//------------------------------//
// Chapter VIII: Sick 
// Story: A New Potential 
// by EnigmaShade 
//------------------------------//


Part II: The Mundane
Chapter IV: Sick


There was a knock at the door in the middle of the afternoon. I was taking a nap next to Fluttershy in the main room when the sharp raps at the door woke me up. Fluttershy stirred and nearly fell off the couch we lay on. I climbed over her and she rolled over to where I was laying and curled up against the residual heat my body left behind and fell back asleep. I opened the door and was greeted by a gray pony with a yellow mane.
“Good morning, Shade,” Derpy said with a smile.
I smiled back, “It’s 2pm, Derpy.”
She looked up at the sky, “Well, dang. Thanks for telling me.”
“No problem,” I said, I looked at her for a couple seconds. Her left eye slowly shifted upwards while the other stayed focused. She blinked and they were back in alignment. We stood there for a couple more awkward seconds before I spoke again, “Did you need something?”
“Oh, sorry, I spaced really bad there,” She gave a sheepish grin, “I got a couple late letters for you. Spike got them, so they gotta be important.”
She reached into her mail bag and pulled out two scrolls and handed them to me, “Thanks a bunch, Derpy.”
“No problem, Shade,” She said with a beaming smile, “I gotta go pick up Dinky from school, so I’ll catch you later.”
I nodded, “Well you have a good day, Derpy.”
She flew off and shouted back a farewell. Derpy was an awkward pony, but the town loved their ditzy mail carrier, with exception to a certain few.
I carried the mail in and set both letters on the kitchen table. The first letter was from Celestia addressed to me. The second was from the Cloudsdale Flight School addressed to Fluttershy and me. I Gripped the letter from Celestia and opened it. Every once in a while I would send a letter to Celestia to ask her questions about Equestria, so I was more curious about that letter than a probable thank you letter.


Hello Shade,
I finally found time to reply to the letter you sent me last Monday. I heard that Sapphire left for Flight School last week as well. I suppose you are feeling happy and sad at the same time about this. I’m sure she will do well, and she will have so many stories to tell you when she gets back.
As for your questions. Overpopulation has never been an issue for Equestria. Equestria is a very large land and our population is fairly small. The pony population is around five million, and the land of Equestria can hold several hundred million at least. Remember, disease and death still exist, aging is the only thing that has changed. As for marriage… I wonder why you ask that, but it is not my business unless you make it such. Marriage in Equestria is nothing more than a ceremony between ponies in love. I know in your world it gained you certain rights, but in Equestria it is just a bonding between two loving souls. And yes, there is a similar ritual to divorce here, and it does happen often. One in seven marriages do not last longer than 50 seasons, unfortunately. Not everypony wants to spend eternity with one single pony.
I must say, your writing is getting much clearer and easier to read. I suppose you either learned Grip, or you are just getting really good at writing. Keep it up and perhaps you can learn cursive by the end of next season.
I heard what happened the morning you sent me the letter. You put on a show in the middle of town, as I hear it. You, my sister, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Sapphire have gotten quite the amount of praise even here in Canterlot. I know you must get these kinds of requests a lot, but perhaps you can put on a show for my husband’s birthday next season. I hope that would give you enough time to prepare. Sapphire may not be able to join, but I may be able to borrow her from Flight School for a day. I’m sure she will love to be able to see you.
I hope to hear back from you soon on my request. Write soon,
~Celestia


I read the note twice to make sure I didn’t miss any information. I felt a pang of disappointment when I read the letter again and I did not get the answer I hoped for. I looked up at Fluttershy still sleeping on the main room couch and pulled a parchment from a drawer and found some charcoal.


Dear Celestia,
Thank you for your concern for Sapphire. I am positive that she will do great in Flight School. She’s a fighter and always will be. Thanks for answering my question about population. I have to ask, then. If Equestria can hold so many, why does it have so few?
On the marriage question…


I looked up at Fluttershy again. She lay peacefully asleep on the couch.


I am just wondering. I would like to know as much about Equestrian culture as I can. I’ve been here for a season, and it feels like I’ve been here for much longer. I have gained so much information. The question was just something that came up when I talked to Applejack at her farm a couple days before sending the message.
On the latter note, of course. I’d love to put on a show for your husband. I gotta say I didn’t know you were married. Anyway, I’d better wrap this letter up before it gets too long.
I’ll arrange some music as soon as I can, and I’ll have a couple songs ready for your husband soon. I will see you in Canterlot on whatever day you are having his birthday celebration.
~Enigma Shade


I sighed and rolled up the scroll and hid it in a drawer. I reached for the second scroll and unrolled it. The parchment was completely blank. A sparkle of light floated from the scroll. The light grew as soon as it hit the table. It started to take the form of a pony, and I watched it in amazement. Within a couple seconds the spark was easily identifiable as an Alicorn. Color flooded the spark.
“Good afternoon, Enigma Shade and Fluttershy,” The spark said. In a weird way, it reminded me of a Star Wars hologram. The volume of the sparkle woke Fluttershy up and she drug herself over to the table to figure out what the racket was about.
“This message will not repeat, so please listen closely. I am the head of the Cloudsdale Flight School, Silverwing. Your daughter Sapphire Shade has gotten into a bit of a hassle with a few students. We request your presence at the Flight School within 24 hours of receiving this message. The sooner the better. We will discuss the issue in detail when you arrive. We look forward to your appearance. Thank you. Good day.”
The spark turned to dust. Fluttershy rubbed her eyes, “What happened, sweetie?”
“I think they are saying Sapph got in trouble,” I said, pressing my hoof to my forehead, “We gotta go to Cloudsdale now.”
Fluttershy lay her head on the table, “Okay… Just give me a minute to wake up.”
I smiled and kissed her on the neck, “Take your time, hon.”

*

The flight to Cloudsdale took about thirty minutes. I had to hold back for Fluttershy’s sake, but I didn’t mind. I never did mind.
When we got to the school, we were stopped by two large pegasi in armor asking what our business was with the school, “You know parents are not allowed to enter the school until graduation, correct?”
“Silverwing requested us,” I said, Fluttershy hiding behind me, “My name’s Enigma Shade, this is Fluttershy.”
The guards looked at each other and back at me, “You should feel proud of that girl. I didn’t tell you that.”
They let us in and another large pegasus in armor greeted us, “Good afternoon. Follow me. Do not stray.”
The large pegasus led us down a large hallway. A few young pegasi ran here and there, a couple already flying, though awkwardly. We stopped at the end of the large hallway in front of a cloud door that looked much grayer than the rest. The guard raised his hoof and knocked lightly on the door. A voice called out to enter and he pushed the door open. Inside Sapph sat next to Scootaloo on a cloud-couch. Across from them, sitting at a cloud-desk, was the mare from the spark.
“Enigma Shade. Fluttershy,” She said, “Good of you to join us.”
She looked at Sapph, who looked antsy, and flicked her head, which cued her to tackle me, “DADDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! MOMMYYYYYY!!!!”
She squeezed my neck until I felt like I couldn’t breathe then attacked Fluttershy. The Alicorn headmistress cleared her throat and Sapph dropped to the ground. She flicked her head again and both she and Scootaloo left the room with the guard. The headmistress pointed toward the cloud-couch, “Please, have a seat.”
We sat, “So is Sapph in some sort of trouble?”
The headmistress smile, “No. At least not much.”
Fluttershy let out a breath. The Alicorn continued, “Allow me to explain. You are aware that Scootaloo is an orphan, yes?”
“Yes,” I said, “I learned that the day they left.”
She nodded, “Well, amongst many families, that is considered shameful. Don’t ask me why, but it’s a certain deep routed tradition that not even the families themselves understand. Anyway, young Scootaloo was being picked on by two colts. It happens a lot here, and we try to catch it as often as we can, but it’s a vain effort.
“The colts pinned her against a wall since Scootaloo is fairly claustrophobic, and held her there for a long while. Unfortunately, the guards were busy elsewhere dealing with a medical issue,” She looked ashamed and shook her head, “Sapphire got out of class around that time, saw the spectacle, and… literally beat them to a bloody mess.”
The back of my mind screamed THAT’S MY GIRL, but what came out was, “I’m not sure how to react to this.”
The Alicorn laughed with an incredulous look on her face, “Honestly, neither am I.”
“How are the two colts,” Fluttershy asked.
“Both of them were home and suspended. They will have to come back next Opening. One has a broken wing and will not be able to return anyway,” She removed her spectacles with her magic and started cleaning them, “The second one got off fairly lucky with just cuts and bruises and a bite mark. Also, I must ask that none of this information leaves this room.”
“Of course,” I felt a sick sort of pride fill my chest, “What do you make of the situation? Does she have to come home now?”
The Alicorn stayed silent for a moment, “Honestly… I don’t want to send her home. She’s a lovely student. She was in my class beforehand. It is sort of ironic, actually.
“See, my class is to teach general things so they don’t fall behind when they get back to normal school. We were talking about cutie marks. I asked the students what they think they were going to do for the rest of their lives. The purpose was to help them narrow down to their strengths from their weaknesses,” She replaced her glasses and levitated a piece of paper in front of her, “Your daughter said these exact words: ‘I want to do what my daddy did back home.’ I asked her what it was you did, and she said ‘I want to help people and protect them from bad people.’”
I felt a tug at my heart, and this time I let the words out, “That’s my girl…”
The Alicorn smiled, “I’m not going to send her home. While the colts’ actions were aggressive, your daughter’s were to protect her friend. The guards don’t want me to know they think it, but I hear the whispers. They think she has guts.”
Fluttershy shook her head, “She was protecting her friend. I think any other bullies will think twice before being mean to her again.”
The headmistress tapped her hooves on her desk, “One final matter. Did you notice something about your daughter?”
I thought for a second. I replayed the minute that I was able to see Sapphire and couldn’t think of anything, “Well… she seemed a bit taller…more calm and polite…?”
She smiled again and shook her head, “Shield, send the girls in please.”
The door opened and Scootaloo walked in with Sapphire behind her, “Sapphire, turn to your side, please.”
Sapph walked out from behind Scootaloo and turned to her side with a giant grin on her face. On her flank was a symbol. The knotted shield. My little gem got her cutie mark.
Scootaloo sat awkwardly as we praised Sapphire and hugged her. The headmistress and her guard discussed in whispers. When the praise and hugs died down, the Alicorn waited with a stern face.
“Sapphire, while what you did was noble and some of us may even be proud of you,” The headmistress said, “I’m afraid there must be a punishment for your actions.”
Sapphire nodded sadly, “I know.”
Scootaloo walked over and leaned against Sapph as the headmistress dealt the punishment, “The princess asked for your presence for a day to put on a show with your father. Due to today’s actions, I’m afraid we cannot allow that. I’m sorry.”
Sapphire slumped, “Yes, Miss Silverwing.”
“However, I will give you one hour to spend with your father and mother before they leave, since they are here anyhow,” She said.
Sapph perked up, “Really?”
She nodded and the guard seemed to argue with her. She waved him off, “One hour does not hurt anypony.”
Sapphire hopped up, “May I be excused, Miss Silverwing?”
She waved her off as well, “Yes, but you must stay in your dorm this whole hour. Go. Have fun.”

*

We spent the next hour in Scootaloo and Sapphire’s two-pony bunkhouse. It took a whole of five minutes to tour the room, unlike the grand bedroom in the castle a season ago. Something about the Flight School reminded me of my military training back on Earth. It was like a bootcamp for pegasus foals.
After about twenty minutes of stories, Sapphire got a look of dread on her face, “Hey, Scoots?”
“What?”
“Am I out of the Crusaders?”
“Why would you think that,” Scootaloo asked, “Oh, because you got your cutie mark?”
She nodded, “Since the Crusaders is all about finding our cutie mark…”
“I think we can make an exception,” Scootaloo winked, “You were pretty tough.”
Sapph wrapped her arm around Scootaloo, “Thanks.”
“Not like I couldn’t handle them myself,” She countered, “I just wore myself out with practice.”
Sapphire nudged her away, “You wish, Scoots.”
They laughed. I looked at Fluttershy to find that she was smiling at the two fillies.
“So how did you two get a bunk together,” I asked.
“Our names are really close together,” Scootaloo said with a one leg shrug.
Sapphire waved her hoof, “Peeshaw, Fate just really likes us is all. I mean, why else would it happen I was walking out of class right as they were being jerks.”
Fluttershy spoke up next, “Didn’t anypony else try to help?”
Scootaloo nodded, but slumped almost like in shame, “A couple did, but they were the book kind, like Twilight. Not really the tough kind. They couldn’t do more than ask them to stop.”
Sapphire stood tall, “Too bad they weren’t me.”
Scootaloo jabbed her, “Yeah, well next time I’m gonna be the one to save your sorry flank from something.”
“What did you do to the sorry foals,” I asked Sapphire to stop them from their friendly bickering, “The headmistress made it sound like you viciously beat them.”
“Oh! I cracked that snobby punk in the jaw and threw him into a HardWall,” She went through the motions as she explained, as if reliving the moment, “Then I karate chopped the other jerk in the ribs and threw him on the ground.”
“Then she pinned them to the ground and started pounding them until a guard came by and pulled her off of them,” Scootaloo said laughing.
I felt a smile on my face, and I forced it into a frown, “Sapphire, I want you to be more careful. I don’t want to hear that you beat up some other pathetic foal.”
The proud stature of the filly fell into a slump, “Yes, Daddy…”
“But I have to say,” I let the smile return, “I’m really proud of you for what you did.”
She smiled a toothy smile and stood straight again, “Thanks, Daddy.”

*

“Shadey,” Fluttershy broke the silence of the night.
“Yes, Shy,” I looked up from my book to see her staring up at the ceiling on her bed.
“Can I ask a personal question?”
I smiled and closed my book, “I’m an open book.”
She stared at the ceiling for a while. She opened her mouth a couple times as if to speak, but closed it again to rethink. After a couple minutes, she asked, “What was… what was your husband like?”
I stayed quiet for a couple minutes, letting my memories flood into my brain that I had kept at bay for so long. Fluttershy sat up a bit and looked as if she was about to retract her question, but I spoke before her, “He… Was a brave man.”
Fluttershy stayed silent, and I continued, “He was a bit of an effeminate guy. He did kind of what Rarity does. He tailored men’s clothing, but on the side he loved to study physics and he tampered with computers. He was a kind man, and he had quite the mind. We were together for over fifteen years… er, about sixty seasons. We raised Sapph in about forty of those seasons.”
I shook my head to clear the thoughts before the emotion that came with them appeared. Fluttershy continued to stare upwards. The thoughts kept coming back. The dam broke in different places as I fixed one spot. I laughed a couple times, “I still can’t believe he did that… Crazy bastard…”
Fluttershy seemed to hesitate when asking, “Did what?”
“Saved our lives.”

*

I slammed the door shut, “Fuck, Jason, grab my guns.”
Jason ran up the stairs, not questioning my panicked order, and I looked out the peephole in the front door. I felt my breathing grow faster along with my heartbeat, so I tried slowing them. Outside the men in full armor and gas masks patrolled the streets. Jason came back down with two pistols in his hand and a rifle slung over his shoulder, “What’s going on?”
Isabelle stood in the doorway to the kitchen, unnaturally quiet. I looked over at Jason and grabbed the weapons, unlocking the trigger locks while trying to keep a steady eye on the outdoors, “The Chinese. They weren’t bluffing. They have thousands of armed soldiers out there. I got here from the station as fast as I could taking the back roads. They are taking houses that they find strategic to hole machine guns. The US military is on the way, I hope.”
I watched as a group of men crowded around another man who began pointing at a data-pad, then pointing to a house across the street. Two of the surrounding men nodded, readied their guns, and started walking toward the house. The data-pad guy, the CO, pointed again to the data-pad and pointed far down the street. Again more dispatched. Gunshots sounded from the house across the street just as the CO pointed at our house.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK,” I screamed, “They’re coming, we gotta get outta here. Go out the back, nobody’s out that way yet.”
I ushered us toward the back room, and Jason grabbed a baseball bat along the way. Outside, we ran across the back yard and opened our back gate. Isabelle whimpered and Jason comforted her by grabbing her hand and hurrying her along. I made sure my rifle was snug around my shoulder and pointed my pistol out to make sure the cost was clear before walking out to the alleyway. I saw my idling car about ten feet away. Jason started walking toward it and I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
I turned to head the other way, but stopped myself. Two soldiers walked up the alleyway, talking. They were distracted enough that they did not catch us running and hiding behind the car. When they got close enough, they started getting suspicious of the running car. I closed my eyes and reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a silencer and screwed it onto my pistol. I would have laughed at the irony if we weren’t probably going to die. I moved and looked through the tinted windows. Since the sun was against their backs, the sun reflected off the windows, hiding me. I motioned to tell Jason to cover Isabelle’s eyes, and I rose and pulled the trigger twice. The noise was fairly loud, but it was not loud enough to carry onto the street.
When the soldiers fell Jason attacked with questions, “Where in gods’ name did you get a silencer?”
“The DA,” I said, “Took it from the evidence locker when we heard the radio report of Chinese ships off the coast and heading in.”
“So I’m guessing off duty tea with the DA went well,” He joked as we pressed forward.
“I kill two people and you make jokes.”
“I see this shit all the time, how do you expect me to react?”
“Like a human being,” I said, “Maybe like those god damn happy ass ponies you want to join so badly.”
He remained quiet as we walked. I heard sniffing and turned around. Isabelle had started crying, probably due to my anger. Jason tried wiping away her tears, but the constant movement made it difficult, “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“What’s going on,” She sniffed, “Where are we going?”
“We’re trying to make it back to the police station. We can’t take the car because it’ll attract attention,” I looked around a corner before crossing a street to the next block’s alleyway, “And right now shit’s happening. That’s it.”
The rest of the way to the station was oddly quiet. When we got there, one other family, my detective partner, was already there.
“Stellis,” I said, “Good to see you, man.”
“Good to see you, too,” Stellis said, and he nodded at Jason and Isabelle, “But then again, not so much.”
“What do you mean,” I asked, “What happened?”
He shook his head, “The president signed that goddamn bill. He signed the fucking bill. It was on the radio.”
“What bill?”
“The Templar Order,” He said, “The military response team being sent is that fucking mercenary group of religious extremists. They know you have a husband. Chances are, you’ll get killed after the Chinese get taken out.”
“We gotta get outta here,” I said.
“Uh… I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Jason said looking out the window of the full tint windows. Several Chinese soldiers headed toward the door of the station. Stellis and I quickly rushed everyone into the next room—the office.
Shots suddenly rained through the air through the wall. A bullet grazed my skull and I fell to the ground. Everything went hazy and I lost consciousness.
I woke up late at night with a flashlight in my eyes. The flashlight turned off and the voice of Stellis’ wife came past it, “Oh, good, you’re finally awake.”
“What happened,” I asked, “Where’s Isabelle? Jason?”
“Isabelle’s asleep, partner,” Stellis said, “Over there with my sons.”
“Where are we?”
“In the woods. You were out for seven hours. Good thing Luci here is a nurse.”
“Where’s Jason?”
No answer came. I got impatient, “Where the fuck is Jason??”
“Shh,” Stellis said, “You’ll wake the kids.”
“Where is he?”
I could hear Stellis sighing out his nose, “He gave himself for us. He was a brave man. You should be proud of him.”
I didn’t believe it, “You’re lying.”
“Would I lie to you,” Stellis asked in an irritated voice, “Have I ever lied to you?”
I stayed quiet and he started talking, “He threw a fucking bat at them. He took an assault rifle from the SWAT team locker and outloaded on the fuckers.”
“What happened to him?”
“He said you were stronger than him,” Stellis explained, “You’d be better to keep everyone safe.”
I let it sink in. They were beating around the bush, “Did Isabelle see it…?”
“Look I—“
“Did. She. See. It?”
My eyes were adjusted to the darkness by now enough to see Stellis look at his wife, “The only reason she’s asleep is from pure exhaustion. That was not something for a little girl to see…”
I sat there in shock, in disbelief. In less than an hour, my happy life turned into hell. In less than an hour, I lost all but one reason to live.

*

Fluttershy listened to my story quietly. I knew I was telling it awkwardly with the timing loops and little exposition, and it probably made little sense to the poor pony anyway, but I told it anyhow. When I was done telling the story, she still lay quiet.
After a minute, she broke the silence, “I’m sorry.”
I laughed, “You didn’t do anything wrong. Humanity did.”
She got quiet again. Her thinking pauses always made me nervous. I want to know what she is thinking whenever she does it. She broke her silence again, “Even with how bad humans were, do you ever feel homesick?”
“At first, no. I would never want to go back to that hell hole,” I replied, fluffing my pillow.
“And now?”
I set the pillow down and lay on it. I heard my voice crack, “Every day.”