The Kind Heart and the Liar

by xara

The Letter, pt. 4

"Okay, Tinker," said Fluttershy, patting me awkwardly on the back. "We can go right now, if you want."

I broke off the embrace, moving to my pack and sweeping the book back inside, closing the flap and hoisting up the pack. I ran eagerly to the door, waiting for her to follow, and she stood up to leave with me. We exited the cottage; she shut the lower section of the door, but left the top one open.

"It felt... good to talk about my past," she said as we started down the hill. I looked her way. "I don't usually talk about it, at least not all at once... but you're... a great listener." She smiled, as did I.

Down the path we walked, over the river and alongside the woods. Ponyville and all its rooftops came closer, but the path split and we followed it to the right; skirting the town and passing between the fields that appeared. Rows of corn, celery and cabbages gave way to towering apple trees; the fruits were still small and green.

Under one tree, three fillies cantered about, knocking a small ball between them as they giggled. One of them, a little unicorn, caught the ball with the top of her head, arcing it back up and towards another filly. This filly, who wore a bow-shaped ribbon in her mane, spun around, raised her hind hooves, and kicked at the ball as it approached, but she stumbled. Instead of heading towards her friend, the ball rocketed straight towards Fluttershy. She squeaked, flitting upwards with puff of her wings, just barely avoiding being struck as the ball flew beneath her hooves and hit a post of the wooden fence lining the pathway. The three fillies stared at the pair of us, then gasped all at once and ran forwards.

They reached the fence on the other side which separated the orchard from the road, and they raised up on their hind legs, placing their front hooves on the railing and just barely peeking over the top.

"Fluttershy! Sorry... " piped the ribbon-maned earth pony.

"... we didn't mean... " said the unicorn.

"... to nearly hit you!" said the third, a young pegasus.

"It's okay, girls," Fluttershy assured them. "Apple Bloom, do you know where your sister is?"

The one with the ribbon answered. "She's at the barn, last I saw."

I grabbed the little ball from where it had landed and with a swing of my head flung it over to the trio. The pegasus filly extended a wing, deftly catching it.

"Thank you, girls." The three of them rushed off back towards the trees, and we continued down the path.

A large farmhouse, barn, and various animal pens marked the living area of the farm. Following Apple Bloom's recollection, we entered the barn, passing out from under the afternoon sun's glare.

A muscular, light orange pony with her mane and tail tied back in a ponytail was stacking barrels in one corner of the barn, and she looked up as the sound of hoofsteps announced our arrival.

"Well hey there, Fluttershy," the pony - who must be Applejack - said with a grin while boosting up the barrel. It teetered for a moment, but slid into place atop the others, and she brushed back a loose hair from her mane before trotting towards us. "And howdy to you, mister... ?"

"His name is... well, I mean, I'm calling him 'Tinker'... he can't speak, you see... "

Applejack extended a hoof, and I raised one of my own, which she shook strongly. "Pleased ta meetcha, Tinker. Two of ya aren't sneaking down here hoping for an early taste of cider, are ya?" She grinned.

"No, Applejack... my friend really wanted to meet you... " Fluttershy began telling Applejack about how she had met me, though she left out the part about my weepiness, just saying that I had been sitting by the river and she had invited me for a meal. She talked about how I was apparently mute or otherwise unable to respond, but had no trouble understanding other ponies. Applejack listened as Fluttershy told about the berries and the pies, then sharing a slice with me. Finally, she told how I'd listened to her stories and had grown quite excited, managing to indicate my desire to meet Applejack.

"So I brought him here, though I'm not sure... what we can do. Maybe I should get Twilight... "

"Well, sugarcube, let's see what Tinker here has to... well, what he intends." said Applejack, for my nervousness was starting to show. They both looked at me.

Now that I was there, I felt less sure about my idea. If this Applejack really was the Element of Honesty, well...

I knew I could take one preventative measure in case this went wrong, at least. Instead of moving towards Applejack, I approached Fluttershy, raising my hoof and gently pushing against her. She immediately looked confused, backing off, but I kept nudging her gently. She glanced towards her friend.

"I get it - I think he wants some, uh, privacy." said Applejack.

"Oh... okay." Fluttershy obligingly backed off further, pausing for a few seconds, then leaving through the barn doors.

Applejack returned my look, staying quietly and waiting for me to do whatever it was I was going to do.

This was my chance - if the stories were true. Somepony who represented honesty couldn't mistake my words for lies, could she? I was tired of running; tired of strange towns and angry strangers; tired of sleeping under bushes and trees.

So I did it. I spoke. I took in a deep breath, steeling my nerves.

"Applejack," was all that I said.

Her eyes widened right away; I saw her pupils dilate, and her gaze seemed to focus on something beyond me. A split second later, the opposite happened - her eyes nearly slammed shut. Her mouth dropped open.

I was shocked; transfixed, I could only watch as the mare's body shook and her eyes opened and shut, rapidly moving between both. I'd never seen anypony reacting in a way like this, to anything at all; I felt a terrible sense of dread.

Wump! Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. Panicking, I knelt beside her. She shivered as if she was freezing; I tried to hold her steady. Her eyes had rolled back, leaving her face looking gruesome.

I heard hoofbeats coming closer. Fluttershy, hearing the sound of her friend's collapsed, rushed in from beyond the doors. I'll never know what the scene looked like as she came in; it probably looked as if I had decked her friend.

"Applejack!" she shrieked. "What... what did you do?!"

Reader, the situation might have been salvageable, but I made a fatal mistake. The surprise of the situation tore away the years of careful practice I had built up - I answered her.

"I didn't mean to!" I cried out.

She skidded to a stop beside us. Looking down at her friend, then looking at me, I saw what would truly be burned into my vision forever after. The kindness and shyness that had become familiar to me drained away, leaving her with a look of confusion mixed with anger.

"You... meant to do this?!" she accused, fury growing. "You meant to hurt Applejack? Why would you do that? This is why you wanted to come here?"

"No!" I insisted, fighting a losing battle, and I knew it, even through the shock.

"I thought... I thought you were a friend... why would you want to hurt her? I can't believe you would do this after... after I trusted you! Just go away! I don't... want to see you again!"

I ran.

"Applejack, Applejack," I heard her calling out behind me.

~ ~ ~

I fled from the farm, galloping down the path back towards the forest. The three fillies, still playing by the tree, watched me curiously as I sped past.

I ran past the town, leaped into the stream as I reached it, and struggled up the bank. I ran and ran, not entering the forest, but heading towards the hills and mountains that could be seen upstream.

In just a few days, I'd met a friend that had given me hope, and instead of... being satisfied with that, I had tried to solve the whole problem, and I had ruined everything. She didn't want to see me; I might have even seriously hurt Applejack. As special as Fluttershy and her friends had been, my curse wouldn't even be broken by them. It was all hopeless.

I followed a hiker's path as it started up the hills and into a forest. I ran and ran and ran, until the ground ended, and I was forced to halt.

This place was even more remarkable than the stream I'd wept at. The crashing sounds of water falling filled the air and huge, arced rainbows filled the sky through the clouds of droplets that arose from below. I sat down, placing my face over my hooves.

I wept once more, but eventually even the tears wouldn't come anymore. There was no place in Equestria for me. Well, I had only one more conclusion to make after that, and it didn't take long.

I set down my pack, then kicked it open, spilling the contents out onto the ground. My tinkering book I through over the cliff, the same with the food that remained.

I still had some writing materials; with them, I wrote this account you now hold.

The only other remnant of my life was a small, silver-colored wrench that shone like my cutie mark. I sighed, placing it back in the pack.

So, Reader, what can I leave you with? I will seal this letter inside the pack when it is done and weight the whole thing down.

I hope that Applejack is not hurt. Whatever ability she has, it must have fought against my curse, and I pray it has no lasting effect other than a little memory loss. But Fluttershy...

I feel as if I betrayed her, and in a way, I did. I could have stayed a quiet friend, but... I felt as if I could have more - didn't I deserve more? - and in my hubris destroyed what little I had found.

It is clear to me that she is a true friend to those lucky enough to have her. She has had troubles and tough times of her own, but came through them to become a pony kind enough to show compassion even to a complete stranger. Tell her, if you know her, how worthy she is, and how proud she should be of who she is and what she has come from. Tell her friends to treasure her, love her, listen to her and laugh with her.

She called me friend, and it touched my heart.

Perhaps this letter will wither away in this pack, never found, but I hope... when I am gone, the curse must be as well.

Tell her my story. I hope she will understand.

I hope.

-'Tinker'.

~ ~ ~

You turned over the last bit of the letter, huffing out a puff of breath with annoyance. Ridiculous waste of time, you thought. You looked over at the fire pit. She'd come back with sticks and little logs a while ago, and had started up the fire, but hadn't interrupted you when she saw you were reading. You wished she had. She was busy staring into the flames.

You stood up, returning to the tree under which the pack and wrench still lay. With a flash of irritation, you kicked them both, sending them flying over the cliff to the jagged rocks below.

Back at the fire, you looked at the letter. Curious at your actions, she questioned you. "What does it say, Twilight?"

"Nothing important, Fluttershy. Somepony's idea of a bad joke," you said, picking up the letter with your teeth and flinging it into the fire.

Comments

[spetsnaz pinkie pie]

Sweet Celestia I need more.

[xara]

2019760
Woops, sorry, I forgot to switch it from incomplete to finished. That's the end of this one.

[thepinkparty]

aww shit twlights turned bad :O

[spetsnaz pinkie pie]

ah Dammit why does it have to be over maybe some redemption maybe its got to be poison joke that is why he is cursed dammit that ending broke my heart more ahgh!

[xara]

2019775
Nope - It's just Tinker was wrong. He wrote the whole thing down - but the curse still worked.

[thepinkparty]

2019788 you clever basturd ;D

[chaorock]

God DAYUM! That is one of the saddest and least satisfying closers I've ever read. If that's what you were going for great job, but I was kind of hoping for a happier ending.

[xara]

2022842
No happy ending here, tagged tragedy for just that reason

[chaorock]

2022884I know but my English class just finished Antigone now we are segwaying into Romeo and Juliet. I wanted to read something a little uplifting but I couldn't let this sit.

[The Raisin Spazz]

Didn't expect that..
Stupid curse…
Good story by the way.

[Old Diggy]

Now I'm sad

[RedVelvetCurtain]

I wish you could hit the like button as many times as you wanted, as it deserves way more than 27. It's been a little while since I read this fic, maybe two years, but it still remains one my favorite Fluttershy stories to this day. Fluttershy is one of my favorite ponies to begin with, and I know what an amazing pony she can be, but the lengths her kindness and compassion went in this story, it was something else entirely. Fantastic job!