- Part 20 On Fire
- >You wake up, not remembering falling asleep
- >No hangover at least, and no nightmares last night, at least that you can remember.
- >And you're in a bed. A rather large bed, in an unfamiliar room
- >There's no one else around, so you decide to get up
- >No rope, no handcuffs, nothing keeping you down. That's always a good sign
- >After dressing, you walk down the stairs, and find your stuff still unpacked in the front room
- >Oh shit Einstein, you're in your own house
- >Ah shit, noise in the kitchen
- >You ready yourself on instinct, prepared to fight
- >Quickly you jump through the door and
- >Damnit Derpy.
- >"Good Morning Anon!"
- Good morning Derpy.
- >You notice a bowl in her hooves
- What are you making?
- >"Muffins!"
- >Well, breakfast is taken care of
- Where's the Doctor?
- >"He's on the couch in the other room, reading a book."
- >Damn, what time is it?
- >Timecheck: 0800
- >Holy shit
- >Doctor Whooves is hardcore
- >He'll wake up early and read after a night of drunken debauchery
- >As you approach him, he looks up from his book
- >"Good morning Anon. I hope you're feeling well. Have you had breakfast yet?"
- No, not yet. Derpy hasn't finished making muffins yet.
- >"Ah, well, be sure to have a few muffins. They're not as good as the ones in Sugarcube Corner, but there's hardly a difference."
- I'll be sure to get a couple.
- >As you turn, he continues to talk. "Don't think I've forgotten. We're going to talk about last night."
- >Shit
- >That was a talk you really didn't want to have, not even from your bro
- Funny story about that
- >He looks at you suspiciously
- >"Go on..."
- >Inching your way closer to the front door, you continue talking.
- You see, I kinda remember something in my SERE training
- >"And what would that be?"
- I remember excelling at a particular part of the training...
- >He raises an eyebrow. "Where's this going?"
- >You're at the door. As you open it, you shout
- Evasion and Escape!
- >Catching a glimpse at his face, you save the look for later
- >For now though, RUNNING
- >You run and take cover in a bush, and only moments later, you see the Doctor running right past you
- >Hahaha, Anon 9001, Doctor Whooves 8999. The look on his face was priceless
- >"He's over there Doctor!"
- >Wut
- >Anon 9001, Derpy 9010
- >God damnit Derpy, if there ever was a time for you to fly into a building...
- >You jump out and run in the opposite direction
- >Some ponies walking by wave at you excitedly
- >Damnit...gotta go find an isolated place here
- >With the Doctor on your tracks, you start running blindly into alleys
- >Apparently having two feet makes you more maneuverable, as you lose eyesight of him in a minute and a half
- >Good, now to hide in...a dumpster?
- >Really? How obvious
- >Perhaps too obvious. Maybe he'll discount it as a hiding spot, since there are quite a few here, and he's just trying to catch up now
- >Taking your chances, you quickly climb into a dumpster and close the lid
- >30 seconds later, you hear something run by you
- >Success!
- >"Doctor! In that dumpster!"
- >NOOOO
- >You jump out and see the Doctor about 40 feet away from you
- >KEEP FUCKING RUNNING
- >You trip
- >A fucking tripwire!? Are you shitting me!?
- >Before you can get up, the Doctor has you pinned
- >What are my options brain?
- >1. Surrender
- >2. Grapple
- >3. Knock his shit
- >4. Play dead
- >He is your bro...
- >Damnit, he was better prepared than you were
- >You can't imagine just how prepared he is, but with Derpy flying above and seeing where you are, along with helping with things like a fucking tripwire, he's pretty damn determined
- Ok, Doctor Whooves. Let's get this over with
- >"You're just going to give up like that?"
- Well, you're more determined to catch me than I am determined to run away.
- >"Ok."
- >You catch him by surprise, lifting him up with ease. You carefully set him down, and grab a C-Note from your pocket
- >Sitting against the alley wall, you light up, and wait for him to begin his rant
- >"Thank you, Ms. Hooves. Please continue making those muffins, and we'll be back in a few."
- >"Yes Doctor!"
- >Derpy flies a little uncoordinated back to your house
- >If she chooses your house to run into...
- >Nope, landed safely
- >Whew
- >The Doctor walks towards you, and sits next to you
- >"Do you know what I'm going to say?"
- I have an idea, but please say it anyways.
- >He sighs. "Last night, you walked into the bar with Twilight. You asked me to go, so I did, thinking that it would be easier on you. But you also invited her five other friends. And like I said last night, you made a jackass of yourself."
- Yeah...
- >"Look, it's obvious to everypony. Twilight absolutely loves you. She's always happy around you, and you seem to enjoy being around her as well."
- >You cringe.
- >"She probably expected last night to have been a date, and you ruined it by inviting her friends. what the hell was that about?"
- I...thought maybe, she didn't go out with her friends. I wanted to show her that...she should be more sociable..
- >"Are you serious?"
- >You analyze what you just said
- It's only half right. I really don't see her going out with her friends, but I guess I know she does stuff with the others.
- >"So what's wrong with you?"
- I...wanted to ignore the signs. I never wanted to be in Twilight Sparkle's heart. I never wanted anyone's affection.
- >"Why is that? What's so wrong about it?"
- >Now you sigh
- The last time I allowed myself love, I got hurt. I got hurt real bad. We were going to get married, but she had an affair.
- >You take a drag from your C-Note
- I trusted her, but all I got was a knife in my back. What's worse, I was manipulated more than I would ever allow myself to be in a normal situation. I never want to be manipulated again, and I find it easier to avoid it than to fight against it
- >He looks at you. "There's got to be more. The Anon I know wouldn't have a pathetic excuse like that. And you know that Twilight would never hurt you like that, so still, why do you hurt her like that?"
- You're quite deductive, Doctor. I should've expected this.
- >You take another drag
- Look, I'm a soldier. I kill, and I'm lucky if I'm not killed. That's fine for me. I'm only living for myself, so it doesn't matter if I die.
- >"What about your friends? Me? You don't think we'll care if you die?"
- You'll all move on. Friends can be replaced. Love...isn't so easy to replace.
- >"There's a saying Anon, and I'm sure you know it. 'Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."
- I don't know how true that is.
- >"I do. Trust me, it's true. So what other excuse do you have?"
- >You can't believe you're going to admit this...
- I..I'm afraid of myself. I don't remember much about who I am or what I've done. I know I'm reckless, and when I'm fighting, I love it. I love the feeling of killing the enemy, and I'm willing to die while I'm fighting. I'm... scary. I'm a monster. I'm crazy. No person from my world would be thought sane if he took pleasure in taking the lives of others...so I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I'll fuck up one day. That I won't be able to control myself one day... If I...
- >You can't finish. You're shaking, and expect the Doctor to be creeped out
- >Looking over, you see he's unfazed.
- >"Anon, listen to me. You have issues, and you've done the right thing in admitting it. You're far from crazy. For soldiers, I'd imagine that it would be normal, to a degree, for one to enjoy the fight, and 'get into it.' But you don't feel the same when the fight is over, correct?"
- No... I feel some remorse, especially when I end up in the hospital and my friends are visiting.
- >"Right. You get caught up in the moment. And don't worry about those memories. You are who you are right now, not what you might have been on your homeworld."
- >You look up, and see his hoof hanging out
- >Not leaving him hanging, you give him a brohoof, and stand.
- >You feel a bit better, but also more confused. Damn your indecisiveness
- >You're still a soldier, and you've always been proud of your professionalism when on the job
- >About the only time you weren't a professional was when you had some-
- >So...What about Twilight?
- >"What do you plan on doing now?"
- I'm going to take a shower and wash my uniform. And I've got some thinking to do.
- >"Ok. Please make the right decision."
- >It almost seems like you're cutting through time
- >The first minute, you're walking home, the next, you've got soap all over you. Then your uniform is being dried.
- >Let's do the time warp again.
- >Or actually, let's not.
- >At mid-afternoon, you're lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, and hear a familiar song.
- >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzQvGz6_fvA
- >What's the range on that music player?
- >Back to business
- >How do you feel about Twilight Sparkle?
- >I don't know brain
- >Neither do I, but you do feel like an asshole for last night, don't you?
- >Yeah... I shouldn't have done that.
- >How do you feel about Twilight Sparkle?
- >I. Don't. Know.
- >I think I only see her as a friend, brain. I can't imagine getting with her and...well..having relations with a pony
- >That's bordering on bestiality
- >But no one will judge you, and they're very human-like, you can't say they aren't.
- >Yeah...but I don't know. It might ruin what we already have, and what's worse, I might ruin my friendship with the other girls.
- >What? Explain
- >If, hypothetically, Twi and I were in a relationship and we broke up, how would that change our friendships with the other five?
- >Don't give a pussy reason like that
- >Sigh, fine. In any event... I just don't know.
- >Fuck you
- >Fuck me brain? Fuck you. I don't know. Aren't you supposed to know everything about me?
- >Well...
- >That's right douche. You're supposed to already know.
- >...
- >...
- >What do we do now?
- >How about YOU start by at least giving her an apology?
- >Yeah...
- >And then, maybe you explain to her that you're indecisive right now?
- >Ok...
- >Looking outside, you see the sun is lower than when you last looked
- >Better get going then
- >Walking to the library, you feel ponies staring at you
- >Curse your heroics, you don't have time for that
- >Coming up to the house, you knock on the door
- >...
- >...
- >No reply
- >Knock again
- >Still no reply
- >You try the door..and it's open
- Twilight? Spike?
- >Nobody is home...
- >Well this got a bit more difficult
- >You can't stay here all night
- >Finding a quill and paper, you write down:
- >Twilight Sparkle
- >I'm sorry for last night.
- >It was wrong, especially considering I know how you feel.
- >All I can say is, I don't know. If you can, please come by tonight, so we can talk. I won't be here tomorrow, but should be back on Monday.
- >Please, let's not wait until Monday. I'll be waiting
- >Anon
- >You head back to your house, and sit in the recliner, thinking.
- >And waiting.
- >You really hope Twilight Sparkle comes over.
- End

