A New Perspective Ch. 5
"Oh, hi Fluttershy," I bleated out feebly, like the sheep I am.
"Don't you 'hi' me, mister. Where were you?"
"Well, I... I kinda... well, you see, the thing is..." I stammered out, sweat bursting out on my forehead.
"You went to see Twilight, didn't you?"
"Well... yeah." Man that sounded weak, even considering the circumstances.
"Even after I told you that you needed to stay here and rest," she added, starting to get up in my face. "Even after you promised to me that you wouldn't, you went anyway. You lied to me!"
"Well, I just needed to talk to her. I don't see what the big freaking deal is. I went over there, we talked, and I came back here, safe and sound."
"It's not that nothing happened, it's the principle. You lied to me! You promised me that you wouldn't go out until I thought you were better, and you did anyway. What could be so important that it couldn't have waited a day or two?"
Cripes, I had never seen her get this upset before. What's worse is that it wasn't outright anger, but that sort of deep disappointment that really cuts into you.
Hold on, did she ask me what we had talked about?
"Well, what was it that you felt was so urgent that you just had to see Twilight right now?"
Oh hayseed, she did. I had really wanted to keep this between Twilight and I, at least until I knew more, but now that Fluttershy was on the offensive, I had to let her in on it. Well, I owed her the truth about why I had left, at least.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to PROMISE not to tell anypony else unless I give the okay, we clear?"
"Fine," she replied, bitterness thick in her voice.
"Alright. Well, first off, I wasn't doing any research for her, but I did need to find out where the ruins are for completely different reasons. Earlier today, when I woke with a start while you were making dinner, it wasn't because of a nightmare. In my dream, a silver unicorn stallion came to me and told me that he knows things about me. Where I came from, how I got here, even who I am. Before it ended, he told me to find him in the ruins, as well as showing me an image of the pendant on the necklace you gave Twilight, which is why I needed to see her."
"So, you lied boldfaced to me because of a dream?" she asked, accusation discoloring her normally pleasant voice. "Is that what I'm hearing?"
"Well, yes, but please bear with me. I snuck out to go see her, and at the time, she was studying that necklace. I asked her about it, and she said it reminded her of one of the Element of Harmony necklaces."
"Hmm... okay, go on," she said, the bitterness in her voice giving way to curiosity.
"Anyway, when I got near it, it started to glow, which Twilight said hadn't happened to it before then. The weird thing is that it glowed when I picked it up from your place to take to the party."
"Twilight asked me to put it on, thinking that it might unlock something in it. When nothing happened, she decided to use her magic on it, and... something happened."
"What? What happened?"
"Well, when she hit it with her magic, my mind was flooded with images, memories. Some of them I recognized, like the ones of me living here, but there were a few I didn't. A large, ancient castle, a room full of ponies in cloaks gathered around a strange symbol on the floor. I couldn't handle the stress of all those memories assaulting my mind at once, so I blacked out."
"So something DID happen to you while you were gone! I knew it!"
"Save the victory celebration for later. Anyway, when I came to, the necklace was no longer glowing, and Twilight was on the other side of the room, smashed into a bookcase. Apparently, she saw the same things that I did, which means she knows what I know. She then agreed to help me find the ruins in the forest, but only after I got better, since she found that out too."
"Hmm..." Fluttershy lost herself in thought, staring at the ground in concentration. "Alright, I'm coming with you."
Wait, WHAT?! Did I hear that right? Did she actually volunteer to go into the forest?
"WHAT?! Are you nuts? If what you've said to me about the forest is anything to judge off of, I would think that you would want to be as far away from it as possible."
"I don't care, I'm going with you. You dragged me into this, so I'm going to see it through. I'll get what we're going to need over the next few days while you rest up. I'll also let the weather patrol know that you won't be in on Saturday," she declared as she turned to go back upstairs.
"Fluttershy, wait," I pleaded, turning her around with one hoof. "You don't have to. This is my problem, and I'm going to solve it on my own. The only reason I'm taking Twilight is because I have no idea where this place is."
"Evan," she said, her voice losing some of its edge, "I know I don't have to, and you're right. Were it up to me, I would stay here. But now that I know all of this, the only reasonable thing to do is to help as best as I can. If that means following you into the Everfree Forest, then so be it. Now if you'll excuse me," she added, taking my hoof off of her shoulder, "I need to go back to sleep. It's probably nearly 11, and I have preparing to do in the morning. You should do the same." And without another word, she went back upstairs, closing the door behind her.
Going back to my couch, I had a lot to think on. Now I had TWO lives that I needed to watch after. Twilight could probably look out for herself, what with being magic and all, but Fluttershy... I just didn't know.
Still, she was right on one thing. I desperately needed some sleep. Not that it was going to come easily, mind you, what with all of the thoughts buzzing in my skull like having the proverbial bees in my bonnet.
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The next few days were tense, to say the least. Fluttershy was giving me a bit of the cold shoulder, and it wasn't helped by the fact that I was trying at every opportunity to apologize, or at least get back on speaking terms with her. She kept herself busy preparing for our impending voyage, and I still had my job on the weather team to take care of.
Rainbow Dash and I had just gotten finished bringing in a rogue storm from Everfree when she picked up on the cloud of gloom hanging over me.
"Hey man, what's the matter? You've been a bit off for the past couple of days. You're normally much more hyped up than this when we're out cloud-wrangling."
"It's nothing," I said, melancholy hanging over my otherwise upbeat voice.
"Sure doesn't sound like nothing. You sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Well... I actually do need somepony to talk to. Can we find a more private place?"
"Sure, there's a tree in the park that nopony goes near. I normally use it when I'm trying to catch a nap in the afternoon. It'll be perfect."
We flew over to the park near the center of town in thankful silence, Rainbow choosing not to pursue the matter until we got there. It gave me an opportunity to get my thoughts together, try and prepare what I was going to say.
"There it is," said Rainbow, pointing to a medium sized tree on the shore of a decorative lake. I noticed, with some humor, that there was a pillow and blanket up in the tree. She really wasn't kidding when she said that she used it for naps.
We alighted upon a nice sturdy branch near the top of the tree, just to make sure that we wouldn't be heard in case somepony passed beneath us.
"So, what's up?"
"I've been having kind of a rough week, to put it kindly," I said, kicking my hooves nervously.
"Well, that's pretty obvious," said Rainbow, a hint of sarcasm on her voice. "We wouldn't be here otherwise. What's got you so down in the dumps?"
I recounted to her how I had lied to Fluttershy and snuck out of the cottage to see Twilight, but carefully hiding the details of why I had gone to see her. I didn't want any more ponies than were necessary in on this, and frankly two was too many in my mind.
"... And Fluttershy's been giving me the cold shoulder all week."
"Ouch, man. I've never known Fluttershy to hold a grudge like this for this long. In fact, I don't think she's EVER held a grudge. I don't think it's really that bad, though, what you did. I mean, when I was young, I snuck out all the time. Of course, I did get grounded a lot."
"Yeah," I said with a forced chuckle, "that would be a reason to get grounded. *sigh*... Rainbow, can I tell you something?"
"Sure, shoot."
"I... I haven't told anypony else about this yet, but... I think I love Fluttershy."
Rainbow at first looked taken aback, and I prayed that I hadn't just made a horrible decision. Fortunately, her features changed from surprise to her usual cocky, arrogant self.
"Wow, you sure know how to drop a bombshell. Still, I guess it kinda makes sense. I mean, after seeing you two at Twi's party, I think the whole town figured that you were already going out."
"Really?" I asked, slightly perturbed at the thought.
"Yeah. But why are you telling me this? If there's anypony you should be telling this to, it's Fluttershy."
"That's just it, though. I don't want to tell her because, in her current state, I'm afraid that she'd say no. And that's what makes her distance so unbearable. I want to tell her, I really do, but I don't think I could handle that sort of rejection. I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic, as you can probably tell."
"Well, if I were you," she said, putting a hoof on my shoulder, "I'd try just talking to her. Don't make it sound like your begging to be let back in, just talk to her like you would normally. While this certainly isn't normal for her, it should pass soon. She's the nicest pony I've ever met, and she wouldn't ever intentionally hurt anypony else, physically or emotionally."
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks RD. You may be a braggart, cocky, impetuous, full of yourself, and a bit insensitive at times, but you know how to help where it counts."
"Hey, it's no problem. I'll be there whenever you need me. I'm not the Element of Loyalty for nothing."
"Hey, speaking of the Elements..." I blurted out, forgetting that Rainbow didn't know.
"Yeah, what about them?"
Horse-apples, I have got to learn to control the valve between my brain and my mouth.
Well, we could use a pony like Rainbow on our little excursion. We'd need somepony fast and strong and brave to act sort of like a bodyguard. But I was going to hate myself for dragging her into this ever growing mud heap.
"Um, it's just that Twilight, Fluttershy, and I were going to go investigate the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Twilight's doing a little more research into the history of Equestria, mainly before the moon princess-"
"-You mean Luna?"
"Yeah, from before Princess Luna got banished. And considering that the forest does have it's share of nasties and what not, we could use a pony that could be a bit of a bodyguard."
"Well, I'd be happy to, but how did you get Fluttershy to go along with this? Not to be rude, but she's afraid of her own shadow. Trust me, I've seen it."
"Well, she was kinda hesitant at first, but Twilight managed to convince her that her way with animals would come in handy, so she agreed to come along."
"Well, that sounds familiar. It's like that time that a dragon was taking a nap in a nearby mountain, spewing out tons of smoke, and Princess Celestia wanted the six of us to get rid of him."
"Geez, sounds like Celestia needs to get her priorities straightened out. Sending six ponies, one who is easily frightened nonetheless, to try and oust a full grown dragon?"
"Yeah it was pretty crazy. Not that I was scared or anything. You see..."
And we sat up there, her recounting her tales of adventure, and me sitting there on that branch, completely enthralled. The sun had just started going down when we parted ways. As I flew back over to the cottage, I couldn't help but feel my spirits raise just a tiny bit.
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I had gotten home at around 6:30, and just like I had assumed, Fluttershy was still busy preparing. She barely noticed me walk in the door, only giving me a quick backward glance before she returned to her work. She was busy getting her medical supplies together, and I drew up beside her to help.
We worked in silence for about five minutes, the tension practically palpable. Neither of us wanted to break it, but I decided to try and make conversation. I've never been good at working in silence.
"Fluttershy..." I began.
"Look, I'm sorry," she said, dropping the roll of medical tape in her hooves and turning towards me.
"I... what did you say?"
"I'm sorry," she repeated, her eyes lighting up a little. "I'm sorry I snapped at you like I did. I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you the last couple of days. I'm sorry, plain and simple."
"Well, this is certainly a change of pace. Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Well, I've been thinking over the last few days, and you were right. I shouldn't have tried to keep you from going to see Twilight. I was thinking of you as more of a patient than a pony that can take care of himself, and it sort of clouded my judgement. You found out things about yourself that you would never have learned otherwise, and it was selfish of me to try and keep you from that."
"But I lied about what I had needed to see Twilight about. I purposefully kept you in the dark."
"And it was for my own good. You were just trying to protect me, like I was trying to protect you. I'm still a little miffed about that, but I would hate to lose our friendship over something so trivial."
"Well, that is true. But still, don't completely absolve me of any wrongdoing. What I did was deceitful, and I was wrong to do it."
"I never said that you were off the hook. For one thing, I'm going to be changing the locks," she said with a smile, "so that the next time you sneak out, you'll be stuck outside until morning."
"You're kidding? You're kidding, right?" I asked nervously.
"Of course I am," she said, smiling and nudging her head against my shoulder. "I wouldn't ever be that cruel."
"*whew* You really had me going there for a sec." With a shared laugh, we each returned to our work, occasionally discussing what should be taken and what should stay.
"You know," I said after we had gotten her saddle bags filled up, "I'm actually a little bit upset that you apologized."
"Why would you be upset?"
"Well, you see, I had this big old speech prepared, with a lot of reasons why I was sorry, and explanations as to why I did it. I practiced it all the way over here, but now I won't get to use it."
"Well, I am just all broken up," said Fluttershy, in the most sarcastic tone of voice she could muster up. "I guess you'll just have to upset me all over again, now won't you?"
"Very funny. You know, I don't think I have ever heard you use sarcasm before."
"Well, hanging out with Rainbow Dash all this time has sort of rubbed off on me."
"Oh, speaking of Rainbow, she's going to be coming with us."
"Into the forest? Why?"
"Well, we had a bit of a conversation after work today, and the subject sort of... came up."
"You didn't give her any details, did you?"
"No, I just told her that we needed a bodyguard. I did give her the destination, but told her that we were going on an archeological trip, nothing more."
"Well... It should hold for now, but she's awfully perceptive. She'll probably find out sooner or later."
"Well, until that happens, I say that we not worry about it. Let's get some dinner on and then head on off to bed. We've each had a long day, and I have an appointment tomorrow at about noon."
"With who?"
"Three little filles who call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
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Knocking. There is knocking on the inside of my skull. Lord, I hope that I'm not having another of those crazy dreams again. I had enough on my plate without having to deal with more psychic trauma. I still had to prepare for the trip to the forest, I had my meeting with Apple Bloom and her friends...
Wait, what time is it?
Blearily, I cracked my eyes open, raised my head, and took a look at the clock. 12:30, it read.
I hopped up off of the couch and ran over to the door, knowing exactly what was causing that infernal knocking.
I swung open the door, and was greeted with a dog pile. What is it with ponies in this town and mid-air greetings at high velocity? Is it like some sort of sport or what?
"Heya, Evan!" said Apple Bloom cheerfully as she clambered across my back. "How's yer head?"
"Just peachy," I responded, trying to shake the three little wriggling bodies off of me. "How are you doing?"
"A lot better now that you're up!" she exclaimed as the three of them got up off of me. "We have lots of Crusading to do, and not a lot of time to do it, so we need to hop to it! But first things first, I need to introduce you to your fellow Crusaders."
I turned to face her, and standing next to her were a tiny white unicorn with mint green eyes and an expertly maintained pink and purple mane and tail, as well as an orange pegasus filly with light purple eyes and an unkempt purple mane and tail. All three if them had a small maroon cape with a little blue and yellow emblem stitched to it.
"Evan, this is-"
"No, wait, let me guess. Hmm... okay," I said, gesturing to the unicorn, "you must be Sweetie Belle, because Rarity's said a lot about having a sister with your exact description who goes by that name. And, you would have to be Scootaloo, judging by that Rainbow Dash-ish air about you," I said, pointing to the little pegasus.
"Yep, you got it perfect," piped up Sweetie Belle.
"You think I'm like Rainbow Dash!? That is so AWESOME!" Scootaloo seemed practically beside herself with joy. Good thing Dash told me that Scootaloo practically idolizes her when we were talking in the park.
"Anyway, I'm Evan. Now, about this supposed 'Crusading' that we're going to be doing..."
"Wait," said Apple Bloom, "before we do anything, there's something we need to give you first. Now, close your eyes."
"Um, okay," I said, shutting my eyes. I heard them pull something out of a small bag, which they quickly fastened around my neck.
"Okay, you can open them," said Scootaloo, in an all too chipper voice.
Opening my eyes, I saw the three fillies looking on at me with a sort of mixture of joy and pride. Looking down at my neck and across my back, I could see why they had that gleam of admiration in their eyes.
Tied around my neck was a cape just like theirs, only about twice as big so that it could fit me. The patch was also slightly different. Instead of a smiling colt rearing up, there was an older pony with three younger ones at his hooves, looking up with smiles.
"Do you like it?" asked Sweetie Belle. "When Apple Bloom told us about having you join, we thought that you needed a proper cape. But since you aren't our age, we thought you needed a special patch that's all your own!"
"I absolutely love it. Who made it?"
"Well, it took a few tries, but Apple Bloom is pretty handy with a sewing machine. My big sister had to give her a few pointers, but I think she did a good job."
"Thank you so much, girls. This means a lot to me. Let me go get my vest on, and then we'll get going."
I walked over to the coat hanger where my vest was and quickly put it on under my new cape. Looking inside of it, I noticed that it was lined with golden silk. Now that's craftsmanship.
"Okay, I'm ready," I said, turning back to them. "So, what should we do first?"
"Ooh! I have the perfect idea," said Scootaloo, practically bubbling with excitement. "I talked to a performer in town, and he says that we can use his stage cannon!"
"Stage... cannon?" I squeaked out.
"C'mon, Crusaders, let's go!" she said as she dragged me out the door, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in our wake.
I had a feeling that I was going to regret this.
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This was the BEST DAY EVER!
The four of us had spent the entire day running around town, trying to find our special talents. We had tried more activities and sports than I thought existed, from the aforementioned cannon (which was a blast, pardon the pun) to being tightrope walkers. And while I was officially there to make sure that they didn't hurt themselves, I couldn't help but join in on the fun, my sense of which that my impending trip into the forest had been pushing to the back of my head.
"Well, we are definitely not Cutie Mark Crusader Mixed Martial Artists," said Scootaloo, rubbing a sore spot on her back as we walked out of the Ponyville Gym. "Who's idea was that, anyway?"
"Yours," said Apple Bloom, throwing a glare over to Scootaloo. "My head is gonna be sore all week," she added, putting a hoof to her forehead
"Forget your head, my whole body is killing me," said Sweetie, wincing with every step she took.
"Hey, you can ride on my back if it hurts that much," I said, getting down on my knees with a few sickening pops from the vigorous wailing that they took. This was going to hurt in the morning, I just knew it, but it would be a good kind of hurt.
"Thanks," said Sweetie as she climbed up on my back. With a yawn, she quickly fell asleep, tuckered out from the day's events.
"Hey girls, I need to get Sweetie Belle back to Rarity's. Do you think you can see yourselves home?"
"Aww," whined Scootaloo, "it's not even dark yet. There's still plenty more Crusading we could do."
"It's nearly 7:00, and I'm pretty sure your parents wouldn't want you out after dark. That, and Rarity is probably wondering where Sweetie Belle is. I had a great time today, but I'd say that it's about time we all headed home for the day. All in favor?" I asked, raising my hoof.
Apple Bloom raised hers, and even Sweetie Belle was conscious enough to wearily raise her tiny hoof before it flopped back down.
"Sorry Scoot, but majority rule. Now the two of you get on home. I would hate to get you in trouble with your folks."
"Oh, alright," said Scootaloo, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Next week, though, we are definitely trying archery. See ya around," she said as she galloped off.
"Yeah, see ya later, Evan!" yelled Apple Bloom as she galloped off towards Sweet Apple Acres. "And remember, never give up the fight..."
"Until we have our cutie marks!" I called back, finishing the last line of the Cutie Mark Crusader theme song, which they had been quick to teach me.
I turned around, setting down the cobblestone street that led to Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle sleeping peacefully on my back. Sure, we may not have gotten our cutie marks, but it was just this sort of juvenile fun that I so missed out on when I was their age.
I arrived at Rarity's in about ten minutes, seeing as how it wasn't that far from the gym, to find Rarity pacing outside the shop, practically wearing a hole into the ground.
"Hey Rarity," I said
"Oh thank goodness you're here!" she said as she rushed over to me, panic in her voice. "Have you seen Swe-"
"Don't worry," I said, turning to show her Sweetie Belle on my back, "I've got her."
"Oh, thank you Evan, I have been just worried sick. I know that I shouldn't be, but ever since our parents moved to Manehatten, I'm really the only family that she has here."
"It was no trouble. Hey, Sweetie," I said softly, about to nudge her with my nose.
"No, don't wake her up, I'll take care of this." Her horn quickly lit up, and she took Sweetie Belle in her magic, gently levitating her off of my back and onto hers. "You've done enough today, I'll take it from here. You have a good night," she said over her shoulder as she walked back inside.
"You too," I replied. As I turned to leave, I heard a faint rustling and a set of hooves hitting the ground. I turned to find Sweetie Belle standing behind me, smiling big as life.
"Hey Sweetie. Sorry if I woke you up."
"It's okay. I just wanted to say thanks for the ride home."
"Well, you're very welcome. Just doing my job. Now get inside, I think it's a little bit past your bed time."
Sweetie gave my leg a quick hug before she scurried back inside. "You're the best!" she said just as she closed the door. I turned and started the long trek back to the cottage, a smile touching my lips. Still though, I had to mentally prepare myself for the trip tomorrow. I would've flown, but my new cape didn't let my wings extend like they needed to, and I had nowhere to put it anyway.
Not that I was going to take it off for the rest of the night, anyway.