Blossoming

by Phil the Time Wizard

Chapter 1

Blossoming

Part One of Three:

"Alright! Fluttershy, take a look at this!" Rainbow Dash called out boldly from high in the sky.

Fluttershy watched with amazement as her old friend zoomed about in the air, moving nearly faster than she could trace. She did several spins and loops that were nothing short of impressive. Then, suddenly, she did a high speed dive directly through three large clouds, finally stopping to hover right in front of her friend.

"Hehe! So what'd you think of that?" Rainbow Dash shouted, boastfully.

"Yay!" Fluttershy called in a tone loud for herself, stomping her hooves a few times. "That was really cool, Dash!"

"You bet it was!" said Dash with a smile. "I am the Best Young Flier in all of Equestria for a reason you know."

"Yes! You're great, Dash," Fluttershy said tilting her head and smiling brightly. "I could never be as great as you."

"And that is precisely why I told you to come here today!" Rainbow Dash said, flying in a circle around Fluttershy.

"What?" Fluttershy asked, confused. "I... I don't understand..."

"Your old friend Rainbow Dash is a big shot now, Fluttershy," the pegasus boasted. "I mean I am the Best Young Flier in Equestria. And now I'm connected! The Wonderbolts know who I am! I'm practically a star."

"Yeah..." Fluttershy said meekly. "But... er... what does that have to do with me?"

"Anypony with my status has to give back, Fluttershy, or we just look conceited," said Dash doing a quick mid-air turn. "Pulling off the Rainboom a second time was a big landmark for me, but I can check it off and move onto the next one on my list..."

"Um... yeah...?" Fluttershy asked, now scared.

"You, Fluttershy!" Dash started with energy. "I've decided, that starting today, you're my apprentice!"

"A-apprentice..?" Fluttershy questioned, backing up, grimacing.

"That's right, Fluttershy!" Dash cheered. "As your friend, and as a future member of the Wonderbolts, I think it's about time I teach you to fly!"

"Umm..." Fluttershy spoke, looking down. "I-I... I know how to fly, Dash..."

"You can't really call what you do flying, can you? I mean, come on, it's not even close to the same thing," said Dash, her expression bold and confident. "Flying is all about height, speed, distance. Just moving your wings a little to push yourself off the ground isn't nearly enough!"

"It... is...." said Fluttershy in a barely audible voice. "I-it is enough for... m-"

"Don't be modest, Fluttershy, your a proud pegasus just the same as me! It's in your blood to want to hit the skies," said Dash, laughing playfully. "You just gotta put some effort into it and, before you know it, it will be me having to keep stride with you..."

"I-I... I really don't know about t-that..." said Fluttershy, averting her eyes from her friend.

"Yeah... maybe not," Dash started, tilting her head. "I mean, I do have the natural gift for it after all."

"That isn't-- Fluttershy started, Dash then flew in real close, frightening her. She backed up, feeling rather apprehensive.

"But you can at least match what I just did, no sweat!" said Dash with a firm nod. "All you need is just a little bit of my coaching!"

"I really don't---" Fluttershy began to speak, her voice still weak. Dash flew behind her and began to push her forward with her head. Fluttershy didn't budge.

"Don't tell yourself you can't Fluttershy! Not until you at least try!" Dash called. "I have faith in you!"

Fluttershy made some unintelligible small sounds, feeling horribly unsure. She was scared. She didn't like flying high and fast. She couldn't do it. It wasn't her. She wanted this to stop. Her body began to quiver a little. She wished she would just disappear.

"Come on, Fluttershy! Show me what you got!" Dash called out, still trying to push Fluttershy forward. "You can do it!"

"No!" Fluttershy shouted out, running forward. "No, I can't!" she punctuated. In tears now, she began to run away,

"Fluttershy... wait... I... " Dash called after her, but Fluttershy kept running.

She kept running and running, not really sure what was in front of her. Dash was just being her well-intentioned if self-absorbed self. It was kind of her to want to help Fluttershy be a better flier and even going so far as to offer to coach her at it. It was Fluttershy's fault for being such a horrible mess of frightened nerves. Now she was letting Dash down and wasting her time all because she herself was weak.

Fluttershy stopped running when she suddenly bumped into something, knocking it and herself over. She glanced up, shaking her head. She noticed then it was a pony she had collided with. It was Twilight Sparkle. She stood up.

"I'm so sorry, Twilight..." she said in a mild voice. "I was just in a hurry. I should have been looking where I was going..."

"Oh, that's okay, Fluttershy," said Twilight with a smile, standing up as well. "I was actually just looking for you!"

"You were?" Fluttershy asked, somewhat surprised.

"That's right," said Twilight, nodding several times, clearly incredibly excited about something. "You're just the right pony for the job!"

"Job?" Fluttershy asked, grimacing a little, not sure she wanted to hear this.

"That's right!" said Twilight, smiling excitedly. "You see, I was talking to Zecora the other day and I heard this fascinating story."

"Oh... I see...?" Fluttersnhy remarked, looking at the ground, even more positive she wasn't interested.

"You see, according to the tale Zecora heard, apparently in a dark corner of the Everfree Forest, a legendary unicorn magician built a secret library to hide all his most treasured tomes of magic," Twilight started, looking absolutely giddy, as she often did at the prospect of new, exciting books. "I want to try looking for it, and I want you, Fluttershy to help me!"

"Umm... no thank you...," Fluttershy, said looking at Twilight's hooves. "That sounds really scary.... you should ask Rainbow Dash instead..."

"Oh, but I need you, Fluttershy!" said Twilight, with zeal deep in her eyes. "You see, the magician left only one beast guarding his library: a chimera."

"C-chimera?" Fluttershy asked, not sure what it was, but frightened just at the sound of the name,

"It's a rare fire-breathing beast with the heads of a lion and a goat with a snake for a tail," said Twilight, using her telekinesis to open a book she had with her and push it into Fluttershy's face. The illustration on the page of the chimera was really frightening. Fluttershy backed up, cowering in fear.

"I... er... don't..." Fluttershy meekly replied, her voice falling to a whisper.

"But Fluttershy, you're perfect for this!" Twilight said with a confident nod. "You're really good with animals, right? And the chimera, it's made of several animals! If anyone can tame the chimera, it's you!."

"I really don't think I could," Flutttershy squeaked out almost all at once.

"Have a little more faith in yourself, Fluttershy. This is about your own special gift," said Twilight. "Don't you remember what happened with the dragon?"

"That was only because I was afraid he'd hurt you all," said Fluttershy. "I was really scared..."

"You saved me from the cockatrice when it turned me into stone," Twilight said with a nod.

"Rarity had entrusted me with the little ones... I had to... or someone..." Fluttershy spoke, her voice soft and quiet.

"What about the Manticore?" Twilight asked nodding. "You were pretty cool there."

"Yeah... but" said Fluttershy. "It doesn't always work..." She looked at the dirt below, thinking of the animals at the gala. "I can fail... and if I failed and you got hurt... I wouldn't be able to..."

"I have faith in you, Fluttershy!" said Twilight. "I know you can do it if you put your mind to it."

"No," Fluttershy said, louder this time. "I can't. I'm too scared..."

"Fluttershy... you don't..." Twilight started, stepping toward her friend.

"I'm sorry! I can't!" Fluttershy shouted out, shaking her head. She then began to run away again, in a completely different direction.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight called after her, but like Rainbow Dash before her, she didn't give chase.

Flutttershy continued to run through Ponyville not caring where she ended up as long as it was somewhere where there were no friends to disappoint. She owed a lot to Twilight Sparkle and really wanted to help her, but the amount of faith the unicorn put on her was so daunting. She felt like the weight of it all would crush her. It was too much to handle. She just wanted to escape.

That was when, yet again, she ran into someone. She fell back and looked up. This time, it was not a pony she recognized. It was a big colt with a kind of rough looking mane. At either side of him was another tough looking colt. Fluttershy felt paralyzed looking up at them.

"I-I-I... I'm sorry!" she said, shuttering with fear.

"It's quite alright..." the lead colt started, leering down at her. "A cute little filly like you can bump into me any day..."

"Oh... well... I'll just..." Fluttershy spoke, backing up. The colts stepped toward her.

"I've never seen you before," the colt said. "i'd remember such a pretty face,"

"Er, yeah..." said Fluttershy, still backing up, frightened.

"Tell me, what's the name that goes along with it?" the colt asked, drawing closer, still staring at her.

"That is enough!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted. A pony then ran toward them all. It was a unicorn, telekinetically waving a large wooden stick at the colts to force them back. It was Rarity.

"R-Rarity?" Fluttershy started, surprised.

"You deplorable beasts, you will unhand my sweet friend Fluttershy, or so help me, you will get what's coming to you!" Rarity shouted, waving the stick around recklessly.

"Watch it lady-- we weren't even trying to--" the colt started, stopping to duck swipes of the stick. "We just wanted to--"

"I know exactly what your lot wants, and it's just one thing!" Rarity called out, still waving her stick. "And I'll have you know Fluttershy is not that kind of pony!"

"Geez... we got it..." the colt spoke, shaking his head. "Let's bolt guys. This so isn't worth it..."

"That's right, you run! And don't you ever come back, you here me!" Rarirty called out after them, nodding at a job well done.

"Umm..." Fluttershy started, looking forward.

"Thank goodness I was here to put a stop to that," said Rarity, shaking her head.

"I don't know if they were as bad as you thought..." Fluttershy said, her voice unsteady.

"Oh, Fluttershy, still so young and naïve," said Rarity, shaking her head.

"Aren't we about the same age...?" Fluttershy asked, looking down, her voice still quiet.

"A lady must be fierce in dealing with colts like that! Give them any room to trot and they'll trample all over you!" Rarity started, dramatically.

"Well.. thanks... I guess..." Fluttershy muttered, not really sure what to say.

"You need to learn, Fluttershy. This world we live in isn't all magic and rainbows," said Rarity. "Though to be fair that is a large part of it." She gave a high laugh. "Things can be dangerous, especially for the beautiful. That's why ladies such as us must always be on guard!"

"Uh... a-alright..." said Fluttershy, really not sure what to say to the unicorn.

"Don't you get what I'm trying to say, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.

Flutterhsy simply shook her head.

"You need to learn to stand up strong and proud! Learn to be fierce, Fluttershy!" said Rarity. "I won't always be here to protect you."

Fluttershy looked around, there were lots of people staring at them. She wanted to hide.

"Come now, Fluttershy! I'm doing this for you! You don't want people to push you around and force you to do things you don't want to! You have to stand bold and tall and tell them you don't want to!" said Rarity, her voice loud, drawing even more attention.

"No, I don't want to..." Fluttershy muttered sheepishly.

"No, Fluttershy, you need to put a lot more into it than that! Come, give it a good roar. Something that would truly strike fear in their hearts. Shout it to the world!" Rarity shouted.

Fluttershy regressed, giving a barely audible peep and backing up, horribly conscious of all the eyes on her.

"Oh come now, you need confidence. I know you can do it, Fluttershy! You have my faith as your dearest friend!" Rarity said with sweeping dramatics, moving in close to the others.

"No..." said Fluttershy, shaking her head as she backed up, terrified. "I can't do it..."

"Fluttershy--" Rarity started, just as her friend bolted in the opposite direction.

Again Fluttershy ran, not sure where she was going. Why was today so horrible? Why did everyone she met expect so much of her? She hated it. She wasn't good enough at any of it. All she could do was let them down. Flying, facing scary stuff, speaking out, she couldn't do any of it. She was a useless wreck. She began to cry some more as she brought her run to a casual trot.

"Poor Fluttershy," said a voice from nearby. "You look really blue today..."

Fluttershy looked up to see Pinkie Pie trotting alongside her. "Oh... I er..."

"Silly filly, you're not really blue! You're just as yellow as usual, don't worry!" Pinkie Pie assured with a wild smile.

"Oh... that wasn't what I was going to..." Fluttershy started, shaking her head.

"So what's got little Fluttershy all down in the dumps?" Pinkie asked cheerfully. "Did someone eat your cupcakes? I personally really hate when that happens. Like one time I made all these cupcakes and I was super excited since they were going to be super yummy and I was so looking forward to eating them but then I left to get people to eat them with me and when I got back, Gummy had eaten all of my cupcakes. Can you believe that?"

"No... I er... it's not..." Fluttershy spoke, confused.

"I know! He doesn't even have teeth!" Pinkie Pie said, starting to hop around oddly.

"Uh... I..." Fluttershy was really at a loss.

"Don't you think that's odd? I mean, imagine eating cupcakes without teeth. How would you chew them?" Pinkie asked, leaning in close to her friend.

"Er yeah... I don't really...." Fluttershy spoke, starting to get annoyed.

"But then again, he doesn't have to worry about getting sugar on his teeth," said Pinkie, nodding to herself.

"Yeah.... I... uh... guess so...." Fluttershy said, forcing herself to smile.

"Anyway," said Pinkie Pie. "Who ate your cupcakes?"

"No one..." Fluttershy said quietly.

"That's wonderful! Why don't we eat them together, then?" Pinkie Pie said bouncing all about wilding.

"No... that's..." Fluttershy spoke. "That's not it... I don't have any cupcakes..."

"Aww..." Pinkie sighed. "What happened to them?"

"Nothing...." Fluttershy started, annoyed. "There weren't ever any cupcakes in the first place..."

"Well that's kind of disappointing...." Pinkie said, looking down. She then bounced forward and widened her eyes. "I know! That's why Fluttershy is so upset. She's sad because there aren't any cupcakes!"

"That... that isn't it..." Fluttershy said, shaking her head.

"Why not?" said Pinkie Pie. "That would make me upset..."

"It just isn't..." said Fluttershy in a low voice.

"I know then!" said Pinkie cheerfully. "You're upset because Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity all tried to force you to do things you didn't want to! Isn't that right?"

"Er... yes...." said Fluttershy looking down. "How did you...?"

Pinkie bounced in front of her, startling her. "I knew it!" she shouted.

"Have you been following me today?" Fluttershy asked, deeply confused and unsettled.

"Maybe," said Pinkie. "But that's not important. What is important is that you don't let those three get to you!"

"I know..." Fluttersy remarked, still wondering if her privacy was somehow compromised.

"They just don't understand Fluttershy like I understand Fluttershy!" said Pinkie, nodding blissfully "You're sensitive, Fluttershy. They should know better than to push you around. Not every pony has to be brave and strong. Fluttershy can just be Fluttershy."

Fluttershy frowned. This isn't what she wanted to hear. She wanted to be someone her friends could count on. She wanted to be stronger. She wanted to be a better pony. She didn't want to be pampered and treated differently because she was weak. She hated that. It was insulting.

"You're wrong..." Fluttershy muttered softly.

"I am?" Pinkie started, looking confused.

"Yes," Fluttershy said. "I don't need to be treated like a foal..."

"But it's painful for you to be forced around like that," said Pinkie. "So what's wrong with it?"

"Everything..." remarked Fluttershy as she darted ahead. "It's not what I want."

"Fluttershy! Where are you going?" Pinkie asked, bouncing toward her.

"Please... leave me alone..." Fluttershy started, shaking her head.

"B-but..." Pinkie started, as the other continued to run for her. She stopped bouncing. "Alight then... if you insist..." she called after the other in a less cheery voice.

Fluttershy continued to run away, just wanting to be alone. Sure, it didn't feel good to be pushed around by the others, but that didn't mean she wanted to be condescended to by them. She was an adult after all. She was actually older than Pinkie and Dash and most of the others.

She was just so useless at so many things. It frightened her. It made her feel like she was going to explode. Distraught, she slowed to a trot and then stopped running all together. She slumped to the ground and stared at the dirt. She wanted to just vanish. She began to sob uncontrollably, unaware of her surroundings.

After a few moments, she felt something. It was something moist on her face. It smeared the tears into her cheek. Slowly, Fluttershy opened her eyes. Her face was being licked. Stepping back, she noticed it was a familiar brown and white dog.

"Oh, hi, Winona," Fluttershy said, smiling at the sight of the cheerful dog. "Are you trying to cheer me up?"

Winona barked then licked and nuzzled Fluttershy's face some more. The pegasus pony started to laugh.

"Hehe. That tickles," she said, smiling, feeling a lot better.

"Winona!" a familiar voice called from not too far away. "Where'd ya get off to, girl."

Winona ran toward the source, barking as she did. Slowly Applejack trotted out from between some apple trees. Winona came up to her. Flutershy recognized then she was on the outskirts of Applejack's apple groves, completely surrounded by apple trees.

"There ya are, girl," said Applejack, smiling at her pet. She then looked ahead of herself, her eyes meeting Fluttershy's. "Ah, Fluttershy what ya doin' down there?"

"I... er..." Fluttershy started. She stood up. "It's nothing..."

"Fluttershy..." Applejack started, stepping toward her friend. "Have you been cryin'?"

"N-no..." Fluttershy said, averting her eyes.

"Fluttershy..." Applejack said, clearly not amused as she moved in close to her friend. "You should know better than to try and lie to your friends. Sure as sugar, we'll see through it every time..."

"I-I... I..." Fluttershy stuttered, looking away.

"It's okay, Fluttershy..." said Applejack, smiling at her friend. "I ain't gonna ask you about nothing you don't wannna talk about. But if you wanna vent it, I got the ears to listen."

Fluttershy smiled. Applejack was so kind. She always was. Being around her wasn't like being around the others. It was soothing. It made her feel just a little more confident in herself.

"Everypony's been ganging up on me today..." Fluttershy muttered in a low voice.

"Oh? How's that?" Applejack asked, head tilted.

"Dash wanted to teach me how to fly better... Twilight wanted me to tame a scary monster... Rarity... she's just embarrassing... and Pinkie... she treats me like a foal..." Fluttershy started, finding it still hard to speak.

"Well, shoot. That don't sound like too kindly behavior from our friends there," said Applejack nodding.

"They all say they have faith in me... but I just don't think I can do any of it..." said Fluttershy looking down. "And all I do is let them down."

"They just don't understand you," said Applejack. "Everypony's different, Fluttershy. They can't expect you to suddenly be just the same as them."

"But I don't want to be treated differently," said Fluttershy. "I want to be a dependable pony that everypony can count on...."

"Of course you do, Fluttershy," said Applejack in a warm voice. "Ain't no tree that don't wanna grow up and be strong and healthy. And you, Fluttershy, are a tree."

"I am?" Fluttershy started, confused. "Why do ponies keep saying that...?"

"Trees don't grow all the same. Dependin' on the elements, even two trees planted at the same time can grow completely different," Applejack said, giving a smile. "And if you shake a tree before it's ready, you ain't gonna get much fruit. That don't mean you lose faith in that tree ever getting at strong as the rest, you just gotta be patient, step back and give it time. Give it room to grow."

"But what if it doesn't ever grow?" asked Fluttershy, looking around. "Not all trees make it, after all. Surely you've seen some..."

"Every apple tree on Sweet Apple Acres is important to us, Fluttershy," said Applejack smiling. "If I see a little tree struggling to grow, I give it a little extra love and attention. If I stand by it and treat it good, right as rain, I'm sure to make it shine before too long."

"Yeah?" started Fluttershy. "So what do I do? There's no one to tend to me like that..."

"You got me, Fluttershy. I got a real talent for it, ya know?" said Applejack, nodding.

"Oh..." Fluttershy said, blushing. " I don't know... I couldn't ask..."

"Ask what?" Applejack questioned. "I'm your friend, Fluttershy. Ain't no special favor. Friends are supposed to be there for each other..."

"It just always feels like you're going out of your way for me, Applejack," Fluttershy said in a low voice.

"It's cause I care about you, Fluttershy. You're my friend," said Applejack. "The others care too, even if they don't always know how to show it."

"I know..." said Fluttershy, closing her eyes. "It's just too much, sometimes."

"I know. Don't you worry about it. Everypony gets a little overwhelmed havin' to worry about things all by her lonesome," said Applejack. "But there ain't no reason for you to feel alone if ya got some good friends at your side."

"You'll help me then?" Fluttershy asked, looking up at her friend, a faint blush on her face.

"Sure. If that's how ya want, it, I'll be here with you," said Applejack, smiling.

"I'd like that very much," said Fluttershy in a quiet voice. "I don't want to let anyone down. And if you're there with me... I think I'll at least be able to try..."

"That's the spirit!" Applejack said cheerfully. "And if you still can't do it, then what the hay. No one's gonna hate you for it."

"I should apologize to everyone," said Fluttershy in a soft voice. "They might be worried."

"Leave 'em be, Fluttershy. That can wait 'till tomorrow," said Applejack. "It's best to take things like this easy. Besides in my eyes, it's they who are needin' to apologize to you."

"Yeah?" said Fluttershy, nodding. "If you say so..."

"Well that's that then," Applejack said. "Come along now. Granny Smith fixed up a whole mess of fresh apple pies..."

"That sounds delicious," said Fluttershy tentatively. "But I don't know if I should impose..."

"Don't be a stranger, Fluttershy. My home is yours," Applejack insisted, giving a firm nod.

"Alright then," said Fluttershy, smiling. She trotted along with Applejack feeling alarmingly contented. Being at the pony's side, she truly did feel like she could be a stronger pony for once. It was a nice feeling.

Comments

[Late Night Delight]

I like the story, A few spelling mistakes here and there, And you use the term "People" instead of "Ponies" But that is all forgivable.

Very good though chap

[Frizzy]

Twilight needs help with a chimera? She should ask Kratos for help.