“Some tea?” Fluttershy carried in a pitcher of amber-colored liquid lightly scented with a drop of honey and a hint of lime. She had a huge grin on her face and a bounce in her step that caused her feathers to rustle.

“I-I'm not so sure.” Rarity levitated a hoofwritten page in front of her bloodshot, twitching eyes. “I think I'll need something a lot stronger than tea.” As she read, independent hairs on her delicately coiffured mane sprung out, making bids for freedom that were sadly foiled by the fact that they remained attached to her.

Fluttershy carefully set the pitcher down and looked at all her friends, who avoided eye contact. “Um, is everything okay?”

“I-it's just that, well...” Rarity's eyes darted back and forth. She bumped Pinkie with her hoof under the table.

“At least it has a happy ending?” Pinkie blurted out.

Fluttershy gasped. “Did-did you not like the rest?”

“What! No, no. It's not like that. It's just that, uh...” Pinkie caught Applejack's eyes and pointed at her.

Applejack gulped. “Well, Ah can honestly say that I, uh, am happy to be here with my friends. But, uh, I have chores that Ah've been putting off, so if y'all excuse me...” Applejack darted out the door so fast that her hat remained suspended in the air behind her. An orange hoof reached back through the door and snatched it.

“Oh, well, I guess chores are important too.” Fluttershy frowned.

Rainbow Dash picked up a sheet and cringed at it.

“Dash, is something wrong?” Fluttershy winced as if she'd been hit.

Dash jumped and started hovering. She quickly put a smile on her face. “Ah, no, no! I like it! I really do. But, uh, this character—”

Fluttershy perked up and closed her eyes. She wore a huge smile again. “Isn't she the most perfect, awesome, kindest, lovable character ever?”

While her eyes were closed, Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to fly out the window.

Pinkie Pie wound up in Fluttershy's gaze when she opened her eyes again. The pink pony put on a huge smile. “Oh, well, I do love everypony!”

“Yay.” Fluttershy tapped her hooves together.

“Speaking of which, I have a party to plan. Catch ya later!” Pinkie waved and bounced out the door, all without breaking her smile.

Fluttershy smiled and waved back but her smile faded when she noticed that the table was mostly empty. Nopony had touched her tea.

Spike, who had been drumming his claws on the table, grabbed the piece of paper that Rainbow Dash had dropped and started reading it.

“Rarity, were you saying something earlier?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh!” The space under the table was now devoid of legs to kick. “I, um...” Rarity stared at the table. “I've...been left speechless. Yes! That's it.” Rarity smiled which was kind of creepy with her bloodshot eyes. “I cannot properly express my praise without first having an eight-hour bubble bath.” She got up and walked out as well. “See you soon!”

“Um, bye.” Fluttershy waved weakly.

Spike laughed. “Oh I get it. It sounds like 'a salt lick.' This is pretty good.”

“Spike, don't read that!” Twilight snatched the page away with her magic.  

“Hey! Why not?” He waved his arms in the air but failed to grab it.

“Because it's awf—” Twilight's eyes popped open when she saw that Fluttershy was on the verge of tears “—awfully good for a first draft.” She smiled. “It...just needs a little polishing up, and it will be a whole lot better!”

“Aw, I don't mind a few typos.” Spike reached for the paper again.

“No!” Twilight snapped and pushed him back. “If you read the rest, it will spoil the ending!”

“Oh. Okay.” Spike scratched his head.

“I-is it really that bad?” Fluttershy asked, mortified.

“What? No! I didn't mean it like that.” Twilight giggled wanly. She avoided direct eye contact. “It's a good story. It just needs a little touching up. That's all.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. His eyes lit up. “Hey, wait a minute—”

“Not now, Spike.” Twilight pointed at the door and bumped him in that direction with her head. “We have to find a grammar reference and a dictionary or two—or three—to help Fluttershy with her editing.”

“Oof. Okay, I'm going.” Spike rubbed his back and walked out the door. Twilight grinned at Fluttershy one last time and trotted out after him. After a moment, Spike stuck his head back in the door. “Good story so far. I like it.”

“Thanks, Spike.” Fluttershy waved at him, but her heart sank when he departed and she was left alone. She sat down at the table and gathered up the pages of her story. Tapping the sheets to line them up, she couldn't help but smile at the description of the character she'd created. Still, she hadn't gotten the overwhelming praise that she'd expected and her ears drooped a little.

Looking up, she stared into her untouched pitcher of tea. “They said they liked it, but...” Her eyes watered and a single tear dripped into the fluid. “...their body language said otherwise. I know they don't want hurt my feelings, and I can appreciate that, but at the same time, it still hurts. I'd like to know what I did wrong.” Fluttershy flipped through the pages and shook her head. “Why can't they see how perfect this is?”

She turned her head to look out the window. “You know, I kind of wish that there was somebody out there who was willing to give me their honest opinion.”

Unbeknownst to Fluttershy, a pegasus tear mixed in amber tea with a drop of honey and a hint of lime was the exact recipe for a wishing potion. The entire pitcher erupted into a puff of smoke and shot out the window past the mopey pegasus.

“Huh?” Fluttershy scratched her head. “What was that all about?”