Welcome back. Here's the second part of my story. I have parts 3, 4, and 5 ready for upload, but anything after that will take a while. I might as well just give you what I got.
So onwards!
...
Rise.
...
Stand, my subject.
What's going on? Some sort of dream?
Listen to me.
Is it talking to me? I tested it.
"Are you talking to me?"
Of course I am, foolish one.
I look at myself. Still a pony, I see. Goddamn it. I address him: "No need to be rude. You're the omnipotent being here."
Shut up and listen to me. You must listen and follow everything that I am about to tell you.
I wasn't about to take orders from some mysterious talking voice: "Why should I?"
You will remain like this for the rest of your life.
That got my attention. "Wait, you're controlling this? Who are you?"
Stop asking questions that you won't get answers to. They'll be answered soon enough.
"So," I began reluctantly, and after a small pause, ask: "what is it that I have to do?"
You will meet six others. Your first objective is to befriend them.
"Well, what if they don't want to befriend me?" I ask him.
That's your mind and fear working against you.
He does have a good point. Maybe I don't allow people to enter my circle because I'm afraid.
No, people are scum.
"So, if I accomplish this task," I start, wondering what else was necessary to get me out of this hell, "Is this all over?"
A cold snicker.
Well, this will be a pain in the ass.
I told you that this was your first. Your second one will come later. How many steps does this guy have planned though. I could be here for an eternity! When we meet again, I will inform of your second step.
"Why can't you just tell me it now?" I ask him.
He laughs. Because that would be too easy.
Of course. I hang my head down and look around and try to debunk this experience one last time.
"How will I know that this is real? I could be dreaming right now."
I can assure you that everything you have and will experience is all too real. The white void grows black and the last words I think pass through my mind.
I'm trapped.
Before it all goes away, I ask this thing a question. "Before I regain consciousness, tell me who you are." Like hell he's going to tell me about himself. What's he going to do? Tell me his life story?
Nothing. "Or a name at least.
A long pause occurs before he utters the infamous pseudonym I will now refer to him as.
...
Tormentor.
...
I slowly come to reality. Blanket, pillow, bed. Jesus Christ, what an awful dream. What just happened to my unconscious brain? These are the dreams people get after an acid trip. Time to get up. The sun's up. Have to go to class. Damn, everything hurts. What did I do, win the UFC title during my sleep? As I pull the sheets away, I notice that dark red tinge. The blur sharpens and the shape take form.
Two hooves. No. Not again. Wake up.
Goddamn it. I am awake.
Tormentor was right. This is real. He's real. It's all real.
One question comes to my mind, interrupting my original train of thought: How did I get out of the forest that night? I don't remember much. The last place I remember was some mud pit in the forest, about to get consumed by timberwolves, and then it stopped. Then, I kept blacking out. Well, that doesn't help.
You know what? Forget that for right now: Where the hell am I? A nice room. Two windows. Wood floor. Bookshelves. Not my room. I'm not much of a reader. Some pony's room, possibly? Whose is it though? That question would have irked me for some time until the figure is revealed in the doorway.
"Feeling better?" the pony started around the corner. "You were certainly in awful shape, and I couldn't just leave you there," she finished as she walked into view. I rubbed my eyes to get a clearer picture of the blur in front of me. I was still a bit disoriented.
At first, I couldn't believe it, but then it all hit me. The flash images raced through my mind again.
One shadowed figure… coming towards me. The stone… is getting…. farther away. Am I… moving? The sky is… becoming visible. The… moon. Night. Something, I think… was dragging me...
Something… It all made sense now.
Fluttershy. Of course. I didn't leave the forest, she rescued me.
"Are you okay?" she asked me. I must have taken too long to respond.
Answer her, stupid. "…yes," I tell her, finally.
"Good. I was worried that I was too late to help you," she told me.
"Better late than never," I reply jokingly, "I wouldn't have made it otherwise." The questions keep entering my mind: How did she do it? How did I survive? Why her of everyone? But they'll have to wait. She walks in with a teapot and some tea. I graciously accept a cup, and after thanking her, I take a sip. Not bad. In fact, it's pretty good. Then, the questions come rolling my way from the mare next to me.
"So, what were you doing in the forest? Everypony knows it's a dangerous place to be, especially after sunset," she asks me.
I simultaneously lied and spoke the truth: "I'm… not from here."
"Oh, OK. Where are you from, then?" she asked, and then in typical Fluttershy fashion adds, "If you don't mind telling me that is…"
Oh, just pick a place from Earth. "I'm from a faraway land called, uh, Sweden."
She paused, "I've never heard of that place before."
Then some half-assed explanation why she shouldn't. "And you shouldn't. This, uh, very small island was founded by King… well, I won't go too deep into history." Maybe that helps increase this validity. But long story short, I left that island for many reasons. Unfortunately, being unacquainted with your land, I found myself lost inside the forest, unknown of the dangers that lurked in there."
"So, you wandered in accidentally, not knowing where you were?" she asked, basically summarizing everything into one sentence.
"Exactly," I answered. That response was a lie. I knew what the place was, but I wasn't sure until I found that Poison Joke.
"OK, so, what's your name?" she asked.
OK, smart one, lie. Now. I had to come up with something. Fast. How about the pseudonym you use for games? Yeah, that'll work. "Zenith," I responded. To she had a strange look on her face. "It's a Swedish name."
"Oh, OK. I'm Fluttershy. I take care of my animals in my cottage," she responded.
I knew that though, I thought sarcastically, but replied back with, "Fluttershy. OK," I started, then with some quick thinking, added, "Again, thanks for saving me. I would have been dinner to those timberwolves if you didn't intervene." Hopefully this will catch her off guard. Mission accomplished. She hid beneath her pink hair, obviously growing red from my expressions of gratitude. "Oh, um, you're welcome. I always want to help other ponies out when they need it," she told me.
Enough to risk your own life? That's thoughtful and considerate, but very foolish. Death wouldn't have been worth it just to save me. If only she knew who she just saved…
She continued with her questions. "So, um, what do you do? I noticed that your cutie mark is a shield. What does that mean?" she asked.
My cutie mark. I almost forgot. God, I never thought I would say those words. Really, I don't think that they could have come up with a more cringe-sounding name. But I can't sweat the small stuff right now. I caught a quick glance and, sure enough, it was a shield. Well, I have to make up a reason for it.
"It's for, uh, safety. I make sure items and peop-ponies are safe," I replied. Nice, totally vague and stuttered response. But then again, I'm not even sure what the hell it means, so whatever explanation I just gave is as good as any right now.
"Oh, OK," she replied, somewhat bewildered by my response, "I should let you get your rest; I don't want to keep you up with my questions…"
Good. No more questions. The less I reveal the better. But she is the only means of connection in this world as of right now, so I can't just delay what I need to know. Date, time, location, all that, so I reply to her.
"Oh, it's fine. I enjoy having someone to talk to." But that's not true in the slightest. I hate talking to people. But I have no choice; I need to figure out where I am, where the others are, and how the hell I got here. "I do want to ask you a few questions, though," I added.
"OK."
"Where are we now?" I knew this, but it makes me sound less strange. I can't look like I know everything.
"In my cottage, near the Everfree Forest."
"Why were you out in the forest? You just said it was a very dangerous place to be in at night."
"Well, I went to check on some of the animals I take care of, and once I got outside, I thought I heard somepony yelling for help inside the forest," she started. Well, yelling in pain, but that makes sense as to why she came in. "I was very scared of what it could be, but I gathered all the courage I had and ran in and found that those timberwolves were hurting you, so I stopped them. I couldn't let that happen to some poor, defenseless pony like you," she said as she patted my head at the end of her explanation.
Saved by the, in conjunction with her name, shyest pony in all of Equestria. Not the best start for me. But, I realized something; that was abnormally brave of her. She could have been in my place: basically on a dinner plate for three timberwolves.
In a way, I owe her my life.
"That… took a lot of courage to do that," I said to her. But why waste the effort? Does everyone's life matter that much here? Forget it. I continued. "You must have an amazing ability: to get your message across to any animal, right?" I asked her.
"Oh, yes. That's what my cutie mark represents," she said, with both her and me looking at the three pink butterflies on her flank.
"Well, it's certainly better than a shield." I told her, still kind of pissed about how vague mine was, "At least no one would question yours…"
"Oh, I think it's a great cutie mark." she told me, "It sounds like you must be brave to protect all ponies of sorts."
"Braver than going into a dark forest at night, with dangerous animals that you had to stare at face-to-face to scare off? This," I told her, pointing at my flank, which was under some covers, "doesn't even come close." Seriously, how could I be braver than that?
Her face reddened at that. Really? Another compliment and she's too humble to accept it. I need to being cynical and just ask questions.
"What day is it?" I asked. Hopefully this gets a response that will help me.
"Today will be one week before the Summer Sun Celebration," she tells me.
"Sounds like some sort of party," I reply.
"It is," she told me. "I was supposed to make and rehearse some music for yesterday, but I wanted to make sure you were okay first." Great, one day in and I've already delayed her activities in this whatever-the-hell event she just mentioned.
"That's kind of you," I tell her. Putting my life at the top of her list, I'm not used to that where I come from.
"Thank you," she says to me, her face growing a slight tinge of pink. One small compliment, just one time I don't want you to…
"Well," her voice rang and interrupted my thought, "I have to take care of the other animals. I hope you don't mind."
"Go ahead. It's your job," I told her. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She smiled at me one last time as she began to walk out. I know I've said this before, but it needs to be said again.
"Fluttershy?"
She turned around and looked at me again.
"Thanks again for saving me," I started and then added, "I'm grateful for your kindness and hospitality."
Her face reddened, again, "Oh, uh, you're welcome." Seriously, that's making me feel awkward. She then smiled, walked out of the room, and began to take care of the many other animals here. Two words enter my mind: "amazed" and "confused". Incautious, yet extraordinarily brave. Overly gracious and kind. Excellent housekeeper; full of animals and she manages to keep in under control. I take a sip out of the cup again. And she knows how to make a damn good cup of tea. If she hadn't had intervened, I'd be dead. If she failed to lure them away, we'd both be dead. Everything could have gone wrong, but she did it anyway. There's got to be some way to repay her.
"Fluttershy?" I asked from the bed, her being another room.
"Yes?" she replied, not too far away from here.
"Sorry to interrupt you again, but perhaps I get better before this, uh, party. If that were to happen, would you mind if I tag along with you?" I ask her.
"Oh no, I don't mind. Of course. I would love the company," she answered back.
Well, that was easy. "All right, that's all. No more. Thanks," I called back. And now I have a guide around town. I leaned my head on the pillow, and told myself something. If I'm stuck here, I might as well make it a bit more interesting.
And the shyest pony in all of Equestria comes to the rescue! I tried to make it somewhat believable. What did you think? Let me know!
And now some fun facts!
Fun fact 1: I had to rewrite this chapter five times in order to get a result that I was satisfied with.
Fun fact 2: I gave myself an antagonist (Tormentor), which I got from the Slayer song of the same name, my favorite song off that album. :)
Fun Fact 3: Did I mention I like Slayer? I did? Well, whatever.
Coming up...
Will Zenith get better in time for this party? Will he play a role in this music making process?
All that and more in the next chapter!
