Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Eleven

Fluttershy showed her backstage pass and made her way to Iron Will's dressing room.

"Fluttershy!" the muscled-up minotaur said, stretching and flexing his arms. "Nice to see you again."

"It's been a while," Fluttershy said cheerfully.

"I assume you're wondering why Iron Will asked you here," the imposing figure growled. "You probably couldn't tell from where you were in the audience, but you've just witnessed a historic event—the final Iron Will assertiveness seminar."

"Really?" Fluttershy said sympathetically. "Are you retiring? Why?"

"No, not retiring at all…" Iron Will said. "Rather, I'm retooling my material—turning the whole thing into a KINDNESS SEMINAR!" He raised his beefy arms over his head triumphantly.

"A… a kindness seminar?" Fluttershy repeated. "I can't imagine that'll be all that popular…"

"It will be popular," Iron Will said. "Because YOU, Fluttershy, are going to write it!"

Fluttershy was stunned with disbelief for a moment.

"Me?" she finally peeped.

"Yes, you. You taught Iron Will an important lesson. There are things that are more important than mere confidence… and confidence without a trace of kindness SUCKS! I need to change my approach. And how better to do that than to get my material from the one pony who WEAPONIZES kindness! I looked you up. Admit it, you're more than just an unsatisfied customer."

Fluttershy hunched her shoulders nervously. "I… I don't know…"

"I'm an accommodating minotaur, not to worry," Iron Will said. "You wouldn't have to ever appear onstage—I'll handle all the public performances, and you get fifty percent of everything I earn."

"Fifty percent?" Fluttershy said, her eyes widening. "That's… that's impressive."

"I'm reasonable. I wouldn't expect you to accept anything less."

Fluttershy thought about it. "I'm going to have to say no," she finally said. "Sorry—this does sound like a great opportunity, but I really must decline. See, I have a private animal-care practice that I'm very happy with, and I have a boyfriend now so I want to spend as much time as equinely possible with him… and I'm really, really not a writer. So, there's that. Sorry."

Iron Will seemed taken aback. "But—I can't do this without you! That would be madness! No one else in Equestria has your qualifications. You MUST write my kindness seminar!"

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said shyly. "But no means no. Remember, Iron Will?"

"Aha, but an assertive pony never takes no for an answer!" Iron Will declared, sticking a finger into the air.

"Hmm, I was afraid you'd figure that out," Fluttershy said dryly. "So… we're two assertive and self-respecting beings, neither of whom is about to back down. Have I got that right?"

"That's about the size and shape of it, yeah," Iron Will growled.

Fluttershy sighed. "Well, then, it seems I'm backed into a corner. You've given me no choice but to resort to my awesome veterinary superpowers."

She leaned in close to Iron Will's face and opened her eyes as widely as she could. Iron Will recoiled in horror with a cry of "WAUGH!"

"Good day," Fluttershy said pleasantly, trotting out the door.

Iron Will hung out of his dressing room door, reaching out to her. "Fluttershy!" he said, almost whining. "You can't do this! To me, or to your country—my old material is turning Equestria into a nation of complete jerks!"

"Oh, come on, you're not that famous."

"Well, I—HEY!" Iron Will scowled. "That's just mean! Maybe kindness isn't your specialty after all! Hmph!"

Fluttershy flapped her wings and raced back to Iron Will. "Sorry! I'm sorry!" she said. "Look… kindness isn't my specialty. Animals are my specialty. Kindness is just who I am… at least, most of the time. I can't write it, and I can't teach it. I'm sorry."

She lowered herself to the ground, looking back at Iron Will pleadingly.

"I won't back down," Iron Will growled. "I'll never stop trying to rope you into this! And someday, I'll find a way!"

Fluttershy stood up on her hinds legs and bowed deeply. "Iron Will, my friend, I wouldn't have it any other way."