Some ponies, like the fabled Crystal Ponies, were the type to shine like diamonds under the spotlight. The eccentric Photo Finish had a talent for scouting out ponies like this, though the humble and reserved Fluttershy would have begged to differ if she could have gotten a word in edgewise. Fluttershy knew how much it meant to Rarity that she shone across Equestria with Photo Finish, but this was more than she bargained for. The magics, as Photo Finish called them, seemed to be appearances in the public eye every waking moment and, for all she knew, some of the sleeping moments. It pained her how little time she had for her friends and the animals anymore. Just when she thought she had seen all this life of nonstop public pandering had to offer, everything would take a sharp left turn.
In the dressing room after her latest modeling escapade, Fluttershy closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. There were ponies who thrived under stress and judging eyes, and then there was Fluttershy. She had tried imagining that the strangers in the crowd were her friends, but all she could picture was the expectance gaze of Rarity’s pristine blue eyes. To not think about the disappointment Rarity would feel, Fluttershy imagined her unicorn companion in the center of Ponyville, not at the modeling gigs, fighting a giant crab. That just made Fluttershy immerse herself in worry. When that didn’t work, she tried imagining that the ponies were woodland critters. That train of thought had much more success until her imagination ran away with her again. Alas, she had imagined everypony as a woodland critter, and that included herself. Picturing herself as a butter yellow squirrel with a cherry blossom pink tail on a catwalk surrounded by creatures that were gargantuan in comparison proved to be an ineffective way to settle her nerves.
Rest. That’s what she needed. If she could just keep her eyes closed and drift off to the land of dreams…
“Eeeeeeek!” came the shrill shriek of one of the makeup artists. Fluttershy wearily opened her eyes and craned her head around to see three makeup artist ponies crowding together in the corner, doing what most would classify as cowering. Was it something big and scary? No, their gaze was down, not up. So…little and scary. What in Equestria was both little and scary? Fluttershy found all small creatures to be adorable, but she knew not all ponies were in agreement in that camp. What little creatures were ponies afraid of? Spiders, insects, other arthropods, some reptiles…
“It’s a mouse! A mouse!” one of the makeup artists shrieked. The other two mares shrieked in affirmation. Fluttershy, who had all the love in her heart and then some to give to small creatures, reflexively got to her hooves, lowered her center of gravity and crawled toward them. As soon as she started getting closer, she saw the mouse. It was a field mouse with chestnut brown fur and pretty, dark eyes.
“Aww! It’s so cute!” Fluttershy cooed, stricken by the mouse’s innocent charm. “Hello! My name’s Fluttershy.”
“Fluttershy, be careful! It could be caring diseases or something,” one of the cowering ponies cautioned.
“It’s fine,” Fluttershy assured, keeping the bulk of her attention on the mouse. “I talk with animals all the time. Now, little one, is there something I can do for you?”
“D-do you have any cheese? Preferably cheddar? Oh, I just love cheddar! There’s nothing like the classics. You get what I mean, don’t you?” the little rodent squeaked. To Fluttershy, the mouse’s language was as clear as the princesses’ Ponish. To the makeup artists who notably lacked her special talent, however, the chittering may as well have been a tongue from beyond the moon and sun.
“So…you crave cheddar?” Fluttershy asked, receiving swift and eager nods from the mouse.
Abruptly, the door to the dressing room fell to a powerful blow by none other than the eccentric Photo Finish. No doubt, she detected the perfect opportunity to find and capture “the magics”. Wordlessly, she pulled her camera from her dress and snapped a photograph of Fluttershy and the mouse. When all eyes were both perplexed and on her, the photographer simply asked, “Vhat?”
“Um…why did you take her picture? The shoot’s over,” one of the makeup artists asked, now distracted from the intrusive rodent.
“I don’t have to go back out there today, do I?” Fluttershy asked meekly.
“No, no, no, no, no. Vhat you just said vas perfect! It vas the magics!” Photo Finish exclaimed. “Fluttershy, mouse, gaze into each other’s eyes once more!”
“O-okay,” Fluttershy complied and looked back at the critter, who was confused more than anything. The Pegasus nervously whispered, “Just go with it, please…” The mouse shrugged and stared into Fluttershy’s teal eyes.
“Yes! Vork it, mouse! Give her a gaze that says ‘father, I crave cheddar’!” Photo Finish commanded encouragingly as she took several photos of Fluttershy and the mouse from different angles. “The public vill love you even more! The foals vill admire your beauty and wit. The stallions and mares who adore you vill only peak in their endless fervor!”
All through Photo Finish’s energetic, inspired rambling and photographing, Fluttershy and the mouse were locked in silent communication. Through their eyes alone, they had reached an understanding with one another and had agreed they would rather be anywhere else. The mouse, a female (not that it was anypony’s business), simply wanted some delightfully sharp cheddar, only to be dragged into some flashy, momentary glory that she never wanted. She did her best to have her expression be that of ‘I crave cheddar’, whatever that meant. While tapping into her nurturing, soft nature for the photos, Fluttershy was wondering if she could find and hire a doppelganger from one of the dimly lit alleyways of Manehatten to do her modeling for her.
They both wished it would be over soon. Photo Finish had to take enough pictures to make sure that the right one, the golden nugget of them all, would be somewhere in the selection. It wouldn’t take more than three or four for the average pony, but Photo Finish had an eye for minutiae overlooked by the average pony. The magics weren’t simply just about putting a pretty pony in an outfit and rushing them into the spotlight. The magics were much more complicated than that. Facial expression, color theory, visual shorthand; ponies who had all these and more were capable of harnessing the magics and becoming the living definition of formidable.
The following week, when she was leaving her cottage to go to the town market, Fluttershy discovered that a magazine featuring photos of her from last week’s shoots found its way to her mailbox. Photo Finish always made sure that Fluttershy got a copy of whatever publications she was in. This week, she was in Elegance, a fashion magazine that preached the importance of inner and outer beauty. Two things were true about clichés. The first fact about them was that there was a key element of truth to them. The second was that they were extremely marketable.
The mare hoped she inspired, and that she would continue to inspire from a distance. Apprehensively, Fluttershy read the front cover to herself aloud, “‘Equestria’s Homegrown Whimsical Maiden Shows Her Charity’? Goodness, that’s a mouthful. Let’s see… ‘Details on page six.’”
She opened the magazine to the designated page, expecting a page-long story about how she started modeling by doing it for Rarity’s business and some rosy language talking up the fashionista’s colorful imagination. No such luck. Plastered across it was a picture of her and the mouse smiling at each other. On the bottom of the picture was the phrase “Flutter, I crave cheddar”. Fluttershy found it mildly amusing, but further, deeper thought on it just made her feel lost. She began flipping through the magazine and had to admit that the other photos were very nice. What in Equestria could have caused Photo Finish to think that the conversation with the mouse was worthy of an entire page and all the fuss that went into it?
Fluttershy took the magazine and the remainder of the mail, stuffed them into one of her saddle bags and resumed her casual stroll into town. The closer she got to the market, the livelier the area was. Ponies everywhere were laughing, smiling and…holding magazines? Yes, most of the townsfolk had their eyes fixed on this week’s issue of Elegance. That was, at least, until she passed them by. When other ponies saw her in their peripheral vision, they would look away from the magazine and wave frantically at her or call out to her.
“Oh my gosh, Fluttershy, this picture is so funny and cute!” Bonbon yelled out, clearly suppressing a chuckle.
“The little mousey craves cheddar!” Lyra exclaimed, laughing incredulously. “So cute!”
Fluttershy looked back at them, giving a shy and awkward wave before quickening her pace. Curse the limelight and its splendor. Maybe if she promised Elizabeak extra feed, the hen would replace her as Photo Finish’s star model. Elizabeak was certainly a pristine hen, and she had a lot of character. Maybe, just maybe, it would work. She didn’t like being a model, but maybe Elizabeak would. Besides, ponies and chickens weren’t that different, right?
She could understand why ponies thought the mouse picture was cute, but she didn’t understand why it was funny. The ponies around her were just snickering and staring at the picture, without a care in the world. Fluttershy even stopped for a long moment when she caught a couple fillies flipping back and forth between page six and page seven, as if the rest of the magazine had been bare. She had made the mistake of stopping for too long, however, as the fillies were alerted to her presence. When they beamed up at her, their jaws slacked open and their big, innocent eyes were as large as dinner plates.
“Umm…hi,” Fluttershy greeted sheepishly, taking a half step backward.
“Oh…my…gosh! It’s her! It’s really her!” one of the fillies squealed to her friend.
“I know you didn’t plan this, but…thank you for making us smile!” the other filly said and bowed her head graciously.
Fluttershy blushed. She hadn’t expected that reaction. Though, she couldn’t help but smile at the two fillies and their youthful enthusiasm.
“C-can we ask you a favor?” the first filly timidly asked.
“Sure, girls! Just name it,” Fluttershy replied, anticipating them to ask her for autographs. She’d signed a number of those in the past few weeks. Embarrassing as it was, it was the one thing she was sure had gotten easier since she was roped into this nonstop world of shining across Equestria and the nonsense therein.
Much to her surprise, however, the second filly had torqued and reached behind herself, bringing about a thick, wide block of red clay when she spun around. She dropped the clay between her and the model mare, and the clay hit the ground with a dull thud.
“Can we have a mold of your face?” the first filly asked bluntly, all sense of timidity entirely absent now.
“Oh boy…” Fluttershy mumbled under her breath. This life was certainly more strenuous and bizarre than she first thought. Her eyes darted from the clay to the beaming eyes of the fillies, and then back to the clay. Just as she didn’t have it in her heart to disappoint Rarity, she didn’t have it in her heart to reject two innocent fillies. Sighing, she rolled her head back before lurching forward and swiftly slamming it into the block of red clay. The fillies began stamping giddily as she rose from the clay like the most baffled phoenix who ever lived. By Celestia, she hoped nopony was watching.
“Eeeeeee! Thank you so much!” the fillies gratefully squeaked as they hugged the Pegasus mare.
“N-no worries, girls,” Fluttershy replied, backing out of their embrace. “Excuse me. I have to go to the market.” Before any of them could say another word, she flapped her wings and lifted off. After that experience, something deep inside Fluttershy told her that she could never see all the ways of fan worship and obsession, nor should she want to.
Fluttershy was so focused on getting away and being out of the public eye that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, which caused her to crash right into a cloud. It wasn’t just any cloud, however. At that moment, it had been the perch of none other than Ponyville’s speedster, Rainbow Dash.
“Whoa, what the hay!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed after the impact, a copy of Elegance covering her face. With a hoof, she brushed the magazine onto her chest and locked eyes with Fluttershy. Blood rushed to their faces and blushes were emblazoned onto their cheeks. “Uh…hey, Fluttershy. Fancy meeting you here.”
“H-hi, Rainbow. I’m so sorry! I should have been more careful. Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked with a voice steeped in concern. Spotting the magazine, she questioned, “You read Elegance?”
“What? No! Well, not normally! I figured…you know, like it’d be supportive of me if I picked it up and see how you’re doing with this modeling gig. Besides, this picture of you with the mouse is actually pretty funny. I didn’t expect that from a fashion magazine,” Rainbow Dash explained hurriedly, showing Fluttershy the oddly sensational page six like she hadn’t already seen it.
“Hey, Rainbow, what about the picture is funny? I’ve been seeing ponies laugh about it all morning,” Fluttershy asked, not finding ‘funny’ to be the most appropriate word. It was as though the picture of her with the mouse had become an overnight sensation.
“Something about the wording here—‘Flutter, I crave cheddar’—the wording adds some kind of charm to the picture. I think…” Rainbow Dash attempted to explain, though the explanation was notably devoid of her usual confident vibrato. She couldn’t quite put her hoof on what about the wording made the picture funny, as though the picture’s construction was the result of a science yet to be explored.
“This is the most roundabout way I’ve ever taken to the market,” Fluttershy sighed in defeat. “I couldn’t take anymore of the attention. This doesn’t feel like it’s right for me, Dash, but I’m worried Rarity will be devastated if I stop. This was supposed to be about her dresses, not me.”
With a heavy sigh, Rainbow Dash responded, “Alright, c’mon. We’re going to the market. You sound like you could use a snack or something. Stay right here.” With a great flap of her wings, she got off the cloud and started pushing it. Fluttershy blushed, taken aback by the gesture. Without waiting for any form of verbal response, Rainbow Dash went on, “No need to thank me. I know that not everypony is as open to the spotlight as me. No one should be able to see you way up here, and it looks totally normal since I’m a weather pony.”
“Th-thanks, Dash,” Fluttershy thanked her friend softly despite the fact she was just told not even five seconds ago that she didn’t need to do so.
“Please tell me Photo Finish is giving you a break. We haven’t seen you around in forever!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she pushed the cloud toward just above the middle of Ponyville. She was happy for her friend, having flown flags of the shy Pegasus around town with a level of pride nopony else could attain. In the same stroke of what proved to be a very broad and heavily used brush, it wasn’t hard to see that Fluttershy’s schedule was unhealthily packed.
“I guess today is kind of a break. I have a shoot this evening, and I’m supposed to show up an hour early to meet the designer. Oh, I really wish the designer were Rarity…” Fluttershy replied solemnly.
“When do you get to rest?” Rainbow Dash asked, baffled. As an athlete, she was very keen on the importance of rest in routine.
“Bedtime,” Fluttershy answered as though it were the simplest thing in the world. Before Rainbow Dash could give a rebuttal, Fluttershy cried out, “Look! There it is!”
Far below, the bustling little town was packed with stalls selling fresh food and goods. Ponies were buying, bartering, selling and socializing. An aura of amiability hung in the atmosphere. Fluttershy spotted the stall of the Apple family and dove off the cloud, fluttering down to the back of the stall. Rainbow Dash zoomed down after her, causing Applejack to whirl around in shock when she heard them land.
“Gah! Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy? What in tarnation are ya doin’? Yer supposed to stand on the other side,” Applejack sighed in relief, registering that it was only her friends and not some dastardly apple thieves.
“Oh. I-I’m sorry, Applejack. I’m just trying not to attract too much attention to myself,” Fluttershy mumbled, giving the farmer three bits and taking three apples. “This morning is especially bad.”
“Oh yeah. That picture of ya with the mouse in that fru-fru magazine. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came and showed Apple Bloom just a few minutes ago. Got a good chuckle out of me,” Applejack reported, smirking as she imagined the mouse saying ‘Flutter, I crave cheddar’. “That little guy was cute.”
“She was a lady mouse, actually. N-not that it’s anypony’s business,” Fluttershy mumbled. “I don’t like being a model.”
“I didn’t think this was for ya. I guess when they say ‘full time’, they mean it,” Applejack remarked. “Have an extra apple, on me.”
“Oh, Applejack, I couldn’t,” Fluttershy replied, wearing her reluctant heart on her metaphorical sleeve. It wasn’t as though she had anything against actual sleeves, it was just that ponies didn’t normally wear shirts.
“Can I?” Rainbow Dash asked, hoping Applejack was looking to just get rid of the free apple.
“No,” Applejack denied, causing Rainbow Dash’s ears to droop in disappointment.
“It’s Fluttershy!” came a delighted squeal. Applejack whirled around once more. Standing on what the farmer would call the appropriate side of the stand was the bright-eyed Dinky Doo, one of her sister’s classmates. The little unicorn filly beamed past Applejack at the reluctant model. “Everypony! Fluttershy is here!”
Ponies heard the Pegasus’s name and immediately flocked to the apple stand, wanting to see the yellow beauty with their own eyes. Fluttershy shrieked, “Have they all forgotten that I live here?!” She flew away from the stand as fast as she could, crashing into the cloud she hid on and causing it to spin out of control.
“Oh no! I got her!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed and zoomed up to the cloud.
Applejack looked up at her Pegasi friends, then at the crowd that had gathered. Clearing her throat, she announced, “If ya like my apples, yer that much more like Fluttershy. One bit for one red delicious. C’mon, y’all, mind yer manners.”
Rainbow Dash zipped out in front of the spinning cloud and intercept it in its course. Pulling at the fluffy conglomerate of water vapor, she was able to halt its momentum and pull the evidently dizzy Fluttershy toward her. The pink maned Pegasus shook her head, waiting a long moment for the world to stop spinning. With a face stricken by concern, Rainbow Dash looked eyes with her childhood friend.
“I’m alright,” Fluttershy assured.
“I hope so. Maybe I’ll see you later?” Rainbow Dash said hopefully.
“You’re leaving?” Fluttershy asked incredulously.
“I’ve got some errands to run,” Rainbow Dash informed her. “Look, Pinkie said something about baking today. She gets what it means to be funny. I’ll swing by Sugarcube Corner and ask her what she makes of this whole thing.”
“Alright…” Fluttershy replied, not daring to get her hopes up the way her mouse friend did about sharp cheddar.
Deciding it would behoove her to hide from the hoards of fans for the rest of the day, the animal-loving Pegasus napped on the cloud for a few hours. Something deep in her subconscious mind stirred her from her slumber when it was time to go to the next photoshoot. Pondering the wonders enshrined within the subconscious, Fluttershy hovered off. Her movements were automated as her mind wandered.
Somehow, she had to come clean to Rarity. She had to tell her that whatever it meant to shine across Equestria just didn’t resonate with who she was at her core. She couldn’t bear the thought of letting Rarity down, but the life of a supermodel was wearing her out.
Arriving at her destination, Fluttershy went straight to her dressing room. It was engrained in her at this point, not that that was a point of pride. She’d been the first to arrive, though the fashion designer arrived almost immediately after Fluttershy did.
“Rarity?!” Fluttershy gasped as the alabaster unicorn marched in with a rack of dresses.
“Fluttershy, darling, it’s so good to see you in your rise to prominence! Why, I haven’t seen you in what feels like ages!” Rarity exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “Photo Finish has given me another chance, though she seems to have forgotten that she met you through me. Not that I feel any ire about that or anything. Nope! None at all, and anypony who says otherwise is lying to you!” Though, to a pony with an outside perspective, Rarity would have sounded like she wasn’t convinced by her own words. Fluttershy certainly was not a pony with an outside perspective on the matter, having been central to Photo Finish’s recent workaholic mania.
“Oh. I hadn’t realized Photo Finish had brought you on board,” Fluttershy mumbled. All feelings of coming clean about her stance on the model life were notably absent in that moment. Rarity didn’t seem to hear her as she cycled through her arsenal of fabulousness.
“I know Photo Finish will want to take a look at these, but I’d love your take,” Rarity excitedly told her companion as she shuffled through the homemade masterpieces on the rack. “Let’s start with this one!” From the rack, she pulled a scarlet red dress. It was gown-like in appearance, but the sleeveless torso had a sort of oriental fold over stitch from traditional clothing from the feudal days of Nippone to the east. A matching sash was fashioned into an elegant, yet none-too-obstructive bow.
“I love the color, and it’s so bold!” Fluttershy exclaimed.
“I’m glad you think so. I wanted to go for something that blended post-modernism and traditionalism,” Rarity explained, her passion about her work and the creative process becoming comfortingly clear to Fluttershy. Before Rarity could elaborate, however, a fuzzy, gray head with big, spring green eyes popped out of the neck hole of the dress. “Opal?!” Indeed, it was none other than Rarity’s beloved cat, Opalescence.
The two ponies stood in silence and gaped as Opal looked all too pleased with herself. Abruptly, Fluttershy burst into a fit of giggles. In a chain reaction of laughter, Rarity joined her. Opal was a cat in a dress, and the absurdity and shock value, when coupled with how smug the gray Persian cat was, made the whole situation unnaturally funny.
“Sh-she looks so proud!” Fluttershy laughed, tears welling up in her eyes from her efforts to stifle her giggling.
Without warning, Photo Finish marched in. Her unreadable face was that of a mare on a mission. With her signature camera in tow, she stopped short in front of the dress. Rarity and Fluttershy’s incessant laughter died down, overwhelmed by their curiosity of the photographer’s next move. The model maker looked the feline dead in the eye and rasped, “Vhat you are is a gift: the gift of the magics.” Her statement was immediately followed by snapshot after snapshot as Opalescence became the subject of a series of behind-the-scenes photos to be sensationalized and adored.