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// Contrast In The Yellow Light 
// Story: The Colors Of A New World 
// by LordOfTape 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 9: Contrast In The Yellow Light
“Whahaha, damn Crach, you, you know you’re, you funny.” I garbled.
“Pfft aheheheh, he’s like, he’s totally like drunk, colt.” Blues chuckled
“And you’re not…waaaait, whereded , where’d you go, Greens?” Scratch mumbled.
“He’s like, right in front of you Vinyl. Like, he’s standing like, right there. No, right there, right there, oh over there?” Octavia bumbled about, waving her arm all over the place. 
“Oct, Octy, October, Octopus., yeah that’s it! Octopus, Blues is totally on the floor.” I tried explaining, failing miserably so.
“Hey, my name’s Octagonacal not Artapurpal.” The grey mare corrected me as she too fell to the floor with a hard bang and loud laughter.
“Whoa, colts, like, colts.” Vinyl tried to speak.
“What, Milo, what is it? You didn’t like, drop the bass or anything did you?” I ask, eyes wide with fear of a dropped base.
“No, I have an idea. Like, it’s a good idea. All we have to do is like, plug the wires into our ears, and then our brains will play on the speakers and stuff.” She replied, motioning with her hooves the process of plugging wires in our heads and having stuff come out.
“You are a genius. We’re totally gonna do that and like…” I trailed off, looking at the two collapsed ponies, sleeping happily on the dance floor.
My vision, blurred and unclear, began to cease functioning altogether. I felt a slight sway in my neck, as if my head was bobbing back and forth. Soon enough, my entire body began following in its path. It was so peaceful, so relaxing, that I let it continue doing so. I could totally fall over doing ------
Oh Celestia, why is it so bright? My eyes are closed and I can still feel the sun trying ever so hard to rip through my eyelids. Turning my head into the surface beneath, I find a dark shelter away from the yellow devil. Wait, there was a pillow covering my head…where did I get a pillow?
Realizing the only possible way to know where my new surroundings were, I groaned. I’d have to open my eyes. Slowly lifting the veil of my eyelids, I let the searing sun shoot right into my oversensitive pupils.
“Argh.” I groan, shutting my eyes and placing my hooves over my face to cover them further.
“Oh my, you’ve finally awoken.” A cheerfully soft voice squeaked.
The tone of the voice sounded almost like a whisper, but the noise that came from it was far louder. Where the heck was I? What happened last night? Who was talking to me? Again, the answer came in the solemn form of waking up.
With just as much effort as my previous attempt, I opened my unwilling eyes. This time, I did not shut them due to the unbearable sunlight. Instead I opened them wide, trying to get them to adjust to the new day. Unfortunately, it would be a while before I could see properly. 
The mysterious voice spoke again, “Did you sleep alright? I know my bed is a bit small for a stallion like you, but I thought it would be better than the couch downstairs.”
It was definitely a girl, or mare, eh same thing here anyways. She sounded almost afraid of my answer, like it would terrible if I hadn’t slept well. It was a meek voice, and I still got the feeling that she was whispering.
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words came out so loud that I stopped quickly, grimacing in agonizing ear pain. To make it worse, I heard the galloping of hooves leaving the room with haste. Each new noise just rang awful bells over and over inside of my eardrums.
“Drink this.” Nudged the voice with her nose.
Still unable to see, I fumbled my hooves around trying to grasp the drink. Seeing my confusion, the kind mare placed the bowl in my hoof and pushed both towards my face. I began to drink the liquid, not even bothering to think what might be in it. Almost instantly I felt the banging inside of my head fade away. 
With a sigh of relief, I tried opening my eyes again. Smiling, I thanked the mare. As my eyes fully adjusted to the light, I could finally make out the face of my unknown helper.
“Fluttershy!?” I gasped.
“Oh, hello. I’ll take it that because you’re so awake that the medicine worked then?”
“I, well, yes I guess, but what’re you doing here?”
“Well, this is my house, um you know, where I live.” She slowly backed away, my increase in volume frightening her.
“Oh,” I blushed, picking up the scenery, “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s ok. I know you had a long night last night.” She smiled.
Catching my drifting thoughts, I asked her “What happened last night anyways?”
“Pinkie threw a huge party, you don’t remember?” 
“Oh that’s right.”  I answered, beginning to remember the events of the previous night. “There was a band, right?”
“Oh Drumroll, of course there was a band. You were in it.” she squeaked, poking a bit of fun at my deliriousness.
Wow, I really couldn’t remember anything. I played in a band? That must’ve been amazing. I wonder if I played well? Maybe that would explain why I recalled talking with Vinyl. Even if that was the case though, how could I have ended up here, in Fluttershy’s cottage? I figured the best way to find answers to my questions was to actually ask them, so I did.
“Why am I here Fluttershy?”
With an entranced look on her face, she let her gaze melt away towards the window. The turn of her head placed her eyes in front of the clouds. It was as if my question flicked a switch in her head that turned her brain off. Or was it on?
“Why is anyone here?” she replied with a whisper.
The spacious stare was broken by the sounds of a teapot going off in what I presumed to be the kitchen. The yellow pegasus’ gaze reformed as she hastened towards the whistle. In a mere passing of moments, she returned with a glass of tea in her mouth. She placed it on a table nearby and proceeded to lift it to her mouth with her wings. How useful.
Putting the cup down she said, “I’m sorry, but you really shouldn’t drink anything for a few hours after taking that medicine.” And with a childish grin and light chuckle she added, “Besides, you drank plenty last night.”
It was her turn to absorb me in her speech. The joke had sparked a chain reaction of memories to return. Pinkie had her giant party and there were hundreds of ponies there. There was a band, but they didn’t have their drummer. I went up to play and we rocked out all night long. And then….and then…
“My cutie mark!” I screamed excitedly, whipping my neck around to see my flank.
“That’s right, you got your cutie mark last night didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I barely even remember it now though.” I said, saddened by the blurry memory.
“The party got very rowdy after the concert though. Ponies were so loud and rude, shoving other around and having too much to drink.” 
I looked down, ashamed in the realization of my actions, “I’m sorry Fluttershy.”
“Oh no, not you!” she corrected, a large grin prefacing her face. “You didn’t get all mad like other ponies, you actually seemed like you were laughing and having fun with Octavia all night.”
Upon revealing what she thought of my last night, she promptly finished sipping her tea and returned to the kitchen with the glass. From the other room I heard her call out to me, “I’m going to step outside.”
Not wanting to feel left out, and still feeling a bit awkward about being inside of her house, I decided to join her. Unlike the many times before, I neither had to strain nor rush myself to get up from bed this time. It was a nice feeling, slowly lifting my body out from the covers and placing my hooves nicely on the wooden floor. With a quick stretch, I went off to find the door.
It was downstairs, obviously, although I had forgotten my place inside of the house. Opening both parts, I took my first steps into the sunny day. The warm sunlight shinned on me and worked its way into my muscles, relaxing my whole body. The fresh air was equally delicious to the senses, the quizzical aromas thrilling my nose.
Not too far from the entrance, standing atop a small mound of a hill, was the tall and elegant Fluttershy. Her coat glistened in the light of the day’s shimmering sun. Her yellow form nearly blended into the fiery ball in the sky. I had expected such a bright flash to stun me as it had before, but this was different. The light did not disturb or mistreat my eyes, but instead it drew them in, healing them as Fluttershy healed me. 
Still standing centered between the sun and myself, Fluttershy spread her beautiful wings. The motion allowed for each golden feather to cast its own reflective shadow on the ground below as they erupted from her sides.  When her wings were finally fully raised, I could see the perfection in the picture. For it was when the sun had been blocked from my view that I understood. It wasn’t the sun that gave me the warm feeling; it was Fluttershy. 
As if she knew I would follow, she said to me, not even turning her head “You’re different, Drumroll.”
The voice beckoned me forward, and forward I went until I reached the yellow feathered mare ahead. As I approached, she lowered her wings and turned to meet me.
“What do you mean by that, Fluttershy?” I asked her.
“I mean this.” She said, waving her hoof across the entirety of her house and ‘yard’. 
“I still don’t understand.” I responded, confused.
“I can’t quite place my hoof on it, but there’s something odd about you. I had seen you walking to Pinkie’s with the cider and wondered what had happened to Big Macintosh. I called out to you, but I guess you didn’t hear me, which is ok, it’s not your fault, I probably should’ve been louder.” She apologized unnecessarily.  “I wanted to talk to you, but you went into Pinkie’s. I’m not, um, well, I don’t like crowds.” Her voice trailing off, becoming quieter and quieter.
“That’s alright. I’m sorry that I didn’t hear you.”
“Oh no, it’s not your fault at all. I should’ve been quicker. But I had to find out about Big Macintosh. I don’t know what I’d do if he was hurt.”
I grimaced at the thought. Not wanting to keep her in the dark, I interrupted “Actually, he’s in the hospital. I’m so sorry.” I tried finding the right way to say it, but it didn’t seem right at all.
The reaction I received was far different from what I expected. “Oh I know. I heard about it from Pinkie. I actually went to see him, his operation went well. He’ll be back on his feet in no time. A big, tough stallion like Macky won’t let an injury stop him. Although I wish he’d slow down…”
Did she just call him ‘Macky’? in fact, the interest she had taken in him was oddly out of place, at least for what I knew. But it wasn’t my place to assume anything. More important was what Fluttershy had to say about me.
“You said you talked to Pinkie?”
“Yes, at the party.”
“But I thought you didn’t like crowds?”
“Well, you see, I needed to know about Macky,” there she goes again “so I followed you down. Well, it took me a long time, but I finally mustered up the courage to go down into the dark, um, loud basement. Then I kind of, um, got lost. It was really scary.” Her voice almost went into soft trembles, but she continued anyways “It’s fine though, because even though I was scared, somepony came to help me.”
“Who was that?” I asked, her story as captivating as her wings.
With the same jovial giggle she responded with “You.” 
The blank stare on my face told her I needed some explanation. 
“You tapped my shoulder while I was huddled on the floor and picked me up. You asked me what was wrong and brought me over to your table. You were all getting drunk, which I wasn’t happy about, but you were nice enough ponies. You spent the time making jokes and funny faces trying to cheer me up. And it worked. I couldn’t help but smile. After all, you told me, “ 
I cut her off, remembering the same scene, “Life’s a party. Don’t forget it, just forget about it. And there are two things you must always leave a party with; friends and a smile.”
As I spoke, I too smiled at the passing of time. The night had come full circle now in my mind, each piece and pony taking their spot on the stage of my memory. For after that night, Fluttershy walked me to her house, I myself being completely inebriated. She laid me quietly to bed and promised to be there in the morning. 
“And that’s just what I left with.” She said, smiling also.
Still happy, and questions still unanswered, I badgered further. “But why does that set me apart? Why am I so different?”
Taking a second to think it over she said “I’m usually really, um, shy around other ponies.” I chuckled at this, but let her continue, “But around you, I don’t feel so shy. It almost like I’m with another one of the forests creatures when I’m with you. I just don’t feel scared by you, unlike the other ponies. It’s almost like, you’re not a pony.”
Her way of announcing this was so matter of fact, and almost out of character that I had no idea what to say. Could she really sense that I was a human? Did she even know what a human was? In fact, did she care? Why did she act like none of it even mattered?
Worried she hastened with an annotation to her statement, “But I don’t mean to insult you or call you a non pony, please don’t think that. I just don’t feel the same pressure around you that I do around other ponies.”
My lack of response compelled her to continue. “It might be that I knew we’d be friends. I mean, I don’t feel shy around Twilight anymore, or Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, or Applejack either. In fact, they helped me learn to be more assertive. They’re such good friends.”
The last track had been set mentally, and Fluttershy just set the train off on them. With the mention of Applejack, this morning, last night, and the day before all snapped together. And included in that vivacious montage of hard rocking and hard drinking was the promise I made to Applejack to help her out at the farm.
Noticing my disheartened face, Fluttershy asked “Did I say something? Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to, I swear. Please don’t be sad.”
Not even listening I asked her “Where is Applejack’s farm from here?”
“Oh, Sweet Apple Acres is right over there.” She answered as she pointed her hoof out west.
“Thanks, gotta go, bye!” I shouted as I ran past her towards the farm with a renewed sense of urgency.
“Wait!” she called out to me.
I wouldn’t stop though, Applejack would already kill me as it was. Running as fast as I could, I only focused on the trail ahead of me. My narrowed view only made it worse when the quiet mare flew right in front of me. 
Landing firmly on the ground and announcing in a strong tone, Fluttershy demanded that I “STOP!”
Still in full rush, I couldn’t slow fast enough and crashed into her. She stood tall though, even with my full weight thrown into her.  Rubbing my head as I stood up, my eyes caught hers and froze. Her once small and frail figure now loomed over me like a monstrous mountain of power.
The stare.
My whole body froze up instantly. I couldn’t even move my mouth to respond. Seeing that I was completely caught in her spell, Fluttershy pulled a large brown hat from beneath her wing. With a quick, soft tap, she placed it on my head.
“You wouldn’t want to forget this now would you?” she smiled as if nothing was wrong at all. “I can see you’ve got somepony you need to see, so I won’t keep you long. I just wanted to give you your hat and thank you for the wonderful time last night. I hope we get to see each other again sometime soon.”
I was still frozen in the effect of the stare, even without her penetrating eyes drilling into my soul. She wasn’t expecting a reply though, and simply took a quick hug and flew off back to her cottage in the woods. 
My eyes blinked once and my head shot back, taking my whole body off balance. As I wobbled, a few yellow feathers fell from my coat. One of Fluttershy’s feathers to be more exact. Forgetting my current situation for a moment’s time, I picked up one of the flowers with my teeth. It was the same beautiful yellow as she always was, and always would be. With the same goofy smile I always had, I placed the feather in AJ’s hat and continued my run.
As the wind rushed through my mane and by my ears, I could hear the often nonsensical blathering of my shoulder hoppers.
To the left, “How will you make things right with Applejack?”
And to the right, “Better hope she’s not mad. Don’t want one of those hooves pointed in your direction.”