A monster of old finds himself in current-day Equestria.
Not all tales are true, as is to be expected. Sometimes there are blatant lies, sometimes a story is made up, and sometimes parts are left out. When the three species of ponies came to Equestria, it was a land they knew they could inhabit, but it would take time. The horrors and monsters and ponies that quickly followed the discovery of Equestria are often left out to prevent bad rumors and the nightmares of children. But one of the monsters from that period of time is much alive.
A lot is subject to change with this story because it is not complete. Depending on feedback, I will finish it or I won't.
Not all tales are true, as is to be expected. Sometimes there are blatant lies, sometimes a story is made up, and sometimes parts are left out. When the three species of ponies came to Equestria, it was a land they knew they could inhabit, but it would take time. The horrors and monsters and ponies that quickly followed the discovery of Equestria are often left out to prevent bad rumors and the nightmares of children. But it was not originally going to be that way. The ponies of Equestria had some monsters and creatures to deal with, as do all living things when they inhabit a new area, but there was one monster, who, back in those days, was rumored to have brought the fog to the land; darkness to the days and even more darkness to the nights; and fear like none could have imagined.
In the olden days, when fog swept across a hostile land, blackness filled the sky and cold was the ground and air at all times. Terror was around for all ponies because of the fright of monsters. Not just wolves and foxes, but creatures unknown with gnarling teeth, sharp claws, and a lust for blood. But there was a certain creature whom all were not only terrified of, but, even without knowing if the creature understood words, begged for mercy in front. So terrifying was he that all of the other foes that he came across were dead in an instant from his monstrous power, and he indeed had the look of a wretched, grizzly, terrifying monster to him. Bodies of giants, innocent ponies, and dragons had a tendency to lay before him without movement and with open flesh. Some say he saved the land of Equestria due to how many monsters beside himself that he killed. Others say he was almost the bane of existence for the poor ponies, but nopony really cared.
This creature was once rumored to be a pony himself. His bodily figure, as it was on four legs and ran like a pony, suggested so. But he was covered in fur with dried blood from hopeless innocents and his eyes were so wretched and horrifying that one stare, if one was unlucky enough to cross him, immediately felt anger and pain and hate and, above all, pure fear. His mouth was always agape and his teeth were rotting and black with hints of red and, as many ponies called it, there was a "Sure taste of death in that mouth.". He was also known to be very smart, however. He set up traps, he attacked only when necessary for him to feed his hunger or when another foe encountered him by accident and he put on a defensive stance. He knew the land and was never seen being as a ruthless, stupid beast, but rather a monster with passion and care that were never described by his actions, except when a lucky few survivors caught him smelling flowers or resting by trees, only to see the flower wilt or the tree turn grey. He was often awoken by leaves falling on him and then he would turn to the tree, see it dead, and cry.
Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, before becoming rivals, saw this is the mangy beast ad, after they had promised to kill him, lied to the people saying that he was too powerful for them and they, therefore, "had to create a stronger magic to best him." The ponies of the land were horrified, hopeless, and, above all else, downright saddened and depressed as they thought that even the greatest of powers could not defeat the monster. The ponies thought that they were all doomed. But they went on living life in fear.
Some rumored that he was a pony who knew time before Equestria, a pony who committed spells without a horn, a pony with no wings and the ability to let himself and his imagination fly, and strong like an earth pony. But in his days of being a monster, which none could come up with how he could be a pony before and turn into such a horror thing, thus disregarding the rumor, he grew tired of death behind him, seeminly in front of him, to his sides, in his head, and on his paws. He also grew tired of the unnecessary hatred that poisoned his mind. With nothing better to do and seemingly no purpose to serve, he threw himself off the highest cliff in Equestria and, as ponies saw his titanic body falling, cheered as they thought he was dead. But he was only left there to sleep in his coma after he hit a rock on his head with the fall down. The fall for any other would've resulted in a messy splatter, but for the monster, it was only a hard blow in a weak spot.
The ponies in the land, and the other monsters and wildlife, for that matter, did not know that he was in a coma because none dared be within the presence of his malice for fear of catching some of that malice for themselves. As time went on, erosion, trees, dirt, and rock slides from the looming cliff covered the monster till he was deep underground in his long slumber. Everything that grew around him died quickly; trees were grey and small and thin, flowers wilted almost immediately, wild animals avoided the area of his body like the plague, but none in the modern age ever found out because it was deemed a good idea to not let young children spread rumors and be scared. He was also no necessary part of Equestrian history, even as malicious as his deeds were, even with the body toll he shot up through the sky. So the remembrance of him would have vanished either way and those who know now, masters of lore and alicorns of old, do not care for their memories of him and they would rather those memories go away.
Now the ponies of the modern age are gleeful and live an almost-worry-free lifestyle. Things seem jolly and time could last forever. The vile feelings and monsters are, to the ponies unaware of such horrors, locked in a box to which there is seemingly no key. But such things have a tendency of breaking loose to cause pain and suffering, either for themselves or for others, and it is without a doubt that this will always happens. People will have to come together to display courage from themselves when there is none around, love and happiness when all the surrounding area is sad, and a will to push on when seemingly all is lost but a thing called hope that, some say, comes deeper from the heart than even love. Humor, magic, loyalty, trust, kindness, and generosity filled the current land, but that is soon to change.
The day the monster arose was a chilly but peaceful night. No pony was out to see him rise, as the ponies were covered in heavy blankets, and the woodland animals had all gone to slumber in their quiet holes and tall trees. This was the peace that all in Equestria had longed for. This peace often existed, but it had its disruptions. None can hope to maintain peace for all eternity, and if peace lasts too long, the living beings of the world will lose their ability to rise up and go against intolerable action. All would succumb to any power and fall for any fallacy. Perhaps, sometimes, it is good that something goes ahead and wakes everypony up with a good jolt of terror so that they can be reminded that bad times are possible.
The monster awoke many feet under the ground. As soon as he had gained consciousness, he immediately knew where he was. He questioned laying there, starving himself to death or letting himself die of suffocation or letting the dirt fill his lungs. But he had remained under for so long without any of these things happening anyways, so he deemed them impossible deaths for himself. With that thought, with a massive effort, he thrust his arms forward past the dirt, moving the earth around him, and he began to dig his way up, pushing dirt to the side of himself and, eventually, breaking his claws past Earth's surface.
Immediately the monster noticed a change as he rose above. Looking around curiously, he no longer saw fog and blackness and other wild monsters roaming about, but the world seemed lighter and the other monsters were gone and all was open to be seen in its magnificence. The monster, in his time, never knew such beauties. When he used to sit by trees, they creaked and cracked and turned grey, seemingly putting on hundreds of years of age in less than a day. But now the trees stood strong and almost seemed to welcome him. The many flowers about used to wilt and droop and lose their colors as he got closer to them. But now they stood strong and their colors, even in the night, were more radiant than he could have thought possible. After what seemed like so long, the monster finally saw joy again.
Beyond the trees he saw the town of Ponyville, even though he was very far away from the town. One of the abilities the monster had was to see farther than any he had known in his lifetime. The monster, knowing that ponies would be in the town, looked up and saw the mountain as it loomed over him. He thought to himself If that mountain fell, perhaps that would be enough to kill me. But then the monster turned around and saw the beauty of the forest again, the last time hw would truly take it in today. Oh my. It would also kill these beautiful parts of this forest as well. That doesn't do anything any good, now does it? With that final thought, the monster ascended the mountain with ease. Too any other, walking up the mountain would have been quite the task, but the monster did it with ease.
As he climbed to the top, he found himself faced with a huge cave. The monster, as he entered, thought to himself, This looks fit and cozy for a large dragon. In fact, one seems to have been here, but he must have left or died. Various gems and golden coins scatter the ground, but there is no large heap. Here a diamond lies in the wall, perhaps from the dragon's movement in his cave, forcing such gems, with his movement, into the cave wall. Here coins lay scattered about like crumbs. A dragon's lair indeed, but no dragon I have ever known would voluntarily leave a cave, even to find a new one, after his treasure was accumulated. The monster gathered, in his mind, the fact that treasure had accumulated at one central point in the back of the cave. Many golden coins and gems lay in what could almost be called a heap. The pile was certainly bigger and more collected than any other place where coins were in the cave.
The monster had faced dragons before, some seemingly ten times larger than himself, but he always came out the victor without any injury done to himself except maybe some burned fur and, at the very worst, a gash somewhere on his body. But he did not even feel the pain of such wounds. The ony real pain he felt was emotional pain and pain from a long period of hunger. But those could not kill him. The monster often considered himself invincible, even though he did not want to be. He had let himself take serious wounds before, but there was no pain and he healed from even the largest wounds seemingly over night. When he threw himself off the mountain, he did it thinking that the worst that would come to him was probably a sore body after he got up from the fall and started walking again. He was, in fact, surprised when he woke up under ground and even more surprised when he figured out that he had been in a coma after he got up and saw all of the changes that only time could have brought. The monster thought that he would have not suffered so bad an injury as to be in a coma.
One of the changes he considered a spectacle was the light of everything. Even the cave, with only moonlight left to shine in it, seemed brighter than the brightest day back before his fall, and the cave was, to most who ever saw inside of it at night, which were few, seemed almost pitch black, even during the daytime. The monster had adapted the ability to see in the dark back in his day, and he was aware that the cave was, in fact, so dark that one, even with a lantern in hoof, could only see a few feet in front of themselves. But the monster sensed a kindness in the place, like he sensed in the forest, that he rarely knew before he fell. If the monster were to live in this cave for the time being, he decided that he would do it at the beginning of the cave. For reasons he did not know, that is where the kindness seemed at its strongest to him.
So the monster, with his hard skin, soon was on his back with his eyes closed on the rocky ground of the cave. The only sound, beside the wind, was his hunger making itself obvious. The monster then had a terrible thought. In my day, most of the woodland creatures were wretched things, like myself, but in this day and age, the creatures may be much more beautiful and kind and happy. The monster's stomach growled again. I have not felt so happy in a long, long time. Perhaps never before. My years as a monster have not been good to me, though. I could probably live the rest of my life without food, but I would be in eternal agony, seeing as to how I can not die and the pain from that hunger woud eventually be impossible to describe. So that is how it is, I suppose: I shall kill other animals and eat them to, hopefully, keep living out the joy I have recently experienced. But perhaps that joy and the beauty of this area will fade if I do so. But certainly some of these animals in the wood are carnivores, so death must happen, right? The monster couldn't stop thinking of the situation and had a troubled sleep.
It was certainly no rarity for Fluttershy to go out and about in the woods. That was, in her heart, her true home, and she would not have it any other way. Like a truly loving parent must take care of their child at all costs, Fluttershy had to take care of the forest at all costs, no matter how scary. So deep was her love for that the forest that it was ranked the cleanest forest Equestria had to offer, a title that most, if not all, town-folk of Ponyville accredited to Fluttershy.
The forest was a dangerous place. No other way to put it, really. Just as one would not go into a country where war is happening because they wish to be safe or have no business there, the same went for going deep within the forest. Where the mountain was signified where danger truly began, and the mountain was pretty easy to see from Ponyville. From that point on, the woods got thicker, the animals got fiercer and more numerous, poison plants and berries could be come by more frequent, and it seemed to be a hauntingly lonely place. The monster, even though his home was now the mountain, never noticed this, though, even though the mountain signified the start of the danger. He thought it all too beautiful to even take notice that land on one side of the mountain differed from the other. To the monster, all seemed bright, except far, far off in the distance, farther than any pony, even with the best eyes, could see. But the monster could see it. An unfriendly darkness seemed to lurk and boil in anger as it waited for something. But the monster found it easy to disregard.
Fluttershy often checked the "border" that was at the middle of the mountain. An invisible line, town-folk called, between the good and the bad. Fluttershy often cleared this line, and a decent ways beyond it, of any disgusting and unfriendly plants and weeds. The plants she removed dulled the light of the area, cut like knives if not careful, and provided poisonous berries capable of a good bed-ridden week and a few checkups if one was not careful. But here, as she hummed a tune to the line, she saw the monster, sitting on a rock as the sun bathed his face.
A thought occurred to Fluttershy, amidst all of her sudden fear, that it would be rude to be afraid. It was quite a big step for her, slowly walking a small distance up the side of the mountain to where the monster sat, but her feet seemed to carry her forward, and even though it frightened her, she just accepted that she would talk with him and make the best of it. The monster noticed her, smiled, and then bathed his face in the sun again.
Fluttershy took a seat rather close and, though nervous, acted as if she was not. She too bathed her face in the sun. It was quite the feeling, even if she had experienced it numerous times before. The warmth hit her face and the wind was not there. With her eyes closed, she heard all. She heard, somewhere, a small acorn drop and a squirrel scampered to pick it up. Somewhere, a leaf was stepped on by quick feet. Somewhere, the trees seemed to yawn and say good morning. With all of these beautiful somewheres around her, Fluttershy wished to stay exactly where she was. As did the monster.
Then Fluttershy noticed something. She was at first curious and then amazed and even happier. just as Fluttershy controlled her breathing to not let it get in the way of the sounds around her, the monster did the same. Fluttershy opened an eye and looked up and to her left. The monster's ears were up and straight. Where a sound came, his ears shifted direction, but his smile never changed. When Fluttershy had first encountered him, she thought him rather grotesque, but not now. The only thing she could see was happiness.
The monster, suddenly seeming to have noticed Fluttershy's stare, said quietly, "I hope that it is because I am so pretty that you stare." The monster chuckled.
Fluttershy smiled, but did not look away. "I'm just curious, is all. My name is Fluttershy."
"My name is...well, I don't have one, really. At least, not in this day and age. The leaves are no longer grey. The trees no longer thin. It is a marvel to me, the day and age that I am in. Oh so fair is the breeze that blows upon my saddened face, for this world, so beautiful, to my death I would chase. It would not be a sad death, my last breath, because I would see the most beautiful thing ever, even if just a trace." The monster opened his eyes and looked at Fluttershy with a smile. "Tell me, young girl, what has happened? Do not regard it as a sad question or that I am worried, but the place used to be so bland and dreary and sad. But no longer."
Fluttershy, thinking on the question, but not knowing the time period of which the monster was from, could only think of one answer. "Harmony has come to the land."
The monster turned and thought. "Harmony, eh? I suppose that it is only fitting and only right, seeing as to how harmony is composed of all things good and necessary for the world to be stable and lovely, as it is now. What I experienced, many years, possibly centuries ago, was true chaos and disorder. It was...unpleasant and unenjoyable. It...such words should not be used in the presence of such a wondrous sight as this."
The rock that the two sat on was just the perfect height to allow for a view over the trees and a perfect spot to see the Sun.
But then the monster felt it, and he knew that it would quite possibly be the end of him. The monster felt his hunger. It came to him as he started to think about the land as it was many years ago. The monster did not eat vegetables. He was a carnivore and as a disgusting an eater as could be. It came to his mind that he could not recall ever trying food that was cooked and he did not have proper table manners. He had seen ponies have cooked food before and he had also seen them be clean, but they ate very little, it seemed to him. But he would consume and consume, and surely no pony here wanted any animal to die and they probably didn't want anything as disgusting as he.
Fluttershy turned as she heard the monster's stomach let out a disturbing growl. "It is a pity, you know, that all living creatures here seem to be of divine beauty, as do the plants and the trees, but I hunger. I don't want to spoil such beauty." The monster's look was suddenly that of worry and sadness and aloneness as he looked down at his belly, "But I do not want to put up with the pains of starvation."
Fluttershy was in shock and in sudden realization that, wherever the monster had come from and whatever his situation before this time, it was all truly dire and dreadful.
"Oh dear me. Please don't be sad. There is plenty to eat here. It saddens me to see things...dead. I even have trouble with the word. And it is a pity that such beautiful things should have to be killed to save other things so beautiful, but that is how life goes. I always try my best to prevent such things, but..." Fluttershy looked off in the distance as though she was doing something wrong and wanted to leave, "but a few fish can't be too bad, right? And surely you can eat some of the berries and bread and vegetables that we have to offer."
The monster was in shock for three reasons. First, with food being on his mind, he was surprised that the little pony offered him such gifts and that she did not seem to care too much, or maybe she hid that care well from him. Second was that all food in Equestria during his time was horrid, even the animals and ponies themselves that he ate. But the food that came from the ground was, by far, the worst. But he considered that, with everything else seeming to have gotten better, perhaps the vegetables got better as well.
The third thing that he was shocked at was what Fluttershy had mentioned about killing others to save, what he thought to be, himself.
"You...are willing to sacrifice the beauty of others for me?" said the monster in eager anticipation for an answer.
"I don't want to, but, as I said, that's the way things must be sometimes. I have a bear that I tend to and he has to eat his meat or die, so I provide him fish. You wouldn't mind fish, would you? I've at least gotten kind of used to fish, but I don't want anything else to have to suffer death."
The monster was awed by the generosity and love shown to him. It was such love that he had never seen before, and it was offered by a complete stranger who owed him nothing and yet he asked for so much.
"I... I would not mind fish. But you said that you would have beautiful things die in order to have other beautiful things live. Are you saying that I, although certainly not on the outside, hold beauty within?"
Fluttershy saw an urgent need for care and love as she had never seen before. But it couldn't simply be put like that. There was pain to be healed and care that had never existed before for the poor monster. She saw, in him, that he was dead inside. Even though he saw the marvel of a world filled with love and care and light, he thought that he had none for himself and didn't deserve to take it from others. Fluttershy had become second on a list of living creatures who did not like to see other things dead. The monster, as she could tell, was now careful with his every step and move. He would be a being to move slowly down the mountain so as to not cause a rock to fall and hurt a flower below. He would sit next to a tree and leave at any sign or even thought that the uselessness and ugliness that he thought he held within himself dare spread.
Fluttershy looked down for a moment in thought, got up, and the monster turned his body to her as he sat. The monster was enormous compared to her, but she moved up to him and spread out her arms as wide as possible. He gently wrapped his arms around her as his eyes swelled with tears. Fluttershy gently moved, seeming to somehow rock him as she did, and she hummed a very quiet, beautiful tune.
Fluttershy knew that the world she lived in was quite nice. That's how it could be put in simple words, but there was something more than that; something that could not be described because ponies couldn't quite put their hoof on it. The time in which the inhabitants knew now, at least in Ponyville, was a time in which elements of harmony weren't just in six ponies, but all throughout the land.
Ponies could expect helping hooves and care and random acts of kindness. There were still flaws in society and some folk that were considered to be impossible to befriend. But this generation only saw that a pony or any other being may only be impossible to befriend for a small amount of time until lessons were learned and friendship was shared. Hard times were simply just solved because all had a wish for peace and practically every situation could be solved peacefully.
That being said, fear is an ever-lurking power that can be good or bad. The ponies of Equestria saw their society as perfect, and none were able to make an argument against that. However, even the ponies of Equestria knew that they were only "perfect" for certain periods of time. Throughout time, something will come that doesn't knock on your door, but rather tears down your walls, just to make you open and weak and scared. When that happens, it is up to you and all that are around you to determine whether or not your safe-place will continue to be torn down until a fortress of maliciousness is built or if the wall will slowly be fixed with time and care. Some ugly things, however, come knocking on your door in hopes of a place to stay. Some things will tear down your walls because they would have been killed if they were outside any longer. Whether or not you care for these things is up to you, but they will always force decisions upon you.
Fluttershy came back into town knowing that the ponies of Ponyville would not accept the monster immediately, if at all. The monster was enormous, horrifying to look at, and seemed virulent. The ponies would initally be scared of him because they did not know him and they would hurt him and/or kill him however they could. But they would stop caring for him as soon as he was out of their sight.
So for a few weeks, Fluttershy would take some of the fish from her food storage (originally only to be used for the animals she owned) and she would also get whatever fruits and vegetables that she learned the monster liked. Obviously, Fluttershy wanted to carry fruits and vegetables out mostly, so as to make it that she did not have to be within the vicinity of dead fish so often nor buy them so often, but the monster did not enjoy too many other foods that he could be provided and fruits and vegetables were never enough to fill him. That being said, he did often have himself be hungry so as to not force poor Fluttershy into always doing what she did not want to do.
Fluttershy's house, being in the forest, was not hard for the monster to sneak to. It was a short trip and he could carry the food back to his home in the mountain with ease. All that it took was Fluttershy carrying three or four loads of food out during the night and he was good to go.
But the monster saw the forced pain in her eyes. Even if it was for only 15 minutes of her night, Futtershy still had to wake up at two in the morning and carry dead things out to this monster who gave her nothing back. She spent much more on food, she lost sleep, and she was around the thing she disliked most: death. Fluttershy used to greet the monster and have small chats with him when they met out in the woods, but, as the weeks went on, Fluttershy had a harder time remembering where their meeting spot was and the monster could sometimes find her standing perfectly still while looking at the ground with a sad stare on her face. The monster would shake her back into reality and take his food, but Fluttershy, without a word, would turn around and go back to bed, often crying. The monster knew that he was hurting her, but either he lived through the pain of starvation or she was sad and tired for, possibly, the rest of her life.
Fluttershy's friends took notice. Fluttershy was just not herself throughout the day. She was even more secluded and her animals, which she also got by secretly, worried for her and convened to try to figure out what was wrong, but no gifts or appearances of friends made her feel better. Her friends suggested pills for depression; lost sleep, sadness, and loss of weight were, almost always, depression. But Fluttershy refused to see a doctor. Not only that, but now she seemed to be refusing to see her friends.
It was not until one day that Rainbow Dash took it upon herself to spy on Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash, as soon as it was nighttime, got out of her home in the clouds and sped away to Fluttershy's house. When she got there, she silently peeked in the windows and saw that all was at peace in her home. But Dash was not content with her findings and she decided to stay vigilant atop Fluttershy's house. Dash, with nothing to do, stayed awake for hours and, every now and again, checked on Fluttershy. It was quite the boring task, but it was one that she was adamant on doing. To Dash's surprise, one of her trips down resulted in Futtershy no longer being in bed. Now being more quiet than ever, Dash flew back to the roof and peeked over the sides of the house while she was down on her belly.
Peeking over the house, Dash saw Fluttershy slowly and seemingly painfully going to a small shed near the chicken coup. Fluttershy was there for about two minutes until she came out wearing a double-basket (a device in which looked like a saddle but had a basket on either side) and then she walked off into the forest. Dash saw that the basket was full of fish and fruits and vegetables and she was, as is to be expected, going mad with curiosity.
Dash was standing on the roof pacing back and forth debating to herself what it could be that Fluttershy was doing until she forced herself to quiet down and be belly-down on the roof when she saw Fluttershy come back with both baskets empty. Fluttershy went into the shed and came out with more food and slowly walked off again in the same direction.
Dash followed as silently as she could, often flying high above the trees. Dash made sure to be able to see Fluttershy, but it was a rather dark night. Darker than most nights seemed to be. Ever since Fluttershy fell into her sad state, it was like the Sun decided to give off less light to the world. It was indescribable and most ponies avoided the subject in conversation, yet they all knew that it had definitely gotten darker.
After a minute or two of following Fluttershy, Dash saw her stop and stay put. It was then that Dash decided to slowly go down and hide in the top of a tree. She placed her hoof over her mouth so as to not let out a loud scream of horror. Dash saw the monster come out of hiding. How he had hid so well, she could not guess. But Dash didn't care for that; her mind was running wild with thinking of whether or not swoop in there and grab Fluttershy or to sit in the tree and hide. Dash decided to stay.
Dash saw the monster take the double-basket off of Fluttershy, remove the food, and put it back on her. He then placed the food where he had been hiding and came back out to Fluttershy, who had already started walking back.
The monster stared at her sadly until he spoke up. "No! Wait! Please, do not go back to bring me more. I would rather it be that I, a monster who can not die by any ailment, live in pain rather than bring suffering to yourself so that you may help me."
The monster's eyes suddenly showed through in the night. Dash was initally scared, but there was no fire in those green eyes. Instead, they looked sad. In that moment, Dash thought of him as a lost, pitiful dog. But he was so selfless that he would rather not have Fluttershy care for him and he himself would suffer rather than having her be tired and sad and weak. That was something that only a truly understanding and loving dog would have their owner do, if the owner was ever poor enough to be in the situation.
Fluttershy slowly turned around with eyes that seemed like they would have taken all the sadness and pain in the world just so that others did not have to experience it. She knew the monster to be kind and loving and full of care. In some cases, Fluttershy would have had a hard time doing this, but the living being she had come across was almost just like herself and she never viewed herself above any other thing in the world.
"I would rather that I be tired and sad than you have severe physical pain for the rest of your life. Your life has known little joy, and I would have you know joy longer than for a few weeks. I would rather you know what I have known: years of joy," said Fluttershy with a smile that seemed forced.
"But this is no joy for you...nor is it for me. I see you as you are now and you have changed from when we first met. Kind, kind lady, don't let the days be as dark as they are. Surely it is your sadness that has dimmed the world." The monster stared at her with pleading eyes and trembling lips.
The monster sat down and Fluttershy came to him and sat on his lap. Fluttershy's comfort to the monster was like that of a cat who was always there at the right times and always friendly. A cat who would lick your wounds and stay at your bedside, comfort you and feel your sadness and only search for ways to make you happy again.
"I know that I can find a way to be happy and lively. You, however, can not be happy and lively with such a pain in your stomach."
"No pain in my stomach can compare to the pain in my heart when I see you as you are now."
"Trust in me." Fluttershy gently held a hoof to the monster's face as he looked down at her. He was close to bursting into tears. "I can find a safe way, you can not. If it takes years, I will make you happy. You will no longer know hunger. You will no longer know sadness. You will be happy with us in Ponyville."
The monster could not find words to continue to argue with. And so it was that selflessness seemed selfish: if he didn't accept her food, she would bring it anyway. If he went away so as to not force upon Flutteshy the pain and sadness of being around death so often, she would only be more sad and she would become restless, perhaps weeping because she thought she failed. The monster had no reasonable choice but to accept her offer and hope that she could find a way.
"Please do me one favor, kind lady," said the monster to Fluttershy as she was beginning to walk away. "Do not bring me any more baskets of food for tonight. I am good for now."
Fluttershy nodded and slowly went back to her house. The monster stayed silent and he looked at her for as long as he could see her, almost crying as he did so. But then a change came to his face. He became suddenly aware of the presence of another.
Dash, when she had first seen the monster, thought of him as a horrid, wretched being that would harm Fluttershy. But now she could only feel saddened by Fluttershy's kindness and the monster's. It is a terrible fate that such kindness can bring such sadness, but that is the way it is. But it was because of this that Dash no longer saw him as a monster. She saw him in finer detail. The features of him that she could barely make out in the dark now seemed crystal clear. The monster may not have looked "socially acceptable," but he was a living being as all other things. Dash was faced with the question that she had thought up: Why is he any more deserving of life than I am? Surely he would be judged wrongly by all but the kindest, and the kindest being alive is his only friend, so all others will judge him wrongly. Poor thing.
Dash was going to fly away, but the monster never moved. Instead, he looked about the trees until he began to stare in Dash's general direction, which would have, had she not gotten to know him from the brief conversation, scared her to death and she would have left immediately. But instead, she simply stopped peeking and waited.
"If there is another being out there, I do hope that you do not find me to be cruel, even though I may look the part." The monster then looked down and started to walk away. Dash was about to fly off, but the monster then stopped. "I only wish for a chance," he said silently. Dash took a moment to think on what he said and then she took off while he was still fairly close.
The monster looked up in the sky and saw the pegasus fly through the air. Throughout his life, the monster had seen many pegasi, but here was a pegasus that he knew in his heart bothered to take the time to listen to him carefully. But he couldn't help but think, as he saw her flying, that there had never been a faster or more magnificent flyer in the world.
Rainbow Dash found herself flying back to her bed in her cloud home with much on her mind. She thought that her house was nice, that her bed was nice, and that her life was nice. Yet here, in her own town, was a monster who didn't deserve to be a monster, no matter how abominable he looked on the outside. But Dash's sleep was not troubled, for she knew what she was going to do.
Dash's life, as some may say, was quite luxurious. Kicking clouds for money, being the fastest flyer in the world, being able to be lazy and sleep whenever she pleased, having the best friends in the world, and getting in on a grand and, sometimes, mischievous adventures. But she didn't need a nice house and she did not need to be the fastest flyer. Certainly she needed some way of making money and a house, but her house was so grand and big and nice that it wasn't necessary for her. She could have settled for less. Much less, in fact. All she really needed was her friends and a job and a cheap, run-down house to be happy. But she had much more.
Dash started thinking to herself on her situation. Perhaps I should be content with such things. So many would wish for a life as easy as mine and I didn't even really have to work hard to get mine. Of course I had my fair amount of challenges and I did have to work to be the fastest flyer, but this did all come relatively easy.
While Dash was thinking these things, the monster found himself waking up and preparing to go down the mountain to meet Fluttershy. But he always looked up the entire time on his way down the mountain and through the woods. His focus was always on the magnificent stars; throughout the monster's life, even on the mountain, he rarely ever saw stars. The fog that covered the land like a cage always prevented him from seeing the stars. It was only on what he considered to be "a good day" (a.k.a. a day where he wasn't killing things and being disgusted and depressed by all around him) that he could see the stars from the highest point on the mountain.
In current-day Equestria, stars were free to be seen for all who had the eyes to see them. For once in his life, the monster felt small, and feeling small felt good. He knew that he was, but he didn't feel his invincibility so much. And he even started to question if living forever was so bad in a place so beautiful. As the monster pondered on this, he, of course, wondered what he would think if all went bad again, but there was no need to worry about that now. The monster was taking in easy stroll in a beautiful land, and he coudn't ask for much more than that.
In the meantime, Dash turned in her bed her thoughts and decisions. Of course, being the coolest pony in the world wasn't a very easy title to earn either, but she had already earned all she needed in life and now she had nothing left to work hard for, except for one thing: her friends. Dash's friends would always be in need of her. These needs her friend's had for her couldn't be classified as a simple task like "Pick up my laundry" or "Go shopping with me," but more like "Be there when I cry" and "Help me face the world."
Dash then went to sleep with her mind set: she would help poor Fluttershy out. Dash didn't care so much to see dead fish or get up early. Fluttershy's job of taking care of animals often had her busy throughout the day, but Dash could lounge about napping or sleeping whenever she wanted to, so it's not like she lost any sleep. And so it was that, at around 1:05 am on the next day, Dash woke up and sped to Fluttershy's house. Dash knew that Fluttershy would only sleep for about 20 more minutes, so Dash quickly grabbed all the double-baskets she could hold, which was conveniently three, and she filled them with all the fish and fruits and vegetables she could bear. Dash was much stronger than Fluttershy and she was also driven to hep and find out what this monster was.
She flew to the place that she guessed was where Fluttershy stopped to give the food off to the monster and she looked around nervously. For a few minutes, nothing happened. But suspense killed her; leaves rustled on the ground at random and by feet she could not see; wind made the forest whistle and stir and the noise made her feel hauntingly alone but watched. Nonetheless, Dash was determined to do that in which she promised she would.
Dash couldn't help but be frightened to death when the monster came out from the trees again. She didn't scream, but she stood still in awe and horror, giving the monster a petrified stare.
"I am sorry to have scared you, little one. I should not have snuck up on you like that. Please forgive me." The monster looked as if he wanted to give Rainbow Dash a hug, but he knew that reaching his paws out at her for the attempt to do so would only make her more scared.
"I...um...I'm alright, I suppose. No real harm done." Dash stared at the monster with the same petrified look as before and she still could not make herself move.
"A-...are you alright, little one?" The monster looked at her confused and worried.
"Well yes, but no at the same time. I'm sure, if we meet more, that I won't get into this state again." Dash let herself get loose again, but was obviously still scared.
"So the other little one won't come again, I suppose. That makes me sad, but at least another friendly one has come to take her place. You must be the one that flew away last time Fluttershy was here. Thank you very much for considering my plea and Fluutershy's and for selflessly taking her place."
"Weeeeeell...I didn't exactly tell Fluttershy that I would do this, and...and she may come out here again not knowing that you've had the food taken to you." Dash sat down with her hooves on her face and she let out a few groans. Dash thought that she had just made an idiot of herself.
"Don't worry, little one. I'm sure that she would not care if you took her place doing this as long as it does not force any pain upon you. She does not seem to think herself higher than any living being, yet would take all of the pain in the world just to not see it spread to others. A marvelous creature, she is. Perhaps you are as well."
Dash sat up and regained her posture.
"Well. Some would consider me a marvel. Although it's not official, most would say that I am the fastest flyer ever and that I am also the coolest pony ever." Dash put a cocky smile on her face as she brought her hoof up to her face and wagged it around a little, a gesture the monster did not understand.
The monster seemed disinterested and Dash's mood was immediately flattened, but she decided to not talk to the monster again about such things.
"Well. I guess introductions are in order," said Dash as she stuck out a hoof. "My name is Rainbow Dash, and I am at your service."
The monster smiled and laughed and stuck out his paw to meet and shake her hoof.
"I have no name and I am from times of old, but any service you offer to me, I can only hope to repay you with another service in some way."
"I'll try to bring you food, as long as Fluttershy is fine with that. You seem like a...um...being that would offer nice conversation."
"Yes. There is indeed much to talk about. I've already talked with Fluttershy on a few subjects, but my thirst for knowledge about the history and events and everything else to do with Equestria is unparalleled."
Dash had already put the baskets on the floor, but the monster never once paid attention to the food until the conversation was over. The monster took the food out of the baskets and gathered it all in his big arms. Rainbow Dash stood in awe of this, seeing as to how so many pounds were just taken and held with easy, but eventually shook herself out of it.
"Goodbye! I hope to see you again later. Perhaps under better circumstances," said the monster as he waved to Dash as she was about to take off.
Dash replied with a smile and a "Ditto."
Fluttershy had just gotten up in time to look out her bedroom window and see Dash flying with three double-baskets to her food storage. Fluttershy thought of two things at that moment. The first was that she lived in a society that didn't need locked doors and pads. This was the first time Fluttershy had ever experienced a break-in and it wasn't to steal anything, but rather bring joy to the heart of another. Second was that she worried that the monster would think of her as irrelevant now that Dash was taking the food, but she didn't really think that possible; the monster was too caring and nice to treat her as nothing now that she did not bring him food.
Fluttershy wasn't surprised that Dash was doing this, seeing as to how Dash felt loyal to all her friends and would not have them suffer when she could take the hard work for herself. But it now became apparent to Fluttershy that a plan was needed to get the monster out into the world. Whether it took days, weeks, months, or years, Fluttershy did not care. She just wanted the world to see him as he truly was.
But a thought lurked in the back of her mind: She did not know who he truly was. She knew some terrible things about him, like the fact that he had killed ponies before and that he considered himself a beast that didn't deserve or really want life. He talked about himself being a monster less and less and started to talk about life more enjoyably, but that did not mean that the thought of his own death was out of his head. Perhaps such a being was never meant to be presented to the world. The risk did seem greater than the reward, but, nonetheless, he deserved more than food brought to him at two in the morning as he waited out in the woods. He would have a good old-fashioned meal at the table one of these days. And who better to have a meal at the table with than friends?
Fluttershy found herself back into the swing of things, somewhat. The world seemed to have gotten a bit brighter again and she was not as tired, nor did she seem in as much pain. Being around the dead fish all the time had truly dimmed her spirits, but, as anypony could tell, she was still not her full self. There seemed to be moments where she looked over her shoulder and moments were her mind wandered off onto other thoughts than the topics of discussions her friends would bring up with her throughout her day. She was always thinking about the monster.
Fluttershy never thought of him as a monster. She'd rather call him a big furry thing. Dash called it a monster without much thought, but if she got the slightest notion that it offended him or Fluttershy, Dash would stop with no argument or questions. Fluttershy obviously longed to see the monster, but Dash was the only one who knew of this. Both were forced to sit there while their other friends worried, and both could not say a word. And Dash was beginning to experience the same feelings, but on a smaller scale than Fluttershy. At least Dash got to see the monster every day for a few minutes, but Fluttershy never did. However, they both longed for the monster's conversations and new-found joy.
When Dash came down to deliver the food, she always had a conversation, which Fluttershy did as well until she was too tired. They both asked questions about older times and they both often gave news to the monster and shared with him the history that they knew. The monster was able to fill in some unknown holes to their history, but only the beginnings of Equestria. Aside from that, he knew nothing else.
The monster learned that Celestia and Luna still ruled, he learned of Discord and Nightmare Moon and Sombra and Chrysalis, of a few of the adventures and worrisome events like both times when Trixie came to town and the time when they cleared the dragon from the cave (which explained the sudden change in mood when one came to the beginning of the cave on the mountain) and the time when Twilight became an alicorn and all sorts of other seemingly crazy tales.
The monster always had good laughs and good times, but rarely bothered to share his own tales, for obvious reasons. In fact, both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy knew that, when they asked of the time period from which he originated, that they would both have a long, sad story, but a thirst for knowledge could end in such sad ways. The satisfaction from learning and knowing may rival that of the sad feeling. Like when one suffers from depression and he or she does not know why but then he or she learns what it is. Surely he or she will be satisfied of their learning, because he or she can now solve their depression, but if the depression is caused by the fact that their dog has cancer or something of that sort, he or she will only be reminded of happy memories that are now bittersweet. Knowledge can be a dangerous tool, and it can often destroy a living being, but whether or not knowing something will always be a good thing is very much so up for debate.
The monster always kept that in my mind when he spoke with the two, but he often didn't care. He was too busy being stuck in a marveled state of the company he was in. Although he didn't care for Rainbow Dash introducing herself as the fastest flyer, he now cared for it in story format. Through Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, he learned that his friend's, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, were friends with royalty, that Twilight was possibly the most powerful unicorn ever known, that the two princesses often visited Ponyville, that the elements of harmony were deeply embedded in the souls of four of Fluttershy's and Rainbow Dash's friends and that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had elements of harmony themselves. He was quite filled with joy and laughter at all these tales. The only thing that he didn't understand was why there was still no sign of a king or queen and two princesses were the rulers, but, apparently, nopony had the guts to ask that question. There was some fear of "one-thousand years on the Moon" or something like that.
With so much history and the fact that Luna was still a princess when he threw himself off the cliff, the monster was faced with the fact that he was many years older than one-thousand. But he felt livelier now in his old age than ever before. A certain spring of joy was in his every stop even though he didn't do very much and was forced to hide annoyingly often. The monster, being one of the best at hiding and being quiet that there ever has been, often found himself going closer to Ponyville than Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had suggested. He hid on the ground as various ponies walked through the trails in the wood and he hid so well that he often kept up with them and heard their talk without any of them even giving off a worried look around their shoulder.
Aside from spying and eating and talking, the monster found himself mostly sitting down. He made sure to always be in hiding when he was sitting around, but he found himself dozing off in various places and trying to make friends with animals, which he had a hard time with. The animals could always smell the fish on his breath and rarely trusted him, that and he was "oh so big" and animals need to be protective of themselves, but a few birds would occasionally land on his shoulder and perhaps a squirrel or two would go ahead and give him a wave, which often surprised him. The animals were actually intelligent and they had attitudes like the ponies he got to know: although initally scared, the animals that bothered to give him their time of day grew fond of him. He was quickly befriending the entire forest, as well as Fluttershy's animals.
Fluttershy's animals were kindest to him, almost as if some her kindness was given to them and they spread it to him. Fluttershy was capable of sneaking past her animals, but Dash was not. Dash was discovered by the animals the second night she delivered food and Fluttershy was forced to talk her animals into accepting the monster, and they gave her demand a chance and came out liking the monster.
As for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy acknowledged Dash's kindness and often thanked her, but Dash always knew that Fluttershy wished to speak to the monster and get him out to the world somehow. And it was only realistic that he would one day be discovered if he went on living in the woods for years. Whether or not the discovery of the monster would be good or bad was not known, but Fluttershy and Dash placed their bets on the latter. For as good as the society of Ponyville was, it was not welcoming enough to let such a beastly, wretched-looking creature into their vicinity. At least not with immediacy, but with time, however, many good outcomes suddenly became available.
With a little time, care, and persuasion, Dash and Fluttershy knew that the monster could be an accepted part of society. They knew that he could have a name, more friends, and the free life that he truly wished for. But a plan would have to be made, a plan that heavily relied on the willingness of others to accept such a thing into their lives and to trust it. For the meantime, though, the only update with the monster was that he now wanted art supplies for reasons unknown to the ponies. He always said to Rainbow Dash when she delivered the art supplies to him that it was a "surprise." But there was no denying that the smile on his face was contagious and friendly whenever he mentioned the art supplies.
Being the now interested character that he was, the monster craved a little more and was willing to go to some extents that, a few weeks ago, he never would have dared with. While Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were busy trying to get the world to accept him, he wanted to know what the world was like. And it wasn't too hard to get a pretty good clue of what he was in for. There was jolly music always emanating from the city. Jolly music the likes of which he had never imagined possible. All sorts of new sounds surrounded him, and they were all happy, which bothered him.
For as happy as the monster was with his new-found friends and the land that he was ine, and even though he only wished to be happier, there was a certain depth that was lacking in this music. He decided that the lack of depth was an emotional lacking. Even though it made him happy, that's all it ever did. The monster, even though one may not guess it, had fears to overcome; he had tears to cry; he had worry that he never shook. These were not songs that soothed him and eased his pain, his worry, or his leftover sadness from the days of old.
Although exploring the world sounded nice and he really wanted it, being alone was when he thought best on his problems. Of course being with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash helped a lot, but he never felt like telling them that he was uncontrollably worried. He had told them of the leftover sadness from his past, but they couldn't offer much more than a "But now everything is much better than before" and a hug. The hug, however, was always heartwarming and nice, but it never truly solved his problems.
The monster often sat at the foot of his cave, gazing out at the stars, and he wondered how such a land of unequaled beauty was right for him to exist in. And even though two ponies had accepted him already, they assured him that it would be hard, if not impossible, to find many others so nice. And here he would only be treated wrongly for his looks. Had he looked like a pony, yet had everything else the same about him, including his past, he would have been accepted with no questions asked.
It was these things that he was always forced to wonder about. What if I am only accepted in this town and I have to face uphill battles to be accepted anywhere else? Even if I gain most of the trust of this town, or any other town, how shall I face those who don't trust me?
Sad thoughts for a sad monster. But he was smart. There were quite possibly other things that should never be stripped from any living being, but hope and dignity were definitely the two that he thought should always remain untouched no matter what the circumstances. Certainly some people need to change, but one should never call a person worthless. One should also refrain from ever seriously calling another stupid, because how is one supposed to know, by first glimpses, the history of another? And even if history is looked at, what rule in what book says that one can not change? Hope keeps one moving, sometimes trudging, along the long paths they must traverse. Our dignity is what keeps us from tripping as we go. But the monster felt like he was lacking in both hope and dignity.
On one night, before the monster had received his food, he noticed that the town was lit up even though it was nighttime and he could still hear music, which often stopped once it was around seven in the afternoon. But it wasn't the happy music that he was accustomed to hearing. He couldn't make out the music, even with his superior hearing, and the music stopped as he got about half way to the town. Going there, he wasn't exactly hiding, but he heard no noises other than his own and saw none other than himself, so he could not tell why the music stopped, seeing as to how it could not have been that the town was alerted of his presence.
Being the curious sort, he went ahead and got close to the town, closer than he ever had been, and, as he snuck along the borders of the town, he saw a large crowd of ponies gathered in one central area. There was a large structure that could be seen beyond the crowd. The monster had no clue as to what it was, but many objects that seemed like musical instruments were on the platform of this huge structure. A few ponies went ahead and tested out a string or two on some of the instruments, which resulted in an unexpectedly loud noise. Others went ahead and tested some keys on a piano.
Feeling rather adventurous and with nothing better to do, the monster silently climbed a tree that was scarily close to the town. But the crowd seemed too focused on the stage. Wanting to know what was going on, he focused his hearing. There was something about "Thank goodness it was a free show" and "I really like this guy. I hope that he does...umm...what is it?" and then, rather loudly, a pony on the platform of the structure went up to a stick with some device attached to it and said, "For anypony out there that can hear this and has not returned back to the crowd, hurry on back. the performance continues in a minute," and his voice carried loudly over the town.
Just then, the crowd got even larger, and the streets got more littered, which the monster despised, but he knew that these ponies cared for their world, so it made no sense to him that they littered in their very own town. The forest was always clean. No bags, no food that shouldn't have been there, and not even any camping gear. With some thinking, he became aware that they littered because they wouldn't dare miss a single moment of what the monster supposed was going to be some good entertainment. The ponies would clean up the mess afterwards. Back in his days of terrorizing Ponyville, he would always find stuff littered about, and he often had himself to blame.
The monster used to kill ponies for fun, or, at least, that's what he told himself. It was never really any fun for him. He was consumed by hatred and yet never saw any point in killing the innocent creatures. He later on guessed that he only killed them because he was just angry for no good reason. He couldn't do anything to stop being a monster by killing ponies, but he did it anyway. Thankfully, he came to a conclusion that it was the stupidest, worst idea he ever had, but the damage was already done. All he was to the ponies in his day was a monster with malicious intent, and he couldn't remove that from their minds, even though he desperately wanted to. And here, in this day and age, he hadn't killed a single one, yet he knew how horrified of him that they would be.
As the monster wandered about in his mind, he suddenly heard a pony on the platform of the large structure say hi and he saw him wave to the crowd before he sat down at the piano. A loud roar of applauses came through, along with some whistling, and one "I LOVE YOU!"
The pony sitting down at the piano laughed. "Alright, alright, alright. Love you too. Thank you guys for sitting through the intermission. We'll get back to some music. It's kinda cool, I must admit, that you guys get hyped for music that's on piano and that isn't really, well, 'feel good' music, but I suppose that it does make some ponies feel good. Maybe it solves some problems here and there. Anyway, I'd like you all to welcome my steel guitar player, and a dang good one at that, Buddy! And, um, yes. We never use his last name." The pony at the piano laughed as Buddy walked on stage.
The crowd let out another long applause and Buddy sat down before an instrument that was held up and it was flat. After the applause, the host continued talking again.
"Here's for some people who would really like to forget and, yet, also remember. Here's Jade Blue." Applause came forth again, but ti quickly died down as the pony on piano started playing.
The monster decided to not stay for long, seeing as to how he would be receiving his food soon, but he really did wish to stay for more. All of the music that he had heard previously was joyful, but it never seemed realistic. Here was a song that took actual sadness and hope and put it into the form of music. Before long, the monster cried, as did some of the members of the crowd. All was silent except for the music. Nothing distracted from the music either. That lights were exactly how they should have been, no noise came from the forest, and everything was played perfectly. The piano player and Buddy both had smiles on their faces, but their eyes were closed as they immersed themselves in their own music.
After the song finished and the crowd roared again, the monster snuck out. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him, as well as many others. For as sad as he was after he listened to it, he was more hopeful than ever, and his dignity was restored. As he walked to the spot where he always met for his food, he saw one figure flying with incredible speed to the direction of Fluttershy's house. The figure quite obviously came from the crowd.
When Rainbow Dash got to the monster, tears remained in her eyes as she was wiping them when she put down the food for the monster.
"I see that you have had a past in which you had much to overcome as well," said the monster as he saw Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash replied with a somewhat quiet laugh and a smile, as well as a few sniffles. "Yeah...everypony has. Hey, look. For as nice as it is to talk...umm..." The look on Dash's face clearly pointed out that she thought that she was being rude.
"Sometimes it's better to be alone," said the monster.
Dash looked up at him and then she let her head down as if she was staring at something that was actually there, but she was actually just thinking to herself. She nodded her head.
"I will see you again tomorrow, little one. I hope that any troubles that you keep within yourself are resolved."
The monster then walked off and then Dash, after returning the double-baskets, quietly flew off to her home in the clouds, the music from the concert faintly carrying through the air to both of them. The night was bittersweet for the monster, Rainbow Dash, and all others who had heard the music, but yet everything seemed so nice, as if the music somehow cleared the world of all bad things, even if it was just for that one night.
A home in the clouds is certainly a home for one who wishes to be alone. There are no hard walls, but there is good structure. There is nopony to hear you scream at the top of your lungs, but any pony who truly appreciated nature wouldn't bother with being so loud in the first place. A cloud home also provided a few convenient things like good scenery and protection from thieves (which was often not thought of due to the astonishingly low crime rate in Ponyville) and a placid atmosphere.
But for as alone as Dash wanted to be, she could only think of others. Everypony knew the feeling of loneliness. Being the only one could, to some, be the saddest experience he or she would ever know, but to some, like Rainbow Dash, a feeling of loneliness came from being within a group of friends and being disregarded. Throughout her life, all that she wanted to do some times was talk to her friends, if but for a moment just to take away some of the bad feeling of being lonely in a crowd. Sometimes it worked, but it was not until she found the right friends that she never found this feeling of loneliness again.
She was lucky enough to always have one truly good, reliable friend in her life, though. Those who didn't may not only experience that loneliness, but the true "cast aside" feeling, where one is never invited and never acknowledged and he or she can't even manage to get into the crowd. But this is because things change, ponies included. Certain realizations are come across: if a "friend" one has had for over ten years suddenly starts ignoring him or her, perhaps he or she chose the wrong friend. If pme suddeny doesn't like something and friends can no longer relate to him or her, he or she must realize that change happens and move on with it.
As Rainbow Dash thought about this, she could not help but stare down the fact that the monster had always wanted to be in the crowd and he wanted more friends and he wanted to talk and talk. He wasn't boring and he wasn't mean and he wasn't rude, but his unfair reality was that he couldn't be friends except with a select few. She also stared down the fact that, without her help, and the help of others, the monster would remain lonely forever and he would rot inside himself from a lack of love and care.
So Rainbow Dash, yet again, took the initiative of taking time out of her day to help the monster. She went to Fluttershy's house to discuss ideas and, a pleasant surprise came to both of them when a plan was developed. It was no safe plan, for certain, but it would truly test their friends.
"I'm sure that, if I could calculate the possibility of this working, there would be less than a one percent chance that this would work." Started Rainbow Dash as Fluttershy merrily set the table and made tea while humming to herself.
"Rarity will get on his case about his bad looks and only give him annoying beauty tips and Twilight will discomfort him by bombarding him with questions about science and history and not care any bit about his feelings and Pinkie Pie will disrupt his calm and quiet demeanor and Applejack is going to bring up questions of safety and, once all that is done, then he will have to..." and Rainbow Dash went on for about a minute explaining why her friends would make the whole tea party a bad experience.
"Goodness, I didn't know that all of my friends had no respect or common courtesy for guests and beings that only wished to be loved. Perhaps I shouldn't be friends with them at all." said Fluttershy as she gave Rainbow Dash a disapproving stare.
Rainbow Dash was silent and she walked out of the kitchen to the empty living room, where not even an animal was. She sat down and thought to herself. She had realized that, back in the kitchen, she bothered to mention everypony else's bad habits and flaws except her own, or even Fluttershy's. Rainbow Dash knew very well that she had flaws, as well as Fluttershy. Fluttershy went up to the monster with immediate trust and decided to make friends with the creature, or, at least, that is the way it was told to Rainbow Dash. If the world were such a friendly place that any living being could go up to another living being and immediately make friends with, then maybe that sort of action would have been okay. But to find such a pair in such a harsh world is unlikely, but nice. Perhaps putting all worries aside and just trying to be friendly is the only way that some issues can be solved. Right now, that simple action seems to be saving the monster's life; not that the monster can die, of course, but saving his life in the sense that, without enjoyment, life has no purpose.
As for Rainbow Dash's flaws, among the many she had, the first that brought to mind was how she immediately thought that her friends would do such horrid things to the monster and misjudge him. Rainbow Dash thought on how she knew every one of them for years and how she called them friends, yet, certainly, she would not be friends with them if that was all they did. Also, she had been told beauty tips and asked history questions and had dealt with safety issues from Applejack and had dealt with Pinkie Pie's hyperactive behavior, yet, often times, Rainbow Dash didn't find it bad, and yet she immediately made each one out to be bad. She knew that she was scared for the monster, and she knew that she cared for him. The care she had was not like saying that one will take care of another's pets for the weekend if the owner of the pet's is out on vacation, but a care where she would voluntarily get up so early and bring the monster food and stay with him and chat with him for as long as she could. She knew that the monster cared for her and Fluttershy as well. He made beautiful handcrafted items out of pieces of wood and flowers and feathers that he found on the ground. He would give them to Rainbow Dash and ask that Rainbow Dash gave some to Fluttershy and that Rainbow Dash keep the others for herself. He did it without ever being asked to and his only words when he gave them were, "I sincerely hope that you like it, and I apologize if I have harmed your wondrous forest. If I have, I won't make them again."
Rainbow Dash headed back into the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy." The expression of sadness and regret for the words she had said was more than words could describe.
Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash and walked over to her and gave her a hug.
Shortly after everything was set, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack arrived. They were simply told that there was a new, shy friend to meet and that he simply needed some new friends because he was new to the town. Twilight knocked on the door and Fluttershy opened it with a smile that was full of readiness and hope.
Before opening the door, she took a deep breath. "Let's do this." She put on her game face and opened the door.
"Hi!" said all of her friends at once with their smiling faces.
Fluttershy's smile quickly turned into one that was forced as she thought to herself, Oh nooooo. Please go back. Please go away. Not ready, not ready, not ready, not ready. This is a disaster. My life is over. Worst decision of my life.
Fluttershy began to close the door but her friends' gasps quickly brought her back to reality. She simply told them, "Oops," and all carried on. They all took a spot at the kitchen table and chattered for a while, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy occasionally exchanged looks of uncertainty and despair, but always forced themselves back into the chatter. All was going all right until Applejack brought up the question all wanted to ask at that moment.
"Where is the lil' guy? Can't wait to get to know 'im!"
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy died in their seats as the others started asking the same question.
"Just one moment!" said Fluttershy as she, as if by some miracle, managed to get up and go to the back of her house. The monster was waiting outside the house, hiding in the branches of a tree. He hopped down and quickly went inside when he saw Fluttershy open the door for him.
The monster knew the possibilities of what could happen, as did Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked up at him with friendly yet deeply worried eyes. The monster got on his knees to get a bit closer to her level.
"No matter what happens here, I know you. Rainbow Dash knows you. We will always fight for you, and if my friends can't accept you, perhaps I chose the wrong friends." Fluttershy's head hung down with the reality of what she had just said.
"Little one, I do not know what to say on that matter, but I do know that I would gladly go through all of it again just to receive the love that you and your friend gave me."
The two embraced for a while and then went inside the house. Without bothering to stop to introduce him before sitting down, she looked straight ahead and, although she acknowledged the expressions on her friends' faces, she was not fazed by them. Neither was the monster. He took the remaining seat at the table, right next to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. The seat was far too small for him.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked around at their friends and hoped that one of them would break the silence, but nothing came. The monster began to think of running out the backdoor, but he remembered that, for a long period of his life, all he ever wanted was a chance. So he stayed where he was and decided to give them all a chance, and many more, if necessary.
"Well, I don't know why we're all being silent, but my name is Pinkie Pie." Pinkie Pie was seated close enough to the monster to reach her hoof out, and she did just that. The monster put out his hand, which was long enough to reach across about half of the table, and he gently shook Pinkie's hand.
"Hello, Pinkie Pie. I don't have a name, or, I should say, I don't remember my name, if I ever had one, but I would gladly give you my name."
"No name?" replied Pinkie with a gasp. "Hmm... Do you not want a name?"
"Well, as far as I can remember, I have never required a name for anything I have done, and I, for reasons I can't fathom, don't much want a name."
"Well that is perfectly fine with me." Pinkie smiled at him and then returned to happily eating her small sandwich.
"Ahem. I am Rarity, and it is a pleasure to meet you." Rarity got out of her seat and shook the monster's hand.
"Well, as I am sure anything that could talk would say, the pleasure is all mine. This world is certainly full of beautiful things."
Rarity giggled and blushed for a moment, and it was quite the sight to see, because only rarity could look so silly with her in-place trot signifying her happiness. For reasons Rarity did not know, she enjoyed being called beautiful by the creature more-so than any other thing that had called her beautiful. After a short while of what she would have considered "childishness", Rarity became her lady-like self again.
"Well, my good sir, I imagine that you have not bathed in a long while, so if you ever want a good clean and some free beauty products, you can most certainly stop by my beauty parlor. It'll be all free." Rarity then proceeded back to her seat.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and, since I hope that we get to know each other on a more personal basis, I would prefer not be referred to with any "highness" or "princess" or anything like that." Twilight got up and walked to the monster and shook his hand.
"I mean no disrespect by this, little one, but I do not know what you mean. I would ask if you are actually a princess or queen, but I see no royal attire or crown or guards, and perhaps it is best that I don't know."
A realization went off in Twilight's mind, but she quickly disregarded it for the moment. "We'll leave it at this: if it is ever necessary, then I shall tell you." Twilight proceeded back to her seat.
"Hi! I'm Applejack! Nice to make yer acquaintance!" Applejack went over to shake the monster's hands, and the monster could not help but make note that, for the first time, he may have come across a pony with at least one-thirtieth of the strength he had. But he still shook her hand very gently.
Applejack, Pinkie, Twilight, and Rarity then proceeded to give brief background on their lives and some stories. The monster was surprised at how much he already knew, but he did not rush anypony or tell them that he had already heard the story.
"So we've given you a bit on our lives, would you mind telling us about yours?" said Twilight.
The monster took a deep breath and looked down, uncertain of what to do.
"Oh! You don't have to if you don't want to!" Twilight suddenly felt like she had done a bad thing.
"No, no, no, little one. It is quite alright. But you must understand that I was not kept secret by your friends for a long time without a reason. I simply must decide how to form my story, is all. But I must admit that I am a bit scared to say my story."
None knew that he was kept secret, but they would soon understand.
The monster went on tell them of his harrowing, dreadful life before he awoke from his coma. He told them what he was like in the past and what Equestria was like before it was even Equestria. He told them of the blackness and the fog, the way that no plants grew and thrived and, even if they did, they would die by either his hand or from the ungiving, merciless characteristics of the land. He told them how, if he touched something like a flower or tree, it died. He told them of how he had been filled with rage and even murdered ponies, making their bodies his food. He then told them of how he lost his rage and was then only filled with sadness and simply wanted friends, but it was too late. He told them how he tried to commit suicide and couldn't. He told them how he left himself fall off the mountain and how he fell into a coma. But then he put a smile on his face as he endlessly went on about his good experiences in Equestria and how much he loved the land. He told them of how it made him cry tears of joy when he touched a beautiful flower and did not see it wither, of how he sat by a tree and it didn't turn grey and die. Then he went on to tell them of his wonderful friendship with Flutteshy and Rainbow Dash. He left out a few parts of his story here and there, but only because he thought that the parts were unnecessary.
Those who weren't in tears were in awe. They realized why he was kept secret and felt even worse when they came to the harsh realization that not every pony would treat him with friendliness.
"We have not yet thought of a way to introduce him to the rest of world, but we will," said Fluttershy.
"We wanted to introduce him to you guys first because we needed you guys on our side with this. Will you help us?" asked Rainbow Dash.
If they didn't say yes, it was because or their tears, and if they were crying, they nodded.
"Well. We need a way of keeping in contact. How shall we do that?" asked Rarity after all her tears had fallen.
"Unless he wants to stay in his cave up in the mountain, I think that I shall keep him in my house from now on. You can have a big, huge bed upstairs if you don't mind," said Fluttershy.
"I don't mind. Not at all. Thank you, Fluttershy," the monster replied.
"I guess that that means that you don't have to get up any more, Dash," said Fluttershy.
"I'll still becoming by often, though. Just as I didn't let anything get in my way of waking up, I won't let anything get in my way of seeing you every day, unless it's really, REALLY, important and I can't see you."
After a bit more chatter and goodbyes, they all finally left. Many, many hours had passed and night time was upon them. They all had some things that they had to agree on, though: no pony was to be told of the monster; they were all to think of ways to help get revealed to the world and they would meet for discussions about the matter every week; no plan of action to help the monster was to be taken without discussion and approval of the action. Shortly after everypony left her house, Fluttershy began to build a bed for the monster. It would've taken her days to complete on her own, but the monster was conveniently crafty with his hands.
Each pony and the monster himself went to bed with a heavy head that day, for the ideas could not be stopped from streaming into their mind.
