Author's Note

Ah, you've come to chapter fiver of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature fanfic no less on the grounds that three chapters ago heavy subject matters have proven to be unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated; suffice to say, this was by far a strong note for many readers alike so therefore you were all given an option to skip ahead to another chapter: whether or not you had taken this offer, it was only up to you to do so nothing more.

As always, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, this concept of my fanfic belongs to me so I will say this line one time only: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you enjoy this chapter now more than the others and still have the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for future chapters later: after all, one special guest will be making an appearance in this story, someone you may have known and loved; henceforth, I'll leave you with a saying, 'thank you very much.'

Starmatter

Daylight was now being burned in the minds and bodies of every possible lifeform just dwelling upon the soil of the turning world, already rotating on its own axis at a set speed while revolving as well on the same one to say the very least; as a result, half of it was stuck lurking in the dark. Likewise, the big gray sky had already become congested with many clouds to block out the rays of sunlight; despite this, a flock of birds from various sizes and shapes soaring across so serenely for not even gravity could ever pull any of them down to earth itself, free from fear and worry. There within an enormous dream drop distance was but a small civilization being defined in such hefty materials, variances used to build them from the ground up, most of them all being the ones efficiently suitable to harbor even three little pigs with not a care within the whole wide world. Fluttering about were the calm gentle breezes now surfing across every on of the grassy knolls, already touching the brilliant green surrounding it all on a solid lower plane of existence even as the dirt road guided its way from a nearby forest, a curvilinear line worth being held and crossed. Even out amongst the very backgrounds, a valley and ridge of smoky mountains were carving sharply into themselves a significant piece of the landscape alone, many of which were raging inward with growth and erosion in the very process of their trying times as clouds hovered over. Starting with the hustle and bustle about now deep into the flow, the small town was instantly filled to the brim with a rather utter abundance of many people from the various demographics: age, gender, finances, and social standing being nothing short inside the standardized metallurgy.

Veritably, one particular place in the town stood out and about in the process: while it wasn’t the only home in the very least, it was like the many others built near but nonetheless treated with respect. Standing up out from the brilliant green were some numerous monochromatic stones already carved into various shapes, each of them bearing a name and line of text underneath as basic traces. All that was occupying right nearby themselves were but an arrangement of many lovely flowers made up of various colors and species already planted upon the otherwise fertile earth which was habitat. Many of them were already being observed by wayward pedestrians traveling about with only a semblance of awareness regarding their solitary purpose within that obligatory spacing therein overall. Uniting them under one common goal was but a feeling of mere solidarity and reflection on their lives as they had all stared upon the formations that were only already sticking out from the very ground.

Standing out amongst the many denizens traversing to and fro was a lone woman found to be tearfully staring deep into the diminutive monolith in a rather melancholy trance. Her skin was one of the fairest within the land and beyond, her coating reminiscent of the palest ivory with keen milkiness within the pores as they were free of all imperfections. The woman’s eyes had already possessed some moderate arctic blue radiating about with untold amounts of electricity yet grounded to a fault with nothing but tranquility itself. Her locks were but a hot pink curling grandly past the nape of her neckline before stopping at the midsection, adorned with a barrette in the shape of a hectogram dyed in platinum. The lonely woman wore a jet–black ensemble of textiles that shielded her from the cold: a beret, blouse, skirt, gloves, leggings, and boots; also, she’d donned a purple scarf too.

“Oh, Ashby… I’m sorry that you’re not around to climb on my back and ride me around like you did when we were young; when I make it big in Applewood someday soon, I’m gonna dedicate my performance to you, this I swear on my life…!” she’d wept, planting a nosegay upon the flourishing ground upon the stone instantaneously.

The lone woman had stood upright to stare at the scenery which been provided for the likes of her as the true blue eyes started to scan in the details right around her. Of the many places that were within her line of eyesight was an enormous sea of green, its fibers are in various combinations already creating bewildering camouflage. All throughout the very herbage was but only a lush landscape denser than the open field the lone woman was now standing upon, loud and proud of its structures. Deep within every piece of vegetation now dwelling in usually contained many plants capable of providing either nourishment or mortality to any living being present. Given the immense size of such acreage, it had seemed that even the sheer probability of finding any lifeform residing in here was rather nonexistent to a fault therein. Some dense moisture of the dewdrops were being formed on the surface upon many of the green grasses housing the vary flora, overwhelming them all so to speak of. The only thing that was remaining to complete this very scenery alone was at least any stray pedestrian traveling throughout the area for whatever reason thereof.

As she’d attempted to depart from the ocean of stony lonesomes, she was caught off–guard by a wayward voice greeting her at once, “oh, hello…”

Almost immediately, the lone woman was almost quick to come across the sight of another woman approaching the former’s direction in due time. The bystander in black was quick to notice the similarities between themselves: complexions, cold irises, and even the long pink hair struck out as so. Nevertheless, the woman in black had remained aware of the differences: the latter was lemony, bearing teal eyes and an accessory shaped like a butterfly. In addition, the brighter bystander’s counterpart donned clothes of a lighter and colorful scheme: a white blouse, some emerald pants, and blue sneakers.

“Hi, there; I wasn’t expecting another one to come to the pet cemetery, let alone one with pink hair…” the woman in black had greeted the lemony traveler straightaway, unperturbed by the latter’s presence, “you look familiar all of the sudden now that I think about it: are you from around here; as a matter of fact, who are you…?”

“I’m Fluttershy and I’m a local from Ponyville, or rather was a local; also, I happen to be one of Twilight’s friends…” the colorful correspondent chirruped cheerlessly, codependences counting on caring for the kindly commentated.

The brighter bystander began to introduce herself in turn, “ah, I see: I’m Twinkleshine and I’m also one of her friends but I’m from Canterlot; what brings you here, Fluttershy…?”

“I came here to see Angel Bunny again; it’s what I’d been doing for the past seven years: I’ve been traveling to Ponyville to visit his grave at least once a month…” the titular traveler answered timely to the woman in black, noticing the grave nearby the former, “I see that you’ve lost a pet too, have you…?”

“A koala…” Twinkleshine had wept only softly.

The colorful pedestrian edged closer to the woman in black and said whilst embracing slightly, “I’m sorry for your loss; how did it happen…?”

“It all started on the day when Cadance was supposed to be wed to the captain of the royal guard, or so it’d seemed…” Twinkleshine said to Fluttershy, a stream of tears currently growing out onto both of themselves almost immediately, “I was invited to the royal wedding by our friend, Twilight, to serve as one of the Princess’ bridesmaids alongside Lyra and Minuette. Lemon Hearts also tried to invite Moondancer to the event but she was sick with the flu at the time; anyways, we were just about to witness them tie the knot when some sick bastard threw down a bomb at the Princess. Next thing I knew, chaos and disarray descended upon all of us: people were pushing and shoving each other to escape from the explosion’s aftereffects; of the many, us bridesmaids were among the first to escape with our lives. Of course, that didn’t mean smooth sailing for any of us: apparently, in the chaos we’d split off and disappeared into the strife; the first thing I’d thought off was getting my pet koala and myself out of Canterlot as soon as possible. One thing that had scared me was hearing and seeing the homes and businesses within the city collapse or exploded before or when I’d got there: all that I could think about is Ashby not getting caught up in either one by the time I’d gotten back home from the wedding; sadly, this did not come to pass. When I’d returned, I saw my house was quickly sinking into the ground; everything that was inside it became trapped into the earth but nothing could prepare me for what had also been trapped: my pet koala, Ashby…”

“Oh, goodness…!” the lemony traveler had exclaimed, holding up her left hand up to her mouth instantaneously.

The ivory onlooker still shed more tears as she’d cried, “all the windows were jammed shut when I’d scurried back and the entrance was even shut off as well; I was helpless, powerless, and couldn’t bear the reality of letting him die before my eyes…!”

“At least you had only one dead pet in your former home; my home was the only safe place for every animal in my watch…” Fluttershy stuttered, causing the melancholic Twinkleshine to shudder about at what the former had uttered like a hot knife through cold butter, “if anything, this place we’re standing in used to be my home, a cottage no less…”

“You’re serious; what happened?!” the ivory onlooker exclaimed, looking upon the lemony traveler’s lachrymose face.

Fluttershy took in a long drag of air and then exhaled, finding the time to tell the whole story, “it’d all began back when I was just younger so to speak of: like you, my native hometown wasn’t in Ponyville yet much higher up nonetheless; anyways, little did I knew, I wouldn’t stay any longer. Unlike the modern times, I didn’t have many friends outside of Rainbow Dash, or at the very least, friends like her; I was considered a weakling amongst my own peers all because I wasn’t brave enough to avoid the negative attention. All that began to change one fateful day when she began to race against one of our bullies: I’d served as the flag girl whose honor was at stake but not for long as you could easily see; the moment they’d both took off from the starting line everything changed, especially for the likes of me. The combined acceleration blowback was enough for me to lose my footing and my place in the hometown; at the rate I was falling, it was certain to people under normal circumstances that I’d die, even though I didn’t want to and I didn’t: all that waited for me were a flock of butterflies, gentle creatures that were pretty and strong enough to assemble. From that day forward, I’d swore to help all the creatures on this blue and green world, great and small; of course, I wasn’t even alone in this quest to do so; there were many whom had assisted me in acquiring said animals alongside those I’d taken in out of kindness alone. It wasn’t long until I’d gained notice from the local authorities I had to go and apply for a veterinarian’s license at court but even I didn’t get this far: one day, a huge fight had broken out while I was out at the office and a bunch of people were flooding out of the courtroom all of the sudden; apparently, it’d began after one of the instigators gotten convicted of murdering his wife. When some of the guards were getting too slow in restoring order, some people jumped in and tried to end the fight one way or another; sadly, I was one of those people who took matters into my own hands: as soon as I’d seen him brush off one of the bailiffs, I came in with a sucker punch to the face and knocked out some of his teeth in the process.”

“Oh, Celestia, I never heard such a court case get this violent, let alone you, of all people, getting involved…!” Twinkleshine exclaimed instantaneously, growing uncomfortable by the answered received in full force no less, “sounds like to me you must have been a real terror since the dust had settled…”

“I’d felt much worse than that: compared to this monster, I’d felt like a demon took control of me and the worst part was the fact that I’d let it happened; even worse, I’d honestly felt like that I was going to die for what I’d done and these creatures were never going to see me ever again!” the lemony traveler bawled in front of the ivory counterpart.

Twinkleshine patted Fluttershy on the back and whispered, “there, there… you’re safe here with me: nobody is here to harm you; after all, you’re the Bearer of Kindness, nothing more, nothing less…”

“For how long though…?” the lemony traveler responded morosely, shedding tears nearby the ivory onlooker, “at that rate, I could’ve been thrown in prison for it; as a matter of fact, I almost got put to death later on after that fateful day…!”

“Wait, you mean to tell me that you were almost executed for punching out a domestic abuser?!” Twinkleshine asked incredulously.

Regaining some composure, Fluttershy replied, “actually, what had happened with me in the courtroom was just the tipping point prior to the day when one of my classmates in the program was killed in the bombing. The truth of the matter was is that between those days, I’d been placed in there for my safety as well as due to the fact I was still one of the Element Bearers; of course, this didn’t protect me for long. What should have been fourteen weeks of getting control of ourselves was shut down within the eleventh week the night Swain was killed alongside many other soldiers; afterwards, they’ve been frantically looking for someone to blame for the attack, only to find me as public enemy number one…”

“What, how in the world did you end up as the main suspect?!” the ivory onlooker scoffed about at what the lemony traveler had just spoken to the former straightaway, “surely even you know that it wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever: you’re Fluttershy for Celestia’s sake, the Bearer of Kindness and the most peaceful among all the other people…!”

“Yet still one person and one person plus plenty of soldiers still didn’t add up: the night after the explosion, they had the guards show up at my door and search the cottage for some evidence; at first, I’d been led to believe that I had nothing to hide, at least ‘til they’d uncovered a grenade…” Fluttershy explained it already to Twinkleshine.

The ivory onlooker gasped and then said, “a grenade; how the fuck did you end up with a grenade at home?!”

“I don’t know, I’d never seen such a thing in my life, let alone in my own house; not even the animals in my home knew anything about it whatsoever, but they didn’t see it that way…” the lemony traveler spoke softly, slowly losing control of her own respiration before stabilizing, “apparently, they’d found a whole stash of explosives in my bathroom inside the shower curtains. Either way, before I knew it, they took me away from the animals and they couldn’t do anything about it without running the risk of getting into trouble, ironic that I stood I my best behavior for the good of Equestria, let alone the creatures within it; if anything, they’d put me through the ringer over what had happened with their deaths. They’d interrogated me for hours on end about the discoveries made, hounding me about the soldiers whom were supposed to be one of the last line of defense for the Crown and Country only to die before they could even do so, all because of me; every question I’d been asked, it was always the same answers I gave, nothing more, nothing less. Either way, they didn’t like it: I’d been locked up for at least over three days because it, gone without sleep or food worrying about all the creatures at my cottage wondering where I’ve been and when I’d return home while they’d kept on pushing and pulling me to the brink and at the seams; one time, I’d been subjected to a random cavity search while in custody.”

“Oh, dear, I’m sorry to hear that; was it that painful…?” Twinkleshine reluctantly asked Fluttershy.

Shedding a tear, the lemony traveler answered, “not as painful as finding out I’d been at least a few weeks pregnant, or at least until the fetus within myself was aborted: it seems despite all the contraceptives in the world, I’d been carrying a child the whole time; barring that, not even being the Bearer of Kindness protected me from them. After that, they’d decided to explain the charges to me I’d been accused of: high treason against Equestria, mass murder of the soldiers, possession of deadly weapons, fraternization with the enemy, lewd and lascivious conduct with animals, obstruction of justice, and fleeing the scene of the crime; of course, I’d objected to those charges altogether upon hearing them. Anyways, they’d offered to drop every single one of them if I’d given up the names of my supposed co–conspirators: the reason for doing so, twisted and morbid as it were, is they’d believed that I’d not acted alone in the attack; even more bizarrely, they’d suggested giving up one of my former classmates as the one true culprit behind their deaths.”

“Your classmates; what would they have against your classmates all of the sudden…?” the ivory onlooker interjected, her blue eyes now boiling about as the iciness within began brimming with static, “none of this made any sense whatsoever…!”

“And you’re right about it, Twinkleshine: it’d never made any sense at all but, like before, they didn’t want to see it that way; as such, they’d said either one of the males in my class had to go to the gallows but I’d refused to lie no matter what, even when I’d been threatened with death…” Fluttershy heaved, the air around both women becoming heavy and noxious within her breath.

It wasn’t long until Twinkleshine watched her colorful correspondent scurry off away from the former whom watched the latter let loose an assortment of lukewarm hues upon the other side of the dirt trail away from the graveyard, a chunky salsa of nausea splattering into a wayward cluster; as if that weren’t enough, some of it clung to the pants despite the small radius of it all.

After Fluttershy hacked up some more, her ivory onlooker found the time and patience to follow after the former quickly while asking, “are you okay…?”

“It’s fine, I’m sorry that you had to see that, Twinkleshine…!” the lemony traveler coughed out before finally regaining both control and composure in little time; afterwards, she continued to speak, “anyways, they’d decided to sentence me to death despite my protests and soon enough I was in tears; I’d tried to send letters to my friends and family begging to save me. It’s just that I was left fighting a war over myself and for myself alone: part of me was saying to hold on to hope no matter what, just like what the magic of friendship is for, another was saying that I should just give up and accept my fate, and I had some dark side saying I should fight my way out of this dark place.”

“What did you do…?” Twinkleshine asked.

Fluttershy wasted no time in replying back, “neither: as soon as I someone whom I’d thought would be sympathetic to my plight, I’d gave into the impulse of sleeping with him in order to delay the execution; thankfully, Big Mac was there…”

“I’ve heard of that name before: who was he; was he handsome or something…?” the ivory onlooker had asked the lemony traveler right away, “what was he doing here in a place like this…?”

“He’s a farmer from Sweet Apple Acres but it seems that he was also drafted into the fight as a reserve: apparently, he’d been in training for years on end since he’d came of age so to speak; by his grandmother’s calculations, he would’ve been at least thirty–four now if it weren’t for me…” Fluttershy sighed as she’d shed another teardrop.

Twinkleshine noticed this and inquired, “what exactly do you mean by that; how does this make any sense?”

“Simple: I slept with him…!” the lemony traveler wailed, covering her face with both hands as she covered her face in front of the ivory onlooker, “I was so scared of dying in there, I’d figured that by sleeping with him, I’d be able to get a stay until this whole mess blew over: of course, this meant keeping that relationship a secret, no matter what and not just from the others. It was obviously a matter of time before anyone would come to know the truth, especially with his family to be concerned: barring Applejack and Apple Bloom, even Granny Smith happened to be far smarter than she lets on; although they may have seemed to be the nicest folks in town, a woman such as myself especially knows better not to get on their bad side. Speaking of which, there was also another person whom I’m afraid to anger: in the midsts of our time in the program, I’d grown feelings for him as well as the other way around; if anything, being crushed would be the last thing Zuul would’ve felt had he known about the whole story from the beginning to end. He’s stuck in a cell with steel bars and stone walls altogether, coming to terms with the crimes he’d committed for, as he’d admitted, my sake alone; I suppose it’s fitting that we should never meet each other again now that the war is over, especially with what I’d done to him before then, merciful compared to what was almost done and could’ve been done to me.”

“And why is that: because of the men you’ve slept with, the career you’ve wanted, the fact that you’re here because of what you’d done to that wife–beating excuse of a citizen, no less?!” Twinkleshine spat out, instantaneously snapping Fluttershy back to reality in a matter of seconds no less with all the gravity stabilized.

The lemony traveler dropped her hands away from her face, finding the strength to stare into the electrifying eyes of the ivory onlooker and say, “huh…?”

“Look, I’ve may not have known much about anyone whom lived in anyplace as much as I’d thought to know about Twilight, but you seem to be the gal whom deserved better than this…” Twinkleshine said, edging forward to Fluttershy this time around with a little more tenderness, “you’re the Bearer of Kindness, not someone’s punching bag, for Celestia’s sake…! You’re more than just a real hero to the nation, let alone a national treasure; you’re a person with your own hopes and dreams, just like Twilight and I: even if you hadn’t been picked to bear that Element, your compassion to the least of these, let alone to that of a larger creature, is a sign of real bravery, not some stranger thrown some weight around like yesterday’s garbage! The fact that you’ve survived even after all that shit that these bastards put you through is miraculous on its own; even a man going through shit similar to your strife is more than worthy of my respect as much as the next guy and gal like and unlike you, fuck the others: after all, it’s no wonder why the both of you were destined to be friends. I bet that without this war of ours, we would’ve been able to go on and do great things in Equestria and even beyond; Tart, even my career as a world famous motion picture superstar would mean nothing without you shining a light in the darkness plaguing the planet alongside with your friends: Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and even our friend Twilight. Besides, she’d talked highly of you when we were in the hospital in Canterlot: even as she was lying in the bed with those bandages on her body, all that she could think about is you left behind in Ponyville; Twilight was trying to release you from prison yet all that we’d heard was how you’d went missing at Terminal.”

“Yeah, I’d heard the whole story from her; I wish I had the strength to tell her everything the first time around…” the lemony traveler said sadly.

The ivory onlooker soon cooled down a bit and replied, “look, I’m really sorry that all of this happened to you: after all, that shit they’d done to you could’ve befallen upon anyone else; besides, I had some friends of mine whom were raped when Canterlot was attacked and whatnot…”

“You did…?” Fluttershy gasped, “I hope they’re alright…”

“Of course, for the most part; let’s go head back into town now: I’ll treat you to some lunch…” Twinkleshine replied intrepidly.

The lemony traveler broke away from the ivory onlooker again, this time more gently as the former said, “that’s okay… I already had a small meal…”

“Nonsense: after what I’d seen, you need something you can hold down; besides, consider this a favor of mine…!” Twinkleshine exclaimed, grabbing Fluttershy by the hand gently without a care in the whole wide world whatsoever, “it’s the least I can do for a hero like you: any friend of Twilight Sparkle and her classmates’ also a friend of us, nothing more; now, let’s go…”

“Okay…” the lemony traveler whispered about as she was being led away from the graves they’d both stood upon, still comforted by the gentle breezes brushing up against their textiles and tresses even when they were currently walking on the dirt trail underneath.