Six
The fairgrounds were wonderfully quiet. Brightly colored booths, offering everything from funnel cake to face painting, drifted by on the left and right. Fluttershy’s gaze darted everywhere, attempting to take in every potential source of danger or disappointment. Occasionally she’d spot a pony in one of the booths, cleaning up after a long day’s work. A few of them looked her way and waved. She could barely smile in response. More than once she’d lost track of her own hooves and nearly sidestepped into Noteworthy.
“So… um,” Fluttershy began, hoping familiar topics were a safe bet, “how has your anxiety been lately?”
“Great, actually. Setting all this up, this whole… whatever you want to call it for the two of us… it's been one of the most stressful things I've done in a long time, but it wasn't actually so bad. It sort of showed me that I'm better at controlling my anxiety than I thought, if I put my mind to it… The animal pavilion is just up there; are you excited?”
Fluttershy looked to the line of hay-bale fencing a few hundred feet ahead. “Yes. Thank you for arranging all this. I-I’ve never had somepony do something so special, just for me.”
He studied her expression, the one pony whose gaze never troubled her. “Are you feeling okay?”
She shut her eyes for a moment, taking stock of her own emotions. Here she was in an unfamiliar place, likely being watched by ponies she didn’t know, and in the company of a pony who she’d nearly lost her friendship with once already. By all measures she should’ve been terrified. She took a breath, opened her eyes, and nodded. “I’m… fine. I really am.”
He took a breath of his own. “I’m so glad. I was worried that you wouldn’t come to the train station, or get too scared when we got to the fair… We can still go back to Ponyville anytime you want.”
“I-I know… and I am a little scared, but… Can I tell you something?”
Their eyes met, and two smiles followed.
“What is it?” he asked.
“There was a fair in Cloudsdale once, when I was little. It looked like so much fun from a distance, but every time I got closer it kept getting bigger, and by the time I reached the line to go in… I decided it was a way too big for a little pony like me and went home instead. I’m sure lots of foals did stuff like that but… I wonder if being shy and scared all the time is just who I am, and that it’s never going to change.”
“But you are changing. You have six best friends now, right?”
Seven, she wanted to say. “I know I am. It’s just a really, really old worry that’s hard to let go of… like being afraid of the closet even though you know nopony’s ever in there.”
“Does… does being here now make up for it?”
“Absolutely. And this time I have somepony with me, and there aren't any crowds, and they might even have a—”
A large, round roof near the animal pavilion caught Fluttershy’s eye, taking her by such surprise that she rose off the ground. Her front hooves went to her mouth, for once in joyous surprise instead of panic. “Oh my gosh, they do! They do!”
“What is it? What do they have?” Noteworthy’s voice was strangely distant, on account of her hovering seven feet in the air.
“Can we ride the merry-go-round?”
Noteworthy laughed. “I can ask, I guess… Is that what you really wanted to do when you were a filly?”
“Yes! I could hear its music from halfway across town, and everypony else laughed and cheered when it started, and…”
“Don’t you want to see the animals?”
“I-I do, I do. And it’s okay if the fair ponies don’t want to start up the merry-go-round again, but I’d just love to go on it…”
Noteworthy trotted ahead, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. “Then I'm going to go ask!”
Fluttershy blushed as he ran off. “Oh, you don't have to ask just for… but that's so nice of you, going to all this trouble even though I'm such a scar—” she caught herself just in time, and her smile turned into a resolute stare “—I'm not a scaredy-pony anymore, and I'm never going to be one ever again!”
She knew her voice hadn't really rung across the heavens like she'd imagined, but she didn't care. It felt like a loud and important proclamation to her, and if she'd been next to one of her friends they would've cheered her on. Wasn't that what really mattered?
She flew down to the nearest booth, where a stallion and mare were trying in vain to brush spilled powdered sugar off the rough wooden countertop.
“Um… excuse me.”
The stallion glanced her way. “Yeah?”
His gaze felt like a flashlight beam, and when the mare faced her too she could feel her heart pounding. “I-I’m Fluttershy and… um… are you… just going to throw away all that funnel cake?”
The two fair ponies looked to the display case on the counter and the hours-old plates of sugar-topped fried dough within it.
“It's cold ’n stale,” the mare said.
“I don't mind. And if you're just going to throw it all away…”
The stallion nosed open the case with a chuckle. “Eh, it ain’t that stale. You want one?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Two please.”
“You got it.”
Two paper plates, loaded down with sugar-dusted funnel cake, slid across the counter a moment later. She took the plates on her hooves and breathed in the sweet scent of accomplishment. “Thank you!”
The music started as soon as she left the booth. Slow, lazy calliope notes rose through the evening air, increasing in volume and tempo with each passing second. Fluttershy flapped her away across the fairground towards the merry-go-round, fighting the unfamiliar urge to shout hooray and spin around in mid-air. She’d talked to two complete strangers on a whim! She’d controlled her fear! Her friends would be so proud when they found out, and this time their saying things like ‘great job’ and ‘I knew you could do it’ would feel perfectly natural.
The merry-go-round’s multicolored lights flickered to life just as she came in for a landing. Mirrors in the ride’s illuminated interior cast dazzling light on its wooden occupants. Butterflies, dolphins, and even a fearsome dragon stood ready and waiting for a pony to climb aboard. The cheerful music’s siren call nearly made her do so on the spot. The entire sight was almost too big to take in, and yet wasn’t scary at all.
Noteworthy’s hooves clunked loudly against the merry-go-round’s platform. He trotted between the wooden animals, smiling brightly. “I did it, and I didn’t even sneeze! I—”
Fluttershy flew over, set the funnel cake down on a bench, pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Noteworthy. Thank you for everything!”
After a moment’s stunned surprise, his hooves found their way around her. “Oh, I-I… It was nothing.”
She held onto him, not wanting to move and not daring to speak. The closeness that she always felt to him during their long conversations had taken on a physical form all its own, mixing up her joy and fear in a way she hadn't experienced since she first set her hooves on solid ground. She'd had it all wrong from the start: this was friendship, yes, but not just friendship. And maybe, just maybe, she could conquer her fear of that too.
Another voice crackled over a hidden speaker. “Hope you two lovebirds found your seats. Here we go!”
The merry-go-round shuddered to life, and the outside world began revolve while the wooden animals moved up and down in a joyful gallop.
Fluttershy slipped onto the bench, blushing furiously but still too happy to bother panicking. “Can… Can we sit here, together? I-I got us some funnel cake.”
“I’ve love to, thanks.”
The outside world rushed by, and the wooden animals seemed to do the same. Fluttershy felt like she and Noteworthy were the only beings truly standing still. Her shell was gone, but he was still there, and she knew she always wanted him to be. She took another deep breath and let her quivering wing close the inches-wide gap between them. Her foreleg followed a moment later, brushing his hoof with her own. “Noteworthy, I… I’ve never met anypony like you either.”
He stared at her, mouth open and eyebrows raised. “Fluttershy, you’re… trembling. Are you scared? I-I don’t want you to feel scared.”
She smiled at him as she met his gaze. “I’m terrified… but that’s not going to stop me anymore.”
And it didn’t.
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This pleases me
I love Apple Knots !
That is a story I tend to re-read during times of stress.
Now let's see who 'Jittery' has a night out with.
EDIT:
And what a beautiful story about coming out of one's shell that was too !
You know, I could really see a sequel to this story. Don't even need to be that big, maybe just a one shot on their next therapy visit.
Very nicely done.
Cute
This is a really unique take on romance. I approve.
It's a lovely story, and the progression between chapters feels so natural. Early S1 Fluttershy seems a challenge to write romance for, but you found a way to do so, and have it be a good thing (compared to, say, Bad Horse's take).
Where can i give you all of my money?
Very cute! I hope Discord doesn't get jealous!
8286746
You'd be surprised...
8287052
Oooo! I smell a sequel!
I admit, I put this one off for a while. Noteworthy isn't. Not most of the time, anyway. But here you've crafted a character that isn't just a suitable pick for Fluttershy, but also an excellent portrayal of the personal hell that is anxiety. Excellent work. Thank you for it, and best of luck in the judging.
This was fantastic. Flutteshy is generally a hard one to ship because she is too shy to take the initiative and start a relationship and her issues with being a doormat mean it is functionally impossible for anyone that isn't similarly withdrawn to avoid pushing her too far by accident and, willingly or not, making it an abusive relationship. You however managed to nail both the kind of character that can actually develop a healthy relationship with Fluttershy in Noteworthy and also arrange events to push the two of them together without twisting them in unbelievable ways. Considering I've never really been a fan of Fluttershy, that is some very impressive work.
I… wow. This is amazing. I love what you've done here.
8406850
That's precisely why I set this during season one
Throughout the last chapter, my mouth has been twisted into a silent squee.
Partly for reasons 8360780 mentioned, this is the best Fluttership I've ever read.
ohmuhgaaaad :D
"Oh, w-well, it's actually five... Spike's not really a person..." :V
Well this was adorable. A short but fully engaging piece that gives us what, to someone who's never had either anxiety or shyness, feels real and relatable. That's a gold star from me.
Awwwwwwwww! That was sooo sweet! This deserves so much more positive attention. Such an adorable and well-written story! One of the best romances I've ever read on this website. Thank you for sharing!
Well I remember back then she was very shy and very scared but throughout her years she's has changed and really develop I mean she still shy but not as severely that's a huge development of her character which that's awesome
This was a pretty nice story and I really like how things turned out so it looks like Fluttershy and noteworthy finally arrived to the carnival at first she was a little bit scared but she started to be brave for him she even got super excited when she saw the Merry-Go-Round and even wanting to have a funnel cake again that's a huge step for her to talk to somebody and she was so proud of herself and I am too but hey like I said she's got a long ways to go but she won't be alone alongside with our friends and of course noteworthy she won't be afraid well this was a pretty nice story I hope we get to see more story like this in the future anyways keep up the good work