A pointy shadow was hesitantly forming in the wet grass, I was almost certain it was Spike.
I tried to look up at him in sheepish defeat, but he was already walking away. I assumed he was alerting the rest of the group that he had found me. My head was pounding in my ears.
There were some distant rustling noises, and then some whispering. I could only make out the last few sentences once my ears adjusted to the hiss.

"I don't think we should crowd her."

"I could talk to her, alone? Maybe?"

"I think that's a good idea. We'll all meet you inside when you guys are ready."

Suddenly, I could see Fluttershy walking towards me, her hoofsteps slow and cautious. Her long wet mane was sticking to her face so she had to push it out of the way before I could see her gentle smile. My heart seemed to race faster every second.

"Hi," Fluttershy practically whispered. To be honest, I was slightly surprised to see that Fluttershy was the one who came over. I tried to say something back, but my words were stubbornly stuck in my throat. Everything was coming out in gasps. "Do you mind if I sit with you, Twilight?" I closed my eyes and nodded. She then delicately sat next to me in the cold wet grass. I really appreciated Fluttershy. I tried to talk, again.

"I, uh," I stuttered, out of breath. "Sorry, I don't know how to say what I want to say", I stammered, almost as quiet as Fluttershy.

"That's okay. If you want, you could say a half thought, or something that doesn't make sense. You could also just sit quietly with me if you want. I like sitting quietly." Fluttershy seemed to be quite nervous and jittery herself, and I was so jealous that she could still be so eloquent. She had just given me permission to express something potentially incomplete, and I couldn't figure out why it felt like swallowing needles to do this. Out of respect for her, I tried my best.

"I thought I could do this," I spit out. I wasn't sure how to explain what 'this' was. "I'm not good with, uh, social things? I haven't studied the subject as much as I could have? The subject of, I don't know, hanging out? I just, I don't know what I'm doing. I, I can't do all this. I'm sorry, I'm usually better at explaining things. My brain isn't working, correctly."

"I'm sorry, Twilight," she said. "I would feel pretty overwhelmed if I were you. Thank you for telling me about all this. I know it isn't easy." Somehow, I was starting to feel more relaxed and sad at the same time.

"Yeah, I am overwhelmed. I know the party had hardly even started, but it was just, I don't know, a lot? Even days before the slumber party, I was so scared that I constantly felt sick to my stomach. Sorry, I don't think I'm making sense." My voice was all squeaky. Fluttershy kept her eye contact steady, as if signalling that I was still doing okay. "All of you have been so nice and welcoming to me and I've been so happy to learn about friendship, but it kinda seems like you all were already a friend group before I came to Ponyville? I might be wrong. It just seems like you guys have inside jokes and history I don't understand, I don't know! It's intimidating, and I don't want to mess up what you girls already had going on just because Princess Celestia happened to send me down here to meet you all. I have to put in a lot of effort to fit in, it's so exhausting. I think it might be too late now, anyways. To fit in, I mean. Everypony knows the truth about me, now. Yeah, I'm not exactly all cool and organized all the time. I don't know if I even succeeded in pulling off that image to begin with." I laughed, because I felt so dramatic and ashamed. It wasn't like I had just revealed some dark secret or something. I think I may have been trying to just say as much as possible while my body was letting me talk. "I'm a nervous wreck, um, kinda often."

"I understand how you feel, Twilight. It's okay." Fluttershy's hooves were shaking a little bit. "I'm really nervous pretty much all the time, you know. Not to brag, but Rainbow Dash knows this about me and she still tells me that I'm the coolest and bravest pony she knows." She was blushing, now. "I used to try to hide how nervous and shy I was all the time, but it was so exhausting. I eventunally decided to stop trying to hide those things about myself because I was so tired, but I soon figured out that just letting myself be nervous and shy on purpose helped me feel comfortable being myself in any state." Fluttershy then got closer to me and more quiet, as if she was letting me in on a secret. "Not many ponies know this, but I am actually quite confident. I can be loud if I need to be, but I'm quiet because I choose to be. It just feels right." Fluttershy's hooves were shaking even more now, yet she still came off as peaceful.
I suddenly remembered when Fluttershy stood up to that full-grown dragon. She was so impressive. At the time, I thought she was impressive because she wasn't herself. I wondered if I was a bad friend. "Twilight, you're allowed to feel overwhelmed. You're allowed to feel overwhelmed in front of your friends, too. You don't even have to be social. We still want to be your friends. We're here for you and we'll never judge you. Besides, I think you're extra brave for organizing a slumber party for us while you were afraid."
I could feel warmth swiftly rising to my cheeks, but I made an effort to not hide behind my soaked hair.

"Wow. Thanks, Fluttershy."

"Um, you're welcome. I'm sorry that you feel like you have to put in effort to fit in. I feel like that sometimes, too. But Twilight, we were not a group before we met you, just so you know." I looked up at Fluttershy in wonder, trying to psychologically signal for her to tell me more. She smiled. "Rainbow Dash and I have known each other since we were fillies. We even went to 'Flight Camp for Young Fliers' together! Over the years, she's been a big part of helping me find confidence in myself. I knew Pinkie Pie a little bit, but only because the whole town sorta knows Pinkie Pie. Rarity and I had met just shortly before you came to Ponyville. We go to the spa together, sometimes. We don't have much in common, so she usually gives me her latest gossip while I sit quietly. It's a lovely time even though it can be a little awkward. I had only heard about Applejack through Rainbow Dash, and I met her for the first time at the Summer Sun Celebration. I've had such a wonderful time getting to know you and Spike, so far. I'm sorry if you felt like we had some secret history we were hiding from you."

"Oh. No, it's okay. Thanks for telling me." The was rain softening into a more gentle drip. "Wow, so you and Rainbow have been friends since you were fillies? That's so interesting."

"Oh yes, I consider Rainbow Dash to be my family. You know, Rainbow greatly respects ponies who are extremely unapolegetially themselves. I believe that's part of why Rainbow has been getting closer with Pinkie, lately. I hear they do...pranks, together." Fluttershy giggled to herself.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. They did something weird to my ink as a joke, once. Spike had to clean up a chemical explosion afterwards, so I was a little irritated if I'm being honest. I think I also heard from Applejack that they did this extravagant prank to her related to painting apples." I let out a laugh. "Did Rainbow know anyone else from our group besides you and Applejack before I moved to Ponyville?"

"She was a regular at Sugarcube Corner, so she saw Pinkie Pie a lot. They were just friendly, though. Rainbow was close with Applejack, although it was kinda a 'frenemies' sorta thing. Well, based on what Rainbow was telling me, anyways. I'm not sure how they knew each other. She had only heard Rarity's name through me. I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you more if you wanted to know. Everypony else, too."

"Yeah, I think I want to know everything". I sighed, smiling softly.

"Okay. Wanna go inside and warm up, soon? It's getting really...really dark out here." Fluttershy gulped. "I'm trying to be brave."

"Oh! Yeah, we can go inside. By the way, you're doing a really good job at being brave."

"Really? Yay."

Author's Note

A lot of dialogue! Fluttershy might seem slightly OOC, but I think the night feels were getting to her lol