Comforting the Timid Pegasus

Author's Note:

Story #6

I wanted to write something short and that is closely related to me. Rainbow teaches Fluttershy the importance of life and that someone isn't technically better than you just because they're better than you at something.

Enjoy!

"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. I just don't have the courage right now," Fluttershy sadly spoke as she ran away.

Rainbow Dash landed on her hooves while watching the crying mare run away in a distance. She slowly turned away to go back to the group of pegasi. She took a few steps before turning back around to fly towards the crying mare's direction.

She took a couple of minutes to fly and found hoof trails leading somewhere. Rainbow assumed it was Fluttershy's and followed it. She soon found Fluttershy crying into her hooves while her animals were trying to comfort her. She set herself down and slowly walked up to the pegasus, trying to not scare her or any animals.

The animals noticed the cyan pegasus approach them and alerted the yellow pegasus. She slowly looked up before quickly putting her face in her hooves again, not wanting to see Rainbow in this state. When Rainbow was directly next to the mare, she slowly petted her mane while speaking in a soft voice. "Fluttershy, is it okay if I talk to you in private? It's something that I think needs to be discussed."

Fluttershy seemed to calm down when her mane was being petted. She slowly got up and wiped away the tears. She told her animals that she would be back shortly after having a talk with Rainbow.

Rainbow lead Fluttershy a few feet away from the animals and behind a tree where they slowly sat down. Rainbow took a seat on the left with Fluttershy being on her right. The athletic pegasus wrapped both of her hooves around the timid one while slowly rubbing her shoulder. The cyan pegasus softly nuzzled the other's cheek while softly speaking.

"Fluttershy, why did you just give up back there? You were actually able to fly a pretty decent speed before you slowed down."

The timid pegasus slowly leaned in towards Rainbow while keeping her hooves close to her chest. "Rainbow Dash, did you not see ponies laughing at me?"

"Yes, but what I also saw was you giving up just because ponies were laughing at you. You can't let yourself down just because ponies laughed at you."

What Fluttershy heard made her a little upset. "How would you like it if everypony was laughing at you for not being able to fly?"

The cyan pegasus noticed a change in tone from the mare. She slowly answered. "I would feel bad."

"You see? You can't fly when everypony is laughing at you. It makes you feel like you're not good enough."

"But you also can't just give up, because that would get you nowhere in life."

Fluttershy lifted her head off of Rainbow's body and looked directly at her face. She saw that Rainbow had a face that showed that she was serious and concerned. Rainbow took her left hoof off of the mare and kept her right hoof wrapped around.

"I want to tell you a little story. Do you remember those bullies from when we were fillies?"

The yellow pegasus slowly nodded her head. "How could I not?"

"Well, when I was a filly, I used to have trouble flying. Those bullies would laugh and make fun of me because I couldn't fly well. It made me feel awful, which made me fly worse."

"You see? That is why I gave up. It makes you fly worse and makes it feel like you can't do anything," Fluttershy quickly blurted in.

"But," Rainbow interrupted. Fluttershy immediately turned back to listening, realizing that Rainbow wasn't done with her story.

"I didn't give up. I pushed through all of the laughing and taunting and continued to do what I did best, flying. I worked at it for many hours a day. I would do all sorts of exercises to develop strength. I started to win more and more with every competition I entered. I got faster and faster the older I got until today. Right now, I'm known as the fastest flier in Equestria, if not one of the fastest fliers."

Fluttershy understood everything Rainbow was saying, but she still didn't know how this would work for her. "So, are you saying that if I work hard enough everyday, I'll be able to fly as fast at you?" She asked very hopeful.

"Not quite."

Rainbow's response ended up putting a frown right back on the timid mare's face.

Rainbow gave a soft smile. "Aw, don't worry, Fluttershy. You'll get there one day. But I want you to know that you should continue to do what you do best, which I would guess is about animals. Just because you're a pegasus, doesn't mean you have to be a fast flier. You can just be an animal expert and care for them. Just because somepony is better than you at something, doesn't mean that they're better than you at other stuff."

The words of encouragement that Rainbow was saying started to make a huge impact on Fluttershy. She started to smile a little more. "Really? You really mean what you said?"

Rainbow softly patted the mare on the shoulder. "Of course. If you need some examples, I'll give you a few. Twilight is better than Rarity at magic, but Rarity is better than Twilight at fashion. Applejack is stronger than Pinkie, but Pinkie is better at setting up parties. I'm a faster flier than you, but you're better with animals than me."

Fluttershy's smile grew wider by the smallest amount. She was taking every word to heart and realized that it was true. Rainbow was a faster flier than her, but she was better with animals. All of this motivated her a lot.

"So, you're saying that everypony is unique in their own way, and it doesn't matter if somepony laughs at you just because they're better than you at something?"

Rainbow's smile grew wider at this. "Exactly. It's just like me and those bullies. Right now, I'm faster than them at flying. I actually don't know what they're better than me at, though. They're probably better at bullying."

The two pegasi took a quick moment to laugh about what Rainbow had said. "Wow, I used to think that I wasn't better than those other pegasi back there because I was the slowest flier. But now that you've talked to me, I know that it's not true."

Rainbow gave a small nuzzle to the mare's cheek. "I'm glad you picked up what I put down. If you ever feel the need to give up, just know that it will get you nowhere other than make you feel bad at yourself because you couldn't do something. I am completely sure that you would be able to become a fast flier. It's just going to take some time. Just know that just because you can't do something right now, doesn't mean you can't do it in the future."

Fluttershy felt her heart warm up. Rainbow was absolutely right. Just because she couldn't fly fast right now, doesn't mean that she can't fly fast in the future, or at least a little faster than she can now. She just has to work hard enough to do so.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I'm glad to have you as a friend. Nopony has given me such a motivational talk before in my life."

Rainbow hugged the timid pegasus closer until they ended up touching cheeks. "You're welcome, Fluttershy. Just know that I'll always be here for you whenever you need it." Rainbow finished with a soft kiss on Fluttershy's cheek, concluding Rainbow Dash's lesson.

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