Your Little Butterfly

by Mickey Dubs

The Final Memory

But it became an entire lifetime.

~~~~~

Over the course of the day the two ponies had played and talked, shared and teased with one another as they enjoyed a lunch on a rocky field. They had basked in the presence of the one by their side throughout their lazy trek on the glorious day he'd chosen, both of them admiring the grand sprawling landscape of the alpine heights. The mountain Macintosh had picked—though not very steep—spread out like a wide green canvas, dotted in places by smaller hills which protruded from the underlying mountain as if pushed by the fingers of the earth below. The two companions walked along the winding trail which lazily followed the course of the mountain, the switchbacks gradually leading the two to its pinnacle which lay just ahead.

Fluttershy owed it to her companion not to fly ahead and give into the temptation of what lay over the next hill. Despite those little shreds of anxiety, she had become more and more restless and excited as he, with every corner, made an effort to shield her from what he had so carefully arranged for her. Big Macintosh had never alerted her as to the reasoning for their excursion, but she didn't mind: his intention was secondary to him just being nearby, and his presence afforded her some context to be able to soak in the changes of the past few weeks.

So much had happened in so little a time that it was hard to believe Macintosh was the same stallion she had met all that time ago. Had she just not seen what he was capable of before her moment in the cottage? Had he always been as understanding and kind as he had been during their picnic in her hidden glen? The time they had spent together following their picnic in that isolated spot far below seemed like a blur, but every second and every wonderful day locked itself away in the growing collections of laughter and life for both quiet souls.

Fluttershy couldn't help but grin as she trotted alongside her companion, reveling in the heat of the midday sun and the constant reminders of Macintosh's presence at her side. He had always been at her side, there to shield her from her troubles and provide her some courage to make her life as beautiful as she could! In hindsight, it had been so easy to take a stand and display her feelings that she wondered why she hadn't done so in the first place! How easy it had been, now that she could look back and finally understand where her hesitations and fears had arisen to hide her from the world! How relieved she now felt without that weight holding her down!

She had required her Macintosh to break that boundary and provide a firm foundation, a safe haven for her to spread her wings. He had needed his Fluttershy to allow himself a conduit and a safe place to express his feelings when his nature and his profession required him to do otherwise. She had needed the confidence, and he had needed the acceptance. Each fit into the spaces of the other's heart so perfectly that now, as they reveled in the glory of circumstance, they didn't even feel the need to burden the air with idle talk and wasted words.

As they walked together towards the panoramic viewpoint at the summit of the mountain, Fluttershy started slightly when Macintosh came to a halt at the very base of the last remaining hill. Turning her head, she found him dropping his saddlebags, rummaging through them as if he had forgotten something.

"Macintosh," she mumbled, taking a few steps forward. "Is there something wrong? You didn't lose anything down the mountain, did you?"

Big Macintosh gave a little shake of his head, looking up to his companion before resuming his search.

"I just need to find something. It shouldn't take me long..."

"What exactly do you need?" she pondered aloud.

"Nothing special, Fluttershy... just this!"

With a little tug, Macintosh extricated a red bandana tucked away below what remained of their lunch, giving the cloth a little pull to free it from his bag. Then, with a little nod, he swirled his hoof in a circular motion.

"Go ahead and turn around, Fluttershy. I have something I want to show you, but I need you blindfolded first."

Her tension took hold for a moment, but her trust in her partner and his kind eyes alerted her to the fact there was nothing to fear. Timid though Fluttershy was, she allowed Big Macintosh free reign to tie his bandana around her eyes, pulling the cloth down to ensure she couldn't see below the fold. With a little tug the cloth was firmly in place, and with a light stroke of her shoulder he reassured her of his presence, accompanying his touch with some soft words.

"Alright, now just listen to my voice, okay? I will be right next to you. Nothing's going to go wrong, I promise!"

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy squeaked, taking a few probing steps forward, feeling the ground for rocks or possible holes before allowing herself to move forward but a foot. With a grin Macintosh sidled up close to his pegasus partner, leading her onwards with a little nudge.

"I promise, Fluttershy. I will be right here the whole time."

Though her smile hid away beneath those folds of hair and the presence of his bandana, he knew it was there. Her head only raised as high and as confident as it was now when there was nothing she felt could ever harm her, and those moments had always been accompanied by one of her demure little smiles. It had always been that way, as long as he had been around to see it. His suspicions and hopes were verified when she, with a few tentative steps, began to climb the hill. Macintosh remained by her side, just as he promised, as she stumbled in the darkness towards whatever he'd dreamed up for the two of them.

Though the hill she climbed was not too high, the length and constant gradient was far more taxing than she'd expected. Those fears and hesitations she'd long tackled were infinitely more frightening now that his bandana prevented her from spotting what possible dangers there might be. But with every shared hoofstep those thoughts receded, and with every one of his labored breaths as he tackled the hill by her side, those lingering fears for her safety died away.

Fluttershy could feel the ground beneath her level out, and with a few more steps she found it completely even. Knowing she'd reached their destination, her eyes begged for the light and pleaded to be released. It was a plea which she almost gave into before his hoof stopped hers from removing the cloth.

"No no, Fluttershy: it's not time yet," he drawled, motioning her hoof back downwards.

"Time for what?" Fluttershy whispered, cocking her head as she stared at that point where his voice had come trickling through the darkness. "What's going on? What are you planning, Macintosh?"

"Nothing special," he muttered, the sound of his voice moving until it came from right behind her. "Just something I thought you should see. It's a little known event I thought you might like, and I wanted to be the one to show you."

"Sounds mysterious," Fluttershy whispered, turning her head to address her partner. "Why would I like it? Or at least, why me in particular?"

"Knowing you, I think you'll find it quite fascinating."

"Oh, so you think you know me know, hmm?"

Finding his stomach with a probing hoof, she gave her companion a playful poke.

"I'd like to think so," Macintosh chuckled calmly as he grabbed her hoof in his. With a little squeak she found herself pulled close to his chest, her back firmly pressed to his beating heart.

Though her headwear denied her her sight, there was little else she needed to know that all her hesitations and her worries about what was to come were in vain. With every reassuring beat, his heart reminded her that there was little to fear, little that could ever come between them as long as he remained to protect her. His presence at her back, his hooves around her waist, his head over her shoulder to become lost in her mane... they were all she could ever need, all she could ever have wanted.

There was nothing more infinite in the darkness than the sensation of his hooves in hers. There was nothing more calm and secure than the memories which she conjured from the recesses of her mind. What courage she had in this moment she had gained through his presence and her daydreams as those times they'd spent together danced and flickered in her vision's present emptiness.

His whisper into her hair was all she needed to make herself ready, and the sensation as he held her close shook off what organic rhythm she'd tried to emulate as her heart soared.

“Are you ready?”

With a little nod Fluttershy prepared herself for what was to come, holding his hooves closer to her hips as she gave her consent.

“Always.”

Then, with a slight ruffling of her hair, his teeth pulled the loose ends of the bandana and lowered the blind. Slowly the bandana fell, catching on her nose before falling down entirely to flutter to the ground, pulled away slightly by the wind.

As her companion held her close, Fluttershy opened her eyes to find herself looking upon a grand vista, a vast and unending plain draped in places by the lingering shadows of the clouds above. As far as she could see there was only sunlight glimmering off the edges of the long grasses as the rolling wind flickered and toyed with the ends. The wind sent spiraling down from the mountains beyond sent long and twisting waves of light on the few places the sunlight couldn’t reach. The river below—an iridescent blue of a marvelous hue—meandered and lazily snaked its way to the far horizon, joining its brothers who trickled slowly from the mountains beyond to embark together on their voyage to the sea.

But despite the vast beauty of the scene it was nothing compared to what lingered in the air so far away, a vast and breathtaking object so massive in scale and so alive in activity that not even Macintosh’s enveloping hooves could have prevented her from leaning forward in amazement.

There, in the middle of the vast grassland, was a massive cloud of blue, pink, yellow, green, and so many other marvelous colors which twisted and waved in a globular mass of flying activity. The cloud itself buzzed with life, and never at any point were the colors separated or segregated apart into their varying hues. The entire mass flowed and moved as one, its tendrils of color swirling, intermingling, and breaking their delineated boundaries so effortlessly. It was almost as if it were alive!

But if it was alive, what could it have been?

“Macintosh,” Fluttershy whispered apprehensively. “What exactly is that?”

“What, you don’t know?” he chuckled, turning his head to watch her own. “I thought you would have been an expert in the matter!”

“I don’t know! What is that thing?”

“Want a hint?” Macintosh murmured, smiling in recognition of her excitement hidden beneath her usual layer of anxiety. With a little nod her face turned to meet his, and with a little gesture over his shoulder he gave his reply.

“Take a look.”

Macintosh swung them both around to face the rolling hills from whence they'd come. Nothing moved or made its presence known, and the more she watched the less she began to believe in his foreknowledge. She squinted her eyes to pick up on anything, any sign of movement... but nothing came.

At least, not right away.

With a tiny flicker of motion a slow wave of color grew in size at either side of the base of a faraway hill. The lingering cloud played with the edges before amalgamating with the mass which had slowly tumbled down from the crest of the hill to meet the others. Then, aided by the rising wind, the cloud began to move towards them, tickling the base of their hill before rushing towards the two of them.

“Macintosh, what is that!?” Fluttershy muttered, her hooves scrambling away from the wave though she remained within Macintosh's arms. With a frightened squeal she closed her eyes, shielding her face from the advancing cloud by burrowing it into the chest of her companion. Macintosh, with a little smile, gave the mare wrapped in his arms a light chuckle and a stroke of her mane to calm her down. His fur was enough to hide her from the advancing wave, but as she counted the seconds until the inevitable arrival of the foreign mass... nothing came.

Nothing but the steady breathing of her partner and the buzzing of the wind.

The tickling of the wind on the ends of her hair urged her eyes to open, but no noxious gas or violent storm of color arose between herself and her companion to split them apart. There was no sound but the accumulated buzzing of a light intensity, and nothing moving save her companion’s heartbeat as it remained calm. The steady breathing of his chest and his heart beating almost imperceptibly through his flesh served as her markers that nothing would come to take him away. He remained... and if he was there, what was there to fear?

With a deep breath in and a deep breath out, Fluttershy willed herself look away from the safety of her crimson shield.

And as she did, her world slowed and froze completely in one single moment, one tiny lifetime in which she was all alone.

Alone, but alive!

Those sounds, that massive cloud: they were wings!

Millions of wings!

Millions of butterflies!

Those fluttering bodies sang and played, whipping the air into a miniature tempest which swirled and whorled them away to sail on the waves of air they themselves created. The entire mass whisked itself into the wild stretching grassland as the two of them became lost in the cloud, those little colorful bodies dancing in the spaces between them.

What began as a lingering tendril below a faraway hill became a mass of color so thick and active that even what majesty that previous cloud had had could never compare! So high and vast her world had become! What life now sang and played all around her, seemingly drawn from every corner of the world just for her!

The two ponies held on to one another to weather the storm of life, lost in that unending cloud which surged and broke all around them. The entire mass twisted and contorted to form its own separate space in which to play, shielding them from the sunlight in a grand compartment of color. For a few minutes there was nothing save the two of them, both watching with their jaws agape as a brand new environment of flapping color and life formed and took shape around them. They remained, alone in a new world.

Together as one.

Relinquishing his hold on his companion, Macintosh did what he could to keep his heart contained and docile as he let his partner free. Every fiber of Fluttershy’s reserve and every possible iteration of her imagination broke free from the sultry bonds of earth as he watched her embark on her solitary voyage into their new surroundings. With a few hoofsteps forward Fluttershy opened her wings to catch the air, rising on the thermals and hidden updrafts to tumble in the wind alongside her friends. She spun as she had never done before as her glorious wings, freed from the prison of her fears, stretched to their limits to pull her away.

Gaining in altitude, she broke through the nearest wave of life and emerged into a vast pocket of empty air, gazing in awe at what wonders moved in unison towards the prairie. She was blissfully alone as an explosion of color and sound rippled around her. She was the core of a vast empty planet of color, the nucleus of a grand corona of flapping wings!

Lost in the cloud as her companion remained earthbound, Fluttershy’s world melted away as she became but a single soul among millions, another heart in an eternal collection of unified life! She was at the heart of life, everything around her sharing in her exaltations, every one of them cast on some great adventure with a singular motive, a shared ambition!

Her hair surged as the nearest insects dove and played around her frame, her laughter and tears of joy doing nothing to distract them. They buzzed and gave themselves up as they burrowed into her hair, lapped the tears from her cheeks, and gave her all the attention they could give. When they could hold no more of that life she emitted they relinquished their holds on her flesh to be whisked away, surrendering their places on her body to those companions who awaited the glory of her presence.

Her flapping wings did nothing to discourage the veritable horde from moving towards her. They could never have stemmed them for long, and slowly but surely she lost track of where she was and what she was doing. She lost sight of how she had ever felt so alone or lost before this single moment, before this wonderful day in which she wasn’t alone nor could ever be alone again!

Her wings, utterly glorious as what lifelong locks she’d placed on them disintegrated, willed herself downwards as those butterflies continued their caress. They wrapped themselves around her breast and mane in a cocoon of color as she slowly but surely relinquished her hold on the world she had been given to revisit the one into which she had been born. Though the ground beneath her was hard and unyielding, the cushion of life and sensation which had spirited her away hid her from those harsh and unyielding doubts. The softness of the butterflies' embrace and the soft warmth of the gentle world was almost as comforting as those truths and revelations which came with the butterflies' arrival.

What life there was still to be had! What joy there was still to discover! What things there were to find, and to be, and to do! Her self-deprecating sequestration had been such a childish thing, such an immature and unreasoned excuse to avoid what joy there was still left in her world! How could she have ever run, when there was this much glory, beauty, and utterly incapacitating happiness hidden away for her to find?! How could she have ever dreamed her life had no meaning when now, wrapped in the embraces and kisses of her heart's most blessed creatures: there was nothing she couldn’t do, nothing she couldn’t believe herself capable of achieving?

How could she have been so lost before but now, in this single moment: found? How could she ever have been so alone but now, locked in the embraces of those tiny souls: together?

How had that mare within her breast been discovered? How could that part of her have hidden away for so long, and just now... now that she was bursting with life and love: make its presence known?

Was this Fluttershy? Was this who she was meant to be?

As if in response to her query the nearest wave of butterflies slowly faded as a large, crimson mass made its way slowly towards her. Lost though she was in the nebulous mass of wings, her heart tapped an ever-quickening beat as the hoofsteps came closer, each of them a reminder of the presence of the world when every other sense convinced her of this otherworldly dream's validity. With another hoofstep Big Macintosh broke through the nearest wave, his proud head high as he gazed in awe at what little world Fluttershy had made for herself, what little universe she was the very center of.

Seating himself down but a foot from her, he gazed upon the world she had created before giving her a little grin.

“I thought you might enjoy this,” he whispered, prodding a few of the more pesky butterflies from around her bangs. With a tender smile he brushed them aside to give himself a better view of those pools of ocean-blue he’d become so familiar with, those little endless eyes in which held all the mysteries of their world. She couldn’t move or breath, so enraptured was she in their shared presence that nothing but the warmth of his hoof as it stroked her face could bring her around again.

“This,” Fluttershy muttered, her eyes still whisking around to view her surroundings. “This is... I don’t... I don’t know what to say! How have I never... how did you know?”

“I went to the library,” he whispered with a shrug. “I found a new book about butterflies, thought of you, and then I decided to surprise you! Turns out, all I needed was right there.”

“You... you went to the library?”

“Strange, ain’t it?” he chuckled, giving her cheek a little stroke. “Never go in there unless I absolutely need to. I won’t lie, not having a real education put me off books in general... but when a guy gets an idea nothing can stop him!”

Affording themselves a few more moments to admire the vast space of swirling color they shared, Macintosh gave a little nudge to remind her of his presence, pulling her cheek to face him.

“You do like it, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, Macintosh!” Fluttershy exclaimed, pulling herself closer to her companion. “How could I not?! This is everything I’ve ever dreamed it could be! I... I can’t even begin to describe it! I don’t know how I can thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Macintosh whispered as he rested his forehead on hers, the two of them lost for a brief moment in the other’s embrace. “You’ve never needed to thank me."

"But I do! I always have! This is just... I would never have dreamed I could be here, seeing this, feeling this light! I don't... I don't feel like myself! I feel... more! You made that happen, Macintosh! You did that!"

"Oh no I didn't," he retorted, adjusting his position on her brow. "You did that all on your own, I just got the honor of watching it happen."

"But you... but you brought me here! You showed me this! I wouldn't have felt this way if you hadn't!"

"Maybe," he muttered, pulling her chin up with a free hoof. "But wasn't it you who took off? Wasn't it you who flew, not me? You let go of me, Fluttershy... you looked around, you spread your wings, you did everything! I have little to do with how you feel now, that's all you."

His words rang with truths, and the more she thought about what he'd said the more she found that he was right.

Wondrous though his proximity was, it had been she who had given herself the courage to break free from the comfort of his embrace to step into the unknown. It had been she who had watched him fade slowly from view as she tumbled and danced on the wind, her wings far more powerful than they had ever been. It had been her.

It had always been her.

It had been she who had found the courage to face down the dragon all that time ago. It had been she who had broken the law and put her safety on the line to take care of a sickly phoenix. It had been she who had turned the tide to bring water to the weather factory, her wingbeats tipping the scales in their favor.

It had been Fluttershy, but was it the same mare that she was now?

Had that Fluttershy ever been as brave, now that she had a safe haven and a new love to bring it to life? Had that Fluttershy had the stallion who now stroked her cheek as her anchor to weather life's storms? Had she ever felt a love like this?

Had she ever loved at all?

With a shake of her head, she took his words and dashed them on the earth below, raising her head of her own accord without the warmth of his hoof to guide it.

"No, Macintosh. This isn't just me: this is the me that you helped shape, the me that you reformed! I am not, and could never be, the same mare I was back then! I couldn't feel the way I do now without you!"

Casting her hoof over herself and the butterflies which remained on her skin and mane, she gave him a little smile, stamping her hoof to add power to her words.

"Everything I am I owe in some small way to you! Everything I want to be, I want to be because of you! You gave me my life back when I thought I lost it! You made me whole when everyone told me I was broken! You mean more to me than you know, Macintosh. Hopefully you don't forget that..."

Her voice rang with a power she found herself basking in, drawing what courage she needed from the sound of her voice alone as Macintosh responded with a little grin.

"I won't," he began, moving a little closer. "As long as you stay around to remind me."

What space there was between them slowly dwindled as both drew closer, their hesitations holding them tightly bound to the ground when, with every prolonged second, their wills demanded they rush together. With every inch what shyness and petrifying bashfulness they had left pulled itself from their hooves and met the earth, leaving the two unweighted and unafraid. Finally stopping just apart from one another, Fluttershy afforded her companion another broad smile as she drew what affirmation she'd longed to utter from her heart, those little words she had played with for so long as she waited for her chance to let them go.

She would have succeeded, had she not been distracted.

With a quick dash of color and a tickling sensation one of her butterflies alighted on her nose, flapping its wings to keep its balance as she scrunched her face to remove it. Doing nothing but forcing a smile on her partner's face as her eyes crossed, Fluttershy gingerly brushed the insect from her nose, allowing it to rest on her hoof before moving forward and placing it on Big Macintosh's shoulder. It fluttered there for a moment, the sole insect on his great frame, separated from its brothers though unafraid of the distance.

"There," Fluttershy whispered, watching the insect flap its wings. "Now you have one too!"

His eyes flickered away for the briefest of moments, lost in what beauty she had placed upon his shoulder. Fluttershy watched as he examined her gift, both of them lost in the intricacies of that miniscule soul.

But then, as the seconds grew and his face returned to meet her own, she found no smile upon his face to mirror hers, no brave stance to complement her own. He looked hollow... terrified... not like the Macintosh she had ever seen before, and very unlike how she felt now.

He looked as if terror had gripped his otherwise stalwart heart, pulling him away back down the mountain while his husk remained. There was no movement behind his face as she watched him stare at some imaginary point near her heart, devoid of the will to move. He was motionless, empty...

...Lost, perhaps, in what intricate meaning clung to the words he uttered next, those little sounds which were nearly cast away on the wind to become lost forever:

"I already have one."

His proclamation remained almost unheard, but to the one pony for whom it was intended the words were loud and clear. They remained, despite the dying hum as the wind carried their flapping bounty to join her little world with its brother so far away. Those tiny words reached their destination, despite the stillness of the stallion before her and his crippling petrification.

At first it made no sense. He had none! Those insects which had so firmly planted themselves on her had never at any point done the same for him! Some lingered, but most had already fluttered away to join their companions and what grand exodus they had in store, and those that had stayed behind rested solely on her.

All save the one on his shoulder, one which lazily steadied itself on his broad frame, fighting the wind, resisting the urge to take off.

It remained still, fighting to stay with him when everything told it to run. The world begged that little insect to hide away and look for some safe harbor from the wind, to join its companions as they hid away in the folds of her hair.

Her hair...

Her.

Hadn’t she felt the same once? Hadn’t she looked to him for guidance and protection, some indication of expectation and approval? Hadn’t she been that dependent on her friends, hiding away from the world in the fear that those ponies she wanted to know would look upon her and not like what they see? Hadn't she once required herself to hide away to protect her fragile heart instead of basking in the sun as that little insect did?

Were those things now finally in the past?

Watching as that solitary insect allowed itself to catch the air and rise from his shoulder, Fluttershy followed its progress as, with a great leap and courageous flap, that tiny being cast itself over the edge of the cliff. It relied on nothing but its wings to keep it aloft towards whatever future it had in store. That little butterfly, having absorbed Macintosh's courage, allowed itself to soar, unafraid of the height at which it flew or the destination of which it had no knowledge. All it had was all the hope in the world.

It was calm, confident, and self-reliant. It abandoned the collected mass and comfort of its brothers to make its own way ahead, to forge its own path. It relied on nothing save its own courage as it hovered on the brink of disaster, carried aloft by nothing but its own power.

It wasn’t timid or shy, now that it had taken in everything Macintosh had to offer.

It was strong.

It was confident.

It was brave.

It was her.

And with a brief flash of understanding, his words had meaning. They had purpose and intention, a full weight of emotional subtext which, until she had watched that little soul fly away, had almost been lost. Turning to face her companion she found that courage again, that resolve and confidence which had, ever so briefly, been stolen away from him. It had reappeared in the twinkling of an eye and a little smile as he watched her ponder, watch... and then understand. His smile had grown as he watched that insect fly away, just like he had when he'd watched her soar.

This was why he had brought her here.

This was why he had surprised her, hiding from her the full meaning of their trip.

All their treks and excursions, all their plans and machinations, had been leading to this moment! She knew it! She could feel it!

With every one of his nudges, she had taken a little more initiative in advancing her own life. With every stroke of her cheek, he had given her a little more warmth and courage to fight for her right to be. With every trek and outing, their companionship and trust in each other grew.

And now, when they had finally traded places:

Fluttershy knew.

It was a flash of cognizance which was given new life as Fluttershy, with a beat of her wings and a rushing pounce, seized her chance.

Pulling his face towards her own, that same rush of paralyzing fear she’d burdened her life with on their very first day finally relinquished its grasp as she curled her hooves around his neck, Macintosh’s eyes wide with shock even though she would never see them:

So enraptured was she in her kiss that, just as it had when they first met, the world melted away entirely.

That terrifying abyss he'd placed about her eyes but minutes before returned of her own accord, made warm by his gasp of surprise and his strong reciprocation. That strength they'd shared gave itself new life and fresh purpose as she held on for dear life, pulling him closer to the heart he'd earned from her. What senses she had swirled and formed together to feed all of her attention into their lips' embrace, memorizing what glorious and foreign novelties came with it.

A few moments of intimate contact, just a few priceless seconds lost in the warmth and sensation of his touch and the terrifying wonder of their embrace.

That was enough for her to realize what she was doing, enough to shock her out of her infinite reverie and cause her to scramble backwards to face what she had done.

“Oh my goodness!” she cried, hiding her face in her hooves as her wings uncontrollably pulsed with life, driven to new lengths in her excitement. “Oh my goodness! I am so, so sorry! I don’t know, It was just... you said that I was your... oh my goodness! Please forgive me, I didn’t mean—”

She never finished her words.

How could she, when his lips were in the way?

Her eyes lit up for the briefest of moments as her companion, in the space of a second, pulled her from her position and returned her gesture with one of his own, just as strong, just as tender.

But this time: there were no fears, no hesitations, no need for either pony to apologize for their expressions of love and intimacy. There would be no need to hide themselves from each other now that they had seen the other behind their timid veils and had reached out to finally come together.

The last remaining slivers of fear, anxiety, and timidity were cast aside as the two remained on the mountaintop, their arms and hearts sealed together as they explored and delved deep into the other’s hopes and aspirations made manifest in their physical touch. Fluttershy’s wings wrapped around the both of them to hide their kiss from the world, to keep it contained behind a mass of feathers to prevent its escape and its loss to the wind.

Keeping it there for the two of them to share.

~~~~~

Keeping it right here, right where she sat now.

Fluttershy could almost feel it lingering, holding onto this single space that they had shared as if, in its construction, their kiss had sealed itself to this one place in space to remain unfettered by time. It was almost as if these blades of grass that she stroked now had remembered her presence and adjusted themselves to her touch.

They remembered as she did.

The sun’s uppermost edge had finally breached the tops of the mountains on the faraway horizon, hiding itself away almost in embarrassment at what she had brought back to life. If even the sun could blush, than what more could her memories have accomplished? How much more time could she waste to pour her heart and soul into wishing those moments could reform, just in the mad hope that they... that he... might return?

She had a little more time, just a few more moments to spare. There would be enough time to hope as she prepared herself to keep her promise. Even if he never came, her memories would bring him new life.

He would always be near, if only in her heart.

Breaking her hold on her final memory, Fluttershy allowed herself one last glance at the dying sun before beginning her preparations, giving the space where they had given themselves up a final ruffle as the grass raised itself up from where her weight had matted it down.

Her very first kiss had been right here.

And here, on the mountain, it would remain.

~~~~~

His progress up the mountain had been slow at first, but with every powerful bound and every struggling leap for purchase Big Macintosh ascended the hill, breaking through the switchbacks as he propelled himself through brush and field alike. His hindlegs, powerful though they were, were growing strained, tired, and rebellious.

They couldn't fail him now, now that he was so close! Their strength couldn't leave him, now that that faraway hill on which they'd come alive was finally in view!

She couldn't leave him now when everything she believed was insubstantial, cast into despair on the coattails of an innocent mistake! It would all be for naught if he stopped for a single moment.

His love would be lost if he failed. That was something he would never allow himself to do.

And thus, with a growl of pain, he reaffirmed himself to conquering the mountain. His progress only quickened as he crested the hill and gazed on the faraway protrusion which held his prize.

The sun was about to set, its uppermost edge almost completely hidden away.

There was no time to lose.

~~~~~

Comments

[Procket12]

You better hurry up Mac! The Heat's on!

Don't let her fall!

[BobtheLurker]

SO. MANY. FEELS. From joy to despair again. I'm pretty much terrified as to how this story will turn out.

[Apple Cloud]

No... No No Fluttershy don't do it NO FLUTTERSHY!

[Procket12]

I've just figured out the idea for the most heart wrenching climax. Basically have Big Mac show up just as Fluttershy's about to step over the edge, He calls out her name a second too late, she goes over, then He has a big NOOOOOOO!!!! moment and just collapses looking over the side of the cliff and starts sobbing his eyes out. Meanwhile Fluttershy having heard him about half way down manages to use her wings and quietly set herself down behind Mac then he does the whole "look at what you thought you lost without processing it" moments before He realizes she's okay and big tearful reunion, smooches and hugs all around, marriage, lots o kids, yada yada yada, etc., etc., etc., etc. That I think, would be the flourish for the climax.