Fluttershy and the Art of Fighting

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Cancelled

Prologue

The sun shined brightly in the clear afternoon sky as Fluttershy sat on the back patio of her house, alone with her animal friends. She had Angel Bunny in her grasp, scrubbing and dipping him in a bucket filled with water.

“There you go, Angel,” Fluttershy said. “You’re all cleaned up now.”

She placed angel on top of a dry towel. Her hands were soggy and her clothes were wet, but she paid no attention to these. She adored being with Angel, as well as with her animals. Taking a towel nearby, she began to rub Angel’s fur.

“Let’s get you dried up, so I can start grooming your fur.”

The animals started huddling around her, jumping, whining, crying. They wanted their caretaker to hurry up, but Fluttershy paid no attention to their impatience.

“Please be patient everyone, I’ll get to you all as soon as I can,” Fluttershy stated. Placing the now wet towel to the side, she grabbed a comb and started brushing Angel. As she slowly moved the comb up and down, she heard Angel give a delightful squeak.

“Aw, you’re welcome, Angel,” said Fluttershy, smiling back at him. “Being with you and the rest of the animals is a great way to spend the weekend.”

After one more stroke of the brush, Fluttershy placed the comb to the side and turned Angel around. “Alright, we’re all done now, Angel. Now let’s move on to the—.”

Before she did anything else, Fluttershy heard a doorbell echoing inside the house. Oh, someone’s at the front door. Placing her utensils to the side, she stood up and gently moved her animals aside.

“Excuse me everyone, but let me answer the door really quick.”

She went inside and took a clean shirt she had left nearby. Putting it on, she walked to the front door and looked outside using the peephole.

“Um, hello? Can I help you?”

“Hi, Fluttershy! It’s me, Derpy.”

Relieved that it was someone she knew, Fluttershy opened the door. She was greeted by her longtime classmate, who had her usual smile on her face. She wore a delivery uniform and had a box held tightly in her arms.

“Why hello, Derpy,” greeted Fluttershy who smiled back. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I have a package right here for delivery,” said Derpy as she gave the box to Fluttershy.

“Oh, why thank you!” Fluttershy said, taking the box. “So, um, who is this package for?”

“Hold on, I’ll check.” Taking the dangling clipboard from the side of her pants, Derpy read the contents on the clipped paper. “Says here this package is for Zephyr Breeze.”

Fluttershy blinked. “My brother?”

“Yup!” Derpy replied. She turned the clipboard around and then gave it to Fluttershy along with a pen. “Just sign the paperwork here and I’ll be on your way.”

“Um, ok then,” said Fluttershy, as she took the pen and signed the paper.

“Thank you,” said Derpy, taking the clipboard. Satisfied, she turned around and walked straight to her moped that was parked near the house. “Have a good weekend, Fluttershy. See you at school on Monday!”

She drove off, leaving Fluttershy alone again. Closing the door, she took the package and went to the kitchen. Placing the box on the table, she scanned for any delivery labels. It didn’t take her long to find her brother’s name at the top of the box.

“I guess this is for Zephyr,” Fluttershy said out loud. She glared at the box in front of her, biting her lip. “Oh no, just what on earth is he planning this time?”

“Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy turned around and saw her brother standing behind her.

“Sweet, my package is already here,” said Zephyr, quickly taking the box away from Fluttershy. “Didn’t think it would be here so early. Thanks sis.”

Fluttershy watched as Zephyr took a nearby knife and started cutting the box open. A smile crept on his face as he got closer to opening the package.

“Zephyr, just what stunt are you trying to pull this time?” asked Fluttershy who kept her eyes on her brother. “What’s in the box?”

Zephyr ignored his sister and continued to tear the box apart. As he got the top open, he reached inside and pulled something out.

Is that another box? Fluttershy thought, examining the object. She looked back at her brother and noticed he pulled out a smaller item. And....is that a video game case?

Zephyr pushed the now torn box aside and began opening the smaller one. He pulled out an item from inside, and placed it on the table. It was something Fluttershy had never seen before. It was black and had aluminum plating on each side. A tiny ball sat in the middle with buttons placed to the right of it.

“Alright, Zephyr, would you please tell me what’s going on?” asked Fluttershy. “Just what on earth did you buy? What is all this stuff?”

“It’s called an arcade stick, sis, duh,” replied Zephyr with a smug look on his face. “I just bought this online last week with this game right here.”

Fluttershy glared at her brother, annoyed by his rather rude reply. “Ok, first, I don’t know what an arcade stick even is. Second, did you buy all this with some of our parent’s money?”

“No!” Zephyr cried, denying the accusation.

Fluttershy, however, did not buy it. She stood firm in her place, arms folded. Her glare never faltered, still locked on Zephyr, who found it startling.

“Ok, maybe a little bit,” he admitted. “But don’t worry, I used some of my own money this time!”

“Just what you’re planning to do?” asked Fluttershy. “Is this another one of your schemes to earn some quick money?”

“How did you know about that—I mean, of course not sis. I just bought this thing here to have fun that’s all,” Zephyr replied. He leaned forward on the arcade stick and gave his sister an awkward smile.

Fluttershy sighed. “Just tell me what you’re doing this time, please.” And don’t think I didn’t catch that lie.

Zephyr smiled. He took the video game from the table and gave it to Fluttershy, allowing her to get a closer look at it. “Ok, let me explain. This is a new game my friend introduced to me a while ago. It’s called, Tekken. And it’s a fighting game.”

Fluttershy looked at the game case, and carefully examined the box. Her expression toned down a bit as she took a closer look at the art cover.

“Ok, but what does it have to do with that arcade stick thing you mentioned earlier?” she asked.

“Oh, that? Here let me show you.” He placed the game down, grabbed the arcade stick and brought it to Fluttershy. She noticed that his smile grew wider. He looked really excited over this new thing he had. To her, it was like a child showing off his new present.

“Ok, so this baby allows me to play this game like a pro!” he explained. “Everyone uses this. It’s like, really important for a fighting game player like myself use this!”

“But we already own plenty of controllers!” cried Fluttershy, as she was a bit agitated that her brother may had wasted some money again. “Wouldn’t it be better if you use a regular controller instead of buying this thing?

“Oh please. Regular controllers are for scrubs,” replied Zephyr, scoffing. “Besides, all the best players in the world play Tekken on stick.”

“What’s a scru—never mind. You still shouldn’t have bought this using our parent’s money. You should have—.”

Fluttershy froze. She looked at her brother, then the arcade stick and then at the video game. Her eyes widened as she clasped her hands together and covered her mouth. A look of shock appeared on her face as she just realized something.

“Zephyr? How much money did you use to pay for all this?” she asked.

“Oh, well the game costed around fifty dollars, while the arcade stick costed about a hundred and fifty,” replied Zephyr, casually. “Why do you ask?”

“You spent two-hundred dollars purchasing all of this?!” shouted a bewildered Fluttershy. Furious, she walked up to Zephyr and pulled his left ear.

“Ow! Sis, what are you doing?! That hurts!” cried Zephyr, surprised by his sister’s sudden move. He tried to get her to let go, but Fluttershy had her fingers tight on his ear.

“Do you have any idea how expensive that is?!” said Fluttershy, pulling Zephyr closer to her. Her sudden shift in tone surprised even the animals outside, who’ve been watching the entire conversation.

“Please sis, calm down!” pleaded Zephyr. “I’ll get all the money back once I win the tournament.”

“Huh?” Fluttershy let go of her brother and stepped back. “What tournament?”

“The Canterlot City fighting game tournament!” said Zephyr, still rubbing his ear in pain.

Fluttershy blinked. “Um, can you explain to me what that is?”

“Oh right. My friend and I found out about this fighting game tournament that is held at the recreation center at downtown Canterlot,” Zephyr explained. “Winner gets a hefty amount of prize money. I plan on entering to get some quick cash. Oh, and pay back mom and dad.”

Fluttershy sighed, upset that her earlier suspicions about her brother had been true. “And when exactly is this tournament?”

“Next Saturday.”

“What?” Fluttershy stared at Zephyr, raising her right eyebrow. “Um, I’m sorry, Zephyr but I didn’t catch that. Did you say that this tournament is being held next Saturday?”

“Yup.”

“As in, one week from now?”

“Uh huh.”

“And, who else is going to be at this tournament?”

“Only the best fighting game players in town! A lot of people compete in these tournaments. I even heard there’s over a hundred players competing in different games!”

“And you plan on participating with these other players?”

“Yup!” Taking the arcade stick and game case, he placed them back into the box. “I even heard that the more players that enter, the bigger the prize money!” He grabbed the box from the table and ran past Fluttershy to the living room stairs.

“Talk to you later, Fluttershy! “I gotta start practicing now so I can compete!” Zephyr zoomed up the house stairs and headed straight for his room. Fluttershy heard a loud bang echoing across the house.

Oh dear. What on earth are you getting into now, Zephyr? Fluttershy thought, rubbing her forehead in frustration. I wonder if Mom and Dad know if he used their money? Oh, I wish they would be more hard on him.

Fluttershy went back outside with her head held low. The animals gathered around her trying to figure out what’s wrong, but she paid no attention to them. In her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about her brother.

He’s done this before. Every now and then, Zephyr comes up with a scheme to get money. He makes excuses saying that it’s a new hobby, but Fluttershy knows the truth.

He would only spend a few days or weeks on his new hobbies. When his scheme failed, he gives up and never tries again. What’s worse is that he spends their parent’s money support his schemes. Not once did he pay them back, and now it’s happening again.

Fluttershy groaned. She snapped out of it when she heard squeaking. Looking down, she saw that Angel Bunny had been staring at her for quite some time.

“I’m sorry, Angel. I didn’t mean for you to worry about me,” said Fluttershy. She stood up and took the water filled bucket she used before. “I was talking to Zephyr. Apparently, he came up with another scheme to get money.”

Angel gave Fluttershy a disgruntled squeak. The magic crystal she received from Camp Everfree allowed her to understand her longtime companion.

“Oh, I know you don’t like him, but he’s my brother,” said Fluttershy who dumped the water filled bucket and refilled it with clean water. “I’m just worried about him that’s all.”

Angel gave a small grunt. He repeatedly patted on Fluttershy’s leg and pointed at Zephyr’s room, then back at her.

“Yes, I know. He’s caused plenty of trouble in the past, but I can’t scold him all the time. It doesn’t help that Mom and Dad can’t speak up against him either.”

Angel folded his arms and glared at his owner.

“I know. Sooner or later, he’s going to face his mistakes,” remarked Fluttershy. So far, all his schemes have failed and caused a burden on Mom and Dad. This isn’t going to end well, I just know it.”

Fluttershy sighed. Zephyr would have to be addressed later. For now she’ll focus on her animals. Putting the bucket down, she grabbed one of the animals close by and resumed cleaning.

Chapter 1

Two days had passed as students had returned to Canterlot High.. It was lunch hour and the lunchroom was filled with hungry teens eager to start their break. Fluttershy sat in the far corner of the room with her friends.

Ever since he received his package two days ago, Zephyr remained in his room, isolated. Rarely did he come out, except when he needed to eat. Their parents tried to talk to him, but he ignored them and kept on playing. It was expected though as they had a hard time disciplining him.

Fluttershy sighed. She couldn’t stop thinking about Zephyr. She was so preoccupied with him that she couldn’t concentrate on her morning classes. Her teachers even called her out for not doing anything.

Fluttershy glanced out a nearby window. She had her face laid down on the table and was playing with her food. Her constant thoughts of her brother even made her lose her appetite.

“Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy snapped her head back. She turned around and noticed her friends had been looking at her.

“Are you ok? You’ve been playing with your food for a while now,” said Sunset. “Are you going to eat your food or just stare out the window for the entire lunch period?”

“Yeah, you’re not even eating your chocolate pudding,” said Pinkie, stuffing her mouth full of food. “Can I have it?”

“Pinkie, don’t ask for someone else’s food like that!” said Rarity.

“Aw, but she’s not even eating it!” cried Pinkie. “What’s the point of having pudding if you’re not going to eat it!”

“It’s alright, Rarity, she can have it,” assured Fluttershy, meekly. “I’m not that hungry anyway.” She gave her pudding to Pinkie, much to her delight, and looked back outside. The girls gave each other worried looks. Fluttershy had been quiet, too quiet. She hasn’t spoken up at once.

“You alright sugarcube?” asked Applejack. “Ya’ve been acting a bit quiet lately. Ah mean, yer always quiet, but ya haven’t spoken to any of us at all.”

Fluttershy sighed. “I’m sorry, girls. It’s just that, there’s been so much on my mind lately.”

“Well, what’s wrong?” asked Sunset.

“Well, I….” Fluttershy gulped. Was it really best to drag her friends into this mess? If even she talked about her problem, she doesn’t know if they can help. “I’m sorry, girls, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

Rainbow groaned. “Oh come on, Fluttershy. Why are you trying to hide your problem from us. Just tell us what’s wrong already!

“Rainbow Dash! There’s no need to yell at Fluttershy like that,” Rarity said in response. “If she doesn’t want to talk about it, then leave her be.”

“But we’re her friends, Rarity!” scoffed Rainbow. “I’m sure we can help her if she just talks.” She leaned in closer to Fluttershy and glared at her, trying to get some info from her friend. “Come on, Fluttershy, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“It’s ok, Rainbow, I’m fine,” replied Fluttershy, trying to get some distance between herself and her friend. “It’s just, I don’t want to drag you girls this mess. Especially since it’s a family issue-.” Fluttershy gasped as she snapped back in place. Her sudden move also caused Rainbow to do the same.

“Wait? A family issue?” Rainbow asked while raising her eyebrow. She paused for a few seconds, but then her eyes suddenly went wide. “Wait a minute! Does this have something to do with Zephyr?!”

Fluttershy was did not want to reply, but the glares she received from her friends made her realize she couldn’t back away. Giving up, she slowly nodded her head to Rainbow.

“Oh great! What the heck is that idiot doing now?!” Rainbow shouted, throwing her arms up in the air.

“Um, who’s Zephyr?” asked Twilight.

“He’s Fluttershy’s brother,” explained Rarity. “And, let’s just say that neither of us have a very high opinion of him.”

“That’s an understatement, Rarity,” answered Applejack. “If ya want my opinion, he’s nothing but a no-good freeloading vermin.” Her eyes popped open at the realization of what she’d just said. “Eh, sorry about that, Fluttershy. I didn’t mean to insult yer kin like that.”

“Oh, I don’t mind at all, Applejack. Your statement is somewhat correct.” replied Fluttershy, surprising her friends with her blunt response.

“What did he do this time?” Sunset asked.

“Well….um.” Fluttershy was a bit hesitant to respond as she did not know what to tell them. How was she supposed to explain this situation to her friends? Especially if it’s about video games.

“Girls, do you know anything about fighting games?” Fluttershy finally asked.

“Fighting games?” her friends asked, who were all a bit surprised by Fluttershy’s question.

“Y-yes. My brother has this plan where he enters a tournament of some sort,” explained Fluttershy. “Apparently, this tournament involves fighting games where people enter to win money.”

“Oh great, it’s one of his get rich quick scheme,” said Rainbow, rubbing her nose in frustration.

“Sounds like you really know this person well, Rainbow,” said Twilight.

“Zephyr constantly tries to hit on Rainbow,” explained Applejack. “Try not to pick on her over that. It’s understandable why she has a low opinion of him.”

“Do you know what game he’s playing?” asked Sunset.

“Well, the game is called, Tekken, and I’ve never heard of that game series before,” replied Fluttershy. “Have you heard about it, Sunset?”

Sunset shrugged. “Sorry, Fluttershy, but I never heard of it. What about you girls?” They all shook their head. “Well, that’s a no.”

“Yeah, I only play sports games, shooters and an occasional RPG,” replied Rainbow. “I don’t think any of us have played a fighting game before, let alone try one. Especially you, Fluttershy.”

“Yeah, the only games Fluttershy plays is either Pokémon or that weird RPG she’s obsessed with,” stated Pinkie who was casually eating her pudding.

“It’s called, Kingdom Hearts, and it’s not weird!” cried Fluttershy, surprising her friends with her sudden burst.

Twilight blinked. “Wow…. I did not expect her to be so defensive over a video game.”

“Well, get used to it. Kingdom Hearts is a favorite of hers and she’ll defend it no matter what,” said Rainbow, smiling. “Heck, Pinkie and I even tease her a little bit over that game’s weird story.”

“It’s not weird!” cried Fluttershy. “It has a captivating story!”

“Oh, please. How the you supposed to know what the story even is let alone what order you have to play the games to get it!” said Rainbow, throwing her hands up in the air! “Isn’t the next one called, Kingdom Hearts 2.51 Over Fighting Dreamers or something?”

“For your information, it’s called Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue,” said Fluttershy, crossing her arms. “And it’s the final game before the release of Kingdom Hearts III.”

“Enough! Can we please get back on topic?!” yelled Sunset. “Fluttershy, if you don’t know anything about the genre, why don’t you do some research? You have study hall next period, right? It would be the perfect time to do some research on it.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Wow, I never thought about that.”

Sunset had a point. Fluttershy knew next to nothing about fighting games. Perhaps spending time researching the game would help her understand what her brother’s trying to accomplish.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. I don’t have any assignments to do and I turned in all my work early,” remarked Fluttershy. “Alright, I’ll do it!”

“There ya go sugarcube!” said Applejack. “Now, can we please eat?! Lunch is almost over and I haven’t eaten all of my food.”

Fluttershy looked at a nearby clock and panicked. “Oh dear, you’re right. I guess I better start eating.” She took her fork and was about to eat, but stopped when she saw that something missing from her lunch. “Um, where’s my pudding?”

“All gone!” Pinkie said as she gave an empty bowl back to her friend. Fluttershy in return gave Pinkie a disappointed glare. “What? You said I can have it.”

Lunch ended and the rest of fifth period breezed through. Students clamored the hallway, all walking toward their next class. Fluttershy slipped by each student as she desperately held onto her bag.

I really don’t like it when the hallway is so crowded. Fluttershy thought as she squeezed passed another student. Especially when my bag is full.

Fluttershy sighed in relief as she saw the library entrance in front of her. She made a mad dash inside, causing several students to call her out for pushing. She apologized to them and went inside.

It’s best if I just sit back in the corner where no one can see me. Fluttershy thought while looking around the room. I don’t want any other students or teachers see what I’m doing.

Spotting an empty desk in the far corner, Fluttershy quickly walked toward it and placed her bag a chair. She unzipped it and took out several items. One was her personal yellow laptop with an AC adapter and the other was a set of headphones.

I should at least wear my headphones too. she thought while placing the items on the table. Just in case I run into anything that has sound.

After setting everything ready, Fluttershy sat down booted her laptop. She opened her web browser and was led to her usual search engine. She typed the word Tekken on the black white box and the browser redirected her to a long list of websites.

“Ok, I’m seeing mostly wiki sites here,” Fluttershy to herself quietly. “I wonder if they’ll tell my anything about the game?”

Clicking one of the links, Fluttershy was taken to Wikipedia. She read through the contents of the page, trying to learn as much about the game as possible.

“Wow this series has been out for so long!” said Fluttershy who was a bit impressed. “Let’s see, the latest game that came out was Tekken 7. I’m guessing that’s the one Zephyr’s playing right now.” She clicked on the link and was redirected to the game’s Wiki page.

The page was full of content, much to Fluttershy’s delight. She read every bit of detail on the page from top to bottom, learning everything unique about the game. She scrolled down and found something odd in the development section.

“Wait, the game came out during the summer? But it says here that it released overseas two years ago. Why did the company wait so long for it to be released here?”

Fluttershy continued reading through the page, only to be disappointed when she found very little on the game itself. Realizing she could not get much out of Wikipedia, she exited out of the site and went back to her previous webpage.

“Hmm, where else can I find any more information?” Fluttershy said, carefully browsing the entire page. She scrolled from top to bottom, but found nothing that would help her. Most of the links were store offers or would lead her to sites blocked by the school.

Fluttershy sighed. She was about to go to the next page, but something caught her eye at the top of her screen. “Huh? What’s this?” She clicked on the link, causing the screen to turn black. She was immediately greeted with a cinematic battle between two of the game’s characters.

“Oh, I must have found the official website for the game!” commented Fluttershy as her mood brightened. “I’m sure I can find something here!”

She scrolled down the site and found several news articles. Some included deals on game content or toy figures, which didn’t interest her in the least. However, one article seemed to have caught her interest.

“JDCR wins Tekken 7 crown at EVO,” Fluttershy read out loud. She blinked. “Um, who’s JDCR? And what’s EVO?” She clicked on the article link, but was disappointed when it led her to a blocked site.

“Oh no, that’s not good!” she cried. “But I can’t stop searching now! Maybe if I use my search engine, I might find something.”

Going back to her previous website, she typed the word “JDCR” and pressed enter. Like before, she was greeted by a wall of links. However, the page included several videos this time.

“Huh, so this JDCR person is a pro fighting game player,” Fluttershy said, reading the short bio of him at the top of the screen. “Zephyr did say he wanted to play like the pros. I guess he means someone like him?”

Fluttershy rubbed her head. “Maybe if I see a video, I’ll understand what he means by that.” She clicked on one of the videos at the top and was directed to YouTube.

Fortunately, the video wasn’t blocked by the school. The screen loaded and the video started playing. Fluttershy expected gameplay, but was surprised when she heard two commentators speaking in the background.

“Oh my, I didn’t expect commentary. I thought I was just getting game footage,” Fluttershy said. She glanced over to the video title. “So this JDCR person is playing in a tournament of some kind? And who is Knee? Is he another pro player?”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “I wonder if Zephyr is aware of these players. Are they the ones who got him into the game in the first place?”

A few seconds pass and Fluttershy finally saw the game footage she was looking for. It looked pretty from her perspective. The character models looked really polished and the background was very neat.

But Fluttershy wasn’t interested in the graphics. She wanted to know more about tournament play. And figure out who this JDCR person was.

The video continued playing with JDCR playing some sort of military officer. His opponent chose a muscular half-naked Asian character whose appearance almost made Fluttershy blush, but snapped out of it when she realized he wasn’t real.

Fluttershy watched as the two players battled it out with one another. The commentary made it easier for her to understand what’s going on. It, along with the crowd in the background, gave the match life. It was almost as if she was there, spectating the entire thing.

The entire match went back and forth between the two competitors. It looked like Knee had the upper hand at first as he won the first two sets. However, JDCR never gave up and kept fighting back.

Fluttershy leaned forward, eyes never leaving the screen. She clenched her hands, raising them close to her chin. She gasped as JDCR came back and tied the set. The crowd in the background cheered and Fluttershy felt the urge to as well, but her quiet nature kept her back.

Excitement pulsed through her as the final match played out. She didn’t even notice herself leaning closer to the monitor. Time passed, and the match ended with JDCR winning the set.. Fluttershy sat in her chair, staring at her laptop, stunned at what she just witnessed.

“Oh, my,” she stuttered. T-that was-” Before she could say anything, the school bell rang across the library.

Fluttershy gasped. “It’s already the end of the period?! But I thought I had plenty of time left!” She looked at the now finished video on her laptop. “Oh dear, I didn’t even realize the video was so long. I guess I was so into it that—.”

Fluttershy suddenly slapped herself out of nowhere. The sharp pain caused her to look around in confusion.

Huh, why did I do that to myself? I just wanted to say the video was nice, that’s all. For a few seconds, Fluttershy did nothing but stare at her hand.

What am I doing? I need to go to my next class! Fluttershy thought, shaking her head. She grabbed her things and quickly put them back inside her bag.

Making sure she had everything, Fluttershy grabbed her bag and made a mad dash to the exit. She groaned as she saw the huge crowd of students, but nonetheless treaded the overcrowded hallway.

I’m glad I got what I wanted, but now I’m even more worried about Zephyr. I don’t think this tournament think will be as easy as he thinks. she thought while apologizing to several students she pushed aside.

As day continued, Fluttershy found it even more difficult to concentrate on her classes. The video she saw made her worry about Zephyr even more. It frustrated her, but he’ll have to wait. She needed her friends for advice. It won’t be much, but perhaps they can help her out.

Author's Note

Sorry for being late with this. I had to make some big edits at the end. If you're wondering what video Fluttershy watched, I'll leave a post in the comments. I didn't want to break story immersion, so I left it out. Feel free to check out the match below.

Also, I need proofreaders. If you want to volunteer, please PM me. Thank you for reading.

Chapter 2

As the school day ended, the students of Canterlot High clamored together at the school entrance. Some were eager leave, while others stayed and socialized with their friends before heading home.

Fluttershy stood amidst the large crowd, alone. Ever since school ended, she’d been waiting for her friends at their usual spot. She had texted them earlier to meet up at the ruined school monument so she could show them what she found.

Fluttershy whimpered. She hated being alone, especially in a large crowd. Being surrounded with people she doesn’t know made her feel very nervous.

“Hey, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy looked up and sighed in relief as she saw Rainbow Dash waving at her. Much to her delight, the rest of the girls were with her as well.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Flutters,” Rainbow said, smiling. “We tangled up by a Mr. Cranky Doodle last period. He was mad at me for some stupid reason.”

“Dash, the reason Mr. Doodle was mad at ya was because you broke the classroom window during P.E!” Applejack replied while glaring at Rainbow.

“It was an accident!” Rainbow cried, throwing her arms in the air. “I didn’t mean to hit the ball so hard! You know how I get competitive sometimes. It just happened!”

“Well, go ahead and keep using that excuse, Rainbow,” said Sunset. “Either way, you’re going to have to pay the school no matter what.”

“Whatever,” Rainbow groaned, before turning to Fluttershy. “So, Flutters, you said in your text that you found something?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I did. I found a video online that I’d like to show you girls.” Taking her laptop from her bag, Fluttershy booted her computer and loaded the video she discovered earlier. She then placed it on top of the monument so everyone could see.

“Wow, I’m surprised you found something so soon” Twilight said as everyone walked closer to the laptop. “Alright, let’s see what you got.”

As the video played, most of them were impressed and found it entertaining. Applejack and Sunset found the visuals amazing while Rarity swooned over the two virtual fighters. The commentators even made Pinkie giggle over their “get off me” jokes.

Rainbow and Twilight, however, had different opinions. Rainbow wondered why the spectators in the background enjoyed watching two nerds play a video game. Twilight was bothered over the game physics, twitching every time a character was knocked in the air with a single punch or kick.

“H-how did he do that?!” Twilight said, twitching as she saw an air combo. “No human can launch someone in the air with just a punch or kick! That’s not how physics works! Even if you have the strength to do it, you can’t keep someone floating in the air like that!”

“Uh, Twilight? You know that this is a game, right?” Sunset replied. “No need to frustrate yourselves over video game mechanics.”

“But…. but physics!” Twilight threw her arms up in frustration, only to groan again after she saw another air combo. “No! That shouldn’t be possible!”

“Twilight, would you please calm down!” Rarity pleaded as she and Sunset tried to ease their troubled friend. “It’s only a game! No need to take it seriously.”

“Though I must admit, those character models are gorgeous. Just look at the abs on that one.” Rarity pointed to the muscular half-naked character on the video, swooning as the video showed the character’s win animation.

Applejack raised her eyebrow. “Uh, Rarity, didn’t ya just say it’s only a game and ya shouldn’t be taking it so seriously?”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Oh, right, of course.” She turned away from her friends in embarrassment as her cheeks flushed red.

“Silly, Rarity!” Pinkie giggled, as she handed out snacks for everyone

When the video finished, much to Twilight’s delight, Fluttershy looked at her friends for their opinions.

“Well, girls, what did you think?” Fluttershy asked as she put away her laptop back.

“Well, it was interesting I’ll give you that,” Sunset replied. “I’m surprised that you found that video in such a short time. Didn’t think it would be tournament play too.”

“I thought the commentators were funny!” Pinkie smiled, as she finished her food.

“Ah agree, those commentators were something,” Applejack said. “If it weren’t for them, I might’ve not followed along. But I have ta ask, what kind of names are ‘JDCR’ n’ ‘Knee’?”

“I think they’re just pen names, Applejack,” replied Rarity. “I don’t think they would just use their real names like that. Especially if the video is online. What about you, Twilight?”

The girls found Twilight sitting alone, cuddling to herself. Her glasses were crooked and a few strings of hair had twitched upward.

“The physics, impossible,” cried a shaken Twilight.

“Ok, we lost her. Can someone take care of her please?” Rainbow asked. “But seriously, why the heck are those people getting hype over watching a stupid video game. I thought people only do that for sports!”

“Well, you’ll never know what people find in enjoyment.” Sunset responded while trying to calm Twilight down. “You have to admit, it was pretty cool that JDCR person came back from behind from two to nothing.

“Yeah, whatever.” Rainbow scoffed and looked back at Fluttershy. “So, that tournament thing. Is that what Zephyr’s trying to do?”

“Um, yes, I’m pretty sure this is what he meant,” Fluttershy replied meekly. “But, I don’t think Zephyr will be able to get to that level of play in just five days. It just not possible.”

“Ya think!” shouted Rainbow. “Zephyr’s probably one of the laziest person I know. There’s no way he can do any of that in just a few days!”

“I have to agree,” Sunset shrugged. “Sorry Fluttershy, but I don’t think your brother has it in him. Given his past, it’s very unlikely he has the patience for that.”

Fluttershy sighed. “I know. The thing is, Zephyr’s never competed in anything before. When I talked to him before, he was confident that he would win. But, if the players competing are as good as those two from the video, I don’t think he can.”

“He’ll probably give up after losing once,” Rainbow remarked.

“You may be right.” Fluttershy replied, rubbing her forehead. “Well I better get home. I need to do some extra work for Ms. Cheerilee this evening and I want to get some of it done early. I’ll you girls tomorrow.”

Rainbow scratched her head. “Yeah, I better head on home too. Need to tell my parents what happened today. I’ll see you girls later.” After giving each other a friendly hug, the girls said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Fluttershy soon found herself alone walking on the sidewalk. She didn’t mind though, as her home was only a short walking distance away from the school and there was less people. It didn’t take her long to see her two-story home standing out among the others.

When she reached the front yard, Fluttershy was immediately greeted by several animals.

“Oh, why hello everyone,” greeted Fluttershy as she kneeled and cuddled each animal. “Sorry I came home late, I’ve was just talking to my friends. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of all of you as soon as I can. Just let me head inside and I can give each of you something to eat.”

Before Fluttershy could move, one of the dogs started barking at her.

“Oh, what’s wrong little one?” The dog turned around and ran straight toward the house. Fluttershy followed, and soon found the dog barking at something. She looked up and saw a package sitting at the front porch of her home.

“Huh, what’s this?” Fluttershy examined the box, looking closely for any delivery labels. “Let’s see here. This package is for…. Zephyr?”

Fluttershy gulped. Oh no, what did he buy this time? Deciding not to wait, she removed the packaging tape with her house key. The lid opened and Fluttershy peeked inside. Another box?

She takes the other box, but almost drops it. Oh no. He bought another one!

In a rare spark of anger, Fluttershy takes the box and quickly opened the front door. She was about to march up to Zephyr’s room, but soon found him sleeping on the living room couch.

“Zephyr! Zephyr Breeze!” She walked toward him and tried to wake him up, but he didn’t budge. Despite her anger, Fluttershy couldn’t bring herself to raise her voice. “Zephyr, please get up!”

Zephyr yawned. “Later Mom, I just got back from school. Just wake me up when dinner’s ready.”

“Zephyr!” Fluttershy wailed, but her pleas were ineffective. However, the dog from before had followed her inside the house. Seeing it’s caretaker cry, the dog jumped on Zephyr’s stomach.

“Ow!” Zephyr flinched and flopped off the couch. “Sis, why the heck did that dog jump on like that? Heck, why is the dog inside the house? Didn’t mom tell you not to let any of the animals inside the house?”

“That’s not the point!” Fluttershy showed the package to her brother. “You bought another one of these arcade stick things!”

“Oh, wow it’s already here?” Zephyr replied, taking the box from Fluttershy. “Wow, so fast. I thought it wouldn’t be here until later this week.”

“Zephyr, pay attention to me! Fluttershy said. Why did you buy another one of these?! You already spent over a hundred fifty dollars on the last one. And that’s not including the game!”

“Sis, calm down,” Zephyr said, patting her sister on the head. “Remember, I can get all that money back when I win the tournament this weekend.”

“Again, that’s not the point!” Fluttershy cried. “How much did this cost anyway?”

“Hmm….” Zephyr tapped his chin, trying to remember the item’s price tag. “I think it was about fifty dollars.”

Fluttershy gasped. “F-fifty dollars! If this one was cheaper, then why did you spend so much money buying the more expensive one?”

“Because, the one I have looks cooler,” Zephyr replied, flashing a grin. “Besides, this one is for my friend. I’m going to give it to him this weekend when we both enter the tournament. And don’t worry, we used some of our own money this time.”

“Well that’s one good thing that came out of this,” muttered Fluttershy. “Wait a second, why are you taking a nap here on the couch? Don’t you need to practice for the tournament on Saturday?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Zephyr scoffed as he laid down on the couch again. “The tournament is still five days away. That’s plenty of time to practice. Besides, I did nothing but play for the entire weekend. Just let me rest, ok?”

“You’re being overconfident, Zephyr! The tournament isn’t going to be easy as you think!” cried Fluttershy. “I’ve seen videos of tournament play online. You’re going to lose of you don’t prepare properly!”

Fluttershy tried to get her brother to listen, but he brushed them off and went back to sleep. After a few failed attempts, she gave up and takes the box with her. After letting the dog out, she went straight to her room and slammed the door shut.

Fluttershy stood in her room, alone and tired. She drooped on the floor, using the door for leeway. Water welled up on her eyes as Fluttershy laid her head on the box.

“What am I going to do?” Fluttershy muttered. “Zephyr isn’t listening to me.”

A sudden squeak caused Fluttershy to look up. She found Angel Bunny standing next to her. Squeaking, he leapt onto the box and landed next to Fluttershy. He began to rub his soft fur on Fluttershy’s face, doing his best comfort his distressed owner.

“Thank you, Angel,” Fluttershy said, giving him a gentle pet. “I really needed that.”

Feeling a bit better, Fluttershy stood up and placed the box down. She walked to her study table and took her magic necklace from the drawer. She put it on, and went back to Angel.

“Oh, Angel, I just don’t know what to do,” Fluttershy cried. “Zephyr’s causing more and more trouble.”

Angel gave a confused squeak, pointing to the box on the floor.

“Yes, that’s for him and it’s another one of those arcade sticks.” Fluttershy picked the box up and placed it on her bed. “The thing is, this one is much cheaper than the one he bought earlier. The only reason he bought the expensive one is because he thought it looked cooler.”

Angel folded his arms and grumbled.

“I know, Angel, it’s so frustrating.” Fluttershy sighed and looked at the neatly decorated box. “He keeps saying he’ll win the tournament this weekend to pay the money back, but I don’t think it’s possible. It’s very likely he’ll lose.”

Out of confusion, Angel tilted his head.

“Oh, Sunset told me to do some research on the game since I knew little about it,” Fluttershy explained. “I saw game footage for the first time, Angel, and what tournament play looked like.”

Fluttershy mumbled and began to twiddle with her fingers. “I doubt Zephyr can win, not after what I saw. He’s only had a few days of practice. The game looks fun, yes, but it looked really hard to play.”

Angel squeaked again, but in a more surprised tone.

“Huh…. Angel, what’s wrong?” He squeaked again and pointed at Fluttershy. “Um, yes I did say the game looked fun. I mean, if you like people beating each other up then yes I can see the appeal.”

Looking down, Angel began to rub his chin. He remained quiet, pacing back and forth on the bed. To Fluttershy, it looked like he was thinking about something.

“Angel, what is it?” Fluttershy asked.

Angel snapped his head back up and looked directly at Fluttershy. With a smirk, he pointed and squeaked at her, then at the arcade stick box.

“Wait, you want me to try the game out myself?!” asked a bewildered Fluttershy. Angel nodded. “But, I’ve never played a fighting game before! The only games I play are Pokémon and Kingdom Hearts!

Angel continued squeaking while pointing back and forth between Fluttershy and the box.

“You’re saying if I try it, I might like it?” Fluttershy said, tilting her head. Angel nodded again. “I don’t know. I mean, I know the game looks fun, but I still don’t see the appeal of two people beating each other up.”

Fluttershy looked at the arcade stick box. “Well—.” She scratched her cheek. “Maybe if I play the game I might understand why people like it. I might be able to understand Zephyr’s plan too.”

There was a moment of silence in the room. Fluttershy didn’t say a word to Angel, as she was in thinking about the game. “Oh, all right, I’ll do it! But only for a little bit, is that alright?”

Angel nodded. “Thank you, Angel. You’re a good friend.”

Feeling better, Fluttershy stood up and walked to her study table. “I’ll try it out after I finish my work, ok.” Taking her bag, she placed it on top and took out several books. Feeling comfortable, she began working.

Angel watched Fluttershy from the bed, smirking. There’s a reason why he wanted her to play Tekken. If she can find some enjoyment out of it, then perhaps she can fill in for her brother and compete in the tournament regularly.

It may be a longshot, but Fluttershy has a much better chance to do better than her brother. Despite her shy nature, she works harder than him and has accomplished more too.

Angel’s smirk grew even wider. If Fluttershy doesn’t like the game, then she and her family will eventually sell off Zephyr’s stuff once he failed. If she likes it, not only will she get into something new, but may end up growing as an individual. The planhad little risk!

He grinned at the mere thought it, but Angel knew Fluttershy had to try the game out first. Whether she will like it or not is still up the air. Settling down, he laid down on Fluttershy’s bed and took a nice nap.

Author's Note

Well that took a while. For any of you wondering why this is taking me so long, this story will be published weekly. Being a new writer, I have my limits on how much I can write. That, and my I start my new job soon, so I need as much time as I can get. So forgive me for the long updates. Next chapter we will see Fluttershy playing Tekken for the first time. Look forward to it and thank you for reading.

Also if anyone is wondering where Indigo Zap is, she'll appear later, most likely around chapter 5.

Chapter 3

Through the past several months, Fluttershy had managed to surprise Zephyr in many ways. He was caught off guard when she suddenly became somewhat popular in school. Representing CHS in the Friendship Games was a big thing for her. Being able to speak to animals also stood out as a big what the heck moment for him. However, her latest stunt seemed to surprise him the most.

Earlier this evening, Fluttershy approached him and asked if she could use his console. He thought she wanted to play that RPG she liked, but to his surprise, she wanted to play Tekken. At first, he didn’t think she was serious, but her tone and attitude toward him said otherwise. Now here he was, setting up all his video game hardware in her room.

“Alright, sis, everything’s ready,” said Zephyr as he plugged the last cable into the console. “All that’s left is to just power up the system and you’re good to go.”

“Thank you,” replied Fluttershy. “So, all I have to do is just turn on the console?”

“Yeah, I made it so the console will take you straight toward the game,” Zephyr explained. “And don’t worry about the arcade stick controls, they’ve already been set to the game’s default options. Oh, and please be careful with the stick ok.”

“Don’t worry, Zephyr, I’ll be careful,” assured Fluttershy.

“Thanks, sis.” Zephyr scratched his head, looking back and forth between Fluttershy and his console. “So, um, you sure you want to do this? I mean, I didn’t think you’d be interested in playing Tekken.”

“I’ll only play it for a little bit, Zephyr,” answered Fluttershy. “I just want to see why you’re so fixated on this game, that’s all.”

“But the only game’s you play are Pokémon and Kingdom Hearts,” proclaimed Zephyr. “Fighting games are completely different than role playing games. I don’t think this is something you want to play.

“Well, maybe I want to try something new for a change,” replied Fluttershy. “It’s not like I’m hurting anyone. Besides, didn’t you just start playing this type of game?”

“Yeah, good point.” Zephyr opened the door and slowly walked away from the room. “So…. I’ll pick up my things once I’m done with my homework, ok. It’ll probably take me an hour or two. Have fun with the game, sis.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Ok, I’ll see you later. Zephyr walked out of the room, leaving her and Angel Bunny alone. She looked down on the arcade stick sitting on her lap. Seeing the joystick, she grasped the ball top and wiggled it around with her left hand. She then used her right hand to repeatedly press all the available buttons.

Wow, this thing feels nice. A bit noisy, but nice. As she finished, Fluttershy glanced over at Angel. “Well, Angel, shall we get started?”

Angel nodded. He hopped on the console and pressed the top cover. The console started to hum as the monitor’s screen brightened, followed by another black screen and multiple company logos.

“I don’t see the point of seeing all of this,” said Fluttershy, rapidly pressing the start button. “I’ll just skip these and get to the game right away.”

After multiple button presses, Fluttershy eventually reached the title screen. The game’s logo flashed in front of her, backed up with a fiery metal background. Another press of a button, and Fluttershy was directed toward the main menu.

“Hmm, what can I do here?” Fluttershy asked herself. Using the joystick, she scrolled through each menu option on the screen. “Well, I don’t want to play online yet, and I don’t know much about these other options. Maybe I’ll just stick to offline play.”

Moving to the offline feature, Fluttershy pressed her button again and was given more options. “Let’s see here, they have arcade mode, treasure mode, versus mode and…. practice mode?” She scrolled down to the last option available. “Hmm, why don’t I try this one?”

Deciding to try it herself, Fluttershy went ahead and clicked on practice mode. The menu soon disappeared and was replaced with techno music playing in the background.

Ok, the music is a nice touch, but why does it have to be techno?

As the music picked up, the screen changed into a bluish white background with glass shards floating in the air. Fluttershy was immediately brought to another menu screen.

“Huh, why is the game telling me that I have to choose between left or right?” Fluttershy asked. She scrolled back and forth between her two options, unsure on what the game wants. “I guess I’ll just pick a side and see what it does.”

She eventually picked the left side and was soon brought to character select screen. Fluttershy was amazed at the sheer number of characters the game had. It was a lot, much more than she expected.

How many characters are here? she pondered. Squinting, she began counting each of the character slots on the screen. “Thirty-seven characters? T-that’s so many. How am I supposed to know which one to choose?”

Unsure of who to pick, Fluttershy began scrolling over the select screen. Character portraits flashed back and forth on the screen, but Fluttershy only glanced over them, never feeling any connection with them at all. She eventually stopped scrolling with a character portrait caught her eye.

“What character is this?” She looked the portrait on the screen, examining every bit of detail. The character was a tall, muscular male who wore body armor and had spiky hair.

“This Lars person doesn’t seem special,” said Fluttershy, unimpressed. He looks like a typical anime protagonist. And why am I feeling so frustrated just by looking at him?”

Moving on, Fluttershy scrolled over to the top of the character select screen. When another character portrait appeared on the screen, she gasped at the sight of it.

“I-is that a bear?!” Fluttershy shouted, nearly dropping the arcade stick on the floor. “You have to fight a bear in this game?!” She immediately tapped the joystick right to avoid the portrait, only to find another animal character appear on the screen.

“A-and panda too?! That’s horrible! Why have two animals fight each other!”

Angel hopped over to Fluttershy, squeaking as he did his best to calm her down. As soon as Fluttershy had a good look at him, she shook her head and took several deep breaths before sliding back down on her seat.

Calm down, there’s no need to panic over this. It’s only a video game. None of this is real. Fluttershy sighed as she recomposed herself. “But why animals though? I don’t want to fight animals.”

Scrolling down, she found another character portrait that she found strange.

“Um, what’s with this Yoshimitsu person?” Fluttershy asked, staring blankly at the character portrait. “Is he…. is he wearing tentacles on top of his shoulders?”

Fluttershy turned to Angel for an answer, but he only shrugged in response.

“I think I’m going to pass on this one. I’ve watched too many anime to know where this is going.”

Moving the cursor away from the strange character, Fluttershy began scrolling at the bottom portion of the screen. She stopped when she saw the portrait of one of the game’s female characters.

“Why is this Nina person wearing a dress in a fighting game? And why is it a wedding dress of all things?!” Fluttershy scratched her head. “This game is weird.”

Fluttershy continued scrolling across the character select screen, looking for at least one character that appealed to her. But none of seemed interesting at all, not even the other female characters.

“Oh dear, I just don’t know who to pick,” said Fluttershy. She sighed while staring at the screen. “Maybe I should just pick one random character and move on.”

With no other choice, Fluttershy began moving the cursor to the random select option. However, she stopped when a character portrait caught her eye.

The character looked dark. He wore a black and red jacket, with spiked pads on his shoulders. His hood nearly covering his forehead as he gave Fluttershy a somewhat serious look.

“It’s another one of those cliché anime protagonists,” Fluttershy commented, carefully examining the character. “Jin huh? I guess I’ll go with him. At least he’s looks cute.”

Tapping the “A” button on the stick, Fluttershy watched as the game cursor flashed on Jin’s portrait while the announcer boldly shouted his name. After selecting a sparring partner, she was redirected to the stage select screen.

“I have to pick a stage?” Fluttershy asked. “Well, maybe just choose random select for now.”

After pressing the confirm button again, the game immediately choose a futuristic stage and zoomed away from the previous background. The announcer’s voice roared as big words appeared, followed by the two portraits of the characters Fluttershy choose.

The portraits zoomed out, finally redirecting the Fluttershy to actual gameplay. She was amazed at the game’s graphics. Each bit of detail, from the background to the character models, looked crisp. In the center of the stage stood her character, standing firm. It was almost as if he was ready to attack to opposing character.

“Ok, time to finally try this game out!” said Fluttershy.

Grabbing the joystick, Fluttershy began to move her character back and forth. She then pressed multiple buttons to get a feel of the game. Jin responded by moving and attacking the other character with rapid punches and kicks. However, none of his moves seemed special to Fluttershy. They were just simple attacks, not those special combos from the video she saw earlier.

“What am I supposed to do now?” asked Fluttershy. “How am I supposed to do those flashy combos? Does it vary from different characters?”

Fluttershy stopped moving her character and took a second to look at the start button. “I’m sure this game has a start menu. If take a quick look at it, maybe it’ll have something that can help me.”

Desperate, Fluttershy pressed the start button in hope that there’d be some answers. However, she was immediately greeted with the game’s start menu.

“Oh dear, I wasn’t expecting there would be so many options! Which one of these will help me?”

Moving the joystick, she browsed through the practice menu to try and find something that might help her. Eventually, she found something at the bottom of the screen that caught her eye.

“A move list! Maybe this can help me.” She quickly scrolled down and selected the menu option right away, but her enthusiasm vanished as she saw the new menu screen.

“What in the world?” The move list wasn’t anything helpful as Fluttershy thought. Her character had a very long list of moves at his disposal. Some ranged from different button combinations, to directional inputs she knew little about.

“O-over ninety moves?” Fluttershy said, bewildered by the overwhelming information dump. “That’s so many. How am I supposed to know which ones to use?”

Fluttershy scratched her forehead and sighed. “Maybe I’ll find something if I try out every move. I have plenty of time before Zephyr comes back, so it wouldn’t hurt if I try.”

Fluttershy grasped the stick and began the long trek of attempting every one of Jin’s moves. Fortunately for her, performing each move, from button to joystick inputs, wasn’t that difficult as she thought.

“This isn’t so hard,” Fluttershy remarked. “These moves are easy to do, and there’s a demonstration option on the menu in case I get stuck. But still, I wonder why this character has over ninety moves? Does every character in this game have long move lists like this? I don’t think every player in the game would use all of them.”

Minutes passed as Fluttershy slowly treaded down the long list with relative ease. As Fluttershy continued downward, she eventually found a move that caught her eye.

“What’s this?” She scooted her chair closer to the screen for a better look. “Wind Hook Fist? The inputs for this one are completely different than the previous moves. Is there something special about this move? What could the star in the command list mean?”

Angel began squeaking.

“What is it, Angel?” Fluttershy asked. In response, he pointed to the laptop sitting on her bed, which he apparently opened somehow.

“You want me to look it up?” Angel nodded. “Um, ok then.”

Putting the stick aside, Fluttershy took her laptop and began searching for answers on the internet. Her search didn’t last long though, as she found the answer almost immediately.

“Ok, so after I do the first input, I need to move the joystick back to its ‘neutral’ position. Seems simple enough.”

Taking the stick again, Fluttershy attempted the joystick movement first. As she did, she noticed that Jin began moving at a faster pace, weaving his body downward and upward. It was almost as if he was “waving” his body at his opponent.

After finally getting used to the inputs, Fluttershy attempted the move for the first time. To her surprise, she managed to pull it easily.

“I did it!” Fluttershy cheered. “Wow, that was easier than I thought.”

Satisfied with her attempt, she moved down to the next move on the list. However, sight of the next move caught her off-guard again.

“It’s the same exact move from before!” Fluttershy said while reading the move’s name out loud. “Electric Wind Hook Fist? What’s the difference between this and the previous one?

Fluttershy rubbed her cheek. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see an example of this.”

Selecting the demonstration option, Fluttershy watched as the game showcased the move. Unlike the previous one, the Electric Wind Hook Fist caused the dummy to fly backwards away from Jin.

“H-how do you do that?!” Fluttershy asked as the demonstration ended. “Is there a special command that you have to do?” She immediately went to her laptop and began searching for answers. Thankfully for her, it didn’t take long to find an answer.

“The move is a just frame(1)?” Fluttershy said, reading the contents of the page. “It says here I have to input the button and the correct joystick input at the same time. Ok, I guess I can give it a shot.”

For the next several minutes, Fluttershy attempted to perform the move. But unlike the other moves, this one proved difficult. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pull off the move

“How am I supposed to do this?” Fluttershy asked as she reeled her left hand back. The constant motion on the joystick caused her hand to become sore.

“I don’t think I should be clenching the ball top with my entire hand,” she said as rolled her wrist in attempt to ease the pain. “It hurts if I do that. Is there any other way I can hold it?”

Fluttershy looked down and took a closer look at the joystick.

“Wait a minute.” She moved her head closer to the joystick. “There’s metal portion just below the ball top! I can’t believe I didn’t realize this till now!”

Using her left hand, Fluttershy used the tip of her fingers to get a feel out of the small metal bar poking out from inside the stick.

“Hmm, what if I do this instead?” Taking her left hand, Fluttershy once again grasped the joystick. But instead of using her entire hand to grab the ball top, she slid the metal bar just between her ring and pinky finger.

“That’s better. If I hold it like this, it won’t strain my hand that much as before,” Fluttershy commented. “Alright, let me try this again.”

Feeling more confident in herself, Fluttershy began attempting Jin’s complicated move once more. With a flick of her left hand and a press of a button, Fluttershy heard the magic word coming out of Jin’s mouth.

Da!

Fluttershy watched in awe as the training dummy flew away from Jin, spinning and tumbling as he fell to the ground helplessly.

Angel smirked.

“I-I did it.

Fluttershy looked down at the arcade stick on her lap. Both of her hands were still on the joystick and buttons respectively.

She blinked. “I really did it.”

A wide grin began to appear on her face.

“I did it!”

Out of nowhere, Fluttershy stood up and raised both of her arms in the air. Her sudden motion almost caused the arcade stick to fall out of her lap. It only took her a few seconds before she realized what she was doing.

“Ok, calm down, Fluttershy. That was beginners luck.” She slid back down to her seat, cheeks turned red as she blushed in embarrassment. “Let me try this again.”

Fluttershy moved her character closer to the training dummy and attempted the move repeatedly, over and over again. Despite missing the input a few times, Fluttershy managed to perform the move correctly with little difficulty.

“This is…. fun,” remarked Fluttershy as she performed Jin’s move again. “But…. I still don’t know how to perform combos like those other players from that video. From what I played, this character is completely different from what the other players played.

Suddenly, Fluttershy heard Angel squeaking at her.

“Hmm, what is it, Angel?” asked Fluttershy as she turned to her longtime friend. Angel nodded in response and pointed to her laptop. Fluttershy looked at it and noticed that the screen was different from before.

“Um, Angel, were you just using my laptop just now?” Fluttershy asked. Angel nodded. How does he do that? “Um…. ok what do you want to show me?”

Angel hopped over to the laptop and pointed at something on the screen. Fluttershy noticed that he had loaded a video online. Apparently, it was a video related to Tekken.

“A…. combo video?” Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. She took a closer look at the video and studying it carefully. “It’s a Jin combo video. I can use this! Oh, thank you, Angel!”

Angel smiled as Fluttershy reached over to him and gave him a big hug. “Now that I know what to do, I can start practicing now.”

Taking the arcade stick once more, Fluttershy sat firmly in her seat and began moving her character again. Clicking sounds echoed across the room as she played with bliss. Time passed, but she paid no attention to it. She was having fun and wanted nothing to distract her. Not Angel, not her phone vibrating in the background, and not even the sudden knock on her door.

Author's Note

This took way too long. I'm sorry for the massive delay on this. I promised that I'd post this chapter on Wednesday, but things happened. Anyway, thank you for reading the chapter and I apologize for the delay.

The story will be going through some major changes in the next couple of days. I'll be changing the story's title and will be giving each chapter a title of their own. Expect it to happen by the next chapter.

Fighting Game Mechanic Terms
(1) Just Frame - Refers to a move in Tekken where you do an input, usually a button, joystick motion, or both, on a specific frame or very small window of the animation. This applies to many moves in Tekken, such as Jin's Electric Wind Hook Fist. Just Frame moves provide many benefits to the player if they used it instead of the regular move. It provides more damage, frame advantage and combo potential for the character, making it a top priority for any new player to learn.

Chapter 4

“Hello? Hello, Fluttershy?” Zephyr Breeze gently knocked on his sister’s bedroom door. “I’m all finished with my work. Can I have my console back please?”

There was no answer. Despite him being somewhat patient, Zephyr began to wonder why Fluttershy wasn’t answering him. He had hoped that she would answer right away, but not a single sound came out of her room. Desperate, he raised his arm and knocked on the door even louder.

“Come on, sis. Why aren’t you saying anything?!” Zephyr whined. “It’s been over an hour already! Can I please have my game back?!” Despite his loud pleas and even louder knocking, there was still no response from Fluttershy. Losing the last bit of his patience, he banged on the door with both of his hands.

“At least say something!” Zephyr groaned. Yet even with the louder tone and knocking, there was still no answer from his sister. As his cries became ineffective, he slumped down to the floor with his hands sliding on the door.

Why aren’t you saying anything? Zephyr sighed as he slowly got up from the ground. He threw his arm back, ready to knock on the door again, but soon caught sight of the door knob. Hey, wasn’t the door open when I left. Maybe she left the door open?

Zephyr quickly clenched the knob with his left hand and twisted it. As soon as a clicking sound was heard, he immediately sighed in relief.

“Yes, it’s open!” Zephyr said, smiling. “Thank goodness. Now why didn’t I try this first? Oh well. I’ll just peek inside and check on her. She’s probably sleeping or something. That’s why she won’t answer me.”

He slowly creaked the door open and peeked inside the room.

“Fluttershy, are you asleep?” Zephyr whispered. Fluttershy, however, still did not respond. “What the heck?” He opened the door a bit more to get a glimpse of the bed, but only found Angel sleeping on one end.

Good, at least her pet rabbit is asleep. I really don’t want to deal with that crazy bunny. Pushing his body forward, Zephyr began to slowly open the door even wider. Now where is Fluttershy? If she’s not on the bed, then maybe—

His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly heard music playing from inside. It was faint, but still hearable in some way. Curious, he opened the door wide and got a look at the back corner of the room.

“What the—?” Much to his surprise, he found Fluttershy still on her seat, arcade stick still on her lap. Her eyes were completely focused on the screen. She didn’t even notice her bedroom door had opened.

“She’s still playing?!” Zephyr yelled out loud. Immediately, he covered his mouth in reaction, thinking that Fluttershy heard him. However, Fluttershy paid no attention, and continued playing like nothing happened.

Wow, she didn’t even budge. She must be really into the game then. He glanced over to the bed again, making sure that he didn’t wake Angel up. He sighed in relief as he saw that the bunny remained asleep. Glad I didn’t wake that thing. Would’ve thrown a temper at me if I woke it up.

He turned back toward his sister. I’ll just get her attention by tapping her on the shoulder. Slowly, Zephyr tipped toed toward Fluttershy, doing his absolute best not to make a sound. Gosh, she’s so focused on the game that she doesn’t even notice me. I wonder if this is the reason why she didn’t answer my knocks?

A smirk grew wide on his cheeks. Maybe if I surprise her, she’ll fall off the chair. Oh, that would be hilarious. It’s always funny seeing her panic like that.

Reaching out with his right arm, Zephyr attempted to gain his sister’s attention. Before he could however, he looked up and caught a glimpse of the monitor screen. He noticed that one of the characters was moving rather quickly.

Huh, that’s probably Fluttershy’s character. I wonder what’s she doing? Taking his arm back, Zephyr inched closer to Fluttershy and got a good look at his arcade stick. Her right hand was placed neatly on the buttons while her left hand was firmly grasped on the joystick. With a flick of her left wrist, Fluttershy moved the joystick at a pace so fast that Zephyr barely had time to see.

Da!

Zephyr looked at the screen and saw one of the characters had been sent flying away to the ground. He watched as Fluttershy dashed closer to the downed character and started beating it silly. The tapping of buttons could be heard, as she finally ended her attack with a damaging six-hit combo.

Zephyr’s shoulders slumped to the ground as he stared at the monitor W-what the heck?! She can perform combos already? How?! She just started playing the game. And that moved she performed. What was that?

A wide smile appeared on Fluttershy’s face as she bounced up and down on her chair. “Yay, I did it!” She squealed and clapped her hands together. “I finally did it after so many tries. Thank goodness. This one was a little bit more difficult compared to the other combos I did.”

“Other combos?! You mean you can do other combos already?!” Zephyr immediately covered his mouth and flinched backwards as he realized he had broken his silence.

“Huh?” Fluttershy turned her seat around in response to the noise. She gasped as she saw Zephyr staring at her with his mouth covered.

“Z-Zephyr?! What are you doing back in my room?!” Fluttershy asked, recoiling on the back of her chair. She would’ve fallen off if it wasn’t for the recliner. As she recovered, she began bombarding Zephyr with multiple questions.

“H-how long have you been standing there? Have you been watching me play this whole time? Why are you back in my room so early? Did you already finish your work?”

“Uh, yeah, I just finished all of my work,” replied Zephyr as he stumbled on his words. I can’t believe it. She doesn’t even know how much time has passed. “I-I don’t know if you haven’t realized it yet, sis, but it’s been over an hour since I left your room.”

“Wait, what?” Fluttershy glanced at her alarm clock on the end table. “It’s already eight thirty?! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I didn’t notice this till now. I-I need to take a bath and get ready for tomorrow!”

Placing the arcade stick aside, she stood up and quickly walked over to her bed. “Come on, Angel, wake up.” Angel rubbed his eyes as Fluttershy rocked him back and forth. “I’m sorry, Angel. I didn’t mean to wake you up so suddenly. I guess you fell asleep when I was playing. Come now, let’s get ready for a bath.”

Zephyr watched as Fluttershy moved franticly across the room, taking pajamas as well as several other items from her closet. He mumbled as he played around with his fingers.

“So…. Fluttershy, how was the game?” he finally asked. “I’m guessing you liked the game?”

“Oh, yes, it was so much fun!” Fluttershy replied. “It was much better than thought. I haven’t had that much fun since I first played Kingdom Hearts 2!”

“Ok then.” Zephyr walked over to the table and turned off the console. “So, how were you able to perform those combos? I mean, you just started playing the game. I didn’t think you’d be doing something like that so soon.”

“I just used a combo video Angel found online,” she answered.

Zephyr blinked. “Wait, Angel found a combo video?”

“That’s right,” Fluttershy replied. “He was able to log into my computer. I don’t even know how he used it. I was so focused on the game that I didn’t even notice. But he did end up finding a combo video for my character.”

“Ok, but how were you able to perform them already?” Zephyr asked. “I mean, you just started playing!”

“Well, I didn’t get them right at first,” said Fluttershy, admittingly. “I had a little trouble figuring out which moves I needed to do. It became easy for me once I kept practicing. The only problem I had was the just frame move my character had.”

“Just frame?” Zephyr asked, puzzled. “What’s a just frame?”

“It’s a move where you have to press a button and directional joystick input at the same time,” Fluttershy explained. “You never heard of it before.”

“No, this is the first time,” replied Zephyr as he shook his head.

“Huh. I guess it only applies to my character then,” Fluttershy remarked. “I have to admit; the move was really hard. I had so much trouble getting the right input. It wasn’t until I started adjusting my hand on the joystick that I finally started doing it right. Even then I couldn’t get the move down most of the time.”

Fluttershy took her phone off the end table and table and grabbed Angel off the bed.

“Thank you for letting me play, Zephyr. The game was fun! I would love to play it again sometime. I mean, if that’s ok with you.”

“Uh, yeah sure,” replied Zephyr. “Just talk to me anytime you want play. I’ll set everything up in your room like before.”

“Thank you.” Fluttershy turned and petted Angel on the head. “Come on, Angel, let’s get a nice warm bath.” Fluttershy opened her bedroom door and left, leaving Zephyr alone in the room.

He looked down on Fluttershy’s chair, staring idlily at the arcade stick. Both of his arms were deflated to the side. For a while, he didn’t move.

“I can’t believe it. She had fun. Fluttershy actually had fun with the game.” He turned and looked back at the computer monitor on the table. “Not only that, she can perform combos already. I’ve been playing for several days, and I can’t even do that yet. I haven’t even chosen a character yet!”

He looked back at the arcade stick, then at his game console. “Maybe I should stop. I don’t think I’m really good at something like—,” He slapped himself on the face. “No! Not again! I can’t give up again! I promised myself I’d pull through this time. I need to do this! I have to do this.”

Zephyr clenched his fists. “There’s still five more days until the tournament. That’s plenty of time. I’ll just have to find and pick character somehow. When I do, I’ll just find a combo video and practice like Fluttershy did.”

As his confidence returned, Zephyr began unplugging all the cables one by one. “There’s over thirty characters in the game. I’m sure I can find at least one character that I can play. And once I do, I’ll be doing combos like it was nothing. I mean, it shouldn’t be that hard. If Fluttershy can do it, so can I!”

Author's Note

Alright, new chapter is done! I also have a new title for the story too. It may not be much of an improvement, but it's a lot better that Fighting Kindness in my opinion. Anyway, I'm going to take this story into a small hiatus. It's important that I take things slow and do more research on the game itself before I continue. There's so much that I need to cover, especially when Indigo Zap shows up. I'll come up with the chapter titles later. Thanks for reading.

Cancelled

I would like to announce that Fluttershy and the Art of Fighting has been cancelled. The reason? Well to make things short, the story didn't work out the way I thought it would and it became somewhat of a drag to write. Also, I've decided to step away from fighting games entirely in order to focus on other things, such as reading, writing and getting accustomed to my new job. I don't think fighting games would help in anyway, so it's best to step away from the genre for a short time while I focus on other things.

As for my future plans, I am making a new Pear Butter story called Project Reunion (please note it's a working title) and my big story goal: Star Wars: Jedi Lyra Heartstrings (also a working title). Technological Wonders will also make a return. Again, I'm sorry that I have to cancel this, but it's for the best since I'm stepping away from the genre and this story has become a chore. Please look forward to my next stories and thank you for reading.