“I haven’t had any problems with the cockatrice since, and the three fillies listen to me almost as well as my animals… mostly.”
Fluttershy couldn’t recall the last time she’d talked this much during a session with Dr. Grape, or this freely. His office felt different somehow, as if her sudden influx of friends and excitement-filled days had brightened the sun itself. She’d abandoned her favorite staring spot on the wall weeks ago, opting to smile up at the ceiling instead. The shadows that sometimes crossed it, courtesy of the nearby window, no longer spooked her. “I’m almost cured, aren’t I? I have six best friends, I talk all the time, and sometimes ponies even hear me!”
Dr. Grape chuckled. “Your progress is phenomenal, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
She took the briefest of glances at him. “But… but I have friends that I don’t feel as shy around, just like you said I should.”
“And all of that is wonderful, it really is. I just want you to keep building on your success.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember your first session with me? When you told me about your crippling shyness, I described the healing process as breaking out of a shell. I’m concerned that you haven’t actually broken out, you’ve merely let a few ponies inside the shell with you.”
Fluttershy’s eyebrows rose a quarter inch. Never had Dr. Grape given her a greater shock. “N-not out of my shell? That’s… that’s silly, Dr. Grape. I-I’m sorry if that sounds too harsh.”
“You never mention anypony besides your six best friends; it’s as if you aren’t socializing outside of that close-knit group at all. I’m not suggesting that you need to seek out six more best friends, but being able to talk even briefly with whomever you meet is important, too.”
Her ears drooped, and her gaze drifted across the ceiling and toward her old spot on the wall. “Oh.”
“Why don’t we go back to the challenge from a few months back: introducing yourself to somepony new. After your success with Twilight and the others, this should be easy, right?”
Fluttershy tapped her front hooves together, a small step away from rubbing them raw again. “O-okay… I’ll… try. I’ll try.”
---
As the clock struck the hour, Fluttershy made her way into the waiting room with her head down. Her well of self-confidence felt especially low, certainly not dry like it’d been prior to befriending Twilight and the others, but much closer to it than she’d felt in weeks. She couldn’t go back to how she was before, tongue-tied the moment anypony talked to her, terrified by the slightest sound.
“But I’m not that same scaredy-pony!” she said alongside a hoof stomp powerful enough to rattle her teeth. She glanced around the waiting room, afraid she’d disturbed somepony with her outburst, but realized that nobody seemed to have noticed. The receptionist was still flipping through her magazine, and the trio of ponies scattered around the waiting room’s collection of plush furniture were lost in their own solitude. It was as if she hadn’t made a sound at all, which was perhaps the least comforting thought of all.
She stared at the pony closest to her, an ancient stallion staring dejectedly at the carpet. After taking the tiniest possible step forward, she cleared her throat. “Ahem. Sir? Could I intro—”
A loud sneeze set her fur on end, but thankfully didn’t send her running. She looked left and right, finally spotting the offending pony coming out of one of the other doctor’s offices. A short mane of deep blue hair rested atop his head, and his coat was a somewhat lighter blue. He sniffled and brought a wet handkerchief to his painfully red nose.
Between his frown, bloodshot eyes, and drooping ears, Fluttershy felt sure she’d found a pony just as far down in the dumps as herself. She couldn’t have asked for a better candidate to fulfill Dr. Grape’s challenge. “Ahem.”
His ears shot up as his eyes met hers. He sniffled again and hurriedly put away his handkerchief. “S-sorry. C-can’t help it. It’s not contagious or anything.”
“I’m… I’m—” she took in a great breath “—I’m Fluttershy!”
He continued to stare at her, sniffling occasionally. “I’m… Noteworthy.”
“I… I come here because I’m… too shy,” she said in a very quiet voice while her cheeks reddened. This felt strangely similar to talking to Dr. Grape.
He nodded. “I’m Noteworthy, and I have—” he sneezed again “—anxiety problems that manifest as allergies. I think we have the same appointment time. You’re always leaving just as I come back into the waiting room.”
She looked away and twisted her hoof into the carpet. “Oh. I-I’m sorry I didn’t notice before.”
“Could… uh… could we talk somewhere else? The waiting room sort of… aggravates my anxiety.”
“Oh, of course! I didn’t mean to block your way.”
She stepped aside, offering him even more of the wide hallway.
Noteworthy hurried toward the exit, and she followed closely behind. This definitely counted as talking to somepony new. It wasn’t as bad as she’d feared, and best of all it would probably be over soon.
Once a fair bit of Ponyville’s main street separated them from the doctor’s office, Noteworthy’s pace slowed to a stop. He turned back to Fluttershy and smiled. “Wow, you’re still he—I-I mean, thanks for… not sneaking away when I wasn’t looking.”
Fluttershy gasped. “That wouldn’t be very nice! M-my therapist said I should introduce myself to somepony new and… and we haven’t said goodbye yet.”
“Oh… well thanks for saying something. Ponies don’t like talking to me much, which only makes this worse,” he pointed to to his nose, which looked even redder in the daylight. “They think they’re going to catch something.”
“Ponies don’t like talking to me either… or maybe they just don’t hear me.”
“My ears are really good. I took years of music appreciation studies. I wanted to be a musician once, but…”
Fluttershy blinked. Not only had she introduced herself to somepony new, they were in the midst of an actual conversation, and not one where she only listened. Hope dawned anew; maybe Dr. Grape really was wrong. She was on the cusp of making a new friend all by herself! “I-I need to… It’s almost lunch time. I should go eat and… do you want to talk some more?”
Her stomach rumbled right on cue, making more noise than her own voice.
He smiled, but almost immediately sneezed again. “I-I’d love to, I really would… but I can’t. Would next week be okay, after our appointments?”
“Okay. Next time.”
She smiled as she hurried away, both ecstatic at the prospect of breaking out of her shell for good and relieved that she wouldn’t have to do it all in one afternoon.