Here for Youby StealingShad3ZChaptersAwkward Off StageAwkward Towards An Awkward MareAwkward Can Be CuteAwkward Off StageCould you call me a pony of many words, or of few? Either way that’s your opinion determining on how this story develops. I’m just like any other unicorn trying to make a life for himself in Equestria. Everypony has a story to tell about his or her life, and well you so happened to come across mine. I would say “congratulations” but hay you probably picked this old story up in the archives of the Ponyville library or found it after I was six feet under. Either way you're reading this, so I'll see how long I can keep you interested in this little story of mine. Oh yes where are my manners, my name is Shad3Z, StealingShad3Z (but my friends call me just Shad3Z); crazy name right? Well actually it’s a stage name, my real name is Stealing Shades. I don’t know where my dad got the idea for such a name, he kept changing the story every time I asked him or he just blew it off; so I just tell my friends that he was a little hyped up on the cider when he came up with it. Growing up in southern Equestria was not easy; I wasn’t like all the other “redmane” ponies. I didn’t do farm work, or plant seeds for harvests, heck my accent was more Los Pegasus than anything with how much twang it lacked. But to make matters worse, I was the most socially awkward pony around those parts. I was picked on in school constantly for saying something completely off topic or just plain daydreaming and having a teacher snap me out of “la la land”. Not to mention my talent of being accident prone, seriously I could give Derpy a run for her money. It was hard to blend in, so I did the only thing I could think to do; I stood out. I embraced who I was and didn’t give a flying buck about what other ponies thought of me. I began to develop an interest in punk rock music, the sounds of “Hayday Parade” and “A Neigh to Remember” spoke to my soul with their rebellious sound. It made me proud to be who I was, but who I would be I didn’t know yet. That changed when I picked up my first acoustic guitar and began to write my own punk songs. Of coarse I was little unconfident in myself at first; I didn’t play in public or in front of my friends because that genre of music wasn’t exactly the most popular in that area. And even though I was confident to look the part in public, I was definitely not ready to “play” it. My cutie mark soon appeared after that, a sky blue logo that looked like two stacked S’s with a diagonal line spearing right down the middle of them. I had no idea what my initials had to do with my special talent, but I hoped to Luna above that I would find out sooner or later. At age twenty I moved out of my hometown and opened my own little music shop and studio called “Equestrirock Records” (hay it’s the best I could come up with) in Ponyville just at the base of Canterlot. Ponyville was a goldmine of new artists in many genres of music that I was ready to dig into. I met many ponies of all ages, shapes, and sizes (not kidding, Bulk Biceps recorded some violin once); each one bits in hoof ready to put their talents to work. My rate for the studio wasn’t expensive; I made plenty of money from the record sales alone. And plus, well, I just couldn’t say no when Sweetie Bell would come in and put her small allowance she received from Rarity on the counter. Call me soft but I couldn’t say no to that cute little face. But you want to talk about some hardcore talent, well just ask my two best customers, Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch. Those two could put on a show every time the record light came on. Mixing cello with dubstep, who knew right? Well I was still a little shy around everypony in the town. I didn’t attend Pinkie Pies parties due to the fact large crowds of ponies I didn’t know made me nervous. I still kept my hobby of music writing under wraps as well. Well I “did”, until Vinyl barged in. Apparently I got a little too “into” one of my songs I was playing one day, and when I say “into” I mean “I was so loud Vinyl heard me through her headphones outside" into. Vinyl burst in, grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me dead in the face with those red eyes, and just said these words: “Why… Didn’t… You… Tell… Us…?!?!?!” And that is where our story truly starts... My coat was more of a reddish hue than it’s usual tan for a few days, or even weeks! But whatever color I was, I was forcibly dragged to open mic night on Sweet Apple Acres, a FARM!!! This was not good; of all the places for a musician of my genre to perform, why in Celestia’s name a FARM!?!? I moved here to get away from that atmosphere. Octavia and Vinyl literally pushed me on stage following a nice little country tune by the Apple family, which made me more nervous. Not only was it country, it was “old school” country, not like the pop country back home. I slowly stood on my hind legs, a talent that took me years to get the hang of, and started hearing the whispers caused by my little balancing act. I gulped as I felt sweat begin to lightly drench my coat. I took a deep breath, looked at the audience, and said what I had to. “Uh… What’s up everypony, my name is Stealing Shades. This music I’m about to play isn’t, well it’s um, not very common where I’m from, or even here. But I hope you like it.” I barred the strings, closed my eyes, and began to play. What came next was a simple four-chord song that had a quick beat; I began to sing. My power vocals filled the monitors on stage as I sung a punk ballad about not letting anypony tell you to be mainstream and how you should not be afraid to go against the herd. I didn’t sing the song as some form of propaganda or preaching, but somehow a message was being delivered. I saw fillies and colts raise there hooves in the air as I heard cheering exit their little mouths. Next thing I knew I heard light clopping of hooves, stamping along to the beat of my song. Then it grew louder, and louder, until the entire crowd was stamping to my music. I didn’t know why but it felt, good. I could feel this sense of joy rising up and mixing in with the adrenaline I felt as I continued playing. It felt as if everyponys’ enjoyment was fueling my song and providing me with energy. “These ponies… like it.” I thought to myself. I felt like my hooves were going to catch fire, but I couldn’t stop now, I was in the zone. It felt like forever but the song stopped with a sudden heavy donward strum on the guitar. That acoustic guitar, the singular instrument that fueled this crowd alone! It was quiet only for a split second and next thing I knew an uproar louder than the train I came into town on, filled the barnyard as I came back down on all four hooves. Lyra and Bon Bon were gripping each other jumping up and down screaming at the base of the stage. Derpy was doing “loopty-loops”, well until she crashed into a tree (something I bet I would do if I were a pegasus). And it was hard to tell due to the sweat in my eyes, but I thought I saw rarity faint into her “emergency fainting”couch (courtesy of Spike). I looked to the side of the stage and saw Octavia nod at me with a smile of approval while Vinyl gave the biggest grin ever and gave me a “hooves up”. “Okay, okay, settle down everypony,” The voice on the second microphone made me realize that I wasn’t breathing. I looked over towards the source of the voice and it was… “PRINCESS TWILIGHT!?!?!?” I shouted as my heart began to race. I was so caught up with my performance I forgot I was playing in the resident town of royalty. The princess jumped at the exclamation but then just smiled and pushed my jaw up that I didn’t know was hanging down in the first placed. “Just Twilight.” she giggled. My coat turned red again as I nodded, still wide eyed. Twilight returned to the microphone she was levitating. “I just want to say I’ve heard many different kinds of music come out of this town from classical to electronic, so I am happy to say it is an honor to add a ‘rockstar’ to the mix.” The crowd roared once more. Twilight then looked at me and asked one question, covering the mic with her hoof to not embarrassment. “Shades, why didn’t you tell us you could play and sing like that?” My heart dropped as embarrassment once again took over. But I went out on a limb, levitated my mic from it’s stand, and said the “honest to Luna” truth. “Well,” I said shaking; I sat on my haunches looking at the stage floor. “I grew up being so different from everypony else because of my social disorders. I grew up in a place where music like this would most likely make ponies tell me it was just noise pollution. So I hid it and kept it to myself. But tonight I felt something I’ve lacked for a long time, 'self-confidence'. I came up here prepared to be “boo’d” off a stage or to at least stare at a bunch of confused audience members. But instead I experienced a connection that exploded from every last filly and colt in this audience that made me feel like I belonged. So what I’m saying is if it wasn’t for tonight, I would be stuck inside my studio, scared to meet new ponies, instead of being up here getting to see every last pony supporting me. You are all truly friends to me.” Only my blue eyes looked up from the ground to the audience with a timid face, I didn’t realize I had tears in my eyes. The sky blue aura disappeared from the mic as I gently put it back up on its stand. The embarrassment was at its peak after that speech. I felt ridiculous, I was performing in front of a barn, not winning a Trottie Award. But either way the crowd cheered again and I suddenly felt Twilights hoof on my shoulder as she looked at me with a compassionate smile. "Everypony is different here, and each has a story similar to yours that shaped them into who they are. In fact," she chuckled lightly. "I know a certain somepony you could probably relate to." I didn't know what she was getting at, but I smiled with glee either way as the princess and I trotted off stage with one more quick applause from the crowd. Right then I was greeted with a punch in the leg from Vinyl. “Ow!” I said rubbing my throbbing appendage. “What was that for?” “That was for giving such a kick plot performance dude!!!” Vinyl replied. I couldn’t help but smile, laugh, and blush at the same time. “But you need an artist name, let’s seeeeee…” She tapped her horn with her hoof while pondering. “How bout StealingShad3Z?” I looked at her in confusion and wanted to ask if she had been smoking poison joke. “That’s my actual name though?” I said. “No, no, no, hear me out. Lose the space between your first and last names, make the last ‘E’ a ‘3’,” DJPon3 suggesting turning ‘E’s into ‘3”s, big surprise. “and then make the ‘S’ at the end a big ol’ capital ‘Z’.” The idea was starting to sound intriguing. “Yo! Are you listening?” Vinyl tapped “my” horn with her hoof. I realized I got lost in my own little world thinking about the name and was staring at a wall. I facehoofed as my weird personality began to return, but I think nopony cared at the moment. I walked with Vinyl and Octavia out to the after show party, where everypony could mingle and have sweets and punch from Sugar Cube Corner (if Pinky didn’t eat them all first). But all of a sudden I heard a voice from above shout out. “Hey, there’s our little rocker stallion.” I looked up to see a blue pegasus with multicolored hair. Oh yeah no doubt it was Rainbow Dash (I had seen her around but never spoke to her personally). And that little comment of hers was enough to break the dam. A dam that held back a river of mares (and one Big Mac) that circled around me. Giving an autograph to Sweetie Bell and the Cutie Mark Crusaders was easy since everypony was polite enough to let the foals go first; but after they left, all Tartarus broke loose. “How long have you been playing?” “Can you write a song about how awesome I am?” “Can you sign our flanks?” “Eeyup?” (okay getting weird) I began to hyperventilate; this was way too overwhelming. I saw an opening in the in the circle and I took it as an escape route. I ran as fast as I could but behind me I heard Octavia shout, “Mr. Shades, where are you going?” I looked back, “Need to use the gentlecolts room!” I shouted. “But the loo is that way.” Octavia said in her Trottingham accent. “Uh yeah, I go in the woods, closer to nature and all that.” (Why sweet Celestia did I say that?!) “I know those feels bruh.” “Tree Hugger, that’s disgusting and unladylike.” said Rarity. “Why do stallions get to talk about the gross stuff, unfair vibes man.” I managed to hide behind a tree so I could catch my breath. Going from a music storeowner, to a small town celebrity in one night was way too fast. At that moment the only thing I wanted was a paper bag. I began to question in my mind if maybe revealing my talent was a good idea. Sure it was great to have the attention and it helped me feel comfortable around new ponies, but I think "they" were the comfortable ones; a little too comfortable. “Crap if this is celebrity life, I don’t think i can deal with it.” I said to myself slumping against the tree to the ground; I chuckled to myself. "Never in my life have I had a ton of mares get so 'chummy' let alone one." I tried to not let the female attention go to my head as I leaned my head back and stared But when I did this I yelped when I saw a pair of bright blue eyes (even brighter than mine) staring out of the leaves in the braches above me. A soft high-pitched squeak of what I guess was also a “yelp” followed. What happened after that was a flash of yellow, pink, and… butterflies? I was then flat on my stomach stuck under something. Awkward Towards An Awkward MareIt took a second for me to take in what just happened. My eyes were closed at the moment trying to get the dizziness out of my head. Suddenly a sweet scent entered my nostrils, that of lavender and mint. I could feel a warm breath on my face as a high soft voice spoke out. "Ooooooow, that hurt." I quickly opened my eyes to that sentence. And even though it was an exclamation of pain, the tone was so, well, comforting. What stared me in the face was probably the cutest mare I have ever seen. She had big bright blues eyes, a pink mane, and a bright yellow coat. The way she stood out against the night sky above was... amazing. She looked at me wide eyed and her yellow face turned bright crimson as she became conscious of what happened.... and the awkward position we were in. She was on top of me, and our faces were mere inches away from each other, oh yeah she had every right to be uncomfortable. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I just... uh...." Her voice drifted off as she looked away embarrassed. The fact that her mane covered her left eye in her moment of timidness just made her even cuter. I couldn't say anything, what "could" I say? Normally I would be accepting such an apology by now, but I was awestruck by this beautiful creature. I collected myself and spoke in the most calming manner I could, I had to at least know her name. "Oh, heh, it's cool. But may I ask... um.... what is yo-" "There you are!" I was interrupted by yet the same voice that set that mob on me a few minutes prior. Rainbow Dash hovered over us in her nosy fashion, biggest... killjoy... ever. Her eyes went wide as she got a good look at the situation, I can only assume what this mare and I looked like from a third pony view, you could just smell the awkward. "Well hey, hey, hey," she said, a smug grin appearing on her face. "I had no idea that you and Flu-" The sentence was cut short as the mare quickly jumped to her hooves and ran off. As she ran I noticed the majestic wings locked in place at her side. "A pegasus?" I thought. "Why isn't she flying?" But curiosity was soon replaced by annoyance as I looked back at Rainbow Dash with a glare that I could assume would cut glass. "What?" she asked. "Did I ruin your moment with Fluttershy?" Fluttershy, so that was the mares name, absolutely adorable. I had never seen her before, but I could assume it was because she was so... well... shy. I didn't know anything about that pony, but oh Celestia did I want to know everything about her... in a non creepy way. The next few days went by and I didn't spot her even once, of coarse. It was strange adjusting to almost every local pony knowing my name, and seeing a picture of me on stage in the newspaper made me feel violated somewhat. But that was not at the top of my mind at the moment. That pegasus was constantly flying, or trotting, through my mind everyday, and it was driving me crazy. Finally I gave in, I had to see her, just to get to know her. Vinyl pointed me in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage, it laid on the edge of the Everfree forrest just outside of town. A place where one could get away from the bustle of the locals in their everyday lives. It was so peaceful, flora and fauna was everywhere to be seen, it was breath-taking. I walked up to the door and raised a fore hoof to knock, but my senses kicked in at a bad time. "What do I say?! Crap, this is not good Shades. Pull yourself together. Just start by saying..." "...Hello?" I realized I was thinking out loud and that the door was now cracked slightly open as that soft voice completed my thoughts. My heart turned over in my chest and my cheeks grew warm and flushed as I saw a glimpse of those blue eyes through the crack. "Uuuuh... Hi." I siad. The door slammed shut with a small "eep" from Fluttershy ("Smooth Shades, smooth."). I got the nerves and knocked on the door and was answered by silence, I knocked a bit louder, but still gentle; I didn't want to look like a serial killer. "Hey, uh, Fluttershy is it? I just was coming by to say hello." Still no answer. "I wanted to say you don't have to be so embarrassed about the other night. You couldn't help it, it was an accident" The silence grew even thicker I had to say something worthy of her time. "Your place is beautiful by the way, I never knew I'd find a pony that appreciated animals more than me." I heard hooves coming towards the door and stop, I then heard Fluttershy's voice come through the wood entrance. "Why did you come out here?" She asked. "I know it wasn't just to admire my yard." She was kinda right, but I needed a reason, something besides the fact that I though she was cute as could be. Then it hit me, like a sack of bricks, something that could put me on a level playing field. "Because I did the same thing you did." The door cracked open. "What are you talking about?" said the shy pegasus. "I was under that tree because I was running away from a stressful social situation. I was playing some music, then these mares starting ganging up on me, and it was too much at once and I didn't know how to handle it. So I... ran and hid." The door opened and I could see her in all her beauty. I had to keep my pulse down somehow but it was most likely impossible at the time. She was here, in front of me, talking to me. There was no way my heart was gonna slow down anytime soon. "I know," she said. "I... heard you play from up in that tree, I was keeping a family of squirrels company while the show was going on." My mouth wanted to drop, she actually heard me play. Her eyes looked away and her face turned the same shade of red as last night ("That's it I'm gonna die of a heart attack"). "You... heard?" I asked. She nodded, still looking away. I wanted to smile that she heard me play. Why though? I was always embarrassed if someone heard me playing. Then why did I feel happy that this mare heard me. She looked back to me. "You're, um, pretty good." I felt my temperature raise to an unnatural level, I thought steam would come out of ears. "She thinks it was good." I thought. That was all I needed to hear. I broke the silence. "Look I um... came here to say that you don't need to be embarrassed. I know all about social situations that you wish you could just run away from, I think we both need to learn to stay and face such events. In short, I saw you last night, and in so doing saw myself, and realized how much I needed to work on my social ski-," I Caught myself as she gave me a look. "That wasn't an insult. I just want to get to know you is what I'm saying." She looked away for a second, pushed here mane back for it was getting in her eyes, and back to me. "Do you want to come in? I mean... um... it's okay if you want to stay out here." I smiled as I walked in past her. And for a brief second I could've sworn... "Did she just smile back at me?" I thought. Awkward Can Be CuteThe inside of the house was amazing. It was obvious that Fluttershy loved nature; one would even say she was "obsessed" with it. Potted plants were everywhere; littering the house with an array of colors that could give Rainbow Dash's' mane a run for it's money. And with all this I discovered the source of that sweet lavender and mint. Though I think the mint I smelt on Fluttershy might have been just toothpaste, the lavender was most definitely the flowers that resided in this abode; and yes there were also mint leaves (so maybe it was partly toothpaste). Birds flew in through the open windows along with a sweet breeze that was concentrated perfectly by the small openings to the outside world. I was so focused on the decor and birds that I almost didn't notice the light "squeak" of pain that came from from right in front of my right fore hoof. I raised it up to see a small white bunny looking over his shoulder at me, he looked anything but happy to see me. Where his cotton ball tail was supposed to be was replaced by a flat wooly pancake... that I was the cause of ("Great Shades, you zoned out, again."). I lowered my head to the bunny with a face that I pray was worthy of forgiveness. Whenever I screwed something up I would unconsciously have this face that gave me more of the appearance of a blue eyed puppy with emo bangs covering one eye. It wasn't a crutch but it had gotten me out of some situations I did not want to be in. But the closer my muzzle came to this rabbit, the more and more pissed he looked. Like I could see the fires of Tartarus in this animals eyes he was so mad. "Um, hey little guy. I'm sorry are you okay? I didn't mean to step on your-," I was met with a good slap across the face; no claws, just pads. For a little guy, this rodent could put a fox down for the count with that B-slap ("B" in this case meaning "Bunny"). I shot up with surprise. Yes there was pain in my face, but the fact that it was this little bunny that caused it made me chuckle. The little guy's expression went from anger to confusion. Apparently he thought he had shown me who was top rabbit in here, but when you've been slapped by your pet cat when he wanted down; you've got a stallion who can take a light beating from tiny paws. "Angel Bunny, we do not slap guests. That is impolite." Fluttershy trotted up beside me, giving quite the nasty glare at her pet. "Now what do you say?" The rabbits face went back to that of annoyance. He looked back to me stuck out his tongue, then hopped up the stairs and out of sight. "I apologize about that," said the yellow pegasus. "he can be quite the hassle at times." She looked off the side again, she had an expression that obviously screamed "did i forget something". Strange enough with my rep of having difficulty reading emotions; somehow this time I was right. Her ears perked up as she remembered what she needed to do. "Oh my where are my manners, shall I put on a pot of tea for us?" "Oh no thanks, I'm fine." But the dryness I suddenly noticed in my throat said otherwise. "Eh... Actually can I get a cold glass of sweet tea please?" I swore my tan fur turned pink, or maybe that was the paw mark on my cheek. Either way I gave a light nervous chuckle, and oh was it raspy; a drink could really do me some good. Fluttershy apparently noticed because she gave out a light giggle with a hoof over her mouth. Oh dear Luna in the moon why did she have to do that. The butterflies on her flank must have had relatives, and where were they, you may ask? Short answer... my stomach. Growing up in southern Equestria, ice-cold sweet tea was something I always enjoyed on a hot summer day. But what Fluttershy brewed up was better than anything the folks back home could ever make even after perfecting it their whole lives. Good chance I would have to ask for a pitcher to take home for the fridge. "I hope its good, I'm used to making hot tea with less sugar, so it may not be that tasty." Fluttershy's hooves rubbed against each other nervously as she sat on the opposite end of the couch we were on. Why did I even sit down there? There were plenty of chairs to sit on in the living room and we both had to choose of all things, the couch. There was most certainly a cloud of nervousness between us. But what Fluttershy said quickly changed my train of thought, how humble could this mare be? "Are you kidding!? This is delicious, my parents could never make sweet tea this good! I-" I said a few more words of pointless praise towards a beverage when I realized once again I was ranting. Fluttershy looked surprised, but then gave me that same shy face that just drove me nuts when I saw her at her door. "Ah crap, I'm sorry. I'm normally not quite this talkative. It's just I can be more talkative when I get comfortable around somepony, and not that I'm getting comfortable around you. It's just that your not that crazy mob of mares like the other night, it's not that I don't like mares, it was just overwhelming at the time. And it's not that I want to go around with a bunch of mares surrounding me It's cool, but I'm not like that cause it would make me look like a total feed bag and WHY AM I STILL TALKING?! I SOUND LIKE A CRAZY PONY. I-" Both my hooves were on my temples giving a stress relieving massage to no avail, so the hoof that suddenly "booped" my nose was not my own. Whatever, it was enough to get me to shut up. The smell of lavender again, it was so relaxing. When the hoof left my face I looked over to see Fluttershy giggling. Here I was looking like a lunatic and she was giggling. I was expecting her to be scared bitless. She took a sip of her tea to stop her chuckling and finally spoke. "You? A crazy pony?" she almost broke out laughing this time. "Almost all my friends are crazy in some way. And that's what I like about them. I will say I am surprised, you may seem timid like me at times. But all you need to do is get in your comfort zone and you're as talkative as Pinkie Pie." I didn't know wether to take that as a joke or a compliment, but she continued talking. "But like you said, you saw yourself in me right? Well I'm starting to sense the same thing," she took another sip of her drink. "When Twilight Sparkle first moved to Ponyville, I couldn't even clearly say my name to her for she was so straight forward. The sudden confrontation made me nervous so I shrunk into a metaphorical ball hoping she'd soon leave me be." "Yeah I guess Twilight does seem like the pony that will give it to you straight." I chuckled. I looked back at Fluttershy and blushed yet again. "Oh sorry, please continue." "It's okay. Well it wasn't until I saw her pet, er I mean, assistant baby dragon Spike that I snapped out of my timid stupor. As you can see I love all sorts of animals. And even though I'm simply terrified of adult dragons, baby dragons I just simply adore." She hugged herself tight and smiled with the word "adore". "I followed Twilight all day conversing with her and Spike asking many questions about dragons. All because I was around something that I liked and felt comfortable talking about." If I wasn't taking a swig of my drink my jaw would have dropped. I never knew that another pony could be faced with such challenges that I could relate to. She was so kind and nurturing, like a mare that seemed motherly but luckily didn't remind you of your mother. I liked her quiet nature. I enjoyed the privacy in my studio when I wrote music, and she liked being in her cottage taking care of her plants and animals. Though I could be more hyperactive, that aside we had some stuff in common. It was kinda cool. But what she said next broke my chain of thoughts and made me choke on my drink. "So why do you feel comfortable around me?" she asked. "You seem to be quite talkative at the moment so you must be." Oh crap! Shades you just entered the trap stallions have been lured into for generations! Luckily I already had an answer to break that curse. "Like I said it's like talking to myself with you. There is nopony that one can talk with easier than his or her own self. Talking with you, it's as if my inner thoughts have manifested into the form of a beautiful mar- SHIT!!!" My hoof covered my mouth, my inner thoughts broke loose and apparently so did my dictionary of profanity. I flipped out. " I am so, so sorry. I shouldn't have used such language in front of you. It was just reflexes, I've been around Vinyl for too long and she has quite the vocabulary. Maybe I should just... go. It's getting late. Thanks for the tea." I was right, the sun had set a while ago and the stars outside were shining brightly. I got up and began to head to the door before I made an even bigger ass of myself, no offense to all the donkeys reading this story. "Why are you leaving? You didn't do anything to offend me." I froze and my heart picked up back to its previous break neck speed. I looked back with my now extremely flushed face. My long, rusty brown bangs were hanging over my left eye, but I was too shocked to push it aside. Fluttershy trotted over too me from the couch. "I'm no stranger to swearing, I hear it all the time from Rainbow Dash when she fails to perform a trick at flying practice. And also, don't think I'll find you weird for giving me a compliment. It's very sweet. Cute even." That's it, I'm dead. Celestia take me to the great beyond now. "Tell you what, I'm going to the market tomorrow after my spa visit with Rarity. I'll ask her to hold off from there so we can talk some more, and maybe we can work on that nervous rambling you do." she giggled once again. "But then again it'd be a shame to see that part of you disappear, it's quite entertaining." I paused, looked at the floor and chuckled at myself, then looked back to Fluttershy. "You know what, maybe it's about time I did get to know this town better. I think we can learn a lot from each other. Alright it's a da-," I caught myself fortunately. "-deal." Fluttershy blushed and smiled. I think she knew what I was going to say but she let it slide. "Pick me up at the spa around 12:30?" she asked. "No problem." I smiled. "See ya tomorrow Flutters." I paused at the realization I had just given her a nickname. "Flutters? You give everypony a nickname?" she asked with a smirk. "Only good friends." I said with a cheesey tone that was borderline flirtatious. "And I feel like I've made a new one today. And who knows, perhaps I'll gain another one tomorrow." Fluttershy blushed with a sweet smile. "Goodnight Shades." she said as she came over and held the door open for me. If this was an old black and white film I would have grabbed my coat and fedora and looked her in the eyes. But the blue eyes I looked into would have been wasted on colorless film. "Goodnight." I said as I walked out the door and began the journey back to the apartment above my studio. Fluttershy slowly closed the door and sighed. She looked down to see Angel Bunny giving her a smirk. "What?" she asked.
Awkward Off StageCould you call me a pony of many words, or of few? Either way that’s your opinion determining on how this story develops. I’m just like any other unicorn trying to make a life for himself in Equestria. Everypony has a story to tell about his or her life, and well you so happened to come across mine. I would say “congratulations” but hay you probably picked this old story up in the archives of the Ponyville library or found it after I was six feet under. Either way you're reading this, so I'll see how long I can keep you interested in this little story of mine. Oh yes where are my manners, my name is Shad3Z, StealingShad3Z (but my friends call me just Shad3Z); crazy name right? Well actually it’s a stage name, my real name is Stealing Shades. I don’t know where my dad got the idea for such a name, he kept changing the story every time I asked him or he just blew it off; so I just tell my friends that he was a little hyped up on the cider when he came up with it. Growing up in southern Equestria was not easy; I wasn’t like all the other “redmane” ponies. I didn’t do farm work, or plant seeds for harvests, heck my accent was more Los Pegasus than anything with how much twang it lacked. But to make matters worse, I was the most socially awkward pony around those parts. I was picked on in school constantly for saying something completely off topic or just plain daydreaming and having a teacher snap me out of “la la land”. Not to mention my talent of being accident prone, seriously I could give Derpy a run for her money. It was hard to blend in, so I did the only thing I could think to do; I stood out. I embraced who I was and didn’t give a flying buck about what other ponies thought of me. I began to develop an interest in punk rock music, the sounds of “Hayday Parade” and “A Neigh to Remember” spoke to my soul with their rebellious sound. It made me proud to be who I was, but who I would be I didn’t know yet. That changed when I picked up my first acoustic guitar and began to write my own punk songs. Of coarse I was little unconfident in myself at first; I didn’t play in public or in front of my friends because that genre of music wasn’t exactly the most popular in that area. And even though I was confident to look the part in public, I was definitely not ready to “play” it. My cutie mark soon appeared after that, a sky blue logo that looked like two stacked S’s with a diagonal line spearing right down the middle of them. I had no idea what my initials had to do with my special talent, but I hoped to Luna above that I would find out sooner or later. At age twenty I moved out of my hometown and opened my own little music shop and studio called “Equestrirock Records” (hay it’s the best I could come up with) in Ponyville just at the base of Canterlot. Ponyville was a goldmine of new artists in many genres of music that I was ready to dig into. I met many ponies of all ages, shapes, and sizes (not kidding, Bulk Biceps recorded some violin once); each one bits in hoof ready to put their talents to work. My rate for the studio wasn’t expensive; I made plenty of money from the record sales alone. And plus, well, I just couldn’t say no when Sweetie Bell would come in and put her small allowance she received from Rarity on the counter. Call me soft but I couldn’t say no to that cute little face. But you want to talk about some hardcore talent, well just ask my two best customers, Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch. Those two could put on a show every time the record light came on. Mixing cello with dubstep, who knew right? Well I was still a little shy around everypony in the town. I didn’t attend Pinkie Pies parties due to the fact large crowds of ponies I didn’t know made me nervous. I still kept my hobby of music writing under wraps as well. Well I “did”, until Vinyl barged in. Apparently I got a little too “into” one of my songs I was playing one day, and when I say “into” I mean “I was so loud Vinyl heard me through her headphones outside" into. Vinyl burst in, grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me dead in the face with those red eyes, and just said these words: “Why… Didn’t… You… Tell… Us…?!?!?!” And that is where our story truly starts... My coat was more of a reddish hue than it’s usual tan for a few days, or even weeks! But whatever color I was, I was forcibly dragged to open mic night on Sweet Apple Acres, a FARM!!! This was not good; of all the places for a musician of my genre to perform, why in Celestia’s name a FARM!?!? I moved here to get away from that atmosphere. Octavia and Vinyl literally pushed me on stage following a nice little country tune by the Apple family, which made me more nervous. Not only was it country, it was “old school” country, not like the pop country back home. I slowly stood on my hind legs, a talent that took me years to get the hang of, and started hearing the whispers caused by my little balancing act. I gulped as I felt sweat begin to lightly drench my coat. I took a deep breath, looked at the audience, and said what I had to. “Uh… What’s up everypony, my name is Stealing Shades. This music I’m about to play isn’t, well it’s um, not very common where I’m from, or even here. But I hope you like it.” I barred the strings, closed my eyes, and began to play. What came next was a simple four-chord song that had a quick beat; I began to sing. My power vocals filled the monitors on stage as I sung a punk ballad about not letting anypony tell you to be mainstream and how you should not be afraid to go against the herd. I didn’t sing the song as some form of propaganda or preaching, but somehow a message was being delivered. I saw fillies and colts raise there hooves in the air as I heard cheering exit their little mouths. Next thing I knew I heard light clopping of hooves, stamping along to the beat of my song. Then it grew louder, and louder, until the entire crowd was stamping to my music. I didn’t know why but it felt, good. I could feel this sense of joy rising up and mixing in with the adrenaline I felt as I continued playing. It felt as if everyponys’ enjoyment was fueling my song and providing me with energy. “These ponies… like it.” I thought to myself. I felt like my hooves were going to catch fire, but I couldn’t stop now, I was in the zone. It felt like forever but the song stopped with a sudden heavy donward strum on the guitar. That acoustic guitar, the singular instrument that fueled this crowd alone! It was quiet only for a split second and next thing I knew an uproar louder than the train I came into town on, filled the barnyard as I came back down on all four hooves. Lyra and Bon Bon were gripping each other jumping up and down screaming at the base of the stage. Derpy was doing “loopty-loops”, well until she crashed into a tree (something I bet I would do if I were a pegasus). And it was hard to tell due to the sweat in my eyes, but I thought I saw rarity faint into her “emergency fainting”couch (courtesy of Spike). I looked to the side of the stage and saw Octavia nod at me with a smile of approval while Vinyl gave the biggest grin ever and gave me a “hooves up”. “Okay, okay, settle down everypony,” The voice on the second microphone made me realize that I wasn’t breathing. I looked over towards the source of the voice and it was… “PRINCESS TWILIGHT!?!?!?” I shouted as my heart began to race. I was so caught up with my performance I forgot I was playing in the resident town of royalty. The princess jumped at the exclamation but then just smiled and pushed my jaw up that I didn’t know was hanging down in the first placed. “Just Twilight.” she giggled. My coat turned red again as I nodded, still wide eyed. Twilight returned to the microphone she was levitating. “I just want to say I’ve heard many different kinds of music come out of this town from classical to electronic, so I am happy to say it is an honor to add a ‘rockstar’ to the mix.” The crowd roared once more. Twilight then looked at me and asked one question, covering the mic with her hoof to not embarrassment. “Shades, why didn’t you tell us you could play and sing like that?” My heart dropped as embarrassment once again took over. But I went out on a limb, levitated my mic from it’s stand, and said the “honest to Luna” truth. “Well,” I said shaking; I sat on my haunches looking at the stage floor. “I grew up being so different from everypony else because of my social disorders. I grew up in a place where music like this would most likely make ponies tell me it was just noise pollution. So I hid it and kept it to myself. But tonight I felt something I’ve lacked for a long time, 'self-confidence'. I came up here prepared to be “boo’d” off a stage or to at least stare at a bunch of confused audience members. But instead I experienced a connection that exploded from every last filly and colt in this audience that made me feel like I belonged. So what I’m saying is if it wasn’t for tonight, I would be stuck inside my studio, scared to meet new ponies, instead of being up here getting to see every last pony supporting me. You are all truly friends to me.” Only my blue eyes looked up from the ground to the audience with a timid face, I didn’t realize I had tears in my eyes. The sky blue aura disappeared from the mic as I gently put it back up on its stand. The embarrassment was at its peak after that speech. I felt ridiculous, I was performing in front of a barn, not winning a Trottie Award. But either way the crowd cheered again and I suddenly felt Twilights hoof on my shoulder as she looked at me with a compassionate smile. "Everypony is different here, and each has a story similar to yours that shaped them into who they are. In fact," she chuckled lightly. "I know a certain somepony you could probably relate to." I didn't know what she was getting at, but I smiled with glee either way as the princess and I trotted off stage with one more quick applause from the crowd. Right then I was greeted with a punch in the leg from Vinyl. “Ow!” I said rubbing my throbbing appendage. “What was that for?” “That was for giving such a kick plot performance dude!!!” Vinyl replied. I couldn’t help but smile, laugh, and blush at the same time. “But you need an artist name, let’s seeeeee…” She tapped her horn with her hoof while pondering. “How bout StealingShad3Z?” I looked at her in confusion and wanted to ask if she had been smoking poison joke. “That’s my actual name though?” I said. “No, no, no, hear me out. Lose the space between your first and last names, make the last ‘E’ a ‘3’,” DJPon3 suggesting turning ‘E’s into ‘3”s, big surprise. “and then make the ‘S’ at the end a big ol’ capital ‘Z’.” The idea was starting to sound intriguing. “Yo! Are you listening?” Vinyl tapped “my” horn with her hoof. I realized I got lost in my own little world thinking about the name and was staring at a wall. I facehoofed as my weird personality began to return, but I think nopony cared at the moment. I walked with Vinyl and Octavia out to the after show party, where everypony could mingle and have sweets and punch from Sugar Cube Corner (if Pinky didn’t eat them all first). But all of a sudden I heard a voice from above shout out. “Hey, there’s our little rocker stallion.” I looked up to see a blue pegasus with multicolored hair. Oh yeah no doubt it was Rainbow Dash (I had seen her around but never spoke to her personally). And that little comment of hers was enough to break the dam. A dam that held back a river of mares (and one Big Mac) that circled around me. Giving an autograph to Sweetie Bell and the Cutie Mark Crusaders was easy since everypony was polite enough to let the foals go first; but after they left, all Tartarus broke loose. “How long have you been playing?” “Can you write a song about how awesome I am?” “Can you sign our flanks?” “Eeyup?” (okay getting weird) I began to hyperventilate; this was way too overwhelming. I saw an opening in the in the circle and I took it as an escape route. I ran as fast as I could but behind me I heard Octavia shout, “Mr. Shades, where are you going?” I looked back, “Need to use the gentlecolts room!” I shouted. “But the loo is that way.” Octavia said in her Trottingham accent. “Uh yeah, I go in the woods, closer to nature and all that.” (Why sweet Celestia did I say that?!) “I know those feels bruh.” “Tree Hugger, that’s disgusting and unladylike.” said Rarity. “Why do stallions get to talk about the gross stuff, unfair vibes man.” I managed to hide behind a tree so I could catch my breath. Going from a music storeowner, to a small town celebrity in one night was way too fast. At that moment the only thing I wanted was a paper bag. I began to question in my mind if maybe revealing my talent was a good idea. Sure it was great to have the attention and it helped me feel comfortable around new ponies, but I think "they" were the comfortable ones; a little too comfortable. “Crap if this is celebrity life, I don’t think i can deal with it.” I said to myself slumping against the tree to the ground; I chuckled to myself. "Never in my life have I had a ton of mares get so 'chummy' let alone one." I tried to not let the female attention go to my head as I leaned my head back and stared But when I did this I yelped when I saw a pair of bright blue eyes (even brighter than mine) staring out of the leaves in the braches above me. A soft high-pitched squeak of what I guess was also a “yelp” followed. What happened after that was a flash of yellow, pink, and… butterflies? I was then flat on my stomach stuck under something.
Awkward Towards An Awkward MareIt took a second for me to take in what just happened. My eyes were closed at the moment trying to get the dizziness out of my head. Suddenly a sweet scent entered my nostrils, that of lavender and mint. I could feel a warm breath on my face as a high soft voice spoke out. "Ooooooow, that hurt." I quickly opened my eyes to that sentence. And even though it was an exclamation of pain, the tone was so, well, comforting. What stared me in the face was probably the cutest mare I have ever seen. She had big bright blues eyes, a pink mane, and a bright yellow coat. The way she stood out against the night sky above was... amazing. She looked at me wide eyed and her yellow face turned bright crimson as she became conscious of what happened.... and the awkward position we were in. She was on top of me, and our faces were mere inches away from each other, oh yeah she had every right to be uncomfortable. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I just... uh...." Her voice drifted off as she looked away embarrassed. The fact that her mane covered her left eye in her moment of timidness just made her even cuter. I couldn't say anything, what "could" I say? Normally I would be accepting such an apology by now, but I was awestruck by this beautiful creature. I collected myself and spoke in the most calming manner I could, I had to at least know her name. "Oh, heh, it's cool. But may I ask... um.... what is yo-" "There you are!" I was interrupted by yet the same voice that set that mob on me a few minutes prior. Rainbow Dash hovered over us in her nosy fashion, biggest... killjoy... ever. Her eyes went wide as she got a good look at the situation, I can only assume what this mare and I looked like from a third pony view, you could just smell the awkward. "Well hey, hey, hey," she said, a smug grin appearing on her face. "I had no idea that you and Flu-" The sentence was cut short as the mare quickly jumped to her hooves and ran off. As she ran I noticed the majestic wings locked in place at her side. "A pegasus?" I thought. "Why isn't she flying?" But curiosity was soon replaced by annoyance as I looked back at Rainbow Dash with a glare that I could assume would cut glass. "What?" she asked. "Did I ruin your moment with Fluttershy?" Fluttershy, so that was the mares name, absolutely adorable. I had never seen her before, but I could assume it was because she was so... well... shy. I didn't know anything about that pony, but oh Celestia did I want to know everything about her... in a non creepy way. The next few days went by and I didn't spot her even once, of coarse. It was strange adjusting to almost every local pony knowing my name, and seeing a picture of me on stage in the newspaper made me feel violated somewhat. But that was not at the top of my mind at the moment. That pegasus was constantly flying, or trotting, through my mind everyday, and it was driving me crazy. Finally I gave in, I had to see her, just to get to know her. Vinyl pointed me in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage, it laid on the edge of the Everfree forrest just outside of town. A place where one could get away from the bustle of the locals in their everyday lives. It was so peaceful, flora and fauna was everywhere to be seen, it was breath-taking. I walked up to the door and raised a fore hoof to knock, but my senses kicked in at a bad time. "What do I say?! Crap, this is not good Shades. Pull yourself together. Just start by saying..." "...Hello?" I realized I was thinking out loud and that the door was now cracked slightly open as that soft voice completed my thoughts. My heart turned over in my chest and my cheeks grew warm and flushed as I saw a glimpse of those blue eyes through the crack. "Uuuuh... Hi." I siad. The door slammed shut with a small "eep" from Fluttershy ("Smooth Shades, smooth."). I got the nerves and knocked on the door and was answered by silence, I knocked a bit louder, but still gentle; I didn't want to look like a serial killer. "Hey, uh, Fluttershy is it? I just was coming by to say hello." Still no answer. "I wanted to say you don't have to be so embarrassed about the other night. You couldn't help it, it was an accident" The silence grew even thicker I had to say something worthy of her time. "Your place is beautiful by the way, I never knew I'd find a pony that appreciated animals more than me." I heard hooves coming towards the door and stop, I then heard Fluttershy's voice come through the wood entrance. "Why did you come out here?" She asked. "I know it wasn't just to admire my yard." She was kinda right, but I needed a reason, something besides the fact that I though she was cute as could be. Then it hit me, like a sack of bricks, something that could put me on a level playing field. "Because I did the same thing you did." The door cracked open. "What are you talking about?" said the shy pegasus. "I was under that tree because I was running away from a stressful social situation. I was playing some music, then these mares starting ganging up on me, and it was too much at once and I didn't know how to handle it. So I... ran and hid." The door opened and I could see her in all her beauty. I had to keep my pulse down somehow but it was most likely impossible at the time. She was here, in front of me, talking to me. There was no way my heart was gonna slow down anytime soon. "I know," she said. "I... heard you play from up in that tree, I was keeping a family of squirrels company while the show was going on." My mouth wanted to drop, she actually heard me play. Her eyes looked away and her face turned the same shade of red as last night ("That's it I'm gonna die of a heart attack"). "You... heard?" I asked. She nodded, still looking away. I wanted to smile that she heard me play. Why though? I was always embarrassed if someone heard me playing. Then why did I feel happy that this mare heard me. She looked back to me. "You're, um, pretty good." I felt my temperature raise to an unnatural level, I thought steam would come out of ears. "She thinks it was good." I thought. That was all I needed to hear. I broke the silence. "Look I um... came here to say that you don't need to be embarrassed. I know all about social situations that you wish you could just run away from, I think we both need to learn to stay and face such events. In short, I saw you last night, and in so doing saw myself, and realized how much I needed to work on my social ski-," I Caught myself as she gave me a look. "That wasn't an insult. I just want to get to know you is what I'm saying." She looked away for a second, pushed here mane back for it was getting in her eyes, and back to me. "Do you want to come in? I mean... um... it's okay if you want to stay out here." I smiled as I walked in past her. And for a brief second I could've sworn... "Did she just smile back at me?" I thought.
Awkward Can Be CuteThe inside of the house was amazing. It was obvious that Fluttershy loved nature; one would even say she was "obsessed" with it. Potted plants were everywhere; littering the house with an array of colors that could give Rainbow Dash's' mane a run for it's money. And with all this I discovered the source of that sweet lavender and mint. Though I think the mint I smelt on Fluttershy might have been just toothpaste, the lavender was most definitely the flowers that resided in this abode; and yes there were also mint leaves (so maybe it was partly toothpaste). Birds flew in through the open windows along with a sweet breeze that was concentrated perfectly by the small openings to the outside world. I was so focused on the decor and birds that I almost didn't notice the light "squeak" of pain that came from from right in front of my right fore hoof. I raised it up to see a small white bunny looking over his shoulder at me, he looked anything but happy to see me. Where his cotton ball tail was supposed to be was replaced by a flat wooly pancake... that I was the cause of ("Great Shades, you zoned out, again."). I lowered my head to the bunny with a face that I pray was worthy of forgiveness. Whenever I screwed something up I would unconsciously have this face that gave me more of the appearance of a blue eyed puppy with emo bangs covering one eye. It wasn't a crutch but it had gotten me out of some situations I did not want to be in. But the closer my muzzle came to this rabbit, the more and more pissed he looked. Like I could see the fires of Tartarus in this animals eyes he was so mad. "Um, hey little guy. I'm sorry are you okay? I didn't mean to step on your-," I was met with a good slap across the face; no claws, just pads. For a little guy, this rodent could put a fox down for the count with that B-slap ("B" in this case meaning "Bunny"). I shot up with surprise. Yes there was pain in my face, but the fact that it was this little bunny that caused it made me chuckle. The little guy's expression went from anger to confusion. Apparently he thought he had shown me who was top rabbit in here, but when you've been slapped by your pet cat when he wanted down; you've got a stallion who can take a light beating from tiny paws. "Angel Bunny, we do not slap guests. That is impolite." Fluttershy trotted up beside me, giving quite the nasty glare at her pet. "Now what do you say?" The rabbits face went back to that of annoyance. He looked back to me stuck out his tongue, then hopped up the stairs and out of sight. "I apologize about that," said the yellow pegasus. "he can be quite the hassle at times." She looked off the side again, she had an expression that obviously screamed "did i forget something". Strange enough with my rep of having difficulty reading emotions; somehow this time I was right. Her ears perked up as she remembered what she needed to do. "Oh my where are my manners, shall I put on a pot of tea for us?" "Oh no thanks, I'm fine." But the dryness I suddenly noticed in my throat said otherwise. "Eh... Actually can I get a cold glass of sweet tea please?" I swore my tan fur turned pink, or maybe that was the paw mark on my cheek. Either way I gave a light nervous chuckle, and oh was it raspy; a drink could really do me some good. Fluttershy apparently noticed because she gave out a light giggle with a hoof over her mouth. Oh dear Luna in the moon why did she have to do that. The butterflies on her flank must have had relatives, and where were they, you may ask? Short answer... my stomach. Growing up in southern Equestria, ice-cold sweet tea was something I always enjoyed on a hot summer day. But what Fluttershy brewed up was better than anything the folks back home could ever make even after perfecting it their whole lives. Good chance I would have to ask for a pitcher to take home for the fridge. "I hope its good, I'm used to making hot tea with less sugar, so it may not be that tasty." Fluttershy's hooves rubbed against each other nervously as she sat on the opposite end of the couch we were on. Why did I even sit down there? There were plenty of chairs to sit on in the living room and we both had to choose of all things, the couch. There was most certainly a cloud of nervousness between us. But what Fluttershy said quickly changed my train of thought, how humble could this mare be? "Are you kidding!? This is delicious, my parents could never make sweet tea this good! I-" I said a few more words of pointless praise towards a beverage when I realized once again I was ranting. Fluttershy looked surprised, but then gave me that same shy face that just drove me nuts when I saw her at her door. "Ah crap, I'm sorry. I'm normally not quite this talkative. It's just I can be more talkative when I get comfortable around somepony, and not that I'm getting comfortable around you. It's just that your not that crazy mob of mares like the other night, it's not that I don't like mares, it was just overwhelming at the time. And it's not that I want to go around with a bunch of mares surrounding me It's cool, but I'm not like that cause it would make me look like a total feed bag and WHY AM I STILL TALKING?! I SOUND LIKE A CRAZY PONY. I-" Both my hooves were on my temples giving a stress relieving massage to no avail, so the hoof that suddenly "booped" my nose was not my own. Whatever, it was enough to get me to shut up. The smell of lavender again, it was so relaxing. When the hoof left my face I looked over to see Fluttershy giggling. Here I was looking like a lunatic and she was giggling. I was expecting her to be scared bitless. She took a sip of her tea to stop her chuckling and finally spoke. "You? A crazy pony?" she almost broke out laughing this time. "Almost all my friends are crazy in some way. And that's what I like about them. I will say I am surprised, you may seem timid like me at times. But all you need to do is get in your comfort zone and you're as talkative as Pinkie Pie." I didn't know wether to take that as a joke or a compliment, but she continued talking. "But like you said, you saw yourself in me right? Well I'm starting to sense the same thing," she took another sip of her drink. "When Twilight Sparkle first moved to Ponyville, I couldn't even clearly say my name to her for she was so straight forward. The sudden confrontation made me nervous so I shrunk into a metaphorical ball hoping she'd soon leave me be." "Yeah I guess Twilight does seem like the pony that will give it to you straight." I chuckled. I looked back at Fluttershy and blushed yet again. "Oh sorry, please continue." "It's okay. Well it wasn't until I saw her pet, er I mean, assistant baby dragon Spike that I snapped out of my timid stupor. As you can see I love all sorts of animals. And even though I'm simply terrified of adult dragons, baby dragons I just simply adore." She hugged herself tight and smiled with the word "adore". "I followed Twilight all day conversing with her and Spike asking many questions about dragons. All because I was around something that I liked and felt comfortable talking about." If I wasn't taking a swig of my drink my jaw would have dropped. I never knew that another pony could be faced with such challenges that I could relate to. She was so kind and nurturing, like a mare that seemed motherly but luckily didn't remind you of your mother. I liked her quiet nature. I enjoyed the privacy in my studio when I wrote music, and she liked being in her cottage taking care of her plants and animals. Though I could be more hyperactive, that aside we had some stuff in common. It was kinda cool. But what she said next broke my chain of thoughts and made me choke on my drink. "So why do you feel comfortable around me?" she asked. "You seem to be quite talkative at the moment so you must be." Oh crap! Shades you just entered the trap stallions have been lured into for generations! Luckily I already had an answer to break that curse. "Like I said it's like talking to myself with you. There is nopony that one can talk with easier than his or her own self. Talking with you, it's as if my inner thoughts have manifested into the form of a beautiful mar- SHIT!!!" My hoof covered my mouth, my inner thoughts broke loose and apparently so did my dictionary of profanity. I flipped out. " I am so, so sorry. I shouldn't have used such language in front of you. It was just reflexes, I've been around Vinyl for too long and she has quite the vocabulary. Maybe I should just... go. It's getting late. Thanks for the tea." I was right, the sun had set a while ago and the stars outside were shining brightly. I got up and began to head to the door before I made an even bigger ass of myself, no offense to all the donkeys reading this story. "Why are you leaving? You didn't do anything to offend me." I froze and my heart picked up back to its previous break neck speed. I looked back with my now extremely flushed face. My long, rusty brown bangs were hanging over my left eye, but I was too shocked to push it aside. Fluttershy trotted over too me from the couch. "I'm no stranger to swearing, I hear it all the time from Rainbow Dash when she fails to perform a trick at flying practice. And also, don't think I'll find you weird for giving me a compliment. It's very sweet. Cute even." That's it, I'm dead. Celestia take me to the great beyond now. "Tell you what, I'm going to the market tomorrow after my spa visit with Rarity. I'll ask her to hold off from there so we can talk some more, and maybe we can work on that nervous rambling you do." she giggled once again. "But then again it'd be a shame to see that part of you disappear, it's quite entertaining." I paused, looked at the floor and chuckled at myself, then looked back to Fluttershy. "You know what, maybe it's about time I did get to know this town better. I think we can learn a lot from each other. Alright it's a da-," I caught myself fortunately. "-deal." Fluttershy blushed and smiled. I think she knew what I was going to say but she let it slide. "Pick me up at the spa around 12:30?" she asked. "No problem." I smiled. "See ya tomorrow Flutters." I paused at the realization I had just given her a nickname. "Flutters? You give everypony a nickname?" she asked with a smirk. "Only good friends." I said with a cheesey tone that was borderline flirtatious. "And I feel like I've made a new one today. And who knows, perhaps I'll gain another one tomorrow." Fluttershy blushed with a sweet smile. "Goodnight Shades." she said as she came over and held the door open for me. If this was an old black and white film I would have grabbed my coat and fedora and looked her in the eyes. But the blue eyes I looked into would have been wasted on colorless film. "Goodnight." I said as I walked out the door and began the journey back to the apartment above my studio. Fluttershy slowly closed the door and sighed. She looked down to see Angel Bunny giving her a smirk. "What?" she asked.
