I remember when I was a little filly. I used to frolic in the meadows while my brother would climb up the trees and play with the birds. We had lots of fun in our foalhoods. Everyday we would go outside and it would give us many opportunities to find new ways to play and have fun. We were both introverted as foals, so we didn't make too many friends, but we always had each other. Did we ever have fights? Of course, what brother and sister relationship doesn't have any fights? It would always result in me throwing dirt or mud at him, or him throwing acorns and pine cones at me from the trees. My parents would always be upset when we fought, but we always made up afterwards. Maybe it was because our parents forced us to apologize because they would ground us, or maybe it was because they meant a lot to us.

My mother, Meadow Scent, was a florist, and she would occasionally take me and Fauna to the flower shop. She always told me, "Every flower in this shop has been grown and nurtured with delicate and gentle care, and this is the result: they matured into beautiful, majestic blossoms. Just like the two foals me and your dad raised." She always called us her "little blossoms", which always embarrassed my brother. He always saw himself as a monkey or a frog but not a blossom. Mom would stay home most days because there was a time where she wasn't doing so well financially and didn't want to hire a foalsitter, but she would always say it was because she wanted to be closer to her children which, I guess, wasn't a complete lie.

"Mama, why don't we ever get to see daddy?"

"You know how it is with daddy. He's a royal guard. That means he has to protect Equestria as well as the two princesses. It's a very important job. He cares a lot about this country and will do whatever it takes to fight for it."

"I hope he comes home soon. I miss him very, very much."

"I do too, Flora. I do too."

As a member of the royal guard, my father, Mercury Rider, was away from family a lot. It wasn't because he hated us or anything like that, but because of what my mother told me. He tried his best to make his visits every now and again, but even so, we wished he would spend more time with us. Whenever he was dismissed from duty--which didn't happen very often--he would always come home in his guard uniform and have me wear his helmet and give Fauna his spear which mom got upset about; she wasn't very fond of having her "little blossoms" wielding sharp objects. Dad would always do that, and we would all salute and declare, "As position of the royal guard, I shall do my best to protect our kingdom!" But the best part about when he came home is when he would take us outside to see his collection from when he worked his post in Canterlot. His collection consisted of a horde of colorful, lovely butterflies. He kept them all in a cage for us to enjoy, and he would ask us which one we would like to keep. After we made our decisions, he opened the cage to free the remaining butterflies, unfolding a beautiful scenery in front of all of us. After releasing the butterflies, he would hold us in his arms and tell us,

"Every butterfly you see in the sky is a decision that could affect your whole future. Like the butterflies, these decisions will show beauty, but it may also lead to consequences. And as you watch those butterflies fly away, there's no way of getting them back just like every decision that comes your way; once it's made, there's no going back. But I know you two will make the right choices just like you chose your butterflies."

Those words rang in the back of my head and would take a lot for me to forget his speech. As much as I would like to say that I made the right choice, I'm not sure what would become of today if you and mom hadn't sacrificed yourselves to protect me and Fauna. Would your presence made this place better for all of us, or would it lead to another war? I wonder this everyday when I stare into the sunset, watching the butterflies pass by the horizon. If I could've just found a different butterfly, what would've happened?

Author's Note

I'm going back into writing stories again. Don't worry, I'll make sure to add cover art this time. Until then, tell me what you think, what you like, and what needs improvement.