A Feeling of Joy - 3
Very calmly, in an almost unnerving way, did I run home. Whatever happened, I panicked and ran. Speck's words rang through my mind. We've only known each other for a month. Could she really have gotten that attached to me?
I come back to the present after replaying the last few hours over in my mind. A steady stream of water hits the back of my head and neck. The rest of Speck's dried mango juice washes out of my hair easily. A knock on the door sounds just as I shut the water off.
She's sitting outside, waiting to pounce. I step out onto a small rug by the tub and dry off. She knocks again as I hang the towel and start to get dressed. I lean on the sink and cover my face with my hands.
I don't know what to do. I don't want to leave town and run away; I don't want to leave her all alone. I can't kick her out; this is just as much her home as it is mine.
She knocks on the door again. I can't hide in the bathroom forever. I stand and open the door. Speck looks up at me, and I do my best to ignore her. I don't need her swaying my feelings with her face.
She follows me down the hall, past my... our bedroom. She sits at the entrance of her room as I step inside and start collecting bricks.
"A-are you okay? What're you doing with my bricks?" I ignore her, sit in a corner, and stare at her as I start to build a box around myself. She starts to walk toward it just as I close the last little hole up. She won't do anything. I know I'll have to come out eventually. She knows I know I'll have to come out eventually.
A hoof pushes one of the bricks out of place. Two large orange eyes peer in, a look of sadness glazed over them. I put the brick back in its place.
"Anon?" She knocks another brick out and sticks her muzzle through. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." I stare at her nose for a bit. Her fangs poke out from between her lips, even when she frowns. I'm noticing things that have always been there, almost like I'm seeing them for the first time.
"It's alright, it was just... surprising." She smiles. I glare at her little pony nose and push the missing brick against her nose. She backs out.
"Will you come out now?" Another brick falls to the floor beside me. I replace it as she starts tapping on another one.
"No." That brick falls to the floor.
"Please?" I replace it.
"No."
"Why not, Anon?!" She starts stomping around the room, frustratedly. I know exactly why I can't come out.
I'm scared.
I'm scared that, somewhere deep down, I really love this pony.
I'm scared that I'll screw something up down the road, and lose her as a friend.
Her stomping stops, and her hoofsteps sound just outside the box. She hasn't given up on me yet. Could she really hate me for anything? She isn't that type of pony.
~~~
Her friend refused to come out of his little brick box, nor would he let her in. She was quickly becoming upset. She was afraid that she messed their friendship up. She thought he shared her feelings; wasn't that why he put up with her? Wasn't that why he let her live with him? Why he let her sleep in his bed instead of the closet? She was so close to crying, but the tears wouldn't fall.
She tapped on more bricks, but her friend replaced them as soon as they popped out.
"Please. Please just let me in." He doesn't say anything. "If you don't let me in, I'll knock these walls down!" She stood in silence for a moment, before the shuffling of a brick caught her attention. She looked down at it, into her friend's eyes. Tears were welled up in his eyes.
"Anon? I'm sorry, please don't cry! I'll go away, I won't bother you anymore!" He shook his head and put his hand through the hole. He caressed her face, scratching under her chin. Her tears finally fell, and she leaned into his touch. He retracted his hand as soon as she did. Though her vision was blurred, she could just barely make out the bricks being removed. Two hands grabbed her and pulled her into the small brick box.
She found it cozy, yet it did little to ease her emotions.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, attempting to cover up how shaky and cracky her voice was. Her friend hugged her as tight as he could. She hugged him back, nuzzling into his chest.
"I don't want to see you cry." He stroked her mane. "I want you to be happy but... I don't think love is something you can just give someone." She started to feel sick, and she tried so hard not to cry even more. It couldn't be stopped; her face buried deeper into her friend's chest, soaking his shirt almost instantly.
~~~
I stroked her back and mane for so long, my nose and lips pressed into that messy turquoise ocean. Right when she said she'd go away... That was the moment that I realized I can not live in this world without her. Before I met her, I struggled with being alone. My thoughts always got the better of me, and it kept me so far in a hole, that I never thought I'd see the sun again.
If Angels are real in this world, then she is definitely one of them.
The only thing I'm worried about... Can I do this? She's a pony, and I'm a human. She doesn't seem to mind, but I don't know if this kind of thing is taboo in this world. Not the whole human and pony relationship, but ponies and other species. This is actually really confusing.
Why am I worried, though? I don't have to do anything with her. What are a few kisses and hugs every now and then? I think I could live with that. We already cuddle, but that's more of a platonic thing.
I did tell Celestia it would be alright if she stopped looking for a way to Earth. I can take a chance.
"I think love is something we'd be better off sharing." I smile against her mane. She pushes away from me and stares into my eyes. The expression on her face is one of pure disgust and rage. I reach for her face, but she knocks my hand away and starts hitting me in the chest. All that she can get out of me are a few faked oof's and ouch's. Her sobs don't stop, even as she slows her assault.
The only thing I can do is pull her close to me. Her chin rests on my chest.
"You're such a jerk, Anon."
"I know." She snickers and presses closer to me. I hug her tighter.
"How about we go enjoy the rest of the festival, you big drama queen."
"Drama queen? I'm not the one who -" She covers my mouth with a hoof. I crawl out of the brick house with her in tow. She climbs out of my arms and flies beside me as I run downstairs and out the front door.
***
The town is filled with ponies, so much so that I can barely walk through the crowds without tripping. It takes nearly an hour just to get to the other side of town.
"Having trouble, Anon?" Speck flies beside me, acting smug with her wings and ability to fly. I grab her and tuck her under my arm.
"Yup. But now, I'm not alone." She wiggles her hooves and tries to flap her wings before she starts screeching.
"I wish you'd stop holding me like this!"
"You like it."
"I do." Her cheeks burn and she smiles as she stops struggling. She looks up as we finally break through the large crowd and make it out to the outskirts of town. Dozens of rides were set up, all of them just begging to be ridden and enjoyed. Speck points at one in particular; a gigantic Ferris Wheel. "I want to ride that." It looms at the end of the strip of rides.
"I think later tonight would be a better time, don't you?" She nods. "In the meantime, we can play some of the other games they've got set up around here."
I continue shuffling through the ponies. We play games, I win a few prizes, Speck steals those prizes. We get hungry during our rampage through the booths, and grab some funnel cake. It's a lot better than I remember it; Speck enjoys it even more than I do. I check my watch briefly, just to see how much time we've killed. Only six hours until sunset; we've killed a good three hours since we left the house.
Speck wiggles under my arm every time I pick her up. She is absolutely adorable, and as much as I fear for the future of our friendship, I kind of feel the same way about her that she does me.
Why not, right? She's an absolute joy to be around. She's sweet, caring, funny. Or rather, punny. Her puns are absolutely obnoxious though.
"You're being quiet again." I shrug.
"Just thinking about stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" I smile and ruffle her mane.
"The normal kind of stuff."
"Can I sit on your shoulders?" Her dangling hooves wiggle a bit. I let go of her once we move to a less crowded place. She immediately flies up onto my shoulders. She taps on my head and points towards a small tent.
"A fortune teller?" That could be interesting.
"Can we go?" She's excited. I am too, but I don't show it.
"Sure, I guess." Nonchalant attitude: chicks dig it.
I take a look at the sign as we approach. "Madame Illusa's Fantastical Tent of Fortune Telling." This is going to be so cheesy. We step inside and are immediately met with a dark environment. Tons of little trinkets and knick-knacks litter small tables and stands that line the tent. In the center sits a table with two chairs on our side, a crystal ball on its surface, and a dark figure sitting on the other side.
"Welcome, welcome! I have foretold your arrival!" This is definitely going to be cheesy. "Let me guess..." Two light blue hooves wave over the crystal ball, and a fine mist fills it. "You have come to have your fortunes told?"
Speck nods enthusiastically, taking a seat at the table. I sit next to her and place a ten-bit coin on the table. Madame Illusa flips her white mane from her eyes as she continues waving her hooves over the ball. She closes her eyes and starts humming a soft tune. It's rather calming. I look over at Speck; she's also closed her eyes. The corners of her mouth are turned up into a smile as she listens to the tune. Madame Illusa opens her golden eyes and gazes into the ball. Almost instantly, her face turns from one of calm emotion, to one of absolute pain and sadness.
"I see... much pain and loss in your future, yet -" Her expression changes to one of warmth and reassurance. "- there will be much happiness, joy, and love too. What you believe the most may very well be true." Speck looks up at me with a wide smile and a look of awe. I expect her to continue with Speck, but her gaze shifts to me.
"You..." I raise an eyebrow. "There is so much conflict in your heart, and fear in your soul." She looks absolutely amazed, almost curiously amazed. "I see just as much love and happiness in your future... But you are not what you claim to be."
This isn't some cheap parlor trick, flashy magic, or lucky guessing. This is real. I lean on the table and glare directly into the fortune teller's eyes. To Speck, it would probably look like I'm deeply curious. To Madame Illusa, it's a threat. She takes the hint and backs off, ready to make up some fake ending.
"Y-you aren't the amazing baker everypony thinks you are." Good enough, even if it is a lie.
"Oh, Anon! This is so cool!" She bounces in her seat, giggling with excitement.
"Yeah, it's real cool."
"Ready to go?"
"In a minute. Can you wait outside?" I continue leaning on the table as Speck nods and steps outside. I'll have to make this quick. "If you tell anyone what you saw, I will not hesitate to find you." She snickers and grins, her eyes half lidded.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Mr. Anonymous. You love that mare, and you would protect her from anything. Even the truth, if need be." I glare at her and rise from my seat, ready to leave the tent. As I turn, her voice stops me. "You know Princess Sparkle, do you not?"
"Yeah, why?"
"My ancestor was... something of a friend of hers. Before she became a princess."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"I'd simply request that you give her the Lulamoon family's regard, if it isn't much trouble." I sigh.
"I'll do that, if you tell me what you saw in Speck's future."
"Anon! Hurry up!" Speck yells from outside of the tent.
"Give me a minute!" I shout back as I turn to Madame Illusa. She picks the coin off of the table and turns to a chest.
"I'm not supposed to give specifics, but I suppose I can make an exception." She turns back to me, her eyes glazed over with tears. "She is not the one who will feel that pain and loss. It is you."
"Me? Why?" She covers her mouth with a hoof, her voice barely audible. What she whispers, or what I can make out, makes me instantly sick to my stomach.
"Speck will perish in a great battle. You will not be able to stop it. I'm so sorry."
***
Speck sits on my shoulders, screaming and shouting with joy as we run through the fair. We've done everything she's suggested, save for the Ferris Wheel. We played the ring toss game, rode on bumper wagons, and played that lame, rigged bottle game.
"Anon? You're acting kind of different. Like, in a good way." She hugs my head.
"Just trying to have a little fun before the end of the festival." I pat her on the leg as I check my watch. Nine o' clock. "Ready for the Ferris Wheel?"
"Yes." She nuzzles into my hair with a smile.
We aren't far from the ride, so the walk is short. I set her down as we get in line. As we pass the operator, Speck keeps walking. I lean down and whisper in his ear. He nods understandingly. I slip him a couple of bits.
I climb into the carriage Speck sat in and take my seat. She scoots close to me and leans into my arm.
"Ready?" She offers a smile in response. The massive machine begins to whir and glow as it begins its life anew. It stops every couple of minutes as more and more ponies board it. The sun was starting to set as the ride began to operate fully.
It stops as our carriage reaches the top.
"Did it break down?"
"Malfunction folks, sorry!" The operator shouts up at the ride. I chuckle a little bit.
"We had rides like these back on Earth. Always were pretty shoddy. Obviously they aren't much different here." Speck snickers and rests her head against me as we look out on the horizon.
~~~
The sun was absolutely beautiful. The sky even more so. It was like someone had splashed all kinds of oranges, reds, blues, and purples across a canvas, and poured a circle of yellow right at the edge.
"So about this morn-" She was interrupted as her friend grabbed her face and swiftly pulled her close to him. Their lips locked just as she gasped out of surprise.
The kiss broke a moment later. Speck covered her mouth with a hoof, her cheeks burning brighter than the reds in the sky. He chuckled and pulled her close to him, into a warm hug. She buried her face in his shoulder, just as he started to whisper.
"I love you too, Speck."
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First
I've always wanted to make one of these comments, and it's now my first.
See? I'm punny too! Maybe..
Oooooh mysterious
Hit me right in the feels.
NUUUUUUUU YOU WHY IS DONT LIKE SPOILERS OR DEATHS IN CERTAIN THING
I can't read past the first half of the chapter. I just found his reaction to him being suddenly flung into an alternate reality... Completely inhuman. Most, if not every, human would freak out that they have suddenly been teleported, or sucked into a random object, or just disappeared from reality, and attacked by random, sentient, magic-wielding ponies. The way he just accepts his isolation from other humans is just too unbearable for me. No back story and no prologue about this mysterious masked creature annoyed me. And the way that Luna and Celestia accepts him was just too out of character for my liking. In the end, I couldn't find myself to complete the first chapter. No favorite, or like from me.
4726043
That's so punny I almost forgot to laugh.
4726108
first rule of predicting the future, you cant.
Wait what! *checks story tags* There's no sad or tragedy, what the fuck man!
I swear to god, if you kill Speck I will haunt you!!!
4726460
Don't tempt me. I did it once, I'll just rewrite that whole thing to fit this and do it again.
Speck dying? Over Anonymous' dead body, fuck that kind of fate. Anon better not be willing to accept that BS that life has in store for him
4726581
>Over Anonymous's dead body
Well, see, in the original draft/idea for this entire story, there was going to be an actual conflict within the next arc, but when I wrote a false ending for the original, it wasn't received well (mostly because Speck was the one that died).
Anonymous was going to be the one to die in heroic sacrifice, which was going to cause Speck to travel all around Equestria, helping ponies just like he helped her.
Unfortunately, at the behest of one Illusa Lulamoon, she was going to travel to the Crystal Empire alone, her train was going to break down, or possibly crash.
She, being dedicated to her cause, was going to continue traveling by foot in a blizzard. Realizing she wouldn't be able to make it, she found shelter in a cave, where she tried to wait the blizzard out. Unfortunately, this was where she would die.
I'm not kidding, this is actually how AFO was originally going to go. I'm still doing something with that plot-line, but it won't be with Speck, and it won't be for a while.
4726617 wow... I'm not saying I dislike it, it's your story, whether I do or don't is irrelevant.
But man, that first draft is brutal.
However, write what makes you happy.
4726662
I dropped it mostly because I didn't like it, but I ended up enjoying how AFO was coming along, and I wanted it to stay on its slice of life path.
But let me tell you, it's going to happen. Not to Speck. Probably not even to Anon. But it's going to happen.
4726682 Dundundunduuuuun!
4726387 OR CAN YOU
4726205
I know exactly what you mean, and I have had the same problem in reading other stories where the main character would not realistically react (or lack reaction) to that
Just out of curiosity, how old is Speck?
Until this point, I kinda assumed that Speck was about twelve or something... (if adulthood happens at 18 for ponies)
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
4726835
>I now realize I forgot one major detail
She's 21.
And checking through the pastebin draft, it doesn't actually say how old she is until the very end. GG me, no re. I'll edit this into Loneliness 1 or 2.
4726662 make multiple canon endings and satisfy all.
4726851 Well, besides the fact that she acts like a foal, I think my view of her was shattered completely... I may have to re-read after you fix it...
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
4726835
Put it into Loneliness - 1.
4726831
>Kissing your friends on the lips
If this is what happens in the world, I need to make friends.
4726858
There are three endings to this, which take the story into three different directions, but they all happen subsequently. Only the first one (the one in the Pastebin) is the canon one.
4726860
>Acting silly and carefree makes you a foal
But
4726979 Not knowing the age of the character and acting that way can lead to some confusion like that.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
4726985
It's fixed though
Also
>Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional
;_;
4726996 I know of that phrase, and I am an avid follower of it. I will be re-reading this to put things back in perspective though, after going through the entire thing thinking speck was a foal, one would kind of have to re-read.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
So... he's a brick house? Lol. Had to. And no I'm not sorry. Knew he would freak out a bit...
my "off the top of my head speculation for future events without reading the comments" is that there will be a battle in the future (not sure by who) and speck will have been reported to be dead, anon will go into depression and try to hang himself in the everfree or somewhere secluded "cliffhanger because thats a great place to stop" and at the last possible moment when he is already hanging and about to die surprise speck isn't dead and she saves him.
that is my "off the top of my head speculation for future events without reading the comments", i wouldn't take anything in this comment seriously because im usually wrong.
4727967
That is actually 100% wrong.
I know the Twist!
Turns out Anon is actually a woman and feels like trying to correct the ponies now would be to embarrassing for them and as such now wants to keep it a secret. Similarly Speck is not a female, but is actually a hermaphrodite! So eventually Speck gets shipped off to some war but before that impregnates Anon with their freaky mutant bat-pony-human hybrids, OMG it's perfect!
Also, if you took any of this seriously, don't take this seriously.
4728102
>New headcanon.
You aim right in heart, and you don't miss
4726617
Yikes. While that's certainly not the ending I would've liked to see, I still think it could've worked well with the right approach. Sad / tragic endings have their place in fiction too. It's all about how you get there, and what message (or even non-message) you're trying to convey through the journey.
this is so good pleas keep going or I'll give you a thousand of these
4728102
We Satyr Abomination now.
4728837
I actually had every tiny detail of that planned out before I was even close to getting to write it, but after I posted an edited ending (one where Speck died instead of Anon) in the bat threads, I decided against doing it at all.
Hopefully if/when I get around to continuing it, it will be a surprise.
Kinda wonder what that fortune teller saw in Anon's past. Also damn it sucks how stuff is probably gonna go down later.
Is it me or does speck look so darn cute?
Lucky me." This story may cause diabetes". I already have diabetes
That...is the peak of foreshadowing.
Fortune tellers are such spoiler junkies!!
4726617
So one of them is supposed to die regardless huh and here I thought you were doing that in retaliation to everyone claiming that this should be a romance fic and I was on the verge of giving you the Judge's title of being fickle. But if that's how it was supposed to end and how it's going to go. I suppose I have to accept that.
Also, I knew that fortune teller had to be Trixie's descendent and I would've said that, before reading the comments, that even though he won't be in the position to change Speck's fate then maybe he could tell someone who wouldn't be in an uncompromising position when that happens. Like in Xenoblade Chronicles.
I would have asked the fortune teller what my name was.
So trixie is the fortune tellers grandmother. Nice. And I'm love speck x anonymous.
Oh no....more feeling coming...this is gonna be...river water
^ Me, approxamately 24/7
Errorneous cap.
IMPLYING IT COULD BE ANYTHING ELSE
Glimpse of tsundere Speck ohgahwd
inb4 suddenly Pingpong.
inb4 mysterious predictions make Anon anxious later.
Dash or colon here.
>blue-ish coat
>light-colored mane
Seth, Nuke is trying to write a story here.
tfw Anon was a bat pony in an elaborate human-suit all along
>implying archnemesis
>implying Seth hasn't given the keyboard back to Nuke
Actually tbh I like this usage for a descendant because as overhyped as Trixie sometimes is, there's a lot to her past and the writers could probably spend a whole season on her if they really wanted; she has potential to be a great character.
Extra quotemark here.
Called it, tho.
My new headcanon otp
Hm. I supposed she'll pick up on his worry a bit later. Doubt he could hide it forever.
You will be awarded internets if Speck freaks out thinking the ride is broken when it stops at the top.
Then again maybe she won't given the her-having-wings bit.
Okay, so no battyness, then. uvu
Are we in Hollywood suddenly? Or Twilight? Yeesh.
Okay so yeah you do set up some good things here with the prophecy or whatever. It's been done before, but it might be interesting. Obviously you haven't hinted at any battles proper. I'm most curious about Anon, though. 'Hoping it's something bigger than just his dang name or his maintaining with the princesses he was this great, bold hero.
4851576 It's been like 200-years+ since Trixie probably died so it would probably be further back than just grandmother.
... I'm not sure if I can keep reading this story if I know it's going to end in tragedy. That's mean, not putting a tragedy tag in the fic. >:[
*Hopes that Trix's descendant just messed up the thingy*
I don't see a sad tag on this story...
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw8181-1348961216188.gif
5547304 Holy hell, We got the same pic. das weird.
Citadel-Neither am I going to accept that! *Grabs M4*
WHOSE WITH ME!?