Fictional

by Meteorite Shower

Chapter 11

The next morning, Meteorite slowly came to face down on her pillow. Still bleary-eyed, she pushed herself upwards off the pillow, stretching her body very much not unlike a cat might, and blinked as she tried to focus as she looked about the room. It was still dark, and for a while Sunny's- Flo's bed looked weird to her in the darkness, before she realised Flo had her head tucked in under her pillow.

Shaking her head clear and the ensuing headache making her almost instantly regretting it, she slowly clambered down and out of her bed.

---

Groggily entering the dining room, Meteorite recoiled with audible disgust as she squeezed her eyes shut from being accosted by the soft glow of the dining room lanterns.

"Ah, good morning, Miss Meteorite," Steel greeted from the kitchen. "I'm rather surprised you're up already, all things considered."

"Mornin'," Meteorite grunted back, not bothering to take in anything else Steel was saying. Finding her way to her seat, she found the strength to pry one eye open and was greeted by the sight of Silverfire flopped over at the other end of the table, looking several times worse than she felt.

"Hey Silverfire," she murmured, only to receive a soulful groan in return. Meteorite quietly conceded to herself that that was probably as well as that interaction could've gone, and decided to quietly sit still, holding a hoof over her eyes as she tried to recover some more.

Some time later, a few hoofsteps and clattering of dishes made her wince and open her eyes to find Steel placing a bowl in front of her, along with a glass of water. As she tried to focus on the contents of the bowl, Steel spoke up.

"Oatmeal, Miss Meteorite," he explained. "It'll help with your hangover."

Meteorite blinked as she processed this. Drawing the bowl closer with both hooves, she stared into it, only passively noticing the slices of banana as she pooled her thinking resources together.

Oh shit, do I… actually have a hangover right now? Is this what it feels like? She glanced over at Silverfire, grumbling at being forced by Steel to sit upright and acknowledge his own serving of oatmeal. …okay, this is probably a minor one, but still…

Meteorite wasn't sure what to make of it. Despite several drinking occurrences in the past, she'd never gotten herself flat out drunk, and certainly not enough to produce a hangover, ever. It felt jarring that her first experience with one would be as a pony, but… here she was. Slowly shaking her head at this fact, she began carefully digging into the oatmeal, taking her time to chew steadily.

It was a quiet breakfast, and Meteorite was only minutely aware of Steel sitting in his usual spot opposite her, but it wasn't until Steel spoke her name that she jerked her face out of the bowl and noticed the troubled look on his face. Instinctively, Meteorite reached a hoof up to her snout for any stuck oats.

"No no, Miss Meteorite," Steel shook his head in response. "I wish to…" he paused, allowing Meteorite to see him for the first time stuck for the right words. "That is, I would like to apologize."

"Apologise?" Meteorite queried while tilting her head, unsure if she heard correctly. "For what?"

"I had…" Steel spoke slowly, as if each word was being dragged out of him. "Believed, that my presence would not be missed yesterday, during your festivity. However…"

Steel made no further movement, but a subtle side-glance made Meteorite look over to Silverfire, who was currently very fiercely focused on his oatmeal and clearly nothing else. A slight clearing of the throat drew her bemused attention back to Steel.

"I have been made aware that I may have been… mistaken. As such, I apologize for not being at your… party, Miss Meteorite."

Those words had a sobering effect on her, unmatched by anything present on the table, as she slowly sat upright while maintaining eye contact with Steel. There was a part of her that told her to revel in his apology, but mostly she just felt… gratified.

"...Yeah? You… mean that?"

Steel nodded solemnly. "I do. You may choose to believe it or otherwise if you so wish, Miss Meteorite. That is up to you."

"No no yeah I- I do, I just-" Meteorite stammered quickly, pausing to take a calming breath, trying to remain as coolly as possible. "Thank you. Apology accepted," she finished, failing to hold back a tiny smile.

Steel silently nodded in response, and went back to his breakfast, seemingly pleased with how it went. Meteorite looked once more over at Silverfire, who bristled slightly at now being caught out looking their way, and very startledly had not known where to look before very intently finding his breakfast again.

Meteorite considered the pair for a moment and smiled more genuinely as she felt a warm glow within, as she returned to her oatmeal.

---

With breakfast out of the way, (along with dragging Flo out of bed and helping her to deal with her own hangover) the four of them prepared to tackle the day. As they left the cottage, Meteorite waited until she and Silverfire were the last two to leave, quietly signalling to him to stay for a bit.

"What's up?" he asked, pushing past the still-lingering effects of his hangover.

"Hey, so um," Meteorite began awkwardly, "did you… talk to Steel about yesterday?"

"Uhh, maybe?" Silverfire said slowly. "Why?"

"Just wonderin'," Meteorite responded softly with a smile. "Thanks. I… think I needed that apology. Think I would've just… stubbornly ignored him out of spite otherwise."

A frown crossed Silverfire's face. "You really should give him a chance, ya know. He's a good guy."

"Yeah, probably…" Meteorite muttered guiltily, lowering her head as she glanced aside. "I'm just… all over the place right now, y'know?" She stole a look at Silverfire and noted the blank look on his face. "Emotionally, I mean," she added.

"Oh!" Silverfire exclaimed sharply before rubbing his head unsurely, "so it's… like, a mare thing?" he tentatively asked.

"What, no!" Meteorite protested, too baffled by the accusation to be fully offended. She opened her mouth to begin explaining herself, but the confused look she was getting from Silverfire made her rapidly lose confidence in getting her point across. "...actually sure, you've got it. It's… 'a mare thing'."

"Oh…" Silverfire blushed as he turned away. "Uh, okay, I won't uh, ask."

With an unimpressed stare and an almost inaudible grunt, Meteorite watched Silverfire head outside before shortly following after.

---

The morning went by without much intrusion. Under Steel's metaphorical wing once more, Meteorite silently went about her tasks as instructed. With a now clear mind as well as a more sombre attitude, her thoughts wandered, often back to ponder the previous day as well as the week before. A case could be made for either theory for why she was here, but neither fully added up with everything presented so far, which only served to displease her further.

She was still frowning in thought when lunchtime came around, and while walking back to the cottage with Steel, heard her name being called by a distinct Southern accent. Looking up, she saw Applejack trotting towards her, smiling.

"There yer are!"

"O- Oh!" Meteorite stuttered, lifting up a foreleg in hesitant panic. "Uh, Applejack, hi! Did… you need me for something?"

Applejack shook her head, waving a hoof. "Nah, just wanted t' make sure yer were doin' alright. Didn't get a chance to check in with ya after the party last night!"

Relieved, Meteorite exhaled the breath she was holding, looking aside at Steel for a moment. "Uh, yeah! Doing fine! We're… on lunch though right now, that's okay, yeah?"

"Sure is," Applejack smirked, "Ah'm just surprised yer up on yer hooves so soon. Last Ah saw ya you were slumped over like a drunken sack o' flour."

Meteorite felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment as she pointedly avoided looking Steel's way. "Uh… I'm a quick recover…er?"

"Ah reckon ya must be!" Applejack chuckled heartily, "Well, as long as yer not pushin' yerself too hard. Trust me, Ah know from experience."

Meteorite quickly thought back to the early season one episode where Applejack took on too much responsibility at once, and smiled weakly. "Right…"

"Anyway," Applejack continued with a beaming smile, "good t' see ya gettin' on alright. Ah'll admit, Ah had my doubts about ya, but it looks like yer'll fit in just fine here in Ponyville."

With a sudden sense of uneasiness, Meteorite nodded stiltedly and chose to remain silent.

"Alright then," Applejack said, looking back at Steel, "Ah won't hold ya two up any longer. Keep up the good work."

"As always, Miss Applejack," Steel replied, bowing his head slightly. Applejack rolled her eyes with mirth and pressed on past the pair. After a few moments of silence, Steel noted Meteorite to be lost in thought.

"Miss Meteorite?" he called, snapping her out of it as she sharply met his gaze, slightly wide-eyed.

"Yeah?"

"Is everything alright? You appear to be somewhat troubled."

Meteorite blinked a few times, before scoffing. "Yeeeah, I'm fine," she said, swiping the air dismissively with her hoof. "I was just thinking; it's nothing."

"Hm, very well," Steel mused, not entirely buying it. Nevertheless, he turned back to the path ahead, and the two of them silently continued heading back to the cottage for lunch.

---

Much like that day's morning, the afternoon passed swiftly without incident, which wasn't wholly unappreciated by Meteorite, even if it did mean more time spent working hard under Steel's supervision. Even so, it gave her time to think uninterrupted, which depending on how you look at it, might've actually been a worse outcome.

With the sun setting, Meteorite quietly followed Steel back to the cottage, where she suddenly spoke up upon reaching the pathway to the front door.

"Hey um," Meteorite began, pausing until Steel looked her way, "is it alright if I-" she gestured around her, "-y'know, hang about out here for a bit? I want some time to myself."

Steel regarded her oddly. "What you do with your free time is up to you, Miss Meteorite. I only request that you do not make yourself late to dinner."

"Ah okay cool good to know," Meteorite spluttered. She instinctively raised a hoof to give a thumbs-up of acknowledgement before realising her folly, and awkwardly put it back down again, slightly embarrassed. "Well uh… I'll see ya inside, I guess."

Steel nodded, and turned about to the cottage. Meteorite watched him go inside before looking back at the orchard trees on all sides, sighing silently as she picked a direction to wander off in.

---

It wasn't long before Meteorite came across a spot that looked interesting to her, a small hill rising up from the orchard with a lone apple tree perched on top. She steadily climbed her way up, gave the tree a cursory glance before looking out at the orange horizon, with the rooftops of Ponyville just off in the distance, above the sea of trees before her.

"Hmph," she scoffed non-committedly, "convenient."

She turned her attention to the ground underneath her, and carefully sat down by the tree. Using her hoof, she guided her tail to curl around her legs, with the tip laying in front of her. Feeling satisfied with her pose, she let out a small sigh as she looked on Ponyville, recognising a few key buildings such as the town hall, and Twilight's library. She was only mildly aware of the sun's setting, mostly through houses starting to light up from within as lanterns began to be lit.

After a while, she broke the silence with a quiet but firm voice, as she continued to stare ahead.

"I can't beat you."

A brief moment to let that sink in, Meteorite glanced aside at the treetops.

"To be honest, it's… getting difficult to… ignore everything that's come my way." Her voice trailed off as she continued to stare at nothing in particular. "Everything that I turn to, just to find some sort of answer… just tells me this is really happening…"

Her words lingering in the air, Meteorite slowly closed her eyes while taking in a deep breath. Holding it for a brief moment, she exhaled and glared at the orange sky.

"Which is pretty suspicious, if you ask me. Which you haven't," she scoffed, "because, y'know, can't do that apparently." Clearing her throat, she continued.

"Anyway. Everything?" she queried accusingly. "Y'know, a few things would've been normal. But everything just… flat out refusing to give even the slightest?" A moment's pause as she continued to glare, allowing the beginnings of doubt seeping into her as her own words started to sound unconvincing. She bit her lip, but violently shook her head in a bid to clear her thoughts. "No no, no. E-Even if- okay, maybe it's not that weird, now that I think about it… but still, it doesn't feel right. It feels like you're trying to convince me."

She drew in another breath to calm herself, which only mildly helped. "...No, I… I have to believe you're there, because if I'm right… then you're desperately trying to make me think that you're not, so whatever you're planning hinges on that. In which case… tough."

"And…" she paused, swallowing roughly, "if I'm still wrong… then I guess I'm just a crazy ol' pony anyway."

Meteorite stared down at the ground in front of her, the frayed tip of her tail gently fidgeting in the breeze. A few moments of silence passed, and she softly placed her hoof down on top of her tail tip. She smiled despite her stress, and were she in a better mood she might've entertained the thought of actually playfully batting about her tail. She looked away, her smile quickly fading as more coherent thoughts came to her.

"I need to assume you're there, for my own sanity's sake. And… generally just to fuck you over."

She cut her stony gaze across the horizon, gradually settling on a lone orange-hued cloud in the distance as her focal point.

"I can't beat you, but I can damn well bring you to a draw."

Straightening her back up, Meteorite adopted more confidence into her pose as she continued airing her thoughts.

"I can't prove anything; you're no doubt going to make absolutely sure of that, but I can keep you on your toes. Because you've made a big mistake." She allowed herself a tiny smirk at that. "If you're going to keep trying to convince me all of this is real, and not some dumb story you're writing, then you're going to have to be perfect.

"Every scene, every description, every word, you're going to have to do your damnedest to not make me suspect anything, because if you slip up just once, I'll know you're there for sure." She bore her teeth in a grin that wasn't entirely un-predatory. "You've written yourself into a corner. Sure, it won't be today, tomorrow, this week or the next, or this…" Her grin faltered as she hesitated in her speech. "...month, or… this…"

Her gaze dropped shakily as she hung her head, contemplating exactly what she was saying. After a few minutes, she solemnly drew in a deep breath, lifted her head again, and spoke carefully.

"...or however long it takes. One day, you'll slip up without realising it, and I'll call you out on it, for everyone to see. And that'll be my victory."

She looked away to her side, blinking back the beginning of a few tears, determined to not show weakness before herself. Off in the distance she saw the cottage, and wearily decided to get up.

"Better get back; don't wanna be late for dinner after all," she muttered. Turning around, she waved a hoof toward where she was sitting. "Plus, don't really want to be sitting crying about shit I can't even deal with."

Dusting herself off, it was only until Meteorite was halfway down the hill that she paused mid-gait as something occurred to her.

"...shit, that was all angst, wasn't it." She glared upwards at the sky. "Bet you just lapped that up, didn't you? Fuck me." She shook her head and continued walking. "Alright, gotta work on not giving you so much material in the future…"

---

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

---

"-and… yeah. With that, I left the ball in her court, I guess." Meteorite stared glumly into her empty teacup, lost in her thoughts. "Though I continued to stubbornly try and undermine anything I perceived to be her doing. Which… I feel terrible about now."

Rarity nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure she understands, darling."

"Yeah…" Meteorite drawled, not entirely satisfied with that. After a moment of silence, she shifted in her seat and stretched her body. "Well, I suppose that's it."

Rarity blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? What happens next?"

Meteorite regarded her curiously for a moment. "I'unno. Stuff? I mean, I just kinda…" -she blew air from the side of her mouth as she thought- "Pfff… had to adapt to everything, I guess."

"Wh-" Rarity spluttered slightly, clutching a hoof to her chest. "You can't just end the story like that, darling!"

"Rarity," Meteorite deadpanned, "I've just spent the last few hours talking. I'm tired."

Rarity's eyes fluttered toward her kitchen clock then to the now darkened window of her kitchen.

"Oh," she uttered simply.

"Maybe another time," Meteorite smiled softly. "I am thankful for you listening to me though. It's been… nice finally talking about it." She paused, frowning momentarily. "…with somepony that wasn't myself."

Rarity smiled sympathetically at her as they both got up from the table. Meteorite stretched some more and with some afterthought, sheepishly turned towards her.

"So um…" she squeaked, "wh-what do you think so far?"

"Hmm…" Rarity mulled carefully. "I think… I'd like to hear more," she finished with a coy smile. Though appreciative of the response, Meteorite held in a sigh.

"Rarity, you know that's not what I was asking."

Her smile fading, Rarity solemnly nodded as she moved in closer. Sitting down in front of her marefriend, she placed her hooves on both of Meteorite's shoulders, and spoke softly.

"I think… that you are a very lovely pony who is too worried about her past. Everypony has things they regret, darling."

"I guess…" Meteorite muttered as she looked aside. "I just wis-" she cut herself off, annoyed. "Well no, I wouldn't change things, because y'know, otherwise I might not be here with you…"

"But if you could…?" Rarity prompted cautiously.

"If I could… yeah," Meteorite admitted with a weak smile. "Nothing major just… enjoying life more. Maybe be less of a ditz during our first meeting…" she added meekly.

Rarity smiled slyly. "'Nothing major', right?"

"Well, ya know," Meteorite giggled lightly though some blushing, "it wasn't exactly the romantic meeting made of dreams, right?"

"Right…" Rarity said thoughtfully, staring deep into Meteorite's eyes. Her blushing deepening, she leaned further into Rarity's embrace and hugged her tightly. After a few moments Meteorite pulled back slightly.

"I wish I could stay," she whispered into Rarity's ear, before reluctantly breaking the hug. "But I do have to get back to the farm. I'm already going to get an earful from Steel as it is when I get back."

"Hmph," Rarity sniffed as Meteorite turned to leave, "he has no right."

Meteorite slowed her pace as she turned to look back, smiling to herself as she realised what she was about to say.

"Ahh, he's alright… once you get to know him."