Author's Note
EVERYONE! GET OFF THE SITE AND WATCH THIS VIDEO FIRST!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye2WI1ykNH8
Yep, for the first time in a one-shot, I included a song! And don't worry, this is not copyrighted so no need to worry this story will get deleted. If it does, I'll remove the song.
If you've watched it, then move on ahead! Enjoy!
Be brave, Flutters
“P-Please... Please don’t hurt me, you guys...”
Fluttershy was curling herself into a ball, as she was really scared. She was getting threatened by a few familiar people- Nathan’s original schoolmates and bullies. There were three of them there, forcing the shy mare to a wall in the back alleys of Ponyville when she seemingly refused to care about them.
“*high-pitched voice* Oh, no! Please don’t hurt me!” Oscar cried. He was a short one, but he packed a mighty punch and a laugh full of mean words. “Pfft, in your dreams, you filly!”
He kicked her right wing. She let out a squeak of pain.
“How’s that?” Tommy, another one of the gang, teased. “*gasp* There’s something on your face! Ha, no, it’s just pain!”
He kneeled down to slap her face. Fluttershy was on the brink of crying, her face a little bruised. She knew about those people- But she didn’t Why they were still doing this. At this point, her friend Nathan has defeated their leader and he has arrested them once for a year. Now they’ve returned- But they didn’t learn their lesson.
Elliot, the current co-captain of their gang of bad guys, just snickered at the situation. “You guys lay low, I’ll finish her up and if she doesn’t want to tell us where he is, I’m just gonna go ham on her.”
Fluttershy gasped and shivered while covering her face. Just as the bully was about to land his punches on the poor pony, a voice came from behind and Tommy got whipped hard.
“Finding someone?”
The pony looked behind them and saw her friend.
“*gasp* Nathan! Please, help me with-“
“Say no more, Fluttershy, I got this.”
Nathan winked and used his magic abilities to pull the bullies toward him. He tried to suffocate Oscar, but he didn’t feel the need to kill them today like he did two years ago. After all, he was the harshest in him when he was still the victim. He gave a few hard slaps and used magic to hurt them even more before setting them back down.
“I warned you guys,” Nathan said. “Never come back to hurt me. You will not like it.”
The other two ran, but Oscar shrugged.
“*high pitched voice* Don’t come back to hurt me ever again, ooooh I’m so adored by the ponies, if you hurt me you know who will come and-“
He falcon punched him and rested his foot on the bully. Really harshly.
“I said,” Nathan warned, “Never, come, to hurt me. That includes my friends.”
But he didn’t care- And challenged even further. Fluttershy was already jaw-dropping to see this happen.
“*high-pitched voice* Oh, I have so many good friends and all you have is-“
Nathan made a fierce grunt and clutched his neck.
”I’m not giving you another warning, idiot.” He changed to his demonic voice. ”Off of my sight. NOW.”
He let go. Spawning in a portal behind the bully, he forced him to go in with a pistol in his hand. Oscar put his hands up and walked into it obediently. Once he’s in, Nathan sighed in relief and put his weapon away.
He turned over to Fluttershy to help her stand up.
“You okay?” Nathan asked.
Fluttershy nodded and gave him a hug.
“Thank you, I could’ve really used some help. I am a little hurt but it’s okay.” She replied.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you with it.”
Nathan used his healing spell to cure the bruises and her wing was acting weird, so he fixed that too.
“Come on,” He said, rubbing her head.
As the two walked through the streets of Ponyville, Fluttershy couldn’t help but think about how he just stood up to the ones who’ve harmed him his entire life. She remembered the day of his battle- He came out so strong and so confident against his fears. She wished she was just as confident.
“Uhm, Nathan? Can I ask something?” Fluttershy asked, nudging her friend.
“Sure! What’s up?”
The yellow mare swished her tail side-to-side in nervousness before asking.
“H-How do you get so confident in trying everything?”
When she asked this, Nathan knew she must’ve asked it for a reason- After all, he doesn’t find her talking about her shyness a lot. So he made the guess she wants to talk about something personal with him. And of course, he couldn’t do that when he’s out and about or just in his room, that’s boring.
“Why’d you ask?” Nathan asked after a few minutes.
Fluttershy blushed. “I-I just... I just need some advice. A little bit.”
Bingo. Just as he thought.
“Mmm, I see,” He responded. “Well, I would tell, but... Since it’s personal, how about this. Let’s just have a heart-to-heart talk. Just the two of us.”
“That’s great! And I know exactly where we could have our chat...”
Fluttershy flew off to the clouds and Nathan followed suit with his fly abilities.
The two landed on top of the fluffy clouds overlooking Ponyville. After finding a comfortable one to sit on, they made sure no other Pegasi were in the air so they can chat on their own.
“So, what’s been bothering you, Fluttershy?”
“Hm?”
“I could probably tell- You wanted to ask me about your confidence problem because of something. If there is, do tell me, I might be able to help.”
The mare temporarily flipped away her pretty mane for a little to reveal her face so it’s not covered.
“*sigh* Well,” She said, “You know the Friendship Festival is just around the corner, in a week, right? I-I was chosen to sing on stage for the performance night... *sigh* Oh, What am I going to do?”
Nathan’s eyes widened and gasped.
“Wow, that’s awesome! I wish I was going on stage, I’ve wanted to perform for so long, you don’t even know!”
Fluttershy looked at him with an intrigued face and an innocent smile. Nathan realized what’s going on and stopped bragging for a moment.
“*clears throat* Sorry. But really... Isn’t that a great opportunity?”
Fluttershy made an adorable yet nonetheless worried sigh. “You know me well, Nathan. I-I am really shy and I’ve been like that for my whole life. I can’t just go out there and sing for a crowd of ponies! I just... I just can’t!”
She buried her face in her hooves. At least until Nathan tried to comfort her.
“Hey, Hey... It’s okay, Flutters,” He reassured her. “Your friends are going with you. At least they’ll understand why you’re nervous.”
She shook her head. “But... There are still probably a hundred or more ponies there, about to watch me cry because of my fears on stage! I’ve practiced so much, but I could never do it when I have an audience...”
“Why’d you say that?”
Fluttershy stopped feeling sad for a second when Nathan sat close to her.
“When I was back in flight school, I was really shy and I always got laughed at when making any mistakes. I was a little clumsy back then. I’m glad Dash was always there for me. But I’ve grown a lot. I can’t always have somepony around to just keep me covered. I want to do this on my own, like how you faced your fears.”
Nathan nodded. “That’s a very good goal you set yourself.”
“But how? I’m just... I’m just so scared... Of other ponies laughing...”
She wanted to break into tears again. But Nathan continued to reassure his friend that she would do fine on the Friendship Stage. He’s heard her voice before, and it was extraordinary.
“They wouldn’t, Fluttershy. I promise.”
“H-How do you know?”
He gave her head a little comforting rub.
“*giggles* You have one of the sweetest singing voices I’ve heard in my life,” Nathan pointed out. “I don’t see why anyone would laugh at you on purpose. It’s stupid and lame. They can laugh all they want- But you must stick to your dream, and never give up. I know you liked singing a lot. Don’t let others control you, ruin you, and force you to make changes you otherwise wouldn’t.”
Fluttershy looked away and turned back again a few seconds later.
“You sure know a lot,” she complimented.
Nathan sighed. “Well, I can relate myself to your situation pretty well- In the past... I was just as shy as you were, Fluttershy. You are probably one of my most relatable characters in terms of personality.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah!” He replied. “When I was younger, as you saw, I was bullied a lot. Like, a lot a lot. You might have heard I even got beaten up and got severely hurt once. I was a really shy person back then- I didn’t have a lot of friends. But then... Y’all came along, and I guess the rest is history.”
“But aren’t you in a couple with Twilight?”
He shrugged. “When I say relatable, I mean in the past, Okay?”
Fluttershy chuckled. Her spirits started to lift up.
“Hey,” Nathan said to her, holding her hooves.
“Yes?”
“However you do, it doesn’t matter what ponies think as long as you liked your performance. Don’t be sad just because someone attacks you- There are always people like this in our world. You have to understand. A little word of advice- You go up there, and crush it. Sing from your heart like this is your last show. Got it?”
She nodded with a smile.
“Thanks, Nathan. You’re a nice human friend to hang out with,” Fluttershy said.
He chuckled. “You know, I wanted to hang out with you too. I guess I have problems and I love Twilight way too much back then and spent more time with her instead.”
They burst out into laughter.
“But, if you want to...” Nathan smiled and leaned close. “I wouldn’t say no to snuggling with you.”
“*gasp* Oh, my, really?”
“Yeah!”
She immediately hugged him tight and they fell on the fluffy cloud they were sitting on. It was a sensation for the human- He really liked sleeping on a cloud, snuggling was a definite bonus. She nuzzled deeply against Nathan’s body and purred. He smiled in bliss and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back.
“Would you believe me, if I had said the first plush toy I owned for the pony franchise was you?” Nathan asked.
Fluttershy giggled. “Aww, that’s sweet of you!”
They continued their cuddling session for a little while- When something clicked into Nathan’s mind.
“What is the song you’re singing?”
Fluttershy took a moment to look at him.
“It’s called ‘Imagination’,” She replied. “I heard it from a YouTuber and it sounded really nice, and it was my type of song- Peaceful, quiet and expressive, so I decided to give it a try.”
He nodded. “Ahhhh, interesting choice. I’ve listened to it many times myself. Even today, it sounds just as good.”
When they let go, the human wanted to do something frisky. Since Fluttershy claimed she had been practicing a whole lot, he wanted to see how good her voice really was.
”Imagine a world where there is no need to hide...”
Fluttershy turned and giggled. Nathan nodded to her.
”Any kind of art growing on inside yourself,”
”Express your feelings, in any way, that you can,”
”Light it up, you can use your...”
At this point, Nathan decided to stop and let her do the last chorus. Fluttershy agreed happily, stood up to prepare, and what Nathan heard was the most beautiful singing voice he has ever heard.
”Imagination, let’s play...
Imagination, don’t fade away!
Whatever you think of,
Can be so amazing,
And the possible becomes so real!
Imagination, woah!”
Nathan immediately spawned in his guitar and started to jam the chords and play the music. Fluttershy chuckled as Nathan nodded to her. He started playing the chords before the song started, and she sang along.
”Do you like, who you want to be?
Someone, who can be free?
Forget those who tell you,
‘You can’t be something brand new...’
Sometimes, the random...
Can make it great!
Who needs to follow rules,
When madness can make your dreams come true?
When I can make things my own way,
Everything can wait another day,
My mind is my heart,
And my heart is,
Expressing its...”
She looked at Nathan, and he smiled and gave her a signal to start.
Imagination, let’s play,
Imagination, don’t fade away...
Whatever you think of,
Can be so amazing,
And the possible becomes so real,
Imagination, woah...”
The two looked at each other as the music stopped.
“Wow, we get along pretty well!” Fluttershy said happily.
“Ha, I know, right?” Nathan giggled, putting his guitar away. “And my, my, do you have the most angelic singing voice ever! You’re so talented!”
“Oh, stop it,” The pony laughed.
Nathan couldn’t stop grinning as she hummed the tune, just as well.
“You want me to tag along with you?”
“Sure! I’ll let you sing the second verse and chorus. And we can both sing the last chorus together.”
“That’s a great idea, Flutters,” He gave her a high-five. “Just remember: Let your heart Flutter and soar. Don’t let anypony’s words fool you- You are you, and Nopony has the right to change you.”
She nodded and gave him a hug.
“Thanks, Nathan. It means a lot.”
“Anything for a friend.”
They both let go, when Nathan had a fun idea they could experiment with.
“Wait, we should totally do a duet song!”
Fluttershy felt the red rushing up her cheeks as she blushed.
“U-Uhhhh...”
She silently flew away, but Nathan caught up and flew beside her.
“Oh come on, pleaseeee?”
“*giggles* Haha, I don’t want to get shipped like you and Twilight!”
“Come on, just one song?” He begged.
“No way!” She giggled.
