at each other for the longest time, not doing anything and not saying anything. For the first time in a long time, I was enjoying myself. Cosette made me feel… happy, but not happy. It was more than that. I struggled to figure out how to describe it when I suddenly felt something against my lips. My eyes widened as I saw Cosette pressing her lips against mine, a spark igniting. My eyes closed as I began to kiss her back. It felt like a long time before we finally broke the kiss. It was an amazing feeling. I felt so happy at that point, that I could spend eternity with her. She meant everything to me, and I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. “Let’s be together, Shadow. I want to be your marefriend.” She asked me in an eager tone. “And I want to be your coltfriend, Cosette.” I confessed, pulling her to me in a long and passionate hug. We stayed there, holding each other, not daring to let each other go. She made me happy, and I felt happy just being with her. She possessed my thoughts to the point that she was all I thought about. The war was obsolete, and the conflict in the country was insignificant to me now. All I cared about now, was Cosette by my side.