The Equestrian Monomyth - Book 2 - Complexs of Disharmony

As I had decided to resume training with Dashie, I thought that finding a suitable place for our drills will be the best. It needs to be an open field, not too close from the village, and not too far, in case of an emergency. One has to be prepared for any odd. I thought that Fluttershy could know about such a place.

I flown to her cottage, then I took out my raincoat first, and then knocked at her door.

"Who is it?!" Fluttershy's scared voice could be heard. "Please don't eat me!"

"Flutters, it's me, Gus. Are you alright?" I asked, concerned.

She timidly half-opened the door:

"Ah! Uhmmm... hello Gus... Thanks goodness you came by... I... I was trying to go shopping and I was just so scared. I thought I saw something in the woods. Did you... did you saw something when you arrived?"

I mindlessly looked around: "Everything is looking fine."

"Ow." She answered. "Humm, Gus, friend, sorry for bothering you so much, but it's that I don't feel safe anymore. I mean, humm, Twilight gave me an encouraging speech and all that but... I still can't go anywhere alone. I have to wait for other ponies to come to visit... I'm such a burden..." She sobbed.

"Awwww, come on. How can you say such thing?" I told her in my most cheerful tone. "Say, I have a lot of free time lately, so I can accompany you anytime you want."

"Se... seriously? Would you do that for me?" She fully opened the door, radiant of happiness.

"Of course! Come on! Let's shop!" I smiled, looking to Angel, who was angrily pointing to a book, featuring a picture of a large ice cream with a cherry in the top.

On our way to the market, she asked me: "Are you alright? How are you taking your breaking up with Twilight?"

I shrugged my shoulders, with my hands in the pockets of the pants and my folded raincoat in my arm: "Not so bad. The first week was the worst, but I'm getting used to by and by. I guess she should had a good reason to do it. Or maybe, she just got tired of my idiocies. Hell I know..."

"Ow... humm... and where are you living now?"

"In a bench on the park."

"What?! But why you hadn't told me! You... hummm... you can move with me." Fluttershy blushed. "That way, you'll protect me... and I won't be so scared all the time... if you don't mind, of course..." She looked at me with her lovely and cute smile. How I can say no?

"Of course, Flutters. This is a decision that I haven't to think twice."

Her face turned in the cutest and most adorable smile ever!: "Yay..." She meekly cheered.

We finished at the market, and were walking back to her cottage. She looked so happy! She was alternating trotting and flying, and looked to me over and over again, with her smiling muzzle holding a basket with her purchases.

Once we were back on her home, she asked me:

"Gus, friend... hummm... I'm sorry to ask but... I always had the curiosity... why you haven't almost any hair in your body? All your kind is hair bare like this?"

"Yes, it is. Why?"

"Well... because..." She blushed again. "I have to admit that I have no idea how to take care of an animal like you... I mean... Harry the Bear needed constant delousing." She looked me from up to down and sniffed. "And he stinked to rotten fish all the time. He thought that I didn't know he was still eating fish..." She made a sad grimace and sobbed. "But I loved him anyway... because he protected me..." Then, she startled and looked to me again and facehoofed: "Ow. I'm surely boring you with my ramblings... sorry..."

"Nah. Not at all. And don't worry. You don't need to delouse me, and I don't eat meat anymore. And I bath..." I raised the head, looking up and scrambling the mouth, very embarrased because I had passed more than a week without seeing the water and the soap. "...everytime I can... Can I use your bathroom?"

"Of course, bear-monkey." She smiled, closing her beautiful eyes.

"Bear-monkey?" I chuckled. "I don't think so. I'm more like a Teddy bear."

"Oh, then, Teddy bear will be!" Happily concluded Fluttershy.

Pinkie, as usually, was attending her job at Sugarcube Corner. Shining Armor had already departed to his weekly shift as captain, so she was alone again for a week. She cheerfully greeted all the costumers, as usually, but, in the inside, the grieve of the recent disaster was still eating her up: What if Twilight never forgive her? What if she is gonna hate her forever? FOREVER?! She shooked her head, and the smiling face returned to her. She doesn't want the other ponies to realize the struggle she was enduring on.

In that moment, Applejack and Rainbow Dash came to visit: "Hi, Pinkie!" They said at the same time.

"AJ, Dashie!" She happily trotted to them and hugged them. "I'm so happy that you've dropped by!" Then, she dragged them to a table. "Sit here, and I'll give you some cupcakes! It's on the house!"

"Oh, no, no, no! You haven't to do that, Pinkie! We're not here to sponging on you! We'll pay, as we usually do." Dashie rejected the offer, smiling.

"Tha's right! Mah apple bussiness is runnin' on wheels and Ah have plenty of bits to share! Honestly!" Also rejected Applejack.

Pinkie dropped her head and ears: "But then, how I'm gonna prove that I'm really really sorry..." She sadly said.

"Don't worry, Pinkie. You don't need to go aroun' givin' things away like Rarity, just to show how sorry you are!" Laughed Applejack. "We already know tha you're sorry, and we aren't mad with you."

Pinkie raised the head and perked the ears: "Really?! You're not mad with me?!" And then she asked with a less cheerful tone. "Even after all the trouble I got you into with Twilight? She doesn't want to speak with you again..."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked to each other: "Actually, we're just coming back from her library. Rarity let us know that she had forgave us, and we dropped by to visit her." Announced Rainbow Dash.

"She forgave you?! Already?! And me?! What about me?! Did she forgave me too?! Did she?!" Pinkie happily jumped several times in place.

Rainbow Dash looked to Applejack, and pushed her with a leg, like saying 'Tell her by yourself'. Then, Applejack looked to Pinkie:

"Pinkie, uhmmm... she didn't..."

"I knew she will...! What?!" Started to say Pinkie, stopping short in her bump jumps. "She didn't...? Oh no..." Her mane and tail deflated, her ears lowered, and she sat on her haunches and sobbed. "I knew iiiiit... I knew she'll never forgive me-e-e-e-e-e." She cried.

"Oh, come on Pinkie. Don't cry, girl, don't cry." Rainbow Dash and Applejack hugged her. Then, Rainbow Dash looked to Applejack: "We have to do something."

"Agreed." Confirmed the cowpony.

Twilight and Rarity were walking back from the spa, after a relaxing session there:

"I'm so glad you've agreed to go out from that somber library at last, darling!" Cheerfully commented Rarity. "That loneliness and that locking up wasn't doing you any good! I bet that after that single session in the spa, you're as good as new!"

Twilight just gave her a mild smile. Then, she looked to the front, facing Rainbow Dash and Applejack, looking at her with surprise:

"Ahhh!" They both startled. "Twilight, we... we didn't know you were around..." Said Rainbow Dash, then, she shrugged an eye: "Were you following us?"

"No!" Giggled Twilight. "But why are you so scared of me? Do I look so bad?" She asked, confused.

"No, it's not that. It's..." Rainbow Dash and AJ tilted their heads a bit and looked to something behind Twilight, then back to her, two or three times.

Twilight half closed the eyes and got an annoyed grimace: "She's behind me, isn't?"

"Mmhmm." The two mares nodded.

Twilight slowly turned around, angrily looking to Pinkie Pie, who, with deflated mane and tail, quivering tearful eyes and trembling, pleaded to her: "Please, Twilight... forgive me... look... I've brought you a cupcake... courtesy of the house..." She said with sobbing voice, forwarding a cupcake with a trembling foreleg.

Twilight's face softened, and she raised a foreleg: "Come on, Pinkie. Give me a hug." She slightly smiled, making a 'come on' gesture with the leg.

Pinkie's face brightened up: "For real?! You're forgiving me?!! Yippeeee!!" She jumped in the place several time with her 'sproing' sound and her mane and tail poofed again. The cupcake fell on Rarity's head, pouring itself over her annoyed face.

Then, Pinkie jumped to Twilight, receiving a hoof jab right on the muzzle: "Prufght!" Pinkie fell awkwardly on the ground, and the next second she had Twilight over her, bucking her with rage: "You destroyed my life! You destroyed my life! I'm gonna kill you, you crazy wag! I gonna kill you!!"

"No, Twilight, no!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack quickly reacted to stop the beating.

They separated the two mares, and Pinkie stood up again in her four legs. Then, she stared fixedly to Twilight: "It's... it's that true...? Do you want... to kill me...?" She asked with sobbing voice.

Twilight, held by Rainbow Dash and Applejack, looked at her with rage: "What do you think, you bucking piece of idiot?"

Pinkie's mane and tail flattened again, and she turned the head and closed the eyes: "AJ, Dashie, please... release her..."

"What? No! Come on Pinkie, run away!" The other mares warned her.

"No... if she wants to kill me, I won't stop her. Release her, please." Pinkie sobbed. "Better to end all this suffering already."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked each other, and, even with Rarity fearfully shooking her head and waving a foreleg, silently pleading to them not to do it, they released Twilight. The purple unicorn give some steps to Pinkie, and asked her: "Any last will, hapless?"

"No, Twilight, no please, don't do it. You're not like this, you..." Tried to stop her Rarity.

"SHUT UP!!" Twilight screamed to her. Then, she looked to Pinkie again: "So well?"

Pinkie sat on her haunches, lowering the head and the ears and closing the eyes: "Just... send my ashes to my family... and bury me under a rock..." She sobbed.

Twilight's horn lightened. "So be it."

"No, Twilight no!" The three mares raised their forelegs, scared, just when Twilight shot a powerful spell just at Pinkie's side. The pink mare doesn't even moved. Only her mane and tail rippled a bit due the air blast.

The other mares sighed with relief.

"Oof! That felt so good!" Admitted Twilight, smiling, looking up and blinking. "Alright, Pinkie. Now I've truly forgiven you." She looked to the party mare.

Pinkie raised the head and perked the ears: "Truly...? For real?!" She asked, still skeptical.

"Yep. For real this time." Smiled Twilight, closing the eyes.

Pinkie, with tearful eyes and smiling, raised her forelegs: "Ok, give me a hug then."

Trustfully, Twilight walked to her, receiving a hoof jab in the muzzle too. Twilight turned the head for an instant, and later she stared to Pinkie, scowling and with a scrambled annoyed mouth, rubbing her sore cheek.

The other mares gasped of terror, facehoofing and waiting for nothing but the worst.

"Gotcha!" Said Pinkie, mischievously looking to Twilight, with poofed mane and tail again.

But, instead to what they were expecting to happen, Twilight just started to laugh, and soon all of them were laughing their lungs off.

"Alright, you can hug me now." Finally allowed Pinkie, among laughters.

"For real this time? No more surprise jabs?" Asked Twilight, still laughing.

"For real this time. Pinkie promise."

The ponies were gathering at the amphitheater in Canterlot, where Luna's public trial was held. The prosecutor, after enumerating each and every law broken and misdeed done by the accused, stepped before the jury, among the booings of the crowd, asking to 'Send her to the moon' 'Banish her from Equestria' 'Throw her at a dungeon where she never sees the light again', etc.

"Gentlecolts and ladies from the jury. What your verdict is?"

The jury whispered a bit among them, and finally, the headmare of the crew stood up and spoke: "We find the accused, guilty of all the charges."

"Hoorayyyyyyy!" The crowd acclaimed the decision.

"Now, it correspond to Our Highness to apply the punishment she deems fit." Concluded the mare, looking to Celestia.

Celestia closed the eyes, and then looked to her hornless sister:

"Sister, you already have heard the verdict. What do you have to say in your behalf?" She still gave her sister a chance to save herself.

Luna stood up with smugness, and replied: "Sister, you'll better send me to the gallows, and finish up with this clowning already."

"What are you talking about, Luna? You know that I abolished the death penalty already!"

"Then make an exception with me. I'm sure everypony is going to thank you for that."

"Hey, that's right! Send her to the gallows! Cut her head off!" Said somepony among the public and everypony agreed with the first.

"SILENCE!!!" Ordered Celestia with her Royal Canterlot Voice. Then, she looked to her sister. "Why, sister? Why do you have all that hatred to me? What did I do to you to deserve it?" She asked with sad voice.

"Save your whinings, sister. You only want me to stay alive, to accompany you in your endless reign, because everypony around will die but us! So stop being so flabby and kill me for once and for all!" Luna angrily blurted.

"That's not the reason I want you to stay alive for! It's because I love you!" Exclaimed Celestia.

"Well, too bad for you because I hate you! And if you want me to say it directly, I will!" Luna pointed herself with a hoof. "I want to kill you, and I will, at the first chance I have!" She angrily waved a hoof and later hit the ground, to emphasize her confession. "So you better kill me now, that you can!"

Everypony stayed silent, dumbfounded, looking to the perplexed Celestia. The prosecutor even dared to come closer and whisper to her: "Your Highness, according to the law, you could perfectly make an exception..."

"Silence!" Celestia interrupted him. Then, she looked to her sister, dissapointed. "Sister, you know that I can't kill you. You know that..."

"That's your problem, sister. You're too soft and too merciful. Always trying the diplomatic approach, when it was clear that we have to use the force. That's why I should rule and not you. This pathetic kingdom is condemned to doom because of your pitifulness! And I'll be there when it crumbles, as it will, and I'll laugh the last! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Luna evily laughed.

Celestia sighed, defeated, and turned her head to Shining Armor: "Captain, I have my decision: lock her in the castle's dungeon. Carry on." She sadly ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness. At once."

This day started quite unusually, as Celestia, after learning about my 'awesome' psychological skills, came to visit me, asking for my help: it turns that Cadance had passed several days depressed because her broke down with Shining Armor, and Celestia was extremely concerned that her life could be at risk. And knowing how soft-hearted and emotional these ponies are, I knew she had all the reasons to be concerned. I said 'awesome' among quotes, because I doubt I could fool a human city folk using that same technique. But it worked wondrously with ponies. It's another culture. More innocent, more impressionable... that's why.

Anyway, after we arrived to Cadance's room, and after several attempts from Celestia to get an answer from her locked door with no success, I finally decided that enough was enough and kicked the door down. Celestia looked at me with, astounded:

"But what are you doing?! That's a privacy invasion!" She angrily scolded me.

I, instead of replying her, just entered the room, saying aloud: "Cadance, you better not be trying to kill yourself, or I gonna slap your flank until it turns red!"

Celestia gasped, facehoofing: "But rascal! What manner is that to treat...?!"

"Shut up, Cellie! Let me do it my way!" I interrupted her.

Cellie scowled and deeply blushed, and then she looked to a couple of guards at her side:

"You haven't heard nothing of this. Understood?" She whispered to them, and they nodded in agreeing.

Next to this, a slapping sound could be heard, along with Cadance's sobbing voice: "Ouch, Ouououch, ouch! No! It hurts! Ouuuuch! OUCH!"

The guards looked to Celestia:

"Don't worry, Your Highness. We haven't heard anything. Anything at all." They shooked their heads, denying knowledge.

Next, my voice was heard again: "Will you try to kill yourself again?!"

"NO! No, please don't slap me anymore! It hurts too much!" Cadance's sobbing voice was heard.

"Swear it!"

"I swear! I swear!"

"Now, go to the dinner room and eat something, at once!"

Cadance, galloping like her life depended of it, darted out from her room, and quickly she was eating from the table directly, without serving in a dish first, looking around, scared.

After a moment, I exited the room, smiling victorious:

"See, Cellie? Problem solved." I opened my arms, self assuring.

Celestia angrily looked at me:

"Sincerely, I don't know how Twilight could stand you." She blurted below her breath, shrugging her eyes and shooking her head a bit.

That hit me. Hard. And the tears started to slid on my face. Celestia soon realized her bad doing:

"Oh! Oh, sorry, rascal! I... I didn't mean to hurt you. It just... it just go out from my muzzle. Oh, I'm so sorry for being so unsensitive!" She hugged me and we cried together for a while.

"That's ok, Cellie. That's ok. I know you didn't do it on purpose." I assured her when I was able to speak again. "And maybe you're right. Maybe she broke up with me because she got tired of my idiocies."

"Oh, rascal. Don't worry. I'm sure that wasn't the reason." Celestia, with tearful eyes, petted me with her hoof and soft wings. "Besides, I love you exactly the way you are." Then, she blushed when she realized what she had just said. "But what are we doing here, crying like somepony has died, when we should be celebrating Cadance's recovery instead!" She smiled, changing the subject of the conversation. "Let's eat something tasty and drink some apple cider from Ponyville's best brewer! Cheers!"

"We haven't heard anything about cider, but we can have a bit anyway?" Said one of the guards.

Celestia and me laughed, and suddenly her muzzle was so close from my mouth. She closed her eyes, I closed mine...

"Your Highness!" Somepony called, and we broke the hug with a gasp. "Your Highness! Princess Luna tried to escape, and she got injured, pretty badly!" The messenger announced.

I smiled and looked to Celestia. "Sorry, Cellie. Duty calls. We'll celebrate later." Then, I indicated the messenger to take me to the wounded mare, and ran after him to path up that ungrateful bitch...