//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: The Pony and the Snake // Story: My Girl Fluttershy // by White_Cloud //------------------------------// What are you going to do Cloud? She left without saying a word. As I laid there on my couch, I felt very sick to my stomach as I realized I may have just made the worst possible choice to tell Fluttershy about me; to let her into the darkest parts of my being where very few ponies have tread. I had warned her that this was not a pleasant story, and in fact it was brutally painful. But I didn’t hold anything back. Every word I had spoken had been the absolute truth, and there was no way to take back any of it. For better or worse, it was out. I slowly removed the blanket that was over me and got to my hooves. I felt very shaky as I slowly trotted over to the window and looked out. It had begun to rain, which seemed an appropriate response to my mood. The gloominess of the sky reflected perfectly what I was feeling inside. It had not been my intention to push Fluttershy away. However, she had to know about me…the real me. I turned away from the window as the rain drops began to steadily pelt the glass and trotted into the kitchen. I thought about getting something to eat, but the rocks in my stomach quickly brushed that thought aside. Not really caring where I went, I trotted back into the living room and flopped onto the couch. I know that I had to do this, but was it the right time? Why did Sapphire have to show up right now? She should have just stayed in Canterlot and none of this would have happened. She may have just ruined the relationship that Fluttershy and I had. Arrgh… I grabbed a pillow and covered my head as the rain began to fall harder. I just wanted to leave and never come back. It seemed like no matter where I went my past kept popping up to remind me of all the horrible memories and poor decisions I had made. As tears began to form in my eyes, I tried to not think about those horrible memories; my mother’s death, my relationship with Sapphire, deserting my family not once but twice. What are you going to do? …… Several days passed and I stayed inside my house, not really feeling like working. I knew that nothing would be able to take my mind off of the events that had transpired. However, I had hoped that Fluttershy might come back and we would be able to talk about everything. I wanted to make sure that we were going to be alright. But I didn’t feel brave enough to go over to her cottage and try to talk to her. So I just sat at home, trying to shut out the memories that kept haunting my dreams. On day three of my self-imposed exile, I was rummaging around in my kitchen for something to eat when I heard a knock coming from my front door. My heart skipped a beat and I froze as my mind began to race. Could it be her? Could she finally have come back? What if it is her? What is she going to say? I stood frozen for several minutes until another knock broken my train of thoughts. I quickly swallowed the lump in my throat that had formed and slowly trotted over to the door. With my hoof shaking like a leaf in the wind, I hesitantly opened the door. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness outside. “Fluttershy, is that you?” I squinted my eyes and tried to see who it ways. But as the figure finally began to take shape, my heart sank and a bitterness crept into my voice. “It’s you Sapphire. Haven’t you caused enough trouble?” I began to close the door in her face, but her hoof slipped in-between the door and the frame, preventing me from fully closing it. “Oh Cloudie, is that any way to treat a former friend?” I could hear the silkiness dripping from her voice like venom from a snake. “I just came by to talk, that’s all.” “I don’t want to talk to you, and I never want to see you again. Now go back to Canterlot where you belong. I’m sure you have some other defenseless colt to ensnare.” I began to put more pressure on the door, trying to close it. But her hoof would not budge. “Dear Cloudie, you have me all wrong. I’m a different pony now, a changed pony. After you left, I nearly died without you. But I soon got over you and moved on to something different. Now I am the Chairpony for the Education of Little Fillies in Canterlot. We take them and shape them into the mares of the future. I do a lot of good things now and I just wanted to come by and talk. I really have no agenda.” I didn’t want to believe her. She had snatched me up when my grief over the loss of my mother was still fresh in my mind. She preyed on my helplessness and torment, and I had ultimately abandoned everyone I truly cared about. I wasn’t about to make that same mistake again. But there was a small part of me that thought she might have really changed. It finally convinced me, over my better judgement, to release the door and once again open it. “Fine, you can come in. But you are not staying long.” I stepped to the side as she slowly trotted in and set her bag down. “Thank you Cloud.” “Now, you had something you wanted to say. Spit it out and then leave.” I really did not want her here any longer than was absolutely necessary. “Sigh, right to the point.” She turned and looked at me, and I could smell her perfume wafting towards me. It was a very intoxicating scent that reminded me of a field of flowers just after a lite spring shower. But I quickly brushed that image aside and focused back on Sapphire. “I know things between us got rather…complicated. I just absolutely feel awful about what happened, and I wanted to come and apologize. What I did was the worst thing imaginable, and I feel like I am the one responsible for driving you and your family apart.” She looked down at her hooves as she continued. “I really did have feelings for you Cloud, that part was true. But everything else was a sham. I feel so awful about the damage I caused.” I could see tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she raised her head and looked at me. I could feel a pang of guilt begin to enter into my head as I listened to her. If she is crying, then maybe she really does feel guilty. Maybe I was wrong to so quickly judge her. As the tears began to flow down her cheeks, I could hear a tremble in her voice. “I’m so sorry Cloud. I know there isn’t anything I can do to change the past, but maybe we can start anew.” The guilt fully washed over me as I stood there looking at her crying. I quickly rushed over and put my hoof around her shoulders. “I forgive you Sapphire. And it wasn’t just you. I let myself get dragged into things that were terrible choices. I made the decisions, not you.” “That’s kind of you to say Cloud. You don’t know how much guilt this has been weighing on my shoulders. It has haunted me for so many years. But I finally feel like you have helped remove this burden.” She smiled at me as I brushed the tears from her cheeks. “Don’t worry anymore about it.” She picked up her bag and started to make her way over to the door. “It’s getting late. I really should head back to the inn.” I trotted over and opened the door. Once she was on the porch, she turned around and once again smiled at me. “You really have no idea how much this means to me.” She leaned over and gave me a lingering kiss on the cheek. After a moment, she whispered into my ear. “I hope I see you soon Cloudie.” It was then that I saw a familiar figure on the path to my house. Fluttershy was standing there, and I could see tears streaming down her face. My heart sank like a stone as I realized that Sapphire had played me for a fool. I snarled at her as I pushed her away from me. It was then that Fluttershy quickly turned and sprinted down the lane, letting out soft sobs as she ran. I tried to sprint after her, but she was too far ahead. I called after her, but either she didn’t hear me or she chose to ignore me. I stared after her for a few moments, unsure of what to do. But then I remembered the mare that was behind me. I spun and sprinted up to her, slamming her against the side of my house and pinning her. “What have you done?!?” I snarled at her. She started laughing as I held her there. “Oh Cloudie, you really have no idea.” I pushed my muzzle right up to hers and stared daggers into her cold, dark eyes. “I know exactly what you have done. You played me. You didn’t mean a word of what you said in there. You just couldn’t leave your poor, helpless "Cloudie" alone to live his life. You had to come and ruin everything once again because you want me. Well Sapphire, I telling you right now. LEAVE…ME…ALONE… I want nothing to do with you.” She once again began laughing as I teetered on the edge of slamming my hoof into her pretty face. “You think I’m joking?” “Nothing of the sort Cloudie. But you should know, I had a little chat with your little filly friend. She didn’t want to talk to me at first, but I was able to talk my way into her cottage. We had the most delightful little chat. I told her that you weren’t really interested in her and that you only wanted to be with me. She didn’t believe me at first, but I told her that I could prove to her that you still had feelings for me. So I brought her over here and told her to watch. And that’s when I put on the performance of a lifetime! The tears, the apology, the trembling voice, it was all for her Cloudie. And then the lingering kiss on the cheek and the whisper in the ear sealed the deal. As you can see, she bought every single part of it.” She sneered at me as she continued. “And now there is no pony between us Cloudie. No pony will ever love you like she did. I’m your only option now.” I let her go as tears began to flow from my eyes. “Why Sapphire? Do you enjoy seeing me in pain? Do you want to ruin every single thing that makes me happy?” She dusted herself off and came over to me. “No Cloud, I just want to be with you. I want you all to myself. And now, there is nothing stopping us from being together.” She began to laugh once more as she trotted off the porch and down the lane. I could hear her echoing as she rounded a corner and disappeared. I couldn’t stand, I felt so defeated. I was now weeping uncontrollably as I covered my head with my hooves. I lost the pony I loved, my past was now my present, and my future looked bleak. Things could get no worse.