Flora

by SilentWanderer

Twins

“So you can fly now! That's marvelous!”

Discord smiles widely, while I dance in the air. Since I got the hang of it, flying is easier than I thought.

“Are you going to show it to Rainbow Dash and the rest of your friends?”

“Yes! But I'll try to make it a surprise to Rainbow Dash!”

“You could jump from a cliff and make her believe you died!”

I frown at Discord. “That would be mean.”

“Sorry.”

“I'll go look for her now. Bye, Discord!”

“See you later, Flora!” He waves to me, with an even bigger smile.

-*-*-*-

Today is a nice day to go to the park. There are many ponies here, some eating, some resting, some playing.

I see a couple of earth ponies I don't recognize, and go greet them. “Good evening!”

“Good evening!” both answer with a smile.

“My name's Flora. I'm pleased to meet you.”

“I'm Winter Leaf!” answers the blue colt. “And I'm Summer Leaf!” answers the green filly.

“Are you new to Ponyville?”

“No, we're on vacation!” answers Summer Leaf. “We come here every year!”

“We live on Manehattan!” says Winter Leaf.

“I heard Manehattan is a big city!”

“Yes, it is!” says Summer Leaf. “But Ponyville is more colorful!”

“And the ponies here are so nice!” says Winter Leaf.

“Do you want to play with us?” asks Summer Leaf, raising a small ball.

“Sure!” I answer.

She tosses the ball to Winter Leaf, who tosses it to me.

“Are you brothers?” I ask, passing the ball back to Winter Leaf.

“We're twins!” he answers, passing the ball to his sister.

She passes the ball to me. I try to pass the ball to Winter Leaf, but I miss and hit their saddlebags on the ground.

“Sorry!”

“It's not a problem!” Summer Leaf goes get the ball, while Winter Leaf puts their things back into the saddlebags.

I notice a Daring Do book. “Daring Do and the Ocean of Storms!”

“Do you want to read it?” asks Winter Leaf. “We already finished it!”

“I already finished it too!” I answer. “It was great!”

“The best part was the one-eyed pirate!” Summer Leaf makes a pose, pretending to hold a sword on her mouth. “You arr out of ya element, miss Do!”

I giggle at her impression of the character. “But I'm not the one who will get wet!”

We all laugh.

“Little miss talk big for a landlubber!” continues Rainbow Dash, swooping from the sky.

I run to the ball and throw it at Rainbow Dash. “She threw the stone at her opponent, distracting him for a moment.” Rainbow Dash tries to grab the ball, misses and flies after it. I continue the narration: “That was all the time she needed. She jumped and caught him by surprise!”

Rainbow Dash grabs the ball before it hits the ground, while I hug her from above. It takes her a moment to understand.

She grabs me. “You can't jump that high. Did you just fly?”

I giggle and hover out of her hooves. “Yes, I did!”

She hugs me. “Awesome! I just got a new flying buddy!”

She lands and releases me. “Let's see how fast you are!”

“Later, Rainbow Dash. I'm playing with my new friends!”

-*-*-*-

I play for a while with the twins, until their mother comes to take them to dinner.

We say goodbye, and I go back home. Mom asked me to come home earlier today.

I have dinner together with Mom, Dad, and my pet Angel.

After dinner, Mom puts on a nice dress, and Dad puts on a bowtie.

“We're going to a very important reunion, dear. Take care of the house for us.”

“Can't I go with you?”

Mom and Dad exchange glances.

“Listen, Flora. The reunion your mom and I are going to is only for older ponies. Be a good girl and stay here with your little friends.”

I pout, while Mom talks to Angel. “Make sure Flora doesn't get in trouble.”

Angel answers her with a salute.

Mom and Dad go out, leaving me alone.

I sit on the sofa. “Why don't they let me go?”

The world stops moving. Discord appears in the middle of the room. “Do you really want to know, Flora?”

I look around. Everything is frozen. “Yes, I do!”

“Then close your eyes, and pretend to sleep.”

Discord disappears, and everything starts moving again. I fake a yawn. “I think I'll sleep a little, Angel.”

I close my eyes. A few seconds later, I feel everything spinning.

“You can open your eyes now.”

I open my eyes. I'm floating next to the ceiling, without moving my wings. I look down, and see myself sleeping on the sofa, breathing softly.

“This much I can do. Let's go, Flora!”

-*-*-*-

Other than the youngest ponies, all the citizens of Ponyville are here.

In the middle of the crowd, I see the twins and their mom.

Facing the rest of the crowd, Twilight is standing on a slightly raised platform, flanked by two mares I don't know. The one to her right is an elegant white unicorn, wearing a simple dress, with a sun cutie mark. The one to her left is an elegant black unicorn, also wearing a simple dress, with a moon cutie mark.

Nopony is speaking or smiling. Not even Pinkie Pie.

Finally, Twilight speaks.

“Many years ago, Celestia sent me to this small town, to learn the magic of friendship.

“Once I arrived, I met many ponies. Of all the ponies I met here, five were special to me. Pinkie Pie, with her smiles and laughter. Applejack, with her honesty and hard work. Rainbow Dash, with her courage and loyalty. Rarity, with her sensibility and generosity. And Fluttershy, with her gentleness and kindness.

“Together, we lived many adventures. Some were big, with the whole of Equestria at stake. Others were small. It didn't matter. With each day, we grew closer. We complemented each other.

“A few years ago, we lost one of us. In a tragic accident, she gave her life to save two foals, who she had just met. Her death left a hole in our hearts. Not just the hearts of us five, who were her closest friends, but I believe I speak for everypony present when I say that it left a hole in the hearts of all the citizens of Ponyville.

“We are here today, to honor the memory of our best friend. The one who cared about everyone in this town, no matter how big or small. The one who...”

Twilight can't continue. She's in tears. The white unicorn to her side embraces her tenderly.

I hear a sad melody. My little bird friends are here, and I recognize the song. It's a variation of the one they taught me, with a slower tempo and a sadder lyric.

They're singing about their loss.

I look at the crowd. I can't find anypony who isn't crying.

Nopony speaks anything, even after the song finishes.

One by one, each pony goes to a tombstone, and deposits a single flower next to it.

I float there to read what's written on it.

Fluttershy. Rest in peace.

-*-*-*-

Mom and Dad come back home, and find me sitting on a corner, crying.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

Comments

[Nerfyy]

aaaaaaaaaaawesome O_O
i cant wait for the next part :3