The Ballad of the Timid Mare

As the sun came up in one of the most beautiful sunrises in all of Equestrian history, a train chugged on with the indifference that was expected from a mindless piece of machinery. Everypony on board that particular train, however, looked on through the windows and watched in awe as the sun rose from the far horizons of their visions and burned brightly with the flames of a million candles. Celestia couldn’t have done a more spectacular job, and the ponies on board were mystified.

After a bit, they turned their attention away from the incredible sight and once more began to chat in the private carriage. There were, in total, six mares in the special carriage, each one of them different and unique from the other. They were an odd bunch to the uninformed pony, seeming as how they each came from different backgrounds. In fact, they couldn’t have been any more different. But to those who know the story (which most ponies do), they are the most recognized mares in all Equestria: the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

But to their closer friends and relatives, they are Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

And what do most normal friends do? Talk and chat, of course. Precisely what they were doing right then and there.

“My, that surely was a spectacular sunrise. One of the most extraordinary I’ve ever seen in my life,” spoke Rarity, who was careful to phrase every word so that it sounded eloquent and refined.

“Yeah, there’s something about watching a sunrise after a near-apocalyptic disaster that just seems pretty awesome,” stated Rainbow Dash.

Everypony in the carriage gave the speedy pegasus an odd look, not exactly following what she said.

“Oh come on, girls. Another morning sunrise means another morning that Princess Celestia is still around to raise the sun. What would have happened if the changelings had won? Then what would have happened to the awesome sunrises?”

The very thought sent a shudder through each of the mares’ bodies. To just think; Chrysalis had come so close to taking over Equestria…

“Well, at least we were there to stop her,” said Twilight, hoping they could all get the horrible thought out of her mind.

“But didn’t we all jus’ get our flanks whooped by the endless swarms of changelings?” asked a rather confused Applejack.

“Well come on, six ponies against an entire army of changelings? It was a wonder we even lasted that long in the first place,” stated Twilight.

“Yeah, and besides, just think of how many of those icky things we managed to defeat all on our own,” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, turning her thoughts to the day before, “I always knew that my trusty Party Cannon would save Equestria one day.”

Rarity looked befuddled, as was common with hanging around Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, my dear, when did you even get ahold of that cannon of yours?”

Applejack rolled her eyes in amusement. “Ah think a better question would be when doesn’t she have her cannon with her?”

All five ponies laughed and continued chatting like the good friends they were. Unbeknownst to them, however, was the mare who was intentionally keeping her herself away from the conversation, Fluttershy. The timid pegasus sat a little ways away from the group so as to not be noticed and questioned. She looked away, out the window of the moving train and watched the environments race past her. It’s safe to say, at least, that she didn’t feel like socializing at that particular moment.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before her friend Rainbow Dash took a notice to the pegasus’ strange actions. She quietly turned from the group discussion and walked over to her childhood friend from Cloudsdale, gently placing a hoof on the shoulder of the moody pony.

“Flutters, are you alright there?” asked a concerned Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy turned toward the winged pony and put on a fake smile, “Of course I’m alright, Rainbow,” she said in her soft voice, “Why do you ask?”

The question received a raising of the eyebrows from Rainbow Dash, “Well, I know you’re not normally one to talk all that much, but you’ve seemed awfully quiet ever since we left Canterlot. Is something wrong?”

The young pegasus hesitated, unsure of whether or not to tell her friend what was on her mind. “...no, nothing’s wrong,” she lied, “I’m just tired. The wedding party took a great tole on me.”

Please, don’t ask me anything more, thought Fluttershy, I really don’t want to talk about it.

Rainbow Dash, although still not completely reassured, nodded and walked back over to the chatting ponies. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention back towards the moving scenery out the window. But even that could not get her mind off of the cold, bitter thoughts that arose whenever she thought about what had happened the previous day.

About how the changelings weren’t the only creatures to take advantage of others.

About how useless the timid mare really was.

About how she was the worst pony… ever.

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A couple of hours later, Fluttershy found herself at her small cottage just outside of Ponyville. Many people found it odd that the mare had chosen to place her house outside of the town she called home. But to Fluttershy, the location made perfect sense. She needed the big space her home took up so that her animal friends wouldn’t be cooped up in the regular houses in Ponyville. Not to mention that she was closer to the fields surrounding Ponyville, so any animal that needed to be cared for out there would get faster support from the pegasus.

And also because she would much rather spend most of her time alone, anyways, than to be around others.

Almost as soon as she had walked up to the house, the front door burst open and dozens of small critters rushed out to greet her. The small beavers, squirrels, puppies scurried down the path to greet her at her heels, followed by the much larger animals like Mr. Bear and a couple of wolves. The winged creatures flew out the various windows of her cottage and flew over to Fluttershy, circling around her tweeting happy tunes. Fluttershy, who had the ability to communicate with these animals, could hear them singing “Fluttershy’s back, Fluttershy’s back!” She could only smile at the sheer appreciation all of these critters had shown for her.

“Hello everypony,” she said to the large group of chattering animals, “It’s great to see you all again. I hope you didn’t miss me too bad.”

The majority of the animals shook their heads, emitting their various responses in the language only other animals and Fluttershy could understand.

“Well, that’s good to know, Mr. Beaver. What a nice thing to say, Mrs. Squirrel. Oh, I do agree with you, hummingbirds.” And she talked with her animal friends the rest of the way to the cottage. At the door, a lone bunny stood in eager welcome. The bunny was none other than Fluttershy’s pet, Angel Bunny. He patiently waited until all the other animals had scattered until approaching his long-time friend and greeting her himself.

“Hello there, Angel Bunny. Oh, it’s good to be back.” And with that, the two friends set off into the house together, happily ending the warm welcome for the animals’ special mare and caretaker.

Still, in the back of Fluttershy’s mind, not all was right. She still felt horrible, and no amount of appreciation could cheer her up at all.

These dark and ambiguous feelings were imbedded in her mind, though not altogether present as she went about the rest of her day and cared for her precious pets in normal fashion. But they were there, and when the tired mare went to lie down in her bed at the end of the day, she could feel them in her subconsciousness, struggling to break free.

They did.

And she cried.

She only had a moment’s time to reflect on these thoughts before the tears came. The salty droplets coming from her eyes were the result her own volition, and the dark feelings she harbored for herself. Beginning to get uncomfortable, she tossed and turned relentlessly before finally stopping in a position on her back and facing up at the ceiling above her. She laid there until the tears stopped, listening to soft cueing of animal snores echoing in her house. It was really quite peaceful, and it calmed her nerves and allowed her to think clearly for the first time in a few days.

Obviously, Fluttershy was upset. And why wouldn’t she be? Canterlot had been invaded by an insectoid race that fed off of love and careness. She had been caught in the middle of it, fighting to stay alive. But that wasn’t the reason why she was upset. She was actually quite happy that the invasion had failed, that Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had been reunited and married, and that Equestria was effectively saved by her and her friends.

Except for the fact that she hadn’t helped at all.

Fluttershy was upset because of her disappointment of herself. Not only did she not see through Queen Chrysalis’ disguise in the many times that she met with her, but when the actual invasion started and she and her friends had found themselves surrounded, Fluttershy had only cowered behind her friends while they did most of the real fighting. Yeah sure, she had tripped up a few of those changelings here and there, but for the most part, she had stayed away from most of the action.

And yeah, her friends had made it out okay. Everybody was saved and went home happily ever after. But what if her friends hadn’t won? What if their efforts just weren’t enough, and they were swarmed without the help of the shy pegasus? What if they had been hurt…?

The fate of all of Equestria had rested in her hands, and she had only served as deadweight to her friends. And all of Equestria.

She had failed.

Fluttershy blinked as she felt a new wave of tears come on to her. Thankfully, her sobbing was quiet enough due to the usually low volume of her voice, so none of her sleeping critters were woken up. She buried her head into her pillow, her chest expanding and deflating with every small breath. It hurt her to think of how poor of a friend she was. And not just at that particular day.

Thinking about her failures in Canterlot also got her thinking of her failures… in general. Almost nopony would deny that the butter-colored pegasus was a bit too shy around strangers. For the first week or so living in Ponyville, she had a been complete shut-in, not leaving her house for fear of any strangers… well, looking at her funny.

Fluttershy scared too easily; that was another thing she didn’t like about herself. The very idea of something uncomfortable or creepy made her shiver in fear. One of the reason she liked to stay quiet most of the time was so that she wouldn’t get noticed as often. Attention was pretty scary, and she was better off without a lot of it.

Oh dear, I really am a scaredy pony, Fluttershy thought to herself. She reflected back to the day that she and her friends had gone on a quest to wake up a sleeping dragon and command it to leave Equestria. Of course, she had ultimately been the one to get the massive creature to leave, but she had been so scared and frightened on the way up the mountain that she knew her friends would’ve had a much easier time getting there without the burden of dealing with a frightened mare that simply refused to do anything helpful the entire trip. She could still see the angry glares Rainbow Dash kept giving her, and the way she would comment to Twilight, “You still think it was a good idea for her to come?”

Useless, that’s what she really was. Useless and pathetic. She let everypony down in Canterlot, including her friends that needed her the most.

With horrid thoughts still swimming in her head, Fluttershy shut her eyes and willed herself to sleep, the tears once again streaming down her face.

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Rainbow Dash knocked incessantly on the door of her friend’s cottage. She sighed and impatiently stood awaiting some sort of response. It had been a week since the six Element Bearers had returned from Canterlot, but Fluttershy hadn’t been seen anywhere for that week. Of course, the timid pony wasn’t out of the house very often compared to her friends, but not coming out for a week seemed odd even for Fluttershy’s standards.

Rainbow thought back to the train ride to Ponyville, and how quiet she had been throughout the entire trip. She had assumed it was because Fluttershy was eager to get back to her animal friends, but she still considered the possibility that something was bothering her shy friend. Either way, she was going to get to the root of the problem today.

That is, when Fluttershy finally opened the door, of course. Which she didn’t.

Rainbow Dash knocked once again, this time more loudly. “Fluttershy!” she called out, knowing her friend was in there, only pretending to not be there, “C’mon, Flutters, let me in. It’s me, Rainbow Dash. Ya know, you’re best friend?”

Still, no response. Rainbow Dash was many things: talented, speedy, loyal, caring. One thing she was not was patient. She proceeded to pound on the door for a solid minute and a half before, finally, Fluttershy slightly opened the door enough to peek her head out.

“Please don’t do that, the critters are getting scared,” she begged, not willing to look the other pegasus in the eye.

“Fluttershy, can you let me in? We need to talk,” stated Rainbow Dash.

There was nothing for her to do but submit and let the cyan mare into her house. R.D made her way to the lively furnished living room while Fluttershy went into the kitchen. She came out, as customary, with tea and cookies on a platter and set them down on the table next to the couch. There was an awkward silence as they poured themselves some drinks before R.D cleared her throat and cut straight to the point.

“Okay, look. I came here because ponies are worried about you, Flutters. You haven’t been out of your house in over a week, and that concerns us. Is there any reason for your… odd behavior?”

There was a pause as R.D awaited her answer, and it was obvious that Fluttershy was hesitating to respond. When she did, her eyes were staring intently at the floor, as if it were the most fascinating thing to watch. “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, Rainbow.”

“Don’t gimme that crap, Fluttershy!” R.D said in frustration, “Something’s bothering you. I know it. It’s been bothering you ever since the train ride back from Canterlot.” Her tone got softer as she calmed down, “Look, if it’s about the changeling invasion, just let me know. We’ve all been upset ever since it happened. You’re my friend, so if that’s what’s bothering you, then tell me.”

“Why are you even my friend?” mumbled Fluttershy.

“What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you.”

“I said, why are you even my friend?” She looked up at R.D with the salty tears once again in her eyes, her face screwed up in anguish. The cyan pegasus was caught off guard a bit as she stared confusedly at her friend. “Well?” she said to the shocked pony, “Answer me.”

“W-we-well, ugh… it’s because we’ve shared many experiences together and you’re one of the only ponies I could ever trust fully,” stammered Rainbow.

“That’s just it!” Something inside Fluttershy snapped as she released all the anxiety and shame she had been feeling the past week on her dumbfounded companion. “You’re lying, and I know it! I’m not at all a trustworthy pony; I’m a horrible one! I’m too much of a scaredy-cat to be helpful to anypony!”

“Fluttershy, what are you talking about?”

“I see the way ponies look at me whenever I’m frightened! They think to themselves, ‘what a scared little pony. I bet she’s horrible to deal with.’ And they’re right, I’m a burden to everypony around me. I’m small, slow, weak, dumb, and too easily frightened to be of use to anypony! Failure is the only thing I’m good at, and that’s the truth!” She began to slump to the floor in front of Rainbow Dash’s front hooves, the tears practically pouring out like glum waterfalls. “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash, I’ve been such a horrible friend to you five, whom have shown me such great things! You guys really are the best friends a mare could have! I only wish the same could be said for me!”

The only noise that filled the room for the next minute or so was the sobs emanating from the weeping pony on the floor. The once energetic and carefree critters that roamed the Fluttershy household now sat and watched as their caretaker unfolded like an ugly puzzle-piece and broke down. The once vibrate air now sat gloomy as Rainbow and the animals listened to the horrible heaving cries of a yellow pegasus in distress.

Fluttershy finally worked up the courage to look R.D in the face for the first time that evening. What she saw was an expression of befuddlement and shock, still not able to comprehend what it had just seen.

Suddenly, the cyan pegasus reached down with her front legs outstretched and pulled in Fluttershy in a tight embrace. Fluttershy had not expected this; she had expected looks of resentment and anger that Rainbow Dash was so fond in giving her. She tried to pull out, but her friend was too strong. Then, R.D pulled out of the embrace and pressed her face against that of the timid pony’s, their eyes now so close that no amount of movement could remove the other from her field of vision.

“Fluttershy, I want you to listen and listen good,” she said softly, but with just enough conviction to make her tone clear, “ Don’t you ever, and I mean ever let me or anypony else hear you speaking those words again. You hear me? You are not a waste, you are not useless, and you are most definitely not a bad friend. Kapeesh?!”

“B-but…”

“No ‘buts’! I don’t know how you got those ideas stuck in your head, but I can say that you have never been more wrong in your entire life.”

The shy mare was beginning to become a bit confused at these statements. Why was she standing up for her? Couldn’t she see…?

“I appreciate the concern, Rainbow, but I just can’t see how I’m not a burden or a good friend.”

R.D stared intensely into her eyes for a bit more, then let go and walked towards one of the walls of the living room. On that wall were a collection of framed pictures that Fluttershy had put up for decoration. They were mostly pictures of animals that she fondly remembered taking care of, but there were also some of Fluttershy and her friends. One of the photos stood out in particular, though. In it were two little filly pegasi, young Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. They stood at the entrance to the front building of the Cloudsdale Flight School. They were both smiling at the camera with the innocent and carefree looks of joy that only little foals could ever manage to pull off. R.D grabbed the photo and took it back over to Fluttershy, who had stood up by then. Shoving it into her friend’s face, Rainbow continued.

“Take a good look at this photo, Flutters. This is a picture of me and a life-long friend that I’d known even before this picture was taken. She and I couldn’t have been more different. I liked adventure and excitement, while she liked more relaxing and less dangerous activities. Yet, we were still close friends. Why? Because unlike every other pony that I knew at the time, she had something that not many others possessed: kindness. She was always there for me, whenever I was sad or lonely or just plain mad, she was there. The other ponies said bad things about her, but she managed to overlook those comments and still try to be nice to everypony she met. If the world just wanted to throw nothing but punches and kicks her way, she would gladly take them and still offer her condolences to those in need.”

Rainbow Dash stopped to grab another photo off the wall, this one of Fluttershy surrounded by all of her animals. “This friend of mine grew up to live among the Earth ponies in order to do what her cutie mark told her to do: make the lives of helpless animals and woodland creatures happier. The compassion and caring needed for this job is huge, but she manages to give care to these creatures every single day.”

Finally, she brought up a picture taken not long after the Nightmare Moon incident. Fluttershy sat smiling up into the camera with five other happy mares standing behind her, smiling into the camera as well.

“And here she is today, surrounded by her good friends. Nopony can deny that she is the kindest, most sincere and most dependable friend a pony could have. I mean, she’s literally the Element of Kindness. She’s faced down dragons, cockatrices, and manticores when her friends’ lives were in danger. She’s become the pony that one could find solace in when the rest of the world couldn’t provide it. She is… my best friend.” R.D sighed; if she was going to to get her point across, she needed to say this. “The pony that has been there for me ever since we were little fillies. She’s been the one that I’ve come to trust in my times of need, and the one I could depend on whenever I needed her. I owe the race that I found my cutie mark in to me standing up for her in her time of need. She is… you are the best pony… ever, and nothing else ponies say could ever change that fact in a million years.”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Y-you really m-mean that, Rainbow Dash?” she struggled to ask; she could feel the tears begin to well up once again.

And all the cyan pegasus did was smile, nothing but pure love and understanding emanating from her expression. “Yes, I do.”

For a while, all the two mares could do was stare at the other with a sort of curiosity. Finally, the butter-colored mare leapt towards her friend to embrace her lovingly. “Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! You really are the best friend a mare could have!”

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Later that night, Fluttershy lie in her bed and closed her eyes, the horrible tears no longer obstructing the beautiful possibilities of sweet dreams. With the knowledge that she really wasn’t a bad pony after all, she fell fast asleep for the first time in a week. Somewhere in Equestria, a train moved in a timely fashion and peace once again spread across the land.

Author's Note:

Damn, I feel accomplished. This is probably the most self-satisfied I've felt in writing something... well, ever. I poured a lot of my tears and blood into this project, and I'll be damned if I don't like the way it turned out.
Who knew that my love for a single character from a children's television show could inspire such a beautiful collaboration of words?
Hey, do you like Fluttershy as well? Then join The Fluttershy Fan Club along with me and many other fans of the most adorable pony alive. You won't regret it.
Also, if you haven't already, check out my other story Achievement Hunter in Equestria if you like laughs and good times. I've been pretty busy with this story for the last week or so, so I haven't been able to work on it that much, but you should still check it out anyways.
Hope you enjoyed! Adios amigos!

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blowngasket

blowngasket #1 · Nov 21st, 2013 · 1 · ·

Just wanna get this out of the way so I can get to what I want to say.

Failure is the only thing I’m good at, and that’s the truth!

Might want to add that at to the story, but besides that, no other noticeable things during my first read.

Story wise, I really enjoyed it. It didn't settle too well with me how she falls into self pity the way she did, but the ending was a definite comeback. In reality, she always seemed like the kind to bottle up her emotions to dangerous levels, so it isn't unbelievable that this could happen. All being said and done, it wasn't boring, and it definitely got the point across, to me at least. 8/10, simply because of the self pity. Even if it was believable, the fact that it took a week for her friends to notice and she stayed like that for that long just doesn't feel right. Don't take this wrong, as it is my opinion, and to others it could be enjoyable. You are a good writer, and that is definitely a fact. Just keep on writing what you enjoy.