Chapter 1- Glimpse

And We Danced
Chapter 1: Glimpse
By iDash

“And we danced, and we cried, and we laughed, and had a really, really, really good time. Take my hand, let’s have a blast and remember this moment for the rest of our lives.”

-Macklemore (And We Danced)

“Come on!”

“No.”

“Yes!”

"No."

“Please?!”

"Um... no."

“Why is your voice getting quieter?!”

"...sorry."

“Aaaaagh!” With an irritated groan, the frustrated pony threw her front hooves up and fell back onto the cushioned couch that sat behind her. Her short, multi-colored pink mane fell over her face, covering half of it. She gazed at the vibrant pink and the lighter highlights that ran through it before blowing it out of her face.

With a sigh, the mare sat up and looked ahead at the pony in front of her, brow furrowed not in anger, but instead she wore an expression that was a mix of confusion and worry.

“I just don’t get it,” she said. “Why not, Fluttershy?”

The mare in question stood in front of her. Fluttershy’s long, pale pink mane was draped over her face as she hung her head low to the ground. Her eyes followed suit and she tried her best to avoid eye contact. She just shuffled her hooves across the carpet.

Finally, the pony spoke in her usual almost inaudible, hushed voice.

“I’m sorry, Candy. I just... I know you really want to, but... I just can’t.”

The other mare, Candy Mane, let out another sigh. “Fluttershy, you need to go out sometime. You can’t just stay holed up in your house-”

“-Cottage.”

“Whatever.”

This was Candy’s predicament: Fluttershy. For weeks, she’d been trying to get the shy mare to leave her home just for once and get out for a change, but so far she’d been unsuccessful. Candy worried for her. Often, Fluttershy was so insecure that she wouldn’t so much as leave her home to go to the market for food. At times like those, it would be Candy who had to care for her.

“Candy,” Fluttershy spoke again. “I know that you want to go out, but I-”

“Come one, Shy! It’ll just be the two of us, just... please,” Candy said desperately.

Fluttershy’s head sank to the ground again. Rather than say anything, she just pawed at the ground with her hoof.

Candy leaned forward on the couch. “Fluttershy... you’re my cousin, I’m just worried about you. All you do is stay alone in your home.”

“Oh, I’m not alone. I have my little animal friends, and Angel’s always here with me.” She pointed with her hoof to the baby bunny that sat on the table with a carrot as he watched their conversation in silence.

Candy just gave her a sullen look. “You know that’s not what I meant, Shy.”

The shy mare’s head sank once more as she sighed. “I know... but- it’s just that whenever I think of going anywhere, I just... I lock up. I can hardly leave the house to go to the spa with Rarity.

“Well, heh, you know me,” she said with a weak chuckle.

“Yes, I do know you, Fluttershy,” Candy continued persistently. She was standing up now. “And that’s the problem. I’m pretty much the only one that knows you, besides your other five friends, and you hardly ever visit them. You never even talk to anypony else!”

Fluttershy was sitting down now, her head even lower and her hair almost completely covering her face, except for one of her light blue eyes that gazed into Candy’s own rose ones.

“I... I know. I know that you really want to go out and that you’re trying to help. I know that you’re just doing this for me and...”

Fluttershy was starting to tear up now, but the sensitive mare kept her gaze on her cousin.

“I’m sorry, Candy. I’m so sorry for making you worry and making you try so hard just for me. I’m sorry, it’s my fault because it’s just the way I am, I-”

Before she could continue, Fluttershy was interrupted as she felt a pair of hooves gently wrap around her neck and draw her into hug.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy,” Candy spoke softly as she held the shy mare. “You have nothing to apologize for. None of it’s your fault.”

Fluttershy sniffled and raised a hoof to wipe away the beginnings of tears in her eyes. She gave a weak smile as she wrapped her forehooves around Candy and returned the embrace.

“Thank you, Candy,” she said softly.

“No problem.”

After a moment, Candy released the embrace and stood up with a small smile.

“Well, I guess I should go now,” the mare said as she turned to the door. “Do you think you’ll be alright? Do you need anything?” She cast a worried look at her cousin.

Fluttershy just smiled and shook her head. “I’ll be fine, thanks.”

“Okay then.” Candy began to walk out but stopped just before she reached the door. “Oh, and Shy?” she spoke as she turned her head around once more. “Just... promise me that you’ll at least think about it.”

Fluttershy smiled again. “I promise.”

Candy nodded and smiled back and with that, she opened the door and left, shutting it quietly behind her.

As soon as the door shut Fluttershy slumped back down and let out a sigh.

'Oh, why did I promise?' she thought to herself. She turned and sat down on the couch.

Fluttershy, as most ponies knew, had always been a quiet and secluded pony. She was always going out of her way to avoid contact with others and only really spoke to those lucky enough to have gotten to know her somehow. The mare rarely did anything outside of caring for her animals. This was mostly attributed to the fact that most things happened to intimidate her, which everypony already knew. What they didn't know was that she really just found no interest in them at all.

Fluttershy cared for her animals because she had a passion for doing so. Things like flying had never interested her. At one point in her life, she had been convinced that she should take an interest in flying. Hay, she had even enrolled herself into flight school- even though she had no idea how she ever got in. But still, it just never cliqued with her. So, she just stayed at home.

Her friends would often try to convince her to do something with them and she sometimes would, but it would just be for them instead of her actually wanting to go out.

Candy had been trying to get her out of the house recently, even if it were to just go out for a cup of tea. Fluttershy was doing her best to avoid it, but her excuses were beginning to wear thin. It wasn't really that she couldn't because she was so shy, but it was just that she didn't want to. She loved nurturing her animals and that was all she wanted to do.

Fluttershy felt something tapping at her hind hooves and looked down. Her personal pet bunny Angel was glaring back at her. The bunny's arms were crossed and his foot tapped repeatedly on the floor.

Fluttershy's face softened as she smiled gently, leaning in towards the bunny.

"Aw, what's wrong Angel? Are you hungry?"

Without averting his gaze, Angel shook his head pointed behind himself towards the front door of the mare's cottage.

"Um, do you want to go outside?"

Angel once more shook his head impatiently and pointed, stomping his little foot on the floor for emphasis. Fluttershy stared at the bunny in confusion for a moment while the gears turned in her head. She finally realized what the bunny was trying to convey and the gears clicked in her head.

"Oh Angel, I know you want me to go with Candy, but I just can't," Fluttershy said with pleading eyes to the bunny.

'Or won't,' she thought.

Chirp chirp chirp!

Fluttershy turned to her side as she heard the urgent chirping of one of her birds. As it turns out, it wasn't just one, but almost all of the little birds gathered in a small flock. All of them had the same determined expression as Angel.

The group flew together towards the front door and each bird found a perch around it. The small canary that had chirped at her stood on the door knob with its wings crossed in defiance.

"Oh no, not you guys too." Fluttershy started to sink back in the couch as far as she could go. "B-but I just don't know if I can-"

The mare was interrupted by a light tapping on her shoulder. She turned around and had to slowly look up at the massive form of the bear that stood in her living room... the bear with the same defiant look. Just like Angel, the bear unfolded his crossed arms to point resolutely at the door.

“Oh, come on, Gunther,” Fluttershy protested. She turned back to Angel. “B-but, who will take care of you while I’m gone? What if- what if the house catches on fire!?”

Fluttershy visibly shivered as the collective deadpan stare sent chills up her spine.

Fluttershy sighed, “Oh well,” she conceded. “I guess if I really have to... I’ll go. I’ll stop by her house later tonight.”

Angel smiled, victorious, as the birds simultaneously sang joyfully and flew off of the door and off to their normal perches. Even Gunther grinned and gave Fluttershy a pat on the back, which almost knocked her off the couch.

“Okay, okay, but only for one night, okay?” Angel nodded eagerly in response and hopped off to join his other critter friends.

Fluttershy sighed. “Well, I guess I should get ready then.”

It was late. The sun had already gone down by now and even Fluttershy’s animals were starting to hit the hay while the nocturnal ones woke up to a new morning. The shy mare didn’t mind, though. Knowing Candy Mane, it would probably still be okay to stop by now. She hadn’t originally meant to take so long- she’d had to be sure that all of her little friends were fed and cared for before she left- but hey, a little procrastination never hurt anypony.

The pony’s mane and tail were cleaned and brushed with a small white flower tucked behind her ear.

She had just finished double checking everything as she alighted in front of her door. She took a deep breath. “Okay, here I go.”

Fluttershy turned the knob on the door, opened it, then anxiously stepped out into the night air. The mare turned around again to face the bunny standing inside the doorway. “Okay, Angel, I already got everything ready. You know where the food and everything is, right?”

Angel nodded impatiently.

“Good... Are... are you sure you’ll be okay?”

The bunny rolled his eyes and slammed the door on the mare. “Eep!” Fluttershy yelped as she jumped back into the air. She hovered just above the ground for a moment before gently setting herself down and turning around towards the dirt path in front of her.

“Well, h-here I go,” she repeated nervously.

The trek to her destination was quiet. She had expected as much, considering the time and whatnot, but still, it was a little unnerving for a mare such as herself. The serene outskirts of the town slowly converted to suburban cityscape as she walked. She took lefts and rights past partially familiar houses. The closer she got to her cousin’s house, however, the more nervous she became. As her head came closer to the ground, she blew a wisp of hair out of her face that had fallen over.

What were they going to do, she wondered.

‘Nothing too crazy tonight. Just something nice and simple, Fluttershy,’ she spoke silently to herself.

Taking a breath to calm herself once more, Fluttershy rounded the last corner to Candy’s house. She began forward again, but stopped suddenly as she spied something something quite curious.

About a block away, a mare with a gray hoodie on trotted out of a house before looking around and starting forward. She came out of Candy Mane’s house. Fluttershy instantly recognized the multicolored pink tail and pale yellow coat.

‘What is she doing?’ Fluttershy thought. She tried to think, but didn’t recall Candy telling her about anything she often does in particular. At least not anything at this hour.

Candy was acting strange. The way she was placing her steps and how she was keeping her head low... it was as if she were trying to hide, or at least sneak past somepony.

Hiding... Oh no.

‘She’s not... doing something bad, is she?’ Fluttershy gulped.

Why else would she be sneaking like this? She hoped that Candy wasn’t getting into too much trouble. She took a step forward. If Candy really was getting into trouble, then it was Fluttershy’s job as the older cousin to get her out of said trouble.

‘I’ll... I’ll follow her and see what’s going on. Maybe I can talk her out of it?’

And with that, Fluttershy took a shaky step forward and began to follow her hooded cousin. The path that she was taking was strange. Candy wasn’t going anywhere that Fluttershy had been before. They traveled along back roads and grimy alleyways ways and into parts of the town that the mare had never taken the time to traverse.

Most of the structures around them were worn down or otherwise dilapidated. The roads were mostly dirt instead of the cobble stone that covered the other districts. Fluttershy struggled not to squeal every time an eerie noise appeared or a stray cat jumped out from a corner. She could hardly tell where she was going, too, the only thing keeping her on the right path this night being the dark form of Candy Mane ahead of her. The other mare seemed to know her way perfectly around the area.

‘Where could she be going?’

Fluttershy tried her best to remain silent and out of sight. She hid around the corners, hugged the walls, and tread as lightly as possible as the soft dirt crumbled beneath her hooves. She somehow managed to continue to go unnoticed by Candy. The flower that had once hung in her mane had long since fallen out, now allowing the hair to fall freely over her face again.

‘So far, so good,’ she thought as she blew another wisp of hair from her features.

After a little while their journey finally seemed to end as Candy trotted directly to a large brick building. Fluttershy cocked her head as she regarded it. The building was made completely of bricks. There were no windows and no outward decoration as far as she could see. The only thing the building had was a single rusted, metal door.

It was then that Fluttershy noticed Candy’s pink tail disappearing behind the door. The mare rushed forward, using her wings to push her through the air so as not to make too much sound, and caught the door just before it closed. With caution, she stepped inside and almost jumped with surprise as she heard the echoed clacking sound of her hoof making contact with a hard stone floor.

She paused to make sure Candy hadn’t heard her and breathed a sigh of relief as she confirmed that she was safe.

‘Seriously, how has she not caught me yet?’ It was most likely due to the fact that Candy’s hoofsteps masked her own.

With slow and soft movements, Fluttershy stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She looked around and made out the interior of the building in the dim lighting. It was mostly gray with only one white wall. the inside had no decor either. One thing did stand out, though. Rather than a big, dark room like she had been expecting, she was met with a set of stone stairs with guard rails placed on each side.

Fluttershy looked down the staircase and saw Candy’s form disappear once again below her. The mare made her way to the steps and began down, using her wings to lighten her stride. While she was walking, she realized for the first time that she could hear something other than Candy’s hoofsteps. It sounded like... music. And ponies, a lot of ponies.

‘Is it some kind of party?’ she wondered.

Fluttershy couldn’t hear Candy anymore, but continued anyways and was surprised slightly when she found out that it had only been a single flight of stairs she’d been descending. When she reached the bottom, she found herself looking down a dark and musty hallway. At the end of that hallway was a light, coming from a doorway of sorts. She looked around once to see if there were anything else, and started forward once more when there wasn’t.

She came closer and closer to the entrance and as she did, she began to hear more and more of the sounds. The music became louder and she could hear the beat. The voices became clearer and the sound of a crowd came into focus. When she got closer, she noticed that the doorway was covered by light and translucent curtains, blowing slightly from some breeze from the other side.

Fluttershy stopped a few yards away. The mare took a moment and a deep breath to steel herself. She was now going to find out what her cousin was so secretive about. The crowd was what really worried her. It was a well known fact, probably throughout Equestria, that the mare did not do crowds. They... intimidated her.

‘No, not right now Fluttershy,’ she inwardly scolded herself. ‘Alright, I can do this. I just have to go in, find Candy, and ask what’s going on. How hard can it be?...’

With one last breath, the mare valiantly stepped forward, brushed the curtains aside with her hoof, and trotted inside.

The moment she did, she was hit by a wave of sound. The steady drumbeat of the music flowed through the place. Though, instead of a dark room filled to brim with glow stick wielding, dancing party ponies, she was met with a large, lit up basement room.

There weren't nearly as many ponies as she had first thought. There were about thirty or forty and they were all in different spots around the room, hanging in little groups and talking and laughing together. The room itself wasn't as big as she thought it would be either. Fluttershy looked around the room and found the source of the music to be a decent sized stereo system and turntables being operated by an alabaster mare with a spiky, electric blue mane.

Fluttershy shifted her gaze, but couldn't find her cousin anywhere. She tried to process all the new information through her mind but couldn't figure out what this place was supposed to be.

"What the-" she started, but she was suddenly interrupted.

"Hey, everypony!" a colt shouted from one side of the room. "We got a battle over here!"

At that moment everypony in the room shifted and stood up with excitement before trotting over to a point in the room where a large group was starting to form. Unfortunately for our poor mare, she was caught up in the migrating crowd.

Fluttershy tried her best to navigate through the group, but her efforts were in vain.

"Um- excuse me? What- I- sorry. Uh- can somepony please tell me what's going on? Hello?" She struggled to get someponies attention, but was just stuck in the crowd.

She heard cheers and applause go up in the crowd. Something was going on in the center of the group. She tried to move around the other ponies to see. The space was too tight to use her wings and she was smaller than the ponies in front of her.

While she struggled, she heard some of the ponies talking to each other.

"Another battle, huh?"

"Hahah, this is awesome."

"Who is it this time? Redheart and Wisp?”

Fluttershy tried again to get attention. “H-hello? What is it? Somepony!?”

“Fluttershy!?”

Fluttershy’s head shot around in the direction of the familiar voice. There stood Candy Mane just outside of the crowd with a bewildered expression. Her mane had been brushed- though, not much- and her gray hoodie had been taken off.

“Candy!” Fluttershy felt a surge of joy and forced herself through the ponies until she reached her cousin and wrapped her in an unexpected hug.

“Eep!” She realized what she was doing and let go of Candy with a sheepish expression. “Oh my gosh, Candy, I’m sorry, b-but I...”

“Fluttershy, what are you doing here?” Candy’s voice was stern, though not mean or angry. “You really shouldn’t be here.”

Fluttershy lowered her head. “I-I’m sorry, Candy. I just... I thought about what you said, so I went out to your house, but I saw you leave and you came here and so I... I...”

“You followed me here?” Her tone was still stern, yet somewhat surprised.

The shy mare tried to defend herself. “I’m sorry! I saw you trying to sneak around and I got really worried and-!”

“Hey, Candy! What’s up?” A light-tan colored unicorn mare with a golden mane trotted up to them with a smile on her face. The mare spotted Fluttershy. “Oh? Who’s this little mare, Candy?”

“Oh, um, hey Chime. She’s... nopony-”

“Well well well.” Another pony came up to them. It was an earth pony colt this time, with a pale white coat and a black mane that had been neatly brushed back. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your lovely friend here?” he said with a smirk.

Candy rubbed her forehead with a hoof in frustration. “Shut up, Simon.”

Simon and Chime both chuckled. “Aw, c’mon, Candy. You embarrassed?”

“Whatever,” Candy said, exasperated. “Alright, this is my cousin, Fluttershy. She just followed me here and I was about to show her out.”

Simon raised a brow. “Show her out? Why would you do that?” He shrugged. “Well, anyhow, it’s lovely to make your acquaintance, Fluttershy. I’m Simon.” He held out his hoof.

“And I’m Chime! Oh, that rhymed!” Chime said joyfully as she did the same.

“Um... hello. Nice to meet you,” Fluttershy said in her hushed voice and tapped her own hoof against the two outstretched ones. There was a short pause and Fluttershy asked, “Sorry, but... what is this place?”

“This is heaven, friend,” Simon said, then laughed. “I’m just kidding. Though, this is a sort of haven for ponies like us.”

‘Ponies like us?’ Fluttershy wondered.

“Heheh, yeah. It’s the most rockin’ place in Ponyville!” Chime chimed in.

“Hmmm... I don’t suppose it really has an official name, but we all call it the same thing, so I guess it’s good enough.” Simon walked up beside Fluttershy with a grin and gestured with a white hoof to the rest of the room. “Well then, my dear Fluttershy, welcome to The Spot.”

Chapter 2- Haven

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And We Danced
Chapter 2: Haven
By iDash

"The... the spot?" Fluttershy looked at the three ponies in front of her with a raised brow and quizzical expression.

Simon chuckled and ran a hoof through his black mane. “Yes. Like I said, not much of a name, really. Everypony just seemed to start calling it that.”

“Oh... I see...” Fluttershy said in her hushed voice. After a moment, she noticed where they were standing. It was an old, dusty bar with only a couple of stools. It didn’t look like anypony had used it in years. It stood in one of the darker corners of the room, where the lights that hung down from the ceiling didn’t quite reach.

Fluttershy suddenly yelped with surprise as she felt a pony’s hoof slung across her neck. The hoof in question belonged to the cheerful mare she had just met, Chime.

Chime spoke in what Fluttershy guessed was her usual happy and boisterous voice. “Yep! So, Flutters, what brings you ‘round these parts?”

The shy mare sank down and slipped out of Chime’s hoof. She took a few steps back and looked at each of the ponies. Two of them smiled at her while her cousin wore an expression that was a mix between worry, curiosity, and exasperation.

“Um, well...” Fluttershy paused nervously for a moment, then proceeded to tell them of her short journey that night. when she was finished, there was a moment of silence with only the sound of music in the background along with the muffled voices of other ponies.

She glanced at each of the others in turn and looked for a reaction. She expected surprise, skepticism, maybe even annoyance or anger. What she did not expect, however, was for her cousin to suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hahahah! You know me so well, Shy,” Candy laughed. She wiped a cheerful tear from her eye with a grin.

Simon was smiling as well. “Don’t worry, dear Fluttershy. We’re here to keep her out of any trouble.”

Candy made a mock pouty face as she regarded Simon. “Boo! Chime probably gets into more trouble than I do!” she said as she pointed to the mare beside her.

Chime gave a playful gasp. “Well, I would never... get caught, anyways. You were caught by your sheltered cousin, Candy. Shame on you.”

Candy waved a hoof and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Fluttershy chuckled as she watched the friends joke with each other. She raised her head slightly, letting her lavender pink mane move away from where it was covering her eye. She was feeling a little more comfortable around these new ponies. Maybe this place wasn’t so bad?

‘Actually, speaking of this place...’ Fluttershy raised her head and looked around more. She noticed that the music wasn’t playing anymore, or at least not as loudly. All of the ponies that had once been congregated in the large crowd, which she was glad to have escaped from, had separated once more into their own little groups around the spacious room.

A lot of the ponies sat on or leaned against large wooden crates that seemed to be scattered around the place. Some of the lights that she hadn’t previously noticed before had been turned back on, only slightly brightening the area around the dusty bar.

Fluttershy turned again to the three before her. “Um... excuse me, what exactly is this place? Earlier, you said it was a haven for ponies like you. What did you mean?”

Simon looked at Fluttershy with a gentle gaze for a moment, then looked down at the ground as he scrunched up his nose in thought.

He tapped a hoof to his chin and then spoke. "Hmmm... I don't quite know how to explain it." He looked back over his shoulder for a second then turned back with a slightly more excited expression. "But if you like, I would more than happy to show you."

Fluttershy hesitated. What was he going to show her? It couldn't be that bad, whatever it was. The ponies seemed quite friendly, and they were good friends of Candy's, so what could be the harm?

She glanced over to her cousin and saw both an unsure and somewhat anxious expression, but it disappeared and she simply shrugged as if to say 'why not?'.

Fluttershy took a small breath and nodded to Simon. "Alright, I suppose I don't mind."

"Great!" Simon clapped his hooves together and started in the other direction. "Just follow me, Dear."

Fluttershy did so and trotted just a couple paces behind the colt. The sound of more hooves clacking against the ground reached her as Candy and Chime followed a little further behind. She did her best to keep her head down as they progressed further into the light. The groups that they passed paid her no real attention as they talked and laughed amongst themselves.

Fluttershy realized that among the groups, she recognized a few of the ponies from around town. She saw a cream colored mare that sold her flowers around Ponyville if she wasn't working on her garden. However, the name escaped her. Far in the back, the mare spotted one of the ponies that worked at the spa whenever she was out with Rarity, Lotus Blossom. She was also surprised to see Nurse Redheart as well, though, that would explain why she heard her name in the crowd earlier. It felt a little odd seeing her out of uniform.

'What was she doing?' Fluttershy thought.

"Eep!" Fluttershy yelped after almost crashing into Simon, not realizing that the colt had stopped.

"Well, here we are," Simon said.

Fluttershy looked. They were standing in front of another group, residing in a lit up corner. There was a small stereo system resting on the ground next to one of the walls. The music was playing low, serving as background noise over the music already coming from the larger system in the room's center.

"Um... What is it?" Fluttershy asked tentatively.

Rather than replying, Simon took a step forward and began waving over a mare that was resting atop one of the crates. She was a unicorn with a coat that displayed a pale shade of magenta and had a violet mane with light purple highlights. Her cutie mark was a group of three sea green diamonds. She seemed only slightly familiar, as did most of the ponies there. The mare also looked a few years younger than Fluttershy, maybe in her late teenage years.

She waved back with a smile when she spotted Simon. "Hey, Simon!"

"Hello, Sparkler," Simon replied. Fluttershy watched as the colt trotted over to the small stereo. He paused while pressing the buttons to select the track of his choice, then turned back to Sparkler when he was done. "Would you mind showing us what you've got, Sparkler?"

Sparkler grinned and jumped off the crate. "Sure thing. Let's do it." Simon nodded and quickly pressed 'play' on the stereo and began the music.

The music started out with a quiet, almost rumbling bass line, but quickly grew with intensity as various pounding drum beats joined into the rhythm. Sparkler started to rock her head, taking a few seconds to get used to the beat. Once she caught up to the tempo, she began trotting around in a small circle within the area. The way she moved was different from the normal trot, though. She stayed on the tips of her hooves, with a little bounce in her step and she never stopped moving. The mare continued to do this for a few minutes, a determined look on her face all the while.

What Sparkler did next, however, was what addled Fluttershy the most. She lifted herself up so that she was standing on only her hind legs and began to move in a way the shy mare hadn’t seen before. She began jumping- no, more like hopping slightly on her hooves as she simultaneously crossed them and shifted them in intricate patterns. Her fore legs moved in the air to match the beat as well while her hind hooves flared out and shuffled across the floor. Sparkler did this all in perfect synchronization with the beat of the music and the rumbling drums.

That wasn’t all, though.

In one smooth, almost untraceable motion, Sparkler drop down low to the ground until she was in a curious position with her fore legs behind her and her hind ones crossed in front of her. Then, once again to the music’s rhythm, she began to weave her legs in complex patterns that continued to repeat themselves over and over in a circular motion. The patterns changed, and with each change her hooves flared out more and more, every motion comprised of both power and finesse.

The magenta mare swiftly pulled her hooves in close to her until she was in the right position, then pushed off the ground as hard as she could and shifted her hips and flung her legs out at the same time. The momentum of both actions flung her spinning into the air, mane and tail whipping about as her body flowed almost flawlessly. As gravity pulled her back down to earth, she landed gracefully on all four hooves.

Sparkler was wearing a satisfied smile and breathing heavily from her recent passionate physical exertion. The ponies around her stomped their hooves in applause and complimented her with equally bright smiles.

“Great job as always, Sparkler!” Simon shouted. Sparkler nodded and thanked him, then returned again to the crate she was previously resting on.

“So, what do you think, Fluttershy?”

“Huh? Um- what?” Fluttershy stuttered as she snapped her head around to face Simon, only just realizing that she had been staring at the same spot where Sparkler was with her mouth hanging open.

Simon chuckled softly. “I kind of expected that.”

Fluttershy paused as she regarded the colt and then spoke with a question. “What... what was that?”

Simon laughed again, this time turning around and starting in the direction from which they came. “That, my friend, was dance.”

“Dance?”

“That’s right,” he replied. “Sparkler’s one of our junior members, but she’s still quite good for her age.” He muttered something else under his breath that Fluttershy didn’t get.

She looked ahead of them and spotted Candy Mane and Chime talking with each other, and they made their way towards them.

Simon spoke again as they arrived. “Anyways, Fluttershy, that is what we do here, so you have no need to worry about Candy getting into any trouble.”

“So! How was it, Shy?” Chime said merrily.

Fluttershy tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. She didn’t know what to think about it. It certainly wasn’t bad, it was good, but she just couldn’t really describe what she felt from it.

“It was... good. I... I just don’t really know how to put it.” She looked at the others with a half worried look, but received only smiles in return.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, Shy! It was cool, wasn’t it?” She nodded to a grinning Chime. For lack of better word, it was ‘cool’.

She felt a hoof rest on her shoulder and turned to see Simon look at her with a warm expression. “I am sure you still have a lot of questions, Dear, but I think it would be best if Candy explained the rest. It’s getting late, and while most of us are used to late nights, I get the feeling that you’re not, so it would be a good idea for her to walk you back home now.”

Fluttershy yawned in response and blushed slightly. Candy trotted up next to her. “Yeah, he’s probably right. Let’s get you home, Shy. I’ll explain the rest on the way home.”

“Good night!” Chime exclaimed.

Simon nodded to them. “Have a good night, girls. And it was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy nodded back, a smile faded in with her tired look. “It was nice meeting you, and you too, Chime.”

“Alright, thanks, guys. See ya tomorrow,” Candy said. The small group said their goodbyes for the night before Fluttershy and her cousin trotted off to the exit. They moved past the plastic sheets and through the dimly lit hallway. It seemed a lot shorter than Fluttershy remembered. The trip up the stairs was quick. When they reached the slightly rusted metal door, Candy pushed it open and they both stepped out into the crisp night air, letting it creak shut behind them.

Fluttershy looked around for a moment. Everything seemed a little brighter, illuminated by Luna's moon in the night sky. Still, she had no idea where to go. That wasn't much of a problem, though, as it seemed that Candy did.

The mares started off in one direction, Fluttershy following closely behind her younger counterpart. The air around them was strangely calm. They took turn after confusing turn, but Candy still somehow knew the way out of the labyrinth-like neighborhoods.

They continued for a while in silence until Candy spoke up, slight traces of a laugh hanging in her voice. "So, I guess now you know my secret, huh?"

Instead of saying anything, Fluttershy replied with a nod.

Candy looked at her with a brow raised in an amused expression. "That's it? I expected a lecture about how I shouldn't be up so late or at least about a thousand questions."

The mare thought for a moment. She did have a lot of questions. She guessed now would be as good a time as any to find answers.

"So, um," she started. "How long have you been doing this?"

Candy paused for a second, then answered. "About two years now."

Fluttershy was slightly taken aback. "Two years?"

"Yep!" Candy happily confirmed. "Simon's been in there since it started, around six years ago. And Chime's been in only half a year longer than me."

"Wow, I never noticed," Fluttershy said thoughtfully.

Candy smirked. "Ya don't say."

This made the shy mare laugh a little, then silence passed between them again for a few moments. Fluttershy still had several questions just waiting to be asked, however, and one of them peaked her curiosity over the others.

"If... If it's just dancing, why are you so secretive about it?"

Candy hesitated at this. "That's... a long story." She glanced to her cousin, then glanced back ahead. "But I guess we've got time."

For a short time, Candy was silent, staring out to some undetermined point ahead of her in deep thought. The smile on her face had vanished.

She finally spoke. "You remember how Simon was calling it a haven? Well, that's what it is. It's our own little piece of heaven where nopony else can bother us. When others see what we do, they always look down on it or take it as a joke. They never take it seriously. All of our members love to dance, it's our passion. Hay, if it had been any other way, it would be our cutie marks."

She was silent again, collecting her thoughts, then resumed her speech. "The Spot isn't just a place where we can dance. It's somewhere ponies can go to escape judgement. Our group is full of what others would call 'misfits'. Everyday, ponies look down on them and judge them, but when they come to The Spot, they can be themselves. They don't have to be afraid to do what they love. None of us are the same, but none of us care, 'cause we all have one thing in common: we love to dance."

Fluttershy thought for a moment about what Candy said.

'Misfit?...'

She looked to Candy. "You said that some go to 'escape judgment'. Does... that mean you, too?"

Candy glanced at her with an almost solemn look in her eye, then said, "Sometimes it's not really easy being the oldest mare anypony knows that hasn't gotten her cutie mark yet."

That was right. Fluttershy never really thought about it, but Candy still didn't have her cutie mark. She remembered how others would bully her about it when they were still in school together. Fluttershy would always be by her side, doing her best to protect her from the ridicule just as Rainbow Dash had for her, which seemed just a little ironic. This was before she left flight school and moved down to Ponyville. Fluttershy wondered how painful it must have been for Candy before then. It must've been like how the foals would tease her about how she couldn't fly, maybe even worse. At least she was somewhat able to leave it behind. Candy couldn't leave this behind.

"Well, anyways," Fluttershy jumped with a start as she heard Candy’s voice again. She’d hardly noted the silence between them as she thought. Luckily, she didn’t notice and continued. “That’s why we try to keep it a secret.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I just didn’t know.”

Candy chuckled under her breath and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy.”

They kept on walking, now in parts of Ponyville that Fluttershy recognized. It wouldn’t be long until she was home. She was much more tired than she’d thought. After a bit, Candy began talking with her cousin again, this time more softly.

“It’s funny, ya know. Our group hasn’t been around that long, but it’s grown so much. Did you know that Simon is one of the founders?”

Fluttershy looked up in surprise. “He is?” She thought for a moment. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Simon around Ponyville.”

This time, it was Candy's turn to be surprised. “You haven’t? I’d have thought you’d seen him around your friend Rarity. He works with her all the time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. His business is on the other side of town, though. He’s a jeweler. We call him Simon, but his actual name is Radiant Simonize.”

Radiant Simonize... Now that she thought about it, Fluttershy may have heard Rarity mentioning that name once or twice.

“Anyways, where was I?... Oh yeah. Simon is one of the founders. It was him and Vinyl Scratch that made it. It all started about six years ago. Simon still lived up in Manehattan and owned his little jewelry shop. He was a dancer then, but not like he is now. He was more of a street performer dancing on the dirty back streets of Manehattan. It wasn’t much, though. He kept his identity a secret, he didn’t really want anypony knowing it was him, and for good reason. Simon danced his heart out to the music of his little stereo, but nopony ever watched, and those that did just laughed at him. They never took his passion seriously.

“He kept dancing alone, even though everypony ignored him. But it was starting to wear him down, everypony looking down on his passion. That was until Vinyl Scratch found him. She was the only mare to watch, let alone enjoy, what he did. She sat there the whole night and just watched, cheering him on and chasing away all of the one’s that tried to laugh at him. The next day she met him again, but brought her own beats for him to dance to. That was probably the best night he’d had at that lonely back street.”

Candy was smiling now.

“After that, they became the best of friends, always performing together wherever they went in the city. Eventually, though, neither of them could take Manehattan anymore and decided to leave the place. That’s when they came to Ponyville. I guess they liked the quiet. They decided to stop performing on the streets, those nights in the city must’ve gotten to them. Some time after that, they found others just like them, dancers with nowhere to dance and nopony who cared. So, they gathered everypony they could and started their group. They used that abandoned building as their meeting point ever since, and eventually started calling it The Spot.

“Ponies started joining pretty quick. Everypony that joined agreed to keep it a secret, so that way, we’d be able to keep our own little piece of heaven.”

There was silence after Candy finished her explanation. Fluttershy didn’t know what to say, she honestly hadn’t expected that.

‘Our own little piece of heaven...’ Fluttershy wasn’t going to lie. It sounded nice- well, more than nice. It was like what she felt when she was at home with her animals. Her own special place...

“You know,” Fluttershy spoke. “When I saw the dance earlier... well, it was amazing. The way she danced was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. So, I don't get why anypony would look down on it, and I think it's just wrong that they do.”

Candy gave her a warm look. “Thanks, Shy. That means a lot.”

Fluttershy nodded and they continued for the rest of the way in content quiet. They had been traveling along the small dirt path that led to her home for a while. The mare could almost hear the soft snores of her animals as they approached the cottage.

“Welp, here we are,” Candy said as they arrived at the front door to the cottage.

“Thank you, Candy.” Fluttershy stepped forward to the door.

“So, how’d you enjoy your first visit to The Spot?” Candy asked with a smirk.

“It was great...” Fluttershy paused. It was great, but would this be the only time? “Um, Candy, I was wondering if- well, if next time, maybe could I, um... could I come with you next time?”

Candy’s jaw dropped open. “Wait, you mean, come with me to The Spot?” Fluttershy nodded. “But I- why would- but you never want to go anywhere!” she said, bewildered.

The shy mare glanced down and pawed at the ground with her hoof. “I know, I know, but something about the music and the dancing just made me feel... good, like I wanted to move, to dance, to just do anything. I don’t know how to describe it, but I liked it. And you’re always telling me that I need to get out more and I thought that maybe I’d give it a try.”

Candy still wore a surprised, yet happy expression nonetheless. “Well- I mean, of course you can come! I just never expected something like this from you. I, um, guess I’ll tell you when our next meet-up is.”

Fluttershy smiled as she opened the cottage door behind her. “Thank you so much, Candy.”

“Sure, don’t mention it, Cuz.”

The two said their goodnights and Candy finally left Fluttershy to her cottage. Fluttershy walked in, gingerly shutting the door as she entered. She trotted lightly across the soft wooden floor to her room where she alighted pleasantly on her soft bed. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier as she went over the entire night in her mind. As she shut her eyes for the final time and fell into the clutches of peaceful sleep, she was thinking, ‘Maybe my own little piece of heaven doesn’t sound so bad.’

Chapter 3- Welcome

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And We Danced
Chapter 3: Welcome
by iDash

“Fluttershy, would you hurry up already!?” Candy shouted out to her cousin.

The yellow blur that zipped around in the air responded. “I’m sorry... Candy... but I... just have to... make sure... everything’s... okay.” Fluttershy spoke in short bursts as she passed her cousin. The timid mare was hurrying to clean up her cottage and make various preparations for her critter friends before she left.

It had been two days since her first night at the Spot and she was still anxious to go again, to feel that experience once more. Candy happily agreed to her decision, although she was still quite surprised by it.

The mare had that they visit Simon before doing anything else; it would be a good idea to get Fluttershy caught up on everything first. Candy had arrived not too long ago to go with her cousin on the quick excursion to the stallion’s jewelry shop. It was about mid-morning, about a decent time to get started before things got too busy around town.

Fluttershy, however, did not understand this part of the plan. Instead, the mare was incessantly darting throughout her home and double checking- though Candy was sure she had double checked five times now- to make sure that everything was clean and that her animals were well taken care of.

“Your house can only get so clean, Shy,” Candy said impatiently.

Fluttershy hovered over the birds’ perches. “I know, just one more minute. And for the last time, it’s a cottage, not a house.”

Candy facehooved. “Oh, for the love- not this again. Dude, it’s a house!”

“No it’s not,” her cousin replied.

“What’s the difference anyways? Why can’t you just call it a house, you know, like every other normal pony?”

“Because it’s not a house, it’s a cottage,” Fluttershy insisted, now holding a feather duster in her mouth as she swept over her furniture and such. “At least that’s what it said on the papers when I bought it.”

“Who cares?!” Candy said incredulously. “You know, I actually looked it up the other day. The dictionary definition of cottage is a small single storied dwelling. Yours has two stories! So it’s a house!” she stated triumphantly.

Fluttershy paused and looked at Candy, then at the small second story of her abode for a moment, then back at Candy and smiled.

“It’s a loft. Doesn’t count.”

“Doesn’t- pffft- What!”

As Candy stuttered for words, Fluttershy alighted, giggling, in front of her. “Anyways, I’m all done. Shouldn’t we be going now?”

Candy opened her mouth as if to say something but just let out a frustrated groan. “Fine. We’ll settle this later,” she grumbled.

The shy mare nodded happily, hiding a victorious smile as she turned to her pet bunny that was observing the quarrel from the side. “Now, be good like I said, okay, Angel? I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Holding his carrot in one hand, Angel saluted his caretaker with the other. Fluttershy said a last goodbye to her animal friends and they all responded happily.

Satisfied, the two began their trip as they trotted through the door and out of the mare’s house/cottage/whatever.

The walk wasn’t all that bad; it was a pleasant temperature with the sun high in the sky and ponies were out and about enjoying themselves. The two smiled at the pleasant atmosphere around them, taking it in as they trotted along. They eventually began to fill in the comfortable silence with small talk about one another.

As the pair walked, they passed by a familiar shop. The door to Carousel Boutique opened and out trotted an elegant alabaster mare with an expertly done violet mane. resting atop said mane was a ridiculously large sun hat, complete with ruffles and an equally exorbitant feather. Two florid saddle bags the same color as her mane rested at her sides.

Rarity.

She smiled happily and shut the door gently behind her. As she started off in a direction, she looked to her side. Her face lit up even more as she spotted Fluttershy walking alongside her younger counterpart.

The mare quickly made her way over to them, catching Fluttershy’s attention as she did so. “Oh! Fluttershy! My dear, it is so good to see you again. How have you been? Oh, and hello to you as well, Candy Mane.” Rarity cheerfully greeted them.

Fluttershy turned to her designer friend slightly surprised then smiled. “Um... Hi, Rarity. I’m just fine.... What about you?”

Rarity was now trotting alongside the others. “I’ve been excellent! Things with the shop are going very well, and with Sweetie Belle at school now, I’ve had much more peaceful time for my work.” She turned her head and smirked at Fluttershy. “Though, I’ve certainly been missing visits from a certain yellow pegasus friend of mine.”

Fluttershy gave an apologetic look from behind her mane that was covering half of her face. “I’m so sorry, Rarity. I’ve just been so busy, and- and... well...”

The white mare shook her head dismissively. “It’s quite alright, Dear. I’m sure you have your reasons. Your cottage-”

Candy visibly flinched.

“Is probably quite busy with all of those animals of yours.”

“Well, that’s just how things always are at my cottage.” Smiling knowingly to herself, Fluttershy put extra emphasis on the word ‘cottage’, which certainly did not go unnoticed by the mare’s cousin.

“I can only imagine, Dear,” Rarity said. “Oh, I know! We really should go again to the spa some time. My poor hooves have desperately been needing treatment.” She looked down tenderly at her hooves, then sighed.

“Oh well.” She turned once more to her friend and smiled. “So, where are you two headed on such a pleasant day?”

Candy spoke up this time rather than Fluttershy. “We’re actually going to see the jeweler on the up side of town, Radiant Simonize.”

Rarity’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you know Mr. Radiant? I was just heading there myself. I’m working on this fabulous dress and I refuse to use anything but the best jewels, and Mr. Radiant is one of few that seems to understand.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Let’s go together, then,” she said happily. “I’d love to catch up while we walk, too.”

And catch up they did. Their talk, however, which lasted for most of the trip, was very one sided and pretty much just a seemingly endless monologue by the fashionista about the latest trend, her recent fashion exploits, or simply whatever came to mind. Strangely enough, neither of the other two mares seemed to mind. Fluttershy was just too kind to interrupt, and Candy easily blocked out the entire conversation. This was due to the fact that the mare had received excellent practice from blocking out her friend Chime, who, at times, was a lot like Pinkie Pie. And you have to admit, it takes serious skill to be able to block that out.

It wasn’t much longer until the group finally reached their destination. A white shop on a short hill stood in front of them. A sign hung above and read “The Radiant Jewel” in elegant lettering. The clean, white door was engraved with ornamental designs. Through the windows, they could see wonderful displays of jewels, gems, and trinkets that ranged from tastefully simple to simply exquisite.

This was Fluttershy’s first time seeing Simon’s shop. As the others continued inside, she found herself almost rooted to the spot while she gazed into the hypnotizing brilliance of the sparkling jewels.

She was snapped out of the trance as she heard somepony giggling beside her. The mare turned to see Rarity looking at her with a smile.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" she said. Fluttershy just nodded in response and Rarity giggled again. "Mr. Radiant truly is amazing with his craftsmanship. I've never seen a more beautiful gem than any that came from him."

Rarity had a look of admiration about her as she too looked at the display in the window. After a moment she snapped back up. "Well then, that's enough of that. Shall we go inside?"

Fluttershy nodded and they trotted inside. The interior was just as pristine as the exterior. The walls were a polished alabaster and there were several glass displays lined up as the jewels inside sparkled. There were a few wealthy looking ponies browsing the shop with avid regard.

The shy mare’s eyes drifted over to the other end of the shop where there sat a familiar white stallion with a neat black mane standing behind a counter holding another small glass display. After a moment, the stallion turned his head and spotted the mares. He instantly brightened up and waved at them with a smile, gesturing for them to come over.

“Hello, Rarity, Candy. Oh, and Fluttershy as well,” Simon addressed the group as they approached the counter.

“Ah! Mr. Radiant, how are you today?” Rarity said cheerfully.

“I am excellent, Dear,” he replied. “So, I assume you’re here to check up on your commission?” The mare nodded and Simon smiled. “Well then, I believe you shall be quite pleased.”

As he spoke, he bowed his head down behind the counter and fumbled around a bit until he found what he was looking for. He had something grasped carefully in his mouth when he came up and placed it on the counter. The object elicited a gasp from Rarity and looks of awe from Fluttershy and Candy.

“Wow, Simon,” Candy said. “This is really-”

“It’s...” Rarity cut her off. “It’s... It’s absolutely amazing! You’ve really outdone yourself this time.”

In front of them sat a flawless, polished piece of amber, about two inches in diameter. It was cut into a perfect circle, no nicks or scratches in sight. The color of the gem was so lustrous that is almost seemed as if light itself had been trapped inside it and was swirling and churning effortlessly within its confines.

Simon chuckled. “It’s nothing, really. Only the best for the best designer in Equestria.”

Rarity smiled as a slight blush crept onto her face. “Oh, you flatter me. I’m going to be using this as a pendant for my latest design, and I promise that you will be the first to see it.”

“It would be an honor,” the gentlecolt said with a small bow.

Rarity leaned over and picked up the amber between her teeth and placed it gingerly inside her saddle bags. She then turned back to the group.

“Sorry, but would you mind if I looked around a bit? I’ve been looking for the perfect sapphires to compliment the amber.”

“Of course, Rarity,” he said and gestured with his hoof to the rest of the room. “My shop is always open to you.” Delighted, Rarity trotted off to examine the jewels with eyes sparkling almost as much as the diamonds.

“So how are you two?” Simon asked as he turned back to Candy and Fluttershy.

“We’re doin’ great,” Candy said then leaned in a little closer. “Actually, me ‘n Shy wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Okay, go ahead,” Simon consented.

“Um, well... It’s about the Spot. She... she wants to join.”

Simon looked back and forth between the mares before nodded in understanding. He brought a hoof to his chin and tapped it in thought. “So, you want to be a breaker, huh?”

Fluttershy paused. “Um... a breaker?...”

“That’s right,” Simon nodded. “Dancers, B-mares, B-colts, breakers- that’s the proper term for what we are: Break dancers.”

Fluttershy lowered her head and stuttered a little. “Oh, I-I want to join, b-but I don’t even know how to dance.”

This elicited an unexpected chuckle from the stallion. “It doesn’t matter, Dear. In fact, that’s how most of our members started out. Just because you don’t know how doesn’t mean you can’t. You just have to move how you feel to the music.”

He adorned a thoughtful look again, then sighed. “I’m sure Candy’s already told you, but we try our best to keep this a secret, to keep it safe from others.” He locked eyes with Fluttershy with an unwavering expression. “If you join, can you promise to keep our haven a secret?”

Fluttershy gulped. It was a huge responsibility, and she had never had to keep a secret before. She began to question if she could handle it... no, she had to. It was as if her heart were talking to her. She didn’t know why, but she wanted this- she needed it. And so, she listened to her heart and nodded to the stallion in front of her.

“Yes, I promise,” Fluttershy said with new determination.

Simon stared into her eyes for a moment longer, as if searching something, and then his gaze softened. “Alright then, I trust you Fluttershy,” he said with a friendly smile.

There was a breath of relief from Candy. “Jeez, don’t scare me like that, Simon. Since when did you start getting all scary?”

Simon just smirked at her and turned back to Fluttershy. “Well, you’re going to join, there is one more thing we need to do.” He looked back and forth to make sure nopony heard him. “We’ll be meeting again tonight. Come to the Spot with Candy and I will tell you what’s next.”

Fluttershy hesitated for a moment then nodded in agreement.

“Alright,” Candy said with a grin. “We should probably get going then. It was nice seein’ ya Simon.”

“You too, girls. Have a nice day, and I’ll see you tonight.”

After they said bye, the mares turned and headed for the exit to the store. Candy stopped just before the door, though. “Wait, what about Rarity?”

“Um...” Fluttershy looked around and spotted Rarity. The fashionista was giggling as she gazed at gem after gem, as if she were a filly at Sugarcube Corner. She was letting out a series of ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s while she jumped from display to display. “I think she’ll be okay,” the shy mare said with a chuckle.

They left the store and began on their way back to Fluttershy’s cottage. They passed through the marketplace where Fluttershy stopped by Applejack's stand. The farmer kindly gave them two mouth watering apple fritters. After they left, Candy turned into one of the adjacent neighborhoods, making Fluttershy follow as they went along the new path.

"Where are we going?" Fluttershy inquired.

Without turning around, Candy replied, "We're stopping by my place real quick. I got somethin' to give you."

Fluttershy nodded and followed silently until they reached the younger mare's house. It had been a while since she had been here. It was pretty simple on the outside. Beige walls stood on each side with a tiled roof on top. Clear windows reflected the sunlight. The house was big enough for two or three ponies to live in even though Candy lived there alone.

They trotted up the steps to the front door. Candy opened it, motioning for Fluttershy to enter, then followed her inside. The inside was pretty simple as well. The light carpeted floor covered the living room and the hallways.

"Stay right here. I'll be right back," Candy said then trotted off down the hallway. Fluttershy looked around for a moment. The place was much cleaner than she thought it would be. Her cousin wasn't exactly the tidiest pony in town.

'Hmm. She probably just stuffs everything in a closet somewhere,' Fluttershy thought.

From past the hallway, she heard a muffled rustling and then a loud thud, shortly followed by an 'ouch!' that most likely came from her cousin.

'Yep.'

A minute later, Candy returned holding something gray in her mouth. "Here ya go," she said, though slightly muffled by what she was carrying.

Fluttershy reached out with her hoof and took it. It was some kind of cloth. She turned it over a few times until she finally figured out what it was.

"Um... A sweater?"

Candy smiled. "Yep, you get your very own hoodie." She pointed a hoof to the hoodie. "Wear this when we go to the spot tonight. Bright yellow tends to stand out at night, and since we're trying not to be seen..."

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. "Alright," Candy said. "I'll stop by and pick you up tonight, 'Kay?"

"Okay. Thank you, Candy." She turned and headed for the door. "I'd better get home, then."

"You sure you don't want me to walk you home?"

She shook her head. "It's okay; I'll see you soon anyways."

The two said their quick goodbyes and Fluttershy left to return to her cottage, where a certain bunny was waiting rather impatiently for a much needed carrot.

The crescent moon shone brightly among the stars in the night sky. All was quiet and still. Not many ponies were out and about at this time of night. That is, except for two certain light yellow mares making their way through the various unlit neighborhoods of Ponyville.

Fluttershy and Candy walked in silence. Fluttershy had been quiet for most of the trip- quieter than usual. Candy looked over to her and noticed that she was staring at the ground with her head down. Her steps were stiff and rigid as if she were nervous. The hood of the sweater Candy had given her covered most of her face.

“What’s wrong, Shy?”

Fluttershy looked up at her cousin, then down again. “I’m... I’m just worried. What’s going to happen? What if they don’t accept me?”

“What do you mean?” Candy asked with a raised brow.

The mare looked up enough to look her in the eye. “I’m a newcomer, and I can’t even dance! What if... What if they don’t want me there? It’s your ‘haven’, just like you said, and I would just be an intruder.”

Rather than responding right away, Candy turned her head and looked up at the sky. After a moment, she let out a breath and turned her gaze back down. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Shy. Honestly, you won’t a find nicer group of ponies anywhere you go.”

“But-” Candy held up a hoof and cut her off.

“They will accept you, I promise.” She paused. “You know, we’re closer than just a group of friends. We’re like- no, we are a family. We support each other, and we’re always there for each other. And you’d just be another addition to the family.”

Fluttershy looked at her as they walked. “A family... are you sure they will?”

Candy nodded. “I’m positive. Besides, you’ve already been accepted.”

“I-I have?” Fluttershy said, surprised. Candy grinned at her.

“Yep. Simon and Chime accept you, and so will everypony else.”

The shy mare thought about the two she had first met when she came to the Spot. Chime was a lot like Pinkie Pie, who accepted everypony, and Simon had been so friendly. They had both been so quick to welcome her.

‘Hmm... I believe Candy, but still...’

“Welp, here we are,” Candy said, interrupting Fluttershy from her thoughts.

She looked up. Indeed, just as Candy said, they had arrived. Fluttershy blinked; she must’ve been too wrapped up in her worried thoughts to even notice how long they’d been walking.

Together, they trotted up to the rusted metal door and opened it, the hinges screeching as they entered. The lights were as dim as Fluttershy remembered, as well as the dusty air. This time, though, she wasted no time observing and headed straight down the stairs with Candy. They reached the bottom of the stairs and proceeded down the dark hallway.

It was different from what the shy mare remembered. The music was there, although not quite as loud. There was the low rumble of talking, but it seemed more concentrated than last time, as if all the voices had congregated into one large group.

She approached and walked through the billowing plastic sheets, only to be suddenly yanked off to the side when she entered.

“There you are, Fluttershy!” came the voice of a very jubilant mare. “We’ve been waiting forever for ya!”

Fluttershy looked over to see Chime, whom had pulled her to the side. “Um, y-you have?”

The tan mare grinned. “Well duh, you’re the reason we’re all here, anyways.”

‘The reason they’re all here?’

“Ah, there you are, Fluttershy.” The mare turned once again, this time to see Simon trotting towards them with a smile of his own.

“Are you ready, dear?” Fluttershy hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Her anxiety was very noticeable. “Good, then let us go. We wouldn’t want to keep them waiting, seeing as everypony will most likely head home right after this.”

“Why’s that?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s not really the usual meeting. I just called them all here briefly for tonight.”

“Called them here... For what?”

Simon gave her a puzzled look as if it were obvious. “Well, for you, of course.”

‘...For me?’

She stumbled over to the side as the excited Chime collided with her and threw a hoof over her shoulder. “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go!” She began walking forward, forcing the shy mare to follow along.

Fluttershy cast a worried glance at Candy and received a reassuring smile in return. They all walked and passed other groups of ponies as they made their way to the center of the room. Fluttershy’s excitable new friend wasted no time once they were there and shouted out, “Hey, everypony! Hurry up and gather ‘round!”

The reaction was quick. Every set of eyes turned to them, and they all obliged and trotted over to the center of the room until they were surrounded by a small crowd of ponies, each with expectant expressions.

“Alright!” Candy began. “This is what you’ve been waiting for. I’m sure you’ve all heard already, but we’re getting a new member today! So, with permission from ol’ Simonize over here,-” this elicited a few chuckles within the crowd as Simon playfully rolled his eyes, “I’d like to welcome our newest B-mare, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy could feel the awful anxiety course through her body as her name was shouted. There was a moment of tense silence, and then that silence erupted into cheers that shocked the poor mare as she jumped. The crowd quickly closed in on them, making Fluttershy try and scoot back to escape, but she was stopped by Candy.

It wasn’t until Candy gave her another reassuring smile and nod that she realized what was going on. The ponies in the crowd were exuberant, those that reached her giving her a pat on the back while they all expressed words of welcome.

“Welcome, Fluttershy!”

“It’s nice to have you.”

“Cool! Welcome to the club, Shy!”

“Woah, I didn’t know you liked to dance, Fluttershy. That’s so awesome!”

“W-w-what’s going on?” Fluttershy asked, befuddled.

She felt a hoof rest on her shoulder and looked at Simon, who gave her a warm smile. “Welcome to the family, Fluttershy.”

‘I’m... in the family.’ The mare smiled to herself, hardly noticing amongst the joyous clutter of the crowd.

“Okay, everypony!” Simon shouted when the excitement began to die down. “That is it for tonight, and thank you all for coming on such short notice. I will see you all next week at our next meeting. Don’t forget!”

They all acknowledged agreement and, gradually, began to file out, one-by-one. Once the room was almost empty and nearly everypony had gone, Candy spoke to her cousin.

“See, I told you,” she said, tapping her lightly on the shoulder.

Fluttershy giggled. “I know, I know, I was just... surprised.” She was still a little astounded by how welcoming they were. “You really are like a family, aren’t you?”

“That’s right, and you’re part of it now.”

Fluttershy was silent for a moment before she spoke. “...Thank you, Candy.”

The mare gave her a confused look for a moment, then her expression softened. “No problem, Shy.”

“Ah, you two are still here. Good.” Simon, who had been off speaking to somepony else, joined their conversation. He paused and turned his head around the room, as if looking for someone, then sighed when it was apparent that he could not. He mumbled something under his breath, then spoke to the two mares. “I must apologize, Fluttershy. There was somepony I wanted you to meet tonight, but she decided not to come, I suppose.”

“It’s fine, Simon. And, um... thank you, for all of this,” Fluttershy said.

Simon nodded happily. “Of course, dear. And welcome again.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Wait right here a moment please.” The stallion turned and briskly trotted off to one of the crates, where he picked something up in his mouth, and returned to the waiting cousins. In his mouth, he held a piece of paper with something scribbled on it. He motioned for Fluttershy to take it. She set it down on the ground in front of her and read it.

It was an address: 224 Birch St.

“I understand you don’t know how to dance, which is why, Fluttershy, we are going to teach you.”

The mare gave him a surprised look. “Y-you’re going to teach me how to dance?”

Simon chuckled. “Yes, but please do not worry, it will be fun.” He pointed at the piece of paper. “Come to this address at, say, nine o’ clock tomorrow morning, and we’ll get started. You should come as well, Candy.”

“Huh? Why do I have to come?” Candy said, taken aback.

“Well, she is your cousin after all. And besides, you don’t work tomorrow anyways, so you can help out.”

Candy grumbled, then just shrugged and said, “Alright, I guess it’ll be fun.”

“Good,” Simon nodded with a smile. “It is rather late, you should probably head home, Fluttershy.” As if on cue, the shy mare yawned, pronouncing her exhaustion to the world.

She giggled. “That sounds like a good idea.”

After they said goodnight, they left the Spot and ventured out into the peaceful night. Candy led her tired cousin home, where Fluttershy settled into her soft bed. Amongst the silent snores of her sleeping critter friends, Fluttershy fell asleep to the thoughts of her new family.

Chapter 4- Learning to Stand

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And We Danced
Chapter 4: Learning to Stand
By iDash

“Um... Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Fluttershy asked her cousin once again. The two were, again, making their way through Ponyville on another summer’s day, or morning in this case. This time, though, they were headed for the address Simon had given to the mare. However, it seemed that Candy Mane, who was leading the way, had no idea how to get to said address, but she would never admit.

Candy rolled her eyes. “I already told you, of course I know where we’re going.”

Fluttershy was not convinced. “Well, we’ve been out for quite a while now and it’s almost nine o’ clock.”

Candy stopped abruptly, causing Fluttershy to almost bump into her from behind. The leading mare raised a hoof to her chin as if she were thinking. She turned her head this way and that, brow furrowed in thought.

“Um...” Candy hummed. “Let’s see. It should be... that way!” she exclaimed and jabbed a hoof in the direction to their left.

Fluttershy pondered that direction for a moment before her face fell flat. “That’s Sugarcube Corner.”

Candy stuttered for a moment before composing herself. “Um- uh... Yes! Exactly! We need... cupcakes! To, uh, get... where we’re going... which is that way!” And with spurious confidence, the mare led the way. Fluttershy just sighed and followed her hopeless counterpart.

‘Maybe we can ask Pinkie Pie. I have to make sure I don’t tell her why, though.’ she thought.

The two cantered into the busy marketplace towards the Sugarcube Corner bakery. They passed through the doors and were promptly greeted by an excited shout that made the shy one of the two leap in surprise.

“FLUTTERSHY!”

Not a moment later, the poor mare was tackled by a speeding pink blur.

“Ooh, ow- um, hello, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said from her painful position on the ground. “Could you get off me, please? If that’s okay with you.”

“Sure!” the jubilant pink mare exclaimed. She jumped off of her friend with a ‘sproing’ noise as she did. “So what brings you guys to Sugarcube Corner? I haven’t seen you in foreeeveeeerrr, which is really only three days, two hours, forty-seven minutes, and eight seconds, but it still felt like foreeeveeeerrr! Oh, hi, Candy!”

Candy who had managed to sneak away to the shop’s counter to order a cupcake turned around and waved with a smile to the excitable, bouncing mass of pink. Fluttershy stood up and dusted herself off.

“Um, actually, Pinkie, I was hoping you could help us.”

“Sure! Watcha need?” She suddenly gasped. “Is it a party? Is it a cupcake emergency?! Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I’ll get you more cupcakes on the double!” Pinkie was about to dash off in search of said cupcakes, but fell flat on her face when Fluttershy grabbed her tail with her teeth to keep her in place.

“Wait, Pinkie! It’s not cupcakes.”

“Aww, it’s never cupcakes,” Pinkie said, disappointed.

‘I wonder why,’ Fluttershy thought to herself. “Well... um, you see, we were going somewhere and Candy got lost, and-” but she was cut off.

“Hey! I’m not lost... I’m just misunderstood,” Candy pouted.

Fluttershy opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly thought better of it. “Um, okay? Anyways, Candy got lost, and we just need some directions. Could you tell us how to get to 224 Birch Street, please? If you don’t mind.”

Pinkie hmm’ed and stuck her tongue out and thought for a minute, then said, “Sure!” much to Fluttershy’s relief. “First you go out the door then turn right, then turn right again, then you gotta go left, then right and left again, then you go sideways, and up, down, backwards...” she said all of this as she made all sorts of movements and gestures with her body that Fluttershy didn’t think possible while simultaneously bouncing. She stopped abruptly and took a deep breath. “And then you have to take the elevator and-”

“Pinkie!” Candy shouted, much to the confused Fluttershy’s thanks, making the pink mare stop. “Just tell us where it is.”

“Yes sir!” Pinkie saluted, then shot back down and straightened her body until it was as stiff as a board, even her tail which was pointing in one direction. “That way!”

Candy shot Fluttershy a smug look. “See, I told you it was this way.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and smiled at Pinkie Pie. “Thank you, Pinkie.”

“No Problem!”

The two trotted out of the store and turned towards the direction their pink friend had pointed to them. It wasn’t long until they came across a sign that read ‘Birch St.’ and happily followed it down the road until they reached the address that they sought.

Candy sighed. “We’re finally here, it’s about time.” The mare stepped up then raised her hoof and tapped it against the door, knocking a few times before stepping back. It was quiet for a few seconds that they waited, then there came the muffled sound of hoofsteps and exchanging voices from behind the wooden door.

Finally, it opened to reveal the expectant face of none other than Simon. His eyes shifted between the two before he smiled at them. “Ah, you’re finally here. You are a little late, though. I’m guessing Candy got lost again?” he said with a smirk towards the younger mare. Her cousin giggled beside her.

“Hey! We’re here, aren’t we?” she protested.

Suddenly a voice sounded within the house from behind Simon. “Are you kidding me?! You come here almost every week. How do you still get lost?!” Candy froze and Fluttershy tried to place the owner of the familiar voice. Simon then stepped aside to reveal the mare as she trotted to the doorway. She was a light aquamarine unicorn. Her mane and tail were both a light gray cyan with white highlights. Her cutie mark was a single golden lyre on each flank.

“Lyra?” Candy said with a confused expression. Her gaze shifted from Lyra to house and back again, then her eyes widened as she was hit with realization. "Oh yeah! This is your place, isn't it, Lyra?"

Everypony, even Fluttershy, facehooved, with the clueless exception of Candy.

"Anyways," Lyra said, attempting to move on from her friend's blunder. "Why don't you girls come in." They nodded in compliance and followed the mint colored unicorn inside. Simon waited until they were all inside before shutting the door behind himself and following them into the house.

It was a moment before Lyra spoke up once again, looking back over her shoulder as she did. "I'll have to admit, I was pretty surprised when Simon said that you had joined, Fluttershy. I almost didn't believe him; thought he was talking about a different Fluttershy, definitely not the timid mare I know."

Fluttershy lowered her head as she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Lyra giggled in front of them. "I'm just kidding, Fluttershy." The mare led them through the hallway and past the living room and such to the left and began ascending a set of stairs to the second floor. "So- just curious- what made you decide to take up dancing?"

Fluttershy hesitated as she thought about the question. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Why *did she decide to join? There was just something about it that... "Um, I guess- I mean, I think... It was how the music felt." She quickly lowered her head again and blushed lightly. "I'm sorry. It's just hard to explain."

Lyra just giggled and smiled warmly back at her. "Don't worry, most ponies can't." They had reached the top of the stairs now and continued to follow Lyra as she veered off to the only door to the left. Without a word, she opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing for the others to enter. They obliged and casually cantered in.

Fluttershy's mouth hung open a bit as she took in what she saw. The room was large, much larger than she had first suspected. Sunlight flooded in from a large window that took up at least half of the opposite wall. The light was reflected brightly off of the smooth, wooden floor, which looked as though it was polished and waxed regularly. Large mirrors completely covered two walls, while the wall to the right was blank save for a few chairs that were propped up against it and traces of papers that had been posted up then torn back down.

"Wow..." was all Fluttershy could say.

Lyra smiled at her. "You like it? This is Bon-Bon's dance studio. She and I built it ourselves; took a lot of work and a spare bedroom or two, but it was worth it."

Simon sighed next to her. "I'm still jealous that you two have such a great studio at your disposal."

"You two still got it better than me," Candy chimed in. "I gotta use my *carpeted floor." She shuddered. "The rug burns. Oh Celestia, the rug burns," she muttered to herself.

Fluttershy looked at them and blinked. "Wait, are you a dancer, Lyra? Um, I didn't see you at the Spot."

The mare was floating over three of the foldable chairs with her magic when she answered. "Uh... well, no, I'm not a dancer, but Simon always takes the new members to me."

Fluttershy cocked her head. "Why's that? Um, if you don't mind."

Lyra smiled at her. "That's okay. I teach the beginners the basics of dance. I don't really dance much, but I know enough to teach the fundamentals." She unfolded the chairs and set them down in a row next to her. She and Simon sat in two of them while Candy flipped hers backwards and sat down, leaning forward with her fore legs crossed and rested atop the back of the chair.

"Which, Fluttershy, is what we're doing today. So!" Fluttershy let out a surprised 'eep!'. "Let's see what you've got," The minty mare said with an expectant smile.

Fluttershy looked at her before she registered what she'd said. "W-wait, what?!"

Simon wore the same expression as Lyra. "She wants to see you dance. In order to teach you, we must first know where you currently stand."

"B-but I can't dance! I don't know what to do," Fluttershy stuttered.

Simon held up his hoof. "Nonsense, Darling. There is nopony who can't dance in some way or the other. Some have more skill than others, but everypony possesses the innate ability to dance." Candy and Lyra nodded in agreement beside him.

"Don't worry, 'Shy. We won't think anything less of you, I promise," Lyra said reassuringly.

"Okay, I'll do it," Fluttershy sighed. The mare took a deep breath and steeled herself. She readied herself, bending her knees as she crouched down a bit. Then, in one gracious movement, she straightened out, and lifted her front left leg and back right leg simultaneously, throwing her head up, her muzzle high in the air with her hair whipped back as she struck a majestic pose.

There was a painfully silent pause. After a moment, Fluttershy noticed nothing was happening and put her hooves down and lowered her head, looking now at the unreadable face of the three other ponies from behind her long, pink mane.

There was another pregnant pause, the silence was suddenly broken as a certain yellow mare exploded into a fit of laughter.

“Pffft- Bahahahahahah!” Candy clutched her stomach and tumbled backwards out of her chair, landing with a thud on the floor before she began rolling with laughter on said floor. Fluttershy’s face flushed and she ducked her head even more. She looked to the left at Simon and Lyra. The latter was quyite obviously trying to suppress her imminent laughter, though she let loose with a few snickers. The former was faring a bit better, but not by much. His alabaster face was flushed red and his lips pursed, while his eyes tried desperately to look anywhere but Fluttershy.

Lyra stuttered as she tried to speak. “I- um, it’s- well- Oh Celestia. That was... just awesome,” she managed with a few giggles.

Candy finally began to calm down and struggled to pull herself back onto her chair, catching her breath still. She held up a hoof, regarding Fluttershy. “No no. We- we know.”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” Simon spoke up, smiling. “All of our new members go through this; it’s a sort of ritual, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” Lyra agreed. “It wasn’t much, but at least it wasn’t as bad as Candy’s.” She smirked at the mare, who returned with her own pouting face.

“What are you talking about? Mine wasn’t that bad!”

Lyra gave her a deadpan look. “Really? Because I seem to recall two broken mirrors and a large hole in the ceiling.”

“Psh, I was just a little enthusiastic is all. And besides, it wasn’t that big.” She muttered the last part to herself. To this day, she still doesn’t know how she ended up upside down with her back left leg stuck in the ceiling.

Fluttershy smiled as she watched her friends. She lifted her head rather than hide behind her mane as she started to feel her tension and anxiety lift like a weight off her shoulders, a feeling that was starting to become familiar to her. Lyra rolled her eyes at Candy, then turned again to Fluttershy. “Anyways, now that we know where your, um... abilities lie, we know where to begin.”

“Um, where is that?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

Lyra clapped her hooves together and sported a wide grin, which Fluttershy didn’t know was good or bad. “The beginning, my timid friend. The very beginning.”

“Wait, what are we doing?” Fluttershy stood in the middle of the room across from Lyra and one of the mirrored walls. She was looking at the mare with a quizzical expression. It was only the beginning of her first lesson and she was already lost.

Lyra just smiled like it was simple. “I’m going to teach you how to stand.” Fluttershy paused and looked back for help, but didn’t find any. Simon and Candy had gone off to run some errands while she practiced with Lyra.

She turned back to the minty mare. “Um, but I think I already know how to stand.”

“Nope,” Lyra stated simply, then chuckled at Fluttershy’s confusion. “You’ve been to the Spot, right?” Fluttershy nodded. “Then do you remember how they danced? If you noticed, the whole time, they never stood on all four hooves.” Fluttershy paused, then nodded again as she thought back to the other night. The way they danced had seemed so strange to her.

“Well, if you’re going to dance like that, you need to know how to balance yourself on just your hind legs. Thus, I teach you how to stand,” she finished.

“Okay, I... think I understand. Um, so, how do we start?”

“First you’ll watch me do it, then you’ll give it a try and we’ll go from there.” Fluttershy nodded in confirmation. “Alright then, watch closely.” There was not much to watch, though. It wasn’t a complex movement like Fluttershy was expecting. Rather, it was just one simple motion as Lyra effortlessly hoisted herself up, letting her fore hooves leave the ground, until she stood about a foot over Fluttershy with only her hind legs to balance her.

“See, just like that,” she said, still standing. “It’s pretty easy once you get used to it.” To demonstrate, she took a few steps around in a circle before dropping back down to four hooves.

“Your turn!” She pointed to Fluttershy.

“Um, o-okay then. Here I go.” The shy mare got in the same position she’d just seen. She took a deep breath, and pushed off the ground and hoisted herself up just as her minty friend had. However, to her misfortune, her balance chose that exact moment to keel over and die.

As soon as she was up, she began to careen backwards, her hooves flailing in the air with desperation, and finally fell, hitting the ground with an adorable “Eep!”

She looked up to see Lyra looking down at her and giggling softly. “Yeah, that’s what everypony’s first try is like.” She then extended a hoof, which Fluttershy graciously accepted, and pulled the shy mare back up onto her feet, figuratively speaking.

After she was resituated, Fluttershy hesitantly asked a question that had been on her mind. “Lyra, uh, if you don’t mind me asking... why is it that you know how to... stand like this?”

“Well that’s...” she paused for a moment. “You know how I study those mysterious creatures?”

“Those weird hoo-man things?”

Lyra placed a hoof between her eyes. “Yes the- the hoo-mans.” The word was mispronounced so many times that she didn’t even bother correcting ponies anymore. Seriously, it was like mispronouncing ‘dog’ and saying ‘dug’ or ‘dig’ instead. “Anyways,” she continued, “humans are bipedal, meaning they walk on two legs. And since I’m kind of a fanatic, I sort of taught myself how to walk like that, too. I didn’t have anyone to teach me, though, so it took me a while to figure it out.”

She stood up on her hind legs again and began walking around. “But now it’s like second nature to me.” She dropped back down. “I could do it in my sleep,” she bragged. “I actually did once. ‘Scared the hay out of Bon-Bon and she started screaming ‘Human! Human!’... and throwing stuff at me.” She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.” Yeah, I slept on the couch for a while after that.”

“Anyways,” Lyra clapped her hooves together and looked pointedly at Fluttershy, thus ending her monologue. “Back to the lessons.” She trotted over so that she stood next to her friend. “Try it again, but don’t put so much force into pushing yourself up, or else you’ll fall back again, and it’s better to fall forward than backward.”

The shy mare nodded, taking in the new information. She face forward and tried again, doing as she was told. To her surprise, she was able to hold the position for a second but began tilting forward and landed softly on her hooves rather than her back. With Lyra’s instruction, she tried again and again, each time staying up just a bit longer than the last, but ending with the same result. Lyra gave her various tips like spreading her legs farther apart to obtain a wider base or to straighten herself out more to center her balance.

“Good, you’re making nice progress,” Lyra said after a while of watching her attempts. “Okay, this time I want you to spread your wings to balance yourself. If you start to fall forward, give them a little flap- just a little one- to keep you up. Everypony uses this technique when they start out: pegasi use their wings, and unicorns use their levitation magic.”

“What about earth ponies, like Candy?”

“They rely on their natural physical prowess, so it’s usually much easier for them. Alright, now show me what you’ve got, and use your wings like I told you.”

Fluttershy complied and tried once again, this time spreading her wings when she was up. When she started to lean forward, she gave a single soft flap and corrected herself. Her wing moved back and forth, making slight movements to adjust her position. She closed her eyes in anticipation as she waited for the feeling of falling again. Another moment passed and nothing happened until she heard the sound of somepony giggling.

“What’re you closing your eyes for?” Fluttershy heard her say.

The mare opened one of her eyes a little and saw Lyra standing in front of her with a proud smile on her face. She looked past her and into the mirror on the wall and couldn’t help but grin at what she saw. She was standing- on just two legs! She was doing it! In her excitement, she let out a joyful ‘squee!’, which made her lose her balance for a second, her legs flailing, before she quickly righted herself again.

Fluttershy blushed sheepishly at Lyra who was laughing again. “I mean, yay...” she said in the hushed whisper that was her normal voice level.

“Well would ya look at that,” came a voice from the doorway. It surprised Fluttershy enough to make her land back down on the ground. Both her and Lyra turned to see Candy and Simon trotting into the room, the former wearing a grin on her face. “Doin’ pretty good, ‘Shy,” she said.

“Yeah,” Lyra chimed in. “She’s doing better than I thought, and she’s a fast learner, too.”

“Ah, that’s my cousin for ya.” Candy slapped Fluttershy on the back, eliciting another ‘Eep!’ from the mare. Simon chuckled beside her. “I’m proud of you as well, Fluttershy.”

‘This is... fun,’ Fluttershy thought to herself. “Thank you,” she said with a proud smile. “And thanks for helping me, Lyra.”

“No problem, ‘Shy,” Lyra said. She took a quick glance at the clock, then turned back. “Sorry, but we’re going to have to finish up another time. I promised Bon-Bon I’d help her out at work and it’s about time.” She looked pointedly at Fluttershy. “I want you to keep practicing, though. Practice until you can get it down without using your wings. A good exercise is to get a few books and balance them on top of your head, see how long you can keep them up.”

“Um, o-okay. Should I... come back tomorrow, then?” Fluttershy asked.

The minty mare shook her head. “I’ll be busy tomorrow, too. Stop by at the same time the day after tomorrow and we’ll start the next lesson.” Fluttershy nodded. “Oh and try to start walking on your hind legs as well.”

“Okay. Thanks again, Lyra.” Receiving her last instructions for the day, Fluttershy said her goodbyes and left with Candy and Simon, the latter going his own separate way after a while.

“You sure you don’t want me to walk you home?” Candy asked her cousin.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No thank you. I have to stop by the library to get some books anyways.” She needed the books to practice. She would use her own, but she no longer possessed any, courtesy of her various animal friends that apparently eat paper.

Candy chuckled. “Alright then. See ya later, ‘Shy. And great job today, too.” She trotted off, Fluttershy waving behind her with a smile. When she was gone, the shy mare began her way towards the Ponyville library.

“Hey, Fluttershy. What’s up?”

“Ah!” Fluttershy yelped and whipped around to see who was behind her before letting out a sigh of relief. “Oh, sorry Twilight, you scared me.”

The unicorn giggled at her shy friend. “Sorry, Fluttershy. I just haven’t seen you in a while. SO what have you been up to, lately?” It was an innocent question, just a question. Should be easy enough to answer. Come on Fluttershy, you can do this.

“Um... N-nothing?”

Twilight raised a brow. “Really? Nothing? What about your animals?”

“Oh, uh, yes! My animals. I’ve been, um, taking care of them... a lot.” Smooth. What was she here for again? Oh yeah. Books. Smiling innocently at Twilight, she started grabbing random books from the shelves behind her.

Twilight chuckled. “Taking care of your animals must be such a hassle, and you have so many of them, too. I have no idea how you do it.”

She grabbed another book. “Oh, it’s not that bad. They’re usually very nice and behaved.”

“Well that’s good. So what are you doing here?”

Fluttershy stopped. “Um, j-just here to check out a few books.” Twilight looked at the pile of books she had collected, then at Fluttershy, then back at the books.

“You mean like Equestria’s Most Frightening Horror Stories?” Twilight pondered, gesturing to the book on top of the pile.

...

‘No.’

“Yes.”

‘Crap.’

“Well, um, thanks for the books Twilight, I’ll see you later, bye!” With that, Fluttershy rushed out of the library, Twilight calling something after her. The shy mare flew through the town as fast as she could, which, albeit, was not very fast, but she rushed nonetheless. She finally saw her cottage and gently glided down to it, books in hoof. She touched down onto the grass and quickly opened her door and rushed inside, dropping the books down in front of her. Panting, she sat down and leaned back against the door.

After a moment, she looked down and saw her baby bunny, Angel, staring at her with a quizzical expression. The bunny looked down at Equestria’s Most Frightening Horror Stories on the top of the pile, then at Fluttershy, then back at the book. He gave the mare a look that seemed to ask, ‘Seriously?’.

Fluttershy just sighed. “Don’t ask.”