Chapter 13

I forced my eyes open. It was 5:30 AM, and I had told myself the previous night that I was going to work on the story I had been writing. I wanted time to congratulate Fluttershy on getting through her predicament at 8:00 AM. But my body did not agree with waking up that early in the morning just to work on a story.

I didn't feel like showing up to Fluttershy's house that day. I didn't feel like showing up to Fluttershy's house any day after how I had made her feel. I felt the only thing I would feel is guilty, and it wouldn't be good to remind her of bad memories like what I did to her.

But after getting chewed up by Rarity and Applejack last night shortly after hearing the good news,

I suddenly felt differently.

I took my new optimistic opinion as something I had been forced to get into. Rarity and Applejack had insisted I go over and apologize for what happened. Something I had neglected to do. I had already felt guilty, but to make sure I went through with it, they said they would tell Twilight the WHOLE story if I refused.

I couldn't let that happen.

Not in a million years.

So, I agreed to do it, and spent a large portion of the evening considering how I would do things. What exactly I'd say to her, how I would articulate my words, even at one point trying to figure out how she would respond to seeing me again. However, I eventually decided that I could not be sure about how she would react to seeing me again, so in haste, I decided to adjust my tactics depending on her mood.

The moment I had had, encouraging Twilight about how Fluttershy would turn out, I wasn't nearly as sure at that moment about how she would turn out in the end as it seemed I was. And yet, my assumption was true.

And after hearing about what happened, Twilight had become even more grateful.

If it wasn't for that one thing I didn't tell Twilight, my life would be going quite smoothly right now. I finally convinced myself to shimmy out of bed, and sat down at the table. I began to continue my story. Although I was aware how certain aspects of the story were definitely rather cliché, I felt my characters had enough depth to keep any reader interested, and my descriptions of characters, and settings were lush enough to draw whoever would be reading my story into another world. It was one of the few things in my life I could be confident in. I really didn't have much confidence in myself otherwise.

After having written several pages of my final draft, I turned around to find out it was already 7:50 AM. My mind was so full of thoughts and worries that I had spaced out several times while writing. I frantically dashed out of my chair, and set up a breakfast dish I could give her. In one way to show how sorry I was for what happened, and in another, to show my happiness for how things had turned out for her.

When I had finally conceived the dish, I walked out the door, and trotted down the road to Fluttershy's house. The streets felt awfully empty that day, but I couldn't decipher why. My mind lost interest in this rather quickly, however, and I ran even faster towards her home. When I reached my location, I stared in awe at the various woodland creatures frolicking about. While I had seen her house before, I had not taken in the beauty of her home. Both the flora and the fauna were gorgeous. I realized I still had a mission to complete, and knocked on her door.

"Coming," I heard through the door, a voice that I could recognize from anywhere as Fluttershy's. She opened the door, and she gasped. I knew she would be surprised to see me, but I had forgotten how truly shocking it would be for her. I hadn't even tried to apologize for what happened until then. I awkwardly passed her the gift basket.

"Hi, um, I came here to say congratulations for getting out of your predicament. And well, here's a gift basket, I hope you enjoy the food, I've never been much of a cook myself. Well, I….." "Spit it out," I said to myself. "I want to say how sorry I am for what I did to you." I let my head droop down. It wasn't melodramatic; I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders in that moment. "It was stupid and wrong for me to use you like that." I knew I wasn't using the right words, but I felt it was too late for me to stop now. "And I would be fine if you decided not to forgive me, I just wanted to let you know how sorry I really am." After I finished, I looked up to see her face. I couldn't read what she was thinking at that moment. It's like her face had frozen into the surprise of seeing me, and she didn't register my apology. I slowly noticed her lift my head up. "Oh no," I thought. "She's going to kiss me again."

But she didn't.

Not at all.

She lifted my head towards hers, and wrapped me in a warm embrace. I thought a felt a tear fall down my back as she said,

"I forgive you, I do. I could never hold a gripe against anyone, especially you." She was confessing her love to me, and yet I knew things couldn't work out with me now being hooked up with Twilight. She grasped me even harder before retracting back to her previous position. She smiled. "I know you chose Twilight, but, I just had to let you know how I really felt. It's…. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't." I hated having to hear such a thing. I wish there was a way I could make them both happy, but I had to suffer for my actions. For stringing them along, I would have to make one of them unhappy. And I had made my choice without even thinking about it. All I said at that moment was,

"Thank you, Fluttershy. Thank you."
Twilight rushed through the streets, Spike yawning while he grasped the back of her fur with his other hand. She was not normally in a hurry at this hour, but she saw a poster for an election campaign that was taking place in Ponyville. The psychiatrist that Fluttershy had seen was running for mayor against the current mayor. "Remind me again why this is so important?" Spike said.

"This isn't just somepony speaking out against the mayor for the way she's running things, Spike. This is somepony trying to take over her position."

"Couldn't we wait 'til later to investigate this?"

"But this is very important, Spike. The mayor is in charge of all sorts of thing. Only the most dependable of ponies should be allowed to enter that position." When she reached the town square, she noticed that same psychiatrist speaking to almost all of Ponyville at that moment. He had a smile on his face, looking a lot friendlier then when he had first moved in. "Campaign smile. A typical tactic for ponies running for an elective office," She said to herself.

"Now, now, before this gets out of hand. I want you all to understand something. I hold no gripe against the current mayor. I think she is a wonderful pony. And yet, she has not managed things to the maximum they could be. Many ponies have to sign into unemployment offices because there are no other jobs. And the ones that don't have to move to another town in Equestria; but now you do not have to worry. When I am in office, I will be sure that everypony will have jobs." A round of applause followed this. At this moment, Twilight felt a conflict rise in her. She owed the psychiatrist for having helped Fluttershy. While she had already thanked him, she told him herself that she was going to find a more substantial way to thank him. While this would be the perfect chance, she had always been good friends with the current mayor. It would seem like betrayal to not go with her. And it wasn't like she was just one pony in this election either. Equestria regarded her and the rest of the Mane Six as heroes at a celebrity status. Her vote could be a game changer in which way the citizens of Ponyville would decide to lean towards. She noticed the Mayor of Ponyville on the other side of the podium, waiting for her chance to speak. After a few seconds, the psychiatrist finished his speech, even waving to the crowd as he jumped off the podium. The Mayor then took her stance, and took a deep breath as she gazed into the crowd. Hearing her speech would only make her more conflicted. Twilight decided to return to her home to think things over.

"Okay, now I can see why you would feel so conflicted over this."
"Fluttershy's psychiatrist sounds so sincere in what he's saying. And besides that, I owe him for what he did to help Fluttershy. And yet, I've known the Mayor of Ponyville for quite some time now. It would almost be like betrayal to not support her now."
"I see. Either fulfilling a debt, or possibly losing a friend. And yet, in your Friendship letters you talk about how important the magic of friendship is. So, shouldn't the choice be obvious to you."
"It should," Twilight replied as she opened the door to her home, and sat down on the floor.

"But, it just,"

"isn't."