To say that Fluttershy was feeling relieved right now would have been a big understatement, as the animal lover was looking like she was right on the cusp of melting at that very moment. Though the accident on the stage had left her shocked and stunned, everything had turned out well for her, thanks in large part to the last-minute involvement of her close friend, Sunset. And speaking of whom, the ex-unicorn herself soon walked beside her, smiling warmly to her as the two continued to hear the crowds cheering from the other side of the curtain. For a while, neither of them said a word to one another, but that was just fine. Sunset knew just how much Fluttershy had been unnerved just now, so there was no rush to get her to talk. But, as the moments passed, Fluttershy eventually let out a long sigh, turning to her Equestrian friend and putting on a warm and appreciative smile.
"Th...thank you, Sunset."
Chuckling, Sunset placed her hand upon Fluttershy's shoulder.
"No problem."
Looking away, Fluttershy's gaze fell upon the curtain they stood next to, and with the voices of tonight's audience on the other side, she was, perhaps for the first time now, acutely aware of just how many eyes had been on her out there.
"The play was almost ruined because of me."
But Sunset shook her head at that.
"No, don't blame yourself. If it wasn't for Snips and Snails, this would never have happened to you."
The Assistant Director then narrowed her eyes.
"And believe me, when I find those two from wherever they've hidden themselves..."
She didn't finish, but her tone had been just menacing enough to make it clear that the two young boys had nothing good coming to them when she eventually saw them next. But Fluttershy, seeing that, looked once more to her colleague, speaking in a soft and reassuring tone.
"Oh, that's fine. Everything worked out okay in the end."
Sighing, Sunset resumed her earlier smile.
"Well...if you say so."
Throughout it all, the sounds of the crowd could be heard, and as the two girls listened to it, Sunset then regarded her friend again. Slowly, a look of curiosity came to her.
"Although...I thought you were able to get yourself out of your stage-fright before? You know, with that trick Applejack gave you?"
Fluttershy nodded.
"I know...and I tried doing that when I was out there...but as soon as that bell came down, it was as if everything I'd learned from her about keeping my cool on stage just...just vanished."
Folding her arms, Sunset nodded.
"Yeah...I guess I can understand that."
Gradually, Fluttershy looked to her again, her sweet-looking smile from before retuning.
"I'm just lucky you were there. I'd have never been able to come up with a speech like that off the top of my head."
A chuckle escaped Sunset at that.
"Yeah...wasn't the best one though. Some days I'm pretty good at improvising, and others...well..."
She glanced over her shoulder.
"...I'm just lucky the crowd out here tonight was a forgiving one."
This time, it was Fluttershy's turn to put her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Oh, don't say that, it was well done."
Glancing back to her, Sunset arched an eyebrow, bearing just the tiniest degree of incredulity as she looked at her.
"Oh?"
Her friend's stare continued to bore into her, and while every instinct in Fluttershy's body was telling her to try and be as kind and gentle in her words as possible, it was clear from looking that Sunset wasn't going to be satisfied with anything other than absolute honesty in this matter. So, clasping her hands in front of her, she let out a long sigh, looked her friend right in the eye, then gave her that honesty.
"Your acting was...bad. I mean...really bad."
But Sunset wasn't upset by that. Instead, she simply let out a hearty laugh.
"Yeah...I was pretty terrible, wasn't I?"
Though she tried her best to fight it, Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle alongside her, with her mouth raised to her hand as she did so.
"I mean...the way you just yelled out into diamonds like that sounded...wow."
A snort came to Sunset.
"Yeah...my acting has certainly slipped since the days when I used to rule the school. I remember back when I used to be pretty good at crocodile tears and stuff. Still..."
She shrugged her shoulders.
"...at least you gave a good performance. A one-line performance to be sure, but still..."
Fluttershy's cheeks erupted into bright blushes.
"Oh! Um...thank you."
Then, as time went on, curiosity came to the animal lover's expression, and she looked to Sunset yet again.
"Actually, now that I think about it...where did that diamond come from? I don't remember that in the script."
A degree of guilt came to Sunset after that question, and she scratched the back of her head in a nervous manner.
"Yeah...about that. It was actually from an earlier draft of the play. Rarity would be down in the coal mine, find that lump, and it'd turn into a diamond in her hand, thus inspiring her to go out to Shiny City. But we wrote it out and, well, I thought all the props had been gathered up."
Concern took centre stage in her expression, and she once more looked to the curtain.
"Actually...now that I think about it...we should probably look to see if there's more out there when this is done."
Fluttershy let out another giggle.
"You know, if you like, you could always participate in the play again over the next day or two."
Looking back to her, Sunset laughed.
"Thanks for the offer, Fluttershy, but, these days..."
As before, she put her hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.
"...I'm actually happier making you girls look good."
The two smiled warmly to one another, and in truth, things were now of such a friendly mood between them that, to Sunset’s surprise, Fluttershy moved forward, embracing her in a hug. Though clearly taken aback by this, Sunset soon relaxed into it, returning the embrace, which led to a wider smile on Fluttershy's part. But, mere moments after they had begun to do this, they were interrupted by the sound of somebody clearing their throat. Parting from on another, they turned in unison to find that it was none other than Rarity, who was looking to both of them with a knowing smile, all while gesturing to the stage behind her. Seeing that, and hearing the calls from the audience beyond, realisation came to Sunset, and she looked over to Fluttershy again.
“Well...looks like the crowd want another bowing moment from the cast.”
Giving off a somewhat nervous laugh, Fluttershy blushed again.
“Oh, yes. I...um...should probably get back out there.”
“Yeah,” Sunset agreed.
Rolling her eyes and giggling a little, Rarity returned to the other side of the curtain, with Fluttershy not far behind her. But, the pink-haired girl paused, looking back to Sunset and once more giving her a look of genuine appreciation.
“Thank you again, Sunset.”
Folding her arms, Sunset smiled and nodded.
“Anytime, Fluttershy.”
After one more smile, coal miner number two left for the stage, with Sunset looking more than satisfied over how things went. But, her smile was short-lived, as then, she heard the sound of somebody else clearing their throat, and she turned to find, to her slight surprise, that it was Snips and Snails, both of whom were looking very apologetic right now. Now, as one would expect, Sunset was very much in the mood to give them both a stern talking to after what had just happened. But, remembering Fluttershy's words from earlier, her anger subsided, and she let out a long and calming sigh.
“Just...get back to the props.”
Nodding enthusiastically, the two boys ran off, with Snips nearly tripping over himself in an effort to get further away from Sunset. Meanwhile, Sunset herself, after watching them go, looked back to the curtain, putting on a knowing smirk.
“Oh, Fluttershy...the things we do to be nice, right?”
