The Fate of a Man

by Jayellow

Return to Life

Chapter Three: Return to Life

“Why did you leave me, Michael? Why? I thought you loved me! I thought we were going to be together forever! But you just left me there, for dead!”

It was the same dream Michael had been having since the beginning of his time in Equestria. Every night, she would be there, that woman. Jessica Reese. Or, as he once called her, Jessie. She would steal him from his peaceful slumber, and deposit him in the wicked forest he had escaped from, every night.

“I left because you told me to. You said you were dying, and that one of us had to survive.” Michael told her, just as he did every night. His tone was still even and emotionless.

“But I wasn’t dead, yet! I only said that because I was making sure you would stay with me! I didn’t want you to leave, I wanted you to stay! You were supposed to stay by my side until the very end, then cry over my body!”

“If I had done that, I also would have died. Besides, why would you tell me to leave if you wanted me to stay? That makes no sense, how could I have known that you meant the opposite?” But his cold reasoning did nothing to stop her tirade.

He did not know why the dream kept occurring. Although, he mused, most would call it a nightmare. He didn’t see why, it wasn’t particularly distressing. Mildly annoying, sure, but nothing more. Even then, he never felt annoyed over it as soon as he woke up.

But then, she said something different. For the past seventy one days, she had visited his dreams every night. And every night, she would say the exact same thing, over and over again. And some nights, like that one, he would reply. It made no difference, though. She never seemed to hear him.

On that night, however, her ranting changed.

“How can you stand there like nothing happened? Don’t you have any emotions, or do you feel nothing for me? Did you ever feel anything for me? Was that all an act, and is this your true self? I should have never gave you my time, I would still be alive if I hadn’t!” She spat, coming closer than she had on any other night.

And, for the first time in seventy one days, Michael felt something new. It was a small feeling, only the tiniest wisp of an emotion, but it was there. It grew, too, and it was almost overwhelming. She just kept accusing him of never loving her, that he was a heartless monster and it was his fault she had died. And the odd feeling grew and grew until it overcame him.

“That’s not true!” He exclaimed, not believing that the words were coming out of his mouth, “I always loved you! I never wanted you to get hurt, it was that monster that did it! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

He degenerated into sobbing, falling to his knees on the forest floor. The rush of emotions was too much for him, after having spent so long forsaking them. For the first time in weeks, he allowed himself to feel the pain of her death. To face the fact that he would never see her again, except in these nightmares. It tore him up inside, as he lay on the forest floor, curled into a ball.

He had loved her with all of his heart, but now she hated him. The pain she was inflicting upon him was becoming too much to bear. But he couldn’t seem to retreat into the emotionless shell that he had in the waking world. The full force of her words was beating on his heart and soul like a battering ram, and he didn’t know how much longer he could take it.

His head in his hands, tears flowing freely, he heard one last line from his dead love. A harsh blow to his already fragile psyche.

“If you loved me, then why did you leave?”

Fluttershy had just come back inside from her chicken pen, feed bag on her back, when Michael awoke. He had been sleeping peacefully one second, the next, however, he was flailing wildly. He promptly fell off the bed, and stopped moving.

Filled with worry, Fluttershy rushed to his side.

“Michael!” She was by his side, “Are you okay?”

“I am alright, Fluttershy. Thank you.” He replied, the same dead voice he had become known for muffled by the floor.

“Oh, well, alright then, if you say so.” She backed off, “What made you jump out of your bed, though?”

“I, I’m not sure… I believe it was a dream.” He told her, lifting himself up. “My memory of it is almost gone.”

If Fluttershy didn’t know better, though, she would have swore she saw a lone tear fall down his face.

He replaced the blankets that had fallen with him, and made his bed with a mechanical feel. He had only had the bed for a few weeks, having made it himself. He had not felt the need for it, but Fluttershy had become much less timid around him over his time in her home. She still talked softly, and often remained quiet, but more than once she had become forceful with him.
Well, as forceful as Fluttershy could be.

So, one morning as he was waking up, she told him that he would be making a bed in Applejack’s barn that day. It simply was not good for his health to be sleeping on the floor every night.

He had, in fact, been working on Applejack’s farm for many days by then. Not long after Rarity had given him his new clothes, Twilight had come up with the idea to take him to see Applejack. The Princess had said it was a good idea to introduce him to her friends, anyways.

At first Applejack had been wary of the human. It was justified, of course, but Twilight decided that she would work on his introduction later. It was annoying having to tell everypony that he wasn’t a threat over and over again.

Soon enough, though, she had him put to work. His hands were once again proven useful as he chopped down a dead apple tree in record time. After a day of hard work on his part, Applejack had warmed up to him. Well, as much as one could warm up to a brick wall, that is.

The rest of the Apple family had mixed reactions to his presence. Big Macintosh had simply greeted him, and he gave a curt “Hello” back. That was the extent of how much they had talked to each other so far, but Big Mac showed no signs of discomfort with the human. He trusted his sister, after all. If she said that he was safe to be around, then he was. No two ways about it.

Applebloom and Granny Smith had different reactions. The elder pony nearly beat him with a stick at first, but she came to accept him after some convincing by Applejack. The filly, for her part, was excited to see such a strange and wondrous creature working on her farm. She was slightly anxious around him for the better part of the day, until he wound up helping her indoors. It was lunchtime, and he was going to and fro in the kitchen, fetching whatever Granny Smith told him to, Applebloom doing the same.

The filly and her significantly taller human helper rushed around the kitchen, fetching every ingredient as Granny Smith called them out.

“Cinnamon!” Her elderly voice demanded.

“Cinnamon!” Apple Bloom parroted, rushing to Michael’s side.

She stood on a chair looked around on the counter, but didn’t see the cinnamon anywhere. Looking up, the young mare found the cinnamon. In the cupboard, above her reach. It didn’t stop her from trying, though.

Her balance became precarious as she climbed higher on the chair. Michael noticed this, and asked “Do you need help?”

With a slightly nervous nod, Apple Bloom accepted the offer. Her anxiety only increased when she felt his large hands grasp her under her forelegs. She wriggled for a second, until she realized that he was lifting her to the shelf the cinnamon was on.

She grabbed the spice, and turned to face him. But her attention was caught before she could speak.

“Wow,” She gasped, “I feel so tall!” Apple Bloom gazed around the kitchen from a perspective that she was sure only the Princesses had. She couldn’t believe how great it felt, she never wanted to back down to her regular height!

Sadly, all things must come to an end. This includes her time in the air. Pouting a bit as she was set back on the chair, she passed the cinnamon to her grandmother.

But then, a thought struck the youngest Apple. Turning around, the red maned filly looked directly into Michael’s eyes, and gave him her saddest looking pout.

“Do you think, maybe, you could lift me up like that again, Mister Michael?”

He looked at her for a moment, thinking. It was the longest he had ever considered something since he had woken up in Fluttershy’s cottage. Her pitiful gaze continued to bore into him, and he almost felt something.

“Alright, but not while I’m working.” He told her, his voice stern.

“Yes!” She exclaimed with a jump. She never would have thought those pouting lessons Sweetie Belle had given her would ever pay off!

While none of the Apples, except one, came to truly enjoy his presence, they certainly welcomed him into the farm like anypony else. Applebloom was the only one to gain any sort of attraction to his presence. He may not have been all that responsive to her attempts at having fun with him, but on the days he spent at the farm, the two were often seen together when not working.

Applebloom enjoyed being able to make him do almost anything she wanted, and he saw no reason why not to listen to the young pony who had become attached to him.

All of the work he had done was why Applejack had no problem giving him the materials he needed for his bed. He had more than earned them, in her opinion.

Aside from the work he did for those three, he had briefly helped Rarity. He was excellent at following orders, but she found that his complete lack of creativity was stifling to her work.
Pinkie Pie had also offered him some work, but Twilight said it would be better if the Cakes didn’t meet him. She was already pushing it letting the whole Apple family in on the secret.

So, seventy one days into his stay in Equestria, he still had no real friends. He had acquaintances, and what amounted to a landlady, but nothing more. And as it was, Rainbow Dash still refused to spend more time around him than she had to.

And he just couldn’t bring himself to care.

He worked for Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack when he could, and nothing much had changed. Eventually, things settled into a routine.

It was the same day that his dream had changed when Twilight received a letter from her teacher.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I, along with my court scholars, have searched the Canterlot Archives these past months. We have found no methods of returning Michael to his home world, nor can we explain his presence and ability to speak our language. As of now, we may have to accept that some greater force has brought him here for an unknown reason.

As such, I am granting him the same rights as any other citizen of Equestria. This means that you no longer have to keep his presence a secret. Also, your weekly reports on his behavior will no longer be needed. The information you have already sent has been compiled, and we will publish it and include it in the Canterlot Archives. A copy will also be sent to you as soon as it is ready.

We will continue to keep an eye out for any information regarding the mystery still surrounding him, but I am afraid that life must go on. Even if it includes a new species.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia”

After Twilight came down from her excitement over having her research published and included in the Royal Library, she decided it was best that Michael know that he would be in Equestria indefinitely. Normally, she would have been more cautious about telling someone that they were trapped and likely forever separated from their home, but Michael was a different case.

At least, she thought he was.

As Twilight had been reading the letter from the Princess, Michael had been eating dinner with Fluttershy. Usually, it was a quiet affair, considering the two participants. But that night, Fluttershy had decided that she didn’t want silence.

“So, Michael, how was work with Applejack today?” She asked, swallowing a bite of a fried daisy sandwich. He may not have been very enthusiastic about cooking, but he sure did have a lot of recipes up his sleeves.

“There were no problems.” Came his mechanical response. His own dinner lie untouched, as he had done nothing more than stare at his own, non-flower sandwich the whole time.

“Oh, that’s good,” Fluttershy had forgotten for a moment how dull of a conversationalist he was. “You haven’t touched your dinner, are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just don’t seem to be hungry tonight. I think I will go for a walk.” He stood up, placing his plate on her stove,. “I will eat later.”

Fluttershy was flabbergasted. This was the first time Michael had ever shown a want to be alone. Or a want for anything, for that matter. She might have commented on it, but he was finally started to show emotion. She wasn’t about to ruin it!

“Well, I hope you have a good time!” She called to him as he grabbed his rather pedestrian duster and Stetson from the hook he had installed over his bed.

He merely grunted in reply as he walked out the door.

Just as he exited the house, he came across Twilight.

“Oh, Michael, just who I wanted to see. I have some news from Princess Celestia!” She told him, drawing the letter she had received out of the bags on her back.

He plucked the letter from her magical grasp, and began to read. He read it over, and handed it back to Twilight.

“I thank you for giving me this news. I will have to discuss my future living arrangements with Fluttershy. As it is, though, I will be going for an evening walk. Good evening, Twilight.” His voice sounded as cold as ever, but there was something else there. It was something that could barely be detected, but Twilight caught it.

His voice had the barest hint of pain.

Breaking out of the slight trance she had found herself in, Twilight said “Your welcome,” and walked into the house of her pink and yellow friend.

Once inside she called “Fluttershy?”

“Oh! Twilight! How nice of you to visit.” Fluttershy’s voice came from her pantry.

Trotting into the room, Twilight asked “Did something seem… Off about Michael tonight?”

“Well, he did decide to go for a walk. And this morning, he must have had a bad dream or something, because he was flailing around, and he fell right off of his bed! I do hope he is alright.” Fluttershy worried as she washed the few dishes from their meal.

Looking into Celestia’s setting sun outside the window, Twilight said “So do I, Fluttershy, so do I.”

The two mares exchanged some small talk, before Twilight left again, citing her busy schedule as a reason for her departure. Fluttershy then spent the rest of the night doing little. She made sure her animals were fed, and settled in with a good book. But as the sun dipped below the horizon, and the moon came out, she started to worry about Michael. It had been nearly three hours since his departure, and her mind was racing with possibilities.

Finally, at the four hour mark since his exit, she decided to go look for him. Throwing on a scarf to guard against the chilly night air, she trotted out.

It was a particularly clear night, so she had plenty of light shining off of the moon to guide her. She searched around the border of the Everfree forest, and into Ponyville opposite that, but saw no sign of him. As time moved on, her worry only continued to grow.

She soon took to flight, deciding that she needed a better viewpoint if she intended to find him. Flying high into the brisk night air, she confirmed that he was not in Ponyville proper. So, despite her trepidation, she flew above the Everfree forest.

She could hardly see anything through the darkened canopy, and was about to give up and go find her friends for help, when she spotted him.

Michael was standing on the edge of Ghastly Gorge, just staring into the ravine.

She zipped down to his location, and landed lightly.

“Good evening, Fluttershy,” He intoned. A gust of wind blew from behind them, the bottom of his duster following it over the cliff’s edge.

“Oh, thank goodness I found you, I was worried sick!” She told him, drawing nearer, “You shouldn’t stay out so late.”

“I apologize,” His voice was somber, but not without the slightest of cracks.

“Well, that’s alright. Now, you shouldn’t be so close to the edge of that cliff, you could fall.” She warned, “Let’s just go home.”

She had turned around, expecting him to follow her without complaint. But a few steps later, she noticed he was still standing at the precipice, looking straight down.

“Michael, are you coming?” She asked, turning back.

But he didn’t answer. The two stood still for a moment, as another breeze pushed them gently forward.

“I could do it, you know,” He whispered, although she barely caught his words, “It wouldn’t be hard.”

“Do what?” She asked, already dreading the answer.

“Just a small step forward. Just a tiny bit of work on my part, and it would all be over. No more pain, no more suffering. And maybe, just maybe, I’d get to see her again.” He continued, “I doubt it though. There’s no place for me where she is.”

“Michael? A-are you okay? M-maybe you should take a step back,” Fluttershy’s voice wavered, “Just come back to the cottage with me, everything will be okay.”

“No. It won’t.” His voice was louder than it had been yet, and she finally got a taste of what he was feeling. Michael was crying, she knew it, his tone was overflowing with pain. “Nothing will ever be okay again. I let Jessie die in that forest, and now I should pay for what I did.”

He started to curl in on himself, and his face found his hands, “It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have left her! I should have done something!”

“Michael, please, come back from the cliff! I’m sure she would forgive you, you did nothing wrong!” Fluttershy plead, “You don’t need to do this!”

“She comes to me in my sleep, every night! She accuses me of such awful things! There’s no way I didn’t do these things, she wouldn’t keep telling me if it wasn’t the truth!” He cried, “I have no choice!”

“Michael! P-please! There are ponies who care about you, you can’t just abandon them! W-what would Applebloom t-think if her new friend just left her? A-and Twilight! She’s one of the ones who found you, she wouldn’t have helped if she didn’t care about you! And m-m-me! I care about you, Michael! I took you into my home and cared for you!” Fluttershy was beginning to cry herself, “J-just c-come back h-home with me! Please!”

But his tears did not stop, and he did not move back. The two stood there for a while longer, Fluttershy begging him between her sobs.

Then, a foot was poised over the edge, ready to continue forward. Time stopped for the two of them, and it felt like an eternity passed in an instant.

“Michael,” Fluttershy whimpered with the last of her energy.

He didn’t move, one bandage covered foot still ready to take the final plunge.

But then, it moved back. And he turned around to face her. He fell to his knees, tears flowing down his cheeks like twin rivers of pain.

Fluttershy ran up to him, and wrapped her forelegs around his neck. He held still as she buried her face into his shoulder, still crying.

Then, slowly, he returned the embrace.

The two stayed there, crying on each other’s shoulder, for a long while.

Comments

[hollowhoofer]

nice chap. hes starting to show feelings thats good

[Fugly Duckling]

lmfao she told him to leave and then she says

if you loved me, then why did you leave?

perfect example of woman logic

great chapter though! keep up the good work

[Morphy]

1948162

Feels are dangerously contagious too, I caught some towards the end there. But he's finally working through this grief (typical steps are denial/isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance but his situation is anything but typical and he may never reach that final merciful stage). Fluttershy will get him out of this dark place, her Element compels her to do so.

I'm wondering if Luna isn't just a little curious about human dreams too. Since it's cannon that Luna does visit her citizens in their dreams, and he too is now officially a citizen, will Luna explore the undiscovered country of the human mind? And will she find things there she may regret knowing about? ...Or find rapturous?

[The Tyrannical]

Alright, let's get down to brass tacks.

Grammar Score: 9/10 (Not confident enough to give it a 10.)

PROS: 1.) Michaels character is actually very engaging. Nice change of pace for Human in Equestria stories.
2.) Fluttershy, Twilight and Dash all acted the way they REALLY would around a human. Shocked at his meat eating ways, angry at his cold demeanor, etc. They don't just shrug those things off and go "NO BIG DEAL, LOL." (as I've seen in too many HiE fics.)
3.) I'm goin' to want more of this story pretty soon.

CONS: 1.) He woke up in the Everfree Forest? Really? I know it's kind of required for this story, but next thing I know you'll be telling me he fought off a manticore and gains fire powers.
2.) I dunno, this may just be a personal thing for me, but the pacing feels a tad fast. It just doesn't feel like he's been in Equestria for 70 days.
3.) <Insert third 'not-really-a-problem' here>

Yes, I less than three it, so far. You get an upvote and a favorite from me. Good job!

[Aldrigold]

Yo, sorry for the late review after you reviewed my story!

Anyways....

Grammar Score: 7/10. Look up proper punctuation for dialogue and watch out for comma splices.

PROS:

1. I like the concept and the story is intriguing

2. The MCs are in character

3. You use just enough detail in your descriptions

CONS:

1.) Your prose is flat

2.) It's hard to care about Michael

Notes:

So, this is the first Human in Equestria story I've ever read. Over all, I like it. Twilight's reaction was fun, although considering the number of random creatures in Equestria (Including other bipedal ones with hands like Iron Will) I'm surprised at just how surprised she is by certain features.

The most important thing to fix right now is your prose. Much of the story feels told, not shown, and as a result the reader feels a bit distanced from what is going on. It might be worth your time to give us a a few more scenes of how Michael interacts with the ponies or how they meet (Like meeting the apple family) that would help the reader get a feeling for what is going on. Look up techniques on showing and not telling, and watch out for passive voice. This will help the second point-since Michael is so emotionless, it's hard to care about him. But in scenes with him, the readers can get more hints about his true personality or underlying kindness. Think Data from Star Trek. No emotion, but his interactions can be used to show how kind or caring he is. Because he lost his girlfriend (I'm guessing) to a monster attack, does he act protective of other ponies? Can you show us a scene where he acts grateful, even if he doesn't feel it? A lot of your story is just telling us he adjusted to Equestrian life, but showing us how he adjusted would make the story so much stronger.

Also, how do they hide a human wandering around town?

Anyway, I hope that was helpful! Thanks for reviewing my story too!

[Jayellow]

1982430
Looking back, I did notice that I had a problem with telling instead of showing. I am trying to do better on this point. While I would gladly go back and rewrite it, I feel it would be better for me to continue with the story.

On your last point, I did put some thought into this. From what I can tell of the geography of Ponyville, Fluttershy's cottage, Sweet Apple Acres, and the library are all near the edges of the town. Therefore, with some mild stealth, Michael could avoid the citizens of Ponyville easily enough. The only problem that I can think of, now that you made me, is that it is a public library. I may have to go do an overhaul of chapter two, now... Geez, that one was already my longest chapter so far. And yes, I realize that I already said I think it would be better for me to move forward. Now I feel conflicted.

[ArthurPearson]

1948962

G1 was set in "Dream Valley" and pegasai could travel from there to a place that had humans.

I'm working on a story in which Equestria is a shadow world of Earth, one of many such realities. Humans appearing in Equestria would be a sort of collective unconciousness "ah-ha!" moment in which the ponies recognize the hyper-reality of a human. That a human acts as a dreamer somewhat in control of his dream, the dream being Equestria. Unable to be hurt as easily (not to say violent things don't feel bad or scare - it's just nothing permenant hurts them, like in a cartoon.) They even influence reality around them, creating a sort of narrative based on the human's thougths.

[Poducken2]

“Michael? A-are you okay? M-maybe you should take a step back,” Fluttershy’s voice wavered, “Just come back to the cottage with me, everything will be okay.”

I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend.