Fluttershy: Even Love gets Lonely [On Hiatus]

by ArclightBrony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Sad, Romance
Length: 5817

Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, finds little love for herself.

In a land so loving as Equestria, one would think that the Element of Kindness would have found that special someone by now…

The cover art is not my own, and belongs to LaurenMagpie. The original image can be found at this address:
http://laurenmagpie.deviantart.com/art/Sad-Fluttershy-261989408

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-13 13:06:24 UTC

Chapter 1: Fluttershy's Guardian Angel

Without a cloud in the sky, the ever-burning Equestrian Sun shone down on Ponyville as bright as ever. It was scheduled to be the hottest day of the year if things went as planned, and it was indeed very hot. The only refuge that could be found from the relentless heat was indoors or beneath the orchards of the Sweet Apple Acres. Even the Apple family had decided against applebucking for any length of time. Mayor Mare had gone out of her way to send word to the parents of every colt and filly to make sure that nopony succumbed to dehydration that day; It just wasn't a good idea for anypony to expose themselves to the blazing elements.

Even at the peak of Celestia's solar fury, our kindest Element wasn't feeling very warm inside...

Chapter 1

Fluttershy's cottage was unusually quiet; The creme colored mare spent the majority of her time caring for the sick and injured animals of Equestria. Many of these creatures, big and small, saw her cottage and the surrounding area as their own home. Fluttershy could never turn away a living thing in need, and this often lead to a great lack in sleep... but she didn't mind a bit. Nothing could make her happier than giving her time and resources to others. The Element of Kindness was indeed a caring soul, and she wasn't unappreciated. Her friends were nearly as willing to help her as she was to help them... Still, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel a bit lonely, despite the hours she spent with her friends. With all the love she radiated and surrounded herself with, she still felt empty. She had felt this way for several weeks after her time at Sugarcube Corner.

Five weeks ago, Pinkie Pie had thrown yet another exhausting and exhilarating party at the bakery. The colts and fillies of Ponyville were elated to attend a party once again, and Fluttershy was equally happy to see them prancing and laughing together, enjoying their party games. This time, however, she wasn't the only pony who was particularly inactive in the festivities. In the corner of the room sat two children who seemed totally entranced, locked in each other's embrace. They seemed oblivious to the incessant din of music and laughter that filled the air around them. Fluttershy couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to have somepony that close, and not just physically. She was the Element of Kindness, and in turn, the Element of Love. Ironic, then, that she of all ponies wouldn't understand what affection felt like. It was even more ironic that a pony with her cutie mark wouldn't understand the expression "butterflies in your stomach."

The two couldn't have had a care in the world, and Fluttershy wanted that too... But she didn't know what to do about it. She didn't really like anypony, not that way... She just didn't want to sleep alone anymore after devoting hours upon hours of her time to her friends... and that really hurt her inside.

Here she was, laying in bed at 11:00am, staring at her ceiling. Still, she didn't know what to do about the way she felt, and that made her feel even worse. She shut her eyes and began crying to herself, almost silently, until her tears were wiped away by a familiar soft paw. "Oh, Angel, what can I do?" Her faithful companion gave her the best sad puppy look a bunny can give, and hopped onto the floor and scooted to the other end of the room where a small, ornate chest sat beside the medicine cabinet.

"Angel, I'm not sick... I'm just... Heartsick..." With that, she began crying again. Angel was frantically scratching at the chest now, willing Fluttershy to get the message. Angel knew he couldn't speak pony, but still thought Fluttershy could be pretty dense sometimes. It was astonishing that she hadn't managed to attract some sort of attention from a stallion... She was adorable. Perhaps he would be able to help her yet.

Angel shook his head and pointed at the chest one more time. Inside, he knew that Fluttershy kept a small photo album of all her friends. This was what she wanted her to see so badly.

Holding back more tears, Fluttershy cantered over to the chest to retrieve the album, only to have it snatched away by angel. "Hey! Careful with it! You'll bend it..." Angel took no notice as he hopped back up on the covers of Fluttershy's bed, rapidly rummaging through the laminated sheets of photos. Fluttershy looked over his shoulder and already knew what Angel was thinking.

"Oh, Angel, no, no, no! I can't talk to him, I just ca-" Fear and fantasy battled in stalemate for supremacy in Fluttershy's heart as Angel turned to the last photo in the ablum: Big Macintosh, carrying Applejack home after a hard day of Applebucking.

With a stern, yet triumphant expression, Angel rested her paw on the picture and looked Fluttershy in the eyes.

Her heart was already racing as fast as her mouth. "Angel, I just can't... He's just so... Oh, what will he think, what will he do? He'll laugh at me and he'll hate me and-" Angel put his paw to her mouth, once more resting his paw on the likeness of Fluttershy's dream stallion. "I... I guess I can talk to him..." Angel was nodding furiously now, hoping he could get her going long enough to get her out the door. "Alright... Just don't tell anyone, okay? Please?" With arms crossed, Angel gave Fluttershy a Stare of his own.

Fluttershy had stopped crying, but she was still shaking like a leaf. Angel soothed her by petting her nose, and that seemed to work. "Okay... I just have to get ready. I haven't bathed today." Fluttershy was pacing back and forth rapidly. "I'll have to brush my mane and brush my teeth, and I just COULDN'T forget about..."

Angel held his face in his paws. This was not going well. At this rate, she might be outside by dawn. At least the air outside would cool off enough for her by then.

Later, in the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres...

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh was a hard worker, and a buckin' good one at that. No matter how tiresome his task, he would never willingly stop until he was finished. Not even for a moment. However, there was a regular exception to this.

In only ten minutes of applebucking, Big Mac managed to gather two extra large bins of apples, one on either side. This was no burden to him, being as strong as he was, but the stallion didn't see any harm in stopping atop one of the uniformly shaped hills that dotted the outskirts of the orchard. On this very hill one could see the one of the most beautiful sights Equestria had to offer.

To the west, you would see Ponyville, and beyond that were snow capped mountains dotted with trees. To the north was several acres of apple trees that comprised the Apple Family orchards, and that in itself was a beautiful thing to Big Mac. He didn't tell anyone, though. He was a bit of a softy. He still had Twilight Sparkle's stuffed toy, and it was the only material thing he had that meant anything to him.

To the east was what topped it all off: Celestia's Sun shined in a dim shade of orange, giving the mountains and trees the same look of the Gold Delicious apples he worked with day in and day out. Far above his head was Cloudsdale, and what little he could see of the structures above that celestial nimbus were given a reddish tint.

You'd never guess by looking at him, but Big Mac was actually a poet. He kept a small journal behind a loose panel in the barn with entries that he had written over the course of his entire life, almost always about the scene he was graced with at this exact moment.

It was so relaxing that he stallion didn't react to the footsteps behind him. It sounded a bit like apples falling off of the trees, and a small whisper in the breeze... But that only added to the lulling effects of the nature around him.

He was in no hurry to get home, and the rest of the Apple Family would be getting supplies and a few treats at Sugarcube Corner. With that in mind, our favorite red farmer dropped to the soft grass beneath him for a short nap, sleep overtaking him almost instantly.

In his head, he knew he was dreaming, but didn't really care. He was watching himself from above, almost like seeing another stallion between the two bins of glossy apples. A butterfly landed softly on his flank, and it tickled a bit. A shy voice said, "Oh, I'm sorry..."

Big Mac woke up and rubbed the slumber from his eyes. He turned to see who had spoken to him, but could see nothing. The Sun had completely set, and he was alone again.

"Eeyup..." Lowering himself underneath the metallic band that connected the two bins, Big Macintosh set off along the path back to the barn, a path he had walked so many times before.

~~~~~~~~~~If I get some good constructive criticism (praise doesn't hurt, either,) through comments, I'll release Part one of three in Chapter 2 very quickly. Comments, comments, comments, everypony!

Chapter 2: Hooves of a Healer (Part 2)

Deekin opened his eyes once more, each cyan gem flooded with silent tears. He wasn't angry with the Princess anymore. He just wanted a friend. He wanted to have a better life. It didn't really matter that his magical ability was drastically severed by the shattering of his horn; He was still incredibly adept with all things arcane, and in these last years his power had grown to some fraction of what it once was.

He really could do better. He just didn't know how to handle himself around other ponies anymore... He lived on his own, moving from place to place, and hadn't even spoken to anypony in over five years. He tossed his crimson tail back and forth in apprehension... He would indeed be very socially awkward if he were to go back. He smiled weakly to himself when he came to the conclusion that he'd have to find somebody as shy as he was...

Deekin looked once more down to Ponyville, and then to a small cottage in the distance. Often he would sit atop this mountain and see what he could from his perch, and there always seemed to be a busy-bee mare with a pink mane zipping in and out of that cottage. She must have been very busy.

He began his trek down the mountain peak under the Equestrian moon. It would be a long walk, and he wouldn't get there until morning, but that was just fine. Maybe it was because he was an Alicorn; He didn't sleep on a regular basis.

Perhaps he'd try and make a friend today.

Chapter 2: Hooves of a Healer (Part 2)

Once more, Angel facepawed. Before him, sprawled out on the floor beside her bed was an emotionally overwhelmed creme Pegasus, bawling her big, cyan eyes out. "Angel, I tried, I really did, he was just aslee-" She was interrupted by another wave of chokes and sobs. Angel had tried everything to make her feel better.

The birds sang a song for her, but that only made it worse.

Angel tried bringing her sweets, her photo album, and a wide variety of furry friends to cheer her up, but to no avail. She was determined to dehydrate herself through her tear ducts, and there was nothing he could do.

"I... I... I ca-" She was delirious, trying so hard to speak. Angel parked himself on the floor next to her nose and hugged her as much as he could with his tiny rabbit arms. After several minutes of agonized convulsion, she finally calmed down enough to speak coherently.

"Angel, I don't even know if it was the right thing to do... I mean I 'like' him, but... Oh, no, no, not like that... I need air... I need to go for a walk... or flight..." Bringing herself to her hooves, she wiped her tears from her eyes and looked to the window. Angel knew what she was thinking, and he didn't have any way to stop her, so he just glared at her disapprovingly and pointed to the stairway downward.

Fluttershy took no notice. In less than a second of flying, her head connected with the closed window and she feel back on her flanks, almost ready to cry again. Angel answered with another facepaw.

She opened the window and took off again, this time hitting her head on the window frame. Angel hopped to the window only in time to see the Pegasus fall onto a bush and bounce out to the yard beneath the window... The bush had softened her fall, but she still hit the ground. Hard. She couldn't be okay after falling that fast... She wasn't moving.

Angel raced down the stairs and outside as fast as he could. Bounding off of the doorstep, he turned the corner to see Fluttershy lying on her back, struggling to breathe...

Deekin emerged from the tree line at Fluttershy's cottage and was mildly blinded by the bright morning sun, secretly hoping that she might not be there. He had become pretty shy himself in his years alone, and he didn't know if he could face her yet... That fantasy was crushed when he saw her on her back with a small white bunny trying frantically to help her.

Deekin rushed to her side and looked into her eyes... And they were full. Full of a lot of things. Full of tears, of love... And full of hope that the hooded stranger standing over her might be able to help her... And he would. Her wing was broken, and perhaps her back was hurt, as well as her neck. Deekin didn't have to look at her to see these things. He had a way of empathizing with woodland creatures and knowing what kind of mending they needed... This gift seemed to work for ponies, too.

Angel's distress at the sight of Deekin wasn't helped at all by the green etherial dagger of light that was now being levitated by Deekin's magic. Fluttershy shut her eyes, still unable to speak or breathe properly, and still suffering the sheer agony from her injuries. Her tears mingled with the blood that was trickling down the side of her face.

A soft verdant glow could be seen beneath the purple cloth of Deekin's hood as the dagger began darting wildly at seemingly random spots in the grass around the injured Pegasus, carving out runes of equally random shapes and sizes.

The dagger suddenly ceased to exist, and again Deekin's stump of a horn glowed a soft green. The air around them grew entirely silent as the runes seemed to suck the light from the objects around them and focus it on themselves, glowing a bright blue. Angel clung to Fluttershy's neck, expecting the worst...

Fluttershy looked into the eyes of a grey stallion with a purple hood, scared out of her wits. She needed help. Her wing was broken, her head hurt, and her back might be broken too... She was so scared for all the animals. If she... died... she wasn't going to be able to help them anymore.

She watched helplessly as the stranger's glowing dagger rapidly carved out shapes and patterns on the ground around her and were illuminated. The stranger stood motionless, still looking at her face.

The pain gradually subsided until she didn't hurt anymore, and the runes disappeared. Although she wasn't in any danger, Fluttershy was still in shock after what had just happened. She almost never hurt herself, and wasn't really conditioned to feel pain to any extent.

"Are... Are you..." The quiet, shy voice that spoke stumbled over its own words. Angel peeked at the stranger with one eye open, and was just as shocked as Fluttershy; The quiet voice did not belong to Fluttershy, but to the well-built stallion that stood above her.

Fluttershy didn't know what to say... so she stayed on her back where she was, looking up into the eyes of her rescuer... Or in her heart's words, her hero.

Neither of them said a word for a very long time, and Angel felt rather awkward being there. Deciding that the stranger wasn't a threat, he jumped happily to the corner of the house around which he peeked back at the two ponies.

"Are you... O-okay?" Deekin spoke again, dropping to his knees at the sound of his own voice. When he hit the 'o' syllable in 'okay,' his voice cracked horribly. Angel could hear a faint chuckle from Fluttershy, and he smiled to himself. This had worked out quite well... Perhaps perfectly. Angel smiled almost as widely as Fluttershy when he saw the grin on her face... It was faint, but it was there. She was a filly again.

The stranger held his hoof to her as if to help her up. "My name... Is... D-Deekin... What's your-" Fluttershy quickly pushed one hoof to Deekin's mouth while lightly biting the other. Another chuckle escaped her lips as she said with new found confidence: "My name is Fluttershy."

Chapter 3: Trying New Things (Part 1)

Celestia looked down on moonlit Ponyville from a solitary cloud with both apprehension and hope in her heart. Many years had passed since the Goddess was forced to trim Deekin of the better part of his horn, and that almost destroyed his ability to use any kind magic. The poor thing... She had given him so much time and so much prodding in the right direction, but he couldn't see it in himself to do something more than finding new ways to steal from her other little ponies. She loved all of them, including Deekin, and she knew that what happened in the orchard that day was for the best... But there was now so much of him that Equestria would never see.

Celestia and Luna harbored untold reservoirs of magical power, and the only thing that kept them from taking a more active role in Equestria was the fact that manipulating the Sun and Moon was particularly taxing, even for a Goddess such as herself. If Deekin were to cultivate his own power, he could have become an immortal himself.

Despite the shattering of his horn, Deekin could still wield magic. Any unicorn suffering the same fate would have likely been entirely cut off from their arcane abilities. Celestia would never tell Twilight Sparkle about Deekin if she could help it, but even though her star pupil was the Element of Magic, her magical aptitude was pitiful compared to the Alicorn stallion's. That was not Deekin's only claim to fame, though. He was able to obtain a spell book from the castle of the royal pony sisters in the heart of the Everfree Forest. Princess Celestia herself was not able to find anything of value there in several hundreds of years, and she was pleased that Deekin was able to get something good out of it.

He also liked to give things back. With the spells that Deekin learned from the small book, he began healing woodland creatures and nurturing plant life with his own energy. That was what was so infatuating about Deekin. He was so selfish as a colt, and it seemed that the first year of living by himself changed his paradigm almost completely. The only thing that made Deekin smile was doing good things for other living things, and that made her smile...

...But the smile of the Goddess was washed away by deluge of silent tears that rolled down her majestic visage. It hurt a lot to know how much potential had been destroyed in that orchard. More often than not, her thoughts would be preoccupied with how the little Alicorn was doing at a given moment. He was still a colt to her.

All Celestia could do now was hope for the best for him. Deekin had no way of knowing, but Celestia had kept an eye on him in his time alone. She knew a lot about him, actually. He wasn't a bad stallion... He was just mislead. The only thing that now kept him from leading a purposeful life was the social awkwardness he was sure to demonstrate should he approach anypony else. He would be incredibly shy.

A smile touched her lips as he made his trek down his usual mountain perch, this time toward Ponyville... to Fluttershy's cottage. The Element of Kindness would be a wonderful place for Deekin to start.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼Chapter 2: Hooves of a Healer (Part 3)

If anypony had ever been out of their comfort zone, it was Deekin. In only four days after Rescuing this bubbly Pegasus, he felt like the entire foundation of his social understanding had been destroyed and replaced. Nopony but Grovel and Celestia ever wanted to see him before, and the only way he ever saw anypony else was when he had been stealing from them. But now... He felt so much different. He felt like there was somepony else in Equestria who understood him, or at least cared for him enough to try to... Loved him enough to try... And this is why doing nothing but helping with the Fauna and carrying slow, awkward conversations with Fluttershy had occupied almost every moment of his time since coming to Ponyville. They were just close.

Fluttershy had been curious as to why Deekin didn't want anypony else to know that he was Ponyville, and she was even more curious as to why he wouldn't take off that purple cloak of his. She left that alone, though; He was even more shy than her, and that actually made her feel a bit more comfortable to be herself... Around him, that is. If Mayor Mare or her friends needed her, she would leave him alone at the cottage with Angel and the other furry friends. She trusted him, regardless of the secrecy he liked to keep.

It was on this fourth day with Deekin that somepony visited the cottage. The two Pegasi were in the middle of mending a bee sting on Angel's left ear when Twilight Sparkle knocked on her door. Fluttershy was mildly startled as usual, but Deekin jumped nearly out of his skin at the sudden noise. "Don't tell anypony I'm here!" he whispered. "Okay," came the reply. Twilight knocked again.

Fluttershy stopped at the door to give Deekin a reassuring look, but he had vanished. She returned her attention to the door, only for it to be pushed into her face. Fluttershy fell onto her flank and held a hoof to her nose."

"Oh, Fluttershy, I'm so, so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay Twilight, it's just a nose bleed..." Twilight was taken aback. She had never seen Fluttershy get hurt before, and she wasn't sure how to react. Of all the people she had to slam a door into, it had to be her. Even more shocking was the stranger who popped into existence beside her.

"Deekin, what are you doing?"

He payed no attention to Twilight as the stump beneath his hood began to glow. "Shh... Hold still." Slowly, the blood vanished from her hoof and nostrils, and the bleeding stopped.

"Oh, Deekin, thank you... But didn't you want to be kept a secret for now?" Deekin glanced out into the sunlight to see a purple unicorn looking at him with an shared look of surprise. Again, he vanished.

"Fluttershy, who's in there? How did he do that?" Fluttershy backed further into her home, reverting to her usual shy self for the first time in days...

"Oh, Twilight, please don't tell anypony he's here! You just can't... Please? Promise?" Twilight regarded her with a curious look and opened her mouth to protest, but then relented. If Fluttershy wanted it kept a secret, she had to.

"Okay," Twilight said skeptically. "Anyway, I came to ask why you hadn't been hanging around with us these last four days. Nopony's seen you around... Is something wrong?" Hoofsteps could be heard farther out behind her.

"Heya, Twi! Is Flutters alright? How is she?"

"Twilight, please make Applejack go away..."

"Fluttershy, I can't just tell Applejack to leave! It's very rude." Everypony but Fluttershy jumped as Deekin's colt-like voice came from nowhere.

"No, Fluttershy... It's... It's okay." Slowly, Deekin faded back into existence beside his kind companion. His head hung low as he looked up at Twilight. "My name... Is Deekin," he said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"Um... Hi! My name is Twilight Sparkle. It's nice to meet you. This is Applejack."

"Howdy!" said Applejack as she extended her hoof to the stranger. Deekin looked away as his head dropped lower.

"Oh, Applejack, he's really shy... Kind of like me," Fluttershy said with a laugh. Deekin blushed.

Twilight and Applejack exchanged awkward glances. "Oh... I'm mighty sorry, Deekin. I didn't mean to."

"It's... O-okay."

This was the awkward moment that Deekin was afraid of, even when he approached the cottage the first time. He didn't really know how to handle himself with anypony but Fluttershy yet, and he wasn't ready to talk to this many ponies at once. After a long moment of awkward silence, Twilight spoke.

"Can we come in, Fluttershy? I'd like to get acquainted with our new friend!" Deekin backed farther into the home, fading halfway out of existence before deciding against turning invisible. He was already known, anyway. Going invisible again would just make him look like more of a coward than he already felt like he was.

Fluttershy stepped out of the way to make way Twilight and Applejack into her humble abode. Nopony but Fluttershy noticed, but Deekin was shaking like a leaf. The Pegasus held back a laugh for his sake.

What Fluttershy didn't know was how terrified Deekin was. He wasn't even as open with Fluttershy as he would have liked to be by now, and now he had to meet these two new mares. Things were going much too fast for him, and that scared him. He was a stallion that could take care of himself, but he was still just a colt inside. Somehow, Deekin knew that it was for that reason that Fluttershy liked him so much. He couldn't have been that far off... Fluttershy was still a filly inside, anyhow, and he liked that, too.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

...Celestia looked down on Fluttershy's cottage as she soared majestically through the clouds above. The tears had long since ceased their flow; Her heart was as warm as Fluttershy's, and she was happy for Deekin. He still might not believe her, but she loved all her little ponies... Especially Deekin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm hoping to start putting out installments for this story more quickly. This one seems a bit inconclusive to me, but I'll start making it go somewhere the next time around. Thanks everypony for your comments and ratings. :ajsmug:

It's 5:05 AM, and I'm tired, and I have had NOPONY proofread this, even though I wrote it in the last hour. Don't pick on me too much, okay? :D

The art at the beginning of this installment is not my own. The original image and owner can be found at this address:

http://huussii.deviantart.com/art/MLP-Princess-Celestia-252648517?offset=10

Chapter 2: Hooves of a Healer (Part 1)

Chapter 2: Hooves of a Healer (Part 1)

A mountain rose high above Ponyville, illuminated perfectly by the Equestrian moon. Atop this mountain sat a grey Pegasus, clad in a purple hooded cloak that covered his dark red mane. He looked sadly down to Ponyville through bright blue eyes, to a place where he had once been long ago. He only had one friend in his entire life, and he missed that colt so much... He may have even kept his friend for all these years if he had just done the right thing. The same words replayed in his mind, over and over: "Deekin, why are you doing this?" It was so many years ago...

...Deekin, the colt, galloped as fast as he could in between customers and market stalls, nearly trampling a purple filly and spilling a pile of apples into the dust. He turned in mid stride to apologize to the vendor, and ran straight into a stallion three times his weight with equally heavy golden armor. He didn't even try to run. He just dropped the satchel of trinkets and candy he had gathered on his weekly stealing run. It was a game of his, and Ponyville didn't approve of it. Twice now he had already been reprimanded by Princess Celestia herself, and now he was caught in the act by the Alicorn Goddess in front of everypony in Ponyville.

"Deekin!" He dropped to the dirt, hiding his face.

"Deekin, look at me!" Raising his chin to gaze upon Celestia's infuriated visage, Deekin was overcome with terror. He didn't even know the Princess could GET angry. Celestia noted his fear, and softened her face just a bit. Then she spoke.

"Why, oh why must you continue stealing, Deekin? Your potential for magic rivals even that of the most learned ponies in Equestria, and STILL you insist on wasting your power to do bad things! What do you have to say for yourself?"

He was scared beyond shaking. He looked to the left and right, looking for his friend, Grovel. Where was he? He could get him out of this mess!

"Deekin, you were given a gift; You are the only Alicorn in Equestria outside of the royal blood... You could do so much good in the world. Why must you waste your talent doing-" It was true. Deekin was indeed an Alicorn, born with wings and with a horn. Celestia told his parents the night he was born that he would be incredibly gifted with magic, and she was right.

"LET ME GO! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! YOU BRUTE, LET GO OF ME!" It was Grovel's voice thrashing about behind him, but he was afraid to look. Momentarily, Grovel was thrown to the ground beside Deekin.

"Grovel, tell her I didn't take anything! Tell her it really is all mine!"

"I... Uh... He..." Grovel stuttered. He was just as afraid as Deekin was. Deekin would have to act fast. Focusing his magic as hard as he could, he moved the trinkets and candy from his satchel and switched them with the contents of Grovel's bag. It took so much energy to displace material things, but he managed to do it. He didn't see what was so hard about magically teleporting objects... He was just a little colt, and he was already great with it. Most adults couldn't manage it.

Celestia spoke skeptically. "Grovel, is this true, or is he trying to get you to cover for him?"

"No, no! They're all his! He was just running because he was scared! I ran because I... Um... I had to get home real fast to put my school supplies away!" Deekin had a sinking feeling about what was going to happen, but he still smiled to himself.

"Oh? Then empty your bags. Both of you." This was serious; Celestia didn't talk to anypony this way. Both the colts spilled the contents onto the ground. Out of Deekin's bag came books and pencils, and out of Grovel's bags came the stolen goods. Indeed, the magic had worked. Grovel was going to take the blame. It was perfect!

"Guards, take him to my throne room and keep an eye on him. We're going to learn a lesson on stealing today. As for you, Deekin..." Relief overtook him, but the bliss was washed away quickly by the look of shock and terror on Grovel's face.

"I'm glad to see that you are finally taking your studies seriously. Perhaps you've turned over a new leaf... You can go."

"Yes, your highness." Deekin gathered up Grovel's belongings and cantered off awkwardly, not sure if he should run or walk. He turned to look at the colt who used to be his friend, kicking and screaming as he was dragged away. "Deekin, why are you doing this?"

His heart sunk once again, but still Deekin didn't care. At least he was off Scott free.

Three more weeks of stealing had passed since that ordeal with the Princess, and tonight's run had been wonderful for Deekin. He rested on his flanks as he rummaged through his satchel, coming across gems and tools and all matter of edibles.

He looked up to the moon and wondered if anypony was watching... Nopony ever saw Deekin anymore. Not since he learned the invisibility spell. It was the greatest thing ever. Not even Celestia could stop him now... Or so he thought.

He raised an apple and looked at how the moonlight glanced off of the shiny surface of the apple, and he wondered why he took it. He was in an apple orchard... He laughed to himself as he threw it over his shoulder...

...and into the chest of Princess Celestia. Focusing his magic, he tried to turn invisible, but instead his vision flickered and went black as Celestia's horn began to emit orange sparks. He was no longer in control of his body, and he was forced to turn and stand before the Princess. He couldn't even control his facial expression.

"Deekin." She seemed angry and troubled at the same time.

"I love all my little ponies, and I want the best for all of you... You may never believe that..." He didn't.

"...but I do, and as such, I have to do something to make sure you stop stealing. You're on the wrong path, Deekin, and I can't let you walk it any further. I am sorry." Deekin's familiar feeling of terror rose in his chest again as the orange sparks formed a ring around Celestia's horn and levitated toward his own. It was over in the blink of an eye.

The ring of bright light wrapped itself around Deekin's horn and constricted instantly, shattering the better part of his horn. The pain was excruciating. Blood trickled down the side of Deekin's face, and tears down the face of the Princess.

"You gave me no choice..." With that, Deekin's trance wore off, and the Princess was gone. He lay on the grass beneath the apple tree, unconscious.