Staring Into Starry Skies
Fluttershy closed the door behind her after she exited the spare bedroom where the three fillies slept. She walked downstairs to find that Ender wasn’t in the living room where he said he was. Where has he gone?
The pegasus opened her front door to look outside. No pony was in sight, this slightly concerned Fluttershy. Of course, Ender had to be okay. He always had a mysterious nature, but that didn't bother her at all. In fact, she just liked him more. Ever since he moved into Ponyville, she had caught feelings for him. It was in an instant, when she met him through Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
In the past, she had liked some colts, but that was it. She had never had a relationship, or ever gone on a date for that matter. Most colts didn't like her because of how timid she was. But not Ender, he enjoyed her company and always liked spending time with her. She always wondered if he liked her back...
After going through the house and calling his name softly, aware not to wake the crusaders fast asleep, Fluttershy found her bedroom window open. Out of curiosity, she flew through it and searched for any sign of the black coated unicorn.
"Up here." A familiar voice startled her, releasing a quiet gasp. She turned to find Ender, sitting on her roof, looking up at the sky. "Sorry," he said, looking back at her with a smile. "Didn't meant to scare you."
"Oh, it's quite alright,” she blushed a little and flew up to his sitting spot. "May I ask...why you're on my roof?" she didn't mean it in a rude or mean way, but just in curiosity.
“Nah, you’d think it’s silly.” Ender scoffed, waving his hoof in emphasis.
“Now why would I ever think that?” she smiled sweetly, following his gaze up to the sky.
“Alright then,” he surrendered. "At night, when I can't sleep, I look up at the stars and think about...stuff." After mentioning the last word, he looked at her. “It calms me down, relaxes me if you would call it that too. I feel this...connection with the dark. Of course not the evil darkness itself but, the night. Even though there’s no sun, Luna’s stars provide the slightest of shimmering light, dotting the sky. That’s why, at night, I sit on my own roof when I can’t sleep and...think,” he finished.
Though she did not know why, she smiled and looked up at Luna's moon and whispered. "It's beautiful isn't it?"
"Yes you are.." he mistakenly said dreamily.
This made Fluttershy's face beat red. "W-what?" she blushed even harder, smiling and nervously looking away.
"Uh-I I mean yes...the sky is beautiful." he said, hoping the pegasus wouldn't bring the subject back up.
"You can't sleep?". Fluttershy remembered him mentioning that.
"Y-yeah." he looked at her a little nervously.
"Why?" she lightly pressed.
Ender sighed, "I haven't told any pony this. But for pretty much all my life, I've been having...nightmares."
Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth and lightly gasped. "Oh my! You must be going through something awful!"
"Yea...but the thing that bugs me is that it's not your average different nightmare after every other one. It's the same one, except...I get a little farther into it every night I experience them,”
Fluttershy thought this over. Not only had Ender been experiencing horrible nightmares, but they have been occurring almost every night since he was a foal! If only she could help…
“How come you haven't told anypony about this before?” she questioned.
“I don't really know. I just always thought they were a weird repetition or something. Something had to be wrong with me. I've only told Clayton because I most likely wake up screaming from some, but that's all. So, eventually, I checked into the doctor about it. Surprisingly, the doctor said I was fine except…”
“What?” Fluttershy asked, her face becoming puzzled.
“I wasn't at a healthy rate of sleeping hours,” he finished.
Fluttershy's face turned into a shocked expression. “Oh my goodness! What happened after that?”
“He gave me some sleep medication and sent me home. Not another thought about it. As you're probably guessing, the medication doesn't work. But when I sit out on my roof and think, the next morning I feel like I've gotten at least some sleep. I can't explain it, but something about being out in the night gives me energy to start in the new day,”
Finishing his sentence, he looked over at Fluttershy for a response. “That's very interesting to hear, I just wish I could do anything about it,” she said. “You don't deserve these nightmares, Ender,”
“You help with it, actually,” Ender rubbed his neck with his hoof. “This may sound strange, but sometimes, I sleep near your house under a tree. Somehow it helps and gives me a good night’s rest. I don't do it all the time though, I didn't want to appear as a creep or anything,”
Fluttershy processed this without being disgusting or getting weirded out. To her, it seemed sweet. “You really sleep better near me?” she almost stammered.
“That's why I wanted to help you with the girls tonight. I feel...safe around you Fluttershy. I get this warm feeling when I'm around you...or when I think of you. That's why I figured if I was with you tonight," he scooted a bit closer to her. "I knew you'd protect me from the nightmares." he smiled sweetly and blushed a little. Not once has he expressed nearly half his feelings for the pegasus he adored so much.
Fluttershy's face was the brightest shade of scarlet as she felt the warm feeling in her gut whenever she was around him. "Oh Ender, you're so sweet and kind. I feel the same-"
A group of screams could be heard from the distance, interrupting Fluttershy's sentence and startling the unicorn and pegasus. "What's was that?!" Ender exclaimed.
"It sounded like the girls!" Fluttershy said, preparing to leap down from the roof. "We have to go get them!"
"I'm right behind you!" Ender assured and ran as fast as he could to rescue the three fillies in whatever danger they were in.
Author's Note
I really hope everyone enjoyed that! That is just a small part of what's to come in the next year or so. I don't know when this first Season will be done, but rather than writing the whole story and then publishing it, I'll publish three new episodes when I can. This will be a little difficult as school will be starting soon and I have High School to deal with. Not only that, but I'll be busy with Marching Band. I hope once this kicks off properly you will all come to love this adventure, see ya!
