“So, you want to know about how I met our friends?” Fluttershy asked tentatively.
The mood at the Friendship Castle had calmed down considerably. Twilight had brought her friend into one of the castle’s cozier rooms, allowing the mares to sit in comfortable chairs and appreciate each other's presence. Twilight nodded excitedly as she levitated a quill and pulled out a scroll. Fluttershy relaxed more into her seat as she smiled fondly.
“Um, well. I had met Rainbow first at flight camp, as you know, with Dash stopping by to hang out from time to time. For years after getting my cutiemark, I studied all types of birds and flying insects. But deep down inside I knew that I didn’t just want to care for animals that could fly, I wanted to be with all critters. I started visiting the outskirts of Ponyville, secluded areas that saw little to no visitors. One day, I heard meowing, and I found the sweetest little kitten. She had a pretty blue collar with the name, ‘Opal,’ embroidered on it.”
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Fluttershy had been so engrossed by the kitten’s cuteness that she didn’t notice the stranger slowly push through the bushes. She was only alarmed to the stranger’s presence when she sputtered and spit out a leaf. Fluttershy looked up in horror as she loomed over her. This was supposed to be her quiet space, a place where she could be completely alone with the animals. The kitten began to meow and wiggle in her grasp.
“Oh, Opal! You’re safe. Thank Celestia!” the stranger cried as she fell to her haunches in front of the pegasus.
The kitten began to purr as the stranger reached forward and rubbed her face. She smiled at the kitten before remembering the pony before her. “Oh, dear! Forgive me, darling. I should be thanking you for finding my sweet Opal. She can be so mischievous sometimes. I had taken my eyes off of her for one second and she was gone! I was absolutely hysterical! I must say tha- Oh darling, are you okay?”
Fluttershy was shaking and sweating profusely. She tried to avoid any eye contact with the other filly, opting to look at the ground. She knew that she should leave and never return, but she was so panicked that she was frozen in place. The stranger looked on in concern as she reached out a hoof, but Fluttershy flinched in response. The stranger withdrew, uncertain of how to proceed.
She spoke as gently as possible, “Oh darling, it was not my intention to frighten you. You had looked so serene and peaceful with Opal when I found you both. I recently returned to Ponyville from school a few weeks ago, so forgive me for not recognizing you. Are you perhaps new to town?”
“N-no I…I’m not. Oh! I still have your… oh I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy whimpered as she released the kitten from her shaking hooves. Opal tilted her head as she looked at the trembling filly. The stranger watched as the kitten offered Fluttershy a one-sided cuddle.
“I believe she likes you quite a bit dear. I couldn’t help but notice that your cutiemark is of butterflies. Might your talents lie with animals?”
Fluttershy provided her with a timid nod.
“Oh, that must be exciting! I fear that I have no gifts when it comes to dealing with animals. I got Opal because I want to show how mature I’ve become, but I worry that I might not be providing her with the best possible care. Are there any tips that you can offer a first-time pet owner?”
Fluttershy sniffed as she looked at the stranger directly for the first time. She looked very eloquent despite being enclosed in bushes. The absurdity of the situation seemed to bounce off of her as she looked at Fluttershy expectedly. Fluttershy could tell that this pony was nothing like her, yet she stayed. A bit of her anxiety slipped away as she thought of every cat care fact that she knew.
Her voice came out as a barely perceivable whisper, “Um… k-kittens really love to play, and almost anything c-can be used as a toy. They need a lot of attention early on but gradually become more ind-independent. N-not to say that you…you already didn’t know that. I’m sorry!”
The stranger waved her hooves to try and calm Fluttershy’s nerves. “No, no. That is very helpful! Uh… I see that Opal has gotten quite dirty out here, do you think I should bathe her?”
Fluttershy could feel Opal brushing up against her hooves. “Um, well. S-she did get dirty out here and she might have picked up some bugs in the bushes. C-cats usually clean themselves… so you have to be careful when you bathe them. Use lukewarm water and cat shampoo. Don’t rub too hard and if you must wash her head be careful around the eyes and ears. It’s best to wipe their faces with a washcloth gently. And dry her off really well when you're done.”
“Dry thoroughly. I’ll remember that.” the stranger mumbled to herself. She looked up at Fluttershy with a soft expression. “Thank you for letting me know eh… apologies, but what is your name, darling?”
Fluttershy ran her hooves through her mane. “F-fluttershy.”
“Fluttershy? My, that is a lovely name.” the stranger offered her a hoof, which Fluttershy hesitantly accepted. “And my name is Rarity, it's a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled as they shook hooves.
Fluttershy would usually assume that any statement suggesting that her presence was pleasurable to any pony was false. It was nothing more than a polite gesture, a consolation prize for a filly that easily faded into the background. But Rarity’s words and smile seemed so kind and so genuine, that Fluttershy felt inclined to believe her. While looking at Rarity's smile, Fluttershy noticed that Rarity donned a set of braces just like her own. She had believed that they could never have anything in common, not in a million years. But Fluttershy was wrong. She thought that maybe she could trust this pony. It had happened so slowly, but Fluttershy realized that she wasn’t as scared as before.
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Twilight placed her quill on the table as she wiped her eyes with a hoof. “Oh Fluttershy, that was a beautiful story. No wonder you and Rarity became friends after that.”
“Mm-hm, Rarity stopped by the outskirts every other day with Opal to check on me. She would bring tea and treats for us to snack on. Eventually, she started bringing me things I could wear. Hats, scarves, bows, and more. She was even generous back then. I um still have quite a few of them. “She poured herself some more tea as she sat back and waited for some sort of signal from Twilight.
Twilight clapped her hooves in excitement as she picked up her quill. “So, who next?”
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A part of Fluttershy always knew that Rarity and her get-togethers were always on her terms. Rarity would periodically make her way to the outskirts of Ponyville just to talk with Fluttershy. Conversations tended to revolve around animals with the occasional divergence into more general topics. Fluttershy always wanted to know more about Rarity, which is why she should have been excited when Rarity invited her to come over to her house, but she couldn’t help but imagine the grueling process of traversing the town to get there. She knew that this was important to Rarity, and she really did want to go, she just needed a little reassurance.
“It really isn’t too bad in Ponyville. It’s warm and colorful. The ponies here are quite friendly but not too intrusive. If they wave at you, just try to wave back. It’ll be a short trip to my home; we will be there in no time. And on the plus side, you get to see more of Ponyville! Who knows, you might fall in love with the area and decide to stay.” Rarity reassured her with a confident smile.
Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile back. Ever since she mentioned that she would like to move to a town on the ground, Rarity had become the number one advocate for Ponyville. She told the pegasus that having her nearby would ensure that there was at least one more sane pony in this town. Fluttershy liked the idea of somepony actually relying on her.
Rarity took a deep breath before grabbing Fluttershy’s hooves with her own. “Now darling, I promise you that everything should go as planned, but there is a wild card.” Fluttershy swallowed as Rarity looked directly into her eyes and squeezed her hooves. “I have this friend…You will know exactly who she is when you see her. Her name is Pinkie Pie. Pink coat with a very nice pink mane that she takes very poor care of. She tends to greet newcomers to our town, which means that she is very good at spotting outsiders.”
The unicorn filly could tell that Fluttershy was growing nervous; she persisted nonetheless, “I am not saying this to say that Pinkie is somepony to be feared or threatened by. She is genuinely one of the sweetest ponies I have ever met, but she is quite… eccentric …and excitable. She also has a propensity to appear out of impossible places. Spare yourself and don’t think too hard about what she does or how she does it.”
“O-oh my,” whispered Fluttershy as she retracted into herself. Rarity knew she had to approach this differently.
“Fluttershy, tell me the name of an animal that is very energetic and chaotic and friendly.”
Fluttershy thought about it. “Um…I don’t know, maybe a um golden retriever?”
Rarity clapped her hooves together and grinned. “Yes, a golden retriever. Think of Pinkie as a pink golden retriever… And I’m not saying that to undermine Pinkie’s eguinity or her intellect. Pinkie is a very smart pony…who tends to do very unsmart things a lot of the time. Just remember that she means no harm. I’ll try to reel her in but understand that to her, a new pony means a new friend. So, are you ready?”
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Rarity was completely right when she described Ponyville as warm and colorful. Ponies walked the streets with smiles on their faces as they greeted each other by name. Fluttershy tried her best not to stare at the unicorns or earth ponies. Having spent her life in Cloudsdale meant that interaction with any unwinged creature was minimal, but in Ponyville all tribes were represented. Ponies walked around holding bouquets of fresh flowers. Produce was sold by the ponies that actually grew it, not by secondhand buyers. She looked around at the brilliant simplicity of it all. Everypony worked together as a close-knit system. Everypony had their place, everypony mattered. It made Fluttershy wonder if she could find a place here too. It seemed that Rarity was on a roll because another one of her statements was right.
A shrill voice rang out from the heavens as everypony within the vicinity looked up. “ON YOUR LEFT!”
Fluttershy felt an extraordinary gust of wind as the pony hit the ground, but instead of splatting, they bounced up into the air. Fluttershy could have sworn that she heard a sound resembling a pinball machine as the pony torpedo bounced off of a wall, cart, and lamp post. The crash landing came to an end once the pony began rolling along the ground slowly approaching where Rarity and Fluttershy stood. The pink ball unfurled herself as she lay on her back and looked up at the sky. A pair of thick glasses and cyan eyes greeted them and immediately locked on to, “RARITY!”
Fluttershy was completely flabbergasted, but Rarity wasn’t fazed in the slightest. She maintained the same sophisticated disposition that she always had and smiled warmly at the pink pony, correcting her crooked glasses with her magic. “Pinkie darling how are yo- Sweet Celestia! What happened to your eyebrows!”
All semblance of sophistication left Rarity’s body as she cupped Pinkie’s face with her hooves and pulled her into a sitting position. The unicorn roughly inspected Pinkie’s face, tilting it from side-to-side, hoping to find some remains of a discernible eyebrow. The blue and yellow helmet that Pinkie had been wearing slid off her head revealing a mess of pink curls underneath.
Pinkie giggle-snorted. “Rarity, you silly filly. Everypony knows that my eyebrows blew up like fooooorever ago.” Fluttershy was starting to worry that this poor pony might have a concussion because she continued giggling despite Rarity’s rising concern.
“Blew up! Blew up, when!”
Pinkie checked a watch that she certainly hadn’t had a second ago, “Ummmmmm like 54 hours ago Rarity. Didn’t you hear that big ole KABLAM, the whole town was shakin’ and quakin’.”
Rarity drew Pinkie in close. “That was you?”
Pinkie nodded and broke out into another giggle fit. “I was just doing a little itsy-bitsy teensy-weensy experimenting past beddy-bye. And everything was going super-duper well, then it was going super-duper not well, then it was going super-duper explodey.” Pinkie used her hooves to mimic the motion of an explosion.
“I assume that the Cakes weren’t too happy about your sudden penchant for late-night explosions.”
Pinkie jumped up and down. “Wowie Rarebear! Are you psychic too? Do you have some secret Rarity Sense that you’re not telling me about?” She wrapped a hoof around the unicorn and whispered, “Pinkie’s in a bit of a pickle at the moment. The Cakes weren’t gonna allow me to leave Sugarcube Corner for a veryveryveryveryveryvery long time buuuut they decided that I needed to get some fresh air, so they let me run deliveries. I’m just taking a bit more time than I usually would *wink*.”
Rarity pulled herself out of Pinkie’s hug and feigned shock. “Dear Pinkie! I know you’re not telling me that you’re breaking the rules while grounded. How scandalous!”
Pinkie pulled a black leather jacket out of a pot and sashayed about, “You heard it loud and clear Rarebear. I’m b-b-b-b-b-bad to the bone.”
A guitar lick played out from nowhere in particular. The corners of Fluttershy’s mouth began to upturn as the pink pony danced in place. She was still perplexed by what was happening but found herself giggling alongside Rarity. Her nervousness only spiked when Pinkie’s cyan eyes locked onto her, growing three times bigger as Pinkie gaped at her.
The burgeoning of a yell was swiftly silenced by Rarity’s hoof as she pulled Pinkie away. “Fluttershy, be a dear and stay put for a second. I will be right here.” She made sure to stay within Fluttershy’s eyesight as she gave Pinkie a warning look. She quietly counted down from three before removing her hoof from Pinkie’s mouth.
“RARIT-” Pinkie’s question was silenced as she found yet another hoof in her muzzle.
“Pinkie darling, please. I know we are outside but please be a dear and use your inside voice.” Rarity pleaded. Pinkie’s ears flattened against her head at the request, she loved using her outside voice. Rarity didn’t want to make her friend feel dispirited, but she needed her to calm down. She mouthed please one last time, prompting Pinkie to talk quietly.
“Who's that Rarity? I’ve never seen her in Ponyville before.” Pinkie chirped as she pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked around.
“Well, she is new to Ponyville. Her name is Fluttershy with emphasis on the shy. She’s from Cloudsdale, but she visits Ponyville to talk with the animals.” Rarity subtly pointed at the yellow pegasus behind her.
“Wowzers, she can talk to animals! FF sometimes talks to animals! Does she know what I’m saying right now!” Pinkie pointed at her muzzle as Rarity rolled her eyes.
“I’m not sure if anypony can truly understand what you are saying.” Rarity muttered as she rubbed her forehead, “Fluttershy is prone to fits of nervousness, Pinkie. When you deal with her, you have to be gentle with her or she might panic.”
Pinkie nodded in understanding. Rarity smiled as the pink filly saluted and calmed herself. She wrapped a hoof around Pinkie’s neck and walked her over to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, this is my friend Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie smiled broadly and shook with excitement. Despite her jittering, she kept her voice low, “Hiya Fluttershy!” She waved at the yellow pegasus.
Fluttershy was also shaking, but with a lot more anxiety than her counterpart. She gulped, “Oh…um hello Pinkie, I’m Fluttershy. Oh… but you already knew that.”
Pinkie looked at Rarity eagerly, “Wow Rarity! She really can talk to animals!” She looked back at Fluttershy in awe. “That’s so amazing Fluttershy. You’re super-duper cool.”
Fluttershy blushed at the compliment, uncertain of what provoked the pink pony to say that. She hid behind her mane as Rarity returned to fussing over Pinkie’s lack of eyebrows. Pinkie stuck out her tongue playfully at the unicorn before her attention was drawn elsewhere. Her grin grew wider as she spotted an orange earth pony pulling a cart.
“HIYA APPLEJACK!” Pinkie hollered out clamping her own hooves over her mouth as Rarity shot her a glare. Fluttershy noticed that Applejack didn’t quite return Pinkie’s greeting, she sighed and looked wearily at the pink pony.
The cart creaked as the earth pony tugged it over, Fluttershy was surprised to hear her thick country accent. “Now, now, Pinkie. I’m runnin’ some deliveries at the moment and Sugarcube Corner is one of my stops. Take yall’s order back with you so I can get this over with sooner.” She didn’t wait for an answer as she unhitched herself from the cart.
Rarity’s posture changed as she watched Applejack lethargically walk around the cart and start to dig through its contents. Rarity crossed her hooves and rolled her eyes. The unicorn huffed haughtily. “And a good afternoon and hello to you Applejack.”
Applejack peered back at Rarity with disinterest as she moved a bag of apples to the side. She turned around again and got a good look at her. “Who’s your friend there Rarity?” she asked coldly.
The unicorn gestured at Fluttershy with both of her hooves, “This is Fluttershy. She’s new so I must thank you for giving her such a warm welcome.” Rarity retorted sarcastically as she flipped her mane to the side.
Applejack snorted as she hung her front hooves over the cart. “Well, as long as she ain’t nothin’ like you I’ll make sure to greet her warmly from now on.” Applejack mockingly bowed to Fluttershy.
Rarity stood up defensively as Applejack got back to her search. She prepared to say something before Pinkie popped up between her and Applejack. “Applejack~ I’m throwing a Summer Sun Celebration celebration party in a few weeks. It’ll be the day before the Summer Sun Celebration to commemorate the celebration with a celebration!” Pinkie proudly presented a pink envelope to Applejack. Applejack only shook her head before turning away, the invitation was left unaccepted. Pinkie’s mane seemed to lose some of its volume after Applejack’s rejection.
Rarity nudged Pinkie to the side. “Come on Applejack, you can’t set a little bit of time aside to come to Pinkie’s shindig. She’s giving you plenty of time to plan ahead.”
Applejack shook her head again as she glared at Rarity. “I ain’t goin’ cause I can’t make it! Some of us got mouths to feed. We can’t all waste our time workin’ on fru-fru nonsense!”
Rarity scoffed as she stamped her huff down. Fluttershy could feel her panic rising as the two began arguing. She suddenly became hyper-aware of where she was, ponies trotted everywhere and in every direction. Conversions filled the area as many ponies, too many ponies, went about their daily lives. She tried looking for a way out before realizing that Pinkie was staring directly at her. Pinkie looked at the pegasus with a much softer smile as her friend’s argued. Fluttershy thought that she looked kind of sad.
Pinkie twirled Applejack’s invitation around in her hooves before stuffing it into her mane, then she pulled out a blue balloon and began stretching it. “Don’t get upset Fluttershy, they do this all the time.” She looked at her friends fondly before frowning. “Granted, their arguments weren’t always this bad. Everypony’s just a little more grumpy these days, and Applejack’s a little bit sadder than before.” Pinkie sighed before blowing into the balloon and tying the end. “I want to make her smile again. Because she’s my friend.” Pinkie began twisting the balloon before the ghost of a smile returned to her features. “Just like how your special talent is animals, mine is making ponies happy.”
Pinkie offered the finished balloon animal to Fluttershy, who stared in wonder at it. She gingerly took the inflatable dog and studied it. Pinkie clapped her hooves as Fluttershy began to smile. “I hope you like it because it's all yours! I like you a whole lot Fluttershy, I hope we can be friends.”
Fluttershy was surprised to make yet another friend so quickly but nodded nonetheless. Pinkie squealed in excitement. “I know that it might be hard to tell since my eyebrows are missing, but I’m super-duper happy right now!” Pinkie silently gestured to her empty brows, causing Fluttershy to snort. The pegasus wanted to apologize, but Pinkie was already giggling like a madmare. She joined in as she held the balloon animal close.
The giggle fit died down as Pinkie took note of the argument going on in front of her once again. Fluttershy watched her mood nosedive as the pink filly started frowning again. Fluttershy swallowed and spoke without much thought, “Pinkie! Um… if you don’t mind m-me asking, I would love to c-come to your Summer Sun Celebration celebration.”
“Really?” Pinkie asked forlornly.
Fluttershy nodded earnestly in response, and Pinkie’s mood ascended to the heavens. She reached into her mane and pulled out another invitation and a pen. She spoke as she wrote down a message. “To my super-duper new friend Fluttershy! Looking forward to seeing you there! Love, Pinkie. “Pinkie finished her letter with a series of hearts before offering it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy had no idea what she had just gotten herself into but found that seeing Pinkie smile again was worth it.
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“And did you go to the party?” Twilight tapped her chin with the quill.
“Oh yes! It was terrifying, but Pinkie was so happy to see me. It also helped that I had Rarity and Rainbow Dash with me.”
Twilight looked at her inquisitively, “Rainbow Dash was there?”
“Um…yes. She wasn’t really invited, but she was curious. Pinkie didn’t mind it too much. She was actually so excited that she fainted! It took her a while to actually calm down enough to talk to Rainbow without collapsing.” Fluttershy giggled and Twilight eagerly joined in.
The alicorn sipped some of her tea. “And Applejack?”
“She stopped by with Big Mac, but only for a second. She was um… different back then. She was really hurting at the time. She argued with Rarity even more than she does now, and sometimes she snapped at Pinkie when Pinkie um pushed her too hard. But she was always polite enough to me.”
Fluttershy rubbed her face with a sigh and took a moment to think. “But as I got to know her…she really came around. Now she’s one of my dearest friends.” She smiled warmly as she placed her teacup on the table. “Sometimes it just takes a little while to find out who somepony truly is.”