It was a night like any other. In a small cottage covered in moss and other various plant life and fungi, there lived a pegasus. She was young and beautiful. Ponies of high social status said as much, but beauty meant very little to the pegasus. No, her life, her dreams didn't require her to be beautiful. That didn't mean she didn't like feeling or looking beautiful, she just didn't like that it attracted attention to her.

The pegasus was a pale yellow, somewhere between butter yellow and white chocolate. Her mane and tail were a pretty pale pink like roses. Her eyes were a lovely sky blue and the cutie mark that every young pony received was a trinity of blue butterflies with the same shade of pink on their wings. Hers was a natural beauty that not even the highest of pedigrees could match. Everypony knew this, but the pegasus wished this wasn't so. She would have been content to let her beauty be masked by the length of her mane, which often hid her face from all but the animals that lived under and around her roof.

Her name was Fluttershy, and she was known for three things. On of which being her beauty. The second thing she was known for was being Equestria's shyest pony. Her fear of even the most mundane things had earned her that title. The third and (in her opinion) most important thing she was known for, was her expertise with various animals, from little bunnies to colossal bears. Fluttershy had a way with animals; a language which sounded like english to the rest of Equestria, but somehow, the animals could also understand. How that worked was one of life's greatest mysteries, along with her friend Pinkie Pie's 'Pinkie Sense'.

There was another thing that Fluttershy was known for, but only those who knew her best knew about it. It was simply known as 'the stare'. A powerful glare that could strike fear into even the bravest of dragons. Fluttershy was not a big fan of this ability, and so rarely used it. There had only ever been four occurrences in which the stare was used. Unbelievably one of which was used to scare off a cockatrice.

Though Fluttershy had never used this ability against her own animals, they knew better than to push her too far. Though her favourite little bunny would often test the margin.

While this night was like any other, it was as said bunny was hopping the line that Fluttershy began to think about her life in general. She was always the last one who wanted to go on an adventure, the last one to try, despite the fact that she wanted to save Equestria just as badly as her friends did. She and her friends were heroes, renowned throughout Equestria and beyond as the ponies who faced Nightmare Moon, saved Princess Luna, Faced and reformed Discord (though that was more her doing than the girls'), and freed an entire kingdom from the tyranny of their crystal obsessed king. Not to mention dealing the final blow on the demon, Tirek.

Fluttershy knew that many more adventures lay ahead, some which would include old enemies, and friends alike. She'd heard about Pinkie and Rainbow reuniting with Gilda, the Gryphon. Fluttershy knew that it was just the beginning, and she also knew that she would never willingly go into danger, no matter how many times she'd done so before. This knowledge upset her. Fluttershy wanted nothing more than to help ponies, not just animals, though they were her passion. She wanted to be brave like her friends.

She'd tried it once before, and wound up being a worse bully than Gilda. She'd learned from Iron Will that standing up for oneself could lead one to become power mad over the elation that comes from finally getting your own way. And while it had turned her into a monster, Iron Will wasn't wrong. Fluttershy had to learn to stand up for herself, but her insecurities made her either do nothing, or go overboard. She needed to find a middle ground.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her bunny, Angel. He'd thrown the cook book at her head. It took Fluttershy a second to remember that he'd been tapping on a carrot based salad that was far too complex for her to create, with her meagre cooking skills.

"Angel, you know better than to throw things at ponies, especially hard things with corners that could poke somepony's eye out." she said with a slight frown on her face. That was as close to a scolding as the bunny was going to get from her. Angel just crossed his front paws and turned his head away from her in a show of disrespect. Fluttershy ignored this and searched for the book. Angel had thrown it harder than she'd thought, as it had wound up across the lounge room in front of the standing mirror.

Other animals of various nature watched the spectacle with pity in their eyes. They too wished Fluttershy would stand up for herself, especially against Angel bunny who was the Gilda of the house. They may not have understood much beyond Fluttershy's words, but they knew a bully when they saw one, and they knew Gilda had been a bully, just as bad as Angel.

Fluttershy looked down at the book. '101 Vegetarian and Vegan recipes'. A Birthday present from Rainbow Dash. A good friend, if a little cocky. Though Fluttershy figured that she herself could do with a little cockiness. Ideally, she wanted to be something between Rainbow Dash, who was confident, athletic, and had few worries beyond helping and protecting those she loved. And Rarity, a beautiful mare who immersed herself in her work, but always made time for her friends. She was smart, charismatic, knew the ins and outs of social politics and was always prepared for the worst.

Of course they had their flaws, but who didn't? Rainbow was quick to boast and act, which got her into more trouble that most ponies knew. And Rarity was somewhat vain and a little Obsessive Compulsive. Fluttershy could have done with some of these things. There was plenty she could boast about, but not to the point where she sounded as though she was placing herself on a god-like pedestal. And she could do with a little vanity. Maybe not as much as Rarity, but enough so that she might appreciate herself a little more.

As Fluttershy picked up the book, she stopped to look at herself in the mirror. There she was, plain old Fluttershy, with long flowing locks and big blue eyes. Tired blue eyes, by the looks of those bags underneath. Fluttershy began to wonder if such a pony as the one she was describing for herself existed somewhere deep inside of her. A pony who wasn't scared of her own shadow, but brave enough face anything so long as she wasn't alone, witty enough to escape any kind of insult whether it was meant as a harmless jest or not.

Was there an ideal Fluttershy within her? One that's different from the way she is now, but not somepony else entirely? As Fluttershy stared into her own reflected eyes, she began to form an idea. One so foolish that it could have inconceivable ramifications. After all, this was the technique that scared a cockatrice, as well as a full grown dragon. The Stare was not to be used lightly. Especially since Fluttershy didn't even know its limits. She knew that even though she could win a staring contest with a cockatrise, it wouldnt stop her from being turned to stone by the creature's own stare, but that was the only limit she knew of. Would it be right for her to use the stare so blatantly without having all the facts? Would it be safe?

Safe. A word that Fluttershy was so tired of using as an excuse. She didn't want to face a dragon, because it wasn't safe, she didn't want to go into the Everfree forest because it wasn't safe. She wanted to stay home and take care of her animals because it was safe.

"Enough's enough!" she declared, frowning at her reflection. She looked herself in the eyes and spoke aloud. "If there's a part of me that's brave, confident and bold. Wake up and join me. I want to be my ideal self. Not some scaredy pony who runs from her own shadow. I want to be brave like Rainbow Dash and feel beautiful like Rarity. I want to have fun like Pinkie Pie as well as a strong work Ethic like Applejack. I want to think things through like Twilight, but not as obsessively. But most of all, I want to remain who I am at heart. The Element of Kindness with an affinity for animals and a love of veterinary medicine." There was a moment when her eyes felt heavy, and she almost wanted to look away from herself, to back out at the last second, but she kept with it.

She stared at herself for a good long minute before realising that nothing had changed. She was still herself, still the same old Fluttershy. With a heavy sigh, she turned from the mirror and finished feeding her animals, making sure to wear a kind smile for them. It wasn't their fault that her idea hadn't worked. It wasn't anypony's fault, really. It wasn't a foolish idea, it was just foolish to think that one could become their ideal self so easily.

She fed Angel last, the bunny unhappy with the dish's presentation. Fluttershy didn't really care. She wished she was skilled enough at cooking to meet Angel's standards, but if she could cook like that, she honestly wouldn't waste those skills on him. She knew better than to spoil her animals.

She wished them all a good night and climbed the stairs to her room. She shut the door behind her and went to the en suite to brush her teeth and do her business before bed. Mediocre tasks, to be sure, but she took comfort in the fact that it was something that she had in common with the brave and the bold. They all brushed their teeth and used the toilet.

Finished, she turned off all the lights except her bedside lamp, and crawled in under the covers. With another sigh, she reached for the lamp and switched it off before wriggling around to get herself comfortable. And with eyes heavier than they'd been all day, she fell asleep.

The following morning, Fluttershy awoke feeling a strange sense of elation. It was the most bizarre thing. She felt ready to tackle the day, prepared for anything that came her way. Certainly different from her usual fear induced mornings where she cautiously tread out of her room and quietly descended the stairs so she wouldn't wake her animals.

Fluttershy wore a confused look as she got off of her bed and went to the en suite. She flicked the light on and ran the sink full of lukewarm water. She placed a face washer into the water and let it soak before removing it and wringing it out. She then placed the warm garment on her face and let the dampness wet the fur on her face. She then removed the cloth and switched it out for a dry hoof towel. Before applying it, she dunked her face in the bowl and then applied the towel, drying herself off. It felt great, and it woke her up entirely. She rubbed her face horizontally and vertically; every which way. When she was done, and sufficiently dry, she used her hoof to pat down any loose hairs.

It was a she did this that she noticed her eyes. They were the same shape, the same colour, but there was a newfound brightness in them. As if to confirm that, her left eye actually sparkled for a second. It was in that sparkle that Fluttershy understood what had happened. It hadn't happened immediately like she'd expected, but it had happened. She was her ideal self. Her personality fixed so she could be the best that she could be.

"Oh, hay yes!"

Author's Note

I couldn't help it. As I was looking for new mane styles for the girls in Chapter 1 of Goku Lives, I found the picture of Fluttershy with that mane and I fell in love.

I couldn't decide whether or not to make it a fic about Fluttershy's mother, but then I thought that it would be best just to make a sexy Fluttershy instead.

Anyway, Fillies and Gentlecolts; I present to you a new story that's going to be updated sometime soon:

Inner Strength!