I returned later with the pizza and a board game we could all play. We tore through that pizza in short order, as three of us were ravenous fillies whose hobbies involved collateral damage, one dude whose hobbies included exercise, and one mare whose hobbies had something to do with animals. Fluttershy offered us something to drink from the fridge, so I pushed my luck and slyly asked for some tomato juice. Fluttershy squeaked out an excuse about having run clean out, so we settled on carrot juice.
There were five of us, so it was a good thing I brought a six player game. The game was Monopoly, which I found odd at first. Everything I found in Equestria had some kind of equivalent back where I was from. For example, Arcane: The Maddening was just Magic for ponies and the Power Ponies were just a more cartoonishly overblown pony version of the Justice League. You'd think Monopoly would have a different name as well, but that wasn't the case. It made sense when I thought about it; there's only so many things you can call a game named after a business practice.
I also thought that this was the one game I could actually win. Spike kicks my ass all the time in these things, and while I couldn't quite figure out why, at least he wasn't here. I was the only one there who had a strategy in addition to my knowledge of how things work, so I believed I had the best chances of winning out of everyone.
While I wish I could say that I immediately amassed great wealth and power, that would be a grave misrepresentation of what actually happened. It was incredible; Scootaloo had all the utilities, Sweetie Belle had the railroads, Apple Bloom had hotels on all of the properties on one side of the board, and even Fluttershy had the equivalent of Boardwalk and Park Place. I didn't have shit! Two green properties, a yellow property, and the purple ones weren't much comfort to me when all of them were mortgaged!
I tapped my game piece along the board, counting all the way to certain doom. I counted to nine, and landed on just one of the many spaces I dreaded: Waterworks. Scootaloo smiled greedily and held out her hoof expectantly. "Ninety bits, Twilight."
I looked down at the space where I was keeping my money and properties with grave apprehension. I only had fifty three bits. "Uh, I don't suppose you'd want a mortgaged Bargain Barn?"
"That works." I levitated the card into the filly's waiting hoof, and she looked it over with smug satisfaction. "You suck at this game."
I pushed myself up from my seat and pointed menacingly at her. "I'll get you yet, you carrot-colored extortionist!"
"With what, your empty wallet?" She mocked.
I shook with rage. I was about to make another empty game-related threat when Fluttershy stepped in. "Now now, Scootaloo, you really shouldn't antagonize others like that."
"I can't help it; Twilight's pretty funny when she's angry!"
My temper flared. "You like me angry?" I tore her game piece off the board with a hand pulsating with fury. "Then say goodbye to your airship!" I turned around and chucked it at Fluttershy's front door. The game piece bounced off the door handle at just the right angle to launch right back into my eye with enough force to knock me through Fluttershy's living room table, sending all the cards and game pieces scattering to the floor. "Augh!"
While the others had the decency to look worried for me, Scootaloo merely laughed. "See what I mean?"
Fluttershy knelt down to check on me. "Are you alright, Twilight?"
I kept pressure on my eye and groaned at my misfortune. "I was punted into the ceiling by a god; a tiny metal boat is nothing." I sighed. "Sorry about the table."
"It's okay. I'm just glad you're alright."
"Thanks." I sat up and opened my afflicted eye. I know this isn't how eye injuries work, but I swear that there was a blind spot in the center of my eye shaped like a boat. I even made sure that the game piece I threw was not lodged in my eye. "Uh, I'll fix your table a little later. I just need to check my eye."
I went upstairs to Fluttershy's bathroom and flicked on the light. I peered into the mirror and closely examined my eye. It was tearing up and stung like hell, and it seemed like there was a slight indentation. I still saw a tiny boat when I blinked. I sighed with frustration and cast Least Object Calling, summoning an eye-patch. With how often I get injured around here, I'm glad I was prepared.
With the eye-patch covering my eye and my depth perception temporarily on ice, I walked back downstairs pleased to see that the others had already cleaned up the game. They looked up at my approach and Fluttershy gasped. "Oh my, is it that bad?"
"Don't worry about it." I dismissed her concern. "With this eye-patch, I'm ready to sing pirate songs for a while. I think I'll start with Set Sail and Conquer."
Fluttershy smiled uncertainly at my optimism. "Well, at least you're happy about it." Fluttershy's cuckoo clock rang to signal the turn of another hours. Fluttershy looked up to it and noted the time. "Oh, it's getting late. We really should be going to bed."
"But ah ain't tired!" Apple Bloom protested.
"Yeah, can't we stay up a little longer?" Sweetie pleaded.
"I'm sorry girls, but it's already ten o'clock." Fluttershy explained. "We should all get some sleep."
The Crusaders moaned, but made no further attempt to argue. Fluttershy ushered them upstairs, since I guessed they were going to sleep in her bed. "Good night, Crusaders, don't let the bedbugs bite. Except you, Scootaloo. I hope you get eaten alive." Scootaloo flashed me a chuckling grin, and they all disappeared upstairs.
I looked down at the mess that I had to clean up. The table's legs were completely torn off with splintered wood lying every which way. I wasn't looking forward to working on this, but I suppose it had to be done. I held out my hands and levitated all the splinters into one big convenient ball that I stashed in the corner of the room. With my workspace cleared of clutter, I knelt down, raised the table's top, and grabbed one of the legs. I aligned the leg with the corner where it used to be on the table and readied a minor repair spell.
HUSH NOW, QUIET NOW
IT'S TIME TO LAY YOUR SLEEPY HEAD!
The sudden explosion of sound caught me off guard and startled me into jumping and letting go of everything in my hands. The table's lower corner slammed right into my bare toes. "AURGH!" I pulled my foot out from under the blasted surface and gripped my aching extremity in pain. I glared up the stairs towards the offending voice of Sweetie Belle. That's the second time I got hurt around/because of these kids. I wasn't superstitious (though my life up to that point should have changed that), but I was really hoping there wouldn't be a third time to be a charm.
There was a slight commotion upstairs, but I figured it was just everyone reacting to Sweetie Belle's singing. Good voice, phenomenal volume, poor timing. Yep, that's all it must have been. I returned to my task of table repair. I seamed the table back together leg by leg with my magic. Piece by piece, the table came back together as it was before my mighty fall. I slid it back into its original position and nodded at a good night's work. Problem solved.
The front door to the cottage opened behind me and I spun to face who was entering. It was Fluttershy with the Crusaders, but I thought they were still upstairs! Guess they must have jumped out at some point. "Where were you guys?"
"Fluttershy's chickens were on the loose, and we got to see Fluttershy's freaky Stare!" Scootaloo excitedly explained.
"Wait," I said, holding up a hand. "You mean to tell me that Fluttershy used the fabled vampiric gaze of domination, and I missed it?"
"Well, it's not necessarily a vampony power..." Fluttershy feebly attempted to explain.
"Man, I never get to see the cool stuff." I groused. "I missed the Rainboom, I missed Rarity talking those dogs out of their valuables, and now I missed you using your cool vampire powers! My timing sucks!"
Fluttershy's eyes shifted to the Crusaders with a nervous chuckle. "Now come along girls, we really need to get you to bed." She hurriedly pushed them along, apparently eager to not discuss this, especially with other ponies in the room.
The Crusaders made no effort to argue, and they disappeared upstairs again. I waited where I stood for Fluttershy to emerge to at least say farewell before I leave. I casually wiped some dust off the table just in time for Fluttershy to come back down. "Hey Fluttershy, is there anywhere you want me to put that ball of splinters?" I asked.
"If you could, would you mind putting it out back in the trash?"
"You keep your trash bin in your backyard?"
Fluttershy nodded meekly. "It's so nopony has to look at it when they pass by."
I considered bringing up how no one would pass by Fluttershy's house unless they were on their way to the Everfree Forest, but I decided against it. "Sure. I'll do that real quick, and I'll be heading home."
"Thank you, Twilight. It was wonderful to have you over." She said with an accommodating smile.
"Yeah, I had a pretty good time, myself. See you later, Fluttershy."
"Bye." She waved as I left.
I levitated the ball of splinters out with me to the backyard. I opened the little grey bin with one hand and dumped the ball in there. I slammed it shut and wiped my hands with finality. I looked around to see if there was anything I was missing. Concluding that there was nothing I missed, I walked around to the front and headed along the path home. Full moon tonight, so it was easy to see where I was going. Then again, there was always a full moon. Strange meteorological phenomenon, that. Just another thing I'll have to look up when I've got the time.
I made it quite a ways down the street when I thought I heard a door close nearby. It was a tiny detail, but one that I caught nonetheless. I idly looked around as I walked to see who was coming out this late at night. No one was opening their doors. I looked behind me to see if it was Fluttershy's house, and it was, but I could tell it wasn't Fluttershy herself. Fluttershy was taller and definitely less numerous than the three tiny forms I could make out in the distance. I stopped and looked over to them, wondering what they were doing outside.
The three fillies scrambled down the road in the opposite direction from me, and now I was wondering where they were going. Until just a moment later when I realized too late they were headed for the forest. I wanted to yell out to them, and maybe that would have been the right call, but I didn't want to wake Fluttershy's neighbors. I ran back up the road to catch up to the fillies, but I was too slow to catch up; they disappeared into the forest.
I entered the forest just a few moments later, but I stopped when I looked around and could barely see anything. My inferior human eyes have not yet adapted to the lower light of either the night or the forest, and so I only saw deep black in all directions. "Girls? Are you around here?" I yelled.
No response. They must have moved pretty quickly if they couldn't hear me. I wasn't going to waste any time waiting for my eyes to adjust; a forest was no place for children. Hell, it wasn't any place for an untrained adult, but that wasn't going to stop me from venturing forth. I conjured a small globe of light in my left hand to illuminate the forest around me. I could clearly see the path before me now, and I quickly took notice of four sets of conspicuous tracks: three equine tracks and one belonging to a bird. Were the Crusaders chasing after something? Perhaps it was a stray chicken that managed to run in the confusion that was mentioned earlier?
Whatever the case, I had to find them fast. Their tracks led past some undergrowth just off the path. With my superior stride, I hoped I would be moving fast enough to catch them before something else does.
Time was of the essence, but I wanted to ensure my success, and I couldn't do that if I got lost. I channeled my earth moving spell and stomped an arrow into the ground, pointing outside the forest. That was my plan: every so often leaving a marker arrow pointing me towards the previous marker, which would lead me outside the forest and into safety. With a solid plan in mind, I charged an energy bolt with my remaining hand and followed the trail, ready to blast anything that jumped me.
Not that I was afraid of getting attacked by wolves, or anything. Chances are if I were attacked by wolves, I'd at least be able to get out of their jaws and fend them off. Lack of fear didn't mean I wasn't nervous, though. I've looked through a few bestiaries, and let's just say that ursas weren't the most dangerous creatures out there. Every tiny rustling of the leaves caught my attention as if it was a fearsome predator after my tasty human flesh. They luckily turned out to be nothing more than a few smaller creatures and the wind, but I was still on edge.
I stepped over another set of bushes and heard a mercifully welcome sound: voices. I could barely her the tail end of an argument about something, but they spoke in the familiar voices of the Crusaders. "Girls, is that you?" I called out.
"Twilight? What are you doing out here?" I heard Apple Bloom ask a few paces away.
I stepped through a wall of leaves with my energy bolt cancelled and looked down at the perfectly healthy fillies. "Following you through this dangerous and unpredictable wilderness. What are you three doing out here?"
"We're tracking down one of Fluttershy's chickens for her!" Sweetie proudly proclaimed.
"That's very noble of you, but we should get out of here as soon as possible. This forest isn't very kind to ponies."
"But what about the chicken?" Scootaloo inquired.
I thought of what I could possibly say as to spare their feelings. One chicken was hardly worth the lives of three children, but I doubted they would appreciate such an assessment. "It's a regrettable turn of events, but I'm sure the chicken will be fine until the morning. Mounting a rescue this late at night is suicidal. Let's just go back to Fluttershy's and you can let us worry about it tomorrow, okay?"
"But we might get our cutie marks this way!" Apple Bloom protested.
"Maybe," I conceded. "But we shouldn't take such a gamble in a place this dangerous. If tracking down lost animals really were your special talent, I'd rather you find that out in a safe town like Ponyville, not in the Everfree where it might be the last thing you learn. Come on." I beckoned, taking a step towards the exit. "We'll pick this up later."
"Okay." The Crusaders agreed with a sigh. They walked towards me, and we were soon to leave the forest.
The bushes rustled behind them. They stopped and perked their heads at the sound.
Fearing it was some forest creature looking for a snack, I jumped over the fillies and stood defensively between the bushes and the girls. I charged magic into my hand, ready to blast whatever poked its head out. There was a tiny squawk, and the bushes shook once more. I tensed and aimed my hand in its direction.
A small stone chicken fell face-first from out of the bushes. We stood there staring at the oddity in confusion. What a curious and completely random sight. I levitated it over and inspected it closer. Its wings were splayed out to its sides and its beak wide open as if in a silent scream of terror. Its stone form was posed mid-stride, like it was in the middle of running from something.
I thought of a few possibilities that I sincerely hoped were wrong. The Crusaders were in here chasing after a chicken, and this just so happened to be a chicken statue. Unless this was a random statue being used as a distraction by a particularly intelligent predator, this must have been the actual chicken they were chasing. There are two creatures that can turn another creature to stone, one of which was called a basilisk. Seeing as how the basilisk is a desert animal, that left us with the only forest creature with a petrifying attack.
The monster in question hopped out of the bushes and hissed at me. At first glance, it wasn't a very threatening creature. It had the head and feet of a chicken, but had the body of a wyvern. This strange hybrid of bird and reptile didn't seem threatening to anyone with its small size, but its appearance masked a threat that few monsters could match. Few understood the beast's true terror, but I did. This was the cockatrice, the bird of stone.
I braced myself for the inevitable charge. From its threatening posture, it must have thought of us as an easy meal. I'd make sure that it didn't even get a chance to go after the Crusaders. As long as I could avoid its bite, I could avoid suffering the same fate as Fluttershy's wayward chicken. I stared hard into its eyes and waited for it to make its move.
I didn't read the bestiary entry for the cockatrice, so I was unaware of the difference between the real cockatrices of Equestria and the fake stat blocks in the Dungeons and Dragons Monstrous Manual. I was under the impression that its bite was the attack that turned one to stone, but that was a false assumption. I knew that the moment its eyes flashed and my toes grew numb.
I didn't pay much attention to the numbness at first, but when the feeling like ice spread through my legs, I couldn't ignore it or the smug look of the cockatrice any longer. I checked on my legs to see what the problem was, and I gasped in terror. Before my eyes, I saw my body morphing into cold grey stone. I tried to move my legs, but the affliction already spread up to my abdomen. I shifted around to try and resist the petrification, but I didn't know any way to save myself.
I'll spare you some of the more horrifying details of my petrification. It spread through my chest in an uncomfortable manner and cut off my circulation, and mercifully accelerated to encase me in stone for an unknown period of time. It's funny, the last thing I thought before my certain death was "Third time's the charm."
...
...
Just as suddenly as my perception cut off, it returned to me. The stone disease receded past my torso and I took a breathed in as much precious oxygen as I could with a single rasping breath. I fell to my knees as they returned to their natural state. I breathed heavily with my mind rushing to work lucidly. After a few breaths, I looked up to see if the cockatrice was still there or something. It was, but now Fluttershy was was having an impromptu staring contest. Petrifying gaze versus dominating gaze, and Fluttershy looked victorious. The cockatrice was shamefully cowering before the awesome might of the pacifist pony.
The Crusaders surrounded me, pressing their hooves to my sides in concern. "Are ya okay, Twilight?"
I glared up to see the cockatrice just as it scampered off into the forest with a sob. Good, if it stuck around, I wouldn't have been held accountable for my acts of chicken murder. "I think so." I growled.
Fluttershy came over and worked with the Crusaders to help me to my feet. "What happened?" I asked wearily.
"I scolded the cockatrice and he was so sorry about turning you to stone that he let you go." Fluttershy told me.
I looked towards the direction the cockatrice fled, but the area was still now. Was it really as simple as telling the cockatrice that he was being an assface and expect him to reverse the damage? I shook my head clear of the matter. "So you saved me." I leaned down and wrapped my arms around Fluttershy. "Thank you."
Fluttershy returned the hug. We broke off a moment later and returned to the task at hand. "How about we go back home?" Fluttershy suggested.
"Agreed."
Fluttershy's lost chicken hopped up on her back with copious flapping of wings, and settled in for the walk to Fluttershy's cottage. I gave the chicken a dirty look for leading us out there in the first place, but we soon began our trek, following the markers I left behind.
The Crusaders were upstairs in Fluttershy's room getting some sleep for real this time. Fluttershy and I sat in her living room, for I wanted to have one last exchange with her. "Hey, thanks again for saving me."
"You're welcome, Twilight. Anything for a friend." Fluttershy said with a smile.
I smiled in turn. "Look, you saved my life. I don't know how I can repay you, but if you ever need anything, you can count on me."
Fluttershy looked down at her hooves in thought. "Actually, I want to know something about you, if that's okay."
I perked an eyebrow with interest. "Okay, what is it you want to know?"
Fluttershy rubbed her hooves nervously. "Um, what is that secret of yours you're still hiding?"
I paled at the question. I didn't want to reveal anything, yet here she was asking about it. I knew she deserved to know, but I feared her reaction. I tried to rationalize something, and I latched on to Fluttershy's own secret. Perhaps if I held back a few details, she wouldn't react too harshly.
I took a deep breath. "Well, you saved my life, so I owe you some explanation." Fluttershy made to interject, but I stopped her with a halting gesture. "Don't argue, I needed to tell someone at some point, anyway. You see, I'm not really a pony; I'm a human."
Fluttershy's eyes widened at the news. "Wow, really?" I nodded. "Oh my gosh, I never would have guessed! But how do you look like a pony all the time?"
"Magic."
Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. "But I was there when you transformed into your natural form with the others. Why were you so surprised that you could use magic then?"
It was once again the time to cover my tracks with excuses. "I wasn't. I knew I could use magic as a human the whole time, but I pretended to be oblivious so I wouldn't raise any suspicion about not being a pony."
"Really? It's incredible the amount of effort you put into hiding this from everypony, but do you really want to keep hiding it now?"
I nodded. "I want every pony to continue thinking I'm just another pony. I don't want any of them to freak out about it."
Fluttershy lowered her head. "Is this because of Zecora? Do you think we'll shun you?"
I sighed as an exaggerated show of contemplation. "No, I suppose you wouldn't. But I want to keep it secret because I don't want anyone to treat me any differently."
"Differently how?"
"It's like finding a new species to study: everyone with interest will do everything in their power to study me because humans aren't known to Equestria. Worse yet, other ponies outside our circle might never accept me as another sapient being. It's just easier to pretend to be a pony."
"Oh." Fluttershy responded sadly. "I'm sorry to hear that. It must be so difficult for you."
"It's not so bad; not when I have a good friend like you."
Fluttershy smiled, but her eyes teared up. "I... um... a-anytime."
I didn't want to stick around for too much longer. After all, I wanted to leave on this high note and the previous excuses I made would tide her over for a while. I stood up and walked to the door. "I'm glad we had this talk. I feel a lot better about it now, but I need to get going. Spike's likely going to freak out if I don't come home soon."
"Okay. It was good talking to you." Fluttershy said with a wave.
I waved back. "Bye, Fluttershy."
I closed the door behind me. It was really late at night by then, so I cast the Flight spell on myself and soared back to the library. I didn't know how guilty I should feel about that conversation. I told the truth about my humanity, but I had to lie to get her to believe that's all there was to it. Fluttershy deserved the whole truth. How many lies do I need to tell before it's all over? How long will I be able to handle this?
I cleared those thoughts from my mind. I only did what I had to. The longer I can keep up the act, the more time I have to fix everything. That's what matters, but only if I don't get caught. Even if it means lying to my friends.
With a shudder I attributed to the cool night air, I flew over the sleeping town of Ponyville, with a mind that wasn't as ethically certain as I wanted.