Butterfliesby SartarusChaptersChapter 1: Death Isn't So BadChapter 2: Off To A Good StartChapter 3: A New HomeChapter 4: NightmaresChapter 5: New FriendsChapter 6: We're Just Getting StartedChapter 1: Death Isn't So BadAuthor's note: First HiE story, second fanfic. Please don't hold back on the criticisms, let me know where i can improve and where i excel. I write this story to show my love for a certain pony. Marcus steadily typed on his computer, saying goodbye to his brony friends on Skype before taking a shower and heading to bed. He quit Skype and smiled at his computer background. It was a picture of Fluttershy smiling with her eyes closed, her head tilted to the side with a soft blush across her face. Marcus hated turning his computer off, but it was time for bed and his family used the computer as well. "Thank Celestia I put different accounts on this computer..." He smiled as he said this and clicked the shut down button before standing and walking down the hall to his room. He crawled into bed and looked onto his bedside table where a small plushie of Fluttershy was smiling at him. He smiled reflexively and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~ The alarm on Marcus' phone started beeping loudly, bringing him back to reality from his paradise. Oh, what he wouldn't give to go to Equestria. He sighed and looked over to his Fluttershy plushie and smiled again. He reached up and hugged it tightly. "Love you Fluttershy~" Today was gonna be a good day, he could tell. He slipped out of bed, holding his plushie tight to his chest before going to his closet, looking for some clothes to wear to school today. He decided on a pair of jeans and a plain yellow shirt. He carried his clothes to the bathroom and took a quick shower and shaved shortly after. He walked out his front door and walked down to the end of the street to catch his bus to school. It was such a shame, 17, a brony, and he still has to ride the bus to school.... Ah well, today is gonna be a good day anyways, why should he care? The ride to school was uneventful. There was something being said around the bus, something about some guy talking about shooting someone the day before, Marcus wasn't listening, but for some reason he kept catching people stealing glances at him. He shrugged and turned his iPod up. ~~~~~~~~~~ The day was just like every other day, Marcus caught up with his brony buddy, Doug, they talked about fanfictions they had read the night before, talked about the show, then talked about some art they had seen. The bell for lunch rang and they both walked side by side down the stairs and met up with Marcus' best friend who moved with him. Ashley smiled and waved. She started talking to him about some gossip but he noticed a guy glaring at him. "Hold up Ashely..." "What's up?" "That guy keeps staring at me..." "Don't worry about it man, cmon, let's go eat." Doug knew how to solve every problem. Marcus and Ashley were both starving and only just realized it when Doug said something. They got their trays of food and sat at their regular table. Marcus looked up and saw the guy that was staring at him earlier. He shrugged it off until he heard the loud report of a gunshot reverberated around the lunchroom. Everyone jumped out of their seats and got on their knees, covering their heads with their hands, only the assailant was standing, staring intently at Marcus, a sleek, black pistol in his hand, aiming skyward. "What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuuck?!" Marcus was panicking, noticing the young man's icy glare. "Oh God, oh God, please don't kill me, please don't kill me!!" The armed man walked over to their table and Marcus was trying to scramble away. He felt something cold and hard press against his neck. He slowly turned to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun, a hard faced young man behind it. Marcus went pale as the young man pulled the hammer back on the weapon. He then motioned for Marcus to stand. He did, hoping doing so would keep him from dying. "I'm gonna say this once, and only once. If there are any other bronies out there, take this as a warning: Keep it to yourselves." He then raised the pistol to the side of Marcus' head and pulled the trigger. The sound deafened Marcus, but what shocked him the most was that he felt everything. He felt the fire come from the barrel of the gun and burn his face. He felt the white-hot bullet press against the side of his head and break through. He felt his skull shatter as the bullet entered his brain. He felt it exit the other side of his skull and the grey matter and blood leave with it. He stood there for less than a second then everything went black. His lifeless body slumped to the floor. ~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus opened his eyes to a long, dark hallway with a single golden, intricately decorated door at the other side. He began walking towards the door, certain that he was dead and was about to be judged. He pushed open the extremely heavy golden door, beyond it, he saw.....a white nothingness. "What the.... where am I?" A gentle, yet firm voice that sounded suspiciously like Celestia began to resound from everywhere at once. "You are in the afterlife. This is where you will be judged and sent to the appropriate plane." "Oh lovely.... Guessing that all the crap I've done will land me a first class seat on the train to Hell." "Fortunately for you, that is not the case." "......beg pardon?" "You are considered a Martyr, Marcus. I say this because you were killed for what you believe in and never once denounced it." "Huh.... never knew you could be martyred for being a brony." "Yes, well.... Times have changed." "Ah well, so since I'm a martyr, that means i go straight to Heaven, correct?" "Indeed." "Okay, so where do I go? Is there some kind of gilded stairway that I'm supposed to walk up or something?" "No, turn around and open the door behind you." Marcus turned and was facing the same door he had just walked through. "Okay, hold on one second. I just walked through that door, if I go back through it, wouldn't that put me back on earth?" "Fear not, that door leads to where you are destined. And you, Marcus, are destined for Heaven. As I'm sure you know, Heaven is personalized and will give you what your heart desires most." "Ah.... gotcha..... Oh! Before I go, can i ask a question?" "Yes." "Why do you sound like Princess Celestia?" There was a soft laugh, it sounded beautiful. "Marcus, you already know why. The one known as God is represented by what you imagine God to be. And I am assuming you imagine me to be Princess Celestia. Now go, enjoy your afterlife." "Guess that makes sense.... Alright! see you later Celestia! Er.... I mean, God...." There was another laugh. "It is fine, call me what you wish." At that, Marcus smiled and opened the door, behind it was nothing but blackness, still. "Okay, what gives? There's nothing behind this door." "Walk through it." Marcus sighed and walked through, the door slammed behind him and vanished. He then felt himself being propelled in a random direction. The air blew by him and whipped his hair into his face. He then felt himself falling but his feet were planted firmly on some kind of surface. The surface soon gave way and he was free falling. The black was replaced by a dark sky, dotted with little specks of light. He looked down and saw a very menacing forest beneath him. "Oh shit." He was then sent flying through the branches, most of them snapping as he hit them. A mighty bough hit him hard in the chest, knocked the wind out of him and sent him face-first into the dirt beneath him. Unconsciousness overtook him as his face connected with hard ground. Chapter 2: Off To A Good StartAuthor's Note: The chapter name is purely ironic. Marcus woke up to the crunching of leaves and twigs that littered the forest floor. "I say, who is there? Some kind of beast, possibly a bear?" He perked up at the sound of his favorite zebra.... Well, the only zebra he knew. He decides to play dumb, lest he scare the living hell out of these poor ponies. He lifted his head to see a striped muzzle staring him in the face. She backed up quickly, her eyes filling with shock and intrigue. "What is this creature before my eyes, your presence here is quite a surprise." "I'm... what they call a human... I come from a place called Earth... but more importantly, where am I now?" "You are in the Equestrian nation. You must be from a very distant location." "Well then. That's interesting to know. May I ask you a question, miss.....?" he trailed off, even though he already knew the answer. "Zecora is my name, perhaps you could tell me the same?" She smiled a little, her intrigue growing more as she talked to the strange creature before her. "They call me Marcus back where I'm from. So, my question is: Why has everything you said rhymed?" Zecora opened her mouth as if to speak, but was interrupted by a more high pitched voice. It sounded extremely familiar. "Zecora! Ah found this here 'shroom growin' in tha barn back home an' Ah was a-wonderin' if'n ya might want it." The little yellow filly saw Marcus and her face turned to one of pure shock. She let out a shriek and turned around and ran. "Crap!" Marcus went to chase after little Applebloom but stopped and did a slight bow to Zecora. "Sorry Zecora, gotta go and try to clear things up, I'll be back and chat with ya again sometime." Zecora returned the gesture. "I trust you to take care, and be sure not to hurt the little mare." "Will do!" He ran after her and used her bright red bow to keep track of her. After all, there aren't many bright red things in this forest. He continued to chase the filly, quickly running out of breath and stopping at the edge of the forest as his eyes adjusted to the sudden rush of light. "Ah... crap...." He quickly recovered, though and continued the chase. "Hey, wait!" She kept running, following a road into town. Marcus continued to follow. He had lost track of his surroundings and didn't noticed the hooves buck his side until after the fact. Marcus tumbled sideways, crashing into a flower cart on the side of the road. He groaned and sat up, flowers and bits of wood still covering him a bit. The ponies in the market stared for about two seconds then started to scream and run. “What tha hay do ya think yer doin’ ta mah sister?!” The orange earth pony was glaring at Marcus as he was crawling out of the rubble of the destroyed cart. She was standing there, her stance was wide, preparing to charge if need be. Marcus didn’t hear a word she said as he stood and brushed the flowers and soil out of his hair. The pony opposite him began to scrape her hoof on the ground, kicking up a little dust. “I asked who ya are, an’ what ya were doing ta mah sister!” “Oh shit... Uh, I know this looks bad, but I was trying to apologize to her. She saw me in the.... Everfree Forest and kinda freaked out. I was there talking to Zecora and well, she just waltzed up and didn’t give anyone a chance to talk...” She then turned to the little filly behind her and had a disappointed look on her face. “Ah thought Ah told ya, Applebloom. Ya’ll don’t need ta be goin’ near tha forest.” “Sorry, sis....” “So! Now that that’s out of the way, I think some introductions are in order. I’m Marcus, nice to meet you.” Marcus started to reach out for a handshake but thought against it and settled for what he hoped looked like a friendly wave. “Ah’m Applejack and this here’s mah lil’ sister, Applebloom. Sure is mighty nice meetin’ ya, Marcus, but uhhh.... No offense, but... Just what tha hay ARE ya?” He sighed and hung his head a bit. “Guess I’m gonna be hearing that question a lot for the next few days.... Hopefully I won’t die again before that happens.” “Ah beg yer pardon?! Yer dead?!” Applejack reared up and backed Applebloom closer to the cart, both of them had a fearful expression across their faces. “No! Nononono, I’m not dead, I’m just.... out of it right now. Sorry.” Applejack narrowed her eyes at him and turned her head a little. “If’n ya’ll say so... Anywho, why dontcha tell me what ya’ll are, exactly?” “Well, I’m a human... I know you’ve never heard of me, nobody has.” “Nobody? Ya mean ‘nopony,’ right?” “Yeah, that.” Applejack smiled at his little blunder and turned back to Applebloom. “Now, Applebloom, Ah want ya’ll ta go back home ‘n’ tell Big Macintosh that Ah’ll be gettin’ home a lil’ late cuz o’ tha lil’ accident we had over yonder.” “Alright sis... jus’ make sure ya stay safe....” “Ah will, dontcha worry yer li’l head about that none. Ah can handle mahself jus’ fine.” “Alright, sis, seeya at home!” Applebloom then nuzzled her big sisters neck and ran back down the road towards the farm. Applejack smiled and watched her sister go home then turned around to face Marcus. “Alrighty, let’s git ta work.” “I’m sorry?” Marcus looked at the orange pony for a few seconds. “Yup. What? Ya’ll thought Ah was gonna let ya get away with not cleanin’ this mess up? Nice try.” “Well, it was kinda your fault that I broke it...” “Well, it was you who were chasin’ mah sister like some kind o’ madpony!” “Well, I wouldn’t have been chasing her if she had let somepony speak!” “Why tha buck are ya even here?! Why didn’t ya stay where ya’ll came from?!” “.....Because I didn’t have a choice....” At that, Marcus spun on the ball of his foot and walked down the road out of Ponyville. Applejack stood there and wondered what he was talking about. She let out a sigh and started to clean up the wreckage the two of them had caused only a few moments ago. Marcus stopped when he felt he was far enough away from Ponyville. He looked around at the scenery. Green pastures and rolling hills filled the space between his spot on a hill and the mountains off in the distance. He sighed and stretched, lifting his arms high above his head and pulling them back. He cringed at the intense pain in his side. “Damn... she sure can kick...” “Oh, um... You aren’t hurt... are you?” “Huh?” Marcus turned, holding his side with his hand and his jaw nearly hit the ground. Before him stood his favorite pony of all: Fluttershy. He could barely fight the urge to hug the yellow mare. “Oh uh... maybe a little...” “Well, um... If you want, I can bring you back to my cottage and... see if I can help... If... If you want to that is...” Marcus nearly fainted. The mare of his dreams was asking him to go home with her. Even though it was under different circumstances than he wished, she’s still inviting him over! “Thanks... If it’s not any trouble to you, that is.” “Oh, no trouble... I like helping animals.... What... kind of animal are you.... if... you don’t mind me asking...” “I’m not really an animal... well... technically I am.... What with humans being mammals and all....” “Oh... that’s... interesting... Can... you tell me a little more...? A-about yourself, I mean.... If... it’s alright with you, that is...” Fluttershy began to scrape at the ground, more out of nervousness than anger, like Applejack had. “Yeah, while you’re fixing me up. My feet are starting to hurt....” “Oh! You poor thing... Come on, let’s go back to my cottage so you can lie down...” “Alright.... Hey, we never introduced ourselves. I’m Marcus, nice to meet you.” He walked up to her and gave a slight bow. “I’m Fluttershy.... N-nice to meet you, Marcus....” She smiled softly up at him, blushing a little as she did so. Marcus nearly fainted again. Author's notes: Special thanks on this chapter to inoeitall for being my official english-to-Zecora translator. Read his stuff. Also, more thanks to inoeitall and Gyrofest96 for being my prereaders, they edited a lot and contributed a lot to this chapter. I love them both (no homo). Chapter 3: A New HomeAuthor's note: Well, I have to thank my best prereader inoeitall AGAIN for helping me write this chapter. This is my first chapter with more than 2,000 words. Congratulations to me! "Oh my.... its quite hard...." "Yeah, well... stress builds up...." "I can see that.... Let's see........ Does this feel good?" “Oh yeah.....” “Um... I haven’t done this in a long time.... So forgive me if I’m a bit rusty....” “It’s fine... It feels wonderful, Fluttershy...” She giggled softly, “I’m glad you like it.... Eep!!” There was a soft thud. “Fluttershy?! You okay?” “Y-yes... I’m fine... Thank you.... Let’s try this again...” “Alright... Upsy-daisy.” The yellow mare blushed. “Um... Do you think jumping on it might help....? The bears seem to like it a lot....” “You do that to BEARS?! Wow! You sure do have guts!” She blushed harder. “Y-yes but only because they’re in the same situation you are....” “You mean with you on top of them?” She blushed harder still. “Y-yes... B-but only because... they were hurting... like you are...” “Yeah.... So, about that jump...?” “Oh! S-sorry... Alright.... One..... Two..... Three!” At this, Fluttershy jumped, using her wings to lift her a little more than her legs could and then dropped. Marcus’ back let out a bunch of nasty sounding pops and cracks as Fluttershy’s hooves connected and her weight fell on him. “Oof! Ohhh, yeah..... Much better....” Fluttershy smiled and crawled off of Marcus, landing softly on the floor, leaving her guest relaxing on her sofa. “Wow, Fluttershy... That felt amazing...” “Glad I could help...” Fluttershy smiled and walked upstairs then came back down with a pillow between her teeth. “Um... Do you think you could tell me about yourself...? If... If you want to, of course...” “Sure, I wouldn’t mind.” At this, Fluttershy smiled and laid the pillow on the floor and flopped down onto it. Marcus smiled at her and began his story. “Well, I come from a place called Earth. It is a... I guess you could say it’s a good place to live, except for all the crime, violence, drugs, alcohol, and overall horrible people. Yeah, I’d say it’s a swell place to live.” The sarcasm practically dripped from Marcus’ words as he said this. He sighed and continued his story. “Where do I start...? I guess I can start from my childhood: I’ve had a pretty good life, although there has been a lot of shit to happen to me.... like, when i was about seven, my father beat me with a table leg... don’t ask... And then, when I was nine my parents got a divorce, forcing me to testify against my father. For the next... oh... roughly three years, things weren’t all that great, but they weren’t bad, either. When I was eleven, my mother found a new husband... well, almost husband.... We were going to all go on a vacation to a waterpark where he planned to propose... Roughly a week before we planned to leave.... and three days after my birthday.... I came home from school to find him dead in their bedroom.... I cried.... Harder than I ever had before....” At this point in his story, Marcus had tears streaming down his face. He tried his hardest to hide it from Fluttershy. “And then... shortly afterwards, I made a really good friend.... we started dating and life was amazing. We dated for almost five years; we broke up when I was fifteen.... I had found out she was sleeping with another guy... Needless to say, I cried again.... Then the next year, my mother found another boyfriend.... we were all happy until I found myself here.... I’m seventeen now, and I’m alone for the first time in my life...” Marcus sighed and looked back at Fluttershy. She just stared up at him, eyes a bit wider than usual. Her eyes started to water a bit after she saw him looking at her. “Oh, geez, Fluttershy, please don’t cry...” “I-I can’t h-help it...” She hiccuped softly as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “Fluttershy....” Marcus reached down and gently picked her up. She was a bit nervous, more so than usual, but pressed her face against his chest, crying still. ”I’m okay, Fluttershy... please don’t cry....” His own tears had increased at seeing his favorite pony cry. He continued to hold her close to him until his stomach growled in her ear. “Oh.. um... a-are you hungry...?” “No, not really.” His stomach decided to protest this statement by releasing another low rumble. “Alright, you, it’s time to eat.” She was trying to be forceful, but the look on her face still showed she was extremely nervous. Marcus smiled at her. “Alright... um.. I don’t want to be a burden so, let me cook...” “Are you sure...? What do humans eat, anyway...?” “Well, we eat... huh.... We’re omnivores, so we can eat meat and fruits and veggies.... So, whatever’s convenient for you, I guess.” “Y-you... eat... m-meat..?” “Well, sometimes.... Some humans try to live off of just fruits and vegetables. But they usually end up looking like twigs, themselves.” “Oh... um... well... I don’t know what I can make that you might like... um....” “How about eggs?” “I guess I could.... Even though eggs are usually for breakfast.” “Oh man, tell that to my stepdad.... He eats eggs so friggen much, it’s not funny.... He usually makes a sandwich with them.” “Oh! Could.. could you show me how he does it...? That sounds interesting....” “Sure thing! But first thing’s first! I need you to point me in the direction of the kitchen and where I can obtain a few eggs.” She smiled and pointed to a door off to her right. “You can get the eggs from the chickens outside... Be careful, though...” “Alright... You’ll have to point me towards the kitchen when I come back.” “That’s fine.” Marcus smiled and walked out the door into Fluttershy’s animal pen. He walked over to the chicken coop and stepped behind it, there was no door to reach in and grab the eggs. “Crap...” He walked to the front and poked his head inside, most of the chickens were sitting on their eggs, and a few were sleeping. In the very back, there was one nest with three eggs in it that was unoccupied. “Figures...” Marcus crawled into the chicken coop and carefully made his way to the back, making sure not to disturb the chickens. He reached the nest in the back without so much as a nudge to the chickens that were staring at him with beady eyes. He started to get nervous as he reached out to the nest, taking the eggs. He started trying to back out of the coop but ended up kicking a couple chickens. They began to cluck angrily at him as he tried to back out and find solid ground again. “Sorry!” He continued to accidentally kick them, some started flying around inside the coop, flying at Marcus and pecking and scratching at his arms and face. “Ah!! Stop that!! Son of a- FUCK THAT HURT!!” He began scrambling, trying to get out of the coop. At this point, Fluttershy stepped into the open doorway to see what was wrong and saw the chicken coop shaking violently and some very obscene words coming from it. “Oh, um... Be careful.... Don’t hurt each other...” It took a few minutes, but Marcus finally forced his way out of the chicken coop, landing on his feet and turning around quickly. He ran as fast as he could towards the open door, eggs in hand. Behind him, dozens of angry chickens flew out of the coop after him. “Get back inside, Fluttershy!” He dove for the open door and slammed it shut behind him, the chickens began scratching and throwing themselves at the door, trying to get to the man who had disturbed them. He stood there, panting, his back against the door. His arms and face were covered in scratches and small wounds. His clothes were torn and tattered and there was hay and feathers in his hair and clothes, as well. “Oh my... Are you okay..?” “Yeah... But I’m not going back in that chicken coop.... EVER.” Fluttershy smiled and started walking towards another doorway. Marcus followed and found himself in her kitchen. It was pretty basic, sink, table, stove, fridge, and cabinets. “So, the first thing you do is get a pan and some oil.” Marcus dug around for a little before finding his supplies: a frying pan, some vegetable oil, and a spatula. “You don’t want to warm up the oil for this or you’ll get the whites too crispy.” He poured some oil into the pan and set it on a burner. He then cracked the eggs and dropped them into the pan. “And now, we play the waiting game.” He leaned up against the counter and watched the three eggs start to pop and sizzle in the pan. “I usually break the yolks for this, but I don’t know how you like it, I hope you don’t mind” “No, not at all...” “Alrighty, then.” He reached over with the spatula and pressed the corner into the yolks a few times. They flattened out and he flipped the eggs shortly afterwards. He grabbed a few slices of bread from one of the cabinets and made two sandwiches when the eggs were cooked all the way through. “Easiest thing I know how to cook.” “That’s interesting...” She walked over and sniffed the second sandwich he had made. “Yeah, I made you one, too” “You didn’t have to...” “Yeah, but I wanted to.” “Thank you... Marcus...” “Anytime.” She took the plate between her teeth and walked over to the table. She put the plate down, crawled into a chair and started eating. Marcus was still over by the stove seasoning his sandwich with salt, pepper, and any spicy powder he could find. Marcus sat down beside her when she was about halfway through her sandwich. “How is it?” She finished what she was chewing and smiled at him. “It’s very nice, thank you.” Marcus smiled back and proceeded to eat his lunch. ~~~~~~~~~~ The two of them sat at the table, plates empty and bellies full. The sandwiches were surprisingly filling. Fluttershy eventually got up and stretched her wings. She walked over to the door then turned back to look at Marcus. “Um... I have to go into town for a little... I hope that’s okay...” “Sure, gotta do what you gotta do. Just be careful.” She blushed a little and nodded. She turned around and walked out the door, leaving Marcus alone in her cottage. “So! Alone in Fluttershy’s house.... What to do...? I could go snooping? Nah, that’s rude... I could help with her chores? Too lazy....” At this point, Marcus heard a soft tapping. He looked around and saw Angel Bunny standing on the table, tapping his foot. He pointed towards the front door and then to his eyes then at Marcus. He hopped off the table shortly afterwards and disappeared. Marcus had no idea where the little critter could have run off to. “That was..... interesting....” He shook his head and started to wander around her cottage for a little bit. He found the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and what looked like a guest bedroom on the first floor. He decided to go up the stairs to look around. He found an aviary, another bathroom, and another bedroom. He assumed this one to be Fluttershy’s because it had green and flowery decorations. The bedspread was green with some pink flowers on it. The drapes were green, and even the walls were green. There were a few animal care supplies scattered here and there. He smiled at it and closed the door, walking back down the stairs. “What can I do to help the poor thing...?” He sighed and hung his head. He flopped back down on the couch. ~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus must have fallen asleep, because when he looked up again, it was nearly dark. He sat up and yawned. He wandered around the house again, wondering if Fluttershy had come back yet. Apparently not, she was nowhere to be seen. As soon as he had figured that she wasn’t back yet, the front door opened and a quiet voice called out: “Marcus...? Are you still here...?” “Yeah, I’m still here, I hope that’s not any trouble.” “No, no trouble at all....” Marcus walked into the living room again, to see Fluttershy struggling a little with some bags of feed and a bucket of apples. He rushed over and grabbed as much as he could, throwing the two bags of feed over his shoulder and grabbing the bucket with the other arm. Fluttershy blushed a little and looked up at him. “Th-thank you... Please don’t hurt yourself...” “Don’t you worry about it, I got it.” He smiled at her as his arm started to hurt from the bags of feed. “Um... C-can you put them by the back door...?” “Yeah... One sec...” He walked, somewhat quickly, towards the back door and nearly dropped everything on the way. He gently placed everything down, the apple first then the two bags. “Ow... Guess I need to start working out again...” Fluttershy walked in behind him and looked up at him. “Thank you again... You really didn’t have to help...” “Nope. Had to help you for being so nice to me today. Oh crap, I should probably head out, I’m sure you’re tired and don’t need me hanging around.” Marcus turned around and headed for the front door. He had his hand on the doorknob when Fluttershy called out to him. “Wait...” There was a short silence as Fluttershy walked a few feet towards him and looked up. “You... you said you were a-alone...?” “Yeah... Why?” “Um... y-you can... stay here... i-if you want...” She blushed profusely and looked up at him from under her mane. “I.. uh... Fluttershy, I couldn’t...” “No, no, I insist... I can’t let you go out at this time of night without a place to stay.” “Well.... alright....” Marcus smiled and got on his knees, wrapping the yellow pegasus in a hug. She hesitantly returned the gesture, wrapping her hooves around him. Maybe things won’t be so bad, after all. Chapter 4: NightmaresAuthor’s Note: Sorry this took so long! As I said with my Scratched Out update, school has been getting in the way! Well, here it is! The newest update for Butterflies! Hope you all enjoy! Marcus tossed and turned in the guest bed, his mind blank as he slept. There were no images. There was no dream. There was no imagination. He could hear some soft rustling as he teetered on the edge of sleep and the waking world. He turned over in his half conscious stupor a few more times before sitting up and seeing if he could recognise the sounds he was hearing. There were sounds of crickets, owls, the light trickling of water, the rustling of leaves as a gentle breeze blew through the treetops.... Then there was the sounds of fabric being moved around. He pulled himself out of bed and started to follow the sound of fabric. He followed it into the living room, then up the stairs, then to Fluttershy’s door. He stood there for several minutes, wondering what she could be doing.... She might be having some “alone time” but she might also be having a nightmare or hurting or something.... He took a deep breath and hesitantly pushed the door open a crack. “Fluttershy...? You okay...?” He waited, there was no reply, so he pushed the door open some more. There in the bed was Fluttershy, her face contorted into one of fear and pain. He walked forward a few steps and watched her for a little. She was tossing and turning, her wings flapping wildly, her front legs flailing. Marcus was rooted to the spot, he wanted to go help her, but he didn’t want her to think less of him for sneaking into her room.... He decided he would wake her up and ask if she wanted to talk about it. Before he could move, however, Fluttershy let out a shriek. Without a second thought, he ran over to the bed and shook her gently. “Fluttershy?! Fluttershy, wake up! It’s just a dream!” She struggled in his grip a little but quickly opened her eyes, it took her a few seconds to adjust to the low light and recognise it was Marcus holding her by the shoulders. She looked up at him, tears flowing down her cheeks. She threw her hooves around him and cried into his chest. He was taken aback for a little but then pulled the butter yellow pegasus close to his chest, rocking her gently and stroking her mane. He pulled himself up onto her bed and held her in his lap. She was trembling and holding onto him tightly. They sat there for what could have been hours. Fluttershy stopped sobbing a while after she woke up but continued to tremble, Marcus continued to stroke her mane and try to comfort her. She started to squirm and wiggle in his grip, trying to look up at him. “Um... M-marcus...?” “Yeah..?” “I... um... h-have to go to the bathroom....” “Oh! S-sorry!” He quickly let go of her, gently placing her on the floor where she trotted out of the room. He sat on her bed, waiting for her to come back. Her bed was really soft.... It felt like it was stuffed with feathers, but it bounced a little, indicating the presence of springs. Fluttershy walked back into the room only a few seconds after a flush from the bathroom. She crawled back onto the bed and laid down in Marcus’s lap again. He stroked her back and mane, looking down at her and smiling. “Hey, Fluttershy...?” “Mmm...?” “Would you like to talk about your nightmare...?” “N-not now... C-can we just.... c-c-cuddle...?” The blush was clearly visible on her face, even though the only light was from Luna’s moon, but even that was filtered by her drapes. Even Marcus blushed at the proposition. He nodded slightly and laid back on her bed. Fluttershy crawled up beside him and pressed her body against his, pressing her face against his chest. He hesitantly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her a bit closer. Fluttershy smiled a little and looked up at him. “Th-thank you, Marcus....” He blushed and smiled back at her. “Anything for you, Fluttershy.....” He leaned down and gently kissed her cheek. Her blush intensified as she hid her face in his chest. “Um... c-can you stay.... with me.... just for tonight...? I-if you wouldn’t mind, of course.....” “Of course...” He went back to stroking her mane, and started humming softly. He made it up as he went, it was a happy little tune, fast paced and a bit high pitched. She let out a deep sigh and turned her face to look at him again. He was staring up at the ceiling, his eyes closed, still humming. “M-marcus...?” He could feel Fluttershy crawl onto his chest, he felt her cross her front hooves across his chest and he could feel her mane tickling his neck. “Hmmm..?” He opened one eye and tilted his head up to look at her. He looked into her blue eyes. She looked back and took a deep breath. Before he knew it, Fluttershy had her lips pressed up against his, her eyes closed and his shot open. He was shocked that the mare of his dreams was kissing him. Her lips were soft... His instincts took over and he wrapped his arms around her neck, one hand rubbing her head and the other rubbing her back. She crawled further up his chest and laid her front hooves on either side of his neck. After several minutes, Fluttershy pulled away from Marcus, a severe blush across her face at the realization of what she had just done. Marcus was panting softly, not because of the excitement, but because he forgot how to breathe during the kiss. She continued to look at him and then pressed her lips against his even harder than before. She pushed his head back so that he was laying flat on her bed and she was on top of him. She opened her mouth a bit, a silent invitation. Marcus took her up on her offer and their tongues met somewhere in the middle. He couldn’t believe it, he was having a passionate moment with Fluttershy. Their tongues danced together, trying to pin the other against teeth or a cheek. They tasted and explored each others’ mouths, as if they could learn everything about the other just by kissing them. Fluttershy pulled away again, panting softly and blushing harder than before. She kept her tongue hanging out and noticed a thin trail of saliva still connecting the two tongues. It snapped and she giggled at it. Marcus smiled at her. Her laugh was so cute. He sat up and she slipped into his lap. He sat there and looked at her. He was smiling, but it slowly faded into a slight frown. His thoughts needed to be voiced. He wanted nothing more than this moment to last forever. But it couldn't. “Fluttershy.... I’m sorry, but at this rate, I can’t stay here... I... I don’t want us ending up doing something that we’ll both regret tomorrow.... We just met... and I don’t want to ruin the relationship we have now... I’m sorry... But...” He smiled, “Maybe one day we can be more than friends, alright?” Her ears drooped and her expression became more sullen as he spoke. Her eyes started to water a bit towards the end. “B-but... M-marcus...” “No, I’m sorry, believe me, I want to more than anything.... But we might screw something up if we don’t control ourselves....” He gently placed her on the bed beside him and stood. He turned towards the door and went to leave. “W-wait..!” Marcus turned around and looked at the sad looking pegasus on the bed. Her mane was ruffled a bit, making her look even cuter. “C-can you at least stay here...? I-I’ll be good... p-promise...” He sighed and walked back to the bed and sat on it beside her. She smiled and crawled under the comforter and waited for him. He crawled into bed with her and pulled the covers over them. Fluttershy scooted closer to him and pressed their bodies together again. He wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her head again. Fluttershy sighed and snuggled even more into his chest. ~~~~~~~~~~ The sun leaked in through the window, disturbing Marcus from his sleep. He grimaced as his dreams were replaced by the waking world. Then he looked down to see an adorable yellow pegasus snuggled up against him. He smiled and stroked her mane a little before wiggling out of her grasp. He stood and stretched, yawning. He walked over to the bathroom that was just outside her bedroom door. He stared at himself in the mirror. He was a mess. His hair still had feathers and hay in it and his clothes were still torn. He sighed. “Guess I’ll have to find a way to get to Rarity...” He could hear Fluttershy rolling around in bed and decided to be there when she woke up. He walked out of the bathroom and sat down on what he assumed would be his side of the bed. He reached over and started stroking her mane again. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked over at him. She smiled and nuzzled into his hand. She stood and stumbled towards him then leaned in to kiss him but ended up yawning in his face. “O-oh... S-sorry...” Marcus was smiling at the unbelievable cuteness. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her cheek. “Fluttershy... to keep from going further than we did last night.... I regret to say that we probably shouldn’t be kissing like that anymore...” “But....” She sighed and hung her head. “Alright....” “I hate it, too... On a totally unrelated subject, I really want a shower, but I don’t have any other clothes.... You wouldn’t happen to know anypony who could make some for me?” He smiled nervously. “Um... Yes, but she’s probably very busy... and maybe not even awake yet... But, I guess we can pay her a visit...” Marcus smiled at her. “We have to at some point... Might as well see her first thing, right?” “I guess...” Fluttershy stood and started walking down the stairs. Marcus followed her down the stairs but stopped just before stepping off the last one. “Um... Fluttershy? How will we be able to get to her place without going through town...?” Fluttershy looked over her shoulder and smiled at the young man. “We go around, of course.” ~~~~~~~~~~ After roughly a half hour of walking down barely used roads and diving into bushes, climbing trees, and jumping in the single lake they passed by, they eventually reached Rarity’s Boutique. The pegasus and the human approached the front door. “Um.. could you stay out here...? I need to warn Rarity first, so she won’t freak out.... Alright..?” “Sure.” Fluttershy walked into the boutique, the little bell over the door making Rarity aware of her presence. After she walked in, Marcus leaned against the wall, looking at the scenery. “Fluttershy! Oh it’s so good to see you again, darling. What brings you this way, hmm?” “Oh, um... I have a friend who... umm.. needs some new clothes... and I was wondering... if you could make some for him...?” “But of course! Now where is this friend of yours? I need measurements, you know.” “I-i know.... But, um... promise you won’t freak out...? He’s really... unusual....” “Please, Fluttershy, what do you take me for? Any friend of yours is a friend of mine!” “Alright... J-just one second.... You can come in now, Marcus...” “Marcus? What kind of name for a pony is that?” “Well, um... He’s not a pony...” At this point, Marcus walked into the Boutique and Rarity’s pupils shrank. “F-fluttershy, dear, c-can I speak with you privately...? J-just for a few minutes...?” “Um... sure.” The two mares quickly trotted upstairs to Rarity’s workroom. Rarity quickly locked the door and spun around to face Fluttershy. “Wh-what is that?!” “Um... He said he was a ‘Human.’” “What in Equestria is a human?!” “He said he wasn’t from Equestria....” “Well then, where is he from?!” “He told me a place called ‘Earth.’” Rarity started trotting in place, having a mini-freakout. Fluttershy just watched her friend from behind her mane until she calmed down. “Alright, calm down Rarity, you’ve seen stranger things.... Okay, no you haven’t! Fluttershy! How did you make friends with him?!” Fluttershy shrank back a bit. “Rarity.... He’s not bad.... In fact, he’s... really nice.... He helped me out last night....” “He stayed with you?! Fluttershy!” Fluttershy suddenly flushed. “He helped me Rarity! He... I was having a nightmare... and he was there for me.... I sat in his lap and... he stroked my mane... he spoke softly... he even hummed a little.... He made sure I was happy...” Rarity had stopped moving and just stared at her friend. She started to feel bad for assuming something about a creature she had never met. “I’m sorry Fluttershy.... Alright, now that that’s over... what say you we meet him, hmm?” “Um... I’ve already met him, Rarity.” Fluttershy smiled meekly and Rarity laughed. Rarity then opened the door and ushered Fluttershy back downstairs. She followed close behind and started circling Marcus, inspecting him. He just stood there, watching the pristine white unicorn look him up and down. “Hm... I’m curious... why must you wear so much clothing, dear?” “Er... Well.... uhhhhh.....” There was an awkward silence as Marcus tried to figure out the best way to explain. “Humans are.... oh geez, what’s the right word to use....? Modest? About our appearance... Most aren’t comfortable with the way their bodies look and use clothing to hide it.... Those that ARE proud of their bodies tend to flaunt it, but that’s a story for another day....” “Oh my, humans certainly do sound.... interesting...” “Not really, but that might just be my 17 years of living with some people telling me they’re nothing special.” “Hmm... I would still like to learn more about your kind. Perhaps this weekend?” “Um... sure, I guess.” “Splendid.” Her horn started to glow and a measuring tape levitated in front of him. “Now hold still, darling so I can get your measurements.” ~~~~~~~~~~ Fluttershy and Marcus walked out of Rarity’s Boutique smiling and waving. The white mare stood in the doorway and waved them off, a yellow measuring tape draped around her neck and some tiny glasses perched on her nose. “I’ll see you in three days, Marcus! It was nice meeting you!” Marcus simply smiled back at her and waved until he lost sight of her. He turned and looked down to Fluttershy. She was looking straight ahead and her mane hid her face from him. He reached down and gently began to rub her ears. She yelped and jumped away from him, a dark blush crossing her face. Marcus pulled his hand away and stuffed it in his pocket. He looked up at the slowly darkening sky and his mind raced. “It’s... quite lovely this time of day... Don’t you think..?” “Yeah... Back on Earth we called this the magic hour. Dunno if you do that here or not.” “Some ponies do.” The pair continued back to Fluttershy’s cottage in silence. Marcus opened the door for her once she had it unlocked and she smiled softly at him before walking inside. “They say chivalry is dead. I’m trying to revive it.” Fluttershy smiled again at his words and spun around to look at him before letting out a deep breath. “M-marcus... I.. I would really like it if.... Y-you could... sleep with me... in my bed again, tonight... I-if you want...” He kneeled down in front of her and rubbed her cheek. She nuzzled into it and closed her eyes. “I would like nothing more.... But I’m afraid I can’t...” “But... why not...?” “Because the only reason I stayed with you last night was because I was doing what I felt right. I felt like you needed someone there for you, to comfort you and hold you and make sure you would be okay. I did what I thought was right. And look at what almost happened.” Fluttershy blushed and looked away, ashamed. “Now, I don’t blame you for what happened. I really want our relationship to be more than friendship, but that will have to wait. I’m sorry Fluttershy.” She just sat there and looked at him. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she turned and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Marcus sat there, wanting desperately to run up and hug the depressed pony, but didn’t want something to happen they would both regret. He walked to the guest bedroom after he heard Fluttershy close her bedroom door. Neither one of them would sleep well tonight. Chapter 5: New FriendsMarcus woke up in a cold sweat. This dream was one of the more horrifying ones. In it, Discord had returned and forced Marcus to become something he never would want to be. He had hurt all the ponies, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and much to his own horror, Fluttershy. He sat there in the guest bed, panting and sweating. He wiped his face and looked around. His mind began to wander and he slid out of bed. He still needed a shower. His clothes had become more tattered, and the holes had gotten bigger. “I wish Rarity could hurry up... Ugh! I need to do something...” He walked out of the room after putting his shoes on. He wandered around the house for a second and found himself peeking in on Fluttershy. She was sleeping soundly, but her comforter was on the floor. He walked in and pulled it back over her. He left as quietly as he came, closing the door behind him. “I guess I’ll go for a walk....” Marcus walked down the stairs and stepped outside. The crisp late February air stung in his nostrils. The cold air put his weary mind at ease, if only a little. He started to walk towards a random hill. On his way, he somehow changed direction and found himself leaning against a tree. “Damn my curved walk.” He sat down and looked up into Luna’s night. The stars were beautiful, but he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to Fluttershy. She was so adorable while she was asleep. Marcus suddenly stood and turned towards the tree. His knuckles connected with the rough bark, splitting the skin. He punched the tree again. And again. And again. “DAMN IT!” His punches didn’t cease. Only when his hand went numb did he stop. His knuckles and hand were soaked in blood, the tree even had a few drops splattered on it. “I want to tell her I love her.... I want to be there for her.... I want to be able... to call her my wife.... AUGH!” Marcus dropped to his knees and let his arms fall to his sides. The cold air stung on his broken knuckles. He let his head hang and lost himself in his own thoughts. “It’s too soon.... There’s something wrong with her, she shouldn’t be so... forceful!” He sighed and looked back up into the night sky. “Luna, please help me...” ~~~~~~~~~~ For once, Marcus didn’t wake up to the sun assaulting his retinas. Instead, he woke to the voice of a certain purple unicorn. “Pinkie, are you sure?” “Yes, Twilight! You know what it means when i start bouncing around on my head!” “That you ate too many cupcakes?” “No, silly! It means there’s a new pony in town! YAY! Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to throw a party. You think this pony will like parties? I sure like parties, don’t you? Ohhhh I can’t wai-” At this point, Twilight stuffed her hoof in Pinkie Pie’s mouth. “Sometimes I wonder how you can stay so hyper....” “Oh, hey, look! That’s new!” “Huh?” Twilight looked over in the direction Pinkie was pointing to. On the ground lay a creature she had never seen before. “What in Equestria is that?” “I don’t know, but it looks fun!” Pinkie was still bouncing on her head. “Pinkie, can you please stop that?” “Sorry.” She stopped and returned to her hooves, swaying a little. She giggled and regained her balance. “Huh... I don’t want to bounce anymore... Is this the new pony? He doesn’t look like any pony I’ve ever seen.” “He’s probably lost...” At that point, Marcus grumbled as the two mares talking brought him back to consciousness. “Ugh... Who turned on the sun....?” “Pretty sure it was the Princess!” Pinkie started to bounce a little, not even surprised in the least that he could talk. “Oh, good. You can talk.” “Of course I can talk, what do you take me for? A bumbling neanderthal?” “A who-what?” Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Uhm.... I don’t know what a neanderthal is....” “Oh, right. Ponies.” Marcus rubbed his face and groaned softly. He slowly sat up and looked around. He remembered lying down after assaulting that poor innocent tree last night but he didn’t remember falling asleep. “A neanderthal is a human with an underdeveloped brain.” “You lost me again...” Twilight rubbed a hoof on her face, looking at Marcus. “What’s a human?” “I’m a human.” “Well, you look kinda funny!” “Pinkie! I’m so sorry, she should know better than that!” Twilight then glared at the pink pony, who didn’t even seem fazed. “Huh... Well, I think introductions are in order, don’t you? I’m Marcus, and I’ve been here in Ponyville for.... this is my third day. Pretty sure, at least.” “Nice to meet you! I’m Pinkie Pie! And this here is my bestest friend ever! Her name is Twilight Sparkle, she’s a bit of an egghead, she runs the library and even lives there! Could you ever imagine living in a library?! I would get so super bored! There would be nothing to d-” Twilight stuffed her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth again, not-so-effectively silencing her but muffling her enough to make her unintelligible. “I’m so sorry about Pinkie.” “It’s quite alright, I had a friend back home who was almost the exact same way. It’s pretty scary, actually.” “Well, Marcus, it was nice meeting you but we have to go find our friend Fluttershy. She said she was so busy with a new animal that she couldn’t talk the other day.” “I think I might be that animal... I’ve been staying with her since i got here. Well, after Applejack kicked me in the side, she kinda took me in and fixed me up...” He dare not mention the close calls he’s had with her. “Oh, really now?” Twilight raised her eyebrow. Pinkie had stopped trying to talk, Twilight’s hoof still in her mouth. The pink pony looked over to her friend with a look of annoyance. “Hey uh, Twilight? I think Pinkie wants you to kinda... remove your hoof.” “Oh, sorry Pinkie.” “It’s okay. Well, let’s go find Fluttershy!” “Oh hey, Marcus, you said you were staying with Fluttershy?” “Yeah, why?” “If so, why were you so far away from her cottage?” “Well... Last night I had to take out my frustrations. Unfortunately, this tree got in the way...” Marcus rubbed his hand, there was dried blood on his knuckles and on the back of it. He sighed and licked his thumb. He began to wipe the blood off his hand. He looked over to the tree and he could barely see the blood on it. The three of them stood there for a little before Twilight spoke up. “Well, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be going to see Fluttershy, now.” “Alright, you two have fun.” The two mares walked past him and began talking to each other. Marcus turned and started walking. He had no idea where he was going, merely wandering. He looked to his right, there stood the menacing Everfree Forest. To his left, he saw Ponyville. He shrugged and turned to the right, pushing past the trees and the brush. ~~~~~~~~~~ His trek through the thick forest was tiring. His mind was still racing from thoughts of the past few days. I need to find something to do to clear my head.... I wonder which way to the ocean... As if Celestia had answered his prayers, he stepped out of the forest and before him lie a great expanse of blue. About twenty feet in front of him, the land stopped, dropping straight down into the blue abyss. “Well, I guess God IS listening...” He walked closer to the edge of the cliff. As he stood there, the wind whipped his hair into his face and gave him trouble maintaining his balance. He looked up and around him. To his right there was a trail that seemed to go down the side of the cliff. He walked over to it and walked a ways. He looked over the side and saw where it ended. Just at the water’s surface. Perfect. Marcus walked back to the top of the cliff and stopped at the edge of the forest. He turned around once he reached the trees and took a running start towards the end of the cliff. 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet. Then he leaped off the edge, throwing himself towards the endless expanse of water. He held his arms close to his sides and closed his eyes. He was hurtling straight towards the water. The air stung his face and made his eyes start to tear up. He opened them once more and saw the water only a few dozen feet away. He closed them once more and prepared for impact. He smiled wide as his face made contact. ~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight and Pinkie Pie walked up to Fluttershy’s cottage and knocked. Twilight stood there and waited patiently for her to answer, but Pinkie started bouncing around to the side, looking in her animal pens. “Hey Twilight!~ She’s over here!” Twilight sighed and walked over to where Pinkie was bouncing in place, smiling like a madpony. “Hey Fluttershy. You busy?” Fluttershy looked up from pouring some feed in some bowls to look at her friends. “No, not anymore... Please come inside.” She walked back inside, carrying the bag of feed with her. Twilight and Pinkie walked back to the front door just in time for Fluttershy to unlock it. Twilight and Pinkie walked in but didn’t get comfortable, they just needed an answer. “Fluttershy, we need some help.” “Oh..? What’s wrong..?” Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Gummy’s sick! He just sits there being a grumpy-wumpy alligator....” “Oh dear, ummm... Pinkie? Have you been feeding him?” “Yes! I’m not that irresponsible!” Fluttershy looked at Pinkie still, “What have you been feeding him?” “Fishy milkshakes!” “Milkshakes...? Frozen milkshakes?” “Well, duhhhh! It’s not a milkshake if it isn’t frozen!” “Oh my, Pinkie... Baby alligators can’t eat frozen food....” “Oh... Woopsies...” Twilight looked over at Pinkie. “Why didn’t you know this? You should look up what your pet eats before feeding it something.” “I get distracted! You know how distracting distracting things are! They’re so distracting!” “So you brought me all the way out here, and you really didn’t need me?” “Yeah, sorry.” Pinkie smiled sheepishly and Twilight could have sworn she heard a squeak. Twilight sighed and looked back to Fluttershy. “Sorry to trouble you Fluttershy, thanks so much for helping us.” “Oh, it’s no trouble... Please, do come back and visit.” “Sure thing!” “Okie dokie lokie!” Fluttershy smiled as her friends walked out. As soon as the door closed, her face changed into one of worry. She was wondering where Marcus was. She hadn’t seen him that morning and her animal friends told her they hadn’t seen him. She hoped he was okay. ~~~~~~~~~~ He was shocked by how cold the water was. It was colder than expected, but it felt good. Marcus sat in the water and let the current carry him a little bit before swimming back up to the surface. When his head broke through, he took a deep breath. He looked around and saw that he had drifted a good ways away from the path back up the cliff. He started to swim towards it and his mind stopped wandering. The only thing he could think of was surviving. This was his way of clearing his head. He used to live close to the ocean, a scene almost exactly like this was only about a mile from his house. He would jump off the cliff there to clear his head, the adrenaline rush from jumping and the freezing water would always make him concentrate on surviving. He continued to swim. He wasn’t too far from the shore and was smiling the entire time. He finally reached solid ground and pulled himself up onto the bank, lying on his back and letting the sun shine on him. “I sure missed this.” He opened his eyes and the sun greeted him. “Heh... Hard to believe I’m living in the world of my dreams... Man, I love Equestria...” He sat there in peace for several minutes before his mind wandered back to Fluttershy. Marcus grimaced. “Damn... So soon?” His thoughts were the same as before, he loved her, he didn’t want to rush things, he wanted to be there for her. Marcus let out a deep sigh and stood up. He began the long trek back up to the top of the cliff. “Maybe I should ask her out..? Gah... It’s far too soon, I mean I just met her. But, then again, I made out with her about seven hours after I met her.... Sure, why the hell not?” He smiled as he looked towards the water. “Oh, the ocean beckons to me once more!” He took another running start and flung himself off the edge of the cliff again. ~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus walked back through the Everfree Forest, looking around to see if he could mark this path for later use. It was dark, Luna’s full moon high in the sky. He grabbed a pair of large branches and drove them into the dirt, shaping an “X” where he broke through the foliage. He turned and tried to find his way back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Smiling, he walked towards the cottage, which surprisingly wasn’t but a few hundred feet away. He tried to open the door but found it to be locked. “Crap... Hey, Fluttershy? You still awake?” He could just barely make out hoofsteps behind the door. She opened the door and let out a deep sigh after seeing who was behind it. “Oh, it’s you, Marcus.... You had me worried...” Marcus smiled softly and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry... Sometimes I go wander around to try and find something to do. Am I still welcome to stay with you?” “O-of course.” Fluttershy blushed and stepped to the side. Marcus walked in and closed the door behind him. He looked down at Fluttershy and smiled. She smiled back and turned to go back up the stairs. Now was as good a time as ever. “Hey, Fluttershy....” Marcus took a deep breath as she turned around to look at him. “How would you like to go hang out tomorrow... Or, whenever you have the chance..?” She blushed fiercely. “A-are you... asking me out...?” “It’s... er... a distinct possiblity... I find that dates are the best way to get to know someone better... Or in this case, somepony...” Fluttershy blushed even hard and thought for a few seconds. She smiled ever so softly and nodded. “Th-that sounds... nice...” They smiled at each other and moved to their respective bedrooms. Neither one of them could sleep that night. They were too excited for their date in the morning. Chapter 6: We're Just Getting StartedMarcus woke up several hours before sunrise and laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He started thinking about what he and Fluttershy could do today. “Guess I’ll go for another walk.” Marcus sat up and swung himself out of bed. He walked into the bathroom and took another good look at himself. He wasn’t dirty anymore, due to his little cliff diving adventure yesterday, but his clothes were still little more than rags. He walked out the front door, making as little noise as possible. Marcus looked out into the early morning sky, it was still dark but off in the distance he could see the faint orange of the sun rising. He smiled and began walking into town. “Too early to actually do anything....” He looked around and saw that nopony was nearby. He smiled and found his way to the park. He found a nice, comfortable looking bench in the park and began rummaging through his repertoire of songs. He settled on one that would fit this situation perfectly. He looked around once more and smiled, satisfied that nopony was still around. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes. ”I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom, for me and you. And I think to myself, ‘What a wonderful world.’” He continued with his singing, shutting his mind off and letting the music control him. Several minutes passed before he finally opened his eyes. Celestia’s early morning sun had revealed itself. He smiled and stood. He stretched and looked up at the clouds that were starting to turn orange. Hanging over the edge of one he saw a pair of tails, one rainbow, the other brown. Oh snap, somepony heard me sing? Craaaap! The owner of the brown tail showed his face, he looked over the edge of the cloud. He had a matching brown mane and a pair of glasses were perched on his muzzle. “Hey dude, that was pretty go- SWEET CELESTIA!” He quickly ducked back behind the cloud. “Oh geez. Come on, I won’t hurt you, promise. I can’t even reach you.” Marcus stood there, looking up at the cloud. Two pairs of hooves appeared over the edge, one light grey, the other cyan. Two heads appeared over the edge, one was the pony from before and a cyan pony with a rainbow mane, a face he knew quite well. From her ears dangled a pair of ruby earrings. “Who are you, anyway? I’ve never seen anything like you before.” The cyan pony decided to prod at the creature standing before her... or, under her as were the case. “My name’s Marcus, I’m staying with Fluttershy until I can get a place of my own. And you two are?” The grey stallion spoke up, “I’m Quick Wits, and this is my wife, Rainbow Dash.” “Fastest flier in all of Equestria!” Both Marcus and Quick Wits chuckled at Rainbow’s boasting. She had an ear to ear grin that showed she took great pride in herself. Quick took this as an opportunity to plant a kiss on her cheek. This made the cyan pegasus blush a bit but grin at her husband. “Watch it.” “Or what?” “Or I might just have to beat your flank in another race.” She pressed her nose against his and Marcus turned around, preparing to give them a little privacy. “And where do you think YOU’RE going?” Marcus turned back around and found himself face to face with Rainbow. He stumbled back and landed right on his rear end. She and Quick laughed at him and he soon joined them. Rainbow held out a hoof and Marcus took it. Back on his feet, he dusted off the seat of his pants, which was totally unnecessary, considering there wasn’t much fabric for dirt to cling to. “Crap, I still need to get those clothes from Rarity.... I wonder if she’s awake....” “She usually gets up early to work. I doubt she would mind you checking on your stuff.” Quick hovered in front of Marcus, right beside Rainbow. “Thanks. I guess I’ll see you two later?” “Sounds like a plan!” “Sure, catch ya later, Marcus!” He smiled and turned towards the Boutique, which was thankfully not very far away. He gently rapped on the front door and waited. He heard some hoofsteps come towards the door and a very tired sounding voice come from behind it. “We aren’t open yet, darling. Please come back in a few hours.” “Oh, Rarity, I was just stopping by to talk to you for a sec.” “Marcus? Oh, alright, come in...” He opened the door and the little bell above the door startled him. Rarity giggled and looked up at him. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. “Oh wow... Looks like you’ve been busy.” “Unfortunately so... Doing paperwork AND getting the orders completed isn’t the easiest thing in the world. But, somehow I get it all done.” “What kind of paperwork?” “Invoices and shipping reports... It’s not hard, there’s just sooo much of it...” “I could help you if you want.” “No, no I couldn’t. I can’t ask someone I just met to help me out.” “I insist. It’s all I can do, considering I don’t have any money.” “Oh my... Oh! Speaking of, your order is done, dear.” “Oh thank you, God! I desperately need a shower and some new clothes...” “I.. can see this...” “Heh... So, where’s your shower?” “Upstairs and first door to the left, deary.” “Thanks.” “Let me get your clothes for you, before you.. disrobe and make it very hard to do so...” “Oh, right... yeah, that would be smart.” She left and came back with a bunch of outfits on hangers. Marcus looked at them and raised his eyebrow. He took them anyways and headed off to the shower. ~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus sat in a chair in front of a desk, his hair messy and still a little wet. His new clothes were comfortable, if a bit... frou-frou. They were simple; his shirt was yellow, with a few gems sewn into the back. He had jeans in which the seat of his pants were also bedazzled. He looked back at Rarity after examining the mountain of paperwork in front of him. She looked back nervously but he smiled and she returned it. “Are you sure about this, darling?” “Oh, definitely. I’m a little lazy, but if I’m doing something for a friend, I put 120% into it!” He smiled wide at this and Rarity laughed. “That sounds exactly like my friend Rainbow Dash.” “Well, well! I met her and her husband earlier this morning.” “Oh? Well, thats one less introduction ahead of us. Who all have you met?” “You, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Quick, Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie, and Applebloom.” “Well! That’s nice to know! Now you just need to meet everypony’s stallions and you’ll be caught up in our friendly little circle.” “Oh? They’re all married?” “Oh, no, no. Only Rainbow is, everypony else is just dating. Speaking of which,” Rarity then turned her head towards the stairs and yelled, “Bright! Get down here, you lazy stallion, and meet my friend I was telling you about!” There was a quiet groan from upstairs and a bit of mumbling before Rarity let out a sigh. “I’ll be right back, darling.” She turned and walked up the stairs, where she began talking. There was a little bit of back and forth between the two until there was a thud. Marcus flinched a little at the sound but tried to stifle a laugh as Rarity was dragging a stallion by the tail down the stairs. He... He was still snoring. He had a light brown coat and his mane and tail were azure. A spiraling horn poked out from under his bed-mane. A pair of glasses were perched on his muzzle. Rarity must have put them on him.... What was the strangest, though, was the fact that he was clutching a pillow in his hooves and drooling on it. Marcus lost it and burst out laughing. “Hahahah! Rarity! Oh Celestia! That is too funny! I’ve seen some lazy people, but that just takes it!” He doubled over and held his sides from the laughter. “Well, he’s only this lazy in the mornings.... If there was ever a pony who wished the morning would never come, it would be this one,” Rarity said through clenched teeth and Bright’s tail. Marcus finally calmed down and walked over to the sleeping pony. He kneeled and picked up his head. Bright grumbled and tried to lay his head back down, but Marcus wouldn’t let him. He finally opened his eyes and jumped up, backing straight into Rarity and falling on top of her. “BY LUNA’S BEARD! WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU?!” “B-Bright.... This is my friend... Marcus...” “Oh... Woops.” He pulled himself off Rarity and helped her back up on her hooves. They smiled at each other and she kissed him on the cheek. He flushed a little but got a stupid grin on his face. Marcus started looking himself over again, examining his clothes. He then looked at the rest of his clothes. Every outfit was just as sparkly as the last, if not more so. “Rarity, it’s not like I’m ungrateful or anything, but.... the gems seem a bit.... excessive, don’t you think?” “Oh, come on, darling, they look fabulous!” “By pony standards, I wouldn’t doubt it. But humans don’t exactly wear gems on their clothing... except for the girls... and they usually grow out of that by the time they’re twelve....” Marcus smiled at Rarity and she smiled back sheepishly. “Don’t worry Rarity, I’m just asking that you not do something so... sparkly next time, alright?” “Alright, dear. Thank you again for helping me with the paperwork.” “Of course. Like I said, it’s the only way I can think to help since I can’t pay you for the clothes.” “You really don-” Marcus held up his hand, interrupting the pony. “Enough of that, I’m helping you, whether you like it or not.” Rarity smiled and nodded. She walked over to Bright and told him to get some supplies from town. He nodded and grabbed a jacket off the coat rack next to the door and left. Marcus sighed and got to work. “‘Ship 40 (forty) units to Manehattan.’ A single unit of fabric costs... Holy balls that’s a lot of bits....” ~~~~~~~~~~ The hours passed, Marcus had been working since about 7:00 AM and the grandfather clock in the hallway just chimed 12:00 PM. “Phew! Finally done with the paperwork.” On the floor around the desk lay stacks of papers that Marcus had been filling out since morning. He stood and cracked his back, it let out a few nasty sounding pops. “Ow...” Marcus began digging through the clothes Rarity had made for him again and found a black jacket with light blue swirls and patterns on it. The pullstrings matched the blue on the front and back. The hood was a bit large, but that just made it even cooler. The best part about this article of clothing was that it didn’t have any gems in it. “Huh... Didn’t know she made clothing without something sparkling on it... Not that I’m complaining. This thing looks pretty cool.” He pulled it on over the shirt whose colouring was suspiciously close to Fluttershy’s coat. He walked over to the large mirror standing in the front room and examined himself. It didn’t look half bad. “…..I might make this jacket my thing... Hey Rarity! I’m done with the paperwork! Is it okay if I head out for the day?” “Sure, thank you so much for your help, Marcus!” Rarity yelled down the stairs. “Sure thing, Rarity!” Marcus replied. He walked out and closed the door behind him. He was then greeted by Celestia’s magnificent sun, blinking his eyes while trying to readjust to the daylight. “I need to get out more...” Marcus, against his better judgement, began walking into town. The closer he got, the more ponies he saw. Many stared but hardly any looked freaked out. Word must have spread. Well, that’s good! Marcus looked around once he was in the town proper. There were buildings of all shapes and sizes, made from all sorts of different materials. Mostly brick and wooden structures lined the dirt road. Marcus began walking, hands in his new pockets as he whistled a song, a generic, light-hearted tune. He looked skyward and saw a few ponies moving several large clouds into place. They must be getting ready to do something with the weather. Marcus shrugged and continued walking, looking around at all the different ponies in town. Every colour he could imagine was present. Ponies of all shapes and sizes roamed the street, going about their business and sneakily stealing glances at the lone human. He had to admit, he kind of liked the attention. He wasn’t very popular back when he was alive, but that was mostly with his slight obsession with a children’s show. He sighed softly and rubbed the side of his head. His flesh still burned when he touched where the bullet went in. When he did that, he could feel the emptiness on the other side of his head, a constant reminder that he is no longer of the living world. Marcus dropped his hand to his side and looked to the ground. How would he tell Fluttershy? What about everypony else? Would his new.... Could he even call them friends..? How would they react to that fact that his brains are all over the wall at his school? He let out a soft groan and kept walking. Marcus stopped dead, finally realizing something. Fluttershy has been acting a lot different from what the show portrayed.... It made him a bit uneasy. He would figure that out later, for now, he has a date to get ready for.
Chapter 1: Death Isn't So BadAuthor's note: First HiE story, second fanfic. Please don't hold back on the criticisms, let me know where i can improve and where i excel. I write this story to show my love for a certain pony. Marcus steadily typed on his computer, saying goodbye to his brony friends on Skype before taking a shower and heading to bed. He quit Skype and smiled at his computer background. It was a picture of Fluttershy smiling with her eyes closed, her head tilted to the side with a soft blush across her face. Marcus hated turning his computer off, but it was time for bed and his family used the computer as well. "Thank Celestia I put different accounts on this computer..." He smiled as he said this and clicked the shut down button before standing and walking down the hall to his room. He crawled into bed and looked onto his bedside table where a small plushie of Fluttershy was smiling at him. He smiled reflexively and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~ The alarm on Marcus' phone started beeping loudly, bringing him back to reality from his paradise. Oh, what he wouldn't give to go to Equestria. He sighed and looked over to his Fluttershy plushie and smiled again. He reached up and hugged it tightly. "Love you Fluttershy~" Today was gonna be a good day, he could tell. He slipped out of bed, holding his plushie tight to his chest before going to his closet, looking for some clothes to wear to school today. He decided on a pair of jeans and a plain yellow shirt. He carried his clothes to the bathroom and took a quick shower and shaved shortly after. He walked out his front door and walked down to the end of the street to catch his bus to school. It was such a shame, 17, a brony, and he still has to ride the bus to school.... Ah well, today is gonna be a good day anyways, why should he care? The ride to school was uneventful. There was something being said around the bus, something about some guy talking about shooting someone the day before, Marcus wasn't listening, but for some reason he kept catching people stealing glances at him. He shrugged and turned his iPod up. ~~~~~~~~~~ The day was just like every other day, Marcus caught up with his brony buddy, Doug, they talked about fanfictions they had read the night before, talked about the show, then talked about some art they had seen. The bell for lunch rang and they both walked side by side down the stairs and met up with Marcus' best friend who moved with him. Ashley smiled and waved. She started talking to him about some gossip but he noticed a guy glaring at him. "Hold up Ashely..." "What's up?" "That guy keeps staring at me..." "Don't worry about it man, cmon, let's go eat." Doug knew how to solve every problem. Marcus and Ashley were both starving and only just realized it when Doug said something. They got their trays of food and sat at their regular table. Marcus looked up and saw the guy that was staring at him earlier. He shrugged it off until he heard the loud report of a gunshot reverberated around the lunchroom. Everyone jumped out of their seats and got on their knees, covering their heads with their hands, only the assailant was standing, staring intently at Marcus, a sleek, black pistol in his hand, aiming skyward. "What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuuck?!" Marcus was panicking, noticing the young man's icy glare. "Oh God, oh God, please don't kill me, please don't kill me!!" The armed man walked over to their table and Marcus was trying to scramble away. He felt something cold and hard press against his neck. He slowly turned to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun, a hard faced young man behind it. Marcus went pale as the young man pulled the hammer back on the weapon. He then motioned for Marcus to stand. He did, hoping doing so would keep him from dying. "I'm gonna say this once, and only once. If there are any other bronies out there, take this as a warning: Keep it to yourselves." He then raised the pistol to the side of Marcus' head and pulled the trigger. The sound deafened Marcus, but what shocked him the most was that he felt everything. He felt the fire come from the barrel of the gun and burn his face. He felt the white-hot bullet press against the side of his head and break through. He felt his skull shatter as the bullet entered his brain. He felt it exit the other side of his skull and the grey matter and blood leave with it. He stood there for less than a second then everything went black. His lifeless body slumped to the floor. ~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus opened his eyes to a long, dark hallway with a single golden, intricately decorated door at the other side. He began walking towards the door, certain that he was dead and was about to be judged. He pushed open the extremely heavy golden door, beyond it, he saw.....a white nothingness. "What the.... where am I?" A gentle, yet firm voice that sounded suspiciously like Celestia began to resound from everywhere at once. "You are in the afterlife. This is where you will be judged and sent to the appropriate plane." "Oh lovely.... Guessing that all the crap I've done will land me a first class seat on the train to Hell." "Fortunately for you, that is not the case." "......beg pardon?" "You are considered a Martyr, Marcus. I say this because you were killed for what you believe in and never once denounced it." "Huh.... never knew you could be martyred for being a brony." "Yes, well.... Times have changed." "Ah well, so since I'm a martyr, that means i go straight to Heaven, correct?" "Indeed." "Okay, so where do I go? Is there some kind of gilded stairway that I'm supposed to walk up or something?" "No, turn around and open the door behind you." Marcus turned and was facing the same door he had just walked through. "Okay, hold on one second. I just walked through that door, if I go back through it, wouldn't that put me back on earth?" "Fear not, that door leads to where you are destined. And you, Marcus, are destined for Heaven. As I'm sure you know, Heaven is personalized and will give you what your heart desires most." "Ah.... gotcha..... Oh! Before I go, can i ask a question?" "Yes." "Why do you sound like Princess Celestia?" There was a soft laugh, it sounded beautiful. "Marcus, you already know why. The one known as God is represented by what you imagine God to be. And I am assuming you imagine me to be Princess Celestia. Now go, enjoy your afterlife." "Guess that makes sense.... Alright! see you later Celestia! Er.... I mean, God...." There was another laugh. "It is fine, call me what you wish." At that, Marcus smiled and opened the door, behind it was nothing but blackness, still. "Okay, what gives? There's nothing behind this door." "Walk through it." Marcus sighed and walked through, the door slammed behind him and vanished. He then felt himself being propelled in a random direction. The air blew by him and whipped his hair into his face. He then felt himself falling but his feet were planted firmly on some kind of surface. The surface soon gave way and he was free falling. The black was replaced by a dark sky, dotted with little specks of light. He looked down and saw a very menacing forest beneath him. "Oh shit." He was then sent flying through the branches, most of them snapping as he hit them. A mighty bough hit him hard in the chest, knocked the wind out of him and sent him face-first into the dirt beneath him. Unconsciousness overtook him as his face connected with hard ground.
Chapter 2: Off To A Good StartAuthor's Note: The chapter name is purely ironic. Marcus woke up to the crunching of leaves and twigs that littered the forest floor. "I say, who is there? Some kind of beast, possibly a bear?" He perked up at the sound of his favorite zebra.... Well, the only zebra he knew. He decides to play dumb, lest he scare the living hell out of these poor ponies. He lifted his head to see a striped muzzle staring him in the face. She backed up quickly, her eyes filling with shock and intrigue. "What is this creature before my eyes, your presence here is quite a surprise." "I'm... what they call a human... I come from a place called Earth... but more importantly, where am I now?" "You are in the Equestrian nation. You must be from a very distant location." "Well then. That's interesting to know. May I ask you a question, miss.....?" he trailed off, even though he already knew the answer. "Zecora is my name, perhaps you could tell me the same?" She smiled a little, her intrigue growing more as she talked to the strange creature before her. "They call me Marcus back where I'm from. So, my question is: Why has everything you said rhymed?" Zecora opened her mouth as if to speak, but was interrupted by a more high pitched voice. It sounded extremely familiar. "Zecora! Ah found this here 'shroom growin' in tha barn back home an' Ah was a-wonderin' if'n ya might want it." The little yellow filly saw Marcus and her face turned to one of pure shock. She let out a shriek and turned around and ran. "Crap!" Marcus went to chase after little Applebloom but stopped and did a slight bow to Zecora. "Sorry Zecora, gotta go and try to clear things up, I'll be back and chat with ya again sometime." Zecora returned the gesture. "I trust you to take care, and be sure not to hurt the little mare." "Will do!" He ran after her and used her bright red bow to keep track of her. After all, there aren't many bright red things in this forest. He continued to chase the filly, quickly running out of breath and stopping at the edge of the forest as his eyes adjusted to the sudden rush of light. "Ah... crap...." He quickly recovered, though and continued the chase. "Hey, wait!" She kept running, following a road into town. Marcus continued to follow. He had lost track of his surroundings and didn't noticed the hooves buck his side until after the fact. Marcus tumbled sideways, crashing into a flower cart on the side of the road. He groaned and sat up, flowers and bits of wood still covering him a bit. The ponies in the market stared for about two seconds then started to scream and run. “What tha hay do ya think yer doin’ ta mah sister?!” The orange earth pony was glaring at Marcus as he was crawling out of the rubble of the destroyed cart. She was standing there, her stance was wide, preparing to charge if need be. Marcus didn’t hear a word she said as he stood and brushed the flowers and soil out of his hair. The pony opposite him began to scrape her hoof on the ground, kicking up a little dust. “I asked who ya are, an’ what ya were doing ta mah sister!” “Oh shit... Uh, I know this looks bad, but I was trying to apologize to her. She saw me in the.... Everfree Forest and kinda freaked out. I was there talking to Zecora and well, she just waltzed up and didn’t give anyone a chance to talk...” She then turned to the little filly behind her and had a disappointed look on her face. “Ah thought Ah told ya, Applebloom. Ya’ll don’t need ta be goin’ near tha forest.” “Sorry, sis....” “So! Now that that’s out of the way, I think some introductions are in order. I’m Marcus, nice to meet you.” Marcus started to reach out for a handshake but thought against it and settled for what he hoped looked like a friendly wave. “Ah’m Applejack and this here’s mah lil’ sister, Applebloom. Sure is mighty nice meetin’ ya, Marcus, but uhhh.... No offense, but... Just what tha hay ARE ya?” He sighed and hung his head a bit. “Guess I’m gonna be hearing that question a lot for the next few days.... Hopefully I won’t die again before that happens.” “Ah beg yer pardon?! Yer dead?!” Applejack reared up and backed Applebloom closer to the cart, both of them had a fearful expression across their faces. “No! Nononono, I’m not dead, I’m just.... out of it right now. Sorry.” Applejack narrowed her eyes at him and turned her head a little. “If’n ya’ll say so... Anywho, why dontcha tell me what ya’ll are, exactly?” “Well, I’m a human... I know you’ve never heard of me, nobody has.” “Nobody? Ya mean ‘nopony,’ right?” “Yeah, that.” Applejack smiled at his little blunder and turned back to Applebloom. “Now, Applebloom, Ah want ya’ll ta go back home ‘n’ tell Big Macintosh that Ah’ll be gettin’ home a lil’ late cuz o’ tha lil’ accident we had over yonder.” “Alright sis... jus’ make sure ya stay safe....” “Ah will, dontcha worry yer li’l head about that none. Ah can handle mahself jus’ fine.” “Alright, sis, seeya at home!” Applebloom then nuzzled her big sisters neck and ran back down the road towards the farm. Applejack smiled and watched her sister go home then turned around to face Marcus. “Alrighty, let’s git ta work.” “I’m sorry?” Marcus looked at the orange pony for a few seconds. “Yup. What? Ya’ll thought Ah was gonna let ya get away with not cleanin’ this mess up? Nice try.” “Well, it was kinda your fault that I broke it...” “Well, it was you who were chasin’ mah sister like some kind o’ madpony!” “Well, I wouldn’t have been chasing her if she had let somepony speak!” “Why tha buck are ya even here?! Why didn’t ya stay where ya’ll came from?!” “.....Because I didn’t have a choice....” At that, Marcus spun on the ball of his foot and walked down the road out of Ponyville. Applejack stood there and wondered what he was talking about. She let out a sigh and started to clean up the wreckage the two of them had caused only a few moments ago. Marcus stopped when he felt he was far enough away from Ponyville. He looked around at the scenery. Green pastures and rolling hills filled the space between his spot on a hill and the mountains off in the distance. He sighed and stretched, lifting his arms high above his head and pulling them back. He cringed at the intense pain in his side. “Damn... she sure can kick...” “Oh, um... You aren’t hurt... are you?” “Huh?” Marcus turned, holding his side with his hand and his jaw nearly hit the ground. Before him stood his favorite pony of all: Fluttershy. He could barely fight the urge to hug the yellow mare. “Oh uh... maybe a little...” “Well, um... If you want, I can bring you back to my cottage and... see if I can help... If... If you want to that is...” Marcus nearly fainted. The mare of his dreams was asking him to go home with her. Even though it was under different circumstances than he wished, she’s still inviting him over! “Thanks... If it’s not any trouble to you, that is.” “Oh, no trouble... I like helping animals.... What... kind of animal are you.... if... you don’t mind me asking...” “I’m not really an animal... well... technically I am.... What with humans being mammals and all....” “Oh... that’s... interesting... Can... you tell me a little more...? A-about yourself, I mean.... If... it’s alright with you, that is...” Fluttershy began to scrape at the ground, more out of nervousness than anger, like Applejack had. “Yeah, while you’re fixing me up. My feet are starting to hurt....” “Oh! You poor thing... Come on, let’s go back to my cottage so you can lie down...” “Alright.... Hey, we never introduced ourselves. I’m Marcus, nice to meet you.” He walked up to her and gave a slight bow. “I’m Fluttershy.... N-nice to meet you, Marcus....” She smiled softly up at him, blushing a little as she did so. Marcus nearly fainted again. Author's notes: Special thanks on this chapter to inoeitall for being my official english-to-Zecora translator. Read his stuff. Also, more thanks to inoeitall and Gyrofest96 for being my prereaders, they edited a lot and contributed a lot to this chapter. I love them both (no homo).
Chapter 3: A New HomeAuthor's note: Well, I have to thank my best prereader inoeitall AGAIN for helping me write this chapter. This is my first chapter with more than 2,000 words. Congratulations to me! "Oh my.... its quite hard...." "Yeah, well... stress builds up...." "I can see that.... Let's see........ Does this feel good?" “Oh yeah.....” “Um... I haven’t done this in a long time.... So forgive me if I’m a bit rusty....” “It’s fine... It feels wonderful, Fluttershy...” She giggled softly, “I’m glad you like it.... Eep!!” There was a soft thud. “Fluttershy?! You okay?” “Y-yes... I’m fine... Thank you.... Let’s try this again...” “Alright... Upsy-daisy.” The yellow mare blushed. “Um... Do you think jumping on it might help....? The bears seem to like it a lot....” “You do that to BEARS?! Wow! You sure do have guts!” She blushed harder. “Y-yes but only because they’re in the same situation you are....” “You mean with you on top of them?” She blushed harder still. “Y-yes... B-but only because... they were hurting... like you are...” “Yeah.... So, about that jump...?” “Oh! S-sorry... Alright.... One..... Two..... Three!” At this, Fluttershy jumped, using her wings to lift her a little more than her legs could and then dropped. Marcus’ back let out a bunch of nasty sounding pops and cracks as Fluttershy’s hooves connected and her weight fell on him. “Oof! Ohhh, yeah..... Much better....” Fluttershy smiled and crawled off of Marcus, landing softly on the floor, leaving her guest relaxing on her sofa. “Wow, Fluttershy... That felt amazing...” “Glad I could help...” Fluttershy smiled and walked upstairs then came back down with a pillow between her teeth. “Um... Do you think you could tell me about yourself...? If... If you want to, of course...” “Sure, I wouldn’t mind.” At this, Fluttershy smiled and laid the pillow on the floor and flopped down onto it. Marcus smiled at her and began his story. “Well, I come from a place called Earth. It is a... I guess you could say it’s a good place to live, except for all the crime, violence, drugs, alcohol, and overall horrible people. Yeah, I’d say it’s a swell place to live.” The sarcasm practically dripped from Marcus’ words as he said this. He sighed and continued his story. “Where do I start...? I guess I can start from my childhood: I’ve had a pretty good life, although there has been a lot of shit to happen to me.... like, when i was about seven, my father beat me with a table leg... don’t ask... And then, when I was nine my parents got a divorce, forcing me to testify against my father. For the next... oh... roughly three years, things weren’t all that great, but they weren’t bad, either. When I was eleven, my mother found a new husband... well, almost husband.... We were going to all go on a vacation to a waterpark where he planned to propose... Roughly a week before we planned to leave.... and three days after my birthday.... I came home from school to find him dead in their bedroom.... I cried.... Harder than I ever had before....” At this point in his story, Marcus had tears streaming down his face. He tried his hardest to hide it from Fluttershy. “And then... shortly afterwards, I made a really good friend.... we started dating and life was amazing. We dated for almost five years; we broke up when I was fifteen.... I had found out she was sleeping with another guy... Needless to say, I cried again.... Then the next year, my mother found another boyfriend.... we were all happy until I found myself here.... I’m seventeen now, and I’m alone for the first time in my life...” Marcus sighed and looked back at Fluttershy. She just stared up at him, eyes a bit wider than usual. Her eyes started to water a bit after she saw him looking at her. “Oh, geez, Fluttershy, please don’t cry...” “I-I can’t h-help it...” She hiccuped softly as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “Fluttershy....” Marcus reached down and gently picked her up. She was a bit nervous, more so than usual, but pressed her face against his chest, crying still. ”I’m okay, Fluttershy... please don’t cry....” His own tears had increased at seeing his favorite pony cry. He continued to hold her close to him until his stomach growled in her ear. “Oh.. um... a-are you hungry...?” “No, not really.” His stomach decided to protest this statement by releasing another low rumble. “Alright, you, it’s time to eat.” She was trying to be forceful, but the look on her face still showed she was extremely nervous. Marcus smiled at her. “Alright... um.. I don’t want to be a burden so, let me cook...” “Are you sure...? What do humans eat, anyway...?” “Well, we eat... huh.... We’re omnivores, so we can eat meat and fruits and veggies.... So, whatever’s convenient for you, I guess.” “Y-you... eat... m-meat..?” “Well, sometimes.... Some humans try to live off of just fruits and vegetables. But they usually end up looking like twigs, themselves.” “Oh... um... well... I don’t know what I can make that you might like... um....” “How about eggs?” “I guess I could.... Even though eggs are usually for breakfast.” “Oh man, tell that to my stepdad.... He eats eggs so friggen much, it’s not funny.... He usually makes a sandwich with them.” “Oh! Could.. could you show me how he does it...? That sounds interesting....” “Sure thing! But first thing’s first! I need you to point me in the direction of the kitchen and where I can obtain a few eggs.” She smiled and pointed to a door off to her right. “You can get the eggs from the chickens outside... Be careful, though...” “Alright... You’ll have to point me towards the kitchen when I come back.” “That’s fine.” Marcus smiled and walked out the door into Fluttershy’s animal pen. He walked over to the chicken coop and stepped behind it, there was no door to reach in and grab the eggs. “Crap...” He walked to the front and poked his head inside, most of the chickens were sitting on their eggs, and a few were sleeping. In the very back, there was one nest with three eggs in it that was unoccupied. “Figures...” Marcus crawled into the chicken coop and carefully made his way to the back, making sure not to disturb the chickens. He reached the nest in the back without so much as a nudge to the chickens that were staring at him with beady eyes. He started to get nervous as he reached out to the nest, taking the eggs. He started trying to back out of the coop but ended up kicking a couple chickens. They began to cluck angrily at him as he tried to back out and find solid ground again. “Sorry!” He continued to accidentally kick them, some started flying around inside the coop, flying at Marcus and pecking and scratching at his arms and face. “Ah!! Stop that!! Son of a- FUCK THAT HURT!!” He began scrambling, trying to get out of the coop. At this point, Fluttershy stepped into the open doorway to see what was wrong and saw the chicken coop shaking violently and some very obscene words coming from it. “Oh, um... Be careful.... Don’t hurt each other...” It took a few minutes, but Marcus finally forced his way out of the chicken coop, landing on his feet and turning around quickly. He ran as fast as he could towards the open door, eggs in hand. Behind him, dozens of angry chickens flew out of the coop after him. “Get back inside, Fluttershy!” He dove for the open door and slammed it shut behind him, the chickens began scratching and throwing themselves at the door, trying to get to the man who had disturbed them. He stood there, panting, his back against the door. His arms and face were covered in scratches and small wounds. His clothes were torn and tattered and there was hay and feathers in his hair and clothes, as well. “Oh my... Are you okay..?” “Yeah... But I’m not going back in that chicken coop.... EVER.” Fluttershy smiled and started walking towards another doorway. Marcus followed and found himself in her kitchen. It was pretty basic, sink, table, stove, fridge, and cabinets. “So, the first thing you do is get a pan and some oil.” Marcus dug around for a little before finding his supplies: a frying pan, some vegetable oil, and a spatula. “You don’t want to warm up the oil for this or you’ll get the whites too crispy.” He poured some oil into the pan and set it on a burner. He then cracked the eggs and dropped them into the pan. “And now, we play the waiting game.” He leaned up against the counter and watched the three eggs start to pop and sizzle in the pan. “I usually break the yolks for this, but I don’t know how you like it, I hope you don’t mind” “No, not at all...” “Alrighty, then.” He reached over with the spatula and pressed the corner into the yolks a few times. They flattened out and he flipped the eggs shortly afterwards. He grabbed a few slices of bread from one of the cabinets and made two sandwiches when the eggs were cooked all the way through. “Easiest thing I know how to cook.” “That’s interesting...” She walked over and sniffed the second sandwich he had made. “Yeah, I made you one, too” “You didn’t have to...” “Yeah, but I wanted to.” “Thank you... Marcus...” “Anytime.” She took the plate between her teeth and walked over to the table. She put the plate down, crawled into a chair and started eating. Marcus was still over by the stove seasoning his sandwich with salt, pepper, and any spicy powder he could find. Marcus sat down beside her when she was about halfway through her sandwich. “How is it?” She finished what she was chewing and smiled at him. “It’s very nice, thank you.” Marcus smiled back and proceeded to eat his lunch. ~~~~~~~~~~ The two of them sat at the table, plates empty and bellies full. The sandwiches were surprisingly filling. Fluttershy eventually got up and stretched her wings. She walked over to the door then turned back to look at Marcus. “Um... I have to go into town for a little... I hope that’s okay...” “Sure, gotta do what you gotta do. Just be careful.” She blushed a little and nodded. She turned around and walked out the door, leaving Marcus alone in her cottage. “So! Alone in Fluttershy’s house.... What to do...? I could go snooping? Nah, that’s rude... I could help with her chores? Too lazy....” At this point, Marcus heard a soft tapping. He looked around and saw Angel Bunny standing on the table, tapping his foot. He pointed towards the front door and then to his eyes then at Marcus. He hopped off the table shortly afterwards and disappeared. Marcus had no idea where the little critter could have run off to. “That was..... interesting....” He shook his head and started to wander around her cottage for a little bit. He found the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and what looked like a guest bedroom on the first floor. He decided to go up the stairs to look around. He found an aviary, another bathroom, and another bedroom. He assumed this one to be Fluttershy’s because it had green and flowery decorations. The bedspread was green with some pink flowers on it. The drapes were green, and even the walls were green. There were a few animal care supplies scattered here and there. He smiled at it and closed the door, walking back down the stairs. “What can I do to help the poor thing...?” He sighed and hung his head. He flopped back down on the couch. ~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus must have fallen asleep, because when he looked up again, it was nearly dark. He sat up and yawned. He wandered around the house again, wondering if Fluttershy had come back yet. Apparently not, she was nowhere to be seen. As soon as he had figured that she wasn’t back yet, the front door opened and a quiet voice called out: “Marcus...? Are you still here...?” “Yeah, I’m still here, I hope that’s not any trouble.” “No, no trouble at all....” Marcus walked into the living room again, to see Fluttershy struggling a little with some bags of feed and a bucket of apples. He rushed over and grabbed as much as he could, throwing the two bags of feed over his shoulder and grabbing the bucket with the other arm. Fluttershy blushed a little and looked up at him. “Th-thank you... Please don’t hurt yourself...” “Don’t you worry about it, I got it.” He smiled at her as his arm started to hurt from the bags of feed. “Um... C-can you put them by the back door...?” “Yeah... One sec...” He walked, somewhat quickly, towards the back door and nearly dropped everything on the way. He gently placed everything down, the apple first then the two bags. “Ow... Guess I need to start working out again...” Fluttershy walked in behind him and looked up at him. “Thank you again... You really didn’t have to help...” “Nope. Had to help you for being so nice to me today. Oh crap, I should probably head out, I’m sure you’re tired and don’t need me hanging around.” Marcus turned around and headed for the front door. He had his hand on the doorknob when Fluttershy called out to him. “Wait...” There was a short silence as Fluttershy walked a few feet towards him and looked up. “You... you said you were a-alone...?” “Yeah... Why?” “Um... y-you can... stay here... i-if you want...” She blushed profusely and looked up at him from under her mane. “I.. uh... Fluttershy, I couldn’t...” “No, no, I insist... I can’t let you go out at this time of night without a place to stay.” “Well.... alright....” Marcus smiled and got on his knees, wrapping the yellow pegasus in a hug. She hesitantly returned the gesture, wrapping her hooves around him. Maybe things won’t be so bad, after all.
Chapter 4: NightmaresAuthor’s Note: Sorry this took so long! As I said with my Scratched Out update, school has been getting in the way! Well, here it is! The newest update for Butterflies! Hope you all enjoy! Marcus tossed and turned in the guest bed, his mind blank as he slept. There were no images. There was no dream. There was no imagination. He could hear some soft rustling as he teetered on the edge of sleep and the waking world. He turned over in his half conscious stupor a few more times before sitting up and seeing if he could recognise the sounds he was hearing. There were sounds of crickets, owls, the light trickling of water, the rustling of leaves as a gentle breeze blew through the treetops.... Then there was the sounds of fabric being moved around. He pulled himself out of bed and started to follow the sound of fabric. He followed it into the living room, then up the stairs, then to Fluttershy’s door. He stood there for several minutes, wondering what she could be doing.... She might be having some “alone time” but she might also be having a nightmare or hurting or something.... He took a deep breath and hesitantly pushed the door open a crack. “Fluttershy...? You okay...?” He waited, there was no reply, so he pushed the door open some more. There in the bed was Fluttershy, her face contorted into one of fear and pain. He walked forward a few steps and watched her for a little. She was tossing and turning, her wings flapping wildly, her front legs flailing. Marcus was rooted to the spot, he wanted to go help her, but he didn’t want her to think less of him for sneaking into her room.... He decided he would wake her up and ask if she wanted to talk about it. Before he could move, however, Fluttershy let out a shriek. Without a second thought, he ran over to the bed and shook her gently. “Fluttershy?! Fluttershy, wake up! It’s just a dream!” She struggled in his grip a little but quickly opened her eyes, it took her a few seconds to adjust to the low light and recognise it was Marcus holding her by the shoulders. She looked up at him, tears flowing down her cheeks. She threw her hooves around him and cried into his chest. He was taken aback for a little but then pulled the butter yellow pegasus close to his chest, rocking her gently and stroking her mane. He pulled himself up onto her bed and held her in his lap. She was trembling and holding onto him tightly. They sat there for what could have been hours. Fluttershy stopped sobbing a while after she woke up but continued to tremble, Marcus continued to stroke her mane and try to comfort her. She started to squirm and wiggle in his grip, trying to look up at him. “Um... M-marcus...?” “Yeah..?” “I... um... h-have to go to the bathroom....” “Oh! S-sorry!” He quickly let go of her, gently placing her on the floor where she trotted out of the room. He sat on her bed, waiting for her to come back. Her bed was really soft.... It felt like it was stuffed with feathers, but it bounced a little, indicating the presence of springs. Fluttershy walked back into the room only a few seconds after a flush from the bathroom. She crawled back onto the bed and laid down in Marcus’s lap again. He stroked her back and mane, looking down at her and smiling. “Hey, Fluttershy...?” “Mmm...?” “Would you like to talk about your nightmare...?” “N-not now... C-can we just.... c-c-cuddle...?” The blush was clearly visible on her face, even though the only light was from Luna’s moon, but even that was filtered by her drapes. Even Marcus blushed at the proposition. He nodded slightly and laid back on her bed. Fluttershy crawled up beside him and pressed her body against his, pressing her face against his chest. He hesitantly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her a bit closer. Fluttershy smiled a little and looked up at him. “Th-thank you, Marcus....” He blushed and smiled back at her. “Anything for you, Fluttershy.....” He leaned down and gently kissed her cheek. Her blush intensified as she hid her face in his chest. “Um... c-can you stay.... with me.... just for tonight...? I-if you wouldn’t mind, of course.....” “Of course...” He went back to stroking her mane, and started humming softly. He made it up as he went, it was a happy little tune, fast paced and a bit high pitched. She let out a deep sigh and turned her face to look at him again. He was staring up at the ceiling, his eyes closed, still humming. “M-marcus...?” He could feel Fluttershy crawl onto his chest, he felt her cross her front hooves across his chest and he could feel her mane tickling his neck. “Hmmm..?” He opened one eye and tilted his head up to look at her. He looked into her blue eyes. She looked back and took a deep breath. Before he knew it, Fluttershy had her lips pressed up against his, her eyes closed and his shot open. He was shocked that the mare of his dreams was kissing him. Her lips were soft... His instincts took over and he wrapped his arms around her neck, one hand rubbing her head and the other rubbing her back. She crawled further up his chest and laid her front hooves on either side of his neck. After several minutes, Fluttershy pulled away from Marcus, a severe blush across her face at the realization of what she had just done. Marcus was panting softly, not because of the excitement, but because he forgot how to breathe during the kiss. She continued to look at him and then pressed her lips against his even harder than before. She pushed his head back so that he was laying flat on her bed and she was on top of him. She opened her mouth a bit, a silent invitation. Marcus took her up on her offer and their tongues met somewhere in the middle. He couldn’t believe it, he was having a passionate moment with Fluttershy. Their tongues danced together, trying to pin the other against teeth or a cheek. They tasted and explored each others’ mouths, as if they could learn everything about the other just by kissing them. Fluttershy pulled away again, panting softly and blushing harder than before. She kept her tongue hanging out and noticed a thin trail of saliva still connecting the two tongues. It snapped and she giggled at it. Marcus smiled at her. Her laugh was so cute. He sat up and she slipped into his lap. He sat there and looked at her. He was smiling, but it slowly faded into a slight frown. His thoughts needed to be voiced. He wanted nothing more than this moment to last forever. But it couldn't. “Fluttershy.... I’m sorry, but at this rate, I can’t stay here... I... I don’t want us ending up doing something that we’ll both regret tomorrow.... We just met... and I don’t want to ruin the relationship we have now... I’m sorry... But...” He smiled, “Maybe one day we can be more than friends, alright?” Her ears drooped and her expression became more sullen as he spoke. Her eyes started to water a bit towards the end. “B-but... M-marcus...” “No, I’m sorry, believe me, I want to more than anything.... But we might screw something up if we don’t control ourselves....” He gently placed her on the bed beside him and stood. He turned towards the door and went to leave. “W-wait..!” Marcus turned around and looked at the sad looking pegasus on the bed. Her mane was ruffled a bit, making her look even cuter. “C-can you at least stay here...? I-I’ll be good... p-promise...” He sighed and walked back to the bed and sat on it beside her. She smiled and crawled under the comforter and waited for him. He crawled into bed with her and pulled the covers over them. Fluttershy scooted closer to him and pressed their bodies together again. He wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her head again. Fluttershy sighed and snuggled even more into his chest. ~~~~~~~~~~ The sun leaked in through the window, disturbing Marcus from his sleep. He grimaced as his dreams were replaced by the waking world. Then he looked down to see an adorable yellow pegasus snuggled up against him. He smiled and stroked her mane a little before wiggling out of her grasp. He stood and stretched, yawning. He walked over to the bathroom that was just outside her bedroom door. He stared at himself in the mirror. He was a mess. His hair still had feathers and hay in it and his clothes were still torn. He sighed. “Guess I’ll have to find a way to get to Rarity...” He could hear Fluttershy rolling around in bed and decided to be there when she woke up. He walked out of the bathroom and sat down on what he assumed would be his side of the bed. He reached over and started stroking her mane again. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked over at him. She smiled and nuzzled into his hand. She stood and stumbled towards him then leaned in to kiss him but ended up yawning in his face. “O-oh... S-sorry...” Marcus was smiling at the unbelievable cuteness. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her cheek. “Fluttershy... to keep from going further than we did last night.... I regret to say that we probably shouldn’t be kissing like that anymore...” “But....” She sighed and hung her head. “Alright....” “I hate it, too... On a totally unrelated subject, I really want a shower, but I don’t have any other clothes.... You wouldn’t happen to know anypony who could make some for me?” He smiled nervously. “Um... Yes, but she’s probably very busy... and maybe not even awake yet... But, I guess we can pay her a visit...” Marcus smiled at her. “We have to at some point... Might as well see her first thing, right?” “I guess...” Fluttershy stood and started walking down the stairs. Marcus followed her down the stairs but stopped just before stepping off the last one. “Um... Fluttershy? How will we be able to get to her place without going through town...?” Fluttershy looked over her shoulder and smiled at the young man. “We go around, of course.” ~~~~~~~~~~ After roughly a half hour of walking down barely used roads and diving into bushes, climbing trees, and jumping in the single lake they passed by, they eventually reached Rarity’s Boutique. The pegasus and the human approached the front door. “Um.. could you stay out here...? I need to warn Rarity first, so she won’t freak out.... Alright..?” “Sure.” Fluttershy walked into the boutique, the little bell over the door making Rarity aware of her presence. After she walked in, Marcus leaned against the wall, looking at the scenery. “Fluttershy! Oh it’s so good to see you again, darling. What brings you this way, hmm?” “Oh, um... I have a friend who... umm.. needs some new clothes... and I was wondering... if you could make some for him...?” “But of course! Now where is this friend of yours? I need measurements, you know.” “I-i know.... But, um... promise you won’t freak out...? He’s really... unusual....” “Please, Fluttershy, what do you take me for? Any friend of yours is a friend of mine!” “Alright... J-just one second.... You can come in now, Marcus...” “Marcus? What kind of name for a pony is that?” “Well, um... He’s not a pony...” At this point, Marcus walked into the Boutique and Rarity’s pupils shrank. “F-fluttershy, dear, c-can I speak with you privately...? J-just for a few minutes...?” “Um... sure.” The two mares quickly trotted upstairs to Rarity’s workroom. Rarity quickly locked the door and spun around to face Fluttershy. “Wh-what is that?!” “Um... He said he was a ‘Human.’” “What in Equestria is a human?!” “He said he wasn’t from Equestria....” “Well then, where is he from?!” “He told me a place called ‘Earth.’” Rarity started trotting in place, having a mini-freakout. Fluttershy just watched her friend from behind her mane until she calmed down. “Alright, calm down Rarity, you’ve seen stranger things.... Okay, no you haven’t! Fluttershy! How did you make friends with him?!” Fluttershy shrank back a bit. “Rarity.... He’s not bad.... In fact, he’s... really nice.... He helped me out last night....” “He stayed with you?! Fluttershy!” Fluttershy suddenly flushed. “He helped me Rarity! He... I was having a nightmare... and he was there for me.... I sat in his lap and... he stroked my mane... he spoke softly... he even hummed a little.... He made sure I was happy...” Rarity had stopped moving and just stared at her friend. She started to feel bad for assuming something about a creature she had never met. “I’m sorry Fluttershy.... Alright, now that that’s over... what say you we meet him, hmm?” “Um... I’ve already met him, Rarity.” Fluttershy smiled meekly and Rarity laughed. Rarity then opened the door and ushered Fluttershy back downstairs. She followed close behind and started circling Marcus, inspecting him. He just stood there, watching the pristine white unicorn look him up and down. “Hm... I’m curious... why must you wear so much clothing, dear?” “Er... Well.... uhhhhh.....” There was an awkward silence as Marcus tried to figure out the best way to explain. “Humans are.... oh geez, what’s the right word to use....? Modest? About our appearance... Most aren’t comfortable with the way their bodies look and use clothing to hide it.... Those that ARE proud of their bodies tend to flaunt it, but that’s a story for another day....” “Oh my, humans certainly do sound.... interesting...” “Not really, but that might just be my 17 years of living with some people telling me they’re nothing special.” “Hmm... I would still like to learn more about your kind. Perhaps this weekend?” “Um... sure, I guess.” “Splendid.” Her horn started to glow and a measuring tape levitated in front of him. “Now hold still, darling so I can get your measurements.” ~~~~~~~~~~ Fluttershy and Marcus walked out of Rarity’s Boutique smiling and waving. The white mare stood in the doorway and waved them off, a yellow measuring tape draped around her neck and some tiny glasses perched on her nose. “I’ll see you in three days, Marcus! It was nice meeting you!” Marcus simply smiled back at her and waved until he lost sight of her. He turned and looked down to Fluttershy. She was looking straight ahead and her mane hid her face from him. He reached down and gently began to rub her ears. She yelped and jumped away from him, a dark blush crossing her face. Marcus pulled his hand away and stuffed it in his pocket. He looked up at the slowly darkening sky and his mind raced. “It’s... quite lovely this time of day... Don’t you think..?” “Yeah... Back on Earth we called this the magic hour. Dunno if you do that here or not.” “Some ponies do.” The pair continued back to Fluttershy’s cottage in silence. Marcus opened the door for her once she had it unlocked and she smiled softly at him before walking inside. “They say chivalry is dead. I’m trying to revive it.” Fluttershy smiled again at his words and spun around to look at him before letting out a deep breath. “M-marcus... I.. I would really like it if.... Y-you could... sleep with me... in my bed again, tonight... I-if you want...” He kneeled down in front of her and rubbed her cheek. She nuzzled into it and closed her eyes. “I would like nothing more.... But I’m afraid I can’t...” “But... why not...?” “Because the only reason I stayed with you last night was because I was doing what I felt right. I felt like you needed someone there for you, to comfort you and hold you and make sure you would be okay. I did what I thought was right. And look at what almost happened.” Fluttershy blushed and looked away, ashamed. “Now, I don’t blame you for what happened. I really want our relationship to be more than friendship, but that will have to wait. I’m sorry Fluttershy.” She just sat there and looked at him. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she turned and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Marcus sat there, wanting desperately to run up and hug the depressed pony, but didn’t want something to happen they would both regret. He walked to the guest bedroom after he heard Fluttershy close her bedroom door. Neither one of them would sleep well tonight.
Chapter 5: New FriendsMarcus woke up in a cold sweat. This dream was one of the more horrifying ones. In it, Discord had returned and forced Marcus to become something he never would want to be. He had hurt all the ponies, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and much to his own horror, Fluttershy. He sat there in the guest bed, panting and sweating. He wiped his face and looked around. His mind began to wander and he slid out of bed. He still needed a shower. His clothes had become more tattered, and the holes had gotten bigger. “I wish Rarity could hurry up... Ugh! I need to do something...” He walked out of the room after putting his shoes on. He wandered around the house for a second and found himself peeking in on Fluttershy. She was sleeping soundly, but her comforter was on the floor. He walked in and pulled it back over her. He left as quietly as he came, closing the door behind him. “I guess I’ll go for a walk....” Marcus walked down the stairs and stepped outside. The crisp late February air stung in his nostrils. The cold air put his weary mind at ease, if only a little. He started to walk towards a random hill. On his way, he somehow changed direction and found himself leaning against a tree. “Damn my curved walk.” He sat down and looked up into Luna’s night. The stars were beautiful, but he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to Fluttershy. She was so adorable while she was asleep. Marcus suddenly stood and turned towards the tree. His knuckles connected with the rough bark, splitting the skin. He punched the tree again. And again. And again. “DAMN IT!” His punches didn’t cease. Only when his hand went numb did he stop. His knuckles and hand were soaked in blood, the tree even had a few drops splattered on it. “I want to tell her I love her.... I want to be there for her.... I want to be able... to call her my wife.... AUGH!” Marcus dropped to his knees and let his arms fall to his sides. The cold air stung on his broken knuckles. He let his head hang and lost himself in his own thoughts. “It’s too soon.... There’s something wrong with her, she shouldn’t be so... forceful!” He sighed and looked back up into the night sky. “Luna, please help me...” ~~~~~~~~~~ For once, Marcus didn’t wake up to the sun assaulting his retinas. Instead, he woke to the voice of a certain purple unicorn. “Pinkie, are you sure?” “Yes, Twilight! You know what it means when i start bouncing around on my head!” “That you ate too many cupcakes?” “No, silly! It means there’s a new pony in town! YAY! Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to throw a party. You think this pony will like parties? I sure like parties, don’t you? Ohhhh I can’t wai-” At this point, Twilight stuffed her hoof in Pinkie Pie’s mouth. “Sometimes I wonder how you can stay so hyper....” “Oh, hey, look! That’s new!” “Huh?” Twilight looked over in the direction Pinkie was pointing to. On the ground lay a creature she had never seen before. “What in Equestria is that?” “I don’t know, but it looks fun!” Pinkie was still bouncing on her head. “Pinkie, can you please stop that?” “Sorry.” She stopped and returned to her hooves, swaying a little. She giggled and regained her balance. “Huh... I don’t want to bounce anymore... Is this the new pony? He doesn’t look like any pony I’ve ever seen.” “He’s probably lost...” At that point, Marcus grumbled as the two mares talking brought him back to consciousness. “Ugh... Who turned on the sun....?” “Pretty sure it was the Princess!” Pinkie started to bounce a little, not even surprised in the least that he could talk. “Oh, good. You can talk.” “Of course I can talk, what do you take me for? A bumbling neanderthal?” “A who-what?” Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Uhm.... I don’t know what a neanderthal is....” “Oh, right. Ponies.” Marcus rubbed his face and groaned softly. He slowly sat up and looked around. He remembered lying down after assaulting that poor innocent tree last night but he didn’t remember falling asleep. “A neanderthal is a human with an underdeveloped brain.” “You lost me again...” Twilight rubbed a hoof on her face, looking at Marcus. “What’s a human?” “I’m a human.” “Well, you look kinda funny!” “Pinkie! I’m so sorry, she should know better than that!” Twilight then glared at the pink pony, who didn’t even seem fazed. “Huh... Well, I think introductions are in order, don’t you? I’m Marcus, and I’ve been here in Ponyville for.... this is my third day. Pretty sure, at least.” “Nice to meet you! I’m Pinkie Pie! And this here is my bestest friend ever! Her name is Twilight Sparkle, she’s a bit of an egghead, she runs the library and even lives there! Could you ever imagine living in a library?! I would get so super bored! There would be nothing to d-” Twilight stuffed her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth again, not-so-effectively silencing her but muffling her enough to make her unintelligible. “I’m so sorry about Pinkie.” “It’s quite alright, I had a friend back home who was almost the exact same way. It’s pretty scary, actually.” “Well, Marcus, it was nice meeting you but we have to go find our friend Fluttershy. She said she was so busy with a new animal that she couldn’t talk the other day.” “I think I might be that animal... I’ve been staying with her since i got here. Well, after Applejack kicked me in the side, she kinda took me in and fixed me up...” He dare not mention the close calls he’s had with her. “Oh, really now?” Twilight raised her eyebrow. Pinkie had stopped trying to talk, Twilight’s hoof still in her mouth. The pink pony looked over to her friend with a look of annoyance. “Hey uh, Twilight? I think Pinkie wants you to kinda... remove your hoof.” “Oh, sorry Pinkie.” “It’s okay. Well, let’s go find Fluttershy!” “Oh hey, Marcus, you said you were staying with Fluttershy?” “Yeah, why?” “If so, why were you so far away from her cottage?” “Well... Last night I had to take out my frustrations. Unfortunately, this tree got in the way...” Marcus rubbed his hand, there was dried blood on his knuckles and on the back of it. He sighed and licked his thumb. He began to wipe the blood off his hand. He looked over to the tree and he could barely see the blood on it. The three of them stood there for a little before Twilight spoke up. “Well, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be going to see Fluttershy, now.” “Alright, you two have fun.” The two mares walked past him and began talking to each other. Marcus turned and started walking. He had no idea where he was going, merely wandering. He looked to his right, there stood the menacing Everfree Forest. To his left, he saw Ponyville. He shrugged and turned to the right, pushing past the trees and the brush. ~~~~~~~~~~ His trek through the thick forest was tiring. His mind was still racing from thoughts of the past few days. I need to find something to do to clear my head.... I wonder which way to the ocean... As if Celestia had answered his prayers, he stepped out of the forest and before him lie a great expanse of blue. About twenty feet in front of him, the land stopped, dropping straight down into the blue abyss. “Well, I guess God IS listening...” He walked closer to the edge of the cliff. As he stood there, the wind whipped his hair into his face and gave him trouble maintaining his balance. He looked up and around him. To his right there was a trail that seemed to go down the side of the cliff. He walked over to it and walked a ways. He looked over the side and saw where it ended. Just at the water’s surface. Perfect. Marcus walked back to the top of the cliff and stopped at the edge of the forest. He turned around once he reached the trees and took a running start towards the end of the cliff. 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet. Then he leaped off the edge, throwing himself towards the endless expanse of water. He held his arms close to his sides and closed his eyes. He was hurtling straight towards the water. The air stung his face and made his eyes start to tear up. He opened them once more and saw the water only a few dozen feet away. He closed them once more and prepared for impact. He smiled wide as his face made contact. ~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight and Pinkie Pie walked up to Fluttershy’s cottage and knocked. Twilight stood there and waited patiently for her to answer, but Pinkie started bouncing around to the side, looking in her animal pens. “Hey Twilight!~ She’s over here!” Twilight sighed and walked over to where Pinkie was bouncing in place, smiling like a madpony. “Hey Fluttershy. You busy?” Fluttershy looked up from pouring some feed in some bowls to look at her friends. “No, not anymore... Please come inside.” She walked back inside, carrying the bag of feed with her. Twilight and Pinkie walked back to the front door just in time for Fluttershy to unlock it. Twilight and Pinkie walked in but didn’t get comfortable, they just needed an answer. “Fluttershy, we need some help.” “Oh..? What’s wrong..?” Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Gummy’s sick! He just sits there being a grumpy-wumpy alligator....” “Oh dear, ummm... Pinkie? Have you been feeding him?” “Yes! I’m not that irresponsible!” Fluttershy looked at Pinkie still, “What have you been feeding him?” “Fishy milkshakes!” “Milkshakes...? Frozen milkshakes?” “Well, duhhhh! It’s not a milkshake if it isn’t frozen!” “Oh my, Pinkie... Baby alligators can’t eat frozen food....” “Oh... Woopsies...” Twilight looked over at Pinkie. “Why didn’t you know this? You should look up what your pet eats before feeding it something.” “I get distracted! You know how distracting distracting things are! They’re so distracting!” “So you brought me all the way out here, and you really didn’t need me?” “Yeah, sorry.” Pinkie smiled sheepishly and Twilight could have sworn she heard a squeak. Twilight sighed and looked back to Fluttershy. “Sorry to trouble you Fluttershy, thanks so much for helping us.” “Oh, it’s no trouble... Please, do come back and visit.” “Sure thing!” “Okie dokie lokie!” Fluttershy smiled as her friends walked out. As soon as the door closed, her face changed into one of worry. She was wondering where Marcus was. She hadn’t seen him that morning and her animal friends told her they hadn’t seen him. She hoped he was okay. ~~~~~~~~~~ He was shocked by how cold the water was. It was colder than expected, but it felt good. Marcus sat in the water and let the current carry him a little bit before swimming back up to the surface. When his head broke through, he took a deep breath. He looked around and saw that he had drifted a good ways away from the path back up the cliff. He started to swim towards it and his mind stopped wandering. The only thing he could think of was surviving. This was his way of clearing his head. He used to live close to the ocean, a scene almost exactly like this was only about a mile from his house. He would jump off the cliff there to clear his head, the adrenaline rush from jumping and the freezing water would always make him concentrate on surviving. He continued to swim. He wasn’t too far from the shore and was smiling the entire time. He finally reached solid ground and pulled himself up onto the bank, lying on his back and letting the sun shine on him. “I sure missed this.” He opened his eyes and the sun greeted him. “Heh... Hard to believe I’m living in the world of my dreams... Man, I love Equestria...” He sat there in peace for several minutes before his mind wandered back to Fluttershy. Marcus grimaced. “Damn... So soon?” His thoughts were the same as before, he loved her, he didn’t want to rush things, he wanted to be there for her. Marcus let out a deep sigh and stood up. He began the long trek back up to the top of the cliff. “Maybe I should ask her out..? Gah... It’s far too soon, I mean I just met her. But, then again, I made out with her about seven hours after I met her.... Sure, why the hell not?” He smiled as he looked towards the water. “Oh, the ocean beckons to me once more!” He took another running start and flung himself off the edge of the cliff again. ~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus walked back through the Everfree Forest, looking around to see if he could mark this path for later use. It was dark, Luna’s full moon high in the sky. He grabbed a pair of large branches and drove them into the dirt, shaping an “X” where he broke through the foliage. He turned and tried to find his way back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Smiling, he walked towards the cottage, which surprisingly wasn’t but a few hundred feet away. He tried to open the door but found it to be locked. “Crap... Hey, Fluttershy? You still awake?” He could just barely make out hoofsteps behind the door. She opened the door and let out a deep sigh after seeing who was behind it. “Oh, it’s you, Marcus.... You had me worried...” Marcus smiled softly and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry... Sometimes I go wander around to try and find something to do. Am I still welcome to stay with you?” “O-of course.” Fluttershy blushed and stepped to the side. Marcus walked in and closed the door behind him. He looked down at Fluttershy and smiled. She smiled back and turned to go back up the stairs. Now was as good a time as ever. “Hey, Fluttershy....” Marcus took a deep breath as she turned around to look at him. “How would you like to go hang out tomorrow... Or, whenever you have the chance..?” She blushed fiercely. “A-are you... asking me out...?” “It’s... er... a distinct possiblity... I find that dates are the best way to get to know someone better... Or in this case, somepony...” Fluttershy blushed even hard and thought for a few seconds. She smiled ever so softly and nodded. “Th-that sounds... nice...” They smiled at each other and moved to their respective bedrooms. Neither one of them could sleep that night. They were too excited for their date in the morning.
Chapter 6: We're Just Getting StartedMarcus woke up several hours before sunrise and laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He started thinking about what he and Fluttershy could do today. “Guess I’ll go for another walk.” Marcus sat up and swung himself out of bed. He walked into the bathroom and took another good look at himself. He wasn’t dirty anymore, due to his little cliff diving adventure yesterday, but his clothes were still little more than rags. He walked out the front door, making as little noise as possible. Marcus looked out into the early morning sky, it was still dark but off in the distance he could see the faint orange of the sun rising. He smiled and began walking into town. “Too early to actually do anything....” He looked around and saw that nopony was nearby. He smiled and found his way to the park. He found a nice, comfortable looking bench in the park and began rummaging through his repertoire of songs. He settled on one that would fit this situation perfectly. He looked around once more and smiled, satisfied that nopony was still around. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes. ”I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom, for me and you. And I think to myself, ‘What a wonderful world.’” He continued with his singing, shutting his mind off and letting the music control him. Several minutes passed before he finally opened his eyes. Celestia’s early morning sun had revealed itself. He smiled and stood. He stretched and looked up at the clouds that were starting to turn orange. Hanging over the edge of one he saw a pair of tails, one rainbow, the other brown. Oh snap, somepony heard me sing? Craaaap! The owner of the brown tail showed his face, he looked over the edge of the cloud. He had a matching brown mane and a pair of glasses were perched on his muzzle. “Hey dude, that was pretty go- SWEET CELESTIA!” He quickly ducked back behind the cloud. “Oh geez. Come on, I won’t hurt you, promise. I can’t even reach you.” Marcus stood there, looking up at the cloud. Two pairs of hooves appeared over the edge, one light grey, the other cyan. Two heads appeared over the edge, one was the pony from before and a cyan pony with a rainbow mane, a face he knew quite well. From her ears dangled a pair of ruby earrings. “Who are you, anyway? I’ve never seen anything like you before.” The cyan pony decided to prod at the creature standing before her... or, under her as were the case. “My name’s Marcus, I’m staying with Fluttershy until I can get a place of my own. And you two are?” The grey stallion spoke up, “I’m Quick Wits, and this is my wife, Rainbow Dash.” “Fastest flier in all of Equestria!” Both Marcus and Quick Wits chuckled at Rainbow’s boasting. She had an ear to ear grin that showed she took great pride in herself. Quick took this as an opportunity to plant a kiss on her cheek. This made the cyan pegasus blush a bit but grin at her husband. “Watch it.” “Or what?” “Or I might just have to beat your flank in another race.” She pressed her nose against his and Marcus turned around, preparing to give them a little privacy. “And where do you think YOU’RE going?” Marcus turned back around and found himself face to face with Rainbow. He stumbled back and landed right on his rear end. She and Quick laughed at him and he soon joined them. Rainbow held out a hoof and Marcus took it. Back on his feet, he dusted off the seat of his pants, which was totally unnecessary, considering there wasn’t much fabric for dirt to cling to. “Crap, I still need to get those clothes from Rarity.... I wonder if she’s awake....” “She usually gets up early to work. I doubt she would mind you checking on your stuff.” Quick hovered in front of Marcus, right beside Rainbow. “Thanks. I guess I’ll see you two later?” “Sounds like a plan!” “Sure, catch ya later, Marcus!” He smiled and turned towards the Boutique, which was thankfully not very far away. He gently rapped on the front door and waited. He heard some hoofsteps come towards the door and a very tired sounding voice come from behind it. “We aren’t open yet, darling. Please come back in a few hours.” “Oh, Rarity, I was just stopping by to talk to you for a sec.” “Marcus? Oh, alright, come in...” He opened the door and the little bell above the door startled him. Rarity giggled and looked up at him. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. “Oh wow... Looks like you’ve been busy.” “Unfortunately so... Doing paperwork AND getting the orders completed isn’t the easiest thing in the world. But, somehow I get it all done.” “What kind of paperwork?” “Invoices and shipping reports... It’s not hard, there’s just sooo much of it...” “I could help you if you want.” “No, no I couldn’t. I can’t ask someone I just met to help me out.” “I insist. It’s all I can do, considering I don’t have any money.” “Oh my... Oh! Speaking of, your order is done, dear.” “Oh thank you, God! I desperately need a shower and some new clothes...” “I.. can see this...” “Heh... So, where’s your shower?” “Upstairs and first door to the left, deary.” “Thanks.” “Let me get your clothes for you, before you.. disrobe and make it very hard to do so...” “Oh, right... yeah, that would be smart.” She left and came back with a bunch of outfits on hangers. Marcus looked at them and raised his eyebrow. He took them anyways and headed off to the shower. ~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus sat in a chair in front of a desk, his hair messy and still a little wet. His new clothes were comfortable, if a bit... frou-frou. They were simple; his shirt was yellow, with a few gems sewn into the back. He had jeans in which the seat of his pants were also bedazzled. He looked back at Rarity after examining the mountain of paperwork in front of him. She looked back nervously but he smiled and she returned it. “Are you sure about this, darling?” “Oh, definitely. I’m a little lazy, but if I’m doing something for a friend, I put 120% into it!” He smiled wide at this and Rarity laughed. “That sounds exactly like my friend Rainbow Dash.” “Well, well! I met her and her husband earlier this morning.” “Oh? Well, thats one less introduction ahead of us. Who all have you met?” “You, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Quick, Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie, and Applebloom.” “Well! That’s nice to know! Now you just need to meet everypony’s stallions and you’ll be caught up in our friendly little circle.” “Oh? They’re all married?” “Oh, no, no. Only Rainbow is, everypony else is just dating. Speaking of which,” Rarity then turned her head towards the stairs and yelled, “Bright! Get down here, you lazy stallion, and meet my friend I was telling you about!” There was a quiet groan from upstairs and a bit of mumbling before Rarity let out a sigh. “I’ll be right back, darling.” She turned and walked up the stairs, where she began talking. There was a little bit of back and forth between the two until there was a thud. Marcus flinched a little at the sound but tried to stifle a laugh as Rarity was dragging a stallion by the tail down the stairs. He... He was still snoring. He had a light brown coat and his mane and tail were azure. A spiraling horn poked out from under his bed-mane. A pair of glasses were perched on his muzzle. Rarity must have put them on him.... What was the strangest, though, was the fact that he was clutching a pillow in his hooves and drooling on it. Marcus lost it and burst out laughing. “Hahahah! Rarity! Oh Celestia! That is too funny! I’ve seen some lazy people, but that just takes it!” He doubled over and held his sides from the laughter. “Well, he’s only this lazy in the mornings.... If there was ever a pony who wished the morning would never come, it would be this one,” Rarity said through clenched teeth and Bright’s tail. Marcus finally calmed down and walked over to the sleeping pony. He kneeled and picked up his head. Bright grumbled and tried to lay his head back down, but Marcus wouldn’t let him. He finally opened his eyes and jumped up, backing straight into Rarity and falling on top of her. “BY LUNA’S BEARD! WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU?!” “B-Bright.... This is my friend... Marcus...” “Oh... Woops.” He pulled himself off Rarity and helped her back up on her hooves. They smiled at each other and she kissed him on the cheek. He flushed a little but got a stupid grin on his face. Marcus started looking himself over again, examining his clothes. He then looked at the rest of his clothes. Every outfit was just as sparkly as the last, if not more so. “Rarity, it’s not like I’m ungrateful or anything, but.... the gems seem a bit.... excessive, don’t you think?” “Oh, come on, darling, they look fabulous!” “By pony standards, I wouldn’t doubt it. But humans don’t exactly wear gems on their clothing... except for the girls... and they usually grow out of that by the time they’re twelve....” Marcus smiled at Rarity and she smiled back sheepishly. “Don’t worry Rarity, I’m just asking that you not do something so... sparkly next time, alright?” “Alright, dear. Thank you again for helping me with the paperwork.” “Of course. Like I said, it’s the only way I can think to help since I can’t pay you for the clothes.” “You really don-” Marcus held up his hand, interrupting the pony. “Enough of that, I’m helping you, whether you like it or not.” Rarity smiled and nodded. She walked over to Bright and told him to get some supplies from town. He nodded and grabbed a jacket off the coat rack next to the door and left. Marcus sighed and got to work. “‘Ship 40 (forty) units to Manehattan.’ A single unit of fabric costs... Holy balls that’s a lot of bits....” ~~~~~~~~~~ The hours passed, Marcus had been working since about 7:00 AM and the grandfather clock in the hallway just chimed 12:00 PM. “Phew! Finally done with the paperwork.” On the floor around the desk lay stacks of papers that Marcus had been filling out since morning. He stood and cracked his back, it let out a few nasty sounding pops. “Ow...” Marcus began digging through the clothes Rarity had made for him again and found a black jacket with light blue swirls and patterns on it. The pullstrings matched the blue on the front and back. The hood was a bit large, but that just made it even cooler. The best part about this article of clothing was that it didn’t have any gems in it. “Huh... Didn’t know she made clothing without something sparkling on it... Not that I’m complaining. This thing looks pretty cool.” He pulled it on over the shirt whose colouring was suspiciously close to Fluttershy’s coat. He walked over to the large mirror standing in the front room and examined himself. It didn’t look half bad. “…..I might make this jacket my thing... Hey Rarity! I’m done with the paperwork! Is it okay if I head out for the day?” “Sure, thank you so much for your help, Marcus!” Rarity yelled down the stairs. “Sure thing, Rarity!” Marcus replied. He walked out and closed the door behind him. He was then greeted by Celestia’s magnificent sun, blinking his eyes while trying to readjust to the daylight. “I need to get out more...” Marcus, against his better judgement, began walking into town. The closer he got, the more ponies he saw. Many stared but hardly any looked freaked out. Word must have spread. Well, that’s good! Marcus looked around once he was in the town proper. There were buildings of all shapes and sizes, made from all sorts of different materials. Mostly brick and wooden structures lined the dirt road. Marcus began walking, hands in his new pockets as he whistled a song, a generic, light-hearted tune. He looked skyward and saw a few ponies moving several large clouds into place. They must be getting ready to do something with the weather. Marcus shrugged and continued walking, looking around at all the different ponies in town. Every colour he could imagine was present. Ponies of all shapes and sizes roamed the street, going about their business and sneakily stealing glances at the lone human. He had to admit, he kind of liked the attention. He wasn’t very popular back when he was alive, but that was mostly with his slight obsession with a children’s show. He sighed softly and rubbed the side of his head. His flesh still burned when he touched where the bullet went in. When he did that, he could feel the emptiness on the other side of his head, a constant reminder that he is no longer of the living world. Marcus dropped his hand to his side and looked to the ground. How would he tell Fluttershy? What about everypony else? Would his new.... Could he even call them friends..? How would they react to that fact that his brains are all over the wall at his school? He let out a soft groan and kept walking. Marcus stopped dead, finally realizing something. Fluttershy has been acting a lot different from what the show portrayed.... It made him a bit uneasy. He would figure that out later, for now, he has a date to get ready for.
