//------------------------------// // A Pegasus' Tale // Story: Return to Society // by Silent Sir 224 //------------------------------// Morning came and the orange beams of sunlight filled the room, Dusk awoke to the sight of Fluttershy's face lit up by the morning sun. Perfect, the world is perfect, I want to to live like this everyday laying with my love at night and waking up with her in the morning. When he tried to climb out of bed, he realized that she was holding him tightly making it impossible for him to get up without disturbing her. He didn't mind, he could lay there for eternity with her and stroked her mane until she woke up shortly after himself. "Good morning my love," Dusk greeted. "Did you sleep well?" Her eyes were fluttering open, and saw that she was holding Dusk tightly and immediately relinquished her grip. "Good morning," she rubbed her eyes and woke up fully. "That was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time, thank you Dusk." She gave him a peck on the cheek and climbed slowly from the bed, she must have seen that she had a pretty bad case of bedhead because she started to try to fix her mane and tail. "Oh dear, I look like a mess, do you have a brush I could use?" "You still look beautiful to me," Dusk answered as he got out of bed. "But yes, I have one in the bathroom top drawer on the left." "Thank you," she rushed off into the bathroom to attend to her bedhead, Dusk couldn't help laughing a little, she really does look beautiful, no matter what her mane and tail might look like. He rummaged through the cabinets of his kitchen to find some breakfast for the two, only to find that he has yet to pick up any real food for himself this week. The idea of going out for breakfast was looking better and better with each bare shelf Dusk found, and after five or ten minutes Fluttershy came out of the bathroom with her mane and tail groomed to their usual style. "Would you like to go to a cafe for breakfast?" Dusk asked, a little embarrassed, "it appears I have neglected to keep my kitchen stocked." Fluttershy smiled giddily, "That sounds lovely, and I know just the place to go." Before Dusk could even give her a nod she began to pull him out of the room, she is really excited, where is she taking me? Once the two left the motel she led him to a small coffee shop about three blocks away, Fluttershy was still very excited and Dusk couldn't figure out why. A well dressed waiter escorted them to an open table and handed each of them a menu but before he could ask about their drinks Fluttershy spoke up. "Can you tell Ms. Whirlwind that she has a visitor?" Her question confused Dusk further, but the waiter nodded and left the table. "Ms. Whirlwind? Who is that?" Dusk was completely lost at this point, something is going on here, and I really hope I learn what's going on before I lose it! "You'll see in a minute, I promise," she was still smiling and that made Dusk take her words to heart, she would give him answers, he just needed to stay patient. His patience was rewarded when a yellow pegasus with a white mane and tail in a chef's hat walked up to the table with a wide smile on their face. "Fluttershy! It has been too long since you've stopped by," the mare hugged her for a moment before turning to Dusk. "So this is the stallion you've been seeing?" "Yes, Dusk, I would like you to meet Ms. Whirlwind Spirit, my mother," his eyes widened, just being introduced to her mother, with not even a little warning, shocked him completely. He managed to keep his composure and bowed, "It is a pleasure to meet you madam, my name Dusk Light, it is an honor to meet the mother of Fluttershy." "Oh my, such a gentlecolt, it's good to see you have a good eye in stallions." She turned to Fluttershy, "I taught you well," her daughter just smiled at her mother's approval. "So, my daughter has told me a lot about you, is it true that you've been living in the Everfree Forest for two years?" "Yes, not an easy life but a rewarding one none-the-less," he was a little nervous but made sure it didn't show too much. His response was answered with Whirlwind looking him over, no doubt a test to see if he was telling her the truth or lying through his teeth. "I can imagine, just what reason did you have for going there? Surely your family disproved of such a decision," her eyes appeared to be staring into his very soul. "Well, my family... I haven't spoken to them for some time now, a little over five years," Dusk felt his heart tighten a little after answering the question. "Really, they haven't tried to contact you or anything in three years? Why not, surely there must be a reason?" Her questions were tearing him apart on the inside. "That's a... a complicated situation I'm afraid, I don't really wish to talk about it, especially in public," his thoughts were racing in his mind. If I tell her what happened, she might look at me as little more than a monster, she might not let me see Fluttershy anymore! I don't think I can tell her, I know that telling her could end up ruining everything good that's happened since I came here. "Well... should we relocate to the kitchen then? The pantry is quiet and we can talk in their," she was starting to pry a little too much. "Wait, mom I don't think that-" Fluttershy's protest was ended with Dusk shaking his head at her. "It's okay Fluttershy, I'm dating you, her daughter, she deserves to know what happened," he began to stand up until Fluttershy pushed him gently back into his seat. "I can tell her, you don't need to go through that this early in the morning and besides, you need to get some breakfast. Let me do this okay?" Any protest would prove to be pointless, Fluttershy knew how to put her hoof down when she felt it necessary and that look in her eye told him that it was necessary. "Okay, you're right I don't think I could go through all of that right now, thank you." Her mother just gave him a confused look before she and her daughter headed inside. The waiter approached him again, "excuse me sir are you ready to order?" Dusk glanced over his menu and decided that a muffin was most appetizing. "Yes, can I have a blueberry muffin and a glass of water?" The waiter raised an eyebrow in confusion, apparently this place wasn't famous for it's muffins. "Will that be all sir?" "Yes sir, thank you," the waiter then left leaving Dusk to continue down the downward spiral that was his thought process. This is bad, this is very bad! If I want to even see Fluttershy again I would have to make her go against her mother, I already ruined one family, I CANNOT ruin another one! A distant voice broke him from his thoughts and brought him back ti reality. "Duuuusk, DUSK snap out of it will ya!" AppleJack was shaking him to bring him back. "Huh? Oh, hello AppleJack, how are you?" She looked at him with concern, "I'm fine but y'all are the one just starin' out into space, alone at a table with a menu sittin' across from ya, where is Fluttershy?" Okay, she is either extremely good at guessing, or she knows where every pony else is. "Well, she is talking to her mother... about that incident and why I was living in the Everfree Forest, and I'm starting to worry about what will happen." "Oh, well, I uh... ya got nothin' to worry about," her eyes darted up to the left and her mouth scrunched up a little bit. "No offense, but you are a terrible liar, you are the element of Honesty after all," he joked, that was a nice attempt to calm my nerves but not a very effective one. "Well, I had to say somethin', ya got yourself in a hole right now, not a hole ya dug but a hole that was dug for ya, the only thing that ya can do is wait and hope that ya get out of it." She was right, and that made Dusk's paranoia grow worse knowing he could do nothing. "Well, that settles it, I'm toast and there is nothing I can do about it, I won't be allowed to see Fluttershy without her going against her own mother. I won't let her do that, I ruined one family already and I will not allow some pony else to go down that road. The only thing left to do is say... goodbye." "Come on, don't think that, ya got so much workin' for ya than against and we both know it," she patted him on the back in hopes of cheering him up. "Like what?" "Well, we got the only bad out of the way so we have to weight it against the good, now I know ya pulled that 'polite charm' on her the second she walked up to ya." She raised an eyebrow, "Don't ya even try denyin' it." "Okay, you have one thing to balance against it, but I don't think that some 'polite charm' will fully counter-act." "Okay, how's this? She knows ya been livin' in the Everfree Forest right?" Dusk nodded before she continued, "Well then, I bet y'all can protect her daughter in case she needs it right?" Again Dusk nodded, "Well there ya go, and don't forget about the most important one, the fact that she even introduced ya to her mother shows she cares about ya a lot. And I know for a fact that ya care about her 'cause the way ya took an entire day just to give Fluttershy a good Hearts & Hooves Day." "Okay, you have some excellent points and good evidence to support them, you are a smarter pony than I and I will admit it. But, unless you have some Ace in the Hole, I think that it's too up in the air for me to be able to cast my worries aside." "Oh no, I ain't smarter than ya, ya just got that Twilight mentality when it comes to these situations, too worried to sit down and look at all the facts. And here's my Ace, I'm gonna be here with ya until they come back, we need to catch up anyways after a week of not talkin'." "Oh right, I haven't really had a chance to talk to everyone, just Rarity and Fluttershy, I'm sorry, so how's the farm life treating you?" "Pretty good, I sure can't complain too much since we have a week until the harvest, what about you? I heard that ya had a little bit of a shock in Canterlot with Rarity." Oh Celestia, I could almost forget about that, almost! "Yeah... oh look there's Fluttershy," as if on queue, Fluttershy and her mother were walking back to the table. "Dusk, can you come with me for a moment? I feel we need to have a private discussion," Whirlwind's words nearly knocked the breathe from his lungs. "Y-yes of course madam," he turned to Fluttershy for answers, but she could offer none before Whirlwind started walking quickly into the cafe. The walk was silent, Dusk felt that not saying anything right now was the smartest thing he could do, at least until she addressed him first. They made it into the kitchen and Dusk noticed Whirlwind open a door and gestured him inside, when he entered he saw that it was a pantry with two chairs facing each other away from the door. She closed the door and took a seat in one of the chairs, and motioned for him to sit in the opposing one. "My daughter told me everything that you have been through, and I can only say one thing," here it comes, all of my hopes and dreams being smashed to pieces! "Any logical thinking parent would see you as a threat to their child's safety, when I heard about what happened to your parents, I was ready to tell you to leave this town and never return." I have to admire the brutal honesty of her opinion, "but, Fluttershy convinced me to hear the rest of your story, I'm now torn. I have two questions for you, your answers are the only things that will determine if you get my blessing, or if you get the boot." "That seems fair," Dusk gulped. "First, what guarantee do I have that you have this 'power' of yours under control? That you won't lose control in situations of extreme stress?" "I have been training in the Everfree for three years, if I learned one thing there it is restraint. Did you hear about what happened after I told your daughter that story?" Whirlwind shook her head, "the next day, I realized that I left my pack at her cottage when we went to the library. This pack had everything I made and used to survive except for one thing, the last link to my old life, a photo of my parents and myself when I was young." "Fluttershy went back and got it for me, she was gone for a long time and when she came back, she showed me a shredded mass of cloth that was my pack. Everything was destroyed, including the photo, the only thing I had of my old life, torn apart, sitting in her hooves, do you want to know the only thing going through my head at that point in time?" Whirlwind nodded, "my only thought was, 'it wasn't her fault it was mine.' I never came close to losing control. what I did do was tell her it was my fault. I never lost control, never came close to losing control of the thunder in my body and I don't think I ever could." ... "Okay, you've passed my first test now for my second test, my daughter told me about yesterday and your return from Canterlot. You told her that she would not be going home alone in the middle of the night, that I very much appreciate, making sure she stays safe. What I do NOT appreciate is you sharing a bed with her!" She threw her hat on the ground in anger and stood up, Dusk kept a straight face. "So, my last question, what guarantee do I have that you will NOT try anything with my daughter?" Okay, so let's think for a moment about the situation... I am five seconds from having me skull flattened by an angry mother, better give this my all! "If I ever even try anything with her before marriage I give you express verbal permission to beat the day lights out of me for being so stupid. Is that fair?" She looked at him, sat back down, and began to grin, "well, the opportunity to beat you senseless with absolutely no repercussions, I would very much so enjoy that." Her smile faded quickly, "but you mentioned marriage, is that something you are truly considering?" "Absolutely, not right now but further down the road. Your daughter is simply amazing and I would love her eternally, I truly mean that." So blessing or boot? Which do I get? Whirlwind sat and debated for some time, the wait felt like days for Dusk and the anticipation was eating away at him. Finally, the silence was broken, "you have my blessing, you really do care about Fluttershy and you've passed my tests, I will have my eye on you though. You proved to me that you are deserving of having my daughter as a special somepony. Don't make me regret this decision. If you hurt my little angel in any way, it would be the equivalent of taking a cub from a mother bear." His eyes grew wide, his excitement nearly uncontainable. "Thank you Ms. Whirlwind, I promise to treat your daughter like the beautiful flower she is. Now she must be more concerned about my well being then I was, shall we see how she is holding up?" She shook her head. "you're concern is well placed, but I've seen your hand, now it's your turn to see mine... so first thing you should know, I am a retired Wonderbolt." Uh, what? "Probably a lot of questions but allow me to address a few before you ask, first I have been retired for the past five years. Spitfire replaced me as captain after being there for fifteen years, then I decided it was time to hang up my wings. I decided to settle down here to be close to my daughter since I couldn't be there when she was growing up, the reason why she doesn't tell many people is because I want to remain incognito. "She is my only child, as for her father, he was there for her for the first part of her life, until an industrial accident occurred at the factory he worked at, it took his life ten years ago. She had to grow up almost completely alone, I did my best but it wasn't enough, which is why she can't grow close to very many ponies. She fears that if she gets too close, that pony would leave her and she would be alone again, that's why I questioned you saying marriage. "I haven't really seen my daughter have feelings toward any pony, so hearing that you truly are serious about being with her permanently... I really am glad to her that. But I'm rambling so allow me to continue, life was hard on us as a family and later I retired as soon as I could, but it was nowhere soon enough. She became completely sheltered, no one could even get close to her until she moved down here to Ponyville, I did my best to get close to her again, but she just pushed me away. "I was determined to get back in my daughter's life, so I retired and moved here and was able to use my cooking abilities to get a job here and keep an eye on her. It wasn't until after she had become the Element of Kindness, that I could finally get close to her again and be a mother again. We have been as close as a mother and daughter for a year now, but this is the first time she ever introduced me to a pony she is involved with romantically. "That I believe is enough for you to be able to understand, so what do you want to ask about myself or Fluttershy and our life?" There was nothing he could say, compared to his life, they had it much worse than himself, his parents were, as far as he knew, still alive. Even though he lived in solitude, he had the Princess to help keep him afloat and keep him surviving, but Fluttershy didn't have such a luxury. "I-I... I don't know what to say, I really don't know what to say, you both have been through so much and I have a new found respect, for both of you... We should head back, I think Fluttershy is really worrying about what happened here," he stood up again, "after you." The two exited the pantry and headed back outside to see AppleJack comforting a nervous Fluttershy, who ran up to Dusk as soon as he came into view. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? What did she say to you?" He looked her in the eye, and then wrapped his hooves around her, "everything's fine, I'm here and I will always be here, no matter what." "R-really?" "Yes, really, no matter what happens I will be here with you, I promise," a tear formed in his eye and when they separated, Whirlwind put her hoof on his shoulder and smiled. "Well Fluttershy, I have to get back to work, my break time just ran out so I will see you another day, Dusk it was a pleasure to meet you." Whirlwind took her leave, leaving Dusk, Fluttershy and AppleJack at the table. "I have to get back to the farm, I will see y'all later," AppleJack waved as she left the two standing there with a single muffin sitting on the table. "So what did my mother say to you?" This time she gave a more serious look, she needed to know. "She gave me her blessing, and she told we about your life and what you've been through, which makes my situation look easy. It's just another reason why I want to be here, with you, you are such a strong pony for enduring what life threw at you." A tear formed in her eye, "I thought she might tell you about my father, and how she feels responsible for my isolation, it was hard and I don't blame her for what happened but that doesn't help the pain too much." She did her best to keep a strong front, but Dusk could see through it. "I couldn't begin to understand your situation, but that won't stop me from comforting you, it's like you said, it's too big a burden to carry alone. I feel that we can both lighten each others' burdens, and that our love will help us support each other." "I believe you're right, we can help combat the past, but focusing on the present, the fact that my mother gave you her blessing really speaks volumes, how did you manage to get her to allow you to stay with me?" "Well... I kind of promised that if we did anything too serious before marriage, she would have permission to beat the living daylights out of me." He couldn't help but laugh a little, "She's sending a legally binding contract tomorrow." "Wow, you really agreed to that, you really must care a lot." She looked at the muffin on the table, "So should we eat some breakfast?" Dusk heard a grumbling coming from his stomach. "My thoughts exactly, you can have my muffin though, I can wait to eat." She smiled at him, after the waiter gave him his second muffin, the two spent the rest of the morning enjoying each others' company.