Chapter 116 - The Gathering
The stars were appearing, the moon rising, and the cool air settling in. Really, you could use for a cool theme as you approach Twilight’s castle. You would use your magic to actually conjure one up, but it was probably best you keep things normal as to not cause any issues.
As per usual, Twilight’s castle doors remain unlocked. You push them open and step on inside through the darkened entrance hall. Spooky, given how silent it was. You take a breath, steel yourself, and step through into the cutie map room. Oh geez, oh no, everyone but Twilight was there, waiting, silent, looking serious. Spike’s chair was vacant, and you noticed a normal chair set by Fluttershy’s side. You gulp, slowly head towards it, and then…
“Look! It’s Nonny! Hey Nonny! Woo, glad you showed up! Everything was getting creepy and ominous with all of us sitting here. Hoo boy, you’d think we were about to do a big judgement thing or something! It’s even plenty dark in here too, could use some lights if you ask me.” Pinkie said with a giggle as she looked over her chair, waving at you. “Look, Twilight set a chair just for you by your aunt! Isn’t that nice?”
“Y-yeah, woo, ok then.” Come on, Anon, keep it together. You step forward and continue towards the seat as you studied everyone’s mood. “Heya, Ponk, everyone… Heh.”
“Good evening, Anon. And I must say, I agree with Pinkie Pie. Everything was getting so uncomfortable that I was going to suggest a small snack break, A little tea to ease the tension.” Rarity remarks as she seems to take a moment to relax herself.
“In case anypony forgot, we’re here because Twilight and Anon decided to go see that no good, love stealin’, scoundrel of a queen. Twi hasn’t been herself since she got back neither, so who knows what could have happened!” Applejack said as she suddenly shot a suspicious look at you “Anon, you ain’t even been around since Twilight came back neither. If yer up to no good, then don’t think I’ll go easy on ya.”
“Woah, woah, woah. Ok, I get it, we’re all worked up here, but I doubt Anon meant anything bad. Plus, Twilight is still ok, so let’s chillax. I know it sounds bad because they went and visited somepony who clearly hates all of us, but we all have to remember that Anon is trying to reform her. And as crazy as that sounds, Spike did say Twilight went with him because of that. And they are both here, right? So obviously something went right.” Rainbow Dash said… Coming to your defense for some reason. Geez, that's odd, it even feels odd.
“Yer only defendin’ him because you helped train him! This is serious, Rainbow Dash, we don’t even know if the Twilight that came back is our Twilight. What if it’s her? What if this is some sort of trap?!” Christ, Applejack seemed to be the only one who wanted to jump down your fucking throat. The hell was her fucking problem?! Was she still mad about what happened with O&O?
“She’s not! Geez, what got up your butt, Applejack?!” Fuck this, you had to make your stand now! And if Applejack wanted to be a bitch, then so be it. “That is Twilight! And I didn’t do anything bad! The only reason this was set up is because you all need to know what happened, so there!”
“Twilight shouldn’t have left without tellin’ us! I swear, whenever it’s you or Discord, there’s always trouble close behind! Plus, if nothin’ bad happened, then why did Twilight have scuff marks on her coat, hm?! Why were her wings all crooked?! You were there, so-” But then, unexpectedly, Fluttershy speaks up.
“That’s enough! If you’re accusing my Anon of actually being bad or evil then you’re wrong! Applejack, I’m so very surprised at you, Anon is very good in heart and would never EVER do anything bad on purpose! Even if he’s from another dimension, he’s still a colt, my colt, and I will not sit here and listen to you accuse him of doing bad things! Anon has been trying hard, very hard, to reform Chrysalis. And I know some of us don’t like it, but need I remind you that a pony who locked us all in a shed and stole our cutie marks is now our student counselor? And don’t forget about Tempest and Trixie too! And the changelings would have never been reformed without his help! Anon has even helped save Equestria! No matter how bad it seems, no matter how many others have told Anon it’s impossible, he still is trying. And considering what Twilight must have done, then it’s obvious she believes in Anon too, and so do I!” Fluttershy then gave Applejack a hard stare, nearly to ‘the stare’ levels. “Don’t you dare accuse him again, Applejack. Or else I will get mad at you and not talk to you for a whole week! Or even a month!” Fluttershy then looked over to you, and smiled. “Anon, come sit over here by me. Don’t worry, I won’t let anypony hurt you or your feelings. I’m here for you, no matter what.”
Ohhh damn, was not expecting that. While you felt you could have handled that on your own, the fact you seemed to have everyone’s support thus far didn’t seem too bad. Honestly, you expected worse. “Y-yeah, thank you, Aunt Fluttershy.” You say as you walk over and take your seat.
“Fluttershy…” Applejack said, as she began to simmer down from her anger. She wanted to say something more, but even she could see she wasn’t going to break Fluttershy’s motherly stance. “Ah guess we’ll just wait for Twilight then.”
“Agreed. We should all take the moment to calm down and- Oh! And I suppose have some tea. Anon, darling, you didn’t need to use your magic on us, I know how limited it is per day and I’d rather not burden you with the trouble.” Rarity said, being polite, keeping her composure in hope everyone else does too. She wanted to ask about Twilight, but she felt just waiting for her would be best.
You tap at your horn, and smile at her a sweet smile. “No trouble, Miss Rarity, it’s uh, close to the end of the day anyway. And I’d just like it if everypony just relaxed too. We’ll get it all straightened out when Twilight shows up.” Oh man, this could be such a fucking disaster. It’s not like you didn’t fling Twilight into a ceiling or anything, pinning her down hard.
“Yay! Tea!” Pinkie said as she grabbed her cup and began to chug it down. She then wipes her muzzle and looks over to Applejack. “Come on, Applejack, don’t be mad. We have to trust in our friends, remember? I’m sure everything is gonna be ooooookkkk!”
“Hmmm… Ah guess.” Applejack said as she just poked at her tea cup, not really feeling up for tea. She then looked over to Rarity, asking what she thought of the situation since talking to you further would only cause Fluttershy to get upset.
“Anon, have you been alright? Nothing really bad happened, did it?” Fluttershy asked, whispering towards you so the others wouldn't hear.
“It’s sort of complicated, Aunt Fluttershy. Some things are kind of bad, yeah, but erm… Believe it or not, Twilight and Chrysalis were kind of getting along for a bit. We were all sitting down watching a documentary and Twilight was really into it and stuff. It’s just…” Man, dammit, if Twilight was gonna say something, fine. But she was your aunt, you had to tell her. “Look, Aunt Fluttershy. If I whisper to you what happened at the end of the visit, can you just… Not get mad at me?”
“Mad? Why would I…” Fluttershy stopped herself, and just gave you a nod. “I promise, Anon. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be ok.” Fluttershy knew how volatile the situation was, and she knew you were trying really hard. For you, she had to do her best to restrain her feelings, and perhaps even her better judgement.
“Mnnn… Well, I guess you didn’t notice but…” You raise your forelegs, to make your shackles known within the low light of the room. “I sort of got these.”
“What are they? A new fa- Oh no, this has to do with what happened, doesn’t it?” Fluttershy asked with a gulp.
“It does. Look, I guess Twilight is gonna say it anyway, but I want you to know before anypony else. So…” And so you explain everything to her. Everyone else was talking amongst themselves at this point, so they don’t really notice her gasps and such. “..And that’s what the shackles are for too. Are you upset with me? For what I did?” You really did feel bad over it, and yet, you knew it was justified. You had to keep that in mind, and hope Fluttershy just… Please, just let her agree with you.
“Anon…” Fluttershy began to tear up. She quickly glanced over to her friends, hid her face, and wiped her tears before looking back at you. “No, I’m not mad. I just… I just don’t know how to feel. But I’m not mad. You just wanted it to work, that’s all. And… I know it may sound bad for me to say, but Twilight really does have a habit of doing that. But, you shouldn’t have done that still, and Chrysalis… She sounded like she was having fun, even if it was mean fun, until… Well, sounds like what happened with Discord, how he gave in to his bad side when he had a chance. He didn’t know any better, and it seems to me Chrysalis doesn’t either. She’s hurting, but she doesn’t know any other way. As for what you did to Twilight, maybe I should say something to you about using your magic like that. But, if Twilight was really hurt by it, I think she would have said so by now. In fact, if you were both tricked into a deal, then I think we’re here to mostly discuss what we’re going to do about it.”
Right, if Twilight was going to gather the rest of her friends on this, then this was most likely also going to be a strategy discussion. That is, if Twilight was still willing to help. “Yeah, I think you might be right. S-so, even knowing that this may be it, that Twilight is in danger, you’re not mad or anything?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, just upset. I don’t want Twilight to be in any kind of danger. I don’t want you to get hurt either, and I don’t want Chrysalis to just disappear. I think Twilight will know what to do, and as her friends, we’ll do our best for her, just like I’ll do my best for you. If you believe Chrysalis will understand friendship after all this, then I will do my best to help make it happen. I really feel, when she was Nymous, that deep down, she cared about being part of the family, and that's enough of a reason for me to help. But, Anon, this also depends on how Twilight feels about all this. We need to hear her out. B-but don’t worry, if she goes over everything, and Applejack or anypony else gets upset, I’ll… I’ll stand up for you, ok?”
Mnnn, actually, Discord is right on this one. You were just lucky you didn’t make Fluttershy cry, or at least hoped those first few tears didn’t count. “Aunt Fluttershy, no, it’ll be ok. I can stand up for myself. Please, don’t argue with me on this one. I know, in the end, I’ll have to stand up to Chrysalis and overcome her doubt and refusal to accept what’s what if I really want to help her. And for me to even test my courage, I’ll have to stand up to anypony who has a problem with it. Even our friends.”
“Anon…” But Fluttershy understood. She had come to learn a lot about assertiveness after all, and the importance of it. “I understand. But, no matter what, I’ll still be here for you. If you want, after this, you can come with me back to the cottage. I’ll make you some warm milk, and then we can cuddle until we both fall asleep. Ok?”
You almost burst into tears from that one. She was being so understanding. It was odd, but she clearly wanted to try to remain neutral while her motherly instinct stepped in to defend you from any criticism or hurtful words. She’d probably debate with Twilight if Twilight herself decided differently from what you expect. But since you felt Twilight was still on your side, even after what happened, you knew Fluttershy would be too. “T-thank you, Aunt Fluttershy. I-I love you.”
“I love you too, Anon. Forever and ever.” She says, shooting you a warm but sorrowful smile in an attempt to make you feel better. She knew you were hurting, she hated seeing you hurt.
And then, shortly after, Twilight stepped into the room, her very presence demanding silence as she took her seat, and prepared to speak...
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I was being an idiot, so I deleted the last comment.
Mlp season 10 is gonna drop next year April... In comic form... Wonder if it's canon and not related to the others
its about to go down
this update's a bit early
This chapter felt way shorter than the others, but while it is short, it isn't 500 words short like it felt.
I just burned through it so fast because I'm hyper interested to how this meeting is gonna go.
That's a really good thing for you as an author, but a painful thing for me as a reader.
So far everyone is pretty in character, so while nothing too interesting has happened, its still enthralling, but that also means the wait for the next chapter is going to suck considering it cut right when the meat was about to hit the proverbial plate.
That looks like it is supposed to be a question.
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Nooooooooooooooooooo
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media.tenor.com/images/e382ffe7afcb2f789203f172055ba2a2/tenor.gif
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Weird Flutters did't comment on Anon insulting AJ's butt.
I love this
wow. that’s nice!
OK! Fluttershy is becoming a better character, she has this sturdiness to her. Cause she was WAY TOO sensitive. I don’t mean by being a pacifist, nothing sensitive about that at all. Just not being able to HANDLE the violence, not liking it, and not being able to handle it is 2 different things. Fluttershy seems to be hitting that ground right now, but I’ll have to read more to get more of a feel of Fluttershy’s character in this sense. You did skip a season between these stories, lots can happen. especially since in season 2. Fluttershy got more “ASSERTIVE” which wasn’t really assertiveness just being rude (In my opinion). but that was only the fame and misfortune episode to be fair, she toned it down to a more respectful level.