Fluttershy and Me: Remastered

Six years ago, I was living a life that wasn’t anything special.  It was a life of work, and it was a life I felt at times I wanted to end.  But, there are just some things in life that come at you and you don’t expect them.  I never would have expected to find my favorite pony Fluttershy in a dumpster, but I am so grateful that I did.  I could have made the mistake of walking on by and not paying any mind to that whining that night.  My curiosity saved my life, one that I might have ended with a bullet to my head.

By that point in time, I had been with Fluttershy for six years.  I certainly had changed a lot since I found her that Friday night, and so had she.  She really did forget about that Saturday morning.  She forgot how I kept what she was a secret.  She actually really liked the show now.  It became her new favorite television show in fact.  She loved the characters, the world, the adventures, pretty much everything about the show.  She knew that she was different from the Fluttershy in the show, which she was quite proud of in fact.  Life was really going well for me.  I scored the role in that play I auditioned for, and made about $5,000 each show.  Fluttershy and I lived together in peace, but if someone did come over to hang out, she would hide in our room, which she didn’t mind at all.  I stayed in contact with all my family, friends, and everyone else I knew.  Life was really great, something I never thought I could say before then.  But it’s true what they say, that all great things must come to an end.  At least, I thought it would be the end, but in fact, it was just the beginning of something new.

Once again, it was just an ordinary day, a Saturday in fact.  It was one week after my 23rd birthday.  Fluttershy and I were just relaxing in our apartment.  I was deep into a rerun of Assassin's Creed 3, and Fluttershy was reading a book, stopping every so often to watch me play.  Suddenly, we heard a knock at the door.

“Matthew, are you expecting someone?” she asked me, with a look of surprise on her face.  She was as surprised as I was.  I hadn’t made any plans for anyone to visit that day.

“No, actually I’m not.  Maybe it’s one of my friends paying a visit, but just to be on the safe side, grab me my hidden blade quickly.”  I didn’t feel like taking a chance.  I just had a sort of gut feeling that i might need it for some reason.  She brought me my blade from our room, helped me strap it on, and went back to hide.  She knew the drill like clockwork.  I approached my door.  I waited a moment to see if the person would knock again.  He, or she, did, but afterwards called inside from behind the door.

“Hello, may we come in?” the voice asked.  I knew this voice.  It was a regal voice, but where had I heard it before.  Then it hit me.  ‘What the hell?’ I thought to myself.  Finding Fluttershy was one thing, but this couldn’t be happening.

“Eh, just a moment,” I responded, and I proceeded to undo all the locks I had in place.  I opened the door, and standing before me, in all realness, was the royal Princess Celestia.  My mind had been kept intact ever since I had found Fluttershy, I think at least.  But now, my mind had officially been blown.  How, and why, was Princess Celestia at my door step?  Scratch the “why” part actually.  I knew why she was here, but I didn’t want to tell myself that.  After about ten seconds of me staring at her, Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the ponies appeared from behind the Princess.  Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and even Rainbow Dash, my number two pony.  They were all standing right there before me.  I stood there with my mouth agape.

“May we enter?” the Princess asked me.

“Uh, sure, I guess, come on in.”  I allowed them to enter, but I was questioning why I had done that in my head at the time.  The ponies past by me one by one, entering my home.  Rainbow Dash actually shot me a look for a second.  I jerked my head back in surprise and chuckled.

“If you’ve done anything to Fluttershy, oh man, we are gonna have some problems buddy!” she said to me.  I could tell how serious she was being.  I tried to play dumb and pretend I had no idea what she was talking about.

“Who the hell is Fluttershy?  Is that even a real name?  What the hell are you, and why are you in my home?”  I don’t think it worked, because Rainbow went right back on the offensive with me.

“Don’t try to play dumb buddy.  We know she’s here.  Now are you gonna tell us or…” she was suddenly cut off by quick chatter coming from one of the other ponies.  Which one?  Take a guess.

“Woooooow, so this is what an alien house looks like.  Oh, what’s all this stuff, and what’s with the giant black rectangle with the black screen in the center?  Man, these aliens sure do have some weird stuff.  Hey, is that some kind of axe over there on the wall?”  She was referring to my tomahawk.  I had mounted it, because I would never use it again.  But, getting back to Pinkie, she was rattling off words faster than the Halo assault rifle rattles off bullets.

“Alien, I beg your pardon,” I responded to her.

Applejack stepped forward and shoved a hoof in Pinkie’s mouth.

“Eh, sorry bout ar friend here, but Pinkie sorta has a way with speakin that we just don’t get.  Sorry partner,” she apologized for Pinkie’s crazy antics.

“That’s quite alright.  It’s actually kind of amusing.  Now, I’m going to repeat my question that I asked the blue one here, why are you in my house?”  I tried to make it seem like I was low on patience and that I truly had no idea why they were there.  The Princess looked to me with a look that showed no amusement in my tone.

“I think you know why we are here, sir.  We have come to retrieve Fluttershy from you.  She should be here, isn’t that correct?”  She really didn’t seem to be in a mood to be toyed with.  She was being serious, so I figured I might as well fess up.  I let out a deep sigh.

“She’s in our room.  If you wait here, I’ll go get her.”

“Our room, my my darling you’re really that cozy with our Fluttershy,” Rarity started, “Don’t make me laugh.  Oh too late.”  She started to giggle at the thought of Fluttershy being in a relationship with me.  I wanted so badly to drive my blade into her throat, I so badly did.  But then I remembered what had happened the last time that my blade had been driven into flesh, except, if I had done it just then, I would have just killed an innocent pony.  Rarity wasn’t at all my favorite, but she was still an innocent pony.  I couldn’t kill her.  What would Fluttershy think of me then?

“Cozy?  That doesn’t even fucking begin to describe it, Rarity.  I think it would be best for you to know that we are in fact in a relationship.  Yes, that’s right, I said relationship.  I love her, and she loves me.  Is that a problem, Miss Rarity?” I said, annoyed by her attitude.  She was taken back by both my words and the tone of which I spoke in.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, did this guy just say he’s in a relationship with Fluttershy?  No way!  Fluttershy wouldn’t go out with some guy like you,” Rainbow said.  I looked at her in anger.

“Tell that to her, Rainbow Dash,” I responded.

“Hey, how come the alien knows all of our names?  What’s my name Mr. Alien, huh, what is it?” Pinkie Pie asked me, starting to get in my face a bit.

“He knows our names my little ponies because he knows what we are, don’t you Matthew?” Celestia said to me.  Now I was surprised.  I knew their names because of what they were indeed, but how the hell did she know my name.

“Yes, I know what you are.  You’re all the characters of a cartoon show.  But how the hell do you know my name Celestia?”

“I have been watching you ever since Fluttershy had been sent here.  Something we will have to explain to you, but first, if you could please retrieve Fluttershy for us.  We have much to discuss.”  I nodded my head.

“Don’t let Pinkie touch my stuff,” I told them.  Pinkie’s face wore a surprised look, but then she realized I was right, and her face turned into an angry frown.

I went to our room to get Fluttershy.  I opened the door, looking for her.  She was hiding under the bed.  I went down onto my stomach to look at her.

“Is everything alright?  I was just hiding in here, but when I heard you arguing with whoever it is that you were talking to.  I got a little scared.”

“Everything’s fine Fluttershy, but I need you to come with me.  We’ve gotta talk.  They’re still waiting for us in the living room, so we shouldn’t keep them waiting.  Come on,” I told her, trying to hold back tears.  I knew I was gonna cry at some point during this whole thing, but right then wasn’t the time to start.

We walked back into the living room.  Fluttershy was a little taken back by the sight of the five other ponies and the one goddess sitting in our living room.

“FLUTTERSHY!” Pinkie shouted.  She jumped onto Fluttershy, who started to whimper and hide her face.

“Pinkie, get off of her,” I told her, but she didn’t stop.  “PINKIE, I SAID GET OFF OF HER!” then I pushed her off of Fluttershy.  She fell to the floor, while I was trying to comfort Fluttershy.

“F-Fluttershy, it’s me, Pinkie.  Don’t you remember me?”

“N-No, I don’t,” she said, still in fright after being pounced on by Pinkie.  But then she looked over to Rainbow Dash.  “W-Wait, is that Rainbow Dash?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s me Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash.  Glad to see you remember me.  Now, try to remember them as well,” Dash told Fluttershy.  I was confused by Rainbow’s words.  It’s like she knew that if Fluttershy saw her, she would remember everything about her life in Equestria.  I looked to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, can you remember anything else now?” I asked, but I got no response.  Fluttershy was just staring at Rainbow Dash, not moving a muscle.  “Fluttershy?  Fluttershy!  What’s wrong with her?” I asked the ponies in general, but again, no response.  “WHAT’S HAPPENING TO HER?!”  Celestia was the one to respond.

“She is remembering,” she told me, plain and simple.  I looked back at Fluttershy to see she was moving again.  She shook her head around, as if trying to adjust after becoming dizzy from something.  She rubbed her eyes, then looked around the room with a look of joy on her face.

“GIRLS!” she exclaimed, and before I knew it, all six of the ponies were embracing each other.  They were embracing Fluttershy, my, no, our Fluttershy.  I finally realized after all those years why she could only remember Rainbow.  Rainbow was the… trigger, so to speak.  If Fluttershy saw her, she would remember everything, which was weird because she had seen Rainbow multiple times in the show.  It must’ve had to be the real Rainbow Dash for it to work.  I started to tear up a bit.  Fluttershy had finally been found by her loving friends.

“I remember now, I remember all of you.  I remember my life in Equestria, in Ponyville.  I remember our friendships.  Oh it’s so great to see you all,” she said in excitement.  I was kneeling on the floor, my heart feeling like it was being torn apart.  Did she still remember me now that her memory had been restored?

“Looks like you remembering Rainbow Dash was a good thing after all, huh Fluttershy?” I asked her, trying to get her attention.  She turned around and nodded to me.

“Oh Matthew, isn’t this great!  I can remember everything now.  I even remember how I was sent here,” she said.

“Really, care to share with us, or just me rather?  I’m sure everyone else knows what happened already.”

“Well, Twilight was practicing some new magic that could be used to transport ponies great distances.  I decided to let her test it with my animals.  I was really scared about that, but I let it be anyway.  But, somehow, her magic went out of control, and she blasted me by accident.  I guess something in the magic must have reverted me to age 14, because that’s how old I was when I arrived here.”

The other ponies looked on in confusion.  “Wait a minute.  Did she just say she was 14 years old when she got here?” Applejack asked.  I nodded my head in response.

“I found her in a dumpster on my way to my friend’s house one night.  She was 14 years old when I found her though, I didn’t know why, but I didn’t really care.  But, um, this brings me to my next question.  How long ago was she sent here?”  Celestia looked to Twilight.  Twilight had a concerned look on her face, but the Princess nodded to her.

“About six days ago.  Why do you ask?” she responded.  My mouth flew open.  I shook my head and rubbed my eyes in pure astonishment.  Six days ago she just told me, six days!  That meant one day there meant one YEAR here.

“Well Twilight, it’s been a lot longer than that here on Earth.  It’s actually been about… six years.”  The ponies didn’t seem shocked at all by this though, and the same could be said of even the Princess.

“We are well aware of the time difference Matthew.  Like I stated earlier, I have been watching the two of you.  You two do indeed love each other very much.  Fluttershy, I have a question to ask you, if you wouldn’t mind?” Celestia said.

“Oh, well, of course not Princess.  What is it?”

“Would you do anything to keep Matthew safe, even if it would cost you your life?”  The question came as a complete shock to Fluttershy, me, and even the other ponies in the room.  That was a really personal question to ask, but something inside of me told me what her answer would be.

“Well, yes I would Princess.  I love Matthew with all of my heart,” she said.

The Princess took a moment to take in what Fluttershy said.  It seemed as though she was a little surprised by her answer.  I knew Fluttershy would stand by me, just like she always said she would.  We all sat in the room for a minute of just silence, except the breathing of the ponies.  Fluttershy broke the silence.

“So, um, what happens now?”  I was looking down at the ground, but my eyes beamed open, and I turned to the Princess.  She seemed rather collected of herself, and I knew what her answer would be.

“Well, now we will take you home Fluttershy, back to Equestria,” she said, as calm and collective as she looked.  I could feel the tears coming on, but I didn’t want to hold it back.  I started crying like a fountain, which made the other ponies start to cry a bit.  They were going to take her away from me, Fluttershy, the one person that turned my life around.  After about a minute of shedding tears, anger shot through my body.  I was not letting this happen.  I got up and pulled my tomahawk off the plaque it was on and slid out my hidden blade.  I stood in front of Fluttershy, ready to do whatever it took to protect her.

“You are not taking her from me!  She is too important to me, and you’re not taking her just because you think she isn’t where she belongs!”  I was angry, but at the same time I was still shedding tears.  Rainbow Dash jumped in front of me, ready to fight.

“Out of the way buddy!  Fluttershy is coming home with us, and if you don’t like it, too bad!  She’s important to us too you know,” she said to me, trying to keep on the offensive, but I towered over her.  If this went down, I would win.

“Rainbow, you do not want to fight me.  Unless it’s unclear to you, I am more than willing to kill to protect her.  You should know that, right Celestia?  You’ve seen what I’ve done, and believe me I will do it again.”  I spoke the words, but in my head, I just knew I couldn’t, and so did Celestia.

“No, you won’t,” she said back to me.  “You couldn’t handle the fact that Fluttershy witnessed you kill two men in the past, so what makes you think that she will still think good of you for killing her friends?”  She was right, and her words hit me like a wall.  I eased up a bit and turned to look at Fluttershy.  She had started to cry.  I was letting the monster come back again, but this time I wouldn’t be killing scum, but I would be murdering innocent ponies who only wanted to see their friend returned safely home.  I slid my blade back onto the bracer.  In pure rage, I threw my tomahawk at the wall to my left, lodging it deep into the wall.  The ponies could see my anger.  I started to cry again, falling to my knees and slamming the floor with my fists.  I left my head on the floor and continued to cry.  Then, I felt a hoof on my back.  It was Fluttershy.  I looked up into her eyes, those beautiful eyes.  A smile shined through her tears.

“It’s ok Matthew.  This is what has to be done.  I will never forget you, and I will always love you, I promise.  Maybe… maybe someday we will meet again.  I…” she choked up from her crying.  I pulled her in close and we hugged for what felt like an eternity.  I could hear the ponies behind us crying as well.  Pinkie was the most noticeable.

“I’m not really one for goodbyes Fluttershy, but I just want you to know that I love you too, and I always will.”  I let her go and we shared what we thought would be our last kiss.

She walked over to where Twilight was preparing herself to take them all back to Equestria.  Fluttershy turned to me one last time, but turned away, not able to face me.  I couldn’t blame her.  I let my head hang and closed my eyes, just waiting for them to leave.  But then I thought of something.

“Wait!” I shouted, not a moment too soon.  They all looked at me in shock.  “Take me with you,” I said.  The Princess looked at me with confused eyes.

“I beg your pardon.”

“Let me go with you.  Celestia, you know how important we are to each other.  Don’t split us up like this.”  She looked at me with a serious look.

“I do indeed know how strong the love you share is, but Matthew, you cannot live in our world.  It was not made to house your kind, much like this world isn’t made to house our kind.  I’m sorry but you cannot come with us.”

“This world can’t house your kind?  Celestia, that is bullshit, and you know it.  For six years, this world has housed Fluttershy, and you’ve seen the compassion we share.  You have no valid reason why I can’t live in Equestria, plain and simple.”  I was very stern with her, and I think she knew my words were true.

“Matthew, your presence in our world would cause trouble, you are too…” she started, but I cut her off.

“Too what, Celestia?  Different?  You rule over Equestria, so I think you are well aware that ponies aren’t the only species living there.  There are griffons, moose, zebras, dragons, hell there are spiritual entities in your world.  What’s wrong with me?  Is it because I don’t walk on all fours, I’m too big, I live differently, what is it Celestia?  You’re going to deny me the right to be with the one I love because I’m different?” I gestured for Fluttershy to come to me, and she did.  “Well I’m sorry Celestia, but that shit is not gonna work.”  Fluttershy looked at me with concern.

“Matthew, it’s ok, really.  I don’t mind going back with them,” she said, trying to calm me down.  “Matthew, you live a great life.  You can find some other girl to love.”

“Fluttershy, there is no one else for me, and the only reason I am living this great life of mine is because of you.  Had I not found you in that dumpster that night, I probably would have ended my life by now.  It was a task for me to find happiness in my day to day life.  Not only have I shaped you into who you are now, but you’ve done the same for me.  Fluttershy, I’ve made too many mistakes in my life and done a lot of things I’m not proud of, and I’m not about to make the biggest mistake of them all.”  I stood up in front of Fluttershy, showing that I wasn’t going to let them take her away.

“Celestia, the choice isn’t mine, it’s yours.  You either take both of us back to Equestria, or you can all leave now and just have wasted your time.”  I looked at the Princess, waiting for a response.  She had a big choice to make.

“You could, of course, try to take her by force.  But, in that case, you might as well kill me.  If you don’t I’ll probably do it myself.”  I didn’t say that to make her feel guilty, I just spoke the truth.

“Very well, Matthew.   I will allow you to come with us and live in Equestria,” she responded after about a minute.  Everyone in the room looked at her in shock, including me.

“Princess!” Twilight shouted, “How can you just allow this…” she was hushed by Celestia.

“This man has shown that he would rather die than lose Fluttershy.  I could not live with myself knowing I caused the death of another because I took away something so important to him.  He will come with us, and that is final.”  I was still crying, but I cracked a smile through my tears after she said that.

“Thank you Princess, thank you so…” she raised a hoof, silencing me.

“But let me make myself clear Matthew, should you harm any of my little ponies or cause them any trouble that threatens their lives, I will send you back, and you will never be allowed to return.  Am I understood?”  I could tell she was being serious.  But honestly, I couldn’t blame her.

“You have nothing to worry about Princess.  You have my word, and my everlasting gratitude.”  I bowed to her, accepting her as my new ruler.  I was fine with that.  Anything to be with Fluttershy, who had jumped up onto me to hug and kiss me.  We would be together forever now, in a world I had always dreamed of living in.

“If you wouldn’t mind though, Princess, I would like to take my personal belongings with me.  I have too much to just let go of.”

“Wouldn’t that include your family too?” Twilight asked me.  I hadn’t thought of that.  Her words held a great meaning.  But I knew this was right.

“I know what to do.  But this is too important to me.  They’ll know I’ve moved onto a better place.  Now, if you’ll let Fluttershy and I get out things together, we can be on our way in about half an hour.  Is that a problem?”  Celestia shook her head.

“Take as long as you need,” she told me.

Fluttershy and I gathered anything we couldn’t live without.  I decided that I could at least try to get my laptop and Xbox to work in Equestria, so I packed them, along with every video game I owned at the time.  I packed my iPod, every article of clothing I owned, my Bionicles (told you I wouldn’t let get rid of them), my weapons (no way I was leaving those behind), and pretty much anything else I had in my apartment.  Fluttershy took everything of hers as well, and in about 20 minutes, we were ready to go.  At least, I thought I was ready.  I realized I had forgotten something.

“Hold on, I need to write something down,” I told them.  I was writing a letter goodbye to my family.  My mom was going to be visiting the next day, and she had a key to the place just in case she needed something and I wasn’t home.  She would find the note.  But I needed to leave her something, not just a note.  I then remembered my necklace.  It was a locket from my father who had passed away when I was young.  Inside was a picture of him and me on one side, and a note saying, “I love you Matthew,” on the other.  I had to leave it.  I leaned in and gave it a kiss.

“Love you Dad, watch over Mom for me while I’m gone,” I spoke to the locket.  After double checking everything else, Twilight prepared herself to transport us all to Equestria.  I looked into Fluttershy’s eyes as we were leaving, and she looked back to me.  We smiled at each other, and a blast of light blinded me.

I awoke on a hill, my vision a little misty from the light.  I was lying on my back on the pure green grass.  I looked around, taking in my surroundings.  I got to my feet and turned around to see Fluttershy, her friends, and the Princess.  Behind them, I saw Ponyville.

“Welcome to your new home Matthew,” Fluttershy said to me, smiling all the while.  I smiled back to her.

“Thanks Fluttershy.”  I looked past them all to gaze upon Ponyville.  It was even better in person.  I took in a deep breath and smiled.

I have been living in Equestria for a year now.  As I write in this journal, I am currently sitting on the beach.  Fluttershy is sitting next to me, Twilight is reading a book, Rarity is trying to get a tan (which doesn’t make sense because her fur is always gonna be white), and Rainbow, Pinkie, and Applejack are playing in the water.  The sun is starting to go down.  We’ve been here for almost the whole day, and I had a lot of time to kill and an empty journal that I wanted to start writing in.  Fluttershy is getting tired, and so am I.  Don’t worry, my story isn’t done yet.  My story is far from over, because as long as I am here, my story will continue.  The story of Fluttershy and me.

End of Act 1