Thirty Minute Pony Stories

A pink blanket was spread across the grass and atop it Twilight held onto Fluttershy, kissing the back of her neck tenderly and rubbing a hoof across her belly. Fluttershy let out a sigh, a soft, sweet sound of the same perfect serenity and contentment that Twilight felt when she was with her.

“We should go on picnics more often,” Twilight said. She nibbled on Fluttershy’s ear. “The salad you made was wonderful.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” Fluttershy said. “Your cupcakes were very nice too. Much, um, much better than last time.”

Twilight giggled and gave her a gentle squeeze. Fluttershy squeaked and Twilight squirmed at the sound. “I’m learning! I think I discovered the secret to baking, in fact.”

“Oh?” Fluttershy asked.

“Get Pinkie Pie to help me,” Twilight said, nuzzling into her soft pink mane.

They both laughed and Fluttershy blushed. “Well, to be honest, Rarity helped me with the salad.”

Twilight sighed and rested her cheek against Fluttershy’s. “We should thank them more often. If it weren’t for our friends sometimes literally pushing us together we’d probably still be staring at each other from across the room.”

Fluttershy nodded and she let out another happy sigh. Twilight felt as though she could listen to that sound for her whole life and never get tired of it. That sound was the essence of comfort to her, of peace, of beauty, of safety, and of gentle but passionate love.

She saw one of Fluttershy’s eyes open and look towards the Everfree Forest, staring for a moment before she closed it again.

“Should I have picked a different picnic spot?” Twilight asked. “You’ve been glancing at the forest all day.”

“Oh, no… it’s okay.” Fluttershy shook her head.

“It’s okay if you’re afraid of the forest, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “We all are.”

“Oh, it’s not that,” Fluttershy said. She blushed. “Actually… I kind of like the forest.”

Twilight blinked and raised an eyebrow. “You… like it? That awful place of darkness and chaos and death?”

“Life,” Fluttershy corrected.

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. She gave Fluttershy a squeeze. “No, this. This is life. Right here.” She rolled onto her back next to Fluttershy and looked up at the clouds floating in the sky. Fluttershy snuggled up against her and smiled.

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said. She squeaked and shook her head. “Oh! I mean, um, I’m not sorry? It’s my opinion and I should feel comfortable saying it? Right?”

Twilight chuckled and nodded. “Yes, Fluttershy. It’s okay to disagree with me.”

They both looked back up at the sky, and Twilight wrapped her right foreleg around Fluttershy’s left.

“I’ve just… always felt like death was a part of life, I guess,” Fluttershy said. “I have to deal with it a lot, you know.”

Twilight nodded. She remembered seeing Fluttershy lose a patient once. A mouse. And she had been shocked at how gracefully she’d handled it. She had a comfort with death that Twilight had difficulty understanding.

“I guess I’ve always seen it as a problem to solve.” She chuckled and sighed. “You know, when I was a filly and I first learned that Princess Celestia was immortal, I promised her I’d never die. That I’d be her student forever and ever.”

Fluttershy looked over at her and giggled. “Oh my. What’d she say?”

“She cried her eyes out,” Twilight said with a sad, nostalgic smile, shaking her head. “Somepony told me later that it… it wasn’t the first time she’d heard that.”

Fluttershy’s smile softened and her hoof tugged gently on Twilight’s. “I’m sorry. It must be so hard for her.”

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I felt so bad about it that I… well…”

She rolled over to face Fluttershy again with a serious look in her eyes. “I promised myself that I wouldn’t break that promise. That I’d find a way.” She swallowed and smiled. “Though… there’s another pony I’d rather make that promise to now.”

Fluttershy smiled back but she shook her head. “That means a lot to me, Twilight. But you don’t have to promise me the impossible.”

Twilight grinned and nosed Fluttershy onto her back, standing over her. “Oh yeah? You know what I do when somepony says something’s impossible?”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but grin back as Twilight stood over her. “I don’t know. What?”

Twilight leaned down to kiss her. “I do it.”

“Oh my…” Fluttershy squirmed against the soft blanket and she reached up, pulling Twilight down into a deeper kiss.

——-

Comments by Kyronea:

Ah, finally, a beautiful happy romance story with a prompt that seems to defy such a thing being written for it! Although there were a couple of darker spots—poor Celestia, the amount of memories she must have of other students she cared for just as much as she cares for Twilight, and the raw wound that Twilight had accidentally poured salt into—they were softened by the overall tone of the story. I like Twilight’s determination too…she cares deeply for Fluttershy, loves her dearly, and wants to stay with her forever if she can. She’s Twilight freaking Sparkle, after all. She eats the impossible for breakfast. I did adore the touches with the way Twilight gently kisses and caresses in many ways, and I also love the insight we get into Fluttershy’s perspective on things. She’s not wrong: death is a part of life. If nothing died, then the world would pile up far too fast, overpopulated by anything and everything. Twilight’s point of view is just as understandable, given that she’s looking at it squarely from the perspective of sapient lives, rather than all life in general. Can she succeed in making herself and Fluttershy live forever? I doubt it, but she’ll show how much she loves Shy Shy in trying, which to me is what really matters.