Fizzlepop paced nervously in front of the entrance into the WhiteTail woods. She bit her lip as she looked up to the sun in the sky, finding it to be just nearing its highest point.
"He said noon... where is he? I hope I'm not too early..." She muttered, under her breath.
A few more minutes passed in silence before she heard the tell-tale signs of someone walking on the dirt path just down the road from her. Fizzlepop's ears flicked to the source of the sound, before she turned to see James as he approached from the distance, a beaming smile present on his face.
"Hey!" He excitedly waved to the unicorn as she turned her full attention to him.
"H-Hi!" Fizzlepop called back, a little unsure of herself.
"Sorry if I kept you waiting. I had to help out with a couple chores before I could get away and they took a bit longer than I expected them to." James explained, quickly making his way over to Fizzlepop.
"Oh don't even worry about it. I wasn't even waiting ten minutes. Guess that's just my fault for showing up super early." Fizzlepop chuckled, with a slightly forced smile.
"Well, let's get started then." James replied, a wide smile on his face.
"Right. Let's do this." Fizzlepop responded, turning toward the forest.
The duo made their way into the woods and walked along one of the many trails already set up for ponies to travel on. They walked side by side, although Fizzlepop seemed a bit unsure of herself during the beginning of the walk, as she opted to keep a steady distance from James while they continued along the path. Eventually, the human noticed the extra distance she was placing between them and chuckled.
"You know I'm not gonna bite or anything, right?" He said, eyeing her with a raised eyebrow.
Fizzlepop felt a blush immediately creep up on her cheeks, "I-I know that... I was just... trying not to make you uncomfortable." She explained, deliberately stepping a bit closer to close the gap.
James smiled, "Just making sure. How's your week been? I haven't seen you since the bar." He replied, placing his hands in his pockets.
"Oh, I've just been around... doing whatever I need to to get by. You know how it is." Fizzlepop nonchalantly replied.
"Yeah, I get you. I'm glad that you made it out today though. Not gonna lie, a part of me was kinda worried that you just agreed to go out just to get me to leave you alone." James chuckled, a good natured smile on his face.
"I wouldn't do that to you. I may be many bad things as far as Ponies are concerned, but a liar is not one of them." Fizzlepop responded, a tiny half smile on her face.
"Glad to hear it." James smiled, before the pair arrived at their destination in the center of the woods.
A marble statue, carved to look like a large magnolia tree, sat in the center of a circular walkway that was surrounded by a small stream that passed through the center of the woods. Several park benches sat on all four corners of the statue, allowing for a nice place to sit for a while as the sun slowly reached its highest point in the sky.
As they reached the statue, James looked down at the small plaque sitting in front, just at the base of the tree.
~Lest We Forget What Makes Life Worth Living~
James spared an inconspicuous glance over to Fizzlepop as she read the plaque beside him.
"Well, that's certainly a beautiful sentiment to go with this monument." Fizzlepop mentioned, her eyes drifting up the statue.
"It sure is. Here, why don't we sit down for a sec?" James offered, gesturing to the nearest bench.
Fizzlepop raised an eyebrow but shrugged and moved for the bench, "We've only been walking for a little bit, but sure."
James smiled and followed her over to the bench. Once they were both seated, he looked out at the stream as it circled around the monument, and the trees framing the perfect picture of serenity and bliss in the quiet woods. Beside him, Fizzlepop drank in the view with much the same interest, and the calming effect of the gentle babbling stream made her withers visibly sag as she relaxed into the moment.
"You know, back on my world, there was a little spot in the forest behind my house that was just like this. Minus the tree statue and plaque and all that, but it looked just like this neck of the woods. There was a huge tree that fell down when I was a kid that I used to cross the stream for years-" James chuckled, "-before I got too big and heavy for that poor decaying tree and broke right through. Fell right into the stream." He finished, letting out a laugh.
Fizzlepop chuckled at the image before James turned to her, a pleasant smile on his face.
"You ever have anything like that growing up?" He asked, looking to her with genuine curiosity.
Fizzlepop bit her lip and looked away for a moment, causing a frown of concern to form on James' face. Just as he was about to open his mouth, she looked back up to him and spoke.
"Not really, no. I, uh... I ran away from home after this happened." She answered, pointing up to her broken horn and scar.
James gave a nod of understanding, "Ah, I see. What made you do that?" He gently inquired.
Fizzlepop sighed, "It's a long story. To sum it up, I was a unicorn born in a village with almost no other unicorns. My two best friends were the only ones that understood what it felt like to have magic and... well to lose it just made me feel so alienated and alone. No doctors knew how to fix it and there weren't any unicorn specialists that we could afford... I guess feeling like you're completely broken and nopony understands you just became too much to bear." She explained, a sad look in her eyes.
James nodded, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine what that must have felt like."
"Thank you. It was a struggle for the majority of my life... still trying to get over it, if I'm being honest." Fizzlepop replied.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did it happen?" James pressed.
"I don't mind. Honestly, telling the story more and more has been helping me deal with it. It was an ursa minor. I went into its cave looking for a ball my friends accidentally threw over there, and all it took was one swipe of its claws." Fizzlepop elaborated.
James nodded, his lips pursed in solidarity, "I'm so sorry that happened to you, especially when you were so young. That's terrible." He replied.
Fizzlepop's eyes drifted away from James and down to the creek gently flowing around the makeshift island they both sat on. She watched a stray leaf as it slowly made its way past their bench, and down the the proper stream leading away from the monument. A soft sigh barely escaped her lips before she looked back into James' waiting eyes.
"Thank you, but I don't really deserve the sympathy... the things I did to get my horn back... well there's a reason most ponies are wary of me even now." Fizzlepop responded, a noticeable sadness in her voice.
James tilted his head to the side, "The whole Storm King fiasco?" He asked, gently.
Fizzlepop nodded.
James cleared his throat, "Well, I think they'll come around in time. I mean, you're not a bad pony or anything. You just made some bad choices." He offered with a small shrug.
Fizzlepop sighed, "I don't know. It feels like I can't even get a chance to make up for the things I did... ponies just don't even talk to me if they can help it."
"I know you did some bad things, but sitting here next to you, just talking like this? I haven't felt threatened or worried about you hurting me. You're actually... really nice to talk to," James responded, making Fizzlepop's cheeks turn just a shade darker, "especially compared to everyone else in Ponyville. Don't get me wrong, they're amazing, but they just seem a bit... I don't know, too nice? Is that even possible?" He chuckled.
Fizzlepop let out a small giggle, "I know what you mean. Ponies can be overly trusting and kind to a fault. At least, until you break that trust, that is." She admitted.
James snaked his arm around Fizzlepop's wither and pulled her into a gentle one armed hug. She didn't fight the action, but she noticeably stiffened at the gesture.
"I know they'll come around one day. Hell, that might even be really soon. You never know." James offered, a small smile on his lips.
Fizzlepop twiddled her hooves together as she pursed her lips in thought. After a few moments, she looked up to James with a hint of nervousness on her features.
"James?" She asked, getting a nod in return, "Why do you trust me? Aside from Princess Twilight, you're the only creature that's even wanted to talk to me. I just... I don't understand."
Now it was James' turn to purse his lips and dip his head in thought, "Well... like I said, you're actually surprisingly nice to talk to... you're not overly friendly or... fake? I guess? I know the ponies in town aren't fake friends or anything, but sometimes I just feel like their kindness is just a tad... disingenuous." He explained.
Fizzlepop nodded as she subconsciously leaned slightly further into the embrace, "I get that. They mean well, I'm sure, but I can see how you would think that. Ponies live in a bubble compared to the rest of the world."
James nodded, "The rest of the world ain't as peachy as Equestria, is it?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"You could say that. Most of the places I went to, you were more likely to be robbed than helped when you were struggling. Coming back here was culture shock in its own way." Fizzlepop acknowledged.
"What was that like? Traveling around the world? I always wanted to travel a bit but I never had the money or time to do it back home." James replied, looking down on Fizzlepop as she snuggled against him even more.
"It was... an adventure, that I can say for sure. Most days I woke up not knowing where I would be sleeping again that night, or where I was going to get food. Having said that... I saw some of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. Equestria is known for its beauty but there are some places out there that can give it a run for its money." Fizzlepop fondly recollected, before resting her head against James' chest.
As Fizzlepop idly reminisced about the brighter periods of her time away from Equestria, James slowly brought his hand away from her wither and up to her ear. The appendage quickly flicked as his fingers brushed against it, but Fizzlepop didn't seem to notice. With a small smile on his face, James gently pressed his fingers behind her ear and scratched. The fuzzy appendage twitched slightly at the contact, but soon relaxed as James continued his soft ministrations.
Fizzlepop's eyes slowly fluttered shut while she leaned her head even further to the side to give James better access to scratch her ear. She softly sighed through her nose as the contact persisted, even going so far as to nuzzle her cheek against his chest. The gesture brought a happy smile to James' face, and he stifled a chuckle at how adorable the little unicorn was.
Eventually, Fizzlepop pulled away, a dreamy look in her eyes as she slowly opened them once more.
"That was... really nice. I think I needed that." She murmured.
James felt his heart melt at the serene expression on her face.
"I'm glad. You looked a little stressed." He replied.
Fizzlepop chewed on her tongue for a moment, before clearing her throat, "Do... do you want to hang out again after this? I-I know we haven't even been here for an hour, but-" She began, only for James to cut her off.
"I'd love to." He smiled.
Fizzlepop felt her heart catch in her throat, "R-really?" She excitedly asked, her tail instinctively swaying back and forth in happiness.
James chuckled, "Absolutely. Whenever you're free next. For now though, do you wanna continue that walk?"
Fizzlepop beamed, "Absolutely."
Author's Note
Hey all. Thought I forgot about these two, didn't you? Well I did not! Currently in a pretty tough spot with school and trying to find a big boy job once I graduate here real soon, so writing hasn't really been a high priority for the last month. I hope that you guys liked this one. I know these stories are short, but I plan on writing them whenever I have the time and urge. That, or I just want to write something adorable.
