On Fluttershy


                                            The previous speakers, instead of praising the pony Fluttershy, or unfolding her nature, appear to have congratulated ponies on the benefits which he confers upon them. But I would rather praise the pony first, and then speak of her gifts; there is always the right way of praising everything. May I say without impiety or offense, that of all the blessed ponies she is the most blessed because she is the fairest and best.

                                            And she is the fairest: for, in the first place, she may not be the youngest, but her youth he is itself the witness, fleeing out of the way of age, who is swift enough, swifter truly than most of us like:-Fluttershy hates him and will not come near him; but youth and Fluttershy live and move together-like to like, as the proverb says.


                                            Many things were said by anon about Fluttershy in which I agree with him; but I cannot agree that she is older than Rainbow Dash and Applejack:-not so; I maintain her to be one of the youngest of the ponies, and youthful ever. The ancient doings among the goddesses of which Celestia and Luna spoke, if the tradition of them be true, were done of Necessity and not love; had Fluttershy been in those days, there would have been no chaining or mutilation of the gods, or other violence, but peace and sweetness, as there is now in heaven, since the rule of Fluttershy began.


                                            Fluttershy is young and also tender; she ought to have a philosopher like Homer to describe her tenderness, as Homer says of ale, the cause and the solution to all of our problems... Her hooves are tender, for she sets her steps, Not on the ground but on the heads of men: herein is an excellent proof of her tenderness that,-she walks not upon the hard but upon the soft. Let us adduce a similar proof of the tenderness of Fluttershy; for she walks not upon the earth, nor yet upon skulls of men, which are not so very soft, but in the hearts and souls of both ponies and men, which are of all things the softest: in them he walks and dwells and makes her home.

                                            Not in every soul without exception, for Where there is hardness she departs, where there is softness there she dwells; and nestling always with her wings and in all manner of ways in the softest of soft places, how can she be other than the softest of all things? She is of flexile form; for if she were hard and without flexure Fluttershy could not enfold all things, or wind her way into and out of every soul of man undiscovered.


                                            And a proof of her flexibility and symmetry of form is her grace; which is universally admitted to be in an especial manner the attribute of Fluttershy; ungrace and Fluttershy are always at war with one another. The fairness of her complexion is revealed by her habitation among the flowers; for she dwells not amid bloomless or fading beauties, whether of body or soul or aught else, but in the place of flowers and scents, there she sits and abides, she is herself a part, one with the nature, one with the rest of the Creation, the creatures and the universe as a whole shine in her eyes as the heat of every star in the visible Universe burns inside her heart.


                                            Concerning the beauty of the pegasus I have said enough; and yet there remains much more which I might say. Of her virtue I have now to speak: her greatest glory is that she can neither do nor suffer wrong to or from anypony, any monster or any man; for she suffers not by force if she suffers; force comes not near her, neither when she acts does she act by force.

                                            For all men in all things serve her of their own free will, and where there is voluntary agreement, there, as the laws which are the lords of Equestria say, is justice. And not only is she just but exceedingly temperate, for Temperance is the acknowledged ruler of the pleasures and desires, and no pleasure ever masters Fluttershy ; she is their master and they are her servants; and if she conquers them; she must be temperate indeed. As to courage, even RainbowDash is no match for her; she is the captive and Fluttershy is the one. For Fluttershy, love masters her, as the tale runs; and the master is stronger than the servant. And if she conquers the bravest of all others, she must be herself the bravest.


                                            Of her courage and justice and temperance I have spoken, but I have yet to speak of her wisdom-and according to the measure of my ability I must try to do my best.


                                            In the first place she is a poet and she is also the source of poesy in others, which he could not be if she were not herself a poet. Fluttershy is a good poet and accomplished in all the fine arts; for no one can give to another that which she has not herself, or teach that of which he has no knowledge. Who will deny that taking care of the animals is her doing? Are they not all the works her wisdom, born and begotten of her? And as to the artists, do we not know that she only of them whom Fluttershy inspires has the light of fame?

                                            He whom Fluttershy touches riot walks in darkness. The arts of design and aesthetics, the work of Rarity might be under the guidance of love and desire; so that she also is a disciple of Fluttershy. Also the melody of Vinyl Scratch, all the philosophers, the priests, the wizards, the sorcerers and poets Twilight is studying, the feasts of Pinky, the empire of Celestia over all equines, are all due to Fluttershy, who was the spirit leading them. And so Fluttershy set in order the empire - the love of beauty, as is evident, for with deformity and chaos Fluttershy has no concern.


                                            She is the one who gave Rainbow Dash the impulse, the power to share a force and give it to all of the ponies a long time ago, not the opposite.


                                            In the days of old, as I began by saying, dreadful deeds were done among the ponies, for they were ruled by Necessity; but now since the birth of Fluttershy, and from the love of the beautiful, has sprung every good in heaven and earth. Therefore, OP, I say of Fluttershy that she is the fairest and best in herself, and the cause of what is fairest and best in all other things. And there comes into my mind a line of poetry in which She is said to be the pony who


                                            Gives peace on earth and calms the stormy deep, Who stills the winds and bids the sufferer sleep. There is she who clears men of disaffection and fills them with affection, who makes them to meet together at boards such as these. In friendship, she is our pegasus who sends love and sends away hate, desired by those who have no part in her.


                                            Such is the speech, OP, half-playful, yet having a certain measure of seriousness, which, according to my ability, I dedicate to the most perfect pony.