GOLDEN OAKS LIBRARY: a place of knowledge—and friendship. So it's only natural that Twilight shares her passion for learning with Fluttershy by showing her a relic of the past. But her science lesson takes a cryptic turn, and Twilight witnesses an unknown aspect of a friend as Fluttershy's empathy draws her across the divide of time, connecting her with somepony she could have never known.
It's got something very powerful to say about Fluttershy while treating us to some pony history long forgotten, before there was history, and possibly even ponies. Recommended
—PresentPerfect
Editors: BlueBook† and Meridian Prime†
Proofreading: PresentPerfect
Special thanks to Pascoite who told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted, and helped make this story what it should have been from the start. I only wished I'd listened sooner.
Reviews by PaulAsaran† and PresentPerfect
Featured on Equestria Daily 11th Feb 2018
Featured in 50+ Awesome Fanfics to Read for Fluttershy Day! 27th Apr 2018
† Original version, Jun 2015 through Jan 2018
Hmmm...a very interesting story. It was quite an intriguing take on Fluttershy's enormous empathy, having her being able to "experience" somewhat a specimen's past.
Or, you know, she could have been hallucinating. But where's the fun in that?
Interesting expression of her talent. Her asking questions of Twilight to confirm what she had experienced and receiving that confirmation.
This was very moving. I loved how Fluttershy's empathy is so strong that, once she was able to get past her discomfort, she could form a connection with the fossil.
The last line was my favorite.
6108429
Yes. Where would the fun be in that?
6108467
I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
6108512
Thank you all for stopping by, reading, and commenting.
6108717
Hmm, you also wrote pioneer. 2 consecutive good oneshots = a follow. Heh already am following...
This story is something. It is very good. I would try submitting it to Equestria Daily.
Just as spectacular now as it was before.
Glad to see you're still writing.
6110425
Yes, I continue to do so. I hope to keep to a more regular schedule, perhaps something every three to four months.
The world would certainly be nice if it was as we wished it
This is a lovely story. It reminds me a bit of a work from the great naturalist Loren Eiseley, describing a small mammal skull he encounters in the wilds of the great plains:
The skull lay tilted in such a manner that it stared, sightless, up at me as though I, too, were already caught a few feet above him in the strata and, in my turn, were staring upward at that strip of sky which the ages were carrying farther away from me beneath the tumbling debris of falling mountains. The creature had never lived to see a man, and I, what was it I was never going to see?
Eiseley adds The truth is that we are all potential fossils still carrying within our bodies the crudities of former existences, the marks of a world in which living creatures flow with little more consistency than clouds from age to age.
Something your Fluttershy knows. I commend your work.
This has a delightfully creepy element to it, but maybe that's just me.
8863022
Figures. Everybody says I'm creepy... right before they mace me. (not really)
The story has received criticism for omitting an explanation of what happened, and perhaps the lack of an unambiguous answer is a source of the creepiness. But I like ambiguity and mystery; in that way a story doesn't have to end when it stops.
This turned out to be a ghost story, I guess, which wasn't my intent. The little pony's traumatic death leaves some type of psychic impression on her remains, her spirit, for lack of a better word, is trapped, desiring to return to the safety of other ponies. Fluttershy's unique sensitivity to living things is keen enough to detect its presence, to be mesmerized by it, and her touch releases the trapped energy, playing back the loop of the little pony's last moments. Once released, the stone is just a stone, the spirit freed from limbo to, presumably, join those of its long dead companions.
Does my explanation make it more or less creepy? Does it agree with yours? Does authorial interpretation matter, for once readers get a chance at a story, what it means, if anything at all, is up to them. Perhaps I am the one channeling the story of some long dead creature, even though its cause of death doesn't match my description at all. But hey, there's a reason the story has Fluttershy and Twilight, emotion and reason, in it. Sometimes the two cannot be reconciled, although I'm sure Fluttershy will try.
Anywho... rambling over. As always, thanks for reading.
8863608
Rambling was cool! What you explained made it sound very ghost-y with the vision being brought out via possession.
I had guessed that it was a sort of magical vision brought about by something of a more spiritual nature and some kind of ancestral enchantment or connection.
Or perhaps empathetic Fluttershy has a vivid and disturbing imagination sometimes, leading her to recognize little clues about what might have happened.
8863625
The hint at possession or even displacement in time was supposed to be: Yet she continued to gaze upon the water’s surface with small, dark eyes that were not her own. That is, Fluttershy's mind is inside looking out; she's there, experiencing everything, sharing it with the little mare, including her death.
All those interpretations are fantastic, and it is bad for me to talk about my intent because it could end up dulling rather than stimulating somebody's imagination. I mean, that's how we ending up reading or writing fanfics, because we are handed an unbounded world for our imaginations to roam. Circumscribed by a complete explanation, a world risks becoming mundane.
8863697
The original possession interpretation does have the most textual clues though.
That was a cute ending
Hopefully this story won't have the same ending Lost the series did. Please respond to this comment.
10640279
I don't know how to really answer that, as I've never watched an episode of "Lost". In reading spoiler-filled critiques, I think there's no real similarity, and the existence of the series, being unknown to me then, didn't influence the writing: everything came from the picture I used for the story.
As to interpretation, my reply to Ice Star 8863697 (from way back in 2018!) remains unchanged, however, if you get something else out of the story, I'd love to hear it!
Cool story love how Fluttershy empathy seemed to work on the fossil to share it’s story