To Err is Equine

by RLYoshi

47: Friendship

DATE: March 8th
LOCATION: Ponyville

[Perspective: Risk Reward]

“...check.”

I sighed and moved my rook, blocking Nimble’s bishop just as False walked in. “Any word yet?”

She shrugged. “Princess says that a lot of the Royal Guard have been sent to Cloudsdale - pegasi only, of course. That either means Arrell’s dead in a ditch, or he’s doing something stupid that will somehow result in his victory.”

“Check.”

I looked back to the game briefly, moving my knight to topple his own and save my king. “Probably the latter. If it was the former, she probably would’ve told us.”

“Still, you never know.” She hopped onto the couch and began reading a book.

“Check.”

I sighed and moved my rook once more, taking his queen out. As I did, I heard the door open, and my ears perked up.

“...and he says, ‘Edgar is the one in the hole!’ And you can probably guess how everyone else reacted.”

The response to what sounded like Arrell was a laugh. “I wish I could’ve seen that!”

The Windigo, along with a certain pegasus, walked into the room. I raised an eyebrow when I saw the bandage on Arrell’s cheek, then raised it even higher when I saw Asylum’s wing wrapped around him. “Uh...welcome back?”

Both of them turned to us. “Oh, right! Heya!” Arrell greeted belatedly.

“So...what happened…?” False asked, also seeming a little confused by the state the two of them were in.

“Eh, long story. But we got the hoodie.” The Windigo turned to Asylum after saying that. “I’m gonna go get some ice, okay? The bandage is starting to itch, so I want this cut taken care of ASAP.”

She nodded, taking her wing back. “Alright. I’ll just go shower and clean up.”

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Seeya soon then.” He walked off to the kitchen while Asylum flitted upstairs.

I blinked at the scene that just took place. “...uh...did that just happen?”

“I think so...” False answered slowly.

“Checkmate.”

I looked back at the board. Sure enough, my king was trapped with no safe movements. “...great. Two things in five seconds that have confused me.” I stood up with a sigh. “I need a nap.”

---

[Perspective: Arrell]

“So...you and Asylum, huh?”

I sighed. “Hi to you too, False. Think this could wait?”

“No. Get out of the fridge.”

Groaning, I pulled my head away from the cool air and closed the door. “It felt good…”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, though...how did it happen?”

“What, you writing a gossip column? Nothing special happened. It just...did.” I sat down in a chair. “Not everything needs to be detailed and complex.”

“Arrell Ragnarok, lecturing me about things not needing to me complex? Can you spell ‘hypocrite’?” She sat in a chair across from me. “I just don’t want to see either of you two get hurt from this.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want to see me get hurt? Who are you and what have you done with the real False Front?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You kidding me? You’re like the Falco Lombardi to my Fox McCloud. You’re the Knuckles the Echidna to my Sonic the Hedgehog. You’re the Francis to my Louis, the Squidward to my SpongeBob, the Gimli to my Legolas...none of these comparisons are making any sense to you, are they?”

“No, but it’s kind of amusing to listen to you rattle off all these random names as if they do.” She smirked.

I sighed. “What I’m saying is that, even though you and I are supposed to be working together, it seems like we spend more time going at each other’s throats, or at least you at mine.”

She finally seemed to get it, as she looked down at her hooves in thought. Finally, she looked back up and stepped closer to me. “Arrell...I’m going to be honest with you, okay? But I want you to hear me out completely.”

Blinking a bit, I nodded. “I’ll listen.”

“Thank you.” She took a breath, gathering her thoughts. “To start off...Arrell, I don’t think this is news to you, but...you can be a hoofful to take care of. You’re rambunctious, you’re hyperactive, and you’re...to be blunt...annoying.”

I nodded, staying quiet.

“When I first met you, you were...different. You were quiet and shy and nervous...I thought that was just how you normally were. Then you went back to ‘normal’ after you got used to me, and while I put up with it for a bit, I eventually got tired of it. Then I was assigned to watch you, and...well...I wanted to quit my job.

“Over time, though, I started seeing more sides of you. I realized how you could be when you got angry; when you got sad; when you got sick, hurt, or lonely. Sometimes I felt like I was dealing with a hyper younger brother that I wanted to slap, and other times I felt like I was caring for a helpless little child who was too scared or ill to even go outside.

“Really, my opinion of you wasn’t changed and solidified until the Rancid Windigoes incident. After you...died, temporarily...I felt bad. But then I saw how Asylum reacted, and...well, she looked like she just lost literally everything.”

I blinked. Really? No one had ever really told me the specifics of what happened while I was nearly dead. I just knew that the four of them escaped, the former prisoners who joined me died, and when I came back, the Windigoes were ready to fight.

“I guess until then, I didn’t realize that I was the only one being affected negatively by you. It was hard to imagine someone being so broken because of losing you, especially considering getting away from you was something I had wanted for a while.” She looked down at her hooves. “Then when you yelled at me that night...that kind of finished the job. It hit me that, even though you’re annoying, you’re still a living being. You can love, hate, feel emotions...and yet here I was, thinking you were just a being sent from Tartarus to irritate me for all eternity.”

“False, I need to stop you right there,” I finally spoke up. “You’re going to turn me into a Mary Sue if you keep talking like that.”

“...a what?”

“Never mind. Look, on one hoof, yes, I do have feelings and emotions. But I do have flaws as well.” I chuckled. “If I asked you to overlook all of my negative attributes just because I had positive ones, that’d be just stupid. It’s all up to you whether or not you can handle them both.” I lifted a hoof and booped her on the nose. “If you want to be annoyed by me, that’s fine. If you want to be friends with me, that’s also fine. I’ll live with whatever you choose.”

She giggled. “I think I’d like to give the friends thing a try, maybe.”

Then, she hugged me. I was a little surprised, but didn’t hesitate to hug back. “Thanks...”

“No problem...” She didn’t keep it going too long; only a few seconds before she detached. “I’m not gonna make any promises about never getting angry with you, but at the very least, I’ll try to keep in mind that you’re just as much a pony as the rest of us. That okay?”

I nodded, smiling. “I can live with that.”

She smiled as well. “Alright then...now, I think you’ve got a girlfriend waiting upstairs for you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Waiting? She said she was going to take a shower.”

She winked. “Exactly.”

“...” I blushed as I started getting mental images. “...I hate you.”

All she responded with was a giggle before turning and leaving the room.

Comments

[_CheckMate_]

go get her Arrell; wink wink, nudge nudge
...
...
...
Holy crap, I beat Thethhron

[Flibbertigibbet]

Dayum!!! That's gonna be an ice-cold shower... Just hope Arrell doesn't get cold feet. That would not be cool at all. If he does, he'll probably get a frosty glare.

...I'm gonna stop before I hurt myself.

[RLYoshi]

3090861 Nah, it's cool.

[GordonFreebrony]

3090863
That's cold, man...

[_CheckMate_]

3091151 at least he commented instead of giving you the cold shoulder; so just chill

[GordonFreebrony]

3091344
What an icy reply... Just chillax dude! Have a cold one!

Oh gods, soon the puns will be so numerous they will freeze the comment page!

[RLYoshi]

3091354 Yeah, this is n-ice and all, but there's snow way I'm letting it continue. Please stop this blizzard of bad jokes.

Seriously though, let's stop please.

[GordonFreebrony]

3091430
Alright. Why don't we celebrate the end with a round of Icees on me.

Or would you prefer a Frosty?

[Corona Blaze]

3091430 'S'all coo' bruh.

[burning-ruin-666]

''You dont get it, Edgar is the one in the hole!''
~Ryan Haywood~
-achievement hunter-
Lets Play Minecraft - episode 60 - King Ryan