Finding Destiny

by grendal

A New Opportunity

A golden sliver of sun spilled in motes to the dusty hardwood floor. The single room apartment was plain and largely unadorned. I single table was pressed against the cracked cream plaster of one wall, a simple unframed mirror hanging above it. On the opposite side of the room was a small bed with a plaid quilt wrapped around a grey haired, grey maned pony. This plain faced colt was Stewtary Mess, and today was going to be the biggest day of his life. He just didn't know it yet.

Stewtary yawned as he climbed out of bed. It was still early, but there was much to do. He had an interview for a new job at the palace, and he was not nearly prepared for it. Stewtary looked through his closet. Long ago an enterprising moth had gotten a hold of his clothing, and very little was left that wasn’t filled with holes. There was a worn shirt, beige and unflattering, a dirty old something that could only really be seen as a rag at this point, and his burlap cloak. None of his ragged old clothes were fit for such an important meeting. He had saved up for months and finally had just enough to buy some fancy new duds. Eating a hasty breakfast biscuit and throwing his tattered cloak across his flank, Stewtary rushed out the door and bumped head first into his land lord. “Yeowch! Watch it Mess!” the land lord grumbled, “Rent is due.”

Stewtary looked sadly at the small sack of coin dangling from his cloak. “I-I-I’m s-sorry m-mr. Fist s-sir. I r-r-r-“ Tyght Fist held up a hoof cutting Stewtary short.

“Look, I haven’t got all day, this will do.” Tyght snatched the purse and rifled through, extracting several coins. “Alright, I’ll see you next month Mess.” Stewtary opened his mouth to reply, but Tyght Fist was already gone, leaving the purse on the floor. With a dejected sigh Stewtary took inventory of the coins he had left. Fist had taken more than half of what he saved up, it wouldn’t be enough for a suit. Stewtary swallowed the lump in his throat. Perhaps he could catch a sale… he would have to.

It was a beautiful day in Canterlot. The warm weather was refreshing after the past few days of rain. The city was a buzz with ponies everywhere getting ready for the Grand Galloping Gala. Stewtary smiled to himself, he certainly had no delusions that he would be going to the Gala, special ponies went to the Gala, and he was nopony special. Still, it made for a generally friendly atmosphere with everypony awash with excitement. With all the happy ponies around Stewtary quickly began feeling optimistic again. Surely with the up coming Gala somepony would be having a sale.

The first store Stewtary saw was called Stuart Hooves Stallion Fashion. Many fancy suits were displayed in the windows, one even had diamonds sown right into the jacket. This shop would surely have an outfit that would dazzle, even in the palace. Stewtary excitedly approached the door before being stopped by a large stallion in a gorgeous black jacket. “Sir, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to turn around.” The large stallion said in a gruff voice.

“B-b-but I-“ Stewtary began to stammer.

“Sir, I can tell by your, um, cloak, that this is not the store for you.”

“B-b-“

“Listen, sir, we have an image to keep up. I’m afraid you have to leave.”

Stewtary nodded slowly as he backed away. He had never bought new clothes before, everything he owned was previously worn. The fact that a store might have a bouncer had never crossed his mind. It was becoming abundantly clear that Stewtary was way out of his element.

The next shop appeared unguarded. Stewtary stepped in and was greeted warmly by a young mare with a welcoming smile. There were ponies everywhere bustling about trying to find the best deals. In some corners of the store some particularly zealous ponies were even coming to blows over some of the items. Stewtary tried to find a shirt in his price range, but every time he got close somepony would shove him aside and take everything. Clothes shopping was madness! But it was about to pay off, because there on one of the racks was the perfect shirt. It was plain white, but it was silk, and most importantly cheap enough that Stewtary could just afford it. He smiled proudly to himself as he took it from the rack. “Oh wait! Excuse me! You can’t have that shirt!” a blue furred unicorn mare shouted as she ran towards Stewtary.

“B-b-b-b-but w-why?” Stewtary was confused, but he was unfamiliar with all the rules of shopping, and this mare seemed really upset.

“I was going to buy it, but I needed to ask my husband first but he wasn’t in the store so I went to ask him, but he wasn’t where I left him, so then I thought…” the unicorn spoke fast and endlessly.

Stewtary was still confused. How was he supposed to know about all this stuff the unicorn mare was talking about? It seemed strange that she should get the shirt because of all the weird circumstances she was talking about. What was worse is every time he tried to tell the mare she simply bowled over his words with a torrent of her own. Staying true to his nature, Stewtary opted to just try and walk away while she was still talking. This was a surprisingly effective tactic. Most ponies were happy to be away from Stewtary, and he easily disappeared in a crowd. So it was more than a little surprising when the babbling mare gasped loudly as Stewtary began backing away.

“I can’t believe you would do that! SECURITY!!!” The unicorn was shouting frantically. The kind mare that had greeted Stewtary came over, a concerned look replacing her once warm smile.

“Is there a problem here ma’am?” asked the greeter.

“Yes. I caught this pony trying to steal that shirt from the store. I couldn’t believe my eyes!” The haughty unicorn said.

The greeter turned to Stewtary, “is this true?” she asked. Stewtary couldn’t believe what was going on. He had never stolen anything in his life. This unicorn was clearly trying to set him up so she could take the shirt for herself. The mare had been nothing but rude and pushy since arriving and was quite frankly making a scene that was sure to be disruptive to the other patrons. Had the greeter been there for the whole scene, she would likely have sided with Stewtary. And had Stewtary been able to say any of that, he probably could have gotten the shirt too. But instead what came out was:

“U-u-u-u-ummm, w-w-w-w-w-w-w-“

“You see?!” The unicorn cried, “He’s so nervous at being caught he can’t even speak!”

Stewtary again reverted to his base instincts and began backing away from the two mares, bumping into a mannequin. Then everything went terribly sideways. The mannequin fell onto a clothes rack, which tipped over onto a customer, who bolted into a display case, which shattered sending jewelry skipping across the floor, which caused a mass panic amongst all the customers. Once the stampede was over, and all the dust had cleared, only Stewtary and the greeter remained. The store was in disarray, displays were toppled, products were destroyed, and what wasn’t destroyed was stolen. The dishevelled greeter seemed like an entirely different pony as she gave Stewtary a flat stare. “I think you should leave.” Ice dripped from every word the greeter said. Stewtary cringed as a shelf collapsed, the greeter was right, he should just leave.

After visiting just about every store in Canterlot Stewtary was reaching the sad conclusion that he didn’t have enough money. He likely didn’t even have enough money before paying his rent. There wasn’t much left to buy at this point either. Worse was that each passing store brought him closer to his big interview. “excuse me” If he couldn’t find a suitable outfit in time he might as well not bother. “excuse me.” After all, if he wasn’t even allowed inside some of the more fancy clothing stores, how in Equestria could he expect to be let into the palace? “EXCUSE ME!” Stewtary jumped at the unexpected soft shout. Looking around for the owner of the sweet voice, Stewtary’s eyes fell upon a beautiful young mare with soft yellow fur, long flowing pink main, and sparkling green eyes. “Y-you-y-y-you’re F-F-Fluttershy!” Stewtary stammered in disbelief.

“Oh, um, yes.” Fluttershy all but whispered back.

“S-s-so d-did y-y-y-y… s-s-“ Stewtary cleared his throat and looked away from the pretty mare before continuing “I-I, my n-name is St-Stewt-t-tary M-Mess.” He finally managed.

“Oh. Well, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Fluttershy. But, you already knew that…” Fluttershy trailed off as she took a couple steps back.

“D-did y-y-y-… C-can I-I h-help y-y-you with s-s-s-something?” With each word Stewtary’s normal grey colour turned an ever deepening shade of red.

“Um, no.” Fluttershy looked around before looking back to Stewtary apologetically “I mean yes.”

Both ponies stood awkwardly in silence for awhile, each hoping the other would break it. Stewtary glanced around uncomfortably, it seemed everypony around them had a good sense of just how awkward the pair was as they all gave a wide berth as they passed by. For a few moments that seemed like hours, Stewtary was at a complete loss as to what he should do. Now isn’t the time for this! He chided himself, the hero Fluttershy needs help and you’re just standing her like some sort of… tree! Stewtary was never very good at metaphors. Even in his own head calling himself a tree sounded foolish, but the desired effect was there.

“U-Um. Y-y-ou’re a h-h-hero, we all owe y-y-y-you a-and y-your f-f-friends s-so, if th-there’s anything I-I c-c-c-can d-do…” Stewtary’s words died as he saw how uncomfortable they made Fluttershy. “S-sorry..” he muttered.

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable…” Fluttershy hooved at the ground distractedly.

Once again the two ponies stood shuffling their hooves. Suddenly a small mouse skittered past the pair into the street. “Oh Mr. Cheesers! There you are. Get over here right away, it dangerous in the street!” Fluttershy called out to the mouse. Mr. Cheesers stopped in the road and turned towards his pink maned friend.

In a city the size of Canterlot it’s commonly accepted that somepony somewhere will be singing a life changing song. Most ponies either joined in when the song resonates with their own hearts, or politely avoided the procession. It was Mr. Cheesers misfortune that somepony was having a break through at just that moment, on that street. Fluttershy began to panic as singing, dancing, ponies marched heedlessly towards the helpless mouse. There was no way the happy ponies would see such a small creature. Mr. Cheesers was in serious danger of injury or worse.

Stewtary sighed heavily, he couldn’t let a friend of his personal hero be trampled by a procession of happy ponies. Stewtary rushed into the street and covered the little mouse with his body. This wasn’t the first time Stewtary had been caught in a song he couldn’t join in on. There was no ill intent to the ponies, but if you weren’t a part of the song, you were a prop in the dance. Ponies leapt off him, ponies spun him around, ponies sang loudly into his ears, but Stewtary steadfastly shielded Mr. Cheesers from harm. When the procession finally moved on it left in its wake a bruised and dirtied Stewtary, and a surprisingly untouched Mr. Cheesers.

“Oh thank you so much! You saved Mr. Cheesers!” Fluttershy cried as she rushed into the street. Stewtary was swept off his hooves in a massive hug from the grateful young mare. As Fluttershy moved on to chide the hapless mouse Stewtary was left confused over the sudden show of kindness. No pony had ever been grateful for anything he had done before, nor had anypony ever given him a hug. At least, not in his memory. It seemed like his actions didn’t blow up in his face for once, so an apology wasn't appropriate. Stewtary was at a complete loss as to what he should do next. So, he decided to try and simply slink away.

“Wait Stewtary!” Fluttershy called out after the retreating stallion. “Mr. Cheesers and I want to thank you for being so brave and helping him out. Is there anything we can do for you?” Stewtary took one look and the bright shining eyes of the beautiful mare and once again began blushing from nose to tail.

“I-I-I d-don’t th-th-th-think s-so…” Stewtary said. He sighed, that was not the truth, but an explanation would take more than a sentence to explain, and nopony was willing to get through more than a few words of his stuttering. “I-i-it was n-nothing…” Stewtary mumbled.

“There must be something.” Fluttershy looked over the kind pony that saved her friend. His colouring made him look quite old, but after a closer look he wasn’t a whole lot older than Fluttershy herself, perhaps even a little bit younger. He wasn’t a large stallion, nor small, in fact there wasn’t anything about him that made him memorable. From Stewtary’s grey mane and plain face to his worn hooves and tattered cloak. She couldn’t see the colour of his eyes, as they were firmly shut from the embarrassment of Fluttershy’s scrutiny, but she thought she remembered them being brown. Fluttershy frowned, perhaps there was something she could do about his cloak. “I know! Mr. Cheesers and I were just on our way to see our dear friend Rarity. I’m sure she can help me patch up your cloak as a thank you.”

Stewtary perked up, getting his cloak patched could be exactly what he needed. It was surely cheaper than buying a whole new outfit, and he had heard that Rarity was a miracle worker when it came to clothing. “Th-that would b-be w-wonderful! Are y-y-you s-s-s-sure it w-will b-be okay?” Stewtary couldn’t keep the excitement from his voice.

“Of course! I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done. And Rarity will be happy to help. Even if she’s busy I’m sure she’ll let me borrow some materials.” Fluttershy said as she half dragged Stewtary towards a beautiful building with a sign reading Canterlot Carousel.

“Fluttershy darling! Do come in! I’m so glad you could make it. Feel free to look around, I’ll be with you in a minute dear.” Rarity called to her friend as Fluttershy walked in the door. With the up coming gala Canterlot Carousel was bursting with ponies looking for the absolute best outfits bits can buy. Stewtary was impressed with the rows of gorgeous outfits. Each pony that entered seemed to leave with the perfect dress, and almost all of them found it with the help of Rarity.

“Come on Stewtary, we can wait for Rarity in the back room. It’ll be okay, she won’t mind.” Fluttershy said.

The two sat quietly in the back room for a bit. The silence was uncomfortable for Stewtary, but Fluttershy didn’t seem to mind at all. There was so much he wanted to ask her, but he had no idea where to start. Every minute that ticked by seemed like a waste of this precious opportunity. It’s not every day you get to meet a hero of Equestria. He couldn’t take it any longer, he had to say something.

“S-s-so, w-w-w-w-what d-d-d-“ Stewtary swallowed a lump in his throat. He was blowing it. “s-s-sorry…”

“It’s okay Stewtary, take your time. I understand; it’s hard to talk to new ponies. I don’t like doing it either.” Fluttershy said with a sympathetic smile. Stewtary couldn’t help but smile back gratefully.

“Th-thank y-you. I-I-I w-was just w-wondering how y-y-y-you got s-so c-c-c-c-confident. I-I’ve t-tried everything. I-I even w-w-w-went to an e-expert M-Minotaur…” Stewtary said.

“You can’t mean Iron Will!” Fluttershy gasped.

“Y-you kn-kn-know Iron W-W-Will t-too?!”

Fluttershy looked down and blushed, “Yes. I thought he could help me be more assertive. It didn’t work out very well.”

“I-it was th-the worst m-m-month’s s-salary I ever sp-spent.” Stewtary grumbled darkly.

“You payed him? I’m so sorry. I refused. I was not satisfied with the results of the training, so I didn’t pay. You should have seen the look on his face!”

Stewtary had no words, he just sat there, mouth gaping.

Fluttershy giggled as she held up a mirror to Stewtary “actually, you can see it now. He looked just like you do!”

Upon seeing the slack jawed look on his face, Stewtary broke into a smile. Both ponies began to laugh. For some reason, Stewtary didn’t feel like Fluttershy was making fun of him. In fact, she had never once mentioned his stutter, nor had she interrupted him. This was truly an amazing mare.

“I don’t think I’m all that confident. But I am starting to be more accepting of myself. And that is all thanks to my friends. They helped me because they love me just the way I am.” Fluttershy smiled, looking towards the door where Rarity could be heard helping a customer.

“Friends…” Stewtary mused, “I-I haven’t e-e-ever had a-any.” Overwhelmed by embarrassment, Stewtary looked away from Fluttershy. He felt a gentle hoof on his shoulder, and looked up to a see the smiling mare.

“You have one friend now.” Fluttershy said gently. Mr. Cheesers popped from Fluttershy’s mane and squeaked something in annoyance. Fluttershy giggled, “Yes, sorry. Two friends.”

A tear sprang unbidden to Stewtary’s eye. “D-do you r-really want to be f-friends?” Stewtary’s voice was laden with barely contained emotion. As his emotion went from barely contained to broken down weeping, Stewtary found himself in a gentle embrace from his very first friend, Mr. Cheesers, followed shortly by his second friend Fluttershy. “Th-thank you.”

“Ahem.”

The two ponies looked towards the door to see who had cleared their throat. Rarity stood with a sly smile on her face, “I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Stewtary stood in the corner of the room as Fluttershy finished explaining the story to Rarity. He had never seen such an elegant pony in all his life. From the expert curl of her mane, to the deft polish of her hooves, every inch of Rarity just screamed class. It was always strange to Stewtary that ponies suited their names so well. Did parents have a sense from the moment a child was born what it would become? Or was it self fulfilling prophesy where children grew to live up to their names? Either way, Rarity was truly a rare and special pony. Stewtary's musings were interrupted by the approach of Rarity.

“Mr. Mess, I would like to thank you for helping my dear friend Fluttershy. I would be happy to repair,” Rarity looked over the ratty cloak drapped across Stewtary’s flank, “Or perhaps just make you a new cloak, as a show of thanks. I’m more specialized in mare fashion than colt, but I’m sure I can make something simply marvelous. Were there any designs you had in mind?”

Stewtary couldn’t speak. To have such a beautiful mare even acknowledge him was unheard of. His knees began to shake, his face turned bright red, sweat beaded up on his brow, and when he opened his mouth all that came out was a frightened squeak. Rarity was looking at him, bewilderment stamped across her face. That was it, Stewtary began to back up towards the door, when he felt a reassuring paw on his ear. Stewtary looked up to see his new friend Mr. Cheesers perched on his head. The kind mouse made a waving gesture towards Rarity, and Stewtary nodded. Mr. Cheesers was right, he needed an outfit and this was his best chance. “U-um, I-I-I d-don’t need a-anything t-t-t-t-too f-fancy. I-I j-just need a sh-shirt for m-my interview at th-the c-c-castle th-this aftern-n-noon.”

“The castle?!” Rarity gasped, “No no nonono. You can’t go to the castle with just a shirt!” Rarity began gathering material, and supplies as she continued talking to no one in particular. “I’ll get started right away if it’s to be ready by this afternoon. Where is my lace? Ah, and I’ll need a few gems of course. Hmm, I may not have time for a decorative over stitch… Mr. Mess would you come here? I need your measurements.”

It took a moment for Stewtary to make his way over to the commotion that was Rarity. He wasn’t going to at all, but there seemed to be no way of refusing her; you just kind of got caught in the whirlwind. Even Fluttershy was busy holding bits of fabric on a mannequin. For a few very uncomfortable seconds Rarity was all over Stewtary with a measuring tape.

“I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do with your colouring Mr. Mess, but perhaps we could match up the outfit to your cutie mark. Why don’t you take off that cloak and let me see what I’m working with.” Rarity didn’t seem to be asking, despite the phrasing.

Stewtary sighed, “N-no.” was all he said.

“Nonsense dear. It’s the best opportunity for this outfit. Besides, you’ll want to show off that cutie mark of yours for the job interview. Everypony will want to know your special talent makes you uniquely qualified. Take off your cloak.”

“N-n-no.” Came Stewatry’s nervous reply.

Rarity shook her head and wrapped Stewtary’s cloak in a glowing field of blue magic and began tugging it off. “I really don’t have time for this Mr. Mess. There is no reason to be shy. I will make you look simply outstanding. You ju-“ Rarity stopped midsentence in shock as Stewtary’s cloak fell away. She was not prepared for what she saw upon the colt’s flank. Nopony could have been. Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide. The room was silent. There, plain as the sun in the sky, was nothing on Stewtary’s flank.

Stewtary looked down, ashamed, embarrassed. “I-I d-d-don’t h-have a special t-talent.” He explained, “I-I-I-I’m a t-true b-blank flank.”

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading chapter 1! You're all the best.
I had wanted to write out the song the ponies were singing in the street, but I'm no good at writing songs :P
Please be sure to leave your comments. I'm pretty new to this whole writing thing so I would love your feed back! Plus, a friend of mine says this is a great community, so I would just love to get to know you all too ;)
I hope to post a new chapter soon, so stay tuned if you liked it so far, and if you didn't, thanks for checking it out anyway! Bye!

Comments

[AvexedAuthor]

Hmm, this has potential... Another!

[grendal]

8406983
Thank you AvexedAuthor! I'm working on chapter 2 right now. It will hopefully be out soon.

[Stonecrop Sedum]

Poor Stewarty. But it could be worse. Better no cutie mark than a really embarassing one like a dong, or a poo emoji, or Discord's face, or a cutie mark of a butt farting with a cutie mark of a butt farting with a cutie mark with a butt farting, just infinitely. p.s. More fanfics need to cover the mundane occurence of random musical numbers.