Anthea was a nervous wreck when it came to socializing when she was a filly. But Fluttershy's sure that she can help to change that and help Annie get through this.
When she wasa filly and first sent to the Ponyville Orphanage, Anthea has been terribly shy and nervous. She was very kind. And she wanted everypony to know that she was not weak. But when it came to socializing? Well, Annie was a nervous wreck.
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When Fluttershy first adopted Anthea, after seeing her use a spell on a Manticore to calm it down and escape, she understandably assumed the filly to be rather brave, or at least not as shy as it turned she was.
Perhaps due to her kind, caring demeanor, Annie wasn't very nervous around her or her house. Nor was she nervous with the other fillies at the orphanage, the had known them for as long as she can remember after all. But Fluttershy couldn't have predicted what would happen when she took her out to go visit Crystal Clarity and Turquise Blitz, Rarity's kids about two weeks after she adopted her. There wasn't necessarily a reason for Claire and T specifically, other than them having availability at the right time.
Carousel Boutiqe
Before they even arrived at Rarity's place, Annie was already pretty nervous. But Fluttershy understood. This was a fairly new environment for Annie after all. She had explored some of the area with the other orphan fillies, though they never did go into the center of Ponyville, nor the area around the Carousel Boutique.
Fluttershy knocked at the door, arriving right on time, with Annie hiding behind her tail. "Oh, don't worry, Annie. We're just here to meet some friends. Rarity and her fillies are a few of the nicest ponies I know." Though, this didn't make Annie much less tense.
Rarity opened the door, causing Annie to hide further in Fluttershy's tail. "Oh, Fluttershy! Long-time no see!" Rarity exclaimed with a hug. She then looked to either side of Fluttershy. "Now, where's the little Annie I hard about?"
Fluttershy looked back to see Annie trying her best to conceal herself entirely behind Fluttershy. Apparently, she was doing a good job. "Hey, come on Annie. this is my friend, Rarity. Don't worry. She's very nice."
Annie popped her head out from behind Fluttershy, and seeked around for a second, before looking roughly at Rarity. "...Hi..." She said, very quietly.
Rarity crouched down, but didn't walk any closer. "Hi, darling. Do you want to come in and meet some ponies?"
Annie replied by going back behind Fluttershy.
Rarity stood back up. "Well, she's rather shy, Isn't she."
Fluttershy looked back to see how Annie was doing again. "Even moreso than I was, I think." She commented.
"Well, what's your call, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.
They had both cleared out an hour of the day for the meeting, which Fluttershy assumed would go a bit better. Since everypony she had seen Annie interact with, it had gone much better. "Let's go along as planned, and see if things get any better as we go along. Maybe she just needs to warm up to them."
"Alright then, I'll go get the kids. You two can make yourselves right at home." Rarity said as she went inside and upstairs to get Claire and T.
Fluttershy slowly walked into the building, for Annie's sake. As she walked, Annie stayed glued to her. When Fluttershy sat down, Annie sat behind her.
Rarity came down with T and Claire a few minutes later. T ran up to Fluttershy and said "Hi miss Fluttershy!" He looked around the room. "Mom said you were bringing somepony," T said, confused that Fluttershy had seemed to come alone.
"Oh, I did. She just needs to come out and introduce herself," Fluttershy looked back around to Annie hiding behind her. "Come on, Annie. Introduce yourself."
Annie poked her head out just enough so she could see the green blur that was T. "...Hi..." She said again, only a little louder than last time.
"Hi. My name's Turquoise," He introduced. "What's your name?"
"My name's... Anthea." She said about as quietly as last time.
"Nice to meet you, Anthea." T stepped aside to let Claire go aside him.
"Hi there Anthea. I'm Claire, Turquoise's sister." Claire introduced herself.
"...Hi Claire." Anthea quited back down.
Fluttershy wrapped her wing around Athea, which made her a bit more comfortable. "Why don't you three talk about yourselves a bit more? Like how old you are and such?" Fluttershy recognized that Annie was probably more comfortable with just talking for now and leaving any actual activities for another time.
"Well, I'm 5, nearly 6," T said. It was only a month or so from his birthday.
"And I'm 11, almost 12." Claire's birthday was only a few weeks from then.
"And what about you, Annie?" Fluttershy asked. She was ure that if Annie just gave it a try then she be more open and comfortable about it.
"...I'm 5..." Annie squeaked out a little louder than last time.
"And what do you like to do?" Fluttershy also asked.
"...I like to go outside and hang out with mom's little animals..." Annie talked slowly, but she was getting better.
"I'd love to gout out and do that too, but we're inside all day helping mom with work," T explained.
"Yeah, but I like it. I sort her jewelry for her and you know how I like doing that." Claire said.
Annie went back behind Fluttershy while they were talking. So much for that progress. Fluttershy tried to get her to come out again. "Come on dear. They're talking about what they like. Just like you." This didn't help. all that much. It seemed as if Annie just wasn't going to come out again. "Well, that's not very good," Fluttershy said to Rarity. "I was hoping she'd make more progress today." It's not like Annie hadn't made any progress, she was talking to T and Claire. But it just wasn't what Fluttershy was hoping for.
"Well, she did do pretty well if you ask me. I think if she gets together with more fillies I'm sure she'll be fine." Rarity said. And she was right, Annie hadn't been with more than just a few ponies for her entire life so far, so meeting new, unfamiliar ponies would definitely make her nervous.
"Yeah, that's true. I'll probably take her home so she doesn't have to keep going like this since she clearly isn't into it yet. but let's do this again sometime. Maybe next time, T and Claire can come over to my house?" Fluttershy proposed.
"Yeah, that'd be wonderful. I'm sure T and Claire will like that very much."
Fluttershy stood up, and Annie immediately glued herself to her hind leg. "Well, it was nice meeting with you. Let's arrange that next meetup sometime soon." Fluttershy said as she walked to the door.
"I'll be sure we do this again," Rarity replied.
Annie just needed more time to get to be comfortable with other fillies. But for now, she just needed a break from all the stress.
Fluttershy reasoned that maybe if Annie was at her own home rather than in an unfamiliar location, then maybe she'd do better. Fluttershy, of course, wasn't expecting Annie to be an instant extrovert, and the more she thought about it, what happened was exactly what she should have expected. Annie had only known a single building of ponies her entire life, after all. But Fluttershy wanted to help Annie make progress. She was trying her best to make sure that Annie was comfortable with each of the following visits. Rarity would visit more, of course, but Twilight and her kids would visit a few times, as well as Dash and AJ. Though, it seemed like T and Claire were definitely preferred over the rest. Since, after about a dozen visits over 3 months, it looked like those were the ones Annie would be most excited to hear about. Sure, not that much progress was made, this was relative of course, but it was an improvement.
Fluttershy's Cabin,
A knock came at the door of the cabin. Claire and T had arrived for another visit. Annie walked over to the seat in the living room, where she would often stay glued the entire visit.
Fluttershy looked at Annie and smiled as she walked over to the door. No matter how many times the filly did it, she always found it amusing how planted she seemed to be in that spot. She opened the door and Rarity, T and Claire were standing and the fillies walked inside. "Hi, Rarity! It seems like you three are here almost every week now." Fluttershy said with a little chuckle.
Rarity laughed. "Yeah, it does seem that way, doesn't it. Though, the kids do seem to be enjoying it more and more. This might actually be visit number 13."
"Already over a dozen. I swear someday the kids are going to forget which house is theirs."
The two parents walked over and sat on the couch while the kids went over and hung out at the seat.
"Hey, Annie!" T said enthusiastically, sitting down next to the seat.
"Hi, T," Annie said, She wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as T, but it seemed like she liked him the most out of anypony she had met so far. "Had any luck with flying?" She asked. In the 3-moth span, T had started to fly more often.
"Yeah, I've been getting faster when I go straight, but turning is really hard," T explained.
"Well, I'm you'll do better soon," Annie reassured him. She still talked with hesitation and long pauses in between some words, she wasn't talking with as much energy as T, but it was better than her being mute, like when they first met.
"What about you, Annie?" Claire asked. "Have you been getting better at using your magic?" Annie had also been recommended to see what she could do with that horn of hers since the first time she met Fluttershy was after she was able to calm down a manticore. Though, that was probably thanks in part to sheer fear of the situation.
"I've been getting better I think. I can't see what I'm doing very well, but mom said that I was doing good. Right, mom?" Annie asked Fluttershy.
"That's right," She replied. "She was able to levitate a broom yesterday, but I was suddenly very sleepy when she did it..."
"Yep. And how have you been, Claire? Been helping your mom with jewels and such?" Claire had been helping Rarity more in the jewel department over time. Being able to quickly find and retrieve jewels.
"Oh yeah. I realized that I can... smell the gems that mom wants me to get? It's really interesting."
"Oh yeah," T interjected. "She was able to find one gem in mom's big chest. I don't know how she does it."
"That sounds really cool. Mom has a few and they all smell the same to me," Annie explained. Of course, Claire and T were half dragon so that probably helps.
"Oh yeah, she's got quite the nose for gems. Must have come from her dad. Though I don't remember him being able to smell gems in all the time I've known him." Rarity said.
"Well, you can use your magic to find them, can't you?" Fluttershy asked. "That might have something to do with it."
"I suppose, yes. But no matter why she can do this, it's come in very handy whenever I need a certain gem for my dress. I feel like she'll end up being a jeweler," Rarity predicted. "Maybe she'll take over the boutique and turn it into her own shop," She laughed.
"That building does have a lot of space. How did you even come to own it in the first place?" Fluttershy asked.
"Apparently one of my relatives oned the place before. Then it was passed to my parents, and when they moved to Canterlot, I took over." Rarity explained. "That place has seen a lot of renovation over its lifetime. We had to do some recently after Claire discovered that she could breathe fire. She hasn't set anything ablaze yet, but she also can't do that much with it yet."
"I'm sure it'll be fine. I've managed to avoid a fire in my sanctuary despite all the fire-breathing critters that always seem to make their way there."
"It all started with that fire gecko that Zecora brought in that one time, right?"
"Yeah, after that, well they just couldn't resist."
"Well, that helps reassure me. I'll still get some more fireproofing done on the house and see about Spike teaching Claire how to control her fire properly so that way she doesn't burn anything."
"That sounds lie it'll work well."
"And I've noticed Annie's getting a bit better every time we come over. How did she do with Star?" Rarity inquired. Starburst, Twilight's daughter, had come over twice before.
"Oh, she was not liking it. Star was very much her father's daughter. She was very serious and seemed to nearly intimidate poor Annie. She'd make perfect Royal guard material though."
They checked back on the three, who were having a good conversation it seemed. Annie seemed to be enjoying herself more each visit. "I have an idea, Fluttershy," Rarity began. "Perhaps one of these times we can see about having Annie come over to the boutique again. Last time didn't go so well, but I'm sure she'll eventually be up to it. What do you think?"
"I love that idea! We'll have to arrange that sometime in a few weeks. Hopefully, she's used to you guys enough that she won't mind if she's not here."
"Maybe whenever she gets up from that chair." Rarity said, looking at Annie sitting in the exact same position and location on that chair as when they first arrived.
"You know, I'm not sure if she ever will. I may just have to bring it along whenever we go to your place, or else she'll have nowhere to glue herself the entire time."
Rarity looked at the clock and realized what time it was. "Oh my! We have to go and be on our way to Canterlot. But We'll see you the same day next week, right?"
Fluttershy nodded. "We always do."
"Let's see how quickly 24 visits arrive," Rarity stood up and walked over the three fillies. "Come on guys, we need to get to Canterlot to visit grandma and grandpa."
"Alright..." They all said, reacting about how you would expect.
"We'll come back though, right?" T asked. He Asked that every time.
"Of course we will. We always do." They all said their goodbyes and Annie finally moved from her spot.
Fluttershy saw that Annie had been getting better, and hoped that as time went on she'd be more open to meeting more ponies. And hopefully visiting Rarty's for a change would help that.
After the last visit, Rarity and Fluttershy decided to have the next visit instead be Annie coming over to Rarity's. Fluttershy thought it would help the filly get more comfortable with being outside of familiar territory. She figured that this would be the best option since she already knew Claire and T fairy well and seemed to like them more than anypony else she had met. And as such, reasoned that if she would feel comfortable with other ponies anywhere outside of her own home and the orphanage, it would be here.
When they arrived, T and Claire were in the living room already, with rarity setting up some more seating for the two parents to sit at, as well as an extra seat in case Annie decided to plant herself on a seat again. Fluttershy sat down on a couch with Rarity. And Annie, instead of going for the single seat, chose to sit with Fluttershy. But she noticed that Annie wasn't hiding behind her like last time, just sitting with her body pushed against hers. Fluttershy was happy to see that she wasn't hiding outside of the house anymore. At least, she wasn't hiding at the house of ponies she knew. Rarity and Fluttershy were both pleased with the progression. Not only because Annie was becoming more comfortable outside of Fluttershy's house, but also because it meant that T and Claire would hopefully make a new friend. Winners all around.
After Annie sat down, T ran up to her. "Hi, Annie! This is my house. You weren't here very long last time. But since you'll be staying longer, I'll tell you what's in this room," T offered. "So, right over there is... is the..." T quickly realized, however, that Annie couldn't really see what he was talking about. So he had to figure out a way to give her a tour without relying on her being able to see much. And that's when he realized how he could do it. Annie could see... kind of. Her vision wasn't entirely gone. She could see vague blurs of color. And since T would contrast pretty well with everything in the room, he could direct her to whatever he was talking about and describe what it looked like. "Okay, I have an idea." He walked over to the front door, and Annie's focus followed him. "So you see me?" He asked from across the room.
"Yeah." She answered.
"Great. So this is the front door. It's surrounded by really big windows. It has a bell right above it so mom knows when somepony comes in." T walked over to a collection of curtains near the door. "This is where mom keeps dresses before revealing them. It's got a lot of curtains and everypony is excited to see them be pulled back." He continued the tour, showing her the pedestal where ponies could review their outfits, which he described as "A table with three mirrors so ponies can look at themselves better," and just tried to gove Annie as in-depth of a tour as he could, given that she couldn't really see any of it in much detail. "So, that's this room. I hope I helped you know what's in here, I know you see things all blurry so I tried my best."
Annie was happy that T had put so much effort into letting her understand her surroundings better. "Thanks, T. And yeah, I got as much as I can. Your house seems like a really cool place."
"Thanks. I like it here. It seems like it's always busy, which mom likes."
The fillies would continue talking for the rest of the hour. And Fluttershy was really happy to see ho far Annie had come from when she first came over. Claire wasn't left out of the conversation, either. Soon after T's tour, she would join in and they would talk about what it was like living in the boutique, and what kinds of ponies would come in every day and some of the funny storied that surrounded a few of them. Overall, Fluttershy was proud of Annie for making such good progress. And while it would still take a few years until she would become fully comfortable going out and being with other ponies without staying put to a chair, a highlight of which was when Annie would get another full tour of the boutique from T wherein she got up and walked around the place. Later on, Annie, T and Claire ould become good friends (Annie and T especially) and Annie would eventually get her cutie mark. A rare flower that has calming abilities. And as time went on, while not completely being confident in all situations, (She has a terrible fear of the dark) Annie would come to understand that, as long as she had tour guide T, she would be just fine.
