Protection they said. Well how is one guard supposed to protect a place like ponyville? I walk off the train station, duffle bag on my back, and violin in mouth. I start towards my temporary residence. I would fly to the small cottage I’m staying in, but my wings are still burned and broken from the battle.
That battle.
The wedding.
It all turned out for the better but not without casualties from half of guards... I was lucky, Changeling magic burned my wings. The doctors said that there’s a one in ten chance that they will heal by the time next Hearths Warming’s Eve comes up. A slim chance, but still a chance.
I walk around the corner to what I presume to be the local marketplace. Ponies are selling their wares: chocolates, nick-knacks, and a particularly cute orange mare selling apples. I was deciding whether or not to buy some and start up a conversation when I see a pink blur come straight to my face.
“OHMYGOSHHIIMPINKIEANDYOURNEWANDTHATMEANSIGETTOTHROWAPARTYFORYOUBUTDON’TTELLANYONEBEACAUSEITSSOPPOSEDTOBEBEASURPRISEANDALLSOWHATSYOURFAVORITECOLORMINEIS-“ I start to get a headache trying to hear what this pink maniac is saying to me. Eventually that orange mare pulls the pink one off of me.
“Sorry bout that, Pinkie here gets a tad excited when new pony comes around.” she says. I walk off before the orange one says anything else. I really don’t want to deal with anyone right now and with this headache, I’ll just be downright irritable.
I continue my journey to my home, hoping nothing random like that happens again. The pegasi start rolling in some really dark clouds, and I can smell a hint of rain. I change my pace to a brisk trot, but as I do, I run into another mare. She is purple and levitating a big stack of books. Well, she was levitating a big stack of books. They now later all over the ground, covered in dust.
Putting down my things, I begin spewing as many apologies as possible.
“It’s no problem, actually, I wasn’t really watching where I was going either." She says. I was going to respond with something witty, but the heavy rain stopped any current thought in my head. “The weather team has really have outdone themselves this time...” She mumbles. The rain was making her purple hair sparkle. “Well, I’ve gotta go, the place I’m headed is at the other side of town.” I say as I begin picking up my things.
“Oh, well ok.” She says, seemingly disappointed. “I was going to offer you to stay in the Library for a while, but all right.” She levitates her books, and trots off before I can say yes to the offer.
"Well," I think to myself. "let’s go home and catch a cold"
I pick up my things and start to run to my home. The earthy scent of mud flows through the air as ponies run about seeking any shelter they can find.
"I need to get my violin out of the rain." I think to myself. Just then, I see a small cottage. "Thank god." I whisper to myself. "Now i can get out of this rain."
I open the door quickly and rush inside putting my things down as I close the door. I close my eyes and let out a warm sigh of relief as the fire soothes my soaked fur. "Wait a moment." I think, my eyes snap open. "There shouldn't be a fire yet."
I turn around quickly and stare into the eyes of about 15 angry animals and a shocked yellow-pink pegasus that used to be sipping some tea. I just stand there silently, not knowing what to do. Neither of us saying anything for a awkwardly long time, so I decide to break the silence.
"H-Hello."
The animals are on me in a instant. I try to fight back but the animals are surprisingly strong and I am immediately overpowered. A small white bunny hops onto my head and starts to thump it with his foot repeatedly. "Ah! Hey sto-Ow! That one hurt!" I tell him but to no avail.
I see a yellow hoof pick him up and put him down. I am trying to get a good look at her, but I can't see from my awkward point of view. Fortunately enough, I can hear them. "Angel bunny, no. This stallion is clearly lost" She chides the rabbit in a light voice.
How did she know I was lost?
"You need to apologize right now, all of you." She says, giving the animals a stern look. All of the animals get off of me and mumble something I can't understand. I just give a awkward "thank you." In return.
"I'm so very sorry," The yellow Pegasus says. "They were just protecting me, are you ok?"
"It's all right." I say quickly. "I mean, I did kinda barge in uninvited."
I pick up my things getting ready to go out into the rain again. The yellow mare shook her head. "It's fine. It happens more than you think, ponies often get lost in rain like this and come in to warm their coats." She says.
"Uh, alright." I say, beginning to pick up my stuff. "Well thank you, but I should get going now. Thank you." I make sure I have all my things and start towards the door.
"Oh, but it's raining so hard. Aren't you worried you'll get a cold?" She asks in a worried tone.
"I'll be fine. Trust me." I say, opening the door.
"Oh, but I insist you stay here."
I stop. "You just met me. Why are you going to let me stay in all the sudden?" I ask.
This question makes her think for a moment. "I don't know." She says finally. "You seem like the type of pony I want to have some tea with and get to know better...W-Well, if thats ok." She finished quietly.
I stand there thinking whether I should stay or not. The sounds of the heavy rain outside convince me that a cup of tea is what I need.
"Okay. I'll stay." I say, setting my stuff back down.
She smiles and walks into the kitchen and I sit myself down at her table. She comes back with two mugs of steaming hot green tea. "Thank you." I say to her as I take a small sip. "So...what's your name?" I ask her.
"Oh, my name is Fluttershy." She whispers, taking a sip of tea as well. "What's your name?"
"Oh sorry. Well, my name is Flobert."
We sip tea in a comfortable silence, the downpour still raging outside. If this keeps going, I’m going to stay here the night. That is, if she would even let me. Generosity can only go so far. I look out the window. Rain is smashing itself relentlessly onto the window. Those angry dark clouds aren’t going to let up anytime soon.
“So, how long have you lived here?" I ask , trying to start up a conversation.
“Oh I lived here almost all of my life. I did go to the flight school in Cloudsdale for a little while, but other than that I’ve lived here." Fluttershy says quietly. "Where do you come from?” she asks, her voice just above a whisper.
“Oh I came from Canterlot. I’m actually here to guard Ponyville and wait to get my wings healed." I tell her, taking another sip of my tea.
“Oh...ok.” She says, silent as ever. I turn my head back at the window to see the almighty presents of Mother Nature. The sky has turned dark and by the looks of things, I think it may be nighttime by now. The slow rumble of thunderclouds can be heard in the distance and all I see still see is rain. I don’t know why I keep looking outside, nothing is going to change for a while.
“Hey Fluttershy, do you know about a place that I can stay at tonight or even some type of shelter?” I ask quickly. I really don’t want to be a burden any more than I should.
“Oh but it’s still raining outside, aren’t you afraid you will get a cold?" She says with a concerned tone.
“I think I’ll be fine but thank you for the concern.” I set down my tea and walk over to my items. I carefully balance them on my back, near my wings.
“Oh…Well if you’re looking for a place to stay you can run over to Cloudcroft Cottage." She says, picking up the cups. "It usually stays in the clouds, but when it rains like this it has to land.It should be nearby, just follow the path west and you should come across it." She flies over to her sink and puts the cups down. She then walks over to the door and holds it open for me.
“Well thank you for the tea and everything Miss Fluttershy but I must leave now." I say, not knowing how to thank her. She smiles a little and looks away, hiding behind her hair. "It was no problem." she says. "I hope you make it there okay."
I nod and smile back. "Goodbye, and thanks for the tea." I say, running into the rainstorm heading and along the path west into the forest.
The warmth I once had is taken away quickly as the rain soaks though my fur. I immediately regret this decision. The mud slow me down till my original sprint turns into a walk. My hooves make a gentle plopping sound as they free themselves from the wet earth. I continue to walk against the rain trying to get to the supposed shelter as fast as I can. The forest trees loom over me, their leaves not doing much to stop the rain. I continue walking to the hills of fields of Ponyville, just outside some kind of apple orchard. There I see it Cloudcroft Cottage.
I break into a slow trot, trying not to get tripped up on the mud. I walk to the cottage with a warm glow coming from within. It’s a cloud about two times as big as Fluttershy's cottage. I stand on the doorstep and open the door. I’m greeted by another Pegasus, a brown coated fellow whose smile is almost as big as his face.
“Hello there!” he greets me, the warmth flowing out of his voice. “Welcome to Cloudcroft Cottage! My name is Iron Cloud, but you can call me Iron for short. A night’s stay is 5 bits, food and drink are 3. So what can I help you with?"
“Well I need a room until the storm dies down." I say. "Also some food for me, please” I add as an afterthought. I didn't realize how hungry I had become.
I dig out 8 bits out of my coin bag. I hand it to him and in return he gives me a key. “Okay, your room is at the end of the hall. Room 4. I'll bring down your food in a minute.” he says. I thank him and head down the hallway to my room. It has a small bed filled with hay, a small bed table, and a bookshelf in the corner of the room and a fireplace at the opposite end of the room . It’s quite a large room, about 5 meters across. I guess things do look bigger on the inside.
I set my things down by the bed table and fall into bed. The hay provides a strange softness, making my eyes slowly flutter shut. I hear a knock at the door and reluctantly get up to answer it. It's Iron again with the food balanced precariously across his back.
“Here ya go sir! One plate of hay fries and fresh pansies.” He says placing the plate on my table. "Enjoy!"
“Thank you” I say turning to my delicious food items. The pansies look delicious and I can’t wait to dive into those fries. I eat the pansies first, savoring their delicate flavor. Very well done. the fries are delicious. Perfectly crisp as, I like them. My plate now empty of its contents. I put outside so that Iron can retrieve it. I lay back in my bed and let sleep overtake me.
"Wh-were am I?" I say out loud to myself. The infinite blackness all around me scares me as I keep walking forward. I hear nothing except my own hoof steps. I am clad in the standard Canterlot armor suit, the ruffle of my wings brushing against the steel and gold does little to calm me.
Out in the distance I can see something. Looks like a mare, blonde mane and white fur. I try to get closer but whenever I walk forward I never seem to get closer.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” I try to call out to her, but she doesn’t seem to hear. Suddenly, I am tripped up by something clinging onto my hoof. I look behind me and it’s a tendril. I get pulled by the tendril towards a dark form.
It is something out of a little foals nightmare. An alicorn, slightly bigger than Princess Celestia. Something is strange about it though. Is that...two pairs of wings? Twisted face, red eyes to match an equally red mane, and a mouthful of sharp gleaming teeth. I freeze. I have never seen something more terrifying in my life.
I begin trying to break away but he just holds me with that damn tendril, laughing a laugh that can drive a full grow stallion to tears. He picks me up and forces me to stare into those blood red eyes of his. His almighty black form seems to be getting bigger by the second. His grip on my neck getting stronger! My neck snaps and everything fades to black.
"Agh!"
I snap awake, sitting upright on the rented bed. A cold sweat covers me and my heartbeat is racing faster than that one Pegasus who won the "Best Young Flier Competition". Who was she again? Oh, Right. Rainbow Dash. That was her name.
I shake my head and chuckle at myself for getting distracted like that. With a shaky hoof, I reach up to my neck to see if it is still intact. I touch it and I feel a spark of pain. I gasp slightly and light a lantern to look in the mirror.
My eyes adjust and I look at my reflection examining my neck. In the firelight I can see that a dripping ring of blood, surrounding the perimeter of my neck.
