Fluttershy paced nervously across the backstage of the Fillydelphia Theater.
Toe-Tapper and Torch Song stood to one side out of her way, chatting. Big Macintosh leaned against the far wall, watching her silently. None of them seemed nervous.
Maybe no one had seen the advertisements that the Ponytones had come to town. Maybe there were only two or three ponies in the audience. Or better yet, maybe the theater was empty! Fluttershy anxiously tiptoed downstage, gently easing the curtain open to peer through the tiny sliver to the world outside. She immediately yanked it shut with a tiny “eep.” The theater was completely full.
“Fluttershy?” She turned to find Rarity, the remaining member of their quintet, standing beside her, face full of concern. “You’re not having second thoughts about the performance, are you?”
“You want to come on tour with the rest of the Ponytones?” Rarity was either ecstatic or dismayed; Fluttershy wasn’t sure which.
“Um, yes,” she confirmed. “If that’s okay?”
“Okay?!” Rarity clasped both of Fluttershy’s shoulders. “Why, that’s simply wonderful, darling!” she exclaimed, pulling Fluttershy into a tight hug.
“Oh. Good.” Despite Fluttershy’s outward smile as she returned the hug, she was crestfallen. It would have been so much easier if Rarity had said no.
But Fluttershy knew her friend too well to think that there was any serious chance of that. Which, of course, was precisely why she’d forced herself to ask. There was no getting out of this now. She couldn’t disappoint her best friend.
“Though to be honest, Fluttershy...” Rarity drew away. “I must admit I’m surprised you’ve asked to come sing with us.”
“Oh?” Fluttershy asked timidly, uncertain how to react. She wanted to say so many things. That she was afraid she was holding the Ponytones back. That she felt guilty each time she’d turned them down when they asked her to sing with them, which had been more than half the times they had asked. That she knew she was a disappointment to them, and that, more than anything, she couldn’t bear to be one any longer. She wanted to tell Rarity all this and more, but, despite her best efforts, the words couldn’t find their way out of her mouth. Instead, she just lifted her eyebrows ever so slightly, hoping Rarity would somehow get the message.
“Now don’t get me wrong, dear. It’s been simply wonderful having you as a member of the Ponytones,” Rarity continued, oblivious to her friend’s dilemma. “But ever since Big Macintosh got his voice back, you’ve only come to rehearsals and private performances.” She paused, looking her friend over, as though expecting to find a physical difference that might explain Fluttershy’s change of heart. “Whatever made you decide to come on tour with us this time?”
“Oh, um…” Fluttershy knew this question had to come sooner or later, but she still wasn’t prepared for it. All her doubts and anxieties came flooding back to her. What if she failed? What if everyone laughed at her? What if she was so bad the audience threw fruit at the stage?
What if she let Rarity down?
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of the disastrous scenarios her imagination had forced upon her. She had already made her choice. It was time to go through with it.
“Fluttershy?” Rarity’s voice carried a hint of concern.
Fluttershy gave her best smile. “I just think I’m ready to try again,” she lied.
Fluttershy shook her head, both in answer to Rarity’s question and to dash the memory from her mind. “No, I can do this,” she said more to herself than her friend. She was pretty sure there was only the slightest hint of doubt in her tone.
Rarity looked skeptical. She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the abrupt appearance of a stagehoof. “Ponytones, on set!” he barked. Fluttershy nearly leapt out of her skin. “You’re on in thirty seconds!”
Not wasting a moment, Toe-Tapper, Torch Song and Big Macintosh stopped what they were doing and filed past Fluttershy to take their positions. Rarity cast her one last worried glance before doing the same, leaving Fluttershy alone with her thoughts backstage.
She didn’t have to go out there, did she? She could stay here and cheer them on from the sidelines. It would be just like when she was covering for Big Macintosh, only she wouldn’t actually be singing. Surely they could entertain all those ponies out there without her. After all, the Ponytones were used to singing as a quartet. She’d only get in the way.
Rarity’s face appeared before her, gazing down on her. Fluttershy couldn’t help but look into the eyes of the phantom, and saw only disappointment. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the image vanished from her mind, and she knew what she had to do. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, held her head up, and stepped through the curtains, prepared for anything the world could throw at her.
But her confidence shattered the moment she walked on stage and became acutely aware that every single pony in the audience was staring directly at her. And if that wasn’t enough, she then found herself glued to the spot by the overwhelmingly intense glare of two enormous spotlights shining down on her. She gulped. Every instinct in her told her that she was wrong to think she could do this. That she wasn’t safe. That she needed to return to the shelter of the curtains while she still had the chance.
She had just lifted a hoof to start running when Big Mac began to sing. One by one, Torch Song, Rarity, and Toe-Tapper added their voices to his, filling the room with the perfect harmony that had made Fluttershy a Ponytones fan in the first place. Before she knew it, her cue had come.
And she sang.
Bonus Chapter: Writeoff version.
Author's Note
I was requested to add the original Writeoff version as well. This is the version as submitted for the "All In" Writeoff competition for January 3rd 2015, which took 19th place with an average score of 6.5. The original version of this story clocked in at 738 words, and you can find it here as well as below.
The original reason for writing this story was simply that I thought almost no one would submit a Fluttershy story for this prompt. And I was right. This was one of only two stories that focused her her point of view, and three stories where she had a notable speaking role that didn't feature the entire Mane Six.
This version has been bumped up to 1000 words for submission on the site, and to fix a flaw several reviewers found with the original. Some people found the original to be just fine, however, so it's your call which you think might be better.
Bonus Chapter: Writeoff version.
Fluttershy paced nervously across the backstage of the Fillydelphia Theater.
Toe-Tapper and Torchsong stood to one side out of her way, chatting. Big Mac leaned against the far wall, watching her silently. None of them seemed nervous.
Maybe nopony had seen the advertisements that the Ponytones had come to town. Maybe there were only two or three ponies in the audience. Or better yet, maybe the theater was empty! Fluttershy anxiously tiptoed downstage, gently easing the curtain open to peer through the tiny sliver to the world outside. She immediately yanked it shut with a tiny “eep.” Her worst fears had been realized. The theater was completely full.
“Fluttershy?” She turned to find Rarity, the remaining member of their quintet, standing beside her, face full of concern. “You’re not having second thoughts about the performance, are you?”
“You want to come on tour with the rest of the Ponytones?” Rarity was either ecstatic or dismayed; Fluttershy wasn’t sure which.
“Um, yes,” she confirmed. “If that’s okay?”
“Okay?” Rarity clasped both of Fluttershy’s shoulders with her forehooves “Why, that’s simply wonderful, darling!” she exclaimed, pulling Fluttershy into a tight hug.
“Oh. Good.” Despite Fluttershy’s outward smile as she returned the hug, she was crestfallen. It would have been so much easier if Rarity had said no.
But Fluttershy knew her friend too well to think that there was any serious chance of that. Which, of course, was precisely why she’d forced herself to ask. There was no getting out of this now. She couldn’t disappoint her best friend.
“Though to be honest, Fluttershy...” Rarity drew away. “I must admit I’m surprised you’ve asked to come sing with us.”
“Oh?” Fluttershy asked timidly, uncertain how to react.
“Now don’t get me wrong, darling. It’s been simply wonderful having you as a member of the Ponytones. But ever since Big Macintosh got his voice back, you’ve only come to rehearsals and private performances.” Rarity paused, looking her friend over, as though expecting to find a physical difference that might explain Fluttershy’s change of heart. “Whatever made you decide to come on tour with us this time?”
“Oh, um…” Fluttershy wasn’t prepared for this question. All her doubts and anxieties came flooding back to her. What if she failed? What if everyone laughed at her? What if she was so bad the audience threw fruit at the stage?
What if she let Rarity down?
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of the disastrous scenarios her imagination had forced upon her.
“Fluttershy?” Rarity’s voice carried a hint of concern.
Fluttershy gave her best smile. “I just think I’m ready to try again,” she lied.
Fluttershy shook her head, both in answer to Rarity’s question and to dash the memory from her mind. “No, I can do this,” she said more to herself than her friend. She was pretty sure there was only the slightest hint of doubt in her tone.
Rarity looked skeptical. She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the abrupt appearance of a stagehoof. “Ponytones, on set!” he barked; Fluttershy nearly leapt out of her skin. “You’re on in thirty seconds!”
Not wasting a second, Toe-Tapper, Torchsong and Bic Mac stopped what they were doing and filed past Fluttershy to take their positions. Rarity cast her one last worried glance before doing the same, leaving Fluttershy alone backstage. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, held her head up, and stepped through the curtains, prepared for anything the world could throw at her.
But her confidence was shattered the moment she walked on stage and became acutely aware that every single pony in the audience was staring directly at her. And if that wasn’t enough, she then found herself glued to the spot by the overwhelmingly intense glare of two enormous spotlights shining down on her. She gulped. Every instinct in her told her that she was wrong to think she could do this. That she wasn’t safe. That she needed to return to the shelter of the curtains while she still had the chance.
She had just lifted a hoof to start running when Big Mac began to sing. One by one, Torchsong, Rarity, and Toe-Tapper added their voices to his, filling the room with the perfect harmony that had made Fluttershy a Ponytones fan in the first place. Before she knew it, her cue had come.
And she sang.
