Kesho Saga

by ScapeDragon

IV: The Mare

My view gave each path a look before I closed my eyes thinking what I should do next. I wasn’t sure whether this was a test or not, but if so then I should go for the right answer right? Then again, maybe I need to do what I believe is right. And that would be….going down the path of health and happiness. After all, those fruits do look mighty tempting. And I am feeling kind of hungry. I started walking down that path ignoring the other one.

“I see,” Luna uttered behind me. “So that’s your choice.” Her tone seemed rather surprised. I turned around to see if she was making any easily readable facial expressions only for me to see that she’s completely vanished. Not even a trace of magic or feathers were left behind.

“Princess Luna?” I looked around calling out to her. I’ve noticed that the second path seemed to have vanished completely as more grass, trees of fruits, and sunny days seemed to surround me.

“Kesho.” Princess Luna was calling out to me from the sky getting spooked for a bit. I looked up thinking I could see but just saw a blue sky with clouds and a sun. “When you awaken, go find Princess Twilight Sparkle. I believe she can help you in your current situation.”

Princess Twilight Sparkle? If I recall, she’s the Princess of Friendship. And she wants me to look for her. Doesn’t that sound kind of hard? Well, I don’t really have any other plans so I guess I should try and do this one.

But first, I think I need to go down this path. Luna made it seem pretty important on which one I choose. And looking down the path, I can see something in the distance. There might be something special I need to either get or see. So I gotta hurry before this dream ends.

I trotted down the path trying to reach the end of it. But it didn’t take long for me to get distracted by all the delicious fruits surrounding me. Trying to be quick, I climbed up some conveniently placed ladders on the trees to get the fruits and took some for the walk. I couldn’t even tell this was a dream anymore from how juicy and delectable these fruits were. The deliciousness of the fruits kept me distracted from continuing the path, but at one point I grabbed a tomato. Biting into one, the juices squirted everywhere getting on my chest and face. I’m pretty sure these things aren’t fruits, let alone grow on trees.

After that, I went back to focusing on walking down the path and getting to the end. Once I made it, there was some sort of cabin there. It had a beautiful garden and a white fence surrounding it. The fence door was unlocked so I just pushed it open with ease. I couldn’t help but come closer to the flowers and smell them, getting this strong sense of relaxation just by doing so.

I got curious as to what or who was inside the house. So I stood back up and went to the front of the door knocking on it.

“It’s open!” The sudden happy voice caught me way off guard. I was a bit hesitant to come inside not recognizing the voice.

I slowly opened the door with a soft push. The inside of the home was quite nice and clean. There was a beige and brown carpet center of the living room with a two-pony sofa beside it. A shiny coffee table seemed to be on my right as if somepony pushed it there to make room for the carpet. A tall lamp stood next to the sofa and a picture of some type of beach was hanging above the furniture. To my left was an entrance to another room and on my right looked like stairs.

“I’m in the kitchen love!” It was that voice again. I still couldn’t recognize it as anyone I know. And I was rather shocked to hear her say something like love. Nopony has ever called me that before. And she said it with such joy that I couldn’t help but smirk a bit.

The voice came from the left side entrance. Curious as to who she might be, I went over there rather quickly and looked forward seeing a mare standing in front of the counter. It sounded like she was chopping up veggies or fruits from the sounds I heard. Her body was unidentifiable as if she was wearing a cloak over her fur, making it almost impossible to tell who she was. She probably didn’t know I was right there now so I decided now to speak up and finally say something.

“Um…” I seemed nervous for some reason. “H-Hey.”

“Hello dear.” She said rather calmly as she turned around to face me. As her face was finally going to be revealed, I could see around us that the dream was slowly vanishing in a bright white light. The light ran up her body quickly before I could fully see her face. Instead, all I got was a warm smile from her before everything just disappeared into the light.

As the light ate up everything, I blinked causing the blank setting to vanish from my eyes. Next thing I saw was a mare with a worried expression on her face looking at me. I immediately recognized her as the mare with that cottage from last night. Quite a coincidence for me to see her again.

I quickly sat up surprised to see her here. The action also seemed to spook her making her back up from me in fright. I rubbed my head trying to be fully focused after just waking up. Looking around, I noticed that I wasn’t in my spot that I was at last night. In fact, that large tree big enough to sleep under wasn’t anywhere near me now. Don’t tell me I was sleepwalking the whole time….Good thing I didn’t wake up in any river or anything.

“Um, excuse me?” The mare spoke up. She looked a little nervous talking to me. I don’t blame her. It’s only natural to be afraid of a guy that looks like me. She took a seat in front of me and pulled off a satchel she had on. She opened it up and dug inside it pulling out three carrots. “Here.” She held them out to me and kept her eyes on the ground.

I was a bit confused as to why she was giving me these. “Um,” I tried to find the words, “why are you giving me these?”

She still looked down. “I could hear your stomach while you were sleeping. You sounded really hungry….”

Now that she mentions it, I am pretty freaking hungry. All that food I ate in the dream was suddenly gone from my stomach. The hunger was coming back up angrily and I couldn’t help but quickly swipe the carrots from her and scoffed them down quickly. She eeped from me swiping the food and looked more nervous now. I let out a soft hum of delight and noticed her expression.

Feeling very awful about how I went about doing that, I just quickly wiped my lips and cheeks from carrot bits and put on my best smile. I looked at her and spoke: “Thank you for the food. I didn’t realize how badly I needed it till now.”

This got her to relax a bit more and actually look at me now. “Y-You’re welcome,” she said sheepishly.

“Hey,” I started, “if you don’t mind me asking, how did you find me?”

“W-Well, you’re sort of right next to my house.” She moved aside revealing her cottage not too far away from her.

I facehoofed myself seeing that I just came back from where I was last night.

“Did you come to my home last night because you needed a place to stay?”

I didn’t think it would be that obvious. “Y-Yeah. Yeah I was gonna ask if I could stay for the night. I don’t really have a place to stay at right now.” Realizing how bad this situation looked, I got nervous and tried to say something. “I-I wasn’t sleeping in your yard or anything I swear! I stayed at a tree that I could sleep under. I must’ve sleep walked or something I sw-”

“Oh dear! I’m so sorry!” Her sudden apologizing made me jump. “If I knew that I would’ve let you stay. Oh but how could I have known! I was the one who slammed the door on your face. You barely even got a chance to say anything….”

I had to say something to make her feel a little…okay. “Hey um, it’s alright. You don’t have to apologize. I know I can be a pretty scary guy. It was natural for you to react that way.”

“That’s no excuse….” *She frowned despite me trying to comfort her.

As much as I wanted to continue trying to fix her mood, I didn’t have much time. Princess Luna told me that I had to find Princess Twilight Sparkle when I woke up. And right now I have to go find her. In case I forgotten, the Crystal Empire authority could still be hunting me down.

“I’m sorry Miss.” I stood up completely getting ready to leave. “I really am thankful for the food you got me but I have to go. I sort of need to find someone.”

“You do?” She looked at me curious.

“Yeah….hey, um, do you happen to know where um, Princess Twilight Sparkle resides in? I know it’s an odd question to ask but I-”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle? I know where she is.” She stood up as well. “She lives in the castle at Ponyville. It’s a town not too far from here.”

Whoa! Talk about lucky. “Do you mind if you can maybe show me the way? I mean if its not too much trouble.”

“Of course!” A small smile showed on her face. “It’s the least I can do after making you sleep out here.”

That’s not true. She already did enough giving me food to eat. She doesn’t need to do anymore. But I do need the help. And I am very thankful for that as well. I gotta repay her somehow later on.

The two of us headed out to the town to go see Princess Twilight Sparkle. The first minutes walking was a bit awkward. The two of us were silent the whole time. And even though she was supposed to lead me to town, she didn’t really take the lead all that much. She stood only an inch ahead of me. If this wasn’t just some single path we were on right now, then I would’ve been confused as to what direction she would head next.

There was something I still haven’t quite asked yet. And neither did she.

“Excuse me,” I walked beside her to make this conversation feel more natural. “I never asked for your name. So er um, what’s your name?”

“U-Um...” She sounded a bit nervous. “Can you say your name first?”

Hmm? That’s a bit odd. No doubt she’s a very shy mare from how she’s been acting. I guess it wouldn’t hurt for her to know. I mean, I’m sure I’m only heard about in the Crystal Empire. Ponies outside of there probably never even heard of me.

“Kesho,” I answered with a smile. “My name is Kesho.”

“Kesho?” She repeated. Then she smiled too. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m um, Fluttershy.”

Fitting name. “Fluttershy huh?” She nodded her head. “Nice to meet you too.” Exchanging names seemed to have gotten her more relaxed, but she still seemed a tad uneasy.

“Kesho,” she said rather softly. “I hope you don’t mind me asking but, why do you need to see Twilight?”

Crap. I probably should’ve planned on being asked this. Princess Luna wasn’t really specific on why I should go to Princess Twilight Sparkle. Maybe she was going to help me with the whole Crystal Empire fiasco? But I couldn’t tell Fluttershy anything about me being a wanted criminal there. No doubt she’ll freak out and run off. Maybe even tell the authorities….

“I er...” I tried to think up a lie fast. “I have a very important message from her from Princess Luna. It’s top secret and for her ears only so I can’t say much about it. I’m sorry.” That whole time, I was trying my best to act as professional as possible. A serious tone and pose and everything. I honestly felt really stupid.

“Oh my goodness!” Her tone made me hope that that didn’t spook her that much. “We should get you to her quickly then. It must be urgent if she didn’t use Spike to deliver the letter. We must hurry!” She opened up her wings and flew on ahead. From how I said that, I know it seems like she was moving faster now. But honestly, she kind of wasn’t. She was moving at the speed of a casual Sunday jogger.

I jogged after her to catch up, and it didn’t take any longer for us to finally reach the town. Looking at Ponyville, it seemed more like a downgrade from the Crystal Empire. The buildings weren’t as big and the ponies weren’t shiny. Not to mention that it seemed a bit quieter than back home. Wonder if that’s because not many ponies live here.

Fluttershy landed in front of me and smiled looking back. “Here we are,” she said. “Ponyville.”

I didn’t want to feel or sound disappointed seeing the town. “Wow, it uh, looks amazing!” I lied.

“We’re almost to Twilight’s home. Follow me.” She went a bit slower as I followed after her. There was no way a princess could be living in a small town like this right? I mean what would she be doing here? Princess of Friendship…..hmm….

“Here we are.” Fluttershy halted at the front of what looked like a huge tree house. Seeing the building left me in complete awe. The place was huge! Like it was towering over the rest of the town. Not to mention how it so greatly reminds me of the crystals back home. Despite living in what seemed like a normal town, this truly was a castle.

Fluttershy knocked on the door casually catching me off guard.

I don’t want to point out, but I did panic seeing her do that. “Wh-What are you doing?”

She looked back at me confused. “Well how else is she going to know that we’re here?” She even said that casually.

“But we can’t just walk up to a castle and knock on it. Who knows what could happen?

And as if on cue when I finished my sentence, one of the doors opened up slightly revealing a purple mare with a…very odd mane cut. At first I thought it was Twilight Sparkle, but then I noticed no wings on her back. I was way too nervous to speak up feeling more like Fluttershy in this scenario.

Fluttershy smiled seeing the mare. “Hello Starlight,” she greeted. “Is Twilight here? She has an important visitor.”

The mare known as Starlight looked at me as if inspecting me for something. No surprise that she would think ill of me. “Do you mean him,” she asked back. Fluttershy nodded her head in response as she motioned for me to introduce myself. This is making me feel like I’m the shy one now.

“H-Hi there,” I said awkwardly. “I’m looking for Princess Twilight Sparkle. Please, I must speak with her about something urgent.”

“Oh?” Starlight sounded a bit surprised. “What is it?”

Figures she would ask that too. Eh, I already lied once, why not lie again? “I’m sorry but this message is for her ears only. I hope you understand.” Starlight didn’t like the answer looking at me suspiciously. Fluttershy noticed and tried to reason with her.

“It’s okay Starlight,” she assured. “Kesho isn’t up to anything bad. Trust me. And trust him.”

This seemed to have worked. “Well…” Starlight said, “I would let you in to see her but you’ll have to wait till she gets back.”

“Gets back,” I asked confused. “She’s not home?”

Starlight shook her head. “No, she’s out for the day. Something happened at the Crystal Empire yesterday. A large attack it seemed.”

“Oh dear!” Fluttershy squeaked holding a hoof to her mouth. “Wh-What happened?”

“I’m not sure. We weren’t filled in on all the details but whatever happened, it must’ve been horrible. Shining Armor got hurt.”

The news got Fluttershy to gasp scared and it made me completely tense up bad. They’re talking about me….at the Empire. All that chaos I caused. How I…hurt Shining Armor…. No way! I couldn’t have hurt him! I just hit him with a blast and that’s it! He’s a tough guy….I’m sure he’s alright. Not like the attack put him in critical condition or something….right?

“Hearing that her brother got hurt,” Starlight went on, “must’ve motivated Twilight to get there as quickly as possible. She didn’t pack up or even take the train there.” And of course he’s related to one of the princesses. Let alone the one that I need to ask for help! “Thankfully Spike was able to get to her before she could leave. Hopefully he can comfort her in her time of need.” Damn, the more I hear this, the more I feel depressed.

“Sorry sir,” Starlight apologized. “You sure you can’t leave a message or anything? Is it really that important?”

I was a bit hesitant on what to say next. “S-Sorry….I can’t.”

Starlight sighed. “I understand. You can come back tomorrow, I’m sure she’ll be back by then.”

“Alright,” I replied dully. “Thank you.” I trotted off feeling rather defeated. I could hear Fluttershy’s wings flap as she followed after me.

“Kesho!” She called out to me not that loudly. “Please wait up!” I stopped trotting and let Fluttershy catch up to me. “Um, I’m sorry this didn’t go well. And that you traveled far from Canterlot to deliver that message only to have to wait here.”

I stopped her before she could say more. “It’s okay Fluttershy listen. I’m really grateful for all you’ve done for me. Especially after just meeting me for the day.”

The two of us just stood there silent after I said that. I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do next. Could I really meet up with Princess Twilight Sparkle now? She’s gonna hear about all the bad things I did in the Crystal Empire and what I did to her brother. There’s no way she’s gonna wanna help me now….

Crap I don’t know what to do….

“Kesho,” Fluttershy unknowingly interrupted my train of thought. “Since um…it doesn’t look like you really have anywhere to stay. You could um…” she paused for a bit swinging her hoof back and forth. “Stay at my house for the night.”

No way…I couldn’t. She’s done so much. I can’t…. “Fluttershy….I can’t do that…..you’ve done enough. I feel like I’m abusing your kindness right now.”

She shook her head quickly. “No, it’s okay Kesho. I don’t mind.”
The fact that she was willing to do this baffles me so much. Why would she be acting so nice to me? Nopony has ever been this nice to me…and yet the mare I meet for one day, after scaring, wants to help me as much as she can…..why?
“Fluttershy,” I said wanting to know. “Why are you being so kind to me….?”
She looked a bit nervous. “It’s just that,” she started, “you seem like you need some kindness in your life.”

I was caught off guard from what she said. “Wh-What?” Does she know.....what I am? Or have any clue on what I've been through......

All she did was smile softly at me as she gently took my hoof and guided me back to her home. I guess she was able to tell how much I wanted to say yes but couldn’t. I'm guessing she's also starting to feel more comfortable around me being able to just drag me freely to her home. I feel guilty abusing all her kindness like this. I feel like Fluttershy is perhaps too kind for her own good…

I may have a peaceful night tonight, but tomorrow is gonna be a problem. How will I be able to talk to Princess Twilight Sparkle about all this if she’s gonna come home hating me for what I did…. I could just leave town tomorrow morning and think of something else. Hope that Luna will chat with me in another dream and help me with another plan.

I don’t know….is following this plan still a good idea?

VISIT TWILIGHT TOMORROW: Luna said Twilight could help me, and I should trust Luna. Tomorrow I’ll go see Princess Twilight Sparkle. Maybe with Fluttershy by my side things won’t end up horribly.

LEAVE TOWN AT DAWN: The plan has failed. I need to get out as quickly as I can and try to think of something else. Or get Luna to tell me something else to do that’ll help.

Comments

[Sindorei Pony]

Visit Twilight tomorrow.

[roxa]

Visit twilight tomorrow