Woven Right, Courage Bright, Love in Sight

Chapters

Lost in Thoughts, All for Naught, Pony Caught
Princess Advising, Pegasus Deciding, Emotions Confiding
Arrival in Canterlot, The One Who Never Forgot, Giving It Just One More Shot
Advice Engaged, Pegasus Caged, Unicorn Enraged

Lost in Thoughts, All for Naught, Pony Caught

To say that what was before Fluttershy was a trial would be an understatement. After weeks of thinking, days of pondering, minutes of questioning and seconds of deciding how to finally make an advance on something that had been sort of ‘haunting’ her, the timid pegasus had finally forced herself in to action. This belief that she had failed to speak up and pursue something was no longer possible to ignore.

There was one pony that she knew she could trust, one intelligent but also considerate and polite enough to work with her and handle her problems at a pace which she could manage to reciprocate. As she made her way to the Ponyville Library, Fluttershy had been feeling like she was at the top of the world. Prepared to conquer the issue with a ‘Let’s get it over with’ attitude, there was the feeling that nothing could stop her.

And then she ‘actually’ arrived at her destination, overwhelmed with a heavy cloud of concern. The door before her felt more a giant wall that burst from the ground, promptly after some witch or draconiquis had stolen her wings away. With that image in her mind, the yellow pegasus pony had easily been standing in front of this door far longer than she intended to. Her intense fear of opening up was keeping her from pushing through the wooden gateway standing between her and the one pony she felt she was comfortable talking with... At least since the other she felt capable of confiding in had gone away. Her thoughts drifted away from that fearful image to a memory that brought her heart a deal of despair and fright, but of a different kind.

~~~~~~

“So, after this year’s Winter Wrap Up, I’m afraid I’ll be leaving to take residence up in Canterlot. Needless to say, I’ve sort of struck gold with this deal girls. I... I can’t turn it down. You all know that I care about each and every one of you but we’ll still meet every year during the holidays and probably the gala as well. But the things this position could do for me, it’s just...”

The Element of Generosity looked up to most her friends after a sort of guilty tucking of her head to find them all smiling.

”I’m gonna throw the BEST going away party EVER for you Rarity!” Naturally Pinkie’s mind jumping immediately to ‘her’ first concern, as the others lightly sighed at her usual naive way of thinking, Applejack and Twilight quick to contribute reassurance to their friend.

”It wouldn’t be fair of us to make you stay here just because we’re your friends and we’d miss you. Distance isn’t a concern after all, we’re connected and as long as we keep in touch, it’ll be like we’re not really apart”, the bookworm quickly assembling the best piece of comforting commentary she could compose.

”Twilight’s right, we ain’t about to hold you down, this is yer big chance to really make yer mark in Canterlot like ya always wanted. Why, ifin Braeburn was lookin’ fer mah help to get a new orchard started up out west, you’d bet yer flank Ah’d be out there faster than Dash to a Wonderbolts tryout.”

“Yeah right, like ‘I’ would be ‘rushing’ to a tryout.” Rainbow was quick with her rebuttal, a delighted grin on her face. ”You know I’d be the first in line before enough ponies even showed up to MAKE a line.” Remembering there was an actual discussion going on, she turned back to Rarity to add her two bits into the discussion. ”It’s not like it even matters, if I wanna see ya badly enough, I’ll just bolt right on over to Canterlot, it’s only a hop, skip and a BOOM away from Cloudsdale after all”, she said, stomping her hoof at the boom sound that was made by the cyan pony, implying a Sonic Rainboom was all that really separated her from hanging out with the more fussier of the mane six.

By the time all the others were laughing and resuming their conversations for plans for the next couple months, they had once again forgotten the presence of another pony there. However, Rarity looked across to Fluttershy who had been looking down at the floor for longer than she could remember. Unaware of the thoughts going through the pegasus’ mind, she called out her name. ”Fluttershy dear... Is everything alright? You haven’t, well, said much of anything since I told everyone about my full time contracts with Hoity Toity.”

Fluttershy tapped the spoon in her cup of tea once more, putting off having to answer. Finally, she mustered up the courage for a response, but it wasn’t an honest one, ”I... Th-think it’s great! I’m really h-happy for you Rarity!” After that, she couldn’t manage to say anymore after she saw the relieved smile on the other pony’s face. With the fashionista joining in on the others banter of things they all wanted to do before she moved out of town, Fluttershy felt like sinking into the cushion she sat on in the hopes of just disappearing, overwhelmed with an indescribable sadness over her friend’s announcement. Though she wasn’t quite sure just ‘why’ she was so sad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That’s... That’s why I’m here, right? I need somepony else... somepony who might be able to tell me what to do. Fluttershy paused, then shook her head. No, I... I know what I want to do but, I know what I have to do. But, I don’t know where to started. She took a deep breath, trying to gather her emotions and get them under control at least long enough to regain control over her body and force it to move. Only a few seconds later though, after beginning to lift her right hoof, Fluttershy found herself lost in her thoughts once more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Will there be anything else you two need?”, the spa ponies chimed in unison to their two best customers. With a shake of the head from Rarity, they left the two alone in the sauna. Fluttershy let out a soft sigh as she settled in and got comfy, seeing that the white pony across her was staring at her with concern.

”Is... Is something wrong?” Fluttershy barely managed out, before Rarity began on a small tirade.

”Fluttershy, this is the third time we’ve had one of these spa outings of ours and you still haven’t said anything. Each time I try to talk, you don’t look at me and you seem to mumble everything. I feel like... I feel like you’re mad at me for deciding to go through with this plan.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the last comment. ”M-mad?! I-No! I mean, I...” Realizing she was stumbling up on her words, she shook her head and squeaked.

”I guess it just still hasn’t quite hit me yet that you’re going to be gone. Aside from Twilight, I... only really feel comfortable talking with you. Applejack’s a very understanding pony, but sometimes she doesn’t understand the problems I have. Pinkie... is Pinkie. Rainbow Dash is kind of her own person and she just likes to go to Cloudsdale with me and comes to me for advice on taking care of Tank but aside from that...” She trailed off with a slight shrug.

As the timid pegasus had been talking, she’d failed to notice Rarity moving up to her side, carefully placing a hoof on her shoulder, making Fluttershy’s heart beat so hard and fast it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. Only when the thumping sound of her own heart subsided had she realized that the other had begun speaking.

”Fluttershy, you’ve done so much with me and for me, you know I’ll always be there for you to talk to. We’ll still be able to talk, it’s just going to take a day or two between messages; Derpy is a speedy mailmare but she’s certainly no Rainbow Dash! And you know you can come visit me any time, it is just a day’s flight from Ponyville, right? But more important is that you’ll always be invited to any of the more VIP type events here in Ponyville or anywhere nearby.”

She had full eye contact with the other mare now. ”I’ll always have somepony to escort you to my shows or give you a ride to the parties I attend, there’s no-pony and I mean NO-pony I’d want besides you to be part of my entourage.” Rarity had to pause. ”At the least, you’ll always be my number one. After all, I don’t know what kind of new ponies I’ll meet in Canterlot or through my work, it’s only a matter of time before I make some more new friends but...”

Rarity began off into one her usual tirades while Fluttershy closed her eyes and gently snuggled against the other, sighing in a sort of relief. She did matter to Rarity and at that moment, she felt a brief sense of comfort in that thought.

~~~~~~~~~~

But that’s gone now. She’s gone... My friend is gone... My- She stopped at that thought and paused once more, unsure of the next words that would float through her mind. That’s why... That’s why I’m here. I need to know. The pegasus nodded and gave her best ‘prideful’ stance... Only for her confidence to be shot as she realized that Twilight had opened the door.

”T...Twilight? How long have you been standing there?” Twilight smiled lightly, almost with a tinge of guilt as she realized that her friend was now shivering, her bright yellow coat seeming to pale from the sheer intense startling sensation brought upon by the unicorn.

”Oh, just about five minutes, no biggie though, I didn’t want to bother you since you seemed pretty deep in thought.” The lavender pony stepped to the side. ”Want to come in? We can talk more inside, seeing as well... You don’t look comfortable talking about this even to yourself, let alone out in public.”

Fluttershy nodded idly and slowly made her way into the library, Twilight quietly closing the door as to not startle the already well shaken up pegasus. With a quiet whisper to Spike, Twilight got him out of the house. Fluttershy breathing a sigh of relief, believing that they were truly alone, or so she hoped. As books began to float off the floor and the tables back to their resting places on the shelves, Fluttershy squeaked in protest as she tried her hardest to dodge the flying books. Twilight lost herself in the obsession over neatness and order in the household, failing to take into account the other pony with her. Not too much later, they sat down to a cleared off table, the Element of Magic ready to divulge some handy friendship mending advice to the clearly distraught pony.

Or at least, that was what Twilight Sparkle had been HOPING would happen. Another couple minutes went by, which the studious pony had spent writing down some notes, knowing it was best to let the shyer pony come to speak in her own time.

”Twilight... Have you ever... Thought about another pony a lot?” Setting down her quill and parchment the moment the other spoke up, she was quick to respond.

”Mmmhmm, I think about other ponies all the time! Like if I talked to them today or if we had plans or something like that, except for Spike of course since he’s here all the ti-”.

Fluttershy shook her head quite promptly. ”No, not like that, I mean...” She slowly drew imaginary circles on the table with her right hoof, sighing for what seemed to be the 50th time that day. ”I mean, have you thought about one pony in particular... Like so much, that it seems that’s all you think about.”

Twilight raised her brow in curiosity to the other. ”Welllllll... Aside from maybe the foes we’ve dealt with in the past, I did think about Trixie for a few days after she left. But that was more of a simple, ‘Hmmm, I wonder what she’ll do now’ or ‘I hope she didn’t get herself or other ponies into trouble again’ kind of thought.”

Fluttershy found herself slightly interested in that comment, but decided to go back to her earlier statement. ”It’s... sorta like that but... This pony, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them. I wonder if they’re alright or if they’re having fun or if they miss anypony from where they used to live or... Or...”

Once again, the student chimed in. ”Or if they miss you?” Both locked in straight eye contact now, Fluttershy was doing her best to keep her composure.

”Yes. This pony, I wonder if she misses me as much as I miss her.”

Twilight blinked at Fluttershy in amazement, finally feeling it click in her head the moment that simple little pronoun was spoken. ”You miss Rarity, don’t you Fluttershy?” With the nail hit on the head, Fluttershy lost her security in being vague about the pony in question. This unfortunately enough led to MORE silence as the two stared off into space, before the pegasus returned to reality.

“I don’t know why Twilight, it just seems like the moment I get some peace and quiet to myself, that’s where my thoughts go. I’m concerned about things that never used to worry me, I mean, it’s not like I’m worried about Opal or anything... I worry about Rarity as much as, if not more than I do about Angel getting enough dinner before bed or getting enough rest after play time or-”

Twilight raised a hoof. ”It’s alright, you don’t need to explain any further.” Momentarily confused by the other, Fluttershy watched Twilight magically pulled one book from its resting place off the shelf to set it down in front of herself, flipping through the pages before her face lit up with an “Aha!” look. She promptly commanded the book over to Fluttershy, inviting the other pony to read. A quill floated from its resting place on the table, lightly tapping a portion of text, which Fluttershy read aloud.

“Infatuation - The state of being infatuated and/or having overwhelming or foolish passion and interest, see also... C-C-C-CRUSH?!” Fluttershy’s mouth seemed to hang open as if a hinge in her jaw flat out snapped into a million pieces. ”You think I have a crush on Rarity?! That! That... that.” As her panic subsided, a brief hint of sanity attempted to understand the implication and she finally had a moment of clarity. ”I guess that could make sense.”

Twilight grinned with delight, always pleased with her ability to swiftly and easily procure the answer to her friends problems, MOST of the time. ”You have an interest in Rarity you can’t explain and since she’s not here, you can’t spend time with her to sort of, how do I say this... Get over your interest?”

It took a moment for her to process it, but Fluttershy was quick to agree. ”I think you’re right Twilight. Since she’s not here anymore, I can’t make heads or tails of whether this is just me missing her or if... well, I...”

“If you’re ‘longing’ for her?” Twilight couldn’t help but casually tease her friend, the others were right when they spoke of the Element of Kindness and her blushing, it was ‘too’ adorable.

After one more attempt at gathering her mess of a self esteem, Fluttershy’s thoughts pondered onto her concerns with Twilight herself, knowing the other’s eagerness to send her an analysis on practically ‘everything’.

”Twilight, you CAN promise that you’ll keep this between us, right? I mean, I understand that this ‘probably’ is best suited for a friendship report but, I don’t know how I think about it yet and I don’t know if the Princess would be able to help me either.”

However, Twilight’s demeanor changed to one of shock, then discomfort, as if she’d just come down with something. ”...Twilight? Why do you look so nervous? Is something wrong? Are you sick? Did you just remember something really impor-” Finally she noticed the other presence in the room, turning slowly to find the last pony in Equestria she wanted to talk to right now.

”I assure you my little pony, I can give you the exact kind of help you need.” The Alicorn’s words lost purpose though, as Fluttershy only heard the word ‘I’ before fainting and hitting the floor with a firm thud, out cold from pure shock.

” I guess that probably wasn’t the best way to let her know I was here, was it?”

It was at least an hour before the pegasus came to and a few seconds more before she realized where she was, who was there with her and why she was there. In that moment all the thoughts of the conversation before came rushing back, thought at least she managed to refrain from passing out again, limiting her embarrassment to a deep blush.

”G-g-g-g-g-good-d-d-d-d afternoon Princess.” Celestia presented a bright smile down to the mare and, Fluttershy’s whole body shaking in irrational fear as Twilight sat her up before moving to the other side of the table with the princess

”Forgive me for terrifying you Fluttershy, I forget sometimes that I have a bad habit of surprising and sneaking up on other ponies. I came here today to check into a certain issue involving you.” It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to figure out what it was.

”It’s been at least 4 if not 5 months since I last received a Friendship Report from you, but the rest of your friends send at least one every week, oddly enough. It’s almost as if it’s on schedule, as if some divine force seems to allow various events to fall into our laps and let us learn something every 7 days.”

Celestia seemed to ponder that for a bit, causing Fluttershy and even Twilight to stare in a perplexed manner before Twilight prodded the Princess in the side with her hoof, bringing the Alicorn back to reality.” Ahem. That aside, it concerned me that I haven’t read anything from you in ages.”

She sat down at the table with Twilight before prompting Fluttershy to join them. ”And based on what my faithful student here has told me, it seems that there is definitely something on your mind, something very relevant to the issues of friendship and caring for one another. So, if you don’t mind me asking, I’d like to hear what it is that’s been ‘on your mind’ for the past couple weeks.”

Twilight lifted a piece of parchment and a quill by the will of her magic, smiling with glee. ”And Twilight will kindly remember that she is not the one giving me a report, won’t she?” Twilight’s expression immediately shifted into one of embarrassment, stashing her writing tools away with a wistful sigh, as Fluttershy brought the Princess up to speed... All 5 months of it.

Princess Advising, Pegasus Deciding, Emotions Confiding

Across Equestria, nopony was the wiser for realising that the Goddess of the Night dabbled in solar powers today, taking over her sister’s celestial duties. The Princess of the Sun talked into the evening with Twilight and Fluttershy, enjoying a home-made daisy sandwich as they discussed the timid pegasus’ predicament.

It took a while for the timid pony to divulge all the details of her emotional turmoil and social seclusion, but eventually the Princess had felt there had been enough explained for her to finally give some input.

“It’s not implausible for you to have feelings beyond friendship for Rarity, as Twilight suggested, but you are justified in your uncertainty of whether it’s just you missing a friend or something else.”

There was a small sense of relief on the part of the pegasus, not entirely similar but sharing some common ground with being told ‘No, you’re not crazy’.

“However, your means of handling things the way you did wasn’t healthy either. I had a few instances of needing to urge Twilight to refrain from interfering, as well as making sure she informed the others not to do the same. I came today however because I intended to handle this myself. After all, if the call for the Elements arose once more, there’s no guarantee you would maintain the spiritual and mental stability to channel such immense power.”

Twilight looked to the Princess with a great deal of shock on her face, tempted to question the sort of ‘straight forward’ statement the ruler had made. But the Alicorn was quick to follow up.

“At the same time, we are in a season of calmness it seems and I value Twilight’s friends as much as I value her. You all seem to make each other happy in some special way, so it would be wrong to continue to act as if your personal happiness was not worth taking seriously.”

Feeling as if this was her opportunity to finally give some input, Fluttershy spoke up after her lengthy silence.

“Thank you Princess, I can’t say it’s been easy getting all of this out in the open, but it does make me feel better.”

“I’m glad to help. Though, we’re not letting it end here. You said you wanted to reassure yourself of your thoughts, right?”

Fluttershy was hesitant to respond, nervous of what would come next. But she put on as brave of a face as she could and nodded.

“Then I’d like to help out in the best way I can. Though I can’t very well just force the two of you to spend time together or exploit my hierarchy for the desires of one pony, I can assist you in more subtle but significant means. As you know, I have a guest residence at the castle that Rarity used during her initial trip to Canterlot that allowed her career to take off in the first place. It didn’t take long for her to get the funding for her own residence, so it’s been empty for quite some time. If you’d like, I can at least offer that to you for now.”

The yellow pegasus felt a little overwhelmed by the Princess’ kindness for a moment, feeling it was overkill, but realizing that all she was giving her was a place closer to Rarity sort of calmed her a bit.

She’s not really forcing me into anything, is she? It’s really just an offer of residence if I need it...

However, her thoughts didn’t end there. It took a bit for it to click in the mind of the pony what this really meant. There were certain things that would get her closer to Rarity to spend time with her again and a home in Canterlot was solving the more simple but expensive problem.

“I would gladly take it, but what can I do with it? It’s not like I could just trot into her shop and ask her to clear our her schedule to spend some time with me. She has things to do, it wouldn’t be fair to make her drop everything just so we can be toge-”

Twilight raised a hoof in a way only a kid wanting to answer a teacher’s question would. With a slight nod from Fluttershy, she doled out the best idea that she could think of.

“Then you go out and get a job to ‘make’ it so she has to pay attention to you. That is, if you’re looking for a way for the two of you to spend time together without it interfering with her work, you start doing something that will intertwine with what she does on a daily basis.”

Fluttershy understood exactly what Twilight was suggesting, all the while waves of happiness, fear and uncertainty washed over the pegasus as she realized the most suitable means of going through with such a suggestion.

“Twilight, you... want me to get back into modeling?”

“While that’s not exactly what I was suggesting, it would work, wouldn’t it? You’ve had experience with it in the past and while it wasn’t something you ‘enjoyed’ don’t you think you could do it again for her?”

There was no doubt about it, Fluttershy had only participated in such a stressful situation before because of how happy in made Rarity before. This time it would be for more, she wouldn’t be allowed to just up and drop her work the moment she got scared. It meant more than she was prepared for.

“I’m sorry to cut this short but I’m afraid if I spend any more time here, Luna will surely send the guards out to retrieve me, for reasons more than necessary explaining. Fluttershy, please let Twilight know when you’d like to move whenever you’re ready so I can have the place properly cleaned and suited to your needs when you arrive. Though if it’s not too much to ask, I’d like you to not bring too many ‘friends’ with you.”

Fluttershy laughed weakly, as the Princess sighed.

“Your love of creatures is a wonderful thing my dear, but I’m afraid one too many would result in the cleaning crew threatening to strike.”

After Fluttershy gave a nod of acceptance, the two elements said their goodbyes and let the ruler of Equestria take her leave. She stepped out to give the two a wave of the hoof goodbye and took off into the sky with a bright yellow flash before they headed back in to tend to the mess left over from dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon the Princess’ departure, not a word had been spoken between the two ponies. Fluttershy seeming lost in her own thoughts, having a look on her face of concern, leading Twilight to believe that she’d been dwelling on all the ‘what ifs’ all night. Finally, the silence was beginning to drive Twilight crazy and prompted her to speak.

“So, do you think you can get back into modeling? I know you might not be keen on getting back in touch with Photo Finish but you have a contact for her, right?”

The lavender unicorn had sort of experienced the more persistent fashion pony first hand, knowing that she could be a tad overwhelming and intimidating.

“We didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms Twilight. I didn’t get any angry letters or hate mail from her, but... I’d be lying if I said a couple ponies didn’t give me some dirty looks and stares after that. Though, I do remember some colt coming to me and confessing his love for me after I’d quit.”

Twilight’s eyes were wide with amazement. Sure, it wasn’t impossible for there to be someone in love with Fluttershy, but to so boldly express without hesitation was what shocked her. Fluttershy on the other hand was showing a bit of amusement and embarrassment at the same time.

“He was really sweet about it too, said he thought if I wasn’t working anymore, we could try dating. I had to turn him down though, I felt like he didn’t understand his own feelings like how I am right now. But we did go out for a cup of coffee one day and that was quite nice, he was a very nice pony overall, just not someone I think I could love back.”

“Well naturally, it’s not like you can just up and start loving somepony, right? I mean it’d be SUPER awkward to go out on numerous dates trying to find somepony you click with and fall in love and cherish for the rest of your life as if you didn’t need anypony else in the world to be hap-”

Twilight had now found Fluttershy staring back in a similarly wide eyed state of amazement from that little rambling of hers. The pegasus was hesitant to speak but her friend’s outburst left her with some concern of her own.

“Twilight, is there something wrong? That was kind of-”

“I don’t want to talk about it, that was something I should have kept to myself. Please, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to pretend it didn’t happen.”

Fluttershy lowered her head to the ground like a scolded child, deciding that silence was the best option for now. Twilight appeared to wish for the same, moving away from the pegasus to tend to a different mess.

With the moon slowly on a rise, Fluttershy was prepared to take her leave. Her hoof was reaching for the door, before she paused momentarily, turning back to Twilight.

“Go ahead and, um, send a letter to the Princess tomorrow afternoon, okay? Tell her I’ll be ready in 4 days.”

“You sure that’s enough time?” The unicorn replied somewhat plainly.

“Yes, that should be plenty of time. Like I said, we didn’t leave on the best of terms but she did give me a way to get in touch with her quickly. I’ll take care of those affairs when I get to Canterlot, in the meantime I need to go pack.”

With the door open and the cold breeze of the night air wafting into the treehouse, it woke up Twilight a bit. Coming back to her senses, it donned on her that she was sending her friend off for the night on a less than positive tone. Not one to leave on bad terms, she called out to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy... There’s nothing to lose out of this. Whatever becomes of you and Rarity, it’ll be a win/win situation, right? Just give it your all to get that time with her that you want, okay? Don’t let anyone stop you and don’t let your fears stop you.”

Fluttershy turned around from the door only for her friend to wraps her hooves around her and hug her tightly, so tight that it concerned her. A warm fluid hit her shoulders as she sensed a trembling sensation from the other pony

“You... have someone you care about very much. And whether that’s friendship or love, you make sure you don’t give up on it. I know how much it tore me up inside when Discord drained the magic of our friendship from me, I wouldn’t want to experience that ever again.”

The Element of Kindness felt that there was more to be said, that Twilight was still keeping something inside. But rather than pry, she held her tightly and let her sob just a bit. Her friend clearly needed someone for a little comfort and this seemed the best way to provide such a thing.

“I’ll come by tomorrow to let you know when I’ve sent the letter. Go head on home, you’ll need your rest for tomorrow.”

With the lavender pony releasing her hold on the yellow pegasus, she wiped her tears and let Fluttershy take her leave. Trotting off towards her cottage, Fluttershy felt a warm sensation coursing through her body, a confident smile running across her face.

I’m ready for this... I need to do this now. If I wait too long, who knows what kind of work she may be caught up in... Oh goodness, she could get so big that she might get hired to tour all of Equestria and then I’d never see her ag-

Her train of thought was promptly interrupted as she opened the door of her cottage to see the her pets all rush to the door, making various squeaks, squawks and cries of attention, hunger and more. Fluttershy had truly forgotten just how long she’d been at Twilight’s residence, smiling and nodding to each of her little critters.

“Alright my dearies, I’ll get to each one of you as soon as I can.”

It’s going to be a long night...

Arrival in Canterlot, The One Who Never Forgot, Giving It Just One More Shot

The life of a garden tending pony was easy, check on the animals, water the plants, alert the proper ponies if anything is wrong. Good pay, easy work and peace and quiet. That was, at least, until the ‘yellow’ one arrived.

“Now just remember-”

“I know miss, the birds drink sweetened water instead stream water, the squirrels prefer walnuts and cashews and the raccoon is not to be disturbed until sunset at the earliest. I have everything under control, you can count on me to keep yer little critters quite content.”

“Oh and please don’t forget to make sure Angel eats his lunch, he’s been skipping meals just so he can get out more. I’m pretty sure he knows how to get from the garden to the loft I’m staying in, so-”

“Yes yes, I’ve got it already, now please, I can’t tend to the OTHER critters until YOU leave, seeing as how ya terrified them nearly into a coma last time you were here.”

A weak laugh from the pegasus came about as she briefly recalled the ‘incident’ at the Grand Galloping Gala, seeing this as an ideal opportunity to take her leave. With the meeting with Photo Finish in a short while, she didn’t have forever to sit by and do as she pleased. However, Fluttershy did intend to set aside a little time for herself to get familiar with Canterlot, at least in an attempt to start learning the place well enough to not need a map to travel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, had this been any other pony, that probably would have worked out as planned. The yellow pegasus, however, had managed to lose herself deep in one of the busier districts in Canterlot, uncertain just how she’d gotten here in the first place.

Oh dear, all I remember was stepping into some dress shop and then when I got out someone offered me a free sample of their new cappuccino which I’m sure hasn’t helped me at all and then someone said, ‘Oh hey look, it’s Fluttershy! can I get a picture?!’ and I couldn’t turn them down and... and...

Caught up in a fluster of worry and panic, Fluttershy walked herself right into the path of two other ponies, sound growing muffled and words sounding like gibberish. Only when she cleared her mind could she start to both see and hear clearly, realizing that the very stallion and mare she’d just needed the aid of standing up again were somewhat familiar faces.

“Oh goodness, Fancy Pants, I’m very sorry! I’ve just been lost for a while and started to panic a bit and I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The unicorn was hardly offended, actually more concerned about the state of the other pony he’d just helped off the ground.

“Oh, don’t worry about that miss, rather it be an accident than some lovestruck filly pretending to bump into me for an opportunity to either swipe something off me or... Celestia help me, acquire some ‘part’ of me for their own personal uses.”

He shuddered at the last thought, a pink maned mare beside him softly patting him on the back.

“You can’t let it bother you that much dear, though I’ll admit that last one who took a lock of your mane? She was quite mad if I do say so myself.”

Glancing over to the pegasus who was now tilting her head to the side, she smiled back.

“Is something wrong? You look quite confused.”

“Oh, my apologies, I just was trying to remember your name but... We haven’t met before, have we? I mean, I don’t recall seeing you with Fancypants at that garden party way back when... Oh, but if I have and I’ve forgotten, I’m very sorry!’

“Not a problem at all dear, though Fancy here did let me know your name and I do believe I know quite a bit about you. The timid little mare who caused the ‘Cutie Shy’ craze to spread throughout the industry a year or so ago, hmm? Fluttershy was it? My name is Fleur des Lis or you may call me Fleur if that is easier to remember.”

Cutie Shy? Is... that what they called it?

“Um, yes, I suppose that was me. It’s nice to meet you Fleur, I wasn’t aware you were so well versed in the work I did for Photo Finish.”

The white unicorn couldn’t help but laugh, sighing briefly afterwards.

“Pardon that laughter, it’s amusing sometimes when I meet someone who isn’t aware of my work... Oh, not that I think any less of you of course, so much as it is I forget sometimes there’s a world outside of modeling. That however is in the past, I’ve found my passions with Fancy here satisfied now, I can’t say that I think it would suit me anymore. I don’t think I’d enjoy or... ‘want’ to participate in such things again.”

Hearing of Fleur’s past work modeling, that set off an alert in Fluttershy’s mind.

“Pardon me Miss Fleur, but if you don’t mind me asking, how would you suggest, well, overcoming one’s pro-”

A loud gong startled the poor little pony, only for panic to set back in as she looked at the time.

“Oh my, I’m going to be late at this rate! Forgive me, but I have to go, I’ve got an important meeting with somepony that I didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms with. If I show up too late there’s a good chance she just might leave before I get to say my piece.”

Fluttershy herself wasn’t quite sure why she’d rambled this off to mere acquaintances but after asking the two for directions, she bolted down the street and around a corner.

“Fleur my dear... You don’t think ‘she’s’ the one she’s meeting today, do you?”

Fancy looked over to Fleur who seemed to be fairly deep in thought before an amused smile ran across her face.

“I think she just might be and I have a feeling I know what she was about to ask me. And if I’m right, maybe it won’t be so bad giving a helping hoof to some upstart after all.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is there anything else I can get you ma’am? Perhaps a-”

“Nein, nuhzing foh me now. Just bring some streudel aftaire ve are done.”

The Cyan earth pony looked to the clock nearby, seeing it was roughly five minutes past the appointed meet time she had set up with ‘her’.

Zat gerl thinks she can just run out on I, Photo Feeneesh?! Blödsinn! As eef eye have zeh time to vaste on zis foalish pegasus! If she izn’t here in zeh neckts five sekunds-

Luck seeming to be on her side, Fluttershy popped into the bistro to find Photo Finish staring back up at her, eyes hidden behind glasses as always. Still, the pegasus felt as if glares of annoyance were being shot her way, as a waiter escorted her over to the table. Carefully sitting down on a cushion, Fluttershy ordered a cup of tea before speaking.

“Th-th-thank you f-f-f-or m-m-meeting with me today Photo Fi-”

The Fashion Pony raised a hoof in protest.

“Puh-leeze, zat ‘kyute’ vittle shtuhterring und zat quiverng von’t get you anyvhere now. Times have changed, zis is no longer an industry vhere you can get by on zat behayviere ahlone. I, Photo Feeneesh, have very many impohtant poniez und many clients vif vich I must meet today.”

The earth pony raised a hoof to remove her sunglasses, hazel colored eyes staring sternly back at the timit pegasus.

She took off her glasses? Is... Is she trying to show she’s being serious with me? I... I don’t get it.

Folding her hooves together, Photo Finish’s eyes locked directly with Fluttershy’s before she spoke.

“I vant you to tehll me, right here undt nao, vhy should I even cunzidah shpending even vun more minute listening to vhat you vant from me?”

It was clear now, perhaps the sending of a business card was just a formality on the fashion pony’s part.

“No vun, undt I mean NO VUN, valks out on Photo Feeneesh!”

She slammed her hoof on the table, shaking the dishes and frightening Fluttershy just a bit.

“So vut in terhn can you, some shimple kountree bumpkheen pony like yourself give me, Photo Feeneesh, as a vorthvile model?”

Photo’s cards were out on the table now, Fluttershy realizing that this matter was as serious as she had feared. All of her senses were telling her to charge out right now, head home and confide her fears and nervousness in tending to her creatures or some calming gardening activity, anything to block out the harsh words just spoken by the other pony. But as her mind started to go blank in terror, a little voice echoed in the back of her head.

Are you really going to run now? After you’ve come to Canterlot, after you accepted the Princess’ offer, are you really going to just throw that all away? If you walk away now, you have no right to feel anything for Rarity ever again.

Fluttershy herself wasn’t certain if she was going crazy or her conscience was just giving her some straightforward talking to.

This isn’t just for Rarity, this is for you Fluttershy. This is so you can be certain of who you are, so you can know whether or not you’re good enough for her. Would Rarity want to be with somepony who’d just curl up in a corner and shiver? No! You may not have to change everything you are for her, but you cannot expect others to protect you forever. Just like Rarity had her own dreams to pursue and as do you, so will all the others. And if you want to be with her, now is the time to stand up and show you’re not just some scaredypony like you think you are!

Feeling a sort of self assuring contentment with herself, Fluttershy closed her eyes, took a deep breath and stared back at Photo with an intensity unlike that which even a fabled beast with a petrifying gaze had seen before.

“Now listen here Miss Finish! I know I may not be the bravest pony out there nor the most confident, but I do NOT deserve to be yelled at like that! You pushed, shoved and pulled me around all those times and not once, NOT A SINGLE TIME did you EVER ask me if I was happy.”

Both hooves firmly on the table, Photo’s eyes widened in a distraught amazement, seeing a side of the pegasus that her and only her would ever see.

“I worked for you because my friend Rarity wanted me to, because working for you made HER happy. I modeled for you because I did it for another pony. And do NOT stand here and trot about like I’m the one who might as well have come and spit in your face! I came here for your help but I will most CERTAINLY not ask for help from somepony who will treat me as though I have nothing to offer besides my ‘cuteness’ alone. There is MORE to me than that. There were many ponies, yourself included, who told me I had grace and poise unlike any other pony they’ve seen before. So do NOT pretend like I’m some worthless pony who has no chance of being worthy of being a model!”

After what seemed like minutes of pure silence, Fluttershy finally came to and realized that she had yelled easily twice if not three times as much as the other pony had. Beginning to fret and worry, the quiet was broken by a long sigh from the pony across the table.

“Vell, needless to say, I vasn’t eckshpeckting zat. Pairhaps I have underestimated you Flootershai. Zere cleary iz sumzing more to you zan I have given you krehdit for.”

Clapping her hoofs together, one of her assistants came out from nowhere with a suitcase, dropping it to the floor and giving it a firm kick, a piece of parchment and a quill landing neatly on the table they had been sitting at.

“One year, zat ees all I vill give you for nao, do you undershtahnd? And more importantly...”

Photo placed her sunglassess back on her face, but folded her legs to prop her face on her hoof, eyesbrows furrowing in a direct glare of anger.

“Eef you EVER speak to me like zaht again, I vill kick your flank out on zeh streetz faster zan you can blink. I, Photo Feeneesh, am YOUR boss now undt I vill NOT be shpoken to in such a vay by one of mein employees.”’

She leaned forward, putting herself only a mere foot away from Fluttershy’s face as she was signing.

“Arh vee kleah?”

With a calm but fearless nod, Fluttershy finished signing the contract before Photo leaned back onto her cushion and sighed again.

“Good zehn, I shall send some mahteereuhls to your addrehs as soon as zeh paperwork is feeneeshed that you’re signing zehr. You vill need it if you vant to purchase anysing around here, vhat vith zeh prices so high zees days, you’ll need zis.”

Another assistant placed a hairpin on the table with a jeweled piece at the end showing a script written P and F linked together, all composed of sky blue gems. After a little help getting it clipped into her mane, a waiter brought out some food.

“For now zough, ve vill need to deeskuhs some ‘trayhning’ you’ll need to go zrough. I’ve hired a pony sooted just for zeh job.”

Another clap of the hooves prompted someone else to step over to the table, Fluttershy turning to her side to see an unexpected familiar face, one she was actually quite pleased to see.

Advice Engaged, Pegasus Caged, Unicorn Enraged

Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up WAKE UP!!

Blue eyes flashed open somewhat violently as the white unicorn slowly began a descent off the edge of her bed and onto the floor. A small whimper of pain escaped her lips but shortly after her internal berating of being careless, she rose up onto her hooves.

That’s got to be the fifth time this has happened this week... I wonder why I keep rolling around in bed so much.

Though she’d kept track of the frequency for that week alone, the Element of Generosity was unaware of the rather drastic extent of her restlessness in sleep. Yes, she’d been waking up a little more cranky than normal and she’d missed work related meetings once or twice, but she shrugged off her loss of beauty sleep as mere work related stress. Making for a slow trot down the stairs, she sniffed the air and caught on the scent of a pleasant brew going on in her house. Naturally, she assumed of just one particular pony having the ease of coming into her residence unannounced and doing as they pleased. She turned the corner into her kitchen and smiled to the pony across the room.

“Ah, Black Tea this time Hoity?”

The regal pony gave a nod to the other as the unicorn settled down at the table, tea still in the midst of brewing.

“Just a little something to help wake you up, I’ve seen you less alert each time I’ve come in to visit.”

Were it anypony else representing Hoity Toity on his behalf, she wouldn’t have believed that to be the genuine thing. But he only dropped in unannounced on her for passing time in the past and it being early in the morning, as well as a weekend, she knew that there was more to this visit than there seemed to be.

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t putting too much stress on you with this new plan my dear, Photo Finish supposedly has some big project in the works and is launching it in only a few days. I don’t consider her a genuine threat, we are in different lines of work... But I’d be lying if I said this doesn’t seem like another ego inflating event for that pony.”

Rarity was significantly aware of the feud between the two ponies, Photo Finish looking to shake up and constantly change up the game within the industry, but since Rarity’s official debut mere months ago, she’d been laying low.

“It’s not as though I’m actually worried about anything she puts out there, so much as I want to make it clear there’s only one line out there that respects what ponies want rather than telling ponies what they ‘should’ want and Celestia knows that mare thinks her opinion is the only one that matters.”

He scoffed at the thought of taking a pony like her seriously, Rarity casually levitating their tea to the table. A small little sip sent a shiver down the unicorn’s spine, Hoity raising his eyebrow and grinning with delight.

“You’ll have to excuse my amusement, I forgot how entertaining it was to see you all jittery like that. You haven’t shaken like that since the first day on the job!”

Rarity huffed at the other pony in a playful manner, rolling her eyes.

“Well excuuuuuse me for being NERVOUS for working for one of my idols, it’s not like you practically threw the best job offer at me after numerous ponies looked to ‘buy’ my new desi- OH WAIT, that’s EXACTLY what happened!”

A laughter akin to that of old friends catching up broke out between the two ponies, Hoity putting a hoof to his chest to stop himself from losing his more refined looking appearance.

“Well, I did want to make it clear that I wasn’t looking to buy your name, though many did accuse me of that. I knew what the others would have done, they would have made you sign the rights away to your name and continued producing the same trash that they’d peddled to all of Canterlot before. But as I’ve always said-”

Rarity knew what came next.

“Fabulous Fashions of Equestria, where designs are made for the ponies, not for the bits.” She stated non-chalantly as though she were some tired spokesperson. ”Forgive me Hoity darling, I’m not at my peak today...”

“And like I said earlier, it’s why I’m here. You haven’t seemed yourself lately Rarity and if you want me to assign someone else to this job, I can, I wouldn’t want you to do this unless you feel it’s right.”

There was a length of silence between the two, both idly sipping their tea as the unicorn seemed to be confiding her answer. Rarity attempted to put words together, only uttering brief noises and groans, seeming to be at a total loss for words.

Would it really solve any problems? Would her being here really make me feel any better?

With a shake of her head, she finally spoke up.

“No, it’s... It’s alright, I can handle it.” Throwing on a brave face, Rarity nodded with an assuring smile. ”I’ll see to it that when the time comes, FFE is still the top of the line in all of Canterlot and Equestria, no doubt about that.”

Clapping his hooves together, Hoity laughed with joy at his designer’s seemingly renewed enthusiasm.

“Glad to hear it! I can’t wait to see what you have in store!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I must admit, I didn’t think you already had some prototype designs already. Regardless of what you think, they’re all quite fantastic, I can’t wait to see the finished product! I’m sure it will be fantastic as always.”

He ‘always’ knows how to unintentionally put pressure on a pony... At least, I hope he means well.

Standing in the parlor of her home, Hoity turned to give one last comment to Rarity before his departure.

“Now Rarity, if there is ‘anything’ you need, ANYTHING at all, I implore you do NOT hesitate to ask! Price isn’t a concern, if there’s something you think could make you more relaxed on this job, do not hold it in.”

In truth, Rarity was at a loss. It was a rare opportunity, as she knew that Hoity Toity had signed an agreement of an unlisted ‘favor’ to be granted at her request in the original contract. But since she’d begun working for him, there was little to complain about. Her recognition, her position at work, her more easygoing life, Rarity had found herself less demanding and discontent more than ever in her new life.

But one thing, no, one pony had come to mind. One pony who she remembered that she had made many an offer to. One pony who she knew could appreciate and perhaps share in the delight of the luxuries and lifestyles she’d recently adopted. Nervously biting her lip, Rarity gave it her all to force out the one thing she’d been dwelling on for days on end now.

“Actually, there... Is ‘one’ thing. You see, there’s somepo-”

Cut off mid sentence, the door swung open to the presence of two particular unicorns.

“Rarity my dear, it is good to see you here! I wanted to stop in for a moment and see how things were going for you!”

The pony’s eyes lit up with delight, two true friends of hers coming to pull her out of her potentially foolish request.

“Oh Fancypants! Fleur! Please, do come in! Um, Hoity dear, we’ll talk later, is that okay?”

The regal pony knew when to take his leave, not one to pry on his designers personal matters. Fancy and Fleur followed Rarity across the parlor to a more comfortable place to talk, Fleur casually making herself at home.

“I must admit, it never ceases to amaze me what you’ve done with the place! It seems everytime we come, you’ve got some new piece worth admiring.” Fleur chimed, pointing towards the oil painting of Sapphire Shores across the room.

“Yes, Miss Shores brought that by a few days ago, she was making a pit stop on her tour and offered it to me, I couldn’t pass it up since apparently it was from a fan of both of ours. Hard to believe it... I’ve become as popular as some showpony like her.”

There was almost a hint of regret in her voice, the two unicorns curiosity piqued quite quickly.

“If you don’t mind me asking dear, what has got you down?” The pine maned mare pressed the Element of Generosity.” It has been a while since we’ve dropped in, perhaps some positive news would cheer you up? I’m training some new upstart for Photo Finish~!”

“Fleur darling, do you really think it’s appropriate to bring up work with competition?” Fancy rebutted, glaring at her.

“Oh nonsense, Photo paid me upfront, it’s not like there’s anything at stake here.” Batting away Fancy’s prodding hoof, she summoned a pass from her hoofbag. ”In fact, if you’re interested, perhaps you’d like to attend her first show later today?”

Completely at a lost for Fleur’s sudden mysteriousness, she accepted the gift from the other without speaking, but proceeded to question anyways.

“Forgive me for asking Fleur, but is there something about this pony I should know?” Rarity had now found her own interests raised. ”I mean, wouldn’t this if anything be giving FFE an unfair advantage?”

Fleur laughed with amusement at such an accusation. ”Hardly dear, to imply that Photo is anything but a spectacle would be giving her much more credit than she’s worth. It’s purely the following amongst the masses and her fans that she has any success in the first place. Take all those blindly led ponies away and her profits and success aren’t even a drop in the bucket compared to the work you’re doing for Hoity.”

A sly grin ran across Fleur’s face, Fancy quite enjoying seeing his lover’s more playful side.

“Consider it as a gardener tending to the soil before the spring comes, setting the land so it’s ready for seeding as soon as spring comes.” The confused look from the violet maned mare made her ambiguity clear. ”I’m wanting you to be aware of a new presence in the industry, one pony I think you’d be happy to see again.”

Feeling her heart almost jump out of her chest, Rarity’s eyes widened with disbelief.

“Fleur, you couldn’t possibly mean!”

The pony nodded back.

“Rarity, I would not toy so casually with you about such things. I consider you a very dear friend as much as I’ve come to consider her a dear friend as well. It seems perhaps the planets have aligned or some other mystical existence has set things in order. Regardless, you have the ticket, I believe you have a long day ahead of you, do you not?”

A surge of terror washed over Rarity like a cold shower on a winter morning.

“Oh goodness, I need to get my mane done, my hooves cleaned, my coat groomed, I-I-I... I hate to up and rush you off, but would you protest?”

The two knew an enthusiastic freak out from their friend when they saw one, deciding it was for the best to let her be. Fancy was the first to leave, Fleur only stopped by Rarity’s hoof tapping at Fleur’s tail.

“Fleur dear... Thank you. I appreciate you keeping things under wraps. Perhaps I’ll be able to return to my old self if I can get to spend some time seeing her at least.”

“Anything you need Rarity, you know I’m here for you. I wouldn’t turn down a pony in need... Well, within reason.”

And with the mare’s departure, Rarity began gathering her things for the long day ahead of her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Days Earlier...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That’s it, one hoof after another... Keep your head straight outward and don’t look to the side. Remember, you’re a living, breathing dress pony. The behavior’s okay, but they’ll want you to smile, to look happy.”

That is, if you’re looking to get out of working with Photo.

“Smile, look happy... I just, it feels weird. I’m ‘not’ happy doing this.”

Fleur and Fluttershy had been at this for at least an hour now and with this being their last session before the show in the upcoming days. They’d gotten her form down, quickly changing clothes, nearly every single thing that required actual practice. At this point, the concern lied in Fluttershy’s still present stage fright.

The girl needs the right motivation, the right goal. Something to make her feel like it doesn’t matter if it’s a hundred or a million ponies watching her.

“Fluttershy, if I remember, a few days ago you told me that you were doing all of this for somepony, right?” Fleur gave a wave for the other pony to follow her backstage, finding a more comfortable place for the two to sit and talk. ”Would you mind telling me who that is?”

Fluttershy had found the straightforward question from the unicorn to throw her for a loop, she wasn’t expecting to really have to let anypony else know just what this was all for.

“I’m... I’m sorry Miss Fleur but I don’t believe that’s any of your business.” The pegasus answered with somewhat of a glare. ”I don’t understand what this has to do with the current problem.”

Fluttershy looked downward, not wanting to make eye contact after the rather blunt response of her own. Fleur on the other hand, had found herself quite intrigued and had no plans to cease prodding at the other.

“Fluttershy my dear, I must admit I appreciate your boldness on that response. But I promise, I’m not looking to do anything beyond help you out.”

Reluctant to make eye contact, Fleur moved closer towards Fluttershy, so close in that that the pegasus could begin to feel the other leaning against her.

“You told me that this pony your doing all of this for is very important, that it was one of the best ways to get her attention.”

“But Miss Fleur, I don’t even know if she’d come to the show.”

“So it IS a mare then!”

Fleur laughed with delight as the pegasus whimpered just a tad, only to find the other pony now laying against her.

“So then, I bet this makes you a tad bit uncomfortable, hmm? Lying on a comfy couch like this with another mare, closer than you’d like.”

Fluttershy finding the other pony awfully close to her, seeming to lean her head in closer towards hers.

“Think of it this way though, if the other mare was the pony laying on you right now, being this close, would it bother you in any way at all?”

Coming back to reality after a flurry of worst case scenarios that could have come about involving her and Fleur, Fluttershy shook her head.

“Right... Because that other pony is someone you don’t fear sharing all of yourself with.”

Slowly backing up and climbing off the couch, Fleur began to pace around the room.

“The pony most important to you is one you don’t fear, one you’d never worry about confiding your sadness or anger in. One pony you can trust who’d never hate or betray you, hmmm?”

It took a moment for Fluttershy to think further to what degree she believed Rarity was right for her, coming back with a simple reply.

“The only thing I fear is her rejection. That after all of this, it won’t matter in the end.”

Fleur raised an eyebrow, uncertain about what the other was implying. Nonetheless, she knew just the right thing to let the other little pony know.

“Even if that does happen in the end, you would have become a better pony. How many ponies out there can say that rather than staring from afar at their one true love, they pursued that passion and made their presence known? That... they didn’t wait too long.”

Her voice trailed off near the end, prompting Fluttershy’s attention towards the unicorn.

“You see dear, rarely does it pay off to sit around and wait. Fancy and I never... really were ‘together’ early on, we just spent a lot of time together. In fact, it really wasn’t until a few years ago we actually started considering ourselves ‘in a relationship’. But when I did first see him it was very much a one sided thing. When I started out, I was kind of in a situation just like yours. Completely new but having to learn the ropes fast since they wanted me working as soon as possible. My first show was setting up to be an absolute disaster, I could see all the other ponies speaking to each other when I was on the runway and they barely took any photos. But... Out in the crowd, I saw Fancy with the brightest smile on his face. I felt so warmed up by his smile that by the second, third and fourth times I walked, I didn’t have a single care for what everyone else.”

Fluttershy was finding it quite hard to hide her interest, actually leaning in to listen to her more closely.

“After the show, he came backstage and said that he thought I did quite well. We got talking for a bit until another mare showed up. They headed out not too long after she got there, I... Kind of felt like there was a strong air of disdain coming off her towards me.”

Fleur leaned back after a long sigh, staring up at the ceiling as she continued.

“A few weeks went by and I... didn’t see him. I’d kept hoping he’d show up, kept my head held high in the hopes he’d be there to smile at me again. It wasn’t until about a month later he finally showed up. I asked where his marefriend was and he told me quite a tale. Apparently, she’d gone and emptied out his main source of income on her own personal business that completely flopped. He also mentioned that his family disowned him after he’d let her have access to their accounts and at this point, he was job hunting for his own work after having to start digging into his savings.”

“Oh my, Miss Fleur, I’m so sorry, I hadn’t imagi-”

Fleur looked at the pegasus as though she’d just spoke in a foreign language.

“Fluttershy, there’s no reason to apologize. I mean, yes it was a very unpleasant point in both of our lives, he’d basically been thrown out on the streets with the inability to maintain the state of living he’d become accommodated to and I was looking into getting back into a line of work that, frankly, I despised. The judging looks, those stares from other ponies as if they’re some supreme authority absolved of any wrongdoings as though they’re some immaculate existence who’s sole purpose in life is to judge others...”

Lost in her brief tirade, Fleur found herself getting somewhat off track and not helping the other pony feel any better.

“Now I’m the one who should be sorry. Let me get to the point. The message here is that you can block out all your fears and worries if you have that one person smiling back at you. Even as those cameras flash and those ponies mutter their harsh words and cruel assumptions of who you are as a pony, it’s that face of the one you love looking onto you with admiration that makes it all the worthwhile.”

Fluttershy nodded, rising off the couch to trot to her side.
“So in a way... Just thinking of it as a show just for that pony, you can pretend in your mind that nopony else is there, right?”

Fleur gave her a firm nod.

“Exactly my dear, if nopony else in the world matters to you, if this pony is the one you’d lay down your life for, share your deepest and darkest secrets with, that should be the only pony in the world that you truly care about the thoughts of.”

Fluttershy smiled with delight. But quickly that changed to a look of concern as the unicorn placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“I think Rarity will be quite pleased to see you on the runway.”

“Yes, I think she wi-”

The timid pony had to pause for a moment as she processed just what the other had said. And had this been the old Fluttershy, there was a good chance she would have darted for the nearest cardboard box to duck and hide. Mustering up every tiny bit of courage she could, she calmed herself, speaking very quietly.

“Miss Fleur... If you don’t mind me asking, how did you know Rarity was the one I was interested in?”

Fleur couldn’t help but giggle for a moment, quite pleased to see the other pony not ‘freak out’ at her revealing of inside knowledge.

“I can’t say I know anything is certain, but she has told me she’d heard rumors of somepony, some pegasus to be specific, wandering around Canterlot. And since Pegasi are far and few between their presence in Canterlot, it doesn’t take long for word to travel about a new face. It wasn’t long before she’d discovered what ponies said her mane color was and where she visited and how she acted. I’d like to warn you in advance by the way, get used to everyone talking about every little thing that goes on around here, many ponies in Canterlot are a little over-concerned with everypony else BUT themselves.”

Fluttershy was already very aware of that, often finding it impossible to attend a small outing to a cafe or shop without somepony coming up and locking her into a 5 minute interrogation of who she was, where she came from and many other questions that were nopony else’s business.

“Regardless, a few days ago Miss Rarity had asked if I’d seen a pink maned pegasus around recently and I told her a little fib. When I tried to get her to tell me why she was asking about you, she acted in the most adorably immature manner. And then, she told me she missed spending time with an old friend of hers. That she felt bad about not having enough time to contact her or trying to visit her at home in Ponyville.”

Deciding it was time for them to get back to work, Fleur motioned for Fluttershy to follow her back out onto the runway. As they walked, Fleur continued advising Fluttershy.

“As I said, I don’t know anything to be certain, but there is clearly concern on Rarity’s part for you Fluttershy. And I don’t want you to do what I did. Call me an unwanted matchmaker my dear, but I will see to it that you two have every opportunity to spend time as much as you can. It might be out of line for me, but if I can try and do for two other ponies what I failed to do myself all those years ago, it will make this ‘training’ of ours more meaningful, if you will...”

There was uncertainty in Fluttershy’s heart, to allow somepony who was somewhat of a stranger in on this personal matter of hers. But the tone of her voice, the experiences she told her... Either Fleur was a masterfully silver tongued pony or just a truly kind hearted mare. And with her mind made up, she finally gave her reply.

“Miss Fleur, do you think there’s a way you could get Rarity to attend the show without her knowing I was involved?”

“I’d expected something like that. You worry about keeping your poise and keeping a smile on and I’ll worry about making sure that special somepony is there to keep you going.”

“Thank you Mi-”

Fleur raised a hoof and shook her head.

“Fluttershy, how about as a means of repaying me, why don’t we forget the formalities. I’ll just call you Fluttershy and likewise, you call me... Lis.”

There was no response from Fluttershy, the pegasus instead preferring to idly swirl her hoof in a circle at the ground.

“Um... Can I... Call you Fleur for now?”

The unicorn gave a sigh of disappointment, but nonetheless smiled to the pegasus.

“One step at a time I suppose.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just... one step...

“Move it already!”

A firm shove for another pony pushed Fluttershy out onto the runway and into the spotlight. Something that even though she’d been training for weeks for, she still wasn’t quite ready yet. Numerous camera’s flashed in a blinding orchestra, nearly blinding Fluttershy had her eyes not been darting across the room, watching each pony talking and staring at her.

What are they saying about me? Oh! That pony’s glaring at me, what am I doing wrong?! Did I not get out here fast enough? Do I have the outfit on backwards? I... I...

Panic was setting in fast and it was only a matter of time before her fears took over and broke the pony down. Fluttershy was starting to shake, sniffling just a bit feeling as though she was on the verge of tears.

I’m just not cut out for this... I can’t do it and I’ll never be able to make Ra-

It hit her in a flash. Her eyes darting left and right looking for the only pony in the world who mattered to her right now. Quickly, she spotted Fleur de Lis and FancyPants. Sitting right beside the two was pony whom her trainer had promised she’d bring.

In what seemed like a moment frozen in time, Fluttershy had seemed to block out every noise and disturbance in the world. All that was before her was the other pony, smiling to her and giving a slight wave of the hoof.

So... She did come after all. I’ll... Have to thank Fleur later.

The very terror dragging her down mere seconds ago seemed to be completely lifted away. Giving a quick shake of her head down to her hooves, Fluttershy stretched out her wings and continued with her walk, smiling softly and keeping her poise perfect. The response from the crowd seemed to pick up with her positive mood, the pegasus noticing the stares of disdain dropping to a non-existent state and the camera flashes increasing in frequency. Finally behind the curtain, Photo had an estatic smile across her face.

“Vunderbah! Zat was fahntasteek Flootahshai! Nao get changed immediately, veere short foh time! Show zem zat glohreeoos Finish vorth zeh Photo!”

“Yes Miss Finish!”

With a hop in her step, Fluttershy headed back to the changing room, knowing it was only a matter of minutes before she was needed back on the runway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I see she is very happy.” The Element of Generosity spoke in defeated tone.

“She was happy to see you dear.” The unicorn beside her placed a hoof on her shoulder, trying her best to reassure her friend.

“I haven’t been a good friend, I can’t imagine that she actually was that happy to see me.”

“You sell yourself too short my dear, she really has been looking forward to seeing you again.”

Rarity had no reason NOT to believe such a statement, but her own guilt fought her attempts to find happiness in seeing her friend again.

All these months, I’d just completely forgotten and ignored her. I never sent her a letter or an invitation or merely dropped in for a visit. And here, she’s uprooted herself from Ponyville just to see me.

But as Fluttershy returned to the runway, they locked eyes again and a comforting warmth washed over the unicorn.

But she’s here and she’s smiling, more than she ever did when she used to work with Photo. Maybe she is just happy to see me.

Jumping slightly in her seat as she came back to reality, she gave a brighter smile than the one before and waved both her hooves at the other pony, getting a slight nod from Fluttershy as she turned to head back stage again. With her friend gone for now, Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, only for the unicorn beside her to be leering quite curiously at her.

“Well well well, that was quite a sight! Something up my dear?”

Rarity was quite perplexed by the other pony’s question, realizing that perhaps she was much louder than she’d believed she was.

“Oh, uh, nothing! Nothing at all!”

“Oh PLEASE dear, do NOT act like that sigh of delight was just something I can pretend didn’t happen. Do you really expect me to believe that there’s nothing between you two? Who was the one who came to me asking if I’d seen some yellow pegasus wandering around Canterlot? Oh wait, even better, who was the pony who’s eyes lit up when I told them I had tic-”

With a stare that was close to rivaling the runway walking pegasus, Rarity gave a very clear ‘back off’ look to her friend.

“Deny all you want my dear Rarity, I see those eyes that you look at her with!”

“Dare I say, those eyes look just like the ones that I remember you looking at me with after I’d had a few glasses of Jura Whiskey the other night!” Even Fancy himself was finding it hard to not tease the ivory-colored pony.

“Fancy, not you too!”

“Oh Rarity, I’m sorry, my beloved here is quite infectious with her behavior! It’s quite hard to resist!”

Both were too caught up in a laughter to notice the dark red tint coating Rarity’s cheeks now as she pouted at them and turned her gaze back to the stage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“...But overall, it vass a great show ghirls! You all did a wunderfahl job und I’m quite pleased vif zeh recepshion! I’ve already had numerous offers for sum contracks vif quite some big names! Enjoy zeh next few days evurypony, you’ve all earned eet!”

With the fashion pony’s speech concluded, Fluttershy found herself free to head out from the dressing rooms to mingle with the audience and press. A few picture poses and autographs later and Fluttershy merged with the crowd, finally able to do as she pleased. It didn’t take her long to locate Fleur and Fancy, but her heart skipped a beat when she saw Rarity up close for the first time in months.

“You did wonderful out there Fluttershy dear... And it’s been too long.” Rarity gave praise to her friend, an almost sad smile across her face, only to be hugged tightly by the pegasus, prompting a small laugh from Fleur.

“I missed you a lot Rarity, the girls at home are great and everything but... The group doesn’t feel the same without you. I miss our spa days...”

“Ah! As do I Fluttershy, but I’ll be honest I’ve just had all my connections sort of handed to me. I have Fleur to thank for that though, she’s done an amazing job directing me to some wonderful places around here.”

Fleur took a slight bow, Fancy magically raising his monocle to his eye.

“Well, if it’s not too much, I’d like to suggest we all go out and enjoy a night on the town! My treat naturally, as a gentleman sho-”

“Vell vell vell, did Hoiteh Toiteh dehside to shend und shpai to my fashion show now?”

Photo Finish made her way into the group of ponies, Rarity raising an eyebrow at Photo Finish, who she believed was staring at her.

“Pardon me Miss Finish, but what are you impl-”

“Oh pleeze, save your krahp for zeh papers, I know your boss sinks zat I’m some kind of zret to heem.”

“Au contraire Miss Finish, he considers you but a blip on the radar.” Fleur chimed in before Rarity could say her piece. ”Hoity is a man of true standards, someone who actually knows what ponies want in this day and age, not what they ‘think’ they want, as you seem to believe.”

“Oh be kvaiyet Fleur de Lis, ahs eef I have any cuncernz vif your ohpeenyun seence you’ve feeneeshed training my client. Flootah! Come now, I’m treating you undt zeh rest of zeh girls out foh a deenuh at my ehshtayt, you shoodent be shpending time vith zis ilk!”

Photo firmly grabbed at Fluttershy’s hoof and began pulling her along, the pegasus looking back at Rarity with a distraught expression. Unable to put together a response, she trotted beside her manager slowly, joining the other dolled up mares, some with a stallion at their side, heading off out a different exit, Photo laughing in delight with the other ponies.

“Pardon my comment my dear, but why on earth did you agree to work with her again?” Fancy prodded his lover for an answer.

“Well, the money was good, I won’t lie... But I stuck with it afterwards because I thought Fluttershy would do best being handled by someone like me. And knowing Photo, she would have passed her off to the next pony for training without a care for the state of her very employee. You know how it is. Rarity dear, do you still feel... up for... dinner?”

Rarity however had no interest in answering. Her head was hanging low as the two prodded her with their hooves.

“Uh Rarity, are you alright?” Fancy poked her in the side, watching her sway back and forth.

Slowly, a soft growl began rumbling out from the purple maned pony, before she shot her head upwards and screamed out in a brief burst of frustration, garnering quite a few stares from other ponies.

“Ah hahahaha, don’t mind her everypony! She’s just uh... Mad that she couldn’t get an autograph from one of the models!” Fleur covered Rarity’s mouth with her hoof, seeing her about to potentially scream an obscenity.
Practically dragging Rarity out of the building, Fleur and Fancy gasped to catch their breath, having fought with a clearly enraged pony.

“That arrogant little! She thinks she OWNS Fluttershy?!”

“Well technically dear, she DOES have her signed to a contract, that’s kind of how things work!” Fleur chimed in with weak laughter, seeing Rarity stomp and huff and puff, trotting in circle of fury.

“OOOOOoooohhhhh this makes me so MAD! I should have known, I should have KNOWN! Hoity told me everything about her, I wanted to think the best and blast it if it wasn’t all 100% true! That MARE is absoLUTELY disgusting!”

Fleur could see that there was a mix of concern and worry buried in that seething hatred emanating from the Element of Generosity, watching as she trotted off away from them.

“Rarity? Raarrrrityyyyy? Please come back dear, we can go have a nice dinner out and we’ll talk this over later!”

“NO! I’m going to deal with this right NOW! Celestia as my witness, that mare will NOT have MY Fluttershy! She doesn’t DESERVE that girl’s kindness and beauty!”

Fancy found himself quite shocked by his friend’s reaction, only to find the mare beside him rolling with laughter.

“Oh Fancy, please tell me you heard that! Listen to that mare all fired up and calling little Fluttershy ‘hers’. That’s absolutely adorable!”

Fancy hadn’t facehoofed as hard as he did just now in ages, Fleur leaning against him to control her laughter.

“Oh dear, that girl really has no clue just how obsessed she truly is with that pegasus. Ah well... Fancy dear, shall we go? It seems it will just be the two of us for tonight.”

Torn between going after his friend and not leaving his mare off to walk the streets at night on her own, he gave up and followed after Fleur. All the while, Rarity had continued stomping down the street, now heading in the direction of her employer’s home. It didn’t take long for her to arrive and with almost no concerns for property damage, she whipped around and kicked the front door in with her back hooves.

“HOITY! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!”

A head peeked out from the corner, sunglasses falling to reveal a terribly frightened earth pony. He slowly trotted out to the enraged equine and spoke very calmly to her.

“Um, Rarity, if you don’t mind my asking, why have you kicked my front door in?”

Somehow, his voice managed to bring Rarity off her rage train and back down to Equestria, realizing the rather ‘dramatic’ show she’d just put on.

“Oh... my... I did that... Didn’t I? Eh hehehe... Right then, I um, Ah! Yes, I wanted to say, I’ll have my new works ready for you in three days.”

Hoity’s eyes lit up with delight as he threw his hooves in the air with glee.

“That’s absolutely WONDERFUL Rarity!”

“BUT! Under ONE condition...”

Hoity shifted his glasses back into position over his eyes, quite intrigued to hear the request the unicorn was about to make, a favor he’d expected long ago for her to ask for. And while it wasn’t exactly the request he was expecting, Rarity had a belief that somehow, someway this old friend of hers would make good on a promise. He was the one pony in Canterlot she had the absolute faith and trust for her well being and happiness.