Fall's Last Requiem
By: Zero_Starlight
I sat down heavily on the back porch of the cottage, surveying the pile of leaves I had raked together. I sighed, stretching my arms and rolling my left shoulder, trying to get rid of an annoying knot that had formed from the many times repeated process of pulling the leaves into the massive pile.
Winter was fast approaching, and the leaves on the trees behind Fluttershy's cottage were changing colours, vibrant greens traded in for vibrant gold and beautiful bronze. I took a deep breath, the brisk breeze flowing down from the peaks of the mountains cool against my face and chilling my lungs. A flock of geese flew by in their V formation, quacking and making a general racket as they made their way south. I smiled as I spotted a yellow speck flying slightly behind the pack, making sure any stragglers stayed with the rest.
After a few minutes of this, the spot stopped, and began to fly back towards home. As she came closer, I could make out her distinctive pink mane, and smiled, waving slightly. The pile of leaves rustled slightly as Fluttershy landed by me, smiling shyly before speaking in a soft voice. Most would have strained to hear her voice, but to me the sound of her voice was the same as if she had been speaking straight into my ears.
"H... Hi Troy..." She stuttered, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. I nodded silently and opened the back door, giving a slight bow and gesturing for her to come in. Fluttershy seemed about to say something but held back, and simply trotted in. I followed, closing the door behind. I picked up the small chalkboard that I had left on the counter, my hands deftly writing my message to her.
Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Hot Chocolate?
She nodded her head and spoke quietly, "Hot Chocolate, if that isn't too much trouble..." I smiled and gave her a thumbs up, before wiping off the board and writing a new message.
No problem at all. Marshmallows?
She giggled at this, and nodded. I wiped off the board yet again and placed it on the counter, opening the cupboard and retrieving two mugs and a package of hot chocolate mixture. I placed the mugs and packet on the counter, turned on the element on the stove, and grabbed the worn kettle, filling it with milk before placing it on the now hot stovetop. While the milk warmed, I went over to the pantry and retrieved a bag of small pink marshmallows (Courtesy of Pinkie Pie, of course) and placed it with the mugs.
After a few minutes the kettle whistled and I poured the warm milk into the two mugs, added the powder, and after stirring, dropped a few marshmallows into both. Fluttershy smiled and thanked me as I placed the steaming mug before her.
Sitting comfortably on the couch, engrossed in my book, I missed the soft patter of hooves as Fluttershy snuck up behind me, and when she wrapped her hooves around my neck I had to restrain myself from jumping. She rarely was this forward when showing emotions, and I fought the urge to yelp in surprise, afraid I might scare her off. I laughed internally at the irony of the fact that I had to treat Shy the same way one might treat a deer. No sudden movements or sounds.
I slowly lowered the book to the coffee table, and leaned back, my face tickled by her pink mane. I let out a small noise of comfort, and she nuzzled closer to me, a light kiss brushing my lips. I picked up my chalkboard and scribbled down a question.
And to what do I owe this?
She giggled, and spoke into my ear, "Nothing, I was just trying something... do you mind?"
I rolled my eyes, not bothering to even write down the answer.
She released her grip on my neck and went around, climbing onto my lap, lying face to face with me. I smiled, leaning in and pecking her on the nose. She giggled again, and returned the kiss.
Abruptly, I remembered something, and held a hand to her face, my other hand writing a quick message on my chalk board.
Hey, I just remembered something! Want to go on a little trip?
She cocked her head to the side at this, and gave me a look of confusion. I spotted, however, the spark of curiosity that had been lit in her eyes. She nodded and got up.
After collecting a few items and locking the cottage up, we made our along a dirt road through the Everfree forest, occasionally stopping to let Fluttershy check in with the animals who made their homes on the sides of the path. I watched with a smile warming my face as she carefully gave a family of possums a small bunch of berries, helped her as she gave one of the fox cubs their regular monthly checkup, hummed along to a tune she sang with a small flock of birds that had remained here instead going south, and chuckled when two dozen or so squirrels excitedly jumped onto Fluttershy when she brought them some acorns, knocking her over with they're combined weight and momentum.
We finally stopped in a secluded area, a small pond with bulrushes lining one side in it's center, a bank of green grass sloping gently down into the water. Here I unfurled the blanket we had packed, and we relaxed on the soft quilt, a thicker blanket covering us to keep us warm. My arms wrapped around Fluttershy and she was nestled comfortable up against my chest.
Pulling out my chalkboard, I wrote a quick message,
Alright, it should start any time now…
Then pointed over to the bulrushes. Fluttershy gave me a questioning look, but turned her head towards them all the same. Just as she did so, the wind picked up, a cool evening breeze attempting to worm it's way through the blanket. As the breeze blew, the bulrushes began to make a haunting hum, that soon began to resonate, and two swans glided out from the thicket.
The swans were pure white, the same as Princess Celestia's own coat, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Fluttershy was staring, mouth agape at the beautiful birds.
The birds sat for a moment, noting they're guests, who they hoped had no plans to disturb their performance and, finding no evidence of such a problem, began to sing.
The swans call was a low, haunting noise, smooth and pure. It wove a complex and intricate dance of sound that merged with the sound of the bulrushes, creating a melody that seemed to at once sadden the heart and uplift the soul. The song seemed to speak to Fluttershy and myself, not a goodbye, but simply a farewell for now.
The song continued for a few minutes, and as the moon reached it's apex, the lunar rays shining onto the pond, turning it a brilliant silver, the swans quieted and drifted back into the reeds. I looked over to Fluttershy, intent on seeing how she had reacted to the beautiful melody, but instead found her snuggled into my chest, fast asleep.
I smiled, planting a soft kiss on her head and pulled the covers over us, letting the sounds of nature and the memory of Fall's last requiem lull me to sleep.
I honestly think this is one of my best Fanfictions yet. Also, the Troy in this story is a mute, if you hadn't already guessed that. He's basically the same as the Troy in Twilight, Starlight, the only difference being his… muteness… XP