Green Butterflies
The sun was setting, its rays of light picking through the trees of the Everfree before landing on the cottage that sat on the forest edge. All around the cottage laid small wooden houses meant for all sorts of animals that scurried along into them before the final ray of light went out. All the while, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane watched from just outside her cottage, enjoying the sight. For her, it was the joy before sadness that each night brought.
The last ray of sunlight faded and a light breeze started to blow, rustling the leaves and brush on the forest edge. The pegasus kept her eyes on the trees, watching them intently as if looking for something out of place in the moonlight. Minutes passed but the pegasus didn’t move, always staring at the leaves.
Then everything stopped.
The wind stopped blowing. The leaves and brush that should have been moving remained still. It was like everything stuck in place as time stopped. The pegasus’s eyes began to show sadness as she took her gaze away from the tree leaves and into the forest knowing what was coming next. One by one small orbs of green light appeared in the thick of the forest. They bounced and fluttered through the air as they slowly came closer to the pegasus.
“Fluttershy.”
Voices called out in unison to her from the forest. All of them sounded different yet oddly the same. It could have been from where each voice sounded young, as if belonging to a child that made them sound similar. It made the pegasus’s fur stand when they called her name. They always sent a chill down her back when they came.
“Fluttershy, it’s time,” they said in unison.
They got closer now surrounding Fluttershy and she could make out their forms, butterflies. Always butterflies glowing green, fluttering in the air as if nothing was wrong.
“Do I have to? Does one have to go tonight?” She asked.
“You do,” half of the butterflies responded.
“One does,” the other half-replied in unison.
Fluttershy let out a defeated sigh and lowered her head, a few tears fell to the ground from her watering eyes.
“Let me go get the mask.” she said.
She turned and walked into her home. Like outside everything was frozen in time. Her pet bunny, Angel, was in mid leap, jumping off the couch, now just a statue in the air. The clock that would always click with each second was silent and unmoving. Yet Fluttershy moved through the house as if nothing was wrong.
She made it to her bedroom, where underneath her bed she pulled out a small box. In the box was a white cloth mask meant to go over her muzzle. Slowly she put the mask on. As she did her emerald eyes changed, they remained green but now glowed with the same light that the butterflies did. She then made her way back outside.
“It’s time,” the butterflies said as Fluttershy exited her cottage.
The butterflies began to fly to Fluttershy, surrounding her, and soon forming a sphere around as they flew in a circular motion. Then Fluttershy blinked.
She blinked and everything changed. She was no longer in front of her cottage, nor was she surrounded by the butterflies. Now she was in a hospital room which was an all too familiar sight for her. It was the same scene as before just arranged differently. Four ponies were in the room, one was the doctor recoiling with fear in his eyes and another pony lashed out at him with a face full of anger. The third pony was weeping next to her partner who was lashing out at the doctor. And the final pony was a foal laying on the hospital bed. The whole scene was frozen in time as Fluttershy walked past them to the bed.
She didn’t need to read the chart to see what was wrong with the foal, it never mattered in the end as he would not recover. If the foal could she wouldn’t be here right now. It was always too late for them when she came.
She walked up next to the bed and looked down at the foal and recoiled a little. It never changed, the sorrow she felt while looking down at them. So young and innocent, yet hopeless. Their body made weak or destroyed by the afflictions that plagued them caused, whatever that may be.
Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath before raising her forehoof. In a quick motion she brought her hoof down onto the foals neck, flinching at the sickening sound of her hoof hitting flesh and bones snapping; tears flowed from her eyes the entire time. She did what the others could or would not do, give peace to the suffering foal, but she still couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.
She brought her hoof away from the foals body, as she did he started to disappear, then the rest of the hospital faded as she was brought back to her front yard, the butterflies glowing and fluttering around her.
“Thank you.” they said in unison.
One by one the butterflies started to fly back into the Everfree. One by one the green light they emitted went out as they faded into the darkness of the forest. Fluttershy never counted them but she knew that there was one more butterfly added to their flight that night. It does every night.
As the last butterfly faded into the darkness the world started to move again, the breeze catching her mane made her aware of this. She took a minute to watch the leaves being blown by the wind before heading back into her cottage. She walked up to her room, and pulled the box out from under her bed. The glow from her eyes disappeared as she removed the mask and put it back in the box before crawling into her bed.
She laid there, silent for a moment before bursting out into a full blown weep. The tears flowed freely as she started to pray for at least one night, just one, where she wouldn’t have to perform that necessary kindness.
Author's Note
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