Chapter 15: Psyche Check
Chapter 15: Psyche Check
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It had been three whole days since the attack on Applejack's farm. Though he had been unable to help on the second set of repairs to their family farm due to his company not getting a request the second time around, the pony known as Azure Courage didn't care. Rather than stay on the job, he decided that he'd take some time off of work, and spend some time patching up the various holes the farm had incurred.
I keep going over there because I want to lend a hoof, that's all! the unicorn growled to himself. He had a day off from work, as per his schedule, and thus had ample free time. Normally, by this time, Azure would be doing some more active. Yet, today he felt...weird. Like he needed to actually think about things. That's why you're going over there! Had this sort of attack happened at Fluttershy's cottage, you would have done the same had it happened at the time...
Azure leapt down off his couch, onto the floor of his home.
"Though, come to think of it, it has been a few days since I told them of the last two attacks..." the colt said. "The fact there's a sick pony out there ready to use such strong magic can't be sitting too well with any of them."
He continued to muse over the recent events, as well as the assault on Fluttershy's cottage a while back.
"Not to mention that Twilight told the Princess about what happened..." Thinking aloud was something Azure particularly excelled at when he was alone. "I wonder...what kind of job does she think I'm doing with what she asked me to do?"
The cyan pony continued to pace around his home, trying to decide exactly what he should do on his day off. He could always do his usual physical training, but for some reason, the unicorn felt his energy should be used elsewhere today. After a few more moments of silent consideration, Courage looked up, and toward his door.
"I guess today should be a mental health day. Not for me, though," he said aloud, affirming his plan of action to himself. "I want to check on how they're doing. I know how I feel about it..."
With that, Azure began moving, going to check up on his friends to make sure they were in good spirits in spite of what had come up following the attack of those Shadow Wolves and their summoner, that strange colt...
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To the courageous pony, it made complete sense to check up on the meekest pony he knew first. She had been targeted once already, after all, and knowing Fluttershy for as long as he did, he knew she'd need some level of reassurance, if Rainbow Dash hadn't already beaten him to it. Then again, after that whole mess with the dragon, Azure wondered if visiting the yellow pegasus first was the right move to make.
At least, until he remembered that she returned to her normal self by the time the delayed storm had been kicked up. So, with that in mind, he increased his speed, remembering full well what happened the last time something like this happened.
He closed the distance between his home and Fluttershy's cottage in a decent amount of time. He looked around, making sure he wasn't disturbing anything else, and trotted right up to the door.
She might be out taking care of her animals, though... he thought to himself. One way to find out for sure, though...
With that considered, the cyan colt raised his hoof up and knocked on the door to the cottage. He set his hoof down, and all that could be heard was the sound of birds chirping. Understandable, given what Fluttershy's job was. The last time he remembered coming here...the conditions weren't exactly favorable.
Hard to believe there was a fight here... Azure remarked mentally, taking into account all of his surroundings.
"W-who's there?" This was a quiet voice, coming from the other side of the door. It wasn't too hard for Azure to recognize.
"It's me, Azure," he responded in a reassuring tone. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something..." The very subtle noise of locks being undone tickled his ears, and a few moments later, the door opened, revealing the owner of the home.
"H-hello, Azure," greeted the pegasus with a smile. However, Azure's attention was not on the upturned mouth of the mare, but rather, her eyes. It wasn't nearly as noticable as before, but he could see the start of dark rings forming under them. She was definitely losing sleep. "Please, come in."
The door opened wider, allowing the unicorn to step inside. While he had been in the cottage once before, he hadn't taken any real notice of the interior of her house other than what he'd glimpsed when he went to check on her before he went off to the library. Other than the basic accessories, a sofa, a chair, some tables, and all that, the home had a few cages and food bowls strewn about. The colt knew he wasn't exactly genius material, but he was able to figure out that some animals stayed in the confines of Fluttershy's home.
"I just made some tea..." said the mare as she went further in, towards the coffee table. "Would you like some?"
Azure never really had a dislike for tea, but he preferred coffee. Nothing kicked him hard in the rump like a nice hot cup of java, but he didn't want to be rude. By now, the unicorn had figured out he was liable to be severely hurt if he said the wrong thing to Fluttershy - heck, if Pinkie hadn't stopped him from confronting Gilda back then...
"Sounds good to me..." The colt said, taking a seat. It was hot, clearly just made as the pegasus indicated. The yellow mare sipped from the cup. Azure didn't touch the tea quite yet, paying attention to the way she was conducting herself. It didn't seem quite right, but he supposed that since she was starting to lose sleep, it was affecting her. The two sat in silence, and the male unicorn took a small sip from the tea, detecting a small hint of cinnamon on the flavor.
"S-so, what did you want to talk about?" asked the pegasus. Azure set down the mug, releasing it from his telekinetic hold as he did so.
"Actually, Fluttershy," said the cyan pony in response, looking up to her. "I came to talk about you." The wording did sound a little awkward, but he couldn't think of a better way to phrase what he was trying to say.
"M-m-me?" The animal-loving mare became a little more meeker, but she didn't physically turn away from him. "Why?" She set down her mug, waiting for an answer.
"Well, to be blunt, I want to know how well you've been doing since that meeting the seven of us had at the library," Azure announced. "Nopony could take that sort of news without having some sort of reaction to it..."
Fluttershy failed to maintain eye contact. She hesitantly took a few more sips of her tea, clearly not wanting him or any other pony to worry about her. Yet, the cyan colt couldn't help it; from the day he first met her, she'd always given off a fragile aura. The one time she didn't project that was against the dragon, and boy did she deliver there...
"I-I'm fine, really..." The yellow mare responded. Azure raised a brow briefly, but relaxed it as soon as he realized the muscles were tensed.
Fluttershy, I don't have the same skill as Applejack or Silver when it comes to this kind of thing, but I can tell you're not being honest about how you're feeling. I can see those dark circles starting to form under your eyes...
"Come on, Fluttershy, you can tell me the truth," The cyan colt tried his hardest to be as gentle as possible when trying to encourage her to drop what he believed to be the real reason. "You're starting to get those dark circles under your eyes again. You've been losing sleep again, haven't you?"
Once again, the green eyes of the mare wandered away from him, and she seemed hesitant to go on. The unicorn took another sip, trying to patiently wait her out. Eventually, Fluttershy looked back to him.
"Y-yes, I've been afraid after you told us what happened," The meek mare rubbed her hoof on the table, just a little nervous about saying it. "But t-that's not the reason I look tired..."
Well, that was a shock. It was true, he didn't know how long the Shadow Ghouls had been watching her, but she clearly hadn't lost as much sleep as she had back then.
"Then, why do you...?" He asked, this time not bothering to control his brow raising.
"I've been helping care for newborn baby birds," said Fluttershy, strangely, with meekness absent from her demeanor again-probably because the conversation had moved into a comfort zone for her. "And because of that, I haven't been sleeping as much as I usually do."
"That's good to hear," Azure sighed in relief, a small smile curling his mouth upward.
"B-besides," The meekness returned as soon as the talk of animals was finished, "I don't have to be too scared."
"Why?" The conversation had just gotten interesting. Last time something related to the Shadow Ghouls happened, she was only reassured after Rainbow and him had actually done something about it. But now that it was out that there was a pony behind them, he'd half-expected Fluttershy to be losing sleep again.
"Because, even if something does happen...I-I know you'll be there to help us..." said the yellow mare. Azure couldn't withhold himself from blinking in shock as the words hit him dead-on like a train. He had indeed defended both her and Rainbow Dash (well, technically Dash defended herself the whole time), and, more recently, Applejack, from that summoner's demons.
After seeing how far I'm willing to go...are they trusting in my judgment a lot more? he thought to himself. With this new information, the cyan colt couldn't hold himself from smiling. At the very least, he knew Fluttershy was alright, which did give him hope his friends weren't as bad off with the information as he thought they were.
"Thanks, Fluttershy," Azure said. "And you're right, the moment anything bad happens, you can count on me to show up. I promise you that much..."
At that moment, there was a knock at the door, followed by a very familiar voice.
"Fluttershy, dear, are you ready?" asked Rarity from the other side of the door. "You do know today is our spa day, don't you?"
Azure turned to the door, then back to Fluttershy. He merely shrugged his shoulders before taking a large drink of the tea he'd been served, the hot beverage just about scalding his tongue. The pegasus, meanwhile, got up to answer the door. The white unicorn stepped inside, and seemed particularly surprised to find the colt sitting there with a mug of tea.
"Azure, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I actually dropped by to make sure of something," Azure replied, standing up and walking over to the unicorn mare that had just arrived. "I was going to go around town to check up on everypony, see how they were taking the news. Speaking of which, how have you handled the news?"
"I must admit, darling, that the news was unnerving." Rarity said. "The whole thing was not at all good for my beauty sleep..."
Could I have expected a different answer from her?
"However," The alabaster mare continued, "knowing that somepony like you would go to such great lengths to protect his friends made it a lot easier to handle."
Again...! Azure thought to himself. Probably two of the ponies I expected to be the most affected by the news aren't really affected...
The cyan colt slowly began to come to a conclusion as the wheels turned in his head.
"I see," he stated simply. "Well, I've just got to go make sure the others aren't losing sleep or whatever, so I guess I'll leave you to the spa thing now." There were some things about mares Azure doubted he'd ever fully get. One of them was...well, most of what Rarity did on a daily basis that he was aware of.
After the mutual farewells were exchanged, Azure left Fluttershy's cottage, thinking about what exactly his relationship with the six mares had been defined by. Sure, he had those awkward moments with them, but how well did they know him, and vice versa, really?
"I haven't really gotten to know them for them, have I?" he asked himself aloud. "I have been sort of taking them for granted all this time, even given what I'm tasked to do..."
He looked up, towards the sky.
"I guess I can change that, starting now." Azure mused. "I've kept them at a distance for too long. I guess the whole image of me being some reckless colt and nothing more might diminish if I actually talked to them more..."
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The colt decided to head towards the town next, aiming to talk to the next friend he could see. A small voice in the back of his head inquired as to why he'd skipped Sweet Apple Acres even though it was a bit closer to Fluttershy's cottage than any of his other friends were, but he disregarded it as the colt went over the ways he believed the rest of his friends would react.
Though initially he'd believed Fluttershy and Rarity would at least be scared enough to lose sleep, neither one had lost sleep over the incident, or at the least, not visibly. From the way they spoke to him about it, they either didn't want him to worry or they honestly had that much faith in him that he'd be there when disaster struck. The unicorn male found himself believing it was much more the latter than the former.
Next was Pinkie. If being faced with the prospect of being banished by Nightmare Moon or being ripped apart by mutant trees didn't knock the smile off her face, nothing would, and Azure had a funny feeling that mare just couldn't be worried easily, more so than him.
Twilight seemed a bit on the upset side when it was discovered a unicorn was behind the attacks, and the colt knew precisely why. She was the Element of Magic; barring that, she was the princess's prodigy, and eager to learn about magic whenever possible. She skipped on friends during her foalhood to study all day and night. The fact somepony was misusing it was likely doing a number on her somewhere.
Rainbow Dash...like Azure really needed to worry if she was losing sleep out of fear. The only time he'd ever actually seen her scared was against the dragon, and ironically it had been Fluttershy who stepped up to the plate. And besides, she had fought alongside him the first time that cloaked unicorn had attacked.
And Applejack...
Come to think of it, I haven't really seen her since the truth came out about the attacks...both current and prior...I don't think she had any trouble sleeping or anything. She had a moment of weakness back there, that's for sure, but we all have our moments, I guess. She still managed just fine on her own until that Shadow Wolf...did that thing...
The cyan colt hadn't even realized he'd stopped moving, nor did he realize he wasn't looking at anything. His gaze was distant.
A-and, in the right light, she looks kind of...kind of--
Suddenly, Azure found himself doused in cold water. Aside from leaving him soaked to the skin, it caused him to gasp and shiver just a little from the sudden splash.
The sound of familiar laughter just above and behind him tipped him off to exactly who it was. Sure enough, when he followed the noise, he was unsurprised to see a very amused Rainbow Dash with a bucket of water tucked against her chest as she hovered in laughter.
"Why did you need to do that?" Azure asked of her, getting her attention almost instantly.
"Sorry, Az," the blue mare started, "But you looked a little overheated." She held the bucket out in front of her innocently as she stated exactly what she'd just done. "I thought I'd cool you off a little..."
Immediately, something very important dawned on Azure.
W-was...was I blushing? thought the colt to himself. Quickly realizing he was now in the presence of another mare he needed to talk to, the unicorn tried to pull himself together and began to ask Rainbow the question he needed to.
"Say, you feeling alright after the last attack?" he asked. "How there's a pony out there willing to use those sorts of things to do harm?"
"'Course I am!" The pegasus responded, "It's no biggie, really. I wasn't afraid before, and even if they're bigger, they don't scare me now!"
And there's a response I expected... Azure thought to himself, taking the time to wring out his headband telekinetically while Rainbow continued to speak.
"Next time those things show up, I'm takin' them with one wing tied to my side!" The rainbow-maned pony rambled on, "Just you wait!"
"I'm sure you would..." The colt commented, replacing his still wet band around his head. "Good to know you're taking this in stride. Pinkie's probably going to be the same way. About to go check on her."
"You really shouldn't worry so much, Azure," Rainbow said. "It's not like you..."
Azure twitched just a little, but said nothing.
"What can I say?" he asked, walking down his path. "Guess I'm just a softie at heart..."
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The unicorn colt still felt a little soaked as he finally approached the Sugarcube Corner where Pinkie worked and lived. All the way, he definitely had to thank Rainbow for that little wake up call.
Still...
Why did I trance out there? thought the pony to himself as he approached the Cakes' shop. I wasn't doing anything but heading into town and wound up thinking to myself about--
His pace slowed again, and once again, he gained a distant, trance-like stare to add to his facial features.
A-Applejack...every time I think about her...I...I--
Azure shook his head violently, trying to shake it off.
"Keep it together...you came here to check on your friend, remember?" The colt reprimanded himself, drawing closer to the shop. As he got closer, the first thing he could smell was freshly baked pastries, and frosting. Lots and lots of frosting. So much that he subconsciously found himself in need of a dentist. Shaking off the feeling of having his enamel rot away just by being close to the shop, Azure raised his forehoof and pushed open the door.
He looked about the front area, and didn't see many ponies. In fact, he only saw maybe two, total, in the shop as he surveyed the place. This struck the unicorn as odd, given the place usually was a bit more...lively at this time of day. However, the cyan colt was slightly grateful for the lack of ponies in the shop. It meant there'd be less to overhear about the Shadow Ghouls. With all this considered, the colt trotted up to the counter, glancing back to the door to make sure nopony else was about to answer.
"Hey, Azie!" The all too familiar overactive voice pierced his ears and startled him, as it came from an unexpected direction-behind the counter.
"Oh, hey, Pinkie," he shook off the shock and turned to face her. She was in fact, behind the counter and hadn't yet teleported (somehow) to him.
"What happened?" she asked, looking at him as though she'd only just realized he was there. "You're all wet!"
"Rainbow Dash got me. Used a whole bucket of water," Azure didn't care to elaborate, since he didn't know what the whole thing was with that. The next thing he knew, a cloth covered his head and obscured most of his vision, save for where his horn pushed it up out of his face. At first, he didn't get it, until he actually levitated it off his face.
It was a towel. He looked over to Pinkie, who hadn't appeared to move from the spot she'd been standing in when he first saw her, who did nothing except smile as she usually did. Realizing he was wasting time trying to understand things about his friend, he decided to dry himself off.
"So why'd you come?" The earth pony asked eagerly, not taking her eyes off him.
"I came here to ask you something," The unicorn responded. As if on cue, the cyan eyes of the mare lit up, and she began hopping about the room.
"Ooh, did you want me to help plan a party?" Pinkie rambled on as she hopped around Azure's personal space, "What kind of party is it? Who's it for?" The questions about the supposed party continued on as she hopped about, clearly excited.
"Actually, Pinkie," Azure finally responded, cutting her off before she could go on too long. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to do, but he knew the pink pony could have gone on for ages. He gently caught her in levitation magic, and began to set her down back in front of him. The sensation of being pulled through the air didn't seem to bother her; in fact, she actually seemed to enjoy it, pretending that she had wings until the time came for her to be set back down on her hooves. "I came here to see how you were doing. I wanted to see how well you took the news I shared a few days ago in the library."
Since the unicorn hadn't lost eye contact with the earth pony other than when she was hopping all around him, he could see her eyes change. The light in them seemed to...change, just a little, but Azure couldn't describe why. Pinkie still seemed just as energetic and happy as ever.
"You mean the spooky story you told?" she asked, no evidence to show she was scared.
"Didn't scare you too bad, did it?" The cyan colt repeated, making sure to keep his eyes on the mare's again.
"I'm not scared," The pink earth pony responded, and right as she said that, he saw her eyes change again for a moment. It wasn't that noticable, but it did tip him off that something wasn't quite right with the equine he was looking at now. "It's just like my song..."
Abruptly, the colt went back in time mentally to the whole mess with Nightmare Moon. She'd been the only one openly laughing and mocking the demented trees. And she started singing a shorter version of it, once more.
"Is that it, Azie? I need to get back to work so the Cakes don't think I'm not doing stuff..."
The cyan unicorn's ears immediately pricked up in alarm. It always seemed like Pinkie had free time whenever things were going bad. Even in the midst of what he assumed was a workday, he'd always seen her away from the Sugarcube Corner. And she was the most talkative pony he knew. It was clear she wasn't worried, at least, not about herself.
It was then that something clicked in Azure's mind. It was true, Pinkie was still chipper, but he finally understood what was going on in that head of hers for the first time since he'd known her. He decided to follow her into the kitchen, where the patrons wouldn't hear what was about to be said.
"You're scared for them, aren't you...?" The instant the earth pony stopped, the unicorn knew he'd gotten to the root of Pinkie's somewhat abnormal behavior. Well, abnormal for her, anyway. "I'm right, aren't I? It's not that something might happen to you, it's that something might happen to the others..."
Pinkie said absolutely nothing, but for a moment, Azure could have sworn she saw the curls in her mane and tail deflate...if only a little bit. It was barely noticable, but when she turned, he could see she was visibly sad.
Well, making her sad isn't something to be proud of. Best get on making that right.
"Pinkie, I can understand your fear," said the colt. "Truth be told, I am too." He stepped forward, reaching out with a forehoof to her shoulder. "But you don't need to be. They aren't helpless! Rainbow, Applejack, and Twilight can take care of themselves." He realized that he probably should have added Rarity and Fluttershy too, but he didn't see them as fighters-he'd only seen Rarity truly aggressive once against a manticore, and Fluttershy never actually tried hitting the dragon when she'd gotten mad at it.
Pinkie's reaction was to look away again, and Azure knew not including the two of them in that list was a big mistake.
"I can tell you now, no matter what, I'll make sure our friends remain safe," The cyan colt continued, "I'll personally see to it none of our friends get hurt."
"You promise?" She looked to him, her eyes full of hope again. Not that they'd lost a great deal of it.
"I promise..." Azure smiled, but the look on his face quickly faded when he saw Pinkie's expression didn't immediately change. She started to smile, but she wasn't satisfied with just that.
"Uh-uh," The earth pony grunted the negative, "You have to Pinkie Promise."
Now when she says that...? the unicorn thought to himself.
"Cross your heart..." She crossed one of her forehooves over her chest. Azure repeated the words and gestures, just to make sure she knew he was being sincere in his sentiments. "Hope to fly," She moved her forehoof up, "stick a cupcake in your eye."
"...Stick a cupcake in my eye..." He followed Pinkie's direction, jabbing his forehoof directly into the organ in question, and resisted the urge to wince too much when he completed the Pinkie Promise. However, when he did complete it, he noticed the pink pony appeared completely normal again.
"Thanks, Azie!" Again, her mood returned to the abnormal space he remembered it being ever since he'd known her. Quickly, Azure made the mental note to hurt the pony that would cause the mare to ever lose her smile, if only because the fact a sad Pinkie was a sight that depressed him just by schematic.
"Anytime, Pinkie," Azure said, heading out the back exit, ready to continue checking on his friends.
"Oh, and Azie?" Pinkie asked. Azure turned around to look at her. "Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise..."
The wink she gave him, for some inexplicable reason, told the cyan colt he really did not want to break the promise he'd just made. Not that he planned to, anyway. He tried to hide the shiver that the look had given him and smiled again.
"Don't plan on it..."
With that, the cyan unicorn departed, and found his way back to the road, aiming to head for the library to make sure the local librarian wasn't too upset with the current news. He hadn't seen much of his friends since the assault on Sweet Apple Acres, but today that was going to change, for sure.
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The unicorn had finally reached Twilight's home, and once again, he found himself only a little nervous at actually being at the door of her home. This time, unlike in the waning moments of Trixie's "visit", he knew precisely why he was nervous. He knew that the mare within was probably upset. With a small sigh, he decided to just get it over with, and decided to forgo knocking.
If he knew the purple pony like he thought he did, then she likely wouldn't notice his sudden intrusion until he was right there, after all. He opened the front door, and was met with a sight not unlike when he'd first met Twilight, immediately after Nightmare Moon had broken free.
The floor of the library was almost a sea of books. Entire shelves had been emptied, and some books more than others were left open on the floor in a state of being tossed aside. Probably the most organized part of the whole mess was that, admist the sea of discarded literature, was a path leading straight to Twilight's room. Azure breathed a heavy sigh, knowing what he came here to do.
"Let's get this over with, Courage," he mumbled to himself as he stepped through the clear path, heading right for the mare's study. The whole time, he felt like he was walking straight into the opening of an ursa's cave. Only, he wasn't stupid enough to try to wake it up. It was already awake and likely knew he was here.
As he drew closer to the door, he began to slow his pace as he heard movement and slamming on the other side. He swallowed hard, since the movement sounded rushed and aggressive. The colt found himself being cautious, a rarity for him. He decided to use his magic to open the door.
Three...two...one... Azure breathed in through his nose, then opened the door and took two steps in, tenatively asking "Uh, Twilight...?"
The brown eyes of the pony snapped wide open as he realized there was an object heading right for him. With only milliseconds to spare, he ducked low, almost getting smacked straight in the face by the object. A few moments later, there was a loud slam directly next to him, and Azure winced out of reflex. He looked, to see another book hastily discarded, and could only wonder exactly what kind of situation he'd just walked into.
"That was close..." he mumbled to himself, turning ahead. Sure enough, Twilight gave no indication she'd even noticed he was actually there, too engrossed in her studies to even pay attention to other ponies. This time, she was aggressively going from book to book, looking for something she could use, flipping through pages faster than Rainbow Dash could fly. Each time she'd finish a book, she'd telekinetically chuck it in a random direction behind her.
"So," Azure spoke up just as soon as she was between books. She halted, apparently hearing his voice. The way she halted didn't leave Azure feeling too good, but he knew he was too far in. "Is this...a bad time?"
Twilight turned to regard him, and she looked absolutely livid, "I've done some research in the past couple of days," She continued to speak as she approached him, with a very obviously misdirected fire in her eyes as she approached him, levitating at least four more books than Azure found necessary to levitate in such a situation. "Do you know how much skill it takes to summon something?! Let alone a Shadow Ghoul?!"
"Uh--" Azure tried to formulate a response, but he found himself at a loss for this situation.
"A lot!" She was practically screaming at him, continuing to advance on him. The colt took a step back, completely unsure of what to say. "And do you know how hard it is to control and maintain the summoning of one?!"
"Well..." He could have said more, how he'd probably guess it was.
"Very!" Even if Azure wasn't the kind of pony to become near-irrepairably skittish when faced with an angry mare, or otherwise an emotional one, he wouldn't have gotten the words out. Twilight was clearly upset. "You need high mental focus to control and maintain just one! Never mind a whole pack!"
Well, looks like my instinct was right here... thought the colt to himself.
"Why would a unicorn with that much potential waste it on hurting others?!" Twilight yelled, slamming each of the books down away from herself and Azure, causing the floor to quiver just a little around them. She seemed particularly upset.
She's the Element of Magic, and obviously possesses a good deal of potential... Azure thought to himself. For her, it must have been like looking in some kind of mirror and seeing a male, evil version of herself when I mentioned it was a unicorn...
As he watched Twilight return to her studies in a huff, the colt could only watch after her.
I can't leave her like that...but what am I supposed to say? I'm not exactly the authority on magic-that's Virid's thing...ugh, what to say, what to say...
Eventually, he was able to find the correct words to say, and followed her to where she was studying, taking note that she was significantly less aggravated in her movements and readings.
"Twilight, I can't tell you why some ponies would choose to do something like what that colt did," He approached her, slowly so he could have time to duck just in case she decided he was an absolute nuisance and chucked a book at him. "Everypony has a choice at birth. Some choose to use whatever skill they have to help others, and some just use it to hurt others..." He couldn't help but notice Twilight's face twitch when he said that last part.
The purple mare turned to him, still clearly angry about it. Azure took a step back, instinctively tensing up his body just in case, but he continued to speak, not really knowing what to do next until it hit him.
"I guess it explains why you always seem to have an issue with me, then," His voice became a bit light-hearted and sarcastic, a combination which had always seemed to work in the past for him, barring few exceptions. "Given I probably misuse my magic too..."
"Hey, hold on," Twilight interjected, any evidence of anger absent from her tone, instead replaced with that annoyed voice she often wound up taking with him. "I never told you you misused your magic..."
"But you always get mad at me..."
"Well...yeah, but that's just because you're reckless..." The purple mare quickly lost track of what she was trying to say, becoming sidetracked. "Really reckless...one of the most reckless colts I've ever met, actually..."
Azure coughed loud enough for her to get the message that she was carrying on.
"Anyway," Twilight awkwardly shifted, "I may not always agree with what you do, but you do it because you feel it's right to do. You use it to protect other ponies, and because of that, you are nothing like that other unicorn."
The cyan unicorn was honestly shocked. Was this what Twilight really thought? Up until recently, he'd always thought she hated what he did on the grounds that it involved the use of violence and magic. All of a sudden, he found himself thinking back to Silver's words. How his friend had told him that actions and words spoke more than he thought they did...but he was quickly called out of his thoughts when the unicorn across from him began to stare.
"Anyway, I came to make sure the whole situation wasn't affecting you," Azure finally responded. "Other than being angry, I guess you're alright."
"Yeah, I guess it annoyed me a little," Twilight replied, "but I can't let it get to me like that." Any anger she'd held in her seemed to be completely relaxed away. "And, you're right, it's up to ponies like us to stop the ponies that misuse magic for their own selfish gain..."
She turned back to the books, completely confident now, "I'm still trying to find a spell that serves as an anti-summoning for them, and I intend to find it before long..."
"Nice to know," Azure said, smiling and turning to leave. Good, she's alright with it, too.
"Oh, and Azure?" Twilight suddenly sounded a little timid, as though she'd forgotten something important. The colt turned to look to her.
"Sorry about yelling at you just now," she said, "It wasn't fair to do that when you hadn't done anything wrong."
"No harm done," he assured, smiling. "Just glad you were able to get it out of your system now rather than later."
"Thanks, I really needed to," Twilight sounded as though she didn't even realize it, smiling to him.
"Anytime, Twilight," Azure said, making his way out the door, leaving Twilight to her devices. The whole way out of the building, he subconsciously found himself wondering one thing.
Huh, wonder where Spike is...
-------------------------------------
Azure Courage made it out of the library. He found himself unusually hesitant to walk, but why? All he had to do was visit Applejack and make sure she was alright too, seeing as how even though he had spent some time with her while conducting the second round of repairs, he hadn't really seen much of her.
And there was that spacing out thing again. He shook his head quickly, making rapidly for the farm. He closed about half of the distance between there and the library when he found himself slowing down again. He realized he felt...odd. Like there were butterflies in his stomach, or something, and they were not in the mood to settle down and behave. They were fluttering about madly, threatening to make him clutch his stomach in discomfort.
Darn it all, why am I this nervous...? he thought to himself, closing his eyes. C'mon, Azure, pull yourself together! You don't need to be nervous! You've talked to her plenty of times in the past without this stuff happening to you!
The cyan colt continued to move onward, though walking to Sweet Apple Acres didn't seem to get any easier. Every few steps, Azure felt compelled to fidget in place, or mess about with his headband trying to keep himself calm. For the life of him, the pony couldn't identify why he was so nervous. Realizing he was only keeping himself back from doing what he set out to do with his current attitude, he resolved to finish going there. With a deep breath, he picked up the pace, hopping just a little as he increased his walking speed.
He was on the front porch within five minutes. Hesitantly, he reached up to knock on the door, still wondering what exactly had him so...skittish. With a sharp exhale, those darned butterflies still going off, Azure finally knocked on the door. Each second of waiting only served to increase his anxiety. Somewhere in his mind, he found himself wishing that it wasn't Applejack who answered the door.
Mother of Celestia, what's with me today? The cyan colt thought to himself, rubbing at his mane again, adjusting his headband as he messed about with it again. I can't think straight, my stomach is doing freegalloping, and I can't stop fidgeting...I've never felt like this before!
"I got it!" This was a younger, southern-accented voice. Azure strangely felt relieved to realize it was Apple Bloom that was going to answer the door. It took the edge off, however much when he remembered he was still on the Apples' front porch. The door opened, and the small yellow filly could be seen clearly.
"Oh, hello, Az," she greeted, seeming happy to see him for whatever reason. "Why'd ya'll come here?"
The question triggered a small reaction in Azure's brain, and for fear he'd trance out again, the unicorn quickly forced himself to speak. "Oh, hey, Apple Bloom, is Applejack here?" Quickly, he found his reason to justify it, and calmly relayed the information before his nerves could get the better of him again. "I need to talk to her about something..."
Alright, she should call for her older sister, I should be able to ask my question, and if she's still feeling bad about what had happened here, I'll offer her reassurance, just like I did with the others. Easy.
"Is this about ya'll's hug?" asked the young mare, causing the older pony's brain to do a somersault trying to hit the curve ball life had just tossed his way.
Strike.
"Oh, you saw that?" What else could he have said in such a position? He tried to be as nonchalant as possible, even given that she did sort of run out and crush him against her as soon as the evil unicorn left.
"Who is it, Apple Bloom?"
Azure found himself having to resist the urge to clamp a hoof to his chest to prevent the sudden heart rate fluctuation from taking him down. That was definitely Applejack's voice just now...
"It's Az, he came to see you!"
Agh! Why'd she say it like that?! All of a sudden, the pony felt himself starting to panic over the way the foal had so bluntly put it to her older sister. The ominous silence that followed didn't help matters any either. It felt a bit worse than any other time his friends had gone mute on him, but those happened too rarely for him to actually think about them. But now...the silence was making him more on edge than it appeared.
"I'll be right there!" she finally said, with a rapid tone in her voice that wasn't quite normal. Azure resisted the urge to sigh in relief, but he couldn't quite hold it back. At the very least, the filly that had answered the door would quietly go away and leave him to his--
"Say Az," Apple Bloom continued, having not moved from her spot since Applejack's response. "do you like my sister?"
Strike two, couldn't avoid that curve ball either.
"I--uh, no," Azure found himself backpedaling on that statement either, suddenly finding himself floundering about while his face began to turn redder and redder. It was strange that a pony years younger than him would be able to make him do this much by merely bringing up...whatever it was she brought up between her sister and himself. "Well, I mean, yes, she's my friend and all--"
The sparkle in the young filly's eye indicated that perhaps he had, yet again, chosen the wrong words. This time, instead of doing whatever it was Silver said he was doing, it was leaving him wide open for a verbal assault. The small pony gave a very Pinkie Pie-esque smile as she looked up to the older pony.
"I knew it, ya do like--" She was cut off by something snapping around her and flinging her back away from the door, the small filly giving a whine as she did so. Azure snapped out of the awkwardness almost as soon as this happened, the strangeness of the moment giving him a leg up on the odd feelings. Not long after, Applejack herself appeared, the unicorn taking a couple of steps back to give her room.
As she shut the door behind her, Azure took notice of the look on the mare's face: clearly annoyed, yet also...having an awkward undertone to it all the same.
Oh Celestia, tell me she didn't hear all that just now...!
Applejack cleared her throat, getting his attention, "So, ya'll wanted to see me?"
"Uh, yeah," Azure had never experienced a more awkward start, but now that he actually saw her, the awkwardness was gone, "I wanted to see how you were holding up, after what happened a few nights back."
"I'm just fine, sugarcube," assured the mare before him. The colt wasn't thoroughly convinced, and wanted to make sure that whatever that Shadow Wolf had done hadn't stuck with her even now.
"Are you sure?" Azure questioned, only wanting to make sure, "I mean, after that scare you had there..." The memory of a trembling Applejack refused to leave his mind. Even now, whatever was inside that demon's mouth escaped his imagination.
"I'll admit that was the most scared I've ever been," said the farmer mare after some silence. "But...ya'll helped me out of...it..." The second part was said with an awkward tone in her voice, and Azure could have sworn that her face was starting to turn pink again...
"Oh, yeah, that," And now the awkwardness returned.
Strike three. That ball had too much heat on it. Azure couldn't have hit that one if he tried.
"S-sorry about that, but I couldn't think of anything else to do at the time," The unicorn continued, an awkward smile starting to split his face.
"Y-" She started, apparently unsure of how she should continue it, "Ya don't need to apologize, Az...ya'll risked your neck for me an' my family, even though I didn't ask ya to do it."
"It was no big deal, really," Azure continued, rubbing at the back of his head. It really wasn't; he'd done a similar thing back when Fluttershy's cottage seemed to be targeted. And he'd continue to do it; they were his friends.
"It was a big deal, partner," Applejack interjected, "If ya'll didn't lend a hoof like you had, who knows what could've happened here!"
I have an inkling... thought Azure. The instant his mind nosedived into that dark alley, a chill ran down the colt's spine. It was an image he certainly didn't want to see. Had he not been there when that Shadow Wolf opened its mouth...had he not done what he had to reassure her...
-------------------------------------
Applejack was struck silent. Usually, Azure Courage had some form of retort for some things more than others. At the very least, that's how it seemed each and every time he'd argued with Twilight. And the same held true for a post-crisis situation. But the way he spaced out now reminded her of that worried expression he'd donned when he saw the first damages to the farm.
"I don't even want to think about that," Azure finally said. "I'd asked the others how they were holding up too, and...well, they seemed mostly alright. Twilight was mad and Pinkie was sad, Rainbow's reaction didn't shock me too much, and...surprisingly, Fluttershy and Rarity both seemed alright despite the bad news..."
Applejack blinked. She'd never pictured the unicorn before her to be the kind of pony to sit down and talk about emotions or anything. While it was natural for him to be a little concerned given the situation, it seemed to be off to her. Whatever it was about the unicorn's change of heart...the orange mare just couldn't see it.
"But...what about you, Az?" she finally asked, breaking the silence between them as she took a step closer.
"What do you mean, Applejack?" he responded, clearly not getting it.
"I get that you're worried about us, maybe a little bit," Applejack began to explain why she was questioning it, "but you've went around town askin' us how we felt about the whole thing...are you sure it ain't you that's been affected by all this?"
Azure's brown eyes changed just a little, but Applejack couldn't place where.
"M-me?" The colt asked, in obvious disbelief. "Applejack, I don't scare easily, you told me so yourself. The shadow creatures don't scare me..."
"Hold on there, sugarcube," The farmer responded, taking another step closer to him, meeting his eyes directly. "I ain't sayin' you're scared of them, I'm sayin' you're scared of what they could do..."
Azure's eyes widened considerably. Now the mare was sure she'd hit her mark.
"A-Applejack, I--" The colt had an uncharacteristic stutter, and his tone was off, washed-out sounding, if anything, like the wind had just been knocked out of him.
To Applejack, it was clear: he was lying, more to himself than anypony else, but he was still lying all the same.
"Az, I know you're lyin' to yourself," Applejack stated simply. "It ain't good for ya."
Azure gave a sharp grunt and lowered his head. It was all she needed to see to know she was correct about what she believed. The only thing that could be heard, besides the occasional creaking noise here and there from the farm, was the sound of birds chirping.
Eventually, the unicorn's body seemed to tremble, but it was only a few twitches and nothing more. When he finally could look into her eyes again, she could see the cracks in his armor again. Though he was trying not to show it, his brown eyes looked glassy, like he was going to cry at some point.
"You're right, Applejack," he finally said, breaking the tense silence. "I am scared, but not of what they could do...I'm scared of what I can't do." The unicorn continued to speak again, emotion breaking through in his tone as he kept talking. "My greatest fear is that I won't be able to protect my friends...or anypony, for that matter, when they need it the most. It almost happened that night, and the mere thought of what might have happened to you if I hadn't...if I hadn't spotted that unicorn..."
The colt visibly shivered. If ever there was a moment when Azure Courage was showing weakness, it was right now. All the time she'd known him, Applejack had never really seen him look...well, like this. Even against Nightmare Moon, that chimera, and the dragon, he'd never looked like he'd considered the consequences of action or inaction. But being swarmed by those creatures wore him out-Applejack could tell from how he'd acted immediately after the fight had stopped and the following morning.
She found herself moving before she was even aware of it. She reached out, putting a hoof to his shoulder, meeting the muscle concealed underneath the pelt. Applejack felt happy to finally hear him admit the truth, but now that she knew it, she felt bad for him. No doubt he'd been hiding that fear from himself for so long...
"Why do ya'll have to carry such a heavy burden?"
"Because...I made a promise, and I intend to keep it..."
A smile split the farmer's face. She didn't need to verify this time; she knew from personal experience he was telling the truth. When Azure said something, Celestia knew he meant it. Applejack thought back to the hug he'd given her when she'd experienced her own moment of weakness.
He had promised her he'd protect her as he'd squeezed her close. The feeling of security she'd felt at that very moment suddenly returned, along with a very different feeling that sent her stomach flopping about in her body. Her face heated up for a few moments, but by the time the feeling passed, Azure was ready to speak again.
"Thanks for the talk, Applejack," Azure finally said as he opened his eyes to look at her. "I'm glad to hear you're okay. And I'm glad you were able to get me to be honest with myself."
The colt began to move away. The orange mare lapsed for a moment as she considered the last part of what he said.
"Sorry for taking up so much time," The unicorn continued as he slowly walked away. "I'll just get out of your mane now..."
"Now hold on there, partner," Applejack wasn't sure why she was motivated to do it straight away, but she found she didn't want Azure to leave just yet. The addressed pony quickly turned his head back to look at here. "We ain't done here yet..."
"What do you mean, Applejack?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Ya'll spent this time listenin' to everypony else," the mare continued. "Maybe it's time one of us listened to you..."
Even as she said this, it dawned on Applejack she actually didn't know as much about Azure as she thought she did. After the events of that assault, she'd been left with a curiosity about him.
"But, I already told you what was on my mind," Azure clearly didn't get why she was so concerned over it.
"Ya did tell me what was on your mind recently," The earth pony continued, gesturing him towards the front door. "But I get the feelin' there's more to it than just that."
The cyan colt looked hesitant to comply. For a long moment, Applejack found herself strangely afraid that he wouldn't comply. But as soon as he sighed and began heading back towards her, the mare found herself happier than she should have been at this.
She found herself really wanting to know what made Azure...who he was.
--------------
Azure Courage didn't really want to have admitted it, but it was true. He was deathly scared of an inability he could very well have and not know it until it was too late. The cyan colt had a very close call a few nights ago that forced him to realize that perhaps he didn't yet have the strength he needed to protect his friends, both because he'd wanted to anyway and because the Princess had tasked him to.
Even though a good hour or two had passed since he'd relented to Applejack's offer, they hadn't really delved into anything deep. However, he had told her some things about himself he hadn't told others, but that was because the subject hadn't come up. Well, except when Silver visited, but even then it never came up explicitly.
In turn, Applejack had told him some things about herself he never would have guessed. However, after knowing her for this long, Azure realized that he hadn't really asked what was significant to her. She had been the one that recovered his band and kept it under her hat the whole time during the Nightmare Moon fiasco, back when he wore it around one of his forelegs.
"You know, Applejack, I never really asked before, but..." Azure finally spoke up, "You mentioned before," He patted the headband with a forehoof, trying to indicate exactly where this conversation was going, "that you knew what it was like to have something important to you. It's your hat, isn't it?"
The orange mare froze completely for a few moments and the room went dead quiet. She reached up to the hat with both of her forehooves and removed it from her hat, holding it there in front of him. She didn't speak straight away, but she nodded to confirm that his guess was correct. The mare removed her eyes from him and looked down to her hat, her eyes abnormally distant.
"It..." She started, in a tone so quiet that it reminded Azure of a typical conversation with Fluttershy. Her voice gathered strength, and she spoke up again. "It belonged to my mama..."
It was simple enough, her response. He had gotten his own headwear (well, it was headwear now) from his own parents right before he moved out. Ever since he had it tied around his head, he never really removed it, except when he had to clean himself up or whatever. But the way she referred to her mother sounded...off. She was around his age and calling her mother that...foals usually called their mother "mama" or "mommy", but by the time they became teenagers, "Mom" or "Mother" usually worked.
He took a second look at Applejack, and this time, he noticed her green eyes had glassed over. Azure swallowed hard, and almost gasped aloud when he noticed a silvery object slide down one of her cheeks. As soon as he noticed it, he felt like he just tanked a log straight into the chest...no, not even the chest. It was tipped with an arrowhead and pierced his heart...
Oh son of a--she's crying... The cyan colt immediately stood up, quickly trotting his way across the room. Gotta fix this...gotta fix this...
He didn't remember moving his forehoof this time, but as soon as he felt it make contact with her fur, he had no choice but to speak up again.
"Applejack," The mare's eyes regained some level of life to them, and she seemed surprised he was now right there in front of her. "I'm sorry if my question brought up bad memories. I won't ask you to talk about if it's just going to cause you pain..."
Applejack looked to him, honestly confused. She blinked, and only now did she notice the tears that were flowing down her face. She turned away, and wiped at her face with one of her forehooves. "I-it's nothin'...just somethin' in my eye..."
Azure didn't need her to tell the truth. Whatever the origin of the hat was, he decided he didn't need to know the whole story. He got some of the message, at least.
"Well, it's been interesting," The unicorn observed as he observed the orange mare finally replace her hat. "Guess I'd better head home now. It was..." Could he admit it? "great having this talk." He could.
"Anytime, Az."
---------------
The two ponies found they had learned quite a bit about each other. They both couldn't remember a time in which they'd felt comfortable disclosing such information about each other. Azure felt he could have done without the fact he'd made his friend remember a bad time in her life. He was dense and oblivious when it came to mares, for the most part, but even he knew when he'd crossed a line somewhere. As for Applejack, she herself had gained a different understanding of her reckless friend.
They both exchanged smiles as the two went toward the door. Azure let himself out, and Applejack took a few steps outside herself to see him off. Abruptly, the colt stopped, feeling the need to speak up.
"Applejack," he spoke up. As the mare turned her head to one side, the colt turned his head back again to look at her. "If you ever need to get something off your chest, just let me know. I'll be right there." He wasn't sure if he was misusing his words yet again, but strangely, he found he really didn't care even with the knowledge he might have been. He turned and slowly began to walk away, an odd feeling surging in him the whole way.
"I know you will be, Az..." It was a soft whisper, one that she knew Azure didn't hear. She continued to watch him leave, and found herself rooted to the spot. She had intended on going back inside as soon as he was a good amount of steps away from the door. However, she continued to watch him leave. Her heart skipped a few beats and she found herself rushing forward. "Az, wait!"
Azure Courage turned around, and was met with the sight of an orange mare in a hat galloping at him. Before he could question what was wrong or even react, he felt himself get pulled into yet another tight embrace. This time, Applejack pulled herself and him both onto their hind legs, using him as balance.
Azure felt himself start to blush even before his brain started working again. The mare certainly had a lot of strength to her: in the areas where they made contact as a result of the hug, he could feel the muscle underneath her fur. At the same time, she was ridiculously soft to the touch, more so than he'd expected from her given all the trouble Rarity gave her on occasion.
So soft...yet so tough... His face burning hotter than Celestia's sun, Azure finally returned the hug. The two ponies used each other as support to hold themselves up now, in a pose that was all too human for quadrupeds to be taking.
Now Applejack found herself feeling how he felt against her. Though it wasn't liable to show up through his fur, the unicorn had a lot of muscle mass underneath. It never really showed, but she had seen it on rare occasions. But feeling this much of him against her, as well as the fact that he wasn't squeezing her so much as holding her tightly--it put so much into her mind she couldn't describe it. She'd already been blushing the whole way, but now...
So strong...yet so gentle... For a while now, she'd wondered if Azure was trying to sweep her off her hooves. Almost all doubt that he was vanished from her mind now. Eventually, both of them finally got a hold of themselves, and released each other, both back on their four legs safely.
"T-thanks for being such a great colt," Applejack finally commented, her face still reddened as she turned tail and rushed back into her home before the unicorn could say anything to her.
Azure continued to start after Applejack, not knowing what happened. He could only stand there and blink. Eventually, he smiled, though a bit awkwardly, and finally began to take his leave.
----------------------
Applejack continued to watch Azure through an open window near the front door. She was painfully aware of her mixed feelings. On one hand, she was happy to have gotten to know him better. On the other, she felt...sad, at watching him go. Her heart started beating as she recalled what had just happened between them. She raised a forehoof to her chest and uneasily rubbed at the internal throbbing.
Why in Ponyville did I just do that...?
"So ya do like him!"
The farmer instantly felt as though she'd gotten a cold block of ice directly applied to the nape of her neck, and she turned around to see her sister, Apple Bloom, with a big smile on her face and a glint in her eyes.
"Apple Bloom!"
--------------
Azure made it home, and sat in his room, feeling uneasy after what just happened. His heart did not stop thumping until he was on his doorstep unlocking the door to his abode. And he felt strange while walking along. For some reason, he felt a little light in his step, sort of like walking on a cloud.
However, as nice as the hug was, the unicorn found himself more concerned with what had happened a few moments prior. Applejack had held her hat, and told him it had belonged to her mother. Though Azure had his moments where he was dimmer than a half-dead candle, it wasn't hard for him to figure out the implications. A sadness crept up on him, and he removed his headband, if only compulsively.
"I wonder how they're all doing..." he mumbled to himself. "I haven't written since Virid came along...maybe it's time I write Mother about how I've been. Celestia knows she's worried sick."
He made his way to his desk, and stopped abruptly.
"Actually...Princess Celestia probably does know she's worried sick!"
As he finally sat down to write out his update to his family, the first one he'd sent in ages, what Applejack said came rushing back to him.
"T-thanks for being such a great colt!"
"I wonder...?" Azure started, taking a random glance away from his writing. "Why did she say 'great colt' instead of 'great friend'?"
The gears in the cyan colt's head turned and churned, trying to come up with a valid answer to that question. Eventually, progress ground to a halt. The unicorn had no idea what she meant by that, and decided not to pursue it. However, even as he wrote down the letter, there was a few details he omitted.
The most important of which: he was starting to feel weird whenever Applejack was involved, in a way he couldn't explain.
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This is one of the best stories I have ever read! Keep up the great work.
all the "problems" I have with this story are really just very personal. The main one being how you use foal, colt, filly, mare and stallion. the way I under stand is; foal can be used for a male or female horse around 1 year old or so (as such I can see it being used as an insult), colt is for a young male horse while filly is for a young female horse, finally mare and stallion for adult female and males respectfully (I'm assuming that "adult" means they can have foals). though I could be wrong as well as the whole they've been humanized thing means there's more leway in what those terms mean.
Im also confused as to the age span for characters. I'm spending half the time thinking azure is closer to the age of the CMC and the other half thinking he's closer to the main 6. Hell maybe he's in middle I don't know. I don't remember azure's age being stated. Its your story so I'd say pick ages you think work for your story (for all characters not just your OCs but the main six as well).
Finally, I think free-troting sounds better then free-galloping but the later is probably the right one to use.
Other then those what really are nitpicks I do like your story. one question though, have you thought about coming up with your own main six learns something about friendship instead of modifying cannon episodes? like in stead of the galla there was some other event to learn the same or similar lesson. Though doing that would most likely be more work. I was just wondering is all.
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