In her tree house Twilight Sparkle sits at her desk bending over a simple blank scroll. Beneath the scroll there lay a few books, romance novels, which have one thing in common. They are all written by the same author, Butterscotch.
His works aren't very popular and Twilight Sparkle discovers him randomly, when she has looked through the new releases this month. One of them is a novel from Butterscotch. The title is "Earthbound",and the novel deals with a pegasus stallion, who turns his back on his former life in Cloudsdale and starts a new life at the ground. There he discovers the wonders of the earth: Animals, trees, soil and finally... love. He falls in love with the female unicorn librarian in a Town near her new-build house. But he is very shy, so that it is difficult for him to approach her. Still he managed to take all of his courage to finally ask her out for a date. The librarian gladly accepts the offer and at the end they are living together happily.
Although it sounds like a rather ordinary story, for Twilight it means quiet a lot, because she can identify herself easily with the librarian mare. In fact Twilight feels almost like she is the mare in this novel.
And now she wants to express her admiration in a simple letter to Butterscotch. Still there is more than just admiration; it is affection to this stallion. It has taken her a while and many novels written by him to realize this, but today she knows, that it was affection. Strong affection. In her letter she doesn't only want to express herself, but also wants to offer a meeting with him. She is the personal protege of the princess and she rescued the world twice, so he can’t say no. That is her plan at least, but it seems to fail already at the step “writing the letter to him”.
Twilight groans loud, while her face hits the desk in deep frustration.
“Why is it so hard to write a letter to him? It is not like I confess my undying love to him!” Twilight blushes hard, when she realizes, what she is just saying.
With a long sigh Twilight stands up and goes down to make herself a tea for calming her now strained nerves.
She is right about to boil the water, when she suddenly hears someone knocking at the door.
“Fluttershy”, Twilight thinks immediately, when she hears how shy and quiet those knockings were.
“I am coming!”, Twilight shouts from her kitchen, before she makes her way to her front door and opens it. In front of her stands a shy yellow-coated Pegasus with a long pink mane, which she uses to cover shyly one of her big turquoise eyes.
“Hey Fluttershy!”, says Twilight and shortly hugs Fluttershy afterward. Fluttershy returns the hug, but strangely she blushes and backs away almost immediately.
“I can't remember that Fluttershy was this shy. Does it have something to do with me?”, Twilight’s thinks, before she again focuses on her friend, who now finally returns her greeting.
“Hello, Twilight. I have a uhm... a problem. Can I please come in? I mean if you have time and don't mind....” At the end Fluttershy’s voice drops to a barely audible whisper and she begins to shivers a bit. Twilight can't tell if she is shivering, because it is cold or for an other reason.
“Sure you can come in.” Twilight goes a step aside, so that Fluttershy can easily walks in.
Fluttershy almost haste past Twilight. Twilight shrugs not knowing what to think about Fluttershy’s behavior and gently closes her door.
“So what is the matter, Fluttershy?”, asks Twilight and turns to the yellow pegasus.
“I... well... I can't sleep. I mean, yes I can sleep, but … I got nightmares.”, the shy pegasus says and looks down at the ground avoiding any eye-contact with the lavender unicorn.
“Hm nightmares... I guess I have a cure for that. Just go upstairs.”
“Uhm....”, Fluttershy blushes furiously. “If... you say so.” Hastily Fluttershy goes upstairs into the bedroom of Twilight.
Twilight just shakes her head at Fluttershy’s unusual behavior and searches for a book against nightmares. When she was a little filly the lavender unicorn often got nightmares, so that she looked a cure for them up. Back then she found a simple spell, which could be used to stop remembering dreams. The only disadvantage of the spell is, that it needs to get constantly feed with energy. The amount is not very big, but creating an enchantment, even if it is for such a simple spell and such a small amount of energy, would likely take about one or two days.
After she looks the spell up, Twilight goes upstairs to meet with her pink-maned friend. When she opens the door, she doesn't expect Fluttershy being at her desk looking through her letters.
“Fluttershy....?”, asks Twilight slightly confused. Fluttershy jumps about three feet in the air and gives a surprised “eeek”.
“Well... I was uhm...I am sorry!” Fluttershy quickly throws the letter, she holds in her hooves 5 seconds ago, on the desk and tries to run past Twilight. Twilight, still confused, is yet quick enough to block Fluttershy’s path.
“Fluttershy, what are you doing? Why are you doing this?”, asks Twilight with a dangerously calm tone.
“I... I... just...I...” Fluttershy breaks down in front of Twilight and begins to cry furiously.
“I didn't want to look into the letter, but... but I...”
Twilight’s mimic softens a bit as she sees her friend having a breakdown in front of her and she pulls the pegasus in a comforting hug.
“Fluttershy, it wasn't really okay, that you look at my personal stuff, but it is okay.” Twilight chuckles a bit. “That wasn't a secret anyway. It is just that I adore Butterscotch’s work a lot, that I want to meet with him and...” Twilight blushes a bit.
“I am sorry... I am so sorry....”, Fluttershy is still crying, but the stream of tears isn't as intense as it was just a minute ago.
“Apologies accepted.”, says Twilight and gives Fluttershy a happy smile.
“I.... thanks. It just.... that... I know....”
Twilight’s ears twitches a bit out of curiosity.
“You know?”
“Butterscotch.”
That takes Twilight by surprise and she opens her eyes widely.
“You know him? Like you know him personal?”
“Well... yes...but...”
“Oh dear Celestia! How is he doing? How did you get to know him? Are you related? What do you think about his latest work...” Twilight almost assaults her yellow-coated friend with many questions about her favorite author, while Fluttershy is getting smaller and smaller.
After a few minutes Twilight finally winds down, but Fluttershy is now nothing more than a small pile of fur in Twilight’s hug.
“Oh... I am sorry Fluttershy, it is just, that I am really fascinated by his work. I almost feel like I was this librarian mare in his book. And it isn't only because I am a librarian mare, but also because of how Butterscotch describes her.”
Fluttershy calms down a bit, when Twilight is giving her an excusing smile.
“Well, it is okay Twilight. You were just a teenie tiny bit to loud and to fast.”
An awkward silence forms between the two friends, before Twilight tries to continue a conversation again after a few minutes.
“So... what did you want to say, before I cut your words?”
“Well... I just wanted to say, that... well that... Butterscotch...”
Twilight practically hangs on the lips of her friends consuming every drop of information she can find.
“I am... Butterscotch.”
“You are... but he is a stallion!”, Twilight almost shouts at her friend in a tone of denial.
“Well... it is just, that I don't like being in the center, especially after the model experience, so that I published every work under my artist name Butterscotch. I choose that name on purpose so nobody would expect me...”
“Wow... I certainly didn't expect that. But I trust you Fluttershy. You are my friend and one of the most trusting ponies I have ever met.” Twilight tries to smile, but she can't hide her disappointment, that Butterscotch was a mare.
“Thank.... thank you, Twilight. I guess it is not easy to believe, but I feel happy, that you trust me... there is just one more thing...”
Twilight ears twitches, when Fluttershy brings up another thing. What is left unsaid?
“I am sorry Twilight, that I did go through your letters, well there are addressed at me, but it is still not okay... but when I looked through them, I think... I think.... you...”, Fluttershy just abortin mid sentence and blushed furiously, her coat color rivaling Big Mac now.
“Fluttershy?”, asks Twilight a little bit confused about Fluttershy’s shy reaction. Sometimes Fluttershy was really shy, but if you get to know her better, she wouldn't be so shy.
“You... well I... I can't. I am sorry Twilight, but I just can't say it.”
Twilight is more confused than ever.
“Well...uhm... you could try to write if you can't say it. That helped me, too. When I can't say it, I just write it.” Twilight smiles supportive at Fluttershy and goes to her desk to grab a notepad and a quill for Fluttershy.
"I will go out and give you some time. When you are ready just come down. Oh and if you are not comfortable with it... you don't need to tell me about it."
"But i must!" Fluttershy shouts and then backs right off.
"I am sorry... i didn't mean to shout at you... it is just...", she bashful looks down and does circles with her hoof at the ground.
"It is okay, Fluttershy.", says Twilight calmly and goes out of her room, but not without turning back at the door sill and smiles at Fluttershy.
"No matter, what depresses you, we will solve it together as friends."
Fluttershy begins to smile back with a little bit more serenity than at the start. Then the Twilight shuts the door and walks down to look through her books.
Twilight grabs a random book about stargazing, but she can't concentrate on the book. That Fluttershy is so "weird", Twilight can't find a better word to describe the behavior of her friend, very suspicious. What is wrong with her?
And then there is this thing with Butterscotch, the author, who wrote pieces of her heart into a single novel being Fluttershy, one of her dearest friend, although she haven't much contact with her. Twilight sighs. There is no use worrying about the future as it will present itself soon enough anyway. Just when she takes a serious look at her book, the door to her sleeproom opens and a timid pegasus with a piece of paper walks out of it.
"Twilight..." The pegasus slowly goes downstairs, trembling more with every step she takes toward the lavender unicorn.
"Fluttershy... is everything okay?"
"Maybe. I don't know... Well i hope."
Fluttershys voice was cracking. Her face was a mask of fear and she almost let the slip of paper fall, when she finally stoods in front of Twilight.
"Fluttershy... you don't need to tell me. Realy if it gives you so much trouble... I hate to see you in much pain." Twilights voice was soft and caring about her Friend.
"I...must..." Fluttershy gently puts the paper in Twilights hooves and goes a fearful a step back. This small piece of paper will change her future. She knows it, but there is nothing, she can do to prevent the following things. Twilight looks at the slip of paper with a curios look. What mystery does this paper contain? Slowly she unfold the paper and her eyes grows wide with confusion. The paper falls. Slowly it falls to the ground. Fluttershy can't look at the slip of paper. I love you.
In big black letters there is "I love you" scribbled on the paper.
"Fluttershy...I...", Twilights voice dies in her throat. She doesn't know what to say to her friend – more than a friend? Does she love her back? Doesn't she love her back? Twilight thoughts rushes through her brain trying to find a solution for this problem.
"I... don't know.",says Twilight finally in defeat.
"You... don't..." Fluttershy's hope is shattered by this words. The small glimmer of hope she has gotten through the letters Twilight has written to Butterscotch is shattered by this simple word. Don't. Fluttershy gives a high pitched cry and dashes out of the library.
"Fluttershy! FLUTTERSHY!", Twilight shoutes after her, but Fluttershy ignores her. After her small water drops falls to the ground. Her tears.
"Fluttershy..." Twilight streches out her hoof after Fluttershy in hope that this simple gesture would stop her running. It was to late. Fluttershy ran away.
Why...? Why? Why? Why? Why? Twilight breakes down. Why is this happening? What is happening? Twilights world spins, faster than her brain can catch the motion. She rises. She knows, that Fluttershy needs her now more than anything. She needs to help her. As a friend? As a lover? "I doesn't matter." With this thought Twilight dashes through the door after Fluttershy.
Where could Fluttershy go? Twilight realizes that she hasn't the slightest idea, where her friend would wander off. "Think Twilight, think!" Twilight thinks of every single possibility Fluttershy could go, until she finds out, that it doesn't matter, where Fluttershy is, as she can simply pursuit her with a modified spell of Raritys Gem-search spell.
"Why didn't i thought of this right from the start?", Twilight asks herself, while she casts the "Fluttershy-search" spell.
Twilight runs. She runs as fast as she can ignoring the growing pain in her hooves and her legs, while she almost flies through the edge of Ponyville.
"The Everfree-forest!", Twilight immediately thinks, when she passes Fluttershy's house and sprints right into the Everfreeforest.
"She is near.", she thinks as soon as she enters the forest. Twilight lets out a sigh of relief. She really doesn't want to go into the depth of the accursed forest.
Soon Twilight stands in front of a small cave. She can hear faintly sobs from the depth of this cave. In this cave is Fluttershy crying. Twilight then realizes, that she has no idea, what to say to the sad and desolated mare.
Does the lavender mare love her winged friend? Or is it just Friendship? Then what does she feel for Butterscotch? What for the stallion in the story?
"The Story..." The insight hits Twilight like a slap in the face. How could she be so blind?
"The stallion in the story... was Fluttershy!" She realizes, just how much she wanted to all of this to be real. That someday a calm and kind stallion comes by and stole her heart.
The only difference is that Fluttershy isn't a stallion. But does that realy matter?
Twilight already knows the answer and goes smiling into the cave.
~One can love books, but books can never love one back
