Time began to fly by in tedium, which wasn’t as awful as it may sound. Tedium in Equestria was exciting. My days were filled with further flight training, invigorating adventures, work to help sustain myself, and whatever other spontaneous occurrences would come my way. As I’ve said, there was nary a dull moment to be had.

As time went by, however, I began to feel an emptiness. It took me a while, and when the realization hit, I was slightly loath to admit it, but I missed my family. Why would I be loath to admit missing them? Because, quite frankly, my family only added to my pain. They were all off either living their dreams or more successful lives than I, and I was left feeling a sense of incompetency towards my endeavors. Of course, that all changed when Fluttershy arrived, but before then, my life really sucked, as you’re probably aware of.

But, considering they are my family, I could never not love them. In fact, as that emptiness became more and more apparent to me, my love for them only grew. I sincerely missed them. Once I got over my negative emotions, I missed them with a torturous passion. I told Fluttershy about it, and she was always there to comfort me with her love and affection.

One day, Fluttershy went out to run her usual errands. She promised that, if her hunch was correct, she’d be coming home with a pleasant surprise. I could only imagine what items of intrigue and leisure she would return with. What did she return with? Well, we’ll get there. First, I should tell you of what happened during the time while she was gone.

You see, one of the possessions I had brought with me to Equestria was a family portrait. It was a picture of all of us, just together for a casual family gathering. The whole camaraderie was there; aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. I looked upon the portrait for a moment, intimately remembering the occasion. My one cousin, who was of quite a capricious nature, wound up having a hilarious mood swing during the evening. This led to the unintentionally slapping of food across the table and making a gargantuan mess. The day was filled with much merriment, and it was a day I couldn’t forget easily.

I lifted the portrait off the wall that it rested on in the hall of my home and rested against the wall. I slid down and put my head back, gazing upon the portrait with a sense of elation. I chuckled to myself, remembering the numerous times my family would coalesce for festive gatherings. Christmas was always the best. Something about Christmas gave us all a sense of exhilaration, more so than any other holiday or spontaneous gathering. Perhaps it was just holiday jitters, or maybe it was something else entirely that I just couldn’t explain. But looking upon that portrait made me think really hard.

“I miss you all. So much,” I whispered to the picture, allowing my body to relax. Gently, I lost myself in a calming sleep. In that sleep, I began to reminisce old memories of my family.

The first memory came in the form of my elementary school graduation. It wasn’t nearly as eventful as my high school and college graduations, obviously, but it was a pleasant memory that I have somehow been able to hold onto all these years. It was a hot and uncomfortable day, and having to dress up in formal attire didn’t help in the slightest. Not all my family was there, just the immediate family. As my fellow graduates and I stood for observation in the school auditorium, I spotted my family and smiled at them. I remember so vividly how proud they were of my. Sure, it was just elementary school, but whenever children or siblings do something monumental, you’re proud of them for it. And my family was just the same on that day. We celebrated by going out to one of my favorite Italian restaurants.

And just as I was getting really into recollecting the memory, it faded and changed to a new one. Now, I was viewing the day of my first performance on stage. I was in the ninth grade, and my school was putting on a production of Into the Woods. Participating in this group was the catalyst for me to decide theatre was what I wanted to pursue as a career. The show was amazing, all thanks to the stellar cast and crew behind it. I watched as the cast walked out for bows. It was one of the happiest moments of my life; standing on stage, basking in a modicum of glory. And then I saw my family; most of them, in fact. They were all on their feet, cheering for me. As the cast walked off the stage, I waved specifically to them. Their faces were beaming with pride. It just goes to show you how loyal and important family is.

While I was gazing upon myself and my family, the memory began to fade again. My vision blurred with the changing memories. Now, I was viewing the day of my sixteenth birthday. There was an eventful day. I had my entire family over, as well as a couple friends. The party took place outside my house in the backyard. While all the adults and older members of my family conversed, my friends and I were causing an unending ruckus! Much to the dismay of my family, we were blasting punk rock and metal, and the gang and I were participating in small, contained mosh pits. My one pal actually wound up with a bloody nose. It was hysterical! But, in the end, we all gathered around the table for cake and ice cream, with everyone wishing me a happy birthday! I couldn’t wish for anything more than being happily surrounded by my family and friends.

My vision faded and cleared up once again to see a new memory, this time the day of my high school graduation. The day was as disgusting (in terms of heat) as my elementary school graduation, but thankfully this graduation was taking place in the air conditioned gym of a local college. I was all gussied up in my cap and gown, and I felt like I could take on the world. The ceremony went on as planned, and when it came time to accept our diplomas, my heart was soaring. My class went up one by one, and when my name was called, I could hear the cheers of my family from the large crowd. I laughed to myself as I walked down the line of district officials, shaking all of their hands appropriately. As I exited, I actually passed my family and offered them a juvenile cheer, much to our amusement. Aside from the crippling heat outside, it couldn’t have been a more perfect day.

Once more, my memories changed and contoured before me. I was in Las Vegas now, observing my family’s celebration of my twenty-first birthday. That was a frivolous time, indeed! Finally being the legal drinking age in the US, I intended to partake in the drinking of many spirits and the devouring of many libations. It was a true night of debauchery! Unfortunately, no sex was to be had (though that probably was a good thing, now that I think about it), but nonetheless, my family had a grand old time! They certainly weren’t proud of me on that night, but we were all having a fun! And that’s all that mattered to me.

My next memory was oddly not of my family. It was a memory of Fluttershy; my first memory of Fluttershy. I observed myself walking down the street of my home, passing the dumpster that would hold my future in it. I watched myself peeking inside of it to find the young Fluttershy, scared and out of place. I saw my younger self take her in his arms and carry her back home. It was heartwarming and quite moving, looking back on it. But as I watched the scene unfold before me, I wondered why I was seeing it, as all my previous memories were of me enjoying time with my family. Also, the memories of my high school graduation and my twenty-first birthday took place after I found Fluttershy. It seemed out of place.

And then I realized, Fluttershy was a part of family just as much as the rest of them, and seeing this memory reminded of that. Seeing it after all the other memories of my family made me realize how important she was to me. She had been with me through so much of my life. She was the one to help turn my life around, and I owed so much to her. I thought to myself that when I woke up, I was going to show her as much gratitude and love as humanly possible. Looking back at when I first met her, I never would have expected our lives to arrive at where we were then, or where we are now, for that matter. Putting it simply, it was beautiful to be shown all of this. It was calming and serene.

And then I began to wake up, or rather, I was awoken by a fearful Fluttershy. I heard the door to our home open, and a moment later, I heard her hurried hoofsteps moving towards me. She was by my side with her hooves on my shoulder.

“Matthew?! Are you okay?!” she asked anxiously. I shook my head and looked to her with a smile on my face. I wrapped her tightly in my arms and held her close, melting as she quickly returned the embrace.

“I love you so much, Fluttershy,” I stated. I heard her release a sigh of relief. She nuzzled her head into my chest, looking up at me with watery eyes.

“Are you alright, Matthew? Why are you on the floor?” she asked. I looked to my right and picked up the picture of my family. We both looked upon it, emotions tugging at my heart.

“I was just taking a small trip down memory lane,” I told her. She giggled as I kissed her on the head.

“And how was your trip?”

“Beautiful.” She smiled at me as she stood up and walked back over to where she had dropped her saddlebags.

“So, you’d say that you had a good day then?” She asked that with a hint of curiosity in her voice, looking over to me with a suspicious grin. I furrowed my brow and looked at her in confusion.

“What did you do?” I replied, knowing she was up to something.

“Me? I didn’t do anything,” she started, reaching into her saddlebags. “Twilight, on the other hoof, got us these!” She held up two golden tickets. What were they for? I think you already know that.

“Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?!” I shouted, jumping to my feet in excitement. Fluttershy nodded vigorously. I began hopping around our home, with unusual squeals escaping my mouth. Fluttershy was giggling at my over-zealous display. “God, I love Equestria!” I exclaimed. Fluttershy burst out into full laughter as I surprisingly picked her up and spun her around. I planted a passionate kiss on her lips and held her close.

“Okay, okay, I understand you’re excited! But Matthew, please, I need to breathe!” she protested, still laughing at me. I put her down and continued to spin around like a maniac.

“I’m sorry, I’m just so excited! I can’t believe we’re actually going! Well, I can believe that you’re going, cause you’ve gone before, but me?! This is sick!” I finally calmed down and sat down on the couch, smiling contently with my shenanigans being complete. Fluttershy sat next to me and kissed me on the cheek.

“Only three months to wait, my love,” she said, resting her head on my shoulder. I sighed in bliss and wrapped her in my wings. I kissed her on the head as she nuzzled herself in my embrace. And for the rest of the day, we just relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company. What could be better than that?