//------------------------------// // Chatroulette: Sometimes, You're Just Asking For It (Vinyl Scratch & Fluttershy) // Story: The Things You See On The Internet... // by Zanem-Ji //------------------------------// Everypony knew that Rainbow Dash was Fluttershy's best friend. They were practically sisters, seeing as how they grew up together. What everypony didn't know though, was that Vinyl Scratch was pretty close to the animal caretaker as well. Ever since Fluttershy took those assertiveness classes from Iron Will, she's had a thirst for it, and for some confidence as well. Unfortunately, it was also because of those same classes, that she was afraid to actually put her hoof forward and go through with it. She didn't want anypony to fear her, just respect her. And so, after getting to know Vinyl, she decided that she'd be the one she'd ask for help. The Unicorn had a way about her that made her outgoing and confident, without being completely narcissistic. "Alright 'Shy, I've got a fresh, new lesson for ya today." Vinyl announced. She trotted over to her computer and turned it on. "Today, we're going to work on you talking to other ponies, face-to-face." Fluttershy's ear folded against her head, "Oh dear....we only did 'Introductions' last week. Don't you think that...that's a bit of a leap?" Vinyl chuckled, "Well, I'm not going to throw you out in the middle of town square and make you talk to anypony." she pulled up two chairs with her magic, "You're going to talk to ponies face-to-face, but on the Internet!" Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion as she walked over to join Vinyl, "How are we going to do that?" "Ever heard of a website called 'Chatroulette'?" Fluttershy shook her head. "Basically, it's just a site that allows you to talk to ponies all over the world, via your internet, a mic, and a webcam." "So...how does this help?" "Because the thing is, you'll never know who you'll meet on here. The site randomly selects somepony, and connects you to them. It'll keep doing that too, everytime you click 'Next'. That way, you could technically say whatever you want to them!" the small smile she had on her face disappeared, "Remember though, just like you can say anything to them, they can say anything to you. I think it's a good way to get you started." Fluttershy smiled, "Thank you, Vinyl. You're such a good friend for helping me out with this." "No problem. It's what friends do. I'm going to get you out of your shell, if it's the last thing I do!" The computer finished whirring to life, and Vinyl typed in the site's URL. Within moments, the Chatroulette site appeared. Fluttershy got a worried look on her face, "Why are there all these warnings? Is something bad going to happen on this site?" Vinyl shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. That's just how the world works." she leaned forward and clicked the 'start' button. Their camera showed them in the little box, and Fluttershy cringed, “Oh…my…I look terrible.” Vinyl rolled her eyes, “’Shy, you look fine. Don’t even worry about that.” They didn’t wait much longer before a white Earth Pony mare appeared on the creen. She gave them a friendly smile as she brushed a strand of her black mane from her face. Vinyl returned the smile as she started to speak. “Hi there! The name’s Vinyl Scratch, and this is…” Vinyl lightly elbowed Fluttershy, who had already averted eye contact with the mare on the other side of the screen. Crimson flushed through her face as she looked back up, “I’m…Fluttershy…” The mare smiled, “My name’s Checkered Past, but everypony just calls me ‘Checkers’. Would you like to be friends?” A small smile appeared on Fluttershy’s face, “Um…sure…” “Cool! So…tell me a little bit about yourself.” Checkers asked. Fluttershy rubbed the back of her head, “Well….I’m an animal caretaker, and Vinyl here, she’s a DJ-” “Oh no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean things like that about you.” Her friendly smile suddenly turned to one of creepiness, “I want your height, weight, blood type, home address, a cellphone number-” Fluttershy put a hoof to her lips in shock as Vinyl slammed her hoof onto the ‘Next’ button. The Unicorn looked over at her shy friend, “Okay then…like I said before, this thing can connect us to anypony…that also meant the weird ones like her. So, let’s try this again.” They waited a bit before another pony appeared on the screen. Another Earth Pony, but this time, a stallion. He appeared to be a bit older than them, looking like he was in the age range of early to mid-30s. “Hello there, my name is Stone Dust. Do you have a moment to talk about our Lady and Savior, Princess Celestia?” Before Fluttershy could politely decline, Vinyl hit ‘Next’. She turned and gave her an upset look, “Why did you do that, Vinyl?! That’s so rude!” “Please, you could tell he was a Jehoofvah’s Witness. He’s probably used to being cut off.” The screen displayed yet another pony. However, they were wearing a ghoul mask that would normally be worn on Nightmare Night. Fluttershy shrunk behind Vinyl as the pony stared at them and breathed heavily. Vinyl arched a brow, “Uh…dude, you know Nightmare Night’s not for like, another five months, right?” The only response was the steady, heavy breathing. Vinyl rubbed her head, “Okay…so…what’s your name?” Breathing. “Where do you live?” Breathing. “You got any hobbies?” Fluttershy leaned into her ear, “Why do you keep trying to talk to them? It doesn’t look like it’s working…” Suddenly, the pony leaned closer, until their amber colored iris and pupil took up the screen. The breathing got absurdly loud, as they finally decided to speak, “I’m your biggest fan…Fluttershy…” Vinyl guffawed while Fluttershy slammed the ‘Next’ button as quickly as she could. She looked up angrily at her friend, “It’s not funny! That was weird!!” “You think he’s a fan of your modeling work?” Vinyl asked between giggles. Fluttershy rubbed her temples, “I knew back then that I shouldn’t have let Rarity drag me into that…” Before the two had time to recover, somepony else was on the screen. It was male zebra that was seated beside a female griffin with light blue feathers. The griffin screeched out, “OMIGOSH IT’S DJ PON-3 AND THE MODEL FLUTTERSHY!! I’M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!!” Before Vinyl could reply, Fluttershy smacked the ‘Next’ button again. “Fluttershy, what the hell was that for?!” Vinyl questioned angrily, “You can’t just shut down a fan like that!” Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion, “How was she any different than the one we talked to before?” “Uh, because she’s a chick? They always act crazy about idols they like! She liked you because you’re hot-,” “Um...t-thank y-” “And she liked me because I’m a famous DJ! Stuff like shooting down a fan before they even get to speak affects my publicity, dude. Not cool.” Fluttershy arched a brow, “I thought you didn’t normally care what anypony thought about you?” “I still have bills to pay. I mean, Tavi makes plenty of money with her concerts, but let’s face it, EVERYPONY LIKES DUBSTEP MORE THAN CLASSICAL MUSIC!!!” “Shut up, Vinyl!!” Octavia screamed from the living room. “If it isn’t the caretaker and the DJ! Strange that I’d bump into you two this way!” Vinyl and Fluttershy turned to see Zecora on the screen. Vinyl arched a brow, “I didn’t know Witch Doctors had computers.” Zecora chuckled, “Even in my home, there’s a bit of technology. I search the web to help with my alchemy.” “Then why are you on this site?” “Apparently I’m not that approachable, so only on the web am I allowed to be sociable.” “Well, I’m glad to see a familiar face on here!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “And it’s for that reason we’ll have to catch you later, Witch Doctor!!” Vinyl stated before before clicking ‘Next’. “Why’d did we stop talking to her? I can actually hold a conversation very well with her!” “It’s like I said, you know her. That’s why you can talk to her so easily. The goal is to have you be able to talk to anypony, so we can’t sit here and chit chat with ponies…or zebras that we know. Save that for the strangers.” The screen popped up with two young Pegasi colts and a Zebra colt. They all had goofy looks on their faces. “SHOW US YOUR TITS!!” Vinyl rolled her eyes and grumbled as she clicked ‘Next’, “Immature little fuck wads…” What popped up next made Fluttershy and Vinyl’s eyes go wide. Their mouths dropped as sloppy, wet sounds and labored breathing rang into their ears. Octavia rounded the corner into the room, “Vinyl, have you seen my-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Vinyl spun around while Fluttershy continued to stare on in horror, “Babe, it’s not what you think!-” “I already told you not to watch porn on MY computer! If you want to watch that garbage, then use your own damn laptop and risk getting viruses on it, not my stuff!!” “Yes ma’am, but-” “NOW!!!!!” Vinyl spun back around and shut Chatroulette down. Octavia let out a snort before trotting out of the room, grumbling as she did so. She quickly popped her head back through the door frame, “And ‘clopping’? Really? You chose that? I can understand if you’d watch mares having sex, but you chose to watch some idiot jerk his meat off! What, am I not good enough to keep you satisfied?” The blush on Fluttershy’s cheeks now spread to her whole face as Vinyl rolled her eyes, “Octavia, please, can we not discuss this in front of our guest?” The cellist let out a huff, “Fine, but we’re definitely going to have this talk.” She shut the door behind her as Fluttershy moved both of her hooves to cover her mouth. Vinyl looked over at her, “Alright…maybe we should’ve just taken you out into town. It probably would’ve ended better than this.” When she got no response from the Pegasus, she waved a hoof in front of her face, “Uh…Shy? You alright??” “You…you didn’t you see it?” “See what?” “His…cutie mark…” “Uh…so? What of it?” “Um…well…" Fluttershy's face was flustered and hot enough to cook a meal on, "T-that was...Big Mac's cutie mark..."