"Oh Angel, what is it now?"

The little white bunny tapped his foot in impatience.

"You want more carrots, don't you?"

The yellow pony sighed. She didn't want to have to go out into public again. She would make a mistake or embarrass herself. It would be exactly the same as the bullies at flight camp when she was younger; the ponies would stare at her and laugh. This made her feel uneasy. But she had to do it, for poor little Angel. He was hungry.

"Maybe there are some more in the cupboard?"

The rabbit shook his head.

"Oh, Angel Bunny, you know how I feel about going out. Everypony is going to see me struggle. I want to get help, but..." Fluttershy trailed off. Angel looked pleadingly into Fluttershy's eyes.

"Oh...okay, if you insist."

Angel nodded, and hopped away to the many other bunnies scurrying around the quiet little cottage. Fluttershy packed up her saddle bags and readied herself with plenty of Bits. She took a final glance at her animal friends, a deep breath, and headed out the door.

The streets of Ponyville were filled with many friendly ponies. Fluttershy tried to stay as far away from them as she could, but it seemed impossible. Most of the Ponyville folk were loud and outgoing. She ducked her head and tried to stay low. She felt a pang of worry as she realised that she would have to walk up to the cashier and buy things.

She shivered. Fluttershy felt her cheeks go pink, and sweat built up on her forehead. She felt slightly nauseous. Oh no, She realised.

I'm panicking. The shy pony gasped as a blur of colour suddenly landed next to her.

"Hey, Fluttershy! How are you doin'? I see you got up the courage to go out by yourself." Rainbow Dash said, in her usual, loud, raspy voice.

"You wouldn't understand how hard it was for me. Usually somepony has to come with me, or else I have a panic attack."

"I know. And you're right, I don't understand. But I was thinking...maybe I could help you learn to control your anxiety? I think I know some tips about being confident. And I'm awesome. Although, you probably already knew that."

Fluttershy had never heard Dash saying she wanted to help anypony in this type of way before.

"Are you sure? Thank you, Rainbow Dash. That's so nice of you." Fluttershy said, beaming.

"So... buying some food for your animals, I guess?"

"Yes."

"I might be able to help you get past talking to the cashier."

"Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate your kindness."

The two ponies walked slowly through the crowd. The cyan pegasus yelled at the large crowd to move so the pair could get through. This made Fluttershy feel anxious.

"Um, Rainbow Dash? Could you maybe stop yelling? All of these ponies are..."

Fluttershy dared to look up. The surrounding crowd looked down at her, some giggling, some with disgust.

"Dash...?"

"Yeah, what Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy's face went red. Her breathing suddenly became faster and more shallow. Her hooves and forehead were sweaty and her legs were shaking. She was panicking.

Rainbow Dash spun around, but she could already see her friend galloping away.

"Fluttershy! Wait, I --"

"No! I'll face my f - fears another day!"

Rainbow Dash's expression changed.

"Fluttershy..."

Author's Note

So, what do you think of my first chapter? I'm planning for this story to show people how social anxiety really feels. Please remember to give me feedback on where I went well, how I can improve, etc. Have a great day! <3