//------------------------------// // Convalescence // Story: Broken Wings // by Lt_Voss //------------------------------// Life can get pretty hectic. It can throw an entire bucket of shit all over your fan. Sometimes, you can power through it; refuse to give up. Other times, you just want to curl up in a corner and die. Oftentimes such dramatic responses, such as suicide, are the result of an overload. That's how Fluttershy felt, at least. She'd almost lost the love of her life, Will, to the Nightmare. For him to be in intensive care for three days afterward... it was tough on her. The only thing that made it worse was that Twilight kept trying to ruin her relationship with Will. Didn't Twilight know she and Will were betrothed? She was there at the party when Will proposed to her. Fluttershy couldn't get over the fact that she was the root of the problems. None of this would be a problem if she wasn't around. After all, how could Will and Twilight fight over her if she wasn't around to be fought over? This logic made sense to Fluttershy. She didn't quite stop to think that... committing suicide would hurt everyone. That is, until she almost went through with it. She held the knife in her hand, the same knife she'd cut herself with several days ago. It was clean and shiny, as opposed to simply slick and reflective, as it was that night. She held the knife close to her body. Her mind was telling her that this was a bad idea, that she shouldn't do this. However... her heart, three times bigger than normal, was telling her that it was the only way for her friends to stop fighting. She awkwardly gripped the knife in her two hooves. 'To be honest,' she thought. 'I don't know why I have utensils if I can barely hold them.' That thought was pushed out of her mind then, as she deemed it irrelevant to the situation at hoof. Slowly, she pushed the knife towards her chest, where she knew her heart was. She'd cared for enough ponies and animals alike to garner where in each species the heart was located. When the cold tip touched her body, she shuddered at the temperature difference. "I'm so sorry, Will," she said aloud. "I love you more than anything in the world... but... I have to do this... so you and Twilight can stop fighting... I'm sorry..." she trailed off. She'd just begun to break the skin, barely, when she heard a voice. "Fluttershy, the door was open so I let myself-" It was Rainbow's voice. Rainbow Dash was always nice to Fluttershy. When Rainbow said anything that could be considered hurtful, Fluttershy believed that it was just Rainbow's way of encouraging her to do better, to show everypony that she was not so weak and helpless as everypony thought she was. However, encouraging Fluttershy to do better was the farthest thing in Rainbow's mind when she opened Fluttershy's bedroom door to find her with a knife to her chest. "Fluttershy!" I was sitting on a bench, next to a large six story building. My head was in my hands. I was crying. My life was falling apart at the seams. Ponies and people were getting hurt and killed left and right. And... something else was... creeping into my conscious mind. Without Bill to keep an eye on my mind, several thoughts were roaming around in there. I didn't want to deal with it anymore. I know I promised Fluttershy I wouldn't leave her, ever, but... how can I argue with myself? It's not like there was anything to argue about. My mind was set. I slowly got up. As I walked to the building, I noticed that word got around fast; ponies were bowing down to me... fools. I pushed open the door to the building, intent on taking the stairs instead of flying. I don't know why. Maybe it was because I was somewhat hoping that I'd break out of this trance, out of this action. It didn't work, and I continued walking up the stairs. "What should I do?" Luna asked her older sister. "Go to him. I fear I know his type..." she sighed. "I'm afraid for him. I'm afraid he may do something." Celestia snapped her head to look directly at Luna. "Rainbow Dash is with Fluttershy. Will needs someone to be with him." A thought struck Luna. "Where's Bill?" "Will's Oracle?" Celestia asked rhetorically. Before Luna had a chance to confirm it, Celestia continued. "He is with the Army, cleaning house." "You mean..." Luna trailed off. "Yes," Celestia said with evident relief. "This war's almost over." They stood silently for a few moments. "Well," Celestia said with finality. "Go to your son, Lulu. I'll join you later. I must speak to my student." "But," Luna objected. "I've... already told... Twilight that you were... gone." "Hm." Celestia humphed. "Perhaps that is why she is so... offensive." Celestia hopped away from the wall and disguised herself as an alicorn. "I will have a talk with her. I know what to say." She took in a breath. "I've... done it often enough." With that, she strode towards Will's former ward. Luna exited the hospital with as much haste as she could muster. Looking side to side, she stopped a nearby pony. "Have you seen Prince Will?" "Yes, Highness," the pony answered. "He went in there." The pony pointed to a nearby six story building. "Thank you," Luna said. She rushed over and ran inside. She saw, sitting behind a desk, a receptionist. She ran over and asked hurriedly, "Did you see Prince Will?" "Yes," the receptionist mare answered. "He went upstairs, why?" Luna thanked her but ignored the question, and ran into the stairwell. The building had roof access, thank the gods. The stairwell was not well lit, and when I opened the door I had to shield my eyes from the sun. When my eyes adjusted, I walked over to the edge of the building, directly across from the stairwell exit. I looked out over the skyline of Ponyville for a few seconds before looking down over the low wall. Seeing many ponies walking to and fro down there, I leaned back. I turned and sat down on the wall. I sat there, staring at the ground for a moment, before pulling out my revolver. This time, I opened the cylinder to empty it. I placed a single round into the cylinder, then spun it so that when I pulled the trigger... it would go off. I didn't really want to do it. I loved Fluttershy, Luna... I'd be kissing them goodbye, figuratively of course. But... my mind's logic was telling me that I was only getting in the way of Twilight. 'If I'm gone, Twilight can't exactly fight with me over Fluttershy. She can have her all she wants.' I stopped in thought just then, before resuming on that point. 'Not that Fluttershy would want her. I'm sure Fluttershy would really dislike Twilight. She might even blame her for my death.' I shook my head. 'No. Fluttershy would think it her own fault. She'd probably let Twilight love her, just to be polite.' I gave a single chuckle. 'She deserves better. A suicidal killer on one hand, a jealous, aggressive mare on the other.' My head hung lowly, eyes closed. 'I'm the cause of the jealousy and rage, though. It's me. All me.' Behind my lowered lids, my eyes started watering. I placed the barrel of the revolver under my chin. 'I don't deserve life. I've done nothing but kill. Day in, day out, out there, at... home...' I gasped involuntarily. "Will!" A terrified scream was let loose. Instinctively, the grip I had on my gun was lost, and it slipped out and fell to the ground, clattering softly. I opened my eyes, but that didn't exactly let me see any better. My vision was so blurred with tears I could barely even see blobs of colour. "Will!" My mother called out again. I wiped the wetness, or some of it, from my eyes. I could see moderately well. I looked up to see that my mother was slowly, or rather, cautiously, making her way to me. She, now unseen by any other pony, was in her bipedal form. I stood slowly, and she stopped a couple feet from me. Slowly, she extended both her arms and wings. I knew what she wanted. She was hoping I'd go two steps forward and accept her hug. I did. When she wrapped her appendages around me, I lost it. The flood of tears I'd been holding back was loosed, and I lost the will to stand. I threw my arms around her, under her arms, and cried relentlessly into her shoulder. She rubbed my back with her right hand, and I gripped parts of her overcoat in my own hands. "I'm sorry," I forced out between cries. "It's okay, Will. It's okay, it'll all be okay." From the sound of it, Luna was crying as well. Understandable. She'd just seen firsthand her son about to commit suicide. More or less a big deal. "It's okay, momma's here. Momma's here, and I always will be." She held me out, and I saw that, indeed, her face was red, especially around her eyes, from crying. "Please, never leave me." She choked once. "I don't want to lose you too." Then she did something I didn't expect her to do. She did it apprehensively, very much so, but... she leaned towards my face and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Softly, she told me, "I lost your father. Losing you would... it would make me do things I'd regret." My eyes tear-filled, and my voice hoarse with rawness, I told her, more croaked, "I won't. As long as I can fight it, I won't. I'd never leave you without... without fighting it." She nodded, already beginning to cry again. "Thank you. But..." I saw her bite her lower lip, obviously debating over something. A steely determined look came over her face. Finally, she said to me, "There's something you should know. I think it will cheer you up to no end." She winced at unheard words. "Silence, Helen," she said aloud. It was possible she didn't realize she was speaking out loud. I know I would sometimes did that when I spoke to Bill. "Will," Luna began again. "Celestia... Tia... she's... she's alive." My jaw dropped. "But... how?! I mean, she was dead! I felt it! She had no pulse!" "I asked her the same thing. Unfortunately," she said, wiping away lingering tears from her eyes. "That's also a problem." "How?! My aunt... alive! I... I'm happy! Beyond happy!" "She told me this: the Nightmare is still alive." "What?" I couldn't believe all this. I desperately wanted to believe my aunt Tia to be alive, but I also stubbornly hoped that the Nightmare was indeed dead. "Mother, is this a cruel, sick joke?" "No joke. Will... Bill is not the first Oracle to be separated from his owner." She said it with such finality, I think she meant for me to glean something from that. I didn't. "Okay, and?" "You know Bill cannot die unless you die." "Yes, and what of it? Please, mother, stop dancing around the point and come out with it! This is serious, if you are to be taken seriously!" "As long as Celestia lives, the Nightmare lives." The realization hit me with the force of a speeding train. I literally felt my face recoil from the news. "This..." I stumbled over words; I couldn't believe. "I can't believe this. I don't!" "I know. I said much the same thing when Celly told me." She shook her head and hugged me. "But it is the truth. She is alive and well, but the Nightmare roams free." "But that means... the only way to kill the Nightmare... mother, I don't want to! I won't! I know you won't either! Please, there has to be another way!" Luna hugged me again. "I know. I know. Neither of us can do this. I promise you," she said as she held me out. "As long as it is within my power, I will look for another way to destroy the Nightmare. A way that will... leave us with our beloved alive and well." We sat there, embracing, for several minutes longer. Our cries had stopped, and we were simply enjoying the comfort the hug was bringing us. Every now and then one of us would gasp involuntarily to refrain from crying again. However, thanks to my luck, this quiet comfort could not last. For just as we were about to pull away, I heard someone exclaim in surprise, "Will?! Princess Luna?!" Make that somepony. Feminine, and I'd recently got into a heated argument with her. Twilight Sparkle had found us. My eyes shot open, and I beheld a sight that completely blew my mind, and it didn't have much to do with Twilight. There, standing next to my enemy, was my aunt Celestia. She was in her alicorn form, but, seeing Luna and I kneeling on the ground hugging with tears in our eyes, she strode quickly toward us, dropping the guise mid-stride. Twilight did not miss this transformation, but no one payed her any mind. Celestia, reaching us, knelt down beside Luna and I and joined us in a group hug. Because I was facing in her direction, I was the only one who saw Twilight faint. I was sure none of us would have paid her any attention regardless. "Twilight," Celestia whispered into said mare's ear. "Twilight, my dear student, wake up." Twilight's eyes opened slowly. She groggily looked around, analyzing her surroundings. When her eyes met mine, she narrowed her eyes menacingly but said nothing. Her gaze continued in a circuit around the room, and that was when she saw both Luna and Celestia in their true forms. "Oh my gosh," she exclaimed softly, tiredly. "No," Tia answered an unspoken question. "You do not imagine what you see. I know it's a little overwhelming at first, but you get used to it." "So you two... the Royal Sisters, the rulers of ponykind, aren't even ponies?" "Yes and no," I told her. "Trust me. When I first found out, I was as shocked as you were. But... being what we are..." I paused to look and ask a silent question to my family. They answered with slow nods. "We are called Paracorns." Seeing Twilight frown at the odd name, I nodded. "Yes. I didn't believe it at first. But apparently, what a Paracorn is is a human that has developed all the traits of the different ponies: strength from earth ponies, magic from unicorns, and, most obvious among the three of us, wings from pegasi." "But... why keep it from me?" "My dear student," Celestia said kindly. "I know how well you can keep secrets." Twilight blushed in embarrassment. "If I were to tell you, all of Equestria and the surrounding lands would know by now. I simply could not have that happen." "How did you come into power? Surely there were pony rulers before you." "Easy answer," Luna spoke, and I saw a smile twitch on her face and her eyes gleam with playfulness. "But don't call me Shirley." I bust out laughing, as did my aunt, but the joke was lost on Twilight. "To answer your question: yes, there were pony rulers. About a hundred of them. You see, the ponies of old were scattered into tribes. There was no central government." "So you two united them under one rule, under the guise of alicorns." "Twilight," I said flatly; I didn't it to be taken hostilely or friendly. "Your tone makes me think you aren't too happy with this revelation." "And what makes you the most joyous person, Will?" Before my family could chastise Twilight for possibly starting something, I spoke up. "Well, for starters, I just learned that my aunt is, in fact, alive and not dead." Twilight's eyes widened with shock. It wasn't shock in that she didn't know Celestia was my aunt; she'd pieced together Luna's threat. It was in the shock that I cared. "This war's almost over, so Celestia tells me. The ponies will have little to fear from now on." I sighed, and my demeanor switched from upbeat to down. "Though... I... don't know how... Fluttershy is doing." "Rainbow Dash is tending to her," my mother told me. "We'll go visit her when we are finished here." "And," I asked. "What needs finishing here?" Luna laughed. "We need to finish standing around and go to her." I chuckled with her. "Well, then, let us be off!" Luna and Tia donned the alicorn disguise, as to expediently get to Fluttershy's house, we'd need to fly over Ponyville, and then we were off. We left Twilight all alone on the roof of the building. "Serves her right," I muttered under my breath. We reached Fluttershy's home in short order, leading me to believe we had started our flight in the northeast corner of Ponyville. When we landed in front of the front door, I saw immediately that the door was open. It wasn't wide open, but the space was wide enough for me to slip through. Worried, I ran inside and called out, "Hello?" "Will!" I heard Rainbow's voice come from upstairs. "Thank Celestia you've come! Help me!" Fearing the worst, I bolted upstairs, Celestia and Luna following close behind. Fluttershy's bedroom door was wide open, so I simply burst into the room. Right then, I saw an incredible sight; I couldn't believe what I saw. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were playing what appeared to be "Go Fish" with what seemed to be homemade cards. I noticed, to my fear and dismay, a bandage over Fluttershy's heart. The cause was plain to see in the well lit room; a knife rested on her bed, out of reach. "Thank Celestia you're here, Will," Rainbow said, obviously relieved. "I'm losing and I need your help." None of us answered her. My immediate family and I could not believe what lay before us. We had a fairly obvious suicide attempt from Fluttershy, and a card game in progress. I couldn't explain that. The three of us stood there in shocked disbelief for several moments before Rainbow asked, "Well? You guys wanna join in? Fluttershy and I can restart." I unconsciously went to sit down next to Fluttershy. When I looked back at my parental figures, I saw them exchange a glance. Luna and Celestia both gave a single sharp nod, and the reason for it became clear to me soon enough. Celestia walked over and sat next to me, while my mother sat beside Rainbow Dash. Their nods were the answer to an unspoken request: Tia will sit next to Will. Fluttershy, despite the ongoing game, nuzzled me furiously. "I'm so sorry Will. I just... I just couldn't take it! I hate to see you and Twilight fight! You two are my best friends!" Before she could say more, I interjected, "Well. We're a little more than that right now, aren't we?" She blushed but nodded. "Seeing you fight made me so mad at myself." "Shy, dear," Luna said soothingly. "You'll have no need to fear another altercation. I have made it perfectly clear to Twilight Sparkle that under no circumstances is she ever to do what she did at the hospital ever again." "Hm," Celestia grunted. "Yes. Let us not forget how exactly you conveyed your point." "What?" I asked. "How did she make Twilight stop?" "I, uh..." Luna replied sheepishly. "I may have, uh... threatened... her..." She hung her head in semi-shame. I could tell she wasn't feeling completely ashamed, because her otherwise perfect posture did not indicate remorse. "Good," Rainbow Dash said, and the way she said it surprised me. "She should not have done that. Not to you, Will, and not to anypony. It was absolutely revolting. She herself knows that she will find no welcome from me." The ferocity of Rainbow's voice stunned me. If what she said was true, could I assume that Rainbow Dash had essentially cut off her friendship with Twilight? It didn't seem right to me. I'm sure that if Twilight had a real emergency Rainbow would take care of her, but by the way she was speaking now, Rainbow would not see Twilight over mundane or trivial things. It kind broke my heart, knowing that the two had been best friends since they first met, but I was strangely okay with it, seeing as how I strongly disliked Twilight at the moment. Fluttershy and Rainbow pooled the cards together and dealt them to us all. We had played four games of Go Fish in relative silence until something I hadn't planned happened. I suddenly burst out singing, and I don't know why. Cause in the chill of the night, Once your love was my fire and my light. Now I might as well be on the moon, Cause there's no sign of life without you. I self consciously looked around at the surprised faces. I shook my hair down to cover my eyes and stared at the floor. "I'm sorry guys," I half mumbled. "I don't know what got into me." "Will?" Luna asked. "Do you like that song?" "Er," I replied nervously. "Yes, I do." "Do you like all of his songs?" "More or less, yes. Why?" "Sing the two of them." I had no clue what she was talking about, and I told her as much. "I don't know what you mean." "You've sung the chorus of its English version. Now sing both versions in full." "Why? I mean no disrespect, but I don't see the connection here." "Tia and I like the lyrics, and we believe Shy and Rainbow will as well." "Yeah, come on, Will. Sing 'em for us!" Rainbow Dash encouraged. "Um," Fluttershy began softly, as usual. "I'd like you to sing. I mean, if you want to, that is." "Okay," I relented. "But only because Fluttershy's adorable voice made me do it." The four onlookers moved to comfortable positions facing me, while I began to sing. First up was the English version of the song I was just singing, called "Chill of the Night." There's no warmth to hide in. I've scanned this cold horizon. I'm like a statue, An iced man, I can't move at all. Since you said you're leaving, I'm wide awake in dreaming. Time turns without me, Like planets around me. So far, I was doing pretty well. My voice hadn't cracked, and I hadn't gone off key. My audience seemed to be enjoying the song, even though I had no instrumentation to go along with it. Truth be told, though, I was more worried about the other version of the song. It sounded way cooler, but I also had a bigger chance of messing up. Cause in the chill of the night, Once your love was my fire and my light. Now I might as well be on the moon, Cause there's no sign of life without you. For simplicity's sake, I had begun calling both Luna and Celestia my parents. They were the only parental figures I had right now, so I figured I could get away with that. There were smiles upon my parents' faces, and expressions of awe and amazement on my fiance and her friend. Rainbow was in more of a shock, as she, unlike Fluttershy, had never heard me sing before. Look my hands are shaking. My will is slowly breaking. My dreams don't protect me, They're all drawn directly to you. Slow bound here with no plans. This rooms a frozen wasteland. I wait for a lifeline And stare at the skyline. Now, Fluttershy began to smile as she began to understand the lyrics. Not only did it warm my heart to see her happy but also it gave me the encouragement I needed to continue the song in confidence. Cause in the chill of the night, Once your love was my fire and my light. Now I might as well be on the moon, Cause there's no sign of life without you. There was supposed to be an instrumental solo right here after this latest refrain, but seeing as how I did not have any instruments... I continued straight on. Cause in the chill of the night, Once your love was my fire and my light. Now I might as well be on the moon, Cause there's no sign of life without you. At "life without you" of the final refrain I jumped up an octave. I hung my head with my eyes closed to signify that the song was over and I was done singing. The four of them clapped, but I got an extra hug from Fluttershy. It made me feel special. "Well, son," Luna said appreciatively. "You sang that version well enough." She leaned forward and continued in a slightly lower voice, "Care to show me how well you can do with the other one?" Being the defiant slash arrogant slash confident person I was, I told her in a matter of fact tone, "Yes, I'll show you. And I'll give you all a good show." My mother sat back next to Tia. I caught my breath for a few seconds before jumping into the next, and final, version of the song, "Hitze der Nacht." Tanz im Lichterspiel Weiß nicht mehr was ich fühl' Jeder Gedanke Geht wie automatisch an dich. Jahr und Tag und Stunden Verrannen wie Sekunden Nach uns die Sinflut Verschworenes Herzblut. Both of my parents nodded their heads approvingly, obviously proud that I could sing in another language without slipping up or anything. To be honest, I was also proud of myself. Though, as long as I didn't have to sing one song in German, I would be fine, because the pace of the song incredibly fast and there was no doubt in my mind that I'd completely mess up by the fourth word, if I even made it that far to begin with. Both Rainbow and Fluttershy looked immensely amazed. I had to remind myself that Equestria had all but two languages, maybe more, in the entire planet, so I could understand their shock at my "fluency." Doch in der Hitze der Nacht Hat der Teufel uns zwei angelacht Tief in dir deine Tränen gesucht Und mich aus deinem Leben verflucht. Much to my surprise, both of my parents joined into the song's refrain to provide some somewhat necessary background voices. I wasn't the only one; both Fluttershy and Rainbow paused in their gawking at me to stare in shock at the Princesses. Regardless of everybody's reactions, I powered on, uplifted by all of their appraisal of me. Of course, it was physical appraisal as opposed to verbal, but I wasn't one to judge. Grenzenlose Tiefe Nie geles'ne Briefe Ich jag' auf Kometen Nach deinem verlorenen Planet. Eisgekühlte Träume Seit heut' wieder allein Was gestern noch klar war Ist heut' wie ein Trauma. Everybody's focus returned to me, but I neither received any new reactions or expressions, nor did I pay much attention. Now that the "main" verses of the song were done, I focused on making sure I made the remaining refrains as awesome as I could. Denn in der Hitze der Nacht Hat der Teufel uns zwei angelacht Tief in dir deine Tränen gesucht Und mich aus deinem Leben verflucht. Again, as in the English version, there was supposed to be an instrumental solo here, but, like before, I simply drove on, barely pausing to "signify" a solo. I also paused slightly to get my parents ready, because they seemed intent on adding their background voices to the refrains. Doch in der Hitze der Nacht Hat der Teufel uns zwei angelacht Tief in dir deine Tränen gesucht Und mich aus deinem Leben verflucht. Doch in der Hitze der Nacht Hat der Teufel uns zwei angelacht Tief in dir deine Tränen gesucht Und mich aus deinem Leben verflucht. Something was also present in this version as well as the English version, which was the octave change on the last four syllables of the last refrain. So, I raised my voice an octave, as did my parents, on the words "Leben verflucht" in the last refrain. I signaled that I was finished with the song in the same way I did so for the English version, and all four of my audience members clapped. This time, however, I got hugs from all four as well, which would have killed me via cuteness overload. Yes, I am aware I just lumped my parents into the "cute" category, but hey. A compliment's a compliment, right? Right? Right. "That was wonderful, Will," my mother told me happily. "I'm proud of you. You know, I listened to those songs, among Mr. Schilling's others, every day when I was younger." I couldn't help but make a joke, "You were young at some point?!" I feigned shock. This earned me a light slap on the shoulder, a playful slap, but Luna smiled. "Yes, Will, as surprising as it may be, parents were young at some point in the past." "I listened to his songs as well," Tia said, changing the subject slightly. She more brought it back on track, but I still counted it as a subject change. "Mr. Schilling was a brilliant artist. I don't know," she said sheepishly and seemed somewhat embarrassed by admitting this. "His music just spoke to me." "That was..." I began, unsure of how to finish. "Rather... poetic, I guess, of you to say that. I mean, the way you put it sounded poetic." A thought occurred to me just then, and I voiced it. "Hey, do any of you know where Bill is?" "Well, he's off with-" Luna made to reply, but something else interrupted her. It was me. Pain just... exploded in my chest, near my right breast. I fell backwards with a shout, and would have continued screaming had the pain not gone away within a few moments. I knew what had happened. Or, at least, I had a general idea. Bill must have gotten hit with something in the chest. The pain in my body went away when he must have administered his mental pain killers. As I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, I noticed the four heads of my former audience pop into my view. Fluttershy was the first one to ask about me. "Will," she asked frantically, though her voice was still as soft and adorable as ever. "Are you okay? What hurts?" I sucked in a lungful of air; I hadn't realized that the pain in my chest had caused me to exhale all of my breath. "Well," I said, warily. I had no idea when another attack could come, or even if another one would come. "I think I'm okay. But..." I said apprehensively. "it's Bill I'm more worried about." "Ah, yes," Celestia interjected knowingly. "The tie between a corporeal Oracle and his master goes beyond that of relation. The bond between them is emotional, mental, and physical." "So," Luna asked. "Whatever happens to Bill or Will, regardless of the medium of the event, it affects both?" "Yes," Celestia answered. "If either Will or Bill were hit in the chest, the other would feel it. But it is not limited to pain. If either Will or Bill felt one way about a particular subject or topic, the other would harbor the same feeling." "So," I said slowly. "Bill's out in who knows where, helping the Army take care of the last of the monsters' forces? And that's why he got hit?" "One could assume that," Celestia said vaguely. I sat up, feeling the last twinges of pain in my chest being suppressed. I sighed, then pushed myself up with my right hand. "Well," I put the question out. "I don't know where the Army is, and I don't think it would be practical to show up right when they're finishing up." I paused to look at every female in the room, see: everybody other than me. "What... what do you guys wanna do now?" They all chuckled, and we made to leave Fluttershy's home in search of some fun activity to pass the time slash enjoy ourselves for once.