Chapter 3
'She clearly hasn't been listening to me...' I thought as I walked along side Fluttershy as she took me through a small market place to our first destination, the home of one Twilight Sparkle. An alicorn I was told. Some one with both wings like a pegasus and a horn like a unicorn. I was skeptical at first when the little yellow pegasus had told me that this Twilight was one of the most powerful ponies around but Fluttershy assured me that it was true, and with the passion she showed I didn't want to argue.
Fluttershy kept looking up at me with a strange look on her face as we walked. It was a mixture of wonder and fear and I'm really not sure why. After a few more minutes of walking and a couple more worried sidelong glances I finally broke the silence.
"Is something on your mind?" I asked as sincerely as I could, stopping just on the edge of the market square to talk. "You've been eyeing me with a worried look on your face since we started walking."
"Oh! Uhm... N-no, no, It's just that... Sorry." She withered slightly at my gaze as I tried to push her for an answer. Seeing that I was out of luck I tried to just brush it off.
"No, it's okay Fluttershy, I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering I don't look like a pony. I must look pretty weird, eh?" I said, adding a chuckle at the end for emphasis.
"Um... Yes... That's it." Fluttershy sighed, visibly relaxing as we began to walk towards Twilight's house once more. Neither of us really making an attempt to converse with the other.
We stopped just outside of what looked like one giant tree house, or rather a house built inside of a tree. The sign out front read 'Golden Oaks Library' so I figured it was a public building but Fluttershy knocked anyways and we waited on the front steps for an answer.
We didn't have to wait long before the sound of hooves could be heard coming from inside. In an instant the door was opened to reveal a purple alicorn with a dark purple mane with a pink stripe running through it. 'This must be Twilight.' I thought as a put her face to memory.
"Oh hey Fluttershy! What brings you here today? Need to look something up for one of your little animal friends?"
"Um... No, a-actually Twilight, I wanted to talk to you about... Something." Fluttershy shrank back a bit as her eyes found something extremely interesting on the floor.
"Is everything okay Fluttershy? You look a little scared, what's going on?" Twilight said, concern dripping from her words as they came out.
"I-is it okay if I come inside?" The timid pegasus asked before Twilight ushered her inside and closing the door behind her, essentially shutting me outside. Before I had a chance to phase through the door I heard a voice from inside.
"Oh, j-just a second Twilight, I forgot my um... I forgot something outside." 'That must be Fluttershy coming now' I thought.
The door opened quickly and Fluttershy stuck her head out just far enough to talk to me. "Could you possibly, maybe, if it's o-okay with you that is... wait out here for me? I-if that's o-okay with you that is?" It was pretty hard for me to argue with the look she was giving me so I just nodded my head and took a seat outside. Not like anyone could see me anyways. She thanked me quickly before rushing back inside. I faintly heard her say nevermind to Twilight before the sound was too muffled to hear.
'I guess they went into another room' I mused, taking a look at the passing ponies as they went about their respective days. This was something I was used to, people watching. Or rather, pony watching in this case. Now that I was alone I finally had a chance to really get a look at where I was. It was a quaint little village at the base of a great mountain. I could just make out the silhouette of a castle on the side of it as the sun made it's way up above. 'That thing must be enormous if I can see it so well from down here.' I thought as I tried to get a better look, squinting my eyes as I did so.
I'm not sure how much time had passed before I heard the door open up behind me and Fluttershy walked out, a sour look on her face. When she looked up at me her expression quickly changed to a strained smile before she was caught up to by Twilight. "I'll see what I can dig up about this phenomenon of yours Fluttershy, but I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be. Maybe the hospital could help?" Twilight gave Fluttershy a concerned look before wrapping her up in a hug. "I'll keep researching this, I promise, but you should get some rest, have you been sleeping okay?"
Fluttershy just nodded and said her thanks before turning around and heading back towards her cottage.
"So what happened in there?" I asked, my curiosity peaking when the word 'phenomenon' was uttered. "Is everything alright?"
"Oh, yes. It's okay, I'm just feeling a little under the weather right now. Do you um... have anywhere to stay tonight?" It took me a second to realize what she was asking before it dawned on me that this would be the first time someone offered to have me over. A small smile found it's way onto my face as I told her I didn't and she graciously offered to let me stay with her for a while.
"Would you like any tea?" Fluttershy offered from the kitchen. We made it back to Fluttershy's cottage a little before sundown and we were now have a nice evening snack before heading to bed. The inside of the cottage was exactly how I imagined it to be. Bird houses and animal dens were strewn out around the living room and I wouldn't doubt if they were elsewhere in here as well.
Fluttershy flew back into the living room with a tray of tea and cookies in her hooves which she gently placed on the table in front of the couch we were both now sitting on. "Um... I hope you like it. I make all my teas from plants I grow in my garden outside." Picking up my glass, I took a small sip of the hot beverage and sighed in bliss. In reality I couldn't taste anything anyways but I figured I would make a show of gratitude for the mare that's allowing me to stay in her home. She smiled as she grabbed her own mug and took a sip herself. We spent a while in a comfortable silence before I saw a shiver run through Fluttershy.
Looking around I noticed a small fireplace with a stack of fire wood next to it and I offered to make a fire for her to warm up by. After doing so I went back to my spot on the couch which would be my bed for the night as Fluttershy went up to her own room to sleep as well.
Laying with my face towards the fire I slowly began to nod off into a dreamless sleep as I let the warmth wash over me and the blanket Fluttershy had offered me before she went upstairs.
A floorboard creaking nearby caused me to wake up and open my eyes a bit. The fire place was still burning bright as I squinted at the silhouette of a pony standing in front of it came into focus. Before I could say anything I heard the distinct sound of paper tearing and crumpling before it was tossed into the fire. Rubbing my eyes a little I saw that it was Fluttershy tearing pages out of what I could only guess was a journal of sorts and burning them. I guess she heard my stirring because She quickly threw the rest of the book into fire before she quietly but quickly flew back to her room, not even sparing me a glance.
'What was that all about?' I thought as I stared at the top of the stairs before turning my eyes back to the fire place. I could see the book slowly being consumed by the flames. Normally I would have just let it burn but something compelled me to take it out and save the journal. As quietly as I could I rose from the couch and grabbed the poker for the fire place. A few pokes later and I was now looking at a half charred journal on the floor. 'Why was she burning this?' I wondered as I looked back up at the stairs.
Giving it a few seconds to cool off, I carefully pulled the cover back and my eyes quickly opened in shock at what I was reading. It was a life. My entire life to be exact. Written neatly on paper up until the death of the humans.
'What the hell..?'