Fluttershy and I returned home as soon as the rain stopped. I walked, she flew. She managed to blend in with the clouds and get home safely without anyone noticing. I stepped in a few puddles here and there, which sucked immensely. But, nonetheless, we both arrived home safe and sound.

Well, maybe a little less than sound. I wasn’t so sure at the time. I sat down on the couch, feeling dour and ruined. Fluttershy smiled into my eyes and kissed me on the cheek. I took a quick glance at her and realized she was pretty dirty. I chuckled, and soon, she took notice as well. She told me it came from while she was in the tree. Surprisingly, I hadn’t noticed while we were outside. I guess we were having such a strong moment that neither of us cared to acknowledge it.

Fluttershy gave me another quick kiss on the cheek and went to clean herself up, leaving me to be alone with my thoughts. I twiddled with my thumbs for the longest time, thinking about everything we had talked about. For the most part, it seemed like Fluttershy was okay with the truth. She actually seemed a bit happy to have heard all of this. I told her about some of her more interesting adventures on the show, and she asked if we could watch some episodes some time. Who was I to deny her that?

But, all the while, as I looked over our big conversation in my head, I was continuously distracted by a painful thought. I remembered the way the lighting danced in the sky. It wasn’t natural. It didn’t sit right with me. There was a lump in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t go away, and I think I knew why. All I could do was sit there and pray that my time with Fluttershy wasn’t coming to an end.

Unfortunately, a few moments later, there came a knock at the door.

Now, if you told me six years prior that I was going to find my favorite pony, Fluttershy, in a dumpster on my block, and I was going to spend the next six years of my life with her, I’d recommend you to check into an insane asylum. It sounds crazy, when you think about it. But, low and behold, it actually happened to me. I spent six years happily in love with someone I thought I’d never be able to meet. Fluttershy turned my life around, and I did the same for her as well.

Six years isn’t that long of a time span, when you think about it long and hard. Yet, it felt like so much more than that. It felt like I had spent half of an eternity with her, and that so much more was going to happen. The idea of spending an eternity with your soulmate is so hackneyed nowadays, but to be honest, I couldn’t give a shit. I was in love with Fluttershy, and she was in love with me. We were inseparable. We were going to be together forever.

Or so I thought. As I heard that knocking at the door, that lump in my gut exploded, and feelings of complete misery and despair fell over me. I felt I was about to cry; I knew exactly who was at the door. Fluttershy was still in the bathroom, so our visitors were going to have to wait to see her.

I slowly got to my feet. I made my way to the door, with every step as painful as the last. I composed myself and spoke through the door.

“Who is it?” I said, feeling quite stupid to be asking a question with such an obvious answer.

“May we come in?” a voice from the other side replied. Now, keep in mind, my brony emotions were still fully intact those six years. So, you can imagine that when I heard that elegant and regal voice from outside my door, I was back-flipping through the skies in my mind. Even at a moment like this, a part of me couldn’t wait to lay my eyes upon my visitors.

Slowly, I opened the door, only to bear witness to one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I thought she was pretty good-looking in the show, but in real life, she radiated pure beauty. Princess Celestia stood proudly on my doorstep, bowing her head to me as we made eye contact.

“Hello. Matthew, am I correct?” she said. I was surprised she knew my name, and thusly, I asked the appropriate question in the moment.

“H-How do you know my name?” She smiled at me.

“There is much to discuss. May we come in?”

“‘We’?” I questioned. Celestia revealed the rest of Fluttershy’s friends behind her. My heart exploded into itty bitty pieces, each of which was singing a joyous song of juvenile ecstasy. The Mane-fucking-Six! On my doorstep! Well, technically, Mane Five, cause Fluttershy was in my house, but who cares! They were all there!

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and even Spike were all there. Celestia asked once more if they may enter. With a heavy heart, I allowed them to enter, a choice I almost immediately regretted.

The ponies and baby dragon walked in one by one, each of them taking in their new surroundings accordingly. Celestia made herself comfortable on the rug in the center of the living room, while the rest of the ponies and Spike continued looking around. Pinkie was bouncing with uncontainable energy, as she usually does.

“Wow! We’re actually in the home of an alien! It’s so weird! Actually, if you look real close, it’s almost like our homes! I wonder if they’ve got food like we do! Do you have any food mister?! Huh, huh, huh?!” she spoke sporadically, Applejack having to hold her down and cover her mouth with a hoof.

“Pinkie, this ain’t no time fer snackin,” Applejack interjected, her stomach then growling lightly. She chuckled and scrunched her muzzle in that funny way she did in the Discord episodes. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“There’s some snacks in the refrigerator in the kitchen, if you want,” I told them. They smiled and walked/hopped into the kitchen. That left me with Celestia, Twilight, Dash, Rarity, and Spike. Rarity seemed very interested in the various memorabilia items I had strewn across the apartment. Spike was particularly interested in my comics.

“That is so cool! These guys even have comic books! Hey, uh, alien, wanna trade?!” the little dragon asked me. I chuckled lightly at his young optimism.

“Spike, please, aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?” Rarity questioned. “After all, we won’t be here long.” It felt as if she had just stabbed me with her words. It must have shown on my face, as Celestia seemed to take note.

“You seem distressed, Matthew,” she said, quite bluntly I might add.

“Well, you know, when six ponies and a baby dragon come walking into your apartment, you tend to get a little freaked out…” I replied.

“As ‘freaked out’ as when you found Fluttershy?” she asked. My heart skipped a beat. My breathing felt off as well. My head dropped. I gave up.

“What do you want?” I asked her.

“We want Fluttershy back!” Rainbow Dash intervened, flying towards me. “Give her back!” I knew Dash could be pushy, but this was something new.

“Rainbow Dash, stop it! You’re scaring him!” Twilight said to her, trying to get her to back off.

“I can assure you, I’m not afraid of Rainbow Dash here. I’m just… sad, I guess.” I let out a heavy sigh of agony. “I suppose there’s no reason to dodge what’s going on here. I’ll ask the obvious question with the obvious answer; are you here to take Fluttershy from me?” Celestia looked at Twilight, both of them looking slightly disheartened. The Princess looked back at me and nodded. I looked away and nodded to myself.

“If it’s any consolation to you, Matthew, just know that we do not do this light-heartedly,” Celestia said to me, trying to comfort me. I couldn’t blame them for what they were doing. I only wished that it didn’t have to be done.

I nodded and stood up, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I began walking to my bathroom, letting Pinkie and Applejack pass by as they trotted back into the living room after finishing in the kitchen. Just before I entered the bathroom, I took a quick glance back at the ponies awaiting my return with Fluttershy. My heart was pounding as I slowly opened the door.

Fluttershy was finishing up with cleaning her mane. It was still slightly wet, and I could see a few water droplets still in her coat. I shut the door behind me and walked in, kneeling down beside her and helping to dry her off. She looked back at me and smiled, giving me a short kiss on my cheek. I tried to work up a smile, but my optimistic attitude had seemingly been destroyed moments ago. I couldn’t even crack a grin. Fluttershy took immediate notice of this, her smiling dissipating, with a stare of worry taking its place.

“Matthew, is something wrong?” she asked. I could hardly stand to look at her.

“Well… I don’t know. Let’s just dry you off, okay?” I said, managing to fake a smile. Fluttershy didn’t seem fooled by my false expression, but she went along with it anyway. We dried her off and made her mane look as gorgeous as it normally is. Before I stood back up, I gave her a long passionate kiss. She returned it, but she seemed surprised by it at first. As we parted, I tried to stand up, but she pulled me back down in a tight embrace. I could hear her whimpering.

“M-Matthew…” she started, her embrace only getting tighter, and her tears flowing out faster and faster. I held her in my arms as tight as I possibly could. I didn’t want to let go, but reluctantly, I did just that. I looked into her tear-filled eyes with my own.

“Come on,” I started, “I’ve got some friends who want to meet you.” She couldn’t stop crying or sniffling, but she nodded and followed me to the door. I opened it, and we stepped out of the bathroom. I led Fluttershy to the living room, where her pony friends, Spike, and the Princess were waiting for us.

It’s hard for me to describe what Fluttershy looked like as she laid her eyes on her friends. She certainly wasn’t happy, as she had no memory of any of them, and therefore, she had no reason to be happy to see them. Yet, at the same time, she wasn’t surprised to see them all sitting quietly and patiently in our living room. It seemed as though Fluttershy was just in a state of shock, and she didn’t know how to feel in that moment. At least, she was like that, until Pinkie decided to have one of her moments of loud, exuberant joy.

“Fluttershy!” she cheered, jumping over to us, and nearly tackling Fluttershy to the ground. Before she could do so, I covered Fluttershy with my body. I looked at her, concerned. She had been frightened by the sudden outburst, so I hugged her and ran my hand through her mane to calm her down.

“Hey, it’s alright. No need to be afraid,” I said quietly, as she shivered in my arms. I looked back to Pinkie. She was confused, to say the least. “Sorry about that.”

“Uh, it’s okay. But, hey, Fluttershy! It’s me, Pinkie! Don’t you remember me?” she asked. I moved out of the way so Fluttershy could look around the living room to see all of our guests. She shook her head.

“N-No,” she answered, still shaking slightly. “I… I don’t think so,” she said afterwards, seemingly second guessing her first answer. She looked up at me, her face filled with worry. “Matthew, what’s going on?” I had never experienced the pain I had felt in that moment. The indescribable agony that weighed so heavily upon my heart couldn’t be ignored. I felt myself on the verge of breaking down.

“They… uh, they’re…” I started. I turned away. My lower lip was quivering frantically. My eyes were beginning to fill with water. My heart was crumbling to pieces. And then, I started to hear whispering. I turned back around and saw Twilight speaking softly to Rainbow Dash, seemingly nudging her forward, as if instructing her to do something. Dash walked up to Fluttershy, who could barely comprehend what was happening.

“Uh, hey Fluttershy. It’s me, Rainbow Dash. Do you remember me?” she asked. She had locked her eyes with Fluttershy’s, and the shy and frightened pony became motionless. Fluttershy just froze. She didn’t say or do anything. I looked at her, feeling sick to my stomach.

“Fluttershy?” I spoke. No reply. I knelt down beside her. “Fluttershy?!” Again, nothing. “What did you do to her?!” I nearly shouted at them all.

“Stay calm, Matthew. She is remembering,” Celestia spoke, as if to try to assuage my apparent sense of dread. It didn’t really work, as I became more confused by her answer.

“Remembering?” I questioned. But not a moment later, Fluttershy shook her head and looked around. Her eyes lit up with what must have been joy, and a warm, ardent smile spread across her face.

“Rainbow Dash!” she squealed, wrapping herself around her best friend in indubitable happiness. Rainbow Dash was quick to return the favor, holding Fluttershy in a tight hug. Fluttershy was crying, and as the two separated, she gazed around the room to see the rest of her friends were present. “Girls!” Had I blinked, I would have missed Fluttershy wisp over to her friends, joining with them in a giant group hug. I looked over to Celestia.

“What just happened?” I asked. Celestia looked back at me, smiling.

“She has regained her memories,” she answered. I took a seat on the couch and watched the reunion. I couldn’t help but smile, much as it hurt. I tear rolled down my cheek. As the emotional scene before me came to an end, the girls started to express how glad they were to see Fluttershy again. As all of this was going on, some old questions began reverberating in my mind.

“What made her lose them in the first place? Princess, why was she sent here to begin with?” I asked, almost stubbornly. Everyone looked at me as if I had committed a sin. I suppose my wording was a bit blunt, but I needed answers. These questions had been locked in my mind since the day I first found Fluttershy, and it was high-time I… no, we received some answers.

“I’m sorry?” the Princess replied. She was about as stunned as everyone else (should I be saying everypony? I think I’ll just start using that).

“I believe we are due for some answers, Princess,” I said, deciding to take a more straightforward tone now. I needed closure, especially since the ponies intended on taking Fluttershy from me.

“I see. Well, where would you like to start, Matthew?”

“The beginning, if you will.” Celestia nodded and looked at Twilight.

“It was the evening of my visit to Ponyville with the delegates of Saddle Arabia. As I had commissioned her, Twilight performed for everypony her new trick with some of Fluttershy’s animal friends. Unfortunately, something went terribly wrong. Twilight’s magic seemed to begin to fail her, and, fearing the safety of her friends, Fluttershy leapt into action to try to save them. Twilight’s magic reached a breaking point, somehow opening an interdimensional portal. Fluttershy was sucked into it and sent here. The portal closed before we could do anything.” Celestia’s explanation was a twisted version of the fifth episode in season three of My Little Pony. Although, everything seemed to add up. Except for a few loose threads.

“Okay, that explains why she’s here. But what about her being fourteen years old when I found her. And what about her being unable to remember anything? And why is she remembering everything because of Rainbow Dash?” I questioned.

“The first two questions I cannot wholly answer. I would assume that Twilight’s magic possessed a strange quality that digressed Fluttershy to an earlier age. It seems that while her age was reversed, she lost all of her memories as well. At least, the ones from after age fourteen,” Celestia explained to me. Honestly, it made about as much sense as I expected it to. “As for the factor of Rainbow Dash, I simply believe it was because, before Fluttershy was taken from us, Rainbow Dash flew in to try to save Fluttershy.”

“I nearly had her. I reached out my hoof to her, and she reached back. But… I was just too slow…” Rainbow Dash interjected. It seemed like she was on the verge of tears. It was evident that her failure to save Fluttershy weighed heavily upon her. But this brought about a new question.

“How long has Fluttershy been gone?” I asked. Celestia and the rest of her company looked around at each other. As Celestia looked back at me, a feeling of light-headedness fell over me.

“Six days,” she answered, much to my consternation.

I had to sit down, I was so surprised. I mean, in retrospect, it was probably a good thing that the ponies had only gone six days without her. But, truthfully, how else was I supposed to react at the time. That meant that a year on Earth equaled a day in Equestria. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. You couldn’t possibly imbibe me with the ability to comprehend it all, I was so shocked. Fluttershy walked back over and sat next to me. She began to try to comfort me.

“Matthew? Are you alright?” she asked. I chuckled, strangely enough. A tear ran down my cheek.

“I… I don’t know,” I said, beginning to run my hand through her mane, as I had done normally with great proclivity. I quickly found myself hugging her, not wanting to let go. She returned the hug just as quickly. As we parted, we looked back at the rest of the ponies and baby dragon.

“I know this must all come as a shock to you, but you have our sympathies. If there were an easier way to break all of this to you, believe me, we would have done it. Unfortunately, we were left with no alternatives,” Celestia said. I nodded.

“It’s fine, I guess. I just didn’t expect… well, all of it, I suppose. I mean, what would have given me any reason to believe that everything that’s happened to me would actually happen? It’s unreal is what it is. A fantasy that I always to keep me going when things got rough. I was holding on to a fairytale, really. And for a while, once Fluttershy was here, I thought I just might get that happy fairytale ending. But I would always remind myself that something like this was bound to happen. I just… I wish it wasn’t so soon.”

And in a flash, I broke down. Tears began to pour from my eyes like a fountain. Left unchecked, I probably could have soaked the entire area of the couch I was sitting on. It was just that the realization of what was happening to me, an imminent threat that I knew was coming since the first day I had met Fluttershy, had finally caught up to me. And it hit me. Hard. I didn’t want to believe it, truly I didn’t. But there was no dodging the facts. No dodging the reality. This was the way things had to be.

Fluttershy soon began to hug me once more, wrapping me up in her wings. She started to cry as well, and I quickly returned the embrace. It was obvious enough that she didn’t want to leave either. And could you blame her? After everything that she and I had been through, why would she want to leave? Why would she want to be taken away from me? Our situation wasn’t fair. And I think Celestia knew that. While the rest of Fluttershy’s friends began to weep lightly, the Princess just sat there, in a manner that mocked me. She made no sounds, made no movements. She just sat there.

I wanted to say something to her, but I couldn’t form any words. Fluttershy and I were still locked in a tight embrace, and I so desperately wanted to speak out against what was to come. But Celestia seemed quite complacent with what would surely be her choice. She was going to take Fluttershy away from me, and there was nothing I could do to stop that. If this was truly the Princess Celestia I had seen in various My Little Pony episodes, and read depicted in multiple fan fictions, then I knew damn well how obdurate this Alicorn was. Any words of protest would simply fall upon deaf ears.

“M-Matthew…” Fluttershy squeaked, her head still buried in my chest, “I don’t want to go…”

Now, she was crying harder than me. I hugged her more tightly. Any tighter and she would probably suffocate. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pinkie burst into a literal fountain of tears, and I saw Spike and Twilight sharing a caring embrace. Rainbow Dash was trying to fight back her emotions, while Applejack and Rarity cried quietly to themselves. Evidently, Fluttershy’s friends were on our side. Obviously, the girls and Spike wanted Fluttershy back, and I truly couldn’t deny them that. It was just the nature in which everything was happening; how fast everything was happening was just too painful for us. Finally, Fluttershy and I parted. I spoke directly to her.

“Fluttershy… I love you. So much,” I said.

“I love you too, Matthew,” she replied. I swallowed.

“You need to… to go with them.” Fluttershy looked up at me in shock.

“W-What?”

“You have to go with them, Fluttershy!” I exclaimed, almost a bit harshly. Judging from the look on her face, she could hardly believe the words generating from my mouth. Her expression wrenched at my heart. I could barely handle it.

“B-But… N-No. No, you can’t let them just take me!” she protested.

“They’re your friends. And Equestria is where you belong. Fluttershy, you’re limited to this apartment here on Earth. And if you want to go outside, we have to deal with making sure you’re hidden. And what if someone ever found you? Do you think I could deal with the consequences of that?”

“I don’t care about any of that, Matthew! I care about you! That’s all I need!”

“No it isn’t!” I shouted, rising to my feet. I seemingly demanded everypony’s attention, and rightfully so. “I love you! So fucking much! But you can’t be with me anymore!”

Silence. A complete minute of silence. Everypony stared at me. Fluttershy was practically glaring at me with daggers. Spike made a coughing noise, but nopony batted an eye towards him. I finally diverted my eyes from Fluttershy and sat back down. But as I did, she got up.

She walked over to Rainbow Dash. Before I could apologize, they were wrapped in a tight embrace. I couldn’t justifiably stop it. I looked away.

“Just go. Please,” I said. I shut my eyes and dropped my head, resting it my locked hands.

I heard hoofsteps moving towards me. I looked up, expecting Fluttershy. Oddly enough, Celestia was standing in front of me. I gave her a deadpanned expression. I was confused, to say the least. A part of me expected her to rub it all in my face. Yet, another part of me hoped she would at least try to comfort me. I got the latter, to my surprise. In fact, I got more than I expected.

“Matthew, it is okay. Though I cannot directly relate, I do understand your pain. However, I think, perhaps, you might look at the positives to your situation,” she said. No, that all doesn’t sound too great. Just wait.

“Heh, sure, the positives. Bite me, Celestia. You may as well be ripping my heart out and shoving it down my throat. Believe me, I don’t want to let her go. If I had a say in anything, I wouldn’t let you take her. But because I love her… because she’s so important to me, I’ll let her go,” I said. Celestia smiled, to my disgust.

“That’s all I needed to know. Fluttershy, a word please,” Celestia said. Fluttershy looked over in surprise. She walked over to Celestia, who took her into the kitchen. They spoke very quietly; no one in the living room could hear a thing. I stared blankly at the rest of the group. They all looked back with expressionless faces. They seemed as troubled as I was, given the circumstances.

A moment later, Celestia and Fluttershy walked back in. Fluttershy sat next to her friends once more. Celestia stayed standing.

“We’ll be off then,” she said. I could feel my heart being twisted and contorted into knots upon knots. It wasn’t fair. I started to cry once more. Twilight then stood up. I assumed she would be taking everypony home. However, Celestia stopped her. “Allow me, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight nodded and sat back down. “It is alright Matthew. This will all be over soon.” Celestia’s horn began to glow.

“Wait!” I quickly stopped her. “Don’t I at least get to say goodbye first?” I asked, my voice cracking slightly. Fluttershy looked at me with tear-filled eyes. Celestia chuckled.

“You won’t have to.” And in a moment, Twilight’s horn emitted a flash of light. The last thing I saw was a radiant smile on Fluttershy’s face.

I woke up with the sun beaming down on me. I squinted momentarily, trying to adjust my eyes to the change in lighting. I felt the ground around me, realizing that I was in a field of some sort. Finally being able to look around, I found I was on a hill, surrounded by nothing by soft, green grass. I sat up and looked out to horizon. I saw an orchard of beautiful apple trees. My heart nearly jumped as I stood up and turned around.

Standing in front of me were the girls, Spike, and Princess Celestia. Behind them, Ponyville. I was ecstatic, and at the same time, confused.

“There’s no way. No. I don’t believe this. Nope. Nope. Nah.” I was muttering like a blithering idiot. Everypony laughed at me and smiled.

“Welcome home, Matthew,” Fluttershy said, walking over to me. I looked down at her with the most ridiculous grin on my face. I picked her up, spun around five or six times, and kissed her like crazy all over.

“I don’t get it. I thought you guys were taking Fluttershy home,” I said, looking at the rest of the group. Celestia giggled and walked over.

“That was the plan, originally. However, I do not believe in destroying true love. I asked for a word with Fluttershy to determine how noble and true your love really was. Based on what she told me, I have no doubts that you belong here with her and the rest of my little ponies. I am confident that you be wholly welcome here in Equestria,” Celestia said. I was addled to the point of retardation. In that moment, I had no words to possibly describe how happy I was. “Of course, it will take some time for everypony to get used to having you here in Equestria. Considering that you are a foreign to this land, not everypony will be as accepting as we have been.”

“That’s not a problem at all! You’ll see, Princess! Equestria is gonna love me!” I was so excited to be there that nearly I forgot the repercussions of having left home. “W-Wait… What about my family? My friends? Everything back home?” I asked. Celestia nodded her head.

“Surely you understand how powerful my magic is. I altered your world so that you never existed there,” she answered. It was like something out of a comic book (seriously, it’s like when Doctor Strange alters reality to make everyone forget who Spider-Man really is). It was slightly baffling to hear, and a part of me couldn’t stand to believe it. Yet, at the same time, I accepted it. I mean, it was sort of horrible that my family would have no recollection of who I was. But at the same time, it put my mind to rest. I would be sad about it for a while, but I would get over it. Besides, I was going to get a new family, I just didn’t know it yet.

“Thank you, Princess. This is just too perfect. Heh, I just wish I could have brought my stuff with me. So much coolness lost. Brings a tear to my eye,” I joked. Celestia giggled.

“Not to worry, Matthew. You’ll find close to Fluttershy’s cottage a new home has already been constructed for you. Inside, you will find all of your belongings, hopefully laid out to your liking. Of course, you can change anything any way you like. This is your home now. It should feel as such.” I put Fluttershy down and hugged the Princess warmly.

“Thank you. So much.” She smiled and returned the love.

“You are very welcome, Matthew.”

We parted, and I looked back to Fluttershy. I knelt down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. We smiled at each other for a moment, neither one of us knowing what to say.

“So, uh… What now?” I asked. Fluttershy giggled.

“I don’t know. What now?” she copied. Rainbow Dash flew over in a blur.

“Last one to Matt’s place is a rotten egg!” she shouted, and she flew off. I stood up, laughing.

“Really?! So unoriginal! And you don’t even know where it is!” I shouted to her. Before I could say anything else though, Fluttershy had already flown off. I sighed a happy sigh. I looked back at Celestia, who motioned me to go. The rest of the girls and Spike had already done so as well. “See you soon, Princess. And, again, thank you,” I said. She smiled at me and giggled.

“Go on now. Wouldn’t want to be a rotten egg, would you?” she joked. I smiled and ran off to join the others.

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, helping me write. Twilight is reading one of her numerous books, Rarity is (I guess) trying to get a tan (which doesn’t really make sense because, ya know, fur), and Dash, Pinkie, Applejack, and Spike are playing in the water. The sun is starting to go down. We’ve been here practically all day. While everypony else was having fun, I had an empty journal to start writing in. And let me tell you, writing all of this has been a blast.

Don’t worry, my story isn’t done yet. My story is far from over, in fact. Because as long as I am here, my story will continue. The story of Fluttershy and me.