//------------------------------// // You're Allowed to be Happy // Story: Utaan // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Two solitary figures trotted into a narrow chamber with a tall, tall ceiling. The moon runes here were sparse, casting the narrow niche in darkness. "Do you know what this place is?" Nicole asked, peering up at the distant ceiling. "Uhhhhhh..." Echo's voice echoed against the bleakweed walls. "This is a cursed room: a detention hall for naughty, heretical youths who are doomed to being fed to the sharks for their naysayings." "Wow... really?" Nicole squeaked. "Meh..." Echo shrugged. "Echo..." "Beats me, Nicole. Why else would it be so abandoned?" "You mean you seriously don't know?" "What does it matter?" "Don't worry." Nicole pointed straight up. "See those roots dangling way up high? Along the ceiling?" "Yeah. Their roosts. What about them?" She looked at him with a soft smile. "When was the last time you... y'know... hung upside down? Like a real midnighter?" "I think somepony's getting addicted to this place." "Echo..." "Stop saying my name like that. It's becoming a naughty habit. Not that I mind..." "When was the last time you relaxed upside down?" "In prison." "I mean truly relaxed." Echo shook his head. "I fail to see what you're trying to accomplish." "Just humor me," Nicole said in a warm tone, patting his shoulder. "I don't think you'll regret it." "As much as I'd love to tickle your funny bone, well..." He flopped around his useless leather wings. "As you can see... I'm not re-living any Bleak's Plummet memories anytime soon." "That's okay." Nicole trotted behind him. "Just leave it to me." "Leave what to you?" She cleared her throat and gripped his shoulders from behind. "Now stay still..." "Pffft... you've gotta be frickin' kidding me..." "Hey... I'm a farm girl..." She winked at him. "Which means I'm stronger than you're willing to admit." That said, she flapped her wings and—FWOOOOOOOOSH!—lifted them both up. "Whoah whoah whoah!" Echo winced as the dim ceiling rushed into proximity. "Gnnngh... a slightly less subtle warning next time?" "Shhhh!" Nicole grunted, fanged teeth gritting. "Think... you c-can grip onto a root... just like old t-times...?" "Guess I have no choice, do I?" With a quick breath, Echo nimbly swung himself around in Nicole's grasp. Thw-Thwap! His lower fetlocks effortlessly slipped into the crook of the root, and soon he was dangling with ease. "Ahhhhhhhh there we go... just like riding a unicycle." He then gazed "up" (or down) at the distant, distant floor. "Ahhhhhhh'kay... that'll clean out the urethra. That's for sure." "Whew!" Nicole hovered beside him. "What did they feed you in prison? Iron pellets?" "Nah, you got it the other way around. They fed me cruddy frozen oatmeal and then I made the iron pellets." His nostrils flared as he gazed at the bleakweed ceiling around them. "Nicole, what did you bring us up here for?" "Shhhhhh..." Nicole hovered, hovered, then flipped herself upside down in a blink. She dangled from the roots directly behind him, resting her limbs. "Just relax. Pretend it's... y'know... the old days. And you're just turning in for a long sleep." "Things were different then," Echo said, trembling slightly. He once again threw the distant floor a forlorn glance. "I didn't have to worry about turning into velvet paste." "Just chill—" "I'm telling you, Nicole, I can't," he muttered. "One slip, and I'm done for." "It's okay..." With a soft breath, she reached in from behind, wrapping her leather wings around his timid frame. "I'll catch you, Ryckmun." His breath was immediately sucked in. Slitted eyes twitched as he dangled from the roots, cocooned in her grasp. He swallowed a lump down his throat and murmured in a dry voice: "Who... who h-have you been t-talking to...?" "She used to hold you just like this, didn't she?" Nicole whispered. "Your mother?" She caressed his mane, speaking in a calm, warm tone. "Until you were able to fly... she kept you safe. Your siblings too. They looked after you." He gulped hard. "My mother's dead," he grunted. "My brothers and sisters... all drowned." Fangs glinted. "These shit-munchers will waste your family in a blink. And for what?" His nostrils flared. "All this 'piracy garbage' is only good for bathing the ocean red. They're damned lucky that Rainbow and Luna are giving them a clean break." "Yes, they are lucky," Nicole said. "And so are you." "Still won't un-murder my family." "No. No it won't." Nicole squeezed him in the comforting embrace of her wings. "And yet... you're here again, Ryckmun..." "Nicole..." "You're here again... and it's okay," she murmured. "It's okay to be at peace... to be still..." Echo grimaced. His breaths came in faster and faster squeaks. His slitted eyes darted all about as he searched, sought, panicked. "I've... b-been... mmmm... so friggin' angry for so friggin' long..." Nicole merely nodded, stroking his neck and shoulders. He shuddered. "So... so damn angry... I've..." His lips trembled. "...I've screwed so many ponies over... ruined so many lives..." Tears welled up in his eyes. "Slaves... Families... children... Theams. I've... I've hurt him so much... I..." He winced as a pained squeak escaped his muzzle. "...I'm such a lousy piece of shit, Nicole. The absolute slimiest... and what good h-has it done for the world?" "You look at the faces of these ponies here, Ryckmun... and you tell me." Nicole caressed his face. "They no longer see a traitor." "They..." "They've forgiven you, Ryckmun. There's no coward anymore. No sleezeball. The stallion who helped Rainbow Dash get here is a new pony. And it's okay to accept that..." Echo's muzzle was awash in tears at this point. "I... I-I don't even remember wh-what it's like to not be running anymore... to n-not be scared for my rotten-ass hide..." His dangling body rocked as he hid his face in his hooves. "I... I-I don't think I can live like this. Without the anger... I'm nothing..." "No, you're everything..." She nuzzled him closely, drowning out his sobs. "Shhhhh..." She held him tighter. "...welcome home, Ryckmun." "I... I c-can't..." Echo wept, muffled. "I j-just can't..." "Yes you can. We can." She smiled tearfully. "I will help you. Do you hear me? I'm here for you..." Echo had nothing left to protest with. He simply dangled there in her grasp as the two rocked gently in each other's embrace, weathering the last waves of sorrow to fountain from his lungs. And once the last bastions had crumbled, he drifted into silent serenity, like a trusting little colt in steadfast wings.