> Super Shy
>  by Severith
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Shy Encounter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Super Shy

Chapter 1: Shy Encounter
	


“Finally, a chance to relax,” I sighed as I plopped down next to tree. After setting down my bag, I levitated out a book and set it down in front of me. I magically flipped through the pages to my current place in the book. The shade from the tree and the cool breeze comforted me as I delved into the fantastical world of Daring Do.

A sound drifted through wind over the gardens on the outskirts of Ponyville. The voice was just sweet and innocent enough to break my concentration.

“There’s music in the treetops! And there’s music in the vale!!” the beautiful voice floated to my isolated spot.

I looked up to see a happy, yellow pegasus with a flowing pink mane and tail skipping merrily towards me. The gentle sound of her voice soothed my ears. Her eyes were closed as she skipped closer and closer to my space.

“And all around the music fills the sky!!” the lovely female pegasus continued. “There’s music by…” Suddenly, she stopped as she opened her eyes, noticing me for the first time. Immediately, her eyes widened in shock. She quickly clammed up as she saw me watching her a couple feet from the path at my tree.

I returned her gaze, but quickly averted my eyes from the awkwardness of the situation. I assumed she did too, considering her prolonged silence. I chanced another glance just as she peeked over at me. Smiling and blushing to myself, I averted my eyes once again, knowing she probably did too.

We stayed at this standstill of shyness for what felt like eternity.

“Um…. nice song…,” I muttered softly at an attempt to break the silence. I chanced another glance.

The yellow pony smiled nervously and kicked her front right hoof casually while whimpering, “Th-th-thanks…”

The awkward standstill commenced once again.

I felt like I should say something clever and smart or something. I really had enjoyed the pegasus’s voice and song, but I did not exactly know how to translate my incoherent thoughts into a reasonable, sane compliment. I always seemed to get tongue-tied around any female pegasus. This moment especially had caught me by surprise.

“Ummm...thanks,” the pegasus responded softly.

Again, the awkward silence continued.

I did not have anything I felt worthy of contributing to this sudden exchange. My social interaction comprised of me saying “Hello” to random Ponyvillians throughout the day. I did not know how to proceed with this event, but my lingering interest of this pegasus demanded I present my best side. Yet, I failed to show my alluring side. I know I had seen this pony before, but I could not for the life of me remember her name. We were both residents of Ponyville, I was sure. Still, her name alluded my  clouded thoughts. I felt obligated to say something cool or funny, but my social awkwardness impeded me.

“You’re voice is...umm...be-...be-…, um….,” I attempted to stab at complementing the gorgeous mare. Unfortunately, my shyness took hold, forcing me to blush profusely while glaring at my open book.

“Mmmmm….mhm….,” sputtered the shy pegasus. Her eyes darted anywhere but at me. Though I did notice her gaze slightly lingered on me for just one second.

Once again, the silence lingered.

“Well...umm…,” she whispered. 

Out of the corner or my eyes, I saw her slowly back away from me. I mumbled, “‘Bye,” but I doubt she heard me. Oh well. The whole encounter had caught me off guard. Of course, most social interactions catch me off guard.


*     *     *


I trotted through the center of the marketplace. Levitating the the scroll in front of me, I looked over my list. Sighing to myself, I approached the first stall. Several ripe red onions were on display on the counter and in the buckets to the side. I picked out a few good onions. I handed over the required bits before heading off to my next destination. The attendant gladly took my money with a smile. I moved on as I stashed the onions in my bag.

Onions, check. I thought to myself, checking off the the item on my list. What next?

The mid-afternoon crowd began forming in the streets. This made my shopping a bit difficult than expected. Unfortunately, I had to weave in and out of ponies to continue. The sudden influx of ponies made me feel a little uncomfortable. My next destination, the lettuce stand, had a group of ponies browsing the wares.

I’ll come back, I guess. I thought while backing away. Sighing, I trotted down the street. I should go home, I guess I don’t NEED this stuff. 

I took one last sweep across the marketplace to make sure there was something I absolutely needed. My eyes stopped not at a stand, but a familiar pony. That pink flowing mane and tail and yellow fur stood out from all the other dull bodies.

The traffic of the crowd curved around the mare as she carefully walked up to a stand. Her wide eyes nervously looked over the wares. Other ponies browsed the same stand. They ever so slightly stepped in front of her. As each pony casually shopped, the mare's eyes watched the new ponies. Her mouth muttered quiet apologies and took small steps back. Her head drooped and muzzle quivered.

I watched this happen from a distance. Seeing her signs of timidness reminded me of my recent attempt to buy something. A knowing smile crossed my face.

If only i could help her. I thought to myself as she continued walking shyly around the ponies. So I began to envision a happy daydream.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


In my mind, I saw myself confidently lead the way to the tomato stand. Nopony stood in my way. "How many tomatoes do you need, my dear?" I asked the mare (I really needed to know her name).

"Umm...three would be fine," she answered.

"Three tomatoes, please!" I spoke without hesitation.

The attendant picked out three amazing tomatoes for us. I handed over some bits.

"Here you go!" I presented the tomatoes for my nameless mare.

"Yay!" She exclaimed. Her gorgeous blue eyes brightened and her ears perked up. Soft, warm legs wrapped around me in a hug. Looking up me, I gazed down at her to see a single tear form at the corner of her eye.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The daydream soothed my nerves. I continued to absentmindedly watch the yellow pony apprehensively sift through the crowd. She generously stepped aside for others. Those eyes darted anxiously between ponies. 

Suddenly, from two stalls down, our eyes met.

At once, my mind raced into overdrive. My head snapped about as I pretended not to have been staring at her. I quickly turned to the nearest stand. Blood rushed to my cheeks even as I tried uselessly to convince myself not to be embarrassed. In my peripherals, I noticed the mare stare just for a bit before I lost my intense interest in her.

“Can I help you?” the pony at the vendor asked me instead of the other two ponies near me. His eyes squinted a little in confusion.

“Ummm….,” I jittered. “I’m just....just looking.”

“Okay...,” the pony said wearily before turning his attention to the others.

What do I do?! I thought. She probably saw me, gawking like an idiot! She doesn’t even know me. She probably thinks I’m weird or a stalker or something. I don’t know… is she gone?

I chanced a glance to my right. Two stands down, I spotted her perusing the stand I had seen her just before she had seen me. Of course, she peeked to her left, right at me.

Our eyes met, again.

This time I saw the brief flash of a embarrassment cross her face before I once again tried in vain to distract myself. Though, the only image that crossed my mind was the brief glimpse of a smile on her muzzle. Even my crippling anxiety could not erase that single thing from my mind. I mirrored that smile with my own lips. It took me a few seconds to remember my surroundings. This helped bring me back to reality. My awkwardness awareness heightened to levels way above comfortableness. With my ears flaming, I shuffled away from the scene. I limited my area of vision and attention to just a narrow cone in front of me towards edge of the market.

The noise of all the other ponies chattered about me. Of course no one paid me any judgement as I scurried around them. Though one voice struck out amongst the babble.

“Fluttershy, there you are!” the female voice said. “Where are you going?”

“Oh… hey Twilight,” I heard a familiar sound from another female pony. “I think I’m done for now. I got most of what I needed.”
I could not believe it. Even though I had tried to escape that scene, my lack of awareness had blinded me. There, now across the street, stood the same mare from before. Luckily, she did not notice me. Her arriving friends preoccupied her from seeing me. Her pink, flowing mane also curled in front of her mane, impeding her view even more.

“Ooh! Ooh! Lookie what I found! said a pink pony with pink, puffy hair.

“Are you alright, darling?” asked another mare, this one with a white coat and a purple, magnificently curled mane. “Are you sure you got everything? You look a bit frazzled.”

“Oh… I’m fine, Rarity,” the quiet mare sighed. Her voice not exactly conveying her statement.

What do I do? Should I leave? I probably should before she notices me again. I thought to myself, but I did not immediately trot away. A slight curiosity compelled me to stay.

“Are you sure, dear? You look… distracted. Did somepony get in your way again?” the white mare, Rarity inquired her friend. “Or did somepony say something mean to you?”

“Oh… no it’s not that,” Fluttershy reassured. “It’s just…”

“What? You know you can talk to us about anything,” Rarity encouraged the timid mare.

“Well… ummm… it’s just… I… ummm… kind of met this… ummm… stallion yesterday…,” Fluttershy uneasily told them.

Nope! Okay! I’m out! Don’t need to hear anymore! I told myself, my eyes going wide. Stumbling around, my hooves attempted to lead me far away from that area. I heard the collective gasps and giggling of the collective mares.

The last thing I heard was Rarity saying, “You should go on a date!” 

That suggestion caused me to skip a step and run into another pony. The pony in question shot me a frown while I apologized. He shook his head before trotting off. Luckily, I was far enough away from the mares that they did not notice anything.

A date? With me? That would be… so awkward. I don’t even know what I would do. I thought to myself as I left the market. Though, the more I thought about it, the more I warmed up to the idea of going on a date with that lovely mare. Visions of us on a successful date swam danced in my head, but I quickly waved them away.



How would a date with another shy pony work? No way that could go well. Still… maybe something could connect us. It might be worth it for that small hope of sharing a nice evening with another pony.
> By the Book
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Super Shy


Chapter 2: By the Book


I lightly trotted through Ponyville as I made my way to the library. Ponies went about their day as I passed them. Some watered their plants and others casually chatted with each other. I smiled and nodded to any ponies that noticed me as I passed them.

“What a lovely sight,” I happily muttered to myself as the figure of the Ponyville Library tree came into view. It had been several days since I had been to the market and even longer since I had sat underneath my tree to read. I needed a new book since I had finished my last book.

My magic opened the double doors of the library. Walking inside, I noticed the lavender librarian pony, Twilight Sparkle, tidying up the large, circular main room lined with shelves of books. I knew her a little more than other ponies in Ponyville since I visited her library frequently.

“Oh, hello there!” Twilight greeted me, her magic setting down the levitating books. “What can I do for you today?”

“Hey Twilight,” I responded. “I finished this book, Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. I’m looking for the next one.”

“Ooh! Of course! I love that series,” Twilight beamed and dashed to the wall of books. She began to scan the shelves for the book in question.

At that moment, the front door opened, letting the light breeze and sunlight into the library for a brief second. Twilight and I both ignored the newcomer for the time being.

“Twilight, you wanted to see…?” A soft voice floated through the room.

Both Twilight and I turned to the new pony, but we reacted completely different.

I froze.

Twilight smiled.

The new pegasus pony took a step back and shyly tried to hide her face behind her flowing pink mane, obscuring one of her eyes. She diverted her attention to the floor immediately in front of her.

I quickly turned around so my back was not facing the entrance of the library where the yellow furred pony stood. I also averted my eyes, staring at the floor in front of me also. My cheeks rose in temperature as I blushed.

Just my luck. I run into her again.I thought to myself. Why am I even embarrassed about seeing her again? I don’t even know her! She just happened to show up at my reading spot and then out of all the chances in the world, we made eye contact  at the market the next day! And now she’s here!

“Fluttershy! I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk to you about a book I just read that’s sure to help you,” Twilight talked, oblivious to the situation as she trotted back to me with a book.

Finally, Twilight stopped walking and saw me and the other pony, Fluttershy, trying our best to not be awkward but failing miserably. She glanced between me and the yellow mare as we both cowered in embarrassment.

Tilting her head to the right a bit, Twilight asked, “Do you two know each other?”

Fluttershy and I both mumbled incoherent responses.

“I didn’t quite get that,” Twilight said, smiling awkwardly now.

Again, Fluttershy and I repeated our incomprehensible answers. We also took a slight step backwards away from each other while avoiding eye contact.

Twilight looked back and forth at us. “Are you sure you don’t know each other?” She said.

“Umm.... I think I need t-t-to go. Angel probably needs me…,” Fluttershy quietly muttered as she backed away towards the double doors.

All of a sudden, Twilight gasped. “Is this the stallion you were talking about?”

At that, I momentarily forgot my shyness as I glanced at the winged yellow mare across the room from me. She blushed profusely and attempted to cover her entire face behind her mane. My cheeks flushed to an even deeper shade of red at that.

“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“He is, isn’t he?” Twilight beamed.

Fluttershy attempted to dash to the doors, but Twilight engulfed her in a purple magical field of levitation. “This is the perfect opportunity to teach you what I've learned in this book I read called Dating 101.” All together, Twilight levitated the flailing, yellow pegasus to the middle of the room, and she procured a book from her stack of books on the floor. Twilight joined the quivering Fluttershy in the center of the room while floating over the book.

“Umm…,” I mumbled nervously as Twilight also pulled me closer to the group. My legs shook and sweat began to form on my face. The situation was quickly moving in an uncomfortable direction.

“Okay, let’s see,” Twilight started as she rifled through her book. She stopped on of the first pages.

Glancing at the book, i noticed the title was indeed labeled Dating 101. Numerous pages scribbled with who knows what kind of information filled the inside of the book. Somehow an author had found enough material to fill a quite surprisingly large book.

“Aha! It says right here that the first step of a date is asking somepony on a date!” Twilight read aloud proudly after removing her nose from the book. She happily glanced at her two unsuspecting victims.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and I had continued to look anywhere but at each other. The combined heat of our blushing could probably light the book on fire.

After no move was made, Twilight consulted her book. “Hmm… it also says the male pony usually asks the female pony on a date though it is acceptable for the female pony to ask the male pony.” Twilight turned her gaze to me. She raised her eyebrows expectedly.

“Oh… umm… I think I should probably get going,” I muttered semi-coherently while scratching the back of my neck with my left hoof and staring at the floor. “Can I… um… have my book so-”

“Nope! Not until you ask Fluttershy out on a date,” Twilight announced while holding my book hostage behind her.

“Oh… uh… well…” I stammered, hanging my head sadly.

The awkwardness competition between me and Fluttershy continued.

Twilight’s eyes bounced between me and Fluttershy. The lavender unicorn waited for the unlikely inevitable moment, but nopony budged. Sighing, she glared at me and said through her smiling, gritted teeth, “Just ask her. Please.”

Why should I? I thought to myself. Why do I care so much? We don’t even know each other at all. I guess we could get to know each other on a date or something, but I can’t bring myself to just ask!

I shifted uncomfortably. My eyes lifted up a little to see the shy for of Fluttershy still trapped in the levitation field across from me. Of course, our eyes met for a brief moment. I diverted my eyes again.

Swallowing nervously, I mumbled, “D… do… you… umm… wanta… g… t… e.” A fresh batch of red blossomed on my face.

Several moments passed. Then, I heard a timid eep through the veil of pink hair.

“Good enough!” Twilight proclaimed. Speaking quickly and clearly, she read from the book, “Okay next step! The two should go on a date where both can communicate and learn about each other. A preferable date would be during the evening. The two could spend some time bonding during a nice meal!” Twilight beamed at the two of us. She shut her book and looked much too happy. “You two can go on a date and have dinner tonight! It’s the perfect plan!” She bounced happily.

“Umm… sure… I guess,” I agreed, uneasily.

“I don’t know Twilight…, Fluttershy mumbled.

“Now, we can meet at six o’clock for the date!” Twilight informed us, ignoring Fluttershy. “I can’t wait!”

“Yeah…” I sighed, heading for the door. Twilight made no move to stop me, so I rushed out of the library. “Great… I have a date, I guess,” I sighed to myself as I trotted home.

Even though that whole encounter had been weird and awkward, my heart raced from the elation at the chance to see that beautiful yellow pegasus again. Just me and… Fluttershy, peacefully eating together.

How bad could it be?


*    *     *



	

The hours passed since my library visit. I still contemplated skipping the whole date thing, but my decision always stayed affirmative. The guilt of standing up Fluttershy on a date kept me from avoiding this upcoming potential awkward situation. 

Yeah, it would probably a little weird to meet her for dinner. Oh well.

I nervously walked through Ponyville to the restaurant. My heart pounded in anticipation of meeting up with that shy mare. The closer I got, the more doubt and anxiety filled my thoughts. It took a high degree of willpower to turn tail and escape. I was this far. I might as well proceed.

Eventually, I reached the destination. I spotted the yellow mare quietly sitting alone at a mushroom table in the outside section of the restaurant.

Other ponies populated several other tables strewn throughout the designated eating establishment. Some enjoyed meals to themselves or with others. A waiter trotted about the area and attended to anypony’s dining needs.

Taking a deep breath, I approached Fluttershy’s table. She continued to resolutely stare at the table directly in front of her where a patron was sitting, hidden behind a menu encapsulated in a purple glow. Fluttershy was so concentrated that she did not immediately notice me arrive at her table.

“Um… hello…,” I announced myself, barely above a whisper.

“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked. Her frightened eyes darted to me, but quickly flitted away. A light hue of red also began to form on her cheeks. “H… hello,” she managed to whisper.

My face likewise flushed, but I still sat down opposite of the timid mare. I looked anywhere except at her as I tried to figure out how to break the ice. Nothing came to my mind.

“Ah, good evening, sir,” the waiter suddenly appeared and greeted me. “Do you know what you want to order?”

“Um, no,” I muttered, glancing at the menu in front of me.

“That is quite alright,” continued the waiter. “How about a drink while you look over the menu?”

“Water’s fine,” I answered softly.

“And for you, madam?” the waiter asked Fluttershy.

“Water is fine, thanks,” the quiet mare responded.

The waiter walked off, leaving me alone at the table with Fluttershy. I smiled awkwardly more to myself and not looking directly at the yellow pegasus. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed a matching smile on her face. She also avoided eye contact.

A couple of seconds passed before I decided to pick up the restaurant menu to distract me. Fluttershy copied me. I flicked through the pages with no real interest of picking something. The anxiety from this date had left me with no appetite.

The waiter returned with two glasses of water. “Have you two made a decision?” he asked.

“Umm, I guess,” I sighed, glancing over at Fluttershy.

“Yes,” Fluttershy answered quietly.

Neither of us spoke up after that. The waiter looked between us, expecting somepony to order.

“I-” I started.

“O-” Fluttershy began at the same time.

We both shrank in our seats a little bit. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Fluttershy apologized in that sweet, innocent voice.

“No, I’m sorry. Go ahead,” I offered.

“Okay, I guess. I’ll have that salad, if that’s okay,” Fluttershy told the waiter.

“I guess I’ll have the daisy sandwich,” I ordered and set down my menu.

“Very good. I’ll get your orders,” the waiter announced. He picked up our menus before trotting away.

This left me alone with Fluttershy yet again, and this time we had nothing to distract ourselves from each other. I grinned and chuckled sheepishly while fidgeting in my seat. My eyes drifted to the floor. Fluttershy also laughed softly while looking down and to her left.

The light wind of the afternoon day blew around me. It helped cool me down as I fought not to sweat from my nervousness. With each passing second, the tension built between us. It fueled my anxiety as I fretted over what to do or say.

The wind picked up a bit for a second. It was strong enough to blow a couple pink strands of hair to cover Fluttershy’s face. She absentmindedly brushed her hair away while still staring at the floor.

I noticed this moment in my peripheral vision. Taking a chance, I gazed a little more carefully at the shy, lovely mare. She looked cute with her pink mane in the shape similar to a heart. Her soft, teal eyes were so innocent and docile that I felt soothed just looking at her.

Fluttershy glanced up at me suddenly.

I quickly blinked and shifted my attention to the sky above her. “Um… nice weather today,” I said out loud, not really sure what else to say.

“Yeah,” Fluttershy agreed. She smiled and looked at me again.

“Psst! Ask how his day went!” a loud, familiar sounding whisper called out from behind me.

Fluttershy visibly tried to hide by making herself smaller behind her locks of hair. She stared at the table. Very timidly, she said, “Oh… um… how was your day? If you mind me asking.”

“Uh, it was okay, I guess,” I answered softly. Several seconds ticked by before I realized that I should say something more. “Um… how was your day?”

“Good,” Fluttershy said after a bit.

Once again, we found ourselves in an awkward silence.

To distract myself, I looked around the area. My mind stalled as I tried to think of something else to say. A mental pressure from myself built inside my head to try to extend this stagnant conversation. I had meant to say more earlier before being distracted by the whispered advice. Now, my mind refused to restart.

Fluttershy moved to her right, catching my attention. Her eyes stared at something past me. Her gaze was intent and focused for some reason on an unknown thing.

I began to turn around in my seat.

“Hey!” Fluttershy all of a sudden exclaimed, holding up her hooves. Then she hastily reverted back to her shy shell form. “Oh, I’m sorry. Um…”

“Your food,” the waiter appeared out of nowhere with our food.

I turned my attention back to our table where my sandwich rested. My curiosity dissipated now, yet I swore I had heard a sigh come from behind me. Though, Fluttershy sighed at the same time.

The two of us nibbled on our meals for the time being. I occasionally peeked at Fluttershy. So far, we had barely talked to each other at all. I still felt uncomfortable near her.

As we continued to eat, I noticed that once again Fluttershy glanced at something behind my my back. She also nodded her head and her eyes moved from left to right slightly. My right eyebrow raised a little. I almost asked, but I ignored this for now.

“Psst!” that familiar voice called out from behind me.

Fluttershy perked up a little and glanced at something. Her eyes quivered anxiously. Then she said nervously, “Um… what… do…,” the yellow mare spoke disjointedly one word at a time. Her eyes squinted as she continued while not explicitly looking at me. “Are… your… hobbies?”

“Uh, are you okay…?” I inquired, tilting my head and giving Fluttershy a questioning expression. Before waiting for a response, I began turning around to my left.

“Wait!” Fluttershy called out which caused me, mid-turn, to stop and gaze at her.

“What?” I wondered aloud.

“Um…,” Fluttershy mumbled, clearly staring at something behind me.

Without further explanation, I completely turned around in my seat. I caught a glimpse of a lavender unicorn with straight bangs before a menu obscured the pony’s face. A purple glow levitated the menu just as before I had sat down at the beginning of this date.

“Is that you, Twilight?” I asked the menu, tentatively.

“Um.... yes, but ignore me!” the menu spoke with the voice of Twilight. “I’m just here to get something to eat. Nothing else!”

“Uh, are you sure?” I questioned.

“She was helping me,” Fluttershy admitted, burying her face in her hooves. “She offered to help me because I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry.”

“Please! Don’t mind me and continue your lovely date,” Twilight attempted to redirect our attention. “How about you two talk about-” She stopped talking to consult the book in front of her. “-what makes you laugh?”

“Um…,” I turned back to face Fluttershy. I shrugged while trying to think of something. “I don’t know… I guess… what makes you laugh?” I managed to mumble just audible enough.

“Oh… well… um… Pinkie Pie is funny,” Fluttershy answered while fidgeting with her front hooves. “What about… you?

“Well… uh… jokes, I guess,” I lamely answered.

We sat in another silence again as we lightly ate our meals. I was eating more to occupy myself than because I was hungry.

“How about your favorite place in Ponyville?” Twilight chimed in.

I immediately thought of the tree where I routinely read. That place always calmed me after a stressful day or week. I could be myself there, without a care in the world. It was calm and serene. The place was removed from the complexities of normal everyday activities. I enjoyed my solitude underneath that tree.

Unfortunately, I could not share my thoughts with Fluttershy. I did not want to reveal or discuss any of that stuff with her. She probably would not care anyways. My thoughts were my own. I did not need to tell her.

“Oh, I like my home because that’s where all my cute animal friends are,” Fluttershy answered Twilight’s question.

“No, Fluttershy, ask him!” Twilight insisted from behind me.

“Oh, um… I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized. “What…” She trailed off, gazing off to the ground.

I waited a couple of seconds to see if the shy mare would say anything else. Instead, she chose not to finish her sentence. So, I answered, “I really don’t have a favorite place, I guess.”

“Oh…,” Fluttershy said unenthusiastically.

To no pony’s surprise, another awkward silence commenced.

“Um, try asking about his family. Or about his childhood. Or-” Twilight listed of questions while frantically flipping through pages.

“Um, Twilight,” Fluttershy politely interjected.

“Or how about his job? Or ask about his influences,” Twilight rambled on.

Now, I decided to turn around to face the frantic mare. Sure enough, Twilight was hunched over her book. She was in full research mode while trying to stimulate this date.

“Hey, Twilight,” I spoke up softly.

“Or how about you two just look into each other’s eyes and declare your undying love!” Twilight suggested out of desperation.

I looked over my shoulder at Fluttershy. My eyes widened in fear. Fluttershy and I shared a look of terror before we both turned away.

“Um, what’s going on here?” a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail interrupted us. She hovered down to our table while glancing between Twilight, Fluttershy, and me. Fluttershy shied away.

“Oh nothing, Rainbow,” Twilight explained to the new pony. “I’m just helping Fluttershy on her date with this stallion. You know, the one who she was talking about the other day.”

“What?” the cyan mare gazed at Twilight a questioningly look. “Really Fluttershy? You asked Twilight  for help?”

“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy apologized for some reason.

“Well, it doesn’t look like it’s not going well,” the pegusus, Rainbow Dash, commented.

“Hey! We’re following the book to the ‘T’!” Twilight protested. “This is how a date is supposed to go!”

“Ugh, Twilight, seriously?” Rainbow Dash said. “You can’t just follow a book for dating advice! And besides, a date like this is lame.”

“But…,” Twilight pouted.

“My kind of date would be awesome! I need to know my date is just as awesome as me!” Rainbow Dash explained. “I would challenge them to a bunch of competitions to make sure they can stand up to my standards. In fact, I can teach you, Fluttershy.”

“But I-” Fluttershy attempted to protest.

“How about if you two show up early tomorrow and I’ll show you what a real date should be,” Rainbow Dash told us.

“Well, I don’t know,” I mumbled.

“Come on! Are you afraid? Do you think you’re not good enough for my good pal, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash accused my, getting in my face and glaring at me.

“No, that’s not-” I started.

“Good! Then we’ll see you tomorrow,” Rainbow Dash smiled.

“I don’t think that that will go well,” Twilight warned us as she flipped through her book. It says here that-”

“Do you really need a book to do everything?” Rainbow turned her attention to Twilight. Those two began to argue with each other. They basically ignored Fluttershy and I for the time being.

I glanced at Fluttershy. She was gloomily staring at the table, occasionally flicking her left hoof at her food.

“Um, I think I’m going to go now,” I quietly told Fluttershy. “I’ll see you tomorrow… I guess.”

Fluttershy nodded solemnly.

So I left some bits on the table for my meal. Then I quietly left the restaurant. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle still bickered in the background. On my way home, the dread of tomorrow’s date thing began to set in. After today’s disaster, I doubted anything could be much worse.
> A Dash of Competition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Super Shy


Chapter 3: A Dash of Competition


Once again, I talked myself into going on another date with Fluttershy. I sort of hoped to redeem myself by putting a new hoof forward. The last date had ended weird and I definitely felt bad for dipping out early. My hopes were not too high for this date though.

I proceeded to the field outside of Ponyville where Rainbow Dash had asked us to meet. What I found made me stop and gasp. There in the field was a bunch of obstacles set up along with a stage. There were barrels lined up in a line and there was a mud pit with a rope near it.

“What the…,” I said to myself.

“About time you arrived,” the rainbow maned mare commented. “Now we’re just waiting on Fluttershy. If she decides to show up,” she grumbled.

“Yeah, okay,” I muttered in response.

Rainbow Dash tapped her hooves on the ground impatiently. “I hope you’re ready for this,” she told me. “Fluttershy is awesome and she deserves the best. You wouldn’t want to let her down, would you?” The pegasus eyed me suspiciously.

“No, of course not!” I said defensively, backing away a couple steps.

My mind raced faster and faster. How could I get involved in this? I thought to myself. The first date was normal and innocent enough until Twilight intervened too much. This was not even in the same category. Who even sets up a date of competitions?

Rainbow Dash paced around impatiently. She grumbled to herself as we waited for our third party. I fidgeted uncomfortably. Sitting on my haunches, I rubbed the back of my neck a couple times. 

Finally, Fluttershy anxiously walked to the field where Rainbow and I were waiting. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in fear as she glanced at the numerous obstacles strewn about the area.

“Fluttershy, where have you been?” Rainbow Dash asked, a little annoyed. “We’ve been waiting here forever.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said meekly. She kicked at the ground with her right hoof and bowed her head slightly.

“Anyways, let’s get this started,” Rainbow Dash decided. “Now, you two went on a ‘date’ or something with Twilight. From what I saw, it was bad. Probably because Twilight was being Twilight. You can’t just follow a book for a good match. Twilight was going about it the wrong way. Dinner dates are so boring anyways.”

“It wasn’t that bad…,” I mumbled to myself. “This looks-”

Rainbow Dash hovered aggressively in my face. “For some reason, Fluttershy mentioned some stallion she might have liked, and I guess that’s you. I’m here to make sure you are good enough for her. I can’t just have any stallion for my best friend.”

I stared into the glaring eyes of Rainbow Dash. Nodding my head, I recoiled. Living up to Rainbow Dash’s standards may be a bit difficult. She had been intimidated ever since I had arrived.

“Um… Rainbow… I don’t think this is necessary-” Fluttershy began.

“Necessary?!” Rainbow said incredulously. “You deserve the best! So I’m here to make sure this stallion is good enough! Now let’s actually start this. Hoof wrestle! Now!”

All of a sudden, Rainbow Dash produced a barrel from somewhere. She placed her right elbow upon the top of the barrel and glared at me. Her right hoof waited in the air expectedly for my hoof to join it.

“Uh…,” I stammered while backing away. “I don’t think-”

“Just get over here!” Dash commanded.

Begrudgingly, I walked back over to the barrel and joined hooves with Rainbow. She gripped my right hoof strongly in her hoof. I grimaced from the surprising amount of force she applied to me. My leg shook slightly, but I kept in in place for the imminent hoof wrestle match.

“1, 2, 3, go!” Rainbow Dash counted off quickly.

In an instant, Rainbow’s super pony pegasus powered hoof slammed my weak hoof to the barrel. It was sad for me with my noodle legs.. Dash had like super powers or something.

“Pathetic,” the powerful pegasus scoffed.

“I wasn’t ready,” I whimpered. “Shouldn’t I be facing Fluttershy instead?” I pointed out as I massaged my right leg.

“Ugh, fine,” Rainbow groaned. She flew over to Fluttershy who squeaked as the cyan pegasus shoved the quivering yellow mare into place across from me.

“Um.... hi,” Fluttershy smiled nervously, hiding one of her eyes behind her pink, flowing mane.

“Hey,” I awkwardly responded, blushing slightly.

“Both of you! Legs on the barrel!” Rainbow Dash commanded, interrupting our shy greeting.

Fluttershy and I placed our front right legs on the barrel as ordered. We held our hooves a foot apart. Neither of us had the courage to make the first contact. My hoof twitched nervously in the air.

In the background, Dash glanced between the two of us. She watched our feeble attempts for a couple of seconds before she groaned and forced Fluttershy’s and mine together. “Stop messing around,” Rainbow sighed. “Now go!”

I held Fluttershy’s hoof in mine lightly. I was afraid to apply too much pressure to her or make too much contact. Fluttershy’s hoof also quivered. My eyes focused on our hooves for the time being. 

This is different. I thought to myself. Should I try to beat her or let her win?

“Ugh, this is embarrassing,” Rainbow Dash groaned again while face-hoofing. “One of you, just do something! This is supposed to be a competition.”

I looked up at Fluttershy’s. Half of her face was hidden behind her pink mane like usual. Her only eye visible nervously gazed at our hoofs.

Well, I might as well try… I thought. So I applied some pressure, forcing Fluttershy’s hoof closer to the barrel. Slowly, I forced her hoof down.

“Come on Fluttershy! Fight back!” Rainbow Dash encouraged her friend.

“Okay…,” Fluttershy whispered. She then countered my force with her own. At first, it was weak, but she gradually increased her strength.

“There you go!”

Now, Fluttershy was pushing my hoof up. Before I knew it, our hooves passed the center and still moving. My hoof continued being forced to the top of the barrel.

I balked. Fluttershy’s strength was still increasing. I attempted to counteract her, but to no avail. She had leverage and the upper hoof now. My feeble strength was not enough to shift the tide in my favor.

“You can do it, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash yelled, pumping her hooves in the air.

Fluttershy nodded, tossing her mane out of her face. A look of emblazoned determination was on her her face as she fought me. My hoof was inches from the barrel. I gathered all my strength for one last push to overcome Fluttershy’s power.

Suddenly, my hoof slammed against the wooden barrel. I sat, dazed, just gazing our hooves.

“Wahoo!” Fluttershy cheered at a normal volume.

“Wow…,” I gasped.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized to me, retracting her hooves to cover her mouth. “I didn’t mean to win like that.”

“It… it’s okay,” I answered softly.

“Wow Fluttershy! Good job,” Dash congratulated the yellow pegasus. “Either you’re stronger than I thought, or he’s weak.”

“Hey!” I yelled while frowning at the cyan mare.

“Hehe, maybe you aren’t cut out to be Fluttershy’s special somepony,” Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“Umm,” I mumbled as I looked away.

“Anyways, let’s move on to the next competition,” Rainbow suggested. “The barrel weave!” Then she led the way to another are of the clearing. Here, a lot of barrels were lined up in a straight line with an equal distance between each of the barrels.

“Let me show you how it’s done,” Rainbow  told us. She first walked over to the far left where the first barrel was. She crouched down and stretched her legs a little. Then she dashed past the first obstacle and weaved in between the gap of the two barrels. She expertly passed by each barrel by inches. In no time at all it seemed, the super fast pegasus cleared all of the barrels.

Huffing from exhaustion, Dash flew back to us and said, “See? Easy. Now you try. Be fast! I’m going to time you and don’t hit an barrels. That’s a five second penalty.”

“Okay… I guess,” I gulped, trotting over to the beginning of the course.

“Um… good luck,” Fluttershy squeaked.

Hearing her sweet voice made me trip over hooves, but I quickly recovered. Sheepishly, I smiled to myself a little while I stood near the first barrel. Euphoria and confidence brimmed in my mind. I stared off into space and absentmindedly stretched my legs.

“Are you ready, or what?” Rainbow asked, giving a me confused look. She held up a stopwatch and had her hoof on the timer.

I shook my head to clear my mind. Then I nodded at Rainbow.

“Go!”

I took my first step and promptly hit the first barrel, causing it to teeter on its side but not fall over. In the background, I slightly heard Rainbow Dash groan, but I ignored her. My focus was on the task at hand as I galloped past the second barrel. I gained my bearings after passing the third barrel. Weaving in and out, my hooves carried me through the course though I lacked the agility and finesse of Rainbow Dash. I managed to make it halfway before I accidentally nudged another barrel.

“That’s another penalty,” Rainbow Dash called out to me.

Again, I ignored her commentary while I sped through the barrels. One by one, I came closer and closer to the last obstacle. I dug into my reserves to push myself faster past the last two barrels. With a final burst of speed, I charged past the finish line. My hooves slowed to a halt as I stopped several feet from the end. My breaths were big and staggered as I attempted to catch my breath.

“Whoo!” Fluttershy cheered quietly, clapping her hooves together. I smiled in return.

“Thirty-one seconds,” Dash informed us when I rejoined the group. “And you hit two barrels, so that’s another ten seconds.”

“Ooh! Good job,” Fluttershy grinned, but turned away slightly while blushing.

I also blushed and smiled while not directly looking at her.

“Uh, that’s terrible,” Dash meanly said.

“Hey, that’s not very nice, Rainbow,” Fluttershy rebuked her friend. “I don’t care-”

“Come on, Fluttershy! That time is pathetic! You could do better than that!” Rainbow Dash complained. “How about you give this a shot and show us all how amazing you are!”

“I don’t know…,” Fluttershy mumbled while cowering behind her mane. “You know I can’t even fly fast.”

“But…”

“I believe in you,” I encouraged Fluttershy softly. Looking directly into her eyes, I tossed her a small grin before looking away like usual.

Fluttershy also smiled. She slowly regained her composure. “Okay, I’ll try,” she decided. Then she proceeded to the starting point and waited for Rainbow Dash’s signal.

“Okay then,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Ready?” Fluttershy nodded. “Go!” Dash pressed the button on the stopwatch.

Fluttershy began with a light trot past the first barrel. She slowly picked up more speed while giving each barrel a wide berth. She put her head down slightly to help increase her velocity. Her wings unfolded and flapped to boost her. Unfortunately, a wing clipped a barrel, causing it to teeter just enough to earn a penalty.

“Oops,” Fluttershy whispered to herself. She slowed down to avoid hitting any more barrels. Eventually the yellow pegasus crossed the finish line. Sitting on her haunches, she gasped for breath.

“Hmm, thirty-seven seconds plus five for the penalty. So, forty-two,” Rainbow Dash announced, looking at her stopwatch. “Eh, you both are slow.”

Fluttershy trudged back to us. She held her head low after hearing Rainbow’s comment. Mumbling, Fluttershy spoke softly, “That’s okay.”

“Um… good job,” I quietly congratulated the shy mare, flashing her a smile. Our eyes met briefly.

“Oh, thanks,” Fluttershy replied, blushing some more.

“Wow. You two are… something,” commented Dash, tilting her head. “I thought this would go differently, but… oh well. I guess we can do another challenge, if you two want.”

“Sure, I guess,” I agreed. Staring off to the side, I added, “If Fluttershy wants to…”

“Okay,” Fluttershy answered at a normal, more confident level of volume.

“Then follow me,” Rainbow  said. She led us over to an area with a rectangular mud pit. A rope wa nearby, lain across the pit. “Let’s see who is stronger in tug-o-war.”

“Oh… my…,” Fluttershy whispered. She hid behind her mane.

“Uh… is the mud necessary?” I asked.

Rainbow Dash deadpanned at me. “You can take that side,” she told me while pointing to the left.

I took my spot at one end of the rope. Rainbow Dash took the spot opposite of me. “Oh come on!” I protested.

Dash smirked at me. “Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you before I let Fluttershy take over. Now, pick up you end of the rope,” she said before grasping the rope in her mouth.

I glared at the rope in front of me. “Can I use magic?” I asked.

“No, vat would be veating,” RD stated with the rope in her mouth.

“Ugh,” I moaned. Uneasily, I stretched my jaw before bending down to pick up the rope with my mouth. The rope tasted funny, but I persevered.

“GO!” Rainbow Dash yelled right before she tugged on her end of the rope.

I dug my hooves in the ground and pulled on my end. It barely budged, but only for a second. Then I felt the rope yank the other way. I stood my ground for the time being.

“Fwuttershy, ‘elp me,” Rainbow asked through the rope in her mouth.

I watched, sadly, as Fluttershy uncomfortably walked over and picked up the part of the rope in front of Rainbow Dash. The two mares combined their strength to pull the rope with me on the other side. My hooves slid towards the mud pit with each passing second.

Come on! I can beat these two! I thought to myself. I redoubled my strength, taking a step back. I tugged the rope with my mouth while closing my eyes from the effort.

Unfortunately, all of this was in vain. The force on the other side increased. I felt myself being pulled closer and closer to the mud pit.

“Come on, Fluttershy, you can do it!” I heard Rainbow Dash encouraging her friend.

At that, I opened my eyes to see Rainbow floating between me and Fluttershy. The yellow mare opposite of me also had her eyes closed. She was trying with all her might to pull the rope and me along with it to her side.

That moment of observation distracted me. I stopped pulling. Then the ground gave way as I went tumbling forward into the mud pit, face first.

“Ugh,” I sighed while lying in the pit.

“Yeah! You win again, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash cheered.

Fluttershy had flown back with the rope tangled around her. She opened her eyes to see the smiling face of Rainbow. The yellow pegasus tossed the rope off of her before noticing me lying in the mud pit. “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!” she apologized. She quickly flew over to me and helped me out of the mud.

“It’s okay…,” I mumbled sadly, staring at the ground. I sat down then glanced over my mud covered coat.

“Bahahahaha,” Dash laughed. “I can’t believe you lost again”

“Well-,” I began quietly.

“That’s enough, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy suddenly yelled, glaring at RD. “This is not how I want to treat my… um… date.”

“Grr. But he’s just too weak,” Rainbow whined. “I don’t know what you were expecting. Whatever. I was getting bored with this anyways.” With that, she flew off into the sky.

I watched the cyan pegasus fly away for a little bit. Scratching the back of my neck, I told Fluttershy, “Well… umm… thanks… for sticking up for me.”

“Oh, um, you’re welcome,” Fluttershy responded. She shied away slightly while lightly kicking at the ground. There was moment of silence. Then Fluttershy continued, “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash wasn’t very nice. She’s just a bit…”

“Competitive?” I finished her sentence.

“Yeah…,” sighed Fluttershy, glancing to the side.

That familiar awkward silence took over for for a minute.

“Well, I think I should get going,” I said as a glob of mud dripped out of my mane. “I need to clean this mud off me.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy nodded.

“Um… it was good to see you again,” I mumbled softly while blushing like usual.

“Hehe… yeah,” Fluttershy chuckled nervously.

“Well… bye.”

“Bye.”

The two us went separate ways. I headed for my home on the other side of Ponyville. Fluttershy made her way to the edge of town where her cottage was located. I did look back just once and caught a glimpse of her gazing in my direction before turning back to her destination.

Smiling to myself, I continued to trot away from the clearing. Today had been odd, but I could not deny that I had enjoyed spending time with that quiet, lovely mare.
> Honestly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Super Shy

Chapter 4: Honestly


“Apples! Get your apples fresh from Sweet Apple Acres right here!” an orange earth pony with blond hair and a brown cowboy hat called out to ponies trotting around the streets of Ponyville.

Me, being one of the ponies passing by, stopped to check the humble pony’s apple stand. I definitely lacked apples. Those delicious food items always seemed to disappear overnight. The apple family at Sweet Apple Acres knew just the right way to grow apples.

Yesterday’s events still lingered on my mind. Only that craving for something like apple nourishment pushed me out of my home this morning. Otherwise, I would have been content to reside in my dwelling all today to try to wash away the failure and embarrassment from another day's worth of interactions with Fluttershy. Maybe it had ended on a decent note, but I had still made a fool of myself. I doubted Fluttershy wanted anything to do with me.

I just wanted some freaking apples to eat today! Nothing more!

“Howdy partner,” the orange mare with three red apples for a cutie mark greeted me. “How are you today?”

“Oh, fine I guess,” I mumbled a bit as I browsed the scrumptious red apples.

“Hmm… I don’t mean to be rude or bothersome, but you look mighty familiar,” the mare said, squinting at me.

“Uh, what do mean?” I glanced up at the mare. “I do live in Ponyville, you know.”

“Well, I figured that,” chuckled the earth pony. “I mean, you fit the description of a stallion one of my friends told me about.”

That statement caused me to drop the apple that was in my hooves. Oh great, is this another friend of-.

“Fluttershy talked about a stallion she bumped into one day then saw at the market the next day,” the apple pony explained. “You look just like the one she was talking about.“

“Oh, hehe,” I chuckled a little while bashfully kicking at the ground with my hoof. “Well… um… yeah, but-”

“Well isn’t that just a delight!” the orange mare smiled, interrupting me. “I know Fluttershy said she was too shy to say anything, but I have a feeling you two would get along just fine! In fact, I should introduce you two!”

“Um, I’m not so sure if you need to,” I commented, frowning. “I’ve already-”

“Nonsense!” the mare stopped me once again. “I’m sure she would be happy to meet you.”

“It’s just…,” I trailed off. Memories of the last encounters with Fluttershy floated through my mind. I inwardly cringed from all the awkwardness and failed conversations I had had with that shy mare. How could I explain this to this mare? “Nevermind.”

“What is it, sugarcube? You seem a bit lost,” the earth pony squinted at me. “ Ya know, I have been might busy with my chores that I haven’t seen her in quite a while, but I do know that my big brother, Big Mac, told me that there is a Ponytones concert tonight! I know Fluttershy loves their music! How about you go to the concert with her?”

“What?” I exclaimed, incredulously. “Nonono, I can’t ask her! The last-”

“Ah see, you’re just as shy as her,” the mare grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll ask her for you! Just be sure to show up later tonight, and I’ll introduce you two.”

“I-”

“I promise it will be okay,” the orange pony cut me off yet again. She smiled reassuringly at me.

I sighed. This mare was clearly not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. I might as well take her up on her offer. Fluttershy was a nice pony, but every date had gone awry at some point so far. Thinking about it too, we had not really talked about anything or gotten to know each other that much. All I remembered were the embarrassing moments.

“So, is that a yes, you will be there?” the apple pony questioned me.

“Sure,” I muttered dully. I might as well…

“Yeehaw! I can’t wait! I know you two are gonna have a good time. Fluttershy is a great pony once you get to know her. Well then we’ll see you later!”

“Yeah…,” I weakly smiled. I handed over some bits for a couple of apples. Then I trotted back to my house, that small smile widening even though my thoughts swirled with pessimism.

It’s just going to go as bad as the other dates! What am I thinking! I thought to myself. Why do I keep agreeing to these things? I just hope I don’t make a fool out of myself this time… No! This time will be different! I’ve got another chance to make a good impression! Hehe, I guess I’m pretty lucky Fluttershy has so many friends… or that could be a bad thing. Whatever. Though it is odd to be going on a third date in three days with her. How convenient that there is a concert tonight…

My thoughts continued to ebb up and down throughout the day as I lounged about my home. I found myself glancing at the clock every other minute. I alternated between anxious fretting and hopeful happiness about the future date. I could not decided if I wanted to be excited or nervous to see Fluttershy again.

This time, I knew the date would probably not work out like I expected for the better or worse. 



*    *     *



The sun slowly set in the distance when I finally decided to wander outside. A slight breeze ruffled my mane. Another beautiful spring night was settling into Ponyville and I had been confining myself in my home again.

“Hmm,” I sighed to myself while looking around me. “Today could have been a perfect day to read underneath my tree. But…” Shaking my head, I trotted off to the edge of Ponyville. “At least this concert thing is outside.”

As with all of the other dates with Fluttershy, I had contemplated avoiding the situation. I still did not want to stand up her even if she did not exactly know I was going to meet her. I wondered how Fluttershy would feel when I showed up practically unannounced. Hopefully, she would not be mad at me. She would probably be annoyed a little though.

The newest (to me at least) friend of Fluttershy’s seemed nice enough. The name of that earth pony with a cowboy hat and apples for a cutie mark eluded my mind. I know she had something to do with Sweet Apple Acres, but I had never interacted enough with her to remember her name. Regardless, she seemed like an honest, caring pony. Hopefully that meant she would not affect our ‘date.’ This was more of a meetup to me anyways.

This would make three dates in three days. I had barely learned anything about Fluttershy other than the fact that she was shy like me, and she was kind. Despite that, I still wanted to see her again. I had enjoyed the small moments we had shared together, ignoring the disasters that Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash had caused. I was looking forward to another chance to see that kind, lovely mare. Maybe this time I could make a better impression…

Sighing to myself again, I glanced around me. Other ponies walked in the same direction as me. I assumed they were also heading to the Ponytone concert. This would be the first time seeing them. They were starting to become popular amongst the residents of Ponyville.

The babble of voices reached my ears as I rounded the corner to the concert area. Many ponies were gathered  in front of the small stage and more ponies were joining the crowd. I estimated about twenty or so ponies were assembled here for the concert. 

Nervously, my eyes scanned the crowd for the telltale pink flowing mane of Fluttershy. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed those lovely locks of hair off to the left side alongside the apple pony with the cowboy hat from earlier. The two ponies were happily talking with two other ponies who wore a nice shirt and bowtie. Gulping, I shakily trotted to the group.

On my way, I observed the two new ponies. One was a pure white unicorn mare with a magnificent purple curled mane and tail. On her flank, was a cutie mark of three purple diamonds. The other pony was a big, red earth pony stallion with a cutie mark of a green apple.

Hmm… maybe I should wait. I thought, second guessing my initial idea to approach the group. I don’t want to bother them.

So I veered off to the right and snuck into the crowd. I continued glancing over at the Fluttershy and the others while thinking about going over there, but I still could not bring myself to interrupt them. Obviously, Fluttershy knew each of those ponies otherwise she would not be talking to them. I would hate to butt into their conversation since I barely knew her. Though I did catch myself watching that red stallion more closely than the others. A tinge of jealously floated through my mind alongside the thoughts of regret and disappointment.

I know I’ve seen him before. I pondered. He’s that big, strong stallion that lives at Sweet Apple Acres. I’ve heard so much about his toughness and stuff. I wonder… does Fluttershy like him or…? She seems happy right now. Maybe… he’s probably better for her anyways. I don’t know… I don’t even know if I like her or… whatever.

I shook my head, trying to clear the negative thoughts from my mind. I knew it was pointless to delve too much into what I was seeing, but I could not resist. That orange mare had asked me to come here, so that had been a good sign. Still…

Sighing, I hung my head. Those thoughts continued to swirl around my mind. My bubbling optimistic mood had changed to a sad, depressed state. So I decided to forfeit this evening and head home.

“Hey! There ya are!” I heard a southern drawl call to my direction.

Looking up, I saw the orange earth pony beckoning to me with a smile. The white unicorn and stallion were also smiling my way. Fluttershy did glance at me, but quickly diverted her attention to her hooves though a smile was on her face alongside the familiar redness on her cheeks from blushing.

“Um, me?” I questioned, pointing a hoof back at myself.

“Yeah! Come on over! We’ve been waiting for ya,” the orange mare answered. 

Cautiously, I trotted over to the group of four ponies. They eagerly waited for me to approach them. The white unicorn eyed me, curiously with an intrigued smile. The giant red stallion stoically stared back at me. Fluttershy smiled to herself and looked in my general direction while avoiding eye contact.

“Uh… hello,” I meekly greeted the group.

“So this is the stallion you talked about, Fluttershy?” the unicorn inquired, grinning.

“Mmm,” Fluttershy mumbled.

“Glad you could make it,” the orange mare said.

“Yeah…,” I mumbled.

“Well, let me introduce everypony,” the orange mare offered. “Of course, you know Fluttershy. This is Rarity.” She pointed at the white unicorn, then pointed at the stallion. “This is my brother, Big Macintosh. And I don’t recall ever giving you my name. I’m Applejack.”

“As much as I would like to stay and chat, Big Mac and I must be going,” Rarity stated. “The show will be starting soon. It was good to meet you! I hope you enjoy this lovely evening.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac added, bowing his head briefly. Then he and rarity trotted to the back of the stage. The whole time, Rarity kept her eyes on me.

With those two gone, a familiar awkward silence descended upon the remainder of the group. Fluttershy and I obviously avoided any eye contact from each other. She kicked at the ground with her hooves. I shuffled my hooves. Applejack looked between the two of us with a constrained smile..

“Hehe, well she’s right, after all,” Applejack commented. “Why don’t we find a spot, then?” She led the way to the gathered crowd in front of the stage.

Fluttershy and I lagged behind for a second. I waited for the shy pegasus to follow her friend, but she stayed put for the moment. I shrugged and started to turn.

“Um… I’m sorry Rainbow was so mean to you yesterday,” Fluttershy said quietly, glancing at m.

I stopped. “No, it’s okay,” I answered. “I’m not mad at her or anything. I guess I just wasn’t her type of pony.” I chuckled lightly out of nervousness as I led the way behind Applejack.

“Yeah.... she’s just… really competitive,” Fluttershy chuckled also as she tried justifying Rainbow Dash’s previous actions.

“Yeah,” I responded lamely, not knowing how to continue the conversation.

The three of us found spots near the front of the stage and on the left edge of the crowd. Applejack stood nearest the group of ponies while I lined up to her left and Fluttershy on my left. We stared up at stage where a blue curtain hung, covering the main area. The ponies around us continued talking amongst themselves as we waited for the performance to start.
“Sooo… you like the Ponytones?” I asked Fluttershy.

The yellow pegasus inhaled deeply with enthusiasm I had never seen. “Oh my gosh! I love the Ponytones! I’m one their biggest fan!” Fluttershy beamed at me, her eyes wide in excitement. “I love to sing their songs. Rarity has just the best voices and Big Mac’s deep voice is so good. You know, I’ve been thinking about asking them to help me with a fundraiser.”

“Oh that’s-” I started to say, a little taken aback by Fluttershy’s sudden enthusiasm. Still, this new side of Fluttershy brought a genuine smile to my face. Unfortunately, the ponies around us shushed me as the curtain on the stage rose. I shut up lowered my head in embarrassment.

Everypony turned their attention to the stage where four ponies now stood. From left to right, there were two ponies, a mare and stallion both earth ponies, Rarity, and lastly Big Mac. They all smiled out at the crowd gathered before them. The fans all cheered for the arrival of the performers.

To my left, I glimpsed Fluttershy beaming with excited eyes. Her wings flapped idly.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” Rarity announced. “Without further ado, I present the Ponytones!”

Everypony in the crowd stomped their hooves and cheered for the group of ponies on stage. I smiled while looking up towards the performers. Fluttershy enthusiastically clapped her hooves together and beamed widely with eyes wide in amazement.

To begin, Rarity blew her tuning instrument. Then Big Mac followed that up by beginning their song. After the initial introduction, Big Mac sang, “Everypony’s saying you should learn to express your voice.” The tune sounded familiar to me, but I could not quite recall from where I had heard it. Anyways, the whole crowd erupted in cheers at the conclusion of the song. Then everypony began to disperse while talking to each other. The three of us hung around at the left side of the stage.

“Whoowee, those Ponytones sure are somethin’,” Applejack commented.

“Yeah, that was a good show,” I added, nodding in agreement

“Mhm. They really are lovely,” Fluttershy giggled. She hummed softly to herself.

All of a sudden, a memory resurfaced in my mind. Watching Fluttershy tonight had reminded me of how she had skipped and sang to herself before she had seen me. “Hey Fluttershy,” I started a little nervously.

“Yes?” she smiled at me curiously.

“Um, you like to sing, don’t you?” I continued, trying not to fumble on my words.

The shy pegasus nodded just once while glancing to the sky.

“Well, I… I think you have a great singing voice,” I blurted out quickly while also glancing to the sky and not making eye contact. “I remember hearing your singing several days ago.”

Fluttershy responded by blushing and attempting to hide behind her flowing pink mane. A proud smile adorned her face.

Applejack now turned her attention to her yellow friend. “You can sing, Fluttershy? You never told us,” the apple pony said.

“Really?” I wondered aloud. “You can sing just as well as those Ponytones.”

Fluttershy continued to stay silent while retreating behind her mane.

“Wow! That’s impressive Fluttershy!” Applejack gushed. “You should talk to Rarity about-”

“No!” Fluttershy exclaimed suddenly, emerging from her hiding place for a second. “I mean, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just…” She trailed off.

“Difficult to sing in front of ponies?” I suggested.

“Mhm,” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Well, you wouldn’t be alone, I imagine,” Applejack tried to reason. She looked towards the edge of the stage. “Look! Here comes Rarity and Big Mac. Why don’t you ask them?”

“Please please please don’t!” Fluttershy begged with her back to the two approaching ponies. Her eyes were wide and frightful.

Applejack hesitated. She stared at Fluttershy’s pleading eyes before saying, “I… I suppose I won’t say anything. I’ll let you ask, if you really want to. But you really should say somethin’! You might be scared, but I know you can get over your fears.”

“Thank you, Applejack,” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s just… I can’t”

“I know,” I mumbled softly, looking at the ground. “It’s not easy being the focus of everypony.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a warm, knowing smile spread across Fluttershy’s face. She looked directly at me, but I could not return her gaze.

Then Big Mac and Rarity rejoined our group. Fluttershy pleaded one last time with her eyes towards Applejack who rolled her eyes at the shy pegasus. The two show ponies completed our group circle.

“Did everypony enjoy the show?” Rarity asked, batting her eyelashes.

“Oh yes, it was great,” Fluttershy answered softly.

“You were all fantastic!” Applejack added. “I thought you all sounded great. Though I think you could also you an extra voice to make your group even better!”

“Hmm, I do feel like our quartet could be better if we had another talented singer,” Rarity pondered aloud.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac stated.

“Ahem,” Fluttershy cleared her throat, eying Applejack.

“Well, um, you four are really starting to get popular,” Applejack changed the subject. “That was the biggest crowd of ponies for one of your shows I’ve seen.

“Yes it seems our little entourage is growing in popularity,” Rarity agreed.

I listened to the conversation while smiling nonchalantly. Unfortunately, I usually failed to add to a conversation in a group of ponies. I always hated to interrupt anypony with my thoughts, so I just kept my comments to myself. For the time being, I idly stood by near Fluttershy while the others talked about stuff. My lack of contribution always made me feel uncomfortable as time passed the more I thought about it. Especially in situations like this, I felt left out or out of place since I did not know anypony besides Fluttershy, and I barely knew Fluttershy to begin with.

The others continued to talk about the performance and other stuff. Rarity seemed to dominate the conversation while Applejack responded and Fluttershy added small comments. Big Mac just stood upright, proud, and silent beside Rarity. I had never heard him speak other than his ‘Eeyups’ and singing from the performance. 

Though, I could not help but notice that Fluttershy only had eyes for Rarity and Big Mac. The more I stayed silent and just observed Fluttershy out of the corner of my eye to my right, the more I contemplated the implications of her gaze. My mind started to wander and compare myself to the big stallion who possessed a deep, resonant voice. I started to become jealous of him. How could I compete with his skills? Fluttershy clearly liked ponies with a good singing voice, and I lacked such an ability. My demeanor drooped more and more as my mind dwelled on the better attributes of Big Mac. I began to realize that I did not really belong with this group of ponies.

Unfortunately, this was not going like I hoped. The more they talked, the more I just wanted to go home. So I attempted to slowly back away. All I needed now was an excuse, and I could escape this group. I figured Fluttershy would not want to talk with me anyways.

“Exactly,” Rarity nodded.

Noticing a slight lull in the conversation, I interjected timidly, “Um, I think I’m actually going to be going now.”

All eyes turned to me, freezing me in place.

“What? Why are you leaving so soon, sugarcube?” Applejack questioned me.

“It’s just… um…,” I mumbled, failing to think of a valid excuse. “I don’t want to bother you…”

“Oh, it’s quite alright darling,” Rarity tried to reassure me. “We don’t mind your company.”

I sighed softly while gazing and kicking at the ground. “I’m sorry. I just need to… get to bed early tonight,” I attempted to lie. “Gotta wake up early tomorrow.”

“Oh. Alright then,” Applejack said. “Glad you could make it out tonight!”

“Yes, it was great to meet you!” Rarity smiled at me.

“Um… bye,” Fluttershy added softly.

With that, I turned around and trotted away briskly with my head down. I hoped to put this pointless night behind me.
> Not Exactly Fabulous
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Super Shy



Chapter 5: Not Exactly Fabulous


The morning sunlight filtered through my blinds and into my room where I still lay in my bed the next morning. I tossed around again as the previous day’s memories floated in my mind while I kept my eyes closed and tried to sleep just a little more. Staying in bed to sleep for the duration of the day seemed like a good idea at the moment. Though, the sunlight prevented me from dozing off.

I sighed. Lying in bed would not fix my problems. Neither would it reverse time to change my actions from the previous days. I knew I needed to attempt to move on with my life. There was no point in dwelling in the past. 

Using my magic, I tossed the covers off of me. While still on my back, I gazed up at the ceiling. Then I swung my legs to the right and hopped out of the bed. Thus began my daily routine as I gulped down a glass of water and munched on some oats for breakfast. After trotting to the living room, I plopped down the couch. Each crunch of the oats echoed loudly in the quiet room.

What to do…I thought to myself. Sighing, I set down the bowl on the table in front of me. I guess I could get out of the house and try not to do anything embarrassing or I could just avoid everypony. That sounds much better actually. I grumbled in my mind.

“Ooh!” I exclaimed out loud as a realization came to my mind. “I could read the next Daring Do book and go to my favorite spot. I can get out of the house and away from everypony and into the fresh air…” I immediately stood up while talking to myself.

My bag, untouched for a few days, sat on a desk across the room. My levitation encompassed the bag and opened it while I trotted over to the desk. I happily peered into the pack. Humming happily for once, I sifted through the numerous books stashed inside the pack.

“Oh no,” I sighed after cycling through all the books for the fifth time. “I can’t believe this… where is it? Did I…?” My sentence trailed off. Then I hung my head in defeat. “I probably left the next book at the library. And that’s where Twilight is… one of Fluttershy’s friends. I can’t go there. It would be too embarrassing.”

After a few moments of silent contemplation, I slumped back down onto the couch. My happy, productive mood was slowly draining away. I really wanted to read the next book, but I did not want to go near any of Fluttershy’s friends right now. I just knew somehow I would run into that shy mare again and I would do something stupid.

“Err,” I groaned, tossing my head to the right. “Whatever. I’ll still go to my spot. I can read… something I guess.”

With that decision made, I grabbed my bag in my magic and headed for the door. The saddlebag slung over my back as I paused at the front door. Pointless, worrying thoughts ran through my mind, but I shoved them to the side and twisted the doorknob.

The door creaked open to reveal a bright and sunny morning awaiting me in Ponyville. Many other ponies trotted about the streets as always. I took a deep breath before beginning my small journey to the outskirts of the town.

“Ah! There you are!” a familiar female voice called out nearby.

I briskly continued on my way. Surley nopony was talking to me. Not two seconds later, the sound of hooves could be heard galloping towards me.

“Where are you so quickly off to, darling?” that same voice asked me as she neared me.

This time, I stopped and turned to my right. I still could not believe somepony would want to talk to me right now, but that voice caught my attention and there were no other ponies nearby. After seeing the pony hailing me though, I immediately realized where I knew that voice.

She stopped and stared right at me while giving me a slightly annoyed yet welcoming smirk. Her stylishly rolled purple mane bobbed slightly when she moved her head and talked. Her brilliantly bright white coat glistened in the morning sun and her blue eyes pierced into mine.

This mare was a friend of Fluttershy.

“Hey…,” I muttered while trying not to shake. I had just remembered that I had met this mare yesterday at the concert with Fluttershy.

“Do you have formal attire that you could wear?” the unicorn mare asked.

“Uh… no?” I responded, a little perplexed.

“Ugh,” she groaned while rolling her eyes and tossing her head back. She whipped around and began trotting the other the other way. Suddenly, a blue force of magic nudged my rump, pushing me forward a bit. “Follow me. I’ll need all the time I have to get you ready for tonight.”

“What?!” I questioned, incredulously, while following her. “Why?”

“Why, your date with Fluttershy, of course!” she answered with a smile and a wink back at me. 

 
*    *    *


“Hmm… what do you think of this suit? I think you look quite dapper,” the white unicorn named Rarity (which I had finally remembered), asked as she stood to the side of me as she contemplated.

I shifted around a little uncomfortably on the pedestal that was placed in front of three mirrors that angled toward me. “I guess. I mean, I told you, I don’t know much about fashion,” I mumbled softly. 

Turning my head slightly to the left and right, I took in my current appearance.  The suit covered the front half of my torso and legs. It was a luxurious purple and white piece. She had offered a top hat, but I declined. This was the fourth outfit she had made me wear so far after arriving at her boutique. Clothes never bothered me before since I rarely wore any. So wearing these fancy attires pushed me out of my comfort zone. I knew I could say no to Rarity, but I hated to decline her offer to find a suitable suit for this upcoming date. I still wanted to see Fluttershy even though I feared that I would make a fool of myself. Going along with Rarity’s plan seemed like the better course. It did not help that I was too shy to say anything, though.

“Maybe not this one then,” Rarity said. “And honestly, darling, you really would look nice with a top hat. I know it would be a little boring and traditional, but how about a black suit with a white undershirt? That might make you feel a little more… eh… normal.”

“Sure,” I shrugged.

So Rarity walked back to her clothes room and reemerged with a new sharp looking suit. She levitated over to me. I grabbed it with my magic while I headed to the dressing room. A few minutes later, I returned. I stepped back onto the pedestal to check myself out in the mirrors.

“Ooh!” Rarity gushed. “I do say, this one is quite charming. You really do looking handsome in this suit.”

I turned in place as I examined my new appearance. This suit did suit me, I admitted. “Yeah,” I replied.  “I… like it,” I added as the realization started to dawn on me. The more I looked, the more I admired the way I looked in this suit. A spark of renewed confidence ignited inside me. Maybe I could go through this date without making a fool of myself.

“Excellent!” Rarity beamed. “Then it is settled. Now that you have some formal attire, I’m sure everything with go just fine. You and Fluttershy will be so happy.”

“I hope,” I mumbled more to myself. Then I continued a little shakily, “So… um… how much does this suit cost? Or…?”

“Oh, nonsense dear,” Rarity waved her hoof at me. “No charge for you dear, but unfortunately, I can’t let you keep it. You can borrow the clothes for tonight, but I’ll want them back after that. I’m generous, but not that generous. But I mean, if you and Fluttershy were more than friends eventually…,” she trailed off.

Still looking in the mirror, I blushed. “Uhh…,” I stammered. “I… it’s just… well… shy…”

Rarity chuckled. “I know I shouldn’t try to force two ponies together, but you two shy ponies make an interesting pair.”

“Maybe,” I smirked. “I… I know I’m really shy and she is too, so I don’t think it would work out, but… I don’t know.”

“Yes, I can tell you are quite shy just like her,” Rarity commented. “Fluttershy is too, but not all of the time. She is the sweetest thing once you get to know her, too.”

“Really? I…,” I started, but I was not sure how to express my thoughts into words. I wanted to tell Rarity that I felt something about Fluttershy, but that something was difficult to describe. I hoped that I liked her, but honestly I did not know much about her. Instead, I settled on saying, “Well, I guess I’m looking forward to tonight’s date. The last three didn’t go so well.”

“Ah yes, I heard,” Rarity stated. “Tonight should go much better, I promise. Just show up around seven o’clock at the Town Hall and be ready to dance!”

“Okay,” I answered. “Um… by the way, why are you helping me? You are the fourth friend of Fluttershy’s to set us up. You don’t even know me.”

“Well, I know I just want to help you two out,” Rarity explained carefully. “And there’s something Fluttershy saw about you. Since the others have more or less failed it seems, I knew I had to show Fluttershy what a real date should be. So, what would be better than a nice soiree and dance? Speaking of dancing, you do know how to dance, right?”

I averted my eyes down and kicked at the ground with my right hoof. “I know the concept of dancing,” I muttered my case.

Rarity rolled her eyes because of me for the second time that day.


*    *    *


As the sun set later that day, I continued my nervous trotting back and forth in my living room as the awaited time of day approached.  It had taken at least a half hour to convince myself to dress in the suit from Rarity. It was still too early to leave, but I wanted to leave with enough time to get to the Town Hall before seven o’clock. Of course, doubt once again was lingering and preventing me from committing to this date.

“Eh, how much more of a doofus can I be, anyways?” I told myself out loud. Then I took the fateful step outside.

It was almost night time in the evening in Ponyville. Not many ponies were trotting about the streets as they had gone home for the day.

All dressed up in my new suit, I made my way to the center of town where this small dance was being held. Apparently, this was a monthly gathering of ponies. Rarity had told me all about how she was part of the committee that set up these kinds of events. She said Ponyville lacked the sophistication of Canterlot. So this dance was a chance to bring some of that culture to our little town.

A few other nicely dressed ponies were also headed to the dance as I neared the Town Hall. There was no sign of Rarity or Fluttershy outside, so I took a deep breath before walking inside the building.

The Town Hall looked like nothing I had seen before. The center floor was cleared out and a band of ponies were playing classical instruments on the stage facing the dance floor. Streamers and fancy-looking decorations littered the room. Tables lined with nice white table top covers filled the room around the dance floor. To my left was a line of serving tables topped with classy foods and drinks including a punch bowl. There were probably two dozen or so of finely dressed mares and stallions conversing amongst one another in small groups scattered throughout the area.

Then I spotted her. 

Across the room to my left stood Fluttershy in an elegant green dress with flowers in her pink, flowing mane. Through the small crowd, I could see her talking with her friend Rarity who wore an extravagant red dress. They were turned perpendicular to me and several ponies stood between us, so I was not immediately noticed by the two mares.

My heart fluttered.

After all the failed, disappointing, odd, and awkward dates, that rush of excitement and optimism still drove me try yet again. We barely knew each other, but maybe that could change tonight. Even though I had never actually danced in a formal dance with another pony, I was confident that I could at least get by with the tips Rarity had given me and my knowledge.

Rarity glanced at the door. Seeing me still standing near the entrance, she smiled and waved me over. I could not hear what she was saying, but Fluttershy responded by looking my way. We made brief eye contact before I immediately looked away. 

Stupid… I’m so stupid… I berated myself in my thoughts. Just act like she is any other pony. No need to be shy anymore.

“There you are, darling!” I heard hooves trot nearer and the voice of Rarity call out to me.

I attempted to shake off my embarrassment as I looked up to see Rarity not too far from me. In the distance, I noticed in the corner of my eye that Fluttershy was had not moved and determinately gazing about the room with a small smile and blush slightly hidden behind her lovely pink mane.

“Why don’t you come over and join Fluttershy and me over there?” Rarity offered. “There’s no need to stand by the doorway all night.”

“Oh, heh,” I agreed with a small, nervous laugh as I realized I had not moved since entering the building. Another pony brushed passed me on his way inside the hall. “Sorry,” I mumbled.

Then Rarity led me through the room to where Fluttershy waited patiently. She was humming just softly enough for us to not bother anypony within earshot.

“Um… hello,” I quietly greeted Fluttershy while looking in her general direction but not in her eyes.

“Hello…,” the shy mare responded softly.

“You, uh, look nice,” I managed to say.

“Thanks,” she said as she blushed a little bit and smiled. “You, too.”

Now it was my turn to blush and smile. I idly rubbed my left leg with my right hoof and stared at the ground in hopes that it might have another response I could give or confidence to continue this conversation. Unfortunately, nothing was written on the floor.

Defying all odds, our conversation ceased due to our shyness.

Rarity watched the two shy ponies for a minute with a fake smile plastered upon her face and worried eyes. “Well…,” she finally said to hopefully jump start the dead conversation. “Everypony is here now and just in time! I see Mayor Mare is about to give a small speech before we officially start the event.”

Sure enough, the gray maned, brown mare was making her way to the forefront of the stage. The whole room, which had been buzzing with small conversations, simmered down to a silence as all eyes focused on the stage.

“Welcome fillies and gentlecolts! It is such an honor to be here,” Mayor Mare said. “I am so glad to see such an outstanding group of ponies attend this sophisticated event. Now, let the night commence!”

Eveypony cheered at once after the small speech. Then they began to gather onto the dancing floor. Each pony chose a partner. Most selected a pony of the opposite gender, but a few decided to dance with a pony of the same gender. As the fancy music recommenced, the ponies on the floor started to dance in time with rhythm.

Fluttershy and I waited on the sideline. I briefly glanced her way and made a small move with a comment on the tip of my tongue, but I ultimately chickened out. I shuffled my hooves a bit. Fluttershy fluttered her feathers. We both failed to initiate.

“Well then,” Rarity spoke to break the silence between our little group. “I guess that’s our cue?” She tilted her head towards the dance floor. A strained smile crossed her face.

I peeked over at Fluttershy. She was slowly disappearing behind her mane. So I decided to take action for once. “After you,” I said a little shakily to Fluttershy while I held out my left hoof towards the dance floor. I even smiled encouragingly despite holding back the nervousness trying to take over my body.

Fluttershy responded by advancing ever so slightly forward. Her eyes were glued to her destination. Cautiously, I took my place by her side and we both slowly trotted to the group of dancing ponies. Fluttershy let out a nervous chuckle as we neared the designated area.

See, this isn’t too bad. I thought to myself. I just have to stop overthinking this and just go with the flow. In no time, we’ll be dancing like these other fancy looking ponies.

Somehow, the two of us reached an empty spot on the dance floor. We turned so that we were face to face. I slightly shook from anticipation and nervousness. Fluttershy ruffled her wings again. Then we made rare eye contact with a nervous smile on each of our faces.

Time stood still at that moment. Then I remembered: I did not know how to dance.

So we stood in our little area of heaven. I felt the lights shining bright on us, but I was incapable of doing anything. All around us, ponies danced gracefully with their partners. I panicked. My eyes darted from each magnificent pair to the next as I tried to glean any knowledge of dancing from them. I saw their chests almost touching while they each stepped rhythmically back and forth.

It had been an eternity since Fluttershy and I had entered the realm of dancing and still we had not attempted any such maneuver. Once again, I took the initiative. I edged slightly closer to Fluttershy while gazing in her general direction. Then, I emulated the other dancing pairs and I stepped diagonally right and to the left of Fluttershy. I placed my hooves down in a timed one-two step.

Startled, Fluttershy stared at me. I stared back at her, hoping that she might catch on to my clumsy attempt to start our dance. She glanced down once. Then, she mirrored me by moving backwards diagonally to her left so that she ended up facing me again.

We laughed softly together as we shared that small moment of accomplishment.

With an iota of experience under our belts, we continued to awkwardly dance. It was anything but graceful or smooth. One would take steps and the other would follow. There was not any real coordination or rhythm to our dance, but that was far from my concern for the time being.

A small chuckle to my left broke me out of my concentration. I looked up to see a pair of ponies peek over at Fluttershy and me. The two dancing ponies bore grins on their faces as they conversed amongst each other. This caused paranoia to creep into my mind.

Are they laughing at us? I thought to myself. With my attention diverted, I accidentally stepped too close and bumped into Fluttershy. “Sorry,” I apologized.

Several seconds later, I stumbled a bit and Fluttershy ran into me. “Oh, sorry,” she also apologized.

I followed that by inadvertently stepping on her right hoof. “Sorry… again,” I mumbled my second apology, shaking my head.

I was in full panic mode at this point. All the other pairs of ponies were perfectly in time with each other, unlike Fluttershy and me. They gracefully glided over the dance floor in elegant patterns. This contrasted with our jerky and random stomps. As I became more aware of our differences, I lost even more focus which pronounced the ugliness of our dance. Eventually, I gave up completely and only took the smallest steps possible with my head hung low.

“Well, um…,” Fluttershy commented, also making small movements. “I’m sorry. I’m not a good dancer. I’ve… never really danced with anypony before.”

“Yeah… same here,” I confessed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I kinda noticed we were dancing awkwardly compared to everypony else.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said. “Yeah, it is a little awkward.”

We danced for several minutes more. Our hooves barely moved and our conversation died. Despite this, I glimpsed a small on Fluttershy’s face. We were not making eye contact, but we were looking in the general direction of each other.

That smile emboldened me. I had not lost yet.

So I decided to change tactics. Dancing was not working out too well for me at least. It had been too focused on impressing Fluttershy. Maybe we needed a chance to just talk.

“Hey, do you want to take a break?” I suggested. “Get some punch or something?”

“Sure!” Fluttershy replied happily. 

Then our eyes met for a rare time that night right before I led the way to the punch bowl. Fluttershy trotted next to me with a slight bounce in her step. Upon reaching the drink, I levitated two cups from the stack. Then I grabbed the punch ladle with my levitation and poured some purple punch into the cups. Next, I headed for an empty table. Setting down the cups in front of two seats next to each other, I sat down and Fluttershy took the seat next to me.

The yellow pegasus sipped at her her drink. Her eyes flicked to me for a second, but she did not say anything.

“So,” I said, trying the punch. “This is… fun.”

“Yeah,” Fluttershy agreed before taking another drink.

Our intriguing conversation halted for a second as the silence began to drag on, but this time, I chose to push through the awkwardness.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I don’t think we’re the best dancers. Those other ponies are way more experienced. Once I saw them, I felt like I was making the wrong steps. Still though… it was fun. Dancing, with you.” I casually looked up to the ceiling and chuckled.

“Mhm,” Fluttershy responded, smiling. “It was a little awkward, but I still had fun… dancing with you. I don’t think we’re bad dancers, though.”

“Yeah.”

There was another pause when we both said nothing.

“It’s a beautiful evening,” Fluttershy commented, breaking the silence. “Everypony looks so nice and happy. This isn’t really my type of get together. Rarity has been telling me of this dance for a while, but I just get so nervous sometimes around other ponies.” She talked softly while fiddling with her hooves and glancing at the dancing ponies.

I listened to the quiet mare speak. My eyes wandered all around the room, but I kept turning back to her. Her delicate, happy voice comforted me and eased my nerves. 

“Heh, I know what you mean,” I added while watching Fluttershy out of the corner of my eye. “It takes me awhile to get comfortable around other ponies.”

“Oh, yeah,” Fluttershy nodded, glancing sideways at me before lowering her head and staring at her drink. “That’s why I’m glad you came tonight. It’s nice to be with another pony like me.” After that statement, a slight, red tinge began to spread on her cheeks. She also nervously twirled her mane with her right hoof.

Surprised, I turned my head left and smiled with my mouth slightly agape. Seeing Fluttershy blush, I started to blush as well.

“Yeah, it’s nice to be with another shy pony,” I said softly and slowly moving my head right to face forward again. “You know… this past week has been interesting. But at least… I’ve had a chance to talk to you.” I smiled to myself.

“Mhm. It has been a little crazy. My friends wanting to help…”

Fluttershy’s last sentence disappeared into silence. I was not sure how to exactly respond. Instead, I focused on my own thoughts.

On the dance floor, the fancy ponies continued gracefully gliding around each other. Other ponies throughout the room conversed among one another. The band filled the room with classical music to set the mood.

“To think…,” I responded eventually. “If I hadn’t left my home anytime this week, I never would have run into you.” I laughed a little, smiling casually at Fluttershy. “For instance, if I had not wanted to go read under my tree, I would not have run into Rarity today. And if I had not wanted the next Daring Do book…” I trailed off.

“Is that why you went to the library?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “And I was so nervous when I saw you that I forgot to take the book.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy mumbled while retreating into her mane.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” I reassured her. “I have other books to read, so it’s not a big deal.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy pawed at her drink. “So, you like to read?”

“Yeah,” I answered while slightly shifting around to face Fluttershy. “And you like to sing?”

“Well…,” the shy mare twirled her mane again. “Yeah, but by myself.”

“Ah, I understand,” I said, then added, “you… have a beautiful voice.”

Now that red tinge blossomed all over Fluttershy’s cheeks at my comment. She squeaked and unintentionally knocked over her drink. “Oh no, I’m sorry!” she blurted an apology as she frantically looked around for something to clean up her mess.

“It’s okay! I got it!” 

Thinking quickly, with my magic I gathered up some napkins from a nearby table. I dabbed at the spilled liquid with the napkins. The spillage was stopped before it reached Fluttershy’s wonderful dress.

“T-thank you,” Fluttershy said softly while righting her cup.

“No problem,” I responded. Before thinking carefully, I said after giggling a bit, “I mean it. You do have an amazing singing voice.”

Fluttershy turned to me. A genuine smile spread across her face which was not hiding behind her mane. We made eye contact briefly before we both changed our gazes to mess on the table. I could not help but smile.

“What are you two doing over here?” the inquiring voice of Rarity met my ears.

Looking up, I saw the white unicorn mare approaching our table. She glanced between the Fluttershy and me. She had an encouraging smile on her face.

“Shouldn’t you two be dancing? The music is so lovely that I would hate to miss out on an opportunity to dance,” Rarity continued.

“We were just taking a break,” Fluttershy explained.

“Oh, darling, you two have been taking a break for a while now,” Rarity scoffed. “You two need to be dancing! That’s how you make this a wonderful night!”

“Oh, okay… if you say so,” Fluttershy mumbled before following Rarity towards the dance floor.

I hesitated, watching the two mares trot off. That billowing feeling of comfortableness and happiness was deflating in me. At that moment, I actually wanted to stay and focus on talking with Fluttershy. I could tell, too, that she did not particularly want to dance. I also sort of dreaded another dance. Knowing myself, I would probably fail again.

“Come on, this is the perfect song!” Rarity said delightedly, turning to me. On stage, the musicians had begun to play a soft, slow song.

Against my better judgement, I rejoined Fluttershy on the dance floor. I hated to deny Fluttershy a dance even though I was worried.

We started dancing just like we had at the beginning of the night. We sort of waltzed around in our chosen spot. Our steps lacked rhythm. As the song dragged on, I fell out of sync with the timing of the music. This caused me to run into Fluttershy several times and stomp on her hooves on accident. With each blunder, I became more and more flustered which led to more blunders.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated myself over and over after each stupid mistake. I tried to focus on every little step, but to no avail.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fluttershy wince several times, but she continued to dance with me. She even smiled encouragingly at me. All I could do was frown at my failures.

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy mumbled several times. “I’m fine.”

It was just too much for me.

“I’m sorry…,” I sighed. “I… need another break, I guess.” I excused myself and walked dejectedly to the side of the room where our table was. I looked back to see Fluttershy giving me a quizzical look. Then I sat down and stared hopelessly at the table top.

A minute later, Fluttershy joined me. She sat down in her seat without a word.

“I just…,” I started to say before sighing.

What am I even doing here? I thought to myself. I will always be like this. Always judging myself with other ponies. Always failing to find the right words.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault,” Fluttershy whispered. “I don’t think I’m very good at these kinds of things anyways. I think I need to go home. I know Angel is probably hungry. It was nice seeing you again.”

I heard her rise out of her chair. At that moment, I could not think of what to say. By the time I had comprehended what she had said, Fluttershy had trotted all the way to the entrance. I watched her leave. The doors closed behind her gorgeous pink flowing tail.

A single word was caught in my throat.

Wait!
> Party Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Super Shy

Chapter 6: Party Time


The very next day started off like any other day had that week. The morning sun woke me up, but I refused to acknowledge it by flipping onto my side and throwing the blankets over my head. Somehow, I had fallen asleep at one point the wee morning hours. Now, all I wanted to do was lay in bed as long as possible with my eyes closed. The sun and my body were telling me that it was time to get out of bed. Grumbling to myself, I kicked my bed covers to the side.

“Ugh,” I moaned, rubbing my eyes. “Stupid sun. I want the moon back…” I yawned widely while extending my hooves into the air. After several minutes of deliberation, I decided to start my day. My hooves hit the floor and I was on my way to another day.

The nagging thoughts still whispered in my mind as I trotted to the bathroom. They had kept me awake for several hours. I had tossed and turned in my bed with my eyes closed long after my bedtime, but nothing could quiet those thoughts enough for me to fall into unconsciousness.

What am I going to do? I thought to myself. Why am I like this? Can I ever feel comfortable enough anypony to get to know them? Why couldn’t I look past my shyness a little more so that I could dance with Fluttershy? I mean, we were both bad at dancing, but I…

I shook my head. Grumbling, I reluctantly fell out of my bed. My normal routine followed and the day officially started for me today. Nothing special was on my plate in the immediate future, so I decided to lounge about the house. Of course, life outside my little abode continued.

Three taps came from my front door.

“Could that be…?” I wondered aloud as I trotted to my front door. For all I knew, she did not know where I lived. Cautiously, I opened the door.

“Hi there!” a pink earth pony mare greeted me from my doorstep. Her poofy pink mane bounced up and down atop the pink furred pony as the mare giddily stood, gazing at me, with an enormous smile stretched across her face.

“Uh-,” I started to say.

“I’m Pinkie Pie, and I have a special invitation for you!” the mare named Pinkie Pie jovially stated.  Then, she extracted a letter from her side and handed it to me.

“What’s this f-,” I tried to ask, grasping the letter in my levitation.

“It’s for a super, special party and you’re invited!” Pinkie Pie cut me off. “It’s tonight at Sugarcube Corner at eight o’clock, so you should stop on by! I’m sure you’ll have a blast! And who knows, you might meet somepony you knooOOoowwWw.”

I looked up at her with a questioning expression. “Are you saying it might be-?”

All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie leaned over and put her right hoof around my neck and her left hoof near my right ear. While glancing around suspiciously, she whispered, “It’s a secret.” Then she resumed her normal giggling, bobbing stance on my doorstep. That grin was once again lighting up her face.

I stared back at her. “Interesting,” I finally said. “Well, okay then. Who else will be there? Is this a… formal party?”

“Nuh uh, this party is gonna be a fun party! Not a party for hoity toity ponies,” the pink mare explained. “I just know it will be fun for you and everypony! So don’t be shy! Stop on by!”

“I’m glad I won’t have to dress up, but it’s another thing to tell me not to be shy-“

“Don’t be silly! All you have to do is talk. Easy peasy!”

“Sure… super easy,” I mumbled.

“Of course! You can do it. You’re talking to me right now, right?”

I raised my right eyebrow in confusion. “Huh. I guess. But-“

“No buts!” Pinkie argued. Then she bopped me on my nose. “See you later!” She trilled as she bounced away from me.

I stood in my doorway with my mouth open. “Did she just boop me?”

 
*    *    *


The rest of the day passed without any interesting events for me. I lounged about my place like usual, though I did water my plants. That was mildly exciting. Nothing else important happened.

The clock struck seven-thirty. A small bell chimed. At that time, I found myself with my back on my couch with my legs in the air and my head on the floor. My eyes followed the hands on the clock.

“Huh,” I sighed while starting to contemplate out loud. “Look at the time. Should I go? Is it too early? Too late? Should I be getting ready? What’s the point?” I gazed left at the letter sitting on a table. Blinking slowly, I let out another sigh. Then I groaned and rolled my eyes as I let myself fall completely to the floor. “Fine…,” I grumbled, shaking myself and grudgingly trotting to my room. Ten minutes later, I walked out of my house.

I trotted through Ponyville. The sun was lazily drifting down past the horizon. The diminishing evening light illuminated the quiet streets of the small town. Up ahead, the Sugarcube Corner loomed with its lights lit up inside and welcoming balloons tied to the front. A soft booming of music could be heard emanating from inside the candy shop.

I took a deep breath. This was definitely the location of the party the pink pony had invited me to. The unknown awaited me inside the decorated building. My instinct told me that Fluttershy was in there, but I did not want to embarrass myself yet again. I fought the urge to run home.

What would be the point of life if all we did was stay at home and take the easy route?

Steeling myself, I cautiously walked into the building. A puff of confetti immediately hit me upon entry.

"Welcome!" exclaimed a familiar happy voice.

Opening my eyes from the onslaught of paper, I saw the ever smiling pink pony gazing at me. Sparkles seemed to dazzle around her mane.

"I'm so so so glad you could make it!" the pink mare continued excitedly. "I was just thinking how I could help somepony and what better way than to throw a party! Everypony loves parties! And I just knew I had to invite the very best ponies for this very special party! All of my other friends have tried to help my special friend, but they were going about it the wrong way. Then I had the brilliant idea to throw a party where you and my special friend can hang out and have a good time! And I'm so so so happy that you are here now!" The pink pony bounced up and down enthusiastically with that giant grin plastered on her face. Her eyes were wide with excitement as she continued staring at me.

"Uh... yeah," I said timidly, pawing at the ground. "Thanks for inviting me?"

"OOOOoooohhh!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!!" yelled the pink pony. Then she grabbed me into a tight hug.

"Yay?" I groaned.

After an eternity of hugging, the pink mare let go of me. I massaged my neck a bit, then I gazed around the room. There were balloons and streamers lining the walls. Several tables were set up around the room. Various snacks and drinks were sitting on the tables along with a bowl of punch. Milling about the room were other familiar ponies that I recognized from previous days. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack were conversing amongst themselves, though I did notice them glance over at me occasionally.

"Almost everypony is here!" announced the pink pony, bouncing to the party room where the other ponies stood. Then she said in a singsong voice, "We're just waiting on a special somepony!"

"Yes, where is dear Fluttershy?" Rarity wondered aloud. "I hope she isn't hiding at home."

"Ah... Rarity," the pink mare sighed. "You ruined the surprise!"

"I don't think it was much of a surprise to begin with, Pinkie," Twilight explained, dully.

"Yeah, it's a little obvious what's going on here," Rainbow Dash added. "Especially after the last couple of days, so I've heard."

Meanwhile, I tried to stay as small as possible with my head down. I knew these were Fluttershy's friends and I had met all of them recently, but I was still not quite comfortable around them. My shyness inhibited me from talking or interjecting with my thoughts on this situation.

"I really, really wanted this to be a super special surprise," Pinkie pouted. Then she sulked to the middle of the room where the other ponies were.

I was left still standing awkwardly in the entryway of the shop. So I decided to follow Pinkie Pie. Everypony else gave me a sideways glance as I joined the small group.

Just then, the front door opened. The presumably last guest had arrived. Fluttershy casually strolled into Sugarcube Corner, her pink bangs and tail swishing with each step.

Flashbacks to the distant past of five days ago popped into my mind. That day I had been standing in Twilight's library when Fluttershy had walked in. It was such a surprise to me to run into her yet again. This time, though, I was expecting her entrance.

Fluttershy had stopped in the entryway once she had looked up to see the congregation of ponies. I had turned around at just the right moment and I made eye contact with her. That was why we were both frozen in shyness with our eyes looking anywhere but at each other.

"Surprise!" Pinkie exclaimed while jumping between me and Fluttershy. The pink mare beamed expectantly, glancing between the two shy ponies.

Fluttershy and I continued our shy standoff.

Pinkie Pie maintained her smiling while looking between me and Fluttershy. Almost a minute passed before her smile began to waver. "Okay...," she finally said. "You two are shyer than I thought! How about we get this party started!" In one quick move, Pinkie swooped up Fluttershy and me with her hooves and guided us to the center of the room.

The other ponies stood around and watched with uncertain looks.

"Um... Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said. She was hovering in the air while anxiously eyeing Fluttershy and me. "Maybe-"

"Let's play pin the tail on the pony!" Pinkie yelled, interrupting Rainbow Dash. The pink pony enthusiastically pointed at the left wall where there was a picture of a pony hanging on the wall with detachable tail. "Who wants to go first?" She held out a blindfold to us.

"Uh...," I muttered quietly while peeking over at Fluttershy. She was hiding behind her mane like usual.

Without warning, Pinkie threw the blindfold over the shy mare's eyes. Then Pinkie spun Fluttershy around really fast. Next, Fluttershy was let go and she stumbled around for a bit.

"Okay Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said. She rushed over to the pony board and plucked the tail from the wall. Then she returned to the dizzy, yellow mare and shoved the detached tail into Fluttershy' hooves. "Pin the tail on the pony!"

"Whoa," Fluttershy said while tilting left then right. She wobbled around and flailed her legs about to try to right herself. "Pinkie!"

Everypony took several steps back from the fluttering Fluttershy, except for me. When I stepped back, I immediately hit a table. This prevented me from escaping. I cowered in fear.

Fluttershy, still completely blindfolded and with no sense of direction, headed straight towards me. She held the pin of the tail in her right hoof, somehow. With one swipe, the hoof and pin narrowly whooshed past my face.

I closed my eyes and awaited my doom as Fluttershy swung haphazardly at me again. Then, a soft hoof pressed against my muzzle. I opened my eyes to see a yellow hoof on my nose with the pin of the detached tail's less than an inch from my nose.

With her other hoof, Fluttershy lifted the blindfold from her face. She saw the pin so close to danger, and her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" she apologized. The tail fell to the ground when she retracted her hoof.

I blinked several times while watching the deadly tail fall to the ground. "It's... okay," I eventually said. "I'm fine."

"Maybe we should give the pony with the pointed pin some more time to get ready," Twilight suggested

"And the rest of us time to get away," Rainbow Dash mumbled to Applejack, who laughed.

"Okay. How about we try that again?" Pinkie suggested with an uneasy smile while holding the blindfold and tail and looking at Fluttershy.

"Um... well...," Fluttershy whispered shyly. "I don't want to disappoint anypony..."

Taking that as a cue, Pinkie Pie re-blindfolded Fluttershy and spun the quiet, yellow pegasus on the spot. This time, Pinkie stopped Fluttershy and pointed the blindfolded mare in the right direction. I backed away just in case.

Fluttershy stayed put for several seconds. After shaking the dizzyness out of her head, she took a tentative step forward towards the target. She moved slowly, closer and closer until her hoof with the tail hit the wall and stuck on the pony board. Everypony stared at the now attached tail pinned to the nose of the silhouette pony.

"Hooray!" Pinkie cheered, holding her front hooves up next to Fluttershy. "You pinned the tail on the pony."

"It's a funny looking pony now," Applejack commented, smiling.

"Yeah! It has a lot of nose hairs," Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"I'd like to see you girls do any better," Rarity said, haughtily.

"You're turn!" Pinkie trilled as she pointed at me.

"Uh, what about them?" I stammered, glancing at the other ponies.

"Nope! You're one of the guests of honor!" Pinkie happily explained. "How could we skip your turn?" AT that, the pink mare collected the blindfold and tail and dashed to me. In one second, she wrapped the cloth around my eyes and shoved the tail in my right hoof.

"I'm not so sure-," I whimpered. Then, my whole world turned pitch black. Next, I was spun around many times until I was really dizzy.

"Okay, go!" Pinkie exclaimed, stopping and, hopefully, pointing me in the right direction.

Cautiously, I stepped forward with my right hoof outstretched. Nothing was there. So I continued forward until my right hoof hit the wall. I pinned the tail on the wall where I thought the pictured pony was.

"That's close, but...," Rainbow Dash said slowly while trying to stifle her laughter.

I removed the blindfold so that I could observe my results. My face immediately reddened. In my defense, the tail was close to the right spot. Unfortunately, the spot I had placed the tail was a little further down and to the left of the pony's hindquarters. The tail was now protruding from under the belly and between the two back legs of the pony.

Seeing my reaction broke Rainbow's demeanor. She fell to the ground and actually rolled on the floor while laughing. Beside her, Applejack was also snickering. Twilight and Rarity both rolled their eyes. Fluttershy just stared at the ground.

"Okay, well that was a fun game!" Pinkie said a little nervously. She quickly swiped the tail from the wall and placed at the correct spot on the pony. "How about another game?" She suggested.

I backed up a little while avoiding Pinkie's gaze. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Fluttershy shuffling her hooves. Rainbow Dash and Applejack glanced at each other. Twilight sighed, shaking her head. Rarity frowned.

“Um… Pinkie…,” Fluttershy whispered.

“I know the perfect game for all of us to play!” Pinkie Pie announced. “Let’s play musical chairs!” Then she rounded up five chairs and placed them strategically in a circle with their backs facing inwards. With the chairs in place, the party mare took her place at a table with a gramophone, ready to play music.

“So are all of us playing, except you, Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yep! I’ll be in charge of the music!” Pinkie Pie nodded. “The rest of you will play and it will be super fun! Now, everypony get ready!”


The other ponies hesitated a moment before they gathered around the group of chairs. I joined them, taking a place between Fluttershy to my right and Rainbow Dash to my left while I faced towards the chairs. Applejack stood in front of a chair on the other side of Fluttershy. Rarity chose the spot to the right of Applejack, and Twilight completed the circle.

Suddenly, the music started playing. All of us panicked for a second, glancing at one another. Then, almost all at once, we each made a move. I started rotating counter-clockwise to my right. My eyes went wide as Fluttershy instantly ran into me when she turned left to move clockwise. Of course, next followed Rainbow Dash collided with my backside when I stopped.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy mumbled apologetically to me.

“It’s okay,” I said.

“Ow! Move!” Rainbow groaned.

Fluttershy hid her face in embarrassment for a second before she figured out the correct way to move around the chairs. Everypony else resumed the counter-clockwise movement around the chairs as the music merrily played in the background. I kept a bit of distance back from Fluttershy so that I would not accidentally run into her again.

The music stopped.

Most of us froze before scrambling to sit in a chair. Rainbow Dash had found herself in between two seats, so she immediately bolted back to her left. She aggressively pushed Twilight out of a seat that the purple unicorn was trying to claim.

“Mine!” Rainbow gleefully said.

“Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed as she was pushed out of the way. Everypony else successfully sat in a chair. So Twilight was eliminated in the first round. Grumbling to herself, Twilight said, “You didn’t need to shove me.”

Rainbow responded by sticking her tongue out at Twilight and smiling. “That’s how the game’s played.” 

The remaining players stood up and Pinkie Pie took Rainbow’s chair. Then the music started again. The five of us resumed the counter-clockwise rotation around the ring of chairs as the music merrily played in the background. I focused on keeping a safe distance from Fluttershy even though Rainbow Dash was constantly nipping at my tail. The longer the music ran, the higher my heart rate rose as I tried to anticipate the end of our playful march.

Silence.

I panicked, caught between two chairs. Luckily I managed to spring forward and claim the spot in front of me. In front of me, Fluttershy practically fell into her chair just to have Applejack step back and sit on Fluttershy’s lap.

“Ah!” Applejack cried out in surprise, jumping up.

“Oh, I’m sorry Applejack,” Fluttershy squeaked. She slipped off of the chair. “I didn’t mean to take your seat. You can have it.”

“Ah shucks, Fluttershy,” Applejack chuckled. “I appreciate you lettin’ me have your spot, but you got there first. You can keep it.”

“Okay then, thanks,” Fluttershy nodded, climbing back into the chair as Applejack walked to Pinkie and Twilight at the music table. Twilight levitated another chair out of the ring.

For the third time, the game resumed. We were down to three chairs and four ponies. I followed Fluttershy around the contested chairs and Fluttershy followed Rarity who followed Rainbow Dash. The circle was much smaller now. Around and around we went.

Silence again.

I found myself directly in front of a seat which I quickly occupied. Fluttershy also managed to snag the chair near her. Dash and Rarity attempted to compete for the final spot, but, naturally, Dash won even though Rarity barely put up a fight.

“Haha!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “Nopony can beat me!”

“Hmph,” Rarity huffed. “This game is for ruffians and the like anyways.” With her nose pointed skywards, she trotted to the crowd of disqualified contestants. Another chair was removed from the bunch.

Again, the upbeat music resumed as I, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash danced around the two chairs. With only two chairs remaining, we each had a huge gap to overcome to safely be in range of securing a seat. Rainbow dashed each time to put her in good position to win a spot. Fluttershy and I casually strolled around the two chairs.

“Come on! Move it you two!” Rainbow Dash whinnied, forcing us to pick up the pace.

The music continued to play for an agonizingly long time. Each second felt like an eternity to me as my mind raced. The other ponies cheered in the background.

Suddenly, the music stopped. I was at the right corner of one of the chairs so I placed my hoof on it. Fluttershy happened to be at the other corner. She turned around to see the chair caught between the two of us. Both of us hesitated. I did not want to fight her, but I also did not want to give up so easily. I could tell Fluttershy was also reluctant to take the chair. 

A classic standoff of shyness commenced. Neither of us made a move. Our eyes briefly met.

“You can have it,” Fluttershy finally said.

“Um, no you can have it,” I said. “It’s your party.”

“Oh, well, not really, I mean,” Fluttershy twiddled her hooves. “It’s for all of us. And I don’t mind if you want to have the chair.”

I tilted my head. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to win. You’re the one that can beat Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy smiled at me.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash said. Sure enough, she had won the other chair while Fluttershy and I were busy.

I smiled back at Fluttershy. “Heh. I guess you’re right.” Then I sat down on the chair while Fluttershy walked over to the other ponies. I slipped off of the chair. Rainbow Dash did the same as her seat was levitated away.

It was down to me and Dash. Before the music started, she stared daggers at me. I returned her competitive gaze, my heart pumping. Fluttershy believed in me. I would win this game for her.

So the music began.

Rainbow Dash and I tangoed around the last remaining chair. Each of us practically sprinted around the back of it, not wanting to be caught away from the winning seat. Faster and faster we circled around the desired object. Dash wanted to win so badly, and I did not dare let down Fluttershy.

“I’m not gonna let you beat me,” Dash panted, whipping around the backside of the chair and hot on my tail.

And I’m not going to let you beat me. I thought to myself.

In the background, the other ponies cheered, for whom, I was not sure. My mind was on the game on hoof. Every time I passed the front of the chair, I braced myself for the end of the music so that I could quickly pounce on the winning spot. I also kept a close watch on the blue pegasus opposite of me.

Silence.

Luckily, I was at the right edge of the chair, but I happened to stumble a bit from the abruptness of the ending of the music. Even after all of that mental preparation, I had not been ready.

Rainbow Dash had been ready even though she was on the backside of the chair. She immediately took to the air and bounded over the back of the chair. A triumphant smile began to form on her face as she descended to victory.

I had other plans. Thinking quickly, I magically grabbed the chair and shifted it sideways to me. Dash landed with a thud on the floor. Then I climbed onto the winning seat, giving Dash a smug look.

“Hey! No fair!” Rainbow pouted from the ground, glaring at me. “You can’t use magic!”

“Well, you used your wings,” I argued. “So it seems fair that I can use my magic.”

“But…”

“Hey does have a point,” Twilight interjected. “We never said we couldn’t use magic, or you couldn’t fly.”

“Grr…,” grumbled Dash. “I still think-“

“Hehe, just face it Rainbow,” Applejack chuckled. “You lost.” Rainbow Dash scowled at her.

“You did push some of us out of the way,” Rarity pointed out. “You kind of deserved to lose.”

“Haha, okay, that was fun right?” Pinkie Pie interjected, trying to derail the conversation. “How about we play another game?”	"I don't think-," Twilight started to say.

"I've got a piñata full of candy just waiting to be smashed!" Pinkie announced, interrupting Twilight. The party pony revealed a pony shaped from piñata from nowhere and hung the thing from the ceiling. She held a stick in her hooves as she gleefully smiled at everypony.

"Uh, what's with you and games with sticks, Pinkie?" Dash asked. "This is, like, the second game with a stick. And why are a lot of them only for one pony at a time? At least my date attempt involved both of them."

"Please, darling, I would hardly call that a 'date'," Rarity butt in and mimed air quotes on the last word. "At least I had them dance at a lovely gala."

"Oh really?" Rainbow questioned while glaring at Rarity.

"Girls...," Twilight said, sighing. "Let's not argue."

"Pfft. Even Twilight's 'date' was better," Rarity added, ignoring Twilight's comment and miming air quotes for the word ‘date’.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow, but I have to agree," Applejack interjected. "I believe mine was better than yours, too. I invited them to a swell concert. Just didn't work out me though."

Pinkie Pie laughed nervously. "Um, how about we start-"

"Oh, come on! You're just jealous I had a really awesome idea!" Dash yelled.

"Girls-," Twilight tried to quell the arguments again.

"I'm sorry, darling, but your idea may have been 'awesome', but it was not good for Fluttershy," Rarity retorted haughtily. "Honestly, I know her better than you!"

During this, I nervously watched the ponies argue. They all continued to express the strengths of each of their ideas, except Twilight. She was trying to take charge. Of course nopony backed down. My uneasiness heightened while the mares bickered amongst themselves. I wanted to run away, but my hooves were glued to the spot.

"Um, hello," Fluttershy suddenly squeaked, appearing next to me.

"Oh, hey," I responded, just as softly.

"Sorry about all this," she said, sighing. "It's my fault."

The two of us faced the quarreling ponies. Fluttershy stayed a foot away from me to my right. She slightly bowed her head.

"What? No, this is my fault," I said.

"No, well, you see, my friends just wanted to help. I should have told them I was fine."

"Oh, well, it's not your fault. They tried to help... but.. I don't know. I'm not good at this stuff. I'm too shy, I guess," I weakly said.

Fluttershy paused for a second, then responded, "Me too."

We both stared in silence as the five other ponies in the room exchanged heat words. I did not know how to continue our recent conversation. She did not seem to know either. So we shared our usual awkward silence once again.

"Oh! I just remembered," Fluttershy suddenly said. She next walked over to the far wall where a backpack was lying on the ground. She retrieved a book from the confines of the pack. Finally, she trotted back to me.

"What's that?" I asked.

Fluttershy handed me the book. "Um... you were in such a hurry at Twilight's library that you forgot to take the book Twilight got for you," she nervously explained, twiddling her hooves and hiding her face behind her mane.

"Wow... thanks!" I replied, astonished with a smile across my face. I levitated the book in my magic and examined the cover. Sure enough, this was the Daring Do book I had wanted to read. "I totally forgot about it. I honestly just wanted to leave that day. I'm sorry. Thanks for bring me this!"

"Oh, um, you're welcome," Fluttershy answered while her own sweet smile crossed her face.

At that moment, I decided to make a bold move as confidence flowed through my veins. So I asked, "Are you... doing anything tomorrow?"

"Oh, not really."

"Well, um... I think I'll want to start reading this book tomorrow at my favorite spot under a tree where it's nice and quiet," I said tentatively. "If you want to stop by and hang out or something, that would be fine."

"Of course! That would be nice," Fluttershy answered, her wings flapping several times.

"Okay," I smiled.

Okay," Fluttershy smiled.

"Uh, see you tomorrow then," I waved goodbye to Fluttershy and I trotted out the door. This time, there was a goofy smile on my face and a spring in my step as I headed home.
> Under the Tree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


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