The sky darkened over Ponyville as Fluttershy finished up her
rounds in the Ponyville Animal Hospital. It had been 3 years since it was
built but she still felt like it was a dream come true. The town electing
her as the manager of the entire building came as no surprise to
anypony, except Fluttershy.
As Fluttershy finished checking the medicine cabinet, she gave a
small and delicate yawn. Perhaps she should go home soon. She didn't
want to be sleepy when she was dealing with patients tomorrow.
Fluttershy exited the building and began her walk to her cottage.
The cool night air gently draped across Fluttershy as she slowly
walked among Ponyville's streets. Thoughts drew her into a much longer
walk than previously planned and soon she was humming to herself. The
song she was humming was an old pegasus lullaby that her mother used
to lull her to sleep with. As her mind wandered she began to think of her
mother. How graceful and kind her mother was... how honest and sweet
and...
Fluttershy drew herself back. She didn't want to continue the train
of thought she was on so she drove all other thoughts from her mind.
The rest of her walk back home felt a little bit colder now.
Fluttershy arrived home and silently walked over to her couch and
sat. Thankfully, all of her animals were asleep. She didn't want to be
disturbed.
Thoughts that she had told “no” to were starting to reappear.
Fluttershy sniffed and looked down. 'I thought I was through with
dwelling on this...'
Her mother had been her idol, her protector. Why did she leave
her? Why did she have to get sick?
Fluttershy knew what was going to happen so she quickly left her
cottage before her cries woke the animals. There was only one way to
get out of this funk...
Fluttershy gave out a small cute sneeze as she ruffled through old
boxes in her attic. Eventually she found it. It was an old box filled to the
brim with keepsakes and sentimental treasures. Fluttershy gave a weak
smile as she noticed a case that still held all her baby teeth.
Picking up the case, she reminisced on how her mother had held
her close and told her it was perfectly natural to lose her first set of
teeth. Tears welled in her eyes as she set the case down. She needed to
find it...
There! Blinking through tears and blurry vision, Fluttershy picked
out the letter that had been stubbornly hiding at the bottom of the box.
She unfolded it and began to scan the delicate script.
"My dear sweet Fluttershy,
I write this letter to you in the hopes of it guiding you through any
darkness you encounter.
My life has been so joyous with you in it. You have been the
sunshine of my life and my reason for living. You have given me many
memories to hold dear to and I am sure you would have given me so
much more. But now it is almost time for me to pass on. I know you will
feel much pain, even later in life. Please don't shy away from this pain.
It is what makes us who we are. In a way, it helps us remember that
everyone of us is precious and so special. If you can see the pain as a
part of who we are, you can allow it strengthen your heart. No matter
who you want to be and who you want to spend the rest of your life
with, I will always be proud of you, sweetie."
There. The dam that had been holding back Fluttershy's tears once
again broke. Small drops of sorrow fell to the letter, blurring some of the
words. Letting out a small “Eep!”, Fluttershy made sure to keep the
letter out of the way until her crying died down to a more manageable
level.
She needed to finish the letter.
"I know you may feel like there is nothing left but there is! You will
make friends, you will love, and you may even have a colt of your own
one day. I may not be there to help you along the way but my spirit will
always be with you. You will never truly be alone and I will never stop
loving you.
Sincerely, Mom"
Fluttershy must have stared at the letter for hours. Small pops
rippled through her as she sat up and allowed life to flood back into her
joints. She smiled warmly as she set the letter back inside her box.
“Thanks mom.”