"No, no, no. There's still something missing," Fluttershy groaned, "Could you start again, Angel?" The rabbit rolled his eyes, and began beating a rhythm on an over-turned pot.
"Okay, now all of you." A line of varying types of birds began to sing in harmony with the beat.
"And you, little one." A nearby raccoon shook a tin can full of what one would assume to be tiny pebbles. The melody flowed around Fluttershy as she started to sing to herself. It all came so fluently, so beautifully. But, still, there was something off. Fluttershy sighed and waved her animals down.
"Oh, what could it be? What am I still missing?" Rainbow's voice echoed in her head *something only she would notice*. Fluttershy gasped.
"That's it!" she screamed as she ran upstairs. She came back shortly thereafter holding two items, and looked at the first.
"Something only she would notice," she recited before sticking it in her mane. She then turned to the second item wrapped in her hooves. Her most prized possession. These items united them all. Before, she had never even spoken to Applejack or Pinkie Pie unless she were buying something from them. These small trinkets allowed her to connect to other ponies for once. In fact, all of her friends had learned something from these magical accessories. They were not just magic Evil-B-Gone devices. They were Fluttershy's connection to the five ponies that meant more than anything to her. She locked her Element of Harmony around her neck. Just wearing it made it seem as though all of her friends were there with her. It gave her more than enough confidence. She looked up with strong determination in her eye.
"Let's do this."
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After working for about three hours straight, Fluttershy felt like taking a walk, just to clear her head. She put her quill and element down and explained to everyone that she was going into town for a while.
"You behave for Angel now, okay?" Fluttershy called to all of her animals. They nodded nervously, as Angel grew a malicious grin on his face. Fluttershy noticed this.
"Ummm... on second thought, Berenger is in charge today." The grizzly grinned, and Angel shot him an irritated glare. Fluttershy stepped out of the door and headed toward the center of town. But she couldn't help but feel as though she had forgotten something.
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As usual at this time of day, the streets were primarily empty. As Fluttershy walked, waving to ponies she knew, she started appreciating all of the little details of the day. Birds singing in the distance, leaves dancing in the wind, the beautiful colors in the sky as the sun began to set. This is why she didn't live in one of those big. fancy cities like Canterlot. Too much distraction, noise. Here, it was all just so beautiful.
Eventually, she noticed an orange pony waving to her. She walked over and greeted her friend.
"Hello, Applejack. How are you today?"
"Ah'm doin' alright, thank ya kahndly. Yerself?"
"Oh, I'm well, thank you. What are you up to right now?"
"Ah'm just takin' a walk. Enjoyin' the day."
"Yeah, me too. I figure it could help me with my writer's block. The show's getting close. I really need to finish."
"Yeah, I saw that ya'd signed up fer the talent show. What ya writin'?"
"Oh, umm, it's kind of a surprise." Fluttershy began to blush.
"Ohhhh, it's for a pony, ain't it? Well, whoever this crush is, he or she, is one lucky pony. Yer a great mare, Shy." Fluttershy's blush grew to encompass her entire face.
"Th-thanks, AJ. But I'm really not all that." AJ gave a surpirsed look.
"Are you foalin' me? Shah, you are the sweetest pony Ah've ever met. Yer good to everypony, even if you haven't met 'em. And yer not bad on the eyes either." AJ gave her a playful wink. Fluttershy was frozen. No one had ever said anything like that to her. Applejack laughed.
"You gotta stop hangin' 'round mah brother. Yer startin' ta look lahke him." Fluttershy heard whispering nearby, and saw a couple of ponies staring at her. When she looked at them, they nonchalantly walked away.
"What were they looking at?"
"Ah don't know. Heh, prolly jest jeal-" AJ stopped when her eyes fell on Fluttershy's head.
"Shah, what is that in yer mane?" Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.
"My mane?" She lifted a hoof up, and her eyes grew to the size of plates when she realized what was there. She instantly bolted around.
"I'm sorry, AJ. I have to go!" And she darted home as fast as possible, naive to her friend's shouts as the wind dashed by her ears.
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"I can't believe I wore that outside! Stupid!" Fluttershy kicked herself as she took the item out of her mane and threw it on the table next to her song.
"I need to be more careful. I don't want this getting out until the show." She gazed upon that paper on which she had poured her heart, and smiled. She looked at the clock. It was getting pretty late, and the talent show was tomorrow. She decided to go to bed early. She was going to need her strength. Tomorrow was the big day. She clutched her pillow, hoping soon to replace it with a certain mare.