//------------------------------// // Friendship // Story: Fluttershy's Garden // by SilentWanderer //------------------------------// I do not have a home anymore. I roam the streets of Ponyville. I do not have to eat or sleep. I see animals I cannot help. I see ponies I cannot talk to. I see my friends. I see the sun rise and set many times. I am alone. -*-*-*- The only thing left for me to do is to watch the daily lives of the ponies around me. I watch as they wake up, greeted by the morning sun. I watch as they open their windows, inhaling the cool morning air. I watch as they savor their first meal of the day. Each day, I choose a pony to follow. Each one is different. Each one is special. Each one reminds me of what I lost. -*-*-*- Today, I decide to go to Sugarcube Corner, and watch Pinkie Pie. She is behind the counter, selling something to another pony. “Two bits, please.” The pony gives her the coins, which she slides into a small drawer. While the customer leaves, she absent-mindedly shuffles all the items from the leftmost tray at the counter to the rightmost tray. Another pony enters the store, and asks for a couple of doughnuts. Pinkie Pie gets the payment, takes two doughnuts from below the counter, and gives them to the pony. She absent-mindedly moves all the items from the rightmost tray to the leftmost tray. Twilight Sparkle, together with Spike, enter the store and greet her. “Hey, Pinkie! How are you going?” “Just fine, Twilight!” While she says that, she is moving all the items from the leftmost tray to the rightmost tray. I see that pegasus enter the store. I decide to watch somepony else. -*-*-*- Rainbow Dash has forgotten all about me. She only plays with that pegasus now. I watch as she works with the clouds above Ponyville. She efficiently pushes each one to their designated position. Every time any of her coworkers talks to her, she angrily answers with monosyllabic words. That pegasus is coming this way. I give up watching Rainbow Dash for today. -*-*-*- Applejack is at her apple stand on the market. The apples she is selling would be delicious, if I were able to eat them. Many ponies come and go. Each one has something to buy, or to sell. The apples on my friend's stand slowly go away. That pegasus decides to buy something on the market. I do not care what it is, and I am not going to look. -*-*-*- At Twilight's library, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are returning a heavy book. “Here's the book we borrowed, Twilight. It didn't help us get a metalworking cutie mark,” says Apple Bloom. “Do you girls want to try another book?” “No, we won't need a book for our next attempt.” I would love to hear what they are coming up with this time. However, that pegasus is flying to this place. -*-*-*- Rarity is using that pegasus as a model. They often go to the spa together. They talk, they laugh. I see Rarity waving goodbye to that pegasus in front of Carousel Boutique. As that pegasus flies away, Rarity goes inside, locks the door, and closes all the curtains. For some reason, I decide to look. Walls are not an obstacle to me. The Carousel Boutique is dark. I hear muffled crying somewhere. I follow the sound to a storage room. I see Rarity crying. In front of her, is a dress that she once made for me. -*-*-*- Rainbow Dash waves goodbye to that pegasus, after playing with her for the whole evening. I follow Rainbow Dash. She goes directly to her cloud home. She closes the door and all the windows. She goes to her bedroom, takes a picture album from a desk, and jumps on her bed. She slowly flips through the pages, and starts to cry. I get closer and take a look. I see a picture that we took together. -*-*-*- It is past midnight. The lights are still on at Pinkie Pie's room. I enter it to take a look. Pinkie Pie is seated in the middle of the room, her mane flat. She stares without blinking at a spot on a blank wall. She stays still for many minutes. A single tear forms in the corner of her eye. -*-*-*- “She will come back, won't she?” Twilight Sparkle hugs Spike. “No, Spike. That does not happen. You have to be strong.” “Fluttershy...” -*-*-*- Twilight Sparkle is in the middle of the street, looking at Rose, who is tending to her flowers. “What are you looking at, Twilight?” asks Applejack. “I was thinking...” “About what?” “I miss Fluttershy.” “Everypony misses her, sugarcube.” “Did you stop to think why?” “I don't follow you.” “Do you see that pony taking care of the flowers?” “Yeah.” “Fluttershy took care of the animals. But she did not take care only of the animals. Whenever somepony was in distress, she was always there to help. “She took care of everypony. It did not matter who it was. It did not matter how many wrong things anypony had done. She always helped with a smile. “She did not just take care of the garden in front of her house. You could say that the whole town was her garden.” My vision is blurred by my tears. I want to run and hug you, Twilight, but I can't. I thought I had lost you all! -*-*-*- My friends are at a picnic together with Spring Egg. I roam the streets alone, humming a happy tune. I see a little unicorn colt, who is playing with a kite in the middle of the street. A gust of wind pushes the kite, entangling it with a high tree branch, near the roof of a house. To retrieve the kite, the colt climbs the tree. Careful, little one, that's dangerous!