"'...without being unpleasant or mean. Sincerely, Fluttershy.' Was I going too fast for you, Spike?"
"Nah," he answered with a flourish of his penned hand, "I got it. Want me to send it?"
"Yes, please," she said, smiling sweely at the young drake as he made his way to the window. With a puff of green flames, the letter was sent in a magical plume toward the mountainous city of Canterlot. Her face fell slightly as he turned to face her again. "Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"For being scared when you stole my chicken coop that day of your of your growth spurt."
Spike gave her a kind smile. "It's alright. If I saw something that big stealing my chicken coop, I'd probably freak a little too." Fluttershy looked pensive when Spike spoke again. "Something tells me you came here for more than a friendship report. What's up?"
Fluttershy shrank into herself a bit more, but made no movement other than that. "Spike, I made Rarity and Pinkie run away crying. I didn't have to say to those mean and hurtful things to them. I didn't even believe them when I said it. I said it specifically to make them cry. That's not even the worst of what I did, but that's what I regretted the most."
She wasn't quite sure what she had expected telling Spike that, however she wasn't expecting the response she had received. "I know."
She looked at him, his expression regretful. "You know what?"
"All of it. Iron Will's workshop, the watering incident with Mr. Greenhooves, the trash carts on the bridge, the Sugarcube Corner line movement which was really cool by the way, and everything else from the mailpony to you with Pinkie and Rarity."
"How?"
"As far as Sugarcube Corner goes, Rarity and Pinkie stopped by here to ask Twilight for advice. After hearing about what you did there, I ran to your cottage and saw everything go down from there. As for Mr. Greenhooves and the bridge incidents, you'd be surprised how much someponies love to gossip."
Fluttershy sank a bit more into herself. "Well, I wanted to say I know how you felt that day...in the library. What you said about having the worst part of yourself trying to get out-" tears began streaking down her cheeks "-I can feel it now too."
She didn't notice Spike approaching with a hoofkerchief until he began dabbing the tears streaking her fur. "Fluttershy, in all fairness, I think I was much worse. We all have our breaking points, Flutters. All that happened was that you reached yours. No one thinks less of you, and those that do don't care enough about you to matter anyway."
Fluttershy turned her sapphire eyes towards him. "You really think so?"
Spike gave her a reassuring smile and reached up and began stroking her mane, his clawed digits gliding through them as easily as water. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."
A small smile lit Fluttershy's face. "Thanks. And thanks for coming by to untie me from that chair."
"Well, Angel helped a little," he said, grinning.
"By the way, how did you get inside the first place?"
"You forgot to nail the petdoor in the kitchen shut. It was either that or the chimney."
Her face shifted into worry. "Um, Spike... If you don't mind my asking, do you still, you know... feel like a...a monster?"
Spike's face fell as he looked upon himself in the fullsized mirror on the far wall. Fluttershy wasn't sure what he saw gazing back, but she could guess. "Yeah, I do," he admitted, "but it is better."
She placed a hoof upon his shoulder. "If you should need to talk about it, or anything, you can stop by my cottage. That is if you want to."
Spike turned to her and smiled. "I will, only if you come by and talk to me if you need to."
She smiled in response. "I will. Pinkie Promise."
"Pinkie Promise," Spike answered, both of them going through the motions followed by Fluttershy pulling Spike into a hug which he returned.
"Well," she said releasing him from her embrace, "I have to go and feed my little critter friends now."
"And I got chores to do around here, but I'll escort you to the door."
"Rarity was right," she said, giggling, "you are a little gentlecolt."
Spike blushed in response, but dutifully escorted Fluttershy to the door and led her outside. After Spike bid goodbye and heading in, Fluttershy couldn't help but think how lucky to have a friend like him.
"...Whenever I try to assert myself, I become a monster," Fluttershy stated, shocked at the horned image she was seeing gazing back from her mirror.
"Oh, sweetie," Rarity's muffled voice replied, "you're not a monster."
"She's right, you know," Spike replied, leaning against the door frame that lead into the kitchen.
"Spike?!" she whispered, "What are you doing here?"
"Keeping you from doing something you're going to regret," he answered simply, approaching the chair, "Angel. Give me a paw here and untie her." Surprisingly, Angel hopped over and began working on the ropes with Spike.
"No! Stay away! I don't want nasty Fluttershy to hurt you too."
Spike shook his head, his progress on the ropes becoming apprarent. "I'm not going to stay away. You helped me and now I'm going to help you."
"But I'm a mean, nasty little pony who hurts everypony she comes into contact with."
Spike looked at her, his green eyes piercing her sapphire ones. "I don't believe you." It was the simplicity of his statement and the fact he believed it wholeheartedly that shocked Fluttershy more than anything else. "Rarity and Pinkie don't either," he continued, "Besides, do you really think hiding in your house is the answer to your problems? I tried that and it wasn't."
Fluttershy stared shocked at him for a moment before grasping at the words to reply. "Then what is?"
"Going out there and proving to everypony, including yourself, that you aren't the monster everypony thinks you are."
The sound of cracking wood filled the silence before it went back to muffled talking.
"You're right, Spike. I'll do it."
Spike smiled as the ropes fell off with a clothlike thump. "Do you want me to go out there with you when you face them?"
"No, thanks," she said, smiling sweetly, "I have to learn to stand up for myself sometime."
"We need half a day and no more!"
"Well, you'll get a full day and no less!"
Fluttershy approached the door and gave a small, but audible fake sneeze. From the corner of her eye, she thought she could see Spike give a small nod of pride as he disappeared into the kitchen. She spent the remaining time bracing herself, feeling ready to face the minotaur known as Iron Will as he knocked upon the door.
"Thanks, Spike," she whispered to the closed door, "for everything." She turned towards her cottage, feeling of a small hint of pride in herself and determination that she was going to get Angel over his finicky eating habits.
