PONYVILLE, TOWN SQUARE: Fluttershy's POV

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"Who is he?" I asked, peeking around the corner.

"No one knows." Rainbow Dash said. "He lives in that tower outside town. People have seen him go outside, but never actually enter Ponyville."

"Oh.." I said as I stared at the hooded figure.

"I heard he experiments on people, turning them into hideous abominations that he uses as servants at the tower, and kidnaps women to rape and torture!" Pinkie said in a spooky storytelling voice.

"Oh my!" I said, leaning back.

"Uh... Pinkie? Don't you think your exaggerating?" Twilight said rolling her eyes.

"I dunno Twilight, he does spend an awful lot of time locked away in there. Who knows what he does?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Haven't you learned from Zecora not to judge a book by it's cover?" Twilight said sternly. "You two should be ashamed of yourself." Rainbow Dash and Pinkie held their heads down like two 5 year olds being disciplined by their mother.

"Now come on. Let's introduce ourselves." Twilight said. She turned the corner only to notice the hooded figure had vanished. "That's strange.. He was just there buying things a moment ago.."

"Well I guess we will never know." I said quickly, a knot in my stomach untying itself. Twilight sighed in defeat, heading off home.

"I'll see you guys later, I have some work to catch up on." Twilight said as she scurried off down the road.

"Yeah me too. I have to be up early tomorrow for my first job as a Wonderbolt!" Rainbow Dash said, giving a salute before flying off. I would have asked Pinkie if she had any plans, but she had already hopped off. I was now alone.. I sighed and passed through the market, looking around at anything that I might want to buy. Then I spotted it, glimmering in the sunlight.

"How much for that broach?" I said, pointing at the butterfly shaped pin.

"One Hundred Bits." The man said.

"Oh.." I said with a disappointed sigh. "I only have thirty with me.."

"Well too bad." He said with a shrug. I hung my head, saddened and turned around, heading for home.

"Ma'am wait!" The man yelled. I turned around to see him running to me.

"Y...yes?" I said.

"Do you really want this?" He said, handing me the broach.

"It would mean a lot to me.." I said. He sighed, scratching his head as he looked at the broach.

"Alright alright... That'll be thirty bits." He said with a smile. Excitement grew in me as I quickly reached for the pouch on my side.

"Here." I said, exchanging it for the trinket. He turned around and started heading back to his stand.

"But.. Why?" I asked, staring at the broach.

"You know, a little kindness goes a long way.." He said. "Well.. That and I saw your cutie mark, and it reminded me of my daughter." He said, his eyes glinting with sadness.

"What happened?" I asked as I approached him. We took a seat at a nearby bench as he took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"A few years ago, my daughter was... Killed.. In an accident." He said.

"Oh my.. I didn't mean to.. I'm so sorry." I said feeling saddened by the intrusion.

"No no it's fine... There's no way you could have known." He said. "Honestly, that broach was all that I have left of my daughter."

I felt a wave of anguish wash over me as I stared at the broach. "Why would you have it up for sale then?" I asked.

"Well.." He said, staring at the broach. "I figured once It was gone, I could move on with my life."

"Hell, The only reason the price is so high is because I figured if it was, no one would ever buy it." He said with a small chuckle. "I guess there's still a part of me that didn't want to let go."

I handed it to him, but instead of taking it, he curled my hand up around it.

"You keep it." He said, "I'm old... That thing only brings back memories of that day.. It'll be nice knowing it can make someone happy too." He said, his grip on my hand tightening as I saw a tear slide down his face.

"You know, death is a curious thing. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a moment of surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things." He said.

There was a long pause. I silently sat there as he stared down at the broach.

"She loved butterflies." He said with a smile. I looked down at the broach, and back up at him.

"Not that I'm the right person to.. Well.. Give advice... But when someone you love dies, and you're not expecting it, you don't lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time—the way the mail stops coming, the sound of her voice in the morning. Gradually, you accumulate the parts of her that are gone. Just when the day comes—when there's a particular missing part that overwhelms you with the feeling that she's gone, forever." I said, looking him in the eyes. "But when your father dies, do you stop being his son or daughter?"

Tears began to fill my eyes as I said that last statement, looking away. "But love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone. No matter how much suffering you went through, you never wanted to let go of those memories, but the worst part about holding those memories isn't the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared. The hardest thing about the road not taken is that you never know where it might have led, what things would be like if they were still with us.. So hold on to those memories. The bad ones that make you want to scream, cry... The ones that hurt and tear you up inside. Because without those, you would be forgetting that there were good ones too." I said, feeling a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the man, who's face was stained with tears. I hugged him, as he rested his head on my shoulder. I could feel the warmth of his tears seeping through my shirt, and I knew he could feel mine.

"Thank you.." He said, gripping me tighter. "Thank you so much.."

The embrace ended as I looked up at him. He had a smile on his face as he stared at me.

"You just gave an old man a reason to keep on fighting." He said. "Keep the broach, free of charge. I don't need it anymore."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Don't worry about me. I just hope you can give that thing some more good memories, not that It could fit any more." He said with a laugh, forcing a smile on my face. I shook his hand and gave him one last hug before we parted ways. I knew I had changed someone's life for the better, and I can go to sleep happy knowing that. I looked down at the broach, smiling as a tear slid down my face. I closed my eyes.

"I love you dad.." I said to myself, continuing on down the path.
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TEN MINUTES LATER:

I was walking back home, passing by and waving to the kids just getting out of school. I looked down at the broach, realizing I had been holding it since the man gave it to me. I pulled the pin out and tried to put it on, when someone bumped in to me, knocking me to the ground.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" I said, "I should have been watching where I was walking.." I looked up to see the hooded figure from earlier. My heart sank as a wave of fear sank in. His arm moved as he slowly started reaching towards me. I screamed, my wings going into overdrive as I lifted myself up and bolted away. A few minutes later I made it to my cottage, ran in and locked the door. I was breathing rapidly as I leaned against the door. I sighed in relief as I made my way to the kitchen.

"Angel?" I called out. "Angel are you in here?" I felt a tugging on my foot, causing me to jump into the air. My eyes were closed as I hovered there, kicking my feet, hoping to hit the attacker. I threw my foot forward, hearing a loud crash as whatever had grabbed me let go. I opened one eye to the direction of the crash. I saw two ears sticking out of a pile of pots and pans.

"Oh my gosh!" I said quickly, flying over to the pile.

"I'm so sorry Angel!" I said as I lifted him out of the mess. His eyes were spinning as he shook his head, snapping him out of the daze. He looked up at me angrily.

"I'm sorry.. I am just on edge. I bumped into this man earlier wh-" I was interrupted by Angel sticking out his arm, as if saying 'Talk to the hand', and walked away grumpily dragging his food dish with him. I put my hands on my face. 'Get a grip Fluttershy..' I thought to myself. I reached down to my chest to grip the broach, only to have a feeling of dread shoot through me. I looked down and saw the broach was gone. It must have fallen off when he knocked me down! I fell to my knees, wanting to start crying right then and there, had it not been for a knock on the door. I looked through the peep hole and jumped back a foot as I saw the dark figure from earlier waiting on the other side. I turned around, my back against the door as my heart started racing.

"What does he want?" I thought to myself, thinking of all the horrible things he might want to do to me for bumping into me. Will he kill me? Turn me into one of those monsters Pinkie was talking about? My train of thought was interrupted by a sharp creaking sound. I froze, slowly looking downward. The mail slot was opening. He's looking for me... I widened my stance so he wouldn't see my legs through the rectangular delivery hole. I closed my eyes and held my breath, hoping for the worst. But then... I heard a small clanking of something hitting my floor, followed by the sound of the mail slot closing. I looked down to see the broach sitting on the floor in front of me. I bent down to pick it up, staring at it intently. I turned around, looking through the peep hole to see the man had left. I opened the door, peeking outside.

"H..hello?" I said, gazing around. No one was there. I flew up high, scanning the area for the mysterious man. It was then that I spotted the tower off in the distance. I looked down at the broach, then back at the tower. I put the broach on and started to fly in it's direction.

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LATER THAT NIGHT:

I arrived at the tower, landing near the doorstep. I saw a door knocker hanging on the center of it. I reached out and gave it a weak pull, before hitting it down. I took a step back, waiting for it to open. No answer. I reached for it again, this time with more effort, hitting the door three times with it. Still no answer. Stubborn and curious, I looked up, seeing an open window. I peeked through it, looking around the dark room.

"Hello?" I said aloud as it echoed through the room. I gulped, climbing through and into the dark room. There was a door at the end of the room with a faint glow of a torch underneath the door. I opened it and looked into the hallway. Strange... There was a row of light bulbs along the ceiling, but they were off. The hall instead lit by torches and candles. I approached the end of the hall, noticing it splitting off into two more halls. There was a staircase at the end of each hall, one leading up, one leading down. Against the wall of the one leading up was a rusty suit of armor displayed up with a shield. I heard sounds coming from the floor above me. With a deep breath, I moved toward the stair case, heading up. There was a door at the top. I heard movement, plus the sounds of things being dragged along the floor. A feeling of terror shot through me as I thought of what might be on the other side.

"Just... Just knock on the door and thank him. Then you can leave Fluttershy." I said to myself. I knocked on the door, the movement on the other side immediately halting. My heart quickened as the sound of footsteps got louder, stopping on the other side of the door. There was a long pause as I waited for it to open.

"I just wanted to say... Thank you for returning the broach. It means a lot to me.." I said through the door. "I'm just going to leave now. I didn't mean to intrude." I turned around, only taking a few steps before hearing the door creak open. I stopped, a growing fear building inside me as I slowly turned around. My eyes stood apon the hooded figure, staring down at me. I couldn't make out his face, but what happened next I didn't expect. He started walking towards me. My eyes widened in fear as i backed up down the stairs, reaching the bottom. I backed up into the light of the moon shining through the window. As he entered it, he extended his arm, as if reaching for me. What I saw made my face turn pale. His hand in the blue light was nothing but bones. A skeletal hand reaching for me.. I screamed and bolted in the opposite direction. In the panic I had not seen where I was going and slammed straight into the suit of armor. I looked up as it fell towards me, followed by a loud 'thwack'.

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My eyes shot open. A sigh of relief washed over me as I realized it was just a dream. I was about to go back to sleep when a horrifying awareness kicked in. This wasn't my house. I was still in the tower. I got up slowly, tip-toeing my way to the door. I opened it, looking out into the hall. I saw into a room to the left of mine, there was a dim glow emanating from it as I heard a music box playing. I slowly walked down the hall opposite of his room as I attempted to make my way outside. But before I could leave the hall, I stepped on a loud creaky board. A few seconds later, the music stopped. The door was thrust open and the figure stared down the hall at me. In a panic I sped down the hall and out one of the open windows.

"Wait!" I heard him yell from the window I had just soared out of. After I was a ways away, i stopped to catch my breath. I reached down to my broach, only to notice it wasn't there. It was still inside the tower.. I gulped, looking back at the tower window. After thinking long and hard, weighing my options, I decided to go back for it. I peeked in through the window, making sure it was empty. I flew softly through, making sure to avoid the noisy boards, and back into the room I had woken up in. I saw the broach sitting by the bed on the night stand. I grabbed it and put it on to make sure I wouldn't lose it again. I flew out of the room and was about to head out the window, when I heard a sobbing from the room next to mine. I approached it and peeked inside. I saw a man sitting there, ragged clothing and short brown hair. His head was on the table, his hands covering his face. He looked to be not much older than me. I stood there looking at him as he cried into his hands. I approached him, stopping a few feet from his chair.

"Why are you crying?" I asked sincerely. His head jolted up, his eyes turning to me.

"You... Why did you come back?" He asked. His tone changed from confused to angry. "Did you come back to laugh at me? Call me a freak?"

"No!" I said, taking a step back. "I just came to.. to say thank you. For returning the broach."

His hostile look faded as he turned back to the dusty open book on the table. "Well.." He said with a sigh, "Your welcome. Now... Just go home." He put his hand on his head as he started reading the book.

"Could... Could I see your hand?" I asked curiously. He glanced over at me, giving a small chuckle. He held out his hand. It looked normal.. I turned my head back, looking out the door to the open window. The moonlight was shining in. I took a step to the left, unblocking the light. I watched as the moonlight bathed around his hand. It slowly turned from a normal hand, into the bony husk of what I saw earlier. My hand found its way to my mouth as I saw the skin on his face fade as if it were just an illusion, revealing nothing but bones. His eyes a black and empty void staring back at me. I wanted to run, but something inside me was telling me to stay.

"I'm a monster.. Just run away like everyone els." He said, turning his head back to his book. I closed the door, the light of the moon now blocked. The light from the candles revealed his face to a normal one, no longer a hollow skeleton. I walked toward him and sat in the chair next to him. He glanced over to me.

"Your still here? You aren't... Afraid I might kill you? Or turn you into a monster or something..?" He said, genuinely confused.

"Well... Are you?" I asked. There was a short pause.

"No.." He said.

"Then why would I be afraid?" I said.

"Because I'm a freak, an aberration, an anomaly. I shouldn't exist.." He said, a sadness growing in his voice.

"Nonsense!" I said in a serious tone.

"But.." He tried to say.

"I will have none of this. You are a kind soul. Now don't ever say anything like that again." I said standing up and walking to the door. "It's late, and I don't want to fly home at this time of night, so I will be spending the night here."

"Um... Okay." He said, his eyes widened in surprise.

"It's only fair that I repay the kindness you showed earlier. This place definitely needs to be tidied up. So dusty..."

"Um.." He tried to say.

"And don't forget about breakfast. Do you have a kitchen?" I asked.

"Uhh.. Yeah.. First floor." He said flustered.

"Good. I expect you to be up early! You do eat don't you?" I asked.

"Yeah but.." He said.

"Then it's settled! We will have breakfast in the morning and I will clean up a little." I said with a smile, turning and opening the door.

"Wait... What's....Your name?" He asked.

"Fluttershy. What's yours?" I replied.

"Cecil.." He said.

"Goodnight Cecil." I said, about to walk out of the room.

"Wait! Why are you doing all this?" He asked, still in disbelief.

"Because I want too." I said happily.

"But....Why?" He asked. I looked him in the eyes. My smile remained as I said,

"A little kindness goes a long way."

Author's Notes:

This chapter really hits home for me. I love writing and hope to continue writing. This one in specific is for all of you who have lost someone or are grieving. I write this, knowing that there are others who have been through the same tragic event/s. I hope you all enjoy. Have a merry Christmas.