Seven Ponies, Seven Trials, Seven Loves

by Lieutenant Bubbles

Chapter Six: Early Morning Bedtime

Part One
Chapter Six: Early Morning Bedtimes

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As Phantom slowly calmed down and Twilight tried desperately to think of a way to cheer up the grieving pony before her, it was Fluttershy who faced Phantom and with a steely resolve spoke to him. Her words were calm, her voice level and assertive, the latter as surprising as what she actually said.

“Phantom, you aren’t ruled by those scars anymore. You’re a pony now, for better or worse, without scars. I know what happened was bad and really upsetting for you, but that life is over now isn’t it? No pony is going to judge you by what happened before, and Nopony else has to know. “

Twilight looked at Fluttershy, her mouth hanging open; she had never before heard Fluttershy speak so assertively, or bluntly for that matter. For his part, Phantom almost began to grin. He’d never thought of things like that before. He sniffled a little bit as a few stray tears slid from his eyes, and he looked up at Fluttershy to meet her gaze.

“You said it yourself,” Fluttershy continued, “that you don’t want to go back to that place. That means you are staying here and so you are going to be a pony. That is your ticket, your chance to have a new life that can be what you want it to be. You don’t have to hide anymore, you don’t have to be afraid. You have friends now who will look out for you and help you along the way.” Fluttershy finished with a smile and an almost lazy gesture towards Twilight.

At that very moment, Phantom started feeling something that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He was feeling a very genuine happiness start to spread. He decided then and there that he would no longer think of himself as Alex Buckley, but as the new and reborn Phantom Mask. His name would no longer be a cruel jest at his shyness and wariness, but rather the start of a whole new life, with friends. He shifted himself, tentatively pushing himself into a sitting position with his forelegs, trying to get the hang of it right away.

A smile started to splay across his lips as he looked deep into Fluttershy’s cyan eyes. “Thank you.” Twilight’s mouth fell open a little more. She stepped back a little bit and smiled once she’d regained her sense of things. Twilight didn’t want to interrupt what looked like it could be a very important moment for both Fluttershy and Phantom.

“Fluttershy, you’re right.” Phantom stood up completely. “I should look at this as a new start.” Phantom’s smile widened a little bit as he moved a little closer to Fluttershy, compelled by a force that he couldn’t explain.

Fluttershy, who normally would have been intimidated by this masculine pony moving towards her, was for some odd reason fine. “I’m glad you see it that way.” Phantom nodded and, as the two ponies slowly drifted towards each other, there was silence in the library. Twilight just stood back and watched as the two were drawn inexplicably together, and wished she had something like that happen to her. It was plain to Twilight that Phantom and Fluttershy were destined to be together. She was just a little jealous of her friend.

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Far off in the Equestrian Sculpture garden, the beginnings of disharmony between the wielders of the elements of harmony were starting to have a rather unintended effect. A rather odd statue, being a creature with the head of a pony and a body made up of all sorts of things, stood lonely in the center of the garden, the look on it’s face a mixture of laughter and horror. This statue was of the fabled Draconiquis, and in all of Equestria, there was only one that had ever lived there. That was Discord, who as his name implies spread chaos and discord throughout the world during his reigns of terror.

This statue was not just a statue either. It was in fact the frozen form of Discord himself, having been frozen two years previously by Twilight Sparkle and the other wielders of the Elements of harmony. Now that there were the elements of discord beginning between Twilight and her friends, the spell that held Discord at bay was beginning to weaken, and so cracks began to form on the statue. Had there been anypony nearby, they would have heard Discord’s evil laugh echo in an otherworldy fashion through the sculpture garden.

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There was still a total silence in the Library, and had Dr. Whooves been there, he would possibly have been reminded of another library in a faraway place. It wasn’t until the wall clock chimed two that anypony spoke.

“It’s getting early,” Twilight said with a huge shuddering yawn, “I should probably be getting to bed. I’m sorry to kick you two out, but I can’t close the library with people still here.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Twilight, of course we’ll go,” Fluttershy said with a small grin. She gestured for Phantom to head to the door, and started off that way herself. As the two of them reached the door, she turned to Twilight who was now halfway up the stairs. “I’m sorry we kept you up so late. Goodnight Twilight.”

Twilight smiled down at her shy friend. “Oh, it’s no trouble, have a good night Fluttershy.” Together Phantom and Fluttershy left the library and started down the main road of Ponyville.

“So Phantom, where are you staying now that you are out of the hospital?”

Phantom laughed slightly, the kind of nervous laugh a pony gives when they don’t know the answer to a simple question. “I hadn’t even thought of that. I don’t have a place at all. I don’t even have any money to get one. Ponies use money right?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy laughed, “We use money. If you don’t have a place where were you planning on sleeping?”

Phantom stopped walking and thought for a moment. “Is there a park near here or something?”

Fluttershy turned and gave Phantom a semi quizzical look. “Are you serious?”

Phantom gave another little nervous laugh. “Yes, I am. Where else could I go?”

“Well…” Fluttershy started before blushing. She really liked Phantom, and what she was about to do would surprise all of her friends, as much as it surprised her that she had thought of it. “I have a guest room… and umm….”

Phantom caught on to where Fluttershy was going with this, and as much as he liked her, he didn’t want to impose. After all she’d been more than kind enough already. She’d talked to him at the party, and she’d stuck with him afterwards. And then there was all that she’d done at the Library. Offering him a place to stay was far too much in his mind. “You don’t have to do that. A park would be fine. I do enjoy sleeping under the stars.”

Fluttershy fixed Phantom with her lowest power Stare. “You are not going to sleep outside when there is a perfectly good bed that you could sleep in.”

Phantom felt a strange compulsion to immediately accept Fluttershy’s offer. He shook his head, and looked at Fluttershy with what he hoped was a decent imitation of the look she’d just given him. “I’m going to stay outside, because accepting your offer is just too much.”

Fluttershy upped the intensity of the stare. “You Will. That’s Final.”
The strange compulsion Phantom was feeling was growing in intensity, but at the moment his moral code was still prevailing. “I won’t”.

With determination, Fluttershy upped the Stare to its full intensity. “You are going to stay in my guest room. Do you understand me mister?”

Phantom felt paralyzed and could barely nod. Fluttershy’s voice had become a growl, and there was just something about the way she’d looked at him that made it impossible for him to have said no to her again. Fluttershy smiled, and with a cheery, “Good”, started off towards her house. Phantom dejectedly followed after her. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stay with her, it was that he felt like he was imposing for sure now, no matter what she said, and he had to figure out a way to deal with this. When he got his idea, it was like a thousand flashbulbs going off at once.

“Fluttershy, I’ll stay on one condition.” Phantom’s tone caused Fluttershy to stop dead in her tracks. She turned towards him, preparing to use the Stare again if necessary. “I want to earn my keep. You don’t have to pay me, just let me work around your house to earn the room and board.”

Fluttershy’s response was a tinkling laugh that caused Phantom to smile. “Of course. That’s one condition that isn’t hard.” Together the two set off again, towards Fluttershy’s home on the edge of the Everfree forest.
“So, uhh, what exactly is it that you do?”

“I take care of the woodland creatures when they are hurt or injured, and many of them stay at my cottage.” Fluttershy was beaming, wondering personally what Angel bunny would think of Phantom.

“That sounds like a lot of work. I don’t see how I could help with that. I don’t have any experience dealing with animals, except maybe a Hor…..” Phantom stopped, realizing what he almost said, and felt that it could be rude, or taken entirely the wrong way.

“A what?” Fluttershy looked sideways at him.
“Ummm, A horse. Where I am from, horses don’t talk, or even act all that intelligent, and so are treated like farm animals. I’m not really proud of it…”

“Oh.” Fluttershy was obviously confused. “Just remember, you’re new here, and nothing from that world matters here anymore. But you wouldn’t be working with the animals anyways. That takes up most of my time, so my gardens go untended, and there are always repairs that need to be done. If you’re helping with that, I can save the bits I’d usually use to pay other ponies.”

Phantom’s face fell a little. He’d never gardened before in his life, he grew up in Manhattan, so he wasn’t sure he could do all that much. The repair work he was sure he could do once he figured out how to use the tools they had here. Maybe he could learn to garden too. “Sounds good to me.”

And so, together they trotted off to Fluttershy’s cottage, heading off to bed in the early hours of the morning, the exact terms of their arrangement could wait until morning.

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Author’s Note To Readers:
PART one is almost done! Believe it or not, in just two more chapters the exciting conclusion is coming. Stay tuned!

Comments

[Lieutenant Bubbles]

342434
Well, I try not to go overboard. I did write a fantasy once where anything could happen, and gave up after three paragraphs. Without some sort of general rules, I get entirely lost. Part of what takes my writing so long, is that I do research. Chapter five took forever because I had to research Theater disasters, and all the rest of it. I keep watching the episodes to try and make sure I'm getting the Canon characters personalities right. I hate being the writer who changes the way a character acts because it makes my story easier to write.

[thewookie1]

The Phantom of the Opera meets Very Interesting

A Texan man for ?
An athlete for ?
A upper class non-snob for ?
Pinkie and Twilight would require peopler with similair interests but still complement them.
is a Muffin

[Lieutenant Bubbles]

347816
Sorry wookie, I'm not going to give any spoilers
Soon you'll find out special somepony number two!

[MicroUltraMad]

348045
derpy should have a giant talking muffin...
lolnvm prolly a lonely baker or something.