Chapter 5: Carl's Past and the Morning After
Yes! I managed to crank out another Chapter! I feel very accomplished….except now I have homework.
Yay.
Well, hopefuly you enjoy this Chapter as much as the others, even with how quickly I wrote it (I didn't know I could write 8,000 words in one day).
Well, enjoy. :)
Carl's Bedroom- Night
Carl didn't know what to say to Twilight. As he looked at her, he could see the absolute desire that she had to learn more about Carl's past. Even Spike, who had only been here for a few hours, was now looking at Carl with interest. His own eyes as wide as a kid that is waiting to hear the meaning of life or some deep philosophical meaning.
He was nervous because no one ever asked him about his father except for James and Ryan, and even then, when they tried to get Carl to "let them in", he'd back out and keep silent, making up some bullshit answer that they'd buy just to leave him alone. But when he looked at Twilight, especially after what had happened earlier that day in the car, he realized that he couldn't lie to her. Her eyes weren't just two windows to her soul; they were daggers that were trying to get into Carl's soul to better understand him, and Carl wanted her to understand him.
He sighed and sat on the edge of his bed so he faced both Twilight and Spike.
"Carl," Twilight muttered, "I know it's bothering you, please tell me."
"Yeah man, we won't judge you or anything if that's what you're worried about." Spike said as he sat up, looking at Carl directly in the eye.
"I know you two won't judge me." Carl said with a sigh, "I just don't like talking about it."
Twilight moved closer to Carl and put her front hooves onto his legs and pushed herself up so that she was at eye-level with him. "Carl, I want to know what happened with your father."
Carl sighed and looked down for a second.
"It's been so long since I've talked about it," He muttered before looking back up at Twilight and Spike before continuing, "it happened when I was twelve…"
FLASHBACK- 2007 (Carl, Twilight and Spike's comments are in italics)
Inside Mr. Courtie's shop, a much younger Carl was busy sweeping up the floor before he got ready to leave for the day. He was in his employee uniform, which had not changed much over the course of five years from then to now. Next to him was an equally young James, who was working at the register and looking out of the window of the shop, wanting to get out so he could enjoy the day.
"…it seemed like it was going to be the best summer of my life. My parents were working out some problems that they had in their relationship, I was working for Mr. Courtie in his magic shop, well…I mean, I was working with Bright Illusion."
"Oh yeah, my Uncle is here. I haven't seen him in a while." Twilight piped in.
"I know that now," Carl said with a small chuckle, "but this was long before I knew that. Actually, I just found out about his relation to you today."
"That's right, you went to go pick James up from his shop. How is he?"
"He's fineTwilight, and he misses seeing you. Now, where was I?"
"Carl! James!" Mr. Courtie called from the back room.
Carl looked up with pure excitement. He placed the broom against the wall of the shop and ran back with pure excitement in his eyes. Meanwhile James just rolled his eyes and followed at a leisurely pace.
"I loved working with him because the concept of magic had always appealed to me. Watching Mr. Courtie make the impossible happen right before our eyes made me so excited and happy."
"You sound like you were similiar to me." Twilight giggled.
"I guess that's why I'm the Element of Magic."
"What kind of cheap trick do you have to show us now Mr. Courtie?" James asked with his arms crossed as he had the same, disbelieving face that he often did now at the age of seventeen.
"James! It isn't a cheap trick. It's real." Carl said with excitement before turning to Mr. Courtie, "Right Mr. Courtie?"
Mr. Courtie smiled and gave a small nod.
"Right you are, Carl." He then proceeded to pull out a white cloth and a dead mouse, which he put onto its back on a small table in front of the two boys. The two boys recioled a bit at the sight of the dead rodent.
"Um, Mr. Courtie, why do you have a dead mouse?" James asked in disgust.
"My little assistant here," he pointed to the mouse, "is going to show you something simply amazing."
"Mr. Courtie always had some amazing tricks up his sleeve…."
"Can you call him Bright Illusion Carl? Sorry I just keep forgetting it's my Uncle."
Carl chuckled, "Of course Twilight. Bright Illusion used to show us many amazing tricks."
"Watch this." Mr. Courtie muttered as he put the white cloth onto the dead rodent. He put his hand over it and closed his eyes, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."
A little blue aura came out of his hands and hit the cloth, but it was quick and fleeting, so the annoyed James didn't notice and Carl forgot about it quickly. Mr. Courtie slowly lifted the cloth to show a perfectly healthy, living mouse roll back onto its feet. Mr. Courtie picked it up and held it out for the two boys to see. Carl had a big smile on his face while James' jaw hung open.
"Wow!" Carl said excitedly, "how did you do that?"
"Magic." He said happily.
"T-that's not possible." James muttered in shock.
Mr. Courtie smiled back. "Anything is possible, James."
"Anything?" Carl asked.
"Anything." Mr. Courtie said happily.
"I still think you just knocked that rat out with some gas and woke it up."
"It's not a rat, James, it's a mouse." Mr. Courtie said with his smile.
"Whatever, it's a rodent, that's all that matters." James muttered as he picked up a small figurine and examined it as ifto show his lack of interest with Mr. Courtie's magic.
"Mr. Courtie, was it that phrase you said that made it happen?" Carl asked.
"Yes." Mr. Courtie said, even though it was a lie. He didn't want to lie to Carl but he had no choice, after all the Princess told him not to reveal himself as a unicorn to Carl until the time was right.
"Of course now I know he really did bring that mouse back to life. What I didn't realize, however, was that he lied about the phrase being the reason. Obviously he always had magic as he was a unicorn, but I didn't know that, so I believed him and felt like I could bring something, or someone, back to life if I just said those magic words, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of Earth. It is not your time"."
"For the next few days I practiced the spell with him until I was able to bring mice back to life. Of course, I'm now sure that he revived them with his own magic when I closed my eyes to say the chant. I actually thought I could bring the dead back to life." Carl narrated with a chuckle before proceeding.
"Normally people find out about magic not being real just through maturity, but not me. I learned it in the worst way possible, it happened a few days later."
Carl, Lisa, who was only four, and his parents were walking through the city after seeing a movie. The streets were almost empty and dark, the only light coming from the moon above and the street-lamps.
"Wow it's cold out." Lauren said as she gave a small shiver.
"It's upstate New York honey, what do you expect?" Carl's father chuckled.
"Yeah but it's still June, you'd think the weather would be warmer."
"Again, it's Upstate New York."
Carl was right beside him and Lisa was next to Lauren.
"Hey Dad, are you gonna make my soccer game tomorrow?" Carl asked happily.
His dad looked down at him and smiled, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
"I was so excited, you have no idea. He didn't go to a soccer game of mine in years, and to hear him say that he would be there meant so much to me. I had a great job, my parents were happy again after a year of arguing and a short-term separation. Then, in one moment, everything changed."
After the four of them turned a corner, they saw five young men, looking around seventeen to twenty-one years old, dressed in black clothing with black headbands. They leaned against a building and joked around as the smoked cigarettes.
Now, even though Carl's family was not rich, they were rich in the eyes of people who lived in this part of town as they were extremely poor.
Once the leader of the gang saw them coming, he held up his hand to silence his men. He stepped forward towards the family before he took his cigarette from his mouth and flicked it to the ground.
"Fellas, are you lost?" he asked as he stopped about four feet in front of the family.
"No, we're fine." Carl's dad said as he tried to make his way by . The man just stepped into his path to stop him.
He looked down at Carl's father's watch with a smile and pointed to it, "That's a nice watch you've got there, would you mind giving it to me?"
Lauren looked nervously up at Carl's dad as Carl just stood there, confused.
"I'm sorry….t-this is my watch." Carl's father said. The man took a step closer to him and stood him down.
"You have nice clothes, a nice wife and kids, and you won't give me a little watch that probably cost you nothing?" he snarled, "Why do you need it, hm? To make sure you aren't late for your measly fucking job that probably pays way more than it should? Do you know why I need it? I need it for my rent. You just need it to look pretty."
"Well, I paid for it," He replied flatly, "so it is my watch. Now if you fellas will excuse us…"
That was when two of the other men took out their guns and pointed it at him. The last two men pointed their own guns at Lauren, Lisa and Carl. Laruen screamed in fear and the kids got back, eyes wide.
"Listen man," the leader said as he pulled his own gun out to point directly at Carl's dad, whose hands were now up and shaking in fear, "Don't be a hero, just give me the watch."
Carl's dad didn't need to be told again. He quickly took off the watch and handed it to the gunman. The gunman took it and grinned. "Great, now give me your wallet."
Once again, Carl's dad obliged and started to take the cash out when the man shook his head, "No, no, just give me the entire thing. You can afford a new wallet, I know you can you rich fuck."
Carl's dad sighed and handed his entire wallet to the man. Once the gang leader took it, Carl's dad took a step back, his hands still raised, "There' that's everything. Are you happy?"
"Not quite."
"What do you mean?"
The man turned to Lauren and smiled, "I want her to come with us."
Now Carl's father stopped shaking in fear and became furious.
"No." Carl's dad growled, "You won't touch her. You can take my watch and wallet, but you won't lay a hand on my wife."
The man scowled and snapped his fingers. At this, moment, the two men who had their guns pointed at Carl's father began to walk towards Lauren, who was frozen in fear.
"Those anarchists started walking towards my mother with their guns drawn when my father punched one and threw the other to the ground. He was about to knock out the second guy when a gunshot rang out and he collapsed to the ground, blood pooling around his body."
"He was shot, and we all saw it. Me, my mom, and my four-year old sister all saw our father lay on the ground dying, each breath he took was closer to being his last."
After Carl's father was on the ground with two bullets in his chest, the five men ran off. Lauren screamed and knelt down to her husband's side. "Daniel! Daniel! Stay with us come on!"
"Dad!" Carl was on his father's other side.
Lisa was next to their mother, sobbing like any other four year old would in the same situation.
"He was taken to the hospital a little while later and pronounced dead. When the doctor came out to tell us the news, Mom and Lisa sobbed like crazy and held onto each other like their lives depended on it. But I couldn't react, I was too shocked."
"Oh my gosh Carl, that's terrible!" Twilight gasped in horror, her eyes starting to get watery.
"Why would anypony do something like that to somepony else?" Spike asked in shock.
"If you stay here long enough you'll learn that instances of murder occur almost every night in Wilmont." Carl stated flatly before continuing with the story. "Anyway, we were all in the waiting room now and had so many terrible feelings flowed through us. My hands were so numb that I remember wringing them together to see if I could get feeling in them. I even bit my lip hard to make sure it wasn't a dream. But when I felt pain and tasted the blood, I knew it wasn't."
"But then I remembered Mr. Courtie and the white mouse from a few days before. I remembered the chant."
In the hospital waiting room, the nurse came in and offered Carl, Lauren and Lisa the chance to see their father's body, so they all got up to go back to see him. As they walked towards the room, Carl kept thinking about how he could bring his father back, how he could revive him so he could go to his soccer game the next day. How he could revive him and their family could be whole again, something that it was going to be before that asshole shot him down like a dog.
As they entered the room, they saw Carl's father lying face-up in his bed, his eyes closed and his face dry and pale. They didn't cover his face with the sheet so that the family could see him one last time before the eventual funeral. Carl was the first one to walk over to his father's side as Dr. Bernstein, walked over to Lauren to discuss post-mortem things such as life insurance, etc. before he let her go to the bed to say good-bye to her husband.
Meanwhile, Carl went right to work. He closed his eyes and extended his hands above his father.
"I knew it had to work, it just had to. People I knew have lost family, but I couldn't. It didn't feel like it could ever happen to me. But I knew that I could save him if I just did what I did with Bright Illusion to bring the mice back to life."
Carl let out a sigh and muttered, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."
He opened his eyes excitedly, only to see that his father was still dead.
He tried again, this time with a more shaky voice that mirrored his building desperation, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time." He opened his eyes and…nothing.
Dr. Bernstein finally saw what Carl was doing and walked over to him. He put his hand onto his shoulder, "Son, are you okay?"
Carl didn't listen, he was too focused on the task at hand, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."
"Carl what are you doing?" Lauren asked through tears, "stop this nonsense and get over here."
Again, Carl said, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."
Carl opened his eyes, once again, to see his father was dead. He shook his head as tears began to flow. His hands were now shaking and his face was red. "COME ON!" he shouted.
"Kid let's go." Dr. Bernstein said calmly as he started to pull a sobbing Carl away from the bed, but Carl pried himself lose and ran back, put his hands onto his father and shouted, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time! Come on Dad, please don't do this to me! DAD! DAD!"
Carl began to shake his father's corpse as Dr. Bernstein grabbed him and pulled him off. Carl was trying to get back to his father's side, but the doctor wouldn't let him.
"Carl, please stop this!" Lauren shouted as Lisa continued to cry. But Lauren was now crying harder than Lisa was.
Carl then gave up and fell to the floor, sobbing.
"Why….why…." Carl muttered as he set up and buried his face into his hands, crying more than he ever had in his life and, up to the present, ever had.
"I didn't understand. My father didn't wake up. I did what Bright Illusion had taught me to do with the mice, but it didn't work. I felt a mix of sadness for losing my father, and anger that the man I worshipped had lied to me. That magic had let me down. So the next day I went into his shop to confront him."
The next day, Carl walked into Mr. Courtie's shop with his eyes red from crying and his body still shaking. His legs were shaking as well, making him stumble a few times as he walked. He went past James, who was busy re-arranging the shelves. As he noticed Carl walk by, James called to him. But Carl didn't acknowledge his friend as he continued to the back room, like a man on a mission.
Mr. Courtie was reading an old book when Carl got into the back room. When he heard Carl, Mr. Courtie saw him and stopped reading, "Carl boy, what are you doing here? I thought you're mom said you wouldn't be here because of your father."
"Why did you lie to me?" Carl asked.
Mr. Courtie's expression became one of confusion, "What do you mean?"
"I tried that revival trick that you taught me to use on the mice and it didn't work." He hissed, "My father's still dead."
James walked to the back and stopped just outside of the room that Carl and Mr. Courtie were in, listening to the confrontation.
Mr. Courtie was frozen as he tried to come up with an excuse, "Well, Carl, you see mice are simpler beings than humans and…"
"STOP LYING TO ME!" Carl shouted, making Mr. Courtie jump back a bit. Carl began to cry more and he looked at Mr. Courtie with pleading, "Be honest with me….please…does magic exist? Can I do magic? Can you?"
"Carl of course."
"Then why didn't the magic work when I did it to my father? Can you revive my father?"
"Humans are too complex to revive Carl, I'm sorry."
Carl just shook his head and gulped, "Mr Courtie...how were you really able to revive the mouse?"
Mr. Courtie was frozen, unsure about what to tell him. He couldn't say that he was a unicorn just yet because it wasn't opportune; Celestia wanted him to wait until Twilight arrived to him before this was even an issue. Besides, he didn't tell Carl, but he didn't have enough power to revive a being that was as complex has a human. So, still unsure about what to tell him, he just looked at Carl sadly.
Carl nodded in understanding and said flatly, "I don't ever want to see you again."
Carl stormed towards the exit of the store, when James stood in his way, "Carl, man what…"
"FUCK OFF!" Carl shouted as he pushed by his friend. Carl left the store with tears running down his face.
"At that point in life, believe it or not, the worst word that I ever said was "crap", and that ended in my mouth being washed out with soap."
PRESENT DAY- Carl's Room
"And that's why I stopped believing in magic."
Carl looked up at Twilight and Spike to see their reactions. Twilight eyes were on Carl, but tears were running down her cheeks Spike just seemed to be in shock, but Carl could tell he was upset too, just better at holding it back.
Twilight, however, just let the tears flow naturally and didn't try to hold anything back.
"Carl, I'm…I'm so sorry." She whispered.
"What are you sorry about?" Carl said with a re-assuring smile.
"I just feel bad that you had to go through all that. I wish you knew earlier, but it's just…only the most powerful unicorns to have the ability to revive animals, and those are only the smaller ones, which is why he could revive a mouse. My Uncle wasn't lying when he said he couldn't save your father."
Carl nodded, "I know. I was just so upset after he died that I couldn't hold back, even from Mr. Courtie…er I mean Bright Illusion."
Twilight quickly got up and ran over to Carl. She threw her arms around him in a hug. Carl returned the gesture as she cried into his shoulder, "Carl I'm sorry that our kind made you lose faith….I'm sorry."
"Twilight, please don't be sorry." Carl said, trying to hold his tears back.
Spike walked over as well, "Carl are you sure you're okay?"
He nodded, "Spike I appreciate your concern, but it's been five years. I've already shed most of my tears."
Spike nodded at him and patted his arm to give his own version of saying "It's okay man, I'm here for you."
After a few minutes, Twilight stopped crying and drew herself back, looking at Carl, who was smiling at her. He wiped the two tear-streaks off of her cheeks with his thumb.
"You know, you shouldn't cry so much, it clouds up your beautiful eyes." he whispered.
He suddenly realized what he just said and his mouth hung open. Twilight looked at him in confusion as Spike's jaw dropped to where it almost touched the mattress, in classic cartoon fashion.
"You….you think my eyes are beautiful?" she asked with a smile that showed how her mood was improving.
Carl nodded, "Uh-huh….excuse me." Carl got up and quickly walked out of the room towards the bathroom. Once inside, he shut the door.
Twilight giggled a bit, feeling better after Carl's compliment and knowing that he was embarrassed.
"What was that about?" Spike asked.
"Nothing, he's just a little shy." Twilight said, but she was smart enough to know that he was hiding feelings for her, and she wanted to talk to him more about it.
"God, I feel like I'm going to be playing Carl's therapist." She thought with a laugh.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Carl looked at himself in the mirror like Ryan had that morning after his dream about Rainbow Dash. His eyes were wide in fear and he was shaking.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" he thought. He tried to think of other things that didn't have anything to do with Twilight, but he couldn't. Whenever he let his mind wander, the image of Twilight's eyes and face would appear and he would fantasize about her. He closed his eyes, "Just stop, okay? You aren't Ryan; you aren't in love with a pony. You don't have romantic feelings for Twilight. Just let it go and deal with it tomorrow."
Carl sighed and exited the bathroom.
Pete's House- Morning
Pete's alarm went off right beside his head as his eyes slowly opened. The rays of sunlight shone directly into his face, making him put his hand up in defense from being blinded. He slowly sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. He got out of bed and walked over to his computer and logged into Facebook. While he was on, he noticed that someone had left him a message and decided to check it out.
Pete,
Hello, my name is Carl. We bumped into each other at the mall yesterday before you ran into that prick Lawrence. Listen, I was wondering if you could meet at the mall tomorrow at around 11 for lunch, it's urgent.
Pete shook his head, "Yeah, like I'm going out with you. I don't even know you."
But then he got the last line of the message,
Penelope is looking forward to seeing you there.
Let me know as soon as possible. We need you, thanks
Carl Lewis
Pete smiled, "Penelope…." He thought dreamily before shaking his head.
"No! You can't go there. Besides…" he suddenly looked up into a small mirror on his desk, "you know that you'd say something stupid and ruin any chance to even be friends with her."
Pete turned his computer off and slowly made his way downstairs. He ate with his parents, the only people that he felt comfortable talking to, and then went back upstairs to surf the web, alone.
But his mind kept going back to the invitation to the mall, and how he hadn't been invited by anyone to anything in years. Not to mention Carl made it sound vital that he be there. Pete decided to think about going, but his nervous, overanalyzing mind continued to yell at him to not do so.
Besides, he knew that if he went, he would just be a wall-flower and not say anything, for fear of saying something that was stupid, or unfunny. And if it was funny, it would be because it was so un-funny.
Ryan's House- Morning
As the sun broke into Ryan's room, Ryan began to wake up. Once he came to, he noticed the rainbow-maned mare pressed up against him and remembered what happened the night before. He smiled at her and leaned in to her face, which was almost touching his own, and kissed her cheek.
She groaned and slowly opened her eyes to see Ryan smiling back at her. She gave him a small smirk back, "Hi Ryan." She giggled, "That was an interesting way to wake me up."
"Sorry, I couldn't help it."
Rainbow Dash smiled back and leaned in to kiss Ryan on the lips like they did night before.
Ryan was just thankful that this had been the one day where his parents decided not to come into his room to say good-bye to him before they left for work.
But this thought was quick and fleeting, as Ryan and Rainbow Dash continued to kiss and hold to each other closely as if they had been in a relationship for more than one night. As they broke the kiss again, Rainbow Dash looked at Ryan with "bedroom-eyes' and a dreamy smile.
"You know, I wasn't kidding when I said I wish that I could fly with you." She said as her head lay against the pillow.
"And I wasn't kidding that I wish I could be a Pegasus for you, Dashie…oh, I hope you don't mind me calling you that."
Rainbow Dash giggled and shook her head, "Of course not. You know, you don't have to worry about everything so much Ryan."
Ryan sighed, "I know, but I'm just surprised you're into me, I mean, you're so cool and awesome and, well, I didn't think somepony like you could like someone like me."
"Just because you don't think you're cool or awesome doesn't mean you aren't. You just don't have confidence in yourself." She said before moving closer to Ryan to now their noses were pressing against each other. "And I'm gonna help you build up your self-esteem."
"The fact that you told me that you love me last night was enough to raise my self-esteem ten-fold." Ryan muttered as he kissed her again.
As they separated Ryan sat up, "Come on, I'll get you and AJ some breakfast."
Rainbow Dash smiled and let out a big yawn before she got out of bed as well. Ryan walked down the hall to the guest room and knocked, "Yo AJ, are you awake?"
He heard her loud snoring on the other end, "Geez Rainbow Dash wasn't kidding."
Suddenly, Applejack let out a groan, "Ugh, come back later."
Ryan knocked again, "AJ come on, get up."
"Give me a few more minutes."
Ryan rolled his eyes and let himself in before walking over to the side of the bed that Applejack was sleeping on. She looked at Ryan with tired eyes before she shut them tight and growled, "Come on Ryan, do ya have to wake me up now?"
"Yes, actually, because you're supposed to go to the mall with the others, remember?"
Her eyes shot open and she quickly sat up, "Aw dang, I forgot!" she quickly threw the covers off and started out.
"Wait, Applejack!"
Applejack stopped and turned around to look at Ryan, who was holding her hat. She put her hoof to her head and realized that she did, in fact, forget to put her hat on.
"He-he, wow, my brain is all over the place today. Thank ya Ryan."
She reached for it and Ryan pulled it back out of her reach. She looked up at him and he glared down at her. "You told Rainbow Dash about my crush on her, didn't you AJ?"
Applejack turned red and looked away, "Ah'm sorry Ryan, it's just that Rainbow Dash was so upset and she wanted to know and I couldn't lie to her…"
Ryan smiled and got down and hugged Applejack. Her eyes went wide at this act of friendship that Ryan had done. After he broke the hug he looked at her shocked face and gave her a thankful smile.
"Thank you for breaking your promise." Ryan said.
Applejack looked at Ryan quizzically and answered in an uneasy tone, "Anytime."
After that, the two went downstairs to see that Rainbow Dash had already gotten three bowls and some side-plates out and put them onto the table.
"Geez Dashie, how did you know where my plates were?"
"I remembered where you got them yesterday and, well, I don't think you should have to do everything for us, I mean, its kind enough that you're letting us crash here."
Ryan smiled and walked over to Rainbow Dash and kissed her. "You just made this kitchen at least twenty-percent cooler."
Rainbow Dash blushed at his refernece to her saying, "He-he, thanks Ryan."
Applejack's mouth dropped, "Did….did sumthin' happen last night?"
Rainbow Dash giggled, "Perhaps."
"Oh, did ya tell each other how ya felt?"
"Yeah," Ryan said as he kissed Rainbow Dash one more time on the cheek before going to the pantry to grab some cereal, "hey, do you ponies drink milk or not? Because I think I remember hearing from somewhere that you are complete vegans." he asked.
"Yeah we drink milk." Rainbow Dash said as Applejack took the seat next to her. Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack and giggled like a school-girl who had a crush, and Applejack giggled as well.
"Okay! I'll just get some cereal then."
"That's great sugarcube." Applejack shouted back as she turned to Rainbow Dash, "So what exactly happened?"
"I just got into bed with him and we said that we loved each other."
"Is that it?" Applejack asked with an eyebrow raised.
"No, we did make out." She said with a smile.
"Good goin' there RD."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash then gave what the brony community would dub a "bro-hoof" when Ryan came back with a box of cereal. They put their hooves down and faced Ryan with two, big grins. Ryan noticed this and smiled.
"What were you girls talking about?"
"Nothing." They both said in unison before laughing.
Ryan smiled and joined in the laughter, "Today should be interesting."
James' House- Morning
Meanwhile, at James' house, James and Fluttershy were eating breakfast together, which consisted of toast and some juice. They talked a bit with each other, which made James proud of himself for bringing Fluttershy out of her shell.
"So you're a vegan?" she asked with a smile.
James shook his head, "No, not quite. I do eat meat, just a limited amount. I hate how meat plants treat animals that they use for meat, so I try to limit my intake. I hope the fact that I eat meat doesn't frighten you." he said, knowing that it did frighten the ponies in many fanfictions.
"I don't," she said as he took another bite of her toast, "I work with all sorts of animals, and many are carnivores and omnivores."
"Like bears that you beat the crap out of to give a massage?" James asked with a chuckle.
Fluttershy gave him a confused look, "What do you mean?"
"I….uh… forget it, it's just a joke based on something from the show."
"Oh." She said, "Wait, didn't you say I was your favorite?"
James nodded, "Yep."
"Really?" she asked, seeming like she didn't believe him. James nodded.
"Yeah, you were. Why are you so unsure about it?"
"Well I just…I don't know why somepony would think I was more interesting than Rainbow Dash or Twilight or Rarity or anypony else."
James smiled and put his hand onto her hoof reassuringly, "Look, each of you six have bronys that think you're the best. I think you're the best, some people like Twilight the best, and some like Rainbow Dash, it varies."
"Then what is it about me makes me your favorite?"
"Because you're cute, kind, great with animals…" James started, but he stopped when he noticed her blushing and looking down, embarrassed at the praise he was giving her, "…Fluttershy you don't have to be embarrassed about this, these compliments are all true."
She looked up at him with her blue eyes and smiled, "I know, it's just nopony has ever said that about me before and..."
James didn't listen to what she was saying, he was too lost in her eyes, just like Ryan was with Rainbow Dash and Carl was with Twilight.
"James?" Fluttershy asked as she noticed Carl's zoning out.
He shook his head and looked around nervously, "Huh? Sorry, Fluttershy I didn't hear what you just said."
"Oh, that's okay. I was probably just being boring; I'll try to be more exciting when I talk."
"No, Fluttershy you're fine. It was my fault, I was rude and I apologize for it." James said. He looked down at his food and began to eat. He looked at his watch, "Carl should be here soon. I should clean up."
"Let me help you."
James looked at her and shook his head, "Oh no, I couldn't possibly accept your help."
"But I want to." She said happily before taking one of the dishes and flying over to the sink.
James was amazed at how polite she was, which was incredible because he already knew that she was extremely polite. He brought over the rest of the plates and began to wash them off next to her.
"I also like you because of my cousin." He muttered.
Fluttershy stopped washing and turned to him. "Your cousin?"
"She's your biggest fan. In fact, she's the reason that I got into the show."
"How old is she?"
"Twelve." He muttered, "Honestly, watching your show is one of the only bright spots in her life."
"Oh my, what's wrong?" she asked with pure worry as her hooves went to her mouth, as one's hand would cover one's mouth when gasping.
"She has…wait, does Equestria have cancer?" Fluttershy shook her head and James sighed, "You ponies are lucky, it's one of the worst diseases someone could have."
"Oh no! How bad is it?"
"Well, if it gets worse, she could…" James shut his eyes and gulped, "…she could die."
Fluttershy's eyes grew to an even bigger size than they were, and that's saying something.
"No! Oh that poor girl! You've got to let me do something for her."
"Fluttershy, you don't need…"
"But I want to help."
James was about to protest when he stopped and thought for a second. He then turned to her with a small smile, "Actually, there is something you can do for her."
Just then the horn of Carl's car came from outside and James sighed, "But not now, first let's get to this mall."
Fluttershy nodded and flew off towards the door. James smiled, "Caroline, I hope you like what I'm going to do for you."
James then turned the sink off, dried his hands and ran off to Carl and the others. He was about to go outside when he stopped, "Shit, my watch."
He ran upstairs and into his room and began to look for his black watch.
"Shit, where is it?" he thought as he heard a car horn beep.
"I'LL BE RIGHT DOWN!" he shouted as he continued to look. Suddenly he remembered something, "Oh, that's right. Patrick borrowed it for his date Tuesday…and I let him. What's wrong with me, I shouldn't let that douchebag borrow any of my things. Wait, why am I thinking so much when I have people waiting for me?" He exited his room and ran into Patrick's. Once he got into it, he began to frantically look around until he found his watch on Patrick's desk.
"Hah! Got you, you bastard." He grabbed it and put it onto his left wrist. He was about to head out when something caught his eye in the drawer of Patrick's desk. It looked like it was some sort of green plant in a zip-lock bag. He opened the drawer and pulled out the bag and his jaw dropped.
There, in his "perfect" brother's desk, was a bag full of cannabis.
"Holy fuck." He muttered as he examined it in amazement. He couldn't believe that his brother would be involved in drugs; after all he was always the "good" son. But this wasn't just a little bit of pot, it was a LOT of pot. Like, for more than one person.
"JAMES!" Carl shouted from downstairs. James snapped out of his shock and put the bag back into the drawer. He walked out of the room, head reeling at what he just saw.
After all, this wasn't a small amount of weed; this was an amount that could classify Patrick as a dealer. James wanted to tell his parents so badly, he did, but then he realized two things. One, that he was no better with his drug and alcohol use, even thouh he wouldn't ever deal it. And two, it wouldn't do anything to improve his parent's attitude towards him. They'd find excuses for Patrick and blame James for snooping around his room. Once James reached the bottom step, he hopped down and walked past a very annoyed looking Carl who was waiting for him just outside.
"What took you so long?"
"Sorry, I needed my watch." James said, pointing to his wrist.
"Okay then, get out there. We need to get to the mall. It's almost eleven."
James nodded and headed out, still thinking about his brother and the pot.
"Well this certainly is an interesting revelation." He thought as he got into the car.
Now, Carl was stressed out for multiple reasons. First off, he was hoping that Ryan would be safe. Second, he was hoping they would be safe. Then, he hoped that they were meeting the three correct people and wouldn't have to keep going on a wild goose chase to find the other elements.
And, finally, he hoped that his feelings towards Twilight would disappear.
Little did he know, however, that those feelings had just begun.
Forest behind Ryan's House
"Come on Ryan, where are we going?"
"Hang on, it's just up ahead."
Ryan pointed to a large tree that was in the center of the woods. Rainbow Dash flew up it and stopped. She put her hooves to her mouth and let out a happy gasp "Oh my gosh, is that a tree house?" she asked.
Ryan chucked at her cute gasp. "Yep, go on up, I'll be there in a minute, just as soon as I find the…"
Rainbow Dash didn't give him a chance to look; she swooped down and, with surprising strength, lifted Ryan off of the ground and brought him into the tree house. She put him down onto the floor of it as he looked at her in awe.
She chuckled, "Didn't expect me to be that strong, did you Ryan?"
Ryan shook his head and she chuckled before looking around at the run-down, old tree house. It was pretty small, much smaller than the one that the CMC had, and much more run-down. In fact, it looked more like the CMC's clubhouse before it was fixed up.
Of course, to Rainbow Dash, the more run down it was, the more badass it looked.
"Wow, this place is so cool." She said.
"He-he, this is nothing, you should have seen it when it was in its glory days."
Rainbow Dash turned to him and smiled. Ryan knelt down and they began to kiss some, enjoying their time alone with each other. With each moment that their mouths were pressed against each other, Ryan began to feel more and more innocent, as he did the night before. He couldn't understand it, but he really didn't want to. All that mattered was that he was with the girl that he loved, and he would never let anything take that away from him. As they continued to kiss, Rainbow Dash caught site of something on the far wall and she broke the kiss.
"Ryan, what's that?" she asked, pointing her hoof to the wall.
He turned to look where she was pointing to see the engracing. He got up and walked over to it. When he got there, his eyes lay on two names that were carved into the wall, This Is the Fort of Ryan and Laurie, all who enter will perish.
His eyes went wide, "No way. I can't believe that this still here."
"Who's Laurie?" Rainbow Dash asked. Ryan shut his eyes and gulped,
"He's no one Dashie."
He tried to stand up but she put her hoof onto his shoulder, "Can you tell me? I can see pain in your eyes." Ryan gulped nervously and a tear fell from his eye.
"He…he is a friend of mine." he muttered, "well, was a friend of mine."
"What happened?" she asked with her eyes wide.
Ryan looked down at the floor of the tree house. Rainbow Dash looked at Ryan and turned his head to hers before looking deep into his eyes, "You can tell me anything, don't be afraid."
"I just…the story makes me upset to talk about...because it reminds me of when I lost my faith in loy…" he stopped himself from finishing the statement, but Rainbow Dash leaned closer to him and finished it herself.
"Loyalty?" she asked and Ryan nodded. Rainbow Dash then kissed Ryan on the forehead to comfort him, "it's okay. I'm here with you now, and won't ever betray you. I want to hear your story and I'll be here to comfort you if it become too much for you."
Ryan smiled and looked up at her, "Thanks Dashie, you're the best friend that I could ask for." Rainbow Dash smiled ands they kissed one more time before Ryan continued, "…but I have to warn you, this story is pretty emotional."
Rainbow Dash nodded, "I understand, but I still want to hear it."
Ryan sighed, "Dashie, I'm going to tell you the story behind me…and Lawrence. The jerk you slammed into at the mall yesterday. He wasn't always my tormentor, hell he wasn't always a bully."
Ryan sighed, "He was my best friend."
Yes, I am doing this again. Now, do NOT expect another Chapter tomorrow. I just got lucky today with tim and was able to get this done.
Anyway. thanks for reading and please review if you'd like.
Go Giants! Go Rainbow Dash! (yes she is my favorite)