The Gift
Running. It was all he focused on. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't notice the ponies he bumped into, barely even heard their protests. He tried to keep watch on where he was going, but it wasn't easy. The tears building in his eyes blurred his vision.
He hadn't appeared at his house as he'd intended. He'd wound up coming out of his teleport only a block or so away from the library. If he could, he'd just try to teleport again, but he couldn't focus. Every time he tried to concentrate, he was disrupted by his torrent of emotions.
Eventually, while running through the streets he came across an alleyway. He turned into it and travelled along until he was out of anypony's sight. He stopped and almost fell against the wall while he tried to catch his breath. His breathing was erratic. He was having trouble standing, clutching his head, his eyes wide open and the pupils quivering.
Everything was coming back to him now, and he couldn't block it out. It was just like every year. Things from his past, memories he'd tried to suppress, emotions bubbling back up to the surface…
"Look, there's that kid again…"
"What's up with him anyway, just wandering around? Doesn't he have anywhere to be other than here?"
"Just ignore him, he'll go away eventually."
Confusion.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing here? You're scaring off my customers!"
"Get out of here before I throw you out, you freak!"
Rejection.
"Mommy, who is he? Why can't I play with him?"
"Listen to me, just stay away from him, okay? That foal is a bad influence."
Loneliness.
"I don't care if you were trying to help, you stay away from us!"
"Go crawl back into whatever hole you wormed your way out of, pest!"
Sadness.
"Nopony here needs you, and nopony here wants you!"
"Just go away! Scram!"
Solitude.
"Waaaaahhhh! M-mommy! Mommy, it hurts!"
"What the heck?! What the heck is wrong with that guy?!"
"Somepony, get help! Get help!"
"Everypony, stay back! Don't go near him!"
"What has he done?"
"By Celestia, just look at him! He even looks like a monster!"
"...guh…...mmrrg…..GRWAAAAAAHHHH!"
Anger.
With every new memory, his breathing grew more laboured, and sweat began to mat his mane. He could feel a painful pressure growing in his chest as well. He couldn't stop them. He could feel it, his mental barriers slowly deteriorating. Like water leaking through a cracked dam wall, the returning memories just kept coming, with the crack only growing larger and larger. Every year it was like this. He could block it out, keep it all suppressed and locked away...but one day, every year, it would come back to him. The day he dreaded the approach of, when everything changed for him. His birthday…
But normally it wasn't this bad. Given, it was always bad. The trauma made sure of that. Trauma… no matter what he did, he could never get rid of it. Everything he'd ever tried to forget would always come back to haunt him on this day. He could never stop the memories from resurfacing, but at the very least he was usually able to contain them so that they wouldn't impair him. So long as he kept his mind off of what day it was, it wasn't a huge problem. But this time… now he couldn't keep his mind off of it.
The party. Despite his best efforts, it had gotten to him. And now all the experiences and feelings he'd blocked out over the years were coming back. With a vengeance.
He grunted and tried to start moving again. Staying here would not do him any good...nor would it do the town any good if this kept up, he surmised. But as he took his first step, a loose patch of dirt and gravel crunched ever so slightly beneath his hoof.
Another pang in his head stopped him. Another memory, stirred by that one tiny sound, began to resurface. And Ray, in his state, could do nothing to prevent this one...one of the worst of all, he realized too late, as flashes of imagery and sensations played out in his mind in an incomplete, yet still horrible fashion.
Crunching gravel. The sound of others talking. Frantic tones. Worried, panicked. Who were they? Did not matter. Only what they'd done. Protect self. Make them pay.
Red. Pure. Rage. Hatred. Red. Vile. Fury. Malevolence. Crimson. Red.
Growling. The sound of an impact. The feeling of an impact. Cracking bone. Coughing. A roar. A scream. Ripping. Wet. Warmth. Quiet.
Red. Stains on the dirt. Scattered wood fragments. Two ponies. Staring upwards. Blank eyes. No movement. Standing over them. Hoof...wet and red.
Shock. Horror. Denial. Guilt. Pain. Monster.
It passed. Ray was almost paralyzed by the emotions that followed, now pervading every crevice of his mind. The pain in his chest felt like it was multiplying. His breath became shuddering gasps, before he retched, covering his mouth with one hoof, and falling to his knees and finding what little food had previously been in his system now spilled across the ground. It was too much. Everything. It was all too much.
At that moment, his necklace began to glow once more. From the depths of his mind, the growling he'd grown accustomed to started to rise. Growling...and chuckling. Without even pulling Ray down to his level, he spoke to him, his words reverberating throughout his mind.
"Ah yes, I remember it as though it were yesterday. The anger, the power. Was it not exhilarating, Ray? The carnage we wrought that day, in the span of but a few moments?"
"...shut up…" Ray whimpered.
"Two ponies, yes. Two lives," Wrath continued on. "Though paltry compared to my own feats, this is not about me, is it? No, this is about you… you awakened something inside of you that day, didn't you, Ray?"
"Shut...up…"
"A dormant hatred. An intolerance. Of all those who think to cross you, who think to harm you. Of all who seek to do wrong by you...by us. Those fools performed the action, and we returned to them what they deserved for their hubris. You felt it, if only for those brief moments, which lasted an eternity for them. The power to end whoever and whatever you wish. And you loved it."
"Shut up!" Ray shouted, getting back up and shaking his head back and forth.
"Once again Ray, you know it is true. Stop hiding in denial and-"
"I said SHUT UP!"
In a vain effort to get the voice out of his head, to get his mind off of the memories, Ray turned to face the brick wall next to him, and forcefully slammed his forehead against it. He did this repeatedly, rearing his head back and ramming it against the wall over and over without an ounce of hesitation, each time punctuated with another shout.
"Shut!" SLAM! "Up!" BASH! "Shut!" BAM! "Up!" CRASH! "Shut up!" SMASH! "Shut up!" WHAM! "SHUT UP!"
The final shout was followed by one final bang against the wall. His horn hurt immensely, along with his forehead as a whole, having been repeatedly hammered at an angle against a solid surface without mercy. With his head still resting against the wall, a tiny rivulet of blood began to flow down from the beaten part of his forehead, trickling its way down his muzzle. Ray was very aware of the pain… and also the silence. He started to breath a sigh of relief when-
"So now you're resorting to physically harming yourself? Come now, Ray. That didn't work the last time you tried it either, why should it be any different on this occasion?"
Whatever relief Ray felt immediately went up in smoke. He knew he had to try and endure. He knew he had to remain strong in the face of all this torment.
But he simply couldn't. It was all too much to bear. So in the end, with an anguished scream, he took off again, with not so much as an inkling as to where he was going. He just needed to move. He ran, with the blue shard of crystal adorning his necklace glowing all the while...
The sun had begun to dip below the horizon, casting an orange haze across the land. Dusk was astounded and shocked at the time. Had they really spent the whole day searching for Ray and not found any trace of where he'd gone?
He was the most recent to return to the library from his own attempts to find Ray. Twilight sat not far from him, deep in thought. Fluttershy was nervously wringing her hooves and glancing at the door. Applejack tapped her hoof impatiently. Pinkie sat alone, her mane still deflated and her expression forlorn. The others were still out there looking.
Dusk had been searching alone and hadn't found the stallion anywhere. He'd even tried using a colour puppet to track him, but he couldn't. Whenever he tried, it would become unstable and take off in completely random directions. It had literally led him in circles around town before he realised something was wrong, on top of either stopping completely or even twitching and exploding.
The others present had all arrived not long prior to him, each of them having searched all day in differing locations and none of them having found a trace of Ray anywhere. So now he is there with them, waiting for those who are still out searching to return as well. Seeing as how late it was getting, he hoped that they show up soon, and with Ray in tow.
But the situation just had Dusk worrying. Ray practically vanishing, the behaviour of his puppets. Perhaps it was something to do with Wrath interfering with the spell somehow because of Ray's state. If that was the case then…
Twilight had already made it clear the stakes if that were to happen again. They'd been lucky with the isolation of the Everfree Forest, but if Wrath were to break loose here in Ponyville… the consequences would be catastrophic. All the more reason to be nervous and to find Ray as soon as possible before that happened.
The door opened and they all whipped their heads up. Rarity and Spike came through and Rainbow darted inside behind them.
Twilight hurried to meet them. "Well?"
Though they were silent, their expressions told them they had the same results.
"What about you guys?" asked Spike.
"Nothing," murmured Dusk. "A few ponies said they saw him running, but they couldn't tell us where."
"We tried asking around too," voiced Rarity. "Again, as you say, some saw him running and bumping into ponies, but not where he went afterwards."
"Anything from the sky, Rainbow?" asked Twilight.
"Nothing. I must have flown around the whole town and then some about a hundred times," reported Rainbow. "I never caught even a glimpse of him the whole time."
"I asked some of my animal friends to help in the search," whispered Fluttershy. "They… they haven't seen anything yet, but th-they'll keep looking."
"AJ and I checked his hangouts and his home, but no clues. Poor Ray," sighed Pinkie. "All on his lonesome out there and on his birthday…"
"Faust-dammit!" Applejack kicked the wall in frustration and the tree shook a little. "Ah can't believe this!"
"Now, calm down, Applejack," said Rarity. "Losing our tempers won't solve anything."
"She's right though!" voiced Rainbow. "Seriously? The whole day, all of us looking and nothing? Are me and AJ seriously the only ones having a problem with this?!"
"Rainbow!" The sharpness of Dusk's voice surprised everypony, even him. "Do not assume for a minute that we aren't all concerned about Ray's whereabouts. But we are all attempting to maintain a level of calm to keep our heads clear, so would you kindly keep yourself to the same standard?"
"Maybe I could, if we'd found something!" she returned. "But seriously, how with all of us looking, have we not found anything? Is he even in town anymore?!"
Even she seemed to regret those words as she said them. An immediate hush fell over the group. They didn't want to believe it, but from how Ray was acting before and the fact they hadn't seen him anywhere in town at all…
It was Spike who broke the silence. "You don't think…?"
"No!" Again, it was Fluttershy who leaped to his defence. "Ray wouldn't leave us! He promised!"
"I agree with Fluttershy," seconded Rarity. "Though he can behave uncouthly at times, he is a decent sort to say the least. He wouldn't just leave."
"Not meanin' ta besmirch Ray here, but y'all saw how he was actin'," noted Applejack. "With his power ta zap about anywhere he pleases, ah wouldn't put it past him."
"Yeah, it wouldn't be the first time a stallion we know left town 'cause he got all worked up about something. No offense, Dusk," Rainbow added.
"None taken," he replied. "And in that sense, I have a feeling you may be right. I would feel the same way." He thought of Doom. "I have felt the same way…"
"We know," said Twilight gently. "You know him best, Dusk. If he had run away from Ponyville, where would he have gone?"
"I really don't know," he answered. "He wouldn't have gone back to Idahoof and he never really had any special attachment to anywhere he'd been to before coming here. Your guess is as good as mine."
"What if he has left?" asked Pinkie.
"Then we shall have to widen our search," said Rarity. "If he has left, I don't imagine he'd have gone too far."
Rainbow snorted. "Yeah, right. Have you forgotten he can teleport?"
"But what good is being able to go anywhere you please if you have nowhere else to go?" she replied.
"Let's hope yer right." Applejack sighed. "Anyways, it's gonna get dark soon. No way we can find him fumblin' around like lookin' fer a needle in a haystack."
"Agreed. Let's all get some rest and start again early tomorrow. And…" They all waited as Twilight paused. "I should probably say that… regardless of where he could be, if we don't find him soon… we're going to have to alert the Princess."
Rainbow did a double take. "Are you nuts?!"
"No!" Fluttershy shrieked. "She let him stay on the promise we would look after him! If she finds out this happened, she may take him away back to Canterlot!"
"Exactly! We don't wanna get him locked up again!"
The others all seemed to be in agreement, Dusk included. The last thing he wanted was to see his best friend imprisoned once more.
"I'm sorry," said Twilight sadly. "But remember our side of the promise to Celestia? We agreed to notify her if anything were to go wrong with Ray."
"Yeah, but that was for if Wrath started coming out, not every time Ray gets upset!" protested Rainbow.
"How does this not meet that criteria?" Twilight asked.
"'Cause last I checked, the town hadn't been blown up!" she retorted.
"Would you rather wait until something does blow up before bringing it to the Princess's attention then?" she countered.
"But-!"
"Look, it would just be a precaution," she placated. "Just to help us look for him, that's all."
"But what if that isn't all she does?!" Fluttershy repeated. "What if she really does try to take him away again because we failed?!"
"This could be the excuse she needs!" Rainbow agreed. "Then that would be it! How would that be helping him?!"
Silence fell again, for a few more long moments. This time, despite the fear he held in that regard, Dusk spoke up.
"Rainbow, Fluttershy," he began, "I admit I'm not supportive of what Celestia did to Ray any more than you are. But do you really think she will use this as justification to take him away again?"
"Why not?" she snapped. "None of us thought the Princess of the Sun would want to shove a super-strong, destruction-obsessed demon animal thing inside of a foal's head, but it turns out she was all for that!"
Twilight stepped forward. "Now, hold on a moment-!"
"She might be right." They all looked at Spike, who seemed just as surprised at the attention and stumbled a bit. "Uh, Rainbow, I mean a-and not for the reasons you might think."
"What do you mean?" asked Dusk.
"Well, think about it," he went on. "This is the day that Ray found out about Wrath, right? And we all saw how much he was freaking out. Imagine how he'll react if we bring in the pony that did it to him to begin with."
"Probably like a hydra bein' kicked in the heads while it's sleepin' an' that's bein' generous," noted Applejack.
Dusk glimpsed Rarity giving Spike a brief look of admiration, but she didn't say anything. She smiled and nodded to Spike when he looked at her, who returned it gratefully.
"Regardless," Twilight replied, "we'll need to inform the Princess soon. What if she finds about this and we were keeping it from her?"
"Didn't we just say that-?!"
"I'm going." Rainbow was cut off by a quiet, yet determined voice. Fluttershy was already heading to the door. "You can all go get some rest if you want, but I'm going back out to look for Ray again." She gazed back with a fierce look in her eye that contrasted the calm on her face. "Please, don't try and stop me."
Before any of them could say anything, she left with a gentle flutter of her wings. They all stared after her for a while. Silently, one by one, they started to get up and follow suit. Even Spike suppressed a yawn and waddled after them.
Dusk managed to walk beside Twilight on the way out, the two of them pausing at the threshold.
"Are you alright, my love?" he asked.
"I'll be fine," she murmured. "Thanks for trying to stand by me back there."
"It's what I do," he smiled. "Do you really think we'll need to call in Celestia for this?"
"I honestly hope we don't have to," she replied. "I just want to keep everypony safe, Ray included but… I'd hate to be the reason he ends up getting locked up again."
"You think she might do that too?"
"We know what she's been willing to do to keep ensure Equestria's safety, Dusk," she answered. "We have to consider the possibility that she may think it's for the best."
Dusk sighed. "For once, my love, I hope you're wrong."
"Me too." She tried to put on a smile. "Come on, we'll search together this time. Maybe my magic could help stabilise whatever's wrong with your puppets and we can track him."
"It's worth a try," said Dusk.
As the two of them went off into town, with the stars beginning to blanket the sky, Dusk silently hoped they would find Ray soon. The roar of that terrible beast sounded as clear as it did on that fateful day…
While the sun continued to set toward the horizon, bathing the land in fading light and casting longer and longer shadows with each passing minute, on the outskirts of town, one lone figure trudged slowly, aimlessly, hardly aware of the passage of time.
One after another, his hooves dragged forward across the ground. There was no degree of haste in his movements. He had not the energy to pick his hooves up more than an inch off the ground as he continued his slow, sluggish walk. His head hung downward, looking only at the ground beneath him as he walked, not a clue as to where he was or which direction he was going, and not quite caring at the moment either way. His silver mane, likewise, fell over and concealed most of his facial features. Each step he took, his body swayed back and forth.
Tired. Of all the things Ray felt right then, that was the most predominant. He'd been running, yelling, hiding, weeping, for hours. Hours of trying to get away from the trauma, to make it stop somehow. To no avail. Around every turn, there were new old memories that plagued his conscience. Everything he saw, felt, heard, every sensation he experienced rekindled at least one old memory for him. Some of them he'd experienced multiple times over, others he'd been fortunate enough to see only once. Wrath, after some time, had eventually gotten bored and retreated back within his own realm of Ray's psyche. With it, the crystal adorning his necklace had stopped glowing as well. But that did not stop the memories from continuing to flood in. Hours upon hours of torment, recalling every horrible detail bit by bit over the course of that time. Hours of wasted energy, railing uselessly against the torrent of emotions…
And now he was all but spent. The flood of memories had dwindled, after what felt like eons of being relentlessly battered by them, though they were not gone. But at the same time, Ray had nothing left to give. The dam wall had long since shattered, the destructive deluge it was holding back having mostly run it course, leaving in its wake a nearly empty shell of what Ray's mind once was. More memory continued to pop up, and while Ray felt each and every one of them, he simply could not bring himself to react. His tears had dried up. His throat was dry, his voice cracked. His mind, while not quite numb to the persisting pain each memory brought, could not do anything in response except for vaguely register a few physical sensations and continue sending out that one order to the rest of his body; move. Were it not for that subconscious order driving him, he likely would have fallen over a long time ago. His bones and muscles ached enormously. His body wanted to rest. But at the same time, stopping would mean turning his attention toward the memories. So he kept going.
While he'd been running haphazardly through Ponyville, he'd of course inevitably run into more than a couple of other ponies going about their business. He never slowed down for any of them, even the faces he recognized to varying extents. He'd even seen the others, his friends, now and again throughout the town. From their actions and the expressions they all seemed to share, it was clear whenever he saw them that they were looking for him. All the same, he avoided them, generally going in the other direction and hiding in alleyways whenever he spotted one or more of them. He knew it was wrong. They were probably worried about him, after that display of his at the library before he'd left unannounced. Worried, no doubt at least a little angry in some cases...perhaps even a little scared. He couldn't blame them. But he also did not want them to see him like this, basically broken and experiencing a true emotional breakdown. That, and whatever thoughts he ever had of them were always almost immediately drowned out by more memories.
On more than one occasion, he'd travelled a little ways away from the town. Something, he couldn't tell what, always pulled him back without him realizing it. Like some subconscious force constantly dragging him back within its limits whenever he strayed away. All the better, since he never meant to leave town to begin with. Deep down, he knew he had to honour his promise for one thing, and also didn't want to abandon his friends for another. Perhaps that was the force tethering him here. Devotion.
Regardless, he was here now, staying on the outskirts of the town so as to avoid further encounters. Somewhere in his mind it registered that being out here made him more open to view, but he just couldn't find it in himself to care anymore. Here he was, barely plodding along, looking like he could fall over any minute.
Another step. And without warning, a beam of sunlight found its way through an opening in the mane covering his face, meeting directly with his eye. He registered the slight discomfort, and with some effort, managed to stop moving and shield his eyes as he slowly looked up.
Now, it finally registered for him just how much time had passed, taking a good look at the sun's position just over the horizon, now beginning to dip behind the trees in the distance. Even so, in his state, he had to stare for about a minute for the information to process.
With the realization of what time it was, his mind began to emerge from its self-imposed trance. Ray slowly looked to his left, then to his right, taking in his surroundings. He was still close to the town, fortunately. Though now he found himself just outside of it, in the surrounding grassy area. Up ahead of him, more meadow stretched out. Beyond that, trees, growing thicker the farther along they got, marking one of the outermost, relatively safe edges of the Everfree Forest. And beyond that, if he looked up somewhat, he could easily see the mountain in the distance, situated upon which was the Royal Castle and the city of Canterlot.
This particular view brought upon him a faint sense of deja vu. He felt like he'd looked at this before, at some point…
Looking around again, his eyes fell upon a certain feature of the surroundings, and he blinked in recognition. Not far from where he himself was standing was a small rise of land, and near the top of that, a tree. It wouldn't have been significant, were it not for a particular memory of this exact spot. Months ago, where he'd gone after coming back to Ponyville with the others, gazed on this same view from underneath that tree, and formally met a certain Princess…
"That's where I met Cadence…back during the..." he muttered aloud, so quietly that he himself could barely hear it. He could not finish that thought, because it brought with it a number of new, more recent memories. Memories of massive conflict, hoof colliding with chitin, fighting alongside the others, feeling anger, wanting revenge, hate-
He grimaced and screwed his eyes shut. These memories weren't as bad. They weren't part of the ones that had traumatized him in his youth. He only needed to take a few deep breaths, and they diminished, going away shortly thereafter.
Even so, this minor episode had brought him into further exhaustion. And now that he was paying attention, he was fully aware of the volume with which his body was screaming for rest. The magnitude of it almost caused him to collapse right then and there, though he pulled himself back up before that could happen. His body desperately wanted to rest, and by now, Ray couldn't think of a reason not to oblige. He was becoming alert again, whether he liked it or not, and the memories were still trickling in. And forcing himself to keep walking, which he was initially tempted to do, wouldn't be an effective solution any longer. How he was now, he probably wouldn't get very far anyways.
It was with reluctance that Ray gave in to his own body's demands. Instead of just going limp and hitting the ground though (which no small part of him wanted to do), his gaze travelled over to that same tree again. He didn't know why he felt like going through the effort, exactly. Maybe because it would offer shade? Not that shade would be all that helpful in the night time, which would certainly have fallen by the time he'd be ready to move again. Nostalgia? What did that matter? Memories were the last thing he wanted to be thinking about at the moment. Whatever the reason, he found himself dragging his protesting body up the tiny slope, taking far longer than he would have had he not been so weak, and at the base of the tree a minute later. He took just a few seconds to find the same spot he'd been in months prior, and unceremoniously fell against the bark, sliding down and bringing himself into a somewhat seated position, with his back against the tree, his forelegs dangling to either side of him, and his hind legs splaying forward into the grass. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but he didn't have the energy to get into a proper one (though he faintly acknowledged that this was similar to the weird way that one unicorn, Lyra, could often be found sitting around town). Instead, he let his head fall back and bonk against the tree, ignoring the dull pain and letting it rest there.
His eyes were only half open as he stared out into the horizon, into space. His body was thankful for the reprieve, certainly, but now his mind was left to do the one thing he dreaded right now; think.
He did not want to, but after all of the day's events - or rather, it's one, painful, continuous event - his thoughts couldn't help but wander. These were memories that he'd tried and willed, with every fibre of his being, to keep locked away in the recesses of his mind, just like Wrath. Things that he wanted nothing more than to forget about entirely. But this cursed day would always bring everything back. As though Fate itself were taunting him, forcing him to relive all those painful memories, to experience once again every glare, every threat, every hateful word uttered in his direction. Forcing him to remember his mistakes, his every action, from the bad to the absolutely horrifying. And this year, because of that party, reminding him incessantly of what day it was, he'd had to live through all of it again. He thought he'd worked out a system. Not a perfect system, but a system nonetheless. But in the end, no matter what he tried, he just couldn't escape his past…
Why? Why did it always come back to haunt him? Why couldn't he just leave it all behind? All he wanted, all he ever wanted, was to be accepted. To have friends. To have a life, for crying out loud. Now he had those things...most of them, anyways. He was far from normal, and he knew he always would be, but now he had a home, friends...he felt like he belonged here. He'd hoped that this would be the answer to his problems.
So why then did they continue to persist? Why couldn't he just get over it all? What would it take to make his own past stop forcing itself into his mind? Was he doomed to live like this? Was this his fate, to live with a demon inside of him, threatening to come out, and either allow it to do so or else spend his whole life in a repeating cycle of torment? All these thoughts, and more, invaded his mind. And in response to each and every question, one additional thought kept coming up. One that ended up drowning out all the others.
...what was the point?
The sun's glow was beginning to ebb below the horizon and the street lamps of Ponyville were starting to flicker to life, as were the stars in the sky. Most ponies were heading into their houses for a quiet evening and a good night's sleep. Others, like romantic couples, began to take advantage of the town's nightlife.
One of these couples, Lyra and Bon Bon, were just strolling through town together. Their sides were brushed against each other and the two mares were perfectly content and happy just being in each other's company, enjoying the peace of the night.
Until a very worried and frantic Pegasus pushed them apart in her hurry to get by.
"Hey!" Bon Bon glared after her. "Fluttershy, watch where you're going!"
She whipped around and gasped like she only just noticed they were there.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry ladies!" Fluttershy squeaked. "I swear, I didn't see you, I didn't mean-"
"Don't worry, it was just an accident," dismissed Lyra. "What's the rush? You seem pretty caught up with something."
"I… I'm looking for Ray," she mumbled.
"Still? You've been at that since we saw you earlier." Bon Bon's glare changed to a look of concern. "Is there really no sign of him?"
"Nothing," she said sadly. "I'm really worried. We all are…"
"I don't blame you. Is there any way we can help?" ventured Lyra. "Do you want us to look with you?"
"Oh um, I wouldn't want to be any bother…" she muttered.
"Fluttershy, we wouldn't be bothered at all," assured Bon Bon.
"Yeah. If Bonny ever went missing, I'd be out looking for her until I found her too."
"Aww, really?"
"Of course, you silly filly!" Lyra nuzzled her lover and beamed at Fluttershy. "If you want help finding your coltfriend, you only have to ask."
Fluttershy's face flushed red. "Um… he isn't uh… my coltfriend."
"Right, sure he isn't." Lyra exchanged a knowing look with Bon Bon. "But seriously, if you need help looking, just ask. Maybe you should bring it to the attention of the Mayor, have the rest of the town help too."
"No! I mean, um," she went on quickly, "I think we're fine looking with just the girls, Dusk and Spike."
The two mares shared confused looks and Fluttershy was worried they would insist on their suggestion, but appeared to shrug it off.
"If you say so," said Lyra. "But it's getting pretty late now. Don't you think you should go home, get some rest and try again tomorrow?"
"No," she said firmly, but gently. "It may take a while, but I'm going to keep looking. Even if it takes all night, I'm going to find him."
"Wow. Really?"
"Wouldn't you do the same with Bon Bon?"
Lyra opened her mouth and closed it again, nodding brightly. Bon Bon smiled warmly at her marefriend.
"You sure you don't want any help from us?" she asked Fluttershy.
She shook her head. "No, thank you. I think I'll be fine. You two have a good evening, sorry again for barging by."
"Don't worry about it," dismissed Lyra. "Good luck with your search. I hope you find him."
"Thank you." She fluttered away and murmured to herself, "I do too…"
Thinking about it, it would probably be nice to get some help. But she didn't want to risk it. Getting the rest of the town involved might get the attention of the princess and if she saw fit to come to Ponyville herself…
Fluttershy couldn't bear the thought of Ray being taken away again.
She'd noticed his distant behaviour before at the party. She wanted so much for him to enjoy his birthday, she wanted to be sure he was having a good time. Whenever she'd asked if he was okay, he insisted he was fine. She should have known something was wrong. If only she'd managed to talk to him properly about it, done something to help.
Poor Ray, she thought. Having such a day as his birthday, a day supposed to be spent with friends and having fun, ruined by the monster trapped in his head. It was like it infected every aspect of his life to the point that Fluttershy admired more and more the fact he somehow still managed to smile and joke every day, to appear so strong when inside he must be so scared. She wished she could show that kind of strength more often.
But she knew where her strength lay: in her kindness. Ray may not have had the best life, but she was going to do her absolute best to make sure it was better. And she'd absolutely meant what she'd said to Lyra and Bon Bon back there. Even if it took her all night, even if the others gave up, she was going to find Ray. Even if it meant going into the Everfree Forest or wherever her search took her, she didn't care.
It was funny. Normally, she'd be scared about such a prospect and part of her was. But the rest of her was dominated by the drive to be sure that Ray was safe. She'd felt in similar ways before about her friends, either pony or critter, but this was… different. Deeper. Stronger. Stronger than anything she'd ever felt before.
The glimpse at the horizon brought her out of her thoughts. It was almost dark and finding him would be a lot more difficult by then. Her heart racing at the thought of him out there, scared and alone, she hurried along a little faster. Her eyes rapidly scanned every nook, every cranny, every alley, every square for any flash of green or streak of silver.
She was so caught up in looking, her erratic route took her to the edge of town. She didn't even notice until she was almost past it, recognising the meadows that surrounded Ponyville. Her animal friends had been covering this part, but they hadn't managed to find him and had all gone to bed at this point. She couldn't have asked them to stay up so late. Except maybe the bats and owls
She briefly considered turning around, intending to head off to her cottage and see if they'd be willing to do so when she vaguely registered a nearby tree situated atop a small hill, along with the pony sitting underneath it. She was about to overlook it completely… until she stopped and took the time to fully register the image.
Even from this distance, there was no mistaking him. His bright green fur stuck out, even in the meadow, as did his messy silver mane. It was him! She was so relieved, she could scream and she almost did. But not wanting to waste a second more, she hurried over to him.
"Ray! Ray!" She flew as hard as she could to get to him. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay!"
Despite her elated shouts, there didn't seem to be much of a reaction from Ray as she got closer. He still sat there, under that tree, completely unmoving. Because he was facing away from her, she couldn't see his face.
"Ray?" Her apprehension began to return as she neared. "Ray are… are you alright?"
She came to a stop right next to the tree, close enough to confirm, beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was Ray sitting before her. Yet still, even at this distance, there was no real reaction. She could make out the slight rising and falling of his chest, but nothing more from her angle.
"R-Ray?"
Now, she got a reaction: a simple ear twitch in response to her voice. For a moment, Fluttershy was glad that Ray was alright, that he could hear her...until he turned his head, so very slowly, in her direction. And what she saw made her gasp in barely concealed worry.
His mane a draped low over his face, to the point where she had trouble seeing his eyes, especially in the dying sunlight. But she could still see them...and they just looked...dead. As he turned his head to look at her, his eyes showed no emotion, no glimmer, not even so much as a spark of anything. Just...blank. His face was crestfallen, his coat matted down. Visible streaks ran down his features from his eyes, reminiscent of those created by tears. Another, third streak also ran down from his forehead, near his horn...but different in that it was a dark red. Like dried blood; a sight that made Fluttershy cringe all the more. His posture showed nothing but exhaustion, with barely any visible muscle movement in any part of his body save for his breathing and the craning of his neck. All these things, she saw. But those eyes...she couldn't help but stare into them. They almost looked… lifeless.
It felt like minutes, spent just staring at each other; Fluttershy in shock, Ray...not showing anything. Until the latter eventually spoke, in a tone just as barren as the look in his eyes.
"Oh… Fluttershy… hey…" he said in a slow, mechanical fashion, before turning his head back toward the horizon. Not even giving her a second glance.
"Oh my goodness. Oh, Ray…" She took a few more tentative steps closer. No reaction. "Ray? A-are you…? I-is everything… um…?"
Ray didn't say anything. Didn't look at her. He simply remained silent, unmoving.
"Ray? R-Ray?" Slowly, she reached out for him, meaning to place a hoof on his shoulder.
Until he recoiled, ever to slightly, at her faint touch. It wasn't much of a movement, but the suddenness of it caused Fluttershy to bring back her own hoof as well, as though she'd been shocked.
"Oh, Ray…" She could feel her voice start to break. "P-please, say something. W-when you feel up to it, of course…"
Ray continued to be silent in the wake of this, for a few more moments. Fortunately, much to Fluttershy's relief, he finally spoke.
"... sorry about that," he said slowly, tiredly. "I guess I'm… still kinda sensitive. My nerves have been all over the place today… you know..?"
"Y-yes, of course. I understand," she said sincerely. "I just… I was… I only want…"
"Only want… what?" he asked. "If you want, you can sit down. It'd hardly be polite to make you stand there…" he scoffed lightly and closed his eyes. "Or stay standing. I… don't really care…" Fluttershy cringed at his tone. As soon as those words were uttered, he frowned again, just enough for the expression to be recognizable. "Sorry. Again."
"It's okay," she said quickly. "Like you said… it's not one of your best days." Carefully, she approached him and settled down beside him, gazing at him sympathetically.
Once again, Ray scoffed, his chest suddenly rising and falling with the action. His own eyes, with the lids half-closed, never left the horizon as he spoke.
"You have absolutely no freaking idea…"
With this, he sighed heavily again. There was silence for another long, tense minute, with Fluttershy simply not knowing what to say. She'd never seen Ray like this, even at Canterlot after they'd all learned about Wrath. He'd been depressed then… but this was something else, she could tell.
"Ray, I…" She shut her eyes for a moment and lowered her voice involuntarily. "I'm so sorry…"
"Sorry? For what?" he suddenly asked, still not turning to face her. "It's not like you have an ancient, essentially-primordial demonic presence in your head defining your existence and ruining your life at every turn. You should be happy about that, not sorry."
She flinched again at his tone. "S-s-sorry. I-I only meant that… we should have known, about today. I should have known. I should have seen something, right from the start I… I'm a terrible friend. I'm sorry, I only wanted you… to be happy…"
Ray was silent for another few moments before he started again, quietly, "So, you guys figured it out then?"
Fluttershy knew what he was referring to. She could only nod in response. Yet, surprising her, Ray actually ended up smiling. A very grim, sardonic smile.
"Yeah, well… I guess the nice thing for me to do would be to say that it's alright, that you guys couldn't have known, that I don't blame you… yet at the same time, I can't help but thank you guys for reminding me, so effectively, of what day today is. I just want to forget, you know? I want to forget that today even exists…But leave it to Pinkie to defy reason and somehow determine that today is my birthday, regardless. In hindsight, maybe I should have figured that would happen… oh well."
He slowly hung his head. "All in the past now, I suppose… all in the extremely horrifying, traumatic past… that I've just been subconsciously forced to relive throughout the entire day… so yeah. Thanks for the party." He was silent again, for a few more moments, before he opened his eyes again and continued gazing out at the horizon. "Aww, who am I kidding? Nopony cares about my sob stories… nopony ever did… and in the end, I guess nopony ever will…"
If his state before wasn't pushing Fluttershy to tears, those words surely were now. Though he appeared to object before, she once again reached out for him and placed a hoof gently on his shoulder.
"I do."
Ray hadn't been moving previously, but all the same, he seemed to stop when she said this. After a second, his head slowly turned toward her, and she found herself staring into his eyes once again. They were still blank, almost dead… but now there was one emotion coming through them. However, it wasn't the emotion she'd hoped to see, that she desperately wanted to see in those eyes.
No. The only thing those eyes were showing was pain.
"Do you? Do you really?" He smiled again, grinned even, but there was nothing positive in either one. "I hate to sound like a jerk, especially to you… you're sweet, Fluttershy, you really are. One of, if not the single sweetest pony I've ever met. But you have no idea the things I've had to put up with… the things I've done."
He spoke this last word with such intensity in comparison to the previous ones that Fluttershy actually cowered inwardly, if only for a brief moment.
"You know, sometimes, I wonder why I'm even here. What's the point of somepony like me even being around here? From the day I was born… my only purpose has been to serve as a container for a monster that nopony wants around… and it turns out, I can't even do that job well. He keeps coming out… and because of that, my life, the lives of those around me… they keep getting ruined. They keep… ending."
Right then and there, Fluttershy wanted nothing more than to give him the warmest embrace she could. Hearing such despair from any of her friends would have upset her but from him… for some reason, it really made her ache inside.
He'd always been there for her, been a source of courage and support for her, just like the others. But again, from him, it always seemed so much stronger. Now, it was time for her to return the favour.
"Ray," she began, "I… I know how hard it's been for you. I can't say I understand completely, but… you're not the only one who's had hardships to endure. But throughout any of what you've had to suffer, have you ever had support? Have you ever had encouragement or love? Have you ever had friends?"
Ray's gaze on her began to harden. "No. And you know that, Fluttershy. Why remind me that my entire life has just been a giant trainwreck devoid of any form of friends or family to even help with-"
"Because you do now." Ray stopped at the new tone her voice took. "I know you've had to suffer alone and endure everything with nopony by your side. But you have us now. You have me. We're here for you. We might not be able to fix your past, but we can do our best to make your future better. I promise."
Ray just continued gazing at her after her little speech. The hard look in his eyes was gone now. They still looked mostly empty, save for that encompassing sign of fatigue… but now there was something else coming into them. She couldn't tell exactly what it was, though she liked to think she had a relatively good idea.
Even so, Ray didn't seem fully… open. His eyes retained the hopeless, pained feel in them, even though something else was slowly leaking into them now. His expression was still tired, above all else… but not some small vestule of energy appeared to be making its way into his features. His voice, when he spoke, was still exhausted, still bleak... but she heard, or at least wished she heard, some faint glimmer of hope in there as well. Predominantly, however, his next question betrayed only one emotion: confusion.
"Fluttershy... why?" he shook his head. "Why…? Why does it look like that all of this is...affecting you? Why do you care so much, about somepony like me?"
She hesitated for a moment. She never really thought about why she was caring, about her friends and animals. It had always just been part of her. But even though she never really thought about it, she still had an answer.
"Because I know how hard life can be sometimes," she said gently. "And I know that it can be that much better if you just show a little kindness. But with you…" She didn't realise that the words had already tumbled out, but she carried on. "With you it's… different. It always has been."
"... what's always been different?"
It was happening. The butterflies in her stomach were doing backflips and her heart was pounding against her chest, yet she wasn't nervous. Everything she felt for him, that she thought made him so special. Normally, she mumbled and stammered but this time it seemed so easy to voice her thoughts.
"My friends. They've always been there for me and supported me. But you've done it more than anypony. You cared about me when I thought I was being a monster to my friends. You believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. You told me that your life wouldn't be the same without me in it. Well… neither would mine." Her hoof drifted from his shoulder to his hoof. "You're my strength, Ray. Let me… let me be your… kindness."
At this, his eyes widened a fraction. The faint glimmer she had seen before, it was starting to glow like the stars above. Like what she'd just told him, what she felt they both knew was coming just seemed natural. Only unlike the last time she'd felt like this, when they were alone in the Canterlot gardens, there was nopony likely to come across them.
Almost as one, they leaned towards each other. Her heart racing, Fluttershy closed her eyes and her lips reached out. A moment later, she felt his too, gently connected in their first kiss.
Neither of them had any experience. Neither were completely sure of what they were doing. But right there, it didn't matter. Fluttershy just relished in the feeling of his lips on hers. Nothing passionate or fiery, just a simple kiss. And yet she felt so much conveyed from it. Nothing needed to be said now. This was more than enough.
She didn't know how long it had been until they stopped for air. She didn't think it really mattered. Until she realised fully what they had just done.
"Oh my goodness!" she almost screamed. "I-I can't believe that I… I mean, that we… that we just… we d-did… oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I-"
"Fluttershy?"
She stopped and tried to control her breathing. "S-sorry… I… I've never… just that I…"
"Flutters?"
Somehow, she managed to look him in the eye. She almost gasped when she saw that all the sadness seemed to be melting away and his shining yellow orbs, like twin suns, seemed to be returning to life again.
"... thank you."
It was so simple, yet like that kiss it said so much. She felt like she should say something else, something more meaningful, but all she said in response, with as much meaning as she could was…
"You're welcome."
And with that, all reservation between them just seemed to… melt away. Energy returned to his features, and for what felt like the first time in ages to Fluttershy, despite the knowledge that it hadn't been nearly that long… she saw him smile. She fell into his soft, caring embrace, feeling his forelegs wrap gently around her form as they pulled her closer to him, while she herself allowed them to do so, snuggling closer to his body. She felt...she didn't know how she felt. She'd never experienced anything like this before. Comfort, security, warmth…
And above everything else, happiness.
"So…" she heard Ray saying,"...was that my birthday gift?"
Her head had become nestled in the crook of his neck, and his voice no longer distant and hopeless, but returning to the state of joy that she liked... loved, so much.
She couldn't help but giggle. "Actually, I got you a decoration for your home. A wooden animal carving of a lion. I had the idea when I remembered what Dusk gave me as a present on Hearth's Warming a while ago."
"Ah…" Now, it was his turn to chuckle; something she relished in feeling, being close to him as she was. "Well, that will make for an interesting decorative piece."
She hummed in affirmation. "It made me think of you."
Ray looked down at her, smiling. "Can I ask how?"
"Strong, courageous, bold, but strongest if he's with his pride," she answered. "I thought about getting you a wolf but…"
Ray continued smiling at her. "Yeah, a wolf would have been...a little strange. I think I'm good with the lion." He placed his head back against the tree, and breathed comfortably. "Though, this was definitely nice too, I gotta say…"
His happy tone ended in the briefest of pained grunts. When Fluttershy looked up, she could see him just slightly touching his forehead with his hoof again, the necklace on his chest vibrating for just a moment before stopping.
She looked up in concern. "Is he… is Wrath…?"
"Don't worry about him," he said firmly, but softly. "He's just getting noisy again...probably doesn't enjoy being so near to all of this mushiness. I'm not complaining in the slightest, of course, but him…"
Feeling a little bold, she planted a long kiss on his cheek. "Well, that's his problem because I'm not complaining either."
He looked down at her again, something else shining in his eyes now. It looked familiar, somehow...though she couldn't quite place her hoof on it.
"Like I said, neither am I," he stated, holding her closer and rubbing her mane affectionately. "You hear that, Wrath? Shut up in there, I'm having a moment with my-" he suddenly stopped himself, coughing awkwardly.
She giggled again. "Yes, Wrath. If it's not too much trouble, could you please simmer down a little bit?"
Ray suddenly started laughing. Not a full-throated, boisterous laugh, but more like a middle-ground between that and his gentle chuckle. His mirth proved to be infectious, and before long Fluttershy found herself laughing too, if not quite a loudly. They both kept at this for about a minute, both forgetting all of their troubles for that time, knowing only each other and their happiness.
When it subsided, Ray wiped away a happy tear from his eye.
"Eh, who knows," he chuckled again. "Maybe he'll come around eventually… of course that's about as likely as Rarity deciding one day to go around the town wearing potato sacks, but still… it's out there."
She laughed once more, the incident before almost completely forgotten. She nestled further into the crook of his neck and sighed contently.
"Shoot, I just remembered… are the others all still out looking for me?"
"Oh my, you're right!" she realised.
"What do you say we go find them? I wouldn't want them to be out searching for me past sunset… not after I've already been found," he added, smiling warmly at her once more.
"That's probably for the best." She sighed disappointedly. "I wish we could stay a little longer though."
Ray continued gazing at her before he sighed again, an even bigger smile on his face. "Alright, I guess we can," he said, resting back against the tree. "I mean...it's not like they'll mind, right? Besides… I kinda like this too… a lot, actually."
She sighed again. "Well, it is getting rather late and we have been searching all day for you. I don't want them to be worried, as lovely as this is."
"Oh come on. And after you just convinced me to stay here with you… alright, let's get moving then."
He slowly lifted her from his body and stood up, albeit a bit shakily due to what was likely lingering fatigue, gently pulling her up along with him him. When she came up, she brushed her side against his. And she didn't move from his side, even as they began walking down from the hill, back toward Ponyville, toward their friends.
She would have liked to have said that things were back to normal again. But even though she had no idea where what they had would go, she did know one thing: things were hardly going to be normal between them from now on.
And to echo what Ray had said, she was far from complaining about it.
Though he had made this journey many times, Test Tube still found himself feeling weaker and weaker at the knees as he approached the door to his master's private chamber. It was like walking toward the cave of a sleeping Ursa Major and it was a gamble whether or not he would emerge again in one piece.
He chastised himself for such foolish thoughts. He knew his master needed his expertise and wasn't going to just kill him on the spot. For the moment, at least…
He took a moment to collect himself and rapped on the door. It was less of a confident knock and more a series of nervous, rapid taps. A moment of silence passed. The order that followed again made his mind flash to the star bears from how much it growled.
"Enter."
Despite the invitation, he hesitated a moment before opening the door. The room was bathed in darkness, the only light peering in through the widening door. It cast on the prone form of Fallen Soul as he lay on the floor, still dressed in his armour. He was so still, he could have easily been mistaken for a very elaborate ornament.
Tube made a mental note not to say that out loud. The helmet shifted slightly in his direction.
"Well?" he asked sharply.
Tube shivered and bowed. "M-my apologies, m-master for disturbing you. I t-trust you are r-r-recovering since the uh… surgery."
Tube's eyes glanced at his master's horn. Though it was mostly wrapped in bandages now, one could note that it was different from before. There was more of a curve now and there were parts that were his natural grey colour, but also patches of red. Anypony else would think it was blood, but Tube knew better.
After all, he'd performed the surgery himself.
His master was silent for a moment before he answered.
"It has required a minor amount of… revision to mine abilities," he admitted. "But already, I can assure thee my performance shall be greatly improved since its inclusion into my repertoire."
"I-I am certain of that, m-master," Tube said quickly. "B-but have there been any… problems at all?"
"Nothing I'm incapable of adapting to." The helmet shifted a little more. "Did thou expect otherwise, Tube? Or perhaps hope?"
"No!" he replied quickly. "Um, no of course not, m-master. Y-you know I have o-our best interests at heart."
"Be sure they remain there," he warned. "I would hate to have thou place recast for underperforming, Tube. Or for stepping outside thy role."
Tube gulped. "O-of c-course, master. Y-you know I l-live to s-serve you i-in whatever way I-"
"Spare me thy pathetic adlib, Tube and recite what I know thou rehearsed to say to me," he ordered sharply.
Tube quickly shut up and returned to his report, suppressing both his crippling fear and his simmering annoyance.
"A few new things to r-report," he began. "I went to the p-place where D-Doom and T-Trixie agreed to meet me, b-but they were… absent. A quick investigation of Ponyville showed m-me the town h-has returned to normal. Q-quite clearly, they uh…"
"They have chosen to forgo their assigned roles in search of a new path," finished Fallen gravely. "And the Amulet?"
"P-presumably, they t-took it with them o-or the Elements h-have taken possession of it."
"Either way, both scenarios would put the Amulet out of our reach. Unfortunate," he murmured, barely even sounding angry. "And after thou assured me they would be the perfect additions to our troupe."
"M-master, I didn't-"
"Silence," he hissed. "Thy error in judgement has cost us not only a substantial amount of bits, but also an artefact of great power and the risk of our performance being revealed before the curtain rises. You have performed well thus far, but thou had better pray that this mistake will be thy last. Dost thou understand?"
"P-p-perfectly," he stammered.
"Good. Still, we have little to fear," he continued. "They will not dare risk the repercussions by telling anypony about us. Most likely, they will run as far as they can and cower away like the rats they are. When the time comes, we will seek them out and exterminate them swiftly. For now, let them scamper away."
"As you wish, master," he bowed.
"It is. Was there anything else?"
Tube nodded. "The test phases for our old ally are nearing completion. His combat skills have been vastly improved, his higher functions have been successfully repressed and he conforms to all verbal commands without question or hesitation."
"Excellent," Fallen praised. "I look forward to seeing how well he dances to my tune."
"I think you will be pleased, master," Tube said eagerly. "He is quite impressive."
"Thou should hope so. And yet," he continued, "we are still too few. This will be quite a drama and we will need as many performers as we can recruit to see that it plays out smoothly."
Both were silent for a moment until, with a clanking of metal, Fallen rose from his spot like a towering mountain and began to walk out.
"M-master?" Tube asked, struggling to keep up with his master's stride.
"Since thou hast shown that finding suitable help isn't thy forte, it seems I must shoulder the responsibility," answered Fallen. "I have a few notable talents in mind and I shall seek them out myself."
"B-but m-master, is it so wise for y-you to u-undertake such a j-journey s-so soon?" persisted Tube. "P-perhaps i-if y-you were to w-w-wait a little longer…"
"Do not presume to tell me of waiting, Tube, for I have spent a thousand years doing nothing but," snapped Fallen, rounding on him. "Unless thou intends to stop me thyself, cease thine prattling and let me depart with less of a pounding in my head than I already possess."
Tube froze and snapped his mouth shut. Those soulless, black holes bored into him for an eternity before Fallen turned with a flicker of his cloak and strode off down the hall.
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Wow. FlutterRay is in effect. Story has just been bumped up to a 206 out of 2! Before it was 200 out of 2!
i love this fanfiction
It finally happened.
It finally happened.
IT FINALLY HAPPENED!
HA! SEE, SCI-FI?! I KNEW IT!!!!
IT FINALLY FREAKING HAPPENED!!!!!
...
*Ahem*
...
Sorry, that was the real me for a second there. Excellent chapter.
4499362 Well, you've said it yourself before. It was all kinda telegraphed way ahead of time. But yes...the ship has set sail.
4499328
I don't understand why everyone keeps making this error...Fallen isn't JUST NOW becoming an Alicorn. He's been an Alicorn, ever since he was brought back from Tartarus. Go back and read the chapters starting from him being brought back.
4497924 Boy......I will tell you this one time, and one time only........the ship's title is FlutterSTRIKE!!!
I WILL NOT TOLERATE MISTATEMENTS OF MY OC'S SHIP, UNDERSTAND?!?!?
4500323 Okay, I will double check then. Thanks for pointing that out.
4500323 The moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrived! Flutterstrike is now cannon! :D Take that, Wrath!
The FlutterRay has set sail on it's maiden voyage. HOORAY!!!!!!!
4501058 FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY, IT'S FLUTTERSTRIKE!!!
PINKIE EVEN SAYS IT IN CHAPTER 2!!!
4500323 M'kay... *Whimper*
4502877 DON'T YOU CRY ON ME!!! YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!!! IT'S ONLY BEEN STATED IN THE SERIES ITSELF, NOT TO MENTION BY LITERALLY EVERY OTHER READER WHO'S REVIEWED!!!
(Except for X 865....who I also corrected on the matter.)
4501766 That is absolutely true, I was not thinking.
Please forgive my horrible transgression, or I shall throw myself on my sword.
4503300 SCI! NO! BAD SCI, BAD! *sprays with water* We do not yell at our fans!
4503300 I'm Sorry.
4504691 *hisses and backs away with teeth bared*
FLUTTERSTRIKE IS HERRRRRRRRE (x5 very loud chough) coming right now to a theater near you
well another amazing chapter by alpha,i can't wait to read more! (hack) oooowwww