Hearth

by TrampingPony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Fluttershy
Length: 2037

Fluttershy reflects on her life

Because the fireplace is warm and when you find yourself the only pony around, sometimes you find your thoughts drifting. Sometimes you think about your friends, your family, sometimes you just think about where you live and why you consider it home.

Published 2012-12-30 23:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-30 23:40:01 UTC

Fireside Thoughts

Snow is falling and the world is covered in white. One look out of the window lets me shudder since I never liked the cold. Angel does neither and he seems to try to move closer to me, even though he's got the blanket around him and a fire beside him. I know it isn't that cold but in the middle of a day like this we both cherish the warmth. I look at the fireside, the flames dancing in red and orange inside of it. I myself am only wearing the sweater I got from Rarity a few days before the cold came. It was a nice gift. It's made of green wool and is the snuggliest piece of clothing Rarity ever made. She told me that the sheep she got it from practically begged her to get it off. Apparently he was taking the train to Appleloosa where it's warm and having a fluffy coat wasn't that good for such temperatures.

I sometimes think of going to Appleloosa, too. Just for the winter.

I dare to turn my head one more time, looking out of the window. I only see white. It's worse than any year before and I heard most ponies don't come out of there respective homes anymore. If it isn't going stop soon my whole house will be covered by snow. That would be troublesome. The mailmare already has some problem with directions before and I have no idea what she'll do when she can't find any of the houses anymore.

Rainbow Dash said that apparently the respective department had gotten a royal complaint about the weather. Over the last twenty years the winters had been too mild. I can understand that, the animals were all complaining about it, too. The warmth was really disrupting their sleep rhythms. The old bear by the Everfree even told me he'd do things to the weather ponies if we wouldn't get a good winter this year around. I guess he's happy now.

Angel grumbles beside me, he's frowning and overall moody. Not that there isn't a time when he isn't moody - and I don't mean the bad kind of moody either, more like a not-so-friendly-but-still-nice, grumbling and sometimes overdemanding little friend - but he dislikes the winter so much. He always starts missing the grass when the first snow falls at the end of autumn. This year he tried to spend every minute outside until every bit of green was gone from our tiny world. When he isn't snuggling close to me, or lies by the fireside he stares outside the window. He misses the summer so much, it's always a bit painful just looking at him.

I tried to help, though. The idea was a bit stupid but I tried to move a few clouds and tried to get the sun to shine on a small patch of land, so the snow would melt just there. A small piece of green in a giant white painting. It would have been nice. Alas, Rainbow Dash told me that I shouldn't do something like that. This winter isn't just hard, it's strict. On the weatherboard in Cloudsdale it's even written down: SNOW EVERYWHERE. No exceptions, Rainbow Dash told me and even though I tried to argue she told me that I just had to wait for spring. She told me it would be worth the wait, we got Twilight now so Winter Wrap-Up won't be too much of a bother.

I guess she's right, although spring is a long way off and I haven't seen her since the last storm. It's a bit sad really. All I've got from my friends are a sweater and memories. Right now I mean. Although... It does make you wonder. Just, what if the snow would bury me here? What if somehow the winter would set all of us apart.

What if sometime in the future I will find myself apart from my friends? The fire burns by my side, making noises, like a cackle. I let my eyes wonder over it. Maybe it knows something I don't? I look into the flames and what do I see.

Twilight returning to her rightful home in Canterlot. Someday she will have learned everything there is to learn about friendship and even though she will try to keep contact - at least I'm sure she will - it will grow apart, that's how it goes.

Rarity will be on her hooves, though. She's getting bigger and bigger in the fashion industry and I just know that it's going to take just a bit more and then she will be going to Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash will leave, she'll be a Wonderbolt. Considering that she'll be high class, just like Twilight and Rarity, so they'll probably have time to see each other, which is nice. But Ponyville will grow a memory to them and someday they will become strangers there. At least, that's how I felt with Cloudsdale and everything I had there.

Then there's Pinkie Pie. I don't know about her. Pinkie is Pinkie I guess and nothing will ever change that. I actually think she will never grow up. Maybe she will take over the sugarcube corner one day. No, actually, Pinkie Pie is so much larger than that, I doubt Ponyville can hold her forever. One day she'll leave and bring her parties to the rest of the world.

Then there's Applejack. I guess it's sure with her. One day we will both be old and sit on rocking chairs by the fireside on a winter like this one and talk and share a laugh at our memories of the times we fought the mare in the moon or the spirit of chaos, we'll think of Trixie and Gilda and even how Iron Will tried to get me to be more assertive.

Still, there's only Applejack in my future. I close my eyes. It's getting a bit cold. The fire is still going nicely and the mood is nice. I have my sweater and Angel has his blanket. Still, there's one thing missing. Ah yes, hot chocolate.

Angel just shakes his head as I ask if he wants some, too. A second time when I ask if he wants anything else. All my little bunny friend needs right now is the warmth he already has. With that, I stand up and get to the kitchen.

I guess Angel will leave this place, too. I've seen it before, with his parents. They're long gone, deep into the forest of dreams. The animals believe that once they sleep their last sleep, they'll go to a forest just like the Everfree - just not so scary - and play there till they are ready to return.

It's nice and I hope true. That means that maybe one day, I'll see Angel again. When I'm old he could be young again and we could do what we are doing right now again. That would be nice.

Come to think of it, there's still a lot of non-pony friends I have. I can't forget the birdies and the critters. They are all nice and I figure some will outlive me.

Celestia, I'm fatalistic today.

The weather's getting to me, somehow. Both the weather and the loneliness. I can just grab a can of water, set it up for the heating and turn around to see nopony else there. Angel doesn't do much talking during winter, although his grumbling repertoire is quite something to behold. All in all, it's one of the few times I regret having my house on the far edge of Ponyville.

I prefer keeping to myself. Not because I don't like being around others so much, it's just that I'm no good with anything of my size and greater. I'm not counting the bears or any other animals. I'm a bit shy, even though you wouldn't quite guess it if you stood before me. Also, I'm a tinsy-whinsy bit softspoken, not much, though. Plus there are no houses as nice as this one in the middle of town.

When I first came to Ponyville getting a place to stay was quite the adventure. I shared a bed with Pinkie, who had just come from one of the rock farms in the east, tried to work on Sweet Apple Acres and somehow had gotten to work with the secretary of the mayor, that tall one... oh, what-was-her-name... Allie Way, yes, that's it. I settled on the side of a river and some beavers found me. I already knew them and when I told them my tale they were so eager to help me get a house, they and everycritter else.

It's one of the reasons why I will never leave this house. It's something special, a sign of the bond I share with these critters. Still, most critters tend to their own business during winter and I remain here, cooking water.

The water, right, I completely forgot about it. I drifted away for a bit and now it's boiling.

Some chocolate powder, some cream, a marshmallow and it's done. Walking back to the fireplace and settling down again I find Angel snuggling closer against me and a few seconds later he's snoring. I take one look at him and I can't help but smile. We're together in this. He's no pony but to me he's as close as family.

Says much about me, I guess. Fluttershy, the pegasus who could hardly fly, who's only friend was a pony who protected her from bullies. In the end I'm made for the world of animals and not for the one of ponies.

Still a bit depressive but true. It's all I've got, like a slave to my own special talent.

I take but one sip from the cup before I hear somepony knocking on the door. Strange as it is i stand up as slowly as possible, but Angel's already awake. I try to tell him it's alright but he just moves away grumbling something about 'Stupid pony-friends', I have no idea what he means.

The moment I open the door and Applejack stands there with a broad smile I guess I know what he meant.

"Hello, sugarcube. We haven't seen you in town for the last weeks," she says in a happy voice, I look behind her. The other five are there, too. All covered in snow. They must have fought their way to here. I ask why they did that and Pinkie is the one who answers.

"Oh, I thought that maybe we should have a party for the day with the highest snow but then I found out that you were so far away that coming to the party would be hard for you so we decided to take the party to you." Streamers are in the air the moment she stops talking. I don't ask anything further, I bid them in, ask if they want anything. They look cold, but everypony's got nice accessoires.

Rarity especially, she looks just marvellous with her hat, her shawl and those boots are marvelous. Too marvellous for a walk from one end of town to the other.  I tell her so and she just chuckles.

"Really darling, boots are made for walking and a bit of hiking has never done anypony any harm."

Twilight has Spike on her back, she nods her head and says that she's got a whole lot of magic she could talk about.

"Yes, because I can take another hour of you talking about boring stuff," Rainbow Dash blurted out. I always found it cute how she had a wonderbolt-fan shawl and a Spitfire hat, especially considering what followed was essentially her bragging about what awesome stunts she had pulled during the last storm.

Somehow the conversation drifts off and we all sit there by the fireside. They talk, I listen but sometimes I talk, too and suddenly all the bad thoughts are gone and I remember that all those bad thoughts don't really count. I can't foretell the future or unmake the past but I can certainly live now.

Maybe we should all go hiking sometime.

~The End~