Blank Canvas

Fluttershy had only recently taken up art as a new hobby to help her de-stress from the daily tolls of life.

On such a day as today, she found herself in her cottage, staring at a blank canvas. She had her pencil, she had her paint, she had her brush, she had her canvas, and all that was needed now, was inspiration.

Fluttershy did not find inspiration, inspiration had found her

Fluttershy steadied her hand,

Her canvas on the stand, standing blank and bland

Begging for color

Begging for ideas, thoughts, love, and inspiration so grand

But for now it stood blank and bland

Fluttershy grabbed her pencil and paused for only a moment

She brought her steady hand, ready to add life, to the canvas

No struggle

No strife

She poured her thoughts and ideas onto the canvas

She worked purposefully and diligently, losing herself in the tantalizing thoughts of her own artistic vision

But as she lost herself in her work and effort, she failed to notice that the canvas was

Blank

Her heart sank

Fluttershy was rightfully confused and visibly upset, but she would not be deterred

Without hesitation, the beautifully young and vibrant woman reached for her paint and her brush

A new instrument for her creative rush

She dipped the brush into her paint, her palette, aligned with every color

And so she began her work

Calmly did she bring her paint to the canvas, measuring each stroke with care and precision

The colors blended

The lines intersected

All together in a symphony of beauty

Fluttershy’s mind raced at all the splendor she would create

But in her passionate endeavor and consuming work

She failed to notice that her canvas was

Blank

Her heart sank

Fluttershy clenched her fists in aggravation

In her mind she thought

“What could ever be worse than a canvas so blank?”

So voluntarily blank

Lacking any meaning, any purpose, any love

Fluttershy plunged her hands into the buckets of paint

Scooping the essence of her work and flinging it with fervor unmatched

Splashes of color and passion

Amalgamating together in a flurry of determination

Her mind raced with frustration as she grabbed her buckets of paint and dumped them upon the canvas

But in her rage and seething anger, she had failed to notice that her canvas was

Blank

Her heart sank

She sank as well

To her knees did she sink

Tears streaming down her soft cheeks

All she wanted to do was to give this canvas love and purpose

She washed the paint from her hands and wiped her disappointment away

Fluttershy picked up a needle and pricked her fingers

One by one

Until tiny droplets of blood formed upon her fingertips

Surely this would add color

It must

It will

Fluttershy flicked tiny specks of crimson passion

Spattering the void with every ounce of strength she could muster

Dragging her pads along

Humming out a sweet song of masochistic passion

Forging in her mind divine creation from imagination

But as she lost herself in the pain and discomfort she failed to notice that her canvas was still

Blank

Her heart sank

Fluttershy sat there, sobbing and bleeding

She sat there

Drained and devoid of any reason to continue her fruitless struggle

Fluttershy had grown desperate and believed she had little choice in the matter

She believed that the only way to succeed was an even bigger splatter

She stood and walked to her kitchen

From her drawer, she hoisted a knife high in the air

So sharp and so cutting in its nature

But not quite as sharp and cutting as the pain she had felt

And the damaged that had been dealt

She stood before her canvas once again and refused to give up

She ran the blade across her skin

Along her wrists

Along her chest

Along her face

The pain was excruciating

The pain was liberating

The pain was satiating her desire to give this blank canvas all she could offer

Her blood poured

Her essence sprayed

Filling the room with coppery ire

Surely she would win this time

The world would finally see her art and know that she had made it

For everything she could ever think to give would be on the canvas

But in her agony and in her suffering she had entirely failed to notice that her canvas was

Blank

Her heart, weakened and fading with each beat, sank

Knowing nothing else to do, Fluttershy lamented

All she had desired was to bring beauty to this canvas

To show it love

To show it color

To give it a meaning

All of her dreams, all of her aspirations, were now but empty and hollow in the dark chasm of her mind

Her body was now sapped, with nothing left to give

She had all but lost her will to live

Was it so wrong to wish and hope for something more, to want to create something bigger

As the last flicker of light faded from her vigor

All of her thoughts were fleeting

As she finally pulled the trigger

Fragments of her skull

Chunks of her brain

Pints of her blood

Battered the canvas

Mercilessly did she collide with her canvas

Fluttershy fell to the floor

She was finally finished

Her artwork, her masterpiece was finally complete

Fluttershy had been forever immortalized in one simple work of art.

Applejack had noticed Fluttershy’s sudden absence as of late and grew concerned as to the whereabouts of her friend. The farmer thought it best to give her some space as she did not know what Fluttershy may be going through; it wasn’t necessarily uncommon for her to hole up in her cottage for extended periods of time when she was upset.

Applejack eventually decided to check on her timid friend and approached her quaint cottage that lay on the edge of the Everfree forest. The door was locked so she kicked it open

The scene before her made her pause

Her face turned the color of gauze

The crumpled mess of a woman once alive

So thriving and striving, torn asunder by her own doing

Applejack saw all of this and her broken heart sank

Only then did she look up to see a canvas that was

Blank.