Knitting
"I hate this!"
Fluttershy looked up from her work to see Cinnamon Bun's little face scrunched up into a pout as she glared down at the mess of yarn. Pink thread sat knotted together in the sunlight, an indistinguishable clump in front of her, and the sewing needles lay sprawled on the floor. Fluttershy smiled as she set aside her own knitting, placing a hoof on the back of her daughter's head.
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"Because!"
"Just because? That’s not a very good reason," Fluttershy said.
"It's hard. I don't like it," Cinnamon Bun stated, crossing her forelegs. She nudged the needles with her foot and Fluttershy felt laughter bubble up in her chest. She couldn’t help it; she just looked so adorable when she was frustrated.
"Oh, I see," she nodded, pretending to agree. "I suppose it is very hard."
"Exactly," the filly declared. She tossed the yarn onto the empty space beside her on the couch and Fluttershy internally shuddered at the thought of all those knots. Externally, however, she gently smoothed back her mane and tapped her chin to get her attention.
"But, you know, mama used to find it hard, too."
"No you didn't!" And she looked so sure of the fact that for a moment Fluttershy had to wonder what she’d done to gain such faith. She smiled as a light fluttery feeling filled her chest.
"Oh yes I did," she said, grin spreading as her words did nothing to dissuade her daughter from her opinion.
"I don't believe you."
"Why is that?"
"'Cause you're good at everything!"
Fluttershy's mouth opened, but she found that no words were able to pass through. Instead, what came out was a surprised giggle.
"Why are you laughing? It's true!" She insisted, and Fluttershy did everything she could to hold in her mirth.
Covering her mouth with her hoof, she said, "I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to laugh. You just made mama very happy, that's all."
"Oh," Cinnamon Bun muttered, a faint rosy blush spreading across her cheeks. "Well, good. 'Cause it's all true." But she wouldn't meet her eyes, instead becoming more interested in the fraying thread beside her than her mother.
Fluttershy kissed the top of her head and, ignoring the strangled cry of 'Ma~ma!', reached over to pick up the pink pile. Cinnamon Bun's hoofs stilled as she watched her mother begin to pull knots out of the mess.
"But it is true," Fluttershy began. Her eyes flickered to look knowingly at her six-year-old filly before turning back to the yarn. "I wasn't very good when I first started. In fact, Rainbow Dash still likes to tease me about the birds' nests I used to make. There were so many knots, she couldn't tell they were supposed to be clothes."
Cinnamon Bun's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Mmhm," Fluttershy nodded. "When I told her what I was trying to make, she laughed at me."
"That wasn’t nice!"
"No, you're right, it wasn't," she agreed. "But we were very little and she apologized later. I had to practice a lot before I was able to make anything really good. It took a long time."
Her daughter bit her lip at that and could understood her hesitation. It had been apparent early on that the filly was talented; schoolwork came easily to her and it didn't take her long to understand how to fly. She was used to instant success, so to be met with something she really had to work at had to be very frustrating. Fluttershy was both saddened and grateful for the lesson.
"It really took you a long time?" She finally asked, peering up at her through her brown fringe.
Fluttershy grinned and bobbed her head. "It really did."
"But-but why didn't you give up then?"
The woman's eyes widened, but she quickly hid her surprise under a gentle smile. Her face relaxed and she ran a hoof across the soft pink wool in her lap. "Well, I suppose there are a lot of reasons. For one, even though I wasn't very good at it, I still had a lot of fun learning. I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned from them, and I could see myself getting better and better with every attempt. Each time I was able to make the scarf a little longer or little tighter, I felt proud of myself, because I had worked hard and it paid off." She brushed aside a wisp of her pink mane as Cinnamon stared in wonder. "And each time I would sit down and struggle with the length, or the knots, or the form, I would remember why I decided to do it in the first place. You see, when mama was very little, I got hurt by some the other fillies and colts in the town. They were teasing me about wings and me being a weak flier and I got very sad. But then a brave little colt stepped up. He yelled at the bullies for hurting me and tried to defend me. No one had ever done that for me, other than Rainbow Dash of course. I felt very bad that he got hurt helping me and I wanted to thank him. The bullies had taken his scarf and ruined it, so I thought that fixing it would be the best way to thank him for his kindness. So every time I thought of giving up, I would remember the colt who risked himself to help me. It took a long time before I was able to repay him."
"And did you?" Cinnamon asked, looking up at her in rapt attention.
Fluttershy nodded. "I did. We had become very good friends by that point, but I never forgot all he did for me. By making him that scarf, I was able to finally tell him all I felt for him; how much I admired him, how thankful I was that he always pushed me to be the best person I could be, how much I loved him. All that work, all that practice, it was all worth it to see him smile."
"But what about daddy?"
"Oh, don't you know?" Fluttershy grinned. "The little colt was daddy."
"What?" Cinnamon exclaimed. "Daddy saved you from the bullies?"
"He did indeed. It was the first time I ever met him, but I was too shy back then to really talk to him. At first, I just watched him from the back of the classroom. He didn't always succeed, but I admired him for his inability to give up. He had a confidence I lacked and I respected him for that. By the time I was finally ready to give him the scarf, I had grown to love him."
"Wow," the little filly whispered, completely enthralled.
Fluttershy laughed. "Now every time I make something, I do it for the people I love. For daddy, and you – for Twilight and the rest of your aunts. Rainbow has quite a few mittens and I think your grandfather still has a few of my early attempts tucked away where he thinks I don't know."
"You really do that for all of us?"
"I really do."
Cinnamon's little head bobbed thoughtfully up and down as she contemplated this new information. Her eyes flickered to the pink pile in her mother's lap and the needles still lying on the floor. She bent down to pick them up. "Mama, I think I want to try again."
"Really? I thought it was too hard," Fluttershy teased.
"I can do it, mama. I'll just have to work as hard as you," she declared.
Cinnamon grinned up at her and Fluttershy felt a well of pride spring up in her. Her daughter never ceased to amaze her. She matched her smile with her own and positioned the now knot-free yarn back on his lap.
"Alright, then let's try again. First, let's make a slipknot."
"Like this?"
"Exactly, now loop here…and here…and here…"
Fluttershy watched as her daughter wrapped the yarn around the needle, little tongue sticking out of her mouth in concentration. She was completely absorbed in her work. The pink fibers started to form loops around the needle and, while slightly loose, were much better than her first attempt. Fluttershy quietly picked up her own discarded knitting and made to match her movements.
"Mama, I think I like knitting now."
Fluttershy beamed and leaned down to kiss her daughter on the forehead.
"I thought you might."