Seeing Yellow, The Return

I saw the Changeling Kingdom from the ceiling. My spirit was slowly descending. Chrysalis had got back up. She had already incapacitated the royal ponies, who were lying to one side with numerous injuries. The mane 6 were wearing the Elements of Harmony, getting into position. They started to glow, the rainbow was fired at Chrysalis, but to no effect. She blasted the ponies back, and laughed. God dammit, I really want to rip out her tongue. Her laugh is really annoying.

My spirit went back into my body. I gasped for air. My body no longer felt in pain. My wounds had healed. Fluttershy had landed a few feet away from me. She saw me with my eyes open. She stood up and trotted over to me. I saw her pink butterfly Element next to the necklace I had given her.

"Michael?" she asked.

"Hey! I'm back!" I said joyfully.

"Welcome home." she said, tears coming down her face. She tackled me with a hug, our necklaces colliding with a small ding. She stopped hugging me and held out something. The picture. I took it from her, and put it back in my pocket.

The rest of the mane 6 noticed I was alive and they all galloped over to me. They gave me a hug. One big group hug. I felt their warm bodies against my own, and my heart couldn't take it. It exploded. I smiled and stood up. I looked at Twilight. She seemed to read my mind.

"Girls. Get into position." she said.

While they did that, I stared at Chrysalis. She just laughed at me.

"Oh, so now that you're back, they think the Elements of Harmony can work on me? Please! It's a losing battle. 6 Elements versus one Queen Chrysalis. And I am winning." shouted Chrysalis.

"It's seven, actually. Seven Elements." I replied coolly.

"Seven?" questioned Chrysalis.

"Seven?" chorused the ponies behind me.

I took off my necklace. The one I had worn everyday since Christmas 4 years ago. I think I knew what to do.

"Seven." I replied. I threw the necklace up into the air. It hung there, not moving. Then it duplicated. One of the necklaces fell down and I caught it, placing it back over my neck. I continued to stare up at the other one. The necklace was twisting, shaping itself into something. It became smaller. It gleamed for a second, then fell. I caught that as well, and I looked at the newly formed object. It was a golden ring, with a pure white love-heart on it. As I moved it around, the colour of the heart seemed to change. Red, blue, purple, yellow; the colours were endless. As I slipped the ring on my finger, I felt a surge of power. I slowly stepped back, into the formation of the group behind me. I looked at Chrysalis, for which I knew would the last time. Ever.

"I am the Element of Love."

We started to glow. I could feel the other ponies as we shared a mental connection. The Elements of Harmony allowed us to speak with each other telepathically, as well as see the other's thoughts as clear, distinct images. Through all of the babble, I heard one voice. Clear as day.

"I love you." Fluttershy's voice said.

"I love you too." I replied.

Power surged through all of us, and the rainbow appeared. But something was different about it. The colours were more vibrant. Things seemed to be dancing within and around the rainbow. I looked closer and saw images. They were of my life. The images were of people I loved and cared for. My family, my friends, Fluttershy. Looking at them made my life seem so beautiful. The rainbow launched itself at Chrysalis, and this time it connected. It encircled her. Chrysalis was screaming and screeching, thrashing about. The rainbow exploded in several Sonic Rainbooms. Then, Chrysalis was gone. We stopped glowing. We looked at each other. Before we could celebrate, I remembered something.

I turned and ran over to the four royal ponies on the ground, the mane 6 in close pursuit. I knelt down. They still were alive, but they didn't look so good. Though Celestia and Luna seemed to be immortal, Cadence and Shining Armor weren't. They could do with some healing. I held out both my arms, hands glowing. I focused my energy onto the wounds, wanting them to be healed. After a few seconds, I stopped. Most of the royal ponies's wounds had been healed. Some wounds were too serious for me to completely heal. And, strangely enough, I didn't feel tired from the magic I had used. The royal ponies needed medical care, so I turned to the mane 6, who somehow had also been healed by my medical magic.

"Rainbow Dash, can you take Princess Cadence to the Ponyville hospital? Fluttershy, can you do the same with Princess Luna? Twilight, you are going to carry your BBBFF to the same place, okay?"

They all nodded.

"Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie. Twilight will teleport you to the evacuated ponies. Lead them back to Ponyville and Canterlot. Bring anypony good with medical care to the Ponyville hospital. We need them."

They nodded as well. Twilight was about to cast the teleportation spell, but Rarity spoke up.

"Michael, you've forgotten Princess Celestia."

"No I haven't."

"Who's taking her then?" asked Rarity, a hint of 'I know more than you' in her voice.

My hand started to glow and I placed it on my back. The familiar back-ripping sensation wasn't nearly as painful as all the other times I had done it. My newly grown white wings expanded out.

"I'm taking her."

"Oh." said Rarity simply, blushing slightly.

Twilight cast her spell. The ponies disappeared. The remaining 2 pegasi, 1 alicorn and 1 human picked a royal pony each and flew off towards Ponyville. On the way there, I swooped down and picked my hoodie, placing it over my neck. A couple seconds later, Princess Celestia opened her eyes and looked at me. She seemed to instantly accept that I was alive again.

"Chrysalis?" she asked.

"Gone." I replied.

"So the war is?"

"Over."

"My little ponies?"

"Safe and alive."

"Am I dead?"

I laughed. "No."

She closed her eyes again. "You've done well, Michael."

We flew the royal ponies to the hospital. It was only a few minutes after when Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie returned with medical ponies. I got a few strange looks from the medical ponies and they took Celestia and other royal ponies for treatment. I would have to get used to that. What with me being the only sane human who had entered Equestria, and the only human who had wings. Yeah, I would have to put up with a lot of stares. But not for long at least. I would be leaving Equestria soon. Just like Fluttershy in my world, I didn't belong in Equestria. I know that this bright and colourful world was where I wanted to be, along with a bright, yellow pony, but I would never belong here. I looked over at Twilight.

"Hey, could you come with me? We've got a job to do." I asked Twilight.

She nodded and the two of us flew back to the battlefield. The unconscious forms of ponies and humans alike were lying in a pile. The humans, I realised, were actually the missing persons cases that the TV news reported every night. I looked at Twilight.

"The humans need to be sent back to my world, with their memories wiped. I need your help with this."

Twilight nodded again. I knelt down beside her and we held hoof to hand. We combined our magical energy together. The humans started to glow, and I saw images floating out of their heads, fading out of existence. Then they disappeared in a flash of white light. I looked at Twilight again.

"What about the ponies? Same deal?"

She nodded. "It would be the best thing for them."

After a few more seconds, the ponies disappeared, their recent memories destroyed. We collapsed on the ground. Even with our combined powers, we were both tired from the exertion. I looked again at the purple pony.

"Now we can have that talk." I said.

"I guess we can."

We didn't speak for a while. We just tried to recover some strength. Then Twilight spoke up.

"I'm interested about you. What was your life like before Fluttershy?"

"My life before Fluttershy? Ha... non-existent. I didn't really enjoy it."

"And Fluttershy changed it?"

"That's an understatement. She completely changed my view on everything. If it were not for her, I would have killed myself long ago."

She looked solemn at those words.

"What about the years when Fluttershy wasn't with you? How did you feel?"

Is she... going 'Therapist Twilight' on me? I think she is.

"Well... it was many things. One, it was difficult. Not seeing Fluttershy was a hard thing for me to get over. Two, I was changed from the experience. Physically, mentally and emotionally. Physically, I gained the power of magic and with that, the ability to fly. Mentally, I wasn't depressed any more. She had cured me of a long suffering I was enduring. Emotionally, I loved her. So much that I refused loving relationships with my own species. I gave up a normal life with a normal wife and normal kids, for the hope I would see and love Fluttershy again. She is my love, forever. Nothing can change that."

I saw a couple of tears coming down her face.

"Hey... what's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing... just... hearing about your love for Fluttershy... it makes me..."

"Want to find somepony? Your very special somepony?"

She nodded.

"Hey. You'll find somepony. Years ago, I never thought I would find any one. But then, a yellow mare came. It was a gift, beyond anything I could imagine. But, never give up. Embrace your dreams."

She nodded again, wiping her tears with a hoof.

Embrace your dreams... I never thought I would use that quote. It was a Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core quote. But saying it now, it was true. We needed to embrace our dreams to make them become a reality.

I looked at my ring. The Element of Love.

"I was wondering... Has there even been a male in charge of an Element?" I asked Twilight.

Twilight shook her head. "Not that I know of. The only wielders of the Elements before us were Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. The Elements have only been with females."

"Huh. I guess I'm making 'firsts' here."

"What?" she asked.

"First sane human in Equestria. First human with powers of magic. First human with wings. First human to have an Element of Harmony. First male to have an Element of Harmony. First-"

"Okay! I get it!" said Twilight, cutting me off. We laughed. Then a heard a soft thump next to us. Fluttershy had arrived.

"Princess Celestia wants you, Michael." she said.

"Does she?" I replied. I got up and spread my wings. "All right then. We better get going."

The three of us flew towards the hospital. I couldn't think of why she wanted me. Probably to send me back to my world. As we flew over Ponyville, the ponies looked up and pointed at me. Some stood still and gaped at me. Others made a gallop for it. A couple screamed. The only mare didn't seem to be bothered by me was a green unicorn I instantly regognized as Lyra. She was bouncing up and down, pointing at me shouting, "I knew it! I knew it!" I laughed slightly, but there was no humour in my voice. This was part of the reason why I couldn't stay in Equestria. The ponies would take years to warm up to me. Even after they knew me, I wouldn't really be accepted.

We arrived and we walked to the room where they were keeping the royal ponies. The rest of the mane 6 were already there. Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack were all talking to a different royal pony. Pinkie Pie was conversing with Shining Armor. Applejack was speaking to Princess Luna. Rarity was talking about fashion to Princess Cadence. Princess Celestia was standing, waiting for me. As I entered, the room became quiet, as me and Celestia stared at each other. Just like what had happened the first time I had entered Equestria.

"Human." she said.

"Princess." I replied.

"I thank you for protecting Equestria from evil. My little ponies have told me about how you have saved the day, and how you became an Element of Harmony." She was about to continue, but I cut her off. I know what I have to do. It wouldn't be easy, but maybe it really was right after all. My heart was trying desperately to be heard, but I ignored it, my mind fixed on the one thing I had to do.

"You're welcome. But I know what you are going to say next. I understand. I don't belong here."

Everypony looked at me.

"I will go back to my world, without a fight." I said. I turned and help up my hand. The white light appeared. I turned back around to face the group, just as a pink pony tackled me over.

"You can't go!" yelled Pinkie. "We haven't had a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for you!"

I laughed. "Pinkie. When I go back to my world, you can host an 'Equestria Is Saved!' party. I'll come back for my 'Welcome' party soon."

"No, you don't understand! You can't leave Ponyville without a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party! I won't let you!"

I smiled and got to my feet, nudging the party pony off me.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go." I stepped forward towards Fluttershy and knelt down. I brushed some of her mane out of her eye. Our eyes met. We embraced for a moment. I stood back up and walked towards the portal of light.

"Wait." called a powerful voice. I turned back around. Celestia had trotted up to me.

"I wasn't going to send you back. You can't go back now. You are an Element of Harmony, and we need you to stay. To defend Equestria when the time comes."

All of the ponies eyes lit up. I looked into Celestia's eyes. I know that I wanted to stay, but why didn't Celestia just... I decided to raise this point.

"Why can't I just go back to my world? You can call me when the time comes, so why do you want me to stay?"

"Because..."

She looked over at Fluttershy then back to me, a single tear falling down her face.

"The bond of love you have formed with Fluttershy is too great to be split up. I can't break up love like this. Besides, you really can't live without her... can you?"

She knew. She knew of my sorrow without her. Hell, sorrow wasn't a strong enough description. She knew of the blackness that had enveloped my heart over time when Fluttershy was gone, and she knew that Fluttershy meant everything to me.

I took off the ring that was my Element of Harmony and gave it to her.

"I shall stay, but can I go back to my world to get some items of value?"

She nodded. I walked towards the light once more. I stopped, one foot in the portal. I turned around again. I waved.

"I'll be back soon... Pinkie..."

The pink pony stared at me.

"Get that party ready."

Her face lit up at the prospect of a party as I stepped through the portal and back into my world.