> Hidden in Plain Sight
>  by Burly Bubble
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> First Encounters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fluttershy galloped through Ponyville in a frenzy, searching for a place to hide. The paparazzi and the fans were chasing her relentlessly through the streets, trying to get a look at the model pony. When Fluttershy had tried to escape using her wings, she was swarmed by pegasi with cameras. No matter where she went, she was unable to escape them. She searched high and low for any possible hiding place. The only place even worth attempting to seek refuge in was blatantly obvious. An alleyway. Without any other options, Fluttershy dove into the alley and looked for anything she could hide in or behind. She spotted a dumpster and was headed towards it at full speed before a pony could blink and.... BAM! Fluttershy was stunned. She felt as if she had just run right into somepony, but she could have sworn she hadn't seen anyone in the alley.

"Hey! Maybe she went in this alleyway!" screamed somepony just outside the alley.

Fluttershy panicked. She was sprawled on the ground in the middle of the alley and there was no way she could possibly make it to the dumpster. She covered her eyes with her hooves. Maybe if she just lay there, they would leave her alone.

Several seconds passed. They felt like hours to Fluttershy.

"Nope, nothing down the alley! Let's go check by Carousel Boutique again!" the pony shouted.

Fluttershy raised her head, her eyes wide. They hadn't seen her. How? She was laying right in the middle of the alley, plainly visible. Maybe they didn't-

"Um.. excuse me..." murmured a voice from below.

Fluttershy screamed and shot into the air.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just..." the voice trailed off, though it had barely been a whisper to begin with.

Fluttershy stared at the owner of the voice. A smallish, light grey stallion lay on the ground right where she had fallen. His pale blue mane was disheveled and unruly. She couldn't quite see the color of his eyes, as he wouldn't make eye contact with her. Fluttershy shook her head, realizing she was staring.

"How did... how did you get there...?" she asked.

"I.. I was... I was just standing here when you bumped into me..." the stallion whispered, standing up but still not making eye contact.

Fluttershy turned bright red. She thought she hadn't seen anyone. But apparently she had run right into this stallion.

"I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy landed, looking very apologetic, "I wasn't watching were I was going. I-"

"It's alright, it's... not your fault. It's mine actually." the stallion said, speaking slightly louder.

Fluttershy was shocked. Not only did this pony seem shyer than she was, but he acted as if her running into him was his fault.

"No. I mean, it couldn't be. I was running without looking where I was going-"

"It isn't your fault you didn't see me. I..." he paused, "I was kind of invisible."

Yet again, she was stunned. He was shy, taking the blame, and claiming to be invisible. However, being closer to him than when she had first looked, she noticed a horn on his head. He was a unicorn. Now the invisible part made a bit more sense.

"Oh." she said, "Were you practicing a spell or something?"

"Ah... No. Well, it- it's complicated." he stammered, "It's not exactly a magic I control that well. It's the reason those ponies who were looking for you didn't see you."

Fluttershy blinked, remembering how she had gotten in this situation to begin with. She preferred this to the crowd, but...

"So. You made me invisible too? And by accident?" she asked slowly.

"Yes and no." he said, taking a breath, "Well, yes I turned you invisible, and yes it was an accident. But no, technically I didn't make you invisible, it's whatever this is."

He turned his flank toward her, showing her his cutiemark. It looked almost like a silhouette or an outline, but it was hard to tell. It was almost like a mirage.

"Ever since I was little I didn't talk much, so most ponies didn't take notice of me. After a while, it seems I became invisible. And, whether I wanted to or not, I remained invisible until I bumped into an older unicorn who helped turn me visible again. I've turned invisible several times by accident since then, but I'm better at controlling it than I used to be. I can be visible if I wish now, but sitting here in the alley, I was deep in thought, which is why I didn't move out of your way. When you ran into me, it startled me, making me turn you invisible. By accident. And then you-"

He stopped, stood silent for a second, then blushed.

"Sorry. I haven't talked with anypony in quite a while, so I just started blabbering..." he was back to a whisper.

Fluttershy was staring again. She wasn't sure which was stranger, his story or the fact she was sitting there, staring at him (and he at her) while he claimed they were invisible.

"How can I see you if you're invisible?"

"Well, maybe since we were both made invisible by the same thing, we can see each other.

Another question came to her mind.

"You... you can make me visible again, right?"

"O- Of course! Here, I'll-"

"Wait!" she shouted, then blushed and continued a bit softer, "I mean, it's fine for now. I don't really want to be seen right now."

They sat in an awkward silence for a while.

"Do you... want to talk about it?"

Fluttershy began to decline, but then she decided she would talk with him about it. She had confided in Twilight, but
she still felt she needed to voice some of her worries. And then, she began to talk with this stranger about all the things that had troubled her recently. The modeling, the fact that she couldn't quit modeling without disappointing her friend, the shows, the crowds. And the strange stallion sat quietly and listened.

When Fluttershy was done venting, the sun quite low in the sky. The stallion shifted slightly, making himself more comfortable where he sat.

"Well... if you want, I can help you escape all of those problems for a bit each day." he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like right now, we just sat and talked for several hours without so much as a mouse disturbing us. If you want, we could meet like this again so you can escape from those crowds and rest quietly. As long as we're invisible they wouldn't find us, providing they don't hear us talk or anything."

Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only had she made a new friend (or at least a friendly acquaintance) but she had found a solution to one of her problems. Or at least a temporary solution.

"That would be lovely. But where would we meet?"

"Well, it's not much, but we could meet back here. Tomorrow at five-ish?"

"Sure!" Fluttershy said happily.

The stallion's horn flared with magic and suddenly she couldn't see him anymore.

"Well, you're visible again and we have a plan. See you here tomorrow!"

And with that, he was gone. No hoof prints and no sound. He could have not moved at all, but she didn't care. She happily got up and began to skip home. It occurred to her that she never asked his name, nor had he told her his name, but she didn't mind. She could always ask him tomorrow.  She was looking forward to another quiet evening with someone she could talk with so easily. Suddenly, her situation didn't seem so bad.
> Quiet Meeting
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	Fluttershy was running again. From the paparazzi. Again. This time it wasn't a frantic run, though. She knew she would be getting away from the crowd shortly, so she was almost at a trotting pace instead of a gallop. She ducked between stores and weaved between the narrow streets until she came across the alley she had gone down last time. She made a sharp turn into the alley, and before anypony could even realize what she did, she vanished. The crowd that had been chasing her stared into the empty alley, confused. One had even went and checked in and behind the lone dumpster in the alley. Nothing. The crowd drifted away slowly, sad that they hadn't gotten to really see the model.

Fluttershy giggled as she watched the confused crowd walk away. She felt a little guilty about how sad some of them looked, but she was soon over it.

"Hello again."

Fluttershy turned around. Standing behind her was the stallion she had met before.

"Hello." she replied, "Um, I don't think I got your name last time."

"Oh. I didn't even realize. My name is Hidden."

"Well, with that name your cutiemark and invisibility problem make sense." Fluttershy giggled.

Hidden turned red.

"Anyway, my name's Fluttershy.

"That's a pretty name."

It was Fluttershy who turned red this time.

"So," Hidden said, sitting down, "What do you want to do. We could talk, or we could read books. I brought several."

Hidden's horn light up with magic as he removed several books from his saddlebag. She hadn't even noticed he had saddlebags with him. He aligned them neatly in a line then turned back to her.

"Just in case we can't think of things to talk about. Whenever I turned invisible when I was younger, I always went to the same unicorn who helped me turn visible the first time it happened. Whenever she turned my visible again, we usually went to the library and quietly read together. Most of the time she made me read a spell book so I could learn to fix my invisibility myself, but even after I learned how I still went to her when I disappeared. She knew I could fix it myself at that point, but she also knew she was my only friend, so..."

Hidden's eyes unfocused, as if he were looking into the past along with remembering. Suddenly he shook his head and blushed.

"I was blabbering again."

"No! Your story was really touching. It's adorable that you went to her even after being able to fix it."

Hidden turned red again.

"Well, do we read or do we talk?" Hidden asked.

"Hmm, let's talk for a bit. I talked about my problems yesterday, now it's your turn. Everypony needs someone to confide in. Otherwise all those bottled up emotions can make you feel even more alone."

Hidden hesitated for a moment, then began to tell her his tale. He started where he had already began, with the unicorn who had helped him become visible again. When she asked her name, he paused for a while. He eventually sad, while looking at the ground that he'd rather not say. Fluttershy quickly said that was fine and smiled to try to cheer him back up. Hidden took a breath and began his story again.

Hidden had continued to go to the unicorn for several years, until he was nearly a full grown stallion. Around that time, she began to encourage him to go out into the world to discover his real talent, besides disappearing. At first he had ignored the idea, wanting to stay with her. After a while though, her constant urging finally made him agree. For a few years, he wandered from town to town, trying to find something that could change what he was meant to be. He didn't want to remain a pony that turned invisible for a talent. He wanted something more.

Unfortunately, he didn't find it. He returned home and sought out the mare he used to read and talk with. But she wasn't there. He asked around frantically, searching for anyone who knew what happened to his friend. Eventually he found someone who knew. They simply said she was gone. She had just disappeared without a trace. The news had shocked Hidden, and left his heart hollow. From that day he wandered Equestria, unseen. He walked from town to town, hoping to find evidence of his beloved friend. However he never found her. He had, in fact, been in the alley the day before because he had wanted an out of the way place to think where to search next.

"Oh my..." Fluttershy whispered, tears in her eyes, "I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have asked you to tell me if I had known it was so sad. I-"

"Don't worry about it. In fact, thank you. It really does make me feel better to tell somepony my story."

Fluttershy sniffed. She really hadn't expected such a sad story. She had thought her problems were bad, but his... his seemed unbearable.

"Hey, it's okay." Hidden put a hoof on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, "I've been over it for a while, but I haven't given up hope for finding her. Maybe we should call it a day, it's getting late."

"But-"

"No buts, models need their sleep. Besides, I know she's out there. I just have to find her. And I will. Don't being worrying about me when you have problems of your own. I promise I'm fine."

Fluttershy nodded and wiped her muzzle. She shook her head and began to think more positively. His story may be sad now, but it wont end sad. He'll find his friend again and she'll worry about fixing her own problems.

"Alright," Hidden's horn flared with magic and the books flew back into his saddlebag, "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

T-tomorrow I have shows and art galleries that Photo Finish says I have to go to. Does the day after tomorrow work?"

"Absolutely. See you then."

Hidden's horn flashed one more time and he disappeared, meaning she was visible and he was probably gone. Fluttershy sighed. His story still made her sad. She shook her head once more, telling herself he would be fine. She began to trot home, hoping Angel wouldn't be mad at her for staying out late again. She hoped their next conclave would be have a more happy tone.
> Sad Reality
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(Warning: Contains teeny tiny spoiler to Season 1 Episode 20. If for whatever reason you are reading fimfics without watching the show, you have been warned.)

And so, Hidden and Fluttershy met yet again. And again. And again. Their little meetings remained happy after Hidden's tale of sorrow. But great things don't last forever. Eventually the truth came to light for Fluttershy and her friend Rarity. When they realized neither of them really wanted Fluttershy to be a model (for differing reasons) Fluttershy no longer had to run from crowds when she went into public. Her life was finally back to normal. She didn't even notice she'd forgotten somepony until she heard some little colts talking about being ninjas and turning invisible.

Fluttershy flew as fast as she could toward the alley where she usually met Hidden. She felt unbelievably guilty that she had just forgotten about him. She really hoped he was there, so she could apologize. She doubted he would be there though.

Fluttershy swooped down into the alley. She looked around for a moment then gave up, remembering he was probably invisible, if he was there at all.

"Hidden? Are you there? I'm so sorry I forgot, just a lot of things came up and..."

She let the sentence trail off. If he had been there he probably would have interrupted her with a 'it's fine' or something like he usually did. Fluttershy hung her head. She couldn't believe what she'd done. She'd practically taken advantage of him to escape her problems, then once they were gone, she forgot about him.

But she hadn't just been using him. She'd enjoyed his company. And she was certain he'd enjoyed her company. He had to. He had always smiled when they talked.

"Oh I hope he doesn't hate me..."

Fluttershy glumly began to walk Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was having a party and she'd been on her way when she'd heard the colts talking. Fluttershy looked up. Maybe he knew she'd fixed her problem, and knowing she'd be alright without his help, he continued his search for his friend. Fluttershy sniffed. The thought made her feel better but she couldn't help but feel she was thinking up excuses. She may never know what happened to Hidden, but she hoped he would at least find his friend. It was the least she could do.

Princess Luna watched the yellow mare walk down the street. She knew she should tell the poor dear what she'd done. Luna had seen the poor mare suffering from the modeling, so she'd sent her sweet dreams. Sweet dreams of a colt she once knew. She'd known the colt over one thousand years ago. The little dear had sneaked up on her while he was invisible, though he apparently couldn't help it. She'd helped him become visible again, but he kept coming back. She'd enjoyed the little colts company, but she knew he could accomplish greater things in life than being company for a lonely princess. When he grew older she sent him to go discover his true talent, however he never returned. She still had no idea what happened to Hidden, but she uses his image and story to make ponies realize their situation isn't as bad as it seems. She missed him dearly, but she hoped he would be happy to be remembered by so many ponies he'd never met. All Hidden had ever wanted was a friend, and Luna made sure he made many, or at least he made friends with ponies in their dreams.