A Rainbow Colored Heart

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
A Change In Perspectives- Coming To Terms
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
A Change In Perspectives- The Battle Less Fought
Chapter 20
Chapter 9

Chapter 1

Snow covered the ground creating a pure white blanket over the grass blades, the trees carrying small pockets between where the branches connected to the trees. Outside I could hear the wind as it blew the flakes, piling up around the edges as the glass fogged. Turning on the TV I sat down just as the weatherman came into view, behind him; splotches could be seen from an upcoming storm, bigger than the days before, and with no sighs of stopping at least for another few days. Letting out a huge sigh through my nostrils I relaxed back in my leather recliner. “Another cold one” I stated. I always hated the cold, it always felt you could never have enough layers of clothing to keep yourself warm, and that was only when you were inside. As a kid I would go out and play in the snow making snow men in my parents yard, decorating it them with hats and scarf’s among the many things I used to keep myself warm now-a-days.

Slowly I rubbed both my eyes with my finger tips letting out a loud sigh as I got up from my chair walking over to the kitchen opening the door and taking a soda from one of the shelves and popping the lid. Taking my phone from my pocket I looked at the clock; it was mid afternoon. Suddenly the phone rang sending creating the large electronic ringtone through the small living room. Rushing to the counter I looked at the small screen above the keys. Recognizing the number I quickly picked it up.

“Hello?” I asked

“Yo, what’s up?” The voice asked.

“Not much Main, what’s up with you?” I asked

“Bored, figured we could hang out, be bored together.” He said

I laughed at the obvious joke walking into the living room setting the soda down as I sat back down in my chair turning off the TV to drown out the noise it was making. “My schedules open, it’d be nice to get out for a while before the snow storm got too bad, but can I get a ride, I don’t think my car can handle the snow.” I stated.

“That should be fine; I need to gas it up anyway.” He stated “I’ll call you in an hour or two; I should be there by then”

“Alright, I’ll see you then” I stated.

“Later”

“Later” I said back

Hanging up the phone I placed it next to the can of mountain dew picking the can up in its place and taking a large gulp before I went into my bedroom grabbing a new shirt from the closet putting it on over the white beater I was wearing and headed back into the living room and peering out the window at the snow which seemed to be falling harder than when I had previously checked. I noticed two birds on a nearby branch close to each other as if to keep warm. I felt sorry for them in a way, I knew there was nothing I could do help something that didn’t want it.

An hour passed before the phone rang again and before I knew it I was out the door and riding in the passenger seat of Matthews black ford f150, the radio playing one of his many slayer CD’s he owned. Like many people, Matthew and I differed from each other, while I had always been open type who was generally more open with everyone; Matthew was only open with those he knew which made him difficult to unless you knew him already, and just by looking at us you might never know we were friends.

“You up to getting something to eat?” he asked suddenly.

“What’d you have in mind?” I asked.

“Burger joint?”

“I’m up for anything”

“Chinese it is then” he said with smile.

I chuckled with a slight smile; Matthew had always been the jokester. Ever since we meet in high school Matthew and I had grown closer to what we called a brotherhood, and when it came to something troubling you, he was always the one you could go to; true he wouldn’t always give you the wisest answer, but he always managed to put a smile on your face, even if it was at your own expense.

It wasn’t long before I found myself at a table in the small Chinese restaurant in the chair across from Matthew as we waited for our food to be delivered.

“It’s snowing pretty hard” Matthew stated.

“Uh-huh” I said turning to look out the large window at the entrance.

“How long is it supposed to last?”He asked

“All week if the weather man was right” I stated stretching my arms over my head hearing a distinct pop from the joints on my fingers.

“If this keeps up we just might have a white Christmas after all” He joked

“No doubt” I said.

The two of us sat motionless for a while listening to the Christmas music that was playing over the intercom as well as the employees speaking Chinese in the back.

“So did the doctor call you back yet?” Matthew asked suddenly.

I shook my head “unfortunately not, I’m actually starting to worry he might never call, you know that transplant was their last option I heard?”

“No kidding… well then what happens now? Are you just going to wait?”

I shrugged just as the conversation fell dead again, knowing he had killed the mood I knew Matthew tried finding the words to change the topic his eyes seemed to search for the right words to say.

“Hey, don’t worry about it; I’m sure it’ll all work about for the better right?” I said faking a smile

“I guess… just don’t go dying on me before Christmas, that present would suck” he joked.

I rolled my eyes just as the store owner came up setting down the two trays in front of us and walking away soon after. Wasting no time Matthew split his chopsticks, one being shorter than the other and began digging into the food placed

before him.

I lost track of how long we stayed there in the restaurant, talking about our past and present but it seemed like hours, these were the best kind of days; the kind to spend with friends, and others close to your heart, as little as there was now a day’s . The day began to grow late as the sunlight began fade, Matthew and I had once again managed to waste another day with one another doing whatever we pleased. It was late in the afternoon by the time I had gotten home, the staircase up to my apartment carrying more snow layered on each step. I stepped up each step carefully breathing out and seeing my breath with each exhale. By the time I had reached my door my shoes were soaked through the vents that were on the tops and sides of my running shoes, obviously wearing them wasn’t one of my brightest ideas. Taking the key from my pocket I unlocked my door, giving a wave to Matthew as he drove off and walked into the dark apartment stepping in out of the cold wind. I removed my leather jacket and placed it on the back of my leather recliner which sat just to the right of the doorway flipping the light on the wall just behind it. Light flooded the room as I stepped further into the living room avoiding the clothes scattered all over the carpet floor sighing and running a hand through my short brown hair as I stepped into my room removing my shirt and putting it on a hanger and back into my closet leaving me with my white beater and jeans.

Yawning I walked over to my computer sitting down in the rolling chair turning to put my legs under the desk and pulling out the keyboard from the slider at the bottom. Leaning in I typed in the familiar phrase “Life Through My Eyes” opening the desktop, the familiar background picture of a blue 2005 ford gt, the screen lighting up my dark room. “Let’s see what their trying to sell us today “I stated dragging my mouse over the Firefox emblem and pulling up the internet. I surfed the internet for an hour or two looking at my e-mail and other social network profiles, when suddenly the monitor shut off as well as the computer underneath the fan on the inside came to a halt, the sound from the vents also was non-existent; a power outage.

“Are you kidding me?!” I said aloud half expecting some someone to hear and turn the lights back on.

I pulled out my cell phone flipping up the screen and turning on the flashlight via the camera. It began to grow cold, grabbing a sweatshirt from my closet I went out to the living room, opening the cupboard and pulling out my blue magnalight flashlight and clicking it on and filling the room with light. Looking out the window I could see the lights off in all the other neighboring apartments as well. For the moment I was stuck in an apartment slowly making its way to becoming a refrigerator, no power, and no means of fixing the problem.

“Well shit” I stated coming into terms with my situation. Walking over I took the blanket from the sofa as well as some from the closet and placing them on my bed unfolding them and stacking them onto the blue comforter. Pulling back the many layers of sheets I maneuvered under them not bothering to take off my sweater or jeans, knowing all too well how cold I would be even with my preparations, and although I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, I finally managed to close my eyes and drift slowly to sleep.

Chapter 2

I suddenly awoke to dark room barley an hour after I fell asleep, a distinct tapping sound came from the window. Closing my eyes I tried to ignore it after it stopped soon after. It sounded again, and again soon after. Dazed I pulled back the covers and walked over to the window unlocking it I opened it. Unable to clearly see anything I walked out to the living room having left the flashlight there before I went to bed. With my eyes half way shut I managed to find my way to the living room stubbing my pinkie toe once on the corner of the wall then back into my room, clicking it on I shined the light out the window searching for whatever had been making the sound; there were no trees, and I couldn’t think of anything else that might make such a noise. A breeze of cold air blew through the window reminding me that the power was still off. I closed the window quickly slightly more awake thanks to the cool night air blowing into my face. I set the flashlight down on the nightstand and got back into my bed pulling the many covers back over my body and settling back in my familiar position drifting back to sleep.

A sudden shift in the bed awoke me again as I felt something light rub against my back different that the bed covers. I froze out of fear too scared to move or turn to see whatever it was that was in my bed with me. Whatever was touching my back tightened as well, whatever it was realized my presence as well. Taking a breath of courage I prepared to reach for the flashlight at the nightstand, the knife on my dresser was too far to go for. I jumped from the bed clicking it on and aiming it at the bed just as a blur shot from the covers and out into the living room.

“Oh, no you don’t!”I said grabbing my knife and flicking it open running out into the living room in attempts to follow whatever it was. I shined the light down the hallway now fully awake I took long silent strides as I approached the living room. As I neared the corner I prepared to turn to see if whatever it was, was by the window when suddenly a light blue flew directly at me. Out of fear I flinched dropping the knife and flashlight as it collided with my upper body knocking me off my feet and onto the floor where it stood on my chest at an attempt to hold me down. Although I couldn’t see it I could feel four distinct feet evenly spread out as if it were a dog of some sort

“Who are you and what are you doing in my house?!” A female voice demanded in a harsh tone

“Your house?!” I demanded lifting my head off the ground. “In case you haven’t noticed this is my apartment you’ve somehow managed to find your way into!”

“Doesn’t matter what you want to call it, I found it, and since your pinned there’s nothing you can do but get up and leave” She said stomping one of her front feet to remind me of my situation.

“I can’t believe this, coming into MY apartment, pinning me to the floor and demanding I get out?” I thought maintain a scowl which I knew she couldn’t see through the darkness. I tried moving from her pin expecting not to get anywhere, but as I shifted my body back and forth I encountered little resistance, whatever this thing was it was small, roughly about 15 pounds at most. Knowing its size I used my free arms and turned over grapping its front limbs and pinning them to the ground, the tables had turned.

“Who has who pinned now?!” I said out of confidence, a smile decorating my face as it struggled to get free attempting to kick at my stomach with its feet. “I don’t know what you are, but let’s get one thing straight, this is MY apartment, not yours!”

It’s struggling continued for what seemed like hours, knowing my strength over it, I held it down.

Suddenly its struggling stopped and it began to breathe heavily trying to catch its breath. Using my feet I moved the flashlight closer to me. Knowing it was too tired to move away I took a handoff one of its limbs and grabbed the flashlight shining it down onto its face. A small light blue face looked back up at me ruby red eyes staring into mine with a blank and tired expression, waiting for whatever I had in store for it.

Suddenly its blank face turned into an angry scowl as her expression changed baring its teeth. “So you got me, now what?” it asked its tone matching its harsh face.

I was stunned, un-able to fully comprehend the situation, I had never seen anything quite like what laid before me, nor had I even heard of such a creature. By its voice it was obviously female, young in age. Confused I looked back into her eyes beyond a rainbow colored main looking for some sort of answer as to what she was, or why she was here. Her expression changed again this time into a sort of confused look herself, it was the first time we had really seen each other amongst the chaos we had caused for the other. I let go of her other arm and sat back onto my feet. Slowly, she got to her feet standing on all fours, her gaze never leaving mine. She took a step closer as if to get a better look at me, tilting her head slightly and raising an eyebrow.

“What are you?” she asked.

“Human, you?”

“A Pegasus”

Her tone was serious, as was her face, although it sounded completely ridiculous, although I had a feeling she felt the same. I rubbed my eyes as if to see if this was really a dream, like I didn’t hear what I just heard, like I didn’t feel what I just felt, but as I opened my eyes to see the small blue horse standing before me, I realized that although it seemed like one, it was no dream.

As if instinct took over, I reached out as if to see if she was really there. Out of fear she stepped back just out of my reach, her eyes only leaving mine for a second to look at the hand only to meet back with mine a second later. The room was silent; I could feel my heart beating like a machine gun as I finally came to terms with the situation, pulling my hand back and allowing her to sit back herself. I was at a loss for words, what do you say to a small horse that somehow found its way into your home?

“Do you have a name?” she asked suddenly taking me by surprise.

“Matthias” I said nervously almost stuttering. “And you?”

She paused for a moment, looking away for a moment the nervously she replied “Rainbow Dash”

We sat there for a few moments; suddenly she shivered as blue wings from her sides wrapped themselves around her front section as she continued to shiver, I realized I was able to see my breath, the apartment was getting colder. Looking behind me I could see a blanket I had missed on the window seat. I gave her a look and got up as she prepared to defend herself again. I felt her gaze on me as I grabbed the small white blanket from the wooden seat. By the time I had came back I could see she realized my intention as she sat back down, still ready to come at me should I do anything to make her feel threatened.

Setting the blanket down in front of her I met her gaze. “It’s not much, but your welcomed to it” and just like that, whatever threatening atmosphere that was there disappeared, as she slowly walked over using her head to maneuver under the blanket then using her mouth to adjust it to cover her whole body as the rest dragged along the ground.

“Thanks” she said as I sat back down on the floor. I could tell by her voice she was still nervous, I was too, but I didn’t dare show it.

The room fell silent again as we sat there, neither able to find the words to say to the other, our gaze meeting from time to time. As I sat there I began to grow cold myself, my hands going numb from it. Tucking them into my pockets I looked up again, this time her head drooped to the right, her eyes were closed. I could hear her breathing faintly as the breath turned to the familiar steam from her nostrils, she had fallen asleep standing. I couldn’t help but smile slightly as I got up and walked over to her and kneeled down, I could see her shivering slightly through the blanket, it was apparent given the current situation I couldn’t just kick her out, it wouldn’t be right, but I couldn’t let her freeze either. I reached out touched the portion of the blanket covering her back to see if she if she would wake up, when she didn’t I lightly reached my arms out putting them under her belly picking her up and flipping her over to carry like a newborn wrapped in a blanket. Lightly I felt her nestle down my arms putting her head against my chest. I looked at the couch trying to think of a warm place to allow her to sleep for the night but I knew only one place would be warm enough, my bed. Slowly I carried her into my room, laying her down on the bed right in the middle, her head resting on one of the pillows. I pulled the remainder of the cover over the rest of her body leaving her head uncover to allow her to breathe.

Taking one of the excess blankets I brought in from before I walked back out to the living room covering myself as I picked up the knife and flashlight setting them on the counter as I approached the couch taking my heavy coat from the back of the leather chair as I neared. Although still very cold I laid down on the couch, my mind still dwelling on what had occurred that night. After what seemed like hours my mind seemed to be unable to keep up, and I fell asleep, part of me hoping whatever happened was a dream.

Chapter 3

As morning came, the dim light poured into the room waking me from my sleep. I began to look around realizing I was still in the living room. From where I was I could see the digital clock on the stove which read 6:15 in red numbers. Getting up I carried the blanket with me as I walked towards the window seeing a flat white blanket covering the ground, I looked up at the sky as more snow began falling from the grey sky, it was going to get colder, in turn making my already freezing apartment into a freezer. I removed my cell phone from my pocket dialing Matthews’s number and putting it to my ear as it began to ring, he picked it after about the third one.

“You know what time it is right?” He asked his voice sounded flustered and stressed out about something.

“Heaters out, and I’m kind of freezing my ass off. Besides, you don’t sound like you’re tired enough to care” I explained walking towards my room, the wooden door closed blocking my view of the bed.

“Duly noted” he said taking a breath of annoyance, I could tell he was busy with something on the other line. “I can pick you up, but it’ll have to be later, I kind of have a small problem over here that’s kind of hard to explain”

“Alright, call me later then” I said in a whisper as I opened the door taking a peek inside, seeing a small lump at the head of the bed. He hung up without another word taking me by surprise, whatever it was, it was stressing him out, but I had problems of my own, how would I explain Rainbow Dash to Matthew, although I had convinced him crazy things in the past, there was no way I could just come out and say “Hey you’ll never guess what made its way into my house” he’d never believe me.

I crept slowly to the side of the bed looking down to see Rainbow Dashes head resting on the pillow halfway covered with the blankets, her eyes closed completely un-aware of my presence. Pulling up the computer chair I sat down as quietly as I could watching as her as she slept, wondering what she dreamt about. Suddenly her eyes opened and she began to survey her surroundings before her eyes fell on me.

“Where am I?” she asked.

“In my bed, I didn’t want you to freeze last night so I let you have it, I slept put on the couch.” I explained watching her sit up as the covers slid down the back of her neck. Realizing how cold it was she quickly rushed back under the covers again.

“Why is it so cold?” she groaned.

“The heaters out thanks to the weather, the apartments going to be cold until somebody can go to fix it” I answered. “You hungry?”

She shook her head by her tone and expression I could tell she was still on shock with her current situation. I gave a slight smile as she just laid there maintaining her blank expression, avoiding my gaze and even turning away from me. I sighed getting up out of the chair leaving her to her thoughts; I knew nothing I could say to her would help her to adapt to the fact she was no longer in her world. Walking out into the kitchen I took an apple from one of the baskets the counter wiping it against my coat before taking a bite from it, since most of the food in the apartment needed to be heated or made on the stove, this was the best I could muster at the time. Minutes soon turned into an hour as I got down from the counter, I looked at my bedroom door which was cracked open ever so slightly tempted to look inside to see if Rainbow Dash had moved at all since I couldn’t see her from my angle. I walked over to the living room window reaching behind the nearby dresser and grabbing my guitar from the corner and sitting on the small reading chair I had on the other side of the portion of the wall strumming each string once tuning one as I sat down then playing a chord to make sure it sounded fine. Having learned the guitar at a young age from my Uncle I often played it when there was nothing else to do or was just in the mood for it. Adjusting my fingers I began playing the opening chords to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” humming the words as they came along. As the song continued I heard the door open as footsteps approached, I didn’t turn to look knowing she was approaching hearing her footsteps get closer with each passing second. I closed my eyes concentrating only on the chords, when suddenly the footsteps stopped just at my feet. Sneaking a peak from a squinting eye I saw her sit down watching my hands in amazement as they played the notes as they came and humming instead of singing. By the time the song had finished and I opened my eyes seeing her lean back onto her back legs and begin to clap her front hooves together in a clapping motion with a slight smile. This was the first time I had seen her in the light, blue fur covered her body while a rainbow colored mane grew from atop her head which matched her long tail, and from the angle I was at I could make out a small rainbow lightning bolt on either side of her flank.

“You like music?” I asked setting the acoustic guitar down against the side of the chair.

She nodded her eyes stayed on the wooden instrument as I set it down leaning against the side of the chair putting my hands in my front coat pockets to keep them warm looking down at Rainbow Dash as she turned and looked up at me a slight smile decorated her face. Suddenly she began to shiver, having not carrying out one of the blankets out with her. Removing the white and black from around my shoulders I reached over and dropped in on her taking her by surprise.

“You’re going to need that for now” I said.

She sat there for a minute then began to adjust the blanket so the blanket covered her head like a makeshift hood. Turning her head she sat down and looked up at me giving me a look of thanks with a grin. Leaning down I made an attempt to get at eye level with her. She remained motionless as I got closer, I had been expecting her to jerk back out of fear but she held strong, her eyes had look of fear to them, I could tell she was nervous of my next move. Trying not to scare her I refrained from making any sudden moves staying where I was and only smiling in order not to scare her any more than she was, only smiling and keeping a calm face, I knew she had to be nervous although her face didn’t show it.

“So, Rainbow Dash is it?” I asked breaking the silence.

“Yes” she said back returning the smile. “And you’re Matthias”

I nodded, I was happy she remembered my name; also she seemed to finally grow accustomed to the situation she was in. But where was she from? Questions began filling my mind; however I couldn’t just pick one to ask her, her face said the same.

“So… where exactly are you from?” I asked.

Suddenly my phone rang before she could answer; we both looked at each other for a moment before I took it out of my pocket. Looking at the screen I saw that Matthew number was on the phone. I flipped open the screen and put it to my ear.

“Ya?” I said.

“I’m here; you said you had something to show me?” He asked, his voice still sounding rushed and in a worried tone.

“Ya, just come on up” I instructed, my view shifting to Rainbow Dash who looked back in confusion.

Without any hesitation the line went dead. I looked around the house, trying to find a place where she could hide until I found a way to explain to Matthew my situation. Eyeing my room I instructed her to go inside and wait until I came in, reluctantly, she went. Not a minute later there was a knock at the door. Taking a breath of courage I walked over to the door and opened it seeing Matthew standing outside dressed in a heavy coat, an orange hat covering his head.

“Well?” he said.

I gestured him to follow me as I let him inside shutting the door behind him. Having shut my door I stopped just in front of it.

“Promise me you won’t freak out” I said.

“Whatever, let’s just hurry, it’s cold as fuck and I have something I need your help with back at the house” he explained.

Slowly I opened the door letting him walk in first. Rainbow Dash was sitting on the bed when she turned to face him. I looked at Matthew who was starring wide-eyed at Rainbow Dash; he didn’t say anything only holding his gaze with her.

“Matthew, this is Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash, this is Matthew” I said stepping in-between them.

Suddenly Matthew’s expression changed, from that of shock, to confusion. Walking over he sat in the chair in front of her, she leaned back, confused then looked to me, just as he did.

Running a hand over his hat Matthew turned back to face Rainbow Dash. “Looks, like we have a similar situation” he said.

He took me by surprise, at first I thought I didn’t hear him right, but Rainbow Dash’s expression only confirmed what he had just said her look was that of shock as well as she looked back at me with the same expression I must have had.

“What do you mean?” I asked

Matthew leaned back the turned the chair to face me. “It’s hard to explain, it’d be better if I just showed you… pack your things, I’ll explain what I can on the way.”

Chapter 4

As I packed for my stay at Matthews finding another bag for Rainbow Dash to hide in while we went to the truck, I began to question exactly what Matthew meant when he said he had “similar situation.” We didn’t speak, even as we went to the truck, Rainbow Dash hiding in my old backpack which was obviously too small to put her in. Even as we began to drive, not a word was said, I looked at Matthew several times during the trip but he only kept his eyes on the road. Rainbow Dash who was at my feet kept looking from me to Matthew kept quiet as well, nudging me several times with her snout as if to reassure me everything was fine, I could only smile as she starred back at me. The awkward silence made the ride seem all the longer, by the time we pulled up to Matthews apartment a few minutes later, it felt as though hours had passed. As I made my ascent up the long flight of stairs, Matthew walking in front of me, Rainbow Dash hiding in my back pack I began to feel a sense of un-easiness, as if a sudden feeling for motion sickness came over me which only seemed to grow as we stood outside Matthews door at the top floor of the complex. He stopped for a moment unlocking the metal lock then taking a breath of courage and stepping inside. I followed close behind feeling the warm air of the apartment suddenly blow into my face easing the numbness the cold had caused, looking around, nothing seemed to have changed, there were still clothes scattered amongst the floor and an unfolded afghan on the end of the couch. I set the backpack down unzipping so Rainbow Dash could jump out.

“I don’t get it Matt, what were you talking about?” I asked.

He didn’t speak, he only rounded the corner into the kitchen gesturing me with his head to follow. He stopped the kneeled down on the tiled floor looking towards the back of the couch. From where I was standing up I could see a small shape in-between the back of the couch and the wall, kneeling down it was roughly small roughly about “3,5” close to Rainbow Dash’s size. Rainbow Dash walked over to my side looking beyond the wall at the couch. I could see her straining to see what was hiding just out of view.

“What is it?” I asked

“I don’t know, last night when the power went out I went to go see if there was anything I could do to help, when I came back, it scurried behind the couch before I could get a chance to see what it was exactly” he explained.

“So how does this apply to Rainbow Dash, you said you had a similar problem earlier?” I asked.

“Well… I had anything like it before, I thought it was a cat at first before I shined a flashlight back there, I only caught a glimpse but I saw it’s shape, it looked like”-

“Like Rainbow Dash” I finished his sentence

He nodded. “Ever since last night I’ve been trying to coax it out, and for the life of me no matter what I try she won’t come out.” Matthew explained getting up and removing his coat revealing one of his usual black “Slayer” shirts which had a bloodied skull on the front with the band name in red letters just above it.

Rainbow Dash walked closer as I stood up watching her approach the small opening sticking the front half of her body inside.

“Hello?” she called

I heard a faint voice, too small to make out but clear as day. Matthew noticed it too walking over to my side watching as Rainbow Dash walked further into the crevice.

“Fluttershy, is that you?” She asked in disbelief vanishing in the darkness.

Confused Matthew and I looked at each other, trying to listen to the conversation the two of them were having, but to no avail, whenever one would speak it was in a whisper, which in turn would make the other whisper back.

“What are they saying?” Matthew asked.

I shrugged, I thought he had known, or at least had a better idea to it than I did. I waited there for another minute before giving up and walking back towards the rooms at the back of the apartment, Matthew followed close behind as I walked into his bedroom at the end of the hallway sitting down in the nearby chair in front of his TV turning in it to face Matthew as he went and sat on his bed on the other side of the room. We sat in silence for a while before he sat up and straightened his throat.

“So, you get why we have the same dilemma now?” He asked.

I nodded, unable to speak.

“So what now?” He asked

“Well…” I thought for a minute. “Obviously, this might scare a few people so… I say we keep this thing a secret for now” I explained.

“You’re right, but what are we going to do about it, we can’t just keep them at our apartments can we?”

“I say that’s exactly what we do, Rainbow Dash can stay with me, and Fluttershy will stay here with you, until we can figure out exactly what’s going on”

“One problem with that, Fluttershy kind of is scared to death of me for some reason”

“We’ll figure something out, just give it time”

“If you say so”

Matthew scooted back on the bed, leaning against the wall the bed was against leaning his head back until it touched the wall. Suddenly the door creaked open and Rainbow Dash’s head poked through.

“Hey, can you guys come in here for a sec?” she asked.

Getting up from the chair the two of us followed her into the living room where she stopped us in front of the couch and walked on only stopping us in front of the opening.

“Fluttershy, you can come out now” she said

There was a whisper; I could see her lean in to hear her better. She then turned back to us.

“Matthias, come here for a sec” she said.

I walked up to her side kneeling down to get at her level.

“Fluttershy, Matthias is here, I’d like you to come out and meet him” she said.

There was silence for a moment, then a small head poked out of the opening and I found two light blue eyes staring up at me the pockets around her eyes red, I could tell she had been crying. Part of her yellow face was covered by her long pink mane; suddenly she jerked her head back out of view. Seeing this Rainbow Dash jumped in after her.

“C’mon” She said “He won’t bite”

A moment later she was pushed out of the opening completely, just as Rainbow Dash followed behind her blocking the way behind the couch. I could see wings on the sides that matched Rainbow Dash’s but were yellow like her coat. Like Rainbow Dash she had a symbol on her flanks only instead of a lightning bolt there were three pink butterflies. She stood there for a moment quivering in fear then the turned to me avoiding my gaze.

“H-hello s-sir, m-my n-name i-is F-Fluttershy” she said, her voice shaking as she turned her head as if to hide behind her hair.

I smiled trying to show her I meant her no harm which seemed to relax her a little. “Hello Fluttershy, my name is Matthias” I said as calmly as I could. She began to get used to my presence turning her head to face me fully, a small smile was on her face as she looked at me. Suddenly she saw Matthew not far behind me and sooner than I was able to predict, she tried to run back into the opening Rainbow Dash stopping her in the process. I turned around to face Matthew who gave me a shrug on confusion.

“Maybe it’s your face” I said as a joke.

Giving me a look of annoyance, “I don’t think so”

“Well…maybe it’s your shirt; I mean I’d get the wrong idea if I saw death and dismemberment written all over the front.” I explained.

He looked at his shirt for a moment, “I hadn’t thought of that” he stated exiting the room and going back into his room. I turned back to face the two ponies, Rainbow Dash still preventing Fluttershy from going back behind the couch again. Rainbow Dash turned her around to face me again.

“Sorry about that, although he doesn’t look like it, Matthew’s a teddy bear, he only looks scary” I explained as she began to calm down.

She looked passed me at the closed door then walked up to me, her face still held a sort of confusion to it. “So you won’t hurt me?” she asked. I could tell she was convincing herself I meant her no harm.

“I promise” I said with a nod.

She sat down as she finally seemed to relax taking a breath of relief. Just as Matthew came out of his room now wearing a long sleeved collared shirt in place of his slayer shirt or over I couldn’t tell. She leaned to the right getting a look at Matthew her eyes scanning him before turning to me again.

“What are you exactly” She asked.

I looked to Rainbow Dash who was already ahead of me cutting me off before I could speak.

“I’ll explain later” she said.

Fluttershy walked behind Rainbow Dash, it seemed she was still a little unsure of me and Matthew but it was as if she was used to our presence as she was no longer quivering. I let out a sigh of relief; it finally seemed as if part of this nightmare was over for time at least. But I knew there was something more, something that didn’t quite add up, the events couldn’t have just ended could they?

Chapter 5

Hours had passed since we had arrived at Matthew apartment; I had unpacked and set up my things in one of the spare bedrooms while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took the other guest room just across the hall from my room. Since I had arrived I had changed into a white long sleeved T-shirt, finally getting out of my leather jacket and adjusting to the heat Matthews’s apartment gave off. I laid down on the bed starring up at the ceiling at the fan that wasn’t rotating. I let out a sigh just as the door opened and Matthew walked in.

“You up?” he asked

I nodded not bothering to speak.

The two of sat there in silence for a minute, I figured Matthew was counting on me to make conversation as usual.

“So, about Fluttershy? How did you find her?” I asked

“She found me actually” he replied. “Last night when the power went out I thought I could go out and see what I could do to help, I guess I left the door open and she just kind of wandered in, I actually didn’t realize she was in here until around the time I woke up this morning”

“That’s all?”

“Pretty much”

“Well that’s uneventful”

“Sorry, the stunt coordinator and helicopter driver was out for the day so I had to make do with what I had”

“I hate you” Giving him a look of annoyance.

“I know” he replied giving me a smirk grin.

Suddenly his stomach growled loudly breaking the silence in the room. Immediately he looked at me.

“Let me guess, I’m on food duty while I’m here, aren’t I?” I asked

“You guessed it” he said

I smiled slightly knowing all too well Matthew was hopeless when it came to feeding himself, since he usually would order take out every other night and make a peanut butter sandwich whenever nothing else sounded good. Getting up from the bed, I walked into the kitchen seeing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy on the couch nearby, both watching the TV before both turned to meet my gaze.

“You guy’s hungry?” I asked.

“Ya” Matthew answered for them.

Rolling my eyes I walked into the kitchen turning on the oven and removing a pack of pasta from the cabinet from the nearby pantry. Matthew leaned against the counter-top just as Rainbow Dash walked into the kitchen I could tell she was curious in what I was doing. It had been a while since I had cooked, like many of the things my parents had taught me it was one of the things I only got to do only every so often.

“Pasta, didn’t you make that last time?” Matthew asked.

“I thought beggars weren’t choosers” I said. Rainbow Dash laughed slightly at the joke making Matthew shoot her a look of annoyance.

Suddenly the phone rang which was right next to Matthew startling us both a little. Reaching over Matthew picked it up and put it to his ear. “Hello?” …. “Ya, he’s here, you want to talk to him?”… “Ok, let me get a pen” Matthew reached into the cupboard and pulled out a pen and paper then set in down on the counter-top and began to write something just as Rainbow Dash walked over to me.

“What is he doing?” she asked

It then hit me; I completely forgot to explain to Rainbow Dash the telephone, as well as other appliances I used that she was confused about.

“December 15th at five, okay I’ll be sure to tell him” …. “Okay, bye” Matthew said.

“I’ll explain later” I said gesturing for her to return to the living room which she slowly did disappearing from my view, she didn’t know about the cancer, nor did she need to, not yet at least. “Who was that?”

“Your Mom, she said that the hospital called, I’m pretty sure you can guess the rest”

I sighed returning to cooking; hoping Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy didn’t just hear our conversation.

“What do you think they want?” Matthew asked

“Probably to see if the transplant worked, I’d imagine they’d like to do some more tests as well knowing them”

There was an awkward silence in the room; both of us knew what question would come next.

“What if it didn’t work?” Matthew asked finally addressing the obvious “elephant in the room”

I sighed, I couldn’t find the right words to say, I shook my head as hoping he would get the hint that I wasn’t about to answer. Another silence came over the two of us; it remained there until I finished fixing dinner. Matthew got four bowls from the cabinet and set them in a row two-by-two as I placed and even amount of pasta in each.

“Chow time!” I called placing a fork in each bowl and bringing it over to the couches where the two ponies waited before handing one to Matthew then taking a seat on an open spot in the couch watching Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy examine the two bowls in their own way first the contents, then the utensils.

I rolled the pasta onto the fork and put it in my mouth, looking over to see them watching me. Fluttershy took the forth in her mouth and mimicked me as best she could getting a decent amount on the fork then stopped suddenly looking at food on the end, a confused look was on her face. I looked over to Rainbow Dash who attempted to do the same taking the fork in her mouth then trying to stab it to death before she too stopped only she set the fork down beside the bowl and without hesitation plunged her face into the bowl with an open mouth popping back up with a mouth full of noodles and a satisfied look upon her face. Matthew and I shared a long laugh as Rainbow Dash got a puzzled look upon her face.

“What?” she asked with a mouth full of food.

Fluttershy was oblivious to the whole situation, still trying to figure out how to get to the food. After he recovered from laughing Matthew walked over and sat by Fluttershy taking the fork from her mouth and then turning it around to present her with the food. She flinched at first then realized his intention, realizing he meant her no harm she leaned in and allowed Matthew to feed it to her. It finally seemed as though Fluttershy seemed to warm up to Matthew, finally relaxing and coming into terms with the situation she was in, just as Rainbow Dash had done before her, relaxing into the couch I looked at Rainbow Dash, then at Fluttershy. If these two were here, were there others, and what if there where were they?

Chapter 6

It had been a few days since we had all arrived at Matthews’s house, although the power at my complex had probably turned back on; I figured Rainbow Dash would want to spend a little more time with Fluttershy which she happily obliged. Matthew and I had made a habit of teaching the two Pegasus some of the many tasks we did from day to day, Fluttershy took care of the mess around the house organizing Matthews apartment to the point of almost looking it brand new. As for Rainbow Dash she made a habit of answering the phone in our absence ignoring specific numbers such as telemarketers or relatives of ours that wouldn’t recognize her voice. I had also told her to avoid another specific number; the hospitals, in truth I didn’t want her to know about my heart condition, I’d find a way to tell her eventually. Fluttershy also seemed to warm up to Matthew and me ever since the two of us began to teach her about the random tasks we had done around the house which she would often do whenever she had free time which left the apartment smelling of lavender instead of that weird smell of old food and dirty clothes it once carried before, Rainbow Dash would help as well but not as often, instead she stuck to the more “fun” tasks which consisted of mainly answering the phone but she would often re-arrange Matthews CD occasionally playing one while the two of them worked or were idle in the living room, she seemed to like the heavy metal songs however she also seemed to like rock and roll all together. She also made a habit of watching me and Matthew play Xbox which we didn’t do often since all the violence scarred Fluttershy.

The four of us sat around the living room, it was late in the day and we had just finished lunch, Matthew reclining on the leather lazy boy while I sprawled out on the couch with Rainbow Dash not too far away from my legs laying on the arm rest. The sound in the room was the news channel that was on the TV not too far away from the couch. I was pretty tired and I could feel my eyes growing heavy. Soon I closed my eyes for a moment just as I heard the telecaster say; “That’s right Susan, in a result of unusual statewide blackouts, this local Kansas farm is one of the many to feel the result of the blackout which some are calling “The Worst Storm In Years”.

My eyes popped open and I immediately sat up, it had hit me; a power outage, but I wasn’t sure.

“Turn that up” I said.

Matthew reached behind him and grabbed the remote and turned the volume up on the TV. I could now hear the young female telecaster speak as she began to approach an older looking man dressed in a heavy coat and tightening up as if to keep himself warm from the snow blowing around him which made the whole conversation a tad harder to hear.

“Were here with Mr. Graham, owner of Regier Orchard, Mr. Graham how has this storm affected you at your orchard?”

“Well miss, it has been an old family tradition to plant some seed’s near the end of winter, December is when we usually try to prepare the ground to plant the seeds for the new trees that will be growing in the near future. However; die to this storm, me and my family have been unable to make any progress on clearing the ground well enough to prepare to plant in the near future.”

“And how does this affect the upcoming apple season?”

“Well due to this cold, some of the trees are dying, and if we can’t plant new ones, there will be no apple season this year for us. Actually, since we have lost power in the whole ranch, my family and I are going to have to leave for a few weeks until we can get the heat back on and figure something out”

“Interesting, is there any other reason you may be worried about your ranch during your absence?”

“Actually miss, this may sound crazy, but I swear I hear something out in the orchard during the day, and when I look nothings there, call me crazy but I think the farm is haunted” he said with a chuckle.

I sat back as the conversation went on for only a moment later until it flashed back to the main teleprompter’s came back on the TV beginning another story as if the one before it never happened.

I sat leaned back into the sofa before turning to Matthew who had the same face as me.

“Another unusual power outage, you don’t think-“Matthew began

I looked at Rainbow Dash, and then at Fluttershy, both seemed to be oblivious to where the conversation was going.

“Something seems off about the whole thing”

“So what do we do now?” Matthew asked.

“I say we take a look at that farm once the storm calms down a bit, I’m thinking the farmer was on to something.”

“You mean the farm being haunted?” Matthew asked.

“Haunted… like… ghosts” Fluttershy asked her face showing obvious signs of fear.

“Probably nothing that serious” I joked.

“So, were just supposed to just go off of some random coincidence, and travel in below freezing weather to search a farm to find something we aren’t even sure is even there” Matthew summed up.

“Basically, yes” I confirmed.

“Well, works for me” he said getting up from the couch and taking a peek out the nearby window watching as the snow fell down all the harder. “I don’t think that were leaving any time soon though, this storm is getting worse by the second”

“I can’t believe you guys can’t control the weather like us Pegasus ponies, with all this technology you guys have you’d think you’d be able to control something as simple as the weather” Rainbow Dash bragged.

I chuckled slightly, however Matthew reacted differently rolling his eyes in annoyance. Our group settled down as the storm raged on through the night each falling asleep at their previous spot in the living room, be it on the sofa or the leather recliner, the sound of the storm outside allowed me to sleep all the deeper.

By the time I woke up, the sound of the storm had died down and I could hear the soft snores of those around me, Matthews being the loudest however Rainbow Dash’s was oddly close. Leaning up I saw Rainbow Dash between my legs and the sofa her head resting on my shin, she must have moved there during the night. As slowly as I could I moved my leg from under her head letting it fall softly to the sofa cushion. This was out of her character; she never seemed to be the kind to ever let you get close let alone the kind that would fall asleep on you.

Pushing it into the back of my head as mere coincidence I walked over to the window pulling back the black curtains and starring outside. Snow was still falling however nowhere near as hard as yesterday, the previous night had proved to be quite the storm, snow more than just covered the ground, it was as if it nearly covered the first floor of the apartment, if we were going to make the trip it would have to be soon, if the weather continued the way it was the snow would be up to Matthews window within the week. I pulled out my phone clicking on a weather app on the front screen. Just as I feared another storm was well on its way, while nowhere close to the previous night it was safe to say it would be hitting us by the end of the day which meant we wouldn’t be able to go until tomorrow, leaving whatever was out at that farm to fend for itself during the storm. Matthews chair rested just around the corner to the kitchen, reclined back with his head near the top of the head cushion.

Reaching down I shook Matthew on his shoulder “Hey” I whispered. Nothing, not even a movement. “Hey, dickhead, wake up” I whispered again. This time he groaned and leaned his head back, I could see his eyes cracked open looking up at me. “We need to start heading to that farm, another storm is on its way” I explained. Groaning, Matthew leaned up putting the footrest of the recliner down as he got up and walked down the hallway and immediately into the bathroom, he was still obviously half asleep and hadn’t quite gotten his balance.

Moving onto the couch I knelt down in front of Rainbow Dash who had moved to where I had been laying and was curled up against the pillow I was leaning against the previous night. I almost didn’t have the heart to wake her but I at least didn’t want to leave her at the house without any knowledge of where we were going. I placed a hand on her the base of her neck over her rainbow colored mane and lightly shook her.

“Hey, Dash” I whispered. Unlike Matthew she woke a little easier turning over and opening a single ruby red eye slightly to look at me.

I smiled as she yawned “five more minutes” she complained.

“We’re going to the farm, I wanted to let you know in case you woke up and wondered where we were” I explained.

“M’kay” she said in a tired tone, closing her eyes and then resting her head on the pillow again. Fluttershy was on the other side of the couch but I figured as long as Rainbow Dash knew where we went there was no use of waking the two of them up to tell them the same thing.

Matthew emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, still rubbing his eyes as he walked back into the living room, he had changed into his winter jacket again which was now zipped up.

“You ready?” he asked mid-yawn.

I got up and picked up my leather coat from the floor and zipped it up over the black “Gorrilaz” shirt I had on and began following him out the door almost immediately being hit by the cold snowy air which sent shivers down my spine. Although Matthews truck wasn’t far I still removed the gloves from the coat pockets welcoming what warmth they gave. Since the truck had been sitting out in the snow the inside was just about as freezing as the weather outside.

Although the farm wasn’t too far away the cold truck made the ride seem all the longer, the fact that we drove slower thanks to the ice didn’t help much either. By the time we actually made it out to the farm it had been at least an hour or two, the storm clouds nearly seemed to be getting closer. The farm was relatively basic; it had a big red barn and a farmhouse not too far away with a stable just outside that.

“Alright Dick Tracy, where do we start?” Matthew asked as he put the truck in park in front of the farmhouse which had no sighs of anybody actually being there.

I looked out at the orchard where the farmer had supposedly heard noises. “There” I stated pointing towards the trees as I opened the passenger door and stepped outside sinking almost knee deep into the snow.

Thankfully the orchard was small and didn’t carry a forest of trees as I had previously thought which made the orchard easier to search. Although I had no idea what I was looking for, I could feel something was amiss, as if something was out of place. A cold breeze reminded me of where I was and I pressed on through the remainder of the trees eventually meeting back up with Matthew near the back of the farmhouse by stable, like me he had found nothing which left two places, the house; which was probably locked, and the barn which had one of the two doors slightly opened.

“Alright Sherlock, where to next?” Matthew asked, just as snow seemed to be falling a tad bit harder.

“Follow me” I said leading him to the big red barn which offered a bit of shelter from the wind outside.

All around there was hay surrounding the empty stalls, a hay slide leading up to the second level. Matthew walked over and picked up a small object from the ground and examined it, then tossed it over to me. It was a small brown cowboy hat, too small to fit on the farmer on the TV, and since there was no sign of the farmer having any family the possibility of a young child was out of the question.

“There has to be something here” I thought

I walked up to each stall and peaked inside each, and all were empty. The sections between each stall carried no signs of life either. Then it hit me; the hay slide. Walking over I couldn’t find a ladder up to the second level, at least nowhere I could see. Whipping my wet shoes on the dry dirt in front of the slide I began to slowly make my way up the metal slide grabbing either side of the slide as I maneuvered up.

“What are you doing?” Matthew asked

“I’m looking up here; it’s the only place we haven’t checked yet.” I explained.

“You’re going to fall, and I’m going to laugh my ass off” he said.

Upon reaching the top, I turned around to face Matthew giving him the finger out of self-accomplishment for myself. Turning around I began look around immediately seeing two more giant piles of hay piling from the floor to the ceiling. Looking towards the window on the back wall out at the snow now falling even harder, something caught my eye; a small blonde tail wrapped with a single red tie near the end. I walked closer, it was moving, shivering, and it it seemed to have no idea I was even there.

“Anything there?” I heard Matthew asked.

I ignored him as I approached coming upon a small make shift hole in the hay, almost like a cave. Inside was a small orange pony curled up shivering violently. I began looking for a blanket all around the loft but to no avail. I had to get her to shelter and soon, there was no telling how long she had been out in the cold. I took off my leather coat and reached inside picking the small pony up and wrapping her up in the coat, leaving my arms bare, and victim to the cold air as well as the wind that blew through the open boards of the barn. The small pony tried sliding closer to my body trying to get warmth from body heat, I could feel her shaking. I carried her over to the hay slide and got down, sliding down slowly as not to disturb the sleeping mare, Matthew walked over and looked in my arms.

“I think we found the farmers ghost problem” I joked.

Chapter 7

The two of us acted fast and began running out to Matthews’s truck, still parked just outside the barn Matthew opening the passenger door for me to hop in which I did with a slight jump desperately rushing to get out of the storm that only seemed to be getting worse. Getting into the driver’s side Matthew slid the key into the ignition, and then turned it. The engine stuttered several times before Matthew turned it back and tried again. Nothing.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me” he muttered trying again but to no avail. “You picked a hell of a time to do this to me.” He hit the steering wheel out of frustration then sank back into his chair running a hand through his hair.

“What do we do now?” he asked.

I looked all around, obviously the truck wouldn’t provide much warmth, and neither would the barn. There was nowhere that would provide us with enough warmth for the night, and judging by the small pony’s condition, we needed it.

“What about the house?” Matthew asked

“It’s probably locked” I stated.

“Let me check”

Getting out of the truck Matthew ran towards the house pulling his hood over his head to block the wind that relentlessly attacked his body. His first stop was the front door, pulling open the first of the two doors open with ease he reached out and grasped the small bronze handle and began attempting to turn it. When that didn’t work he rammed the door several times with his whole upper body, but the large wooden door held strong. He walked over to the nearby window and attempted to peer inside moving his head to try to see beyond the curtains. Suddenly he ran to the left side of the house towards the back, rounding the corner out of sight. Minutes began to pass, and Matthew remained to stay out of sight. Suddenly the front door opened and Matthew stepped through between the door and began waving an arm over his head. I opened the door and quickly ran towards the house and through the open door.

The house offered little shelter from the storm outside, however it did offer relief from the chilling wind; its large living space resembled that of a generic home. The furniture seemed to be handmade, the electronics extremely basic. Matthew ushered me over to the couch which had a large tan blanked draped over the back. The small pony began to shiver harder.

“We need to get some more blankets, she’ll freeze to death” I stated grabbing the blanket from behind me and wrapped it over the leather coat ignoring how numb my arms felt.

“I’ll go find some, stay put” Matthew instructed as he ran out of sight again.

Looking down into the blankets I could see its face. Although it slightly resembled Rainbow Dash’s it carried its muscular tone to it, another feature that stood out were the small freckles on either side of her face which were flushed red thanks to the cold. Another second later a blanket fell over my shoulders, another folded one fell to my side.

“Wrap her up in that” Matthew instructed as he walked over and sat down in a large chair across from the coffee table in front of me, a fireplace in the wall nearby. “Get your coat too, I don’t want you catching cold and getting sick on me”

After a slight adjustment I found myself wearing the heavy leather coat again, one of the large Afghans draped over my shoulders, the small pony in my arms now wrapped in two as well as what little I could spare from my own. Matthew began to work on the fireplace rearranging the wood inside to form a neat pile, and not soon after the whole thing caught fire with the light of a match.

“Alright, that ought to do it” Matthew stated getting up and whipping his hands on his jeans to remove whatever he had gotten on his hands then returning to his chair. “Well were fucked till tomorrow”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, I can try to jumpstart the truck tomorrow, using the jumper cables in the back. I think I saw an extra car or something in the barn that looked pretty new that should work. The truck is shot till then.” He explained.

We sat in silence for a moment as the heat from the fire made the room made the room a little more bearable to be in. By now it was dark outside, and not much could be seen from outside the nearby windows. The small pony finally seemed to stop shaking and finally began to relax, her breathing returning to a normal pace. I set her down on the cushion placing her head on one of the green pillows. She groaned for a moment but fell silent once I patted the blanket where I though her shoulder might be.

“Nice house overall, pretty homey if you ask me” Matthew stated looking all around him at his surroundings.

“I’ll be honest, I feel bad about intruding” I stated.

“Breaking and entering” Matthew corrected

“What?” I asked in disbelief.

“Couldn’t get through the back door, so I went through the window instead.”

I was awestruck for a moment. I looked towards the back door which was still closed, however an open window caught my attention, the curtains blowing with the breeze blowing in.

“Probably should take care of that” Matthew stated. “Or I could break a few more, make it seem like the storm did it.”I couldn’t find a solid argument that would shake Matthew suggestion, so instead I shrugged in agreement making Matthew chuckle with glee.

There was a silence in the room as the two of us settled down in our place each kicking our feet up on the table to recline in our seats.

“Rainbow Dash must be freaking out right now “I stated

“Imagine Fluttershy” Matthew added

I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket hoping to find that I somehow now had service, but just like when we first arrived at the farm, there was none. I the small phone back into my pocket with a sigh looking over to the blanket wrapped body beside me, I was still rubbing her shoulder allowing her a bit of comfort knowing she had a friend she hadn’t even met yet. I wonder who she was, obviously had one of the others been there they could have filled us in.

“Three down” I muttered to myself silently as I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to take me.

Chapter 8

I opened my eyes to the morning light; I could see my breath evaporating above my leaned back head. The fire seemed to be nothing more that embers and ash in the fire place. Nearby Matthew was curled up in a ball on the seat cushion under s couple blankets. I felt congested, feeling as if I was about to get sick. I groaned slightly and began to attempt get up from the couch, almost immediately feeling something move slightly on my leg. Looking down I saw a small head resting on my upper leg, a single hoof nearby cradling my leg as if it was a sort of pillow, I could hear her mumble something upon my movement but it was too quiet to hear. I placed a hand on top of her head between her ears making her nuzzle closer in turn holding my leg just a little tighter.

“You have no idea what your hugging little one” I said knowing she had no idea that I was human. I wondered how she might react once she knew; Rainbow Dash had basically attacked me when we first met, but then again Fluttershy reacted completely different.

Slowly I broke from her grasp much to her protest and got up from the sofa, taking notice of my sore muscles almost immediately. I cursed silently at my muscles as I stretched my arms over my head hearing the joints making a distinct pop.

Walking over to Mathews chair noticing him shaking slightly; he was feeling the effects of the cold night before as well. I shook him slightly expecting him to mealy shrug it off, but when he groaned slightly and turned to face me, I knew he hadn’t gotten that much sleep the previous night.

“Hey, you wanna go home?” I asked

He nodded

“Then get you fat ass up and lets go jump start your truck so we can get the fuck out of here”

He groaned, removing the blanket and got to the edge of the chair putting both feet on the ground and leaning over to support himself on his knees.

“Feel like shit?”I asked

He nodded

“Same here, I say we go and get your truck taken care of so we can get home and get out of this cold”

Getting up from the seat Matthew straightened his jacket as well as his gloves; I could tell he wasn’t quite himself, like me his balance seemed off as if he was ready to fall over.

The two of us walked outside seeing the fresh blanket of snow now piled up to the porch covering both steps as well as the edge of the drop off.

“Fuck my life” Matthew stated in annoyance as he walked over to where he thought the edge of the porch was. “Well. Let’s get this over with”

Matthew stepped off the porch first avoiding where the steps were as not to miss it completely and fall on his face, the snow coming up to just below his knees. I followed stepping out onto the white blanket immediately sinking to my knees.

“Fuck that’s cold” I thought as my legs tightened out of reflex as I trudged towards the barn creating two deep lines in the snow as I walked.

The barn offered little shelter from the cold; however the spare vehicle wasn’t hard to find in the back with the front half of the car sticking out in an indent on one side, an old 88 Oldsmobile. Walking over to the driver’s side Matthew tried the handle, but to no avail, the door remained shut.

“What is it with this farmer and locked doors?” Matthew asked.

“I don’t know, to prevent break-ins?” I suggested

“Well, we all know how well that went” Matthew stated peering inside the window. “I think I see the keys”

“How do we get them?”

Matthew gave me a smirk and rolled his arms and then stretching them in front of him. Before I had time to wonder, Matthew jabbed his right elbow into the window shattering it., and making the car alarm sound immediately.

“What is it with you and windows?” I yelled over the alarm.

Matthew reached above the sun block and pulled on a single key ring hanging from the edge immediately putting it into the car and unlocking it turning of the alarm, the sound echoing off the metal walls.

“I’ll be honest, I’ve always wanted to do that” Matthew stated rubbing his elbow slightly.

I rolled my eyes and opened the passenger side sitting down in the seat as Matthew inserted the key into the ignition, and turned the key, the engine began to stutter, and didn’t roar to life.

“No, not you too” Matthew said in a panic stopping then turning the key again, still nothing. Leaning back Matthew cursed to himself over and over before reaching down to grasp the key one more time. “Please for the love of God start”

The car stuttered slightly then suddenly roared to life.

“Amen” Matthew sighed in relief revving the engine several times and then putting the car in gear, driving it up to the barn doors which were still barely open from when we . “Can you get that?”

Getting out of the car I walked over to one of the doors and pulled it open as far as it could go, repeating the process with the other door, however it got stuck on something, and there still wasn’t enough room for the car to clear the opening. I walked around to other side of the door and dug my feet into what little dirt there was and began to push against it. It wasn’t stuck on anything, of that I was sure, probably just a rusted hinge or something. I pushed harder, getting back and then ramming it again, making it move slightly.

“C’mon you son of a”-

“Need some help sugar cube?” a voice said from behind.

I froze in fear; it was a voice I had never heard before; it female voice, with a thick southern style accent to it. Slowly I turned around expecting to meet the gaze of the farmer’s wife, but in place of where I thought she might be, was the small orange pony, her legs completely covered in the snow as she looked up at me with emerald green eyes.

“Trying to open that there barn door?” she asked.

“Ya” was all I managed to say.

Trudging over me through the snow she hoped out onto the little patch of dirt in front of the stuck door, turning her back to it.

With a swift motion she leaned onto her front hooves and used all her weight to kick the door with her back hooves. The effect was immediate, the door swung open faster than I thought possible, nearly hitting the car as it swung back hitting the wall it was connected to. I looked back in amazement as she crossed her front hooves as if to pose.

“That was amazing” I stated.

“Years of Applebuckin’, names Applejack by the way.” She said

“Matthias” I greeted back.

“Are you that farmer’s son?” she asked.

Suddenly the car horn sounded from inside the barn making the two of us jump a bit.

“You two wanna help me get this thing over to the truck, we still have to get home you know” Matthew yelled from the open window

“Ya” I yelled back before turning to Applejack again. “Let’s worry about introductions later, for now we need to get you out of here”

It took about 5 minutes to get the car in the right place to hook up the jumper cables. Several new dents ended up in the rear bumper of the Oldsmobile with it getting stuck several times in the snow making Applejack have to kick it out.

“Okay Matthias, let her rip” Matthew called as be began to rev the engine.

I turned the key of the truck making the familiar sound of the engine stuttering.

“C’mon, C’mon” I said holding the key in place hoping to spark some life out of the truck.

Suddenly the truck roared to life. I began revving the engine to warm the engine up, laughing with glee as I did so. Matthew ran over and hopped up into passenger door, a smile decorated his face.

“Think the farmer is going to be pissed?” I asked

“After the state we left that farm? Ya”

“Alright you two, I want answers, what the hay is going on?” Applejack demanded.

I reached down and grabbed the small cowboy that Matthew had stolen from the barn and placed it on her head. “AJ, we have a lot to talk about.”

Chapter 10

Okay guys I wanted yo give you all a heads up. This Chapter is a HUGE character development chapter, therefore, this chapter does not contain as many pony scenes as you may like. HOWEVER, this chapter is beneficial to the story so if you you TRULY enjoy this story please read on, but if not, sorry to disappoint.

ALSO I stuck a little reference in the chapter, if you can guess what it is you win respect points from me.

I awoke early the next day, feeling unusually better than normal, as if I had finally gotten a decent night’s sleep for once. My head was lying on the familiar blue pillow, my body covered by the white bed sheets. I felt a small steady breath against my chest reminding me of the events that had aspired the previous night. I pulled back the covers revealing the familiar blue pegasus now wrapped in my arms like a teddy bear. I removed my arms from around the small pony, leaning up to look out the window as I supported my body with one of my arms. The storm had passed, and whatever was left of the rain was now turning to ice.

“Another cold one” I muttered.

I turned to face Rainbow Dash who was still asleep and didn’t seem to notice that I wasn’t holding her in my arms anymore. She looked so peaceful, her smile warmed my heart immensely and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. A light scent suddenly caught my attention breaking the trance the young mare had out me in. I knew that smell anywhere; bacon.

I slowly got up from bed, taking care not to disturb Rainbow Dash as I covered her body with the sheets, watching as she shifted underneath to get herself more comfortable. I couldn’t help but smile as I walked away from the bed and out towards the kitchen finding Matthew in front of the stove, bacon sizzling in front of him. He turned to me as I approached the kitchen table.

“Morning Star Shine” he greeted; his voice definitely caring a clearer tone to it.

“Someone’s feeling better” I stated.

“Much. Fluttershy’s soup did wonders for whatever crap was getting to me yesterday”

“Same here” I said as I yawned.

Taking note of this Matthew chuckled. “Didn’t get much sleep last night?”

“I slept fine, no thanks to your loud ass snoring”

He chuckled flatly as he continued to poke at the bacon strips in front of him.

I looked around the room, noticing Applejack or Fluttershy hadn’t woken up yet (which was probably for the better since I hadn’t gotten around to explaining meat to Rainbow Dash or the others yet).

“So, I heard your concert last night” Matthew joked making me hide my face in my arms which in turn made Matthew laugh harder. “What was that singing for anyway?” he asked.

I looked away avoiding the question, knowing I would be made fun of again if I told him why, besides, odds are Rainbow Dash hadn’t told a lot of people about her fear. I remained in silence hoping in the back of my mind that he would somehow forget what he just asked me.

“Well?” he pressed dashing whatever hope I had of avoiding the topic.

“It’s complicated” I argued which finally seemed to make him back off. For some reason I just did not want to explain what I was feeling; not until I understood it at least.

Matthew had cooked up enough bacon for the both of us. In a way, it was sort of my alarm clock in the mornings; I guess my stomach would think before my brain in the mornings. Sitting down across from me Matthew placed two plates of carrying a pile of scrambled eggs, and three strips of bacon on each; it was the only thing Matthew could cook from scratch.

“So, you and Rainbow Dash, what’s going on there?” Matthew pressed on and he lifted a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

I dropped my fork out of irritation making it fall onto the plate making a distinct clank sound. “I thought I made it clear I wasn’t going to talk about it!”I said raising my voice probably louder than I should of.

“Hard to ignore when I found you sleeping in her bed this morning” he argued with a smirk and a raise of his eyebrows.

I was lost for words. I didn’t know whether to ignore him or deck him across the face. I ran a hand through my hair putting it to the back of my mind as I shook my head, I wasn’t about to put up with Matthews trolling, at least not this early in the morning and he knew I was irritated, I could see in his face that he wasn’t about to start something intentionally. We sat there for half an hour in silence as we ate our food, neither wanting to say a word that would set the other off. It wasn’t often the two of us would get at each other’s throat.

Taking a breath of courage Matthew finally spoke “Seriously, what do you think of her?” his voice calm, collected. It was a side of Matthew rarely seen, under his joking demeanor; he was truly like a brother to me, caring, kind, and often, protective.

I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and middle finger, running it over my mouth taking what Matthew had just asked me into consideration. In many ways Rainbow Dash had become more than just a friend to me. Even in the small amount of time that I had known her she had grown on me, and after the previous night’s incident, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Matthew straightened his throat bringing me back to reality, as well as the situation.

I sighed as I looked up at him feeling his gaze crush me where I sat. I was unable to answer, unable to even find the right words to say how I felt about Rainbow Dash.

“You like her, don’t you?” he asked.

I nodded, in a way coming to terms with it myself. Matthew leaned back in his chair finally setting his fork down onto the plate. “You going to make fun of me now?”

He shook his head. “If your fine with it. So am I.”

I was taken aback, shocked that Matthew was so accepting to the fact I actually liked a pony. “I don’t know what to say”

Matthew held up a hand in protest. “Don’t worry about it, if you two are happy together, who am I to judge right? Besides; I think she likes you a bit too if she let you sleep in her bed”

“I don’t think that was what she had in mind when I went in there last night”

“Still, she seemed pretty content when I peeked in there this morning”

I laughed out of embarrassment as I went to finish what food was left on my plate, enjoying the bacon especially since I hadn’t had it since Rainbow Dash and the others had arrived. It felt good to finally get the knot that had embedded itself in my chest out, although I wasn’t planning on telling Rainbow Dash anytime soon how I felt about her; I was happy Matthew knew.

As the days went by in the small apartment, our small group had gotten increasingly closer in our friendship. Fluttershy had really opened up around Matthew and enjoyed spending time with him, even if it meant only sitting by him as we watched TV. Applejack would often play a simple board game with whoever was able; she enjoyed talking to us, and would always break the silence in the room had a conversation fallen dead. Rainbow Dash didn’t ever really mention what had happened the night of the rainstorm. In all honesty I don’t think she ever remembered me falling asleep in the bed with her that night, she had fallen asleep before I had gotten onto bed with her and was still asleep when I had gotten up the next morning. However she seemed to grow closer to me, always looking over my shoulder as I cooked food or sitting against my leg whenever I was on the couch.

Although we had decided Applejack would stay at my house with Rainbow Dash and me, we all stayed at Matthews’s apartment for the remainder of the week, since my appointment at the hospital was scheduled for the upcoming Saturday and Matthew had offered to drive me. Rainbow Dash and the others still didn’t know about my heart condition, I hadn’t told them yet, I figured that if I had gotten a clean bill of health from my doctor I wouldn’t have to.

When the day had come for the check-up Matthew made the excuse that the two of us had a job that needed to be attended to, so they would have to stay put until we got back. After bantering back and forth for several minutes; they agreed, allowing Matthew and I to set off for the hospital on the other side of town.

The truck was silent, neither wanting us to address to the situation at hand. Matthew tapped the steering wheel with his finger, obviously trying to think of a way to lighten the mood.

“So… Christmas is coming up, you going to buy the girl’s anything special?” Matthew asked

I had completely forgotten about Christmas. I had been so wrapped up with the situation with the ponies that I had completely forgotten the holiday, my parents had even sent me gifts through the mail sense they had to be across the state for one of my Dad’s book signing’s.

“I’d like to ya, how about you?”

“Same here, although I don’t know what you but for three small ponies” he joked.

“I’ve never thought about that” I admitted.

I continued contemplating ideas even as the black truck pulled into the hospital parking lot, bringing me back to the situation. Staring up at the large red walled building, I let out a nervous sigh, a feeling of uneasiness washed over me.

Matthew placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “You ready?”

I shook my head unable to form an answer in my head.

“Nervous?”

I nodded

“Me too, I say let’s get this over with” he said as he stepped out of the truck.

Stepping out, I followed Matthew through the automatic doors up to the elevator which would take us up to the floor my doctor was on. I hated hospitals, everything about them creped me out; doctors, needles you name it, they all left a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The elevator came to a slow halt, the door opened, and the two of us stepped out immediately being met with the surrounding patients, as well as the receptionist behind the desk dressed in a floral scrub uniform.

“Do you have an appointment?” she asked as we approached.

“Yes; Matthias Thorn, five o’ clock with Doctor Dorian” I said weakly.

She pulled a blue binder from a slot in desk which read “Dr. Dorian” on the top turning to the middle and running her finger down the page until she found what she was looking for. “Here you are” she stated as she removed a sheet from one of the pockets in the binder and then placed in on the desk in front of me followed by a pen. “Please sign that at the bottom and we will be with you shortly”

I scribbled my name down with a shaky hand before I returned the paper and pen to her and went to the wooden chairs in the waiting area, Matthew sitting next to me as I waited. I don’t know how long I sat there waiting, twisting a strand in my hair as tight as I could pulling it out and then doing it again as I often did when I was nervous, until another nurse called from beside desk. “Matthias”

I followed the young red haired nurse down the hair looking at the motivational “hang-in-there” posters on either side of the hallway until she stopped at room with a closed door which I had grown to be all too familiar with. She opened the door to reveal the familiar hospital room which consisted of a single bed with an x-ray screen above the headboard, an I.V. not far away in the corner next to the large window looking out to the street below, a large set of cabinets on the opposite side of the room.

“Please have a seat, Doctor Dorian will be with you momentarily” the nurse said as she shut the door behind me.

I didn’t bother sitting down, I knew the process all too well by then. What they would do is what they always did, take me into yet another room, take x-rays, and tell me whatever the verdict was this time as they showed me the pictures. The door opened just as the young doctor stepped in.

“Hello Matthias” he greeted. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine”

“You ready to see how we did?”

“As I’ll ever be”

“Alright, follow me” he said as he opened the door again holding it open as I began to follow him.

The process was grueling, and the wait was killing me, in all honesty I just wanted them to give me the news so I could get out of there as fast as possible. They took the X-rays along with a blood test and then left me in the room just as they had before only forcing me to sit on the bed this time as I waited. I rubbed the spot where they had stuck the needle wincing at the soreness just I turned to look out the window. The snow had finally seemed to lighten up, although it was still very cold it seemed as if the worst of it had passed.

The door opened making me turn to face Doctor Dorian as he stepped inside, Matthew was following close behind. In his hands he held a single tan folder, I tried to read his face but he had done a great job at hiding any emotion throughout his career, so the feeling of un-easiness returned upon seeing him. He walked over to the X-ray screen and placed two sheets next to each other before turning on the light behind them.

“This one” he started pointing to the one on the left. “This is your heart before the operation” I took note of all the distinct tumors located on the small piece of paper. “And this” he said moving a finger over to the next sheet. “This is your heart now” There were no tumors on this picture, it looked normal. “In my opinion the surgery was a complete success, congratulations”

I let out a sigh of relief feeling a smile on my face as I turned to Matthew who was also smiling.

“We will need to check back in with you in another month or so but you won’t need to come here for the check-up, odds are there is a Doctor nearby I can refer you to and he can just send me the results.” He stated. “Do you have any questions?”

“Is there any chance of it coming back?” Matthew asked

“Only in rare cases, and it is more common when you are older. Matthias is young and has good blood. The odds are in his favor.”

I laughed slightly no longer able to hold in my happiness. Matthew shared the laugh with me as I took one more glance at the picture of the X-ray. The nightmare was finally over.

Chapter 11

By the time we had made it back to Matthews’s apartment, the sun had already gone down and the temperature began to drop as snow began to lightly fall again. I shuddered at the thought of another cold night but relished in the fact I would be back with Rainbow Dash and the others. In all honesty, this whole ordeal with the ponies was like an escape from reality. True, none of it made sense, why they were here, how they came to be here, or even how long they were going to stay, but none of that mattered. In fact my heart warmed at just the thought of seeing all of their bright smiling faces again, especially one which came from a certain mare I had grown quite fond of.

Matthew stepped out of the car and looked up at the apartment as he stopped in front of his truck leaning against the grill crossing his arms as he kicked at the snow around his feat revealing the concrete underneath. His face looked deep in thought as he starred up at the door as if trying to look through it.

“Something on your mind?” I asked as I shut the passenger door and walked over to him putting my hands in my jeans pockets to keep them warm.

He nodded not taking his eyes off the door for a second. He went to speak but fell short for words; his face looked flustered, his cheeks carrying a hue of red to them. “Matthias, I’ve been thinking…” he fell short for words again.

“You’re not coming out of the closet are you?” I teased earning a small chuckle from my friend.

“No, nothing like that”

“Then what’s on your mind?”

He took a breath of courage. “I’ve been thinking lately, about you and Rainbow Dash. I’ll be honest, at first I didn’t know what to think at first. When you think of a “Happy Couple” ponies don’t really come to mind, at least that’s what I thought. But when I got down and thought about it, the thought of you and Rainbow dash happy together, just made me a little envious.”

“What are you getting at?”

He thought for a moment. “I’m saying the idea of liking a pony doesn’t sound all that farfetched anymore”

I fumbled for words struggling what to ask him what he meant again which came out as a sort of slurred “huh?”

Matthew kicked another patch of snow he hadn’t noticed hiding his face in his unzipped coat. “I like Fluttershy okay?” he starred back at the door. “I don’t know why, but I almost find myself waiting everyday to see her face, to hear her speak. For the first time in a long time, I have a crush, and I have no idea what I should do about it”

I looked at the door with Matthew joining him on the trucks front bumper letting what he just said echo in my head. It had felt weird. To secretly like someone who wasn’t even your species, yet shared your interest. It hadn’t even been a whole month and I felt that I had grown so attached to Rainbow Dash in the short amount of time that I had known her; I felt a warm feeling in my heart whenever she was nearby, and I knew Matthew felt the same about Fluttershy. I remained silent, not knowing what to say. I knew all too well his situation, and nothing I said would help either of our cases.

“She likes you, ya know” Matthew stated

“Rainbow Dash?”

He nodded.

“How do you figure?”

“Just the way she looks at you sometimes. The way she gawks all over you and turns away whenever you look her way. It’s kind of funny actually to see her act all out of character whenever she is around you. Whenever she’s with me she goes back to being cocky and sort of self centered about herself.”

I was taken aback, feeling a sense of either being blind or stupid having not seen it myself. Seeing this, Matthew chuckled to himself lightly, his face returning to normal.

“Same old Matthias” he stated.

I ignored him as a sudden numbness came over my fingers. “We better get inside, just got over a cold.”

He nodded in agreement his face still carrying a slight smile as he followed me up the stairs removing the apartment key from his pocket as we approached the door.

A warm breath of hot air washed over me as I entered the apartment finally relieving my numb fingers as well as the rest of my body which had been almost shivering. From my angle I could see the TV on, the sound suggested some sort of nature channel; however a light snoring noise caused me to ignore the sound from the TV completely.

Matthew peaked around the corner of the wall where he leaned against. “Their asleep” he whispered.

I chuckled lightly as I removed my leather jacket and placed it on the hook next to Matthews. Rounding the corner I could see them all sleeping across the room; Fluttershy cuddled up in Matthews chair resting her head on a pillow with her body covered by the blankets which had been left there, Applejack leaned up against the couch her hat tilted down to hide her closed eyes, a pillow rested behind her back, and Rainbow Dash on the sofa covered by another blanket, her head resting on her hooves, with a light snore coming from her open mouth.

Walking over to the couch I knelt down and moved a strand of hair that had fallen over Rainbow Dash’s eye putting it behind her ear which earned me a pleasant sigh from the small mare as she closed her mouth, silencing the snore completely.

“They must have been waiting on us to get back” Matthew whispered as he turned off the TV.

“I guess”

A sudden movement from Applejack nearby made my attention shift to her. She gazed up at me with her emerald eyes still halfway closed with an equally tired look on her face.

“Hey, you’re back” she stated in a barely audible tone.

“And your awake, you guys didn’t wait for us too long did you?”

“Naw, Fluttershy turned on that nature channel for some noise. Bored me and Dash to tears so I shut my eyes for a second”

I chuckled looking at the clock hanging on the wall. It wasn’t exactly late by my standards; a mere 8:47 was still very early in the night for me and Matthew but it was around the time the ponies had decided to go to bed during the night.

“Go get some sleep AJ, we will talk more tomorrow” I stated.

“M’kay” she said as she got up and slowly made her way down the hallway before disappearing into the guest room she had

been sharing with Fluttershy.

Matthew walked over to the still sleeping Fluttershy kneeling down onto one knee placing a hand on the armrest closest to her head.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t think I have the heart to wake her up” he stated as he stroked her pink mane down to her back.

By now I had sat down on the couch by Rainbow Dash’s feat taking care not to sit on her tail which was stretched out along the bottom of the back cushion. I looked to her unable to bring myself to wake her either.

“Let them sleep. I don’t wanna wake them up either” I said.

Slowly Matthew got up and walked into the kitchen disappearing out of sight behind the wall. I heard the refrigerator door open only to close soon after followed by the distinct sound of glass tapping together. Coming back into the living room Matthew walked over and handed me a single bottle of beer before sitting down against the couch nearby with his own bottle in his hands.

“You know I don’t drink” I reminded him.

“I know, but I figure this would be a good way to celebrate a clean bill of health don’t you?”

I chuckled lightly as I twisted the small blue cap off the top. Matthew had already done so and had begun swigging out of the glass bottle tilting his head back slightly and lifting the bottom of the bottle up. I followed by example and lifted the small opening to my mouth immediately being met with the awful bitter taste of the liquid inside. Having not been much of a drinker I was not used to the taste of alcohol

“That is, disgusting” I stated in intervals as I smacked my lips together to get rid of the taste.

Matthew chucked as he took another drink from the bottle. The two of us sat there for a moment enjoying the silence of the room.

“You know I thought we were going to toast” Matthew stated

“What do we drink to?” I asked “My heart?”

“And the bastard who gave it to you” he added lifting his bottle which I met halfway causing the glass to ‘clink’ together. Much to my better judgment I raised the bottle again to my lips this time finding an odd satisfaction in the liquid. Matthew had a sudden look of sadness to his face.

“He was a good man you know” I said placing a re-assuring hand on his shoulder.

“Ya, I know.

I awoke the next day before everybody else. Although Matthew had moved to his room sometime during the night I decided to stay out in the living room for a tad longer, I enjoyed the atmosphere the room just seemed to give off, the only noise in the room that I could hear was that of the sleeping pony nearby which acted as a sort of lullaby which had caused me to fall asleep where I sat.

I felt a weight on my upper leg as I went to get up. Looking down I saw Rainbow Dash’s head turned on its side using my leg as a pillow, the blanket she had been using covered the remainder of her body; she must have moved during the night. I couldn’t help but smile at the familiar scene; it was a welcoming thing to wake up to.

As carefully as I could I got up without moving her head too much and went for the kitchen having not eaten anything the previous night my stomach ached for nourishment. I opened the door to the fridge expecting to see something edible on one of its shelves yet only finding a few bottles of beer and a bowl of something that apparently been chili at one time.

“Damn it Main” I stated as I stood there with the fridge door open. My stomach let out a large groan. “I know I know quit your bitching” I said hoping to calm the hunger but to no avail. Looks like the two of us were going shopping later. I ran a hand through my hair as I stood there with the door open finding my hair to be greasier than normal. I looked down at what I was wearing realizing quickly I had been wearing the same jeans for about three days now, not to mention the same shirt from yesterday, and this was my last clean one. “Better go to the apartment later, get some fresh clothes”

I heard a noise behind me; the opening of a door down the hallway. I looked to the clock; 12:45, suspecting Matthew to be up I reached into the fridge and pulled out the expired chili and placed in on the counter just as his tired figure rounded into the kitchen.

“Morning” he greeted his eyes still partway closed. “What’s for breakfast?”

“That, until you go shopping later” I said pointing to the black liquid swearing I just saw movement within the fluids inside.

“So I take it we’re out of food?” he said in a sarcastic tone causing me to shoot him a look of annoyance. “We’ll take care of it later” he reassured

“You mean you will” I corrected

“What, why me?”

“I have to go back to the apartment and get some stuff; I’m getting tired of washing the same five shirts.”

“But Mom…” he complained

“I’m going to need a ride to my apartment by the way, you can drop me off while you’re going out and getting food and whatever other shit you need in this house”

“FINE” he complained again. “But you’re taking the girls with you”

“What!? Why?”

“Because, you have somewhat unspoiled food at your place where-as here I’m empty. Odds are their going to be hungry when they get up and I won’t be back for a while.”

“Fine” I complained matching his tone from before earning a stern look from Matthew as he walked past me into the living room.

“I guess they’re still asleep?”

“Ya, woke up with Rainbow Dash asleep on my leg” I stated.

“AW….” He mocked drawing it out as long as possible with a sappy grin which matched his tone.

“Main. Die in a fire”

“I think she likes you” he said clearly still mocking me.

I felt a slight flush in my cheeks as I turned away to avoid Matthew’s gaze.

“I think you like her too” he added.

“Am I that obvious?” I thought as I began to walk away.

Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter, I have great ideas for the next few but am a little stuck on a few things. If you are interested in helping please let me know, I'm always in need of a good editor.

Chapter 12

Felling kind of iffy on this chapter. Feedback would be appreciated if you have the time.

The door creaked open causing me to look up from the dirty shirt I had just folded and set inside the small grey gym bag which now carried the bulk of my dirty laundry. A small Rainbow manned mare stepped inside the doorway watching my actions intently, her hair was disheveled and her eyes still very droopy; she must had just woken up.

“Hey Dash” I greeted as I began to fold the next shirt.

“Hey” she greeted as she walked over to the bed and hopped up in front of my suitcase just as I placed the last shirt inside and zipped it up. “What are you doing?”

“Packing, we’re going back to my apartment for a bit while Main goes and gets food so we don’t starve.”

“You sure he won’t eat it all before we get back?” she joked.

“Let’s hope not” I joked back.

We shared a long hearty laugh for a moment before I soon caught myself staring into the ruby red eyes of the Pegasus who starred back into mine. I felt my face flush red as I turned my head down to look out the window; she turned hers in the opposite direction.

“So about the other night-“she started refusing to look at me. “I forgot to say thanks, you know for staying with me until I fell asleep, and singing to me. It meant a lot.”

“Not a problem, I was happy I could help”

“You probably do all that for all the pretty girls though, huh?” she said jabbing me with a playful punch.

“No, I have to say you’re the first” I said still avoiding her gaze. I felt my heart sink at the mention of ‘other girls’ slightly.

“C’mon, you’re kidding right? With a voice like yours you have got to have all the ladies lining up right?”

I shook my head letting out a breath hoping it would pass off as a chuckle.

“You mean to tell me you don’t have a ‘special somepony’ in your life?”

“I did once, till I caught her in bed with a person I thought to be my best friend”

Realizing she hit a soft spot she turned away immediately saying “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry”

“It’s ok. What about you, are all the colts all over you where you come from?”

She laughed at this. “No, not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“None of the stallions would ever approach me because somepony had spread a rumor that I was a filly-fooler”

“Rainbow Dash a lesbian?” I thought to myself. True she was more tomboyish when compared to Fluttershy but I never took

her a lesbian, I actually had come to find the trait to be one of the things I liked about her. It made her stand out from the others.

“Well are you one? I les… filly-fooler I mean.”

“Of course not!”

“Then through my eyes, you’re not” I stated sitting down on the bed

She smiled looking down out of embarrassment; I could see the redness in her cheeks which stood out even against her blue fur. I smiled as I turned to meet her gaze. I leaned against the wall just as a calm silence fell over the two of us.

“Matthias?”

“Yeah?”

She maneuvered around my bag, stopping and sitting down at my legs.

“Can I try something?” her face began to grow a little redder as she scooted a tad closer.

I nodded, knowing what she was getting at but unsure how she was going to do it.

She got up and came closer, walking up. Slowly she made her way up to my chest her face growing closer with each moment. I felt her forelegs against my chest as she began to lean in towards me. Her face now inches away from mine I could feel her breath against my face, she stopped for a moment. I closed my eyes in anticipation of what was coming.

“A ‘hem” a voice came from just outside the door making Rainbow Dash push off my chest and fly to the ground.

Looking towards the door I saw Applejack leaning against the frame, her eyebrow raised and a little smirk was across her face.

“Oh hey AJ, didn’t hear you wake up” Rainbow Dash said with an embarrassed laugh.

She didn’t say anything only looked at the two of us with the same smug look.

Rainbow Dash looked to me then back to Applejack. “How long were you standing there?”

“Long enough” she replied. “Matthew sent me in here to see if you were ready to go, he’s waiting out in the kitchen for the two of ya”

“I’ll be out in a bit” I said, my voice probably a little more flustered than I would have liked.

“Mmhm” Applejack stated as she turned to leave the room.

“Please don’t tell Matthew” Rainbow Dash begged.

She tipped her hat as she disappeared from view leaving the two of us alone in the room again. I turned to Rainbow Dash who still had a hint of redness on her face.

“I think we’re busted” I remarked earning a subtle laugh from the blue mare. I let the room fall silent again. “Hey Dash”

She turned to me as I got up off the bed and got down to get at eye level with her. I gave her a reassuring smile being at a loss for words. She returned the smile which gave me a shot of courage for my next move. Leaning down I wrapped my arms around the small Pegasus bringing her into a tight embrace. I couldn’t put my feelings into words, so rather than try, I hoped this would suffice.

She was shocked at first; I could feel her body tense up for a moment. I considered letting go for a moment before I felt her suddenly shift her position and wrap her forelegs around my chest and returning the embrace. I stayed there for a while just holding her in my arms, her head buried in my chest.

“Hey Matthias, you coming or what!?” I heard Matthew call from the living room breaking me away from the moment. I lightened my embrace which made Dash look up at me in wonder.

“Ya, just finished packing” I called back. I looked down at Rainbow Dash who was still cradled in my arms, her arms still wrapped around me. “We better get going” I stated.

She nodded letting go of my chest and dropping to the floor, her gaze never left mine, her face still carrying the smile from before as she followed me out of the door where Matthew waited spinning his keys on his fingers by its ring.

“God your slow” he stated opening his palm as they small key spiraled again and stopped inside his hand turning to walk towards the door.

It was an awkward situation to get all the ponies out to the car at once. Since none of them would fit snugly in the bag they all refused to get into it so instead Matthew and I carried two of them on our backs under our coats. Rainbow Dash clung onto me, her rainbow colored tail hanging out the back as if it were my own, and her forelegs wrapped around my neck. Matthew would have laughed but he found himself in the same situation with Fluttershy. As for Applejack, she ran alongside us as we dashed to the car hopping into the back as I opened up the door for her. I felt something rub against the back of my ear as I felt Rainbow Dash shift her body to poke her head out of the back of the collar.

“You know I have yet to return your favor” she mocked. The feeling of her voice that close sent shivers down my spine. I felt myself blush uncontrollably as Rainbow Dash let go of my neck and fell to the ground immediately hopping into the back of the truck joining Applejack and Fluttershy who came in from the other side. She gave me a brief smile as I closed the door trying to hide the blush forgetting about the windows.

I welcomed the sight of my apartment complex, the familiar window; my car parked out front which had a considerable amount of snow on it when compared to the cars surrounding it. Pulling into an open spot next to my car Matthew put the truck in park and prepared again for Fluttershy to hop onto his back.

The apartment room was still very cold, while not near as cold as it was when I had left it, it still made me keep my coat on while I turned the heat up. Rainbow Dash grabbed the blanket off of the back of the couch and shared it with Fluttershy while Applejack just kind of dealt with it.

I set the bag down in my room and began to unpack its contents setting them down in a pile on my bed and getting an entirely new set of clothes for when I would return later that night. Music played softly from the nearby speakers where my iPod sat. I began to mouth the words as I set the bag down off of my bed and crawled in placing my head face down into the pillow welcoming the familiar feeling against my face. I could feel myself relax onto the mattress finding that I had been a little more tired from returning home, needless to say; it didn’t take long for me to relax enough for sleep to claim my thoughts.

A slow creaking noise awoke me from the light sleeping state I was in, causing me to groan involuntarily as I turned to see a small blue Pegasus enter through the opening in the doorway; Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, didn’t mean to wake you” she whispered as if I was still asleep.

I pushed myself up off my stomach and sat against the wall the bed was against. “Is everything ok?”

“Ya, just hadn’t heard from you in a while” she said approaching the bed.

I scooted over to the side giving her enough space to jump up which she did almost immediately. I had a sudden sense of “Déjà-vu” wash over me almost instantly recalling Rainbow Dash whispering something into my ear along the lines of “You know I have yet to return your favor” rubbed the back of my neck as I felt her get situated beside me sitting right by my legs.

“I guess I was a little more tired than I thought” I joked. “Where are the others?”

“After Fluttershy made lunch she went into the guest room to get some shut-eye, Applejack is out watching TV on the couch.”

The two of us fell silent. I could hear my iPod still playing on the speakers, the song not helping the situation whatsoever. I looked to Rainbow Dash starred back at me, her face carrying the small smile I had come to fall in love with. I felt my face flush red, and I fought the urge to hide it from her, her face carrying the same redness. She got up and approached me with a sort of look of determination, as if nothing was going to stop her from what she was about to do, only to stop inches away from my face; the same situation the two of us were in before Applejack stepped in.

She held her head still in front of mine. “Matthias are you ok with this?” she whispered. I could feel her breath against my face, my heart began to race and I wondered if she could feel it against the hooves she had placed on my chest.

I leaned forward until my forehead was against hers, looking into her eyes. I didn’t respond, only leaned in closer closing my eyes as I felt our lips touch. She jumped only for a moment before I found her returning the kiss. I placed a hand at the back of her head the other around her back careful not to touch her wings. I felt her hooves wrap around me and squeeze lightly.

I was lost in the moment, not wanting it to end. I felt my lungs cry out for a breath of air but I couldn’t help but fight the urge to breathe so I could be in this moment just a bit longer. She broke away first taking in a breath of fresh air which allowed me to take a breath of my own. We looked at each other for a moment, before a sudden laughter washed over the two of us as we sat there holding each other unable to figure out exactly what was so funny. With her eyes still flustered, her cheeks still blushing she leaned in close again, a smile decorated her face.

I closed my eyes anticipating the contact but a sudden noise that emitted from my pocket caused the two of us to stop where we were, her face hovering in front of mine. I groaned pulling the cell phone from my pocket and looking at the screen immediately recognizing Matthews’s number. He couldn’t have finished shopping that fast, could he?

I put the small device to my ear. “You done sho”-

“Turn on the news right now” He stated cutting me off, his voice hurried, and his breathing heavy

This couldn’t be good…

Chapter 13

“That’s right John, another mysterious blackout has occurred, this time on the property of the Koch family who has since left the premises to escape this winter weather. As you may have guessed this home has its own generator which makes this particular blackout a mystery within itself.”

“Thanks Jackie, now onto other”-

I sat down on the couch next to Applejack, the cell phone still in my hand, Matthew on the other line.

“Another blackout” I stated.

“Another mysterious blackout” he corrected. “Are we going to go check it out?”

“Ya, but we need to wait until it gets dark. Meet me up there at like 7:30.”

“Roger that” he said hanging up.

Placing the phone back in my pocket I turned to see the questioning emerald eyes of Applejack focused on me awaiting an explanation.

“What in tar-nation has got you two so jumpy” she asked

“These blackouts have a sort of connection” I explained. “It’s how we found you. One happens every now and again but with cases like this, it can only mean one thing” I paused hoping she would get what I was getting at.

“One of us got transported here” Rainbow Dash chimed in from behind.

“Exactly” I said.

“So the two of you are going to this house tonight t’ see if somepony just teleported there?” Applejack asked, her face still carrying a hint of confusion.

I nodded.

She fell silent slumping back into the couch and looking back at the TV. I could tell she was as confused as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were when we explained the situation to them.

I sat there for another moment or two before getting up and walking back over to my room, I figured I might as well get another nap in before I had to go anywhere seeing it was probably going to be a long night.

It was a silent drive to the Koch estate. Much to my protest I found the three ponies riding along with me, apparently, Applejack “didn’t want us hooligans causing damage to things that weren’t ours” which made the situation more complicated, especially if whatever or whoever was hiding inside the house. I looked to Rainbow Dash who was sitting in the passenger seat gazing out the window at the cool night. I smiled at the cyan mare who turned to me and returned the smile.

“Y’all aren’t that subtle I hope you know” Applejack said leaning up in-between the seats causing me to snap my attention back on the road, a burning feeling came over my cheeks as the car fell silent again. Applejack began to chuckle lightly as she leaned back in the seat.

“Um, Applejack, what are you talking about?” I heard Fluttershy faintly ask.

“ShutupShutupShutuShutup” I thought hoping she wouldn’t go on with it.

“Well ya see”-

“Fuck”

“These two lovebirds have decided to take their friendship to the next level…” she paused; I could feel her giving me a smirk.

“Dear God, did she borrow Matthews trolling ability?”

“Is Matthias Rainbows special somepony?” Fluttershy asked

“And if he is?” Rainbow cut in leaning back and to give the two mares a death glare making the two silence almost immediately.

“Gosh Rainbow, didn’t mean to rustle your feathers. Just teasin is all” Applejack stated, her voice carrying an apologetic tone to it.

Rainbow sighed and turned back to face the window.

“Somethin’ wrong sugarcube?” Applejack asked Rainbow.

Rainbow sighed again “I don’t know AJ.” Rainbow said in a frustrated tone. “It’s just that I don’t know why I like Matthias and that really bugs me!”

“Who said you have to have a reason?” Applejack responded strongly, I wanted to say something to comfort Rainbow down but I knew that anything I could’ve said would’ve only made the situation worse.

“That’s not the only thing!” Rainbow snapped back, refusing comfort from her friend. “Is it even right for me to like somepony, I mean someone from another world. What if Celestia doesn’t approve!”

“Rainbow!” Applejack spoke sternly. “Listen, nopony is going to judge you because you like somepo – er – someone from another world. Who you like is completely up to you and sometimes you just gotta go with ya gut feeling.”

Rainbow seemed to calm down and think about what AJ had said. Slowly she turned around to face her friend and gave a small smile. “Thanks AJ.” She said softly. “I needed that.”

“Anytime sugarcube” AJ responded.

I looked over at Rainbow and smiled reassuringly. She smiled back and leant over and nuzzled my arm. Fluttershy was awfully quite and seemed to be deep in thought. I wondered whether she liked Matthew in the same way Rainbow did to me.

The rest of the short car ride was spent in silence. I could tell each of them were too deep in thought to say what was on their mind. In the distance I could see Matthews truck parked outside a closed gate, the lights turned off. I pulled up beside the black truck rolling down the passenger window as I came side to side with the other vehicle.

“Looks like we’re walking” Matthew stated, his eyes glued on the metal gate before us.

I looked at the metal gate. Multiple steel bars lined up with a small gap in-between each too small to squeeze through, not to mention a pointed top shaped like a fleur de lis. If we were going to get on the property, it sure wasn’t going to be through the gate or over it for that matter. Turning off the car I got out and walked up to the gate grabbing one of the bars and shaking it creating plenty of noise but left the gate un-opened.

“Fuck” I muttered under my breath giving the gate a final push before returning to the car throwing my arms up in the air.

Rainbow exited the white Acura out the passenger door, looking at the gate before leaping out and flying over the gate levitating at my head height. I returned to the gate watching as she searched for whatever kept the gate shut.

“To bad we don’t have one of those “sonic screwdrivers” eh Matthias” Matthew joked joining me at the gate. “You’re going to need a key Dash” he instructed.

The cyan mare vanished from sight flying towards the house with incredible speed leaving Matthew as well as the rest of us to wait out in the cold.

My feet began to lose feeling from standing in the same place for so long, my fingers way beyond that point were now buried in my pocket but that did little to shield them from the relentless wind. Matthew nudged my arm with his elbow making me turn my focus to the back seat of the car where Fluttershy and Applejack were huddled under a blanket, both shaking even with the heater still on, whatever Rainbow had in mind, she needed to hurry; this cold only seemed to be getting worse with each passing moment.

“You think she’s ok?” I asked

“Let’s hope so, if not there’s no way to get to her to make sure”

“You could always burst through the gat with your truck”

“And risk setting off their high end security system? Fuck that”

As if on cue the metal gate roared to life parting down the middle to create a gap, soon after Rainbow returned, a red wool scarf wrapped around her neck. I let out sigh I must had been holding in for minutes upon seeing her giving her a wary smile which she returned before beckoning us towards the house with her head. Leaving the two cars parked outside the gate we all followed Rainbow Dash towards the house, its lights could be seen in the distance.

“Hey Dash, where’d you get the scarf?” Applejack asked

Dash didn’t answer right away only looked back with a smile, a look of excitement painted across her face. “You’ll see”

Chapter 14

The sight of the lit up house was a sight for sore eyes to say the least. The thought of a nice warm fire or at least a heated room made me all the more ready to be inside out of the blistering cold. Behind me I could hear Matthew complaining about the cold while Fluttershy tried to convince him that it wasn’t so bad, Applejack indifferent to the situation just trudged on keeping her thoughts to herself. Trotting by my side Rainbow matched my speed every so often brushing up against my freezing leg with one her wings glancing up at me every so often as if to make sure I was still holding up alright, the red scarf around her neck dragged in the snow as she walked, clearly too big for her.

As we approached the house, I noticed just how big it was, three floors just that I could see, some with lights on in the windows, others completely dark.

“I thought they said this place didn’t have power” Matthew stated.

“They did” Rainbow stated. “But that was before my friend wound up inside”

“And who is this friend of yours?” Matthew asked.

“Rainbow!” A voice called out from the doorway.

Looking up I could see a small pony like figure standing just inside the doorway, a blanket wrapped around her pure white coat as well as the elegant purple mane she had atop her head which had a white horn atop her fore head; a unicorn. Normally this would have scared me, but having lived with the ponies for nearly a month now it almost seemed like a normal thing given the circumstance. Moving in front of us Rainbow stood in-between us and this mysterious white unicorn before us.

“Matthias, Matthew, this is my friend Rarity. Rarity, these are the humans I told you about” Rainbow stated giving me a shy smile.

A sharp wing brought me back to the situation reminding me almost immediately that we were all standing out in below freezing weather.

“Let’s worry about introductions later, for now let’s get you all inside out of this dreadful weather” Rarity stated retreating back inside and holding the door open as we followed a faint dark purple glow around the door knob which matched the white unicorns horn.

“How are you doing that?” Matthew asked as he stepped inside allowing the room for the door to close.

“Magic, all unicorns can use it darling” she said walking past us into another room. “Now please come in and sit down while I fetch you all some nice hot tea, you look positively freezing.”

I looked around the house, still unwary of the possibility of us being caught, however the warmth of the house began to ease any if not all doubt as I began to feel my fingers again. I removed my tennis shoes which carried tons of residual snow on the edges and went into the other room taking note of the faint smell of mint as I entered; a kitchen, a very big kitchen consisting of several counters as well as a large island in the middle with multiple chairs surrounding it. Sitting down in one of the chairs I watched Rarity as she stood in front of a microwave sticking a cup inside while taking a steaming one out.

“Nice place” Matthew stated as he sat down at one of the places at the table. “Going to have to steal something later”

I couldn’t help but chuckle while I noticed Rainbow rolling her eyes at the statement.

“We just broke into a house that the two of us together would never be able to afford. The last thing we need is this family pissed off at us because you stole some family heirloom” I stated earning a frustrated sigh from Matthew as Rarity set the last of the tea cups she had been carrying with her magic in front of him.

“Thanks” Matthew stated taking a sip of the tea relaxing back into the chair as he began scanning the kitchen.

Finally able to relax I mimicked Main, sitting further back into the chair no longer caring if we were caught or not. In truth I was just relived to have yet another one of the ponies found, and a unicorn no less. I found it amazing that she could use magic, something humans could only mimic, some better than others. I’d have to ask her some questions later if I found the time, but for now I was content just sitting there enjoying the mint flavored tea, surrounded by enjoyable company. Even though this wasn’t my home, it sure felt like it.

A sudden chime of a nearby clock brought me back to reality making me examine my surroundings before quickly remembering where I was. While Matthew and the others were nowhere to be seen I could see Rarity in front of the sink washing the same cups she had put tea in earlier, using one of the chairs as a sort of stand to allow her to reach the sink properly. Her horn glowing with life as cups levitated in front of her a faint hum coming from her closed lips. She must have thought I was still asleep seeing as she seemed to be a little extra quieter setting the cups down on the counter after she dried them.

Rarity was a sight to behold to say the least. Even though I had seen her before this was the first time I could truly appreciate her colors as well as her figure which was more lady like than Rainbow’s. I took notice of the three diamonds on either side of her flank having been told about the others “Cutie Marks” awhile back, it made me curious as what her special talent might be. Glancing back at me she gave me a faint smile before returning to the task at hand finishing the last of the cups and placing on the counter.

“Did I wake you Matthias?” she asked as she hopped off the chair and returned it to its place at the counter.

“No, the clock did” I joked “Where are the others?”

“Asleep upstairs I’d imagine, they went up there quite awhile ago” she explained.

I looked at the clock on the stove which read 2:02 confirming my suspicions of just how late it was. Much to my dismay, it looked like we were all stuck here for the night seeing as the weather outside looked to be too harsh to even attempt to go out in.

“You don’t have to worry about being caught by the way” Rarity stated as she walked towards the staircase a light turning on as she approached taking me by surprise. “For now I choose what’s powered in this house”

“Damn. What else can you do?”

She chuckled lightly as she stepped up the first step of the staircase beckoning for me to follow with her head. Slowly I got up from the chair, my legs feeling slightly weaker; my head aching a little as it often did when I was tired.

“While I am no Twilight Sparkle, I do what I can” she stated turning on another light as we reached the top of the staircase leading me down a long hallway, closed doors on either side down the length. “Your room is the last on the left” she stated before entering through one of nearby closed doors.

“Actually Rarity, I was hoping I could ask you some questions” I managed to say before the door closed.

She was taken aback, I couldn’t tell if she was annoyed with the fact I stopped her, however the surprise was apparent. Opening the door Rarity invited me into the room with a smile walking towards the large bed on the back wall before jumping up onto the tan sheets which were pulled back to accommodate anybody who might be sleeping there. Walking to the end of the bed I sat on the edge leaning against the back as I stretched a leg towards the top of the bed, the other draping of the side. The room itself was huge to say the least; the surrounding decorations suggested that it was just a guest room however with that being said it was nothing like any guest room that I had ever seen.

“You said you had something to ask me?” she said bring me back to the situation yet again.

Clearing my throat I met her gaze taking a long breath. “Seeing as you are the magically inclined, I figure you’d be the best to ask; do you have any idea how you got here, to earth I mean?”

She sighed deeply looking up at the ceiling obviously deep in thought. “Honestly, I have no idea. The last thing I remember is being busy at work during a snow storm and suddenly ‘Poof’ I was here.”

“Damn, not the answer I was looking for” I thought now aggravated.

“I apologize that I don’t have any more information to give you. Have you asked anypony else?”

I shook my head. “I figured if Rainbow or Fluttershy knew anything they might have told us by now, and seeing as I only recently found Applejack, I didn’t think she’d know either.”

She nodded in agreement.

I sat there for a moment setting the back of my head against the wooed post I was leaning against just letting it sink in.

“One step forward, two steps back” I mused running a hand through my hair. I guess I’d have to wait even longer until this “Twilight Sparkle” would be transported here seeing as she was more keen on magic than Rarity was. I looked back at Rarity who was watching me intently; her blue eyes stared back at me showing signs of concern.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll figure this out.” I stated hoping to ease her mind as well as my own.

“I trust you will” she stated giving me a faint smile. “Now is there anything else you might like to ask me?”

I shook my head as I got up from the bed and walking towards the door.

“Then I shall see you tomorrow” she called as I exited out the door closing it softly behind me.

Looking down the dark hallway I walked quietly down the hallway listening as I stepped past the closed doors listening in to hear each sleeping soundly on the other side; some making more sound than others. Reaching the door on the end I slowly turned to brass doorknob stepping inside the dark room closing it behind me.

A faint sound emitted from where I thought the bed was, a steady breathing.

“That’s funny, I thought Rarity said this was my room” I thought

Walking up slowly to the bed I strained my eyes to see who was occupying my place on the mattress. Faintly I could see the small head of a pony on one of the two pillows, half of her face covered by the covers. Leaning down I squinted my eyes further to try to make out who it was. A soft groan emitted from the small pony.

“Oh, ya it was Rainbow Dash” I laughed silently as I ran a hand over her mane removing a strand from her face, a faint smile decorating her face. I couldn’t help but smile myself, as I continued to stroke her mane. I yawned as I sat down on the edge of the bed, for some reason I couldn’t pull myself away, but then again I didn’t bother trying. Laying down right next to her I continued to rub her silky smooth mane. Suddenly she moved closer settling against my chest and wrapping a hoof over me as well as a wing, this was new for her, however not unwelcomed. While unimaginably soft, they also felt strong, but perhaps that was just Rainbow Dash. Closing my eyes I relaxed my head on the pillow, finding sleep not to be a problem, especially when looking at the sleeping mare before me.

A Change In Perspectives- Coming To Terms

Sun shined through the dark curtains and into the big guest room, shining into the eyes of the sleeping twenty year old waking him from his deep slumber. Matthew groaned as he turned away from the window covering his face with the blanket attempting to block the light from getting to his eyes.

To him it felt early, way earlier than he was used to. He glanced up at the clock on the nearby wall confirming his suspicions; 6:45. In any normal circumstance he would be up by at least one in the afternoon, but after a night of sleeping in an unfamiliar house as well as a sleepless night before hand, he found it hard to even remotely get a decent night’s sleep.

“You've got to be fucking kidding me” Matthew groaned rubbing his eyes with the tips of his fingers. That was time he was sleeping in a house he just broke into. He shifted again looking out the window at the sun that tried to shine through the gray clouds. “Go down!” he complained hoping the sun might hear him and set, but to no avail.

He shifted again, this time looking towards the closed bedroom door, the room completely silent apart from his faint breathing. Pulling back the covers he maneuvered to the edge of the bed, placing his feet onto the cold hardwood floor and almost immediately retracting them upon feeling the noticeable change in temperature, it would seem Rarity’s spell didn’t work very well when she was asleep.

“What I wouldn’t do to go home” Matthew mused to himself placing his feet into his familiar black shoes before getting up again, getting out completely from under the covers and feeling the cold on his bare arms where his T-shirt didn’t cover. “Fuck its cold” he muttered reaching for his sweatshirt at the edge of the bed immediately placing it over his head before putting on the heavy winter jacket over that almost instantly welcoming the warmth they provided.

Checking to see if he hadn’t forgotten anything, Matthew pressed on towards the door rubbing his bare hands together to attempt to warm those up as well.

“Better go get the others up” Matthew said to himself. No sense in staying in a cold ass house when they could be back at his apartment where it was at least warm, not to mention there was food that had titles he could pronounce. “Just what the hell was Cope’ Luac supposed to be anyway, some fancy ass coffee?”

Opening the door Matthew stepped out into the hallway. Since his room was close to the stairs, he might as well work his way to the back, starting with Rarity and eventually getting to Matthias’s room, if he had even made it upstairs from the night before.

Slowly he approached the sleeping unicorn’s room creaking open the door and silently creeping inside to see the white mare sleeping elegantly underneath the covers, her face half hidden by the satin red comforter that was on the bed.

“Rarity” Matthew whispered creeping closer to the bed.

She stirred slightly before opening one of her blue eyes to gaze up at Matthew; she was startled at first not recognizing him but calmed down upon remembering her situation. Thankfully the jump he gave her seemed to have woken her up leaving her wide awake.

“Sorry darling, you startled me” she said calming down and sitting up to but her back against one of the big white fluffy pillows. “Is everything alright?”

“Ya everything is fine” Matthew comforted. “I just think we had better get going before we freeze to death in this freezer of a house”

Giving a slight nod Rarity pulled back the covers before walking over to the nearby closet disappearing behind the frame before reemerging with a purple scarf wrapped around her neck.

“I don’t think they’ll miss this scarf” She stated. “Now shall we wake the others?”

Matthew stopped for a moment looking at the white unicorn. They had only met her the night before and almost instantly she had treated them as if humans were a normal thing for her, the same went for Applejack.

“Actually Rarity, can I ask you something?”

“Is this about how we got here?” she asked giving Matthew a look of annoyance. “Because I will tell you exactly what I told Matthias last night-“

“No, nothing like that” Matthew stated cutting her off. Had Matthias talked to her last night too? “Actually, it’s about me and Mathias, you and Applejack seemed to just welcome us in as if you had known us all your life. Why is that?”

Rarity placed a hoof to her chin glancing up slightly out of confusion. “I hadn’t really considered it. When I first arrived here I wanted nothing to do with the humans living here so I simply hid until they left. But then you came with the others, and well…I don’t know, I just felt different, women’s intuition perhaps?”

“Maybe…” Matthew trailed off.

Rarity shivered slightly and began walking towards the door to her room. “Shall we worry about this another time, it is positively freezing in this room.” She said. “I will wake up Applejack and Fluttershy if you will do the same for Matthias and Rainbow, agreed?”

Matthew nodded slightly exiting the room as Rarity pressed on and entered into another room, a faint snoring coming from the inside, obviously Applejack.

Stopping at the closed door to Rainbows room Matthew creaked open the door and peered inside expecting to see a familiar Pegasus shaped lump underneath the covers. However, in place was a nice neat bed that seemed to have been touched at all.

“Surely this isn’t Rainbow Dash’s room” Matthew stated closing the door and walking across the hallway to room Matthias was staying in for the night, a faint snoring sound coming from within.

Opening the door, he crept inside immediately turning to see Matthias underneath the covers, his back turned to him. However, something was on his shoulder. It was small, and thanks to the darkness of the room Matthew was unable to see what it was clearly, but thank to Dash’s empty room, he had a pretty good idea. Walking closer he could see the small blue Pegasus wrapped in the arms of his friend, a single wing wrapped over his shoulder, and her head pressed up against his chest.

Matthew felt a sense of sadness. It was easy for Matthias; at least the one he liked was outgoing and eventually warmed up to idea of liking a human. With him, he was still unsure whether or not Fluttershy even acknowledged him as anything more than a friend, if even that. It felt weird to like a pony, I mean it was basically a small horse for Christ’s sake; it went against everything he was taught as a kid. But, the more he looked at it, the more he thought of Matthias and Rainbow together, he wondered if Fluttershy and him could even have something close to what they had.

“Damn you and your luck Matthias” Matthew stated shaking his head. He was jealous, although he hated to admit it he actually was jealous of his best friend.

Matthias shifted slightly turning a lazy eye to look up at Matthew who had moved to the end of the bed.

“Moring sleeping beauty” Matthew stated.

“Jesus Main, how long have you been standing there?” Matthias asked in a weak raspy voice.

“All night, I enjoy watching you sleep” Matthew joked.

Rolling his eyes Matthias released Rainbow from his grasp earning a complaining groan from the sleeping mare who reached out to try and get back into his grasp, still half asleep. Seeing this Matthias picked up his coat which rested on the nearby nightstand and placed it over Rainbow Dash before maneuvering himself to place her on his back. Content with her current position Rainbow wrapped her hooves around Matthias and placed her head on the back of his neck falling back asleep almost immediately, making Matthias chuckle slightly.

“I think she likes you” Matthew stated.

Matthias rolled his eyes again with a slight smirk before going to put his shoes on. “I’m guessing we’re leaving?” he

asked.

“Yeah, our cars are parked out front and the last thing we need is the cops coming to search this place.”

“Good point” Matthias stated walking out of the room still carrying Rainbow on his back, her tail dangling out of the bottom to make it look like Matthias had a rainbow colored tail himself.

“How do you do it?” Matthew asked following Matthias out the door and into the hallway.

“Do what?” Matthias asked stopping before they came into view of the stairs.

“You and Rainbow, I mean look at you two. One of you is human the other is a pony, and yet you treat each other as if the two of you are the same species or something. How do you do it?”

Matthias gave a slight smile turning his head as if to look at Rainbow to make sure she was still asleep. “You want to know my secret?”

Matthew nodded.

“Patience” Matthias stated. “I’ll be honest I had no idea Rainbow liked me the way she did until she showed me herself. Do you think I immediately got over liking a pony? No, it took time, and in all honesty I still find it hard to believe that I like her the way I do. So if you like Fluttershy like I think you do, then think about this; is she really so different than a normal human girl?”

“Well she is still a pony”

“Thank you captain obvious” Matthias stated as he began walking down the stairs leaving Matthew all alone at the top to contemplate what he had just said.

“He’s right you know” a voice came from the hallway.

Matthew turned immediately to see a familiar orange pony leaning against the wall, a cowboy hat atop her head, and a grin on her face; Applejack.

“How long were you listening?” Matthew asked.

“Long enough” she stated walking up and standing beside Matthew. “So ya’ll have a crush on Fluttershy, I don’t see why you should be frettin’ about it. I mean look at Matthias, he seems just fine with the whole thing”

“And what about you, what do you think about Matthias and Rainbow?”

“I reckon if the two of them are happy, then who am I t’ judge” she answered almost immediately. “The same goes for you big guy, if I were you, I’d at least talk to her, get yer feeling’s out there and what not”

Matthew nodded slightly. “If only it were that easy” he sighed.

“What are ya, shy?” she asked giving him a playful jab on his leg.

Matthew could only nod; the truth had just hit him as if it were a ton of bricks.

Applejack was taken aback for a moment gazing at him with surprised eyes. Suddenly her mood changed, an understanding smile made its way onto her face.

“Listen sugar cube. You feel pretty down right now don’t ya?”

Again, Matthew nodded refusing to meet her gaze as he sat down on the top step.

“Well th’ only way you’re gonna get to feelin any better is by getting this off your chest, and at least getting your feelings out there for her. Trust me; Fluttershy is the last pony who’d break your heart”

Matthew turned to meet Applejacks gaze, she still smiled which helped calm him down immensely. “Thanks Applejack, I needed that”

She nodded giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before walking down the stairs to join the others who were gathering in the kitchen. Letting out one last sigh he stood up, finding new purpose to his step. It was decided, he was going to tell Fluttershy how he felt… he hoped.

Chapter 16

Rain fell from outside hitting the glass of my bedroom creating a hypnotizing sound a threatened to lull me back to sleep. It was a light rain, one of the many that had been occurring for the better part of the week. In my arms a familiar light blue Pegasus lay there asleep, using my chest as a pillow, as well as a drool rag of sorts. It had become a habit of hers to come into my room sometime during the night, after I had fallen asleep and crawl into bed with me and use me as her own personal pillow. I didn’t mind though, in fact it was cute to see her all nestled in the covers pressed up against my bare chest listening to my heartbeat; her soft fur not at all unwelcomed either.

It had been roughly over a month since the last occurrence had happened involving a blackout had happened making me wonder if the events had stopped completely. Rarity was doing surprising well at Matthew’s, making his life “A Living Hell” while I couldn’t be there; reorganizing his apartment even more than Fluttershy ever could and getting into something’s Matthew probably wished she wouldn’t have. Matthew had made every effort to get a little closer to Fluttershy in attempts to “Win Her Heart” so to speak, but to no avail, either Matthew was too shy to say it or he couldn’t ever get her alone to do so; either way it seemed as though he was making little to no progress at all. Applejack and Rainbow had adjusted fairly easily to living in my apartment having stayed their once or twice before. I considered myself pretty lucky to have them under my roof; the fact that Applejack could cook fairly well only seemed to sweeten the deal. As for Rainbow and Me, the two of us seemed to grow increasingly closer as time passed, relishing in each other’s company in both day and night.

As I laid there watching Rainbow sleep, I couldn’t help but think of the two of us as them item we were. While I still had reservations about certain things, there was nothing me and Rainbow couldn’t do with the other, and in truth I think she felt the same way; it wasn’t easy loving someone of a different species. She shifted slightly letting out a tired sigh before turning her head to look up at me.

“Good morning” she stated her voice very raspy; she was still obviously tired.

“Morning” I greeted moving a strand of red the hung over her eye. “I see you moved into my bed once again”

“Don’t act like you hate it.” She joked.

I looked at the nearby clock on the nightstand; it was considerably later than I might have liked, a seldom 12:34 in bright red letters was on the small screen.

“We better get up; I don’t want to sleep the day away.” I stated removing myself from Rainbows grasp only to earn a disappointed groan as she jumped up onto my back.

“Do we have to?” she stated playfully nibbling on my ear making me laugh a little (My only ticklish spot which she somehow found). Rolling my eyes I got up from my bed and straightened the jeans I had worn to bed before turning to face Rainbow who looked back at me. “You’re no fun.” She stated taking to the air from the bed and flying into the living room as I opened the door.

It was relatively cooler in my apartment but not at all uncomfortable, after a night of being cuddled up to the heater that was Rainbow Dash it felt nice to have to cool air against my bare chest. On the couch I could see Applejack lazily watching TV as she often did when she was bored. Her gaze shifted to me.

“Mornin’ Sugar cube” she greeted.

“Good morning Applejack, anything good on today?” I said sitting down next to her.

“Naw, just another cheesy romance or somethin’.” She stated earning a distinct ‘bleh’ sound from Rainbow Dash as she flew over and landed on the back of the sofa. “Oh don’t act like y’all don’t have one of those romances happenin between the two of y’all, like I said, you ain’t that subtle.”

“Ow, felt that one a bit”

Rainbow chuckled a bit. “Yeah, but me and the big guy are happy, and that’s all that matters right?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Just don’t go and break my friends heart, y’hear?” Applejack stated slugging me playfully on the arm.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I said with a slight grin looking back at Rainbow who was smiling me with the same tiny grin I had fallen in love with.

Suddenly my cell phone began to go off sending the familiar ringtone through the small apartment. Removing it from my pocket I took a peak at the screen seeing Matthews name under the caller I.D.

“Yeah?” I said putting it up to my ear

“Hey, I need you to take the girls this weekend.”

“What, Why!?”

“My Grandma is going out of town and need somebody to watch her house while she is away.”

“Which Grandma, the one with all that land?”

“Yeah, she’s going away on business and my Mom can’t afford to leave work to take care of the chores around the farm.”

Then it hit me. I had been out to his Grandmas farm once before. We had visited not long after my transplant and stayed up there for close to a week. It was on a barren patch of land with nothing to be seen miles around, perfect for getting into trouble without cops knowing; or taking a group of ponies to without anyone knowing.

“I have an idea.” I stated.

“Do I want to know?”

“It’ll be just you out there right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think we can sneak the girls up there for the weekend?” There was silence on the other line for a moment, in the background I could hear Main whispering to one of the ponies; I couldn’t tell which.

“Yeah, that might work.” Matthew stated. “I just need to pack enough food to last us for a few days.”

“Yeah, enough that he won’t eat and make the rest of us starve.” Rainbow joked to herself making Applejack chuckle slightly.

“I’ll talk it over with the girls tonight and get back to you later.” Matthew stated. “Speaking of which, I was planning on taking them on a drive downtown for them to get out and about for a bit. Do you want to tag along?”

I looked to Rainbow (seeing as she had been eavesdropping on the whole conversation) who had put a single hoof under her chin. Slowly she nodded with a grin.

“Sure we’ll tag along if you can spare the room.” I stated.

“Excellent, head over in a bit and we’ll go from there.”

“Sure.”

“Later, Matti-cakes.” Hey stated hanging up the phone.

Almost instantly Rainbow started laughing as soon as my ear left the phone. “Matti-cakes, are you serious?”

I rolled my eyes getting up from the sofa and heading back into my room to get ready for the night ahead of me, trying to ignore Rainbow as she continuously laughed at my new nickname.

“Thank you Main, you son of a bitch”

By the time we had arrived that night at Matthews apartment, it was about mid-afternoon, right about the time everyone would probably be getting off of work and heading home. The plan was to leave around nine and just drive around and look at all the places that hadn’t quite managed to take their Christmas lights down, most places would be closed by then and we wouldn’t have to worry about anybody spotting the girls if we were stopped.

Matthew was plucking away furiously at the keyboard in front of him, trying to plan a route as best he could but for some reason his internet wasn’t working as fast as it normally did. In the living room the girls watched the news as they waited for Matthew to finish.

“Well it took twenty minutes longer than it should have, but I have the coarse all planned out and ready to go, all I need to do now is print this bitch out and we can head out.” Matthew stated stretching his arms over his head popping the joints within.

“How long will that take?”

“Five minutes if this fucking thing doesn’t speed up.” He said kicking the router with his foot slightly.

“I told you those porn sights would fuck up your computer.” I joked.

Rolling his eyes Matthew returned to the task at hand trying to speed up the process as best as he could.

“Hey Matthias, come here for a second if you please.” I heard Rarity call.

Slowly I walked into the living room just as Rarity slowly began to turn the volume up on the TV making the newscasters voice echo throughout the room. The words “More Mysterious Blackout’s” in bright red letters on the bottom of the screen.

“Matthew come in here!” I called.

“Hold on!”

“That’s right Tom, yet another blackout has occurred in the course of this week, this time at the local grocery store. “That’s close” This is the third blackout that has occurred in such a small area-“

Suddenly the TV turned off as well as all the lights in the apartment, the familiar humming of Matthews computer fan coming to a complete stop as well.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I heard Matthew say to the now dead computer. “I literally was just about to print it.”

“Matthias, didn’t you say something about these blackouts were all connected?” Applejack asked

As if on cue there was a knock on the door making everyone in the room turn to face the front door.

“Who could that be?”

A/N: Hey guys, yeah I had a bit of a writers block on this one and didn't know what to do so that is why it is so short.

In other News, I bet you'll never guess who's at the door it-

AM I IN THE STORY YET?

Damn it Pinkie...

Chapter 17

The room fell silent as the sound of knocking echoed off the walls. I turned to Rainbow who was staring back at me; the look of worry was apparent on her face.

“Rainbow, take the others and go hide in the room.” I ordered.

Rainbow nodded turning to the others before flying ahead of them into the room; the others following close behind.

“Everythin’ alright sugar cube?” Applejack asked seeing the worry that was on my face.

“Don’t worry about me AJ, I’ll be fine.” I dismissed joining Matthew at the door watching as Applejack disappeared into the hallway; the sound of a door shutting soon followed.

Turning to Matthew I saw his hand edging towards the door knob falling short of the brass handle. “Draw straws to answer the door?” He suggested with a faint laugh. I shook my head. Another knock sounded making Matthew turn to face the door. “Alright then, let’s get this over with then.”

Placing his hand on the doorknob Matthew opened the heavy wooden door a crack he stopped suddenly just as he stepped back opening the door further to reveal the outside. “There’s no one there” he stated taking a peak outside in either direction. “I’m not going crazy am I?”

“Matthew, we live with four talking ponies that no one else knows about, as far as I know you are about as sane as I am.” I stated.

“He has a point you know.” A loud high pitched voice came from behind the two of us.

Matthew froze. “Please tell me that was you Matthias.” I shook my head to afraid to turn around myself.

“Matthias and Matthew, I think I can work with that.” The voice said. “I think I’ll call you Matt, and you Matti cakes.”

Slowly Matthew and I began to turn around, preparing for the worst. Standing right in the doorway to the living room was a small figure, the color pink standing out even in the dark room. Suddenly the shape disappeared behind the corner.

“Where’d she go?” Matthew asked walking back into the living room in hopes to find the small figure.

Suddenly I felt a breath against my neck, making the hairs stand on end.

“BOO!!!” the voice yelled right by my hear making my heart skip a beat as it almost jumped out of my chest. I fell forward turning to land on my side getting a good look at the high pitch voiced figure that had just scared me who was now on the ground laughing uncontrollably.

“You are hilarious Matti cakes; I think the two of us are going to get along great.” She said.

Getting a good look at the rolling figure I saw a familiar shape begin to form as my eyes adjusted to the darker part of the room. Rolling before me was a small pink pony; it was roughly the same size as the others however by far the most distinguishing feature was the cotton candy like mane and tail that seem to bounce every time a giggle came from her lips.

“You alright?” Matthew asked helping me to my feet.

“I’ll let you know when my heart isn’t threatening to jump out of my chest.” I joked.

Suddenly I heard one of the hallway doors open slowly with a creak of the hinges that held it in place, a pair of sapphire eyes slowly peaked around the corner. “Oh my, Pinkie Pie, is that you darling?” I heard Rarity call.

The fit of giggles halted abruptly as the ball of pink fur snapped to attention. “Rarity?” she said suddenly disappearing again returning the apartment to its silent state.

“What was that about?” Matthew asked.

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s giving me a head ache already.” I stated walking over to the couch and sitting down. “Looks like we don’t have to check out those power outages.”

“Yeah, but how do you think she found us?”

“Silly, I just used my Pinkie sense.” A voice came from right next to me making me jump out of surprise again.

“How the hell do you keep doing that?” I demanded trying to calm my heart down again.

“You learn to get used to it.” I heard Rainbow say as she walked into the living room with the others trailing close behind. “It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.”

“So your name’s Pinkie?” Matthew asked.

“Actually my full name in Pinkimina Dianne Pie, but you guys can just call me Pinkie Pie, all my friends do.” She began.

“Which I hope I can call you two friends because I just met you, and this is crazy, so-“

God what is this pony on? Finally I placed a hand over Pinkie’s muzzle hoping to silence the mare, however the words soon turned to un-audible mumbles as she continued talking only slowing down to get a breath.

“Is she always this hyper?” I asked Rainbow who had moved to my side on the couch.

“You have no idea.” She stated with a laugh leaning against me with a content sigh.

Getting tired of the muffled sound coming from her I released her muzzle only to have her continue from where she left off as if I hadn’t had my mouth on her mouth.

“- And that’s when my Dad always told me to be careful about what I lick.” She said finally coming to a halt. She then turned to look at Rainbow who was still leaning against me. “Dashie, are you and Matti cakes each others someponies?”

Damn she’s blunt.

“Just getting up to speed real quick.”

Did she just read my mind?

“Yes, is that a problem?”

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!

“Well are you?” she asked getting UN comfortably close.

I turned to Rainbow hoping she could save me from this pink terror. “Yes Pinkie, Matthias and I are seeing each other.”

Suddenly she burst into another fit of giggles as she jumped off the couch hopping all around jumping all around the room saying something about throwing a party which was barely audible. I felt tired just looking at her.

“You ok Matti cakes?” Matthew asked in a joking tone, a smug look to match.

“Shut up.” I stated placing a hand on my forehead to try and stop the throbbing that had began to occur ever since Pinkie had began talking.

As soon as Pinkie entered the house she grew immediately accustomed to the routine. Much like the others she had no idea how she got here from her world but to her it didn’t matter. In all honesty I felt a little uneasy around her, I had always disliked overly bubbly attitudes and Pinkie was the very definition of one. However thee others seem to welcome her coming immensely, sitting all around the living room chatting amongst themselves as Matthew and I tried to figure out what to do next in the other room.

“Okay, good news or shitty news?” Matthew said hanging up his cell phone.

“I choose the later.”

“The shitty news is that the electric company is not going to be able to get out here anytime soon to restore the power, their too backed up with the other blackouts caused by Pinkie.” He began. “The good news is that my Grandma had to get her flight changed so she going to leave today before it gets way too dark. We could leave later tonight if we wanted to.”

“What about Pinkie?”

“What about her? She’s coming too.”

“Are you sure she’ll want to go someplace with two humans she just met not two hours ago?”

“Her friends like us, so I don’t see any reason why she wouldn’t want to.”

“Alright fine, I’ll go tell them the news.”

“Tell us what?” Pinkies voice suddenly came from behind making me and Matthew jump simultaneously.

“Jesus Pinkie, give me a heart attack why don’t you?” Matthew stated.

“But that would hurt you Matt, why would you want me to hurt you?”

Matthew was dumbstruck sitting there looking at her with a look of confusion on his face. “You know what; I’m not even going to dignify myself with a response to that.” He said getting up out of his chair. “Matthias you wanna go tell the others were leaving tonight?”

“Oo-Oo I will.” Pinkie said dashing out the door at a speed which would rival Dash.

“That pony is going to be the death of me.” I stated.

The Next Morning:

“Is that everything?” Matthew asked putting the last of the bags into the bed of his truck.

“Just my guitar case and we should be good.” I said handing the large case to him.

“I can’t believe you forgot to pack for this trip. Didn’t I tell you we were going earlier today?” he stated putting the case in the last open spot before closing the bed cover.

“In my defense; you told me tomorrow. Not only that but I never expected to gain another addition to our little family.”

“Eh, details.” He shrugged off. “Are the girls ready to leave?”

I nodded. “They don’t have much so I think we’ve packed whatever their going to need.”

“Alright then, let’s hit the lonesome road.”

A/N: A Monday Update? Why Matthias you bastard!

Okay, anyway I know this chapter isn't the greatest however I hope to make up for it next time I update with 2 chapters. One being in the Point Of View of Matthias and the other being another Matthew Chapter.

Keep On Keeping On Guys.

Chapter 18

It was roughly an hour of non-stop driving before Matthew had reached what he called “The Middle of Nowhere” after turning onto yet another unmarked road. I stretched my legs as far as I could in the space provided, groaning from the aches in my joints.

“Are we there, yet?” I asked lazily.

“Yes, Matthias, in the two minutes since you last asked me, we’ve arrived at my Grandma’s house, which is invisible and constantly moving at 45 miles an hour beside us,” Matthew replied.

“Really, you have houses that can do that?” Pinkie asked, appearing between the two front seats. “Because t-”

“No, Pinkie.” Matt replied quickly before Pinkie could go into one her rants.

“Okie dokie lokie” she replied, disappearing into the back seats again.

I turned lazily to look at the back seats, seeing each of the girls doing something to occupy their time. Be it Applejack or Rarity who had long since fallen asleep, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie who were making a game of spotting things as we passed them, or Rainbow who just sat there, starring out the window, lazily looking up at the sky, letting out the occasional sigh. She looked at her wings for a second before noticing my gaze and giving me a small smile; she almost seemed disappointed.

“You know,” Matthew began. “We haven’t seen a car for the past 30 minutes, and we’re miles away from the nearest town.”

“Yeah, so what are you saying?” Rainbow asked

“I’m saying that if a certain blue pony wanted to, she could fly alongside the truck,” Matthew stated, giving Rainbow, who was staring at him, now fully focused on what he was saying, a glance. “Provided she can keep up, of course.”

“Are you kidding me? I could leave you guys in the dust in 10 seconds flat,” she stated, unbuckling herself from her seat. Matthew chuckled as he rolled down her window, watching her as she waited for the glass to open just enough to where she could-.

Suddenly she jumped from the black interior of the truck and out the window with a great beat of her wings, launching into the air at great speeds as she ascended. “Guess she wasn’t kidding when she said she was the fastest,” Matthew stated, turning to face the road again.

Even from where I was, I could see the smile on her face. She was finally in her element, and she was happy to finally be back. Zipping back and forth in the sky; I lost her once or twice behind a cloud before finding her flying past the truck at blinding speeds, waking the others from their sleep with all the excitement.

“Show off,” Matthew stated, rolling his eyes.

“That’s Rainbow fer ya,” Applejack stated, now fully awake and watching Rainbow as she continued her aerial acrobatics.

I felt a smile make its way onto my face as she continued showing off, watching as she spun around in the air, barrel rolling several times, looping soon after, before flying right next to my window, which was now rolled down for me to watch closer.

“You’re pretty good at that,” I stated to the smiling mare.

“You ain’t seen nothing, yet,” Rainbow stated, taking off yet again, this time heading straight up into the air.

“What is she doing now?” I said, leaning out the window to try and find her amongst the clear blue sky.

“Flirting, showing off, take your pick,” Rarity stated.

“Flirting?”

“It’s a Pegasus thing,” Applejack added.

Suddenly, a loud boom emitted from the sky miles above, followed by an extravagant Rainbow trail rapidly flying away, before it turned and began heading back towards the truck.

“Oh, now that’s just overdoing it,” Matthew stated.

“Rainbow must like you an awful lot to do a Sonic Rainboom for you,” Pinkie stated, suddenly appearing between the seats.

“A Sonic what?” Matthew asked, just as the speeding blue pegasus flew over the truck, the rainbow trail following close behind, rattling the windshield as a jet like noise came from the outside.

For a good fifteen minutes, I found myself on the edge of my seat, just watching Rainbow fly back and forth in the sky, performing trick after trick. She came back to check on me every so often, but apart from that, she was unfazed by all the acrobatics that made me tired just looking at her. I found myself infatuated with the mare; watching her in her element as a smile decorated her face.

The engines died as the truck pulled up to the small farmhouse after another fifteen minutes. Rainbow landed nearby; she was breathing a little faster than the last time I had seen her, yet still carried a pleased smile on her face.

The farmhouse itself wasn’t at all as I had expected it to be. In all honesty, I expected a carbon copy of the house we had found Applejack at, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a completely different house in front of me. While the barns were similar, the house was a large two story, much bigger than the other house in every aspect.

“Told you I could lose you in about 10 seconds,” Rainbow stated to Matt, who was beginning to unload the bags from the back of his truck.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He shrugged, grunting as he pulled another bag over the top of the bed.

“Do you need an extra hoof, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, that would be appreciated.”

Suddenly, every single bag in the back of the truck was enveloped in a light blue aura and was slowly lifted and placed on the ground just beside the truck.

“There we are darling, now can we get inside? All this dirt is ruining my mane,” Rarity complained, shaking her hoof to remove some of the dirt.

“How do you even go outside, Rarity?” Rainbow stated as she began walking towards the house, shaking her head in disappointment.

I watched as the group went inside, each carrying their own smile as they talked merrily with each other. It brought me joy to see everyone so full of happiness, excited for the coming weekend, and the company that would be shared with everyone else. And yet for some reason, Rainbow seemed to be especially ecstatic about the whole ordeal.

Later That Evening:

There was a soft wind blowing through the air as the sun began to slowly descend towards the horizon, creating that familiar orange hue in the sky. The grass was soft and made for an excellent makeshift bed as I slowly let my body relax. I placed my hands behind my head, thankful for the shade a nearby tree provided. I could have easily fallen asleep; I had done it before when I visited my own grandma up in Chicago, and I worried my parent’s sick since I had been gone for so long.

A sudden snap of a twig from behind broke my day dream, causing me to turn around to see the approaching shape of a certain cyan colored pony slowly approaching.

“Hey,” she greeted with a small smile.

“Hey.”

She came over and laid down next to me, laying her head on my chest and letting out a content sigh.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked, rubbing the top of her head between her ears.

“I could ask the same for you; I was looking everywhere for you.”

“Sorry about that. I just felt like coming out here for a bit,” I stated. “Is everything alright at the house?”

“Yeah, Matthew is getting stuff around for a fire tonight, and the others are either napping or helping get stuff ready.”

“A fire sounds nice; did he need any help?”

“No, Applejack is helping him.”

“Alright, then,” I said, leaning back until my head was on the grass again.

The two of us fell silent for a moment or two, enjoying each other’s company as I rubbed Rainbow’s silky smooth mane, often brushing up against one of her wings. I ran my hand down her back. I remembered earlier; how Rarity told me she had been flirting with me with the way she was flying. In truth, it caught my interest, seeing as I didn’t know how pegasi might “flirt” with one another.

“Hey Dash, earlier when you were flying, Rarity told me you were flirting with me. What was that about?”

“She told you about that, huh?” Dash began, as she let out a drawn out sigh through her nostrils.

“Pegasi have this weird instinct to sort of ‘show off’ for our mate. Essentially, it allows their significant other to see what skill the Pegasus has, its endurance, manoeuvrability, and overall showmanship, so to speak.”

“So, it’s showing off specifically to the pegasus’ mate?”

“That’s the idea,” she said, looking down out of embarrassment.

I put my hand under her chin, forcing her to look back up at me. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I really enjoyed it.” I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers, taking her off guard for a moment before she too kissed back. Suddenly I felt something wet press against my lips as Rainbow opened her mouth slightly. This was new for her, not really unwelcomed, but this was something she had never done before.

I pulled away for a moment, not out of disgust, but to meet her gaze which now was that of confusion.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing, just took me by surprise is all,” I stated, placing my hand on her cheek.

She looked away for a moment. “Matthias…” she began, meeting my gaze once or twice before instantly turning away as if she was fighting for the right words.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

“Matthias…I…” she stopped again as tears began to form in her eyes. “Why is this so hard to say?” she stated, clenching her eyes now to fight the tears.

I threw my arms around her and brought her against me in a comforting hug, allowing her to place her head on my shoulder and hug back. She stood there for another moment or two, frequently reaching up with a hoof to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Slowly, she released her tight hug, telling me to do the same as she stood with her face inches away from mine. I could see her eyes were still really red from the tears that still fought to flow down her face.

“Matthias…I think I…” she clenched her eyes again. “DAMN IT MATTHIAS, I LOVE YOU!” she yelled, jumping into my arms again, wrapping her arms around me as she let the tears flow from her eyes, openly weeping against my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her, placing my cheek against the top of her head as I felt tears well up in my own eyes.

“I love you, too.”

First part of update down! Expect the next one tomorrow.

A Change In Perspectives- The Battle Less Fought

Embers rose as the fire burned through the clear night sky. Matthew sat at the far end of the fire, poking at it with a pointed stick every so often to move the wood and make it burn brighter. Matthias sat on the other side, Rainbow leaning against him as usual; the music coming from his guitar was welcoming as he sang to the crowd of ponies gathered around the flames. Matthew enjoyed Matthias’ guitar; he only ever brought it out on special occasions or get-togethers, where he would play for his family, or in this case his friends. Back when he met him, it was the only way Matthias would ever come out of his shell and become a completely different person.

All the ponies sat around the fire, enjoying it in their own way. Applejack lay with her hat covering her eyes, and a piece of grass sticking out of her mouth. Pinkie was roasting marshmallows over the flame, pulling them out just before they caught on fire and popping it into her mouth. Rainbow leaned against Matthias’ side happily, arguably asleep but obviously happy about something. Rarity sat brushing out Fluttershy’s long, pink mane, making her appear all the more cute to Matthew, who would often find himself just staring until she caught him, making him turn away quickly.

Even after finding Rarity, he still hadn’t found an excuse to confess his feelings towards Fluttershy; unable to find the right moment, or the right words to say to her to try and make her feel the same about him. Rarity had tried to assist him once or twice, but to no avail; he was still in “The Friend Zone” to her. Sure, he would engage in conversation once or twice, earning a chuckle here, a blush there, but never anything like he wanted. He turned to Matthias again, who had his eyes closed, his head bobbing up and down as he strummed the strings; for him, the hard part was over. It wasn’t hard to see that Rainbow loved him and he loved her, and that was what Matt was struggling to accomplish with Fluttershy; getting the whole “liking him” part of the equation down.

Suddenly, Pinkie popped up next to Matthew, making him jump slightly; he still hadn’t gotten used to that.

“What’s wrong, Mr Main?” she asked, meeting his gaze.

Matthew sighed. “N-nothing,” he lied.

Immediately Pinkie leaned in squinting slightly as if to examine Matthews face. “Liar,” she stated with a slight smile.

“Honestly, Pinkie, it’s nothing,” Matthew stated, trying to stop her from pressing any further.

Pinkie wasn’t fazed. Her smile grew slightly more devious as she leaned in and whispered into Matthew’s ear. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

“What’s the hard way?” he asked nervously.

“Oh, you don’t wanna know Matt, trust me,” she warned.

Normally Matthew would have been unfazed, but this was Pinkie Pie: breaker of the laws of physics; the same Pinkie Pie who could probably kill him and no one would ever find out. Yes, he was that scared of her.

“Listen Pinkie, I just don’t want to talk about it here,” he stated, shyly avoiding her gaze.

“Okie dokie lokie,” she stated, carrying the same hint of suspicion. “But I’ve got my eye on you!” He swore he saw Pinkie’s eye stretch from its socket towards him.

Matthew let out a sigh of relief, turning to find that the music had stopped and all attention was back on him. Pinkie, however, was back to roasting marshmallows acting as if the whole thing had never happened.

“How the hell does she do that?” Matthew mused to himself.

“Everything OK, Main?” Matthias asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he stated, getting up from the log he was sitting on. “I’ll be back, got to go use the commode for a sec,” he lied.

As quickly as he could, he rushed towards the house, almost slamming the door behind him as he went inside, rushed into the kitchen and grabbed an empty cup from one of the cupboards, filling it with water from the sink.

“So what’s really going on?” Pinkie’s voice suddenly came from behind, making Matthew almost drop his glass.

“HOLY GOD PINKIE, DON’T DO THAT!” he yelled, grabbing his heart with his free hand and feeling it beat faster than he thought possible.

“Do what?” she asked, making Matthew face palm.

“Never mind,” he said, drinking the last bit of water in the glass.

“Well we’re not out there anymore, so what’s going on with you?” Pinkie asked. “What’s got that smile turned upside down?”

There was no way out of this, he knew that. The only exit was blocked by the fucker of physics and he was sure that no matter how fast he ran she would probably just head him off before he even opened the door. It was safer to just get this off his chest now and deal with whatever Pinkie would throw at him.

“Alright, fine; you win,” Matthew stated. “The truth is…”

“Yes...”

“That I kind of have a crush on this girl,” Matthew stated.

“Is it Rarity?” Pinkie interrupted. “I bet it’s Rarity.”

“No, it’s not Rarity.”

“Applejack?”

He shook his head.

“Rainbow? Because I don’t think th-“

“IT’S FLUTTERSHY, OK!” Matthew interrupted.

“Well, why didn’t you say so? Come on, let’s tell her!” Pinkie said, going for the door.

“Pinkie, no, I want to do it myself.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

Matthew let out a sigh. “It’s…complicated.”

“Aw, does Mr Main have a shy problem himself?”

Matthew looked down out of embarrassment; the truth hit him like a ton of bricks, and coming from a pink pony, no less. “I’m just nervous on how to talk to her.”

“Is it because she’s a pony?”

“That’s part of it I guess,” Matthew admitted. “I guess I’m having more trouble talking to Fluttershy than I do talking with any other girl I have ever met.”

“Matthias doesn’t seem to have any problems with it.”

“Yeah, well he was as skeptical about it first as I am now. He told me to look at her like a normal human girl, but I’m finding it hard to look past…”

“The hooves and mane?”

“Basically, yeah. That about sums it up.”

Pinkie brought a hoof up to her lower lip, looking up at the ceiling, contemplating what to tell him. “This one’s a doozy,” she mused. “How do you hook Fluttershy up with another Fluttershy, only one Fluttershy is a male human and the other Fluttershy is a female pony?”

“Patience- Maybe it’ll come to you sooner or later?” she finally stated.

“You sound like Matthias,” Matthew stated, rolling his eyes. “He said that about a week or two ago and there hasn’t been any progress at all.”

Pinkie looked towards the door for a moment as if to see if anyone was coming through. “I wouldn’t say that,” she whispered.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not allowed to say, not unless I want to stick a cupcake in my eye,” Pinkie joked. “Just be patient, your chance may be closer than you think,” she said with a wink, before heading for the door again.

“Hey Pinkie,” Matthew called, making her stop before she reached the door. “Thanks.”

Pinkie merely smiled as she turned and walked out the door, leaving Matthew alone in the kitchen with a new sense of hope, one which that he thought just might pay off.

Matthew lay quietly in his bed that night, unable to fall asleep as he stared up at the ceiling fan as it rotated, listening as the crickets chirped outside. He was restless, having tossed and turned only moments ago. He was unable to fall asleep thanks to what Pinkie had told him earlier. Patience was an easier thing to say than to actually accomplish, and what did Pinkie mean when she said that he had been making progress when clearly he hadn’t? It was all so confusing.

Matthew let out an irritated sigh, running a hand over his face before turning again to face the wall, his back to the door, fighting to try and find some sort of excuse to get his body to fall asleep, to no avail.

Suddenly, the old white door creaked open, making Matthew freeze where he was, listening intently as he heard the approaching footsteps of whatever it was draw near.

“Matthew?” a small voice whispered which he swore was Fluttershy. He faked being asleep, hoping she would speak again. “Matthew?” the voice said a little louder; oh yeah, it was Fluttershy alright. No one else had that timid a voice.

Turning over, Matthew looked at the shivering form of the small yellow Pegasus as she hid behind her mane.

“You OK, Fluttershy?” Matthew asked, trying to fake a tired groggy voice.

“I…I had a bad dream,” she stated shyly.

Matthew smiled slightly. “You wanna camp out in here tonight?” he asked, scooting over to make room for her and pulling back the covers slightly.

“If that’s alright…I mean if you don’t want me to…”

“It’s fine, Fluttershy; I don’t mind in the least,” Matthew said.

She was hesitant at first as she approached the bed, taking a breath of courage before jumping up onto the mattress and crawling underneath the covers next to Matthew.

“I’m sorry about this; I didn’t mean to wake you up,” she stated shyly.

“It’s fine Shy, I can understand having a bad dream. I get them sometimes, too. I’m just glad you don’t have to deal with this all by yourself.”

“Thank you Matthew, it really means a lot,” she said turning over to face him; an unmistakable blush was on her face.

Matthew laid down next to her, unsure whether or not to hug her or even touch her for that matter; he didn’t want to risk ruining this moment. It took but a moment for Fluttershy to close her eyes and slowly drift to sleep again, breathing steadily with her chest rising and falling with each breath. Suddenly she began to shake slightly, a look of distress of on her face and tears forming in her eyes. As if by instinct, Matthew put an arm over her body and slowly pulled her close to him, feeling just how hard she was shivering as his skin touched her. Ever so slowly, Fluttershy moved and placed her head against Matthew’s chest, her ear pressed up where his heart was. Her shivering began to dissipate as she nuzzled closer, rubbing the side of her soft face against Matthew’s bare chest before at last settling down and falling into a peaceful slumber yet again. Lightly, Matthew hugged her, earning a pleasant sigh from the mare.

“Goodnight, Fluttershy,” he stated, before he too found a peaceful slumber.

A/N

Well guys im either happy or sad to say that those of you coming to this story for happiness had better leave now. If you want to you can call this the end, but if you love the story like I think you do please stick with me through the sad times just like you have with the happy.

Thanks For Reading Guys

Keep On Keeping On

-Matthias(SonicsDemon)

Chapter 20

Sorry this was is short you guys. But take heart the next chapter is already being written.

Edited by: AcyclicBrony

The apartment was pretty quiet that evening. Applejack was napping on the sofa, while Rainbow was busy surfing Netflix for something to catch her eye. It had been a week since we had returned from Matthew’s grandma’s house and we had managed to set Pinkie up in a room with Rarity (much to the unicorns protest) while Fluttershy had taken to sleeping with Matthew every now and then.

It made me happy to see how close the two had become in the short time since our trip out to the farm. Granted they weren’t kissing as far as I knew but it was definitely rare to see one without the other. I always knew Matthew to be the shy one between the two of us so it made me happy to see him click with Fluttershy, as well as open to the idea of loving a pony the same way you might love a human. Granted getting intimate with one was a completely different story, one in which I don’t think anyone was ready to address yet.

Walking over to the couch I sat down next to Rainbow Dash who scooted closer and placed her head near my knee as she draped a wing over my leg sighing contently as she relaxed and closed her eyes. I began stroking her mane, earning another happy sigh from the mare that looked up at me with a glimmer in her eyes and a smile on her muzzle. I smiled back before laying my head back and letting the comfort of the moment slowly carry me off to sleep.

I was awoken suddenly by the sound of my cell phone ringing in my pants pocket, the sound and the vibration echoing of the walls of the room. I reached into my pocket, careful not to wake Rainbow, and removed the small device and brought it up to my ear.

“Hello?” I whispered not recognizing the number.

“Yes, is this Matthias Thorn?” a voice asked, sounding very official.

“Yeah it is. May I ask who is speaking?”

“This is Doctor Reed, with the Kansas heart hospital. I’m sorry to bother you but I am calling all of our recent heart transplant patients. Due to a malfunctioning machine some of the tests may have been read false.”

“So what does that mean? I feel better than I have in a long time.”

“Then it could be nothing, but we would still feel safer if you came in the near future so we can get another reading.”

I sighed in defeat as I started rubbing Rainbows mane again. “Alright, when can I come in?”

“As soon as possible, we would like to get these tests over with as soon as possible.”

“Alright I’ll be there in about an hour or two. Thanks for letting me know.” I said hanging up the phone, setting it down beside me to rub my eyes with the tips of my fingers. I was afraid of this; for some reason life seemed to be going too good so God decided to throw a curve ball my way. I just hoped it was nothing… Rainbow still had no idea about my heart condition and in all honesty I had hoped to keep it that way, but it looked like there was still a possibility that I would have to tell her.

Picking up the phone I dialed in Matthews’s number putting it to my ear and waiting for him to answer. “Yo, what’s up?”

“Hey Main.”

“Hey, you alright? You don’t sound like yourself.”

“The hospital called.”

“And?”

“Apparently they had a malfunctioning x-ray machine or something when they were taking photos. They said that they wanted me to come in so they can look again. I doubt it’s anything but I just wanted to let you know.”

Main fell silent, I could hear him let out a sigh. “Can I at least take you up there? I mean, the two of this have been through this since day one, we might as well face it together right?”

“I’d appreciate that, thanks bro.”

“No problem, I’ll be over in a sec.”

Matthew then hung up the phone, leaving me alone with Rainbow still asleep on my leg, unaware of what I was just told. I felt tears well up in my eyes at the thought of leaving her, leaving everything, and as much as I tried I just couldn’t stop them from flowing from my eyes.

“You alright sugar cube?” I heard Applejack’s voice say from behind.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and fought to keep a smile. “Everything’s fine AJ.” I lied, still fighting back tears.

Walking over she stood in front of me with a stern look. “It’s no use lying to the element of honesty sugar cube, so why don’t y’all tell me what’s got you bothered.”

I looked to Rainbow, still oblivious to the situation. “AJ, I may or may not be sick.”

“What do you mean?”

I took a deep breath before telling her everything, about when I was younger and how I grew up with cancer, how it affected me, how it healed, and the sacrifices both my family and Matthew’s had made to keep me alive. By the end of it all tears were flowing from my eyes and I fought to try and hide them. Walking over Applejack wrapped her hooves around me and hugged me close to her; tears started welling up in her eyes as well.

“Have you told Rainbow yet?” She asked.

I shook my head. “I was hoping not to, but if the tests come back negative I’m going to as soon as I get back.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then I’ll find a way to tell her somehow.”

Applejack nodded hugging me all the tighter for comfort. “It’ll be alright sugar cube, you know me and the rest of the girls are here for you.”

I could only nod as I hugged back, hoping, and praying that this was only a mistake, that when I came home that evening that this would all be a misunderstanding and that everything would be alright. A faint knock came from the door before Matthew slowly walked in, his face carrying a sense of worry as he looked at me.

“You ready?”

I shook my head releasing Applejack and getting up from the couch Rainbows head falling to the cushion where she almost immediately woke up from. “Matthias, where are you going?”

I knelt down and rubbed her head gently. “I’ll be right back Dash, there’s just something I have to take care of.”

She smiled before getting up and kissing me slowly. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

As I walked out the door it felt as though I was stepping out my happy little life, and part of me knew what the hospital was going to say already. Although they assured me that it was probably nothing, I think I knew what the result was going to be. I was nowhere near ready for it.

Chapter 9

There was silence in the room, a peaceful type of serenity that seemed to be enhanced with the soft music playing from the TV, candles lit all over the room filled the small living space with the light scent of vanilla. However the peace was suddenly broken with the sound of two young adults coughing violently breaking the silence of the room. What had began as a simple cold progressed into a full on sickness; turns out when you have a heart condition, sacrificing your jacket to a small pony to keep her warm while dealing with negative 5 degree weather makes you ill. Matthew didn’t get off easy either, much of his symptoms matching mine in nature.

Applejack adapted quickly to her new life style, quickly finding her place among her friends as they worked around the apartment. However ever since we arrived home from the previous day’s escapade, Rainbow Dash avoided me, not even bothering to meet my gaze or respond when I asked her a question, it was apparent she was angry at me, that was just a given. Unlike Rainbow Dash however Fluttershy and Applejack seemed to make every effort to get us back into tip-top shape, going as far as to make us soup out of whatever they could find in Matthews kitchen that wasn’t rotten or passed its expiration date.

A blanket fell over my shoulders just as Fluttershy flew over to Matthew who sat sprawled out in his leather chair asleep covering him in a blanket as well.

“Thanks Fluttershy” I called as Fluttershy smiled and landed on an open spot on the sofa near Rainbow Dash who idly watched the television not bothering to pay me any notice.

“D’ ya need anythin else sugar cube?” Applejack asked

“No, I appreciate it though” I said weakly, struggling to keep my eyes open.

Applejack had been curious about our way of life, even on our way back it was always “What was this” or “How can you do that?” like a young child curious about everything, and those questions only seemed to increase when we reached the apartment, wondering how many of the electronics worked and how she could help to work them learning almost faster than we could teach her.

The day began to grow late as everyone stayed stationary for the most part. I must have fallen asleep once or twice, letting time drift away. If my condition had taught me anything, it was patience, especially when it came to sickness; and boy could I feel its effects.

“And now for our five day forecast” I heard the weatherman said.

Leaning my head up I could see the progression of what seemed to be like another ice storm. However, tonight seemed to be warmer than others, which would melt some of the previous days remnants of snow, more than likely the falling snow would turn into rain which would in turn freeze the next day to create yet another problem; ice. Not to mention another snow fall in the days to follow.

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” I playfully sang making the three ponies turn to me in confusion which in turn made me stop. Applejack and Fluttershy chuckled slightly at my embarrassment before turning back to face the TV, Rainbow Dash ignored me completely.

I rolled onto my back, draping the back of my arm over my eyes to block out the light coming from the windows, as well as the nearby lamp, crossing my feet and relaxing them. Before I knew it I was fighting the urge to fall asleep again, struggling to keep my eyes open as I tried to focus on the sound from the TV. Yet much to my protest sleep managed to claim my thoughts.

Thunder boomed through the sky waking me from my slumber, and even shaking the house slightly with the effects of its boom. I looked around the room which was now pitch black, the TV was off, as was the lamp. Matthew had moved from his spot on the chair and could be heard snoring from his room. Fluttershy and the others were nowhere to be seen either but it seemed as if they were asleep in the two guest rooms on either side of the hallway since both doors were now shut. Suddenly thunder boomed again once again shaking the house.

I had always loved storms. Ever since I was little I would often find myself starring out at the storm, watching as lightning danced across the sky. The sound was relaxing to an extent, whether it was the rain hitting the roof, or the lightning itself, I had grown accustomed to the sound treating it as a sort of lullaby whenever I tried to fall asleep, counting after each thunder clap until the next sounded.

Another boom sounded. “1…2…3…4”- another sounded and I began to count again starting back at one. “1…2…3”- another sounded. However a light shuffling came from nearby, different from the other sounds caused by the lightning. I fell silent listening for the sound again, but to no avail, the apartment remained silent. I pushed the thought to the back of my head turning over onto my side, now facing the back of the cushion, sighing slightly waiting for the next thunder clap to sound.

The familiar sound came not a minute later, this time a little softer than the others yet still loud enough to be noticeable, the unusual rustle sounded again. I got up this time looking around the room hoping to find the source of the sound but to no avail. All in all something just felt off, as if something wasn’t right in the apartment. Grabbing the blanket I got up from the sofa and began to lightly step across the carpet. I took note of Matthew door which was slightly cracked but not enough to see inside. Walking passed the two closed guest room doors I approached Matthews room taking hold of the small metal door knob and pushing it open. Matthew was sprawled out on his side under all the covers his bed could provide snoring as loud as usual, seemingly unfazed by the storm outside. Pulling the door back until I heard the knob slide back into place, I moved to the guest room across from where I had been staying, the door completely closed this time. On the inside I could see Applejack and Fluttershy turned back to back on the edges of the bed, both tucked under the white sheets, neither seemed to be fazed by the storm either.

Another clap of thunder sounded; this one louder than the others which even made me jump a little. A small gasp like sound came from the guest room behind me; the one I stayed in. Cracking the door enough so I could peek inside I could see the covers on the bed bunched together to create a sort of cocoon in the middle with a small lump on the inside. Slowly I walked into the room taking care not to draw attention to myself.

Walking up to the bed I knelt down at the side noticing the small lump shaking violently, seemingly unaware of my presence. It was Rainbow Dash, I figured that out when she was nowhere to be seen in the other rooms, but this wasn’t like her, not at all.

“Dash?” I called in a calm soothing tone.

“GO AWAY!” She yelled back, her voice shaky, with unfamiliar hint of fear in it.

I Ignored her reaching a hand out and placing it on her side feeling her wings under the many covers she had managed to wrap herself in. I immediately could feel her trembling before she shape shifted and my hand was met with a blunt punch from the inside of the blanket cocoon, not enough to hurt, but it did cause me to flinch my hand back. I sat down on the edge of the bed looking out the window, watching as the rain hit the glass.

“Why are you here Matthias?!” she demanded.

“I heard you from the living room” I answered picking my words carefully as not to set her off again.

We fell silent again as more thunder claps sounded. I could feel her jump slightly as each clap sounded, shifting violently creating the familiar rustling sound. I had no idea what to say to her, I felt as though she didn’t even want me there, but I couldn’t live with myself if I just left, it wasn’t the right thing to do. We must have sat in silence for at least an hour, neither of us talking. In a way she reminded me of myself when I was a kid. Back then, I cried a lot, and in many ways she acted just as I did when I was younger; hiding from that which I was afraid of. In my case it had been the disease as well as the fear of death itself that made me want hide from the world.

Getting up from the edge of the bed I crawled over to the wall the bed was put against leaning up against it and stretching my legs out until my feet cleared the edge. Back then, my Mother would sit on the bed just as I was now. She wouldn’t speak but instead; she would comfort me, just by her presence, and when my tears stopped she would hold me close and lightly sing to me until I fell asleep. I could still remember her lullaby word for word. I looked up at the ceiling listening to the rain as I began sway my foot back and forth in time as I began to sing.

Come stop your crying, it’ll be alright

Just take my hand, hold it tight.

I will protect you from all around you

I will be here, don’t you cry.

Rainbow Dash began to shift under the covers, a light sniffle came from her head as it poked out from underneath the sheets. I turned my gaze to look into her ruby eyes which were still red from the tears. Knowing I was finally getting to her I continued.

For one so small, you seem so strong

My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm

This bond between us, can’t be broken

I will be here don’t you cry.

Rainbow Dash sniffled again as she seemed to lie down resting her head on her forelegs as she crossed them, closing her eyes. I placed a hand on her head, stroking her mane as I continued.

Cause you’ll be in my heart

Yes you’ll be in my heart

From this day on, now and forever more.

I closed my eyes just I felt Rainbow Dash move slightly and place the side of her head on my leg shifting her body to lay on her side to get more comfortable. I continued to stoke her mane gaining a pleased sigh from Rainbow Dash as I continued.

You’ll be in my heart

No matter what they say

You’ll be here in my heart

Always.

I let out a soft sigh as I finished the song letting the room fall silent. I continued running my hand along her mane, down the back of her neck, taking great care to stop before I reached her wings. It was funny; I never noticed how silky smooth it was, or how the colors never seemed to get out of sequence even after I ran my hand over them. I couldn’t tell if she had fallen asleep but her trembling seemed to have stopped.

Suddenly she sighed, as if to take a breath of courage before speaking. “When I was just a filly, before I earned my cutie mark, I used to be afraid of storms.” She explained. “Silly for somepony of my stature to be afraid of something so small, especially since pegasus ponies are often the ones to cause them.” She paused for a moment or two. I stopped stroking her mane to allow her to think. “What scared me the most is not knowing how to control it. It’s why I actually joined the weather team in PonyVille; to control the chaos, if that makes sense.” She paused again taking another breath before turning to look out the window as the rain continued to hit the glass without mercy. “It’s funny, after I joined the weather team, all the fear seemed to vanish, because I knew how those storms where created, even if I didn’t cause them myself, I knew the ponies that did. But these, I don’t know.” Her voice began to crack again as she raised a hoof to wipe her eyes.

“I’m sorry” she apologized lifting her head up to meet my gaze.

“Don’t be” I answered as I placed a hand on her head again causing her to smile. Part of me wanted to just pull her in and hug her, but in the back of my mind I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Rainbow Dash suddenly began to stare at me, her face seemed to change again.

“What?” I asked with a chuckle

“Why are you doing this?”

I shrugged. “I guess it’s just the right thing to do”

Shifting her position again she got up and turned to face me, standing by my waist. Her face carried a slight smile as she looked into my eyes, her head tilted down slightly.

“Thanks Matthias, for everything” she said getting a tad closer before jumping towards my chest wrapping her hooves under my open arms and squeezing, pressing her head up against my chest.

I felt my face begin to blush, I was thankful for the darkness which shrouded my face, however my heart began to race a little. Slowly I wrapped my arms around the small blue pegasus, returning her embrace with the same amount of strength she held me with. I no longer cared if it seemed wrong, for whatever reason, I just wanted to hold her as close as I could, and never let this feeling stop.

We held the embrace what seemed like hours before a sudden yawn from Rainbow Dash caused me to look down. Her embrace had lightening before she let go completely and moved to lay her head on my foreleg again stretching out towards the end of the bed and allowing her wings to unfold and relax.

“Tired?” I asked.

She merely nodded letting out a small content “uh-huh” as she rested a single hoof across my leg as if it was a pillow.

I leaned up from the wall and grabbed the pillow from the head of the bed, carefully maneuvering my leg from under Rainbow Dash’s head placing the pillow in its stead under her head. Getting up from the bed I proceeded to cover her body with the white sheets she had cocooned herself in before, earning a pleased sigh from the small pegasus. I knelt down, running a hand through her mane one last time before I got up to leave to return to my place on the couch, however I was stopped with a sudden tug on the back of my sleeveless undershirt.

Stopping I turned to see a small blue hoof wrapped up in the un-tucked portion of the fabric not in my jeans. I looked at Rainbow Dash who still seemed to be lost in her sleep, completely unaware that she had grabbed me. I chuckled slightly as I turned around, her hoof falling from my shirt as I went to kneel down. I looked out the window one more time just as another clap of thunder sounded in the distance.

“Fine, just for tonight” I whispered as I got up and crawled over Rainbow Dash to an open part of the twin size mattress settling underneath the covers, resting my head on my arm as I closed my eyes focusing on the sound of the rain falling outside. Another clap of thunder sounded.

“1…2…3…”