My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship

by Danieru

45. Monster Fluttershy

Sometimes in a week, a market would open up in Ponyville, where you could find relatively fresh food for a reasonable price.
From time to time, Star Twinkle would go there too, in order to restock his supplies.
Equipped with a bag and a list of some fruits and vegetables written on it, he was halfway done finding everything on the list.

While wandering trough the market, trying to find what he needed, he saw Rarity and Pinkie Pie walking up to him.

“Hello there, Star Twinkle,” Rarity greeted.

“Looking for some veggies?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Yup. It seems the only thing left on my list are carrots.
I swear, Comet eats those like crazy...” he said while he scanned through his list.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked at each other with puzzled eyes.

“Wait...you mean, your fish?” Rarity asked because she found it strange how a fish would eat carrots.

“Yeah...” he replied, not seeing anything wrong about it.

The two mares only shrugged their shoulder in confusion while they looked at each other and left it at that.
Star Twinkle was still checking his list, but then Pinkie Pie grabbed his attention.

”Hey, look! It's Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie said, pointing her hoof at where Fluttershy was at, causing both Star Twinkle and Rarity to turn their heads to where Pinkie Pie was pointing at with her hoof.

Fluttershy was trying to buy something from a merchant.
But every single time when it was her turn, somepony else was jumping in front of her.
Despite being the shy and restrained pony she always was, she at least attempted to talk with the ponies in front of them only to be pushed away again.

She was probably doing her best but it was not good enough and Fluttershy gave up after multiple failed attempts to get the thing she wanted and walked away sadly.

Of course, the three ponies watched everything and Rarity could only shake her head in disapproval.

”Would you look at that?
Those ponies just took advantage of Fluttershy's timid nature!” Rarity said, offended by the way how one of her friends was treated like.

“Maybe she wants to avoid any trouble?” Star Twinkle pointed out.

“Like me...”

“-Or maybe she doesn't want to start an awkward conversation,” he added.

“Like me...”

But then Star Twinkle realized something and narrowed his eyes.

“Wait...Am I a pushover too!?”

However, Star Twinkle had to worry about this another time since Rarity was still upset about Fluttershy.

”Nonsense!
She just needs to learn how it's done!” She said before she walked over to Fluttershy who was still upset for not getting the thing she wanted.

As Fluttershy walked past the three ponies, Rarity instantly told her that she doesn't deserve to be treated like that.
But as expected, Fluttershy was trying to make sure that she wasn't bothered by it.
Unfortunately, she was not good at hiding that.
Pinkie Pie pointed out that Fluttershy was a pony with a problem.
However, Fluttershy didn't even seem to be aware of that.

“What problem?” Fluttershy asked obliviously.

“Star Twinkle,” Rarity said, to which Star Twinkle knew exactly what to do.

He turned Fluttershy around so that she would face another merchant before he quickly rushed in front of her.

“Oh, go right ahead, Star Twinkle. You first,” she then said as a reaction to Star Twinkle's played rude behavior.

“Right there! That's the problem,” Pinkie Pie pointed out.

“You've got to stop being such a doormat,” Rarity explained.

“A doormat?” Fluttershy asked confused.

“A pushover, darling,” Rarity explained further.
“You've got to stand up for yourself, promise us,” she demanded from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy said that she promised, even though it didn't sound too convincing.
However, her attention was quickly caught by the last asparagus that one merchant was offering.
But once again, another pony quickly grabbed the asparagus in one quick swoop, leaving Fluttershy sad in the background.

“Oh, that's okay, I don't mind,” Fluttershy said, almost as if she was about to cry a little.

Star Twinkle's reaction to that was a quick hoof to his face, followed by a frustrated sigh.
Rarity then took it upon herself to teach Fluttershy how it's done.

She walked up to the stallion, who was making a really nerdy impression on Star Twinkle.
He had a rather slender body, was wearing some pretty big glasses, a squared bow tie and had some pimples on his face.
It was easy for Rarity to use her charms and some flattery to convince the stallion to give her the asparagus in exchange for one bit.

Judging from the stallions reaction, he seemed pretty embarrassed to get this kind of attention from Rarity, who was walking back happily with some asparagus levitating over her head.

“See, that's not so hard, is it?” Rarity said happily after she walked up to Fluttershy.

“Um... I guess not,” Fluttershy replied unsurely.

“Using your charms or flattering somepony when it is needed, is just enough to get things the way they are supposed to go,” Rarity advised.

Star Twinkle didn't know if he liked that advice and could only roll his eyes.

Rarity looked over to Star Twinkle and started to grin a little.
She then walked behind Star Twinkle and put her hooves on his shoulders from behind, much to his confusion.

“Here.
Try it Star Twinkle,” she then said casually, levitating the asparagus in one of Star Twinkle's hoofs.

“What!?” Star Twinkle exclaimed shocked before he widened his eyes in shock after hearing what Rarity suggested.

Fluttershy also seemed uncomfortable to hear that and twitched for a moment, before she looked at the ground embarrassed.
Star Twinkle took advantage of Fluttershy not looking at the moment and whispered some words to Rarity.

“Rarity, what are you doing?” He said with his teeth not separating.

“Come on, Star Twinkle.
She needs some practice,” Rarity replied with a playful smile on her face.
“You don't want her to be a push over anymore too, right?” She added.

“But...”

“Okay!” Fluttershy then replied after putting some more thoughts about Rarity's idea.

“What?
She actually agreed to that?” Star Twinkle thought in shock

Fluttershy took a deep breath and slowly walked up to Star Twinkle.
Star Twinkle also took a deep breath and gulped for what was about to happen.
She then looked up to face Star Twinkle from an eye to an eye.

“Um...Excuse me...Um...I really need that asparagus and I'm sure a...Um...stallion that...” but then she stopped out of embarrassment and looked away.

Meanwhile, Star Twinkle also had a hard time focusing as his mind was going totally crazy.

“Why am I so nervous?
This is just practice, right?
She is just practicing to flatter or charm me.
Come to think of it...
That would be the first time that a mare would do that to me...”

Pinkie Pie, who was watching from a few meters away, was giggling at the whole situation and Rarity was still holding Star Twinkle's shoulders from behind and complimented Fluttershy's efforts.
However, she noticed how Star Twinkle was very, very far away and snapped him out of his thoughts after shaking his shoulder for a while.

He did snap out of that again and focused on what Fluttershy was about to say.

“Go on, darling.
You are doing really good,” Rarity complimented.

Fluttershy, despite being a little embarrassed, then continued and again looked into Star Twinkle's eyes.

“I'm sure a stallion as handsome as you, could spare some asparagus?” She said in the sweetest little voice that Star Twinkle ever heard.

He was about to blush a little and noticed how Fluttershy was embarrassed to say that, making her look even sweeter.
But before he could say something stupid or unnecessary to make the situation worse, he quickly holds out his hoof with the asparagus, as if he was holding a cross in front of a vampire in front of him.

Fluttershy smiled awkwardly and took the asparagus and put it into her saddlebag happily.
Rarity was also letting go of Star Twinkle's shoulder and smiled happily as well after seeing how Fluttershy was taking her advice seriously this time.
And Star Twinkle was just happy that this situation was over and calmed down again

“Alright then! What else is on your list?” Rarity asked as she levitated Fluttershy's list out of her saddlebag.

“Let's see... “ Fluttershy scanned her eyes through the list to remind herself again of what she was still missing.
“I also need tomatoes,” she then said.

So the group went to a merchant with tomatoes.
Star Twinkle, however, just wanted to take care of his own stuff, instead of following Fluttershy but of course, he couldn't just go away without a good reason, he thought.

Thankfully, this time, everything went without any problems.
Fluttershy was able to get some tomatoes, paid for them by placing one bit one the counter and left happily.
Until the merchant was stopping her.

“That'll be two bits. Not one,” the merchant pony corrected.

Fluttershy turned around confused and claimed that it was only one bit last week but the merchant managed to convince her easily to pay her another bit.
Star Twinkle could really understand why Fluttershy would not want to argue about that issue.
Sometimes, avoiding an argument was the best way to win it.
But that didn't mean that Star Twinkle was a pushover...
At least that was what Star Twinkle was kept telling himself...

Of course, Pinkie Pie couldn't just stand there and watch how Fluttershy was getting ripped off on the spot.
She began to haggle with the merchant in a cartoonish way and tried to trick her to accept one bit.

“One bit,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Two bits!” The merchant demanded.

This was going one until Pinkie Pie switched from one bit to two, in order to trick the merchant to say one bit.

To everyponies surprise, it actually did work and the merchant accepted the offer before she realized that she was tricked.
However, the sale was over and the merchant admitted her defeat and remained silent while Pinkie Pie and Rarity giggled in their victory.

“See? Asserting yourself can be fun!” Pinkie Pie said.

“I guess you're right!” Fluttershy replied, slowly gaining more confidence after the two mares shared their “tricks”.

Rarity suggested that she should give it a try on the next merchant.
Star Twinkle could only shake his head because he knew that Fluttershy would probably have a hard time making that true.

Suddenly, without a warning, Fluttershy rushed to a merchant that had one single cherry left, looking at it with wide eyes.

“I need that cherry,” she said determined to herself.

First, Star Twinkle thought that nothing could go wrong with this trade and was relieved but as soon as Fluttershy explained how important that cherry is for her, the situation changed and Star Twinkle knew exactly where this was going to.

“Boy, am I glad you have one cherry left. You see, I'm making this special meal for my bunny Angel. He's a very picky eater, and the recipe calls for a cherry on top,” she explained relieved, thinking that there was nothing that could stop her now.

She happily placed one bit on the table and waited until the merchant was giving her the cherry.
The merchant wanted to confirm how bad she needed that cherry and asked her how desperate she needed it.

“Don't do it, Fluttershy,” thought Star Twinkle as he was praying that she wouldn't reply the way that he was expecting to.

“Oh, yes, I'm desperate for it!” Fluttershy then replied to the merchant.

Star Twinkle then slammed one of his hoofs against his face after hearing Fluttershy's answer because he knew exactly what was going to happen next.

“Then it'll be ten bits!” The merchant said, quickly taking advantage of Fluttershy's desperation.

Shocked to hear that, Fluttershy turned her head to her friends puzzled.
Rarity and Pinkie Pie gave some signals, indicating that she should do something.

First, she tried Rarity's flatter tactic...

“Oh, hey, mister handsome, I know you wanna do the right thing because you're handsome and strong, and big, handsome, strong guys are always nice to everypony, right?“

However, the merchant was clearly not falling for that and still demanded ten bits.

Fluttershy again turned her head to her friends who again gave her supporting signals.
She then attempted to haggle with the merchant, like Pinkie Pie did before.

“Ten bits for one cherry's outrageous! I insist on paying you... eleven bits!“ Fluttershy insisted.

And again, Star Twinkle slammed his hoof against his face as he watched how this scene unfolded.
Fluttershy had clearly no idea how to haggle and randomly went up and down with her offers, confusing the merchant in the process.

Fluttershy's offer eventually ended with twelve bits which the merchant happily accepted but Pinkie Pie and Rarity dragged her away and suggested to walk away before she would lose so much money because of one cherry.
However, Fluttershy insisted on buying that cherry, saying that she needed that cherry no matter what.
And of course, the merchant heard that and raised his offer once more.

“In that case, twenty bits!” He said much to the shock of Fluttershy, who said that she didn't have that much money with her.

Moments later, another pony walked by the merchant and offered two bits for the cherry to which the merchant quickly agreed to much to Fluttershy's surprise.

“Tough break, kid. Next time, don't be such a doormat,” the merchant advised.

Hearing that made Fluttershy almost tear up.
Star Twinkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were watching how Fluttershy was slowly walking away from the market place and felt bad for her.

“I think this pony needs more than just some little advise...” Rarity said.

“But what else can she do?” Pinkie Pie asked.

As Star Twinkle watched how Fluttershy walked away, he couldn't help but feel bad for her and tried to think about something that could help.
But his thoughts were interrupted by a poke on his behind by something.
When he turned around to check, a goat with a black coat and a red tie was looking at him with some posters in its mouth that it presented to Star Twinkle.

“The incredible Iron Will turns doormats into dynamos?” He read out aloud from the poster.
“Assertiveness seminar today...
...and if you are not satisfied, you'll pay not one bit...
Wait a minute!” He quickly grabbed one of the posters and ran towards Fluttershy.

“Now it's my turn to give some advice!
And it probably will be much better than Rarity and Pinkie Pie's one!” He thought to himself, actually trying to be helpful for once.

Fluttershy looked at the poster and read it to herself but also returned some concerned looks to Star Twinkle.
The stallion also returned some confused looks to Fluttershy.
There he was, trying to help but she looked at him in concern.
Not a really good feeling for Star Twinkle.
However, he insisted that she should give it a try in order to not be a doormat anymore.

“Well, if you think that this could help me then I'll suppose I could try it...” Fluttershy replied, making Star Twinkle grin in return as he felt some accomplishment.

There was a seminar held today, in the center of the hedge maze center in Canterlot.
It supposedly could help Fluttershy to be more assertive.
He would hear the results on the next day when he met Fluttershy again.

At the end of the day, Star Twinkle was kinda happy to help Fluttershy in some way.
It actually felt good to help somepony for once.
This was still something that he had to get used to.
If it worked, however, was another thing.

The next day...

Star Twinkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were supposed to meet up in Sugarcube Corner to discuss the results of the seminar.
Everypony except Fluttershy was already present.
Pinkie Pie had to work and sold some sweets with some help of Star Twinkle and Rarity.
There was a big line of ponies which was probably because there was some kind of special sales today.
Star Twinkle didn't know the exact details but he figured that there would be more customers at that day, which is why he decided to help a little too.

He and Rarity were helping out in the kitchen a little, while Pinkie Pie was serving the customers.

After a while, Fluttershy entered the shop as well and stood at the end of the line.
She probably wanted something to eat while she was there.
However, another mare poked her on the back and sneaked up in front of her while she was checking behind her.
Star Twinkle saw that and expected Fluttershy's usual respond but got surprised by what he saw.

“What do you think you're doing?! Didn't you see me?” Fluttershy said in a much more assertive way than usual.

“Uh, I guess maybe,” the mare responded with a bother in her life.

“'Maybe'? "Maybes are for babies!" Fluttershy said to herself determined.

She then turned the mare around so that she would face Fluttershy and looked her deep into her eyes before she advised the mare to go back in line where she belonged.
And the mare actually did as she was told, and so did every other pony in front of Fluttershy after she gave them a mean look as well.

Seeing Fluttershy like that sure surprised the three ponies in a good way.
Finally, she wasn't pushed around by anypony and stood up for herself.
It was almost scary to look at.

“Looks like that seminar worked like a charm!” Rarity said relieved.

“And who do you have to thank for that?
Yep!
Me!
I'm helpful if I want to!” Star Twinkle thought arrogantly, with a wide grin on his face.

“Heyyy, look at you!” Pinkie Pie said from across the room.

“Oh, your attitude is so feisty, it's fabulous,” Rarity complimented on Fluttershy's assertiveness.

“Well, I guess it's all because of that monster's workshop that I recommended to you, right?” Star Twinkle pointed out, remembering everypony who to thank for.

“Iron Will's not a monster. He's a Minotaur,” Fluttershy corrected.
“And a true inspiration. His techniques really work,” she added.

“Well, they've certainly made a difference in the way you carry yourself. You truly are a whole new Fluttershy,” Rarity complimented further.

“Yes, I am. And new Fluttershy feels pretty stoked about new Fluttershy,” the newly confident and assertive mare said.

“Well, old Pinkie Pie feels really proud of new Fluttershy. Proud as pink punch. Want some?” Pinkie Pie offered, placing a bowl of punch on the counter, followed by her laughing at her little word play.

For some reason, Fluttershy wasn't feeling like laughing.
In fact, she looked a little angry and thought that Pinkie Pie's laugh was directed at her.

“You laugh at me, I wrath at you!” She said before she knocked the punch over Pinkie Pie.

Star Twinkle and Rarity couldn't believe what Fluttershy just did and stood there with wide eyes while Fluttershy walked away with a satisfied grin on her face.
Star Twinkle was pretty sure that this was partly his fault but instead of admitting his mistake, he tried to play it off and calmed Rarity and Pinkie Pie down.

“I'm sure she just didn't get the joke,” he said with an awkward grin on his face.
“I'll go outside and check on her!” He added as he walked outside with some concerns in his mind.

“Don't worry, Star Twinkle!
This was probably just some misunderstanding...
She couldn't turn out like this just because of some seminar that you introduced her to...
Being more assertive can't hurt anypony else THAT much, can it?
You did the perfectly right thing to help out a friend!” He kept thinking to himself, calming down a little.

However, When he stepped outside and saw how Fluttershy was literally beating up somepony and throwing him outside of a taxi, his calmness was gone in an instant.

“Nopony pushes new Fluttershy around!” Fluttershy said in an angry tone as she waved her hoof angrily.
“NOPONY!“ She screamed loudly, even scaring the pony who was pulling the taxi.

The taxi, with Fluttershy inside, left and Star Twinkle stood in the entrance of Sugarcube Corner in shock and with an open mouth.

“Oh no!
I created a monster!” He exclaimed after fully realizing what he has done to Fluttershy.

Later that day, Star Twinkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie decided to pay Fluttershy a visit.
Star Twinkle told the two mares what happened outside of the shop and after what she did before inside, they easily believed him and wanted to speak with Fluttershy.

The two mares noticed that Star Twinkle was feeling responsible for Fluttershy's behavior, even though he was trying his best to hide it.

“Don't worry your head too much, darling.
It was not your fault that Fluttershy turned out like this,” Rarity assured, making Star Twinkle actually feel a little better.

“Yes!
How would have thought that you telling Fluttershy to go to that workshop would turn her into a super duper meanie!” Pinkie Pie added, making Star Twinkle feel bad again in an instant.

“Thanks, Pinkie Pie...” Star Twinkle replied.

Rarity gave Pinkie Pie a scolding glare and Pinkie Pie returned an apologizing smile after she realized that her comment was uncalled for.
Rarity again attempted to cheer up Star Twinkle.

“I'm sure Fluttershy is behaving like good old Fluttershy again when we visit her,”

But quite the opposite was the case...
Another pony was asking Fluttershy where to get to the Ponyville tower.
Judging from his get up and the camera that he was wearing around his neck, he was probably a tourist.
When Fluttershy attempted to answer, the letter that she was holding in her mouth was falling down into a puddle beneath her, drowning them I the process.

This made Fluttershy angry and she growled at the poor pony.

“You make me lose, I blow my fuse!” She said before she grabbed the camera around the ponies neck and threw him around in the air, making him land into a haystack and his camera, conveniently into the bell on top of the Ponyville Tower.

Of course, after witnessing that, Rarity and Pinkie Pie had to say something, considering Fluttershy's behavior.

“Fluttershy! What are you doing?! That's no way to behave!” Rarity scolded.

“Didn't you see what he did to new Fluttershy? And he thought new Fluttershy was a pushover!” Fluttershy protested.

“No, sweetie, he didn't. We saw the whole thing. We think that you've taken your assertiveness training a little too far,” Rarity advised.

Star Twinkle was not sure if terrorizing other ponies like that could be considered taking it a “little” too far but he certainly agreed with Rarity.

Fluttershy was not aware that her friends just wanted to help her and claimed that they just wanted Fluttershy to be a doormat so that they could push her around again.
Of course, that was not true.
Star Twinkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were just worried that her behavior could hurt somepony or worse.

“What happened to nice Fluttershy? We want that Fluttershy back,” Rarity demanded in concern.

“No, you want wimp Fluttershy. You want pushover Fluttershy. You want do-anything-to-her-and-she-won't-complain Fluttershy!” New Fluttershy replied.

“Nyaaaaah! Too many Fluttershy's to keep track of! Make it stop!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she was clearly too confused by Fluttershy's constant mentioning of “New Fluttershy” or “Old Fluttershy”.

“Things getting too complicated for your simple little brain, Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy then insulted, taking things a little too far now.

“Now, stop right there! Let's not let things descend into petty insults!“ Rarity advised, trying to defuse the situation.

But Fluttershy wasn't stopping anytime soon...

“Why not? I thought 'petty' was what you're all about, Rarity. With your 'petty' concerns about fashion,” she said, now attacking Rarity with some insults.

“Hey, leave her alone! Fashion is her passion!” Pinkie Pie said, defending Rarity in the process.

“Oh, and what are you passionate about? Birthday cake? Party hats?” Fluttershy asked now picking on Pinkie Pie again.

Star Twinkle didn't like where this was going and tried to calm Fluttershy down a little.
But when he tried to open his mouth, to say something, Fluttershy was already bombarding them with insults, burying them like a fierce avalanche.

“I can't believe that the two most frivolous ponies in Ponyville are trying to tell new Fluttershy how to live her life when they are throwing their own lives away on pointless pursuits that nopony else gives a flying feather about!”

Those words were digging deep into the two mares.
Tears were dropping down from their eyes, making Star Twinkle instantly feel bad just by looking at them.

They both ran away before Star Twinkle could even say something to cheer them up again.
He could only stand there reaching out his hoof as if he wanted to reach out to his friends.
But they were too far away to even hear him now, making him feel even more helpless.

“This is all my fault!
If I wouldn't have told Fluttershy about this workshop, then none of this would have happened!” Star Twinkle blamed on himself.

He lowered his head and could hear that Fluttershy wasn't even caring about what just happened.
Realizing that made Star Twinkle boil from the inside.
In his mind, he knew that screaming at her wouldn't help but after witnessing what just happened, it was just too much to hold back for him now.

“Fluttershy!” Star Twinkle exclaimed angrily as he turned his head around to face Fluttershy again.
“That was going too far!
They just wanted to help and you just said those terrible things for no reason!”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes.
It was like, she didn't even take Star Twinkle's anger seriously.

“From all the ponies in Equestria, you should be the last one to advise somepony in terms of friendship!
If it wasn't for us, then you would still be all alone,”

Star Twinkle knew that this was true but he also knew that Fluttershy was saying all of that because she was influenced by this workshop and that's why he couldn't let up now.

“Yes.
But if you continue like that, then it's you who will end up all alone!” He exclaimed, making Fluttershy think for a moment.
“And you don't want that, right?” He asked her.

Fluttershy then looked down to a puddle seeing her reflection and thinking about what she just did until it struck her.

“Oh no!
I am a monster!” She exclaimed shocked, before she ran away as well, leaving Star Twinkle on his own.

Star Twinkle stood in the middle of the road for a while.
Once again, feeling helpless.
He blamed himself for what happened to her and looked down in depression.

He snapped out of his thoughts after Rarity and Pinkie Pie walked up to him from behind.
Much to his surprise.

“Where's Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked while looking around to spot Fluttershy.

“I think she ran home,” Star Twinkle replied.
“Why did you return?
Aren't you sad about what Fluttershy said to you?” He asked confused.

“Of course, we are, but we also couldn't let Fluttershy continue to act like that anymore,” Rarity replied concerned.

“Wait...You still want to help her, even after all the things she said to you?” Star Twinkle asked confused.

“Of course!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed determined.
“She may be Nasty Fluttershy now but she is also still Friend Fluttershy for us!” Pinkie Pie replied.

Star Twinkle thought about that for a moment.
Was he thinking the same too?
A few minutes ago, he was screaming at her for acting like this.
Was he doing that because he was concerned too?
Because he wanted her to act normal again?

This is when Star Twinkle agreed with Rarity and Pinkie Pie's opinion.
Just because she said some mean things to him doesn't mean that she isn't his friend anymore, right?
He had to talk with her too.
Especially since he feels responsible for her behavior.

“Yeah, you're right!
We should go and talk to her, once more!” Star Twinkle suggested, leading the way to Fluttershy's cottage.

The two mares happily agreed and followed the stallion right to Fluttershy's cottage.

However, they were surprised to see the cottage in a rather unusual state.
The door and the windows were barricaded with wooden planks, clearly trying to prevent somepony from entering her cottage in any possible way.

Despite that rather uninviting look, the three walked up to Fluttershy's door in order to talk with her.

“Fluttershy, are you in there?” Rarity asked as she knocked on Fluttershy's door.

“It's Star Twinkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie added.

“Go away! Go away before nasty Fluttershy strikes again!” Fluttershy replied from inside of her cottage.

Fluttershy was clearly regretting everything she said before and was ashamed to face her friends after that.
Only more reason for her friends to talk with her.

“Fluttershy, we are not sad or angry about the things you said before so come out and talk with us!” Star Twinkle said, trying to comfort Fluttershy somehow.

“Yes, Sweetie, we don't blame you. You just received some bad advice from that Iron Will character,” Rarity added.

“Yeah! He's the one that made you act super-duper nasty,” Pinkie Pie added, causing Star Twinkle and Rarity to poke her in the sides angrily, causing Pinkie Pie to correct her words a little.
“What I mean is, there are other ways to assert yourself besides yelling at everypony,”

“Yes! You can stand up for yourself without being unpleasant about it,” Rarity advised.

There was a short silence before Fluttershy answered.

“I-I'm not sure I can. I'm too far gone. Whenever I try to assert myself, I become a monster,”

She was taking this all way more to heart than her friends thought, at first.
All the more reason again to help her, thought Star Twinkle.

“Oh, sweetie, you're not a monster,” Rarity assured.

“No, but he is,” Pinkie Pie said pointing at the bridge that led to Fluttershy's cottage.

There the group saw a creature standing on top of a goat.
This creature had goat legs, a head like a bull, a bull tail, a really muscular upper body and a black tie around its neck.

“Iron Will's my name, training ponies is my game,” the creature introduced himself while giving a thumbs up and smiling into the distance as if he was speaking to an audience.

The three ponies quickly figured that he must be that Iron Will, who was responsible for Fluttershy's behavior.

There was a short awkward pause between the four because Iron Will was still smiling and looking at the distance but Rarity tried to talk with him.

“What a darling little catchphrase,” she complimented.

“Your friend Fluttershy loved Iron Will's catchphrases. Word on the street is that she doesn't take no guff from nopony!” He said as he grabbed all three of them in his big arms.
“So, Iron Will is here to collect Iron Will's fee,” he said as he walked up to Fluttershy's cottage.

Star Twinkle, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie agreed that Fluttershy was in no shape to deal with Iron Will right now and decided to buy some time so that they could talk with Fluttershy a little more.

First Rarity tried her flattery tactic on Iron Will.
She walked up beside him and tried some compliments.

“I'm sure a big, brave, powerful, and rich monster– I mean, Minotaur like you doesn't need that money right away. You can afford to come back later,”

But Iron Will didn't fall for it and said that Fluttershy's payment was already overdue and that he had to collect it now.
He then grabbed Rarity by her horn, who was trying to block his way and threw her into a nearby bush under Fluttershy's cottage.

Although Rarity wasn't hurt, Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie both looked after her but she wanted both of them to do something about Iron Will.
While not being sure what they could do against him, the still both tried to block Iron Will's path while he was already starting to tear off some of the planks that were blocking Fluttershy's door.

Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie both stood in front of Fluttershy's door but Iron Will just grab the two earth ponies in his arms and lifted them out of the way.

“We're not even sure Fluttershy is home right now. Uh, she might be off frolicking with some woodland creatures. Why don't you give us some time to track her down for ya?” Pinkie Pie asked of Iron Will.

Iron Will actually considered thinking about that and to everyponies surprise, he agreed.
He dropped Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie, pointing out that he still had some grocery shopping to do.
So to everyponies relief, he walked away and said that he would come back in the afternoon.

“That was close...” Star Twinkle thought.

But his relief quickly vanished after he saw Pinkie Pie walking up to Iron Will, instead of just letting him go.

“But that's only half a day. We need one full day at least,” Pinkie Pie demanded.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Star Twinkle thought out of concern, trying to stop Pinkie Pie before she would do something stupid.

Unfortunately, Iron Will heard Pinkie's demand but claimed that he only half a day.
Pinkie Pie tried to haggle a little with him, just like before with that one merchant.
This haggles, however, was interrupted by Fluttershy, who was sneezing from the inside of her cottage, getting Iron Will's attention.

Once again, he approached Fluttershy's cottage in order to collect his money.
Pinkie Pie stepped in front of Iron Will to stop him but just like before with Rarity, Iron Will just grabbed her and threw her away in a puddle of mud.

Now it was only Star Twinkle left to stop Iron Will.
Just realizing that made him already nervous but he had to do something.
Right?
Before Iron Will could reach the door, Star Twinkle blocked his way but as soon as he stood in front of that big Minotaur, he only stared up at his face in fear and insecurity.

“It seems like Iron Will hasn't made himself clear yet...” he said, still wondering why somepony was still standing in his way.

“Um...” Star Twinkle could only reply, feeling quite threatened by Iron Will.

“No!
You don't understand!
It's my fault that Fluttershy turned out like this so I have to do something!” Star Twinkle exclaimed.

"If somepony tries to block..." Iron Will said.

"Aaand this is gonna hurt..." Star Twinkle thought in fear.

“Wait!” Fluttershy yelled from the inside of her cottage, interrupting the conversation.

Fluttershy stepped out of her cottage and indicated that Star Twinkle should step away.
But Iron Will took it upon himself and pushed Star Twinkle out of the picture to finally deal with Fluttershy.

“You were nothing but a doormat, and Iron Will turned you into a lean, mean, assertive machine!” He said accompanied by some flashy poses.
“Now, pay Iron Will what you owe Iron Will!” He demanded.

Star Twinkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were all together again and desperately waited for Fluttershy's response and hoped that she wouldn't say something bad.
Fluttershy gave her next words some thoughts until she finally responded.

“Um, no,” she said in a calm tone.

Naturally, that was not the answer that Iron Will wanted to hear at all so he wanted to clarify what she just said.
But Fluttershy repeated her previous answer, making Iron Will go furious.
He looked like he was getting ready to hurt Fluttershy pretty bad, causing her friends to grow more concerned.

However, Fluttershy remained calm and walked away slowly while explaining something that left Iron Will confused.

“As I recall, during your workshop you promised one hundred percent satisfaction guaranteed, or you pay nothing.
Well, I'm not satisfied,“

“What do you mean you're not satisfied?! Everypony has always been satisfied!” Iron Will replied confused.

“Well, I guess I'm the first then. But since I'm not satisfied, I refuse to pay. It's as simple as that,”

Star Twinkle remembered reading something like that on the flyer that he gave Fluttershy but was that really the right time to bring that up when a big Minotaur stands before you?
Needless to say, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were both shocked to see little Fluttershy go up against Iron Will so easily.

Iron Will was discussing something in secret with his two goat assistants.
From the looks of it, he actually gave Fluttershy's words some thoughts.
After he was done, he approached Fluttershy but this time he was a little more passively than before.

“Are you... sure you're not just a little bit satisfied? B-because maybe... we could cut a deal. I-I mean we're both reasonable creatures, aren't we?” Iron Will offered.

“I'm sorry, but no means no,” Fluttershy repeated once more, leaving Iron Will stunned again.

“No means no, huh? Nopony's ever said that to me before,” Iron Will replied.
“Huh... I gotta remember that one. That's a good catchphrase for my next workshop,” he added as he gave up to reason with Fluttershy, leaving with his two goat assistants.

It was surprising how Iron Will's mood changed after Fluttershy's words.
He wasn't threatening her anymore and instead tried to reason with her but Fluttershy wouldn't let him.
If he wanted to, he could use force to get his money easily.
He must have been surprised that somepony was actually standing up to him like that.

Whatever the reason was, Star Twinkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie walked up to Fluttershy and complimented her for confronting Iron Will.

“You were amazing, Fluttershy! You totally stood up to that monster!” Pinkie Pie said happily.

“In fact, you didn't change at all! You were the same old Fluttershy that we've always loved!” Rarity added.

“Don't worry, old Fluttershy's back for good. I'm sorry I took the whole assertiveness thing too far,” Fluttershy apologized.

“It's no your fault, Fluttershy...” Star Twinkle corrected.
“In fact...it's my...
If I wouldn't have advised you to go to this workshop, then...”

But Fluttershy put one of her hooves on his shoulder and stopped him while she shook her head in assurance.

“No, it's not...you only wanted to help me, right?” Fluttershy replied, smiling at Star Twinkle.

Star Twinkle could not believe how well she was taking all this.
He couldn't deny that he wanted to help her but it obviously backfired.

“Friends?” Fluttershy offered which also served as an apology for what she said before.

Her friends already forgave her for that long ago, making it easy for them to respond to that.
Of course, they accepted and hugged her with Rarity and Pinkie Pie having teary eyes.
Star Twinkle was a little out of reach and didn't hug her but he also accepted her apology.

At the end of the day, Star Twinkle was not sure if this experience was teaching him not meddling with other ponies problems or Fluttershy trying to be more assertive without being mean.

Like most things that happened recently, he gave it all a thought before he went to sleep and then decided to not worry about it too much.

Author's Note:

That moment when you were about to upload a chapter and your internet connection dies for like a whole day and you decide to upload it on the next day...

Whatever!

It's sad that I had to skip the Episode a friend in deed aka. the episode with the most popular song in the show but I had to skip some episodes to make room for the custom story arcs of this season(Which will be a recurring thing btw.)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
And I hope I'll see you in the next one!