> The Shy Girl
>  by Lux
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: A New Journey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Shy Girl 

Prologue: A New Journey

The pickup truck drove down the lonely two lane highway and through the countryside with you behind the wheel. You watched as you passed through the occasional town, many of which were less of an established town and more like a bunch of houses or farms clumped around a central area which was usually nothing more than a gas station, a restaurant or two, and a few necessity stores like a supermarket. Between such bastions of civilization, there were large expanses of forests and farms, untouched much by human hands except for the road that cut through like a black ribbon. Even that felt foreign amongst the beauty of nature that surrounded you, and you and your car were just as out of place. 

These patchwork towns definitely were not like the city you grew up in. The city was a magical place where everything a person could ever want was available and even some things that were unexpected. To you though it was also a frightening place, however rational or irrational it may be. There was just something about a city with its crowds of people and gritty nature that made you slightly nervous even during the afternoon. At night you rarely visited the concrete and steel jungle unless you had a specific place to be like a restaurant or the movies. 

As you drove another town, the hypnotic sound of the truck’s engine the only noise, your mind drifted back into your memories, recalling your life. You were a shy person, just like in some respects you still were. You remember in school how you found it difficult to make friends or even to answer a simple question when called upon by a teacher. This fact, coupled with that you seemed to easily be frightened by things like loud noises, made you an instant target off bullies in your school. You remembered those days when you went home almost to the point of tears and how you wished that you didn’t have to go back to face your classmates again. Thankfully you had your loving parents to comfort you during these trying times. 
Then things finally changed. You grew up and so did your classmates. Yet the damage was still fresh as you moved into college. Although by the time you were in college you overcame many of your shyness, you still were by no means a social butterfly. You only had a handful of friends who you still talked to in the present who saw past the shyness to see you as a kind and smart person. As for a romantic relationship, your success was not the best with that. You had a girlfriend or two, but eventually the relationship would become stale and die. It wasn’t that you felt that you were not able to be loved like that. You just were looking for the one who wouldn’t complete you but who would love you completely, including your flaws, and who would like your friends see beyond your shyness. 

There were two things in your life that one might find as strange but to you felt like they were a part of you. One thing was your love for animals. You remember when you were two and seeing your first animal up close. It was a large black horse that to you at that age must have been a giant. Yet rather than been afraid of the creature you greeted it with an openness that was uncanny. From that day on you loved to visit as many farms, zoos, parks, and fairs to see as many creatures as you could. Not only were you less shy towards animals than humans, but you had a special bond. It was as if you could sense what they wanted and they felt calm around you and understood what you were saying. It is no wonder why you preferred the company of them to humans. To you animals were simple to understand their wants and needs while speaking with humans was a confusing tangle of semantics and secrets. Not surprising that you decided that you worked while not in school at a local animal shelter and you went to study animal biology in the hopes that one day you would get your veterinarian degree. Then you could truly take care of those in need. 

There was another part of you, a passion of yours that you recently discovered but ranked a close second to your love of animals. This passion was My Little Pony, specifically towards a certain character who without her you may have not ended your interest in the show earlier. That character was Fluttershy, the yellow Pegasus pony with a pink mane and tail and sparkling blue eyes. You were instantly drawn to her by her overwhelming cuteness. Everything about here from her appearance to the way she moved and spoke was adorable.

You then noticed that there were uncanny similarities between you and the pony. Fluttershy, as her name indicated, was a very shy pony just like you were especially back in school. She loved animals and like you was able to communicate with them on a certain level. She was also very kind; like you tried to be to anyone you met. It seemed that you were fated to find her and from that moment on you were hooked on My Little Pony. You made it a priority to tune into each new episode not only to see what new adventure would take place but to meet Fluttershy again. It was like meeting a friend at a certain time each week where you’d laugh and have fun. You also began to collect several artworks involving the yellow Pegasus, amassing quite a collection on your laptop. While you weren’t like some fans who collected everything related to their favorite character, you did have a Fluttershy toy in your car and a large stuffed Fluttershy plush. 

Now you knew the difference between reality and fantasy. You understood that there was no way that Fluttershy would magically appear on Earth and say hello to you. She was a cartoon character and you a human being, and as much as you wanted it to take place you had a better chance of winning the lottery or getting struck by lightning. Still your mind refused to put the issue to rest like that. So you couldn’t actually meet Fluttershy, but what if out there on the planet there was someone who spoke, acted, and even to a certain extent looked like Fluttershy if she was a human? True it would be next to impossible to find her, if she wanted to be found, but it was a better chance than seeing a pony appear. 

Your mind mulled over the possibility of how you would ever consider finding such a girl, how you would act around her, the places and things you’d do, things like that. You could definitely imagine you two getting along with each other as best friends. Who knows, maybe this theoretical ideal girl could be your girlfriend. You knew of course that everything you thought was just a creation of your imagination. Yet with all doubts aside, you held out a tiny spark of hope that one day there would be someone out there like Fluttershy for you. 

So with the memories and dreams playing back in your mid, you approach the end of your journey to your new job and home at an animal sanctuary. Little did you know that waiting for you would be the biggest surprise of your life. 

> Rough Start
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rough Start

You check your map as you drive to see how far you are away from your goal. To your surprise you see that you are only a few minutes away ago. You’re happy that your traveling is approaching its end after spending an hour and a half driving from the city to your new home. The animal sanctuary is not that far away and that it is located somewhere beyond the last town you passed through. You’re thankful that there is at least some civilization to travel to for things like gas and food. 
As you keep your eyes open for the sanctuary, you wonder what your new life is going to be like. You begin to fear that you’re going to be living in some backwoods place in a rickety old shed that’s barely held together and with no plumbing or electricity. Let’s face it, you love nature but that doesn’t mean that you want to sacrifice all the comforts at home nor do you expect some plush mansion waiting for you in the middle of the woods. Your mind then flashes to an image if the idyllic little cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest that Fluttershy and her animal friends live. That would be somewhere nice to live in. 

You then see a wooden sign with the paint peeling but you can still make out the name of the place.

“Everfree Animal Sactuary, next right,” you say to yourself. It struck you as odd thinking about Fluttershy and the cottage she lived in and the name of your future home, but your mind passed it off as just a mere coincidence. After all, calling an animal sanctuary Everfree is a good name. Thinking nothing else of it, you turn off the blacktop road and onto a dirt road. After passing through the dense woods, the forest opened up into a large clearing. Around the edge of the forest there were a myriad of what looked like small pens and caged areas, each containing a different type of animal. There were from what you could see from your truck domesticated animal like cows, horses, pigs, chickens, things that one could easily find on the farm. There were also more exotic animals like geese, foxes, and even a peacock. Intermingled with the pens were other buildings, possibly for feeding or caring for sick animals. It was like a little makeshift zoo was just an hour and a half away from your home. You wondered why you never remember visiting the place before. 

Clearly you could see that the placed needed the help. Most of the woods had lost its paint and was even rotting. The fences looked rusted and barely together. But at least the animals looked healthy and happy, so you felt this entire place needed was a little help, and you were there to assist.  The strangest thing though was the fact that there were no people at the sanctuary, except for you. It was just the animals with no visitors or even staff. Clearly someone was taking care of the animals so after parking your car you went to investigate. 

“Hello. Is there anyone here,” you called out as you began to look around the pens, hoping that you could spot a staff member to introduce yourself. Your question was men only by the sounds of animals. 

“Hello,” you said again as you looked into a large feed shed. You soon began to get the strange feeling that you were being followed, like one of those horror movies where the villain was right behind the person, ready to attack. Even stranger was the fact that whoever this person was, they weren’t replying to you. 

“Um… excuse me,” you heard a voice barely say. You quickly wheeled around and got the surprise of your live. There standing in front of you was a young woman about your age standing a little shorter than you with a semi tanned skin and a body that was a cross between being athletic and the girl next door. She was dressed in a pair of overalls with a yellow shirt underneath and a pair of hiking boots. But the wildest thing was her long pink hair that cascaded down her shoulders and her bright blue eyes. If you didn’t know better, you could have sworn she looked like a human version of Fluttershy. 

“Hello,” you said as you gave her your name, “what your name?”

“Oh my name is Fluttershy,” she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. You swore that you weren’t hearing things right because you honestly thought she said her name was Fluttershy. 

“I’m sorry. What was your name again?”

“My name is Fluttershy,” she said in an even softer tone.

“Err… I didn’t quite catch that.”

At this point the poor girl let out a little whimper as she nervously looked down as if something was on her boots. Clearly she was so shy that it pained her to even introduce herself to you.

“So… nice place,” you said trying to salvage the conversation.”

She didn’t respond, only shuffling her feet. 

“I saw the ad in the newspaper, about the job for working here.”

The girl that looked like a human version of Fluttershy finally looked up at you with those blue eyes.

“You want to work here,” she asked. 

“Yeah. I really like animals and thought this job would be nice. Do you work here as well?”

“Oh… Actually I own this animal sanctuary taking care of all the hurt animals. Do you really want the job?”

“Sure, if it’s still open.”

“Oh yes it is. I’d really like the help. That is if you want to help me.”

“Of course. Does that mean I have the job?”

“Well, let’s go into the house and talk there. Let me give you a tour first.”

You followed the girl as she began giving the history of the spot, happy that you were able to get her to talk to you and eager to get everything ready for your new job.

> The Grand Tour
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Grand Tour

You followed the girl through the animal sanctuary as she began to point out the different animals in their various pens. The fact that she sort of looked like and definitely acted like Fluttershy from My Little Pony still hadn’t left your thoughts. This feeling was heightened by seeing the way she introduced the animals to you, like a person would introduce a lifelong friend.

“And here we have the deer family,” she said joyfully, “Aren’t they so nice! They just had a fawn as you can see.” 

“They are neat,” you said as she went to the next pen where she introduced a pair of happy looking ground hogs who seemed to stop what they were doing instantly when she approached them.

“Oh and this is Mr. Teddy,” Fluttershy said as she pointed to the massive cage that could be seen from the parking area. Mr. Teddy and you noticed was a large black bear that upon seeing you scampered over to the fencing and standing on his hind legs towered over you and let out a growl.

“Now Mr. Teddy,” Fluttershy said in an unexpected stern tone, putting herself between you and the bear, “That’s not a way that we treat guests. Now apologize.” The bear suddenly went down on all fours and hung his head low like a human being embarrassed. 

“Aww how can I ever resist such a cute face,” Fluttershy said to the bear before moving on to the next pen. You marveled at the fact that she appeared to easily connect with the animals while appearing shy towards you. You thought that maybe if you could break the ice a little she would be less shy to you. 

“So, you said your name is Fluttershy, right,” you said as friendly as possible. The girl turned suddenly with a look of surprise, like she forgot that you were there. 

“Well… um… yes, that’s my name,” she said as she seemed to look in every direction but directly at your face, “If that’s ok with you.” 

You wondered why Fluttershy would even think about asking you if her name was ok. It wasn’t like something she could change like one would change their clothes or hair style. You wondered what she would do if you did say you didn’t like her name. Of course you would never do that, no matter how curious. 

“Of course I like your mane… I mean name. Why wouldn’t anyone like your name?”

She didn’t answer your question, but you could tell that there was something underneath that shy exterior, a reason for why she acted the way she did. For now you were content with just getting to know here but deep down you had a feeling that if you were going to get to know her beyond being coworkers that hidden secret might have to be explored. 

Not watching where you were going as you looked about the area; you didn’t realize that Fluttershy stopped to show you another of her animal friends. You suddenly bumped into the girl causing her to let out a little squeak of surprise and fright as she seemed to jump ten feet into the air. 

“Oh sorry Fluttershy,” you said, “I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going and didn’t see you there.”

“That’s ok,” she said looking downtrodden at you, “Most people don’t see me, like I’m invisible. I guess I just have to accept it.”

For a moment you were shocked at the fact that this girl who seemed like was nice enough that it would be hard to not be friends with her could give up so easily and resign herself to being alone. You felt sad for the girl standing before you and hoped that maybe in helping her care for the animals of the sanctuary you could help her. Deep down you knew that under that layer of fear was a girl who would be wonderful for many to meet.

“So I guess your favorite animal are butterflies,” you asked her, hoping to redirect her self-doubt back into some kind of conversation with you. 

“Well, I like all kinds of animals, but yes butterflies are my favorite. How did you know?”

You pointed at the butterfly necklace that oddly looked like the blue and pink butterfly that was Fluttershy’s cutie mark from the show. To your surprise, Fluttershy let out a little squeak and jump back a foot. For a moment you wondered why, but you then realized that it looked like you were pointing a finger at her rather than the necklace. Even worse your finger hovered dangerously close to touching her, especially at her chest. You made several mental notes in your mind: no touching of any kind even accidentally and no pointing. This wasn’t going to be the end all be all list as you had a funny feeling that there would be many other personality quirks to this girl before you knew it. 

“Oh, sorry, you don’t like pointing, do you?”

She gave a little shake of her head, her pink cascading hair waving like a curtain. 

“I was actually pointing at your butterfly necklace. That’s what made me think that you liked them.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, “It’s just that I really don’t like people pointing at me, or surprises, or loud noises except from animals, or people touching me, or thunderstorms…”

By the time she was finished, your mental list seemed to triple. It became apparent that working with the animals was going to be easier that working with her and all her issues which seemed to stem from two things: fear and shyness. Your task at trying to connect with her just got more difficult, so you decide to shelve the project until later when you were more prepared to tackle trying to get through the seemingly impenetrable wall between you and Fluttershy.

“Well Fluttershy, you showed me a lot of your animals,” you said trying to change the conversation, “Is there something else you wish to show me?”

“Well, you saw all the animals” she said, “and the maintenance and feed buildings aren’t really interesting. Would you like to see the cottage?”

“Yes,” you said to her, “lead the way!”

You followed Fluttershy through a break in the trees, appearing in yet another, albeit smaller, clearing. There standing before you was a cottage that looked very similar to Fluttershy’s in the TV series. Everything from the charming design and the coloring to the myriad of bird feeders and houses outside on the trees mimicked the house the yellow Pegasus owned. 

“Your house is very nice, Fluttershy,” you said.

“Oh, well thank you,” she said as if surprised by your or even any compliment, “Actually I know I said I have a place for you to stay, but I don’t have a separate place for you to live in. You can live here, that is if you want to.” 

It felt a little awkward that instead of having your own place to stay you would be living with a person who you barely knew. But you really didn’t have any other choices.  It would be silly for you to find someplace in the city and have to drive to and from the sanctuary. You also didn’t really see anything while traveling where you could stay either. Most importantly you felt that despite her attempts avoid contact with others, Fluttershy actually needed a friend. To leave would most likely upset her, making it be like her fault. 

“I would love to stay in the cottage,” you said with a smile. 

“Oh good,” the girl said with a little smile as she opened the door to let you in. The interior was just like the exterior, very much like the scenes from My Little Pony with the addition of modern conveniences like a TV, microwave, and a computer. You were glad that things weren’t totally like where the yellow Pegasus lived as you didn’t want to feel that rustic. As you looked around the room suddenly a white rabbit bounded out from behind a couch next to the door and ran to Fluttershy. She picked the bunny up and began to pet it. 

“Oh, this is Angel,” she said to you, “Angel is actually my own pet. Say hello to our new houseguest Angel.” Upon seeing me the bunny suddenly started freaking out, hopping out of the girl’s arms and darting under the nearest piece of furniture. 
“Now Angel, that’s not how we introduce ourselves. I’m sorry; s=he acts like this all the time when someone new is here. He’ll get used to you hopefully. Anyway, let me give you a tour.”

Fluttershy shows you the cozy yet comfortable place. It was at least big enough for both of you to live in without bumping into each other.  When you went up to the second floor, you entered the first door you saw, hoping it was your room. Instead you found yourself in her room. It was a simple place with only a few pieces of furniture and a very little in the way of pictures or other things except for a few animal related items. Panicking that you just stepped into a very private place, you turned around to see Fluttershy standing there, her eyes wide as saucers. 

“Um…” she said struggling to talk, “That’s my room…”

“Sorry,” you said, “Er… guess I went into the wrong door. I’ll just close this and you can show me my actual room, ok?”
“Um… sure,” Fluttershy said as she pointed to the next door over, “I’ll let you alone to get used to your place and if you need help moving in, I can do that.” 

As Flutershy left you alone in your new home, you realized that this was going to be the start of a very interesting relationship. 

> First Day Jitters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

First Day Jitters

That night was fairly unremarkable as you had dinner with Fluttershy. She hardly spoke as the two of you ate your food and what you did ask her to try and carry on a conversation resulted in her giving short replies, ending and discussion before it started. It was bad enough that she was such a shy girl but what may have made things worse was that you were the first person to be living with her in what seemed like many years, maybe even forever. All she had to talk to were the animals, who of course couldn’t speak, and maybe a few people who visited the Everfree Animal Sanctuary. The entire idea of making friends with her was becoming increasingly more complex. 

The next morning you awoke and immediately proceeded towards the shower like you did as with every daily ritual that you did for as long as you could remember. As you approach the door and reach for the knob you suddenly see it turn. The door opens and you see Fluttershy standing there dressed in nothing but a yellow towel. When she saw you her eyes went as wide as a pony in the show. 

“Eep,” she gasped, almost dropping her towel before quickly grabbing hold of it.

“Oh… um… I’m sorry. I’ll just… um… yeah,” she squeaked before running from the bathroom to her bedroom, her wet hair, which even after a shower retained the same pink shade, trailing her. She then shut the door behind her, sealing her away like a caterpillar in a cocoon.  You stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend what happened. Here you went to go take a shower and you almost literally ran into a half-naked housemate. It was the first time you ever saw someone in that state of dress, or lack of dress. It was awkward but yet for some reason cool. Yet the part that made you feel cool added to your feelings of awkwardness. After all, you just met Fluttershy. She wasn’t even a friend, so there was no reason why you would think of her as anything else than an acquaintance, right? 

Your only saving grace was the fact that you were at least dressed. Yet that still didn’t help since the girl was so frightened about practically anything, especially social situations. This encounter, one that seemed at the end of a long line of awkward moments, would probably be the one that would shut down any chance that you had to get to know her more. 
After getting ready, you went down stairs to breakfast, surprised to see Fluttershy there and not curled up in a fetal position in her room as you imagined that she’d be. When the pink haired girl saw you she suddenly looked away as if looking at you brought up that memory of that moment. 

“I’m sorry about… you know,” you say to her, “I didn’t think that you were in there.”

You waited, hoping that Fluttershy would say something, anything in response.

“That’s ok,” she finally said softly as she turned to you without looking away, “I didn’t think you were there and then… you know what happened. It was an honest mistake.”

“I guess you’re not used to having someone living with you, right?”

“I never did,”Fluttershy shook her head sadly, “You’re the first to stay in my house,” It was like she wanted someone to stay with her but for some reason it never happened. 

“Well, didn’t you have any others to help you before me,” you asked. 

“Not really. I had volunteers but you’re the first to be an actual full time helper.” 

“Well, I’m happy to help,” you said to her as she gave a slight smile. 

After breakfast, the two of you set out into the animal sanctuary. The tasks that Fluttershy gave you were pretty basic, feed the animals and clean their pens. Cleaning was a thankless job, but you knew it came with the territory. Luckily you had Fluttershy to help. She would take out the animals and play with them while you mucked out their home. No matter what animal she was with, they appeared so calm around her, even the bear. 

Feeding, while seemingly easy, was actually more difficult than you imagined. It seemed each animal had its own diet and Fluttershy had a mental list of what all liked to eat. She rattled off the list like she had known it all her life making it sound like she was more of a chef preparing food for humans than animals. You felt like a fool as you constantly had to go to her as ask what the ducks or the woodchuck wanted. Yet she was very calm in helping you understand how things worked, especially since this was your first day.

You could tell that Fluttershy had a passion for animals in everything she did. Everything from the amazing to the mundane she did with a smile on her face. In her calm personality you felt calm and happy yourself just as the animals she handled felt. This kindness was something you wanted in a friend, and you hoped that in time you be one for her. For now you felt it best safe to talk about things she felt comfortable speaking about, namely animals. 

“So Fluttershy, when did you set up this Animal Sanctuary?”

“Oh that was a couple of years ago. My grandfather actually owned the cottage and he gave it to me. When I was little I used to come over to his house and we would watch the animals.”

“So that’s how you got interested in animals?”

“Not really. I always was interested in them. Even when I was little I liked meeting animals and I found they liked meeting me. I loved to go to zoos and parks and other places where there were animals so I could see them. But I guess it was when I was here and saw a deer with a broken leg that I found my talent for helping animals when I helped heal its leg. So that’s how I got interested in making an Animal Sanctuary.”

Her happy face changed to one that was more somber as she thought about something. 

“What’s wrong,” you asked her.

“It’s just that things haven’t quite gone the way I planned.”

“What did you plan this place to be?”

“Well I don’t know if you’d like to see it. You might laugh at me.”

“Fluttershy, why would I laugh at your dream?”

“Because others have before,” she said putting her head down. 

“Fluttershy, I really want to see your dream. And I promise that I won’t laugh when I see it. Can you trust me to share your plan?”

“Ok,” she said after giving it some thought, “but after lunch.” 

You look at your watch, surprised at the hour. Time does fly when you’re having fun or when you’re with a person as nice as Fluttershy is. 

“Ok then, after lunch,” you say as you follow her back to the cottage, eager to see her dream. 

> Her Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her Dream

You hurriedly ate lunch, wondering exactly what this dream was that Fluttershy had in mind. She appeared to be fairly happy in her situation taking care of animals. She was however very shy and easily frightened, just like her pony counterpart from My Little Pony. You still didn’t know if she was exactly happy with being that way, but that would be something you would ask for another time. Despite your rushing your lunch, Fluttershy seemed to take her time enjoying the meal. She didn’t talk to you much although you guessed that the fact that she was alone for a while was the cause. 

Finally with lunch over, she said, “Do you still want to hear about my dream?”

“Sure,” you say to her as you get up from the table, ready to go somewhere. 

“Oh you can stay here,” she says, “I’ll be right back.”

You hear her hurriedly making her way up the steps and then entering a room. You guessed she was entering her bedroom and looking for something. You understood now why she didn’t want you following her up there, not after when you accidentally went in there thinking it was your room and after the bathroom incident. It was going to take a while before she would trust you to go into such a private space. You heard the floorboards creaking and things being opened up before finally she returned down the steps carrying a worn looking journal. 

“This is a Dream Journal,” Fluttershy says sitting down, “I keep all the dreams I wanted in my life written down.”

“Neat,” you say as you reach out to read it, but Fluttershy suddenly holds it tight against her letting out a whimper of fear.

“Sorry,” you said retracting your hand, “I thought you wanted me to read it.”

“Oh I do,” she said with a lilt in her voice, “Just not the whole thing.”

With that she turned around and began to flip through the pages, stopping to check to make sure you were not seeing anything else. You wondered what was so secret that she didn’t want you to see it even though she wanted you to see at least part of what was contained within the journal. But then again she was a very shy girl normally, so it didn’t really come as a surprise. Finally she flipped to a certain page and turning back around lay the book down in front of you. Looking at the page you could see a design of what looked like the shape of a butterfly, oddly similar to the one she wore as a necklace and the one the Fluttershy had as a cutie mark from the show. Upon a closer look the “butterfly” was surrounded by a darkened area. It’s body looked like a road while the two wings were dotted by circles and rectangle buildings. 

“This looks like a map,” you said, “what is it?”

“It’s my dream,” Fluttershy said looking happily at it, “Actually it’s what I want the animal sanctuary to be. I want to make it a place where everyone can come and learn about animals. There would be information about them, a petting zoo, educational buildings, and oh, maybe even a café for guests to eat at!”

You could tell that this was a dream that was long imbedded in her mind. The more you heard about it, the more you also pictured it in your mind as a wonderful place where you could help animals as well as teach others about them. But in your revelry you almost didn’t notice the fact that Fluttershy’s happy demeanor changed to sadness. 

“What’s wrong,” you asked her.

“It’s just that I can’t do this dream,” she said, “I mean I want to do this, but I don’t even know where to start and I can’t do this on my own while taking care of the animals. Then there’s the money. I can barely take care of this place as it is much less improving it the way I wanted to. Sometime I wonder if I’ll ever make this dream a reality of if it’ll just stay here on this journal.”

With that you could see tears forming in the corners of her blue eyes. At that moment your heart melted at such a scene. You hated to see this wonderful girl who took you in not see her dream come true. 

“Have you tried speaking with others about getting money from them?”

“No,” she said in between sniffs, “I tried to, but I’m too shy. I usually end up making a fool of myself. Oh I wish that I could be more confident and not such a scarred girl!”

With that the floodgates opened and Fluttershy buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. You grab a box of tissues nearby and try to get her attention with it, but she was too sad to notice. You then held you breath as you tried something that you vowed not to do as you knew how she would react. It this case there was no choice to have her get your attention otherwise. You reached out and tapped her on her shoulder. She shuddered and looked up at you, not with the same frightened reaction as she did before. You could tell she was too sad to be afraid. 

“Fluttershy,” you said in the softest tone you could muster, “Please don’t cry. I want to help you. I want to help make your dream come true.”

“Y…you do,” she said as her tears stopped flowing, “Why? Why would you want to help me?”

“Because I like you,” you said before adding, “as a friend of course. You’re such a kind girl allowing me to work with you and live with you… I mean not with you but in the same house. I would hate to see you not see your dreams happen.”

“Oh thank you,” she said happily, “No one has ever helped me before, so it means so much.” 

“My pleasure,” you say happy that she was happy, “So you need money to get this project going, but you also want to overcome your shyness so you can talk to others, right?”

“Uh huh,” she said. 

“Well, I think I can help you with both, if you’re willing to work with me.”

“Oh, ok,” she said. 

“Then it’s settled. After we finish outside your lessons start.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said as the two of you walked outside. You committed yourself to helping her, yet although you didn’t want to admit it you had no idea where to start helping her to build her dream or how to help fix her shyness! Hopefully you’d come up with an idea as you helped her with the animals. 

“So that journal has other dreams of yours, right?” 

“Uh huh,” she said looking at you wondering what you were getting at.

“So besides helping you improve the animal sanctuary and helping you with your shyness, are there any other dreams that I can help you make come true?”

“No,” she said suddenly, taking you off guard as you could her face red with embarrassment, “I mean, not at this time.” 

“Alright then,” you said with a shrug as you followed her towards the waiting animals, wonder what other dreams this girl had in her journal. 

> Why So Shy?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why so Shy?

You spent the majority of the afternoon helping feeding, cleaning, and caring for animals. The afternoon went by quickly working with Fluttershy. It seems that her kind calm demeanor rubbed off on you making you feel like you could work at the Everfree Animal Sanctuary as long as she was by your side. As you spent the afternoon, you could help but see the odd resemblances between her and Fluttershy from the show. She certainly was just as she as the yellow Pegasus, especially how she was in season 1. She also has the soft voice an exact match. There were times when she was speaking and you closed your eyes realizing how exactly her voice sounded the same. Her hair was the same shade of pink as Fluttershy’s mane and surprisingly the exact same styling. Her eyes were also that bright blue shade, just not as big of course. Fluttershy even dressed in something yellow each day, typically a shirt. The fact that she was so shy and yet dressed in such bright cheery colors with pink hair made you believe that she didn’t want to actually be shy. 

You knew of course that as much as she was like the Pegasus from the show Fluttershy had her human side that you were equally drawn to. The way she looked was cute, like the girl next door. Although you didn’t want to admit it she was actually an attractive girl. The parts of her that were like Fluttershy only accentuated her, raising the level of cuteness to an uncanny level. You didn’t want to see her as attractive not because you thought it was a lie, but because you didn’t want Fluttershy to be upset. You already knew how she felt when she left the bathroom wearing only a towel. Plus she was just a friend and nothing more… right? 

“It looks like we’re done,” Fluttershy said. 

You looked at your watch realizing that it was three o’clock.

“Wow that was quick. Guess we’re finished early.”

“Yes thanks to you. When I used to do this alone I usually had to work long into the evening. Sometimes I even had to work at night helping these animals. Guess I bit off more than I could chew.” 

“So how was I,” you asked her. Fluttershy immediately gave you a strange look on her face. You then realized that what you said may not have been the best choice of words.

“Oh, sorry. I was asking how I was doing for my first day.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said as her tensed body relaxed, “you were fine for your first time I guess.”

Immediately she put her hands on her mouth, realizing that what she said also sounded awkward. 

“Oh sorry… I didn’t mean that … you know… I meant that you did great working here that is if that’s ok with you?”

You started laughing at her comment and how you both seemed to say the wrong things to each other. Instead of joining in the laughter though you noticed Fluttershy starting to tear up.

“Fluttershy, what’s wrong?”

“You’re not laughing at me, aren't you,” she said between sobs.

“No, of course not,” you said, “I was laughing at what we both said.”

“Oh… ok,” Fluttershy said as she dried her eyes with the sleeve of her yellow shirt. You realized now that there was something about her being made fun of that brought up a bad memory. Secretly you wondered if that was related to her shyness. 

“Look Fluttershy, you’re a great person to be around, and I want to be your friend, but only if you’re ok with it.”

“R…really,” she said as if surprised, “You want to be my friend?”

“Of course I do. So do you want me to be your friend?”

“Oh yes,” she said brightening up, “I would really like to have a friend.”

“Then as friends we need to trust each other, ok? That means no asking me if things are ok unless they’re really important and trusting me that the last thing I would do is laugh at you, ok?”

“Ok,” she said in a whisper. 

“Really I want you to feel comfortable around me as I am comfortable around you. I mean we’re living in the same house so we need to get along with each other.” 

“Ok,” she said as the two of you went back to the house, “So you said something about helping me with my shyness?”
“Yes, but first I have a question for you, and if you don’t want to answer it that’s fine.”

“Oh, ok.”

“Why are you so shy around people? Why do you look like someone is going to yell at you?”

Fluttershy paused as if she was debating whether she wanted to tell you something really secret. 

“Because they did yell at me,” she said with a sad sigh. 

“Who did,” you asked.

“I guess you can say that I was shy all my life. It didn’t help that I lived in a place where there weren’t any others my age to play with. When I went to school I thought that everyone would be nice and I would be friends with everyone. I was wrong. Some of the kids started picking on me, calling me such awful things like Stupid Shy and Always Cry. They made fun of me liking animals and my pink hair and everything about me. And it wasn’t just random times.it was every single day.”

You could see that tears were starting to form again in those pretty blue eyes as the painful memories came flooding back.

“Fluttershy, do you want to stop?”

“No,” she said, “You need to hear this. The bullying went on from the third grade until the seventh. It wasn’t just a few classmates though. Sometimes the entire grade would tease me. I used to fake sickness so I didn’t have to go to school or hide out in the bathroom and cry. Sometime I wished I didn’t have to go back to school.”

“What about your parents or teachers?”

“They tried to help comfort me but they didn’t understand what life was like then. The kids were just, horrible!” 

“But things got better right?”

“Oh sure the kids stopped making fun of me, but I couldn’t stop thinking of them. Even now years later I still hear them telling me that I’ll just be a scared girl and that I should just go die somewhere. And…. Ohhh!”

Finally the emotions were too much as Fluttershy broke down into uncontrollable crying. Part of you just wanted to take her and hold her, but you didn’t know how she would react. 

“Fluttershy,” you said softly, “It’s ok. I know exactly how you feel.”

“Y…you do,” she said looking up at you.

“Yes, I was teased like that in school too for being shy as well. It took me a while for me to ever talk to others much less make friends. But Fluttershy you can’t let the past haunt you like this. I know that I’m asking a lot, but in order for you to be more confident, you have to forget what they said in school.”

“You’re right,” Fluttershy said, “I’m not some little girl in school anymore. I deserve to be happy. But it’s just it’s hard to forget.” 

“Well, I can’t help you forget what happened, but I can help you to be more confident.  But can you promise me to not dwell on the past like that?”

“I’ll try,” Fluttershy said. 

“Well, you are off to a good start getting to talk to others.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because you’re so kind to others. That’s a great thing to have! Plus you already made one friend with me.”

“Thanks,” Fluttershy said, “So that was all you wanted to do with helping my confidence today?”

“Not yet,” you say, “there’s one more thing. It’s a trust exercise.”

“Oh, ok.”

“I want you to put your hand on the table palm up ok?”

“Ok,” Fluttershy said nervously as she did as you requested. 

“Now, I’m going to touch your hand, but try tot to pull away or get scared.”

You slowly brought your hand out seeing how Fluttershy reacted. She appeared nervous as you brought it closer to her open hand but to her credit she tried to stay still. You then tapped the palm of her hand with your finger to which she flinched slightly but kept her hand out. Satisfied so far you took your fingers and laced it in with hers before bringing it up from the table. Fluttershy didn’t pull away as she did this and for the first time seemed very calm. 

“Well, did I do ok,” she said. 

“You did great,” you said, “See, we’re holding hands and you aren’t scared. That’s a great thing.” 

You are about to separate from her when you feel her holding you tight. You look at her, wondering why she didn’t want to let go. 

“Sorry,” she said, “It’s just I haven’t held someone’s hand in a while like this. Can I just hold on for a while longer?”

“Sure,” you said with a smile as in your heart you wanted her to hold on a little longer too. 

> Confidence Camp
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Confidence Camp

The next day you awoke, ready to take on the challenge of helping Fluttershy gain her confidence. You certainly didn’t want to change her entirely, just so she could speak to others more easily. She seemed willing to let go of her past and to allow you to help her. You just hoped that what you were going to try wouldn’t backfire, making her more frightened or shy than she was now. 

The morning went by without incident. There was no awkward meeting outside the bathroom, something that you still felt embarrassed about and yet somehow made you feel happy as well which only added to the embarrassment. After all you didn’t see her as someone you could be attracted to, right? At breakfast you saw a change in the pink haired girl sitting across from you. She seemed to light up when you were in the same room smiling her cute smile while she ate. You guessed that her change in personality was due to her finally being able to open up to someone without them laughing at her or ignoring her. It was like a weight had been lifted off the girl’s shoulders and if she had wings like her yellow Pegasus counterpart you’d swear she’d be flying around the room now! Although you didn’t want to boast about it, being a friend to her was probably another reason for her happiness. You found that when she was happy so were you. 

The morning was fairly routine as you helped with the animals. As you did, you imagined the Everfree Animal Sanctuary not as it was but how Fluttershy envisioned it to be. The girl had such high hopes for the place and you hoped that you could help her achieve it somehow. In your mind Fluttershy was in her moment of happiness helping out animals and having a better place to care for them and teach others would only multiply her happiness. The more you thought about the more you realized how much you cared for Fluttershy’s wellbeing, especially her happiness, a strange fact considering that you only just met her a few days ago. 

Lunchtime rolled around even quicker than the day before, a fact that you could only attribute to having fun. Aside from feeding the animals again in the afternoon, the rest of the day was free for you to help Fluttershy overcome her shyness. She seemed eager still to do so, maybe even looking a little nervous to you as she ate her lunch as she prepared for the inevitably of your helping her and the unknown of what was to take place. 

“So, Fluttershy, are you ready?”

“I think so,” she said, “I am kind of nervous though.”

“Why are you nervous,” you ask.

“What if I fail this? What if I don’t get better at being more confident?” 

“Ah don’t worry. This isn’t going to be like a test, so you can’t fail anything. This is just to help you with overcoming your shyness so that you can help raise funds for thee animal sanctuary. I promise that no matter what I’m not going to get upset with you, ok?”

“Ok,” she said, “So when do we start?”

“Right now,” you said with a smile, “Now for starters, I want you to introduce yourself just as you would to someone you never met before.“

“Ok,” she said pausing for a few seconds to gather her thoughts as you waited patiently, “Um… hello. My name is Fluttershy. I like animals, the colors pink and yellow, and the outdoors. So… um… hope to meet you again. That is… if you want to.”

“Ok,” you said after listening to her introduction, “You seem to have some things down, but you kind of just explained what you like rather than who you are.” 

“Sorry,” Fluttershy said. 

“No, you shouldn’t be sorry,” you said which made Fluttershy squeak with surprise. 

“I… I’m not sorry?”

“No… well what I mean is that even if you are sorry, you don’t have to apologize for every little thing. Like what would you do if I accidentally bumped into you?”

“I’d say sorry?”

“See, but you don’t have to. I know you’re trying to be kind and all, but you don’t have to go through life like it’s your entire fault.”

“But, what if someone gets mad at me,” Fluttershy said looking down at the table.

“Trust me they won’t. I mean how can someone get mad at you and stay that way? And if they get mad, well they’re probably a person you don’t want to meet. So don’t apologize for everything. Just the stuff that’s major like if you broke something or hurt someone.”

“Oh, but I would never do that,” Fluttershy said looking surprised that you would even think of her doing those things. You were surprised that there was a girl so innocent that she wouldn’t even see accidents occurring. 

“It was just an example,” you said with a shrug, “Anyway, how about you describe yourself to me.”

“Well, I’m 5’6” and weigh 125 pounds. I’m White with pink hair and blue eyes. I don’t have any piercings, and I also don’t have any tattoos. Well except for one...”

“Wait,” you interjected, “you have a tattoo?”

“Um… yes actually,” she said as she started to look a little nervous. 

“What is it?”

“It a butterfly, but I can’t show it to you. It’s somewhere… private.”

With that Fluttershy nervously shifted in her seat hoping that you didn’t ask about it again. For a moment your eyes wandered her form, wondering where this tattoo was. You knew what it meant by private with others, but for Fluttershy you didn’t know if it meant somewhere else. 

“Um… what are you doing,” she asked. 

“Doing what,” you said oblivious to the fact you were still looking at her body like a person looks at a piece of art. 

“You’re … staring at me. Is it something I said?”

“Oh,” you said as you started to get embarrassed, “I’m not staring at you… er… I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be stared at…” 

Seeing how she looked at you like you lost your mind, you tried to redirect the conversation, “Anyway, you told me about yourself with how you look, but people can already see that… er…. except for the tattoo. What people want to know about you is your personality. So let’s simplify this: what words would you use to describe your personality? Don’t say shy though, as we’re trying to remove that from who you are.”

“Well… I’m kind … and I guess fairly smart… and I’m really friendly to others.”

“Yes, good,” you said with a smile, “Keep going.”

“Oh and I don’t like to judge others and I don’t really hate anyone, just really, really, dislike. And is someone is willing to take me as I am than I will really like that!”

You could see Fluttershy’s demeanor change dramatically when she finished. She seemed to stand a little taller, proud for who she was. Her face didn’t look fearful but confident, something you didn’t see until now. 

“So… did I do a good job,” she asked

“You did a great job Fluttershy! That’s exactly what people want to know about you. So if you ever have someone bad say anything about you or if you feel sad, remember those things that you like about yourself.” 

“So are we doing anything else today with helping my confidence?”

“Well I think we have time for one more thing,” you said, “follow me.”

With that you left the cottage with Fluttershy walking besides you as you were about to try something you learned from My Little Pony that you hoped would help your friend. 

> Cheer and Confessions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheering and Confessions

You and Fluttershy walked outside the cottage and stopped. You could tell that she was both nervous and excited about what was to happen next. The good thing was she trusted you and that she knew that you wouldn’t do anything to harm or upset her. 

“So what are we doing,” she asked looking around. 

“You are going to cheer for me,” you said with a smile. 

“Cheer?”

“Yeah, you know, like at sports events?”

“I’ve never been to sporting events before. They sound too loud and crowded. “

“Ok then, well, let me give you the basic elements of a good cheer. It’s lots of control, screaming and hollering and most importantly passion. Now, what have we learned?”

“Loss of control.”

“Yes.”

“Screaming and hollering.”

“And most importantly?”

“Passion.”

“So now that you hear the elements of a good cheer, let’s hear one!”

Fluttershy cleared her throat and then said, “Yay” in a volume that was the same as how she normally talked. 

“You’re going to cheer like that,” you said with a chuckle, “Come on, louder.”

“Yay,” she said again in the same tone.

“Louder,” you said raising your voice a little.

“Yay.”

“Louder,” you said in an almost near shout to illustrate how to cheer.

Fluttershy breathed in loudly as if she was about to issue a loud cheer.

“Yaaaayyy,” she said still in the same tone.

You shook your head, admitting defeat.

“Oh was that too loud,” she asked. 

“No,” you said, “You kind of had the same voice when you cheered as when you spoke normally.”

“Oh dear, guess I’m not that good at cheering,” she said sadly. 

“It’ll come sometime,” you said as her frown became a smile. She then suddenly began to chuckle a little. Her laughter was so sweet that you couldn’t help but chuckle yourself.

“What’s so funny,” you asked her between laughs.

“This cheer thing, it reminds me of something I watched.”

“Really? What?”

She then looked around as if someone was watching her before saying, “Can you keep a secret?”

“Sure Fluttershy!”

“Do you know what My Little Pony is?”

“Yes,” you said with a smile.

“Well, I watch it. Actually I’m kind of a big fan of it. You don’t think I’m strange right?”

“Of course not,” you said, “In fact I’ll let you in on a little secret since you told me yours. I like My Little Pony as well.”
“Really,” she said as her eyes lit up. 

“Yeah. So if you’re strange watching the show, then so am I.”

“Oh this is great that I know someone who loves the show! Oh, who’s your favorite pony?”

“Mine’s Fluttershy.”

“Really,” she said as her eyes went as wide as the ponies in the show, “Mine too!” 

“I kind of figured that you’d like her.”

“Oh, why’s that?”

“Well, you kind of are like Fluttershy. I mean you’re not a pony, but the fact that you like the color yellow and your pink hair and the fact you’re…”

“Shy,” she interrupted, “and that I like animals? Yeah, I guess I see the resemblance. Actually I liked all those things even before watching the show, so maybe it’s a coincidence.”

“Yeah, interesting coincidence,” you said not letting out the fact that you saw the uncanny resemblance between her and the yellow Pegasus from the start. To you it wasn’t coincidence. It was as if it was the same Fluttershy just in two worlds. Both had similar appearances and acted the same yet were slightly different. Separate but the same.

“Well, I can’t think of a better pony to be like,” she said with a smile, “Oh if you’re done for today I want to show you something.” 

“Sure,” you said as you followed her back into the house. 

“Alright, just wait in the living room and I’ll be right back!”

You then heard her walking up the steps and into her bedroom again. To your delight you heard a little giggle of delight above you. You were happy that both of you shared another common thread and it was yet another thing that was no longer a secret. It was like with every new revelation the bond between you was becoming stronger. Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard Fluttershy coming down the steps holding a big plush of Fluttershy! It was one you saw from a department store and was really cute. 

“This is my favorite,” she said snuggling the plush cutely, “I always have this in bed with me.” 

“Yeah, it must be nice having me in bed with you,” you said before suddenly clamming up, realizing what you said. 

“W…what did you say,” she said staring at you.

“I say that it must be nice having it in bed with you,” you said hoping that she didn’t freak out. 

“Oh, ok. For a moment I though you said… never mind. Anyway, let’s have dinner.”

You sighed as you were happy that Fluttershy bought the lie. As she made dinner, you wondered what was wrong with you, why you felt so strange around her and why you were blurting out such strange stuff. You only knew her for a few days and while she was pretty and smart and kind she was just a friend. Yet it sounded for some reason that you were seeing her as more than just a good friend. Were you really falling in love with her? To you it felt like you were doing something so wrong, loving a girl like this, although you didn’t know why. You wondered if she was like you, if she loved you but was afraid to ask. You decided to let the matter drop and hopefully with the next day you could have a clearer mind with the situation. 
The rest of the night you spent talking with Fluttershy about My Little pony. It was as if she had everything bottled up inside her with her love of the show and now with you confessing to her your mutual interest that she was free to let out her passion. Both of you talked about your favorite episodes, fan art you liked, fan fiction you read, and even your desire to one day go to a convention. It was like the two of you knew each other for years rather than days. As you watched her smile and laugh you knew that you didn’t want to change this moment for anything. The biggest surprise came when she started signing “What is This Place with So Many Wonders,” Fluttershy’s signature song from the show. As she sang just like the pony from the show you were lost with your own joy. 

That night as you slept in pure bliss with Fluttershy’s song stuck in your mind, you dreamt of her joyfully dancing amidst a field of wildflowers singing that song to you. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day, and you hoped that the next days would be like this. 

> The Field Trip
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Field Trip

Upon meeting Fluttershy the next day for breakfast, you could see that there was a change in her emotions towards you. She seemed to instantly perk up upon seeing you sitting there and now she appeared free to talk to you where before where it felt like you had to force a reply out of her. You guessed that it was the fact that she felt comfortable around you now, especially after hearing that you like Fluttershy from the show. Then again, you felt comfortable around her as well, but the jury was still out if you loved her. Love never seemed to be in the cards for you, and now that you were good friends with her there was a fear that your attempts to love her would end in failure, maybe even a lost friendship. You guessed it was that you thought something was bound to go wrong since everything seemed to be going so right. 

You dwelt on this as you helped Fluttershy with the morning chores, watching the time just fly by. Her conversations with you, and admittedly her body which you now felt was no longer just cute but attractive, help put aside any thoughts about whether you wanted to love her like that. For now you were content, even though part of you wanted more. You wished that you could look into her mind and tell what she was thinking about, especially you. 

After lunch you were about to tell Fluttershy about another test you had in mind to help with her confidence when suddenly you heard something rumbling down the road, something big coming closer to the animal sanctuary. 

“Um… Fluttershy? Are we expecting company?”

Fluttershy looked up from taking care of a group of ducks at you for a moment, wondering what you meant. Then her ears perked up and her eyes went wide when she too heard the rumbling sound. 

“Oh no, what day is it?”

“It’s Wednesday, the fifteenth. Why?”

“It’s them,” she said nervously.

“Who’s them?”

“It’s the local school. The one teacher, Miss Cheerilee, likes to take her students on a field trip here to learn about the animals.”

“That sounds really nice of her, but you seem scared. Do you not like kids?”

“Oh I love kids,” Fluttershy said, “It’s just there are three of them in her class that call themselves the Crusaders or something like that. They’re a group of three girls who are trying to find their talents but they get into so much trouble. Oh they get me so upset I want to kick something!”

She then went over to a nearby trash barrel and kicked it as hard as she could but the can only wobbled and then stayed up.

“Feeling better,” you asked.

“No. I just get so nervous around them and they don’t take me seriously.”

“Well then it’s time that they do,” you said, “This will be your next mission should you choose to accept it. You and I are going to greet the kids, including the Crudsaders, and we’re going to have a wonderful time.”

“We are?”

“Sure we are! Don’t worry; you’ll have me by your side in case things get rough.”

“Ok then,” Fluttershy said confidently as you stood and watched a small yellow bus park. The doors opened up and a lady dressed in a raspberry colored dress appeared. 

“Alright class. I want you to form a single file line by the bus,” she said as about twenty or so kids filed out. It was the last three that really got your attention. One had red pigtails with a big pink bow and was dressed in a yellow shirt and blue jean overalls. The second in line was a girl in a white dress with purple and pink curls. The third, a tomboyish girl with short pink hair and sporting an orange shirt and jean shorts came thundering out of the buss on a scooter, almost knocking down several of her classmates in the process. Clearly these three were the spitting image of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, just as girls rather than ponies. 

“Scootaloo, what did I tell you about using that scooter on the bus,” Cheerilee said looking back at the girl who begrudgingly folded up her ride and tucked it away in her backpack, “Hello Fluttershy.”

“Oh, hello Miss Cheerilee. How are you?”

“I’m fine. Oh and I see you have a friend here. I’m Cheerilee from the local school. And you are?”

You gave her your name to which she smiled.

“Pleasure to meet you,” she said before turning around to the class, “Now class today we are going to learn about the animal kingdom by observing them here. Now I want you all to follow me and Fluttershy as she shows her animals to you and not go off on your own or in the pens. Are we clear?”

“Miss Cheerilee,” Sweetie Belle said raising her hand.

“Yes Sweetie Belle,” the teacher said. 

“I have a question. Actually, it’s for Fluttershy.”

“Oh well I’d be happy to answer your question,” Fluttershy said.

“Is that guy standing next to you your boyfriend?”

“W..what did you say,” Fluttershy said suddenly turned beet red at the question and you watched as she began to retreat into her shy state as the three girls looked for an answer.

“What Sweetie Belle mean are you in love with him,” Scootaloo asked, "Sweetie Belle's sister Rarity has a boyfriend and she always looks at him the way you look at this guy."

“Oh… well he’s a boy and a friend and…” Fluttershy’s comments said as they dropped off into a whimper.

“What Fluttershy means is that we work together with helping the animals,” you said hoping that satisfied the girls.

“I think we are done with any more personal questions now,” Cheerilee said before giving her class the dreaded “Teacher Look,” especially directed at the Crusaders who stood like angels at the remark. That look the woman gave sent a chill up your spine as you remember teachers from school that were kind but could be really mean if you ever crossed them.  You then turned to Fluttershy who was looking like she didn’t know how to start. “Just show them around like you did with me the first day we met,” you whispered to her. 

She gave a subtle nod to you and clearing her throat spoke to the class, “Thank you Miss Cheerilee. Welcome to the Everfree Animal Sanctuary! I am Fluttershy, the owner and caretaker of this place, and I’m really happy to show you my animals. So let’s start by visiting the rabbits over here.”

“Yay! Crusader Animal Handlers,” the three girls squealed as they followed their classmates.

As you and her lead the group of kids, Fluttershy looks over to you and whispers,” How did I do?”

“You did great,” you said, “Now just show them every animal here and you’ll be good to go.”

You and Fluttershy showed the group the rabbits and even allowed the class to pet one. The Crusaders were acting fairly well except for Sweetie Belle asking about a phrase she heard once.

“Fluttershy, what does it mean when someone says that things ‘multiply like rabbits’?” 

Immediately Fluttershy stood shocked at the girl’s question. Of course you knew what it meant and Fluttershy did as well, but how was she going to explain it to the girl dressed in white? Before your friend could though, Apple Bloom spoke.
“Ah know what that means bein on a farm with mah sister an’ brother. You see when tow rabbits love each other they…”
“Let’s discuss that later you two,” Cheerilee said stopping the question before it could materialize. The Crusaders simply shrugged as you and Fluttershy took them to the next group of animals. You could see Apple Bloom whispering something in Sweetie Belle’s ear and the girl’s face turning into one of shock. 

“Eew! Really? That’s what it means?”

The next pen held several chickens which the class helped feed. Most were having a good time with it, except Scootaloo who seemed aloof about interacting with those animals. 

“Hey Scootaloo,” apple Bloom said, “Why aren’t you feeding the chickens? After all your hair makes you look like one!” 
With that the class broke out into laughter as Scootaloo shot her friend a look. 

“For the last time, I’m not a chicken!”

“Of course you are,” Apple Bloom said, “That’s how Ah call my chickens all the time at the farm. Scootaloo! 
Scoot..Scootaloo!” 

“Guys stop fighting,” Sweetie Belle said trying to prevent an all-out war between the three. 

You continued the tour with showing many different animals. Some of them the kids saw while others were more unique like the peacock pair which the group loved but brought out a few snickers out in the class with the bird’s name. Fluttershy seemed to be in her element answering questions as best as she could and explaining everything she knew about the animals she helped. You just stood by and assisted, letting her run her show. 

Finally the group ended their tour, yet for some reason you felt something was wrong. The class seemed smaller, like a few students were missing. You then realized that it was the Crusaders who disappeared. 

“Where are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo,” you asked to which you Fluttershy and Cheerilee started looking around for them. 

“I’ll stay with the kids,” Cheerilee said, “See if you can find them you two.”

You and Fluttershy ran around the area looking for the three when you heard laughter nearby. Following the sounds you saw as the girls were trying to ride the llama that Fluttershy owned. Sweetie Belle and Scootallo were trying to help get Apple Bloom onto the beast, with much difficulty. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Sure it is,” Apple Bloom said as she tried to climb onto the llama, “Maybe our talent is in riding llamas.”

“I still don’t know why you had to be first,” Scootaloo said with a grunt as she tried pushing up her friend. 

“Because Ah’m the oldest,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, and the heaviest,” Scootaloo said with a laugh. 

The llama simply walked away from the three as the trio of girls suddenly tumbled into the mud. 

“Alright you three,” Fluttershy said, “Time to get back to the bus.”

With their egos bruised and their clothes a muddy mess, they returned to the rest of the class. Miss Cheerilee merely shook her head at the sight of the three as the rest of the class laughed. 

“Alright class, let’s get back on the bus,” Cheerilee said as she watched the group climb on, “I hope that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle weren’t too much of a trouble. They can be quite a handful.”

“Oh it was fine,” Fluttershy said, “They just wanted to get close to an animal that’s all.” 

Cheerilee then turned to you and whispered to you, “I know I shouldn’t be one to pry into a person’s life but whether you’re a friend or a boyfriend to Fluttershy you are doing something right. I’ve never seen her happy before like this and she lights up like a candle when you’re around. I don’t think I need to say anymore as you probably seen it too. Just give her a chance and who knows? She might make your life special.”

With a smile Cheerilee got back on the bus and the vehicle pulled away leaving just the two of you again. 

“We did it,” Fluttershy said in a semi surprised way. 

“Yeah, we did. You did great working with those kids.”

“Really?”
“Yeah Fluttershy. You were a natural!”

“Thanks for helping me,” she said, “You’re a really good friend.”

“Anytime,” you replied as the two of you returned to helping the animals. You felt a little upset at the fact that Fluttershy called you friend, but you wondered if that was what she really thought or if there was something more to your relationship. 

> Secret Conversation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Secret Conversation

That evening after the field trip you could see that Fluttershy was pleased with the way she handled herself with the Field Trip especially with the three Crusaders. You were happy as well that she was able to overcome her shyness and be able to speak to a large crowd of people. Yet after the kids left you noticed that she was more quiet than normal. It was as if something was on her mind, making her tune out everything else around her, including you. You hoped that she wasn’t upset at you for something, even you had no idea what that something would be. To you the day went great with very few regrets. Well, there was regret about one thing in your mind. You regretted that Fluttershy said that you were her friend. For all you knew it could have been simply a slip of a word from the girl. Yet it also could have been the truth that the pink haired girl thought of you as just a friend and nothing more. 

There was part of you that wanted to just ask Fluttershy what she thought of you. You knew thought that it was a dangerous question to ask as she could confirm being just friends or worse that she could get upset and that would spell the end of everything that you had with her. You decided to play things out and wait for the right time, something you hoped would be sooner rather than later. Still the fact that Fluttershy now was quiet troubled you.  At dinner her quiet sense seemed to continue. Even more so you noticed that she seemed to be staring at her plate of food rather than anything else, playing with the food rather than eating it much. Finally you gathered the courage and spoke.

“Fluttershy, are you ok?”

“Oh,” she said suddenly looking up at you dropping her fork on the plate, “Sorry guess you surprised me. Um… what was it that you asked me?”

“I was just checking to see if you were ok.”

“Oh yes, I’m fine. Why?”

“You seem distant tonight and quiet, like you have something on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Fluttershy said suddenly causing you to jump, “Sorry, I mean no thank you. It’s kind of personal.”

“Is it something I’ve done?”

“Yes, I mean no. I mean you didn’t do anything wrong. In fact I can’t thank you enough for helping me be more confident for believing in me.”

“You’re welcome, and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Thanks,” Fluttershy said with a smile as she continued to eat. The rest of the night she seemed to talk to you more than before. You guessed that you asking her if she was ok brightened her up more enough for her to talk to you. Yet the pink haired girl still seemed deep in thought, and for some reason by the way she spoke to you at the dinner table she had you on her mind. If it wasn’t something bad then you wondered what it could be. You two were close but it was times like these that you felt miles apart still. 

She then went up to get ready for bed, leaving you on your own for a moment. You kicked yourself for not telling her the truth about what you were feeling. Although before you were unsure, you knew for certain that you were in love with the shy girl. You guessed that you had doubts as you’ve never had a love like this before. It was foreign, like trying anything new for the first time. Now you knew the truth inside you that you had been given a gift meeting a girl like her. It was more than the fact that you had a home and a job and more than her uncanny resemblance to the yellow Pegasus pony. It was the fact that she cared about you as much as you did for her, taking you into her home and her life without regrets. Somehow you knew you had to pay her back and not just by helping her get her confidence. Maybe you could tie your gratitude in with how you felt. 

As tiredness settled into your mind, you went upstairs. Passing by Fluttershy’s door which was slightly ajar, you could hear her talking. At first it was like she was on the phone calling someone, but then you began to think that maybe she wasn’t talking to anyone except herself. At first you felt ashamed listening into her conversation, but you wanted to know what she was thinking even though you were scared to ask her. Leaning your head to the door, you listened as she spoke.

“What am I doing,” you heard her say, “Why am I thinking of him like that? I barely know him. But… he is a really nice guy and he likes ponies and animals, and he’s kind of cute. Oh, what’s wrong with me? My body and mind gets all crazy when I’m near him. Is this really happening? Am I… in love with him? I wonder if her loves me. How can I tell him especially after saying that I was his friend? Oh why did I even say that when I like him more than a friend, when I’m in love?”

Suddenly the door squeaked as you put too much pressure on it, causing you to back you and Fluttershy to stop talking. You heard her get up off her bed and walk to the door as you tried to walk away, yet she opened the door too quickly. 

“Oh are you ok,” Fluttershy said standing there dressed in her yellow pajamas, “I heard my door move.”

“Oh I was going to say goodnight to you,” you said trying to cover up what you were doing.”

“You weren’t listening to me talk, were you,” she said her face starting to turn red with embarrassment. 

“No, of course not.”

“Oh, well thank you for wishing me good night. So um… goodnight to you,” she said closing the door again. 

You stood there looking at the door in front of you, thinking about how there was a door between you and her in terms of your relationships with each other. Somehow one of you would have to open the door and confess what you felt. Yet you were happy that you now knew that Fluttershy did love you as much as you loved her. As you slept that night you dreamt of the two having a romantic candle light dinner, the two of you just staring lovingly in each other’s eyes no words said but then again no words needed as you knew there was love there between you two. As the dream faded away, your mind began to plan something dangerous and daring, and hopefully worth it the next day. Tomorrow would be the day that you would state how she felt about her. 


> The Test of Trust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Test of Trust 

You awoke the next day with a plan in your mind. Actually it was a series of various plans that you intended to use not only to help Fluttershy more with building her confidence but also for you to finally show how much you love her. It would be daring and was very easy to go haywire, but you felt the need to do this for you, Fluttershy, and your relationship. It would have to be subtle, perhaps a random question or a certain act to gauge her response. Anything too overt would driver her away fast and anything too subtle would not get your point across. It was a balancing act throughout this day that you faced and hopefully the result would benefit both you and her. 

At breakfast Fluttershy seemed to be her usual cheery self around you. You guessed that the depressed state she was in yesterday had gone away with a good night’s sleep. This cheery feeling continued as the two of you worked with the animals. Luckily for you, both of you seemed to get your chores done early, leaving the rest of the day open. You hoped that there wouldn’t be any interruptions like the day before as you wanted this to be your time with her. 

“So, what are we going to do today,” Fluttershy asked washing the dishes from lunch while you helped dry. 

“Well, actually I have two things planned,” you said with a smile.

“Two,” Fluttershy said excited and a little nervous, “What are they?”

“Well, both are going to hopefully help you with your confidence and maybe even help to get to know each other better. The first is going to be a test of trust which I’ll explain when we’re done here.”

“And the second,” Fluttershy asked.

“That’s going to be a surprise.”

“I don’t really like surprises,” Fluttershy said looking a little unsure.

“Trust me, you’ll like it.”

“Oh ok then,” Fluttershy said as she finished the last few dishes. Thankfully she didn’t seem too upset with your plan so far and hopefully that would stay that way when you revealed the second part of your plan. For now you decided to concentrate on the first part to make her more comfortable. 

“Ok,” Fluttershy said, “I’m ready. What do you want me to do?”

“Well first let’s go outside,” you said to which the two of you left the cottage, “Now as I said that this is going to be a test of trust, specifically between you and I. I’m going to walk you around the animal sanctuary, but you’re going to be blindfolded.”

“Blindfolded,” Fluttershy said with a surprise, “Oh no, I don’t think I can do that. What if I fall or get lost?”

“Fluttershy,” you said grabbing onto her arms as she started to hyperventilate, “Calm down. Yes, you’re not going to see but I’ll be right by you guiding the way. Do you trust me and yourself that you’ll be able to do this?”

Fluttershy slowly relaxed as she heard your words. For a moment she thought about what you were proposing as you worried that the entire plans for the day would be over before it began. 

“Ok,” she said, “I’ll do it.”

“Great. Now I’m going to slip the blindfold on. Let me know if it’s too tight or you can still see anything.”

You slipped behind her and gently placed the blindfold over her eyes, feeling a little bad that you were covering up one of the things you liked about her. You then tied the cloth into a knot and walked in front of her.

“Can you see anything,” you asked her.

“No,” Fluttershy said looking around.

“Ok now I’m going to take hold of your hand now,” you said as you reached out and took hold, joining you with her, “Now I want you to start walking forward.” 

Fluttershy slowly starts walking forward along the short trail between the cottage and the animal sanctuary. You are just about to make it when Fluttershy suddenly steps on your foot, causing you to shout.

“What,” Fluttershy said looking around, “What is it?”

“You kind of stepped on my foot,” you said sheepishly.

“Oh I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said. 

“That’s alright,” you replied as you took her hand again, “Let’s keep going.”

You walked with Fluttershy through the animal sanctuary directing her which way to go with words like, “turn left,” “turn right,” or “go straight.” One time you had to yell “stop” as she was almost about to walk into the pig pen! You even threw in a few extra things like having her walk around a trash barrel, over a rock, and even across a small stream. You noticed though that the more she walked with you, the more confident and comfortable she felt; although you wondered if it was being with you that was making her feel that way. Finally the two of you approached the last obstacle in your test of trust. You had her step up on the seat of the picnic bench and then the table. 

“Alright stop,” you said to which Fluttershy immediately did, “Now I’m going to let go of your hand, but I want you to turn around.”

She turned around, not knowing what was going to happen next and looking a little frightened. 

“Now Fluttershy, you’re now on top of the picnic bench. I want you to fall backwards off the bench and I’ll catch you.”

“W…what,” Fluttershy said, “You want me to fall? What if I get hurt or you do?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I promise I won’t miss catching you ok?”

“Ok,” Fluttershy said as she stood straight as an arrow while you walked to the edge of the bench.

“Alright on the count of three, fall backwards. One,” you said as you distanced yourself away from the bench far enough to anticipate where Fluttershy would land. 

“Two,” you said as Fluttershy nervously waited as you put your arms out to catch her.

“Three,” you said and with that Fluttershy fell backwards off the bench. Unfortunately you realized you were too close you catch her, but it was too late. The girl suddenly fell on top of you as if you were a pillow. The two of you rolled a few times until you came to a stop. As you opened your eyes you found Fluttershy resting on top of you, her face pressed close to yours. You felt the sudden urge to hold her and kiss her and tell her how much you loved her. Before you could she got up on her hands and knees.

“Did it work,” Fluttershy said as she removed the blindfold. She then noticed that she was awkwardly straddling your body to which her face started to turn red. 

“Yeah it worked,” you said with a smile, “I guess my aim catching you was off. Are you ok?”

“Yes, I guess I am,” she said, “How are you?”

“Never been better,” you said with a smile as this was a first having a girl so close to you like that. 

“Oh my,” she said realizing that she still was on top of you, preventing you from getting up. You didn’t mind but she was growing red with embarrassment.

“Here let me help you up,” she said as she stood up and helped pull you up. As you did the two of you locked eyes, staring at each other for a moment. It was as if both of you wanted to say something but neither was confident to be the first to declare their love. 

“So, um, what’s next,” Fluttershy said. 

“Well let’s go back to the house and I’ll tell you along the way,” you said feeling a little bad as you missed the opportunity. You guessed that in some ways you were as shy as she was. Your hope was that the next thing you had planned would show you how you really felt. 

> Date and a Dilemma
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date and a Dilemma

The two of you returned to the cottage after performing the test you planned. Both of you were nervous and excited at the same time, although for different reasons. Fluttershy felt this way in anticipation of what was to come, as if butterflies were literally in her stomach. You were equally as nervous as you prepared for the next part. 

“Fluttershy,” you said to her, trying to muster the courage you had. 

“Yes,” she said staring at you with those bright blue eyes. 

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?”

“Oh, are you hungry? I can start dinner right away.”

“No Fluttershy, what I mean is I want to take you out. You know, to a restaurant?”

“R…really,” she said surprised.

“Something wrong?”

“No one has ever taken me to a restaurant before,” she said looking down at the floor, “Most of the time when I do go out to eat I eat alone, or maybe a friends eats with me. But I’ve never had someone take me to a restaurant. So… yes, I’d really like that.” 

“Great,” you said, “Where would you like to go?”

“Well, I usually go to the Clover Cafe,” if that’s alright with you.”

You remember passing by the Clover Café. It looked like a typical family restaurant, nice but not formal. It was definitely not somewhere that you’d envision taking a girl you loved to, but Fluttershy seemed ok with this. Plus a fancy restaurant might make her nervous of doing something wrong and have her get embarrassed. 

“The Clover Café is fine,” you said with a smile, “Before you go, I think we both need to clean up after, you know, us rolling on the ground.”

“Oh that,” Flutttershy said with a little laugh, “Ok I’ll go get ready.”

“Wait, there’s one more thing I want you to do. I want you to dress nice.”

“Nice,” Fluttershy said confused as she looked at the clothes she was wearing, “I thought that what I wear normally is nice.”
“You are, I mean the clothes you wear are nice, but I want you to go all out when we go to the restaurant. So find something that you really love and wear it, maybe something that you don’t normally wear while feeding the animals. Trust me, you’ll feel really confident when you do.”

“Ok,” she said as she slipped up to the bathroom. Now there was no going back, no second guessing. The more you thought about it the less you seemed to worry about taking Fluttershy out to dinner. Sure it was a gamble and losing might end your friendship, but it was time that you and Fluttershy set everything out on the table about how you felt about each other. She did appear excited to go, so that was a good sign. 

“Um… I’m out of the shower now,” Fluttershy voice was heard from the top of the stairs, “You can go in if you want.”

You waited for a moment or two so that Fluttershy could head to her bedroom. Although you didn’t mind seeing Fluttershy draped in a towel, she might be so flustered that she’d lock herself in her room, ending your date before it started. When you heard her door shut, you began to get ready, picking the best clothes out of your limited wardrobe. After showering, you made a beeline to your bedroom, quickly changing as you wanted to go out with her as soon as possible.  Finally you went downstairs and waited for her to appear. 

As the minutes passed by, you wondered what was taking Fluttershy so long. You guessed that she was fretting over something nice to wear. You hoped though that she wasn’t having second thought about this date, that she would tell you that she didn’t want to go. Then you hears footsteps going down the stairs and when you turned you were amazed at what you saw! Fluttershy stood wearing a beautiful yellow dress with a green ribbon around it, that while still modest for her it showed off every beautiful curve in her body. Her pink hair was redone, cascading down her bare shoulders and accentuated by butterfly clips. You knew she was beautiful, but the way that she was dressed transformed her into the most attractive girl you ever knew. 

“How do I look,” Fluttershy said nervously.

“You look beautiful. I mean you were lovely before, but now… wow!”

“Oh, well thank you,” Fluttershy said blushing a little as you could tell she liked the compliment, “You look nice too.”

The two of you drove to the Clover Café, your presence turning heads of all the patrons like a celebrity walking the red carpet. Those that saw Fluttershy eat there before were equally intrigued seeing the once cute girl now look stunning and with a guy to boot.

“Um… why is everyone looking,” Fluttershy whispered as the two of you found a booth.

“They are looking at you,” you say, “You are a wonderful girl Fluttershy, and it’s time that everyone knows it.”

“Oh, well thank you,” she said as she read the menu, “I can’t thank you enough for helping me with the animals and helping get confidence.”

“Fluttershy, I can’t take the credit for you being this way. You had it in you all along. You’re smart, beautiful, kind, and confident. I just had to help you remember that. Now that you know who you are don’t ever forget it, ok?”

“Ok,” Fluttershy said with a smile. 

The two of you ate your meal amidst idle conversation. Both of you though appeared to have something on your mind although neither of you were willing to say something. Despite it all there was a wall preventing you from saying what you heart felt, and you thought that it was the same way for Fluttershy. Finally the dinner ended and the two of you journeyed home in silence. Although you enjoyed your time together, it was as if you time out was not what you expected. You knew what it was for you that you missed; those three words that you wished Fluttershy would say but never came out. You thought that maybe it was meant to be, that you two would be friends and nothing more. It wasn’t a total lost, but you certainly felt that you two could be more. 

“I had a great time,” Fluttershy said with a half-smile as she opened the door.

“So did I,” you said as you followed her in. The more you stared at her, the pressure inside your mind and heart began to increase like a soda bottle being shaken. You had been holding back the entire day as that pressure built to an alarming rate, increased the more you stared at that shy girl you loved the moment you laid eyes upon her but were too scared to admit. Finally you could stand it no longer.

“Fluttershy,” you said.

“Yes,” she said turning towards you as if she wanted to hear what you had to say. 

“I want to tell you something.”

“Actually I want to tell you something too,” she said. 

“I love you,” the two of you said at the same time as your hearts and minds opened up.

“You… you love me,” Fluttershy said surprised about that more than the fact that she told you the same thing.

“Of course I do! You’re the greatest thing that ever happened to me, and I loved you the moment I first saw you. I guess I was scared that you didn’t think the same way about me.”

“I felt the same way too,” Fluttershy said, “No one has loved me before and when I saw you I fell in love too, but I was scared that I’d be made fun of. But I love you, and I never want to let you go!”

You leaned over and kissed her on the mouth as Fluttershy’s eyes went wide with surprise. It was the best feeling you ever had a sense of love and joy all rolled into one when your lips touched. When you separated the two of you were still reeling from the kiss, not sure what to think or do next. 

“That was… wow,” Fluttershy said. 

“Yeah,” you replied trying to catch your breath, “Wow.”

“Could you… do that again,” she said with a smile. 

The two of you embraced in a hug, holding each other close as you kissed for what seemed like an eternity. The rest of the night was a blur for both of you, although the last thing you could remember clearly was seeing there on her one hip, just below the waistline so that no one would see except for her and now you, was a tattoo of three butterflies, just like Fluttershy’s cutie mark from the show.

> A New Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A New Day

You awoke the next morning, not knowing exactly what happened or even where you were. You remembered confessing that you loved Fluttershy and how she loved you. Then there was that kiss, that beautiful perfect kiss that was engraved on your mind. As your eyes adjusted to the morning light, you noticed that you were not in your room. Instead you were in a rather comfortable bed that had yellow and pink sheets. Around the room there were shadow boxes hung on the walls containing things of nature like pine cones, rocks, and even feathers carefully preserved under glass. Mixed in with these were framed art of none other than the yellow Pegasus from My Little Pony smiling back at you. Across from you there was a shrine to the shy pony on a dresser including figures, smaller framed art, and a big plush pony. It was then you realized that you slept in Fluttershy’s room! 

As your body and mind awoke further you wondered why you fell asleep in her room rather than yours which was a short distance away. You also wondered where Fluttershy was in all this. Something then flashed into you mind, what if what you did with Fluttershy was more than just a kiss last night? What if you not only slept in Fluttershy’s bed but with her? It was a thought that was both wonderful and scary at the same time as you were not sure how Fluttershy felt about the part of last night that escaped your memory. 

The door opened and Fluttershy walked in, her hair and body wet from the shower as she was wrapped in that same fluffy yellow towel. Not noticing you, she carefully opened the drawers of the dresser across from you as if not to wake you and threw some clothes on a bed. She then took off her towel and proceeded to get dressed when suddenly she saw you staring at her! 

“Eep,” she squeaked as she backed into her dresser, “Oh I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

“Nah, I was awake before you came in.”

“So you mean you saw me getting dressed,” she said blushing. 

“Yeah, I kind of did.”

“I guess, well, I’ve never got dressed in front of someone before. Then again I never had someone sleeping in my bed before except of course me.”

“How did I end up in your bed? Did we… you know?”

Fluttershy looked at you, trying to figure out what you meant. Finally when the realization came over her, the pink haired girl’s eyes went wide. 

“Oh … you meant did we… um… mate last night?” 

“Yeah, that’s the best way to describe it.” 

“Well um… we kissed and then we somehow made it upstairs and into my room. So um… yeah, we did. That was ok, right?”

“That was fine,” you said as the memories came rushing back at that night, “in fact that was the best night I ever had thanks to you. You were ok with it, right Fluttershy?”

“Oh well I feel the same way. No one has ever kissed me like that let alone… you know. But it was a really great experience.” 
“I’m glad you were ok. Everything kind of went by in a blur last night.” 

“Well, I’ll let you get dressed and we’ll have breakfast together.” 

“Wait Fluttershy,” you said as she was about to leave the room.

“Yes,” she said turning back.

“I love you Fluttershy.”

“I love you too,” she said walking over and giving you a kiss before heading downstairs. As you sat in bed, you realized the great fortune you had of meeting such a girl who not only shared qualities of your favorite pony but they were also qualities that you loved in a girl. Even better, you met a girl that shared the same feelings for you. You wondered if your life was going to be like this forever, that you two would remain in love. It was then you realized that the future was uncertain and what mattered was the present. It was you and that shy girl bonded together by love, and you were prepared to do anything you could to make that love last and to keep a smile on her face. 

You got out of bed and headed towards the shower, ready to start a new day with the love of your life, the shy girl named Fluttershy. 


***


Two weeks had passed since that fateful day that you told Fluttershy how much you loved her and how she loved you.  Since then much of your life with her had become a blissful routine of helping care for the animals. You didn’t mind it as this was what you felt you were born to do since you were a kid, and had you not been here you guessed you would have found a similar job at another shelter or zoo. What made this job even better was of course her. Working with her always seemed to make the time fly by and no matter what the task you worked with a smile on your face. 

The confidence training paid off for Fluttershy as you saw a changed girl stand before you. The times that she became easily frightened or that she wouldn’t be able to speak her mind were now a memory, as if she was released from her self-imprisonment. There were times that she would occasionally slip back to her state of shyness, but you quickly tried to remedy this by telling her how she was a strong, smart, beautiful, and confident girl. You even ran a few of those tests of trust with her, although admittedly when it came time for you to catch her as she fell you would always let her fall on top of you, usually involving you two kissing on the ground in a tangled embrace. 

The greatest moment came when one day she decided to head to the local hardware with you. To your surprise she immediately went up to the manager and with the skills of a businesswoman and with a dash of cuteness and kindness, she asked for the store’s support in bringing her dream to life. To her delight the manager was proud to donate funds to the cause and even some supplies for a community effort. Soon more opportunities like this poured in like the local grocery store and the mayor’s office. You did your part by supporting her and finding places for her to travel to. 

One of the most interesting stops was at a bakery in your home city named Sugar Cane Corner where a girl that looked and acted suspiciously like Pinkie Pie literally embraced you two when proposing the idea! In what seemed like ten seconds flat the pink haired baker prepared a huge bake sale with proceeds going to the Everfree Animal Sanctuary with great success. That day not only did you and Fluttershy gain another supporter of your dream project, you gained a great friend. 

Even though your time was spent caring for the animals and touring the towns and cities to support your cause, you and Fluttershy seemed to always make time for each other. Whether it was a simple trip to a park, going to the movies, or a romantic dinner, she never ceased to show you how much you cared. The more you knew her, the less you cared that she was like the yellow Pegasus from the show. She was similar to the pony and yet different, her own person. More importantly she was the love of your life, and nothing would separate you two. 

Now with the donations rolling in you two were finally able to get your project off the ground. It was going to be a challenge relocating the animals, tearing down old buildings, and building the new sanctuary, but you two were glad to see it slowly taking shape thanks to some kind volunteers. Why even some of the kids from the school came over to help move the animals, even the Crusaders who were excited to help. Both of you knew that your relationship, like life, wouldn’t be perfect, but as long as you had each other there would be no challenge too great. It was just you and that shy girl named Fluttershy bound by joy, happiness, and love.