//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The Final Showdown // Story: My Girl Fluttershy // by White_Cloud //------------------------------// It didn’t take long to locate Sapphire. Word of a rich pony staying in Ponyville had spread like wildfire. It wasn’t every day that a rich pony from Canterlot visited. We found out that she had been staying in the Neighborly Inn, but that things had not been going smoothly for them. As we trotted up to the door, a young colt burst through the door, breathing heavily and obviously flustered. “Excuse me! I need to get to Sugar Cube Corner! Pardon me!” He yelled out loudly as he began to weave his way through the Ponyville crowd. Fluttershy and I exchanged puzzled glances as we stepped into utter chaos. The inn was a bustle of activity as curious onlookers and reporters stood inside the lobby, talking amongst themselves. As we made our way through the crowd, we were able to catch snippets of a few of the conversations. “I hear she is part of the royal family, and is here on behalf of Princess Celestia.” “That’s right, a rich out of towner! Here in Ponyville! What could be so important as to draw somepony of her stature here?” “All day every day, it’s the same thing. ‘Fetch me this! Fetch me that!’ It’s like she thinks she owns the place! Also, she doesn’t tip anypony!” Fluttershy and I both knew exactly who they were talking about. As we made our way over to the counter, there was a haggard looking clerk talking to several ponies, obviously very frustrated. “I know you want to see her, but she has requested absolute privacy! It is the policy of this inn to not give out our patrons’ information! Now please leave, I am a very busy pony!” The ponies turned and began to slowly trot away as they wore faces of disappointment. As the clerk turned around to write in a book, we finally reached the counter. I loudly cleared my throat to try and get the clerks attention. When he didn’t turn around, I tried again, even louder. The clerk finally whipped around, staring daggers at us. “I told you, you can’t see her!” Fluttershy and I both took a step back as the clerk continued to fume at us. I looked at Fluttershy nervously and then back to the clerk. “Ummm, heh, I can see you’re busy, but we need to see Sapphire. My name is White Cloud. I’m an old…friend…of hers from Canterlot.” The clerk was taken aback at the mention of my name. “White Cloud? Ah, I was told to be expecting you.” The clerk pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote a number and a letter on it and quickly passed it to me. “Here’s her room number. Make sure no pony gets this, or we’ll have a riot on our hooves. Oh, and one more thing…your friend has to stay here. I was told to admit no pony except for you.” I looked over and Fluttershy as she came up to the counter and stared the clerk dead in the eyes. “You’re going to let me up there. I have a few things to say to Sapphire, and no pony is going to stop me. Got that?” The clerk took a few steps back in fear. “O-Of course. Go right up!” We turned around and began to wade through the crowd towards the staircase leading up to the rooms. Once we made it to the top, away from the crowd, I opened up the paper and looked at the number. “Room D 24; looks like it’s just down the hall.” I turned and looked at Fluttershy. “I don’t know what you intend to say to her, but please be careful. She almost tore us apart, and I don’t want to see that happen again.” Fluttershy had a determined look on her face as she stared down the hall. “Don’t worry Cloud, I’ll have you there. Nothing can tear us apart when we’re together.” I smiled a little at this, but it quickly diminished as Fluttershy began to make her way down the hall. Silently counting the doors numbers, we finally stood in front of the dreaded D 24. I turned to look at Fluttershy once more. “Are you sure about this?” I softly asked. Fluttershy looked at me as a wave of anger washed over her face and her eyes became hard. “Cloud, she tried to tear us apart. She broke your heart, as well as mine. I won’t let somepony come between us and break what we have. I love you Cloud, more than ever.” She leaned over and gently kissed me on the cheek. “Now, let’s go.” Trembling, I slowly lifted a hoof and knocked. I heard a rustling noise come from the other side of the door and a chain was soon being lifted. “I hope that’s the cake I wanted….” The door opened and Sapphire Desire stood in the doorway. “Oh…it’s YOU.” She said with venom dripping from her lips. “I didn’t expect you so soon. I must be slipping.” She smiled a silky smile as she stared at Fluttershy. “Did you like the little show I put on for you? I think it was one of my better performances.” She batted her eyes at me as I shrunk back, afraid of what she was going to do. But Fluttershy started to step into the room. “I think there’s some things we need to discuss Sapphire. Some things that I think need to be cleared up.” I reluctantly began to follow Fluttershy, trying not to brush against Sapphire as we trotted in. I felt her tail come up and over my back as I flinched and started to trot a little faster. Once we were inside, Sapphire closed the door and trotted over to a luxurious couch and sat down. “Won’t you have a seat? Sadly, there’s room for only one more on the couch.” As she stared at me and patted the seat next to her. “Don’t try your games Sapphire, we can see right through your façade. It isn’t going to work this time.” Sapphire looked a little hurt as she laid back and got more comfortable. “Oh well, one could dream. But tell me dear, what did you want to talk to me about? It seemed awfully important.” Fluttershy drew closer to Sapphire as she started to speak. “I want you to leave Ponyville. I want you to leave us alone. I want you to never step hoof in our lives.” Fluttershy looked at me. “Tell her Cloud. Tell her what you have wanted to say for so many years.” I cleared my throat as panic started to set in. How could I talk to the one pony who had ruined so much of my life and had nearly tore me away from the one pony I wanted to spend the rest of my life with? But Fluttershy was right, I needed to confront her. I needed to get closure. I cleared my throat and began to speak. “Sapphire, I have made some terrible decisions in my life. I can’t blame you for everything that happened. A lot of what I did was my choice and I’m going to have to live with that. But, you were the worst thing that could have happened to me. You preyed on me in my most vulnerable hour. You took advantage of my grief and twisted it into something that you wanted. You didn’t care about me. All you cared about was controlling me, using me to tear my family apart. I was blind to what you did back then, but I see it clearly now. You used me, you used my family, and now you used the one pony I truly love. Given enough time, I might have been able to forgive the first time, but this time you have pushed things too far. I…Don’t…Want…To…Be…With…You. Can I make that any clearer? I want to be with Fluttershy, and she wants to be with me. We love each other, and that is something you will never be able to break.” As I was speaking, Sapphire just kept smiling. When I finished, she sat up and began to clap her hooves. “Bravo! Wonderful speech! Tell me, how long have you wanted to tell me that? Don’t tell me; it was the night you ran away for good, wasn’t it?” She stood up and trotted over to Fluttershy. “And you would rather be with her over me?” She glared at Fluttershy as she began to circle her. “What does she have that I don’t have? Look at me! I’m gorgeous, wealthy, a pony of high standing in society, and highly sought after. What does she have to offer? She’s easy to manipulate, shy, afraid of her own shadow, and she stays with all those, ugh, filthy animals. Is this the pony you want to spend the rest of your life with? Really?” Sapphire finished her circle and stood in front of me. I could smell the perfume she had on, but it had no effect on me. “Be honest here Cloudie, clearly I’m the better pony here. You will never find a better pony than me. I can give you money, respect, and fame. She can give you smelly animals, a pony that is afraid of her own shadow, and will jump at every single thing that you do. Heh, just look at her; she’s so pathetic!” At this, Sapphire began to laugh hysterically. I was on the edge of totally losing control, but when I looked at Fluttershy her eyes helped me regain my composure. I turned and got in front of Sapphire and looked her in her eyes. “You will never be half as good as Fluttershy is. All you care about is yourself. You care more about getting more and more stuff than the people around you. And if you can’t have what you want, you will sneak, lie, and connive your way into getting it. Fluttershy is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She actually cares for me and loves me. Her emotions are not fake and dripping with deceit. I love to be around her. I love to just sit and talk with her. No agendas, no fakery, just two ponies who deeply love each other. And that is something I hope you are able to experience at some point in your life. She is beautiful is so many ways, and that’s why I love her.” I looked over at Fluttershy as a tear began to roll down her face. She wore a soft smile that in turn made me smile. “I love her Sapphire. I will never leave her, not for anything.” I could feel my eyes beginning to water a little as I once again looked at Sapphire. "Please, just leave us in peace. That’s all I have to say.” I trotted over to the door and slowly turned around to look at Fluttershy. “Are you ready to go?” Fluttershy nodded and began to trot towards the door. Just as we were both about to leave, I heard a quiet “Wait…” We paused and turned around. Sapphire was sitting on the couch, covering her face with her hooves. I could tell that she was weeping as she sat there. I glanced at Fluttershy, and she nodded to me. I trotted over and laid a hoof on Sapphires shoulder as she softly began to speak to me. “C-Cloud, I don’t know what to s-say. I see it now. T-The love you two h-have for each other. I understand now. I have b-been such a fool. What you and I had wasn’t r-real. It was just an illusion.” She looked up at me and what I saw surprised me. She was telling the truth. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew. Sapphire really had finally gotten it. I smiled as I looked at her. “Sapphire, I really did mean what I said. I really do hope that you finally get to experience what Fluttershy and I have for real. It is the best feeling you can have, and it really has changed me. I’m sure you will find your own special somepony. I’m sure he’s out there, just waiting for you.” Sapphire looked past me at Fluttershy and smiled. “You take care of him Fluttershy. Never let him go.” I turned to see Fluttershy nod. I turned back and looked at Sapphire for what would be the last time. “Have a safe trip” I softly said as Fluttershy and I both trotted out of the room. As I shut the door behind us, I let out a huge sigh of relief. I turned and looked at Fluttershy as we began to trot down the hallway. “You know, I really did mean every word I said in there about you.” Fluttershy began to blush as she looked away. “I know Cloud. You see what so many ponies don’t see. You see the good qualities about me and don’t care about the bad ones.” I smiled as we reached the stairs and made our way down. “It’s why I want to be with you. You’re just so cute when you’re embarrassed.” Fluttershy let out a little giggle as we stepped out of the inn and began to make our way to a bench in Ponyville Square. We sat on the bench and looked at all of the blooming flowers and watched the hummingbirds dancing around the petals. I leaned over and gave Fluttershy a quick peck on the cheek. “You really are the best thing that has happened to me.” She turned and looked at me with those big blue eyes and said, “You’re the best thing that has happened to me too, Cloud.” And with that, she kissed me.