It was still dark when I arrived back in Ponyville. It was spring, and though there were flowers, there was a hard frost on the ground. Some of them were going to make it and others weren't.

I began to move towards the cottage. I walked faster, and it felt like an eternity. I didn't want to teleport, didn't want to startle the occupant. As I tried to pick up the pace I felt the caress of nature slowly curl towards me, pull me. For whatever reason, she had forgiven me.

Despite my haste, I hesitated when I reached the door. I pressed my forehead against the oak. Was I doing the right thing by coming back? I felt nature curl inwards, telling me to go inside.

The birds and crickets were singing in the early morning; calling for mates.

I hesitated, then pushed the door open.

She was there, asleep on the sofa next to the cooling fireplace. Her body had curled up slightly in her sleep as the cold morning air began to creep in. Her pink hair pooled around her gentle face. My friend. Someone who actually wanted me around. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I could never tell her that, because she was far too precious to gamble. Maybe I should have, because of what I felt in the doorway, but who among us can say we always listen to our parents?

But I would be near her.

I knelt beside the sofa and  laid my head next to hers. “I'm home, Fluttershy,” I whispered. She continued her soft breathing as she slept.

“I'm so sorry,” I continued, the tears streaming unchecked down my face. “You were right. I never should have left. It doesn't matter what other people think of us. All that matters is you and what you feel. I don't think I should be here. I...want to be here, but I don't think I should be. I don't think I'm good for you, but if it makes you happy--if it really makes you happy-- I'll stay. I'll stay for as long as you need me to. You...you have no idea how much I care about you. It frightens me. But I'll stay. I'll stay and I'm not leaving until you tell me to go away."

I wiped my streaming eyes with the back of my paw.

I had let more cold air into the room when I opened the front door, so I gathered Fluttershy up, blanket and all and carried her up the stairs. I could feel her instinctively curl against my fur for warmth in her sleep and it caused a wave of tenderness in me so fierce I felt light headed.

I  laid her down on her comforter and  kissed her softly where her mane met her forehead, then headed I downstairs to make a pot of tea.

The sun was just starting to turn the sky a soft pink as I filled the kettle at the kitchen counter. I looked out the window at the hills in the distance, thinking about all I'd been through. Thinking about her.

I heard a creak on the stairs behind me.

"Discord?"

I turned around. "Fluttershy," I said.

Home is where the heart is. I have itchy feet.

I am such a contradiction.

The End