Fluttershy hummed warmly to herself as she gently floated down from the new bird feeder she had installed near her cottage. All of her friends had something to do with the bird feeder, and that's what made it so special to her. Applejack supplied the lumber, Pinkie Pie brought the paint (pink obviously), Rainbow Dash brought the glue and nails, Rarity had some ribbon to decorate it, and Twilight brought over a book with the instructions on how to build it.
Her friends toiled over it for a few days, and the finished product showed how much attention they paid to making it. All of this effort, just to make a present for Fluttershy's birthday. She knew her friends would do something special, and this was everything she had hoped for and more. This was undoubtedly the best present she had ever gotten.
The bird feeder wasn't the only present they had for her that day. Oh no. They each had a gift for her that they had made or purchased as well. Twilight brought her a book on bunnies, Rarity made her a new purse, Pinkie Pie brought a picture frame made from candy canes, Rainbow Dash created and named a new stunt that only she would get to see, and Applejack brought over some cider she made just for her in a special jar that was decorated with butterflies.
Fluttershy looked up at the birdfeeder and sighed. She had such wonderful friends. Each one of them made sure that she was comfortable and happy throughout her birthday. Even Pinkie seemed to quite down a bit more. The party she threw for her wasn't an all out extravaganza. It was small and quaint, filled with only Fluttershy's closest friends. She had had a wonderful time indeed at this party.
Fluttershy had placed the birdfeeder by her window so she could watch the little birdies everyday. She would sing with them, offer them water, offer them to stay a while, but she knew that they would eventually have to leave. She knew that eventually everything left.
It was this thought that made her snap back to the present. She walked back into her cottage and passed by the wall that was decorated with all the pictures she had taken with her friends over the years. She stopped and let her eyes flow from one photograph to the next, all the while a sensation with the likeness of giggling built up within her.
As her eyes settled on a new photo the memories of that day came flooding back to her, the day they stopped Nightmare Moon, the relay race to enter the Equestrian Games, the Grand Galloping Gala, their first sleep over, all these memories she had made with her friends were completely invaluable.
'I'm feeling a little lonely today. I wish they could come visit me, if they wouldn't mind.'
She sighed and smiled as her gazed moved from the pictures to the floor. She stifled a giggle and continued at a slow pace into her kitchen. She grabbed a tea kettle and filled it with water from the sink before placing it onto the stove to heat up. With that finished Fluttershy sat at the table and looked out the window to the bird feeder.
"Oh hello there little friend." she quietly said as she noticed a small blue jay happily pecking at the seeds the feeder had to offer, "How are you today?"
The bird chirped a response and continued to peck at the food.
"That's wonderful, and I'm doing well as well." Fluttershy said.
She began to think about asking the little bird to join her inside before the tea kettle's whistling stole her attention away from the bird. She got up from the table and removed it from the stove. She carefully poured some of the steamy water into a cup and placed a small tea bag inside. She watched as the water began to grow murkier by the second. The brownness flowed from the bag and quickly spread throughout the water until it was no longer clear water, but instead it was chamomile tea. It was her favorite kind of tea.
She sat back down at her table and looked back outside to the bird feeder. She quickly noticed that the little bird was gone, and her heart sank a little, but she was happy knowing that at least the little blue jay wouldn't be hungry tonight.
Her mind began to think about her friends once more as she took a little sip of tea from her cup. She made a little face and her face turned red as she realized upon swallowing that she didn't put any sugar in it.
She quickly corrected herself and took another sip of her tea. She sighed contentedly and turned her gaze back to her bird feeder. There were no birds, but still just the memory of that day was enough to make her smile again. In the distance she could see the sky begin to turn different hues of red and pink, which meant that the sun was setting. She could see the clouds beginning to build up over Ponyville and couldn't help but wonder about her friend Rainbow Dash.
'I know she said that winter would be a little early this year. It must be very cold up there in the sky right now. Oh I hope she's okay.'
Fluttershy watched a huge stratonimbus cloud be moved into place and knew Dash was helping.
'Maybe I could...', Fluttershy thought as her wings slowly began to spread, 'Oh, I couldn't do that. I'm not very strong. I'd probably only get in the way.'
Her gazed turned to the village that was being shrouded by darkness from the pegasi gathered clouds. Her thoughts turned to that of her other friends.
'Pinkie Pie will be helping Mr. and Ms. Cake close Sugarcube Corner right about now. She's probably humming a tune while she works right about now too. She likes doing that. Twilight and Spike are closing the library for the day. She'll be going through her list of returned and checked out books while Spike replaces them on the shelves. Rarity is trying to tuck Sweetie Belle in for the night. Sweetie will be running through the boutique saying she doesn't want to, and Rarity will be chasing after her while laughing. She'll be telling her that it's uncouth for a lady to run, and that she's tired of chasing Sweetie, but secretly she enjoys this daily game they play. Applejack is sitting around the eating table talking to her family right about now, talking about what chores needed to be finished tomorrow, and who's going to do them.', Fluttershy sighed and smiled at the thought of her friends hoping that they were happier than she was at this moment, 'I really wish Angel didn't have to hibernate. I could really use some company right now.'
Fluttershy sighed again as she grabbed a small basket of fruit she had set aside earlier for her bat friends and placed it on the window sill. She sat back down at her table and finished her cup of tea before heading into her living room and sitting down on her couch. She grabbed the book Twilight had gifted her and began to read it from where she had left off. She had read the book from cover to cover multiple times before, but this book was just to special to her for her not to read it again and again.
She read for about an hour before going up the stairs to her bedroom. She opened the door and immediately spotted Angel resting on her bed. He went to bed early today since his hibernation cycle was about to begin, which Fluttershy didn't mind, but it meant she would have more time alone, which she also didn't mind, but sometimes she wished that somepony would come and visit her so she wouldn't be lonely everyday. She knew all she had to do was go to Ponyville, but with winter coming she didn't have much time to go visit her friends during the day.
All she had was her memories and the hopes that she would make many more with her dear friends. As Fluttershy slipped into bed her mind began to wander again. She thought of her friends some more, and quickly realized that she loved them and of course they loved her. She thought about Angel Bunny and what she was going to do when his hibernation would set in. She thought about her day and what she had to do tomorrow and decided to take some time to visit her friends.
'Maybe we can have a picnic tomorrow, or maybe we could just sit and talk in the park. I would really enjoy that, and I'm sure they would too.' she thought to herself as her eyelids grew heavier.
Soon her eyelids closed and blissful rest found its way to her. Her dreams were sweet and joyous. She rolled over in her bed and chuckled lightly as her friends appeared within her dream, and Fluttershy smiled knowing that no matter what she would never be alone as long as she had her friends and the memories that they had made together. No matter what Fluttershy would never be alone and she knew that. She loved her friends and they loved her. She loved the animals of the forest, and they loved her. She loved her pet bunny Angel, and he loved her. She was surrounded by love, and Fluttershy wouldn't have it any other way. Even when she was alone she was loved. Which also meant that she never really alone.
The love she got from everything around her, and the memories she had, meant she was never alone, and she would never be alone.
Moral of the story:
Friendship means understanding not arguing, it means forgiving not forgetting, and it means that the memories will last even if the contact is lost.