//------------------------------//
// Zen 
// Story: Snapshots 
// by Shingo 
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Fluttershy was nervous. While that statement may seem normal since she was like that most of the time, she had a reason to be at the current moment. Hundreds of eyes were on her as she approached the stage. Murmuring could be heard from all around the room. She fidgeted with her orange robes as she slowly flew to the designated area. Pure terror would not accurately describe how she felt at the moment. But that was the entire point of this exercise. Lately, she noticed herself becoming more and more nervous as time went by. In a flash of foresight, she decided to do something about it, so she visited Zecora. The zebra shared with her a philosophy that was new to her as well as both mental and physical exercises. Fluttershy landed where she was supposed to be and looked at the audience with an oaken staff at hoof. Ordinarily she would have worried about messing up or embarrassing herself, but Zecora’s words echoed in her mind.

“Do not worry about what ifs or what might be. The present is the only thing we can truly see.” She drew a deep breath and stood on her hind legs. Previously embarrassing episodes began appearing in her mind, but they were muted by another piece of the zebra’s wisdom. “The past is constantly looked at by everypony, mule, and cow. But none of that matters. What matters is the now.” Holding the staff in her right hoof, she looked back at the watching eyes. They were slowly fading into blackness and their murmurs becoming silent. Her left hoof made an arc starting from her waist, up above her head, then sat in the center of her chest. She closed her eyes as everything was disappearing. One final thought echoed in her mind before she emptied it. “This is a skill that can be done by anyone, no matter what their hue. And the key is not to think, but to only do.” Her eyes opened, and she was surrounded by near darkness. The most she could see was ten feet in front of her. She could hear no sound, and see no pony. That is when she started to move.

Her right hind leg kicked the staff making in spin. She caught it and crouched. All of her weight was then put on that same leg as she lifted her left leg and extended her left foreleg. Stepping forward she thrust the staff forward as if stabbing somepony. It then circled her body once before being caught again. Her weight was put onto her left leg as it slammed down on the stone floor. An echo spread across the space but went unnoticed by Fluttershy as she pushed her left foreleg forward. No thoughts went through her mind as each step followed the next. She jumped into the air, hitting the staff on the ground. The echo shot out as she continued forward. At that moment, there was no Fluttershy. There was no Equestria, no universe, only the movements that Fluttershy went through. Her staff was held up towards the sky as she reached the end her performance. She then stood back in the position she started in, placing the end of the staff on the ground, left foreleg making the same arc.

In an instant the world returned to her as the audience made their applause. The change was drastic enough to make Fluttershy’s wings flare out in response. She looked around and sheepishly bowed before flying back to the competitor’s area. She was greeted by a familiar rainbow maned pegasus.

“Fluttershy, that was amazing!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I didn’t know you could do that! You have to teach me that sometime.”

“Oh,” replied Fluttershy with a blush appearing on her face. “It was nothing, I’m still a beginner.”

“Beginner? If that’s what you look like as a beginner, I can’t wait to see you as a master.” Flutershy smiled at her friend as she put her staff away. Her attention was drawn towards the judges as they began announcing her score.

“Eight,” declared a beige pegasus mare.

“Eight and a half,” a grey unicorn stallion said.

“Nine,” shouted a white earth pony mare.

“Twenty-five and a half,” Rainbow whistled. “Not bad at all Fluttershy.” Said pony hid behind her mane from the compliment.

“Would the last competitor of the day, Rainbow Dash, please come to the center stage,” a voice said.

“Good luck, Rainbow Dash,” said the shy mare.

“Thanks, but I’m not going to need it,” replied Rainbow. She grabbed a bamboo staff then twisted her neck causing a popping sound to come from it. “Now, to show them how it’s done.” She then left Fluttershy alone, making her way to the stage.

—-

For those curious, this is what Fluttershy was performing.