//------------------------------//
// Falsetto Note 
// Story: Did We Make A Difference? 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

Sitting together in a circle, the seven best friends chatted amongst themselves. In-between them sat a picnic basket. 
“Great idea to grab some food, Fluttershy.”
The pale-yellow Pegasus gave a soft smile as she gingerly took a sip from a cup of tea. 
“T-Thanks Starlight, Pinkie did all the hard work. Though-”
She set down the tea cup, pausing her words as she did so. She seemed to have something on her mind; confirmed by a worried expression that crossed her face. Her eyes appeared watery as she finished her thoughts.
“Why are we still here? Shouldn’t we be moving on?”
Her friends took pause as they thought about her words. After sharing an exchange of glances with Twilight, Pinkie shook her head, doing her best to hide a smile.
“We can’t go yet, silly filly! We’re still missing someone!”
Fluttershy’s eyes stopped watering and she just stared at Pinkie in confusion. 
“B-but isn’t everypony here?”
That’s when the mysterious guest arrived in the form of another voice; everywhere and nowhere at once; in the void. And he seemed to be rather excited to talk to them.

 Hey Fluttershy. It's a pleasure to finally be meeting you. I'm Falsetto Note, and I am such a huge fan of yours.

“Oh my, um...Hello, would you like s-some tea?”
Fluttershy’s response was a little timid, having been surprised by the sudden introduction. Though with an encouraging nod from each of her friends, she began to open up. 
“We also have sandwiches, I mean, if-if you want.”

 While that is a very kind gesture, I came here to talk to you. I thought you might want to hear how you and the show changed my life.

Fluttershy took a small bite of her sandwich as the voice seemed to take in a deep breath. Maybe they’re as nervous as I am. She thought. After a silent moment, Falsetto began speaking to her once more.

 We have a lot in common, you and I. We both started off afraid. Afraid of what others would think. Afraid to spend time with our own kind. Shying away from others to keep to ourselves; not introverts of desire, but of our own fears. Why, I remember back when I was twenty-two years old. That’s when I first learned of you girls. The year was 2014 and though the time leading up to me first seeing you was rocky, to say the least, that day I first saw you started a change in me.


 ***

He had closed himself off from others. For the past few years, he had been dealing with Schizophrenia and being placed on the spectrum back in 2011. A psychotic break had left his mind traumatized and try as he might, he just couldn’t bring himself to approach others. This didn’t mean he was without family, however. He still had his brothers, and because of them he learned of a brightly-colored world of magical ponies.
It had started off with the smallest thing; snowballing into a much larger impact. His brother had watched up to five episodes on Netflix before stopping. His curiosity piqued as he noticed the colorful animation especially since his brother, of all people, had watched past the pilot. His brother had gotten to the point where he no longer seemed to care about animated ventures; it intrigued him. If that was the case, why then? Why would he bother to watch such an obvious cartoon for the young generation? 

 ***

Fidgeting with the stetson upon her head, Applejack spoke up; her quaint, yet warm accent coming forth. 
“Ta be honest Sugarcube, we’ve been wonderin’ that about you ‘bronies’ fer th’ longest time.”

 There are many reasons that many pick from:


  ‘The animation was pleasant to look at.’ ‘The characters were likable and relatable.’


 ‘Those songs I thought were of much better quality than I'd previously come across.’and of course, ‘The morals were quite important as well as being unique in several cases.’


 Though I suppose for myself, it was something else. You see for me, you all; the Mane Six became an extended family. Witnessing your actions gave me the strength to forge a bridge to the outside world; to socialize with others.

 Fluttershy watched in silence as the young man stared intently at the television, he seemed a little stressed; as though the concept of doing so was brand new to him. That was, until Fluttershy met Twilight.
 “I-Im Flutter-shee”
 Some things can’t be explained in this world, it was almost like a strange magical spell. As he saw her on the screen, he immediately formed a connection; she was just like him. How? He did not know yet, but the gaze in her eyes had him convinced she had a heart of gold. 
 He was drawn in by her love of animals; having had multiple pets, himself, in the past. His tenseness faded and he relaxed; she was a kindred spirit who knew the harsh tribulations of making friends. In that colorful pony he found something he hadn’t known in a long time. In her eyes was the gaze of a friend. His family had been mostly supportive of him, but outside of them friends were hard to come by.
 Fluttershy seemed taken aback by the intensity of the scene, though only for a moment. Then she smiled. 
“Having more friends is always a po-positive , isn't it? Without mine, I would never have gotten as far as I have. W-what about you? How far have you come since then? Oh gosh, that was pretty forward w-wasn’t it? How r-rude of me.”

 No, no that’s quite alright. Actually there was something major that happened in the Fall of 2017. You see, thanks to your show; I explored other avenues of MLP. I found myself on a Brony Community website, and ended up talking to a Pegasister. We talked for hours and then days, getting to know each other better. That’s when the Fall of ‘17 came about, and we decided to attend a showing of the My Little Pony movie together. It was our first date. She has a few of your treasured characteristics, actually; both Kindness and a gentle heart. Though, it wasn’t only her who was excited but I was as well. Me! Thanks to your wonderful lessons about confidence, I proudly rose to the occasion and together we had an outing to remember.

Fluttershy jumped up and down, squealing in excitement. This was just the kind of boost she needed.
“Squee~ Oh, my. That’s wonderful! And you’re still together?”

We can’t always be together, but we are still dating and very much in lo- Pinkie what are you doing?

 Pinkie Pie sat off to the edge, fiddling with her strange remote and upon hearing her name glanced up. 
“Hm? Oh, I just thought it would be neat for her to meet Fluttershy as well.”
Without waiting for a reply, Pinkie pressed the button on her device, and it wasn’t long until a new voice joined. The voice was full of vigor, yet soft as silk as it happily finished the Brony’s sentence.

We’re still in love, Fluttershy! Who would’ve thought a children’s television show could bring us this close together?

 Fluttershy now had on a bright smile as both of the voices; Falsetto and his girlfriend, slowly faded away with one last comment from both.

Thanks for everything, you really did make a difference and we’ll always be grateful!