//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: How to Cross Bridges // Story: What Might Have Been // by GreenFrogRibbit //------------------------------// Disclaimer: There's a story, there's a story, there's a merry old story 'Bout many a cute pony Who laugh and play in the light of day 'Cause Empress Faust made them that way So please do not sue me What Might Have Been Chapter 13: How to Cross Bridges The walk away from the river took place in awkward silence. Coming to grips with everything Twilight had said was certainly a tall order for the five stallions but as usual, Rainbow Blitz was fastest on the uptake. “So you're really from another universe, huh?” Without turning her eyes away from the trail Twilight gave a heavy sigh along with her response. “It would seem so.” “And in this other universe there's another me, right?” “Yes.” “But like, me as a mare?” Equal parts suspicion and confusion seeped into the unicorn's voice as she turned to regard her prismatic partner. “Her name is Rainbow Dash. Yes.” Blitz took this information with a small nod to himself and seemed to think deeply on it for a moment. Assuming his curiosity sated, Twilight returned her attention to the trail. “So... is she hot?” Berry Bubble snorted loudly and began to snigger as Twilight stopped to give her chromatic friend a long suffering look. “Really?” “What?! A stallion's gotta' know these things!” The violet mage could only roll her eyes and smile. She may have traveled distances unfathomable to mortal minds but sometimes it felt like she hadn't even left. “Honestly Rainbow,” Elusive scolded. “Can you not go three days without acting like such a complete-” “Horn-dog?” Applejack finished with a smirk. The alabaster tailor shot a scathing look at the farm-colt. “Yes. That.” Berry Bubble was full on chortling at this point and Twilight was having a hard time keeping her own laughter in check. “Hey, there's nothing wrong with getting a little intel on the competition,” Blitz defended. “After all, there's only room for one most-awesome-pony-in-Ponyville.” “You better watch out, Blitz, my friend Dash would say the same.” The chromatic colt just gave a knowing smirk before he asked, “But seriously, what's she like?” “She's a lot like you,” she said, smiling as the memories welled up in her. “Energetic, daring, at times a little full of herself.” “Ain't that the truth,” Applejack quipped. “Hey!” “She's never once failed to stand up for her friends or her principles even when it might cost her hearts desire... or when they don't really deserve it.” Images of a raggedy old doll and a very miss-used spell tumbled through Twilight's mind as she spoke. The want-it-need-it incident had been entirely her fault but when she stood before Celestia to receive her punishment, Dash had still been the first to jump to her defense. But before any of the other ponies had a chance to question her sudden pensiveness, Twilight perked up and said, “She's been accepted into the Wonderbolt's Academy.” “Wow really?” Blitz's eyes seemed to grow large in admiration of this new revelation. “Yep!” the purple mage continued. “She had her first week of basic training a couple of months ago, and now she's in the cadet reserves.” “Cool,” the chromatic colt said in awe. As she thought about her friend back home, a nagging question pushed it's way to the front of Twilight's attention. “I realize this might sound a bit off topic but if you don't mind me asking; before the festival, did anypony come around and check on the preparations?” Blitz looked confused. “What do you mean, like from the mayor's office?” “No, I mean did Princess Luna send anypony from Canterlot to personally oversee the preparations for the festival? Like, Elusive, I bet you were in charge of decorating town hall,” “Well yes, but how did you kn-” Twilight cut him off as she continued. “And, Rainbow Blitz, you were charged with clearing the sky of clouds. Wasn't there anypony who came to check up on you guys and claimed to be from Canterlot?” “Uh, no. Besides, why would the Princess wast time sending somepony special from Canterlot when they all know how awesome I am already?” Blitz answered. “No one fitting you description came to visit me either, darling. But why the sudden interest?” Twilight felt her heat sink down into her stomach. “Oh... Well then who runs the library in town? Who's the librarian?” Applejack spoke up to answer her. “Ponyville doesn't have librarian, Twi, at least not full time. What's got you so on about this all of a sudden anyway?” For a moment Twilight was silent. She briefly considered trying to pass her inquisitiveness off as idle curiosity but considering the events back on the river bank, she decided that might not be such a good idea. That left explaining her worries as her only option. Her fear that here, in this world, Twilight Sparkle didn't exist. “It's... it's what I should have done, if I were here.” “But I thought you said you only got here today?” Berry asked in confusion. “Not me me. I mean it's what I did in my own world. The day before the Summer Sun Celebration I was sent from Canterlot to check up on all the preparations. That's how I met my friends. And back home I run the Ponyville library. It's my place, the part I play in all this. But here that part's empty. Like it was never cast at all.” Her voice dropped down to a whisper. “Like I was never born.” Silence fell as the other five ponies digested her words. These were heavy thoughts indeed that hung from Twilight's heart, and none of them like seeing her so down. Applejack decided to take the initiative in dispelling her melancholy. “I can't rightly imagine what the idea that you might not ever'a been born is making you feel like, but what matters is that you're here now. And we wouldn't have made it half this far if it weren't for you.” “Yeah!” Berry exclaimed. “And now that you're here, it means you get to be friends with us all over again. We also happen to get to save the world, but that's just a nice bonus.” She couldn't help but giggle at that. “Indeed Twilight. There's really no point in worrying over what might have been when we have the here-and-now to concern ourselves with,” Elusive added. “For the moment you're here with us, and we'll stand by you through thick and thin.” A warm smile lit her features at his decree. “Thanks guys. I needed that.” “Hey it's like you said, 'it's what friends are for.'” Rainbow Blitz said while tossing his mane. Butterscotch had remained silent throughout this whole conversation. It wasn't that he didn't hold some curiosity regarding his potential other self, nor that he was unconcerned with Twilight's anxiety, but all four of the other colts had already shared an intimate, heartfelt moment with her. They're more her friend's than I, he thought to himself. I'm not brave like Rainbow or strong like Applejack. I'm just a cowardly pegasus who can barley fly. Huddled on his back between his wings, the minicore picked up on his new caretaker's distress. Purring in it's strange insectoid way, it nuzzled the back of Butterscotch's neck and began to knead its paws into his back. The colt hummed in appreciation. “Thank you, my friend. But I do not think that will help.” He sighed deeply. “I just want to be finished with this quest so we can go back home.” “Garou raow rrdrrdrrdrrd.” The tiny predator purred back in response. “I know, but it's true. I can't fly well or cast spells or-” “Gerrrraww graow rrgrrgr” “No, I cant do that either but that's besides the point. Ponies are vegetarians after all.” “Rarrg prrdrrdrrdr.” “Thank you, but I think you should leave that to me now. Your not quite as big as you once were.” The pint sized predator stopped its massage of Butterscotch's back to glare back at him. “Hahhhssssss,” it hissed in displeasure before turning around and pointedly ignoring the yellow colt. He was just about to try rousing the minicore from it's huff when Twilight's voice caught his attention. “Speaking of the here-and-now, we're here.” As the trees opened, the shape of a torn and weathered ruin swam into view. Once tall towers of heartless gray stone scrapped skyward in defiance of the wild forest that would one day claim them. The vaulted peaks floated unbound from earth or sky above a thick swirl of fog which concealed the lower halls and surrounding grounds. Before them stretched a yawning chasm from which the mist and haze billowed up, smelling strongly of swamp water. At the edge nearby stood a pair of mossy stone pylons, dutifully marking where a bridge once hung. “Here it is,” Twilight said in a hushed tone. “The ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, and the last known resting place of the Elements of Harmony.” For a moment her five companions could only stand in awe. At last Applejack spoke. “So it's real then. Solar Flare, the Elements, you.” He paused, collecting his thoughts. “Somehow, I didn't quite believe it until now, but this is all really happening, isn't it?” As he looked to Twilight she gave a solemn nod. “Indeed it is.” “How are we to cross the canyon though?” Elusive asked “Well in my world, the bridge was mostly intact and hanging from this side. Rainbow Dash was able to fly down, grab it, and tie it off on the other side.” Five pairs of eyes settled on Rainbow Blitz, who nervously rubbed the back of his mane “Yeah, about that...” he said, spreading his still badly charred wings. “No more flight feathers for a while, remember?” “Well then that just leaves-” “Meep!” Butterscotch crouched down and hid his face in his hooves at the sudden attention. “Awe, come on Butters, don't be like that,” Rainbow chided. “All you have to do is fix the bridge and we're in the clear.” “B-but it's so foggy, we can't even see the other side, or the bottom!” “You don't have to be a scaredie-pony, Butterscotch,” Berry bubbled. “It's just a hop, skip, and a-hurk!” Before he could complete his demonstration, Applejack grabbed Berry's curly pink tail with his teeth and roughly yanked the bouncy colt away from the edge. “Woh there, that's about enough of that!” he said after removing the tail from his mouth. “Hows about we not go jumping around right next to the bottomless chasm of doom, eh?” Berry playfully stuck out his tongue. “Party pooper.” Applejack rolled his eyes before continuing to address his timid pegasus friend. “Come on now, we all need that bridge to be fixed and you're the only one who can do it. It won't take you but a minute and then you'll be done.” “But I'm not even that strong of a flier! What if I can't lift it, or if I get lost in the fog?” “That's not gonna happen, Butterscotch. Just flap those wings of yours and git 'er done.” It was clear the pragmatic farm colt was staring to get a bit frustrated. “Honestly, I can't imagine what it is you're so afraid of dear. Judging from the ruins it can't be more than fifty meters from here to there,” Elusive chimed in. “But I... it's...” “Yeah, Butters, I've seen you fly through worse clouds back in Cloudsdale, and these aren't even that bad to begin with.” Butterscotch was wilting under the scrutiny of his four friends. He knew what they were saying was all true and that he should just get up and do it, but he couldn't. He just couldn't, and even in his own mind he was scolding himself for his inaction. Just go. Do it. Jump off the ledge and fly down there. Why can't I do it? What's wrong with me? It's not that far just do it you coward. JUMP! The clamor of voices, mostly his own, filled with derision and scorn ground down his will and tears began to fill his eyes. His insides felt like they were pulling themselves apart. All he wanted to do was jump but his wings just would not obey. He hid behind his bangs and his hooves, squeezing his eyes shut tight and wishing it would all go away. A tender hoof upon his cheek brought his thoughts to a halt. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked up into the warm smile of Twilight Sparkle. “Guys,” she said without breaking eye contact. “Could you give the two of us a few minutes alone?” The other four ponies paused to consider her rather unexpected request. “Please?” now she did look back. “I promise it wont take long.” Applejack, Elusive, Berry, and Blitz all looked between themselves before shrugging there shoulders. “Sure, but don't take too long,” Rainbow replied. “We've still gotta save the world and all.” With that her friends moved off a ways along the canyon, giving Twilight the opportunity to speak with the yellow pegasus in private. For his own part, Butterscotch was rather confused by the violet unicorn's behavior. Once she had helped him to his hooves she sidled up next to him and quietly sat, looking toward the ruins in the distance. For a moment they stayed like that, side by side in companionable silence. “Her name is Fluttershy.” Twilight said at last. “Who?” “Fluttershy.” She looked down at her hooves smiling in remembrance. “The mare version of you in my world.” A little chuckle escaped her. “I remember this one time, I went into the Everfree Forest on my own to see a good friend, but I ran into trouble on the way. Did you know there are cockatrises still living in this forest? I didn't. I though they'd all died out or migrated further away from civilization. But there's at least one left, and I found it.” Butterscotch's eyes grew wide in horror. “That's awful. How did you get away?” Twilight was silent for a long moment, dredging up this particular memory was not in any way pleasant. “I didn't.” She took a shuddering breath and tried to swallow down the rising panic that reliving this moment was bringing on. “It... it got me, Butterscotch. It got me dead in the eyes. And just before everything went dark, I could feel it petrifying me.” Her composure was rapidly eroding but Twilight pressed on with her story. “At the time, Fluttershy was hosting a sleepover with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo at her house. You can't imagine how rambunctious those three fillies can be when they're together. Anyway long story short, Fluttershy's chickens somehow got loose and those three decided they had to go track them down through the forest in the middle of the night. As soon as she figured out where those fillies had gone, Fluttershy ran after them to make sure they were ok.” Twilight paused again to collect her thoughts. “If she'd have been there even a second later, it would have been too late. As it was, Fluttershy found Applebloom and her friends just as the cockatrise found them too. Fluttershy managed to get the girls behind her but that left her facing the creatures gaze eye to eye.” Butterscotch was gnawing his hoof in anticipation by this point in her story. But when Twilight looked over to him, she had a crooked smile on her face. “She didn't get turned to stone though.” “Really?” “Nope. She stared right back at that thing and willed it into submission with her eyes alone. In fact, she so scared the cockatrise that she got it to change me back all on it's own. When I asked Sweetie Belle about it later though, she said that some of her lower body had started to turn to stone before she came out on top. Apparently it was pretty close, but for staring down a cockatrise, what can you expect?” The purple mare chucked a bit at that while Butterscotch simply gaped in awe. “I got curious about the whole thing sometime later and I asked her about it. About being partially turned to stone like that,” she said, somber once again. “I had been having nightmares about it, you see. Dreams where I'd start to loose feeling in my hooves, and that icy chill would slowly creep up my limbs, crushing me, suffocating...” She took a deep breath. “I wanted to know how Fluttershy was dealing with it because it didn't seem to bother her at all. When I talked to her about it and told her of the nightmares I'd been having, she was at first confused. She didn't quite know what I was talking about. You see, she hadn't even though about that night at all since it had happened. It was like it was just a bad mane day for her. It was done, and that was it. “When I asked if she could feel the petrification she said she had, but that at the time all she could think about was getting the girls to safety. 'Didn't it frighten you?' 'Doesn't it haunt you?' I asked. But she just calmly shrugged it off. 'Not really,' she said.” Twilight shook her head and laughed. “Not really,” she repeated. “Like water off a duck's back. You'd think she was talking about the weather for all it bothered her,” she said with a smile. Butterscotch took it all in with awe. To think a mare version of him had done all that, and shaken it off like a true badass to boot. Too bad I'm not more like her, he thought to himself. “She sounds amazing,” he meekly said. “You are.” “What?” “The two of you are a lot alike, and in more ways than just looks. You both have a passion for animals, you both hate public speaking, you're both really shy but a great friend underneath.” Butterscotch blushed at the praise but Twilight went on. She was taking a gamble with this bit, but she had a sneaking suspicion it would work. “You both are older than you look, you both conduct a song bird choir, you're both fascinated by nature and contrary to what most ponies assume you're not afraid of spiders.” Now he was starting to get a little creeped out by Twilight's uncanny knowledge of him, but still she pressed on. “Your favorite flower is an orchid, your favorite color is green, you often go to the spa to relax, and even though I've only heard it a few times, you have a lovely singing voice.” Eyes wide staring, Butterscotch could only mumble. “How do you know all this about me?” “I know this about you because I know Fluttershy. And I know the same strength that's in her is in you. You are her, Butterscotch. You're the bravest, kindest, most courageous pony I've ever met, and I would give my left hoof to have half the courage you do.” She wrapped the butter colt in a tight hug. “It may seem like I know what I'm doing most of the time but the truth is, I'd fall apart without you and the others.” He held her, silently absorbing her words. She pulled away, looking him in the eyes with a beatific smile, and he spoke. “But I'm not really that courageous, I'm afraid all the time.” Another warm smile. “A very wise pony once said that courage isn't the absence of fear, it's doing what you must in spite of it. It's the strength you have in here,” she place her hoof over his heart. “And I've never seen a stronger heart than yours.” “Do you really meant that?” “I really do.” He looked down to where her hoof rested on his chest, feeling her warmth through it. Taking a deep breath he looked back up, and this time Twilight saw steel in his eyes. Wordlessly he walked over to the canyon ledge, spread his wings, and closed his eyes. Slowly he let his weight lean further and further forward over the cliff. Then he thought of Fluttershy. She's got real sand, shrugging off almost being turned to stone. Like water off a ducks back. He he. I like that. I'll have to tell it to Mr. Mallard once I get back. Wind rushed past his face and when he opened his eyes he was flying. What was more, there was no fear, no anxiety, just his feathery yellow wings gently sliding through calm air. He smiled. It had been a long time since Butterscotch had enjoyed flying, and this was certainly not the way it usually went when he did. This was different though. Right now he felt light, unburdened by the anxiety that normally squeezed him into crippling inaction. He knew he was afraid but somehow, Twilight's kind words and her faith in him had pushed his worry away. He wasn't all that far from the cliff face though. He still couldn't see through to the other side of the menacing fog bank ahead, and he still needed to repair the bridge. Banking into a turn, he located the dangling ropes and planks that were his goal. As he hovered down to find it's end, the smells of swamp and rot became stronger. The thick acrid air lanced his sinuses and caused a throbbing to develop in his skull. A stray thought wondered through Butterscotch's calm and with it came a twinge fear. What if I'm overcome by the swamp gases? What if I pass out and fall? They'd never find me! His stomach clenched but he quickly found the dangling end of the ropes and wrapped them around his hoof. As he did so he chanced to look down to the fuming chasm below. There protruding up through the vapors and fog were the very tips of long spears of stone. Ground and polished they were by mindless erosion into needle sharp points. Were he to fall here, or slip, or descend any more than he already had, his friends wouldn't need to find him. He would be impaled on those jagged tines, run through for all to see. Butterscotch's hooves began to tremble as his earlier tranquility seeped away. His wings fumbled for purchase in the rank air. I have to get back up. I have to fly! he thought to himself as the first slimy threads of panic slipped through his veins. In a rush he speed up the face of the cliff and back into the cleaner air of the woods. Sweet fresh sky filled his lungs with every breath, and Butterscotch could see that his friends had returned. Standing there with Twilight, the other four ponies had looks of impressed surprise adorning their faces. And not for nothing was this the case. Looking down, the yellow colt saw the remnants of the bridge still tightly wound around his hoof. He was doing it. Then he looked out into the thick billowing cloud of swamp gas he still had to cross, and his rapidly eroding courage fell even further. Up ahead of him the fumes were thicker and he still couldn't see the other side. And he knew that lurking below, reaching claws of rock were waiting to claim him should he fall. He gulped and looked back to Twilight. There he saw not surprise in her features, but pride. You can do it, she silently mouthed to him. The calm she had inspired in him had worn off. Now he really was afraid again, and he knew it. But he had come this far already, he couldn't give up now. He took a deep breath, feeling the adrenaline and stress course through him, the physiological evidence of his fright. “Courage isn't the absence of fear,” he whispered to himself. Buzzing his wings and darting forward he finished, “it's doing what you must in spite of i-HURK!” The rope snapped taught and Butter's forward momentum whipped his body around in a dizzying one-eighty. Flailing frantically to regain his equilibrium, one of the yellow colt's rear hooves found purchase on a rocky ledge. As he brought his wings to bear, Butterscotch found himself standing just on the lip of the far cliff. He had made it, and just as Elusive had predicted, the gap was no more than fifty meters wide. There to his left was the stone pylon he was looking for. After fumbling with the knots for a minute he finally got the ropes secure and began trotting back across his new accomplishment. As he emerged from the fog on the other side he was met with a chorus of cheers and smiles. “Alright Butters, we knew you had it in you!” Rainbow Blitz said with a pat on the back. “Yeah, way to go man! Hoof-bump!” Berry demanded. But dispite the attention from the other four, Butterscotch walked right up to Twilight and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you for believing in me,” he said. The purple mare hugged him back. “I never doubted you for a second.” Their tender moment was quickly interrupted however, as Applejack began pushing the two of them toward the ruined castle. “Alright, enough sappy stuff. We got a job to do after all,” he said with a smile. “Indeed,” Elusive added. “I think it's high time we finish this quest!” “Yeah!” Berry Bubble cheered from up ahead. And with gleeful confidence five ponies marched forward to meet their destinies.