Chapter Four: Seventy Second or the First
As it did every morning, Celestia’s sun shone brightly in the sky. Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and many various animals ran to and fro in their daily routines. Overall, it was a pretty good morning.
For all but two, that is. On a dirt path leading to a small cottage, a man was walking. He had a yellow pony in his arms, who was clearly asleep. This man was named Michael Greenfield, and he was the only human in Equestria.
High above them, a pair of blue wings stretched out from the sides of a small cloud. Soon after, the Pegasus Rainbow Dash was visible, stretching after a morning nap. She looked down, wondering where the cloud had carried her in her sleep. She saw them, then, and her eyes narrowed.
There was Michael, a person she could not trust. He was walking up the path to Fluttershy’s house, carrying a yellow bundle. Except, she realized, that wasn’t some random yellow bundle, that was Fluttershy! What was he doing, carrying her like that? What was he up to, had he hurt her? What if he had?
“No,” Rainbow Dash decided, “I can’t let him get away with it.”
She lived up to her name as she shot down to the human.
“Hey!” She shouted, it was almost a miracle that Fluttershy did not wake up, “What did you do? You better not have hurt her!”
He gave her a look. But, this look was different. Normally, he had a dead, emotionless stare. Which, frankly, made Rainbow feel a bit nervous. Which, of course, made her lash out that much more.
Not this time, though. This time, his eyes were different. Where before his blue orbs were devoid of life, this time, there was something within. Something Rainbow Dash never would have expected. His eyes screamed out to her in pain, of a sorrow so deep it permeated his very soul. But they held firm her gaze, not backing down in the slightest.
“I did not hurt Fluttershy.” He stated, continuing to walk forward, “At least, not intentionally.”
The later sentence he mumbled, so Rainbow Dash only barely heard it. Not intentionally? Had there been some sort of accident, caused by Michael? Had he done something stupid, and hurt her friend? He better not have, or by Celestia would he regret it!
But, still, his eyes remained in her mind. What could have caused such a brick wall of a person to turn into that? It didn’t make any sense, so Rainbow decided that she would be getting to the bottom of the puzzle before her.
He was several yards ahead of her by then, so she quickly flew back in front of him.
“Hey!” She said, quieter this time. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Michael replied, stepping around her, “I just need to get Fluttershy home.”
Rainbow heard it in his voice, too. It wasn’t as clear, as if he was still attempting to put up a front of emotionless, but the pain was evident. Whatever had happened, it had been bad, Rainbow Dash deduced.
She continued to pester him as they came up on Fluttershy’s home. He stood in front of the door for a moment, then said, “Could you get that?”
Rainbow looked at him for a moment, sending a light glare his way. Not taking her eyes off of him, she reached down from her spot in the air, and opened the door.
Landing beside him, the two walked inside, and Michael shut the door with a kick.
“I’m not leaving until I get some answers,” Rainbow told him, “So, start talking.”
Michael let out a heavy sigh. “Fine,” He sounded defeated, “Just let me put Fluttershy in her bed.”
Rainbow waved him off, and looked around as he walked away. There was his bed, larger than most, standing beside the stove. On the right and above was a large hook, which she guessed he used for that awfully long coat of his. Otherwise, the house looked exactly as it always did. Clean, but not as much as Rarity’s boutique. Every so often, an animal could be heard moving around. Rainbow didn’t know how Fluttershy could stand having so many animals just running around her home. It had taken her awhile to adjust to Tank, and he hardly did anything that could be qualified as “running.”
Then, a small bunny hopped up to her, and gave her a questioning look.
“Hello, Angel,” She greeted, still distracted, “I’m just waiting for Michael to get back down here and explain some things.”
The rabbit did not move, however. He simply looked up at the Pegasus, opened his mouth, and pointed expectantly.
“Wait, you want me to feed you?” Rainbow gave him an incredulous look, “I don’t even live here!”
Angel crossed his arms, and looked around. They both heard a noise from the stairs, and Angel hopped over to his new victim, err, feeder.
He stopped in front of Michael as he reached the bottom of the stairs, and repeated what he did in front of Rainbow.
Michael looked down, and sighed. “Fine, I’ll feed you. Don’t expect anything fancy, though.”
All three went into the pantry, Rainbow Dash following the other two. As Michael searched through the cupboards, she started her questioning.
“So,” She began, “What happened?”
“I did something stupid,” Michael replied, his voice curt.
“Like what?” Rainbow asked, feeling impatient.
“Something I should not have done, and will not repeat.” He finally found something, and pulled out a bag of carrots. “Good enough,” He tossed a couple to Angel.
While not entirely satisfied, Angel had more than once butted heads with the human. He knew that he wasn’t going to get anymore than what he had, so he hopped away, off to enjoy his breakfast.
“Could you be more specific?” The rainbow themed pony was quite agitated by now.
“I’d rather not,” It was unclear to Rainbow at this point whether or not the human was being purposefully aggravating.
“Well, tough, I want answers!” Her voice raised, but not too much. Fluttershy was still sleeping, after all.
“I’ve already told you enough,” He said, heading back into the main room, “I don’t see what else you need to know.”
She glared at him as he hung his jacket on the hook beside his bed, his hat over that. Left in only a black shirt and his jeans, he laid on the bed.
“Now, if you could please leave, I am quite tired.” He tried to dismiss her.
Her anger peaked, and she was hovering above him in an instant.
“Look, you, I want some answers, and I want them NOW!” She grabbed him by his shirt, and pinned him against the wall. It was oddly reminiscent of their first meeting.
He eyes bored into hers, once again, but in a different way this time. Instead of a wall of coldness that left her unnerved and confused, this time there was a fire in his eyes. A fire fueled by hurt and anger, though one could not be sure who he was angry with.
He stared directly into her eyes, only inches away, and said, “No.”
Her teeth ground together, and her brow furrowed in her own seething rage. “I will beat the answers out of you if I have to! Tell me what happened, and why you were carrying Fluttershy like that!”
“It is none of your business.” He paused between each word, but still made no move to escape her grasp, “Now, leave me alone.”
Rainbow was seeing red by that point, and slowly pulled back a hoof. “I’ll give you to the count of five,” She warned.
“One,” His gaze did not waver.
“Two,” Michael’s breathing came out in deep gusts, his nostrils flaring.
“Three,” She was prepared to do anything she had to, to make sure her friends were safe.
“Four,” The tension was palpable.
“Five.”
He felt a pain on his left eye, and they both heard a loud gasp come from the stairs. Their gazes snapped over, to see a horrified Fluttershy standing at the bottom.
“Michael!” She screamed, “Rainbow! Get off of him!”
She complied, but was quickly by her friend’s side. “Are you okay,” She questioned, “Did he hurt you? What happened? Why was he carrying you back here? What is going on?”
Fluttershy ignored the blue pony’s rapid questioning for a more pressing matter. She was by Michael’s side in an instant, hovering over his quickly bruising eye.
“It’s just a black eye, Fluttershy. It will heal in a few days.” Michael assured her, swinging his legs to the edge of his bed. “It seems I won’t be getting any rest.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? I don’t want you to be in any more pain that you have to.” Fluttershy cooed.
“I will be fine.” He repeated, standing. “Perhaps we should start on the morning chores.”
Neither of the ponies knew what to do. Fluttershy was stuck between demanding he stay in bed until he felt better, considering what had happened the previous night. On the other hand, Rainbow Dash was quickly regaining her anger with the human. The way he tried to brush her off just then, it was infuriating.
Just as Michael was reaching for his jacket and hat, he found himself once again pinned to the wall.
“Is this going to become a habit with you?” He asked, clearly annoyed. It would seem he had already let go of the anger he had felt just moments ago.
“Tell me what you are hiding.” Rainbow hissed, narrowing her eyes.
Michael opened his mouth, another dismissal on his lips, when both were stopped.
“RAINBOW DASH!” Fluttershy shouted, pushing the two apart, “STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!”
The sudden burst of confidence displayed threw the Pegasus pony off. She was more confused than ever, now.
“Okay, now I know something is going on. What aren’t you two telling me?” She asked, staring at the two.
Fluttershy gently landed on the floor beside Michael, as he said “It is none of your business.”
“It isn’t something I would like to talk about, Rainbow.” Fluttershy softly added.
Groaning in frustration, the blue mare did not give up. “I am not leaving until you tell me what happened!”
Once again she and Michael engaged in a stare-down. Her steely gaze met his emotion filled eyes, and Fluttershy was caught in the middle.
“Now,” She tried to calm them, “Don’t get angry. There’s no need to fight, we’re all friends.”
“I am no friend of his,” Rainbow growled, “And I will find out what happened.”
“What happened is between Fluttershy and I, no one else. You should just go home, this is none of your business.” He returned, narrowing his eyes.
The two of them were nearing a fight once more, Fluttershy could feel it. Her head moved back and forth between them, not knowing whose side to take.
On one side, she had Rainbow Dash. Loyal friend and trustworthy pony, who had never let her down. She knew that her friend had nothing but her best interests at heart, but Fluttershy couldn’t help but think she was going about it all wrong.
On the other, she had Michael. He had been through a great ordeal, which culminated into the events of the previous night. He clearly did not want to talk about it, especially not to someone who had opposed him from the start.
She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want a fight, but she didn’t want to betray Michael’s trust. But Rainbow was stubborn, and she would do just about anything to get the answers she wanted. Michael had to be torn up inside, and this tension was not helping in the least. She just wished he would talk about it, so everything could be over with. But her light blue friend certainly could have taken a gentler approach to the matter.
Oh, it was just so confusing!
Fluttershy saw them tense, a fight was near. She could tell, and it scared her.
She was panicking. “Please, don’t fight!” She cried, new tears gathering in her eyes.
But the two were too far gone. Nothing else mattered to them, it seemed the fight was inevitable. So, Fluttershy did the only thing she could to prevent it. Michael would just have to forgive her.
“Michael tried to kill himself last night!” She rushed her words, cringing as she said them. “Please don’t fight!” She added through her crying.
Michael immediately stood straight, and grabbed his jacket and hat. He was beyond angry at that point, and Fluttershy’s outburst had hit him hard. He stalked to the door, flung it opened, and said “I’m leaving.” He didn’t say when he would return.
The door slammed hard behind him, and he stomped down the path.
The loud noise of the door brought Rainbow out of the stupor she had entered. When Fluttershy had revealed what had happened, Rainbow fell straight to the floor, a gasp frozen on her features.
“He what?” She asked, her voice quiet once more.
Fluttershy didn’t answer, she was busy sobbing on the floor, curled into a ball.
The rainbow-maned Pegasus noticed her, and was by her side, a hoof around her shoulder, in a snap.
“Oh, Fluttershy, don’t cry! It’ll be okay, I’m sure!” She tried to comfort her friend. “Where did this come from, though?”
Fluttershy came out of her ball, and was wrapped around Rainbow in a flash. “Oh, Rainbow, it was h-horrible!”
The shy Pegasus then told her friend about the events of the previous day. How Michael had had a nightmare, and about the letter from the princess. How she had become worried as the night wore on, and went out to search for him. She ended the story when he had turned back to her and they had cried in each others embrace.
It was a lot to digest for the Element of Loyalty. She had seen ponies become sad, some even reaching full depression, but she had only ever heard of something like that. It was something that only happened in the big cities like Manehattan, where everything moved so much faster than everywhere else. Even then, it was extremely rare.
Rainbow dropped her face onto the table that they had sat at. She felt horrible, knowing what had happened. She had been incredibly insensitive, and she knew Michael would only dislike her more now. Which made her feel worse, because now that she knew what had happened to him, she wanted to apologize for her behavior. But after that morning, she wasn’t certain he would forgive her.
But, Dash decided, there was no way to find out but to try. So, she stood and walked to the door.
“W-where are you going?” Fluttershy asked, still crying softly.
“I’m going to find Michael, I need to apologize.” The blue pony told her yellow friend.
“Oh, um, maybe you should wait, Rainbow Dash. I think he needs time to calm down. Even then, he’s pretty fragile right now. I-I just don’t want to see you two fight like that again. I-if that’s okay with you, that is,” The timid pony hid behind her mane.
Rainbow Dash knew her friend was right. Michael, with all of the emotions he had running through him, would be in no condition to talk to her. So, while she loathed to do it, she decided to wait. She re-entered the cottage, and sat beside her friend. Rainbow decided to spend a few hours comforting Fluttershy, and helping her around her home, before she had to leave for work. After that, she would find Michael and apologize.
Michael’s day passed differently. Upon leaving the cottage and only place he could call home anymore, he didn’t know where to go. He considered going to the library, and seeking Twilight’s advice. But he dismissed the idea, as she would likely just refer him to a book. He didn’t much want to deal with anyone just then, anyways.
The anger he felt dissipated quickly enough, leaving only the soul-wrenching sadness from, well, almost everything. He’d never see his family again, or his home. He would never graduate college, have a family, and grow old with his wife.
A sob escaped his lips. He would never see his girlfriend Jessie again. They had been dating for almost three years, when they were teleported to Equestria. He reached into a pocket in his jacket, and pulled out something he had hidden the whole time he had lived in the strange new world. He could never explain to himself why he kept it, at least not during his emotionless state of life. Nothing could pry it from him now, however. He sat on a grassy hill he had found himself at, and looked at the item.
It was small, fitting firmly in the palm of his hand. It had a soft texture, too. Velvet, dark in color, to be exact. Reaching over with his left hand, he flicked open the lid of the small box he held. Inside was a ring, one he had intended for Jessie. It was a simple gold band, with three diamonds fitted on the top.
He noticed it was wet. “How did that happen?” He wondered, wiping the water away. But another drop took its place, followed by more. He realized then that he was silently crying, as he stared at the engagement ring.
“Michael?” He heard a young voice call out, “Michael, is that you? What’re y’all doin’ out here so early?”
He quickly slipped the ring back into his jacket, and rubbed the tears from his eyes. Apple Bloom bounded in front of him, and he gave her a melancholic smile. “Hello, Apple Bloom,”
She sat down in front of him, amazed. “You ain’t never smiled before.” Her tone was full of amazement.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve let myself.” Michael responded, then changed the subject, “What brings you out here?”
“What do you mean, silly? You’re sittin’ right outside of the farm!” She giggled, pointing up over his left shoulder.
Looking up, he saw the simple wooden sign with the apple carved out.
So he was, odd. He hadn’t even realized that his feet had carried him there. “Why are you out here, then?”
“Oh! I have to go to school, want to walk with me?” She asked, giving him a painfully adorable gaze.
“I don’t know, I shouldn’t go into town like that.” He tried to get out of it.
“Nonsense,” A new voice entered the scene, “I saw Twilight last night. She told me all about that letter from the Princess, you’re a full citizen of Equestria now, Michael! Y’all should act like it.”
Applejack had been behind her energetic sister, and had only just caught up. Together the two of them gazed at Michael.
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” He said, defeated.
“Nope,” Both of them replied, and turned back to the road leading from the farm.
With a sigh, Michael followed. Soon enough, Applebloom was riding on his shoulders, as they walked towards the schoolhouse.
“Oh, this is so excitin’!” She exclaimed, “I can introduce you to my friends now! You could even help us on our crusades!”
The young filly’s rambling continued until they dropped her off at school, Applejack making her promise to behave. Surprisingly enough, there weren’t too many ponies staring at him. It would seem that in a world full of many different forms of sentient life, seeing another wasn’t too jarring.
As the farm-pony and the human walked back, she asked him “Would you like to talk about it?”
“Talk about what? I’m fine.” He tried to evade her question.
“Yeah, and I’m applesauce.” Applejack pressed, “I know somethin’s up with you. You didn’t get that shiner there from a fall, I can tell you that right now. Now spill it.”
Michael sighed heavily. It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to escape people questioning him. So, he did his best to answer the question without going into detail.
“I did something I regret last night. It made me realize that I can’t suppress my emotions anymore. I just have to face them. This morning, however, Rainbow Dash and I had a… Disagreement, which resulted in my black eye.” Michael told her, avoiding her gaze.
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded her head, “Good enough for me. If you find yourself wantin’ to talk, though, I’m here for you.”
Relieved, he nodded his head. The two walked in silence, until they reached Sweet Apple Acres. He asked if he could start work early that day. She agreed, but on one condition.
“Now, y’all are gonna need it, soon. You’re here for good, so we can’t have you
livin’ off of Fluttershy anymore, got it?” She told him, after forcing him to accept payment.
At first, he was reluctant to accept the money, but he gave in after her statement. But he told her that as soon as he could, he would find somewhere else to work. They didn’t actually need his help around the farm, anyways. A few ideas were forming in his mind, as it was.
It was later that same day, and he was just leaving the farm. He found himself once again in a field, this time on his back staring at the setting sun.
In his mind, he continuously relived the events of the previous night. The pain he felt, and the guilt. It was still inside of him, and it likely wouldn’t be going anywhere soon.
Clearing his throat, he sang a single phrase. It was all he could remember, from a lullaby his mother sang to him as a boy.
“Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be.” He sang, as another entered the scene.
She walked up to him, and sat beside his head.
Neither spoke for a while, they just watched the sunset together.
“You’re singing is nice,” Rainbow complimented, not knowing what else to say.
“I’m a horrible singer.” He replied, keeping his voice even. His tone was nowhere near what he had just two days prior, though. He hoped to keep it that way, too.
“I liked what you sang, too. Was that some language from your world?” Dash asked.
“Yes, I sang it in our language after that. I’m not sure what language the original was,
however.” He told her, “Did you want something, or are you just here to talk about my singing?”
The winged pony looked down bashfully, and crossed one leg in front of the other. “I came to apologize,” She muttered.
“Hmm? I didn’t hear you.”
“I said I came to say I’m sorry for this morning!” She repeated, much louder.
Michael sat up, and looked into her eyes. She looked back into his. The he held her rosy stare for a short while, until he said “I accept,”
Rainbow let out a relieved sigh. Then, she asked, “Wait, just like that? You aren’t angry with me still?”
“I spent the whole day thinking about last night, and this morning. I know that what you did, you did because you just wanted to protect your friend. I can respect that. Just don’t do it again, okay?” He gave her a deadpan look, “I doubt I would look good as a raccoon.”
She chuckled at his lame joke, but noticed that he hardly smiled. “You sure you’re okay?”
“No, and I can only hope I will be.” His voice was quiet.
The two sat in silence after that, just watching the sunset. Eventually, Rainbow took off, making him promise to not worry Fluttershy by staying out too late.
He stood up just before the sun disappeared over the horizon, and Luna rose the moon. He took the ring box out of his pocket, again, and looked at its contents.
“I miss you, Jessie. I think you would have loved it here.” He whispered. Then, he sang out again.
“Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be.” His voice was cracking with tears as he sang.