> The Heart That Forgot How to Feel
>  by Ribe_FireRain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Synthetic Heart, Synthetic Tears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Heart That Forgot How to Feel


A Story by FireRain




***  ***  ***



They said that it would all be fine in time. But everything is all but ‘fine’.

Life just didn’t hold the same meaning without her. Every single waking hour was a dark, gloomy reminder of what was missing. Waking up in the early hours of the morning to the kiss of the bright, cheery, golden sun no longer maintains the joy that it once did. It only meant it was the start of a new day and constant heartache.

When he woke up in the morning, Liam the Human always looked forward to witnessing the angelic, peaceful face of his wife snoozing tranquil next to him. It always brought a pleasant warmth to his chest, soothing his once-bruised heart, seeing her wonderful and flowing pink mane dangling cutely in front of her face, covering her glamorous turquoise eyes, and, although her eyelids were sealed, they still sent Liam’s heart aflutter. Sometimes, he would snuggle himself up beside her and hold her in his arms while gently caressing her mane, coaxing her gently from her slumber.

To Liam’s eyes, Fluttershy always appeared so angelic and radiant in her beauty, and he made sure to remind her every single day. She would only blush and giggly shyly and modestly, waving a playful, dismissive hoof while saying, ‘’Oh, you!’’ bashfully. Not a single day passed that Liam regrets asking for her hoof in marriage. After all, they had always been strong, well-connected friends since their first meeting, and the two of them really hit it off. It seemed so…right. A mutual, natural attraction.

Come to think about it, Liam would be a mighty liar if he said that he didn’t feel something the second that his cerulean eyes landed upon Fluttershy’s own. In its own way, it was a deal sealer. Liam had never once been in love before, and neither had she, and, now that he was experiencing it, he felt stupid for chastising all of those mental investigations and theories burrowing into that classic Romeo and Juliet ‘love at first sight’ idea. For, as soon as he had found Fluttershy’s loving, warm, curious and alluring gaze, he found himself to be ensnared in her trance, and he knew off the bat that he was in love with her.

After years of getting to know the sweet, charming, kind-hearted mare that surrounded The Element of Kindness, Liam only found his love and respect for her to be deepening. She gave him strength, motivation and the desire to carry on in this strange, new world that he was so lost in, and, if it was not for her constant support, he was sure that he would have passed long ago. She took him in beneath her roof, made sure he was fed, warm and happy, that he was one-hundred percent alright. She was just the sweetest little thing, and he was glad that he had found her.

Liam was grateful for her hospitality and her constant presence in his life. It wasn’t too long before he offered to pay her back for her kindness, to show her just how much he appreciated the help she had unconditionally given him. Naturally, the timid mare was so insistent on not

Wanting anything back, that knowing that he was alright and in one piece was enough of a reward for her. However, Liam insisted, just one night on the town together, perhaps maybe enjoying each other’s company over a couple of drinks. From there, their love began to blossom, and it was almost as if destiny had brought them together. (Not that Liam actually believed in such a thing as ‘destiny’.)

Dating was always an awkward and often nerve-racking learning experience full of patience, trust and compatibility, but what can you do? Neither of them had any basis for comparison in terms of personal love lives, this being their first attempt, and they both had shaky starts with entering a conversation and making small talk to lighten up the mood and to get the ball rolling, but, in the end, it didn’t matter to them - they were simply happy to be spending time together as a couple. To them, nothing was impossible, and they wouldn’t have it any other way, not in a million years.

As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until a date two years ago that Liam had mustered up the strength to find the courage to say something he had been heavily and constantly debating on, the time time when he had decided to pop the question.  Liam could have sworn he had died when his heart skipped a beat when Fluttershy said in a teary-eyed, overjoyed exclaim, ‘’Oh, yes, yes! Of course, Liam, I thought you’d never ask!’’

And so, there it was: the question had been asked, his fiancé had agreed to marry him, and then they were both wed during Fluttershy’s favourite season: summer. Liam and Fluttershy were both officially pronounced man and wife during the month of July on the twenty-third, the same date as her birthday.

So…right now, I bet you’re wondering what happened? Where did all of the warmth and the love go? It was a very simple thing, really.

Liam’s and Fluttershy’s world was put on hold when the sweet, young thing had started to develop symptoms of morning sickness. At first, it began with the occasional headache and mild feelings of nausea and light-headedness. Shortly after, the headaches began to worsen, and Fluttershy began vomiting the moment she woke up and occasionally through the day. She had even began to sleep a little bit more than usual, fitting in a nap whenever she could to fill in the time that she’d missed due to her nausea.

It always hurt Liam’s heart to see his Flutter-Butter in such a dreadful state, and it hurt worse at knowing that there wasn’t a single thing that he could do to help her out, to make her well again and for the pain to stop. And so, after some convincing, they both headed down to Ponyville General Hospital, where they were both delivered some rather shocking, unexpected news.

Fluttershy was pregnant.

How does one react when they are told they are going to be a parent? How are you supposed to act? Liam felt numb and cold at the news, unsure of how to feel. Emotions ran high and rampant that day, indeed. Not only did Liam feel numb, but he was slowly being overpowered by an unsteady flow of tears. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was somewhat unresponsive. Like her partner, she, too, didn’t know how to respond. Liam remembered that her lips moved silently and discreetly, hey eyes wide and shimmering, hooves lightly caressing her impregnated stomach, as if soothing the new life that was slowly developing inside of her.

‘’Fluttershy? Is everything alright?’’ Liam asked, once he was calm enough, worried about his wife being silent. ‘’Sweetheart?’’ He slowly reached up a hand to touch against her shoulder, and the contact of his warm hand against her figure alarmed him at how cold she felt against his palm. Her head turned lifelessly towards him, her face a blank slate as he eyed her concernedly. ‘’Is…everything alright?’’

‘’L-Liam,’’ She began quietly, her voice hollow. ‘’We’re going to be p-parents!’’ She said, her sweet voice hushed. A stray, bell-bottomed tear rolled down her cheek. ‘’I can’t believe it! We’re going to be a mummy and daddy!’’ She said, and Liam held her front hooves comfortingly, giving them a tender squeeze as he smiled at her.

‘’And do you know what else, Fluttershy?’’ Liam began, now rubbing his wife’s hooves gingerly with his thumbs. ‘’No matter what our child will be, they’ll have the best mother ever. I just know it.’’ Fluttershy smiled sweetly, touched by his words.

‘’Oh, Liam, you always know just what to say,’’ Fluttershy cooed, leaning in and kissing her hubby passionately on the lips. Every time that they shared a kiss like this, it always lit a bonfire of bliss within Liam’s stomach, tickling at his insides and bringing him a certain type of pleasure he never knew existed. It made him feel like a giddy schoolgirl ogling her crush, and he found it intoxicating.

Fluttershy and Liam’s preparation for the day they finally became parents was a smooth process as they set up a nursery in their home, ready for when the day arrived. When Fluttershy’s water eventually broke, things suddenly changed for the worse rather than for the better. Even still, the pained howls induced by labour emitting from Fluttershy’s clammy lips as she channeled every last ounce of strength into that final push into bringing new life into the world pierced Liam’s ears like a phantom. It had stuck with him every day since.

On that fateful day, Liam had expected himself, his dear wife and their newborn to be dismissed from the hospital as a family, but, that was far from the desired outcome. However, he did leave with their new child, a healthy baby pegasus girl with a coat almost the exact shade of her mother’s, only lighter, and a pair of sleepy, curious teal eyes, but Fluttershy never had the privilege of meeting her. Instead, the poor mare succumbed to complications in her pregnancy.

That was almost four years ago.

It was no easy feat to take care of his only child all by his lonesome, and the absence of his loving wife weighed down heavily upon his aching heart in the cottage they had once called home. It had taken its toll on the poor man, having to accept that his true love was gone. No more would they share long, loving embraces with each other during cold winter nights atop a cozy bedspread, whereupon they would remain all night enjoying each other’s embrace. No more would they enjoy an alluring smooch or another date night to spice up their relationship and keep things in steady balance. All of that was but dust in the wind.

If there was one thing that Liam missed more than anything, it was that sweet, soft and rosy voice of Fluttershy’s. It was one of those things that brought him comfort and warmth when he most needed it, and, in these past four years, he really found himself to be longing to hear it once more. At night, Liam found it wrong to sleep on his wife’s side of the bed. It didn’t seem right. Sometimes, he like to imagine that she was still there, just to convince himself that he could sleep at night, but he would only remember she wasn’t there by the time morning came.

One morning, there was a knock on the front door of the cottage. Liam rarely ever got visitors, with the exception of some of his other friends, such as Rainbow Dash, an old friend of his wife. Rainbow had been a more frequent visitor since her best friend had passed, feeling it as her duty to check in on her widower, a daily occurrence to check on him, to make sure that he was alright and to see if he needed anything. Liam appreciated her friendship, and she was always so very true to The Element of Loyalty.

When he answered the door, Liam was surprised to be greeted by a pony whom was in possession of a latter and a large, tall wooden crate standing by his side. The pony wasn’t the his usual sender and receiver of letters and packages, but rather a slightly older stallion, one with a grey coat and a white mane, your typical ‘mad scientist’ type of vibe character. Actually, he did wear a white lab coat in place of a blue-coloured mail pony uniform, and his eyes were concealed by what looked to be a pair of welding goggles. Naturally, Liam began to feel cautious upon opening his door to him, especially when his eyes landed upon the wooden crate.

‘’Yes? Can I help you?’’ Liam asked, and the pony smiled.

‘’Liam the Human, I presume?’’ He asked, his voice welcoming and chipper, not at all what was expected to the baffled human in front of him. Liam nodded. ‘’First off, my name is Professor Haysworth, and I’m based here in Ponyville by the order of Princess Celestia herself. I was assigned by her to carry out an experimental procedure under a classified name,’’ He said, and it disturbed Liam how his smile never seemed to falter.

‘’What experimental procedure?’’ Liam asked. ‘’And what’s that thing?’’ He pointed towards the large crate.

The crate wasn’t your average packaging crate, being over the average size and clearly containing something of high value and importance. It didn’t possess any other markings except the royal mark of the Princesses situated in Canterlot, a sun and moon adorned with golden wings on either side. Haysworth smiled once again.

‘’Ah, yes, but, before we move onto that, I must start by giving my condolences to your mistress. The world’s a blank slate without the fine mare that she was to bring a little bit of light in,’’ He sounded truly sympathetic.

‘’Thank you, Professor Haysworth. That really means a lot. I miss her so much,’’ All of a sudden, Liam felt like he had been swiftly kicked in the gut, the crippling pain that was loss beginning to flood into his system, but Haysworth halted him before he could actually break down, pressing a hoof lightly into his chest.

‘’Ah, you see, that’s where you’re wrong, Liam!’’ He proclaimed. ‘’You no longer have to miss her! Behold!’’ Haysworth gingerly tapped the side of the crate a couple of times, his front hoof tapping it so gently that it was like a magician hinting for his assistant’s cue to start. The front of the box popped open at his touch, and, once it had dropped to the floor, an unexpected sight trotted out.

There, emerging from the shadows of the crate and entering the light, was the deceased mare, Fluttershy!

At the sight of her, the surprise surging into his heart and rattling his mind made Liam feel like having a seizure. It gave a whole new meaning to ‘feeling like staring at a ghost’, because, right now in this very moment, Liam was sure that he was seeing an apparition of the one that he loved, walking around again, living and breathing, like nothing had happened.

This…mare had the same, glorious and vibrant turquoise eyes as his beloved, the same colour of coat, the same flowing curtain of silky, pink-coloured mane and drooping tail, and even the same, loving, inviting smile. Whoever or whatever this thing was in front of him that was impersonating his wife, it was intricately detailed, sculpted exactly to touch upon all of Fluttershy’s bodily traits, from her bodily traits to her scale and her build.

‘’W-Wha…?’’ Liam breathed in disbelief, stepping back and slumping against the doorframe of the cottage as his breath caught in his throat. All the while, his eyes never once left the figure of his wife. ‘’F-Flutter…Shy?’’

‘’Hello, Liam,’’ She spoke, and it was incredibly eerie how flawlessly she spoke like the real thing. Her tone was pitch-perfect, so silky and fine, exactly how Liam remembered her voice, and, coming from whatever this thing was, it gave her goosebumps. ‘’I’ve missed you.’’

‘’What is this?’’ Liam spoke, motioning with outstretched arms towards the butter-coloured mare, all the while smiling sweetly and innocently at her ‘hubby’. ‘’What have you done?’’ He turned his gaze towards the professor, gobsmacked, and he suddenly believed that he possibly was a true mad scientist. 

‘’I’m glad that you asked, Liam! May I present to you, fresh from my robotics lab, your very own personal duplicate of The Element of Kindness! Exactly alike and indistinguishable to the real Fluttershy in every way, shape and form! This copy acts, feels and reacts in the very same way that the real Fluttershy would! Impressive, right?’’

Liam blinked.

‘’Wait, ‘personal duplicate’?’’ He inquired, raising a brow. ‘’I don’t understand,’’ Liam said, now completely confused as to what this pony was talking about.

‘’What you see before you is the classified experiment that was tasked to me by Princess Celestia, and all that I’m permitted to allow you to know is written on this letter,’’ He handed him the large manilla envelope sealed with red wax bearing an imprint of a horseshoe. ‘’I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical first of this entire project, but the results were nothing short of pleasing! I won’t waste any more of your time, as I’m sure that you’ve got plenty of catching up to do, and, should you require any further assistance, my address is written at the bottom of the letter. But, I have to say, Liam, if I may,’’ Professor Haysworth motioned towards Fluttershy and he held a hoof to her back. ‘’No child should grow up not having any memory of their birth mother, and neither should a man be without his true love. Consider this as a chance to start over again, as if nothing had ever happened. I’m sure that it’s what Fluttershy would have wanted for you both.’’

Liam didn’t shift his gaze once from Haysworth. He was calculating him, sizing him up, searching for sincerity to his word. This was crazy, just crazy! Fluttershy, the real Fluttershy, wasn’t even here anymore! And Princess Celestia contracted this…mad scientist to rebuild her?! To duplicate her?! How is a man even supposed to react to seeing a ‘personal duplicate’ of his deceased partner resurrected in the form of some imposter, especially when it’s got all of her physical attributes and characteristics flawlessly laid out?

Even her muscles, if they even were muscles, appeared exactly as he recalled them, so sleek and flawless. Her hips were so finely contoured to the imprint of his palms, and Liam knew that little fact ever since the first time that he had picked his wife up and held her in a loving embrace while they danced beneath the light of the silvery moon on their fifth date!

Professor Haysworth hardly even gave the opportunity for Liam to respond to his thought-provoking rhetoric, having already turned around and taken his leave, leaving Liam with FlutterBot. And she, he found, was staring at him intently, as if expecting him to say something, her eyes vibrant and so full of ‘life’, or, at least, as alive as they could be in comparison to the real Fluttershy.

‘’Liam glanced down to the manilla envelope that Haysworth had delivered to him, and he found himself glancing at it absentmindedly, turning it in his hand. Oddly enough, the body of the envelope was blank, nothing of particular interest visible. It was only a moment until he redirected his gaze over to his wife, or, at least, what was supposed to be his wife.

‘’Liam? Is something wrong, sweetie?’’ She asked, and her voice gave him goosebumps. She even appeared to be genuinely concerned about him, worried by his silence and his facial expression. ‘’You look a little pale,’’ She said, stepping towards him, reaching a hoof up to delicately touch upon his cheek. The contact made him flinch and shudder, his insides tensing up, but the stiffness soon diminished and he felt himself begin to crumble beneath the pent-up internal agony her presence was causing him.

Her touch, it felt so very life-like, so real and natural! It felt just as delicate and tender as Fluttershy’s touch! But how could that be so when this wasn’t even Fluttershy that was touching him? No matter, Liam yanked himself away, suddenly reminding himself that this was not his wife, that it was only something pretending to be alive. Even still, he couldn’t help but feel intrigued by her very presence while he observed her closely.

‘’Fluttershy?’’ He kneeled down to her level, holding his hand to her shoulder, testing her. She didn’t resist his touch, but rather melted into it, especially when he began to rub his thumb around her coat, the same way he used to do when he was in a teasing, playful mood. Fluttershy always loved it, and it was something that Liam figured out about her when they had been dating for almost a month. It made his heart melt like butter when she’d giggle at his touch. The mare in front of him blinked attentively.

‘’Yes, love? Are you okay?’’ She asked softly, still apparently the loving, caring mare that he had met on his first day in Equestria. That concerned expression never once faltered. Her blink was even convincing enough for Liam to believe that she was alive with how smoothly and naturally they fluttered. Liam didn’t know if he should be afraid of that or if he should accept it and be glad.

‘’Is it really you? Are you really here?’’ He asked, feeling himself tear up as he spoke, his voice cracking slightly.

‘’Oh, of course, I’m here. When we were married, I promised I’d never leave you, and you know that I wouldn’t. I love you,’’ She said, and she tilted her head, leaning in and kissing Liam on the cheek. He tensed up and felt cold at the romantic gesture, unsure of he should feel about it.

Those lips, there was no denying that he missed their affectionate touch and the warmth that they brought him every time that they connected with his, but, in this very circumstance, it made him feel nothing but cold on the inside. They even left a wetness where her lips had made contact with his skin, adding to the unease factor that was slowly increasing in the back of Liam’s mind.

‘’But you did leave me, Fluttershy. You died! You died in the hospital and you left me and our daughter! I never wanted to let you go, but I had no choice!’’ Liam fell to his knees and he loosely gripped the mare’s shoulders, tears pouring down his face as he poured his should out to the mare. ‘’I lost you, Flutter-Butter! We lost you!’’

Liam practically buried his head into his wife’s chest at this point, and he was carrying on crying with no signs of stopping. He pulled her close and clenched his eyes shut while he snuggled up to her while she shushed him, and he, for a brief moment, forgot that he was cuddling up to a foreign object, but the idea that it could be the one he loved pushed past the truth and convinced his brain to breathe the lie.

‘’Shh, I know, I know,’’ Fluttershy cooed softly, lovingly patting Liam’s back and giving it a gentle rub to calm him down. ‘’And I’ve very sorry for that. But you’re just going to have to forgive me for that. I never wanted to leave, but I didn’t have a choice.’’

‘’O-Oh, Fluttershy…’’ Liam said with a sigh, wiping a tear from his eye as he faced her. ‘’Of course I can forgive you. It wasn’t your fault,’’ He said, and he was surprised how easily he could speak to this ‘mare’. He actually believed that he was speaking to the real deal, not some automaton. ‘’Does it…does it hurt?’’ Liam asked cautiously, not wanting to be insensitive. 

‘’Does what hurt?’’ Fluttershy asked.

‘’You know…um, dying? Don’t you remember?’’

For a moment, Fluttershy didn’t respond, but, instead, remained quiet, as if contemplating that day. Liam didn’t interrupt her, and he waited for her to speak. After a long moment of remaining silent and contemplative, she spoke.

‘’N-No,’’ She said slowly and quietly, hushed. ‘’It’s like falling asleep, only really slow and dreamy. You know what’s happening and you’re aware of your surroundings, but it’s all like a dream,’’ She said reflectively. ‘’I was in the stars and I was floating. I could hear you. I don’t remember much, but I remember hearing your voice. I followed it and you kept asking for me to come back, and I shouted for you, but, by then, I….’’ Fluttershy sniffled, not needing to say anything further.

‘’I was there all the time, Fluttershy. I held onto your body until you went cold. I held you close and I cuddled you, but you never woke up. Our daughter was just born and she wanted her mother. She wouldn’t stop crying. She never even got to meet you,’’ Liam said sadly. ‘’Would…Would you like to meet our little girl?’’

‘’That’d be wonderful,’’ Fluttershy said, smiling warmly.

Without saying another word, Liam escorted Fluttershy into their home, into the living room of the cottage. All of the animals were still present, including the mare’s personal pet rabbit, Angel Bunny, but there was a decrease in woodland critter visitations since Fluttershy’s passing. Liam had found himself to be missing the company of the regular fuzzy critters, having grown used to them in his time of knowing Fluttershy and coming to accept them as a daily part of his life when he moved in with her. He, like Fluttershy, shared an appreciation for nature.

Poor Angel, too, took the news pretty hard. Somehow, he took it a little bit more to-heart than Liam did, and he often refused to eat anything over a case of a broken heart. Liam had taken care of him as best as he could, continuing to care for him like his surrogate pony mother would do, always tending to his every need. It brought back a strange but fitting memory of Lennie Small from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, with that oh-so-memorable quote, ‘’I’m gonna get to tend the rabbits.’’

Liam escorted the mare up the stairs leading to the second floor of the cottage, bringing her to a closed door that resided between the half-open door leading to the bed chamber both Liam and Fluttershy once shared and the bathroom. This was their daughter’s room, and Liam chose to stop the butter mare for a second so that he could address her prior to entering the room.

‘’Fluttershy? Do you think you could give us a moment?’’ He asked, lightly touching her shoulder. ‘’I just need to go inside and have a talk with her first. We don’t want to scare her,’’ He said. Fluttershy only smiled and gave him a look of understanding.

‘’I’ll wait here,’’ She said simply. Without another word, Liam gently opened up the door to his daughter’s room and shut the door behind him with a click. 

Fluttershy remained still as she waited for her husband to do what he needed to do, and she hear their muffled chatter coming from the other side of the thick oak door, although, she couldn’t make out exactly what Liam was saying. Her heart throbbed lightly when she heard a very soft and almost squeaky voice reply, an automatic response triggered in her brain, an embedded instinct that brought with it a sense of anticipation. This was the first time that she heard her young daughter’s voice.

After approximately a single minute had passed, Liam’s voice called from the opposite side of the door, giving Fluttershy clearance to enter. She didn’t know what to expect when she pushed open that door. Nothing could have prepared her enough for how she might react when she lays eyes on her daughter for the very first time. As far as she knew, her daughter had no memory of her, apart from maybe a story or two from Liam, having been too young in her infant stage to have any strong recollections of her.

How would their daughter react upon seeing and meeting her birth mother for the very first time in four years? How would she even begin to explain her absence to her young, undeveloped, innocent mind? Drawing in a deep breath to prepare herself, Fluttershy steeled her nerves and she began to slowly push open the door.

The room that used to previously serve no purpose in the mare’s cottage back when she was single, save for being reserved as a guest room, was medium-sized and well-decorated. All of the furnishings still resided within the room, from a mahogany curio filled with trinkets and nick-nicks from around Equestria during Fluttershy’s travels with her friends to sets of aged oak drawers and bookshelves, along with some new additions. There was a colourful rug that was spread out on the floor in the centre of the room, a vibrant yellow in colour, delicately and expertly stitched with Fluttershy’s three butterfly cutie mark in the middle, and, in the far-right corner of the bedroom, there was a bed big enough to accommodate a young child.

After stepping into the bedroom only a few paces, Fluttershy stood stock-still as her eyes came to land upon those belonging to a young filly whom was sat on the floor with a few building blocks in front of her. Sitting beside her was Fluttershy’s husband. Upon her entry, both of them gazed up to view the mare, almost enthralled by her presence.

Almost immediately, Fluttershy’s eyes became moist, her heart pounding heavily away, and she brought up a hoof to her lips to stifle a soft gasp. The young girl in front of her was almost passable as her exact duplicate. The shade of her coat was almost perfectly matching her own, but on the brighter end of the band, making it almost creamy in colour, and her pink mane was very similar to Fluttershy’s own, drooping down in front of her face like a curtain. Curious teal-coloured eyes stared back up at her.

‘’Daddy?’’ The little girl asked, her voice a mirror of her mother’s. ‘’Who’s that?’’ She asked, and Liam responded, still staring at his wife.

‘’That’s your mummy, sweetheart,’’ He said, and Fluttershy gave a sniffle.

‘’O-Oh, my! Y-You’re so beautiful!’’ Fluttershy said, stepping forward and slowly kneeling down in front of her daughter, bringing up one of her hooves to touch upon her delicate, youthful cheek. The filly flinched a little at her touch, cautious of this new stranger that she was only just now meeting, but she didn’t pull away from her. ‘’What’s your name, sweetheart?’’

‘’I’m Shy Fly,’’ The little girl said, and that name made Fluttershy gasp, triggering a distant but very prominent memory within her brain.

‘’You…You named her Shy Fly?’’ Fluttershy asked, touched by the choice of name, turning to face her husband.

‘’When you were pregnant, I remembered that we tried to come up with a name one night,’’ He said fondly, his face becoming reminiscent and dreamy. ‘’You told me that you’ve always wanted a daughter named Shy Fly, and that’s all I could think of when…’’ He suddenly trailed of, and Fluttershy gave a sympathetic frown, her heart sweetened by the gesture.

‘’Oh, Li-Lum,’’ Fluttershy soothed, using his little nickname that she had come up with for him, the name that she was only allowed to breathe. It was alright when Fluttershy called him that. If it was somepony else, it would just make him feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. ‘’You did that for me?’’

‘’Of course I did,’’ Liam replied, reaching over to lightly take a hold of one of Fluttershy’s hooves. ‘’I knew how much that name meant to you, and I knew that it was the right choice to make,’’ He smiled to his daughter, and Shy Fly smiled back weakly.

‘’Mummy?’’ The filly asked.

‘’Yes, sweetie?’’

‘’Where have you been?’’ She asked, and the question put a choker on Fluttershy’s heart, making her feel pained and wounded at the expression her little girl was giving her. It was the type of look an abandoned puppy gives its owner upon finding its way back home, a questioning look full of sadness and betrayal, asking without speaking, ‘’Why did you leave me?’’, and it broke Fluttershy’s fragile heart.

How exactly was she supposed to be able to explain such a thing to a young child that has no firm grasp on the rules of mortality and death? It wasn’t a suitable or appropriate topic to discuss in fine detail with such a young and innocent mind, and it worried the mare for how she was going to fill in the blank without being too graphic for her child’s ears. She didn’t want to frighten her or to give her nightmares.

Biting her lip and glancing towards Liam for a moment for assistance but only finding a blank, clueless expression on how to help, Fluttershy improvised and responded with, ‘’I’ve…been away. But I’m back now, and I’m never going to leave you again,’’ She said, hoping that it would be enough to suffice for the time that she’d be absent for.

Shy Fly pouted, her eyes becoming glossy and large, her pupils shimmering as she stared up towards her mother. ‘’You promise?’’

Fluttershy couldn’t take it anymore. Fluttershy outstretched both of her hooves towards the little girl and she pulled her forward into her embrace before locking her in place, snuggling her head deep into her barrel. She rested her chin atop Shy Fly’s head and she nestled into her mane, holding her daughter for the very first time, protectively cocooning her in her loving embrace.

‘’I promise. I’m so sorry that I left you before, baby girl. I’m not going anywhere. Mummy’s here, now,’’ Fluttershy said, now sniffling and finding it hard to fight against her emotions, and she noticed that Liam’s lips were graced by a heartwarming smile.

‘’I’m glad to have you back, Flutter-Butter,’’ Liam said. He shifted his body forward on the floor, scooting so that he was pressed up beside his wife, and he wrapped his arms around both Fluttershy and Shy Fly, embracing them both. This was the first time that they had all been together to experience a family hug, and it held a warming undertone that Liam had been so nostalgic for ever since he left him family back on Earth. ‘’I love you, Fluttershy,’’ He said. ‘’You, too, Shy Fly.’’

The missing piece in both his own life and in Shy Fly’s life was now reintegrated where it belonged, and, while it was still very surreal to actually be experiencing the love of a missing family member once more, it was going to take all of them a long time to adjust to. Liam was only appreciative for her presence in his life again. It was so quiet and lonely with his dear beloved out of the picture, and it had painted his world blue and grey, so dreary and dead. Trying to explain to the curious Shy Fly’s mind what had happened to her mother when she was still too young to understand was no easy feat to undertake, and it was near to impossible to provide an answer.

Professor Haysworth’s words still resounded within his head, ‘’No child should grow up not having any memory of their birth mother, and neither should a man be without his true love. Consider this as a chance to start over again, as if nothing had ever happened. I’m sure that it’s what Fluttershy would have wanted for you both.’’

Perhaps he was right, too. He had called the mare that he had brought over in the box a ‘personal duplicate’, and, while this mare may posses the stunning appearance and personal traits, memories and private moments that she had spent with Liam when they were dating, it was still not the mare that had died in the hospital that day. She was not the mare that Liam had wed and shared their first dance with as man and wife, nor was she the mare that he exchanged his vows with. The first Fluttershy, the real Fluttershy, was dead and gone. This ‘personal duplicate’ only looked like her and acted like her, but it wasn’t her.

Professor Haysworth had also presented Liam with a letter, enclosed with details about this supposed ‘classified experiment’ authorised by Princess Celestia, and he had also mentioned that he worked in robotics. As a whole, ponies were nowhere near as technologically advanced as humans back on Earth, seeing as nopony around the nation had access to smart phones, laptops or even televisions, but it would seem that their use of unicorn magic provided them with an impression advancement rate. They were already jumping in at the deep end by creating experimental robotic ponies based from real, living organisms, trying to replicate their behaviour as closely as possible.

Liam began to wonder if this new ‘Fluttershy’ could work out. True, he was always going to miss his wife and his best friend, his soulmate and partner, but he knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to raise their only daughter by himself, not without the loving touch of her mother that she so desperately needed. As a father, he just wasn’t able to give that paternal love to his baby girl, not possessing the tender touch only a mother can give, but he had always tried to pull through where he could.

Maybe, just maybe, now that this robotic duplicate of Fluttershy was in his life, perhaps Liam might be granted the chance to pick up where they left off. This time, as a family.


======== The Letter ========


Liam the Human,

Enclosed in this letter are details concerning your Personal Duplicate of The Element of Kindness, the Element of Harmony assigned to the pony named Fluttershy.

As I’m quite sure, you are likely startled and maybe even a little bit apprehensive to bear witness to your deceased spouse, but, I must assure you with all of my honesty that what you see is not your spouse. To be specific on the matter, what you see is a high-tech, synthetic copy of your wife, a mere automaton. She is made out of synthetic flesh, blood and bone all extracted from the real Fluttershy’s ribonucleic acid. I’m more than impressed to say that she acts, reacts, feels, thinks and performs in the exact same manner that the original Fluttershy might!

I must stress that this is not a practice that is well-researched or explored, but rather more explained in theory, so there may be the occasional glitch with her from time to time, but, with a little bit of luck, things will run smoothly! See this as a field test, a practice, if you will, but, I assure you, the event of a malfunction or inaccurate portrayal of the pony that she is a doppelgänger of is highly unlikely, if not, impossible. However, in case a dire consequence arises, I have assigned a recall code in her memory banks. Once spoken clearly to her, she will become innate.

‘’Kindness is Key, Fluttershy, 07023’’, followed by ‘’Command: shut down’’.

First thing is first, I understand that this might be quite a lot to take in so soon after your wife’s passing, and I do not wish to be insensitive, but I insist that you understand that this Personal Duplicate does not actually understand that she is, in true fact, a piece of technology. She does not know that she is a machine impersonating a chosen personality type of one of Equestria’s most famous ponies. As a matter of fact, I programmed this synthetic copy to not know that she is a machine at all. As far as this Fluttershy knows, she is the original Fluttershy.

Down to the very last detail, my Personal Duplicate is exactly like the Fluttershy that you remember and love, and it must be established that, to her, she is very much alive. She remembers her own death and the events that transpired that day in the hospital, but it all seems like a mere dream to her, no different than falling asleep and waking up. She will know that she is married to you, that she has a young daughter, that her name is Fluttershy, that she is a Ponyvillian and an Equestrian Pegasus that used to live in Cloudsdale. She will have all of the memories and feelings of the mare that she thinks she is.

I have done all that was asked of me under the order of Princess Celestia herself, whom gave me the green light to perform such a task. As I’ve stated before, it is not known how this experiment will play out or what events might transpire with her programming and sub-routines. But, you must remember for the time being that Fluttershy thinks that nothing ever happened. To her, it was all nothing but a bad dream. There may be a few episodes in which unsettling memories of that day get triggered by her death, but I’m more than confident that you’ll be able to control the situation if it arises.

It is important that you remember the recall code in the event of an emergency, and you must only use it if it is absolutely necessary. If it does, shut her down and head to my lab’s address written at the bottom of this letter.

It is equally important to know that this is a new opportunity granted to you, not only for yourself, but for your daughter, too. Nothing is more important in this world to a child than their mother and father, and, given the status and reputation that Fluttershy holds in this proud nation, it seemed only fitting for her to be given a second chance at living, now with a new family. Not many ponies are granted a second chance, so I strongly encourage you to not take it for granted.

Treat her with the utmost love and care, Mr Liam, we both know that she deserves it. I hope that this new lease on life will put an end to all of your heartache and that you’ll once again find true happiness. And, if you wouldn’t mind, it’d be nice to send Princess Celestia a letter voicing your thanks. None of this would have been made possible without her invaluable assistance.

Should you have any further queries or concerns that you’d like to raise, please find below my address.

Kind regards,

Ponyville,
Hay Square, 2025,
Professor Haysworth