//------------------------------//
// Under the Tree 
// Story: Super Shy 
// by Severith 
//------------------------------//


Super Shy
Chapter 7: Under the Tree


I easily awoke the next day, my eyes springing open. For the time being, I just lay in my bed as I let the morning sunlight soak into my bedroom. A soft smile was spread across my lips. Today could be a good day.

The morning passed by quickly as I went through my usual routine. After grabbing something to eat, I sat down on my couch in the living room and munched on some oats. I levitated over my newest Daring Do book from my bag. The book was set down upon the table in front of me. It flipped open to the first page. I decided to only read the first chapter for now before running to do a few errands. Then I would continue the story later in my favorite reading place under the tree. Hopefully, Fluttershy would meet me around the same time, but I was not too worried yet about what would happen if she did show up.

Anyways, after completing the first chapter, I put the book away for now. Then I left my house.

Nothing exciting happened during the middle of the day. I bought food, talked to someponies, and other dull things. Finally, I had finished everything I had needed to do, and I could go chill under my tree and read.

A shiver ran through my body after I placed my saddlebag around me. My lips curved into another happy smile. The anticipation bubbled in my stomach as I walked out the door into the bright outdoors. This was definitely a different feeling from all the other days that I had left my house to meet Fluttershy. It just felt right to me.

The little cottages of Ponyville passed by me as I trotted towards the outskirts of town. The smile from earlier still stayed on my lips. I held my head high and gazed at the scenery around me.

You know, I really shouldn't get my hopes up too high. I thought to myself. For all I know, she won't show up, or I'll say something stupid, or do something stupid, or... I shook my head, trying to clear my negative thoughts. It doesn't matter. At the very least, I'll have a book to read.

The edge of Ponyville came and went. Then I turned off the road into the grass and walked up a small hill. I followed my usual route through the grass until I reached a familiar, lonely tree on top of another hill. Around the tree, lovely flowers sprouted here and there.

I sat down under the shade of my tree with my back to the tree. My eyes swept the horizon as I soaked in the beautiful landscape. With my magic, I unlatched my saddlebag from my back and set it down to my left, resting the bag at the base of the tree. Then I levitated my book to me where I could read it. The pages flipped to the chapter I was on. Once I had found my place, I began to read.

The gentle sounds of birds chirping and trees blowing in the wind encompassed me as I delved in the fictional world of Daring Do. My mane gently swayed with the calm breeze. I breathed in the smell of grass, flowers, and the bark from the tree behind me. It was a perfect evening to relax while reading a good book. At that moment, it mattered not if Fluttershy did decide to join me. After the last week of anxiety filled meetings with Fluttershy and her friends, this evening would be fine with or without that lovely, shy mare.

The time passed, unbeknownst to me as my book grabbed most of my attention. I looked up only occasionally to see if somepony was nearby. Then, a new nagging feeling arose in the back of my mind. I gazed up once again, only this time I saw a familiar pegasus casually strolling through the flowers.

It was her: Fluttershy. She was not looking my way, but I did catch her glance in my general direction. She slowly meandered through the flower patch towards my tree. Her mane bobbed lightly with her steps.

I quickly shifted my focus towards the book in front of me, my heart racing. I started to feel lightheaded from anticipation.

Relax… just relax I thought, trying to calm myself. Nothing to worry about…
I chanced another peek. The yellow pegasus was still wandering towards me, but she immediately hid her face behind her pink mane when I looked up. I also reacted by turning back to me book.

She must be just as nervous or shy as me. I thought to myself, giggling a little.

Eventually, the shy mare managed to reach my tree. I politely looked up from my book to see Fluttershy quietly poking at the ground and staring at the ground while one of her big, blue eyes was obscured by her mane.

“Umm… hello,” Fluttershy softly announced, glancing my way.

“Hey,” I responded, just as quietly.

A very familiar moment of silence passed between the two of us.

“Do-“

“Can-“

We both started speaking at the same time. Both of us withdrew ourselves for a second while we waited for each other to brave breaking the silence again.

“You go first,” I finally said.

“No, I’m sorry for interrupting. You go first,” Fluttershy insisted.

I smiled, chuckling slightly. “Okay,” I said with my heart beating fast as I decided to talk. “Do you want to join me?”

“Sure!” Fluttershy answered, flapping her wings a couple times in excitement.

My heart skipped a beat from her answer. I turned to my book for a second while Fluttershy sat down to me right. The two of us rested under the shade of the tree. We let the silence linger for an indefinite amount of time, though the lack of words did not bother us. The sun slowly sank below the horizon. The evening sounds echoed throughout the serene park.

I sighed softly. The atmosphere relaxed me as I lifted my eyes from my book. A gentle smile rested on my lips as I absorbed the scene. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a similar smile form on Fluttershy’s face.

The mutual silence continued as we both observed the surrounding environment. Our manes blew slightly in the soft breeze.

This peaceful spot under the tree calmed me. So, I let my mind wander. All the nervousness and anxiety melted. All the troubles that seemed so overwhelming or complex in the past now felt like a laughable afterthought. All my past worries and fears felt pointless while looking back at them. All the future problems I had imagined seemed so trivial and far away.

For now, the only thing that mattered was this moment with Fluttershy, just this simple moment of nothing with another pony. No worries. No problems. Just… existing… relaxing…

So, I enjoyed this time spent.

I casually glanced over to my left at Fluttershy. Her gentle smile and happy eyes warmed my heart. The wind ruffled her mane, obscuring her eyes for a moment. She raised a hoof to brush the hair away from her face. In that moment, she also snuck a peek at me. Our eyes met briefly before we both looked away, blushing slightly.

I giggled softly to myself. Why was I still feeling shy? I felt comfortable right now, but I guess I would always be a bit shy. To my left, I heard Fluttershy respond with her own soft chuckle. Maybe she was feeling the same as I was.

“So…,” I timidly broached the silence. “How are you doing today?”

“Good,” Fluttershy answered softly. “Umm… how are you?”

“Good,” I answered kindly. For a second, I contemplated adding more to my answer or asking another question. No other questions or topics popped into my head, unfortunately.

We sat in silence for several more moments.

“Um… is that a good book?” Fluttershy asked me, pointing a hoof at the book lying open on the ground.

“Oh, yeah,” I quickly said, smiling to myself. I had forgotten that I had the book. Fluttershy’s presence had distracted me from reading, not that I was complaining. Then I added while scratching the back of my neck with my right hoof, “Thanks for bringing it to me yesterday. I can’t believe I left it at the library.”

“It was nothing,” Flutershy smiled, shying away slightly. “It was my fault that you forgot it, anyways. When I showed up at the library and distracted Twilight…”

“Oh! No, no, it wasn’t your fault,” I tried to correct her while shaking my head. “I was just… flustered… I shouldn’t have acted so stupid.”

“Well… if I hadn’t told Twilight about you, then she wouldn’t have done anything. It was might fault that all of my friends bothered you,” Fluttershy explained a little sadly while hanging her head.

“Oh, well, it was a little your fault, but I could have said something to Twilight or any of your other friends. I was just too… shy, if you know what I mean.”

“I might have an idea.”

We both shared a glance and chuckled. The awkward tension that had been building lessened after that. I smiled to myself, raising my head with renewed confidence. Fluttershy also shook her head so that her mane was not obscuring her lovely face anymore. The two of us gazed out at the scenery around us.

“It wasn’t all bad, though,” I suddenly commented, taking another stab at conversation. “It was still fun hanging out with you the past week.”

“Really?” Fluttershy said, looking at me with a small smile on her face. Turning away and nodding, she added, “Yeah, it was fun, but I know I shouldn’t have told my friends about you, and they shouldn’t have needed to help so much.”

“Yeah, they did have to help a lot to set things up,” I agreed. “But, really, I don’t think neither of us would have said anything to the other if it wasn’t for your friends. You definitely have good friends. Though they are a bit interesting.”

“Oh, they are good ponies. I’m glad to have them as friends, even if they do force me into situations I’m not comfortable in, like this last week. They mean well, but I hope they didn’t bother you too much.”

“No, no, definitely not!” I quickly answered, waving my hooves in front of me. “I appreciate them helping and everything, even if I was placed into uncomfortable situations. Sometimes, that’s what we need. Honestly, your friends made the dates a little more interesting with their help. We probably would have sat in silence that first day if it wasn’t for Twilight whispering instructions to us.” I chuckled warmly after that last comment.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right!” Fluttershy also laughed sweetly, putting her right hoof to her mouth. “I wasn’t sure what to do. She had told me a few things from the book, but she wanted to join me and help without being seen. I don’t know if you know her like me, but she always wants to follow instructions exactly from a book.”

“I can see that,” I smirked, glancing at Fluttershy. “She lives in the library for reason, I suppose.”

Again, we both giggled together.

"Well, after that, Rainbow Dash was completely different," I added. "She doesn't seem like a pony that reads books. She really wanted me to prove myself or something I guess. Everything was a competition to her. I'm not much of an athlete, and I don't think she liked it."

"Oh, don't mind her," sighed Fluttershy. "She's always been competitive. She has stood up for me several times, too, but she can be a bit... um..."

"Cocky?" I suggested.

"Hehe, yeah," Fluttershy grinned.

"Oh yeah, and you um... stood up for me...," I said, remembering the end of the tug-o-war.

Fluttershy stayed quiet for a moment, staring off into the distance. Eventually she quietly stated, "Well, she wasn't being very nice to you because you lost. It didn't matter to me who won as long as we were having fun and trying our best."

"I agree, though I think you're stronger than you look and that's why you won the tug-o-war. It was still fun competing against you."

"Mhm."

The conversation lulled for a moment as we each waited for the other to speak. Both of us now sat comfortably. Fluttershy did not hide her face behind her mane like she used to do. I casually looked around us.

Then I decided to continue down the list of Fluttershy's friends who had helped us, but I was drawing a blank on the name of the next one. "What was the name of your friend that invited me to the Ponytones concert? I remember she was selling apples when I met her."

"Oh, that's Applejack," Fluttershy responded. "She runs Sweet Apple Acres."

"Ah, I see," I said. "She was very friendly. I hated to decline her offer to go to the concert. I don't really know what happened that night. I just... I was preoccupied or something. The concert was great though. The Ponytones were awesome."

"Yeah, they are. I really love listening to them."

"And singing their songs? I remember you have an amazing singing voice," I complimented her quickly without thinking.

"Oh my gosh! Um... thank you," Fluttershy squeaked as she began to retract into her shy shell.

"Um... your'e welcome," I timidly said. "You know, if you wanted to, you could sing in a group or by yourself for anypony. If you wanted to, of course! Not that you have to... I know how difficult it is to just talk to a group of ponies, let alone sing." I added, shrugging my shoulders.

Fluttershy remained quiet for a moment, thinking over my words. She sighed. "I know I could, if I wanted to, but I don't want to sing in front of anypony just yet. Maybe someday."

I let her ponder everything that had been said. Complimenting her like that had never been my plan, but the words had just slipped out of my mouth. Despite that, no regret nagged at the back of my mind. My words had been sincere.

"Do you remember the gala in Ponyville a couple days ago?" Fluttershy asked, breaking the silence. "The one Rarity invited us to? It was fun dancing with you."

"Of course!" I answered, smiling at Fluttershy. "That was a good night... mostly. I do remember dancing terribly and stepping on your hooves a lot and bumping into you. That's kinda why I left in a hurry."

"What? You were dancing fine," Fluttershy said, tilting her head at me. "It was my fault that you were bumping into me. I'm not a good dancer, either. You shouldn't have left."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry," I apologized, twiddling my hooves in front of me. "It's just... I wasn't really prepared to dance like that, and I was really nervous." I paused for a moment, then added, "You looked beautiful by the way. I never mentioned it because..." I trailed off, looking away.

"Thanks."

I chanced a glance at Fluttershy. She was also shying away, but a bit of red tinged her cheeks. Seeing that caused me to blush from embarrassment.

"You looked handsome, too," Fluttershy spoke, surprising me.

"Uh... thanks," I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck again as the redness intensified on my cheeks. "It was all thanks to your friend, the white unicorn. Sorry, I can't remember her name."

"It's fine. You did meet a lot of ponies," Fluttershy chuckled. "Her name is Rarity. She's a really generous pony. She's a really talented dressmaker too."

"Yeah, she is," I agreed while thinking of all the fabulous dresses I had seen in Rarity's Boutique.

"If you didn't feel comfortable dancing, you could have said something. I wouldn't have minded. I was having a good time regardless of what happened," Fluttershy commented softly. "I mean, it was up to you. I completely understand you not wanting to bother me."

"Oh, well I though about it, but I didn't want to say anything, and I think Rarity wanted us to dance no matter what," I shrugged again. "I think we were taking a break or something when she came over and told us to dance. I guess it doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past."

"Hehe, yeah," Fluttershy chortled. "Maybe she should have let us be, but I know Rarity. She only wants the best for me, and all her friends. I hope you don't think badly of them after this past week. They are all good ponies. They mean well."

"Yes, I can tell they do," I smiled at Fluttershy. "They do mean well. I know they are good ponies. I hope I get a chance to meet them again."

We let the conversation rest for a bit. The two of us basked in each other's presence. Noticing my book still on the ground, I levitated it back into my bag. I was enjoying this talk with Fluttershy too much that I did not want to read at the moment.

Then I decided to resume chat about our past week. "I guess the last day to talk about was the party last night. Was it Pinkie Pie that threw it?" I guessed, thinking of the pink, cheerful, earth pony.

"Mhm, that was Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy nodded. "She's the best when it comes to parties. Have you ever attended one of them before yesterday?"

"Mmm, probably," I thought aloud. "I have been in Ponyville long enough and I do remember seeing her everywhere, but I had never really met her."

"Pinkie really is everywhere it seems," laughed Fluttershy. "She knows everypony. I'm not surprised that you've seen her. She likes to throw parties for everypony."

"Well, it was a good party yesterday. Though it felt a bit forced. She really wanted us to play all of the games. She seems like the opposite of... well.. us... She was so energetic when she showed up at my door."

"Yes, Pinkie can a be a bit... much at times, but she truly cares about ponies and wants to see everypony smile."

"Yeah, you're right. She was maybe a little too eager to get you to play pin the tail on the pony. I remember you almost poked me," I snickered, glancing sideways.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry about that!" Fluttershy apologized while covering her face with her hooves.

"It's alright. At least you didn't place the tail in an inappropriate place," I sighed while also covering my face with my hooves.

"Oh... my... well... that's okay," Fluttershy squeaked. Then she said boldly, "I do remember you beating Rainbow Dash at musical chairs. That was cool."

A beam of happiness shot through my body from Fluttershy's comment. A smile spread across my face. "Thank you. You know, I couldn't let Rainbow Dash beat me after she was being so cocky. Your cheers helped me win."

Our conversation ended for the moment as the topic of the past week's dates came to an end. We let a comforting silence engulf us.

More time passed. The sky darkened as the sun lowered beyond the horizon. The night chill started setting in from the lack of the warm sun.

I heard the rustling of grass next to me. The air around me warmed up all of a sudden. Then I felt the soft touch of fur on my shoulder. Glancing left, I saw Fluttershy had shifted closer to me. Now, I began to panic a bit. What do I do now? What does this mean? Do I say something to her? What do I say? What…?

As the questions erupted in my mind, I quelled them with a realization. I always wanted to make everything so complicated, so calculated, but it did not matter. Not now. We had been fine up until by only sitting here and relaxing. There was no need to overthink this.

Taking a deep breath, I nudged closer to Fluttershy. Our shoulders touched. Still, she shuttered from the cold. Then without thinking, I reached around her and embraced her closer to me. I smiled at her as my heart raced. She happily returned the smile and rested her head on my shoulder, and then she continued watching the sunset.

Now my mind was blank. I let this moment wrap us both in warmth. Nothing really mattered to me except this moment with this gentle mare. At first, I could not believe this simple moment could be so rewarding. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized simple moments could be just as great as anything else. We did not need to go see a show, or engage in an activity, or even talk. All we needed was each other. No other ponies would be able to comprehend the simplicity of silence. The might not understand the idea of two ponies hanging out for the sake of being in each other’s company.

I laid my head on top of Fluttershy. We both sighed softly. The sun set on the horizon.

I absorbed the peaceful atmosphere. At this moment, nothing really mattered. I could care less what happened before or after this. The only thing that I cared about was this simple touch from another shy pony.



The End