//------------------------------// // A Small Setback // Story: My Filly, Nightshine // by The Abyss //------------------------------// Nightshine woke up to Jason scratching her behind her right ear. Still on the verge of falling asleep again, she grinned as she pushed her head up into his hand. The scratches stopped, making her crack open an eye. She saw Jason yawning as he stretched with a groan. Nightshine couldn’t help but giggle as she felt his chest vibrate from the low sound. After he stopped yawning, she slid off of his chest, then wiggled up into the crook of his arm and drew her forelegs up to her chest. “Morning, Nightshine…” Jason said, his voice low and coarse. He cleared his throat and saw that Nightshine had slipped out from under the blanket. He glanced at the clock. “Geez… it’s already ten. We should probably get up.” He started to sit up, but Nightshine laid her head on his chest and pushed him back down. “Uh-uh... five more minutes…” Nightshine mumbled with a small grin. This was the first time that she had slept next to anybody before, and it sure beat sleeping alone in a beat-up mattress. She simply couldn’t get enough of it, and she wanted for it to last a heck of a lot longer than just five measly minutes. Maybe we’ll just fall asleep again. I guess five more minutes can’t hurt. “Yeah, alright. We did get back pretty late last night.” Jason rolled over onto his side and let loose another yawn. As he watched Nightshine drift back off to sleep, he murmured, “It sure looks like a beautiful day to go flying, though…” Nightshine’s ears perked up in an instant. She rolled onto her belly and gazed up at him with a cocked eyebrow. “N-now? You mean it?” “If you want to go now, sure. I do want to take a quick shower, though.” Jason sat up and swung his legs over the side of the couch. “You want to go first? Or do you want those extra five minutes?” Nightshine bit her lip as Jason sat up. She glanced away and flicked her tail once, the words to ask him to lay back down dancing on the tip of her tongue. After a few moments of thought, she slumped back down onto Jason’s warm pillow and cracked a smile. “I think I’ll take those extra five minutes. I mean, if that’s okay?” “Of course it is.” Jason tousled her hair, stood up, and walked down the hallway towards the bathroom. “Oh, and when we’re done, I’m gonna take us to a nice little bakery just down the street.” He ducked inside the bathroom and closed the door behind him. “A bakery?” Nightshine’s stomach grumbled. She pulled the blanket over her head and curled up, trying to ignore her stomach. I must have been pretty tired from the trip… home? Nightshine used a hoof to push the blanket off of her head. “Home…” she whispered to herself as she looked around the room. “This is my home…” I’ve waited too long to hear myself say those words. Nightshine felt a tear well up in her right eye, but she paid it no mind. “I can’t believe I actually have a home now...” She heard some fillies run past outside, laughing as they went. I wonder where Sea Stride ended up… I hope he’s doing okay with his new family. Nightshine heard the shower turn on, so knowing that she’d have a few minutes to herself, she closed her eyes and flicked her tail up between her legs to hold onto. She let her mind drift away to all of the fun times that they had shared back at the orphanage. While she was ecstatic that she had been adopted, she realized that she had absolutely no friends in this new town, save for Jason. “Eh… I’ll find some friends later… I hope,” she said as she started to doze off. Jason washed himself as quickly as he could, and as he grabbed his towel, he froze. Not only did he just have one towel, he had forgotten to bring some clean clothes into the bathroom to change into. “Darn it all…” he muttered, looking back and forth between his old T-shirt and his towel. With a roll of his eyes, he decided to dry himself off with his shirt. Once he was as dry as he could make himself, he pulled on his pants, eased open the bathroom door, and poked his head out, praying that Nightshine wasn’t looking in his direction. When he saw the back of her head, Jason whipped open the door and darted inside his bedroom. He locked the door behind him and blew a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall. As his racing heart slowed, he went to the closet and threw on some clothes. Walking back over to his door, he made his way down the hallway and shook Nightshine’s shoulder. “Time to take your shower, Nightshine,” he said with a warm tone. “I don’t wanna…” Nightshine yawned. “get up…” “Not even for a fresh muffin and an open field to fly in?” Jason chuckled as he fell onto the couch next to Nightshine. He pulled the blanket off of her and tickled her belly. Nightshine’s eyes flew wide open as a surprised squeak left her lips. She tried to roll onto her stomach to escape Jason’s ticklish fingers, but she only succeeded in letting him tickle her just under her left foreleg. Doing the only thing she could think of, she flapped her wings and ended up rapping Jason on the arm. “Ow!” Jason recoiled and rubbed his stinging arm, his eyebrows furrowing as he sat back. As the pain started to fade away, he glanced over at Nightshine and saw her on the verge of crying. “I-I didn’t m-mean it...” Nightshine choked out, her eyes wide with fear. She slinked up to him and settled down on his lap, then nuzzled him where she’d hit him. “I’m really so-sorry, Jason!” Please don’t send me back to the orphanage... “Hey... it’s alright. It was just an accident.” Nightshine nodded vehemently. “There’s no reason to get upset,” Jason said. He held up his arm and turned it so she could see where she had hit him. “See? No mark at all!” He grinned and rubbed her back. “Sorry for that surprise tickle attack. My mom always did that to me when I didn’t get up in time for school when I was younger, so... yeah. I guess I’m not too good at being a parent, eh?” “No!” Nightshine shook her head from side to side. “It’s not that at all! I was just, um... surprised is all. You sure you’re okay?” she asked, her bottom lip quivering. “Yeah, I’m good. Come on, now, the sooner you take a shower, the sooner we can get your bedroom set up!” Jason wrapped his arms around Nightshine and walked her over to the bathroom. The last remaining wisps of steam drifted out from the door as he set her down. “I only have one towel, so... we’ll have to buy you one when we go shopping today.” “Okay!” Nightshine trotted inside the bathroom with Jason right behind her. Stepping past her, Jason reached into the tub and turned on the water. “You like it warm or cold?” “Hot!” Nightshine chirped with a hop. “Really hot!” Jason chuckled at that. “Alright then.” He turned the water on and waited several moments as it got to a good temperature. He held his fingers underneath the stream and waited till it got to the temperature he usually used. “This good?’ Nightshine tentatively stuck a hoof under the stream and jumped inside the tub. “Perfect! Thanks.” “Yeah, no problem. I’ll just be outside if you need me.” “Okay!” Nightshine hopped from side to side as she watched Jason lock the door to their home. “How far away is the park?” “It’s really not that far away.” Jason turned and nodded down the road leading out of Ponyville. “Just follow me, okay?” “Got it!” Nightshine trotted beside Jason as they made their way out of Ponyville. She noticed some ponies stopping in their tracks to look at her, but she ignored them, her thoughts focused solely on what they were going to do. Soon enough, the buildings gave way to dense thickets of trees, then a large field opened up just a little ways further down the road. With a wide grin, Nightshine galloped away towards the middle of the field and spread her wings wide, the sun’s rays soaking and warming her leathery wings. She closed her eyes and smiled as she felt the wind run under her wings. To be as free as a bird was exhilarating, and now that she was allowed to fly whenever she wanted to, she’d be able to soar with the birds that flew with a grace she could only dream of. Opening her eyes, Nightshine flapped her wings and ran as fast as she could, trying to get enough lift. Her front legs lifted off of the ground for a few feet, then dropped back down. She skidded to a halt in the middle of the open field, her head held low as she fought to catch her breath. Jason caught up to her several moments later. “Dang, you can run pretty fast!” he said, panting slightly. “Y-yeah...” Nightshine murmured, her wings clamping back to her sides. She tensed up as her confidence and excitement left her as barren as a drop of water in the desert. Her fears had been proven: the years of not being allowed to fly to her heart’s content had left her with a gift she could not use. Her tail swept down between her hind legs as they began to quiver. Nightshine closed her eyes and took a slow, shuddering breath, then bit her lower lip as she waited for her racing heart to slow down. Jason frowned after several seconds passed in silence. “You alright?” “Y-yeah,” Nightshine said, throwing on a fake smile as she sheepishly looked up at Jason. “I just...” She sat down, glanced away, and mindlessly ran her hoof through the dirt. Jason sat down next to Nightshine and propped himself up with his arms. “So whatcha waiting for? I thought you said you couldn’t wait to get out to fly! You looked like you were about to take off like an airplane for a second there.” Nightshine cocked her head to the side. “What’s an airplane?” Jason sat up and brushed the dirt from his hands. “Well... in short, it’s a big machine that lets us humans fly. It’s kinda like the trains here, but it has wings and goes a lot faster. That make sense?” “You have trains that can fly?” Nightshine asked, hiding her grin with a hoof. “That sounds silly!” Jason chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t explain it that well, huh?” Nightshine nodded. “So now that we’re here, why don’t you show me what you got?” Nightshine’s smile faltered at that. “Um... can we maybe come back some other time? I, er... you know...” She flicked her tail around her flank and held onto it, looking anywhere but Jason. “No, I don’t know. What’s wrong? Stage fright?” Such an easy excuse... Should I take it? He said I could tell him anything, though! But would he... understand that I can’t fly? Nightshine rubbed her left foreleg with a hoof as she flicked her eyes up to meet Jason’s. “N-no, it’s...” “What?” Nightshine took another shuddering breath. “I don’t think I can fly,” she said, her voice so soft she barely heard herself say it. Jason scooted closer. “Um, sorry. I didn’t catch that.” Many moments passed in silence, then she felt Jason scratch her ears for a brief second. She smiled at that small sign of affection, giving her just enough strength to say, “I can’t fly. I never could.” She looked up at Jason and smiled wistfully. “Remember how pegasi aren’t allowed to fly at the orphanage? Yeah, well... I was so afraid of getting in trouble that I never really practiced any.” “Oh...” Jason’s smile faded. “So nopony ever taught you how to fly?” Nightshine shook her head. “Huh... Why didn’t you say so?” Nightshine laid her head on Jason’s legs and shrugged. “I just thought I’d be able to fly like I had dreamed about for so long. I mean, I can glide and stuff, but that’s about it...” “So it just sounds like you need to get stronger, then, right? My dad told me if I wanted to have big muscles like him, I’d have to work at it nearly every single day for the rest of my life. I worked out a ton for one summer, and my arms got pretty thick. I loved the way I looked, and... I stopped working out. Over time, I went right back to square one because I was just being lazy. Now... hey! I have an idea!” Nightshine lifted her head from Jason’s leg and gazed up at him with a hopeful look upon her face. “What is it?” Her tail swished back and forth in the dirt behind her. “What if we work out together? I’d love to get strong again, and I think it’d be great if you could build up some wing strength. We can keep each other on track, too, so when one of us feels like quitting, the other can steer them back on course. So whatcha think? Deal?” He held out his fist for Nightshine to bump. It might be a good idea to get her a check-up at the doctor soon. Nightshine gazed at his outstretched arm, then bumped his fist with her hoof. “Deal!”