Never Too Late
**Nathan’s POV.**
“You can do this. You. Can. Do. This. Nothing’s going to screw it up.”
I sit in front of the mirror, after having some light makeup done. Tonight, I’m going on stage, and I’m not alone. Some people who I’ve held dear for quite a while now are with me.
It’s been quite some time since I came into contact with the amazing Precures from their worlds. They replaced my pony friends who have previously been on the YouTube channel, who unfortunately have all kinda left the channel to focus on their more personal lives and other duties they want to fulfill. It felt sad for me to see them all leave, since we’ve been friends for a very long time and the channel was such a huge symbol of our friendship, especially between Twilight and I.
Even after my ambitious switch of the main stars of the channel to the Precure, the pony fans who have long been following the channel were still just as hyped and excited about our content, which I was very relieved about. And it wasn’t just the four I’ve met those few years ago- The Heartcatch Precure, But I came into contact with more Precures, too, from the mouths of the former. I offered them to join as a permanent member, some joined, some didn’t, but it was all fine by me as long I had friends to share the joyous time of recording with.
Four years have passed since the Precure made their debut to the people of Equestria and my channel. Now, not only do I have fans from Equestria and the human world, the many people of the worlds that the other Precures are from were also attracted. And this hectic injection of fans gave us the amazing idea to connect with our huge fanbase.
So, we planned a tour. A live tour that YouTubers just love doing.
Tonight, we were performing in Canterlot for the Friendship Festival. We actually did not plan for this show, but my good old “friend” Princess Twilight had invited us to be a part.
However... That gave me nothing but trauma, heartbreak and guilt.
*****A year ago...*****
**Normal POV.**
It’s the Equestria games. Everypony was going wild over the action packed events that have just ended, and were ready to wrap up the day of amazing competitions. But before it ended, something happened.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” It was Spike. He was the announcer for the games. “Today has been a brilliant day for all the competitions we’ve seen so far, and we have one last surprise right before we head out for the night!”
Princess Cadance, being the ruler of the Crystal Empire, where the games were hosted, was right next to him to give the details. “The spirit of everycreature is running high, and the surprise is sure to keep it running! It is our greatest honor to have Equestria’s human ally and his new friends to make a performance right here, right now!”
Everypony was excited. This ally was none other than YouTube star Nathan, along with his awesome singing buddies, the Precure. Given how sudden it was, everyone was hyped to see what was going to happen. Even Princess Twilight herself, as the ruler of Equestria now, will be watching over the performance by her best friend.
“Without further ado,” Spike said, “Let’s get this show started!”
The lights go out, and the crowd was brimming with excitement in the dark and under the night sky. Right in the middle of the giant field, six figures make their stand in various poses.
“Soooooooo! Hello, my little ponies and everycreature!”
It was Nathan’s voice, booming from the microphone he held. The crowd ‘Woo’ed as the spotlight shone on him.
“It’s great to be back here. I’ve had great memories, great friends, and I’m glad somepony special,” He looks at Twilight, at her podium from afar. “Who is a friend of mine, invited me for this great chance to show you all how much I love this place and how much you all mean to me. Now... Wanna know who my friends are?”
The crowd cheered.
“Right then!” He said, clearing his throat. ”She cheers up everyone- She’s the Precure of Spirit...”
The spotlight shines on the first Precure- Like a cheerleader ready for action.
”Cure Yell!”
”She heals everyone- The Precure of Wisdom...”
Another shines on the second- A beautiful girl, like an angel.
”Cure Ange!”
”She lights up everyone- The Precure of Power!”
The third was one Precure who came out confident and looking strong.
”Cure Etoile!”
”And of course, the duo that loves everyone- They are the Precure of Love...”
Two girls, back to back, stepped next to each other to pose.
”Cure Macherie!”
”Cure Amour!”
They got into position as everyone was injected with immense hype. The song began, and the dancing and singing followed suit. The upbeat and bouncy music reached everyone’s ears as they all were mesmerized by the synchronized dance moves. And even though it was awkward to have Nathan stand out in the five, they all seemed to be having a wonderful time, perfectly in sync and having fun.
Boooooooring. Who’s going to like this story if there’s no action?
Suddenly, Twilight felt a surreal feeling taking over her. Her head hurt, and she felt her hooves seemingly being manipulated. That’s impossible, She thought, since everyone has been dispelled before entry. She was forced off her seat, and it was then the guards finally noticed.
“Your Highness, what’s wrong?”
“I... I don’t know... Something happening to me...”
She felt herself dragging toward the edge of the stand, her horn starting to light up.
“Huh? Wh-What!? I dispelled myself before I-“
Let me help you.
**SPARK**
She fired.
Nobody noticed- They were all too focused on the performance. However, one did. As the first chorus was ending, in the middle of a dance before the second verse...
“Nathan!”
Macherie pushed Nathan out of the way, saving him from being blasted into pieces. The second the Precure stopped to comprehend what’s happening, the impact came. The ground blew up, spewing bits and pieces and sending off smoke. The crowd was sent into a wild panic- The music stopped, knowing that someone was interfering the show and that someone could cause even more mayhem than there already is. They quickly ushered to clear the area as the announcement came that the show had to be immediately canceled. In minutes they dispersed.
Almost getting imploded by that attack that came out of nowhere, Nathan was coughing from the smoke. Yell and Amour came and got him out as the other three got on their feet and rushed away. Once they got back inside somewhere safe, specifically back in their prep room, everyone was panting from all the running to escape another potential threat.
Nathan hugged Macherie, and then the others.
“Oh, thank goodness...” He cried.
“You scared us so bad!” Ange said. “Macherie, what just happened!?”
“I just saw the princess struggling and she had her horn lit up, and I spotted it just in time to push him out of the way!”
Etoile pondered. “But why would the princess shoot?”
“Amour? Any ideas?” Yell turned to her since she was kind of a humanoid and can do quite technical things.
She ran some analysis in her head. “Chances of intentional attack-“
Shut up.
She felt a shot of pain.
“I lost the details...” Amour said sadly. She tried a few more times, but something prevented her.
Nathan was about to question what is going on when he saw Twilight walking in from the corner of his eye. She definitely did not look well.
“Twilight?”
She gasped, and tears welled in her eyes.
“Did you...?”
She didn’t want to speak.
Oh for god’s sake. You need me to do absolutely everything.
She felt that headache again. A second later she spoke out.
”Yes, I did.”
“Why...?”
”Just stop it. Stop it with those girls over there.”
Yell gasped. “What? What do you-“
Nathan halted her. “Twilight, something wrong?”
Twilight was about to say something before she was in pain again. ”I’ve had enough of you, Nathan. You’ve been making Precure friends from one world to another. Stop trying to ignore me! I’m your friend too and it’s like you completely forgot about us!”
He was shell-shocked.
“I never ignored-“
”Stop with the lies. Your channel has turned mostly into Precure content. You’ve forgotten about the ponies- The very ones that made you so popular now. I’m done. Do you know just how hurt I felt when I left the team? You’ve totally forgotten because you’re too focused on the new stars of your channel.”
“Then explain why I accepted your offer in the first place and came here tonight!”
Nathan yelled that so loudly the Precure were all startled.
“Nathan-San...” Yell tried to speak up but failed.
“Did you know how nervous I was for this!?” He roared. “I was so worried you all would think I’m with the Precure and you’d not give me the same respect for me as a celebrity as before. When we got invited and we found that everycreature was so overjoyed to see us perform, I was thrilled. I practiced so much with my friends, we had such a fun time together here, until you decided to shoot and endanger your friend!”
”I just wanted you to know they won’t do you any good. You’re with us, that never changes. We are your true friends that helped you through so much of your life. And to see you hanging out with someone else? Just... No!”
“We’ve been through this, Twi.”
”I was scared you’d forget our friendship. The Precure have taken you away, locking your desire of coming back to have fun in Equestria. We are just busy with our own lives, and we left for a reason that you should understand. But apparently, you don’t.”
“Taken him away?” Macherie gasped. “We never wanted to!”
Twilight blasted magic at her.
”I’m here for him. I want him back with us.”
Before she could continue ranting, Nathan already blew up- And sooner than he wanted to.
”YOU DON’T OWN ME!”
No one dared to say anything. Twilight felt the pain go away and realized all she just said. Tears welled in her eyes, but Nathan paid no attention to it.
“I don’t only belong to you, Twilight. You are a mature enough mare to realize that. I love you all, but I’ve found new friends, too. When you all can’t be there for me, at least someone can. You’re the princess of Friendship, I trust you to understand I did not forget about our bond. It’s you that should understand something, not me. This performance was my dream- I’ve always wanted to have fun with my new pals and create a great memory together. But because of how blind you actually are, we couldn’t.
“*cries* Nathan...”
“I’ll give you time to calm down. The next time I see you, you better treat my friends better.”
He stomped off in absolute despair. The five Precures look at him, shocked. He has never shown this side of himself to them. They look at the now crying Princess Twilight, and could only bow as an apology, then walked away. Nathan would not have wanted them to cause more pain on her anyway by giving her their pity.
Huh, looks like I can control them after all. This is going great.
*****Back To The Present.*****
Nathan’s POV.
Since then I made an apology video for the accident. However, I was afraid- Of Everypony in Equestria.
I fully acknowledge the fact I was yelling at the sole ruler of Equestria then, even though she’s my friend. I don’t understand why she threw a fit over me not visiting her and Equestria enough, and how it leads to us drifting apart, but what is clear to me is that I was being mean to someone with such an important identity, and my act would be unforgivable if anyone found out. What would they do to me, knowing I insulted her? I could only imagine...
I worried so badly on how she would think of me. Twilight and I have been friends for quite a while and nothing like this happened- Where I shifted my focus in friendship to someone else. It has been a few years and I gave her plenty of time to see I’m moving on, just as she was. But it seemed that she couldn’t let go.
I haven’t been in Equestria since then. Either I recorded at home or recorded with the Precure.
**Knock knock**
“Nathan-San?”
“Come in.”
I turn to the door. Cure Yell enters my own prep room, which for some reason was separate from the cures.
“You bolted off after we finished that last practice and were chilling. Something on your mind?”
I sigh.
“Last year.”
Yell immediately understood. “O-Oh... Right. You still feel bad about it?”
I nod as she sits next to me.
“Why did you never go talk to her? I’m sure she would definitely understand.”
“No way. Not after how I yelled at her. The damage is done.”
“And that damage is yours to patch up, too.”
I just sat there, completely numb.
“The words just came out so naturally,” I confess. “I hate that. I hate my tendency to say whatever comes to the mind at that moment. Although, that one outburst I had... I felt unnatural, saying it. I would never push it that far to perceive that Twilight... Owned me.”
“I make the same mistake too, you know.”
“Yes, yes, you’re pretty outspoken and naïve, even to this day.”
I gently pat her on the head, then giving a little rub with care.
“You can thank me for not trying to mess with your already done hair while doing that.”
“*chuckles* Haha. Well, are you going to make it up to her or not?”
I was about to answer, “Not now, maybe later”, but before I could, someone came in uninvited, bringing along the one pony I wished I wouldn’t see tonight.
“You’ll have to anyway,” Amour said, smiling.
The moment I saw Twilight’s blushing, about-to-cry face, I knew this was not going to be a smooth conversation. I did not want to a part of this- Not when I have a show to attend to, but this can make everything right if I play the right cards and display I did not mean my insults to Princess Twilight.
“We literally have to get up there in 10 minutes,” I moan. “I’m not sure if-“
“Provided you don’t intentionally prolong this chat, the probability of show delay due to this is 3.27%.”
I could see Twilight was going to butt in by saying, “That’s oddly specific”, but she kept silent, instead only glancing at Amour. I simply nod to her as she made her exit.
“Alright, you girls win.”
Yell hugged me and gave me a thumbs up. She whispers, “Hooray hooray, Nathan-san!”
I smile. She likes to say that, being a cheerleader and all. She left the room, leaving Twilight and me on our own, one-on-one. On the outside, I try to keep my composure and showed her a calm and straight face. In reality, though, I was panicking. Did she come over to ask for my mercy, or did she come to teach me a lesson?
“H-Hi?”
Twilight says softly, trying to get my attention.
“*clears throat* Yes,” I took a breather. “Well, this is awkward.”
I try to smile. But I can tell by her expression she knew I was lying.
“How’s Equestria? Woo, haven’t been here in a while so... *chuckles* I’d love if you could fill me in.”
She stays silent.
“How're your friends? Doing good? Oh, who am I kidding, I’m sure they-”
”Stop the acting.”
I cut myself off, and I let out a tear. A second later, I heard what seemed to be... Glitching noises. Then, a gasp from Twilight.
“*gasp* I’m sorry!” Twilight covered her face with her wings. “I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...”
“Twilight, are you okay?”
“No!” She cries. “No, I am not okay!”
“Oh, buddy... Come here,” I took her into a hug. She squeezes me tightly. “Owww... *laughing* Stop that... Twi, you’re killing me... Please, stop, I beg you...”
I try my best to forget how tightly she hugged me as I heard her cries and tears dripping onto my back, staining my clothes.
“*cries* Forgive me, Nathan... Please...”
“Let go and I will, okay?”
Twilight nodded with a smile and complied.
“Ah, brilliant. My costume is wet now, thanks a lot.”
A spark of magic from her dried it right up. Twilight dries her tears as well.
“You’ve learnt, I see?”
“Y-Yes,” She replies, still trying to dry her tears. “*sigh* I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you that all I said came out bad. It felt like... My feelings about you being away are... Intensified.”
“Intensified...? What do you mean...?”
“I don’t know... I just suddenly felt this jealousy towards the Precure. I don’t know why at all.”
“You’re not the type to be jealous, Twilight. I know you well enough to make that claim.”
I lightly touch her cheek.
“Listen, words can come out bad. We say nonsensical things from time to time. Last year, with all due respect, you did say a lot of things that left me absolutely clueless, and the only thing I could do is to clarify your fears, because...”
Twilight shut my mouth.
“Because I shot you.”
“Y-Yeah...”
“Nathan... This is the reason why I came here so urgently to talk to you about something.”
I am confused.
“Nate, I didn’t shoot.”
“What? You totally- I saw you-“
“No, it’s not me. I would never do such a thing in front of Everypony. But they know the truth from me, too- Something isn’t right. I did not do it willingly.”
“But you did... Why?”
“I have no idea. For a moment, I thought I was... Forced. Forced to do something.”
“Forced? By who?”
“By- Ahhhhhh!”
You don’t even know me.
“Twi?”
“Ugh... I don’t know. I have no idea who it is. But, what I suspect is that the same thing happened to me when I spoke to you with that attitude. The words were forced.”
“O-Oh... Wait, now that I think about it, I think I experienced the same thing, too. When I said you don’t own me.”
Twilight gasped. “Wait, I thought you were serious!”
“I wasn’t. Would I ever say that?”
At this point, the situation became very awkward. Both of us were talking about something that was never supposed to happen, and we wouldn’t have ever done in the first place.
“So... The conclusion is, we have been feeling sad over something we didn’t cause willingly.”
“I think that’s the best way we could put it, Twi.”
“And what I did made you leave Equestria for good...”
I smile and hug her.
“Sorry, Twilight. If I had just been a bit more open-minded towards the situation, maybe this conversation would’ve happened the night we split up. You could’ve told me then, what was going through your mind. It’s just... I was so, so infuriated by you attacking the Precure and myself, ruining a show that we’ve all been looking forward to. I prayed so hard you would not do the same at any of my shows, including tonight. Well, I think we’re clear on that last part, at least.”
“I-I’ll still be there,” Twilight replies. “I wouldn’t miss your show for the world, since I was the one who sent the invitation and all.”
“About that, I was going to say no, but then I thought, it’s been a year, maybe she has had a change of heart.”
She giggled. “I’m sorry for being so harsh on you. I never wanted to. I know the Precures aren’t taking you away, I know you still care about us, it’s just that I always feel so lonely without you. And I don’t know how, but it quickly developed into something I didn’t want you to know about.”
“Well, you’re the brave one here. You made the effort to confess to me what happened. *chuckle* Such a scaredy-cat, I am.”
We both nuzzled each other in the hug.
“You’re not, Nate. You’re a celebrity! How can you say that when you’re facing so many people- Including mine, on stage?”
I shrug. Then I realise- I have a show to attend to.
“Ah, I really need to get going. We can talk once the show ends, alright? It’s not too long, it’s not like I am doing a tour show here, that would be really long. It’s just a few songs.”
“Alright. Do your best, okay?”
“Of course I will. Ah! And I have an idea! We need some magic assistance.
I whisper to her about us needing to suddenly get a prop in the middle of the song to accompany with the dance. With her magic, we can get it easily. We were supposed to have Luna help us but for some reason she didn’t seem to turn up.
“Sure! I’ll help.”
“Thanks, Twi. You’re the best.”
She smiled and let out a tear.
“Haven’t heard that in a while?”
“Haha, y-yeah. I’ll... I’ll try to keep my magic at bay. No shooting this time.”
“Thank you. If anything goes wrong, shout to me. You’re near the centre of the crowd, right?” She nods to me. “Good! Yes, if something isn’t right, please tell. Especially when whatever happened to you last year tries to do the same thing again.”
Oh what the-
“Haha, got it.”
**Knock knock**
“Nathan-Senpai! Come on! Everyone’s waiting!”
“Alright, Macherie!” I reply, before turning to Twilight. “See you hopefully after the show?”
“Will do, Nathan. Good luck!”
She gives me the cutest smile, and so in return, I gave her a kiss on the hoof.
I rush to the side of the stage. Everyone was there.
“Solved things out?” Ange enquires.
“Some confusions here and there, but not to worry. Also, I’ve gotten Twilight to help with transferring that prop.”
“Phew,” Etoile says, “That solves our problem. Why did she not show up anyway?”
“There’s a 90% chance it is due to personal business,” Amour answers.
Spike came over. “Up in 30 seconds, everyone. And Nathan, I see you’ve worked things out with her.”
“Yes, and thank you, Spike.”
He goes on stage as the lights haven’t turned on yet, ready to start whenever it’s good to go. I stand there behind my friends, fully pumped and excited about the show, but also kind of anxious. Nevertheless, I try to calm down. I knew, Twilight would never blame me for my attitude, I did not insult her by all means, so I have no reason to think this crowd would be any different from all the ones I’ve seen.
“Girls?”
They all turn to me.
“Thanks for persuading me to accept this one. Really helped me to sort things out. And Yell, thanks to especially you.”
“Oh, no problem! I planned this whole thing with Amour, you know.”
“You what!? You purposefully got Twilight over to me!? You could’ve given me a heart attack!”
Everyone laughed. I roll my eyes.
“You all are jerks.” I let out a hmph. Then I see them all in a circle, putting heir hands in the center, like how we always do before a show.
“Nathan-Senpai?” Macherie tilts her head, inviting me over.
I sigh sarcastically and came over with a smile. Placing my hand on theirs, I knew- Even though I’m with this new group of friends, even though it looks as if I’ve become more distant with my past ones, that was never the case. My old friends would always be my friends, no matter how many new friends I end up making. That’s just how it is. So, I might as well just move on with my life and stop dwelling on the subject of “Are my old friends going to accept the new friends I’ve made” and stuff like that.
I let out a relieved sigh, and counted, “One, two, three...”
We all said the same thing together and threw our hands high.
“Hooray hooray, Precure!”