Fluttershy has always been a timid pony. It was a truth long accepted until the day she met her one and only love: that stallion who cared for her, protected her, and sheltered her from any harm... a stallion as quiet and as shy as she was.
In his embrace she grew, learned, laughed, and loved. She reached out further into the world than she ever had before, and with his support she became that mare she always dreamed she could be.
Now, as she stands overlooking the world, her memories of their times together will keep her warm when his hooves no longer can. With her final hours and the remembrance of their life together, her life will slowly fall back into place. With his confidence and her love, nothing can shake her. Now, at the end of everything, does she understand how it all went wrong.
What she doesn't understand, however, is that she's wrong about everything.
~~~~~
My regards to the incomparable AeronJVL for use of his artwork (Sunshine) and to my very first commenter and this story's pre-reader: Jagg
Very well written and great perspective and inner monologues. I'm not a fan of tragedy but it's a nice change of pace from the usual heart warming fluff I read. Emotional Mac is not a common sight and it's very hard to do well. There's nothing canon to compare it to so I say you did well. I want to see more.
I don't understand the knee jerk down-voting and yet I do. It's hard to give up or down votes any credence when they are done out of spite or dislike of the character choice. This ship gets no respect. No respect I say! I don't go pissing on Flutterdash fics just because they exist.
err, sorry about that rant. Do carry on writing.
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I appreciate your comments, and I thank you for your appraisal of my work! The initial downvotes, though a little demoralizing, are a direct consequence of me rushing to get this out before class began, so I do deserve them in some small way.
Regardless, the next chapters are being written and should be up soon for your perusal! I hope you enjoy!
I love it. You have really captured the emotions of both Fluttershy and Big Macintosh perfectly in both this and the previous chapter. Your descriptions are masterful and beautiful as they wrap the reader in the sad, beautiful and tragic story you are telling. I really loved this falshback to how the pair met, it works so well with their characters and shows the how they meld together. I can't wait for the next installment, the tension has me at the edge of my seat. Eagerly awaiting, See you in Brighter Days!
Yayz! I'm glad to see this come out, and yeah, just some idiots on the downvotes.
All the comments I've seen so far are good, so My guess is you got trolled by somepony. 
They aren't worth mentioning, and to everypony who puts one, please actually read it first.
You're awesome.
Because I know what's coming.
love the story so far
ARRRGGHHHHH my emotions. Why can't the tags be a lie!!!!!
Every day I read a "sad"-tagged story thinking that I can take it without a stab to the feels.
And every day I read a story like this.
So far the score sits at Feels = 1, my sorry flank = 0. Well played, sir. Well played.
Just to clarify, Fluttershy is thinking about committing suicide right?
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If I'm going to make literary magic, I can't reveal my tricks, now can I?
2227300 Who am I to argue with The Most Interesting Dragon in The WorldTM?
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Damn.............it.
It's like how Gene Wilder kept falling of the train in Silver Streak: "SON OF A BITCH!!!"
Why the hell is the ratio of likes and dislikes only about 2 to 1?
Why is it not 100 to 1 or 1000 to 1?
This. This right here. This chapter is the sum total of the reason why I ship Fluttermac. I have considered several other pairings involving Mac. TwiMac, CheeriMac, MacinDash. They're all good pairings, mind you, and I like them all and have given them all a lot of consideration. However, FlutterMac wins every time for one reason and one reason only. Mac is the only one that not only completes Fluttershy, he makes her better. He's gentle enough to not frighten her or force her into anything she doesn't want to do, and at the same time strong enough to protect her and make her strong. Through him, she gains the confidence and strength that she lacks, becoming a better mare. No other pony that I've considered shipping her with has this quality.
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Though I'm not a huge shipping person, that was what drew me to this idea. Fluttershy is my favorite hands down, so I wanted to see her grow up a little bit, take some new stuff on and throw it into submission. Macintosh was the only one stable enough to allow her to ease into it, so the two clicked.
Wow! I'm glad that, for my first romance, I'm not doing too badly! Now I just have to make this same tension last a few hundred thousand words in LOTW...hmm....
That was one HELL of a description about their relationship dynamic. Kudos. I absolutely love it. I'm clapping loudly in an empty room right now.
I guess we haven't gotten to the part in Fluttershy's memories where everything all went wrong (in her opinion). I'm on the edge of my seat now. For the love of Celestia, DON'T JUMP!!!!
Reminds me of the scene in The Other Guys when they fail to talk that guy down. *Will Farell: Oh look, he's flying! *THUD!* Blows rape whistle.
Oh hey look she's flying!
Hey can you fly? Actually yes.
If Fluttershy actually did jump, I bet Big Mac would go catatonic like Brad Pitt's character David Mills did at the end of Se7en.
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I soooooo approve of this!!!
MOREMOREMOREMORE AUGHHH CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!
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More is on the way, good sir/madam! I wouldn't leave you hanging. Dead Week has just reared its ugly head once more from the eternal whack-a-mole game we call life, so I've been attending to bashing its brain in before returning to the fic at hand.
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That description of life...
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Oh, and madam.
My name is George W. Bush and I approve this fic.
You better hurry up Mac! The Heat's on!
Don't let her fall!
SO. MANY. FEELS. From joy to despair again. I'm pretty much terrified as to how this story will turn out.
No... No No Fluttershy don't do it NO FLUTTERSHY!
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. 
And she went over..........................fuck.
*Fluttershy goes over the temporarily freeze frames*
*"Looks like Fluttershy's got herself in a bit of jam"*
*Continues falling*
You know what? Screw it. This may in poor taste, but I don't care.
That's Right! I posted it! Deal with it!
There you go again!
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To be honest, I included it just for you: the only person I've seen outside of a few of my friends who loves that word as much as I or even know what it means! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter, despite what heartbreak your emotes convey.
Welp, I'm fresh out of tears and fingernails. This is what I get for reading tragedy. DAMN YOUUUUUUUU!!!!
And it's not even complete yet. I guess we have to watch Big Mac cry now.
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*sniffs* I... I don't know what to say... *hugs you* j-just for me? You are totally awesome.
And of course I loved it! When something makes me cry, it must be good. I'm not an easy cryer.
Let me just lay down and cry for a minute and I'll be right back with you...
Nonononononononono, this is not happening...damn it all
to many tears damn it, Mac why couldn't you save her?!
2324629 Twitterpation...so you're feeling twitterpated? What does that mean, anyways? I like the story, btw. I don't know why it's still marked as incomplete when the Fluttershy is dead. Well, good job!
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Glad you enjoyed the story! It is marked incomplete mainly because there is still a little I'd like to cover. Plus, even before I wrote the story itself, I wrote her letter out first and I wanted to include that as well.
and now: the origins of the word "twitterpated". Seeing as peep and I have been freaking out about the word it's about damn time you know what it means. Give me a minute to prepare here
...ahem...
As far as I know it was first used in the movie "Bambi" in 1942, and for the most part the word is used to describe that feeling you get when you see something or feel something so beautiful or new and exciting that your brain and body shut down. Synonyms include "smitten" and "love-struck". It's pretty much that whole "butterflies-in-your-stomach" feeling, and i used it because the idea of it works so well with our little Fluttershy
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2350123 That's why it sounded familiar! I haven't seen that movie since I was like twelve! Awww, it was sssoooo cute!!! Sorry, girly moment.
Anyway...if it has to do with Bambi, it's going to have something to do with Fluttershy. A whole movie with a tone of adorable little animals? She's down.
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Damn right she's down! Y'know what would be awesome? If someone took Bambi and randomly spliced in Fluttershy in the background, saying things which worked with the plot and made it seem like she had always been a part of the movie.
That would be awesome. I would be a very happy panda.
Well, that was sad. What a great way to start my morning...
But in my own opinion, Fluttershy's death should not have been something accepted, no, praised by her friends. Ending one's live is a terrible thing, over a failed relationship is even worse, and when the relationship never failed in the first place, it's a damn tragedy. It doesn't show someone is strong, it shows that they can't restrain themselves for an extra 3 minutes to realize that, hey, I feel bad right now, but I still have a wonderful life with lots of supporting friends and many people depending on me. To have people say it's okay... no, just no.
Well, I hope you'll write a happier, or at least less bleak ending. Maybe with Flittershy barely surviving and realizing that she still had people who cared for her, and Macintosh helping her relearn how to move and gain self-confidence. Call me a wuss, but I really don't like stories that end like... this, and my main feeling about the conclusion is disappointment.
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I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm sorry to be the cause of some undue negative feelings on your part. Death is a touchy subject which we all react to differently, and there are hundreds of stories which skirt the edges of the subject and bring our heroes and heroines back to us to show just how close they came to falling apart. But not everyone can be as lucky as they are, and it would be a lie and a disservice to millions of others for that to become a standard. Not everyone is saved from death in a sudden flash of cognizance, and not everyone can be comforted and told things will be alright when those things they feel tell them otherwise.
There are many people who end their lives because they believe that nothing awaits them but a slow decline into nothingness. Their reasoning is clouded by those things they believe and not necessarily by the truth, and I believe that in itself is the real tragedy. Our characters can never be as omniscient as we are, and sometimes not everything works out. Suicide is one of those things, and I hoped to make this situation ring for her as it does for thousands of others and show that even if what she did was selfish and hurtful there is still some solace to be found in what life she left behind.
I'm sorry to have offended you or hurt your feelings. I gave it long and careful thought and had even drafted a chapter where she was saved to make a full recovery, but I realized that saving her would have been belittling to what I wanted to write about. Not everyone is saved, but everyone is worth remembering. If nothing else, at least remember that there is always reason to celebrate the lives of others, regardless if those others have taken their lives or not. In essence that was what I wanted this story to be about: taking comfort in the knowledge that your life meant something to others, even if those people hurt you in return, and being proud of the accomplishments of others even if we're hurt that they were taken away from us.
It may not be the happiest emotion, but this was never going to be a happy story. This was a story designed to be true, even if that truth is an ugly one.
Thank you for your critique and your concern, and though I am sad that I offended you please know that I am still overjoyed in the knowledge that you read my story and cared enough about it to tell me how you feel.
Don't confuse rage at this story's outcome with rage against your writing or story telling ability. It was brilliantly executed and the detail was fantastic. You did what you had to do. I just hate your guts for killing Fluttershy is all. I'm dead inside. DEAD!!!!
Good job. 
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Believe me, I hate myself too. Flutters is my favorite hands-down, but being the silent one she always seemed to be undervalued and a little neglected when it came to the harder parts of life. I wanted to see her grow up, at the end of it all. Regardless of the ending, I'm very glad you enjoyed my work!
2375328 Indeed. Now do us all a favor and write something happy next time.
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I'll see what I can do, good sir! I'm going to be going hard and heavy editing and revising my sci-fi crossover for a while when I'm not cooking up a little one-shot for Mother's Day. How does a sci-fi adventure with ponies in space chasing down a government conspiracy sound?
2377027 Intriguing... I follow.
Beautifully written, and well done. I've had this on my "read later" thing for a while, and now that I've finished it I'll be switching it to favorites. Excellent job. I loved it, even though it was so terribly sad. Well done. And a girly tear or two was shed
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I'm overjoyed to hear you liked it! It's stuff like that that keeps me writing!