Saturday
Fluttershy packed her backpack with a change of clothes, some toiletries, and a change of sleepwear. The weather tends to get more crisp during September's transition to Fall. It was Pinkie Pie's idea to have a sleepover at one of their houses this weekend to welcome Futtershy into their friend group. This group has been long overdue for a new and friendly face. At least that's how Pinkie put it. The group decided it'd be best to have the get together at Rainbow Dash's due to her rather large home. Fluttershy would be lying if she didn't say she was nervous. After all, she'd only been to one other sleepover. It was a long time ago and her mom had to pick her up early. She never told her mom why, but her mom didn't care. Her mom wanted what made Fluttershy happy and comfortable. Fluttershy carried that embarrassment, but her mom did everything in her power to erode that embarrassment.
The doorbell rang, shaking her awake from her thoughts. She grabbed her lightly packed backpack and made her way to the front door. As she passed the living room couch where her dad and Zephyr sat watching one of the remaining games of the baseball season, she glanced at the TV. She knew the teams at the least. They were rivals. The biggest rivals in all of the ELB and even the rest of Equestria's sports: Manehattan Star Swirls and Klugetown Rockhoofs. Fluttershy knew who her dad and brother rooted for, her father always sporting the gray baseball cap with the signature maroon K on the front. Growing up looking up to their father, Zephyr followed in his footsteps and rooted for the Rockhoofs as well. Fluttershy, on the other hand, wasn't interested in sports altogether, further driving that wedge between her and her brother and father.
"I'm leaving, dad." Fluttershy called to her dad. He turned to look over the back of the couch that him and Zephyr sat upon. His short but wavy blond hair and freshly shaven face looked to his daughter with near indifference.
"Okay." He turned his attention back to the TV, his priorities being elsewhere at the moment. "Be safe. And call if anything changes."
"I will." She responded curtly. "Love you both."
She received a genuine "I love you" from her dad, despite his eyes being glued to the baseball game before him. She knew he meant it, he just wasn't intimate with it.
"Later, Flutters." Zephyr said in a forced tone of sincerity. "Say hi to your new gal pals for me." He snickered.
Fluttershy ignored the final remark as she unlocked the door and opened it to see a patiently waiting Rarity and Applejack. Fluttershy stepped out and quickly closed the door to avoid any confrontation with Zephyr and her two friends. She re-locked the door behind her and greeted her friends joyfully. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited. To give people another chance filled her with an anxiety that morphed into a rush of jubilant anticipation. Once down the elevator and out of the lobby, they piled into Applejack's truck and left for Rainbow Dash's house.
~
The truck ride gave Fluttershy enough time to learn some things about Applejack and Rarity. Cloudsdale Heights was quite a drive from Canterlot, so Fluttershy took the initiative to try and talk to her new friends.
Although not the sharpest of the five of her new friends, Rarity definitely had an eye for color and style. She even went as far as calling Fluttershy's consistent and humble clothing a "vibrant meek chic," as she went into detail about every tiny aspect of Fluttershy's attire down to the buttons of her comfy button-up. Fluttershy couldn't help but blush from the torrent of micro-complements she received. Seeking a future in fashion under high scrutiny, Rarity had been practicing and perfecting her trade since she was a child.
Applejack, next to Rainbow, was the most helpless in the classroom. Her only drive in seeking passing grades was the softball team. She never worried about work after high school since she intended to simply work her family's apple orchard outside of town. She explained that whoever found success beyond the orchard, between her brother, little sister, and herself, would simply chase that dream. Since her burly older brother Big Mac had little intention to leave the orchard, it was pretty much up to Applejack or her little sister to find a dream worth chasing.
Their conversations, for the time being, had come to an end. Having arrived at Rainbow's home, Fluttershy's excitement peaked. When she approached the wide two-story home, she began to smile. The moment slapped her in the face and she was more than okay with it. Applejack and Rarity took the lead in front of Fluttershy since they were more acquainted with Rainbow and her family. They rang the electronic doorbell and waited. After a few moments, the door creaked open. Fluttershy nearly gasped at who she saw standing at the door.
"Hey, AJ. Rarity." The stocky Coach Hothoof beamed at the two of them. He looked beyond them and expectantly saw a slightly wide-eyed Fluttershy. "Well hello to you too Fluttershy. Rainbow told me that you'd be here too."
"Heya, Coach." Applejack greeted informally.
"Hello again, Mr. Hothoof." Rarity followed in greeting.
"Um, hi Mr. Hothoof." Fluttershy subconsciously crossed one arm over and held onto the opposite arm. The choice he had given her earlier that week now became the biggest thing on the front of her mind. She didn't want to dawdle on his patience so she knew she'd dedicate time tonight at some point to muse deeply over the option he'd given her.
Coach stepped aside allowing the girls to enter the home. Fluttershy, once again, clung closely to Rarity and Applejack.
"The rest of the girls got here a while ago. They should be on the porch. Windy is making snacks right now for you guys." Coach informed them, mainly Fluttershy, about their friends' whereabouts. He directs his attention to Fluttershy. "Windy's my wife. She'll be nearby the whole night if you need anything. I can take you to introduce you."
"Oh!" Fluttershy tensed. Being around so many people is still something she's getting used to. But her motivated and headlong attitude pushed her forward. "Thank you, Mr. Hothoof." She turned her head to her passing friends. "I'll um.. catch up with you guys later?" Rarity was already halfway up the stairs while Applejack answered her.
"Sure thing, sugar cube." Applejack began climbing the stairs. "We'll be waitin'." She quickly disappeared up the staircase as Fluttershy followed Coach closely through the main hall. Halfway down, he pointed out an archway and told her that his wife was through there. Coach broke off to another section of the first floor in a hurry. Fluttershy assumed he had more important things to do and continued following his directions.
Taking a quick left through the archway Coach pointed at earlier led to an enormous kitchen with a granite topped island at its center. The kitchen was very modernized with nearly everything seeming to be electrically reliant. Standing at the island was a middle aged woman with scruffy hair and a combination of orange and a light scarlet. She seemed to be working on a large and incomplete platter of various finger foods. She looked up and made eye contact with Fluttershy. She gave a warm smile at the new face in her house.
"So you must be the infamous Fluttershy." Windy said, extending her hand across the island's corner. Fluttershy took her hand and shook it before releasing quickly so as to not potentially dirty her hands.
"Yes, ma'am." Fluttershy shifted her weight back and forth in her shoes. "I guess Rainbow Dash has talked about me a little bit around the house?"
"Not much actually." Windy responded, her eyes still focused on the snacks before her. Fluttershy gave a quizzical tilt of her head in confusion. "Believe it or not," Windy continued, "My husband is the one who won't stop going on and on about you."
"Oh..!" Fluttershy could feel an awkward sweat building up along her spine.
"He told me about your talent." Windy said, noticing Fluttershy's disgruntled eyes as they shifted elsewhere in the kitchen. "Don't worry. I gave him an earful and a half for breaking the promise he made to you about not telling anyone." She aggressively rolled a sandwich meat around a stick of cheese as she mentioned this. She sighed. "It's not his fault. He's excited about your potential so he had to vent it to someone. So he chose the person he trusted the most." Fluttershy replaced the annoyed look with understanding, inwardly smirking at Coach's hidden excitement. "It's been a while since I've seen him this excited about that baseball team. You must really have some talent, hunh?" Fluttershy's cheeks tint pink at the complement.
"Oh, um, I only threw a ball." Fluttershy responded quietly. "I don't think it's that special." She rubbed her throwing arm once again, remembering the odd feeling her arm gave when she hurled the ball as hard as she could.
"My Bow has a very sharp eye for talent, you know." Windy continues her indirect praising. "He's even had a hand in sending a few boys all the way up to the ELB level." Fluttershy blinked in surprise.
"Oh wow." Fluttershy was in awe despite her lackluster reaction. Despite not fully understanding the work that went into it, she knew making it in professional sports was quite the daunting task. "That's really amazing actually. I hope they didn't forget about him."
"You'd think they would." Windy said with a smirk. "Oh no, we get calls every other week from one of those boys. They want to thank my Bow for giving them the chance of a lifetime." She stopped her work and gazed off to the living room. "To be under those lights must be…" she paused and shook her head to find the right word.
"Intoxicating?" Fluttershy finished for her. She didn't even know why she used that word when her instincts screamed words like "horrifying" and "hellish." She wondered deeply about it, but couldn't put her finger on why she chose that word. She simply chalked it up to an understanding of those in that position. Windy slowly nodded as her distracted visage rose into a smirk. She turned her head to look Fluttershy in the eye.
"I really couldn't have said it better myself." She continued her work on the platter as it neared completion. "Well Fluttershy, it was really nice talking to you. But I really shouldn't keep you from your friends."
"Oh it's no problem Mrs. Dash. I had fun talking to you." Fluttershy spoke with a smile to further confirm her feelings towards the conversation.
She turned and quickly went back up the hallway and to the flight of stairs she saw Rarity and Applejack go up. Once at the top, she ran into a bathroom to her right. I should probably get changed in advance. She walked in and changed into her sleepwear. A simple pair of black track shorts and a large t-shirt with the words "need more sleep" on the front. As she began to gather her clothes to walk out of the restroom, she glanced into the mirror. She now regretted not getting actual pajamas as her efforts seemed too lazy for what her friends may have for themselves. She shook the negativity from her head and stepped back into the hallway.
Continuing down the rather long hall, she saw a door on her left that was slightly ajar. She pushed it open lightly and peeked in. She was greeted by a white-walled room. A large bed with a thick comforter and sheets sat with one side to the doorway. A TV fit perfectly into an entertainment center across from the foot of the bed. The entertainment center looked to hold a myriad of sports trophies and medals. She assumed they belonged to none other than Rainbow Dash. On the opposite side of the bed on the far side of where Fluttershy peeked in, she saw a large set of glass and wood balcony doors covered by thick curtains. The room overall was rather messy and she could see various bags dotting the room, each one presumably belonging to each of her friends.
Fluttershy stepped in and laid her own bag next to the door. Closing the door behind her, she could hear muffled voices and laughter coming from the other side of the balcony doors. She traversed the room and peeked beyond the curtains. She saw a sizable balcony that had a breathtaking view over Canterlot. She could even see her distant apartment building amongst the growing skyscrapers of downtown. As for the balcony, the center had a gas fire pit. At the two far corners also sat a large outdoor space heater at each. Her friends were all gathered around the fire pit in a mishmash of beanbags and large pillows talking amongst each other. They all seemed to have actual pajamas on, which nagged at Fluttershy to, next time, have actual pajamas ready. She could also hear music coming from somewhere amongst the group.
Taking a deep breath, she turned the door's knob and slowly pushed it open. As she did, one by one, all of her friends looked in her direction. They each smiled and gave a warm greeting to her. She compiled herself and shook her thoughts of being underdressed since her friends did indeed have dedicated pajamas for occasions such as these.
"Hi, everyone." She sheepishly reciprocated.
"What took ya?" Rainbow asked brazenly. "I was thinking you chickened out or something." Twilight was about to scold Rainbow for her shameless teasing when Fluttershy spoke for herself instead. She shook her head.
"Oh, no. I was just talking to your mom." Fluttershy took this opportunity to be playful with Rainbow Dash. "Actually, she was going on and on about you, Rainbow." Fluttershy snickered internally. "I had to politely stop her from showing me all of your baby pictures." Rainbow was stricken with shock and grew beet red. Applejack started letting out a hearty laugh at the sight.
"Aw now this Ah gotta see." Applejack joined the teasing of their normally confident star athlete. "What do you think, Rares?" She elbowed Rarity sitting right next to her.
"Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't at least a little bit interested." Rarity put a hand to her mouth and joined Applejack's jovial laughter.
"Yeah well," Rainbow said, her confident personality shaking apart, "it's whatever. I was cute back then and I'm hot now so I don't know what the big deal is." Her face still flushed, Fluttershy couldn't help but continue.
"You were veeeeery cute." Fluttershy approached and sat in-between Rainbow and Twilight. Fluttershy decided to take a shot in the dark and hoped it would hit something to pull that same reaction from Rainbow. "My favorite was the one with you in the sink for your bath." It seemed her gamble paid off as Rainbow turned in horror and an even deeper crimson now took over her ears.
"Are. You. Kidding me?!" Rainbow let out a prolonged "ugh" as she clawed her own face. At this point, the remaining girls were giggling and laughing at their friend's lost composure. "She said she'd never show anyone that one." Before anything got out of hand, Fluttershy decided to cut her teasing short. She put a hand on Rainbow's shoulder.
"I was, um, just kidding with you, Rainbow." Fluttershy let Rainbow in on her teasing. Rainbow turned and looked at her with a frustrated look while Fluttershy only smiled towards her disgruntled friend. Her annoyance faded and morphed into a snickering smirk.
"Alright," Rainbow rolled her eyes, "I guess you did get me good. But wait, how'd you know about the picture of me in the sink?"
"Just took a guess." Fluttershy shrugged.
"Pretty good guess," Twilight added, "if you ask me. You got her good, Fluttershy."
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie spoke up next. "Seeing Dashie turn all red like that was something completely new to me." She leaned to her side where Rainbow sat. "You should do that more often, hmmmm?"
"Tch." Rainbow scoffed. "Whatever. It's not like she'd be able to do it again. She caught me off guard. So what?"
"Suuuuure." Applejack drawled sarcastically.
The girls casually broke off into their own conversations as Fluttershy simply listened in. They all seemed to have a decent history with each other as they all talked about memories from years ago. As left out as she felt, Fluttershy didn't mind. She knew she'd get to have memories to share with each of them in the future, so she was patient. At some point, she caught Rainbow Dash occasionally glancing in her direction multiple times. Fluttershy was curious, and soon made intentional eye contact with her rainbow haired friend.
"Something the matter, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked, leaning in just in case her friend didn't want to be embarrassed again.
"No! Nothing really." Rainbow shifted in her bean bag to hear Fluttershy better over her talking and laughing friends. "I was just wondering… what were you really talking to my parents about?" Fluttershy pursed her lips in response. She had already told Applejack about the whole situation. She wondered if she should just tell all of her friends now and see what they all think. Her eyes left Rainbow's as she thought deeper about it. She finally decided on taking that chance on her new friends, in spite of every red flag her instincts gave her.
"Actually, I was going to bring it up to all of you at some point tonight." Fluttershy gave an anxious smirk. "I guess now is a good time?" Rainbow nodded, but leaned in closer.
"You sure? Cause you don't look too sure." Her eyes gestured down to Fluttershy's subconsciously clasped and white knuckled hands. She drew in a silent breath and steeled her nerves.
"I'm… pretty sure." Fluttershy responded hesitantly. She cleared her throat, which got the attention of the other girls. Although she meant to use words to get their attention, she took the opportunity head on as it came. "Excuse me.. Sorry if I'm interrupting anything."
"No need for apologies." Twilight essentially spoke for the group since no one said anything else and instead directed their attention to Fluttershy. "If you need to tell us something, we're all ears. Right, girls?" The group gave their affirmations and encouraged Fluttershy out of her shell. They seemed to know Fluttershy was itching to tell them something since all of their conversations came to an abrupt stop.
"Okay." Fluttershy calmed herself further, not wanting to take up more of their time. All but Applejack sat with intrigue. "AJ already knows what's going on, but I wanted all of your opinion on it." Fluttershy knew their answer already. In fact, she knew her own answer as well. She came to her own conclusion after hearing Rainbow's mom go on about Coach's excitement. She was simply looking for that last big push. "Coach Hothoof invited me to try out for the baseball team.. what do you girls think I should do?" Rarity was the first to speak up almost immediately.
"I'm sorry, but the baseball team?" Rarity asked more in raw surprise rather than objection. Fluttershy began to worry once again. She began to question her friends' expectations and confidence in her. She gave her posh friend a closed eye nod. "How impressive!" Fluttershy was relieved to hear that, to say the least. "To not only have a chance to try out for our most prestigious sports team, but to be invited as well?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed next. "I mean, the last girl to be invited was before any of us were even at Canterlot!" She quickly pulled out her phone, her tongue now peeking out passed her lips as she quickly tapped and swiped her way to her intended destination. "Here!" She tossed her phone to Fluttershy. Fluttershy caught it in both of her hands and oriented it to its proper portrait orientation. The picture shown was from a social media site dating back to around 10 years ago. The picture was a team photo of the Canterlot baseball team. The team looked fairly ordinary until she looked to the right of the coach from that year. A girl. Chestnut haired with a blonde strand running down half the full length of her loose hair, she seemed happy. "Apparently she was really good at her position! I don't know baseball or softball so all I know is that she was really good!"
"Oh wow." Fluttershy said aloud, mostly to herself. "And what happened to her?" Pinkie Pie shrugged with an unsure expression. Rainbow Dash leaned closer to Fluttershy to get a better look at the picture.
"Oh! I know her!" Rainbow remarked with enthuse. "That's um…" she snapped her fingers trying to remember the name of the girl in question. "Oh! Willow! Willow Tail. I remember seeing her on TV when I was younger. She's one of the athletes who got me to do sports in the first place."
"So do you know what happened to her?" Fluttershy asked. She felt tension in her neck when she saw Rainbow's expression fall.
"Oh. That." Rainbow rubbed the back of her own neck and avoided eye contact with Fluttershy. "Not sure you wanna hear that one." Since Fluttershy was already edging on anxiety once again, she decided to take Rainbow Dash's word for it.
"Uhh comin' back to Fluttershy's offer, girls." Applejack spoke up next, trying to get off the subject of the past Canterlot ball player. "Ah think it's a fine idea for Fluttershy to join up. Shoot, that opportunity don't come around too often." The group muttered in agreement. "Ah mean, who knows how far she'll go, am ah right?" When she said this, she made sure to look confidently into Fluttershy's eyes. Fluttershy mentally thanked Applejack for making this already awkward situation easier on her.
"I don't see why not." Twilight put in her thoughts.
"Well, I think Fluttershy should give it a fair attempt." Rarity said, examining her nails. "It's not every day you get invited to a team with no prior experience." Her eyes widened at some realization and sat forward in Fluttershy's direction. "Now just a moment…! Imagine the look on your brother's face!" Fluttershy had thought about that too. She thought the look on his face would be priceless too. But the face she worried about was the only other one in the house.
"Yeah!" Rainbow elbowed Fluttershy's shoulder. "Why not stick it to your brother? I mean, even he barely made tryouts his freshman year. Right, Rares?" Rarity nodded in confirmation. Being the oldest, a junior, Rarity was in the same grade as Zephyr when he tried out for the team.
"He was quite clumsy then." Rarity added, leaning back into the bean bag, returning her focus to her now chipping nails. "Oh how times change." Fluttershy knew she referred to his dramatic jump in skill from freshman year to now.
"But look at you!" Rainbow exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "A freshman! No experience in sports and even less experience with people!" The girls shot a collective frown at Rainbow Dash's choice of words while Fluttershy sunk a little bit into her bean bag, dejected. "But against the odds, and I mean all odds, my dad sees something in you." The girls' expressions changed into something more hopeful after being misled by Rainbow Dash's brash personality. Fluttershy looked up to Rainbow for that final push. "You should do it, Fluttershy. Kick ass for once in your life! If my dad says you got it, then I believe you've got it!" Rainbow finished with a pump of her fist.
Fluttershy fought back a smile. She felt confidence surging through her like electricity. She didn't know where it came from. Like she had locked up a beast inside her that finally fought its way out. It cascaded through and snapped every red flag as if they were twigs. For the second time in her life, someone believed in her. This time, she didn't intend to let them down. She finalized her decision in her head. Even after she was sure of what she wanted, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Whatever happens," Twilight, the owner of the gentle hand upon Fluttershy's shoulder, assured her, "even if you decide not to do it, we'll always be there for you."
"…Thank you.." Fluttershy smiled warmly and placed her own hand on Twilight's. She looked across her friends who had done so much in such little time. "All of you…I couldn't ask for better friends."
"Okaaaaay… GROUP HUG!!!" Pinkie Pie screamed with a smile showing all of her teeth as she dangerously jumped over the fire pit and into Fluttershy's lap, burying her face into Fluttershy's stomach and wrapping her arms around Fluttershy's waist. The remaining girls soon ran in and joined the hug.
Fluttershy's face grew into a deep crimson at the sudden showing of affection. Her heart raced as she let herself fall into the group embrace. She wrapped her arms around who she could and rested her head in the crook of Rainbow Dash's neck.
"Thank you… all of you..."
4:21 am
Sunday
Fluttershy turned over in the bed in between Rarity and Applejack. Due to their polar nature, the two girls pulled the blanket taut on either side of the bed, leaving Fluttershy with a hovering middle section. They warred even in their sleep, to which Fluttershy quietly giggled to herself. Feeling parched from the night of talking and watching movies with salty snacks, she rose from the bed and climbed off carefully at the foot. On the floor at the foot of the bed, Pinkie Pie laid sprawled over Twilight and Rainbow Dash's oppositely and more neatly made floor bedding. Fluttershy carefully stepped over the three girls and made her way to the door.
She entered the hallway and made her way down the staircase. Once in the kitchen, she grabbed a cup from the cabinet and used the refrigerator's water dispenser. In the middle of her drink, she noticed a hallway across from the kitchen's entrance. At its end, a dim, soft light spilled into the hallway through what looked to be a glass door. She put her glass down in the sink and crept down the hallway. Once up to the door, she tried to peer through the distorted glass but couldn't see anything. She turned the handle and slowly pushed the door open. Once through the door, she was in awe.
A desk sat at the far end with a lamp providing the light that spilled through the door. The desk was a clutter of papers that looked like school assignments from her grade. Along the walls perpendicular to the door, were cabinets and cases containing memorabilia, pictures, trophies, medals, plaques, newspapers, and various old baseball equipment. There was a color theme of scarlet and gold. It was like a museum to her. She stepped further into the study and looked closely at one case. A baseball sat neatly on a three point stand. The side of the ball, written in pen, read "Our First Game." Two signatures were scrawled underneath those words. One she recognized as Hothoof's, while the other was unrecognizable. Behind the ball, was a picture of a younger Hothoof and another young man, each with an arm laid across the other's shoulder.
She looked closely at many of the other cases, reading words on pictures, baseballs, and newspapers out loud in a whisper. "Our First Win. Rookie Catcher takes ELB by Storm. Bow 'Shotgun' Hothoof. The Star Swirls' Starboy. Canon-Armed. Soothsayer Hothoof does it again. For the sonuvabitch who reads my mind. Captain Hothoof." By the time she looked through most of the cases, her curious expression turned into one of inspiration. It wasn't a surprise to her that her soon-to-be Coach was a baseball player. What was a surprise was how decorated and respected he was. Since she excluded baseball from her life at such a young age, she couldn't name a single baseball player by name other than her own brother. Now, an ex professional baseball player is her Coach.
"Those were the days." Fluttershy jumped and turned quickly to the voice at the door. Coach stood in sweats and a Canterlot shirt, leaning on the frame, admiring the study full of achievements as if it's the first time he's seen it. He had a nostalgic look in his eyes as he ended their wandering onto the now embarrassed Fluttershy. "Sorry if I scared you."
"It's okay!" Fluttershy quickly shot back, nervous about the predicament she found herself in. "I should be the one apologizing…for intruding like that." She rubbed her arm anxiously and forced her eyes to the side. Coach shook his head with a smirk.
"You're okay, Fluttershy." He walked into the room and passed her to the desk. "I couldn't sleep so I came in here and decided to do some early grading on the class' assignments on the Frozen War." He sat at the desk and pulled an assignment packet off the desk to show Fluttershy. Her eyes landed on it and noticed it was her own paper. She scored an 82. "Good job." He put the paper back on the desk. "But I know you can do better. So, what's got you awake so early in the morning?" He turned his attention back to the desk in his swivel chair.
"Oh, um. I got thirsty so I came down for some water." Fluttershy lightly kicked the ground beneath herself. Reflecting on her pep talk with her friends, she gathered herself and spoke without thinking. "Also… I'll go to the tryouts. And I'll see how I do." Coach spun quickly, eyes lit up.
"Really?" He asked, obviously hoping Fluttershy wasn't messing with him.
"Yes. I… want to give it a shot. If that's okay…" She squealed out the last half of her statement.
"Alright!" Coach exclaimed, "That's the attitude I'm looking for. I knew you had it in you." Fluttershy smirked and laughed nervously. She didn't know what he meant by the "attitude" she had that he liked so much. All she did was accept his offer after all.
"So what should I do? I mean, to prepare?" Fluttershy dug her index finger into her palm as she asked that.
"Well, just show up to the baseball field in something athletic. You're gonna be doing some running around mostly. And then we'll get a baseball in your hands to do some throwing too." He turned back to the desk. "Don't worry too much about it. All you gotta do is show up dressed accordingly, then let me handle the rest."
"Okay." Fluttershy nodded. "I can do that."
"Good." Coach continued his work on the work packet in front of him. "Now, best you head back upstairs. Don't wanna keep you up any longer." He paused his writing. "I really appreciate you stepping out of your comfort zone for this, Fluttershy. I really do think you can go far." He continued his scribbling. Fluttershy felt an echo of the same feeling of invigoration her friends gave her earlier that night.
She thanked him for his time despite being up in the wee hours of the night. She made her way back upstairs replaying the sights in the cabinets she saw. The glory. The respect. The struggle. The hill she chose to climb was daunting, indeed. But she knew that if she never risked anything, she wouldn't get anywhere. She'd stagnate. She'd prove her dad and brother right. That angered her, even though she chose not to indulge in that anger. She shook off those feelings in place of her new friends. Friends who brought her smiles and laughs, just like the smile and giggle she made walking back into the room of her sleeping friends. Rarity and Applejack seemed to unconsciously have been drawn to each other as they had ended up in a tight embrace, both smiling in a way that Fluttershy could only describe as goofy. In that moment, she had hoped her friends pep talk was something more than that: the truth.