//------------------------------//
// Emergence 
// Story: The Secret Life of Butterflies 
// by KamiraTheKing 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy smiled as she began to read her old handwriting.

Dear Diary,
Today was my birthday! Im so excited because my Grandma Sunrise Surprise gave me this diary! Its got little pink lace on the cover and . . . well you know because you ARE the diary. Heehee Silly me.

Fluttershy scrunched up her nose as she looked down. She remembered this birthday. It was her seventh if she remembered right.

I’m kind of sad because my Daddy Spring Seer didnt come home from work today even though it was my birthday but he hasnt been home all week anyway so I guess its ok. He must of forgotten. I forgive him though because he is always so busy. Mama always asks me ‘have you seen your dad lately’ and I always tell her ‘no, mama’ because thats what my daddy tells me to say when she asks. It makes me crawl in my skin but I dont know which one to listen to.

Today was a good day though because I got this diary even though I didnt get anything else. Grandma Sunrise always tells me that its not the gift but the thought that counts. I dont know what to think about that though because if theres no gift how can there be thought? Anyways the reason it was a good day was because I saw a butterfly! When Grandma Sunrise took me back home all I did was run around the house because it was all I could do to keep myself in check. Butterflies rarely come up to where I live and Ive only seen pictures of them because Ive never been to the ground before. Mama once promised she would take me but then she went to sleep for a long time and when she woke up she couldnt remember what she said.

Fluttershy didn’t remember most of the things she had read, but now that she was reading them, she was aware at just how much she’d been neglected as a filly. Her mother was always sipping cider and passing out when she drank too much and her sister had learned to fly long before and came home only to sleep before leaving to live with her various coltfriends. To an innocent soul, the behavior was odd but soon became the norm. All of these oddities were slowly flowing back to her, but had yet to snap into place.

Golden Glory my sister had her coltfriend over and since mama wasnt awake to stop her she locked me out of the house. When I went to go in I heard them laughing for a long time before I got bored and walked around my yard until I saw something weird in the window box. It was the butterfly and it was so beautiful I almost cried when I think I disturbed it and it flew away. But since my wings arent grown I couldnt chase it.

Fluttershy DID remember this. Somehow, among the forgotten memories, a fog cleared as her imagination combined with her memory to remake the scene. She felt euphoric as she remembered seeing the butterfly on her birthday spent outside.

~~*~~

Fluttershy set the diary down on the hard-packed clouds, a soft ‘huuh’ emanating from the filly as her face turned towards the window box. The day-on, day-off cared for daffodils spread their wide yellow petals towards her, orange insides seeming like gallons upon gallons of sweet nectar for the butterfly sitting on them to drink. Fluttershy walked towards it, gazing in wonder at its yellow wings spiderwebbed with yellow and orange. Its wings gracefully, slowly opened and closed as it stuck its long, sticky tongue into the depths of the flowers. Fluttershy didn’t know what came over her as she lifted up a hoof and waved hello.

“Hello mister butterfly! Or is it misses? Oh well, I’m Fluttershy.” She babbled softly, reaching out a tender but hesitating hoof to touch the butterfly. “What are you doing this high up? You’re pink and yellow, like me! Did you come here on purpose?” The pegasus continued on, hoof inching slowly towards the insect. “If I would’ve known you would come here then I would’ve cleaned up the window boxes some more!” Her hoof almost made contact with the butterfly before it seemed to have caught onto her and took flight.

“Wow!” She said as she took a few steps back, tripping over her new diary as she said so. Fluttershy didn’t care, as the butterfly’s soundless, graceful, elegant, fluent wings captivated her in a way nothing else in this world had.

As the butterfly flapped its wings, it darted around to nowhere in particular, but seemed to be edging itself towards the boundaries of Fluttershy’s heart. Crestfallen yet hopeful, Fluttershy began to beg the butterfly. “No No No! Please don’t leave! I- I have some fruit inside! Do you like fruit? Please come back!” But the butterfly had flown away. Fluttershy remembered feverishly flapping her wings as she paced along the edge of her yard, but not lifting more than an inch off the ground before gravity pulled her down. Soon the butterfly was now so far away its colors could no longer be seen by the yellow filly’s eyes.

Downcast, sorrowful, and inconsolable, Fluttershy did not cry a tear. Instead, she got up, picked up her diary, and walked towards the front door. Instead of knocking, she began to kick the door over and over again, the hollow bangs giving way to yelling and shouting of a certain tenant inside.

Mama said bad words as she fumbled with the locks and said even worse words when she flung open the door. Grumbling to herself, she stomped away towards the kitchen and Fluttershy heard the distinct sound of a cork pop.

Closing the door softly, Fluttershy sighed and walked towards her room, the butterfly sighting long forgotten from her mind. She opened her brand new diary and ran off to go steal a pen from Daddy’s unused home office, but once she had all supplies she began to write of the day’s events.

I have school tomorrow, She wrote, And I hope that someone comes to take me. A lot of times I dont go to school because no one comes to take me. I also hope that Mister Butterfly will come back to visit me again.

Goodnight Diary.

~~*~~

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy pushed the emotions she felt after reminiscing under a mental rug. Like dogs abandoned, they howled and clawed at her to give them attention. She consoled them by promising to come back.

Another deep breath later, Fluttershy dared her hooves to turn the page and her eyes to read the words. Once she looked upon the page and bit her lip in anxious hesitation, she took yet another deep breath and began to read.