A Kind And Loving Heart

by SapphireWings999

Chapter VII: He Tells Me Think With My Head (Not That Thing In My Chest)

Several days had passed since I’d made my confession of love towards Fluttershy. It was nice to finally have that off of my chest and not bottled up any longer. Not long after we’d made our relationship official, word began spreading like wildfire throughout Ponyville about the two of us being an item, even making its way directly to Princess Twilight in Canterlot. To a select few of varying races, the fact that I was dating Flutters was somewhat of an odd detail. I mean, aside from the fact that I had pony ears and wings, none of them really had any memory of the fact that I was part Alicorn. Very few of them even knew what a human was.

For the most part, though, many of those I came across were fully welcoming of the idea that the 2 of us were dating. They saw it as no different than the fact that Yona and Sandbar were married or that Ocellus and Smolder were dating themselves. I was of a similar mindset to the latter of the 2 opinions. Me and Fluttershy truly loved each other and that was all that mattered. Anycreature who had a problem with our relationship could take their prejudice and shove it up their ass for all I cared.

On this day, I was busy with work at the spa as usual. Lyra was getting her umpteenth massage (I’d honestly stopped trying to keep count at that point) from me as I ran my hands along her shoulders vigorously. Before long, her session with me was up as she hopped off of the massage table.

“Thanks for the massage, David,” she pleasantly stated.

“Yer welcome, Lyra,” I replied. “See ya nex’ time.”

And with that, she exited the chamber as I called out for my next client.

“Ah’m ready fer tha next customer.”

It wasn’t long after I’d made the announcement that the next pony came in. Much to my surprise, that pony turned out to be my girlfriend.

“Fluttershy?” I reacted.

Fluttershy never really came by to see me at the spa anymore as I gave her massages for free whenever we spent time together. Aside from that, she’d occasionally visit me when I got off of my shifts, but, in this case, my shift didn’t end for another 2 hours.

“Hi David,” she finally answered back. “How are you doing today?”

“Pretty good now that yer here. How ‘bout you?”

“Pretty good.”

“So what’re you up to here? Ah take it ya didn’ come here fer a massage.”

“Oh no. I simply came to let you know that Twilight has invited the 2 of us over for tea at her castle this evening.”

“That sounds great, ma love. Ah’ve always enjoyed many types o' tea. One o' ma personal favorite teas is Echinacea with some agave nectar ‘n a nice touch o’ lemon. O’ course, honey is perfectly fine too if agave nectar isn’t available.”

“That’s good to hear. She also mentioned that she had a special surprise treat for you to try when we get there.”

“What kinda surprise would that be?”

“Now, David, if I were to tell you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore.”

“If ya told me, Ah could still act surprised.”

Flutters then let out a soft giggle at my response before speaking back up.

“Well somepony’s certainly playful today.”

I smiled back at her before answering.

“O.K. Fine. Ah guess Ah’ll wait ta see what it is,” I relented.

“I’ll see you once your shift is over, babe,” she spoke up as she turned to leave.

“You too, Flutters.”

And with a parting smile from her, she exited the chamber allowing for the next guest to enter as I continued my shift, all the while looking forward to whatever it was that lay in store regarding this little get together that Twilight was having. It was in that moment when my mind began racing thinking about our upcoming teatime. Was it merely just the 3 of us getting together to shoot the shit or was there a more formal reasoning behind it? Guess I’d find out soon enough.

* * * * * * * *

Before long, my shift was finally up and I exited the spa whereupon I immediately noticed Fluttershy waiting patiently outside for me. Her face instantaneously lit up at the sight of me.

“Hey beautiful,” I greeted. “Have ya been out here waitin’ fer me tha whole time?”

“Yes,” she answered back. “I just couldn’t wait to spend more time with my boyfriend.”

I smiled softly back at her before speaking back up.

“Do ya feel up fer a fly ta tha palace?”

“Sure.”

“O.K. Let’s go then.”

And so, with wings spread wide, we both took to the sky as we began the somewhat lengthy flight over to Canterlot. Given that we had a good while and distance to go before reaching our destination, this seemed as good of a time as any to strike up a conversation on our way there. Fluttershy was the first to speak up.

“So I’m not sure if I’ve asked you this before, but how’s your family doing?”

“They’re doin’ O.K. Aside from me, ma 2 youngest brothers are tha only other ones livin’ with ma parents at tha moment. Ma 2 middle brothers moved out a long time ago.”

“Wow,” Flutters remarked. “You certainly come from quite a large family. And you have a younger sister too?"

"Sure do."

"That's quite a lot of siblings. I just have 1 younger brother, Zephyr Breeze, but you probably already knew about him.”

“‘N how’s he doin?”

“Pretty well. He’s had a pretty successful career as a mane stylist for a while now.”

“That’s good ta hear. Ah’m sure he mus’ be enjoyin’ havin’ a steady form of income as well as a sense o’ fulfillment in regards ta how his time is spent.”

Fluttershy giggled softly before continuing.

“Yes. There certainly is that.”

“Time is one o’ those commodities that Ah believe could be argued is even more valuable than money. If Ah’d been thinkin’ ‘bout that on that night 5 years ago… 20 years ago here, Ah would’ve spent ma time a lot more wisely. Now, that’s time Ah’m never gonna be able ta get back.”

“Don’t be soo hard on yourself,” Flutters spoke, soothingly. “Everypony makes mistakes. What truly matters is that we don’t allow those mistakes to define who we are. Ever since you’ve returned here to us, you’ve been doing everything within your power to make up for that lost time. That shows incredible growth on your part. The time we have with each other in the now is what’s really important. Yesterday is already passed and tomorrow can worry about itself. What was that thing Rafiki said to Simba about the past in The Lion King?”

“He said that, while tha past can hurt, ya have tha choice ta either run from it or learn from it,” I stated as I thought back on when we’d all watched that movie, among others, together.

“Exactly,” Fluttershy continued, “and all that you’ve shown to us since coming back is that you’re learning from your past. It would’ve been easier for you to just spend the rest of your life angry and bitter at us, never wanting to come back here, but you chose to be the bigger pony- er… person and fix the friendships you had with us. It might not’ve been easy on your part, but I’m sure you’d agree that it’s been much better for all of us that you’ve returned.”

“Ah guess yer right,” I answered back. “Ah know that, if Ah’d never come back here ta y’all, Ah definitely wouldn’ have found a girlfriend as beautiful, kind-hearted, ‘n lovin as ya’ve been towards me. Ya’ve definitely helped fill a void Ah’ve felt deep down inside fer a while now.”

Fluttershy blushed heavily at my statement.

“I’m more than happy that I’ve been able to provide that for you.”

I smiled back at her before realizing that we were finally at Canterlot Palace.

“Oh. Looks like we made it,” I stated as we came in for a landing. “Guess Ah’ll finally be able ta find out what tha surprise is that Twilight has.”

“I guess so,” Fluttershy giggled.

And with that, the 2 of us made our way into the palace to meet for tea with Twilight. As long as I got to spend time with my beautiful marefriend, I was happy with whatever the future held in store.

* * * * * * * *

Not long after we’d entered the palace, Gallus came along to serve as an escort for me and Flutters, leading us over to the throne room where Twilight was waiting. Once the two of us had finally made our way into the throne room, I was swiftly taken aback by the size and scope of it. Along the walls on both sides of me were massive stained glass windows that commemorated historical moments from Equestria’s past.

Some of them I recognized easily like the defeat of Nightmare Moon and Twilight’s ascension to becoming an Alicorn Princess, but others were harder for me to make out or even describe what they served as memorials for. The thought then occurred to me that it was quite possible the windows portrayed events that came after I’d stopped watching the show. I swiftly made a mental note that, whenever I did return back to Earth, catching up with the show was my top priority.

But, no matter. At that moment, me and Fluttershy made our way over towards a small table that Twilight was seated at in the throne room. At the sight of both of us entering, she rose to her hooves to greet us.

“David. Fluttershy. It’s good to see the 2 of you on such short notice,” she stated pleasantly.

“Good seein’ you too, Twi,” I replied as me and Flutters came over to hug her.

As the 3 of us broke apart from the hug, Twilight led us over towards the table where we all took a seat on the cushions set up around it, me taking up an Indian style sitting position. It was then when I noticed what the surprise was that Twilight had in store, for on a platter in front of us was a stack of sandwiches, all of them filled with a creamy, tannish substance as well as another substance that held all the colors of the rainbow. I now had a good idea as to what kind of sandwiches these were, but chose to confirm with Twilight first.

“Are those what Ah think they are?” I posed the question to the princess.

“I believe so,” she answered back. “They’re SoyNut Butter and Zap Apple Jam sandwiches. Not long after we’d returned to Equestria from visiting you guys on Earth, I turned the jar of SoyNut Butter we took with us over to some of our top pony scientists to determine its composition so that it could be mass produced. We even did the same thing with the jar of Marshmallow Fluff we brought back. I understand that these types of sandwiches are a bit… unconventional when it comes to teatime, but I still thought it would be a nice gesture to let you try it out as I don’t believe you’ve ever gotten to taste Zap Apple Jam yet and SoyNut Butter seemed like a natural fit. Go ahead and try one.”

“Ah really do appreciate that, Twi. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

I then reached for one of the sandwiches before taking a sizeable bite out of it. The SoyNut Butter was just as good as I’d remembered it, but the Zap Apple Jam was what really caught my attention from a flavor perspective. Upon hitting my tongue, I was overcome with a flavor sensation that was equal parts sweet and tangy. It was safe to say that it was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before, something soo syrupy and yet tart at the same time.

“How do you like it, David?” Fluttershy asked.

“This is incredible! Ah mean, Ah’ve enjoyed many types o’ jams in tha past, but Ah never knew it could taste this good.”

“Glad to hear it,” Twilight replied with a smile as she used her magic to pour cups of tea for all 3 of us gathered there. “I hope you don’t mind Peppermint Tea. I also have some honey and lemon if you feel the need for them.”

“That sounds lovely,” I stated, accepting my cup from her.

After adding the appropriate level of honey and lemon to my tea, I took a small sip of it to help wash down the bite of sandwich I’d taken just a short while ago. Peppermint Tea had always been among my favorite types of tea, but I didn’t really get to have it all that often back at home and, even then, the last time that I had had it was soo long ago that I’d never originally thought about using honey or lemon with it. That being said, lemon and mint is a flavor combo I could never get tired of so, along with the sandwiches, this was a pleasant treat for me.

“So,” Twilight finally spoke up after pouring the last cup of tea for herself, “Starlight informs me that you’re making great progress in regards to your magic lessons.”

“That’s nice o’ her ta say.”

“Definitely,” Flutters concurred before taking a sip of her own tea.

“I got the chance to see that piece you put together about a week and a half ago, your tribute to Savannah and Fluttershy, and I’ve gotta say that I was quite impressed by the level of detail you put into the piece.”

“Oh that was nothin’,” I blushed. “Ah simply wanted it ta be tha best piece that Ah could possibly put out.”

“While your modesty is to be commended,” Twilight continued, “I think you should give yourself a little more credit than that. You created a piece that was both exemplary and beautiful, especially considering that you’ve never really gotten the chance to practice your magic back on Earth the past several years since you last visited Equestria. A piece like what you made deserves to be congratulated.”

“Ah honestly jus’ made what Ah felt in ma heart.”

“Those are oftentimes the very best pieces one can make,” Flutters spoke up after swallowing a mouthful of sandwich. “Pieces that have a true level of love and passion put into them can easily convey that same love and passion outwardly to the viewing audience.”

“Mhmm,” Twilight agreed, “and, ever since you 2 came out with your feelings for each other, you’ve both certainly become the talk of the town.”

“Well, when Ah first came up with ma idea fer tha piece, ma intentions were ta use it ta build up ma confidence ta finally tell Flutters how Ah truly felt ‘bout her,” I stated as I took Fluttershy’s hoof in my hand. “Ah guess it’s safe ta say that it all worked out perfectly.”

“That it certainly did, my love,” Flutters smiled softly at me before nuzzling the side of her face against mine.

Twilight couldn’t help but smile at this display of love and affection towards each other before speaking up.

“I’m just happy that you’ve been able to move on from where you were years ago when that tragic incident happened.”

“As am Ah,” I answered back. “If Ah’d never decided ta come back here, Ah’m not sure where Ah’d be. Possibly back in tha cuckoo cabin, thinkin’ that all tha times Ah’d spent with you guys were nothing more than delusions.”

“We were here for you then and we always will be. Even now and long into the future,” Flutters boldly affirmed.

“Ah truly do ‘ppreciate you guys sayin’ that,” I stated before taking another sip of tea.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy began, “were you going to tell David about the proposition you had for him?”

“What proposition?” I puzzled.

“Well,” the princess started, “ever since you came back to us, I’d been reminded of how much you loved to sing from when we’d interacted with you in the past. So I thought to myself that maybe you’d want to take that back up again? Possibly make a career out of it?”

It was after Twilight’s proposal that I was taken aback. I thought about how much I’d enjoyed singing in the past, but, at the same time, felt like that window of opportunity for me to try and make a career out of that passion had closed long ago. There was no way that a nutcase like me would ever be able to get back into music again. Nonetheless, it was something that I was still passionate about even now so maybe there was still a chance for that passion to continue on, especially if the ruler of all Equestria was offering it to me.

“Twilight… Ah’m flattered that ya’d think o’ me like that,” I replied. “Ah honestly don’ know what ta say.”

“I understand that it’s probably quite a lot for you to take in all at once,” Twilight stated after swallowing a bite of sandwich, “but it’s not something that you need to decide on right this minute. Take as much time as you need to come up with an answer.”

“Whatever choice you decide upon, I’ll always be there to support you,” Flutters spoke up.

“Thanks, you guys.”

“You’re welcome,” Twi and Flutters answered simultaneously.

And with that, our tea time continued for another half hour or so as we sat there talking about nothing else in particular yet still enjoying each others company all the while. Afterwards, me and Fluttershy thanked Twilight for our time with her before the two of us left, me escorting Fluttershy back to her cottage before heading back to my house for the night. Settling in for the night, I reflected happily on the time we’d just had, not knowing how it would all fall apart the very next day.

* * * * * * * *

The next morning, I woke up refreshed and rejuvenated. Being that it was my day off from work, I didn’t really have much on my schedule of any major consequence. As I thought to myself what I might want to do that day, I figured that the first and obvious choice would be getting breakfast for myself from Sugarcube Corner. With that thought in mind, I also figured it might be a nice gesture to get something for Fluttershy while I was there.

Taking to the sky, I made the short flight over to Sugarcube Corner whereupon I was greeted by the Cake twins at the front counter.

“Good morning, David,” Pound Cake greeted.

“What can we get for you today?” Pumpkin Cake asked.

“Hey guys,” I began. “Ah’d like 2 Lemon Muffin Surprises ta go.”

“Coming right up,” Pumpkin stated as she used her magic to pull the muffins from the display and place them in a paper bag.

I then passed over several bits before gladly accepting the bag from her.

“Thanks you guys.”

“No problem,” Pound replied. “Come again soon.”

And so, with breakfast in hand, I exited the building before taking off for Fluttershy’s cottage. I was at the front door in almost no time at all before I tapped out my ever familiar rhythm on it.

Tap. Tap. Taptap Tap.

It wasn’t long after knocking on the door that I noticed 2 circular shapes begin to form on it at eye level. Suddenly, the circles opened up to reveal 2 yellow eyes with red pupils staring directly at me.

“Ahhhh!!!” I cried out in surprise, leaping backwards in the process.

While I was still in a state of shock at this unexpected greeting, a tall, slender shape began to emerge from the door itself, a mishmash of various parts that looked disjointed and random.

“Ah. You must be David,” the figure, who I soon recognized as Discord, greeted me.

Upon realizing that it was Discord, I was somewhat able to relax a bit more. I only say “somewhat” because of the unsettling thoughts still lingering in the back of my mind regarding what Fluttershy had mentioned to me about Discord that time when we were in the Everfree Forest together.

“‘N yer Discord,” I answered back.

“I see my reputation precedes me.”

That’s certainly one way of putting it, I thought to myself.

“What’re ya doin’ here?”

“What?” Discord responded as a question mark formed above his head. “Does a close friend really need an excuse for seeing another close friend? I just came to visit Fluttershy for the heck of it.”

It was then when Discord noticed the brown paper bag that I was holding.

“Ooo! What do you have in there?” he questioned. “Something from Sugarcube Corner, perhaps?”

“Jus’ 2 muffins.”

Discord then gasped before speaking back up enthusiastically.

“You brought over one for me?!? Why, David, you really shouldn’t have.”

“Ah didn't. One is fer me ‘n tha other is fer Fluttershy.”

After my statement was made, Discord visibly deflated like a balloon until he was nothing more than a flattened rubbery mess on the ground.

“Oh. I see how it is. Discord’s just not important enough for the ‘Savior of Equestria’ to bother with doing something nice to him,” he answered, disappointedly before he finally reinflated into his usual self.

“Dude, Ah hardly even know you. We’ve had literally zero interaction with each other in tha past.”

“Is that supposed to be an excuse?” he reacted in mock offense. “You obviously knew about me from my show that you used to watch.”

“Ya mean Twilight ‘n her friends’ show?”

“Technically, I count as a friend too.”

“But would a real friend bring back an evil shadow king from tha dead?”

“Oh please. That was blown way too far out of proportion. It was nothing that serious.”

It was then when I came to realize that this conversation was getting very much off topic before finally speaking back up.

“Anyhoo, do ya know if Flutters is here by any chance?”

“She was. She had to leave just a few minutes ago because of a situation that arose over at her animal sanctuary.”

He looked at me with a mischievous gleam in his eye before continuing.

“Somepony anxious to see his marefriend, by any chance?”

“What business is it of yers if Ah am? What goes on in our love life is private as far as we’re concerned.”

“Suit yourself. I just hope that you’re ready for the inevitable backlash that’s to follow.”

“What backlash?” I puzzled.

“Oh nothing all that important. Just the backlash that’ll come from the fact that a human is dating a pony.”

“You should already know by now that there is no backlash here. Most everycreature round here has been nothin’ but supportive of our relationship.”

“Oh no no no. I’m not talking about your friends here. I’m talking about your family back on Earth.”

A shocked expression crossed my face at the statement that he just made.

“Ah yes. You hadn’t thought at all about that, had you? I’m quite familiar with many different traditions and customs among those from other worlds and dimensions. Standing out strongest in my mind is the fact that humans having relations with non-human animals is very heavily frowned upon in your world. I believe… 'bestiality' is the word best used to describe it. Your family in particular would be quite ashamed of and disappointed in you if they ever found out you were in a relationship with a pony. They’d cast you out from them, just like a leper.”

Just to comically illustrate his point, Discord suddenly turned sickly pale as his lion paw, his feathered bird wing, and his tail fell off of his body. Then he simply snapped his eagle talons and was back to normal.

“Y-y-you don’t know th-that,” I stammered.

“Don’t I, though? Humans in particular are rather closed minded in regards to things that they neither understand nor are willing to accept. In all the thousands of years that they’ve been around on Earth, this mindset towards ‘bestiality’ has always existed and I don’t see any reason for it to be changing anytime in the near future.”

Discord then let a smile cross his face before continuing.

“But, then again, what do I know? I’m just a god of chaos who’s been around for more than a millenium. You’re more than welcome to do whatever you feel like. I mean, it’s just your family’s love and approval you’d be throwing away. Don’t let me get in the way of that.”

As I stood there completely dumbfounded at what Discord had just stated, he turned his wrist towards his eyes as if looking at a watch, despite the fact that there was no watch there. Still, he spoke right back up after looking at his wrist.

“Oh look at the time. It’s half past mole. I really must be going. Please do tell Fluttershy that I had to run, but that I’ll catch up with her later. Ta ta.”

And with that, a portal opened up beneath his feet that he simply vanished into before it closed right back up, leaving me there all by myself to think about what had just happened. As much as I hated to admit it, Discord was right about what he’d just mentioned a short while ago: human relations of that nature with non-human creatures were a very strongly taboo topic and one that humans were just as strongly opposed against. As Christians, my family’s mindset towards the issue was no different and there was no way that they would ever approve of me and Fluttershy’s relationship if they were to ever find out.

I mean, what was I supposed to do? Completely cut myself off from the human world for the rest of my life just to maintain our relationship? My family would still miss me terribly. They’d spend the rest of their lives worrying about where I could possibly be and why I never came back to them. I could see spending some time away from my family, but the rest of our lives? There was no way that I could subject them to that kind of pain.

Even with that, though, the next big problem I faced was how I would go about breaking the news to Fluttershy? I still loved her deeply and didn’t want to see her get hurt, but could anyone truly get out of a situation like this without being hurt in one way or another?

“David?” I heard a familiar voice call out, drawing me out of my ponderings.

Looking up, I saw my dear Flutters flying towards me.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” I spoke up as she came in for a landing near me.

“What’re you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you here this early.”

I struggled to come up with the right words to say in reply, my thoughts a jumbled mess that was nearly impossible for me to make any sense out of. Upon noticing the paper bag that I was holding, Flutters posed a question to me.

“Whatcha got in the bag there?”

“Oh, jus’ a couple o’ muffins. Ah got a Lemon Muffin Surprise fer each of us.”

“Oh, David, that’s soo thoughtful of you.”

I then reached into the bag before handing a muffin off to her and taking mine out. After about a minute of awkward silence while eating our muffins, Fluttershy finally spoke up.

“Is something bothering you, David? You don’t seem like your usual chipper self today.”

This moment pained me to no end as I thought hard about how to break the news to Flutters. There was no way that it was going to be easy by any means, but I still wanted to handle it as delicately as I could. Finally, the words came to me.

“Yes. Somethin’ is botherin’ me.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

I sighed sadly before responding.

“Ah jus’... don’ think there’s any way… you ‘n Ah are ever gonna work out.”

A look of shock crossed Fluttershy’s face, like I’d smacked her.

“W-why would you say that?” she puzzled.

“Because o’ tha backlash that would come up from us dating.”

“But just about everycreature here is fully supportive of our relationship.”

“It’s not here that we gotta worry ‘bout, babe.”

“What do you mean?”

“Back on Earth, there’s very strict laws regardin’ what’s considered natural ‘n ethical. In ma world, relationships like ours are very heavily frowned upon.”

“So what if your world looks down on stuff like that? You’re here in Equestria now. All that should truly matter is that we love each other.”

“Would that it were soo simple.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“In all honesty, what ma world thinks doesn’t bother me nearly as much as what ma family would think. If they found out that Ah was datin’ a pony, they’d turn me away. It’s not even like Ah could jus’ spend tha rest o’ ma life here in Equestria cut off from them. We’d miss each other far too much. Ah still care fer you, Flutters, but… Ah can’t love ya like that.”

It was in that moment when Fluttershy’s expression completely dropped, the color draining from her face, and that spark in her eyes dying entirely. After several seconds, she finally replied.

“No. You’re right. You need to put the thoughts and feelings of your family first. I… I just hoped… that I could’ve been… part of that family.”

That statement stabbed me in my very soul as I tried speaking back up.

“Flutters, Ah-”

“Please don’t,” she cut me off, sadly as tears formed in her eyes. “I need some time by myself to… reconsider my own life.”

It was then when she flew as far away from me as she could. As I stood there in shock all the while, the biggest thought running through my mind was Dear God, what have I done?!?

Author's Note:

Hey guys. Hope all of you are doing well. Personally, I've been going through a serious bout of depression over the past week or 2 and I'm not entirely sure why. Just how depression works most times, I guess. And on top of that, I just found out yesterday that my hours at work have been severely cut because of the coronavirus situation going on right now. As such, my financial stability is uncertain as far as the foreseeable future goes. Still, I've been busy working on this story even as it nears the end. This chapter was pretty enjoyable in that I finally got to incorporate Discord's wackiness that we all love to see. I hope that I was able to do him justice as this was my first time writing for him in any of my works. Additionally, the title of this chapter came to me from a song that I've been listening to a lot lately called "This Feeling" by The Chainsmokers and Kelsea Ballerini as did the title for the next chapter. Anyhoo, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I look forward to releasing the next one in the near future. See you guys later.

Comments

[fahpeerawa204]

Oh dear, I hope David and Fluttershy can get back together again. Also, I hope you can get over your depression soon.

[SapphireWings999]

10136922
Your concern in both regards is very much welcome. Thanks for that.