Eye of the Beholder

Chapter 3: Whose team is he on?

It was the morning after Fluttershy had flipped Rainbow Dash and ran out of Twilight Sparkles Library. Fluttershy was not one who liked to get physical, she was sorry for what she did to Rainbow but she did not want to go through with what she had planned. After she got home she tended to her animal friends trying as hard as she could to forget about Silver.

The sound of a rooster woke Fluttershy from her sleep; she stirred a little and covered her head with her blanket. She wanted to stay in bed; she knew that Rainbow was not somepony who would let her give up on something so easily. However she didn’t have that option and had to feed the critters their breakfast.

Fluttershy removed her covers and let out a yawn as she stretched. After getting up and making her bed, Fluttershy made her way to the bathroom so she could prepare for the day. After brushing her teeth, Fluttershy entered her shower and stood there as the water ran. The temperature and the sound of the rushing water was calming to her, it allowed her gather her thoughts.

She was glad that her friends were going out of their way to help her, but began to have second thoughts. They are trying to get her to talk to Silver, but even if she does walk up to him, even if she is able to say hello…then what?

There was no way she would be able to bring herself to do anything further. And she knew that Rainbow wouldn’t let her leave it at that, she didn’t know how far she would take this really. And even if she did somehow gain the courage she needed to ask the colt out, there was no guaranty he would say yes. Quite frankly she would prefer not to go through with the heartache of being rejected.

After getting out of the shower and drying off, Fluttershy put on a green blouse and a pair of dark blue jeans. Regardless of what was on her mind, she still had a duty to care for the critters in and around her home. Pushing what she was thinking of to the back of her mind, Fluttershy began to feed breakfast to the animals.

While Fluttershy was going through her normal morning routine, she didn’t know that she was going to have some visitors. Standing at the front door of her cottage stood Rainbow Dash who was wearing her casual clothing. She was now wearing a white tang top under an opened cyan sweater and black shorts.

“Okay so everyone’s clear with the plan right?” she asked as she turned to face her friends. Pinkie and Twilight were there, they had already been pulled into this and wanted to continue to help Fluttershy.

“For the third time darling, we know what to do” said Rarity, she was wearing a long-sleeved white blouse and brown dress pants. When she had heard about Fluttershy’s crush on a colt she couldn’t help but be overjoyed. She would always tell Fluttershy about any date she had, now she had the chance to be the one who could listen to Fluttershy talk about one, if all could go according to plan that is.

“What make’s yall think she won’t run off?” asked Applejack, she was wearing an orange shirt under a brown vest. She was also wearing a brown skirt over blue jeans, and as always she had her cowgirl hat on. When it came to doing something scary Fluttershy almost always the first to run off, she recalled a time she heard that the meek Pegasus jumped out her window to keep Rainbow from taking her to get spike back during the dragon migration.

“That’s where you come in…” said Rainbow Dash as she pointed at the rope she had told Applejack to bring with her. Applejack knew what Rainbow meant, it seemed a little extreme but it was probably going to be necessary. After making sure that everypony was ready Rainbow Dash turned around and knocked on the door.

There was a small pause before she could hear movement coming from inside the cottage. Applejack has a small urge to circle around the cottage towards the back to make sure Fluttershy didn’t bale out already. But thankfully it looked like she didn’t have to chase the meek Pegasus down and restrain her.

“H-hello?” they heard from inside.

“It’s us Fluttershy, we came to talk to you” responded Rainbow Dash. They waited for a little longer before they heard the sound of a lock coming undone. The front door cracked slightly and they could see Fluttershy looking through the crack.

“Oh, hello girls, what brings you here?” asked Fluttershy playing dumb.

“Come on Shy’, you know why we’re here” said Rainbow as she looked back at Fluttershy threw the crack. Fluttershy had a sudden urge to close the door so she could run and hide in her room, but she faught against it.

“Rainbow tells us that you’re having trouble talking to a colt, we just want to help darling” said Rarity who walked up next to Dash so Fluttershy could see her.

“T-that’s okay, it’s nothing to worry about…” said Fluttershy but her friends were not convinced.

“Please Fluttershy, we just want you to be happy and you can’t do that if you let fear take control of you everytime” said Twilight. Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. The others waited for her to say something, to either agree to or turn down their offer to help her talk to the unicorn at the flower shop. Eventually the door opened wider and they could see the sad look on Fluttershy’s face, a small gesture but it showed them she was still willing to try.

Fluttershy and her friends went to her living room; she sat down on her sofa while the others sat around it in a circle. Although there was a small chance of it happening, Applejack thought it best to lock the window. Rarity made tea with permission of Fluttershy to use her kitchen; they wanted to make sure Fluttershy was a comfortable for this as possible. Fluttershy took a sip of her tea and she looked like she was beginning to calm, soon enough, she spoke.

“S-so do you really think you can help me do this?” Fluttershy finally asked. Rainbow placed her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“Of course, we’re all going to do our part to make this easier for you” said Rainbow as she motioned to the rest of their friends. Each of them gave an affirmative nod of their head showing Fluttershy that she had their support. Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile and blush slightly from knowing that they had her back on this.

“They’re willing to go out of their way to help me…the least I can do is try…” Fluttershy thought to herself. “S…so what’s the plan?” she asked, her friends smiled now knowing that Fluttershy was onboard for this.

“Well, tomorrow you and I are going to attend our spa day early this week, not only will it help you relax more, but it will allow you to look your best” said Rarity. She had also wanted to style Fluttershy’s hair and make her a dress for the occasion but the others voted against it; they agreed that it was best that she went casual.

Pinkie Pie and Twilight were going to teach Fluttershy some breathing exercises that help slow the heart rate. This was so Fluttrshy could calm herself down if she felt she was going to panic at any time. Strange enough it was Pinkie who originally taught it to Twilight after she had stressed herself out trying to find a lesson on friendship to send to the princess.

Applejack and Rainbow would serve as a blockade, namely to prevent Fluttershy from backing out at the last second. The others would be standing outside of the flower shop as spiritual support, if they all were to go in at the same time it would look suspicious. The set up looked promising, but when it came down to it, it was up to Fluttershy’s ability to say something to the colt.

“Okay so we have everything we need to prepare Fluttershy, but what are you going to say?” asked Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy looked down to the floor and began to think about that, just saying hello wouldn’t be enough she would have to have a real conversation with him. But the question is what would there be to talk about?

“I-I’m not sure, I don’t even know what he likes” Fluttershy said finally as she looked back up to her friends. They knew his name and they knew where he came from, but that’s about all that they knew.
“Actually, I do think I recall seeing the unicorn in question a few days ago” said Rarity as she leaned back on her chair and placed her hand to her chin. “If memory serves I’ve seen him and another unicorn exiting the record store” she continued.

“Okay, so he likes music, how about you Applejack, do you know anything?” asked Rainbow Dash. Applejack looked up as she went into her thoughts; lnew when the colt moved to Ponyville so it didn’t take her long to filter through the time frame of then and now.

“Ah do remember seeing' him once” she finally said “He was buying groceries with a green haired unicorn if ah remember correctly” she added. Although it wasn’t very helpful in Fluttershy’s case, Rainbow couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Those two unicorns seem to do everything together, we sure they play for our team?” joked the cyan Pegasus.

“Rainbow!” yelled Applejack snapping Rainbow Dash out of her laugh fit. She turned to see Fluttershy looking depressed again. She forgot about the romance novel that Twilight had told them about for a moment, this joke was definitely too soon.

“I was just joking, I’m sure they are just close friends is all” said Rainbow as she placed her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Maybe they’re roommates or something” she added.

“Of course, they’re still new here so they probably haven’t had the chance to make new friends just yet” added Rarity.

“Hey, that’s right!” said Rainbow after hearing what Rarity said. “Chances are he hasn’t seen all the sights just yet, you can offer to show him around!” she added swiftly. Everypony else gave a smile from this, it seemed like the perfect way for Fluttershy to talk to Silver. It also offered her a way to get some form of alone time with him.

“B-but just talking to him will be hard enough, how will I be able to show him around without feeling nervous?” asked Fluttershy. She agreed to talk to Silver, but that was because the others would be around. If she offered to take Silver on a tour and he were to say yes, then she would have to do it alone. “I won’t be able to do that on my own…” she said looking down at the floor again.

“You won’t have to, I can watch you from the sky” said Rainbow as she hovered a few inches off of the floor. Silver would be too focused on the sights to notice her, and if he did look up she could fly out of sight before he could see her.

“Thank you, Rainbow” said Fluttershy with a sigh of relief, at least she’d have one of her friends watch over her if it came to that. But the question still begged, would Silver agree to go on a tour of Ponyville with her. However there was one other question on Fluttershy’s mind, one that she was a little embarrassed to ask.

“D-do you think he’ll…like me?” she asked softly, her face turning red slightly as she did so. There was a brief silence, Fluttershy sat there unable to look at her friends as she waited for them to answer. After a little while longer she heard movement, suddenly she was in a warm embrace. All her friends had run up to her in a group hug; they felt that words alone weren’t enough.

“Of course he will, darling, what colt in his right mind would turn you down?” said Rarity. He blouse was probably going to get wrinkled from the group hug, but she didn’t care at the moment. Right now all she cared about was making sure one of her best friends got the encouragement she needed.

“Trust us Fluttershy, he’ll say yes and you’ll have a great time” reassured Twilight.

“See Shy’, you’ve got nothing to worry about” said Rainbow Dash who was also in the center of the hug with Fluttershy.

“T-thank you” said Fluttershy as she gave a large smile, she didn’t know how it would go but at least she knew her friend were there for her. The hug lasted a couple more minutes before they all let go.

“I can’t wait to throw you and him a party! Soon you’ll be dating and smooching!” said Pinkie as she placed her hands together and placed them to the side of her cheek.

“L-let’s just take it one step at a time, Pinkie…” said Fluttershy still smiling but blushing slightly from what Pinkie was saying.

“We just got her to calm down, don’t get her worked up again” said Applejack as she glared at Pinkie pie. Pinkie placed her hand behind her head while sticking her tongue out playfully as she apologized.

“Oh jeez, sorry Shy’ but my shift is about to start soon” said Rainbow Dash as she took a quick glance at the clock.

“And I need to get back to finishing an order for a client today if I wish to attend our spa day tomorrow” added Rarity. They wanted to stay longer to make sure Fluttershy had all the encouragement she needed, but they still had jobs to attend to.

“It’s okay, I’m fine now” assured Fluttershy, the others could see she was still a little nervous but still looked a little confidante. Everypony gave Fluttershy one last hug before they all made their way out the door. “Thanks again” said Fluttershy as she waved her friends goodbye, they all returned a wave as they made their way back to town.

The five friends continued their way back to town; Rainbow could have flown off but decided to walk with the others. They all had high hopes for Fluttershy, she believed that when the time came she would do what she needs to.

“Ah have to say Rainbow, this is a good thing you’re doing for Fluttershy” said Applejack breaking the silence of the walk.

“Yeah, well, I just want her to be happy is all” responded Rainbow with a smile. “Besides, I’m sure she’d do the same for me” she added. Granted she probably wouldn’t have the same problem as Fluttershy, but she was sure she would help anyway she could.

“I just wish we knew more about Silver, could have given Fluttershy some idea about what to talk about” said Twilight.

“I’m sure it’s fine, not knowing is part of the fun” stated Rarity. “It allows them to ask questions about each other, you cannot believe how long a conversation can go once it begins” she added with confidence. The others couldn’t really argue over this case, Rarity definitely knew more about dating than they did. When it came down to it, they just needed to trust Fluttershy’s ability to fight her shyness.

Once they reached the town everypony said their goodbyes and went their own ways. Tomorrow would be the day they prepare Fluttershy for when she will talk to Silver the day after. But for they each had their own jobs to do and so they did. However one of them was not expecting to get a surprise come the end of her shift.

Rainbows day at work was simple enough; her team was set to clear some oncoming storm clouds that were coming in from the Everfree forest. It was a large one but Dash was able to clear them with little trouble, only problem was a stray bolt that Derpy had caused. It didn’t strike anything important so Dash let her off the hook for it.

It took a couple of hours but soon enough the job was done and the weather team was then allowed to head home. The sun was going down but there was still a few hours of day light left so Rainbow decided to do some free flying. The winds were a bit chillier than the day before but it was hardly any bother.

Eventually she decided to drift in the sky for a while as she began to think of the plan she and her friends came up with. From her point of view it seemed foolproof, all Fluttershy had to do was stick to it and everything would be great.

She knew that Fluttershy had a tendency to go into a panic when she felt like her back was against a wall, but Rainbow made it clear of what she would do if Fluttershy backed out. She didn’t want to have to force Fluttershy, and she probably wouldn’t, but she figured that if Fluttershy thought she would then it would push her not to chicken out. The only question is what kind of pony Silver would turn out to be.

She knew that he was from Canterlot, she didn’t know a lot of ponies from there but Twilight’s brother lives there and he was a nice colt. All she could do is give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that Silver was too. And if he turned out to be a jerk then he’d have to answer to her.
Eventually the sun got close to setting so Dash decided it was time for her to go home. As she flew home she looked town to see there were still some other ponies still outside while others were still heading in. She continued to watch as she flew, but as she drew closer to her house, she noticed something.

“Wait, is that, oh my Celestia!” Rainbow was filled with shock and she quickly turned around and began to fly back to town. She saw something and she couldn’t believe her eyes, she had to tell somepony.

Back in the library Twilight was enjoying another book, as she read Spike was attending to his usual chores. Spike didn’t usually wear clothing but as he began to get taller he started to wear a purple and green sweater. Twilight had told him about what was going on with Fluttershy and how she liked the colt who had visited the library a few days ago. He still couldn’t believe that their meek Pegasus friend was going through with the plan.

“So, if this does work, you think you can help me score a date with Rarity?” asked Spike. He figured that if they could help Fluttershy score a date then they could probably do the same for him. Twilight looked up from her book for a moment to try and think of what she could say to her dragon assistant.

She knew about his crush on Rairty for a long time, but even now she didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth about what she thinks about it. She didn’t think that his being a dragon was a reason for it not to work, but because of the age gap between them was so big. As to how Spike didn’t figure that out himself she’ll never know, but she didn’t want to make all his hopes come crashing down.

“Well…I’ll have to talk to the others about that, but first we need to see this through to the end with Fluttershy” said Twilight. There was a look in Spikes eyes that looked to her as him taking it as a maybe. Although he dropped the subject and continued with his chores, she wished he would find somepony his age to crush on. He and the Crusaders were about the same age and they were good friends, she could see it working with any of them.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

There was a loud banging on the door, it sounded as if something was trying to break it down. Spike quickly put down the books he was carrying and ran up to the door so he could answer it. As soon as he opened it slightly it was quickly forced open knocking him on his back before he could react.

“Twilight!” yelled the cyan Pegasus Rainbow Dash as she ran inside of the library with the look of shock on her face.

“Rainbow, be careful, you could have hurt Spike!” yelled Twilight a little annoyed at the sudden barging in. Rainbow Dash looked at the ground to see Spike on his back looking dazed from the sudden knocked back.

“Sorry Spike!” Rainbow apologized as she picked Spike up from off the floor. He was still a little dazed as he rubbed his head.

“No big deal…” said Spike as he made his way out of the room, he needed an ice pack after what had happened.

“What’s with you, you look like you’ve seen a ghost” said Twilight as she looked at the expression on Rainbow’s face.

“I wish I had Twilight” said Rainbow as she looked back to where Spike was at. “I need to talk to you in private” she whispered so that Spike could not hear her. Twilight tilted her head wondering what was wrong but she agreed to talk in privacy and the two of them went up to her room.

“Okay so what’s-“

“He’s playing for the other team Twilight!” yelled Rainbow as she grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and shook her as she yelled. Twilight was having a hard time understanding what it was that Rainbow was saying.

“What are you talking about? What team?” Twilight asked. Rainbow let go of Twilight and took a step back.

“I’m talking about Silver, he’s a coltcuddler!” she yelled again and Twilight gained a blank expression on her face. Twilight blank a few times trying to make sure he heard her friend correctly, the colt Fluttershy had a crush on couldn’t be into other colts…could he?

“Take a deep breath Dash, tell me what happened” said Twilight as she motions Dash to sit on her bed. Rainbow sat down and took a deep breath so she could calm down, she thought back to what she say and began to talk again.

“I was heading home when the sun was close to setting, everything seemed fine.” Dash began now able to talk calmly. “But when I got closer to home…I saw something” she said looking at Twilight.

“Saw what?” asked Twilight sitting down next to Rainbow.

“Well I saw him, and the other unicorn, Azure right?” she asked making sure she got the name of his friend correctly. Twilight gave her a confirming nod still waiting for Rainbow to get to where she was going with her story.

“Well I saw them walking towards town, they were sweaty, shirtless, and Azure was riding on Silver back” Rainbow finally said. Twilight looked at Dash for a moment; at first she looked serous but then the let out a laugh.

“Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions here?” she asked.

“Think about it Twilight, they both moved to Ponyville, they are always seen together, and Silver works in a flower shop!” explained Rainbow Dash. “What does that tell you?” she added looking at Twilight for an answer.

“Come on Rainbow, you said it yourself, they’re probably just roommate” she said getting up from the bed. “ Weren't you and Fluttershy roommates at one time?” she asked and suddenly the look of anger filled her face.

“Are you calling me a fillyfooler!?” she yelled getting in Twilight’s face.

“There you go jumping to conclusions again” said Twilight returning the gaze. “Ever think that they were both going for a run or something and Azure sprained his ankle or something?” she asked. Rainbow looked away as if she was thinking about something, Twilight waited for her to respond.

“There’s only one way to be sure” said Dash looking back at Twilight. “Tell Pinkie that you need to do something tomorrow so she’ll have to take care of Fluttershy’s breathing exercises herself” she continued. Twilight blinked as she saw the look in Rainbow’s eyes, she definitely had something planned.

“Okay, and what will I be doing?” she asked.

“Tomorrow we’re going to follow Silver and his friend and find out what they do when they’re alone”